Engineering Commons^™

Quantitative Lithium Composite As 3d Lithium Foam Anode For Lithium Metal Battery, Hu-Dong Li, Wei-Shang Jia, Xin-Xiu Yan, Yao-Yue Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Lithium (Li) metal as an anode material for batteries has extremely high specific capacity and extremely low redox potential, which can significantly improve the energy density of the battery. However, the main problems faced by the use of Li metal anodes are Li dendrite growth, interfacial side reaction and volumetric change of electrode. Herein, a strategy to prepare the three-dimensional (3D) Li foam by combining 3D scaffold with quantitative Li was proposed to suppress Li dendrites growth and alleviate electrode volumetric change. The 3D Li foam facilitated the efficient utilization of Li metal by suppressing the Li dendrite growth, mitigating …

Low-Crystallinity And Heterostructured Aupt-Ru@Cnts As Highly Efficient Multifunctional Electrocatalyst, Tuan-Jie Gan, Jian-Ping Wu, Shi Liu, Wen-Jun Ou, Ling Bin, Xiong-Wu Kang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The catalytic activity of the catalysts is strongly dependent on the structure of the catalysts, and the exploration of their correlation and structure-controlled synthesis of the high-performance catalysts are always at the central. Currently, platinum (Pt) is the optimum catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and alcohol oxidation reaction, while ruthenium (Ru) behaves as the champion catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) during water splitting. Preparing alloy catalysts with these precious metals can modulate the catalytic activity of these catalysts from the perspective of strain effect, ensemble effect and ligand effect. Here, we developed a strategy …

Optimized Electrochemical Performance Of Si@C Prepared By Hydrothermal Reaction And Glucose Carbon Source, Si Chen, Song-Sheng Zheng, Lei-Ming Zheng, Ye-Han Zhang, Zhao-Lin Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Silicon (Si) has been considered as the potential material for the next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for its high capacity (4200 mAh·g^-1, Li₂₂Si₅) and suitable working voltage (about 0.25 V vs. Li/Li⁺). However, the cycling stability and electrochemical performance of Si anode become significant challenges because of low intrinsic conductivity and huge volume variation (about 400%) during cycling processes. In addition, the repeated formation and destruction of surface solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film will continuously consume the electrolyte and cause damage to LIBs. Carbon (C) materials, such as graphite, carbon spheres and tubes, …

Investigation Of Adhesion Performance Of Wax Based Warm Mix Asphalt With Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Chao Peng, Hanneng Yang, Zhanping You, Hongchao Ma, Fang Xu, Lingyun You, Aboelkasim Diab, Li Lu, Yudong Hu, Yafeng Liu, Jing Dai, Zhibo Li

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Compared with traditional hot mix asphalt (HMA), wax based warm mix asphalt (WWMA) can be mixed with the aggregate at a lower temperature and achieve the desired compaction. However, the adhesion performance of WWMA on aggregate is uncertain. To evaluate the adhesion performance of asphalt and aggregate, researchers used contact angle test, pull-off test, and ultrasonic washing experiments. However, these tests cannot adequately explain the microscopic mechanism of the interface between asphalt and aggregate. Molecular dynamics (MD) can better explain the adhesion mechanism of asphalt aggregates because they can be simulated at the molecular scale. So, the purpose of this …

Using Design Science Research To Create A Virtual Environment For Nursing Students, Benjamin Botha, Lizette De Wet

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

This paper aims to provide insight into the design science research approach followed during a transdisciplinary research study between computer scientists and professional nurses. The researchers used a design science research approach to create a virtual environment where nursing students could practice managing a patient with a foreign object in the right lung. The virtual environment underwent multiple changes as it progressed through the different cycles of design science research. Within these cycles, namely the relevance, design, and rigor cycle, various iterations of each of the cycles took place. Presented in this paper the design science approach followed will be …

Bag3 Mutation Interferes Myofibril Integrity Of Hipsc-Derived Cardiomyocytes On A Dynamic Substrate, Xiangjun Wu

Theses - ALL

No abstract provided.

Decentralized Disturbance Observer-Based Sliding Mode Load Frequency Control In Multiarea Interconnected Power Systems, Farhad Farivar, Octavian Bass, Daryoush Habibi

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The load frequency control (LFC) problem in interconnected multiarea power systems is facing more challenges due to increasing uncertainties caused by the penetration of intermittent renewable energy resources, random changes in load patterns, uncertainties in system parameters and unmodeled system dynamics, leading to a compromised reliability of power systems and increasing the risk of power outages. In responding to this problem, this paper proposes a decentralized disturbance observer-based sliding mode LFC scheme for multiarea interlinked power systems with external disturbances. First, a reduced power system order is constructed by lumping disturbances from tie-line power deviations, load variations and the output …

Design Of Novel Metalloenzymes And Investigation Of Protein-Metal Interactions, Alona Kulesha

Dissertations - ALL

Metalloproteins are the proteins that utilize metals or metal complexes as cofactors and exhibit a wide range of functions from oxygen transport and regulation of transcription to hydroxylation of alkanes and water splitting, even though they employ a limited set of metals and metal-binding ligands. The investigation of metalloprotein amino acid sequence, structure and function relationships can uncover the principles behind natural metalloprotein design and opens the possibility of their implication as scaffolds for the design of novel catalysts and biomaterials. Protein engineering is a set of techniques that allows to install new functionalities into existing proteins or to design …

Advanced Lithium Metal Batteries: Functional Electrolyte Additive And Lithium Metal/Solid-State Electrolyte Interface Engineering, Abiral Baniya

Dissertations - ALL

Majority of the energy in current world is produced and consumed by burning non-renewable fossil fuel sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas, etc. It is taking a toll on our planet earth due to high rates of carbon and greenhouse emissions. This calls for an urgent need of energy transition from conventional fossil fuel to renewable and sustainable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, etc. However, harnessing energy from such renewables are constrained by their intermittency and non-dispatchability, requiring some sort of efficient energy storage systems that can provide continuous energy supply. Batteries in general are considered …

Leveraging Isocyanate Chemistry For Low Cost And Highly Functional Hydrogels, Henry Beaman

Dissertations - ALL

The development of novel biomaterials is an important step in providing higher quality products for wound healing, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. Progress is consistently being made in the development of new polymers, yet new polymer systems are often expensive and/or involve complex multistep synthesis methods. These limitations could hinder the translation and scalability of functionalized materials. To address the issues of complex synthesis and high cost, we have devised strategies for polymeric modification using isocyanate chemistry. Isocyanates are used in the manufacturing of polyurethanes. Isocyanates are highly reactive with common functional groups, such as amines, hydroxyls, and carboxylic acids. …

Numerical Investigation Of The Effect Of Inlet Turbulence Intensity On A Bluff-Body Stabilized Flame At Near Blow-Off Condition, Amir Ali Montakhab

Dissertations - ALL

This thesis investigates the effect of a boundary condition on the dynamics of a bluff-body stabilized f lame operating near blow-off condition. Special emphasis is given to the effect of inlet turbulence intensity. This work is motivated by the understanding that more stringent regulations on fossil fuels generated emissions necessitate the design of combustion systems that operate at very fuel-lean conditions. Combustion at very lean conditions, however, induces flame instability that can ultimately lead to flame fluttering and eventual extinction. The dynamics of the flame at lean conditions can therefore be very sensitive to its boundary conditions. To better understand …

Switched Kinematic And Force Control For Lower-Limb Motorized Exoskeletons And Functional Electrical Stimulation, Chen-Hao Chang

Dissertations - ALL

Millions of people experience movement deficits from neurological conditions (NCs) that impair their walking ability and leg function. Exercise-based rehabilitation procedures have shown the potential to facilitate neurological reorganization and functional recovery. Lower-limb powered exoskeletons and motorized ergometers have been combined with functional electrical stimulation (FES) to provide repetitive movement, partially reduce the burden of therapists, improve range of motion, and induce therapeutic benefits. FES evokes artificial muscles contractions and can improve muscle mass and strength, and bone density in people with NCs. Stationary cycling is recommended for individuals who cannot perform load-bearing activities or have increased risks of falling. …

Targeted Mesenchymal Stem Cell Differentiation From Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells For Therapeutic Application, Tackla Winston

Dissertations - ALL

Over the past decade, mesenchymal stem cells have increasingly gained interest as a cell source for the treatment of a variety of diseases. This is because they play several roles in tissue homeostasis and regeneration, such as altering the immune response to limit inflammation, aiding tissue repair through the release of various proteins, cytokines and growth factors, or differentiating into functional cells in specific tissues. The interest in MSCs for biomanufacturing applications has resulted in the development of various protocols to differentiate them from pluripotent sources. These protocols, however, fail to account for the differences that exist between MSCs from …

Review Of Fly-Ash As A Supplementary Cementitious Material, Nikki Shaji, Niall Holmes Dr., Mark Tyrer

Conference papers

This paper presents a review of fly-ash as a Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM) in concrete in terms of its effects on hydration and durability. The climate change agenda has focused the cement and concrete industry on using low embodied CO2 materials and much effort has been made on incorporating industrial by-products into cement as SCMs. With worldwide cement production (circa 4 billion tonnes) currently accounting for approximately 8% of global CO2 emissions and 7% of industry energy use, the use of suitable SCMs to partially replace cement in concrete is extremely important. However, while coal-fired power stations are in the …

Exploring The Roles Of Organic Matter Source And Transformation For Photochemical Characterization Of New York Lake Waters, Joseph Wasswa

Dissertations - ALL

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a critical component of aquatic systems that serves many purposes. Among them is the production of reactive intermediates (RIs) when irradiated with sunlight. Examples of RIs produced include the excited triplet states of dissolved organic matter (3DOM*), singlet oxygen (1O2), and hydroxyl radicals (•OH), all of which contribute to the degradation or inactivation of chemical or microbiological contaminants. It is therefore critical to understand how the sources and transformations of DOM may affect the production of RIs in sunlit aquatic systems.

The Adirondack Mountain region of New York, a historical hotspot for atmospheric sulfur and …

Analysis And Visualization Of Molecular Docking 2hi4 Protein, Innas Widiasti

Indonesian Journal of Medical Chemistry and Bioinformatics

The crystal structure of the human microsomal complex P450 1A2 with alpha-naphthoflavone, a cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme is particularly important, as it is abundant in the human liver and alters a more diverse xenobiotic array than any other group of metabolic enzymes. CYP1A2 is abundantly found in the liver and involved in the metabolism of about 10% of clinically used drugs metabolized by CYP enzymes. The current drug discovery and development mostly uses high-throughput screening (HTS). However, this regular method is time-consuming and costly. To address the issue, an advanced drug discovery and development method namely chemical compound database screening …

Automatic Generation Of Near-Body Structured Grids, Yuyan Hao

Dissertations - ALL

Numerical grid generation has been a bottleneck in the computational fluid dynamics process for a long time when using the structured overset grids. Many current structured overset grid generation schemes like the hyperbolic grid generation method require significant user interaction to generate good computational grids robustly. Other grid generation schemes like the elliptic grid generation method take a significant amount of time for grid calculation, which is not desirable for computational fluid dynamics.

Herein a new grid generation method is presented that combines the hyperbolic grid generation scheme with the elliptic grid generation scheme that uses Poisson’s equation. The new …

Engineering Temporal And Spatial Complexity In Biomaterial Scaffolds For Cardiac Disease Modeling And Mechanobiology, Chenyan Wang

Dissertations - ALL

Temporal and spatial mechanical cues play an important role in heart development, function, and disease manifestation. A deeper understanding of cardiac mechanobiology is especially important for fundamental biology and clinical diagnosis or heart disease treatment. Currently, human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are widely used to build human cell or tissue models, but culturing them in a petri dish fail to recapitulate the mechanical complexity in the native heart. To create a mechanical environment with better pathophysiological relevance, biomaterial scaffolds are usually employed to mimic the mechanical cues originated from extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. The goal of this dissertation is …

Rocket Measurements Of Electron Energy Spectra From Earth’S Photoelectron Production Layer, Glyn A. Collinson, Alex Glocer, Dennis Chornay, Robert Mitchell, Rob Pfaff, Tim Cameron, Et. Al.

Publications

Photoelectrons are crucial to atmospheric physics. They heat the atmosphere, strengthen 28 planetary ambipolar electric fields, and enhance the outflow of ions to space. However, 29 there exist only a handful of measurements of their energy spectrum near the peak of 30 photoproduction. We present calibrated energy spectra of pristine photoelectrons at their 31 source by a prototype Dual Electrostatic Analyzer (DESA) instrument flown on July 11 32 2021 aboard the Dynamo-2 sounding rocket (NASA № 36.357). Photopeaks arising from 33 30.4nm He-II spectral line were observed throughout the flight above 120km. DESA also 34 successfully resolved the rarely observed …

Feddp: A Privacy-Protecting Theft Detection Scheme In Smart Grids Using Federated Learning, Muhammad Mansoor Ashraf, Muhammad Waqas, Ghulam Abbas, Thar Baker, Ziaul Haq Abbas, Hisham Alasmary

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In smart grids (SGs), the systematic utilization of consumer energy data while maintaining its privacy is of paramount importance. This research addresses this problem by energy theft detection while preserving the privacy of client data. In particular, this research identifies centralized models as more accurate in predicting energy theft in SGs but with no or significantly less data protection. Current research proposes a novel federated learning (FL) framework, namely FedDP, to tackle this issue. The proposed framework enables various clients to benefit from on-device prediction with very little communication overhead and to learn from the experience of other clients with …

Factors Affecting The Adoption Of Information And Communication Technologies In Africa: Literature Review, Edison Wazoel Lubua

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

This paper synthesised the literature on the adoption of Information and Communication Technology within Africa. The purpose was to determine factors (reported by the literature) determining technology adoption and use, in Africa. The paper used the systematic literature review. The study analysed the factors descriptively. Based on the analysis, the following are the main five factors reported to affect the adoption and use of Information Technology in Africa: Lack of ICT knowledge, unreliable infrastructure, high cost of adoption, the perceived usefulness of ICT, and the perceived ease of use. The government and technology implementing organisation has the key role to …

Correlations Between Dynamic Probe Blow Count And Undrained Shear Strength For Peat At A Well-Characterised Raised Bog In Ireland, David Mchugh, Ciaran Reilly, Juan Pablo Osorio

Articles

Peat deposits are generally heterogeneous, with large variations over small areas. Peat has an extremely high water content, high compressibility and low shear strength. This presents a major issue in studying the geomechanical behavior of peat. For this study, field and laboratory tests were conducted to establish the undrained shear strength (s_u) of peat at a cutover industrial peatland in Ireland which had been extensively characterized in the past. The new field work included TRL-type Dynamic Cone Penetrometer, Mackintosh probe and field vane shear tests. A correlation was developed between the Mackintosh probe “M-value” blow count and the …

Deriving Discrete Solid Phases From Csh-3t And Cshq End-Members To Model Cement Hydration In Phreeqc, Niall Holmes Dr., Colin Walker, Mark Tyrer, Denis Kelliher

Conference papers

This paper presents a cement hydration model over time using the CEMDATA thermodynamic database and a series of discrete solid phases (DSP) to represent calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) as a ternary (CSH-3T) and quaternary (CSHQ) solid solution. C-S-H in cement is amorphous and poorly crystalline with a range of molar Ca/Si ratios = 0.6-1.7 and displays strongly incongruent dissolution behaviour where the release of calcium into solution is several orders of magnitude greater than silicon. It is therefore important that any cement hydration model provides a credible account of this behaviour. C-S-H has been described in the CEMDATA thermodynamic database …

Girls In Stem! Elementary Afterschool Six-Week Curriculum, Jess Li, Samavi Rafique

Honors Program: Expanded Learning Clubs

No abstract provided.

Optimising Existing Digital Workflow For Structural Engineering Organisations Through The Partnering Of Bim And Lean Processes, John Mclaughlin, Barry Mcauley

Conference Papers

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is now seen as one of the leading transformative processes within the Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector and has the potential to assist in streamlining the structural design process. However, its practical implementation can often add another layer to the existing workflow and can result, to its detriment, in the primary objective of optimising structural workflows being hindered. This can lead to structural organisations producing 3D models in tandem with traditional drawings, a lack of human intervention regarding software interoperability, and a reluctance to move away from conventional work methods. This paper will explore how …

Study On Long-Distance Fixed-Point Sealed Coring Technology In Broken-Soft Coal Seam, Long Weicheng, Sun Siqing, Chen Jian

Coal Geology & Exploration

With the rapid development of mining, drilling and other technologies in the field of coal mine and the increasing demand for enhancing production and profit in the coal mine, the demand is increasingly urgent for detection of coal seam gas content in the initial stage. In recent years, the gas content measurement technology of underground long borehole high-pressure water sealed coring has been applied in the medium hard coal seam mining area with remarkable effects, but its application is limited in broken-soft coal seam. A number of issues are encountered that easy breakup of coal core sample, easy wall collapse …

Research On Hydraulic Fracturing Technology And Equipment Of Directional Long Drilling With Sand In Coal Seam Roof, Zhang Jian, Liu Le, Zhao Jizhan, Sun Siqing, Wang Chenyang

Coal Geology & Exploration

Due to low permeability, fast gas-rate decline, uneven fracturing, easy fracture closure, it is difficult to perform advance gas extraction in broken-soft coal seams. Aimed at these issues, this study has been proposed a new idea to enhance the coalbed permeability and eventually the gas extraction, which is based on roof-supporting, long-reach directional drilling, and hydraulic fracturing. Corresponding equipment including fracturing pump unit, directional sandblasting perforation assembly, sand control packer and tools have been developed. Specifically, the pumping unit is capable of a pumping rate up to 90 m³/h, a pumping pressure up to 70 MPa, and a …

Optimized Design And Surface Additive Technology Of Pdc Bit For Hard Rock Directional Drilling, Wang Chuanliu, Jin Xin, Gao Xiaoliang, Zhang Peng

Coal Geology & Exploration

Directional long drilling is the main technical means of gas and water hazard control in coal mines, and the performance of PDC directional bit is an important factor which affects the drilling efficiency in hard rock. In view of frequent tripping and low that caused by the broken PDC bit body and PDC tooth collapse in the construction of directional long drilling in the roof and floor of coal seams, the principle of equal cutting teeth distribution is used to optimize the blade teeth distribution to reduce the impact damage of the cutter. Through the simulated analysis of fluid mechanics, …

Improving The Reliability Of Visual Inspections Conducted By Fire And Rescue Services During Pre-Incident Planning Visits, Victor Hrymak

Conference papers

Fire and rescues services the world over commonly conduct pre-incident planning familiarisation visits. During such visits, fire crews typically look for observable fire safety hazards. Accordingly, two research questions were investigated in this study being; how many fire hazards are typically observed during such familiarisation visits and can the reliability of visual inspection conduct be improved by using a novel systematic visual inspection method. A fire and rescue service with 22 fire fighters was recruited, and they conducted 21 pre-incident planning visits to occupied apartments blocks. The experimental design involved one of the fire crew being tasked with observing fire …

Research Progress And Development Trend Of Staged Hydraulic Fracturing Technology In Long-Borehole Underground Coal Mine, Sun Siqing, Li Wenbo, Zhang Jian, Chen Dongdong, Zhao Jizhan, Zheng Kaige, Long Weicheng, Wang Chenyang, Jia Bingyi, Du Tianlin, Liu Le, Yang Huan, Dai Nan

Coal Geology & Exploration

Since the “13th Five-Year Plan”, significant progress has been made in the directional long-borehole staged hydraulic fracturing technology, equipment development and engineering demonstration application of underground coal mine through the technical research, equipment development and engineering test with directional long-borehole and staged hydraulic fracturing technology in combination, focusing on the two major issues of regional permeability enhancement, efficient gas drainage and rock weakening treatment of hard roof for coal seams in underground coal mine in China. It is mainly manifested in the following four aspects: (1) Two staged hydraulic fracturing technologies and tools with/without rig movement have been developed. Specifically, …