Architecture

Authors: Mohamed Askar, Matthew Roberts, Jeremy Matney, Andrew Larsen, Edwin Cansaya Sanchez. Mentors: Mohamed Askar, Matthew Roberts. Insitution: Southern Utah University. Stormwater infrastructures in the U.S. are aging and deteriorating, with most municipalities historically treating stormwater runoff or drainage problems during an emergency or structural failure. What if we could address such issues before they became problematic? Our main objective is to help decision-makers deal effectively with long-term control measures of the budget-limited, ambiguous, and inconsistently applied operation and maintenance of stormwater infrastructures. To this end, an innovative Five-Dimensional Assessment Model (5D-SAM) for the operation and maintenance of stormwater control measures will be developed and tested in the economically disadvantaged rural community of Cedar City, Utah. The model’s strategic approach will employ a prioritized list to create innovative green stormwater infrastructure solutions (clean-energy technologies) for sustainable urban development. The proposed 5D-SAM model includes research on its broader impacts, with a theoretical focus on the nexus of stormwater control measures and design to enhance urban sustainability and resilience. This focus is on the translational and transdisciplinary link between the operation and maintenance of stormwater research outcomes in Cedar City. Performance indicators of the stormwater system will be designed to assess five conditions: assets, functionality, time-effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and environmental and social impact. 5D-SAM will calculate the performance/health index of the stormwater infrastructure, predict the future state, manage the quantity, and improve stormwater runoff quality. The built-in GIS database will aim to preserve the natural features and functions of stormwater infrastructures while providing a list of cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives if a distressed stormwater system is better off demolished, repaired, rehabilitated, or retrofitted. The model benefits society as it applies to other water infrastructure systems, including groundwater wells, dams, reservoirs, treatment facilities, sewer lines, flood prevention, and hydropower. Finally, the proposed research is a valuable and growing resource for students, faculty, urban researchers/practitioners worldwide, and the general public.

Authors: Davi Cavinatto. Mentors: Steven Allen. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Previous work indicates that magnetic gradients oscillating at the same frequency and direction as ultrasound (US) longitudinal displacement can encode particle movement into the complex phase of a magnetic resonance (MR) image. Until now, the coil configuration (Helmholtz) used to generate this oscillating magnetic gradient has constrained the use of this technique to small imaging volumes. Here, we explore the feasibility of using a single coil configuration to improve the versatility of the apparatus, making it possible to visualize US waves as they propagate through tissue that was previously inaccessible through the technique, such as the human brain. This novel approach to the visualization of US waves could potentially be used to establish the missing correlation between the results of neuromodulation treatments and their mechanism of action, thus improving the scientific rigor of this field of research.Wolfram’s Mathematica and COMSOL’s Multiphysics were used for developing a single-coil configuration in silico. The coil design was constrained by the minimum imaging distance from the coil (20mm), gradient needed for an image with signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 10 (0.4 T/m), minimum coil inner radius for fitting the US transducer (20mm), maximum peak current at the coil (20A), and frequency of operation (500kHz). Using Biot-Savart’s Law and Mathematica, we estimated the number of turns needed and the total length of the wire. In order to reduce the skin effect and proximity effect due to the frequency of operation (500kHz), a specific Litz wire configuration was chosen for the windings. Plots for the magnetic gradient over the central axis of the coil were created and compared on both programs to confirm the accuracy of the model.Plots of both the mathematical and in-silicon models matched and proved the high efficiency of the coil system at the frequency of application. The two magnetic field gradient plots corroborate the feasibility of the proposed single coil system for imaging US waves and verification of the functioning of neuromodulation in the extension of the cerebral cortex.

Authors: Kasielynn Bussard, Dakota Stringham. Mentors: Matthias Pleil. Insitution: Salt Lake Community College. We are two students from Salt Lake Community College who participated in a summer research workshop in the cleanroom at the University of New Mexico. We were taught the pressure sensor fabrication process, along with the post-production testing methods. For our research project we decided to test how using different biocompatible metals, and different combinations of said metals, for the circuit would affect the pressure sensors functionality. To test this, we prepped five 4” inch wafers and used photolithography to define the Wheatstone bridge pattern, followed by sputter metal deposition. When sputter coating, we coated each wafer in a Venn diagram pattern. This left us with two areas of a single metal on the outside edges, and an area in the middle with both metals present. We then measured the resistance of each section to determine how it changed with different metals.

Authors: Joshua Lim. Mentors: Nathan Crane. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Metal additive manufacturing (3D printing) technologies have evolved in the past decade to produce intricate parts in aerospace, car, and biomedical industries. While previous work has been done on single materials, metal-metal composites can expand performance but hasn’t been thoroughly explored. This work investigates ways of creating composites by molted bronze infiltration. At a certain temperature, bronze is melted and seeps through parts that are made via additive manufacturing. By altering the geometry of the pathways that the molten bronze will travel through or the metal particles themselves, one can create unique parts that control where the bronze infiltrates. Initial results indicate that mechanical properties were measurably strengthened by the addition of molten bronze and hypothetically could be used to create thermally graded parts, optimized for specific applications where heat transfer is a parameter of interest.

Authors: Aldo Chipana, Sarah G Sanderson, Joseph Moore, Jeffery R Hill, Christopher R Dillon. Mentors: Chris Dillon. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Nitinol shape memory alloys have shown immense promise in biomedical engineering, with their exceptional biocompatibility and corrosion resistance. Interestingly, most biomedical applications rely on Nitinol’s super elasticity rather than its hysteretic properties. Previous research in this lab has highlighted the challenges and potential of using focused ultrasound to effectively heat Nitinol wire without causing damage to adjacent tissue. Building upon these findings, our current study presents an extension of the initial experiments, incorporating more realistic in-body conditions. This includes simulating blood flow, which influences the heat transfer taking place in our control volume. Furthermore, we utilize artery mimicking materials to recreate the conditions of human arterial walls. Through comprehensive experimentation and accurate temperature measurements using embedded thermocouples, we aim to enhance our understanding of the interactions between Nitinol wires, surrounding tissues, and focused ultrasound heating. An integral part of our investigation is to discern whether the focused ultrasound directly heats the Nitinol wire or if actuation is achieved indirectly by heating the surrounding tissue. These results will offer insights into the applications of shape memory alloys in diverse biomedical settings, potentially paving the way for more effective and safer medical use.

Authors: Gabe Snow, Joseph Ward. Mentors: Cammy Peterson. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Unmanned aerial system (UAS) research is fast becoming an important area of development in commercial and military applications. As UAS become more prevalent commercially and recreationally, there is a growing need to accurately track large numbers of these aircraft. This is particularly important in compact urban environments where potential flight paths are limited. Our research team at BYU is developing the Local Air Traffic Information System (LATIS), allowing multiple radar ground stations to communicate and track UAS across multiple fields of view. One major component of this system is Recursive Random Sample Consensus (R-RANSAC)---an algorithm used to correlate and combine the data from multiple sources. The process a ground station uses for calibration is to collect Real-Time Kinematic Global Positioning System (RTK GPS) coordinates of a friendly UAS as it passes through the field of view of a station's radar. R-RANSAC is then used to a) filter noise from the raw radar data, and b) identify "tracks," or paths which UAS have followed, using temporal and spatial proximity. The Orthogonal Procrustes Problem then provides a method to rotate data from the local radar frame to the global frame. These steps can be done live or with recorded data. Following this, the calibrated radar uses R-RANSAC to filter data and identify passing UAS with high accuracy. Our contributions to the project are developing communication software, refining R-RANSAC, and helping to implement the whole system in flight experiments. We are continuing to work on analyzing the data taken from flight tests and publish the improvements of this system compared to existing methods.

Authors: Lais Oliveira, Corinne Jackson. Mentors: Spencer Magleby. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Space applications, such as LiDAR telescopes and reflectarray antennas, often need large arrays that deploy to meet specific mission requirements. These deployable arrays transform from a compact stowed volume to a large deployed surface area, and it is crucial for them to be light and compact with a high functional area. In this project we are improving the ratio with research in deployment by investigating the deployment of various array designs developed by the Compliant Mechanisms Research lab, intended for space applications. We obtain relative metrics, including the deployment energy curves for each design, so designs can be compared for specific applications. Specifically, we aim to assess each design’s compatibility with the aim to minimize volume and maximize surface area. This research will allow us to determine which deployment techniques can be combined, or design for external structures to aid in deployment, if needed, to create an efficient deployable array.

Authors: Davis Wing. Mentors: Larry Howell. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Origami-based mechanisms provide the opportunity for constructing highly compact systems for deployment in space and other applications. One pattern that shows great promise in this field is the flasher pattern, which unfurls a flat, rotationally symmetric arrangement of panels from a cylindrical spiral. The fold pattern is complex, and in attempting to better understand how it can be made from non-zero-thickness materials, and desiring a model which could be easily 3D printed, the following research was developed.As a result of this research, a flasher model was constructed which folds out to a deployed state that has almost triple the projected area of the stowed state. The idealized flasher was designed using Tessellatica, a program developed by Dr. Robert Lang. Turning the two-dimensional output from Tessellatica into a structure suitable for 3D printing required beginning with the stowed form of the flasher and thickening it across all panels. Fold lines were preserved at zero-thickness to ensure correct kinematics, and the bottom face of the model was constrained to be flat. Initial attempts at fulfilling these design requirements made apparent the need for more constraints, such as constraining the thicknesses of different panel sections to be proportional to their distance from the center and ensuring that the final unfolded state involved no overhangs.The final step in designing the model involved the implementation of living hinges. In a 3D printed design, living hinges offer mobility without assembly at the cost of being potential failure points, depending on print line orientations. Any hinge built from paths running in line with that hinge would immediately fail upon bending. The solution to this problem of parallelism was to use two layers with 0.1mm thickness on the bottom of the model, at 90° angles to one another. This allowed for all of the hinges, regardless of orientation, to be able to have the strength necessary to form a workable part.This research advances the manufacturability of zero-thickness origami patterns by providing models capable of being conveniently manufactured by anyone with a 3D printer. Specifically, it demonstrates a method for developing a zero-thickness model into a foldable structure of non-negligible thickness, and how to use default 3D slicer settings to build robust living hinges. The models have been uploaded on two popular file-sharing websites, Thingiverse and Printables, and have been downloaded hundreds of times.

Authors: Joseph Moore. Mentors: Jeff Hill. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Shape memory alloys are extensively utilized in many industries due to their ability to return to a predefined shape when heated. For medical applications, Nitinol, a nickel-titanium shape memory alloy, holds significant favor due to its biocompatibility and super elasticity. Since its discovery in the early 1960s, Nitinol has been the subject of ongoing research and fresh insights into how this alloy operates are of great importance to the industry.Nitinol wires sourced from manufacturers exhibit substantial uncertainty in their actuation temperature, also known as the austenite finish temperature. This study aims to investigate a heat-treatment method that can reduce these uncertainties, ultimately narrowing down the precise and consistent austenite finish temperature for two types of Nitinol wire: a single wire and a coiled variant.To achieve this, Nitinol samples were subjected to heat treatment in a furnace, with temperature and time parameters ranging from 500 to 650 °C and 5 minutes to 2 hours. Subsequently, the austenite finish temperature was triggered and recorded by immersing the heat-treated samples in degassed and deionized water at a controlled temperature.This research defines a straightforward yet effective approach that produces dependable results under controlled conditions. This method has the potential to streamline the determination of austenite finish temperatures, making future research more efficient. It may also open doors for innovative and efficient methods investigating the impact of heat treatment on Nitinol wires.

Authors: Benjamin Merrell. Mentors: Preston Manwaring. Insitution: Brigham Young University. Stage 1 and 2 labor is often characterized by manual examination of the maternal pelvis for fetal position and continuous monitoring by fetal cardiotocography. This practice has not changed in decades despite newer technology becoming available. Manual pelvic examinations have wide inter-examiner variability. Newer technology requires education and training. Unfortunately, both the decades old standard of care and newer technologies target Western markets with high reimbursements. Our lab is seeking to develop simple, robust, reliable, and low-cost technologies for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that don’t require the extensive education and training of modern western medical technologies. To facilitate this development, we, in collaboration with obstetric professionals, have created a 3D-printed test jig with a movable carriage that follows the normal path of fetal head delivery to test various stage 1 and 2 labor technologies in both dry and aqueous environments. Device requirements include: 1) delivery path must be representative of normal nulliparous and multiparous fetal head trajectories; 2) device must not utilize electronics or metal that could interfere with various tracking technologies; 3) device must provide a repeatable path for inter-technology evaluations; 4) device should allow for later expansion for higher-fidelity simulations. This presentation represents our early development work and initial outcomes.

Authors: Josh Lythgoe. Mentors: Brandon Ro. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Is the average American content with their home? If not, why are they discontent? One study suggests that how one perceives their home has more impact on them than the actual physical makeup of their home. This research will be added to by determining how the average homeowner perceives their home, and whether or not they are content with their current home. This research will be executed via a survey with a target sample size of at least one-hundred individuals. Factors such as race, socioeconomics, gender, and education will be studied to see what correlations exist between these factors and contentment in each category. Participants will be gathered by posting the survey on various forms of social media, as well as distributing flyers in public locations and randomly selected neighborhoods. Homeowners will be directed to rate various aspects of their home in the following areas: aesthetics and beauty, layout and flow, spaciousness and comfort, timelessness and longevity, maintenance and upkeep, and neighborhood and location. An average will be taken from each category to assess homeowners contentment by topic. The expected results are that on average homeowners will be more discontent than content in each of the above mentioned categories. A statistical analysis will be conducted to look for correlations between who designed the home and contentment. There is an expected positive correlation between contentment with one's home if they were involved in the design process. Similarly, there is an anticipated positive correlation with contentment if an architect designed the home. This research will be used to help guide design professionals to know how they can improve owner contentment with homes being newly constructed and renovated. The findings will help raise awareness of whether or not the current method of designing and constructing houses is meeting the homeowner’s needs, and expectations.

Authors: Sadie Stutz. Mentors: Ben Felix. Insitution: Utah Valley University. The Pagoda is a World War I memorial located in Memory Grove Park in Salt Lake City Utah. This structure was designed by Slack Winburn who was a WWI veteran and local architect in Salt Lake City. It was built in 1925 and is placed to the right after the entry gates of this park. The structure is built out of marble and has simple but intricate detail around the top of the entablature. The pedestal and urn placed in the middle of the structure was added in later years. As you walk around this pedestal you are able to read the names of those in Utah who have passed on and have fought for our country. This memorial is a very elegant and peaceful structure to pay tribute to those who have passed on. The purpose of this project was to study and research this structure. I went to the structure and measured the different details, I composed this analytique to show the beauty in this structure. This composition is done with pencil and watercolor. I have shown an enlarged Doric column, entablature, and pedestal. There is a flower motif of a forget-me-not flower that is repeated through the ornamentation on the entablature and on the pedestal. I have shown the floor plan and floor details with the broken pieces of colored marble which focuses your attention on the pedestal in the middle to remember these men who fought. In the center of the composition is an elevation of the entire structure, surrounded by rose bushes. file:///C:/Users/sadst/Downloads/Sadie%20Stutz%20-%20Pagoda%20Analytique.pdf

Authors: Samuel Weisler. Mentors: Brandon Ro. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Contemporary architecture and design increasingly prioritize sustainable, healthy, and aesthetically pleasing indoor environments, acknowledging the fact that we spend most of our lives inside buildings. However, this research brings up a critical question: are we undervaluing the inherent beauty of the outdoors within our built environment? While the concept of beauty is a subject of heavy debate, the universal beauty of nature remains a constant. This study aims to substantiate the superiority of outdoor spaces over their indoor counterparts by comparing the visual appeal of AI-generated images. Specifically, it will create image pairs for five different activity categories: contemplation, recreation, social interaction, education, and creativity. Each image in the pair must embody essential elements: sunlight, biophilic components, and privacy. For each activity category, AI will be instructed to generate an outdoor space image and an indoor equivalent. Next, visual eye-tracking software will analyze these images, enabling us to quantitatively gauge their visual appeal. The analysis will provide insight into whether outdoor spaces surpass their indoor counterparts in aesthetics. Anticipating that outdoor spaces will exhibit greater visual appeal, this research carries valuable implications for the architectural and design industries. In a world increasingly focused on enhancing the human experience, these findings will advocate for the greater incorporation and prioritization of outdoor spaces in built environments. Increasing our access to outdoor living spaces will undoubtedly improve the quality of human experiences.

Authors: Colton Korpi. Mentors: Brandon Ro. Insitution: Utah Valley University. Background: The apparent design shift and style of LDS temples has changed over time moving from a traditional style into a modern era. The ornamentation and architectural style of these sacred spaces play a role in shaping the user's spiritual experience by creating a profound sense of connection to religious tradition. Insights into the evolutionary link between human perception and ornamentation inform this exploration. Architecture, initially rooted in shelter and protection, has evolved into an art form, encompassing subjectivity, creativity, and aesthetics. The effects of architecture on our psychological well-being, makes it an ideal venue to understand its influence on spiritual experiences.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how the presence of ornamentation and architectural style influences the experience of sacred ordinances within LDS temples.Method: A comprehensive study method combining surveys and Visual Attention Software (VAS) to investigate the effects of temple design on user experiences. Surveys will present participants ranging in age, race, and religious beliefs with questions and visual comparisons of diverse temple styles, form, levels of ornamentation, and site design. Complementing this, VAS will offer a technological perspective by analyzing visual attention patterns. The research includes a selection of LDS temples with varying architectural styles distributed geographically to minimize regional biases.Results: The primary hypothesis is that architectural styles and factors of LDS temples impact the emotional and spiritual experiences of visitors. These results could influence and impact the process and overall thought of designing sacred spaces Conclusion: By utilizing both traditional survey methods and VAS technology, this research aims to provide an understanding of how temple architecture shapes the spiritual journey of visitors. The outcomes could have broader implications for architectural design in sacred spaces and offer valuable insights into the evolving role of architecture in spiritual well-being in a contemporary context.

Authors: Arawyn Walter. Mentors: Alexandra Giannell. Insitution: Utah Valley University. “Breaking Boundaries” is an abstract self portrait that describes the duality of distancing myself from relationships, juxtaposed to being entangled in the complex connections I have with family and friends. Boundaries, in my sense of the word, are barriers/rules that are set to make an individual feel comfortable, however these barriers can be complicated and are different from person to person. This piece explores my own personal struggle when it comes to setting boundaries for myself and being able to understand the boundaries of others. The two figures resting in the center of the piece expressing two versions of myself, one in action and one in rest revealing two mental states that portray the emotions showing two extremes of what relationships feel like to me. Parts of the work physically emerges from the canvas from my hands that are tangled up in string. The distance of the tangled and strained strings from the canvas comments on my state now and the physical distance I have put between myself and past relationships in order to feel a sense of freedom from the pressures they put on me and I put on myself.

Authors: Nathaniel Stucki. Mentors: Brandon Ro. Insitution: Utah Valley University. In the field of architectural design, the invention of artificial Intelligence or (AI) has sparked incredible amounts of curiosity and debate in regard to its potential impact on classical design principles. For this Project I will dive into the relationship between AI and classical Architecture and aim to determine whether AI can Measure up to the educated experts of classical architecture and how we can use AI as a tool for design.The project will unravel in three separate phases (1-3). Phase 1 will explore the interior and exterior images provided by AI when describing a building akin to the Pantheon because it is considered to be the pinnacle of beauty. The incremental process of refining the text prompt is essential to obtain quality images to continue into the subsequent phases.In phase 2, the VAS by 3M, will be used to assess which of the AI images are the most captivating for both the exterior images and the interior images. The winning interior image and the winning exterior image will then move on to phase 3.Phase 3 will take these AI images and compare them to photographs of the Pantheon VAS 3M. This phase will evaluate the extent that AI can pull attention and will offer insights into the potential utility for architects or designers to use in the design process during the conceptual phase.In conclusion, I expect findings will show VAS attention percentages are slightly skewed in favor of human design and, while AI can enhance the efficiency in the design process, it cannot replace years of classical training. Architects would be wise to, instead of resisting change, fully embrace AI as a tool for design enhancement. This study emphasizes the importance of collaboration between “man and machine” in shaping the future for architecture.

Authors: Rafael Deo. Mentors: Matthew Wilcox. Insitution: Brigham Young University. A listening test is an important method used to assess language proficiency. It can be used as placement tests, pre and post-tests, research purposes, classroom evaluations, and many more. Comparison of results of such tests can also be used to assess language gain throughout a period of time. However, to create such listening tests that can genuinely evaluate an individual's ability, audio quality plays an important role, too. This factor should be addressed because it seems trivial, even though it can affect test-takers results. Through this presentation, I will provide general guidelines and practical tools for finding, evaluating and capturing listening passages for proficiency tests.

Authors: Maggie Wu, Ashley Littlefield, Bryant Jones. Mentors: Bryant Jones. Insitution: Snow College. A novel method of predictive thermodynamic property mining using AIMD simulations of molten salts for use in molten salt nuclear reactorsSolving the worlds energy crisis has been a heavily debated and researched topic for many years. One proposed solution to this problem is the micro molten salt nuclear reactor (MMSR). The MMSR is a small portable nuclear powerplant that can provide an affordable source of energy that is completely safe, readily available, and passively controlled. The waste products from this reactor are also heavily sought medically important isotopes. One final hurdle for MMSR development is the mining of the thermodynamic properties for previously unstudied eutectic mixtures of molten salts. Due to the hygroscopic nature of molten salt eutectics, experimental techniques for measuring thermodynamic properties are time and cost prohibitive. Modern supercomputing techniques provide a solution for property mining. However, computational methods have been historically limited to previously experimentally studied salts. There has always been a need for experimentally measured values to be determined first to provide tuning for the computational techniques. This group has developed a novel technique for tuning the values for previously unstudied salts. This greatly enhances the predictive capabilities of computation methods. This technique was then employed to successfully measure the density, Heat capacity, and coefficient of thermal expansion for two promising uranium salt eutectics. These studies provided the data to also study the molecular structure of these salts. This study showed interesting new aggregation of the uranium atoms that will be presented.