Engineering Commons^™

The Use Of Reclaimed Rubber From Waste Tires For Production Of Dynamically Cured Natural Rubber/Reclaimed Rubber/Polypropylene Blends: Effect Of Reclaimed Rubber Loading, A Thitithammawong, C Hayichelaeh, W Nakason, N Jehvoh

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

Reclaimed rubber (RR) from waste tires was introduced into thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) based on blends of natural rubber (NR)/RR/polypropylene (PP). The curing characteristics of NR/RR compounds together with properties of TPVs, i.e., mixing and dynamic vulcanization behaviors and mechanical, dynamic and morphological properties, were investigated with respect to RR content. The results show that the RR affects static and dynamic vulcanization of rubber molecules by increasing cure rate but lowers curing efficiency. Increasing the RR content in NR/RR/PP TPVs slightly reduces tensile strength but with a sharp impact on elongation at break. Dynamic properties reveal that elastomeric response of NR/RR/PP …

One Step Pressing-Annealing To Produce Ltp Mnbi Magnets, T Charoensuk, A Tamman, P Jantaratana, S Abbasi, C Sirisathitkul

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

The production process for the high-purity low-temperature-phase (LTP) manganese bismuth (MnBi) magnets requires arc-melting, grinding and annealing materials under inert atmosphere. However, the formation of MnO is practically unavoidable during these steps since both Mn and MnBi are easily oxidized even by trace amounts of oxygen. In this work, an oxygen-free pressing-annealing system is developed to facilitate the synthesis of LTP MnBi with minimal oxidization. The semi-automatic pressing is carried out by using the compression piston and the load cell is used to measure the pressing force. The copper plate and cylindrical container are heated by nichrome filament heating. Mn …

Use Of Steam Explosion As A Green Alternative Method To Prepare Pulp From Pineapple Leaves, S Tanpichai, A Boonmahitthisud, S Witayakran

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

The use of agricultural wastes as an alternative form of the cellulosic material to wood has gained considerable attention due to the reduction of deforestation. After cultivation, a large number of pineapple leaves are considered as a waste. Here, the potential steam explosion process was used as a green alternative way to prepare pulp from pineapple leaves without any addition of the chemical treatments. The pineapple leaf fibers were defibrillated from fiber bundles due to the rapid depressurization with the steam pressure between 16 and 20 kgf·cm-2. The partly removal of hemicellulose and lignin associated with the increase of the …

The Effects Of Stress Relieving Heat Treatment On The Microstructure And Residual Stress Of Inconel 718 Fabricated By Laser Metal Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing Process, Xiaoqing Wang, Kevin Chou

Research, Publications & Creative Work

In this study, the microstructure and residual stress of the Inconel 718 parts, which were fabricated by laser metal powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process, in as-fabricated and stress-relieved conditions were investigated by metallographic analysis and microhardness test. Fine equiaxed and columnar cellular dendrites were revealed in the Transverse plane, Frontal plane, and Sagittal plane, respectively. Laves phases were found in the interdendritic regions and interlayers. After the stress relief heat treatment, the Laves phases has partly solved into the γ matrix and the microstructure became relatively homogeneous, which leads to the significant increase (~19%) in the microhardness. Residual stress …

Characterization Of Zirconium Oxides Part I: Raman Mapping And Spectral Feature Analysis, Corey M. Efaw, Jordan L. Vandegrift, Michael Reynolds, Samuel Mcmurdie, Brian J. Jaques, Hui Xiong, Michael F. Hurley

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Raman mapping of sectioned zirconium cladding oxides was performed to analyze different spectral features before and after breakaway, as well as between zirconium and its alloys Zr-2.65Nb, Zry-3, and Zry-4. Oxide phase composition, or percent tetragonality, was defined to compare tetragonal to monoclinic zirconia. Percent tetragonality was spatially mapped to support distinction of zirconia phase distribution. A tetragonal-rich layer was seen at the metal/oxide interface, while post-breakaway samples exhibited increased amount of tetragonal phase in the bulk of their oxides. Spatial mapping of spectral peak location and half-width at half-maximum was accomplished to distinguish differences in stability mechanisms of tetragonal-rich …

Extracting Social Network From Literary Prose, Tarana Tasmin Bipasha

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis develops an approach to extract social networks from literary prose, namely, Jane Austen’s published novels from eighteenth- and nineteenth- century. Dialogue interaction plays a key role while we derive the networks, thus our technique relies upon our ability to determine when two characters are in conversation. Our process involves encoding plain literary text into the Text Encoding Initiative’s (TEI) XML format, character name identification, conversation and co-occurrence detection, and social network construction. Previous work in social network construction for literature have focused on drama, specifically manually TEI-encoded Shakespearean plays in which character interactions are much easier to track …

Electrocoagulation As A Pretreatment For Electroxidation Of E. Coli, William Lynn, Joe Heffron, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Insufficient funding and operator training, logistics of chemical transport, and variable source water quality can pose challenges for small drinking water treatment systems. Portable, robust electrochemical processes may offer a strategy to address these challenges. In this study, electrocoagulation (EC) and electrooxidation (EO) were investigated using two model surface waters and two model groundwaters to determine the efficacy of sequential EC-EO for mitigating Escherichia coli. EO alone (1.67 mA/cm², 1 min) provided 0.03 to 3.9 logs mitigation in the four model waters. EC alone (10 mA/cm², 5 min) achieved ≥1 log E. coli mitigation in all …

Building Along The Railroad: Towns And Tourism In Michigan’S Eastern Upper Peninsula, Bridget Stoetzer

Honors Projects

The state of Michigan is not solely the lower portion or in other words the “mitten.” It is a combination of the lower and upper peninsula. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan (abbreviated the “UP”) is the upper portion of Michigan that is surrounded on three sides by three different Great Lakes: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron. It connects to the Lower Peninsula of Michigan by the Mackinac Bridge which crosses five miles across the Straits of Mackinac.

The counties of the Eastern Upper Peninsula are Alger, Chippewa, Luce, Mackinac, and Schoolcraft. They are marked by large stretches of …

Second-Harmonic Optical Vortex Conversion From Ws₂ Monolayer, Arindam Dasgupta, Jie Gao, Xiaodong Yang

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Wavelength, polarization and orbital angular momentum of light are important degrees of freedom for processing and encoding information in optical communication. Over the years, the generation and conversion of orbital angular momentum in nonlinear optical media has found many novel applications in the context of optical communication and quantum information processing. With that hindsight, here orbital angular momentum conversion of optical vortices through second-harmonic generation from only one atomically thin WS2 monolayer is demonstrated at room temperature. Moreover, it is shown that the valley-contrasting physics associated with the nonlinear optical selection rule in WS2 monolayer precisely determines the output circular …

Spatial Variation Of Vector Vortex Beams With Plasmonic Metasurfaces, Yuchao Zhang, Jie Gao, Xiaodong Yang

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The spatial variation of vector vortex beams with arbitrary polarization states and orbital angular momentum (OAM) values along the beam propagation is demonstrated by using plasmonic metasurfaces with the initial geometric phase profiles determined from the caustic theory. The vector vortex beam is produced by the superposition of deflected right- and left-handed circularly polarized component vortices with different helical phase charges, which are simultaneously generated off-axially by the single metasurface. Besides, the detailed evolution processes of intensity profile, polarization distribution and OAM value along the beam propagation distance is analyzed. The demonstrated arbitrary space-variant vector vortex beam will pave the …

Spontaneous Emission Rate Enhancement With Aperiodic Thue-Morse Multilayer, Ling Li, Cherian J. Mathai, Shubhra Gangopadhyay, Xiaodong Yang, Jie Gao

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The emergence of multilayer metamaterials in the research field of enhancing spontaneous emission rates has recently received extensive attention. Previous research efforts mostly focus on periodic metal-dielectric multilayers in hyperbolic dispersion region; however, the influence of lattice order in subwavelength multilayers on spontaneous emission is rarely studied. Here, we observe the stronger Purcell enhancement of quantum dots coupled to the aperiodic metal-dielectric multilayer with Thue-Morse lattice order from elliptical to hyperbolic dispersion regions, compared to the periodic multilayer with the same metal filling ratio. This work demonstrates the potential of utilizing quasiperiodic metamaterial nanostructures to engineer the local density of …

Multifunctional Lightweight Aggregate Containing Phase Change Material And Water For Damage Mitigation Of Concrete, Wenyu Liao, Aditya Kumar, Kamal Khayat, Hongyan Ma

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents an innovative concept of multifunctional lightweight aggregate, which is produced by loading phase change material (PCM) into the interior of lightweight sand (LWS) and sealing the surface pores using water. The PCM loaded in the LWS functionalizes it as a temperature management agent in concrete, and the water in surface pores enables internal curing. It has been found that the particle shape and pore structure of crushed expanded shale LWS makes it an ideal carrier for PCM, loading sufficient PCM and maintaining better (compared to natural sand) mechanical interlocking. When coupled with the internal curing effect, the …

Accelerated Relaxation In Disordered Solids Under Cyclic Loading With Alternating Shear Orientation, Nikolai V. Priezjev

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

The effect of alternating shear orientation during cyclic loading on the relaxation dynamics in disordered solids is examined using molecular dynamics simulations. The model glass was initially prepared by rapid cooling from the liquid state and then subjected to cyclic shear along a single plane or periodically alternated in two or three dimensions. We showed that with increasing strain amplitude in the elastic range, the system is relocated to deeper energy minima. Remarkably, it was found that each additional alternation of the shear orientation in the deformation protocol brings the glass to lower energy states. The results of mechanical tests …

Blood Glucose Predictor, Jessica Patterson

Electrical Engineering

For my senior project, I perform data analysis using statistical methods to determine body metrics that correlate with blood glucose levels. Working with Dr. Tina Smilkstein, I take repeat measurements from 6 different volunteers to establish trends in bodily metric data. The data taken includes weight, body fat, pulse rate, VO2, blood glucose, blood pressure, hours slept, and quality of sleep. Using these values, I use the program MiniTab to view results.

A few examples of correlations with blood glucose found in this project are:

• Systolic blood pressure for females had a regression line of 124.0 -0.3366*Blood Pressure. This indicates …

Bitcoin Price Prediction Using Neural Networks, Vladislav Killiakov

Electrical Engineering

In this project, I will investigate the performance of several major neural network architectures for the task of Bitcoin price prediction. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that is recently becoming increasingly more popular, and more widely adopted as a financial instrument. As a result, more efforts have been made in the past several years to model and predict its price. However, to this moment a large portion of work on Bitcoin price modeling was done using statistical or classical machine learning techniques. At the same time, other artificial intelligence based prediction techniques, and specifically neural networks, have not been explored to …

Generation Of Polarization Singularities With Geometric Metasurfaces, Yuchao Zhang, Xiaodong Yang, Jie Gao

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The polarization singularities are directly generated by using plasmonic metasurfaces with the geometric phase profiles designed to form the Poincaré beams. Different morphologies of polarization topological structures of lemon, star, monstar, spiral, dipole and quadrupole are created by the superpositions of Laguerre-Gauss modes with different orders under orthogonal circular or linear polarization basis. The polarization ellipse patterns and topological features of the produced optical vector fields are analyzed to reveal the properties of the polarization singularities of C-points and L-lines, and the orbital angular momentum states are also measured. The demonstrated polarization singularities generated from the geometric metasurfaces will promise …

Droplets As Carriers For Flexible Electronic Devices, Mingxing Zhou, Ziyue Wu, Yicong Zhao, Qing Yang, Wei Ling, Ya Li, Hang Xu, Cheng Wang, Xian Huang

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Coupling soft bodies and dynamic motions with multifunctional flexible electronics is challenging, but is essential in satisfying the urgent and soaring demands of fully soft and comprehensive robotic systems that can perform tasks in spite of rigorous spatial constraints. Here, the mobility and adaptability of liquid droplets with the functionality of flexible electronics, and techniques to use droplets as carriers for flexible devices are combined. The resulting active droplets (ADs) with volumes ranging from 150 to 600 µL can conduct programmable functions, such as sensing, actuation, and energy harvesting defined by the carried flexible devices and move under the excitation …

Publisher Correction: Pore Elimination Mechanisms During 3d Printing Of Metals (Nature Communications, (2019), 10, 1, (3088), 10.1038/S41467-019-10973-9), S. Mohammad H. Hojjatzadeh, Niranjan D. Parab, Wentao Yan, Qilin Guo, Lianghua Xiong, Cang Zhao, Mimglei Qu, Luis I. Escano, Xianghui Xiao, Kamel Fezzaa, Wes Everhart, Tao Sun, Lianyi Chen

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The original version of this Article contained an error in Fig. 4. The x-axis labels in Fig. 4a, b were incorrectly labelled 'Diameter (mm)', rather than the correct 'Diameter (µm)'. This has been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

A Comparative Study On The Stability And Degradation Of Perovskite Solar Cells, Jyotiska Chakraborty

Masters Theses

This study aims to investigate the environmental factors that affect the performance and longterm stability of the perovskite solar cells (PSCs). PSCs are based on organo-metallic halides (perovskites) that act as a light-sensitive compound that produces excitons when placed under the light. However, PSCs have a limited operating lifetime due to the degradation of the perovskite layer. There are many factors like moisture, UV light, and temperature that lead to the degradation of the perovskite layer. From the literature review, it was found that the PSCs do not degrade with the presence of oxygen in a dry and dark environment. …

A Cfd Study On The Performance Of High Speed Planing Hulls, Mowgli J. Crosby

Masters Theses

Most high speed water craft are able to achieve high speeds through the use of a planing hull. Planing hulls use hydrodynamic forces to lift a portion of the vessel out of the water, reducing drag, and allowing for greater speeds. Determining the flow around such vessels is traditionally achieved using a scale model in a tow tank. The purpose of this study was to analyze the performance of a high speed planing hull determine the effects of several geometric features using computational fluid dynamics rather than traditional experimentation. The goal was to determine the best configuration to ensure the …

The Design And Development Of A Device To Assist In Boosting Patients, Taylor A. Rieckhoff

Masters Theses

A common task a nurse is required to perform is called boosting patients. Boosting a patient is defined as lifting or sliding a patient back up in the bed after having slid down (Mannheim, Zieve, & Conaway, 2017). The current method for boosting patients involves a minimum of two personnel and an 11-step process. The 11-step process requires the person to manually lift and pull the patient using an existing half sheet on the bed (Mannheim, Zieve, & Conaway, 2017). Patients who cannot move or support themselves are moved every two to six hours or upon request (Bihn, Rieckhoff, Burkman, …

Radio Direction Finding Using Pseudo-Doppler For Uav-Based Animal Tracking, Anup Karki

Masters Theses

Radio Direction Finding (RDF) is commonly used for low cost tracking and navigation systems. However, for a low cost application and mobility, the design constraints are highly limited. Pseudo Doppler (PD) can improve RDF capabilities without being cost prohibitive. This work entails the analysis of PD RDF and its potential use for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) that are currently employed in wildlife research animal tracking. PD is based on the doppler effect or doppler shift. The doppler effect works like a frequency modulator that increases or decreases the observed frequency depending on whether a signal source is approaching or receding …

Modeling And Improvement Of Electronic Waste Collection System: Case Study At Grand Valley State University, Quang Tran Nhat Nguyen

Masters Theses

Accelerated and advanced development of the electronics industry in the 21st century is creating the rapid obsolescence of electrical and electronic equipment. This causes one of the largest and unstoppable waste streams called electronic waste (e-waste). There have been obstacles in e-waste recycling, including the existence of the informal sector such as peddlers (a larger issue in developing countries) and insufficient consumer awareness. The ideal e-waste recycling system would be able to overcome these obstacles. To establish an effective e-waste recycling system, the first important step is to implement an e-waste collection system. To implement an e-waste collection system, many …

Differentiating Epileptic From Psychogenic Nonepileptic Eeg Signals Using Time Frequency And Information Theoretic Measures Of Connectivity, Sarah Barnes

Masters Theses

Differentiating psychogenic nonepileptic seizures from epileptic seizures is a difficult task that requires timely recording of psychogenic events using video electroencephalography (EEG). Interpretation of video EEG to distinguish epileptic features from signal artifacts is error prone and can lead to misdiagnosis of psychogenic seizures as epileptic seizures resulting in undue stress and ineffective treatment with antiepileptic drugs. In this study, an automated surface EEG analysis was implemented to investigate differences between patients classified as having psychogenic or epileptic seizures. Surface EEG signals were grouped corresponding to the anatomical lobes of the brain (frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital) and central coronal …

Interfacial Contact With Noble Metal - Noble Metal And Noble Metal - 2d Semiconductor Nanostructures Enhance Optical Activity, Ricardo Raphael Lopez Romo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Noble metal nanoparticles and two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) crystals offer unique optical and electronic properties that include strong exciton binding, spin-orbital coupling, and localized surface plasmon resonance. Controlling these properties at high spatiotemporal resolution can support emerging optoelectronic coupling and enhanced optical features. Excitation dynamics of these optical properties on physicochemically bonded mono- and few-layer TMD crystals with metal nanocrystals and two overlapping spherical metal nanocrystals were examined by concurrently (i) DDA simulations and (ii) far-field optical transmission UV-vis spectroscopic measurements. Initially, a novel and scalable method to unsettle van der Waals bonds in bulk TMDs to prepare …

Surface Modification Of Pvdf Membranes For Treating Produced Waters By Direct Contact Membrane Distillation, Zahra Anari

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Direct contact membrane distillation is a promising unit operation for treating hydraulic fracturing flow back and produced water. However, while a hydrophobic membrane is essential to prevent the passage of water from the feed to the permeate side, fouling by dissolved organic species can compromise membrane performance and result in wetting of the membrane pores. Here four monomers, hydroxyethylmethacrylate, acrylic acid, 1-vinyl-3-allylimidazolium bromide, and 1-vinyl-3-hexylimidazolium bromide have been grafted from the surface of a PVDF membrane. The modified and base membranes were tested in a direct contact membrane distillation system. All membranes were challenged with real produced water. In addition, …

Fractional Order State Feedback Control For Improved Lateral Stability Of Semi-Autonomous Commercial Heavy Vehicles, Rasheed Mazen Abdulkader

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the growing development of autonomous and semi-autonomous large commercial heavy vehicles, the lateral stability control of articulated vehicles have caught the attention of researchers recently. Active vehicle front steering (AFS) can enhance the handling performance and stability of articulated vehicles for an emergency highway maneuver scenario. However, with large vehicles such tractor-trailers, the system becomes more complex to control and there is an increased occurrence of instabilities. This research investigates a new control scheme based on fractional calculus as a technique that ensures lateral stability of articulated large heavy vehicles during evasive highway maneuvering scenarios. The control method is …

Exploring Convergence Of Snake Skin-Inspired Texture Designs And Additive Manufacturing For Mechanical Traction, Catherine Sue Tiner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on the understanding, development, and additive manufacture of a 3D printed snake skin-inspired texture pattern. The design functionalities of snake skin were determined through the study of the snake species Python Regius otherwise known as the ball python. Each scale of a snake has hierarchical texture with hexagonal macro-patterns aligned on the ventral surface of the skin with overriding anisotropic micro textured patterns such as denticulations and fibrils. Using a laser-powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process, 420 stainless steel samples were 3D printed which closely resemble the above described directional texture of natural snake skin. This printed surface …

Influence Of Single And Multiple Histidine Residues And Their Ionization Properties On Transmembrane Helix Dynamics, Orientations And Fraying, Fahmida Afrose

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since aromatic and charged residues are often present in various locations of transmembrane helices of integral membrane proteins, their impacts on the molecular properties of transmembrane proteins and their interactions with lipids are of particular interest in many studies. In this work, I used solid-state deuterium NMR spectroscopy in designed model peptide GWALP23 [GGALW(LA)6LWLAGA] with selective deuterium labels to addresses the pH dependence and influence of single and multiple “guest” histidine residues in the orientation and dynamic behaviors of transmembrane proteins. The mutations include Gly to His (G2/22 to H2/22), Trp to His (W5/19 to H5/19) and Leu to His …

Evaluation And Analysis Of Null Convention Logic Circuits, John Davis Brady

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Integrated circuit (IC) designers face many challenges in utilizing state-of-the-art technology nodes, such as the increased effects of process variation on timing analysis and heterogeneous multi-die architectures that span across multiple technologies while simultaneously increasing performance and decreasing power consumption. These challenges provide opportunity for utilization of asynchronous design paradigms due to their inherent flexibility and robustness.

While NULL Convention Logic (NCL) has been implemented in a variety of applications, current literature does not fully encompass the intricacies of NCL power performance across a variety of applications, technology nodes, circuit scale, and voltage scaling, thereby preventing further adoption and utilization …