Engineering Commons^™

Reliability Guided Resource Allocation For Large-Scale Supercomputing Systems, Shruti Umamaheshwaran

Open Access Theses

In high performance computing systems, parallel applications request a large number of resources for long time periods. In this scenario, if a resource fails during the application runtime, it would cause all applications using this resource to fail. The probability of application failure is tied to the inherent reliability of resources used by the application. Our investigation of high performance computing systems operating in the field has revealed a significant difference in the measured operational reliability of individual computing nodes. By adding awareness of the individual system nodes' reliability to the scheduler along with the predicted reliability needs of parallel …

A Farm Management Information System With Task-Specific, Collaborative Mobile Apps And Cloud Storage Services, Jonathan Tyler Welte

Open Access Theses

Modern production agriculture is beginning to advance beyond deterministic, scheduled operations between relatively few people to larger scale, information-driven efficiency in order to respond to the challenges of field variability and meet the needs of a growing population. Since no two farms are the same with respect to information and management structure, a specialized farm management information system (FMIS) which is tailored to the realities on the ground of individual farms is likely to be more effective than generalized FMIS available today.

This thesis presents the design of a FMIS using proven user-centered design principles. This approach resulted in the …

Retrofiting Lid Practices Into Existing Neighborhoods: Is It Worth It?, Timothy Wright

Open Access Theses

Low impact development (LID) practices are gaining popularity as a way to manage stormwater close to the source. This reduces infrastructure requirements and helps to maintain hydrologic processes close to predevelopment conditions. Studies have shown LID practices to be effective in reducing runoff and improving water quality. However, little has been done to aid decision makers in selecting the most effective practices for their needs and budgets.

To this end, the L-THIA LID model has been applied. Using readily available data sources, multiple scenarios can quickly be examined, and then analyzed to determine the cost of implementation and the approximate …

An Analysis On Causes Of Late Final Payment And Release Of Retainage: Electrical Subcontractors’ View, Xuejing Zhang

Open Access Theses

Using the survey approach, this study identified the underlying causes of late payments and release of retainage for electrical subcontractors, attempting to answer the questions, "What were the minimum, maximum and average delay days of final payment and release of retainage?", "What were the rank of factors in terms of significance on delaying final payment and release of retainage?", and "What were the rank of factors in terms of frequency on delaying final payment and release of retainage?" A survey questionnaire was developed and distributed to about 150 professionals in electrical subcontractors. 29 reports were collected. Based upon the analysis …

The Influence Of Gaps On The Frequency Response Of A Beamspring Contact System, Wenbin Zhang

Open Access Theses

Some mechanical systems with gaps such as in disc brakes and Cardan joints exhibit nonlinearity under certain load conditions, which is unpredictable and highly sensitive to initial conditions. Previous studies were mainly focused on either a single-degree-of-freedom (DOF) system or a flexible beam with uniform elastic foundation. The analysis of this thesis is a combination of these two where gaps are first introduced to a flexible beam model. A model of a beam resting on compliant foundation with gaps has been developed and analyzed. The assumed modes method is used to derive the equations of motion (EOM's) for the system. …

Mechanistic Study Of The Hydrothermal Reduction Of Palladium On The Tobacco Mosaic Virus, Oluwamayowa Oluwarotimi Adigun

Open Access Theses

Synthesis of nanorods and nanowires is becoming more and more important due to interest in them in a wide range of disciplines. The genetically engineered tobacco mosaic virus (TMV1Cys) provides a template for synthesis of uniform metal nanorods at mild operating conditions and without the use of any expensive technology compared to conventional synthetic methods. The discovery of the hydrothermal synthetic scheme has allowed the production of higher quality nanorods on the TMV template. However, the mechanism for reduction and growth in this process is still not understood. In this paper, the mechanism of synthesis for producing uniform, controllable palladium …

Developing An Unstructured Model To Investigate The Effect Of Ethanol On Product Yields For Glucose And Xylose Cofermentation In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae 424a (Lnh-St), Shane D. Clingenpeel

Open Access Theses

Production of bio-ethanol from lignocellulose requires the efficient fermentation of glucose and xylose, even in the presence of inhibitors. The desired product, ethanol itself, will inhibit the fermentation. A further understanding of how ethanol affects the organism is critical to overcoming its inhibition.

This thesis evaluated the effect of ethanol on the cofermentation of glucose and xylose in two different cases. The first case had an unstructured model created for Saccharomyces cerevisiae 424A (LNH-ST), a genetically modified strain of yeast capable of cofermenting glucose and xylose. The differential equations were based around sugar consumption, and the product yields were investigated …

Small Strain Stiffness Of A Carbonatic Fine Grained Soil, Sulaiman Dawood

Open Access Theses

The work presented in this thesis is part of a broad effort aimed at the characterization of the engineering properties, microstructure and mineralogy of soft fine-grained carbonatic soil deposit in Southwestern Indiana (Daviess Co.). The specific focus of this thesis is the characterization, through both field and laboratory measurements, of the small strain behavior of this soil, commonly referred to as a "marl."

Index tests indicate that the 3.5 m marl layer present at the site is characterized by two soil types alternating in small sublayers: a high plasticity silt (soil M) with wn ∼60% and CaCO3 ∼60%, mostly in …

Quality Changes In Hermetically Stored Corn Caused By Fungi And Sitophilus Zeamais, Nda-Agyima Addae-Mensah K

Open Access Theses

Hermetic storage has been shown to be effective in controlling insect pests and maintaining grain quality of dry grains at 13% moisture and below. However, the feasibility and use of hermetic storage for grains at intermediate mid-moisture levels under the influence of the sub-Saharan African weather conditions is relatively unknown. Hermetic storage experiments were conducted on grade 1 "6297 and 6333 VT RIB" hybrid corn under controlled temperature conditions at 10 degrees centigrade and 25 degrees centigrade at target approximate moisture content levels of 11, 15, 18 and 21% wet basis for a total storage period of 6 months. Corn …

Feasibility Analysis Of Large Length-Scale Thermocapillary Flow Experiment For The International Space Station, Samantha Jean Alberts

Open Access Theses

The investigation of microgravity fluid dynamics emerged out of necessity with the advent of space exploration. In particular, capillary research took a leap forward in the 1960s with regards to liquid settling and interfacial dynamics. Due to inherent temperature variations in large spacecraft liquid systems, such as fuel tanks, forces develop on gas-liquid interfaces which induce thermocapillary flows. To date, thermocapillary flows have been studied in small, idealized research geometries usually under terrestrial conditions. The 1 to 3m lengths in current and future large tanks and hardware are designed based on hardware rather than research, which leaves spaceflight systems designers …

Feasibility Of Pulsed Proton Induced Acoustics For 3d Dosimetry, Fahed M. Alsanea

Open Access Theses

Proton therapy has the potential to deposit its energy in tissue with high conformity to the tumor and significantly reduced integral dose to normal tissue compared to conventional radiation, such as x-rays. As a result, local control can be enhanced while reducing side-effects and secondary cancers. This is due to the way charged Particles deposit their energy or dose, where protons form a Bragg peak and establish a well-defined distal edge as a function of depth (range). To date, the dose delivered to a patient from proton therapy remains uncertain, in particular the positioning of the distal edge of the …

Exploratory Study In Container Loading Embraer 190 Aircraft, Ryan H. Auyeung

Open Access Theses

Since the dawn of aviation, cargo loading on aircraft has remained virtually constant. A person and a baggage cart together have been the primary method of loading baggage on to aircraft, and this practice has virtually remained unchanged, especially for narrow body aircraft. This study explores the question of whether a loading device, designed for Embraer 190 aircraft, can increase economic efficiency by reducing aircraft turnaround times, increasing aircraft utilization and reducing work hours. In the course of designing a theoretical loading device for an Embraer 190, various literature ranging from elaborate articulating conveyor belts, to the use of LD3-45W …

Developing A Hardware Platform For A Low-Power, Low-Cost, Size-Constrained Biomechanical Telemetry System, Aditya Balasubramanian

Open Access Theses

As sport-related traumatic brain injuries face increasing attention from the media and the general public, the need to be able to detect brain injury quickly, inexpensively and accurately is more important than ever. Commercially-available event-based systems exist that claim to achieve this goal; however, they collect little to no continuous-time data and primarily indicate when a pre-determined acceleration threshold has been exceeded under the unvalidated assumption that a potentially concussive blow has occurred. Recent findings by the Purdue Neurotrauma Group (PNG) have indicated that repeated exposure to both concussive and subconcussive blows can result in cumulative trauma disorder. To track …

Detailed Finite Element Analysis And Preliminary Study Of The Effects Of Friction And Fastener Pre-Tension On The Mechanical Behavior Of Fastened Built-Up Members, Francisco Javier Bonachera Martin

Open Access Theses

The characterization of fatigue resistance is one of the main concerns in structural engineering, a concern that is particularly important in the evaluation of existing bridge members designed or erected before the development of fatigue design provisions. The ability of a structural member to develop alternate load paths after the failure of a component is known as member-level or internal redundancy. In fastened built-up members, these alternate load paths are affected by the combination of fastener pre-tension and friction between the structural member components in contact. In this study, a finite element methodology to model and analyze riveted and bolted …

Drift-Flux Correlation Development For Two-Phase Flow In Rod Bundles, Collin M. Clark

Open Access Theses

A rod bundle drift-flux correlation is developed with intended application across a wide range of two-phase flow conditions. Special consideration is made for fluid flow mechanisms at low liquid velocity and low pressure conditions. In these instances, gravitational forces from the density difference of the associated fluid phases are more significant. Secondary flow patterns may develop as a result and a drift-flux correlation would need to make appropriate adjustments. Earlier correlations may have increased error at these conditions if they have been formulated with respect to relatively higher pressures or flow rates. In the present work, area-average void fraction data …

Biomechanics And Relaxivity For Functional Imaging Of Articular Cartilage Injury And Degradation, Kateri Elizabeth Fites

Open Access Theses

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major debilitating health concern and economic burden worldwide, affecting 27 million people in the United States alone. OA often follows tissue injury, and is marked by changes in the structure and biomechanical function of cartilage, including breakdown of extracellular matrix molecules, loss of bulk tissue stiffness, and increase in articular surface friction and wear. Unlike bone and many other tissues, cartilage lacks an intrinsic capacity for regeneration. Advanced OA is typically diagnosed by patient symptoms (e.g. joint pain) and confirmed by radiographic evaluation of joint space narrowing. However, the application of functional imaging to assess cartilage …

Blast Energy Mitigation In Porous Rocks, Brittany Corinne Essink

Open Access Theses

Geo-materials are commonly used and sought after for blast mitigation applications due to their wide availability and low cost compared to industry trademarked materials. Characterization of these natural geo-materials such as volcanic rocks is of paramount importance in determining their blast mitigation capabilities. While there is a large amount of information available for materials such as concrete or sand blasts, information on the properties of volcanic rocks is far more scarce. This lack of data is due to the wide range of existing natural volcanic rocks and the variation in the minerals and pore structures of the rocks.

In this …

The Effect Of Job Performance Aids On Quality Assurance, Erik David Fosshage

Open Access Theses

Job performance aids (JPAs) have been studied for many decades in a variety of disciplines and for many different types of tasks, yet this is the first known research experiment using JPAs in a quality assurance (QA) context. The objective of this thesis was to assess whether a JPA has an effect on the performance of a QA observer performing the concurrent dual verification technique for a basic assembly task. The JPA used in this study was a simple checklist, and the design borrows heavily from prior research on task analysis and other human factors principles. The assembly task and …

Graphical Performance Measures For Practitioners To Identify Split Failures, Richard Scott Freije

Open Access Theses

Detector occupancy is commonly used to measure traffic signal performance. Despite improvements in controller computational power, there have been relatively few innovations in occupancy-based performance measures or integration with other data. This thesis introduces and demonstrates the use of graphical performance measures based on detector occupancy ratios to verify potential split failures and other signal timing shortcomings reported to practitioners by the public. The proposed performance measures combine detector occupancy during the green interval, detector occupancy during the first five seconds of the red interval, and phase termination cause (gap out or force off). These are summarized by time of …

Multiscale Modeling Study Of Methanol Oxidation By Ion-Modified Mdh Enzymes, Purnima Kharidehal

Doctoral Dissertations

Enzymes have been considered as molecular electrocatalysts due to their extraordinary characteristics such as their ability to accelerate reactions enormously, to operate under physiological conditions, and to produce fewer by-products during a catalytic reaction. However, enzyme based fuel cells have been reported to have power output and stability limitations, which are restricting the use of this kind of fuel cell to small electronic devices. Methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) is one such enzyme, which oxidizes methanol and other primary alcohols to their corresponding aldehydes. The active site of MDH contains a divalent cation (Ca2+), a co-factor pyrrolo-quinoline quinone (PQQ), several amino acids, …

Lab-Scale Fast-Hydropyrolysis And Vapor-Phase Catalytic Hydrodeoxygenation For Producing Liquid Fuel Range Hydrocarbons From Intact Biomass, Vinod Kumar Venkatakrishnan

Open Access Dissertations

Liquid transportation fuels are primarily produced from petroleum-based non-renewable carbon sources. Sustainably available lignocellulosic biomass, as a renewable form of atmospheric carbon, could be utilized to produce hydrocarbon-based fuels with high energy density. One of the process options for this conversion is the H2Bioil process, where biomass is rapidly heated in a hydrogen environment to produce fast-hydropyrolysis vapors that are catalytically upgraded in downstream hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) to produce hydrocarbons. This process has been modeled to have high carbon and energy efficiencies of ~70% and ~75%, respectively.

This dissertation presents the results of a lab-scale experimental proof-of-concept for the H2Bioil process …

System Analysis With Improved Thermo-Mechanical Fuel Rod Models For Modeling Current And Advanced Lwr Materials In Accident Scenarios, Ian Edward Porter

Theses and Dissertations

A nuclear reactor systems code has the ability to model the system response in an accident scenario based on known initial conditions at the onset of the transient. However, there has been a tendency for these codes to lack the detailed thermo-mechanical fuel rod response models needed for accurate prediction of fuel rod failure. This proposed work will couple today's most widely used steady-state (FRAPCON) and transient (FRAPTRAN) fuel rod models with a systems code TRACE for best-estimate modeling of system response in accident scenarios such as a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). In doing so, code modifications will be …

Friction And Wear Of Polytetrafluoroethylene/Graphene Oxide Composite Thin Films, Justin Kyle Carter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a commonly used solid lubricant due to its low coefficient of friction and chemical inertness. As a polymer, PTFE suffers from high wear and low adhesion to substrates limiting its use as a thin film. Thin PTFE films are ideal candidates for solid lubrication in micro-machines and bearing applications. The main goal of this work is to enhance the durability of thin PTFE films through the addition of few layered graphene oxide (GO) as filler. In order to address adhesion issues, the addition of an adhesive layer of polydopamine (PDA) between stainless steel substrates and thin PTFE …

Crack Growth Behavior Under Creep-Fatigue Conditions Using Compact And Double Edge Notch Tension-Compression Specimens, Santosh B. Narasimha Chary

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has recently developed a new standard for creep-fatigue crack growth testing, E 2760-10, that supports testing compact specimens, C(T), under load controlled conditions. C(T) specimens are commonly used for fatigue and creep-fatigue crack growth testing under constant-load-amplitude conditions. The use of these specimens is limited to positive load ratios. They are also limited in the amount of crack growth data that can be developed at high stress intensity values due to accumulation of plastic and/or creep strains leading to ratcheting in the specimen. Testing under displacement control can potentially address these shortcomings …

Assessing Trichloromethane Formation And Control In Algal-Stimulated Waters Amended With Nitrogen And Phosphorus, Clinton Mash

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichments can stimulate algal growth in drinking water sources, which can cause increased production of disinfection byproduct (DBP) precursors. However, the effect of systematic N and P enrichments on DBP formation and control has not been adequately studied. In this work, we enriched samples from a drinking water source - sampled on April 5, May 30, and August 19, 2013 - with N and P to stimulate algal growth at N:P ratios covering almost five orders of magnitude (0.2-4,429). To simulate DBP-precursor removal processes at drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs), the samples were treated with …

Assessing The Impact Of Chlorine Residual On Trihalomethane And Haloacetonitrile Formation Under Chlorination And Chloramination Disinfection Regimes, Thien Duc Do

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation potential (FP) test can be used to indirectly measure the concentration of DBP precursors in natural waters, permitting assessment of various DBP-related treatment processes and control strategies. While these tests require a 7-day chlorine residual (CR) between 3-5 mg L^-1 as Cl², it is not well known if this recommended residual corresponds to the true DBPFP (i.e., the maximum concentrations) for trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetonitriles (HANs). In this study, THMs and HANs were quantified as a function of CR under three common disinfection regimes: (1) free chlorine at pH 7.0 (FC7), (2) …

Investigation Of The Effects Of Rapid Thermal Annealing On Mbe Grown Gaasbi/Gaas Heterostructures For Optoelectronic Devices, Perry C. Grant

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

High efficiency optoelectronic devices rely on high quality materials making up the device structure. The scope of this thesis investigates the effectiveness of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at improving the material quality of GaAsBi/GaAs heterostructures. During the fabrication of a device, the contacts of the device had the rapid thermal annealing process accomplished to produce ohmic contacts and this research explored if this annealing treatment degraded the quantum wells that made up the active region of a device. To investigate these effects, a system to measure the photoluminescence of the material system was constructed utilizing Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The …

Microfluidics Guided By Redox-Magnetohydrodynamics (Mhd) For Lab-On-A-Chip Applications, Vishal Sahore

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Unique microfluidic control actuated by simply turning off and on microfabricated electrodes in a small-volume system was investigated for lab-on-a-chip applications. This was accomplished using a relatively new pumping technique of redox-magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), which as shown in this dissertation generated the important microfluidic features of flat flow profile and fluid circulation. MHD is driven by the body force, FB = j × B, which is the magnetic part of the Lorentz force equation, and its direction is given by the right hand rule. The ionic current density, j, was generated in an equimolar solution of potassium ferri/ferro cyanide by applying …

An Open Source, Line Rate Datagram Protocol Facilitating Message Resiliency Over An Imperfect Channel, Christina Marie Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) is the transfer of data into buffers between two compute nodes that does not require the involvement of a CPU or Operating System (OS). The idea is borrowed from Direct Memory Access (DMA) which allows memory within a compute node to be transferred without transiting through the CPU. RDMA is termed a zero-copy protocol as it eliminates the need to copy data between buffers within the protocol stack. Because of this and other features, RDMA promotes reliable, high throughput and low latency transfer for packet-switched networking. While the benefits of RMDA are well known and …

Monodentate, Bidentate And Photocrosslinkable Thiol Ligands For Improving Aqueous Biocompatible Quantum Dots, Hiroko Takeuchi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water-soluble Quantum Dots (QDs) are highly sensitive fluorescent probes that are often used to study biological species. One of the most common ways to render QDs water-soluble for such applications is to apply hydrophilic thiolated ligands to the QD surface. However, these ligands are labile and can be easily exchanged on the QD surface, which can severely limit their application. As one way to overcome this limitation while maintaining a small colloidal size of QDs, we developed a method to stabilize hydrophilic thiolated ligands on the surface of QDs through the formation of a crosslinked shell using a photocrosslinking approach. …