Engineering Commons^™

Rheological Characterization Of Ultra-High Performance Concrete For 3d Printing, Arun R. Arunothayan, Behzad Nematollahi, Kamal Khayat, Akilesh Ramesh, Jay G. Sanjayan

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The authors recently developed a 3D-printable ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced concrete (3DP-UHPFRC) for additive construction of structural members with significantly reduced reliance on steel bars. This study investigates the rheological behavior of the developed 3DP-UHPFRC. The effects of two major factors affecting the performance of 3DP-UHPFRC, namely steel fiber volume (0, 1%, and 2%) and nano-clay (NC) content (0, 0.1%, and 0.2% by binder mass) on workability, static yield stress, dynamic yield stress, and apparent viscosity were determined. Test results showed that the inclusion of steel fibers and NC reduced the workability and led to a significant increase in the static …

Riverine Commons And Institute Framework Plan, Community Design Center

Community Design Center Project Reports

The nonprofit Watershed Conservation Resource Center is restoring a 98-acre riparian wetland landscape near downtown Fayetteville as a River Commons and Institute. The Framework Plan combines watershed restoration with architecture and urban design to house a river education center, a visitor interpretive center, walking trails, passive recreation facilities including bird watching and canoeing, and outdoor heritage exhibitions. The Plan operates at the intersection of anthropology, ecology, and design in developing a lasting and robust riverine knowledge fund across space and time.

Effect Of Additional Water Or Superplasticizer On Key Characteristics Of Cement Paste Made With Superabsorbent Polymer And Other Shrinkage Mitigating Materials, Kamran Aghaee, Ricarda Sposito, Karl Christian Thienel, Kamal Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The use of superabsorbent polymer (SAP) coupled with expansive agent (EA) or shrinkage-reducing admixture (SRA) can effectively reduce shrinkage of cement-based materials. However, SAP particles at high contents can adversely affect rheological and mechanical properties. Securing proper workability can be accomplished by additional water or adjusting the superplasticizer (SP) demand. There is an uncertainty about the efficiency of these approaches to workability compensation. This study evaluates the effect of additional water or SP on key properties of cement paste made with SAP and relatively high content of EA or SRA. Macro and micro mechanisms underlying the effect of combined shrinkage …

Machine Learning Applications In Malware Classification: A Metaanalysis Literature Review, Tjada Nelson, Austin O'Brien, Cherie Noteboom

Research & Publications

With a text mining and bibliometrics approach, this study reviews the literature on the evolution of malware classification using machine learning. This work takes literature from 2008 to 2022 on the subject of using machine learning for malware classification to understand the impact of this technology on malware classification. Throughout this study, we seek to answer three main research questions: RQ1: Is the application of machine learning for malware classification growing? RQ2: What is the most common machine-learning application for malware classification? RQ3: What are the outcomes of the most common machine learning applications? The analysis of 2186 articles resulting …

Experimental And Computational Analysis Of Broadband Thz Photoconductive Antennas, Zachary Uttley, Jose Santos Batista, Bilal Pirzada, Magda El-Shenawee

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The work presents the fabrication and measurements of four LT-GaAs photoconductive terahertz (THz) antennas with different geometries of metallic electrodes. The goal is to analyze the overall bandwidth of the antennas through a comparison between the spectra of the generated photocurrent in the antenna gap, the radiated electric field THz pulse, and the S₁₁ parameter of the metallic electrodes. The photocurrent density and the S₁₁ parameters are computed using COMSOL multiphysics, while the generated THz pulse was experimentally measured using a time-domain spectroscopy system. The polarizations of the photoconductive antennas are experimentally measured, using x-cut quartz crystal halfwave …

Effect Of Stress Interaction On Multi-Stress Accelerated Life Test Plan: Assessment Based On Particle Swarm Optimization, Ekene Gabriel Okafor, David Ryan Huitink

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Sustainability of products that seek to maintain ecosystem balance, such as electric vehicles or solar system inverters, often require extensive testing during their developmental stages in a manner that minimizes wastage and drives creativity. Multi-stress accelerated test planning is often used for these products, their subsystems and components if their in-service failures are driven by multiple stress factors. Multi-stress accelerated life testing (ALT) often expedites time to failure for highly reliable products. Many studies assume model parameters that may not be appropriate for the considered stress factors. Most importantly, the effect stress interaction has on the ALT plan is often …

Homogeneous Flow Performance Of Steel-Fiber Reinforced Self-Consolidating Concrete For Repair Application: A Biphasic Approach, Naimeh Nouri, Masoud Hosseinpoor, Ammar Yahia, Kamal Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study, fiber-reinforced self-consolidating concrete (FR-SCC) was considered as a diphasic suspension of fiber and coarse aggregate (F-A ≥ 5 mm) skeleton in mortar suspension with solid particles finer than 5 mm. The coupled effect of the volumetric content of fibers, coarse aggregate particle-size distribution, and rheological properties of the mortar on the passing ability and dynamic stability of various FR-SCC mixtures was investigated. Nine high-strength and 10 conventional-strength FR-SCC mixtures for repair application were proportioned with water-to-binder ratios (W/B) of 0.35 and 0.42, respectively, and macro steel fibers of 0.1%–0.5% volumetric contents. The dosages of high-range water-reducer (HRWR) …

Impacts Of Current Limiting On The Transient Stability Of The Virtual Synchronous Generator, Kourosh Gharouni Saffar, Sina Driss, Firouz Badrkhani Ajaei

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

This article investigates the impacts of different current limiting strategies on the transient stability of the virtual synchronous generator (VSG). The power–angle curve of the VSG under different operating conditions is theoretically characterized in detail and experimentally verified through tests conducted on hardware-implemented lab-scale VSGs. It is shown that the reference current saturation approaches prioritizing the current vector angle, the d -axis current, and the q -axis current reshape the VSG power–angle curve in different ways. The resulting impacts on the VSG transient stability are comprehensively investigated through time-domain simulation of a battery energy storage system that is operated as …

Guest Editorial: Transition Towards Deep Decarbonisation Of Modern Energy Systems, Yujian Ye, Can Wan, Chenghong Gu, Dan Wu, Goran Strbac, Hongjian Sun, Peng Zhang, Rui Bo, Yi Tang, Zhongbei Tian

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Process Intensification Strategies For Green Solvent Mediated Biomass Pretreatment, Ahamed Ullah, Yuxuan Zhang, Can Liu, Qi Qiao, Qing Shao, Jian Shi

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Demonstrated to be highly effective for lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment, deep eutectic solvent (DES) has attracted increasing attention owing to its advantages of simple synthesis, relatively low chemical cost, and better biocompatibility as compared to certain ionic liquids. Here we provide a critical review of the status of the design/selection of DES for the pretreatment of biomass feedstocks with an emphasis on the process intensification strategies: 1) integration of microwave, ultrasound, and high solid extrusion for pretreating biomass, 2) one-pot DES pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation, 3) strategies for DES recycling and product recovery; and 4) recent progress on molecular simulations …

Dlr Covid-19 Mobility Review (Phase 2a): Report On Cmr Economic Development & Business Community Feedback, Sarah Rock Dr., Robert Bradshaw Dr., David O'Connor, Odran Reid

Reports

This research reports on the findings from an area focused economic development and business community focused study of the Costal Mobility Route (CMR), which is intended to complement and extend research previously conducted in Phase 1 of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s (DLR’s) ‘Covid-19 Mobility & Public Realm Works’ project. This study is based on participant interviews, and is limited to businesses located directly along the CMR, as well as a number of business groups representing a wider area and a Local Enterprise Office.

While one company reported a significant decline in revenue that they attribute to the CMR, the remainder …

Numerical Modeling Of A Pile-Supported Wharf Subjected To Liquefaction-Induced Lateral Ground Deformations, Milad Souri, Arash Khosravifar, Stephen Dickenson, Nason Mccullough, Scott Schlechter

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Fully-coupled nonlinear dynamic analysis is increasingly used for assessing the seismic performance of pile-supported wharf structures subjected to liquefaction-induced lateral ground deformations. Several numerical challenges exist for analysis of this highly nonlinear soil-structure interaction, which require robust, yet practical, solutions that are validated with experimental data. This study presents a numerical model of a pile-supported wharf and evaluates the applicability of a soil constitutive model, and modeling assumptions and methods by using recorded data from a well-instrumented, large-scale centrifuge test. The objectives of this study include: (a) evaluating the performance of a recently developed pressure-dependent multi-yield surface constitutive soil model …

Proposal For And Validation Of Novel Risk-Based Process To Reduce The Risk Of Construction Site Fatalities (Major Accident Prevention (Map) Program), Roberta Selleck, Marcus Cattani, Maureen Hassall

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Despite developments in the prevention of fatalities in the construction industry, fatalities resulting from well-known hazards continue at an unacceptable rate. Construction fatality prevention literature describes risk management techniques to provide ‘early warning’ of potential events. In dynamic construction project environments, these ‘early warnings’ are missed resulting in serious and fatal events. Critical Control Risk Management (CCRM) provides an alternative strategy to prevent fatal events in the construction industry. However, no research exists that explores the application of CCRM to actual construction projects. This study aims to design, develop, and validate a construction fatality prevention program using CCRM principles through …

Behaviour And Material Properties Of Versaloc Semi-Interlocking Mortarless Masonry, Sonam Dorji, Hossein Derakhshan, David P. Thambiratnam, Tatheer Zahra, Alireza Mohyeddin

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Masonry construction is popular around the world, but the use of mortared masonry presents numerous challenges. In recent decades, masonry construction systems incorporating interlocking masonry units have been proposed to eliminate mortar. The interlocking between masonry units can be achieved using specially shaped units. This paper presents a comprehensive experimental study to determine the behaviour as well as basic material properties of one such semi-interlocking mortarless masonry. The experiments included testings of ungrouted masonry units, prisms, and wallets. In addition, masonry prisms and wallets with grouted cores were also investigated to study the effect of grouting. A detailed description of …

Evaluation, Comparison, And Improvement Recommendations For Caltrans Financial Programming Processes And Tools, Wenbin Wei, Nigel Blampied, Raajmaathangi Sreevijay

Mineta Transportation Institute

The California Transportation Improvement Program System (CTIPS) is the main tool used by Caltrans’ Division of Financial Programming to support the business of transportation programming. It is a multi-agency joint-use project programming database system applied to develop and manage various state and federal transportation programming documents. The goal of this project is to evaluate CTIPS and explore various new options that will maintain the current functionality of CTIPS, meet legislative guidelines for ADA compliance, ensure security of the system, and have sufficient scalability and capabilities for integration with other systems in the future. The research is based on the review …

Site Selection Of Combined Offshore Wind And Wave Energy Farms: A Systematic Review, Shabnam Hosseinzadeh, Amir Etemad-Shahidi, Rodney A. Stewart

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Growing energy demand worldwide and onshore limitations have increased interest in offshore renewable energy exploitation. A combination of offshore renewable energy resources such as wind and wave energy can produce stable power output at a lower cost compared to a single energy source. Consequently, identifying the best locations for constructing combined offshore renewable energy farms is crucial. This paper investigates the technical, economic, social, and environmental aspects of Combined Offshore Wind and Wave Energy Farm (COWWEF) site selection. Past literature was evaluated using a systematic review method to synthesize, criticize, and categorize study regions, dataset characteristics, constraints, evaluation criteria, and …

Digital Twin Applications In 3d Concrete Printing, Yuxin Wang, Farhad Aslani, Arcady Dyskin, Elena Pasternak

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The benefits of 3D concrete printing (3DCP) include reducing construction time and costs, providing design freedom, and being environmentally friendly. This technology is expected to be effective in addressing the global house shortage. This review highlights the main 3DCP applications and four critical challenges. It is proposed to combine 3D concrete printing with Digital Twin (DT) technology to meet the challenges the 3DCP faces and improve quality and sustainability. This paper provides a critical review of research into the application of DT technology in 3DCP, categorize the applications and directions proposed according to different lifecycles, and explore the possibility of …

Using Nanomaterials As Excellent Immobilisation Layer For Biosensor Design, Azeez Olayiwola Idris, Seyi Philemon Akanji, Benjamin O. Orimolade, Foluke Omobola Grace Olorundare, Shohreh Azizi, Bhekie Mamba, Malik Maaza

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The endless development in nanotechnology has introduced new vitality in device fabrication including biosensor design for biomedical applications. With outstanding features like suitable biocompatibility, good electrical and thermal conductivity, wide surface area and catalytic activity, nanomaterials have been considered excellent and promising immobilisation candidates for the development of high-impact biosensors after they emerged. Owing to these reasons, the present review deals with the efficient use of nanomaterials as immobilisation candidates for biosensor fabrication. These include the implementation of carbon nanomaterials—graphene and its derivatives, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanoparticles, carbon nanodots—and MXenes, likewise their synergistic impact when merged with metal oxide nanomaterials. …

A Novel Data-Driven Method For Two-Dimensional Angles Finding Via Uniform Rectangular Array With Automatic Pairing, Yanming Zhang, Lijun Jiang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new hybrid dynamic mode decomposition (HDMD) algorithm is proposed to estimate the azimuth and elevation angles of multiple independent sources for two-dimensional (2D) massive MIMO systems with the uniform rectangular array (URA). To this end, the proposed hybrid scheme integrates the modified DMD with the augmented DMD. By treating the received data as spatial-spatial correlated signals, the modified DMD is first used to decompose these signals into spatial DMD spectrum and corresponding spatial dynamic modes. The obtained spatial DMD spectrum directly yields the electrical angle in the y-direction. Then, the corresponding electrical angle in the x-direction is computed using …

Enhanced Two-Step Deep-Learning Approach For Electromagnetic-Inverse-Scattering Problems: Frequency Extrapolation And Scatterer Reconstruction, Huan Huan Zhang, He Ming Yao, Lijun Jiang, Michael Ng

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The electromagnetic-inverse-scattering (EMIS) problem is solved by a novel two-step deep-learning (DL) approach in this article. The newly proposed two-step DL approach not only predicts the multifrequency EM scattered field, but also overcomes the limitation of the conventional methods for solving EMIS problems, such as expensive computational cost, strong ill-conditions, and invalidity on high contrast. In the first step, the complex-valued deep residual convolutional neural network (DRCNN) is utilized to predict multifrequency EM scattered fields only using single-frequency EM scattered field information. Based on a new complex-valued deep convolutional encoder-decoder (DCED) structure, the second step utilizes the obtained multifrequency EM …

Laboratory-Scale Investigation On Shear Behavior Of Non-Persistent Joints And Joint Infill Using Lattice-Spring-Based Synthetic Rock Mass Model, Mariam Al-E'Bayat, Taghi Sherizadeh, Dogukan Guner

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Discontinuities Mainly Control the Mechanical Behavior of Rock Mass and Cause a Significant Reduction in the Rock Mass Strength. Joint Persistency and Joint Infill Conditions Are Considered the Most Significant Joint Parameters that Control the Mechanical Response of Rock Mass. in This Study, Numerical and Statistical Analyses Were Performed on Pre-Cracked Specimens with Two Flaws to Investigate the Effect of Joint Persistence Parameters on Shear Strength. in Addition, an Extensive Study Was Conducted to Explore the Effect of Infilled Mineral Strength, Infill Thickness, and Infill Wall Roughness on Shear Strength. the Lattice-Spring-Based Synthetic Rock Mass (LS-SRM) Approach Was Utilized to …

Water-Cased Kicker Charges For Use In Explosive Demolition, Rachel L. Bauer, Paul Pitzel, Emily M. Johnson, Catherine E. Johnson

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Demolition Projects Involving Explosives Often Incorporate Cutting Charges to Sever Columns in Conjunction with Kicker Charges that "Move" the Columns Out of Alignment. Traditional Kicker Charges Use Dynamite Secured to the Column above a Linear-Shaped Cutting Charge. This Study Investigates the Use of Water-Cased Kicker Charges for Use in Explosive Demolition. the Goal is to Reduce the Fragmentation of Steel Members and the Quantity of Explosive Needed Due to the Increased Density, Incompressibility, and Impedance Mismatch Water Provides. Simulations and Experimental Tests Were Utilized to Determine What Type of Charges Provide the Optimal Column Movement and Water Placement. Water Charges …

Customised Multi-Energy Pricing: Model And Solutions, Qiuyi Hong, Fanlin Meng, Jian Liu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

With the increasing interdependence among energies (e.g., electricity, natural gas and heat) and the development of a decentralized energy system, a novel retail pricing scheme in the multi-energy market is demanded. Therefore, the problem of designing a customized multi-energy pricing scheme for energy retailers is investigated in this paper. In particular, the proposed pricing scheme is formulated as a bilevel optimization problem. At the upper level, the energy retailer (leader) aims to maximize its profit. Microgrids (followers) equipped with energy converters, storage, renewable energy sources (RES) and demand response (DR) programs are located at the lower level and minimize their …

Selection Of Solidification Pathway In Rapid Solidification Processes, Nima Najafizadeh, Men G. Chu, Yijia Gu

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Rapid Solidification Processing of Alloys Enables the Formation of Exotic Nonequilibrium Microstructures. However, the Interrelationship between the Processing Parameters and the Resulting Microstructure is Yet to Be Fully Understood. in Melt Spinning (MS) and Additive Manufacturing (AM) of Rapidly Solidified Alloys, Opposite Microstructure Development Sequences Were Observed. a Fine-To-Coarse Microstructural Transition is Typically Observed in Melt-Spun Ribbons, Whereas Melt Pools in AM Exhibit a Coarse-To-Fine Transition. in This Paper, the Microstructural Evolutions during These Two Processes Are Investigated using Phase-Field Modeling. the Variation of All Key Variables of the Solid-Liquid Interface (Temperature, Composition, and Velocity) throughout the Entire Rapid Solidification …

Effect Of Class C And Class F Fly Ash On Early-Age And Mature-Age Properties Of Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement Paste, Sukanta K. Mondal, Carrie Clinton, Hongyan Ma, Aditya Kumar, Monday Uchenna Okoronkwo

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

To Promote the Sustainable Development of Eco-Efficient Calcium Sulfoaluminate (CSA) Cements through the Partial Replacement of the CSA Clinker with Supplementary Cementitious Waste Products, the Effects of Coal Fly Ashes on the Early-Age and Mature-Age Properties of a Calcium Sulfoaluminate (CSA)-Based Cement Paste Were Investigated. the Impacts of Both Class C and Class F Fly Ashes on the Rheological Properties, Hydration Kinetics, and Compressive Strength Development of CSA Cement Paste Were Studied. Rheology-Based Workability Parameters, Representing the Rate of Loss of Flowability, the Rate of Hardening, and the Placement Limit, Were Characterized for the Pastes Prepared with Fixed Water-To-Cement (W/c) …

A Systematic Design Approach For Bulk Gel Treatments Based On Gel Volume-Concentration Ratio In Field Projects, Munqith Aldhaheri, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Controlling excessive water production in mature oil fields has always been a desired objective of the oil and gas industry. This objective calls for planning of more effective water-control gel treatments with optimized designs to obtain more attractive outcomes. Unfortunately, planning such effective treatments remains a dilemma for reservoir engineers due to the lack of methodical design tools in the industry. This paper presents a novel systematic design approach for polyacrylamide-Based bulk gel treatments by classifying their field projects according to the gel volume-concentration ratio (VCR) into three design types. in terms of one another, the approach estimates either the …

A Multiple Association-Based Unsupervised Feature Selection Algorithm For Mixed Data Sets, Ayman Taha, Ali S. Hadi, Bernard Cosgrave, Susan Mckeever

Articles

Companies have an increasing access to very large datasets within their domain. Analysing these datasets often requires the application of feature selection techniques in order to reduce the dimensionality of the data and prioritise features for downstream knowledge generation tasks. Effective feature selection is a key part of clustering, regression and classification. It presents a myriad of opportunities to improve the machine learning pipeline: eliminating redundant and irrelevant features, reducing model over-fitting, faster model training times and more explainable models. By contrast, and despite the widespread availability and use of categorical data in practice, feature selection for categorical and/or mixed …

Molecular Dynamic Studies Of Dye–Dye And Dye–Dna Interactions Governing Excitonic Coupling In Squaraine Aggregates Templated By Dna Holliday Junctions, German Barcenas, Austin Biaggne, Olga A. Mass, William B. Knowlton, Bernard Yurke, Lan Li

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Dye molecules, arranged in an aggregate, can display excitonic delocalization. The use of DNA scaffolding to control aggregate configurations and delocalization is of research interest. Here, we applied Molecular Dynamics (MD) to gain an insight on how dye–DNA interactions affect excitonic coupling between two squaraine (SQ) dyes covalently attached to a DNA Holliday junction (HJ). We studied two types of dimer configurations, i.e., adjacent and transverse, which differed in points of dye covalent attachments to DNA. Three structurally different SQ dyes with similar hydrophobicity were chosen to investigate the sensitivity of excitonic coupling to dye placement. Each dimer configuration was …

An Assessment Of Blood Vessel Remodeling Of Nanofibrous Poly(Ε-Caprolactone) Vascular Grafts In A Rat Animal Model, Jana Horakova, Tereza Blassova, Zbynek Tonar, Connor Mccarthy, Katerina Strnadova, David Lukas, Petr Mikes, Patrick Bowen, Roger J. Guillory Ii, Megan C. Frost, Jeremy Goldman

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The development of an ideal vascular prosthesis represents an important challenge in terms of the treatment of cardiovascular diseases with respect to which new materials are being considered that have produced promising results following testing in animal models. This study focuses on nanofibrous polycaprolactone-based grafts assessed by means of histological techniques 10 days and 6 months following suturing as a replacement for the rat aorta. A novel stereological approach for the assessment of cellular distribution within the graft thickness was developed. The cellularization of the thickness of the graft was found to be homogeneous after 10 days and to have …

Reconstruction Of Asphalt Pavements With Crumb Rubber Modified Asphalt Mixture In Cold Region: Material Characterization, Construction, And Performance, Dongzhao Jin, Dongdong Ge, Jiaqing Wang, Lance Malburg, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Dry-processed rubberized asphalt mixture has recently attracted a lot of attention as an alternative to conventional asphalt mixtures. Dry-processed rubberized asphalt pavement has improved the overall performance characteristics compared to the conventional asphalt road. The objective of this research is to demonstrate the reconstruction of rubberized asphalt pavement and evaluate the pavement performance of dry-processed rubberized asphalt mixture based on laboratory and field tests. The noise mitigation effect of dry-processed rubberized asphalt pavement was evaluated at the field construction sites. A prediction of pavement distresses and long-term performance was also conducted using mechanistic-empirical pavement design. In terms of experimental evaluation, …