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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Improving Future Vehicle Fuel Economy And Operational Design Domain Through Novel Data Pipelines, Kyle James Carow Apr 2023

Improving Future Vehicle Fuel Economy And Operational Design Domain Through Novel Data Pipelines, Kyle James Carow

Masters Theses

Modern automobiles have greatly advanced in recent years, with technological developments that enhance performance, safety, and comfort. However, there is still much room for improvement. Today’s vehicles are heavily reliant on the combustion of fossil fuels, proven to be harmful for the environment on both a local and global scale. In addition, the safety benefits of autonomous vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems are not yet fully realized due to the limited operational design domain of these technologies. In this research, these needs are addressed through the development of two novel data pipelines. In the first study, a novel methodology …


Gearbox Baffle Optimization, Megan Arduin Dec 2019

Gearbox Baffle Optimization, Megan Arduin

Masters Theses

Current literature reveals there is limited consensus on the placement of baffles within a gearbox to reduce churning losses. Thus, there is a need for a process to identify baffle clearances that result in maximum and minimum churning losses. There are two types of baffles: axial and radial. While both axial and radial baffles cause reductions in churning losses to various degrees, the focus is on the effect of radial baffles. The effect of a board (rectangular plate) baffle location on the churning losses of a single gear gearbox are evaluated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) implemented in Ansys. Several …


Evaluation Of Data Collection Operations For Real-Time Influenza Surveillance During An Emergency, Yuwen Gu Aug 2019

Evaluation Of Data Collection Operations For Real-Time Influenza Surveillance During An Emergency, Yuwen Gu

Dissertations

It is unclear how data collection operations for surveillance alter the disease portrayal that influenza reported trends attempt to provide during an emergency. This study developed a model that simulates the collection and testing of influenza specimens after an outbreak is declared in Michigan. It performed simulation based optimization to understand which operational factors affect the biases between the growth rates of original and observed influenza incidence trends, and to quantify the predictive power of the influenza incidence trends at different points of data collection. The results show that emergency driven high risk perception increases the reporting, which leads to …


Model Based Vehicle Simulation For Electrically Actuated Transmission Test Cells, Kenneth L. Gruel Apr 2016

Model Based Vehicle Simulation For Electrically Actuated Transmission Test Cells, Kenneth L. Gruel

Masters Theses

The Eaton Vehicle Group is responsible for the development of a large family of automotive products, including manual and automated manual transmissions for light, medium, and heavy duty vehicles. To further expand the transmission testing capabilities at Vehicle Group headquarters, the Vehicle Simulator system was developed and integrated into an existing motor-based test cell. System development time and cost were reduced by leveraging readily available vehicle models and real-time hardware. The Vehicle Simulator system allows a user to control the speed and torque settings of the test cell motors in manual mode, or switch the motors to vehicle emulation mode. …


Simulation Of An Intake Manifold Pre-Heater For Cold Diesel Engine Startup, Patrick K. Kreun Apr 2014

Simulation Of An Intake Manifold Pre-Heater For Cold Diesel Engine Startup, Patrick K. Kreun

Masters Theses

Ensuring consistent, reliable diesel engine startups in cold temperatures is of utmost importance in a number of applications. Under extreme temperatures, the use of glow plugs is complemented by intake manifold heaters. In these, the energy released from combustion increases the intake air temperature before the air enters the main combustion chamber. Since the process also alters the stoichiometry of the fuel-air mixture at the intake ports, the preheater operation must be optimized in order to guarantee successful and reliable in-cylinder combustion during engine startups. This paper describes the development of an intake manifold model incorporating an air pre-heater for …


Development Of Cfd Models For The Purposes Of Exploring Free Surface Wave Phenomena, Leonard P. Stoehr Apr 2013

Development Of Cfd Models For The Purposes Of Exploring Free Surface Wave Phenomena, Leonard P. Stoehr

Masters Theses

With the push for finding alternative, green energy sources, the harnessing of energy from ocean and lake waves is becoming a more researched field. To fully understand the behavior of wave interactions and optimize designs to extract this energy, it is necessary to develop computer models that can accurately replicate this behavior. A case is presented in which previous work done using the wave tank found in the Western Michigan University fluids lab is examined. The case involves harnessing the energy generated by ocean waves through the usage of plates of different shapes resting horizontally on the water’s surface. The …


The Implementation Of A Versatile Pseudodynamic Hybrid Simulation For Seismic Evaluation Of Structural Systems, Chelsea Griffith Dec 2012

The Implementation Of A Versatile Pseudodynamic Hybrid Simulation For Seismic Evaluation Of Structural Systems, Chelsea Griffith

Masters Theses

Pseudodynamic hybrid simulation technique was developed to evaluate structural seismic performance by physically testing the critical portion with the remaining structure simulated using a numerical model in the computer. An incremental approach was adopted in developing the control scheme to suit multiple testing facilities and test specimens. First the small scale, predictable specimen was utilized to investigate techniques of improving stability, slowing down the loading rate and triggering the accurate force measurement in a series of at benchmark scale experiments in the Laboratory of Earthquake and Structural Simulation at Western Michigan University (WMU). A step/hold command scheme was developed and …


Inkjet Printability Of Electronic Materials Important To The Manufacture Of Fully Printed Otfts, Sooman Lim Aug 2012

Inkjet Printability Of Electronic Materials Important To The Manufacture Of Fully Printed Otfts, Sooman Lim

Dissertations

In this study, the inkjet printability of materials important to fabricating OTFTs was researched. In order to understand the jetting evolution of inkjet printed inks, simulations were performed with a nano copper and nano particle silver ink. To predict the inkjettability of the nano copper ink, Z and Oh numbers at different temperatures were determined. The results from the simulation studies were compared to experimental results obtained using a Dimatix inkjet printer. For the semiconductor ink, the inkjet printability of two organic semiconductors, P2TDC17FT4 (poly[(3,7-diheptadecylthieno[3,2-b]thieno[2',3':4,5]thieno[2,3-d]thiophene-2,6-diyl)[2,2'-bithiophene]-5,5'-diyl] dissolved in 1,2-dichlorobenzene and P3HT (poly-3 hexylthiophene) were compared to determine the relationship between drop …