Engineering Commons^™

In-Plant And Distribution System Corrosion Control For Reverse Osmosis, Nanofiltration, And Anion Exchange Process Blends, Samantha Jeffery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The integration of advanced technologies into existing water treatment facilities (WTFs) can improve and enhance water quality; however, these same modifications or improvements may adversely affect finished water provided to the consumer by public water systems (PWSs) that embrace these advanced technologies. Process modification or improvements may unintentionally impact compliance with the provisions of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA’s) Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This is especially true with respect to corrosion control, since minor changes in water quality can affect metal release. Changes in metal release can have a direct impact on a water purveyor’s compliance with …

Experimental And Numerical Investigations On Bond Durability Of Cfrp Strengthened Concrete Members Subjected To Environmental Exposure, Haider Al-Jelawy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have become an attractive alternative to conventional methods for external-strengthening of civil infrastructure, particularly as applied to flexural strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) members. However, durability of the bond between FRP composite and concrete has shown degradation under some aggressive environments. Although numerous studies have been conducted on concrete members strengthened with FRP composites, most of those studies have focused on the degradation of FRP material itself, relatively few on bond behavior under repeated mechanical and environmental loading. This thesis investigates bond durability under accelerated environmental conditioning of two FRP systems commonly employed in civil …

Geothermal Injection Well Monitoring, Timothy Rempher

Electrical Engineering

People depend on electricity all over the world. They depend on it for anything from drying their hair to global communications to heating up food. Many methods of power generation exist, each using a different fuel such as nuclear power, natural gas, coal, wind or the sun. This project focuses on a power plant which uses the naturally hot water in the ground to generate electricity. This process of generating power is called “Geothermal.” This project consists of two parts. The first and major part is the design logic of a PLC program that monitors the flow rate of an …

The Course Development For Microcomputer Systems Technology: Preliminary Study, Yu Wang, Alex Wong, Aparicio Carranza

Publications and Research

The course of Microcomputer Systems Technology has been one of the core courses in the Computer Engineering Technology curriculum (Bachelor of Technology in CET) at the New York City College of Technology of the City University of New York. The Intel microprocessor in PC based computer was the chosen hardware in this course. The assembly and C++ languages were crucial tools in the study of microprocessor organization. We currently focused mainly on the topic of PC computer parallel interface technology. However, we did not pay particular attention to the integration of current programmable peripheral components, such as USB (universal serial …

Optimized Estimates Based On Multiple Sensor Configuration Knowledge, Roochi Mishra

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

There has been an increase in the usage of sensor technology as they are adaptable for use in different environments, many of which are hostile to direct human observation, such as regions affected by land mines or forest fires. The sensors used to monitor developing situations are small inexpensive computing devices with limited processing capabilities, limited power supply and may be destroyed in the event that they are monitoring, without suffering a great financial cost. Also, since these devices are inexpensive, multiple sensors can be deployed for the same application where the sensors are placed or attached to a mobile …

Mathematical Programming Approaches For Land Use Planning That Limits Urban Sprawl, Piyush Kumar

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Sprawl has a detrimental effect on quality of life and the environment. For example, it increases our dependence on vehicles for daily tasks. This leads to increased vehicular pollution. It also increases traffic, which results in people spending more time on the road. With dwindling resources and increasing population, it becomes necessary that we manage sprawl. Ewing et al. defined factors to measure sprawl in the present urban structure. The measures are divided into four broad categories, which are density factors, mixed use factors, streets factor, and centers factors. These measures address various aspects that contribute to sprawl. For example, …

Variants Of Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (Mars): Convex Vs. Non-Convex, Piecewise-Linear Vs. Smooth And Sequential Algorithms., Diana Luisa Martinez Cepeda

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) is a statistical modeling method used to represent high-dimensional data with interactions. It uses different algorithms to select the terms to be included in the approximation model that best represent the data. In addition, it performs a variable selection, therefore the most significant predictors are shown in the final model. Design and analysis of computer experiments (DACE) is a statistical technique for creating approximations (called metamodels) of computer models. For optimization problems in which there is an unknown function that must be approximated, DACE approach could be applied. In stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) for example, …

A Model Characterization Of The Texas Healthcare Facilities, Shernette R. Kydd

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The Patient Protect and Affordable Care Act of 2010 became a law on March 23, 2010. This healthcare act, according to the authors, is designed to improve health services by targeting various facets of the industry: hospitals, private physicians, insurance companies and the drug industry - to name a few. It impacts many people, both directly and indirectly. The effects of this new law will most likely not immediately be recognized, although is it possible for "pockets: of success stories.The administration of Medicare is an area of interest primarily because of the finances involved. Today, there are many waste streams …

Development Of A Master Of Software Assurance Reference Curriculum, Andrew J. Kornecki, James Mcdonald, Julia H. Allen, Mark Ardis, Nancy Mead, Richard Linger, Thomas B. Hilburn

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Daytona Beach

The Next Generation Air Traffic Management system (NextGen) is a blueprint of the future National Airspace System. Supporting NextGen is a nation-wide Aviation Simulation Network (ASN), which allows integration of a variety of real-time simulations to facilitate development and validation of the NextGen software by simulating a wide range of operational scenarios. The ASN system is an environment, including both simulated and human-in-the-loop real-life components (pilots and air traffic controllers).Real Time Distributed Simulation (RTDS) developed at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a suite of applications providing low and medium fidelity en-route simulation capabilities, is one of the simulations contributing to the ASN. …

Fault Tree Analysis For Safety/Security Verification In Aviation Software, Andrew J. Kornecki, Mingye Liu

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Daytona Beach

The Next Generation Air Traffic Management system (NextGen) is a blueprint of the future National Airspace System. Supporting NextGen is a nation-wide Aviation Simulation Network (ASN), which allows integration of a variety of real-time simulations to facilitate development and validation of the NextGen software by simulating a wide range of operational scenarios. The ASN system is an environment, including both simulated and human-in-the-loop real-life components (pilots and air traffic controllers).Real Time Distributed Simulation (RTDS) developed at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a suite of applications providing low and medium fidelity en-route simulation capabilities, is one of the simulations contributing to the ASN. …

Effect Of Support Compliance On The Resonant Behavior Of Microcantilever-Based Sensors In Viscous Fluids, Rabin Maharjan

Dissertations (1934 -)

Resonant microcantilevers are often considered for use in chemical sensing and biosensing applications. However, when excited in the conventional transverse flexural mode, their performance in liquids is severely compromised. Theoretical and experimental studies have shown that the detrimental effects of the liquid may be mitigated by operating the microcantilever in lateral flexure, especially for microbeams having smaller length-to-width (L/b) ratios. However, for these most promising geometries the predictions of existing models tend to diverge from experimental data for resonant frequency (f_res) and quality factor (Q). A likely reason for these discrepancies is support compliance, which has been neglected …

Wireless Sensor Networks And The Internet Of Things, Yingtao Jiang, Lei Zhang, Ling Wang

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

It is estimated that mobile internet devices that can act as sensors will outnumber humans this year (2013), and by 2015, there will be about 15 billion internet-connected devices. Related applications are thriving in commercial, civic, and scientific operations that involve sensors, web, and services, leading by both academic societies and industry companies. It is commonly accepted that the next generation of internet is becoming the “Internet of Things (IoT)” which is a worldwide network of interconnected objects and their virtual representations uniquely addressable based on standard communication protocols. Identified by a unique address, any object including computers, mobile phones, …

A P2p Computing System For Overlay Networks, Grzegorz Chmaj, Krzysztof Walkowiak

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

A distributed computing system is able to perform data computation and distribution of results at the same time. The input task is divided into blocks, which are then sent to system participants that offer their resources in order to perform calculations. Next, a partial result is sent back by the participants to the task manager (usually one central node). In the case when system participants want to get the final result, the central node may become overloaded, especially if many nodes request the result at the same time. In this paper we propose a novel distributed computation system, which does …

Lanthanum Halide Nanoparticle Scintillators For Nuclear Radiation Detection, Paul Guss, Ronald Guise, Ding Yuan, Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay, Robert O’Brien, Daniel Robert Lowe, Zhitao Kang, Hisham Menkara, Vivek V. Nagarkar

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Nanoparticles with sizesscintillators, in order to determine the viability of using scintillators employing nanostructured lanthanum trifluoride. Preliminary results of this investigation are consistent with the idea that these materials have an intrinsic response to nuclear radiation that may be correlated to the energy of the incident radiation.

Transparent Actuator Made With Few Layer Graphene Electrode And Dielectric Elastomer, For Variable Focus Lens, Taeseon Hwang, Hyeok-Yong Kwon, Joon-Suk Oh, Jung-Pyo Hong, Seung-Chul Hong, Youngkwan Lee, Hyouk Ryeo Choi, Kwang J. Kim, Mainul Hossain Bhuiya, Jae Do Nam

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

A transparent dielectric elastomer actuator driven by few-layer-graphene (FLG) electrode was experimentally investigated. The electrodes were made of graphene, which was dispersed inN-methyl-pyrrolidone. The transparent actuator was fabricated from developed FLG electrodes.The FLG electrode with its sheet resistance of 0.45 kΩ/sq (80 nm thick) was implemented to mask silicone elastomer. The developed FLG-driven actuator exhibited an optical transparency of over 57% at a wavenumber of 600 nm and produced bending displacement performance ranging from 29 to 946 μm as functions of frequency and voltage. The focus variation was clearly demonstrated under actuation to study its application-feasibility in …

Estimation Of Performance Indices For The Planning Of Sustainable Transportation Systems, Alexander Paz, Pankaj Maheshwari, Pushkin Kachroo, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

In the context of sustainable transportation systems, previous studies have either focused only on the transportation system or have not used a methodology that enables the treatment of incomplete, vague, and qualitative information associated with the available data. This study proposes a system of systems (SOS) and a fuzzy logic modeling approach. The SOS includes the Transportation, Activity, and Environment systems. The fuzzy logic modeling approach enables the treatment of the vagueness associated with some of the relevant data. Performance Indices (PIs) are computed for each system using a number of performance measures. The PIs illustrate the aggregated performance of …

Novel Microwave Assisted Synthesis Of Zns Nanomaterials, Suresh Pillai, Michael Seery, Damian Synnott, John Colreavy, Stephen Hinder

Articles

A novel ambient pressure microwave-assisted technique is developed in which silver and indium modified ZnS is synthesised. The as prepared ZnS is characterised by X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and luminescence spectroscopy. This procedure produced crystalline materials with particle sizes below 10 nm. The synthesis technique leads to defects in the crystal which induce mid energy levels in the band gap and lead to indoor light photocatalytic activity. Increasing the amount of silver causes a phase transition from cubic blende to hexagonal phase ZnS. In a comparative study, when the ZnS cubic blende is heated in a conventional …

Influence Of Fluid-Structure Interaction On Microcantilever Vibrations: Applications To Rheological Fluid Measurement And Chemical Detection, Isabelle Dufour, E. Lemaire, B. Caillard, H. Debeda, C. Lucat, Stephen M. Heinrich, Fabien Josse, Oliver Brand

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

At the microscale, cantilever vibrations depend not only on the microstructure’s properties and geometry but also on the properties of the surrounding medium. In fact, when a microcantilever vibrates in a fluid, the fluid offers resistance to the motion of the beam. The study of the influence of the hydrodynamic force on the microcantilever’s vibrational spectrum can be used to either (1) optimize the use of microcantilevers for chemical detection in liquid media or (2) extract the mechanical properties of the fluid. The classical method for application (1) in gas is to operate the microcantilever in the dynamic transverse bending …

Optimizing Electrode Design For Microbial Fuel Cells Used For Wastewater Treatment, Lindsay Nichols, John A. Hogan

STAR Program Research Presentations

Microbial fuel cells (MFC) utilize bacteria to generate an electrical current that can be used in the decomposition of sludge and human urine. In a MFC there is an anode (for oxidation of organic compounds), cathode (reduction of oxygen or carbon dioxide), and a proton exchange membrane (PEM, allows protons to migrate); reduction-oxidation reactions between the anode and cathode produce a measurable current. Bacteria that are found in sludge can be used to produce electrons in a voltaic cell, but optimizing conditions for harnessing the energy is crucial to making a MFC efficient. Research has shown that the ratios of …

Mechanics Of Hip Dysplasia Reduction In Infants Using The Pavlik Harness: A Physics Based Computational Model, Orlando Ardila, Eduardo Divo, Faissal Moslehy, George Rab, Alain Kassab, Charles Price

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

Biomechanical factors influencing the reduction of dislocated hips with the Pavlik harness in patients of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) were studied using a three-dimensional computer model simulating hip reduction dynamics in (1) subluxated and (2) fully dislocated hip joints. Five hip adductor muscles were identified as key mediators of DDH prognosis, and the non-dimensional force contribution of each in the direction necessary to achieve concentric hip reductions was determined. Results point to the adductor muscles as mediators of subluxated hip reductions, as their mechanical action is a function of the degree of hip dislocation. For subluxated hips in …

White Matter Structural Connectivity Is Associated With Sensorimotor Function In Stroke Survivors, Benjamin Kalinosky, Sheila M. Schindler-Ivens, Brian D. Schmit

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) provides functionally relevant information about white matter structure. Local anatomical connectivity information combined with fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) may predict functional outcomes in stroke survivors. Imaging methods for predicting functional outcomes in stroke survivors are not well established. This work uses DTI to objectively assess the effects of a stroke lesion on white matter structure and sensorimotor function.

Methods

A voxel-based approach is introduced to assess a stroke lesion's global impact on motor function. Anatomical T1-weighted and diffusion tensor images of the brain were acquired for nineteen subjects (10 post-stroke and 9 …

Biomechanical Modeling Of Pediatric Clubfoot, Gerald F. Harris

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

In Vitro Prevascularization Of 3d Tissue Constructs, Lauren Marshall

All ETDs from UAB

There is a need for more effective therapies to combat breast cancer. One reason for the inefficiency of therapeutics is that testing technologies currently employed in drug discovery and development are not reliable when transitioning drugs into human clinical trials. To supplement the currently used in vitro cell culture studies and in vivo animal studies, an in vitro three-dimensional breast tumor system has been suggested with integration of human cells, hydrogel biomaterials, 3D architecture, and endothelialized microchannels. Therefore, the objective of the thesis project, as an initial step in fabrication of the supplemental system for drug testing, is to fabricate …

Utilizing A Hydroxyapatite-Binding Domain To Deliver Bone Regenerative Molecules To Hydroxyapatite And Allograft Bone To Enhance Osteogenesis, Bonnie Kathleen Culpepper

All ETDs from UAB

Hydroxyapatite (HA) makes up the mineral component of bone, and synthetic HA is commonly used to coat metal implants for use in dentistry and orthopedics. Additionally, allograft and synthetic HA are common alternatives to autograft bone, to circumvent the complications associated with a second surgery site. While both HA and allograft are known to be osteoconductive, osteoinductivity is limited. In this work, we developed methods for anchoring osteoinductive factors onto multiple types of HA biomaterials and human allograft bone, with the goal of enhancing their osteoregenerative potential. Specifically, a HA-binding domain, heptaglutamate (E7), modeled on bone-binding domains within native proteins, …

Capturing The Semantics Of Evolving Software Ecosystem Architectures, David E. Robbins

All ETDs from UAB

Current software modeling techniques emphasize the modeling of individual software systems using formal modeling tools, such as the Unified Modeling Language. With recent advances in the conceptualization of software ecosystems, the need for modeling techniques capable of describing the interaction between diverse software systems within the environment in which they are created and used has become apparent. This dissertation presents a semantic framework for the modeling of software ecosystems, including a concept-map based notation. Concretely, this modeling framework comprises a semantic web ontology with three classes and two properties. As validated by application to three app-centric software ecosystem case studies, …

Analysis Of Integrated Engineering And Social Science Approaches For Projects In Developing Communities, Parry F. Garff, Eric C. Dahlin, Carol Ward, Randy Lewis

Faculty Publications

Current design methods such as appropriate technology, human-centered design, and participatory design are intended to generate development projects that resonate with users in communities in developing countries. These approaches are extremely useful, but often lack adequate documentation about how to collect data on and incorporate users feedback into the project’s design. To address this gap, we introduced social science research methods into a service-learning course for undergraduate engineering students, which culminated in a trip to the communities for whom they were designing, to help students incorporate user feedback into the design of their projects. This paper documents our efforts. One …

Characterization Of The Interactions Of Calmodulin With Fas And Death Receptor-5, And Determine The Role Of Calmodulin - Death Receptor-5 Binding In Disc Formation In Breast Cancer., Romone Markel Fancy

All ETDs from UAB

Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers. Calmodulin (CaM) is involved in regulating breast cancer growth, proliferation, and transformation to malignancy. CaM has been shown to play a role in regulating Fas and DR-5 mediated apoptosis. The Fas receptor apoptotic pathway has been well characterized in cholangiocarcinoma; however, targeting Fas for anti-cancer therapy has shown hepatotoxicity in vivo. Thus, in vitro studies with breast cancer will focus on the DR-5 mediated apoptotic pathway. Targeting DR-5 to regulate breast cancer apoptosis is a promising strategy for breast cancer treatment. Understanding the mechanism of Fas and DR-5 interaction with …

Cognitive Training Refines Connectivity Of The Aging Human Brain To Improve Performance, Christine R. Denning

All ETDs from UAB

Cognitive deficits that occur as a function of age are highly variable within a sample of older adults of similar age. Training paradigms are available that can reverse cognitive declines that occur with age and improve behavioral performance. However, the benefits of training are also highly variable. The goal of this study was to use func-tional connectivity analyses on functional MRI data to help identify the source of this variability and to determine if cognitive training could alter network structure in the ag-ing human brain. Resting-state functional connectivity data was acquired to investigate several neural networks in forty-one older adults. …

High Strength Cast Aluminum Alloy Development, Edward Alan Druschitz

All ETDs from UAB

The goal of this research was to understand how chemistry and processing affect the resulting microstructure and mechanical properties of high strength cast aluminum alloys. Two alloy systems were investigated including the Al-Cu-Ag and the Al-Zn-Mg-Cu systems. Processing variables included solidification under pressure (SUP) and heat treatment. This research determined the range in properties that can be achieved in BAC 100TM (Al-Cu micro-alloyed with Ag, Mn, Zr, and V) and generated sufficient property data for design purposes. Tensile, stress corrosion cracking, and fatigue testing were performed. CuAl2 and Al-Cu-Fe-Mn intermetallics were identified as the ductility limiting flaws. A solution treatment …

Bridge Load Rating Utilizing Experimental Data And Finite Element Modeling, Randall Blake Greene

All ETDs from UAB

Nearly one-quarter of Alabama's bridges are deemed structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. An additional seven percent of Alabama's bridges were posted bridges in 2010. (Federal Highway Administration, 2011) Accurate bridge load rating can potentially reduce, and even remove, bridge postings throughout the state. Analytical structural bridge models were used to define new load ratings for ALDOT Bridges 005248, 005318, and 012296. With past methodology, Engineers' ratings tend to be inaccurate. This is due to the indefinite information in regards to actual traffic loading on bridges. This inaccuracy can lead to over-estimates of bridge safety or on the contrary, excessive conservatism …