Engineering Commons^™

Mechanistic Study Of The Hydrothermal Reduction Of Palladium On The Tobacco Mosaic Virus, Oluwamayowa Oluwarotimi Adigun

Open Access Theses

Synthesis of nanorods and nanowires is becoming more and more important due to interest in them in a wide range of disciplines. The genetically engineered tobacco mosaic virus (TMV1Cys) provides a template for synthesis of uniform metal nanorods at mild operating conditions and without the use of any expensive technology compared to conventional synthetic methods. The discovery of the hydrothermal synthetic scheme has allowed the production of higher quality nanorods on the TMV template. However, the mechanism for reduction and growth in this process is still not understood. In this paper, the mechanism of synthesis for producing uniform, controllable palladium …

Developing An Unstructured Model To Investigate The Effect Of Ethanol On Product Yields For Glucose And Xylose Cofermentation In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae 424a (Lnh-St), Shane D. Clingenpeel

Open Access Theses

Production of bio-ethanol from lignocellulose requires the efficient fermentation of glucose and xylose, even in the presence of inhibitors. The desired product, ethanol itself, will inhibit the fermentation. A further understanding of how ethanol affects the organism is critical to overcoming its inhibition.

This thesis evaluated the effect of ethanol on the cofermentation of glucose and xylose in two different cases. The first case had an unstructured model created for Saccharomyces cerevisiae 424A (LNH-ST), a genetically modified strain of yeast capable of cofermenting glucose and xylose. The differential equations were based around sugar consumption, and the product yields were investigated …

Small Strain Stiffness Of A Carbonatic Fine Grained Soil, Sulaiman Dawood

Open Access Theses

The work presented in this thesis is part of a broad effort aimed at the characterization of the engineering properties, microstructure and mineralogy of soft fine-grained carbonatic soil deposit in Southwestern Indiana (Daviess Co.). The specific focus of this thesis is the characterization, through both field and laboratory measurements, of the small strain behavior of this soil, commonly referred to as a "marl."

Index tests indicate that the 3.5 m marl layer present at the site is characterized by two soil types alternating in small sublayers: a high plasticity silt (soil M) with wn ∼60% and CaCO3 ∼60%, mostly in …

Quality Changes In Hermetically Stored Corn Caused By Fungi And Sitophilus Zeamais, Nda-Agyima Addae-Mensah K

Open Access Theses

Hermetic storage has been shown to be effective in controlling insect pests and maintaining grain quality of dry grains at 13% moisture and below. However, the feasibility and use of hermetic storage for grains at intermediate mid-moisture levels under the influence of the sub-Saharan African weather conditions is relatively unknown. Hermetic storage experiments were conducted on grade 1 "6297 and 6333 VT RIB" hybrid corn under controlled temperature conditions at 10 degrees centigrade and 25 degrees centigrade at target approximate moisture content levels of 11, 15, 18 and 21% wet basis for a total storage period of 6 months. Corn …

Feasibility Analysis Of Large Length-Scale Thermocapillary Flow Experiment For The International Space Station, Samantha Jean Alberts

Open Access Theses

The investigation of microgravity fluid dynamics emerged out of necessity with the advent of space exploration. In particular, capillary research took a leap forward in the 1960s with regards to liquid settling and interfacial dynamics. Due to inherent temperature variations in large spacecraft liquid systems, such as fuel tanks, forces develop on gas-liquid interfaces which induce thermocapillary flows. To date, thermocapillary flows have been studied in small, idealized research geometries usually under terrestrial conditions. The 1 to 3m lengths in current and future large tanks and hardware are designed based on hardware rather than research, which leaves spaceflight systems designers …

Feasibility Of Pulsed Proton Induced Acoustics For 3d Dosimetry, Fahed M. Alsanea

Open Access Theses

Proton therapy has the potential to deposit its energy in tissue with high conformity to the tumor and significantly reduced integral dose to normal tissue compared to conventional radiation, such as x-rays. As a result, local control can be enhanced while reducing side-effects and secondary cancers. This is due to the way charged Particles deposit their energy or dose, where protons form a Bragg peak and establish a well-defined distal edge as a function of depth (range). To date, the dose delivered to a patient from proton therapy remains uncertain, in particular the positioning of the distal edge of the …

Exploratory Study In Container Loading Embraer 190 Aircraft, Ryan H. Auyeung

Open Access Theses

Since the dawn of aviation, cargo loading on aircraft has remained virtually constant. A person and a baggage cart together have been the primary method of loading baggage on to aircraft, and this practice has virtually remained unchanged, especially for narrow body aircraft. This study explores the question of whether a loading device, designed for Embraer 190 aircraft, can increase economic efficiency by reducing aircraft turnaround times, increasing aircraft utilization and reducing work hours. In the course of designing a theoretical loading device for an Embraer 190, various literature ranging from elaborate articulating conveyor belts, to the use of LD3-45W …

Developing A Hardware Platform For A Low-Power, Low-Cost, Size-Constrained Biomechanical Telemetry System, Aditya Balasubramanian

Open Access Theses

As sport-related traumatic brain injuries face increasing attention from the media and the general public, the need to be able to detect brain injury quickly, inexpensively and accurately is more important than ever. Commercially-available event-based systems exist that claim to achieve this goal; however, they collect little to no continuous-time data and primarily indicate when a pre-determined acceleration threshold has been exceeded under the unvalidated assumption that a potentially concussive blow has occurred. Recent findings by the Purdue Neurotrauma Group (PNG) have indicated that repeated exposure to both concussive and subconcussive blows can result in cumulative trauma disorder. To track …

Detailed Finite Element Analysis And Preliminary Study Of The Effects Of Friction And Fastener Pre-Tension On The Mechanical Behavior Of Fastened Built-Up Members, Francisco Javier Bonachera Martin

Open Access Theses

The characterization of fatigue resistance is one of the main concerns in structural engineering, a concern that is particularly important in the evaluation of existing bridge members designed or erected before the development of fatigue design provisions. The ability of a structural member to develop alternate load paths after the failure of a component is known as member-level or internal redundancy. In fastened built-up members, these alternate load paths are affected by the combination of fastener pre-tension and friction between the structural member components in contact. In this study, a finite element methodology to model and analyze riveted and bolted …

Drift-Flux Correlation Development For Two-Phase Flow In Rod Bundles, Collin M. Clark

Open Access Theses

A rod bundle drift-flux correlation is developed with intended application across a wide range of two-phase flow conditions. Special consideration is made for fluid flow mechanisms at low liquid velocity and low pressure conditions. In these instances, gravitational forces from the density difference of the associated fluid phases are more significant. Secondary flow patterns may develop as a result and a drift-flux correlation would need to make appropriate adjustments. Earlier correlations may have increased error at these conditions if they have been formulated with respect to relatively higher pressures or flow rates. In the present work, area-average void fraction data …

Characteristics Of Fibrous Tissue At High Rates Of Tensile Loading, Benjamin J. Claus

Open Access Theses

The mechanical behavior of fibrous tissue is generally characterized at very low strain rates. However, many injuries occur at high rates of loading, such as those encountered in sporting events or vehicle accidents. An understanding of injury behavior requires the injury process to be recorded at high strain rates. Even at low rates of loading, the injury/failure within tissues occurs quickly. Furthermore, using conventional imaging systems, the surface of a specimen may be well documented throughout an experiment. However, damage formation does not necessarily begin at the surface of the specimen or even on the surface exposed to a camera. …

Biomechanics And Relaxivity For Functional Imaging Of Articular Cartilage Injury And Degradation, Kateri Elizabeth Fites

Open Access Theses

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major debilitating health concern and economic burden worldwide, affecting 27 million people in the United States alone. OA often follows tissue injury, and is marked by changes in the structure and biomechanical function of cartilage, including breakdown of extracellular matrix molecules, loss of bulk tissue stiffness, and increase in articular surface friction and wear. Unlike bone and many other tissues, cartilage lacks an intrinsic capacity for regeneration. Advanced OA is typically diagnosed by patient symptoms (e.g. joint pain) and confirmed by radiographic evaluation of joint space narrowing. However, the application of functional imaging to assess cartilage …

Blast Energy Mitigation In Porous Rocks, Brittany Corinne Essink

Open Access Theses

Geo-materials are commonly used and sought after for blast mitigation applications due to their wide availability and low cost compared to industry trademarked materials. Characterization of these natural geo-materials such as volcanic rocks is of paramount importance in determining their blast mitigation capabilities. While there is a large amount of information available for materials such as concrete or sand blasts, information on the properties of volcanic rocks is far more scarce. This lack of data is due to the wide range of existing natural volcanic rocks and the variation in the minerals and pore structures of the rocks.

In this …

The Effect Of Job Performance Aids On Quality Assurance, Erik David Fosshage

Open Access Theses

Job performance aids (JPAs) have been studied for many decades in a variety of disciplines and for many different types of tasks, yet this is the first known research experiment using JPAs in a quality assurance (QA) context. The objective of this thesis was to assess whether a JPA has an effect on the performance of a QA observer performing the concurrent dual verification technique for a basic assembly task. The JPA used in this study was a simple checklist, and the design borrows heavily from prior research on task analysis and other human factors principles. The assembly task and …

Graphical Performance Measures For Practitioners To Identify Split Failures, Richard Scott Freije

Open Access Theses

Detector occupancy is commonly used to measure traffic signal performance. Despite improvements in controller computational power, there have been relatively few innovations in occupancy-based performance measures or integration with other data. This thesis introduces and demonstrates the use of graphical performance measures based on detector occupancy ratios to verify potential split failures and other signal timing shortcomings reported to practitioners by the public. The proposed performance measures combine detector occupancy during the green interval, detector occupancy during the first five seconds of the red interval, and phase termination cause (gap out or force off). These are summarized by time of …

Designing And Evaluating Playground Equipment For Compliance With The Americans With Disabilities Act, Leigha R. Brisco

Honors Theses

The need for accessible playgrounds is more prevalent than ever before, with approximately 3 million children having disabilities and health issues that limit their ability to partake in play and school. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) recently provided, for the first time, specific accessible design standards for playgrounds. All playgrounds must now comply with these rules that went into place on March 15, 2012. As it is vital that playgrounds undergo the necessary changes to come up to compliance, there is an opportunity to develop an accessible playground design which satisfies all ADA playground standards and requirements. The objective …

Functionalization Of Carbon Nanotube Yarn By Acid Treatment, Heath E. Misak, Ramazan Asmatulu, Mat O'Malley, Emil Jurak, Shankar Mall

Faculty Publications

Carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn was functionalized using sulfuric and nitric acid solutions in 3:1 volumetric ratio. Successful functionalization of CNT yarn with carboxyl and hydroxyl groups (e.g., COOH, COO–, OH, etc.) was confirmed by attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction revealed no significant change to the atomic in-plane alignment in the CNTs; however, the coherent length along the diameter was significantly reduced during functionalization. A morphology change of wavy extensions protruding from the surface was observed after the functionalization treatment. The force required to fracture the yarn remained the same after the functionalization process; however, the linear density was increased …

Modeling The Thermosphere As A Driven-Dissipative Thermodynamic System, William R. Frey, C. S. Lin, Matthew B. Garvin, Ariel O. Acebal

Faculty Publications

Thermospheric density impacts satellite position and lifetime through atmospheric drag. More accurate specification of thermospheric temperature, a key input to current models such as the High Accuracy Satellite Drag Model, can decrease model density errors. This paper improves the model of Burke et al. (2009) to model thermospheric temperatures using the magnetospheric convective electric field as a driver. In better alignment with Air Force satellite tracking operations, we model the arithmetic mean temperature, T _1/2, defined by the Jacchia (1977) model as the mean of the daytime maximum and nighttime minimum exospheric temperatures occurring in opposite hemispheres at a …

Design Of Hardware Accelerator For Fuzzy Automata Using Dynamic Partial Reconfiguration, Chinh K. Nguyen

Masters Theses

As embedded systems have become more complex and designers are required to develop new products faster while using fewer chips. FPGAs are a good choice because they offer flexibility to design on-chip devices as well as the embedded systems that are reprogrammable and reconfigurable. Today's tougher cost, higher performance, and lower power consumption requirements demand even more efficient design strategies. Dynamic partial reconfiguration (PR) is a good approach to meet these requirements because it extends the inherent flexibility of the FPGA by allowing partial regions of the FPGA to be dynamically reconfigured with new functionality while other applications are still …

Analytical Performance Evaluation Of Thermoelectric Modules Using Effective Material Properties, Sean Lwe Leslie Weera

Masters Theses

Designers often face the predicament of non-standardized forms of performance data provided by thermoelectric module manufacturers. Other than experimental means the only method to evaluate the performance of a product would be through analytical modeling using material properties that are usually undisclosed and unknown. This work studies the theoretical approach of obtaining such material properties using the maximum operating parameters reported by the manufacturers. These values are then analytically employed to evaluate the performances of these thermoelectric modules. Experimental means are also devised and carried out on these test samples to validate the integrity of the results. Three-way comparisons between …

A Robotic Test Of Proprioception Within The Hemiparetic Arm Post-Stroke, Lucia Simo, Lior Botzer, Claude Ghez, Robert A. Scheidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Background: Proprioception plays important roles in planning and control of limb posture and movement. The impact of proprioceptive deficits on motor function post-stroke has been difficult to elucidate due to limitations in current tests of arm proprioception. Common clinical tests only provide ordinal assessment of proprioceptive integrity (eg. intact, impaired or absent). We introduce a standardized, quantitative method for evaluating proprioception within the arm on a continuous, ratio scale. We demonstrate the approach, which is based on signal detection theory of sensory psychophysics, in two tasks used to characterize motor function after stroke.

Methods: Hemiparetic stroke survivors and neurologically intact …

A Strategy For Integrating Essential Three-Dimensional Microphysiological Systems Of Human Organs For Realistic Anticancer Drug Screening, Christopher Heylman, Agua Sobrino, Venktesh S. Shirure, Christopher Cw Hughes, Steven C. George

Biomedical Engineering

Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality around the world. Despite some success, traditional anticancer drugs developed to reduce tumor growth face important limitations primarily due to undesirable bone marrow and cardiovascular toxicity. Many drugs fail in clinical development after showing promise in preclinical trials, suggesting that the available in vitro and animal models are poor predictors of drug efficacy and toxicity in humans. Thus, novel models that more accurately mimic the biology of human organs are necessary for high-throughput drug screening. Three-dimensional (3D) microphysiological systems can utilize induced pluripotent stem cell technology, tissue engineering, and …

Computational-Communicative Actions Of Informational Processing, Florentin Smarandache, Stefan Vladutescu

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

This study is circumscribed to the Information Science. The zetetic aim of research is double: a) to define the concept of action of informational processing and b) to design a taxonomy of actions of informational processing. First, the investigation trays to demonstrate that the computational actions of informational processing or the informational actions are computational-investigative configurations for structuring information: clusters of highly-aggregated operations which are carried out in a unitary manner operate convergently and behave like a unique computational device. From a methodological point of view, they are comprised within the category of analytical instruments for the informational processing of …

Comparative Study Of Base-Isolated And Fixed-Base Buildings Using A Damage/Cost Approach, Martin Lashgari

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

High performance base-isolated buildings are designed with a higher level of safety than the conventional fixed-base buildings under the current codes. As a sustainable development, these buildings have considerably lower social and economic impacts in a major event. The main factor limiting the extensive use of such systems is the higher initial construction costs. The cost estimations based on only initial investment may have concluded misleading results as the performance of those systems in earthquakes are different. Therefore, an evaluation considering initial costs and future repair costs due to damages from earthquakes gives a better scope for selection of an …

Team Poly Cup, John Adkins, Scott W. Hart, Elise Kiland

Mechanical Engineering

This project involves the use of mechanical engineering expertise to develop, design, and create a functioning prototype of a collapsible coffee cup. The prototype is to be designed to the specifications given by Jason Blum, the project sponsor. Allowances may be given for design freedom as specified by Jason Blum. The goal of this project is to create a product which may replace the both the disposable coffee cups distributed at coffee shops as well as to create a product which may replace the traditional travel mug due to its increased portability.

Team Poly Cup has worked throughout the year …

Modelling Rainwater-Harvesting System Reliability Based On Historical Precipitation Data For Portland, Mrinali Mathur

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Rainwater harvesting can ease the water availability problems for many parts of the world where water is not easily available. It is also a solution for minimizing stormwater runoff and better managing sewers by preventing combined sewers to overflow. The goal of this project is to calculate the reliability of rainwater harvesting systems and provide optimum size of the storage tank using historical records for Portland specific rain pattern. A simple water balance approach for historical data is used to calculate the reliability by which rainwater harvesting system can be used as a means of irrigating gardens in Portland. The …

Benchtop Minimal-Intervention Anaerobic Digestion Of Vegetarian Food Waste For Ph And Methane Production: Conceivability And Control Study, Emily J. Heleva-Ponaski

Civil and Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cities around the world transport large quantities of waste to landfills at a great expense to their residents, infrastructures, and environments. The objective of this study was to run an anaerobic food waste digester with minimal interference or maintenance. One specific goal of this research was to evaluate the relationship between anaerobic food waste and pH. Two benchop digesters were started with vegetarian food waste collected from the Portland State University campus. Measurements were collected over the course of the digestion process. Due to low pH and lack of biogas production, the digesters were buffered with sodium carbonate and seeded …

Size-Dependent Interactions Of Metal Nanoparticles With Fluorophores And Semiconductors, Liyana A. Wajira Ariyadasa

Dissertations

In recent years, nanoscale metallic particles have gained considerable interest due to their potential applications in advanced technology. Despite such interest, synthetic procedures that produce gram-scale, well-defined metallic nanoparticles with controlled size and shape, especially with diameters less than 5 nm remains a challenge. Our work has focused on developing synthetic procedures that produce well-defined platinum and palladium metal nanoparticles in the 1-5 nm size range. Thioether ligands were used as stabilizers and resulted in metal nanoparticles with controlled size. The nanoparticles were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy …

Field Penetration In Mri-Based Breast Models: A Numerical Investigation, Giuseppe Ruvio, Raffaele Solimene, Antonio Cuccaro, Max Ammann

Articles

The use of reliable computational tools is fundamental to investigate different aspects of microwave breast cancer imaging. From the development of high-definition and realistic numerical breast models, different coupling mechanisms and the reaction of different tissues to microwave signals can be characterized. In this paper, field penetration inside four numerical breast phantoms with varying adipose content is evaluated in the frequency range 0.5 - 10 GHz across sagittal cuts.

Assessment And Evaluation Of Timber Piles Used In Nebraska For Retrofit And Rating, Atorod Azizinamini, Alireza Mohammadi, Jawad H. Gull, Ramin Taghinezhad

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.