Engineering Commons^™

Continued Development Of A Non-Proprietary, High-Tension, Cable End Terminal System, Jennifer D. Schmidt, Robert W. Bielenberg, John D. Reid, Ronald K. Faller

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

A non-proprietary, cable guardrail system is currently under development for the Midwest States Pooled Fund Program. A cable guardrail end terminal was necessary to accompany the cable guardrail system. The objective of this research project was to develop design recommendations for the cable end terminal. Bogie testing that was previously completed on a design concept indicated delayed cable release, which was an undesired performance that led to vehicle instabilities. Several design changes were recommended for better end terminal performance and to reflect the changes made to the cable median barrier. An LS-DYNA model of the modified cable end terminal was …

Hydrogeological Conceptual Model Of La Villa River Watershed, Republic Of Panama, Maria G. Castrellon Romero

Honors Scholar Theses

Groundwater in Panama is a valuable and poorly understood resource. Its exploitation has increased 75% in the past decade, reaching a total value of 700,000 m³/day or 185 million gallons per day (MGD). Climate change has caused a lengthening of the dry season, which has reduced precipitation and streamflow, resulting in surface water scarcity during this period. Nevertheless, it has not been possible to determine the extent to which groundwater sources have been affected by these factors since systematic monitoring of groundwater levels has not been implemented in Panama. With support from National Institution of Drinking Water Supply …

Pulmonary Primary Blast Injuries, Moe Uddin

Honors Scholar Theses

Primary underwater explosions are particularly dangerous because of the water properties relative to air, and the resulting pathologies presents difficulty in determining their etiologies. The whole body is affected by the blast wave and the survivor is considered a trauma patient. The exact mechanism of injury is not well understood. In the literature, there are inconsistencies between the explosive and the resulting outcome of the experimental animals. Primary lung blast injuries is the leading cause of mortality in underwater explosions and this explores the different pathologies, symptoms, and treatments that are currently available.

Mechanical Engineering News, Georgia Southern University

Mechanical Engineering: News & Publications (2013-2023)

• Dr. Mitra Honored by PLTW

Effects Of Vocal Fold Nodules On Glottal Cycle Measurements Derived From High-Speed Videoendoscopy In Children, Rita R. Patel, Harikrishnan Unnikrishnan, Kevin D. Donohue

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The goal of this study is to quantify the effects of vocal fold nodules on vibratory motion in children using high-speed videoendoscopy. Differences in vibratory motion were evaluated in 20 children with vocal fold nodules (5–11 years) and 20 age and gender matched typically developing children (5–11 years) during sustained phonation at typical pitch and loudness. Normalized kinematic features of vocal fold displacements from the mid-membranous vocal fold point were extracted from the steady-state high-speed video. A total of 12 kinematic features representing spatial and temporal characteristics of vibratory motion were calculated. Average values and standard deviations (cycle-to-cycle variability) of …

Usu Engineering Students Take Top 3 In Human-Powered Vehicle Race | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

April 28, 2016 – Mechanical engineering undergraduates from Utah State University landed several top-three awards earlier this week at a human-powered vehicle competition in California.

Two USU teams entered the Human Powered Vehicle Challenge (HPVC) with their custom designed three-wheeled cycles, going up against long-running champions including Cal-State, Northridge and University of California-Berkley. The race was April 22-24 in San Jose.

Special Issue: Electrocatalyst And Electrocatalysis In Fuel Cells Preface, Zi-Dong Wei

Journal of Electrochemistry

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Recent Progress In Non-Precious Metal Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalysts With An Encapsulation Structure, Mei-Ling Xiao, Jian-Bing Zhu, Chang-Peng Liu, Jun-Jie Ge, Wei Xing

Journal of Electrochemistry

Platinum-based materials, the state-of-the-art catalysts for fuel cells, suffer from prohibitive costs, limited resources and insufficient durability. Accordingly, tremendous efforts were made in searching for efficient, durable and inexpensive alternatives to precious-metal electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Transition-metals (Fe, Co)/nitrogen co-doped hybrids, heteroatom (N, P, S, F, et al) doped carbons and composites with transition-metals encapsulated in graphitic layers are reported as the most efficient non-precious metal ORR catalysts. Among the various non-precious metal ORR catalysts, transition-metals encased in graphitic layer catalysts are a novel type of catalysts for ORR with high activity and durability, and thus, the …

Dynamic Simulation Of Oxygen Reduction Reaction In Pt/C Electrode For Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Shang Li, Fen Zhou, Lei Chen, Mu Pan

Journal of Electrochemistry

It is an urgent need to reduce the Pt loading in electrode for practical fuel cell applications worldwide. Herein, we theoretically investigate the oxygen distribution, generated current, and minimum Pt loading of Pt/C electrode for practical applications based on kinetic model of oxygen reduction reaction. The results indicate that with increasing electrode effective thickness to 40 mm, serious concentration polarization is expected for Pt/C electrode. To generate a power density of 1.4 W⋅cm^-2 (2.1A⋅cm^-2@0.67 V) for fuel cell, the cathode catalyst layer thickness in PEMFC should be as thin as 3 mm. The minimum Pt loading will …

Multi-Scaled Carbon Supported Platinum As A Stable Electrocatalyst For Oxygen Reduction Reaction, Yu-Ping Li, Lu-Hua Jiang, Su-Li Wang, Gong-Quan Sun

Journal of Electrochemistry

The stability of carbon supports is essential for electrocatalysts of fuel cells. Herein, the mesoporous carbon with the high graphitic degree (highly graphitic mesoporous carbon, HGMC) was synthesized by using resorcinol as the carbon precursor, SiO₂ as the templates and urea as the reducing agent. The as-prepared HGMC was characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, TEM, N2 adsorption. The stability of HGMC was evaluated by mimicking the start-up/shut-down conditions of fuel cells in a three-electrode system referring to the NREL standard. The obtained HGMC is of moderate surface area (187.4 m²•g^-1) and is chemically stable under …

Recycling Mf Solid Waste Into Mesoporous Nitrogen-Doped Carbon With Iron Carbide Complex In Graphitic Layers As An Efficient Catalyst For Oxygen Reduction Reaction, Can-Yun Zhao, Lin Huang, Yong You, Ying-Fang Yao, Xiao-Gang Su, Hong Wan, Jian-Guo Liu, Cong-Ping Wu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Nitrogen-doped carbon materials with iron ions are known as catalytic growth agents for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells, but the design and synthesis of high-performance and low-cost catalysts still remain a significant challenge. Herein, we present a cost-effective approach to dispose of MF solid waste as the precursor for the synthesis of MCFes catalyst with the favorable structure features such as the high specific surface area, abundant active sites and suitable pore structure. The results showed that the MCFe-10/10/2 had specific surface area as high as 780.7 m²•g^-1 and high efficient catalytic activity comparable …

Recent Progresses In Molybdenum-Based Electrocatalysts For The Hydrogen Evolution Reaction, Ze-Xing Wu, Jie Wang, Jun-Po Guo, Jing Zhu, De-Li Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Electrochemical catalytic production of hydrogen has been considered as a promising and sustainable strategy for clean and renewable energy technologies. Molybdenum-based non noble metal catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction have attracted extensive attention due to its effective catalytic performance. In this review, the recent progresses in molybdenum-carbide, phosphide, nitride and sulfide electrocatalysts are presented. In addition, the strategies to improve the catalytic performance are analyzed and the prospects for the future development trends are expected.

Rambling Between "Zhong Yong" And "Catalysis", Zi-Dong Wei

Journal of Electrochemistry

“Zhong Yong” represents a traditional Chinese wisdom, which was first proposed by Confucius and continuously richened by his followers. “Zhong Yong” pursues the balances among all kinds of contradictions, and insists that neither “too much” nor “not enough” is good. For a successful catalyst, on which the adsorption of reactants must be not so strong and not so weak either. On this point of view, there are the same pursuits for “Zhong Yong” and catalysis. In this paper, the author starts his story with a conversation between Confucius and his student, followed by 3 interesting stories happening in the ancient …

High Power Rocket Design Report, Laura E. Calcara, Monica Fernandez, Chris Green, Trent Hosokawa

Honors Thesis

Highpower rockets are extremely sensitive systems that require precise planning, testing, and analysis in order to yield accurate results. Under the guidance of project advisor, Dan Larson, a highpower rocket was designed and built to reach an apogee of 3000 feet. Additionally, means of dual deployment was used in order to aid in the safe descent and recovery of the rocket. In order to meet this expectation, two parachutes were used in conjunction with black powder ejection charges. Compliance with the safety standards of NAR and NFPA was met for the ejection system used in dual deployment. To ensure that …

Synthesis Of Structurally Ordered Platinum-Iron Catalysts With Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity, Ye-Zheng Cai, Ming-Chuan Luo, Fang-Hui Wang, Zhao-Nan Sun, Hong Zhu

Journal of Electrochemistry

To improve oxygen reduction reaction catalytic activity of the precious metals platinum for fuel cell, the precursors of carbon-supported structurally disordered platinum-iron alloy (D-Pt₃Fe/C and D-PtFe/C) catalysts with different compositions were synthesized via a modified polyol reduction method. Then, by optimizing the annealing conditions in the inert gas, we turned the structurally disordered platinum-iron alloy to the structurally ordered platinum-iron alloy (O-Pt₃Fe/C and O-PtFe/C) catalysts. The structural characterizations of the as-prepared catalysts were performed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results …

Syntheses Of Carbon Paper Supported High-Index Faceted Pt Nanoparticles And Their Performance In Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cells, Long Huang, Mei Zhan, Yu-Cheng Wang, Yan-Fen Lin, Shuo Liu, Ting Yuan, Hui Yang, Shi-Gang Sun

Journal of Electrochemistry

Direct formic acid fuel fuels (DFAFCs) are promising energy source for portable electronic devices. Palladium (Pd) is more active than platinum (Pt) for the formic acid electrooxidation. However, the stability of Pd is much poorer than that of Pt. Unfortunately, the ultra-low natural abundance of the Pt makes it extremely expensive and limits its application as a fuel cell catalyst. Boosting both the activity and stability of Pt nanoparticles to enhance their efficiency is urgent. As previous works illustrated, nanoparticles enclosed with high-index facets usually bare a higher activity toward fuel cell related reactions than those nanoparticles with low-index facet. …

Preparation And Performance Of 3d Graphene Type Porous Carbon Employing Nano Fe(Oh)3 As Template For Oxygen Reduction Catalyst, Chong-Yun Sun, Zhong-Fang Li, Xue-Wei Lu, Xi-Zhan Zhong, Yu-Rong Liu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The 3D graphene type porous carbon was prepared using coal tar pitch as carbon source and nano Fe(OH)₃ as template. Optimal conditions for the catalytic oxygen reduction performance were determined as: the mass ratio of coal tar, nano Fe(OH)₃ and KOH is 6:8:4; the pyrolysis temperature is 800 ^oC. SEM images show that the products have uniformly porous structure. TEM images demonstrate that the products are porous with foam shapes. HRTEM images further indicate that the products have formed several-layers 3D graphene structure, which are also supported by XRD and Raman data, and the pore size mainly …

Mini-Review: Possible Applications Of Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy (Secm) In Characterizations Of Oxygen Reduction Reaction And Oxygen Evolution Reaction, Xing-Xing Chen

Journal of Electrochemistry

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) has been proved to be a unique technique for combinatorial screening of localized phenomena for different electrocatalysts potentially used in new energy conversion and storage systems. This mini-review provides a brief summary of different SECM working modes, such as direct mode, feedback mode, generation-collection mode, redox competition mode and noise mode, which are especially applied for characterizing the oxygen reactions. Particularly, a series of important development in SECM screening of electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction from the author and W. Schuhmann’s group in Germany has been highlighted and overviewed. Finally, some prospects …

Preparation Parameters Optimization And Electrocatalytic Properties Of Supported Au Nanoparticles, Rui Yao, Yu-Jiang Song, Huan-Qiao Li, Jia Li, Jian-Guo Liu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Due to interesting size effect, physical and chemical properties, nano-scale gold materials have been commonly used to catalytic reactions. However, the application of gold nanomaterials in the field of electrocatalysis is limited. Herein, we report the synthesis of gold nanparticles supported on carbon through chemical reduction of HAuCl₄ by NaBH₄ under mild conditions in the presence of surfactants as soft templates, carbon black or graphene as a support. We investigated a series of key reaction parameters, including reagent concentration, temperature, the types of carbon supports and surfactants. With the optimum synthetic parameters, we successfully obtained supported 1 ~ …

Nitrogen, Fluorine Co-Doped Silk-Derived Carbon For Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction With High Performance In Alkaline Solution, Fang-Fang Liu, Hong-Liang Peng, Shi-Jun Liao

Journal of Electrochemistry

A high-performance, doped carbon-based catalyst was synthesized by pyrolyzing hydrothermally treated silkworm cocoon. The effects of preparation conditions and fluorine promotion on various catalysts’ performance were investigated. The catalyst prepared under optimal conditions and doped with nitrogen and fluorine possessed the high specific surface area of more than 1000 m^2⋅g^-1 and contained 3.5 and 7.3% (by mass, the same below) N and F, respectively. The activity of the catalyst toward oxygen reduction reaction in an alkaline medium was comparable to that of commercial Pt/C, showing both superior tolerance to methanol poisoning and better durability. Doping with fluorine …

Enterprise Network Design And Implementation For Airports, Ashraf H. Ali

Information Technology Master Theses

The aim of this project was airports network design and implementation and the introduction of a suitable network for most airports around the world. The following project focused on three main parts: security, quality, and safety. The project has been provided with different utilities to introduce a network with a high security level for the airport. These utilities are hardware firewalls, an IP access control list, Mac address port security, a domain server and s proxy server. All of these utilities have been configured to provide a secure environment for the entire network and to prevent hackers from entering sensitive …

Development Of Cubelab For Plant Microgravity Research, Sara N. Phillips

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of Science and Technology Morehead State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Sara N. Phillips on April 27, 2016.

Engineering Phd Student Wins Awra Competition | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

April 27, 2016 — Civil and environmental engineering and Water Lab PhD student Ayman Alafifi won first place in theAmerican Water Resources Association Utah Chapter student paper competition on April 13.

He received the award for his research work, "Systems Modeling to Improve River and Riparian Habitat Quality." The presentation was given at the Utah Division of Water Resources offices in Salt Lake City.

Civil Engineering And Construction News, Georgia Southern University

Civil Engineering & Construction: News & Publications (2011-2022)

• 2015 Newsletter – Dr. Mike Jackson
• 4th Annual CM Guild Clay Shoot & CECM Senior Banquet

Ubisol-Q10 Prevents Glutamate-Induced Cell Death By Blocking Mitochondrial Fragmentation And Permeability Transition Pore Opening, Santosh Kumari, Suresh L. Mehta, Gaolin Z. Milledge, Xinyu Huang, P Andy Li

Faculty Publications

Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are the major events that lead to the formation of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) during glutamate-induced cytotoxicity and cell death. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) has widely been used for the treatment of mitochondrial disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. Comparing to traditional lipid-soluble CoQ10, water soluble CoQ10 (Ubisol-Q10) has high intracellular and intra-mitochondrial distribution. The aims of the present study are to determine the neuroprotective effects of Ubisol-Q10 on glutamate-induced cell death and to explore its functional mechanisms. HT22 neuronal cells were exposed to glutamate. Cell viability was measured and mitochondrial fragmentation was assessed by mitochondrial imaging. …

Safety Management Analysis For Construction Industry: Statistical Process Control (Spc) Approach, Zhenpeng Liu

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of Business and Technology Morehead State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Zhenpeng Liu on April 26, 2016.

Evaluation Of Alternative Implementation Methods Of Failure Sampling Approach For Structural Reliability Analysis, Kapil Patki, Christopher D. Eamon

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research Publications

In this paper, several alternative approaches are used to implement the failure sampling method for structural reliability analysis and are evaluated for effectiveness. Although no theoretical limitation exists as to the types of problems that failure sampling can solve, the method is most competitive for problems that cannot be accurately solved with reliability index-based approaches and for which simulation is needed. These problems tend to have non-smooth limit state boundaries or are otherwise highly nonlinear. Results from numerical integration and three extrapolation approaches using the generalized lambda distribution, Johnson's distribution, and generalized extreme value distribution are compared. A variety of …

Engineering Students Attend International Summit: Engineers Without Borders On Un Sustainable Development Goals, Sarah Brockett

Andrews Agenda: Campus News

No abstract provided.

Memory And Information Processing In Recurrent Neural Networks, Alireza Goudarzi, Sarah Marzen, Peter Banda, Guy Feldman, Matthew R. Lakin, Christof Teuscher, Darko Stefanovic

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recurrent neural networks (RNN) are simple dynamical systems whose computational power has been attributed to their short-term memory. Short-term memory of RNNs has been previously studied analytically only for the case of orthogonal networks, and only under annealed approximation, and uncorrelated input. Here for the first time, we present an exact solution to the memory capacity and the task-solving performance as a function of the structure of a given network instance, enabling direct determination of the function-structure relation in RNNs. We calculate the memory capacity for arbitrary networks with exponentially correlated input and further related it to the performance of …

A Study Of Single Scattering Of Scatterer At Various Orientation Angles With Equivalence Principle Algorithm, Chan Fai Lum, Hong Tat Ewe, Fu-Xin, Li (Lijun) Jun Jiang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

It is common that spherical scatterers are used to represent air bubbles or brine inclusions embedded in the snow or sea ice layer. This physical configuration is then solved using radiative transfer theory to obtain backscattering coefficient from the snow or sea ice layer. With the advent of new techniques in computational electromagnetics, the typical theoretical model of single layer of snow or sea ice can be easily extended to consider types of scatterers which are of other shapes or irregular shapes. A computational electromagnetic method based on equivalence principle algorithm can be incorporated into existing theoretical model to calculate …