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2015

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Articles 6751 - 6780 of 7524

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

A Real-Time Information Based Demand-Side Management System In Smart Grid, Feng Ye, Yi Qian, Rose Qingyang Hu Jan 2015

A Real-Time Information Based Demand-Side Management System In Smart Grid, Feng Ye, Yi Qian, Rose Qingyang Hu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this paper, we study a real-time information based demand-side management (DSM) system with advanced communication networks in smart grid. DSM can smooth peakto- average ratio (PAR) of power usage in the grid, which in turn reduces the waste of fuel and the emission of greenhouse gas. We first target to minimize PAR with a centralized scheme. To motivate power suppliers, we further propose another centralized scheme targeting minimum power generation cost. However, customers may not be motivated by a centralized scheme since such a scheme requires total control and privacy from them. A centralized scheme also requires too much …


An Isolated Three-Port Bidirectional Dc-Dc Converter For Photovoltaic Systems With Energy Storage, Jianwu Zeng, Wei Qiao, Liyan Qu Jan 2015

An Isolated Three-Port Bidirectional Dc-Dc Converter For Photovoltaic Systems With Energy Storage, Jianwu Zeng, Wei Qiao, Liyan Qu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

This paper proposes a new isolated, three-port, bidirectional, DC-DC converter for simultaneous power management of multiple energy sources. The proposed converter has the advantage of using the least number of switches and soft switching for the main switch, which is realized by using a LCL-resonant circuit. The converter is capable of interfacing sources of different voltage-current characteristics with a load and/or a DC microgrid. The proposed converter is constructed for simultaneous power management of a photovoltaic (PV) panel, a rechargeable battery, and a load. Simulation and experimental results show that the proposed converter is capable of maximum power point tracking …


Modeling And Control Of A Three-Port Dc-Dc Converter For Pv-Battery Systems, Jianwu Zeng, Wei Qiao, Liyan Qu Jan 2015

Modeling And Control Of A Three-Port Dc-Dc Converter For Pv-Battery Systems, Jianwu Zeng, Wei Qiao, Liyan Qu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

This paper presents modeling and decoupled control design for an isolated three-port DC-DC converter (TPC), which interfaces a photovoltaic (PV) panel, a rechargeable battery, and an isolated load. A small signal model is derived from the state-space equations of the TPC. Based on the model, two decoupled controllers are designed to control the power flows of the two sources and the load voltage independently. Experimental studies are performed to verify that the two controllers are capable of regulating the power flows of the PV panel and the battery while maintaining a constant output voltage for the TPC.


Optimal Joint Transmission And Harvested Energy Scheduling For Renewable Energy Harvesting Enabled Cellular Network Under Coordinated Multi-Point Transmission, Zejue Wang, Hongjia Li, Dan Hu, Song Ci Jan 2015

Optimal Joint Transmission And Harvested Energy Scheduling For Renewable Energy Harvesting Enabled Cellular Network Under Coordinated Multi-Point Transmission, Zejue Wang, Hongjia Li, Dan Hu, Song Ci

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

On-grid energy consumption of base stations (BSs) contributes up a significant fraction of the total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of cellular networks, among which remote radio units (RRUs) absorb most of the energy consumption. To eliminate the on-grid energy consumption and the corresponding CO2 emission, we propose a new transmission framework, in which all RRUs and associated power amplifiers (PAs) are powered by hybrid energy sources including on-grid energy source and off-grid renewable energy source. Based on the framework, we pursue a systematic study on the joint transmission and harvested energy scheduling algorithm for the hybrid energy …


Cmi Analysis And Precoding Designs For Correlated Multi-Hop Mimo Channels, Nguyen N. Tran, Song Ci, Ha X. Nguyen Jan 2015

Cmi Analysis And Precoding Designs For Correlated Multi-Hop Mimo Channels, Nguyen N. Tran, Song Ci, Ha X. Nguyen

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Conditional mutual information (CMI) analysis and precoding design for generally correlated wireless multi-hop multi-input multi-output (MIMO) channels are presented in this paper. Although some particular scenarios have been examined in existing publications, this paper investigates a generally correlated transmission system having spatially correlated channel, mutually correlated source symbols, and additive colored Gaussian noise (ACGN). First, without precoding techniques, we derive the optimized source symbol covariances upon mutual information maximization. Secondly, we apply a precoding technique and then design the precoder in two cases: maximizing the mutual information and minimizing the detection error. Since the optimal design for the end-to-end system …


Integral Equation Analysis Of Em Scattering From Multilayered Metallic Photonic Crystal Accelerated With Adaptive Cross Approximation, Jianxun Su, Zengrui Li, Xujin Yuan, Yaoqing (Lamar) Yang, Junhong Wang Jan 2015

Integral Equation Analysis Of Em Scattering From Multilayered Metallic Photonic Crystal Accelerated With Adaptive Cross Approximation, Jianxun Su, Zengrui Li, Xujin Yuan, Yaoqing (Lamar) Yang, Junhong Wang

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

A space-domain integral equation method accelerated with adaptive cross approximation (ACA) is presented for the fast and accurate analysis of electromagnetic (EM) scattering from multilayered metallic photonic crystal (MPC). The method directly solves for the electric field in order to easily enable the periodic boundary condition (PBC) in the spatial domain. The ACA is a purely algebraic method allowing the compression of fully populated matrices; hence, its formulation and implementation are independent of integral equation kernel (Green’s function).Therefore, the ACA is very well suited for accelerating integral equation analysis of periodic structure with the integral kernel of the periodic Green’s …


Drive Systems Including Sliding Mode Observers And Methods Of Controlling The Same, Long Wu, Yue Zhao, Wei Qiao Jan 2015

Drive Systems Including Sliding Mode Observers And Methods Of Controlling The Same, Long Wu, Yue Zhao, Wei Qiao

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

At least one example embodiment discloses a drive system including a motor including a rotor, the motor configured to receive a measured current, a controller configured to generate a Voltage command for the motor, a sliding mode observer configured to determine an estimated current for the motor based on the Voltage command, determine a difference between the measured current and the estimated current, and determine a Switching control vector and an estimator con figured to estimate a rotor position based on the Switching control vector, the Switching control vector being determined based on the difference and adaptive parameters of the …


Probes For Multidimensional Nanospectroscopic Imaging And Methods Of Fabrication Thereof, Alexander Weber-Bargionii, Stefano Cabrini, Wei Bao, Mauro Melli, Eli Yablonovitch, Peter J. Schuck Jan 2015

Probes For Multidimensional Nanospectroscopic Imaging And Methods Of Fabrication Thereof, Alexander Weber-Bargionii, Stefano Cabrini, Wei Bao, Mauro Melli, Eli Yablonovitch, Peter J. Schuck

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus related to probes for multidimenisonal nanospectroscopic imaging. In one aspect, a method includes providing a transparent tip comprising a dielectric material. A four-sided pyramidal-shaped structure is formed at an apex of the transparent tip using a focus ion beam. Metal layers are deposited over two opposing sides of the four-sided pyramidal-shaped structure.


Efficiency Enhancement In Polymer Solar Cells With A Polar Small Molecule Both At Interface And In The Bulk Heterojunction Layer, Zhengguo Xiao, Qingfeng Dong, Qi Wang, Wenjing Tian, Hui Huang, Jinsong Huang Jan 2015

Efficiency Enhancement In Polymer Solar Cells With A Polar Small Molecule Both At Interface And In The Bulk Heterojunction Layer, Zhengguo Xiao, Qingfeng Dong, Qi Wang, Wenjing Tian, Hui Huang, Jinsong Huang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The polar molecules, including ferroelectric materials with large dipole moments, have been applied as interfacial layers to increase the efficiency of organic solar cells by increasing the bounded charge separation, tuning the energy levels, etc. Here, we report a small polar molecule 2-cyano-3- (4-(diphenylamino) phenyl)acrylic acid (TPACA) that can be either blended in the active layer or at the polymer/electrode interface to increase the efficiency of organic solar cell devices after poling. It is found that the built-in potential of the device is increased by 0.2 V after poling under negative bias. Blending TPACA into the active layer has shown …


Electron-Hole Diffusion Lengths >175 Μm In Solution-Grown Ch3Nh3Pbi3 Single Crystals, Qingfeng Dong, Yanjun Fang, Yuchuan Shao, Padhraic Mulligan, Jie Qiu, Lei Cao, Jinsong Huang Jan 2015

Electron-Hole Diffusion Lengths >175 Μm In Solution-Grown Ch3Nh3Pbi3 Single Crystals, Qingfeng Dong, Yanjun Fang, Yuchuan Shao, Padhraic Mulligan, Jie Qiu, Lei Cao, Jinsong Huang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Long, balanced electron and hole diffusion lengths greater than 100 nanometers in polycrystalline CH3NH3PbI3 are critical for highly efficient perovskite solar cells. We report that the diffusion lengths in CH3NH3PbI3 single crystals grown by a solution-growth method can exceed 175 μm under 1 sun illumination and exceed 3 mm under weak light for both electrons and holes. The internal quantum efficiencies approach 100% in 3 mm-thick single crystal perovskite solar cells under weak light. These long diffusion lengths result from greater carrier mobility, lifetime and dramatically smaller trap densities in …


Towards Tuning The Mechanical Properties Of Three-Dimensional Collagen Scaffolds Using A Coupled Fiber-Matrix Model, Shengmao Lin, Lauren A. Hapach, Cynthia Reinhart-King, Linxia Gu Jan 2015

Towards Tuning The Mechanical Properties Of Three-Dimensional Collagen Scaffolds Using A Coupled Fiber-Matrix Model, Shengmao Lin, Lauren A. Hapach, Cynthia Reinhart-King, Linxia Gu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Scaffold mechanical properties are essential in regulating the microenvironment of three-dimensional cell culture. A coupled fiber-matrix numerical model was developed in this work for predicting the mechanical response of collagen scaffolds subjected to various levels of non-enzymatic glycation and collagen concentrations. The scaffold was simulated by a Voronoi network embedded in a matrix. The computational model was validated using published experimental data. Results indicate that both non-enzymatic glycation-induced matrix stiffening and fiber network density, as regulated by collagen concentration, influence scaffold behavior. The heterogeneous stress patterns of the scaffold were induced by the interfacial mechanics between the collagen fiber network …


Development And Preliminary Evaluation Of A Spray Deposition Sensing System For Improving Pesticide Application, Melissa A. Kesterson, Joe D. Luck, Michael P. Sama Jan 2015

Development And Preliminary Evaluation Of A Spray Deposition Sensing System For Improving Pesticide Application, Melissa A. Kesterson, Joe D. Luck, Michael P. Sama

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

An electronic, resistance-based sensor array and data acquisition system was developed to measure spray deposition from hydraulic nozzles. The sensor surface consisted of several parallel tin plated copper traces of varying widths with varying gap widths. The system contained an embedded microprocessor to monitor output voltage corresponding to spray deposition every second. In addition, a wireless module was used to transmit the voltage values to a remote laptop. Tests were conducted in two stages to evaluate the performance of the sensor array in an attempt to quantify the spray deposition. Initial tests utilized manual droplet placement on the sensor surface …


Multiscale Modeling Of Skeletal Muscle Active Contraction In Relation To Mechanochemical Coupling Of Molecular Motors, Jiangcheng Chen, Xiaodong Zhang, Shengmao Lin, He Wang, Linxia Gu Jan 2015

Multiscale Modeling Of Skeletal Muscle Active Contraction In Relation To Mechanochemical Coupling Of Molecular Motors, Jiangcheng Chen, Xiaodong Zhang, Shengmao Lin, He Wang, Linxia Gu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this work, a mathematical model was developed to relate the mechanochemical characterizations of molecular motors with the macroscopic manifestation of muscle contraction. Non-equilibrium statistical mechanics were used to study the collective behavior of myosin molecular motors in terms of the complex conformation change and multiple chemical states in one working cycle. The stochastic evolution of molecular motor probability density distribution during the contraction of sarcomere was characterized by the Fokker-Planck Equation. Quick muscle contraction was demonstrated by the collective dynamic behavior of myosin motors, the muscle contraction force, and the muscle contraction velocity-force relation. Our results are validated against …


Inducing Persistent Flow Disturbances Accelerates Atherogenesis And Promotes Thin Cap Fibroatheroma Development In D374y-Pcsk9 Hypercholesterolemic Minipigs, Ryan M. Pedrigi, Christian Bo Poulsen, Vikram V. Mehta, Niels Ramsing Holm, Nilesh Pareek, Anouk L. Post, Ismail Dogu Kilic, Winston A.S. Banya, Gianni Dall'ara, Alessio Mattesini, Martin M. Bjorklund, Niels P. Andersen, Anna K. Grondal, Enrico Petretto, Nicolas Foin, Justin E. Davies, Carlo Di Mario, Jacob Fog Bentzon, Hans Erik Botker, Erling Falk, Rob Krams, Ranil De Silva Jan 2015

Inducing Persistent Flow Disturbances Accelerates Atherogenesis And Promotes Thin Cap Fibroatheroma Development In D374y-Pcsk9 Hypercholesterolemic Minipigs, Ryan M. Pedrigi, Christian Bo Poulsen, Vikram V. Mehta, Niels Ramsing Holm, Nilesh Pareek, Anouk L. Post, Ismail Dogu Kilic, Winston A.S. Banya, Gianni Dall'ara, Alessio Mattesini, Martin M. Bjorklund, Niels P. Andersen, Anna K. Grondal, Enrico Petretto, Nicolas Foin, Justin E. Davies, Carlo Di Mario, Jacob Fog Bentzon, Hans Erik Botker, Erling Falk, Rob Krams, Ranil De Silva

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background—Although disturbed flow is thought to play a central role in the development of advanced coronary atherosclerotic plaques, no causal relationship has been established. We evaluated whether inducing disturbed flow would cause the development of advanced coronary plaques, including thin cap fibroatheroma (TCFA).

Methods and Results—D374Y-PCSK9 hypercholesterolemic minipigs (N=5) were instrumented with an intracoronary shear-modifying stent (SMS). Frequency-domain optical coherence tomography was obtained at baseline, immediately post-stent, 19, and 34 weeks and used to compute shear stress metrics of disturbed flow. At 34 weeks, plaque type was assessed within serially-collected histological sections and co-registered to …


Self‑Propelled Droplets On Heated Surfaces With Angled Self‑Assembled Micro/Nanostructures, Cory Kruse, Isra Somanas, Troy Anderson, Chris Wilson, Craig Zuhlke, Dennis Alexander, George Gogos, Sidy Ndao Jan 2015

Self‑Propelled Droplets On Heated Surfaces With Angled Self‑Assembled Micro/Nanostructures, Cory Kruse, Isra Somanas, Troy Anderson, Chris Wilson, Craig Zuhlke, Dennis Alexander, George Gogos, Sidy Ndao

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Directional and ratchet-like functionalized surfaces can induce liquid transport without the use of an external force. In this paper, we investigate the motion of liquid droplets near the Leidenfrost temperature on functionalized self-assembled asymmetric microstructured surfaces. The surfaces, which have angled microstructures, display unidirectional properties. The surfaces are fabricated on stainless steel through the use of a femtosecond laser-assisted process. Through this process, mound-like microstructures are formed through a combination of material ablation, fluid flow, and material redeposition. In order to achieve the asymmetry of the microstructures, the femtosecond laser is directed at an angle with respect to the sample …


Quantification Of Ultraprecision Surface Morphology Using An Algebraic Graph Theoretic Approach, Prahalad Rao, Satish T. S. Bukkapatnam, Zhenyu (James) Kong, Omer F. Beyca, Kenneth Case, Ranga Komanduri Jan 2015

Quantification Of Ultraprecision Surface Morphology Using An Algebraic Graph Theoretic Approach, Prahalad Rao, Satish T. S. Bukkapatnam, Zhenyu (James) Kong, Omer F. Beyca, Kenneth Case, Ranga Komanduri

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Assessment of progressive, nano-scale variation of surface morphology during ultraprecision manufacturing processes, such as fine-abrasive polishing of semiconductor wafers, is a challenging proposition owing to limitations with traditional surface quantifiers. We present an algebraic graph theoretic approach that uses graph topological invariants for quantification of ultraprecision surface morphology. The graph theoretic approach captures heterogeneous multi-scaled aspects of surface morphology from optical micrographs, and is therefore valuable for in situ real-time assessment of surface quality. Extensive experimental investigations with specular finished (Sa ~ 5 nm) blanket copper wafers from a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process suggest that the proposed method was …


Acoustic Nonlinearity Parameters For Transversely Isotropic Polycrystalline Materials, Christopher M. Kube, Joseph A. Turner Jan 2015

Acoustic Nonlinearity Parameters For Transversely Isotropic Polycrystalline Materials, Christopher M. Kube, Joseph A. Turner

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

This article considers polycrystalline materials with macroscopic elastic anisotropy and the effect of the anisotropy on the quadratic nonlinearity parameter used to describe second harmonic generation in solids. The polycrystal is assumed to have transversely isotropic elastic symmetry, which leads to a directional dependence of the nonlinearity parameters. Additionally, the anisotropy leads to second harmonic generation from an input shear wave. Estimates of the longitudinal and shear wave nonlinearity parameters are given as a function of single-crystal elastic constants, macroscopic anisotropy constants, and propagation direction. An inverse model is presented that relates measured nonlinearity parameters to the macroscopic anisotropy constants. …


Interfacial Electronic Structure At The Ch3nh3pbi3/Moox Interface, Peng Liu, Xiaoliang Liu, Lu Lyu, Haipeng Xie, Hong Zhang, Dongmei Niu, Han Huang, Cheng Bi, Zhengguo Xiao, Jinsong Huang, Yongli Gao Jan 2015

Interfacial Electronic Structure At The Ch3nh3pbi3/Moox Interface, Peng Liu, Xiaoliang Liu, Lu Lyu, Haipeng Xie, Hong Zhang, Dongmei Niu, Han Huang, Cheng Bi, Zhengguo Xiao, Jinsong Huang, Yongli Gao

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Interfacial electronic properties of the CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3)/MoOx interface are investigated using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. It is found that the pristine MAPbI3 film coated onto the substrate of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate)/indium tin oxide by two-step method behaves as an n-type semiconductor, with a band gap of ~1.7 eV and a valence band edge of 1.40 eV below the Fermi energy (EF). With the MoOx deposition of 64A ° upon MAPbI3, the energy levels of MAPbI3 shift toward higher binding energy by 0.25 eV due to electron transfer …


The Operation Mechanism Of Poly(9,9-Dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-Diyl) Dots In High Efficiency Polymer Solar Cells, Chunyu Liu, Yeyuan He, Xinyuan Zhang, Zhiqi Li, Liang Shen, Zhihui Zhang, Wenbin Guo, Shengping Ruan Jan 2015

The Operation Mechanism Of Poly(9,9-Dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-Diyl) Dots In High Efficiency Polymer Solar Cells, Chunyu Liu, Yeyuan He, Xinyuan Zhang, Zhiqi Li, Liang Shen, Zhihui Zhang, Wenbin Guo, Shengping Ruan

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The highly efficient polymer solar cells were realized by doping poly(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFO) dots into active layer. The dependence of doping amount on devices performance was investigated and a high efficiency of 7.15% was obtained at an optimal concentration, accounting for a 22.4% enhancement. The incorporation of PFO dots (Pdots) is conducted to the improvement of Jsc and fill factor mainly due to the enhancement of light absorption and charge transport property. Pdots blended in active layer provides an interface for charge transfer and enables the formation of percolation pathways for electron transport. The introduction of Pdots was proven an effective …


Characterization Of Closed Head Impact Injury In Rat, Yi Hua, Praveen Akula, Matthew Kelso, Linxia Gu Jan 2015

Characterization Of Closed Head Impact Injury In Rat, Yi Hua, Praveen Akula, Matthew Kelso, Linxia Gu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The closed head impact (CHI) rat models are commonly used for studying the traumatic brain injury. The impact parameters vary considerably among different laboratories, making the comparison of research findings difficult. In this work, numerical CHI experiments were conducted to investigate the sensitivities of intracranial responses to various impact parameters (e.g., impact depth, velocity, and position; impactor diameter, material, and shape). A three-dimensional finite element rat head model with anatomical details was subjected to impact loadings. Results revealed that impact depth and impactor shape were the two leading factors affecting intracranial responses.The influence of impactor diameter was region-specific and an …


Evaluation Of Peritoneal Microbubble Oxygenation Therapy In A Rabbit Model Of Hypoxemia, Nathan D. Legband, Jameel A. Feshitan, Mark A. Borden, Benjamin S. Terry Jan 2015

Evaluation Of Peritoneal Microbubble Oxygenation Therapy In A Rabbit Model Of Hypoxemia, Nathan D. Legband, Jameel A. Feshitan, Mark A. Borden, Benjamin S. Terry

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Alternative extrapulmonary oxygenation technologies are needed to treat patients suffering from severe hypoxemia refractory to mechanical ventilation. We previously demonstrated that peritoneal microbubble oxygenation (PMO), in which phospholipid-coated oxygen microbubbles (OMBs) are delivered into the peritoneal cavity, can successfully oxygenate rats suffering from a right pneumothorax. This study addressed the need to scale up the procedure to a larger animal with a splanchnic cardiac output similar to humans. Our results show that PMO therapy can double the survival time of rabbits experiencing complete tracheal occlusion from6.6 ± 0.6 min for the saline controls to 12.2 ± 3.0 min for the …


Influence Of Support Type And Metal Loading In Methane Decomposition Over Iron Catalyst For Hydrogen Production, Ahmed A. Ibrahim, Ahmed S. Al-Fatesh, Wasim Ullah Khan, Moustafa A. Soliman, Raja L. Al-Otaibi, Anis H. Fakeeha Jan 2015

Influence Of Support Type And Metal Loading In Methane Decomposition Over Iron Catalyst For Hydrogen Production, Ahmed A. Ibrahim, Ahmed S. Al-Fatesh, Wasim Ullah Khan, Moustafa A. Soliman, Raja L. Al-Otaibi, Anis H. Fakeeha

Chemical Engineering

Natural gas resources, stimulate the method of catalytic methane decomposition. Hydrogen is a superb energy carrier and integral component of the present energy systems, while carbon nanotubes exhibit remarkable chemical and physical properties. The reaction was run at 700 °C in a fixed bed reactor. Catalyst calcination and reduction were done at 500 °C. MgO, TiO2 and Al2O3 supported catalysts were prepared using a co-precipitation method. Catalysts of different iron loadings were characterized with BET, TGA, XRD, H2-TPR and TEM. The catalyst characterization revealed the formation of multi-walled nanotubes. Alternatively, time on stream tests of supported catalyst at 700 °C …


Energy Intensity And Environmental Impact Metrics Of The Back-End Separation Of Ethylene Plant By Thermodynamic Analysis, Mahdi H. Alhajji, Yaşar Demirel Jan 2015

Energy Intensity And Environmental Impact Metrics Of The Back-End Separation Of Ethylene Plant By Thermodynamic Analysis, Mahdi H. Alhajji, Yaşar Demirel

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

This study presents metrics of energy intensity and environmental impact of the back-end separation of ethylene plant consisting three interacting distillation columns by thermodynamic analysis. The objective is to explore the scope of reducing the energy for utilities and CO2 emissions. Thermodynamic analysis is carried out using the column targeting tool (CTT) to address the sustainability metrics of ‘Energy Intensity.’ CTT is based on the ‘Practical Near-Minimum Thermodynamic Condition’ representing a close to practical reversible column operation. Environmental impact metrics are estimated from the carbon tracking options. The carbon tracking are estimated by the CO2 emission data source …


Chemical Storage Of Wind Energy By Renewable Methanol Production: Feasibility Analysis Using A Multi-Criteria Decision Matrix, Michael J. Matzen, Mahdi H. Alhajji, Yaşar Demirel Jan 2015

Chemical Storage Of Wind Energy By Renewable Methanol Production: Feasibility Analysis Using A Multi-Criteria Decision Matrix, Michael J. Matzen, Mahdi H. Alhajji, Yaşar Demirel

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

This study is for the technoeconomic analysis of an integral facility consisting of wind energy-based electrolytic hydrogen production, bioethanol-based carbon dioxide capture and compression, and direct methanol synthesis. ASPEN Plus was used to simulate the facility producing 97.01 mt (metric tons) methanol/day using 138.37 mt CO2/day and 18.56 mt H2/day. A discounted cash flow diagram for the integral facility is used for the economic analysis at various hydrogen production costs and methanol selling prices. The feasibility analysis is based on a multi-criteria decision matrix consisting of economic and sustainability indicators comparing renewable and non-renewable methanol productions. …


Uncertainty Analysis Of An Irrigation Scheduling Model For Water Management In Crop Production, S. Mun, G. F. Sassenrath, Amy M. Schmidt, N. Lee, M. C. Wadsworth, B. Rice, Jason Q, Corbitt, J. M. Schneider, M. L. Tagert, J. Pote, R. Prabhu Jan 2015

Uncertainty Analysis Of An Irrigation Scheduling Model For Water Management In Crop Production, S. Mun, G. F. Sassenrath, Amy M. Schmidt, N. Lee, M. C. Wadsworth, B. Rice, Jason Q, Corbitt, J. M. Schneider, M. L. Tagert, J. Pote, R. Prabhu

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Irrigation scheduling tools are critical to allow producers to effectively manage water resources for crop production. To be useful, these tools need to be accurate, complete, and relatively reliable. The current work presents an uncertainty analysis and its results for the Mississippi Irrigation Scheduling Tool (MIST) model, showing the margin of error (uncertainty) of the resulting irrigation advice arising solely from the propagation of measurement uncertainty through the MIST calculations. The final relative uncertainty in the water balance value from MIST was shown to be around 9% of that value, which is in the normal range of the margin of …


Development Of A Turbidity Prediction Methodology For Runoff-Erosion Models, Sagar Neupane, Jason R. Vogel, Daniel E. Storm, Bill J. Barfield, Aaron R. Mittelstet Jan 2015

Development Of A Turbidity Prediction Methodology For Runoff-Erosion Models, Sagar Neupane, Jason R. Vogel, Daniel E. Storm, Bill J. Barfield, Aaron R. Mittelstet

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Surface water bodies can be impaired by turbidity and excessive sediment loading due to urban development, construction activities, and agricultural practices. Turbidity has been considered as a proxy for evaluating water quality, aquatic habitat, and aesthetic impairments in surface waters. The US Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) has listed turbidity and sediment as major pollutants for construction site effluent. Recently proposed USEPA regulations for construction site runoff led to increased interest in methods to predict turbidity in runoff based on parameters that are more commonly predicted in runoff- erosion models. In this study, a turbidity prediction methodology that can be easily …


Robust Estimates Of Soil Moisture And Latent Heat Flux Coupling Strength Obtained From Triple Collocation, Wade T. Crow, Fangni Lei, Christopher R. Hain, Martha C. Anderson, Russell L. Scott, David P. Billesbach, Timothy Arkebauer Jan 2015

Robust Estimates Of Soil Moisture And Latent Heat Flux Coupling Strength Obtained From Triple Collocation, Wade T. Crow, Fangni Lei, Christopher R. Hain, Martha C. Anderson, Russell L. Scott, David P. Billesbach, Timothy Arkebauer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Land surface models (LSMs) are often applied to predict the one-way coupling strength between surface soil moisture (SM) and latent heat (LH) flux. However, the ability of LSMs to accurately represent such coupling has not been adequately established. Likewise, the estimation of SM/LH coupling strength using ground-based observational data is potentially compromised by the impact of independent SM and LH measurements errors. Here we apply a new statistical technique to acquire estimates of one-way SM/LH coupling strength which are nonbiased in the presence of random error using a triple collocation approach based on leveraging the simultaneous availability of independent SM …


Using Swat To Simulate Crop Yields And Salinity Levels In The North Fork River Basin, Usa, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Daniel E. Storm, Art L. Stoecker Jan 2015

Using Swat To Simulate Crop Yields And Salinity Levels In The North Fork River Basin, Usa, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Daniel E. Storm, Art L. Stoecker

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Crop yields and salinity levels in the North Fork of the Red River (North Fork River) basin, located in southwestern Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, were analyzed based on the diverse climate in the region. Saline irrigation water is a major problem in the basin. The Elm Fork Creek flows through salt deposits, making the creek and its receiving stream, the North Fork River, too saline to use for irrigation. This greatly reduces the number of hectares that can be utilized for agricultural crops within the basin. A baseline SWAT model was setup, calibrated and validated to simulate streamflow and …


Identifying Intracellular Pdna Losses From A Model Of Nonviral Gene Delivery, Timothy Michael Martin, Beata Joanna Wysocki, Tadeusz Antoni Wysocki, Angela K. Pannier Jan 2015

Identifying Intracellular Pdna Losses From A Model Of Nonviral Gene Delivery, Timothy Michael Martin, Beata Joanna Wysocki, Tadeusz Antoni Wysocki, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Nonviral gene delivery systems are a type of nanocommunication system that transmit plasmid packets (i.e., pDNA packets) that are programmed at the nanoscale to biological systems at the microscopic cellular level. This engineered nanocommunication system suffers large pDNA losses during transmission of the genetically encoded information, preventing its use in biotechnological and medical applications. The pDNA losses largely remain uncharacterized, and the ramifications of reducing pDNA loss from newly designed gene delivery systems remain difficult to predict. Here, the pDNA losses during primary and secondary transmission chains were identified utilizing a MATLAB model employing queuing theory simulating delivery of pEGFPLuc …


Narrow Grass Hedges Reduce Tylosin And Associated Antimicrobial Resistance Genes In Agricultural Runoff, Bhavneet Soni, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Daniel D. Snow, John E. Gilley, Bryan Woodbury, David B. Marx, Xu Li Jan 2015

Narrow Grass Hedges Reduce Tylosin And Associated Antimicrobial Resistance Genes In Agricultural Runoff, Bhavneet Soni, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Daniel D. Snow, John E. Gilley, Bryan Woodbury, David B. Marx, Xu Li

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Agricultural runoff from areas receiving livestock manure can potentially contaminate surface water with antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of narrow grass hedges (NGHs) on reducing the transport of antimicrobials and ARGs in runoff after land application of swine manure slurry. Plot-scale rainfall simulation tests were conducted on 0.75 m by 4.0 m plots designed to test three treatment factors: manure amendment (control plots receiving no manure vs. amended plots receiving manure based on 3 times N requirement), NGH (plots with a NGH vs. plots without a NGH), and rainfall …