Engineering Commons^™

Linear And Nonlinear Topology Optimization With Morphing Beam Networks, Andrew S. Montalbano

All Dissertations

Topology optimization (TO) is an engineering design discipline dedicated to optimizing material distribution within a given domain. In traditional gradient-based topology optimization, the solid domain is discretized into small volumetric elements. Using finite element analysis (FEA) of the structure, the gradient of the objective function with respect to the design variables (the pseudo densities) is computed, and these design variables are updated iteratively until convergence is achieved. Although gradient-based TO methods are well-established, sensitivity analyses of objective functions and constraints can be both mathematically complex and computationally intensive. The nonconvex nature of most TO problems often complicates efficient convergence. Furthermore, …

Hybrid Physics-Infused Machine Learning Framework For Fault Diagnostics And Prognostics In Cyber-Physical System Of Diesel Engine, Shubhendu Kumar Singh

All Dissertations

Fault diagnosis is required to ensure the safe operation of various equipment and enables real-time monitoring of associated components. As a result, the demand for new cognitive fault diagnosis algorithms is the need of the hour. Existing deep learning algorithms can detect, classify, and isolate faults. Still, most depend solely on data availability and do not incorporate the system's underlying physics into their prediction. Therefore, the results generated by these fault-detecting algorithms sometimes need to make more sense and deliver when tested in actual operating conditions.

Similar to diagnosis, the fault prognosis of diesel engines is paramount in numerous industries. …

An Emergency Response System To Assist The Movement Of Vehicles During Emergency Operations In Urban Transportation Networks, Jamal Nahofti Kohneh

All Dissertations

Emergency responders need to arrive at the emergency scene as soon as possible, but operating vehicles under emergency conditions can pose a risk to both the responders and other road users, potentially resulting in crashes or delays in emergency operations. In this research, an emergency response system is proposed to assist emergency and non-emergency response vehicles (ERVs and non-ERVs) during emergency operations in a connected vehicle environment. This system collects the information from connected ERVs and non-ERVs, utilizes this information as inputs in the proposed models, and sends instruction messages back to vehicles. The proposed models provide the fastest ERV …

Feasibility Assessment And Container Traffic Forecasting Of Inland Waterway Container On Barge Transportation, Fan Bu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Container on Barge (COB) transportation is an intermodal freight transport mode that moves shipping containers via barges on navigable inland and intracoastal waterways. During the past twenty years, COB has been a growing mode of container shipping globally due to its low-cost, eco-friendly, and congestion-reducing characteristics. Europe and China are currently leading global COB transportation, and the United States (U.S.) may have the potential to achieve economic benefits through the implementation of COB within its intermodal transportation system. To explore this potential, this dissertation investigates the implementation feasibility of COB transportation within the U.S. intermodal freight transportation system. Three contributions …

Improving The Long-Term Maintenance And Durability Of Pervious Concrete Pavements, Kate Elizabeth Christiansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Impervious concrete is constructed for most new infrastructure such as housing developments, commercial projects, and industrial facilities, which prevents stormwater runoff from infiltrating into groundwater storage. Pervious concrete is a sustainable, economical, and safe alternative to collect runoff and prevent the issues resulting from increased land development.

Although pervious concrete has the benefit of a large porous structure for water infiltration, this high porosity leads to issues with debris, sand, and other materials clogging the porous areas. Pervious concrete also has the challenge of non-standardized material preparation techniques, testing, and construction practices. As such, more research is needed to improve …

Magnetization And Age Of Ca. 544 Ma Syenite, Eastern Canada: Evidence For Renewal Of The Geodynamo, Tinghong Zhou, Mauricio Ibañez-Mejia, Richard K. Bono, Rory D. Cottrell, Wouter Bleeker, Kenneth P. Kodama, Wentao Huang, Eric G. Blackman, Francis Nimmo, Aleksey Smirnov, John A. Tarduno

Michigan Tech Publications

The ca. 565 Ma Ediacaran geodynamo was highly unusual, producing an ultralow field 10 times weaker than present-day value of 8 x 1022 A m2. A ∼5 times rise in field strength is seen in time-averaged single crystal paleointensity data of ca. 532 Ma Early Cambrian anorthosites of Oklahoma (USA). The field increase could record the onset of inner core nucleation predicted by thermal evolution and numerical dynamo models. Here, we examine the renewal of the geodynamo through zircon U-Pb geochronology and single crystal paleointensity studies of plagioclase from the Chatham-Grenville syenite intrusion in the Grenville Province (Canada). U-Pb data …

Smart Grid Cybersecurity In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence, Chip Corbett, Charles M. Weber, Timothy R. Anderson

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The security of the power grid is essential for the proper function of a democratic society, yet it is constantly under threat. The internet of things (loT) will make a bad situation much worse. Misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation (MDM) have been identified as serious threats to our democratic institutions, and that same acronym applies to mobile device management (MDM), and these devices have become ubiquitous. People are notoriously bad at doing basic cybersecurity. With trillions of devices and remote access everywhere, what could possibly go wrong? Now add in the engaging opportunity of distributed energy resources (DERs) and life gets …

Mmwave Tx-Rx Self-Interference Suppression Through A High Impedance Surface Stacked Ebg, Adewale K. Oladeinde, Ehsan Aryafar, Branimir Pejcinovic

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper proposes a full-duplex (FD) antenna design with passive self-interference (SI) suppression for the 28 GHz mmWave band. The reduction in SI is achieved through the design of a novel configuration of stacked Electromagnetic Band Gap structures (EBGs), which create a high impedance path to travelling electromagnetic waves between the transmit and receive antenna elements. The EBG is composed of stacked patches on layers 1 and 2 of a four-layer stack-up configuration. We present the design, optimization, and prototyping of unit antenna elements, stacked EBGs, and integration of stacked EBGs with antenna elements. We also evaluate the design through …

Modification Of Time-Domain Terahertz Spectroscopy System To Polarimetry Imaging System With Application To Human Breast Cancer Surgical Specimen, Nikita Gurjar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Breast-conserving therapy (lumpectomy) is one of the most performed breast cancer surgeries in the United States. The best outcome of lumpectomy surgery is achieved when the surgical margins are free of cancer. When remnants of cancer are detected at the surgical margins after the initial operation, a second operation will be required to remove the cancer. Unfortunately, a significant number of patients undergo breast conserving surgery (BCS) at local hospitals that do not have access to immediate on-site pathology leading to high rates of re-excision or reoperation (greater than 30%). Therefore, there is a significant need for new intraoperative technology …

Hierarchy Of Exchange-Correlation Functionals In Computing Lattice Thermal Conductivities Of Rocksalt And Zinc-Blende Semiconductors, Jiacheng Wei, Zhonghao Xia, Yi Xia, Jiangang He

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Lattice thermal conductivity (𝜅L) is a crucial characteristic of crystalline solids with significant implications for thermal management, energy conversion, and thermal barrier coating. The advancement of computational tools based on density functional theory (DFT) has enabled the effective utilization of phonon quasiparticle-based approaches to unravel the underlying physics of various crystalline systems. While the higher order of anharmonicity is commonly used for explaining extraordinary heat transfer behaviors in crystals, the impact of exchange-correlation (XC) functionals in DFT on describing anharmonicity has been largely overlooked. The XC functional is essential for determining the accuracy of DFT in describing interactions among electrons/ions …

Enhanced Optical And Infrared Activity Of Nanosphere Dimers Attributed To Dimer Geometry, D. Keith Roper, Jin-Woo Kim, Ricardo R. Romo, Joseph Batta-Mpouma

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Enhanced optical and infrared activity of subwavelength metal nanoparticles is key to their use in optoelectronics, spectroscopy, and sensing. The present work compared spectra of nanosphere dimers merged by centrifuging gold nanospheres with corresponding simulated nanoscale dimers. Geometric features of the nanosphere dimers were related to corresponding optical and near-infrared activity through simulation. Differences in optical and infrared activity of the nanosphere dimers were largely attributable to changes in the radius of the nanosphere and the radius of the conductive junction between merged nanospheres. The features observed in the experimental spectra were attributed to a select number of dimers exhibiting …

A Broadband, Dual Polarized Antenna For The Radio Neutrino Observatory In Greenland, Danny Maas

Master's Theses

The Radio Neutrino Observatory in Greenland (RNO-G) is a multidisciplinary, multinational collaboration which uses antennas to detect neutrino interactions with arctic ice sheets. Neutrinos are formed from nuclear reactions; predominant sources include nuclear reactors, stars, supernovae, and the big bang. They rarely interact with normal matter and thus travel from origin to destination relatively unimpeded, with applications including tracking nuclear weapons tests and supernovae. Measurements of galactic neutrino flux can provide information about how the universe developed and its current evolution. Neutrino interactions produce signals from 100 to 1000MHz. Current RNO-G antennas operate over only a portion of this band; …

Real-Time Gun Detection In Video Streams Using Yolo V8, Harish Kumar Reddy Kunchala

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In this research, we advance the domain of public safety by developing a machine learning model that utilizes the YOLO v8 architecture for real-time detection of firearms in video streams. A diverse and extensive dataset, capturing a range of firearms in varying lighting and backgrounds, was meticulously assembled and preprocessed to enhance the model's adaptability to real-world scenarios. Leveraging the YOLO v8 framework, known for its real-time object detection accuracy, the model was fine-tuned to accurately identify firearms across different shapes and orientations.

The training phase capitalized on GPU computing and transfer learning to expedite the learning process while preserving …

Society Management App, Ruchit Rakholiya

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

A comprehensive solution as native mobile application which is feasible economical and fast, which will establish the authenticity and reliability for society management overcoming the drawbacks of current system. In today's fast-paced technological ecosystem, the capacity to readily store and access information is becoming increasingly important. Residential societies, where individuals live together and manage collective resources, often require a large number of documents, registrations, vehicle parking records, and other forms of paperwork. The complexity and volume of these documents can lead to inefficiencies and frustrations among residents and management alike.

Service Connect, Namrata Bomble

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ServiceConnect is an innovative web-based marketplace platform designed to revolutionize how local services are accessed and managed in the US. By connecting service providers and customers directly, ServiceConnect provides a simple, secure, user-friendly platform for a range of services such as home repairs, tutoring, pet care and more. Featuring convenient booking tools that increase efficiency while simultaneously building trust among both parties involved. ServiceConnect stands out with its comprehensive service range, user-friendly interface, secure payment processing and rigorous verification process for service providers. Leveraging advanced technologies like ReactJS on the frontend, Node.js & Express on the backend and MongoDB for …

Crime Data Prediction Based On Geographical Location Using Machine Learning, Sai Bharath Yarlagadda

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This project employs machine learning methods like K Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Random Forest, Logistic Regression, and Decision Tree algorithms to monitor crime data based on location and pinpoint areas with risks. The project implements and tunes the four models to improve the precision of predicting crime levels. These models collaborate to offer a trustworthy evaluation of crime patterns. K Nearest Neighbors (KNN) categorizes locations by examining the proximity of data points considering coordinates and other factors to identify trends linked to increased crime data. Logistic Regression gauges the likelihood of crime incidents by studying the connection, between factors (like location …

Monitoring Vehicle Seat Occupancy Status And Tracking Human Passenger Activities Inside Vehicle Passenger Cabins, Rahul Prasanna Kumar

All Dissertations

An autonomous vehicle (AV) is a promising engineering innovation that can operate without a human driver. Nonetheless, to ensure passenger safety and comfort in the absence of human drivers, the vehicle must continuously monitor and predict how the cabin’s state will evolve in the immediate future. The two major factors influencing the cabin’s state are the occupancy statuses of vehicle seats and the activities of human passengers occupying them. Therefore, this dissertation presents a system employing a capacitance-sensing mat and a machine learning unit to monitor vehicle seat occupancy status and track passenger activities non-intrusively. While the mat integrates with …

Measuring Cannulation Behavior On A Sensorized Simulator: Development, Verification, And Testing Of System Components, Lydia Petersen

All Dissertations

End Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD) is a significant public health burden in the United States. Life-sustaining hemodialysis, required up to three times a week for ESKD patients, necessitates a functioning vascular access. For proper cannulation, cannulators have many factors to consider, including an AVF’s geometry, depth, diameter, and other details. Poor cannulation can lead to infiltration, where the needle punctures the vessel wall. Infiltration occurs in as many as 50% of cannulations, causing complications ranging from hematoma and swelling to delayed treatment or loss of vascular access. This highlights the need for objective, standardized training methods to improve cannulation skills …

Efficient And Secure Data Transmissions In Emerging Heterogeneous Wireless Networks, Sihan Yu

All Dissertations

The widespread deployment of wireless devices facilitates the Internet of everything, greatly enhancing communication efficiency and improving people’s daily experiences. The interconnectivity of wireless devices relies on wireless communication technologies. With the development of various emerging communication technologies, wireless networks have become increasingly vast and complex, giving rise to numerous new challenges such as efficiency and security concerns.

In wireless networks, different devices may utilize different communication protocols, resulting in heterogeneous wireless networks. Communication among heterogeneous devices is challenging, often leading to conflicts and low communication efficiency when utilizing limited communication resources (e.g., spectrum resources). Moreover, the coexistence of heterogeneous …

Method Development For The Extraction And Analysis Of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) In Wastewater And Biosolids, Victoria Krull

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Per and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are manufactured chemicals that have water and grease repellant properties and do not readily biodegrade. PFAS are present in many consumer products and end up in waste systems and the environment. Studies have shown that PFAS can have adverse health effects on humans and animals.

There are many challenges to processing and analyzing samples containing PFAS including: adsorption of PFAS to equipment, contamination from equipment containing PFAS, and the high sensitivity needed to analyze for PFAS in the parts per trillion detection range. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been developing methods …

Cislunar Optimal Robust Trajectory Design With Corrective Maneuvers, Scott J. Kelly

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

One common method for determining how to get from point A to point B is by finding the most fuel-efficient path. This is a common method for spacecraft trajectory designers also. Without any random or unexpected occurrences this path is called the deterministic optimal trajectory. Sometimes unexpected events happen that result in deviating from the most fuel-efficient path; while driving, you may encounter a detour. Naturally, we tend to return to the original fuel-efficient path and continue the journey. Similar deviations happen in space. The rocket delivering a spacecraft to orbit likely will not deliver exactly to the intended starting …

Application Of Electrical Impedance Tomography To Cementitious Composites, Hugo Zazueta

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the feasibility of using Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) for detecting damage in cementitious composites. Cementitious composites, such as concrete and cement mortar, are insulating; any conductive properties arise from the moisture within their pores and capillary structures. The proposed concept herein is that formed internal damages in cementitious composites consequently alter their pore and capillary structure, which can then be detected through EIT imaging. To construct tomographic images, the Gaussian Newton (GN) reconstruction algorithm, enhanced with priors, was employed. The results were then compared across different reconstruction processes. Cylindrical cement pastes and cement mortar samples were prepared, …

Cubic Soft Ideals On B-Algebra For Solving Complex Problems: Trend Analysis, Proofs, Improvements, And Applications, Muhammad Saeed, Hafiz Inam Ul Haq, Mubashir Ali

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

In this paper, we introduce the concepts of cubic soft (CS) algebra, CS o-subalgebra, and CS ideals within the framework of B-algebra. We provide comprehensive characterizations of these new structures, elucidating their unique properties and interrelationships. Specifically, we present detailed conditions under which a CS subalgebra can be classified as a closed CS ideal. Our analysis explores the intricate relationships among closed cubic soft ideals, cubic soft subalgebras, and cubic soft o-subalgebras. By doing so, we aim to provide a deeper understanding of how these structures interact and coexist within the broader context of B-algebra The findings offer significant insights …

Trip Production Models For Persons With Disabilities, Pouyan Saeidian

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Nearly 13% of the US population consists of people with disabilities, yet finding an equitable and comprehensive approach to meet their travel needs remains a challenge. Our research delves into the mobility patterns of people with disabilities to understand how their daily travel—both the frequency of trips and the distance covered—compares to those without disabilities. We also explore the factors influencing their travel behaviors and how these insights can guide policymakers in improving accessibility and mobility for this community. Utilizing data from the 2022 US National Household Travel Survey, we applied a blend of statistical analysis and machine learning methods. …

Delineating Ground Subsidence And Flood Risk In Southeast Texas (Setx) Using Ps-Insar And Deep Learning, Arip Syaripudin Nur, Jinwoo An, Yong Je Kim

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

This study investigates ground subsidence and its impact on flood risk in Southeast Texas (SETX), a region particularly susceptible to inundation due to rising sea levels and subsidence. Understanding subsidence patterns is crucial for geotechnical risk management and ground-use planning. Employing Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PS-InSAR) with Sentinel-1 SAR data (2020-2023), the study delineates the spatiotemporal distribution of subsidence and its influence on flooding. PS-InSAR, wellsuited for urban areas, captures stable scatterers detected by SAR satellites, enabling detailed subsidence analysis. Time series analysis reveals subsidence evolution and its implications for flood risk management. Validation utilizes strategically placed GPS station data. Furthermore, …

A Real-Time Iot-Based Data Acquisition And Monitoring System For Photovoltaic Applications, Adam Barbosa, Hamza Mubarak, Fazel Mohammadi, Mohammad J. Sanjari, Mehrdad Saif

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

The transition to low-carbon energy systems, driven by climate change and fossil fuel scarcity, highlights technologies, such as Photovoltaic (PV) technology, for sustainable energy generation. This paper focuses on enhancing the efficiency of PV monitoring systems by leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) technology for accurate and real-time monitoring of essential parameters, such as voltage, current, and output power. Significant gaps in cost-effective and reliable IoT integration for PV monitoring are addressed, with an emphasis on predictive modeling. In this regard, a low-cost real-time IoT-based data acquisition and monitoring system for PV systems, as a proof of concept for future endeavors …

Developing A Comprehensive Genome-Scale Metabolic Model For The Arabidopsis Thaliana Root System, Lohani Esterhuizen

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) is the most well-established model plant to date. Being the first plant to have its genome mapped, studies on Arabidopsis have provided insurmountable insights into the physiological and biochemical nature of plants. Methods that allow us to computationally study the metabolism of organisms include the use of genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs). Despite its popularity, no GEM currently maps the metabolic activity in the root system of Arabidopsis, which is the first organ to face and respond to stress conditions in the soil. This work aims to develop and implement a comprehensive GEM of the Arabidopsis root system …

Evaluation Of Unreinforced And Geosynthetic-Reinforced Subgrade Material Performance With Large-Scale Tracking Wheel Tests And Dynamic Cone Penetrometer Tests, Kenaz Owusu

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Subgrade has a significant impact on the performance of a pavement as it serves as the foundation layer on which traffic loads are transferred. Many pavement failures can be attributed to weak subgrade strength. The integration of geosynthetics in road pavements has been identified as an effective solution for enhancing subgrade performance to withstand imposed traffic. This study evaluated the performance of unreinforced and geosynthetic-reinforced subgrades in Nebraska to quantify the contribution of geosynthetics to unpaved layer systems.

The strength and stiffness of different soil subgrades were assessed through unconfined compressive strength tests and repeated load triaxial (RLT) tests, which …

Smart Automatic Modal Hammer Predictor–Corrector Approach For Accurate Excitation Of Dynamical Systems, Mohammad Nasr

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This research introduces an innovative solution that revolutionizes the study of linear and nonlinear dynamical systems—a smart automatic modal hammer. With its affordability and intelligent capabilities, this automatic modal hammer becomes an invaluable tool for research and industry, enabling repeatable strikes with precise force control. This system's significance becomes particularly evident when studying nonlinear systems, which heavily rely on the excitation level for their dynamics. By offering a cost-effective design this proposed system proves to be robust in accelerating research on nonlinear dynamics, providing researchers with an efficient and accessible means to delve deeper into these complex systems. The proposed …

Ultrasonic Nondestructive Quantification Of Case Depth In Railroad Bearing Components, Trevor K. Adelung

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

While in service, railroad bearings must withstand large loads to ensure smooth operation. These large loads can lead to failure due to rolling contact fatigue (RCF), for which small cracks initiate just beneath the surface of the components. As a preventative measure, bearings are manufactured with a hardened surface layer called the effective case depth (ECD). Current methods in industry use destructive hardness testing to quantify the ECD. While accurate, this method is costly and time consuming. Ultrasonic nondestructive testing would provide a more efficient and cost-effective method to determine ECD. In this thesis, diffuse ultrasonic shear backscatter was used …