Engineering Commons^™

Designing An Antibiotic Eluting Trauma Screw To Reduce Short Term Infection In Bone Fractures, Dominic Lincoln

Honors Theses

Orthopedic infection in the United States is one of the most common and severe health risks faced by trauma patients. The most prevalent infection is orthopedic and trauma device-related infection (ORDI) and often occurs in long bones at the fracture site. The purpose of this paper is to explore this infection, its causes, and solutions currently on the market while providing novel solutions to the problem. The designs proposed will be evaluated for their effectiveness and value, while attempting to keep costs low for all stakeholders. The feasibility of patenting these ideas will also be considered, as will the testing …

Evaluating Machine Learning Models For Semantic Segmentation Over Cloud Images For Classification, Harsh Nagarkar

Honors Theses

Due to the increasing number of available approaches nowadays, choosing the most accurate image semantic segmentation model has become hard. The purpose of this research is to find the best-performing image semantic segmentation model for Cloud classification. For the purpose of this study, a data set of cloud images from the Max Planck Institute for meteorology is used. These images were taken from the by two NASA space satellite.Three main models UNet, PSPNet and FPN were used in combination of 4 differ-ent encoder Inception-ResNet-v2, MobileNet-v2, ResNet-34, and ResNet 101. After training all the models in the Mississippi Center for Super …

Final Report - In-Line Long Period Grating And Brillouin Scattering Fiber Optic Sensors For Strain, Temperature, Chloride Concentration, And Steel Mass Loss Measurement In Bridge Applications, Genda Chen, Chuanrai Guo

Project SN-3

This project developed an in-line grating and scattering fiber optic sensing system for strain, temperature, and steel mass loss measurement in bridge applications. Long period fiber gratings (LPFG) sensors are responsive to thermal and mechanical deformation, and the refractive index change of their surrounding medium. Brillouin scattering sensors are responsive to temperature and strain along an optical fiber. A CO2 laser aided fiber grating system was assembled for LPFG fabrication. To enable mass loss measurement, a low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) system was built to synthesize a graphene/silver nanowire composite film as flexible transparent electrode for the electroplating of …

Final Report - Uav-Enabled Measurement For Spatial Magnetic Field Of Smart Rocks In Bridge Scour Monitoring, Genda Chen, Haibin Zhang, Zhaochao Li

Project SN-1

This project proposed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based method to measure the change in magnetic field as a result of the movement of a smart rock to monitor the maximum depth of bridge scour. A high resolution 3-axis magnetometer and global positioning system (GPS) unit were installed on the UAV to obtain the magnetic field intensity and its corresponding coordinate. The optimization algorithm for the localization of smart rock was demonstrated and adopted. The impact factors on accurate smart rock positioning were experimentally investigated. Utilizing finite element method, the influence of steel reinforcing bars on the distribution of ambient magnetic …

Target Control Of Networked Systems, Isaac S. Klickstein

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

The control of complex networks is an emerging field yet it has already garnered interest from across the scientific disciplines, from robotics to sociology. It has quickly been noticed that many of the classical techniques from controls engineering, while applicable, are not as illuminating as they were for single systems of relatively small dimension. Instead, properties borrowed from graph theory provide equivalent but more practical conditions to guarantee controllability, reachability, observability, and other typical properties of interest to the controls engineer when dealing with large networked systems. This manuscript covers three topics investigated in detail by the author: (i) the …

A Forward Analytic Model Of Neutron Time-Of-Flight Signals With Single Elastic Scattering And Beamline Attenuation For Inferring Ion Temperatures From Maglif Experiments, Colin A. Weaver

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

A forward analytic model is required to rapidly simulate the neutron time-of-flight (nToF) signals that result from magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) experiments at Sandia’s Z Pulsed Power Facility. Various experimental parameters, such as the burn-weighted fuel-ion temperature and liner areal density, determine the shape of the nToF signal and are important for characterizing any given MagLIF experiment. Extracting these parameters from measured nToF signals requires an appropriate analytic model that includes the primary DD neutron peak, once-scattered neutrons in the beryllium liner of the MagLIF target, and direct beamline attenuation. Mathematical expressions for this model were derived from the …

Editorial: Structure And Mechanical Properties Of Titanium Alloys And Titanium Matrix Composites (Tmcs), Lechun Xie, Liqiang Wang, Lai-Chang Zhang, Weijie Lu

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

No abstract provided.

Sediment Outflow Under Simulated Rainfall Conditions With Varying Geotechnical Properties, Pranjay Joshi, Akhilesh Kumar, P. V. Singh, Jahangeer Jahangeer

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The vulnerability of soil toward erosion might be reduced by having a good vegetative cover over the soil surface, slope improvement, and improving soil properties so that it is not easily detached and transported. However, the establishment of proper vegetative cover is a long process because it takes time for seeds to germinate and attain maturity. As an alternative approach, if soil resistance was increased by increasing the shear strength of soil against erosive forces offered by eroding agents, the soil system would become capable of withstanding the detachment of its particles on the application of shear stress. To achieve …

Effects Of Cyclic Heating And Water Cooling On The Physical Characteristics Of Granite, Xiangchao Shi, Leiyu Gao, Jie Wu, Cheng Zhu, Shuai Chen, Xiao Zhuo

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

This paper aims to study the effect of cyclic heating and flowing-water cooling conditions on the physical properties of granite. Ultrasonic tests, gas measured porosity, permeability, and microscope observations were conducted on granite after thermal treatment. The results showed that the velocity of P- and S-waves decreased as the number of thermal cycles increased. The porosity increased with the number of the thermal cycles attained at 600 °C, while no apparent changes were observed at 200 and 400 °C. The permeability increased with the increasing number of thermal cycles. Furthermore, microscope observations showed that degradation of the granite after thermal …

Otx2 Represses Sister Cell Fate Choices In The Developing Retina To Promote Photoreceptor Specification, Miruna Georgiana Ghinia Tegla, Diego F. Buenaventura, Diana Y. Kim, Cassandra Thakurdin, Kevin C. Gonzalez, Mark M. Emerson

Publications and Research

During vertebrate retinal development, subsets of progenitor cells generate progeny in a non-stochastic manner, suggesting that these decisions are tightly regulated. However, the gene-regulatory network components that are functionally important in these progenitor cells are largely unknown. Here we identify a functional role for the OTX2 transcription factor in this process. CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing was used to produce somatic mutations of OTX2 in the chick retina and identified similar phenotypes to those observed in human patients. Single cell RNA sequencing was used to determine the functional consequences OTX2 gene editing on the population of cells derived from OTX2-expressing retinal progenitor …

Effect Of Micropiles On Clean Sand Liquefaction Risk Based On Cpt And Spt, Visar Farhangi, Moses Karakouzian, Marten Geertsema

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Liquefaction is a hazardous seismic-based phenomenon, which causes an abrupt decrease in soil strength properties and can result in the massive destruction of the built environment. This research presents a novel approach to reduce the risk of soil liquefaction using jet-grouted micropiles in clean sands. The saturated soil profile of the study project mainly contains clean sands, which are suitable to more reliably employ simplified soil liquefaction analyses. The grouting is conducted using 420 micropiles to increase the existing soil properties. The effect of jet grouting on reducing the potential of liquefaction is assessed using the results of the cone …

Development Of A Novel Vehicle Guidance System: Vehicle Risk Mitigation And Control, Michael Sweigard

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Over a half of fatal vehicular crashes occur due to vehicles leaving their designated travel lane and entering other lanes or leaving the roadway. Lane departure accidents also result in billions of dollars in cost to society. Recent vehicle technology research into driver assistance and vehicle autonomy has developed to assume various driving tasks. However, these systems are do not work for all roads and travel conditions. The purpose of this research study was to begin the development a novel vehicle guidance approach, specifically studying how the vehicle interacts with the system to detect departures and control the vehicle

A …

Minet Magnetic Indoor Localization, Michael Drake

Honors Theses

Indoor localization is a modern problem of computer science that has no unified solution, as there are significant trade-offs involved with every technique. Magnetic localization, though less popular than WiFi signal based localization, is a sub-field that is rooted in infrastructure-free design, which can allow universal setup. Magnetic localization is also often paired with probabilistic programming, which provides a powerful method of estimation, given a limited understanding of the environment. This thesis presents Minet, which is a particle filter based localization system using the Earth's geomagnetic field. It explores the novel idea of state space limitation as a method of …

3d-Printed Biomimetic Bioactive Glass Scaffolds For Bone Regeneration In Rat Calvarial Defects, Krishna C. R. Kolan, Yue-Wern Huang, Julie A. Semon, Ming-Chuan Leu

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

The pore geometry of scaffold intended for the use in the bone repair or replacement is one of the most important parameters in bone tissue engineering. It affects not only the mechanical properties of the scaffold but also the amount of bone regeneration after implantation. Scaffolds with five different architectures (cubic, spherical, x, gyroid, and diamond) at different porosities were fabricated with bioactive borate glass using the selective laser sintering (SLS) process. The compressive strength of scaffolds with porosities ranging from 60% to 30% varied from 1.7 to 15.5 MPa. The scaffold's compressive strength decreased significantly (up to 90%) after …

Optimizing Athletic Throwing Power For Increased Training Efficiency, Ian Ghanavati, Curtis Tomasevicz

UCARE: Research Products

A summary on the investigation of the mechanics of weighted baseball pitching.

• The demand for higher pitch velocity has increased at all levels of competitive play within baseball • Weighted baseball training programs are a common way to increase pitch velocity • The efficacy and safety of weighted ball throwing is not fully understood • The aim of this study is to further investigate the mechanics of pitching under and overweight balls in order to better understand their role in athletic training

Emissivity Measurements Of Painted And Aerosol Deposited Thermographic Phosphors (Yag:Dy And Mfg:Mn), Wendy Flores-Brito

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Combustion is one of the most difficult processes to model. Luminous flames are characteristically sooty, which creates a problem when modeling and calculating the combustion and heat transfer of the process; both of which are highly dependent on temperature and emissivity. Soot particle emissivity as well as gas contributions affect the heat transfer calculation and must be accounted for.

Thermographic phosphors (TP) are ceramic based phosphorescent materials that have a temperature dependent emission that can be exploited to obtain surface and gas temperature measurements, as well as 2D temperature maps. Emissivity knowledge is not needed to obtain temperature and is …

Load Truncation Approach For Development Of Live Load Factors For Bridge Rating, Sasan Siavashi, Christopher D. Eamon

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research Publications

Various local governments have developed state-specific vehicular live load factors for bridge rating. However, a significant computational demand is often associated with such an effort. This is due to the large size of the weigh-in-motion (WIM) databases frequently used in the procedure. In this study, a method is proposed that can significantly reduce the computational cost of the analysis, while still maintaining reasonable accuracy. The proposed approach develops approximate live load random variable statistics by truncating the WIM database based on gross vehicle weight, then a complete reliability analysis is conducted to develop new live load factors that meet AASHTO-specified …

Upgrading Cracking Waste To Rubber Precursors Via Oxidative Dehydrogenation, Andrew Mason, Delaney Franck, Firdvas Nasimov, Lindsey Jarema, Gitau Wambugu

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Funded Proposals

To: Dr. Yasar Demirel, Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

As the result of process changes within an ethylene cracking plant, the amount of a C4 byproduct waste stream has significantly increased (Fabiano, Nedwick 1999). A system of extractive distillation and catalytic oxidative dehydrogenation can be used to add value to this C4 waste stream by producing high purity 1,3-Butadiene, an important rubber precursor. 1,3-Butadiene is a critical component of multiple consumer goods, including automobile tires and synthetic rubber and has a steadily increasing demand, reaching 10 million metric tons in 2012 (Biddy, Scarlata, Kinchin, 2016). The simulation assumes a feed flow …

Syntheses And Properties Of Ta5+ Doped Li7La3Zr2O12, Feng-Feng Peng, Shi-You Li, Tong-Tong Geng, Chun-Lei Li, Shuang-Wei Zeng

Journal of Electrochemistry

The tantalum ion (Ta ⁵⁺) doped garnet-type inorganic solid electrolyte Ta-LLZO was prepared by solid state reaction, and the effect of doping amount on the properties of the materials was investigated. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission electron scanning microscopy (FESEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). And the cycle stability was tested by assembly of LiFePO₄//LLZTO//Li all solid lithium battery. The results show that with the increase of Ta ⁵⁺ doping amount, the material appeared to form a single cubic phase structure. When the Ta ⁵⁺ doping content became 14.09wt.%, x=0.3, the …

Développement D’Outils Pour L’Évaluation Du Processus D’Implantation Et L’Analyse Économique D’Une Intervention Ergonomique : Le Cas D’Une Intervention De Prévention Des Troubles Musculosquelettiques Dans L’Industrie De L’Abattage Et De La Transformation De La Volaille, Émilie Desjardins, Hélène Sultan-Taïeb, France St-Hilaire, Nicole Vézina, Élise Ledoux, Patricia Bélanger, Rita Naji

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Depuis les années 1990, Nicole Vézina et son équipe ont réalisé des travaux de recherche qui ciblent l’apprentissage de l’affilage et de l’aiguisage des couteaux dans un objectif de prévention des troubles musculosquelettiques (TMS). Le cas à l’étude est une intervention implantée dans le département d’éviscération d’une usine d’abattage et de transformation de la volaille située au Québec. Il s’agit d’une intervention ergonomique de prévention des TMS avec plusieurs types de transfert d’apprentissage dans un contexte de travail à la chaîne à cadence élevée. L’objectif général de cette étude était de développer des outils de collecte de données adaptés aux …

Nanomechanical Characterization Of Fuel Cell Ionomers, Jackson Goddard

UCARE: Research Products

Energy sustainability can be achieved by improving and adopting clean energy technologies, and a better nanoscale understanding of ionomer-catalyst layers could lead to increased efficiency of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Samples of Nafion ( Perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer) and PFIA (Perfluoroimide acid ionomer) of varying film thickness were prepared and then studied using contact resonance force microscopy. It was determined that storage and loss modulus increase as relative humidity increases and ionomer film thickness goes below 100 nm. Furthermore, in this specific study, the similar storage and loss modulus of Nafion and PFIA could be attributed to similar backbone structure …

Synthetic Lethality In Pediatric Brain Cancer Cells By Optimized Plga Nanoparticles And Drug Combinations, Megan Ruckman, Megan Otte, Forrest Kievit

UCARE: Research Products

Here we test drugs effectiveness to inhibit various DNA repair pathways with the purpose of sensitizing cancer cells to radiotherapy. We work on optimizing delivery of DNA repair pathway inhibiting drugs by the use of PLGA nanoparticles.

Preparation And Characterization Of Cathode Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, Xiao-Nan Bao, Guang-Jun Zhang, Shao-Rong Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

A site deficient (La_0.8Sr_0.2)_0.95MnO₃ (LSM95) powder was synthesized by solid state reaction as a cathode material. The commercial Zr_0.9Sc_0.1SO_1.95 (SSZ) was selected as an electrolyte material and La_0.8Sr_0.2Cr_0.5Mn_0.5O₃- (LSCrM) was synthesized by sol-gel method as an anode material. Accordingly, single cells of LSCrM-CeO₂|SSZ|3YSZ-LSM95 were prepared by tape casting, sintering and impregnation. The single cell test results for LSCrM-CeO₂|SSZ|3YSZ-LSM95 with 0.11 g·cm ^-2 CeO₂ and using CH₄ as a fuel showed the power …

Research Progress Of Fuel Electrode In Oxide-Ion Conducting Solid Oxide Electrolysers, Ling-Ting Ye, Kui Xie

Journal of Electrochemistry

Solid oxide electrolysers are now attracting much more attentions because they can efficiently produce fuels by electrolyzing H₂O/CO₂. In this paper, a comprehensive introduction to the recent progress in the development of fuel electrode (cathode) materials is provided. The advantages, disadvantages and development trend towards various cathode materials are pointed out. The key scientific and technological problems in this field are emphasized.

Perovskite Catalysts For Fuel Reforming In Sofc:A Review And Perspective, Tong Wei, Jian Li, Li-Chao Jia, Bo Chi, Jian Pu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a generating device by electrochemical reaction to transfer the chemical energy of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas, etc.), the biomass fuel or other hydrocarbon fuels directly into electricity with higher energy conversion efficiency and lower pollution, which is recognized to be efficient green energy technology in the 21st century. However, when hydrocarbons are directly used as fuel, carbon deposition is easy to occur in nickel-based anode, thus, losing electrochemical catalytic activity. Fuel pre-reforming on the outside of the anode is an effective solution, which strongly relies on highly efficient and stable reforming catalysts. …

Construction And Electrochemical Performance Of Garnet-Type Solid Electrolyte/Al-Li Alloy Interface, Jia-Lin Ma, Hong-Chun Wang, Zheng-Liang Gong, Yong Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Garnet-type solid electrolyte is a newly developed Li ion conductor and promising in the application of all-solid-state batteries. However, Garnet is incompatible with Li anode, which restricts the application of Garnet-type solid batteries. In order to improve the contact between Garnet-type solid electrolyte and Li electrode, a composite anode which contains Al-Li alloy (Al₄Li₉) was prepared as an electrode. Al-Li alloy has many advantages such as easy preparation, low cost, simple post-treatment and high capacity. Garnet-type Li_6.5La₃Zr_1.75W_0.25O₁₂ (LLZWO) was synthesized via solid-state reaction. Garnet solid electrolyte has …

Performance Of Malware Classification On Machine Learning Using Feature Selection, Nusrat Asrafi

Master of Science in Computer Science Theses

The exponential growth of malware has created a significant threat in our daily lives, which heavily rely on computers running all kinds of software. Malware writers create malicious software by creating new variants, new innovations, new infections and more obfuscated malware by using techniques such as packing and encrypting techniques. Malicious software classification and detection play an important role and a big challenge for cyber security research. Due to the increasing rate of false alarm, the accurate classification and detection of malware is a big necessity issue to be solved. In this research, eight malware family have been classifying according …

Energy Dissipation Of Type A Piano Key Weirs, Kam R. Eslinger, Brian M. Crookston

Publications

A Piano Key weir (PK weir) is a nonlinear, labyrinth-type weir well suited for rehabilitation projects due to a relatively small footprint and the ability to pass large discharges for lesser upstream-head values when compared with other weir types. A critical component of a hydraulic structure is the energy-dissipative properties. Currently, information and guidance is limited, with previous energy dissipation studies of PK weirs primarily of specific projects. Therefore, to document and quantify energy dissipation, four laboratory-scale Type A PK weir models with different width ratios (W_i/W_o) were studied, with 255 tests comprising this new …

Controller And Headset Stand: Designing And Manufacturing, Tyler Butler, Chad Gutierrez

Honors Theses

This report shows how our Senior Center for Manufacturing Excellence team took our product, a controller and headset stand, from an idea into a mass producible product. We first identified the problem of headphones and controller storage and sought to solve it through our product design. Market research was performed to ensure that this would be a successful product in today’s marketplace. The trials of prototypes demonstrated what features could and could not be implemented into the design of the product. The group then designed a manufacturing plan for the product and found the projected market for the product. This …

Information Technology News, Georgia Southern University

Information Technology: News & Publications (2012-2023)

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