Engineering Commons^™

Efficiency Of Cellulase Enzyme Immobilized On Magnetic Nanoparticles, Jason Jordan

LSU Master's Theses

Advances in enzymatic hydrolysis have developed new methods for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars for various applications, mainly ethanol production. The present study involves immobilization of a cellulase enzyme complex on a solid support which can be recovered for subsequent use in multiple reactions. The supports of interest include Fe3O4 nanoparticles (~13 nm) and polystyrene-coated particles containing a Fe3O4 core (1-2 µm). Each support contains amine functional groups based on the surface that allow covalent attachment of enzymes via carbodiimide activation. The nanoparticles were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and immobilization was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared …

The Development Of A Pore Pressure And Fracture Gradient Prediction Model For The Ewing Banks 910 Area In The Gulf Of Mexico, Jeffrey Steven Fooshee

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this project is to develop a pore pressure and fracture gradient prediction strategy for the Ewing Banks 910 (EW 910) area. Petrophysical and measured pressure data for eight wells previously drilled in the EW 910 area will be examined and reviewed. This strategy will help design future drilling and completion operations in the aforementioned area. Two pore pressure prediction strategies and one fracture gradient prediction strategy will be reviewed and applied to the available data. The first pore pressure prediction strategy reviewed was developed by W. R. Matthews. This strategy utilizes a geologic age specific overlay which …

Thermal Characterization Of Plain And Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Syntactic Foams, Pratap Chandrashekhara Bhat

LSU Master's Theses

Syntactic foams are composite materials in which the matrix phase is reinforced with hollow particles called microballoons. They possess properties such as low moisture absorption, low thermal conductivity and high damage tolerance because of their compositions. Traditionally, syntactic foams are used for many high strength applications and as insulating materials. But for applications demanding better heat dissipation from syntactic foam, conductive filler materials need to be added while maintaining its property of low density. Carbon nanotubes although extremely conductive, have issues of agglomeration in the matrix. In this research, a new approach to the problem of dispersion of nanotubes was …

Self-Healing Of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Compoistes [Sic], Nebiyu Fikru

LSU Master's Theses

The study of self-healing materials is inspired by biological systems in which damage triggers an autonomous healing response. In recent years, this concept of autonomic healing material, where initiation of repair is integral to the material, is being considered for engineering applications. The concept offers the designer an ability to incorporate secondary functional ability of counteracting service degradation in addition to achieving the primary, usually structural integrity, requirement. Self-healing materials also have the benefit of offering lighter and optimized structures as well as reduced maintenance cost. Previous works on polymer matrix composites have shown that significant fractions of mechanical properties …

Evaluation Of Interwell Connectivity Of Little Creek Field, Mississipii [Sic] From Production Data, Gbemisola Yewande Ogunyomi

LSU Master's Theses

The understanding of geological characteristics and heterogeneity of a reservoir enables better decisions for reservoir development. Statistical methods use universally available injection and production rate data to help evaluate reservoir characteristics and behavior.In this research project, statistical methods typically used to infer communication between injector-producer well pairs in a waterflood reservoir using only production and injection rate data are applied to a CO2 flood. The multivariate linear regression (MLR) technique computes weighting coefficients possibly related to the fraction of the flow in a producer that comes from each of the injectors (Albertoni and Lake, 2002). MLR was applied to the …

On The Effects Of Peripheral Sliding Velocity And Operating Differential Pressure In Rotary O-Ring Seals, Karan Lingerkar

LSU Master's Theses

An O-ring seal is of paramount importance in hydraulic and pneumatic machinery used in oil and gas drilling processes. O-ring seals are generally employed to contain the environments of working fluids existing on either side of the seal from interacting with each other, to maintain a uniform pressure chamber and to eliminate the environmental contaminants that interact at the rubbing interface. Failure of dynamic O-rings in hydraulic and pneumatic machinery often results in considerable productivity loss to the chemical and petrochemical industries. Therefore, it is highly important to determine the life of an O-ring for these applications under various operating …

A Decision Making Framework For Hurricane Evacuation And Sheltering, Jason Fennell

LSU Master's Theses

There are few tools currently available to emergency managers to assist in making decisions about whether to evacuate, shelter locally, or shelter-in-place, and none of these tools explicitly consider risk to life safety. A methodology was developed to provide risk-based guidance for evacuation versus sheltering decision making. The hurricane hazards considered in the developed methodology are high winds, storm surge flooding and waves, and rainfall flooding. Vulnerability of buildings to these hazards and the associated risks to life safety are then determined. These results are compared to the hazards and risks associated with evacuation, particularly for medical special needs populations …

Experimental And Numerical Modeling Of Stresses In Non-Conventional Cross-Sectioned Composite Pipes, Prashanth Ramachandran

LSU Master's Theses

Composite materials have been widely used in the ship-building, aerospace and construction industries because of their distinct advantages of low weight, high stiffness, and high strength to weight ratios. These properties are due to the low weight of the epoxy core matrix and high strengths of the glass/carbon fibers. Composite pipes used in various applications are traditionally spherical in cross-section. In this study, non-conventional cross-sectioned composite pipes [i.e. rectangular and triangular cross-sections] have been proposed, fabricated, tested and analyzed because of their ability to be bundled without loss of space. The behaviors of these pipes under an internal pressure test …

Framework For Operability Assessment Of Production Facilities: An Application To A Primary Unit Of A Crude Oil Refinery, Sampath Yela

LSU Master's Theses

This work focuses on the development of a methodology for the optimization, control and operability of both existing and new production facilities through an integrated environment of different technologies like process simulation, optimization and control systems. Such an integrated environment not only creates opportunities for op¬erational decision making but also serves as training tool for the novice engineers. It enables them to apply engineering expertise to solve challenges unique to the process industries in a safe and virtual environment and also assist them to get familiarize with the existing control systems and to understand the fundamentals of the plant operation. …

Nano-Mechanics Of Cartilage Glycosaminoglycans Using Molecular Dynamics Methods, Kevin Neil Hendrickson

Master's Theses

Articular Cartilage (AC) is the main load carrying material in synovial joints {Hamerman, 1962} and degeneration of AC can cause pain in the form of arthritis. Current work is centered on the method of replacing damaged cartilage inside the body (in vivo) with tissue engineered outside the body (ex vivo) {Temenoff, 2000}. In order to engineer tissue ex vivo similar to the native tissue in structure and function there must be a comprehensive understanding of the mechanical properties of AC. This work focuses on the study of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), a molecule known to be primarily responsible for the compressive stiffness …

Improving Knowledge Sharing In An Open Informal Network: Knowledge Management In Open Coffee, Adrian Mihai

Dissertations

The 21st century opened a new era in communications bringing in faster, more efficient and more advanced information and communication technologies than ever. New ideas and innovations, as well as interactions and collaborations determine the landscape of knowledge and consequently add new requirements to the know-how. The creators of knowledge and design add new communication architecture bodies through the use of technology.

Meanwhile knowledge management inspires 21st century enterprises to adopt new learning patterns throughout organisations and adopt new ideas. However, internal sharing mechanisms leverage a trusted environment where people can engage freely and securely in sharing knowledge and feel …

A Study On The Effect Of Mechanical Stretch And Aligned Scaffold Architecture On Morphology Of Rat Ventricular Cells, Shruti Kanakia

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Heart disease is one of the major causes of death in developing and industrialized countries. Myocardial infarction leads to remodeling of the left ventricle, which severely affects the pumping efficiency of the heart. In order to provide mechanical support to left ventricle the scaffold material should be elastic and mechanically strong. For the success of cardiac graft in vivo one of the important factor is ability of cardiac myocyte morphology to resemble that in vivo. The goal of this study is to build thick, prevascularized cardiac graft for myocardial infarction repair. Mechanical stress has been recognized as one of the …

An Evaluation Of The Biomechanical Properties Of The Superficial Musculoaponeurotic System, Matthew David Ruff

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

The Superficial Musculoaponeurotic System (SMAS) is a well defined tissue layer of the face commonly utilized in facial surgery, including facelifts. There are several reasons for the utilization of this tissue, including aesthetic results and reliability. Basic to the outcomes for these procedures are the inherent biomechanical properties of the SMAS. Most important for the surgeon in this regard are tissue burst pressure, elasticity, stress-relaxation under load, and creep. This study experimentally determines the biomechanical properties for human cadaveric tissue specimens. As well as defining the cited biomechanical properties, the study examines how they change, as sampled from different regions …

Signal Processing Techniques For Artifact Removal In Electroencephalogram (Eeg), Jyoti Bhat

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

The electroencephalographic recordings measure the electric impulses generated in the brain, in response to a given stimulus. The spontaneous EEG data is used for diagnosis and treatment of some brain diseases. For the data to be used for clinical applications, it needs to be free of the various artifacts like the eye blinks, movement, head movements and muscle activity. These artifacts need to be corrected or the affected parts need to be removed in the preprocessing of the EEG dataset. This pre-processing is normally done manually, which tends to be not only time-consuming but also subjective. With large number of …

Diffuse Optical Imaging Of Brain Function Under Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation And In Children With Cerebral Palsy, Sameer C. Dhamne

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Diffuse Optical Imaging (DOI) is a non-invasive neuroimaging technique which measures the changes in oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin concentrations at a high temporal resolution based on the principle of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.DOI was combined with repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) to assess the neuronal changes induced in the cortical regions, which are directly under rTMS and the connected areas, by applying 1Hz rTMS to the left hemisphere of the motor cortex followed by the stimulation to the prefrontal cortex for two visits. The DOI signals were simultaneously acquired from both ipsilateral and contralateral brain regions before, during, and after rTMS. We observed …

Electrical Apparoaches For Selective Detection Of Cancer Biomarker Proteins With Aptamers, Priyanka Pachampettai Ramachandran

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Cancer is a disease that is the central focus of many a researcher's attention. As it is a disease that can spread very rapidly and can be fatal in many cases, its early detection and early treatment can dramatically change mortality. Towards the early detection of the disease, antibodies are most commonly used for the detection of cancer biomarkers. The use of antibodies in diagnostics has proven fruitful in the past. But advancements in molecular biology have introduced aptamers for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Aptamers are oligonucleotides or peptides that are usually synthesized by a selective process called SELEX. Aptamers …

Biaxial Investigation Of Periosteal Mechanics, Olumide O. Aruwajoye

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Limb lengthening procedures are used commonly to correct limb length discrepancies. Current methods in limb lengthening require a distraction of 1 mm per day using an external fixation device. Although the underlying mechanisms of new bone growth have been studied and discussed extensively, they remain not fully understood. It is thought, however, that mechanoreceptor cells of the periosteum play an important role. In an attempt to understand the contribution of periosteum, the biaxial mechanical properties of the periosteum are studied. Freshly excised porcine periosteum was used to investigate the effects of preload on the material symmetry, and the effects of …

Analysis Of Oxygen Uptake During Blood Flow Through A Rectangular Microchannel: A Two Phase Eulerian Model With Oxygen-Hemoglobin Reaction, Jamie Wright

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

The evolution of oxygenator design has culminated in the current strategy of utilizing micro-porous membranes to separate blood and oxygen phases while utilizing extra-luminal blood flow orientations to promote passive and active secondary mixing of the blood to inhibit the build up of concentration boundary layers near oxygen transfer surfaces that impede efficiency. Advances in fabrication techniques could allow for the manufacturing of oxygenators employing microchannels to decrease the diffusion path between oxygen and the red blood cells, more closely mimicking the strategy employed by the body. Because blood is actually a complex suspension, it is difficult to model. Furthermore, …

Developing Sustainable Spacecraft Water Management Systems, Evan A. Thomas, David M. Klaus

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

It is well recognized that water handling systems used in a spacecraft are prone to failure caused by biofouling and mineral scaling, which can clog mechanical systems and degrade the performance of capillary-based technologies. Long duration spaceflight applications, such as extended stays at a Lunar Outpost or during a Mars transit mission, will increasingly benefit from hardware that is generally more robust and operationally sustainable overtime. This paper presents potential design and testing considerations for improving the reliability of water handling technologies for exploration spacecraft. Our application of interest is to devise a spacecraft wastewater management system wherein fouling can …

Maxwell Garnett Rule For Dielectric Mixtures With Statistically Distributed Orientations Of Inclusions, Marina Koledintseva, Richard E. Dubroff, Robert W. Schwartz

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An analytical model of an effective permittivity of a composite taking into account statistically distributed orientations of inclusions in the form of prolate spheroids will be presented. In particular, this paper considers the normal Gaussian distribution for either zenith angle, or azimuth angle, or for both angles describing the orientation of inclusions. The model is an extension of the Maxwell Garnett (MG) mixing rule for multiphase mixtures. The resulting complex permittivity is a tensor in the general case. The formulation presented shows that the parameters of the distribution law for orientation of inclusions affect the frequency characteristics of the composites, …

Telecommunications Liberalisation In Africa: Proposed Regulatory Model For The Sadc Region, Z. N. Jobodwana

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The liberalisation of the telecommunication industry in Africa, and the further development of the region’s physical infrastructure was accompanied by the further development of Africa’s information, communication and technology infrastructure. Competition within the industry stimulated heavy economic investment in other sectors of the economy. The outcome of liberalisation also included the establishment of community-based structures that continue to enable communities to manage their own development and gain access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) in an unprecedented manner. The telecommunication infrastructure further stimulated the fast development of other related services, for example, ecommerce and mobile commerce (m-commerce), e-government, internet banking, …

Agents And Service-Oriented Computing For Autonomic Computing: A Research Agenda, Frances M.T. Brazier, Jeffrey O. Kephart, H. Van Dyke Parunak, Michael N. Huhns

Faculty Publications

Autonomic computing is the solution proposed to cope with the complexity of today's computing environments. Self-management, an important element of autonomic computing, is also characteristic of single and multiagent systems, as well as systems based on service-oriented architectures. Combining these technologies can be profitable for all - in particular, for the development of autonomic computing systems.

Enhancements To The Generalized Sidelobe Canceller For Audio Beamforming In An Immersive Environment, Phil Townsend

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The Generalized Sidelobe Canceller is an adaptive algorithm for optimally estimating the parameters for beamforming, the signal processing technique of combining data from an array of sensors to improve SNR at a point in space. This work focuses on the algorithm’s application to widely-separated microphone arrays with irregular distributions used for human voice capture. Methods are presented for improving the performance of the algorithm’s blocking matrix, a stage that creates a noise reference for elimination, by proposing a stochastic model for amplitude correction and enhanced use of cross correlation for phase correction and time-difference of arrival estimation via a correlation …

An Evaluation Of The Traveling Wave Ultrasonic Motor For Force Feedback Applications, Nishant Venkatesan

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The traveling wave ultrasonic motor is considered for use in haptic devices where a certain input-output relation is desired between the applied force and the resulting motion. Historically, DC motors have been the standard choice for this purpose. Owing to its unique characteristics, the ultrasonic motors have been considered an attractive alternative. However, there are some limitations when using the ultrasonic motor for force-feedback applications. In particular, direct torque control is difficult, and the motor can only supply torque in the direction of motion. To accommodate these limitations we developed an indirect control approach. The experimental results demonstrate that the …

Development Of A Reusable Cubesat Satellite Bus Architecture For The Kysat-1 Spacecraft, Tyler James Doering

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This thesis describes the design, implementation and testing of a spacecraft bus implemented on KySat-1, a picosatellite scheduled to launch late 2009 to early 2010. The spacecraft bus is designed to be a robust reusable bus architecture using commercially available off the shelf components and subsystems. The bus designed and implemented for the KySat-1 spacecraft will serve as the basis for a series of future Kentucky Space Consortium missions. The spacecraft bus consists of attitude determination and control subsystem, communications subsystem, command and data handling subsystem, thermal subsystem, power subsystem, and structures and mechanisms. The spacecraft bus design is described …

Nanomechanical Characterizations Of High Temperature Polymer Matrix Composite Resin: Pmr-15 Polyimide, David C. Jones

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

High Temperature Polymer Matrix Composites (HTPMCs) are widely used by the aerospace industry today because of their high specific strengths, light weight, and the ability to custom tailor their mechanical properties to individual applications. Because of the harsh environmental conditions these materials experience during service use, these composite structures are susceptible to a high rate of thermo-oxidative degradation that ultimately causes premature failure in service. The current knowledge base is lacking in the fundamental spatial variability of the constituent materials upon aging, which precludes composite developers from predicting lifetime mechanical properties of the composites in use. The current study summarizes …

Manufacture, Characterization, And Application Of Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Composite Crylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene, Daniel Ray Bortz

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Carbon nanotubes have been studied for nearly two decades and their amazing properties continue to spur intense investigation in the area of polymer composites. In terms of potential commercialization, mutiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are currently the most prevalent and economically viable form of nanotubes. Uncovering innovative means to take full advantage of their properties remains a fundamental issue. In this thesis, viability of their use to reinforce polymeric systems is reported. Acrylonitrilebutadiene- styrene (ABS) was used as the host matrix. MWCNTs were introduced to the ABS matrix via melt compounding. The resulting composite was thoroughly rheologically, thermally, and mechanically characterized. …

Understanding The Development Of Infant Feeding: A Spectral Analysis Approach, Pooja Vijaygopal

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Feeding problems in preterm neonates stem from complications of early delivery. Attainment of independent feeding is a prerequisite for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) discharges. Some quantitative studies of infant feeding involve excessive amounts of time for data processing. Multivariate spectral analysis was used to minimize time for investigation of variability in these rhythms. Auto and Cross-spectral parameters of the rhythms were correlated with Gestational Age (GA), Postmenstrual Age (PMA), Birthweight (BW), Days of Life (DOL), and Time Since First Nipple feeding (TSFN). Auto-spectral analysis showed 25.55% increase in Bandwidth of suck (bw-su) for a 2-week increase in GA (DOL …

Yttrium And Hydrogen Superstructure And Correlation Of Lattice Expansion And Proton Conductivity In The Bazr0.9y0.1o2.95 Proton Conductor, A. Braun, A. Ovalle, V. Pomjakushin, A. Cervellino, S. Erat, Wayne C. Stolte, T. Graule

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Research

Bragg reflections in Y-resonant x-ray diffractograms of BaZr_0.9Y_0.1O_2.95 (BZY10) reveal that Y is organized in a superstructure. Comparison with neutron diffraction superstructure reflections in protonated/deuterated BZY10 suggests that both superstructures are linked, and that protons move in the landscape imposed by the Y. The thermal lattice expansion decreases abruptly for protonated BZY10 at T≥648±20 K, coinciding with the onset of lateral proton diffusion and suggesting a correlation of structural changes and proton conductivity. The chemical shift in the Y L₁-shell x-ray absorption spectra reveals a reduction from Y³⁺ toward Y²⁺ upon …

Water And Sanitation Accessibility And The Health Of Rural Ugandans, Jonathan E. Mellor

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The lack of access to sufficient water and sanitation facilities is one of the largest hindrances towards the sustainable development of the poorest 2.2 billion people in the world. Rural Uganda is one of the areas where such inaccessibility is seriously hampering their efforts at development. Many rural Ugandans must travel several kilometers to fetch adequate water and many still do not have adequate sanitation facilities. Such poor access to clean water forces Ugandans to spend an inordinate amount of time and energy collecting water - time and energy that could be used for more useful endeavors. Furthermore, the difficulty …