Engineering Commons^™

Correlated Network Of Networks Enhances Robustness Against Catastrophic Failures, Byungjoon Min, Muhua Zheng

Publications and Research

Networks in nature rarely function in isolation but instead interact with one another with a form of a network of networks (NoN). A network of networks with interdependency between distinct networks contains instability of abrupt collapse related to the global rule of activation. As a remedy of the collapse instability, here we investigate a model of correlated NoN. We find that the collapse instability can be removed when hubs provide the majority of interconnections and interconnections are convergent between hubs. Thus, our study identifies a stable structure of correlated NoN against catastrophic failures. Our result further suggests a plausible way …

Renal Granulomatosis Post Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Therapy For Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer, Karen Tran-Harding, Rashmi T. Nair, Halemane S. Ganesh

Radiology Faculty Publications

Intravesical Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) immunotherapy is a proven, effective treatment for intermediate- and high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Minor side effects are common and expected but systemic effects can occur in < 5% of treated patients. We present a rare case of a 49-year-old male that presented with fever and chills after 3 weeks of intravesical BCG therapy post transurethral resection of bladder tumor. New renal lesions were present on contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan which was histologically proven to be necrotizing renal granulomatosis.

Stepping Responses To Treadmill Perturbations Vary With Severity Of Motor Deficits In Human Sci, Virginia W. T. Chu, T. George Hornby, Brian D. Schmit

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In this study, we investigated the responses to tread perturbations during human stepping on a treadmill. Our approach was to test the effects of perturbations to a single leg using a split-belt treadmill in healthy participants and in participants with varying severity of spinal cord injury (SCI). We recruited 11 people with incomplete SCI and 5 noninjured participants. As participants walked on an instrumented treadmill, the belt on one side was stopped or accelerated briefly during mid to late stance. A majority of participants initiated an unnecessary swing when the treadmill was stopped in mid stance, although the likelihood of …

Computational Validation Of Aerodynamic Paramenters On A Multi-Sided Cylinder, Christopher Ong

Master's Theses

There are fundamental problems in fluid dynamics. One common problem is fluid flow around cylinder-shaped bodies which range from circular to multi-sided polygons. These basic geometric shapes are found in various applications. With the increased availability of computational power, the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) becomes an avenue for studying fluid flow around theses shapes. The fluid flow over cylindrical bodies is a widely studied problem used to validate the accuracy and reliability of CFD codes before working on more complex engineering problems. This validation is done by comparing selected flow parameters to experimental results to determine the accuracy …

Investigations On Frp-Concrete Bond, Mostfa Al Azzawi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents findings from three separate investigations, a laboratory study and two field studies that evaluated the durability of the Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP)-concrete bond. The laboratory study explored the role of porosity on CFRP-concrete bond following immersion in warm water. Two disparate field studies measured residual bond after 20 years outdoor exposure of FRP repairs of full-size masonry walls and after 12 years for partially submerged piles supporting the Friendship Trail Bridge, Tampa Bay.

The ACI 440 code requires the same surface preparation for all externally bonded FRP concrete repairs. This disregards the role of porosity that is …

Through-The-Wall Radar Imaging With Compressive Sensing; Theory, Practice And Future Trends-A Review, Abdi Abdalla

Tanzania Journal of Science

Through-the-Wall Radar Imaging (TWRI) is anemerging technology which enables us to detect behind the wall targets using electromagnetic signals. TWRI has received considerable attention recently due to its diverse applications. This paper presents fundamentals, mathematical foundations and emerging applications of TWRI with special emphasis on Compressive Sensing (CS) and sparse image reconstruction.Multipath propagation stemming from the surrounding walls and nearby targets are among the impinging challenges.Multipath components produce replicas of the genuine target, ghosts, during image reconstruction which may significantly increase the probability of false alarm. The resulting ghost not only creates confusion with genuine targets but may deteriorate the …

Early Alert Of At-Risk Students: An Ontology-Driven Framework, Elias S. Lopez

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

As higher education continues to adapt to the constantly shifting conditions that society places on institutions, the enigma of student attrition continues to trouble universities. Early alerts for students who are at-risk academically have been introduced as a method for solving student attrition at these institutions. Early alert systems are designed to provide students who are academically at-risk a prompt indication so that they may correct their performance and make progress towards successful semester completion. Many early alert systems have been introduced and implemented at various institutions with varying levels of success. Currently, early alert systems employ different techniques for …

A Route Less Traveled: Principals’ Perceptions Of Alternative Licensed Cte Teachers, Scott R. Bartholomew, Emma P. Bullock, Louis S. Nadelson

Faculty Publications

The shortage of teachers prepared to teach career and technical education (CTE) courses, or willing to work in certain locations (e.g. inner city, rural), has motivated the desire to explore solutions such as alternative routes to teacher licensure (ARL). Most ARL programs bypass colleges of education and provide a different approach to preparing individuals to teach, leaving many to wonder about the quality and knowledge of these teachers. Specific areas, such as CTE, have seen a large influx of ARL teachers in recent years. We sought to determine school principals’ perceptions of ARL CTE teachers. We found principal support for …

Monolayer Doping (Mld) For Ultra-Shallow Junction Mosfet Fabrication, Jenna Doran

Journal of the Microelectronic Engineering Conference

No abstract provided.

Annealing Study Of Ald Deposited Ferroelectric Aluminum-Doped Hafnium Oxide, Joshua L. Eschle

Journal of the Microelectronic Engineering Conference

No abstract provided.

62nd Conference On Senior Engineering Design, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

Senior Engineering Design Conference

The 62nd Conference on Senior Engineering Design Projects. The conference was held from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.,Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences on the Parkview Campus of Western Michigan University. The College of Engineering and Applied Sciences sponsored the conference to showcase the work of its graduating seniors, who are required to complete a capstone project that puts into practice what they have learned. Many of the projects are sponsored by business and industry.

1918 - Geology And Oil Prospects Of Salinas Valley-Parkfield Area, California; Walter A. English

Miscellaneous Documents and Reports

A 1981 report on an investigation undertaken partly to procure data for the classification of public lands located in the Salinas Valley-Parkfield area of California withdrawn from entry pending classification, and partly to determine areas in which the geologic conditions were favorable for oil prospecting so as to prevent useless expenditures in drilling dry holes in unfavorable areas. The work on which the report was based was done during the field seasons of 1915 and 1916.

Flame Retardant Textile, Subhas Ghosh, Vijaykumar M. Mannari, Vikas P. Joshi

Patents

The disclosure relates to curable polysilyl phosphate compounds and compositions as well as related methods and name-retardant textiles incorporating the same. Curable polysilyl phosphate compounds according to the disclosure include a hydrocarbon moiety comprising at least one phosphate group and more than two hydrolysable silyl groups linked to the hydrocarbon moiety. In some embodiments, the hydrocarbon moiety is derived from spirocyclic pentaerythritol phosphoryl chloride. The curable polysilyl phosphate compound can applied to a textile substrate and then cured to provide a flame-retardant textile with the cured polysilyl phospha1e compound as a coating bonded to the textile substrate.

Swosu Research And Scholarly Activity Fair 2018, Lisa Appeddu, Cj Smith

SWOSU Research and Scholarly Activity Fair Programs

On behalf of the members of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) University Research and Scholarly Activity Committee (USRAC) - Welcome to the Twenty-Fifth SWOSU Research and Scholarly Activity Fair! There are 130 poster presentations and 10 oral presentations involving 293 student researchers, writers, presenters, artists, collaborators, and faculty sponsors encompassing activities from the SWOSU College of Pharmacy; SWOSU School of Nursing & Allied Health Sciences; and SWOSU Departments of Art, Communication, & Theatre; Biological Sciences; Business & Computer Science; Chemistry and Physics; Education; Engineering Technology; Language & Literature; Music; Psychology; and Social Sciences. This also includes guest presenters from …

Representation Of Characters By Gender Across Video Game Covers Of Different Ratings, Alexandra Cassidy, Aaron Cornell, Emily Burgess, Stephen Burgess, Jeremy Evert

Student Research

This research was in response to the perception that females are under-represented in gaming culture. Pew Research Center (2015) found that both males and females thought more males played video games (60%). However, there is not a statistically significant difference in the percentage of males and females who have ever played video games (50% M 48% F). There is the perception that the advertising and production of video games contribute to the different stereotypes associated with men and women in gaming culture. According to research about gender and video game production, both male and female employees who work in the …

Distillation Optimization In The Pharmaceutical Industry, Daniel Vanzweden

Honors Theses

Distillations are commonly used throughout industry to perform separations by phase change, producing a liquid phase and vapor distillate. However, the process of distilling can be slow and energy intensive, providing a limitation in the production process. Possible improvements to current distillation systems were considered on the basis of thermal efficiency, material throughput (cycle time), and material tolerance. Consideration was given to ensure maintenance is straightforward and relatively quick, as fouling, contamination and tank utilization were concerns. Economic viability of the improvements was completed to determine the project benefit. The optimized design offers increased efficiency for production lines.

An Implantable Peripheral Nerve Recording And Stimulation System For Experiments On Freely Moving Animal Subjects, Byunghun Lee, Mukhesh K. Koripalli, Yaoyao Jia, Joshua Acosta, M. S. E. Sendi, Yoonsu Choi, Maysam Ghovanloo

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A new study with rat sciatic nerve model for peripheral nerve interfacing is presented using a fully-implanted inductively-powered recording and stimulation system in a wirelessly-powered standard homecage that allows animal subjects move freely within the homecage. The Wireless Implantable Neural Recording and Stimulation (WINeRS) system offers 32-channel peripheral nerve recording and 4-channel current-controlled stimulation capabilities in a 3 × 1.5 × 0.5 cm3 package. A bi-directional data link is established by on-off keying pulse-position modulation (OOK-PPM) in near field for narrow-band downlink and 433 MHz OOK for wideband uplink. An external wideband receiver is designed by adopting a commercial software …

Distillation Optimization In The Pharmaceutical Industry, Clayton Carter

Honors Theses

Distillations are commonly used throughout industry to perform separations by phase change. producing a liquid phase and vapor distillate. However. the process of distilling can be slow and energy intensive, providing a limitation in the production process. Possible improvements to current distillation systems were considered on the basis of thermal efficiency, material throughput (cycle time), and material tolerance. Consideration was given to ensure maintenance is straightforward and relatively quick, as fouling, contamination and tank utilization were concerns. Economic viability of the improvements was completed to determine the project benefit. The optimized design offers increased efficiency for production lines.

Structural Reinforcement Of Streamline Tubing, Peter Grohs

Honors Theses

Structural integrity of suspension components is important to the safety and the longevity of vehicles. Streamline tubing, an aerodynamically shaped material used in high performance vehicle controls, can be prone to failure if not properly analyzed for its asymmetric geometry. The component was redesigned as a composite structure using modern materials to make a highly aerodynamic product stiffer, stronger, and lighter per unit weight than a conventional all steel design. Finite element analysis was conducted and five prototypes using different materials were constructed and tested. This method of maximizing component lightness and stiffness using the beneficial properties of each material …

Solid State Light Conversion, Jumana Turkistani

Honors Theses

Demand for innovative and energy-efficient technology has increased as an environmentally sustainable society has become priority. Technological development of solid-state light plays a part in meeting that demand. Our research has revealed that LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting uses less energy and is a more cost effective and environmentally responsible choice than incandescent and fluorescent lighting. Converting from incandescent and fluorescent dominated lighting to LED lighting may be cumbersome but can result in a classroom milieu that is attractive, cost/energy effective, easy to manipulate as well as facilitative to learning. For this project, a small-scale mockup of the light fixtures …

Natural Polymer Barrier Coatings For Oil And Grease Resistance, Andrew Kathan

Honors Theses

Many barrier coating formulations currently used for oil and grease resistance development in the paper industry have issues with sustainability, biodegradation, or have health concerns associated with them. This thesis tests two starches as barrier coatings to develop oil and grease resistance for food grade packaging sheets. Starch is compatible with almost all papermaking chemicals, is biodegradable, and is easily treated in wastewater systems making it a great candidate to create a more sustainable barrier coating. Cooked hydrophobic starch esters have a unique shear-thinning rheology that allow for high solid starch coatings to be applied with a reduced risk of …

Cost-Effective Techniques For Continuous Integration Testing, Jingjing Liang

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Continuous integration (CI) development environments allow software engineers to frequently integrate and test their code. While CI environments provide advantages, they also utilize non-trivial amounts of time and resources. To address this issue, researchers have adapted techniques for test case prioritization (TCP) and regression test selection (RTS) to CI environments.

To date, current TCP techniques under CI environments have operated on test suites, and have not achieved substantial improvements. In this thesis, we use a lightweight approach based on test suite failure and execution history, and “continuously” prioritizes commits that are waiting for execution in response to the arrival of …

Multiple-Photon Excitation Of Nitrogen Vacancy Centers In Diamond, Peng Ji, Ryan Balili, Jonathan Beaumariage, Silpa Mukherjee

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

We report the observation of multiphoton photoluminescence excitation (PLE) below the resonant energies of nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. The quadratic and cubic dependence of the integrated fluorescence intensity as a function of excitation power indicates a two-photon excitation pathway for the NV- charge state and a three-photon process involved for the neutral NV0 charge state, respectively. Comparing the total multiphoton energy with its single-photon equivalent, the PLE spectra follows the absorption spectrum of single photon excitation. We also observed that the efficiency of photoluminescence for different charge states, as well as the decay time constant, was dependent on …

Mechanical Characterization Of Polysilicon Mems: A Hybrid Tmcmc/Pod-Kriging Approach, Ramin Mirzazadeh, Saeed Eftekhar Azam, Stefano Mariani

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Microscale uncertainties related to the geometry and morphology of polycrystalline silicon films, constituting the movable structures of micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), were investigated through a joint numerical/experimental approach. An on-chip testing device was designed and fabricated to deform a compliant polysilicon beam. In previous studies, we showed that the scattering in the input–output characteristics of the device can be properly described only if statistical features related to the morphology of the columnar polysilicon film and to the etching process adopted to release the movable structure are taken into account. In this work, a high fidelity finite element model of the …

An Area Based Fan Beam Projection Model, Richard E. Steele, Jiehua Zhu

Honors College Theses

Area based projection models for computed tomography mitigate raw data errors by treating X-Rays as beams, whereas traditional line based projection models treat an X-Ray like a line, thus generating significant error. In an existing area based fan beam projection model, a rotation matrix, Q, simulates the rotation of the emitter detector pair to reduce computational load, but this introduces approximations by using an approximated rotation matrix. We eliminate approximations by deriving an exact formula for the entries of Q. Using a rotation of axes and by considering the neighboring cells' contributions to the area, the result has formulations for …

An Investigation Of The Efficacy Of Corn Cob Hemicellulose As A Gas Barrier And Dry Strength Agent On Previously Uncoated Linerboard, Zachary Witherspoon

Honors Theses

Two types of xylan, water soluble and insoluble, were extracted from corn cobs and made into liquid coatings and applied to uncoated linerboard with a fine, #8 Meyer rod, with the intention of creating a gas barrier and increasing strength properties. The xylan coatings were plasticized with sorbitol and crosslinked with citric acid, and the crosslinking reaction catalyzed with sodium hypophosphite. A 1% konjac glucomannan comparison coating was created (with the same plasticizer and crosslinker) to serve as an alternative coating based on previous research in the department, but it failed as a paper coating due to the presence of …

Optimizing Frosted Mini-Wheats' Finished Food Cooling Process, Jessica Graves

Honors Theses

Analyzing energy intensive processes in industry is crucial for improving sustainability, lowering costs, and increasing profit margins on products. Material and energy balances were performed to identify process losses in the cooling of Frosted Mini-Wheats. Existing cooling technology was compared to alternate technology available on the market, and a cost analysis was performed to compare all options explored. Recommendations were made to the system to potentially reduce the line's energy usage and downtime, with the objective of creating a more sustainable and efficient process.

Music Keyboard Based On Flexible Hybrid Electronics, Anthony Hanson

Honors Theses

With the idea of creating a product using flexible hybrid electronics, the group decided to create a musical keyboard like a synthesizer. This is implemented using a printing technique called screen printing. This allowed the group to make several copies of the same sensors with a consistent thickness, roughness, and size. These keys, made of silver, are used as capacitive proximity sensors. When another conductive material comes within range of the key to change the polled capacitance by 2.7 pF, the note corresponding with that key is outputted.

In the interest of making this project a useful tool for someone …

Optimization Of Toaster Pastry Icing Preparation And Application, Rebecca Martus

Honors Theses

The Kellogg Company is interested in optimizing the way the icing for a baked good is prepared and applied during production. The current method has not been significantly changed since the item was first introduced over 50 years ago. A new process was developed to make a more efficient preparation and application of the icing operation. New equipment was identified based on established methods in the food industry. The new equipment and process was verified after the mass and energy balances were calculated. A capital and operating cost analysis was performed to determine if the introduction of the new process …

Design Of An Electric Propulsion Thruster Breakout Box System, Ryan Powers

Honors Theses

When performing experiments in the Aerospace Laboratory for Plasma Experiments (ALPE), creating test setups and working with electrical equipment can become dangerous and tedious. A breakout box was required that ensures the ability to troubleshoot electrical problems, decrease the time needed to reconfigure equipment for an experiment, and decrease the potential for a safety hazard. The goal was to design a box that would house most of the equipment necessary to easily obtain current and voltage data from experiments in a safe, reliable manner. Three primary electrical components used in the circuit of the box were the current sensor, the …