Engineering Commons^™

Harvest By Autoflocculation, Biomass, And Carotenoid Production In Sequential Batch Culture Of Haematococcus Pluvialis Under High Ionic Strength And Macroelements Content, J. Galán-González, I. Quintero-Zapata, M Elías-Santos, L.J. Galán-Wong, U.J. López-Chuken, C Guajardo-Barbosa, J.C Beltrán-Rocha

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Haematococcus pluvialis is a microalga with significant potential due to its capacity to produce carotenoids with antioxidant and nutraceutical benefits. However, the cost of harvesting this microalga, constituting over 30% of total expenses in large-scale production, is a major concern. Efficient flocculation, aiding in cell separation from the culture medium, is crucial to address this issue. The study contrasted Bold’s Basal Medium (BBM) with Lopez-Chuken & Young nutrient solution (LC-Y). The heightened salt content in LC-Y plays a crucial role in fostering saline stress, which is essential for evaluating H. pluvialis flocculation, biomass yield, and carotenoid production. To assess stability …

Research Progress On Ship Trajectory Prediction In Marine Transportation, Xiangen Bai, Kai Ye, Xiaofeng Xu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The prediction of ship navigation trajectories is crucial for ensuring maritime navigation safety and forecasting risk. In recent years, extensive research has been conducted on the prediction of ship navigation trajectories at home and abroad, and some results have been achieved. At present, most research on ship navigation trajectory prediction relies heavily on automatic identification system (AIS) data and the historical trajectories of ships. This study first reviews the research background and current situation of ship navigation trajectory prediction. Second, it provides an overview of ship navigation trajectory prediction, with an emphasis on sorting out and elaborating on artificial intelligence …

Numerical Investigations On Particle Collection And Discharge Of Rounded Rectangle Aquaculture Tank In Dual-Diagonal-Inlet Layout, Xiaozhong Ren, Shupeng Du, Hangfei Liu, Xianying Shi, Meng Li, Xian Wang, Suping Liu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

To improve the space utilization rate of aquaculture tanks in aquaculture facilities and investigate the effect of the length-width ratio parameter (abbr. L/W, with L being the length of the tank and W being its width) on the particle collection and discharge characteristics of the rounded rectangle aquaculture tank with diagonal double inlet pipes. The study simulates the particle discharge procedure of the tank using a solidliquid two-phase numerical model (discrete phase model and RNG k-ε turbulence model adopted). The validity of the numerical model was confirmed through physical experiments. The simulation results for two jet condition indicate that when …

On The History And Semantics Of Burble In Aerodynamic Theory, Benjamin C. Moulton, Cory D. Goates, Troy A. Abraham

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Student Publications and Presentations

The term burble has been in use in aerodynamic theory for over a century. While burble may be unfamiliar to most contemporary aerodynamicists, the word has a rich history based in aerodynamic theory and experimentation. The present paper outlines the fluidity of burble's meaning over time. From analyzing subsonic flow over an airfoil, to the implementation of stochastic turbulence in aircraft carrier landing simulations, the term burble has had a significant impact on the study of aerodynamics. The term burble has fallen out of use in aerodynamic engineering circles. Why did this happen? And what can be learned from the …

Photoluminescence Switching In Quantum Dots Connected With Fluorinated And Hydrogenated Photochromic Molecules, Ephraiem S. Sarabamoun, Jonathan M. Bietsch, Pramod Aryal, Amelia G. Reid, Maurice Curran, Grayson Johnson, Esther H. R. Tsai, Charles W. Machan, Guijun Wang, Joshua J. Choi

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

We investigate switching of photoluminescence (PL) from PbS quantum dots (QDs) crosslinked with two different types of photochromic diarylethene molecules, 4,4'-(1-cyclopentene-1,2-diyl)bis[5-methyl-2-thiophenecarboxylic acid] (1H) and 4,4'-(1-perfluorocyclopentene-1,2-diyl)bis[5-methyl-2-thiophenecarboxylic acid] (2F). Our results show that the QDs crosslinked with the hydrogenated molecule (1H) exhibit a greater amount of switching in photoluminescence intensity compared to QDs crosslinked with the fluorinated molecule (2F). With a combination of differential pulse voltammetry and density functional theory, we attribute the different amount of PL switching to the different energy levels between 1H and 2F molecules which result in different potential barrier …

A Structure From Motion Photogrammetric Method For Continuously Measuring And Tracking The Deformations Of Soils During Triaxial Testing, Xiaolong Xia

Doctoral Dissertations

"Measuring soil deformation characteristics during triaxial testing is an important part of characterizing the stress-strain behavior of both saturated and unsaturated soils. The total and local deformations and volume changes of a soil specimen are indispensable parameters that need to be measured and are of great significance for understanding volume change and shear strength characteristics of the soil. Over the past several decades, numerous efforts have been made to measure the soil deformations during triaxial testing. However, it remains a great challenge for researchers to measure the volume-changes of unsaturated soils due to the existence of the air phase.

This …

Comprehensive Investigation Of Using Tire-Derived Aggregate In Chip Seal Subjected To Various Traffic And Environmental Conditions, Alireza Pourhassan

Doctoral Dissertations

"Chip seal is one of the most cost- and performance-effective pavement preservation treatments commonly used in the United States. Using crumb rubber obtained from scrap tires as a partial or full replacement for mineral aggregate has been proposed as a sustainable solution to reduce the negative environmental impacts of scrap tire accumulation and excessive consumption of natural resources. However, there was no data available regarding the performance of rubberized chip seal under traffic loads and environmental conditions. An extensive study using laboratory specimens and conditioning as well as field implementation and assessments were conducted to bridge this gap. Different traffic …

Sustainable Cementitious Materials For Building And Sorption Applications, Sukanta Kumar Mondal

Doctoral Dissertations

"Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is the most widely used cement material, but it contributes over 8% of the global CO₂ emission and the process is energy intensive. Moreover, OPC faces durability challenges, particularly in aggressive environments. Hence, there is rapidly increasing interest in sustainable alternative cements with lower carbon footprint, lower energy consumption, and those that offer superior properties that are beneficial for specific applications. Two sustainable cementitious materials that are frequently researched as an alternative to OPC are calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement and alkali-activated materials (AAMs). CSA cement lowers CO₂ emission by over 40% compared to OPC, …

Novel Supercritical Biodiesel Plant Design & Process Scale-Up, Ghana Shyam Paudel

Doctoral Dissertations

"Current energy prices, national energy security, and global climate change fuel our momentum to find efficient advanced fuels choices. In this study, biodiesel processing, and a novel design for next generation biodiesel plants are explored. During a National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps project we identified three creative and profitable improvements to the process: 1. Incorporating Energy intensive separations and reactions 2. Utilizing Low commodity glycerol and 3. Applying process intensification principles.

Current biodiesel processes are catalyzed processes using continuous stir reactors with distillation systems to separate material constituents. We tested a lab-scale nocatalyst supercritical biodiesel process using waste cooking oil …

Advanced Manufacturing Of Nanomaterials For Energy Storage And Biomedical Applications, Hiep Pham

Doctoral Dissertations

"Nanomaterials have emerged as an important component to the advancement of many fields, ranging from advanced energy materials in the energy field to highly sophisticated treatment vehicles in the biomedical field. Understanding the physical behavior of nanomaterials is critical to design materials with excellent properties and performance for the many disciplines in which they are utilized and is necessary to master the various manufacturing processes that influence nanomaterial properties and behavior. This research focused on a fundamental study into the behaviors of newly developed nanomaterials under both conventional and new manufacturing processes for high performance lithium-ion batteries and for advanced …

Characterization Of The Acquisition Parameters Of A Submersible Gamma-Ray Computed Tomography System, Zhongmin Jin

Doctoral Dissertations

"The purpose of this work is to study a component of a submersible gamma-ray computed tomography (CT) system used in the non-destructive testing of irradiated nuclear fuels. The first section of this study proposes two acceleration approaches for rapidly modeling a transmission-type gamma-ray tomography system. The first relies on Monte Carlo simulations with a monodirectionally biased source sampled from a sub-volume of the whole source volume. This method estimates the real count rate using analytical correction factors. The second way of acceleration is based on deterministic calculations that use the Beer-Lambert law and detector response characteristics. It shows that both …

Novel Uses Of Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing For Geo-Mechanical Monitoring, Samuel Vincent Nowak

Doctoral Dissertations

"Rock mass monitoring in underground excavations is crucial for ensuring workplace safety and efficiency. As mines become deeper and more complex, the need to monitor larger volumes of rock during mining becomes impractical with existing instruments due to high costs. Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing (DOFS) is a powerful technology with advantages like long sensor length, real-time measurement capabilities, ease of installation, low cost, and distributed measurement. However, its application in rock mass monitoring is limited, especially in the mining industry. This study addresses a major gap in DOFS technology, specifically the inability of long-range distributed optical fiber strain sensors to …

Monitoring And Control Of Coal Dust Exposure Using Low-Cost Pm Sensors And Computational Fluid Dynamics, Nana Kobina Amoako Amoah

Doctoral Dissertations

"Overexposure to respirable coal mine dust has been linked to causing serious health problems including coal workers pneumoconiosis (CWP) and chronic massive fibrosis. The prevalence of these health problems has been on the increase since the 2000s due to increased exposure levels with roof bolter operators having the highest exposure levels. The currently used PDM3700 is too expensive, heavy and bulky which limits their use only for regulatory monitoring failing to measure miners’ personal exposure levels. Also, since roof bolter operators are more prone to elevated coal dust levels, the canopy air curtain (CAC) was developed to protect then high …

Modeling And Analysis Methods For Esd And Emi Problems, Xin Yan

Doctoral Dissertations

"Electrostatic discharge (ESD) failures and Electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems are becoming more critical in electronic devices and large systems. In this work, four studies are presented to model and analyze ESD and EMI problems.

First, a simplified physical-based model for deep-snapback transient voltage suppressors (TVS) is developed. While based on physics, the number of parameters and components is minimized. Results show that the proposed model captures the most important behaviors of the TVS response using a limited number of parameters, allowing the model to be tuned relatively easily using data obtained only from package-level transient and quasi-static measurements. Second, a …

Investigation Of Asphaltene Instability Under Gas Injection In Unconventional Reservoirs And Its Impact On Oil Recovery Performance, Mukhtar Elturki

Doctoral Dissertations

"Unconventional reservoirs, such as shale gas and tight oil formations, have become an important source of energy in recent years. However, these reservoirs often contain high levels of asphaltenes, which can lead to deposition and blockages in production wells and reduce the flow of hydrocarbons during gas enhanced oil recovery (GEOR) techniques. This study aims to experimentally evaluate the impact of miscible and immiscible carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrogen (N₂) on asphaltene deposition and its impact on oil recovery performance in unconventional shale reservoirs.

This research began with a comprehensive literature review and data analysis of GEOR methods in unconventional …

Melt Pool Feature Extraction, A State-Space Model And Spatial Layer-To-Layer Control For Powder Bed Fusion, Xin Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

"Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) is an Additive Manufacturing (AM) technique which can reduce material waste and is a fast-prototyping technique for complex geometries. However, the lack of consistent quality is a major problem in industrial applications. An InfraRed (IR) camera is a common tool to monitor a surface temperature field and melt pool morphology in PBF. With melt pool features from camera videos, manufacturing researchers use spatial feature maps to visualize defect locations and control researchers use layer-to-layer control to achieve more uniform melt pools and less defects.

Paper I presents a simulation method to characterize the effect of down-sampling …

A Human-Centered Framework For Oncological Healthcare System Modeling Applied To Mobile Radiation Delivery, Alex Price

Doctoral Dissertations

"Healthcare systems engineering is challenging due to the complexity, geographic expansiveness, inertial properties, and the heterogeneous sub-systems, with varying vested interests. Additionally, humans comprise many of the forms and functions, and are independent, with resistance and uncertainty in their decision-making that adds complexity. Human-centered systems modeling approaches are therefore needed to capture this unique aspect of a healthcare system and to enhance understanding of emergent healthcare properties. This dissertation focuses on integrating systems modeling within healthcare and emphasizes the importance of incorporating human decision-making. Moreover, the incorporation of a human-centered approach yields particularly valuable insights into the decision-making processes that …

Low-Shrinkage Fiber-Reinforced Concrete For Infrastructure Construction And Rehabilitation, Jingjie Wei

Doctoral Dissertations

"The aim of this study is to develop two classes of low-shrinkage high-performance concrete (HPC): fiber-reinforced super workable concrete (FR-SWC) for infrastructure construction and fiber-reinforced self-consolidating concrete (FR-SCC) for repair applications. HPC with excess content of shrinkage mitigation materials (SMMs), including shrinkage-reducing admixture (SRA), superabsorbent polymer (SAP), and expansive agent (EA) has a detrimental effect on mechanical performance. These classes of HPC were optimized to reduce shrinkage, enhance mechanical properties, and improve durability. The effect of fiber type (macro synthetic fiber, MSF; 5D steel fiber, 5D; 80% 3D + 20% short steel fibers; STST), SMMs, and plastic viscosity on bond …

The Comprehensive Study Of High Viscosity Friction Reducers In High-Tds And High-Temperature Environments, Xiaojing Ge

Doctoral Dissertations

"High viscosity friction reducers (HVFRs) have been recently gaining more attention and increasing in use, not only as friction-reducing agents but also as proppant carriers. Reusing of produced water has also been driven by both environmental and economic benefits. Currently, most friction reducers on the market are anionic friction reducers, which are fully compatible with most produced water with low to medium level of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) but show a significant drop at high TDS conditions in term of their friction reduction performance in most cases. On the contrary, cationic friction reducers are believed to have better TDS tolerance …

Material Models For Simulation Of Steel Hot Rolling Process Using Experimentally Determined Properties At Elevated Temperatures And Strain Rates, Siva Sai Krishna Dasari

Doctoral Dissertations

"Hot rolling is one of the most important and complex process that includes large material deformation, different contact conditions, complex geometries and different temperature gradients along with micro structural changes such as viscoplasticity, dynamic recrystallization, and static softening. In the present work, the viscoplasticity, damage evolution, static softening and void closure of alloyed metal during hot rolling process was numerically investigated. Gleeble^TM hot compression and double hit tests were performed to provide experimental stress-strain curves at recrystallization temperatures and at different strain rates. Johnson-Cook viscoplastic model was calibrated using experimental stress-strain curves. Static softening model was developed at varying …

Additive Manufacturing Of Steel And Aluminum Structures: Modeling And Experiments, Manoj Kumar Reddy Rangapuram

Doctoral Dissertations

"Additive manufacturing (AM) is defined as the process of joining materials to make objects from three-dimensional model data. Complex geometries can be easily manufactured compared to conventional subtractive methods with more freedom and flexibility in the design process. As the demand for AM process increased, it has become critical to understand the process and various parameters that constitute in affecting the quality of the manufactured part. Conducting experiments can be time intensive and costly to optimize a process. Modeling can be used as an aid to optimize, examine, and predict the process outcome.

The objective of this study is (i) …

Integrated Study Of Heat Transfer And Local Gas Dynamics In A Pebble Bed Very High Temperature Nuclear Reactor Using Advance Measurement Techniques, Muhna N. Alshammari

Doctoral Dissertations

"The aim of this study, pebbles of diameter of 5 cm and a pebble-to-diameter ratio (aspect ratio) of 6 were used. In part I, the local gas velocities were studied at different radial and axial locations in the pebble bed using a sophisticated hot wire anemometry (HWA) technique, which was supported with a novel probe-protector case to protect the fragile probe, allowing the measurements to be taken between the pebbles for the first time. The local gas velocities were found to be significantly higher in the near wall region due to the higher void fractions in the near-wall region, compared …

Effects Of Electron Beam Irradiation On Crmnv And Crmntiv High Entropy Alloys: Nano-Mechanical, Structural, And Thermodynamic Perspectives, N. A. Sultana, Y. S. Mohammed, S. J. Pendleton, J. Vennekate, G. Ciovati, X. Li, H. Baumgart, A. A. Elmustafa

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Beam exit windows are crucial components of any particle accelerator as they provide an interface between the beamline vacuum and target material at atmospheric media. For high beam power machines, special materials and designs are required to withstand high radiation and mechanical loads, while minimizing energy loss during transition and maximizing window lifetime. This research investigates the impact of electron beam exposure to bulk CrMnV and CrMnTiV high entropy alloys (HEAs) with the primary goal of identifying suitable candidate materials for the design of robust and durable exit window settings. The selection criteria include intrinsic characteristics, power dissipation, and mechanical …

Prediction Of Anomalous Events With Data Augmentation And Hybrid Deep Learning Approach, Ahmed Shoyeb Raihan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this study, we propose a novel anomaly detection framework designed specifically for Multivariate Time Series (MTS) data, addressing the prevalent challenges in analyzing such complex datasets. The detection of anomalies within MTS data is notably difficult due to the complex interplay of numerous variables, temporal dependencies, and the common issue of class imbalance, where one category significantly outnumbers another. Traditional deep learning (DL) approaches often fall short in simultaneously tackling these issues. Our framework is designed to address these challenges through a two-phased approach. Phase I employs Conditional Tabular Generative Adversarial Networks (CTGAN) to create strategic synthetic data, setting …

High-Pressure Ignition And Flame Propagation – An Experimental And Numerical Study, James Shaffer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The next generation of advanced combustion devices is being developed to operate under ultra-high-pressure conditions, to improve combustion efficiency and reduce pollutant emissions. However, at such extreme conditions, flame tends to become unstable, and measurement of fundamental properties becomes challenging. The laminar burning speed ( ) is among those properties, as it is required for the validation of kinetic models and the modeling of turbulent combustion. One potential method to resolve this issue and achieve measurement at very high pressures (i.e., 20-50 atm), is focusing on ignition affected region. The flame kernel in this region is more resistant to perturbations …

Joint Learning Of Unknown Safety Constraints And Control Policies In Reinforcement Learning, Lunet Abiye Yifru

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Reinforcement learning (RL) has revolutionized decision-making across a wide range of domains over the past few decades. Yet, deploying RL policies in real-world scenarios presents the crucial challenge of ensuring safety. Traditional safe RL approaches have predominantly focused on incorporating predefined safety constraints into the policy learning process. However, this reliance on predefined safety constraints poses limitations in dynamic and unpredictable real-world settings where such constraints may not be available or sufficiently adaptable. Bridging this gap, we propose a novel approach that concurrently learns a safe RL control policy and identifies the unknown safety constraint parameters of a given environment. …

Evaluation Of 50’ Frp Truss Bridges With Timber Decks, Maxwell Browning Carey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have become mainstream structural materials and are being utilized in many different structural applications because of their outstanding thermos-mechanical properties and other characteristics. These characteristics include exceptional corrosion resistance, energy absorption, durability, high strength-to-weight, stiffness-to-weight ratios, and others. Also, FRP composites are cost effective especially when accounting for the service life of such a material.

In this study, testing and analysis were performed at both the component as well as a structural system levels. Herein, two FRP truss bridges of different widths with 50 ft. spans underwent extensive testing and analysis in accordance with AASHTO specifications. …

Milk Collection Problem: Integrating The Traveling Salesman And Set Covering Problem - A Case Study In West Virginia, Usa, Md Rabiul Hasan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Route determination for perishable products is complex due to its unique characteristics, such as limited shelf-life regulatory requirements, or possibility of getting damaged. This research investigates a novel problem of collecting raw milk from a rural network of dairy farms. The research problem is grounded in a real scenario of milk collection in West Virginia, USA. The milk in this scenario is produced by small farms incapable of realizing transportation economies of density out in mostly rural areas throughout the state. Maximum coverage area and milk processing overhead costs are used to identify suitable locations for intermediate milk collection centers …

Far-Field Passive Wireless Sensors Composed Of Electroceramic Materials For Harsh Environment Applications, Kevin M. Tennant

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The demand for high temperature sensing technologies in industrial applications has been steadily increasing, driven by the need for precise monitoring and control in extreme environments. This thesis presents an investigation into the development and optimization of passive wireless sensors for high temperature sensing applications. The research focuses on overcoming the challenges associated with traditional sensing methods by leveraging passive wireless sensor technology, offering advantages such as reduced complexity, improved reliability, and enhanced flexibility.

A passive wireless high temperature sensor for far-field applications was developed for stable temperature sensing up to 1000 °C. The goal is to leverage the properties …

Low Power Remote Sensing System For Ceramic Thermocouples, Syed Khaleduzzaman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The ceramic thermocouple sensor is a promising alternative to traditional thermocouple due to their corrosion resistance and cost-effective manufacturing. Currently, no electronic Interface or Integrated Circuit solution is commercially available which can be used to interface these thermocouples at low-cost and low power for accurate temperature measurement. An electronic system is needed to use these ceramic sensors which consumes less amount of power for an extensive period of time with remote monitoring option.

This thesis proposes a low-power electronic remote sensing system that works for ceramic thermocouples. The system consists of three parts. They are battery-operated sensor node electronic circuit, …