Engineering Commons^™

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

A Regional Guidebook For Applying The Hydrogeomorphic Approach To Assessing Wetland Functions Of Rainwater Basin Depressional Wetlands In Nebraska, Randy G. Stutheit, Michael C. Gilbert, Karen L. Lawrence, P. Michael Whited

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Approach is a method for developing functional indices and the protocols used to apply these indices to the assessment of wetland functions at a site-specific scale. The HGM Approach was initially designed to be used in the context of the Clean Water Act, Section 404 Regulatory Program, permit review to analyze project alternatives, minimize impacts, assess unavoidable impacts, determine mitigation requirements, and monitor the success of compensatory mitigation. However, a variety of other potential uses have been identified, including the determination of minimal effects under the Food Security Act, design of wetland restoration projects, and management of …

Immobilized Pseudornonas Cepacia Lipase For Biodiesel Fuel Production From Soybean Oil,, Hossein Noureddini, X Gao, R S. Philkana

Papers in Biomaterials

No abstract provided.

Transdermal Delivery Of Phosphorodiamidate Morpholino Oligomers Across Hairless Mouse Skin, Angela K. Pannier, Vikram Arora, Patrick L. Iversen, Rhonda M. Brand

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The skin is the largest organ in the body and an obvious route for both local and systemic drug delivery. Antisense oligomers have tremendous potential as therapeutic agents for numerous diseases. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of vehicle on the transdermal delivery of several phosphorodiamidate Morpholino oligomers (PMOs) with different sizes, lengths, base compositions, sequences, and lipophilicities. Eleven different PMOs were synthesized complementary to biologically relevant gene targets and delivered across hairless mouse skin in vitro using vehicles composed of 95% propylene glycol, 5% linoleic acid (PG/LA), water, 50% water:50% PG/LA, and 75% water:25% PG/LA. …

Digital Design For A Sweeping Langmuir Probe Board, Omar Morales

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In-situ probing of the Earth's upper atmosphere has greatly contributed to the understanding of the ionosphere's variations and structures. The purpose of this research project has been to develop the digital component of a Swept Langmuir Probe that will be used on a sounding rocket to be launched through the equatorial ionosphere. The probe will make measurements of the plasma density and temperature in the ionosphere.

The digital component uses an FPGA to perform three main functions in parallel which are generating a sweeping voltage on the probe, sampling data channels, and communicating measured data to external devices. The FPGA …

Field Calibration Of The Float Method In Open Channels, Jorge Escurra

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Surface velocity coefficients were calculated at five locations in three different irrigation canals in Logan, Utah. First, the total flow' rate was measured using current meters and calculated cross-sectional flow area. Second , the surface velocity was measured using four trials of the float method , and the average float travel time was calculated for each location and measurement instance. The measurements were taken on different days for various water depths in the canals. Third, the surface and mean cross-sectional velocities were divided , yielding the surface velocity coefficient, for every measurement at each of the five locations. Several channel …

Inside Unlv, Gian Galassi, Andy Grossman, Donna Mcaleer, Jennifer Vaughan, Carol C. Harter, Ronald Yasbin

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

A Study Of A Skirtless Hovercraft Design, Edward A. Kelleher

Theses and Dissertations

Initial study into three possible skirtless hovercraft designs. The designs utilize Coanda nozzles and a Coanda wing surface to generate lift and create a pressure cushion below the craft. The pressure cushion is to be maintained by an air curtain created by flow spill from the Coanda wing surface. Three proposed skirtless hovercraft designs were analyzed via computational fluid dynamics to ascertain their lift generation capabilities. The three designs were adaptations from William Walter's hybricraft primer and his patent for a fan driven lift generation device. Each design featured Coanda nozzles, or nozzles that utilize the Coanda effect, to redirect …

Women In Aviation, Kari Anne Sparks-Webb

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

My goal during my enrollment in the USU Professional Pilot Program is to further the advancement of women in the aviation industry and increase the number of women in the flight program. So, when it came time to choose my senior project there was no better choice for me than to exhibit at the Women in Aviation Convention. It would be a huge step for the school and a great opportunity for me and other students in the program.

Run-Time Modification Of The Class Hierachy In A Live Java Development Environment, Joel R. Brandt

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Class hierarchy design is central to object-oriented software development. How-ever, it is sometimes difficult for developers to anticipate all the implications of a design until implementation is underway. To support experimentation with different designs, we extend prior work on live development environments to allow run-time modification of the class hierarchy. The result is a more fluid object-oriented development process, in which immediate feedback from the executing program can be used to guide hierarchy design. This thesis presents a framework and developer support for run-time modification of class inheritance relations in JPie, a live visual programming environment for Java. Most notably, …

Modified Art 2a Growing Network Capable Of Generating A Fixed Number Of Nodes, Ji He, Ah-Hwee Tan, Chew-Lim Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper introduces the Adaptive Resonance Theory under Constraint (ART-C 2A) learning paradigm based on ART 2A, which is capable of generating a user-defined number of recognition nodes through online estimation of an appropriate vigilance threshold. Empirical experiments compare the cluster validity and the learning efficiency of ART-C 2A with those of ART 2A, as well as three closely related clustering methods, namely online K-Means, batch K-Means, and SOM, in a quantitative manner. Besides retaining the online cluster creation capability of ART 2A, ART-C 2A gives the alternative clustering solution, which allows a direct control on the number of output …

A Fleet Tracking System Using G.P.S. And Radios, John Mulholland, Matthew Warner, Matthew Waldron, Eric Widdison

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Doc Warner's Alaska Fishing LLC is a growing business operating out of Excursion Inlet, Alaska. Based in Bountiful, Utah, this company has experienced large amounts of growth in the past few years, and as a result has needed to make quick adaptations to accommodate larger groups of people fishing with them. Doc Warner's offers a unique experience in that they do not charter boats, but rather allow their guests to captain the boats. The number of vessels that might be fishing at any time has increased from four to more than twenty in the last three years. This large increase …

A New Guidance System For Aircraft Based On Gps, Mukul Mishra

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The navigation displays commonly used in aircraft (Course Deviation Indicators), provide only the offset from desired track, leaving the pilot to figure out steering correction necessary to get back on track. This correction, determined by trial and error, adds to the workload, especially in windy conditions. The feasibility of using a new algorithm for providing guidance to the pilots for improved interception and tracking is examined in this thesis. The proposed system employs GPS to calculate the offset from the track as well as the instantaneous ground speed vector, to provide steering information. Thus, precise tracking is possible in real …

Application Of Bi-State Magnetic Material To Automotive Offset-Coupled Ipm Starter/Alternator Machine, Ayman M. El-Refaie, Russell Manzke, Thomas M. Jahns

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper investigates a new approach to designing high-speed interior permanent-magnet (IPM) synchronous machines using a bi-state soft magnetic material. The bi-state material can have its normally high magnetic permeability permanently reduced in localized regions to that of air by means of heat treatment. This new work significantly expands a previous investigation by considering offset-coupled IPM machines that make it possible to significantly increase the rotor speed while retaining all of the other specifications of the 6-kW starter/alternator application. Lumped-parameter models, Monte Carlo optimization, and both electromagnetic and structural finite-element analysis are used to develop new offset-coupled IPM machine designs …

Multi-Period Multi-Dimensional Knapsack Problem And Its Application To Available-To-Promise, Hoong Chuin Lau, M. K. Lim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper is motivated by a recent trend in logistics scheduling, called Available-to-Promise. We model this problem as the multi-period multi-dimensional knapsack problem. We provide some properties for a special case of a single-dimensional problem. Based on insights obtained from these properties, we propose a two-phase heuristics for solving the multi-dimensional problem. We also propose a novel time-based ant colony optimization algorithm. The quality of the solutions generated is verified through experiments, where we demonstrate that the computational time is superior compared with integer programming to achieve solutions that are within a small percentage of the upper bounds.

Geometry Analysis Of An Inverse-Geometry Volumetric Ct System With Multiple Detector Arrays, Samuel R. Mazin, Taly Gilat Schmidt, Edward G. Solomon, Rebecca Fahrig, Norbert J. Pelc

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

An inverse-geometry volumetric CT (IGCT) system for imaging in a single fast rotation without cone-beam artifacts is being developed. It employs a large scanned source array and a smaller detector array. For a single-source/single-detector implementation, the FOV is limited to a fraction of the source size. Here we explore options to increase the FOV without increasing the source size by using multiple detectors spaced apart laterally to increase the range of radial distances sampled. We also look at multiple source array systems for faster scans. To properly reconstruct the FOV, Radon space must be sufficiently covered and sampled in a …

Design And Simulation Of An Induction Skull Melting System, Taide Tan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Incorporating volatile actinides, mainly americium into a metallic fuel pin (MFP) has been a serious problem due to americium’s high vapor pressure. An Induction Skull Melting (ISM) system was identified by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) as a potential furnace design to cast MFPs. Through the development of the ISM system, the nuclear waste feedstock can be melted and injected into the mold for fabricating MFPs in the advanced nuclear fuel cycles. The main phenomena in this system include: induction melting process, casting process and mass transfer process of americium. Issues related to ISM system design for casting MFPs are discussed …

Modeling, Optimization, And Flow Visualization Of Chemical Etching Process In Niobium Cavities, Sathish K. Subramanian

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Niobium cavities are important component of the linear accelerators. Researchers have concluded that buffered chemical polishing on the inner surface of the cavity improves its performance. However the mechanism of chemical polishing is not well understood. A finite element computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to simulate the fluid flow characteristics of chemical etching process inside the cavity. The CFD model is then used to optimize the baffle design. The analysis confirmed the observation of other researchers that the iris section of the cavity received more etching than the equator regions. The baffle, which directs flow towards the walls …

Effects Of Surface Conditioning, Morphology, And Temperature On Secondary Electron Emission, Nathan D. Zameroski

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

An experimental system has been set up that allows for the measurement of secondary electron yield (S.E.Y.) values as a function of time and beam energy. In these experiments, measured S.E.Y. values vs. incident electron beam energy of Poco Graphite, Titanium, and Copper varied greatly with time and energy. However, measured S.E.Y. values were still within the range of values given in the published literature.

Published values of S.E.Y. for materials of interest vary greatly from source to source. The discrepancy in this data appears to be due to various factors including the following: surface conditions, surface contamination, i.e. oxidation …

Analytical And Numerical Investigation Of A Mechanically Stabilized Earth Wall On I-15, Aaron S. Budge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation is the culmination of extensive research into the behavior of a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall at I-15 and 3600 South in Salt Lake City, Utah. The wall is about 30 ft tall and is constructed on a compressible, soft clay foundation. Research on this project has included extensive instrumentation and monitoring of stresses and deformations in the wall and its foundation, a study of the effects of drilling and sampling method on disturbance of samples, and extensive laboratory testing to determine strength and deformation properties of soils at the site. The results of these portions of the …

Shear Wave Velocity Profiling Of Poorly Characterized Geologic Units In Salt Lake Valley, Utah, Jeff W. Gilbert

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Shear wave velocity profiling in poorly characterized geologic units was successfully completed at 44 sites in and around the Salt Lake City metropolitan area by a team from Utah State University, Utah Geological Survey, and University of Utah Seismograph Stations. The sites tested in the Salt Lake Valley have been used to redefine site response geologic units Q02, Q03, and Q04 within the valley, and refocus future research in geologic units along the Wasatch Front.

This testing was carried out using the USU mobile source trailer and combining the results of Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves and refraction testing. Results …

Automatic Determination Of Factors For Real-Time Garbage Collection, Tobias Mann, Ron K. Cytron

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Several approaches to hard, real-time garbage collection have been recently proposed. All of these approaches require knowing certain statistical properties about a program's execution, such as the maximum extent of live storage, the rate of storage allocation, and the number of non-null object references. While these new approaches offer the possibility of guaranteed, reasonably bounded behavior for garbage collection, the determination of the required information may not be straight forward for the application programmer. In this paper we present evidence suggesting that the necessary factors can vary widely over the program's execution, indicating that an automatic, phased approach may be …

Theoretical Modeling Of Protective Oxide Layer Growth In Non-Isothermal Lead-Alloys Coolant Systems, Yitung Chen, Jinsuo Zhang, Jichun Li

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

The goal of the proposed research project is to provide basic understanding of the protective oxide layer behaviors and to develop oxide layer growth models of steels in non-isothermal leadalloys (lead or lead-bismuth eutectic) coolant systems. It is widely recognized that the corrosiveness of the lead-alloys is a critical obstacle and challenge for which it can be safely used or applied in the nuclear coolant systems. Active oxygen control technique can promote the formation of the “self-healing” oxide films on the structural material surface, drastically reducing steel corrosion and coolant contamination. Many experiments of steels exposed to flowing leadalloys have …

Development Of Integrated Process Simulation System Model For Spent Fuel Treatment Facility (Sftf) Design, Yitung Chen, Sean Hsieh

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) and Transmutation Research Program-University Participation Program (TRP-UPP) supported by Department of Energy of the United States have been developing many important technologies for the transmutation of nuclear waste to address long-term disposal issues. While successfully embedding AMUSE module into a dedicated System Engineering Model (TRPSEMPro), developed by the Nevada Center for Advanced Computational Methods (NCACM) at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas collaborating with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), ANL is interested in further simulating the Light Water Reactor (LWR) Spent Fuel Treatment Facility (SFTF) combining commercial process simulation and analysis packages and core calculation of …

Design And Analysis Of Charge-Transfer Amplifiers For Low-Power Analog-To-Digital Converter Applications, William Joel Marble

Theses and Dissertations

The demand for low-power A/D conversion techniques has motivated the exploration of charge-transfer amplifiers (CTAs) to construct efficient, precise voltage comparators. Despite notable advantages over classical, continuous-time architectures, little is understood about the dynamic behavior of CTAs or their utility in precision A/D converters. Accordingly, this dissertation presents several advancements related to the design and analysis of charge-transfer amplifiers for low-power data conversion.

First, an analysis methodology is proposed which leads to a deterministic model of the voltage transfer function. The model is generalized to any timing scheme and can be extended to account for nonlinear threshold modulation. The model …

On Noncoherent Detection Of Cpm, Michael D. Rice, Erik Perrins

Faculty Publications

This work was supported under a grant from the Air Force ARTM program (Contracts F04700-02-P-0080 and F04700-02-P-0081). It is well understood that the performance of noncoherent receivers with multi-symbol observation intervals approaches that of coherent receivers as the observation interval grows arbitrarily large. However, since complexity also grows exponentially with observation length, there are practical limits to this approach. In this paper we present a noncoherent receiver for continuous phase modulation (CPM) whose structure is a hybrid between existing coherent and noncoherent receiver architectures. The presentation is given in the most general M-ary multi-h terms, with some emphasis on the …

Numerical Modeling Of Friction Stir Welding: A Comparison Of Alegra And Forge3, Alma H. Oliphant

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research was to evaluate the capabilities of ALEGRA, a Sandia National Labs hydrocode, and Forge3, a Transvalor S.A. product, to accurately model the Friction Stir Welding Process. ALEGRA and Forge3 are discussed in light of the inherent challenges of modeling Friction Stir Welding, and a rotational boundary condition is added to ALEGRA. Results are presented from Friction Stir Welding modeling outputs from both ALEGRA and Forge3. ALEGRA is shown to be incapable of modeling the Friction Stir Welding process, in large part due to its focus on shock propagation, which causes extremely small time steps. Forge3 …

Use Of Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy For Stress-Strain Measurements, Ajit K. Roy

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

The purpose of this collaborative research project involving the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) and Idaho State University (ISU) is to evaluate the feasibility of determining residual stresses of welded, bent (three-point-bend), and cold-worked engineering materials using a new nondestructive technique based on positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS). The proposed technique is to use γ-rays from a small MeV electron linear accelerator (Linac) to generate positrons inside the test sample via 2 pair production. This method can be used for materials characterization and investigation of defects in thick samples that usually cannot be accomplished by conventional positron technique or other …

Low Reynolds Number Flow Through Nozzle-Diffuser Elements In Valveless Micropumps, Vishal Singhal, Jayathi Y. Murthy, S V. Garimella

CTRC Research Publications

Flow characteristics of low Reynolds number laminar flow through gradually expanding conical and planar diffusers were investigated. Such diffusers are used in valveless micropumps to effect flow rectification and thus lead to pumping action in one preferential direction. Four different types of diffuser flows are considered: fully developed and thin inlet boundary layer flows through conical and planar diffusers. The results from the numerical analysis have been quantified in terms of pressure loss coefficient. The variation of pressure loss coefficient with diffuser angle is presented for Reynolds numbers of 200, 500 and 1000. The pressure loss coefficients have been used …

Noble Metal Nanostructures Synthesized Inside Mesoporous Nanotemplate Pores, J. Arbiol, E. Rossinyol, A. Cabot, F. Peiro, A. Cornet, J. R. Morante, Fanglin Chen, Meilin Liu

Faculty Publications

Noble metal impregnation has resulted in the inclusion of metal nanostructures within the SBA-15 mesoporous silica hexagonal pores (from nanoclusters to nanowires). A bright-field transmission electron microscopy three-dimensional reconstruction is proposed to analyze the localization of nanostructures within the pores of mesoporous nanotemplates. The method allows corroboration whether the nanostructures are synthesized inside the pores or they are synthesized alternatively on the nanotemplate aggregates exterior surface.