Engineering Commons^™

Experimental Study Of Hollow-Core Slab Containing Waste Pet Bottles, Mulia Orientilize, Josia Irwan Rastandi, R. M. Dimas Aries C., Marsha Niken P., Krisna Adi S.S., Abimantrana Abimantrana

Makara Journal of Technology

This study investigated the utilization of plastic-waste concrete as an effort to reduce urban waste problems. The waste plastic bottles were utilized to form the hollows of the hollow-core slabs (HCSs). The bottles were made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). As a part of green research to reuse waste material, shredded PET was also added to the concrete mixture to improve the HCS strength. The cast-in-site HCS could be constructed without any difficulties. Three parameters were investigated: the effects of void content, shredded PET content, and steel-fiber (SF) content on the HCS ultimate bending capacity (Mu). Fifteen specimens were tested under …

Facilitating The Industrial Sector's Adoption Of Collaborative Project Delivery Methods, Xavier Wood-Aliberch

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In an effort to improve outcomes in the civil and healthcare sectors, clients have adopted collaborative project delivery methods for the delivery of their capital projects. The success stories in these sectors have gathered the attention of clients in the industrial sector, where cost and schedule overruns have become the norm. The central objective of this thesis is to help clients make the transition to this new type of project delivery.

This thesis was written in a three-paper format, where each paper addresses a challenge with the adoption of collaborative delivery methods. The first paper investigates what type of industrial …

Emerging Investigator Series: Interacting Effects Of Environmental Factors On: Daphnia Magna Removal Of Escherichia Coli From Wastewater, Seyyed M.H. Abtahi, Ojaswi Aryal, Niveen S. Ismail

Engineering: Faculty Publications

Treatment wetlands can remove a wide range of pollutants from wastewater and stormwater runoff, including microbial pollutants such as Escherichia coli. Filter feeding zooplankton play an important role in improving water quality in treatment wetlands through grazing and subsequent inactivation of E. coli. Understanding how climate change will impact the various processes governing microbial inactivation in treatment wetlands is essential to ensure adequately treated water. We investigated the impact of interacting environmental factors on the E. coli clearance rate of a keystone zooplankton species, Daphnia magna. We utilized a full factorial experimental design to test the impacts of food abundance, …

Solid-State Circuit Breaker Component Simulation, Matthew Hughes

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The landscape of direct current (DC) solid-state circuit breakers (SSCBs) isgrowing and so too is the choice of primary components. Early on in the development of electrical technology, DC electrical distribution networks were handicapped by short transmission distances, poor network configurations, and overall lowered efficiency. These issues arose out of the relatively lower voltage transmission capabilities, which do not exist in the modern day of semiconductors. There now exists a wide range of devices capable of withstanding voltage levels conducive to electrical transmission; though steady state efficiency of these devices remains a concern. Choosing primary components out of the growing …

A Dynamic System Testbed To Facilitate Controller And Estimator Designs And Its Application To Neoclassical Controllers, Justin James Kennah

Master's Theses (2009 -)

This thesis proposes a testbed capable of validating experimental controller designs.Because it is undesirable to implement unvalidated controller designs on physical hardware, the need for an effective testbed arises. For the testbed to be useful, it should be easy to use and contain all the hardware and software necessary to implement a controller and analyze its response. To accomplish these goals, a testbed is created by joining the National Instruments ELVIS III board with the Quanser Controls Board. Three controllers are implemented to evaluate the usefulness of the testbed. The controllers are designed using the neoclassical design technique. The neoclassical …

Near-Nozzle Holographic Imaging Of Dispersion-Induced Reductions In Combustible Dust Particle Size Distributions, Tyler James Reaker

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Dust explosibility data are a critical input to the design of equipment and strategies for reducing the risk of a combustible dust deflagration or explosion. These data, which include minimum explosible concentrations, deflagration indices, and explosion overpressures, are obtained using formally accepted, standard techniques, and are known to be sensitive to the particle size characteristics of the dust being evaluated. Published literature demonstrates that the standard techniques can alter the particle size distribution during dispersion, making interpretation of the explosibility data challenging because the particle characteristics are altered from their original, raw state. Digital in-line holography (DIH) presents a novel …

Cfd Modeling Of Aerial Dispersion Of Pollutants In Urban Environments, Alec Tauer

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Population growth and urbanization across the globe is contributing to anincrease in air pollution emissions. Because air pollution can negatively impact public health there is a desire to model the aerial dispersion of the pollutants in urban environments. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is becoming an increasingly common tool used to provide high spatial and temporal resolution of the wind flow and pollutant transport in urban environments. In the present study, CFD is utilized to model the aerial pollutant dispersion in three domains: a flat field, an idealized urban environment, and a real urban environment neighboring the Jones’ Island Water Reclamation …

Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy For The Evaluation Of Mid-Palatal Suture Maturation After Expansion, Binhuan Yuan

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a technique for characterizing the optical properties of biological tissues and has been extensively studied for diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of various diseases. This thesis investigates the potential use of DRS for the evaluation of mid-palatal suture maturation after expansion. The most common evaluation technique for palatal expansion is Computed Tomography (CT). The major issue with CT is that during serial radiological scanning, patients are repeatedly exposed to ionizing radiation. DRS is a non-invasive, non-ionizing method which can be used to quantify the tissue optical properties in the visible wavelength in vivo. This study demonstrates …

Accuracy And Computational Cost Assessment Of Radiation Solvers For Combustion Simulations, Chloe David

Master's Theses (2009 -)

High-fidelity combustion simulations necessitate the accurate and efficient calculation of radiative heat transfer. A successful radiation calculation requires the use of a spectral model, which describes the variation of radiative properties across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, and a radiative transfer equation (RTE) solver, which solves the governing equation for radiation transport. Three primary categories of RTE solvers are the discrete ordinates method (DOM), the spherical harmonics method (SHM), and the photon Monte Carlo (PMC) method. The accuracy and computational cost of each type of RTE solver is compared in detail in this work. The PMC RTE solver is considered the …

The Development And Implementation Of A Virtual Reality-Based Radiation Therapy Education And Anxiety Mitigation Program, Sophia Shanahan

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Radiation therapy (RT) is commonly used in the treatment of breast cancer. According to the literature, RT is an unknown to many patients and can be a source of anxiety and fear. Towards that end, a virtual reality (VR) education program was developed that leverages head-mounted display technology to virtually place a patient in immersive representations of a CT simulation suite, dosimetry room, and treatment room that mimic the actual clinical spaces associated with RT. A virtual model of a radiation oncologist “meets” the patient in each environment and provides verbal narration. In the treatment environment, the patient is able …

Laboratory-Scale Research Of Non-Catalyzed Supercritical Alcohol Process For Continuous Biodiesel Production, Aso A. Hassan, Joseph D. Smith

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This work investigates the non-catalyzed supercritical methanol (SCM) process for continuous biodiesel production. The lab-scale setup was designed and used for biodiesel production in the temperature range of 520–650 K and 83–380 bar with an oil-to-methanol molar ratio ranging from 1:5 to 1:45. The experiments were performed in the coiled plug flow tubular reactor. The volumetric flow rate of the methanol/oil ranged from 0.1-10 mL/min. This work examines a new reactor technology involving preheating and pre-mixing of the methanol/oil mixture to reduce setup cost and increase biodiesel yield under the same reaction conditions. Work performed showed that FAME’s yield increased …

Oxidation Polymerization Additive Manufacturing, Jonghyun Park, Tazdik Patwary Plateau, Hiep Pham

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Various processes for producing three dimensional electrically conductive polymer structures, such as three dimensional structures of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), are described as well as materials produced by these processes.

Understanding And Avoiding Ai Failures: A Practical Guide., Robert Max C Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As AI technologies increase in capability and ubiquity, AI accidents are becoming more common. Based on normal accident theory, high reliability theory, and open systems theory, we create a framework for understanding the risks associated with AI applications. In addition, we also use AI safety principles to quantify the unique risks of increased intelligence and human-like qualities in AI. Together, these two fields give a more complete picture of the risks of contemporary AI. By focusing on system properties near accidents instead of seeking a root cause of accidents, we identify where attention should be paid to safety for current …

Santa Clara Community Garden Composter Device, Nick Buccino, Kyle Uyehara, Jay Weber

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Although studies show that people understand the negative effects of organic waste thrown into landfills, few take steps to help reduce the amount of methane pumped into the environment by composting their food scraps, garden waste, grass clippings, etc. Composting meets with resistance because it actually encompasses a complicated combination of factors and processes that involves knowledge, attention, and manual labor to perform correctly. Composting done improperly results in offensive odors such as ammonia and rotten eggs, a sloppy mess of half-decomposed raw materials, and an abundance of pests such as flies, racoons, and skunks. Individuals, communities, and cities often …

Preferential Vaporization Potential Of Crude Oils And Its Impact On Flame Flashback Behaviors, Ayuob Al Wahaibi

Theses and Dissertations

As combined cycle gas turbines for power generation operating on light distillate fuels provide a sufficient energy, there is a global trend in using heavy liquids (e.g. HFO, crude oils) for direct-firing in gas turbine. However, using these heavy fuels imposes many challenges due to their wide range of physical/chemical properties, which control near-limit combustion behaviors, such lean blow-out and flashback. In addition, the ignition propensity of these heavy fuels is not reported in crude assays, and utilizing a simple, with small sample, and quick methodology to characterize the ignition propensity is important in determining the fuel quality.

In this …

Polymer Microparticles For Encapsulation And Presentation Of Anti-Inflammatory Agents For Inflammatory Diseases, Christopher Isely

Theses and Dissertations

Inflammatory diseases have a huge economic impact on the healthcare system. Incidence of obesity and muscle atrophy, two high profile inflammatory diseases, continues to increase. Anti-inflammatory agents are potential therapeutics for these diseases. Resveratrol is a polyphenol that has anti-inflammatory effects; however, resveratrol suffers from low bioavailability and hasn’t had impressive clinical results when delivered orally. Mannose is a monosaccharide that also has anti-inflammatory effects, however, effects are highest when mannose is presented on the surface of a support the size of a bacteria. Incorporation of resveratrol and mannose into biodegradable polymer microparticles could be a feasible approach to overcome …

Defining The Pathophysiology Of Gut Humoral Immunodeficiency, Ahmed Dawood Mohammed

Theses and Dissertations

Mucosal antibodies maintain gut homeostasis by promoting spatial segregation between host tissues and luminal microbes. Antibody-deficiency is the most common form of primary immunodeficiency observed in humans. In antibody-deficient humans, abnormal composition of the gut microbiota ('dysbiosis') is associated with chronic inflammatory responses and gastrointestinal complications. However, the mechanisms by which dysbiosis promotes inflammatory disease are poorly defined. In the studies described in this dissertation, we utilize CD19-/- mice as a model of antibody deficiency to test the hypothesis that antibody deficiency negatively impacts gut physiology under steady-state conditions. Chapter #1 is an overview of B cell development and how …

Anisotropic Scaffolds For Peripheral Nerve And Spinal Cord Regeneration, Wen Xue, Wen Shi, Yunfan Kong, Mitchell Kuss, Bin Duan

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The treatment of long-gap (>10 mm) peripheral nerve injury (PNI) and spinal cord injury (SCI) remains a continuous challenge due to limited native tissue regeneration capabilities. The current clinical strategy of using autografts for PNI suffers from a source shortage, while the pharmacological treatment for SCI presents dissatisfactory results. Tissue engineering, as an alternative, is a promising approach for regenerating peripheral nerves and spinal cords. Through providing a beneficial environment, a scaffold is the primary element in tissue engineering. In particular, scaffolds with anisotropic structures resembling the native extracellular matrix (ECM) can effectively guide neural outgrowth and reconnection. In …

Internet Of Things Based Messaging Protocols For Aquaculture Applications - A Bibliometric Analysis And Review, Rupali Shete, Anupkumar M. Bongale Dr., Arunkumar Bongale Dr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Internet of Things (IoT) which connects real-world physical objects with various identities involves different technologies and research areas. As it is an integration of different standards and technologies with numerous capabilities, the implementation phase needs to consider important parameters of communication. In IoT this is achieved through messaging protocols. Each object has its own limitations in terms of sensing capability, storage capacity, connectivity, power utilization, etc. And hence when such objects are deployed for different applications, they need to perform well in terms of their various capabilities. Messaging protocols at this stage need to consider these diverse elements. One of …

Hydrothermal Synthesis And Structural Investigation Of A Crystalline Uranyl Borosilicate, Kristen A. Pace, Vladislav V. Klepov, Mark D. Smith, Travis Williams, Gregory Morrison, Jochen A. Lauterbach, Scott T. Misture, Hans Conrad Zur Loye

Faculty Publications

The relevance of multidimensional and porous crystalline materials to nuclear waste reme-diation and storage applications has motivated exploratory research focused on materials discovery of compounds, such as actinide mixed-oxoanion phases, which exhibit rich structural chemistry. The novel phase K1.8 Na1.2 [(UO2)BSi4 O12 ] has been synthesized using hydrothermal methods, rep-resenting the first example of a uranyl borosilicate. The three-dimensional structure crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Cmce with lattice parameters a = 15.5471(19) Å, b = 14.3403(17) Å, c = 11.7315(15) Å, and V = 2615.5(6) Å3, and is composed of UO6 octahedra linked by [BSi4 O12 ]5− chains to …

Signatures Of Vibrational And Electronic Quantum Beats In Femtosecond Coherence Spectra, Paul C. Arpin, Daniel B. Turner

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Femtosecond laser pulses can produce oscillatory signals in transient-absorption spectroscopy measurements. The quantum beats are often studied using femtosecond coherence spectra (FCS), the Fourier domain amplitude, and phase profiles at individual oscillation frequencies. In principle, one can identify the mechanism that gives rise to each quantum-beat signal by comparing its measured FCS to those arising from microscopic models. To date, however, most measured FCS deviate from the ubiquitous harmonic oscillator model. Here, we expand the inventory of models to which the measured spectra can be compared. We develop quantum-mechanical models of the fundamental, overtone, and combination-band FCS arising from harmonic …

Behavior Of Steel Fiber-Reinforced Geopolymer Concrete Made With Recycled Concrete Aggregates, Abdalla Ahmed Moallim Hussein

Theses

Industrial by-products and recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) have the potential to fully replace cement and natural aggregates, respectively, in the production of concrete rather than being discarded wastefully into landfills or stockpiles. Yet, their combined use in the development of a novel RCA geopolymer concrete has been limited to nonstructural purposes, owing to the inferior mechanical and durability properties of said concrete. To improve the properties of geopolymer concrete made with RCA, steel fibers may be added to the mix. This research aims to study the feasibility of reutilizing locally available industrial solid wastes and RCA in geopolymer concrete for …

Development Of Heat Insulation Composite Materials Based On Bio-Polyesters And Natural Filler, Hyder Ali Reyah Al Abdallah

Theses

The increasing waste - bio or synthetic - is a critical issue, and managing this waste is a huge challenge for industry and academia. The use of biodegradable materials is sought as an eventual factor in decreasing the current level of waste generation. Therefore, one of the main research areas nowadays is to develop bio-composite materials over fuel-based materials where the bio-composites or waste-based composites serve several advantages both environmentally and economically, including the biodegradability feature of the bio fillers, and the affordability due to its abundant presence in nature. Bio-waste, specifically from agricultural sources, can be used as fillers …

Modelling And Control Of A Two-Link Rigid-Flexible Manipulator, Rahma Saeed Rasheed Alnajjar

Theses

The literature lacks data on the reliability of 3D models created by Autodesk Inventor software and imported to MATLAB Simulink software in comparison to mathematically generated models. In this contribution, a two-link rigid-flexible manipulator modelled in two different methods was demonstrated, one of which is using Lagrange equations and Finite Element Method to generate a mathematical model of the manipulator, and the other is creating a 3D model with the aid of Autodesk Inventor then import to MATLAB Simulink, both models were subsequently controlled by three types of controllers, conventional PID controller, LQR controller, and LQG controller. The research demonstrated …

Thermo Hydraulic Performance Of Polymer Double-Pipe Heat Exchanger For Single-Phase Heating/Cooling Application, Ahmed Mohamed Gafar

Theses

This thesis details the model-based study carried out for understanding the thermal and hydraulic performance of double pipe heat exchangers with and without pin-fins; both counter and parallel flow configurations are considered in the study. The pin-fins are located on the outer wall of the inner pipe thereby extending into the annulus and in this study, the hot fluid is assumed to pass through the annulus. The model consists of multiple governing equations such as continuity equations, Navier-Stokes equations, and energy equations. A fluent module of Ansys Workbench is used for conducting the model-based study. Double pipe heat exchangers constructed …

Electrodeposition Study Of Alloys For Solar Energy, Corrosion Resistance, And Battery Applications, Thaier Tawfeek Alawadh

Theses

Copper-Zinc-Tin sulphide (CZTS) compound is one of the alloys, which has significantly caught the attention of a considerable number of researchers since the beginning of the century. Consequently, academic laboratories started investigating the alloy in-depth with its various combination due to its valuable applications with high potential usage. The CZTS alloy has a high tendency to replace the current copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cell system due to scarcity of CIGS components, and toxic manufacturing procedures compared to CZTS. Nevertheless, CZTS is a new studied compound with exceptionally low photovoltaic empirical efficiency and an inadequate understanding of its …

Wireless Antenna Multiplexing Using Tunable Antenna For Space Applications, Saifudeen Ahammed Kabeer

Dissertations

Recent development in communication technologies shifts the communication paradigm from point to point to multi-user wireless systems. These developments eased the use of mobile telephone, satellite services, 5G cellular, smart application, and the

Internet of Things. The proliferation of mobile devices has necessitated an elaborate mechanism to serve multiple users over a shared communication medium, and a multiplexing approach is introduced to serve this purpose. Multiplexing refers to a method that aims at combining multiple signals into one signal such that each user would be able to extract its desired data upon receiving the multiplexed signal. This spectrum sharing allows …

Thermal Evaluation Of Advanced Leading Edge For Rotating Gas Turbine Blade: Numerical And Experimental Investigations, Amin Safi

Dissertations

Gas turbine engines play a vital role in our life. Our power demand is significantly and continuously growing. One approach to improve thermal efficiency in gas turbine engines requires a higher turbine inlet gas temperature. Advanced gas turbine engines operate at high temperatures, around 2000 K. Since operating at high temperatures may compromise the blade structure integrity, different cooling systems are used in a turbine blades. One of the most efficient cooling techniques is impingement cooling, mostly used in the leading edge. The leading edge experiences the highest temperature in the blade exposed to the hottest gas.

Researchers studied different …

Conversion Of Lignocellulose Biomass From Date Palm Waste To High Value Chemicals, Emmanuel Galiwango

Dissertations

Lignocellulose biomass has gained growing popularity because of its low cost of production compared to food crops, it solves problems of food and energy security, can grow in various climates and land, and it is CO₂ neutral. Date palm trees produce large amounts of fibrous wastes that are good sources of lignocellulose. There are over 40 million date palm trees in UAE and most of their lignocellulosic wastes (i.e., leaves, surface fibers, bunches, etc.) are currently used for low value applications such as compost or electric generation. However, the lignocellulosic components of this waste stream have the potential to …

Bending-Torsion Flutter Analysis Of A Viscoelastic Tapered Wing Carrying An Engine And Subjected To A Follower Thrust Force, Youssef Shaaban Abdelfattah Matter

Theses

Flutter, a dynamic divergent instability, is one of the significant phenomena of Aeroelasticity. This dangerous aeroelastic phenomenon can occur to any flexible structure subjected to aerodynamic forces such as aircraft wings, bridges, buildings, etc. It is important to analyze the flutter in order to predict the speed and frequency at which it occurs so that structural damages and failures can be avoided. This thesis is concerned with non-dimensional parametric modeling of the flutter of a viscoelastic tapered wing with an attached engine. The main objectives of this thesis are to determine regions of stability and boundaries of flutter speed and …