Engineering Commons^™

Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute Annual Technical Report Fy 2005, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

KWRRI Annual Technical Reports (USGS’s 104b Grant Program)

The 2005 Annual Technical Report for Kentucky consolidates reporting requirements of the Section 104(b) base grant award in a single technical report that includes: 1) a synopsis of each research project supported during the period, 2) related reports and publications, 3) a description of information transfer activities, 4) a summary of student support during the reporting period, and 5) notable achievements and awards during the year.

Addressing The Arnstein Gap: Improving Public Confidence In Transportation Planning And Design Through Structured Public Involvement (Spi), Keiron Bailey, Ted H. Grossardt

Kentucky Transportation Center Faculty and Researcher Publications

The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, or TEA-21, enacted in 1998, following the Intermodal SurfaceTransportation Equity Act (ISTEA) of 1991, defines the “public” as “citizens, affected public agencies, representatives of transportation agency employees, freight shippers, private providers of transportation, representatives of users of public transit, providers of freight transportation services and other interested parties.” More recently the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has expanded this definition to include underrepresented groups “such as low income or minority households and the elderly”. In the last decade public involvement has been mandated for all metropolitan and statewide planning processes (TEA), and it …

Diverse Effects Of Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields On Mammalian Cells, Jody Anne White

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

The continuing effort to manipulate cell-signaling pathways for therapeutic benefit has lead to the exploration of electric field effects on cells. Current electric field applications include electroporation of the plasma membrane for introduction of drugs, genes, or other macromolecules into cells. Modeling of how these pulsed electric fields affect cells depicts the cell as an excitable circuit. In this model, the electric fields, administered in short pulses to a cell, charge the plasma and internal membranes, which act as dielectric layers, and between these the cytoplasm acts as a conductive medium. The pulse lengths of this treatment are traditionally in …

A Robust Reactive Scheduling System With Application To Parallel Machine Scheduling, Jean-Paul M. Arnaout

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In this turbulent world, scheduling role has become crucial in most manufacturing production, and service systems. It allows the allocation of limited resources to activities with the objective of optimizing one performance measure or more. Resources may be machines in a factory, operating rooms in a hospital, or employees in a company, while activities can be jobs in a manufacturing plant, surgeries in a hospital, or paper work in a company. The goal of each schedule is to optimize some performance measures, which could be the minimization of the schedule makespan, the jobs' completion times, jobs' earliness and tardiness, among …

Femtosecond Laser Ablation With Single And Two-Photon Excitation For Mems, Mohamed Abdelfattah Kottb Ahmad Elbandrawy

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

There is an increasing interest in femtosecond laser micromachining of materials because of the femtosecond laser's unique high peak power, ultrashort pulse width, negligible heat conductivity process during the laser pulse, and the minimal heat affected zone, which is in the same order of magnitude of the ablated submicron spot. There are some obstacles in reaching optimal and reliable micromachining parameters. One of these obstacles is the lack of understanding of the nature of the interaction and related physical processes. These processes include amorphization, melting, re-crystallization, nucleated-vaporization, and ablation.

The focus of this Dissertation was to study the laser-matter interaction …

Stability Analysis Of Hybrid Jump Linear Systems With Markov Inputs, Arturo Tejada Ruiz

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In the past two decades, the number of applications that make use of supervisory algorithms to control complex continuous-time or discrete-time systems has increased steadily. Typical examples include air traffic management, digital control systems over networks, and flexible manufacturing systems. A common feature of these applications is the intermixing of the continuous dynamics of the controlled plant with the logical and discrete dynamics of the supervising algorithms. These so-called hybrid systems are the focus of much ongoing research. To improve the performance of these systems, it is important to analyze the interactions between the supervising algorithms and the plant. Few …

Response To "Comment On Variational Approach To The Volume Viscosity Of Fluids" [Phys. Fluids 18, 109101 (2006)], Allen J. Zuckerwar, Robert L. Ash

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

We respond to the Comment of Markus Scholle and therewith revise our material entropy constraint to account for the production of entropy. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

2005 National Survey Of Engineering Capstone Design Courses, Susannah Howe, Jessica Wilbarger

Engineering: Faculty Publications

This work details a survey of engineering capstone design courses nationwide conducted in 2005. The survey is a follow-up to one conducted in 1994 by Todd et al.1, reprising the questions of its predecessor plus requesting additional information. The 2005 survey was implemented online, with requests sent via email to representatives of all ABET-accredited engineering programs (1724 programs at 350 institutions, as of 2004). The online survey yielded a strong response, with 444 programs from 232 institutions submitting responses. This corresponds to a 26% response rate from engineering programs and a 66% response rate from institutions. The results of this …

Current Practices In Engineering Capstone Education: Further Results From A 2005 Nationwide Survey, Jessica Wilbarger, Susannah Howe

Engineering: Faculty Publications

This work further details a survey of engineering capstone design courses nationwide conducted in 2005. The survey is a follow-up to one conducted in 1994 by Todd et al., reprising the questions of its predecessor plus requesting additional information. We implemented the 2005 survey online, with requests sent via email to representatives of all ABET-accredited engineering programs (1724 programs at 350 institutions, as of 2004). The online survey yielded a strong response, with 444 programs from 232 institutions submitting responses. This corresponds to a 26% response rate from engineering programs and a 66% response rate from institutions. This paper focuses …

Engineering For Everyone: Charging Students With The Task Of Designing Creative Solutions To The Problem Of Technology Literacy, Borjana Mikic, Susan E. Voss

Engineering: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Parameterization Of Fuel Cell Stack Voltage: Issues On Sensitivity, Cell-To-Cell Variation, And Transient Response, Ariette L. Schilter, Denise A. Mckay, Anna G. Stefanopoulou

Engineering: Faculty Publications

We present here a calibrated and experimentally validated lumped parameter model of fuel cell polarization for a hydrogen fed multi-cell, low-pressure, proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack. The experimental methodology devised for calibrating the model was completed on a 24 cell, 300 cm2 stack with GORE™ PRIMERA® Series 5620 membranes. The predicted cell voltage is a static function of current density, stack temperature, reactant partial pressures, and membrane water content. The maximum prediction error associated with the sensor resolutions used for the calibration is determined along with a discussion of the model sensitivity to physical variables. The expected standard …

Performance Evaluation Of Concrete Bridge Decks Reinforced With Mmfx And Ssc Rebars, Ching Chiaw Choo, Issam E. Harik

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report investigates the performance of bridge decks reinforced with stainless steel clad (SSC) and micro-composite multistructural formable steel (MMFX) rebars. The two-span Galloway Road Bridge on route CR5218 over North Elkhorn Creek in Scott County, KY, was reinforced with SSC rebars in one span and MMFX rebars in the second span. The reinforcements are intended to prolong the service life of the newly constructed bridge decks due to the expected corrosion-resistance capability. Moment-curvature analyses indicated that MMFX RC decks had 57% and 85% higher strengths than SSC RC decks in positive and negative moment regions, respectively. The areas under …

Virtual Prototype Of Shuttle Bay Door, Nick Harrington, Raphael Schulz, Pierre Chapron

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study analyzed the motion of the Space Shuttle free floating in space after one of its bay doors is opened and closed. Kane's method and Autolev motion simulation software were used to carry out simulation and analysis. The Space Shuttle has two large bay doors that open simultaneously, but for our study we analyzed a hypothetical situation, in which only one door functioned properly, in order to achieve amplified results. To model this system we used a rigid body to resemble the Shuttle and an attached rotating flap to resemble the door. Since the Shuttle is free floating in …

Dynamical Multi-Body Gyroscopic Motion Simulation, Andy Ries, Johnathan Deppe

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

In this paper, the motion of a three-degree-of-freedom gyro scope is analyzed in three different force scenarios. The equations of motion for the gyroscope are derived by hand as well as derived by the dynamical analysis software, Autolev These equations are compared with each other to show the consistency between the two methods and the time savings of using software applications for analyzing complex multi-body dynamical systems. The Autolev™ program drastically reduced the workload for determining the motion equations and the program even compiled Matlab code that was used to produce numerical values to show the respective motion of each …

Cutting Force And Temperature Prediction For Turning Processes, Brian Carstensen, Aaron Eich, Tyler Schroeder, Ryan Joens

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

The machining process modeling software allows researchers to run simulations of real world situations without the costs and risks of operating the machining tool and mining a work piece or cutting tool.We ran several simulations with combinations of high speed steel, carbide, and cubic-boron-nitride for our tool materials, and 1045 steel, 15-5PH, or Inconel 718 for workpiece material options. The numerical simulations or experiments assumed physical, mechanical, and thermal properties representative of work-piece materials and tool material. Cutting forces were determined in the numerical simulations.

Dielectric Properties Of Graphite Nanocomposites, Shing Chung Josh Wong, Erwin M. Wouterson, Eric M. Sutherland

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Polymer nanocomposites are an emerging class of multifunctional materials that have not been optimized for their functional potential. In this study, the dielectric properties of graphite polymer nanocomposites were evaluated. The objective was to develop for composite applications, an alternative cost-effective nanoscale carbon material with properties comparable to those of carbon nanotubes.

Systems Approach For Estimating Field Moisture Content, Thomas M. Petry, Yuh-Puu Han, David Newton Richardson

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper describes a software tool developed for estimation of the field moisture content of subgrade materials. Subgrade behavior is directly related to its moisture content. Unfortunately, some approaches of estimating field moisture content are too complex to be used in routine design. In this paper, the authors attempt to provide an approach that is easy to use. The software presented here was developed using expert system approaches. It is capable of analyzing data entered by the users, and providing estimations to meet different scenarios. The information entered by the user is first examined for its reasonableness and accuracy. Then, …

Optimal Management Of Beaver Population Using A Reduced-Order Distributed Parameter Model And Single Network Adaptive Critics, Radhakant Padhi, S. N. Balakrishnan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Beavers are often found to be in conflict with human interests by creating nuisances like building dams on flowing water (leading to flooding), blocking irrigation canals, cutting down timbers, etc. At the same time they contribute to raising water tables, increased vegetation, etc. Consequently, maintaining an optimal beaver population is beneficial. Because of their diffusion externality (due to migratory nature), strategies based on lumped parameter models are often ineffective. Using a distributed parameter model for beaver population that accounts for their spatial and temporal behavior, an optimal control (trapping) strategy is presented in this paper that leads to a desired …

Completely Explosive Ultracompact High-Voltage Nanosecond Pulse-Generating System, Sergey I. Shkuratov, Evgueni F. Talantsev, Jason Baird, Millard F. Rose, Zachary Shotts, Larry L. Altgilbers, Allen H. Stults

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A conventional pulsed power technology has been combined with an explosive pulsed power technology to produce an autonomous high-voltage power supply. The power supply contained an explosive-driven high-voltage primary power source and a power-conditioning stage. The ultracompact explosive-driven primary power source was based on the physical effect of shock-wave depolarization of high-energy Pb(Zr52Ti48)O3 ferroelectric material. The volume of the energy-carrying ferroelectric elements in the shock-wave ferroelectric generators (SWFEGs) varied from 1.2 to 2.6 cm3. The power-conditioning stage was based on the spiral vector inversion generator (VIG). The SWFEG-VIG system demonstrated successful operation and good performance. The amplitude of the output …

Transverse Explosive Shock-Wave Compression Of Nd₂Fe₁₄B High-Energy Hard Ferromagnets: Induced Magnetic Phase Transition, Sergey I. Shkuratov, Evgueni F. Talantsev, Jason Baird, Larry L. Altgilbers, Allen H. Stults

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Investigations of the magnetic phase state of Nd2Fe14B high-energy hard ferromagnets under the action of an explosive shock wave traveling across the magnetization vector, M, have been performed. We demonstrate that the transverse shock-wave compression of an Nd2Fe14B hard ferromagnet with pressure at the shock wave front of P = 22.3 GPa causes a hard ferromagnet — to — weak magnet phase transition. Due to this phase transition, the magnetostatic energy stored for an indefinite period of time in the Nd2Fe14B ferromagnet is released within a short time interval and can be transformed into pulsed primary power. Based on this …

Galileo Probe, Monish Ranjan Chatterjee

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The Galileo mission to Jupiter was formally approved by the United States Congress in 1977, several years before the space shuttle Columbia made its maiden flight into Earth orbit. The mission was a cooperative project involving scientists and engineers from the United States, Germany, Canada, Great Britain, France, Sweden, Spain, and Australia. Even though the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft had performed flybys of planet Jupiter and its sixteen moons in 1979, the Galileo mission was envisioned to initiate several novel observations of Jupiter, the most massive gas planet of the solar system, and its principal moons, and conduct …

Experiences Of Learning And Teaching On A Taught Masters Course In Engineering: From A Didactic Approach To A More Student Centered Learning Approach, Aidan O'Dwyer

Conference papers

This paper reports on, reflects on, and evaluates the author’s experiences of teaching the Advanced Control module on the Masters degree in Advanced Engineering at Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) over the past four academic years. The teaching approach has evolved from a traditional didactic lecture and laboratory course, with associated assessments, in the first academic year, to the implementation of a more learner-centred approach over the past two academic years. This new approach has been made possible by the appropriate use of real case studies, information technology tools, and web-based virtual laboratories. Assessment methodology has also evolved. In the …

Protection Of Dvr Against Short Circuit Faults At The Load Side, Iurie Axente, Malabika Basu, Michael Conlon, Kevin Gaughan

Conference papers

An additional control scheme has been proposed in this paper for a dynamic voltage restorer (DVR), to protect it against load short circuit conditions. When overcurrents occur in the distribution system, under the proposed scheme the DVR reverses its injected voltage polarity so as to minimise the current flow. The detection method is based on impedance measurement feedback. The advantage of the scheme is that no additional over current device or protection is required for the DVR and it is easy to implement. The proposed control scheme has been validated through simulation.

Alkaline Fuel Cell Engineering And Testing, James Brunton, David Kennedy, Eugene Coyle

Conference Papers

A fuel cell is a device that directly converts the chemical energy of reactants (a fuel and an oxidant) into low d. c. electricity [1]. Used in conjunction with other sustainable energy options, hydrogen and fuel cell technology can provide a realistic alternative to fossil fuels. Although research is continuing in many areas we are no closer now to commercialisation than ten to twenty years ago. This is due to a number of key reasons, some of which include efficiency, scale, accessories and power output. This paper outlines the benefits that could be derived from switching to a hydrogen based …

Requirements Gathering For Simulation, John Ryan, Cathal Heavey

Conference papers

This paper discusses the current shortfalls in support for the pre-coding phases of a discrete event simulation project. The paper then presents a process modelling technique, Simulation Activity Diagrams (SADs), developed to specifically support the initial requirements gathering phases of a simulation project. The paper concludes with an outline of proposed future developments to the modelling technique.

Musical Pattern Design Using Contour Icons, Charlie Cullen, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

This paper considers the use of Contour Icons in the design and implementation of musical patterns, for the purposes of detection and recognition. Research work had endeavoured to deliver musical patterns that were both distinct and memorable, and to this end a set of basic melodic shapes were introduced using a Sonification application called TrioSon that had been designed for the purpose. Existing work in the field (such as that concerning Earcon design) has considered the mechanisms by which patterns may be made distinctive, but it is argued that separate consideration must be given to the method of making such …

Harmonically Combined Contour Icons For Concurrent Auditory Display, Charlie Cullen, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

This paper considers the harmonic combination of basic melodic shapes known as contour icons in concurrent auditory displays. Existing work in the field (such as that concerning earcons) has considered the combination of patterns designed using low level cognitive features, and so effective streaming is difficult. This work investigates means by which musical patterns with high level cognitive features (such as contour) representing data values can be rendered concurrently, so that multiple data sets can be effectively conveyed using an auditory display. The detection and comprehension of harmonically combined contour icons was tested in comparison to those combined uniquely (non …

Experimental Comparison Of Wired Versus Wireless Video Streaming Over Ieee 802.11b Wlans, Tanmoy Debnath, Nicola Cranley, Mark Davis

Conference papers

In this paper the performance of streaming MPEG-4 video with a video server located on the wired network streaming to wireless clients is compared with the performance of a video server located in the wireless network streaming to wireless video clients. We experimentally investigate the performance for a number of concurrent video streams with varying video frame sizes, frame rates and packetisation schemes. The performance is measured in terms of the key parameters of bit rate, loss rate and mean delay. We show how that there is a trade-off for these parameters for a wired and wireless located server. We …

A Numerical Acoustic Fluid-Structure Model Of A Therapeutic Ultrasound Angioplasty Device, Graham Gavin, M.S. J. Hashmi, Finbar Dolan, Garrett Mcguinness

Conference Papers

Ultrasonic angioplasty involves the use of ultrasonic vibrations delivered to the distal-tip of small diameter wire waveguides and is an emerging technology the may have potential use in the treatment of complicated atherosclerotic plaques during cardiovascular surgery. Complicated plaques, including chronic total occlusions and calcified lesions, seriously reduce success rates during standard intervention involving guidewire access, followed by balloon dilation or stent delivery. The large amplitude (0-150 μm) wire waveguide distal-tip displacements in the low-frequency ultrasonic (18-45 kHz) range have been shown to disrupt plaque material by direct contact ablation and cavitation, acoustic streaming and pressure wave components in adjacent …

A Comparative Test Of Brillouin Amplification And Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplification For The Generation Of Millimeter Waves With Low Phase Noise Properties, Markus Junker, Max Ammann, Andreas Schwarzbacher, Jens Klinger, Kai-Utwe Lauterback, Thomas Schneider

Articles

Measurements of phase noise of a 40-GHz carrier signal are presented. The carrier is generated by the amplification of harmonics due to stimulated Brillouin scattering. An analogy to a generation of millimeter waves by an erbium-doped fiber instead of the Brillouin amplifier is investigated and discussed. In our setup, both show a comparable behavior in respect to their noise characteristics.