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Beirut Arab University - Faculty Of Engineering - Newsletter Issue 0, Faculty Of Engineering, Beirut Arab University

Engineering Newsletters

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Housing In Kibera's Soweto East Informal Settlement, Kenya: A Socio-Technical Evaluation, Tiernan Brennan

Masters

In 2003, the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme (KENSUP) was launched in partnership with UN-Habitat and the Government of Kenya (GoK) to improve the livelihoods of people in Kenya by 2020 through the provision of improved shelter, infrastructure, land tenure and income generation. Kibera is an informal settlement in Kenya where varying housing typologies and traditional vernacular-style designs coexist with modern housing units. Soweto East was one of eighteen villages located in Kibera selected for KENSUP’s first major housing development initiative. Soweto East was selected from a screening of several housing projects that could be subjected to a socio-technical (STE). The …

Molecular And Cellular Level Characterization Of Cytoskeletal Mechanics Using A Quartz Crystal Microbalance, Emily M. Kerivan, Lyle Tobin, Mihir Basil, Dana N. Reinemann

Faculty and Student Publications

A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is an instrument that has the ability to measure nanogram-level changes in mass on a quartz sensor and is traditionally used to probe surface interactions and assembly kinetics of synthetic systems. The addition of dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) facilitates the study of viscoelastic systems, such as those relevant to molecular and cellular mechanics. Due to real-time recording of frequency and dissipation changes and single protein-level precision, the QCM-D is effective in interrogating the viscoelastic properties of cell surfaces and in vitro cellular components. However, few studies focus on the application of this instrument to cytoskeletal systems, …

Investigation Of Electrically Isolated Capacitive Sensing Skins On Concrete To Reduce Structure/Sensor Capacitive Coupling, Emmanuel Ogunniyi, Alexander Vareen, Austin Downey, Simon Laflamme, Jian Li, Caroline Bennett, William Collins, Hongki Jo, Alexander Henderson, Paul Ziehl

Faculty Publications

Damage to bridges can result in partial or complete structural failures, with fatal consequences. Cracks develop in concrete infrastructure from fatigue loading, vibrations, corrosion, or unforeseen structural displacement. Effective long-term monitoring of civil infrastructure can reduce the risk of structural failures and potentially reduce the cost and frequency of inspections. However, deploying structural health monitoring technologies for crack detection on bridges is expensive, especially long-term, due to the density of sensors required to detect, localize, and quantify cracks. Previous research on soft elastomeric capacitors (SECs) has shown their viability for low-cost monitoring of cracks in transportation infrastructure. However, when deployed …

Estimating Solar Energy Production In Urban Areas For Electric Vehicles, Shaimaa Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

Cities have a high potential for solar energy from PVs installed on buildings' rooftops. There is an increased demand for solar energy in cities to reduce the negative effect of climate change. The thesis investigates solar energy potential in urban areas. It tries to determine how to detect and identify available rooftop areas, how to calculate suitable ones after excluding the effects of the shade, and the estimated energy generated from PVs. Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) are used in solar city planning. The goal of this research is to assess available and suitable rooftops areas using …

An Insight Into The Effect Of Sharp And Round Edges On The Flow Field-A Cfd Simulation, Abid Hussain, Gao Puzhen, M. Mustafa Azeem, Muhammad Zubair, Muhammad Aamir, Muhammad Irfan Khaleed

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a numerical investigation of pressure drop and distribution in a channel around a sharp edge and a disc that is connected to the base of a circular rod. We have employed computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-Fluent for the validation of our models. It was found that the edge sharpness of the disc influences the pressure drop., i.e. sharp edge has higher turbulence and pressure drop. We also observed that pressure drops in the case of the circular disc are less than that of the sharp edge. However, pressure drop has essentially the same values for both shapes after …

Nucleotide Detection Mechanism And Comparison Based On Low-Dimensional Materials: A Review, M. Mustafa Azeem, Muhammad Shafa, Muhammad Aamir, Muhammad Zubair, Basma Souayeh, Mir Waqas Alam

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The recent pandemic has led to the fabrication of new nucleic acid sensors that can detect infinitesimal limits immediately and effectively. Therefore, various techniques have been demonstrated using low-dimensional materials that exhibit ultrahigh detection and accuracy. Numerous detection approaches have been reported, and new methods for impulse sensing are being explored. All ongoing research converges at one unique point, that is, an impetus: the enhanced limit of detection of sensors. There are several reviews on the detection of viruses and other proteins related to disease control point of care; however, to the best of our knowledge, none summarizes the various …

Study Of Eco-Driving And Charging Planning In Connected And Automated Vehicles Environment, Pradeep Bhat

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In this dissertation, the development of eco-driving and charging planning algorithms in the connected and automated vehicle environment (CAV) are presented. CAV technologies provide opportunities for potential energy savings and efficiency improvement of transportation networks, which are explored through multiple research tasks in this study.

The objective of the first study presented in Chapter 2 is to reduce vehicle dynamic losses and required tractive force while completing trip distance within a given travel time. Sequential Quadratic Programming method is employed for this nonlinearly constrained optimization problem. The validation result illustrates the benefits of optimal velocity trajectories. The objective of the …

A Comparative Analysis Of Coastdown Testing Methods From An Electric Drive Unit Engagement Perspective Using A Student-Designed Parallel Hybrid Electric Vehicle, Dawson Everett Dunnuck

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Coastdown testing and road load determination are pivotal parts of the automotive design process. Vehicle manufacturers and independent companies perform and analyze road loads determined through a coastdown or similar method to determine a vehicle’s road load for modeling and EPA certification. For a traditional coastdown, the vehicle’s drivetrain must be disconnected through a clutch between the engine and the transmission while traveling at a high rate of speed to place the vehicle in neutral. This changes for hybrid and electric vehicles. Some hybrid, and most electric, vehicles delivered to customers do not have this clutch action to grant the …

Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge, Bryce Towne, Ethan Andrews, Carter Moore, Andrew Sobel

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge is a competition held by the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) that challenges students to create a hydraulically powered vehicle to compete in four different races over two days. The vehicle has to be fully powered by hydraulics, with human power (such as pedaling) being used to move the hydraulic fluid. Electronics and pneumatics can be used to control the flow of the hydraulic oil. Vehicles also must have an energy storage device to take advantage of regenerative braking. The final competition was at the Norgren facility in Colorado from April 12th to April 14th. …

Simulating Energy Performance Of Buildings: A Study Using Equest And Energy Star® Portfolio Manager, Sabin Wagle

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The urgent need for improving building energy efficiency in response to global warming and environmental sustainability has highlighted the importance of practical techniques to optimize energy performance. The study utilizes the eQUEST simulation engine and Energy Star® Portfolio Manager to evaluate retrofit and design parameters and conduct a sensitivity analysis to explore the impact of different parameters on building energy performance. The study develops building energy models in eQUEST using data from two fully operational Distribution centers. It is calibrated using the Normalized Mean Bias Error (NMBE) and Coefficient of Variation of Root Mean Square Error (CV(RMSE)) method, meeting the …

Development And Testing Of A Low Mass Vibratory Lunar Compactor, Charles Carey

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

NASA and other agencies are working to return to the moon, with the Artemis Program [1]. As a part of this new effort, an emphasis is being placed on having a sustained presence, building lunar bases and other permanent structures. The development of such infrastructure will require the development of civil engineering structures, and site preparation becomes a necessity. The Planetary Surface Technology Development Laboratory is developing a low mass lunar compactor as part of an autonomous site preparation vehicle in partnership with Colorado School of Mines, funded by NASA’s 2021 Lunar Surface Technology Research grant. The low mass lunar …

Elevation-Distributed Multistage Reverse Osmosis Desalination With Seawater Pumped Storage, Hani E. Elsayed-Ali

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A seawater reverse osmosis (RO) plant layout based on multistage RO with stages located at different elevations above sea level is described. The plant uses the weight of a seawater column from pumped storage as head pressure for RO (gravity-driven multistage RO) or to supplement high-pressure pumps used in RO (gravity-assisted multistage RO). The use of gravitational force reduces the specific energy for RO compared to using high-pressure pumps. By locating the RO stages at different elevations based on demand sites, the total specific energy consumption for RO and permeate transport to different elevations above sea level is reduced from …

Analysis Of Ore Hand-Crushed Size Distribution For Grinding Process In The Artisanal And Small-Scale Gold Mines Production: A Case Study Of Nholi Mine, Bahi District, Malugu Tembo

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

(ASGM) employed numbers of people compared to large-scale mines. The ASGM has been played a crucial role in poverty alleviation and rural development, particularly in developing countries. The mined ore is crushed and ground for beneficiation of gold. The grinding process involved the size reduction of blasted materials to acquire minerals of interest. This paper presents the size distribution of hand-crushed for blasted materials using sieve analysis and digital image processing. The sieve test results for hand-crushed blasted material of three muck-piles were ranged between 17 mm and 36 mm that is equivalent to 20% and 80% passings respectively, with …

Energy Assessment Of E-Motorcycles As A Clean Transport Mode For Passenger Mobility: A Case Of Ilala District, Dar Es Salaam, John Shirima

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Electric motorcycles or e-motorcycles is a clean mode of road transport that present a prominent solution toward decarbonizing cities. Despite of e-motorcycles being cleaner than gasoline ones, at the moment, there is missing information whether it is feasible to replace gasoline motorcycles with e-motorcycles used for business transport purposes. This paper, therefore, presents the results comparing energy usage when using e-motorcycles and when using the gasoline motorcycles. The energy demand for driving passengers using an e-motorcycle in the precarious routes originated from Gongo la Mboto bus stop to Segerea bus stop, Buguruni Malapa, Gerezani bus stop, Kivukoni bus stop, and …

Damage Stability Study Of A 500 Dw Ro-Ro Ferry Vessel, Zulfaidah Ariany, Budhi Santoso, Sarwoko Sarwoko, Nauval Abdurrahman Prasetyo

Makara Journal of Technology

The development of the crossing transportation industry is currently increasing in the island areas. The use of Ro-Ro type ferry boats is extremely efficient in moving people, goods, and vehicles. The current research focuses on the damage stability of the 500 DWT Ro-Ro ferry, which aims to meet the needs of the Ro-Ro ferry in the archipelago area. The previously existing initial design of a barge hull with a main size Lpp = 40.15 m, B = 12 m, H = 3.2 m, and T = 2.15 m was used to analyze the damage stability condition further. First, the drawings …

Energy Dissipation In A Sand Damper Under Cyclic Loading, Ehab Sabi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Various seismic and wind engineering designs and retrofit strategies have been in development to meet structures' proper and safe operation during earthquake and wind excitation. One such method is the addition of fluid and particle dampers, such as sand dampers, in an effort to reduce excessive and dangerous displacements of structures. The present study implements the discrete element method (DEM) to assess the performance of a pressurized sand damper (PSD) and characterize the dissipated energy under cyclic loading. The idea of a PSD is to exploit the increase in shearing resistance of sand under external pressure and the associated ability …

Use Of Precious Plastic Method Of Bricks For The Construction Of Tiny Homes, Haylie E. Tallon

Architectural Engineering

Precious Plastics, a Netherlands based company, created an open source project that can be used to create different objects from recycled plastics. The San Luis Obispo area has a large amount of recyclable plastic that is being treated as trash, adding to the pollution of the ocean and the air. This project is to determine the necessary steps to create plastic building blocks, using the Precious Plastic process, as a construction material for low-income, temporary housing. This report covers the process that was used to build two of the machines that will be used to create the bricks. This requires …

The Rise Of Terrorism In Africa And What It Means For U.S. Policymakers, Bridget Mary Hughes

Master's Theses

This thesis utilizes three case studies to measure the rise of terrorism in Africa. This qualitative data leads the reader to one ultimate question: what does the rise in terrorism in Africa mean for the United States (U.S.) and U.S. policymakers, National Security academia, students in National Security, if anything at all? The answer is: if civilian and military compounds are being targeted by these violent extremists, as these three case studies demonstrate, it is my recommendation that U.S. policymakers cease sending troops to the African theater and, instead, allocate funding to the citizens and nonprofits of the countries whom …

Dynamic Analysis, Characterization, And Design Of Rigid-Flex Pcb Robotics, John Bell

All Dissertations

The era of space exploration is driven by and fuels large advances in technological progress.
Over the last decade, engineering practices for spacecraft, space structures, robotics, software and
hardware, manufacturing techniques, and the implementation of new and novel materials has been
revolutionized. Space exploration pushes the envelope in terms of technological capabilities and
robotic systems (rovers) become lighter, smaller, and more capable of sustaining damage. This
dissertation aids in the advancement of design knowledge for a class of rovers characterized by
their chassis architecture: rigid-flex printed circuit board (PCB) robotics. These rovers leverage
the printed circuit cards as the structural …

Solar Chimney Power Plants: A Mini Review, Ahmed Reda, Waseem Salah, Ahmed Suwailem, Shehab Eldin Ahmed, Omar Lasheen, Amira Elkodama, Moustafa R. Shousha, Amr Ismaiel, Anas A. Rahman

Future Engineering Journal

The main investigations of a novel solar thermal application known as SCPP are summarized in this paper. It is a method of producing electricity from solar energy that relies on the fact that air rises when it is heated. An adequate position within a tall chimney can be utilized to position a turbine to turn it, creating an updraft that can be used to generate power. This system's specifications, design, construction, and use are all covered in the paper along with experimental and analytical research related to it. It also emphasizes the development and execution of SCPP programs.

Low-Cost, Low-Weight Test Rig Design For A Laboratory-Scale Twin Rotor Wind Turbine, Ahmed Ayoub, Ahmed Elzeedy, Mahmoud Elkordy, Eslam Ayad, Mohamed Waleed, Amira Elkodama, Amr Ismaiel

Future Engineering Journal

Multi-Rotor Wind Turbine (MRWT) has been proven advantageous over Single-Rotor Wind Turbine (SRWT) in many aspects. In order to study the performance of MRWT over SRWT, this work presents a low-cost and low-weight design for a test rig for laboratory-scale wind turbine configurations. The configurations under study are a single-rotor, and a twin-rotor of the same size with a diameter of 30 cm. Aerodynamic loads have been calculated using the Blade Element Momentum (BEM) method, then the loads were used for stress analysis over the test rig proposed. The test rig is designed on Solidworks and the aerodynamic and inertial …

Performance Comparison Of Several Control Algorithms For Tracking Control Of Pantograph Mechanism, Laylaa Mahmoud Eng, Mohamed Shamseldin Dr, Mohamed Sallam Dr, Abdelghany Mohamed Prof

Future Engineering Journal

A sort of parallel manipulator known as a pantograph robot mechanism was created primarily for industrial requests that required high precision and satisfied speed. While tracking a chosen trajectory profile requires a powerful controller. Because it has four active robot links and one robot passive link in place of just two links like the open chain does, it can carry more loads than the open chain robot mechanism while maintaining accuracy and stability. The calculated model for a closed chain pantograph robot mechanism presented in this paper takes into account the boundary conditions. For the purpose of simulating the dynamics …

Relative Rate Observer Self-Tuning Of Fuzzy Pid Virtual Inertia Control For An Islanded Microgrid, Ahmed H. Mohamed, Helmy M. El Zoghby, Mohiy Bahgat, A. M. Abdel Ghany

Future Engineering Journal

Expanding the usage of renewable energy in islanded microgrids leads to a reduction in its total inertia. Low inertia microgrids have difficulties in voltage and frequency control. That affected saving its stability and preventing a blackout. To improve low inertia islanded microgrids' dynamic response and save their stability, this paper presented relative rate observer self-tuning fuzzy PID (RROSTF-PID) based on virtual inertia control (VIC) for an islanded microgrid with a high renewable energy sources (RESs) contribution. RROSTF-PID based on VIC's success in showing remarkable improvement in the microgrid's dynamic response and enhancement of its stability. Moreover, it handles different contingency …

Impulse, Fall 2022, University Marketing And Communications, Jerome J. Lohr College Of Engineering

Impulse (Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering Publication)

2 | Sanjeev Kumar Takes Helm as College’s 12th Dean
5 | College Develops Partnerships in India, Turkey
6 | Faculty News
8 | Aerofly — Profs, Alum Partner To Build Unique Drone
10 | Researchers Find Way to Extend Produce Shelf Life
12 | SDSU Claims National Title in Quarter-Scale Tractors
14 | Nation’s Top ASCE Chapter Housed at SDSU
16 | National Geo-Video Title Won By State Students
18 | Summer Brings Engineering Camps to Campus
20 | Haleigh Timmer — Money on the Court, In Classroom
22 | Daniel Burkhalter — Day in the Life of Student-Athlete …

Effect Of Degradation Of Methylene Blue Dye (Mb) By Using Erbium Oxide (Er2o3) Nps, Hind Ahmed Jasim, Farah Farman Abbass, Sarah A. Hamood, Hind Mohammed Hassan, Mohammed Sellab Hamza

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

In an experiment investigating the photo catalytic degradation of methylene blue using varied concentrations of Er2O3 nanoparticles, different conditions were tested including with and without sunshine, as well as in the absence of a UV source. The presence of a UV source was also considered in the research. UV-Visible spectroscopy was utilized to characterize the catalysts. The degradation of methylene blue dye was monitored by spectrophotometry by tracking dye absorbance at regular time intervals and adjusting the dye concentration. The results indicated that the most effective degradation of methylene blue dye occurred during a 5-hour irradiation time and in the …

Architecture Between Development And Ability Programs, Allaa Ahmed Rasheed, Ibrahim Jawad Kadhim

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

The development of architecture and its pursuit of perfection can only be achieved through society to reach a specific result when meeting new desires that arise as a result of human development, expanding individual and societal needs, and deepening their relationships in multifaceted ways. The research focuses on development as it requires a clear cumulative vision of the integrative relationship between practice and participation in interpreting the act (effect) from the force (influence). It emphasizes that the power of capabilities is understood through learning and education in describing the capabilities of architecture. This involves adopting new ideas and intellectual premises …

The Designing Of Contemporary Teaching- Learning Spaces According To Interactive Flow Action Local School Spaces-A Case Study, Aseel Jasem Al-Ataby, Anwar Subhi Ramadan Al-Qaraghuli

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

The world today faces many challenges related to environmental issues, as well as other social and economic challenges, and in light of intellectual, cognitive, and technical transformations, which led to the emergence of many new phenomena and concepts that correspond to them, including the concept of flow. This concept has been associated with many aspects of life, including architecture, whose importance has emerged recently in light of the challenge of the spread of the Corona virus and its effects on architecture with its residential, educational, and other spaces. This research focuses on the flow in the architectural space in general, …

A New Compact Triple-Band Micro-Strip Monopole Antenna Based On Minkowski Fractal Geometry, Hayder S. Ahmed, Zahra' Salah Ahmed, Sarah A. Hamood, Mohammed Sellab Hamza, Taha A. Elwi

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

Wireless communication systems have made significant advancements in size reduction, with antenna terminals remaining a primary challenge for system compatibility. As a result, much of industrial research is focused on antenna miniaturization in wireless systems. In this work, a novel compact Triple-Band Fractal (TBF) antenna is proposed, utilizing three coupling fractal patches with varying iteration levels of Minkowski geometry to provide three resonant bands. The antenna design is implemented using an antenna substrate with a dielectric constant of 10.8 and a thickness of 1.27 mm within the CST Microwave Studio environment. The zero iteration patch resonator is responsible for the …

The Role Of Community Participation In The Architectural Production, Allaa Ahmed Rasheed, Ibrahim Jawad Kadhim

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

The role of community participation as a power in building architectural output at the level of the act of thinking in architecture and the design process in non-existence is related to power and presence with act. The research is concerned with expanding knowledge in the direction of the holistic language and searching for the role that builds the privacy of the architectural product versus the community's societal identity. It studies the concept of act within the limits of existence at the level of community participation since the act of architecture is the act of man to meet certain needs and …