Engineering Commons^™

Effect Of Design Parameters On Thermal Performance Of A Vane Type Disc Brake Rotor, Yogesh Satish Dalal

Masters Theses

The ever-increasing need of effective transportation puts automobile manufacturers in a situation of continuous improvement and innovate the safety systems. The brake system of an automobile has always been considered as one of the most critical active safety systems. Thermal characteristics of the brake are an important aspect to consider for brake disc durability and performance. The convective cooling of a brake disc is an important factor since design changes in the brake rotor can significantly improve cooling characteristics. The focus of this research is to study and optimize the disc brake rotor for a given heat dissipation rate and …

Implementing Online Updating To Complex Hysteresis Models In Real- Time Hybrid Simulation Using Constrained Unscented Kalman Filter, Bilal Ahmed Mohammed

Masters Theses

Although conventional experimental methods, such as quasi-static testing, shake table testing, etc., perform well to evaluate structural seismic performance necessary for modern seismic design, the quasi-static loading and/or reduced scale specimen used in shake table testing may not provide true dynamic responses of structural systems. To overcome these limitations, real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) was developed, which is a combination of physical testing of the experimental substructure and analytical simulation of the numerical substructure. With the advancement of hybrid simulation, it is now possible to economically test large to full-scale specimens in laboratories at the real earthquake rate. Online model updating …

Rapid In Vivo Detection Of Rat Spinal Cord Injury With Double-Diffusion-Encoded Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Nathan P. Skinner, Shekar N. Kurpad, Brian D. Schmit, L. Tugan Muftuler, Matthew D. Budde

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

Diffusion-weighted imaging is a common experimental tool for evaluating spinal cord injury (SCI), yet it suffers from complications that decrease its clinical effectiveness. The most commonly used technique, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), is often confounded by effects of edema accompanying acute SCI, limiting its sensitivity to the important functional status marker of axonal integrity. The purpose of this study is to introduce a novel diffusion-acquisition method with the goal of overcoming these limitations.

Methods

A double diffusion encoding (DDE) pulse sequence was implemented with a diffusion-weighted filter orthogonal to the spinal cord for suppressing nonneural signals prior to diffusion …

How Student Written Communication Skills Benefit During Participation In An Industry-Sponsored Civil Engineering Capstone Course, Ryan N. Fries, Bradford Cross, Jianpeng Zhou, Chad Verbais

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Because many engineering programs use capstone design courses and value strong communication abilities, authors sought to identify how student written communication skills changed because of industry-sponsored capstone design projects. A student exit survey was collected at the end of the capstone design course during faculty-led projects and projects led by practicing engineers in industry. These results led the researchers to subsequently evaluate two semesters of before-andafter writing samples using a rubric. Student surveys suggested a statistically significant increase in learning about professional issues, problem solving, and written/oral communication. Evaluation of student writing samples suggests that the students significantly improved their …

White Matter Hyperintensity Associations With Cerebral Blood Flow In Elderly Subjects Stratified By Cerebrovascular Risk, Ahmed A. Bahrani, David K. Powell, Guoqiang Yu, Eleanor S. Johnson, Gregory A. Jicha, Charles D. Smith

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Objective: This study aims to add clarity to the relationship between deep and periventricular brain white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), cerebral blood flow (CBF), and cerebrovascular risk in older persons. Methods: Deep white matter hyperintensity (dWMH) and periventricular white matter hyperintensity (pWMH) and regional gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) blood flow from arterial spin labeling were quantified from magnetic resonance imaging scans of 26 cognitively normal elderly subjects stratified by cerebrovascular disease (CVD) risk. Fluidattenuated inversion recovery images were acquired using a high-resolution 3-dimensional (3-D) sequence that reduced partial volume effects seen with slicebased techniques. Results: dWMHs but not …

A Post-Accident Analysis Of Civil Remotely-Piloted Aircraft System Accidents And Incidents, Graham Wild, Kellie Gavin, John Murray, Jose Silva, Glenn Baxter

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

A sample of 152 accidents and incidents involving Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, more commonly referred to as "drones", have been analysed. The data was collected from a 10-year period, 2006 to 2015, conveniently sourced from a limited population owing to the scarcity of reports. Results indicate that safety occurrences involving Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) have a significantly different distribution of contributing factors when sorted into distinct categories. This provides a thorough and up-to-date characterization of the safety deficiencies specific to RPAS. In turn, this contributes to the development of adequate safety management systems applicable to the RPAS sector. The …

A Mechanistic-Empirical Impact Analysis Of Different Truck Configurations On A Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (Jpcp), Lubinda F. Walubita, Tito P. Nyamuhokya, Stefan A. Romanoschi, Xiaodi Hu, Mena I. Souliman

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Until the last decade, the 1993 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) design guide has been traditionally used for the design of flexible and rigid pavements in the USA and some parts of the world. However, because of its inability to meet the new traffic and material challenges, a Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) was introduced based on an NCHRP 1-37 A study conducted in 2004. This study used the MEPDG software and associated models to determine, through comparative truck damage analysis, the effects of nine different truck configurations on a 12 inch-jointed plain concrete pavement …

High Throughput In Vivo Analysis Of Plant Leaf Chemical Properties Using Hyperspectral Imaging, Piyush Pandey, Yufeng Ge, Vincent Stoerger, James C. Schnable

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The possibility of predicting plant leaf chemical properties using hyperspectral images was studied. Sixty maize and 60 soybean plants were used, and two experiments were conducted: one with water limitation and the second with nutrient limitation, with the purpose of creating wide ranges of these chemical properties in plant leaf tissues. A hyperspectral imaging system with a spectral range from 550 to 1700 nm was used to acquire plant images in a high throughput fashion (plants placed on an automated conveyor belt). Leaf chemical properties were measured in the laboratory. Partial least squares regression was implemented on spectral data to …

Genetic Code Expansion In Biochemical Investigations And Biomedical Applications, Nanxi Wang

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Genetic code expansion provides a powerful tool for site-specific incorporation of unnatural amino acids (unAAs) with novel biochemical and physiological properties into proteins in live cells and organisms. To achieve this, a nonsense codon suppression system, which consists of an orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS) and tRNA pair that specifically decodes a nonsense codon (e.g., amber codon and quadruplet codon) with an unAA but do not “cross talk” with their endogenous counterparts, was established. This Ph.D. thesis presents our efforts on evolution and application of nonsense codon suppression systems for biochemical and biomedical investigations.

In Chapter 1, a brief overview of …

Using Polymerization, Glass Structure, And Quasicrystalline Theory To Produce High Level Radioactive Borosilicate Glass Remotely: A 20+ Year Legacy, Carol M. Jantzen

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Vitrification is currently the most widely used technology for the treatment of high level radioactive wastes (HLW) throughout the world. Most of the nations that have generated HLW are immobilizing in borosilicate glass. One of the primary reasons that glass has become the most widely used immobilization media is the relative simplicity of the vitrification process, e.g. melt a highly variable waste with some glass forming additives such as SiO₂ and B₂O₃ in the form of a premelted frit and pour the molten mixture into a stainless steel canister. Seal the canister before moisture can enter …

Effects Of Light Intensity On Spatial Visualization Ability, Petros J. Katsioloudis ., Mildred Jones

STEMPS Faculty Publications

A plethora of technological advances have happened since artificial illumination was developed by Thomas Edison. Like technology has had an effect in many areas in the modern civilization it also made a difference in the classroom. Nowadays, students can have instruction in classrooms with no external windows, even during gloomy winter or rainy days, and virtually during any hour of the day. Several lightning devices are being used, ranging from energy efficient LEDs to fluorescent lighting. Some forms of lighting methods have been found to be inappropriate for prolonged exposure to the human eye such as various gas-discharge lamps that …

Emerging Pollutants In The Columbia River: A Simple Assessment Of Nonpoint Source Zones, Chulgi Kim

Civil and Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Water quality modeling in the Columbia River Basin was conducted at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, river mile 101. The study area for this research consists of Sauvie Island, OR, and the surrounding areas of Vancouver, WA. Analysis of the region’s watershed and simple hydrologic calculations allowed for estimates of potential sources contributing to PBDEs in the Columbia River along river mile 101. This research included assessment of rainfall patterns and peak discharge rates in the areas along the rivers. A simple model of overland flow for the watershed was applied to estimate the area’s contribution to …

Research: South Dakota State University, Spring 2017, Christie Delfanian, Emily Weber

State of Discovery South Dakota State University's Research Magazine

Pharmacy researcher investigates how aspirin kills cancer cells [page] 1
Problem-solving, cornerstone of SDSU research [page] 2
Fluid flow model evaluates clotting risk in new stent graft design [page] 2
Sanford research project inspires graduate student [page] 3
Experience key to nurses' comfort in communicating with terminally ill patients [page] 4
Nondigestible starch feeds gut microbes, reduces inflammation [page] 5
Researchers investigate workings if antibody therapeutics [page] 6
DNA, RNA sequencing available in campus to researchers statewide [page] 7
QUBIC-R software helps researchers model, visualize gene expression networks [page] 8
Scientists assess survival of swine viruses in imported feed ingredients …

Revisiting The One-Sided Ewma Control Chart Design, Duy Anh Duong-Tran

Masters Theses

Over the past half-century, Exponential Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) control charts have been widely used in Statistical Process Control to detect small and persistent process shifts. In theory, EWMA control limits monotonically increase over time to account for the continual growth of the EWMA statistic’s variance. These control limits are often assumed constant and are set to their respective asymptotic limits. While not theoretically correct, this simplifies the process of applying and analyzing the EWMA control chart while having little effect on the chart’s performance. One-Sided EWMA charts are often implemented when it is only desirable to detect shifts in …

Adopting Unmanned Flight Operations Into Controlled Airspace, Jennah C. Perry, Johnny Young, Jacqueline Luedtke, Benjamin Cook, Holly Hughes, Allison M. Little, Kyle Wilkerson

Publications

Unmanned aircraft activity is becoming more common within the National Airspace System (NAS) and is expected to dominate the NAS in the near future. Specific procedures for adopting unmanned aircraft into the National Airspace System (NAS).

A variation of the Military Grid Reference System was developed and digitally overlaid onto the radar display. To incorporate this grid system, a customized flight plan database was created for the storage of operator submitted flight plans. Instead of verbal communication, a computer chat system is used for communication because of the low altitude operations in the field.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has …

Dynamic Understeer Control Using Active Rear Toe, Mark Oliver Dixon Kaufman

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This thesis was conducted to show the ability of Active Rear Toe to control the understeer characteristics of a vehicle. Active rear toe is the ability to control the angle of the rear wheels around the vertical axis, allowing the car’s turning radius to change. By changing this radius, the lateral acceleration can be controlled, therefore the understeer of the vehicle can be controlled. The controls scheme is a sliding mode control, specifically a hyperbolic tangent boundary layer and a type 1 zeno controller. The system shows effectiveness to control the understeer of the vehicle up until limit grip on …

Feasibility Of Neural Networks For Maritime Visual Detection On A Mobile Platform, Robert Goring

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Object detection through computer vision has traditionally been difficult to reliably implement due to various lighting conditions caused by weather and time of day. Any changes in conditions can be detrimental to the detector’s ability to accurately identify objects. A modern approach implements deep learning techniques to classify and train a neural network. While highly effective, this approach can be cumbersome and computationally intensive. This project will investigate the feasibility of using deep learning to detect, classify, and track objects in near real-time while being processed on a mobile platform. I will investigate the feasibility of these processes on a …

The Extent Of Distraction Of Cell Phone Conversations For Passengers In Simulated Flight, Tianhua Li

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Currently, passengers are forbidden from making cell phone calls during flights in the United States due to cellular electronic interference. However, some related research has demonstrated that the use of cell phones has little interference with avionics. Furthermore, any potential electronic interference can be eliminated by using new technology. Although talking on the cell phone does not cause electronic interference, the distraction of a passenger caused by a cell phone may negatively impact safety. The cell phone calls have been found to affect people’s attention and performance. In-flight announcements are popular methods to inform commercial airliner passengers of their situation …

Effects Of Graphical Weather Information Versus Textual Weather Information On Situation Awareness In Meteorology, Stefan Melendez

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Prior to a flight, pilots gather meteorological information to assess the weather conditions pertaining to their flight and to make decisions based on it. This information can come in various formats, such as text and graphical weather information. Research has shown that people have varying learning preferences and that most people prefer visual learning to verbal learning (i.e., graphical over text). It is hypothesized that this difference in learning preference can affect the way pilots interpret and apply the information they obtain prior to their flight. The researcher hypothesizes that graphical weather information has a greater, more positive impact on …

Multi-Agent Path Planning For Locating A Radiating Source In An Unknown Environment, Stephanie M. Schwartz

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

A situation is addressed in which multiple autonomous agents are used to search an unknown environment for a target, the position and orientation of which is known with respect to each agent. A controlling framework is proposed to inform and coordinate the agents’ movements in order to reduce the time required to locate the target. Four primary variables are considered: the cost function used to select the agents’ paths, the number of agents in a given scenario, the distance over which the agents are assumed to communicate, and the size of the environment in which the agents are operating. It …

Securing Database Users From The Threat Of Sql Injection Attacks, Nisharg Shah

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

In the 21^st century, there has been a significant rise in dependency on the Internet for daily activities. Web applications such as online banking, web-based emails, social networking, and many more services have become an instant means of communication. These web applications and the data to which they have access are often targeted using malicious attacks, including SQL (Structured Query Language) Injection Attacks (from now on referenced as SQLIAs), which may cause serious damage. In particular, attackers use SQLIAs to target interactive web applications that incorporate database services. In a SQLIA, an attacker can insert malicious SQL code as …

Evaluation Of Tack Coating Practices For Asphalt Overlays In Nebraska, Soroosh Amelian, Yong-Rak Kim

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The strength of the bond between asphalt layers affects the lifespan of pavement structures. It is also a key factor in preventing major pavement distresses, such as slippage cracking and delamination. This research project evaluates and compares the effectiveness and performance of different tack coating approaches to ensure the proper bond strength is achieved in asphalt concrete (AC) interlayers through an experimental study. Various tack coat materials, including different types of emulsified asphalt and asphalt binders, at multiple application rates and dilution ratios were investigated. In the first part of this study, laboratory-prepared samples were used to evaluate the sensitivity …

Biomass Cookstoves: An Empirical Study Into The Relationship Between Thermal Efficiency And Tending Practices For The Developing World, Erin Peiffer

Honors Theses

More than 2 billion people in the world use biomass stoves for cooking and heating their homes. Due to incomplete combustion, toxic byproducts such as soot, nitrous oxides and carbon monoxide gasses form. These toxic substances contribute to pollution and can lead to serious health issues over time if inhaled leading to approximately 4 million premature deaths each year. The formation of these toxic substances can be mitigated, in part, through the introduction of increased turbulence intensity allowing for the so-called “well-stirred combustion regime”. Here we will be exploring the health, environmental, and social effects of biomass combustion in the …

Evaluation Of Protection Of Frp Wrap On Bridge Piers From Corrosive Effects Of Snow And Ice Chemicals, Lizzie Miller

Honors Theses

Highway bridge components, such as decks and piers, are structures that are often exposed to chlorine-heavy chemicals. Corrosion of rebar, one of the main contributors to structural deficiencies in highway bridges, is largely caused by chloride contamination from exposure to deicing salts and chemicals. Current forms of external protection to highway bridge piers include paint coatings, shells, and wraps. This thesis will focus on the protective capabilities that Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) wraps could provide to bridge piers. ASTM C666 was utilized to recreate environmental conditions, during which concrete samples were exposed to calcium chloride. ASTM C1760-12 was utilized to …

Design Of An Opposed-Piston, Opposed-Stroke Diesel Engine For Use In Utility Aircraft, Luke Kozal

Honors Theses

The objective of this thesis was to determine the feasibility of using an opposed-piston, opposed-stroke, diesel engine in utility aircraft. Utility aircraft are aircraft that have a maximal takeoff weight of 12,500lbs. These aircraft are often used for transportation of cargo and other goods. In order to handle that weight, many of the aircraft are powered by turboprop engines. Turboprop engines are a style of jet engine with power capabilities ranging from 500 to several thousand horsepower (hp). They are expensive engines, and in the case of the Piper Mirage, substituting the piston engine with a turboprop engine can increase …

Development Of An Effective Portable And Flexible Glove For Hand Tremor Suppression, Abdulrahem Turkistani

Masters Theses

This paper presents the work carried out in designing and developing a prototype for a tremor suppression system that reduces hand tremor by counteracting vibrations initiated from a patient’s shaking hand. This system includes a glove with a built-in vibration simulation module that oscillates and mimics the hand vibration. The oscillation is generated by a DC motor mounted on the top of the glove, and can vary in degree of vibration. The glove is also equipped with an accelerometer-gyroscope based micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) and vibrating coin motors mounted on each finger, both interfaced with a microcontroller. The microcontroller used in …

Superpositioning High Power Lasers For Mid-Air Image Formations, Auston Viotto

UCARE: Research Products

This research evaluates different methods to create voxels, 3-dimensional pixels, in air without the need for special glasses or reflections off of surfaces. Research on the advantages of superimposing or the culmination, focusing, of laser light will be conducted. The point of superpositioning/culmination will be evaluated by the brightness of the voxel due to the Rayleigh Scatter Effect. The voxel’s brightness is dependent on the laser output strength and inversely proportional to its wavelength. Once a superimposed/culminated voxel has been created in the lab the next step will be to manipulate the location of the voxel through 3-dimensional space. This …

Study Of A High-Efficient Wide-Bandgap Dc-Dc Power Converter For Solar Power Integration, Yashwanth Bezawada

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This research focuses on the design and analysis of a Boost cascaded Buck-Boost (BoCBB) power converter with super high efficiency in electric power conversion. The BoCBB power converter is based on emerging wide-bandgap silicon-carbide (SiC) MOSFETs and Schottky diodes, which have only 1/6 times of power loss in traditional silicon power semiconductor devices. The BoCBB power converter can be widely applied in solar harvesting for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), military bases and electric utilities, as well as high-power DC motor drives for the electric vehicles, robotics, and manufacturing and product lines.

This research analyzed the topology and …

Development Of An Atlas-Based Segmentation Of Cranial Nerves Using Shape-Aware Discrete Deformable Models For Neurosurgical Planning And Simulation, Sharmin Sultana

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Twelve pairs of cranial nerves arise from the brain or brainstem and control our sensory functions such as vision, hearing, smell and taste as well as several motor functions to the head and neck including facial expressions and eye movement. Often, these cranial nerves are difficult to detect in MRI data, and thus represent problems in neurosurgery planning and simulation, due to their thin anatomical structure, in the face of low imaging resolution as well as image artifacts. As a result, they may be at risk in neurosurgical procedures around the skull base, which might have dire consequences such as …

Optimal Ship Maintenance Scheduling Under Restricted Conditions And Constrained Resources, Vi Hong Nguyen

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The research presented in this dissertation addresses the application of evolution algorithms, i.e. Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Differential Evolution algorithm (DE) to scheduling problems in the presence of restricted conditions and resource limitations. This research is motivated by the scheduling of engineering design tasks in shop scheduling problems and ship maintenance scheduling problems to minimize total completion time. The thesis consists of two major parts; the first corresponds to the first appended paper and deals with the computational complexity of mixed shop scheduling problems. A modified Genetic algorithm is proposed to solve the problem. Computational experiments, conducted to evaluate its …