Engineering Commons^™

3d Fracture Propagation Simulation And Pressure Decline Analysis Research For I-Shaped Fracture Of Coalbed, Chengwang Wang, Zixi Guo, Lifeng Zhang, Yunwei Kang, Zhenjiang You, Shuguang Li, Yubin Wang, Huaibin Zhen

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

After hydraulic fracturing, some treatments intended for production enhancement fail to yield predetermined effects. The main reason is the insufficient research about the fracture propagation mechanism. There is compelling evidence that I-shaped fracture, two horizontal fractures at the junction of coalbed and cover/bottom layer, and one vertical fracture in the coalbed have formed in part of the coalbed after hydraulic fracturing. Therefore, this paper aims at I-shaped fracture propagation simulation. A novel propagation model is derived on the basis of a three-dimensional (3D) model, and the coupling conditions of vertical fracture and horizontal fractures are established based on the flow …

Novel Approach For The Destress Blasting In Hard Rock Underground Copper Mines, Piotr Mertuszka, Marcin Szumny, Krzysztof Fuławka, Piotr Kondoł

Journal of Sustainable Mining

The present study investigates the possibility of developing a novel method for reducing seismicity and rockbursts in deep underground mines based on modifying drilling and blasting patterns. The main goal was to develop and implement firing patterns for multi-face production blasting, which allow increasing the capability of inducing stress relief in the rock mass, manifested in the seismic event. This method may improve stability control in underground workings, and mitigate risks associated with the dynamic effects of rock mass pressure compared with currently used methods. Thus, the seismic energy may be released immediately after blasting in a controlled way. For …

Liquid-Phase Effects On Adsorption Processes In Heterogeneous Catalysis, Mehdi Zare, Mohammad S. Saleheen, Nirala Singh, Mark J. Uline, Muhammad Faheem, Andreas Heyden

Faculty Publications

Aqueous solvation free energies of adsorption have recently been measured for phenol adsorption on Pt(111). Endergonic solvent effects of ∼1 eV suggest solvents dramatically influence a metal catalyst's activity with significant implications for the catalyst design. However, measurements are indirect and involve adsorption isotherm models, which potentially reduces the reliability of the extracted energy values. Computational, implicit solvation models predict exergonic solvation effects for phenol adsorption, failing to agree with measurements even qualitatively. In this study, an explicit, hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical approach for computing solvation free energies of adsorption is developed, solvation free energies of phenol adsorption are computed, …

Assessing Readiness For Implementation Of Prognostics And Health Management In Small And Medium Enterprises, Sara C. Fuller

Theses and Dissertations

Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) refers to using robust sensing, monitoring, and control to detect, assess, and track system health degradation and failure modes, allowing for enhanced management and operational decisions. The need for PHM within a manufacturing facility has increased due to a variety of reasons, such as the increasing complexity of manufacturing equipment.

A lack of readiness for digital implementations is linked to failure. The literature highlights certain barriers and enablers that can signal whether a technology implementation will be successful, such as management and maintenance employees’ desire to change the existing process, an understanding and willingness to …

System And Method For Determining Operating Deflection Shapes Of A Structure Using Optical Techniques, Javad Baqersad

Mechanical Engineering Patents

A system for measuring total operating deflection shapes of a structure includes one or more imagers , each including two cameras spaced apart from one another and each oriented and positioned to have corresponding fields of view of a different corresponding section of the structure , with the corresponding sections that may include overlap area of the structure within each of the different sections of the structure . Each of the cameras generates a corresponding data stream , which is communicated to a controller , which is configured to measure the response of the structure to an excitation , such …

A Spatial Long-Term Trend Analysis Of Estimated Chlorophyll-A Concentrations In Utah Lake Using Earth Observation Data, Kaylee Brook Tanner

Theses and Dissertations

We analyzed chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentrations in shallow, turbid Utah Lake using Landsat data from 1984 to 2021. Utah Lake is ~40 km by 21 km, has a surface area of ~390 km2, an average depth of ~3 m, and loses ~50% of inflow to evaporation. This limits spatial mixing, allowing us to evaluate impacts to smaller lake regions. We evaluated long-term trends at the pixel level and for areas related to boundary conditions. We created 17 study areas based on differences in shoreline development and nutrient inflows. We expected impacted areas to exhibit increasing chl-a trends, as population growth and …

Experimental Study On Co2-Sensitive Polyacrylamide As Potential In-Situ Sealing Agent For Co2 Leakage Pathways In Geological Storage Sites, Iris Laihmen Quan Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

As the world pushes for ‘greener’ technologies and carbon neutrality, efforts have focused on creating novel ways to mitigate humankind’s carbon footprint. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has become a prevalent technique that has proven to be an effective long-term method to safely relocate excess carbon dioxide (CO₂) into subsurface formations. However, CCS is a newer technique which requires constant monitoring due to potential leakage pathways present in CO₂ storage sites; therefore, a preventive approach to seal leakage pathways is recommended. This dissertation explores the potential of CO₂-sensitive polyacrylamide (CO₂-SPAM) as a novel …

Novel 3d Bench Top Model For Vascular Calcification Research, Ursla-Marie K. Offiah

Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of non-communicable disease in the whole world killing 17 million people in 2012. Among the many vascular diseases is vascular calcification (VC) which is the mineral build up in the walls of blood vessels. Medial calcification is the plaque buildup in the medial layer of the blood vesicle that is characterized by arterial stiffness and high blood pressure. Current calcification research involves two dimensional (2D) lab methods such as flat petri dishes to investigate the mechanism that causes and inhibits vascular calcification. Research has shown that the use of three-dimensional (3D) models can be …

An Investigation Into The Velocity-Dependence Of The Coefficient Of Friction Between Concrete And Maraging Steel, Trace A. Duncan

Theses and Dissertations

This work investigates the velocity-dependent coefficient of friction between concrete and 300 Maraging steel over short displacements. A modified torsional Hopkinson bar is utilized for rotating thin-walled steel rings in contact with a concrete disk under static precompression. Rotational velocity is varied between tests to determine the velocity dependence of the friction coefficient. Normal force is varied between certain tests to determine the pressure dependence of the friction coefficient between the concrete and steel. Three different types of concrete are tested to deduce any composition effect on the friction coefficient. Dry and greased conditions’ impact on the friction coefficient are …

Experiments To Mitigate Flow Recirculation In A Closed Anechoic Chamber Using Mesh Screens As Turbulence Suppressors, Tori Kay Wolverton

Theses and Dissertations

The desire to gather acoustic data of a propeller in simulated hover without environmental effects is met with the challenge of recirculating flow in a closed anechoic chamber. Flow recirculation in an anechoic chamber is not ideal because the effects of it being ingested by the rotor cause unsteady loadings on the propeller. This unsteady loading causes vortex noise from the turbulence introduced by the recirculation of the flow. The aim is to study the acoustic signature of a propeller separate from external factors and engine noise. Two different propellers with three different screen combinations were tested in a closed …

Ferrous Alloy Manufacturing For The Martian Surface Through In-Situ Resource Utilization With Ionic Liquids Harvested Iron And Bosch Process Carbon, Blake C. Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

As research continues for the habitation of the Lunar and Martian surfaces, the need for materials for construction of structural parts, mechanical components, and tools remains as a major milestone. The use of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) techniques is critical due to the financial, physical, and logistical burdens of sending supplies beyond low-Earth orbit. The Bosch process is currently in development as a life support system at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to regenerate oxygen (O2) from metabolic carbon dioxide (CO2) with the byproduct of elemental carbon (C). The Bosch process presents a …

Three Case Studies Of Using Hybrid Model Machine Learning Techniques In Educational Data Mining To Improve The Classification Accuracies, Sujan Poudyal

Theses and Dissertations

A multitude of data is being produced from the increase in instructional technology, e-learning resources, and online courses. This data could be used by educators to analyze and extract useful information which could be beneficial to both instructors and students. Educational Data Mining (EDM) extracts hidden information from data contained within the educational domain. In data mining, hybrid method is the combination of various machine learning techniques. Through this dissertation, the novel use of machine learning hybrid techniques was explored in EDM using three educational case studies. First, in consideration for the importance of students’ attention, on and off-task data …

Flow And Thermal Transport In Additively Manufactured Metal Lattices Based On Novel Unit-Cell Topologies, Inderjot Kaur

Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) over the last two decades has opened venues to mitigate the challenges associated with stochastic open-cell metal foams manufactured through the traditional foaming process. Regular lattices with user-defined unit cell topologies have been reported to exhibit better mechanical properties in comparison to metal foams which extend their applicability to multifunctional heat exchangers subjected to both thermal and mechanical loads. The current study aims at investigating the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of promising novel unit cell topologies realizable through AM technologies. Experimental investigation was conducted on four different topologies, viz (a) Octet, (b) Face-diagonal (FD) cube, …

Perceived Location Of Virtual Content Measurement Method In Optical See Through Augmented Reality, Farzana Alam Khan

Theses and Dissertations

An important research question for optical see through AR is, “how accurately and precisely can a virtual object’s perceived location be measured in three dimensional space?” Previously, a method was developed for measuring the perceived 3D location of virtual objects using Microsoft HoloLens1 display. This study found an unexplained rightward perceptual bias on horizontal plane; most participants were right eye dominant, and consistent with the hypothesis that perceived location is biased in eye dominance direction. In this thesis, a replication study is reported, which includes binocular and monocular viewing conditions, recruits an equal number of left and right eye dominant …

A Biomechanical Approach To Prevent Falls In Ergonomic Settings, Sachini Kodithuwakku Arachchige

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Fall-related injuries are exceptionally prevalent in occupational settings. While endangering the workers’ health, falls cause poor productivity and increased economic burden in the workplace. Hence, identifying these threats and training workers to achieve proper postural control is crucial. Purpose: Study 1: To investigate the ankle joint kinematics in unexpected and expected trip responses during single-tasking (ST), dual-tasking (DT), and triple-tasking (TT), before and after a physically fatiguing exercise. Study 2: To investigate the impact of virtual heights, DT, and training on static postural stability and cognitive processing. Methods: Study 1: Twenty collegiate volunteers (10 males and females, one left …

Short-Term Electricity Price Point And Probabilistic Forecasts, Chenxu Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

Accurate short-term electricity price forecasts are essential to all electricity market participants. Generation companies adopt price forecasts to hedge generation shortage risks; load serving entities use price forecasts to purchase energy with low cost; and trading companies utilize price forecasts to arbitrage between markets.

Currently, researches on point forecast mainly focus on exploring periodic patterns of electricity price in time domain. However, frequency domain enables us to identify more information within price data to facilitate forecast. Besides, price spike forecast has not been fully studied in the existing works. Therefore, we propose a short-term electricity price forecast framework that analyzes …

Bayesian Network Development And Validation For Siting Selection, Abdullah Hassan Battawi

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, increasing electricity demand requires considerable attention to increasing the diversity of power generation. Alternative energy can produce heating and power systems and thermal storage. Our objective and every organization’s objectives are to minimize its energy consumption cost under electricity demand uncertainty. In rural areas, heat and power availability and stability are also crucial. Combined heat and power have proven their effectiveness as a subsequent to Electricity. This paper identified four criteria and eleven sub-criteria to determine the most appropriate structure location for combined heat and power in the rural community. The Bayesian Network technology has been applied …

Evaluation Of Flood Damage On Cross Laminated Timber Wall Configurations, Mustafa Nezih Kaya

Theses and Dissertations

Greenhouse gas emissions are one of the critical factors that affect climate change, increasing flooding risk and threatening human life. The use of traditional construction materials is responsible for a higher percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions when compared to the use of sustainable materials in the construction industry. The substitution of current building materials with sustainable materials is essential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and positively influence climate change when the current construction demand in the world is considered. Wood is one of the primary environmentally friendly construction materials in regard to high carbon storage and low carbon emissions. …

Modeling Supercritical Fluids And Fabricating Electret Films To Address Dielectric Challenges In High-Power-Density Systems, Farhina Haque

Theses and Dissertations

Wide bandgap (WBG) devices and power electronic converters (PEC) that enable the dynamic control of energy and high-power density designs inevitably contain defects including sharp edges, triple points, and cavities, which result in local electric field enhancements. The intensified local electric stresses cause either immediate dielectric breakdown or partial discharge (PD) that erodes electrical insulators and accelerates device aging. With the goal of addressing these dielectric challenges emerging in power-dense applications, this dissertation focuses on 1) modeling the dielectric characteristics of supercritical fluids (SCFs), which is a new dielectric medium with high dielectric strength and high cooling capability; and 2) …

Effects Of Cyclic Intercritical Annealing On Strength-Ductility Combinations In Medium Manganese Steels, Dawn Van Iderstine

Theses and Dissertations

Intercritically annealed medium manganese steels are a promising third-generation advanced high-strength steel candidate, relying on large fractions of Mn-enriched retained austenite for excellent strength-ductility combinations. The present study proposes a novel cyclic intercritical annealing to promote nucleation and efficient stabilization of austenite in a medium Mn microstructure. Design of the heat treatment is driven by the hypothesis that the distribution of ductile austenite is key in mitigating the strain incompatibility that accelerates failure in these steels. Development and preliminary testing of the heat treatment are first detailed and compared with literature results for equivalent isothermal annealing. The effects of cyclic …

The Temperature Dependent Mechanical Response Of M250 Maraging Steel And Its Implications On Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing, Frank M. Brinkley Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is becoming increasingly common for large scale additive manufacturing (AM) applications because of its high deposition rate (2-3 kg/hr.). The rapid temperature changes and subsequent evolution of mechanical properties during AM can lead to large distortion and residual stresses. Finite element modeling of the AM process shows promise to minimize part distortion and residual stresses through improved path planning and process parameter optimization. However, accurate material properties of M250 before and after heat treatment are needed to properly characterize the property evolution from annealed to AM, to aged. Due to limited data on annealed M250, this …

Development Of The Subwave Rov And Neural-Inertial Positioning System, Jason Farmer

Theses and Dissertations

This report documents the development of the Subwave, a remotely-operated underwater vehicle (ROV), and an artificial neural network based inertial positioning system. The Subwave uses the open-source ArduSub software framework, commercial-off-the-shelf hardware components, and several custom systems. It is designed as a platform for researching autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The first step for an AUV is navigating waypoints, which requires the AUV to know its global position. Since global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) are denied underwater, the available underwater positioning systems were surveyed and determined that all the available systems were too large and expensive for the Subwave. It was …

Three-Axis Magnetometer Calibration With Norm Preservation, Seth Lichlyter

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis proposes a set of methods for the purpose of improving the calibration of three-axis magnetometers. Specifically, these methods aim to improve the accuracy of the bias estimation methods currently in use. The first proposed method utilizes a constrained optimization problem based on norm preserving. The second proposed method finds the same bias estimate as the first method, but in a computationally more efficient manner. The last proposed method tackles the case where the value of the local geomagnetic field is only imprecisely known. Computer simulations demonstrate the viability of the proposed methods.

The Effect Of Heat Treatment On Mechanical Properties Of Additively Manufactured 17-4 Ph Stainless Steel, Nicholas Aaron Hopkins

Theses and Dissertations

Additive manufacturing (AM) is used to create geometries otherwise impossible to machine. Topology optimization, microstructural texture control, and the use of lattices could be created through AM to increase performance of systems. Currently research focuses on solution aging of printed 17-4 PH, while other heat treatments are not as heavily studied. This study identifies different heat treatments applied to additively manufactured 17-4 precipitation hardened (PH) and the effects on mechanical properties. This study used quasi-static tension, quasi-static compression, and Charpy V-notch testing to analyze the effects of heat treatment as well as the effectiveness of additive manufacturing compared to traditional …

Bayesian Network Development For Depots Location Selection With Biomass Supply System Excellence, Alaa Ashraf Abulhamail

Theses and Dissertations

The renewable energy of the wood pellet market has taken great attention over the last few periods. However, the returns from the pellet business depend largely on how well the quality of biomass. The objective is to economically harvest pellets matching pellet standards set forward by the U.S. markets. The single-mindedness of this study is to develop a Bayesian network model to ensure a high-quality flow through the supply chain of the pallet industry in the top ten counties in Mississippi state. Multiple critical decisions (harvesting, storage, transportation, and quality control) of a biomass-to-pellet supply system could potentially affect the …

Behavioral And Histological Inflammatory Analysis Of A Single, Mild Traumatic Brain Injury And Repeated Subconcussive Brain Injury Using A Rodent Model., Anna Marie Clay

Theses and Dissertations

Subconcussive (SC) impacts have become a growing concern within the neuroscience community regarding the immediate and long-lasting effects of sports-related injuries. While a single low-level impact, i.e., a subconcussion, may not cause cerebral perturbations, it has been increasingly recognized that repeated SC exposure can induce deleterious effects. Therefore, determining the lower limits of systematic perturbation resulting from multiple SC impacts is of critical importance in expanding our understanding of cerebral vulnerability and recovery. Currently, there is a lack of correlation between a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and repeated SC impacts with respect to injury biomechanics. Moreover, the cumulative threshold …

Developing Novel Optimization And Machine Learning Frameworks To Improve And Assess The Safety Of Workplaces, Amin Aghalari

Theses and Dissertations

This study proposes several decision-making tools utilizing optimization and machine learning frameworks to assess and improve the safety of the workplaces. The first chapter of this study presents a novel mathematical model to optimally locate a set of detectors to minimize the expected number of casualties in a given threat area. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear binary integer programming model and then solved as a linearized branch-and-bound algorithm. Several sensitivity analyses illustrate the model's robustness and draw key managerial insights. One of the prevailing threats in the last decades, Active Shooting (AS) violence, poses a serious threat to …

Evaluating Serverless Computing, Charitra Maharjan

LSU Master's Theses

Function as a Service (FaaS) is gaining admiration because of its way of deploying the computations to serverless backends in the different clouds. It transfers the complexity of provisioning and allocating the necessary resources for an application to the cloud providers. The cloud providers also give an illusion of always availability of resources to the users. Among the cloud providers, AWS serverless platform offers a new paradigm for developing cloud applications without worrying about the underlying hardware infrastructure. It manages not only the resource provisioning and scaling of an application but also provides an opportunity to reimagine the cloud infrastructure …

Biodiesel Production From A Non-Edible Source Of Royna (Aphanamixis Polystachya) Oil, Md. Wasikur Rahman, Asim Kumar Mondal, Md Shakil Hasan

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Background

Rapid consumption of fossil fuels as well as rising environmental deterioration caused by extreme CO2 emissions has become crucial in searching for a clean and renewable energy source such as biodiesel. The current work is an attempt to produce biodiesel from a potential non-edible feedstock of Aphanamixis polystachya, locally known as ‘Royna’ seed oil in Bangladesh.

Methods

Royna oil was extracted from the seed by Soxhlet extraction method. Biodiesel was synthesized by a three-step process: saponification of oil, followed by acidification of the soap, and esterification of the free fatty acid (FFA).

Results

The result presented showed that …

28 Ghz Patch Antenna Array With Reduced Mutual Coupling For 5g Communications Systems, Rahabu F. Mwang’Amba, Hashimu Uledi Iddi

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

A 28 GHz patch antenna array with reduced mutual coupling for 5G communication systems is presented in this paper. Two elements antenna array was simulated with a periodic boundary to represent an infinity array. The antenna array is attached with a pair of the coupled directional coupler with a coupling value of -3.47 dB, and transmission lengths of 3.40 mm and 7.62 mm depending on the antenna array's magnitude and phase coefficient were designed and simulated. A reduced mutual coupling of -31.86 dB compared to -10.75 dB for an array without a decoupling network was observed. The wide scanning angle …