Engineering Commons^™

A Survey Of Mathematical Models Of Human Performance Using Power And Energy, Vijay Sarthy Mysore Sreedhara, Gregory M. Mocko, Randolph E. Hutchison

Publications

The ability to predict the systematic decrease of power during physical exertion gives valuable insights into health, performance, and injury. This review surveys the research of power-based models of fatigue and recovery within the area of human performance. Upon a thorough review of available literature, it is observed that the two-parameter critical power model is most popular due to its simplicity. This two-parameter model is a hyperbolic relationship between power and time with critical power as the power-asymptote and the curvature constant denoted by W′. Critical power (CP) is a theoretical power output that can be sustained indefinitely by …

Design And Development Of A Comprehensive And Interactive Diabetic Parameter Monitoring System - Betictrack, Nusrat Chowdhury

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A novel, interactive Android app has been developed that monitors the health of type 2 diabetic patients in real-time, providing patients and their physicians with real-time feedback on all relevant parameters of diabetes. The app includes modules for recording carbohydrate intake and blood glucose; for reminding patients about the need to take medications on schedule; and for tracking physical activity, using movement data via Bluetooth from a pair of wearable insole devices. Two machine learning models were developed to detect seven physical activities: sitting, standing, walking, running, stair ascent, stair descent and use of elliptical trainers. The SVM and decision …

Multirotor Uas Sense And Avoid With Sensor Fusion, Jonathan Mark Buchholz

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

In this thesis, the key concepts of independent autonomous Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are explored including obstacle detection, dynamic obstacle state estimation, and avoidance strategy. This area is explored in pursuit of determining the viability of UAS Sense and Avoid (SAA) in static and dynamic operational environments. This exploration is driven by dynamic simulation and post-processing of real-world data. A sensor suite comprised of a 3D Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor, visual camera, and 9 Degree of Freedom (DOF) Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) was found to be beneficial to autonomous UAS SAA in urban environments. Promising results are based …

2019 Summer-Fall Graduate Recognition Program, Propulsion Research Center, Robert Frederick

PRC Graduate Recognition

This program includes the graduate recognition program for summer and fall 2019. Includes photographs, upcoming events, recent publications, and student profiles.

Machine Learning Predictions Electronic Couplings For Charge Transport Calculations Of P3ht, Evan D. Miller, Matthew L. Jones, Mike M. Henry, Bryan Stanfill, Eric Jankowski

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this work is to lower the computational cost of predicting charge mobilities in organic semiconductors, which will benefit the screening of candidates for inexpensive solar power generation. We characterize efforts to minimize the number of expensive quantum chemical calculations we perform by training machines to predict electronic couplings between monomers of poly-(3-hexylthiophene). We test five machine learning techniques and identify random forests as the most accurate, information-dense, and easy-to-implement approach for this problem, achieving mean-absolute-error of 0.02 [× 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ J], R² = 0.986, predicting electronic couplings 390 times faster than quantum chemical calculations, …

Oxidation Behavior Of Welded Zry-3, Zry-4, And Zr–1nb Tubes, Jordan Vandegrift, Clemente J. Parga, Ben Coryell, Darryl P. Butt, Brian J. Jaques

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facility is a research reactor designed to simulate rapid transients to test new fuel designs. TREAT's cladding is exposed to unique conditions compared to normal water reactors. These conditions include: exposure to air at high temperatures (≥600 °C), rapid heating (≈700 °^C/_s), and cladding geometry that includes chamfers and welds. This work investigates the effects of chamfering and welding on the oxidation behavior of zirconium alloys (Zircaloy-3, Zircaloy-4, and Zr–1Nb). Tube specimens were examined under isothermal and transient conditions in dry and humid air. The effect of weld type (tungsten inert …

Magnetic Field Induced Ferrofluid Droplet Breakup In A Simple Shear Flow At A Low Reynolds Number, Md Rifat Hassan, Cheng Wang

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The breakup phenomenon of a ferrofluid droplet in a simple shear flow under a uniform magnetic field is numerically investigated in this paper. The numerical simulation, based on the finite element method, uses a level set method to capture the dynamic evolution of the droplet interface between the two phases. Focusing on small Reynolds numbers (i.e., Re ≤ 0.03), systematic numerical simulations are carried out to analyze the effects of magnetic field strength, direction, and viscosity ratio on the breakup phenomenon of the ferrofluid droplet. The results suggest that applying a magnetic field along α = 45° and 90° relative …

Uncertainty And Error In Combat Modeling, Simulation, And Analysis, Jason A. Blake

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the infrequent and competitive nature of combat, several challenges present themselves when developing a predictive simulation. First, there is limited data with which to validate such analysis tools. Secondly, there are many aspects of combat modeling that are highly uncertain and not knowable. This research develops a comprehensive set of techniques for the treatment of uncertainty and error in combat modeling and simulation analysis. First, Evidence Theory is demonstrated as a framework for representing epistemic uncertainty in combat modeling output. Next, a novel method for sensitivity analysis of uncertainty in Evidence Theory is developed. This sensitivity analysis method …

Better Beware: Comparing Metacognition For Phishing And Legitimate Emails, Casey I. Canfield, Baruch Fischhoff, Alex Davis

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Every electronic message poses some threat of being a phishing attack. If recipients underestimate that threat, they expose themselves, and those connected to them, to identity theft, ransom, malware, or worse. If recipients overestimate that threat, then they incur needless costs, perhaps reducing their willingness and ability to respond over time. In two experiments, we examined the appropriateness of individuals' confidence in their judgments of whether email messages were legitimate or phishing, using calibration and resolution as metacognition metrics. Both experiments found that participants had reasonable calibration but poor resolution, reflecting a weak correlation between their confidence and knowledge. These …

Runway Incursions: Examining Airport Managers’ Perspectives Of The Challenges Related To Vehicle/Pedestrian Deviations, John Arthur Mahlman Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was twofold: (a) to describe the contributing factors of vehicle and pedestrian deviation (V/PD) runway incursions (RIs) nationally, and (b) to describe what mitigation approaches/strategies airport managers recommend or find to be effective. The current study used a content analysis in identifying airports with more than 10 V/PD RIs within Fiscal Years (FY) 2011 to FY 2016. After the study population was identified, phenomenological design was used to poll airport executives of the previously identified airports. The 11 participants elected to either complete an anonymous survey or participate in a telephone interview. Spradley’s (2016) …

The Design And Development Of A Device To Assist In Boosting Patients, Taylor A. Rieckhoff

Masters Theses

A common task a nurse is required to perform is called boosting patients. Boosting a patient is defined as lifting or sliding a patient back up in the bed after having slid down (Mannheim, Zieve, & Conaway, 2017). The current method for boosting patients involves a minimum of two personnel and an 11-step process. The 11-step process requires the person to manually lift and pull the patient using an existing half sheet on the bed (Mannheim, Zieve, & Conaway, 2017). Patients who cannot move or support themselves are moved every two to six hours or upon request (Bihn, Rieckhoff, Burkman, …

A Cfd Study On The Performance Of High Speed Planing Hulls, Mowgli J. Crosby

Masters Theses

Most high speed water craft are able to achieve high speeds through the use of a planing hull. Planing hulls use hydrodynamic forces to lift a portion of the vessel out of the water, reducing drag, and allowing for greater speeds. Determining the flow around such vessels is traditionally achieved using a scale model in a tow tank. The purpose of this study was to analyze the performance of a high speed planing hull determine the effects of several geometric features using computational fluid dynamics rather than traditional experimentation. The goal was to determine the best configuration to ensure the …

Radio Direction Finding Using Pseudo-Doppler For Uav-Based Animal Tracking, Anup Karki

Masters Theses

Radio Direction Finding (RDF) is commonly used for low cost tracking and navigation systems. However, for a low cost application and mobility, the design constraints are highly limited. Pseudo Doppler (PD) can improve RDF capabilities without being cost prohibitive. This work entails the analysis of PD RDF and its potential use for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) that are currently employed in wildlife research animal tracking. PD is based on the doppler effect or doppler shift. The doppler effect works like a frequency modulator that increases or decreases the observed frequency depending on whether a signal source is approaching or receding …

Home Automation System By Voice Commands, Noor Kamil Abdalhameed

Theses and Dissertations

The Home Automation System is one of the most important technologies that are used by humans for controlling electrical devices to reduce manual efforts in their daily tasks. The home automation system by voice has the ability to understand thousands of voice commands and perform the required action to control various electrical devices. The voice recognition is a bit complex and challenging task since each person has his accent. Therefore, Bitvoicer Server used in the home automation system in this thesis since it supports 17 languages from 26 countries and regions, and has the ability to recognize an unlimited number …

Performance Evaluation Of Speech Recognition System Using Conventional And Hybrid Features And Hidden Markov Model Classifier, Hussien Elharati

Theses and Dissertations

Extracting the auditory information from speech signal is considered a computationally demanding task. However, past researches in mathematics, acoustics, and speech technology have provided many methods for signal processing and modeling. Although, all methods have their strengths and weaknesses, but they remain a serious attempt towards speech recognition system. Using multivariate statistical machine learning (Hidden Markov Model), this work investigates the performance of selected conventional and new hybrid feature extraction algorithms in both clean and noisy environments. The resultant conventional features include MFCC, LPCC, PLP, and RASTA-PLP, while the new hybrid features include LPR, MLP, MLR, and MPR. The whole …

Optimization Of Cabin Design For Enhanced Passenger Experience, Golnoosh Torkashvand

Theses and Dissertations

Passenger experience has been a recent focus of many airline industries. Airline manufacturers and businesses have noticed that in order to stay sustainable in the competition of the market, they need to understand passengers’ needs. Passenger experience, however, is a broad concept that requires more effort to understand. This research is an attempt towards understanding passenger experience and suggesting a framework toward enhancing it in long-haul flights. We consider an activity-centric approach toward redefining passenger experience and evaluating it. In addition, we employ Human-Centered Design (HCD) methodologies to grasp a better understanding of passengers’ perceptions of those activities. HCD is …

Dual-Task Multimodal Web Browsing In Semi-Autonomous Vehicles, Jarrett William Clark

Theses and Dissertations

Drivers should remain alert when operating semi-autonomous vehicles as human intervention is required when the automated systems fail, or an unusual situation is encountered. However, drivers do not always focus solely on the road and sometimes divert their attention to look at cell phones, laptops, tablet computers, or in-dash infotainment systems. In this research, software was created to enable operators of a simulated self-driving car to browse the Human-Centered Design Institute (HCDI) website using multimodal interaction. The software used synthesized speech to read the website aloud and visually highlighted the content on the screen as it was read. Web analytics …

Monitoring And Correlating Toxic Gases Emitted By Cars In Public Indoor Garage In Real-Time Using Internet Of Things (Iot), Khalid Altheiab

Theses and Dissertations

The study was developed to adequately depict the behavior of indoor pollutant matter in public garages, the underlying factors influencing this behavior and gauge the pollutant exhaust emission patterns. In depicting the behavior of indoor pollutant matter, the research aimed at studying the emission-pollutant relationship and any variations in concentrations found at different locations within the study site. In terms of measuring the factors influencing the pollutant behavior, the research quantified the concentrations of four gaseous contaminants. The pollutant behavior was studied to better understand the different variables influencing the indoor air-quality. Finally, based on these parameters overall patterns in …

Wall-Jet Turbulence And Mixing Control By Way Of A Pulsed Inlet Velocity, Cristale D. Garnica Vallejo

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Understanding wall-jet-induced turbulence and mixing is an important challenge in modern engineering, as drag reduction and mixing enhancement are attainable by modifying the flow development. Simulations are performed to investigate the effect on skin friction and flow mixing due to introducing controlled perturbations, at the initial shear layer of a planar wall-jet using jet inlet cyclic pulsing. The billow production by the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, the instability that drives turbulence in a wall-jet, is modified by the excitation of the inlet velocity profile by a sine wave perturbation. Two types of wall-jet simulations are carried out, a two-dimensional compressible case at …

Effects Of Musical Ability On Flight Planning, Situational Awareness, And Flight Path Deviations, Andrew P. Henry

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Numerous studies have been conducted on music education and the benefits that learning an instrument has on the brain. However, there is little research that connects a pilot’s ability to play an instrument to a pilot’s ability to fly an airplane. When learning an instrument, students learn non-musical abilities, such as executive functions, which may correspond with the skills necessary to be a good pilot. The purpose of this study was to find a relationship between learning a musical instrument and pilot performance, specifically related to flight planning, situational awareness, and flight path deviations. This study was a quasi-experimental design …

Mechanized Advent Calendar, Oma Skyrus, Sigrid Derickson, Tyler Koski, Daniel Clifton

Mechanical Engineering

Within this document, the “Naughty and Nice” team will describe the details associated with the completion of this project, which involves creating an animated advent calendar for the Cambria Christmas Market. The problem, the customers and stakeholders, and the general goals of the project are introduced. The team conducted background research; how this research helps in finding a solution or supporting the needs of the sponsor is illustrated. Initial research includes interviews with the sponsor and potential users, patent and existing product searches, and some technical research pertaining to the subject. The team found that there are not many existing …

Katie's Jogger, Megan Guillermo, Erin Wint, Abdullah Sulaiman, Kathryn Mangiaracina

Mechanical Engineering

Edward Robinson is an avid runner who would like to take his daughter on runs. His daughter, Katie, is 100% wheelchair bound and currently does not fit in any commercial joggers on the market. The project team was expected to design, build, and test a custom working prototype of a jogger that the sponsor can use to take his daughter on runs. This entire project was performed over a span of three quarters.

Bicycle Drivetrain Power Measurement Study, Luke Costello, Nick Musolino, Ryan Miller, Jose Aguirre

Mechanical Engineering

The overarching goal of this project was to experimentally compare the bottom-bracket (BB) powermeter developed by Level Engineering, Inc., against off-the-shelf powermeters and a dynamometer. To do this, a significant amount of testing was performed. Level Engineering facilitated this testing by providing the project team with three testing apparatus – an In-Situ tester, a Stationary Tester, and a fatigue tester. The In-Situ tester was a bicycle outfitted with the BB prototype and a PowerTap powermeter. The Stationary Tester was a bicycle with a BB prototype, and the rear wheel replaced with a dynamometer. Finally, the fatigue tester made to apply …

Stainless-Steel Column For Robust High Temperature Microchip Gas Chromatography, Abhijit Ghosh, Austin R. Foster, Jacob C. Johnson, Carlos R. Vilorio, Luke T. Tolley, Brian D. Iverson, Aaron R. Hawkins, H. Dennis Tolley, Milton L. Lee

Faculty Publications

This paper reports the first results of a robust, high performance, stainless-steel microchip gas chromatography (GC) column that is capable of analyzing complex real world mixtures as well as operating at very high temperatures. Using a serpentine design, a 10 m column with an approximately semicircular cross section with a 52 µm hydraulic diameter (D_h) was produced in a 17 cm x 6.3 cm x 0.1 cm rectangular steel chip. The channels were produced using a multilayer chemical etch and diffusion bonding process, and metal nuts were brazed onto the inlet and outlet ports allowing for column interfacing …

An Evaluation Of The Host Response To An Interspinous Process Device Based On A Series Of Spine Explants: Device For Intervertebral Assisted Motion (Diam®), Jeffrey M. Toth, Justin D. Bric

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Background:

The objective of this study was to evaluate the host response to an interspinous process device [Device for Intervertebral Assisted Motion (DIAM®)] based on a series of nine spine explants with a mean post-operative explant time of 35 months.

Methods:

Explanted periprosthetic tissues were processed for histology and stained with H&E, Wright-Giemsa stain, and Oil Red O. Brightfield and polarized light microscopy were used to evaluate the host response to the device and the resultant particulate debris. The host response was graded per ASTM F981-04. Quantitative histomorphometry was used to characterize particle size, shape, and area per ASTM F1877-05. …

Navigational Feasibility Of Flyby / Impact Missions To Interstellar Objects, Declan Moore Mages

Master's Theses

In October 2017, the first interstellar object, designated 1I/2017 U1 and more commonly referred to as Oumuamua, was detected passing through our solar system by the Pan-STARRS telescope, followed recently by the detection of 2I/Borisov in August 2019. These detections came much sooner than thought possible, and have redefined our understanding of the population of interstellar objects. With the construction of the next generation of powerful observatories, future detections are estimated to occur as frequently as two per year, and while there is significant scientific understanding to be gained from observing these objects remotely, a spacecraft sent to intercept one …

Differentiating Epileptic From Psychogenic Nonepileptic Eeg Signals Using Time Frequency And Information Theoretic Measures Of Connectivity, Sarah Barnes

Masters Theses

Differentiating psychogenic nonepileptic seizures from epileptic seizures is a difficult task that requires timely recording of psychogenic events using video electroencephalography (EEG). Interpretation of video EEG to distinguish epileptic features from signal artifacts is error prone and can lead to misdiagnosis of psychogenic seizures as epileptic seizures resulting in undue stress and ineffective treatment with antiepileptic drugs. In this study, an automated surface EEG analysis was implemented to investigate differences between patients classified as having psychogenic or epileptic seizures. Surface EEG signals were grouped corresponding to the anatomical lobes of the brain (frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital) and central coronal …

Multi-Scale Assessment Of Binding Geometries And Energetics Of Aqueous Phase Reforming Of Glycerol And Methanol: Towards Realistic, Accurate, And Computationally Tractable Strategies, Tianjun Xie

All Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Cavopulmonary Support For Failing Fontan Patients: Computational And In Vitro Assessment, Masoud Farahmand

All Dissertations

Congenital heart defects are responsible for the mortality of approximately 300,000 newborn each year. One study in 2010 estimated that over 2 million patients were living with congenital heart defects in the United States. Congenital heart defects have the highest hospitalization cost among other birth defect categories. The damage on the U.S economy in 2013 was estimated $6.1 billion. The most complex and severe form of these defects results in single ventricle physiology. Fortunately, over the last 50 years, these patients have been able to survive into adulthood as a result of three stages of surgeries culminating with Fontan operation. …

Development Of A Nucleus Pulposus Implant For Intervertebral Disc Repair, Joshua Dillon Walters

All Dissertations

The intervertebral disc (IVD) is a fibrocartilaginous tissue connecting adjacent vertebrae in the spinal column. It comprises three distinct tissues: a gelatinous core known as the nucleus pulposus (NP), concentric fibrous rings encircling the NP known as the annulus fibrosus (AF), and the superior/inferior cartilaginous endplates (CEPs). The complex mechanical interplay of these tissues allows the IVD to withstand complex loading in the spine while maintaining trunk stability and flexibility. IVD pathologies, such as IVD degeneration (IDD) and herniation, are associated with cell-mediated inflammation in vivo. This inflammation creates a catabolic environment which degrades the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the …