Engineering Commons^™

Influence Of Airway Liquid Hydration And Properties On Human Vocal Fold Vibration, Preston Murray, Dr. Scott Thomson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this research project was to identify a fluid that has similar properties as the airway surface liquid (ASL) that covers vocal folds, and then apply it to a vibrating synthetic vocal fold model to measure its effects.

Parametric Optimization Of Wind Turbine Blades, Brycee Mcewen, Dr. Steven Gorrell

Journal of Undergraduate Research

With ever increasing concerns about the production of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, more and more emphasis is being placed on researching and developing alternative and renewable energy resources. One renewable energy source that has the potential to compete with conventional fossil fuels, is wind energy. In order for wind energy to be competitive, it is necessary to make improvements in both aerodynamic and structural properties of wind turbines.

Piezoresistivity In Nickel Nanostrand Composite Materials As Studied By Three-Dimensional Reconstruction On Focused Ion Beam Serial-Sections, Oliver Johnson, Dr. David Fullwood

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The development of a large-strain sensor technology will open doors for improved engineering design and scientific research in many fields. Such a technology would allow for advances in biomechanical engineering, e.g., prosthetic limb and artificial organ design. Additionally this kind of sensor technology could be used for tactile robotics and even structural health monitoring, such as in wind turbines or architectural structures. Our research group has developed a unique Silicone/Nickel Nanostrand/Nickel Coated Carbon Fiber (Si/NiNs/NCCF) nanocomposite that can measure strains of up to 50% elongation. The purpose of this project was to investigate how the nano-scale structure of this material …

Autonomous Soaring Using Real-Time Wind Estimation, Mark J. Cutler, Dr. Timothy Mclain

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are obtaining increasing utilization in many applications. Their small size (0.5-4m wingspan) allows them to fly close to the ground, providing useful observation and tracking data. This small size, however, comes at the expense of flight time. As UAV size decreases, the amount of stored energy (electrical or chemical) the UAV is able to carry also decreases. If long flight times are to be obtained with a small UAV, other energy sources must be exploited. Naturally occurring atmospheric phenomena provide one such potential energy source.

Dynamic Loading On Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Blades, Christopher Brinkerhoff, Julie Vanderhoff

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Currently, there is much interest involving technologies dealing with clean and renewable energy sources. The current goal in the United States is to produce 20% of its electrical needs by wind power by the year 2030. Wind energy is seen as a viable option for further research because of its low carbon footprint and virtually limitless supply of wind, but in order for it to be economically viable, there are certain aspects of wind technology that need improvement.

Economic And Environmental Justification Of A Thermoelectric Waste Heat Recovery System, John Christiansen, Dr. Matthew Jones

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In recent years, the concepts of energy, energy production, effects of energy consumption on the environment, and sustainable development have become increasingly significant as members of society become more aware of their level of energy consumption. However, in energy production for home, commercial, or industrial use, up to 60 percent of the chemical energy potential (in the form of fossil or other fuels) is lost in the form of waste heat. In other words, when fossil or other fuels are burned, only 30 to 40 percent of the potential chemical energy is actually harnessed and converted into useful electricity! This …

Third World Water Filtration System Implementation, Christopher Welton, Perry Carter

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Approximately 70 million people in rural India do not have access to clean water. Chemicals such as cesium, arsenic, and others contaminate India’s drinking water, rendering it unsafe. Biological contaminates pose increased health risks to those drinking the water. If a water source is bad, large populations need to relocate to find a better source of water. Creating an economic water filtration system capable of being obtained through a micro-loan is beginning alleviate this problem. By creating an affordable and quality system, clean water is becoming a reality for the world’s poor, especially in Third World countries. Through my efforts …

Social Capital And Walkability As Social Aspects Of Sustainability, Shannon H. Rogers, Kevin H. Gardner, Cynthia H. Carlson

Civil & Environmental Engineering

The concepts of sustainability and sustainable development are frequently described as having three main components, sometimes referred to as the three pillars or the triple bottom line: environmental, economic, and social. Because of an historical focus in the sustainability field on correcting environmental problems, much consideration has been given to environmental issues, especially how they interface with economic ones. Frequently mentioned but rarely examined, the social aspects of sustainability have been considered the weakest and least described pillar. After a brief review of existing concepts and theories, this paper uses a case study approach to examine the third pillar more …

Bridging The Gap Between Simulation And Experiment With Multi-State Protein Folding, Jacob Lewis, Dr. Thomas Knotts

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Proteins are made up of extremely long chains of amino acids. Depending on it constituent amino acids, proteins fold in many 3-dimensional patterns to facilitate various biochemical processes such as catalyzing chemical reactions which allow us to live. How proteins fold is thought to be the “holy grail” of biochemistry research and, as of yet, no one has been able to predict exactly how a given sequence of amino acids will fold a priori. Protein folding has been probed in experiment and simulated on computers, but there are discrepancies between the two methods. Naturally, the experimental results are what computer …

Analysis Of Piranha Etching In The Microfabrication Of Hollow-Core Optical Waveguides, Jared Keeley, Dr. Aaron Hawkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the field of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and micro-opto-electromechanical systems (MOEMS) fabrication, photoresists are used to form 3D structures on a scale of micro- or even nanometers. This is necessary to create the microelectronics used in many devices. One structure that photoresist can be used to create is a hollow-core optical waveguide. To complete the waveguide something must be used to remove the photoresist from the core. Piranha is a mixture of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4) that can be used to remove photoresist. One goal of my ORCA project was to analyze piranha’s effectiveness in fabricating hollow-core …

Post-Translational Modification In Cell-Free Protein Synthesis, Anna Katz, Dr. Brad Bundy

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to examine the phenomenon of eukaryotic myristoylation in a prokaryotic cell-free environment. Basically the idea is that eukaryotic cells such as those within humans have a more robust system for synthesizing protein but it is cheaper, faster, and more easily controlled to synthesize protein in bacteria cells. The problem, then, with using bacteria is that it lacks the ability to perform such functions as post-translational modification; in other words, once the protein has been created through RNA transcription separate enzymes add functional groups to the protein. One such modification is myristoylation, which uses the …

High Temperature Water Gas Shift Catalyst Kinetic Evaluation, Rupak Bajagain, Dr. Morris Argyle

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to develop water gas shift catalysts that are more stable and active than the existing ones. Stable catalysts last longer and are more efficient, which is important to economics and to gain widespread application. Currently the demand for hydrogen as a fuel is low but in the future there is a high potential that hydrogen could be important in world energy. This project was performed by a group of undergraduate and graduate students from BYU. Most of the work in the project was performed by group members. The report focuses mainly on the tasks …

Effect Of Variability In Concrete Cover On Concrete Bridge Deck Service Life, Jeffrey Hoki, Dr. W. Spencer Guthrie

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Before reliable data could be gathered, proper procedures for using a covermeter needed to be established. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) does not currently have a standard for testing rebar cover depth by means of an electromagnetic covermeter. Therefore, the only protocol for testing available to the tester originates from the manufacturer of each individual covermeter. This research focused on the development of a standardized protocol for covermeter testing to be used within the Long Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) program. The Standardization of covermeter usage will increase the reliability of results gathered from all teams within the …

High-Speed Full-Spectrum Interrogation Of Fiber Bragg Gratings For Composite Laminate Sensing, Tyrie Vella, Dr. Richard Selfridge

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors are specialized optical fibers that can be used for detecting changes in strain. Under normal conditions, when a broadband spectrum of light is transmitted through the fiber, a narrow band of light is reflected by the sensor. When an FBG is embedded into a composite material and the material is placed under stress, the wavelength at which the reflected band is centered shifts in proportion to the stress, allowing the strain to be measured. By monitoring the sensor during repeated impacts on the material, structural damage can be discerned and the material could be replaced …

Short Surface Relief Fabry-Perot Fiber Bragg Gratings For Improved Strain Sensing, Andrew Sieler, Dr. Stephen Schultz

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The use of optical fiber as a sensing instrument has become an important application in the optics field. Due to previous research conducted here at BYU1 it is now possible to fabricate Surface Relief Fiber Bragg Gratings, SR-FBGs, which can be used as a temperature or strain sensing instrument. This sensor is lightweight and immune to electromagnetic interference because of the inherent attributes associated with optical fiber. The type of FBG I wish to research, the FP-FBG, will be much more sensitive than a standard SR-FBG. Another quality of optical sensors is the fact that they are so compact they …

High-Speed Full-Spectrum Interrogation Of Fiber Bragg Gratings For Composite Impact Sensing, Spencer Chadderdon, Dr. Richard Selfridge

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) sensors are useful for static and dynamic event monitoring which make then suitable for a wide variety of applications. Dynamic interrogation of FBG sensors has primarily been performed using peak-tracking methods that have repetition rates approaching the megahertz range. However, tracking the variations in the peak response of a FBG sensor reflection spectrum can result in inaccurate measurements. For example, when under the influence of vibrations, acoustical noise, and transverse strains FBG sensor spectra associated with impact and vibrations not only have peak shifts, but the reflection spectrum can exhibit dramatic spreading or even peak splitting.

Thermal Protection For Extreme Labor, Christopher Hanks, Dave Morgan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Many people died when temperatures rose to 115°F in Southeastern Europe in July of 2000(Blumberg). The Sahara Desert exceeds 120°F, creating a nearly inhospitable environment. The temperature off of the Phoenix Airport runway was reported at 150°F the summer of 2009. This very same environment is the workplace of ramp agents who lift and load heavy luggage into passenger in, and day out. Through researching methods of heat transfer, and interviewing workers, I have conceptualized a number of cooling solutions which will protect workers from the heat.

Vision-Based Guidance For Air-To-Air Tracking And Rendezvous Of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Joseph Walter Nichols

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation develops the visual pursuit method for air-to-air tracking and rendezvous of unmanned aircraft systems. It also shows the development of vector-field and proportional-integral methods for controlling UAS flight in formation with other aircraft. The visual pursuit method is a nonlinear guidance method that uses vision-based line of sight angles as inputs to the algorithm that produces pitch rate, bank angle and airspeed commands for the autopilot to use in aircraft control. The method is shown to be convergent about the center of the camera image frame and to be stable in the sense of Lyapunov. In the lateral …

Miniature Linear Ion Trap Fabrication, Hannah Quist, Dr. Aaron Hawkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Ion trapping is a method of determining the elemental composition of a charged sample, allowing the substance to be properly identified. It uses metal rings or lines with an applied voltage and radio frequency to initially trap the ions in a central region and begin to eject successively larger ions as the radio frequency is increased.

Development/Ballistics Testing Of Lightweight Sandwich-Composite Body Armor, Brian Spencer, Dr. Anton Bowden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Body armor is one of the most important tools used in the protection of soldiers and other armed forces around the world. Although the current style of armor, using Kevlar fiber and ceramic inserts, is generally effective, it is bulky and heavy and can cause overheating and lack of mobility. Our research attempts to remedy these issues by using shear-thickening fluid (STF) impregnated Kevlar XP combined with corrugated plastic to create and test lighter, more effective body armor.

Critical Component Selection For Implementing Barriers To Reverse Engineering, Shane K. Curtis, Dr. Christopher Mattson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Reverse engineering is a prominent design strategy in industry, employed by many to uncover the enabling technologies of innovative products. Unfortunately, there is little motivation for original designers to create new products if competitors can reverse engineer these products and reproduce them at a lower development cost. One solution to this problem involves the incorporation of barriers to reverse engineering into products during the design process. These barriers not only increase the cost of reverse engineering but can also improve product performance with only a small increase in manufacturing or development time.

Peru Wind Turbine: Electrical, Devin Athey, Dr. Randy Lewis

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project focused on the design of electrical components for a low-cost, low-speed wind turbine in Peru. The electrical components include the charge controller and the three-phase AC rectifier. These parts, if purchased from retailers, cost $100 and $30 USD respectively. The wind turbine was proposed for low-income residents of villages that are not located near power grids. The focus village was located on Lake Titicaca, Peru. Each family in this village has a monthly income of just under $30 USD. Their current source of electricity comes from solar panels that cost upwards of $1200 USD. In order for a …

Establishment Of Life Reduction Factors For Microsurfacing, Bryan Wilson, Dr. W Spencer Guthrie

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Since the majority of the pavement network in the United States is already constructed1, most of the attention has turned toward maintaining and reconstructing existing roads. Through routine maintenance of the wearing surface, the life of a pavement is greatly extended and long-term costs greatly reduced. Pavement maintenance treatments range from quick and inexpensive crack-sealing to more intensive surface milling followed by a costly asphalt overlay. One treatment recently put to mainstream use in Utah is microsurfacing. Microsurfacing is often described as the most durable and stable of the available slurry seals. Like other slurries it protects against water ingress, …

Multi-Axial Fiber-Optic Electric Field Sensor, Daniel Perry, Dr. Stephen Schultz

Journal of Undergraduate Research

High powered microwave weapons use electric fields to overload electronics. We developed a non-intrusive sensor using a technology based on slab coupled optical sensing (SCOS). Each sensor detects the electric field component normal to the surface of the slab. By mounting two of these sensors orthogonally to each other, a more complete image of the electrical field can be obtained. One of the major hurdles of creating a multi-axial SCOS is keeping the size of the sensor small. The size is limited by (1) the size of the sensing material and (2) the ability to package the sensor to maintain …

Consequences Of Electromagnetic Stimulation On Hydraulic Conductivity Of Soils, A. Farid, S. Azad, J. Browning, Elisa H. Barney Smith

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Hydraulic conductivity is a measure of the rate at which water flows through porous media. Because of the dipole properties of water molecules, any electric field can affect hydraulic conductivity. In this study, the effect of radio-frequency (RF) waves on hydraulic conductivity is investigated. This is important both for the geophysical measurement of hydraulic conductivity as well as remediation using electromagnetic waves. Bentonite clay and sandy samples are tested in rigid-wall, cylindrical permeameters and stimulated using a CPVC-cased monopole antenna vertically centered in the permeameters. The permeameters are encased within RF cavities constructed of aluminum mesh in order to prevent …

Electromagnetic Stimulation Of Transport In Water For Geoenvironmental Applications, A. Farid, M. Azad, J. Browning, Elisa H. Barney Smith

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Air sparging is a popular soil remediation technique that enables the removal of contaminants by diffusing air into saturated zones of soil. The removal process is, however, slow. The goal of this work is to study the effect of electromagnetic (EM) waves - with minimal heat generation - on transport mechanisms such as diffusion, in order to improve airflow or contaminant transport and expedite the cleanup process using air sparging or similar technologies. This effect is studied through an experimental setup that examines the diffusion of a nonreactive dye in water under EM waves at a range of frequencies between …

Fast Segmentation And High-Quality Three-Dimensional Volume Mesh Creation From Medical Images For Diffuse Optical Tomography, Michael Jermyn, Hamid Ghadyani, Michael A. Mastanduno, Wes Turner, Scott C. Davis, Hamid Dehghani, Brian W. Pogue

Dartmouth Scholarship

Multimodal approaches that combine near-infrared (NIR) and conventional imaging modalities have been shown to improve optical parameter estimation dramatically and thus represent a prevailing trend in NIR imaging. These approaches typically involve applying anatomical templates from magnetic resonance imaging/computed tomography/ultrasound images to guide the recovery of optical parameters. However, merging these data sets using current technology requires multiple software packages, substantial expertise, significant time-commitment, and often results in unacceptably poor mesh quality for optical image reconstruction, a reality that represents a significant roadblock for translational research of multimodal NIR imaging. This work addresses these challenges directly by introducing automated digital …

Low Volume Dispensing With High Speed Dispensers, Sunny Agarwal

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

With the high pace of innovation in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, there has been an increasing demand for more energy efficient and environmental friendly products. This research relates to a complex process of fluid dispensing at low volumes on a printed circuit board. Currently, a more refined non-contact dispensing terminology named “Streaming” is widely used to stream out material at low volumes for various applications. The key solution is to frame a dispensing method that lends itself most closely to the requirements of a specific production process.

This study represents a detailed approach of dispensing low volumes of materials in …

Geometric And Pattern Recognition Combined Algorithms Applied To Digital Image Processing In Aerial Search And Rescue Applications, Jamil Efren Anaguano Correa

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The difficult task of generating an automated target detection system from aerial imagery can be achieved through different approaches. However, the robustness of any machine vision system lays on the implementation of vision algorithms. By combining geometric and pattern recognition algorithms, a more effective machine vision scheme is developed. Three modules-Color Identification (CIM), Color Matching (CMM), and Pattern Recognition (PRM)- work as main filters to process images and predict the location of targets based on a set templates. Multiple target detection is also accomplished by implementing a hide and seek method where all matching objects are scanned individually and isolated …

Computational Model Of Pitting Corrosion, Muhammad Ibrahim Israr Bin

Theses and Dissertations

Pitting corrosion is a form of highly localized corrosion that can lead to crack and failure of a structure. Study on pitting corrosion is necessary in order to predict and prevent the risk of failure of structure susceptible to corrosion. In this thesis, a combination of Cellular Automata (CA) and Boundary Element Method (BEM) was developed to simulate pitting corrosion growth under certain environment. It is assumed that pitting corrosion can be simplified to electrochemical corrosion cell. The distribution of potential around this corrosion cell can then be simulated by BEM. This distribution potential represents cathodic and anodic reactions around …