Engineering Commons^™

Detection Of Escherichia Coli Using The Bacteriophage-Based Fluorescent Technique, Aung Khaing

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The detection of viable Escherichia coli (E. coli) by the bacteriophage-based fluorescent technique using the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was tested in this project. EGFP, a mutant of green fluorescent protein (GFP), was used due to its high fluorescent efficiency compared to wild-type GFP. First, E. coli bacteria were cultured to the mid-exponential phase in the 2× YT medium and then they were infected with the M13 bacteriophages containing the EGFP gene. Infected bacteria were incubated for different time intervals, and the expression of EGFP on the E. coli membrane was tested by the PerkinElmer LS 55 Luminescence Spectrometer, …

Are Wireless Sensors Feasible For Aircraft?, Thomas Yang, Jianhua Liu, Ilteris Demirkiran

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Daytona Beach

Wireless communications is a preferred way of data transmission in many aerospace applications. Replacing some aircraft sensor wiring with wireless communications is a highly desirable but challenging transformation. The related sensors are referred to as aerospace wireless sensors (AWSs). This replacement can lower the weight of aircraft wiring, improve the overall safety of aircraft, simplify the design of aircraft structures, and lower the sensor installation and maintenance cost. The major concern for using AWSs is the potential negative effects on overall reliability and safety of aircraft. In this paper, the feasibility of using AWSs is discussed. In particular, the appropriate …

A Robust Process For Biodiesel Production Using Supercritical Methanol, Thomas Kasprowicz

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The overarching purpose of Phase I was to test, at the bench scale, a continuous supercritical methanol reactor, and to determine the feasibility of implementing the technology at full scale. Specific objectives in reaching this purpose included:
Objective 1: Choose a viable feedstock
Objective 2: Perform experiments for oil extraction
Objective 3: Design, build and operate a continuous supercritical methanol reactor
Objective 4: Design and simulate full scale biodiesel facility
Objective 4a: Perform life-cycle and economic analysis on full scale design
Objective 5: Prepare a Phase II P3 project to demonstrate the entire biodiesel process
Project Scope: The students performed …

Free Fridays: An Alternative Way To Conserve Energy, Lauren Kuenzel

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In February 2007, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (UAF) signed the President's Climate Commitment to set a goal of becoming climate neutral. A large part of any strategy to become climate neutral includes energy conservation. In light of that, a four-day school week is proposed for UAF as an alternative energy savings possibility. This reduced schedule has been applied to K-12 schools and state government institutions, but not yet to universities. Along with numerous benefits such as energy conservation of buildings on the free day, a more effective use of time and building space and the positive emotional repercussions …

A Tissue Engineering Approach To Anterior Cruciate Ligament, Kristofer Sinclair

All Dissertations

Ruptures of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are the most frequent of injuries to the knee due to its role in preventing anterior translation of the tibia. It is estimated that as many as 200,000 Americans per year will suffer from a ruptured ACL, resulting in management costs on the order of 5 billion dollars. Without treatment these patients are unable to return to normal activity, as a consequence of the joint instability found within the ACL deficient knee.
Over the last thirty years, a variety of non-degradable, synthetic fibers have been evaluated for their use in ACL reconstruction; however, …

Development Of Strategies For Enhanced In Situ Bioremediation Of High Concentrations Of Halogenated Methanes, Huifeng Shan

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT
Bioremediation of high concentrations of halomethanes e.g., carbon tetrachloride (CT), trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) and chloroform (CF) has seldom been addressed before and remains highly challenging. A microcosm study was conducted to investigate bioremediation strategies for groundwater contaminated with CT (6 to 10 mg/L), CFC-11 (1 to 26 mg/L), CF (3-500 mg/L), and 1,1-dichloroethene (1,1-DCE; up to 9 mg/L) at a former industrial site in California. Biostimulation with corn syrup and catalytic amounts of vitamin B₁₂ was demonstrated as a feasible remedial strategy and bioaugmentation with B₁₂ represents the most promising bioremediation method of the ones studied. Halomethane transformation …

Characterizing Liquefaction Resistance Of Aged Sand Deposits, Hossein Hayati

All Dissertations

Presented in this dissertation are the results of various studies conducted to characterize the liquefaction resistance of aged natural deposits. The data considered include laboratory and field test results from sites in five countries with particular focus on multiple locations in the South Carolina Coastal Plain.
A new liquefaction potential map of the peninsula of Charleston, South Carolina, is presented. Liquefaction potential is expressed in terms of the liquefaction potential index (LPI) developed by Iwasaki et al. and calculated using 44 cone penetration test (CPT) profiles. The CPT profiles are supplemented with information from the 1:24,000 scale geologic map by …

An Examination Of Confined Aquifer Gradient Behavior Under Pumping Conditions, Stefanie Fountain

All Dissertations

Accurate and reliable estimates of groundwater flow and contaminant transport models are dependent on an understanding of the aquifer properties used to create the models. The borehole flowmeter has been used with increasing frequency at a variety of sites to produce high resolution vertical hydraulic conductivity (K(z)) distributions [Boggs et al. 1990; Rehfeldt et al. 1989b; Molz et al. 1989, Boman et al. 1997; Dinwiddie et al. 1999]. In theory, the validity of measurements obtained using borehole flowmeters is contingent on the hydraulic head gradients near the well at each discrete depth resulting from the pumping-induced flow having reached quasi-steady-state. …

Development Of A New Mixed Mode I-Ii-Iii Delamination Toughness Test, Ruben Hortensius

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Optimal use of laminated composite materials can only be achieved if its most common failure mechanisms are well understood. One of the most common modes of failure in laminates is delamination, or the separation of adjacent material layers. Therefore, there is a need to be able to predict a laminated composite’s resistance to delamination growth due to the complex real-world application loadings that it may experience. These complex loadings are made up of three primary modes of delamination growth, known as modes I, II, and III. Test fixtures for a new mixed mode I-II-III delamination toughness test were designed, built, …

Preliminary Study Based On The Ddscat Software To Explore Increasing The Contrast Of Breast Tumors For Microwave Imaging, Rachel Megee

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Microwave technology is being researched for its capabilities to detect breast tumors less painfully and at earlier stages. It is necessary to have a large contrast between cancerous and healthy tissue when the microwaves are reflected off the breast tissue. To model the increasing contrast between cancerous breast tissue and healthy breast tissue, the DDSCAT code is investigated for its capabilities and analyzed for its accuracy in scattering calculations. The DDSCAT is used to model homogenous and inhomogeneous targets. Simulations of the scattering field by the homogeneous and inhomogeneous targets are conducted and compared to Mie theory calculations for accuracy. …

Droplet Assisted Self-Assembly Of Semiconductor Nanostructures, Kimberly Annosha Sablon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is increasing interest in quantum dot (QD) structures for a plethora of applications, including optoelectronic devices, quantum computing and energy harvesting. While strain driven surface diffusion via stranski-krastanow (SK) method has been commonly used to fabricate these structures, a more recent technique, droplet epitaxy (DE) does not require mismatch strain and is therefore much more flexible in the combination of materials utilized for the formation of QDs.

As reported in this work, a hybrid approach that combines DE and SK techniques for realizing lateral ordering of QDs was explored. First, the droplet formation of various materials was discussed and …

The North American Transportation Security Center – Technology Prototype Gap Analysis, Steven Douglas Kreis, Michael M. Barclay

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Executive Summary

There are over 800,000 hazardous materials (hazmat) shipments over the nation’s roads each day. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), terrorist activity related to the transportation of hazardous materials represents a significant threat to public safety and the nation’s critical infrastructure. Specifically, the federal government has identified the government’s inability to track hazmat shipments on a real-time basis as a significant security vulnerability.

In 2004, the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) completed a study to determine if “smart truck” technology such as GPS tracking, wireless modems, panic buttons, and onboard computers could be …

Nickel-Induced Crystallization Of Amorphous Silicon, Robert Fleming

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

One- and two-dimensional silicon nanostructures, such as nanodots, nanowires, and surface topography, have potential uses in a variety of fields, including microelectronics, photonics, and tribology. In this thesis research, nickel-induced crystallization (NIC) of amorphous silicon (a-Si) was investigated to determine the suitability of NIC of a-Si to produce silicon nanostructures on silicon substrates. The results show that formation of both surface topography and nanowires is possible with NIC of a-Si. In addition, the formation of nanostructures is very sensitive to Ni thickness, and the resulting nanostructures and films display a high degree of repeatability. The results obtained from this research …

Extraction Of Via-Plate Capacitance Of An Eccentric Via By An Integral Approximation Method, Yaojiang Zhang, Renato Rimolo-Donadio, Jun Fan, Christian Schuster, Erping Li

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An integral approximation method is proposed to extract the via-plate capacitance of an eccentric via in the via hole (anti-pad). an analytical formula is derived for the coaxial capacitance part, which is used as a benchmark to validate the integral approximation method. Furthermore, numerical simulations are also used to validate the method. It is shown that small eccentricity results in only a few percentages increase of the via-plate capacitance, which is helpful in specifying the manufacturing tolerance of via designs. © 2006 IEEE.

Earthquake Resistance Of Integral Abutment Bridges, Robert J. Frosch, Michael E. Kreger, Aaron M. Talbott

JTRP Technical Reports

intermediate length bridges. Integral abutment construction eliminates joints and bearings which reduce long-term maintenance costs. However, in the absence of joints and bearings, the bridge abutments and foundations must be able to accommodate lateral movements from thermal expansion and contraction of the superstructure and from seismic events. Previous research has focused on the response to thermal expansion and contraction. The current research examines the response of integral abutment bridges to seismic loading. A field investigation was conducted to examine the response of an integral abutment to lateral loading from thermal expansion and contraction. The results were used to calibrate analytical …

An Automatic Regrouping Mechanism To Deal With Stagnation In Particle Swarm Optimization, George I. Evers

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), which was intended to be a population-based global search method, is known to suffer from premature convergence prior to discovering the true global minimizer. In this thesis, a novel regrouping mechanism is proposed, which aims to liberate particles from the state of premature convergence. This is done by automatically regrouping the swarm once particles have converged to within a pre-specified percentage of the diameter of the search space. The degree of uncertainty inferred from the distribution of particles at premature convergence is used to determine the magnitude of the regrouping per dimension. The resulting PSO with …

Thermodynamic, Heat Transfer Analysis And Simulation Of A Domestic Size, Double Stage, Lithium Bromide Absorption System, Carlos R. Lima

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The research presented in this thesis provides an investigation into the thermodynamic and heat transfer requirements for a, 3 ton, Water / Lithium-Bromide absorption system. Thermodynamics results for one stage and two stages absorption system are presented. Heat transfer principles provided a design guideline. Flat-plate, solar, water heaters and auxiliary devices using natural gas were analyzed as the main sources for energy inputs into the generator. Experimental data from the solar collector is provided under several configurations. A TRNSYS simulation of the overall absorption, cooling systems and its alternative energy means provided different scenarios where heating loads into the generator …

Box Redesign: Eliminating Waste And Improving Space Utilization By Reducing Box Pallet Footprint, Kimberly M. Harris

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The XYZ Corporation is headquartered in Dalton, GA. It is a full service flooring company with approximately 30,000 employees. The company sells woven and tufted broadloom carpet and other flooring products in Canada, Mexico and the U.S., and exports worldwide. One of their projects is to develop an improve d packaging design, which will help in streamlining the internal packaging and distribution process. The aim of this research is to eliminate waste and improve the use of shipping pallets to reduce the amount of footprint used by applying techniques of lean manufacturing systems. To understand the existing packaging method, a …

Telephone Traffic Queues In A Customer Call Center, Patrick Todd

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the unemployment claims filing call center operated by the Tennessee Department of Labor. To do this we primarily utilize traditional Erlang models to analyze performance measure such as call blocking wait times and labor utilization. We find that some modifications to staffing levels at both down times and peak times would improve the aforementioned performance measures. Some limitations to this study are the limited availability of data, thus some assumptions were made. The data used is also form year 2008, so it is difficult to predict staffing levels necessary in the future, …

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Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

The I-70 Greenfield Rest Area Wetland Projects, Shih-Chieh Kao, Ting Pong Chang, Rebeka Sultana, Thomas Konopka, Rao S. Govindaraju, Barry Partridge

JTRP Technical Reports

On-site treatment of wastewater at highway rest areas poses some unique and difficult challenges because of the rural locale, high variability in wastewater flow rate and strength, and lack of knowledgeable personnel on-site. As a potential alternative, a constructed subsurface wetland system was built at the I-70 rest stop nearby Greenfield, Indiana, in 2003. This wetland system, mainly composed of three wetland cells, also includes draw-and-fill and recirculation mechanisms to increase oxygen transfer to the wastewater and improve the overall treatment performance. Special considerations for highway rest areas have been emphasized. A dynamic hydraulic model was developed to help characterize …

Parallel-Connected Solar Pv System To Address Partial And Rapidly Fluctuating Shadow Conditions, Lijun Gao, Roger A. Dougal, Shengyi Liu, Albena P. Iotova

Faculty Publications

Solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays in portable applications are often subject to partial shading and rapid fluctuations of shading. In the usual series-connected wiring scheme, the residual energy generated by partially shaded cells either cannot be collected (if diode bypassed) or, worse, impedes collection of power from the remaining fully illuminated cells (if not bypassed). Rapid fluctuation of the shading pattern makes maximum power point (MPP) tracking difficult; generally, there will exist multiple local MPPs, and their values will change as rapidly as does the illumination. In this paper, a portable solar PV system that effectively eliminates both of the aforementioned …

A Kinetic Study Of In Vitro Lysis Of Mycobacterium Smegmatis , William J. Valente, Elsje Pienaar, A. Fast, A. Fluitt, Scott E. Whitney, Robert J. Fenton, Raul G. Barletta, O. Chacon, Hendrik J. Viljoen

Hendrik J. Viljoen Publications

The traditional diagnostic tests for tuberculosis consist of an acid fast stain and a culture test from a sputum sample. With the emergence of drug resistant strains of tuberculosis, nucleic acid amplification has become the diagnostic test of choice. The nucleic acid amplification test consists of four steps: sputum sample collection, lysis of bacilli to release DNA, DNA amplification by PCR and detection of PCR products. The DNA extraction step has been largely overlooked and this study describes a systematic approach to measure the kinetics of cell lysis in a Tris–EDTA buffer. Mycobacterium smegmatis is a saphorytic, fast-growing mycobacterium that …

Vertical Boil Propagation From A Submerged Estuarine Sill, C. Chris Chickadel, Alexander R. Horner-Devine, Stefan A. Talke, Andrew T. Jessup

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Surface disruptions by boils during strong tidal flows over a rocky sill were observed in thermal infrared imagery collected at the Snohomish River estuary in Washington State. Locations of boil disruptions and boil diameters at the surface were quantified and are used to test an idealized model of vertical boil propagation. The model is developed as a two-dimensional approximation of a three-dimensional vortex loop, and boil vorticity is derived from the flow shear over the sill. Predictions of boil disruption locations were determined from the modeled vertical velocity, the sill depth, and the over-sill velocity. Predictions by the vertical velocity …

Laboratory Testing Of Precast Bridge Deck Panel Transverse Connections For Use In Accelerated Bridge Construction, Scott D. Porter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Precast concrete bridge deck panels have been used for decades to accelerate bridge construction. Cracking of the transverse connection between panels is a common problem that can damage deck overlays and cause connection leaking leading to corrosion of lower bridge elements.

To better understand the behavior of bridge deck transverse female-to-female connections, shear and moment lab testing were performed at Utah State University for the Utah Department of Transportation. Two existing UDOT connections were tested, a welded stud connection and a post tensioned connection. A variation of the welded connection using rebar was also tested. In addition, two new curved …

Stability Of Basin-Scale Internal Waves Within The South Arm Of The Great Salt Lake, Joshua David Soelberg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The fluid circulation patterns, temperature distributions, and density gradients of the South Arm of the Great Salt Lake were modeled using the Estuary, Lake, and Coastal Ocean Model (ELCOM) from the Centre for Water Research at the University of Western Australia. The effort is part of a research study in conjunction with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Utah Water Research Lab located at Utah State University. The model was simulated for several different cases of salinity gradients over different time periods, using temperature and wind data from 2006. The model is then used to identify factors which …

Investigation Of Joining Micro-Foil Materials With Selective Laser Sintering And Laser Powder Deposition, Andrew Isaac Deceuster

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Continuous and pulse selective laser sintering and laser powder deposition were used to find a solution to the manufacturing of micro-foil lattice structured components. A full factorial test matrix was used for each process to determine the processes capability to produce continuous tracks for joining the micro-foil materials. The samples were evaluated for dimensional profiles, distortion, and cycle times, to develop selection criteria for implementation of the processes into industry.

The selective laser sintering processes were able to join the micro-foil materials into lattice structures with continuous tracks. The laser powder deposition processes were not able to properly join the …

Implementation Of Robot Arm Networks And Experimental Analysis Of Consensus-Based Collective Motion, Daniel Scott Stuart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Within the field of multi-robot control, there is a large focus in research involving consensus. In this thesis two parts will be studied. The first development of this thesis is a consensus-based robot arm platform. To implement, two robotic arms are developed and studied. The most effective robot arm is then utilized to create a robot arm network testbed. Consensus is used to coordinate several robot arms and decentralize system computation. The research explores a platform to facilitate consensus on a group of robotic arms.

The second development is in Cartesian coordinate collective motion. This collective motion control combines consensus …

Optimization Of Strongly Nonlinear Dynamical Systems Using A Modified Genetic Algorithm With Micro-Movement (Mgam), Xing Wei

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The genetic algorithm (GA) is a popular random search and optimization method inspired by the concepts of crossover, random mutation, and natural selection from evolutionary biology. The real-valued genetic algorithm (RGA) is an improved version of the genetic algorithm designed for direct operation on real-valued variables. In this work, a modified version of a genetic algorithm is introduced, which is called a modified genetic algorithm with micro-movement (MGAM). It implements a particle swarm optimization (PSO)-inspired micro-movement phase that helps to improve the convergence rate, while employing the efficient GA mechanism for maintaining population diversity. In order to test the capability …

Demonstration Of A Completely Described Swirling Jet Experiment Used For Numerical Validation, Brandon M. Wilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis demonstrates the standard for the design of an experimental model to be used for numerical validation purposes. It is proposed that numerical models may be assessed more accurately and directly by validation with a completely described experimental model, consisting of accurate descriptions of the operating conditions, fluid properties, and experimental uncertainties. This idea is demonstrated using an experimental model of a swirling jet at three Reynolds numbers (Re = 550, 2560, and 3650), with vortex breakdown existing in the higher two Reynolds number cases. Measurements of the swirling jet were obtained at two locations upstream of the jet …