Engineering Commons^™

Citizen Satellite: A Way To Have Low Cost Space Missions For The Unordinary Innovator, Robert J. Twiggs, Amin Djamshidpour, Ted Tagami, Tony So

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A report written by Robert Twiggs, Amin Djamshidpour, Ted Tagami, and Tony So on February 9, 2016.

Hybrid Clutch Assembly For An Aircraft, Richard P. Anderson, Charles N. Eastlake, Matt Gonitzke, Glenn P. Greiner

Publications

A hybrid clutch assembly inserted between an internal com bustion engine and the propeller of an aircraft to provide a hybrid-powered aircraft. The hybrid clutch assembly allows a direct current (DC) electric motor to be attached to the hybrid clutch assembly using drive belts. The hybrid clutch assembly allows the internal combustion engine to transmit power to the aircraft's propeller and freely spin the DC motor. The DC motor can transmit power to the aircraft's propeller without turning the internal combustion engine. The hybrid clutch assembly independently allows either the internal combus tion engine or the DC motor in parallel …

Coupling Community Preferences With Hydrologic Evaluation Of Low Impact Development Implementation In An Urban Watershed, Corinna M. Fleischmann, Carol Atkinson-Palombo, Joseph T. Bushey, Eric D. Jackson, David W. Payne

Suburban Sustainability

Stormwater runoff, and its associated pollutants, is a major problem in urban watersheds where the runoff is either channeled into surface water bodies or wastewater treatment plants. One emerging Best Management Practice (BMP) to control stormwater runoff is low impact development (LID). The EPA Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) was used to evaluate the hydrologic effectiveness at a watershed scale of five LID technologies (vegetated swales, bioretention cells, porous pavement, rain barrels and tree boxes) in an existing, typical urban watershed. As implementation focused on public transportation areas, hydrologic effectiveness of runoff reduction was assessed as a function of roadway length: …

Process Monitoring Of Glass Reinforced Polypropylene Laminates Using Fiber Bragg Gratings, M. Mulle, H. Wafai, A. Yudhanto, G. Lubineau, R. Yaldiz, W. Schijve, N. Verghese

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Hot-press molding of glass-fiber-reinforced polypropylene (GFPP) laminates was monitored using longitudinally and transversely embedded fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) at different locations in unidirectional laminates. The optical sensors proved to efficiently characterize some material properties; for example, strain variations could be related physical change of the laminate, revealing key transition points such as the onset of melt or solidification. These results were confirmed through some comparison with traditional techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry. After the GFPP plate was released from the mold, residual strains were estimated. Because cooling rate is an important process parameter in thermoplastics, affecting crystallinity and ultimately …

Tu-Pod: Deployment Mechanism & Antenna Mounting, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs titled "Tu-POD: Deployment Mechanism & Antenna Mounting" from February 8, 2016.

Identifying Pertinent Elements Of Critical Thinking And Mathematical Thinking Used In Civil Engineering Practice In Relation To Engineering Education, Sharifah Osman, Mohd Salleh Bin Abu, Shahrin Bin Mohammad, Mahani Binti Mokhtar

The Qualitative Report

Engaging critical thinking and mathematical thinking in solving engineering problems is a way of approaching the engineering criteria of Engineering Accreditation Council, Board of Engineers Malaysia. Thus, it is timely and crucial to inculcate the critical thinking and mathematical thinking into the current engineering education. Unfortunately, information about these two modes of thinking in real-world engineering practice is found lacking in the literature. Therefore, this paper focuses on explaining an analytic process in identifying pertinent elements of critical thinking and mathematical thinking used in real-world civil engineering practice. The analytic process, namely open coding is a part of coding process …

A Localization Method For Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks Based On Mobility Prediction And Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithms, Ying Zhang, Jixing Liang, Shengming Jiang, Wei Chen

Computer Science Faculty Research

Due to their special environment, Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) are usually deployed over a large sea area and the nodes are usually floating. This results in a lower beacon node distribution density, a longer time for localization, and more energy consumption. Currently most of the localization algorithms in this field do not pay enough consideration on the mobility of the nodes. In this paper, by analyzing the mobility patterns of water near the seashore, a localization method for UWSNs based on a Mobility Prediction and a Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm (MP-PSO) is proposed. In this method, the range-based PSO …

Design And Analysis Of A Single-Camera Omnistereo Sensor For Quadrotor Micro Aerial Vehicles (Mavs), Carlos Jaramillo, Roberto G. Valenti, Ling Guo, Jizhong Xiao

Publications and Research

We describe the design and 3D sensing performance of an omnidirectional stereo (omnistereo) vision system applied to Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs). The proposed omnistereo sensor employs a monocular camera that is co-axially aligned with a pair of hyperboloidal mirrors (a vertically-folded catadioptric configuration). We show that this arrangement provides a compact solution for omnidirectional 3D perception while mounted on top of propeller-based MAVs (not capable of large payloads). The theoretical single viewpoint (SVP) constraint helps us derive analytical solutions for the sensor’s projective geometry and generate SVP-compliant panoramic images to compute 3D information from stereo correspondences (in a truly synchronous …

Helping Doctors Treat Patients: Professor's Research Sets Groundwork For More Effective Care, Alixandria Reiner

Andrews Agenda: Campus News

No abstract provided.

Off The Lip Conference - Transdisciplinary Approaches To Cognitive Innovation. Conference Proceedings, Sue Denham, Michael Punt, Edith Doove, Martha Blassnigg, Raluca Briazu, Kathryn Francis, Agi Haynes, Guy Edmonds, Adam Benjamin, Matthew Emmett, Iris Garrelfs, Christopher B. Germann, Joanna Griffin, Diane Humphrey, Bryanna Lucyk, Christie Purchase, Rachel Sansone, Emily Baxter, Amy Ione, Frank Loesche, Abigail Jackson, Alexis Kirke, Eduardo Miranda, Luke Rendell, Simon Ingram, Yutaka Nakamura, Gi Taek Ryoo, Eugenia Stamboliev, Michael Straeubig, Chun-Wei Hsu, Pinar Oztop, Mihaela Taranu, Sundar Sarukkai, James Sweeting, Minami Hirayama

Off the Lip Conference - Transdisciplinary Approaches to Cognitive Innovation

The promise of cognitive innovation as a collaborative project in the sciences, arts and humanities is that we can approach creativity as a bootstrapping cognitive process in which the energies that shape the poem are necessarily indistinguishable from those that shape the poet. For the purposes of this conference the exploration of the idea of cognitive innovation concerns an understanding of creativity that is not exclusively concerned with conscious human thought and action but also as intrinsic to our cognitive development. As a consequence, we see the possibility for cognitive innovation to provide a theoretical and practical platform from which …

Walking On Water: Usu Researchers Unravel Science Of Skipping Spheres | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Feb. 4, 2016 – It takes a perfect flick of the wrist and just the right angle to get a disk-shaped stone to skip across the surface of the water multiple times. So why is it so easy to get such impressive water-skipping performance from an elastic ball with only a mediocre launch?

Quantitative Analysis Of Retrieved Glenoid Liners, Katelyn Childs, Lynn Crosby, Tarun Goswami

Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering Faculty Publications

Revision of orthopedic surgeries is often expensive and involves higher risk from complications. Since most total joint replacement devices use a polyethylene bearing, which serves as a weak link, the assessment of damage to the liner due to in vivo exposure is very important. The failures often are due to excessive polyethylene wear. The glenoid liners are complex and hemispherical in shape and present challenges while assessing the damage. Therefore, the study on the analysis of glenoid liners retrieved from revision surgery may lend insight into common wear patterns and improve future product designs. The purpose of this pilot study …

Incorporating Priors For Medical Image Segmentation Using A Genetic Algorithm, Payel Ghosh, Melanie Mitchell, James A. Tanyi, Arthur Y. Hung

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Medical image segmentation is typically performed manually by a physician to delineate gross tumor volumes for treatment planning and diagnosis. Manual segmentation is performed by medical experts using prior knowledge of organ shapes and locations but is prone to reader subjectivity and inconsistency. Automating the process is challenging due to poor tissue contrast and ill-defined organ/tissue boundaries in medical images. This paper presents a genetic algorithm for combining representations of learned information such as known shapes, regional properties and relative position of objects into a single framework to perform automated three-dimensional segmentation. The algorithm has been tested for prostate segmentation …

Detecting Faults In Turbine Generators, Wei Qiao, Xiang Gong

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Turbine generator faults can be detected by receiving a current signal from the turbine generator, and synchronously sampling the current signal to obtain a set of current signal samples that are evenly spaced in the phase domain, in which phase differences between adjacent current signal samples in the set of current signal samples are substantially the same. The process includes generating a frequency spectrum of the current signal samples, identifying one or more excitations in the frequency spectrum, and detecting a fault in the turbine generator based on the one or more excitations in the frequency spectrum.

Cracking The Code: Driverless Cars Vs. Hackers | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Feb. 3, 2016 – Electrical and computer engineering researchers at USU are finding ways to defeat the safety and security measures in place to keep driverless cars rolling safely down the road.

And while it’s a complex exercise, the group says it hasn’t found a single layer of security they haven’t been able to defeat. It’s all part of a four-year study led by Assistant Professor Dr. Ryan Gerdes who was recently awarded a major grant from the National Science Foundation to study the security of autonomous vehicles and incorporate what he calls ‘adversarial thinking’ into the design process.

Sensitivity Of Neural Stem Cell Survival, Differentiation And Neurite Outgrowth Within 3d Hydrogels To Environmental Heavy Metals, Sameera Tasneem, Kurt Farrell, Moo Yeal Lee, Chandrasekhar R. Kothapalli

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

© 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. We investigated the sensitivity of embryonic murine neural stem cells exposed to 10 pM-10. μM concentrations of three heavy metals (Cd, Hg, Pb), continuously for 14 days within 3D collagen hydrogels. Critical endpoints for neurogenesis such as survival, differentiation and neurite outgrowth were assessed. Results suggest significant compromise in cell viability within the first four days at concentrations ≥10. nM, while lower concentrations induced a more delayed effect. Mercury and lead suppressed neural differentiation at as low as 10 pM concentration within 7 days, while all three metals inhibited neural and glial differentiation by day …

Long-Term Trend Analysis Of Precipitation And Air Temperature For Kentucky, United States, Somsubhra Chattopadhyay, Dwayne R. Edwards

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Variation in quantities such as precipitation and temperature is often assessed by detecting and characterizing trends in available meteorological data. The objective of this study was to determine the long-term trends in annual precipitation and mean annual air temperature for the state of Kentucky. Non-parametric statistical tests were applied to homogenized and (as needed) pre-whitened annual series of precipitation and mean air temperature during 1950–2010. Significant trends in annual precipitation were detected (both positive, averaging 4.1 mm/year) for only two of the 60 precipitation-homogenous weather stations (Calloway and Carlisle counties in rural western Kentucky). Only three of the 42 temperature-homogenous …

Modeling Food Security, Energy, And Climate And Cultural Impacts Of A Process: The Case Study Of Shea Butter In Sub-Saharan Africa, Colleen Claire Naughton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Millions of people in the world, particularly women and people in sub-Saharan Africa, suffer from hunger and poverty. Three of the major 2015-2030 United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to eliminate hunger through food security and sustainable agriculture, eradicate poverty, and achieve gender equality through women’s empowerment. Shea trees and their associated fruit and butter can play a major role in each of these three SDGs for women and their families throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Shea trees are located over a wide expanse stretching more than 5,000 kilometers across over eighteen countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These trees produce fruit that …

Graphene Oxide Quantum Dots Covalently Functionalized Pvdf Membrane With Significantly-Enhanced Bactericidal And Antibiofouling Performances, Zhiping Zeng, Dingshan Yu, Ziming He, Jing Liu, Fang-Xing Xiao, Yan Zhang, Rong Wang, Dibakar Bhattacharyya, Timothy Thatt Yang Tan

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Covalent bonding of graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQDs) onto amino modified polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane has generated a new type of nano-carbon functionalized membrane with significantly enhanced antibacterial and antibiofouling properties. A continuous filtration test using E. coli containing feedwater shows that the relative flux drop over GOQDs modified PVDF is 23%, which is significantly lower than those over pristine PVDF (86%) and GO-sheet modified PVDF (62%) after 10 h of filtration. The presence of GOQD coating layer effectively inactivates E. coli and S. aureus cells, and prevents the biofilm formation on the membrane surface, producing excellent antimicrobial activity and …

Numerical Modeling Of Nonlinear Mode Interaction In Semiconductor Lasers And Amplifiers To Generate Slow/Fast Light, Hemashilpa Kalagara

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The nonlinear interaction (NLI) between modes in a semiconductor laser or amplifier is one of the techniques to obtain slow light (ng >> 1), fast light (-1 < ng < 1), phase conjugated reflection (also known as backward light (ng < 0)) and supercontinuum emission (also known as critically anomalous dispersion (ng = 0)), where ng is the group index. In the nonlinear interaction (NLI) mechanism, the interaction between a driving wave (mode) which is of sufficiently high intensity, and a probe wave (mode) results in modification of complex permittivity of the probe wave, if the frequency detuning between the two waves falls into the spectral range of parametric interaction. Consequently, in the vicinity of a strong driving wave (mode), the optical parameters such as the phase index, group index, linewidth, and the gain of a neighboring probe (weak) wave are strongly perturbed. The unusual perturbation of group index leads to slow light, fast light and backward propagating light depending on the frequency detuning between the two waves. Fast light can have important applications in interferometry, to make very sensitive interferometric sensors for detection of nano displacement, ultra-low vibration, rotation rate and even very weak gravitational waves. The slope sensitivity of an active integrated ring laser gyro (RLG) is directly proportional to the size of the ring and inversely proportional to the group index of the medium filling the cavity. By reducing ng in the nonlinear regime of laser operation, slope sensitivity can be improved by manifolds without having to increase the size of the gyro, which will lead to monolithic integration. In this dissertation work, the numerical modeling and simulation of NLI in semiconductor ridge waveguide (RWG) lasers is performed and perturbations of phase index, group index, gain, linewidth are calculated. The modeling is based on theory of nonlinear interaction of waves' developed for plane waves and is applied to RWG lasers. The RWG laser structures are based on GaN/InGaN, GaAs/AlGaAs, InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs, InGaAsP/InP material systems, to cover the most important spectral range of semiconductor lasers starting from λ = 0.4 μm to λ = 1.55 μm, respectively. The photonic design software RSoft's FemSIM that uses finite element method is used for design and modeling of NLI in RWG and calculation of effective phase index. The induced dispersion and effective group index ng are then calculated by differentiation of the effective phase index of guided probe wave over the optical frequency. The calculations indicate that the magnitude of NLI depends on the driving wave intensity, frequency detuning between driving and probe waves, lifetime of carriers in the laser system, optical confinement factor, driving wave wavelength and linewidth broadening factor of the laser structure. An important result of this work is observation of frequency points where ng passes zero line, known as the points of critically anomalous dispersion (CAD). In the spectral vicinity of CAD points, superluminal group velocity is observed, which can be used for improving the sensitivity of ring laser gyros and other interferometric sensors. In this dissertation, we established possibility of superluminal behavior (-1 < ng < 1) through NLI in all of the above mentioned RWG laser structures, and obtained the conditions necessary to observe this behavior. Also, the CAD frequencies are plotted by varying the driving wave intensities, where the data form a closed loop. The closing of the loop is due to suppression of NLI with an increase in driving wave intensity; at high intensities, the stimulated recombination rate increases, leading to an increase in overall relaxation rate, which in turn decreases the NLI. The CAD loops are calculated for all the RWG lasers mentioned above. The CAD loops provide information on lower and upper threshold intensity of the driving wave, and on frequency detuning between the driving and probe waves for observation of superluminal group velocity. Another important result is that the perturbed linewidth increases infinitely at the CAD point, leading to supercontinuum emission or white light, which can be exploited for very broadband laser emission applications. We also fitted our numerically calculated perturbed delay and advance due to NLI with the experimental data of perturbed delay and advance of an optical pulse in a semiconductor optical amplifier based on InGaAsP/InP, and identified the CAD point for the very first time.'

Controlling The Structure And Dynamics Of Magnetoresponsive Particle Suspensions For Enhanced Transport Phenomena, Kyle J. Solis

Chemical and Biological Engineering ETDs

The work contained herein describes the use of various magnetic fields to control the structure and dynamics of magnetic particle suspensions, with the practical aim of enhancing momentum, heat, and mass transport. The magnetic fields are often multiaxial and can consist of up to three orthogonal components that may be either static (dc), time-dependent (ac), or some combination thereof. The magnetic particles are composed of a ferromagnetic material—such as iron, nickel, cobalt, or Permalloy—and can exist in a variety of shapes, including spheres, platelets, and rods. The shape of the particles is particularly important, as this can determine the type …

Resistance Of Arc Spot Welds -- Update To Provisions, American Iron And Steel Institute

American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Specifications, Standards, Manuals and Research Reports (1946 - present)

The provisions of the AISI S100-12 standard for strength of arc spot welds loaded in shear and tension have not been revised since the 1999 standard. Since then, four new research studies have created and tested arc spot welded connections, expanding the database of available tests. Therefore, a reconsideration of both the resistance equations and the resistance and safety factors using the enlarged data base was undertaken. This study performed a comprehensive analysis of the entire arc spot weld data base, where 450 specimens were categorized by their respective failure modes to assess current AISI S100-12 resistance equations. Performance of …

Resistance Of Arc Spot Welds – Update To Provisions, B. Paige Blackburn, Thomas Sputo, Cevyn Meyer

American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Specifications, Standards, Manuals and Research Reports (1946 - present)

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Standards Council selected this project as one of four winning research proposals for its 2015 Small Project Fellowship Program. Project selections were based on several factors, including the potential for long-term impact on the industry; steel industry engagement and co-funding; and results for the AISI standards development committee, the student, and the academic institution. The objective of this project was to evaluate the provisions for determining the strength of arc spot welds in light of recent research studies. It is anticipated that the results of this study will impact the provisions in future …

Pseudo Leadership And Safety Culture, Thomas W. Camm

Mining Engineering

Search Amazon.com using the keyword “leadership,” and you are rewarded with a list of over 144,000 titles. There is no shortage of books and articles, many of them well written, with excellent ideas. So why is there still a constant cry for effective leadership in organizations? Often, the person in charge has personal blinders that prevent them from seeing or understanding how to implement the newest leadership idea or method. Either deliberately or subliminally, there is a disconnect from learning about leadership, and actually modelling and implementing what has been learned. Some current research in leadership theory can provide insight …

Equilibrium Testing Of Rat Tail Tendon: An Analysis Of The Viscoelastic Properties Of Collagen Under Different Strain Points, Joshua C. Witt

Graduate Theses - Biology & Biomedical Engineering

Instantaneous tensile testing and stress-relaxation testing are forms of mechanical testing used to determine the elastic and viscoelastic properties of biological tissue. Equilibrium testing is a form of testing that combines both of these testing approaches at different strain points to determine the elastic properties of a material and also assess their viscoelastic properties in the same test. This testing method is commonly used on highly viscoelastic materials such as cartilage but has never been fully described in dense collagenous materials such as tendon or ligament. This analysis utilizes different strain points selected to capture the classic non-linear behavior of …

Multiclass Object Detection With Single Query In Hyperspectral Imagery Using Class-Associative Spectral Fringe-Adjusted Joint Transform Correlation, Paheding Sidike, Vijayan K. Asari, Mohammad S. Alam

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We present a deterministic object detection algorithm capable of detecting multiclass objects in hyperspectral imagery (HSI) without any training or preprocessing. The proposed method, which is named class-associative spectral fringe-adjusted joint transform correlation (CSFJTC), is based on joint transform correlation (JTC) between object and nonobject spectral signatures to search for a similar match, which only requires one query (training-free) from the object's spectral signature. Our method utilizes class-associative filtering, modified Fourier plane image subtraction, and fringe-adjusted JTC techniques in spectral correlation domain to perform the object detection task.

The output of CSFJTC yields a pair of sharp correlation peaks for …

A Five-Year Performance Review Of Field-Scale, Slow-Release Permanganate Candles With Recommendations For Second-Generation Improvements, Mark Christenson, Ann Kambhu, James Reece, Steve D. Comfort, Laurie Brunner

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

In 2009, we identified a TCE plume at an abandoned landfill that was located in a low permeable siltyclay aquifer. To treat the TCE, we manufactured slow-release potassium permanganate cylinders (oxidant candles) that had diameters of either 5.1 or 7.6 cm and were 91.4 cm long. In 2010, we compared two methods of candle installation by inserting equal masses of the oxidant candles (7.6-cm vs 5.1-cm dia). The 5.1-cm dia candles were inserted with direct-push rods while the 7.6-cm candles were housed in screens and lowered into 10 permanent wells. Since installation, the 7.6-cm oxidant candles have been refurbished approximately …

Phased Retrofits In Existing Homes In Florida Phase I: Shallow And Deep Retrofits (February 2016), Florida Solar Energy Center, Danny Parker

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The U.S. Department of Energy's Building America research team Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction is collaborating with Florida Power & Light (FPL) to conduct a phased residential energy-efficiency retrofit program. This research seeks to establish impacts on annual energy and peak energy reductions from the technologies applied at two levels of retrofit--shallow and deep--with savings levels that approach the Building America program goal of reducing whole-house energy use by 40%.

The Effect Of Assembly Technique On Weak Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Film Morphology And Humidity Swelling/Deswelling Behavior, Ziyang Yin

Graduate Theses - Chemical Engineering

The goal of this research is to investigate the film morphology and humidity swelling/deswelling behavior of polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) that are constructed from poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) by two assembly techniques: automated dipping layer-by-layer (LbL) and spin-assisted (SA) LbL. Two sets of pH polyelectrolyte solution conditions were tested: (PAH7.5/PAA3.5) and (PAH7.0/PAA7.0). It was found that when the films were constructed with the same number of bilayers (=20 bilayers), SA-LbL (PAH7.5/PAA3.5) has a greater thickness than (PAH7.0/PAA7.0). (PAH7.5/PAA3.5) thin films constructed by automated dipping LbL did not result in a uniform film morphology, making thickness comparisons between techniques …

Evaluating A Microbial Water Quality Prediction Model For Beach Management Under The Revised Eu Bathing Water Directive, Zeinab Bedri, Aisling Corkery, John O'Sullivan, Louise Deering, Katalin Demeter, Wim Meijer, Gregory O'Hare, Bartholomew Masterson

Articles

The revised Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC) requires EU member states to minimise the risk to public health from faecal pollution at bathing waters through improved monitoring and management approaches. While increasingly sophisticated measurement methods (such as microbial source tracking) assist in the management of bathing water resources, the use of deterministic predictive models for this purpose, while having the potential to provide decision making support, remains less common.

This study explores an integrated, deterministic catchment-coastal hydro-environmental model as a decision-making tool for beach management which, based on advance predictions of bathing water quality, can inform beach managers on appropriate management …