Engineering Commons^™

Design Of A Low-Cost Data Acquisition System For Rotordynamic Data Collection, Gregory S. Pellegrino

Master's Theses

A data acquisition system (DAQ) was designed based on the use of a STM32 microcontroller. Its purpose is to provide a transparent and low-cost alternative to commercially available DAQs, providing educators a means to teach students about the process through which data are collected as well as the uses of collected data. The DAQ was designed to collect data from rotating machinery spinning at a speed up to 10,000 RPM and send this data to a computer through a USB 2.0 full-speed connection. Multitasking code was written for the DAQ to allow for data to be simultaneously collected and transferred …

Strawberry Detection Under Various Harvestation Stages, Yavisht Fitter

Master's Theses

This paper analyzes three techniques attempting to detect strawberries at various stages in its growth cycle. Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG), Local Binary Patterns (LBP) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) were implemented on a limited custom-built dataset. The methodologies were compared in terms of accuracy and computational efficiency. Computational efficiency is defined in terms of image resolution as testing on a smaller dimensional image is much quicker than larger dimensions. The CNN based implementation obtained the best results with an 88% accuracy at the highest level of efficiency as well (600x800). LBP generated moderate results with a 74% detection accuracy …

Reviews To Rating Conversion And Analysis Using Machine Learning Techniques, Charitha Chanamolu

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

With the advent of technology in recent years, people depend more on online reviews to purchase a product. It is hard to determine whether the product is good or bad from hundreds of mixed reviews. Also, it is very time-consuming to read many reviews. So, opinion mining of reviews is necessary.

The main aim of this project is to convert the reviews of a product into a rating and to evaluate the ratings using machine learning algorithms such as Naïve Bayes and Support Vector Machine. In the process of converting the reviews to a rating, score words are created using …

Investigation Of Fault-Tolerant Capabilities In An Advanced Three-Level Active T-Type Converter, Ramin Katebi, Jiangbiao He, Nathan Weise

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A novel fault-tolerant three-level power converter topology, named advanced three-level active T-Type (A₃L-ATT) converter, is introduced to increase the reliability of multilevel power converters used in safety-critical applications. This new fault-tolerant multilevel power converter is derived from the conventional T-Type converter topology. The topology has significantly improved the fault-tolerant capability under any open circuit or certain short-circuit faults in the semiconductor devices. In addition, under healthy condition, the redundant phase leg can be utilized to share overload current with other main legs, which enhances the overload capability of the converter. The conduction losses in the original outer devices …

High Specific Power Electrical Machines: A System Perspective, Ayman M. El-Refaie, Mohamed Osama

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

There has been a growing need for high specific power electrical machines for a wide range of applications. These include hybrid/electric traction applications, aerospace applications and Oil and Gas applications. A lot of work has been done to accomplish significantly higher specific power electrical machines especially for aerospace applications. Several machine topologies as well as thermal management schemes have been proposed. Even though there has been a few publications that provided an overview of high-speed and high specific power electrical machines [1-3], the goal of this paper is to provide a more comprehensive review of high specific power electrical machines …

Hands-Free Ultrasound Transducer Attachment, Christina Harrison, Glenn Farina, Harshveer Dhaliwal

Biomedical Engineering

This document describes a background on current ultrasound technologies and the troubles that have inspired the need for a hands-free ultrasound transducer device, as well as the regulatory requirements, like patents and standard codes, for the intended invention. It also explains the Stage Gate Review process used to project plan the design of the device, a description of the final design and how it was developed, and the IQ/OQ/PQ. The objectives necessary to design this device, in order to meet all the requirements of the sponsor, are also summarized here. The design process including manufacturing instructions, prototype evolution, and the …

Foot Support Taping Device For Off-Loading Wounds, Andres Fojaco Gomez, Mikaela Williams, Josh Pelegrin

Biomedical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Automated Microscope Stage, Corin Nishimoto, Alison Flesch, Theo Anastos

Biomedical Engineering

This document seeks to describe the background information, customer requirements, design specifications, indications for use, selected materials, proposed budget, prototypes, final design, manufacturing processes, and testing methods regarding the CellOptimizer automated microscope stage product.

Slit Lamp Ophthalmoscope Redesign, Michael Hostetler, Austin Mattmiller, Alexis Brewer

Biomedical Engineering

The slit lamp ophthalmoscope is used by ophthalmologists for diagnosis of pathologies in the eye. The device is used for identifying ocular diseases or indications of other possible systemic diseases to treat them before the diseases progress. Redesign of the ergonomics and adjustment mechanisms of the slit lamp ophthalmoscope will attempt to improve the compatibility of the device across a greater variety of patients. The wider headrest tower of 12.75 inches, the wider table cutout of 12 inches, and the 12 inches of extension of the headrest tower creates a better ergonomic fit for the patient and doctor. The wider …

Ideomotion Gait Training Thigh Prompt, Kristin Schmidt, Elizabeth Peterson, Dalton Jennings

Biomedical Engineering

This document serves as our project report at its completion for developing thigh prompts to be used with the LiftWalker. In this document we outline our project from its beginning to end. We describe our process from understanding the background and our customer requirements, transforming these customer requirements into engineering specifications, performing the stage gate process, developing and evolving the design, testing the design, and finally drawing conclusions and making recommendations for the future.

Implementing Unbiased Decision-Making In Construction: A Lean Approach, Somik Ghosh, Michelle Robinette, Howard Tapia

The Professional Constructor

Construction project-teams are frequently faced with the task of decision-making as part of their responsibility. The positive effects of the decisions made at various stages of the projects lead to improved project performances, while negative effects can hinder the performances. The project teams take up the task of decision-making surrounded by multiple criteria, which can be arduous and clouded with subjectivity. This paper presents an approach based on the Lean principle of providing more autonomy to the project-teams and supporting collaborative and decentralized process in pursuit of unbiased decision-making. This Lean way of decision-making is formalized as Choosing by Advantage …

Attracting And Retaining Future Top Performing Employees: A Student Perspective, Julia Allen

The Professional Constructor

This essay provides insight as to how construction companies can both attract and retain top performing employees. By making the standard interview and recruiting processes more personal, construction companies can evaluate potential hires to see is they are a good fit for the company for years to come. Once employees are hired, companies then need to provide opportunities for both personal and professional growth. From personal experiences, I share the characteristics I find most important in an ideal employer and emphasize the importance of having an in-depth, genuine conversation with potential hires.

Attracting And Retaining Top Employees By Placing Proper Value On Their Contribution To The Company, Joseph Franklin Iii

The Professional Constructor

Due to an optimistic economic future, construction companies want to attract and retain the best employees to ensure company success. Because of a larger job market, employees now look for the optimal work values to be met in long-term employment opportunities. Construction companies have many challenges when attracting and retaining top employees in a growing market. Therefore; it is beneficial for employers to consider the evolving work values of employees and for these values to be promoted throughout company culture. Offering employees good value for their contribution to the company attracts and retains top employees.

Social Resources Of Mechanical Contracting Management Personnel, Blake Wentz, Sarabeth Gandara

The Professional Constructor

The construction industry in the United States is projected to grow faster than average compared to other industries through 2026. The Baby Boomer generation is leaving a significant gap in the labor force as they reach retirement. Retention of high quality management personnel is a priority for all companies in the construction industry, including mechanical contracting companies. Firms that fail to retain these employees will be left with an understaffed and underqualified workforce, which will hinder their ability to be competitive in the marketplace. In order to aid in retention efforts, mechanical contracting firms need to focus their attention on …

Essay Winners, American Institute Of Constructors

The Professional Constructor

No abstract provided.

Attracting And Retaining Future Top Performing Employees, Caleb Bardin

The Professional Constructor

The goal of this essay is to explore the key factors that influence top-performing employees’ decisions to change companies or remain with their current employers. A few of these factors are salary and benefits, work environment, and corporate advancement. This essay will address such factors and propose solutions using my own educational and professional experience. A key theme to note is the constant evaluation of employees and workplace environment by employers. No company can hope to be successful or have the best people if this skill is not enhanced and implemented well.

Characterization Of Mechanical Properties Of Thin-Film Li-Ion Batteryelectrodes From Laser Excitation And Measurements Ofzero-Group Velocity Resonances, Jing Yao

Theses and Dissertations

The mechanical properties of thin-film Li-ion battery electrodes are controlled by the micro structure of the constituent materials. In this work, a non-contact and non-destructive measurement of the mechanical properties of electrode films is performed by measurement of zero group velocity (ZGV) resonances. The ZGV Lamb wave modes of a solid bi-layer consisting of a thin metallic layer and a thin compliant coating layer are shown to be dependent on the Young's moduli, thicknesses, densities and Poisson ratios of the layers. Theoretical models are used to quantify the sensitivity of the ZGV resonances to changes in mechanical properties. Experimental ZGV …

Complexity Of Establishing Industrial Connectivity For Small And Medium Manufacturers With And Without Use Of Industrial Innovation Platforms, Brian Dale Russell

Theses and Dissertations

The manufacturing industry is continuously evolving as new practices and technology are adopted to improve productivity and remain competitive. There have been three well established manufacturing revolutions in recent history and some say that the fourth is occurring currently by the name of Smart Manufacturing, Indusrie 4.0, and others. This latest manufacturing revolution is highly dependent on industrial connectivity. This research aims to gage the ability of Industrial Innovation Platforms (IIPs) to reduce complexity of implementing base-line industrial connectivity for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The results of this study would be especially relevant to decision makers in industrial SMEs …

Human-Centered Enterprise Resource Maintenance Management, Sharon Sue Chinoy

Theses and Dissertations

In complex domains, maintenance personnel may be required to use multiple software tools for receiving status information and controlling resources across the enterprise. These tools have evolved to be effective for collecting status, but often lack integrated contextual information for personnel to understand failure event impact to the enterprise and operational mission. Through a human-centered design approach, salient concepts and semantically relevant maintenance information can be captured within a domain. This research will show that an ontology can be a useful method to establish a common frame of reference to promote better situation awareness and more effective decision-making and collaboration …

Impact Of Water Mixing And Ice Formation On The Warming Of Lake Superior: A Model-Guided Mechanism Study, Xinyu Ye, Eric J. Anderson, Philip Y. Chu, Chenfu Huang, Pengfei Xue

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The Laurentian Great Lakes are one of the most prominent hotspots for the study of climate change induced lake warming. Warming trends in large, deep lakes, which are often inferred by the observations of lake surface temperature (LST) in most studies, are strongly linked to the total lake heat content. In this study, we use a 3D hydrodynamic model to examine the nonlinear processes of water mixing and ice formation that cause changes in lake heat content and further variation of LST. With a focus on mechanism study, a series of process-oriented experiments is carried out to understand the interactions …

A Bidirectional Soft-Switched Dab-Based Single-Stage Three-Phase Ac–Dc Converter For V2g Application, Dibaker Das, Nathan Weise, Kaushik Basu, Rohit Baranwal, Ned Mohan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In vehicle-to-grid applications, the battery charger of the electric vehicle (EV) needs to have a bidirectional power flow capability. Galvanic isolation is necessary for safety. An ac-dc bidirectional power converter with high-frequency isolation results in high power density, a key requirement for an on-board charger of an EV. Dual-active-bridge (DAB) converters are preferred in medium power and high voltage isolated dc-dc converters due to high power density and better efficiency. This paper presents a DAB-based three-phase ac-dc isolated converter with a novel modulation strategy that results in: 1) single-stage power conversion with no electrolytic capacitor, improving the reliability and power …

An Artificial Bee Colony-Based Hybrid Approach For Waste Collection Problem With Midway Disposal Pattern, Qu Wei, Zhaoxia Guo, Hoong Chuin Lau, Zhenggang He

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper investigates a waste collection problem with the consideration of midway disposal pattern. An artificial bee colony (ABC)-based hybrid approach is developed to handle this problem, in which the hybrid ABC algorithm is proposed to generate the better optimum-seeking performance while a heuristic procedure is proposed to select the disposal trip dynamically and calculate the carbon emissions in waste collection process. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated by numerical experiments. Experimental results show that the proposed hybrid approach can solve the investigated problem effectively. The proposed hybrid ABC algorithm exhibits a better optimum-seeking performance than four popular …

Toward A Sustainable More Electrified Future: The Role Of Electrical Machines And Drives, Ayman M. El-Refaie

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This article provided an overview of the broad range of applications in which advanced electrical machines and drives play a key role. There are many applications that require steep change in the performance of electrical machines and drives. In addition to novel topologies and design optimization, a broad range of enabling technologies, including advanced materials and thermal management, will play a key role in meeting the ever-growing requirements of the aforementioned applications. Judging by the breadth of the applications and the very demanding requirements in terms of system footprint, efficiency cost, and reliability R&D efforts in the area of advanced …

A Mine Main Fans Switchover System With Lower Air Flow Volatility Based On Improved Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm, Hengqing Ge, Guang Xu, Jinxin Huang, Xiaoping Ma

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A reliable ventilation system is essential for maintaining a comfortable working environment and ensuring safety production in an underground coal mine. The automated fan switchover technique was developed for changing the main fan for maintenance with lower air flow volatility of underground mine in the switchover process. This article established the optimization model in the main fans switchover process, used the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm to solve the model, and achieved minimum air flow volatility in the fans switchover process. Compared to previous studies, computer simulations have shown that the proposed algorithm can effectively find the global optimal solution …

On The Feasibility Of Tailoring Copper-Nickel Functionally Graded Materials Fabricated Through Laser Metal Deposition, Sreekar Karnati, Yunlu Zhang, Frank W. Liou, Joseph William Newkirk

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study, pulse‐width modulation of laser power was identified as a feasible means for varying the chemical gradient in copper—nickel‐graded materials. Graded material deposits of 70 wt. %. copper‐30 wt. %. nickel on 100 wt. %. nickel and vice versa were deposited and characterized. The 70/30 copper—nickel weight ratio in the feedstock powder was achieved through blending elemental copper and 96 wt. %. Ni—Delero‐22 alloy. At the dissimilar material interface over the course of four layers, the duty cycle of power was ramped down from a high value to optimized deposition conditions. This change was theorized to influence the …

The Santa Clara, 2019-02-28, Santa Clara University

The Santa Clara

No abstract provided.

Climate‐Induced Changes In The Risk Of Hydrological Failure Of Major Dams In California, Iman Mallakpour, Amir Aghakouchak, Mojtaba Sadegh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Existing major reservoirs in California, with average age above 50 years, were built in the previous century with limited data records and flood hazard assessment. Changes in climate and land use are anticipated to alter statistical properties of inflow to these infrastructure systems and potentially increase their hydrological failure probability. Because of large socioeconomic repercussions of infrastructure incidents, revisiting dam failure risks associated with possible shifts in the streamflow regime is fundamental for societal resilience. Here we compute historical and projected flood return periods as a proxy for potential changes in the risk of hydrological failure of dams in a …

Martin Delivers First Research Landscapes Event |College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

Community, business and legislative leaders got a first-hand review of Utah's air quality challenges from one of the state's foremost experts on air quality research. On Feb. 26, Randy Martin, associate research professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and researcher at the Utah Water Research Laboratory, presented the first Research Landscapes lecture in Salt Lake City. The event took place at the O.C. Tanner Headquarters in front of a standing-room-only crowd.

Current Status And Prospect Of Battery Configuration In Li-S System, Jia-Hang Chen, Hui-Jun Yang, Cheng Guo, Jiu-Lin Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Commercial lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are incapable of satisfying the increasing demand for emerging electronic devices due to their limited energy density. Among the next-generation batteries, lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are becoming a promising energy-storage system due to their high theoretical energy density and natural abundance of sulfur. However, the shuttle of soluble polysulfide intermediates between two electrodes, as well as the problem on Li metal anode,lower the utilization of active material and lead to the loss of specific capacity and rapid capacity fading. All the above challenges limit the further application of Li-S batteries. Recently, various novel battery configurations have been …

Recent Progress On Tio2-Based Anode Materials For Sodium-Ion Batteries, Si-Tian Lian, Jian-Shuai Lv, Qiang Yu, Guang-Wu Hu, Zhuo Chen, Liang Zhou, Li-Qiang Mai

Journal of Electrochemistry

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) represents a stable, low-cost, and nontoxic anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). However, the low electrical conductivity limits its electrochemical activity (specific capacity) and rate capability, hindering its widespread applications. In this article, we show that different crystal forms of TiO₂ have different pore structures, resulting in the distinct sodium storage capacities. Accordingly, the article introduces how TiO₂ microstructures influence sodium storage. The nanoparticle structure can improve the rate performance of the material due to its short ion diffusion distance, and the internal cavity of the hollow structure is beneficial to cycle stability. …