Engineering Commons^™

Engineering Of Microparticle Encapsulated Antioxidant To Mitigate Oxidative Stress In Vitro And In Vivo, Kayla Ney

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Chronic low back pain (cLBP) is one of the leading causes of years lived with disability in the United States. Current treatments for cLBP have variable results across the patient population, and many patients struggle to find consistent relief. Most current treatments focus on the symptom of pain, not the root cause. In painful degenerated discs, oxidative stress and inflammation function in a vicious cycle and perpetuate degeneration, damage, and pain. Therefore, oxidative stress and inflammation are important targets in addressing the source of pain. This work characterizes an antioxidant, BuOE, encapsulated in a chondroitin sulfate microparticle as a novel …

Improving Classification In Single And Multi-View Images, Hadi Kanaan Hadi Salman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Image classification is a sub-field of computer vision that focuses on identifying objects within digital images. In order to improve image classification we must address the following areas of improvement: 1) Single and Multi-View data quality using data pre-processing techniques. 2) Enhancing deep feature learning to extract alternative representation of the data. 3) Improving decision or prediction of labels. This dissertation presents a series of four published papers that explore different improvements of image classification. In our first paper, we explore the Siamese network architecture to create a Convolution Neural Network based similarity metric. We learn the priority features that …

A Unified Understanding Of Minimum Lattice Thermal Conductivity, Yi Xia, Dale Gaines, Jiangang He, Koushik Pal, Zhi Li, Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, Vidvuds Ozolinš, Chris Wolverton

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We propose a first-principles model of minimum lattice thermal conductivity based on a unified theoretical treatment of thermal transport in crystals and glasses.

Generation Of Plasma With A Rotating Electric Field, Franklin Price Mosely

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Nonthermal plasma generation is an important area of research that has many applications ranging from semiconductor production to medical applications including the treatment of cancers and sterilization of surfaces. Specific radicals and excited species and discharge powers are critical for the successful completion of these processes. It is important that these excited species are shown to be achievable for a given discharge system without leading to instabilities such as arcing.

The present thesis details the design, fabrication, testing, and analysis of a novel plasma generation system based on multiphase excitation. As predicted by theory, the experimental results demonstrate that a …

A Nonlinear-Model-Based High-Bandwidth Current Sensor Design For Switching Current Measurement Of Wide Bandgap Devices, Xia Du, Liyang Du, Yuxiang Chen, Yuqui Wei, Andrea Stratta, H. Alan Mantooth

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

With the growing adoption of wide bandgap devices in power electronic applications, current sensor design for switching current measurement has become more important. The demands for high accuracy, high bandwidth, low cost, compact size, and galvanic isolation pose significant design challenges. The conventional modeling approach for bandwidth analysis of current transformer sensors assumes that the magnetizing inductance remains constant, which does not always hold true in high-frequency operations. This can result in inaccurate bandwidth estimation and affect the overall performance of the current sensor. To address this limitation, this paper provides a comprehensive analysis of nonlinear modeling and bandwidth, considering …

Innovation For The Air: A Brief History Of Worldwide Aviation, Lauren Plumley

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The purpose of this report is to present a brief but comprehensive overview of the variety of innovations related to aviation, and to discuss their impact on scientific progress over the course of human history. Relevant discoveries from the fields of physics and aerodynamics, and the numerous technologies built based upon these discoveries, are discussed over a period ranging from ancient times to the twenty-first century. The scope of this report is an overview of the development of powered and unpowered aircraft, including lighter-than-air, heavier-than-air, and aerospace technologies. Aviation developments were generally not limited to one specific country or person, …

Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Cfd Simulation Of High-Speed Boundary Layers, Michael Tullis

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper presents an investigation of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence models used in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of boundary layer flow and heat transfer in high Mach number flows. This study evaluates an industry standard RANS turbulence model (k-omega SST) and a recently proposed modification to that model (Danis and Durbin [1]), and quantifies the accuracy for predicting high Mach number boundary layer flow. The test cases were previously documented by Duan et al. (2018), who used direct numerical simulation (DNS) to calculate boundary layer flow of an ideal gas over a flat plate at freestream Mach numbers ranging …

Investigation Of Dynamic Hybrid Rans-Les Turbulence Modeling For Cfd Simulation Of A Normal Jet In Crossflow, Cole Simmonds

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The jet in crossflow is a canonical flow feature in many natural and engineered systems, ranging from pollutant dispersal in exhaust discharge to film cooling of high-temperature components in modern propulsion systems. The ability to computationally predict the flow features of jets in crossflow accurately and efficiently is therefore important for analysis and design for a wide variety of applications. In this study the capabilities of the dynamic hybrid RANS-LES (DHRL) turbulence modeling technique are investigated and compared to an industry standard Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes model (k-omega SST) in order to quantify the accuracy and computational cost of the two approaches. …

The Influence Of Pesticides On Us Corn Production Environmental Impact: A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Of Dominant Production Practices, Kyle Marinoni Lawrence

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years there has been increasing interest in reducing agricultural environmental footprints in the United States, particularly for commodity crops like corn grain. Pest management is one aspect of agricultural production that is often identified as having potential for improvement with regard to environmental impact, but there is not a robust body of literature to identify the wide-scale influence of pesticides on yield and environmental impact. In this study, we hypothesized that the use of different classifications of pesticides has a significant impact on the overall environmental impact. To test this, agricultural models were created to represent the dominant …

Understanding And Tuning Magnetism In Van Der Waals Magnetic Compounds, Rabindra Basnet

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The recently discovered two-dimensional (2D) magnetism has attracted intensive attention due to possible magnetic phenomenon arising from 2D magnetism and their promising potential for spintronics applications. The advances in 2D magnetism have motivated the study of layered magnetic materials, and further enhanced our ability to tune their magnetic properties. Among various layered magnets, tunable magnetism has been widely investigated in metal thiophosphates MPX3. It is a class of magnetic van der Waals (vdW) materials with antiferromagnetic ordering persisting down to atomically thin limit. Their magnetism originates from the localized moments due to 3d electrons in transition metal ions. So, their …

Photovoltaics, Batteries, And Silicon Carbide Power Electronics Based Infrastructure For Sustainable Power Networks, Prahaladh Paniyil

All Dissertations

The consequences of climate change have emphasized the need for a power network that is centered around clean, green, and renewable sources of energy. Currently, Photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines are the only two modes of technology that can convert renewable energy of the sun and wind respectively into large-scale power for the electricity network. This dissertation aims at providing a novel solution to implement these sources of power (majorly PV) coupled with Lithium-ion battery storage in an efficient and sustainable approach. Such a power network can enable efficiency, reliability, low-cost, and sustainability with minimum impact to the environment.

The …

Multi-Objective Optimization Framework For Electrified Vehicle Penetration Based On Life Cycle Assessment And Life Cycle Cost., Eva Alondra Diaz Lozano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This research proposed a novel framework for creating optimal transportation scenarios that consider multiple objectives such as minimum greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutant levels, and cost of ownership. The thesis approach is a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm coupled with the AFEET tool, allowing us to efficiently explore the complex trade-offs between these objectives and identify a diverse set of optimal solutions. Through several case studies and a design of experiments, this demonstrates the effectiveness and practicality in different scenarios. This approach has significant implications for policymakers and industry professionals seeking to make sustainable and cost-effective decisions in the transportation sector.

Additive Manufacturing Of Binary And Ternary Shape Memory Polyester Blends As A Pathway Towards High Entropy Polymer Systems., Luis Eduardo Lares Carrillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this work is to incorporate additive manufacturing technology (AM) in the development of shape memory polymer blends. Two polyester blend systems were developed, one binary and the other ternary. The binary blend consisted of polycaprolactone (PCL) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and the ternary blend was composed of PCL, TPU and polylactic acid (PLA). Test specimens were fabricated with the AM technology of fused filament fabrication (FFF). Several tests were performed to characterize the mechanical and shape memory properties. A dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) was first used to establish the shape recovery temperature. Tensile testing was carried out …

A Method For Measuring The Spectral Emissivity Of Metal Powders At Different Temperatures And Applications In Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Emmanuel Levario

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Radiation thermometry monitoring methods used in powder bed fusion additive manufacturing (PBF-AM) are becoming increasingly more popular for quality assurance and repeatability. The dynamic nature of the PBF process and a lack of accuracy of metrics being captured for temperature monitoring lend great difficulty in the successful implementation of in-situ monitoring. There is currently no data on the emissivity, a metric used in non-contact temperature measurements, for metal powders used in AM. This work describes a method for measuring the spectral emissivity for metal powder sizes commonly used in AM using a multi-wavelength (MW), FMPI SpectroPyrometer, calibrated within the spectral …

Sensing Optimization Of Thermoplastics And Ceramics Fabricated Through Additive Manufacturing, Cory Marquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this research is to fabricate and optimize thermoplastic and ceramic materials that can be fabricated for Laser Sintering (LS), Direct Ink Write (DIW), and Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printing. The fabrication of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) thermoplastic particles into spherical allow for better flowability and packing density for LS printing which results in better printability and an increase in mechanical properties. The fabrication of clay ceramic allows the printability application for DIW with the implementation of an embedded wireless temperature and relative humidity sensor. The use of FFF multi-material printing allowed the capabilities of 3D printing a …

Study Of Different Heat Treatments And Aging Conditions For Observing Microstructures And Mechanical Properties Of Lpbf Fabricated F357 Alloy, Victor Adrian Medrano Balderas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Aluminum F357 is a widely used material for casting in the aerospace and additive manufacturing industry. Heat treatments are commonly applied to some aluminum alloys to modify their properties. With a further study on the aging and performance of the F357 with 3D printing technology, several industries benefit from this; military, automotive, and aerospace are some examples because of the numerous components cast in service. This work presents the mechanical properties of F357 specimens fabricated with EOS technology and subjected to heat treatments. Heat treatment conditions were applied to tensile specimens and tested. Furthermore, the specimens were subjected to artificial …

Metal Fused Filament Fabrication: Distortion Compensation & Co2 Electrochemical Reduction, Jean Emmanuel Montes Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Metal fused filament fabrication (MF3) is a rapidly growing additive manufacturing technology that enables the creation of complex metal parts with high accuracy and precision. Copper, a highly conductive metal with various applications in industries such as electronics and aerospace, is a promising material for MF3. In this study, we investigated the use of MF3 copper parts to fabricate copper electrodes for CO2 electrochemical reduction. We examined the post-processing manufacturing process of debinding and sintering to obtain fully 3D printed copper parts in an air environment. Our results demonstrate that MF3 copper parts have high porosity, providing a larger active …

Addressing The Challenged Of Dcop Based Decision-Making Algorithms In Modern Power Systems, Luis Daniel Ramirez Burgueno

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Natural disasters have been determined as the leading cause of power outages, causing not only huge economic losses, but also the interruption of crucial welfare activities and the arise of security concerns. Because of the later, decision-making considering grid modernization, power system economics, and system resiliency has been a crucial theme in power systemsâ?? research. The need to better withstand catastrophic events and reducing the dependency of bulky generating units has propelled the development and better management of behind-the-meter generation or distributed energy resources (DERs). DERs can assist in the grid in different manners, not only by meeting energy demand …

Challenges, Limitations, And Strengths For An Optimal Predictive Maintenance Application, Erick Armando Rosales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution, has emerged as the most recent digital transformation worldwide, expanding and reshaping the manufacturing industry by introducing novel technologies. In Industry 4.0, Smart Manufacturing (SM) and the Internet of Things (IoT) have collaborated to bring the best of both worlds and make the new manufacturing era more cost-effective, automated, and digitized. As a result, many businesses are putting sensors, intricate networks of integrated systems, big data analytics, cloud computing, and storage in place to use predictive maintenance (PdM) best. PdM uses IoT to convert physical activities into digital activities, also known as digitization. Predictive …

Characterization And Modeling Of Unbound And Cementitiously Stabilized Materials For Structural Analysis Of Multilayer Pavement Systems, Edgar Daniel Rodriguez Velasquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The incorporation of cement for soil improvement is a sustainable solution for utilizing marginal materials in the construction of new pavements and the rehabilitation of existing roadway systems. To effectively design and assess the performance of pavement structures, it is crucial to determine the strength and resilient properties of cementitiously stabilized aggregates. Accurate determination of the Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS), tensile strength, and Resilient Modulus (Mr) is of utmost importance for thoroughly characterizing the structural capacity of pavement layers through a mechanistic approach.The tensile strength of stabilized materials can be assessed in a laboratory setting through the implementation of two …

Computational Analysis Of Water Braking Phenomena For High-Speed Sled And Its Machine Learning Framework, Jose A. Terrazas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Specializing in high-speed testing, Holloman High-Speed Test Track (HHSTT) uses a process called "water braking" as a method to bring vehicles at the test track to a stop. This method takes advantage of the higher density of water, compared to air, to increase braking capability through momentum exchange. By studying water braking using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), forces acting on track vehicles can be approximated and prepared for prior to the actual test. In this study, focus will be made on the brake component of the track sled that is responsible for interacting with the water for braking. By discretizing …

Cyber-Physical Production Systems And Their Practical Integration And Application With Simio Software, Jose Carlos Garcia Marquez Basaldua

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Industry 4.0 comprises a diverse array of technologies and components that are revolutionizing the manufacturing industry, from Digital Twins, Cyber-Physical Systems and Augmented Reality. The elements that englobe Industry 4.0 vary from framework to framework. Nevertheless, there are similarities in the available literature on what constitutes Industry 4.0. Some of the most critical components specified by the available literature include Digital Twins and Cyber-Physical Systems. A Factory Digital Twin is a virtual representation of a production system that can mimic the behavior of the physical asset. Moreover, a digital twin must have synchronization with its physical twin (i.e., production floor), …

Optimizing Laboratory Curing Conditions For Hot Mix Asphalt To Simulate Field Behavior, Benjamin Arras

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The engineering properties of asphalt mixtures change with time. Shortly after placement, asphalt concrete (AC) layers are more susceptible to rutting. As the pavement ages, the AC layer becomes stiffer, brittle, and thus more susceptible to cracking. Current protocols provide guidelines for the selection of materials, the determination of the material proportions (e.g., aggregates and binder content), and the evaluation of the engineering properties (e.g., cracking and rutting potentials) of any given asphalt mix design. However, these protocols do not consider the impact of aging on the mixture. This study investigated existing and novel laboratory methods to determine protocols that …

Digitizing Work Instructions Through Technology Using Internet Of Things (Iot), Priscila Balanzar Almazan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Smart manufacturing is fundamentally changing the industry so fast; for this reason, modern industrial processes must be intelligently and digitally automated. Digitalization of work instructions has taken an important role in improving the efficiency of industry and traditional manufacturing processes. TULIP is a frontline operations platform that allows users to digitize operations using friendly apps that operators can deploy in their daily shopfloor processes. This Industry 4.0 tool is important because it optimizes the development of processes by enabling IoT with the use of sensors, connectors, and machines to collect real-time production data. In this research, a manufacturing station equipped …

Evaluation Of Maternal Patient Experience During Covid-19 Using Natural Language Processing, Debapriya Banik

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Healthcare policymakers are constantly investigating how to improve this situation and provide a more patient-centered care. Delivering excellent medical care involves ensuring that patients have a positive experience. Most healthcare organizations use patient survey feedback, like HCAHPS, to measure their patients' experiences. The United States has the highest maternal mortality or morbidity rate of the developed countries, so we used maternal patients as the patient cohort to evaluate various touchpoints. The power of social media can be harnessed to provide researchers with valuable insights into understanding patient's experience and care. We used the "COVID-19Tweets" Dataset, which has over twenty-eight million …

Dual Crosslinked Poly(Acrylamide-Co-N-Vinylpyrrolidone) Microspheres With Re-Crosslinking Ability For Fossil Energy Recovery, Jingyang Pu, Baojun Bai, Jiaming Geng, Na Zhang, Thomas P. Schuman

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Microspheres have been proposed to be applied in controlling wastewater production for mature oilfields and migrating leakage for gas and nuclear waste storage. However, it remains challenging for stacked microspheres to maintain strong blocking ability in micron-sized small pores or fractures. In this study, a novel microsphere was developed with comprehensive properties including high deformability and long re-crosslinking time upon tunable swelling ratio for the applications. A dual covalent and physical crosslinking strategy was used to develop novel microspheres reinforced by a hydrogen bond (H-bond, between pyrrole ring and amide group) and coordination bond (between chromium acetate (CrAc) and carboxyl …

Repeated Low-Level Blast Exposure Alters Urinary And Serum Metabolites, Austin Sigler, Jiandong Wu, Annalise Pfaff, Olajide Adetunji, Paul Ki-Souk Nam, Donald James, Casey Burton, Honglan Shi

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Repeated exposure to low-level blast overpressures can produce biological changes and clinical sequelae that resemble mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). While recent efforts have revealed several protein biomarkers for axonal injury during repetitive blast exposure, this study aims to explore potential small molecule biomarkers of brain injury during repeated blast exposure. This study evaluated a panel of ten small molecule metabolites involved in neurotransmission, oxidative stress, and energy metabolism in the urine and serum of military personnel (n = 27) conducting breacher training with repeated exposure to low-level blasts. The metabolites were analyzed using HPLC—tandem mass spectrometry, and the Wilcoxon …

Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm Based Energy Management System Considering Optimal Utilization Of Grid And Degradation Of Battery Storage In Microgrid, V. Vignesh Babu, J. Preetha Roselyn, Prabha Sundaravadivel

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper develops intelligent energy management in Microgrid using forecasting-based multi-objective optimization using genetic algorithm framework. In this work, the energy storage system is included in Microgrid network, which is essential for effective energy management and smooth power transfer. The developed model incorporates the forecasted values of solar PV and wind generation obtained using time series long short-term memory network for the next 24 h and provides the optimal values of battery and grid powers to meet the deficit of power to meet the demand in the Microgrid. The proposed model incorporates grid power consumption cost and battery degradation cost …

Evaluating The Impact Of Broadband Access And Internet Use In A Small Underserved Rural Community, Javier Valentín-Sívico, Casey I. Canfield, Sarah A. Low, Christel Gollnick

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Having adequate access to the internet at home enhances quality-of-life for households and facilitates economic and social opportunities. Despite increased investment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of households in the rural United States still lack adequate access to high-speed internet. In this study, we evaluate a wireless broadband network deployed in Turney, a small, underserved rural community in northwest Missouri. In addition to collecting survey data before and after this internet intervention, we collected pre-treatment and post-treatment survey data from comparison communities to serve as a control group. Due to technical constraints, some of Turney's interested participants could …

An Introduction To Autocad For Beginners, Zoe L. Mahaney

Construction Management

This paper aims to outline the process of developing and creating an online instructional video tutorial for beginner level individuals who hope to learn and utilize AutoCAD software. AutoCAD, developed by Autodesk, is a computer-aided design software that provides users with the ability to create and edit digital 2D and 3D designs, which is more efficient than traditional hand-drawn models. The main objective of this project is to provide the public with access to learning and navigating AutoCAD software on their own, for personal gain. Construction Management students at Cal Poly have the opportunity to learn and use AutoCAD as …