Engineering Commons^™

Nano-Scale Thermal Property Prediction By Molecular Dynamics Simulation With Experimental Validation, Kyle S. Horne

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A new type of laser diode, called a quantum cascade laser (QCL), was developed in the mid 1990's. These new lasers have many applications including industrial emissions analysis and explosives detection. Like many solid-state devices, they work better at cooler temperatures, but operating the device generates heat; this results in a cooling problem if the device is to operate continuously at high-power. To improve this situation, a better understanding of how heat leaves the laser diode is needed. The thermal conductivity of a material is a measure of how quickly heat will leave it. In this work, two approaches are …

Expert Vs. Novice: Problem Decomposition/Recomposition In Engineering Design, Ting Song

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to investigate the design behavior. A commonly used design strategy called “problem decomposition and recomposition” was the focus of the study. Dyads of engineering experts, dyads of engineering seniors, and dyads of engineering freshmen completed an engineering design challenge within an hour. The entire design process was video and audio recorded. After the design session, participants participated in a group interview.

The conversation and behavior from the design were transcribed, segmented, and coded. Two coding systems including the FBS ontology and “levels of the problem” were used in this study. A series of statistical …

Bridging The Nano- And Macro-Worlds: Thermal Property Measurement Using Thermal Microscopy And Photothermal Radiometry – Application To Particle-Irradiation Damage Profile In Zirconium Carbide, Colby Bruce Jensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Multiscaled experimental investigations of heat transfer from nanoscales to macroscales are requisite to progress in energy technologies. In nuclear applications, material properties can undergo significant alteration due to destructive interaction with irradiating particles at microstructural levels that affect bulk properties. This study expands the current knowledge base regarding thermal transport in ion-irradiated materials through the use of a multiscaled experimental approach using four complementary thermal wave methods. For the first time, the in-depth thermal conductivity profile of an ion-irradiated sample is measured directly.

Experimental Studies Of Delta Wing Parameters In Open Channel Raceway Determined Via Validated Computational Fluid Dynamics, Cole David Blakely

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A promising feedstock for biofuels is microalgae. The most economical means of cultivating microalgae is via open raceway ponds. However, a large gap in economic feasibility exists between algae-based biofuels and traditional petroleum fuels. Recent research at Utah State University has focused on increasing biomass growth by implementing Delta Wings (DWs). DWs are placed facing the incoming flow, with a 40 degree angle of attack to create large vortices which travel downstream. The trailing vortices increase vertical mixing, which in turn increases algal growth.

Past researchers at USU quantified vertical mixing with new metrics, optimized various raceway operating conditions, and …

Causes And Countermeasures For Nappe Oscillation: An Experimental Approach, Aaron Allan Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Weirs are commonly used as spillways to release flows from a reservoir. The freefalling jet on the downstream side of the weir is called the nappe. Under certain hydraulic conditions, determined mainly by the size, design, and construction of the weir, nappe oscillation, otherwise known as nappe vibration, can occur. Characteristics of this dynamic behavior include excessive acoustic energy manifested as sound pressure waves and lowfrequency noise accompanied by horizontal waves or banding on the nappe. Mitigation of this process may be required, especially if the weir operates in close proximity to occupied structures. Instability of water jets moving through …

Uncertainty Quantification Of Photothermal Radiometry Measurements Using Monte Carlo Simulation And Experimental Repeatability, Austin Fleming

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Photothermal Radiometry is a common thermal property measurement technique which is used to measure the properties of layered materials. Photothermal Radiometry uses a modulated laser to heat a sample, in which the thermal response can be used to determine the thermal properties of layers in the sample. The motivation for this work is to provide a better understanding of the accuracy and the repeatability of the Photothermal Radiometry measurement technique. Through this work the sensitivity of results to input uncertainties will be determined. Additionally, using numerical simulations the overall uncertainty on a theoretical measurement will be determined.

The repeatability of …

Flexural, Shear, And Punching Shear Capacity Of Three 48-Year-Old Prestressed Lightweight Concrete Double-Tee Bridge Girders, Christopher S. Pettigrew

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Icy Springs Bridge in Coalville, Utah carries 2^nd South Street over the Weber River west of Interstate 80. The bridge is owned by Coalville City and was originally constructed in 1965 as a single-span 51-foot long bridge using prestressed concrete double-tee girders. In the fall of 2013 the original bridge was replaced with a new 80-foot long single span bridge using prestressed concrete decked bulb-tee girders. The original girders were salvaged and transported to the Systems, Materials, and Structural Health Lab (SMASH Lab) where a series of tests were performed to determine the total losses in the prestressing …

Impact Of Beaver Ponds On Stream Temperature And On Solar Radiation Penetration In Water, Camilla J. Snow

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Beaver dams alter streams characteristics in a way that promotes the diversity of aquatic species and provides a wide distribution of temperatures within beaver ponds. In order to quantify the spatial distribution of these temperatures, a process-based temperature model was developed for a beaver pond in Northern Utah. This model provided insight into the processes and characteristics that are driving these temperatures. Solar radiation is one of these processes that is often the primary driver of stream temperature. There is a need to develop methods to measure the fate of solar radiation within the water to better represent solar radiation …

Graphics Processing Unit-Based Computer-Aided Design Algorithms For Electronic Design Automation, Yiding Han

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The electronic design automation (EDA) tools are a specific set of software that play important roles in modern integrated circuit (IC) design. These software automate the design processes of IC with various stages. Among these stages, two important EDA design tools are the focus of this research: floorplanning and global routing. Specifically, the goal of this study is to parallelize these two tools such that their execution time can be significantly shortened on modern multi-core and graphics processing unit (GPU) architectures. The GPU hardware is a massively parallel architecture, enabling thousands of independent threads to execute concurrently. Although a small …

Reconfigurable Antennas For Public Safety And Wireless Gigabit Alliance Applications, Hema Swaroop Mopidevi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The main goal of this research is to develop a new type of antenna, called reconfigurable antenna, which can replace multiple antennas required to enhance the effectiveness of a robust communication system. A reconfigurable antenna integrated with switching elements can dynamically change its properties, namely, frequency of operation, radiation pattern (the three-dimensional coverage of antenna), and polarization (the electrical orientation of the antenna). Depending on the requirement, a single antenna can function as multiple antennas, therefore, the name Multi-functional Reconfigurable Antenna (MRA). United States (US) Public Safety (PS) responders (police, fire-fighters, emergency medical services, etc.) can effectively respond to human-made …

Improving The Physical Processes And Model Integration Functionality Of An Energy Balance Model For Snow And Glacier Melt, Avirup Sen Gupta

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Hindu-Kush Himalayan region possesses a large resource of snow and ice, which acts as a freshwater reservoir for irrigation, domestic water consumption or hydroelectric power for billions of people in South Asia. Monitoring hydrologic resources in this region is challenging because of the difficulty of installing and maintaining a climate and hydrologic monitoring network, limited transportation and communication infrastructure and difficult access to glaciers. As a result of the high, rugged topographic relief, ground observations in the region are extremely sparse. Reanalysis data offer the potential to compensate for the data scarcity, which is a barrier in hydrological modeling …

Laboratory Modeling Of Erosion Potential Of Earthen Embankments In Contact With Open Bedrock Joints, Joseph T. Zaleski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Earthen dams are often built into bedrock abutments and on bedrock foundations. Bedrock joints naturally occur in bedrock materials. These bedrock joints create voids for ground water to pass through. Historically earthen dams were sometimes built in direct contact with the bedrock joints, causing a contact point between the soil of the dam and the flowing water. It has been engineering practice to place grout into exposed bedrock joints for some time now. However, soil is not always cleaned out of bedrock joints before they are grouted, which leaves a weakness for water to push through.

The purpose of this …

Metabolic Modeling Of Spider Silk Production In E. Coli, Sarah Allred

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Spider silk has the potential to be a useful biomaterial due to its high tensile strength and elasticity. It is also biocompatible and biodegradable, making it useful for wound dressings and sutures, tissue and bone scaffolds, vessels for drug delivery, and ligament and tendon replacements. In some studies where spider silk has been used to grow cells, the silk has promoted more cell growth than the control. However, it is difficult to obtain the high volume of silk needed for these undertakings on a large scale. Spiders are territorial and cannibalistic, so they cannot be easily farmed. Therefore, spider silk …

Effect Of Poultry Litter Biochar On Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Growth And Ethanol Production From Steam-Exploded Poplar And Corn Stover, Oumou Diallo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The use of ethanol produced from lignocellulosic biomass for transportation fuel offers solutions in reducing environmental emission and the use of non-renewable fuels. However, lignocellulosic ethanol production is still hampered by economic and technical obstacles. For instance, the inhibitory effect of toxic compounds produced during biomass pretreatment was reported to inhibit the fermenting microorganisms, hence there was a decrease in ethanol yield and productivity. Thus, there is a need to improve the bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol in order to promote its commercialization. The research reported here investigated the use of poultry litter biochar to improve the ethanol production …

Physical Layer Detection Of Hardware Keyloggers, Saptarshi Mallick

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This work addresses the problem of detecting devices which are stealthily attached to the computer for logging keystrokes from keyboards. These devices are known as hardware keyloggers (HKL). When an HKL is attached to the keyboard, certain electrical characteristics of the keyboard signal are altered. Based on these characteristics (features), differences have been identified in an accurate assertion was made about the presence of HKL.

The characteristics from which the differences were obtained were used to make distributions and compared with distance-measuring methods. An experiment was done to collect data from a number of keyboards and form two distributions (training …

A Platform For False Data Injection In Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar, Ruchir Chauhan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Radar is an acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging. In general terms, it is a machine that uses radio waves for object-detection in its near periphery. It transmits radio waves in a known direction, which when intercepted by an obstruction/object are reflected by its surface and are received back at the radar system. The round trip delay time along with the known velocity of radio waves gives an accurate measurement of the distance of the object from the radar system. In a somewhat similar fashion, some radars are even capable of measuring the velocity of this object. Frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) …

Distribution Of Heavy Metals From Flue Gas In Algal Bioreactor, Katerine Napan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Algae are microscopic organisms with a great potential to produce biomass and lipids at productivities several times higher than terrestrial crops. To grow, these organisms consume carbon dioxide (CO₂), a greenhouse gas. This gas, emitted primarily by power plants after coal burning, can be effectively used for algae production, thus resulting in CO₂ remediation and biomass beneficial utilization as feedstuff, industrial filler and biodiesel feedstock. However, since coal is a fuel mined from the earth’s crust, it contains heavy metals that are released during coal burning and inevitably enter the algal cultivation system, contaminating the water were …

Uncertainty Analysis Of Mechanical Properties From Miniature Tensile Testing Of High Strength Steels, Deepthi Rao Malpally

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This Miniature mechanical testing study is concerned with the use of miniature specimens to identify the mechanical properties of stainless steel Type 304, sensitized Type 304 and SA516 Grade 70 carbon steel as a viable replacement for the standard sized mechanical testing. The study aims at obtaining suitable specimen geometry and tensile testing procedure for miniature mechanical testing whose mechanical properties are comparable to that of conventional specimens of ASTM A370-10 of the same steel. All specimens are at and the gauge length cross section will be varied to obtain suitable geometry. The miniature tensile testing results are further validated …

Use Of Semi-Analytical Solutions To Examine Parameter Sensitivity And The Role Of Spatially Variable Stream Hydraulics In Transient Storage Modeling, Noah M. Schmadel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Anticipating how stream water quality will respond to change, such as increased pollution or water diversions, requires knowledge of the main mechanisms controlling water and chemical constituent movement and a reasonable representation of those mechanisms. By deriving mathematical models to represent a stream system and collecting supporting field-based measurements, water quality response can be predicted. However, because each stream is unique and the movement of water and constituents is spatially and temporally complex, assessing whether the stream is appropriately represented and whether predictions are trustworthy is still a challenge within the scientific and management communities.

Building on decades of stream …

Expression, Purification, And Large-Scale Production Of The Human Recombinant Annexin-V Protein, Gayatri Suresh Kumar

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Annexin-V is a cytosolic protein involved in many significant physiological roles including stabilization of the phospholipid membrane, regulation of blood coagulation, and cell apoptosis or programmed cell death. Though the exact mechanism of Annexin-V in the human body is not fully understood, its wide range of applications in the medical field cannot be denied. Annexin-V can be applied in cancer therapy as a diagnostic to detect cell apoptosis and determine the effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs. Furthermore, Annexin-V could even be used as a drug delivery vehicle in the treatment of cancer. Commercially useful proteins like Annexin-V are in high demand, …

Water System For Developing Countries / Disaster Relief Made With Local Materials, Florencio Serrano Castillo

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The objective of this project was to design a water purification system that can be constructed from easily available materials, common to the particular country, and is capable of the complete water purification process. The designed system consisted of a treadle pump (built from wood or bamboo) to pull the water from its source, a filter (made of readily available materials such as sand) to remove contaminants and improve palatability of water, an electrolysis system to allow chlorination from salt water (using locally sourced salt), and a car battery (which could be sourced from a scrapped car) that could be …

Autonomous Close Formation Flight Of Small Uavs Using Vision-Based Localization, Michael B. Darling

Master's Theses

As Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are integrated into the national airspace to comply with the 2012 Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, new civilian uses for robotic aircraft will come about in addition to the more obvious military applications. One particular area of interest for UAV development is the autonomous cooperative control of multiple UAVs. In this thesis, a decentralized leader-follower control strategy is designed, implemented, and tested from the follower’s perspective using vision-based localization.

The tasks of localization and control were carried out with separate processing hardware dedicated to each task. First, software was written to estimate the relative state …

Outlining The Biocidal Mechanisms Of Synthetic Antimicrobial Peptide Mimics, Tyler D. Brown

Honors Theses

Each day, antibiotic resistance affects the livelihood of individuals worldwide, especially in relation to hospital-acquired diseases. In an effort to combat this resistance, antimicrobial peptides, small biopolymers produced naturally by multicellular organisms, can be used to selectively eliminate bacteria and have demonstrated great potential as alternatives to conventional antibiotics. Many naturally-occurring antimicrobial peptides possess high concentrations of lysine and arginine amino acid residues, which are protonated and positively-charged at physiological pH. Herein, we describe the design and synthesis of antimicrobial peptide mimics, using amino acid mimics. N-3-aminopropyl methacrylamide (APMA) and 3-guanidinopropyl methacrylamide (GPMA) monomers mimic the amino acid residues lysine …

Detailed Inventory Record Inaccuracy Analysis, Hayrettin Kaan Okyay

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation performs a methodical analysis to understand the behavior of inventory record inaccuracy (IRI) when it is influenced by demand, supply and lead time uncertainty in both online and offline retail environment separately. Additionally, this study identifies the susceptibility of the inventory systems towards IRI due to conventional perfect data visibility assumptions. Two different alternatives for such methods are presented and analyzed; the IRI resistance and the error control methods. The discussed methods effectively countered various aspects of IRI; the IRI resistance method performs better on stock-out and lost sales, whereas error control method keeps lower inventory. Furthermore, this …

Study Of The Structure-Property Relationships That Determine The Effects Of Latexes And Starch Containing Latex Emulsions On The Performance Of The Barrier Coatings (Sub-Coat) For Paper, Joanna Marie Monfils

Master's Theses

The history of carbonless paper dates back to the 1940s. Before this, a carbon copy sheet was needed between sheets of paper to be able to produce one or more copies simultaneously during writing. The pressure from a pen or typewriter would help deposit the ink of the carbon paper onto the blank sheet of paper under the original written sheet to create a “carbon copy.” This method did however, have its disadvantages. Not only did it produce a limited number of copies, but it was also a messy process. So came the creative process of using microencapsulated dyes to …

Probing Cell Membrane And Biofilm Extracellular Matrix Interactions With Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha And Interleukin-6 Through Molecular Dynamics Simulations Using A Detailed Chemical Description, Stephen Desalvo

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Bacterial biofilms are a major cause of persistent infections and diseases with known antibiotic and host immune defense resistances. The interaction of signaling factors, namely small cytokines, with the biofilm and host cell is considered vital to the survival of bacterial biofilms. In this study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed using coarse-grained biomolecular systems to provide significant insight into medical therapeutic advancements in treating persistent and chronic infections. Specifically, MD simulations of the interaction between signaling factors tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) with a model biofilm matrix with detailed description were performed. Additional simulations were used to …

Robust Network Interdiction With Invisible Interdiction Assets, Nail Orkun Baycik

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We study a version of the shortest path network interdiction problem in which the follower seeks to find the shortest path on a given network and the leader seeks to maximize the follower's shortest path length by interdicting arcs. We consider placement of interdictions that are not visible to the follower; however, we seek to locate interdictions in a manner that is robust against the possibility that some interdiction locations become known to the follower. We formulate the problem as a bi-level program, and use the simulated annealing heuristic to identify high quality solutions. We apply our approach to investigate …

Ascent And Scenario-Based Time Of Useful Consciousness (Tuc), Lenka Cipova

Theses and Dissertations

The Time of Useful Consciousness (TUC) is a standardized table that has been used by aviation regulatory, safety, and manufacturing organizations for over 50 years to better understand the potential danger of cabin depressurization. It emphasizes the importance of the immediate donning of oxygen masks at high altitudes in the event of a cabin depressurization which otherwise would result in the loss of consciousness. The current TUC table was developed from research in high-altitude (hypobaric) chambers by taking the pilots to various high altitudes while wearing oxygen masks at which point they removed their masks and engaged in various psychological …

Tailsitter Attitude Control Using Resolved Tilt-Twist, Timothy Mclain, Jason M. Beach, Matthew E. Argyle, Randall W. Beard, Stephen Morris

Faculty Publications

The tailsitter aircraft merges the endurance and speed of fixed-wing aircraft with the flexibility and VTOL abilities of rotorcraft. Because of the requirement to be functional at a full range of attitudes, quaternions are typically employed to calculate attitude error. Attitude control is then accomplished by using the vector component of the error quaternion to drive flight control surfaces. This paper demonstrates that this method of driving the flight control surfaces can be suboptimal for tailsitter type aircraft and can lead to undesired vehicle movement. An alternate method of calculating attitude error called resolved tilt-twist is improved and validated. The …

The Effect Of Co-Solvent And Ordered Lattice Structure On Catalysis Of Biodiesel Production In Microreactors, Benjamin J. D. Kegley

Honors Theses

In this study, stable single phase feedstocks for biodiesel production were successfully determined. The addition of free fatty acids, which are considered waste, to the soy bean oil and methanol processing feed as a co-solvent, produces a stable single phase. The single phase feedstock significantly increases initial global rates and supplements the oil with further biodiesel production. A stable single phase feedstock and increased reaction rates are desirable due to the use of continuous heterogeneous biodiesel production in microreactors currently being developed by this research group. Further design improvements to the microreactor design have been determined. Such improvements include the …