Engineering Commons^™

Nanoceria Distribution And Effects Are Mouse-Strain Dependent, Robert A. Yokel, Michael T. Tseng, D. Allan Butterfield, Matthew L. Hancock, Eric A. Grulke, Jason M. Unrine, Arnold J. Stromberg, Alan K. Dozier, Uschi M. Graham

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Prior studies showed nanoparticle clearance was different in C57BL/6 versus BALB/c mice, strains prone to Th1 and Th2 immune responses, respectively. Objective: Assess nanoceria (cerium oxide, CeO₂ nanoparticle) uptake time course and organ distribution, cellular and oxidative stress, and bioprocessing as a function of mouse strain. Methods: C57BL/6 and BALB/c female mice were i.p. injected with 10 mg/kg nanoceria or vehicle and terminated 0.5 to 24 h later. Organs were collected for cerium analysis; light and electron microscopy with elemental mapping; and protein carbonyl, IL-1β, and caspase-1 determination. Results: Peripheral organ cerium significantly increased, generally more …

Quantitative Assessment Of Alkali-Silica Reaction In Small And Large-Scale Concrete Specimens Utilizing Nonlinear Acoustic Techniques, Clayton Malone

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nonlinear resonance techniques have been shown to be sensitive to microcracking in materials, including alkali-silica reaction (ASR) damage in concrete. However, application of nonlinear resonance tests have been limited due to the difficulty of application to large-scale field structures and the inability to quantitatively relate material nonlinearity with damage development. In this study, the development of ASR in concrete prisms and large concrete beam specimens of varying aggregate types and specimen sizes was monitored using linear and nonlinear resonance techniques.

For the concrete prisms, although the linear resonance frequency test could detect initiation and development of ASR damage in specimens …

Using Natural Language Processing And Sentiment Analysis To Augment Traditional User-Centered Design: Development And Usability Study, Curtis L. Petersen, Ryan Halter, David Kotz, Lorie Loeb, Summer B. Cook, Dawna M. Pidgeon, Brock Christensen, John A. Batsis

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: Sarcopenia, defined as the age-associated loss of muscle mass and strength, can be effectively mitigated through resistance-based physical activity. With compliance at approximately 40% for home-based exercise prescriptions, implementing a remote sensing system would help patients and clinicians to better understand treatment progress and increase compliance. The inclusion of end users in the development of mobile apps for remote-sensing systems can ensure that they are both user friendly and facilitate compliance. With advancements in natural language processing (NLP), there is potential for these methods to be used with data collected through the user-centered design process.

Objective: This study aims …

Mismatch In Ebg Common-Mode Filters Implemented On Pcbs, Marina Y. Koledintseva, Sergiu Radu, Joseph Nuebel

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this article, impedance mismatch effects on the characteristics of common-mode (CM) electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) filters are studied using three-dimensional (3-D) full-wave numerical simulations. The CM EBG filters considered herein are designed using standard printed circuit board technology and contain either microstrip (MS) differential pairs running above the EBG plane, or strip line (SL) differential pairs running on one of the layers next to the EBG plane. First, the terminations are fixed at 50 Ω, and the effects of the differential line impedance variations on the EBG filter parameters are studied. Overall, the considered variations in the widths of the …

Measurement Techniques To Identify Soft Failure Sensitivity To Esd, Jianchi Zhou, Yuandong Guo, Satyajeet Shinde, Ahmad Hosseinbeig, Abhishek Patnaik, Omid Hoseini Izadi, Chen Zeng, Jun Shi, Junji Maeshima, Hideki Shumiya, Kenji Araki, David Pommerenke

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Electrostatic discharge (ESD)-induced soft failures are a critical issue for electronic systems as the failures are mostly found after the hardware design is completed. Any changes applied to the hardware may delay the project. Diagnostic tools capable of identifying soft failure-induced malfunctions in an early stage of product design help to reduce the risk of late stage ESD-induced project delays. In many cases, soft failures can be directly observed by the user interface, system crash, or other obvious indicators. However, in an early product design stage the operation system may be marginal, and applications may not be available. To improve …

Automated Detection And Characterization Of Esd-Induced Soft Failures Using Image-And Audio-Based Methods, Omid Hoseini Izadi, Javad Meiguni, Kenji Araki, Hideki Shumiya, David J. Pommerenke

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Audio-and image-based soft failure detection methods are developed, which can detect both severe failures (such as system hang) and subtle ones (such as glitch or a momentary disturbance on display). Incorporating the developed detection methods with a robotic ESD (electrostatic discharge) tester, we developed a fully automated soft failure investigation tool. Using this fully automated tool, we obtained failure-specific susceptibility maps for a camera (our target device). These susceptibility maps not only illustrated the sensitive locations of the device, but they also showed what type of soft failure is correlated with which locations.

Estimation Of Construction Site Elevations Using Drone-Based Orthoimagery And Deep Learning, Yuhan Jiang, Yong Bai

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Using deep learning to recover depth information from a single image has been studied in many situations, but there are no published articles related to the determination of construction site elevations. This paper presents the research results of developing and testing a deep learning model for estimating construction site elevations using a drone-based orthoimage. The proposed method includes an orthoimage-based convolutional neural network (CNN) encoder, an elevation map CNN decoder, and an overlapping orthoimage disassembling and elevation map assembling algorithm. In the convolutional encoder-decoder network model, the max pooling and up-sampling layers link the orthoimage pixel and elevation map pixel …

Sharing Is Caring: Assessing Willingness To Share Autonomous Vehicles For Evacuation And Disaster Relief, Thomas Alan Shirley

All Theses

Coastal areas in the southeastern United States face the threat of hurricanes each year. Some of the greatest danger associated with these storms is experienced by citizens without personal means to evacuate. Along with storms comes the inevitable post-disaster relief process of evaluating losses and delivering supplies. With the rapid development of autonomous vehicle technology, this study examines the potential use of autonomous vehicles, publicly or privately owned, to assist in these evacuation and disaster relief efforts. Examining this new field of study, the researchers hosted three focus groups and received 1050 responses to an online survey. Based on the …

Investigating Single Precision Floating General Matrix Multiply In Heterogeneous Hardware, Steven Harris

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The fundamental operation of matrix multiplication is ubiquitous across a myriad of disciplines. Yet, the identification of new optimizations for matrix multiplication remains relevant for emerging hardware architectures and heterogeneous systems. Frameworks such as OpenCL enable computation orchestration on existing systems, and its availability using the Intel High Level Synthesis compiler allows users to architect new designs for reconfigurable hardware using C/C++. Using the HARPv2 as a vehicle for exploration, we investigate the utility of several of the most notable matrix multiplication optimizations to better understand the performance portability of OpenCL and the implications for such optimizations on this and …

Interactions Between Control And Process Design Under Economic Model Predictive Control, Henrique Oyama, Helen Durand

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Research Publications

conomic model predictive control (EMPC) is a model-based control scheme that integrates process control and economic optimization, which can potentially allow for time-varying operating policies to maximize economic performance. The manner in which an EMPC operates a process to optimize economics depends on the process dynamics, which are fixed by the process design. This raises the question of how process and EMPC designs interact. Works which have addressed process and control design interactions for steady-state operation have sought to simultaneously develop process designs and control law parameters to find the most profitable way to operate a process that is able …

Electromagnetic Interference Reduction Of High-Speed Digital And Analog Circuits Using Engineered Electromagnetic Bandgap Structures, Brandon Ramos

Undergraduate Research Journal

In this paper, we will discuss the concerns of a microstrip two patch antenna system. Coupling of the two-port system can be miniaturized using Electromagnetic Bandgap Structures (EBG) or Defected Ground Structures (DGS) centered between the two patch antennas half a wavelength in size. Different miniaturization methods were used in the design of the antenna system to change the properties of the signal. Changing via locations that are not found on EBG strips themselves, rather found on interleaved ledges between EBG strips allowed for further change in shifting the signals frequency.

On The Effect Of Interfacial Patterns On Energy Dissipation In Plastically Deforming Adhesive Bonded Ductile Sheets, Arturo Pascuzzo, Arief Yudhanto, Marco Alfano, Gilles Lubineau

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Toughening of brittle adhesive joints is a topic of great interest for the fabrication of layered structures. Recent experimental work by the authors indicated that spatially varying interface properties (i.e., patterned interfaces obtained using laser irradiation) could tune energy dissipation in plastically deforming adhesive joints. In this study, we use a cohesive zone approach to ascertain the interplay between fracture process zone size and pattern geometry on the overall work of separation. The analysis is carried out in the context of the elasto-plastic peeling response of adhesive bonded ductile thin sheets. The mating surfaces of the adherents feature alternating strips …

Inventory Management Of The Refrigerator's Produce Bins Using Classification Algorithms And Hand Analysis., Sarah Virginia Morris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tracking the inventory of one’s refrigerator has been a mission for consumers since the advent of the refrigerator. With the improvement of computer vision capabilities, automatic inventory systems are within reach. One inventory area with many potential benefits is the fresh food produce bins. The bins are a unique storage area due to their deep size. A user cannot easily see what is in the bins without opening the drawer. Produce items are also some of the quickest foods in the refrigerator to spoil, despite being temperature and humidity controlled to have the fruits and vegetables last longer. Allowing the …

An Investigation Of The Effect Of Contour Process Parameters On The Surface Roughness And Dimensionality Of Overhanging Features In 17-4 Stainless Steel., Katherine Schneidau

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between varying contour settings and part geometry provides insight into the attainable surface roughness and dimensional accuracy of parts fabricated in 17-4 stainless steel via selective laser melting (SLM). Varying the contour settings of laser power (W), scan speed (mm/s), and beam offset (mm) for unsupported inclined bars. The utilization of a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) and surface profilometer quantified the dimensional accuracy and average surface roughness (Ra) for upface, downface, and topface surfaces. Adjusting the laser power and scan speed had minimal affect to surface roughness compared to part geometry. Part dimensionality was affected by the …

Aqueous Redox Flow Batteries With Boron Doped Diamond As An Electrode., Alex M. Bates

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the interest and implementation of renewable energy accelerates, so does that of grid energy storage. It is widely believed that a cost-effective energy storage technology will bring about the proliferation of renewable energy. Redox flow battery (RFB) technology represents a promising solution to cost-effective grid energy storage. Compared to other technologies, RFBs have a long lifetime, high efficiency, are non-flammable, significantly reduce cost, and separately scale power and energy. The separation of power and energy enables increased energy capacity by simply adding electrolyte volume. Of the challenges facing RFB technology, one readily apparent is the cost of the active …

Dynamic Analysis And Fabrication Of A Bi-Stable Structure Designed For Mems Energy Harvesting Applications., Masoud Derakhshani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Thanks to the rapid growth in demand for power in remote locations, scientists’ attention has been drawn to vibration energy harvesting as an alternative to batteries. Over the past ten years, the energy harvesting community has focused on bistable structures as a means of broadening the working frequency range and, by extension, the effective efficiency of vibration-based power scavenging systems. In the current study, a new method is implemented to statically and dynamically analyze a bistable buckled, multi-component coupled structure designed specifically for low-frequency vibration energy harvesting systems in both macro and MEMS-scale sizes. Furthermore, several micro-fabrication steps using advanced …

Intelligent Algorithm For Trapezoidal Interval Valued Neutrosophic Network Analysis, Florentin Smarandache, Said Broumi, Deivanayagampillai Nagarajan, Malayalan Lathamaheswari, Mohamed Talea, Assia Bakali

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

The shortest path problem has been one of the most fundamental practical problems in network analysis. One of the good algorithms is Bellman-Ford, which has been applied in network, for the last some years. Due to complexity in the decision-making process, the decision makers face complications to express their view and judgment with an exact number for single valued membership degrees under neutrosophic environment. Though the interval number is a special situation of the neutrosophic, it did not solve the shortest path problems in an absolute manner. Hence, in this work, the authors have introduced the score function and accuracy …

Development Of Novel Catalysts For Hydrogen Gas Production From Biomass Compounds, Boanerges Bamaca

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

Hydrothermal biomass gasification technologies (sub- and supercritical water gasification and aqueous-phase reforming) have considerable economic, environmental, and technical advantages over other energy-extensive technologies (e.g. natural gas reforming) for hydrogen gas production. However, lack of economically feasible and highly active catalysts is a main challenge that impedes upscaling of these technologies for hydrogen gas production.

The goal of this study was to develop innovative, economically feasible and active heterogeneous supported metal catalysts for hydrothermal processes for producing hydrogen gas from biomass-derived compounds. Because of its stable structure and chemical inertness, graphene was used as catalyst support. Graphene supported metal catalysts were …

A Novel Data-Driven Analysis Method For Electromagnetic Radiations Based On Dynamic Mode Decomposition, Yanming Zhang, Lijun Jiang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Electromagnetic radiations in complex electronic systems such as cell phones and computers are complex spatial oral correlations signals. Decomposing the electromagnetic radiation measured in the spatial oral domain is useful to gain physical insights into the process that generates radio frequency interference and the radiated spurious emission. In this article, a novel data-driven characterization method is proposed to analyze the electromagnetic radiations of both linear and nonlinear circuits. It employs the dynamic mode decomposition to simultaneously extract the temporal patterns and their corresponding dynamic modes. The temporal patterns show high-order harmonics generated by the nonlinearity. Then, these spatial oral coherent …

A Framework To Support Automatic Certification For Self-Adaptive Systems, Ioannis Nearchou

Masters Theses

Presently, cyber-physical systems are increasingly being integrated into societies, from the economic sector to the nuclear energy sector. Cyber-physical systems are systems that combine physical, digital, human, and other components, which operate through physical means and software. When system errors occur, the consequences of malfunction could negatively impact human life. Academic studies have relied on the MAPE-K feedback loop model to develop various system components to satisfy the self-adaptive features, such that violation of the safety requirements can be minimized. Assurance of system requirement satisfaction is argued through an industrial standard form, called an assurance case, which is usually applied …

Fabrication Of Multifunctional Carbon Coated Cobalt Ferrite Core/Shell Nanostructures By Pulsed Laser Ablation, Joy Roy

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Considerable research work is going on worldwide among the therapeutic scientific communities to use magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) as a controlled drug delivery system. Challenges to use those NPs for such in-vivo applications successfully are mainly biocompatibility and the functionality of those NPs. Addressing the needs, in this project, we synthesized carbon-coated cobalt ferrite (CFO) core-shell nanoparticles (CSNPS) by ablating a solution of toluene and CFO NPs with varying number of pulsed laser shots. The structure of the CSNPs then investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and also with the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The XRD analysis shows that …

Decellularization Of Porcine Cartilage Promotes Chondrogenic Differentiation Of Human Chondrocytes, Roxanne Nicole Stone

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Knee osteoarthritis (knee OA) is the most common type of osteoarthritis (OA) and accounts for 70% of arthritis-related hospital admissions and 23% of clinical visits. Major limitations in both the current non-surgical and surgical methods are that they only relieve pain and show no evidence for restoring natural tissue anatomy. Leaders in the field propose that a stem cell treatment approach holds promise for the regeneration of a greater proportion of hyaline-like tissue at the repair site. (Cross et al., 2014; Escobar Ivirico, Bhattacharjee, Kuyinu, Nair, & Laurencin, 2017; Helmick et al., 2008; Toh, Foldager, Pei, & Hui, 2014).

It …

Aeroacoustics Of Supersonic Jet Interacting With Solid Surfaces And Its Suppression, Seyyed Saman Salehian

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The noise generated by supersonic jet is of primary interest in the high-speed flight. In several flight conditions jet exhaust of the propulsion system interacts with solid surfaces. For example, jet impingement on ground for a rocket lift-off, or interactions influenced by the integration of the engine with the airframe. Such complex applications require consideration of the role of acoustic-surface interactions on the noise generation of the jet and its radiation. Numerical analysis of supersonic jet noise involved in these scenarios is investigated by employing Hybrid Large Eddy Simulation – Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Simulation approach to model turbulence.

First, the …

Uas Model Identification And Simulation To Support In-Flight Testing Of Discrete Adaptive Fault-Tolerant Control Laws, Mansi Subhash Bakori

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

In mission-critical applications of unmanned and autonomous aerial systems(UAS), it is of significant importance to develop robust strategies for fault-tolerant systems that can countermeasure system degradation and consequently support the integration into the National Airspace (NAS). This thesis research illustrates the results of systems identification that is performed using DATCOM followed by the flight test data. This data is acquired from conducting an intensive flight testings program of a fixed-wing UAS to determine the state-space model of the aircraft. A discrete state-space system is reconstructed from these models to derive Auto-Regressive Moving-Average (ARMA) models used to design a Discrete Direct …

Water Quality Prediction Based On Machine Learning Techniques, Zhao Fu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Water is one of the most important natural resources for all living organisms on earth. The monitoring of treated wastewater discharge quality is vitally important for the stability and protection of the ecosystem. Collecting and analyzing water samples in the laboratory consumes much time and resources. In the last decade, many machine learning techniques, like multivariate linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural network (ANN) model, have been proposed to address the problem. However, simple linear regression analysis cannot accurately forecast water quality because of complicated linear and nonlinear relationships in the water quality dataset. The ANN model also has shortcomings …

Three-Dimensional (3d) Characterization Of The Middle Ordoovician (Darriwilian) Strata In The Southern Great Basin, Western United States, Uday Mohamed Baheej Kara Ali

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Carbonates are mostly produced in shallow-marine environments and their deposition is sensitive to water depth changes on carbonate platforms. The water depth in depositional environments of a particular carbonate platform is controlled by the interplay of eustatic sea-level change, tectonic subsidence, platform morphology, and depositional rate. Due to the morphological variations of carbonate platforms in different tectonic settings, facies distribution across carbonate platforms varies significantly even during a single eustatic sea-level cycle. Carbonate platforms developed on passive continental margins are thought to be the most stable platforms and their facies distribution is commonly taken as examples in textbook depositional models. …

Toward Developing A Valid And Reliable Assessment Of Learners’ Nature Of Engineering Views, Erdogan Kaya

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Nature of Engineering (NOE) refers to the epistemological beliefs pertaining to engineering (Antink-Meyer & Brown, 2019; Deniz et al., 2019; Hartman & Bell, 2018; Kaya et al., 2017; Pleasants & Olson, 2019). Given that a person’s engineering values and beliefs can affect how that individual perceives not only certain tasks, but also his/her ability to accomplish them, it is important to support pre-college teachers and students in improving their NOE understanding. This continues to be one of the main goals of pre-college Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education, and has become particularly relevant since the release of the Next …

A Novel Design Of Broadband Antennas With A Defected Radiating Patch Structure For Wireless Communication Systems, Ali Giuma F Esseid

Theses and Dissertations

Generally, conventional wireless communication systems transfer data between two points through a channel, consisting of broadband with a multi-frequency band. Broadband or multiband is very important in wireless telecommunication devices. It is quickly advancing as high-speed and high-level data rate wireless modern communication technology. In wireless modern communication the antenna plays a very crucial role. Broadband with a multi-frequency band purpose has been the incitement of this research. However, there are a lot of challenges in designing and accomplishing a broadband with a multi-frequency band antenna than with a tight impedance bandwidth single antenna. Appropriate broadband with multi-frequency band antenna …

Design And Testing Of A Multi-Depth Soil Temperature Sensor Array Intended As A Candidate Irrigation Scheduling Tool, Lillian Glaeser

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A crucial measure in the advancement of water conservation and sustainable agricultural strategies is increasing efficiencies of irrigation systems. Because of the lack of availability of affordable, durable, and scalable soil moisture monitoring devices, this thesis proposes a low-cost, multi-depth soil temperature sensor array as a candidate for monitoring soil moisture content and guiding farmer’s irrigation scheduling. Propagation of diurnal temperature waves through soil is dependent on the thermal diffusivity of the soil, which can be determined by examining temperature waves at different soil depths. Thermal diffusivity is dependent on several factors, though, in undisturbed soil, water has the largest …

A Unified Spectrum Formulation For Ofdm, Fbmc, And F-Ofdm, Xianzhen Yang, Siyuan Yan, Xiao Li, Fu Li

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) has been standardized for 5G, filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC) and filtered orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (F-OFDM) remain competitive as candidates for future generations of wireless technologies beyond 5G, due to their reduced spectrum leakage and thus enhanced spectrum efficiency. In this article, we developed a unified spectrum expression for OFDM, FBMC, and F-OFDM, which provides comparative insights into those techniques. A representative sideband quantification is included at the end of this article.