Engineering Commons^™

Trajectory Planning Of Non-Gravity Aligned (Nga) Segments In Arbitrary Directions For Large Scale Additive Manufacturing Of Metals (Lsamm), James Logan Mcneil

Doctoral Dissertations

Traditionally, slicing and path planning are done along the gravity-aligned direction of a part, causing more complex geometrical shapes to have unsupported overhangs. Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) has typically handled overhangs with a robotic part positioner; but, to extend the current capabilities of LSAMM, a new framework for slicing and building parts out of gravity alignment has been developed. The proposed framework focuses on segmenting more complex geometrical parts into gravity-aligned (GA), non-gravity aligned (NGA), and transition zones to support tool-path generation. GA and NGA segments can be planned with traditional slicing techniques, but the NGA tool-paths must be …

Experimental And Computational Study Of Determining Mass Transport Parameters In Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries, Tugrul Y. Ertugrul

Doctoral Dissertations

Vanadium redox flow batteries are a promising large-scale energy storage technology, but a number of challenges must be overcome for commercial implementation. At the cell level, mass transport contributes significantly to performance losses, limiting VRFB performance. Therefore, understanding mass transport mechanisms in the electrode is a critical step to mitigating such losses and optimizing VRFBs.

In this study, mass transport mechanisms (e.g. convection, diffusion) are investigated in a VRFB test bed using a strip cell architecture, having 1 cm² active area. It is found that diffusion-dominated cells have large current gradients; convection-dominated cells have relatively uniform current distribution from …

Characterization Of A Digital Holography Diagnostic For In Situ Erosion Measurement Of Plasma-Facing Components In Fusion Devices, Cary Dean Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

Fusion energy devices, particularly tokamaks, face the challenge of interior surface damage occurring over time from the heat flux of the high-energy plasma they generate. The ability to monitor the rate of surface modification is therefore imperative, but to date no proven technique exists for real-time erosion measurement of planar regions of interest on plasma-facing components in fusion devices. In order to fill this diagnostic gap, a digital holography system has been established at ORNL [Oak Ridge National Laboratory] for the purpose of measuring the erosion effects of plasma-material interaction in situ.

The diagnostic has been designed with the …

Vibration Behavior In Modulated Tool Path (Mtp) Turning, Ryan William Copenhaver

Doctoral Dissertations

This project studies the process dynamics and surface finish effects of modulated tool path (MTP) turning. In MTP turning, a small amplitude (typically less than 0.5 mm), low frequency oscillation (typically less than 10 Hz) is superimposed on the feed motion by the machine controller to intentionally segment the traditionally long, continuous chips. The basic science to be examined is the vibration behavior of this special case of interrupted cutting, which is not turning because the chip formation is intentionally discontinuous and is not milling because the time-dependent chip geometry is defined by the oscillatory feed motion, not the trochoidal …

Toward Direct Biosynthesis Of Drop-In Ready Biofuels In Plants: Rapid Screening And Functional Genomic Characterization Of Plant-Derived Advanced Biofuels And Implications For Coproduction In Lignocellulosic Feedstocks, Blake Lee Joyce

Doctoral Dissertations

Advanced biofuels that are “drop-in” ready, completely fungible with petroleum fuels, and require minimal infrastructure to process a finished fuel could provide transportation fuels in rural or developing areas. Five oils extracted from Pittosporum resiniferum, Copaifera reticulata, and surrogate oils for Cymbopogon flexuosus, C. martinii, and Dictamnus albus in B20 blends were sent for ASTM International biodiesel testing and run in homogenous charge combustion ignition engines to determine combustion properties and emissions. All oils tested lowered cloud point. Oils derived from Copaifera reticulata also lowered indicated specific fuel consumption and had emissions similar to the ultra-low sulfur diesel control. Characterization …

Energetics And Kinetics Of Dislocation Initiation In The Stressed Volume At Small Scales, Tianlei Li

Doctoral Dissertations

Instrumented nanoindentation techniques have been widely used in characterizing mechanical behavior of materials in small length scales. For defect-free single crystals under nanoindentation, the onset of elastic-plastic transition is often shown by a sudden displacement burst in the measured load-displacement curve. It is believed to result from the homogeneous dislocation nucleation because the maximum shear stress at the pop-in load approaches the theoretical strength of the material and because statistical measurements agree with a thermally activated process of homogeneous dislocation nucleation. For single crystals with defects, the pop-in is believed to result from the sudden motion of pre-existing dislocations or …