Engineering Commons^™

Path Planning With Deep Neural Networks, Paul Simmerling, Brendan Sayers, Paulo Alcantara Silva

Honors Scholar Theses

This report will cover the work and plans of the ECE 2107 Senior design team. The goal of the project is to design and build a fully autonomous self-driving car. This car will have a complete sensor suite including LIDAR, an IMU, a camera, and encoders. It will be based on a multi-level system where the highest level uses a neural network for advanced signal processing and analysis. The current state of the project is discussed as well as the final results. Project management and other constraints will be briefly investigated. This team is building a self driving car testbed …

A Meta-Analysis On The Constitutive Behavior Of Engineered Cementitious Composite, Marie Angelica Ventura Vallangca

Theses and Dissertations

A meta-analysis is conducted for the mechanical properties of an Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC). ECC is a special type of fiber reinforced cementitious composites that is characterized by high ductility (3-5% strain) with 1.5-2% fiber content by volume. The brittle nature and weak tensile strength of concrete cause various damages such as cracking. ECC has superior cracking resistance considered as a sustainable alternative for construction and repair. Meta-analysis is a statistical method to remove a possible bias of a single set of data. A meta-analysis collects and analyzes a large group of data obtained from multiple investigations of the same …

Lower Rio Grande Valley Tap Water Hardness Removal Using Conductive Concrete Cathode In Electrochemical Precipitation, Mirza Addaito Billah

Theses and Dissertations

Electrochemical water softening has obtained significant attention in recent years due to being environmentally friendly. One of this method's significant problems is the requirement of high cathodic surface area for enough efficiency. As most electrochemical cells use costly metal cathodes with meager service life and low structural integrity, practical large-scale implementation is scarce. In this research, graphite-concrete cathodes were proposed to replace conventional metal cathodes in the electrochemical water softening process. Graphite concrete has been used for heating pavement and electrical conductive roads. In this research concrete mixed with graphite powder by volume was successfully used as a cathode to …

Metamaterial Inspired Multi-Band Antenna For Mm-Wave 5g Wireless Communication, Mohammad Ashif Hossain Chowdhury

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the constant demand for speed and capacity in wireless communication, mm-wave bands are getting special interest. Most of the high-speed 5G bands are in the mm-wave region. As the mm-wave signal is prone to absorption and faces a significant free space path loss, an antenna with narrow beam, high gain, and high efficiency is required. The antenna also needs to be working in multiple frequencies, as there is a multitude of mm-wave frequencies allocated by the regulator for 5G communication. In this study, we designed an antenna capable of working in high 5G bands consisting of 25GHz,28GHz, and …

Planning A Renewable Power System In Texas As An Introduction To Smart Power Grid, Ghaleb S. Al Duhni

Theses and Dissertations

Design electrical systems from six renewable energy sources: photovoltaic, wind energy, geothermal, concentrated solar energy, biomass energy, and hydropower in addition to a storage system in the state of Texas, This power system converts the electric system in Texas into a 100 % renewable energy power system. Optimization technique has applied to the results to make the system economical and reduce the wasting resources, this system is considered as decentralized as well which is a great advantage for achieving the smart grid technology compared with the conventional plants where the generation parts are deposed in a small part of the …

Learning To Detect Pedestrian Flow In Traffic Intersections From Synthetic Data, Abhijit Baul

Theses and Dissertations

Detecting pedestrian flow in different directions at at traffic-intersection has always been a challenging task. Challenges include different weather conditions, different crowd densities, occlusions, lack of available data, and so on. The emergence of deep learning and computer vision algorithms has shown promises to deal with these problems. Most of the recent works only focus on either detecting combined pedestrian flow or counting the total number of pedestrians. In this work, we have tried to detect not only combined pedestrian flow but also pedestrian flow indifferent directions. Our contributions are, 1) we are introducing a synthetic pedestrian dataset that we …

Robust Distributed Formation Control Of Uavs With Higher-Order Dynamics, Md Nur-A-Adam Dony

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we introduce distributed formation control strategies to reach an intended linear formation for agents with a diverse array of dynamics. The suggested technique is distributed entirely, does not include inter-agent cooperation or a barrier of orientation, and can be applied using relative location information gained by agents in their local cooperation frames. We illustrate how the control optimized for agents with the simpler dynamic model, i.e., the dynamics of the single integrator, can be expanded to holonomic agents with higher dynamics such as quadrotors and non-holonomic agents such as unicycles and cars. Our suggested approach makes …

Centrifugally-Spun Ceramic/Carbon Composite Fibers And Their Use As Anode Materials In Li-Ion Batteries, Gabriel Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

The work in this thesis focuses in the study of Centrifugally Spun Short Fiber Composites and their Implementation as Alternate Anode Material in Li-Ion Batteries. Due to their high theoretical capacity, abundance, and environmental friendliness, metal oxides have been widely studied as alternate anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). In this research work, the processing of SnO2 and SnO2/TiO2 ceramic short fibers as well as flexible and porous metal oxide carbon fibers (FPMOCFs) by centrifugal spinning followed by an optimized coating technique is reported. In addition, the electrochemical performance of the composites was also investigated and is provided.

Designing Mimo Omnidirectional Millimeter-Wave Metamaterialantenna For 5g Communications, Khan Md Zobayer Hassan

Theses and Dissertations

A highly efficient, low profile, wideband metamaterial antenna is presented for mm-wave 5G communications. The designed metamaterial resonator structure works as a radiator and operates in the FCC auctioned 28 GHz frequency spectrum (27.5 - 28.350 GHz). The proposed antenna is fabricated on a 10.3mm x 10.3mm and .0787 mm thick Rogers RT5880/Duroid substrate and probe feed is used as the feeding mechanism. The effect of different design parameters on the performance of the antenna is examined and then optimized for the best possible performance. The designed antenna shows wideband characteristics with an impedance bandwidth of 2.22 GHz (27.49 – …

Development Of A Cyberinfrastructure For Assessment Of The Lower Rio Grande Valley North And Central Watersheds Characteristics, Linda Isabel Navarro Navarro

Theses and Dissertations

Due to an increase in urbanization in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV), there have been substantial modifications to hydrology causing a decline in water quality to the Laguna Madre watershed. The major concern is the inflow of freshwater from the North and Central waterways released to the Lower Laguna Madre which is designated as an impaired watershed for high concentrations of bacteria and low dissolved oxygen. The objective of this study is to perform a watershed characterization to determine potential pollution sources of each watershed by developing a cyberinfrastructure and collect a wide inventory of data. The objective will …

Study Of Particle Size Effect On The Performance Of Tio2 Nanoparticles As Lubricant Additives On Vegetable Oil-Based Nanolubricants, Dario F. Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

Recently there has been an increase in concern regarding the use of petroleum-based lubricants. This has created an interest in readily available biodegradable lubricants such as vegetable oils. This work evaluates the rheological and tribological performance of grapeseed, and sunflower oils altered with 5, 18, and 40 nanometer titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles at differing concentrations. Block-on-ring tests were performed using the ASTM G-077-05 standard procedure. The effect of nanoparticle size and concentration and shear rate on the viscosity were evaluated and the experimental data was compared to conventional models. Roughness tests were performed on the wear scar of the blocks …

Design Of Multi-Layered Lenses For Resolusion Enhancement, S. M. Zia Uddin

Theses and Dissertations

Lenses are important optical device having numerous applications in our day-to-day life. As the conventional lenses, we use concave or convex lenses. These lenses are made with natural materials and the image quality imperfect. Furthermore, they are bulky, and design is complex. Consequently, mass production is difficult.

The shapes of entrance and exit faces of lenses has impact on its imaging capability. The Lens material also play a vital role for reconstructing the image. Flat lenses can be considered as a good alternative of the conventional lenses. One of the advantages of this Flat lenses is that it can restore …

Development And Characterization Of Nanofiber-Based Thermoelectric And Piezoelectric Composites, Julio Enrique Trevino

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the development and characterization of nanofiber-based composites with the goal of developing flexible, lightweight, and cost effective thermoelectric and piezoelectric devices. The following materials were used in the development of the composites: polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) with polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPY), polyindole (PIN), polyanthranilic acid (PANA), polycarbazole (PCZ), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-COOH), and camphorsulfonic acid (CSA). Blends and in-situ polymerization techniques were utilized to increase the desired thermoelectric/piezoelectric response. Nanofiber systems were produced utilizing the Forcespinning® technique. The morphology, structure, electrochemical, thermal stability, thermoelectric, and piezoelectric performance was analyzed. All of the nanofiber PVDF/CP …

Building Services Engineering May/June 2021

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Feasibility Of A Biofilter In Medium-To-High Scale Industries, Javier A. Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

The removal of volatile organic compounds, VOCs, from contaminated sources of air stream has become a major air pollution risk. Excessive amounts discharged to the atmosphere are highly risky to human health and to the environmental system. Demand for sustainable VOC control technologies has become crucial for the reduction of emissions. Biological treatments of waste gas streams, such as biofiltration, have proven to be cost effective and environmentally friendly compared to conventional pollution control technologies. The goal of this research is to simulate data for a given biofilter model, and to evaluate if it is economically and environmentally feasible to …

The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence In The Customer Journey: A Case Study Of Bosch Usa And Defy South Africa, Tariro S. Munyengeterwa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to gain traction and is increasingly reshaping the media and marketing communications field. While significant research has been conducted on the impact of AI in other fields, there is little empirical evidence on how AI is affecting the customer journey. The present study explored both organizations’ current use of AI tools and how customer perceptions about AI affect AI usage and adoption through the lens of diffusion of innovation theory. The research was conducted using mixed-method qualitative research. In-depth interviews and a case study content analysis were conducted to collect and analyze the data. The results …

Ceramic Tiles Production From Cullet And Agricultural Wastes Obtained From Wheat And Sugarcane Cultivation, Mai H. Roushdy

Chemical Engineering

Agricultural wastes are a big source for environmental pollution so it’s a good choice to recycle them so as to get an environmental and economic benefit. The purpose of this research is to determine the possibility of recycling two types of agriculture wastes obtained from wheat and sugarcane cultivation in addition to broken glass (cullet) as raw materials for ceramic wall tiles production. The used agriculture wastes are the agricultural residue obtained from wheat and sugarcane cultivation. The experimental work starts with performing XRF and sieve analysis for all raw materials. Ceramic wall tiles specimens were made with dimensions 110.4 …

Drinking Water: Iron And Manganese, Bruce I. Dvorak, Becky Schuerman

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Iron and manganese are two naturally occurring drinking water contaminants that can cause poor taste and odor issues, and be associated with discoloration that leads to staining of fixtures, dishes, and laundry. They are primarily found in Eastern Nebraska groundwater and most people mention these issues when iron levels exceed 300 micrograms per liter (µg/L) and manganese levels exceed 50 µg/L. Levels of iron can be much higher and are not associated with health concerns but manganese concentrations above 300 µg/L may pose a health issue for rice or soy formula-fed infants. Higher levels, over 1,000 µg/L, may pose a …

Studying The Electron Population Effects On Magnetron Oscillation Via Particle-In-Cell Simulation, Andong Yue

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This research examines magnetron physics via the Particle-In-Cell simulations of two magnetron models, the 2D Rising Sun magnetron model and the 3D L3Harris CWM-75kW magnetron model, by using new data analytic schemes. Two data analytic schemes are presented, the electron population analysis and the breadth ratio analysis; these schemes reveal insights into the magnetron physics that are not readily accessible otherwise. Both magnetron models were simulated a) without priming, b) with RF priming, and c) with modulated electron injection. The research found that the 2D Rising Sun magnetron model is sensitive to RF priming; a 50 ns RF priming at …

2021 Spring Graduate Recognition Program, Propulsion Research Center, Robert Frederick

PRC Graduate Recognition

This program includes the graduate recognition program for spring 2021. Includes photographs, upcoming events, recent publications, and student profiles.

Ball-On-Ring Test Validation For Equibiaxial Flexural Strength Testing Of Engineered Ceramics, Adrianna E. Lupercio, Ehsan Moshkelgosha, Riley C. Winters, Cayden Doyle, Mahmood Mamivand, Andrew T. Nelson, Brian J. Jaques

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The validation of a ball-on-ring, equibiaxial flexural strength method to obtain the transverse rupture strength (TRS) of right cylindrical ceramic specimens was performed in this study. Validation of the test method was achieved using commercially available engineered high purity alumina disks and finite element (FE) model analysis. The validated fixture was then used to obtain the TRS and Weibull statistical analysis of MgO-partially stabilized zirconia (MSZ) and Y₂O₃-partially stabilized zirconia (YSZ) ceramic disks. TRS data for alumina, MSZ, and YSZ agreed with the TRS values reported in the literature. A statistically relevant number of samples (N …

Atomic Layer Deposition Of Sodium Fluoride Thin Films, Sara Kuraitis, Donghyeon Kang, Anil U. Mane, Hua Zhou, Jake Soares, Jeffrey W. Elam, Elton Graugnard

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The need for advanced energy conversion and storage devices remains a critical challenge amid the growing worldwide demand for renewable energy. Metal fluoride thin films are of great interest for applications in lithium-ion and emerging rechargeable battery technologies, particularly for enhancing the stability of the electrode-electrolyte interface and thereby extending battery cyclability and lifetime. Reported within, sodium fluoride (NaF) thin films were synthesized via atomic layer deposition (ALD). NaF growth experiments were carried out at reactor temperatures between 175 and 250 °C using sodium tert-butoxide and HF-pyridine solution. The optimal deposition temperature range was 175–200 °C, and the resulting …

Control Of Noils And Fiber Length Parameters In Cotton Combers., R. El-Bealy, M. El-Messiery

Mansoura Engineering Journal

A study was made on the effect of the comber variables, top comb depth, feed length/nip, comber lap weight and setting between detaching rod and nippers on the comber waste and fiber length parameters of combed silver. The experimental design technique (11, 12) with the help of mini-computer programming used in this work to investigate the optimum condition. The results led to the relative importance of factors which affect the noils, 2.5% span length, 50% span length and length . uniformity ratio (UR%).

Performance Of Ultrasound-Assisted Forward Osmosis Membrane Process In Desalination Of Seawater, Bara Awwad Al-Sakaji

Theses

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of using ultrasound on water flux through forward osmosis membrane when applied for seawater desalination. A synthetically prepared solution simulating seawater characteristics was used. Parameters considered in the investigation included membrane cross-flow velocity (0.25 and 1.0 cm/s), flow configuration (co-current versus counter-current), direction of ultrasound waves relative to the membrane side (active layer versus support layer), and type of draw solution (NaCl versus MgCl₂). Furthermore, a two-level factorial design was considered in the analysis of the results obtained from the experimental work. This study revealed that applying a …

Approximate Difference Rewards For Scalable Multigent Reinforcement Learning, Arambam James Singh, Akshat Kumar, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We address the problem ofmultiagent credit assignment in a large scale multiagent system. Difference rewards (DRs) are an effective tool to tackle this problem, but their exact computation is known to be challenging even for small number of agents. We propose a scalable method to compute difference rewards based on aggregate information in a multiagent system with large number of agents by exploiting the symmetry present in several practical applications. Empirical evaluation on two multiagent domains - air-traffic control and cooperative navigation, shows better solution quality than previous approaches.

A Matheuristic Algorithm For The Vehicle Routing Problem With Cross-Docking, Aldy Gunawan, Audrey Tedja Widjaja, Pieter Vansteenwegen, Vincent F. Yu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper studies the integration of the vehicle routing problem with cross-docking (VRPCD). The aim is to find a set of routes to deliver products from a set of suppliers to a set of customers through a cross-dock facility, such that the operational and transportation costs are minimized, without violating the vehicle capacity and time horizon constraints. A two-phase matheuristic based on column generation is proposed. The first phase focuses on generating a set of feasible candidate routes in both pickup and delivery processes by implementing an adaptive large neighborhood search algorithm. A set of destroy and repair operators are …

Ship-Gan: Generative Modeling Based Maritime Traffic Simulator, Chaithanya Shankaramurthy Basrur, Arambam James Singh, Arunesh Sinha, Akshat Kumar

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Modeling vessel movement in a maritime environment is an extremely challenging task given the complex nature of vessel behavior. Several existing multiagent maritime decision making frameworks require access to an accurate traffic simulator. We develop a system using electronic navigation charts to generate realistic and high fidelity vessel traffic data using Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). Our proposed Ship-GAN uses a conditional Wasserstein GAN to model a vessel’s behavior. The generator can simulate the travel time of vessels across different maritime zones conditioned on vessels’ speeds and traffic intensity. Furthermore, it can be used as an accurate simulator for prior decision …

Exploring The Effects Of Communication Delays And Personality On Stress During Simulated Space Missions, Shayan Shirshekar

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of communication delays and personality on stress levels during a simulated spaceflight mission. The study used an experimental, within-groups, repeated-measures design to explore these effects during a simulated Mars mission, specifically: (a) 1–3-second (s) (control) and (b) a 2-minute (min) one-way communication delay expected during the early transit phase of a Mars mission. The Big Five personality traits served as moderating variables and included extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. This study was developed and tested with participants analogous to an astronaut population: healthy individuals possessing or pursuing …

Scaling Laws For Fixed-Wing Single-Engine Electric Propulsion Systems, Fnu Hem Lata

Theses and Dissertations

The rise of new aircraft propulsion methods (e.g., powered by batteries, fuel cells, or hybrid electric systems), the increased use of automated and integrated flight control systems, and the envisioned use of personal Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) vehicles in urban environments (urban aerial mobility) lead to novel technical and regulatory challenges for aircraft manufacturers, certification authorities and operators. Of primary concern are operational safety and closely connected pilot situation awareness and workload. The Trajectory Energy Management task involves manipulating flight and propulsion controls to achieve a planned flight profile. The key areas to focus on in Trajectory Energy Management …

Performance Profile Testing Of The Dassault Falcon 10/100, Thomas Henry Bolek Roman

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of the performance profile and flight testing comparison is to practice flight test theory on a turbofan-powered aircraft, compare results to Dassault published parameters, and give insight on how this may become a module for the flight test engineering program at Florida Tech. The performance experiments conducted were takeoff performance, level acceleration, level flight performance, stall speed, and roll performance. Takeoff distance was observed using the data from the Stratus ADSB receiver, which gave GPS coordinates; additionally, takeoff distance was measured via Google Earth from the start and the takeoff location observed by the co-pilot. The takeoff field …