Engineering Commons^™

Systematic Analysis On The Applications Of Infrastructure Asset Management In Utah, Kelvin Kozakevitch

Theses and Dissertations

Public infrastructure is essential to a region’s economic stability and quality of life, especially its rural infrastructure where most consumable and essential goods derive from. Given the high capital investment required for infrastructure development and maintenance, asset management plans (IAM) are critical. Even though academic research exists on the problems rural infrastructure management face, little is known about the actual state, barriers and causes for the challenges IAM faces in rural Utah. This study examines the current challenges and barriers in IAM among rural communities in Utah. Employing a grounded theory approach, data was collected through a two-phase methodology: phase …

Enabling Next-Generation Microfluidics Through Advances In High-Resolution 3d Printing, Matthew S. Viglione

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation advances the field of microfluidic device fabrication through the development and application of high-resolution 3D printing technologies. The convergence of stereolithography (SLA) with digital light processing (DLP) has created unprecedented opportunities for microfluidic device fabrication, enabling truly three-dimensional structures with feature sizes approaching the single-micron scale. Building upon foundational work in custom 3D printer development, this research addresses critical limitations in 3D printing that have historically constrained microfluidic innovation, spanning multiple generations of custom 3D printers and technical innovations that have enabled the fabrication of increasingly complex microfluidic devices while enhancing resolution, repeatability, speed, and accessibility. A comprehensive …

A Low-Cost Micro Actuator Driven By Electrowetting-On-Dielectric, Behzad Parsi

Theses and Dissertations

Microfluidic techniques have been shown to address limitations of reconfigurable radio frequency (RF) antennas and filters in efficiency, power handling capability, cost, and frequency tuning. However, the current devices suffer from significant integration challenges associated with packaging, actuation, and control. Recent advances in reconfigurable microfluidics that utilize the motion of a selectively metalized plate (SMP) for RF tuning have demonstrated promising RF capabilities but have exposed a need for an accurate fluid actuation model. This research presents models for the dynamics of plate actuation under multiple scenarios. In the first phase, the mechanical motion of a moving plate (e.g. SMP) …

Polymetal Phosphate Cement From Tin Fuming Furnace Slag: Hydration Mechanism, Mechanical Performance, And Environmental Safety, Peiwen Lv, Xintao Zhou, Zhongqiu Luo, Cuirong Yan, Xiunan Cai, Ting Huang, Pingyan Wang, Hongyan Ma

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Phosphate cement materials are ideal binders for the rapid repairment of civil engineering and solidification/stabilization of hazardous solid wastes due to their fast setting, high early strength and strong adhesion. However, the use of pure metal oxides as the raw base materials and their deactive pretreatment result in the high cost and energy consumption, limiting its broad applications. In this study, an eco-friendly polymetal phosphate cement (PMPC) was developed using tin fuming furnace slag (TFFS) as the primary base material. The hydration behavior, microstructure, mechanical properties, and environmental safety of PMPC were comprehensively evaluated. The results showed that the hydration …

Balancergnn: Balancer Graph Neural Network For Imbalanced Datasets, Mallika Boyapati

Dissertations

Addressing imbalanced datasets is challenging due to machine learning models' inclination to learn the majority class. Graph construction plays a major role in determining how Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) perform on imbalanced datasets. In this research, we introduce the BalancerGNN framework to tackle highly imbalanced datasets, demonstrating its effectiveness in fraud detection as one of the case studies. This framework is designed to work for any binary node classification dataset with significant class imbalances. This research addresses the following questions: i) How effective are feature engineering techniques in the case of imbalanced datasets? ii) How do graph representation learning and …

Impact Of Repeated Washing Cycles On Surface Integrity And Mechanical Properties Of Glass Bottles, Siwat Patamakam Mr., Thitisilp Kijchavengkul, Siriyupa Netramai, Gong Yaijam

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

Glass bottles are a top choice in the global beverage industry, but their inherent brittleness poses challenges in maintaining durability. This study focused on investigating the impact of numbers of washing processes from reusing on the surface quality and mechanical properties of glass bottles after each washing cycle. Contact angle technique was used to determine surface quality of glass bottles. It was found that mechanical integrity, as reflected in internal pressure resistance values, and surface quality of glass bottles exhibited an exponential decline with each washing cycle. Furthermore, a predictive model (R² = 0.8882) was developed to estimate its …

Survey On Intelligent Planning Methods From Large Language Models Perspective, Yanzhong Zhou, Junren Luo, Xueqiang Gu, Wanpeng Zhang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Starting from the perspective of large language models, this paper gives an overview of the definition and development of intelligent planning, and briefly introduces the traditional methods of intelligent planning; based on the close relationship between large language model intelligent agents and intelligent planning, introduces the architecture of large language models and typical large model intelligent agents; focusing on the intelligent planning for large language models, combs through the learning of planning languages, chain of thought, feedback optimization, and process automation; combining with the current challenges and difficulties, introduces the outlook of cutting-edge research on intelligent planning with large …

Simulation Environment Construction Of Track Segment Association And Algorithm Performance Evaluation, Dian Ding, Guangfen Wei, Zheng Cao, Shaohui Wen

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In order to study the applicability of Track Segment Association (TSA) algorithms in actual radar working environment , a TSA simulation environment which can simulate the real movement of the target is constructed. By constructing a rich set of target motion sets, the state switching process of target motion is described based on Markov state transition matrix, and the density is flexibly controlled through track translation. The simulation results show that this environment can evaluate the performance of the current classical TSA algorithms. The evaluation results provide a good reference for the practical engineering application of interrupted track association.

A Method For Road Extraction Using Masked Image Modeling And Contrastive Learning, Jiangjiang Wu, Zhenghong Li, Zhichao Sha, Hao Chen, Shuang Peng, Chun Du, Jun Li

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the occlusion problem of road extraction from remote sensing images, a road extraction method combining MIM and CL is proposed, the model training process includes a masked pretraining stage and a contrast training stage. The masked pre-training stage mainly carries out mask image reconstruction, and trains the model to recover the whole image from some areas that are randomly occluded. The comparison training stage is mainly for the prediction error and low confidence regions to learn the comparison, to narrow the distance between the features of the same category and increase the distance between the features of …

Heavy Ion Testing Of Versal Acap Ai Engines, Caleb S. Price

Theses and Dissertations

With recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI), there has been an ever increasing need for computation power in space. These AI models are traditionally implemented on GPUs. However, these units come at a high cost in terms of weight and power usage. Due to these limitations, many organizations are turning to the Versal ACAP device, a system on chip (SOC) with hundreds of AI engines. This option delivers more computation per watt than a traditional GPU. The desire to use Versal ACAP in space has created a need to perform radiation testing on the device. Extensive testing has been performed …

Gnss-Denied Navigation Using Lte Signals Of Opportunity On Low-Cost, Low-Swap Hardware, Tyler Sweat

Theses and Dissertations

Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) navigation is crucial in the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). GNSS signals are susceptible to jamming, spoofing, multipath, and urban canyons and may provide incorrect position information or may not be available at all. For autonomous missions, a backup for GNSS is desirable in the event that it is unavailable. Terrestrial cellular signals are a promising option for navigation because they are continuously transmitted at higher power levels. Optimizing hardware size, weight, and power (SWaP) is critical for UAVs to maximize endurance, payload capacity, and operational efficiency. We present a system that uses long-term …

A Transfer Learning-Based Hybrid Model For Pm2.5 Concentration Prediction, Xinbiao Lu, Chunlin Ye, Yisen Chen, Wen Wu, Yudan Chen

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In order to solve the problems of increased computational cost due to irrelevant features and decreased prediction accuracy due to the difference in probability distribution caused by the change of data distribution over time in PM2.5 concentration prediction, this paper constructs a hybrid deep learning model TraTCN-LSTM-BiGRU based on migration learning. The meteorological factors related to PM2.5 concentration are selected as the model input using the mean-value heat map algorithm features; the source domain data and target domain data are divided by KL scatter and an adaptive layer is introduced into the model to achieve inter-domain distribution adaptation; the …

An Event Ontology And Dataset Construction Method For Strategic Operations Analysis, Quanlin Chen, Jun Jia

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the lack of professional datasets for information extraction technology research in the field of strategic operations research analysis, this paper proposes an event ontology and dataset construction method for strategic operations research analysis. The method proposes an event ontology model for strategic operations research analysis according to the needs of situation judgment in strategic operations research analysis, and uses the method of "a small amount of manual annotation + fine-tuned large language model annotation" to construct the event dataset EfSOA for strategic operations research analysis. The dataset construction method proposed in this paper and the constructed dataset …

Analyzing The Drivers Of Airline Profitability, Brady Noble

Honors Theses

The commercial aviation industry, despite its transformative impact on global connection and economy, has historically struggled with consistent profitability. This thesis investigates the drivers of financial success within the airline industry, with a particular focus on the relationship between passenger load factors and profitability. Passenger load factors, defined as the percentage of available seats occupied by paying customers, have emerged as a key performance indicator, offering important insights into operational efficiency and revenue generation.

The study utilizes comprehensive data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, encompassing quarterly metrics on revenue, load factors, operating costs, and fuel prices from 2002 to …

Improving Erosion Resistance And Revegetation Of Wildfire-Altered Soils Using Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation, Ahsan Ali

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Climate change is causing wildfires to occur more frequently and with higher intensity. Leading to wide range of impacts on agriculture, infrastructure, and the environment. Wildfires affect soils by burning their organic matter, resulting in an immediate deplete of nutrients and a significant reduction in nitrogen level. Wildfires also alter soils’ physical properties and make them less resistant to erosion which results in debris flows when wildfire are followed by a rainfall event. The reduced activity of microorganisms that aid in nutrient absorption makes the soil less effective in supporting plant life. Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) was found to …

Acoustic Filter For Biopharmacy, Nicholas Rivet

Three Minute Thesis (3MT)

The design and development of a novel flow induced acoustically tuned “filterless” filter is proposed. The proposed research is on developing two or more prototypes that function as a cell retention device for perfusion cell cultures used in continuous manufacturing of monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins. This research will provide a non-invasive, cost-effective, flexible, and robust cell retention device for sustainable manufacturing of biologics.

Trajectory Planning Of Quadruped Robot Over Obstacle With Single Leg Based On Deep Reinforcement Learning, Min Li, Sen Zhang, Xiangguang Zeng, Gang Wang, Tongwei Zhang, Dijie Xie, Wenzhe Ren, Tao Zhang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the problems of joint vibration and high energy consumption of quadruped robot in the process of walking over obstacles, a foot trajectory planning method of quadruped robot based on deep reinforcement learning SAC algorithm is proposed. Based on robot kinematics and Monte Carlo method, the motion space of the single-legged foot of quadruped robot is analyzed. A compound seventhdegree polynomial trajectory of the quadruped robot is planned. The SAC algorithm is used to train and obtain the low energy consumption obstacle crossing strategy of four-legged robot under different obstacle environment. The simulation results show that the compound …

Research On The Resilience Of Integrated Urban Passenger Transport Network In Urban Agglomerations Considering The Intra-Urban Service Network, Shida Nie, Chengbing Li, Bowei He, Xintao Li

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In order to solve the problem of insufficient comprehensiveness and refinement of the urban agglomeration passenger transport network model, Space L modelling method in complex network theory is adopted to construct a comprehensive urban passenger transport network model considering the urban internal service network. A comprehensive urban passenger transport network composed of intercity networks and intra-city service networks is built, and time-dependent edge weights in the network is considered. A time-weighted network efficiency model is proposed to evaluate the network resilience. The results show that under a random attack strategy, the relative time efficiency of the network fluctuates less, …

A Multi-Robot Collaborative Path Planning Algorithm With Chain Working Mode, Zhigang He, Dayan Li, Niya Wang, Jianlin Mao, Ning Wang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In order to solve the problem that the traditional MAPF algorithms can lead to a large number of repeated paths and thus non-essential energy loss in application scenarios where multiple robots have a common goal point, a multi-robot chain work mode with a tractor is proposed, which divides the robots with common target points into subgroups for multi robot collaborative path planning, and a collaborative dynamic priority SIPP with tractor (Co-DPtSIPP) algorithm is given. The polygonal Fermat point principle and other methods are used to obtain the serial connection areas of each collaborative group robot; considering the sequence of …

Traffic Signal Detection Based On Improved Yolov7, Lanyue Zheng, Yujie Zhang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: An improved YOLOv7 is proposed to address the problem of low recognition accuracy in general object detection algorithms for traffic signal detection. The algorithm removes the 20×20 detection scale and adds a 160×160 detection scale to increase shallow features while making the model lightweight. It combines the bi-level routing attention (BRA) proposed in BiFormer with axial attention, and innovatively proposes axially-guided BRA (ABRA). This module is specifically designed for the characteristics of traffic signal positions. To address the issue of object size sensitivity to the IoU metric, the normalized wasserstein distance (NWD) measurement is introduced to improve object location …

Research On Dual-Layer Path Planning Method For Lunar Rover Based On Slip Prediction, Zhang Xingyu, Baolei Wu, Jun Wang, Miaoying Hong, Jiahui Wang, Yongqiang Qi

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In response to the challenges faced by lunar rovers in the process of path planning, such as safe obstacle avoidance and target deviation caused by complex terrain, a dual-layer path planning based on slip prediction is proposed. In this approach, flat terrain is adaptively selected to reduce the wheel slip of the lunar rover. The overall complexity of the terrain is calculated using digital elevation information, and a Q-learning algorithm with a three-level reward mechanism is designed to navigate around highslip areas, achieving global path planning. A depth camera is used to perceive obstacles, a dynamic window method based …

An Intelligent Tracking Control Method For Unmanned Vehicles With Time-Varying Disturbances, Jie Huang, Jie Huang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: An intelligent policy iteration tracking control method is proposed for the tracking control problem with bounded time-varying disturbances. An adaptive disturbance compensator is designed to counteract the bounded disturbance and guarantee the validity of the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation. An identifier network is proposed to estimate the unknown vehicle dynamics, and a new HJB equation is derived using the reconstructed identifier tracking error. An online optimal tracking control strategy for unmanned vehicles is obtained in the state of identifier estimation with the assistance of actor-critic network. Based on Lyapunov theory, it is demonstrated that the identifier tracking error, identifier approximation …

Field Calibration Of A Time Domain Reflectometry Sensor For Water Content Measurement In Soils With Low Content Of Coarse Fragments, Rehnuma Maisha, Dean Steele, Aaron L. M. Daigh, Derek M. Heeren, Trenton E. Franz

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Comparison of soil water sensors for irrigation scheduling requires an accurate reference measurement. An Acclima TDR-310H soil water content sensor was calibrated and validated for sand, loamy sand, clay loam, sandy clay loam, and sandy loam soils. In 2021, sensor readings and soil samples were collected in the same sensor volume at depths of 15 and 46 cm at three irrigated field sites with five stations each. Gravimetric water content, bulk density, and volumetric water content (θv) were determined in the lab. The root mean square error was 0.032 cm³ cm⁻³, which was within acceptable limits. The …

Design Of Distributed Multi-Functional Integrated Signal-Level Confrontation Simulation System In Local Area, Weiqian Li, Tianyu Yang, Zongyang Li, Jianjun Chen

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In order to study the resources management and self-organized collaborative application method of multiple multi-functional integrated electronic equipment in the region, we build a signal-level digital simulation system that supports multiple distributed multi-functional integrated electronic equipment within a region to carry out cooperation or confrontation. A joint time advancing mechanism named "variable-step time advancing method based on frame scheduling" and "independent event driven time advancing method " is proposed. It can not only ensure the integrity of each frame of radar simulation data for each equipment, but also enable multiple equipment in the simulation system to advance simultaneously and …

Digital Twin Framework For The Generation And Optimization Of Security Policies For Tsn Industrial Control Systems, Huimai Zhang, Xiaoya Hu, Chunjie Zhou

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: The characteristic of multi-service flow integration in TSN industrial control systems makes it very difficult to establish an accurate mathematical model. In order to ensure the coordination between the security policy and the real-time operation of the system, a four-layer double-closed-loop digital twin framework of "physical layer-data layer-twin layer-service layer" serving the generation and optimization of security policies is proposed. The optimal security policy generation is achieved through the internal closed loop composed of iterative optimization between the initial security policy generation at the service layer and the deployment verification at the twin layer. The deterministic communication process between …

Uav Path Planning Based On Improved Deep Deterministic Policy Gradients, Sen Zhang, Qiangqiang Dai

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the problems of poor convergence and invalid exploration when UAVs perform path planning in complex environments, an improved deep deterministic policy gradient(DDPG) algorithm is proposed. Using a dual experience pooling mechanism to store success and failure experiences separately, the algorithm is able to use the success experience to strengthen the strategy optimization and learn from the failure experience to avoid the wrong path; an APF method is introduced to add a bootstrap term to the planning, which is combined with the exploration of noisy actions in a randomized sampling process to dynamically integrate the selected actions; multi-objective …

Optimization Of Vehicle Routing For Cross-Infection Risk In The Epidemic, Xiaodong Shi, Yongcheng Guo, Mingqi Ma, Jiarui Pan

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In view of the safety risks associated with logistics distribution route optimization during public health emergencies, this paper investigates the vehicle routing problem by incorporating the risk of cross-infection, integrates the cross-infection risk caused by logistics activities in the epidemic area into the logistics distribution model, and establishes a logistics vehicle distribution model with the goal of cross-infection risk and cost. An improved genetic algorithm is designed for model optimization and solution. Based on the integration of chaos initialization population and adaptive crossover and mutation operations, a neighbor exclusion operator is further proposed to enhance the global search ability …

Research On Economic Dispatching Strategy Of Chp Units Based On Srl, Xin Wang, Chenggang Cui, Xiangxiang Wang, Ping Zhu

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In addressing the challenge of the DRL algorithm in the optimization of combined heat and power (CHP) units, lacking safety and stability guarantees, a scheduling optimization method based on SRL is proposed. Utilizing Dymola platform, a district heating system model is constructed with the CHP unit as the heat source. A MDP model for the economic dispatching of CHP units is designed, incorporating control barrier functions (CBF) to guide safe exploration in DRL. Simulation results show that the CBF-DRL method, in complex and nonlinear district heating systems, not only accelerates the convergence of DRL algorithms but also efficiently utilizes …

Remote Sensing Small Object Detection Based On Cross-Stage Two-Branch Feature Aggregation, Jie Li, Yang Liu, Liang Li, Bengan Su, Jialong Wei, Guangda Zhou, Yanmin Shi, Zhen Zhao

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at YOLOv8's leakage and false detection problems caused by target scale difference and complex background in remote sensing small target detection, this paper proposes a remote sensing image small target detection method based on cross-stage two-branch feature aggregation. The global shared weights in the convolution operator and the context-aware weights of specific tokens in the attention are fused to obtain high-frequency local information and low-frequency global information; the global remote dependencies are captured using a lightweight MLP, and the parallel cross-stage learnable vision center mechanism is designed to capture the information of the local corner regions of the …

Mobile Robot Path Planning Based On Search-Step Optimized A* Algorithm, Die Yu, Baizhong Bao, Yan Si, Jian Duan, Xiaobin Zhan, Tielin Shi

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: A search-step optimized A* algorithm is proposed to address the issues with the traditional A* algorithm in robot path planning tasks, such as the high time consumption in large-scale high-resolution maps and the poor paths qualitys. Based on the cubic Hermite curve, a set of search steps (the path edges connecting the current node to its successors) is constructed, which can match the size of the robot and satisfy the dynamic constraints of the robot. More accurate cost functions are established based on the length and maximum absolute curvature value of the curve. Experimental results show that compared with …