Engineering Commons^™

The Milton Lehman Papers, Milton Lehman

Finding Aids

Milton Lehman (1917-1966) was a free-lance writer, contributing about 250 articles to national magazines such as Saturday Evening Post, Life, Reader’s Digest, McCall’s, Look, The York Times, and other periodicals, books and newspapers. He wrote a biography of Robert H. Goddard that was published in 1963. He was helped throughout the seven year writing process by Esther C. Goddard, Goddard’s wife, who supplied him with transcripts of Goddard’s notes, notebooks, diaries, reports and correspondence and with photographs of his work as well as her own recollections. Lehman interviewed people from all parts of Goddard’s life; his childhood, schooling, early Clark …

Comparison Of Single- And Dual-Polarization-Based Rainfall Estimates Using Nexrad Data For The Nasa Iowa Flood Studies Project, Bong Chul Seo, Brenda Dolan, Witold F. Krajewski, Steven A. Rutledge, Walter Petersen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study compares and evaluates single-polarization (SP)- and dual-polarization (DP)-based radar rainfall (RR) estimates using NEXRAD data acquired during Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS), a NASA GPM ground validation field campaign carried out in May-June 2013. The objective of this study is to understand the potential benefit of the DP quantitative precipitation estimation, which selects different rain-rate estimators according to radar-identified precipitation types, and to evaluate RR estimates generated by the recent research SP and DP algorithms. The Iowa Flood Center SP (IFC-SP) and Colorado State University DP(CSU-DP) products are analyzed and assessed using two high-density, high-quality rain gauge networks as …

Nexrad Nws Polarimetric Precipitation Product Evaluation For Ifloods, Luciana K. Cunha, James A. Smith, Witold F. Krajewski, Mary Lynn Baeck, Bong Chul Seo

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The NEXRAD program has recently upgraded the WSR-88D network observational capability with dual polarization (DP). In this study, DP quantitative precipitation estimates (QPEs) provided by the current version of the NWS system are evaluated using a dense rain gauge network and two other single-polarization (SP) rainfall products. The analyses are performed for the period and spatial domain of the Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS) campaign. It is demonstrated that the current version (2014) of QPE from DP is not superior to that from SP mainly because DP QPE equations introduce larger bias than the conventional rainfall- reflectivity [i.e., R(Z)] relationship for …

Using Natural Language Processing Techniques To Inform Research On Nanotechnology, Nastassja A. Lewinski, Bridget T. Mcinnes

Chemical and Life Science Engineering Publications

Literature in the field of nanotechnology is exponentially increasing with more and more engineered nanomaterials being created, characterized, and tested for performance and safety. With the deluge of published data, there is a need for natural language processing approaches to semi-automate the cataloguing of engineered nanomaterials and their associated physico-chemical properties, performance, exposure scenarios, and biological effects. In this paper, we review the different informatics methods that have been applied to patent mining, nanomaterial/device characterization, nanomedicine, and environmental risk assessment. Nine natural language processing (NLP)-based tools were identified: NanoPort, NanoMapper, TechPerceptor, a Text Mining Framework, a Nanodevice Analyzer, a Clinical …

Searchblox Project Indexer Agent, Tri Nguyen, Tom Vaele, Zachary Johnson

Capstone Design Expo Posters

In this digital world, access to information is essential. We need it and almost every day; Google, Bing, Yahoo, or one of these other major services that help us find what we’re looking for so we can use a resource or answer a simple question. SearchBlox, an enterprise elasticsearch toolkit which boasts a robust and easy to use indexing system for an array of MIME types lacks an essential capability: remoting. The scope of this problem requires the ability to efficiently index particularly voluminous, dense, or distributed file-systems to a centralized SearchBlox indexing server while keeping the services that clients …

Main Body Aerodynamics, Michael Al-Badini, Christopher Buettner, Wesley Russell, Steven Summerville, Marcus Wardlow

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Our senior design project entails designing, analyzing the front upper aerodynamic nose for the Formula SAE at VCU’s race team. Currently there are no provisions on the chassis to provide relief for parasitic loss of speed & efficiency due to drag. Since Formula SAE is focused on building a engineered, safe, and efficient vehicle our aerodynamic design will help with handling, downforce, and fuel economy all while reducing drag. Our Aerodynamic design will play a key role not only in how the Formula car is perceived aesthetically, but our calculations will be a large determining factor in the cars overall …

Lower Body Exoskeleton Powered By Epidermal Electronics Systems, Francis Azari, Forrest Baber, Saswat Mishra, Karan Patel, Juan Soto

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The purpose of our design revolves around the concept of enhancing the human body through the use of a lower body exoskeleton. The most applicable demographics for our design consists of paraplegics and non-paraplegics. The various uses we hope to include would allow the user to: walk again, lift heavier loads with the ability to move forward, back and be seated. Although lower body exoskeletons already exist on the market, they still have shortcomings that prevent widespread use among the general public. Our hope is to improve upon the design of existing exoskeletons with the integration of epidermal electronic systems …

Gallium Nitride: Analysis Of Physical Properties And Performance In High-Frequency Power Electronic Circuits, Dalvir K. Saini

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Gallium nitride (GaN) technology is being adopted in a variety of power electronic applications due to their high efficiencies even at high switching speeds. In comparison with the silicon (Si) transistors, the GaN-based devices exhibit lower on-state resistance and parasitic capacitances. The thermal performance of the GaN transistors are also better than the Si counterparts due to their higher junction temperature and lower temperature-coefficient of on-resistance. These unique properties make the gallium-nitride power transistors an appropriate selection for power electronic converters and radio-frequency power amplifiers, where size, efficiency, power density, and dynamic performance are major requirements.

Foreseeing the immense capabilities …

Characterization Of Dimethyl Sulfoxide-Treated Wool And Enhancement Of Reactive Wool Dyeing In Non-Aqueous Medium, Luyi Chen, Bijia Wang, Jiangang Chen, Xinhui Ruan, Yiqi Yang

Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design: Faculty Publications

Wool pretreated with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was characterized and its dyeing behavior in non-aqueous green solvents was investigated. Reactive dyeing of wool in deep shades is challenging because the mandatory alkaline aftertreatment to match the fastness of mordant dyes inevitably causes damage to wool keratin. The current study showed that the colorfastness-integrity dilemma could be solved by replacing water with organic solvents as the dyeing medium. Covalent fixation is predominantly favored in solvent dyeing so that excellent colorfastness is achievable at any given shade without alkali aftertreatment. Compared with aqueous dyeing, solvent dyeing was found to give 30% higher covalent …

Methods Of Extrusion On Demand For High Solids Loading Ceramic Paste In Freeform Extrusion Fabrication, Wenbin Li, Amir Ghazanfari, Ming Leu, Robert Landers

Faculty Publications, Mechanical Engineering

Fabrication of highly dense parts with complex geometry by paste-extrusion-based solid freeform fabrication processes requires a precise control of the extrusion flow rate to dispense material on demand, which is often referred as Extrusion-On-Demand (EOD). The extrusion process for aqueous ceramic pastes is complex and difficult to control due to their non-Newtonian behavior, compressibility and inhomogeneity. In this study, three methods of EOD (based on ram extruder, needle valve, and auger valve) are introduced and investigated for the extrusion of high solids loading (i.e., >50%, volumetric) aqueous alumina paste. Optimal extrusion process parameters for these methods are determined through printing …

Optimal Rastering Orientation In Freeform Extrusion Fabrication Processes, Amir Ghazanfari, Wenbin Li, Ming Leu, Robert Landers

Faculty Publications, Mechanical Engineering

Many researchers have tried to optimize the build direction of additively manufactured parts to minimize the vertical staircase effect. However, the horizontal staircase effect should also be considered when fully dense parts are to be fabricated. In this paper, part inaccuracy due to the horizontal staircase effect is considered in order to determine the optimal rastering orientation in building the part. An algorithm is developed to estimate this inaccuracy and a technique is proposed to minimize it. The effect of rastering orientation on staircase errors is examined, and the particle swarm optimization method is used to determine the optimum rastering …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 56 Number 2, Winter 2015, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

10 - May the Rhodes rise to meet you - On the road with Aven Satre-Meloy ’13.

16 - Season tough, photos by Denis Concordel.

18 - Space Aces by Sam Scott '96. 20 - The fragility of faith by Michael C. McCarthy, S.J. '87. A professor of religious studies and executive director of SCU’s Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education confesses that it’s not merely an academic question when he asks: “How can a thinking person still believe in God?”

26 - Rebound by Mitch Finley '73. Lessons from the court and the chapel in dealing with addiction, mental illness, …

Analyzing Free-Base Nicotine Content In The Particulate Matter Of Mainstream Tobacco Smoke Using A Headpace Solid-Phase Microextraction Gc/Ms Method, Christopher S. Motti

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

The acid/base chemistry of cigarette smoke allows nicotine, the primary drug in mainstream tobacco smoke, to exist in protonated and free-base forms. Evidence suggests that most of the nicotine present in mainstream tobacco smoke is in the particle phase. α_fb is the fraction of particle-phase nicotine in the free-base form. The magnitude and rate of nicotine deposition in the respiratory tract is dependent on α_fb because only the free-base form of nicotine can volatilize from the particle phase of an inhaled aerosol and, once gaseous, rapidly deposit. This study develops a headspace solid-phase microextraction technique coupled with gas …

Geotechnical Statistical Evaluation Of Lahore Site Data And Deep Excavation Design, Aiza Malik

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Geotechnical characterization for foundation design is critical during preliminary planning, designing and feasibility studies of various engineering projects. In this research, an effort has been made to develop a geotechnical database for the city of Lahore, Pakistan. This database would aid geologists and engineers involved in the geotechnical design and planning of engineering projects in Lahore. The project area has been divided into zones geographically. Soil profiles have been developed for all zones, which provide ranges of soil properties and SPT-N values at regular intervals. Furthermore, the research also focuses on deep excavations in urban areas of Lahore, Pakistan and …

Parametric Study Of Rocking Shallow Foundations Under Seismic Excitation, Benjamin I. Herdrich

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Conventional design of structures relies on incorporating a certain level of inelastic deformation into select components to provide seismic energy dissipation, while ensuring the foundation remains relatively stationary. However, this inelasticity comes at the cost of severe damage to the structure, which often is no longer suitable to occupancy after a seismic event. In contrast with conventional structures, structures with rocking foundations shift the ductility demands away from the structure itself, and onto the underlying soil, which may result in less damage and greater stability. The purpose of this study is to explore the behavior and performance of a simple …

Key Aspects For Lrfd Implementation For Driven Pile Capacity By Dynamic Methods, Natalie R. Ehrlich

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Inputs and interpretation procedures for pile wave equation analysis, which correlates measured field dynamic driving response to axial pile static capacity, are highly dependent on site-specific soil conditions and field practices. The 6^th Edition of the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications provide generalized guidelines for pile design, but do not account for variability in region-specific soils and field practices. A comprehensive literature review of region-specific resistance factor recalibration efforts across the U.S. has given insight into the range of implementation issues encountered, especially the key decisions around choosing a restrike (BOR), along with measures of efficiency and treatment of …

Introduction To Mips Assembly Language Programming, Charles W. Kann

Open Educational Resources

This book was written to introduce students to assembly language programming in MIPS. As with all assembly language programming texts, it covers basic operators and instructions, subprogram calling, loading and storing memory, program control, and the conversion of the assembly language program into machine code.

However this book was not written simply as a book on assembly language programming. The larger purpose of this text is to show how concepts in Higher Level Languages (HLL), such as Java or C/C++, are represented in assembly. By showing how program constructs from these HLL map into assembly, the concepts will be easier …

Test 2112: John Deere 9520rt, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Impact Of Detector-Element Active-Area Shape And Fill Factor On Image Sampling, Restoration, And Super-Resolution, Russell C. Hardie, Douglas R. Droege, Alexander J. Dapore, Mark E. Greiner

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In many undersampled imaging systems, spatial integration from the individual detector elements is the dominant component of the system point spread function (PSF). Conventional focal plane arrays (FPAs) utilize square detector elements with a nearly 100% fill factor, where fill factor is defined as the fraction of the detector element area that is active in light detection. A large fill factor is generally considered to be desirable because more photons are collected for a given pitch, and this leads to a higher signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR). However, the large active area works against super-resolution (SR) image restoration by acting as an additional …

Thermomechanical Stabilities In Automotive Brakes & Clutches Systems, Ali Bendawi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis involves three related topics in the area of thermal stress resulting from sliding contact of frictional materials. These three contributions collectively and the discussion of them herein form a collective basis furthering the research and understanding within this field. Firstly, the effect of convective cooling on thermoelastic instability is evaluated using finite element analysis involving insertion of a thermal convection term in the formula for frictional heat generation. It has been found that convection or radiation heat dissipation can stabilize the thermal-mechanical feedback process, leading to a raised critical sliding velocity. Two representative models for brake and clutch …

Effects Of Accelerometer Based Feedback On Clinical Measures And Paretic Upper Extremity Amount Of Use In Subjects Chronic Post-Stroke, Amber Kuehn, Nathan Pohl, Mishgan Abdullah

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

Purpose/Hypothesis: To determine the effects of accelerometer based feedback on clinical measures of paretic upper extremity (UE) recovery in people post-stroke and examine the relationship between these changes and paretic UE amount of use (AOU) measured by an accelerometer. Subjects: 7 people chronic post-stroke (5 males, 2 females; aged 62.03 ± 11.33 years) with an Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer score range of 10-63 were included for this poster. Materials/Methods: Subjects wore wrist accelerometers for 3 weeks in the home. Clinical measures (Motor Activity Log, Stroke Impact Scale, Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Inventory, and the ABILHAND) were assessed weekly. Data analysis …

Processing Conditions For Ultrastable Surfactant-Free Nanoparticle Stabilized Foams, Willian Ivancic, Richard Schmitt

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

Foams, which are mixtures of gas and either a liquid or solid, are important to many applications, from consumer products to industrial processes. Stabilizing the liquid/gas interface against coalescence is key to the performance of foams. Typically, molecular surfactants (surface active agents) are used for interfacial stability, but adsorption/desorption of surfactant can diminish foam performance. We investigated the use of solid nanoparticles, rather than surfactants, as stabilizers. Fumed silica nanoparticles of varying surface chemistry, ranging from hydrophobic to hydrophilic, were suspended at 1% (w/w) and agitated in solutions of water and ethanol. Foam (gas in liquid), suspensions, and inverse foam …

Computer Vision And Route Planning For Humanoid Robots, Brandon Rutledge, Mike Iannica

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

Today humans control robots. Eventually, robots will control other robots. This research is a step in that direction. The goal of this research is to enable the NAO humanoid robot to take a picture of a VEX mobile robot and a colored cube, and analyze the picture so that the NAO can control the VEX to fetch the cube. The picture is examined by the NAO one pixel at a time. Using predetermined color values, the cube, along with the front and back of the VEX, are located, and the center points of each are calculated. The angle that the …

Parallel Selection Algorithms On Gpus: Implementation And Performance Comparison, Darius Bakunas-Milanowski

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

The computing power of current Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) has increased rapidly over the years. They offer much more computational power than recent CPUs by providing a vast number of simple, data parallel, multithreaded cores. In this project, we focused on the study of different variations of parallel selection algorithms on the current generation of NVIDIA GPUs. That is, given a massively large array of elements, we were interested in how we could use a GPU to efficiently select those elements that meet certain criteria and then store them into a target array for further processing. The optimization techniques used …

Effect Of Accelerometer Based Feedback On Paretic Upper Extremity Amount Of Use And Quality Of Movement: A Case Study, Mishgan Abdullah, Nathan Pohl, Amber Kuehn

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

Purpose/Hypothesis: To determine the effects of accelerometer based feedback on clinical measures of paretic upper extremity (UE) recovery in people post-stroke and examine the relationship between these changes and paretic UE amount of use (AOU) measured by an accelerometer. Subjects: 7 people chronic post-stroke (5 males, 2 females; aged 62.03 ± 11.33 years) with an Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer score range of 10-63 were included for this poster. Materials/Methods: Subjects wore wrist accelerometers for 3 weeks in the home. Clinical measures (Motor Activity Log, Stroke Impact Scale, Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Inventory, and the ABILHAND) were assessed weekly. Data analysis …

Feasibility And Effects Of Accelerometer Based Feedback On Paretic Upper Extremity Amount Of Use In The Home Setting In Subjects Chronic Post-Stroke, Nathan Pohl, Amber Kuehn, Mishgan Abdullah

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

Purpose : to (1) evaluate the feasibility of using accelerometers in the home to quantify how much subjects chronic post-stroke (PS) use their upper extremities (UE), (2) measure differences between amount of UE movement in subjects PS and a healthy control group (HC), (3) determine the effects of accelerometer based feedback on paretic UE use in subjects PS, and (4) determine if those effects are retained over time. Methods : Six subjects PS wore accelerometers for 3 weeks with two feedback sessions given during week two. Seven HC subjects wore accelerometers for one week. Accelerometer based outcome measures included relative …

Creating Miniaturized Tissue Constructs On A Micropillar/Microwell Chip Via 3d Bioprinting Technology, Yana Sickhar, Pranav Joshi, Akshata Datar

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

Liver tumor tissues in the human body consist of different layers of hepatic cells including hepatoma cells and surrounding normal cells. To mimic in vivo tumor tissues, three-dimensional (3D) microarray bioprinting was demonstrated on a microwell chip via layer-by-layer printing of Hep3B human hepatoma cell line. The 3D microarray printing coupled with high-content imaging (HCI) of cell layers on the chip might open new opportunities for predictive drug screening for patients. Our goal is to demonstrate high-throughput cell printing in hydrogel layers and establish HCI of cell layers from the microwell chip for miniaturized tumor tissue engineering. To achieve this …

Experimental Analysis Of Catalytic Gasification Of Polyethylene, Eric M. Lange, Samuel O. Sanya, Aliandra Barbutti, Stephen A. Reeves, Joshua M. Cmar, Jade Moten

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

Over the last century there has been a global interest in reducing/recycling waste material as well as creating energy from renewable and more eco-friendly sources. Catalytic gasification is one effective method that can promote low-temperature conversion of solid waste to energy, also referred to as “gasification”. The gas mixture produced by gasification of long-chain polymers using ruthenium (or platinum) catalysts consists of hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and water. Product mixtures of gasification experiments were analyzed by Gas Chromatography (GC) and post-processed using statistical analysis. Using fundamental reactor design equations along with stoichiometric calculations yielded the percent gasified as …

Effect Of Solidification Through Cross-Section Change On Dendritic Array In Single Crystal Castings, Christopher Stacey, Masood Ghods

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

Dendritic single crystal turbine blades are the most critical component in a gas turbine engine. These are made by directional solidification in ceramic molds having many cross-section changes. Abrupt cross-section changes during casting are the source of casting defects, such as, freckles and spurious grains. Purpose of this study was to examine the role of convection associated with cross-section changes in producing microstructural defects. Al-7%Si alloy was directionally solidified at 11, 29 and 73 μm s-1 in graphite crucibles having abrupt cross-section decrease and cross-section increase to simulate solidification of turbine blades. It is observed that, (i) shrinkage flow leads …

Community Perceptions On Substance Abuse By Underage, Wyatt Suntala, Navid Changizi

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

In the spring of 2015, the Community Awareness and Prevention Association (C.A.P.A.), and westshore young leaders network (WYLN) developed and conducted a Community Perception Survey (CPS) of adult residents in the suburbs of Lakewood, Rocky River, Fairview Park, Bay Village, Westlake, and North Olmsted. The purpose of the survey was to assess attitudes and opinions about substance abuse and prevention efforts of WYLN. The survey was both anonymous and confidential. The CPS resulted in 955 usable data which were analyzed and visualized at CSU. The results showed a strong perception of alcohol abuse and accessibility to alcohol for teens by …