Engineering Commons^™

A Methodology For Reliability-Based Selection Of System Of Systems, Justin Brown

Operations Research and Engineering Management Theses and Dissertations

Currently, Department of Defense (DoD) systems underperform and have inadequate reliability compared to acquisition expectations. Additionally, System of Systems (SoS) complexity and non-quantifiable approaches to selecting systems to perform a mission cause challenges for the decision-maker. Beyond DoD, mission-critical scenarios exist where responses are not data-driven, such as hurricane response, wildfire response, and littoral search and research missions. Optimization of these missions within a short amount of time can not only increase the probability of success and reduce the cost of performing the mission but allow systems to be used for additional missions.

This dissertation presents solution methodologies to address …

An Automated Ar-Based Annotation Tool For Indoor Navigation For Visually Impaired People, Pei Du, Nirupama Bulusu

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Low vision people face many daily encumbrances. Traditional visual enhancements do not suffice to navigate indoor environments, or recognize objects efficiently. In this paper, we explore how Augmented Reality (AR) can be leveraged to design mobile applications to improve visual experience and unburden low vision persons. Specifically, we propose a novel automated AR-based annotation tool for detecting and labeling salient objects for assisted indoor navigation applications like NearbyExplorer. NearbyExplorer, which issues audio descriptions of nearby objects to the users, relies on a database populated by large teams of volunteers and map-a-thons to manually annotate salient objects in the environment like …

Real Time Simulation And Hardware In The Loop Methods For Power Electronics Power Distribution Systems, Michele Difronzo

Theses and Dissertations

System level testing of Power Electronics Power Distribution Systems (PEPDS) can be challenging when fine temporal resolution is required (time step below 100-200ns). In the recent years, our research group has proposed various methods to simulate in real-time PEPDS using FPGAs and time step as small as 50ns. While the proposed methods allow achieving the desired temporal resolution, they are extremely demanding in terms of resources usage and the size of the PEPDS that can be simulated on a single FPGA is strongly limited.

In this dissertation -work that takes as an example application the US Navy electric Ship Zonal …

Development Of Acoustic Metamaterial Noise Barriers And Simultaneously Harvesting Energy Using Smart Materials, Fariha Mir

Theses and Dissertations

In our surroundings abundant energy, we either feel through component vibration or hear noises from acoustic sources. Harvesting these unused and untapped green energy in the form of ambient vibration, and acoustic sounds is an emerging field of research in recent years. Utilization of the energy within a wide band of the frequency spectrum originated from the vibrational sources alone stands as one of the most promising ways to power small electronic devices, smartphones, local structural health monitoring sensors, home, and workshop appliances. These abundant sources of green energy are available in almost all the engineering industries, workshops, manufacturing facilities, …

Effect Of Crystal Size On The Failure Mechanics Of Polymer Bonded Explosives, Chizoba Onwuka

Theses and Dissertations

Polymer bonded explosives (PBXs), typically constitute 80-95% of energetic crystals and 5-20% of a soft polymer binder, are widely used in extreme loading conditions such as rocket propellants and explosive munitions because of their high performance and low sensitivity. The particle size of crystals has a significant effect on the mechanical properties of most polymer particulate composites.

In the study, the effect of particle size on the deformation behavior of PBX under dynamic loading is investigated. The study involves testing polymer bonded sugar (PBS) samples, a well-known mechanical simulant of PBXs, with four different crystal sizes: coarse, intermediate, fine and …

Impact Of Acetylcholine On Internal Pathways To Basal Amygdala Pyramidal Neurons, Tyler Daniel Anderson-Sieg

Theses and Dissertations

The basolateral nuclear complex of the amygdala (BNC) – consisting of the lateral (LA), basolateral (BL), and basomedial nuclei (BM) – detects salient environmental stimuli (cue-detection) and motivates appropriate behavioral responses to their implied meaning (cue-guided behavior) via a precise pattern of internal circuitry. Glutamatergic signals representing environmental stimuli enter the LA and split into parallel streams that activate pyramidal neurons (PNs) in the anterior and posterior BL (BLa and BLp), which putatively mediate negative and positive emotions, respectively. The BL is the most densely innervated target of the cholinergic basal forebrain (CBF) and ACh transients (phasic ACh) in cortex …

Purification Of Uranium Tetrafluoride Using Ammonium Bifluoride, Kyle Robert Foster

Theses and Dissertations

Molten salt reactors are being deployed as one of the Generation IV nuclear reactor concepts starting in 2025. While their applications and safety potential are considered extremely advantageous, there is a lack of operating history to draw on, so thorough understanding of proposed molten salt materials’ thermochemical behavior is crucial to their successful implementation.

The most prominent fissile fuel proposed for molten salts is uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) using ²³³U of the thorium fuel cycle. UF₄ is extremely hygroscopic, meaning it will react with moisture and oxygen in its environment, so as-received powders contain significant levels of impurity. In …

A Unified Framework Of Deep Learning-Based Facial Expression Recognition System For Diversified Applications, Sanoar Hossain, Saiyed Umer, Vijayan K. Asari, Ranjeet Kumar Rout

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This work proposes a facial expression recognition system for a diversified field of appli- cations. The purpose of the proposed system is to predict the type of expressions in a human face region. The implementation of the proposed method is fragmented into three components. In the first component, from the given input image, a tree-structured part model has been applied that predicts some landmark points on the input image to detect facial regions. The detected face region was normalized to its fixed size and then down-sampled to its varying sizes such that the advantages, due to the effect of multi-resolution …

Me-Em 2020-21 Annual Report, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Annual Reports

Table of Contents

• Responsive Research
• Alumni Impact
• Innovative Enterprises
• Enrollment & Degrees
• Graduates
• Department
• Donors
• Contracts & Grants
• Patents & Publications

Stiffness Degradation In Fatigue Life Of Composites Using Dielectric State Variables, Muthu Ram Prabhu Elenchezhian, Partha Pratim Das, Minhazur Rahman, Vamsee Vadlamudi, Rassel Raihan, Kenneth Reifsnider

Institute of Predictive Performance Methodologies (IPPM-UTARI)-Archive

Composite materials are widely used in aerospace and automotive structures for decades and over the years the community has gained a better understanding of the damage and failure modes of composites under fatigue. In this article, a dielectric characterization methodology for in-situ monitoring of composites under fatigue environments is proposed. A novel method of measuring the dielectric state variables in Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy (BbDS) using Extremely Conductive Silver Epoxy Adhesive (ECSEA) paste is presented. These dielectric state variables serve to identify the precursor of the beginning of the end of life of the composite material under fatigue loading. The reliability …

Cement Bricks Based On Shredded Automobile Tires, Nour Waheed, Ibrahim M. Ibrahim, M. A. Radwan, M. A. Sadek, Hany A. Elazab

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The essential target of this is to make good, qualified bricks with economic background and to have several uses than ordinary brick that is utilized in construction of homes or any building. From these useful properties of those blocks are acoustic segregation and thermal insulation also with recovery of many wastes that don’t be benefit from them; create from them jobs to be reused and to make brick economically wise and to be applied for example the insulation. From those squandering, are the shredded used tires after being used and it can’t be used anymore. It was cleared that the …

Cochlear Inflammaging In Relation To Ion Channels And Mitochondrial Functions, Parveen Bazard, Jennifer Pineros, Robert D. Frisina, Mark A. Bauer, Alejandro A. Acosta, Lauren R. Paganella, Dominika Borakiewicz, Mark Thivierge, Freyda L. Mannering, Xiaoxia Zhu, Bo Ding

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The slow accumulation of inflammatory biomarker levels in the body—also known as inflammation—has been linked to a myriad of age-related diseases. Some of these include neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease, obesity, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many others. Though a direct correlation has not been established, research connecting age-related hearing loss (ARHL)—the number one communication disorder and one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases of our aged population—and inflammation has gained interest. Research, thus far, has found that inflammatory markers, such as IL-6 and white blood cells, are associated with ARHL in humans and animals. Moreover, studies investigating …

Fibrin Gel Enhances The Antitumor Effects Of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells In Glioblastoma, Edikan A. Ogunnaike, Alain Valdivia, Mostafa Yazdimamaghani, Ernesto Leon, Seema Nandi, Hannah Hudson, Hongwei Du, Simon Khagi, Zhen Gu, Barbara Savoldo, Frances S. Ligler, Shawn Hingtgen, Gianpietro Dotti

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Regional delivery of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells in glioblastoma represents a rational therapeutic approach as an alternative to intravenous administration to avoid the blood-brain barrier impediment. Here, we developed a fibrin gel that accommodates CAR-T cell loading and promotes their gradual release. Using a model of subtotal glioblastoma resection, we demonstrated that the fibrin-based gel delivery of CAR-T cells within the surgical cavity enables superior antitumor activity compared to CAR-T cells directly inoculated into the tumor resection cavity.

Mid-Movement Error Corrections After Visual And Haptic Perturbations Reflect Latency And Performance Differences, Pablo Gonzalez Polanco

Master's Theses (2009 -)

We examined a key attribute of sensory motor skill: the capability to adjust ongoing actions to correct performance errors that arise during the execution of a task. Fifteen subjects grasped the handle of a horizontal 2D planar robot that enacted a small viscous resistance to the arm movement. The subjects initiated interception movements using a prompted Go cue to quickly catch a pseudo-randomly moving target. On some trials, the robot viscosity field or the target’s motion (speed) was altered without any warning at the time of the Go cue. The viscosity could be increased which made it more difficult to …

Stochastic Modeling For Mobile Manipulators, Xie Jiayu

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Mobile manipulators are valuable and highly desired in many fields, especially in industrial environments. However, determining the end effector position has been challenging for scenarios where the base moves at the same time that the arm follows commands to perform specific tasks. Earlier works have attempted to dynamically evaluate the problem of positioning error for mobile manipulators, but there is still room for further improvement. In this thesis, we devise a dynamical model that leverages stochastic search strategies for mobile manipulators. More specifically, we develop a dynamic model that estimates the position of the robot using an Unscented Kalman filter. …

Assessment Of Mitochondrial Dysfunction In Lungs From Rats Exposed To Hyperoxia And The Efficacy Of Duroquinone, Swetha Ganesh

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) is a hallmark of mitochondrial dysfunction. The objective of this thesis was to use a previously developed experimental-computational approach to estimate tissue ΔΨm in intact lungs of rats exposed to hyperoxia, and to evaluate the ability of duroquinone (DQ) to reverse any hyperoxia-induced depolarization of lung Ψm. Rats were exposed to hyperoxia (>95% O2) or normoxia (room air) for 48 hrs, after which lungs were excised and connected to a ventilation-perfusion system. The experimental protocol consisted of measuring the concentration of the fluorescent dye rhodamine 6G (R6G) during three single-pass phases: loading, washing, …

Detecting Invasive Insects Using Uncewed Aerial Vehicles And Variational Autoencoders, Scott Daniel Stewart

Master's Theses (2009 -)

In this thesis, we use machine learning techniques to address limitations in our ability to monitor pest insect migrations. Invasive insect populations, such as the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), cause significant economic and environmental damages. In order to mitigate these damages, tracking BMSB migration is vital, but it also poses a challenge. The current state-of-the-art solution to track insect migrations is called mark-release-recapture. In mark-release-recapture, a researcher marks insects with a fluorescent powder, releases them back into the wild, and searches for the insects using ultra-violet flashlights at suspected migration destination locations. However, this involves a significant amount of …

Study Of Extensions To The Linear Sampling Method For Electromagnetic Inverse Scattering, Yeasmin Sultana

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The linear sampling method (LSM) is a simple and effective qualitative method to reconstruct the support of unknown object by solving inverse scattering problem. The solution is done based on the field radiated by the elementary source located in a set of test points. In this thesis, the LSM formulation, limitations of standard LSM and extensions of LSM are discussed. Standard LSM can reconstruct simply connected objects, but it fails in case of concave or not simply connected objects. However, it can reconstruct the convex hull for such objects. Some extensions to LSM have been proposed to avoid these limitations. …

Aeroacoustic Design Of An Abrasive Blasting Nozzle Using Cfd, Adam Dehli

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Current industrial abrasive blasting nozzles are often loud enough to negatively impact worker health and require employers to implement hearing conservation programs under OSHA noise exposure regulations. Significant opportunity exists for the use of modern computational fluid dynamics software (CFD) in the design of an abrasive blasting nozzle with a focus on reducing the acoustic intensity. Past work using CFD for abrasive blasting nozzle design has focused on improving productivity, ignoring aeroacoustic considerations. ANSYS Fluent software was used to investigate the effect of geometry changes to a commercially available No. 6 venturi nozzle, specifically the addition of a constant cross-section …

Deep Learning Approach For Dynamic Sampling For High-Throughput Nano-Desi Msi, David Helminiak

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MSI) extracts molecular mass data to form visualizations of molecular spatial distributions. The involved scanning procedure is conducted by moving a probe across and around a rectilinear grid, as in the case of nanoscale Desorption Electro-Spray Ionization (nano-DESI) MSI, where singular measurements can take up to ~5 seconds to acquire high-resolution (better than 10 μm) results. This temporal expense creates a high inefficiency in sample processing and throughput. For example, in a high-resolution nano-DESI study, a single mouse uterine tissue section (2.5 mm by 1.7 mm) had an acquisition time of ~4 hours to acquire 104,400 pixels. …

Experimental Data On Water Soluble Polymers Thermal And Hydrolytic Stability, Reactivity Ratios Of Monomers And Frr Calculation For Thermally Stable Preformed Particle Gels Therefrom, Buddhabhushan Salunkhe, Thomas P. Schuman, Ali Al Brahim, Baojun Bai

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Experimental data on water soluble polymer thermal and hydrolytic stability in acidic, neutral and basic pH conditions in aqueous solution is presented. Thermal and hydrolytic stability of polymer aqueous solutions were monitored in variable pH medium by aging at 130 °C temperature for different aging time. Polymer viscosity measurements were performed periodically for 3 months. Furthermore, this data can serve as a basis of monomer selection for thermally stable hydrogels for applications like oil recovery, hydrogel coatings for steam sterilized medical devices and other applications. Reactivity ratios were determined for monomers associated to the most stable polymers using ¹H …

Performance-Based Building System Manufacturer Selection Decision Framework For Integration Into Total Cost Of Ownership Evaluations, Sarah L. Brown, Steven J. Schuldt, Michael N. Grussing, Louis B. Bartels, Michael A. Johnson, Justin D. Delorit

Faculty Publications

Facility managers are often faced with building system procurement or replacement decisions, requiring them to select a system from among competitive manufacturers. Total cost of ownership (TCO) criteria, informed by built assets in operation in the manager’s portfolio, provides some information to select the right asset manufacturer. However, managers must also consider technical performance to complete a more comprehensive analysis. Performance can be calculated using asset parameters like condition, age, and variation in condition to aid in TCO assessments. Leveraging past research and approaches, performance is calculated using an additive model that scales each parameter using a standard normalization technique …

Micromechanics Of Additively Manufactured Materials Under Dynamic Loading, Christopher Rueben Johnson

Dissertations (1934 -)

Ongoing works aim to develop a predictive computational framework whichcan be utilized to shorten the design and certification cycle of additively manufactured (AM) 304L stainless steel (SS304L). High fidelity experiments are utilized to validate and parameterize the computational framework. Results have detailed differing mechanical responses across a breadth of strain rates for wrought and AM SS304L. Differences are attributed to the microstructural properties resulting from the fabrication and treatment of the materials. This work aims to supplement preexisting high strain rate compressive strength experimental data sets to further quantify process-structure-property (PSP) relationships in development of the computational framework. Materials investigated …

Dynamic Material Properties Copper Mountain Sandstone Under Uniaxial And Oblique Impact, Nathaniel Steven Helminiak

Dissertations (1934 -)

A generalized P-Lambda equation of state and strength model (dependent on hydrostatic and deviatoric stress terms) for porous alpha phase crystalline quartz under compression load was generated utilizing Copper Mountain sandstone (from Mosinee WI) and augmented with existing petrographic data. Tests with Copper Mountain sandstone samples began with an examination of elastic properties before conventional low strain rate testing was conducted. Sample thickness varying from ~0.5 mm to ~3.0 mm, were tested in high strain rate plane strain and pressure-shear configurations at impact velocities from 3 m/s to 720 m/s. Each plane strain test contained multiple sandstone samples so that …

Direct And Non-Invasive Monitoring Of Battery Internal State Via Novel Gmi-Idt Magnetic Sensor, Akila Khatun

Dissertations (1934 -)

Efficient battery management systems (BMSs) in rechargeable battery-based systems require precise measurements of various battery parameters including state of charge (SOC), state of health (SOH) and charge capacity. Presently, SOC, charge capacity and SOH can only be indirectly inferred from long-term measurement of current, open circuit voltage (OCV), and temperature using multiple sensors. These techniques can only give an approximation of SOC and often require knowledge of the recent battery history to prevent excessive inaccuracy.To improve the performance of the BMS, an alternative method of monitoring the internal state of Li-ion batteries is presented here. Theoretical analysis of Li-ion batteries …

Thermal Deformation In High Pressure Die Casting Shot Sleeves, Ross Crowley

Dissertations (1934 -)

Replacement of shot sleeves represents a significant cost in cold chamber high pressure die casting (HPDC) processes. It is well known that the service life of a shot sleeve is closely related to its thermomechanical deformation behavior, so an improved understanding of this behavior is needed to guide the design of shot sleeves for increased service life. Prior research efforts have analyzed shot sleeve deformation but were based on 2D representations and did not consider transient effects from the molten metal’s flow behavior. This objective of this study was to analyze thermo-mechanical deformation during the injection sequence by using a …

Occurrence And Probabilistic Health Risk Assessment (Pra) Of Dissolved Metals In Surface Water Sources In Southern Peru, Alexander Ccanccapa-Cartagena, Betty Paredes, Corina Vera, Francisco D. Chavez-Gonzales, Elizabeth Joy Olson, Lisa Welp, Nadezhda N. Zyaykina, Timothy R. Filley, David M. Warsinger, Chad T. Jafvert

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Often, metal and metalloid ions are present in water at concentrations that seriously affect human health; understanding their occurrence is critical, especially in regions such as Peru, where natural volcanic activity and anthropogenic activity have made them more prevalent in local waterbodies. In this study, river, lake, aquifer, and irrigation water samples, collected from the Chili-Quilca, Camana-Majes, Colca-Chivay-Siguas, Oco˜na, Urubamba-Vilcanota, and Titicaca river basins in Southern Peru, were analyzed for transition metals, other metals, metalloids, and other inorganic water constituents. Special emphasis was placed on metals and metalloids regulated by Peruvian Water Quality Standards and those categorized as of “primary …

Nanofluids Improve Energy Efficiency Of Membrane Distillation, Harsharaj B. Parmar, Hamid Fattahi Juybari, Yashwant S. Yogi, Sina Nejati, Ryan M. Jacob, Prashant S. Menon, David M. Warsinger

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Thermal desalination of high salinity water resources is crucial for increasing freshwater supply, but efficiency enhancements are badly needed. Nanomaterial enhancements offer enormous potential for improving promising technologies like membrane distillation (MD). However, while many approaches have been tried, such as nanoparticle solar absorbers or nanomaterial membranes, there have not been studies to directly enhance the fluid properties in MD; via nanofluids. In this work, we examine nanofluids for gap-based MD systems, including the role of nanoscale physics and system-level energy efficiency enhancements. Our model includes the dominant micro-mixing from Brownian motion in fine particle nanofluids (copper oxide) and the …

Recent Updates On Ions And Nutrients Uptake By Halotolerant Freshwater And Marine Microalgae In Conditions Of High Salinity, Abdul Mannan Zafar, Muhammad Asad Javed, Ashraf Aly Hassan, Khalid Mehmood, Endalkachew Sahle-Demessie

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Algae is an appropriate natural resource to augment the optimal use of undesired ions in water and wastewater. Increasing algal cells, the consumption of particular ions, including chloride, nitrate, phosphate, and ammonium, provides a suitable way to optimize water treatment processes. Different algal species have the capability to survive in extreme salinities by developing resistance against osmotic pressure in saline water. The current study reviews the effect of salinity on algal biomass production, algal growth rate, chlorides, nitrates, phosphates, chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and ammonium ions. Mainly algae cultivated in freshwater, synthetic brackish water, seawater, and …

2021 (Fall) Ensi Informer Magazine, Morehead State University. Engineering Sciences Department

ENSI Informer Magazine Archive

The ENSI Informer Magazine published in the fall of 2019.