Digital Commons Network^™

Designing For Success: Developing Engineers Who Consider Universal Design Principles, Kimberly Edginton Bigelow

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Engineers must design for a diverse group of potential users of their products; however, engineering curricula rarely include an emphasis on universal design principles. This research article details the effectiveness of a design project implemented in a first-year engineering course in an effort to raise awareness of the need for engineers to be more inclusive when designing. Students were asked to apply universal design principles to redesign an engineering laboratory to make it more usable to all, including individuals with disabilities who use the room. A representative from the university’s disability services staff, as well as individuals with first-hand experience …

Changes In In Vivo Knee Contact Forces Through Gait Modification, Allison Kinney, Thor F. Besier, Amy Slider, Scott L. Delp, Darryl D. D'Lima, Benjamin J. Fregly

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Gait modification represents a non-invasive method for reducing knee joint loading in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Previous studies have shown that a variety of gait modifications are effective in reducing the external knee adduction moment. The external knee adduction moment is often used as a surrogate measure of medial compartment force. However, a recent study showed that reductions in the external knee adduction moment do not guarantee reductions in medial compartment loads. Therefore, direct measurement of changes in knee contact force is important for determining the effectiveness of gait modifications. A previous study found that medial thrust gait and walking …

Clean Energy Infrastructure Educational Initiative, Kevin P. Hallinan, James A. Menart, Robert Gilbert

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The Clean Energy Infrastructure Educational Initiative represents a collaborative effort by the University of Dayton, Wright State University and Sinclair Community College. This effort above all aimed to establish energy related programs at each of the universities while also providing outreach to the local, state-wide, and national communities. At the University of Dayton, the grant has aimed at: solidfying a newly created Master's program in Renewable and Clean Energy; helping to establish and staff a regional sustainability organization for SW Ohio. As well, as the prime grantee, the University of Dayton was responsible for ensuring curricular sharing between WSU and …

Application Of An Energy-Vorticity Turbulence Model To Fully Rough Pipe Flow, E. B. Fowler, Doug F. Hunsaker, W. F. Phillips

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Based on a more direct analogy between turbulent and molecular transport, a foundation was recently presented for an energy-vorticity turbulence model. The new turbulent-energytransport equation contains two closure coefficients; a viscous-dissipation coefficient and a turbulent-transport coefficient. To help evaluate the closure coefficients and provide insight into the energy-vorticity turbulence variables, fully rough pipe flow is considered. For this fully developed flow, excellent agreement with experimental data for velocity profiles and friction factors is attained over a wide range of closure coefficients, provided that a given relation between the coefficients is maintained.

Energy Information Augmented Community-Based Energy Reduction, Kevin P. Hallinan, Harvey Enns, Stephenie Ritchey, Phil Brodrick, Nathan Lammers, Nichole Hanus, Mark Rembert, Tony Rainsberger

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

More than one-half of all U.S. states have instituted energy efficiency mandates requiring utilities to reduce energy use. To achieve these goals, utilities have been permitted rate structures to help them incentivize energy reduction projects. This strategy is proving to be only modestly successful in stemming energy consumption growth. By the same token, community energy reduction programs have achieved moderate to very significant energy reduction. The research described here offers an important tool to strengthen the community energy reduction efforts—by providing such efforts energy information tailored to the energy use patterns of each building occupant. The information provided most importantly …

Engineering Innovation And Design For Stem Teachers And The Stem Quality Framework, James Rowley, Sandi Preiss, Margaret Pinnell, Suzanne Franco

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The backbone of economic growth in the United States relies on engineering innovation. However, engineering innovation cannot occur without engineers and scientists. Unfortunately however, many K-12 students do not have a good understanding of the engineering design process or the vast field of engineering. As a result, many students lose interest in math and science and do not pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. This paper will describe a unique partnership among the Teacher Education Program and School of Engineering at the University of Dayton (UD) and the Dayton Regional STEM Center (DRSC). This partnership initiated with the …

Water Main Break Rates In The Usa And Canada: A Comprehensive Study, April 2012, Steven Folkman

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Modern societies base their economic prosperity on a standard of living which includes a complex network of infrastructure, both above and below ground. Quality drinking water brought to the tap through elaborate underground distribution systems is a critical component to our public health and economic well-being. In the USA and Canada, it has been the hallmark of our industry and cooperation.

EVIDENCE OF DECLINE

Our water infrastructure is now in decline after decades of service. The signs of distress surface daily as water mains break, creating floods and sink holes. The loss of water service is more than an inconvenience, …

Spatially Localized Measurement Of Thermal Conductivity Using A Hybrid Photothermal Technique, Zilong Hua, Heng Ban, Marat Khafizov, Robert Schley, Rory Kennedy, David H. Hurley

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

A photothermal technique capable of measuring thermal conductivity with micrometer lateral resolution is presented. This technique involves measuring separately the thermal diffusivity, D, and thermal effusivity, e, to extract the thermal conductivity, k = (e²/D)^1/2. To generalize this approach, sensitivity analysis is conducted for materials having a range of thermal conductivities. Application to nuclear fuel is consider by performing experimental validation using two materials (CaF₂ and SiO₂) having thermal properties representative of fresh and high burnup nuclear fuel. The measured conductivities compare favorably with literature values.

Parametric Study Of The Frequency-Domain Thermoreflectance Technique, C. Xing, C. Jensen, Z. Hua, Heng Ban, D. H. Hurley, M. Khafizov, J. R. Kennedy

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Without requiring regression for parameter determination, one-dimensional (1D) analytical models are used by many research groups to extract the thermal properties in frequency-domain thermoreflectance measurements. Experimentally, this approach involves heating the sample with a pump laser and probing the temperature response with spatially coincident probe laser. Micron order lateral resolution can be obtained by tightly focusing the pump and probe lasers. However, small laser beam spot sizes necessarily bring into question the assumptions associated with 1D analytical models. In this study, we analyzed the applicability of 1D analytical models by comparing to 2D analytical and fully numerical models. Specifically, we …

The Key Ideas Of Mdw Viii: A Summary, Aaron Altman, Clive L. Dym, Ray Hurwitz, John W. Wesner

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper summarizes and highlights the presentations and discussions that took place during Mudd Design Workshop VIII, ‘Design Education: Innovation and Entrepreneurship,’ at Harvey Mudd College. This paper also describes both the key ideas that emerged from the presentations and discussions of the participating engineering design educators, practitioners and researchers, and the methodology used to capture and retain those ideas. Additionally, this paper proposes a framework of design competencies that were created and evolved by the workshop’s participants as a response to a question posed at one of the workshop sessions: ‘What are the minimum design competencies students should learn …

Encyclopedia Of Mathematics And Society: 'Engineering Design', Kimberly Edginton Bigelow

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Engineers design everything from automobiles and bridges to prosthetic limbs and sporting equipment. Designing is different from simply building in that it requires the adherence to a very systematic, yet iterative, process known as the “engineering design process.” This process is to engineers what the scientific method is to scientists-guiding steps that help ensure that the end result is the best it can be. When a new product is created without following the steps of the engineering design process, there is a higher likelihood that the product designed will lack some important aspect: the end product may not appropriately account …

Geographical Assessment Of Microalgae Biofuels Potential Incorporating Resource Availability, Jason C. Quinn, Kimberly Catton, Sara Johnson, Thomas H. Bradley

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Previous assessments of the economic feasibility and large-scale productivity of microalgae biofuels have not considered the impacts of land and carbon dioxide (CO2) availability on the scalability of microalgae-based biofuels production. To accurately assess the near-term productivity potential of large-scale microalgae biofuel in the US, a geographically realized growth model was used to simulate microalgae lipid yields based on meteorological data. The resulting lipid productivity potential of Nannochloropsis under large-scale cultivation is combined with land and CO2 resource availability illustrating current geographically feasible production sites and corresponding productivity in the US. Baseline results show that CO2 transport constraints will limit …