Finite Element Analysis Modeling of Chemical Vapor Deposition of Silicon Carbide

Fiber-reinforced silicon carbide (SiC) composite materials are important for many applications due to their high temperature strength, excellent thermal shock and impact resistance, high hardness, and good chemical stability. The microstructure and phase composition of SiC composites can be tailored by fiber surface modification, the process parameters, and/or fiber preform architecture. One process by which SiC composites can be produced is chemical vapor deposition (CVD). This thesis primarily focuses on mass transport by gas-phase flow and diffusion, chemical reaction in gas phase and on solid surfaces, and thin film formation on curved surfaces, which are fundamental to the CVD process. We highlighted process parameters that can potentially affect the structures and properties of the CMCs using simple model material systems. We also analyzed the use of a finite element modeling tool, COMSOL Multiphysics, to build the series of models

Enumeration of Reduced Words of Length N for Coxeter Groups via BrinkHowlett Automaton

The overall goal of this paper is to give a method of computing out how many words of length n there are for any Coxeter group via its Brink-Howlett automaton. [6] [7] To build our automaton, we focus on Coxeter systems and root systems honing in on a special set of roots called the small roots. We follow closely [1] [5] for the first two chapters. Finally, we build the Brink-Howlett automaton through literature compiled through the years and present explicit examples of A?1 and the Coxeter group on three generators which each pair of generators is in a free relation with one another

Porous Bearing Research Rig

Our team has decided to continue the research of fluid bearings, specifically, that of the journal and porous bearing. This will continue off of research currently being done at the University of Akron by graduate student Elizabeth Clifford who has developed a mathematical model for a porous bearing. Our job will be to create a testing rig that will be able to either prove or disprove this model. To do this, the rig will need to be able to take measurements of temperature and pressure at key areas within the bearing. It will also need to be readily capable of performing Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to further study the fluid behavior and flow within the bearing. By the end of the project, the final product will be a rig capable of being used by other researchers down the line to further delve into the benefits of porous bearings and possible improvements that can be made to further enhance it’s capabilities

Objective real-time motion analysis using wearable devices for post stroke rehabilitation

With the growing population of the elderly, there is an increasing need for reliable, inexpensive, and quantifiable clinical measures. This thesis proposes mStroke, a practical, accurate, and mobile health system that remotely measures a stroke patient\u27s proficiency in standard post-stroke therapy activities. The proposed system is delivered as an application (App) running on a hardware system consisting of two bluetooth low energy (BLE) modular sensor devices and an iPad. The system uses accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers to measure movement during three single-tasked clinical activities: the functional reach test, the NIHSS motor arm test, and the NIHSS motor leg test. The proposed system has been extensively tested using emulated and real data from physical therapy students. Key Words: Motion Analysis, Stroke, Functional Reach, NIHSS

Using Critical Race Theory to Redefine the Standards of Professional Practice For Chief Diversity Officers

To meet the needs of the evolving student demographics that has seen a 300% increase in URM college going rates, higher education institutions began developing the Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) position to govern and lead their mission as it relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion. More than 60 colleges have created a CDO position over the last 20 yeas with many more heading in that direction. However, because CDOs are relatively novel in the higher education space, the leading authority of diversity officer research, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE), developed a set of guidelines to serve as a source of consistency for diversity officers. Although these guidelines have been very useful, we suggest that when viewed through a Critical Race Theory lens, the guidelines are laden in passive and color evasive language, supports slow-moving incremental change, and is absent of language associated with racism, sexism, gender bias, homo- & transphobia, ableism, and xenophobia among other discriminatory practices. Thus, in this conceptual critique, we report on how we use CRT to critique and identify improvements for the Twelve Standards of Professional Practice for CDOs

Kernel-Elastic Autoencoder for Molecular Design

We introduce the Kernel-Elastic Autoencoder (KAE), a self-supervised generative model based on the transformer architecture with enhanced performance for molecular design. KAE is formulated based on two novel loss functions: modified maximum mean discrepancy and weighted reconstruction. KAE addresses the long-standing challenge of achieving valid generation and accurate reconstruction at the same time. KAE achieves remarkable diversity in molecule generation while maintaining near-perfect reconstructions on the independent testing dataset, surpassing previous molecule-generating models. KAE enables conditional generation and allows for decoding based on beam search resulting in state-of-the-art performance in constrained optimizations. Furthermore, KAE can generate molecules conditional to favorable binding affinities in docking applications as confirmed by AutoDock Vina and Glide scores, outperforming all existing candidates from the training dataset. Beyond molecular design, we anticipate KAE could be applied to solve problems by generation in a wide range of applications

Evaluation of beef eating quality by Irish consumers

Funding was received from the Irish Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine, through the Food Institutional Research Measure (FIRM), grant number 04/R&D/TN/256.peer-reviewedA consumer's decision to purchase beef is strongly linked to its sensory properties and consistent eating quality is one of the most important attributes. Consumer taste panels were held according to the Meat Standards Australia guidelines and consumers scored beef according to its palatability attributes and completed a socio-demographic questionnaire. Consumers were able to distinguish between beef quality on a scale from unsatisfactory to premium with high accuracy. Premium cuts of beef scored significantly higher on all of the scales compared to poorer quality cuts. Men rated grilled beef higher on juiciness and flavour scales compared to women. Being the main purchaser of beef had no impact on rating scores. Overall the results show that consumers can judge eating quality with high accuracy. Further research is needed to determine how best to communicate inherent benefits that are not visible into extrinsic eating quality indicators, to provide the consumer with consistent indications of quality at the point of purchase.Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marin

Coupled Nd-142, Nd-143 and Hf-176 Isotopic Data from 3.6-3.9 Ga Rocks: New Constraints on the Timing of Early Terrestrial Chemical Reservoirs

Increasingly precise data from a range of isotopic decay schemes, including now extinct parent isotopes, from samples of the Earth, Mars, Moon and meteorites are rapidly revising our views of early planetary differentiation. Recognising Nd-142 isotopic variations in terrestrial rocks (which can only arise from events occurring during the lifetime of now extinct Sm-146 [t(sub 1/2)=103 myr]) has been an on-going quest starting with Harper and Jacobsen. The significance of Nd-142 variations is that they unequivocally reflect early silicate differentiation processes operating in the first 500 myr of Earth history, the key time period between accretion and the beginning of the rock record. The recent establishment of the existence of Nd-142 variations in ancient Earth materials has opened a new range of questions including, how widespread is the evidence of early differentiation, how do Nd-142 compositions vary with time, rock type and geographic setting, and, combined with other types of isotopic and geochemical data, what can Nd-142 isotopic variations reveal about the timing and mechanisms of early terrestrial differentiation? To explore these questions we are determining high precision Nd-142, Nd-143 and Hf-176 isotopic compositions from the oldest well preserved (3.63- 3.87 Ga), rock suites from the extensive early Archean terranes of southwest Greenland and western Australia