Engineering Commons^™

Heterogeneous Catalysis For The Upgrading Of Biomass Derived Chemicals Via Hydrodeoxygenation, Elizabeth Barrow

Theses and Dissertations

An important step in the upgrading of biomass derived chemicals is the removal of excess oxygen. The works reported here are focused on studying the heterogeneous catalysts that can be utilized for that upgrading through hydrodeoxygenation. This work begins with a discussion of the alkylation of short chain platform chemicals for chain growth and also demonstrates the proof of concept of combining alkylation and hydrodeoxygenation in a single step. Then, because of the promising nature of ReOx- Pd/CeO2 for selective hydrodeoxygenation, a detailed study of ReOx/CeO2 is presented. Finally, a new surface structure interpretation is presented for P/Ni(111) which could …

Constrained Consensus In Continuous-Time Multi-Agent Systems, Zheqing Zhou

Theses and Dissertations

Since the consensus problem is getting popular in recent researches and the applications based on it are expanding in current years! the consensus problem under the condition that constraints exist on agents’ state in continuous-time in a multi-agent system has been studied here. This work combines the projection operator method in a general consensus algorithm to avoid the violation of state on its individual constraint set. When the projection operator works in the general consensus algorithm, the constraint region is divided into the projection-operator working region and the non-projection region. The boundary between these two regions is a circular line. …

Experimental Study Of Free-Solution Separation Under Pulsed Electrophoresis In Microchip, Xin Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Microchip electrophoresis (MCE) is a promising analytical tool started more than two decades. With the characteristics of short analysis time, trace level sample, high- throughput and easily integration, lots of efforts have been done with the transportation of the applications from capillary to microfabricated devices. However, with the complex designs on microchip rather than a single straight capillary channel, the strategies and approaches have to be figured out under the challenges of sample introduction, the improvement of separation conditions and the detection, for instance.

In miniaturized microchip, the separation channel is reduced to several centimeters or less, fast and quality …

Regularized Fourier Ptychographic Microscopy, Shiqi Xu

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Quantitative phase image (QPI) is a popular microscopy technique for studying cell morphology. Recently, Fourier ptychographic microscopy (FPM) has emerged as a low-cost computational microscopy technique for forming high-resolution wide-field QPI images by taking multiple images from different illumination angles. However, the applicability of FPM to dynamic imaging is limited by its high data requirement. In this thesis, we propose new methods for highly compressive FPM imaging using a data-adaptive sparse coding and an online plug-and-play (PnP) method with non-local priors based on the fast iterative shrinkage/threshold algorithm (FISTA). We validate the proposed method on both simulated and experimental data …

The Applications Of Grid Cells In Computer Vision, Keaton Kraiger

Maseeh Summer Undergraduate Research Experience

In this study we present a novel method for position and scale invariant object representation based on a biologically-inspired framework. Grid cells are neurons in the entorhinal cortex whose multiple firing locations form a periodic triangular array, tiling the surface of an animal’s environment. We propose a model for simple object representation that maintains position and scale invariance, in which grid maps capture the fundamental structure and features of an object. The model provides a mechanism for identifying feature locations in a Cartesian plane and vectors between object features encoded by grid cells. It is shown that key object features …

An Analysis Of Decision Boundaries For Left-Turn Treatments, Michael Louis Adamson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the safety and operational differences between three left-turn treatments: permitted, protected, and protected-permitted left-turn phasing. Permitted phasing allows vehicles to turn left after yielding to any opposing vehicles; protected phasing provides an exclusive phase for vehicles to turn left that does not allow opposing vehicles; and protected-permitted phasing combines the previous phasing alternatives, allowing vehicles to turn after yielding while also providing some green time for protected left-turns.As part of evaluating the differences between these left-turn treatments, crashes before and after the change at intersections that had experienced a permanent change from …

Machine Learning Methods For Nanophotonic Design, Simulation, And Operation, Alec Michael Hammond

Theses and Dissertations

Interest in nanophotonics continues to grow as integrated optics provides an affordable platform for areas like telecommunications, quantum information processing, and biosensing. Designing and characterizing integrated photonics components and circuits, however, remains a major bottleneck. This is especially true when complex circuits or devices are required to study a particular phenomenon.To address this challenge, this work develops and experimentally validates a novel machine learning design framework for nanophotonic devices that is both practical and intuitive. As case studies, artificial neural networks are trained to model strip waveguides, integrated chirped Bragg gratings, and microring resonators using a small number of simple …

A Discovery Of Social Impact Categories For The Sustainable Design Of Engineered Products And Their Consideration By Industry Professionals, Andrew Taylor Pack

Theses and Dissertations

Sustainable design is often practiced and assessed through the consideration of three essential areas: economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and social sustainability. For even the simplest of products, the complexities of these three areas and their trade-offs cause decision making transparency to be lost in most practical situations. Additionally, the models and tools available to consider social sustainability are severely underdeveloped. This thesis is separated into three parts: 1) a design tool to consider all three aspects of sustainability simultaneously, 2) a literature survey to characterize social impact as it relates to products, and 3) interviews with engineering professionals regarding how …

Increased Cyclist Safety Using An Embedded System, Matthew Ryan Heydorn

Theses and Dissertations

In order to reduce bicycle-vehicle collisions, we design and implement a cost effectiveembedded system to warn cyclists of approaching vehicles. The system uses an Odroid C2 singleboard computer (SBC) to do vehicle and lane detection in real time using only vision. The system warns cyclist are warned of approaching cars using both a smartphone app and an LED indicator. Due to the limited performance of the Odroid C2 and other low power and low cost SBCs,we found that existing detection algorithms run either too slowly or do not have sufficient accuracy to be practical. Our solution to these limitations is …

Modeling Piezoresistive Effects In Flexible Sensors, Marianne E. Clayton

Theses and Dissertations

This work describes a model of the piezoresistive behavior in nanocomposite sensors. These sensors are also called flexible sensors because the polymer matrix allows for large deformations without failure. The sensors have conductive nanoparticles dispersed through an insulative polymer matrix. The insulative polymer gaps between nanoparticles are assumed to be possible locations for electron tunneling. When the distance between two nanoparticles is small enough, electrons can tunnel from one nanoparticle to the next and ultimately through the entire sensor. The evolution of this gap distance with strain is important to understand the overall conductivity of the strain sensor. The gap …

Statistical Analysis And Extraction Of Quantitative Data From Elliptical-Signal-Model Bssfp Mri, Meredith Ireene Dupaix Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis, and is characterized by the loss of articular cartilage in a joint. This eventually leads to painful bone on bone interactions. Since the loss of cartilage is permanent, the main treatment for this disease is pain management until a full joint replacement is needed. To test new potential treatments a consistent way to measure cartilage thickness is needed. The current standard used in the knee to represent cartilage uses joint space width measured from x-rays. This measurement is highly variable, and does not directly show cartilage. Unlike x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) …

Aerodynamic Design Optimization Of A Locomotive Nose Fairing For Reducing Drag, Chad Lamar Stucki

Theses and Dissertations

Rising fuel cost has motivated increased fuel efficiency for freight trains. At cruising speed,the largest contributing factor to the fuel consumption is aerodynamic drag. As a result of stagnationand flow separation on and around lead and trailing cars, the first and last railcars experiencegreater drag than intermediate cars. Accordingly, this work focused on reducing drag on lead locomotivesby designing and optimizing an add-on nose fairing that is feasible for industrial operation.The fairing shape design was performed via computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software.The simulations consisted of two in-line freight locomotives, a stretch of rails on a raised subgrade,a computational domain, and …

Passive Compliance Control Of Redundant Serial Manipulators, Jacob J. Rice

Dissertations (1934 -)

Current industrial robotic manipulators, and even state of the art robotic manipulators, are slower and less reliable than humans at executing constrained manipulation tasks, tasks where motion is constrained in some direction (e.g., opening a door, turning a crank, polishing a surface, or assembling parts). Many constrained manipulation tasks are still performed by people because robots do not have the manipulation ability to reliably interact with a stiff environment, for which even small commanded position error yields very high contact forces in the constrained directions. Contact forces can be regulated using compliance control, in which the multi-directional elastic behavior (force-displacement …

Disaggregation: Inferring Daily Gas Flow From Billing Cycle Data, Maral Fakoor

Dissertations (1934 -)

Local natural gas distribution companies rely on accurate forecasts of daily demand to buy gas and deliver it to their customers. To forecast consumption, mathematical models with inputs such as weather and historical daily demand are considered. Many needs exist in the energy industry where the frequency of measurement is different from demanded. When the needed forecast frequency is higher than the measurements, disaggregation approaches are needed. We built multi-parameter linear regression models using monthly data. Several decoration methods in the disaggregation process are developed to improve the model accuracy. Prior-day weather adjustment is used to capture the daily fluctuation …

Multi-Scale Traction Dynamics In Obliquely Impacted Polymer-Metal Targets, Peter Anthony Sable

Dissertations (1934 -)

The characterization of polymer behavior at high strain-rates is a criticalarea of research driven by their use as adhesives, structural components, or evenas binders for energetic systems. Current experimentation has been limited to eitherlow strain-rate mechanical testing or plane strain (uniaxial) impact testing.As such, more complicated loading conditions at high strain-rate have remainedunexplored. Particularly of interest include the rate dependencies of polymerstrength as well as interface traction behaviors like adhesion and dynamic frictionphenomena. To investigate these characteristics, fully dense, high durometer,polyurethane (PUR) and epoxy were subjected to combined pressure-shear loadingvia oblique …

Iron-Enhanced Mitigation Of Viruses In Drinking Water, Joseph Aiden Heffron

Dissertations (1934 -)

Waterborne viruses are ubiquitous in the environment and present a global threat to public health. Previous research has suggested that iron-based water treatment has promise as a low-cost, non-toxic means of virus mitigation. In particular, zero-valent and ferrous iron have shown evidence of inactivating bacteria and viruses. The purpose of this research was to elucidate the relationship between iron oxidation and virus inactivation and determine if iron-based inactivation can enhance two water treatment processes, electrocoagulation and electrooxidation, for virus mitigation. This research first investigated bacteriophage inactivation due to ferrous oxidation in batch tests using ferrous chloride salt. Ferrous iron oxidation …

Advanced Silicon Carbide Based Fault-Tolerant Multilevel Converters, Ramin Katebi

Dissertations (1934 -)

The number of safety-critical loads in electric power areas have been increasing drastically in the last two decades. These loads include the emerging more-electric aircraft (MEA), uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), high-power medical instruments, electric and hybrid electric vehicles (EV/HEV) and ships for military use, electric space rovers for space exploration and the like. This dissertation introduces two novel fault-tolerant three-level power converter topologies, named advanced three-level active neutral point clamped converter (A3L-ANPC) and advanced three-level active T-Type (A3L-ATT) converter. The goal of these converters is to increase the reliability of multilevel power converters used in safety-critical applications.These new fault-tolerant …

Bayesian Estimation Of Transient Engine Exhaust Composition From Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Measurements, David Hilton Wilson

Dissertations (1934 -)

Mobile sources comprise a substantial portion of anthropogenic volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions worldwide. Many research efforts have sought to elucidate the relationships between VOC emissions and engine operating conditions, which are largely transient in real-world scenarios. However, the literature remains dominated by steady-state data and batch measurements of total emissions over entire driving cycles. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a promising technique for obtaining instantaneous, time-resolved VOC measurements. However, FTIR measurements of chemically evolving samples are biased due to sample recirculation and signal non-stationarity. To extract accurate emissions profiles from biased FTIR measurements of transient emissions, an Unscented …

Thermodynamically-Constrained Computational Modeling Of Lung Tissue Bioenergetics And The Effect Of Hyperoxia-Induced Acute Lung Injury, Xiao Zhang

Dissertations (1934 -)

Altered lung tissue bioenergetics is an important and early step in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury (ALI), one of the most common causes of admission to medical ICUs. A wealth of information exists regarding the effect of ALI on specific mitochondrial and cytosolic processes in isolated mitochondria, cultured endothelial cell, and intact lungs. However, the interdependence of lung cellular processes makes it difficult to quantify the impact of a change in a single or multiple cellular process(es) on overall lung tissue bioenergetics. Integrating bioenergetics data from isolated mitochondria and intact lung is necessary for determining the functional significance of …

Design Of Sustainable Mixed Use Complex In Santa Clara, California, Spencer Larsen, Joao Etrusco, Marek Kossik

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

Lying in the heart of the Silicon Valley, the City of Santa Clara is a hotbed of development and has long been viewed as the model for rapid development, as the area needs to keep up with the demands of the rapidly growing technology industry. For this senior design project, the team decided to address this issue of massive urban growth by proposing a development design that is both sustainable and establishes a community feel that enhances local growth and business. The team drew initial inspiration from San Jose based The CORE Companies’ Agrihood project, a community development already in …

Impact Of Pulse Length On The Accuracy Of Defect Depth Measurements In Pulse Thermography, James Pierce, Nathan B. Crane

Faculty Publications

Pulse thermography is a nondestructive testing method in which an energy pulse is applied to a surface while the surface temperature evolution is measured to detect sub surface defects and estimate their depth. This nondestructive test method was developed on the assumption of instantaneous surface heating, but recent work has shown that relatively long pulses can be used to accurately determine defect depth in polymers. This paper examines the impact of varying input pulse length on the accuracy of defect depth quantification as a function of the material properties. Simulations using both thermoplastics and metals show that measurement error is …

Groundwater Irrigation System For Sustainable Agriculture, Peter Koros, Richard Matthews, Ciara Murphy

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

The aim of this project was to develop a prototype that may be a model to help relieve food insecurity in rural Liberia. This was accomplished by designing a groundwater extraction, recharge, and irrigation system to facilitate year-long crop-growth. The project was in partnership with BRAID Africa and a community in Zwedru, located in east Liberia, near the border of Côte D’Ivoire. During 2010 and 2011, a civil war broke out in Côte D’Ivoire and led to the citizens of the country taking refuge in Liberia (Leaf 2015). Many refugees have decided to stay in Liberia and are struggling to …

Tiny Home Innovations: Alternative Uses And Designs With The San José Bridge Housing Community, Jackson Bordelon, John O’Hagan

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

Homelessness is without question one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the Bay Area. Regardless of whether people think ending homelessness is feasible, the bottom line is that every human deserves the right to have a place they call home. Despite the simplicity of this right, achieving it in today’s society is difficult because of the economic, social and political complexities which make homelessness appear to be a problem with no solution. Unfortunately, belief in the hopelessness of efforts to end homelessness dissuades many from taking action.

This project is not guided by the belief that ending homelessness is …

Embedded Fault Class Detection Methodology For Condition-Based Machine Monitoring And Predictive Maintenance, Nagdev Amruthnath

Dissertations

Ever since the Second Industrial Revolution, manufacturing firms have continuously been working on minimizing the inefficiencies and maximizing the productivity of their system. This objective led to the creation of the Toyota Production System which follows the motto of “making [the] highest quality products at the least cost in the shortest lead time. (Ohno, 1988)” This philosophy is widely recognized and is utilized by various industries today.

Currently, we are going through the Fourth Industrial Revolution (also called, Industry 4.0) where internet technologies are utilized to additionally maximize the productivity in the production processes. Process synchronization is one of the …

Complete Streets In Venice, California, Fabian Chavez, Jordan Cho

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

In response to the growing pattern of fatal traffic accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists in the City of Los Angeles, a new initiative has been started to reduce these accidents by improving current designs and adding signage and striping to add more visibility. The city-wide project also focused on these redesigns to help boost the surrounding economy by encouraging residents to bike and walk instead of drive. Though met with much criticism and protest from residents, the traffic data after one year of the pilot implementation proved accident rates and fatalities had decreased with the new safety measures installed. This …

Bridges As Part Of City Symbols An Analytical And Descriptive Study With Case Study In Basra, Iraq, Armen Sakis Khosrof Markarian, Kkhalil Ibrahim Ali

Emirates Journal for Engineering Research

Various studies had covered a number of major areas and sectors (Mehalla) in Basrah describing its major roads building methods and characteristics of traditional and contemporary buildings. They also cover the rivers passing through the city and the canals where bridge from a strong link between the parts. These rivers and canals formed a significant element in the city formation. These studies did not cover the visual impact of these bridges nor have documented evidence about their attributes and significance on the whole city especially. This study tries to through the period 1870 – 1958 this study tries to fill …

Testing Photovoltaic Pavers For Roadway Applications, Ronald A. Coutu Jr., David Newman, James Crovetti, Ashish Kumar Mishra, Mohiuddin Munna, Allyssa Delbridge-Ramos, Julie Brusaw, Scott Brusaw

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Concrete and asphalt are the primary materials used to construct roadways for motor vehicles, bike paths for pedestrians and bicyclists, and runways for aircraft. Solar Roadways®, Inc. (SR) in Sandpoint, ID, proposed using robust, Solar Road Panels (SRPs) as an alternative roadway material due to the potential for creating a modular, multi-functional infrastructure product with cost-savings, user-safety, power-generation, and a better alternative in terms of environmental sustainability when compared to contemporary pavement materials. Typical roadway construction materials, on average, need to be replaced every 10-15 years while also requiring regular annual maintenance to maintain proper safety standards. SR’s novel roadway …

Development Of A Technology For Obtaining An Affined Paladium Powder From Fulfilled Electrolytes, A.Kh. Khursanov, A.S. Khasanov, B.R. Vohidov

Gorniy vestnik Uzbekistana

The article discusses the processing of waste solutions of the AGMK copper plant, and as a result of research, a technology has been developed for producing refined palladium in powder and in ingot. Also, cleaning methods for reducing impurities in the composition of refined palladium are given. The results of aqua regia dissolution, advantages, leaching parameters are analyzed and methods for the selective precipitation of palladium from solutions are given, the maximum degree of purification of palladium using low-cost and simple technologies is substantiated, and to achieve high economic performance.

Development Of Self-Ignition Mechanisms And Conditions Carbon Deposits And Terricons, A.E. Vorobev, R.B. Dzhimieva

Gorniy vestnik Uzbekistana

In this article, the mechanisms of spontaneous combustion of coal and coal-bearing rocks, as well as physical and mathematical modeling of the development of processes and the source of spontaneous combustion in the local zone of the coal-rock massif, are studied. predict the occurrence and prevention of these very dangerous phenomena.

Analysis Of Ash Fireplant Slates Of Deposit Sangruntau And The Possibility Of Their Enrichment, K.S. Sanakulov, O.F. Petukhov, B.T. Ruziev, U.Z. Sharafutdinov

Gorniy vestnik Uzbekistana

This article provides laboratory research data on the analysis of the ash of combustible shale from the Sangruntau deposit and the possibility of their enrichment. Magnetic enrichment of the ash of combustible shale was carried out in order to determine the yield of the magnetic fraction, determine the chemical composition of the products of magnetic separation, determine the extraction and the enrichment factor for the main elements. When gravitational enrichment of the ash of combustible shale gold almost completely goes into the gravity concentrate. Gravitational enrichment of rhenium, vanadium, copper, zinc, uranium does not occur.