Engineering Commons^™

The Effects Of Non-Uniform Blade Geometries On Cascade And Turbine Stage Performance, Hiroyuki Maeda

Masters Theses

It is known that in-service turbomachinery blades do not have uniform shapes. There are small differences due to blade erosion, manufacturing tolerances, or faulty installation. These differences can be in the size, shape, or relative angles of the blade. In an effort to predict losses resulting from changes in blade thickness and/or blade angles, a two-part investigation has been conducted. A two-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes flow analysis has been used to perform numerical experiments.

First, simulations were performed for an isolated cascade. One of the two stators was scaled and/or rotated. Results of the numerical simulations show that increasing the blade …

A Heuristic Procedure For Designing A Cellular Manufacturing System While Minimizing Makespan, Panduranga Badam

Masters Theses

This study is the first of its kind in Group Technology (GT) literature and successfully demonstrates the application of the simulation technique to analyze different alternatives for machine and part grouping problem.

This study considers several aspects such as processing time, sequence of operations, alternative routing, setup time and dynamic shop condition for machine-part grouping. The heuristic developed aims to reduce intercellular moves, setup time and makespan time of parts. It also enables the decision markers to evaluate performance measures and to choose the best alternative at every step of the machine grouping process. Two examples have been used to …

An Evolutionary Approach To Allocating Tasks In Hard Real-Time Distributed Systems, Christian Lang

Masters Theses

In real-time systems, correctness not only depends on the result of the computation but also on the time at which this result is available. The violation of timing constraints in hard real-time systems can be critical to human life or environment. Therefore, the scheduling algorithm for distributed systems has to allocate tasks to processing nodes so that no timing constraints can be violated. In addition to timing constraints, tasks have precedence and fault-tolerance constraints.

Static scheduling allocates tasks to processing nodes before the tasks are executed. Static scheduling problems are known to be NP-hard [4]. Therefore, heuristic techniques are necessary …

An Investigation And Improvement Of Electrorheological (Er) Fluid Technology, Adil F. Dalal

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research was to investigate and overcome the limitations of Electrorheological (ER) fluids and to introduce this advanced technology at WMU. Electrorheological (ER) Fluids are a special class of fluids, which exhibit a reversible, infinitely variable phase transition from a liquid to a solid/semi-plastic state, in the presence of an electric field.

ER fluids can provide a unique solution to the problems of vibration isolation of systems. The applications are currently limited due to the high voltage requirements, electric power related heating and limited research into wear/abrasive characteristics of ER fluids.

A specially designed and constructed "electro-viscosimeter" …

Design Of A Miniature Hydraulic Power Unit, Ryan D. Bruneau

Honors Theses

The need for a newly designed miniature hydraulic power unit has received the attention of Parker-Hannifin Hydraulic Pump/Motor Division. The current power unit is no longer marketable due to the associated costs and its relative size. As a result, a miniature hydraulic power unit has been designed, the culmination to the engineering curriculum at Western Michigan University. In order to increase the overall marketability and to reduce production costs, a transparent plastic reservoir has been incorporated into the design. An appropriate polymer has been chosen to meet the design requirements and finite element analysis has been used to verify the …

Effect Of Poly Acrylate Addition On Coating Color Rheology, Water Retention And Coating Performance, Shambhu Nath

Masters Theses

Five polyacrylate samples were used to study their effects on coating color rheology, water holding and runnability. The Cylindrical Laboratory Coater was used to apply the coatings and study the runnability of the coating colors. The healing tendencies of the coatings were studied by inducing a scratch under the blade. The higher acid level and degree of crosslinking of the polyacrylate gave higher viscosity and the higher acid level also gave higher water retention. Coating colors containing polyacrylates were less prone to dilatancy at high shear. The addition of polyacrylate reduced the healing of coating colors, but for the same …

Rear Seat Belt Usage And Comfort, Kuntal Thakurta

Masters Theses

Seat belts have been shown to be effective in reducing car crash fatalities and injuries. Despite consistent evidence that seat belts when worn can provide the greatest vehicle occupant protection of all currently available occupant restraint systems, seat belt use rates remain low. The rates of occupants wearing seat belts in rear seats is much lower than front seat occupants. One of the primary causes for occupants not using seat belts in rear seats has been lack of comfort. The purpose of this thesis was to study the relationship of comfort and seat belt use in rear seats. The current …

An Empirical Study Of Just-In-Time And Total Quality Management Principles Implementation In Manufacturing Firms In The U.S., Loknath Sriparavastu

Masters Theses

Literature in vogue points out that, in the last decade, American manufacturing companies came a long way in their renewed emphasis on the quality process. Justin- Time (JIT) and Total Quality Management (TQM) are the two magical phrases that are being frequently used in almost all the articles published on quality and productivity. Nevertheless, the literature does not provide any satisfactory explanation as to how JIT and TQM principles are implemented in the manufacturing industries.

This research, through a nationwide empirical survey, analyzed the effects of JIT and TQM strategies implementation. Survey results showed that implementing both JIT and TQM …

An Empirical Investigation Of Total Quality Management (Tqm) Effectiveness In Healthcare Organizations, Lokesh S. Basappa

Masters Theses

American hospitals are implementing quality programs to offer higher quality service at reduced cost. However, the results of these programs in many hospitals have often not met expectations.

This research analyzed the effectiveness of Total Quality Management (TQM). The objective of the study was to better understand how TQM strategies can best be applied by hospitals. An empirical survey was distributed to Michigan hospitals and an analysis was performed to meet this objective.

The survey results show that hospitals involved indirectly with quality programs haven't realized that they are implementing TQM strategies. On the other hand some hospitals say that …

Recent Advances In Engineering Design: Theory And Practice, Andrew J. Moskalik

Masters Theses

In the last few years, industry and academia have focused greater attention on the area o f engineering design. Manufacturers have implemented new design methods such as concurrent engineering and design for manufacture, and academia has increased research in design-related issues. This paper will attempt to summarize the recent advances, both scholarly and industrial, relating to the field of design. I will examine new methodologies and supporting tools for the design process, both in use and under research. This paper will cover concurrent engineering, design for manufacture, quality methods, design theory research, computer-aided design, expert systems, analysis programs, manufacturing, and …

Patient Flow Through A Hospital Emergency Department, Mark Czuk

Honors Theses

Bronson Methodist Hospital, located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is committed to the goal of providing comprehensive health care to the people of Southwestern Michigan. Bronson is actively involved in continually improving their services in order to better serve the community. This process of continuous improvement covers all hospital operations including the Emergency Department. Through studying the Emergency Department process, and how the department interacts with other departments in the hospital, improvements can be made which can lead to a better service provided to the community.

Design Of A Vibration Excitation Device, Brian Wallace, Brandon Dawe

Honors Theses

A vibration excitation source has been designed for use in beam and plate vibration laboratory demonstrations. This source is capable of providing single frequency excitations below 160 cycles per second (Hz). Since it will be used in a variety of experiments by students, ease of use and quick setup time have been major considerations of design. Performance of this source has been evaluated and will be presented along with one example application.

14th Conference On Senior Engineering Design Projects, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

Senior Engineering Design Conference

The 14th Conference on Senior Engineering Design Projects was held on April 12, 1994 at the College of Engineering and applied Sciences on the Parkview Campus of Western Michigan University. The college sponsors the conference to showcase the work of its graduating seniors, who are required to complete a capstone project that puts into practice what they have learned. Many of the projects are sponsored by business and industry.

Internal Acoustic Excitation Of An Airfoil Surface For Drag Reduction, Wendy L. Holforty

Masters Theses

This research investigated the effects of internal acoustic excitation on the boundary layer and surface of an airfoil. A NACA 16- 018 symmetric airfoil was tested in the Western Michigan University wind tunnel. The shedding vortex frequency of the airfoil was determined using hot-film anemometry. Using stroboscopic and holographic interferometry, the natural frequencies of the airfoil surface were determined. The airfoil surface was tuned such that the frequency of the shedding vortex is a resonant frequency and two internally mounted acoustic drivers were used to excite the surface of the airfoil at the shedding vortex frequency. The effects on pressure …

A State Architecture Notation Specification Of The Electronic Industries Association Rs-232-C Generic Interchange Circuit, Nelson E. Hastings

Masters Theses

The Electronic Industries Association (BIA) RS-232-C recommendation is an interface specification which was introduced in August 1969 and presents a natural language specification of a 25 pin binary serial data interface between a Data Communication Equipment (DCE) and a Data Terminal Equipment (DTE). The exchange of data signals between a DCE and a DTE ultimately provides the means for DTEs to communicate on networks of DCEs interconnected by different transmission mediums possibly over great distances. The exchange of data signals between a DCE and a DTE occurs at an interface via interchange circuits.

In this thesis we will create a …

An Ergonomics Approach To Evaluate The Use Of Two Different Fixtures For Upholstering, Maria Luisa Roa

Masters Theses

A furniture company in West Michigan proposed an evaluation of a new fixture that will be used in a repetitive manual stapling operation.

Numerous studies reveal that activities involving repetitive wrist motions cause inflammation in the median nerve that runs through the structure of the carpal wrist, causing a cumulative disorder known as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). This syndrome is one of the most prevalent in industrial settings and service companies.

This study investigated if the use of a new design of a fixture had an impact on operators' performances. Three-dimensional comparative analysis was used to observe operators' wrist angular …