Engineering Commons^™

Fifty Shades Of Grey: Automated Stochastic Model Identification Of Building Heat Dynamics, Julien Leprince, Henrik Madsen, Clayton Miller, Palmer Jaume Real, Rik Van Der Vlist, Kaustav Basu, Wim Zeiler

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

To reach the carbon emission reduction targets set by the European Union, the building sector has embraced multiple strategies such as building retrofit, demand side management, model predictive control and building load forecasting. All of which require knowledge of the building dynamics in order to effectively perform. However, the scaling-up of building modelling approaches is still, as of today, a recurrent challenge in the field. The heterogeneous building stock makes it tedious to tailor interpretable approaches in a scalable way. This work puts forward an automated and scalable method for stochastic model identification of building heat dynamics, implemented on a …

Wastewater-Derived Ammonia For A Green Transportation Fuel, Joseph Kalman, Maryam Haddad

Mineta Transportation Institute

The energy-water nexus (i.e., availability of potable water and clean energy) is among the most important problems currently facing society. Ammonia is a carbon-free fuel that has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint in combustion related vehicles. However, ammonia production processes typically have their own carbon footprint and do not necessarily come from sustainable sources. This research examines wastewater filtration processes to harvest ammonia for transportation processes. The research team studied mock wastewater solutions and was able to achieve ammonia concentrations above 80%(nanofiltration) and 90% (reverse osmosis). The research team also investigated the influence of transmembrane pressure and flow …

Contracting Strategies: A Different Approach To Address Long-Term Performance, Maria Calahorra-Jimenez

Mineta Transportation Institute

For cost-efficiency, public safety, and sustainability, improving long-term performance in highway projects is imperative for public administrations. Project delivery and procurement methods provide an opportunity to align design and construction processes with this goal. While previous studies have explored whether project delivery methods impact the long-term performance of highway projects, these studies did not focus on how core elements within project procurement relate to long-term performance. Thus, to fill this gap, this research explores how and to what extent long-term evaluation criteria are considered in design-build best-value procurement of highway projects. To this end, the team conducted content analysis on …

Managing The Curb: Understanding The Impacts Of On-Demand Mobility On Public Transit, Micromobility, And Pedestrians, Susan Shaheen, Elliot Martin, Adam Cohen, Jacquelyn Broader, Richard Davis

Mineta Transportation Institute

In recent years, innovative mobility and shifts in travel and consumption behavior are changing how people access and use the curb. Shared mobility—the shared use of a vehicle, bicycle, scooter, or other mode—coupled with outdoor dining, curbside pick-up, and robotic delivery are creating new needs related to the planning, management, and enforcement of curb access. This study examines curb planning and management from several angles, such as safety, social equity, and multimodal connections. This research employs a multi-method approach to identify the changing needs for curb space management and how to meet these needs through new planning and implementation policies …

Classifying Mixing Regimes In Ponds And Shallow Lakes, Meredith A. Holgerson, David C. Richardson, Joseph Roith, Lauren E. Bortolotti, Kerri Finlay, Daniel J. Hornbach, Kshitij Gurung, Andrew Ness, Mikkel R. Andersen, Sheel Bansal, Jacques C. Finlay, Jacob A. Cianci-Gaskill, Shannon Hahn, Benjamin D. Janke, Cory Mcdonald, Jorrit P. Mesman, Rebecca L. North, Cassandra O. Roberts, Jon N. Sweetman, Jackie R. Webb

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Lakes are classified by thermal mixing regimes, with shallow waterbodies historically categorized as continuously mixing systems. Yet, recent studies demonstrate extended summertime stratification in ponds, underscoring the need to reassess thermal classifications for shallow waterbodies. In this study, we examined the summertime thermal dynamics of 34 ponds and shallow lakes across temperate North America and Europe to categorize and identify the drivers of different mixing regimes. We identified three mixing regimes: rarely (n = 18), intermittently (n = 10), and often (n = 6) mixed, where waterbodies mixed an average of 2%, 26%, and 75% of the study period, respectively. …

Evaluating Nas Delay Impacts From Orbital Launch Operations At Cape Canaveral And Optimizing Launch Windows, Tanner Jordin Furr

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was an impact of Part 121 arrival delays into Orlando International Airport (MCO) due to orbital space launch operations at Cape Canaveral. U.S. Government archival data spanning ten months and over 22,000 flights was accessed and categorized into three research questions by day of week, time of day, and whether or not an orbital space launch occurred during the established time frame. Inferential analysis using the one-way ANOVA (RQ1) and two-way ANOVA (RQ2 and RQ3) was conducted and found no significant differences in average Part 121 arrival delays into MCO …

Propellant Optimization For A Pulsed Solid Propellant Thruster System For Small Satellites, Timothy Aaron Blackman

Theses and Dissertations

CubeSats have historically been used mostly for education, technology demonstration, remote sensing, and amateur radio relay applications. Yet with increased maneuvering capability, they can become effective tools in on-orbit servicing and space debris removal. To make this a reality, CubeSats must be enabled to perform effective rendezvous and proximity operations with non-cooperative client objects, requiring a high-thrust propulsion system. As CubeSats are inherently constrained in their volume and mass, any propulsion system must feature a high specific impulse to minimize the propellant mass requirement. As CubeSats are commonly launched as secondary payload, the use of pressurized propellant tanks is typically …

Microstructure Dependence Of The Thermal Radiative Properties In Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Thermal Barrier Coatings, Yao Wang

Theses and Dissertations

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) based on the yttria-stabilized zirconium dioxide (YSZ) are widely used in gas turbines. With increasing gas turbine combustion temperature to improve the thermal efficiency, the radiative heat transfer properties of YSZ coatings become important. Currently there is no clear understanding the relationship between the coating microstructure and the radiative properties. In this study, a hybrid computational approach is developed to invert the radiative properties form the spectral measurement. To investigate the relationship between the radiative properties and microstructure, a predictive model of the scattering coefficient is developed based on the pore size distribution obtained from SEM …

Investigating The Proper Use Of Litani River Basin Based On Water Quality, Mohamad Diab, Mohamad Soliman

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

Litani River Basin (LRB) with a 170km length and annual river flow of 750 MCM is considered the most important water resource in Lebanon. Unfortunately, the river is facing water contamination as a result of human practices. Water Quality assessments was performed in the Litani River Basin using a combination of Principal Component Analysis method (PCA) and Water Quality Index method (WQI). Results revealed the improvement of the water quality significantly after passing lake Qaraoun. Moreover, according to WQI, Lower LRB water is ranked ‘’Good’’ for irrigation and ‘’BAD’ for drinking purposes. Microbial contamination is found to be the key …

Mechanical And Durability Properties Of Geopolymer Concrete – A Review, Lelian Elkhatib, Fadi Al Aridi, Adel Elkordi, Jamal Khatib

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

Owing to the ongoing increase in human population, there is a need for more construction projects including residential buildings and other amenities. Concrete is by far the dominant material used in construction and cement is a main ingredient. Cement manufacture is an energy intensive process and emit large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. A reduction in the amount of cement used in construction is greatly beneficial. The use of geopolymer or alkali activated materials can serve this purpose as it attempts to totally replace cement in concrete. Geopolymers are materials that consist mainly of silica and alumina materials …

Normality Testing Methods And The Importance Of Skewness And Kurtosis In Statistical Analysis, Georges Hatem, Joe Zeidan, Mathijs Goossens, Carla Moreira

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

The normal distribution (bell curve or Gaussian distribution) is a distribution that happens commonly in many circumstances. Real-life data rarely, if ever, follow a perfect normal distribution. Many tests are useful to test normality and more particularly skewness and kurtosis tests assess the comparability of a given distribution from a normal distribution. These tests are widely used in statistics, business, and epidemiological data including blood pressure, heights, IQ scores and measurement errors. This report provides a review assessing the essential methods employed for testing normality and highlighting the importance of skewness and Kurtosis in statistics. Moreover, it gives some examples …

Production Of Low-Cost Self-Consolidating Concrete (Scc) Using Manufactured Aggregates, Rabab Raydan, Farah Chamseddine, Ali Jahami, Oussama Baalbaki, Jamal Khatib, Adel Elkordi

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

Limitations to the sources of aggregates and the unavailability of sand is becoming a problematic issue for concrete production. A novel technology of manufactured aggregates can produce well graded round aggregates that can substitute natural aggregates while maintaining the same characteristics needed and preserving the resources. Self-Consolidating Concrete (SCC) using manufactured aggregates is assessed in this experimental work to understand the variability of workability properties and mechanical properties with the changes in w/c ratio and percentages of Coarse Aggregates and Manufactured Sand to Natural Sand in order to choose the best mixture that satisfies an adequate overall performance. Targeting compressive …

Sources Of Resonant Vortices In Aero-Acoustics Resonance From Tandem Flat Plates, Atef El Khatib, Ahmad Al Miaari, Ali Hammoud

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

Aero-acoustic resonance in flows around flat plates is a major design concern in various practical applications, especially turbomachinery and heat exchangers, due to its significant effects on fatigue rates and radiated noises intensity. Although research has been intensive on the topic, there is still a lot to be understood for effective resonance prediction and control. Resonance in tandem plate systems is characterized by a double response. This study, investigates for the first time, the flow mechanisms responsible for the generation of low-velocity and high-velocity resonances of the double resonance response. Experimental testing and numerical simulation showed that low-velocity resonance vortices …

Study On The Effect Of Coal Microscopic Pore Structure To Its Spontaneous Combustion Tendency, Xianwei Dong, Gaojing Li, Xuanmeng Dong, Fusheng Wang

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Coal is a porous medium. Due to the large number of pores in coal and the pore size on its surface, usually ranging from millimeter to nanometer, it is difficult to measure and analyze the microscopic pore structure of coal. In order to investigate the effect of the microscopic pore structure of coal on its spontaneous combustion tendency, coal samples from different coal mines of the Kailuan Group were selected as the research objects, and the data of the microscopic pore distribution of three different coal samples were measured by using mercury injection apparatus. The regression analysis of microscopic pore …

Analysis Of Digital Image Segmentation Algorithms, Khalilov Sirojiddin

Karakalpak Scientific Journal

Ushbu maqolada zamonaviy axborot-kommunikatsiya texnologiyalaridan foydalanishni kengaytirish maqsadida raqamli tasvirni qayta ishlash usullari va algoritmlari tahlil qilinadi. Maqolada, shuningdek, raqamli tasvirni qayta ishlash, tasvirni segmentatsiyalash usullari, WaterShed, MeanShift, FloodFill, GrabCut algoritmlarining afzalliklari va kamchiliklari o'rganiladi.

Modelling Monthly Rainfall Of Calabar, Nigeria Using Box-Jenkins (Arima) Method, Francis Ogbozige

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Rainfall has both positive and negative effects on human activities hence, correct prediction of the period of occurrence is very essential. However, the traditional method of predicting months of heavy rainfall is gradually fading out as irregular rainfall pattern is been experienced in most regions of the world. The rainfall pattern in Calabar city in Southern Nigeria has been reported in past literatures of being irregular. Hence, this research applied the Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) also known as Box-Jenkins method to model the rainfall pattern of Calabar. This was achieved by subjecting 50years monthly rainfall (1971 – 2020) to …

Critical Information Infrastructure Protection, Vulnerabilities, Threats And Challenges: A Critical Review, Krishna Prakasha

Manipal Journal of Science and Technology

Protection of Critical Information Infrastructure is a crucial requirement nowadays and requires immediate attention and a lot of prevention activities to avoid any cyber threat to critical IT services. This article aims to give a basic overview of Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) and Critical Sectors such as the Power and Energy Sector, Banking Financial Service and Insurance (BFSI), Telecommunications, Government Services, the Transport Sector, the Health Sector, etc. The consequences of attacks on these sectors have been examined, including their national and international challenges. This article shall also discuss the vulnerabilities of common CII, security controls, emerging trends, threats, and …

Conceptual Design Of An Evtol Aircraft For Inter-City Air Taxi Operation, G.K Suryanarayana

Manipal Journal of Science and Technology

In the near future, faster air transportation of passengers demands green technologies in the aerospace domain. Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which can meet the design challenges using electric propulsion, is one of the promising solutions to bring about change. The ability of an eVTOL aircraft to take off from a rooftop can revolutionize Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and overcome the deficiencies in conventional transport. This paper presents a conceptual design of an eVTOL aircraft using electric propulsion to meet the requirements of inter-city travel. The novelty of the work lies in the use of a fan-in-wing configuration …

Smart Street Lighting System With Fault Detection, Resmara S

Manipal Journal of Science and Technology

The project's main purpose is to provide automatic control and identification of faulty street lights. In the proposed project, the operating state of these lights may be simply captured without requiring any manual intervention. As a result, manual labour is reduced as well as the time it takes to fix problems. As a result, in order to address this issue, we come up with a solution for automatic street light detection. For example, the status of the street light will be determined late at night and it should send a notification to the authorized personnel at night. If there is …

Controlling And Monitoring Of Amf (Auto Mains Failure) S/M Using Plc And Scada, Sneha Priya Sebastian

Manipal Journal of Science and Technology

This paper focused on the controlling and monitoring of AMF (Auto Mains Failure) S/M using PLC (Programmable Logic Controllers) and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data acquisition system). Continuity in the power supply is an essential thing, especially in health sectors where ventilators are needed to maintain a person’s life and even discontinuity or interruptions in power pause a threat to life and property. So uninterruptible power supply is both essential and vital for many industrial sectors, day-to-day works, health sectors and much more. Earlier, the changeover from one source of supply to another was done manually which was time-consuming and …

Rf-Over-Fiber Receiver Design And Link Performance Verification For Alpaca Signal Transport, Nathaniel Ray Ashcraft

Theses and Dissertations

The Advanced L-band Phased Array Camera (ALPACA) is a wide-field astronomical receiver that will be housed on the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). This instrument features a fully cryogenic 69-element phased array feed (PAF) front end and digital beamformer back end. It will provide a wide and continuous field of view at L-band and high sensitivity with a system noise temperature below 27 K. Transport of the received astronomical signals on 138 individual channels from prime focus of the GBT to the digital back end -- over a distance of 3 km -- will be provided by a custom RF-over-fiber (RFoF) …

An Acid Baking Approach To Enhance Heavy Rare Earth Recovery From Bituminous Coal-Based Sources, Ahmad Nawab, Xinbo Yang, Rick Q. Honaker

Mining Engineering Faculty Publications

The recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) from secondary resources, particularly coal-based materials, has recently received attention due to supply and demand imbalance. Research reported to date indicates that a high REE recovery can be realized when treating bituminous coal sources using strong acid solutions of approximately100 g/L or higher. This study introduces an approach to enhance the total rare earth recovery (TREE), especially for heavy rare earth elements (HREEs), from these coal sources at significantly lower acid concentrations. Based on the presence of REE minerals like monazite and xenotime, a detailed investigation was undertaken to quantify three pre-leach treatment …

Analyzing Computational Components Of Standard Block Encryption Schemes, Chu-Wen Cheng, Miranda Heather Cantu, Sanjeev Kumar

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Encryption is used to secure sensitive computer data which may be at rest or in motion. There are several standard encryption algorithms that have been used to encrypt and protect blocks of sensitive data to ensure confidentiality. The most popular standard block encryption schemes are the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES), and the first standardized encryption scheme, which is no longer the standard scheme now, namely the Data Encryption Standard (DES). AES is the current standard for block encryption used worldwide and is implemented on many processors. In this work, we compare the hardware performance of …

Augmenting Heads-Up Displays With Intelligent Agents: A Human Factors Approach, Grant Edward Morfitt

Theses and Dissertations

Situational awareness, both tactical and strategic, is essential for humans engaged in complex tasks in civilian and military theaters of operation. Previous work has shown that heads-up displays are effective tools for providing critical information to operators in such situations. Hitherto, heads-up displays have been designed to relay instrument and sensor information to the operator in a topical, timely, and accurate manner. There is a large body of complementary work in the area of human factors that deals with presenting information to a user without detracting from the primary mission. This thesis investigates, measures, and validates the effectiveness of a …

Development Of Software Tools For Efficient And Sustainable Process Development And Improvement, Jake P. Stengel

Theses and Dissertations

Infrastructure is a key component in the well-being of our society that leads to its growth, development, and productive operations. A well-built infrastructure allows the community to be more competitive and promotes economic advancement. In 2021, the ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) ranked the American infrastructure as substandard, with an overall grade of C-. The overall ranking suffers when key infrastructure categories are not maintained according to the needs of the population. Therefore, there is a need to consider alternative methods to improve our infrastructure and make it more sustainable to enhance the overall grade. One of the challenges …

Modified Biosand Filtration Using Aluminum Hydroxide Filter Media To Enhance Fluoride Removal, Joshelyn Guimaray

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are over 20 countries whose citizens consume groundwater containing high levels of fluoride, including Nigeria, Mexico, India, China, and Ghana, which all have major health crises when it comes to the safety of their drinking water. Minerals like fluorite contain fluoride which is often found in groundwater aquifers. The minerals release fluoride into the groundwater. Per the World Health Organization (WHO) standard, the maximum contaminant limit for fluoride consumption should be less than 1.5 mg/L. Chronic exposure of elevated levels of fluoride can cause people to suffer debilitating health effects, such as dental and skeletal fluorosis. Dental fluorosis causes …

Mm-Wave Reconfigurable Antenna Arrays, Phase Shifters And Beamforming Networks With Reduced Hardware Complexity Using Integrated Microfluidic Actuation, Jonas J. Mendoza Sandoval

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microfluidically reconfigurable radio-frequency (RF) devices, in general, are found attractive for low-loss, wide-frequency tunability, low hardware complexity, and high-power-handling capabilities. More recently, microfluidic actuation has also been proposed as an alternative to semiconductors and micro-electromechanical systems-based approaches to realize new and compact reconfigurable devices operating in mm-Wave bands. This research expands the knowledge base on low-loss and compact mm-Wave reconfigurable devices. The reconfiguration approach relies on utilizing a microfluidically actuated selectively metalized plate (SMP) within proximity of the RF device to alleviate the practical issues arising from the traditional usage of liquid metals in microfluidically reconfigurable devices.

The first novel …

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Safe Management Of Spent Nuclear Fuel, Robert L. Sindelar

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

The aim for storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) either in wet or in dry storage systems is to ensure general safety objectives are met throughout a desired storage period. Staff at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), in collaborations with partners at other national laboratories, industry research organizations, and the University of South Carolina (UofSC), have performed materials aging testing and analyses, and have established nuclear materials aging management programs to support extended periods of safe storage of research reactor (RR) SNF and of commercial power reactor (PR) SNF pending ultimate disposal. Several example challenges include susceptibility of aluminum …

Electro-Mechanical Data Fusion For Heart Health Monitoring, Kemal Yakut

Theses and Dissertations

Heart disease is a major public health problem and one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Therefore, cardiac monitoring is of great importance for the early detection and prevention of adverse conditions. Recently, there has been extensive research interest in long-term, continuous, and non-invasive cardiac monitoring using wearable technology. Here we introduce a wearable device for monitoring heart health. This prototype consists of three sensors to monitor electrocardiogram (ECG), phonocardiogram (PCG), and seismocardiogram (SCG) signals, integrated with a microcontroller module with Bluetooth wireless connectivity. We also created a custom printed circuit board (PCB) to integrate all the sensors into …