Engineering Commons^™

Lower-Extremity Joint Kinematics And Muscle Activations During Semi-Reclined Cycling At Different Workloads In Healthy Individuals, Kamyar Momeni, Pouran D. Faghri, Martinus Evans

Open Access Author Fund Awardees' Articles

Background

A better understanding of lower-extremity muscles’ activation patterns and joint kinematics during different workloads could help rehabilitation professionals with prescribing more effective exercise regimen for elderly and those with compromised muscles. We examined the relative contribution, as well as activation and co-activation patterns, of lower-extremity muscles during semi-reclined cycling at different workloads during a constant cadence.

Methods

Fifteen healthy novice cyclists participated at three 90-second cycling trials with randomly assigned workloads of 0, 50, and 100 W, at a constant cadence of 60 rpm. During all trials, electromyograms were recorded from four lower-extremity muscles: rectus femoris (RF), biceps femoris …

Engineering News, Fall 2014, School Of Engineering

Engineering News

No abstract provided.

Investigation And Modeling Of Uranium Polarization For The Electrorefining Of Scrap U-Mo Foils, Melissa Rose

Open Access Dissertations

A uranium molybdenum alloy fuel has been proposed to convert research and test reactors from highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium to increase the proliferation resistance at such reactors. Pyroprocessing has been selected to recover uranium from the scrap produced in the manufacture of this novel fuel type. Electrorefining, the main separation process of pyroprocessing, is modeled through a novel approach using corrosion theory. To use corrosion theory, knowledge of uranium polarization and kinetic parameters such as Tafel constant, transfer coefficient and exchange current density are required. Uranium polarization was investigated at five temperatures and three scan rates in …

Simulations Of Diffusion Driven Phase Evolution In Heterogenous Solids, Subramanya Gautam Sadasiva

Open Access Dissertations

With reduction in size, ever greater operational demands are placed on electronics components at all levels of the device, starting from the transistor level to the level of the package and the solder interconnects. Concurrently, there has been a move to more complicated materials systems in order to meet health and environmental guidelines. These trends of reducing size, increasing loads have increased the necessity to understand the mechanisms of the failure. ^ As the length scales are reduced, it becomes increasingly important to consider interfacial and micro-structural effects that can be safely ignored at larger length scales owing to the …

Designing A Sustainable And Transferable Inventory Management System For Small Healthcare Facilities, Shree Frazier

Open Access Theses

Managing the costs of supplies within healthcare facilities has been a task that has plagued the health industry for many years. Many facilities are accustomed to using a par system approach. This involves bringing an inventory item to an amount sufficient for daily operation. This method often requires daily inspection by a healthcare worker, which reduces his/her time spent performing value added tasks. Employees at small healthcare facilities have multiple responsibilities, therefore they cannot afford to spend much time on inventory management. A proposed approach is the Kanban method, which allows for strict monitoring of inventory items without the need …

Heavy Vehicle Rollover Propensity At Roundabouts On Highspeed Roads, Thomas M. Hall

Open Access Theses

There is a recent trend of building roundabouts on high-speed roads, often with significant heavy vehicle traffic. With the increased presence of trucks on roundabouts, the issue of rollover has become a concern. Geometric features that allow excessive speed on the approach and entry have been connected to rollover, as well as sudden changes in crossfall and radius. However, the effect on the rollover threshold of changing the roundabout's circulatory superelevation is not fully understood. The impact of aggressive driving behaviors, as displayed by high driver speed far from the roundabout, as well as errors that are manifested by the …

Studies Of Systems With Nonholonomic Constraints: The Segway And The Chaplygin Sleigh, Joseph Troy Lee Tuttle

Open Access Theses

In this thesis, two systems with nonholonomic systems are investigated: the Segway and the Chaplygin sleigh. Using Lagrangian mechanics, the constrained nonlinear equations of motion for both systems are derived. By use of the nullspace of the constraint matrices, the unconstrained equations of motion can be obtained. For the Segway, these equations are linearized about a zero equilibrium state, placed into state space form and decoupled. A feedback controller is designed about the velocity and heading angle rate reference commands. To compare to the real data from the built Segway, measurement noise was also included in the model. Experimental data …

If We Take Into Account That Constraints Are Soft, Then Processing Constraints Becomes Algorithmically Solvable, Quentin Brefort, Luc Jaulin, Martine Ceberio, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Constraints are ubiquitous in science and engineering. Constraints describe the available information about the state of the system, constraints describe possible relation between current and future states of the system, constraints describe which future states we would like to obtain. To solve problems from engineering and science, it is therefore necessary to process constraints. We show that if we treat constraints as hard (crisp), with all the threshold values exactly known, then in the general case, all the corresponding computational problems become algorithmically unsolvable. However, these problems become algorithmically solvable if we take into account that in reality, …

Piston / Cylinder Interface Of Axial Piston Machines – Effect Of Piston Micro-Surface Shaping, Ashley M. Wondergem

Open Access Theses

Axial piston machines are widely used in current industries such as aerospace, agriculture, automotive, heavy machinery, military, etc. Thus new cost-effective and highly efficient designs with better performance and reliability are needed. These new, high efficient pumps and motors will also aid in new applications such as hybrid hydrostatic transmissions and displacement controlled actuation. The aim of this work is to study how to reduce the energy dissipation (increase efficiency) while also improving the load carrying ability of the fluid film between the piston and the cylinder through surface shaping of the piston over a wide range of operating conditions. …

Why Ricker Wavelets Are Successful In Processing Seismic Data: Towards A Theoretical Explanation, Afshin Gholamy, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In many engineering applications ranging from engineering seismology to petroleum engineering and civil engineering, it is important to process seismic data. In processing seismic data, it turns out to be very efficient to describe the signal's spectrum as a linear combination of Ricker wavelet spectra. In this paper, we provide a possible theoretical explanation for this empirical efficiency. Specifically, signal propagation through several layers is discussed, and it is shown that the Ricker wavelet is the simplest non-trivial solution for the corresponding data processing problem, under the condition that the described properties of the approximation family are satisfied.

Department Of Biological Systems Engineering Newsletter, Fall 2014

BSE Department Magazine

No abstract provided.

Ua66 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Newsletter, Cheryl Stevens, Dean

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Publications

No abstract provided.

Measurements Of Entropy-Layer Instabilities Over Cone-Ogive-Cylinders At Mach 6, Roger T Greenwood

Open Access Dissertations

Predicting the onset of boundary layer transition is critical in hypersonic flight. To improve transition prediction methods, it is necessary to understand the underlying instability mechanisms that cause transition. Entropy-layer instabilities are of particular interest in the design of blunt reentry vehicles and other blunt supersonic and hypersonic vehicles. Entropy-layer instabilities from outside the boundary layer may enter the boundary layer and have a significant effect on transition. There is little experimental data for entropy-layer instabilities. ^ Experimental measurements of what appear to be entropy-layer instabilities have been made in the Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel (BAM6QT) using surface pressure transducers …

Impulse, Dave Graves, Karissa Kuhle, Madelin Mack, Emily Weber

Impulse (Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering Publication)

Students:
[Page] 2 Christopher Jankowski: Senior adds Arabic to civil engineering studies. [Page] 4 State’s first to receive scholarship: Bailey Hofland receives college’s first scholarship from the Material Handling Education Foundation.
[Page] 6 Fast learner: After spending three years concentrating on electrical and mechanical engineering, Adam Halverson wins The Summit League 400-meter dash.
[Page] 8 National scholarship recipients: Ryan Mahutga and Emily Sumner win scholarships from Tau Beta Pi and Chi Epsilon, respectively.
[Page]10 Freshmen on campus: A look at the newest Jackrabbits in the Lohr College of Engineering.
College:
[Page] 12 Enticing the students of the future: Camps, contests …

Implementation Of A Sediment Transport Model For Ce-Qual-W2, Rachel Hanna

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

The CE-QUAL-W2 model, developed by Portland State University, simulates water quality and flow. Recommendations to expand on this model and have it include sediment transport are implemented in this report. Existing one-, two-, and three-dimensional models are reviewed and assessed for their sediment transport methodology. A laterally (width) averaged sediment concentration model is developed as an Upwind Center Space Scheme using CE-QUAL-W2 data. The scheme includes a method to calculate scour for sediment concentration and results of the model are shown for a simulated branch of the Spokane River.

Indoor Acoustic Mapping And Geolocation, Thomas Shyy

Open Access Theses

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is widely used in navigations of flights, vehicles and travelers nowadays. However, the signals are not always available and there are some cases where the receptions of the GPS signal can be lost because of the presence of urban canyons, buildings, tunnels and forests. Another down side for the GPS is that indoor positioning can be really difficult because of the greater signal interference from the indoor.

On the other hand, the concept of echolocation has also been used for positioning purposes. Echolocation offers a promising approach to improve the quality of life of people …

Tunable Impedance Matching Network Fundamental Limits And Pracitical Considerations, Wesley N. Allen

Open Access Dissertations

As wireless devices continue to increase in utility while decreasing in dimension, design of the RF front-end becomes more complex. It is common for a single handheld device to operate on a plethora of frequency bands, utilize multiple antennae, and be subjected to a variety of environments. One complexity in particular which arises from these factors is that of impedance mismatch. Recently, tunable impedance matching networks have begun to be implemented to address this problem. ^ This dissertation presents the first in-depth study on the frequency tuning range of tunable impedance matching networks. Both the fundamental limitations of ideal networks …

Thermal Efficiency And Emission Analysis Of Advanced Thermodynamic Strategies In A Multi-Cylinder Diesel Engine Utilizing Valve-Train Flexibility, Chuan Ding

Open Access Dissertations

Stringent emission regulations and a growing demand for fossil fuel drive the development of new technologies for internal combustion engines. Diesel engines are thermally efficient but require complex aftertreatment systems to reduce tailpipe emissions of unburned hydrocarbons (UHC), particulate matter (PM), and nitrogen oxides (NOx). These challenges require research into advanced thermodynamic strategies to improve thermal efficiency, control emission formation and manage exhaust temperature for downstream aftertreatment. The optimal performance for different on-road conditions is analyzed using a fully flexible valve-train on a modern diesel engine. The experimental investigation focuses on thermal management during idling and high-way cruise conditions. In …

A Qualitative Study Of Problematic Reasonings Of Undergraduate Electrical Engineering Students In Continuous Time Signals And Systems Courses, Farrah Fayyaz

Open Access Dissertations

Continuous Time Signals and Systems is a core course in the undergraduate electrical engineering curriculum. The topics covered in this course are difficult to learn conceptually because a significant number of topics are abstract, disconnected from a student's daily life, and make extensive use of mathematical modeling and formulas. Engineering educators have put in significant effort to design effective educational strategies for this course; however, there remained a gap in qualitative understanding of students' reasonings associated with difficulties in conceptual learning of the course content. This study aims to fill this gap by identifying problematic reasonings of undergraduate electrical engineering …

Water Resources Engineering 2: Water Resource Systems - George Mason University, Mark Houck

All ECSTATIC Materials

To introduce concepts, applications, and tools of systems analysis for water resources planning, management, and design.

To apply these principles to problems including river basin planning, real-time hydrosystem operations, water quality management, capacity expansion, urban drainage network design, and sanitary sewer design.

Course taught at George Mason University.

Computer Aided Water Management And Control - Colorado State University, John Labadie

All ECSTATIC Materials

Present modern computer-aided tools of systems analysis to planning, design, and operation of water resource systems. Topics covered include: optimal operation of multipurpose reservoir systems; optimal flood control system operations; coordinated unit commitment in hydropower systems; optimal multicrop allocation of seasonal and intraseasonal irrigation water; risk-based design of stochastic reservoir operating policies; economic evaluation of integrated design of water storage and conveyance systems; optimal conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater; optimal reservoir operations for water quality management; and optimal investment timing and selection of water resource projects. Several case studies are presented for river basins in the U.S., Dominican …

Keeping Civilization From Collapsing, Thomas W. Camm

Mining Engineering

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Irrigation Use On Crop Yield And Water Supplies In The Midwestern U.S., Wei-Chih Chen

Open Access Dissertations

Climate plays an important role in many aspects of hydrological and agricultural systems. Temperature and precipitation are usually the main forcing inputs for hydrological and agricultural simulations, while wind effect has generally been neglected in previous research. Wind speed is, however, an important factor for many physical processes, including evaporation from soil, and transpiration from plants. In order to investigate how climate variability impacts agricultural production, there are three hypotheses addressed in this dissertation. Hypothesis 1 is that the representation of changing wind speed will play an important role in the simulation of hydrological processes, and that the effect of …

Algorithm-Circuit Co-Design For Detecting Symptomatic Patterns In Biological Signals, Himanshu Markandeya

Open Access Dissertations

The advancement in scaled Silicon technology has accelerated the development of a wide range of applications in various fields including medical technology. It has immensely contributed to finding solutions for monitoring general health as well as alleviating intractable disorders in the form of implantable and wearable systems. This necessitates the development of energy efficient and functionally efficacious systems. This thesis has explored the algorithm-circuit co-design approach for developing an energy efficient epileptic seizure detection processor which could be used for implantable epilepsy prosthesis. Novel wavelet transform based algorithms are proposed for accurate detection of epileptic seizures. Energy efficient techniques at …

Modeling And Characterization Of Non-Ideal Effects In High-Performance Rf Mems Tuners, Juan Zeng

Open Access Dissertations

The emerging standards for the next-generation wireless communication system demand for multi-band RF front-ends. Reconfigurable RF devices based on MEMS technology have emerged with the potential to significantly reduce the system complexity and cost. Robust operation of RF MEMS tuners under the non-ideal effects due to fabrication uncertainties and environmental variations is critical in achieving reliable RF MEMS reconfigurable devices. Therefore, it is essential to model and characterize these non-ideal effects, and further to alleviate these non-ideal effects by design optimization.^ In this dissertation, the effects of non-perfect anchor support, residual stress, and temperature sensibility of MEMS tuners have been …

Estimating Mineral Weathering Rates In Catskills Watersheds, Chris E. Johnson

Civil and Environmental Engineering - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Pushing The Boundaries Of Tractable Ontology Reasoning, David Carral, Cristina Feier, Bernardo Cuenca Grau, Pascal Hitzler, Ian Horrocks

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

We identify a class of Horn ontologies for which standard reasoning tasks such as instance checking and classification are tractable. The class is general enough to include the OWL 2 EL, QL, and RL profiles. Verifying whether a Horn ontology belongs to the class can be done in polynomial time. We show empirically that the class includes many real-world ontologies that are not included in any OWL 2 profile, and thus that polynomial time reasoning is possible for these ontologies.

Improving Tennis Player Performance Using System Development Interpretations Methodology, Dotan Shvorin, Kevin Taaffe

Publications

This research demonstrates a unique analytical approach to improving a player's performance in the game of tennis. We introduce a system development interpretations (SDI) methodology for associating player characteristics and factors in a hierarchical structure. We then show how this tool is applied in a human performance environment such as tennis. This approach was developed as a multi-disciplinary quality tool for process improvement that identifies factor dependencies and depicts their impact on the resulting player performance. From the implementation of the SDI methodology, the research was able to define the tennis player's difficulties and it has allowed the researchers to …

Environmental Systems Analysis - Penn State, University Park, Douglas A. Haith

All ECSTATIC Materials

Undergraduate course in environmental systems analysis offered at Penn State, University Park in Fall 2014.

Environmental Engineering Systems, Mark Houck

All ECSTATIC Materials

Introduces the concepts and applications of systems analysis in environmental engineering. Tools and methodologies of systems analysis are applied to improve the understanding and resolution of complex environmental engineering problems related to air, soil, and water quality and pollution. Scientific, engineering, political, social, legal, regulatory, medical, economic, and financial impacts of environmental engineering decisions are considered. Course taught at George Mason University.