Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Box Packaging Waste Reduction By Largest Area First Fit Algorithm And Minimum Cuboid Estimation Of Irregular Shape Products, Jimmy Kwon, Sungmin Kwon

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

Nowadays, packaging waste is a prevalent issue due to the increase in deliveries from online shopping. In this research paper, a new approach to the issue of cardboard box packaging waste is proposed by selecting an optimal box that will contain both regular and irregular products while minimizing wasted volume. The method can be utilized so that packaging workers can select an appropriate, yet sustainable box. For computing a minimal cuboid of irregular objects, the system setup with two cameras is prepared to capture the overhead and sideview images, estimating the box's width, depth, and height in pixels. The proposed …

Assessing Adoption Barriers Of Sustainable Packaging In Egypt, Carol Ramses Morgan

Theses and Dissertations

Sustainable packaging has become an essential part of business decisions and corporate directions. With the rise of environmental damages due to improper waste management and unsustainable practices, businesses have a major responsibility to analyze their products’ life cycles and redesign them with sustainability in mind. Applying sustainable packaging could save companies large amounts of resources, therefore cutting costs, while also achieving the legal and social duty as a corporation towards society and the environment. Many developing countries, with specific focus on Egypt, have recently focused on legislative and corporate decisions in order to encourage more sustainable practices. Egypt’s new Waste …

Modeling Of Amine-Based Co2 Capture Process, Zafar Safarovich Turakulov

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

A significant factor influencing climate change is the release of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere as a consequence of human activities such as the combustion of fossil fuels. Climate change can be slowed down by taking action to mitigate industrial-scale CO₂ emissions. Currently, the most advanced technology for capturing CO₂ from industrial flue gases is the post-combustion CO₂ capture based on amine absorption. However, due to the high energy penalties of existing CO₂ capture technologies and insufficient carbon markets, it is necessary to develop methods that compete with these technologies or minimize their …

Rattus Norvegicus As A Biological Detector Of Clandestine Remains And The Use Of Ultrasonic Vocalizations As A Locating Mechanism, Gabrielle M. Johnston

Master's Theses

In investigations, locating missing persons and clandestine remains are imperative. One way that first responder and police agencies can search for the remains is by using cadaver dogs as biological detectors. Cadaver dogs are typically used due to their olfactory sensitivity and ability to detect low concentrations of volatile organic compounds produced by biological remains. Cadaver dogs are typically chosen for their stamina, agility, and olfactory sensitivity. However, what is not taken into account often is the size of the animal and the expense of maintaining and training the animal. Cadaver dogs are typically large breeds that cannot fit in …

Trace Dna Detection Using Diamond Dye: A Recovery Technique To Yield More Dna, Leah Davis

Master's Theses

This study aspires to find a new screening approach to trace DNA recovery techniques to yield a higher quantity of trace DNA from larger items of evidence. It takes the path of visualizing trace DNA on items of evidence with potential DNA so analysts can swab a more localized area rather than attempting to recover trace DNA through the general swabbing technique currently used for trace DNA recovery. The first and second parts consisted of observing trace DNA interaction with Diamond Dye on porous and non-porous surfaces.

The third part involved applying the Diamond Dye solution by spraying it onto …

Effects Of The Inclusion Of Rice Hull Derived Bio-Oil On Wood Pellet Production, Tyler E. Lowe

Theses and Dissertations

Wood pellet production has become an advancing industry for the sake of reducing greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere especially, in European Union countries. Researchers and industry executives seek new methods and materials to improve the pelletization process. Rice hulls or husks has the potential to aid in wood pelletization as they possess high calorific values. This study focuses on using rice hull derived bio-oil from pyrolysis, which will also decrease ash content, as an additive to aid in the wood pelletization process. Using two groups of rice hull derived bio-oil as an additive in wood pelletization: Group 1 uses heavy …

Manufacturing: The Qualitative Study Of A Transition To A Green Facility, Brandon David Staves

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This qualitative study focused on answering three core questions: How have facilities reduce pollutions in regards to the quality of air, water, land, light and noise? Which Types of pollution reduction projects are more or less successful to implement? What types of pollution are facilities focusing on and why? The results of the 15 companies surveyed show a variety of projects that facilities have used to reduce pollution, it also shows that cost is a major factor in the unsuccessful projects, and that facilities are actively focused on reducing Air, Land, and Water pollution. While the data shows a variety …

Preventing Transmission Of Covid 19 In Hvac Duct Systems: Implementations Of Hvac System Design Upgrade, Jacob S. Lopez, Adama Barro

Publications and Research

The recent pandemic outbreak has triggered a global alarm to increase efforts on finding the best methods to mitigate contagious viral pathogens. This project is a continuation of our mission to study engineering guidelines needed to implement upgrades to HVAC Systems in order to deter airborne pathogens such as the covid-19 virus. In our previous projects we researched how covid-19 can possibly flow through the ambient air inside of restaurants, office spaces, and locomotive train cabins. As we continued our research, we were able to find some solutions that will be best used to deactivate and prevent the virus from …

Diseño De Un Modelo De Alternativas Para El Aprovechamiento De Residuos Orgánicos Provenientes De Plazas Mercado. Estudio De Casos: Plazas De Mercado De Fontibón, Las Ferias, Doce De Octubre Y Restrepo, Leidy Vanessa Martinez León, Daniela Sofia Fuquene Santafe

Ingeniería Ambiental y Sanitaria

El problema de residuos sólidos es una cuestión que aumenta con el tiempo no solo en Bogotá sino en Colombia, es uno de los aspectos que requiere mayor importancia debido a los grandes volúmenes de generación. Aunque los avances en disposición final de residuos son significativos, no suplen las necesidades por el incremento en la producción, la falta de conciencia ciudadana y si bien los rellenos sanitarios son la tecnología que en la actualidad se utilizan en el país para la eliminación de los residuos, su construcción y operación requiere de múltiples esfuerzos y genera diversos impactos ambientales y sociales. …

Computational Modeling For Decision-Making Under Climate Change Uncertainty: Reservoir Simulation Game, Julianne Quinn

All ECSTATIC Materials

Almost every decision you make is under uncertainty. Will I need a rain jacket in the afternoon? Will they say yes if I ask them out? Is 1 hour enough time to finish this assignment? Oftentimes, we can use computational modeling to simulate different scenarios of what might happen in the future to inform what decisions are best on average, or what decisions minimize the worst case outcome. For example, you could decide what player to draft for your Fantasy Football team by simulating player performance. In this activity, we will simulate how much water to release from a dam …

Improvement Of The Effectiveness Of Greywacke Crushing Process By Applying An Impact Crusher In Quarry For The Production Of Railway Ballast, Krzysztof Kurus, Karolina Jąderko-Skubis

Journal of Sustainable Mining

The production of aggregates in rock mining requires an optimal system of crushers, separators and conveyors. Proper machine selection allows to obtain aggregates with appropriate technical parameters and increase the output of required fractions with a given unit cost. The usage of rock raw materials for the production of railway ballast used in the railway track superstructure is connected with the necessity to meet strictly defined quality requirements.

This paper presents an example of the use of an impact crusher in a selected quarry for the purpose of obtaining the correct parameters of railway ballast and a suitable grain curve. …

Sustainable Smouldering For Waste-To-Energy: Scale, Heat Losses, And Energy Efficiency, Tarek L. Rashwan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Applied smouldering combustion is emerging as a highly energy efficient approach towards waste-to-energy. This thesis aims to better understand this potential by addressing a critical knowledge gap between laboratory scale smouldering research and large-scale applications. Altogether, new understanding in provided on the complex and dynamic interactions between the reaction zone (smouldering front) and the cooling zone (treated inert porous media) by integrating theory, experiments, analytical modelling, and global energy balance calculations. The experiments spanned a range of reactor sizes and smouldering conditions (from weak to robust) with dry (carbon) and wet (sludge) fuels mixed in sand. This work revealed that …

Modeling Of Electrical Grid Systems To Evaluate Sustainable Electricity Generation In Pakistan, Muhammad Mustafa Amjad

Masters Theses

Pakistan has always had a history of severe energy shortfalls, which rose up to an alarming 33% in 2013. This situation was countered by investments in the energy sector through the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which were unfortunately largely based on brown fuels. Although beneficial in the short term, these investments do not bode well for the climate scenario of Pakistan, with various parts of the country already having experienced temperatures rise of 1-3°C. To ensure that the current situation doesn’t exacerbate and is tackled in a timely manner, this research aims to examine how the untapped potential of …

Water Supply Capacity Development In The Context Of Global Change, Patrick Breach

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The ANEMI model is an integrated assessment model of global change that emphasizes the role of water resources. The model is based on the principles of system dynamics simulation in order to analyze changes in the Earth system using feedback processes. Securing water resources for the future is a key issue of global change, and ties into global systems of population growth, climate change carbon cycle, hydrologic cycle, economy, energy production, land use and pollution generation.

This thesis focusses on the development of global water supplies necessary to keep pace with a growing population and global economy using an integrated …

Thermophotovoltaic Systems For Achieving High-Solar-Fraction Hybrid Solar-Biomass Power Generation, Cm Iftekhar Hussain, Aidan Duffy, Brian Norton

Articles

Medium operating temperature hybrid solar-biomass TPV power plant design requires complex integration of multiple high temperature processes with low band-gap TPV cells. A 0.72 eV band-gap GaSb TPV cell has been used in thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems operating at temperatures above 1400 °C. Low band-gap TPV cells, such as InGaAs (Eg = 0.55 eV) and InAs (Eg = 0.36 eV) could enable a TPV system to operate optimally at temperatures ≈1000 °C. To examine this, two hybrid solar-biomass TPV system configurations are studied using TRNSYS simulation that incorporates a new algorithm for TPV. It is found that in a high solar …

Ce 5500: Stochastic Hydrology, University Of Virginia, Julianne Quinn

All ECSTATIC Materials

This document is the syllabus for CE 5500: Stochastic Hydrology by instructor Julianne D. Quinn at the University of Virginia. The course is an elective class, open to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students.

Call For Abstracts - Resrb 2019, July 8-9, Wrocław, Poland, Wojciech M. Budzianowski

Wojciech Budzianowski

No abstract provided.

Midpoint And Endpoint Sustainability Assessment Of U.S. And China Manufacturing: A Comparative Mrio+Recipe Analysis, Mustafa Saber

Master's Theses

Manufacturing is among the most important industries for an economy, which creates value-added, fosters innovation, stimulates employment and economic growth. Therefore, manufacturing industries are crucial for a country’s sustainable development not only for economic reasons but also for social (.e.g. employment, tax, etc.) and environmental ones. Thus, manufacturing activities’ contribution to the economy is critically related with environmental and social impacts. Sustainable economic growth is essential and necessary for a country to provide all necessary goods and services to its growing population.

And, this is highly linke with the creation of new jobs and in this context, manufacturing jobs have …

Global Renewable And Nonrenewable Energy Use Impact Assessment Of U.S. Manufacturing: An Integrated Cradle-To-Gate Lca And Dea Approach, Bahadir Ezici

Master's Theses

In this thesis, U.S. manufacturing industries` global supply chain-linked energy use and economic output are investigated considering a total of 16 renewable and nonrenewable energy carriers. A multiregion input output (MRIO) framework is employed to conduct the global supply chain-linked energy use impact assessment. The study period was between 1995 and 2014 based on data availability. Thus, 20 MRIO models were developed. Each MRIO model consists of the 40 largest economies of the world and the rest of the world (ROW) as the 41st country. Each country’s economy was structured into 35 manufacturing and service industries based on the Worth …

The Subject Librarian Newsletter, Engineering And Computer Science, Fall 2017, Buenaventura "Ven" Basco

Buenaventura "Ven" Basco

No abstract provided.

Robust Allocation Of Funds For Nonstructural Flood Risk Mitigation In Coastal Louisiana, Simón Gómez Sierra, David R. Johnson, Matthew P. Shisler, Zachariah T. Richardson

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Coastal Louisiana is a critical economic, ecological and cultural asset, acting as a major hub for waterborne commerce, fisheries, and the petrochemical industry, and also as one of the world’s unique wetlands. Unfortunately, this rich environment is in great danger from the threat of hurricanes and storm surge flooding. Direct economic losses are estimated to average $2.7 billion per year under current conditions, and this could increase to $12 billion a year, or more, within 50 years if nothing is done. To prevent this catastrophe, Louisiana has developed a Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast, which plans to spend …

Integration Of Hydrogeophysical Datasets And Empirical Orthogonal Functions For Improved Irrigation Water Management, Catherine E. Finkenbiner, Trenton E. Franz, Justin P. Gibson, Derek M. Heeren, J. D. Luck

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Precision agriculture offers the technologies to manage for infield variability and incorporate variability into irrigation management decisions. The major limitation of this technology often lies in the reconciliation of disparate data sources and the generation of irrigation prescription maps. Here the authors explore the utility of the cosmic-ray neutron probe (CRNP) which measures volumetric soil water content (SWC) in the top ~ 30 cm of the soil profile. The key advantages of CRNP is that the sensor is passive, non-invasive, mobile and soil temperature-invariant, making data collection more compatible with existing farm operations and extending the mapping period. The objectives …

A Decision Support Tool For Building Integrated Renewable Energy Microgrids Connected To A Smart Grid, Damilola A. Asaleye, Michael D. Murphy, Michael Breen

Publications

The objective of this study was to create a tool that will enable renewable energy microgrid (REμG) facility users to make informed decisions on the utilization of electrical power output from a building integrated REμG connected to a smart grid. A decision support tool for renewable energy microgrids (DSTREM) capable of predicting photovoltaic array and wind turbine power outputs was developed. The tool simulated users’ daily electricity consumption costs, avoided CO₂ emissions and incurred monetary income relative to the usage of the building integrated REμG connected to the national electricity smart grid. DSTREM forecasted climate variables, which were used …

Decision Analytical Methods For Robust Water Infrastructure Planning Under Deep Uncertainty, Mehmet Umit Taner

Doctoral Dissertations

Deep uncertainties resulting from climate change, demographic pressures, and rapidly evolving socioeconomic conditions are challenging the way that water planners design and operate large-scale infrastructure systems. Conventionally, water infrastructures have been developed using stationary methods, assuming that the underlying uncertainties can be derived from historical data or experience. However, these methods are less useful under deeply uncertain climate and socioeconomic conditions, in which the future can be substantially different from the past and cannot be expressed by well-defined probability distributions. The recognition of deep uncertainties in long-term water resources planning has led to the development of “decision-analytical” frameworks that do …

The Subject Librarian Newsletter, Engineering And Computer Science, Fall 2017, Buenaventura "Ven" Basco

Libraries' Newsletters

No abstract provided.

C.V. - Wojciech Budzianowski, Wojciech M. Budzianowski

Wojciech Budzianowski

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Renewable Energy And Sustainable Development (Resd) Group, Wojciech M. Budzianowski

Wojciech Budzianowski

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Rfid Information-Sharing Coordination Over A Supply Chain With Reverse Logistics, Juan Jose Nativi Nicolau

Open Access Dissertations

Companies have adopted environmental practices such as reverse logistics over the past few decades. However, studies show that aligning partners inside the green supply chain can be a substantial problem. This lack of coordination can increase overall supply chain cost. Information technology such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has the potential to enable decentralized supply chain coordinate their information. Even though there are research that address RFID on traditional supply chain, few researches address how to coordinate RFID information sharing in a green supply chain. We study, through simulation experiments, two types of RFID information-sharing coordination under different configurations related …

Environmental Efficiency Assessment Of U.S. Transport Sector: A Slack-Based Data Envelopment Analysis Approach, Yong Shin Park, Siew Hoon Lim, Gokhan Egilmez, Joseph Szmerekovsky

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Sustainable transportation in the U.S. is essential for long-term economic growth and mobility, and environmental preservation. Using a non-radial slack-based measurement data envelopment analysis (SBM-DEA) model and state-level data, this study assesses the environmental efficiency of the transportation sector in the U.S. from years 2004 to 2012. In addition to environmental efficiency, carbon efficiency and potential carbon reduction were estimated for the 50 U.S. states. The findings of this study reveal that U.S. transportation sector was environmentally inefficient; U.S. states had an average transportation environmental efficiency score below 0.64. Therefore the states could substantially reduce carbon emissions to improve the …

Exploring Regional And Telecoupled Land Use Change Impacts From Environmental Shocks, Kevin Hill, Liz Wachs, Brady Hardiman, David Yu, Shweta Singh

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Natural disasters or environmental shocks have the potential to disrupt local agricultural systems as well as distant agricultural systems through cascading effects. In this work we selected two distinct environmental shocks and traced their cascading effects on land use change. Quantifying cascading effects is a salient issue because climate change forecasts indicate an increase in frequency and intensity of global environmental shocks. This study incorporated the concept of telecoupled systems involving interrelating ecological, economic and political/social components. A telecoupled framework involving cascading effects was implemented using three approaches. The first approach involved using bilateral agricultural trade matrix data to analyze …