Engineering Commons^™

Opportunities To Identify Unmet Needs Outside Of The Operating Room, Jay R. Goldberg

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The ability to identify unmet needs and new product opportunities is an important skill for biomedical engineering students planning a career in the medical device industry. Most biomedical engineering graduates will work in industry where many projects will not be defined for them. They will need to work with physicians, surgeons, nurses, clinical engineers, and other users of medical technology to identify problems and unmet needs and will work closely with marketing, sales, and other personnel to identify new product development opportunities. Students will be better prepared for careers involving the development of new medical devices if they are able …

Woodstocc: Extracting Latent Parallelism From A Dna Sequence Aligner On A Gpu, Stephen V. Cole, Jacob R. Gardner, Jeremy D. Buhler

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

An exponential increase in the speed of DNA sequencing over the past decade has driven demand for fast, space-efficient algorithms to process the resultant data. The first step in processing is alignment of many short DNA sequences, or reads, against a large reference sequence. This work presents WOODSTOCC, an implementation of short-read alignment designed for Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) architectures. WOODSTOCC translates a novel CPU implementation of gapped short-read alignment, which has guaranteed optimal and complete results, to the GPU. Our implementation combines an irregular trie search with dynamic programming to expose regularly structured parallelism. We first describe this implementation, …

Production And Characterization Of Composite Nano/Micro Sized Particles By Rapid Expansion Of Supercritical Solutions (Ress) Co-Precipitation, Beidi He

Dissertations

Nanoscale composites of hexahydro-1, 3, 5-trinitro-1, 3, 5-triazine (RDX) and polymer binders were produced by co-precipitation using rapid expansion of supercritical solutions (RESS). The binders used in this study are poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (VDF-HFP22), polystyrene (PS) and 7-amino-4-methyl coumarin (AMC). The RDX/VDF-HFP22 and RDX/PS co-precipitated nanoparticles were characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The average size of produced nanoparticles is ca. 100 nm. TEM analysis of RDX/PS nano-composite shows a core-shell structure with RDX as the core material and the shell consisting of the polymeric binder. X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD) analysis …

Hydrodynamics, Dissolution, And Mass Transfer Effects In Different Dissolution Testing Apparatuses And Laboratory Systems, Bing Wang

Dissertations

Dissolution testing apparatuses and shaker flasks agitated by shaker tables are laboratory systems routinely found in many laboratories at most companies and agencies, and especially in pharmaceutical companies. These devices are commonly used in a number of applications, from drug development to quality control. Despite their common use, these systems have not been fully investigated from an engineering perspective in order to understand their operation characteristics. For example, the hydrodynamics of many of these systems have received little attention until relatively recently, and only over the last few years have some of these systems, such as the USP dissolution testing …

14-12 Capacity Analysis Of Pedestrian Facilities Involving Individuals With Disabilities, Mohammad Sadra Sharifi, Keith Christensen, Anthony Chen

Transportation Research Center Reports

Walking facilities are important infrastructures that must be designed to accommodate the behavior of pedestrians in order to be effective. Heterogeneity in pedestrian composition is one important factor generally overlooked in walking facility design guidelines. Particularly, individuals with disabilities are often ignored due to lack of available data on their pedestrian behaviors. A controlled, large-scaled walking experiment involving individuals with disabilities was conducted at Utah State University to observe individual pedestrian behaviors in various walking facilities; these facilities include passageway and bottleneck formations. The purpose of this report is twofold: (1) to model time headway between different individual types using …

14-04 Conditions That Influence Drivers' Yielding Behavior At Uncontrolled Crossings And Intersections With Traffic Signal Controls, Robert Wall Emerson, Eugene Bourquin, Dona Sauerburger, Janet Barlow

Transportation Research Center Reports

There is a dearth of studies on how pedestrian who are blind might positively influence driver yielding in different travel situations. This project assessed common pedestrian behaviors (head turning, holding a cane, taking a step, holding up a hand, exaggerated cane movement, standing without a cane) on yielding rate for right turning traffic at lighted intersections as well as at entry and exit lanes at roundabouts. Data replicated previous findings on yielding rates for displaying a cane (about 60%), holding up a hand (65% to 80%), or taking one step into the roadway (80% to 100%) and also showed that …

Environmental Water Rights Transfers: A Review Of State Laws, Leon F. Szeptycki, Julia Forgie, Elizabeth Hook, Kori Lorick, Philip Womble

All In-stream Flows Material

This report was prepared in cooperation with, and was funded by, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), with the goal of providing an assessment of the legal regimes for reviewing and approving environmental water transfers in twelve western states. The ability to transfer, change, or dedicate an existing water right under the prior appropriation system to instream uses is a relatively new legal tool. Legislatures in western states first passed statutes authorizing and governing these transfers in the late 1980s. As part of its overall western water program, NFWF engaged with Water in the West to assess the scope, …

14-11 Travel In Adverse Winter Weather Conditions By Blind Pedestrians, Dae Shik Kim, Robert Wall Emerson, Dave Guth, Richard Long

Transportation Research Center Reports

Winter weather creates many orientation and mobility (O&M) challenges for people who are visually impaired. Getting the cane tip stuck is one of the noticeable challenges when traveling in snow, particularly when the walking surface is covered in deep snow. We compared four different cane tips: 1) metal glide, 2) marshmallow roller, 3) roller ball, and 4) bundu bahser. There was a statistically significant difference in frequency of sticking among the different cane tips. Post hoc analyses revealed that the sticking frequency for the metal glide tip was significantly higher than that for the roller ball tip, for the bundu …

14-10 Innovative Park-And-Ride Management For Livable Communities, Ziqi Song, Yi He

Transportation Research Center Reports

Park-and-ride (P&R) has been recognized as an effective way to tackle the challenge of the last-mile problem in public transportation, i.e., connecting transit stations to final destinations. Although the design and operations of P&R facilities have been extensively investigated, there is a pressing need for a theoretically sound methodology for planning and managing P&R facilities. It is critically important to investigate where P&R facilities should be strategically located and how often transit service should be provided such that the net social benefit can be maximized.

This project proposes an integrated planning methodology for locating P&R facilities and designing transit services …

14-09 Alternatives For Providing A Safe Passage For Non-Motorized Traffic Across An Existing Highway Bridge, U. B. Attanayake, L. A. Lopez

Transportation Research Center Reports

Non-motorized transportation increases mobility choices, relieves congestion, promotes local economy, reduces greenhouse gas emission, promotes a healthy lifestyle, and improves quality of life. Recently, there is an emphasis on developing integrated transportation systems with off-road shared use paths and on-road facilities. A majority of highway bridges that are located on the planned or existing non-motorized paths have become bottle-necks for non-motorized traffic. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate the bridges on non-motorized paths to identify safe passage alternatives to non-motorized traffic. The owner agencies need to have access to a methodological process to evaluate a site for the best …

14-01 Exploring The Equity Dimensions Of Us Bicycle Sharing Systems, C. Scott Smith, Jun-Seok Oh, Cheyenne Lei

Transportation Research Center Reports

Research over the past several decades has made it increasingly clear that livable communities are inextricably linked with the provision of opportunities for active and/or non-motorized transportation; i.e., walking, cycling and their variants. An emerging phenomena that is working within the broader movement of active transportation is public bicycle sharing systems (BSS). Such systems have grown considerably in the US in recent years and, in some cases, are dramatically changing the ecology of urban transport. Alongside celebrations of the early successes of US BSS, have been criticisms that these systems have not been adequately integrated into lower-income communities; a pattern …

Magnetic Ngf-Releasing Plla/Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Direct Extending Neurites And Preferentially Guide Neurites Along Aligned Electrospun Microfibers, Jonathan M. Zuidema, Christina Provenza, Tyler Caliendo, Silvio Dutz, Ryan J. Gilbert

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Nerve growth factor releasing composite nanoparticles (NGF-cNPs) were developed to direct the extension of neurite outgrowth from dorsal root ganglia (DRG). Iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles were incorporated into poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) nanoparticles in order to position the NGF-cNPs in a culture dish. Neurites growing from DRG extended toward the NGF released from the NGF-cNPs. DRG were then cultured on aligned PLLA microfibers in the presence of NGF-cNPs, and these biomaterials combined to align DRG neurite extension along one axis and preferentially toward the NGF-cNPs. This combinatorial biomaterial approach shows promise as a strategy to direct the extension of regenerating neurites.

Modeling The Controlled Delivery Power Grid, Vinit Madhukar Sahasrabudhe

Theses

Competitive energy markets, stricter regulation, and the integration of distributed renewable energy sources are forcing companies to reengineer energy production and distribution. The Controlled Delivery Power Grid is proposed as a novel approach to transport energy from generators to consumers. In this approach, energy distribution is performed in an asynchronous and distributed fashion. Much like the Internet, energy is delivered as addressable packets, which allow a controlled delivery of energy.

As a proof-of-concept of the controllable delivery grid, two experimental test beds, one with integrated energy storage and another with no energy storage, were designed and built to evaluate the …

Controlling Optical Absorption In Metamaterial Absorbers For Plasmonic Solar Cells, Wyatt Adams, Ankit Vora, Jephias Gwamuri, Joshua M. Pearce, Durdo O. Guney

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Publications

Metals in the plasmonic metamaterial absorbers for photovoltaics constitute undesired resistive heating. However, tailoring the geometric skin depth of metals can minimize resistive losses while maximizing the optical absorbance in the active semiconductors of the photovoltaic device. Considering experimental permittivity data for InxGa1-xN, absorbance in the semiconductor layers of the photovoltaic device can reach above 90%. The results here also provides guidance to compare the performance of different semiconductor materials. This skin depth engineering approach can also be applied to other optoelectronic devices, where optimizing the device performance demands minimizing resistive losses and power consumption, such as photodetectors, laser diodes, …

Effect Of Endplate On The Blast Wave Profile In A Compressed Gas Shock Tube, Sudeepto Kahali

Theses

Blast related brain injuries are commonly encountered in the recent wars of Iraq and Afghanistan increased use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). An estimated 20% of veterans returning from these operations have suffered traumatic brain injuries (TBI). The mechanisms and long-term effects of the injury are not fully understood, and extensive research effort is being focused toward identifying the mechanisms of primary blast injury. When a pure shock-blast wave encounters a subject, in the absence of shrapnel, casing or gaseous products, the loading is termed as primary blast loading, and its effects can be studied using shock tubes.

The wave …

Simulation Modeling For Sustainability: A Review Of The Literature, Young B. Moon

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - All Scholarship

This article is a review of work published in various journals and conference proceedings on the topics of Simulation Modelling for Sustainability between January 2000 and May 2015. A total of 192 papers are reviewed. The article intends to serve three goals. First, it will be useful to researchers who wish to know what kinds of questions have been raised and how they have been addressed in the areas of simulation modelling for sustainability. Second, the article will be a useful resource for searching research topics. Third, it will serve as a comprehensive bibliography of the papers published during the …

A Brief History Of Space - Sse 120 Session 1, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs on "A Brief History of Space - Session 01" from August 30, 2015.

Synthesis, Structure And Electrochemical Performance Of Na2Mnsio4/C Cathode Material For Na-Ion Batteries, Shou-Ding Li, Jiang-Huai Guo, Yong Xie, Jin-Xiao Mi, Yong Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

As a promising cathode material for sodium ion batteries, pure phase Na₂MnSiO₄/C nanocomposite was successfully synthesized by a sol-gel method with a citric acid as a complex agent. The as prepared material was characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM and TEM techniques. XRD and Rietveld refinement results indicated that the sample was indexed as monoclinic structure with space group of Pn. It was observed by SEM and TEM that the obtained product consisted of micro-scaled secondary particles, which were composed of NaMnSiO₄ nanocrystallites and amorphous carbon network. More importantly, the uniform carbon network in the …

Preparation And Characterization Of Carbon Supported Pd-Sb Composite Nanocatalysts For Formic Acid Electrooxidation, Long-Long Wang, Xiao-Lu Cao, Ya-Jun Wang, Jin-Hao Ping, Qiao-Xia Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

Palladium is considered as an efficient anode catalyst with high catalytic activity for electrooxidation of formic acid. To further improve the catalytic activity and stability, alloying or surface modification with Sb is an effective way. In this work, the well dispersed carbon supported Pd-Sb composite nanocatalysts (Pd-Sb/C) were synthesized by traditional impregnation reduction method with trisodium citrate as the complexing agent, sodium borohydride as the reducing agent. The morphologies of Pd-Sb/C and the effects of molar ratio of Pd to Sb on the electrocatalytic properties of Pd-Sb/C for HCOOH electrooxidation were studied. The XRD and XPS analyses on the as-prepared …

Essentials For On-Campus Photovoltaic Charging Station(Pv-Cs): Grangegorman, Ayda Esfandyari, Brian Norton, Michael Conlon, Sarah Mccormack

Conference Papers

As Light weight Electric Vehicles (LEVs) are gaining interest, Technological University Dublin (DIT) realises the value and application of these vehicles for short distance commutes around its newly built campus of “Grangegorman” located in inner Dublin city. Introduction of the campus Photovoltaic Charging Station (PV-CS) that generates clean electricity from the sun and charges the LEV’s batteries can help achieving Ireland’s 2020 targets on both national and international levels. This paper highlights the design essentials of on-campus PV-CS, via assessments of: LEV load consumption, vehicle tracking and sizing of the storage unit. The pattern for LEVs charging and load consumption …

Propagation And Deposition Of Non-Circular Finite Release Particle-Laden Currents, ‪Nadim Zgheib, Thomas Bonometti, S. Balachandar

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The dynamics of non-axisymmetric turbidity currents is considered here for a range of Reynolds numbers of O (104) when based on the initial height of the release. The study comprises a series of experiments and highly resolved simulations for which a finite volume of particle-laden solution is released into fresh water. A mixture of water and polystyrene particles of mean diameter 𝑑̃𝑝=300𝜇m and mixture density 𝜌̃𝑐=1012kg/m3 is initially confined in a hollow cylinder at the centre of a large tank filled with fresh water. Cylinders with two different cross-sectional shapes, but equal cross-sectional areas, are examined: a circle and a …

Water Expert: A Conceptualized Framework For Development Of A Rule-Based Decision Support System For Distribution System Decontamination, J. L. Gutenson, A. N. S. Ernest, J. R. Fattic, L. E. Ormsbee, A. A. Oubeidillah, X. Zhang

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Significant drinking water contamination events pose a serious threat to public and environmental health. Water utilities often must make timely, critical decisions without evaluating all facets of the incident. The data needed to enact informed decisions are inevitably dispersant and disparate, originating from policy, science, and heuristic contributors. Water Expert is a functioning hybrid decision support system (DSS) and expert system framework that emphasizes the meshing of parallel data structures in order to expedite and optimize the decision pathway. Delivered as a thin-client application through the user's web browser, Water Expert's extensive knowledgebase is a product of inter-university collaboration …

Preparation And Enhanced Rate Capability Of Spinel Limn1.9Al0.1O3.95F0.05, Jun-Yan Hu, Meng-Meng Wang, Hong-Tao Liu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Spinel LiMn_1.9Al_0.1O_3.95F_0.05 cathode materials with good crystallinity were synthesized by a sol-gel process followed with a high-temperature solid reaction. The effects of partial substitution of Al for Mn, and F for O on the structure and the electrochemical performance were investigated. The results showed that LiMn_1.9Al_0.1O_3.95F_0.05 exhibited the same crystalline state as LiMn₂O₄, but much better electrochemical stability at higher rate cycling. As a result, LiMn_1.9Al_0.1O_3.95F_0.05 could maintain stable electrochemical lithium storage even suffering from …

An Investigation On Electrochemical Performance Of Supercapacitor Electrode Materials Prepared By Mno2 With Four Different Crystal Forms, Zhen-Kun Wei, Xiao-Zhen Hua, Ke Xiao, Xian-Liang Zhou, Zhi-Guo Ye

Journal of Electrochemistry

Four types of α-MnO₂, β-MnO₂, γ-MnO₂ and δ-MnO₂ powders were synthesized by relatively simple methods. The differences in crystal structures and surface morphologies for these forms of MnO₂ were investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and specific surface area analysis (BET). The electrochemical performances were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and stability analysis. Based on the experimental results, four kinds of MnO₂ electrodes showed good capacity properties, and the α-MnO₂ electrode had the largest specific capacity due to the highest specific surface …

Effect Of Adsorption Potential On Co Oxidation At Au@Pt Nanoparticles Electrodes, A Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopic Study, Pu Zhang, Yi Wei, Yong-Li Zheng, Yan-Xia Chen, Zhong-Qun Tian

Journal of Electrochemistry

The adsorption/oxidation of CO on the 55 nm [email protected] nm Pt nanoparticles electrode in both potentiodynamic and potentiostatic modes were investigated by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy in a thin layer electrochemical flow cell under controlled mass transport, with the aim of clarifying the origin CO oxidation at lower electrode potentials (in current pre-wave region of corresponding cyclic voltammograms). Our results demonstrated that the CO oxidation kinetics differed significantly from the three kinds of different CO adsorption history, with almost no CO oxidation current in the pre-peak potential region after 0.35 V_RHE CO adsorption with or without subsequent holding the …

Broadband Sum-Frequency Generation Spectroscopic Invstigations Of Thiocyanate On Polycrystalline Au Electrode In Alkaline Solutions, Mei Xu, Jing-Jing Wang, Zhi-Chao Huangfu, Ng Ying Wa, Yu-Han He, Zhao-Hui Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Broadband sum frequency generation (BB-SFG) spectroscopy has been used to investigating the potential-dependent adsorption behaviors of thiocyanate ions on polycrystalline Au electrode in alkaline solutions. During the positive scan, a change in the Stark slope (dω_C-N/dE) for C—N stretching mode can be observed in the range of -1.1 V ~ 0.2 V (vs. SCE), which implies that the orientation of adsorbed thiocyanate ions at Au electrode surface changes from N-bound (dω_C-N/dE=45 cm^-1·V^-1) form to S-bound (dω_C-N/dE = 16.2 cm^-1·V^{-1 …}

Synthesis And Electrochemical Performance Of Mn3O4/Graphene Composites, Shan-Shan Yang, Qian Zhang, Xiong-Gui Lin, Ming-Sen Zheng, Quan-Feng Dong

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Mn₃O₄/Graphene composites were synthesized by hydrothermal method with the in-situ redox reaction of graphene oxide (GO) and manganese acetate (Mn(Ac)₂). The phase structures and morphologies of the materials were characterized by XRD, SEM and TEM. The XPS and IR techniques were used for studying the residual function groups of reduced graphene oxide (RGO). The electrochemical performances of the hybrids were tested in a coin cell. Results showed that the composites prepared with the addition of ammonia water (RM-A) have better performance. The graphenes in RM-A were better-reduced and the Mn₃O_{4 …}

Tungsten Carbide/Carbon Electrode Material Synthesized By Block Copolymer Template Method, Xiao-Ling Lang, Ye-Kun Jiang, Mei-Qin Shi, Ling-Zhi Kang, Chun-An Ma

Journal of Electrochemistry

At present, one of the major hurdles for commercialization of system with direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is still the requirement of a significant amount of platinum (Pt) catalyst to achieve an acceptable power density. Pt and Pt-based metals are expensive due to limited supplies. In order to find the catalyst alternative to the Pt metal, we selected tungsten carbide (WC) and its composites as the study object. We synthesized WC with carbon materials as the suitable support to modify the electronic structure and to increase the specific surface area of WC. In this study, tungsten carbide/carbon (WC/C) was prepared …

Electrochemical Removal Of Low Concentration Pb(Ii) From Aqueous Solution Based On Ppy/α-Zrp/Ptcf Electrode, Ru-Yi Chen, Peng-Le Zhang, Sen-Liang Liao, Zhong-De Wang, Xiao-Gang Hao

Journal of Electrochemistry

A novel organic-inorganic hybrid film consisting of polypyrrole/α-zirconium phosphate (PPy/α-ZrP) was prepared in an aqueous phase by cyclic voltammetry method. It was proved by FT-IR, XRD and XPS characterizations that the electroactive PPy/α-ZrP hybrid film was synthesized successfully. The PPy/α-ZrP film electrode prepared on a porous three-dimensional carbon felt (PTCF) was used for removal of a low concentration of Pb(II) ions from an aqueous solution by electrochemically switched ion exchange (ESIX). A quick uptake and release rate of Pb(II) onto the film electrode was obtained by adjusting redox state of the hybrid film. The removal efficiency and adsorption capacity of …

Mechanism Study On The Electrocatalytic Oxidation Of Acetylene To Oxalic Acid, Xiu-Li Song, Rui-Long Jia, Wen-Yan Dong, Zhen-Hai Liang

Journal of Electrochemistry

A new method of electrocatalytic synthesis oxalic acid from acetylene was explored and the synthesized oxalic acid was characterized by Ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry (Uv-vis) and Infrared spectroscopy (IR). First-principles calculations were carried out to examine the adsorption of acetylene over the Pt(111) surface. The electrocatalytic oxidation behavior of acetylene has been investigated on a Pt electrode by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and steady-state polarization in Na₂SO₄ solution. The formation mechanism of oxalic acid in the Na₂SO₄ solution was proposed and the transfer coefficients of the reaction were calculated. The results show that acetylene molecule tends to …