Engineering Commons^™

Processing & Properties Of Zirconium Carbide Manufactured By Ceramic On-Demand Extrusion, Clare Sabata

Masters Theses

"This research focuses on the development of a zirconium carbide (ZrC) paste for use in material extrusion direct ink write additive manufacturing (AM) followed by the pressure less densification of ZrC and the mechanical and thermal characterization of the resulting ceramics. A highly loaded, aqueous paste was developed using commercial ZrC powder ball milled to ~1 μm. Optimal dispersant, binder, and solids loading were found by rheological characterization. The paste composition consisted of 46-47 vol% ZrC, 43.5 vol% distilled water, 8.1 vol% dispersant, and 1.6 vol% binder. A yield stress of ~8 Pa allowed for shape retention upon removal of …

Microwave Materials Characterization Of Geopolymers, Jared Sinkey

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this work was to develop a process for studying geopolymer materials using a microwave materials characterization approach. Such an approach is known to provide information about chemical and physical properties of materials. As such, in this work, the focus is on the role of water in the geopolymer curing process. To do this, specimens were prepared and cast and microwave measurements conducted throughout the curing process using a short-circuited rectangular waveguide (SC-RWG) measurement technique. In this technique, the complex reflection properties/coefficient of the sample are measured. The effect of sample length and dielectric properties on materials characterization …

Investigating Accident-Tolerant Cladding In A Molten Salt-Cooled Micro-Reactor Using Multi-Physics Analysis And Uncertainty Quantification, Alexander Niles Foutch

Masters Theses

"Renewed interest in nuclear safety has resulted in development of accident-tolerant materials, such as cladding. Although developed for light water reactors, their use in more advanced reactors would save time and development costs for other new materials. This paper performed a Multiphysics investigation into the power profile, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and tensor mechanics of four candidate materials (Haynes 230, Zircaloy-4, FeCrAl, and SiC-SiC), using the highly benchmarked Kilo power design as an example of a high-temperature, highly enriched, sodium-cooled microreactor environment.

From neutronic code MCNP, no significant difference in power profile was found among the four. Using finite element software …

Discrete Event Simulation (Des) In Swapping/Charging Of Battery Electric Vehicles In Underground Mining, Albert Einstein Amponsem

Masters Theses

"With climate change concerns escalating, international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol, the US Presidential Policy, and the Paris Agreement aim to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, targeting significant reductions by 2050. The mining sector, a notable contributor to GHG emissions primarily through diesel-powered material haulage, emits approximately 68 million tons of CO₂ annually. Transitioning to Battery Electric Trucks (BETs) presents a viable mitigation strategy by replacing diesel trucks with electric alternatives, thus eliminating CO₂ emissions.

However, the effectiveness of BETs hinges on optimized battery swapping and charging procedures. This study employs Discrete Event Simulation (DES), a computational …

Development Of A Particulate Matter Sensor Network For Air Quality Monitoring In Indoor Settings And In Mines, Abdulrahman Bani

Masters Theses

"The importance of indoor air quality (IAQ), especially concerning particulate matter (PM), has become increasingly recognized due to its substantial impact on public health. Individuals spend a significant portion of their time indoors, where PM concentrations can exceed that of outdoors, leading to potential adverse health effects ranging from immediate irritation to long-term respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The dynamic nature of indoor environments, combined with the diversity of PM sources, presents considerable challenges for effective IAQ monitoring and management. Traditional approaches to IAQ assessment often fall short, lacking the granularity and immediacy required to address these challenges adequately.

This abstract …

The Graduation Walk: Pareto Optimization Of Degree Paths, Arianna Gail Sy Chaves

Masters Theses

"A student’s academic history, course availability at their institution, and the overall degree of difficulty of the schedule for each semester are all critical factors in their academic success and experience. This thesis proposes an advanced recommendation algorithm that considers these real and conflicting factors that are involved in identifying a prudent degree path - a semester-by-semester course schedule to graduation - for each student. The original contribution of this work is the use of weighted-sum multi-objective constraint programming to minimize an increased number of optimization criteria and identify Pareto-optimal degree paths to be recommended to the student. The conflicting …

Evaluating Electromagnetic Interference On Gnss Receivers, Giorgi Tsintsadze

Masters Theses

"Due to high power and efficiency requirements of modern electrical drive system, inverters are utilizing fast-edge pulses as a drive signal. The high frequency pulses contain higher order harmonics can radiate electromagnetic interference above accepted levels. Modelling and understanding the mechanism that causes the radiation is studied, modelled and presented as gray-box model which contains circuit level modelling of coupling between electrical machine phase windings and low power sensor harness. The thesis consists of two main papers. In the first paper, radiated emissions from an electrical drive system is charac- terized thru gray-box modelling where coupling between electrical machine phase …

Human Arm Stiffness Estimation Method Developed For Overground Physical Interaction Experiments: Experimental Validation And Perspectives For Future Applications, Tarani Kanth Kamma

Masters Theses

"To build a physically interactive robot for overground applications, it is crucial to first understand the biomechanics of humans underlying overground physical human-robot interaction (pHRI) tasks. Estimating human arm stiffness during overground interactive tasks is a promising first step toward this goal. For this, an arm stiffness estimation technique was developed in our previous works that consider the unique challenges involving overground pHRI, such as the need to estimate the arm stiffness from a short duration of data with fewer repetitions. In this work, our stiffness estimation method is further validated with a passive spring setup with known stiffness values, …

Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis Of Thermal-Hydraulic Phenomena In Nuclear Reactor Systems, Mehedi Hasan Tusar

Masters Theses

"A computational analysis of thermal-hydraulic processes in nuclear reactor systems is performed, leveraging Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to advance the design and ensure the safety of nuclear reactors. Divided into two primary sections, the initial part examines thermal-hydraulic behavior in the Replacement Research Reactor (RRR) operating at 20 megawatts and evaluates potential enhancements for the Missouri University of Science and Technology Reactor (MSTR) to operate at an increased capacity of 2 megawatts from the existing 0.2 megawatts. Detailed simulations reveal insights into flow characteristics, temperature distributions, and pressure drops, highlighting the effective use of realistic and porous media modeling techniques …

Sub-Critical Crack Growth And Fatigue Behaviour Of Alkali Silicate Glass, Noah Weyrauch

Masters Theses

"Delayed failure in silicate glasses can be linked to subcritical crack growth (SCCG) where surface defects grow over time until catastrophic failure. This phenomenon originates from stress-enhanced chemical interactions between the environment (e.g. water) and the strained silicate bonds at the crack tip. SCCG must be accounted for to predict the long-term survivability of silicate-glass components. This study compares two methods to measure SCCG parameters for a commercial alkali silicate sealing glass and for a series of binary xNa₂O-(1-x)SiO₂ glasses, where 0.15 ≤ x ≤ 0.35. A constant moment double cantilever beam (DCB) technique was used to …

Equipment Performance Cost Optimization Using Machine Learning (A Surface Condenser Case Study), Firdaus Basheer, Mohamed Saleem Haja Nazmudeen, Fadzliwati Mohiddin, Elango Natrajan

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Equipment performance assessment or prediction has usually been done using the conventional approach. Organization is often too busy to focus on improvement opportunities for equipment performance. Opportunities identifications are heavily reliant on expert opinion and the methods used often vary from one person to another depending on the knowledge they possess. The benefits of simplistic and realistic equipment performance prediction would significantly improve maintenance costs and hence could help to reduce the total operating cost of the asset. In this research work, a surface condenser was used as a case study. The solution proposed in this research work is to …

Combating Corporate Fraud Through The Lens Of Corporate Governance In Malaysia, Emelia A. Girau, Dgku Habibah Ag Kee, Betsy Jomitin, Sazali Zainal Abidin, Imbarine Bujang

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

The increasing incidence of corporate fraud in major global companies has drawn significant scrutiny to the effectiveness of corporate governance in mitigating such fraudulent activities. Despite substantial improvements in corporate governance practices and the implementation of new regulatory frameworks aimed at curbing corporate fraud, instances of fraud continue to rise. If this situation persists, it will become a serious impediment to making substantial progress toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The objective of this study is to explore the interplay between corporate governance attributes, whistleblowing policies, and the likelihood of corporate fraud occurrences within the context of Malaysia. The …

The Perspective Of Cash Flow Risks On Earnings Measurement, Daisuke Suzuki, Junpei Yamada, Shoji Kamimura

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

The essence of earnings in financial statements is significantly influenced by changes in the economic environment. The main objective of this paper is to elucidate a universal principle capable of explaining any types of earnings measurements. To achieve this, we examine the factors influencing earnings by modeling them from a cash flow perspective. Consequently, this paper directs the attention away from stocks and flows, placing emphasis on the risks inherent in income and expenditure in the context of earnings measurements. It highlights the crucial role of these risks in earnings. Additionally, we illustrate that adjusting these risk tolerances enables the …

Measurement Accuracy Of Inputs And Outputs For Financial Efficiency Of Islamic Banks, Irma Febriana Mimma Kebahyang, Imbarine Bujang, Norhayati Mohamed, Emi Maimunah

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

This paper aims to conduct a systematic literature review on the measurement accuracy of Inputs and Outputs for the financial efficiency of Islamic Banks. Generally, financial efficient literature has lengthy discussions of various input and output measurements, but the research findings are still arguably among scholars. Therefore, this paper highlighted the significance of input and output that reflects the accuracy of the financial efficiency measurement. The data of this study was derived from a review of empirical literature comprising 33 articles published between 2013 and 2023. The sample articles on the Islamic Banks' financial efficiency measurement were located through a …

In Situ High Temperature Fiber-Optic Raman Sensor For Industrial Applications, Bohong Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

"Continuous casting in steel production uses specially developed oxyfluoride glasses (mold fluxes) to lubricate a mold and control the solidification of the steel in the mold. The composition of the flux impacts properties, including basicity, viscosity, and crystallization rate, all of which affect the stability of the casting process and the quality of the solidified steel. However, mold fluxes interact with steel during the casting process, resulting in flux chemistry changes that must be considered in the flux design. Currently, the chemical composition of mold flux must be determined by extracting flux samples from the mold during casting and then …

Design And Development Of Biocompatible Mofs And Silica-Based Nanocarriers With Controlled Pharmacokinetics For Drug Delivery Applications, Neila Pederneira

Doctoral Dissertations

"In the past decade, a big interest has drawn into nanoporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and silica-based materials as nanocarriers for drug delivery applications, owing to their exceptionally high surface area and highly structured porous network. The overall goal of this research was to optimize the pharmacokinetic behavior of several highly porous biocompatible drug carriers that have the potential to carry Ibuprofen, 5-Fluorouracil, and Curcumin to the desired tissue without creating a burst effect and minimizing the amount of dosage and size that conventional capsules require. The specific objectives of this study are to (i) assess the effect of drug solubility …

Improving Decision-Making Processes In Construction And Infrastructure Bidding: Qualitative And Quantitative Approaches Including Graph Theory, Game Theory, And Machine Learning, Muaz Osman Elzubeir Ahmed

Doctoral Dissertations

"Construction and infrastructure bidding is a highly competitive process that entails various uncertainties faced by contractors. Contractors weigh various factors to determine the expected benefits of a construction project and decide their bid value. However, the situation is more complex in multi-stage bidding (MSG), where general contractors must account for the bids of their subcontractors and face a greater threat of the winner’s curse (i.e., situation where the winning contractor underestimates the actual cost of the project). As such, bidding-related complexities, risks, and uncertainties, if uncontrolled, can lead to the rise of claims and disputes between stakeholders. Existing research falls …

In-Depth Characterization Of The Selective Oxidation Products Of Hafnium Carbide, Jonathan Allen Scott

Doctoral Dissertations

"Materials capable of withstanding oxidative environments at temperatures >2000°C are necessary for hypersonic applications. Hafnium carbide (HfC) shows a combination of properties that lends itself toward these applications; however, its oxidation behavior is poorly understood. At 1300°C, HfC was found to oxidize via the following mechanism: 1) Initial oxidation of both C and Hf present in the system, 2) Formation of an interconnected pore network, whose size is related to the volume of gases being generated during the oxidation process, 3) Growth of the oxide scale to become sufficiently protective, 4) Formation of an initially amorphous “HfO₂C” at …

Pseudo-Three-Dimensional Back-Analysis Of Rainfall-Induced Landslides In Utuado, Puerto Rico, Mirna Kassem, Weibing Gong, Dimitrios Zekkos, Marin Clark, Stephen Hughes

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Regional slope stability analyses can provide a system-level assessment of landslide susceptibility. This study aims to develop a regional back-analysis model for rainfall-induced landslides to compute ground shear strength that can be used for landslide prediction. Most commonly, mechanistic-based models for regional slope stability consist of simplified one-dimensional (1D) analyses compared to more realistic three-dimensional (3D) procedures. A pseudo-3D methodology is applied on 788 landslides over two 2.5 km2 areas in the plutonic rocks of the Utuado Batholith. First, an infinite slope stability triggering model is applied on a 1 m-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) to identify the triggering grid …

Experimental Study: Evaluating The Effect Of Low High Viscosity Friction Reducer Concentrations To Transport Proppant Across Static And Dynamic Models, Ghith Biheri, Abdulmohsin Imqam, Shari Dunn-Norman, Khaled Elmaleh

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Hydraulic fracturing treatments may significantly improve the oil production from wells in unconventional reservoirs by enhancing the fracture conductivities. Fracture conductivity can be improved by efficiently transporting and distributing the proppant through the lengths of the fractures. The main target of this study is to evaluate the viscosity and elasticity of high viscosity friction reducer (HVFR) for the purpose of transport and suspend the proppant at a temperature of 25°C. This study an alyzes the settling of proppant across HVFR using two different concentrations, 0.5 and 1 gallon per thousand of gallon (gpt). The tests were conducted using two static …

Sdebuddy - Code Documentation Using Large Language Models, Nischay Nagendra

Master's Projects

In this fast developing world of software development, it is crucial to maintain the quality of code and the developers’ productivity. This can be done effectively with good code documentation. SDEBuddy uses the latest generation of Large Language Models (LLMs) and finetuning procedures to create code documentation. In this project, state-of-the-art models such as Llama2 and Llama3 are employed to mimic the behavior of the given code and produce documentation. Such models are tuned for various programming languages and documentation formats using LoRA and QLoRA fine-tuning approaches. These models are evaluated in terms of the BLEU score, ROUGE score and …

Evaluating Friction Characteristics Of High Friction Surface Treatment Application Under Varied Polishing And Slippery Conditions, Alireza Roshan, Magdy Abdelrahman

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The frictional attributes of high friction surface treatment (HFST) play a crucial role in ensuring optimal traffic safety, particularly in wet weather conditions. Friction consists of two important components: adhesion and hysteresis. This research focuses on evaluating these essential factors in HFST using two different aggregates and two distinct sizes by considering various abrasion and polishing methods. To isolate these components for assessment, testing was carried out under various slippery conditions, including dry, wet with water, and wet with water + soap. The inclusion of liquid hand soap in the test procedure effectively minimized or even eliminated the adhesion component's …

A Review Of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Cold Atmospheric Plasma For Surface Sterilization And Decontamination, Kolawole Adesina, Ta Chun Lin, Yue-Wern Huang, Marek Locmelis, Daoru Frank Han

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Numerous investigations have shown that non-equilibrium discharges at atmospheric pressure, also known as "cold atmospheric plasma" (CAP) are efficient to remove biological contaminants from surfaces of a variety of materials. Recently, CAP has quickly advanced as a technique for microbial cleaning, wound healing, and cancer therapy due to the chemical and biologically active radicals it produces, known collectively as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). This article reviews studies pertaining to one of the atmospheric plasma sources known as Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) which has been widely used to treat materials with microbes for sterilization, disinfection, and decontamination purposes. To …

In Vitro Assessment Of The Anti-Biofilm Effectiveness Of Copper And Zinc Enhanced Borate Bioactive Glass Using Processed Microscopic Images, Sarah Fakher, David J. Westenberg

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

The escalating burden of nosocomial infections presents a formidable challenge to healthcare systems worldwide, leading to increased morbidity, prolonged hospital stays, and elevated healthcare costs. These infections are often resistant to conventional antibiotic therapies due to their association with biofilms which contribute to the persistence and resistance of pathogens. In addressing the challenge of biofilm-associated nosocomial infections, borate bioactive glasses (BBGs) have emerged as promising biomaterials. Doping these glasses with antimicrobial metals could potentially harness their antibacterial properties to prevent biofilm formation. This study undertakes a rigorous evaluation of the anti-biofilm efficacy of copper and zinc-doped BBGs by employing processed …

Advanced Detection Of Sars-Cov-2 And Omicron Variants Via Mxene-Graphene Hybrid Biosensors Utilizing Nucleic Acid Probes, Jiaoli Li, Yuwei Zhang, Congjie Wei, Yanxiao Li, Zhekun Peng, Hsin Yin Chuang, Logan Pearce, Adrianus Boon, Yue-Wern Huang, Dong Hyun Kim, Risheng Wang, Chenglin Wu

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Low-cost biosensors that can rapidly and widely detect viruses are critical for faster diagnosis and treatment decision-making, especially for infections. The commonly used field-effect transistor is sensitive to the biomarker's detection but struggles with precise detection, particularly of nontargets such as ions and proteins. To overcome this limitation, we developed a field-effect transistor biosensor design based on MXene-graphene materials to increase the accuracy and sensitivity of virus detection. Based on the hybridization process between two complementary DNA strands, single-stranded nucleic acids were immobilized on the sensing surface via 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and glutaraldehyde to capture the nucleic acids of the target virus. …

Agent-Based Modeling For Understanding Incentives Associated With Distributed Solar Generation, Gasser Ali, Islam H. El-Adaway

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Distributed solar generation (DSG), such as residential photo-voltaic (PV) solar panels, offers many benefits to consumers and can improve the sustainability and resilience of the electric power infrastructure. As such, many local and national authorities implemented policy incentives, such as rebates and loans with reduced interests, to promote the adoption of DSG. However, the increasing penetration of DSG is creating new obstacles for system operators due to the uncertainty in forecasting electrical power demand. There is a need to investigate how incentives affect DSG adoption. To achieve that goal, a complex system-of-systems (SoS) model is developed using agent-based modeling (ABM). …

System Dynamics Modeling For Investigating The Retention Of Skilled Labor In The Construction Market, Tamima Elbashbishy, Islam H. El-Adaway

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Limited skilled labor has been one of the greatest challenges facing the construction industry, especially after COVID. In 2019, around 80% of contractors in the US reported problems in hiring enough skilled workers. Labor retention has been one of the major contributors to skilled labor shortages in construction. The goal of this paper is to study the impact of key construction industry characteristics and economic conditions on skilled labor shortages. This goal is achieved by simulating the flow of skilled workers throughout the construction industry. To this end, a system dynamics (SD) model was developed to represent skilled labor and …

Investigating Price Fluctuation Transmission Among Construction Materials, Mohamad Abdul Nabi, Islam H. El-Adaway, Rayan H. Assaad

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Generally, Fluctuation In One Material's Price Can Cause A Series Of Chain Reactions In The Supply Chain System, Known As Price Fluctuation Transmission, As All Materials Are Interconnected And Interrelated. None Of The Previous Studies Have Investigated Price Fluctuation Transmission Among All Construction Materials. This Paper Aims To Fill This Gap In Knowledge. The Authors Collected Producer Price Index (PPI) Data For 16 Construction Materials, Modeled The Relationship Between Each Pair Of Materials Using Vector Autoregression Technique, And Validated The Causality Using Granger Causality Test. Network Analysis Was Performed To Identify The Price Fluctuation Transmission Capacity, Susceptibility, And Intermediatory Capacity …

Swosu Research And Scholarly Activity Fair 2024, Swosu Office Of Sponsored Programs

SWOSU Research and Scholarly Activity Fair Programs

On behalf of the members of the University Research and Scholarly Activity Committee (USRAC) and the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) - Welcome to the Thirty-Second SWOSU Research and Scholarly Activity Fair! There are 61 poster presentations and 10 oral presentations involving over 100 student and faculty researchers, writers, presenters, artists, collaborators, and faculty sponsors encompassing activities from the SWOSU Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry & Physics, Engineering Technology, Kinesiology, Language & Literature, Mathematics, Music, Parks and Recreation Management, Pharmacy, Psychology, and Social Sciences.

Post-Fire Hydrologic Analysis: A Tale Of Two Severities, Kendra Fallon, Shawn J. Wheelock, Mojtaba Sadegh, Jennifer L. Pierce, James P. Mcnamara, Megan Cattau, Victor R. Baker

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Addressing post-fire impacts largely depends on burn “severity.” A singular severity classification that encompasses the holistic effects of fire on all ecosystem processes does not currently exist. Lumping vegetation burn severity and soil burn severity into one metric, or using them interchangeably, can induce large inaccuracies and uncertainties in the intended ecosystem response to forcing. Often, burn “severity” reflects fire impacts on vegetation, which can be measured through remote sensing. Vegetation burn severity is likely more apropos for ecological research, whereas soil burn severity is more relevant for hydrological analyses. This paper reviews different remotely sensed vegetation severity products currently …