Engineering Commons^™

Efficacy Of Smart Pv Inverter As A Strategic Mitigator Of Network Harmonic Resonance And A Suppressor Of Temporary Overvoltage Phenomenon In Distribution Systems, Shriram Srinivasarangan Rangarajan

All Dissertations

The research work explores the design of Smart PV inverters in terms of modelling and investigates the efficacy of a Smart PV inverter as a strategic mitigator of network harmonic resonance phenomenon and a suppressor of Temporary Overvoltage (TOV) in distribution systems. The new application and the control strategy of Smart PV inverters can also be extended to SmartPark-Plug in Electric Vehicles as the grid becomes smarter.

As the grid is becoming smarter, more challenges are encountered with the integration of PV plants in distribution systems. Smart PV inverters nowadays are equipped with specialized controllers for exchanging reactive power with …

Mitigating Accumulation Of Aeolian Dust Particles On Solar Power Generator Panels Without Water, Sanjana Das

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Accumulation of dust on solar panels poses a serious problem as it can significantly reduce light absorption and electrical energy output. Several factors affect the dust accumulation such as location, dust properties, wind velocity, system orientation, ambient temperature, humidity, and panel surface properties. Experimental and theoretical studies show that short circuit current and maximum power output of photovoltaic panels reduce approximately linearly with dust concentration. Incidentally, the locations with higher solar energy concentrations are also arid or semi-arid regions with higher dust concentrations. In order to avoid loss in power output, most PV installations perform periodic panel cleaning with water. …

Investigations Into The Airside Cooling Of A Heat Exchanger, David Vallet

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this study we investigate the air-side cooling of a flat-plate fin and tube heat transfer condenser with numerical simulations. A new design is proposed which utilises vortex generators to direct the flow in such a way as to remove some of the stagnant heated air that collects in the wake of the pipes. A comparative study of the proposed design and a standard tube and fin condenser is conducted by varying the air side entrance velocities. The Shear Stress Tension, SST $\kappa - \omega$ 2-equation turbulent model is used to solve the RANS model in ANSYS Fluent 18. The …

Rotary Pump Speed Modulation To Produce Pulsatile Flow And Ventricular Volume Unloading., Connor Joseph Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Continuous-flow (CF) left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have gained widespread clinical acceptance as a treatment option for advanced heart failure (HF); however, they have also been associated with an increased risk of adverse events, including gastrointestinal bleeding, aortic insufficiency, and hemorrhagic stroke. It has been hypothesized that the increase in adverse event incidence may be due in part to diminished vascular pulsatility and high shear stress when CF-LVADs are operated at fixed speeds. Previous studies have shown that pump speed modulation generates greater levels of pulsatility in rotary pumps than when operated at fixed speeds. The objective of this …

Human-Centered Design Of An Air Quality Feedback System To Promote Healthy Cooking, Chantal Iribagiza

Dissertations and Theses

Household air pollution (HAP) is responsible for almost 4 million premature deaths every year, a burden that is primarily carried by women and children in developing countries. The mortality and morbidity impact of HAP can be significantly alleviated through clean cookstove interventions. However, for these interventions to be effective, the new intervention stove must be a substantially cleaner technology and adoption should be high and sustained over time.

Woody biomass is the fuel of choice in many developing communities, and contributes substantially to HAP. Several organizations have launched clean cooking interventions to address this issue. However, the majority of those …

Including Farmer Irrigation Behavior In A Sociohydrological Modeling Framework With Application In North India, Jimmy O’Keeffe, Simon Moulds, Emma Bergin, Nick Brozovic, Ana Mijic, Wouter Buytaert

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Understanding water user behavior and its potential outcomes is important for the development of suitable water resource management options. Computational models are commonly used to assist water resource management decision making; however, while natural processes are increasingly well modeled, the inclusion of human behavior has lagged behind. Improved representation of irrigation water user behavior within models can provide more accurate and relevant information for irrigation management in the agricultural sector. This paper outlines a model that conceptualizes and proceduralizes observed farmer irrigation practices, highlighting impacts and interactions between the environment and behavior. It is developed using a bottom-up approach, informed …

Huron-To-Erie Water Quality Data Platform, Lanyu Xu, Carol J. Miller, James Olson, Michael Beaulac

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research Publications

To address the challenges of environmental degradation, creation of a sustainable urban environment, and increased public engagement and awareness, a mass-oriented, user-friendly and cloud-based data platform has been developed and deployed to provide integrative water quality data in one of the most critical urban corridors of the Laurentian Great Lakes system. In this paper, we describe the data platform developed for the watershed and connecting channels between Lake Huron and Lake Erie, including the St. Clair River, Lake St. Chair, and the Detroit River. This data platform greatly facilitates the access of data across data providers and agencies. Several example …

Design For Maintainability In Developing Communities—A Case Study On The Uros Islands, Thomas Barlow

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Designing products for developing communities has exposed many of the underlying assumptions that engineers from developed nations have during the design process. There has been much written about these underlying assumptions in order to create a better framework for designing for developing communities. One unexplored, yet important area is the universality of common maintainability principles used in developed countries when designing products used in developing communities. Such principles include: simplicity, diagnosability, standardization of parts, modular subassemblies, minimizing assembly and disassembly parts, labeling components, increased life of moving parts, manuals, and simplifying tools needed for repairs [1]–[3]. The purpose of this …

Illuminator, Volume 1, Issue 10, Batten College Of Engineering & Technology, Old Dominion University

College of Engineering & Technology Newsletter

Summer 2018 issue of Illuminator, a monthly publication of ODU's Batten College of Engineering and Technology.

Surgical And Medical Applications Of Drones: A Comprehensive Review, James C. Rosser, Vudatha Vignesh, Brent A. Terwilliger, Brett C. Parker

Publications

Background: Drones have the ability to gather real time data cost effectively, to deliver payloads and have initiated the rapid evolution of many industrial, commercial, and recreational applications. Unfortunately, there has been a slower expansion in the field of medicine. This article provides a comprehensive review of current and future drone applications in medicine, in hopes of empowering and inspiring more aggressive investigation. Database: A literature search was performed by EBSCO (Elton B. Stephens Company) Discovery Service, searching the phrases "drones," "UAV," "unmanned aerial vehicles," "UAS," and "unmanned aerial systems." A second search was used to identify sources that contained …

Surgical And Medical Applications Of Drones: A Comprehensive Review, Brent Terwilliger, James C. Rosser Jr., Vudatha Vignesh, Brett C. Parker

Publications

Drones have the ability to gather real time data cost effectively, to deliver payloads and have initiated the rapid evolution of many industrial, commercial, and recreational applications. Unfortunately, there has been a slower expansion in the field of medicine. This article provides a comprehensive review of current and future drone applications in medicine, in hopes of empowering and inspiring more aggressive investigation.

Experience Constructing The Artifact Genome Project (Agp): Managing The Domain's Knowledge One Artifact At A Time, Cinthya Grajeda, Laura Sanchez, Ibrahim Baggili, Devon R. Clark, Frank Breitinger

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

While various tools have been created to assist the digital forensics community with acquiring, processing, and organizing evidence and indicating the existence of artifacts, very few attempts have been made to establish a centralized system for archiving artifacts. The Artifact Genome Project (AGP) has aimed to create the largest vetted and freely available digital forensics repository for Curated Forensic Artifacts (CuFAs). This paper details the experience of building, implementing, and maintaining such a system by sharing design decisions, lessons learned, and future work. We also discuss the impact of AGP in both the professional and academic realms of digital forensics. …

Modelling Transport Of Nitrogen Compounds In Geita Wetland Along Mtakuja River, Ezrael Masawe

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The impacts of excessive nitrogen loading to streams in a watershed occur in the receiving waters such as rivers at the outlet of the watershed. To quantify the impacts of land use and management practices on the nitrogen loading at the watershed outlet, simulation models are needed that can both predict the nitrogen loading at the edge of individual fields and predict the fate of nitrogen as it moves through the river network to the watershed outlet. This paper presents the results of a model analysis for describing the processes governing transformations and transport of nitrogen compounds (NO3-N and NH4-N) …

Analysis Of Drought Using Meteorological And Microwave Remote Sensed Data: A Case Of Wami Watershed, Tanzania, Deogratias Mulungu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Agricultural sector is important for the economy of Tanzania, but in recent years there is decline in its growth and performance because of persistent droughts. An in-depth study of droughts was conducted on Wami watershed through rainfall and satellite microwave remote sensing data leading for estimates of meteorological droughts and soil moisture based droughts, respectively. Rainfall data during 1973-2008 was used to obtain Drought Severity Index (DSI) and active imaging microwave radar data during 1997-2009 from ESA’s SAR missions of ENVISAT and ERS was used to obtain soil moisture anomalies (SMA). Soil map was used to explain discrepancies in droughts …

What Does Hidden Curriculum In Engineering Look Like And How Can It Be Explored?, Idalis Villanueva, Laura Gelles, Marialuisa Di Stefano, Buffy Smith, Renetta G. Tull, Susan M. Lord, Lisa Benson, Anne Therese Hunt, Donna M. Riley, Gery W. Ryan

Engineering Education Faculty Publications

This work in progress paper describes the initial stages of a project which aims to characterize the mechanisms of hidden curriculum (HC) in engineering and identify methods for exploring this phenomenon. To effectively study the complex nature of HC, this work brings together researchers with a range of expertise (sociology, engineering education, engineering, statistics, policy analysis, curriculum and instruction) to develop a holistic approach to explore HC in engineering. This work describes the process of gathering input from this multidisciplinary team as well as the literature to develop a mixed-method instrument and model to explore the mechanisms behind HC in …

A Vaccine For Ebola Virus – Approaches And Results Of Accelerated Process Development And Characterization Studies, Randi Saunders, Joseph P Califano, Dusan Ruzic, Kristin Valente

Vaccine Technology VII

In 2014, West Africa experienced the worst outbreak of Ebola virus in history with 10 times more cases than in all previous outbreaks combined. In response to this public health emergency, MSD and a global network of partners collaborated to speed the research, development, and deployment of a candidate vaccine that ultimately provided the first evidence of efficacy in human subjects for any Ebola vaccine. While work continues to ultimately license the candidate vaccine, a risk-based approach to process development and characterization was used to accelerate and prioritize the study of parameters. Risk was evaluated by experts familiar with unit …

High-Titer Rapid Response Platform For Epidemic Preparedness, José Castillo

Vaccine Technology VII

Recent epidemics & pandemics have exposed serious flaws in global response to infectious disease outbreaks, as no vaccine were available to stop the diseases, due to limited market incentive.

New initiatives, such as the CEPI “Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations” are focusing on accelerating vaccine development for priority disease and ensuring their global availability.

In this light, Univercells is dedicated to designing novel biomanufacturing technologies to accommodate new products at short notice.

Univercells innovative manufacturing concept is designed to enable the rapid generation of potent vaccine candidates against a broad spectrum of targets, with the capacity to rapidly scale-up and …

Development Of A Vaccine Production Platform For Poultry Diseases In Africa: Newcastle Disease Virus Non-Replicative Adenovirus-Vectored Vaccine, Omar Farnos, Amine Kamen, Héla Kallel, Khaled Trabelsi, Martha Yami, Esayas Gelaye

Vaccine Technology VII

Poultry are a vital village livestock playing an important economic and nutritional role in the livelihoods of poor rural households in developing countries, including the Sub-Saharan Africa. Poultry production in Africa is threatened by infectious diseases such as Newcastle Disease (ND), which is highly contagious and endemic, with recurrent outbreaks that provoke heavy losses every year. ND is caused by the Newcastle disease virus (NDV), a negative-sense single-stranded RNA virus from the genus Avulavirus, family Paramyxoviridae. In particular, ND is one of the major problems in village chickens in most parts of Ethiopia where commercial poultry is routinely vaccinated …

Conference Program, Amine Kamen, Tarit Mukhopadhyay, Charles Lutsch, Nathalie Garçon

Vaccine Technology VII

No abstract provided.

An Outbreed Mouse Model Of Yellow Fever For Study Of Pathogenesis And Development Of Vaccines And Therapeutics, Yakhya Dieye, Moussa Dia, André Bedekelabou, Ousmane Faye

Vaccine Technology VII

Yellow fever (YF) is a mosquito-borne viral disease that is endemic in several African and South American countries. YF virus (YFV) causes subclinical infections with mild and non-specific symptoms, to severe, potentially lethal illness with jaundice, hemorrhage, and renal failure. Despite the existence of safe and efficient vaccines, epidemics continue to occur, mostly in Africa where the burden of YF is estimated to represent 1.7 million annual cases and up to 80,000 deaths per year. Moreover, emergence of YF has been reported in new, previously unaffected areas, because of the introduction of the mosquito vectors into these lands. There is …

Hedhi Help, Sarah Pagnani, Kelsey Pasco, Brandon Smith, Sarek Sotelo-Jimenez

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

A culture of social taboos and silence leaves many young women beginning menarche in isolation, without complete understanding of the changes occurring in their bodies. There is a widespread stigma surrounding menstruation all around the world. These stigma impose significant barriers to education and proper hygiene for young girls during a critical time in their lives. Not having the proper support and resources to manage this process, 1 in 10 girls in sub-Saharan Africa miss school during their period, and therefore are more likely to drop out altogether. In Kenya specifically, menstruating girls miss an average of 4.9 days of …

Caregiver Perception And The Role Of Seasonality In Under-Five Childhood Diarrhea Incidence In Svay Rieng Province, Cambodia, Brian S. Wells

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Diarrheal disease has long been known to be a burden to children worldwide. Although child mortality rates as a result of diarrhea have decreased over the past two decades, overall diarrhea incidence has remained relatively stable. In Cambodia, diarrhea was the third most prevalent outpatient diagnosis for children under five in 2012, with a reported incidence rate of 12 per 100 children, up from 7 per 100 children in 2008 (Ministry of Planning Cambodia, 2012). Cambodia is an agricultural country with 80% of the population living in rural areas (National Institute of Statistics Ministry of Planning, 2013). Many are also …

Virtual Museum For Nacha, Sonali Chaudhry, Alisa Hawthorne

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Our team worked with the Nso’ Arts and Cultural Heritage Association and created a virtual museum in order to increase awareness of the unique culture of the Nso’ people in Cameroon, Africa. A lot of information from this region is in danger of being lost due to political tension and poor artifact conservation, and many people, including the Cameroonian youth, are not prioritizing the preservation of their culture and history. Creating a website where individuals can view the art, history, and culture found in Cameroon is the best way to increase the availability of knowledge of the Nso’ people. Such …

Eurasian Rail Freight In The One Belt One Road Era, Hans-Joachim Schramm, Xu Zhang

Conference Papers

This paper presents an overview of the recent development of Eurasian rail freight in the One Belt, One Road Era and further evaluates its service quality in terms of transit times and transport costs compared to other transport modes in containerised supply chains between Europe and China. A trade-off model of transit time and transport costs based on quantitative data from primary as well as secondary sources is developed to demonstrate the market niche for Eurasian rail freight vis-a-vis the more established modes of transport of sea, air, and sea/air. In a scenario analysis, further goods attributes influencing modal choice …

Sensitivity Of Atmospheric Aerosol Scavenging To Precipitation Intensity And Frequency In The Context Of Global Climate Change, Pei Hou, Shiliang Wu, Jessica L. Mccarty, Yang Gao

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Wet deposition driven by precipitation is an important sink for atmospheric aerosols and soluble gases. We investigate the sensitivity of atmospheric aerosol lifetimes to precipitation intensity and frequency in the context of global climate change. Our sensitivity model simulations, through some simplified perturbations to precipitation in the GEOS-Chem model, show that the removal efficiency and hence the atmospheric lifetime of aerosols have significantly higher sensitivities to precipitation frequencies than to precipitation intensities, indicating that the same amount of precipitation may lead to different removal efficiencies of atmospheric aerosols. Combining the long-term trends of precipitation patterns for various regions with the …

Assessment Of Soil Erosion Vulnerability In The Heavily Populated And Ecologically Fragile Communities In Motozintla De Mendoza, Chiapas, Mexico, Selene González-Morales, Alex Mayer, Neptalí Ramírez-Marcial

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Variability in physical rates and local knowledge of soil erosion was assessed across six rural communities in the Sierra Madre del Sur, Chiapas, Mexico. The average erosion rate estimated using the RUSLE model is 274 t ha-1 yr-1, with the estimated erosion rates ranging from 28 to 717 t ha-1 yr-1. These very high erosion rates are associated with high rainfall erosivity (17 000 MJ mm ha-1 h-1 yr-1) and steep slopes (mean slope Combining double low line 67 %). Many of the highest soil erosion rates are found in communities that are dominated by forestland, but where most of …

Process Intervention For Water Recovery In Food Manufacture, Christian Michael Wisniewski

Theses and Dissertations

A case study has been conducted for the recovery of water from complex wastewater at a soluble coffee manufacturing factory. The study has evaluated separation methods for process intervention based on environmental and economic assessments. Water recovery was identified in two possible wastewater streams at the factory: the overall plant effluent and an intermediate stream before it enters on-site pre-treatment. A novel vibratory field membrane separation was tested at the laboratory scale using real factory wastewater and scaled-up using appropriate design protocols. Recovery of water from the intermediate stream proved the most effective, both environmentally and economically. The full-scale vibratory …

Recent Trends In The Frequency And Duration Of Global Floods, Nasser Najibi, Naresh Devineni

Publications and Research

Frequency and duration of floods are analyzed using the global flood database of the Dartmouth Flood Observatory (DFO) to explore evidence of trends during 1985–2015 at global and latitudinal scales. Three classes of flood duration (i.e., short: 1–7, moderate: 8–20, and long: 21 days and above) are also considered for this analysis. The nonparametric Mann–Kendall trend analysis is used to evaluate three hypotheses addressing potential monotonic trends in the frequency of flood, moments of duration, and frequency of specific flood duration types. We also evaluated if trends could be related to large-scale atmospheric teleconnections using a generalized linear model framework. …

Framework Integrating Climate Model, Hydrology, And Water Footprint To Measure The Impact Of Climate Change On Water Scarcity In Lesotho, Africa, John W. Pryor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water scarcity is a problem that will be exacerbated by climate change. Being able to model the effect of climate change on water scarcity is important to effectively plan the use of future water resources. This research integrated the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), climate model, and water footprint analysis to measure the impact of climate change on future water scarcity. This was achieved through two objectives. The first objective was to create a modeling framework that links the output from climate model to SWAT and combined streamflow outputs from SWAT with water footprint analysis to measure how climate …

Wind/Hydro Generator Simulator, Michael Timothy Djaja, Christopher James Rotsios

Electrical Engineering

The intention of this project is to make it easier for people without reliable access to electricity to implement their own sources of electrical generation. The ability to simulate different sources of generation allows people in need to find what source of generation will most properly meet their electricity needs. The goal of this project was to provide a wind or water flow profile from any area in the world and output a corresponding amount of power that would be expected from a small-scale wind or hydro generator. Due to difficulties with the microcontroller and incorrect sizing of components, this …