Engineering Commons^™

Mechanical And Aerospace Engineering, 2016-2017, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering News

• Letter from the Department Chair
• Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Wins Grant from DENSO North America Foundation
• NSF $452,399 award to bring state-of-the-art instrument to WMU
• Faculty Research
• Faculty Summer Research
• Research in Fluid Mechanics and Aerodynamics
• Auto lab upgrades make it a premier teaching and research facility
• MAE faculty

Feasibility Determination Guide For The Road Diet Plus: A Five/Four-Lane To Two-Lane Road Diet, Michael Williams

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Road diets are a popular tool for corridor improvement. Road diets are normally defined as the conversion of a four-lane undivided road to a three-lane undivided road made up of two through lanes separated by a center two-way-left-turn-lane (known as a TWLTL). This new configuration has similar vehicular capacity, greater safety and frees up right-of-way for other uses.

This work examines the possibility of going one step, or one lane, further. What is the possibility of reducing five- or four-lane roads to two-lanes? If this is possible, what are the corridor characteristics within which this process would be feasible?

The …

Synthesis Of Discrete Transition Metal (Ni, Fe, Co, Mn) Phosphide Nanoparticles: Compositional Effect On Catalytic And Magnetic Properties, Da Li

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation research is focused on the synthesis, characterization of binary and ternary transition metal (Ni, Co, Fe, Mn) phosphide nanomaterials and their catalytic and magnetic properties.

A phase-control strategy enabling the arrested-precipitation synthesis of nanoparticles of Ni5P4 and NiP2 is presented. The composition and purity of the product can be tuned by changing key synthetic levers, including the metal precursor, the oleylamine (OAm) and Trioctylphosphine (TOP) concentrations, temperature, time and the presence or absence of a moderate temperature soak step to facilitate formation of Ni and/or Ni-P amorphous nanoparticle intermediates.

New CoxFe2-xP nanoparticles (0 ≤ x ≤ 2), Co2-xMnxP …

Antibody-Nanoparticle Conjugates To Enhance The Sensitivity Of Elisa-Based Detection Methods., Margaret M Billingsley, Rachel S. Riley, Emily S Day

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

Accurate antigen detection is imperative for clinicians to diagnose disease, assess treatment success, and predict patient prognosis. The most common technique used for the detection of disease-associated biomarkers is the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In an ELISA, primary antibodies are incubated with biological samples containing the biomarker of interest. Then, detectible secondary antibodies conjugated with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) bind the primary antibodies. Upon addition of a color-changing substrate, the samples provide a colorimetric signal that directly correlates to the targeted biomarker concentration. While ELISAs are effective for analyzing samples with high biomarker content, they lack the sensitivity required to …

Experimental Verification Of A Generalized Control Method For Constant Switching Frequency Three Phase Pwm Boost Rectifier Under Extremely Unbalanced Operating Conditions, Divin Sujatha Krishnan

ETD Archive

This thesis presents experimental verification of a generalized control method for constant switching frequency Three-phase PWM Boost Type Rectifier under extremely unbalanced operating conditions in the power system. In this model, a hysteresis current controller has been implemented using a high-speed micro-controller to generate the gate signals. Even though a constant switching frequency was achieved in the previous model, while in simulation using MATLAB/Simulink, it wasn’t achieved experimentally due to the low processing speed of the DSpace processor ds1104. This problem has been resolved by using the “C2000 Delfino MCUs F28377S Launchpad ” from Texas Instruments to implement Hysteresis Current …

Connected Fpga Thermal Monitoring, John Schultz

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) are configurable integrated circuits. One area that is very important in integrated circuits is temperature control. Improper heat control can lead to a decreased lifespan and possible failure of the device. Many different circuits can be created on the FPGA to suit a specific project or need. Due to FGPAs being configurable, it is hard to create efficient cooling methods. Our project seeks to monitor the FGPA's temperature with different configurations to eventually increase the efficiency of the thermal management system. To accomplish this, we programmed a system on the chip system onto the FPGA …

P1: Using Modified Dean Flow Designs To Increase Mixing Performance, Joshua Clark

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

We are using numerical solutions for the Navier-Stokes equations and the concentration - diffusion equation to model fluid flow and reactant distribution in serpentine type channels for micromixers/microreactors development. These mixers exploit centripetal forces on the fluid to induce cross-sectional fluid mixing, aka Dean flows. Various modifications are used to increase the mixing character of these crosssectional flows. We found that the performance of these mixers exceeds that of unmodified channels and we currently assess their performance relative to other state of the art methodologies used to induce mixing on the microscale.

P2: Implementation Of Groove Based Designs For Engineering Fluid Flow In Micromixers, Tahir Butt

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

Mixing on microscale is important for the development of miniaturized chemical reactors that use small quantities of reactants and allow better control over the reaction conditions and products. Nevertheless, achieving rapid mixing in this type of micro-reactors is challenging due to the lack of turbulence and slow diffusion on the microscale. In this work we implement micromixers designs based on surface groove/ridge patterns targeted at inducing cross-sectional flows that both extend the interface between the different reactants, as well as induce chaotic advection. We discuss the fabrication of these structures using soft-lithography in PDMS employing a mold and their optical …

Going Green: Experimental Adaptation Of Scenedesmus Dimorphus To Marine Conditions, Mohammed Khalil

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

Algae has gained some interest as the need for alternative fuels becomes more pressing. Reliance on fossil fuels is causing our environment and economy harm, and is not sustainable moving forward. Lipid rich algae strains can be used in the production of biofuels, and provide an alternative fuel source. One challenge facing the prospect of algae as a fuel source is that lipid rich algae grows exclusively in freshwater. Considering the scarcity and cost to use freshwater for algae growth, interest has grown in the possibility of adapting lipid rich, freshwater algae to a seawater environment. Seawater can have up …

Evaluation Of Cetane Values Of Glycerolipids Extracted From Algae Scenedesmus Dimorphus Grown In Various Salinity Concentrations Using Gas Chromatography And Mass Spectrometry (Gc-Ms), Paul Lin, Chandana Mannem

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

Algae's ability to store lipids, renewability, and potentially safer for the environment has made it a promising alternative fuel source. An industry rating for a biofuel's potential is the cetane value, which is a measure of a fuel's quality related to various glycerolipid concentrations. Growing conditions will affect lipid profile in algae, thereby affecting the cetane value. This project will attempt to identify changes in the centane value of the algae Scenedesmus dimorphus grown in various salinity concentrations. Scenedesmus dimorphus is the algae chosen for this experiment because of its ability to rapidly grow under harsh conditions. In this experiment …

P1: Salt Concentration And Ph Affect The Size Of Elastin-Like Polypeptide Nanoparticles, Bryce Noe, Ilona Tsuper, Daniel Terano, Richard Schmitt

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

The transport of therapeutic drugs to specific tissues in the body can be accomplished using nanoparticles that encapsulate the drugs. Elastin-like polypeptides (ELP) is a class of materials that can reversibly form such nanoparticles in response to environmental cues. FLPs transition from soluble compounds to a phase separated system under particular solution conditions and have been used to produce temperature responsive surfactants. When these ELP surfactants are above their transition temperature, they spontaneously form energetically stable spherical micelles. When the temperature drops below the transition temperature, the micelles break apart and the ELP goes into solution. The size of these …

P2: Light Scattering Study Of The Size And Shape Of Mixed Elastin-Like Polypeptide Micelles, Ilona Tsuper, Daniel Terrano, Bryce Noe

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

Elastin-Like Polypeptides (ELP) can be used to form thermoreversible vehicles for drug delivery systems. The ELP nanoparticles are composed of three-armed star polypeptides. Each of the three arms extending from the negatively charged foldon domain include 20 repeats of the (GVGVP) amino acid sequence. In addition, linear constructs composed of 40 repeats of the same (GVGVP) sequence are introduced into the system. The mixed ELP polymer system is soluble at room temperature and becomes insoluble at the transition temperature (~ 50°C) forming micelles with the foldons on the exterior and linear constructs at the core. Above the transition, the size …

P2: Dispersion Stability Of Dna-Wrapped Carbon Nanotubes In Biological Media, Fjorela Xhyliu

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are among the most widely studied artificial nanomaterials. Their dispersion stability in biological media is a prerequisite for applications development in biomedical imaging and sensing. This project investigates the dispersion stability of DNA-wrapped SWCNTs in RPMI cell culture media with and without fetal bovine serum (FBS). The synthetic SWCNT mixtures were purified into semiconducting enriched fractions and various single species including (11,1), (9,4), and (7,3) using recognition DNA sequences by a polymer aqueous two-phase (ATP) separation method. The near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence, vis-NIR absorption, and pH of DNA-SWCNT dispersions in different biological media were monitored over time. …

Spurious Grain Formation Due To Convection At Cross-Section-Changes During Directional Solidification, Noah Weber, Masoud Ghods

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

Turbine blades are a critical component in high powered gas turbine engines. These components are directionally solidified to have a single grain orientation, which allows them to operate under high temperature and stress conditions. Spurious grain formation is a major concern when forming these turbine blades. The purpose of this study was to study the effect convection has on forming these defects within turbine blades. Two alloys, Pb-5.8%Sb (solutally unstable) and Al-19%Cu (solutally stable) were directionally solidified upward in a positive thermal gradient (thermally stable) in a graphite crucible having abrupt cross-sectional area change from 3.2 mm diameter to 9 …

P1: Assessment Of Metabolism-Induced Hepatotoxicity On A 384-Pillar Plate, Yana Sickar, Soo-Yeon Kang, Pranav Joshi, Kyeong-Nam Yu

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

Microarray bioprinting technology has been explored to create miniaturized 3D cell cultures on a 384-pillar plate, which were combined with drug metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) and test compounds in a 384-well plate for metabolism-induced toxicity assays. Our goal in this study was to demonstrate rapid assessment of metabolism- induced toxicity on the 384-pillar plate and obtain reliable and highly predictive information on compound's hepatotoxicity in vivo. Briefly, human cells including Hep3B human hepatoma cell line as well as human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK 293) cell were encapsulated in alginate-Matrigel on the 384-pillar plate. Test compounds and six different DMEs including cytochromes …

P2: Construction Of Weather Station For Measuring Wind Using A Hovering Drone Network, Adam Stead, Mark Travis, Rishi Maheshwari

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

Our research aims to build and test the effectiveness of the Sparkfun® Weather Station in its ability to record meaningful data while streaming to a remote device in real-time. This is motivated by our plans to utilize a hovering-drone system to collect meteorological data, such as wind speed, wind direction, humidity, pressure, and temperature. This data is essential to evaluate the wind profiles of a given area and assess available wind resource. The weather station was first calibrated by comparing measurements of the cup anemometer against a standard pitot tube in the lab. We found that the measured wind speed …

Development And Verification Of A Mechanical Loading Device For Microfluidics, Stefan Habean, Erin Tesny

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

Establishing the role that mechanics play in nerve cell (e.g. neurons) function requires experimental testing. Microfluidic based experiments are commonly used to study neuron growth and function, and studies have found mechanics to play an important role in neuron health. External loads can be applied to a microfluidic device using a motor, which presumably influences the mechanical environment of the cells. While a motor can easily apply known displacements, a “load cell” is necessary to measure corresponding forces. In an existing prototype microfluidic loading device, a load cell was integrated and verified. The manufacturer's calibration of the load cell was …

Buddy: A Virtual Reality Based Computer System For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Missy Montague, Gabriel Madison

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder, and it has two essential domains of symptoms: (1) restrictive and repetitive behaviors, such as having a lasting and intense interest in certain topics, and sensory challenges; (2) social impairment and communication difficulties. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 68 children has been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and the prevalence increased by 119.4% from 2000 to 2010. In the US alone, there are more than 3.5 million people who suffer from ASD and autism services cost $236-262 billion annually. In this …

Improving Walkability Through Control Strategies At Signalized Intersections, Sirisha Murthy Kothuri, Andrew Kading, Edward J. Smaglik, Christopher Sobie

TREC Final Reports

As cities and communities nationwide seek to develop Complete Streets that foster livability and accommodate all modes, signal timing control strategies that include pedestrians in the operational decision process are gaining importance. This research tested several efficiency-focused pedestrian treatments – coordination, actuated-coordination, free operation, short cycle lengths – and safety-focused treatment including leading pedestrian intervals and Barnes Dance. Using a software-in-the-loop simulation, the operational impacts of these treatments on all users (vehicles, heavy vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians) at an intersection were evaluated. Results showed that among the efficiency-based treatments, free operation was most beneficial for reducing minor-street pedestrian delays. Both …

Variable Oxidation & Defects In Ti-6al-4v Material In Electron Beam Melting Additive Manufacturing, Edward Patton Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Powder-based metal in additive manufacturing (AM) is advantageous for rapid prototyping of parts and components, with the benefit of reusing powder to reduce production costs. A common driver in the aerospace industry is free-form complex geometries which can be created using CAD software to optimize specifications with strength-to-weight ratios in components. Weight optimization of aircraft components using additive manufacturing reduces material, which significantly reduces production cost in comparison to cast and wrought metallic products. Large biomedical and aerospace industries heavily invest in feedstock metal powders that have low density under structural stresses and high temperatures, resulting in superior resistance to …

Simulation Of Sic Mosfet Power Converters, Mustafa Nameer Albadri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses the use of wide bandgap devices (SiC-MOSFET) in the design and implementation of various power converters (Push-pull inverter, Buck converter). Different parameters and scenarios were discussed and implemented for both silicon and silicon carbide MOSFET cases. A comparison between same circuits is done using silicon in the first case and silicon carbide MOSFET was implemented under the same conditions and parameters to investigate the silicon carbide MOSFET enhancement to the circuit. The modeling for silicon and silicon carbide MOSFET was created using the spice model provided from leading electronics companies as ROHM, CREE and INFINION. This spice …

Explaining The Performance Of Bidirectional Dijkstra And A* On Road Networks, Sneha Sawlani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The heuristic search community traditionally uses A* as the baseline algorithm for their research methods. Research papers in the road networks community, however, often build upon Dijkstra's algorithm and use Bidirectional Dijkstra's algorithm as their baseline. This thesis investigates the performance of A* and Bidirectional Dijkstra in road networks to see how they compare and to see if there is a principled explanation for the different approaches. Our analysis reveals why Bidirectional Dijkstra can perform well in this domain, but also shows a simple mistake that can be made when building test problems that hurts the performance of A*.

Effect Of Exponential Correlation Model On Spectral And Energy Efficiency For Massive Mimo Systems, Saleh Albdran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During the past few years, the number of wireless devices has been increasing rapidly. Wireless networks are serving and connecting billions of wireless devices where these devices are demanding higher data rate and lower latency to be able to support voice, video and gaming applications. Moreover, the consumed energy by the wireless systems will be increasing. Hence, the Fifth generation (5G) wireless networks needs to provide higher data rate, serve larger number of users simultaneously and be more energy efficient. One of the promising technologies that can meet the above requirements is Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO). The main …

P1: Measuring Wind Using A Hovering Drone Network: Met-Masts On The Go, Mohamad Khattab, Hassan Jaroudi

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

Renewable energy has grown considerably over the past years, with a projected growth of $460 billion per year by 2030. One of these renewable energies is deploying wind turbines to harvest wind energy. Knowledge of wind speed and direction is critical to determine the appropriate site to place wind turbines. The current method of collecting wind data primarily by installing stationary meteorological towers is expensive and limited, because met masts are fixed once built. This research aims at using a network of hovering drones as a platform to measure wind speed, direction, temperature and humidity at multiple elevations, which could …

Convolutional Neural Networks For Predicting Skin Lesions Of Melanoma, Anuruddha Jayasekara Pathiranage

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Diagnosis of an unknown skin lesion is crucial to enable proper treatments. While curable with early diagnosis, only highly trained dermatologists are capable of accurately recognize melanoma skin lesions. Expert dermatologist classification for melanoma dermoscopic images is 65-66%. As expertise is in limited supply, systems that can automatically classify skin lesions as either benign or malignant melanoma are very useful as initial screening tools. Towards this goal, this study presents a convolutional neural network model, trained on features extracted from a highway convolutional neural network pretrained on dermoscopic images of skin lesions. This requires no lesion segmentation nor complex preprocessing. …

Towards Deadline Guaranteed Cloud Storage Services, Guoxin Liu, Haiying Shen, Lei Yu

Publications

More and more organizations move their data and workload to commercial cloud storage systems. However, the multiplexing and sharing of the resources in a cloud storage system present unpredictable data access latency to tenants, which may make online data-intensive applications unable to satisfy their deadline requirements. Thus, it is important for cloud storage systems to provide deadline guaranteed services. In this paper, to meet a current form of service level objective (SLO) that constrains the percentage of each tenant's data access requests failing to meet its required deadline below a given threshold, we build a mathematical model to derive the …

Demisting Using An Ultrasonic Standing Wave Field, T. M. Merrell, John Saylor

Publications

Removing drops from an air flow can be challenging, particularly, for small drops. Herein a method for demisting is presented that employs ultrasonics to force small drops to combine. Specifically, a cylindrical ultrasonic standing wave field is established in a tube, forming pressure nodes that take the form of cylinders located within the tube and having the same axis as the tube. Droplets are driven toward these pressure nodes by the acoustic radiation force, forcing smaller drops to combine to form larger drops, which eventually fall due to gravity, thereby demisting the flow. Experiments presented herein show that, for the …

Exercise - Choose A Manager To Learn Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis - University Of Colorado Boulder, Joseph Kasprzyk

All ECSTATIC Materials

A prompt for an in-class exercise, so that students can learn basic principles of multi-criteria decision analysis. The ideal place for this exercise is to have it before the formal lecture of multi-criteria decision analysis. The students will start to gain an intuitive understanding of how to transform preferences to scores, how to weight the metrics, and how to make a final decision.

Water Resource Systems And Management (Spring 2017) - University Of Colorado Boulder, Joseph Kasprzyk

All ECSTATIC Materials

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Reservoir Analysis - University Of Colorado Boulder, Joseph Kasprzyk

All ECSTATIC Materials

Introduction to reservoirs, lecture from Water Resource Systems and Management (Spring 2017), University of Colorado Boulder. By Joseph Kasprzyk. Learning goals include (i) introducing what a reservoir is, (ii) apply control volume and conservation of mass principles to analyze storage in natural lakes and reservoirs (iii) calculate required storage size for reservoirs using basic techniques (iv) define reservoir terms including safe yield and critical period (v) discuss dam building trends in the US and globally.