Engineering Commons^™

Chemical Process Development, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet on the Energy & Environmental Research Center’s chemical process development capabilities, facilities and equipment, and history. [This item is an outdated or superseded version and retained for historical purposes only. It may no longer reflect current information, policies, or practices.]

Participatory Sensing-Based Geospatial Localization Of Distant Objects For Disaster Preparedness In Urban Built Environments, Hongjo Kim, Youngjib Ham

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

Although the benefit of participatory sensing for collecting local data over large areas has long been recognized, it has not been widely used for various applications such as disaster preparation due to a lack of geospatial localization capability with respect to a distant object. In such applications, objects of interest need to be ro- bustly localized and documented for supporting data-driven decision-making in site inspection and resource mobilization. However, participatory sensing is inappropriate to localize a distant object due to the absence of ranging sensors in citizens' mobile devices; thus, the localization accuracy varies to a large extent. To address …

Trunk Velocity-Dependent Light Touch Reduces Postural Sway During Standing, Anirudh Saini, Devin Michael Burns, Darian Emmett, Yun Seong Song

Psychological Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Light Touch (LT) has been shown to reduce postural sway in a wide range of populations. While LT is believed to provide additional sensory information for balance modulation, the nature of this information and its specific effect on balance are yet unclear. In order to better understand LT and to potentially harness its advantages for a practical balance aid, we investigated the effect of LT as provided by a haptic robot. Postural sway during standing balance was reduced when the LT force (~ 1 N) applied to the high back area was dependent on the trunk velocity. Additional information on …

Large Deformable Soft Actuators Using Dielectric Elastomer And Origami Inspired Structures, Jangho Park

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

There have been significant developments in the field of robotics. Significant development consists of new configurations, control mechanisms, and actuators based upon its applications. Despite significant improvements in modern robotics, the biologically inspired robots has taken the center stage. Inspired by nature, biologically inspired robots are called ‘soft robots’. Within these robots lies a secret ingredient: the actuator. Soft robotic development has been driven by the idea of developing actuators that are like human muscle and are known as ‘artificial muscle’. Among different materials suitable for the development of artificial muscle, the dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) is capable of large …

E.M.B.E.R. Home Protection, Kylie Fernandez, Daniel Santoro, Ryan Kissinger, Christopher Slezak

Mechanical Engineering

Despite the increased danger of wildfires in states such as California and Colorado, there is yet to exist a product that can autonomously extinguish the spot fires that ignite from windblown embers. This device could reduce countless civilian casualties and prevent millions of dollars in property damage. This is not to mention allowing homeowners to evacuate with a greater peace of mind. Mass ownership of this product would be analogous to the “herd immunity” of vaccines, where neighbors ultimately protect each other and save money through self-insurance.

There are products on the market, generally in the commercial domain, that can …

Friends, It Is My Time To Sign Off! [President's Message], Nikhil R. Pal

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Accuracy Of One-Dimensional Volcanic Plume Models Using Laboratory Experiments And Field Data, James S. Mcneal, Graham Freedland, L. G. Mastin, Raúl Bayoán Cal, S. A. Solovitz

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

During volcanic eruptions, model predictions of plume height are limited by the accuracy of entrainment coefficients used in many plume models. Typically, two parameters are used, 𝛼 and 𝛽, which relate the entrained air speed to the jet speed in the axial and cross-flow directions, respectively. To improve estimates of these parameters, wind tunnel experiments have been conducted for a range of cross-wind velocities and turbulence conditions. Measurements are compared directly to computations from the 1-D plume model, Plumeria, in the near-field, bending region of the jet. Entrainment coefficients are determined through regression analysis, demonstrating optimal combinations of effective 𝛼 …

Contamination Of Coupling Glass And Performance Evaluation Of Protective System In Vacuum Laser Beam Welding, Yongki Lee, Jason Cheon, Byung-Kwon Min, Cheolhee Kim

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Vacuum laser beam welding enables deeper penetration depth and welding stability than atmospheric pressure laser welding. However, contaminated coupling glass caused by welding fumes in the vacuum space reduces laser transmittance, leading to inconsistent penetration depth. Therefore, a well-designed protective system is indispensable. Before designing the protective system, the contamination phenomenon was quantified and represented by a contamination index, based on the coupling glass transmittance. The contamination index and penetration depth behavior were determined to be inversely proportional. A cylindrical protective system with a shielding gas supply was proposed and tested. The shielding gas jet provides pressure-driven contaminant suppression and …

E-Mobility -- Advancements And Challenges, Aswad Adib, Khurram K. Afridi, Mahshid Amirabadi, Fariba Fateh, Mehdi Ferdowsi, Brad Lehman, Laura H. Lewis, Behrooz Mirafzal, Maryam Saeedifard, Mohammad B. Shadmand, Pourya Shamsi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Mobile platforms cover a broad range of applications from small portable electric devices, drones, and robots to electric transportation, which influence the quality of modern life. The end-to-end energy systems of these platforms are moving toward more electrification. Despite their wide range of power ratings and diverse applications, the electrification of these systems shares several technical requirements. Electrified mobile energy systems have minimal or no access to the power grid, and thus, to achieve long operating time, ultrafast charging or charging during motion as well as advanced battery technologies are needed. Mobile platforms are space-, shape-, and weight-constrained, and therefore, …

Technical Report: Solving Global Problems [Composition], Lara V. Kattekola

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was developed as part of a 2018-19 Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) -sponsored Learning Matters Global Learning Mini-grant awarded to support the ENG 259 Technical Writing course. This course is required for engineering students as the second course in their composition sequence to be taken in lieu of ENG 102. The aim of the mini-grant was to integrate LaGuardia’s Global Learning Core Competency into the ENG 259 course via the development of a high stakes global learning assignment. The assignment was developed during the Fall 2018 CTL Learning Matters Mini-Grant seminar meetings led by Drs. Karen Miller …

Sustainable Aviation Fuels Approval Streamlining: Auxiliary Power Unit Lean Blowout Testing, Erin E. Peiffer, Joshua S. Heyne, Meredith Colket

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

An underpinning hindrance in the market penetration of sustainable aviation fuel is the approval process for alternative jet fuels. One solution to this is to develop low-cost screening tools that can be implemented earlier in the approval process. Auxiliary power unit combustors historically show the most sensitivity to physical and volatile fuel properties, making it a useful tool in assessing potential alternative jet fuel effects at test conditions representative of operability stability limits. It is hypothesized that these observations can be explained via timescale analysis considering fuel droplet breakup and evaporation, combustor mixing, and chemical reactivity timescales on the progression …

Power Law Growth And Delayed Feedbacks In Socio‐Hydrological Systems, Anthony J. Parolari, Gabriele Manolia

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Water infrastructure dynamics result from coupled social and physical hydrological processes embedded in “socio‐hydrological systems” (SHSs). Freshwater fuels socioeconomic activity, which in turn exerts pressure on water resources through increased water demand and water quality degradation. Many factors emphasize the need for quantitative tools to predict the future of these systems, including SHS failures due to growing water scarcity from population growth and climate change. However, unfolding the interactions between social and hydrological factors continues to resist theoretical treatment, impeding progress toward a predictive framework. To resolve this issue, we propose and evaluate time delays as surrogates for the social …

Stormwater Management Actions Under Regulatory Pressure: A Case Study Of Southeast Wisconsin, Walter M. Mcdonald, Joseph Naughton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In the United States, new legislation has given regulatory authorities greater oversight of municipal stormwater management programs. However, estimating the impact of greater oversight on municipal actions is difficult due to the uncertainty in current compliance efforts and their associated costs. This paper seeks to fill this gap through a case study of NPDES stormwater runoff permit reports from municipalities in Southeast Wisconsin. Specifically, this study evaluates the reported actions and expenditures against socioeconomic variables to identify the relationships between cost, socioeconomics, and the best management practices (BMPs) used for compliance. Results indicate that there are distinct differences between municipalities …

Engine Light Repair Shop Evaluation For A Brazilian Airline, Gustavo Henrique Melhado Trevilatto, Marcelo Teodoro Miranda

Graduate Student Works

The maintenance cost of a commercial aircraft comprises airframe, components, and engines. The most expensive of them are engines, which may represent up to 60% of an aircraft cost, and therefore will have a significant impact on any airline finance. As a result, engine fleet maintenance management is crucial for any airline sustainability. Apart from heavy maintenance where life limited parts are replaced and its performance restored, aircraft engines are often required to come off wing for light repair due to operational issues like foreign object damage, high oil consumption, and vibration issues. In other cases, even though being operational, …

Enhancing Single Walled Carbon Nanotube Deposition For The Study Of Extracellular Analytes, Joseph A. Stapleton

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Extracellular signaling is a dynamic process responsible for coordinating large scale biological processes. As such, understanding extracellular signaling is important to our determination of normal function and pathophysiological development. High resolution spatial and temporal information are critical to completely understanding these processes. Unfortunately, current methods of detection are lacking in either spatial or temporal resolution of extracellular products, limiting researchers’ ability to understand complex biological processes. A new group of sensors based on fluorescent single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) have shown the potential to provide both high quality spatial and temporal resolution for the sensing of analytes. However, while SWNT …

Adding Value To Lignocellulosic Biorefinery: Efficient Process Development Of Lignocellulosic Biomass Conversion Into Polyhydroxybutyrate, Mengxing Li

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is bacteria synthesized polymer that has comparable mechanical properties as petroleum-based plastics and high biocompatibility. Current commercial PHB production process is not cost effective. Raw materials make up about 50% of the production cost. Lignocellulosic biomass are cheap, abundant feedstocks that can be converted into PHB to add profit and sustainability to lignocellulosic biorefinery. Lignocellulosic biorefinery upstream process produces polymeric sugar rich stream and lignin-enriched stream. Polymeric sugars are then hydrolyzed into a sugar stream with glucose, xyloseand arabinose mainly present. To the best of the author’s knowledge, limited studies have been done on sugar mixture conversion into …

Post-Acquisition Processing Confounds In Brain Volumetric Quantification Of White Matter Hyperintensities, Ahmed A. Bahrani, Omar M. Al-Janabi, Erin L. Abner, Shoshana H. Bardach, Richard J. Kryscio, Donna M. Wilcock, Charles D. Smith, Gregory A. Jicha

Neurology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Disparate research sites using identical or near-identical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisition techniques often produce results that demonstrate significant variability regarding volumetric quantification of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in the aging population. The sources of such variability have not previously been fully explored.

NEW METHOD: 3D FLAIR sequences from a group of randomly selected aged subjects were analyzed to identify sources-of-variability in post-acquisition processing that can be problematic when comparing WMH volumetric data across disparate sites. The methods developed focused on standardizing post-acquisition protocol processing methods to develop a protocol with less than 0.5% inter-rater variance.

RESULTS: A series …

Novel Adsorbent For Industrial Wastewater Treatment Applications, Ahmed Y. Zakaria, Dalia A. Ali, Islam M. Al-Akraa, Hoda A. Elsawy, Hany A. Elazab

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study, the hydroxyapatite powder is investigated for both of methylene blue and thymol blue in aqueous solution. The physical and chemical properties of the adsorbent were evaluated systematically using the different techniques including Microsoft Excel programming, linear regression model and also the coefficient of determination. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to determine the effect of contact time, solution pH, initial dye concentrations, and also the adsorbent dosage on adsorption. The adsorption kinetic parameters confirmed the better fitting of pseudo-second order kinetic model for both of methylene blue and thymol blue. The isotherm data of methylene blue and thymol …

Extraction And Visualization Of Orientation Data From Virtual Geologic Surfaces With Matlab®, Avery J. Welker, John Patrick Hogan, Andreas Eckert

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

High-resolution visualization of surfaces of geologic interest, at a multitude of scales, using 3D point cloud technologies provides an opportunity to analyze spatial relationships of surfaces using orientation data. We present a MATLAB® script that produces planar geologic attitude data (e.g., strike, dip, and dip-direction data) from 3D datasets (e.g., point clouds, 3D scanning). The method utilizes Cartesian coordinates of triangular planar surfaces and converts them into matrices of conventional geologic attitude data. Spatial relationships among data points can be investigated, using polar tangent diagrams, stereographic analysis, or geologic curvature analysis. We utilize this script to create "synthetic" graphical plots …

Mechanical Properties Of Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon (A-Si:H) Particles, Taizhi Jiang, Fardin Khabaz, Aniket Marne, Chenglin Wu, Raluca Gearba, Revanth Bodepudi, Roger T. Bonnecaze, Kenneth M. Liechti, Brian A. Korgel

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A nanoindenter was used to compress individual particles of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) ranging in diameter from 290 nm to 780 nm. The colloidal synthesis used to produce the particles enables the hydrogen content to be manipulated over a wide range, from about 5 at. % to 50 at. %, making these a-Si:H particles promising for applications in lithium ion batteries, hydrogen storage, and optical metamaterials. Force-displacement curves generated using a tungsten probe flattened with focused ion beam exhibited elastic and then plastic deformations, followed by fracture and crushing of the particles. For particles with 5% and 50% H, Young's …

Multilayer Pzt 95/5 Antiferroelectric Film Energy Storage Devices With Giant Power Density, Sergey I. Shkuratov, Jason Baird, Vladimir G. Antipov, Shujun Zhang, Jay B. Chase

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new type of energy storage devices utilizing multilayer Pb (Zr_0.95Ti_0.05)_0.98Nb_0.02O₃ films is studied experimentally and numerically. To release the stored energy, the multilayer ferroelectric structures are subjected to adiabatic compression perpendicular to the polarization direction. Obtained results indicate that electrical interference between layers (10–120 layers) during stress wave transit through the structures has an effect on the generated current waveforms, but no impact on the released electric charge. The multilayer films undergo a pressure-induced phase transition to antiferroelectric phase at 1.7 GPa adiabatic compression and become completely depolarized, releasing surface …

Pharmacokinetics Of 99mTc-Hmpao In Isolated Perfused Rat Lungs, Anne V. Clough, Katherine Barry, Benjamin Michael Rizzo, Elizabeth R. Jacobs, Said H. Audi

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Lung uptake of technetium-labeled hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (HMPAO) increases in rat models of human acute lung injury, consistent with increases in lung tissue glutathione (GSH). Since ^99mTc-HMPAO uptake is the net result of multiple cellular and vascular processes, the objective was to develop an approach to investigate the pharmacokinetics of ^99mTc-HMPAO uptake in isolated perfused rat lungs. Lungs of anesthetized rats were excised and connected to a ventilation-perfusion system. ^99mTc-HMPAO (56 MBq) was injected into the pulmonary arterial cannula, a time sequence of images was acquired, and lung time-activity curves were constructed. Imaging was repeated with a range …

Role Of The Cortex In Visuomotor Control Of Arm Stability, Dylan B. Snyder, Scott A. Beardsley, Brian D. Schmit

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Whereas numerous motor control theories describe the control of arm trajectory during reach, the control of stabilization in a constant arm position (i.e., visuomotor control of arm posture) is less clear. Three potential mechanisms have been proposed for visuomotor control of arm posture: 1) increased impedance of the arm through co-contraction of antagonistic muscles, 2) corrective muscle activity via spinal/supraspinal reflex circuits, and/or 3) intermittent voluntary corrections to errors in position. We examined the cortical mechanisms of visuomotor control of arm posture and tested the hypothesis that cortical error networks contribute to arm stabilization. We collected electroencephalography …

Biomarker Discovery In Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Using Network-Based Feature Selection, Mostafa Abbas, John Matta, Thanh Le, Halima Bensmail, Tayo Obafemi-Ajayi, Vasant Honavar, Yasser El-Manzalawy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Reliable identification of Inflammatory biomarkers from metagenomics data is a promising direction for developing non-invasive, cost-effective, and rapid clinical tests for early diagnosis of IBD. We present an integrative approach to Network-Based Biomarker Discovery (NBBD) which integrates network analyses methods for prioritizing potential biomarkers and machine learning techniques for assessing the discriminative power of the prioritized biomarkers. Using a large dataset of new-onset pediatric IBD metagenomics biopsy samples, we compare the performance of Random Forest (RF) classifiers trained on features selected using a representative set of traditional feature selection methods against NBBD framework, configured using five different tools for inferring …

Soil Erosion Analysis Of The Monroe County’S Watersheds In Indiana, Danielli De Melo Moura, Jie Shan

Purdue GIS Day

This study was carried out to spatially predict the amount of soil loss (tons/ha/year ) of Monroe County’s watersheds using Geographic Information System (GIS). Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was used to estimate potential soil losses by using information such as rainfall data for calculating the rainfall erosivity (R) , soil map for calculating the soil erodibility (K), digital elevation model for obtaining the topography factor (LS) and vegetation/cropland cover for calculating the cover management factor (C) and support practice factor (P). The result of the analysis depicted that the soil loss rate in Moroe’s watersheds ranges from 0 …

Seeing A Better World From Space, Carly Sakumura

Purdue GIS Day

Understanding change is essential to addressing our most pressing global challenges. Organizations need actionable insight to make critical decisions that affect communities, economies, and national security. As a global leader of advanced geospatial and space-based technology solutions, Maxar has an unprecedented ability to observe, analyze, and monitor these global changes. In this talk, I’ll discuss the cutting-edge research, technological capabilities, and imagery products and analytics we develop at Maxar to unlock the power of geospatial data to understand and navigate our changing world.

A Kinetic And Thermodynamic Model Of Ethylene Dichloride Pyrolysis., Travis J Czechorski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ethylene dichloride (EDC) is a precursor for the production of vinyl chloride (VCM) which is subsequently polymerized to form polyvinyl chloride (PVC). To convert EDC to VCM, EDC undergoes a pyrolysis process in the absence of oxygen at temperatures exceeding 500C. However, process yields are limited by the uncontrolled production of side-products that can degrade the quality of PVC and poison the reactor. Thus, tight process controls and costly separations guided by heuristics and plant operator experience are used to optimize EDC pyrolysis. To improve the process, I have programed a kinetic model of EDC pyrolysis based upon estimations of …

A Better Approach For Mishandled Bags Industry Measure, Ana Caroline Costa, Daniel B. Ravagnani, Domenico Giuseppe Valente, Vitor Coletti Fernandes

Graduate Student Works

Since 1987, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) has ordered US airlines to report baggage handling statistics. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), requests each U.S. carrier to report monthly the total number of passengers enplaned, and the total number of mishandled baggage reports (MBR), including lost, pilfered, damaged and delayed baggage. The U.S. DOT also created a mishandled-baggage rate, which represents the total number of MBRs divided by 1,000 passengers enplaned. This KPI is monthly published at the Air Travel Consumer Report. And it is used worldwide to make comparisons between regions, airports, and airlines, characterizing efficiency and consistency …

Training Synergy, Andre Vieira Caputo, Everton Amieiro, Lucio De Araujo Alves, Renan Dapena Roveran

Graduate Student Works

Brazil is facing a growth in the airline industry where all the major airlines are currently hiring pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics. One of the challenges of those airlines is to provide training for all these professionals. Many times they do not have instructors or classrooms available. It is crucial for the airlines to promote faster and better training, to reduce cost, save time and resources to prepare a better professional. With this capstone, we want to show the possibility of increasing the cost performance of airline training by providing alternatives to airlines. The idea is to promote synergy between …

2019 (Fall) Ensi Informer Magazine, Morehead State University. Engineering Sciences Department

ENSI Informer Magazine Archive

The ENSI Informer Magazine published in the fall of 2019.