Engineering Commons^™

The Proposal For Implementation Of Controlled Power Rectifier (3000/4000kw) In Mta New York City Transit (Mta-Nyct), Md Aminul Islam

Dissertations and Theses

The MTA New York City Transit (MTA-NYCT) will require a robust and reconfigurable power system capable of supplying high power in order to be able to provide services based on for cased future forecast growth of the city population. A critical component in such a system is the Phase Controlled Rectifier. As such, the issues associated with the inclusion of a power electronics rectifier need to be addressed. These issues include input Alternating Current (AC) interface requirements, the output Direct Current (DC) load profile, and overall stability in the output voltage for Train car loads.

Understanding these issues, providing possible …

Calibration And Validation Of An In Vitro Ultrasound Device To Deliver Targeted Thermal Enhancement Of Hmsc Osteogenesis, Dionne Dawkins

Dissertations and Theses

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease that affects millions of people annually, often the elderly, and limits their physical abilities. Current methods of treating OA are often very invasive, and expensive, costing the Medicare system billions of dollars annually. A minimally invasive therapy that can be localized to the affected area that provides both relief and a short recovery time is optimal for treating the disease. For targeted therapy and clinical use, therapeutic ultrasound in the 0.7 MHz to 3 MHz frequency range can provide relief and is convenient, portable and localized. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) has been proven in clinical …

Exploration Of The Mechanical Properties Of Both Ridged And Inflated Drop Stitch Fabric Material, Roberto Felicissimo

Dissertations and Theses

The mechanical properties of drop stitch fabric materials in tension and shear has been investigated for use in designing structural applications such as ship construction, modular buildings, inflatable structures, aquatic vehicles, sporting goods and temporary field equipment installations. The goal of testing is to improve the understanding of the mechanical properties, which can aid in application development for structural deployments using these unique materials. The benefits of using rigid drop stitch fabric panels in ship and building construction are their light weight and rigidity. The epoxy resin infused fabric is corrosion and degradation resistant while providing a more robust resistance …

Chemotaxis Of Central Nervous System-Derived Tumor Cells Within Controlled Microenvironments, Jennifer Rico Varela

Dissertations and Theses

Medulloblastoma (MB) is a malignant pediatric brain tumor known for its aggressive metastatic potential. Despite the well-documented migration of MB cells to other parts of the brain and spinal column, MB chemotaxis is poorly understood. Herein, we examined the in vitro migratory and cellular responses of MB-derived cells to external signaling of Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB), and the stromal cell-derived factors 1-alpha (SDF-1). Experiments utilized transwell assays and immunocytochemistry to identify receptor activation in MB migration, and used a microfluidic platform to examine directionality, trajectory, and gradient- dependence of motile cells. Data …

An Experimental Study Of Subcooled Flow Boiling At Elevated Pressure In An Annular Flow Channel, Pervej Rahman

Dissertations and Theses

An experimental setup was developed to study the region of subcooled flow boiling. Multiple studies were carried out to investigate the effects of liquid velocity, pressure, and temperature on the boiling heat transfer of subcooled fluid flowing through a heated annular channel. Water was used as the working fluid and principle of Ohmic heating was used to raise water temperature. The system pressure, heat flux, & mass flux ranged from 101 to 912 kPa, 19 to 155 kW/m2, and 83 to 332 kg/m2-s, respectively. This report contains boiling curves, heat transfer coefficients of various studies and a description of the …

Development Of Super Hydrophobic Surfaces Using Silica Nanoparticles, Muhammad Salman Saleem

Dissertations and Theses

The development of surfaces that have high water contact angles and hysteresis has always been of great importance in industrial applications. Various methods and techniques have been introduced to fabricate surfaces at nano-scale to support super hydrophobicity. Some of these techniques are expensive, some are very complex, most can be used for selective materials and substrate and some form surfaces with very poor wear resistance. This document represents a systematic study on fabrication of super hydrophobic surfaces on glass substrate (SiO2) using the functionalized silica (SiO2) nano particles. SU8, Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and Methyphenyl Resin SR355 polymer are being used as …

Assessment Of Injection Behavior Of Commercially-Available Bone Bsms For Subchondroplasty Procedures, Dinely A. Colon

Dissertations and Theses

Subchondroplasty is a procedure that utilized bone substitutes materials (BSMs) or bone cement to correct bone defects in the subchondral bone. The two main materials used to compose BSMs are poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA) and calcium phosphate cement (CaP). Currently, there is no optimal bone material substitute in the market that can provide both the adequate mechanical support and the right viscosity to reach the affected area in the subchondral bone. In addition, there is also no established parameter for their proper use, based on the defect size and location. PMMA possesses comparable mechanical properties to bone (i.e. 96 MPa in compressive …

A Study On The Heavy Crude Oil Viscosity Reduction With The Dissolution Of Nitrogen And Carbon Dioxide, Abdurahman Ajumobi

Dissertations and Theses

World's energy challenges would be greatly improved upon if half of the world's heavy oil and extra heavy oil could be made to ow in pipelines. Viscosity reduction of heavy oils is the key to solving this problem. In this study, aside from injecting pure nitrogen and pure carbon dioxide separately into the oil, two different compositions of the mixture of the two gases were also injected. In the first mixture, varied quantities of the two gases were used; 62:5%, 82:2% and 86:4% of the mixture was nitrogen while 37:5%, 17:8% and 13:6% was carbon dioxide at total test pressures …

One-Bit Compressive Sensing With Partial Support Information, Phillip North

CMC Senior Theses

This work develops novel algorithms for incorporating prior-support information into the field of One-Bit Compressed Sensing. Traditionally, Compressed Sensing is used for acquiring high-dimensional signals from few linear measurements. In applications, it is often the case that we have some knowledge of the structure of our signal(s) beforehand, and thus we would like to leverage it to attain more accurate and efficient recovery. Additionally, the Compressive Sensing framework maintains relevance even when the available measurements are subject to extreme quantization. Indeed, the field of One-Bit Compressive Sensing aims to recover a signal from measurements reduced to only their sign-bit. This …

A New Methodology For Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Bus Rapid Transit Strategies, Ahmad Alomari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the last few years, public transportation has become more desirable as capacity of existing roadways failed to keep up with rapidly increasing traffic demand. Buses are one of the most common modes of public transportation with low impact on network capacity, especially in small and congested urban areas. However, the use of regularly scheduled buses as the main public transport mode can become useless with the presence of traffic congestion and dense construction areas. In cases like these, innovative solutions, such as bus rapid transit (BRT), can provide an increased level of service without having to resort to other, …

The Experience Of Physical And Social Presence In A Virtual Learning Environment As Impacted By The Affordance Of Movement Enabled By Motion Tracking, Aleshia Hayes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research synthesizes existing research findings that social presence (sense of connection with others) and physical presence (sense of being there) increase learning outcomes in Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) with findings that traditional motion tracking of participants wearing head mounted displays in virtual reality increases both physical and social presence. This information suggests that motion tracking in mixed reality VLEs has a positive impact on social presence and on physical presence. For this study, the affordance of free movement among virtual objects is enabled by Microsoft Kinect tracking of the user's position that is translated to movement of the virtual …

Broadband Coherent Perfect Absorption In One-Dimensional Optical Systems, Massimo Maximilian Villinger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Absorption plays a critical role in a variety of optical applications – sometimes it is desirable to minimize it as in optical fibers and waveguides, or to enhance it as in solar cells and photodetectors. We describe here a new optical scheme that controllably produces high optical absorption over a broad wavelength range (hundreds of nm) in systems that have low intrinsic absorption over the same range. This effect, 'coherent perfect absorption' or CPA, arises from a subtle interplay between interference and absorption of two beams incident on a weakly absorbing medium. In the first part of this study, we …

Assessment Of Electrode Configurations Of Electrical Impedance Myography For The Evaluation Of Neuromuscular Diseases, Khondokar Mohammad Fazle Rabbi

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Electrical impedance myography (EIM) is a painless, noninvasive approach to measure the neuromuscular disease status. EIM parameters- resistance (R), reactance (X) and phase (θ) depend significantly on subcutaneous fat thickness, muscle size and inter electrode distance. The objective of this research is to find an electrode configuration which can minimize the effects on EIM parameters due to subcutaneous fat thickness variation. In this study, a model of human upper arm was developed using finite element method (FEM), which has already been established as an appropriate approach for the analysis of non-symmetrical shape for assessing alternations of muscle in disease-induced changes …

Investigating The Influence Of Professional Development On Teacher Perceptions Of Engineering Self Efficacy, Stephen D. Marquis Phd

All Student Scholarship

This mixed-methods study examines the influence of a professional-development intervention to support educators in the integration of engineering education at the elementary level. Particular consideration focused on the evolution of teachers' perceptions of engineering self-efficacy following engagement in professional development intended to support the introduction of engineering in selected grade-five classrooms.

Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence Experiments And Modeling Study Of Jets In Crossflow At Various Injection Angles, Luke Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) with acetone seeding was applied to measure the scalar fields of an axisymmetric freejet and an inclined jet-in-crossflow as applicable to film cooling. From the scalar fields, jet-mixing and trajectory characteristics were obtained. In order to validate the technique, the canonical example of a nonreacting freejet of Reynolds Numbers 900-9000 was investigated. Desired structural characteristics were observed and showed strong agreement with computational modeling. After validating the technique with the axisymmetric jet, the jet-in-crossflow was tested with various velocity ratios and jet injection angles. Results indicated the degree of wall separation for different injection angles …

The Relationship Between Dna's Physical Properties And The Dna Molecule's Harmonic Signature, And Related Motion In Water--A Computational Investigation, Victor Boyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates through computational methods whether the physical properties of DNA contribute to its harmonic signature, the uniqueness of that signature if present, and motion of the DNA molecule in water. When DNA is solvated in water at normal 'room temperature', it experiences a natural vibration due to the Brownian motion of the particles in the water colliding with the DNA. The null hypothesis is that there is no evidence to suggest a relationship between DNA's motion and strand length, while the alternative hypothesis is that there is evidence to suggest a relationship between DNA's vibrational motion and strand …

Integrated Sustainability Assessment Framework For The U.S. Transportation, Nuri Onat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims to investigate the sustainability impacts of alternative vehicle technologies and develop comprehensive sustainability assessment frameworks to analyze potential impacts of these vehicles in the U.S. In order to assess sustainability impact of vehicle alternatives, life-cycle based models has been extensively used in the literature. Although life cycle-based models are often used for environmental impacts of alternative vehicles, analysis of social and economic impacts of these vehicles has gained a tremendous interest. In this regard, there is a growing interest among the international platform and academia to use the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment framework to have more informed …

Traffic Conflict Analysis Under Fog Conditions Using Computer Simulation, Binya Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The weather condition is a crucial influence factor on road safety issues. Fog is one of the most noticeable weather conditions, which has a significant impact on traffic safety. Such condition reduces the road's visibility and consequently can affect drivers' vision, perception, and judgments. The statistical data shows that many crashes are directly or indirectly caused by the low-visibility weather condition. Hence, it is necessary for road traffic engineers to study the relationship of road traffic accidents and their influence factors. Among these factors, the traffic volume and the speed limits in poor visibility areas are the primary reasons that …

Analysis Of Steady State Micro-Droplet Evaporation To Enhance Heat Dissipation From Tiny Surfaces., Harish Voota

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Experimental investigations and numerical predictions of steady state microdroplet evaporation experiments are presented. Steady state droplet evaporation experiments are conducted to understand (1) Droplet contact line influence on evaporation rate efficiency, (2) Droplet contact angle correlation to evaporation rate and (3) Substrate cooling. Experiments are performed on a polymer substrate with a moat like trench (laser patterned) to control droplet contact line dynamics. A bottom-up methodology is implemented for droplet formation on the patterned substrate. Droplet evaporation rates on substrate temperatures 22°C≤ ∆TSubstrate ≤75°C and contact angles 80°≤ Θ ≤110° are measured. For a pinned microdroplet (CCR), volumetric infuse rate …

Parallel Distributed Discrete Event Simulation Optimization Using Complexity And Deep Learning, Edwin Cortes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parallel distributed discrete event simulation (PDDES) is the execution of a discrete event simulation on a tightly or loosely coupled computer system with multiple processors. The discrete-event simulation model is decomposed into several logical processors (LPs) or simulation objects that can be executed concurrently using partitioning types such as spatial and temporal. PDDES is exceedingly important for the reduction of the simulation time, increase of model size, intellectual property issue mitigation in multi-enterprise simulations, and the sharing of resources. One of the problems with PDDES is the time management to provide flow control over event processing, the process flow, and …

An Investigation Of Physiological Measures In A Marketing Decision Task, Nelson Lerma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of the present study was to understand the use of physiological measures as an alternative to traditional market research tools, such as self-reporting measures and focus groups. For centuries, corporations and researchers have relied almost exclusively on traditional measures to gain insights into consumer behavior. Oftentimes, traditional methods have failed to accurately predict consumer demand, and this has prompted corporations to explore alternative methods that will accurately forecast future sales. One the most promising alternative methods currently being investigated is the use of physiological measures as an indication of consumer preference. This field, also referred to as neuromarketing, …

Response Of Streamflow And Sediment Loading In The Apalachicola River, Florida To Climate And Land Use Land Cover Change, Paige Hovenga

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Located in Florida's panhandle, the Apalachicola River is the southernmost reach of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River basin. Streamflow and sediment drains to Apalachicola Bay in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, directly influencing the ecology of the region, in particular seagrass and oyster production. The objective of this study is to evaluate the response of runoff and sediment loading in the Apalachicola River under projected climate change scenarios and land use / land cover (LULC) change. A hydrologic model using the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was developed for the Apalachicola region to simulate daily discharge and sediment load under present …

Strain Controlled Ultra-Low-Energy Magnetic Tunneling Junction, Hasnain Ahmad, Supriyo Bandyopadhyay, Jayasimha Atulasimha

Graduate Research Posters

We are experimenting on designing a voltage-controlled ultra-low-energy Magnetic Tunneling Junction (MTJ) device using a soft single domain magnetostrictive layer (i.e. Galfenol: Fe_1-xGa_x , x = 20 At%) coupled to a piezoelectric layer (i.e. PMN-PT). Special metal pads have been designed using photolithography to generate stress in the PMN-PT layer by applying electric field. The patterns of different shape anisotropic nano-magnets are designed using e-beam lithography and we have successfully fabricate FeGa nanomagnets with only 12 to 13 nanometer thickness by sputter deposition. These nanomagnets have been characterized by magnetic force microscopy for observing their switching capabilities. …

Coherent Spin Transport In Nanowire Spin Valves And Novel Spintronic Device Possibilities, Md Iftekhar I. Hossain, Supriyo Bandyopadhyay, Jayasimha Atulasimha, Saumil Bandyopadhyay

Graduate Research Posters

We have proposed a spintronic infrared photodetector backed by experimental evidence and matched with theoretical prediction obtained in our labs. Unlike conventional photodetectors, it can work at room temperature with ideally infinite light-to-dark contrast ratio, infinite detectivity and zero dark current. The proposed idea is based on smart implementation of spin polarized transport. Electrons while travelling through one-dimensional channel show long spin relaxation length if they can be confined to a single conduction subband because of the elimination of major spin relaxation mechanism, namely the D’yakonov-Perel’ mechanism. With infrared light, electrons can be excited to higher subbands, resulting in the …

Investigation Of Lanthanide-Doped Anatase Tio2 Core-Shell Nanoparticles For Photocatalysis And Gas Sensing, Rezwanur Rahman

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Anatase TiO2 has been shown to be potential applications for photo-remediation of chemical waste as well as for photocatalytic splitting of water. The catalytic properties of TiO2 materials can be modified by doping with lanthanide (Ln) ions. In order to minimize the distortion and/or change of the structure of TiO2 nanoparticles, surface doping of anatase TiO2 nanoparticles (~ 14 nm) with several Ln ions (Nd3+, Gd3+, Eu3+, Yb3+) has been successfully made. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman characterization shows that the anatase phase of treated nanoparticles is well preserved. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows that the majority of the nanoparticles …

Gravity And Magnetic Investigations Into Possible Economic Mineral Deposits Within The Northwest St. Francois Terrane, Southeastern Missouri, Brandon Todd Ives

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The exposed Precambrian St. Francois Mountains in southeast Missouri are a well-studied terrane of rhyolites, granites, and basaltic dikes, but much of the buried basement lithology west of the exposed region is still poorly delineated. The western St. Francois is host to large hydrothermal Pb-Zn and Fe-oxide ore deposits, some of which were located with previous geophysical investigations. The economic ore deposits specifically in the Pea Ridge Mine in Washington County contain known economic minerals and rare earth element deposits. In order to further investigate the Precambrian basement lithologies and the possible locations of additional economic ore deposits, a gravity …

Large Dynamic Range Amplifier Plus Adc, Ted Hsueh

Electrical Engineering

Nerve and muscle signal sampling proves difficult because of the large difference in magnitudes. Muscle signals loom a hundred or even a thousand times bigger and can hide the nerve signals. The Large Dynamic Range Amplifier plus Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) allows one device to retrieve both muscle and nerve signal information. The device has two parts: the ability to take high-resolution data from tenths of microvolts to several millivolts and filter out environmental noise, such as 60 Hz of electrical power lines or electro galvanic signals. This gives the ability to read muscle and nerve signals using one …

Boost Battery, Samuel Rauch, Alvin Ng, Lacy Sigman

Electrical Engineering

In modern times, the problem of a depleted battery confronts us too often. Whether it appears with a smartphone or with any other electronic device, the situation frustrates all consumers. This project designs and constructs a compact portable battery charger that charges through kinetic energy. Thus, one can perform everyday activities, such as walking or running, and charge up a backup battery with no extra effort or time. Additionally, an attachable band harvests thermal energy to maximize the amount of clean power generated. Energy harvesting from kinetic motion and thermal differences provide users with power when no actual power suppliers …

Build-To-Order Supply Chain Efficiency Using Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Maysaa M. Hamdan

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The Build-to-Order supply chain (BTO-SC) is one agile supply chain that has received great attention in research and industry. Flexibility and responsiveness in mass customization has become a major objective of many companies that lead to the development of BTO-SC. Knowing the efficiency of the BTO-SC and the decision making units responsible for controlling the production process and decision making at different managerial levels is important for resources utilization to stay competitive in such a global market. The main purpose of this study is to measure, compare and analyse the impact of BTO and traditional supply chain on the company's …

Estimation Of Transient Temperature Distribution During Quenching, Via A Parabolic Model, Diego E. Lozano, Gabriela Martinez-Solis, Rafael David Mercado-Solis, Rafael Colás, George E. Totten

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A material-independent model to estimate the transient temperature distribution in a test probe quenched by immersion is presented in this study. This model is based on the assumption that, under one-dimensional unsteady heat conduction, the radial temperature distribution at the end of an interval belongs to the equation of a parabola. The model was validated using AISI 304 stainless steel test probes (Φ8×40 mm and Φ12×60 mm) quenched from 850 to 900 °C in water and in water-based NaNO2 solutions at 25 °C and in canola oil at 50 °C. Additionally, square test probes (20×20×100 mm) were quenched from 550 …