Engineering Commons^™

Prosthetic Leg Kit For Deployment In Developing Countries, Brian Murphy, Dominique Porcincula, Derek Morgan, Kendall Ruggles, Christian Aguayo

Biomedical Engineering

The World Health Organization estimates that over 30 million people require some sort of prosthetic technology. However, traditional prosthetic fitting practices take a lot of time and cost a lot of money, making them inaccessible to millions of people around the world. StandUP Worldwide is an interdisciplinary project team devoted to creating low-cost prosthetic technologies for use around the world, especially in resource poor areas. They are currently developing a low cost, below-the-knee prosthetic kit that can be easily deployed in a resource-poor area. The following presents their solution for a below-the-knee prosthetic socket, foot, and leg.

Development Of A Transition Between An Energy-Absorbing Concrete Barrier And A Rigid Concrete Buttress, Tyler Schmidt

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

From 2010 to 2015, MwRSF researchers developed the RESTORE barrier, which is a restorable MASH TL-4 median barrier with a steel and concrete rail supported by elastomer posts and steel skids. The research effort reported herein describes the initial development of a transition from the RESTORE barrier to a rigid TL-4 concrete buttress.

The previously-developed RESTORE barrier LS-DYNA model was validated against three full-scale vehicle crash tests. Several design concepts were generated through a series of brainstorming efforts. The primary transition concept consisted of a pin and loop connection between the RESTORE barrier and rigid concrete buttress, which was designed …

Planer Ultra Wide Band Antennas And Band Rejection Characteristics, Waqas Jamshed, Faiz Khalid, Zeeshan Ahmed, Farooq Bhatti

Articles

No abstract provided.

Implementations Of Fourier Methods In Cfd To Analyze Distortion Transfer And Generation Through A Transonic Fan, Marshall Warren Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Inlet flow distortion is a non-uniform total pressure, total temperature, or swirl (flow angularity) condition at an aircraft engine inlet. Inlet distortion is a critical consideration in modern fan and compressor design. This is especially true as the industry continues to increase the efficiency and operating range of air breathing gas turbine engines. The focus of this paper is to evaluate the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Harmonic Balance (HB) solver in STAR-CCM+ as a reduced order method for capturing inlet distortion as well as the associated distortion transfer and generation. New methods for quantitatively describing and analyzing distortion transfer and …

Friction Bit Joining Of Dissimilar Combinations Of Gadp 1180 Steel And Aa 7085 – T76 Aluminum, Lorne Steele Atwood

Theses and Dissertations

Friction Bit Joining (FBJ) is a method used to join lightweight metals to advanced high-strength steels (AHSS). The automotive industry is experiencing pressure to improve fuel efficiency in their vehicles. The use of AHSS and aluminum will reduce vehicle weight which will assist in reducing fuel consumption. Previous research achieved joint strengths well above that which was required in three out of the four standard joint strength tests using DP980 AHSS and 7075 aluminum. The joints were mechanically tested and passed the lap-shear tension, cross-tension, and fatigue cycling tests. The t-peel test configuration never passed the minimum requirements. The purpose …

Heteromorphic To Homeomorphic Shape Match Conversion Toward Fully Automated Mesh Morphing To Match Manufactured Geometry, Robert Ivan Yorgason

Theses and Dissertations

The modern engineering design process includes computer software packages that require approximations to be made when representing geometries. These approximations lead to inherent discrepancies between the design geometry of a part or assembly and the corresponding manufactured geometry. Further approximations are made during the analysis portion of the design process. Manufacturing defects can also occur, which increase the discrepancies between the design and manufactured geometry. These approximations combined with manufacturing defects lead to discrepancies which, for high precision parts, such as jet engine compressor blades, can affect the modal analysis results. In order to account for the manufacturing defects during …

Reservoir Sedimentation: The Economics Of Sustainability, Matthew William George

Theses and Dissertations

Despite mounting demand for a more sustainable worldwide water supply system, available reservoir capacity is relentlessly diminishing due to sedimentation. This fact, coupled with a decrease in the rate of dam construction, indicate an impending water supply dilemma. In the future, dams should be designed following a life cycle management approach rather than the typical short-sighted design life technique.Neither sustainable reservoir lifespans nor intergenerational equity is achieved through conventional cost-benefit analyses (CBA), which render all benefits and costs projected to occur more than several decades into a project as negligible. Consequently, future expenditures, including dam decommissioning or retrofitting with sediment …

Intermediary System Using Image Classification For Online Shopping, Yunan Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Online shopping is becoming a popular option for consumers. Currently, the most common product searching method that online shopping websites provide is keyword search. Most shoppers have to carefully select relevant keywords to search for their favorite products. Finding desired products using a query image for online shopping is currently not available. Image has been used for searching similar images in the database but they are usually not well annotated. Research effort has been devoted to developing reliable image-based retrieval systems for applications such as medical image retrieval and trademark search. None of these developments focuses on improving online shopping …

Calibration Of Rapidscat Over-Land Σ0, Forrest Dayton Minor

Theses and Dissertations

RapidScat is a Ku-band radar that measures the normalized backscatter coefficient σ⁰ of the Earth's surface. Launched in 2015, it currently operates on the International Space Station. Nearly one year into its mission, RapidScat measurements began exhibiting strange behavior that is believed to be caused by a change in receiver gain. Changes in gain are compensated for during post-processing, but the measurements have a lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Calibration and validation of σ⁰ measurements from this low SNR state are performed using extended land targets with various signal strengths. Study areas include the Amazon rainforest, Congo rainforest, Argentina …

Multi-Sensor Robust Relative Estimation Framework For Gps-Denied Multirotor Aircraft, Tim Mclain, Daniel P. Koch, Kevin M. Brink

Faculty Publications

An estimation framework is presented that improves the robustness of GPS-denied state estimation to changing environmental conditions by fusing updates from multiple view-based odometry algorithms. This allows the vehicle to utilize a suite of complementary exteroceptive sensors or sensing modalities. By estimating the vehicle states relative to a local coordinate frame collocated with an odometry keyframe, observability of the relative state is maintained. A description of the general framework is given, as well as the specific equations for a multiplicative extended Kalman filter with a multirotor vehicle. Experimental results are presented that demonstrate the ability of the proposed algorithm to …

Uav Path-Planning Using Bézier Curves And A Receding Horizon Approach, Bryce Ingersoll, Kyle Ingersoll, Patrick Defranco, Andrew Ning

Faculty Publications

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are used in an increasing number of applications. Such applications may include navigating through heavy traffic and highly congested airways, where numerous static and dynamic obstacles impinge upon a UAV's flight. It is imperative that a UAV successfully avoids these obstacles, while improving its planned flight path according to certain criteria. We have modeled UAV path planning as a single objective optimization problem that utilizes a receding horizon approach, where the path is constrained to avoid obstacle collision and to account for flight aerodynamic constraints. The proposed method is gradient based, allowing for quick and robust …

Exergy Study On The Effect Of Material Parameters And Operating Conditions On The Anode Diffusion Polarization Of The Sofc, Khalid Zouhri, Seong Young Lee

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

In the presented work, a model is created in order to investigate the effect of different material parameters and operating conditions on the anode diffusion overpotential, which influence the exergy and energy efficiency of the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). In this research, it was demonstrated that the anode material parameters and operating conditions of the device components such as porosity, tortuosity, pore diameter, temperature, pressure and current density of the anode have various effects on the anode diffusion overpotential, which consequently affect the exergy and energy efficiency of the SOFC. The model has provided a strong direction on how …

Development And Evaluation Of Matrix Material Formulations For Potential Integration Into Immunodiagnostic Biosensors, Payam Aminayi

Dissertations

This study supports the development, characterization and optimization of biosensor material formulations for immunodiagnostic applications based on experimental findings and hypotheses by Wang and Wu [1, 2], and using a test-plate apparatus and thin-film design developed by Young [3].

Certain biosensors working on the basis of conductance/impedance changes have demonstrated their potential to detect various bacteria, enzymes, and biomolecules due to their enhanced electrical properties with incorporated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT). From the work conducted in our laboratory, we are attempting to determine and develop a matrix formulation containing highly dispersed SWNT, antibody and other components that elicit a significantly …

Image-Based Quantification Of 3d Morphology For Bifurcations In The Left Coronary Artery: Application To Stent Design, Laura M. Ellwein, David S. Marks, Raymond Q. Migrino, Dennis Foley, Sara Sherman, John F. Ladisa Jr.

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Improved strategies for stent‐based treatment of coronary artery disease at bifurcations require a greater understanding of artery morphology.

Objective

We developed a workflow to quantify morphology in the left main coronary (LMCA), left anterior descending (LAD), and left circumflex (LCX) artery bifurcations.

Methods

Computational models of each bifurcation were created for 55 patients using computed tomography images in 3D segmentation software. Metrics including cross‐sectional area, length, eccentricity, taper, curvature, planarity, branching law parameters, and bifurcation angles were assessed using open‐sources software and custom applications. Geometric characterization was performed by comparison of means, correlation, and linear discriminant analysis (LDA).

Results …

Strategic Planning For Setting Up Base Stations In Emergency Medical Systems, Supriyo Ghosh, Pradeep Varakantham

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Emergency Medical Systems (EMSs) are an important component of public health-care services. Improving infrastructure for EMS and specifically the construction of base stations at the ”right” locations to reduce response times is the main focus of this paper. This is a computationally challenging task because of the: (a) exponentially large action space arising from having to consider combinations of potential base locations, which themselves can be significant; and (b) direct impact on the performance of the ambulance allocation problem, where we decide allocation of ambulances to bases. We present an incremental greedy approach to discover the placement of bases that …

Mg2+ Differentially Regulates Two Modes Of Mitochondrial Ca2+ Uptake In Isolated Cardiac Mitochondria: Implications For Mitochondrial Ca2+ Sequestration, Christoph A. Blomeyer, Jason Bazil, David F. Stowe, Ranjan K. Dash, Amadou Ks Camara

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The manner in which mitochondria take up and store Ca²⁺ remains highly debated. Recent experimental and computational evidence has suggested the presence of at least two modes of Ca²⁺ uptake and a complex Ca²⁺ sequestration mechanism in mitochondria. But how Mg²⁺ regulates these different modes of Ca²⁺ uptake as well as mitochondrial Ca²⁺ sequestration is not known. In this study, we investigated two different ways by which mitochondria take up and sequester Ca²⁺ by using two different protocols. Isolated guinea pig cardiac mitochondria were exposed to varying concentrations of CaCl₂ in the …

Interfacial Velocity Estimation In Highly Aerated Stepped Spillway Flows With A Single Tip Fibre Optical Probe And Artificial Neural Networks, D. Valero, D. B. Bung

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

No abstract provided.

Feasibility Study And Optimization Of The Structural Design Of Locks Made Out Of Plain Concrete, A. Tahir, C. Kunz, K. Terheiden

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of The Velocity Field Over Rippled Sand Bottom, B. Stachurska, R. Staroszczyk

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Clearance Gap Losses On The Hydraulic Pressure Machine, O. Schwyzer, N. Saenger

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

No abstract provided.

Coupling Process For 1d-2d Numerical Flash Flood Simulation: A Parameter Study Of Involved Variables For Gullies And Manholes, S. Schlauß, M. Grottker

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

No abstract provided.

Large Eddy Simulation Of The Water Flow Around A Cylindrical Pier Mounted In A Flat And Fixed Bed, P. X. Ramos, R. Maia, L. Schindfessel, T. De Mulder, J. P. Pêgo

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

No abstract provided.

Vector Processor Virtualization: Distributed Memory Hierarchy And Simultaneous Multithreading, Seyedamin Rooholamin

Dissertations

Taking advantage of DLP (Data-Level Parallelism) is indispensable in most data streaming and multimedia applications. Several architectures have been proposed to improve both the performance and energy consumption for such applications. Superscalar and VLIW (Very Long Instruction Word) processors, along with SIMD (Single-Instruction Multiple-Data) and vector processor (VP) accelerators, are among the available options for designers to accomplish their desired requirements. On the other hand, these choices turn out to be large resource and energy consumers, while also not being always used efficiently due to data dependencies among instructions and limited portion of vectorizable code in single applications that deploy …

Cloud-Aided Wireless Systems: Communications And Radar Applications, Shahrouz Khalili

Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on cloud-assisted radio technologies for communication, including mobile cloud computing and Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN), and for radar systems.

This dissertation first concentrates on cloud-aided communications. Mobile cloud computing, which allows mobile users to run computationally heavy applications on battery limited devices, such as cell phones, is considered initially. Mobile cloud computing enables the offloading of computation-intensive applications from a mobile device to a cloud processor via a wireless interface. The interplay between offloading decisions at the application layer and physical-layer parameters, which determine the energy and latency associated with the mobile-cloud communication, motivates the inter-layer …

Instruction Fusion And Vector Processor Virtualization For Higher Throughput Simultaneous Multithreaded Processors, Yaojie Lu

Dissertations

The utilization wall, caused by the breakdown of threshold voltage scaling, hinders performance gains for new generation microprocessors. To alleviate its impact, an instruction fusion technique is first proposed for multiscalar and many-core processors. With instruction fusion, similar copies of an instruction to be run on multiple pipelines or cores are merged into a single copy for simultaneous execution. Instruction fusion applied to vector code enables the processor to idle early pipeline stages and instruction caches at various times during program implementation with minimum performance degradation, while reducing the program size and the required instruction memory bandwidth. Instruction fusion is …

On Greening Optical Access Networks, Mina Taheri Hosseinabadi

Dissertations

With the remarkable growth of fiber-based services, the number of FTTx subscribers has been dramatically increasing in recent years. Owing to the environmental concern, reducing energy consumption of optical access networks has become an important issue for network designers. In Ethernet passive optical network (EPON), the optical line terminal (OLT) located at the central office broadcasts the downstream traffic to all optical network units (ONUs), each of which checks all arrival downstream packets to obtain those destined to itself. Since traffic of ONUs changes dynamically, properly defining the sleep mode for idle ONUs can potentially save a significant amount of …

Subspace Methods For Portfolio Design, Onur Yilmaz

Dissertations

Financial signal processing (FSP) is one of the emerging areas in the field of signal processing. It is comprised of mathematical finance and signal processing. Signal processing engineers consider speech, image, video, and price of a stock as signals of interest for the given application. The information that they will infer from raw data is different for each application. Financial engineers develop new solutions for financial problems using their knowledge base in signal processing. The goal of financial engineers is to process the harvested financial signal to get meaningful information for the purpose.

Designing investment portfolios have always been at …

Oxidation Kinetics Of Metallic Powders, Hongqi Nie

Dissertations

Aluminum and magnesium are widely used in pyrotechnic formulations and other energetic materials; they are also common components of reactive alloys, e.g., Al-Mg and B-Mg, and others, which are potential fuels for explosives and propellants. Reaction mechanisms and oxidation kinetics of aluminum, magnesium and Al-Mg alloy powders in different oxidizing environments are investigated using thermo-analytical measurements. New methods of data processing are developed, relying on measured particle size distributions of the reactive spherical powders. It became possible to identify the reaction interface location for many heterogeneous metal oxidation processes; for several reactions, detailed kinetic descriptions are obtained.

For aluminum powders, …

Experimental And Modeling Studies In Membrane Distillation, Lin Li

Dissertations

A variety of microporous hydrophobic flat sheet membranes of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and expanded-polytetrafluoroethylene (e-PTFE) are studied to evaluate the influence of membrane properties on their performance in desalination by direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) and vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) processes. The membrane thickness is varied between 23 μm to 125 μm; the pore size is varied from 0.05 μm to 0.45 μm. The porosity is generally high in the range of 0.7 - 0.8. DCMD experiments are performed over a hot brine temperature range of 65 °C to 85 °C and distillate temperature at 25 °C for various brine …

A Novel Approach To User Controlled Ambulation Of Lower Extremity Exoskeletons Using Admittance Control Paradigm, Kiran Kartika Karunakaran

Dissertations

The robotic lower extremity exoskeletons address the ambulatory problems confronting individuals with paraplegia. Paraplegia due to spinal cord injury (SCI) can cause motor deficit to the lower extremities leading to inability to walk. Though wheelchairs provide mobility to the user, they do not provide support to all activities of everyday living to individuals with paraplegia.

Current research is addressing the issue of ambulation through the use of wearable exoskeletons that are pre-programmed. There are currently four exoskeletons in the U.S. market: Ekso, Rewalk, REX and Indego. All of the currently available exoskeletons have 2 active Degrees of Freedom (DOF) except …