Engineering Commons^™

A Relativistic Enhancement To Software Transactional Memory, Philip William Howard, Jonathan Walpole

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Relativistic Programming is a technique that allows low overhead, linearly-scalable concurrent reads. It also allows joint access parallelism between readers and a writer. Unfortunately, it has so far been limited to a single writer so it does not scale on the write side. Software Transactional Memory (STM) is a technique that allows programs to take advantage of disjoint access parallelism on both the read-side and write-side. Unfortunately, STM systems have a higher overhead than many other synchronization mechanisms so although STM scales, STM starts from a lower baseline. We propose combining relativistic programming and software transactional memory in a way …

Development Of A Ram Shared Service Tool For The Service Availability Of On-Board And Trackside Systems, Bailey Frazier

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A decision-support tool designed specifically to be used by technical specialists is an aid that would be helpful to many different companies, departments and projects – regardless of industry. With the intent of making manual processes quicker, less error-prone, and more userfriendly, decision-support tools are becoming more desired as they grow increasingly more common in the business world today.
The decision-support tool created for the purpose of this project is not an exception to any of these reasons. The ALSTOM Transport Information Solutions Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM) Shared Service Team bears the burden and tedious process of working with …

Re-Estimating And Remodeling General Aviation Operations, Ryan Black

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The objective of this project is to understand the usual or “acceptable” characteristics of general aviation flights and airports so that unusual activity can be detected, analyzed, and resolved. To do this, a quality control model may be built to determine whether an airport is at high risk for a terrorist attack. For an appropriate model to be built there must be an adequate amount of data that describes the general aviation airport and its operations. In order to facilitate this data the general aviation industry must “continue to improve intelligence and information sharing (Homeland Security Advisory Council 2008).” This …

Airplane Landing Flare-The Last 5 Seconds, Nihad E. Daidzic

Aviation Department Publications

No abstract provided.

Investigation Of Concrete Sealer Products To Extend Concrete Pavement Life, Justin Nielsen

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Portland cement concrete pavements (PCCP) are susceptible to deterioration and decreased service life caused by the ingress of water. Water can dissolve and transport deleterious chemicals such as de-icing salts, carbon dioxide, dissolved oxygen, and sulfates into PCCPs through cracks and the concrete surface. These chemicals and water itself all have the potential to degrade PCCP by chemical and/or physical processes. Surface-applied concrete sealers have demonstrated the ability to increase service life of PCCPs by limiting the ingress of water and deleterious chemicals into concrete.

Concrete sealers are being increasingly used by the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). However, little has …

Develop Energy Dashboard For Real-Time Campus Energy Use Monitoring, Hsui-Lin Winkler, Charlene Hoegler, William Batina

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

No abstract provided.

Lower Extremity Biomechanics During Weightlifting Exercise Vary Across Joint And Load, Kristof Kipp, Chad Harris, Michelle B. Sabick

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of load on lower extremity biomechanics during the pull-phase of the clean. Kinematic and kinetic data of the three joints of the lower extremity were collected while participants performed multiple sets of cleans at three percentages: 65, 75, and 85% of 1-Reptition maximum (RM). General linear models with repeated measures were used to assess the influence of load on angular velocities, net torques, powers, and rates of torque development at the ankle, knee, and hip joint. The results suggest that the biomechanical demands required from the lower extremities change with …

Design Of A Micro Irrigation System For An Almond Orchard, Adam Scheuber

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The owners of Scheuber Farms, a 1,000 acre row crop farming operation located in Patterson, California, wish to convert a 15-acre field into an almond orchard. For irrigating the trees, they would like to use a microsprayer irrigation system. The design I recommend and describe in this paper utilizes proper hydraulic analysis, and is based on the ability to supply enough water to match the amount of water required by the orchard during the peak month of an average year.

All of the major components and parameters of the microsprayer irrigation system were designed at minimal cost while ensuring that …

Incorporating Vertical Travel Into Non-Traditional Cross Aisles For Unit-Load Warehouse Designs, Kirby A. Clark

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

We propose modifications to the travel-time models for non-traditional warehouse layouts, Flying-V Fishbone, by incorporating a vertical travel dimension. The Flying-V model determines a cross aisle intersection for every picking aisle, while the Fishbone model determines a single point where the inserted cross aisle intersects the side of the warehouse. The shape and angle of the cross aisle is unrestricted for the Flying-V layout, while the angle is unrestricted for the Fishbone layout. The resulting non-linear optimization models incorporate Chebychev travel within the picking aisles. We compare both the shape of the aisle and the percent improvement over a traditional …

Gender And Self-Selection Among Engineering Students, Maci Dickson

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Gender and graduation rates of first time engineering college students have been analyzed as a function of academic and demographic variables in order to investigate the hypothesis that an advantage to women with respect to student success might be attributed to their socioeconomic advantages as a student population. The authors present descriptive, graphical, and model-based evidence to support their ideas about gender and self-selection driven by socioeconomic phenomena that leave a disproportionate number of women out of higher education, but create a group of female students more likely than their male counterparts to succeed.

Joule Heating Effects On Electrokinetic Transport In Constriction Microchannels, Sriram Sridharan

All Theses

Microfluidic technology involving multidisciplinary studies including MEMS, chemistry, physics, fluids and heat transfer has been developed into a promising research field in the recent decade. If offers many advantages over conventional laboratory techniques like reduced reagent consumption, faster analysis, easy fabrication and low chemical waste. Microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices have been used to manipulate cells and particles like sorting, separating, trapping, mixing and lysing. Microfluidic manipulation can be achieved through many methods and insulator based dielectrophoresis (iDEP) is one of the highly used method in the recent years. In iDEP, both DC and AC voltages can be applied to the remote …

Impact Of High-Speed Inkjet On Digital Printing And Traditional Offset Lithography, Caroline Sellars

All Theses

This thesis was prepared in order to examine the impact of high-speed inkjet printing on the offset lithography market within the commercial printing and publishing segments. Digital printing has become more widespread in recent years, but high-speed inkjet is making advances in its capabilities and technologies. With the printing industry evolving and print consumers preferring shorter print runs and in a shorter amount of time, print technologies are evolving to meet these needs. Print-on-demand is growing tremendously in the publishing industry, and personalization and 1-to-1 marketing is growing in the commercial printing segment as well. Market demand is changing in …

Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells In Response To Gold Nanoparticles, William Mcallister

All Theses

In this master's thesis we look at elucidating the interactions between nanoparticles and cells. Specifically, we looked at how the cell mechanics are affected, cytotoxicity of the nanoparticles, and shifts in cell phenotypes. There has been much research looking into whether nanoparticles are cytotoxic, but limited amounts looking at their effect on mechanics especially with vascular smooth muscle cells. This cell type has two distinct phenotypes of synthetic and contractile that each serve different purposes physiologically.
The first experiments we did were cytotoxicity assays to see if the cells could survive the treatment with nanoparticles. If the cells died within …

Probabilistic Fatigue Life Prediction Model For Alloys With Defects: Applied To A206, R. Kapoor, Vittal S. Rao, R. S. Mishra, J. A. Baumann, G. Grant

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A model for the prediction of fatigue life based on the statistical distribution of pores, intermetallic particles and grains is presented here. This has been applied to a cast Al alloy A206 before and after friction stir processing (FSP). the model computes the probability of initiating a small crack based on the probability of finding combinations of defects and grains on the surface. Crack initiation and the propagation life of small cracks due to these defect and grain combinations are computed and summed to obtain the total fatigue life. the defect and grain combinations are ranked according to total fatigue …

Numerical Characterization Of Yb-Signal-Aided Cladding-Pumped Er:Yb-Codoped Fiber Amplifiers, Qun Han, Yang He, Zhaoxia Sheng, Weiyi Zhang, Jiping Ning, Hai Xiao

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this Letter, high-power cladding-pumped Er:Yb-codoped fiber amplifiers (EYDFAs) coseeded with a Yb-band signal are numerically characterized according to the wavelength and power of the aiding signal, the length of the gain fiber, and the wavelength of the pump. the results show that properly designing these parameters not only helps to suppress the parasitic lasing and improve the pump conversion efficiency but also helps to improve the output power stability of high-power EYDFAs. © 2011 Optical Society of America.

On The Secrecy Rate Of Multi-Antenna Wiretap Channel Under Finite-Alphabet Input, Shafi Bashar, Zhi Ding, Chengshan Xiao

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This work investigates the effect of limiting source signals to finite-alphabet on the secrecy rate of a multi-antenna wiretap system. Existing works have characterized maximum achievable secrecy rate or secrecy capacity for single- and multi-antenna systems based on Gaussian source signals and secrecy code. Despite the impracticality of Gaussian source, its compact closed-form expression of mutual information motivated broad use of Gaussian input assumption. for practical consideration, we study the effect of finite discrete-constellation on instantaneous and ergodic secrecy rate of multiple-antenna wire-tap channels. Our results demonstrate substantial difference between systems involving finite-alphabet inputs and systems with Gaussian inputs. Results …

Interoperation For Lazy And Eager Evaluation, William Jeffrey Faught

Master's Theses

Programmers forgo existing solutions to problems in other programming lan- guages where software interoperation proves too cumbersome; they remake so- lutions, rather than reuse them. To facilitate reuse, interoperation must resolve language incompatibilities transparently. To address part of this problem, we present a model of computation that resolves incompatible lazy and eager eval- uation strategies using dual notions of evaluation contexts and values to mirror the lazy evaluation strategy in the eager one. This method could be extended to resolve incompatible evaluation strategies for any pair of languages with common expressions.

Mammary Epithelial Cell Growth On A Three-Dimensional Scaffold In An Operating Bioreactor, Melissa Marie Davalle

Master's Theses

Mammary epithelial cells are highly efficient secreting cells. With genetic engineering, the uses of these cells could be endless. Research is being conducted on these cells to determine their full potential to the biotech industry.

This paper investigates whether bovine epithelial mammary cells can survive in glutaraldehyde-treated gelatin tubes in an operating bioreactor. Many bioreactors were developed and tested to suit the needs of the cells. Procedures were created and carried out to ensure sterility of the bioreactors. Bovine mammary epithelial cells were implanted in the bioreactors and samples of their growth were taken over time.

Enhancing Progressive Collapse Resistance Of Steel Building Frames Using Thin Infill Steel Panels, Victor M. Sanchez Escalera

Master's Theses

Progressive collapse occurs when damage from a localized first failure spreads in a domino effect manner resulting in a total damage disproportionate to the initial failure.  Recent building failures (e.g., World Trade Center twin towers) highlight the catastrophic outcome of progressive collapse.  This research proposes a reliable and realistic retrofit technology which installs thin steel panels into steel building structural frames to enhance the system progressive collapse resistance.

The steel frames with simple beam-to-column connections, under different boundary conditions (i.e., sidesway uninhibited and sidesway inhibited, respectively), and the loss of one bottom story column were retrofitted using the proposed technology …

Simulation And Validation Of Two-Component Flow In A Void Recirculation System, Oscar Eduardo Daza

Master's Theses

Nuclear power plants rely on the Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) to cool down the reactor core in case of an accident. Occasionally, air is entrained into the suction piping of ECCS causing voids that decrease pumping efficiency, and consequently damage the pumps. In an attempt to minimize the amount of voids entering the suction side of the pump in ECCS, a Void Recirculation System (VRS) experiment was conducted for a proof of concept purpose. While many studies have been oriented in studying two-component flow behavior in ECCS, none of them propose a solution to minimize air entrainment. As a …

Evaluation Of Delivery Conditions For Cutaneous Plasmid Electrotransfer Using A Multielectrode Array, Bernadette Ferraro, Loree C. Heller, Yolmari L. Cruz, Siqi Guo, Amy Donate, Richard Heller

Bioelectrics Publications

Electroporation (EP) is a simple in vivo method to deliver normally impermeable molecules, such as plasmid DNA, to a variety of tissues. Delivery of plasmid DNA by EP to a large surface area is not practical because the distance between the electrode pairs, and therefore the applied voltage, must be increased to effectively permeabilize the cell membrane. The design of the multielectrode array (MEA) incorporates multiple electrode pairs at a fixed distance to allow for delivery of plasmid DNA to the skin, potentially reducing the sensation associated with in vivo EP. In this report, we evaluate the effects of field …

Identification Of Secondary Crashes And Recommended Countermeasures, Jerry G. Pigman, Eric R. Green, Jennifer R. Walton

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The objective of this study was to identify and analyze the occurrence of secondary crashes on roadways in Kentucky and recommend countermeasures to reduce their frequency and severity.

Results show a small percentage of crashes coded as a “Secondary Collision” were confirmed to be a secondary crash based on the definition and requirement of “a crash occurring as a result of a previous crash”. It appeared that many of those miscoded as a “Secondary Collision” were the result of misinterpretation of what constituted a secondary crash versus a secondary event. Adoption of the definition used in this analysis, along with …

System Integration For A Novel Positioning System Using A Model Based Control Approach, Chan Yet Wong

All Dissertations

This dissertation presents a model-based approach to perform system integration of a novel positioning sensing method, termed 'Direct Position Sensing.' Direct Position Sensing can actively monitor the planar position changes of motion control devices without the dependency of the conventional position sensor combined with kinematic model to estimate the planar position. Instead, Direct Position Sensing uses the technology of computer vision and digital display to directly monitor the planar position displacement of a motion control device by actively tracking the desired position of the device based on the displayed target showed on the digital screen. The integration of the computer …

Applications Of Moderate-Resolution Remote Sensing Technologies For Surface Air Pollution Monitoring In Southeast Asia, Arika Bridhikitti

All Dissertations

Retrievals from Earth observation satellites are widely used for many applications, including analyzing dynamic lands and measuring atmospheric components. This research aims to evaluate appropriateness of using satellite retrievals to facilitate understanding characteristics of Southeast Asian (SEA) surface air pollution, attributed to regional biomass burnings and urban activities. The studies in this dissertation focused on using satellite retrievals for 1) mapping potential SEA air pollution sources; which are forests, rice paddies, and urban areas, 2) understanding dynamic optical characteristics of SEA biomass-burning aerosols, and 3) inferring surface ozone level. Data used in this study were from three NASA's Earth Observing …

Identification And Characterization Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Dechlorinating Microorganisms From Lake Hartwell, Sc, Tess Brothersen

All Dissertations

To date, all attempts to isolate PCB dechlorinators using traditional isolation techniques have failed. In addition, the study of PCB dechlorinating organisms has been hampered because researchers were unable to grow the organisms in sediment-free, defined media. Three microbial species capable of reductive dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls have been identified. These three species are from two phylogenetically distinct branches, Dehalococcoides (Bedard et al., 2007) and the DF-1/o-17 group (Wu et al., 2002a; Cutter et al., 2001). The three cultures from which polychlorinated biphenyl dechlorinators have been identified used similar strategies to 'wean' the microbes from the sediments. In this research, …

Energy Efficient Compressed Sensing In Wireless Sensor Networks Via Random Walk, Robert Brian Fletcher

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In this paper, we explore the problem of data acquisition using compressive sensing (CS) in wireless sensor networks. Unique properties of wireless sensor networks require we minimize communication cost for efficient power usage. At first, a compressive distributed sensing (CDS) algorithm is proposed but is then modified to decrease communication costs. The final algorithm presented is compressive distributed sensing with random walk CDS(RW); an algorithm that combines the data gathering and projection generation process of CDS.CDS(RW) uses rateless encoding, graph algorithms, and belief propagation decoding to improve upon the communication cost associated with CDS. In the end, we show that …

Comparative Fecal Metagenomics Unveils Unique Functional Capacity Of The Swine Gut, Regina Lamendella, Jorge W. Santo Domingo, Shreya Ghosh, John Martinson, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Background: Uncovering the taxonomic composition and functional capacity within the swine gut microbial consortia is of great importance to animal physiology and health as well as to food and water safety due to the presence of human pathogens in pig feces. Nonetheless, limited information on the functional diversity of the swine gut microbiome is available. Results: Analysis of 637, 722 pyrosequencing reads (130 megabases) generated from Yorkshire pig fecal DNA extracts was performed to help better understand the microbial diversity and largely unknown functional capacity of the swine gut microbiome. Swine fecal metagenomic sequences were annotated using both MG-RAST and …

Characterization Of Fracture Toughness G (Sub C) Of Pvc And Pes Foams, Elio E. Saenz, Leif A. Carlsson, Anette M. Karlsson

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The fracture behavior of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethersulfone (PES) foams has been examined using the single-edge notch bend and the double cantilever beam (DCB) tests. PVC foam densities ranging from 45 to 100 kg/m³ and PES foam densities ranging from 60 to 130 kg/m³ were examined. The PVC foams failed in a linear elastic brittle manner, whereas the PES foams displayed much more ductility and substantially larger toughness at a comparable foam density. The cell wall thickness of the PES foams was almost twice the thickness of the PVC foams which may have contributed to the high …

Investigation Of The Use Of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Tools For Management Of An Urbanizing Watershed, Reed C. Colton

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The regulation of non-point pollution sources (e.g. agricultural runoff and stormwater discharges) as mandated by the 1972 Clean Water Act, forced a fundamental paradigm shift from “end of the pipe” pollution control to a watershed management approach. Multiple jurisdictions and often conflicting objectives make it difficult to reach stakeholder consensus and execute watershed management decisions. To facilitate decision making when multiple and/or conflicting objectives exist, Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) tools were developed for diverse applications, and potentially could be used to facilitate watershed management.

The overall objective of this thesis was to evaluate MCDM tool use to facilitate community-based management of …

Protein Structure-Based Method For Identification Of Horizontal Gene Transfer In Bacteria, Swetha Billa

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Horizontal Gene Transfer is defined as the movement of genetic material from one strain of species to another. Bacteria, being an asexual organism were always believed to transfer genes vertically. But recent studies provide evidence that shows bacteria can also transfer genes horizontally.

HGT plays a major role in evolution and medicine. It is the major contributor in bacterial evolution, enabling species to acquire genes to adapt to the new environments. Bacteria are also believed to develop drug resistance to antibiotics through the phenomenon of HGT. Therefore further study of HGT and its implications is necessary to understand the effects …