Engineering Commons^™

Enhancing Productivity By Using Building Information Modeling Applications In Pipeline Construction Projects, Harsha Vardhan Reddy Guduru Penusila

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a technology and associated set of processes to produce, communicate, and analyze building models. BIM is a new concept within the construction industry. The objective of this thesis is to utilize BIM in pipeline construction projects as one of the pioneering steps to reduce rework and delays due to unforeseen conditions. This thesis presents evaluation and recommendations to help pipeline construction industry’s transition from traditional two-dimensional drawings to a BIM management process aiding owners and contractors to develop and implement a basic form of BIM technique to manage their projects. This thesis uses two pipeline …

Enhanced Seismic Performance Of Special Truss Moment Frames And Staggered Truss Framing System For Seismically Active Areas, Sanputt Simasathien

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Due to their ability to achieve large column-free floor spaces, special truss moment frames (STMFs) and staggered truss frames (STFs) are unique valuable options for structural engineers. However, although STMFs and STFs offer a wide range of structural, architectural, and economical benefits, limited research data is available on the seismic performance of these systems. STMF system is a relatively new type of steel framing system for use in high seismic areas. STMFs dissipate earthquake energy through ductile special segments located near the mid-span of the truss girders, while the other members outside the special segment, including truss members, columns, and …

Investigation Of Strength-Enhancement Mechanism And Size Effect On Ultimate Shear Strength Of Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (Sfrc) Slender Beams, Mohammad Reza Zarrinpour

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

This research study consists of two separate phases. In the first phase, an experimental study was conducted to identify the shear-enhancement and failure mechanisms behind the ultimate shear strength of steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) slender beams by utilizing the full field deformation measuring capability of digital image correlation (DIC) technology. A total of 12 large-scale simply supported SFRC and RC beams with a range of heights including 12 in. (305 mm), 18 in. (457 mm), 24 in. (610 mm), 36 in. (915 mm), and 48 in. (1220 mm) were tested under monotonic point load. The greater shear strength in SFRC …

Particle Image Velocimetry Design & Installation, Zach Ritchie

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This work will mainly focus on the design, construction, and installation of the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system in the Chemical Hazards Research Center wind tunnel. The PIV system utilizes a Class IV (double pulsed) laser, optics to produce a light sheet, timing circuitry, and a high-resolution camera (with buffered output) to measure a system’s velocity (two-dimensional) field by determining the displacement of particles over the time between laser pulses. For maximum mobility and functionality, the PIV system was installed in the center of the tunnel on a moveable cart with the laser and camera mounted to an adjustable support. …

Manipulating The K-Space For Reduction Of Respiratory Induced Motion Artifacts, Maida Ranjbar

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Respiratory induced motion artifacts, particularly those occurring in the abdomen and lung, pose a hefty problem in current diagnostic MR imaging. Application of images plagued with such artifacts not only hinder diagnosis, but may result in the enforcement of undesirably large safety margins in radiation therapy due to un-captured tumor characteristics that are concealed by the artifact. While several methods such as gated scans, breath-hold scans, variation of the K-Space acquisition trajectory, and reducing the scan time via partial acquisition or parallel imaging have been proposed as a solution, a robust and yet simple to implement remedy still remains to …

Using Ceramic Waste Powder In Producing Self-Compacting Concrete, Sama Tarek Sayed Taha

Civil and Environmental Theses

Self-compacted (i.e. consolidated) concrete (SCC) is a special type of concrete that represents a great advancement towards a better quality of sustainable concrete. This unique type is known for its high flowability and superior levels of surface finish without tendency for segregation. The inherited distinct features can be achieved by the addition of high powder content as filler (i.e. size < 0. 125 mm) in the concrete mixture. The filler enhances the rheological properties of the SCC mixture without the need for using higher cement contents and hence, reduces the cost and heat of hydration. Lately, various regulating measures were imposed by governments and environmental organizations all over the world to seize the negative impact on the ecosystem resulting from huge amounts of solid waste materials being dumped in landfills causing major environmental problems. As a result, the utilization of alternative industrial waste constituents in construction materials has been the research focus for many years to evaluate their competence in SCC industry, and their feasibility as filler materials. In this study, ceramic waste powder (CWP) produced during the polishing process of ceramic tiles will be particularly investigated. Fresh and hardened tests are conducted to evaluate the influence of CWP on the rheological and mechanical properties of SCC mixtures. It was concluded that CWP can be used to successfully produce SCC mixtures with improved fresh and hardened properties. The inclusion of CWP up to 200 kg/m³ in SCC mixtures resulted in denser compacted mixtures with low permeability characteristics and high strength values. In addition to enhanced segregation resistance with good deformability and passing abilities for the mixtures under their own weight. The successful completion of …

Conversion Of Digital Circuits Labs, Caleb N. Taber

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The engineering technology department at ETSU currently lacks a modern method to teach digital circuits. The aim of this thesis is to convert our current digital circuits labs to equivalent labs suited to run on the Basys 3. The Basys has several advantages over the aging NI Elvis boards (and now just breadboards) currently in use. The first advantage is that the Basys gives students a taste of FPGA programming without being overwhelmingly; like the systems currently in place for the digital signal processing class. The Basys is also a more modern system; our current integrated circuit and breadboard system …

Genotoxicity Of Graphene In Escherichia Coli, Ananya Sharma

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rapid advances in nanotechnology necessitate assessment of the safety of nanomaterials in the resulting products and applications. One key nanomaterial attracting much interest in many areas of science and technology is graphene. Graphene is a one atom thick carbon allotrope arranged in a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice. In addition to being extremely thin, graphene has several extraordinary physical properties such as its exceptional mechanical strength, thermal stability, and high electrical conductivity. Graphene itself is relatively chemically inert and therefore pristine graphene must undergo a process called functionalization, which is combination of chemical and physical treatments that change the properties of graphene, …

A Tabu Search, Augment-Merge Heuristic To Solve The Stochastic Location Arc Routing Problem, Tiffany L. Yang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The location arc routing problem (LARP) is a network optimization problem combining strategic facility location decisions and tactical or operational vehicle routing decisions for customer demand located on arcs of a network. The LARP seeks to locate facilities, or depots, and create vehicle delivery routes to minimize costs. The total cost is comprised of three components: fixed facility locations costs, fixed route creation (or vehicle acquisition) costs, and variable arc traversal costs. The applications of the LARP are varied and often include public services such as mail delivery, garbage collection, and street sweeping. In all of these applications, the magnitude …

Maximizing Orc Performance With Optimal Match Of Working Fluid With System Design, Kirtipal Barse, Michael Mann

Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications

This article compares constrained system design to non-constrained system design for the basic Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC). The 12 working fluids studied include eight dry-type, three isentropic, and one wet-type fluids. The ORC model was developed using Aspen HYSYS® and validated with data obtained from the literature. The constrained design compared the performance of working fluids for a fixed heat exchanger and turbine configuration. A non-constrained design was studied by altering the design specifications for the heat exchangers and turbine to match the working fluid. An energy and exergy analysis was performed using first and second law efficiency. The exergy …

Reinforcement Learning Framework For Modeling Spatial Sequential Decisions Under Uncertainty: (Extended Abstract), Truc Viet Le, Siyuan Liu, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We consider the problem of trajectory prediction, where a trajectory is an ordered sequence of location visits and corresponding timestamps. The problem arises when an agent makes sequential decisions to visit a set of spatial locations of interest. Each location bears a stochastic utility and the agent has a limited budget to spend. Given the agent's observed partial trajectory, our goal is to predict the remaining trajectory. We propose a solution framework to the problem considering both the uncertainty of utility and the budget constraint. We use reinforcement learning (RL) to model the underlying decision processes and inverse RL to …

Wireless Voice Amplification Device For Weak Patients, Daniel Alexander Johnson

Honors Theses

Abstract – One problem that nurses and doctors face when treating a very weak patient is difficulty of communication. Sometimes patients become so weak that they are barely able to speak above a whisper without completely exerting themselves. Often nurses will have to put their ear directly in front of a patient’s mouth in order to hear what the patient is saying over the ambient noise in a hospital room. This becomes an even bigger problem when several patients are together in a single room and the ambient noise levels rise. One way to solve this problem would be to …

Direct Band Gap Gallium Antimonide Phosphide (Gasbxp1-X) For Solar Fuels., Harry Benjamin Russell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Photoelectrochemical water splitting has been identified as a promising route for achieving sustainable energy future. However, semiconductor materials with the appropriate optical, electrical and electrochemical properties have yet to be discovered. In search of an appropriate semiconductor to fill this gap, GaSbP, a semiconductor never tested for PEC performance is proposed here and investigated. Density functional theory (DFT+U) techniques were utilized to predict band gap and band edge energetics for GaSbP alloys with low amount of antimony. The overall objective of this dissertation is to understand the suitability of GaSb_xP_1-x alloys for photoelectrochemical water splitting application. Specifically, …

Effects Of Noise, Reverberation And Foreign Accent On Native And Non-Native Listeners’ Performance Of English Speech Comprehension, Zhao Ellen Peng, Lily M. Wang

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

A large number of non-native English speakers may be found in American classrooms, both as listeners and talkers. Little is known about how this population comprehends speech in realistic adverse acoustical conditions. A study was conducted to investigate the effects of background noise level (BNL), reverberation time (RT), and talker foreign accent on native and non-native listeners' speech comprehension, while controlling for English language abilities. A total of 115 adult listeners completed comprehension tasks under 15 acoustic conditions: three BNLs (RC-30, RC-40, and RC-50) and five RTs (from 0.4 to 1.2 s). Fifty-six listeners were tested with speech from native …

Design Of Three-Dimensional Near-Zero Refractive Index Metamaterials, David Flores Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Near-zero refractive index metamaterials exhibit remarkable electromagnetic properties which can and will be applied in the near future. From the known methods of achieving near-zero refractive index, this work primarily focuses on the design of 3D metamaterials whose permittivity and permeability are both close to zero while maintaining relatively low loss factor. The design of the metamaterials is based on the chiral shape “omega” and designed to weave periodically as a fishnet. Theoretical analysis, computer modeling and simulation are steps taken in the design of metamaterials. A computational tool based on the robust method for effective parameter extraction is successfully …

Multimodal Transportation Planning Curriculum For Urban Planning Programs, Kristine M. Williams, Tia Claridge, Alexandria Carroll

TREC Final Reports

Integrated multimodal transportation and land use planning is critical to advancing mode choice, public health and safety, and livability objectives. Communities across the U.S. are seeking to redefine their planning process accordingly. In response, university graduate urban planning and engineering programs are beginning to address multimodal planning and sustainable transportation, but most do not yet offer a robust curriculum on these topics. To help address this need, the University of South Florida (USF), Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) developed a curriculum for a course on multimodal transportation planning and its role in advancing livability and related objectives. The course …

Advanced Gis: Smart Transportation, Christopher Bone, Ken Kato, Jacob Bartruff, Marc Schlossberg

TREC Final Reports

As sensors have become cheaper and more common, they have found an increasingly important role in transportation. However, curriculum to prepare students who will be working with these technologies as developers and planners has not developed at the same rate. The goal of this project was to develop a college course focused around sensors and smart transportation to be offered to undergrad and graduate students at the University of Oregon. The class focused on the practical application and the theoretical consequences of these developments. The class was offered in the spring term of 2015 to a group of undergraduate and …

Design Of A Folding V-Scraper With Roller For Orchard Applications, Chase Ulrich

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design of a folding 15 ft. wide leveler for orchard use. This design utilized a category 2 three-point hitch to connect the implement to a tractor. The folding mechanism uses the tractors hydraulic system to actuate the folding movement using hydraulic cylinders. The blades, when wings in operational position, are rigid with one another after some assembly. When the implement is folded the width is reduced to nine feet.

Design, Construction, And Evaluation Of Off-Road Rock Sliders, Jake M. Freedman

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project describes the design, fabrication, and evaluation of off-road rock sliders which can be used with Toyota Tacoma trucks of model year 2005-2012. Rock sliders are a form of trail armor and are a common aftermarket addition to trucks that are often used in off-road conditions. Rock sliders, in their simplest form, consist of a steel beam (either tubular or rectangular) that runs underneath the doors of the vehicle providing protection to the undercarriage, rocker panels, and doors as well as reducing the likelihood of becoming stuck or “high-centered” on the underside of the vehicle. The sliders will …

Agroecosystem And Ecosystem Resiliency To Extreme Hydrometeorological And Climate Events, Katherine M. Werner

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to understand how a large-scale representation of agroecosystems and ecosystems respond to extreme hydrometeorological and climate extreme events (EHCE) within the Platte River Basin. The ability for agroecosystems and ecosystems to adapt to a changing and variable climate is vital for global water, energy, and food security. Two model experiments were performed, the first with a time span from 2000 to 2013 in which a dynamic leaf area index (LAI) MODIS15A2 product was implemented. The second experiment ran from 1950 through 2013 used a climatological fixed seasonal cycle calculated as the average from the …

Concise Handbook For Temporary Traffic Control - Construction, Maintenance, And Utility Operations, Indiana Ltap, Ohio Department Of Transportation

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Publications

This handbook gives the basic principles and provides examples for the design, application, installation, and maintenance of the various types of traffic control devices used in temporary traffic control or for incident management. Traffic control in roundabouts has been included in this version. The guidelines presented are in accordance with the standards provided within the Indiana Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices (IMUTCD). This handbook is based upon one created by the Ohio Department of Transportation, Guidelines for Traffic Control in Work Zones. Indiana LTAP expresses thanks to ODOT for their permission to reprint this material.

Drinking Water: Hard Water (Calcium And Magnesium), Sharon O. Skipton, Bruce I. Dvorak

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Hard water isn’t a health hazard but can be a nuisance within the home. Learn how to test water, interpret the results, and choose a treatment.

Water described as “hard” contains high amounts of dissolved calcium and magnesium. Hard water is not a health risk but can be a nuisance because of mineral buildup on plumbing fixtures and poor soap and/or detergent performance.

Water is a good solvent and picks up impurities easily. As water moves through soil and rock, it dissolves very small amounts of minerals and holds them in solution. Dissolved calcium and magnesium are the two most …

Drinking Water Treatment: Salt-Free Water “Softener” Options, Bruce I. Dvorak

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

New no-salt technologies may be effective in treating hard water, but consumers should carefully investigate product claims prior to buying a specific treatment device.

Hard water is not a health risk, but many Nebraska consumers find hard water to be a nuisance because of mineral buildup on plumbing fixtures, including water heaters; unsightly film on glass and crystal wares; and poor soap and/or detergent performance. Water described as “hard” contains high amounts of dissolved calcium and magnesium, which are positively charged contaminants called cations.

Water hardness often is expressed as grains of hardness per gallon of water (gpg) or milligrams …

Micro-Ct Inspection Of Impact Damage In Carbon/Epoxy Rods, Lindsey Charlene Cahoon

Theses and Dissertations

Various configurations of unidirectional carbon/epoxy composite rods were impacted radially, inspected using micro-CT scanning equipment, and tested in axial compression to measure the residual strength after impact. This data was used to correlate the relationship between impact energy, residual strength, and the peak crack area and total crack volume along the length of the specimens. These specimens represent local members of open three-dimensional composite lattice structures (e.g., based on isogrid or IsoTruss® geometries) that are continuously fabricated using advanced three-dimensional braiding techniques. The specimens were radially impacted with 2.5 J (1.9 ft-lbs), 5.0 J (3.7 ft-lbs), 7.5 J (5.6 ft-lbs), …

Multiphoton Imaging Of Labeled Breast Cancer Cells To Quantify Intra And Extracellular Receptors, Sydney C. Wiggins

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Every year 200,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer. Of the cases diagnosed, 10% -15% are classified as triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) due to the absence of estrogen, progesterone, and HER-2/Neu receptors. This breast cancer sub-type is markedly more aggressive and twice as likely to develop in premenopausal women. TNBC is resistant to endocrine therapies and current targeted agents, making clinical need for the development of validated therapeutics for TNBC a pressing matter. To initiate drug development, the internalization of directly immunolabeled epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) in SK-BR-3 human breast adenocarcinoma cells was quantitated …

Immunomodulation Of Breast Cancer Cells For Whole Tumor Vaccination, Kristina G. Maxwell

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hematogenous metastasis causes 90% of breast cancer-related deaths.Current therapies include chemotherapy and irradiation following surgery. These therapies are very harmful to the human body and do not elicit an anti-tumor immune response. To create a novel therapeutic, an autologous vaccine increasing the immunogenicity of non immunogenic breast cancer cell lines has been proposed.

To create this vaccine, 4T1 mouse mammary breast cancer cells have been selected as the desired cell line to treat. They are non immunogenic and highly invasive. In order to increase their immunogenicity, first projected, was the addition of cytokines to 4T1 cells to increase the expression …

Local Delivery Of Ctla-4 Blockade Inhibits Growth Of Pancreatic Tumors, Jack Baltz

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Immune checkpoint blockade has demonstrated great potential in activating antitumor immunity. Ipilimumab is a monoclonal antibody which targets cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4. CTLA-4 belongs to the CD28 class of receptors and is found on the surface of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells. CTLA-4 acts to suppress the immune system when bound to CD80 and CD86 receptors on antigen presenting cells. Ipilimumab, or anti-CTLA-4, has shown to be effective in significantly extending the survival of patients with metastatic melanoma. However, systemic delivery of Ipilimumab also induces significant side effects such as: colitis, dermatitis, uveitis, and hypophysitis. In order to minimize …

Intravital Microscopy Of Tumor Oxygenation And Glycolytic Demand, Jesse D. Ivers

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

There is growing concern about the over treatment of cancer because treatments are based primarily on tumor anatomy. In this study, we aim to begin the process of addressing that issue by developing an intravital technique for optically analyzing tumor biology. Two traits were identified as having significant importance in the aggression of a tumor, vascular oxygenation (SO2) and glycolytic demand. Dorsal skin flap window chambers were implanted and 4T1 and 67NR cancer cells were injected to provide a tumor model for the development of this intravital quantification technique. This study provides a detailed protocol from instrumentation setup to surgical …

Customization Of Titanate Nanofiber Bioscaffolds, Jared Hopkins

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the field of orthopedic devices implant loosening is a major issue resulting in the majority of device failures. These failures result in the need for costly secondary procedures. To reduce device loosening an improved method of tissue anchoring is required. A previously studied titanate nanofiber bioscaffold has been shown to be safely implantable and to contribute to the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to osteocytes. Through the customization of both physical and chemical characteristics this titanate nanofiber bioscaffold was fabricated as a potential means to enhance tissue anchoring for use with orthopedic devices. This customization was enabled by acoustic …

Effect Of Impact Angle On Astrocyte Gene Expression, Nicholas A. Chavis

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Over one million people each year experience some form of traumatic brain injury. Every individual’s injury is different as impacts can affect different parts of the brain in various ways. This study was conducted to test the impact angles effect on astrocytes by measuring gene expression of TNF- alpha, an inflammation marker, and GFAP, a gene released in response to reactive astrocytes, following impacts from 0, 45, and 90 degrees. Results were recorded from Polymerase Chain Reaction via the delta delta Ct method and compared to the control group for to show under-regulation or up- regulation of the genes of …