Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Argon Ion Irradiation Effect On The Magnetic Properties Of Fe-Al2o3 Nano Granular Film, Setyo Purwanto, Isao Sakamoto

Makara Journal of Technology

We studied the effect of Argon (Ar) ion irradiation on Fe-Al2O3 nanogranular thin film. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that the ion dose might promote the growth of the Fe2O3 phase from an amorphous phase to a crystalline phase. The magnetic and magnetoresistance properties were investigated using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and a four point probe (FPP). The results suggest that percolation concentration occurred at the 0.55 Fe volume fraction and with a maximum magnetoresistance (MR) ratio of 3%. The present MR ratio was lower than that of previous results, which might be related to the existence of the …

Digestibility Of Betung Bamboo Fiber Following Fungal Pretreatment, Widya Fatriasari, Wasrin Syafii, Nyoman J. Wistara, Khaswar Syamsu, Bambang Prasetya

Makara Journal of Technology

This research evaluated the effect of fungal pretreatment of betung bamboo fibers and enzymatic- and microwaveassisted hydrolysis on the reducing sugar yield. The enzymatic hydrolysis of the pretreated biomass was carried out with cellulase and 10 and 20 FPU/g of substrate in a shaking incubator at 50 °C and 150 rpm for 48 h. The sulfuric acid concentration used in the microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis was 1.0, 2.5, and 5%, either with or without the addition of activated carbon. Microwave irradiation (330 Watt) was applied for 5–12.5 min. The yield of reducing sugar was better with the microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis, and …

Electron Emission Characteristics Of Multi-Gated Field Emitters, Hidenori Mimura, Yoichiro Neo, Toru Aoki, Tomoya Yoshida, Masayoshi Nagao

Makara Journal of Technology

We have developed a multi-gated field emitter (FE) such as a quadruple-gated FE with a three-stacked electrode lens and a quintuple-gated FE with a four-stacked electrode lens. Both the FEs can focus the electron beam. However, the quintuple-gated FE has a stronger electron convergence than the quadruple-gated FE, and a beam crossover is clearly observed for the quintuple-gated FE.

Properties Of Lignin From Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch And Its Application For Plywood Adhesive, Lucky Risanto, Euis Hermiati, Yanni Sudiyani

Makara Journal of Technology

Lignin from lignocellulosic biomass is a potential biopolymer for wood adhesive. The aims of this study were to characterize lignin isolated from the black liquor of oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber pretreated with steam explosion in alkaline conditions and to examine the bond quality of aqueous polymer isocyanate (API) adhesive prepared from lignin, natural rubber latex (NRL), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as base polymers with isocyanate crosslinkers. Lignin was precipitated from the black liquor by adding hydrochloric acid; then the precipitate was separated by filtration, thoroughly washed with water up to pH 2 and pH 5, and dried. The …

The Gaussian Orthogonal Laplacianfaces Modelling In Feature Space For Facial Image Recognition, Arif Muntasa

Makara Journal of Technology

Dimensionality reduction based on appearance has been interesting issue on the face image research fields. Eigenface and Fisherface are linear techniques based on full spectral features, for both Eigenface and Fisherface produce global manifold structure. Inability of them in yielding local manifold structure have been solved by Laplacianfaces and further improved by Orthogonal Laplacianfaces, so it can yield orthogonal feature vectors. However, they have also a weakness, when training set samples have non-linear distribution. To overcome this weakness, feature extraction through data mapping from input to feature space using Gaussian kernel function is proposed. To avoid singularity, the Eigenface decomposition …

Series-Interconnected Plastic Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Prepared By Low- Temperature Binder-Free Titania Paste, Erlyta Septa Rosa, Lia Muliani, Shobih Shobih, Jojo Hidayat, Brian Yuliarto

Makara Journal of Technology

The aim of this research is to study dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). This was implemented on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate using a mixture of transparent and scattered mesoporous anatase-titania as the electron transport layer for the photoelectrode. This mixture of anatase titania performed a dual function of light scattering and efficient dye absorption. In this study, a porous nano-TiO2 film was prepared on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by using a binder-free titania paste; on it, a DSSC was fabricated. The paste which contained a mixture of TiO2 nanoparticles, acid chloride, and ethanol was printed …

Tracking Dynamic Construction Objects ---A Key Node Modeling Approach Using Color-Depth Cameras, Chenxi Yuan

Open Access Theses

A construction site presents a dynamic scenario. Locations of multiple objects are continuously changing and a lot of objects enter and exit the site in high frequencies. Meanwhile a construction activity consists of a large amount of stochastic operations, many uncertainties occur when making decisions. Believing that detecting, locating and tracking dynamic construction objects in real time improve construction productivity and enhance construction safety, a large number of studies have applied a variety of sensing technologies to construction sites. Hybrid image-point cloud sensing technologies, such as color-depth cameras, have a great potential in achieving real time object recognition and tracking …

Nondestructive Evaluation Of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls With Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave (Fm-Cw) Radar, Mohammad Tayeb Ahmad Ghasr, Yi Bao, Kuang Ying, K. M. Combs, R. Zoughi, Genda Chen

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Effective techniques for a nondestructive evaluation of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls during normal operation or immediately after an earthquake event are yet to be developed. MSE walls often have a rough surface finishing for the purpose of decoration and are reinforced with both horizontal and vertical steel bars. Two wide-band microwave inspection approaches were investigated for detecting and evaluating characteristics of materials behind an MSE wall section. The first approach used spot measurements with a wide-band frequency-modulated continuous wave (FM-CW) radar system. While effective to penetrate through mortar blocks in the laboratory, the radar system was found to have …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2014, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

Ua66 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Newsletter, Cheryl Stevens, Dean

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Publications

No abstract provided.

Dynamic Characteristic Identification Of Seismic-Excited Multi-Story Buildings Through Response-Only Technique, Agung Budipriyanto, Priyo Suprobo

Makara Journal of Technology

Identifying dynamic characteristics of civil engineering structures is still a challenging task. It intends to assess behavior of the structures under time-dependent loads. This paper discusses a methodology suitable for identifying the characteristics of multi-story buildings using only their measured response under earthquake ground excitations. Appropriateness of technique used for structural identification was corroborated through coherence of the structure’s responses. The methodology was applied for identifying the characteristics of 14-story and 20-story office buildings located in a high seismic region. Responses of these two buildings recorded during three different seismic ground motions were investigated. The buildings’ response spectral densities and …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Soy-Based Polyurethane Foam With Utilization Of Ethylene Glycol In Polyol, Flora Elvistia Firdaus

Makara Journal of Technology

The use of vegetable oils on replacing petroleum has attracted attention of many researchers. The chemical structure of vegetable oils are different from petrochemicals, so the structure of soybean oil has to be chemically modified through its unsaturated fatty acid chain in triglyceride. A two step process was conducted for the preparation of soy-polyol in designated temperatures; 50 °C, 60 °C, and 70 °C. Ethylene glycol (EG) as co-reagent was taking part in soy-polyol synthesis, and the soy-polyol was used as a sole polyol for polyurethane synthesis. Referred to the previous study, the existence of EG in polyurethane synthesis can …

Performances Of Free-Space Optical Communication System Over Strong Turbulence, Ucuk Darusalam, Purnomo Sidi Priambodo, Harry Sudibyo, Eko Tjipto Rahardjo

Makara Journal of Technology

We report an experimental of free-space optical communication (FSOC) system that use tube propagation simulator (TPS) as the turbulence medium. The FSOC system use wavelength of 1550 nm at the rate transmission of 1000 Mbps and amplified with EDFA at the output of +23 dBm. Index structure of 10-15–10-13 as the representation of atmosphere index turbulences are used for simulation of intensity distribution model or scintillation. The simulation use gammagamma and K model as well. The beam wave propagation models used in simulation are plane wave, spherical wave and Gaussian wave. Spherical wave achieves highest performance via gamma-gamma in strong …

Preparations Of Nanostructured Silicide Bundles And Oxide Arrays, Hirokazu Tatsuoka, Wen Li, Erchao Meng, Daisuke Ishikwa, Kaito Nakane, Shingo Oda, Tomoji Matsushita, Natsuki Kurebayashi

Makara Journal of Technology

A variety of nanostructured silicide bundles and oxide nanowire arrays with abundant, non-toxic materials we are prepared. The CrSi2 nanowire and Mg2Si/MgO composite nanowire bundles were synthesized using a Si substrate and a SiOx nanofiber bundle, respectively. The hexagonal MoSi2 nanosheet bundles were also synthesized using a MoS2 layered material as a template. In addition, ZnO, CuO/Cu2O and a-Fe2O3 nanowire arrays were prepared on semiconductor or metallic substrates. The growth phenomena and the structural properties of the nanostructured materials awere investigated. In addition, the preparations of axial and radial nanowire structures weare examined.

Bioethanol Production From Iles-Iles And Sorghum Starch As Raw Materials (Effect Of Cacl 2 Addition And Saccharification Time), Kusmiyati Kusmiyati, Ali Mahmudi

Makara Journal of Technology

Bioethanol produced from agricultural sources is one alternative energy that has been developed to substitute for petroleum. However, the use of food sources such as corn and cassava to produce bioethanol still face obstacles that lead to the scarcity of food and an increase in food prices. The aim of this study was to produce bioethanol from sorghum and iles-iles, which are not used by humans as food, especially in Indonesia. For both materials, the variables studied were saccharification time (4, 8, 24, and 48 h) and concentration of CaCl2 added to the liquefaction slurry (0, 100, 200, 300, and …

The Effect Of Zephyr Layer Orientation On Zephyrboard Made From Oil Palm Petiole, Lusita Wardani, Muhamad Yusram Massijaya, Yusuf Sudo Hadi, I Wayan Darmawan

Makara Journal of Technology

It is very important to utilize oil palm petiole for the production of zephyr boards. This study aimed to analyze the effect of layer orientation on zephyr board quality. Zephyr boards were made with three coating patterns (A = cross perpendicular, B= combine A and C, and C= paralell) and five zephyr layers using urea formaldehyde adhesive. They were pressed for 20 min at a pressure of 25 kgf/cm² and a temperature 120 ºC, to a target density of 0.80 g/cm³ and a size of 300 mm X 300 mm X 12 mm. Our results showed that the physical and …

Performance Evaluation Of An Optimized Floating Breakwater In Oblique Waves With A Higher-Order Boundary Element Method, Faisal Mahmuddin, Masashi Kashiwagi

Makara Journal of Technology

In the previous study, the optimal performance of a two-dimensional (2D) floating breakwater shape was obtained. The performance of this shape was also confirmed with a model experiment in a towing tank. Moreover, the shape’s performance in three dimensions (3D) was investigated in a subsequent study. However, to predict the shape’s performance in a real application more accurately, the shape’s characteristics in oblique waves must also be evaluated. In this study, the performance and characteristics of the model (hydrodynamic forces, body motions, wave elevations, and drift forces) are computed using a higher-order boundary element method (HOBEM). The HOBEM, which is …

Hvac System Analysis And Energy Audit: The Providence Athenaeum, Nicholas Farland, Trevor Larson, Justin Taylor, Cameron Wendler, Anthony Ruocco, Janet Baldwin, Arnold Robinson

Engineering and Construction Management

To evaluate the impact of potential modifications to the HVAC system the Historical Value Adding Consultants developed a building energy model. The building energy model was constructed using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that utilizes typical meteorological year (TMY) data to determine the average energy usage of the Athenaeum for a typical year. The model has been validated against actual energy usage and is used to identify and quantify energy savings resulting from design alternatives.

Timoshenko Beam Model For Lateral Vibration Of Liquid-Phase Microcantilever-Based Sensors, Joshua A. Schultz, Stephen M. Heinrich, Fabien Josse, Isabelle Dufour, Nicholas J. Nigro, Luke A. Beardslee, Oliver Brand

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Dynamic-mode microcantilever-based devices are potentially well suited to biological and chemical sensing applications. However, when these applications involve liquid-phase detection, fluid-induced dissipative forces can significantly impair device performance. Recent experimental and analytical research has shown that higher in-fluid quality factors (Q) are achieved by exciting microcantilevers in the lateral flexural mode. However, experimental results show that, for microcantilevers having larger width-to-length ratios, the behaviors predicted by current analytical models differ from measurements. To more accurately model microcantilever resonant behavior in viscous fluids and to improve understanding of lateral-mode sensor performance, a new analytical model is developed, incorporating both …

Hydrothermal Processing Of Biomass For Biofuels, Sandeep Kumar

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] In recent years, significant research interests have been placed on the conversion of non-food biomass resources such as lignocellulosic biomass (terrestrial) and algae (aquatic) to biofuels. Among all the alternative or renewable energy options, biomass is the only resource which is carbon neutral and can potentially replace part of fossil fuels use as liquid transportation fuels as well as contribute to electricity generation. Therefore, it can play a significant role in partially replacing oil, natural gas, and coal utilization for heat and energy generation. However, high moisture content of fresh biomass or algae is one of the major …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2013, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

Microgrid Development Using A Grid Tie Inverter, Hartono Budi Santoso, Budiyanto Budiyanto

Makara Journal of Technology

The use of renewable energy sources (RES), especially photovoltaic (PV), to meet the demand of electrical energy has been getting a great deal of attention as an alternative solution to electrical energy deficit problems. RES are being applied in power systems in a variety of configurations including microgrid systems. One of the characteristics of a microgrid is capability to supplying power to grid when there is an excess power to supply local load. This research examines the chances of saving power consumption from grid using power converters grid tie inverter (GTI) in a microgrid configuration. The test is done by …

Surface Treatment Of Fly Ash For Improving The Tensile Strength Of Fly Ash/Unsaturated Polyester Composites, Sugiman Sugiman, Paryanto Dwi Setyawan

Makara Journal of Technology

The paper presents the surface treatment of fly ashes using acid and alkali solution on the tensile strength of the fly ash/unsaturated polyester (UP) composites. Sulfuric acid (H2SO4), hydrofluoric acid (HF) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution with concentration of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% (by weight) were used for surface treatment of fly ashes. Generally, the tensile strength of the treated fly-ash/UP composites shows a significant increase compared to the untreated fly ash. Of all surface treatments studied, the optimum tensile strength was obtained at a concentration of 10%. At this concentration, at a fly ash content of 30% …

Recycling Roof Tile Waste Material For Wall Cover Tiles, Ambar Mulyono, Silfia Mona Aryani, Joko Lulut

Makara Journal of Technology

Prior research on roof tile waste treatment has attempted to find the appropriate technology to reuse old roof tile waste by create wall cladding materials from it. Through exploration and experimentation, a treatment method has been discovered to transform the tile fragments into artificial stone that resembles the shape of coral. This baked clay artificial stone material is then processed as a decorative element for vertical surfaces that are not load-bearing, such as on the interior and exterior walls of a building. Before applying the fragments as wall tiles, several steps must be taken: 1) Blunting, which changes the look …

Synthesis Of Tungsten Oxide Nanowires Onto Ito Glass Using T-Cvd, Tomy Abuzairi, Bohr-Ran Huang, Tzu-Ching Lin

Makara Journal of Technology

Tungsten oxide is an n-type semiconductor with interesting physical and chemical properties that make it suitable for various technological applications. Tungsten oxide nanowires were synthesized not only at low temperature but also without the use of any catalysts. The tungsten oxide nanowires were synthesized at 550 °C with tungsten layers onto the ITO glass using thermal chemical vapor deposition (T-CVD). The SEM image shows that the tungsten oxide nanowires are effectively grown with the 200 nm tungsten film. The Raman spectra shoulder at ~690 cm-1 proves the synthesized of tungsten oxide nanowires.

Semiconductor Thermal Neutron Detector, Toru Aoki, Aki Miyake, Takayuki Nakano, Akifumi Koike, Hisashi Morii, Hidenori Mimura

Makara Journal of Technology

The CdTe and GaN detector with a Gd converter have been developed and investigated as a neutron detector for neutron imaging. The fabricated Gd/CdTe detector with the 25 mm thick Gd was designed on the basis of simulation results of thermal neutron detection efficiency and spatial resolution. The Gd/CdTe detector shows the detection of neutron capture gamma ray emission in the 155Gd(n, g)156Gd, 157Gd(n, g)158Gd and 113Cd(n, g)114Cd reactions and characteristic X-ray emissions due to conversion-electrons generated inside the Gd film. The observed efficient thermal neutron detection with the Gd/CdTe detector shows its promise in neutron radiography application. Moreover, a …

Radiation Characteristics Of A Planar Strip Dipole Antenna And A Slot Dipole Antenna For Thz Applications, Catur Apriono, Eko Tjipto Rahardjo

Makara Journal of Technology

The development of a THz system often requires a device that is used to radiate or detect THz waves. One way to fulfill this requirement is to use an antenna. Therefore, we need to consider the radiation characteristics of an antenna working in the THz region. In this paper, we present simulation study of two dipole antennas, i.e. a planar strip dipole antenna and a slot dipole antenna. The simulation results show that a planar strip dipole antenna has a better radiation efficiency (more than 95%) compared to the slot dipole. It also shows that an efficiency of more than …

The Effect Of Pressing Temperature And Time On The Quality Of Particle Board Made From Jatropha Fruit Hulls Treated In Acidic Condition, Apri Heri Iswanto, Fauzi Febrianto, Yusuf Sudo Hadi, Surdiding Ruhendi, Dede Hermawan

Makara Journal of Technology

The high of pH of jatropha fruit hulls causes the negative properties of particleboard made from this material. Adjusting the particle acidity and pressing conditions (temperature and time) is among the technical modifications available to improve this particleboard’s properties. Particle acidity has been adjusted in a previous research project, and immersing the particles in acetic acid was found to be the best treatment in this preliminary research. In order to improve the particleboard’s properties, an experiment was conducted to determine the best pressing temperature and time. The objective of the research was to evaluate the influence of pressing temperature and …

Smart Rocks And Wireless Communication System For Real-Time Monitoring And Mitigation Of Bridge Scour -- A Proof-Of-Concept Study, Genda Chen, David Pommerenke, Y. Rosa Zheng, Andriy V. Radchenko, Yan Tang, Brandon P. Schafer, Ying Huang, Z. L. Yang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study aims to integrate commercial measurement and communication components into a scour monitoring system with magnets or electronics embedded in smart rocks, and evaluate and improve its performance in laboratory and field conditions for the movement of smart rocks. Properly-designed smart rocks were found to be automatically rolled into the very bottom of a scour hole and can give critical information about the maximum scour depth and effectiveness of rip-rap mitigation strategies. Four types of smart rock technologies were investigated in this proof-of-concept phase of study, including passive with embedded magnets, active with magneto-inductive communication, active with controllable magnet …

Sweet (Small Wind Energy Estimation Tool), Thomas Woolmington, Keith Sunderland

Other resources

Description:

Generic Wind Energy Estimation Model incorporating Turbulence Intensity.

Requirements:

Manufacturer specific wind turbine characteristic

Mean wind speed at a specific height

Site conditions in terms of TI and Surface Roughness

Disclaimer:

This model has been designed as an estimation tool for estimating the wind power yield of a custom turbine for an idealised set of site conditions for a given year.

While the assumptions that are made in this estimation tool are mathematically plausible they should not in any way be interpreted as an alternative to a real world site assessment.

A list of assumptions to which the model …