Engineering Commons^™

Telemetry Subsystem With Higher Access Duration For Leo Satellites, Jose L. Garcia

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Jose L. Garcia on September 10, 2018.

Spectrum- And Energy-Efficient Radio Resource Allocation For Wireless Communications, Shengjie Guo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Wireless communications has been evolved significantly over the last decade. During this period, higher quality of service (QoS) requirements have been proposed to support various services. In addition, due to the increasing number of wireless devices and transmission, the energy consumption of the wireless networks becomes a burden. Therefore, the energy efficiency is considered as important as spectrum efficiency for future wireless communications networks, and spectrum and energy efficiency have become essential research topics in wireless communications. Moreover, due to the exploding of number mobile devices, the limited radio resources have become more and more scarce. With large numbers of …

A Biomechanical Comparison Of A Low-Profile Mesh Plate Contrasted With Tension Band Wiring Treatment Of Olecranon Fractures And Osteotomies, Jasmin Regalado

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Olecranon fractures are common upper extremity injuries caused by direct trauma to the elbow. Open reduction and internal fixation is the current standard for olecranon fractures that exceed a 2 mm fragment displacement. The tension band wire (TBW) technique is the current standard of care for treating olecranon fractures due to its positive clinical results. However, the complication rate due to prominent hardware is reported to be upwards of 50\%. This research aims to biomechanically test and compare the stiffness and fracture gap of the traditional TBW technique to a low-profile titanium mesh plate (TMP) for chevron-type fractures and osteotomies …

Rapid Biosensor Screening Blood And Urine, Rebecca Whitney Bills, Dr. Bradley Bundy

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) have led to worldwide health problems, including cancers, developmental disorders, and reproductive disorders. A recent study estimates that annual health and economic costs caused by EDCs in the European Union is $200 Billion and that the costs are even greater in the US (1). This is largely due to the extensive number of undetected Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) that we come into contact with on a daily basis. EDCs have been found in dietary, environmental, and household chemicals. Despite this only a handful of EDCs have been characterized. The purpose of this project is to optimize …

Refining Statistical Magnesium Models Via Machine Learning, Andrew Orme, Dr. David Fullwood

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Magnesium is a potential replacement for steels and aluminum in strength applications. Despite desirable strength and weight properties, magnesium is costly to manufacture. To reduce manufacturing costs, extensive research has been done on is a phenomenon called twinning, where a large group of magnesium atoms collectively reorient from a base orientation to a new orientation. This reorientation caused by twinning has the potential to enable easier material deformation, allowing for less costly manufacturing. Our research group pursued a novel approach to twinning research by using data mining and machine learning algorithms. Data collected from samples of magnesium using a scanning …

Investigating The Agricultural Applications Of Acryl Amide Based Hydrogel, Hany A. Elazab Dr

Chemical Engineering

Hydrogel is classified as one of the most effective materials due to its widely used applications either in tissue or agriculture engineering. This scientific research aims to investigate the potential applications of hydrogels in the field of desert agriculture in dry places. In this research hydrogel was prepared under several conditions in order to evaluate and optimize the conditions. The research included optimiz-ing several factors including cross-linking agent, water temperatures and pH. The potential agricultural applications of hydrogel were also investigated.

End-To-End Convolutional Neural Network Model For Gear Fault Diagnosis Based On Sound Signals, Yong Yao, Honglei Wang, Shaobo Li, Zhongnhao Liu, Gui Gui, Yabo Dan, Jianjun Hu

Faculty Publications

Currently gear fault diagnosis is mainly based on vibration signals with a few studies on acoustic signal analysis. However, vibration signal acquisition is limited by its contact measuring while traditional acoustic-based gear fault diagnosis relies heavily on prior knowledge of signal processing techniques and diagnostic expertise. In this paper, a novel deep learning-based gear fault diagnosis method is proposed based on sound signal analysis. By establishing an end-to-end convolutional neural network (CNN), the time and frequency domain signals can be fed into the model as raw signals without feature engineering. Moreover, multi-channel information from different microphones can also be fused …

Self-Cleaning Nanocomposite Membranes With Phosphorene-Based Pore Fillers For Water Treatment, Joyner Eke, Katherine Elder, Isabel Escobar

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Phosphorene is a two-dimensional material exfoliated from bulk phosphorus and it possesses a band gap. Specifically, relevant to the field of membrane science, the band gap of phosphorene provides it with potential photocatalytic properties, which could be explored in making reactive membranes that can self-clean. The goal of this study was to develop an innovative and robust membrane that is able to control and reverse fouling with minimal changes in membrane performance. To this end, for the first time, membranes have been embedded with phosphorene. Membrane modification was verified by the presence of phosphorus on membranes, along with changes in …

Hydrodeoxygenation Of Aqueous Phase Catalytic Pyrolysis Oil To Liquid Hydrocarbons Using Multi-Functional Nickel Catalyst, Hossein Jahromi, Foster A. Agblevor

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Herein we investigated the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of aqueous phase pinyon-juniper catalytic pyrolysis oil (APPJCPO) using a new multifunctional red mud-supported nickel (Ni/RM) catalyst. The organic liquid yield after HDO of APPJCPO using 30 wt. % Ni/RM at reaction temperature of 350 °C was 47.8 wt. % with oxygen content of 1.14 wt. %. The organic liquid fraction consisted of aliphatics, aromatics, and alkylated aromatic hydrocarbons as well as small amounts of oxygenates. The RM support catalyzed ketonization of carboxylic acids. The Ni metal catalyzed partial reduction of oxygenates that underwent carbonyl alkylation with aldehydes and ketones on the RM. Catalyst …

Pfix: Fixing Concurrency Bugs Based On Memory Access Patterns, Huarui Lin, Zan Wang, Shuang Liu, Jun Sun, Dongdi Zhang, Guangning Wei

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Concurrency bugs of a multi-threaded program may only manifest with certain scheduling, i.e., they are heisenbugs which are observed only from time to time if we execute the same program with the same input multiple times. They are notoriously hard to fix. In this work, we propose an approach to automatically fix concurrency bugs. Compared to previous approaches, our key idea is to systematically fix concurrency bugs by inferring locking policies from failure inducing memory-access patterns. That is, we automatically identify memory-access patterns which are correlated with the manifestation of the bug, and then conjecture what is the intended locking …

Coal With Carbon Capture And Sequestration Is Not As Land Use Efficient As Solar Photovoltaic Technology For Climate Neutral Electricity Production, James Gunnar Groesbeck, Joshua M. Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Avoiding climate destabilization caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, requires climate-neutral electricity sources. It has been proposed that the GHG emissions from coal-fired power plants can be offset by carbon capture and sequestration or bio-sequestration. However, solar photovoltaic (PV) technology has recently declined so far in costs it now offers both technical and economic potential to offset all of coal-fired electricity use. PV only emits GHGs during fabrication and not during use. To determine which technical solution to climate-neutral electricity generation should be preferred, this study aggregates and synthesizes life cycle analysis studies for exergy, GHG emissions and land transformation …

The Adoption Of A Design Build Approach In Retrofit Projects – A Descriptive Case Study, Lloyd Scott

Conference papers

The delivery Design Build projects across the built environment in Ireland has begun to take significant shape. There are many examples of the traditional are moving towards more collaborative practices. There exists support for the integration of a design build project approach in the retrofit realm where designer, client and developer can work collaboratively. As with the regular design build process the intent behind this collaborative approach is to encourage those associated with the built environment to consider how retrofit design and construction can contribute positively to addressing elements of climate change and the design build process. The opportunity to …

Individualized Clinical Practice Guidelines For Pressure Injury Management: Development Of An Integrated Multi-Modal Biomedical Information Resource, Kathie M. Bogie, Guo-Qiang Zhang, Steven K. Roggenkamp, Ningzhou Zeng, Jacinta Seton, Shiqiang Tao, Arielle L. Bloostein, Jiayang Sun

Institute for Biomedical Informatics Faculty Publications

Background: Pressure ulcers (PU) and deep tissue injuries (DTI), collectively known as pressure injuries are serious complications causing staggering costs and human suffering with over 200 reported risk factors from many domains. Primary pressure injury prevention seeks to prevent the first incidence, while secondary PU/DTI prevention aims to decrease chronic recurrence. Clinical practice guidelines (CPG) combine evidence-based practice and expert opinion to aid clinicians in the goal of achieving best practices for primary and secondary prevention. The correction of all risk factors can be both overwhelming and impractical to implement in clinical practice. There is a need to develop practical …

Gold-Catalyzed Conversion Of Lignin To Low Molecular Weight Aromatics, Yang Song, Justin K. Mobley, Ali Hussain Motagamwala, Mark Isaacs, James E. Dumesic, John Ralph, Adam F. Lee, Karen Wilson, Mark Crocker

Chemistry Faculty Publications

A heterogeneous catalyst system, employing Au nanoparticles (NPs) and Li–Al (1 : 2) layered double hydroxide (LDH) as support, showed excellent activity in aerobic oxidation of the benzylic alcohol group in β-O-4 linked lignin model dimers to the corresponding carbonyl products using molecular oxygen under atmospheric pressure. The synergistic effect between Au NPs and the basic Li–Al LDH support induces further reaction of the oxidized model compounds, facilitating facile cleavage of the β-O-4 linkage. Extension to oxidation of γ-valerolactone (GVL) extracted lignin and kraft lignin using Au/Li–Al LDH under similar conditions produced a range of aromatic monomers in high yield. …

How Much Is Too Much? Usu Engineer Develops Online Snow Load Tool, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

A Utah State University professor of civil engineering has developed an online tool that estimates snow load requirements for new construction of homes and buildings.

Decoupling Of Multi-Element Mimo Antennas, Min Li, L. (Lijun) J. Jiang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An efficient decoupling technique for multi-element MIMO antennas is proposed in this paper. A general model of using parasitic decoupling structure (PDS) to satisfy the criterions derived from antenna impedances for perfect isolation is presented. A prototype of three monopole antennas is realized on a Rogers PCB for demonstration purpose. The simulation results show that good impedance matching and high port isolation are achieved simultaneously.

Belt-Driven Open Source Circuit Mill Using Low-Cost 3-D Printer Components, Shane W. Oberloier, Joshua M. Pearce

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Publications

Barriers to inventing electronic devices involve challenges of iterating electronic designs due to long lead times for professional circuit board milling or high costs of commercial milling machines. To overcome these barriers, this study provides open source (OS) designs for a low-cost circuit milling machine. First, design modifications for mechanical and electrical subsystems of the OS Distributed 3-D (D3D) Robotics prototyping system are provided. Next, Copper Carve, an OS custom graphical user interface, is developed to enable circuit board milling by implementing backlash and substrate distortion compensation. The performance of the OS D3D circuit mill is then quantified and validated …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Controlled Nitric Oxide Release From S-Nitroso-N-Acetyl-D-Penicillamine Covalently Linked To Polyvinyl Chloride (Snap-Pvc), Sean Hopkins, Megan C. Frost

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is one of the most widely used polymers in medicine but has very poor biocompatibility when in contact with tissue or blood. To increase biocompatibility, controlled release of nitric oxide (NO) can be utilized to mitigate and reduce the inflammatory response. A synthetic route is described where PVC is aminated to a specified degree and then further modified by covalently linking S-nitroso-N-acetyl-d-penicillamine (SNAP) groups to the free primary amine sites to create a nitric oxide releasing polymer (SNAP-PVC). Controllable release of NO from SNAP-PVC is described using photoinitiation from light emitting diodes (LEDs). Ion-mediated NO release is …

College Of Engineering News, Georgia Southern University

College of Engineering & Computing: News & Publications (2010-2023)

• U.S. Dept. of Education approves all six new programs

Radiation Effects In Metal Oxides And Carbides, Benjamin Jackson Cowen

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

MD simulations of SiO₂, TiO₂, Cr₂O₃, Al₂O₃, MgO, and SiC, are performed to: (a) calculate TDE probability distributions and dependence on crystallographic direction, and (b) determine the number and types of defects formed with low- and high-energy PKAs and projectiles. In addition, a qualitative comparison of the MD simulation results of radiation damage in TiO₂, MgO, and crystalline and amorphous SiC thin films are compared with those of in situ TEM ion beam irradiation experiments at the Sandia National Laboratories’ I³TEM facility.

The TDE …

Economic Advantages Of Dry-Etched Black Silicon In Passivated Emitter Rear Cell (Perc) Photovoltaic Manufacturing, Chiara Modanese, Hannu S. Laine, Toni P. Pasanen, Hele Savin, Joshua M. Pearce

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Publications

Industrial Czochralski silicon (Cz-Si) photovoltaic (PV) efficiencies have routinely reached >20% with the passivated emitter rear cell (PERC) design. Nanostructuring silicon (black-Si) by dry-etching decreases surface reflectance, allows diamond saw wafering, enhances metal gettering, and may prevent power conversion efficiency degradation under light exposure. Black-Si allows a potential for >20% PERC cells using cheaper multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) materials, although dry-etching is widely considered too expensive for industrial application. This study analyzes this economic potential by comparing costs of standard texturized Cz-Si and black mc-Si PERC cells. Manufacturing sequences are divided into steps, and costs per unit power are individually calculated …

Rigidly Foldable Origami Flashers Based On Curved-Fold Model, Jacob Badger, Dr. Larry Howell

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of my research was to explore the application of curved folding in designing rigid-foldable deployable mechanisms. In recent years, origami fold patterns known as “flashers” have been investigated for their ability to efficiently pack deployable surfaces. While many patterns have been investigated, none are capable of folding surfaces composed of rigid panels that bend only along crease lines. We hoped to identify one such rigid-foldable flasher by basing it on a curved-fold pattern known as a logarithmic spiral flasher.

Creation Of Non-Electric Cooling System For Food Preservation In Peru, Eleanor Ott, Dr. Randy Lewis

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Food preservation is an issue in third-world countries around the world where electricity and monetary means are not present to maintain a modern refrigerator. The short shelf life of unrefrigerated food items creates waste, requires time and energy with frequent trips to buy food, and lowers quality of life. Multiple solutions for this problem have been devised which are principally applicable in Asia and Africa. Implementation of these solutions has increased shelf-life of perishable foods and eliminated the need for daily trips to the market for food. A natural consequence has been increased profits, more educational opportunities for women, and …

Above Knee Prosthetic Socket For Developing Countries, Colton Graham, Dr. Mark Colton

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Due to a civil war in Sierra Leone many have been left with amputated limbs. In order to provide the required prosthetic limbs for victims who have above the knee amputations they need a quality custom fit socket. Custom fit sockets are very expensive so we created a universal socket meant to comfortably fit everyone. This socket is also designed to be affordable and able to be manufactured in Sierra Leone. For a functional socket, it is to be custom fitted, durable, affordable, adjustable and comfortable for the amputee. Due to varying changes to the volume of the residual limb, …

Carbon Nanotube Filtration Device: Separating Oil From Fracking Waste, Phillip Ng, Dr. Anton Bowden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Pyrolytic Carbon Infiltration Carbon Nanotubes (CI-CNTs) can isolate water and oil molecules due to its superhydrophobic and oleophilic properties, unique cylindrical nanostructure, and functional groups¹. Because the waste produced from fracking is nonreusable due to the molecular oil droplets contained in it, the waste is typically injected back underground, which pollutes safe drinking water². This can be avoided with an inexpensive and efficient oil and water filter. The mentored research project revolved around a CI-CNT filter used to salvage waste created from fracking.

The design of a CI-CNT device was approached by three main considerations: a …

Gas Detection System For Biomass Cookstove Emissions, Cyra Bishop, Jeffery Smith, Dr. Matthew Jones

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this research project is to explore Peruvian social and cultural behaviors that typically prevent successful improved cookstove adoption in resource-limited settings as well as suggest ways to educate locals about the benefits of improved cookstoves. This will be done by constructing a cost-effective, easy-to-use gas-detection sensor system capable of measuring concentrations of harmful gases released from biomass cookstoves typically found in Peruvian communities.

Origami-Based Deployable Ballistic Barrier, Kenny Seymour, Dakota Burrow, Alex Avila, Terri Bateman, David C. Morgan, Spencer P. Magleby, Larry L. Howell

Faculty Publications

This paper demonstrates how recent developments in origami crease pattern adaptation, surrogate folds, and thickness accommodation techniques enabled development of an origami-based deployable ballistic barrier. The barrier crease pattern was employed using the membrane-fold technique for surrogate folds and to assist in thickness accommodation. A proof-of-concept barrier was fabricated and tested, demonstrating ballistic resistance, a large deployment ratio, and rapid deployment times.

2018 Fall Engr333 Project Assignment, Matthew K. Heun

ENGR 333

The Fall 2018 ENGR333 project focused on renewable energy generation.

I asked the students “What is the largest possible reduction in Calvin’s annual energy costs from a $5M investment in renewable energy?”

Customer

The customer for this project was Russell Bray, Director of Calvin’s Physical Plant.

A Comparative Analysis Of Key Elements Of The Strategic Decision-Making Process Across Construction Professional Services Firms: Evidence From The Irish Construction Industry, Oluwasegun O. Seriki, Roisin Murphy Dr

Conference papers

The Irish construction industry is experiencing a well-established growth phase following a prolonged recession. While the economic impact has been well documented, there remains less emphasis on discipline-specific studies pertaining to strategy within construction firms in Ireland. Additionally, evidence regarding strategic management within the construction sector is predominantly concentrated on contracting organisations, with less emphasis on highly knowledge-intensive professional service firms (PSFs). As the construction sector in Ireland continues its sustained growth, there have been increased calls within the industry for further collaboration between key stakeholders. However, exploring collaboration within project-centric firms without understanding the individual strategic decision-making processes within …

Strong And Tough Continuous Nanofibers, Yuris Dzenis

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Amethod of fabricating a continuous nanofiber is described . The method includes preparing a solution of one or more polymers and one or more solvents and electrospinning the solution by discharging the solution through one or more liquid jets into an electric field to yield one or more continuous nanofibers . The electrospinning process ( i ) highly orients one or more polymer chains in the one or more continuous nanofibers along a fiber axis of the one or more continuous nanofibers , and ( ii ) suppresses polymer crystallization in the one or more continuous nanofibers . The one …