Engineering Commons^™

Interpatient Differences In Neural Recruitment Patterns During Pudendal Nerve Stimulation – A Computational Investigation, Amolak S. Jhand, Luis C. Ruiz, Nystha Baishya, Ehsan Mirzakhalili, Gaurang Shah, Priyanka Gupta, Tim M. Bruns, Scott F. Lempka

Medical Student Research Symposium

Bladder dysfunction impairs the quality of life for millions of individuals around the world. Common causes of bladder dysfunction include aging, trauma, and neurological disorders. Due to inadequacies in conventional treatments, neuromodulation therapies to address bladder dysfunction, such as sacral nerve stimulation, have emerged. However, patient needs still remain unmet. Pudendal nerve stimulation (PNS) has recently gained clinical interest as a promising treatment for bladder dysfunction. While PNS has been extensively investigated in preclinical settings, there is a gap in our understanding of the mechanisms of action and efficacy of PNS as limited studies of PNS have been performed on …

Atomistic Insights Into The Mechanisms Of Ultrasonic Bonding, Milad Khajehvand

Engineering Ph.D. Theses

This thesis research uses a combination of computational and experimental approaches to provide atomistic insights into the mechanisms of ultrasonic bonding (UB), a family of solid-state metal-metal joining techniques, including ultrasonic wire bonding, ultrasonic flip-chip bonding, ultrasonic additive manufacturing, and ultrasonic spot welding. The work investigates the atomic-scale contact formation (i.e., the so-called Jump-to-Contact (JC) mechanism) between the UB counterparts, generation of a network of dislocations (i.e., one-dimensional crystallographic defects) at their interface, and the evolution of the network when the interface is under ultrasonic vibration. In particular, the thesis delivers invaluable insights on the mechanisms for contact formation, bond …

Comparison Of Scanning Electron Microscopy And Confocal Laser Microscopy For Tissue Surface Roughness Characterization, Tarnvir Dhaliwal

Master's Theses

It was found that the measurements captured by confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy had a statistically significant difference for bovine tissue. There was not a statistically significant for porcine and poultry tissue.

The intent of the study is to perform a comparative study to examine efficacy of two distinct technologies for a singular purpose: tissue surface roughness characterization. The two technologies compared are a confocal reflectance microscope and a scanning electron microscope. The comparison was made by comparing two surface roughness parameters [Ra and Rq] within ImageJ.

The study examined three different animal species [porcine, bovine, and poultry] to …

Development Of An In Vitro 3-Dimensional Co-Culture Human Colorectal Cancer Model In Microfluidic Devices, Abby Jens

Master's Theses

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, with the relative 5-year survival rate for distant stage cancer being only 14%. The most common treatment for colorectal cancer is with chemotherapeutic drugs; however, the discovery of these drugs is costly, time-consuming, and often requires the use of animal models that do not yield results that translate to clinical trials. Due to these shortcomings, researchers seek to develop physiologically relevant in vitro tumor models that more accurately mimic the tumor microenvironment for cheaper and faster high-throughput drug screening. The aim of this research was …

The Santa Clara, 2024-03-01, Santa Clara University

The Santa Clara

No abstract provided.

Corrigendum To "Comparing Structure-Property Evolution For Pm-Hip And Forged Alloy 625 Irradiated With Neutrons To 1dpa" [Mater. Sci. Eng. A (2022) 144058], Caleb Clement, Sowmya Panuganti, Patrick H. Warren, Yangyang Zhao, Yu Lu, Katelyn Wheeler, David Frazer, Donna P. Guillen, David W. Gandy, Janelle P. Wharry

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The authors regret that after publication, they discovered that the dislocation loop number density was undercounted by a factor of 100 for both the PM-HIP and forged specimens. While this does not change the original major conclusions, this necessitates a change in the results presentation (Sections 3.2 and 4.1) and calculated hardening (Table 3, Fig. 5). Corrections to these affected sections are provided in this corrigendum.

Quantum-Powered Battery Scheduling In Modern Distribution Grids, Diba Ehsani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rising need for exploiting a novel and evolved computation is an increasing concern in the power distribution system to address the exponential growth of distribution-connected devices. Scheduling numerous battery energy storage systems in an optimal way is one of the emerging challenges that will be more noticeable as the number of batteries, including residential, community, and vehicle batteries, increases in the grid. This thesis focuses on this topic and offers a necessary component in building the quantum-compatible distribution system of the future. Using a constrained quadratic model (CQM) on D-Wave’s hybrid solver as well as a binary quadratic model …

The Interplay Of Spin, Charge, And Heat: From Metal/Insulator Heterostructures To Perovskite Bilayers, Sam M. Bleser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation begin with an investigation of non-local spin transport in an amorphous germanium (a-Ge) sample via the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE). In that study we show that commonly used techniques such as differential conductance and delta mode of a paired Keithley 6221/2182a for non-local resistance measurements can lead to false indicators of spin transport. Next, we turn out attention to a thickness dependent study in thermally-evaporated chromium (Cr) thin films on a bulk polycrystalline yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG) substrate. This project analyzed the spin transport in the Cr films versus thickness via the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE). This …

Thermal, Electrical, And Spin Transport: Encompassing Low-Damping Ferromagnets And Antiferromagnetic/Ferromagnetic Heterostructures, Matthew Ryan Natale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Continuing technological advancements bring forth escalating challenges in global energy consumption and subsequent power dissipation, posing significant economic and environmental concerns. In response to these difficulties, the fields of thermoelectrics, spintronics, and spincaloritronics emerge as contemporary solutions, each presenting unique advantages. Thermoelectric devices, based on the Seebeck effect, other a passive, carbon-free energy generating solution from waste heat. Although current thermoelectric technology encounters hurdles in achieving optimal efficiencies without intricate designs or complex materials engineering, recently research into low-damping metallic ferromagnetic thin films have provided a new method to enhance spin wave lifetimes, thus contributing to thermoelectric voltage improvements. As …

Finite Element Analysis Of Thermal-Mechanical Instabilities In Nonmetallic Friction Composite Material, Joseph-Shaahu Shaahu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Thermal-mechanical instability (TMI) has been a research topic of interest as it focuses a lot on transportation systems. Thermal-mechanical instability was first noticed in railway and experimentally studied with a pin-to-pin or pin-to-surface setup of sliding contact. The topic has been extended into brakes and clutches which are two of the most common sliding systems most susceptible to thermal buckling and thermoelastic instability (TEI), where thermal buckling and thermoelastic instability are two sub-categories of thermal-mechanical instability. Thermal-mechanical instability is an ongoing research to better understand the phenomenon and the limits at which such instability occurs. This work delved into the …

Natural Gas Induced Vegetation Stress Identification And Discrimination From Hyperspectral Imaging For Pipeline Leakage Detection, Pengfei Ma, Ying Zhuo, Genda Chen, Joel G. Burken

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Remote Sensing Detection of Natural Gas Leaks Remains Challenging When using Ground Vegetation Stress to Detect Underground Pipeline Leaks. Other Natural Stressors May Co-Present and Complicate Gas Leak Detection. This Study Explores the Feasibility of Identifying and Distinguishing Gas-Induced Stress from Other Natural Stresses by Analyzing the Hyperspectral Reflectance of Vegetation. the Effectiveness of This Discrimination is Assessed Across Three Distinct Spectral Ranges (VNIR, SWIR, and Full Spectra). Greenhouse Experiments Subjected Three Plant Species to Controlled Environmental Stressors, Including Gas Leakage, Salinity Impact, Heavy-Metal Contamination, and Drought Exposure. Spectral Curves Obtained from the Experiments Underwent Preprocessing Techniques Such as Standard …

Development Of A Cell Culture Incubator Capable Of Providing A Hypoxic Environment, Grant Austin Coe

Master's Theses

In order to perform more robust and physiologically relevant research, the Microphysiological Systems laboratory required a method of culturing cells where the level of oxygen could be adjusted. To fulfill this need, I designed and manufactured a hypoxic cell culture incubator. I employed a Quality Function Deployment to understand the customer requirements and convert them into engineering specifications. Based on these specifications, I created various conceptual designs. I evaluated the conceptual designs as compared to existing products and decided to move forward with the control system separated from a small, standard chamber. I developed the circuitry schematics for the temperature …

Data-Driven Approaches For Enhancing Power Grid Reliability, Behrouz Sohrabi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the transformative potential of data-driven approaches in addressing key operational and reliability issues in power systems. The first part of this thesis addresses a prevalent problem in power distribution networks: the accurate identification of load phases. This study develops a data-driven model leveraging consumption measurements from smart meters and corresponding substation data to reconstruct topology information in low-voltage distribution networks. The proposed model is extensively tested using a dataset with more than 5,000 real load profiles, demonstrating satisfactory performance for large-scale networks. The second part of the thesis pivots to a crucial safety concern: the risk and …

Resurge: Reusable Electrosurgical Handheld Devices Business Plan For Hospitals In East Africa, Kiana Martin

Graduate Theses - Engineering Management

No abstract provided.

Comprehensive Numerical Modeling Of Prestressed Girder Bridges Under Low-Velocity Impact, Mohamed T. Elshazli, Mohanad M. Abdulazeez, Mohamed Elgawady, Ahmed Ibrahim

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Accidental Collisions Involving Over-Height Trucks That Exceed Vertical Clearance Limits And Bridge Superstructures Frequently Happen, Resulting In Compromised Girders And Potential Threats To Structural Safety And Performance. The Numerical Simulation Of Large-Scale Prestressed Girder Bridge Collisions Poses Challenges Due To The Associated Nonlinearities, As Well As The Limited Availability Of Large-Scale Experimental Testing Data In The Literature Due To Cost And Complexity Constraints. This Study Introduces A Numerical Modeling Approach To Efficiently Capture The Response Of Prestressed Girder Bridges Under Lateral Impact Loads. A Finite Element (FE) Model Was Developed Using LS-DYNA And Meticulously Validated Against Experimental Data From The …

Move Your Body, Ashley S. Mcguire

Patent Coloring Books

Patent coloring book

Healing Hearts, Ashley S. Mcguire

Patent Coloring Books

Patent coloring book

Investigating Customer Churn In Banking: A Machine Learning Approach And Visualization App For Data Science And Management, Pahul Preet Singh, Fahim Islam Anik, Rahul Senapati, Arnav Sinha, Nazmus Sakib, Eklas Hossain

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Customer attrition in the banking industry occurs when consumers quit using the goods and services offered by the bank for some time and, after that, end their connection with the bank. Therefore, customer retention is essential in today’s extremely competitive banking market. Additionally, having a solid customer base helps attract new consumers by fostering confidence and a referral from a current clientele. These factors make reducing client attrition a crucial step that banks must pursue. In our research, we aim to examine bank data and forecast which users will most likely discontinue using the bank’s services and become paying customers. …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Quad-Component Bioinspired Hydrogels To Model Elevated Fibrin Levels In Central Nervous Tissue Scaffolds, Jennifer Steele, Dany J. Munoz-Pinto

Engineering Faculty Research

Multicomponent interpenetrating polymer network (mIPN) hydrogels are promising tissue-engineering scaffolds that could closely resemble key characteristics of native tissues. The mechanical and biochemical properties of mIPNs can be finely controlled to mimic key features of target cellular microenvironments, regulating cell-matrix interactions. In this work, we fabricated hydrogels made of collagen type I (Col I), fibrin, hyaluronic acid (HA), and poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) using a network-by-network fabrication approach. With these mIPNs, we aimed to develop a biomaterial platform that supports the in vitro culture of human astrocytes and potentially serves to assess the effects of the abnormal deposition of …

The Impact Of N-Doped Carbon Quantum Dots On Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Operating Under Diffused- And Low-Light Intensity, Mona Samir, Ahmed Agour, Zahraa Ismail, Hassan Nageh, Sameh O. Abdellatif

Electrical Engineering

This study investigates the double role of N-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) that operate under diffused- and low-light intensity conditions. We demonstrate that the incorporation of N-CQDs leads to a substantial improvement in the performance of DSSCs. Under standard one-sun illumination, the maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) achieved with N-CQDs is 2% higher than that of the bare cell. Moreover, we introduce two new metrics, the diffused-light coefficient and the low-light intensity coefficient, to evaluate the performance of DSSCs under nonideal illumination conditions. The diffused-light coefficient is recorded at 1.55, which indicates a notable enhancement …

Chatreview: A Chatgpt-Enabled Natural Language Processing Framework To Study Domain-Specific User Reviews, Brittany Ho, Ta'rhonda Mayberry, Khanh Linh Nguyen, Manohar Dhulipala, Vivek Krishnamani Pallipuram

All Faculty Articles - School of Engineering and Computer Science

We present ChatReview, a ChatGPT-enabled natural language processing framework that effectively studies domain-specific user reviews to offer relevant and personalized search results at multiple levels of granularity. The framework accomplishes this task using four phases including data collection, tokenization, query construction, and response generation. The data collection phase involves gathering domain-specific user reviews from public and private repositories. In the tokenization phase, ChatReview applies sentiment analysis to extract keywords and categorize them into various sentiment classes. This process creates a token repository that best describes the user sentiments for a given user-review data. In the query construction phase, the framework …

Technology Assessment For Cybersecurity Organizational Readiness: Case Of Airlines Sector And Electronic Payment, Sultan Ayed Alghamdi, Tugrul Daim, Saeed Mohammed Alzahrani

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Payment processing systems have advanced significantly in the airline business. Because e-payments are easy, they have captured the attention of many companies in the aviation industry and are quickly becoming the dominant means of payment. However, as technology advances, fraud grows at a comparable rate. Over the years, there has been a surge in payment fraud incidents in the airline sector, reducing the platform's trustworthiness. Despite attempts to eliminate epayment fraud, decision-makers lack the technical expertise required to use the finest fraud detection and prevention assessments. This research recognizes the lack of an established decision model as a hurdle and …

Modeling And Understanding Dispute Causation In The Us Public-Private Partnership Projects, Mohamad Abdul Nabi, Rayan H. Assaad, Islam H. El-Adaway

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The partnership between the public and private sectors has led to a new and innovative way of delivering infrastructure projects that is referred to as public-private partnership (PPP). There are various benefits associated with PPP delivery methods including risk sharing, access to private funding, innovation, and flexibility, among others. Despite the proved benefits, contract conflicts and disputes are very common in PPP projects. While previous research studies examined the risks and the potential causes of conflicts in PPP projects, little-to-no research efforts were directed to study and model the interconnectivities between the different causes of conflicts in PPP agreements. To …

Online Instructional Tools For Motor Carriers, Brian Howell, Jennifer Walton, Paul Ross, Andrew Martin

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Commercial motor carrier customers on Kentucky highways must register and pay taxes for licensing and credentialing requirements. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) provides an online Motor Carrier Portal that offers information and instructions on meeting these requirements, but customers have increasingly resorted to calling into KYTC’s motor carrier help desk, thereby straining limited personnel resources. The Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) coordinated with KYTC to develop a series of online instructional videos that can better assist customers with applying for and meeting credentialing requirements.

KTC researchers used a three-phase approach to determine the feasibility and requirements for instructional videos. First, they …

Contributing Factors To Right-Turn Crash Severity At Signalized Intersections: An Application Of Econometric Modeling, Hisham Jashami, Jason C. Anderson, Hameed Mohammed, Douglas P. Cobb, David Hurwitz

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Motorists are required to interact with both roadway infrastructure and various users. The complexity of the driving task in certain scenarios can influence the frequency and severity of crashes. Turning vehicles at intersections, for example, pose a collision risk for both motorized and non-motorized road users. The primary goal of this paper is to investigate the underlying factors which contribute to right-turn crashes at signalized intersections. Five years of crash data across Oregon were collected. A random parameters binary logit model was developed to predict the likelihood of whether a crash resulted in an injury or fatality. It was found …

Nonlinear Interactions Of Sea‐Level Rise And Storm Tide Alter Extreme Coastal Water Levels: How And Why?, H. Moftakhari, D. F. Muñoz, A. Akbari Asanjan, A. Aghakouchak, Hamid Moradkhani, David A. Jay

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Sea-level rise (SLR) increasingly threatens coastal communities around the world. However, not all coastal communities are equally threatened, and realistic estimation of hazard is difficult. Understanding SLR impacts on extreme sea level is challenging due to interactions between multiple tidal and non-tidal flood drivers. We here use global hourly tidal data to show how and why tides and surges interact with mean sea level (MSL) fluctuations. At most locations around the world, the amplitude of at least one tidal constituent and/or amplitude of non-tidal residual have changed in response to MSL variation over the past few decades. In 37% of …

Numerical Back Analysis Of An Underground Bulk Mining Operation Using Distributed Optical Fiber Sensors For Model Calibration, Samuel Nowak, Taghi Sherizadeh, Mina Esmaeelpour, Paul Brooks, Dogukan Guner, Kutay Karadeniz

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Numerical Modeling Of Complex Underground Engineering Projects Such As Caverns, Tunnels, And Bulk Mining Zones Is An Essential Part Of The Design Phase. Large-Scale Models Require Significant Reductions In Complexity From The Real-World Scenario, Which Often Leads To Low Confidence In The Model Output. In This Work, A Mine-Scale Numerical Model Is Developed To Simulate A Room And Pillar Extraction Mining Operation. The Model Inputs Are Calibrated Through The Comparison Of The Model Response To Pillar Extraction In An Analogous Mine Geometry With Measured Strain Values Collected Using A Novel Distributed Optical Fiber Strain Sensing Technique After Pillar Extraction. Calibration …

Multilayered Energy Management Framework For Extreme Fast Charging Stations Considering Demand Charges, Battery Degradation, And Forecast Uncertainties, Waqas Ur Rehman, Jonathan W. Kimball, Rui Bo

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

To achieve a cost-effective and expeditious charging experience for extreme fast charging station (XFCS) owners and electric vehicle (EV) users, the optimal operation of XFCS is crucial. It is, however, challenging to simultaneously manage the profit from energy arbitrage, the cost of demand charges, and the degradation of a battery energy storage system (BESS) under uncertainties. This article, therefore, proposes a multilayered Mult timescale energy flow management framework for an XFCS by considering long- and short-term forecast uncertainties, monthly demand charges reduction, and BESS life degradation. in the proposed approach, an upper scheduling layer (USL) ensures the overall operation economy …

Experimental Investigation Of Long-Term Performance Of Fiber-Reinforced Epoxy And Polyurethane Polymer Composites, Abdel Hamid I. Mourad, Amir Hussain Idrisi, Asima Zahoor, Muhammad M. Sherif, Beckry M. Abdel-Magid

Michigan Tech Publications

The primary challenge encountered by polymers and their composites when exposed to saline water is their inadequate ability to withstand wear and tear over time. With a potential to replace conventional materials the long-term performance of FRP composites is still a novice area. This manuscript thus, reports an experimental investigation and prediction of the durability of fiber-reinforced polymer composites exposed to seawater at different temperatures. E-glass/epoxy and E-glass/polyurethane samples were exposed to 23 °C, 45 °C and 65 °C seawater for up to 2700 days (90 months). Tensile tests evaluated the mechanical performance of the composite as a function of …

Dielectric Properties Of Polycrystalline And Single-Crystal Magnesium Oxide At High Temperatures, Alan Devoe, Hung Trinh, Fatih Dogan

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The electrical properties of high-purity magnesium oxide (MgO) samples sintered between 1500 and 1650°C were investigated up to 800°C. Dielectric constant, loss tangent and electrical conductivity were measured between 25 and 800°C. Optimum electrical properties were obtained for the sample sintered at 1600°C. The impurities in polycrystalline and single crystal MgO were discussed to understand their effect on electrical properties and the role of grain boundaries. Higher dielectric losses of polycrystalline samples as compared to the single crystal MgO were attributed to the presence of grain boundaries. MgO could be a useful dielectric material for capacitor applications up to 600°C.