Engineering Commons^™

Kinetic Study Of In-Pipe Water Flow For Power Generation, Surendaran Venuthan

Student Works (2020-2029)

In-pipe turbine generator has a potential to harvest energy from an existing water flow from distribution pipe which have natural and pumping capacity. That flow will be used to convert kinetic energy from the pipe to rotate the turbine. In turn, the turbine may be connected to a generator to produce electric power. The fact that the in-pipe turbine generator will be a useful energy harvesting tool with potential with industrial application is recommended by many scholars. However, there is a concern where there are many types and sizes of pipe that is readily used in the water works industry. …

Development Of Plasticized Methylcellulosepotato Starch Blend Based Polymer Electrolytes For Protonic Cell And Supercapacitor Applications, Hamsan Muhamad Hafiz

Student Works (2020-2029)

In the current work, the preparation of the polymer electrolyte (PE) systems consists of methylcellulose-potato starch polymer matrix, ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) as ionic source and glycerol as plasticizer are done by solution cast technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) has shown that blend with 60 wt.% methylcellulose and 40 wt.% potato starch possesses the lowest degree of crystallinity. The possible interactions within the PE are verified using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. As the concentration of NH4NO3 is at 30 wt.%, the conductivity is optimized up to (4.37 ± 0.16) × 10-5 S cm-1 and then maximized to (1.26 ± 0.1) × …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Self-Cleaning Hydrophobic Organic Coating, Abdul Jaafar Amirul Syafiq

Student Works (2020-2029)

Three self-cleaning coating systems namely Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/Sylgard, PDMS/3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) (tagged as A1) and A1 blended with nano-Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) have been synthesised on glass substrates via dip-coating and spray-coating techniques. All of the prepared coatings were dried under ambient condition before being subjected to characterisations and testing(s). The effect of various weight percentages of Sylgard resin that are 5wt.% (S1 coating), 10wt.% (S2 coating), 15wt.% (S3 coating), and 20 wt.% (S4 coating) on the hydrophobicity, self-cleaning property, anti-fog performance and mechanical property of PDMS/Sylgard coating have been discussed in the first section of this thesis. The PDMS/Sylgard coated glass substrates …

Investigation Of Complex Refractive Index Of Grad Phene Oxide Using Polarisation Response Of Graphene Oxide-Coated Planarizeoptical Waveguide, Soon Xin Gan

Student Works (2020-2029)

Since a single atomic layer of carbon, also as known as graphene is being successfully exfoliated from 3D graphite, intense research on graphene and its derivative begins. Among them, graphene oxide (GO) is considered one of the most prominent candidates in the category of graphene derivatives for the application of electronic, optoelectronic and photonics. However, although GO has been applied in many applications like saturable absorbers of Q-switch laser and optical limiters for eye protection, its intrinsic optical properties especially complex refractive index reported so far still has a large deviation. Also, most of the optical characterization research on GO …

Low-Power Cmos Cross-Coupled Differential-Drive Rectifier For Ambient Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting Systems, Sing Leung Gabriel Chong

Student Works (2020-2029)

Wireless Sensor Node (WSN) for the Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of Everything (IoE) will require harvesting low-power ambient Radio Frequency (RF) energy to achieve self-power capabilities, alleviating the need of batteries. The research title of “Low-Power CMOS Cross-Coupled Differential-Drive Rectifier for Ambient Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting Systems” relates to the design of integrated circuit (IC) rectifiers for low-power ambient RF energy harvesting (RFEH) in complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The adoption of CMOS for the rectifier designs is to achieve small physical form factor, low-cost, and system-on-chip (SoC) integration. The rectifier is the main circuit in an ambient RFEH system …

Development Of Bragg Fiber Sensor For Corrosion Detection, Cai Hui Tan

Student Works (2020-2029)

Steel corrosion has posed one of the major structural defects in the civil society today. Conventional methods for corrosion monitoring involve high maintenance cost and destructive methods with low accuracy. Recently, Fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) sensor with its high sensitivity in measuring strain and temperature have been widely studied and used in structural health monitoring (SHM). A non-destructive corrosion detection approach based on FBG sensors was developed and tested to monitor corrosion in this research work. The principle of FBG sensing is based on Bragg wavelength shifts that from the corrosion process that induced strain on the FBG due to …

3-Dimensional Carbon Micro-Electro Mechanical System (Mems) Electrode For Potential Dielectrophoretic Hepatic Cell Patterning Application, Wan Yahya Wan Nurlina

Student Works (2020-2029)

The maintenance of liver tissue unique pattern remains a great challenge in the generation of functional engineered liver tissue in vitro. This thesis presents a carbon dielectrophoresis (DEP) based cell patterning for generating hepatic cell constructs, mimicking biological hepatic lobule. A new design of electrode named interdigitated radiating-strips electrode (IRSE) was simulated and optimized using COMSOL Multiphysics 4.2a. The simulation result proved that IRSE is capable to provide uniform distribution of electric field for generating three-dimensional (3D) DEP force. The use of carbon electrodes has been an alternative to traditional metal electrodes and insulator structures for DEP applications since more …

Alumina Ceramic Membrane Incorporated With Graphene Oxide Frameworks For Protein Recovery, Ishak Noor Fauziyah

Student Works (2020-2029)

Alumina ceramic membrane is undergoing rapid development and innovation for protein recovery process. However, the limitation of this membrane type is membrane fouling due to the deposition and adsorption of proteins on the surface and pore walls of the membranes. It is crucial to minimize membrane fouling by reducing interactions between protein and the membrane surface via surface modification technique. Thus, the main objective of this research is to develop an alumina membrane with enhanced antifouling property for protein recovery process. An alumina dope consisting of 57 wt.% alumina loading was used to fabricate two alumina membrane configurations; which are …

Optimization Of Bioethanol Production, Engine Performance And Exhaust Emissions From Manihot Glaziovii And Sweet Sorghum In A Spark Ignition Engine, Sebayang Abdi Hanra

Student Works (2020-2029)

The ever-increasing fossil fuel consumption over the years is attributable to economic and population growth, which in turn, increases greenhouse gas emissions. Bioethanol is one of the promising solutions to address the depletion of fossil fuels as well as environmental problems. Manihot glaziovii tubers and sweet sorghum grains are inedible feedstocks that can be used for bioethanol production. The carbohydrate content (70%) of these biomasses makes them suitable as feedstocks for bioethanol production. In this study, enzymatic hydrolysis (liquefaction and saccharification) was used to obtain the reduction of sugars. The enzymes α-amylase from Bacillus licheniformis Type XII-A and amyloglucosidase from …

Organic Materials As Saturable Absorber For Pulse Generation At Telecommunication Window, Mohammed Hussein Sameer Salam M.H.

Student Works (2020-2029)

This thesis demonstrates several types of fiber lasers based on newly developed organic materials as saturable absorbers (SAs). We used these SAs in all-fiber based erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) ring cavity to produce Q-switched and mode-locked pulses at telecommunication window, at ~ 1560 nm. Three different organic materials were used in this thesis: Bis[2-(4,6-difluorophenyl)pyridinato-C2 ,N](picolinato)iridium(III) (FIrpic), bis(8-hydroxyquinoline)zinc (Znq2) and Tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum (Alq3). Finding new materials is still one of the defining characteristics of nonlinear optics field, as the rapid development of SAs has provided several new opportunities for nonlinear optics. Throughout this work, organic material showed a very interesting performance in …

Modeling, Fabrication And Characterization Of Coated Calcium Phosphate Scaffolds Produced By 3d-Printing For Tissue Engineering Application, Touri Maria

Student Works (2020-2029)

A fully interconnected 3-dimensional scaffold with pre-determined dimensions and porosity can be attained by design-dependent rapid prototyping techniques which possess precise control over the internal and external architecture of the scaffolds thus they can overcome the problems associated with the process-dependent classical approaches. Interruption of vascular flow with fracture or surgical osteotomy results in a transient hypoxic gradient within the wound and subsequent tissue necrosis. Tissue engineering scaffolds with oxygen generating elements have shown to be able to increase the level of oxygen and cell survivability. In this study, biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) scaffolds with the composition of 60% hydroxyapatite …

Microstructural Evolution And Mechanical Properties Of Ultra-Fine Grained Tubular Components Processed By Severe Plastic Deformation, Mesbah Mohsen

Student Works (2020-2029)

The lightweight alloys have been widely used in various engineering applications such as automotive, aerospace, construction, and biomedical industries due to their low densities, high ductility, formability, and facile machining. However, the emerging trend for materials with high mechanical strength and plasticity hampers the widespread application of these alloys. Over the last two decades, severe plastic deformation (SPD) has been introduced as a promising approach for enhancement of the mechanical performance of the lightweight alloys through microstructural manipulations and grain refinement. However, the SPD techniques have been extensively utilized for the fabrication of non-tubular geometries and the studies on the …

Enhancement Of Graphene Biocompatibility As A Potential Nano-Carrier For Drug Delivery Applications Using Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent, Zainal Abidin Mohamad Hamdi

Student Works (2020-2029)

Graphene has attracted massive interest in numerous biomedical applications such as anti-cancer therapy, drug delivery, bio-imaging and gene delivery. Therefore, it is important to ensure that graphene is nontoxic, and that its cellular biological behavior is safe and biocompatible. Herein, a new route was used to enhance the biocompatibility of graphene as a nano-carrier for potential drug delivery applications, using different compositions of natural deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as functionalizing agents, owing to their capability to introduce various functional groups and surface modifications. To meet this end, eight different combinations of binary and ternary DESs were synthesized using choline chloride …

Emergency Department Systems Engineering: Modelling And Event Simulation, O Alharethi Salman Zayed

Student Works (2020-2029)

Emergency department systems are meant to ensure the timely delivery for essential healthcare services through complex systems. (ED) offers various services and have several components in its parts. Examined long previous research on system engineering and quality of healthcare resulting on these are influenced by operational management. Real time data are very helpful for decision making for any systems. Patient output feedback and satisfaction can be ensured with engineered management. EDs have become evident particularly in current scenario when the world is in the grip of the deadly COVID-19. All this implies that analysis is significant for improvement of services …

Advancing Water Resources Systems Modeling Cyberinfrastructure To Enable Systematic Data Analysis, Modeling, And Comparisons, Adel Mohammad Kheir Abdallah

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Water resources systems models aid in managing water resources holistically considering water, economic, energy, and environmental needs, among others. Developing such models require data that represent a water system’s physical and operational characteristics such as inflows, demands, reservoir storage, and release rules. However, such data is stored and described in different formats, metadata, and terminology. Therefore, Existing tools to store, query, and visualize modeling data are model, location, and dataset-specific, and developing such tools is time-consuming and requires programming experience. This dissertation presents an architecture and three software tools to enable researchers to more readily and consistently prepare and reuse …

Novel Three-Dimensional Scaffold For Skeletal Muscle Tissue, Matthew H. Clegg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Cells are traditionally grown on a flat, plastic surface that has been optimized for cell attachment. While this is appropriate for growing and maintaining cells, this two-dimensional cell culture model is not an adequate representation of a three-dimensional body. Creating three-dimensional lab models is an important step to model diseases and damage to the skeletal muscle system.

To create this three-dimensional environment, a plastic frame was designed to support silkworm fibers. Skeletal muscle cells were then grown along the silkworm fibers and the growth of these cells in a three-dimensional environment was compared to cells grown on a flat, two-dimensional …

Evaluating The Hydraulic Performance Of Digital Photogrammetry-Derived 3-Dimensional Models Of A Hydraulic Structure Using Computational Fluid Dynamics, Tyler J. Ashby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research investigated the combination of aerial imagery, photogrammetry, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Two 3D models of an 8-ft ramp flume were developed from aerial imagery using a commercial photogrammetry software. The GCP model was developed using ground control points (GCP) to improve and measure the model's accuracy. The Non-GCP model used GCPs as check points, which only measure the model's accuracy. The horizontal and vertical errors were, respectively, 0.39 in. and 0.73 in. for the GCP model, and 5.37 in. and 2.80 in. for the Non-GCP model.

In addition to the GCP and Non-GCP models, two hybrid 3D …

Optimization Of Aileron Spanwise Size And Shape To Minimize Induced Drag In Roll With Correlating Adverse Yaw, Joshua R. Brincklow

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Most modern aircraft make use of modifying the main wing in flight to begin a roll. In many cases, this is done with a discrete control surface known as an aileron. The lift, drag, and moments for the wing are affected in part by the location and size of the ailerons along the length of the wing. The lift, drag, and moments can be found using a lifting-line theory that considers the circulation in airflow from many small sections of the wing. To minimize the drag due to lift on the wing, the ailerons must be optimized for the best …

The Role Of Carbonate Minerals In Arsenic Mobility In A Shallow Aquifer Influenced By A Seasonally Fluctuating Groundwater Table, Jeremy Jensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Arsenic (As) is a poison historically used to great effect before modern detection methods rendered it obsolete. However, the largest mass poisoning in human history occurred due to groundwater in the Bengal Basin contaminated by natural sources of As. Since that time, research has determined that As is found in groundwater worldwide. This includes aquifers located in basin-filled valleys of the western United States. One of these valleys is the Cache Valley Basin located in Northern Utah. This semi-arid region contains carbonate-rich soils and is heavily influenced by snowmelt and seasonal runoff. Previous studies have found that 15% of private …

Venturi Flowmeter Performance Installed Downstream Of The Branch Of A Tee Junction, Benjamin G. Sandberg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the influence of a tee junction on flow rate measurement of a Venturi flowmeter installed downstream of the branch of a tee. Accuracy in flow measurement is important to organizations where miscalculated flow rates can add up to be millions of dollars in either lost revenue, overcharges to the client, or improper system operation. This research used Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to determine ratios by which the manufacturer’s straight-line calibrated C_d (discharge coefficient) can be adjusted to improve the accuracy of the flow measurement when the Venturi is installed on the …

Cytomegalovirus Inhibition By Pluronic-Encapsulated Quercetin And Synergy With Ganciclovir, Ian Wadsworth

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the leading viral cause of birth defects worldwide and leads to a variety of complications. Ganciclovir is the most common anti-CMV drug used but often causes severe side effects. Quercetin, a plant pigment, shows anti-CMV activity that may provide a less toxic alternative to ganciclovir, or when co-administered, reduce ganciclovir treatments. However, a drug carrier is needed to deliver quercetin for CMV treatment. In this study, three Pluronic polymers (P123, F127, and F68) were investigated as a quercetin drug delivery system (DDS) for CMV treatment.

All selected Pluronics successfully encapsulated quercetin at varying degrees of efficacy. …

Characterization Of Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell Performance With Pentanoic Acid And N-Acetyl Cysteine Treatment, Joseph Camire

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

To improve the cost of producing protein therapeutics manufacturers can attempt to increase the amount of protein produced per unit volume. Some small fatty-acids have shown the ability to increase protein concentrations in some manufacturing systems. An example system is in the industrially important cell line derived from a Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO). A drawback of adding these fatty-acids is they can increase the rate of cell death.

A potential way to minimize the cell death rate, caused by adding fatty-acids, is to also add additional anti-oxidants. Through a series of studies, we demonstrate production with different fatty-acids, butanoic acid …

A General Approach To Lifting-Line Theory, Applied To Wings With Sweep, Jackson T. Reid

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Lifting-line theory is one simple method of predicting the lift produced by a wing. The traditional implementation of lifting-line theory, developed in 1918, is limited to predicting the lift of traditional straight wings. In this work, lifting-line theory is extended to predict the lift produced by modern swept (or "v-shaped") wings by strategically handling the singularities inherent to the theory. The resulting formulation is shown to be both accurate and computationally inexpensive, when compared to experimental and higher-fidelity computational results, demonstrating the method's usefulness as an aerodynamic design tool. Because of the low computational cost and accuracy of the method …

Transient Thermal Modeling Of Bioprocessing Equipment, Cody M. Cummings

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bioprocessing is leveraging cells to produce high value, lifesaving products. Precise environmental control is needed to maintain integrity of the bioprocessing production process. Temperature control requires both appropriate equipment choice and correct control parameter selection. To aid in the equipment selection process, enable better understanding of equipment capacity, and enable optimization of control parameters, a transient thermal model of both heat transfer characteristics and control systems was created in silico.

Study Of Levee Underseepage Through Abandoned Channels And Point Bars On Curved Levee Sections Using The Response Surface-Monte Carlo Method, Tomsen Reed

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The current procedures for calculated the probability of failure of levees (earthen structures designed to prevent flooding of important locations) all have their own unique limitations. Some methods are very simplistic, and either ignore or do not allow for inclusion of complex geometries. Other methods allow for complex geometry, but do not lend themselves to large quantities of analysis because of the amount of time it takes to create or modify a model. For these reasons, previous research performed by Lourdes Polanco and Dr. John Rice developed the preliminary stages of a new method called the Response Surface-Monte Carlo method. …

Trisiloxane Surfactant Adjuvants In Pollen, Autumn Slade

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Chemicals are often added to agricultural pesticide mixes to help increase the efficiency of the field spray solution, and one of the main groups of chemicals used for this purpose are trisiloxane surfactants (TSSs). Normally TSSs are considered non-toxic, but recent studies have shown TSSs to have negative impacts on organisms like honey bees. Though TSSs have recently been found in environmental sources like water, pollen, and beeswax, little is known about how TSSs behave in the environment or affects active ingredients, like pesticides.

To help determine the environmental prevalence and fate of TSSs, several studies were performed. Pollen was …

Pitched Baseballs And The Seam Shifted Wake, Andrew W. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect that seams have on the way a baseball moves through the air. An examination of the airflow around a baseball led to the understanding that when seams are in certain areas on the baseball's surface the airflow changes. A subsequent experiment was performed which showed that when these changes in airflow were on one side of the baseball more than the other, the ball moved away from the side with the seams. This movement is in a different direction than the movement direction caused by a ball's spin. These experiments were done …

Developing Arduino Coding Curriculum, Tyler Brown, Riley Bucheitte, Timothy Kidd

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

No abstract provided.

Research On Optimizing Lot Sizing Of Job Shop Based On Em_Plant, Xiaobing Pei, Linlin Tan

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Considering maximizing the rate of account and choosing production process time as the optimization objectives to solve the lot sizing optimization problems of job shop, the model about production time under ideal conditions was established, and accordingly the formula of solving theoretical optimal lot sizing was derived. To compensate for the limitations of mathematical modeling and improve the feasibility of the optimal solution, the actual manufacturing operations in job shop was simulated and optimized according to production batch simulation optimization strategy by eM_plant software. By running the simulation model the theoretical optimal solution was amended, to make optimal …

Intelligent Detecting For Infrared Aerial Small Target Based On Non-Subsampled Contourlet Transform, Liu Gang, Xingyuan Xu, Zhou Heng, Xitao Zhang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the problem of infrared aerospace small target's detecting under complex background, an intelligent algorithm was proposed based on the non-subsampled contourlet transform and BP neutral network. By using the morphologic top-hat transform which had adaptive structural element, some infrared background was suppressed. By defining the center vector of subband coefficients, the proposed method constructed the synthetical image at high frequency and suppressed the complex background further. Subsequently, taking pixel's gray level, horizontal gradient, vertical gradient, diagonal gradient, neighbour mean and neighbour variance as input character vector, a BP neutral network which had three layers was constructed by …