Engineering Commons^™

Problems Without Solution? Challenges Of Climate Change And Sustainability In Engineering Education, Sahra Dornick

Practice Papers

The issues of climate change and sustainability are urgent and critical concerns of our time. The rise of climate disasters, such as floods, droughts, forest fires, and hurricanes, poses a threat to the survival of humans, animals, and plants. Despite scientists having warned about the impending dangers of high CO2 emissions, particularly from the global North for many years, there has been no political or technical solution in sight.

Engineers are known for being problem-solvers, but what happens when the problem is complex and the consequences of technical interventions are hard to predict? In my paper, I propose measures to …

Re/Upskilling The Agricultural Labour Force: Micro-Credentials As Innovative Lll Strategy, Vladana Vidric, Christina Paulus, Simon Grebner, Maximilian Treiber, Martin Mayr, Andreas Mandler

Practice Papers

Industry 4.0 had a strong impact on globalization by changing the workforce and increasing access to new skills and knowledge. According to the World Economic Forum, by 2025, 50% of all employees will need reskilling due to new technology. Industry 5.0 addresses long term prospects such as sustainability, resilience and human-centricity regarding efficiency and productivity. Agriculture is the most exposed economic sector to climate change with cascade effects on agro ecosystems. Innovations in the agricultural sector are inevitable to ensure food security and social and environmental sustainability. This paper presents two Erasmus+ projects that highlight the importance of future engineering …

An Experimental-Numerical Study Of Heat Transfer Enhancement In A Minichannel Using Asymmetric Pulsating Flows, Parth S. Kumavat, Sajad Alimohammad, Seamus M. O'Sullivan

Articles

The development of current and next-generation high-performance electronic devices has led to miniaturization in more densely packed spaces. The increasing power levels have resulted in ever-increasing heat flux densities which necessitates the evolution of new liquid-based heat exchange technologies. Implementation of single-phase cooling systems using pulsating flow is viewed as a potential solution to the problems involving high energy density electronics. This work involves a combined experimental and numerical analysis of pulsating flows in a rectangular mini channel undergoing asymmetric sinusoidal flow pulsation formats. The mini channel design includes a heated bottom section approximated as a constant heat flux boundary …

Comparing The Iwl-Mvm-Rs And Minstrel-Ht Rate Adaptation Algorithms Under Different Local Error Conditions, Luhan Wang, Mark Davis

Conference papers

WLAN technology has grown rapidly and now provides increasingly reliable and fast wireless connectivity. A number of Rate Adaptation Algorithms (RAAs) which are designed to select the optimal line rate according to the channel conditions have been proposed. Iwl-Mvm-Rs RAA which is implemented in the Intel wireless chips and Minstrel-HT RAA which is implemented in the Linux kernels are two such well known algorithms. Many existing papers evaluate these two algorithms with regard to device mobility and signal fading. However, the causes of frame errors can be divided into two categories: weak signal reception and collisions. Therefore, in this paper, …

Thermoelectric Properties Of Cement Composite Analogues From First Principles Calculations, Esther Orisakwe, Conrad S.N. Johnston, Ruchita Jani, Xiaolo Liu, Lorenzo Stella, Jorge Kohanoff's, Niall Holmes Dr., Brian Norton, Ming Qu, Hongxi Yin, Kazuaki Yazawa

Articles

Buildings are responsible for a considerable fraction of the energy wasted globally every year, and as a result, excess carbon emissions. While heat is lost directly in colder months and climates, resulting in increased heating loads, in hot climates cooling and ventilation is required. One avenue towards improving the energy efficiency of buildings is to integrate thermoelectric devices and materials within the fabric of the building to exploit the temperature gradient between the inside and outside to do useful work. Cement-based materials are ubiquitous in modern buildings and present an interesting opportunity to be functionalized. We present a systematic investigation …

Simultaneous Measurement Of Gas Pressure And Temperature Using A Microbubble Resonator Combined With An Fbg, Ketan Dong, Ke Tian, Chuanzhen Zhao, Huibin Li, Jibo Yu, Angzhen Li, Xiaoling Sun, Elfed Lewis, Gerald Farrell, Pengfei Wang

Conference Papers

We propose and demonstrate a microbubble resonator combined with a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) for simultaneous measurement of gas pressure and temperature. The approach used allows for very close proximity (<200 >μm) between the FBG and the microbubble resonator. The microbubble resonator is fabricated in a section of hollow-core fiber (HCF), spliced to a single-mode fiber (SMF) with a pre-inscribed FBG to form a single-ended open structure. Fresnel reflection from the HCF cleaved end means that broadband light is reflected backwards in the same direction as the Bragg wavelength from the FBG. A tapered fiber couples the reflected broadband light …

Tunable Erbium-Doped Fiber Ring Laser With A Polymer Micro Bottle Resonator, Anuradha Rout, Zhe Wang, Zhuochen Wang, Yuliya Semenova

Conference Papers

A new tunable fiber laser structure based on an erbium-doped fiber ring laser (FRL) and a polymer-based microbottle resonator (PMBR) as the wavelength selective filter is proposed and demonstrated. The tunability of the laser output in response to axial strain of up to 253.6 με applied to the PMBR is demonstrated experimentally. When the strain was applied to the PMBR’s long axis, the central lasing wavelength shifted towards shorter wavelengths in a linear fashion. The laser's strain sensitivity was determined to be 0.69 pm/με. The proposed strain-tunable PMBR laser offers the advantages of simple structure, low cost, robust performance, and …

Third Arkansas Record Of Mountain Bluebird (Sialia Currucoides), With Notes On Habitat And Behavior, G. R. Graves

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides) breeds in western North America and winters east to the Great Plains from Nebraska to Texas (Johnson and Dawson 2020). Vagrants are occasionally reported in eastern North America, mostly from November through March, but relatively few wintering records have been documented in the lower Mississippi Valley east of 96° W longitude and south of 37° N latitude.

Academy Presidents And Institutional Members, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Nebraska Tractor Test: 2266 John Deere 9rx 640, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Nebraska Summary #1273: Case Ih Optum 340 Cvx, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Tensiography And Liquid Drop Metrology, David Kennedy, Des Carbery, Norman Mcmillan

Conference Papers

This research focused on drop metrology and the use of camera technology and vibration analysis influence on theoretical and practical tensiography. Drop shape and Tensiography are explained and how they relate to each other. Studies shows a relationship between vibration frequency and surface tension of liquids. However they also reveal the need for a theoretical understanding of the vibration tensiotrace of drops. Camera studies on large diameter dropheads used in tensiography are explored. Various image analysis methods were investigated for determining drop shape from camera images. Examination of the digital image reveals measurement issues. High speed camera images reveal new …

Reducing False Starts Among It Employees—A Study Of Hiring Professionals’ Perceptions, Swatee B. Kulkarni

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

One of the biggest challenges facing organizations is recruiting and retaining talented employees. A false start is an issue where an employee is hired for a certain position following the organization’s recruiting process; however, within the first year, the employee or the employer realizes that it is not a right fit, and the employment is terminated. The unexpected loss of employees is recognized as a global issue that affects overall business performance regardless of industry. The economic impact of false starts is estimated to be $1.28 billion per year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This study examines …

Investigating Michigan’S Skilled Construction Laborer Shortage Within The Great Lakes Region, Jennifer E. Russell

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The construction industry has been facing a decline in skilled trade labor for decades. This study asks three overarching questions: (a) What are the causes and influencing factors of Michigan’s skilled construction laborer shortage? (b) How are Michigan stakeholders in the Great Lakes Region remedying the shortage? (c) What new solutions can be implemented to remedy Michigan’s skilled construction laborer shortage? A literature review was conducted to identify causes, influencing factors, and research gaps. Closed surveys questioning 69 construction project managers and 101 skilled trade laborers in Michigan were conducted online and on construction sites. A quantitative analysis of the …

Evaluating The Sustainability Of Paper And Plastic Substitute Material Limex, E.-Lexus Thornton, Avery Hartley, Daniel Caudill, Martin Gamesu, Julius M. Schoop, Fazleena Badurdeen

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

With the increasing decline in the environment and natural resources it is important to find new ways in which manufacturing can increase the sustainability of the world. This study seeks to compare LimeX, a state-of-the-art paper and plastic alternative primarily made of limestone, with conventional paper and plastic materials. For a better understanding of LimeX as a material, a brief investigation of the mechanical and chemical properties will be performed through experimentation and analysis. In addition, this paper aims to evaluate the sustainability of LimeX through the analysis of metrics relating to the triple bottom line (environmental impacts, economic impacts …

Cancer Immunotherapy: A Breakthrough In Patient Care, Abdou-Samad Kone, Nour El Imane Issam Salah, Amina Ghouzlani, Abdallah Badou

Health Sciences

Cancer is one of the world's leading causes of death. Conventional therapies, such as surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, have improved patient management and have shown overwhelming progress. However, the incidence and mortality rates among cancer patients are still extremely high, at approximately 20,5 % and 10,6 % for both sexes, respectively. This may be due to the heterogeneity of tumors, their special microenvironment, and the development of resistance to certain conventional therapies. The concept of immunotherapy provided a new perspective on patient treatment. The interaction of tumor cells with their microenvironment depends on different factors and conditions that promote …

A Hybrid Multifunctional Physicochemical Sensor Suite For Continuous Monitoring Of Crop Health, Nafize Ishtiaque Hossain, Shawana Tabassum

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This work reports a first-of-its-kind hybrid wearable physicochemical sensor suite that we call PlantFit for simultaneous measurement of two key phytohormones, salicylic acid, and ethylene, along with vapor pressure deficit and radial growth of stem in live plants. The sensors are developed using a low-cost and roll-to-roll screen printing technology. A single integrated flexible patch that contains temperature, humidity, salicylic acid, and ethylene sensors, is installed on the leaves of live plants. The strain sensor with in-built pressure correction capability is wrapped around the plant stem to provide pressure-compensated stem diameter measurements. The sensors provide real-time information on plant health …

Incorporation Of Poly(Tfema) In Perovskite Thin Films Using A Supercritical Fluid, Kasey Handy, Gary C. Tepper

Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Publications

A new process is reported for the incorporation of a fluoropolymer into a solid perovskite film. Poly(trifluoroethyl methacrylate) [CH₂C(CH₃)(CO₂CH₂CF₃)]_n was delivered to methylammonium lead iodide (CH₃NH₃PbI₃) perovskite films by crystallizing the film in supercritical carbon dioxide/ethanol containing the dissolved fluoropolymer. The surface was characterized before and after fluoropolymer exposure using scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and contact angle measurements. The results indicate that the fluoropolymer was incorporated into the perovskite film during the supercritical fluid crystallization process. The incorporation of a hydrophobic fluoropolymer …

Disrupting Engineering Education, Euan D. Lindsay, Roger G. Hadgraft, Fiona Boyle, Ron Ulseth

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Traditional engineering education approaches are recognizable around the world – lectures, tutorials, laboratories, some projects. With the emergence of Industry 4.0, the world in which engineers practice is evolving at an ever-increasing rate, combining a greater focus on complex sociotechnical problems with new technologies and increasingly powerful design tools. In general, the engineering curricula have not adapted quickly to this change, but there is a shift in expectations of who and what engineering students should be. Engineering curricula are becoming more flexible, as are the learning environments in which they are implemented. This chapter draws upon the Doblin 10 types …

Supporting Women In Engineering And Technology Through A Collaborative Practice And Support Network Using Targeted Interventions, Michelle Looby, Marie Armstrong, Una Beagon, Emma M Dunne, Svetlana Hensman, Farrah Higgins, Paula Kelly, Isabelle Killane, Susan Lynott, Orla Mcmahon, Bahareh Pahlevanzadeh

Practice Papers

Despite ongoing efforts to recruit and retain women in third level engineering programmes in Ireland, there is still a lack of diversity in these programmes with typically fewer than 20% of students being female. This paper will describe the evolution of a female focused university wide network called WITU (Women in Technology United), which aims to retain female students in engineering and technology programmes, and to increase the number of gender minorities coming onto these programmes. It is also a response to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly, SDG 4 (quality education), and SDG 5 (gender equality), and addresses actions highlighted …

Detection Of Truthful, Semi-Truthful, False And Other News With Arbitrary Topics Using Bert-Based Models, Elena Shushkevich, John Cardiff, Anna Boldyreva

Conference Papers

Easy and uncontrolled access to the Internet provokes the wide propagation of false information, which freely circulates in the Internet. Researchers usually solve the problem of fake news detection (FND) in the framework of a known topic and binary classification. In this paper we study possibilities of BERT-based models to detect fake news in news flow with unknown topics and four categories: true, semi-true, false and other. The object of consideration is the dataset CheckThat! Lab proposed for the conference CLEF-2022. The subjects of consideration are the models SBERT, RoBERTa, and mBERT. To improve the quality of classification we use …

The “Who” In Engineering: Sociotechnical Engineering As Memorable And Relevant, Diana A. Chen, Marissa H. Forbes, Gordon D. Hoople, Susan M. Lord, Joel Alejandro Mejia

School of Engineering: Faculty Scholarship

Does emphasizing the role of people in engineering influence the memorability of engineering content? This study is part of a larger project through which our team developed a new undergraduate energy course to better reflect students’ cultures and lived experiences through asset-based pedagogies to help students develop a sociotechnical mindset in engineering problem solving. In this study, students in the class were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews (n=5) to explore our effectiveness in helping them develop a sociotechnical mindset around energy issues and conceptualize engineering as a sociotechnical endeavor. This study focuses on an activity during the interview where …

Controlled Release Of Flurbiprofen From 3d-Printed And Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Processed Methacrylate-Based Polymer, Truc T. Ngo, Jae D. Kim

School of Engineering: Faculty Scholarship

The ability to engineer and predict drug release behavior during treatment is critical to the design and implementation of effective drug delivery systems. In this study, a drug delivery system consisting of a methacrylate-based polymer and flurbiprofen was studied, and its release profile in a controlled phosphate-buffered saline solution was characterized. The polymer, which was 3D printed and processed in supercritical carbon dioxide under different temperature and pressure settings, showed sustained drug release over a prolonged period. A computer algorithm was used to determine the drug release time duration before reaching steady state and the maximum drug release at steady …

Bio-Inspired Sutures: Simulating The Role Of Suture Placement In The Mechanical Response Of Interlocking Structures, Melissa M. Gibbons, Diana A. Chen

School of Engineering: Faculty Scholarship

The hardest anatomical components of many animals are connected at thin seams known as sutures, which allow for growth and compliance required for respiration and movement and serve as a defense mechanism by absorbing energy during impacts. We take a bio-inspired approach and parameterize suture geometries to utilize geometric connections, rather than new engineering materials, to absorb high-impact loads. This study builds upon our work that investigated the effects of the dovetail suture contact angle, tangent length, and tab radius on the stiffness and toughness of an archway structure using finite element analysis. We explore how increasing the archway segmentation …

Classification And Characterization Of Damage In Composite Laminates Using Electrical Resistance Tomography And Supervised Machine Learning, Julia Diaz-Escobar, Paulina Díaz-Montiel, Satchi Venkataraman, Arnoldo Díaz-Ramirez

School of Engineering: Faculty Scholarship

Electrical resistance tomography (ERT) is a nondestructive evaluation technique that uses the internal conductivity variations of materials to assess structural integrity. Due to the low instrumentation required, the widespread use of ERT in the aerospace industry for monitoring the accumulation of damage in aircraft components can lead to significant reductions in inspections and maintenance costs. However, implementing the ERT method for mapping the damage state of structural components made of carbon fiber reinforced polymeric (CFRP) composites is challenging due to the inability of this method to distinguish between damage modes such as delamination and matrix cracking. This article explores the …

Protocol Optimization And Reducing Dropout In Online Research, Halee Staggs, Colleen Mills-Finnerty

School of Engineering: Faculty Scholarship

Online research has advantages over in-person research; it’s cost-efficient, scalable, and may increase diversity. Researchers collecting data online can assess protocol performance with classification models like a decision tree. However, challenges include attrition, lack of testing environment controls, technical limitations, and lack of face-to-face rapport and real time feedback. It is necessary to consider human factors of the teleresearch process from recruitment to data collection. Here we document the impact of protocol optimizations on social media engagement and retention between a pilot sample of Veterans (n = 26) and a post-optimization sample of both Veterans and civilians (n = 220) …

A New Method For Controlling Fractional Linear Systems, Subramanian V. Shastri, Kumpati S. Narendra, Lihao Zheng

School of Engineering: Faculty Scholarship

The study of fractional linear time-invariant (LTI) systems has been an area of active research over the past thirty years. Results indicate that such systems are becoming important in the representation of certain types of dynamical behavior in biology and engineering. Several methods have been developed for the representation, identification, and control of fractional LTI systems. The primary purpose of this paper is to introduce a new approach to their control. Its principal contribution is the transformation of a fractional LTI system into one without fractional terms (standard LTI system) using feedback and feedforward compensation. While the former may be …

“These Different Ideas, Traditions, And Values Make My Thinking Unique And Creative”: Bringing Native Hawaiian Ways Of Knowing To Engineering Education, Austin Morgan Kainoa Peters, Susan M. Lord

School of Engineering: Faculty Scholarship

Contribution: This article focuses on the study of Native Hawaiian student experiences in engineering education. Telling these stories illustrates the importance of legitimizing and appreciating different knowledge types in engineering as we move toward a more inclusive and sustainable field. Background: Native Hawaiian engineering students live oppressive realities due to the history of settler colonialism and occupation that attempted to erase their culture and ways of knowing, including in engineering education. This study shows how students overcome these realities to enact their ways of knowing in a field where it is not always respected. Informing the field of ways to …

Small Modular Reactors, Joshua P. Schlegel, P. K. Bhowmik

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) have been a very promising development in nuclear power over the last two decades. SMRs are defined as nuclear reactors with a power output of less than 300MWe. This is in comparison to gigawatt-size reactors, which can have electrical output of 1000–1500MWe or more. This chapter will consist of two major sections. the first will be a detailed summary of the small modular reactor designs being proposed around the world. This section will focus on those that are the furthest along in their development but will also include some information about the wide variety of proposed …

Merit Study Of Battery Or Hydrogen Energy Storage For Large Scale, Combined Wind And Solar Electricity Generation, Ashley K. Moore

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

In the past several years, the energy sector has experienced a rapid increase in renewable energy installations due to declining capital costs for wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries. Wind and solar electricity generation are intermittent in nature which must be considered in an economic analysis if a fair comparison is to be made between electricity supplied from renewables and electricity purchased from the grid. Energy storage reduces curtailment of wind and solar and minimizes electricity purchases from the grid by storing excess electricity and deploying the energy at times when demand exceeds the renewable energy supply. The objective of …