Engineering Commons^™

Microbial Treatment Of Swine Fecal Waste To Generate Long-Chain Linear Alkanes After Fast Pyrolysis, Lisa A. Fitzgerald, C. Ziemer, S. E. Lizewski, Bradley R. Ringeisen, K. Henry, Justin C. Biffinger

United States Navy: Publications

Research into the generation of energy from human and animal waste has been primarily focused on gas production (especially methane and hydrogen). While there is some work concentrated on ethanol and biodiesel creation from wastes (fuels used for ground transportation primarily), increasing research interest has been recently directed toward long chain hydrocarbon production for aviation fuels. Kerosene components from swine fecal waste have been generated from four natural sources: undigested dietary lipids, host lipids excreted in feces, bacterial cell walls and products of bacterial fermentation.

Socio-Demographic And Drug Use Factors Associated With Hiv-1 Recombinants And Dual Infections In Northern Thai Drug Users: Associations Of Risk With Genetic Complexity, G. H. Kijak, C. Beyrer, S. Tovanabutra, T. Sripaipan, V. Suriyanon, N. Moqueet, E. Sanders-Buell, P. Saokhieo, U. Timpan, J. Jittiwutikarn, M. L. Robb, D. L. Birx, D. D. Celentano, F. E. Mccutchan

United States Army: Publications

Background:

Dual infection with diverse HIV strains can foster the emergence of recombinants. The resulting  increase in viral genetic diversity is a major challenge for vaccine development HIV treatment. In this study we aim to investigate the socio demographic factors associated with an increasing level of genetic diversity among HIV strains in a population of drug-users in Northern Thailand.

Methods:

From 1999 through 2000, 2231 volunteers were enrolled in the Opiate- Users Research in Chiang Mai, Thailand. HIV subtype analysis was conducted among those HIV-1 seropositive (n = 347) using a multi-region hybridization assay. Social and demographic variables were assessed …

A Survey Of China's Logistics Industry And The Impacts Of Transport Delays On Importers And Exporters, Zeyan Zhang, Miguel Andres Figliozzi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the last decades, China?s booming economy has greatly benefited from globalization and trade liberalization. China has found a niche as the world?s manufacturing centre and it is playing a crucial role in a growing number of global supply chains. This research focuses on the performance of international and domestic transport and logistics systems as perceived by Chinese importers and exporters. A broad literature review of Chinese meteoric logistics industry development is provided. Results and analysis of in?depth interviews with Chinese importers and exporters are presented. These interviews provide significant information regarding international freight transport chains, the impact of delays …

Comparison Of Traditional Standard Drainfield With Innovative B&G Treatment Bed For Nutrient Removal From Septic Tank Wastewater, Fahim Hossain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nowadays people are more alert about conservation of water and water scarcity. The amount of usable water is decreasing due to unavailability of pure water for day to day use. Both surface and groundwater is contaminated by untreated wastewater discharged from improper onsite wastewater treatment system, nutrient laden agricultural runoff and increasing use of fertilizer in fields. This elevated nutrient level is increasing the maintenance and operation cost of water treatment plant. So it is an important task to remove those nutrients from wastewater and other water bodies by applying environmental friendly process. In the USA, about 25% homes are …

A Tool To Improve And Preserve Flexible Pavement At Intersections, Carlos Jesus Solis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Rural intersections originally constructed with thin untreated flexible base and hot mix or a two-course surface treatment tend to experience severe pushing, shoving and rutting. These failures cause an extremely rough surface that can cause damage to small vehicles and potentially cause motorists to lose control of their vehicles. These distresses almost always result in complete failure of the existing pavement that must be repaired several times during the life of the roadway by maintenance forces. In most cases, pavements constructed with the same materials and cross-sections adjacent to the intersection perform adequately.

The sources of and solutions for failure …

An Improved Methodology For Filling Missing Values In Spatiotemporal Climate Data Set, Antti Sorjamaa, Amaury Lendasse, Yves Cornet, Eric Deleersnijder

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In This Paper, an Improved Methodology for the Determination of Missing Values in a Spatiotemporal Database is Presented. This Methodology Performs Denoising Projection in Order to Accurately Fill the Missing Values in the Database. the Improved Methodology is Called Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF) Pruning, and It is based on an Original Linear Projection Method Called Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF). the Experiments Demonstrate the Performance of the Improved Methodology and Present a Comparison with the Original EOF and with a Widely Used Optimal Interpolation Method Called Objective Analysis. © Springer Science + Business Media B.v. 2009.

The 2009 Analysis Of Information Remaining On Disks Offered For Sale On The Second Hand Market, Andy Jones, Craig Valli, Glenn S. Dardick, Iain Sutherland, G. Dabibi, Gareth Davies

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The ever increasing use and reliance upon computers in both the public and private sector has led to enormous numbers of computers being disposed of at the end of their useful life within an organisation. As the cost of computers has dropped, their use in the home has also continued to increase. In most organisations, computers have a relatively short life and are replaced on a regular basis with the result that, if not properly cleansed of data, they are released into the public domain containing data that can be relatively up to date. This problem is exacerbated by the …

Adaptive Optical Splitter Employing An Opto-Vlsi Processor And A 4-F Imaging System, Haithem Ab Mustafa, Feng Xiao, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs pre 2011

A novel adaptive optical splitter structure employing an Opto-VLSI processor and 4-f imaging system is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. By driving the Opto-VLSI processor with computer generated multicasting phase holograms, an input optical signal launched into an input optical fiber port can be split and coupled into many output optical fiber ports with arbitrary splitting ratios. A proof-of-principle 1 2 adaptive optical splitter structure driven by optimized multicasting phase holograms uploaded onto the Opto-VLSI processor is developed, demonstrating an arbitrary splitting ratio over a wavelength range exceeding 50 nm.

Diapycnal Diffusivities In Homogeneous Stratified Turbulence, D. D. Stretch, S. K. Venayagamoorthy

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Quantifying diapycnal mixing in stably stratified turbulence is fundamental to the understanding and modeling of geophysical flows. Data of diapycnal mixing from direct numerical simulations of homogeneous stratified turbulence and from grid turbulence experiments, are analyzed to investigate the scaling of the diapycnal diffusivity. In these homogeneous flows the instantaneous diapycnal diffusivity is given exactly by Kd= ∈ρ/ (∂ ρ /∂z)²where ∈ρ is the dissipation rate of density fluctuations, and ∂ ρ /∂z is the mean density gradient. The diffusivity Kd may be expressed in terms of the large-scale properties of the turbulence as K d = γLE …

Computational Thinking Across The Curriculum: A Conceptual Framework, Amber Settle, Ljubomir Perkovic

Technical Reports

We describe a framework for implementing computational thinking in a broad variety of general education courses. The framework is designed to be used by faculty without formal training in information technology in order to understand and integrate computational thinking into their own general education courses. The framework includes examples of computational thinking in a variety of general education courses, as well as sample in-class activities, assignments, and other assessments for the courses. The examples in the different courses are related and differentiated using categories taken from Peter Denning’s Great Principles of Computing, so that similar types of computational thinking appearing …

Concurrent Masters Degrees Across The Atlantic: Innovations, Issues And Insights, Michael Dyrenfurth, Mike Murphy, Gary Bertoline, Robert Herrick, Kathryne Newton, Gareth O'Donnell, Donal Mchale, Nuria Castell, Miquel Barcelo, Didac Balas, Maria Ribera Sancho, Jordi Garcia

Conference papers

Atransatlantic degree consortium to implement a four-semester dual masters degree initiative across a three-institution consortium consisting of Purdue University (USA), the Technological University Dublin (DIT), and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain) is presented in this paper.

X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Applied To Mixed-Metal Iron-Based Fischer-Tropsch Catalysts, Andrew Allen Campos

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Synthetic fuels derived from methane, coal or biomass are essential in addressing future transportation fuel demands which are expected to exceed petroleum-derived capacities. The Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is the most studied technique for the conversion of coal or biomass-derived syngas into transportation fuels. Fe-based catalysts are typically used for the FTS of biomass and/or coal-derived syngas due to: the relatively low cost of iron, water-gas shift activity, and low methane selectivity at industrial FTS conditions. Fe/Cu/SiO2 Fischer-Tropsch catalysts promoted with Cr, Mn, Mo, W, or Zr were studied in-situ, using Fe K-edge TPR XANES (temperature programmed reduction X-ray absorption near-edge …

Water Resources, Health, And The Sustainability Of Interventions To Achieve Water And Sanitation Targets Of The Millennium Development Goals In A Changing World, Lauren M. Fry

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

This dissertation addresses sustainability of rapid provision of safe water and sanitation required to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Review of health-related literature and global statistics demonstrates engineers' role in achieving the MDGs. This review is followed by analyses relating to social, environmental, and health aspects of meeting MDG targets.

Analysis of national indicators showed that inadequate investment, poor or nonexistent policies and governance are challenges to global sanitation coverage in addition to lack of financial resources and gender disparity. Although water availability was not found to be a challenge globally, geospatial analysis demonstrated that water availability is a potentially …

2009-2010 Che Newsletter, Department Of Chemical Engineering, Michigan Technological University

Department of Chemical Engineering Newsletters

Table of Contents

• Department
• Students
• Alumni and Friends
• Faculty and Staff
• Industrial Advisory Board

Determination Of The Effects Of University Building Usage On Energy Efficiency And Recommendations For Improvement, Dana Aaron Lackey

All ETDs from UAB

Energy costs are increasing at an alarming rate, and electricity use can contribute to carbon emissions and, therefore, to global warming. With this in mind and under direction of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Facilities Management Department, researchers conducted building occupancy surveys of UAB buildings after working hours and on weekends to evaluate occupancy by day and time and by lighting condition of unoccupied rooms. The goals of this research consisted of identifying situations in which measures such as motion sensor installation or heating and/or air conditioning shutdown or setback could result in energy and cost savings and …

Research In Technology Education, Philip A. Reed (Editor), James E. Laporte (Editor)

STEMPS Faculty Books

Due to the laboratory-based nature of technology and engineering education programs, professionals in our field have often focused on the resources in our classrooms and laboratories and the instructional methodologies used to address specific concepts. Formal research into content and practice has often given way to “what seems right”. New curriculum is constantly being introduced (based on what is occurring in business and industry), yet the inclusion for those evolving concepts in courses and programs is typically not verified.

Hence, the importance of the 2010 CTTE yearbook and its focus on the dire need for an aggressive research agenda in …

A Computational Analysis Of Cognitive Effort, Luca Longo, Stephen Barrett

Books/Book Chapters

Cognitive effort is a concept of unquestionable utility in understanding human behaviour. However, cognitive effort has been defined in several ways in literature and in everyday life, suffering from a partial understanding. It is common to say “Pay more attention in studying that subject” or “How much effort did you spend in resolving that task?”, but what does it really mean? This contribution tries to clarify the concept of cognitive effort, by introducing its main influencing factors and by presenting a formalism which provides us with a tool for precise discussion. The formalism is implementable as a computational concept and …

Using Virtual Reality To Enhance Electrical Safety And Design In The Built Environment, Martin Barrett, Jonathan Blackledge, Eugene Coyle

Articles

Electricity and the inherent risks associated with its use in the built environment have long since been a priority for the electrical services industry and also the general public who must live and work in this environment. By its nature virtual reality has the advantage of being safe for both the user and equipment. In addition, it offers the user an opportunity to be exposed to a range of scenarios and conditions that either occur infrequently or are hazardous to replicate. This paper presents a prototype desktop virtual reality model, to enhance electrical safety and design in the built environment. …

Dynamic System Eigenvalue Extraction Using A Linear Echo State Network For Small-Signal Stability Analysis - A Novel Application, Jiaqi Liang, Jing Dai, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Ronald G. Harley

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A large nonlinear dynamic system usually has complex dynamic modes corresponding to the system's eigenvalues. These eigenvalues govern the system's local behavior and thus are critical information for designing system operation and control strategies. Without the availability of the system's analytical model, which is often the case for large nonlinear systems, the system's eigenvalues need to be estimated. a linear echo state network (ESN) based method for extracting observable eigenvalues of a dynamic system together with the participation factors of these eigenvalues in the accessible system states is presented in this paper. a linear ESN is first trained to track …

An Adaptive Control Strategy For Dstatcom Applications In An Electric Ship Power System, Pinaki Mitra, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Distribution static compensator (DSTATCOM) is a shunt compensation device that is generally used to solve power quality problems in distribution systems. In an all-electric ship power system, power quality issues arise due to high-energy demand loads such as pulse loads. This paper presents the application of a DSTATCOM to improve the power quality in a ship power system during and after pulse loads. The control strategy of the DSTATCOM plays an important role in maintaining the voltage at the point of common coupling. A novel adaptive control strategy for the DSTATCOM based on artificial immune system (AIS) is presented in …

Integration And Characterization Of An Electrical Storage System For A Hydrogen Fuel Cell Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle, Edward Alexei Anculle Arauco

Masters Theses

"Hydrogen fuel cell hybrid vehicles are an advance technology that promises to solve the energy crisis in transportation and green houses emissions. Even more, Plug-in or extended range vehicles can add diversity in energy sources. Extended range vehicles have the capability to extract energy from the grid and hence reduce the cost of operation of the vehicle. EcoCAR: the NeXt Challenge is a Noth [sic] American competition with seventeen schools participating across North America. Missouri S&T is developing a Fuel Cell Plug-in Hybrid electric vehicle which has a large lithium-ion battery able to store 16 kWh. The fuel cell powertrain …

Dynamic Reconfiguration And Control Of Smart Power Systems, Pinaki Mitra

Doctoral Dissertations

"To address the increasing demand and complexity, modern power systems need intelligence at almost all levels which can transform them into 'smart' power systems. The term 'smart power systems' not only refers to the terrestrial power systems with a significant penetration of distributed energy resources and energy storage such as plug-in electric vehicle parking lots (SmartParks), but also includes other isolated power systems, such as the power systems of naval electric ships. The research presented in this dissertation contributes to the dynamic reconfiguration and control of both terrestrial and ship power system with the application of computational intelligence methods.

In …