Engineering Commons^™

Characterization Of Jet Fuel Combustion Emissions During A C-130 Aeromedical Evacuation Engines Running Onload, Michelle L. Page

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to characterize jet fuel combustion emissions (JFCE) in an occupational setting. Prior research demonstrated that aircraft emit hazardous species, especially at engine start-up and ground idle. Complaints of eye, nose, and throat irritation from occupational exposures near aircraft exist. In this study JFCE were tested during an aeromedical evacuation engines running patient onload (ERO) on a C-130 Hercules at the 179^th Airlift Wing, Mansfield-Lahm Air National Guard. Ultrafine particles, VOC, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide (CO), sulfuric acid, and metals were sampled simultaneously in approximate crew and patient breathing zones. Testing methods were portable condensation …

New Fractals For Computer Generated Art Created By Iteration Of Polynomial Functions Of A Complex Variable, Charles F. Babbs

Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Working Papers

Novel fractal forms can be created by iteration of higher order polynomials of the complex variable, z, with both positive and negative exponents, followed by optional integer power transformation, k zz . Such functions lead to an expanded universe of fascinating fractal patterns that can be incorporated into computer generated art.

Generalized Fractals For Computer Generated Art: Preliminary Results, Charles F. Babbs

Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Working Papers

This paper explores new types of fractals created by iteration of the functions xn+1 = f1(xn, yn) and yn+1 = f2(xn, yn) in a general plane, rather than in the complex plane. Iteration of such functions generates orbits with novel fractal patterns. Especially interesting are N-th order polynomials, raised to a positive or negative integer power, p.

Such functions create novel fractal patterns, including budding, spiked, striped, dragon head, and bat-like forms. The present faculty working paper shows how to create a rich variety of complex and fascinating fractals using this generalized approach, which is accessible to students with high …

A Location-Aware Middleware Framework For Collaborative Visual Information Discovery And Retrieval, Andrew J.M. Compton

Theses and Dissertations

This work addresses the problem of scalable location-aware distributed indexing to enable the leveraging of collaborative effort for the construction and maintenance of world-scale visual maps and models which could support numerous activities including navigation, visual localization, persistent surveillance, structure from motion, and hazard or disaster detection. Current distributed approaches to mapping and modeling fail to incorporate global geospatial addressing and are limited in their functionality to customize search. Our solution is a peer-to-peer middleware framework based on XOR distance routing which employs a Hilbert Space curve addressing scheme in a novel distributed geographic index. This allows for a universal …

Dynamics Of Chemical Degradation In Water Using Photocatalytic Reactions In An Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diode Reactor, John E. Stubbs

Theses and Dissertations

This work examined ultraviolet (UV) light emitting diodes (LED) and hydrogen peroxide in an advanced oxidation process in support of a USAF installation net zero water initiative. A UV LED reactor was used for degradation of soluble organic chemicals. There were linear relationships between input drive current, optical output power, and first order degradation rate constants. When drive current was varied, first order degradation rates depended on chemical identities and the drive current. When molar peroxide ratios were varied, kinetic profiles revealed peroxide-limited or radical-scavenged phenomena. Molar absorptivity helped explain the complexity of chemical removal profiles. Degradation kinetics were used …

Spatial Scale Gap Filling Using An Unmanned Aerial System: A Statistical Downscaling Method For Applications In Precision Agriculture, Leila Hassan-Esfahani, Ardeshir M. Ebtehaj, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, Mac Mckee

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Applications of satellite-borne observations in precision agriculture (PA) are often limited due to the coarse spatial resolution of satellite imagery. This paper uses high-resolution airborne observations to increase the spatial resolution of satellite data for related applications in PA. A new variational downscaling scheme is presented that uses coincident aerial imagery products from “AggieAir”, an unmanned aerial system, to increase the spatial resolution of Landsat satellite data. This approach is primarily tested for downscaling individual band Landsat images that can be used to derive normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and surface soil moisture (SSM). Quantitative and qualitative results demonstrate promising …

Open Source 3-D Printed Nutating Mixer, Dhwani K. Trivedi, Joshua M. Pearce

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Publications

As the open source development of additive manufacturing has led to low-cost desktop three-dimensional (3-D) printing, a number of scientists throughout the world have begun to share digital designs of free and open source scientific hardware. Open source scientific hardware enables custom experimentation, laboratory control, rapid upgrading, transparent maintenance, and lower costs in general. To aid in this trend, this study describes the development, design, assembly, and operation of a 3-D printable open source desktop nutating mixer, which provides a fixed 20° platform tilt angle for a gentle three-dimensional (gyrating) agitation of chemical or biological samples (e.g., DNA or blood …

Measured Performance Of A High-Efficiency Solar-Assisted Heat Pump Water Heater, Florida Solar Energy Center, Carlos Colon

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This paper describes a novel solar photovoltaic-assisted heat pump water heater (PV-HPWH). The system uses two 310 Wp PV modules, micro-inverters and innovative controls to produce and store daily hot water. The system likely costs half that of solar thermal systems, with greater reliability, no freeze protection and potentially superior performance in cloudy locations. Moreover, no net metering is needed for the PV, which with two modules makes for a simple installation.The HPWH controls have been modified through experimentation such that higher tank temperatures are achieved during the day when solar availability is high while avoiding triggering the compressor during …

Cross-Species Complementation Reveals Conserved Functions For Early Flowering 3 Between Monocots And Dicots, He Huang, Malia A. Gehan, Sarah E. Huss, Sohpie Alvarez, Cesar Lizarraga, Ellen L. Gruebbling, John Gierer, Michael J. Naldrett, Rebacca K. Bindbeutel, Bradley S. Evans, Todd C. Mockler, Dmitri A. Nusinow

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Plant responses to the environment are shaped by external stimuli and internal signaling pathways. In both the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) and crop species, circadian clock factors are critical for growth, flowering, and circadian rhythms. Outside of Arabidopsis, however, little is known about the molecular function of clock gene products. Therefore, we sought to compare the function of Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium) and Setaria viridis (Setaria) orthologs of EARLY FLOWERING 3, a key clock gene in Arabidopsis. To identify both cycling genes and putative ELF3 functional orthologs in Setaria, a …

On Dual-Band Amplifications Using Dual Two-Tones: Clarifications And Discussion, Siyuan Yan, Xianzhen Yang, Xiao Li, Fu Lo

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A significant development of recent research in nonlinear distortion is the expansion of the conventional two-tone test for power amplifiers to the concurrent dual-band transmitters, by Amin et al. A general framework using dual two-tones is developed, which shows that the output signal is affected not only by intermodulation (IM) products but also by cross-modulation (CM) products. In this paper, we will make a number of clarifications to Amin et al.'s paper. The effects of IM and CM in passband will be discussed, IM represents a reduction for compressive devices, and CM reflects an interference caused by the signal from …

Water Resources Adaptation To Climate And Demand Change In The Potomac River, James H. Stagge, Glenn E. Moglen

Publications

The effects of climate change are increasingly considered in conjunction with changes in water demand and reservoir sedimentation in forecasts of water supply vulnerability. Here, the relative effects of these factors are evaluated for the Washington, DC metropolitan area water supply for the near (2010 to 2039), intermediate (2040-2069), and distant future (2070 to 2099) by repeated water resources model simulations. This system poses water management challenges due to long water delivery travel times that increase uncertainty, multiple water jurisdictions that constrain potential decisions, and future scenarios that simultaneously increase demand and decrease water supply during the critical summer period. …

Atmospheric Processes Affecting The Separation Of Volcanic Ash And So < Inf> 2 In Volcanic Eruptions: Inferences From The May 2011 Grímsvötn Eruption, Fred Prata, Mark Woodhouse, Herbert E. Huppert, Andrew Prata, Thor Thordarson, S. Carn

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The separation of volcanic ash and sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas is sometimes observed during volcanic eruptions. The exact conditions under which separation occurs are not fully understood but the phenomenon is of importance because of the effects volcanic emissions have on aviation, on the environment, and on the earth's radiation balance. The eruption of Grímsvötn, a subglacial volcano under the Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland during 21-28 May 2011 produced one of the most spectacular examples of ash and SO2 separation, which led to errors in the forecasting of ash in the atmosphere over northern Europe. Satellite data from several sources …

A Carbon Nanotube Optical Reporter Maps Endolysosomal Lipid Flux, Jena V. Prakrit, Daniel E. Roxbury, Thomas V. Galassi, Leila Akkari, Christopher P. Horoszko, David B. Iaea, Januka Budhathoki-Uprety, Nina Pipalia, Abigail S. Haka, Jackson D. Harvey, Jeetain Mittal, Frederick R. Maxfield, Johanna A. Joyce, Daniel A. Heller

Chemical, Biomolecular, and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Lipid accumulation within the lumen of endolysosomal vesicles is observed in various pathologies including atherosclerosis, liver disease, neurological disorders, lysosomal storage disorders, and cancer. Current methods cannot measure lipid flux specifically within the lysosomal lumen of live cells. We developed an optical reporter, composed of a photoluminescent carbon nanotube of a single chirality, that responds to lipid accumulation via modulation of the nanotube’s optical band gap. The engineered nanomaterial, composed of short, single-stranded DNA and a single nanotube chirality, localizes exclusively to the lumen of endolysosomal organelles without adversely affecting cell viability or proliferation or organelle morphology, integrity, or function. …

Increasing Atmospheric Humidity And Co2 Concentration Alleviate Forest Mortality Risk, Yanlan Liu, Anthony J. Parolari, Mukesh Kumar, Chang-Wei Huang, Gabriel Katul, Amilcare Porporato

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Climate-induced forest mortality is being increasingly observed throughout the globe. Alarmingly, it is expected to exacerbate under climate change due to shifting precipitation patterns and rising air temperature. However, the impact of concomitant changes in atmospheric humidity and CO₂ concentration through their influence on stomatal kinetics remains a subject of debate and inquiry. By using a dynamic soil–plant–atmosphere model, mortality risks associated with hydraulic failure and stomatal closure for 13 temperate and tropical forest biomes across the globe are analyzed. The mortality risk is evaluated in response to both individual and combined changes in precipitation amounts and their seasonal …

Evaluation Of Stability Of Unit Loads For Tilt And Shock Events During Distribution, Jay Singh, Koushik Saha, Tyler Sewell

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

Initiatives to lightweight and reduce packaging materials to achieve sustainability goals have created unit load stability challenges in the transportation and handling of palletized packaged goods. Consequently, an increased focus is being placed on evaluating how current pre-shipment performance tests evaluate load stability. This study was undertaken to address the current need for establishing test methodologies towards observing a unit load’s overall stability during transportation and handling related activities commonly experienced in the distribution environment. With this goal, this study developed two test methods as well as apparatus/measuring tool to observe a palletized load’s overall stability. The experimentation involved unit …

The Advent Of University-Level Packaging Scholarship: The Time, The Place And The People, Diana Twede, Laura Bix

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

In 1952, Michigan State College (MSC), now Michigan State University (MSU), was the first university in the world to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Packaging. Other universities had previously offered related courses like canning (as part of a food science degree) or military packaging (in wartime), but MSU was the first to propose packaging as its own academic field of scholarship.

Other universities followed, sharing faculty and curriculum models developed at MSU. As a result, graduates’ careers in packaging now have a higher professional status, and universities play a key role in developing our international community of packaging …

Damping Package Design Using Structural Corrugated Board, Qi Zhang, Katsuhiko Saito, Katsushige Nagaoka

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

Packaging is designed to protect products from shock and vibration during transport. In recent years, paper cushioning materials, such as corrugated board and pulp molded packaging, are being increasingly used because they are environmentally friendly and easy to recycle. However, because no efficient packaging-design method yet exists for paper cushioning material, packaging engineers must rely on previous experience and the so-called trial-and-error method to design packaging. One reason for this situation is that, for most cases, the paper cushioning material used for protective packaging has a complicated structure and deforms after being subjected to repetitive shock and vibration. To address …

Development Of Starch-Polyvinyl Alcohol (Pva) Biodegradable Film: Effect Of Cross-Linking Agent And Antimicrobials On Film Characteristics, Aniket Satish More, Chandani Sen, Madhusweta Das

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

To satisfy the need of developing eco-friendly flexible antimicrobial packaging film with minimum use of synthetic chemical ingredients, the present study examined the efficacy of citric acid (CA) as cross-linking agent and essential oils (EOs), viz., cinnamon essential oil (CEO) and oregano essential oil (OEO) as natural antimicrobials in corn starch-polyvinyl alcohol (CS-PVA) film. Compared to film prepared from filmogenic solution (FS) containing 75 kg CS+8.75 kg PVA+24.6 kg glycerol per m³ FS, film additionally containing CA at 0.07 kg/kg CS indicated 95% higher ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and 27% lower water vapor permeability (WVP). Film developed with incorporation …

Combating The Problem Of Smuggling Via Legal Refugee Transport Agencies, Mitchell Maurer (Engineering), Ala Saleh, Alex Marino, Adam Hoover, Imani Pajibo, Gabriel De Toro Cruzat

Nexus Maximus

Our final project is the idea of an organization that works to legally transport refugees into the EU where they can safely become members of the local economy. Legal and social loopholes prevent refugees from entering easily, while refugees are actually seen to aid in temporary working economies.

Nexus Maximus IV

The Challenge: Innovation for Refugees and Displaced Populations

One of the great challenges of our time is how to help refugees and displaced populations, and how to prevent the causes in the first place. Every minute, 24 people around the world are forced to flee their homes. That’s 34,000 …

Cross-Correlation-Based Structural System Identification Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles., Hyungchul Yoon, Vedhus Hoskere, Jong-Woong Park, Billie F. Spencer

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Computer vision techniques have been employed to characterize dynamic properties of structures, as well as to capture structural motion for system identification purposes. All of these methods leverage image-processing techniques using a stationary camera. This requirement makes finding an effective location for camera installation difficult, because civil infrastructure (i.e., bridges, buildings, etc.) are often difficult to access, being constructed over rivers, roads, or other obstacles. This paper seeks to use video from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to address this problem. As opposed to the traditional way of using stationary cameras, the use of UAVs brings the issue of the camera …

A Novel Real-Time Non-Invasive Hemoglobin Level Detection Using Video Images From Smartphone Camera, Golam Mushih Tanimul Ahsan, Md. O. Gani, Md Kamrul Hasan, Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed, William Chu, Mohammad Adibuzzaman, Joshua Field

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Hemoglobin level detection is necessary for evaluating health condition in the human. In the laboratory setting, it is detected by shining light through a small volume of blood and using a colorimetric electronic particle counting algorithm. This invasive process requires time, blood specimens, laboratory equipment, and facilities. There are also many studies on non-invasive hemoglobin level detection. Existing solutions are expensive and require buying additional devices. In this paper, we present a smartphone-based non-invasive hemoglobin detection method. It uses the video images collected from the fingertip of a person. We hypothesized that there is a significant relation between the fingertip …

Theory And Applications Of Plasmonically Active Spherical And Core-Shell Nanoparticles, Mohammad Habibur Rahaman

Student Theses and Dissertations

Optical properties of metal nanoparticles and core-shell nanoparticles are related to their plasmon response. Plasmonic resonance is the collective oscillations of conduction electrons in metal. The core-shell nanoparticles represent unique geometry and plasmonic resonance can be tuned either by changing the distance between core-shell nanoparticle or by changing their core to shell ratio. This work focuses on the theoretical design of single and multiple core-shell nanoparticles for exploring the resonance properties of core-shell nanoparticles using scattering theory. The results provide new and tunable optical properties of core-shell nanoparticles that solid single or multiple metal nanoparticles can not demonstrate. We have …

Mechanical And Economical Impacts Of Adding Polymers Into Asphalt Mixtures, Mena Souliman, Waleed Zeiada, Lubinda Walubita

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Load associated fatigue cracking is one of the major distress types occurring in flexible pavements. Flexural bending beam fatigue laboratory test has been used for several decades and is considered an integral part of the Superpave advanced characterization procedure. One of the most significant solutions to sustain the fatigue life for an asphaltic mixture is to add sustainable materials such as polymers to the asphalt mixture. A laboratory testing program was performed on two gap-graded mixtures: unmodified and polymer-modified asphalt mixtures. Strain controlled fatigue tests were conducted according to the AASHTO T321 procedure. The results from the beam fatigue tests …

An Optical Probe For Detecting Chondrocyte Apoptosis In Response To Mechanical Injury, Yihui Huang, Jun Zhou, Amirhossein Hakamivala, Jinglei Wu, Yi Hong, Joseph Borrelli Jr., Liping Tang

Bioengineering Faculty Publications - Archive

Cartilage injury induced by acute excessive contact stress is common and mostly affects young adult. Although early detection of cartilage injury may prevent serious and lifelong arthritic complications, early detection and treatment is not possible due to the lack of a reliable detection method. Since chondrocyte injury and subsequent cell death are the early signs of cartilage injury, it is likely that cartilage cell apoptosis can be used to predict the extent of injury. To test this hypothesis, a near infrared probe was fabricated to have high affinity to apoptotic cells. In vitro tests show that this apoptosis probe has …

Making Software, Making Regions: Labor Market Dualization, Segmentation, And Feminization In Austin, Portland And Seattle, Dillon Mahmoudi

Dissertations and Theses

Through mixed-methods research, this dissertation details the regionally variegated and place-specific software production processes in three second-tier US software regions. I focus on the relationship between different industrial, firm, and worker production configurations and broad-based economic development, prosperity, and inequality. I develop four main empirical findings.

First, I argue for a periodization of software production that tracks with changes in software laboring activity, software technologies, and wage-employment relationships. Through a GIS-based method, I use the IPUMS-USA to extensively measure the amount and type of software labor in industries across the US between 1970 and 2015. I map the uneven geography …

Reference Data Set Of Volcanic Ash Physicochemical And Optical Properties, A. Vogel, S. Diplas, A. J. Durant, A. S. Azar, M. F. Sunding, William I. Rose, A. Sytchkova, C. Bonadonna, K. Krüger, A. Stohl

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

Uncertainty in the physicochemical and optical properties of volcanic ash particles creates errors in the detection and modeling of volcanic ash clouds and in quantification of their potential impacts. In this study, we provide a data set that describes the physicochemical and optical properties of a representative selection of volcanic ash samples from nine different volcanic eruptions covering a wide range of silica contents (50–80 wt % SiO₂). We measured and calculated parameters describing the physical (size distribution, complex shape, and dense-rock equivalent mass density), chemical (bulk and surface composition), and optical (complex refractive index from ultraviolet to …

Specifying And Testing Fiber Reinforced Shotcrete: Advances And Challenges, Antoine Gagnon, Marc Jolin

Shotcrete for Underground Support XIII: New Developments in Rock Engineering, Tunneling, Underground Space and Deep Excavation

Although fiber reinforced shotcrete (FRS) has been around for many years in the tunneling and mining industry, there are still difficulties in many areas to bring owners and specifiers to take full advantage of the properties of this material in their ground support programs. These difficulties are often associated with the fact that the technical information or material properties reported (such as energy absorption or cracking load) do not necessarily reflect the actual need of the ground support engineer. The paper first proposes an overview, and comparison, of the various methods used to characterize FRS. It then moves on and …

Design And Planned Obsolescence. Theories And Approaches For Designing Enabling Technologies, Matteo Zallio, Damon Berry

Articles

We are currently living in a decade where smart objects and Internet of Things (IoT)-based devices are becoming part of daily life in different contexts. This research seeks to investigate and verify, by using a formal literature review methodology, the most visible aspects of technological development, within the Industry 4.0 and IoT scenario, in relation to the theories of the so called “Planned Obsolescence”.

This study covers a defined number of works on Design theories and practices on how to face the issue of built-in obsolescence of devices in the era of the Connected Devices. The majority of the works …

A Bayesian Estimation Model For Transient Engine Exhaust Characterization Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, David Wilson, Casey Allen

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Comprehensive emissions models extensively use engine exhaust data from vehicle experiments to represent the relationship between fuel composition and pollutants. However, the predicted emissions from these models often neglect the effects of transients and speed-load history. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a high frequency measurement technique capable of comprehensive speciation. However, due to long residence times of exhaust within a FTIR spectrometer gas cell, FTIR measurements are contaminated by the effects of historical emissions, precluding the attainment of time-resolved engine exhaust data. This work presents a Bayesian estimation model for processing FTIR measurements to obtain accurate estimations of instantaneous …

Micro-Contacts Testing Using A Micro-Force Sensor Compatible With Biological Systems, Ronald A. Coutu Jr., Dushyant Tomer

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper presents the performance and reliability testing of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches by using a micro-force sensor which was originally designed/used to conduct mechanical testing of biological cells. MEMS switches are key components for radio frequency (RF) applications due to their extremely low power consumption and small geometries over conventional technologies. However, unstable electrical contact resistance severely degrades the performance and reliability of such micro-switches. Therefore, our focus is to improve the performance and reliability of “cold” switched micro-contacts by using novel contact materials and engineered micro-contact surfaces. The contact metallurgies considered in this work are “similar” thin film …