Engineering Commons^™

Impact Of Secondary Reactive Species On The Apparent Decoupling Of Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Diacrylate Hydrogel Average Mesh Size And Modulus, Dany J. Munoz Pinto, S. Samavedi, B. Grigoryan, M. S. Hahn

Engineering Faculty Research

Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogels are widely used in biotechnology due to their in situ crosslinking capacity and tunable physical properties. However, as with all single component hydrogels, the modulus of PEGDA networks cannot be tailored independently of mesh size. This interdependence places significant limitations on their use for defined, 3D cell-microenvironment studies and for certain controlled release applications. The incorporation of secondary reactive species (SRS) into PEGDA hydrogels has previously been shown to allow the identification of up to 6 PEGDA hydrogel formulations for which distinct moduli can be obtained at consistent average mesh size (or vice versa). However, …

Spatial Variability Of Subsurface Soil Conditions Causing Roadway Settlements, Ömer Bilgin, Kevin Arens, Mark Salveter, Alexander Dettloff

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

Settlement of problematic soils constituting the roadway subgrade may result in pavement distress and structural failure, requiring periodic pavement patching and resurfacing. Many of these problems occur as a result of the settlement of soft cohesive and organic soils. Due to the extent of roadway projects and the limited frequency of boring locations, spatial variability of subsurface soil conditions, and sometimes due to an inadequate extent of exploration, these problematic soils may not be identified suitably during subsurface explorations. An extensive subsurface exploration program was implemented for detailed characterization of subsurface conditions for a relatively short section of an existing …

Evaluation Of Concrete Grinding Residue (Cgr) Slurry Application On Vegetation And Soil Responses Along Nebraska State Highway 31, Martha Mamo, Dennis L. Mccallister, Walter H. Schacht

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Development And Evaluation Of Weak-Post W-Beam Guardrail In Mow Strips, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Ronald K. Faller, Karla A. Lechtenberg, James C. Holloway

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The objective of this study was to adapt and evaluate a weak-post, W-beam guardrail system for use within mow strips and other pavements. The weak-post guardrail system was originally designed as the MGS bridge rail and has also been adapted for use on culverts. It was envisioned that the weak-post design would absorb the impact forces and prevent damage to the mow strips, thereby minimizing maintenance and repair costs.

Evaluation of the weak posts in mow strips began with three rounds of dynamic bogie testing. Round 1 of bogie testing showed that 4-in. (102-mm) thick concrete would sustain only minor …

Characterising Volcanic Cycles At Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat: Time Series Analysis Of Multi-Parameter Satellite Data, Verity Flower, Simon Carn

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The identification of cyclic volcanic activity can elucidate underlying eruption dynamics and aid volcanic hazard mitigation. Whilst satellite datasets are often analysed individually, here we exploit the multi-platform NASA A-Train satellite constellation to cross-correlate cyclical signals identified using complementary measurement techniques at Soufriere Hills Volcano (SHV), Montserrat. In this paper we present a Multi-taper (MTM) Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis of coincident SO2 and thermal infrared (TIR) satellite measurements at SHV facilitating the identification of cyclical volcanic behaviour. These measurements were collected by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (respectively) in the A-Train. We identify …

Photocatalytic Concrete Pavements: Laboratory Investigation Of No Oxidation Rate Under Varied Environmental Conditions, Joel K. Sikkema, Sae-Kee Ong, James E. Alleman

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Concrete pavements containing TiO₂ can be used for air pollution control by oxidizing NO_X under UV-bearing sunlight. This study employed a bench-scale photoreactor to estimate NO oxidation rates for varied environmental conditions. Rates correlated positively with NO inlet concentration and irradiance and negatively with relative humidity. No correlation occurred with flow rate. A decrease in slab moisture (previously unstudied) positively correlated with NO oxidation rate at 0–2% loss of saturated mass, but negatively correlated at losses greater that 2%. Although prior researchers deemed temperature insignificant, data indicated a positive correlation. Overall, rates ranged from 9.8–64 nmol∙m^-2∙s …

Performance Limiting Factors Of Cu2znsn(Sxse1-X)4 Solar Cells Prepared By Thermal Evaporation, Sandip Das, Raghu N. Bhattacharya, Krishna C. Mandal

Faculty Articles

Cu2ZnSn(SxSe1−x)4 (CZTSSe) thin film solar cells have been prepared by vacuum-based thermal evaporation of metal and binary sulfide precursors followed by annealing in a mixed chalcogen vapor at 550 °C for one hour. The Zn/Sn ratio in the precursor was varied from 0.75 to 1.50 keeping the Cu/(Zn+Sn) ratio constant at 0.7. The best performing solar cell was obtained with a final film composition of Cu/(Zn+Sn)=0.77 and Zn/Sn=1.13 corresponding to a Zn/Sn ratio of 0.9 in the precursor. The champion cell exhibited an open-circuit voltage (VOC) of 506 mV, short-circuit current density (J …

The Bridge Newsletter Winter 2015, Missouri University Of Science And Technology

The Bridge Newsletter

-S&T’s Solar House Design Team sets out to redefine the American housing market
-A monumental anniversary
-Academy awards Sneed
-ASCE honors Holmes

Ozone Reaction With Interior Building Materials: Influence Of Diurnal Ozone Variation, Temperature And Humidity, Donghyun Rim, Elliott T. Gall, Randy L. Maddalena, William W. Nazaroff

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Elevated tropospheric ozone concentrations are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Indoor ozone chemistry affects human exposure to ozone and reaction products that also may adversely affect health and comfort. Reactive uptake of ozone has been characterized for many building materials; however, scant information is available on how diurnal variation of ambient ozone influences ozone reaction with indoor surfaces. The primary objective of this study is to investigate ozone-surface reactions in response to a diurnally varying ozone exposure for three common building materials: ceiling tile, painted drywall, and carpet tile. A secondary objective is to examine the effects of air …

Fast Gpu-Based Approach To Branchless Distance-Driven Projection And Back-Projection In Cone Beam Ct, Daniel Edward Schlifske

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Modern CT image reconstruction algorithms rely on projection and back-projection operations to refine an image estimate in iterative image reconstruction. A widely-used state-of-the-art technique is distance-driven projection and back-projection. While the distance-driven technique yields superior image quality in iterative algorithms, it is a computationally demanding process. This has a detrimental effect on the relevance of the algorithms in clinical settings. A few methods have been proposed for enhancing the distance-driven technique in order to take advantage of modern computer hardware. This study explores a two-dimensional extension of the branchless method, which is a technique that does not compromise image quality. …

Towards Mhealth Solutions For Asthma Patients, Nahid Negar

Master's Theses (2009 -)

With the recent, rapid growth in mobile-computing technology, mobile health (mHealth) is becoming a popular research topic. mHealth is one of several examples of how using technology in the health sector is being more advanced every day. mHealth is being applied to the care of a broad spectrum of diseases from acute to chronic, such as the flu, asthma, and cancer. Due to the easy-to-understand and friendly user interfaces, mobility and cost effectiveness; a mobile application can be a powerful tool to collect patient information. Asthma is a common disease around the globe. Collecting the proper symptom, trigger, peak-flow and …

Lpcoms: Towards A Low Power Wireless Smart-Shoe System For Gait Analysis In People With Disabilities, Ishmat Zerin

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Gait analysis using smart sensor technology is an important medical diagnostic process and has many applications in rehabilitation, therapy and exercise training. In this thesis, we present a low power wireless smart-shoe system (LPcomS) to analyze different functional postures and characteristics of gait while walking. We have designed and implemented a smart-shoe with a Bluetooth communication module to unobtrusively collect data using smartphone in any environment. With the design of a shoe insole equipped with four pressure sensors, the foot pressure is been collected, and those data are used to obtain accurate gait pattern of a patient. With our proposed …

Investigation Of Surface Topography Effects On Metal Flow Under Lubricated Hot Compression Of Aluminum, Justin Irvin Kurk

Master's Theses (2009 -)

An investigation was conducted to study the effects of die surface topography, specifically surface roughness and lay, on metal flow and the friction factor under lubricated hot compression. 6061-T6 aluminum rings and square bar stock specimens were compressed on H-13 tool steel platens machined with a unidirectional lay pattern to six different roughnesses between a R 10 and 240 μin. A lab based hydraulic press mounted with an experimental die set was used for all testing. Repeated trials were conducted using high temperature vegetable oil and boron nitride lubricants. Metal flow was quantified as a function of surface roughness, lay …

Optimizing A Hammer Forging Progression For A Large Hand Tool, Edgar Espinoza

Master's Theses (2009 -)

In the forging industry of today the need for United States based companies to reduce cost and maintain or improve the quality of a product has become essential in order to remain competitive. A company such as Green Bay Drop Forge (GBDF), a manufacturer of standard and custom steel forgings, was tasked with improving the forging process of one of their large hand tool products. A large wrench, forged at GBDF was noticed to contain a large amount of flash and excessive amount of hammer blows required to forge the part. The large amounts of flash and excessive hammer blows …

Hockey Skating Kinematics And The Effect Of Skate Design And Technique Training, Rebecca Mae Tidman

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of technique training and hockey skate design on hockey skating performance. Fourteen male subjects, aged 12-16 years, with no recent skate treadmill experience completed ten training sessions on a skating treadmill. Instruction emphasized maximizing stride width by pushing laterally with the skate pointed anteriorly. Subjects were randomly placed into one of two experimental groups based on initial skate type: traditional or Easton Mako. After completion of five sessions, skate type was switched so that skate design effects could be assessed. In contrast to a traditional hockey skate design, the Easton …

Mechanical Characterization Of Carbon Fiber And Thermoplastic Ankle Foot Orthoses, Amanda Wach

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The needs of an increasingly young and active orthotic patient population has led to advancements in ankle foot orthosis (AFO) design and materials to enable higher function. The Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis (IDEO) is a custom energy-storing carbon fiber AFO that has demonstrated improved clinical function, allowing patients to return to high-intensity activities such as sports and military service. An improved understanding of AFO mechanical function will aid prescription and fitting, as well as assist in design modifications for different patient populations. This study investigated the mechanical properties of AFOs, specifically structural stiffness, rotational motion, and strut deflection, to discern …

Bidirectional Ac-Dc Converter For Vehicle-To-Grid (V2g) Applications, Arjun Raj Prabu Andhra Sridhar

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Electric vehicles are growing at a rapid pace in the internal combustion engine dominated transportation sector, and bring environmental and economic benefits to society. Electric vehicles produce nearly zero carbon emission, provided that they are charged through renewable energy sources. Electric vehicles reduce our dependency on foreign oil and also offer additional benefits like Vehicle-to-grid (V2G). V2G is a technology that allows electric energy stored in the electric vehicle batteries to be returned to the grid during peak demand. V2G can also provide voltage regulation, voltage shaving, reactive power compensation and distributed generation. This necessitates that an electric vehicle battery …

Real-Time Topic And Sentiment Analysis In Human-Robot Conversation, Elise Russell

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Socially interactive robots, especially those designed for entertainment and companionship, must be able to hold conversations with users that feel natural and engaging for humans. Two important components of such conversations include adherence to the topic of conversation and inclusion of affective expressions. Most previous approaches have concentrated on topic detection or sentiment analysis alone, and approaches that attempt to address both are limited by domain and by type of reply. This thesis presents a new approach, implemented on a humanoid robot interface, that detects the topic and sentiment of a user’s utterances from text-transcribed speech. It also generates domain-independent, …

Integrating Meal And Exercise Into Personalized Glucoregulation Models: Metabolic Dynamics And Diabetic Athletes, Sofie Schunk

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Diabetes affects nearly 26 million Americans, according to the American Diabetes Association, with as many as three million Americans who have Type 1 Diabetes (ADA, 2015). Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is autoimmune and characterized by little to no insulin production whereas Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) concerns insulin resistance and inability to use produced insulin. Factors contributing to current diabetes management and regulation include exercise type, daily movement activities, and distinct tissue compartment metabolism, each challenging to model in a robust and comprehensive manner. Past models are highly limited in regard to exercise and varying glucose fluctuations dependent on type, intensity, …

Achieving Wing-Like Structural Response With Piezocomposite Unimorph Thin Plates, Francis Hauris

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This research investigates the geometric parameters that structurally influence static and dynamic bending and twisting of a wing-like plate when actuated with a surface-bonded piezoelectric material. The plate is parameterized using a finite element model that is validated by comparison with known analytical solutions. The geometric parameters analyzed for static and dynamic analysis are: the aspect ratio, actuator position, actuator angle, thickness-ratio of the active piezocomposite to the inactive substrate, and portion of the fixed end of the cantilevered structure that is fixed in the chordwise direction. For harmonically actuated cases, the resonant flapping frequency is also examined. Performance metrics …

Behavior And Strength Of Pultruded Frp I-Section Columns Including Uniaxial And Biaxial Bending, Emad M. Amin

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This thesis presents the outcome of a study of the behavior and strength of pultruded glass fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) I-section columns including uniaxial and biaxial applied bending moments. Also included in the study is a critical assessment of ASCE-LRFD Pre-standard for pultruded FRP structures in view of the rigorous analysis presented herein. The theoretical solution is based on a system of three coupled differential equations of equilibrium combined with pinned flexural and torsional boundary conditions. Effects of induced warping due to second-order terms as well as initial out-of-straightness are accounted-for in the governing differential equations. Detailed investigations into the …

Source Localization In Cognitive Radio Networks, Giancarlo Almodovar

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Wireless communication is an essential part of modern society. The convenience of wireless technology is utilized daily around the world. Users have the ability to access data through mobile devices to access online content. As the need for wireless access increases, the burden on the wireless spectrum will continue to increase as a result. The need for acquiring licensed bands in the wireless spectrum is high. Therefore, this need has created a challenging task to acquire licensed bands in the wireless spectrum.

The cognitive radio is a technology that can be used to solve the under-utilization problem of the wireless …

Nonlinear Acoustic Echo Cancellation Using Voltage And Current Feedback, Pratik Shah, Ian Lewis, Steven Grant, Sylvain Angrignon

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) is a well-studied problem. The underlying assumption in most echo cancellation solutions is that the echo path following the reference signal is completely linear. However, in many handheld devices, the echo path following the reference signal is nonlinear. The reason for this nonlinearity in the echo path is the use of smaller inexpensive loudspeakers and the desire for generating high sound pressure levels. This brings about the need for a nonlinear echo canceler to maintain the required echo return loss enhancement (ERLE). Many software-based solutions have been proposed to solve this problem, but the computational complexity …

2015 Statewide Bridge Sufficiency Rating Report - Condensed, Indiana Ltap, Indiana Department Of Transportation, Indiana Department Of Local Government Finance

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Publications

The main purpose of this report is to provide bridge sufficiency rating information for the bridges in each county to county officials as a convenient starting point for formulating a long-range plan to cope with their county bridge deficiencies. This information results from the data generated by the national Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) program authorized by the 1968 Federal-Aid Highway Act.

2015 Statewide Bridge Sufficiency Rating Report - Full, Indiana Ltap, Indiana Department Of Transportation, Indiana Department Of Local Government Finance

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Publications

The main purpose of this report is to provide bridge sufficiency rating information for the bridges in each county to county officials as a convenient starting point for formulating a long-range plan to cope with their county bridge deficiencies. This information results from the data generated by the national Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) program authorized by the 1968 Federal-Aid Highway Act.

2015 (Fall) Ensi Informer Magazine, Morehead State University. Engineering Sciences Department

ENSI Informer Magazine Archive

The ENSI Informer Magazine published in the fall of 2015.

Seismic Behavior Prediction Of Concentrically Braced Steel Frames, Hani Mohamed Mayez Akkari

Theses

Concentrically braced steel frames (CBFs) are efficient and commonly used steel systems for resisting seismic loads through a complete truss action. In strong earthquake events, multi-storey concentrically braced steel frames (CBFs) are prone to form a storey-collapse mechanism after buckling and yielding of the braces in a storey. This thesis evaluates the seismic performance of steel concentrically braced frames (CBFs) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The aim of this study is to assess the overall lateral capacity of multi-storey buildings and the associated sequence of formation of plastic hinges using inelastic pushover analysis technique. The time history analysis approach is employed …

Mutations Of Adjacent Amino Acid Pairs Are Not Always Independent, Jyotsna Ramanan, Peter Revesz

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

Evolutionary studies usually assume that the genetic mutations are independent of each other. This paper tests the independence hypothesis for genetic mutations with regard to protein coding regions. According to the new experimental results the independence assumption generally holds, but there are certain exceptions. In particular, the coding regions that represent two adjacent amino acids seem to change in ways that sometimes deviate significantly from the expected theoretical probability under the independence assumption.

A-Maze-D: Advanced Maze Development Kit Using Constraint Databases, Shruti Daggumarti, Peter Revesz, Corey Svehla

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

In this paper, we describe the A-Maze-D system which shows that constraint databases can be applied conveniently and efficiently to the design of maze games. A-Maze-D provides a versatile set of features by a combination of a MATLAB library and the MLPQ constraint database system. A-Maze-D is the first system that uses constraint databases to build maze games and opens new ideas in video game development.

Recent Progress In Performance Evaluations And Near Real-Time Assessment Of Operational Ocean Products, Fabrice Hernandez, Edward Blockley, Gary B. Brassington, Fraser Davidson, Prasanth Divakaran, Marie Drévillon, Shiro Ishizaki, Marcos Garcia-Sotillo, Patrick J. Hogan, Priidik Lagemaa, Bruno Levier, Matthew Martin, Avichal Mehra, Christopher Mooers, Nicolas Ferry, Andrew Ryan, Charly Regnier, Alistair Sellar, Gregory C. Smith, Sarantis Sofianos, Todd Spindler, Gianluca Volpe, John Wilkin, Edward Zaron, Aijun Zhang

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Operational ocean forecast systems provide routine marine products to an ever-widening community of users and stakeholders. The majority of users need information about the quality and reliability of the products to exploit them fully. Hence, forecast centres have been developing improved methods for evaluating and communicating the quality of their products. Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) OceanView, along with the Copernicus European Marine Core Service and other national and international programmes, has facilitated the development of coordinated validation activities among these centres. New metrics, assessing a wider range of ocean parameters, have been defined and implemented in real-time. An …