Engineering Commons^™

Blockchain And Its Transformational Impact To Global Business, Mohammed Qaudeer

Operations Research and Engineering Management Theses and Dissertations

The advent of internet to the public back in 1994 resulted in the 4th industrial revolution disrupting and transforming business and communication models. As much as the transformation changed our lives and experiences, it has resulted in centralized models like Amazon and Facebook. It also resulted in exponential growth of Fraud, Identity theft, and lack of trust. Blockchain is considered an emerging technology of this era, which will trigger the 5th industrial revolution enabling another massive storm of disruptive transformation completely changing the current business models based on trust, security, collaboration and crypto currency. As the evolution of blockchain technology …

Particle Studies In The Lab And Pilot-Scale Coal Combustion Systems, Dishant Khatri

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

In the past century, coal contributed more to the global electricity supply than any other source. Currently, it alone accounts for over 35% of the global electricity supply. Though coal is globally well-distributed and can provide cheap, stable, and reliable energy on demand, it emits a large amount of carbon dioxide—a greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. Additionally, it is a major source of particulate matter (PM) pollution. Thus, in recent years, to reduce the impact of coal on climate, several policies have been introduced to phase out coal. However, replacing coal with intermittent renewables has led to a reduction …

Development Of Artificial Intelligence Approach To Nowcasting And Forecasting Vibrio Prevalence In Coastal Waters, Peyman Hosseinzadeh Namadi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V.p) is an epidemiologically significant pathogen that poses high risks to the human health and shellfish industry, calling for predictive models for management interventions. This study presents an Artificial Intelligence(AI)-based approach to predicting and reducing the risks. The AI-based approach involves the identification of environmental indicators and their optimum variation ranges favoring V.p prevalence, the development of nowcasting and forecasting models for predicting V.p prevalence, and the creation of remote sensing algorithms for mapping concentrations of V.p and its environmental indicators by synergistically combining the Deep Neural Network (DNN) modeling technique, Genetic Programming (GP) method, R …

Ronald E. Mcnair Scholars Program Profiles And Abstracts 2020, Mcnair Scholars Program

McNair Symposium

This is the complete event program and provides presentation abstracts and biographies of McNair scholars and their mentors.

Assessing The Effects Of Reconstruction On The Commercial And Civil Construction Industry Following Hurricane Maria In Puerto Rico, Timothy Jafek Barrett-Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

In September 2017 Hurricane Maria made landfall on the U.S territory island of Puerto Rico, causing substantial damage to the already weakened infrastructure and other aspects of the built environment. This research attempted to identify the challenges and opportunities that have been encountered within the Puerto Rican commercial and civil construction industry during the first year of reconstruction, post-Hurricane Maria. This was done by identifying the effects of the storm as well as the strategies of construction companies involved in the reconstruction process. The study used the events occurring after the passing of the hurricane as a case study to …

Bacteria Analysis By Using A Supervised Machine Learning Algorithm Based On Droplet Microfluidics, Yulder Daniel Angarita

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sepsis is a major medical problem and massive resources have been invested in developing and evaluating alternative treatments. Statistics indicate that sepsis causes between one third and one half of all hospital deaths in the United States. Sepsis has a high impact on health care in the US, with direct sepsis costs in 2009 exceeding $15.4 billion. A research study found that a 1-hour delay in appropriate antimicrobial care resulted in a 7% - 10% rise in mortality. Several professional societies seek to reduce sepsis mortality by targeting the timely use of diagnostic tests and antimicrobial therapy. The diagnostic instruments …

A Modeling Framework For Urban Growth Prediction Using Remote Sensing And Video Prediction Technologies: A Time-Dependent Convolutional Encoder-Decoder Architecture, Ahmed Hassan Jaad

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Studying the growth pattern of cities/urban areas has received considerable attention during the past few decades. The goal is to identify directions and locations of potential growth, assess infrastructure and public service requirements, and ensure the integration of the new developments with the existing city structure. This dissertation presents a novel model for urban growth prediction using a novel machine learning model. The model treats successive historical satellite images of the urban area under consideration as a video for which future frames are predicted. A time-dependent convolutional encoder-decoder architecture is adopted. The model considers as an input a satellite image …

Co-Designed Land-Use Scenarios And Their Implications For Storm Runoff And Streamflow In New England, Andrew John Guswa, Brian Hall, Chingwen Cheng, Jonathan R. Thompson

Engineering: Faculty Publications

Landscape and climate changes have the potential to create or exacerbate problems with stormwater management, high flows, and flooding. In New England, four plausible land-use scenarios were co-developed with stakeholders to give insight to the effects on ecosystem services of different trajectories of socio-economic connectedness and natural resource innovation. With respect to water, the service of greatest interest to New England stakeholders is the reduction of stormwater and flooding. To assess the effects of these land-use scenarios, we applied the Soil and Water Assessment Tool to two watersheds under two climates. Differences in land use had minimal effects on the …

Exploring Iot-Based Applications In Power Systems Monitoring, Demand Side Management And Protection, Long Zhao

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The Internet-of-Things (IoT) concept allows objects to share data through wired or wireless connections for communication purposes. Currently, IoT has been involved with the development of smart grids in many applications. In this article-based dissertation, IoT applications in power systems are presented in 7 published research papers. In the first three papers, the developments of the IoT-based monitoring system are presented. Power substation monitoring for the petrochemical facility is discussed in the first paper. Internal design and detection mechanisms are emphasized in this research. The second paper presents the communication and task allocations for a generic power substation monitoring system. …

Analysis Of Barriers Causing Delay In Post-Hurricane Recovery: Experts’ Vs. Public’S Perspectives, Behzad Rouhanizadeh

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Destructive natural disasters such as hurricanes, affect countries around the world. To recover from a hurricane, the managers need to make various decisions; however, what makes the post-hurricane decision making unique is lack of time to make the optimum decision. A comprehensive understanding of barriers to recovery can lead to development of policies that help prevent delays in recovery process and consequently results in resiliency. Although several studies have been performed to identify the recovery barriers, they did not provide a comprehensive review of barriers and their classification. On the other hand, experts and the public commonly have different understandings …

Cooking Systems Using Aluminum Foam, Ryan Tetsuo Mizukami

Physics

In developing countries, the use of wood burning fires for cooking is cause for illness and death. With this in mind, research was conducted to develop a solar cooking device capable of cooking of soup within 15 mins in order to reduce the negative impacts of cooking with wood. Current methods of solar-based cooking, such as solar concentrators and solar tube ovens, are impractical. A small solar panel is a cost-effective way to produce energy but will not produce enough power to cook within a reasonable amount of time. Even if it is assumed that all of the energy produced …

Effect Of Calcination Time On The Physicochemical Properties And Photocatalytic Performance Of Carbon And Nitrogen Co-Doped Tio2 Nanoparticles, Emile Salomon Massima Mouele, Mihaela Dinu, Franscious Cummings, Ojo O. Fatoba, Myo Tay Zar Myint, Htet Htet Kyaw, Anca C. Parau, Alina Vladescu, M. Grazia Francesconi, Sara Pescetelli, Aldo Di Carlo, Antonio Agresti, Mohammed Al-Abri, Sergey Dobretsov, Mariana Braic, Leslie F. Petrik

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The application of highly active nano catalysts in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) improves the production of non-selective hydroxyl radicals and co-oxidants for complete remediation of polluted water. This study focused on the synthesis and characterization of a highly active visible light C–N-co-doped TiO2 nano catalyst that we prepared via the sol-gel method and pyrolyzed at 350 °C for 105 min in an inert atmosphere to prevent combustion of carbon moieties. Then we prolonged the pyrolysis holding time to 120 and 135 min and studied the effect of these changes on the crystal structure, particle size and morphology, electronic properties and …

Climate Change And Market-Based Insurance Feedbacks, Eric R. Holley, Adam Liska, Cory Walters, Geoffrey C. Friesen, Michael Hayes, Max J. Rudolph, Donald A. Wilhite

Adam Liska Papers

Climatic events have accounted for 91% of $1.05 trillion in insured costs for global catastrophic events from 1980 to 2016. Costs are driven by socio-economic development and increased frequency and severity of climatic disasters driven by climate change. Government policies to reduce systemic risk (e.g., cap-and-trade, carbon tax) have been a predominant approach for mitigation and adaptation. Alternatively, market-based incentives for climate change adaptation and mitigation already operate via the insurance industry to lessen impacts on society. Insurance feedbacks include changes in 1) premiums and insurance policies, 2) non-coverage, and 3) policy making and litigation. Alongside government policies, insurance feedbacks …

Application Of Artificial Intelligence And Geographic Information System For Developing Automated Walkability Score, Md Mehedi Hasan

Dissertations

Walking is considered as one of the major modes of active transportation, which contributes to the livability of cities. It is highly important to ensure walk friendly sidewalks to promote human physical activities along roads. Over the last two decades, different walk scores were estimated in respect to walkability measures by applying different methods and approaches. However, in the era of big data and machine learning revolution, there is still a gap to measure the composite walkability score in an automated way by applying and quantifying the activityfriendliness of walkable streets. In this study, a street-level automated walkability score was …

Implementation Of Biogas-Based Energy Security Program And Evaluation Of Its Sustainability In Kediri Village, Pringsewu District, Lampung Province, Sri Ismiyati Damayanti, Simparmin Ginting, Otik Nawansih, Siti Hudaidah

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

The Biogas-based energy security program in Kediri Village, Pringsewu District, Lampung Province, aims to provide awareness and knowledge to villagers about the potential of cow dung to be made into biogas and promote awareness of good environment quality. An evaluation of the sustainability of the program in the community was conducted. The methods that were used in this program are (1) socialization to provide awareness of good environment quality and energy security, (2) digester construction and stove and biogas lamp installation, which was carried out by the community together with certified trainers, (3) creation of a master design of the …

Estimation Of Contamination Source By Using Qpso With Perturbation Operator, Tian Na, Zhicheng Ji

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: An improved quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (QPSO) with perturbation operator was proposed and applied to solve the convection-diffusion inverse problem of estimating time-varying contamination source. Because the contamination source is time-dependent, the inverse problems are classified into function estimation problem. To transform the inverse problem to optimization problem, the nonlinear least square method was used. Meanwhile, Tikhonov regularization was used to stablize the solution with noisy measured data. And the regularization parameter was chosen by L-curve method. The simulation results tell that QPSO with perturbation operator outperforms QPSO and PSO. Moreover, tests over different views (regularization terms, noise level, …

Improved Quantum-Behaved Particle Swarm Optimization For Solving Multi-Objective Flexible Job-Shop Scheduling Problems, Tian Na, Zhicheng Ji

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Due to the complexity of flexible job-shop scheduling problem (FJSP), it is still the hot topic for research. FJSP was given deep insight into with three objectives to be minimized simultaneously: makespan, maximal machine workload and total workload. Quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (QPSO) with different coefficient selection methods was compared. The benchmark function tests show that QPSO with adaptive coefficient outperforms other selection methods in unimodal functions, while QPSO with cosine coefficient performs better in multi-modal functions. Therefore, QPSO with cosine decreasing coefficient is adopted to solve the multi-objective FJSP, which is a complex multi-modal optimization problem. Simulation results …

Effect Of Substrate Characteristics On The Growth And Sporulation Of Two Biocontrol Microorganisms During Solid State Cultivation, Ga Young Lee, Wenqi Li, Ulalo M. Chirwa, Jian Shi

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Biocontrol agents are a group of naturally occurring organisms capable of interrupting the lifespan and suppressing the propagation of disease organisms. The use of biocontrol agents offers an environment-friendly and sustainable solution to the synthetic agrochemicals. In this study, we investigated parboiled rice and millets as substrates for spore production of two model biocontrol microorganisms (Bacillus pumilus and Streptomyces griseus) under solid state cultivation (SSC) conditions. The effects of cultivation parameters such as initial moisture content, water activity, and cultivation time on microbial growth and spore production were studied. Furthermore, texture profile analysis was performed to test the …

Non-Destructive Technologies For Detecting Insect Infestation In Fruits And Vegetables Under Postharvest Conditions: A Critical Review, Akinbode A. Adedeji, Nader Ekramirad, Ahmed Rady, Ali Hamidisepehr, Kevin D. Donohue, Raul T. Villanueva, Chadwick A. Parrish, Mengxing Li

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

In the last two decades, food scientists have attempted to develop new technologies that can improve the detection of insect infestation in fruits and vegetables under postharvest conditions using a multitude of non-destructive technologies. While consumers' expectations for higher nutritive and sensorial value of fresh produce has increased over time, they have also become more critical on using insecticides or synthetic chemicals to preserve food quality from insects' attacks or enhance the quality attributes of minimally processed fresh produce. In addition, the increasingly stringent quarantine measures by regulatory agencies for commercial import-export of fresh produce needs more reliable technologies for …

Eusectra: European Nuclear Security Training Centre Providing Hands-On Training And Education In Nuclear Security And Safeguards, Willem Janssens, Veronique Berthou, Abbas Kamel, Jean Galy, Klaus Luetzenkirchen, Klaus Mayer, Stefan Nonneman

International Journal of Nuclear Security

The European Nuclear Security Training Centre (EUSECTRA) inaugurated under this global name about 10 years ago and operated by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), located both on the Karlsruhe (Germany) and Ispra (Italy) sites, includes a large variety of capacity building and professional development activities which span from the hands-on training for nuclear security and safeguards actors (e.g. respectively border guards or customs and nuclear inspectors) to educational efforts in both nuclear security and safeguards. Whereas the first ones, which gave rise to the new name, focus mainly on detection, on-site assistance, crime-scene management, technical reach-back and nuclear …

Multiple Salinity Equilibria And Resilience Of Persian/Arabian Gulf Basin Salinity To Brine Discharge, Hamed D. Ibrahim, Pengfei Xue, Elfatih A.B. Eltahir

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The Persian/Arabian Gulf is the most important region for seawater desalination. Surrounding countries produce about 50% of global desalinated seawater. If Gulf salinity significantly rises because of desalination effluent (brine), marine ecosystems and the water supply for many population centers will be threatened. In order to quantify current and future impacts of seawater desalination on Gulf salinity and avoid costly environmental problems, it is vital to first examine the present Gulf salinity state and its response to salinity perturbation (i.e., determine its stability). Here, using a coupled Gulf-Atmosphere numerical climate model, we test the hypothesis that the Gulf has a …

Laboratory And Short-Term Field Performance Of Crumb Rubber Modified Asphalt Emulsion In Chip Seal Applications, Md Nafiur Rahman

LSU Master's Theses

Chip sealing is a commonly used pavement maintenance treatment that aims to delay pavement deterioration by reducing water infiltration and restoring skid resistance. Loss of aggregate and bleeding are considered the major failure mechanisms in chip seal, and therefore, are the main design criteria for this treatment method. The objective of this study was to evaluate the laboratory and short-term field performance of chip seals prepared with different types of asphalt emulsions, application rates, and aggregate blends. A newly introduced crumb-rubber modified asphalt emulsion was evaluated that allows chip seal installation at the same temperature of a standard emulsion. Types …

Techno-Economic Comparative Analysis Of Renewable Energy Systems: Case Study In Zimbabwe, Loiy Al-Ghussain, Remember Samu, Onur Taylan, Murat Fahrioglu

Mechanical Engineering Graduate Research

Fluctuations in fossil fuel prices significantly affect the economies of countries, especially oil-importing countries, hence these countries are thoroughly investigating the increase in the utilization of renewable energy resources as it is abundant and locally available in all the countries despite challenges. Renewable energy systems (RES) such as solar and wind systems offer suitable alternatives for fossil fuels and could ensure the energy security of countries in a feasible way. Zimbabwe is one of the African countries that import a significant portion of its energy needs which endanger the energy security of the country. Several studies in the literature discussed …

Artificial Intelligence Towards Future Industrial Opportunities And Challenges, Gizealew Dagnaw

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

The industry 4.0 will bring reflective changes to our society, including an important digital shift in the manufacturing sector. At present, several manufacturing firms are trying to adopt the practices of industry 4.0 throughout their supply chain. The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the artificial intelligence at its core are fundamentally changing the way we live, work and interact as citizens. The complexity of this transformation may look overwhelming and to many threatening. Recently, the dramatic growth of new generation information technologies has prompted several countries to seek new strategies for industrial revolution. The globalization and the competitiveness are forcing companies …

It Governance For Balancing Evolveability And Standardization In Health Information System Implementation In Ethiopian Context, Birkinesh Lagebo, Birkinesh Lagebo, Mark Gaynor Prof., Temtim Assefa Dr

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

Failing to balance standardization and evolveability in IS design and implementation process results sustainability failure which is common in developing country. IS research provides various IS design solution including layered modular architecture to address both evolveability and standardization simultaneously. However, this design solution requires appropriate IT governance mechanisms which lacks both theoretical and empirical explanation in IS research. The core of this research is understanding IT governance mechanism design that can balance standardization and evolveability in the course of IS design and implementation. The research uses the case of District Health Information System-2 (DHIS-2), layered modular architecture, design and implementation …

Development Of An Integrated Direct Membrane Filtration (Dmf) And Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (Anmbr) System For Dilute Municipal Wastewater Treatment, Ahmet Erkan Uman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The total electricity consumption due to municipal wastewater treatment in the US accounts for 1.3% of total demand. Also, a significant portion of biodegradable constituents in wastewater is converted into biomass, which needs further processing. On the one hand, an excessive amount of energy and chemicals are being used to treat wastewater, but on the other hand, resources (such as nitrogen and phosphorus, energy, and water) in wastewater are being discharged or removed rather than recovered. From this perspective, new wastewater treatment technologies are sorely needed to facilitate resource recovery from wastewater for a better, more sustainable future.

Anaerobic membrane …

Evolutionary Game-Based Spectrum Sharing Scheme In Cognitive Radio Network, Huanhuan He, Xingwei Wang, Huang Min

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In order to solve the waste of resources caused by the static spectrum allocation policy, cognitive radio technology can be used to dynamically and efficiently manage spectrum, and spectrum sharing becomes the key issue. To make secondary users to share spectrum fairly, an evolutionary game-based spectrum sharing scheme in cognitive radio network was proposed. Because cognitive radio network was dynamic and heterogeneous, the wireless channel was unreliable and affected by environment easily, the knowledge of fuzzy mathematics was introduced to characterize the parameters related to the secondary user satisfaction degree, and the Gas Brownian Motion Optimization algorithm was …

Quantifying Workability, Compactability, And Cohesion Gain Of Asphalt Emulsion Cold In-Place Recycling, Sadie Casillas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To maximize the life and quality of a pavement, proper maintenance and rehabilitation are essential. Strategies for pavement rehabilitation with many sustainable benefits are pavement recycling. This dissertation focuses on two types of in-situ pavement recycling: Cold in-place recycling (CIR) stabilized with asphalt emulsion and full depth reclamation (FDR) stabilized with asphalt emulsion or foamed asphalt. One white paper (Chapter 2), two accepted peer reviewed journal articles (Chapters 3 and 4), and one submitted peer reviewed journal article (Chapter 5) are presented in this document to create better understanding of the unique material characterization of asphalt emulsion cold recycled materials, …

Flood Prediction Using Artificial Neural Networks: Empirical Evidence From Mauritius As A Case Study, A. Z. Dhunny, Reena H. Seebocus, Z. Allam, Mohammad Yasser Chuttur

Knowledge Engineering and Data Science

Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) has been well studied for flood prediction. However, there is not enough empirical evidence to generalize ANN applicability to small countries with microclimates prevailing in a small geographical space. In this paper, we focus on the climatic conditions of Mauritius for which we seek to investigate the accuracy of using ANN to predict flooding using locally collected data from 11 meteorological stations spread across the country. The ANN model for flood prediction presented in this work is trained using 20,000 climate data records, collected over a period of two years for Mauritius. Our input climate features …

Opinion Analysis For Emotional Classification On Emoji Tweets Using The Naïve Bayes Algorithm, Siti Sendari, Ilham Ari Elbaith Zaeni, Dian Candra Lestari, Hanny Prasetya Hariyadi

Knowledge Engineering and Data Science

Opinion Analysis is a research study needed to social media, since the content could become a trending topic and has a significant impact on social life. One of the social media that have a big contribution to cyberspace and information development is Twitter. In the Twitter application, users can insert images that represent emotions, facial expressions, or icons. Emoji is a graphic symbol in the form of an image to express a thing, with the Emoji, a text can be read and understood according to its meaning because the image represents it. Of the several things that have been mentioned …