Engineering Commons^™

A Comparative Study Of Performance, Impediments, Advantages, And Disadvantages Of Construction And Professional Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, Ravi Sharma

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Construction and professional disadvantaged, minority, and women business enterprises (DBE/MBE/WBEs) face several impediments that hinder their business growth. A questionnaire survey was conducted to determine the important factors that affect their business performance, impediments faced by these business enterprises, advantages, and disadvantages of being DBE (DBE will be an umbrella designation for DBE, MBE, and WBE). This study compares the difference in responses from these two groups. A total of 333 business enterprises responded to the questionnaire. The survey results showed that construction firms gave significantly higher importance to "financial" issues and "safe work practices" as their most important factors …

Investigation Of Recycled Paper Deinking Mechanisms, Veronika Husovska

Dissertations

The use of water-based inks is on the rise. Sub-micron pigment particles are used for flexographic and inkjet water-based inks. Conventional deinking eliminates larger particles than those from these new ink systems. Therefore, water-based inks represent recycling difficulty.

Deinking experiments of water-based inks are carried out. The deinking strategy initially investigated elimination of pressure sensitive adhesive due to similar acrylic polymer chemistry used in water based inks. The impact of pH on stickies and ink agglomeration during deinking is studied. Experiments in acidic regions show growth of acrylic inks and stickies agglomerates, simplifying elimination.

Pre-recycling of water-based inks is explored. …

Systematic Parameter Analysis For Selective Laser Melting (Slm) Of Silver-Based Materials., Harald Rieper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a growing technology for the additive manufacturing of parts and structures. Based on a powder layer technique, a laser locally melts the powder and forms new structures. [1] In this approach, silver-based alloy powders will be used. The processing of this kind of material is considered difficult compared to other powder materials such as mild steels or tool steels. Silver powder is a highly reflecting material and has excellent thermal conductivity. Both properties make it difficult to process using Selective Laser Melting. Due to its high price, industries use silver parts as economically as possible …

Geometric Modeling Of Non-Rigid 3d Shapes : Theory And Application To Object Recognition., Mostafa Abdelrahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the major goals of computer vision is the development of flexible and efficient methods for shape representation. This is true, especially for non-rigid 3D shapes where a great variety of shapes are produced as a result of deformations of a non-rigid object. Modeling these non-rigid shapes is a very challenging problem. Being able to analyze the properties of such shapes and describe their behavior is the key issue in research. Also, considering photometric features can play an important role in many shape analysis applications, such as shape matching and correspondence because it contains rich information about the visual …

Charge Collection And Surface Recombination Effects In Organic Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells., Buddika Ka. Abeyweera 1980-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Charge transfer and charge extraction mechanisms are two prevalent issues in the growing field of organic solar cells. Due to their complexity in nature, new methods need to be involved in addressing the fundamental properties associated with organic polymer solar cells. This dissertation has focused on developing a new method to estimate the charge collection lengths and surface recombination lengths of organic polymer solar cells. Photocurrent spectra have been analyzed systematically to observe the dependence on thickness of the active material. A red shift of the peak of the normalized photocurrent with respect to the device thickness has been further …

Face Recognition Using Statistical Adapted Local Binary Patterns., Abdallah Abd-Elghafar Mohamed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biometrics is the study of methods of recognizing humans based on their behavioral and physical characteristics or traits. Face recognition is one of the biometric modalities that received a great amount of attention from many researchers during the past few decades because of its potential applications in a variety of security domains. Face recognition however is not only concerned with recognizing human faces, but also with recognizing faces of non-biological entities or avatars. Fortunately, the need for secure and affordable virtual worlds is attracting the attention of many researchers who seek to find fast, automatic and reliable ways to identify …

Linking Corporate Strategy To Operations : A Critical Review Of Prof. Kaplan’S Theories And The Development Of A Best-Practice Approach., Alexander Bogner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rising speed of change in global frameworks drives international companies into a non-stop changing organization with the need of generating optimal revenues under changing conditions. Regarding to the need to be a flexible and competitive organization the value of a vision and a perfectly streamed strategy to this vision becomes a main success factor for global business. The trend for the need of development of a clear and constant strategy is equally rising with the trend of globalization and intercontinental business companies and therefor the business of strategy consulting rises constantly from the late 1990. Most of the strategy …

An Investigation Into The Water Budget And The Management Of The Snake River System, John Whitney Hildreth

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Future climate change poses a major conceptual challenge to the availability of water resources due to the uncertainty involved with changes to the hydrologic cycle. Over the past decades, observed warming temperatures across the Western United Sates have shown significant impacts on river basin scale hydrology. This research uses physically based modeling tools to assess the hydrologic impacts of climate change in the Snake River Basin. Physically based hydrologic modeling studies of future climate do not typically take into account interactions between groundwater and surface water. To account for these interactions, the Variable Infiltration Capacity model is coupled with the …

Motor Protection Lab Experiment Using Sel-710, Ozro Corulli

Electrical Engineering

Advancements in microprocessor based relay technology for power protection applications provide quicker response times and new methods of mitigation. This project develops a lab experiment for Cal Poly class EE444 - Power Systems Laboratory based on the Schweitzer SEL-710 motor protection relay. Learning objectives for this lab include relay setup, programming, and protection schemes for the following conditions: undervoltage, loss of phase, fault, locked rotor, and thermal overload. Today, utility companies across the globe use SEL relays for primary system protection, putting engineers familiar with their operation in high demand.

Improving Global Impact: How The Integration Of Remotely Reporting Sensors In Water Projects May Demonstrate And Enhance Positive Change, Evan A. Thomas

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article argues that improved feedback on the actual impact of development programs may ensure the success of poverty reduction interventions such as water filters, water pumps, latrines, and cookstoves.

Synthesis Of Ferrocene Copolymers And Investigation Of Their Electrochemical Properties., Alzharani Ahmed

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Ferrocene is an organometallic compound. It is a classical metallocene consisting of two cyclopentadienyl rings bound on opposite sides of a central iron atom. Such organometallic compounds are also called sandwich compounds. Ferrocene copolymers have well known electrochemical capabilities. The main objective of this thesis is to synthesize vinyl ferrocene copolymers and test their electrochemical properties in aqueous solutions with different electrolytes (sodium nitrate, sodium perchlorate, and phosphate buffered saline). Vinylferrocene and 3-phenyl[5]ferrocenophane-1,5- dimethylene were synthesized using a Wittig reaction. Both ferrocene monomers were copolymerized with N-ethylmaleimide and N-phenylmaleimide and the resulting polymers were analyzed by Gel Permeation chromatography, IR …

Heat Transfer Experiment: Energy Conservation, Ben Ward, Brett Wallace, Ryan Waltman

Mechanical Engineering

This proposal, prepared for the Mechanical Engineering Department by the HTEC design team will redesign and replace the current energy conversion lab that is inaccurate and out of date. The team will evaluate methods of energy conversion, specifically using braking systems, as well as existing labs in order to design an accurate and relatable experiment for this lab. The project team will work with Professor Kim Shollenberger in order to design an experiment that demonstrates energy conversion through the first law of thermodynamics while utilizing a common device that is practical in student’s lives. The final result of this project …

Low-Cost Scheffler Solar Concentrator For The Developing World, Darren Sholes, Jason Morgan, Nicholas Fuller

Mechanical Engineering

This report will outline an approach to design, test, and build a low-cost Scheffler solar concentrator to be used for safer, sustainable and cost effective cooking in the developing world. The function of Scheffler concentrators and a proposed method to create one in an economic, environmentally conscious manner is summarized. If successful, the design will be presented in a way that is readily and freely available to anyone in the world. The authors have examined existing technology and researched the availability and cost of different materials. Analysis was performed in order to verify the feasibility of the different design ideas …

The Effects Of Football Helmet Pressure On The Shock Taken During A Controlled Impact, Sullivan Grosz

Industrial Technology and Packaging

College and NFL football teams are focusing their efforts on protecting players more than ever before. With the recent attention on concussions and the troubling long-term effects of head injuries, more research is needed to find ways to ensure players have the adequate protection. The helmets being used have a hard polycarbonate shell with four inner pads that fit tight to the player’s head. These pads are filled with air.

The purpose of the testing and project is to find an ideal air pressure that helmets need to maintain in order to protect the player to the best of its …

Exploring Human-Computer Interaction Through Bluetooth Low Energy Enabled Human Interface Devices, Tyler Durkin

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

No abstract provided.

Scanless Fast Handoff Technique Based On Global Path Cache For Wlans, Weetit Wanalertlak, Ben Lee, Chansu Yu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Wireless LANs (WLANs) have been widely adopted and are more convenient as they are inter-connected as wireless campus networks and wireless mesh networks. However, timesensitive multimedia applications, which have become more popular, could suffer from long end-to-end latency in WLANs.This is due mainly to handoff delay, which in turn is caused by channel scanning. This paper proposes a technique called Global Path-Cache (GPC) that provides fast handoffs in WLANs.GPC properly captures the dynamic behavior of the network andMSs, and provides accurate next AP predictions to minimize the handoff latency. Moreover, the handoff frequencies are treated as time-series data, thus GPC …

Design And Construction Of An Omni-Directional Soccer Ball Thrower, Andrew James Marquette

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Introduction

We are ODST the Omni-Directional Soccer Ball Thrower team which designed the soccer ball launching machine. Working in direct correlation with the project sponsor John Meade from Athlonic Sports this is the report outlining the soccer ball thrower. John from Athlonic Sports came up with the overall project and initial project vision. There are soccer ball launching machines on the market but lacking mobility, not amiable and are heavy. The design needed to be mobile, amiable, lightweight, and have a soccer ball capacity incorporated into the machine. This will allow coaches to repeatability place the soccer ball in certain …

Knowledge Extraction From Work Instructions Through Text Processing And Analysis, Abhiram Koneru

All Theses

The objective of this thesis is to design, develop and implement an automated approach to support processing of historical assembly data to extract useful knowledge about assembly instructions and time studies to facilitate the development of decision support systems, for a large automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM). At a conceptual level, this research establishes a framework for sustainable and scalable approach to extract knowledge from big data using techniques from Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML). Process sheets are text documents that contain detailed instructions to assemble a portion of the vehicle, specification of parts and tools to …

Optimal Retrofit Strategy Design For Highway Bridges Under Seismic Hazards: A Case Study Of Charleston, Sc, Shawn Parmelee

All Theses

A significant number of US highway bridges are inadequate for seismic loads and could be seriously damaged or collapse during a relatively small earthquake. On the most recent infrastructure report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), one-third of the bridges in the United States are deemed to be structurally deficient. To improve this situation, at-risk bridges must be identified, evaluated, and effective retrofitting programs implemented to reduce their seismic vulnerabilities. In practice, the Federal Highway Administration uses the expected damage method and indices method to assess the condition of bridges. These methods compare the severity of expected …

Effects Of Iteration On Concept Development, Shivraj Ranganathan

All Theses

Iteration in the conceptual design stage is defined as repetition of design tasks to incorporate new information. A more concise definition of iteration relevant to this research would be the progression of design through different abstraction levels or design stages, defining and refining design solutions while progressing from initial concepts to a more detailed design. Although it is believed that iteration has a positive effect on the quality of ideas in the design process, this experimental study presents an opportunity to determine the effects of iteration on quality of concepts and the factors that lead to increased quality of concepts. …

Knowledge Base Representation With Axiomatic Design Rules For Concept Level Up Implement In Ontological Framework, Zhuochen Shi

All Theses

Axiomatic Design has been applied and developed as a tool, offering a scientific basis for design and improving design activities. Axiomatic Design has been used in various fields such as software system design, structure design, and product design. However, several challenges and limitations exist in Axiomatic Design including: the inconsistency in identifying design parameters, existence of coupled design, and multiple groups of functional requirements and design parameters. Aimed at using Axiomatic Design to generate conceptual solutions in engineering design while overcoming its limitations, a formal ontology is developed. The ontology defines functional requirements, design parameters, concepts, components and variables and …

Twelve Mile Creek Channel Morphology, Substrate Composition, And The Macroinvertebrate Community Changes Resulting From Multiple Dam Removals, Patricia Whitener

All Theses

Dam removal is gaining global attention as a potential restoration tool for impacted rivers. As the practice of dam removal increases, physical, chemical and biological monitoring before and after dam removal is essential to our understanding of the ecological consequences of this type of disturbance. Under the Lake Hartwell Restoration and Compensation Determination Plan, two dams (>9 m height) were removed from the Twelve Mile Creek watershed (170 km2) in Pickens county, South Carolina. To assess the short term impacts of dam removal on the Twelve Mile Creek ecosystem we conducted biomonitoring of macroinvertebrate species and surveys of river …

Scratch Damage Evolution On Metals In Total Joint Replacements, Caleb Eljach

All Theses

The goal of total joint replacement (TJR) is to replace nonfunctioning joint components and relieve pain, improve quality of life, and to improve joint function. Although TJR is a successful procedure, more than 54,000 knee revisions occur each year due to factors, such as wear, loosening, infection, fracture, instability, and patient related factors (Ranawat, 2010). TJRs consist of components typically composed of polyethylene and a metallic counterface (Navarro, 2008). The sliding contact that occurs between the metal and polyethylene components has been well studied and is shown to produce both surface damage and wear of the implant components (Barbour, 1997; …

Dissolved Carbon Dioxide For Scale Removal In Reverse Osmosis, Erin Partlan

All Theses

Membrane fouling is a major operational issue in reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plants. In particular, plants treating brackish groundwater can encounter troublesome inorganic scales, including carbonates, sulfates, and silicates. A novel cleaning method is proposed to remove inorganic scales from fouled RO membranes usinag dissolved CO ₂ . As CO₂ molecules encounter membrane foulants, the surfaces serve as nucleation sites for small bubbles to form and shear off foulants. Dissolved CO₂ solutions were prepared by bubbling CO₂ gas into water held in a pressure vessel. Gas dissolution was confirmed by enhanced exit velocities for water containing CO …

Adaptive Transmission For Ofdm, Michael Juang

All Theses

To respond to dynamic channel conditions caused by fading, shadowing, and other time-varying disturbances, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) packet radio systems should adapt transmission parameters on a packet-by-packet basis to maintain or improve performance over the channel. For this to be possible, there are three key ideas that must be addressed: first, how to determine the subchannel conditions; second, which transmission parameters should be adapted; and third, how to adapt those parameters intelligently. In this thesis, we propose a procedure for determining relative subchannel quality without using any traditional channel measurements. Instead, statistics derived solely from subcarrier error counts …

Improvements In The Process Of Biohydrogen Production By Thermotoga Neapolitana, Louis Hill

All Theses

The production of biological hydrogen is an important process for the future of sustainability and alternative energies. Thermotoga neapolitana is a hyperthermophilic bacterium that produces H ₂ , CO₂ and acetate via fermentation. The goal of the research was to investigate the sustainable production of H₂ gas using waste agricultural feedstocks, recycled water and a simplified N₂ sparging method technique. A limited sparging method was developed which includes 1 minute of N₂ gas sparging of the reactor headspace and 90 minutes of idle reaction time for cysteine-HCl to react with dissolved oxygen prior to inoculation. This …

Evaluating The Predictive Capability Of Numerical Models Considering Robustness To Non-Probabilistic Uncertianty In The Input Parameters, Parker Shields

All Theses

The paradigm of model evaluation is challenged by compensations between various forms of errors and uncertainties that are inherent to the model development process due to, for instance, imprecise model input parameters, scarcity of experimental data and lack of knowledge regarding an accurate mathematical representation of the system. When calibrating model input parameters based on fidelity to experiments, such compensations lead to non-unique solutions. In turn, the existence of non-unique solutions makes the selection and use of one `best' numerical model risky. Therefore, it becomes necessary to evaluate model performance based not only on the fidelity of the predictions to …

Functional Stroke Recovery Through Tissue Engineered Niche Neural Constructs, Natasha Topoluk

All Theses

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stroke is statistically responsible for 1 in every 19 deaths of American citizens.5 Stroke is the leading cause of permanent disability due to the fact that it compromises both cellular and tissue components of the brain, leading to the formation of a physical void within the tissue. Current research approaches address the cellular component by injecting stem cells into this void; however, extremely low cell engraftment, high injected cell death, and overall no matrix regeneration are observed. Additionally, these stem cells do not remain committed to a neural lineage. We propose …

Analyzing Requirement Type Influence On Generated Solutions, Emily Worinkeng

All Theses

Several ideation methods are available and used by engineering designers to enable the generation of alternative designs [1]. However, there has been little work done to understand the role that the design problem given to participants plays in the ideation process. The contribution of this research is found through the proposed guidelines with respect to the type of requirements to include as part of the design problem in order to achieve the desired quantity, quality, novelty, and variety of solutions during the early stages of the design process. This work is the first attempt at analyzing the effect of requirement …

A Study Of Gallery Method To Increase Idea Quality In Conceptual Design, Liz Mathew

All Theses

The objective of this research is to evaluate whether gallery method increases idea quality in conceptual design for engineering design problems. The gallery method is a group ideation process which allows individuals to first generate ideas individually, followed by pooling of ideas to conduct group ideation. Design engineers are often encouraged to work in groups to generate concepts and solutions for design problems. However, past research argues that individual ideation results in higher quality design concepts compared to the group ideation methods. The limitations of group ideation such as free riding, production blocking, evaluation apprehension, and goal incongruity are identified …