Engineering Commons^™

A 3d Image-Guided System To Improve Myocardial Revascularization Decision-Making For Patients With Coronary Artery Disease, Haipeng Tang

Dissertations

OBJECTIVES. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease and kills over 360,000 people a year in the United States. Myocardial revascularization (MR) is a standard interventional treatment for patients with stable CAD. Fluoroscopy angiography is real-time anatomical imaging and routinely used to guide MR by visually estimating the percent stenosis of coronary arteries. However, a lot of patients do not benefit from the anatomical information-guided MR without functional testing. Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is a widely used functional testing for CAD evaluation but limits to the absence of anatomical information. …

A Comparison Study Using Particle Swarm Optimization Inversion Algorithm For Gravity Anomaly Interpretation Due To A 2d Vertical Fault Structure, Neil Lennart Anderson, Khalid S. Essa, Mahmoud Elhussein

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new approach to the inversion of gravity data utilizing the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is used to model 2D vertical faults. The PSO algorithm is stochastic in nature; its development was motivated by the communal in-flight performance of birds looking for food. The birds are represented by particles (or models). Individual particles have a location and a velocity vector. The location vectors represent the parameter value. PSO is adjusted with random particles (models) and searches for targets by updating generations. Herein, the PSO algorithm is applied to three synthetic data sets (residual only with and without noise, residual …

Impacts Of Beaver Dams On Mountain Stream Discharge And Water Temperature, Timothy R. Clark

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Beaver dam complexes have been shown to affect the hydrologic processes controlling river systems. These processes include surface and groundwater exchanges, water chemistry and temperature variations, and river discharge magnitudes. Majerova et al. (2015) explored the effects of beaver dams on surface and groundwater exchanges and water temperature by evaluating three years of water discharge and temperature data recorded at multiple locations within a small stream in northern Utah. They found that beaver dams increase the water surface elevation and force water into the floodplain resulting in increased inundation and groundwater recharge. They additionally found that beaver dams increase residence …

Learning Deep Architectures For Power Systems Operation And Analysis, Mahdi Khodayar

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

With the rapid increase in size and computational complexities of power systems, the need for powerful computational models to capture strong patterns from energy datasets is emerged. In this thesis, we provide a comprehensive review on recent advances in deep neural architectures that lead to significant improvements in classification and regression problems in the area of power engineering. Furthermore, we introduce our novel deep learning methodologies proposed for a large variety of applications in this area. First, we present the interval deep probabilistic modeling for wind speed forecasting. Incorporating the Rough Set Theory into deep neural networks, we create an …

Bim Research In Irish Academic Institutions 2015-19, Barry Mcauley, Alan V. Hore, Roger P. West

Conference papers

The use of BIM in the Irish construction industry has become pervasive in the last decade and it is an essential element in improving productivity in the market. The developments in BIM education and training in supporting the increase in Ireland’s BIM maturity has been well documented in recent years, principally through the proceedings of the BIM Gatherings and the BIM in Ireland 2017 and 2019 reviews. Similarly, the public and private sectors have been surveyed to establish their readiness for digital transformation on their BIM journey. However, BIM research undertaken by Irish academics, while individually strong, has not been …

Testing Of A 10 To 48-Inch Insertion Magnetic Flow Meter, Stuart Styles, Jack Evans, Sierra Layous, Chad Tenbrink

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

With funding from the US Bureau of Reclamation, California – Great Basin Region (Region 10), the Cal Poly Irrigation Training & Research Center (ITRC) conducted flow measurement testing on one (1×) 10 to 48-inch Seametrics EX21x insertion magnetic meter (“Seametrics”, “test meter”) in April 2020. Figure 1 shows the meter installed at the testing facility. The testing determined the accuracy of the test meter in a straight pipe configuration across a range of typical water velocities (0.5 to 5.8 feet per second). Testing was performed at the ITRC Water Resources Facility (WRF) using calibrated measurements from a 30-inch Krohne Enviromag …

Magnetic Flow Meter Testing And The Effect Of Upstream Chemical Injection On Meter Performance, Stuart Styles, Sierra Layous, Jack Evans

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

With funding from the US Bureau of Reclamation, California – Great Basin Region (Region 10), the Cal Poly Irrigation Training & Research Center (ITRC) performed testing on magnetic flow meters to examine issues related to upstream chemical injection. Two sets of tests were completed:

• Meter Accuracy Testing – This testing determined the flow measurement accuracy of ten (10×) meters. Previously, all the meters had been installed in irrigation pipelines immediately downstream of chemical injection and showed significant fluctuations in flow measurement readings.

• Upstream Chemical Injection Testing – This testing quantified the variability of flow rate measurements at various …

Testing Of Two 30-Inch Magnetic Flow Meters, Stuart Styles, Jack Evans, Sierra Layous, Chad Tenbrink

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

With funding from the US Bureau of Reclamation, California – Great Basin Region (Region 10), the Cal Poly Irrigation Training & Research Center (ITRC) conducted flow measurement testing on two (2×) 30inch spool-type magnetic flow meters in March of 2020. Figure 1 shows the meters installed at the testing facility. The testing determined the accuracy for each test meter in a straight pipe configuration across a range of typical water velocities (0.4 to 3.8 feet per second). Testing was performed at the ITRC Water Resources Facility (WRF) using the ITRC volumetric tank as the standard flow rate measurement for all …

The Use Of Low-Cost Sensors And A Convolutional Neural Network To Detect And Classify Mini-Drones, Austin Florio

Master's Theses

The increasing commercial availability of mini-drones and quadrotors has led to their greater usage, highlighting the need for detection and classification systems to ensure safe operation. Instances of drones causing serious complications since 2019 alone include shutting down airports [1-2], spying on individuals [3-4], and smuggling drugs and prohibited items across borders and into prisons [5-6]. Some regulatory measures have been taken, such as registration of drones above a specific size and the establishment of no-fly zones in sensitive areas such as airports, military bases, and national parks. While commercial systems exist to detect drones [7-8], they are expensive, unreliable, …

Quantitative Analysis Of The Impacts Of Out-Of-Sequence Work On Project Performance, Michael W. Ibrahim, Awad S. Hanna, Jeffrey S. Russell, Ibrahim S. Abotaleb, Islam H. El-Adaway

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Although out-of-sequence work (OOS) is often cited as a recurring challenge that impacts project performance, it has not been fully addressed in the existing literature as a standalone topic. This paper addresses this gap, defining OOS work as an activity or series of activities that was not performed according to baseline planned logical productive sequencing. By developing a project-based survey and contacting 300 professionals, extensive data were gathered from 42 projects. Using these data, the impacts of OOS were examined. It was found that, on average, approximately 15% of project activities are performed as OOS, resulting in 33% growth in …

Differences In Soil Water Changes And Canopy Temperature Under Varying Water × Nitrogen Sufficiency For Maize, Tsz Him Lo, Daran Rudnick, Kendall C. Dejonge, Geng Bai, Hope Njuki Nakabuye, Abia Katimbo, Yufeng Ge, Trenton E. Franz, Xin Qiao, Derek M. Heeren

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

Crop nitrogen (N) status is known to affect crop water status and crop water use. To investigate further the N effects on soil water changes and on canopy temperature, three water levels × four N levels were imposed on two growing seasons of maize in west central Nebraska, USA. Soil water changes were measured using a neutron probe, whereas canopy temperature was measured using infrared thermometers on a ground-based mobile platform. At all water levels, soil water losses over monthlong intervals were generally greater as N levels increased. Given equal water levels, early afternoon canopy temperatures were usually lower with …

Effects Of Clay Creep On Long-Term Load-Carrying Behaviors Of Bored Piles: Aiming At Reusing Existing Bored Piles, Lin Li, Weibing Gong, Jingpei Li, Jingpei Li

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An analytical procedure is presented for assessing the long-term load-carrying behavior of bored piles in clay, where the plastic volumetric strain of surrounding clay caused by creep is estimated by an advanced elasto-viscoplastic constitutive model. Two key soil parameters, the undrained shear strength and the shear modulus, which govern the load-carrying behavior of bored piles in clay, are determined from the definition of the quasi-over consolidation ratio and the concept of the critical state theory-based Cam-clay model. The long-term load-carrying capacity of bored piles is evaluated based on the total stress method. Hyperbolic load-transfer models are developed with proper incorporation …

Resilience In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Capacity To Overcome Disasters And Hardships, 2020 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca Vogt, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel, Brad Lubben, L.J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Steve Schulz, Jason L. Weigle

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

The definition of resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. Synonyms include toughness, perseverance and grit. Last spring’s severe weather events and this year’s ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are likely testing the resilience of rural Nebraskans. Given that, how do rural Nebraskans rate their communities on dimensions that measure their resiliency? How confident are they that the federal government or local emergency management authorities can contain infectious disease outbreaks? How do they rate their ability to help their community handle adversities? How prepared are rural Nebraskans to deal with financial emergencies? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these …

Agents For Smart Power Grids, Salem Al-Agtash, Hossam Abdel Hafez

Computer Science and Engineering

The future of electricity systems will compose of small-scale generation and distribution where end-users will be active participants with localized energy management systems that are able to interact on a free energy market. Software agents will most likely control power assets and interact together to decide the best and safest configuration of the power grid system. This paper presents a design of agents that can be deployed in real-time with capabilities that include optimization of resources, intensive computation, and appropriate decision-making. Jordan 51-bus system has been used for simulation with a total generation capacity of 4050 MW of which 230 …

Novel Vibrational Energy Harvesters Utilizing Piezoelectric Li-Doped Zno Nanowires And The Triboelectric Effect, H M Ashfiqul Hamid

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Vibration sources are omnipresent everywhere in our regular lives including the automobiles, aircraft, human body motion, wind flow, and water waves. Vibrational energy harvesters are electromechanical systems that can convert the ambient vibrations into electrical energy which can be stored to power up small scale electronic devices, essentially converting them into self-powered systems. The electronics industry has always propelled towards the scaling of electronic devices for improved flexibility and reduced production cost. This scaling, combined with the power-efficient designs, is widening the scope of applications for the energy harvesters. For instance, the vibrational energy harvesters have substantial applications in small …

Distributed Resilient Control Of Multi-Agent Systems With Applications To Microgrids, Shan Zuo

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Distributed cooperative control of multi-agent systems (MAS) has been an active research area over the last few decades. Distributed cooperative controller is locally designed using the neighborhood relative information. Such a distributed control manner, however, is vulnerable to malicious attacks, due to the absence of a centralized control architecture to effectively monitor and verify the local information flow. Those attacks could undermine cooperative performance and even cause system instability. In this work, a new concept of multi-group system is first proposed, consisting of cooperative leaders and followers, as well as adversaries. A resilient control framework is developed for general linear …

Structured Deep Learning: Theory And Applications, Fangqi Zhu

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The increasing amount of data generation has boosted the broad range of research in big data and artificial intelligence. Besides the success of the deep learning in wide range of research area, it meets its pitfalls on the following three problems: * Data hungry: current models often require to feed GB, TB even PB level of data, which is easily overfit. * Hard to generalize: deep learning constructs representations that memorize their training data rather than generalize to unseen scenarios * Missing critical information: o -the-self deep learning framework may not fully utilize the underlying information of the data We …

Exploring Iot-Based Applications In Power Systems Monitoring, Demand Side Management And Protection, Long Zhao

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The Internet-of-Things (IoT) concept allows objects to share data through wired or wireless connections for communication purposes. Currently, IoT has been involved with the development of smart grids in many applications. In this article-based dissertation, IoT applications in power systems are presented in 7 published research papers. In the first three papers, the developments of the IoT-based monitoring system are presented. Power substation monitoring for the petrochemical facility is discussed in the first paper. Internal design and detection mechanisms are emphasized in this research. The second paper presents the communication and task allocations for a generic power substation monitoring system. …

High-Performance Optimization Methods For Emerging Power Systems, Tuncay Altun

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation investigates the applications of high performance optimization techniques for emerging power systems with augmented power electronics devices. One of the main sources of complexity in the analysis of power systems is rooted in the power flow equations modeling steady-state relationship between power injections and voltages. Hence, the present work is in-part focused on addressing the complexity of power flow equations in the presence of power electronic devices. In contrast to the classic optimal power flow (OPF) solution techniques, we employ convex optimization methods to reliably find globally optimal solutions in polynomial time. The first chapter investigates the optimization …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Cobalt-Based Magnetic Nanostructures, Jacob Elkins

Material Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

Co is an attractive element in the development of nanostructured magnetic materials due to its relatively high moment (1.72-1.75 µB) and strong exchange and spin-orbit interactions, and many of these materials have potential in applications such as data recording media, hyperthermia treatments, and nanostructured permanent magnets. In this thesis, magnetic nanostructures of CoFe2O4, Co, and CoNi with controlled size, shape, composition, and crystal structure are synthesized via bottom-up wet chemical methods and their magnetic properties are systematically characterized. Additionally, nanocomposites of exchange-coupled FeCo/CoFe2O4 and Co/FeCo core-shell nanostructures with enhanced magnetizations are prepared and investigated. In order to understand the prominent …

Theoretical Modeling Of Heat And Mass Transfer Processes In Phase Change And Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems, Mohammad Parhizi

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Theoretical understanding of heat and mass transfer processes in energy storage and conversion devices is of much interest for a wide variety of engineering applications. Two commonly used mechanisms for energy storage are electrochemical energy storage, such as in Li-ion cells, and phase change based energy storage, such as in phase change materials (PCM). Previous studies show that heat and mass transfer in both PCMs and Li-ion cells are critical processes affecting the performance and safety of these systems. This dissertation investigates several theoretical aspects of heat and mass transfer in these energy storage systems, with the goal of improving …

Finite Element Based Methodology To Predict Fatigue Compression Failure In Composite Based On Fiber Kinking Damage Model, Md Saddam Hossain

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Advanced polymer matrix composites are widely used in designing high-performance and lightweight spacecraft, rotorcraft, and automotive structures, due to its superior performance such as specific stiffness, specific strength, and toughness, which are appealing in reducing the weight of these structures. One critical factor that limits the efficient design of structures composed of fiber-reinforced composites (FRP) is the vulnerability of the material under compression loading since compressive strength of FRP material is typically a lot less compared to the tensile strength. Moreover, composite structure may undergo compression loading either by accidentally or by deliberately, large margins of safety are usually imposed …

A Scaling Investigation Of Feasibility And Hover Endurance For Electric Quasi Quadrotor Configurations, Budhyant Venepalli

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Motivated by recent developments in distributed propulsion electric vehicles, an effort is made in the present study to numerically investigate the upper bound of hover endurance achievable by electric quasi-quadrotors at various mass scales in the range of 0.1 kg to 10000 kg total vehicle mass. A feasible rotor propulsion pod design space is determined considering physics-based conceptual design constraints defined by blade tip Mach number and Reynolds number to ensure effective and energy-efficient generation of lift. A conceptual level scaling optimization for two-bladed rotor quasi-quadrotors was carried out at constant blade tip speed. A momentum theory model, a blade …

A Molecular Scale Study Of Cavitation Growth And Shock Response In Soft Materials, Khandakar Mahmud

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Cavitation is a mechanism through which small vapor-filled cavities are formed in a liquid medium due to rapid changes of pressure. In liquid, the cavitation bubble is created when surrounding pressure drops below the saturation vapor pressure. Here, cavitation formation due to shock wave is considered. The molecular level heterogeneous and homogenous cavitation mechanisms and bubble growth kinetics in soft gelatin hydrogel and water has been studied. Gelatin, which is derived from collagen, is frequently used as a brain simulant material. As such, the morphology of gelatin is very different from water. In the heterogeneous cavitation study, using molecular dynamics …

Experimental And Numerical Study Of Open Bath Immersion Cooling Of Microprocessors., Amirreza Niazmand

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The increase on demand of communication and networking has resulted to increase for more powerful servers and bigger data centers. With increase the power of electronics, thermal management and cooling of the equipment become a gigantic challenge due to lower surface, they have higher power density and traditional methods of cooling become ineffective. Generally, air cooling method is the first option for cooling of the electronics due to cheaper price. To increase the efficiency and capacity of cooling liquid immersion cooling is used due to higher thermal properties like heat capacity and thermal conductivity compare to air. Two methods of …

Hypoid Gear Noise And Vibration Control In Automotive Rear Axle Systems, Chia-Ching Lin

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Gear whine is a key issue for the vehicle powertrain system, and the design of a quiet, reliable driveline system is highly desirable for the automotive industry. From past studies, the main source of excitation for gear vibration and noise is the transmission error (TE), which generates the dynamic mesh force between the gear teeth. Then the vibration transmits through the flexible axle components and radiates off from the surface of the axle housing structure. The dynamic responses of the hypoid geared rotor system in the rear axle have a significant effect on the performance of noise, vibration, and harshness …

A Multiscale Study Of Cavitation Mechanism And Damage In Soft Materials, Fuad Hasan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Cavitation is defined as the formation and growth of the gaseous bubble in bulk liquid due to the tensile pressure followed by the violent collapse. The collapse of the bubble is particularly significant due to its potential to cause damage to relatively stronger materials by either creating pressure waves (symmetric collapse) or liquid jet (asymmetric collapse). The study of cavitation in soft materials (e.g., tissue, brain, gelatin gel, etc.) has, therefore, gained a fair share of attention in the scientific communities. Recent studies have indicated that cavitation could be one of the leading causes of the mild Traumatic Brain Injury …

Molecular Level Mechanical Properties Of Ultra High Temperature Ceramics And Their Nanocomposites, Md Riaz Kayser

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Ultra High-Temperature Ceramics (UHTC) have been of great interest in the spacecraft, aerospace, and aeronautic industry due to their high melting point and their potential application as a protective material for the stagnation areas of leading edges. In this work, the effect of nanoparticle reinforcement for achieving tailored mechanical properties of UHTC’s has been studied. Two different material systems have been considered, namely the ZrB2-based and the HfO2-based nanocomposites. In the first study, the grain boundary driven mechanical behavior of polycrystalline ZrB2 and ZrC-ZrB2 nanocomposites using large-scale molecular dynamics simulations have been performed. The atomistic models of polycrystalline ZrB2 and …

Reliability Enhancement Of Heterogeneous 3d Integrated Circuit And Characterization Of Thermal Interface Material, A S M Raufur Chowdhury

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Electronic products require high functional integration in small footprints with lower cost. At the same time, it is required to maintain effective communication between the IC’s and the electronic systems. Various challenges are arising due to these factors such as signal processing time, heat dissipation, structural integrity, chip package interaction which need to be dealt effectively during electronic packaging. 3D stacking of the processors and the components accomplishes these goals and in high computing application it reduces the delay. Through-silicon via (TSV) is the heart of 3D integration, and the stacking of chips is emerging now as a powerful tool …

Experimental Investigation Of Effect Of Support Structure Geometry On The Microstructure And Metallurgical Properties Of In718 Parts Fabricated By Selective Laser Melting, Sourabh Hemant Thakare

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Additive Manufacturing is a modern manufacturing technique that provides extreme design freedom and the ability to manufacture multiple parts with high complexities at the same time. Various fabrication techniques have been developed, and this study focuses on selective laser melting (SLM) due to its ability to provide near-perfect parts at low cost while being able to work with a wide range of materials. In SLM, the part is manufactured, layer-by-layer, by melting and solidification of powder material under controlled inert conditions. The fabrication of complex geometries is not possible without proper allocation of support structures for the part, which keeps …