Engineering Commons^™

Assess The Performance Against Ets And Pm1 And Evaluate The Users’ Experiences Of Comfort Of Nasal Filters, Ibrahim Almuhaidib

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Many cities around the world experience severe air pollution. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 7 million people die annually from exposure to small airborne Particulate Matter (PM) that is found in atmospheric pollution. Particulate matter in atmospheric pollution is one of six classifications of common air pollutants and is typically referred to as PM₁ and PM_2.5. Particulates designated as PM₁ and PM_2.5 refer to particles having aerodynamic diameters of 1 or 2.5 micrometer (µm), respectively. These size ranges of particles are the most commonly found in air pollution. It is hard to differentiate …

Interoperability Of Ip-Based Cameras, Faythe C. Maston

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this day and age of advancing technology and increasing crime, more and more citizens are investing in technology to increase their personal security. One such technology is the use of home-based IP security systems. These systems are comprised of one or more IP-based security cameras with owners preferring to have a way to view all camera feeds at once. Since not all security cameras are made to interact with each other, it is necessary to find a program that allows a user to view all security cameras at once, regardless of what brand of cameras they use. After researching, …

The Influence Of Spatial Variance On Rock Strength And Mechanism Of Failure, Danqing Gao

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The heterogeneity in the rock formation affects both rock behavior and the strength. The effect of heterogeneity is observed both at the laboratory scale and at the rockmass level. The mechanical properties of intact rock vary considerably at laboratory scale and often an average value is used for design purposes. Similarly, the values are arbitrarily scaled when used at rockmass level. In underground coal mines, the effect of variability of properties is often observed with the erratic roof failure events that occur throughout the mine. The approach often was to use the deterministic values from limited site data to estimate …

Route Planning For Long-Term Robotics Missions, Christopher Alexander Arend Tatsch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Many future robotic applications such as the operation in large uncertain environment depend on a more autonomous robot. The robotics long term autonomy presents challenges on how to plan and schedule goal locations across multiple days of mission duration. This is an NP-hard problem that is infeasible to solve for an optimal solution due to the large number of vertices to visit. In some cases the robot hardware constraints also adds the requirement to return to a charging station multiple times in a long term mission. The uncertainties in the robot model and environment require the robot planner to account …

Transit Agencies Performance Assessment And Implications, Parisa Hajibabaee

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Although most transit systems operate in small urban and rural areas in the United States, these systems have rarely received the same attention as their urban counterparts, both in terms of ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations and understanding the factors that affect their performance. This thesis's main goals are to assess the performance of rural and small urban public transit agencies and help them evaluate adopting a ridehailing program, thereby improving their performance. We applied operations research and decision-making tools to two public transit projects in small urban and rural areas. The first project focuses on three …

Environment Search Planning Subject To High Robot Localization Uncertainty, Jared Joseph Beard

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As robots find applications in more complex roles, ranging from search and rescue to healthcare and services, they must be robust to greater levels of localization uncertainty and uncertainty about their environments. Without consideration for such uncertainties, robots will not be able to compensate accordingly, potentially leading to mission failure or injury to bystanders. This work addresses the task of searching a 2D area while reducing localization uncertainty. Wherein, the environment provides low uncertainty pose updates from beacons with a short range, covering only part of the environment. Otherwise the robot localizes using dead reckoning, relying on wheel encoder and …

An Examination To Pathways Powering Car Using Clean Energy, Marina Miranda

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Traditional vehicles powered by internal combustion engines contribute significantly to increasing emissions of greenhouses gasses (GHG). There has been increasing interest in powering vehicles using green energy include using electricity produced by wind turbine and solar panel. The green electricity can be used to directly charge the Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), or producing hydrogen as fuel for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) by converting electrical energy to hydrogen (H₂) through water electrolysis. The low energy density H₂ produced can be stored on board as either compressed H₂ or liquefied H₂.

This research examines the …

Capital Equipment Upgrade Strategy In The Context Of Servitization, Muztoba Ahmad Khan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Building on manufacturing servitization and Product-Service Systems (PSS) business models, the midlife equipment upgrade services introduce promising alternative to traditional equipment replacement, which is often capital intensive and time consuming. Midlife upgrade describes the process of improving the performance of and adding new functional capabilities into equipment during their active usage period by embedding technological innovation while satisfying evolving customers’ preferences over time. This strategy, however, has thus far been discussed primarily from a conceptual perspective in literature, and the state of the art lacks empirical evidence regarding the potential and outcome of successful midlife upgrades. Additionally, explorative studies report …

Metaheuristics For The Generalized Quadratic Assignment Problem, Roseline Mostafa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The generalized quadratic assignment problem (GQAP) is the task of assigning a set of facilities to a set of locations such that the sum of the assignment and transportation costs is minimized. The facilities may have different space requirements, and the locations may have varying space capacities. Also, multiple facilities may be assigned to each location such that space capacity is not exceeded. In this research, an application of the GQAP is presented for assigning a set of machines to a set of locations on the plant floor. Two meta-heuristics are proposed for solving the GQAP: tabu search (TS) and …

Application Of Decline Curve Analysis To Unconventional Reservoirs, Majed Hisham Kabbani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Supply and demand are the main key factors for oil and gas industry. Moreover, natural gas was not important until early 18^th century after the World War II. The first shale gas well was successfully drilled 27 ft deep in 1821. The well was drilled in the Devonian Dunkirk shale. Later in the 1980s producers began investigating into the more difficult tight gas sands in order to keep up with the growing market. A decade later in 1990s investors were looking at coalbed methane. Today, as demand is increasing globally, the oil and gas industry is moving toward shale. …

Analysis Of Factors Influencing The Stationarity Of Surface Electromyography Signals Measured In Non-Fatigued Shoulder Muscles, Hui Ci

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A reduction in the % stationarity of surface electromyography (SEMG) signals with respect to the initial or fresh condition is used to predict localized muscle fatigue. However, factors other than muscle fatigue can also influence the stationarity of SEMG signals. This study was aimed at analyzing the effect of various work/task related factors on the stationarity of SEMG signals obtained from non-fatigued shoulder muscles. Twelve participants were recruited for data collection and each one performed 120 trials characterized by the combination of 2 shoulder angles (60° and 120°), 2 planes of exertions (sagittal and scapular), 3 force levels (0lb, 2.5lb, …

Evaluation Of Control Strategies For Overhead Work Using Electromyography Of Rotator Cuff Muscles, Hossein Motabar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) of shoulder have a significant impact on overall health and economics in the industrialized nations. Rotator cuff is the most frequently injured region in the shoulder complex. Overhead work is considered as one of the most predominant causes of rotator cuff injuries. The workers in construction, automotive, and aerospace industries are routinely exposed to overhead exertions. Elimination of overhead work is nearly impossible due to various task and technology constraints. Therefore, appropriate intervention strategies based on the engineering and administrative controls opt to be used to prevent the hazardous impact of overhead exertions. The objective of …

Scaling-Based Robust Predictions Of Periodic Stream Water Quality Variables Across The Contiguous U.S., Mohammad Abu Zafer Siddik

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Stream water quality is at the core of the biological and ecological health of streams and rivers. Subject to the environmental variation and in-stream metabolic activities, key water quality indicators such as dissolved oxygen (DO), water temperature (Tw), and chlorophyll a (Chl a, an indicator of primary productivity) typically follow a concave-shaped diurnal cycle. Variation and changes in climatic drivers (e.g., solar radiation, air temperature, and pressure), land uses, and hydrologic variables lead to a high spatiotemporal variability in stream water quality. The spatiotemporal variation challenges the development of robust models for predictions across large scales (e.g., county, state, country), …

Evaluation Of Process And Economic Feasibility Of Implementing A Topping Cycle Cogeneration System, Unique Karki

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Industrial applications that require steam for their end-uses generally utilize steam boilers that are at higher size than what is typically required. Similarly, gas turbine-based power plants corroborate the gas turbine system and eventually relieve the exhaust into the atmosphere. These facilities include food, paper, chemicals, refining, and primary metal manufacturing industries. This research focuses on the scope of a topping cycle combined heat and power (CHP) system by pushing the load on the boiler to a higher limit, or a gas turbine operation in place of a boiler system for a topping cycle CHP and its economic feasibility by …

Next Generation Of Applications Of Metal-Organic Frameworks For Energy And Environmental Sustainability, Qian Liu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

My PhD work aimed at using Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for mitigating the environmental issues and energy crisis associated with anthropogenic activities. Specifically, we developed robust platforms and/ or systems using MOF as “scaffolds” to allow for model pollutant detection and CO₂ sequestration and benign transformation respectively.

First, I detailed how photocatalytic properties of 2,5-furandicarbocylic acid (FDCA) in its alone and its MOF- integrated form (MIL-160) were used for the first time for the reduction of Ag⁺ at room conditions. Such photocatalytic activities could then be used in user-designed hybrids (i.e., Ag/MIL-160) to form sensorial platforms for prevalent phenol …

Review Of Modern Nondestructive Testing Techniques For Civil Infrastructure, Shabnam Khanal

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The repair and maintenance of aging infrastructures, in the United States alone, are estimated to have backlogs of trillions of dollars. This has posed widespread concerns about the existing and proposed infrastructures to adequately sustain the quality of life in the near future. Efficient and cost-effective approaches, such as nondestructive testing (NDT), are therefore required to better shape our future. Various NDT techniques have been developed over the past two decades with cutting-edge advances towards investigation and condition assessment of civil infrastructures. While the performance of NDT techniques has reached unparalleled heights, limitations remain. On one side, are the instrument …

Innovative Fe(Iii)-Dosed Anaerobic Biological Treatment System: From Fe And S Biogeochemical Reactions To Engineering Process, Musfique Ahmed

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In moving toward more sustainable wastewater management, anaerobic treatment is gaining increasing popularity due to its simplicity, low energy requirement, low sludge production and less emission of greenhouse gases compared to typical aerobic wastewater treatment systems. Electron acceptors such as nitrate, sulfate, and CO₂ have been used in various anaerobic processes for removal of organic matters from wastewater under anoxic or anaerobic environments. In energy producing regions, ferric iron, Fe(III), is a predominant element in iron containing wastes such as acid mine drainage (AMD) and coal ash, which can potentially be used as a source of iron in novel …

Upstream Tailings Dam - Liquefaction, Mladen Dragic

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The collapse of Dam I, tailings dam, at Vale S.A.’s (“Vale”) of the Córrego do Feijão Iron Ore Mine in Brazil was an accident that caused over 270 casualties and made irreparable damage to the surrounding environment. The exact reason for the failure is not known however, liquefaction was suspected to be the most influencing factor in the failure. Liquefaction failure of impoundment is increasing concern in the mining community and especially mine planners who will have to design and build the tailings dam. Different design methods are available with varied degree of challenges. Upstream construction methods, as one of …

Integrated Techno-Economic And Life Cycle Analyses Of Biomass Utilization For Value-Added Bioproducts In The Northeastern United States, Yuxi Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A multi-stage spatial analysis was first conducted to select locations for lignocellulosic biomass-based bioproduct facility, using Geographical Information System (GIS) spatial analysis, multi-criteria analysis ranking algorithm, and social-economic assessment. A case study was developed to determine locations for lignocellulosic biorefineries using feedstocks including forest residue biomass and three energy crops for 13 states in the northeastern United States. In the entire study area, 11.1% of the counties are high-suitable, 48.8% are medium-suitable for biorefinery siting locations. A non-parametric analysis of cross-group surveys showed that preferences on biorefinery siting are homogeneous for experts in academia and industry groups, but people in …

Review Of Established And Emergent Methods For The Production Of C4 Olefins, James Matthew Koval

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Current production of C₄ olefins is dominated by naphtha cracking and butane dehydrogenation, but significant research interest is developing in alternate feedstocks due to an abundance of inexpensive natural gas and bioethanol. The current C₄ olefin production methods are costly, make use of already-depleted petroleum resources, and are often hazardous to workers, which forms the impetus for investigation into alternative methods and assessment of their viability as a future means of olefin production. Methods of natural gas conversion to higher order hydrocarbons are discussed, including Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and oxidative methane coupling, each of which could form the first …

Parametric Optimization Of Visible Wavelength Gold Lattice Geometries For Improved Plasmon-Enhanced Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Casey A. Norville

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The exploitation of spectro-plasmonics will allow for innovations in optical instrumentation development and the realization of more efficient optical biodetection components. Biosensors have been shown to improve the overall quality of life through real-time detection of various antibody-antigen reactions, biomarkers, infectious diseases, pathogens, toxins, viruses, etc. has led to increased interest in the research and development of these devices. Further advancements in modern biosensor development will be realized through novel electrochemical, electromechanical, bioelectrical, and/or optical transduction methods aimed at reducing the size, cost, and limit of detection (LOD) of these sensor systems. One such method of optical transduction involves the …

Implications Of Variability Of Electromyographic Measurements For Assessing Localized Muscle Fatigue, Hamad Nasser Alasim

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The impact of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) is enormous due to a combination of direct and indirect costs associated with healthcare, lost workdays and human suffering. Because of the established relationship between Localized Muscle Fatigue (LMF) development and WMSDs, and in order to reduce and/or prevent WMSDs in workplaces, different fatigue assessment methods have been developed. Surface Electromyography (SEMG) is a commonly used LMF assessment technique. The SEMG signals are typically analyzed in time and frequency domains to predict LMF based on a relative change with respect to initial, or under no-fatigue conditions. Quantifying such change, however, relies on the …

Rational Drilling Control Parameters To Reduce Respirable Dust During Roof Bolting Operations, Hua Jiang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Roof bolting has been the primary means to improve mine safety in the aspect of preventing different types of roof falls in underground mines. However, based on the published researches, underground roof bolting operators exhibit a continued risk for overexposure to high levels of respirable coal and crystalline silica dust from the roof drilling operation. Inhaling these dust can cause coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), also known as black lung. Another job-related lung disease silicosis, a disabling and even fatal and irreversible illness, could be developed through overexposure to quartz-laden dust. A recent NIOSH research shows that the quartz content in …

Paper-Based Point-Of-Care Tools For Blood Testing, Xuefei Gao

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Early detection of malignant disease is crucial for timely diagnosis and effective medical intervention, which significantly increases survival rates and reduce financial burden on patients. Biomarkers are becoming increasingly important in detection of malignant diseases, because they can be employed for indicating diseases, predicting risks and monitoring the progression of diseases. In addition, biomarkers show up at early stages of diseases in human tissues and fluids (e.g., blood, urine and saliva), which shows great promise for early disease detection. In this dissertation, paper-based lateral flow strips (PLFSs) have been developed for the detection of disease biomarkers, including protein biomarkers and …

Deep Learning Based Face Detection And Recognition In Mwir And Visible Bands, Suha Reddy Mokalla

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In non-favorable conditions for visible imaging like extreme illumination or nighttime, there is a need to collect images in other spectra, specifically infrared. Mid-Wave infrared (3-5 microm) images can be collected without giving away the location of the sensor in varying illumination conditions. There are many algorithms for face detection, face alignment, face recognition etc. proposed in visible band till date, while the research using MWIR images is highly limited. Face detection is an important pre-processing step for face recognition, which in turn is an important biometric modality. This thesis works towards bridging the gap between MWIR and visible spectrum …

Time-Dependent Reliability Framework For Durability Design Of Frp Composites, Rajneesh Kumar Bharil

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The life-cycle performance, durability, and aging characteristics of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP or Structural Composites) have been of keen interest to the engineers engaged in the FRP design, construction, and manufacturing. Unlike conventional construction materials such as steel and concrete, the design guidelines to account for the aging of FRP are somewhat scattered or not available in an approved or consistent format. Loss of strength over time or aging of any structural material should be of concern to engineers as the in-service lifespan of many engineering structures is expected to exceed 100 years. Use of durability strength-reduction factors or factors …

Elucidating The Properties And Mechanism For Cellulose Dissolution In Tetrabutylphosphonium-Based Ionic Liquids Using High Concentrations Of Water, Brad Crawford

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The structural, transport, and thermodynamic properties related to cellulose dissolution by tetrabutylphosphonium chloride (TBPCl) and tetrabutylphosphonium hydroxide (TBPH)-water mixtures have been calculated via molecular dynamics simulations. For both ionic liquid (IL)-water solutions, water veins begin to form between the TBPs interlocking arms at 80 mol % water, opening a pathway for the diffusion of the anions, cations, and water. The water veins allow for a diffusion regime shift in the concentration region from 80 to 92.5 mol % water, providing a higher probability of solvent interaction with the dissolving cellulose strand. The hydrogen bonding was compared between small and large …

Study On The Thermal Properties Of Concrete Containing Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag, Fly Ash And Steel Reinforcement, Bekir Erdem Bas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this study, the thermal and mechanical properties of two types of concrete were measured. The first type contained ground granulated blast furnace slag, and the second type contained Class F fly ash. The compressive and splitting tensile strength, static elastic modulus, thermal conductivity, adiabatic temperature rise, shrinkage, and compressive creep of the two concretes were measured. Then, the experimental shrinkage and compressive creep results were compared to ACI 209.2R-08 using the material properties of each mix design. Additionally, two semi-adiabatic designs were made and compared with the adiabatic calorimetry measurements. Also, in this study, the thermal conductivity of concrete …

An Interactive Mobile Equipment Task-Training With Virtual Reality, Lazar Zujovic

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Improving the quality of equipment training for the Heavy Equipment Operators (HEO) is a critical task in the ever-lasting effort to improve safety and eliminate equipment-related injuries in mining environments. Traditional miner training includes the use of hardcopy documents and video instructions. However, modern mobile and computer technology offers tremendous potential to improve the training process. One major responsibility for the heavy-machine operators is proper machine inspection. Establishing new training methods that utilize modern technologies—such as 360-degree images, videos, and Virtual Reality—and implementing computers for training purposes have a potential to help new operators learn how to conduct proper machine …

Brownfield Redevelopments In Birmingham, Alabama: An Evaluation Of The Role Of Citizen Participation Utilizing The Framework Of Arnstein's Ladder, Sandra Cutts

All ETDs from UAB

The primary research objective is investigating the extent of citizen participation decision-making in the brownfield redevelopments in Birmingham, Alabama’s downtown revitalization to develop best practices for brownfield redevelopment collaboration. The technical literature affirms the need for citizen participation in project decision-making processes. Limited literature exists on how to best evaluate and incorporate participatory activities in brownfield redevelopments. This research adds to the literature, filling this gap by utilizing Arnstein’s ladder as an evaluative framework to quantify public participation in practice. It is important to understand how the extent of public participation in project decision-making may promote or hinder brownfield redevelopment. …