Engineering Commons^™

Paper-Based Ratiometric Sensor Array For Pathogenic Bacterial Species Identification, Aayushi Laliwala

Theses & Dissertations

Bacterial infections are the leading cause of mortality worldwide due to the lack of accurate diagnosis of the pathogens causing infections. Currently, microbiological and molecular techniques are used to identify pathogenic bacteria. However, these techniques have limitations as they are time-consuming, cost-inefficient, and require trained personnel. Therefore, timely and precise identification of pathogenic bacteria is crucial for public safety. Our lab previously synthesized a fluorescent sensor array (3-hydroxyflavone derivatives) encapsulated in hyaluronic acid-based nanoparticles to identify bacterial species and recognize their Gram status. Though promising, this technique was relatively time-consuming and required high sample and volumes.

To overcome these limitations, …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Flexible Microelectrode Arrays On Kapton Polyimide For Implantable Spinal Cord Stimulation Applications, Nabil Jamhour

Theses and Dissertations

Recent advances in spinal cord stimulation (SCS) technology have made a significant impact in the treatment of chronic pain which is a prevalent issue amongst 20% of the population in developed nations. A few medical device manufactures have developed SCS devices that have been studied in clinical environments and reported to be effective and safe for commercial use. However, the current SCS devices available are bulky, rigid, and still present infection, fibrosis, discomfort, pulse delivery challenges and other concerns for patients. In this study, flexible electrodes processed on Kapton® polyimide films by physical vapor and inkjet deposition are fabricated and …

Reconstructing Modis Aerosol Optical Depth And Exploring Dynamic And Influential Factors Of Aod Via Random Forest At The Global Scale, Bin Guo, Zheng Wang, Lin Pei, Xiaowei Zhu, Qiuji Chen, Haojie Wu, Wencai Zhang, Dingming Zhang

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Aerosols pose a significant impact on the atmospheric environment and public health. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) is one of the essential parameters for quantifying aerosols. Currently, existing AOD products suffer from severe pixel value missing issue due to clouds and other interferences globally, which severely affects the accuracy of fine particulate matter estimation and related epidemics researches. At the global scale, this study first adopted population as one of the influencing factors of AOD, and fully considered the effects of humidity, surface pressure, cloud cover, and evapotranspiration on AOD. Meanwhile, the spatiotemporal resolution of meteorological data was promoted to improve …

Solar-Powered Microgrids In Northern California: An Opportunity For Resilience, Marina Riddle

Master's Projects and Capstones

Planned and unplanned power outages have been increasing in frequency and duration, negatively impacting all public sectors, and threatening public safety. These outages are deadly to those who rely on medical devices. As climate change-fueled extreme weather events (wildfires, earthquakes, storms, etc.) also increase in frequency, our electrical grid must be prepared to bounce back. Microgrids provide necessary redundancy and reliability. Through a novel GIS suitability analysis, based on solar radiation, land use type, local energy demand, distance to transmission lines, distance to roads, and slope, optimal locations for solar-powered microgrids throughout Northern California were determined. The counties of Fresno, …

Effect Of Temperature And Steam-To-Carbon Monoxide (Co) Ratio On Hydrogen Production In Water-Gas Shift Reaction Using Cu-Zno-Al2o3 Catalyst, Sekar Kumala Desi, Restu Siti Nursa'adah, Hana Nabila Anindita, Bambang Muharto, Nurdiah Rahmawati, Tyas Puspita Rini, Erlan Rosyadi

Makara Journal of Science

This study investigates the effect of steam-to-CO molar ratio and temperature on hydrogen production in a water gas shift reaction using a Cu-ZnO-Al₂O₃ catalyst. Herein, different steam-to-CO molar ratios (1:1, 2:1, and 3:1) and temperatures (200 °C, 250 °C, and 300 °C) were applied to investigate their impact on the reaction and H₂ production. The Cu-ZnO-Al₂O₃ catalyst was characterized by its surface area, pore size distribution, and chemical composition. Moreover, the experimental setup enabled the control of temperature and steam-to-CO molar ratio while monitoring the product gas composition. The results revealed a considerable …

Monitoring Time Domain Characteristics Of Parkinson's Disease Using 3d Memristive Neuromorphic System, Md Abu Bakr Siddique, Yan Zhang, Hongyu An

Michigan Tech Publications

INTRODUCTION: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting millions of patients. Closed-Loop Deep Brain Stimulation (CL-DBS) is a therapy that can alleviate the symptoms of PD. The CL-DBS system consists of an electrode sending electrical stimulation signals to a specific region of the brain and a battery-powered stimulator implanted in the chest. The electrical stimuli in CL-DBS systems need to be adjusted in real-time in accordance with the state of PD symptoms. Therefore, fast and precise monitoring of PD symptoms is a critical function for CL-DBS systems. However, the current CL-DBS techniques suffer from high computational demands for real-time …

Terahertz Permittivity Parameters Of Monoclinic Single Crystal Lutetium Oxyorthosilicate, Sean Knight, Steffen Richter, Alexis Papamichail, Megan Stokey, Rafał Korlacki, Vallery Stanishev, Philipp Kühne, Mathias Schubert, Vanya Darakchieva

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

The anisotropic permittivity parameters of monoclinic single crystal lutetium oxyorthosilicate, Lu₂SiO₅ (LSO), have been determined in the terahertz spectral range. Using terahertz generalized spectroscopic ellipsometry (THz-GSE), we obtained the THz permittivities along the a, b, and c^⋆ crystal directions, which correspond to the ε_a; ε_b, and ε_c? on-diagonal tensor elements. The associated off diagonal tensor element ε_ac? was also determined experimentally, which is required to describe LSO’s optical response in the monoclinic a–c crystallographic plane. From the four tensor elements obtained in the model fit, we calculate the …

Microplate-Like Metal Pyrophosphate Engineered On Ni-Foam Towards Multifunctional Electrode Material For Energy Conversion And Storage, Rishabh Srivastava

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

High clean energy demand, dire need for sustainable development, and low carbon footprints are the few intuitive challenges, leading researchers to aim for research and development for high-performance energy devices. The development of materials used in energy devices is currently focused on enhancing the performance, electronic properties, and durability of devices. Tunning the attributes of transition metals using pyrophosphate (P₂O₇) ligand moieties can be a promising approach to meet the requirements of energy devices such as water electrolyzers and supercapacitors, although such a material’s configuration is rarely exposed for this purpose of study.

Herein, we grow …

Modeling Of Frontal Polymerization Of Carbon Fiber And Dicyclopentadiene Woven Composites With Stochastic Material Uncertainty, Ahmadreza Mohammad Sharifi, Dong-Jun Kwon, S. Z. H. Shah, Juhyeong Lee

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

A novel finite element modeling framework is proposed for simulating dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) frontal polymerization in carbon fiber (CF) woven composites. A mesoscale CF/DCPD representative volume element (RVE) model was developed with two triggering directions, resulting in out-of-plane and in-plane DCPD polymerization. The Arrhenius equation coupled with a modified Prout-Tompkins autocatalytic model was used to evaluate the dynamic DCPD polymerization process. The rate and degree of DCPD cure were calculated by the material property uncertainties of DCPD with and without random void inclusions (3% used as a reference in this work). The DCPD frontal polymerization in CF/DCPD composite was strongly influenced …

Ai’S Next Frontier — Dermatology? How It May Help Close The Health Gap For Dark-Skinned Patients, Gretchen B. Smail

Capstones

This project examines how engineers are creating artificial intelligence systems to help with dermatology diagnosis. Researchers believe that these systems can help close the health care gap in lower income and Black and brown communities, but dermatologists of color worry that these systems are not being trained to recognize skin conditions on patients of color.

A Personal Tribute To Professor Ashok Midha, Larry L. Howell

Faculty Publications

When I received the news that Professor Ashok Midha had passed away, I was grieved by the unexpected news. But I also felt another emotion: gratitude for having known him. I am grateful for him, for the opportunity I had to learn from him, and for the influence he has had on my life and career. I wanted to honor his memory in some way. This document is in response to that desire.

Some of my thoughts at his passing are summarized in the first chapter and the conclusion. The other writing is taken from a draft of my personal …

Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Inertial Geomagnetic Passive Navigation, Andrei Cuenca

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

In recent years, the integration of machine learning techniques into navigation systems has garnered significant interest due to their potential to improve estimation accuracy and system robustness. This doctoral dissertation investigates the use of Deep Learning combined with a Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filter for enhancing geomagnetic navigation in airborne simulated missions.

A simulation framework is developed to facilitate the evaluation of the proposed navigation system. This framework includes a detailed aircraft model, a mathematical representation of the Earth's magnetic field, and the incorporation of real-world magnetic field data obtained from online databases. The setup allows an accurate assessment of the performance …

Verification And Validation Of Robot Manipulator Adaptive Control With Actuator Deficiency, Sebastian Comeaux

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This work addresses the joint tracking problem of robotic manipulators with uncertain dynamical parameters and actuator deficiencies, in the form of an uncertain control effectiveness matrix, through adaptive control design, simulation, and experimentation. Specifically, two novel adaptive controller formulations are implemented and tested via simulation and experimentation. The proposed adaptive control formulations are designed to compensate for uncertainties in the dynamical system parameters as well as uncertainties in the control effectiveness matrix that pre-multiplies the control input. The uncertainty compensation of the dynamical parameters is achieved via the use of the desired model compensation–based adaptation, while the uncertainties related to …

Deep-Learning Based Multiple-Model Bayesian Architecture For Spacecraft Fault Estimation, Rocio Jado Puente

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This thesis presents recent findings regarding the performance of an intelligent architecture designed for spacecraft fault estimation. The approach incorporates a collection of systematically organized autoencoders within a Bayesian framework, enabling early detection and classification of various spacecraft faults such as reaction-wheel damage, sensor faults, and power system degradation.

To assess the effectiveness of this architecture, a range of performance metrics is employed. Through extensive numerical simulations and in-lab experimental testing utilizing a dedicated spacecraft testbed, the capabilities and accuracy of the proposed intelligent architecture are analyzed. These evaluations provide valuable insights into the architecture's ability to detect and classify …

Floating Wind Farm Experiments Through Scaling For Wake Characterization, Power Extraction, And Turbine Dynamics, Juliaan Bossuyt, OndˇRej FercˇÁk, Zein Sadek, Charles Meneveau, Dennice Gayme, Raúl Bayoán Cal

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this study, wind and water tunnel experiments of turbulent wakes in a scaled floating wind farm are performed. Scaling of a floating wind farm with a scaling ratio of 1:400 is made possible by relaxing geometric scaling of the turbine platform system, such that the dynamic response can be correctly matched, and to allow for relaxing Froude scaling such that the Reynolds number can be kept large enough. Four dimensionless parameters, describing the relative importance of wind and wave loads compared to turbine inertia, are used to guide the scaled floater design. Free decay tests of the pitch and …

Vapor-Phase Synthesis Of Electrocatalytic Covalent Organic Frameworks, Syed Ibrahim Gnani Peer Mohamed, Shahriar Namvar, Tan Zhang, Hessam Shahbazi, Zhen Jiang, Andrew M. Rappe, Amin Salehi-Khojin, Siamak Nejati

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

The inability to process many covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as thin films plagues their widespread utilization. Herein, a vapor-phase pathway for the bottom-up synthesis of a class of porphyrin-based COFs is presented. This approach allows integrating electrocatalysts made of metal-ion-containing COFs into the electrodes’ architectures in a single-step synthesis and deposition. By precisely controlling the metal sites at the atomic level, remarkable electrocatalytic performance is achieved, resulting in unprecedentedly high mass activity values. How the choice of metal atoms, i.e., cobalt and copper, can determine the catalytic activities of POR-COFs is demonstrated. The theoretical data proves that the Cu site …

Assuring Netlist-To-Bitstream Equivalence Using Physical Netlist Generation And Structural Comparison, Reilly Mckendrick, Jeffrey Goeders, Keenan Faulkner

Faculty Publications

Hardware netlists are generally converted into a bitstream and loaded onto an FPGA board through vendor-provided tools. Due to the proprietary nature of these tools, it is up to the designer to trust the validity of the design’s conversion to bitstream. However, motivated attackers may alter the CAD tools’ integrity or manipulate the stored bitstream with the intent to disrupt the functionality of the design. This paper proposes a new method to prove functional equivalence between a synthesized netlist, and the produced FPGA bitstream. The novel approach is comprised of two phases: first, we show how we can utilize implementation …

Route Condition Estimation By Video Data Analysis, Sharafat Hossain

Theses and Dissertations

Catastrophic natural disasters have an impact on millions of individuals each year, whether directly or indirectly. A successful rescue operation can save a great deal of lives in the post-disaster phase, but researchers are still facing difficulties in carrying this out. Even while they are in peril, today's people frequently post updates about their whereabouts on well-known social media platforms, sometimes even asking for help. A prompt and appropriate response to these catastrophic events depends on developing an efficient and automated approach capable of retrieving real-time data from impacted locations and extracting essential elements. The research focuses on predicting flood …

Fintech And Entrepreneurship: An Assessment Model To Evaluate Policy Instruments For Fintech Adoption By Small And Medium Enterprises (Smes), Deemah Abdullah Alassaf

Dissertations and Theses

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the engines that drive economic development. They are the backbone of the middle class as they provide social stability, innovation, inclusive growth, and poverty alleviation. SMEs contribute significantly to job creation, employment, tax provision and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, they face inferior conditions and challenges when it comes to their financing compared to that of large enterprises, as well as having a high expectancy of failing. Because of these limitations, SMEs tend to grow slowly since building up higher credit is difficult for them, and in addition to this, they lack access …

Stochastic Point Process Modeling For Engineering Applications, Samarth Motagi

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Hawkes model or self-exciting point process model is a branching point process model. The model classifies the dataset of discrete events to background and offspring events. It has been used to study interconnected events in many fields, but relatively little work exists in applying these concepts to engineering problems. In our research, we use a self-exciting point process model for two engineering applications: (a) To identify secondary crashes from a given traffic data and (b) To quantify the agglomeration state and size of nanoparticles from computationally generated carbon nanotube microstructure using stochastic percolation model and experimentally generated titanium nanoparticle microstructures. …

Reducing Scour Hole Dimensions Around Bridge Circular Piers Using Hexagonal Collars, Heba Kassem, El-Masry A. A, Reda Diab

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Bridge failure, due to local scour at bridge circular pier foundations, has become a critical issue in river and bridge engineering, which might lead to transportation disruption, loss of lives and economic problems. Based on an experimental perspective, this study is focused on the influence of collar’s shape on decreasing scour depth at bridge piers that were explored. Hexagonal collars with three shapes were investigated (sloped, sloped with holes, and sloped with ribs). The collars were installed on the bed level with diameter equals to three times the diameter of pier. To achieve the results, experiments were performed in clear-water …

Gravity Fed Bathymetry Agnostic Wave System Innovation & Responsive Surf Fin Development, Erik Casagranda

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

This project investigates the integration of hydrodynamically responsive surf fins into wake-surf boards, focusing on optimizing performance for wake-surf waves by utilizing fluid dynamic and spring force principles. Additionally, the research explores the development of a novel stationary wave system, adopting a 'Gravity Fed Bathymetry Agnostic' approach, enabling year-round surfing in indoor facilities and addressing the limitations of existing manmade wave technologies. The initial phase involved testing the feasibility of a scaled model for the gravity-fed bathymetry-agnostic wave system. While the wave system demonstrated success on a model scale, an evaluation of its feasibility at full scale was conducted, and …

Layer Multiplication Co-Extrusion Of Cross-Linked Polymer Microsphere-Filled Systems, Erik Steinmetz, João Maia

Faculty Scholarship

Layer multiplication co-extrusion allows for creation of advance structures with highly tunable properties, with relative ease. Multi-layer co-extrusion using the layer multiplication technique was used to create 33-layered structures of polymer microsphere-filled layers alternating with unfilled layers. Cross-linked polyurethane (PU) microspheres (of two different rigidities) and ultra-highly cross-linked polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) microspheres were used to examine the effect of particle rigidity in confinement on overall mechanical properties. Layer structures were successfully created with particle-filled layers; once layer size approaches the particle size, the particles deform the unfilled counter-layer. In certain conditions, impingement of the counter-layer occurs, decreasing the mechanical properties. High-density …

Robotic Arms For Microgravity Manufacturing, Connor Talley, Joshua Diamond, Mickael Bah

Senior Design Project For Engineers

There is a need to reduce manufacturing cost in space to avoid sending earth manufactured parts that could suffer damage during launch. The proposed idea consists of a dual robotic arm system attached on a precision gantry setup. The team developed an innovative design that is flexible and efficient for different assemblies, improving space manufacturing. With its two specialized robotic arms, our system maximizes versatility by catering to a wide variety of applications from manufacturing to assembly. The dual arms made of Al 7075 coupled with the gantry provides stability and performance in microgravity environments.

Dam Failure And Incident Investigations, Nathaniel Gee

Theses and Dissertations

There are multiple dam failures and dam safety incidents every year in the United States. There are currently no standard policy requirements for when or how to conduct failure or incident investigations. This paper first reviews one of the most significant failures in US history, the failure of Buffalo Creek Dam No. 3 in order to explore the impacts of one significant failure on dam safety policy in the US. The paper then explores the currents state of the industry by reviewing 58 different dam failure or incident investigation reports based on incidents that occurred in the United States from …

Development Of Battery-Grade Silicon Through Magnesiothermic Reduction Of Halloysite-Derived Silica, Nathan Clarke

Theses and Dissertations

The production of halloysite-derived silicon (HDS) is investigated as a potential anode material in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Other researchers have found HDS to be electrochemically active in small test cells. To test larger electrochemical cells, the production process needs to be scaled up and optimized. HDS is produced through magnesiothermic reduction of acid-etched halloysite. The reduction process is very exothermic and requires special consideration while being scaled up. A reactor and pressure release system were designed and fabricated to perform the reduction process in a safe manner. Various steps of the process were tested to determine their influence on the …

Impact Of Methylene Blue On Enhancing The Hydrocarbon Potential Of Early Cambrian Khewra Sandstone Formation From The Potwar Basin, Pakistan, Muhammad Ali, Abdul M. Shar, Nurudeen Yekeen, Hussein Abid, Muhammad S. Kamal, Hussein Hoteit

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Significant amounts of hydrocarbon resources are left behind after primary and secondary recovery processes, necessitating the application of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques for improving the recovery of trapped oil from subsurface formations. In this respect, the wettability of the rock is crucial in assessing the recovery and sweep efficiency of trapped oil. The subsurface reservoirs are inherently contaminated with organic acids, which renders them hydrophobic. Recent research has revealed the significant impacts of nanofluids, surfactants, and methyl orange on altering the wettability of organic-acid-contaminated subsurface formations into the water-wet state. This suggests that the toxic dye methylene blue (MB), …

Survey Of Transfer Learning Approaches In The Machine Learning Of Digital Health Sensing Data, Lina Chato, Emma Regentova

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

Machine learning and digital health sensing data have led to numerous research achievements aimed at improving digital health technology. However, using machine learning in digital health poses challenges related to data availability, such as incomplete, unstructured, and fragmented data, as well as issues related to data privacy, security, and data format standardization. Furthermore, there is a risk of bias and discrimination in machine learning models. Thus, developing an accurate prediction model from scratch can be an expensive and complicated task that often requires extensive experiments and complex computations. Transfer learning methods have emerged as a feasible solution to address these …

Commercial Adsorbents For Co2 Removal For Biogas Upgradation: An Experimental Study, Aakriti Bagla

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.

12.04.2023 Orsp Connect, Liz Williamson

ORED Newsletter

Week of December 4, 2023