Engineering Commons^™

My Private Lead Service Line Replacement, Lillian C. Jeznach, Joseph E. Goodwill

Engineering, Computing & Construction Management Faculty Publications

3 Key Takeaways:

1. A homeowner’s decision to replace their lead service line can be confounded by factors including their understanding of the science, their perceptions of their lead exposure risks, and the cost of the work.
2. First draw and 5-minute flush samples may not capture the peak lead concentration, further confounding a customer’s replacement decision.
3. In my case, lead service line replacement significantly lowered lead concentrations after stagnation based on sequential sampling.

Bridging Education And Engineering Students Through A Wind Energy-Focused Community Engagement Project, Maija A. Benitz, Li-Ling Yang

Engineering, Computing & Construction Management Faculty Publications

Regional growth in offshore wind energy development, changes to the state’s K-12 science standards, and a desire to deepen undergraduate student learning coalesced to inspire an interdisciplinary community engagement project bridging university courses in engineering and education. The project consists of three main activities: a professional development event for local fourth grade teachers, five classroom lessons designed and taught by undergraduate engineering and education majors, and a final celebration event, all focused around the topics of wind energy and engineering design. This spring, the project was carried out for the third consecutive year, though each year’s implementation has been unique …

On The Usage And Vulnerabilities Of Api Systems, Conner D. Yu

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

To some, Application Programming Interface (API) is one of many buzzwords that seem to be blanketed in obscurity because not many people are overly familiar with this term. This obscurity is unfortunate, as APIs play a crucial role in today’s modern infrastructure by serving as one of the most fundamental communication methods for web services. Many businesses use APIs in some capacity, but one often overlooked aspect is cybersecurity. This aspect is most evident in the 2018 misuse case by Facebook, which led to the leakage of 50 million users’ records.1 During the 2018 Facebook data breach incident, threat actors …

Biom 1720: Introduction To Biomedical Engineering Tools (Syllabus), Stephen Strain

Biomedical Engineering Syllabi Archive

Course Description: Use of computer tools for data analysis, presentation, documentation; introduction to programming; individual and group design projects.

In Situ Sers Detection Of Dissolved Nitrate On Hydrated Gold Substrates, Timo Küster, Geoffrey D. Bothun

Chemical, Biomolecular, and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

The accurate and fast measurement of nitrate in seawater is important for monitoring and controlling water quality to prevent ecologic and economic disasters. In this work we show that the in situ detection of nitrate in aqueous solution is feasible at nanomolar concentrations through surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) using native nanostructured gold substrates without surface functionalization. Spectra were analyzed as collected or after standard normal variate (SNV) normalization, which was shown through Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to reduce spectral variations between sample sets and improve Langmuir adsorption model fits. An additional normalization approach based on the substrate silicon template …

Fixed-Point Proximity Minimization: A Theoretical Review And Numerical Study, Daniel Weddle, Jianfeng Guo

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

This study examines the relatively recent development of a “fixed-point proximity” approach to one type of minimization problem, considers its application to image denoising, and explores convergence and divergence of the iterative algorithm beyond a (previously supplied) theoretically guaranteed convergence bound on one of the parameters (𝜆). While reviewing the fixed-point proximity approach and its application to image denoising, we aim to communicate the concepts and details in a way that will facilitate understanding for undergraduates and for scholars from other subfields. In the latter portion of our study, the numerical experiment provides thought-provoking data on the effects that parameters …

Analysis Of Graded Sensorimotor Rhythms For Brain-Computer Interface Applications, Chase Allen Haddix

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

The emerging field of neural engineering is tasked with applying engineering principles towards understanding neuroscience. A by-product of such a venture has been the development of a class of assistive devices known as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) which link brain activity to actions performed by external devices. One application of this technology is in the rehabilitative sector for individuals with neuromuscular diseases and disorders. Despite tremendous efforts in the last few decades, a reliable signal that reflects fine motor control has yet to be adequately investigated. This gap in knowledge has limited the potential of BCIs to restore movement and communication. …

Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of A High-Speed, Low-Cost Atomic Force Microscope Housing And Distance Measurement System, Jonathan Menke

All Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Advances to the state-of-the-art in fields like biology and material science often stand on the foundation of improved imaging. Here a low-cost Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) housing and distance measurement system was designed, fabricated, and tested. The instrument was developed around an Optical Pickup Unit (OPU) and designed for use as part of a high-speed AFM system. A structure to align the OPU with the probe holder was designed to ensure the beam of the OPU is positioned above the probe in addition to accommodating space, manufacturability, and cost constraints by using cost effective components. The designs were fabricated and …

Toward Understanding Large Deflection Bending Of 3d Printed Ninjaflex®, Lucas K. Gallup, Mohamed Trabia, Brendan O’Toole, Youssef Fahmy

College of Engineering Faculty Research

NinjaFlex® is a thermoplastic polyurethane filament that is primarily used for 3D printing. Aside from its low cost and availability, this material is highly flexible, durable, and has a low coefficient of friction. While NinjaFlex® was introduced approximately two decades ago, a comprehensive understanding of the filament’s mechanical behavior, especially in the context of the effect of 3D printing, is still lacking. The goal of this research is to gain a better understanding of the behavior of 3D printed NinjaFlex® specimens when subjected to bending loads that cause large deflection. A series of experiments were conducted to test the bending …

Opioid Medication Use And Education Following Sports Medicine Procedures: An Evidence-To-Practice Review, Caitlin S. O’Mara, Michael G. Ward, Zachary K. Winkelmann

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), illicit and prescription drug overdoses are responsible for 128 deaths every day in the United States. In 2018, 70% of all overdose related deaths involved opioids. Efforts to minimize the opioid epidemic focus on community education, research, partnership, and healthcare support. Under the CDC guidelines, current practices include monitoring trends of drug use and drug related deaths, conducting research to recognize areas in need of improvement and to analyze effectiveness of current treatments, partner with community organizations and healthcare systems that deal firsthand with opioid users, and educate the public on drug …

Mid-Infrared Laser Absorption Spectroscopy And Ignition Delay Time Measurements Of Advanced Renewable Fuels At High Pressure In A Shock Tube, Erik Ninnemann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The United States government has set 2050 as the target for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions due to their increasing levels and the subsequent rise in global temperatures. To meet this target, there has been renewed interest in the combustion of high-energy biofuels that could combat these issues. Thus, the Department of Energy started the Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines program to find bioderived blendstocks that can harmonize with current and future generation engines to increase power and efficiency, all while reducing overall emissions. As part of this program, it is crucial to understand the combustion of these fuels at the …

The Digitization Of Court Processes In African Regional And Subregional Judicial Institutions, Frederic Drabo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite information technology (IT) officers’ multiple efforts to develop reliable and efficient electronic justice (e-justice) systems, digitizing court processes still presents several quality challenges associated with IT infrastructure and literacy issues. Grounded in the principles of total quality management, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to identify strategies and best practices IT officers in African regional economic communities (REC) use for digitizing regional and subregional court processes to improve African e-justice systems. The participants included four IT officers working as assistant computer system analysts (ACSA), computer system analysts (CSA), and heads of IT (HIT) in regional and …

Strategies For Catalyzing Clinicians’ Support Of Telemedicine Programs In Rural Communities, Jonathan Liwag

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Clinicians’ failure to accept contemporary technology has been a critical barrier to telemedicine program adoption. Staff technical challenges and resistance to change can affect technology return on investment, which concerns telemedicine program leaders. Grounded in Davis’s technology acceptance model, the purpose of this qualitative, descriptive single case study was to explore strategies used by program leaders in the Marianas Islands who successfully gained clinicians’ acceptance of contemporary technology. The participants were 5 program leaders recommended by their institution because of their leadership role and telemedicine technologies experience. Data were collected from 4 face-to-face and 1 audio teleconference interview with the …

Design And Deployment Of A Mobile Learning Cloud Network To Facilitate Open Educational Resources For Asynchronous Learning, Joselito Christian Paulus M. Villanueva, Mark Anthony V. Melendres, Catherine Genevieve B. Lagunzad, Nathaniel Joseph C. Libatique

Biology Faculty Publications

This paper describes the design and deployment of a mobile cloud network that facilitates open educational resource content distribution. The setup utilized clustered single board computers as content, communication and monitoring servers. It was installed in a Public High School where stakeholders, using their mobile devices, were given access to preloaded content via wireless local area network. Initial tests of the mobile cloud showed good network performance. Teachers were randomly selected to evaluate the content validity and delivery of the OER content. Results show that the quality of the network’s OER content is very satisfactory. This implementation shows the advantage …

Simulating Ejecta Blown Off The Lunar Surface Due To Landing Spacecraft Using The Mercury N-Body Integrator, Isabel Rivera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The experiences of the Apollo lunar landings revealed the danger lunar dust can pose to surrounding hardware, outposts, and orbiting spacecraft. Future lunar missions such as the Artemis program will require more information about the trajectories of ejecta blown by landers to protect orbiting spacecraft such as the Lunar Gateway. In this paper, we simulate lunar lander ejecta trajectories using the Mercury N-body integrator. We placed cones of test particles on the Moon at the North Pole, South Pole, and Equator with various ejection speeds and angles. The results show that particles ejected at speeds near the Moon's escape velocity …

Seismic Soil-Structure Interaction Effects In Tall Buildings Considering Nonlinear-Inelastic Behaviors, Jaime Mercado

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Soil-structure interaction (SSI) effects are relevant for the seismic analysis of tall buildings on shallow foundations since the dynamic behavior of structures is highly affected by the interaction between the superstructure and supporting soils. As part of earthquake-resistant designs of buildings, considering SSI effects in the analysis provides more realistic estimates of its performance during a seismic event, particularly when both the structure and soil undergo large demands that can compromise serviceability. Oversimplifications of structural or soil modeling in the analysis introduces variability and biases in the computed seismic response. The main goal of this dissertation is to investigate the …

Understanding Forearm Muscle Coordination In Children, Miguel Gonzalez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

A combination of surface electromyography (EMG) and pattern recognition algorithms have led to improvements in the functionality of upper limb prosthetics. This method of control relies on user's ability to repeatedly generate consistent muscle contractions. Research in EMG based control of prosthesis has mainly utilized adult subjects who have fully developed neuromuscular control. Little is known about children's ability to generate consistent EMG signals necessary to control artificial limbs with multiple degrees of freedom. To address this gap, two experiments were designed to validate and benchmark an experimental protocol that quantifies the ability to coordinate forearm muscle contractions in able-bodied …

Solidification Cracking In Binary Al-Cu Alloys Additively Manufactured Through Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Keegan Muller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) is an additive manufacturing technique with growing relevance in industry. However, alloys with a high susceptibility to micro-cracking during solidification cannot be feasibly manufactured through LPBF, such as in selected high-strength Al-alloys. The cracking susceptibility (CS) of Al-alloys varies with composition, so modeling CS with respect to composition is crucial in designing compatible alloys for LPBF. In a theoretical modeling of solidification cracking based on the Scheil equation, the relative CS is taken as the maximum value of |dT/d(fs^1/2)| when solidification is near completion. However, experimental observations of the crack density in Al-alloys suggest that …

Optimizing Peer Selection Among Internet Service Providers (Isps), Shahzeb Mustafa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Connections among Internet Service Providers (ISPs) form the backbone of the Internet. This enables communications across the globe. ISPs are represented as Autonomous Systems (ASes) in the global Internet and inter-ISP traffic exchange takes place via inter-AS links, which are formed based on inter-ISP connections and agreements. In addition to customer-provider agreements, a crucial type of inter-ISP agreement is peering. ISP administrators use various platforms like AP-NIC and NANOG networking events for establishing new peering connections in accordance with their business and technical needs. Such methods are often inefficient and slow, potentially resulting in missed opportunities or sub-optimal routes. The …

Neural Signatures Of Human Perception Of Effort And Comfort In Isometric Arm Force Exertions By Males, Raul Fernandez Sumano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Understanding the brain's electrical activity provides objective evidence of different psychophysical phenomena related to manual handling tasks. The primary objective of this research was to assess the neural signatures of human physical efforts and perceived comfort in isometric arm exertions. Two experiments were conducted with male participants (n=20) who applied isometric forces at 1) different levels of exertion and 2) different levels of physical comfort. EEG signals, the rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and the rate of perceived physical comfort (RPC) have been recorded. The results showed statistically significant differences in EEG's power spectral density (PSD) at different brain regions …

The Critical Role Of Dynamic Surface Tension Of Surfactants On The Impact Dynamics Of Water Droplets, Amir Esmaeili, Reza Mohammadi

Graduate Research Posters

Due to their time-dependent surface tension, the addition of surface-active agents or surfactants to water for specific applications has made controlling the impact dynamics of these droplets a complex phenomenon. This work investigates the influence of the molecular weight, concentration, and ionic nature of the surfactants as well as the substrate surface characteristics on the impact dynamics of surfactant-laden droplets using a high-speed camera at 10000 frames per second. Sodium dodecyl sulfate, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, and n-decanoyl-n-methylglucamine were used as anionic, cationic, and nonionic surfactants, respectively. We used hydrophilic glass slides, hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene, and superhydrophobic alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) as substrates. …

Distributed Cross-Community Collaboration For The Cloud-Based Energy Management Service, Yu-Wen Chen, J. Morris Chang

Publications and Research

Customers’ participation is a critical factor for inte-grating the distributed energy resources via demand response and demand-side management programs, especially when customers become prosumers. Incentives need to be delivered by the energy management service to attract prosumers to operate their distributed energy resources and electricity loads grid-friendly actively. The cloud-based energy management service enables virtual trading for customers within the same community to minimize cost and smooth the fluctuation. With the potential fast-growing number of service providers and customers, the needs exist for efficiently collaborating across multiple service providers and customers. This paper proposes the distributed cross-community collaboration (XCC) for …

(Quinolin-8-Yl) Tin Synthons In Transmetalation Reactions With Transition Metals Yield Multimetallic Organometallic Molecules And Clusters, Arjun Chandra Bhowmick

Dissertations and Theses

Transition metal (Hg, Ag, Pd, Ni, Sn, Cu) complexes and clusters form from the reaction of metal salts and QSnX (Q = quinolin-8-yl; X = Q or Cl) synthons. Our original intent was the use of Q2Hg, Q2Sn, or QSnCl as an ambiphilic ligand; however, we observed an apparent redox-trans metalation reaction in most of the cases. Bimetallic Hg-Ag complexes were prepared using Q2Hg as an ambiphilic ligand. Heterobimetallic (Ni-Sn and Pd-Sn) complexes were obtained from the reaction of NiCl2 (or PdCl2) with in situ generated QSnCl. Geometry and electronic configuration of the complexes were investigated using DFT methods. The …

Appointment Scheduling System, Guzaloi Noori

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Appointment Scheduling System designed for universities so that students can schedule appointments with their university’s faculty and staff regarding academic, employment, immigration, or personal issues. The scheduling system has the ability of being embedded to the Computer Science Capstone project iAcademic, which I took part in as a front-end developer.

Designing An Integrated Stem Semester For Pre-Service Elementary Teachers, Amanda Thomas, Matt Flores, Michael Hart, Elizabeth Hasseler, Tammera Mittelstet, Danae Peterson, Amy Sokoll Bauer

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Teacher educators in an undergraduate elementary teacher certification program at a large university in the United States redesigned the traditional program to integrate STEM learning across multiple courses. During this Integrated STEM Semester, typically taken during the fifth semester of the undergraduate program, pre-service teachers (PSTs) enroll in mathematics content, mathematics methods, science methods, instructional technology, and practicum courses.

Improving Performance And Flexibility Of Fabric-Attached Memory Systems, Vamsee Reddy Kommareddy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

As demands for memory-intensive applications continue to grow, the memory capacity of each computing node is expected to grow at a similar pace. In high-performance computing (HPC) systems, the memory capacity per compute node is decided upon the most demanding application that would likely run on such a system, and hence the average capacity per node in future HPC systems is expected to grow significantly. However, diverse applications run on HPC systems with different memory requirements and memory utilization can fluctuate widely from one application to another. Since memory modules are private for a corresponding computing node, a large percentage …

Factors That Affect The Successful Implementation Of Quality Management Systems In Healthcare, Mustafa Rawshdeh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Modern Organizations must be high performing to sustain and grow their operations. This is particularly true for healthcare organizations as they have complex and sensitive operations. One way to improve organizational performance is to adopt Quality Management Systems (QMSs). QMSs organize and improve the effectiveness of all processes to meet stakeholder requirements and achieve organizational performance improvements in alignment with strategic goals. However, the value of QMSs is dependent on successful implementation, which is reportedly quite challenging. This doctoral research examines the factors that affect the successful implementation of QMSs in healthcare. First, a systematic analysis of the published literature …

Mechanics Of Low Dimensional Biomimetic Scale Metamaterials, Hossein Ebrahimi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Combination of topology and material could play an important role in giving rise to nontraditional behavior in mechanical structures and is a typical strategy in nature. Topology is concerned with the geometrical and spatial properties of the objects, which are preserved under continues mechanical deformation of the object such as stretching, bending, twisting, etc. In this work, we focus on structures based on fish scale inspired surface topology. The utilized idea for surface topology is a bioinspired design on the substrate of biological scale-covered systems. Scales are a path breaking evolutionary adaptation that accompanied vertebrate evolution for the past 500 …

Heart Rate Variability In Adults During 24-Hours With A Focus On Sleep Period, Ankur Ravikanth

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The objective of this study is to investigate heart rate variability (HRV) over a period of 24 hours with special focus on patterns during the sleep period. Comparisons were made between sleep and the full 24-hour data. The Polar M430 watch was used to record heart rate (HR) data for about 24 hours, and the subject kept a journal of the activities they performed throughout the day. The data was visualized as heart rate in beats per minute (BPM) as a function of time. To check the accuracy of the Polar watch, a 7-minute recording of HR from the watch …

Experimental Study Of A Liquid Fuel Bluff Body Flame At Elevated Pressures, Karam Paul

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this research was to operate a bluff body flame holder with the objective of stabilizing a flame at elevated pressures over a range of equivalence ratios. The ability to have a ground-based test rig capable of maintaining stable flames at high pressures and temperatures is critical in understanding flames present in modern jet engines and gas turbine technologies. The facility was reconfigured multiple times and the resultant flame was imaged within the optical test section. A converging nozzle was utilized to choke the flow and vary the operating pressures up to 5 atm. By regulating mass flow …