Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Novelty Detection Of Machinery Using A Non-Parametric Machine Learning Approach, Enrique Angola

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

A novelty detection algorithm inspired by human audio pattern recognition is conceptualized and experimentally tested. This anomaly detection technique can be used to monitor the health of a machine or could also be coupled with a current state of the art system to enhance its fault detection capabilities. Time-domain data obtained from a microphone is processed by applying a short-time FFT, which returns time-frequency patterns. Such patterns are fed to a machine learning algorithm, which is designed to detect novel signals and identify windows in the frequency domain where such novelties occur. The algorithm presented in this paper uses one-dimensional …

Fluvial Processes In Motion: Measuring Bank Erosion And Suspended Sediment Flux Using Advanced Geomatic Methods And Machine Learning, Scott Douglas Hamshaw

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Excessive erosion and fine sediment delivery to river corridors and receiving waters degrade aquatic habitat, add to nutrient loading, and impact infrastructure. Understanding the sources and movement of sediment within watersheds is critical for assessing ecosystem health and developing management plans to protect natural and human systems. As our changing climate continues to cause shifts in hydrological regimes (e.g., increased precipitation and streamflow in the northeast U.S.), the development of tools to better understand sediment dynamics takes on even greater importance. In this research, advanced geomatics and machine learning are applied to improve the (1) monitoring of streambank erosion, (2) …

Consumer Engagement With Efficient And Renewable Energy Technology: Case Studies On Smart Meter Utilization And Support For A Community Anaerobic Biodigester System In Vermont, Samantha Whitney Lewandowski

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Residential electricity consumption in the United States has many adverse impacts, such as greenhouse gas emissions, dependence on fossil fuels, and costs. Efficient and renewable energy technologies have the potential to help mitigate some of these impacts, but appear to be under-utilized in the United States. One major barrier to expanding the deployment of these kinds of technologies and maximizing the benefits they can provide is a lack of consumer engagement. The overall purpose of this thesis is to better understand the extent to which efficient and renewable energy technologies are being engaged with and what factors may influence such …

Smart Classifiers And Bayesian Inference For Evaluating River Sensitivity To Natural And Human Disturbances: A Data Science Approach, Kristen Underwood

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Excessive rates of channel adjustment and riverine sediment export represent societal challenges; impacts include: degraded water quality and ecological integrity, erosion hazards to infrastructure, and compromised public safety. The nonlinear nature of sediment erosion and deposition within a watershed and the variable patterns in riverine sediment export over a defined timeframe of interest are governed by many interrelated factors, including geology, climate and hydrology, vegetation, and land use. Human disturbances to the landscape and river networks have further altered these patterns of water and sediment routing.

An enhanced understanding of river sediment sources and dynamics is important for stakeholders, and …

Quantum Many - Body Interaction Effects In Two - Dimensional Materials, Sanghita Sengupta

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In this talk, I will discuss three problems related to the novel physics of two-dimensional quantum materials such as graphene, group-VI dichalcogenides family (TMDCs viz. MoS2 , WS2, MoSe2 , etc) and Silicene-Germanene class of materials.

The first problem poses a simple question - how do the quantum excitations in a graphene membrane affect adsorption? Using the tools of diagrammatic perturbation theory, I will derive the scattering rates of a neutral atom on a graphene membrane. I will show how this seemingly naive model can serve as a non-relativistic condensed matter analogue of the infamous infrared problem in Quantum Electrodynamics. …

An Autothermal, Representative Scale Test Of Compost Heat Potential Using Geostatistical Analysis, William J. Mccune-Sanders

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Composting has been practiced for thousands of years as a way of stabilizing and recycling organic matter into useful soil amendments. Thermophilic compost releases significant amounts of heat at temperatures (~140 °F) that are useful for environmental heating or process water. This heat has been taken advantage of in various ways throughout history, but development of a widely adopted technology remains elusive.

The biggest barrier to adoption of compost heat recovery (CHR) systems is projecting accurate, attractive economic returns. The cost of transfer equipment is significant, and with variability in composting substrates and methods, it is difficult to predict the …