Engineering Commons^™

An Engineering Approach For Evaluating The Lifetime Experience Of Sex Trafficking Victimization, Kimberly Starr Nagulpelli

Dissertations

This research is an original approach that applies industrial engineering and operations research tools to the sociological problem of sex trafficking victimization. Such an approach enables quantitative evaluation of the impacts on an individual’s lifetime by anti-trafficking efforts and public policies.

A fully interconnected, lifetime model for the experience of sex trafficking victimization is defined as the result of a comprehensive review of literature. Beginning with victimization risk, the defined model is an anticipatory tool to understand the incidences and consequences to individuals during their lifetime. This research develops the model further into a Discrete-Time Markov Chain (DTMC) with definitions …

Gradient-Based Trade-Off Design For Engineering Applications, Lena A. Royster, Gene Hou

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The goal of the trade-off design method presented in this study is to achieve newly targeted performance requirements by modifying the current values of the design variables. The trade-off design problem is formulated in the framework of Sequential Quadratic Programming. The method is computationally efficient as it is gradient-based, which, however, requires the performance functions to be differentiable. A new equation to calculate the scale factor to control the size of the design variables is introduced in this study, which can ensure the new design achieves the targeted performance objective. Three formal approaches are developed in this study for trade-off …

Preliminary Bond Capacity Exploration Between Monolayer Graphene And Cementitious Composites, Yanping Zhu, Chuanrui Guo, Genda Chen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This Study Aims to Explore Bond Capacity between Monolayer Graphene and Cementitious Composites for the First Time through a Pullout Test. the Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition Method Was Used to Synthesize Monolayer Graphene on the Copper Substrate to Be Embedded in the Mortar Made by the Briquette Mold. the Bond Capacity between Them Was Higher Than the Tensile Strength of the Copper Sheet with As-Grown Monolayer Graphene on the Surface Since All Specimens Failed in Fracture with Embedment Length of More Than 30 Mm. the Monolayer Graphene Enhanced the Copper Tensile Fracture Stress and Normalized Energy during the Test as …

Coating Condition Detection And Assessment On The Steel Girder Of A Bridge Through Hyperspectral Imaging, Pengfei Ma, Jiaoli Li, Ying Zhuo, Pu Jiao, Genda Chen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The organic coating of bridge steel girders is subjected to physical scratches, corrosion, and aging in natural weathering. The breakdown of the coating may cause serviceability and safety problems if left unnoticed. Conventional coating inspection is time-consuming and lacks information about the coating's chemical integrity. A hyperspectral imaging method is proposed to detect the condition of steel coatings based on coating-responsive features in reflectance spectra. A field test was conducted on the real-world bridge, which shows obvious signs of degradation. The hyperspectral signature enables an assessment of the coating's health and defect severity. The results indicated that the coating scratch …

Fate And Distribution Of Orally-Ingested Ceo2-Nanoparticles Based On A Mouse Model: Implication For Human Health, Xingmao Ma, Xiaoxuan Wang, Lei Xu, Honglan Shi, Hu Yang, Kerstin K. Landrock, Virender K. Sharma, Robert S. Chapkin

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The use of nanoparticles in agrichemical formula and food products as additives has increased their chances of accumulation in humans via oral intake. Due to their potential toxicity, it is critical to understand their fate and distribution following oral intake. Cerium oxide nanoparticle (CeO2NP) is commonly used in agriculture and is highly stable in the environment. as such, it has been used as a model chemical to investigate nanoparticle's distribution and clearance. based on their estimated human exposure levels, 0.15–0.75 mg/kg body weight/day of CeO2NPs with different sizes and surface charges (30–50 nm with negative charge and <25 >nm with positive …

Alkali-Silica Reaction Mitigation Using Alternative Supplementary Cementitious Materials, Craig Newtson, Judit M. Garcia, Seyedsaleh Mousavinezhad

Data

Over the past few decades, Class F fly ash has been widely used in concrete as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) due, in part, to its ability to mitigate alkali-silica reaction (ASR). However, future availability of fly ash is uncertain as the energy industry shifts towards renewable sources, resulting in the closure of coal-burning power plants. Therefore, there is a growing need to find alternatives to fly ash that are both cost effective and environmentally friendly. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of ground-granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), metakaolin, and a locally available natural pozzolan mined from a pumicite …

Accelerated Sulfate Attack Testing For Concrete, Craig Newtson, Seyedsaleh Mousavinezhad, William Toledo, Federico Aguayo

Data

Extensive research has been conducted on sulfate attack of concrete structures, however, the need to adopt use of more sustainable materials is driving a need for a quicker test method to assess sulfate resistance. Class F fly ash, which is a byproduct of coal combustion for electricity generation, has historically been used in concrete mixtures to improve sulfate resistance. However, environmental considerations and evolving energy industry has decreased its availability, requiring the identification of economically viable and environmentally friendly alternatives to fly ash. Another challenge in addressing sulfate attack durability issues in concrete is that the standard sulfate attack test …

Alkali-Silica Reaction Mitigation Using Alternative Supplementary Cementitious Materials, Craig Newtson, Judit M. Garcia, Seyedsaleh Mousavinezhad

Publications

Over the past few decades, Class F fly ash has been widely used in concrete as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) due, in part, to its ability to mitigate alkali-silica reaction (ASR). However, future availability of fly ash is uncertain as the energy industry shifts towards renewable sources, resulting in the closure of coal-burning power plants. Therefore, there is a growing need to find alternatives to fly ash that are both cost effective and environmentally friendly. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of ground-granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), metakaolin, and a locally available natural pozzolan mined from a pumicite …

Accelerated Sulfate Attack Testing For Concrete, Craig Newtson, Seyedsaleh Mousavinezhad, William Toledo, Federico Aguayo

Publications

Extensive research has been conducted on sulfate attack of concrete structures, however, the need to adopt use of more sustainable materials is driving a need for a quicker test method to assess sulfate resistance. Class F fly ash, which is a byproduct of coal combustion for electricity generation, has historically been used in concrete mixtures to improve sulfate resistance. However, environmental considerations and evolving energy industry has decreased its availability, requiring the identification of economically viable and environmentally friendly alternatives to fly ash. Another challenge in addressing sulfate attack durability issues in concrete is that the standard sulfate attack test …

Investigating Disparities And Safety Equity In Pedestrian Nighttime Crashes In Michigan, Sia Isaria Mwende

Masters Theses

For the past eleven years (2011 - 2021) in Michigan, 76 percent of all fatal pedestrian crashes occurred at night. Over the same period, about 36 percent of pedestrian nighttime crashes were fatal or incapacitating (KA), while only 25 percent of daytime pedestrian crashes were fatal or incapacitating (KA). Previous studies suggest that, overall, poor neighborhoods and racial minorities are associated with more pedestrian crashes. With more fatal and incapacitating pedestrian crashes occurring at night, it is imperative to examine how these crashes are distributed by economic status and racial makeup. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the racial and …

Assessing Boil Water Notices As Health-Risk Communication: Risk Perceptions, Efficacy, And Compliance During Winter Storm Uri, Ashleigh M. Day, Sydney O'Shay, Khairul Islam, Matthew W. Seeger, Shawn P. Mcelmurry

Open Data at Wayne State

Winter Storm Uri was an extreme disaster that impacted much of the United States during February of 2021. Texas and Oklahoma were generally not prepared for such an event and experienced massive power grid failures. This led to cascading risks including water system disruptions and many boil water notices (BWNs). The breakdown of some communication channels and the inability to enact protective actions due to power outages, as well as travel limitations on public roads, complicated both dissemination and implementation. Under these conditions, a non-representative, cross-sectional, survey was collected to assess individuals experience BWNs and how perceived efficacy impacts compliance. …

Freeze-Thaw Damage Assessment Of Engineered Cementitious Composites Using The Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Method, Ru Bai, Shuguang Liu, Changwang Yan, Ji Zhou, Lihe Lu, Lin Li

Civil and Architectural Engineering Faculty Research

The mechanical properties of engineered cementitious composites (ECC) in service in cold regions can be significantly degraded by periodic freezing and thawing. In this work, the damage degree of freeze–thaw of ECC was systematically assessed by using the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique. In addition, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Relaxometry measurements were also performed to obtain pore structure parameters, and the uniaxial tensile tests were also carried out to analyse the tensile performance after freeze–thaw cycles. From the acquired results, it was demonstrated that the EIS behaviour of ECC varied with the freeze–thaw cycles. The diameter of the Nyquist curve …

Biopolymer-Based Sustainable Food Packaging Materials: Challenges, Solutions, And Applications, Kalpani Y. Perera, Amit Jaiswal, Swarna Jaiswal

Articles

Biopolymer-based packaging materials have become of greater interest to the world due to their biodegradability, renewability, and biocompatibility. In recent years, numerous biopolymers—such as starch, chitosan, carrageenan, polylactic acid, etc.—have been investigated for their potential application in food packaging. Reinforcement agents such as nanofillers and active agents improve the properties of the biopolymers, making them suitable for active and intelligent packaging. Some of the packaging materials, e.g., cellulose, starch, polylactic acid, and polybutylene adipate terephthalate, are currently used in the packaging industry. The trend of using biopolymers in the packaging industry has increased immensely; therefore, many legislations have been approved …

Finite Element Analysis Of A Coconut (Cocos Nucifera L.) Climbing Mechanism, Arjay O. Afan, Omar F. Zubia, Adrian A. Borja, Ralph Kristoffer B. Gallegos

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

A coconut climber mechanism was subjected to Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to improve its overall design and analyze its strength characteristics. The von Mises stress, total deformation, and factor of safety were evaluated using static structural analysis for the seat and pedal assemblies of the mechanism. The design has a minimum yielding factor of safety of 7.03 for the seat assembly and 12.09 for the pedal assembly. If aluminum is used as an alternative to steel, the prototype's weight can be reduced to at least 64.56% without compromising its strength properties. The weight reduction by using aluminum is expected to …

Paired Storage Distributed Energy System Design For A Local Community Farm, Neil Albert Collison, Lily Goldman

Electrical Engineering

This project considers the design of a renewable energy microgrid for a 19-acre community farm in San Luis Obispo, CA as the farm seeks to increase the magnitude of its electrical loads, and gain back-up electrical capability. The microgrid design will enable lower carbon emissions, reduce demand on the utility grid while saving on energy costs, and provide improved reliability and resiliency to the operator of the community farm. The eventual implementation of the design by a professional engineering entity will allow the community farm to expand its education program to include renewable energy as well as gain notoriety in …

Energy Storage And Communication System, Noah R. Johnson, Marc Wong

Electrical Engineering

The Industrial Power and Controls Lab in Engineering East is welcoming the addition of a new lab course, EE 435. Schneider Electric sponsors this course, which seeks to teach students how to use the Modicon M580 Program Logic Controller (PLC) in various industry use cases. This project is a continuation of previous senior projects and focuses on developing a lab experiment to teach students how to utilize the M580 in an energy storage use case. More specifically, it focuses on the battery management system that oversees the units and exposes students to the various situations this system may encounter during …

Cubicom: Noisy Office Environment Communication Device, Nicholas Alan Maley, Joshua Michael Heeren, Alejandro Peña

Electrical Engineering

The CubiCom is a system that enables secure and clear communication between users in a noisy office space. It can function in any small cubicle within a 12 foot radius. The system consists of a series of wireless headsets for 6 users to transmit and receive audio, and a communication box that facilitates this process. These headsets are noise-dampening, preventing ambient sounds from interrupting conversation and making sure that all parties can hear each other clearly. Line-of-sight (L.O.S.) with each headset is required to have proper communication between users. This feature ensures no one outside of the room can eavesdrop, …

Power Thyristor Controller For Speed Control Of Dc Motor, Alejandra Zapata, Morgan Erich Boehme, Abdullah Mohammed Awidah, Payton Robert Chalstrom

Electrical Engineering

In this work, a Power Thyristor Controller for Speed Control of DC Motor has been developed with the purpose of replacing an existing simulation experiment, aiming to effectively implement the principle of learning by doing. The primary objective of the experiment setup is to illustrate the fundamental principles and operational mechanisms underlying the firing angle and controlled bridge rectifier. The new experiment is taking advantage of the existing FCRO4100 Single Phase Firing Board that was donated to the University by ENERPRO. The pre-programmed microcontroller is connected to the thyristor bridge rectifier that’s powered by 24VAC. Additionally, a DC motor will …

Audio Research Codec, Charlie Sutro

Electrical Engineering

Active Noise and Vibration Control (ANVC) systems are of increasing relevance as urban areas get more densely populated with people and their noise sources. Community noise is of great importance to many forms of transit that aim to bring mobility to a region with minimal subsequent noise pollution. Active Vibration Control (AVC) is an emerging field of research which can be employed to further mitigated unwanted harshness in an acoustic environment by extending the principals of Active Noise Control (ANC)to solid mediums using surface transducers and piezoelectric actuators.

The Audio Research Codec (ARC) is a compact, cost-effective system designed for …

Poster: Integrated Dc Microgrid Testbed For Quality Of Service Evaluation, Yasin Emir Kutlu, Ruairí De Fréin, Malabika Basu, Ali Malik

Conference papers

This study demonstrates a testbed for evaluating the effects of background network traffic on the Round-Trip Times (RTTs) of community-based integrated Direct Current (DC) Microgrid (MG) testbed using real hardware and different networking topologies.

The effects of difference levels of background traffic on the RTT of control packets are demonstrated.

Participation Of Electric Vehicle Aggregators In Wholesale Electricity Markets: Recent Works And Future Directions, Saeed Salimi Amiri, Fazlur Rahman Bin Karim, Pedro Cesar Lopes Gerum

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Electric Vehicles are key to reducing carbon emissions while bringing a revolution to the transportation sector. With the massive increase of EVs in road networks and the growing demand for charging services, the electric power grid faces enormous system reliability and operation stability challenges. Demand and supply disparities create inconsistency in the smooth delivery of electrical power. As a potential solution, EVs and their charging infrastructure can be aggregated to prevent the unwanted effects on power systems and also facilitate ancillary services to the power grid. When not need for transportation purposes, EVs can leverage their batteries for power grid …

Decomposition Of The Wall-Heat Flux Of Compressible Boundary Layers, Dongdong Xu, Pierre Ricco, Lian Duan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We use the method developed by Elnahhas and Johnson ["On the enhancement of boundary layer skin friction by turbulence: An angular momentum approach," J. Fluid Mech. 940, A36 (2022)] and Xu et al. ["Decomposition of the skin-friction coefficient of compressible boundary layers," Phys. Fluids 35, 035107 (2023)] for the decomposition of the skin-friction coefficient to integrate the mean temperature equation for high-Reynolds-number compressible boundary layers and arrive at an identity for the decomposition of the wall-heat flux. The physical interpretation of the identity and the limitations of this approach are discussed. We perform an integration on the mean temperature equation …

A Hybrid Admm For Six-Degree-Of-Freedom Entry Trajectory Optimization Based On Dual Quaternions, Chaoying Pei, Changhuang Wan, Ran Dai, Jeremy R. Rea

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This article investigates the six-degree-of-freedom (6-DoF) entry trajectory optimization problem in a Human-Mars entry, powered descent, and landing mission. During the entry phase, aerodynamic forces are employed to decelerate the vehicle. Instead of being treated as a point mass, both translational and rotational motions of the entry vehicle are considered. Specifically, the 6-DoF rigid body motion of the entry vehicle is modeled using the unit dual quaternion representations to avoid highly nonlinear terms in the flight dynamics expression originally based on the flight-path coordinates. Then, the entry trajectory optimization problem is to minimize the terminal speed subject to dynamical, operational, …

Co-Simulation Of Electric Power Distribution Systems And Buildings Including Ultra-Fast Hvac Models And Optimal Der Control, Evan S. Jones, Rosemary E. Alden, Huangjie Gong, Dan M. Ionel

Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Research

Smart homes and virtual power plant (VPP) controls are growing fields of research with potential for improved electric power grid operation. A novel testbed for co-simulation of electric power distribution systems and distributed energy resources (DERs), is employed to evaluate VPP scenarios and propose an optimization procedure. DERs of specific interest include behind-the-meter (BTM) solar photovoltaic (PV) systems as well as heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. Simulation of HVAC systems is enabled by a machine learning procedure that produces ultra-fast models for electric power and indoor temperature of associated buildings that are up to 133 times faster than typical …

Data From: Shallow-Water Habitat In The Lower Columbia River Estuary: A Highly Altered System, Will Templeton, David Jay, Heida Diefenderfer, S. A. Talke

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Datasets

This is the dataset to accompany the article, Shallow-Water Habitat in the Lower Columbia River Estuary: A Highly Altered System [Data set], accepted for publication in Estuaries and Coasts.

OVERVIEW OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL DATA FILES:

The files include water level data for 26 locations across varying time frames, as described below, and Columbia and Willamette River discharge measurements and estimates for observed, naturalized, and adjusted flows.

All water levels:

1. All water levels are reported as six-minute interpolated water level records derived from measured water levels. 2. The first column is date-time with date and time separated by a …

Polyflowbuilder: An Intuitive Tool For Academic Planning At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Duncan Thomas Applegarth

Computer Engineering

PolyFlowBuilder is a web application that lets users create visually intuitive flowcharts to aid in academic planning at Cal Poly. These flowcharts can be customized in a variety of ways to accurately represent complex academic plans, such as double majors, minors, taking courses out- of-order, etc. The original version of PolyFlowBuilder, released Summer 2020, was not written for continued expansion and growth. Therefore, a complete rewrite was determined to be necessary to enable the project to grow in the future. This report details the process to completely rewrite the existing version of PolyFlowBuilder over the course of six months, using …

Analog Circuits For Computing, Nicole Christine Pickett, Lauren Cathy Sueko Chun, Dillon Ryan Nguyen

Electrical Engineering

This project entails designing, simulating, and verifying analog circuits that can perform essential computing functions for power systems applications. The project aims to remedy critical challenges associated with handling calculations digitally, namely, time and power. This project's scope includes creating a library of circuits in SPICE that can be used to model and simulate complex mathematical equations. From these SPICE models, the circuit can be constructed physically, where the solution can be generated in less time using less power than doing the computation digitally. The performance and efficiency of analog computing will be measured and compared to conventional digital methods.

Detecting Alzheimer's Disease Using Artificial Neural Networks, Sally Lee, Mia Keegan

Electrical Engineering

This project aims to use artificial neural networks (ANN) in order to detect Alzheimer’s disease. More specifically, convolutional neural networks (CNN) will be utilized as this is the most common ANN and has been used in many different image processing applications. The purpose of using artificial neural networks as a detect method is so that an intelligent way for image and signal analysis can be used. A software that implements CNN will be developed so that users in medical settings can utilize this software to detect Alzheimer’s in patients. The input for this software will be the patient’s MRI scans. …

Low-Cost Portable Laser Communication Device, Tom Elkayam, Basile Louis Scoffie

Electrical Engineering

The portable laser communication device (PLCD), is a low cost system used to set up networks in data isolated regions via an optical line-of-sight communications protocol. In this manner the PLCD transmits at 9600 baud using UART protocol over the visible light band at 635nm. The device is intended to operate in indoor conditions and be semi-permanent until redeployed. The PLCD is built as a transmitter, receiver pair and when installed, utilizes tracking to find each other and automatically set up communication within a window of 30° laterally and 10° vertically. Each side of the system is less than 15 …

Variable Frequency Motor Drive Application, Jason G. Milne, Nick Mark

Electrical Engineering

This project entails the development of an electrical engineering undergraduate lab module focusing on utilizing a variable frequency drive (VFD) controlled with a programmable logic controller (PLC) — the Modicon M580. The variable frequency drive is a device that is able to automatically change the frequency of an object through automation without having to physically change the device that is being controlled (ex: fans, pumps, motors, etc.). This project will guide students to understand the software for programming and controlling the PLC within a 3 hour laboratory experiment. Throughout the lab, the students will learn how to implement the PLC …