Engineering Commons^™

Algorithm For Computational Imaging On A Real-Time Hardware, Manish Bhattarai

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

DRAMATIC advances in the field of computational and medical imaging over the past decades have enabled many critical applications such as night vision, medical diagnosis, quality control, and remote sensing. The increasing demand for image quality and its fidelity requires an increase in pixel count and a sophisticated post-processing mechanism to efficiently store, transmit, and analyze this massive data. There is an inherent trade-off between the generation of big data by such imaging systems and efficiency in extraction of useful information within real-time constraints, limiting the efficacy of such sensors in real-time decision-making systems. The traditional imaging system gets burdened …

Displacement Measurement Using A Laser Doppler Vibrometer Mounted On An Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Piyush Garg

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The railroad network in the united states is one of the best in the world, handling around 40 percent of all US freight movement. To maintain the serviceability and cost-effective operation of the railway infrastructure, regular monitoring is essential. Bridges are a critical part of the railway infrastructure and their timely maintenance and repair are important. Measuring transverse bridge displacement under train loading can assist to determine the bridge condition. The traditional methods available for transverse displacement measurement include Linear Variable Differential Transducers (LVDT). However, irregular terrain, remote and inaccessible locations, and the height of railroad bridges make implementation of …

Ros-Enabled Framework For A Miniature Hexapod As A Mobile Robot Research Platform, Joseph Michael Kloeppel

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and develop a framework for connected six-legged robots which can be used as a Robotic Operating System (ROS) based research platform. The research presented aims to purvey the necessary engineering and scientific steps needed to evolve a consumer-grade connected toy into a fully functioning and highly capable robotic system. Such a platform can be used to simulate and implement novel biologically inspired swarm research. Crawling robots have the advantage of being able to scale terrains which wheeled mobile robots may not and possess many interesting characteristics. The miniROaCH, miniature ROS-enabled and Crawling …

Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors: Evaluation Of Geometry, Attachment Surface Material And Biofilm Populations On The Uptake Of Ammonia And Synthetic Organic Contaminants In Wastewater., Patrick D. Mclee

Civil Engineering ETDs

Plastic biofilm carriers are used in biological wastewater treatment to encourage the attachment and retention of microorganisms that metabolize pollutants. The following research was conducted to better understand how different characteristics of the biofilm carrier affect the treatment performance of the attached biofilms in moving bed bioreactors. Lab scale reactors were used in this study to grow nitrifying biofilms in reactors with contrasting and controlled conditions. The effect of surface geometry on nitrification performance was evaluated by testing commercially available moving bed bioreactor media that contrast in physical design, and by varying operational parameters. Additionally, mature biofilm from a similar …

Quantifying The Effect Of Construction Site Factors On Concrete Quality, Costs And Production Rates, Jorge L. Santamaria

Civil Engineering ETDs

Factors affecting concrete can be categorized as structured factors or unstructured factors. The first group of factors consists of those related to the production process of concrete including water-cement ratio, properties of raw materials and mix proportions. Unstructured factors or construction site factors are related to labor skills and local conditions during the construction process of a project. Concrete compressive strength as a quality metric, costs and production rates may be affected significantly by such factors while performing concrete operations at the jobsite. Several prior studies have investigated the effect of structured factors on concrete. However literature is limited regarding …

Next Generation Sequencing Technologies For Real-Time Genotyping And Targeted Sequencing For Precision Medicine, Priyanka Rawat

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

Astounding success of Human genome project and accelerating success of sequencing technologies have enabled $ 1000 genome goals possible. But, this is still far-fetched from the reach of many resource refrained populations with high genetic variations causing lethal genetic diseases. Based on present technology principles, I have developed prototypes for affordable, scalable and customizable point-of-care genotyping and targeted sequencing. Ion-sensitive field effect transistors with novel read-out and signal amplification techniques are used for laying foundation of possible ISFET based allele-arrays. Sequencing-by-synthesis based full-fledge sequencer is made with novel immobilization, flow-cell and data acquisition methods for massive sequenciing.

The Processing And Polarization Reversal Dynamics Of Thin Film Poly(Vinylidene) Fluoride, Noel Mayur Dawson

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

Many ferroelectric devices benefit from the ability to deposit thin ferroelectric layers. Poly(vinylidene) fluoride (PVDF) is the prototypical ferroelectric polymer, but processing of thin film ferroelectric PVDF remains a challenge due to the formation of large voids in the film during traditional thin film processing. The research described in this dissertation starts by investigating the origin of these voids. The cause of these voids is found to be caused by vapor induced phase separation (VIPS). Guided by the thermodynamics of VIPS, a process is then designed to produce void-free ferroelectric PVDF thin films on polar and non-polar substrates. The films …

Development Of Design Equations For Drilled Shafts In Granular Dense Soils Using Dem Simulations, Sadia Faiza

Civil Engineering ETDs

Drilled shafts have proven to be cost-effective, excellent performing, deep foundation systems where large loads and lateral resistance are major factors. The available design methods that are recommended by FHWA (2010) for drilled shafts are mostly empirical and are developed based on generalized data which sometimes can be conservative for a particular soil. The main objective of this study is to develop a design methodology for estimating the side resistance of an axially loaded drilled shaft based on the current and the unique properties of the soil. The objective was met through using the discrete element method (DEM) to investigate …

Characterization And Modeling Of Asphalt Concrete For Dynamic Properties And Performances, A S M A. Rahman

Civil Engineering ETDs

The recently developed mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG, also known as Pavement M-E design method) uses the nationally calibrated, binder viscosity-based dynamic modulus predictive model for the design and analysis of asphalt pavements. In this study, this model is assessed for its appropriateness for asphalt-aggregate mixtures typically used in New Mexico. In essence, this study investigates the predictability issue of complex modulus of New Mexico mixes. A total of 54 Superpave mixes with different aggregate gradations, air voids, and binder grades were collected from the mixing plants and from the pavement construction sites. The loose asphalt mixtures were then compacted, …

Development Of A Curriculum Analysis And Simulation Library With Applications In Curricular Analytics, Michael S. Hickman

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Higher education institutions are currently investing significant resources in attempts to improve student success by improving instruction quality, implementing tutoring programs, and providing other services to help students. While these are all worth- while, one area that tends to be overlooked is the structure of the curricula that are offered. When viewing curricula as data, or more specifically, a graph, it is intuitive to see how its structure can influence a student’s ability to move through it. How- ever, there are currently no tools to analyze a curriculum’s structural properties and how they might affect student success. This thesis describes …

Co-Simulation Framework For Power Distribution System Analysis With Humans In The Loop, Victor H. Ayon

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Recent developments in the area of power generation have led to an increased penetration of storage and distributed energy resources (DER) in power distribution systems. As a result, new and enhanced energy management systems will be necessary as the deployment of DERs, as well as the need to control loads, continues to increase in the coming years. Advanced management systems are especially important to achieve resilient power delivery during emergency situations. During a blackout for example, a section of a distribution feeder could island to operate as a microgrid to ensure critical services such as water, food, and medical care …

Context-Sensitive Human Activity Classification In Video Utilizing Object Recognition And Motion Estimation, Abigail R. Jacoby

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Classification of human activity in raw video presents a challenging problem that remains unsolved, and is of great interest for large datasets. Though there have been several attempts at applying image processing techniques to video to recognize human activity in controlled video segments, few have attained a significant degree of success in raw videos.

Raw video classification exhibits significant challenges that can be addressed through the use of geometric information. Current techniques employ a combination of temporal information of the feature space or a combination of Convolutional and Recurrent Neural Networks (CNN and RNNs). CNNs are used for frame feature …

Anodic Catalysts For Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Aaron Joseph Roy

Chemical and Biological Engineering ETDs

With a limited availability of energy resources from petroleum and other fossil fuels, as well as growing concerns relating to the environmental implications of fossil fuel emissions, non-carbon fuels which can be utilized in proton and anion exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC’s/AEMFC’s), such as hydrogen and hydrazine hydrate (HH), are becoming more attractive as alternative fuels. Historically, platinum and platinum group metal catalysts (PGM) have been used as cathode and anode catalyst materials for both PEMFC’s and AEMFC’s. Although these catalysts are the highest performing catalysts available for the conversion of hydrogen energy in fuel cells, the limited availability and …

Viscoelastic Behavior Of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites Incorporating Nanomaterials, Amy R. Garner

Civil Engineering ETDs

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are increasingly being used in a variety of industries such as aerospace and infrastructure. This investigation experimentally examines the effect of incorporating alumina nanoparticles (ANPs), non-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (NF-MWCNTs), and functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (F-MWCNTs) on the off-axis stiffness and stress-relaxation of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. Epoxy- nanocomposites incorporating 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 wt.% ANPs; 0.0 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 wt. % NF-MWCNTs; 0.0 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 wt. % F-MWCNTs of the total weight of epoxy are examined. Off-axis tension stiffness and stress-relaxation tests were performed on CFRP coupons …

Development Of Biomimetic Membrane Assemblies On Microspheres For High-Throughput And Multiplexable Studies, Nadiezda P. Fernandez Oropeza

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

Membranes and membrane-associated components are the target of approximately 60% of the current drugs, of synthetic materials, such as polymers, which are used for drug delivery purposes and of other biomolecules, such as endotoxins, which gain entry into the cell by disrupting the membrane. Therefore, the development of biomimetic membrane assemblies allows the study of different biological processes in which cell membranes play an important role, and the characterization and screening of drug delivery tools and other membrane-bound components.

Since its development, membrane assemblies on planar silica surfaces have been the method of choice to study membrane-associated and membrane-bound components. …

Modeling Of A Battery Storage System On A Distribution Feeder, Aaron M. Griego

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Driven by the need to reduce harmful emissions and the desire to move away from our dependency on fossil fuels, we have seen a sharp increase in alternative energy research and development within the last decade. Amongst the many alternative energy sources, photovoltaics (PV) is becoming more commonplace in the power utility system.

With these new sources of renewable energy being widely adopted, there are causes for concern that power utility companies must address. One of the more present issues that have been noted is the reliability of the power being delivered; in particular with PV systems. Studies have shown …

Integration Of Thin Film Tpv Cells To Cvd Diamond Heat Spreaders, Emma J. Renteria

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

In this work, techniques to isolate thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices from the growth substrate and their subsequent integration with Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) diamond heat spreaders will be discussed, with the envisioned goal of fabricating thermally managed cells. CVD diamond heat spreaders are a great option for thermal management of TPV cells. The key requirement, however, is the bonding of the TPV cell directly onto the diamond wafer without the presence of thick (>350 μm) growth substrates, which can offer significant thermal resistance.

The first approach is to release GaSb epitaxial layers from GaSb substrates. However, this is challenging due …

Applying Modern Technology In The Preservation Of Historic Concrete Picnic Tables, Michele M. Anderson

Civil Engineering ETDs

Preserving historical concrete structures recognizes the work and skills of past generations and allows the communities surrounding these pieces of history the opportunity to enjoy the character and purpose of their construction. Restoration of concrete picnic tables, constructed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, required researching materials and methods of construction during the original construction period. Eight decades of environmental and weather cycles did not decay the historic structures. Acts of vandalism destroyed the purpose of the tables and benches. Restoration of the historic picnic tables required extensive literature review for the materials and methods used during the …

Hydrogeochemical Investigation Of Recharge Pathways To Intermediate And Regional Groundwater In Cañon De Valle And Technical Area 16, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Brendan W. Brady

Civil Engineering ETDs

In aquifers consisting of fractured or porous igneous rocks, as well as conglomerate and sandstone products of volcanic formations, silicate minerals actively dissolve and precipitate (Eby, 2004; Eriksson, 1985; Drever, 1982). Dissolution of hydrated volcanic glass is also known to influence the character of groundwater to which it is exposed (White et al., 1980). Hydrochemical evolution, within saturated zones of volcanic formations, is modeled here as a means to resolve the sources feeding a perched groundwater zone. By observation of solute mass balances in groundwater, together with rock chemistry, this study characterizes the chemical weathering processes active along recharge pathways …

High Power Microwave Metamaterial Based Passive And Active Devices, Hamide Seidfaraji

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The goal of this dissertation is to design novel metamaterials for High Power Microwave devices. Metamaterials (MTM) are artificial periodic structures, which support reversed Cherenkov radiation and backward wave propagation. Microwave sources transform the kinetic energy of an electron beam into microwaves through the interaction of the electrons with a periodic slow wave structures (SWS). Here, a metamaterial (MTM) waveguide is proposed for use in a microwave oscillator instead of a SWS. The interaction of a multi-beam cathode with a set of MTM structures inside a cylindrical waveguide is studied and analyzed.

Group theory is used to design a metamaterial …

The Inverse Kinetics Method And Its Application To The Annular Core Research Reactor, Thomas A. Ball

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

The inverse kinetics method, is a method to calculate a reactor’s reactivity profile from its power profile. In this thesis, the reactivity profile corresponding to pulse operations of the Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR) was sought. Of specific interest was the shutdown reactivity of the reactor following the pulse. This required accounting for delayed beryllium photoneutrons that are present in the ACRR in addition to U-235 delayed neutron precursors. The power profiles of the pulses were experimentally measured using a diamond photoconductive detector (PCD). Using the inverse kinetics equation, a computer code was written to numerically calculate the reactivity corresponding …

Investigating Scalable Manufacturing Of High-Conductivity Wires And Coatings From Ultra-Long Carbon Nanotubes, Pouria Khanbolouki

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a promising candidate for next generation of electrical wirings and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials due to their exceptional mechanical and electrical properties. Wires and coatings from ultralong nanotubes that are highly crystalline, well-aligned and densely packed can achieve this goal. High-performance CNT conductors will be relatively lightweight and resistant to harsh conditions and therefore can potentially replace current conductors in many industries including aerospace, automotive, gas and oil.

This thesis investigates a new manufacturing approach, based on conventional solution coating and wire drawing methods, to fabricate high conductivity wires and coatings from ultra-long carbon nanotubes. …

Effect Of Alignment, Sizing, And Manufacturing Method On Mechanical Properties Of Recycled Carbon Fiber Composites, Nekoda Van De Werken

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

The exceptional combination of properties offered by carbon fiber composites has propelled their incorporation into high performance markets such as aerospace, wind energy, luxury cars and sporting goods. While the use of carbon fiber in these sectors is expected to continue to increase, the high price and energy cost associated with carbon fiber production acts as a significant barrier of entry into larger volume markets, such as the automotive industry. One method of navigating this transition is through the use of recycled carbon fiber composites.

Carbon fiber reclamation can produce fibers with up to 90% and 100% of the strength …

State-Based Peridynamic Particle Method, Siavash Nikravesh Kazeroni

Civil Engineering ETDs

In this study, a novel discrete Peridynamics framework called the “State-Based Peridynamic Particle Model (SPPM)” is introduced. In this approach, a solid body is simulated by neither solving differential equations nor integral equations; instead, the simulation is accomplished by directly solving discrete systems of equations using finite summations. SPPM is formulated for a random distribution of particles, hence, it can be considered as a meshfree method. The assumptions of continuity and homogeneity are not necessary for this approach. The SPPM is a generalization of the “State-Based Peridynamic Lattice Model (SPLM)”. In the SPLM formulation, for sake of simplicity and computational …

Evaluation Of Energy Released From Nuclear Criticality Excursions In Process Solutions, Corey Michael Skinner

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

Typically, the staff of a nonreactor nuclear facility or a processing facility involving nuclear material are not expected to have a strong technical background in nuclear criticality physics, as that is not the purpose of these sites, yet handle material with the potential to undergo a criticality excursion. Such excursions have occurred 22 times in the past, 21 of which involved an aqueous solution material. Therefore, it would be useful to have a general model capable of providing a quick estimation of the consequences of a criticality excursion in a processing plant. To this end, correlations developed utilizing experimental data …

Microbial Desalination Cells With Efficient Platinum Group Metal-Free Cathode Catalysts, Morteza Rezaei Talarposhti

Chemical and Biological Engineering ETDs

Iron-nitrogen-carbon based catalyst was used at the cathode of a microbial desalination cell (MDC) and compared with platinum (Pt) and activated carbon (AC) cathode. Fe-N-C catalyst was prepared using nicarbazin (NCB) as organic precursor by sacrificial support method (SSM). Rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE) experiments shows that Fe-NCB had higher electrocatalytic activity compared to AC and Pt. The utilization of Fe-NCB into the cathode improved substantially the performance output with initial maximum power density of 49±2 μWcm^-2 in contrast to Pt and AC catalysts which have shown lower values of 34±1 μWcm^-2 and 23.5±1.5 μWcm^-2, respectively. …

Tensile Experimentation Of Structural Aluminum Studying Void Growth, Scott Gampert

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Uni-axial tensile tests were conducted on multiple dog-bone shaped poly-crystalline Aluminum specimens. The goal for this study was to understand the effects of voiding in structural aluminum and how voids grow under tension. The voids were represented by simply drilling and reaming one or more holes in varying patterns in the center of the sample. The testing clearly showed that the different hole patterns affect the area growth of voids. It also compares the developmental growth of a plasticity zone around samples with one hole to a previous study done with a different specimen shape(Ray,2003). In order to look at …

Applying Heterogeneous Teams Of Robotic Agents Using Hybrid Communications To Mapping And Education, Jonathan M. West

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Robotic agents are being increasingly utilized to carry out tasks that are difficult or dangerous for humans. Many of these missions are best performed by heterogeneous teams of agents with various individual abilities. Communication among agents and with operators is a critical element in the performance and efficiency of these missions. Although radio frequency communications dominate the robotic networking field, they are limited in range and bandwidth due to spectrum congestion and subject to interference from noise or hostile jamming and can be intercepted. Optical communication has many advantages such as higher bandwidth and focused beam, however the line-of-sight requirement …

Comprehensive Evaluation Of Rutting Performance Of Asphalt Concrete Mixtures, Ivan Syed

Civil Engineering ETDs

Rutting is the permanent deformation along the wheel paths of an asphalt pavement caused by repeated traffic loading. It is considered as one of the primary distresses of asphalt pavements. Recently, Hamburg Wheel Tracking Device (HWTD) has shown to measure the rutting performance of an asphalt mixture in the laboratory. In this study, this device has been used to measure rutting of asphalt concrete (AC) and relate them with the mixture’s dynamic modulus. To this end, the rut deformation of AC mixtures were modeled in this study using a semi-empirical |E*|-based rut predictive model based on the HWTD …

Improving Large Scale Application Performance Via Data Movement Reduction, Dewan M. Ibtesham

Computer Science ETDs

The compute capacity growth in high performance computing (HPC) systems is outperforming improvements in other areas of the system for example, memory capacity, network bandwidth and I/O bandwidth. Therefore, the cost of executing a floating point operation is decreasing at a faster rate than moving that data. This increasing performance gap causes wasted CPU cycles while waiting for slower I/O operations to complete in the memory hierarchy, network, and storage. These bottlenecks decrease application time to solution performance, and increase energy consumption, resulting in system under utilization. In other words, data movement is becoming a key concern for future HPC …