Engineering Commons^™

A Machine Learning Management Model For Qoe Enhancement In Next-Generation Wireless Ecosystems, Eva Ibarrola, Mark Davis, Camille Voisin, Ciara Close, Leire Cristobo

Conference papers

Next-generation wireless ecosystems are expected to comprise heterogeneous technologies and diverse deployment scenarios. Ensuring a good quality of service (QoS) will be one of the major challenges of next-generation wireless systems on account of a variety of factors that are beyond the control of network and service providers. In this context, ITU-T is working on updating the various Recommendations related to QoS and users' quality of experience (QoE). Considering the ITU-T QoS framework, we propose a methodology to develop a global QoS management model for next-generation wireless ecosystems taking advantage of big data and machine learning. The results from a …

On Fixed Beamforming In Sectored Mmwave Ultra Dense Networks At 73ghz, Jasmina Mcmenamy, Haris Kremo, George A. Ropokis, Adam Narbudowicz

Conference papers

We investigate the use of fixed analogue transmit beamforming for downlink communication in millimetre-wave (mmWave) band ultra-dense networks (UDNs) at 73GHz. Our simulation study is based on 3D radiation patterns using a real design of large planar antenna arrays with different horizontal beamwidths and full characterisation of interference. The effects of network densification are captured through different ratios of the number of access points (APs) to the number of users. We quantify the system's performance by evaluating outage and achievable rate. The results show that users with rates around the mean benefit more from the densification than from narrowing the …

Iact Undergraduate Certificate In Applied Creativity (Year 1 - 2018), Brian Laduca

IACT Certificate Program

At the Institute of Applied Creativity for Transformation (IACT) at ArtStreet, we seek to empower a creatively confident 21st-century student with the ability to discover, invent and innovate ambiguous ideas through a disruptive design process that will impact today’s ever-changing global world regardless of degree focus.

IACT is home to the nation’s first undergraduate certificate in Applied Creativity for Transformation. Open to undergraduate students of any major, the certificate is a first step in achieving the University of Dayton’s vision of innovation, applied creativity, entrepreneurship and community engagement for the common good.

Zwitterionic Polymer For Drug Delivery Applications, Yang Lu

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the applications of zwitterionic polymer materials in drug delivery. In one project, zwitterionic polymer was used to construct micelle surfactants. The zwitterionic micelles were found to have an ultralow critical micelle concentration (CMC). Potential mechanism for zwitterionic micelles achieving the ultralow CMC property has been studied. Based on the ultralow CMC feature, zwitterionic micelles were used to prepare a formulation of commercial antitumor drug docetaxel, and the resulting formulation showed excellent antitumor performance. In another project, zwitterionic polymer was used to modify protein drug insulin via conjugation reaction. Compared with current protein modification methods, such as …

Study Of Mri Signal In The Presence Of Discrete Spherical Magnetic Particles, Paul Kokeny

Wayne State University Dissertations

Simulating signal behavior in Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) is often a necessary step in being able to understand how signal relates to certain physiological parameters. One such parameter of interest in the body is magnetic susceptibility since it is related to iron content. The bulk magnetic susceptibility of an object is a property that describes how magnetized it becomes when placed in an external magnetic field. When the bulk susceptibility of an object arises from the presence of discrete magnetic inclusions, the MRI phase signal inside the object can no longer be determined analytically by assuming it has a continuous …

Stresses In The End Zones Of Precast Inverted T-Beams With Tapered Webs, Ravi Siddharth Raja

Wayne State University Theses

Short to medium span composite bridges constructed with adjacent precast inverted T-beams and cast-in-place topping are intended to provide more resiliency against reflective cracking and time dependent effects compared to voided slabs and adjacent box girder systems. This thesis investigates the stresses in the end zones of such a uniquely shaped precast element. The transfer of prestressing force creates vertical and horizontal tensile stresses in the end zones of the girder. A series of 3-D finite element analyses were performed to investigate the magnitude of these tensile stresses. Hoyer effect is captured by modelling the strands as solid elements and …

Development Of Sorption Technology For Extracting Rare Earth Elements From Coal Fly Ash, Bilal Syed

Research Opportunities for Engineering Undergraduates (ROEU) Program 2017-18

Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are elements with many high tech uses (e.g., smartphones, electric cars, advanced weaponry) and have been identified by the DOE to be critical to the US economy. Currently, China supplies over 85% of REEs resulting in an undiversified market and susceptibility to supply shock and economic insecurity. To address this susceptibility, this research aims to develop an economic and environmentally-friendly method of extracting REEs from nascent, plentiful sources such as coal and coal by-products like fly ash.

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Biochar For Treating Wsu Parking Lot Runoff, Alan-Christian Thomas

Research Opportunities for Engineering Undergraduates (ROEU) Program 2017-18

Various pollutants including pesticides, herbicides, automotive fluids, and excess nutrients from fertilizers are found in high concentrations in urban runoff. There are many technologies that can be used to control and redirect the water flow such as retention basins, constructed wetlands, and rain gardens; however, these methods are specifically focused on controlling water and not necessarily the nutrients and contaminants in the water. There has recently been an increased interest in the potential for using additional materials (e.g., compost, charcoal) to enhance the pollution treatment ability by either adding them to the soil or by engineering prefilters to remove pollutants …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Bioswales In Southeast Michigan, Grace Crowe

Research Opportunities for Engineering Undergraduates (ROEU) Program 2017-18

Bioswales are modern storm water management structures that utilize biological components in a traditional wale to more effectively filter out contaminants. Because of its modern nature the installation and management practices for bioswales is still developing. Perfecting the practices surrounding bioswales in southeast Michigan environment can aid in the advancement of green infrastructure in the state. Wayne State installed a bioswale in one its parking lots in New Center with the help of the Detroit Biodiversity Network (DBN). We wanted to monitor the progression of this existing bioswale throughout the year, observing the system components effecting overall bioswale performance. The …

Optical Coherence Tomography Application To Alopecia In The Scalp, Elizabeth Melcher

Research Opportunities for Engineering Undergraduates (ROEU) Program 2017-18

Alopecia is the loss of hair, whether it be from the scalp or other regions of the body. Current techniques used to best diagnose and track alopecia are often invasive, requiring a biopsy for results. The use of the OCT, or optical coherence tomography, could drastically improve a patient’s experience in undergoing a diagnosis while proving accurate results. The objective of this study is to develop diagnostic algorithms for the rapid, non-invasive diagnosis of alopecia with OCT. The first step is collecting OCT images of a healthy scalp to understand the anatomical structures with the imaging technique.

Cfd/Fea Of A Steam Methane Reforming Tube, Matthew Wegener

Research Opportunities for Engineering Undergraduates (ROEU) Program 2017-18

Steam methane reforming is the primary method by which hydrogen is produced; increased efficiency in hydrogen production could enable hydrogen’s usage as an alternative fuel. The objectives of this project are to construct a robust CFD/FEA model of a steam methane reforming tube, and to perform CFD/FEA analysis in both steady and transient operational states, comparing thermal stresses/strains in the tube wall in the two states and relating tube stresses/strains to properties of the process controller.

Characterization Of Electroactive Nanofibers For Nerve Regeneration, Jean-Yves Azar

Research Opportunities for Engineering Undergraduates (ROEU) Program 2017-18

In the event of peripheral nerve injury, loss of function may occur as the result of a severed nerve. Hollow nerve gap conduits are used to provide a protected environment for nerves to reconnect and regain function, although therapies for nerve gaps larger than 3 cm lack a stable environment for nerves to reconnect. Development of a nerve guide conduit filler has been proposed to mimic the cell’s microenvironment. This would lead to increased functional regeneration. We are aiming to create a biomaterial to act as a filler for the hollow nerve gap conduits to promote functional regeneration of the …

Design And Development Of An Emergency System For Children In A Hot Car At Risk Of Heatstroke, Nathan Kisha

Research Opportunities for Engineering Undergraduates (ROEU) Program 2017-18

Since 1998, an average of 37 children have died every year due to heat-related deaths after being stuck in a vehicle, making it the leading cause of non-crash-related fatalities among children. This creates an opportunity to create a system which will be able to detect this danger and do something in order to prevent it. There are 4 main objectives for the system to be able to accomplish: 1) determine if the temperature in the car poses a risk, 2) use an alarm to provide a warning and wake up a sleeping child, 3) determine if someone is in the …

Developing Vascular Graft From Adipose-Derived Stem Cells, Ashley C. Apil

Research Opportunities for Engineering Undergraduates (ROEU) Program 2017-18

This project aims to differentiate adipose-derived stem cells into fibroblasts through the addition of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) into the culture media. Differentiation protocol will be optimized, then successful differentiation will be verified through PCR analysis. The ASC-fibroblasts will then be seeded into a ring construct as outlined by the protocol by Lam et al. The ring constructs will be tensile tested and analyzed through histology to characterize their strength and cellularity.

Examining A Hate Speech Corpus For Hate Speech Detection And Popularity Prediction, Filip Klubicka, Raquel Fernandez

Other resources

As research on hate speech becomes more and more relevant every day, most of it is still focused on hate speech detection. By attempting to replicate a hate speech detection experiment performed on an existing Twitter corpus annotated for hate speech, we highlight some issues that arise from doing research in the field of hate speech, which is essentially still in its infancy. We take a critical look at the training corpus in order to understand its biases, while also using it to venture beyond hate speech detection and investigate whether it can be used to shed light on other …

Fatigue And Damage Of Porcine Pars Interarticularis During Asymmetric Loading, Colin Bright, Stephen Tiernan, Fiona Mcevoy, Pat Kiely

Articles

If the articular facets of the vertebra grow in an asymmetric manner, the developed bone geometry causes an asymmetry of loading. When the loading environment is altered by way of increased activity, the likelihood of acquiring a stress fracture may be increased. The combination of geometric asymmetry and increased activity is hypothesised to be the precursor to the stress fracture under investigation in this study, spondylolysis. This vertebral defect is an acquired fracture with 7% prevalence in the paediatric population. This value increases to 21% among athletes who participate in hyperextension sports. Tests were carried out on porcine lumbar vertebrae, …

Evaluation Of Cracking Indices For Asphalt Mixtures Using Scb Tests At Different Temperatures And Loading Rates, Katie E. Haslett

Honors Theses and Capstones

In recent years, there has been a shift towards implementing performance based pavement specifications (PBPS) to increase reliability of asphalt concrete mixture specifications and enhance service lives of roadways. Several of the performance indices used in PBPS are based on the asphalt mixture fracture tests. There is an increasing need for a better understanding the effects of temperature and loading rate interdependency for fracture properties of asphalt mixtures. The goal of this study is to build upon previous work conducted during a Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURF) project entitled, “Exploration of Temperature and Loading Rate Interdependency for Fracture Properties of …

Eeg And Emg Sensorimotor Measurements To Assess Proprioception Following Acl Reconstruction, Teagan Frances Northrup

Honors Theses and Capstones

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is the primary source of rotational stability in the knee by preventing the tibia from sliding in front of the femur. When the ACL is torn, it typically must be repaired through reconstructive surgery which results in proprioceptive deficiencies in the knee. Proprioception plays an important role in understanding where one’s knee is in space, sensing movement and reacting accordingly. This study examines an alternative method of measuring proprioceptive responses to a stimulus (motion) by using electromyogram (EMG) and electroencephalogram (EEG) signals to observe muscle and brain activity. Two participants (one with an ACL reconstruction …

Electrochemical And Spectroscopic Study Of Peptide-Template Melanins, Daniel Courter, Olivia Rossi, Zhen Tian

Honors Theses and Capstones

Melanins are organic polymers made up of 5,6-dihydroxyindole carboxylic acid (DHICA) and 5,6-dihydroxyindole (DHI). Biochemical systems synthesize melanins through a complex reaction pathway. Previous research exhibited that naturally-occurring melanins (NatMel) and their synthetic analogues (SynMel) can potentially serve as electrode materials for aqueous charge storage devices. Small surface area creates technical challenges for these melanins as charge storage materials. This research herein demonstrates that the structure of melanins can affect the charge storage capacities of monovalent Na⁺cations and divalent Mg²⁺ cations. 2-D sheet-like peptide melanins (PepMel) were synthesized into tripeptides consisting of aspartic acid (D), phenylalanine (F), …

Data-Driven Predictive Framework For Modeling Complex Multi-Physics Engineering Applications, Arturo Schiaffino Bustamante

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Computational models are often encountered in multiple engineering application, such as structural design, material science, heat transfer and fluid dynamics. These simulations offer the engineers the capability of understanding complex physical situations before putting them to practice, either through experimentation or prototyping. The current advances in computational sciences, hardware architecture, software development and big data technology, have allowed the construction of sturdy predicting frameworks for analyzing a wide array of natural phenomena across different disciplines, either through the implementation of statistical methods, such as big data, and uncertainty quantification, or through high performance computing of a numerical model. The objective …

Parallelization And Scalability Analysis Of The \\[1pc] 3d Spatially Variant Lattice Algorithm, Henry Roger Moncada Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to design a faster implementation of an algorithm to generate 3D spatially variant lattices (SVL) and improve its performance when it is running on a parallel computer system. The algorithm is used to synthesize a SVL for a periodic structure. The algorithm has the ability to spatially vary the unit cell, the orientation of the unit cells, lattice spacing, fill fraction, material composition, and lattice symmetry. The algorithm produces a lattice that is smooth, continuous and free of defects. The lattice spacing remains strikingly uniform even when the lattice is spatially varied. This is …

An Integrated Study Towards Curing Neurodegenerative Disorders Using Materials Science And Stem Cell-Based Tissue Engineering Approaches, Nishat Tasnim

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Neurodegenerative diseases affect around one billion people globally that are characterized by irreversible degeneration of brain tissues. These diseases cause serious effects on patients degrading their brain functions and causing enormous physical and mental health issues. Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorder affecting millions of people worldwide which results from loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the mid-brain. Unfortunately, no medical treatment is effective to date for these significant brain disorders, except some symptomatic therapies only focusing on improving the quality of patient's life.

Two current approaches hold great promise in targeting PD as well …

Surface Water Flooding, Groundwater Contamination, And Enteric Disease In Developed Countries: A Scoping Review Of Connections And Consequences, L. Andrade, J. O'Dwyer, E. O'Neill, Paul Hynds

Articles

Significant volumes of research over the past four decades has sought to elucidate the social, infrastructural, economic, and human health effects of climate change induced surface flooding. To date, epidemiological and public health studies of flooding events have focused on mental health effects, vector-borne diseases, and infectious enteric disease due to floodwater contact (i.e. typically low consumption rates). The inherent nature of groundwater (i.e. out of sight, out of mind) and the widely held belief that aquifers represent a pristine source of drinking water due to natural attenuation may represent the “perfect storm” causing direct consumption of relatively large volumes …

Problem-Based Learning: Student Perceptions Of Its Value In Developing Professional Skills For Engineering Practice, Una Beagon, Dervilla Niall, Eabhnat Ni Fhloinn

Articles

This study explores students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) design project, taken as part of a first-year engineering module, in developing professional skills needed for engineering practice. Students completed surveys before and after the PBL group project, and produced personal reflections on the process. The closed survey questions were analysed quantitatively and the main themes from the reflections outlined using General Inductive Analysis. Students rated themselves as having improved across a range of professional skills as a result of the project, with particular emphasis on teamwork, communication skills, understanding of the design process and self-directed learning. …

High Sensitivity Optical Fiber Sensors For Simultaneous Measurement Of Methanol And Ethanol, Dejun Liu, Rahul Kumarb, Fangfang Wei, Wei Han, Arun Kumar Mallik, Jinhui Yuanc, Shengpeng Wan, Xingdao He, Zhe Kange, Feng Li, Chongxiu Yu, Gerald Farrell, Yuliya Semenova, Qiang Wu

Articles

High sensitivity volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sensors based on a tapered small core single mode fiber (TSCSMF) and a microfiber coupler (MFC) are reported. The TSCSMF had a waist diameter of ~5.1 μm and the MFC had a waist diameter of ~1.9 μm each and both were fabricated using a customized microheater brushing technique. Silica based materials containing immobilized Nile red prepared by sol-gel method with two different recipes (recipe I and recipe II) are investigated. Initially recipe I based coating materials were applied to the surfaces of the TSCSMF and MFC. The experimental results show that the sensor based …

Investigation Of Temperature Dependence Of Microfibre Coil Resonators, Yu Yin, Jibo Yu, Yuxuan Jiang, Shi Li, Jing Ren, Gerald Farrell, Elfed Lewis, Pengfei Wang

Articles

The temperature-sensitive performance of a microfiber coil resonator (MCR) is thoroughly investigated. The MCR is fabricated by wrapping a microfiber on a PMMA rod coated with a UV-curable low refractive index epoxy. The temperature sensitivity is measured by investigating the correlation between the shift of the resonant wavelength and the surrounding temperature. It is determined that a range of parameters of the MCRs, including the gap between two adjacent rings, the diameter of the supporting rod, the number of rings, and the diameter of the microfiber, have a great influence on the temperature sensitivity of the MCRs. By optimizing the …

Investigation Of A Novel Sms Fiber Based Planar Multimode Waveguide And Its Sensing Performance, Xianfan Wang, Jiquan Zhang, Ke Tian, Shunbin Wang, Libo Yuan, Elfed Lewis, Gerald Farrell, Pengfei Wang

Articles

A novel, MMI-based all-fiber structure, which consists of two single-mode fibers and a multimode fiber polished on both sides, is described. The light propagation characteristics of this fiber structure, as well as its superior sensing performance, are analyzed theoretically by using the beam propagation method (BPM). This fiber structure demonstrates a significant spectral response to changes of the surrounding refractive index (RI), and the measured results exhibit good agreement with the predicted data. The measured average RI sensitivity is as high as 151.29 nm/RIU over an RI range from 1.3450 to 1.4050, when the polished depth is 30 µm on …

A Simple All-Fiber Comb Filter Based On The Combined Effect Of Multimode Interference And Mach- Zehnder Interferometer, Guorui Zhou, Rahul Kumar, Qiang Wu, W. P. Ng, Richard Binns, Lalam Nageswara, Xinxiang Miao, Longfei Niu, Xiaodong Yuan, Yuliya Semenova, Gerald Farrell, Jinhui Yuan, Chongxiu Yu, Xinzhu Sang, Xiangjun Xin, Bo Liu, Haibing Lv, Yong Qing Fu

Articles

A polarization-dependent all-fiber comb filter based on a combination effect of multimode interference and Mach-Zehnder interferometer was proposed and demonstrated. The comb filter was composed with a short section of multimode fiber (MMF) fusion spliced with a conventional single mode fiber on the one side and a short section of a different type of optical fiber on the other side. The second type of optical fiber is spliced to the MMF with a properly designed misalignment. Different types and lengths of fibers were used to investigate the influence of fiber types and lengths on the performance of the comb filter. …

High-Sensitivity Salinity Sensor Based On Optical Microfiber Coil Resonator, Y. Yin, S. Li, J. Ren, Gerald Farrell, E. Lewis, Pengfei Wang

Articles

In recent years, salinity sensing has attracted much attention in potential areas ranging from marine monitoring, marine circulation, marine climate and environment protection in oceanography [1–4]. Generally, traditional methods of salinity measurement have been based on electronic methods (electrochemical) to detect the existence of chlorine ions of the seawater [5,6]. However, this method is affected greatly from the harsh environment, such as high corrosivity, extreme temperature and strong electromagnetic interference and is not used widely in micro scale due to its large size and complex structure. Electrochemical sensors are also prone to cross-sensitivity from and can even be damaged by …

Silica Gel Coated Spherical Micro Resonator For Ultra-High Sensitivity Detection Of Ammonia Gas Concentration In Air, Arun Mallik, Gerald Farrell, Dejun Liu, Vishnu Kavungal, Qiang Wu, Yuliya Semenova

Articles

A silica gel coated microsphere resonator is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for measurements of ammonia (NH3) concentration in air with ultra-high sensitivity. The optical properties of the porous silica gel layer change when it is exposed to low (parts per million (ppm)) and even ultra-low (parts per billion (ppb)) concentrations of ammonia vapor, leading to a spectral shift of the WGM resonances in the transmission spectrum of the fiber taper. The experimentally demonstrated sensitivity of the proposed sensor to ammonia is estimated as 34.46 pm/ppm in the low ammonia concentrations range from 4 ppm to 30 ppm using an optical …