Engineering Commons^™

Smart Photos, Daniel Hernandez, Angela Laar, Jaelin Mccreary

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Recent technological leaps have been a great catalyst for changing how people interact with the world around us. Specifically, the field of Augmented Reality has led to many software and hardware advances that have formed a digital intermediary between humans and their environment. As of now, Augmented Reality is available to the select few with the means of obtaining Google Glass, Oculus Rifts, and other relatively expensive platforms. Be that as it may, the tech industry's current goal has been integration of this technology into the public's smartphones and everyday devices. One inhibitor of this goal is the difficulty of …

Saguarotrack, Christine Rohacz, Kirk Iserman

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

In an increasingly connected world, many employees work remotely and go out into the field to solve an issue. It is important for their employers to be able to keep track of where their employees are to ensure accountability and quick response times in emergency situations. SaguaroTrack is a new solution to this issue that combines a mobile device application with a Web interface to allow employers to easily account for their mobile workforce. SaguaroTrack will display the location data sent by the mobile device on an easy to understand map to increase the efficiency of response time to customer …

Life Cycle Assessment Of Low Cost Retrofit Options Of Educational Building Considering Renewable And Non‐Renewable Energies, Akram Avami, Atiyeh Soleimani Javid

Life Cycle Assessment and Other Assessment Tools for Waste Management and Resource Optimization

Commercial and building sectors account for 34% of total energy consumption in Iran. Increasing demand of the level of comfort along with population growth necessitate much more attention about energy requirements in the country. Such phenomenons have already raised concerns about the security of energy supply and heavy environmental impacts. These concerns can significantly be reduced by implementing retrofit options in existing buildings.

The Department of Energy Engineering of Sharif University of Technology is selected as the case study with 181KWh/m2 annual heating and cooling demand, 29 KWh/m2 annual lightening and 15 KWh/m2 electrical appliances energy demand. Environmental concerns are …

The Challenges Of Nuclear Waste Management From A Life Cycle Perspective, Andrea Paulillo, Stephen Palethorpe, Andrew M. Illiken, Roland Vclift, Paola Lettieri

Life Cycle Assessment and Other Assessment Tools for Waste Management and Resource Optimization

As nuclear industry grows and expands, the yearly amount of waste produced increases and it adds to the large quantity of nuclear wastes generated, and not yet disposed, in the last 50 years from existing plants. Consequently, the development of an international agreed policy to manage nuclear wastes is key to support such growth. Many countries, such as USA, Sweden, Canada, have opted for a direct disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) (Open Cycle); whilst others, such as the UK, Japan and France, have preferred reprocessing SNF (Closed Cycle). Other countries are yet to take a final decision (e.g. Spain, …

Intracranial Pressure Sensor, Matthew Murray, Jared Shimada

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) also known as Pseudotumor Cerebri is a condition resulting from an increase of Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF), a fluid that helps to protect the brain and spinal cord, in the cranial cavity. Currently the only treatment method for this health condition is the draining of the fluid via implanted intracranial shunts that get clogged in approximately 50% of patients. Clogged shunts can only be detected when IIH symptoms begin to reappear. We propose to create an ultrasound-read intracranial pressure sensor used to supplement shunts implanted in patients who suffer from Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension. This will provide immediate …

Effects Of The Fiber Distribution And Number Of Nearby Fibers On The Thermal Conductivity For Aligned Cnt-Silicon Oil Composites, Diana Grandio

Mechanical Engineering Master's Theses

Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) are seen as promising materials for thermal transport applications. The high thermal conductivity and structural flexibility of the CNT present them as very attractive components to be used as particle fillers in thermal interface materials. It is important to understand the effective thermal conductivity for CNT-matrix composites at high CNT volume fraction.

In prior work, an effective medium approach (EMA) has been developed to evaluate composite physical properties such as thermal conductivity, dielectric function or elastic modulus (C-W Nan, Prog. Mat. Sci. V 37, 1993). This model combined with the Kapitza interface resistance can predict the effective …

Lca Applied To Residual Organic Fertilizing Materials ‐ An Overview Of Substitution Methodological Options And Quantitative Substitution Rates, Marilys Pradel, Claire Déchaux

Life Cycle Assessment and Other Assessment Tools for Waste Management and Resource Optimization

LCA case studies applied to waste management options of organic products face several LCA methodological choices and among them, the multifunctionality question. Indeed, studies dealing with waste management aim to assess the environmental impacts of different organic waste treatments that enhance the organic waste fertilizing and amending properties. This is expressed in LCA studies by a primary function (to treat the waste) and secondary functions (to fertilize or provide an organic amendment to agricultural soils).The induced multifunctionality is often treated by system expansion by subtracting the secondary functions, leading to potentially avoided impacts. When dealing with residual organic fertilizing materials, …

Lca Applied To Residual Organic Fertilizing Materials ‐ An Overview Of Emission Inventory Data At The Spreading Operation, Claire Déchaux, Marilys Pradel

Life Cycle Assessment and Other Assessment Tools for Waste Management and Resource Optimization

LCA case studies applied to waste management options of organic products face several inventory completeness issues and among them, the spreading operation emissions. Indeed, organic products contain nutrient elements which turn into air, water and soil emissions after their spreading. LCA practitioners need to consider these quantitative data in order to carry out relevant assessments. Emission data obtained from experimental measurements, as they are specific to each residual organic fertilizing material and each pedoclimatic condition, cannot be used as generic data. Moreover, when the LCA case study is processed based on the primary function “to treat the waste”, the secondary …

Regional Wastewater Facility Systems Design, Sage Aoki, Joseph Calvo, Kayden Haleakala, Steward Yang

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

The San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF) was constructed in 1956 as a primary water treatment plant. Secondary treatment facilities were constructed in 1964 in response to a growing population and economy along with state regulations. The RWF expanded to tertiary treatment in 1979 to meet Clean Water Act regulations. A wet weather headworks facility was commissioned in 2008, and in 2011 the gaseous chlorine/sulfur dioxide system for disinfection was converted to a sodium hypochlorite/sodium bisulfate system in 2011 (RWF 2015). The RWF launched a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) in 2014, identifying 33 capital projects. The Facility Wide Water …

Retrofit Design Of Energy Efficient Buildings Using Life Cycle Assessment Case Study On Research Institute Building, Fereshteh Aramoun, Masoomeh Bararzadeh, Akram Avami

Life Cycle Assessment and Other Assessment Tools for Waste Management and Resource Optimization

Energy use in educational buildings constitutes a major proportion of the energy consumption and anthropogenic emissions. Such buildings account for 34% of total energy consumption in the Iran. To find the most beneficial retrofits in the educational buildings to satisfy energy demands increasing in recent years and decreasing the heavy environmental impacts, in this paper the multi-story educational building “Sharif Energy Research Institute” located in Tehran is chosen as a case study to assess its thermal loads in the first step and life cycle assessment in the second step.

The Sharif Energy Research Institute building’s base load is calculated based …

Transformative Role Of Photovoltaics In Phasing Out Alternating Current Based Grid By Local Dc Power Networks For Sustainable Global Economic Growth, Rajendra Singh, Amir A. Asif, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy

Publications

For sustainable global economic growth, eradication of global energy poverty and addressing climate challenges, free fuel based solar and wind energy sources are the only viable solution for electricity generation. Due to inherent advantages, photovoltaics has emerged as the major source of electrical power. Local generation of direct current (DC) power by PV and the use of batteries for storing electrical power have the potential of transforming global electricity infrastructure to address the problems faced by alternating current (AC) based centralized power generation and long haul transmission and distribution.

Nicaragua Water Distribution System, Leah Bensching, Jamie Monk

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

In developing nations, such as Nicaragua, water security issues affect a large portion of the population. A lack of clean and secure water negatively causes many public health, environmental and economic concerns. This project addresses the need to develop a water distribution system to a rural community in Nicaragua. The proposed solutions will allow the community to choose more resilient design options to ensure reliable water delivery throughout the community.

By using NeatWork, a Nicaraguan based system, and WaterGEMS, which is more commonly used in the United States, it was determined that designing for 100% reliability was the most responsible …

Bringing Electricity To Alafiarou: The Solar Microgrid Project, Nicolas Metais, Jacob Leatherberry

Electrical and Computer Engineering Senior Theses

Despite the great technological advancements and discoveries that have been made throughout the last century, 1.2 billion people still live without access to electricity, 95% of which live in Sub-Saharan Africa and developing Asia.1 In this paper, we discuss how we designed and implemented a self-sustaining, affordable and highly replicable solar microgrid in order to accelerate the electrification of rural communities in the most environmentally conscious way possible. Our project focused on developing a microgrid for a small community of 10 households in rural Benin that previously had no access to electricity. We travelled to this village in December of …

Enhancing Student Usability Of 3d Bioprinting, Andrew Chang, Sabrina Cismas

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

3D bioprinting is an emerging technology that is changing the face of tissue engineering through the ability to print cells, scaffolding and matrix materials, and other bioactive reagents. 3D bioprinters are a culmination of various scientific and engineering disciplines with respect to their operation and bioprints, and as such, offer a prime case study on the convergence of the technical fields in research. In order to capitalize on this fact and make 3D bioprinting more accessible for interdisciplinary education applications, we sought to translate 3D bioprinting into the classroom environment as a tool for education. In collaboration with SE3D Education, …

On Cross-Anisotropy Of Flexible Pavement Layer Materials For Improved Pavement Responses, Mesbah Ahmed

Civil Engineering ETDs

Pavement layer materials are typically assumed to be isotropic in determining pavement responses, such as stress and strain. The main benefit of the isotropic assumption is that stiffness defined by modulus of elasticity (E-value) is equal in all directions. In reality, stiffness along vertical and horizontal (i.e., and ) may vary due to density gradients in compacted layer materials caused by vertical compaction during construction. Therefore, pavement layer materials with different vertical and horizontal modulus (i.e., \u2260 ) are cross-anisotropic. Past studies have reported that degree of cross-anisotropy, ( ) ranges from 0.2 to 0.85 in Asphalt Concrete (AC) layers. …

Visualizing Mast Cell Activation: Single Molecule Dynamics Of Early Events In Fceri Signaling, Samantha Schwartz

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

Healthy immune cell behavior requires sensitive and robust control over the processes that regulate signal transduction. In this work we employ single molecule fluorescence imaging techniques to quantify adapter protein recruitment, lateral mobility, receptor aggregation, and cytoskeletal organization to create a better understanding of many key processes in immune cell regulation. We focus on understanding the initiating events in FceRI signaling in mast cells. Mast cell signaling encompassing a wide array of cellular outcomes including calcium flux, release of pre-formed inflammatory mediators and the production of cytokines. Careful control over appropriate reactions to external antigens is necessary for mast cells …

Bio-Nano Interfaces: Enzyme Immobilization For Biomimetic Energy Harvesting, Rachel Hjelm

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

In the face of todays rapidly growing energy demands accompanied by limited, non-renewable supplies, development of novel energy alternatives that are both renewable and inexpensive has become more important than ever. Development of 3D structures exploring the properties of nano-materials and biological molecules has been shown through the years as an effective path forward for the design of advanced bio-nano architectures for enzymatic fuel cells (EFCs). Despite advantages over conventional fuel cells, EFCs still suffer from several problems including low efficiency and stability. Overcoming these limitations in order to make them more viable for real world application is an ongoing …

The Effect Of Relative Electrode Size On The Performance Of A Supercapacitive Microbial Fuel Cell Design, Jeremiah Houghton

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

Supercapacitive microbial fuel cells with various anode and cathode dimensions were investigated in order to determine the effect on capacitance and delivered power quality. The cathode size was determined to be the limiting component of the system, while anode size showed little effect on the devices performance. By doubling the cathode area, peak power output was improved by roughly 120% for a 10 ms pulse discharge. Doubling the cathode area also had a positive effect on the internal resistance of the cell, lowering the equivalent series resistance by approximately 47%. Doubling the anode area increased peak power output slightly, with …

Top-Down Cross-Section Controlled Iii-Nitride Nanowire Lasers, Changyi Li

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

III-nitride nanowire lasers have drawn significant attention as potential compact coherent light sources for a wide range of applications such as on-chip communication, optical sensing, and solid-state lighting. For practical applications, control over the lasing properties is needed. For example, a single mode lasing is beneficial for reducing the pulse broadening and the signal errors during the optical communications. An annular-shaped beam could be potentially used for the atom trapping or the stimulated emission depletion spectroscopy. The polarization-sensitive on-chip optical components also require linear polarization. However, due to the compact size of nanowire lasers and the cross-sectional symmetry of the …

Pcb Prototyping, Kasey Chun, Dylan Hack, Ilja Medan, Michael Rudolf, Ryan Sidley

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

In today’s world, Printed Circuit Boards, also known as PCBs, are part of our daily lives. However, it is currently difficult for students in university classes or hobbyists to quickly produce custom made PCBs since no system exists where every step in the production process is on one platform. There are four main steps that go into manufacturing a PCB once it is fully designed which are: milling, solder dispensing, component placement, and a reflow process. The goal will be to create various toolheads and place them onto a single platform allowing the user to perform the aforementioned production processes. …

24th National Timber Bridge Design Competition, Marie Mcnamara, Andrew D. Porter, Sarah Martina Sbicca

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

For the 2016 Senior Design project, our team elected to design and construct a short-span pedestrian bridge for the 24th National Timber Bridge Design Competition. The competition was sponsored by the Southwest Mississippi RC&D council (SMRCD) of the Forest Products Society in association with the American Society of Civil Engineers. There were a number of different design and testing requirements to abide by, including both competition regulations as well as AASHTO guidelines pertaining to the construction of pedestrian bridges. [1] A great deal of diligence was taken to assure that our team performed well in the competition; every rule and …

Rise Above The Flood: Bridge Building In Gambibgo, Ghana, Vanessa Diaz, Ariana Govan, Matthew Millsaps

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

This thesis focuses on the design of a steel girder bridge for a rural community in Ghana, Africa. While Santa Clara Civil Engineering Senior Design Teams have been working in this community since 2008, it was not until 2013 that a project team attempted to design a pedestrian footbridge. After the 20152016 project team decided to take on the project, it became clear from talking with the Ghanaian Municipal Engineers and local community members that the steel suspension bridge proposed by the 2013 team would not meet all the needs of the community. Therefore, the team redesigned the bridge, proposing …

Foundation Design For Multistory Building In Oakland, Sean Cain

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

This project focuses on the design of a foundation and garage-level retaining walls for a 25 story building in Oakland, California. The design was completed through the use of data from a 1988 soil investigation and provided structural loads. The site is composed of a thin sand layer above a clay layer about 400 feet thick. Analysis included soil and groundwater conditions and exploration of spread footings, mat footings, and pile foundations. The final selected foundation type is driven piles with the other options discarded due to lack of data and an unsuitability for the structure requirements. Piles are suitable …

Redesign Of Lawrence Expressway And Pruneridge Avenue, Matthew Wong, Tyler Isaac

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

In 2012, the segment of Pruneridge Avenue from Lawrence Expressway to Pomeroy Avenue saw a project called a Road Diet. A Road Diet refers to the replacement of vehicle lanes with bicycle lanes and a center turning lane, in order to create safe zones for cyclists and drivers on the same street. While the Road Diet sufficiently addressed the safety issues of the corridor, it severely worsened its traffic capacity, creating long queues along Pruneridge and on Lawrence Expressway during peak traffic hours as residents around the area commute to and from work. The queues are so long that many …

A Utility-Scale Deployment Project Of Behind-The-Meter Energy Storage For Use In Ancillary Services, Energy Resiliency, Grid Infrastructure Investment Deferment, And Demand-Response Integration, Joseph Nathanael Wilson

Dissertations and Theses

Electric utilities are increasingly incentivized to integrate new renewable energy generation resources to their systems; however, operations-related issues arise due to the non-dispatchable and stochastic nature of these renewable energy sources. These characteristics lead to a variety of issues for utilities, among which are voltage fluctuations, balancing dispatch against ramping events, short-duration power fluctuations, and the need to invest in peaking generation facilities just to accommodate the renewable energy. A traditional solution to these issues is to employ renewable generation-following techniques using either newly constructed gas peaking plants, or by shifting existing generation resources to this following responsibility. Unfortunately, use …

The Investigation And Optimization Of A Two-Heat-Pump System Incorporating Thermal Storage For Shaping Residential Heating Load, Emily Lord Barrett

Dissertations and Theses

Portland General Electric has proposed coupling one or more water tanks with two heat pumps in order to perform load-shifting in residential customer heating and cooling applications. By using the water tanks as a thermal storage unit, this project attempts to partially decouple energy consumption from generation to provide peak demand reduction and to better facilitate the integration of variable renewable energy resources. A scoping study was performed to evaluate the potential impact of this project if implemented in single family homes in Portland, Oregon. This study revealed that the system could provide meaningful savings in the cost of electricity …

How Engineering Standards Are Interpreted And Translated For Middle School, Eugene Judson, John Ernzen, Stephen Krause, James A. Middleton, Robert J. Culbertson

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

In this exploratory study we examined the alignment of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) middle school engineering design standards with lesson ideas from middle school teachers, science education faculty, and engineering faculty (4–6 members per group). Respondents were prompted to provide plain language interpretations of two middle school Engineering Design performance expectations and to provide examples of how the performance expectations could be applied in middle school classrooms. Participants indicated the challenges and benefits of implementing these performance expectations and indicated personal experiences that helped them to interpret the performance expectations.

Quality of lessons differed depending on the performance expectation …

Well I'Ll Be Damned - Insights Into Predictive Value Of Pedigree Information In Horse Racing, Timothy Baker Mr, Ming-Chien Sung, Johnnie Johnson Professor, Tiejun Ma

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Fundamental form characteristics like how fast a horse ran at its last start, are widely used to help predict the outcome of horse racing events. The exception being in races where horses haven’t previously competed, such as Maiden races, where there is little or no publicly available past performance information. In these types of events bettors need only consider a simplified suite of factors however this is offset by a higher level of uncertainty. This paper examines the inherent information content embedded within a horse’s ancestry and the extent to which this information is discounted in the United Kingdom bookmaker …

Mobile Glaucoma Detection Application, Ryan Lowe, Samuel Holeman

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Glaucoma is a debilitating optical degeneration disease that can lead to vision loss and eventually blindness. Given its asymptomatic nature, most people with Glaucoma aren’t even aware that they have the disease. As a result, the disease is often left untreated until it is too late. Detecting the presence of Glaucoma is one of the most important steps in treating Glaucoma, but is unfortunately also the most difficult to enforce. The Mobile Glaucoma Detection application aims to reduce the growing number of individuals who are unaware that they have Glaucoma by providing a simple detection mechanism to notify users if …

Energy From Waste In A 2° World: Lca And Australian Carbon Policy, Mary Stewart

Life Cycle Assessment and Other Assessment Tools for Waste Management and Resource Optimization

No Abstract.

Please click PDF to see the presentation.