Engineering Commons^™

Features Of Functioning Container Terminal In Supply Chains, D.I. Ilesaliev, Sh.R. Abduvahitov

Journal of Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers

The purpose of this article is to study the container terminal as a technical system. In this regard, in this article it is necessary to investigate the functioning of the container terminal, associated with the random nature of the incoming and outgoing containers from the terminal. An example of a method for determining the number of reach players is also given.

Analysis Of Work Of Passenger Trains On Two-Zone Sections And Automation Of Alerts Issued To Them, H.S. Toxirov, A.M. Bashirova

Journal of Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers

“Uzbekistontimir yollari” JSC makes a great contribution to ensuring the safety of passenger transportation. Passenger traffic is constantly growing and growth is expected in the future, and competition is growing in the suburban passenger transport market. Increasing the size of passenger trains requires even more attention to safety. The article discusses the possibility of organizing a zonal movement on a suburban section X-T and to facilitate the work of the duty officers at the automation station issuing warnings for trains.

Principles And Features Of Blockchain Technology Implementation In The Railway Industry, L.F. Kazanskaya, N.A. Drivolskaya

Journal of Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers

Objective: to Consider the advantages and disadvantages of using blockchain technology and the possibility of introducing cryptocurrencies in the transport sphere of Russia. Methods: methods of generalization, grouping, comparative analysis, system approach, problem statement, study of literary sources and normative-legislative documents, results of activity, study and generalization of experience were Used. Results: blockchain technology applied to cryptocurrencies is Considered. The principle of operation of the blockchain technology in the transaction of bitcoins between users in relation to the railway industry. The conclusion is made about the problems of introduction of cryptocurrencies as payment instruments in the near future due to …

Peculiarities Of Corporate Governance On Railway Transport Of The Republic Of Uzbekistan, M.G. Grigoryan, F.Z. Karakulov

Journal of Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers

Peculiarities and problems of the development of corporate governance of the railway company of «Uzbekistan Temir Yo’llari» JSC in the current economic conditions are considered. The relevance of the chosen direction of research is determined by its high significance for the economic, political and geopolitical development of the railway transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Political and geopolitical interest is associated with a significant impact on the national economy, which is provided by the railway transport companies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as with the desire for the interaction of other enterprises in order to obtain additional competitive …

Application Of Lithium-Ion Batteries In Energy Storage Systems, Yi-Kuan Ke

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Energy storage systems (ESSs) have features that can help solve various problems in the power system, such as renewable power shortage because of utility peak load. Energy storage technology and markets are gradually developing in the Taiwan power grid. In contrast to the conventional power grid model, energy storage employs a new technology in the power system. Although energy storage has several advantages in the power system, there are also challenges in its application. In this study, we investigated battery applications in ESSs and set up a simulation model to determine its benefits on power load. We implemented an ESS …

Parameter Identification Using The Nelder?€“Mead Simplex Algorithm For Low Signal-To-Noise Ratio Systems In A Frequency Domain, Chyun-Chau Fuh, Hsun-Heng Tsai

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Parameter identification algorithms are very fundamental techniques in system engineering practices. For example, estimating the parameters of the AutoRegresive model with an eXternal input or AutoRegresive Moving-Average model with an eXternal input by using the least squares (LS) method has become a standard approach. However, the estimated parameters may generate extremely erroneous results when the signal is disturbed by large noise, which cannot be effectively filtered. If a frequency response method that scatters the power of a broadband noise over different frequencies is adopted, the effect of noise on the estimated parameters would be relatively reduced. Moreover, estimating whether the …

Rheological Properties Of Modified Crumb Rubber Asphalt Binder And Selecting The Best Modified Binder Using Ahp Method, Mehdi Khalili, Kazem Jadidi, Serji Amirkhanian

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Crumb rubber modifier (CRM) is one of the most popular asphalt binder modifiers due to the economic benefits and desired physical and rheological properties of asphalt binders and asphalt mixes. This research focuses on evaluating the properties of rubber-modified asphalt binders and selecting the best modified binder. The modified binders were produced by blending virgin binders with CRM at various contents of different gradations, and different methods of grinding. CRM made through ambient and cryogenic grinding methods with two gradation sizes were produced and tested. Three different virgin binders from two sources were obtained and used. The Analytic Hierarchy Process …

Protective Effect Of An Ice-Breaking Structure On Offshore Structures In Shallow Waters, Ji-Wu Dong, Zhi-Jun Li, Xiang-Peng Kong, Xiao-Dong Liang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In this study, an ice-breaking structure (IBS) was designed to break large ice floes into small fragments through flexural failure predominantly for protecting offshore structures in shallow waters. The protective effect of the IBS on a vertical isolated cylindrical pile (ICP), which was examined through the model tests of the crushing ice loads and collision forces on the ICP from ice pieces broken with the IBS under identical conditions, was evaluated by obtaining the relative difference between the maximum values of the horizontal crushing forces and collision loads on the ICP. The results indicated a notable protective effect of the …

Atomistic Modeling Of Heat Treatment Processes For Tuning The Mechanical Properties Of Disordered Solids, Nikolai V. Priezjev

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

We investigate the effect of a single heat treatment cycle on the potential energy states and mechanical properties of metallic glasses using molecular dynamics simulations. We consider the three-dimensional binary mixture, which was initially cooled with a computationally slow rate from the liquid state to the solid phase at a temperature well below the glass transition. It was found that a cycle of heating and cooling can relocate the glass to either rejuvenated or relaxed states, depending on the maximum temperature and the loading period. Thus, the lowest potential energy is attained after a cycle with the maximum temperature slightly …

On The Fabrication And Development Of Tissue On A Chip Devices With Included Perfused Vasculatures, Usama Ismail

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The advent of Tissue-on-a-Chip (TiOC) devices has provided a novel way for researchers to approach biological study and drug development. As a platform that enables human in vivo conditions to be accurately replicated ex vivo, TiOC can accelerate both fundamental biological research to answer basic questions regarding tissue behavior and function (e.g., cell-cell interactions in the tumor microenvironment (TME)) and translational research that includes testing of standard and novel therapeutics. The reported work focuses on development of processes and technologies common to two classes of TiOC. The first device is a single-layer, multi-compartment microfluidic device for investigation of pancreatic …

Reducing Soil Compaction In Agriculture, Chris Gum, Justin Manzella, Brett Kayman

Washington University / UMSL Mechanical Engineering Design Project JME 4110

Our project was to prototype a device to reduce compaction in soil during industrial agricultural processes. We chose to highlight tilling as the process to focus on, but our final design could be adapted to work for many different applications.

Alternative Approach To Sand Bags For Flood Prevention Through The Use Of 3d Printed Flood Panels, Thomas Beaver, William Mcbryan, Matthew Gilliam

Washington University / UMSL Mechanical Engineering Design Project JME 4110

This is an alternative approach to sand bags which could save time and money when implementing temporary barriers around critical areas during times of flooding in flood plains or areas near rivers.

A Tutorial On Detecting Security Attacks On Cyber-Physical Systems, Paul Griffioen, Sean Weerakkody, Bruno Sinopoli, Omur Ozel, Yilin Mo

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) have become targets for malicious adversaries, creating new challenges for attaining reliable CPS performance. Achieving CPS security requires tools which extend beyond what is offered in state of the art software and cyber security. In this tutorial, we consider a science of CPS security which combines tools from both cyber security and system theory to defend against adversarial behavior. We discuss realistic and intelligent attack models from an adversarial perspective and then present mechanisms for defenders to achieve resilience by recognizing and responding to such malicious behavior. The focus of this tutorial is particularly on the recognition …

Understanding Excitation Energy Quenching In Isia, Hui-Yuan Steven Chen

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Cyanobacteria are photoautotrophic organisms that contribute a significant amount of global primary productivity. They are found in freshwater, marine and even some extremely severe environments. Among those environments, iron deficiency is one of the most common stress conditions in cyanobacterial habitats. To survive, cyanobacteria have evolved and developed several strategies to alleviate the damage caused by iron deficiency.

Iron stress-inducible protein (IsiA) is a chlorophyll-binding membrane protein found in cyanobacteria grown in iron-deficient conditions. During the past decades, considerable effort has been put on understanding how IsiA functions to help cyanobacteria survive iron deficiency. It has been reported that IsiA …

Role Of Submicrometer Particles In Advanced Technologies Of Carbon Capture, Zhichao Li

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Oxy-combustion and post-combustion carbon capture technologies are two of the most promising strategies for carbon capture and storage (CCS), which is a commonly accepted approach to address the challenge of climate change. Pressurized oxy-combustion has been actively studied due to its great potential to enhance the power plant energy efficiency by recovering latent heat from water vapor condensation without incurring additional gas compression cost. On the other hand, amine-based CO2 scrubbers have been demonstrated to have high removal efficiency of CO2 with the possibility to recycle amine solutions, which makes the technology a promising candidate for post-combustion carbon capture. Nonetheless, …

Metabolic Engineering Of Cyanobacteria For Production Of Chemicals, Po-Cheng Lin

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Concerns over the impact of climate change caused by CO2 emission have driven the research and development of renewable energies. Microbial production of chemicals is being viewed as a feasible approach to reduce the use of fossil fuels and minimize the impact of climate change. With recent advances in synthetic biology, microorganisms can be engineered to synthesize petroleum-based chemicals and plant-derived compounds. Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes that use only sunlight, CO2, and trace minerals for growth. Compared to other microbial hosts, cyanobacteria are attractive platforms for sustainable bioproduction, because they can directly convert CO2 into products. However, the major challenge …

Multi-Dimensional Extension Of The Alternating Minimization Algorithm In X-Ray Computed Tomography, Jingwei Lu

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

X-ray computed tomography (CT) is an important and effective tool in medical and industrial

imaging applications. The state-of-the-art methods to reconstruct CT images have had

great development but also face challenges. This dissertation derives novel algorithms to

reduce bias and metal artifacts in a wide variety of imaging modalities and increase performance

in low-dose scenarios.

The most widely available CT systems still use the single-energy CT (SECT), which is

good at showing the anatomic structure of the patient body. However, in SECT image

reconstruction, energy-related information is lost. In applications like radiation treatment

planning and dose prediction, accurate energy-related information …

Systemic Risk In Financial Networks, Tathagata Banerjee

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

In this dissertation, I have used the network model based approach to study systemic risk in financial networks. In particular, I have worked on generalized extensions of the Eisenberg--Noe [2001] framework to account for realistic financial situations viz. pricing of corporate debt while accounting for network effects, asset liquidation mechanisms during fire sales, dynamic clearing and impact of contingent payments such as insurance and credit default swaps. First, I present formulas for the valuation of debt and equity of firms in a financial network under comonotonic endowments. I demonstrate that the comonotonic setting provides a lower bound to the price …

Decoupling Information And Connectivity Via Information-Centric Transport, Hila Ben Abraham

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The power of Information-Centric Networking architectures (ICNs) lies in their abstraction for communication --- the request for named data. This abstraction was popularized by the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) as an application-layer abstraction, and was extended by ICNs to also serve as their network-layer abstraction. In recent years, network mechanisms for ICNs, such as scalable name-based forwarding, named-data routing and in-network caching, have been widely explored and researched. However, to the best of our knowledge, the impact of this network abstraction on ICN applications has not been explored or well understood. The motivation of this dissertation is to address this …

Joint Reconstruction For Single-Shot Edge Illumination Phase-Contrast Tomography (Eixpct), Yujia Chen

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Edge illumination X-ray phase-contrast tomography (EIXPCT) is an emerging X-ray phasecontrast tomography technique for estimating the complex-valued X-ray refractive index distribution of an object with laboratory-based X-ray sources. Conventional image reconstruction approaches for EIXPCT require multiple images to be acquired at each tomographic view angle. This contributes to prolonged data-acquisition times and elevated radiation doses, which can hinder in vivo applications. In this dissertation, a new “single-shot” method without restrictive assumptions related to the object, imaging geometry or hardware is proposed for joint reconstruction (JR) of the real and imaginary-valued components of the refractive index distribution from a tomographic data …

Development And Application Of New Methods For Magnetic Resonance Elastography Of The Brain, Charlotte Anne Guertler

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Accurate mechanical properties of the intact, living brain are essential for modeling traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the properties of brain tissue in vivo have traditionally been measured in ex vivo samples. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) can be used to measure motion and estimate material properties of soft tissues in vivo, but MRE typically assumes tissue isotropy and homogeneity. The objective of this thesis is to improve MRE of soft tissue, like the brain, by developing and evaluating methods for in vivo estimation of heterogeneous, anisotropic properties. This was achieved through pursuit of the following aims: (1) quantifying the differences …

A Modular Approach For Modeling, Detecting, And Tracking Freezing Of Gait In Parkinson Disease Using Inertial Sensors, Prateek Gundannavar Vijay

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Parkinson disease, the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, is caused by the loss of dopaminergic subcortical neurons. Approximately 50% of people with Parkinson disease experience freezing of gait (FOG), a brief, episodic absence or marked reduction of forward progression of the feet despite the intention to walk. FOG causes falls and is resistant to medication in more than 50% of cases. FOG episodes can often be interrupted by mechanical interventions (e.g., a verbal reminder to march), but it is often not practical to apply these interventions on demand (e.g., there is not usually another person to detect an FOG episode …

Role Of Submicrometer Particles In Advanced Technologies Of Carbon Capture, Zhichao Li

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Oxy-combustion and post-combustion carbon capture technologies are two of the most promising strategies for carbon capture and storage (CCS), which is a commonly accepted approach to address the challenge of climate change. Pressurized oxy-combustion has been actively studied due to its great potential to enhance the power plant energy efficiency by recovering latent heat from water vapor condensation without incurring additional gas compression cost. On the other hand, amine-based CO2 scrubbers have been demonstrated to have high removal efficiency of CO2 with the possibility to recycle amine solutions, which makes the technology a promising candidate for post-combustion carbon capture. Nonetheless, …

Polarization Division Multiplexing For Optical Data Communications, Darko Ivanovich

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Multiple parallel channels are ubiquitous in optical communications, with spatial division multiplexing (separate physical paths) and wavelength division multiplexing (separate optical wavelengths) being the most common forms. In this research work, we investigate the viability of polarization division multiplexing, the separation of distinct parallel optical communication channels through the polarization properties of light. We investigate polarization division multiplexing based optical communication systems in five distinct parts. In the first part of the work, we define a simulation model of two or more linearly polarized optical signals (at different polarization angles) that are transmitted through a common medium (e.g., air), filtered …

Metabolic Engineering Of Cyanobacteria For Production Of Chemicals, Po-Cheng Lin

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Concerns over the impact of climate change caused by CO2 emission have driven the research and development of renewable energies. Microbial production of chemicals is being viewed as a feasible approach to reduce the use of fossil fuels and minimize the impact of climate change. With recent advances in synthetic biology, microorganisms can be engineered to synthesize petroleum-based chemicals and plant-derived compounds. Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes that use only sunlight, CO2, and trace minerals for growth. Compared to other microbial hosts, cyanobacteria are attractive platforms for sustainable bioproduction, because they can directly convert CO2 into products. However, the major challenge …

Multi-Dimensional Extension Of The Alternating Minimization Algorithm In X-Ray Computed Tomography, Jingwei Lu

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

X-ray computed tomography (CT) is an important and effective tool in medical and industrial imaging applications. The state-of-the-art methods to reconstruct CT images have had great development but also face challenges. This dissertation derives novel algorithms to reduce bias and metal artifacts in a wide variety of imaging modalities and increase performance in low-dose scenarios. The most widely available CT systems still use the single-energy CT (SECT), which is good at showing the anatomic structure of the patient body. However, in SECT image reconstruction, energy-related information is lost. In applications like radiation treatment planning and dose prediction, accurate energy-related information …

Mechanosensitive Epithelial Cell Scattering And Migration On Layered Matrices, Christopher Michael Walter

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Epithelial cells form multi-layered tissue scaffolding that makes up every organ in the body. Along with epithelial cells, the basement membrane (BM) and connective tissue are composed of various proteins that sculpt the organs and protect them from foreign macromolecules. Epithelial cells respond to various cues, both chemical and mechanical, from their surrounding matrices to aid in maintenance and repair of these layers through degradation and deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. In cancer progression, epithelial cells lose their normal function of supporting tissue structure and instead adopt more aggressive behaviors through an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of their cellular traits. …

Thermal And Physico-Mechanical Characterizations Of Thromboresistant Polyurethane Films, Aaron C. Wilson, Shih-Feng Chou, Roberto Lozano, Jonathan Y. Chen, Pierre F. Neuenschwander

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Hemocompatibility remains a challenge for injectable and/or implantable medical devices, and thromboresistant coatings appear to be one of the most attractive methods to down-regulate the unwanted enzymatic reactions that promote the formation of blood clots. Among all polymeric materials, polyurethanes (PUs) are a class of biomaterials with excellent biocompatibility and bioinertness that are suitable for the use of thromboresistant coatings. In this work, we investigated the thermal and physico-mechanical behaviors of ester-based and ether-based PU films for potential uses in thromboresistant coatings. Our results show that poly(ester urethane) and poly(ether urethane) films exhibited characteristic peaks corresponding to their molecular configurations. …

The Potential Energy States And Mechanical Properties Of Thermally Cycled Binary Glasses, Nikolai V. Priezjev

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

The influence of repeated thermal cycling on mechanical properties, structural relaxation, and evolution of the potential energy in binary glasses is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. We consider a binary mixture with strongly non-additive cross interactions, which is annealed across the glass transition with different cooling rates and then exposed to one thousand thermal cycles at constant pressure. We found that during the first few hundred transient cycles, the potential energy minima after each cycle gradually decrease and the structural relaxation proceeds via collective, irreversible displacements of atoms. With increasing cycle number, the amplitudes of the volume and potential energy …

Frequency Inspection Of Additively Manufactured Parts For Layer Defect Identification, Aimee Allen, Kevin Johnson, Jason R. Blough, Andrew Barnard, Troy Hartwig, Ben Brown, David Soine, Tristan Cullom, Douglas A. Bristow, Robert G. Landers, Edward C. Kinzel

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Additive manufactured (AM) parts are produced at low volume or with complex geometries. Identifying internal defects is difficult as current testing techniques are not optimized for AM processes. The goal of this paper is to evaluate defects on multiple parts printed on the same build plate. The technique used was resonant frequency testing with the results verified through Finite Element Analysis. From these tests, it was found that the natural frequencies needed to detect the defects were higher than the excitation provided by a modal hammer. The deficiencies in this range led to the development of other excitation methods. Based …