Engineering Commons^™

Feasibility Study And Hydrodynamics Of Transformable Submersible Hydrofoil Trimaran, Yipeng Pan

Theses and Dissertations

It has been the endeavor of naval architects to design innovative hull forms to address the political, socio-economic climate and sustainability around the world. It is imperative that countries be able to protect their sea lanes and coastal zones from surveillance and infiltration from hostile foreign entities. Hence there is a need to develop radically different hull form, which possess the elusive ability and are capable of high-speed. In order to fulfill the idea, the hypothesis envisioned in this thesis is: the Transformable Submersible Hydrofoil Trimaran (TSHT) as an innovative and ground breaking hull form would address the feasibility of …

Emerging App Issue Identification From User Feedback: Experience On Wechat, Cuiyun Gao, Wujie Zheng, Yuetang Deng, David Lo, Jichuan Zeng, Michael R. Lyu, Irwin King

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

It is vital for popular mobile apps with large numbers of users to release updates with rich features while keeping stable user experience. Timely and accurately locating emerging app issues can greatly help developers to maintain and update apps. User feedback (i.e., user reviews) is a crucial channel between app developers and users, delivering a stream of information about bugs and features that concern users. Methods to identify emerging issues based on user feedback have been proposed in the literature, however, their applicability in industry has not been explored. We apply the recent method IDEA to WeChat, a popular messenger …

A Queueing Theory-Based Modeling And Performance Analysis Of Push-To- Talk Over Cellular Networks, Hisham Zorghani

Theses and Dissertations

Public Safety organizations play a vital role in emergencies. Their ultimate goal is to protect people and save lives and properties during disasters. Public safety communities have been using narrowband Trunking systems for their communications for decades. These systems were designed with only voice communications in mind. Even though these narrowband systems have gone throughout many enhancement phases, yet their data capabilities are still limited. Long Term Evolution (LTE) has been selected by many countries including the United States to be the platform for next-generation Public Safety Networks(PSN). The 3GPP LTE standard is all-IP architecture mainly developed to boost its …

Formal Trust Architecture For Assuring Trusted Interactions In The Internet Of Things, Milankumar Patel

Theses and Dissertations

The Internet of Things (IoT) has provided a flexible platform for a large number of heterogeneous devices to dynamically join and leave the network. This enhances the availability of a diverse range of services provided by a network. However, this dynamic expansion of the network with mobile IoT devices introduces a major challenge to security especially related to management of trust across the IoT platforms. Furthermore, IoT is open and distributed in nature, which allows the integration and registration of diverse entities. Thus arises the necessity for a mechanism that can ensure the selection of secure and trusted devices as …

Characterization Of Rf Signal Propagation For Wireless Sensor Network Deployed In Mountainous Environment, Bandar Mohammad Alshawi

Theses and Dissertations

Wireless sensor network (WSN) nodes, in mountainous forests, report real-time data to base stations concerning events, in which researchers and decision makers are interested in. A thorough research reveals the deficiency of any study modeling radio frequency (RF) in that environment. The lack of accurately modeling RF signal propagation in any environment can have a great impact on the network life, connectivity, and coverage. This dissertation models the loss of RF signal in the mountainous environment and demonstrates the inconsistency of theoretical models, compared to actual measurements. The models proposed in this research yield satisfactory results, and the theoretical models …

Wavelet–Based Functional Data Analysis For Classification And Change Point Detection, Nenad Mijatovic

Theses and Dissertations

Data collection and analysis, performed close to the source and transferred to other devices for different analysis, are the major paradigms of the Internet of Things (IoT). Usually, the raw data comes in the form of a time-series sequence that can be considered as functions, and as such can be examined by the functional analysis apparatus. Among others, the two major tasks in data analysis are (1) categorical signal classification and (2) change detection in signal statistical parameters. Here, we study both problems: featureless signal classification using discriminative interpolation regularized with the ℓ1 norm is performed using Classification by Discriminative …

Tuning Of The Zero Dispersion Point For Micro Electrical Mechanical Systems, Rebekah Mercedes Blackwell

Theses and Dissertations

Resonant micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are increasingly common in applications, including inertial sensors and frequency sources. These devices operate at resonance and take advantage of their size, ability to integrate with electronics, and light damping. The performance of these devices can be improved by operation at higher vibration amplitudes, but they often begin to exhibit frequency shifts near resonance as the amplitude is increased, due to nonlinear stiffness effects. Previous works have sought to balance nonlinearities in order extend the linear dynamic range (LDR) of these resonators. The focus of this thesis is to characterize, for design purposes, another possible operating …

Lateral And Torsional Seismic Vibration Control For Torsionally Irregular Buildings, Osman Akyürek

Theses and Dissertations

During strong earthquakes or wind gusts, it is likely that buildings with torsional irregularity in the plan have an can be seriously damaged, partially collapsed or fully collapsed. This is because Torsionally Irregular Buildings (TIBs) may have significant aerodynamic torsion loads that increase the eccentricity between the center of mass and the center of rigidity, especially in dominant torsion modes. For this reason, torsion leads to excessive increase in lateral motions when dynamic loads excite the buildings. Torsional irregularity is one of the main failure causes during strong dynamic excitations due to earthquakes or wind gusts. Ignoring torsional irregularity in …

Damping Coefficient Sensitivity Analysis Of High Rebound Soils In Florida, Aline Franqui

Theses and Dissertations

The dynamic response of soils is related to a damping factor, which represents the energy absorbed by the soil as the pile moves. Certain blends of fine sands, silts and clays are producing pile rebound during driving. For that reason, the objective of this thesis is to conduct a damping coefficient sensitivity analysis of high rebound soils in Florida. Forty cyclic triaxial tests from six sites in Central and Northern Florida were analyzed to evaluate damping. Two approaches were used, one based on the change in stress over time and a second based on the viscous energy absorbed per cycle. …

Effect Of Industry Clusters And Commodity Flow Characteristics On The Selection Of Freight Transportation Modes In The United States With Advanced Econometric Approaches, Taleb Eissa Ali Eissa

Theses and Dissertations

Mode choice is an important strategic decision for shippers to carry commodities efficiently. Freight mode-choice is an important activity to develop a successful freight transportation business in the private sector and to plan for economically consistent freight transportation infrastructures in the public sector. Freight activities result from the complex interactions between different economic agents, but these relationships are commonly relaxed to account for three major agents: shippers, carriers and receivers. Furthermore, the behavior of freight choice is commonly not concentrated in one agent, but rather is divided jointly over multiple individuals and firms in a logistics process, each component of …

Taxonomy And Abstraction Of The On-Demand Mobility Aviation System For Smart Cities, Wancheng Dai

Theses and Dissertations

The on-demand mobility aviation system is a new paradigm providing aircraft-based point-to-point transportation services to travelers in urban and suburban areas. Many consider it as the next revolution in intelligent transportation systems. Since it does not require pre-scheduling and vehicles travel at high speed, travel times are dramatically decreased, which overcomes issues of the current ground transportation system, improves travel times and level of service, increases productivity and creates new business models. Likewise, it is envisioned to generate positive environmental outcomes. Since this is a new and unique mode of intelligent transportation, few is known about its potential success and …

Aviation Sustainability, Elizabeth Gemmer

Honors Projects

Sustainability in aviation has become a prominent issue. There is a substantial amount of information on sustainability measures taken and discussed at the local and global levels. However, the information is spread out over a wide array of sources and many people are not aware of what is being done. There have been many past efforts to integrate sustainability into aviation, those efforts continue today and will continue into the future. Aviation is a rapidly growing industry; as the industry grows and there becomes even more of a need for sustainability measures to keep it a viable mode of transport, …

Problems Faced By Secondary Technology Education Novice And Veteran Teachers, Sally E. Arnett-Hartwick, John Cannon

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges faced by secondary technology education (TE) teachers in Illinois. Specifically, the study sought to identify and categorize a list of challenges encountered during their first years in the TE profession as well as challenges that veteran TE teachers are facing in their current teaching assignment. Seventy-three TE teachers completed an online questionnaire. Twenty-six challenges were identified and of the top five challenges, only three, equipment, funding, and understanding what TE is were identified as a continuous challenge at each career stage. Knowing the challenges identified by TE teachers at different …

Macrobenthos Responses To Dam Removal And Habitat Restoration In The West River, Connecticut, Robert W. Sheridan

Master's Theses

Dam removal is being increasingly used nationwide to restore impaired rivers and streams. While dam removals are becoming more prevalent, little is known about whether these efforts create conditions for the enhancement and or establishment of desired biota.

Ongoing monitoring of these projects is an important step in the restoration process to ensure project goals are being met and the restoration has been successful.

This thesis focuses on the Pond Lily Dam removal and restoration which took place in October 2015 along the West River in New Haven Connecticut that removed an aging mill dam with the objective of restoring …

Benchmarking Oecd Countries’ Sustainable Development Performance: A Goal-Specific Pca Approach, Shyam Lamichhane

Master's Theses

In this thesis, the current status of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries’ sustainable development performance towards reaching the recently announced 2030 Agenda (17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)) was investigated. Over 90 social, economic and environmental sustainability indicators were considered for the performance assessment of OECD countries towards reaching the targeted SDGs. The current weighted averaging approach used in the recent SDG Index and Dashboards Report was used as the benchmark and its limitations were discussed. To overcome the limitations, a novel Goal Specific Principal Component Analysis (GS-PCA) approach was proposed to create composite sustainability index …

Final Design Report For Human Powered Vehicle Drivetrain Project, Derek Fromm, Luke Opitz, Michael Juri, Olivier Côté

Mechanical Engineering

The Cal Poly Human Powered Vehicle Club is building a bike to surpass 61.3 mph in 2019. The club and their mentor, George Leone, have proposed a senior project to design, build, and test the drivetrain for this year’s human powered vehicle. Research into human powered vehicles and their drivetrains has shown that the power that a rider can output and the efficiency at which the rider can pedal depend extensively on the design of the drivetrain. Despite the existence of standard bicycle drivetrain designs, the senior project team has found that the best design to meet the club’s requirements …

The 3d Scaffold Design Of De Novo Anterior Cruciate Ligament Graft, Dominique Angibeau

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Gene Expression Noise In Mammalian Cell Survival, Kevin Farquhar

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Drug resistance and metastasis remain obstacles to effective cancer treatment. A major challenge contributing to this problem is cellular heterogeneity. Even in the same environment, cells with identical genomes can display cell-to-cell differences in gene expression, also known as gene expression noise. Gene expression noise can vary in magnitude in a population or in fluctuation time scales, which is influenced by gene regulatory networks.

Currently, it is unclear how gene expression noise from gene regulatory networks contributes to drug survival outcomes in mammalian cells. An isogenic cell line with a noise-modulating genetic system tuned to the same mean is required. …

Thermal Gradient Characterization And Control In Micro-Fabricated Gas Chromatography Systems, Austin Richard Foster

Theses and Dissertations

In order to make gas chromatography (GC) more widely accessible, considerable effort has been made in developing miniaturized GC systems. Thermal gradient gas chromatograpy (TGGC), one of the heating methods used in GC, has recieved attention over the years due to it's ability to enhance analyte focusing. The present work seeks to develop high performance miniaturized GC systems by combining miniaturized GC technology with thermal gradient control methods, creating miniaturized thermal gradient gas chromatography (µTGGC) systems. To aid in this development a thermal control system was developed and shown to successfully control various µTGGC systems. DAQ functionality was also included …

Successful Factors For Native And Community College Transfer Students In Engineering Technology At A Four-Year University, Leendert Craig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students who attend community colleges often transfer to 4-year universities seeking to earn a degree typically not offered at the community college level. Tennessee has 2 programs: the Tennessee Promise and the Tennessee Reconnect programs that offer students tuition-free access to the state’s community college system. Previous studies have been conducted to compare transfer students’ performances to that of native students and typically compared the students in all disciplines. This study seeks to compare transfer students (students who enter the participating university with 40 or more credit hours) to native students (students who initially enrolled or transferred into the 4-year …

Paper Prototyping Comfortable Vr Play For Diverse Sensory Needs, Louanne E. Boyd, Kendra Day, Ben Wasserman, Kaitlyn Abdo, Gillian Hayes, Erik J. Linstead

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

We co-designed paper prototype dashboards for virtual environments for three children with diverse sensory needs. Our goal was to determine individual interaction styles in order to enable comfortable and inclusive play. As a first step towards an inclusive virtual world, we began with designing for three sensory-diverse children who have labels of neurotypical, ADHD, and autism respectively. We focused on their leisure interests and their individual sensory profiles. We present the results of co-design with family members and paper prototyping sessions conducted by family members with the children. The results contribute preliminary empirical findings for accommodating different levels of engagement …

Recovery Of Water And Salt From Hyper-Saline Mine Water Using Freeze Crystallization, Gabrielle Casey

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Freezerbacks researched, designed, and economically evaluated a full-scale freeze crystallization process as well as two alternative full-scale processes: 5 stage multiple effect evaporation and reverse osmosis. All three processes were designed to treat hyper-saline mine water that was sent into evaporation pond systems. These systems were designed for Freeport-McMoRan’s mines that need to treat impacted water.

The Freeport-McMoRan copper mine in Miami, Arizona was visited in order to gain insight about the problem. The mine is no longer actively mining copper and is in the process of reclaiming land used. An essential part of restoring the land is treating …

Development Of A Ws2 Catalyst For Hydrogen Evolution And Improvement Via Platinum Nanoparticle Decoration, Alexander O'Brien

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In response to a growing global need to improve utilization of green energy, the concept of renewable energy storage via electrolytic hydrogen production has gained popularity in recent years. However, the prohibitive expense of the bulk platinum catalysts currently used for the hydrogen evolution reaction prevents such a concept from being widely adoptable. This research focuses on a possible alternative catalyst, nanolayer WS₂, which is capable of promoting the hydrogen evolution reaction while maintaining economic viability. Bulk WS₂ was prepared in semiconducting, nanolayer form through liquid phase exfoliation. Prepared catalyst inks consisting of this material demonstrated successful …

Silver-Based Microbial Check Valve For Spacecraft Potable Water Systems, Rogelio E. Garcia

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

As human space exploration increases, the development of a more efficient potable water treatment system suited for spacecraft becomes crucial. This Waste-management Education Research Consortium (WERC) challenge was designed to explore the viability of microbial control through the utilization of silver ions as a biocide for possible integration into the Tranquility Node 3 water purification system aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Current systems using iodine risk causing hyperthyroidism from overexposure; however, silver can be safely ingested without this side effect. After researching silver delivery methods including electrochemical ion production, controlled release, or a combination of the two, our team …

Desalination: Freeze Crystallization, Ibrahim Guiga

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Freezerbacks researched, designed, and economically evaluated a full-scale freeze crystallization process as well as two alternative full-scale processes: 5 stage multiple effect evaporation and reverse osmosis. All three processes were designed to treat hyper-saline mine water that was sent into evaporation pond systems. These systems were designed for Freeport-McMoRan’s mines that need to treat impacted water.

The Freeport-McMoRan copper mine in Miami, Arizona was visited in order to gain insight about the problem. The mine is no longer actively mining copper and is in the process of reclaiming land used. An essential part of restoring the land is treating …

Removal And Reuse Of Phosphorus As A Fertilizer From Cafo Runoff, Hannah Young

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Eutrophication is the process in which nutrient saturated waters promote algal blooms on the surface of the water. This limits the amount of dissolved oxygen content in the water, effectively limiting the range of species that can survive in a body of water. Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) can contribute to this issue. The animals in a CAFO produce large amounts of nutrient-rich waste streams that can enter natural waterways if not properly managed and increase the problem of eutrophication. The ability to treat these waste streams and recover the excess nutrients would allow for not only the reduction of …

Effect Of Thiols For Nitrogen Reduction To Ammonia, Zakary R. Ford

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Ammonia is an important chemical used for fertilizers and also a potential carbon-free hydrogen storage medium. The Haber-Bosch process is the main production process, which requires large energy- and capital-input. Therefore, it is crucial to develop an alternate scalable synthesis that provides a less energy intensive and more economical route for synthetic ammonia production. In this paper, a 1Fe1Ni film was functionalized with C₃OH and C₆OH for the electrochemical synthesis of ammonia. This work will provide some insight into how thiol ligands can increase the selectivity of the catalyst for nitrogen reduction reaction and can be …

Effects Of Ambient And Laser Light On Water Evaporation From The Surface Of Polyurethane Swabs Doped With Surfactant, Collin Campbell

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Polyurethane swabs are a common instrument for environmental sampling in the food, medical, and forensic fields due to their high recovery of organisms like viruses, spores, and bacteria. For sampling microbes in food and medical facilities, storage of the collected samples occurs under the absence of light to promote growth for more accurate testing. In the forensic fields, microbial growth results in sample contamination so the inhibition of this growth requires the drying of the swabs. This work studies the evaporation rates of water from polyurethane swabs under zero watt incident light, 30 W fluorescent bulb, 50 mW 532 nm …

The Synthesis, Purification, And Characterization Of The P3 Peptoid, Myles Joyce

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The relatively young field of nano-systems has vast applications over various different fields. Peptoids (peptide analogues) and their uses are consistently investigated components of these nano-studies. A particularly interesting group of peptoids are able to self-assemble into secondary structures under the right conditions. The P3 peptoid is able to form microspheres if properly synthesized and purified. Microspheres are frequently studied due to their low surface area to volume ratios. This unique aspect of microspheres makes them an excellent candidate for drug delivery systems; however, these systems must also be robust so that the desired compound can be encapsulated within the …

Task 1: Silver-Based Microbial Check Valve For Spacecraft Potable Water Systems, Eric Beitle

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

As human space exploration increases, the development of a more efficient potable water treatment system suited for spacecraft becomes crucial. This Waste-management Education Research Consortium (WERC) challenge was designed to explore the viability of microbial control through the utilization of silver ions as a biocide for possible integration into the Tranquility Node 3 water purification system aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Current systems using iodine risk causing hyperthyroidism from overexposure; however, silver can be safely ingested without this side effect. After researching silver delivery methods including electrochemical ion production, controlled release, or a combination of the two, our team …