UWM College of Engineering & Applied Science | Condensed Research magazine | 2018 by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

2018

SPOTLIGHT ON ENERGY

Qu (right) and a student in UWM's Energy Advancement Center

Energizing the future of batteries The market for batteries is ever-growing. For lithium-ion batteries, it has surpassed $30 billion and is expected to double or perhaps triple by 2025. It also demands constant improvement in battery efficiency and storage capabilities. Answering this charge is a priority for UWM researchers, whose work in energy storage is helping power a strong industry cluster in Wisconsin and beyond. UWM’s expertise got a boost in 2015 when Deyang Qu became the Johnson Controls Endowed Professor in Energy Storage Research. The endowment from Johnson Controls, a giant in the battery industry, funded a unique dry lab at UWM, the largest such facility at any North American university. Housed in the College of Engineering & Applied Science, the lab is a miniature factory, providing limited manufacturing of promising new batteries. Today, the UWM Energy Advancement Center partners with several companies while researching battery science and developing next-generation power strategies. Among those companies is Milwaukee Tool, one of the world’s leading users of li-ion batteries. UWM researchers attack the challenge from many different angles. Here are just a few of the ways they’re trying to take lithium-ion technology into the future.

Niu

Tin for the win? In researching the batteries of the future, Junjie Niu thinks he’s found a winning combination of tin and a “super skin.” He’s exploring batteries that have a hybrid composite with tin – rather than graphite – as their anode material, paired with a protective and resilient skin made of titanium dioxide. “You can use it for many years,” says Niu, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering. “Plus, you can charge your battery in 10 minutes or less.” In trials, Niu’s team found their batteries have a capacity two to three times larger than the graphite anodes now used in more than 90 percent of lithium-ion batteries. Niu and postdoctoral researcher Shuai Kang have applied for a patent on the work. Niu’s UWM team has attracted about $1.2 million in funding, both from within the UW System and from industry and government sources.

Beating the cold All car batteries labor to start an engine during a deep freeze. But researchers in Deyang Qu’s lab have found a fix for the coldcar start – at least for electric vehicles, which use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. They’ve hit on the right recipe for the battery’s electrolyte. This liquid induces a chemical reaction to move lithium ions back and forth through the electrolyte during charging and discharging. That movement is necessary for generating a current. “It isn’t the conductivity or the melting or freezing point of the electrolyte that has the largest effect on performance,” says researcher Joshua Harris. “It really all depends on the electrolyte’s components.” From reactions with the electrolyte, a layer of oxidation builds up on the anode. If it grows too thick, it restricts movement of ions in the electrolyte, hindering the power. But if it’s too thin, it allows the electrolyte to continuously react with the electrodes, reducing battery life. The research team tested 46 different combinations of electrolyte components to find the ideal mix. “This is one instance where we have developed the technology to solve the problem,” says Qu. “Now it’s up to companies to decide whether they want to invest to commercialize it.”

A win-wind proposition High wind gusts – the very reason wind turbines can crank out energy – also cause severe vibrations that can crack the blades. That poses unpredictable safety hazards, and replacing even one blade carries a hefty price tag.

When a crack forms on the blade’s surface, it breaks the delicate tubing, which releases the healing agent that seeps into the crack. That reacts with the surrounding catalyst to create a kind of solder that solidifies in a matter of hours.

One possible solution? Blades that heal themselves. UWM mechanical engineering professor Ryo Amano and a former graduate student created a material that does just that. “Like blood clotting,” Amano says.

Successful tests of the concept were performed inside UWM’s experimental wind tunnel, the state’s largest such facility and one of the country’s largest, too. Amano says the method can add several years to the lifespan of blades.

Inside each hollow blade, which is made of polymer and fiberglass composites, Amano and Arun Kumar Koralagundi Matt insert short lengths of hair-like glass tubing. They contain a liquid healing agent surrounded by a hardened blend of epoxy resin and a special catalyst powder.

Microgrid expertise, major initiative UWM has become an academic partner in a National Science Foundation research center that’s developing improvements in how Americans will access energy in the near future. It could even lead to lower energy bills.

of larger grids – for a fixed area, such as a neighborhood or factory. But they can also connect to a larger grid and contribute power to it. Because of this, they can help ease the nation’s near-exclusive reliance on huge power plants.

The research center is called Grid-connected Advanced Power Electronic Systems, or GRAPES. It collaborates with industry to develop new technologies for warding off cybersecurity threats while storing, controlling and distributing energy compatible with the existing national electrical grid. Energy storage systems are also a major focus of GRAPES.

UWM researchers are working to integrate microgrids into energy markets projected to generate $1.6 billion in revenue in the next few years.

“The industry-led work at GRAPES aims to make the grid more reliable, greener and less expensive,” says Adel Nasiri, electrical engineering professor at UWM’s College of Engineering & Applied Science. “That makes it a perfect fit for the expertise in microgrid technology that UWM brings.” Microgrids integrate energy from many smaller sources, including renewables. UWM is home to experts like Nasiri, Lingfeng Wang, an associate professor of electrical engineering, and Rob Cuzner, an assistant professor of electrical engineering. Microgrids are like energy islands that can act as freestanding power systems – independent

GRAPES is an NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) launched by the University of Arkansas and the University of South Carolina in 2010. Like all IUCRCs, it pairs academic researchers with industry partners. Industry memberships pay for the cost of research in a precompetitive, shared intellectual property arrangement. GRAPES research has resulted in several spinoff companies in Arkansas since its inception. Nasiri says UWM’s membership will help create even more commercial products and startups. The center currently has 16 industry members, including Midwest-based companies such as We Energies, Eaton Corp., Leonardo DRS, S&C Electric, American Transmission Company and G&W Electric.

SPOTLIGHT ON ENERGY

Qu (right) and a student in UWM's Energy Advancement Center

Niu

UWM researchers are working to integrate microgrids into energy markets projected to generate $1.6 billion in revenue in the next few years.

UWM researchers make waves with water technology A family in Milwaukee worries that lead is present in their drinking water. In northern Wisconsin, another family is concerned that arsenic—a naturally occurring element found in the Earth’s soil and bedrock in many parts of the world—is leaching into their well water. The possible presence of bacteria or phosphorous in water concerns countless others, whether they rely on groundwater or surface water. There is a growing demand for better water monitoring at all levels, from municipal to personal. “Both individuals and the water-technology industry want sensors and filters that are accurate, small, portable, low-cost and that provide instantaneous results,” says Brett Peters, dean of the College of Engineering & Applied Science. To meet this need, researchers are developing the next generation of high-performance water sensors and filters that aim to bring peace of mind to users.

Heavy metals, bacteria Junhong Chen led the development of real-time, wafer-thin graphene-based water sensors that potentially can be immersed long-term in a liquid environment to continuously monitor for trace amounts of heavy metals or bacteria like E. coli. The sensors outperform current technologies for cost, sensitivity and sensing speed. Chen, a distinguished professor of mechanical and materials engineering, is currently overseeing NSF’s Engineering Research Centers. (See story, Page 5.)

FOCUS ON WATER

Deyang Qu, UWM’s Johnson Controls Endowed Professor in Energy Storage Research, is leading a National Science Foundation-funded project to perfect a method of mass-producing such graphene-based water sensors, using inkjet printing.

Water acidity, blood-borne diseases Woo Jin Chang, associate professor, mechanical engineering, developed a menu of disposable, miniature electrochemical sensors that can detect—at low-cost and instantaneously—heavy metals, water acidity, nutrients and blood-borne diseases in drinking water and other fluids using a single drop of liquid.

Arsenic Krishna Pillai, professor of mechanical engineering, and Nidal Abu-Zahra, associate professor of materials science and engineering, are developing a low-cost, gravity-driven foam filter to remove at least 70 percent of arsenic from water.

Phosphorous and beyond Marcia Silva (’13 PhD Civil Engineering), an adjunct assistant professor in the College of Engineering & Applied Science and in the School of Freshwater Sciences, was a finalist in NASA’s iTech Forum, an initiative to find innovations that have the potential to solve critical problems on Earth and in space exploration. Working with David Rice, president of Rice Technology, Silva designed a real-time sensor that detects phosphorous and total dissolved and suspended solids.

UWM Leads Partnerships, Collaborations Creating the next generation of products and processes in the water industry is done in collaboration with the member-based consortium called the Water Equipment and Policy Center, or WEP, the research engine that drives innovation in North America’s water industry. Formed in 2010 by the National Science Foundation, and led by UWM, WEP supports water-industry projects as they progress toward commercialization. The center is one of the industry/university cooperative research centers that facilitate collaborative innovation among universities, governmental agencies, and private companies, whose memberships pay for the cost of research in a shared intellectual property arrangement.

During its first seven years, WEP generated nearly $9 million for freshwater technology and policy research.

Influencing researchers around the world UWM’s Junhong Chen has been named one of the world’s most influential researchers in the materials science field, with his work among the top 1 percent of most-cited research papers over the past 11 years. Chen, a distinguished professor in the College of Engineering & Applied Science, is one of 3,300 researchers from 900 institutions to achieve that status. It indicates he’s “won peer approval in the form of high citation counts” with work that inspires and challenges colleagues, according to Clarivate Analytics, a leading company that monitors scholarly data and produced the most-cited list.

nanomaterials, nanostructured sensors with wide applications, and renewable energy and corona discharges. He has developed a unique, inexpensive method of producing hybrid nanomaterials for use in advanced technology devices. He’s grateful so many researchers worldwide are interested in his lab’s work. “This honor also belongs to UWM,” he says. “It has enabled me to grow my career and research program, which I really appreciate.” Chen is on a leave of absence to serve as a program director of the Engineering Research Centers Program at the National Science Foundation, but he retains his UWM faculty status. “It comes as no surprise that Dr. Chen ranks among the most cited researchers in the world,” says Mark T. Harris, vice provost for research. “This recognition demonstrates the value of his research into the potential and nature of nanomaterials.”

Chen’s expertise is in the fields of mechanical engineering and materials science. His publishing reflects a wide range of research interests, including carbon nanotubes and hybrid

Keeping the water flowing In its most recent report card, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s drinking water and wastewater systems grades of “D.” One big reason: Our drinking water systems include some 1 million miles of infrastructure that’s nearing the end of its useful life, and replacing broken components will cost an estimated $1 trillion over the next decade. With that in mind, the emerging field of cyber-physical systems, or CPS, is poised to evaluate the pipes, pumps, valves, regulators and tanks in the nation’s 170,000 public water systems and 16,000 public wastewater systems. The goal is to put money into the most needed repairs. “As the nation’s infrastructure ages and budgets are limited, we need to invest wisely to repair and reinforce our water systems,” says Lingfeng Wang, College of Engineering & Applied Science associate professor and director of UWM’s Cyber-Physical Energy Systems Laboratory. CPS integrates computations, communications and physical processes. Wang, considered a leader in this field, created a CPS software tool for the probabilistic, quantitative risk evaluation of water systems. Essentially, it removes guesswork from prioritizing repairs, and adds intelligent oversight to a complex and sophisticated system. Currently, there is no systemic way to determine which areas of a water system are most in need of repair. Decisions are often

made only after breakdowns occur. “The tool adds intelligence to the system and identifies the weakest links,” Wang says. That would help utilities, urban planners and policymakers make better-informed choices. In addition to pinpointing failure risks within a system, the tool could be used to minimize the effects of natural or man-made disasters, including cyberattacks. “In all cases, it supports a water system’s resiliency, security and reliability,” Wang says. The software tool was developed at UWM with the support of the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center on Water Equipment & Policy. Industrial partners include the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Veolia North America and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

FOCUS ON WATER

During its first seven years, WEP generated nearly $9 million for freshwater technology and policy research.

Chen’s expertise is in the fields of mechanical engineering and materials science. His publishing reflects a wide range of research interests, including carbon nanotubes and hybrid

XIAO QIN AND TROY LIU ARE ENGINEERING BETTER TRAFFIC SAFETY. BY MITCH TEICH

In 2015, the Wisconsin Legislature increased the speed limit from 65 to 70 mph on hundreds of miles of interstate highways. That same year, statewide fatalities attributed to vehicle crashes jumped to 566, up from 506 in 2014, the first significant increase in decades. At first glance, it seems like a simple case of cause and effect. But much like driving in bad weather, the answer is … not so fast. Yue “Troy” Liu and Xiao (pronounced “Shaw”) Qin are researching ways to better understand and manage traffic. The College of Engineering & Applied Science professor and associate professor pore over data pulled from roadside sensors, mobile phones and simple police crash reports, all with the goal of making driving safer, be it in a construction zone or on the open road. “Crashes can be caused by a variety of reasons,” explains Qin, who’s studying the issue for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. He thinks a main reason for the 2015 increase in traffic fatalities is that the number in 2014 was so low. In fact, he says, the number of fatalities had fallen so far since the end of World War II that an increase might well have been expected. “Basically,” he says, “when you hit rock bottom, there’s nowhere to go but up.” He believes the decline in those years can be attributed to technology, in a variety of ways. “We have better vehicle technology – smarter cars with better safety equipment that’s more affordable,” Qin says. The roads themselves are safer, too, and there is greater enforcement of traffic laws. He also notes that first responders and other emergency medical staff are more skilled than ever, meaning some serious injuries are less likely to become fatalities. As of now, there remains no clear verdict on how higher speed limits affected traffic fatalities. “It’s controversial,” Qin says. “Speeding has been a problem for a long time. And speed plays a significant role in injury severity. But there’s no clear evidence that raising the speed limit will lead to more crashes.” His work is aided by collecting better crash-related data, which allows for better models to determine statistically significant crash factors. Law enforcement authorities are revising the MV4000 form used to document crash sites. “And now,” Qin says, “we’re expanding our analysis to include more human factors – driver behavior, law enforcement effort and even socioeconomic status of the drivers.” The socioeconomic data helps determine if there’s an association with better safety, even if it’s not a direct correlation. “The families with a higher income can afford new cars, better cars, safer cars,” Qin says. “And their

Troy Liu

communities may be able to build better roadways with better pavement conditions.” Liu’s work, focused on improving traffic safety and efficiency related to road construction zones, is also bolstered by advances in data collection. Governments develop transportation management plans to guide drivers through construction zones, and currently, they do so the way it’s always been done – manually. “That means people base it on their theories,” Liu says. “But we have a lot more useful data, and we can take advantage of the data that’s available.” In Wisconsin, Liu explains, the state collects data about traffic conditions from thousands of sensors and cameras along highways. “It’s easy for them to streamline the data into their server. And then we have access to this data, so we can do our research to improve traffic management.” We also carry advanced sensors in our cars, even if we don’t realize it. “A lot of us are using smartphones,” Liu says, “and sometimes, their location data – their trajectories – will be recorded. So, we can understand their behavior, their travel patterns and the travel time they spend on the roads.” All of this helps inform better design for highways and better traffic management, and there’s a lot at stake from using that data. Large cities like Washington, D.C., can have 700 to 800 construction zones per year. “It’s pretty important to have a very good system to try to schedule those projects so that we can minimize their impact on the overall [traffic] network,” Liu says. He’s helped the D.C. Department of Transportation implement such a system, and it could be adapted to other congested places, like Chicago – or Milwaukee. A comforting thought the next time you see a “Detour Ahead” sign.

In Wisconsin, the state collects data about traffic conditions from thousands of sensors and cameras along highways.

XIAO QIN AND TROY LIU ARE ENGINEERING BETTER TRAFFIC SAFETY. BY MITCH TEICH

Troy Liu

In Wisconsin, the state collects data about traffic conditions from thousands of sensors and cameras along highways.

PAVED

with GOOD PREVENTION Water is concrete’s ultimate enemy. Although concrete withstands constant beatings from cars and trucks, water can break it down, pooling on its surface and infiltrating the tiniest cracks. Add freezing and thawing cycles, and it’s no wonder roads need frequent repairs. To keep Mother Nature out, researcher Konstantin Sobolev has created a water-repelling concrete. When he pours water over it, the liquid beads up on contact, forming almost perfect spheres that rush off the hard surface. Besides this water-resistant variety, the UWM professor of civil engineering has made other high-performance concrete composites. Unlike ordinary concrete, Sobolev’s composites are designed to flex, making them ultimately stronger, and some even combat air pollution. Most importantly, his materials are designed to last. Some of his creations have such a high level of “crack control” that their service life is pegged at 120 years. That’s a massive improvement over the average life span of Wisconsin roads, which falls in the 40- or 50-year range. The difference matters for reinforced bridge decks, too, considering 10 percent of them must be replaced after 30 years.

He’s reinventing how we think of concrete, and Konstantin Sobolev’s creations could make potholes disappear.

BY LAURA L. OTTO

Sobolev’s main weapon against water is called “superhydrophobic

engineered cementitious composite,” which may sound complex but has the simple goal of fighting moisture in two ways. Sobolev makes this composite and others in his lab at the College of Engineering & Applied Science. A nano-additive changes the concrete on a molecular level when the pavement hardens, resulting in a spiky surface at the microscopic level. This causes water to bead up and roll off, much as droplets do on tiny hairs covering the leaves of some plants. In another water-control method, millions of tiny bubbles containing air and siloxane oil are blended throughout the material. When cracking occurs, the bubbles break open, releasing the oil and keeping water from saturating the concrete.

“ So, what if that

Sobolev with some of his many advanced concrete creations.

Neither method completely waterproofs the concrete. But Sobolev combines them with a fiber reinforcement strategy that eliminates the source of large cracks and addresses the brittleness inherent in high-strength concrete. Super-strong polyvinyl alcohol fibers or high-density polyethylene fibers, each the width of a human hair, are mixed into the concrete and bond with it. When cracks begin, the fibers prevent them from opening and becoming larger gaps. In fact, Sobolev isn’t trying to eliminate cracking. He wants to direct the process in a preferred way, resulting in evenly distributed microcracking. This disperses the load so that tiny cracks remain small while the material’s superhydrophobic features form a water barrier. This architecture, Sobolev says, allows the material to withstand four times the compression of traditional concrete and have 200 times the ductility, or flexibility under stress. “These are complicated materials, and making them is not as simple as adding something to the concrete mixture,” says Sobolev, the son of a concrete engineering professor. “The addition of fibers offers only a little improvement. “What we had to do was chemically change the material’s behavior so that extended deformation actually improves strength.”

Sobolev’s water-resistant composites have generated lots of attention since a 2014 story appeared in the online technology magazine Gizmodo. But he’s also developing a pervious concrete that allows water to pass right through it and soak into the ground below. It’s an ice-prevention strategy that also has great potential for use in green infrastructure.

concrete composite could also help control air pollution caused by vehicles?

”

Urban areas are increasingly interested in green solutions for stormwater management while they replace their aging infrastructure. This presents a business opportunity, says Nicholas Passint, a product and business development engineer in Spancrete’s equipment division. The company, based in Waukesha, Wisconsin, supplies precast concrete for buildings and highways. Spancrete has been independently researching and developing products that improve the durability of pervious pavement. A more durable pervious concrete is needed to control runoff from parking lots and sidewalks, which contributes to flooding and carries pollutants into lakes and rivers. Now Sobolev has proposed to enhance Spancrete’s pervious concrete with an idea that will make it more green. “Parking lots are a perfect use for pervious concrete,” he says. “So, what if that concrete composite could also help control air pollution caused by vehicles?” He is creating a titanium dioxide-based catalyst that’s added to the concrete mix. When sunshine hits the hardened pavement, it activates the catalyst, which then breaks down organic contaminants from the vehicle exhaust near the concrete. The material is still in the testing and commercialization stage, Passint says, but it’s packed with potential. “It could be used with traditional concrete applications to act in the same manner,” he says. It’s exactly the kind of versatility Sobolev is going for. “When I think of new concrete,” he says, “my focus is on unique properties and high performance, but I also like to see synergy.”

PAVED

He’s reinventing how we think of concrete, and Konstantin Sobolev’s creations could make potholes disappear.

BY LAURA L. OTTO

Sobolev’s main weapon against water is called “superhydrophobic

“ So, what if that

Sobolev with some of his many advanced concrete creations.

concrete composite could also help control air pollution caused by vehicles?

”

HORIZONS

RENEWABLE

BY ANGELA MCMANAMAN

Wilkistar Otieno helps companies get the most out of what they make. Wilkistar Otieno is an expert in learning how something can be made better. And that even includes herself. In 2010, in her early 30s, Otieno began running marathons. Now, the UWM industrial and manufacturing engineer has completed 30 full and half-marathons. Several mornings a week, be it warm or wintry, she’s out with the UWM Chancellor’s Running Group, renewing her efforts to beat a personal-best marathon time of 4 hours, 3 minutes. “Being on time for an early run starts my day on a good note,” Otieno says. Otieno’s research, too, is about renewal. Her branch of engineering doesn’t focus on making things, but on studying how things are made. She puts a special focus on how products can be crafted so they’re more recyclable, and she designs remanufacturing processes that keep

industrial pollutants out of sewerage systems and heavy electronics out of landfills. “The more recyclable a piece is, the more remanufacturable it is,” explains Otieno, an associate professor in the College of Engineering & Applied Science. “You want to keep the whole thing out of the landfill if you can.” In addition to helping the environment, remanufacturing helps Fortune 500 companies and their clients. Otieno’s work entails gathering data and analyzing manufacturing processes, then using that information to improve the process and product. Such expertise has led to working partnerships with top manufacturing companies like Rockwell Automation. “We put nothing to waste,” says Michael Cook, director

of the University Partnerships Program at Rockwell Automation. “When we talk about being a smart, safe, sustainable company, we have come to live and breathe that, becoming very serious and innovative with waste management and materials recycling.” Otieno has created a model that helps companies and customers get more out of their products. Called the Analytical Hierarchical Performance Model, in simple terms, it determines whether companies and clients are better off creating a new product or a remanufactured one. While borrowing from previous performance models, Otieno has tweaked hers to focus more on the sustainability values that she shares with her research partners. For example, one of Rockwell’s signature pieces of technology is the control drive, which directs a motor to move at a certain speed and frequency. Any company that has a conveyor system or uses hydraulics relies on a control drive, from mining companies to beverage bottling plants. Drives can operate continuously for 20 to 30 years and cost anywhere from several hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. When they fail, some clients want their old drives repaired and returned – or “remanufactured.” A brand-new drive might be incompatible with older pieces of equipment that the company also relies on, or it might just be too expensive. Otieno’s model factors in the economic, social, technical and energy implications of creating a new product versus remanufacturing an existing one. Different products require different levels of labor during the remanufacturing process. A control drive that’s welded shut must be sawed apart, and every screw in a case must be unscrewed, and each step adds to labor costs. In the end, Otieno’s model produces a numerical score that helps company engineers determine when remanufacturing is in their best interest and that of their clients. “Remanufacturing is critically important to continuity of operations for our customers,” Cook says. “Some firms may not be ready from an economic or technical perspective

to get the next-generation products. And Wilkistar certainly is able to understand the industrial perspective.” The final phase of the performance-modeling process gets Otieno onto the plant floor, where she observes technicians as they make or remanufacture a product, analyzing the process and collecting anecdotal data. Her final report takes all of this into account, with an eye toward the consumer experience. The concept of a “cradle-to-grave” product lifecycle is outdated, Otieno says. Looking at how a product moves from cradle to grave and “back to the cradle,” via remanufacturing, signals a new era of intelligent design. “When a company maximizes utilization of their product,” Otieno says, “they gain customer loyalty and become more productive and efficient with less cost per unit. While I appreciate research that drives basic science to newer frontiers, I get a renewed sense of satisfaction when my work can have some benefit to a company.”

HORIZONS

RENEWABLE

BY ANGELA MCMANAMAN

UWM is uniquely positioned to lead the effort. Its faculty are experts in IIoT-related disciplines. It also has strong corporate ties and is located in a key industrial and manufacturing hub. “This is going to be a world-class center in terms of scale,” O’Reilly says. “It’s great that we’re together in the Milwaukee area. And there is a buzz here, making it a great base to build off of.” The institute’s core facility will open on campus in spring 2019 in the east wing of UWM’s Golda Meir Library. Longterm plans call for four off-campus test beds where industry partners can experiment and students get hands-on learning.

MAKING FACTORIES SMART

In Twinsburg, Ohio, Rockwell

Automation operates a manufacturing plant where annual costs have been trimmed 4 to 5 percent, on-time delivery has hit 96 percent, and quality is up 50 percent from a traditional plant.

The plant’s individual machines are studded with sensors that collect data and exchange a stream of real-time information online with both people and other machines. All of this data alerts workers when a problem arises. But beyond that, it corrects the issue and informs all processes downstream if adjustments are necessary. Workers know conditions on the shop floor at any given moment – and so do all decision-makers. The plant is “smart” because it is fully connected. Rockwell Automation is a global producer of industrial automation and information solutions, and its Twinsburg plant is a prime example of the “industrial internet of things” (IIoT) in action. A cousin of the burgeoning “internet of things” (IoT) – which is fed by 20 billion devices communicating online – the IIoT makes companies more efficient and makes their plants and products safer, all while improving customer satisfaction. Many believe the IIoT could usher in the next industrial revolution. But that requires the ability to extract specific information from the massive volume of data on demand. To find the models and technology needed, UWM has launched the statewide Connected Systems Institute. “Connectivity is unbelievably broad in its scope,” says Adel Nasiri, interim executive director of the Connected Systems

Institute. “If you were able to organize all the data streams in the IIoT, it would reveal patterns that point to strategies for increasing efficiency, productivity and safety.” The institute is a multidisciplinary collaboration involving the College of Engineering & Applied Science, the Lubar School of Business and the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center at UWM, as well as Microsoft Corp., Rockwell Automation, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and other industry leaders. “IoT is fast becoming a key strategy for companies of all sizes, yet there still exists a gap in cloud skills and training to develop connected solutions,” says Sam George, director of Azure IoT at Microsoft. “The Connected Systems Institute helps bridge that gap by combining advanced research with training for the next wave of innovation with IoT.” The institute is Wisconsin’s first comprehensive academicindustry consortium involving IIoT technologies. Scholars and industry representatives will collaborate on developing new technology. Companies will be able to test concepts, train employees and share cutting-edge ideas. The idea for the institute evolved from conversations between UWM and two partners: Rockwell Automation, a major employer of UWM graduates, and Microsoft, whose CEO, Satya Nadella, is a UWM alumnus. “One of the things we like is the interdisciplinary aspect,” says Tom O’Reilly, Rockwell’s vice president of global business development. “Bringing business, IT and engineering together will make the innovations possible.”

INTEGRATED ASPECTS OF A SMART FACTORY The Connected Systems Institute will help companies reach new levels of efficiency throughout the production process.

SMART SUPPLY CHAIN Real-time data allows optimized decisionmaking.

Customers

Manufacturing

Suppliers

SOFTWARE

BY LAURA L. OTTO

SHOP FLOOR

UWM’s Connected Systems Institute lays the groundwork for manufacturing innovation.

One way to think about connected systems is that each physical plant has a digital twin. “Almost like parallel universes,” says Ilya Avdeev, a UWM associate professor of mechanical engineering. What data are sensors recording? Everything that tracks a machine’s performance over time: energy consumed, operating temperatures, time in use, lubrication and wear, and vibration levels, to name a few. Each machine’s data is incorporated into a picture of systemwide performance. And that system is connected to other systems, which are also streaming similar amounts of performance data. Such information provides a digital history for every piece of equipment, Avdeev says. Computers can calculate when the

machinery will need maintenance or repair and alert a human operator. If one part stops or breaks, the data indicates how to best reorganize the system so it doesn’t fall idle. The data, grouped in operational networks, can provide big-picture metrics like overall cost savings or comparative data among different plants. But the data also can detect a localized problem and fix it before word reaches the systemwide level. “Edge computing” is the term for the device-level activity, and it makes decision-making much quicker, says Wilkistar Otieno, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering. For instance, in a production line that recognizes parts by their serial numbers, if machine A doesn’t register a piece, then machine B immediately detects that the piece is missing and alerts workers. Edge software heads off an unfortunate discovery at the end of the production line, and it’s one of the defining characteristics of a connected system. Another important facet is tracking and tracing processes at any point along the path from product design to customer delivery. Using IIoT data in this manner turbocharges supply chain management by improving coordination of business strategies and the flow of goods from raw materials to inventories. For example, a multinational dairy could use software to manage big data, allowing employees to track a single gallon of milk back to the cows that produced it. This precision monitoring can be applied to product quality, safety and regulatory compliance, and the company can use such data in its marketing efforts, too.

DATA ANALYTICS Software provides advanced algorithm modeling and business intelligence.

CYBERSECURITY Encrypted data and protective mechanisms guard against cyberattacks.

CLOUD STORAGE Data is stored and shared, and applications operate on secure servers.

SENSORS Machines outfitted with wireless sensors stream data from their operations.

SMART MAINTENANCE Continuous data from individual machines powers algorithms that predict when repairs will be needed.

MOBILE WORKFORCE Workers can share real-time factory processes using augmented reality apps on their mobile devices.

ROBOTICS Assisted by machine learning, worker-robot interactions can lead to further automation.

RESPONSIVE MANUFACTURING Customers can weigh in on individual manufacturing steps in order to customize products.

CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEMS Machines or activities are controlled or monitored by computer software integrated with the internet.