Engineering Commons^™

Penetration Testing In A Small Business Network, Lee Kandle

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Penetration testing on a business network consisting of three routers, one switch, and one computer. Access Control Lists (ACLs) on the routers act as the firewall(s) for the network. 10 of the twelve ACLs do not deny any form of traffic to reflect the lax security standards common in small networks. Router 1 acts as the primary router of the Attacker/Pen Tester. Router 2 represents the edge router for the business and Router 3 is the inner router closest to end-user devices. Switch 1 is connected to Router 3 with one computer connected to the switch acting as an end-user. …

Rent-A-Car, Akifa Farqunda Haqqani

All Capstone Projects

Our goal is to build a data management system for a car rental company. This enables the admin to rent a vehicle to a customer. This system increases customer retention while simplifying vehicle and personnel management. The interface of this software car Rental System is very user-friendly. As a result, users will find it extremely simple to work on. Administrators can use this system to manage customer confirm and cancel booking requests, customer testimonials, and customer issues. The vehicle data can be entered into the system. Administrators can also modify or delete existing vehicle data. There is no delay in …

Career Engine, Sai Akhil Gujja

All Capstone Projects

People's education is so widely available in this age of tough competition that openings for them in jobs are getting harder to find. Companies need people in their fields with a solid educational foundation and maximum years of job experience. Finding people who are talented, intelligent, and competent enough to be given a position at that time is challenging. Companies are working harder than ever to find people who can meet their needs.[1] Thousands of applicants are competing for one job opening. When considering these difficulties, one may come up with a strategy or approach that can help manage and …

R Stack Career, Hari Krishna Patti

All Capstone Projects

The Career Engine's main purpose is to create a platform for job searchers to find suitable and gratifying work based on their qualifications. It also connects job searchers with the recruiting process. This career engine recognizes when a job seeker applies for a job and when a company publishes a job and chooses a candidate. A career engine's principal objective is to aid job searchers in getting a quick career. In today's society, there are several employment portal platforms. In this case, we must create a web-based application utilizing the Career Engine. In this period of decline, everyone, experienced or …

Career Engine (Jobesy), Vijaya Lakshmi Patti

All Capstone Projects

In today's world, finding a job is like a rat race in every professional field. The scenario is such that finding jobs that fit the skill sets and interests takes much work for job seekers. On the other side, recruiters face similar challenges in finding the finest candidate to match their requirements.

Talent jet is a website with unique ingredients to solve all these challenges. Talent jet provides an easy and convenient search application for job seekers to find their desired job and recruiters to find suitable candidates. Talent jet will provide a platform where job seekers and recruiters can …

Career Engine, Anoop Vivek Sagar Mallavarapu

All Capstone Projects

People's education is so widely available in this age of tough competition that openings for them in jobs are getting harder to find. Companies need people in their fields with a solid educational foundation and maximum years of job experience. Finding people who are talented, intelligent, and competent enough to be given a position at that time is challenging. Companies are working harder than ever to find people who can meet their needs.[1] Thousands of applicants are competing for one job opening. When considering these difficulties, one may come up with a strategy or approach that can help manage and …

Quantitative Metallurgy Of Anisotropic Nickel-Base Superalloys Under Tensile And Fatigue Loading, Dominic Devito

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Nickel-base superalloys are ideal materials for application in high temperature and high stress environments. Their resistance to both heat and corrosion makes these metals well-suited for use as components in engines and turbines. There has been much interest in characterizing the mechanical properties of Ni-base superalloys under severe conditions. Either large monotonic loads or cyclic loads are the most investigated. Also, research efforts tend to focus on the influence of microstructural features of fatigue life, and they accomplish this through qualitative observation. Presented here is both quantitative and qualitative analysis done on Ni-base superalloy specimens that have been subjected to …

Improving Urban Resilience And Sustainability Via Multi-Scale Urban Food-Energy-Water-Waste Nexus Analysis, Andrea Valencia Marin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Urban sustainable development requires an in-depth and holistic understanding of the complex Food-Energy-Water-Waste (FEWW) nexus facing population growth, climate change, economic development, and pollution control. Following the United Nations (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), goal 11 aims for sustainable cities and communities to be resilient, sustainable, and safe cities to achieve social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Explicitly, SDG target 11.3 concentrates on inclusive and sustainable urbanization for sustainable planning and management. As the UN Food System program aims for inclusive, sustainable, and resilient network, promoting sustainable food systems becomes a necessity to echo social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The …

Synthesis, Characterization, And Modeling Of Thermo-Responsive Hydrogels With Improved Mechanical Strength And Swelling Kinetics, Marilu Ortiz Nieves

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Hydrogels have been extensively studied for use in applications such as tissue engineering, drug delivery systems, wound dressing, actuators, valves, and sensors in Micromechanical Systems (MEMS), among others. Thermo-responsive hydrogels in particular pose various advantages such as their capability to respond to an external stimulus and reverse the response when the stimulus is removed and the ability to imbibe a significant amount of solvent and increase their volume by over 1000%. Extensive research has been conducted to tune and improve hydrogel’s rate and degree of swelling and mechanical properties. Previous work showed that when synthetic clay (Laponite) is cross-linked with …

From Field To Failure: Detecting And Understanding Reliability Defects In Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaics, Dylan Colvin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Severe pollution levels and the growing influence of climate change have shown that dirty energy sources need renewable and sustainable replacements. The field of photovoltaics (PV) has grown substantially over the years from a niche space solar market to a commodity in large part due to improvements in reliability. Reliability of all materials in a PV module must be considered. The industry has seen an explosion of innovation in cell interconnection technologies with significant market penetration in the past several years. These emerging, less mature technologies require more reliability information to guide improvements. Degradation studies of long-term outdoor exposure and …

Using Machine Learning Technique To Develop A Deterioration Predicting Model For Pavement Marking In Florida, Ehab Abdelmaksoud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Longitudinal pavement markings play a significant role on the roadways by delivering information to motorists to help them navigate and follow the road. These markings are also considered to be a crucial control device that can enhance ideal nighttime visibility, especially on rural roads where the surrounding luminance is insufficient. Hence, the main question for public agencies or officials is about when the replacement of the pavement markings needs to take place. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is considering proposing a minimum level of retroreflectivity standard and based on that, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) set aside …

Comparative Analysis Of Winglet Efficiency On Supercritical Versus Traditionally Cambered Airfoils, Evan Cathers

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study serves to define the performance of several industry-recognized and exploratory wing tip devices on aircraft wings utilizing contemporary supercritical airfoil geometry. For comparison, the same examination is performed on a wing comprised of traditionally cambered airfoils, the platform upon which winglets were initially developed. The supercritical wing design is based on that of the Airbus A320, while the conventional airfoil is based upon the Boeing 737-800 platform. Tip devices selected for analysis include blended, raked, split scimitar, fence, and spiroid winglets, as well as tip sails, characterized by the spreading of a bird’s primary flight feathers. Methodology for …

Analytical Modeling Of A Novel Elastohydrodynamic Seal Design For Supercritical Co2 Power Cycles, Ikenna C. Ejiogu

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) power cycles show great potential for higher plant efficiencies and power densities for a wide range of power generation applications such as fossil fuel power plants, nuclear power production, solar power, and geothermal power generation. sCO₂ leakage has been one of the main concerns in such applications, penalizing the cycle efficiencies. The effect of the seal leakage on the cycle efficiency could be as high as 0.65% for a utility sCO₂ power cycle. Therefore, there is a pressing need for effective sealing solutions to get the full benefit of sCO₂ power …

Continuous Operator Authentication For Teleoperated Systems Using Hidden Markov Models, Junjie Yan, Kevin Huang, Kyle Lindgren, Tamara Bonaci, Howard J. Chizeck

Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this article, we present a novel approach for continuous operator authentication in teleoperated robotic processes based on Hidden Markov Models (HMM). While HMMs were originally developed and widely used in speech recognition, they have shown great performance in human motion and activity modeling. We make an analogy between human language and teleoperated robotic processes (i.e., words are analogous to a teleoperator's gestures, sentences are analogous to the entire teleoperated task or process) and implement HMMs to model the teleoperated task. To test the continuous authentication performance of the proposed method, we conducted two sets of analyses. We built a …

Nitrate Removal During The Shoulder Months In The Occoquan Reservoir: A Comprehensive Study, Km Risaduzzaman

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The artificial nitrate addition by the Upper Occoquan Service Authority (UOSA)’s Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) to the Occoquan Reservoir during the warmer months has been proven to be an efficient way of maintaining the water quality of the reservoir. During the warmer months, the water body became thermally stratified, resulting in hypolimnetic anoxia and the subsequent release of undesired matters from the reduced sediments. At the end of the warmer months, the temperature began to decrease, and by the beginning of winter, oxygen became ubiquitous in water because of fall turnover. This condition remained stable until the following thermal stratification; …

Controlled Voltage Of Hot Snare Polypectomy Device In Electrosurgical Device, Saidi Olayinka Olalere

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The study is used to understand the working procedure of the Olympus PSD-30 Electrosurgical Unit which a high-frequency alternating current is to measure the voltage and power output from the unit when used for a surgical operation to determine the extent of tissue damage. The output power and voltage were as examined with the stopwatch, then with an Arduino time based for 1, 2, and 3 seconds to understand the different modes of the cut and coagulation feedback with an RCC circuit used to mimic the human body. This shows a pattern in which the feedback power increases, and voltage …

Cloud-Based Machine Learning And Sentiment Analysis, Emmanuel C. Opara

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The role of a Data Scientist is becoming increasingly ubiquitous as companies and institutions see the need to gain additional insights and information from data to make better decisions to improve the quality-of-service delivery to customers. This thesis document contains three aspects of data science projects aimed at improving tools and techniques used in analyzing and evaluating data. The first research study involved the use of a standard cybersecurity dataset and cloud-based auto-machine learning algorithms were applied to detect vulnerabilities in the network traffic data. The performance of the algorithms was measured and compared using standard evaluation metrics. The second …

Fabrication Of Soft Gripper Via Direct Inkjet Writing Additive Manufacturing, Evan D. Johnson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Additive manufacturing (AM) has bloomed recently in the manufacturing field due to its many applications. Direct inkjet writing (DIW) is one of the main am technologies used in the production of grippers. DIW is the most popular taking advantage of materials like silicone and hydrogels. The technology of 3D printing with silicone is still in early stages ,nevertheless, the ability to print with soft materials is very alluring. The implementation of complex geometries in the silicone world would yield vast opportunities in the medical and robotics fields. Additive manufacturing allows for this to be thoroughly examined. In this research these …

Evaluation Of Posted Speed Limits Reductions On Urban Roads With A High Percentage Of Cyclists, Jaclyn S. Schaefer, Miguel Figliozzi, Avinash Unnikrishnan

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper presents a before and after analysis of the impact of posted speed limit (PSL) changes on passenger car (FHWA class two vehicles) speeds in Portland, OR. The study focuses on urban roads, comparing sites that underwent a PSL 5-mph reduction (treatment sites) and sites where the PSL did not change (control sites). Sites with a high percentage of and priority for cyclists (neighborhood greenways) and sites with a more standard traffic composition were compared. Differences in speed characteristics such as mean and 85th percentile speeds, the speed variance, and the proportion of vehicles exceeding a speed threshold (relative …

Maximum Profit Facility Location And Dynamic Resource Allocation For Instant Delivery Logistics, Darshan Chauhan, Avinash Unnikrishnan, Stephen D. Boyles

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Increasing e-commerce activity, competition for shorter delivery times, and innovations in transportation technologies have pushed the industry toward instant delivery logistics. This paper studies a facility location and online demand allocation problem applicable to a logistics company expanding to offer instant delivery service using unmanned aerial vehicles or drones. The problem is decomposed into two stages. During the planning stage, the facilities are located, and product and battery capacity are allocated. During the operational stage, customers place orders dynamically and real-time demand allocation decisions are made. The paper explores a multi-armed bandit framework for maximizing the cumulative reward realized by …

Compound Flooding In Convergent Estuaries: Insights From An Analytical Model, Ramin Familkhalili, Stefan A. Talke, David A. Jay

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We investigate here the effects of geometric properties (channel depth and cross-sectional convergence length), storm surge characteristics, friction, and river flow on the spatial and temporal variability of compound flooding along an idealized, meso-tidal coastal-plain estuary. An analytical model is developed that includes exponentially convergent geometry, tidal forcing, constant river flow, and a representation of storm surge as a combination of two sinusoidal waves. Nonlinear bed friction is treated using Chebyshev polynomials and trigonometric functions, and a multisegment approach is used to increase accuracy. Model results show that river discharge increases the damping of surge amplitudes in an estuary, while …

Closed Loop Recycling Of Low Friction Polymers In Fused Granule Fabrication Additive Manufacturing Processes, Neil Thompson, Jason Weaver

Faculty Publications

Plastic waste is a critical worldwide problem that impacts additive manufacturing (AM). Extensive research has explored how plastic waste in AM can be reduced by recycling prints into new filament, with varying success. An alternative to filament-based extrusion is “fused granule fabrication” (FGF), which extrudes from pellets or granules. This method is often used for large area additive manufacturing (LAAM) of polymers. This paper expands upon the knowledge base from previous research on LAAM and examines the extent to which PETG can be recycled and reprinted through the same FGF tool without significant loss to its material properties. The metric …

Durability Of Vacuum Infusion Tooling Produced From Fused Granular Fabrication Additive Manufacturing, Nathan Northrup, Jason Weaver, Andy R. George

Faculty Publications

Large area additive manufacturing (LAAM) has the capability to create tooling that is lower cost than conventionally manufactured tooling and still has sufficient properties for many applications. A vacuum infusion mold was printed from fiberglass-ABS and evaluated for wear and suitability for small vacuum infusion runs. The mold was designed to accentuate high wear as a “worst case” scenario. The mold was able to produce 10 parts successfully before any noticeable change occurred to the surface finish. By 14 parts, the surface finish had roughened sufficiently that demolding was difficult and resulted in damage to the part. Profilometry measurements showed …

Effect Of Methyl Orange On Wettability Of Sandstone Formations: Implications For Enhanced Oil Recovery, Fatemah Alhamad, Mujahid Ali, Muhammad Ali, Hussein Abid, Hussein Hoteit, Stefan Iglauer, Alireza Keshavarz

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

With the increasing global population, fossil fuel resources still represent a main contributor to the energy supply, despite the progress made in the field of renewable energies. Large quantities of residual oil from mature reservoirs cannot be produced through primary and secondary recovery methods. Among alternative recovery techniques, chemically enhanced oil recovery methods are attracting considerable interest to increase the hydrocarbon recovery from oil-bearing geological formations. The wettability of any particular formation can be used to predict the oil recovery factor of a reservoir based on its wetting state. However, due to the complex nature of geological porous media, special …

Towards A Digital Twin For Characterising Natural Source Zone Depletion: A Feasibility Study Based On The Bemidji Site, Kaveh Sookhak Lari, Greg B. Davis, John L. Rayner

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Natural source zone depletion (NSZD) of light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) may be a valid long-term management option at petroleum impacted sites. However, its future long-term reliability needs to be established. NSZD includes partitioning, biotic and abiotic degradation of LNAPL components plus multiphase fluid dynamics in the subsurface. Over time, LNAPL components are depleted and those partitioning to various phases change, as do those available for biodegradation. To accommodate these processes and predict trends and NSZD over decades to centuries, for the first time, we incorporated a multi-phase multi-component multi-microbe non-isothermal approach to representatively simulate NSZD at field scale. To …

Optimum Geological Storage Depths For Structural H2 Geo-Storage, Stefan Iglauer

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

H₂ geo-storage has been suggested as a key technology with which large quantities of H₂ can be stored and withdrawn again rapidly. One option which is currently explored is H₂ storage in sedimentary geologic formations which are geographically widespread and potentially provide large storage space. The mechanism which keeps the buoyant H₂ in the subsurface is structural trapping where a caprock prevents the H₂ from rising by capillary forces. It is therefore important to assess how much H₂ can be stored via structural trapping under given geo-thermal conditions. This structural trapping capacity is thus …

Application Of Neuromorphic Olfactory Approach For High-Accuracy Classification Of Malts, Anup Vanarse, Adam Osseiran, Alexander Rassau, Peter Van Der Made

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Current developments in artificial olfactory systems, also known as electronic nose (e-nose) systems, have benefited from advanced machine learning techniques that have significantly improved the conditioning and processing of multivariate feature-rich sensor data. These advancements are complemented by the application of bioinspired algorithms and architectures based on findings from neurophysiological studies focusing on the biological olfactory pathway. The application of spiking neural networks (SNNs), and concepts from neuromorphic engineering in general, are one of the key factors that has led to the design and development of efficient bioinspired e-nose systems. However, only a limited number of studies have focused on …

A New Comprehensive Dimensionless Inflow Performance Relationship For Gas Wells, Azim Kalantariasl, Isa Farhadi, Soosan Farzani, Alireza Keshavarz

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Prediction of gas well deliverability is important for reservoir management. Conventional flow after flow, isochronal or modified isochronal tests are common methods for calculation of well deliverability. Single-point test using Vogel-type dimensionless inflow performance relationships (IPR) was also proposed to overcome the need for multi-point tests. However, analysis of field data showed that existing dimensionless IPR correlations fail to accurately predict well deliverability for some reservoir conditions. In this study, a wide range of reservoir rock and fluid data was used to develop a comprehensive dimensionless IPR correlation for calculation of gas well deliverability from single-point test data. Multi-point well …

Application Of Benchtop Humidity And Temperature Chamber In The Measurement Of Water Vapor Sorption In Us Shales From Mancos, Marcellus, Eagle Ford And Wolfcamp Formations, Hesham Abdulelah, Berihun Mamo Negash, Atta Dennis Yaw, Tareq M. Al-Shami, Ahmed Al-Yaseri, Eswaran Padmanabhan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

A benchtop humidity and temperature chamber was used to assess water vapor sorption in four US shale samples at 90 °C. Water sorption isotherms were measured at relative humidity ranging from 10 to 99% and temperature of 90 °C. Shale fractal properties were then evaluated, and capillary pressure (ranging from 1.70 to 386 MPa) was obtained using Kelvin relationship. The results show that Mancos shale, from the US, adsorbed more absorbed water due to its high clay concentration and low TOC. However, Wolfcamp shale, from the US, has the lowest TOC and clay concentration, adsorbing the lowest amount of water. …

Investigation Of Flow Characteristics In An Open Channel With One-Line Semicircular Vegetation Patches, Hemanta D. Karki

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Experiments are conducted in an open channel with semi-circular patches distributed on one sidewall of the channel in which velocity distribution, turbulent intensity, and vortex generation are analyzed. The resistance force offered by a vegetation patch causes the change in water depth which have a broader application in river management, bank stabilization, and flood control.

The measurement is conducted in the laboratory with the help of different measuring devices like Laser doppler velocimeter, particle image velocimeter, measuring scale, and so on. From the experiment, the velocity distribution in a longitudinal direction suggests that the flow is fully developed after a …