Engineering Commons^™

Study Of Water Desalination: A Persian Gulf City, Grégoire Saury

Student Theses and Dissertations

Water desalination represents an important challenge of tomorrow’s world. Water needs never stop to increase and certain areas of the world relies on ways to have access to this resource. Desalination is a process that offers an alternative access to this vital resource by using seawater as process input. These installations are implementing several purifications units designed to transform seawater into drinkable water. So, they eliminate salt but also any kind of pollution present in the water. Here, the goal will be to design a process able to provide drinkable water for a 200,000 habitants town located in the Persian …

Disk Engine With Circumferential Swirl Radial Combustor, Brian Bohan, Marc Polanka, Bennett Staton

AFIT Patents

A disk engine and system configured to provide high power at a reduced axial length is disclosed herein. The disk engine includes a radial compressor, a compressor discharge manifold positioned circumferentially about compressor, a combustion chamber positioned within the discharge manifold and a radial turbine positioned radially inward of the combustion chamber.

Myosin Ii Adjusts Motility Properties And Regulates Force Production Based On Motor Environment, Omayma Alazzam, Janie Watts, Juliana Davis, Justin Reynolds, Dana N. Reinemann

Faculty and Student Publications

Introduction: Myosin II has been investigated with optical trapping, but single motor-filament assay arrangements are not reflective of the complex cellular environment. To understand how myosin interactions propagate up in scale to accomplish system force generation, we devised a novel actomyosin ensemble optical trapping assay that reflects the hierarchy and compliancy of a physiological environment and is modular for interrogating force effectors.

Methods: Hierarchical actomyosin bundles were formed in vitro. Fluorescent template and cargo actin filaments (AF) were assembled in a flow cell and bundled by myosin. Beads were added in the presence of ATP to bind the cargo AF …

Comparative Study Of Tapered Versus Conventional Cylindrical Balloon For Stent Implantation In Stenotic Tapered Artery, Xiang Shen, Jiabao Jiang, Hongfei Zhu, Kaikai Lu, Pengfei Dong, Linxia Gu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The natural tapering of coronary arteries often creates a dilemma for optimal balloon sizing during stenting. The influence of different balloon types, namely, a tapered balloon and a conventional cylindrical balloon, on the mechanical performance of the stent as well as arterial mechanics was investigated via the finite element method. Stent free-expansion and stent deployment in a stenotic tapered artery were investigated numerically. The biomechanical behavior of the two balloon types was compared in terms of stent foreshortening, stent deformation, stent stress distribution, and arterial wall stress distribution. Results indicate that balloon types affect the transient behavior of the stent …

Three-Dimensional Printed Abdominal Imaging Windows For In Vivo Imaging Of Deep-Lying Tissues, Mitchell Kuss, Ayrianne J. Crawford, Olawale A. Alimi, Michael A. Hollingsworth, Bin Duan

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The ability to microscopically image diseased or damaged tissue throughout a longitudinal study in living mice would provide more insight into disease progression than having just a couple of time points to study. In vivo disease development and monitoring provides more insight than in vitro studies as well. In this study, we developed permanent 3D-printed, surgically implantable abdominal imaging windows (AIWs) to allow for longitudinal imaging of deep-lying tissues or organs in the abdominal cavity of living mice. They are designed to prevent organ movement while allowing the animal to behave normally throughout longitudinal studies. The AIW also acts as …

Permafrost Landscape History Shapes Fluvial Chemistry, Ecosystem Carbon Balance, And Potential Trajectories Of Future Change, Scott Zolkos, Suzanne E. Tank, Steven V. Kokelj, Robert G. Striegl, Sarah Shakil, Carolina Voigt, Oliver Sonnentag, William L. Quinton, Edward A. G. Schuur, Donatella Zona, Peter M. Lafleur, Ryan C. Sullivan, Masahito Ueyama, David P. Billesbach, David Cook, Elyn R. Humphreys, Philip Marsh

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Intensifying permafrost thaw alters carbon cycling by mobilizing large amounts of terrestrial substrate into aquatic ecosystems. Yet, few studies have measured aquatic carbon fluxes and constrained drivers of ecosystem carbon balance across heterogeneous Arctic landscapes. Here, we characterized hydrochemical and landscape controls on fluvial carbon cycling, quantified fluvial carbon fluxes, and estimated fluvial contributions to ecosystem carbon balance across 33 watersheds in four ecoregions in the continuous permafrost zone of the western Canadian Arctic: unglaciated uplands, ice-rich moraine, and organic-rich lowlands and till plains. Major ions, stable isotopes, and carbon speciation and fluxes revealed patterns in carbon cycling across ecoregions …

Electron Energization Signatures In Traveling Kinetic Alfvén Waves At Storm Time Injection Fronts, A. J. Hull, P. A. Damiano, C. C. Chaston, J. R. Johnson, G. D. Reeves

Faculty Publications

The properties of traveling kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) and their role in energizing electrons in the inner magnetosphere during a geomagnetic storm are examined using measurements from the Van Allen Probes and Gyrofluid-Kinetic Electron (GKE) model simulations. Traveling KAWs occur in the vicinity of energetic plasma injection fronts in association with magnetic field dipolarizations. The KAWs coincide with energized field-aligned electrons at energies ≲1 keV. By using observational constraints and incorporating hot and cold electron populations, the GKE simulations are able to reproduce the observed energized electron distribution signatures. The modeling results demonstrate the crucial importance of cold electrons for …

Purification Of Artepillin C (Arc) With Anticancer Activities From Supercritical Co2-Ethanol Extracts Of Brazilian Green Propolis By Using Adsorption Column Chromatography, Lin-Hsiang Chuang, Wen-Chin Chen, Wen Pei, Ming-Hsi Chuang, Todd Hsu, Po-Chao Chuang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Phenolic compounds with varying phenolic structures are present in both terrestrial and marine organisms. Artepillin C (ARC) is a prenylated phenolic compound produced specifically in Brazilian green propolis. Earlier studies have demonstrated the potential of ARC as a dietary supplement for cancer prevention due to its ability to suppress tumor growth and metastasis. Here we report the development of an effective adsorption chromatography combined with supercritical CO2 extraction for the massive purification of ARC. A mixture of supercritical CO2 and ethanol extract of Brazilian green propolis was passed through a stainless chromatographic column packed with protruding metals at 4,000 psi …

A Stochastic Sailing Speed Optimization And Vessel Deployment Problem In Liner Shipping, Dung-Ying Lin, Pak Weng Leong

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In this research, we consider the stochastic sailing speed optimization and vessel deployment problem and examine the trade-off between sailing speed and the number of vessels required to provide a certain service in international liner shipping. Solving this kind of stochastic program is a challenging task. To address this issue, we construct a mathematical formulation based on Ng (1) and Ng (2) and enhance the linearization techniques from Wang and Meng (3) so that problem instances of an even larger scale can be solved. The proposed formulation has been numerically applied to solve realistic cases, and the empirical results show …

Vehicle Assignment For Chemicals Transportation, Yu-Liang Liu, Juan Huang, Ching-Wu Chu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Vehicle assignment is a significant challenge faced by chemical logistics companies. The chemical industry typically outsources the delivery of chemicals to professional logistics companies to meet customers' complex and demanding needs. In this regard, this research explores the case study of a logistics company that selects its delivery modes and formulates its vehicle assignment plans based on its personnel’s experience rather than any formal system and plans its vehicle routes on the day before the delivery. This study seeks to improve the efficiency and immediacy of logistics companies’ vehicle assignments, understand vehicle route planning, maximize space utilization, and minimize transportation …

A Hybrid Finite Difference Method For Singularly Perturbed Delay Partial Differential Equations With Discontinuous Coefficient And Source, Nitika Sharma, Aditya Kaushik

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The article presents a hybrid finite difference scheme to solve a singularly perturbed parabolic functional differential equation with discontinuous coefficient and source. The simultaneous presence of deviating argument with a discontinuous source and coefficient makes the problem stiff. The solution of the problem exhibits turning point behaviour across discontinuity as tends to zero. The hybrid scheme presented is a composition of a central difference scheme and a midpoint upwind scheme on a specially generated mesh. At the same time, an implicit finite difference method is used to discretize the time variable. Consistency, stability, and convergence of the presented numerical approach …

Simulating And Predicting Offshore Oil Spills By Using Cellular Automata, Lin Liu, Wanwu Li, Yumeng Cui, Guanghui Hu, Hang Li

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In recent years, offshore oil spill accidents have caused substantial damage to both marine organisms and marine ecology. Accurate simulation and prediction of oil spills could provide a scientific basis for assessing losses due to oil spills and provide support for emergency decisions regarding oil spills. We analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of existing oil spill models and constructed an offshore oil spill model based on cellular automata (CA). By considering both the flow field and wind field, we formulated new CA rules for the diffusion and drift of a pollution zone, and in our model, the cellular state in …

Design And Testing Of A Bearing Less Piezo Jet Micro Heat Sink, Rong-Tsu Wang, Jung-Chang Wang, Sih-Li Chen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The present study utilized piezoelectric ceramics (PC) as actuators to design five new piezoelectric heatsinks and preliminarily investigated the different design types and their operating conditions, such as the frequency, placement distance, thickness between piezoelectric sheets, piezoelectric sheet size, and noise produced. The results showed that when the micro heatsink bearingless piezo jet was placed too close to the heat source, the high temperature sucked back the surrounding fluids, causing the fluid chamber temperature to rise and the cooling effect to be reduced. Therefore, the heatsink should be placed between 10 and 20 mm from the heat source. With the …

Investigating The Causes Of Stope Instability At Golden Valley Mine, Ashley Ruvimbo Sabao, Prosper Munemo, Peter Kolapo

Journal of Sustainable Mining

The study is based on mining operations that are concentrated in a ground exposed to flooding with varying stope dimensions. Stope stability was assessed in the four stopes, which resembled the mine’s different ground conditions using the stability graph complemented by the equivalent linear over break slough (ELOS) stability approach. The stability graph showed that the stopes in rock masses exposed to flooding fell in the potentially unstable and caving zones whereas the ones that were not affected by flooding fell in the stable zones. The ELOS approach showed that mining the previously flooded rock masses resulted in high over-breaks …

Image Dehazing Network Based On Densely Connected Residual Block And Channel Pixel Attention, Weidong Jin, Shuli Zhang, Peng Tang, Man Zhang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Abstruct: A lot of research achievements have been made in image dehazing based on neural network,but there aiming at the fog residue, even the color distortion and texture loss, in complex outdoor image dehazing, an image dehazing network based on densely connected residual block and channel pixel attention is proposed. Densely connected residual blocks are used to extract and fuse the features of foggy images,and the repair module with channel pixel attention mechanism is used to repair the color and texture of the feature maps. The experimental results show that, compared with the existing methods, the proposed method and …

Research On Motion Recognition And Tracking For Space Survey And Launch Tasks, Bin Ren, Xiaoyu Wang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Space survey and launch task has high precision and long cycle, and needs to be exposed to direct sunlight for a long time, so that the non-contact action calibration and comparison in a virtual working environment is an efficient way to improve the mission completion success rate. Aiming at the real-time motion tracking of aerospace personnel, a keyframe optimization algorithm for the action recognition is proposed. According to the bone data in the depth image, the bone features are extracted, and the keyframes are extracted by the feature threshold. The characteristic data of the keyframe is input into bi-directional …

Sensorless Control Of Pmsm Based On An Anfis Optimized Flux Sliding Mode Observer, Huilin Zhang, Yujie Jin, Haima Yang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the low estimation accuracy of rotor speed and position and the system chattering in sensorless control of permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM), an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is proposed to optimize the flux sliding mode observer(FSMO). Compared with the traditional sliding mode observer, the FSMO improves the estimation accuracy of the rotor flux. The FSMO optimized by ANFIS realizes the on-line adjustment of the observer gain and reduces the system chattering. The improved PLL improves the estimation accuracy of the rotor speed and position. A simulation platform is established to verify the results which show …

Simulation Of Unmanned Tank Clusters Cooperative Combat Based On Military Rules, Chunyan Wang, Hao Ren, Minchi Kuang, Danfeng Wu, Xiangshu Cao, Heng Shi

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Modern warfare is developing towards the unmanned, informatized, and intelligent form. Being the important combat equipment in the future land warfare, unmanned tanks have greater advantages of mobility, safety, and economy. Single unmanned tank can not fulfill the complex tasks of large-scale battles as the cooperation of unmanned tank clusters can do. Focuses on the collaborative applications of unmanned tank clusters, the single unmanned tank system model is established, including dynamic control, decision-making, and weapon armor. A collaborative perception model of unmanned tank clusters is designed considering the unmanned tank's own state and the fusion situation. Based on the …

Modeling Of Traffic Flow Velocity Control Strategy For Human-Machine Mixed Driving At Signalized Intersections, Jianxu Zhang, Shuai Hu, Hongyi Jin

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In order to analyze the influence of speed control strategy of autonomous vehicle on the operation characteristics of traffic flow, a deterministic decision-making model for intersections with artificially driven vehicles considering the driver's influence on the acquisition of driving information is constructed. An automatic driving speed control strategy considering the influence of the speed of preceding vehicle is proposed, and the continuous Cellular Automata update rules for signalized intersections are constructed respectively. By introducing the different penetration rates of automatic driving, road saturation and control area length parameters, the influence of CAV speed control strategy on the traffic …

Research On Passenger Ship Evacuation Simulation Based On Social Force Model, Qimiao Xie, Shuaishuai Guo

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the influence of group behavior and different evacuation methods on the passenger ship evacuation process. Three evacuation methods of passengers arriving at the assembly stations with and without group behavior are provided, and the passenger assembly time, congestion area, congestion timing and duration are analyzed. The simulation results show that the group behavior has a significant effect on the passenger assembly time and increases the variation range of the passenger assembly time, and the congestion area with and without group behavior remains the same. The influences of group behavior on the congestion timing and duration are complicated, …

Layout Planning Of Metro-Based Underground Logistics System Network Considering Fuzzy Uncertainties, Wanjie Hu, Jianjun Dong, Rui Ren, Zhilong Chen

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aming at the network design and optimization of metro-based urban underground logistics under uncertainties, the facility components of two-tier metro-based underground logistics system (M-ULS) are proposed. Focus on the comprehensive costs and system utilization rate, a M-ULS network flow assignment model is established based on the expectation of environmental benefits of underground freight transport. a M-ULS network location-allocation-routing fuzzy random programming model is established, and a crisp linearization method is presented. A solution portfolio combining discrete binary chaos particle swarm optimization-genetic algorithm and exact algorithms is designed for combinatorial optimization. Effectiveness of the presented models and algorithms is verified …

Variable Pitch Control Of Wind Power Generation System Based On Wiener Model, Yue Xu, Li Jia, Xuanyi Fu

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Strong nonlinearity and large fluctuation are the characteristics of wind power generation system. Quickly controlling the output power of wind turbines within the rated range under wind speed random changes is the major problem of wind power system control. Aiming at the pitch control of 5 MW wind turbines, a pitch control scheme for wind power generation systems based on the Wiener model is proposed. On the basis of the special structure in which the linear and nonlinear links of the Wiener model can be separated, the controlled object of a generalized wind power system with linear properties …

Parallel Live Performance Simulation Based On A Multidimensional Hierarchy And Application, Jingsi Yang, Tianyu Huang, Gangyi Ding, Lijie Li, Peng Li

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: A parallel simulation method is proposed for modern live performance. By decomposing the live performance process from the top down, this method assists creators in delivering stage design and control with time and space constraints, which is unattainable for traditional live performances. A multi-layer constraint hierarchy is constructed to apply parallel simulation to art performances. The live performance procedure is continuously optimized by leveraging the circulation of data between virtual and physical stages. The parallel simulation method for stage space has been applied to a digital TV stage for ten years. The experiments show that parallel live performance simulation …

Dynamic Obstacle Avoidance Control Of Three-Order Multi-Robot Cooperative Formation, Yuchao Zhang, Yuan Jiang, Jiyang Dai

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the obstacle avoidance and consensus control of underwater vehicles formation in a 3D complex environment, a cooperative formation dynamic obstacle avoidance control algorithm is proposed. An adaptive repulsion gain term based on the speed of dynamic obstacles is established and it is introduced into the repulsion potential field function to enable the robot to safely avoid static and dynamic obstacles. The potential field function based on the gain term of the potential field and the communication weight between the AUVs are defined to solve the robots of easy self collision and leaving the formation. The total acceleration …

Research On Time-Dependent Vehicle Routing Problem With Multiple Time Windows, Nan Li, Rong Hu, Bin Qian, Huaiping Jin, Naikang Yu

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the time-dependent vehicle routing problem with multiple time windows (TD_VRPMTW) that considers urban traffic congestion, a hybrid discrete gray wolf optimizer (HDGWO) is proposed. In the HDGWO, a new grey wolf individual updating formula is designed, and the integer coding method based on customer permutation is adopted, so that the algorithm can directly perform the global search based on GWO individual updating mechanism in the discrete problem solution space.A population initialization strategy based on the nature of the problem is designed to generate the initial population with high quality and diversity.The information exchange formula of …

Rigid-Liquid Coupling Simulation Of Liquid-Filled Spacecraft Based On Openfoam, Zhijun Song, Zongyu Chen, Lü Jing, Tianshu Wang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the design of the spacecraft attitude control system, a simulation software for the rigid-liquid coupling calculation of the liquid-filled spacecraft is built on the basis of the open source CFD software OpenFOAM. In the moving boundary problem, the N-S equation in the non-inertial frame is derived to improve the calculation efficiency, which avoids a large number of grid conversion calculations of the moving grid method in the traditional CFD software. PIMPLE algorithm is used to build the sloshing dynamics solution module, and the variable step length Runge-Kutta method is used to build the attitude …

Effectiveness Evaluation Method Of Space-Based Information Systems Based On Sem, Chi Han, Wei Xiong, Wenwen Liu, Xiaolan Yu, Ping Jian

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the nonlinear emergence of effectiveness of the coupling and interaction of space-based information system (SIS), an operational effectiveness evaluation (OEE) model based on structural equation modeling (SEM) is proposed. Through the analysis of capacity requirements and system composition, the internal connections of sub-systems are obtained, and the effectiveness evaluation index system is constructed. By considering the synergistic interaction within SIS, the linear and nonlinear SEMs are constructed respectively to evaluate the effectiveness, and the analytical model of OEE is established on the basis of the corresponding parameter equations. With the background of integrated joint operations under …

Bioinformation Heuristic Genetic Algorithm For Solving Tsp, Jia Xu, Fengqing Han, Qixin Liu, Xiaoxia Xue

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Genetic algorithm (GA) is one of the universal path optimization algorithms for traveling salesman problem (TSP). Aiming at the slow convergence and unstable solution of the traditional GA, a bioinformation heuristic genetic algorithm (BHGA) is proposed. By optimizing the fitness function and initial population, the gene sequence comparison technique in bioinformatics is introduced to carry out the cross recombination sorting. The gene reversal operation is used to implement mutation, to accelerate the convergence speed and get a better path solution. The numerical examples in TSPLIB database are solved by BHGA and the experimental simulation results show that the …

Design And Implementation Of Uav Swarm Self-Organizing Search Model, Kan Li, Yunpeng Li, Jiangbo Zhao

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: The UAV swarm self-organizing search for moving target under the urban threat is an important implement of UAV swarm. Though Agent-based complex system modeling and simulation tools, the framework of UAV swarm search simulation model is constructed, and the self-organizing search model of UAV swarm is designed. Under the possible threats to the operational use of UAVs, the concept of self-organizing search for UAV swarm is preliminarily realized and demonstrated, and the solution of autonomous decision making for UAV swarm based on the probability-based finite state machine model is explored, which is analyzed and verified by a case. …

Servicing Method Of Lvc Experiment Resources Based On Object Metamodel, Nan Du, Yaxin Tan, Bin Feng

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In the process of live-virtual-constructive (LVC) experiment there are a large number of heterogeneous simulation resource objects. Aiming at the traditional object model not meeting the rapid response experiment requirements of equipment systems in informationized war, the object metamodel based on LVC experiment resource servitization method research is studied. The object metamodel based on resource description method is given, based on three basic resource servitization forms of object interaction, message passing, remote method invocation, virtualization infrastructure object(VIO), VIO-virtualization object model (VIO-VOM) components of publish/subscribe, VIO-VOM components of aggregation, composition, inheritance, callback mechanism, Localclass-VOM, Message-VOM components are proposed. The …