Engineering Commons^™

Statistical Analysis Of The Burning Process In The Tunnel Furnace, T. Azamov, K. Gaybulov

Problems of Architecture and Construction

The article deals with the statistical analysis of the characteristics of controlled and managed parameters of the burning process in a tunnel furnace. It is shown that the main indicator of the finished brick is the strength, which is a combination of two characteristics: mechanical strength for compression and bending, the strength of the brick is estimated by frost resistance and water absorption.

Design Optimization Of Polymer Heat Exchanger For Automated Household-Scale Solar Water Pasteurizer, David C. Denkenberger, Joshua M. Pearce

Civil and Architectural Engineering Faculty Research

A promising approach to reducing the >870,000 deaths/year globally from unsafe water is flow-through solar water pasteurization systems (SWPs). Unfortunately, demonstrated systems have high capital costs, which limits access for the poor. The most expensive component of such systems is the heat exchanger (HX). Thus, this study focuses on cost optimization of HX designs for flow-through SWPs using high-effectiveness polymer microchannel HXs. The theoretical foundation for the cost optimization of a polymer microchannel HX is provided, and outputs are plotted in order to provide guidelines for designers to perform HX optimizations. These plots are used in two case studies: (1) …

Uncertainty Evaluation In The Design Of Structural Health Monitoring Systems For Damage Detection, Christine Schubert Kabban, Richard Uber, Kevin Lin, Bin Li, Md Yeasin Bhuiyan, Victor Giurgiutiu

Faculty Publications

The validation of structural health monitoring (SHM) systems for aircraft is complicated by the extent and number of factors that the SHM system must demonstrate for robust performance. Therefore, a time- and cost-efficient method for examining all of the sensitive factors must be conducted. In this paper, we demonstrate the utility of using the simulation modeling environment to determine the SHM sensitive factors that must be considered for subsequent experiments, in order to enable the SHM validation. We demonstrate this concept by examining the effect of SHM system configuration and flaw characteristics on the response of a signal from a …

Uncertainty Evaluation In The Design Of Structural Health Monitoring Systems For Damage Detection, Christine M. Schubert Kabban, Richard P. Uber, Kevin J. Lin, Bin Lin, M. Bhuiyan, Victor Giurgiutiu

Faculty Publications

The validation of structural health monitoring (SHM) systems for aircraft is complicated by the extent and number of factors that the SHM system must demonstrate for robust performance. Therefore, a time- and cost-efficient method for examining all of the sensitive factors must be conducted. In this paper, we demonstrate the utility of using the simulation modeling environment to determine the SHM sensitive factors that must be considered for subsequent experiments, in order to enable the SHM validation. We demonstrate this concept by examining the effect of SHM system configuration and flaw characteristics on the response of a signal from a …

Design And Characterization Of Systems For Direct Spatial Imaging Of Low-Energy Gamma-Radiation Sources, Phoenix Baldez

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

This work describes the development of radiation detection systems to identify and image special nuclear material (SNM) using low energy gamma rays. The imaging of these materials is crucial for timely, in the field responses to potential threats to national security. Using a spectroscopy system, the sources can be identified while images can be produced concurrently for the sources which are present. Two systems were designed and characterized in this study, a collimated imager which used collimation in front of a small CdTe detector, and a pixelated pinhole imager, using a pinhole mask in front of a pixelated CZT detector. …

Modeling Residual Stress Development In Hybrid Processing By Additive Manufacturing And Laser Shock Peening, Guru Charan Reddy Madireddy

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The term “hybrid” has been widely applied to many areas of manufacturing. Naturally, that term has found a home in additive manufacturing as well. Hybrid additive manufacturing or hybrid-AM has been used to describe multi-material printing, combined machines (e.g., deposition printing and milling machine center), and combined processes (e.g., printing and interlayer laser re-melting). The capabilities afforded by hybrid-AM are rewriting the design rules for materials and adding a new dimension in the design for additive manufacturing paradigm. This work focuses on hybrid-AM processes, which are defined as the use of additive manufacturing (AM) with one …

Ecological Footprint Of Flood Mitigation Structures At The Absecon Inlet, Eduardo Garcia, Mackenzie Carr, Jason Loeffler

STEM Student Research Symposium Posters

The primary goal of this clinic project is to measure the ecological footprint of the flood mitigation structures in Absecon Inlet. This area is prone to floods due to rising sea levels and storms. Beaches and boardwalks were affected during numerous hurricanes including: Jose (2017), Andrea (2013), Sandy (2012), Irene (2011), and Hanna (2008). Seawalls, sand dunes, and jetties were constructed to protect the shoreline from these floods based on the studies conducted by the US Army Corp of Engineers. In this clinic, we assess the effect of these man-made structures on the ecology of the surrounding areas. The ecology …

Aircraft Hangar Demolition And Reconstruction, Anthony Feeney, Stephen Luppino, Michael Simeone, Tony Carlino

STEM Student Research Symposium Posters

Reconstruction of Hangar Q, located at the Millville Airport in New Jersey, required structural design improvements and cost estimation. The DRBA, Delaware River and Bay Authority, is seeking assistance with this project and has asked Rowan University to provide design recommendations. Steel reinforcing plates were designed to support structurally deficient members of the roof truss, while reinforced concrete piers were designed for the overall structure. The structural frame of Aircraft Hangar Q at Millville Airport is made up of nine steel trusses. Each three hinged-arch steel truss consists of two double-arc half trusses of 23 panels. Originally, Hangar Q had …

Introduction To Infrastructure - The Influence Of Natural Disasters On Infrastructure, Tri Tam Nguyen, Sean M. Raday, Daniel Leverick

STEM Student Research Symposium Posters

In this paper, three major hurricanes in 2017 were examined to determine the damage these hurricanes have done to the infrastructure. Infrastructure has an important role in the nation’s sustained economic development. Infrastructure consists of two main types which are “hard” infrastructure and “soft” infrastructure. Hard infrastructure is the physical networks which include transportation, power, etc. while soft infrastructure is institutions and human capital. Inadequate and inefficient performance of “hard” or “soft” infrastructure would prevent economy from achieving full growth. In the past decades, a significant increase in the number of natural disasters has had great impact on infrastructure systems. …

Motivational Decline And Recovery In Higher Education Stem Courses, Anna M. Young, Paul J. Wendel, Joan M. Esson, Kathryn M. Plank

Education Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

Decline in student motivation is a concern for STEM education, especially for underrepresented groups in the sciences. Using the Science Motivation Questionnaire II, 41 foundational STEM courses were surveyed at the beginning and end of each semester in an academic year at a small primarily undergraduate university. Significant pre- to post-semester declines were observed in each of five measured motivational factors (Intrinsic motivation, Career motivation, Self determination, Self-efficacy, and Grade motivation), with effect sizes ranging from 0.21 to 0.41. However, in the second semester pre-survey, four motivational factors rebounded, including three returning to initial levels, suggesting that the observed motivational …

Usu Engineering Researcher Gets Prestigious Nsf Career Award | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Utah State University professor and researcher Ling Liu will receive a major research grant for his work in developing more thermally efficient materials.

Wetland Conservation Effects Result In Enhanced Playa Functionality In The Rainwater Basin, Nebraska, Hong Zhang

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

This study assessed the functionality level of wetland hydrology, hydrophyte and soil conditions, and then identified the restorable potential of conserved playas. The distribution of hydrology and hydrophyte were geospatially examined through annual tracking the quantity and quality of wetlands on historical hydric soil footprints under different conservation programs in the Rainwater Basin (RWB) in Nebraska, USA during 2004-2015. The results show that the historical hydric soil footprints with the conservation programs had significantly higher functionality of ponded water and hydrophyte than non-conserved wetlands. The yearly average of ponded water areas within footprints varies at 12.59% for the Waterfowl Production …

Towards Utilization Of Distributed On-Chip Power Delivery Against Em Side-Channel Attacks, Ahmed Waheed Khan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Non-invasive side-channel attacks (SCAs) are potent attacks on a cryptographic circuit that can reveal its secret key without requiring lots of equipment. EM side-channel leakage is typically the derivative of the power consumption profile of a circuit. Since the fluctuations of the supply voltage strongly depend on the topology and features of the power distribution network (PDN), design of the PDN has a direct impact on EM side-channel leakage signature.

In this thesis, we explore the security implications of distributed on-chip voltage regulators against EM side-channel attacks. Extensive HFSS simulations have demonstrated that the maximum EM radiation can be reduced …

Fhwa Guidebook For Measuring Multimodal Network Connectivity, Joseph Broach

PSU Transportation Seminars

In 2016 the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a Guidebook for Developing Pedestrian and Bicycle Performance Measures that presents methods for measuring walking and bicycling performance and activities and embedding them into the transportation planning and decisionmaking process (U.S. Department of Transportation 2016). Building on the 2016 guidebook, this resource focuses on pedestrian and bicycle network connectivity and provides information on incorporating connectivity measures into state, metropolitan, and local transportation planning processes.

Connectivity measures can help transportation practitioners identify high priority network gaps, implement cost-effective solutions that address multiple needs, optimize potential co-benefits, and …

Analytical Hierarchy Process Evaluation Of The Proposed Slim Modular Flexible Electric Bus Rapid Transit System, Yunji Kim

Master of Science in Civil Engineering Theses

As metropolitan Atlanta area is the one of the fastest growing regions in the nation, its demand for transportation infrastructure has grown. The region between Cobb County and Fulton County experiences the heaviest congestion in Metro-Atlanta. CobbLinc Route 10 is the only form of public transportation serving this area. To relieve the congestion and provide more effective public transportation system, Connect Cobb Corridor project has been proposed with the possible implementation of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. Although BRT has gained popularity for its operational flexibility and efficiency, efforts have been put into developing a new concept vehicle that is …

The Use Of Fe3o4/Carbon Composite Fibers As Anode Materials In Lithium Ion Batteries, Howard Campos, Jonathan Ayala, Carolina Valdes, Jason Parsons, Mataz Alcoutlabi

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

In the present work, results on the synthesis and mass production of polymer/ceramic composite fibers through Forcespinning® (FS) are reported. Magnetite (Fe3O4), has been considered as a good anode material for Lithium‒Ion Batteries (LIBs) due to its high theoretical capacity (~924 mAhg-1), low cost, and low toxicity. The Fe3O4/carbon composite, in the present study, was achieved through Forcespinning iron (III) acetylacetonate /polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor solution with stabilization in air at 280°C followed by carbonization at 600°C under argon. The electrochemical cyclic performance of Fe3O4/C composite fibers was investigated by galvanostatic charge/discharge experiments. The results showed the Fe3O4/C composite fiber anode …

Model-Assisted Probability Of Detection Of Flaws In Aluminum Blocks Using Polynomial Chaos Expansions, Xiaosong Du, Leifur Leifsson, Robert Grandin, William Meeker, Ronald Roberts, Jiming Song

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Probability of detection (POD) is widely used for measuring reliability of nondestructive testing (NDT) systems. Typically, POD is determined experimentally, while it can be enhanced by utilizing physics-based computational models in combination with model-assisted POD (MAPOD) methods. With the development of advanced physics-based methods, such as ultrasonic NDT testing, the empirical information, needed for POD methods, can be reduced. However, performing accurate numerical simulations can be prohibitively time-consuming, especially as part of stochastic analysis. In this work, stochastic surrogate models for computational physics-based measurement simulations are developed for cost savings of MAPOD methods while simultaneously ensuring sufficient accuracy. The stochastic …

Ensemble Machine Learning To Predict Family Consent For Organ Donation, Md Ehsan Khan

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

There is ever increasing disparity between number of organs needed for transplantation and numbers available for donation to save lives. As a result, thousands of people die every year waiting for organs. Therefore, it is now more important than ever before to take serious actions to decrease this disparity. One way to bridge gap between organ demand and supply is to increase family consent for organ donation. This research studied the factors associated with family consent. Machine Learning approach had been used in very few literature to understand factors related to family consent. This study uses six Ensemble Machine Learning …

Effect Of Shot Peening On Stress Corrosion Behavior Of Biodegradable Magnesium We43, Tejaswita Patil

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Conventionally used metals for orthopedic devices made of titanium, stainless steel, and Co-Cr alloys are designed to be permanently implanted. However, long-term complications arise and a secondary implant removal surgery is often necessary. A mismatch in stiffness between the bone and implant results in stress shielding that negatively affects bone density. To overcome these problems, magnesium alloys (e.g., WE34) are favored due to a lower Young’s modulus (45 GPa) and biodegradability. The critical technical barrier with magnesium alloys is their high corrosion rate in physiological (salt-based) environments. One solution is to use surface treatments, such as shot peening (SP), to …

Numerical Simulation Of A High Strain Rate Biaxial Compression Apparatus, Michael Lagieski

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Few experimental methods today are capable of exploring the strength of materials at high strain rates (10⁵ s^-1). Those that are capable, such as the Split Hopkinson Bar, Taylor Anvil and Plate Impact suffer from instability and are generally limited to one dimensional wave propagation. Of particular interest is material response under biaxial compression, similar to that seen in inertial confinement fusion. Laser fusion fuel pellets typically undergo large strain rates as well as plastic deformation and non-linear behavior. This work briefly outlines an experimental procedure designed to replicate these large strain rates under biaxial compression using …

The Santa Clara, 2018-04-19, Santa Clara University

The Santa Clara

No abstract provided.

A Systems Analysis Of Factors Influencing Household Solar Pv Adoption In Santiago, Chile, Jeffrey P. Walters, Jessica Kaminsky, Lawrence Gottschamer

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Societal uptake of household solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is the result of a complex and interdependent array of technical, social, political and economic factors. This novel study employs a systems lens to examine both technical and non-technical barriers to renewables, with a focus on interactions that are empirically influential on PV uptake. Using local solar expert stakeholder input into a participatory systems approach, this study provides a structural analysis of factors influencing household solar adoption. The approach is applied and assessed for household solar PV systems in Santiago, Chile, to gain insight into the interconnected factors driving technology adoption. Barriers …

Improving The Truck Driver Job, Kerry Melton

Operations Management Presentations

Freight transportation has increased dramatically over the last 35 years as freight and shipment demand have expanded resulting in truck driver and equipment capacity issues and infrastructure problems. Freight transport tonnage in the U.S. is predominately truck transportation consisting of more than 70% of all freight distribution with a 25% growth expectation over the next 5 years. Within the trucking industry, over-the-road (OTR) truckload transportation consists of 50% of all truck tonnage shipped. Due to high OTR truckload demand, OTR driver capacity issues have plagued the truckload industry for years. Additionally, high OTR driver turnover and poor driver job retention …

Proceedings, Msvscc 2018, Old Dominion University, Department Of Modeling, Simulation & Visualization Engineering, Old Dominion University, Virginia Modeling, Analysis & Simulation Center

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference

Proceedings of the 12th Annual Modeling, Simulation & Visualization Student Capstone Conference held on April 19, 2018 at VMASC in Suffolk, Virginia. 155 pp.

Handwriting Recognition Of Bangla And Similar Scripts, Nishatul Majid

2018 Graduate Student Showcase

This research is about offline Bangla handwriting text recognition. Here we introduce a publicly accessible dataset, as well as a basic character recognition scheme. The dataset contains pages with a 104 word essay and a collection of 84 isolated alpha-numeric characters. All the components in the pages are tagged with the associated ground truth information. The character recognition scheme presented here uses zonal pixel counts, structural strokes and bag of features modeled with grid points using U-SURF descriptor as features. The maximum classification accuracy we obtain is 96.8% using an SVM classifier with a cubic kernel.

Effective Room-Temperature Ammonia-Sensitive Composite Sensor Based On Graphene Nanoplates And Pani, Zongbiao Ye, Yan Chen, Bohao Liu, Yuanjie Su, Zhi Chen, Huiling Tai, Yadong Jiang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The graphene nanoplate (GN)-polyaniline (PANI) composite was developed via in-situ polymerization method and simultaneously assembled on interdigital electrodes (IDEs) at low temperature for ammonia (NH₃) detection. The assembled composite sensor showed excellent sensing performance toward different concentrations of NH₃, 1.5 of response value and 123 s/204 s for the response/recovery time to 15 ppm NH₃. Meanwhile, an interesting supersaturation phenomenon was observed at high concentration of NH₃. A reasonable speculation was proposed for this special sensing behavior and the mechanism for enhanced sensing properties was also analyzed.

2018 - The Twenty-Third Annual Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the Twenty-third Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 19, 2018. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

Developing Kenya’S Educational Capacity In Nuclear Security Through Nuclear Forensics Research, Hudson Kalambuka Angeyo

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Nuclear energy’s distinctive characteristics give rise to special educational requirements. These requirements are necessary to not only address the danger of nuclear proliferation, but also to build capacity for a secure nuclear fuel circle. In this paper, I assess the status of educational capacity in nuclear security both in response to, and in support of, Kenya’s nuclear power program. I highlight the nuclear security educational infrastructure’s key features in the context of nuclear power, noting the low capacity at Kenyan universities. I identify the steps required to ensure that the country’s dynamic nuclear regulatory infrastructural framework is used effectively to …

Distributed Iterative Graph Processing Using Nosql With Data Locality, Ayam Pokhrel

LSU Master's Theses

A tremendous amount of data is generated every day from a wide range of sources such as social networks, sensors, and application logs. Among them, graph data is one type that represents valuable relationships between various entities. Analytics of large graphs has become an essential part of business processes and scientific studies because it leads to deep and meaningful insights into the related domain based on the connections between various entities. However, the optimal processing of large-scale iterative graph computations is very challenging due to the issues like fault tolerance, high memory requirement, parallelization, and scalability. Most of the contemporary …

Library Awesome Sauce Undergraduate Research, Jeremy Evert, Phillip Joe Fitzsimmons, Hector Lucas

Faculty Articles & Research

Library Awesome Sauce Undergraduate Research was a presentation at the 2018 CADRE Conference in Stillwater, OK. The presenters discussed their collaboration on a video project to film interviews of students giving progress reports about their software engineering projects. The videos were posted on the institutional repository.

The speakers discussed Student-Led research and the role that academic libraries play in facilitating student and faculty research and publishing for all disciplines on campus.