Engineering Commons^™

From Probabilistic Socio-Economic Vulnerability To An Integrated Framework For Flash Flood Prediction, Sepideh Khajehei

Dissertations and Theses

Flash flood is among the most hazardous natural disasters, and it can cause severe damages to the environment and human life. Flash floods are mainly caused by intense rainfall and due to their rapid onset (within six hours of rainfall), very limited opportunity can be left for effective response. Understanding the socio-economic characteristics involving natural hazards potential, vulnerability, and resilience is necessary to address the damages to economy and casualties from extreme natural hazards. The vulnerability to flash floods is dependent on both biophysical and socio-economic factors. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of socio-economic vulnerability to flash flood alongside …

Electroactive Artificial Muscles Based On Functionally Antagonistic Core–Shell Polymer Electrolyte Derived From Ps-B-Pss Block Copolymer, Van Hiep Nguyen, Jaehwan Kim, Rassoul Tabassian, Moumita Kotal, Kiwoo Jun, Jung-Hwan Oh, Ji-Myeong Son, Muhammad Taha Manzoor, Kwang Jin Kim, Il-Kwon Oh

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Electroactive ionic soft actuators, a type of artificial muscles containing a polymer electrolyte membrane sandwiched between two electrodes, have been intensively investigated owing to their potential applications to bioinspired soft robotics, wearable electronics, and active biomedical devices. However, the design and synthesis of an efficient polymer electrolyte suitable for ion migration have been major challenges in developing high-performance ionic soft actuators. Herein, a highly bendable ionic soft actuator based on an unprecedented block copolymer is reported, i.e., polystyrene-b-poly(1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium-4-styrenesulfonate) (PS-b-PSS-EMIm), with a functionally antagonistic core–shell architecture that is specifically designed as an ionic exchangeable polymer electrolyte. The corresponding actuator shows exceptionally …

First Observation Of P-Odd Gamma Asymmetry In Polarized Neutron Capture On Hydrogen, D. Blyth, J. Fry, N. Fomin, R. Alarcon, L. Alonzi, E. Askanazi, S. Baeßler, S. Balascuta, L. Barrón-Palos, Alex Barzilov, J. D. Bowman, N. Birge, J. R. Calarco, T. E. Chupp, V. Cianciolo, C. E. Coppola, C. B. Crawford, K. Craycraft, D. Evans, C. Fieseler, E. Frlež, I. Garishvili, M. T. W. Gericke, R. C. Gillis, K. B. Grammer, G. L. Greene, J. Hall, J. Hamblen, C. Hayes, E. B. Iverson, M. L. Kabir

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

We report the first observation of the parity-violating gamma-ray asymmetry A(gamma)(np) in neutron-proton capture using polarized cold neutrons incident on a liquid parahydrogen target at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A(gamma)(np) isolates the Delta I = 1, S-3(1)-> P-3(1) component of the weak nucleon-nucleon interaction, which is dominated by pion exchange and can be directly related to a single coupling constant in either the DDH meson exchange model or pionless effective field theory… See full text for full abstract.

Enhanced Anticancer Activity Of 5'-Dfur-Pcl-Mpeg Polymeric Prodrug Micelles Encapsulating Chemotherapeutic Drugs, Alicia J. Sawdon, Jun Zhang, Xutu Wang, Ching-An Peng

Department of Chemical Engineering Publications

The compound 5’-deoxy-5-fluorouridine (5’-DFUR) is a prodrug of the anti-tumor drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Thymidine phosphorylase (TP) is an enzyme that can convert 5’-DFUR to its active form 5-FU and the expression of TP is upregulated in various cancer cells. In this study, 5’-DFUR associated with amphiphilic copolymer poly(ε-caprolactone)-methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (5’-DFUR-PCL-MPEG) was synthesized, characterized, and self-assembled into functional polymeric micelles. To demonstrate that the prodrug 5’-DFUR could convert into cytotoxic 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) by endogenous TP, HT-29 colorectal cancer cells were treated with 5’-DFUR-PCL-MPEG polymeric micelles for various time periods. Chemotherapeutic drugs doxorubicin (DOX) and 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38) were also encapsulated separately …

Assessing The Feasibility Of Soil Infiltration Trenches For Highway Runoff Control On The Island Of Oahu, Hawaii, Martina Sobotkova, Jaromir Dusek, Ghasem Alavi, Laxman Sharma, Chittaranjan Ray

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The coastal waters of Hawaii are extremely important for recreation as well as for the health of the marine environment. Non-point source pollution from storm runoff poses a great threat to surface water quality in Hawaii. The State of Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) includes infiltration trenches as a best management practice (BMP) option to reduce pollution caused by stormwater runoff. HDOT guidelines state that the implementation of BMPs is needed to reduce sediment and pollutant loads to streams and the ocean. In this study, the suitability of soils adjacent to highways on Oahu for the siting of infiltration trenches …

Mechanical Engineering News, Georgia Southern University

Mechanical Engineering: News & Publications (2013-2023)

• Governor Breaks Ground on New Engineering and Research Building

Assessment Of Cooling And Heat Transfer Properties Of Quenchants With Matlab, Lemmy Meekisho, Rosa L. Simencio Otero, Jônatas M. Viscaino, D. Scott Mackenzie, George Totten, Lauralice C.F. Canale

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is ongoing interest for evaluating the potential of renewable base stocks, such as vegetable oils, to replace petroleum oils as metal quenchants. Perhaps the most critical part of this process is characterizing and comparing the cooling and heat transfer performance of potential quenchant candidates. In this work, cooling curves of two vegetable oils, palm oil and canola oil, were obtained along with a commercially available conventional and an accelerated petroleum quenchant using the so-called Tensi multiple thermocouple probe, with emphasis on the center probe emulating a small probe concept. The lumped-parameter approach was implemented in the MATLAB environment (Mathworks …

College Of Engineering News, Georgia Southern University

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

• Dr. Syed Hassan Ahmed receives honors

Exploring Structure-Property Relationships Of Gags To Tailor Ecm-Mimicking Hydrogels, Ralf Zimmermann, Carsten Werner, James Sterling

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are a class of linear polysaccharides that are ubiquitous in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and on cell surfaces. Due to their key role in development, homeostasis, pathogenesis, and regeneration, GAGs are increasingly used in the design of ECM-mimicking hydrogels to stimulate tissue formation and regenerative processes via specifically orchestrated cell-instructive signals. These applications first and foremost build on the ability of GAGs to effectively bind, protect, and release morphogens. The specificity and strength of morphogen-GAG interactions are largely governed by the number and spatial distribution of negatively charged sulfate groups carried by GAGs. Herein, we summarize a mean-field …

Analysis Of Coherence Between Electromyographic (Emg) Signals To Examine Neural Correlations In Muscular Activation During Standing Balance Tasks: A Pilot Study, Anuj Ojha

Masters Projects

The motor coordination of the muscles is controlled by the Central Nervous System (CNS), but the precise neural mechanisms for the CNS coordinating the muscles are not completely understood. The purpose of my study was to find the EMG-EMG coherence in different neural frequency bands to examine the neural correlations during muscle activation. EMG signal was recorded from six different healthy young subjects. The EMG signal with sampling frequency fs=1200 Hz was collected for 30 seconds (t=30 sec) from three different muscles on both legs: - tibialis anterior, medial gastrocnemius and soleus. The data were collected for the following four …

Preparation Of Cellulose Nanofibers From Bamboo Using Microwave Liquefaction, Jiulong Xie

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Cellulose nanofibers isolated from renewable lignocellulosic biomass are considered highly promising fillers in preparing sustainable composite materials. Although previous technologies on the production of cellulose nanofibers were encouraging, drawbacks such as chemical reagent, high energy consumption, time-consumption, and equipment degradation have limited these techniques for practical applications. In this work, bamboo particles were subjected to microwave liquefaction process and the liquefied bamboo residues were characterized to have a better understanding of the liquefaction behaviors of bamboo. Then, the microwave liquefaction process was optimized for the production of cellulose raw materials and the isolation of cellulose nanofibers. The lignin fraction fractionated …

Bridges - Barren County, Kentucky (Sc 3308), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3308. Specifications, including sketches, for the construction of a bridge across Skaggs Creek in Barren County, Kentucky. The detailed specifications as to design, dimensions, materials, and method of construction were prepared by a commission appointed by the Barren County Court. Unable to secure a bid to erect the bridge for the appropriated sum of $1,000, the commission recommended an additional appropriation in order to accept a bid of $1,200.

Reevaluating The Professionalization Of Engineering Faculty | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

An engineering education expert is encouraging institutions of higher education to reevaluate the professional experience of engineering faculty, specifically women professors.

Treated Versus Untreated Aggregate Bases For Flexible Pavements: A Nationwide Comparitive Study, Hemant Gc, Mena I. Souliman

Civil Engineering Theses

Aggregates are a major part of highway construction and its quality as well as strength affects the overall performance of the pavement structure. The base material near the construction site does not always meet the strength requirement needed for the pavement construction and the hauling of quality aggregate increases the construction costs. For better use of local available materials, stabilizing agents such as lime and asphalt cement have been utilized to increase the strength of crushed aggregate bases. Performance of pavement structures is heavily influenced by the thickness of the structure as well as material properties of each layer. The …

Meta-Analysis Of Non-Reactive Phosphorus In Water, Wastewater, And Sludge, And Strategies To Convert It For Enhanced Phosphorus Removal And Recovery, Kaushik Venkiteshwaran, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Current and future trends indicate that mining of natural phosphorus (P) reserves is occurring faster than natural geologic replenishment. This mobilization has not only led to P supply concerns, but has also polluted many of the world's freshwater bodies and oceans. Recovery and reuse of this nuisance P offers a long-term solution simultaneously addressing mineral P accessibility and P-based pollution. Available physical, chemical, and biological P removal/recovery processes can achieve low total P (TP) concentrations (≤100 μg/L) and some processes can also recover P for direct reuse as fertilizers (e.g., struvite). However, as shown by our meta-analysis of over 20,000 …

Open Source Foundations For Spatial Decision Support Systems, Jochen Albrecht

Publications and Research

Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS) were a hot topic in the 1990s, when researchers tried to imbue GIS with additional decision support features. Successful practical developments such as HAZUS or CommunityViz have since been built, based on commercial desktop software and without much heed for theory other than what underlies their process models. Others, like UrbanSim, have been completely overhauled twice but without much external scrutiny. Both the practical and the theoretical foundations of decision support systems have developed considerably over the past 20 years. This article presents an overview of these developments and then looks at what corresponding tools …

Extraction Of Vital Signs Using Real Time Video Analysis For Neonatal Monitoring, Bhushan Lohani

Electrical Engineering Theses

Video data is now commonly used for analysis in surveillance, security, medical and many other fields. The development of low cost but high-quality portable cameras has contributed significantly to this trend. One such trend includes non-invasive vital statistics monitoring of infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). National Center for Health Statistics Publications has reported a high infant death rate (23,215 in 2014). This statistic has drawn the interest of health system professionals. Due to occurrence of conditions like bradycardia, apnea and hypoxia, these preterm infants are kept in an NICU for constant monitoring. One of the problems faced at …

Cell Culture Media Optimization, Chase Gabbitas, Chase Paterson, Austin Simmons

Biological Engineering

Cell culture is a booming industry, producing high demand products such as therapeutic drugs, vaccines, and stem cells¹. As a leader in the cell culturing industry, GE frequently runs trials to develop the best feeding conditions for various lines of cells. Historically this has been a long and tedious process. In this project we sought to test and refine a faster process of media feed optimization by using 96 deep well plates and automated equipment. A line of immunoglobulin G (IgG) producing Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were used for this trial.

Foliar Application Of Capped And Non-Capped Calcium Phosphate Nanoparticles, Michaela Babcock, Katelyn Knudson, Joshua Tucker

Biological Engineering

Phosphorus in irrigation water and soil reacts with calcium species and becomes unavailable to plants. The use of nanoparticles to address plant nutrient has become a focus of interest. [1] Calcium Phosphate nanoparticles have shown benefit in rice plants in germination studies.[2]

Stirred, Not Shaken—Considerations For Improved Mammalian Cell Culture Scale-Up, Joshua Daniel, Zachary Ellsworth, Makali Lunt

Biological Engineering

GE Healthcare specializes in providing optimized medium for companies culturing cells in bioreactors for pharmaceutical purposes. Small scale testing, typically in shaker flasks, is a crucial part of this process, but scaling between these and larger impeller driven reactors has proven difficult in the past.

This study sought to develop a relationship between shaker flask bioreactors and a micro-bioreactor setup called the ambr® system. Important scale-up parameters such as oxygen transfer rate, 𝑘_L𝑎, and energy dissipation rate, 𝜀_𝑎, were calculated and used to compare the two systems. The following equations were taken from literature [2],[3]:

Tertiary Ammonia Treatment Of Lagoon Effluent Using Microvi MneTm Technology, Bryan Burbank, Sydney Burtenshaw, Nathan Guymon, Mike Langston, Luke Lemmon

Biological Engineering

Nutrient pollution is a growing problem threatening many waterways. High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in water can cause algae to grow rapidly. This growth decreases water quality, kills aquatic life, and elevates toxin levels creating health hazards for people. Due to increases in nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, the Logan City regional wastewater treatment plant is currently updating from a lagoon system to a mechanical plant to meet future discharge limits imposed by federal, state, and local governments. The intent of our design is to add a tertiary nitrification system using Microvi MicroNiche Engineering^TM (MNE^TM) technology.

Tertiary Wastewater Treatment Through Mbbr Technology, Ethan Ackerman, Grant Harris, Gregory Jensen, Christopher Ruben, Stephen Sadler

Biological Engineering

Wastewater treatment is an essential component to public health as it removes harmful compounds and allows for water reuse and recycle. Biological nutrient removal has entered into the public spotlight as effluent flows with high nitrogen concentrations have detrimental effects on water discharge bodies. Traditional suspended growth biological treatment methods are expensive and produce excess biomass that can reduce the efficiency of nutrient removal if not maintained. Research on the benefits of attached growth processes, namely moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) technology, presents an exciting innovation in wastewater treatment that can increase nutrient removal efficiency and reduce overall cost.

As …

Structure-Mediated Excitation Of Air Plasma And Silicon Plasma Expansion In Femtosecond Laser Pulses Ablation, Qingsong Wang, Lan Jiang, Changji Pan, Weina Han, Guoyan Wang, Feifei Wang, Kaihu Zhang, Ming Li, Yongfeng Lu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Femtosecond laser-induced surface structures upon multiple pulses irradiation are strongly correlated with the pulse number, which in turn significantly affects successive laser-material interactions. By recording the dynamics of femtosecond laser ablation of silicon using time-resolved shadowgraphy, here we present direct visualization of the excitation of air plasma induced by the reflected laser during the second pulse irradiation. The interaction of the air plasma and silicon plasma is found to enhance the shockwave expansion induced by silicon ablation in the longitudinal direction, showing anisotropic expansion dynamics in different directions. We further demonstrate the vanishing of air plasma as the pulse number …

Laser Vaporization And Controlled Condensation (Lvcc): Graphene Supported Pd/Fe3o4 Nanoparticles As An Efficient Magnetic Catalyst For Suzuki Cross – Coupling., Hany A. Elazab Dr

Chemical Engineering

A reproducible, reliable, and highly efficient synthetic approach was implemented for synthesis of palladium nanoparticles supported on a binary composite of Fe3O4 and graphene (Pd-Fe3O4/G). This unique catalyst was tested for being used as a highly efficient active catalyst for being used in Suzuki cross – coupling reactions. It was found that this graphene supported Pd/Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Pd-Fe3O4/G) has a remarkable catalytic activity towards Suzuki coupling reactions. This catalyst could be recycled for up to three times with high catalytic activity. The catalyst was prepared using LVCC synthetic approach; the prepared catalyst was found to be highly magnetic which enabled …

The Nature Of Ephemeral Secrets In Reverse Engineering Tasks, Antonio Miguel Espinoza

Computer Science ETDs

Reverse engineering is typically carried out on static binary objects, such as files or compiled programs. Often the goal of reverse engineering is to extract a secret that is ephemeral and only exists while the system is running. Automation and dynamic analysis enable reverse engineers to extract ephemeral secrets from dynamic systems, obviating the need for analyzing static artifacts such as executable binaries.

I support this thesis through four automated reverse engineering efforts: (1) named entity extraction to track Chinese Internet censorship based on keywords; (2) dynamic information flow tracking to locate secret keys in memory for a live program; …

A Hierarchical Spectrum Access Scheme For Tv White Space Coexistence In Hetergeneous Networks, Mohammad Zaeri-Amirani, Fatemeh Afghah, Sherali Zeadally

Information Science Faculty Publications

Among current techniques for dynamic access to television (TV) white space (TVWS), geolocation database-based access provides a promising performance in protecting the TV-band incumbents from interference that cannot be efficiently achieved in other license-exempt models. However, in heterogeneous wireless networks, most portable devices do not have such access and may cause interference to TV incumbents. We propose a hierarchical model for spectrum sharing in TVWS that includes a wide range of fixed and portable devices. In the first tier, the TV broadcaster can lease the spectrum bands to local fixed users based on a soft license agreement. The fixed users …

Micro Reactor Technology: Flow Chemistry Impact On Applied Catalysis, Hany A. Elazab Dr

Chemical Engineering

The micro reaction technology has emerged over the past two decades as one of the promising synthetic tools that can create new horizons in many industrial and catalysis applications. There are many crucial issues that could simply be solved by adopting the approach of micro reaction technology. Those issues are including harmful environmental impact which could be minimized through integrated separation techniques and reagent recycling used in micro reactors. There are also other issues including kinetic, thermodynamic, and process safety concerns. Moreover, chemical manufacturing has been enhanced through running reactions in continuous mode using flow chemistry. This lead to a …

An Improved Method To Calculate Gas-Lift Valve Set Pressure And Valve Performance Curves, Khadhr A Kh Altarabulsi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The main objective of this work is toimprove the accuracy on calculations of design set pressure and performance curves (sizing equations) for Gas-Lift Valves (GLVs) at high pressure (real conditions). This improved calculation method is demonstrated to have an important effect on well unloading and production operations.

The analysis of the valve design set pressure includes an experimental evaluation of the effect of internal dome volume changes on the design set pressure due to the presence of silicone and thermal effects. The evaluationis carried out for different levels of GLV silicone fill, pressures and temperatures. Silicone fills covered 7.5, 10, …

Epics Gaqt: Nandi Clean Kitchen Study, Yichen Fan

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

No abstract provided.

Economic Potential For Distributed Manufacturing Of Adaptive Aids For Arthritis Patients N The U.S., Nicole Gallup, Jennifer Bow, Joshua M. Pearce

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Publications

By 2040, more than a quarter of the U.S. population will have diagnosed arthritic conditions. Adults with arthritis and other rheumatic conditions earn less than average yet have medical care expenditures that are over 12% of average household income. Adaptive aids can help arthritis patients continue to maintain independence and quality of life; however, their high costs limit accessibility for older people and the poor. One method used for consumer price reduction is distributed manufacturing with 3-D printers. In order to assess if such a method would be financially beneficial, this study evaluates the techno-economic viability of distributed manufacturing of …