Engineering Commons^™

The Design And Implementation Of A Kinect-Based Rehabilitation Exercise Monitoring And Guidance System, Hai Feng

ETD Archive

In preventive and rehabilitative healthcare, physical exercise is a powerful intervention. However, a program may require in the range of thousands of practice repetitions, and many people do not adhere to the program or perform their home exercises incorrectly, making the exercise ineffective, or even dangerous. This thesis research aims to develop a Kinect-based system for rehabilitation exercises monitoring and guidance. In the first step, a feasibility study was carried out on using Kinect for realtime monitoring of rehabilitation exercises while a multi-camera motion tracking system was used to establish the ground truth. In the second step, a Unity-based system …

Analysis Of Smartphone Traffic, Nicholas Luke Ruffing

ETD Archive

Smartphone reconnaissance, the first step to launch security attacks on a target smartphone, enables an adversary to tailor attacks by exploiting the known vulnerabilities of the target system. We investigate smartphone OS identification with encrypted traffic in this paper. Four identification algorithms based on the spectralanalysis of the encrypted traffic are proposed. The identification algorithms are designed for high identification accuracy by removing noise frequency components and for high efficiency in terms of computation complexity. We evaluate the identification algorithms with smartphone traffic collected over three months. The experimental results show that the algorithms can identify the smartphone OS accurately. …

Laboratory Testing Of High Performance Repair Materials For Pavements And Bridge Decks, Kamran Amini

ETD Archive

Because of numerous freezing and thawing cycles happening during the year in the state of Ohio, pavement partial-depth patching has become a common maintenance activity in this state. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has a need for durable, more permanent high performing pavement and bridge deck materials that allow for a faster repair and for user safety. However, new or proprietary products are difficult to specify unless incorporated into a construction project for research purposes or procurement of the product complies with the ODOT's direct purchasing requirements.This research project was conducted in three main phases, literature review and selecting …

Cavity Ignition In Supersonic Flow By Spark Discharge And Pulse Detonation, Timothy M. Ombrello, Campbell D. Carter, Chung-Jen Tam, Kuang-Yu Hsu

United States Air Force: Publications

Ignition of an ethylene fueled cavity in a supersonic flow was achieved through the application of two energy deposition techniques: a spark discharge and pulse detonator (PD). High-frequency shadowgraph and chemiluminescence imaging showed that the spark discharge ignition was passive with the ignition kernel and ensuing flame propagation following the cavity flowfield. The PD produced a high-pressure and temperature exhaust that allowed for ignition at lower tunnel temperatures and pressures than the spark discharge, but also caused significant disruption to the cavity flowfield dynamics. Under certain cavity fueling conditions a multiple regime ignition process occurred with the PD that led …

Absorption Properties Of Type-Ii Inas/Inassb Superlattices Measured By Spectroscopic Ellipsometry, P T. Webster, N A. Riordan, S Liu, E H. Steenbergen, R A. Synowicki, Y H. Zhang, S R. Johnson

United States Air Force: Publications

Strain-balanced InAs/InAsSb superlattices offer access to the mid- to long-wavelength infrared region with what is essentially a ternary material system at the GaSb lattice constant. The absorption coefficients of InAs/InAsSb superlattices grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (100)-oriented GaSb substrates are measured at room temperature over the 30 to 800 meV photon energy range using spectroscopic ellipsometry, and the miniband structure of each superlattice is calculated using a Kronig-Penney model. The InAs/InAsSb conduction band offset is used as a fitting parameter to align the calculated superlattice ground state transition energy to the measured absorption onset at room temperature and to …

Data-Enabled Field Experiment Planning, Management, And Research Using Cyberinfrastructure, Ibrahim Demir, Helen Conover, Witold F. Krajewski, Bong Chul Seo, Radosław Goska, Yubin He, Michael F. Mceniry, Sara J. Graves, Walter Petersen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In the spring of 2013, NASA conducted a field campaign known as Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS) as part of the Ground Validation (GV) program for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. The purpose of IFloodS was to enhance the understanding of flood-related, space-based observations of precipitation processes in events that transpire worldwide. NASA used a number of scientific instruments such as ground based weather radars, rain and soil moisture gauges, stream gauges, and disdrometers to monitor rainfall events in Iowa. This article presents the cyberinfrastructure tools and systems that supported the planning, reporting, and management of the field campaign and …

Chloride Incorporation Process In Ch3Nh3Pbi3-XClX Perovskites Via Nanoscale Bandgap Maps, Jungseok Chae, Qingfeng Dong, Jinsong Huang, Andrea Centrone

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

CH₃NH₃PbI_3-xCl_x perovskites enable fabrication of highly efficient solar cells. Chloride ions benefit the morphology, carrier diffusion length and stability of perovskite films; however, whether those benefits stem from the presence of Cl⁻ in the precursor solution or from their incorporation in annealed films is debated. In this work, the photothermal induced resonance (PTIR), an in situ technique with nanoscale resolution, is leveraged to measure the bandgap of CH₃NH₃PbI_3-xCl_x films obtained by a multicycle coating process that produces high efficiency (≈16 %) solar cells. Because chloride …

Role Of Interphase In The Mechanical Behavior Of Silica/Epoxy Resin Nanocomposites, Yi Hua, Linxia Gu, Sundaralingam Premaraj, Xiaodong Zhang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

A nanoscale representative volume element has been developed to investigate the effect of interphase geometry and property on the mechanical behavior of silica/epoxy resin nanocomposites. The role of interphase–matrix bonding was also examined. Results suggested that interphase modulus and interfacial bonding conditions had significant influence on the effective stiffness of nanocomposites, while its sensitivities with respect to both the thickness and the gradient property of the interphase was minimal. The stiffer interphase demonstrated a higher load-sharing capacity, which also increased the stress distribution uniformity within the resin nanocomposites. Under the condition of imperfect interfacial bonding, the effective stiffness of nanocomposites …

Voigt, Reuss, Hill, And Self-Consistent Techniques For Modeling Ultrasonic Scattering, Christopher M. Kube, Joseph A. Turner

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

An elastic wave propagating in a metal loses a portion of its energy from scattering caused by acoustic impedance differences existing at the boundaries of anisotropic grains. Theoretical scattering models capture this phenomena by assuming the incoming wave is described by an average elastic moduli tensorC_0ijkl (x) that is perturbed by a grain with elasticityC_ijkl (x ') where the scattering event occurs when x = x’. Previous models have assumed that C_0ijkl (x) is the Voigt average of the singlecrystal elastic moduli tensor. However, this assumption …

Acoustic Attenuation Coefficients For Polycrystalline Materials Containing Crystallites Of Any Symmetry Class, Christopher M. Kube, Joesph A. Turner

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

This letter provides a theoretical extension to the elastic properties of polycrystals in order to describe elastic wave scattering from grain boundaries. The extension allows the longitudinal and shear attenuation coefficients for scattering to be derived and is valid for polycrystals containing crystallites of any symmetry class. Attenuation curves are given for polycrystalline SiO₂, ZrO₂, and SnF₂, which contain monoclinic crystallites. This work will allow ultrasonic techniques to be applied to new classes of materials containing nontrivial microstructures.

Frequency Domain Ultrasound Waveform Tomography Breast Imaging, Gursharan Singh Sandhu

Wayne State University Dissertations

Ultrasound tomography is an emerging modality for imaging breast tissue for the detection of disease. Using the principles of full waveform inversion, high-resolution quantitative sound speed and attenuation maps of the breast can be created. In this thesis, we introduce some basic principles of imaging breast disease and the formalism of sound wave propagation. We present numerical methods to model acoustic wave propagation as well methods to solve the corresponding inverse problem. Numerical simulations of sound speed and attenuation reconstructions are used to assess the efficacy of the algorithm. A careful review of the preprocessing techniques needed for the successful …

Development Of Scaffold Architectures And Heterotypic Cell Systems For Hepatocyte Transplantation, Dalia Alzebdeh

Wayne State University Dissertations

In vitro assembly of functional liver tissue is needed to enable the transplantation of tissue-engineered livers. In addition, there is an increasing demand for in vitro models that replicate complex events occurring in the liver. However, tissue engineering of sizable implantable liver systems is currently limited by the difficulty of assembling three dimensional hepatocyte cultures of a useful size, while maintaining full cell viability, an issue which is closely related to the high metabolic rate of hepatocytes. In this study, we first compared two designs of highly porous chitosan-heparin scaffolds seeded with hepatocytes in dynamic perfusion bioreactor systems. The aim …

Development Of High Strength High Toughness Third Generation Advanced High Strength Steels., Codrick John Martis

Wayne State University Dissertations

Third generation advanced high strength steels (AHSS's) are emerging as very important engineering materials for structural applications. These steels have high specific strength and thus will contribute significantly to weight reduction in automotive and other structural component. In this investigation two such low carbon low alloy steels (LCLA) with high silicon content (1.6-2wt %) has been developed. These two steel alloys were subjected to single step and two step austempering in the temperature range of 260-399oC to obtain desired microstructures and mechanical properties. Austempering heat treatment was carried out for 2 hours in a molten salt bath. The microstructures were …

Lean Thinking For Lead-Time Reduction And Efficient Knowledge Creation In Product Development, Satish Kumar Tyagi

Wayne State University Dissertations

There are many distinct differences between manufacturing process and Product Development (PD) process, so lean tools have to be customized to deliver results in the later domain. The main focus of this dissertation is to extend them to manage and improve the PD process in order to develop the product faster while improving or at least maintaining the level of performance and quality. For aforesaid purpose, value stream mapping (VSM) method is used to explore the wastes, inefficiencies, non-valued added steps in a single, definable process out of complete PD process. Besides numerous intangible benefits, VSM framework will help the …

A Biomechanical Assessment Of Canine Body Armor, Sarah Stojsih

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to establish a biomechanical assessment of canine body armor with a primary focus on civilian law enforcement canines. The specific aims included: 1) the compilation of canine casualty data to determine commonly reported causes of death/euthanasia while in service for civilian law enforcement canines, 2) the evaluation of the biomechanical response of the canine related to a behind armor blunt impact, 3) the identification of an injury criterion that will best predict canine thoracic injury as a result of behind armor blunt trauma, 4) correlation of the behind armor blunt trauma response to the …

Benefit-Cost Analysis Of Using Class F Fly Ash-Based Green Cement In Masonry Units, Khaled Shwekat

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS OF USING CLASS F FLY ASH-BASED GREEN CEMENT IN MASONRY UNITS

by

KHALED SHWEKAT

August 2015

Advisor: Dr. Hwai-Chung Wu

Major: Civil engineering

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

The Portland cement concrete is the most popularly used building material around the world. However, there are major drawbacks associated with Portland cement, such as the emission of greenhouse gasses and high-energy consumption from cement production. Therefore, Portland cement concrete has many disadvantages that can only be overcome by being replaced with new materials such as fly ash-based green cement. Recycling fly ash and using it to replace cement has …

Analysis Of Queue Characteristics At Signalized Intersections Near Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing, Amna Chaudhry

Wayne State University Dissertations

Analysis of traffic queues at signalized intersections which are in close proximity to highway- railroad grade crossings is of primary importance for determining if the normal signal operation needs to be preempted for railroad operations by providing a special signal mode for safe clearance of the queued vehicles from the tracks before the train arrival, and prohibiting any conflicting traffic movements towards the crossing. Such queuing analysis becomes even more critical where direct observations of traffic queues are not possible or where the assessment is needed for a future location. Inadequate estimation of queues from signalized intersections to the nearby …

Helmholtz Equation Least Squares Based Near-Field Acoustic Holography With Laser, Wu Zhu

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation presents the HELS based NAH with laser and use normal surface velocity as input in near-field acoustic holography. The conventional HELS based NAH uses acoustic pressure as input to reconstruct sound field quantities, while this modified HELS based NAH with laser utilizes the normal surface velocities measured by LDV to reconstruct the acoustic quantities at interested positions. Theoretical principles of the HELS based NAH with laser have been fully developed and the method has been verified in theoretical perspective. Two theoretical examples verify that HELS based NAH with laser can obtain exactly the same results as analytic solution. …

Novel Incorportation Of Biomedical Engineering Algorithms (Bispectral Index Guided Or Anesthetic Concentration Guided) In Real-Time Decision Support To Prevent Intraoperative Awareness Using An Electronic Anesthesia Information Mananagement System, Amy Melanie Shanks

Wayne State University Dissertations

Background: Intraoperative awareness with explicit recall (AWR) is a feared complication of surgery that can lead to significant psychological distress. Several large prospective trials have been completed comparing two methods of monitoring anesthetic depth [minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) or electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring using the bispectral index (BIS)] for the prevention of AWR. However, these trials were conducted in high risk populations, limiting generalizability.

Research Hypothesis: Real-time decision support with Anesthesia Information Management System alerts based on a novel anesthetic concentration algorithm (incorporating the use of intravenous anesthetics) or an EEG-guided algorithm will reduce the known incidence of AWR.

Methods: First, …

Modeling And Optimization Of Non-Profit Hospital Call Centers With Service Blending, Yanli Zhao

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the operations problems in non-profit hospital call centers with inbound and outbound calls service blending.

First, the routing policy for inbound and outbound calls is considered. The objective is to improve the system utilization under constraints of service quality and operators' quantity. A collection of practical staffing assignment methods, separating and mixing staffing policy are evaluated. Erlang C queuing model is used to decide the minimum number of operators required by inbound calls. Theoretical analysis and numerical experiments illustrate that through dynamically assigning the inbound and outbound calls to operators under optimal threshold policy, mixing staffing …

Air Change Rate Vs Airflow Pathway: Bioaerosol Containment And Removal In Patient Rooms, Kevin R. Grosskopf

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Recent studies have shown that higher air change rates may have the unintended consequence of creating turbulent airflows that entrain high concentrations of infectious particles within the breathing zone, and possibly, breakdown pressure relationships necessary to contain the spread of infectious particles to other clinical spaces.

Multifunctional Nanomaterials For Biomedical Engineering: Unique Properties, Fabrications, And Diverse Applications, Jen-Jie Chieh, Sharmila M. Mukhopadhyay, Yali Cui

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Nanomaterials possess many unique properties useful for biomedical applications ranging from preoperative and intraoperative imaging to coatings, assays, and cell scaffolds. Their popularity and production value are full of competitiveness. Their related methodologies and instruments are also created or emphasized as the mainstream. Since multifunctional nanomaterials attract interests and attention of researchers, engineers, and businessmen in biomedical engineering, this journal is set up to publish a special issue devoted to this topic. The result is a collection of five original research articles, whose authors belong to academic or research institutions of five different countries from Asia, Europe, and America. Papers …

A New Design Method For Vanadium Redox Batteries In Renewable Energy Systems, Casey Gibson, Karla G. Morrissey Unversity Of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

This study investigated the behavior of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs), which are batteries capable of easily switching between charging and discharging modes, making them a suitable option for storing intermittent sources of alternative energies (solar, wind, etc). Since different sizes of the battery provide varying voltages, optimal parameters for a particular home are key for implementation. These parameters, specifically the cell and tank volumes of the battery that are capable of providing consistent on-load voltage, were determined using data from a 13 kW solar array and a medium-sized house. Charge/discharge current values were used to run a mathematical model …

Terahertz Imaging Platform To Characterize The Growth Of In-Vitro Breast Tumors, Scarlett-Marie Acklin

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

This study aimed at evaluating the ideal plating method and density for imaging with the terahertz (THz) spectrometer. In this study, different methods were used to grow in-vitro tumors using the 4T1 cell line. Here, attempts to grow breast tumors in-vitro were conducted. Results were produced in two environments, flat-bottomed plates and round-bottomed multiwell plates. The second method allowed for faster clumping and increased cell aggregation, producing tumors up to 7mm. Terahertz spectroscopy produced images that correlated well to photomicrographs taken of the in-vitro tumors. This methodology shows great promise for providing a reliable, parameter-controlled source of in-vitro breast tumors …

Interface Property Of Collagen And Hydroxyapatite In Bone And Developing Bioinspired Materials, Clint Paul

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Bone at the nanoscale consists of type I collagen and hydroxyapatite (HAP). Type I collagen and HAP [Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2] are responsible for most of the structural integrity of bone. Collagen fibrils contain HAP platelets of varying size dispersed between the collagen. We investigate heterotrimeric collagen interaction with HAP using Steering Molecular Dynamics to obtain the force-displacement relation as the collagen is undergoing shearing and peeling on the surface of HAP. Results indicate that the collagen requires 40% less force to separate form the HAP surface under peeling, when compared to shear loading conditions. In both shearing and peeling, the number of …

Tuning The Size Of Elastin-Like Polypeptide Nanoparticles, Adam Maraschky

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

The ability to control the size of biologically-based, environmentally-sensitive colloidal nanoparticles can advance their application in areas such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, and biosensors. Controlling size is a primary task in engineering nanomaterials because many of their properties depend on size. With the aim of fine- tuning the size of particles, we characterize mixtures of two elastin-like polypeptide structures: a linear and a trimer configuration. Both constructs undergo aggregation above their inverse transition temperatures, but the linear ELP forms large aggregates which coalesce into a protein-rich phase, while the ELP trimer with polar head groups forms stable polymer micelles …

The Catalytic Gasification Of Waste Polymers: Determining The Kinetics Of The Sabatier Reaction, Eric M. Lange, Samuel O. Sanya, Aliandra Barbutti, Stephen A. Reeves, Joshua M. Cmar

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

This research focuses on advancing the knowledge of a catalytic gasification process as a potential in-situ resource utilization and waste management alternative. This research has significance in a variety of engineering applications, but it is of particular relevance towards reducing landfill waste or as an in-situ resource generation system for space exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This process evolves through a reaction mechanism consisting on two liquid-phase oxidation reactions of long-chain polymers, complemented by two gas-phase reactions. This project focusses on one of the gas phase reactions: one of the main fuel producing reactions, the Sabatier (also referred to …

Characterizing Stimuli-Responsive Materials For Drug Delivery: Interactions With Model Compounds And Ph Responsive Behavior, Ryan Martin, Eric Helm

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

Stimuli responsive elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) nanoparticles are a promising platform for targeted drug delivery. Our laboratory has developed ELP nanoparticles that can specifically target cancer cells and provide contrast for MRI imaging. In order to utilize this system for drug delivery, the ability to carry and release drugs needs to be determined. Partition coefficients of drugs in ELP systems are one important measure of a system's ability to transport drugs, while a pH response mechanism can be utilized to provide selective drug release. In this study, we investigated the partition coefficients of seven model drug compounds in a pH responsive …

Laboratory And Field Testing Of High Performance Repair Materials, Michelle Seitz, Jennifer Woods, Larisa Suskinsas

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

The Ohio Department of Transportation has identified the need to specify durable, more permanent high performing pavement and bridge deck patching materials that allow for expediting pavement and bridge deck wearing surface repair for worker and user safety. Currently, either temporary or generally specified in-kind or like materials are being used to perform pavement patching. There is a current research project underway examining the performance of various high performance repair materials both in the laboratory and the field. The goals and objectives of this research project are: • Identify/determine acceptable field performance criteria for comparative analysis of selected products. • …

Robotics Training: Fundamentals Of Robot Assembly And Programming, Mike Iannicca, Brandon Rutledge

Undergraduate Research Posters 2015

Smartphones have become the central communication and computing devices in our daily life because of their nearly ubiquitous Internet access through various communication capabilities such as WiFi, 3G, or even 4G networks, their user-friendly interfaces supporting touch and gesture based input, and their numerous applications and games. Operating system (OS) detection, the first step to launch security attacks on a target smartphone, enables an adversary to tailor attacks by exploiting the known vulnerabilities of the target system. We investigate OS identification against smartphones that use encrypted traffic. We evaluate the identification algorithms against collected smartphone traffic. The experiments results show …