Engineering Commons^™

Topological Hierarchies And Decomposition: From Clustering To Persistence, Kyle A. Brown

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Hierarchical clustering is a class of algorithms commonly used in exploratory data analysis (EDA) and supervised learning. However, they suffer from some drawbacks, including the difficulty of interpreting the resulting dendrogram, arbitrariness in the choice of cut to obtain a flat clustering, and the lack of an obvious way of comparing individual clusters. In this dissertation, we develop the notion of a topological hierarchy on recursively-defined subsets of a metric space. We look to the field of topological data analysis (TDA) for the mathematical background to associate topological structures such as simplicial complexes and maps of covers to clusters in …

Influence Of Fill Percentage And Baking Parameters On The Feedability Of Metal-Cored Arc Welding Wires, Angelica Marie Black

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Adequate feedability is essential for GMAW processes to ensure efficiency. The feedability of a wire refers to the wire’s ability to feed continuously through the contact tip. While there are several known causes of feedability difficulties when using cored welding wires, there are many variables that have yet to be explored thoroughly. Three factors are investigated in this research to determine their effects on feedability of cored wires: fill percentage, baking time, and baking temperature. A set of metal-cored arc welding wires were created with various fill percentages, baking times, and baking temperatures. Tension testing, microhardness testing, microstructural characterization, and …

Quantitative Bridge Inspection Ratings Using Autonomous Robotic Systems, Anil K. Agrawal

Project IM-2

Impact sounding has been recognized as an effective technique to detect delamination in concrete structures, such as concrete decks. An enormous amount of sounding data can be generated/collected by the autonomous inspection systems equipped with impactors and microphones. However, the main challenge in the practical application of this technology is the development of advanced data analysis approaches for identifying defects from impact sounding data. In this study, the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) analysis and power-spectral density (PSD) analysis are combined to extract useful features of sounding data generated by the impact hammer. It has been found that the EMD method …

Removal Of Emerging Contaminants From Wastewater Streams Using Membrane Bioreactors: A Review, Arijit Sengupta, Mahmood Jebur, Mohanad Kamaz, Sumith R. Wickramasinghe

Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Water is a very valuable natural resource. As the demand for water increases the presence of emerging contaminants in wastewater has become a growing concern. This is particularly true when one considers direct reuse of wastewater. Obtaining sufficient removal of emerging contaminants will require determining the level of removal for the various unit operations in the wastewater treatment process. Membrane bioreactors are attractive as they combine an activated sludge process with a membrane separation step. They are frequently used in a wastewater treatment process and can operate at higher solid loadings than conventional activated sludge processes. Determining the level of …

Carbon Nanotube Coated Fibrous Tubes For Highly Stretchable Strain Sensors Having High Linearity, Chenchen Li, Bangze Zhou, Yanfen Zhou, Jianwei Ma, Fenglei Zhou, Shaojuan Chen, Stephen Jerrams, Liang Jiang

Articles

Strain sensors are currently limited by an inability to operate over large deformations or to exhibit linear responses to strain. Producing strain sensors meeting these criteria remains a particularly difficult challenge. In this work, the fabrication of a highly flexible strain sensor based on electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) fibrous tubes comprising wavy and oriented fibers coated with carboxylated multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is described. By combining spraying and ultrasonic-assisted deposition, the number of CNTs deposited on the electrospun TPU fibrous tube could reach 12 wt%, which can potentially lead to the formation of an excellent conductive network with high conductivity …

Os-Walk-Eu: An Open-Source Tool To Assess Health-Promoting Residential Walkability Of European City Structures, Stefan Fina, Christian Gerten, Brian Pondi, Lorraine D'Arcy, Niamh O' Reilly, David Sousa Vale, Mauro Pereira, Samuele Zilio

Articles

Introduction This paper introduces OS-WALK-EU, a new open-source walkability assessment tool developed specifically for urban neighbourhoods and using open-source spatial data. A free and open-source tool, OS-WALK-EU is accessible to the general public. It uses open data available worldwide and free online services to compute accessibility, while at the same time allowing users to integrate local datasets if available. Based on a review of existing measurement concepts, the paper adopts dimensions of walkability that were tested in European city environments and explains their conceptualization for software development. We invite the research community to collaboratively test, adopt and use the tool …

Mechanotransductive Feedback Control Of Endothelial Cell Motility And Vascular Morphogenesis, Devon E. Mason, Megan Goeckel, Sebastian Vega, Pei-Hsun Wu, Dymonn Johnson, Su-Jin Heo, Denis Wirtz, Jason A. Burdick, Levi Wood, Brian Y. Chow, Amber N. Stratman, Joel D. Boerckel

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

Vascular morphogenesis requires persistent endothelial cell motility that is responsive to diverse and dynamic mechanical stimuli. Here, we interrogated the mechanotransductive feedback dynamics that govern endothelial cell motility and vascular morphogenesis. We show that the transcriptional regulators, YAP and TAZ, are activated by mechanical cues to transcriptionally limit cytoskeletal and focal adhesion maturation, forming a conserved mechanotransductive feedback loop that mediates human endothelial cell motility in vitro and zebrafish intersegmental vessel (ISV) morphogenesis in vivo. This feedback loop closes in 4 hours, achieving cytoskeletal equilibrium in 8 hours. Feedback loop inhibition arrested endothelial cell migration in vitro and ISV morphogenesis …

Fan-Shaped Model For Generating The Anisotropic Catchment Area Of Subway Stations Based On Feeder Taxi Trips, Shiwei Liu, Yajuan Deng, Xianbiao Hu, Jiaxing Zhou, Jianming Chen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The catchment areas of subway stations have always been considered as a circular shape in previous research. Although some studies show the catchment area may be affected by road conditions, public transportation, land use, and other factors, few studies have discussed the shape of the catchment area. This study focuses on analyzing the anisotropy of catchment areas and developing a sound methodology to generate them. Based on taxi global positioning system (GPS) data, this paper first proposes a data mining method to identify feeder taxi trips around subway stations. Then, a fan-shaped model is proposed and applied to Xi'an Metro …

Module 06: Arrays And Other Useful Tools, Leendert Craig

ENTC 2170: Computer Aided Design and Drafting

No abstract provided.

The Applications And Challenges Of The Development Of In Vitro Tumor Microenvironment Chips, Annika Johnson, Samuel Reimer, Ryan Childres, Grace Cupp, Tia C L Kohs, Owen J T Mccarty, Youngbok (Abraham) Kang

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a critical, yet mechanistically elusive role in tumor development and progression, as well as drug resistance. To better understand the pathophysiology of the complex TME, a reductionist approach has been employed to create in vitro microfluidic models called “tumor chips”. Herein, we review the fabrication processes, applications, and limitations of the tumor chips currently under development for use in cancer research. Tumor chips afford capabilities for real-time observation, precise control of microenvironment factors (e.g. stromal and cellular components), and application of physiologically relevant fluid shear stresses and perturbations. Applications for tumor chips include drug screening …

Pediatric Cardiac Devices: Recent Progress And Remaining Problems, Kyle Crawford, Martine Leberge, Dan Simionescu, Naren Vyavahare

Publications

Pediatric cardiology is a field that largely relies on translation of innovation in its adult counterpart in order to improve patient outcomes and introduce new technology to the field. Few FDA-approved pediatric cardiac devices are available for clinical use, thus leading to widespread off-label use within the field. Nonetheless, adaption of devices and technology from the adult field has proven to improve patient outcomes and overall wellness. However, the diversity of congenital heart disease, in terms of basic anatomy and treatment response, continues to complicate results. The combination of diversity of anatomy and small population size make it difficult for …

Virtual Reality-Based Serious Role-Playing Games As Digital Experiential Learning Tools To Deliver Healthcare Skills Through Mobile Devices, Dixit Bharatkumar Patel

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Inadequate professional training and practices related to health care may result in severe complications to care experiences and outcomes. Moreover, healthcare professionals are as susceptible to the possibility of implicit biases as any other group. Importantly, the health care training is critical and challenging as minor prejudicial beliefs have an adverse influence or serious consequences on patients' health outcomes. Thus, facilitating serious role-playing virtual care practices along with raising awareness of healthcare professionals about the enduring impact of implicit/explicit biases and Social Determinants of Health (SDH) on health outcomes assist to advance the patient-provider relation, care experiences (e.g., healthcare experience …

Efficient Charging System For Hyperloop Application, B. Gillespie, A. Kidd, B. Thompson, P. Vachharajani

2022 Undergraduate Awards

Conventional transportation methods are a major contributor to the climate crisis and Hyperloop systems are a proposed form of novel transportation that can provide a fast and energyefficient alternative. However, current research in Hyperloop technology has neglected the development of the charging infrastructure to facilitate repeated and high-speed charging cycles that minimize battery degradation. To address this, an efficient charging system for Hyperloop application is presented in this paper. Starting with a pre-existing electric vehicle (EV) charging model in MATLAB Simulink, the design was validated and scaled for the Hyperloop application to support a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery pack …

Towards Fluoro-Free Interventions: Using Radial Intracardiac Ultrasound For Vascular Navigation, Hareem Nisar, Leah Groves, Leandro Cardarelli-Leite, Terry M Peters, Elvis C.S. Chen

Robarts Imaging Publications

Transcatheter cardio-vascular interventions have the advantage of patient safety,reduced surgery time, and minimal trauma to the patient's body. Transcathetherinterventions, which are performed percutaneously, suffer from the lack of direct line-of-sight with the surgical tools and the patient anatomy. Therefore, such interventionalprocedures rely heavily on image guidance for navigating towards and deliveringtherapy at the target site. Vascular navigation via the inferior vena cava (IVC), from thegroin to the heart, is an imperative part of most transcatheter cardiovascularinterventions such as valve repair surgeries and ablation therapy. Traditionally, the IVCis navigated using fluoroscopic techniques such as angiography or CT venography.These X-ray based techniques …

A Radiofrequency Coil To Facilitate Task-Based Fmri Of Awake Marmosets, Kyle Gilbert, Audrey Dureux, Azadeh Jafari, Alessandro Zanini, Peter Zeman, Ravi S. Menon, Stefan Everling

Robarts Imaging Publications

Background: The small common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) is an ideal nonhuman primate for awake fMRI in ultra-high field small animal MRI scanners. However, it can often be challenging in task-based fMRI experiments to provide a robust stimulus within the MRI environment while using hardware (an RF coil and restraint system) that is compatible with awake imaging. New Method: Here we present an RF coil and restraint system that permits unimpeded access to an awake marmoset’s head subsequent to immobilization, thereby permitting the setup of peripheral devices and stimuli proximal to the head.

Results: As an example application, an …

Towards Ultrasound-Based Navigation: Deep Learning Based Ivc Lumen Segmentation From Intracardiac Echocardiography, Hareem Nisar, Patrick Carnahan, Djalal Fakim, Humayoun Akhunzada, David Hocking, Elvis Chen, Terry Peters

Robarts Imaging Publications

ascular navigation is a prerequisite to transcatheter cardiac interventions. The current standard approach to catheter navigation relies on real-time fluoroscopy, while this technique utilizes ionizing radiation and it places the interventionalist at risk for eye cataracts and cancer. The shielding equipment needed to mitigate these risks is associated with spinal issues and neck and back pain which has led towards the coining of the term "interventionalist's disc disease". A proposed alternative is to have an ultrasound-guided vascular navigation system where a catheter-based ultrasound probe scans the vessel and reconstructs the vascular roadmap, which can then be navigated by tracked guidewire …

Leveraging The Advancements In Functional Biomaterials And Scaffold Fabrication Technologies For Chronic Wound Healing Applications, Alap A. Zahid, Aishik Chakraborty, Yasmeen Shamiya, Shruthi Polla Ravi, Arghya Paul

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Publications

Exploring new avenues for clinical management of chronic wounds holds the key to eliminating socioeconomic burdens and health-related concerns associated with this silent killer. Engineered biomaterials offer great promise for repair and regeneration of chronic wounds because of their ability to deliver therapeutics, protect the wound environment, and support the skin matrices to facilitate tissue growth. This mini review presents recent advances in biomaterial functionalities for enhancing wound healing and demonstrates a move from sub-optimal methods to multi-functionalized treatment approaches. In this context, we discuss the recently reported biomaterial characteristics such as bioadhesiveness, antimicrobial properties, proangiogenic attributes, and anti-inflammatory properties …

Analytical And Experimental Investigation Into Pre-Stressed Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (Cfrp) Fatigue Retrofits For Steel Waterway Lock-Gate Structures, Christina Lozano, Maggie Langston, Mohammad H. Kashefizadeh, Gary S. Prinz

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Lock gates are an important part of the transportation infrastructure within the United States (US). Unfortunately, many existing lock gates have reached or exceeded their initial design lives and require frequent repairs to remain in service. Unscheduled repairs often increase as gates age, having a local economic impact on freight transport, which can create economic ripples throughout the nation. Metal fatigue is a key cause of unscheduled service interruptions, degrading lock gate components over time. Additionally, because lock gates are submerged during operation, crack detection prior to component failure can be difficult, and repair costs can be high. This paper …

Multiphysics Numerical Modeling Of Transient Transport Of Pfas, Pierrette Iradukunda, Arvin Farid

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The need to understand the fate and transport of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has grown due to the widespread contamination of the environment by them. PFAS are persistent, mobile, toxic manmade chemicals of great concern that contribute to the contamination of soil and groundwater. The presence of PFAS in unsaturated soil complicates their transport due to the impact of the air–water interface and solid-phase adsorption. The air–water interface can significantly increase the retention of PFAS during its transport. In this paper, a numerical model has been developed to study the transport of PFAS by coupling transient seepage and advection-dispersion, …

Launch Editorial, Jindong Qin, Xiaofang Chen, Lida Xu

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

The digital economy is first and foremost a data economy, and data is the first element of the digital economy. Management System Engineering (MSE) is dedicated to the methodology of System Engineering (SE) and the practice of Management Decision Making. The digital economy is a network economy, and the Internet is the basic carrier of the digital economy. [Extracted from the article]

Desired Properties Of Recycling-Derived Fertilisers From An End-User Perspective, Aoife Egan, Niamh Power

Grey Literature

The Interreg North-West (NW) Europe ReNu2Farm project aims to increase the recycling rates of the plant nutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K). Currently, farmers predominantly use mineral fertilisers that are a finite resource and in the case of nitrogen are energy-intensive to produce. Then again, there are several regions in NW Europe with a nutrient surplus and there have been many advances in technology that can recover these nutrients. However, there has been very little up-take overall, with these recycling derived fertilisers (RDFs). To explore the reason behind the reluctance of farmers to use these sustainable recycled products, …

Seismic Risk Assessment Of A Steel Building Supported On Helical Pile Groups, Maryam Shahbazi, Amy B. Cerato, Emad M. Hassan, Hussam Mahmoud

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Designing structures to be the least vulnerable within earthquake-prone areas is a serious challenge for structural engineers. One common and useful tool that structural engineers use to predict the vulnerability of a structure during an earthquake is a fragility curve. However, most structural fragility curves do not take into consideration the contribution of pile foundation systems in the structural vulnerability. Therefore, this study aims to modify existing fragility curves of a six-story fixed-base steel frame hospital building with buckling-restrained braces, to incorporate the effect of helical pile group behavior on the fragility of the structure. To that end, a finite …

Module 05: Mirrors And Fillet, Leendert Craig

ENGR 1110: Engineering Graphics

No abstract provided.

Module 03: Orthographic Views, Dimensioning, And Section Views, Leendert Craig

ENTC 2170: Computer Aided Design and Drafting

No abstract provided.

Module 04: Introduction To Autocad (Including Layers And Colors), Leendert Craig

ENTC 2170: Computer Aided Design and Drafting

No abstract provided.

Segmentation Of Intracranial Structures From Noncontrast Ct Images With Deep Learning, Evan Porter

Wayne State University Dissertations

Presented in this work is an investigation of the application of artificially intelligent algorithms, namely deep learning, to generate segmentations for the application in functional avoidance radiotherapy treatment planning. Specific applications of deep learning for functional avoidance include generating hippocampus segmentations from computed tomography (CT) images and generating synthetic pulmonary perfusion images from four-dimensional CT (4DCT).A single institution dataset of 390 patients treated with Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery was created. From these patients, the hippocampus was manually segmented on the high-resolution MR image and used for the development of the data processing methodology and model testing. It was determined that …

Data-Driven Semantic Modeling For Welding Assemblies, Fahim Ahmed

Wayne State University Dissertations

A significant information gap is prevalent between the design domain and the manufacturing domain. The designers lack manufacturing awareness as they have little knowledge regarding the manufacturability of their designs. The welding domain falls prey to this issue as designers lack manufacturing awareness and welding engineers lack weldability of the product assembly. Data-driven techniques have shown promising results in the analysis and understanding of complex welding processes. Data analytics play a significant role to turn data into valuable insights to assist in the weldability certification decision-making or weldability prediction for Resistance Spot Welding (RSW) as well. We have used machine …

Biomedical Applications Of Lanthanide Nanomaterials, For Imaging, Sensing And Therapy, Qize Zhang, Stephen O'Brien, Jan Grimm

Publications and Research

The application of nanomaterials made of rare earth elements within biomedical sciences continues to make significant progress. The rare earth elements, also called the lanthanides, play an essential role in modern life through materials and electronics. As we learn more about their utility, function, and underlying physics, we can contemplate extending their applications to biomedicine. This particularly applies to diagnosis and radiation therapy due to their relatively unique features, such as an ultra-wide Stokes shift in the luminescence, variable magnetism and potentially tunable properties, due to the library of lanthanides available and their multivalent oxidation state chemistry. The ability to …

Advanced Anti-Buckling Device Coupled With Real-Time Digital Image Correlation For Complex Cyclic Tension-Compression Testing Of Lightweight Materials, Akshat Agha, Fadi Abu-Farha

Publications

In sheet metal forming and stamping operations, modeling the behavior of sheet metal alloys for springback prediction is known to be very challenging, not only because of the complex models needed to account for kinematic hardening (such as the Yoshida-Uemori Model) but more importantly because of the experimental limitations of our ability to perform the complex tests needed to calibrate such models. For instance, reliable monotonic uniaxial compression tests and then cyclic tension-followed-by-compression tests are essential for characterizing the response of the material under those loading conditions, providing quantitative evaluation of the Bauschinger Effect and tension/compression asymmetry in the material, …

Nebraska Water Center Annual Report 2022, Nebraska Water Center, Daugherty Water For Food Global Institute

Nebraska Water Center: Administrative Materials

CONTENTS

Overview: The Nebraska Water Center (https://watercenter.unl.edu)

Fast Facts: NWC 2022 Snapshot

Our Work

Water Sciences Lab Sees Rapid Growth in 2022 (https://watercenter.unl.edu/water-sciences-laboratory2)

WSL is Key to AltEn Contamination Monitoring (https://go.unl.edu/mead)

Know Your Well Project Enters Third Phase (https://knowyourwell.unl.edu)

Computer Science Students Build New Platform for Know Your Well Data Collection

Water Sciences Laboratory Helps Nebraska Tackle Nitrate (https://watercenter.unl.edu/water-sciences-laboratory2)

Nebraska Rural Poll Includes Water Quality Questions (https://ruralpoll.unl.edu and https://go.unl.edu/nitrate_strategy)

NWC Holds Platte River Basin Conference (https://watercenter.unl.edu/2022-nebraska-water-conference)

Spring Seminar Series (https://watercenter.unl.edu/spring-seminar-series)

Water Center Undergoes Five-Year …