Engineering Commons^™

Analysis Of Dual, Onboard Storage And Separation Of Biogas In Carbon-Based Adsorbed Gas Systems, Kyle Newport, Carlos Wexler, Peter Pfeifer, Fateme Rezaei

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Direct utilization of "low-grade" biogas, as an important sustainable energy resource, provides a viable approach to avoid the energy-intensive upgrading step that is often required to separate CO₂ from CH₄ in order to produce a pipeline-grade fuel gas. This study investigated dual, onboard storage and separation of biogas in an adsorbed gas system (AGS) over two highly porous carbon sorbents, Br-318 and Nuchar, in the pressure range of 0-55 bar. The AGS was pressurized with a 50/50 vol % CH₄/CO₂ feed and working capacities as a function of charge-discharge pressures and temperatures were determined and …

Disciplinary Policy Research On Science Development Strategies For Crewed Lunar Exploration, Wei Yang, Yuyang He, Jinting Kang, Ruiyi Chen, Huihong Cheng, Li Sun, Pan Deng, Yong Wei, Yangting Lin, Xianhua Li

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

In order to better serve China’s crewed lunar exploration, this study researched and analyzed the current status of lunar exploration and planetary science research in China and the United States. Additionally, we conducted interviews and a questionnaire survey with experts in planetary science and deep-space exploration, and formed the following four policy recommendations: 1) Strengthening the layout and management of the disciplines of lunar and planetary sciences, and setting up a long-term and stable funding mechanism; 2) Improving the system of talent cultivation, and encouraging young talents to participate in deep-space exploration missions; 3) Strengthening the protection of original ideas, …

Benefits And Challenges Of Constructing Low-Altitude Air Route Network Infrastructure For Developing Low-Altitude Economy, Xiaohan Liao, Chenchen Xu, Huping Ye

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Low-altitude airspace is a resource that needs to be fully explored, and the low-altitude economy is a new type of economic activity resulted from low-altitude airspace exploration and utilization. As the primary players of low-altitude flight activities, the commercialization and wide applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are promoting the prosperity of the low-altitude economy. A low-altitude air route network is an effective means to ensure the safe and efficient operations of a large number of UAVs, and it is also a new key infrastructure hosting low-altitude traffic. The history shows that the investment on public transport infrastructure as a …

Situation And Challenges In Development Of China’S Commercial Aerospace, Chaofeng Huang, Chao Zhang, Jinge Li, Mengru Dong

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Commercial aerospace is an important support for the national aerospace power strategy and a “new growth engine” for economic development, serving as a strategic pivot to win the future competitive landscape. Currently, China’s commercial aerospace industry is facing a mixed and urgent situation. On the one hand, the international competition situation is severe, with frequency track resources being seized and squeezed, international rules being passively constrained, and global market breakthroughs being hindered. On the other hand, domestic development opportunities are highlighted. The multidimensional support of central local cooperation is constantly strengthening, and the development prospects driven by industrial demand are …

Beyond Innovation Paradox: Practices And Reflections On Promoting High-Quality Development Of Commercial Aerospace With Low Costs, Chao Zhang, Qianshu Shi, Binbin Meng, Quan Cheng, Jun Zhao, Weitao Wu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Commercial spaceflight, as a national strategic emerging industry, is critical for seizing the high ground of the space economy and fostering new quality productive forces through its low-cost and high-quality development. Currently, international enterprises represented by SpaceX have gained a leading advantage through technological breakthroughs and business model innovations, posing severe challenges to China’s aerospace security and development. This study first analyzes the evolutionary trajectory of low-cost development in commercial spaceflight, then delves into the “low-cost vs. high-quality” innovation paradox faced by the traditional aerospace industry and its root causes. Building on this analysis, it examines the experiences of international …

Suggestions On Expanding Application Scenarios Of Commercial Aerospace Market, Mengru Dong, Chaofeng Huang, Ningyi Yang, Yu Yao, Yafeng Qin

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Expanding the application scenarios of the commercial aerospace market is an inevitable requirement for promoting the transformation and upgrading of the space industry and achieving the strategic goal of becoming a leading space power. Currently, the development of China’s commercial aerospace is in a critical transition period from technological breakthroughs to market expansion. However, there are still problems such as insufficient participation of private enterprises, low penetration of consumer markets, and insufficient competitiveness in the international market, and a sustainable and benign commercial closed loop has not yet been formed. The study analyzes the current situation of commercial aerospace market …

Reflections On Improving Industrial Investment And Financing Environment To Promote Healthy Development Of Commercial Aerospace, Cuilin Wu, Chao Zhang, Quan Cheng, Hongyu Wu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

As a new frontier in global technological competition, the sustainable development of the commercial aerospace industry highly depends on a sound and efficient investment and financing environment. Although China’s commercial aerospace investment and financing system has achieved initial progress, it still faces multiple challenges, including imbalanced capital structure, insufficient risk-sharing mechanisms, and weakened market incentives, which constrain industrial innovation and competitiveness. This study systematically analyzes the current status and main challenges of China’s commercial aerospace investment and financing environment and draws on international experience to propose following optimization strategies. First, improve the structure of capital supply and expand diversified financing …

Research On Strategies For High Quality Development Of New Power Systems, Xiaohong Chen, Junpeng Li, Yongmei Liu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

New power systems are at a critical stage of transition from theory to implementation. Against the backdrop of accelerating global energy transformation and technological revolution, shifting the energy system from “scale-oriented” to “quality-driven” is both an urgent need and a key focus for advancing the high-quality development of China’s new power systems. This study employs a four-dimensional analytical framework integrating “technology-elements-industry-green transition” to identify the main challenges existing in the new power systems currently, including constraints in key technologies, imbalances in factor allocation, difficulties in industrial coordination, and instability in power supply structure. Targeted measures are proposed accordingly. (1) Strengthening …

Fostering Systems Thinking Through Engineering Study Abroad Programs, Desen S. Ozkan, Kirsten A. Davis, James C. Davis, Jessica Deters, Homero Murzi

School of Engineering Education Faculty Publications

Engineering study abroad programs are a novel setting for students to develop systems thinking, which has primarily been taught in formal learning environments. Through a situated learning perspective, we examined the impact of two engineering-focused study abroad experiences on developing students’ systems thinking skills. We conducted secondary data analysis to examine how first-year engineering students (n = 47) at a technical university in the United States (US) connect technical and contextual aspects of engineering in China and the UK/Ireland. The students on the China track drew connections more frequently (81% of excerpts) than those on the UK/Ireland track (49% …

Ptsd Increases Risk For Hypertension Development Through Pvn Activation And Vascular Dysfunction In Sprague Dawley Rats, Xinqian Chen, Xin Yan, Chunxiu Yu, Qing-Hui Chen, Lanrong Bi, Zhiying Shan

Michigan Tech Publications

This study investigates the impact of single prolonged stress (SPS), a model of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), on cardiovascular responses, hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) activity, and vascular function to elucidate the mechanisms linking traumatic stress to hypertension. Although SPS did not directly cause chronic hypertension in male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats, it induced acute but transient increases in blood pressure and heart rate and significantly altered the expression of hypertension-associated genes, such as vasopressin, angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R), and FOSL1 in the PVN. Notably, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) were predominantly elevated in the pre-autonomic regions of the …

Novel Nanocomposite Of Carbonized Chitosan-Zinc Oxide-Magnetite For Adsorption Of Toxic Elements From Aqueous Solutions, Dalia A. Ali Eng, Ganna Gaber Ismail Eng.

Chemical Engineering

Herein, a novel nanocomposite (carbonized chitosan-zinc oxide-magnetite, CCZF) was developed to effectively remove toxic elements in water remediation. Combining the high adsorption capacities of chitosan with the magnetic properties of magnetite and the chemical stability of zinc oxide, the combination of these unique properties makes it an efficient and versatile material that offers a sustainable solution for water purification. The (CCZF) nanocomposite was synthesized through the coprecipitation method and characterized using various techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and zeta potential analysis. The results showed …

Sound Innovations For Biofabrication And Tissue Engineering, Mengxi Wu, Zhiteng Ma, Zhenhua Tian, Joseph Rich, Xin He, Jianping Xia, Ye He, Kaichun Yang, Shujie Yang, Kam W. Leong, Luke P. Lee, Tony Jun Huang

Faculty Publications

Advanced biofabrication techniques can create tissue-like constructs that can be applied for reconstructive surgery or as in vitro three-dimensional (3D) models for disease modeling and drug screening. While various biofabrication techniques have recently been widely reviewed in the literature, acoustics-based technologies still need to be explored. The rapidly increasing number of publications in the past two decades exploring the application of acoustic technologies highlights the tremendous potential of these technologies. In this review, we contend that acoustics-based methods can address many limitations inherent in other biofabrication techniques due to their unique advantages: noncontact manipulation, biocompatibility, deep tissue penetrability, versatility, precision …

N-Type Cdte Thin Films For Photovoltaic Applications, Wei Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cadmium Telluride is widely used as a thin-film solar cell material due to its nearly ideal optical bandgap (~ 1.5eV) and its high absorption coefficient (> 104 cm-1). In the past several decades, most of the research focused on p-type CdTe solar cells. In recent years, the research on CdTe devices is mainly based on CdSexTe1-x (CST) absorbers, leading to substantial advancements in conversion efficiency, comparable to that of silicon-based solar cells. Presently, p-type polycrystalline CST/CdTe thin-film solar cells exhibit a notable efficiency of 23.1%. The state-of-art CST/CdTe solar cell has attained an almost optimal short-circuit current density (JSC) of …

Strategies To Alleviate Flickering: Bayesian And Smoothing Methods For Deep Learning Classification In Video, Noah Miller, Glen Ryan Drumm, Lance Champagne, Bruce A. Cox, Trevor Bihl

Faculty Publications

Excerpt: Increasing reliance on autonomous systems requires confidence in the accuracies produced from computer vision classification algorithms. Computer vision (CV) for video classification provides phenomenal abilities, but it often suffers from “flickering” of results. Flickering occurs when the CV algorithm switches between declared classes over successive frames. Such behavior causes a loss of trust and confidence in their operations.

Quasi-Static Indentation Characteristics Of Foam-Filled Sandwich Composite Structures With Additively Manufactured Cfrp And Gfrp Corrugated Cores, S.Z.H. Shah, Juhyeong Lee, Khurram Altaf, M. Mohammad, M.Z. Hussain, R.S. Choudhry

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the quasi-static indentation performance of polyurethane (PU) foam-filled carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) corrugated sandwich composite structures (SCSs) under different indenter tip geometries (conical, trapezoidal, hemispherical, pyramidal, and cylindrical shapes). The SCSs were produced using hybrid manufacturing methods: (1) the facesheets were fabricated using the vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) process, (2) the CFRP and GFRP corrugated cores were additively manufactured using the fused filament fabrication (FFF) process, and (3) the self-expanding PU foam-filled the open spaces in the core. The results elucidated that the indenter tip geometry and core …

The Future Of Flying: An Exploration Of New Aircraft Design And Energy Required To Support Advanced Air Mobility – Part 2, Sarah Nilsson

Publications

Lecture exploring new aircraft design and energy required to support advanced air mobility.

Can The Effluent From Wastewater Stabilization Ponds Be Effectively Managed For Health And Nutrient Recovery?, Michael Glass

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Wastewater stabilization ponds, such as facultative and maturation lagoons, have been shown to be effective processes to manage conventional water quality parameters found in domestic wastewater. The main goal of this thesis is to explore whether wastewater stabilization ponds can simultaneously reduce pathogens to safe levels while supporting agricultural activities through nutrient recovery. A large dataset for water quality of wastewater lagoon effluent in the U.S. was obtained at the state level and combined into regional southern and northern locations. Analysis of data showed there was significant difference in lagoon effluent concentration between northern and southern states for the water …

Compliant Structures Facilitate Less Invasive And Biomechanically Improved Lumbar Spinal Implants, Daniel J. Orr

Theses and Dissertations

Implants used in lumbar spinal fusion and lumbar total disc replacement procedures have improved substantially over the years, however, the opportunity remains to improve either the adjustability, durability, motion, or minimally invasive characteristics which could aid in achieving optimal surgical outcomes. It is hypothesized that the inherent advantages of compliant mechanisms specifically Deployable Euler Spiral Connectors (DESCs) and a new mechanism known as the interior contact aided rolling element (I-CORE) are well suited for each of these applications and will be explored and utilized as the basis of these proposed designs. By addressing these challenges, the research endeavors to improve …

Understanding Contributing Factors To Injury Severity And Improper Driver Actions In Work Zone Crashes And Evaluating Smart Work Zone Applications For Safety Improvement, Rakesh Rangaswamy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A work zone can be described as a roadway designated for construction, maintenance, or other activities that temporarily disrupt the normal traffic flow. Due to this disrupts in traffic conditions, work zones may bring sudden shifts in driving experience, depending on the sort of work zone present, creating unpredictable maneuvers, and putting both motorists and workers at risk. To understand these issues, this study uses work zone accident data obtained from Florida and uses several methodological techniques, including the mixed logit model with variance and mean heterogeneity, temporal instability test, log-likelihood test, out-of-sample analysis, and ANOVA test.

Firstly, this study …

Remedios Varo, Diseñadora Y Publicista, Carmina López Sánchez, M. Mar Martínez-Oña

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

El presente artículo analiza las obras de la pintora surrealista Remedios Varo Uranga, siendo el objeto de estudio el análisis de su trabajo como diseñadora y publicista, concretamente de los diseños realizados para la empresa Bayer. Por ello, a través de diferentes metodologías como la revisión bibliográfica, la catalogación junto con los métodos histórico e iconográfico se profundiza en el análisis de algunos de estos trabajos publicitarios. Pretendiendo con ello, visibilizar no solamente la labor artística de Remedios Varo, sino valorar su trabajo como diseñadora donde presenta características iconográficas y estéticas similares a su obra surrealista creando entonces, una publicidad …

11.18.2024 Orsp Connect, Liz Williamson

ORED Newsletter

Director of Research Lab Safety

GIS Day

Tech Startup Weekend

NSF Virtual Grants Conference

Association Between In Situ Ventilation And Human-Generated Aerosol Exposure In Meatpacking Plants During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Joshua L. Santarpia, Josephine Lau, Debayan Shom, Shanna A. Ratnesar-Shumate, Eric C. Carnes, Gearge W. Santarpia, Vicki L. Herrera, Danielle N. Rivera, Daniel N. Ackerman, Ashley R. Ravnholdt, John J. Lowe, Athena K. Ramos

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

During the COVID-19 pandemic, meatpacking workers were disproportionately affected by disease. Large outbreaks at meatpacking facilities resulted in loss of life and threatened the well-being of workers across the globe. Much work was done throughout the pandemic to understand and prevent these outbreaks. This study combined ventilation system evaluation and measurement of human-generated respiratory aerosol to investigate and identify areas of highest risk for disease transmission. These findings confirm that improved ventilation reduces exposure to human-generated aerosols in meatpacking facilities, including those that may contain infectious agents, such as SARS-CoV-2. This study suggests areas of greatest risk are likely areas …

Integrating Humanities Into Cybersecurity Education: Enhancing Ethical, Historical, And Sociopolitical Understanding In Technical Training, Joseph Frusci

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The increasing complexity of cybersecurity challenges necessitates a holistic educational approach that integrates both technical skills and humanistic perspectives. This article examines the importance of infusing humanities disciplines such as history, ethics, political science, sociology, law, and anthropology—into cybersecurity education. Through a pilot course developed for Staten Island Technical High School, aligned with the New York State K-12 Computer Science and Digital Fluency Standards, students were introduced to an interdisciplinary curriculum that combined technical cybersecurity training with historical analysis, ethical reasoning, and sociopolitical context. The results of pre- and post-course assessments demonstrated significant improvements in critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and …

Nonequilibrium Plasma Synthesis And Processing Of Iii-Nitride Materials, Dillon Patrick Moher

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Nitrogen is abundant on Earth as its diatomic form, and human activity has generated a significant demand for nitrogen-containing compounds. However, its triple bond energy of 941 kJ/mol makes it a poor reactive species in the ground state. Nitrogen-containing nonequilibrium plasmas are made up of background gas, electrons, ions, and a multitude of excited states of nitrogen or even atomic nitrogen. Many of these species have rather high reactivity. As such, the plasma medium is of great potential for driving chemical reactions that involve nitrogen as a reactant, i.e., nitrogen fixation into compounds like ammonia, high-energy-density polynitrogen compounds, and metal-nitride …

Nonequilibrium Plasma Synthesis And Processing Of Iii-Nitride Materials, Dillon Patrick Moher

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Nitrogen is abundant on Earth as its diatomic form, and human activity has generated a significant demand for nitrogen-containing compounds. However, its triple bond energy of 941 kJ/mol makes it a poor reactive species in the ground state. Nitrogen-containing nonequilibrium plasmas are made up of background gas, electrons, ions, and a multitude of excited states of nitrogen or even atomic nitrogen. Many of these species have rather high reactivity. As such, the plasma medium is of great potential for driving chemical reactions that involve nitrogen as a reactant, i.e., nitrogen fixation into compounds like ammonia, high-energy-density polynitrogen compounds, and metal-nitride …

Analysis Of The Impact Of Pavement Characteristics On Road Traffic Safety And Pavement Management Using Statistical Heterogeneity Models, Huiqing Lyu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pavement shall accommodate current and predicted traffic needs in a safe, durable, and cost-effective manner. Among pavement surface characteristics, pavement friction is a critical factor contributing to roadway safety, as it directly impacts a driver's ability to execute steering, braking, and acceleration maneuvers safely. Ensuring an adequate level of pavement friction is essential to minimize the skidding risk for all road users. Continuous pavement friction measurement (CPFM) has recently become a proven approach, revolutionizing safety-related pavement management and skidding crash injury prevention. Meanwhile, pavement roughness has long been linked to vehicle fuel efficiency and pavement structural degradation. Perceptions of pavement …

Soc-Based Control System Performance Analysis For Trapped-Ion Quantum Computing, Tiamike Dudley

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Scatter-gather dynamic-memory-access (SG-DMA) is utilized in applications that require high bandwidth and low latency data transfers between memory and peripherals, where data blocks, described using buffer descriptors (BDs), are distributed throughout the memory system. The data transfer organization and requirements of a Trapped-Ion Quantum Computer (TIQC) possess characteristics similar to those targeted by SG-DMA. In particular, the ion qubits in a TIQC are manipulated by applying control sequences consisting primarily of modulated laser pulses. These optical pulses are defined by parameters that are (re)configured by the electrical control system. Variations in the operating environment and equipment make it necessary to …

Measuring Integrated Accessibility For Sustainable Mobility: A Fuzzy Set Approach Case Study, Behnam Tahmasbi, Poria Hajian, Farzaneh Tahmasbi, Qian He

School of Earth & Environment Departmental Research

Sustainable transportation is vital to climate justice and social equity. Despite the efforts to achieve sustainability, there is still a lack of adequate measurement that integrates land use and transportation systems, which can be barriers to planning implementation. With methodological improvements in fuzzy theory application, this study develops an integrated index to measure the sustainability of multimodal accessibility. We do so by defining a fuzziness degree based on the different trip purposes and modes of transportation with a case study in Isfahan, Iran. Sustainable accessibility indicators were developed for walking, biking, and public transportation to represent the performance of each …

Forensicllm: A Local Large Language Model For Digital Forensics, Binaya Sharma

LSU Master's Theses

Large Language Models (LLMs) excel in diverse natural language tasks but often lack specialization in fields like digital forensics. Their reliance on cloud-based APIs or high-performance computers restricts their use in resource-limited environments, and response hallucinations could compromise their applicability in forensic contexts. We introduce ForensicLLM, a 4-bit quantized LLaMA-3.1-8B model fine-tuned using Retrieval Augmented Fine-tuning (RAFT) on 6,739 Q&A samples extracted from 1,082 digital forensic research articles and curated digital artifacts. Evaluation on 2,244 Q&A samples showed that ForensicLLM outperformed the base LLaMA-3.1-8B model by 4.06%, 5.43%, and 15.79% on BERTScore F1, BGE-M3 cosine similarity, and G-Eval, respectively. Compared …

Measuring And Modeling Grease Degradation, Alan Gurt

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Lubricating grease is an ideal lubricant for many devices such as roller bearings, journal bearings, slide bearings, gears, and many types of joints due to its simplicity. Once grease is put in place, it can often provide adequate lubrication for extended periods of time without the need for a complex supply system that would generally be needed for oil lubrication. However, during prolonged use, various degradation mechanisms change the physical and chemical properties of grease, possibly leading to inadequate performance and machinery failure.

In order to succinctly quantify the degradation of grease, it is essential to have robust, meaningful test …