Engineering Commons^™

Generalized Ultrasonic Scattering Model For Arbitrary Transducer Configurations, Andrea P. Arguelles, Joseph A. Turner

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Ultrasonic scattering in polycrystalline media is directly tied to microstructural features. As a result, modeling efforts of scattering from microstructure have been abundant. The inclusion of beam modeling for the ultrasonic transducers greatly simplified the ability to perform quantitative, fully calibrated experiments. In this article, a theoretical scattering model is generalized to allow for arbitrary source and receiver configurations, while accounting for beam behavior through the total propagation path. This extension elucidates the importance and potential of out-of-plane scattering modes in the context of microstructure characterization. The scattering coefficient is explicitly written for the case of statistical isotropy and ellipsoidal …

Wintertime Spatial Distribution Of Ammonia And Its Emission Sources In The Great Salt Lake Region, Alexander Moravek, Jennifer G. Murphy, Amy Hrdina, John C. Lin, Christopher Pennell, Alessandro Franchin, Ann M. Middlebrook, Dorothy L. Fibiger, Caroline C. Womack, Erin E. Mcduffie, Randy S. Martin, Kori D. Moore, Munkhbayar Baasandorj, Steven S. Brown

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Ammonium-containing aerosols are a major component of wintertime air pollution in many densely populated regions around the world. Especially in mountain basins, the formation of persistent cold-air pools (PCAPs) can enhance particulate matter with diameters less than 2.5 µm (PM_2.5) to levels above air quality standards. Under these conditions, PM_2.5 in the Great Salt Lake region of northern Utah has been shown to be primarily composed of ammonium nitrate; however, its formation processes and sources of its precursors are not fully understood. Hence, it is key to understanding the emission sources of its gas phase precursor, ammonia …

Incorporation Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Uav) Point Cloud Products Into Remote Sensing Evapotranspiration Models, Mahyar Aboutalebi, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, Mac Mckee, William P. Kustas, Héctor Nieto, Maria Mar Alsina, Alex White, John H. Prueger, Lynn Mckee, Joseph Alfieri, Lawrence E. Hipps, Calvin Coopmans, Nick Dokoozlian

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

In recent years, the deployment of satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has led to production of enormous amounts of data and to novel data processing and analysis techniques for monitoring crop conditions. One overlooked data source amid these efforts, however, is incorporation of 3D information derived from multi-spectral imagery and photogrammetry algorithms into crop monitoring algorithms. Few studies and algorithms have taken advantage of 3D UAV information in monitoring and assessment of plant conditions. In this study, different aspects of UAV point cloud information for enhancing remote sensing evapotranspiration (ET) models, particularly the Two-Source Energy Balance Model (TSEB), over …

Sampling And Characterizing Evolving Communities In Social Networks, Humphrey Appiah Mensah

Dissertations - ALL

One of the most important structures in social networks is communities. Understanding communities is useful in many applications, such as suggesting a friend for a user in an online friendship network, recommending a product for a user in an e-commerce network, etc. However, before studying anything about communities, researchers first need to collect appropriate data. Getting complete access to the data for community studies is unrealistic in most cases. In this work, we address the problem of crawling networks to identify community structure. Firstly, we present a network sampling technique to crawl the community structure of dynamic networks when there …

Copula-Based Multimodal Data Fusion For Inference With Dependent Observations, Shan Zhang

Dissertations - ALL

Fusing heterogeneous data from multiple modalities for inference problems has been an attractive and important topic in recent years. There are several challenges in multi-modal fusion, such as data heterogeneity and data correlation. In this dissertation, we investigate inference problems with heterogeneous modalities by taking into account nonlinear cross-modal dependence. We apply copula based methodology to characterize this dependence.

In distributed detection, the goal often is to minimize the probability of detection error at the fusion center (FC) based on a fixed number of observations collected by the sensors. We design optimal detection algorithms at the FC using a regular …

Tracked Vehicle Physics-Based Energy Modelling And Series Hybrid System Optimisation For The Bradley Fighting Vehicle, Travis E. Mcwhirter, Torrey J. Wagner, John E. Stubbs, Denise M. Rizzo, Jada B. Williams

Faculty Publications

A hybrid electric tracked ground vehicle (HETGV) can reduce military fuel usage, however a review of current tools determined they are not suitable to estimate HEGTV performance. Based on topographic data and vehicle attributes, this research developed an estimation tool by creating a model to determine tracked vehicle energy and fuel requirements, and using these requirements, created a HEGTV cost and performance optimisation for the Bradley fighting vehicle energy system. The optimised design reduced fuel consumption by 15%, and met the vehicle's peak power requirement of 365 kW, with a recommended configuration of a 135 kW generator and 100 kWh …

Acoustic Design Optimization With Isogeometric Analysis And Differential Evolution, Garrett W. Dodgen

Mechanical Engineering Theses

The objective of this study is to utilize shape optimization to enhance the performance of devices relying on acoustic wave propagation. Particularly, the shape of a horn speaker and an acoustic energy harvester were optimized to enhance their performance at targeted frequencies. High order Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) was performed to estimate the acoustic pressure with minimum geometry and pollution errors [1]. The analysis platform was then combined with Differential Evolution (DE) to optimize the geometry of the horn speaker and energy harvester at a given frequency. These cases effectively demonstrate two applications of Isogeomtric shape optimization for devices relying on …

An Analysis Of Energy Consumption And The Use Of Renewables For A Small Drinking Water Treatment Plant, Saria Bukhary, Jacimara Batista, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

One of the pressing issues currently faced by the water industry is incorporating sustainability considerations into design practice and reducing the carbon emissions of energy-intensive processes. Water treatment, an indispensable step for safeguarding public health, is an energy-intensive process. The purpose of this study was to analyze the energy consumption of an existing drinking water treatment plant (DWTP), then conduct a modeling study for using photovoltaics (PVs) to offset that energy consumption, and thus reduce emissions. The selected plant, located in southwestern United States, treats 0.425 m3 of groundwater per second by utilizing the processes of coagulation, filtration, and disinfection. …

System And Method For Determining Operating Deflection Shapes Of A Structure Using Optical Techniques, Javad Baqersad

Mechanical Engineering Patents

A system for measuring total operating deflection shapes of a structure includes one or more imagers, each including two cameras spaced apart from one another and each oriented and positioned to have corresponding fields of view of a different corresponding section of the structure, with the corresponding sections that may include overlap area of the structure within each of the different sections of the structure. Each of the cameras generates a corresponding data stream, which is communicated to a controller, which is configured to measure the response of the structure to an excitation, such as a vibration or an impulse. …

Effect Of Recycled Concrete Aggregates On The Long-Term, Elastic, Total Deflection And Strength Of Precast Prestressed Hollow Core Concrete Slabs, Lizeth Marisol Gomez Santana

Civil Engineering Theses

Concrete constitutes the largest portion of construction and demolition waste generated each year in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the total production of construction and demolition of concrete waste during 2015 was 381.8 million tons. In order to reduce the economic and environmental effects of waste concrete, researchers have begun to incorporate it into concrete mixtures. However, the inherent variability in mechanical properties between RCA sources makes it difficult to quantify the maximum permissible replacement of natural aggregate and the end-result properties of concrete. This project investigates the use of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) obtained …

Electroanalytical Investigation Of The Electrode –Electrolyte Interface Of Quaternary Ammonium Ionic Liquids: Impact Of Alkyl Chain Length And Ether Functionality, Jeffrey M. Klein, Henry Squire, Burcu E. Gurkan

Faculty Scholarship

The influence of ionic associations and potential-dependent interactions on the electrode-electrolyte interfacial structure of ionic liquids (ILs) is studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for a variety of asymmetric quaternary ammonium ILs. Specifically, the impact of cation alkyl chain length (C = 4, 8 and 16) and ether functionality on the interfacial structuring of ILs at the glassy carbon electrode surface is examined. Ammonium cations with alkyl chain length of 8 and 16 carbons are found to stabilize the formation of the bis(trifluorosulfonyl)imide, [TFSI], anion dense Stern layer at positive electrode potentials leading to larger …

Protocol Efficiently Measuring The Swelling Rate Of Hydrogels, Katherine Zhang, Wuxiang Feng, Congrui Jin

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Hydrogels are polymeric materials which can swell in water and retain a significant fraction of water within their structure without dissolving in water. Swelling rate is one of the most important properties of hydrogels. To measure the swelling rate, the profile of swelling capacity versus time of a hydrogel sample is obtained by performing free-absorbency capacity measurements at consecutive time intervals. Traditionally, either the tea-bag method, the sieve method, or the filtration method is used for the free-absorbency capacity measurements depending on the amount of the available sample and the desired precision. However, each method has its own systematic drawbacks. …

Application Development For Goods Management System Towards Waste Minimization Options, Wan Ahmad Nadzim

Student Works (2020-2029)

Waste is a global concern. Increasing waste generation levels are causing the increase of waste management costs. In fact, the greatest costs of waste are measured by its impacts to the environment, society and economy. Prevention is better than cure—since all wastes come from goods, thus the best way to manage wastes is to manage goods. An application model of goods management system has been developed using GIS (Geographic Information System) and app prototyping. The primary purpose of goods management is to maximize goods and minimize waste by promoting reduction and reuse. GIS was used to perform spatial analyses on …

Impact Of Isolated Atmospheric Aging Processes On The Cloud Condensation Nuclei Activation Of Soot Particles, Franz Friebel, Prem Lobo, David Neubauer, Ulrike Lohmann, Saskia Drossaart Van Dusseldorp, Evelyn Mühlhofer, Amewu A. Mensah

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The largest contributors to the uncertainty in assessing the anthropogenic contribution in radiative forcing are the direct and indirect effects of aerosol particles on the Earth's radiative budget. Soot particles are of special interest since their properties can change significantly due to aging processes once they are emitted into the atmosphere. Probably the largest obstacle for the investigation of these processes in the laboratory is the long atmospheric lifetime of 1 week, requiring tailored experiments that cover this time span. This work presents results on the ability of two types of soot, obtained using a miniCAST soot generator, to act …

Concentrations, Sources, And Health Risks Of Particulate Matter In Southeast Us.: Current Status And Future Changes, Fenglin Han

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Evaluation of long-term air quality trends and prediction of future air quality may help to design and demonstrate effectiveness of control strategies and guide future air quality management. As one of the six criteria air pollutants (CAPs) regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 µm or less (PM_2.5) is of great interests since it has adverse effects on human health, visibility and climate. This study aims to understand the current status and future changes in concentrations, sources, and health risks of PM_2.5 in Southeast US. Firstly, observations were analyzed …

Rheological Models For Non-Newtonian Viscosity Of Modified Asphalt Binders And Mastics, Aboelkasim Diab, Zhanping You, Xuelian Li, Jorge Carvalho Pais, Xu Yang, Siyu Chen

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

This paper is aimed at providing a comprehensive experimental work on the viscosity behavior of different modified asphalt binders and mastics, as well as exploring mathematical representations of the results in attempts to predict the viscosity and flow behaviors according to Vinogradov-Malkin and Phillips-Deutsch models. The modified asphalt binders were prepared in the unaged and aged states using styrene-butadienestyrene (SBS), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), and crumb rubber (CR); while the hydrated lime (HL) and fly ash (FA) were selected to produce the binder-filler mastics. To widen the study findings, the additives (polymers, rubber, and fillers) were applied at different possible levels …

2019 Fall Engr333 Project Final Report, Megan Black, Evan Block, Jacob Deysher, Zach Erickson, Peter Atma, John Macy, Paul Steenwyk, Justin Skaggs, Justin Eekhoff, Adam Marquardt, Alan Samdel, Nathan Van Wyhe, Zach Ashenfelter, Brett Ermer, Clayton Lockwood, Ryan Schierbeek, Andrew Zerull, Matthew Buist, Hannah Chilkiewicz, Nathan Hall, Holly Straup, Ivy Chipinda, Andrew Huston, Peter Oh, Tony Vander Ploeg, Josh Hallenbeck, Cameron Ilbrink, Bridget Pertzsch, Lillie Spackman, Zuber Abdella, Michael Merz, Nathan Schuten, Abigail Willson, William Benneh, Marcus Gelder, Steven Vanast, Tyler Johnson, Christopher Pappageorge, Trevor Sando

ENGR 333

Today, many institutions and individuals see energy efficiency as an important issue; reducing energy consumption is thought to decrease demand for fossil fuels and consumes energy more sustainably. However, while more efficient devices can save users both energy and money, they do not always result in less energy use as a society. This discrepancy between expected and actual energy savings is called the rebound effect. This can be a result of several factors: increased use of the device drawing more energy, manufacturers using more energy to create the new device, or money saved by the users being respent in the …

Development Of A Low-Cost, Open Source Miniature Rotary Cell Culture System To Simulate Microgravity Within An Irradiated Environment, Elizabeth Vargis, Jr Dennison

Browse all Datasets

A major challenge for astronauts in long-duration space travel is combatting the hazardous spaceflight environment caused by microgravity and increased levels of ionizing radiation. Microgravity damages cellular DNA by increasing the production of harmful reactive oxygen species, while ionizing radiation damages DNA by creating double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) breaks. Cellular damage due to microgravity and radiation has been investigated using ground-based models, but most models consider microgravity and ionizing radiation alone, or asynchronously. Synchronous modeling better mimics spaceflight conditions and can be used to understand the combined effects of microgravity and ionizing radiation. However, commercially available devices to model microgravity and …

Strengthening Of Corroded Steel Structures Using Cfrp – An Experimental Review, Ghada El-Mahdy Ph.D., P.Eng, Abdallah H. Yassin, Abdel El Rahman Khaled

Civil Engineering

Fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) have been widely used to strengthen reinforced concrete structures, however, nowadays their use to strengthen steel structures is under investigation. In particular, the need to strengthen corroded steel structures found in aggressive environments, such as marine environments, which have undergone a reduction in cross-sectional area and hence a reduction in their load-carrying capacity is in need of studying. The main problems that arise when using carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets to strengthen steel structures is the weakness in the interfacial bond between the CFRP and the steel surface, the thinness of CFRP sheet, and the …

Sway And No-Sway Behaviour Of Pitched Roof Portal Frames Composed Of Cold-Formed Steel Sections, Ghada El-Mahdy Ph.D, P.Eng., Maged Tawfick Hanna Ph.D

Civil Engineering

Cold-formed sections buckle locally and distortionally in combination with overall buckling of the member. When these sections are incorporated into a portal frame structure, this combination of buckling modes affects the overall buckling behaviour of the portal frame. The objective of this paper is to study the effect of local and distortional buckling on the overall behaviour of portal frames. The portal frames studied have a span of 10 m and an eave height of 3 m with a roof pitch of 1:10. Two frames are studied the first with one intermediate interconnector at the midpoints of the column and …

The Scaffolds To Guide Fast Angiogenesis, Tianhong Zhou

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Angiogenesis is one of the most challenging problems in bone structure repair. The different types of 3D fibrous morphology structure of the extracellular matrix for fasting angiogenesis have been studied. Due to the densely packed constructs and limited porosity of scaffold, the challenge still remains for scaffold fabrication. In this study, we fabricated PCL scaffold with growth factors and cells to guide fast angiogenesis by electro-spinning and electro-spray simultaneously. We developed a technique that electro-spinning encapsulates growth factors OPN(Recombinant Human Osteopontin) and SDF-1α(CXCL12) in poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres into PCL 3D structures scaffold fibers. We also developed a new technique to …

Identifying Customer Churn In After-Market Operations Using Machine Learning Algorithms, Vitaly Briker, Richard Farrow, William Trevino, Brent Allen

SMU Data Science Review

This paper presents a comparative study on machine learning methods as they are applied to product associations, future purchase predictions, and predictions of customer churn in aftermarket operations. Association rules are used help to identify patterns across products and find correlations in customer purchase behaviour. Studying customer behaviour as it pertains to Recency, Frequency, and Monetary Value (RFM) helps inform customer segmentation and identifies customers with propensity to churn. Lastly, Flowserve’s customer purchase history enables the establishment of churn thresholds for each customer group and assists in constructing a model to predict future churners. The aim of this model is …

Fluorinated Coal Derived Carbons And Electrodes For Use In Battery Systems And Similar, Stephen M. Lipka, Christopher R. Swartz

Center for Applied Energy Research Faculty Patents

An electrode including fluorinated and surface defluorinated coal is described, as well as methods of producing such and employing such within an electrical system. The coal in the electrodes is fluorinated at an amount of between 0.3 and 1 .4. The resulting coal products can be further surface defluorinated and maintain functionality within an electrical system.

Low Temperature Liquid Metal Batteries For Energy Storage Applications, Cameron A. Lippert, Kunlei Liu, James Landon, Susan A. Odom, Nicolas E. Holubowitch

Center for Applied Energy Research Faculty Patents

The present invention relates to a molten metal battery of liquid bismuth and liquid tin electrodes and a eutectic electrolyte. The electrodes may be coaxial and coplanar. The eutectic electrolyte may be in contact with a surface of each electrode. The eutectic electrolyte may comprise ZnC1₂:KCI.

Bubble Pinch-Off In Turbulence, Daniel J. Ruth, Wouter Mostert, Stephane Perrard, Luc Deike

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Although bubble pinch-off is an archetype of a dynamical system evolving toward a singularity, it has always been described in idealized theoretical and experimental conditions. Here, we consider bubble pinch-off in a turbulent flow representative of natural conditions in the presence of strong and random perturbations, combining laboratory experiments, numerical simulations, and theoretical modeling. We show that the turbulence sets the initial conditions for pinch-off, namely the initial bubble shape and flow field, but after the pinch-off starts, the turbulent time at the neck scale becomes much slower than the pinching dynamics: The turbulence freezes. We show that the average …

Mechanical Connection For Concrete Structures, George Morcous, Raed Tawadrous

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

A system and method for connecting precast concrete structures includes anchoring a sleeve within a pocket formed in one of the concrete structures , and placing the concrete structures in contact with one another such that the pocket is diposed around a protruding end of a shear connector embedded in the other concrete structure . A bridge is inserted around the protruding end of the shear connector and a fastener is installed onto the protruding end of the shear connector to engage the bridge and urge the bridge in abutting relation with a lip of the sleeve . The pocket …

Using Nano- And Micro- Structural Materials For Concrete Environmental Applications, Hala Nabeel Elia

Theses and Dissertations

Utilized globally in the construction industry, concrete is an integral component of homes, roads, airports, skyscrapers, and tunnels. Traditional concrete components are cement, fine aggregate (sand), coarse aggregate (gravel or crushed stone), and water. When cement and water compound together they will make a paste which binds all the aggregates together to make the concrete. Unfortunately, every one ton of cement manufactured emits 0.9 ton of CO2into the air. The goal of this two-part work was to obtain an environmentally friendly concrete. The first part used supplementary cementitious materials (SCM), fly ash and silica fume, to create concrete with high …

Research On Color Matching Model For Color Qr Code, Fei You Dr., Qingli Zhang Dr., Bruce Welt Prof.

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

Objective To provide a faster and more effective way for consumers to obtain the additional information of product, the color quick response (QR) code is printed on product packaging. To improve decoding accuracy of color QR codes. This paper constructs a color matching model with good performance, which restrains aliasing between two color encoding modules of color QR code. Methods By comparing and analyzing the character of several typical color spaces, the HSV color space was chosen for its favorable attributes. Based on the enlarging capacity principle of color QR code and the maximum rule of relative Euclidean distance, 2 …

Multiple Agent Target Tracking In Gps-Denied Environments, Skyler Tolman

Theses and Dissertations

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are effective for surveillance and monitoring, but struggle with persistent, long-term tracking, especially without GPS, due to limited flight time. Persistent tracking can be accomplished using multiple vehicles if one vehicle can effectively hand off the tracking information to another replacement vehicle. This work presents a solution to the moving-target handoff problem in the absence of GPS. The proposed solution (a) a nonlinear complementary filter for self-pose estimation using only an IMU, (b) a particle filter for relative pose estimation between UAS using a relative range (c) visual target tracking using a gimballed camera when the …

Analysis Of The Duration And Energy Consumption Of Aes Algorithms On A Contiki-Based Iot Device, Brandon Tsao

Computer Science and Engineering Master's Theses

With the growing prevalence of the Internet of Things, securing the sheer abundance of devices is critical. The current IoT and security landscapes lack empirical metrics on encryption algorithm implementations that are optimized for constrained devices, such as encryption/decryption duration and energy consumption. In this paper, we achieve two things. First, we survey for optimized implementations of symmetric encryption algorithms. Seconds, we study the performance of various symmetric encryption algorithms on a Contiki-based IoT device. This paper provides encryption and decryption durations and energy consumption results on three implementations of AES: TinyAES, B-Con’s AES, and Contiki’s own built-in AES. In …