Engineering Commons^™

Corridor Counting, Anthony Bryson, Vincent Zhou, Amy Ha

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Information on traffic patterns is essential for identifying and addressing sources of traffic congestion and informing future road layouts to create safer and more efficient roads. To this end, we develop a Corridor Counting, or Multi- Camera Vehicle Counting, algorithm that quantifies the number of vehicles traveling along a specific stretch of road. Our work builds upon the related problem of Multi-Camera Vehicle Tracking and draws inspiration from methods used for Single-Camera Counting. We propose a six-step solution comprising Vehicle Detection, Feature Extraction, Single- Camera Vehicle Tracking, Re-Identification, Movement Matching, and Multi-Camera Vehicle Counting. Finally, we adapt an evaluation metric …

Two-Step Hierarchical Multi-Camera People Tracking, Eerina Haque, Eric Huang, Sihang Li

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

The possibility of an efficient and accurate solution for multi-camera people tracking (MCPT) is enabled by the improvement of computing power and the advancement of machine learning technologies. The problem of multi-camera people tracking serves as a cornerstone of real-world applications such as video surveillance or warehouse automation. The current solutions for MCPT suffer from problems such as appearance inconsistency, object occlusion, etc. Our work targets tackling the challenges faced by modern MCPT algorithms to bring a more robust, efficient, and accurate solution.

The Impact Of Emojis On User Engagement With Trolling Content In Online Platforms, Diya Saraf

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

This thesis examines the impact of emojis on user engagement within online discussions, particularly focusing on the trolling behavior on social media platforms such as Reddit. The central problem addressed is understanding how different types of emojis—in emotional, informational, and popularity-based categories—affect user interactions and engagement in online communications. Through a robust methodological approach, combining quantitative data analysis and Random Forest regression modeling, this research meticulously analyzes emoji usage patterns and their correlations with engagement metrics like upvotes and comments.

The results highlight that emotional and popular emojis significantly enhance engagement by facilitating emotional expression and connection among users. In …

Ragu Conversational Menu Assistant: An Llm Retrieval Augmented Generation Approach, Sam Abdel, Seth Mak, Aaron Pham, Christopher Michael

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

This project introduces a novel Conversational Menu Assistant leveraging Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) techniques within a modified Large Language Model (LLM) framework to enhance dining experiences by providing personalized menu assistance. The main innovation lies in the system’s ability to integrate up-to-date menu information from various sources, including web scraping, into its responses, thereby circumventing the limitations commonly associated with LLMs, such as the need for frequent retraining and the challenge of handling dynamic information. Our solution addresses the pressing issue of reducing the workload on restaurant servers and streamlining the ordering process by offering precise menu details, personalized recommendations …

Investigation Of Process-Structure-Property Relationships In Additively Manufactured Chopped Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites, Indu Modala

Theses and Dissertations

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are widely used in various industries because of their high stiffness-to-weight ratio. However, traditional manufacturing processes restrict the application of FRP composites to the production of parts with simple geometries. With the advent of additive manufacturing (AM), it is possible to produce topologically optimized parts with complex geometries using chopped FRPs. Fully leveraging the advantages of AM in the fabrication of chopped FRP parts requires a thorough understanding of the effect of the process parameters on the microstructure, and subsequently on the mechanical properties of the manufactured part. This research focuses on studying the process-structure-property (P-S-P) …

Turbine Cooling System With Energy Separation, James L. Rutledge, Matthew N. Fuqua, Carol M. Bryant

AFIT Patents

A method and system for cooling an engine and/or vehicle using energy separation is disclosed herein. An energy separation device is operable for separating a compressed gaseous coolant stream into a first relatively cooler coolant flow stream and a second relatively hotter coolant flow stream. The relative cooler coolant flow stream is directed to a first region requiring increased cooling and the relative hotter coolant flow stream is directed to a second region requiring lower cooling than the first region in the engine or vehicle.

Specification, Enforcement, And Measurement Of Integrity Policies, Kevin Dennis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The first step to improving an organization's security posture is to define the organization's security goals. At a technical level, these goals are expressed as security policies. Security policies are predicates over programs, that return true or false if the program adheres to the policy. Defining these policies correctly is thus essential to ensuring the overarching security goals are met, but it is often quite difficult to translate human-oriented goals into their technical policy counterparts. In addition, these policies must be specified so that they are enforceable while minimizing false positives and false negatives. Integrity policies, which specify how data …

Extreme Value Statistics Analysis Of Process Defects In Additive Manufacturing Materials, Ayorinde E. Olatunde, Kristen Hernandez, Austin Ngo, Arafath Nihar, Thomas G. Ciardi, Rachel Yamamoto, Pawan K. Tripathi, Roger H. French, John J. Lewandowski, Anirban Mondal

Faculty Scholarship

Fatigue and fracture studies focused on process defects that occur in Additive Manufacturing (AM) materials have shown that defect populations possess features which are better measured with extreme value statistics (EVS). In AM alloys, defect occurrences increase with material volume. This situation facilitates the need to model process defects in the path of fatigue crack growth with suitable statistical tools, such as EVS, which is more cost-effective when compared to destructive experiments. The application of EVS on defect space features helps determine the difference in defects present on fracture surfaces. As the fatigue quality of any material depends on its …

Characterizing The Potential For Failure In Environment Testing Due To Bolted-Joint Friction Nonlinearity And Bilinearity, Brennen Clark

Theses and Dissertations

Nonlinear behavior in systems complicates the analysis and design of many systems in engineering. In vibration engineering, typical methods such as modal analysis fail or require significant adjustment in the presence of nonlinearity. Understanding and modeling nonlinear behavior is becoming more important in many modern engineering applications. One area that is relatively unexplored is how nonlinearity affects environment testing. This can cover a wide variety of subtopics, but this thesis focuses on failures that can occur in a system which are not predicted by corresponding linearized systems. To further limit the scope of this work, and to provide a context …

Evaluating Computational Predictions Of Magnetic Resonance Acoustic Radiation Force Imaging For Breast Cancer Focused Ultrasound Surgery, Chloe K. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: In magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) therapies performed in highly heterogeneous tissues such as the breast, the focal location must be located and characterized to guide successful treatments of tumors. Treatment time can be minimized by a priori prediction of the focal location through computational models. The purpose of this work is to evaluate numerical simulations of focused ultrasound (FUS) on their predictions of the focal location. Those simulations are compared to clinical magnetic resonance acoustic radiation force imaging (MR-ARFI) data collected during in vivo treatment of breast tumors. Methods: The focal location was evaluated prior to MRgFUS treatment …

Ocean Rain Detection And Wind Retrieval Through Deep Learning Architectures On Advanced Scatterometer Data, Matthew Yoshinori Otani Mckinney

Theses and Dissertations

The Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) is a satellite-based remote sensing instrument designed for measuring wind speed and direction over the Earth's oceans. This thesis aims to expand and improve the capabilities of ASCAT by adding rain detection and advancing wind retrieval. Additionally, this expansion to ASCAT serves as evidence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques learning both novel and traditional methods in remote sensing. I apply semantic segmentation to ASCAT measurements to detect rain over the oceans, enhancing capabilities to monitor global precipitation. I use two common neural network architectures and train them on measurements from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) …

Hardware Acceleration Of Numerical Methods For Solving Ordinary Differential Equations, Soham Bhattacharya

Theses and Dissertations

Along with the advancement in technology, the role of hardware accelerators is increasing consistently, delivering advancements in scientific simulations and data analysis in scientific computing, signal processing tasks in communication systems, matrix operations, and neural network computations in artificial intelligence and machine learning models. On the other hand, several high-speed computer applications in this era of high-performance computing often depend on ordinary differential equations (ODEs); however, their nonlinear nature can present a challenge to obtaining analytic solutions. Consequently, numerical approaches prove effective in delivering only approximate solutions to these equations. This research discusses the implementation of a customized hardware accelerator …

Spectral Behavior Of Fiber Bragg Gratings During Embedding In 3d-Printed Metal Tensile Coupons And Cyclic Loading, Farid Ahmed, Md Shahriar Forhad, Mahmudul Hasan Porag

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Additive manufacturing (AM) enables the spatially configurable 3D integration of sensors in metal components to realize smart materials and structures. Outstanding sensing capabilities and size compatibility have made fiber optic sensors excellent candidates for integration in AM components. In this study, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors were embedded in Inconel 718 tensile coupons printed using laser powder bed fusion AM. On-axis (fiber runs through the coupon’s center of axis) and off-axis (fiber is at 5° and 10° to the coupon’s center of axis) sensors were buried in epoxy resin inside narrow channels that run through the coupons. FBGs’ spectral evolutions …

New Generation Graphenes In Cement-Based Materials: Production, Property Enhancement, And Life Cycle Analysis, Sahil Surehali, Sayee Srikarah Volaity, Aswathy Simon, Ranjith Divigalpitiya, Aditya Kumar, Narayanan Neithalath

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Several studies have explored the use of graphene to improve the properties of cement-based materials. However, most commercially available graphenes are expensive, not amenable to mass production, and have high embodied energy and emissions, making their use in concrete less attractive, despite the beneficial mechanical property attributes. This paper discusses the use of two novel graphene types, fractal graphene (FG) and reactive graphene (RG), obtained through a cost-effective and scalable detonation synthesis, in cement-based materials. FG and RG are sheets containing 6-10 layers, with lateral dimensions of 20-50 nm and a z-axis thickness of RG, when added at very small …

Editorial: Mitral Valve Disease: Mechanisms To Therapies, Maria Carmo Nunes, Hoda Hatoum, Alison M. Pouch, Muralidhar Padala

Michigan Tech Publications

No abstract provided.

Detection Of Wintertime Green Vegetated Cover Using Object-Based Classification With Open-Source Remote Sensing And Geospatial Technologies, Jae Sung Kim, Sara P. Syswerda, Sigrid D. P. Smith

Michigan Tech Publications

It is important to detect wintertime green vegetated cover (WGVC), since it includes cover crop information, which is one of the most important agricultural best management practices used today. Related to this, cover crop area, which is part of WGVC, has been estimated using survey methods traditionally, but remote sensing can be used as a more time- and cost-effective assessment. Previously developed pixel-based methods to assess cover crops using remote sensing can have a salt-and-pepper effect, which lowers classification accuracy. Therefore, object-based classification was applied to estimate the spatial distribution of WGVC across the entire state of Delaware. To reduce …

Design And Characterization Of 3d-Printed Hydrogel Lattices With Consistent Structural And Mechanical Anisotropy, Daniel Yoon

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explores the use of 3D printing to fabricate soft hydrogel lattice structures with consistent properties, including varying levels of mechanical anisotropy. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a non-invasive imaging tool to estimate and characterize the mechanical properties of tissue. MRE “phantoms” (physical surrogate models) have been used to assess how well MRE can measure and estimate mechanical properties. While gel phantoms generally simulate brain tissue, almost all have been isotropic. Prior studies have shown that white matter brain tissue is structurally and mechanically anisotropic. To validate anisotropic MRE, phantoms with controllable, reproducible anisotropic material properties are needed. This …

Investigating The Impact Of Inverter-Based Resources On Power Grid Dynamics, Ratik Mittal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the stability challenges posed by integrating Inverter-Based Resources (IBR) into power grids, particularly focusing on two major scenarios: IBRs connected to weak grid interconnections and their performance in series-compensated networks. With the increasing dependency on renewable energy sources, ensuring the stability of these grids is crucial. A multilayered investigative approach is employed, utilizing Electromagnetic Transient Simulations that model grid systems interfaced with IBRs. These simulations are pivotal as they emulate real-world stability issues and provide a foundational understanding of grid interactions. In this dissertation two major types of IBR control are modeled and analyzed: Grid Following Control …

Enhancing Urban Parking Efficiency Through Machine Learning Model Integration, Sai Sneha Channamallu, Sharareh Kermanshachi, Jay Michael Rosenberger, Apurva Pamidimukkala

Open Initiatives Grant Funded Publications-Archive

An increase in vehicular traffic and a scarcity of parking spaces are creating significant challenges for urban parking management. This study aims to tackle these issues that escalate congestion and pollution and decrease urban productivity, by utilizing machine learning models to accurately predict parking space availability and categorize occupancy levels. It employs a dataset from a college campus garage collected from January 2022 to June 2023 and analyzes the performance of random forest, decision tree, linear regression, and support vector models by comparing them, using multiple evaluation metrics. The results revealed that the random forest model was the most reliable, …

Direct Evaporative Cooling For Sustainability And Environmental Conservation, Iman El-Mahallawi, Hesham Safwat, Mahmoud Elsayed, Mahmoud Alghrieb

Mechanical Engineering

This work presents the results of experimental work on cellulose cooling pads with honeycomb structure to study their evaporative cooling effect which is one of the partial solutions for achieving the SDG goals 2030. The paper outlines various types of evaporative cooling materials, highlighting their distinctions and potential applications. Furthermore, it offers a comparative analysis of the cooling effects between wide hole and narrow hole cellulose cooling pads, both individually and in combination. The experimental setup results are thoroughly examined to provide insights into the performance of the cooling pads. Results showed up that direct evaporative cooling have a significant …

Refining Transversal Skills Through Engineering Design Projects: A Case For Authentic Assessment, Gerald Gallagher, Kevin Delaney, David Salter, Mingzhu Chen

Conference Papers

Transversal skills were typically not the focus of traditional engineering education, where strong technical prowess by students tended to be emphasised in undergraduate and postgraduate study. However, the importance of developing these skills, having application across multiple career trajectories, is becoming a key area of development in engineering education. An engineering design module presented in this work has been refined to act as a vehicle to help students develop and practice these transversal skills while simultaneously reinforcing their abilities in mechanical design. This paper describes how the module has been structured and operationalised, through approximations of practice and authentic assessment, …

A Country-Level Primary-Final-Useful (Cl-Pfu) Energy And Exergy Database: Overview Of Its Construction And 1971–2020 World-Level Efficiency Results, Paul E. Brockway, Matthew Kuperus Heun, Zeke Marshall, Emmanuel Aramendia, Paul Steenwyk, Thomas Relph, Michelle Widjanarko, Jeonghoo (James) Kim, Anjana Sainju, Julian Irtube

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Societal exergy analysis examines the flows of energy and exergy through societies, from primary (e.g. oil) to final (e.g. gasoline) to useful (e.g. propulsion) energy stages. By extending the study of energy to the useful stage, new insights into the under-represented role of energy in economic growth have been made. However, currently (a) country coverage is patchy and incomplete, (b) available data are based on varying methods and assumptions including efficiencies based on economic rather than engineering data, and (c) datasets are constructed using piecemeal computational approaches. To address these gaps, we construct a country-level primary-final-useful (CL-PFU) energy and exergy …

Naturalistic Driving Action Recognition, Andy Xiao, Antonio Fontan

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Driving is one of the most tasks people do day to day to get to places more efficiently, but with many people using the road every day, distracted driving can be a big problem. Grothlaw firm states that in the recent years, at least 9 out of 3287 deaths related to auto accidents per day are caused by distracted driving [1]. Distracted driving refers to things that drivers do that are not related to driving [2] This can include texting, eating, talking to passengers, tuning the radios, etc... that can get the driver’s attention away from the road [2]. Many …

Ar Storybook, Priya Jain, Jessica Torres, Melody Trinh

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Parents often use technology as a digital pacifier or source of entertainment for their children. While excessive screen time for children can be harmful, a digital future seems inevitable. As technology becomes more prominent in everyday life, children should utilize their early years to engage with technology in a way that develops their growing minds. AR Storybook is an interactive storybook that strives to provide children with an active learning experience. The story teaches children computational thinking skills through augmented reality activities embedded into the plot. The activities ask the user to help a character complete a task by using …

Capstone Review: Filament Unit Multiplexing Engine, Gal Cohen

University Honors Theses

The Filament Unit Multiplexing Engine (FUME) is a Mechanical Engineering capstone project sponsored by Portland State University's Electronic Prototyping Lab (EPL). The project addresses the need for an automated system to manage 3D printing operations. The current manual process of selecting and routing a spool of filament to one of the available 3D printers is labor-intensive and limits the efficiency of the lab's 3D printing farm. FUME aims to create a custom solution tailored for a multi-user, multi-spool, and multi-printer environment. The designed system includes key components: a spool holder, an engine, a track and shuttle system, and a funnel. …

Bridging Design And Perception: Novel Tools And Technologies For Creating Effective Human-Robot Interactions, Benjamin Dossett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores human perception of robots through the use of novel tools and technologies. First, the impact of Augmented Reality (AR) data presentation on human perception of robots is investigated. A study conducted with the AR human-robot teaming system found that robot performance significantly influenced participants’ perceptions, overshadowing the impact of matching or mismatching robot confidence feedback. Second, the DU Want to Build-A-Bot platform is presented, which enables participatory robot design and opens the door for novel research of how robot design affects human perception. The Build-A-Bot platform enables the collection of diverse robot designs, facilitating machine learning analysis …

Spin And Charge Transport In Metallic Ferrimagnets And Disordered Magnetic Oxides, Leopoldo A. Hernandez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent efforts have been exploring the use of thin film synthetic ferrimagnets and disordered magnetic oxides for applications in spintronic devices. Due to the antiferromagnetic exchange interaction, ferrimagnetic materials offer the ultrafast dynamics of the antiferromagnetic exchange, with a net magnetization that can be influenced externally. With two, or more, competing ferromagnet sublattices, interesting properties arise that depend on the final magnetic landscape after growth of the material and it’s inherent magnetic anisotropy energies. Properties such as magnetic compensation temperatures, and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy are attractive for applications in spintronic memory and logic devices, some already being implemented in MRAM …

Effect Of Oxidation Of Graphene On Agglomeration And The Mechanical Properties Of Thermosetting Resins, Matthew A. Reil

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Thermosetting resins are used extensively worldwide in applications ranging from adhesives to structural components. However, these resins generally fail in a brittle fracture mode which is undesirable in most situations. Graphene (G) and its derivatives have been considered as additives to epoxy for material property enhancement and varied results have been reported in the literature. In this work, the effects of the oxidation of G to graphene oxide (GO) on polymer interactions and plate agglomeration were studied by classical molecular dynamics (MD). Results from those simulations concluded that agglomerates were likely present in all G-based nanocomposites. The effect of these …

Aging-Related Changes In The Mechanical Properties Of Single Cells, Amarnath Singam, Chandrabali Bhattacharya, Seungman Park

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Mechanical properties, along with biochemical and molecular properties, play crucial roles in governing cellular function and homeostasis. Cellular mechanics are influenced by various factors, including physiological and pathological states, making them potential biomarkers for diseases and aging. While several methods such as AFM, particle-tracking microrheology, optical tweezers/stretching, magnetic tweezers/twisting cytometry, microfluidics, and micropipette aspiration have been widely utilized to measure the mechanical properties of single cells, our understanding of how aging affects these properties remains limited. To fill this knowledge gap, we provide a brief overview of the commonly used methods to measure single-cell mechanical properties. We then delve into …

Design, Prototyping, And Characterization Of A Micro-Force Sensor Intended For Tissue Assessment In Confined Spaces, Shashank S. Kumat, Panos S. Shiakolas

Open Initiatives Grant Funded Publications-Archive

The quantitative characterization of soft tissue viscoelastic properties can aid in disease prognosis and diagnosis. Existing technologies present challenges to measuring localized in vivo tissue relaxation data while meeting load and geometric constraints. This research presents the design, prototype, and characterization of a micro-force sensor that could enable better access to confined spaces of the human body. The novel design of the uniaxial micro-force sensor has an external diameter of less than or equal to 3.5 mm and 1 N load capacity for transurethral palpation of the bladder interior wall. The conceptual design of the micro-force sensor and a finite …