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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Improving The Peak Performance Lifespan Of A Two-Piece Composite Bat, Angelina Sicurezza Jan 2024

Improving The Peak Performance Lifespan Of A Two-Piece Composite Bat, Angelina Sicurezza

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The push for innovation and enhancement of sports equipment in recent years has led to significant advancements in composite materials. This project aims to propose new design possibilities that will improve the lifespan of a two-piece composite bat. Using finite element analysis (FEA) software, various fiber orientations and materials were modeled and analyzed for their impact response. Two unique quarter-cylinder designs along with a baseline design were modeled with symmetric boundary conditions. The proposed bat deigns include a helicoidal model and a CFRP-Aramid hybrid model. Comparative analysis of the elastic responses revealed that both the helicoidal and hybrid models demonstrated …


Design Of Composite Joints Using Machine Learning Approaches, Natalie Richards Jan 2022

Design Of Composite Joints Using Machine Learning Approaches, Natalie Richards

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Adhesively bonded joints have an advantage in joining dissimilar engineering materials due to their high structural efficiency and being lightweight. These joints are either between two opposite laminates or between a composite laminate and a metal structure. The aerospace and automotive industries have seen an increase in utilizing these adhesive joints in their engineering applications. Joint strength along with the failure mode (adhesive, delamination, etc.) is the most important parameter to evaluate when understanding the capability of the adhesive joint. In this paper, a regression and a classification machine learning (ML) model are utilized to predict the failure load and …


Behavior Of Sandwich Core Under Extreme Temperature Conditions, Mikayla L. Aowad Jan 2020

Behavior Of Sandwich Core Under Extreme Temperature Conditions, Mikayla L. Aowad

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Sandwich materials are growing in popularity as more research and data is collected. I am studying the inner foam of the sandwich composites. I am testing the bending strength of the material by performing a three point bend test on foam specimens of varying density and material. The specimens will be tested at room temperature as well as extreme low temperature. I am studying how the mechanical properties of the material change as the material’s surroundings change. Cell wall thickness and cell size will be analyzed to see if there is a correlation between those parameters and the strength of …


Methods For Film Coating Electrospun Fibers, Kristopher Dejean Jan 2020

Methods For Film Coating Electrospun Fibers, Kristopher Dejean

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Electrospinning uses high voltages to form polymer nanofiber membranes. These membranes have potential for use in filtration, tissue engineering, drug delivery, and catalysis. The nonwoven fiber mat is malleable but has a low tensile strength compared to a solid film of the same polymer. Joining the fibers with a thin film is desired to balance the strength and flexibility. Three methods of producing a film on fiber membrane were tested. The techniques are spraying then melting, spin coating, and dip coating. Electrospinning setup conditions, solvent ratios, damage to fibers, and spin coating speeds were determined. Research was abruptly stopped and …


Examination Of Ice Impactor And Mold, Matt Wilson Jan 2019

Examination Of Ice Impactor And Mold, Matt Wilson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research project investigates impact and damage response of composite sandwich structures impacted with solid ice at extreme low-temperature. Composite sandwich structures of carbon fiber reinforced polymer sheets lining a polyvinyl chloride foam core are subjected to low-velocity impact at arctic temperatures. This impact will be delivered by a solid ice tool-tip via a drop impact testing machine. Data and test results acquired will be composed into a research report that will be submitted to The University of Akron and published in a scientific journal. This project builds upon the earlier study by Elamin, Li, & Tan (2018).