Engineering Commons^™

A New Market Segmentation Approach: Evidence From Two Canadian Cities, Dea Van Lierop, Ahmed El-Geneidy

Journal of Public Transportation

Traditionally, transit market research has categorized passengers into two distinct groups: captive riders and choice riders. Market analyses that depend on such broad categories are likely to overlook important details about the needs and desires of their customer base. This study attempts to better understand the complexities of the different groups who take transit by using information from five years of customer satisfaction questionnaires collected by two Canadian transit providers. Employing a series of clustering techniques, the analysis reveals that nine market segments are present across different modes in both transit agencies. Three different overarching groups of transit users are …

Energy Harvesting From Exercise Machines: Buck-Boost Converter Design, Andrew E. Forster

Master's Theses

This report details the design and implementation of a switching DC-DC converter for use in the Energy Harvesting From Exercise Machines (EHFEM) project. It uses a four-switch, buck-boost topology to regulate the wide, 5-60 V output of an elliptical machine to 36 V, suitable as input for a microinverter to reclaim the energy for the electrical grid. Successful implementation reduces heat emissions from electrical energy originally wasted as heat, and facilitates a financial and environmental benefit from reduced net energy consumption.

Uhf Rfid Antenna Impedance Matching Techniques, Kamron Sockolov

Master's Theses

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems use electromagnetic signals to wirelessly identify and track RFID-tagged objects. A reader transmits a carrier wave request signal to an RFID tag, which then transmits a unique identification signal back to the reader. Applications include supply chain inventory management, automated toll booth fee systems, sports event timing, restricted access control, pet monitoring and retail theft prevention. An RFID tag includes an antenna connected to a Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC). RFID tags in the ultra-high frequency (UHF), industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) 902-928MHz band and global Electronic Product Code (EPC) 860‑960MHz band are powered passively …

Fluid Flow Characterization And In Silico Validation In A Rapid Prototyped Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Model, Dean Thomas Wampler

Master's Theses

Aortic aneurysms are the 14^th leading cause of death in the United States. Annually, abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) ruptures are responsible for 4500 deaths. There are another 45,000 repair procedures performed to prevent rupture, and of these approximately 1400 lead to deaths. With proper detection, the aneurysm may be treated using endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). Understanding how the flow of the blood within the artery is affected by the aneurysm is important in determining the growth of the aneurysm, as well as how to properly treat the aneurysm. The goal of this project was to develop a physical construct …

Analysis Of Autonomous Vehicle Policies, Bryan Gibson

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The rapid development and adoption of connected and autonomous vehicles will transform the U.S. transportation system over the next 30 years. Although the widespread use of fully connected and autonomous vehicles is still several years away, it is nonetheless critical that legislators, policymakers, and regulators understand how the presence of these vehicles will restructure the operation of roadway networks. Without a doubt, lawmakers and policymakers will need to develop new laws — and revise existing ones — to account for the presence of connected and autonomous vehicles. This report provides an overview of connected and autonomous vehicles — their positives …

Geoengineering, Marine Microalgae, And Climate Stabilization In The 21st Century, Charles H. Greene, Mark E. Huntley, Ian Archibald, Léda N. Gerber, Deborah L. Sills, Joe Granados, Colin M. Beal, Michael J. Walsh

Natural & Applied Sciences Faculty Publications

Society has set ambitious targets for stabilizing mean global temperature. To attain these targets, it will have to reduce CO2 emissions to near zero by mid-century and subsequently remove CO2 from the atmosphere during the latter half of the century. There is a recognized need to develop technologies for CO2 removal; however, attempts to develop direct air-capture systems have faced both energetic and financial constraints. Recently, BioEnergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) has emerged as a leading candidate for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. However, BECCS can have negative consequences on land, nutrient, and water use as well as …

Efficient Revocable Id-Based Signature With Cloud Revocation Server, Xiaoying Jia, Debiao He, Sherali Zeadally, Li Li

Information Science Faculty Publications

Over the last few years, identity-based cryptosystem (IBC) has attracted widespread attention because it avoids the high overheads associated with public key certificate management. However, an unsolved but critical issue about IBC is how to revoke a misbehaving user. There are some revocable identity-based encryption schemes that have been proposed recently, but little work on the revocation problem of identity-based signature has been undertaken so far. One approach for revocation in identity-based settings is to update users' private keys periodically, which is usually done by the key generation center (KGC). But with this approach, the load on the KGC will …

Development Of A Research Project Tracking System, Joseph D. Crabtree, Bradley A. Rogers

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Center, in cooperation with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, has developed a Research Project Tracking System (RPTS). The RPTS is web-based and includes a database of active (and recently completed) research projects. The system allows authorized users to access and edit the project data, enter new projects into the system, and produce periodic progress reports. It produces a homepage (or dashboard) for each project, and it provides links to key project documents. It also has the capability to track the implementation of research results on a project-by-project basis.

A Programmatic Approach To Long-Term Bridge Preventive Maintenance, Danny Wells, Bobby W. Meade, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Sudhir Palle

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

State transportation agencies use cost-effective preventive maintenance (PM) programs to preserve existing roadway systems, slow down their deterioration, and improve their functional condition. Currently, KYTC’s bridge inventory includes approximately 10,000 structures, and by 2018, most of these structures will have been in use for at least 50 years. Because there is insufficient funding available to pursue a large-scale bridge replacement program, it is critical for the Cabinet to prolong the lives of its bridges by using economical strategies. This report provides guidance that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) can use to develop and implement a statewide bridge PM program. Drawing …

Cellular Proteomes Drive Tissue-Specific Regulation Of The Heat Shock Response, Jian Ma, Christopher E. Grant, Rosemary Nadine Plagens, Lindsey N. Barrett, Karen S. Kim Guisbert, Eric Guisbert

Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Faculty Publications

The heat shock response (HSR) is a cellular stress response that senses protein misfolding and restores protein folding homeostasis, or proteostasis. We previously identified an HSR regulatory network inCaenorhabditis elegans consisting of highly conserved genes that have important cellular roles in maintaining proteostasis. Unexpectedly, the effects of these genes on the HSR are distinctly tissue-specific. Here, we explore this apparent discrepancy and find that muscle-specific regulation of the HSR by the TRiC/CCT chaperonin is not driven by an enrichment of TRiC/CCT in muscle, but rather by the levels of one of its most abundant substrates, actin. Knockdown of actin subunits …

College Of Engineering News, Georgia Southern University

College of Engineering & Computing: News & Publications (2010-2023)

• IT Graduate and Undergraduate Students Win Best Paper Award at SE DSI

Isbord: Internet Searching Based On Resource Description, Zhiwei Yan, Sherali Zeadally, Guanggang Geng

Information Science Faculty Publications

Based on the Information-Centric Networking (ICN) concept and the mature model of the current TCP/IP-based Internet, we propose content searching based on universal and scalable resource description, namely ISBORD (Internet Searching based on Resource Description). This novel concept aims to improve the efficiency of content searching and simplifies the end-user functionality to support the evolution of the content-centric Internet.

Characterization And Analysis Of Real-Time Capillary Convective Pcr Toward Commercialization, Xianbo Qiu, Shiyin Zhang, Lanju Mei, Di Wu, Ke Li, Shengxiang Ge, Xiangzhong Ye, Ningshao Xia, Michael G. Mauk

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Almost all the reported capillary convective polymerase chain reaction (CCPCR) systems to date are still limited to research use stemming from unresolved issues related to repeatability, reliability, convenience, and sensitivity. To move CCPCR technology forward toward commercialization, a couple of critical strategies and innovations are discussed here. First, single- and dual-end heating strategies are analyzed and compared between each other. Especially, different solutions for dual-end heating are proposed and discussed, and the heat transfer and fluid flow inside the capillary tube with an optimized dual-end heating strategy are analyzed and modeled. Second, real-time CCPCR is implemented with light-emitting diode and …

Evaluation Of Whole-Brain Resting-State Functional Connectivity In Spinal Cord Injury - A Large-Scale Network Analysis Using Network Based Statistic, Mayank Kaushal, Akinwunmi Oni-Orisan, Gang Chen, Wenjun Li, Jack Leschke, B. Douglas Ward, Benjamin Kalinosky, Matthew D. Budde, Brian D. Schmit, Shi-Jiang Li, Viashnavi Muqeet, Shekar N. Kurpad

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Large-scale network analysis characterizes the brain as a complex network of nodes and edges to evaluate functional connectivity patterns. The utility of graph-based techniques has been demonstrated in an increasing number of restingstate functional MRI (rs-fMRI) studies in the normal and diseased brain. However, to our knowledge, graph theory has not been used to study the reorganization pattern of resting-state brain networks in patients with traumatic complete spinal cord injury (SCI). In the present analysis, we applied a graph-theoretical approach to explore changes to global brain network architecture as a result of SCI. Fifteen subjects with chronic (> 2 years) …

Sure: A Novel Approach For Self Healing Battery Starved Users Using Energy Harvesting, Mohamed Y. Selim, Ahmad Alsharoa, Ahmed E. Kamal, Mohammed Alnuem

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Radio Frequency (RF) energy harvesting holds a promising future for energizing low power mobile devices in next generation wireless networks. Harvesting from a dedicated RF energy source acquires much more energy than simply harvesting from ambient RF sources. In this paper, novel Self-healing of Users equipment by RF Energy transfer scheme is introduced between the network operator and battery starved users to heal and extend their battery life time by sending dedicated energy from different sources in order to be aggregated and harvested by starved users. This approach depends on the concept of Energy as a Service where the network …

Using The Vehicle Routing Problem To Reduce Field Completion Times With Multiple Machines, Hasan Seyyedhasani, Joseph S. Dvorak

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is a powerful tool used to express many logistics problems, yet unlike other vehicle routing challenges, agricultural field work consists of machine paths that completely cover a field. In this work, the allocation and ordering of field paths among a number of available machines has been transformed into a VRP that enables optimization of completion time for the entire field. A basic heuristic algorithm (a modified form of the common Clarke-Wright algorithm) and a meta-heuristic algorithm, Tabu Search, were employed for optimization. Both techniques were evaluated through computer simulations in two fields: a hypothetical basic …

Toxicity Evaluation Of Magnetic Hyperthermia Induced By Remote Actuation Of Magnetic Nanoparticles In 3d Micrometastasic Tumor Tissue Analogs For Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Nathanael A. Stocke, Pallavi Sethi, Amar Jyoti, Ryan Chan, Susanne M. Arnold, J. Zach Hilt, Meenakshi Upreti

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Magnetic hyperthermia as a treatment modality is acquiring increased recognition for loco-regional therapy of primary and metastatic lung malignancies by pulmonary delivery of magnetic nanoparticles (MNP). The unique characteristic of magnetic nanoparticles to induce localized hyperthermia in the presence of an alternating magnetic field (AMF) allows for preferential killing of cells at the tumor site. In this study we demonstrate the effect of hyperthermia induced by low and high dose of MNP under the influence of an AMF using 3D tumor tissue analogs (TTA) representing the micrometastatic, perfusion independent stage of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) that infiltrates the lungs. …

Evaluation Of Procedures To Quantify Solvent Retention In Electrospun Fibers And Facilitate Solvent Removal, Anthony R. D'Amato, Nicholas J. Schaub, Jesus M. Cardenas, Erich Franz, Deniz Rende, Alexis M. Ziemba, Ryan J. Gilbert

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Electro spun fiber scaffolds crafted from polyesters are studied extensively for potential tissue engineering applications. For translation of electro spun fibers into the clinic, the FDA requires analysis and quantification of any organic solvent that may be retained in the fibers since many organic solvents can negatively affect cells and tissues. If a significant amount of solvent is retained, then developing procedures for efficient solvent removal may enhance the clinical potential of these materials. In this study we use fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to analyze solvent retention. A correlative analysis …

Incorporating Poly(3-Hexyl Thiophene) Into Orthogonally Aligned Cylindrical Nanopores Of Titania For Optoelectronics, Suraj R. Nagpure, James F. Browning, Stephen E. Rankin

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

The incorporation of hole conducting polymer poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT) into the 8-9 nm cylindrical nanopores of titania is investigated using films with a unique orthogonally oriented hexagonal close packed mesostructure. The films are synthesized using evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) with Pluronic triblock copolymer F127 as the structure directing agent. The orthogonally oriented cylindrical nanopore structure was chosen over a cubic structure because confinement in uniform cylindrical channels is hypothesized to enhance hole conductivity of P3HT by inducing local polymer chain ordering. Orthogonal orientation of the cylindrical nanopores is achieved by modifying the substrate (FTO-coated glass slides) with crosslinked F127. After …

College Cloud: Web Development With A Django Stack And Google Cloud, Evan Joseph Hench

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Students at Cal Poly run into two main problems involving clubs: efficiency of communication and the ability to find clubs that interest them. Currently, members of clubs communicate in four main ways: Facebook, GroupMe, text message, and email. As a result, it is fairly easy for things to become disorganized from all the different types of communication. Group members are forced to check multiple communication outlets just to stay updated, wasting their time. In addition, finding clubs at Cal Poly is not easy. The annual club fair helps interested students to some degree, but with hundreds of clubs on campus …

Quantitative Limits On Small Molecule Transport Via The Electropermeome - Measuring And Modeling Single Nanosecond Perturbations, Esin B. Sözer, Zachary A. Levine, P. Thomas Vernier

Bioelectrics Publications

The detailed molecular mechanisms underlying the permeabilization of cell membranes by pulsed electric fields (electroporation) remain obscure despite decades of investigative effort. To advance beyond descriptive schematics to the development of robust, predictive models, empirical parameters in existing models must be replaced with physics- and biology-based terms anchored in experimental observations. We report here absolute values for the uptake of YO-PRO-1, a small-molecule fluorescent indicator of membrane integrity, into cells after a single electric pulse lasting only 6 ns. We correlate these measured values, based on fluorescence microphotometry of hundreds of individual cells, with a diffusion-based geometric analysis of pore-mediated …

Computational Modeling Of Thoracic Injury Response Due To Impact Of A Small Unmanned Aerial System (Suas), Alexander Fumiyoshi Dori

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This study aims to establish a computational model that will predict the injury response after a sUAS impacts the thorax. A rotary and fixed winged sUAS were chosen for analysis. A vast number of numerical simulations were carried out with varying masses, impact velocities, and impact angles. From the simulation results, the maximum viscous criterion was then calculated. A nonlinear surrogate model was established by setting the impact parameters as independent variables and the viscous criterion as the dependent variable. A correlation analysis showed the impact velocity and angle to significantly influence the results more, when compared to the mass. …

Collision Avoidance And Navigation Of Uas Using Vision-Based Proportional Navigation, Matthew J. Clark

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Electro-optical devices have received considerable interest due to their light weight, low cost, and low algorithm requirements with respect to computational power. In this thesis, vision-based guidance laws are developed to provide sense and avoid capabilities for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operating in complex environments with multiple static and dynamic collision threats. These collision avoidance guidance laws are based on the principle of proportional navigation (Pro-Nav), which states that a UAV is on a collision course with another vehicle or object if the line-of-sight (LOS) angles to the object remain constant. The guidance laws are designed for use with monocular …

A Comparison Of Malfunction-Related Accidents For General Aviation Aircraft Manufactured In 1970–1984 And 2000–2014, Douglas Boyd, Jochen Hinkelbein

Publications

The United States general aviation fleet is aging with aircraft manufactured 35–39 years ago representing the most prevalent group. Since older aircraft are more prone to airframe corrosion, fatigue, and brittle electrical wiring, the present study was undertaken to determine whether malfunction-related accidents for general aviation aircraft manufactured between 1970 and 1984 were elevated relative to airplanes produced more recently (2000–2014).

The NTSB aviation accident database was used to identify piston-powered airplane accidents occurring over the 2005–2014 period. Aircraft manufacture year and fleet activity data were from the FAA. Statistical analyses employed contingency tables and Poisson distributions.

The proportion of …

Protocol To Evaluate And Load Rate Existing Bridges, Maria Szerszen, Ali Alhajami

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Load tests can be used to verify component and system performance under a known live load and provide an alternative evaluation methodology to analytically computed the load rating of a bridge. Procedures for nondestructive load testing, which involves field observations and measurements of in- service bridges and field testing often can revel additional capacity since analytical bridge rating tend to be fairly conservative. The goal of presented research was to develop a data-driven rating process to assess and rate bridges. This data-driven rating system reduces the subjective judgment of the bridge inspectors through the use of computer models and field …

An Investigation Of The Correlation Between Mental Workload And Web User’S Interaction, Joaquim Filipe Romero

Dissertations

Mental Workload, a psychological concept, was identified as being linked with task’s and system’s performance. In the context of Human-Computer Interaction, recent research has identified Mental Workload as an important measure in the designing and evaluation of web interfaces, and as an additional and supplemental insight to typical usability evaluation methods. Simultaneously, web logs containing data related to web users’ interaction (e.g. scrolling; mouse clicks) have been proved useful in evaluating the usability of web sites by analysing the data tracked for hundreds of users. In order to study if the potential of logs of user interaction can be applied …

Air Exchange Rates And Alternatuve Vapor Entry Pathways To Inform Vapor Intrusion Exposure Risk Assessments, Rivka Reichman, Mohammadyousef Roghani, Evan J. Willett, Elham Shirazi, Kelly G. Pennell

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Vapor intrusion (VI) is a term used to describe indoor air (IA) contamination that occurs due to the migration of chemical vapors in the soil and groundwater. The overall vapor transport process depends on several factors such as contaminant source characteristics, subsurface conditions, building characteristics, and general site conditions. However, the classic VI conceptual model does not adequately account for the physics of airflow around and inside a building and does not account for chemical emissions from alternative “preferential” pathways (e.g. sewers and other utility connections) into IA spaces. This mini-review provides information about recent research related to building air …

Project Plan - Mentoring, Abigail Lisjak, Patrick Gray, Timothy Leonard, Adam Foster

Sustainability and Connectivity

A presentation that includes the ideal goal for the project as well as how the project can relate to the other projects in the class.

Correlating Methane Production To Microbiota In Anaerobic Digesters Fed Synthetic Wastewater, Kaushik Venkiteshwaran, K. Milferstedt, M. Fujimoto, M. Johnson, Daniel Zitomer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) between relative abundance values and digester methane production rate was developed. For this, 50 triplicate anaerobic digester sets (150 total digesters) were each seeded with different methanogenic biomass samples obtained from full-scale, engineered methanogenic systems. Although all digesters were operated identically for at least 5 solids retention times (SRTs), their quasi steady-state function varied significantly, with average daily methane production rates ranging from 0.09 ± 0.004 to 1 ± 0.05 L-CH₄/L_R-day (L_R = Liter of reactor volume) (average ± standard deviation). Digester microbial community structure was analyzed using more …

An Investigation Of The Correlation Between Mental Workload And Web User’S Interaction, Joaquim Filipe Romero

Dissertations

Mental Workload, a Psychology concept, was identified as being linked with task’s and system’s performance. In the context of Human-Computer Interaction, recent research has identified Mental Workload as an important measure in the designing and evaluation of web interfaces, and as an additional and supplemental insight to typical Usability evaluation methods. Simultaneously, web logs containing data related to web users’ interaction (e.g. scrolling; mouse clicks) have been proved useful in evaluating the Usability of web sites by levering the data tracked for hundreds of users. In order to study if the potential of logs of user interaction can be applied …