Digital Commons Network^™

Prove Primary Battery Structure, John D. Burkhart, Andy Mccormick, Ryan Yu, Soren Barclay

Mechanical Engineering

In conjunction with Prototype Vehicle (PROVE) Laboratory, our group designed, manufactured, and tested a prototype structure to house the battery boxes for PROVE’s endurance vehicle. Our structure was designed to support the batteries during normal use, and in the event of a front crash. Our design is comprised of a secondary composite box to house the battery boxes, a bottom plate to affix the secondary box to the chassis floor, a horizontal plate fastened to the chassis, and a brace structure welded to the chassis. From the outset, we chose to use a secondary box, the primary battery boxes must …

Parametric Bicycle Yoke, Colin Reay, Walter Minehart, Robby Harrigan, Jordan Olson

Mechanical Engineering

This report outlines the entire design, fabrication, and validation process of a parametric yoke design that addresses the packaging problem of the bottom-bracket chainstay junction in modern bicycle frames. The goal was to create an elegant, space-efficient solution that is accessible to the Cal Poly Bike Builders Club. The report includes documentation of the three-part fixture system, manufacturing process, and testing results for the yoke.

Our yoke design outperforms traditional round-tube weldments in torsional and vertical stiffness. Additionally, all manufacturing fixtures and machining operations function as intended, resulting in a finished yoke that meets all required tolerances in under an …

Hendrickson Lift Kit, Matthew Rozmajzl

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research project will be completed with Hendrickson Trailer as the sponsor. The goal of the project is to create a lift kit for a newer suspension system. The lift kit must provide enough lift force to lift an axle off the road and suspend it off the road while in transit. There are similar systems offered for different products at Hendrickson, but the configuration of this system is such that new brackets must be designed. The benefit of such a system is a reduction in wear on the lifted tires, and thus an increase in the life of the …

Cart Loader, Hayelom Fitsum, Dalveer Grewal, Ishan Kumar, Sean Mccauley, Nick O'Brien

Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses

For this senior design project, the team partnered with a startup, Dishcraft Robotics, to design and create a device that would decrease the time it takes to unload and load their products in and out of a truck. The team’s design, Cart Loader, consists of an aluminum structure that is able to hold their products. Outfitted with a rail system on the truck and the liftgate, the Cart Loader can move onto the liftgate and roll inside the truck, where the products can then be rolled off the Cart Loader. There was extensive finite element analysis done to ensure that …

Structural Sizing Of Post-Buckled Thermally Stressed Stiffened Panels, Walid Arsalane

Theses and Dissertations

Design of thermoelastic structures can be highly counterintuitive due to design-dependent loading and impact of geometric nonlinearity on the structural response. Thermal loading generates in-plane stresses in a restrained panel, but the presence of geometric nonlinearity creates an extension-bending coupling that results in considerable transverse displacement and variation in stiffness characteristics, and these affects are enhanced in post-bucking regimes. Herein a methodology for structural sizing of thermally stressed post-buckled stiffened panels is proposed and applied for optimization of the blade and hat stiffeners using a gradient-based optimizer. The stiffened panels are subjected to uniform thermal loading and optimized for minimum …

Finite Element Model Of The Pediatric Hip Joint During The Barlow Maneuver, Christina M. Zlock

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip is the dysplasia or dislocation of an unstable femoral head in the acetabulum of the pelvis. This is a result of an abnormal or underdeveloped growth of the acetabulum and triradiate cartilages and/or an out of place and uncentered femoral head in the acetabulum. This underdevelopment, if not diagnosed and treated at an early age, may lead to abnormal and pain and osteoarthritis later in life. A common step in diagnosis is to perform a physical examination of the hip, one method is the Barlow maneuver.

The aim of the project is to use healthy …

Ljm Rc Baja Vehicle Project Chassis And Suspension, Paul Lervick

All Undergraduate Projects

An RC car was designed, analyzed, and manufactured to compete in the ASME RC Baja competition. The focus was to optimize the suspension and chassis components to minimize the weight while maintaining the structural strength of the components which would intern supplement the overall speed and stability of the vehicle. Other components were the responsibility of the teammate Cam Jamison. To complete this there was extensive research done on Traxxas RC cars and what went into making a high-performing vehicle that would compete well in the 3 races that comprise the competition (slalom, sprint, and obstacle course). There were then …

Finite Element Analysis Of Surface Hardening Treatments Of Steels For Automotive Powertrain Applications, Filippo Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Surface hardening is a procedure that is usually performed on steel components, in order to impart in these the strength and surface hardness that are necessary for their correct operation, whilst maintaining a reasonable value of ductility in the overall component.

The latter is usually composed of a sequence of heat treatments: carburizing, quenching and tempering. Each of these have different effects that, if correctly combined, can lead to the desired final mechanical properties in the component.

Carburizing is a process that increases the amount of carbon concentration at the component surface. Quenching is a quick decrease in temperature that …

Prediction Of In-Plane Stiffnesses And Thermomechanical Stresses In Cylindrical Composite Cross-Sections, Bryson M. Chan

Master's Theses

Accurate mechanical analysis of composite structures is necessary for the prediction of laminate behavior. Cylindrical composite tubes are a mainstay in many structural applications. The fundamental design of circular composite cross-sections necessitates the development of a comprehensive composite lamination theory. A new analytical method is developed to characterize the behavior of thin-walled composite cylindrical tubes using a modified plate theory. A generated numerical solver can predict properties such as axial stiffness, bending stiffness, layer stresses, and layer strains in composite tubes subjected to combined mechanical loading and thermal effects. The model accounts for the curvature by transforming and translating the …

Simulation Of Fracture Strength Improvements Of A Human Proximal Femur Using Finite Element Analysis., Waleed Ebraheem Alim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The most common hip fracture in the elderly occurs as a result of a fall to the side with impact over the greater trochanter resulting in a fracture of the proximal femur. The fracture usually involves the femoral neck or the intertrochanteric region. It has recently been determined that the fracture crack of a hip fracture typically initiates on the superior-lateral cortex of the femoral neck and then propagates across the femoral neck, resulting in a complete fracture. The strength of the superior-lateral cortex of the femoral neck is likely determined by the combined properties of the generally thin cortex …

Enduro Campers, Ryan J. Shomsky, Alexander W. Horst, Kevin S. Pickering, Jackson L. Aplanalp, Luke Arana, Will Firestone

Mechanical Engineering

The Enduro Campers senior project team (Formerly known as Lobo Campers senior project team) was recruited by Mr. Leif Stein to assist in the design, manufacturing, and testing of the materials and components of his company’s expedition box camper. The two main focuses of the project, divided into two sub-teams, were on the testing and manufacturing process of the materials used in the camper, and on the design and analysis of the camper’s access door, step box, and other subsystems.

The focus of the materials analysis and manufacturing team was based around the design parameter to use composite sandwich panels …

A Single-Stage Passive Vibration Isolation System For Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, Toan T. Le

Master's Theses

Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) uses quantum tunneling effect to study the surfaces of materials on an atomic scale. Since the probe of the microscope is on the order of nanometers away from the surface, the device is prone to noises due to vibrations from the surroundings. To minimize the random noises and floor vibrations, passive vibration isolation is a commonly used technique due to its low cost and simpler design compared to active vibration isolation, especially when the entire vibration isolation system (VIS) stays inside an Ultra High Vacuum (UHV) environment. This research aims to analyze and build a single-stage …

Sae Formula Team Carbon Fiber Seat, Jacob Jaksic

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

roject is for the Formula SAE Zips Racing team here at the University of Akron. The team includes Jacob Jaksic, Sean Turner, Dovydas Sodys, Mike White, and Sevin Johnson. We are tasked with reducing the weight of their current seat, while remaining comfortable to the driver. Our plan was to do this with a lightweight material, specifically carbon fiber. Many different steps were required when outlining this project: finalizing a design with verification from our Zips racing advisor, completing FEA analysis on finished design, acquiring material to be molded into seat, and finding a company to fabricate out of carbon …

Thermal/Structural Analysis Of The Axion Quantum Metrology Cavity And Its Components, Tyler Funk

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This research was centered around maximizing the capability to cool dielectric material within a containment unit, or Photonic Band Gap (PBG) cavity, designed for detecting axion dark matter and identifying the unit’s thermal properties. There are multiple types of PBG cavities, but the latest version that axion researchers wish to use has been theorized to contain possible issues related to its thermal properties. Thermal conductivity is an issue with the dielectric material because it is made from alumina which is highly insulative. This is important since the research is being done in a cryogenic environment and the thermal noise affects …

Sae Formula Team Carbon Fiber Seat, Sean Turner, Jacob Jaksic

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project is for the Formula SAE Zips Racing team here at the University of Akron. The team includes Jacob Jaksic, Sean Turner, Dovydas Sodys, Mike White, and Sevin Johnson. We are tasked with reducing the weight of their current seat, while remaining comfortable to the driver. Our plan was to do this with a lightweight material, specifically carbon fiber. Many different steps were required when outlining this project: finalizing a design with verification from our Zips racing advisor, completing FEA analysis on finished design, acquiring material to be molded into seat, and finding a company to fabricate out of …

On The Stress Concentration At Sharp V-Notches Under Tension, Trent Mattieu Andrus

LSU Master's Theses

Accurately determining stresses at re-entrant corners using finite element analysis (FEA) is challenging due to the high stresses produced at the corner. Indeed, FEA is unable to obtain quantitatively accurate peak stresses at mathematically sharp re-entrant corners with traditional boundary conditions because these stresses are singular. Imposing a local corner radius by rounding the sharp corner to remove the singular result is an appropriate technique for large radii, but as the corner radius tends to zero and the notch is close to being sharp, we expect there are radii that yield quantitatively inaccurate results with traditional FEA. We seek to …

Design Of Structural Stand For High-Precision Optics Microscopy, Sara T. Novell

Master's Theses

Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) is home to the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world’s largest and most energetic laser. Each of the 192 beamlines contains dozens of large optics, which require offline damage inspection using large, raster-scanning microscopes. The primary microscope used to measure and characterize the optical damage sites has a precision level of 1 µm. Mounted in a class 100 clean room with a raised tile floor, the microscope is supported by a steel stand that structurally connects the microscope to the concrete ground. Due to ambient vibrations experienced in the system, the microscope is only able …

Thermal / Structural Analysis Of The Hb 650 Thermal Shield, Gerald J. Smith

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Fermilab’s PIP-II project’s superconducting linear accelerator (Linac) will drive the next generation of particle accelerators through a revolution in beam intensity. Key to beam intensification are the high efficiencies of niobium-tin superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities operating at cryogenic temperatures near 5 Kelvin. A multifaceted approach is employed to achieve and maintain the extreme temperature. Vacuum provides the first barrier to thermal convection. Physical thermal intercept zones further isolate the exterior shell vacuum vessel at 300 Kelvin from the supercooled beamline. The first thermal intercept lies just inside the exterior vacuum vessel forming the 40 Kelvin zone. This 40K thermal shield …

Autonomous Guided Vehicle Frame For Outdoor Use, Thomas Mcgrath

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The overall goal for my project is to design a durable Autonomous Guided Vehicle (AGV) frame intended for carrying a heavy load over outdoor terrain. I will not be designing a complete vehicle, only the basic structure that can be used to build a complete AGV on. There will be complete 3D models of the design and its individual parts. I also would like to provide limited Finite Element Analysis of the design using ANSYS software to determine weaknesses and methods for improvement. The design I create is meant to be used as a framework for complete outdoor AGV designs. …

Knee Articular Cartilage Material Properties Estimation Through Fea, Eduardo Enrique Valdez

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating disease that leads to disability and loss of quality of life. Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is a version of OA that develops after acute injury to the knee. PTOA is of particular interest because the disease can manifest earlier in life compared to primary OA. Several studies have shown that changes in the mechanical properties of soft tissues in the knee (articulating cartilage and menisci) are associated with worsening OA grades. Changes to the tissue mechanical properties must be considered to generate realistic computational models of individuals who have suffered traumatic injuries to the knee. Therefore, …

Acoustic Design Optimization With Isogeometric Analysis And Differential Evolution, Garrett W. Dodgen

Mechanical Engineering Theses

The objective of this study is to utilize shape optimization to enhance the performance of devices relying on acoustic wave propagation. Particularly, the shape of a horn speaker and an acoustic energy harvester were optimized to enhance their performance at targeted frequencies. High order Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) was performed to estimate the acoustic pressure with minimum geometry and pollution errors [1]. The analysis platform was then combined with Differential Evolution (DE) to optimize the geometry of the horn speaker and energy harvester at a given frequency. These cases effectively demonstrate two applications of Isogeomtric shape optimization for devices relying on …

A Transient Thermal And Structural Analysis Of Fuel In The Annular Core Research Reactor, Elliott Pelfrey

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

The health of a nuclear reactor’s fuel is essential to the operational longevity of the reactor. The health of the fuel in the Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR) is a topic of increased interest due to both a proposed new facility that would include the ACRR and the recent resurfacing of contradictory reports regarding thermal stresses in its fuel pellets. Unlike other reactor fuels, which are widely used and well-characterized, the fuel in the ACRR is unique. The ACRR’s fuel elements consist of UO­₂-BeO fuel pellets, fluted niobium refractory liners, and stainless-steel cladding. The purpose of this thesis …

Investigation Of Design, Manufacture, Analysis, And Test Of A Composite Connecting Rod Under Compression, Thomas Juhl Rohrbach

Master's Theses

Composite materials hold great potential for the replacement of traditional materials in machines utilized on a daily basis. One such example is within an engine block assembly where massive components inherently reduce the efficiency of the system they constitute. By replacing metal elements such as connecting rods, cylinder caps, or a crank shaft with composite alternatives, a significant increase in performance may be achieved with respect to mechanical strength, thermal stability, and durability, while also reducing mass. Exploration of this technology applied to a connecting rod geometry was investigated through a combination of process development, manufacturing, numerical analysis and testing. …

Crack Pattern Simulation Of Pressurized Borosilicate Glass Tube Under Pellet Impact Using Ale Method, Omkar Bhumkar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Transformer bushings are a common target for sniper attacks to cause power failure in large areas. Given the size, internal pressure and brittle nature of transformer bushing, pellet impact causes damage to surrounding components due to broken bushing pieces. To mitigate this, a project was initiated by United States Burau of Reclaimation to develop a safety mechanism. Finite Element Analysis is proposed to optimize and reduce cost of the design.

A simplified Finite Element model is created which consists of 0.22 caliber lead pellet impacting Pyrex 7740 borosilicate glass tube. Previous studies on the effect of the mesh pattern, size …

Testing Of A Human Powered Vehicle, Bailey Conard, Marlee Reynolds

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The University of Akron’s Human Powered Vehicle Team designed a high performing, fully functioning vehicle that is safe, efficient, and practical for the 2018-2019 season. These objectives were the main priorities when it came to the initial stages of designing the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle was designed in accordance with the ASME 2019 Human Powered Vehicle Challenge guidelines to satisfy all the rules and requirements. Additional priorities have been created to teach practical engineering skills and techniques to the students participating in the project through different points in the production process including research, vehicle design, manufacturing, and testing.

The …

Reinventing The Wheel, Esther K. Unti, Ahmed Z. Shorab, Patrick B. Kragen, Adam M. Menashe

Mechanical Engineering

Reinventing the Wheel selected tires and designed wheels for the 2018 Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo Formula SAE combustion vehicle. Available tire options were evaluated for steady-state and transient performance as well as vehicle integration. A single-piece composite wheel with hollow spokes was designed to meet stiffness, strength, and tolerance requirements. A detailed study of wheel loading and geometric structural efficiency was performed. Finite element analysis was used to iterate the geometry and laminate. A two-piece male mold was designed and machined to manufacture the wheel. Removable silicone inserts were used to create the hollow spokes.

Subject-Specific Finite Element Predictions Of Knee Cartilage Pressure And Investigation Of Cartilage Material Models, Michael G. Rumery

Master's Theses

An estimated 27 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis (OA). Symptomatic OA is often treated with total knee replacement, a procedure which is expected to increase in number by 673% from 2005 to 2030, and costs to perform total knee replacement surgeries exceeded $11 billion in 2005. Subject-specific modeling and finite element (FE) predictions are state-of-the-art computational methods for anatomically accurate predictions of joint tissue loads in surgical-planning and rehabilitation. Knee joint FE models have been used to predict in-vivo joint kinematics, loads, stresses and strains, and joint contact area and pressure. Abnormal cartilage contact pressure is considered a risk factor …

Universal Studios Hollywood Vip Trolley - Roller Frame, Jeffrey Ploss, Chase Montague, Lincoln Treanor

Mechanical Engineering

Statement of Confidentiality: The complete senior project report was submitted to the project advisor and sponsor. The results of this project are of a confidential nature and will not be published at this time.

The Effect Of Heat Generation In The Railroad Bearing Thermoplastic Elastomer Suspension Element On The Thermal Behavior Of Railroad Bearing Assembly, Oscar Osvaldo Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the internal heat generation of the railroad bearing elastomer suspension element during operation is essential to predict its dynamic response and structural integrity, as well as to predict the thermal behavior of the complete railroad bearing assembly including the bearing adapter. The latter is essential for sensor selection and placement within the adapter (e.g., typical temperature sensors have operating ranges of up to 125°C or 257°F). The internal heat generation is a function of the loss modulus, strain, and frequency. Based on experimental studies, estimations of internally generated heat within the thermoplastic elastomer pad were obtained. The calculations show …

Rotordynamic Analysis Of Theoretical Models And Experimental Systems, Cameron R. Naugle

Master's Theses

This thesis is intended to provide fundamental information for the construction and

analysis of rotordynamic theoretical models, and their comparison the experimental

systems. Finite Element Method (FEM) is used to construct models using Timoshenko

beam elements with viscous and hysteretic internal damping. Eigenvalues

and eigenvectors of state space equations are used to perform stability analysis, produce

critical speed maps, and visualize mode shapes. Frequency domain analysis

of theoretical models is used to provide Bode diagrams and in experimental data

full spectrum cascade plots. Experimental and theoretical model analyses are used

to optimize the control algorithm for an Active Magnetic Bearing …