Engineering Commons^™

Acoustic Scattering Response Of Hierarchic Honeycomb Structures For Cylindrical And Spherical Structures, Arun Mor

All Theses

Sandwich panels with honeycomb core are often employed in structures for improved mechanical properties with lightweight. Honeycombs are defined by non-overlapping and periodic unit cells. Most research conducted on these sandwich panels focuses on stiffness and strength properties. The acoustic aspect of these panels has been focused on sound transmission loss. For acoustics, previous studies used effective honeycomb orthotropic elastic moduli based on Cartesian unit cell geometry to model the core as a homogeneous structure. While efficient, this modeling approach loses accuracy at higher frequencies. Furthermore, when used for curved panels, the effective moduli are only approximate. In this work, …

Analysis And An Application Of Rf Interferometer, Yongzhi Shao

All Theses

The thesis investigates additive RF interferometer sensing technique, which is highly sensitive compared to other RF sensing methods. First, mathematical descriptions are given to illustrate how the RF interferometer works. Then an analysis of single particle passing over a coplanar waveguide in carrier liquid is presented, which poses as a difficulty to simulation software. The analysis is combined with interferometer mathematical equations and validated by a particle measurement in an interferometer. The interferometer sensitivity is enhanced by incorporating filters as sensing devices and functionally expanded by using the reflection coefficients. In the end, an application of gas measurement with the …

The Partially Rechargeable Electric Vehicle Routing Problem With Time Windows And Capacitated Charging Stations, Navid Matin Moghaddam

All Theses

Electric vehicles are potentially beneficial for both the environment and an organization's bottom line. These benefits include, but are not limited to, reduced fuel costs, government tax incentives, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and the ability to promote a company's "green" image. In order to decide whether or not to convert or purchase electric trucks and install charging facilities, decision makers need to consider many factors including onboard battery capacity, delivery or service assignments, scheduling and routes, as well as weather and traffic conditions in a well-defined modeling framework. We develop a model to solve the partially rechargeable electric vehicle routing …

Understanding Molecular Interactions Between Proteins And Carbon Nanomaterials, Siva Dasetty

All Theses

Over the past few years there has been a rise in the number of nanomaterials engineered for a wide array of applications because of their unique properties. This rise in the development of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) and its growing usage has also raised questions about its potential impact on the biological environment. Recent experimental studies suggest that these ENMs could be toxic due to the formation of a protein corona. Therefore, understanding the formation of a protein corona would provide some insights into the toxic behavior of ENMs. This requires understanding the interactions between proteins and ENMs. We employ molecular …

Primary Flexion Axis Selection In Total Knee Replacements Using Computational Analysis, Nicholas Marais

All Theses

Total knee replacements (TKR) are one of the most frequently implanted medical devices, with over 600,000 procedures performed in the United States in 2012. In order to ensure TKR longevity, wear tests are frequently conducted on these implants prior to patient implantation. Variations in implant geometry, material, and surface treatments are all tested, however, TKR alignment may also play a role in the long-term success of the knee implant. When testing knee designs with complex tibial and femoral geometries it is essential that the implant be aligned as the implant manufacturers intended so as to best represent the function of …

Finite Element Analysis Of Effective Mechanical Properties Of Hierarchical Honeycomb Structures, Ninad Gandhi

All Theses

Honeycomb structures are widely used in engineering applications mainly due to their high strength to weight ratio. By changing the base material and geometry of the repeating unit cell structure, target effective properties can be achieved. Hierarchical honeycomb structures are known to have enhanced mechanical properties when compared to regular honeycomb structures. Therefore, it is important to understand and quantify the mechanical properties and the variation of these properties with the presence of hierarchy. This investigation builds upon prior work and considers the mechanical properties of two dimensional hierarchical honeycomb structures. Previous research of hierarchical honeycomb structures studied replacing the …

The Effect Of Procedural Changes On The Rate Of Clinical Alarms In The Intensive Care Unit, Puneeth Kalavagunta

All Theses

Clinical alarms have become an indispensable part of medical environment, but issues related to alarm artifacts, false alarms, and alarm fatigue have been identified. A national online survey administered to hospitals stated healthcare workers determined that 81% of respondents agreed that alarms occur frequently, 77% agreed that excessive clinical alarms disrupt patient care, and 78% agreed that reduced trust in alarms cause caregivers to disable them (Korniewicz, Clark, & David, 2008). Studies have suggested that preparation of skin of the patient improves electrode-skin contact, thereby resulting in fewer artifacts (Hermens, Freriks, Disselhorst-Klug, & Rau, 2000). Additionally, clinical studies have shown …

Bioprinting As A Tool To Evaluate Interactions Of Cancerous And Noncancerous Cells, Holly Jordan

All Theses

Cancer is becoming one the leading causes of death worldwide, and in particular, breast cancer, which is the second highest cause of cancer death for women. Approximately 12 percent of US women will develop invasive breast cancer, and about 40,000 of US women will die from breast cancer in 2015. With better detection and treatment options, breast cancer death has been decreasing over the past two decades. Despite declining rates in breast cancer death, cancer progression is not well understood. There are many studies focused on cancer, but in situ cancer studies are often hard to reproduce and can even …

Microcosm Evaluation Of Enhanced Bioremediation For An Industrial Site Contaminated With Chlorinated Ethenes, Chlorinated Benzenes, And Benzene, Christopher Moss

All Theses

Groundwater contaminants at an industrial site in South Carolina include tetrachloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene (TCE), cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE), vinyl chloride (VC), 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (1,2,4-TCB), 1,2-dichlorobenzene (1,2-DCB), 1,4-dichlorobenzene (1,4-DCB), chlorobenzene (CB), and benzene. The source areas at the site include a tank farm area, a grease trap area, the former wastewater lagoons (WWTP) and the former oil retention pond (ORP). A microcosm evaluation was preformed to determine the potential for bioremediation to treat the organic contaminants in the four source areas (within the saturated zone) and in a downgradient portion of the groundwater plume. The objectives were to evaluate 1) anaerobic treatment at the …

Using Connected Vehicle Technology To Implement A Pay For Priority System At Signalized Intersections, Melissa Gende

All Theses

This research evaluated a mixed vehicle environment that included connected and non-connected vehicles in which connected vehicles (CV) were allowed to pay a small fee to request priority at a signalized intersection, similar to a transit signal priority system. Connected vehicles with signal priority were simulated with penetration levels ranging from 10% to 100% as well as with various priority directions (all directions, major street movements in both directions, and major street movements in the direction of highest flow) being allowed to request priority. These scenarios were compared to optimized signal timings to determine the effectiveness of the technology in …

The Search For High-Impact Diagnostic And Management Tools For Low-And Middle-Income Countries: A Self-Powered Low-Cost Blood Pressure Measurement Device Powered By A Solid-State Vibration Energy Harvester, Onur Bilgen, John G. Kenerson, Muge Akpinar-Elci, Rebecca Hattery, Lisbet M. Hanson

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The World Health Organization has established recommendations for blood pressure measurement devices for use in low-resource venues, setting the triple A expectations of Accuracy, Affordability, and Availability. Because of issues related to training and assessment of proficiency, the pendulum has swung away from manual blood pressure devices and auscultatory techniques towards automatic oscillometric devices. As a result of power challenges in the developing world, there has also been a push towards semiautomatic devices that are not dependent on external power sources or batteries. Beyond solar solutions, disruptive technology related to solid-state vibrational energy harvesting may be the next iterative solution …

Evaluating The Economic Impacts Of Pipeline Usage On Texas Oil & Gas Supply Chain, Jashandeep Singh

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Theses - Archive

The objective of this dissertation is to find the minimum supply chain cost for the Texas oil and gas industry, when pipeline is used as the major mode of transporting oil. The problem is solved, by introducing a mixed – integer linear programming model which will help in taking the necessary decisions based on the cost estimates for various scenarios. In order to meet the objective, specific objectives were put down to evaluate their impacts. First was to evaluate the economic impact of mode of transport and the infrastructure second was to evaluate the economic impact of refinery flow. Finally …

Review Of Biomedical Čerenkov Luminescence Imaging Applications, Kaveh Tanha, Ali Mahmoud Pashazadeh, Brian W. Pogue

Dartmouth Scholarship

Čerenkov radiation is a fascinating optical signal, which has been exploited for unique diagnostic biological sensing and imaging, with significantly expanded use just in the last half decade. Čerenkov Luminescence Imaging (CLI) has desirable capabilities for niche applications, using specially designed measurement systems that report on radiation distributions, radiotracer and nanoparticle concentrations, and are directly applied to procedures such as medicine assessment, endoscopy, surgery, quality assurance and dosimetry. When compared to the other imaging tools such as PET and SPECT, CLI can have the key advantage of lower cost, higher throughput and lower imaging time. CLI can also provide imaging …

Noncontact Diffuse Correlation Tomography Of Human Breast Tumor, Lian He, Yu Lin, Chong Huang, Daniel Irwin, Margaret M. Szabunio, Guoqiang Yu

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Our first step to adapt our recently developed noncontact diffuse correlation tomography (ncDCT) system for three-dimensional (3-D) imaging of blood flow distribution in human breast tumors is reported. A commercial 3-D camera was used to obtain breast surface geometry, which was then converted to a solid volume mesh. An ncDCT probe scanned over a region of interest on the mesh surface and the measured boundary data were combined with a finite element framework for 3-D image reconstruction of blood flow distribution. This technique was tested in computer simulations and in vivo human breasts with low-grade carcinoma. Results from computer simulations …

System And Process For Upgrading Hydrocarbons, Dennis N. Bingham, Kerry M. Klingler, Joseph D. Smith, Terry D. Turner, Bruce M. Wilding

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In one embodiment, a system for upgrading a hydrocarbon material may include a black wax upgrade subsystem and a molten salt gasification (MSG) subsystem. The black wax upgrade subsystem and the MSG subsystem may be located within a common pressure boundary, such as within a pressure vessel. Gaseous materials produced by the MSG subsystem may be used in the process carried out within the black wax upgrade subsystem. For example, hydrogen may pass through a gaseous transfer interface to interact with black wax feed material to hydrogenate such material during a cracking process. In one embodiment, the gaseous transfer interface …

Bioactive Glass Reinforced Elastomer Composites For Skeletal Regeneration: A Review, Ehsan Zeimaran, Sara Pourshahrestani, Ivan Djordjevic, Belinda Pingguan-Murphy, Nahrizul Adib Kadri, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Biodegradable elastomers have clinical applicability due to their biocompatibility, tunable degradation and elasticity. The addition of bioactive glasses to these elastomers can impart mechanical properties sufficient for hard tissue replacement. Hence, a composite with a biodegradable polymer matrix and a bio glass filler can offer a method of augmenting existing tissue. This article reviews the applications of such composites for skeletal augmentation.

Evaluate Students’ Learning Effectiveness Of Hvac System Using 3d Game Animation, Lalitha Devi Nandam

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

An important skill required for students in Construction Engineering and Architecture is to understand what the major components are and how the whole system and its components function. Students typically learn to understand HVAC equipment by reviewing two-dimensional (2D) CAD drawings, images and site visits. With latest developments in 3D game engines for facilitating interactive learning, it is now possible for students to experience three-dimensional (3D) environments of HVAC systems. While this technology is still at an early stage in learning application, it has the potential to significantly enhance the capability of students to study, comprehend and gain experience designing …

Three-Dimensional Scaffolds Of Graphene, Carbon Nanotubes And Transition-Metal Oxides For Applications In Electronics, Sensors And Energy Storage, Gilbert N. Mbah

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Electronics, sensors and energy storage devices are the new waves behind economic development, security and communication¹. Engineering small sizes of electronic, sensors and energy storage devices is the hurdle limiting efficient, portable and vast applications of Nano-devices for economic, security and communication advancement². Silicon the major material used in transistors has approached its limit to fabricated Nano-devices³. The discovery of free standing, one atomic layer thick and two-dimensional graphene sheets with high conductivity, inert, high specific surface area, stable and high tensile strength material in 2004 has shown capabilities to replaced silicon in electronics, …

Reactive Motions In A Fully Autonomous Crs Catalyst 5 Robotic Arm Based On Rgbd Data, Arad Haselirad

Theses and Dissertations

This study proposes a method to perform velocity estimation using motion blur in a single image frame along x and y axes in the camera coordinate system and intercept a moving object with a robotic arm. It will be shown that velocity estimation in a single image frame improves the system's performance. The majority of previous studies in this area require at least two image frames to measure the target's velocity. In addition, they mostly employ specialized equipments which are able to generate high torques and accelerations.

The setup consists of a 5 degree of freedom robotic arm and a …

Acoustic Performance Of Reiterated Hierarchical Honeycomb Structures, Naveen Nainar

All Theses

Sandwich panels constructed from honeycomb structures have been found to reduce sound transmission and improve vibration isolation. In this work, reiterated hierarchical honeycomb structures have been modeled for the core in sandwich panels and studied for sound transmission properties using finite element analysis. Several honeycomb unit cell geometries are considered, including, regular hexagonal, auxetic with properties of negative Poisson’s ratio, and different reiterated hierarchical structures. Previous studies have shown that auxetic honeycomb structures exhibit improved sound transmission loss compared to regular honeycomb sandwich panels. Two different orientations of the honeycomb unit cell geometry have been studied, namely, the zigzag and …

Multiple Objective Evolution Strategies Using Data Envelopment Analysis, James V. Lill, Timothy R. Anderson

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Often in science and engineering we are faced with complicated nonlinear problems in optimization that involve simultaneously minimizing or maximizing various non-commensurate quantities. For example, a basic task in design engineering or technology management is to balance suitable measures of performance against the cost. We present a simplified approach for performing multiple objective optimization by combining standard single objective Evolution Strategies with Data Envelopment Analysis. This latter method employs linear programming to compute an L1 distance of a given solution from the Pareto frontier defined by the evolving population of solutions, or from a related frontier defined by DEA. This …

Assessing Emerging Automotive Technologies For The Future, Aurobindh Kalathil Puthanpura, Rafaa Khalifa, Leong Chan

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

A scenario-based multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) methodology has been developed and applied for the selection of automotive technology. The present study discusses, what are the problems for the current automotive technologies are, what requirements are outlined in the literatures and government guidelines/publications, considering different aspects of technological needs, public needs, policy measures etc. A set of criteria are developed, which cover multiple perspectives; reflecting the diverse stakeholders in the technology assessment, acquisition and adoption, in this case the government, the general public which includes drivers and pedestrians, automobile manufacturers. Three emerging technologies (Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication, Vehicle-to- Infrastructure and Full autonomous) were identified …

Improving Library Efficiency To Meet Patron's Needs: A Data Envelopment Analysis Benchmarking Model, Michael Clark

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Technological innovation and the information age have increased patrons’ expectations of the services and resources that academic libraries provide. Libraries are responding to patrons’ needs by providing digital resources and services, and collaborative spaces that invite communication and knowledge sharing. In order to effectively meet patrons’ needs, libraries are striving to efficiently manage their human, materials, and fiscal resources. Libraries have traditionally measured efficiency by developing single factor productivity indexes. However, these qualitative methods do not adequately address the efficiency aspect which measures the transformation of resources (inputs) into services (outputs). Data envelopment analysis (DEA) measures the relative efficiencies of …

Developing Strategic Decision Making Process For Product And Service Planning, Yonghee Cho

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

It is imperative to forecast advanced or emerging technologies to aid in decision making on firm's R&D investments and business plan for commercialization efforts. Even though a company must align R&D planning with overall business planning such as manufacturing, sales and marketing, personnel, and finance, systematic management approaches are limited in it based upon the prediction of technological change and speed. This paper aims to provide a decision support tool to aid in strategic service planning and technology development in a firm. The study is to enhance strategic development of service and product with the consideration of emerging technologies. This …

Exploring The Design Factors Of Smart Glasses, Ali Emre Ok, Nuri A. Basoglu, Tugrul U. Daim

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Advances in information technology (IT) have started to focus studies on human computer interaction (HCI) which is an area in computer science embracing cognitive science. In this approach there are various aspects of researches about HCI in order to explore how people design, implement, and use interactive computer systems and how computers affect individuals, organizations, and society. This study represents exploring the adoption factors of smart glasses. Technology adoption process establishes preferences and needs of people who use computers and smart systems. To address this issue, technology adoption is essential for a rapidly changing world where technology has become central …

Technology Assessment Of Waste Disposal Technologies For Tillamook County, Jing Jiang, Abhishek Jain, Jonathan Lui, Jorge Garcia, Standley Limarta

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

We propose a two-level filter system to evaluate the potential for alternative waste management practices by conversion of locally-generated waste products such as animal mortality, manure, and wood waste into beneficial products such as energy in Tillamook county of Oregon. At the first level - coarse grained filter, three basic factors, technical readiness level (TRL), scaling capacity, and feedstock, are used to initially filter out the scanned technologies which can be potentially used in waste management. At the secondary level filter - fine grained filter, a numeric scoring model is created to evaluate technologies from the output of the first …

Identify The Best Alternatives To Help The Diffusion Of Teleconsultation By Using The Hierarchical Decision Model (Hdm), Hamad A. Alanazi, Tugrul Unsal Daim, Dundar F. Kocaoglu

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Healthcare is a very important issue in the U.S. and in the entire world and the total healthcare spending in the United States has increased over the years and by the end of 2021 it will reach up to 20% of the U.S. GDP. The increase of health expenditure, a growing U.S. population, and a projected physician shortage are the top three trends in healthcare industry. The literature highlights that researchers from different fields and with several interests recognize the important role of telemedicine in the healthcare industry. Teleconsultation is an advanced telemedicine application that offers great promise to address …

Explaining Health Technology Adoption: Past, Present, Future, Noshad Rahimi, Antonie J. Jetter

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

One of the most pressing challenges of healthcare innovation today is the lack of technology adoption. Research that improves our ability to understand, predict, and advance technology adoption in health care needs to be based on well-tested theories. With the interest to conduct high quality research in health technology adoption in future, this study reviews the theories used in this context to either identify the superior theory(ies) and or discover the issues that need resolution for improving future HTA researches. To do that, the most popular [1][2] social cognitive theories conceived over the past four decades are reviewed analytically from …

Project Management In Product Development: Toward A Framework For Targeted Flexibility, Antonie J. Jetter, Fatima Albar

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

As a discipline, project management has been accused of having lost its relevance for innovative initiatives because it emphasizes planning and control over the flexibility and learning-based strategies that are needed to succeed under uncertainty. Several authors therefore recommend adaptive project management practices - sometimes named “targeted flexibility” - that respond to project characteristics commonly found in innovation, namely novelty, complexity, speed and - as a result - uncertainty. This paper investigates how this proposed adaptation of project management occurs in a context with high levels of novelty that organizes work in projects and needs to accommodate projects of different …

Connecting Customers With Engineers For The Successful Fuzzy Front End: Requirements Of Tools, Byung Sung Yoon, Antonie J. Jetter

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

In technology-driven enterprises, marketing typically acts as a “go-between” that captures customer needs and experiences and aggregates and interprets them for engineering. Knowledge exchange thus occurs through an indirect path. However, as a result of rapidly changing and unpredictable environments and complex products with tacit requirements, companies increasingly emphasize the need for engineering to be more strongly engaged with customers'. Accordingly, an increasing number of methods for customer research in early stages on new product development, the so-called fuzzy front end (FFE), emphasize direct knowledge exchange and collaboration between engineering and customers. Based on a review of the literature, this …