Engineering Commons^™

Distribution And Accumulation Of Trichloroethylene And Trichloroacetic Acid In Hybrid Poplars, Lucas Odom, Joel Gerard Burken, Lee Newman

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Hybrid Poplar Trees Are Known to Take Up Trichloroethylene (TCE) into above Ground Tissues, Where It Degrades into the Metabolites Trichloroacetic Acid (TCAA), Dichloroacetic Acid, and Trichloroethanol and Where Parent Chlorinated Solvents Volatilize to the Atmosphere. based on This Knowledge, Numerous Phytoremediation Applications Have Been Implemented for TCE and Other Chlorinated Solvents. Sampling of Plant Tissues Has Proven Effective for Phytoforensic and Phytoscreening Applications in Assessing Sites and Evaluating the Efficacy of Phytoremediation. However, Little is Known About the Appropriate Exposure Times and Sampling Locations Required to Obtain an Accurate Assessment of TCE and Metabolites. in This Study, Hybrid Poplars …

Using Meta-Ethnography To Synthesize Research: A Worked Example Of The Relations Between Personality On Software Team Processes, Fabio Q. B. Silva Dr., Shirley S. J. O. Cruz, Tatiana B. Gouveia, Luiz Fernando Capretz

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Context: The increase in the number of qualitative and mixed-methods research published in software engineering has created an opportunity for further knowledge generation through the synthesis of studies with similar aims. This is particularly true in the research on human aspects because the phenomena of interest are often better understood using qualitative research. However, the use of qualitative synthesis methods is not widespread and worked examples of their consistent application in software engineering are needed. Objective: To explore the use of meta-ethnography in the synthesis of empirical studies in software engineering through an example using studies about the relations between …

Evaluating The Presence Of A Victim Cache On An Arm Processor, Lakshmi Vidya Peri

Computer Science Graduate Projects and Theses

Mobile processor is a CPU designed to save power. It is found in mobile computers and cell phones. A CPU chip, designed for portable computers, is typically housed in a smaller chip package, but more importantly, in order to run cooler, it uses lower voltages than its desktop counterpart and has more "sleep mode" capability. A mobile processor can be throttled down to different power levels and/or sections of the chip can be turned off entirely when not in use. ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA). The relative simplicity of ARM processors makes …

Metal-Assisted Etching Of Silicon Molds For Electroforming, Ralu Divan, Dan Rosenthal '14, Karim Ogando, Leonidas E. Ocola, Daniel Rosenmann, Nicolaie Moldovan

Student Publications & Research

Ordered arrays of high-aspect-ratio micro/nanostructures in semiconductors stirred a huge scientific interest due to their unique one-dimensional physical morphology and the associated electrical, mechanical, chemical, optoelectronic, and thermal properties. Metal-assisted chemical etching enables fabrication of such high aspect ratio Si nanostructures with controlled diameter, shape, length, and packing density, but suffers from structure deformation and shape inconsistency due to uncontrolled migration of noble metal structures during etching. Hereby the authors prove that a Ti adhesion layer helps in stabilizing gold structures, preventing their migration on the wafer surface while not impeding the etching. Based on this finding, the authors demonstrate …

Correlation For The Convective And Diffusive Evaporation Of A Sessile Drop, Peter Kelly-Zion, J. Batra, Christopher J. Pursell

Engineering Faculty Research

A simple correlation is developed to compute the evaporation rates of sessile drops and small puddles which are evaporating under the influences of both diffusion and natural convection of the vapor-air mixture surrounding the drop. The correlation is based on experiments conducted with eight hydrocarbons, which provide a factor of 16.6 variation in volatility as indicated by the equilibrium vapor pressures, a factor of 3.6 variation in molecular mass, and a factor of 2.2 variation in mass diffusivity, and thus the correlation is applicable for liquids having a broad range of properties. The correlation predicts the evaporation rates to within …

Computational Modeling And Experimental Study On Optical Microresonators Using Optimal Spherical Structure For Chemical Sensing, Hanzheng Wang, Lei Yuan, Jie Huang, Xinwei Lan, Cheol-Woon Kim, Lan Jiang, Hai Xiao

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Chemical sensors based on optical microresonators have been demonstrated highly sensitive by monitoring the refractive index (RI) changes in the surrounding area near the resonator surface. In an optical resonator, the Whispering Gallery Modes (WGMs) with high quality (Q) factor supported by the spherical symmetric structure interacts with the contiguous background through evanescent field. Highly sensitive detection can be realized because of the long lifetime of the photons. The computational models of solid glass microspheres and hollow glass spheres with porous wall (PW-HGM) were established. These two types of microresonators were studied through simulations. The PWHGM resonator was proved as …

Adopting A Kinetic Energy Recovery System For Helicopters, Nihad E. Daidzic

Aviation Department Publications

No abstract provided.

Maximising Value Of Electrical Networks For Wave Energy Converter Arrays, Fergus Sharkey, Elva Bannon, Michael Conlon, Kevin Gaughan

Articles

Currently there are the beginnings of a commercial wave energy industry and the ultimate ambition will be to deploy Wave Energy Converters (WECs) in arrays, or wave farms, in a similar fashion to offshore wind. These arrays will require electrical networks to collect and export the generated electrical power to shore and onto the electrical grid. For large scale wind farms the inter-array and export electrical networks can represent more than 20% of the project’s capital expenditure. Submarine power cables account for a large proportion of this cost. The same is expected to be the same for WEC arrays.

This …

Urban Deployment Of Small Wind Turbines: Power, Performance And Turbulence, Keith Sunderland, Thomas Woolmington, Michael Conlon, Jonathan Blackledge

Conference papers

The urban terrain and the associated topographical complexities therein, present significant challenges to the deployment of small wind turbines. In particular, a considerable amount of uncertainty is attributable to the lack of understanding concerning how turbulence within urban environments affects turbine productivity. This paper considers how the industry standard metric, turbulence intensity (TI), in conjunction with the power characteristic of a 2.5kW wind turbine, can be employed to estimate turbine power performance. The research presented here considers the potential productivity of a wind turbine installation at two sites in (urban and suburban) Dublin, Ireland where the prevalent turbulence at both …

Advancing The Facilities Management Process In Ireland Through The Implementation Of Building Information Modelling Within The Public Sector, Barry Mcauley, Alan V. Hore, Roger West

Conference papers

It is widely accepted that it costs up to five times more to operate and maintain a building than to construct it. Despite this statistic the Irish construction sector has done little to move towards cutting edge technologies that will help in addressing this impact on life cycle cost. This is due partly to the fact that the Irish construction sector continues to operate in a depressed state. Despite this harsh reality Ireland must find a way to create a public sector that has a more energy efficient and enhanced physical environment in which to operate without sacrificing user thermal …

Design And Development Of A Low Cost Platform To Facilitate Post-Stroke Rehabilitation Of The Elbow/Shoulder Region, Stephen Curran

Masters

For post-stroke rehabilitation of the upper limbs, increased amounts of therapy are directly related to improved rehabilitation outcomes. As such, a low cost therapy platform is proposed suitable for facilitating active therapy and administering activeassist therapy to the shoulder/elbow region of the upper limbs of individuals post-stroke in a local clinic or domestic setting. Enabling a person to undergo intensive rehabilitation therapy outside of a rehabilitation hospital setting permits the amount of therapy administered to be maximised. While studies have shown that technological approaches to post-stroke rehabilitation do not produce better outcomes than equal amounts of traditional therapy in a …

Impacts On The Electrical System Economics From Critical Design Factors Of Wave Energy Converters And Arrays, Fergus Sharkey, Michael Conlon, Kevin Gaughan

Conference papers

It is expected that ultimately, like offshore wind farms, electrical systems will make up to a quarter of the overall Capex of wave farms. This is a significant element of cost and consideration must be taken in the design of both individual wave energy converters (WECs) and arrays of WECs to ensure that these costs can be minimised. In a worst case scenario design decisions could increase the cost of the electrical system by several orders and ultimately make the technology uncompetitive.

This paper outlines the impacts on the cost of the electrical system arising from design factors of WECs …

The Mayaarch3d Project: A 3d Webgis For Analyzing Ancient Architecture And Landscapes, Jennifer Von Schwerin, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Fabio Remondino, Giorgio Agugario, Gabrio Girardi

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

There is a need in the humanities for a 3D WebGIS with analytical tools that allow researchers to analyze 3D models linked to spatially referenced data. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allow for complex spatial analysis of 2.5D data. For example, they offer bird’s eye views of landscapes with extruded building footprints, but one cannot ‘get on the ground’ and interact with true 3D models from a pedestrian perspective. Meanwhile, 3D models and virtual environments visualize data in 3D space, but analytical tools are simple rotation or lighting effects. The MayaArch3D Project is developing a 3D WebGIS—called QueryArch3D—to allow these two …

Comparison Of A Sio2-Cao-Zno-Sro Glass Polyalkenoate Cement To Commercial Dental Materials: Ion Release, Biocompatibility And Antibacterial Properties, A. W. Wren, A. Coughlan, M. M. Hall, M. J. German, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Ion Release and biocompatibility of a CaO-SrO-ZnO-SiO₂ (BT 101) based glass polyalkenoate cement (GPC) was compared against commercial GPCs, Fuji IX and Ketac Molar. The radiopacity (R) was similar for each material, 2.0-2.8. Ion release was evaluated on each material over 1, 7, 30 and 90 days. BT 101 release included Ca (23 mg/L), Sr (23 mg/L) Zn (13 mg/L), Si (203 mg/L). Fuji IX release includes Ca (0.7 mg/L), Al (3 mg/L) Si (26 mg/L), Na (60 mg/L) and P (0.5 mg/L) while Ketac Molar release includes Ca (1 mg/L), Al (0.6 mg/L) Si (23 mg/L), Na (76 …

Automated Methods To Determine Electrospun Fiber Alignment And Diameter Using The Radon Transform, Nicholas J. Schaub, Sean J. Kirkpatrick, Ryan J. Gilbert

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Recent evidence demonstrates the ability to change cell function by altering the physical properties of electro spun scaffolds, but many studies still do not characterize electro spun fiber alignment and diameter. To aid in the reporting of these crucial properties, we demonstrate two methods of quantifying electro spun fiber alignment with one method capable of determining electro spun fiber diameter. The first method assesses fiber alignment in a scanning electron microscopy image using the Radon Transform (RT) to calculate the entropy of the fibers in the image. The RT entropy method was more sensitive than a commonly used Fast Fourier …

Analysis Of Traffic Crash Data In Kentucky (2008-2012), Eric R. Green, Kenneth R. Agent, Jerry G. Pigman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report documents an analysis of traffic crash data in Kentucky for the years of 200 8 through 201 2 . A primary objective of this study was to determine average crash statistics for Kentucky highways. Average and critical numbers and rates of crashes were calculated for various types of highways in rural and urban areas. These data can be used in Kentucky’s procedure to identify locations that have abnormal rates or numbers of crashes.

The other primary objective of this study was to provide data that can be used in the preparation of the problem identification portion of Kentucky’s …

Development Of Availability And Sustainability Spares Optimization Models For Aircraft Reparables, Edmund K. W. Pek

Theses and Dissertations

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) conducts Logistics Support Analysis (LSA) studies in various engineering and logistics efforts on the myriad of weapon systems. In these studies, inventory spares provisioning, availability and sustainability analyses are key focus areas to ensure asset sustenance. In particular, OPUS10, a commercial-off-the-shelf software, is extensively used to conduct reparable spares optimization in acquisition programs. However, it is limited in its ability to conduct availability and sustainability analyses of time-varying operational demands, crucial in Operations & Support (O&S) and contingency planning. As the RSAF seeks force structure expansion to include more sophisticated weapon systems, the …

Architecting Integrated System Health Management For Airworthiness, Kerwin C. Teong

Theses and Dissertations

Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) has been a new area of research - seeking to provide situational awareness to mission and maintenance operations, and for improved decision-making with increased self-autonomy. This research effort developed an analytic architecture and an associated discrete-event simulation using Arena® to investigate the potential benefits of ISHM implementation onboard an UAS. The objective of this research is two-fold: firstly, to achieve continued airworthiness by investigating the potential extension of UAS expected lifetime through ISHM implementation, and secondly, to reduce life cycle costs by implementing a Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) policy with better …

Passive Mimo Radar Detection, Daniel E. Hack

Theses and Dissertations

Passive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar is a sensor network comprised of multiple distributed receivers that detects and localizes targets using the emissions from multiple non-cooperative radio frequency transmitters. This dissertation advances the theory of centralized passive MIMO radar (PMR) detection by proposing two novel generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) detectors. The first addresses detection in PMR networks without direct-path signals. The second addresses detection in PMR networks with direct-path signals. The probability distributions of both test statistics are investigated using recent results from random matrix theory. Equivalence is established between PMR networks without direct-path signals and passive source localization (PSL) …

Metrics For Emitter Selection For Multistatic Synthetic Aperture Radar, Sean R. Stevens

Theses and Dissertations

A bistatic implementation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to form images of the ground from an aircraft makes use of separate emitters and receivers. When not using cooperative emitters, ground based communications systems can provide illumination. One way to improve performance of these waveforms, which are not designed for SAR, is a multistatic implementation, formed from multiple bistatic systems. This leads to the problem of selecting a subset from a potentially large set of emitters to use for image formation. A framework for this selection between sets of emitters is proposed using multiple objective optimization. This approach requires use of …

Scattering, Adsorption, And Langmuir-Hinshelwood Desorption Models For Physisorptive And Chemisorptive Gas-Surface Systems, Brook I. Bentley

Theses and Dissertations

Surface effects limit the performance of hypersonic vehicles, micro-electro-mechanical devices, and directed energy systems. This research develops methods to predict adsorption, scattering, and thermal desorption of molecules on a surface. These methods apply to physisorptive (adsorption and scattering) and chemisorptive (thermal desorption) gas-surface systems, and are developed under the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo construct. The novel adsorption and scattering contribution, the Modified Kisliuk with Scattering method, predicts angular and energy distributions, and adsorption probabilities. These results agree more closely with experiment than the state-of-the-art Cercignani-Lampis-Lord scattering kernel. Super-elastic scattering is predicted. Gas-adlayer interactions are included for the first time. The …

Trajectory Optimization For Spacecraft Collision Avoidance, James W. Sales Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The last several decades have resulted in an unfortunate byproduct of space exploration and development: orbital debris. Satellites in Low Earth Orbit have been required to make an ever increasing number of course corrections in order to avoid collisions. Despite efforts to the contrary, collisions continue to occur, each time creating additional debris and increasing the requirement for the remaining satellites to maneuver. Every required maneuver decreases a satellite's service life. The purpose of this study is to develop a minimum thrust profile to maneuver an orbiting satellite out of its projected error ellipse before a collision occurs. For comparison, …

Implementation Of A Plastically Dissipated Energy Criterion For Three Dimensional Modeling Of Fatigue Crack Growth, Parag G. Nittur, Anette M. Karlsson, Leif A. Carlsson

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Fatigue crack growth is simulated using three dimensional elastic-plastic finite element analysis. The crack extension per load cycle, da/dN, as well as crack front profile changes (crack tunneling) under cyclic loading is not specified as an input but evaluated based on a condition that relates plastically dissipated energy to a critical value. Simulation of cyclic crack propagation in a middle-crack tension M(T) specimen using this implementation captures the well established, experimentally obtained crack growth rate reduction accompanying a single overload event. The analysis predicts that the single overload also affects the crack front profile, where a tunneling crack propagates with …

The Domestic And Export Market For Large Scale Wave Energy In Ireland And The Economics Of Export Transmission, Fergus Sharkey, Kevin Honer, Michael Conlon, Kevin Gaughan, Emma Robinson

Conference papers

Ireland is on track to meet its 2020 renewable energy targets with over 2 GW of onshore wind installed in the all island market as of 2013, and a multiple of this capacity in various stages of planning and development. It is currently unclear how much of this potential capacity will ultimately be installed but it has become clear that the wind industry in Ireland will change focus to export opportunities post 2020. This presents some interesting challenges for wave energy in Ireland.

There is some early activity in the installation of wave farms off the west coast of Ireland …

Making An Impact On Vertebral Compression Fractures, Philip Purcell, Stephen Tiernan, Fiona Mcevoy, Magdalena Tyndyk, Seamus Morris

Other Resources

Spinal fractures constitute one of the most prevalent injuries to the human skeletal system with approximately 1.4 million fractures per annum worldwide. Treatments for these injuries have evolved from simple bed rest through to the intricacy of modern minimally invasive surgery. Balloon kyphoplasty is one such treatment that uses a balloon to decompress collapsed vertebra, followed by injection of bone cement to stabilise the fracture. Recent research has correlated a ‘halo’ feature on kyphoplasty patient x-rays with a 78% re-collapse rate. The present work documents a new method of mechanical analysis to evaluate balloon kyphoplasty and explores alterations to current …

Analysis Of The Thermal Performance Of A Solar Water Heating System With Flat Plate Collectors In A Temperate Climate, Lacour Ayompe, Aidan Duffy

Articles

The thermal performance of a solar water heating system with 4 m² flat plate collectors in Dublin, Ireland is presented in this paper. The experimental setup consisted of a commercially available forced circulation domestic scale system fitted with an automated sub‐system that controlled hot water draw‐offs and the operation of an auxiliary immersion heater. The system was tested over a year and the maximum recorded collector outlet fluid temperature was 70.4 ^oC while the maximum water temperature at the bottom of the hot water tank was 59.9 ^oC. The annual average daily energy collected was 19.6 MJ/d, …

2013 Driver Attitudes And Awareness Survey, Kenneth R. Agent, Eric R. Green, Ronald E. Langley

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

A basic set of questions was developed that could be used in periodic surveys that track drivers attitudes and awareness concerning impaired driving, seat belt use, and speeding issues. The objective of the survey was to learn the knowledge, views, and behaviors of drivers in these areas. This report documents the results of the 2013 survey with a comparison to the 2011 and 2012 surveys as well as the 2010 baseline survey.

The method used to conduct the survey was a telephone survey. In addition to questions for the three major highway safety areas of impaired driving, seat belt use, …

Civil Engineering And Construction News, Georgia Southern University

Civil Engineering & Construction: News & Publications (2011-2022)

• Two Civil Engineering Students Complete Honors Thesis

Multi-Axis Planning Of A Hybrid Material Deposition And Removal Combined Process, J. Zhang, Frank W. Liou

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Enzymatic Hydrolysis Of Biomass At High-Solids Loadings – A Review, Alicia A. Modenbach, Sue E. Nokes

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Enzymatic hydrolysis is the unit operation in the lignocellulose conversion process that utilizes enzymes to depolymerize lignocellulosic biomass. The saccharide components released are the feedstock for fermentation. When performed at high-solids loadings (≥ 15% solids, w/w), enzymatic hydrolysis potentially offers many advantages over conversions performed at low- or moderate-solids loadings, including increased sugar and ethanol concentrations and decreased capital and operating costs.

The goal of this review is to provide a consolidated source of information on studies using high-solids loadings in enzymatic hydrolysis. Included in this review is a brief discussion of the limitations, such as a lack of available …