Engineering Commons^™

Phonetic Algorithm Performance, Aaron Schneidereit

Senior Honors Projects

AARON SCHNEIDEREIT (Computer Science BS) Phonetic Algorithm Performance Sponsors: Noah Daniels (Computer Science and Statistics) Phonetic Algorithms are used for classifying words based on their pronunciation. These algorithms are used in many text-to-speech technologies and spell-checkers to ensure that a word can be correctly recognized despite minor spelling/pronunciation errors. The process of encoding a word to its phonetic surname is known as Phonetic Matching. Since 1918, there have only been a handful of phonetic algorithms that have been created. The main three algorithms that other phonetic algorithms are built from are Soundex, New York State Identification and Intelligence System (NYSIIS), …

Quenched And Tempered High Strength Steel:A Review, Gadadhar Sahoo, Krishna Kumar Singh, Vinod Kumar

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

Quenched and tempered steel are broadly classified as low alloy conventional grades with C contentof 0.15-0.40% and tool steels with C content as high as 2% alloyed with strong carbide forming elementssuch as Cr, V, Mo etc. in the range of 1-12%. In both the cases, steels are used in hardened/quenchedand tempered or auto tempered condition for improved toughness, strength and wear resistance. The C content and tempering temperature are optimized based on desired application. However, achieving high strength/hardness along with adequate toughness is a challenge. The chemistry designis one of the important parts of developing these grades. The judicious …

Characterization Of Tio2-Activated Carbon Onto Adsorption And Photocatalytic Propertiesand Its Application, Mark Chobchun, Pasakorn Jutakridsada, Puttiporn Thiamsinsangwon, Pornnapa Kasemsiri, Khanita Kamwilaisak, Prinya Chindaprasirt

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

This study investigates the characterization of TiO2in conjunction with activated carbon(AC) on its adsorption and photocatalytic properties. TiO2in theabsence and presence of AC were preparedby the sol-gel method. TiCl4was used as a precursor to reduce using acidic solution during preparationprocess. The effects of the amount of AC on the characteristics of composites were investigated. TGA technique was used to evaluate the amount of TiO2and AC in TiO2/AC composite. The adsorptionproperties of TiO2/AC were characterized using XRD, TEM, N2adsorption/desorption, FTIR and UV - Visdiffuse reflectance spectroscopy techniques. The photocatalytic activitiesof the composites were investigated by measuring the removal of acid dye. …

Screen Printed Textile Electrodes Using Graphene And Carbon Nanotubes With Silver For Flexible Supercapacitor Applications, Norawich Keawploy, Radhakrishnan Venkatkarthick, Panyawat Wangyao, Jiaqian Qin

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

The eco-friendly conductive cotton textile is promising alternatives for the flexible substrates in wearable devices since the cotton is as an inexpensive natural fabric material and compatible in modern portable electronics with adequate electrical conductivity. In this work, flexible conductive cotton-based electrodes areprepared via a screen-printing method using the carbonaceous nanomaterialssuch as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene with an additional component of conductive silver (Ag) powder and textile ink. The prepared conductive cotton electrodes exhibit lower sheet resistance (<10Ω) along with superior mass loading (20-30mgcm-2). On the basis of the performance of cottonelectrodes prepared, an all-solid-state flexible supercapacitor device was successfully fabricated whichexhibits a high specific areal capacitance of 677.12 mFcm-2at 0.0125 mAcm-2 for a suitable electrodecomposition (60% of Ag and 40% CNTs) using a PVA-KOH gel electrolyte. The flexible device endures a stable electrochemical performance under severe mechanical deformation using differentbending angles (0, 30, 45, 60and 90) of the device and possesses excellent cyclic stability with the capacitance retention of ~80% even after 3000 CV cycles.

The Usage Of Coal−Layered Double Oxide For Removal Of Toxic Dye Fromaqueous Solution, Pornnapa Tongchoo, Sonchai Intachai, Prakaidao Pankam, Chomponoot Suppaso, Nithima Khaorapapong

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

CoAl−layered double oxide derived from calcination of CoAl−layered double hydroxide at400Cfor 120 min, delivered the change in microstructure with increasing surface area. Spinel Co3O4was the majority in the product as confirmed by X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared andUV-visible spectroscopies. The calcined product, CoAl−layered double oxide resulted in significantadsorption capacity on dye removal superior to that of CoAl−layered double hydroxide. The adsorbed amounts of the diverse dyes increased as follows: methylene blue phenolphthaleinmethyl orange orange II. The adsorption affinity between adsorbent and dyes relied on electrostatic interaction and physical adsorption.

Soldering Of Copper Using Graphene-Phosphoric Acid Gel, Gurudatt Puranik, Asis Sarkar, Nirankar Mishra, Sangam Chandrasekhar Gurumurthy, Shridhar Mundinamani

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

Soldering is a physical process in which one metal melts and joins the other to form a strong bond,which further helps in electron conduction and increases the mechanical strength in any electronic circuits. The present work demonstrates the development of graphene-based flux comprising of 2 g of graphene and 2 ml of phosphoric acid for the residue-free, high stability, durable, and two-stepsoldering of copper wire on to the surface of the copper-based printed circuit board. The soldering fluxcan be applied to the copper, and wire can be soldered in ambient conditions using commercial solderingiron at a standard soldering temperature of …

Laser Powder Bed Fusion Of Ti6al4v Lattice Structures And Their Applications, Thywill Cephas Dzogbewu

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

The study focused on producing lattice structures using rhombic and diagonal nodes and indicatingtheir logical biomedical and engineering applications. Laser powder bed fusion manufacturingtechnology a subset of additive manufacturing was used to manufacture the lattice structures with different struts geometry. Average elastic modulus value of 5.30.2 GPa was obtained for therhombic lattice structures and 5.10.1 GPa for the diagonal lattice structures. Generally, the mechanicalproperties of the lattice structures produced could be logically considered suitable for biomedical and engineering applications. The mechanical properties of the lattice structures could be fine-tunedfor a specific engineering or biomedical applications by varying the lattice properties …

Preparation And Properties Of Fired Clay Bricks With Added Wood Ash, Anuwat Srisuwan, Supachai Sompech, Chiawchan Saengthong, Sukhontip Thaomola, Prinya Chindraprasirt, Nonthaphong Phonphuak

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

This study was designed to determine the effects of wood ash on the physical and mechanical properties of fired clay bricks. The clay bricks were fabricated with the addition of 0, 4, 8, 12, and 16% by weight of wood ash. Strength development of brick was cased byfired at 900, 1000, and 1100°C for 40 min. The experimental results demonstrated that the physical property and strength of the fired clay bricks depend on the wood ash contentand firing temperature. Higher wood ash content affected an increase in porosity and water absorption, while the bulk density of the clay brickswas reduced. …

Ultraviolet‐Shielding And Water Resistance Properties Of Graphene Quantum Dots/Polyvinyl Alcohol Composite-Based Film, Sutthipoj Wongrerkdee, Pichitchai Pimpang

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

The Ultraviolet‐shielding (UV‐shielding) and water resistance properties of graphene quantum dots/polyvinyl alcohol (GQDs/PVA) composite-based film have been investigated. The GQDs/PVA composite-based films were fabricated with different GQDs concentrations of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt%. The optical property of GQDs was carried out by utilizing fluorescence spectroscopy. Characterizationsof GQDs/PVA composite-based films were performed byusing FT-IR spectroscopy, and UV-vis spectroscopy. It was found that GQDs exhibited the strongest excitation wavelength in the UV range. GQDs/PVA composite-based films offered an improved UV-shielding capacity when compared to PVA films and glass. Particularly, the GQDs/PVA composite-based film containing 20 wt% GQDs exhibited a …

Impact Of Boron Carbide And Graphite Dual Particulates Addition On Wear Behavior Of A356 Alloy Metal Matrix Composites, Pankaj R. Jadhav, Madeva Nagaral, Shivakumar Rachoti, Jayasheel I. Harti

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

The current work gives the detailed microstructural analysis and wear behaviour of aluminiumalloy A356 based metal matrix composite. Here, boron carbide (B4C) and graphite (Gr) particulates were used as reinforcing phase to develop A356/ 4 wt% B4C, A356/ 4 wt% Gr composites along with A356/ 4 wt% Gr/ 12 wt% B4C hybrid composites. The composites were developed by conventional stir casting method to improve the wear properties. The developed composites were subjected to scanning electron microscope (SEM) formicrostructural analysis and then to DUCOM made wear test assembly to know the dry sliding wear behaviour. The wear tests were conducted for …

Influence Of Coconut Shell Powder Organic Reinforcement On Chemical, Microstructuraland Mechanical Properties Of Spark Plasma Sintered Ti-Ni Based Metal Matrix Composite, Peter Odetola, Abimbola Patricia Popoola, Emmanuel Ajenifuja, Olawale Popoola

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) are currently used in place of pure alloys and polymer matrix composites because of their unique physical properties. Titanium and nickel powders were alloyed with coconut shell powder (CSP) as organic compound reinforcement to form a TiNi-based metal matrix composite (MMC) using spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. The powders were mild-milledfor 16 h and then axially consolidated at 850C, heating rate of 100Cmin-1and 50 MPa sintering pressure. Characterizations were done using field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM-EDX) and x-ray diffractometer (XRD). Elemental and structural characterizations of the composites revealed the formation of the Ti-rich eutectic phase, …

Low-Intensity Vibration Restores Nuclear Yap Levels And Acute Yap Nuclear Shuttling In Mesenchymal Stem Cells Subjected To Simulated Microgravity, Matthew Thompson, Kali Woods, Joshua Newberg, Julia Thom Oxford, Gunes Uzer

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reducing the musculoskeletal deterioration that astronauts experience in microgravity requires countermeasures that can improve the effectiveness of otherwise rigorous and time-expensive exercise regimens in space. The ability of low-intensity vibrations (LIV) to activate force-responsive signaling pathways in cells suggests LIV as a potential countermeasure to improve cell responsiveness to subsequent mechanical challenge. Mechanoresponse of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), which maintain bone-making osteoblasts, is in part controlled by the “mechanotransducer” protein YAP (Yes-associated protein), which is shuttled into the nucleus in response to cyto-mechanical forces. Here, using YAP nuclear shuttling as a measurement outcome, we tested the effect of 72 h …

Preparing For A Driverless Future, Daniel P. Piatkowski, Santosh Pitla, Joe Luck, Josephine K. Hazelton

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are widely considered to be the future of surface transportation in the United States, but little is understood about how people will interact with these vehicles, what they will use them for, and how they will impact our roads. However, farmers have been interacting with some degree of AV technology, primarily auto-guidance, in Nebraska for at least the last 10 years. The research in Section 1 first utilizes in-depth qualitative interviews to understand farmers’ experiences with using highly automated technology in order to inform adoption and diffusion patterns of AVs. The findings in Section 1 lead to …

Deep Learning Models For Bridge Deck Evaluation Using Impact Echo, Sattar Dorafshan, Hoda Azari

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Impact echo (IE) is a common nondestructive evaluation (NDE) method to detect subsurface defects in concrete bridge decks. The conventional approach for analyzing the IE data requires user expertise to define analysis parameters that could hinder broad field implementation. In this paper, the feasibility of using deep learning models for autonomous subsurface defect detection in bridge decks using IE has been investigated. A set of eight laboratory-made reinforced concrete bridge specimens with artificial defects were constructed at the Federal Highway Administration Advanced Sensing Technology NDE laboratory. A total number of 2016 of IE data was collected from these specimens. A …

Multilayered Transmission Lines, Antennas And Phased Arrays With Structurally Integrated Control Electronics Using Additive Manufacturing, Merve Kacar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents high-performance transmission lines, antennas, and phased arrays with novel packaging techniques by harnessing design flexibilities of additive manufacturing (AM). AM enables realizing multilayered RF electronics with complex geometrical structures that are not practical using conventional fabrication methods. Design flexibilities offered by AM as customized dielectric shapes/thicknesses, dielectric properties, metallization on conformal surfaces, and structural packaging are harnessed for multilayered RF applications. Although several works demonstrated the viability of AM for antenna realizations, its capability for addressing the needs of wideband, high radiation efficiency antenna systems packaged with active RF circuit components remains relatively unexplored. The first major …

Optimization And Characterization Of Novel Injection Molding Process For Metal Matrix Syntactic Foams, Myranda Spratt, Joseph William Newkirk

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Metal matrix syntactic foams are particulate composites comprised of hollow or porous particles embedded in a metal matrix. These composites are difficult to manufacture due primarily to the lightweight, relatively fragile filler material. In this work, an injection molding process was developed for metal matrix syntactic foams. First, an aqueous binder was optimized for low-pressure injection molding. A mixture model was used to optimize the composition of the binder to achieve the highest relative density. The model predicted the maximum relative density was at a binder composition (in vol.%) of 7% agar, 4% glycerin, and 89% water. Second, this binder …

Manipulating Air-Gap Electrospinning To Create Aligned Polymer Nanofiber-Wrapped Glass Microfibers For Cortical Bone Tissue Engineering, Houston R. Linder, Austin A. Glass, Delbert E. Day, Scott A. Sell

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Osteons are the repeating unit throughout cortical bone, consisting of canals filled with blood and nerve vessels surrounded by concentric lamella of hydroxyapatite-containing collagen fibers, providing mechanical strength. Creating a biodegradable scaffold that mimics the osteon structure is crucial for optimizing cellular infiltration and ultimately the replacement of the scaffold with native cortical bone. In this study, a modified air-gap electrospinning setup was exploited to continuously wrap highly aligned polycaprolactone polymer nanofibers around individual 1393 bioactive glass microfibers, resulting in a synthetic structure similar to osteons. By varying the parameters of the device, scaffolds with polymer fibers wrapped at angles …

An Overview Of Ceramic Molds For Investment Casting Of Nickel Superalloys, Janos E. Kanyo, Stefan Schafföner, R. Sharon Uwanyuze, Kaitlynn S. Leary

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Accelerating advancements in technological systems have demonstrated a need for alloys with drastically improved thermomechanical and chemical properties, called superalloys. Ceramic molds are typically used in near-net shape investment casting processes of superalloy components due to their chemical inertness and high-temperature capabilities. Ceramic molds, however, often suffer from shortcomings in vital properties including flexural strength, thermal shock resistance, permeability, dimensional stability, corrosion resistance, and leachability, which have restricted their ability to adequately process modern alloy castings. This study analyses these limitations and illustrates how to address them, particularly regarding ceramic mold and slurry design, processing of shells and cores, material …

An Investigation Into The Development Of A Low Cost, Easy To Use Seizure Analysis Tool., Cody Dean

Masters Theses

The need for collaborating and sharing data and research between doctors, researchers, universities and patients has never been more necessary. We are seeing firsthand how a deadly virus can completely devastate the world in a matter of months and being able to react quickly is the top priority. Open source tools are making it possible to share research and learnings about viruses like COVID-19 across countries, industries, and universities and these tools and philosophies extend across all areas of medical research.

The amount of data that is being collected within the medical industry is increasing at an exponential rate and …

A Cfd Study Of Operation Room Air Conditioning: Air Curtain Performance, Spencer Lee Boer

Masters Theses

An operation room is a critical environment when it comes to the safety of patients undergoing surgery. There are a lot of factors that go into reducing Surgical Site Infections (SSI) following a surgery. This comes in the form of cleaning standards, surgical practices, but also environment controls. The characteristics of airflow within an operation room are related to the risk of an SSI. Some of these factors are temperature, velocity, and turbulent air around an open wound which could increase the chance of bacteria or other particles entering the very vulnerable patient. As clean room standards continue to be …

Development Of A Tiny House Design Tool To Increase Safety, Efficiency, And Cost-Effectiveness, Michael Joseph Stratton Ii

Masters Theses

A growing number of people are choosing to live more sustainably, and this is commonly done through living in an extremely small house, also called a “tiny house”. There is no set definition for a tiny house, but it typically refers to a structure less than 500 ft2, sometimes built by the homeowner, and frequently built on a travel trailer.

The popularity of tiny houses has increased over the years due to different television shows, internet videos, and photo sharing websites, but the technical details are rarely covered, which is why this study examines the structural, stability, weight, and thermal …

Modeling The Torque Of Ferrite Nano-Particles As A Ferrofluid Suspended In Liquid To Determine The Electromagnetic Response To Angular Displacement, Jackson Tyler Brennecke

Masters Theses

Inertial sensing is an important part of engineering and technology, especially for determining spatial orientation. Most modern inertial sensing units rely on MicroElectroMechanical systems (MEMS) style gyroscopic sensors to determine angular acceleration. This research investigates a novel gyroscopic sensing technology that uses mechanical precision of magnetic nanoparticles, instead of MEMS, to determine inertial measurements. The only other study on this novel technology proposed a scalar set of equations for relating magnetic field and torque magnitude to the magnitude of angular displacement of the sensor. This research develops the theoretical model into a set of full vector equations, so that the …

Development And Characterization Of Metal Contacts For Graded Composition Ingan Solar Cells, Reem E. Alhelais

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is an increasing demand for high-power electronic components and optoelectronic devices with low-loss and high efficiency. III-nitride semiconductor materials have demonstrated great potential for high-power, high-frequency, and high-temperature applications because of their remarkable and wide-ranging electronic and physical properties. These material systems, including alloys of AlN, GaN, and InN, are currently being explored for their potential to develop efficient photovoltaic cells. They can potentially achieve higher efficiency because of their very high direct wide band edge, absorption coefficients, and resistance to defects. The compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy allows access to a large range of energies by varying the …

Investigation Of Electrospun Nanofibers For Separation Applications, Shu-Ting Chen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electrospun membranes are an attractive alternative to flat sheet membranes as absorbent with numerous advantages like high porosity, large specific surface area and ease of functionalization. This doctoral dissertation focuses on fabricating novel polymeric membrane adsorbents for protein separations and ammonium ion removal. Three distinctly different preparation methods including UV-initiated polymerization, atom transfer radical polymerization, and mixed-matrix formation, have been employed to fabricate the electrospun membranes. Overall, this study aimed to develop electrospun membranes with excellent separation efficiency for application in protein purification and ammonium ion removal.

Chapter 2 details the stepwise development of weak anion exchange membranes and subsequent …

Optical Properties Of Ultrathin In(Ga)As/Gaas And In(Ga)N/Gan Quantum Wells, Yurii Maidaniuk

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recently, structures based on ultrathin quantum wells (QWs) began to play a critical role in modern devices, such as lasers, solar cells, infrared photodetectors, and light-emitting diodes. However, due to the lack of understanding of the formation mechanism of ultrathin QWs during the capping process, scientists and engineers cannot fully explore the potential of such structures. This study aims to investigate how structural parameters of ultrathin QWs affect their emission properties by conducting a systematic analysis of the optical properties of In(Ga)As/GaAs and In(Ga)N/GaN ultrathin QWs. Specifically, the analysis involved photoluminescence measurements combined with effective bandgap simulation, x-ray diffraction, and …

Fractional Order Identification Method And Control: Development Of Control For Non-Minimum Phase Fractional Order System, Majid Abdullah Alhomim

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The increasing use of renewable energy has resulted in the need for improved a dc-dc converters. This type of electronic-based equipment is needed to interface the dc voltages normally encountered with solar arrays and battery systems to voltage levels suitable for connecting three phase inverters to distribution level networks. As grid-connected solar power levels continue to increase, there is a corresponding need for improved modeling and control of power electronic converters. In particular, higher levels of boost ratios are needed to connect low voltage circuits (less than 1000 V) to medium voltage levels in the range of 13 kV to …

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy For The Measurement Of Gesn/(Si)Gesn, Solomon Opeyemi Ojo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Photoluminescence (PL) and Electroluminescence (EL) characterization techniques are important tools for studying the optical and electrical properties of (Si)GeSn. Light emission from these PL and EL measurements provides relevant information on material quality, bandgap energy, current density, and device efficiency. Prior to this work, the in-house PL set-up of this lab which involves the use of a commercially-obtained dispersive spectrometer was used for characterizing both GeSn thin film and fabricated devices, but these measurements were limited by issues bordering on low spectral resolution, spectral artifacts, and poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) thereby resulting in the possible loss of vital information and …

Multiphoton Microscopy And Deep Learning Neural Networks For The Automated Quantification Of In Vivo, Label-Free Optical Biomarkers Of Skin Wound Healing, Jake D. Jones

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Non-healing ulcerative wounds that occur frequently in diseases such as diabetes are challenging to diagnose and treat due to numerous possible etiologies and the variable efficacy of wound care products. With advanced age, skin wound healing is often delayed, leaving elderly patients at high risk for developing these chronic injuries. As it is challenging to discriminate age-related delays from disease-related chronicity, there is a critical need to develop new quantitative biomarkers that are sensitive to wound status. Multiphoton microscopy (MPM) techniques are well-suited for 3D imaging of epithelia and are capable of non-invasively detecting metabolic cofactors (NADH and FAD) without …

Applications Of Cathodoluminescence In Plasmonic Nanostructures And Ultrathin Inas Quantum Layers, Qigeng Yan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to the advanced focusing ability, characterization methods based on the electron-beam excitation have been broadly applied to investigate nanomaterials. Structural or compositional information is commonly acquired using electron microscopes. Moreover, taking advantage of the super spatial resolution of the focused electron beam, optical properties of nanomaterials can be also obtained. Herein, general concepts and processes of the interaction between electrons and materials are studied. Two specific optical nanomaterials, including plasmonic nanostructures and semiconductor quantum layers, are investigated by the cathodoluminescence (CL) measurement.

Surface plasmonic resonance can be generated when high-energy electrons strike the interface between the dielectric medium and …

Ppmexplorer: Using Information Retrieval, Computer Vision And Transfer Learning Methods To Index And Explore Images Of Pompeii, Cindy Roullet

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we present and analyze the technology used in the making of PPMExplorer: Search, Find, and Explore Pompeii. PPMExplorer is a software tool made with data extracted from the Pompei: Pitture e Mosaic (PPM) volumes. PPM is a valuable set of volumes containing 20,000 historical annotated images of the archaeological site of Pompeii, Italy accompanied by extensive captions. We transformed the volumes from paper, to digital, to searchable. PPMExplorer enables archaeologist researchers to conduct and check hypotheses on historical findings. We present a theory that such a concept is possible by leveraging computer generated correlations between artifacts using …