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2020

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Full-Text Articles in Engineering Mechanics

Experimental Study Of Viscoelastic Fluid-Structure Interactions, Anita Anup Dey Dec 2020

Experimental Study Of Viscoelastic Fluid-Structure Interactions, Anita Anup Dey

Doctoral Dissertations

It is well known that when a flexible or flexibly-mounted structure is placed perpendicular to a Newtonian fluid flow, it can oscillate due to the shedding of vortices at high Reynolds numbers. Unlike Newtonian fluids, viscoelastic fluid flow can become unstable even at infinitesimal Reynolds numbers due to a purely elastic flow instability occurring at large Weissenberg numbers. This thesis focuses on exploring the mechanisms of viscoelastic fluid-structure interactions (VFSI) through experimental investigations on several different combinations of flexible and flexibly-mounted circular cylinders, micro and macro-scale cantilevered beams and viscoelastic fluids such as wormlike micelle solutions and polymer solutions. VFSI …


An Improved Foam Modeling Technique And Its Application To Petroleum Drilling And Production Practice, Yanfang Wang Dec 2020

An Improved Foam Modeling Technique And Its Application To Petroleum Drilling And Production Practice, Yanfang Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Foam is one of the most common used multiphase fluid in Underbalanced Drilling (UBD) and Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD). Because of its low density, high capacity of lifting and carrying cuttings, low cost and compatibility with formations, foam has become more superior than the conventional drilling mud when depleted reservoir pressure, severe lost circulation, or unstable borehole are encountered. In general, the success of foam applications rely on the understanding of the fundamentals of foam rheology in downhole conditions.

Foam rheology has been studied for decades. Conventional foam rheological models such as Power Law, Bingham Plastic, Herschel-Bulkley to explain foam …


An Investigation Into The Effects Of Fly Ash On Freeze-Thaw Durability Prediction, Yancy Schrader Dec 2020

An Investigation Into The Effects Of Fly Ash On Freeze-Thaw Durability Prediction, Yancy Schrader

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Air is purposefully entrained into concrete primarily to improve resistance to freeze-thaw deterioration while saturated with water. Air entraining admixtures (AEAs) are chemical admixtures designed to entrain air into the concrete to provide adequate resistance to the effects of freezing and thawing. One of the challenges associated with air entrainment in concrete is the interaction of an AEA with supplementary cementitious materials present in the concrete, particularly fly ash. Fly ash is a by-product of the coal fired electrical generation industry, and often contains residual unburned carbon and other components that can increase the AEA demand of a particular concrete …


Leveraging Biomimicry And Additive Manufacturing To Improve Load Transfer In Brittle Materials, Ana Paula Bernardo Dec 2020

Leveraging Biomimicry And Additive Manufacturing To Improve Load Transfer In Brittle Materials, Ana Paula Bernardo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the emergence of Additive Manufacturing (i.e., 3D printing) in construction, new strategically designed shapes can be created to improve load transfer through structural members and foundations. Cross-sections can be optimized to carry load using less material, or even using weaker constituent materials, like soils, which are cheap and abundant. The goal of this research is to investigate the benefits of using cellular patterns which leverage biomimicry in civil engineering applications, since nature has perfectly engineered materials and patterns which carry loads with the least amount of material possible. Most of the periodic cellular work to date has focused on …


Me-Em Enewsbrief, October-December 2020, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University Dec 2020

Me-Em Enewsbrief, October-December 2020, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.


Nonlinear Controller For Nonlinear Wave Energy Converters, David G. Wilson, Giorgio Bacelli, Rush D. Robinett Iii, Ossama Abdelkhalik Nov 2020

Nonlinear Controller For Nonlinear Wave Energy Converters, David G. Wilson, Giorgio Bacelli, Rush D. Robinett Iii, Ossama Abdelkhalik

Michigan Tech Patents

The present invention is directed to a nonlinear controller for nonlinear wave energy converters (WECs). As an example of the invention, a nonlinear dynamic model is developed for a geometrically right-circular cylinder WEC design for the heave-only motion, or a single degree-of-freedom (DOF). The linear stiffness term is replaced by a nonlinear cubic hardening spring term to demonstrate the performance of a nonlinear WEC as compared to an optimized linear WEC. By exploiting the nonlinear physics in the nonlinear controller, equivalent power and energy capture, as well as simplified operational performance is observed for the nonlinear cubic hardening spring controller …


Advances In The Application Of Biomimetic Surface Engineering In The Oil And Gas Industry, Yanbao Guo, Zheng Zhang, Siwei Zhang Oct 2020

Advances In The Application Of Biomimetic Surface Engineering In The Oil And Gas Industry, Yanbao Guo, Zheng Zhang, Siwei Zhang

Friction

Friction is widespread in almost every field in the oil and gas industry, and it is accompanied by huge energy losses and potential safety hazards. To deal with a series of questions in this regard, biomimetic surfaces have been developed over the past decades to significantly reduce economic losses. Presently, biomimetic surface engineering on different scales has been successfully introduced into related fields of the oil and gas industry, such as drill bits and the inner surfaces of pipes. In this review, we focused on the most recent and promising efforts reported toward the application of a biomimetic surface in …


Rubber Plunger Surface Texturing For Friction Reduction In Medical Syringes, Haytam Kasem, Harel Shriki, Lihi Ganon, Michael Mizrahi, Kareem Abd-Rbo, Abraham J. Domb Oct 2020

Rubber Plunger Surface Texturing For Friction Reduction In Medical Syringes, Haytam Kasem, Harel Shriki, Lihi Ganon, Michael Mizrahi, Kareem Abd-Rbo, Abraham J. Domb

Friction

Friction is a genuine issue in the use of many medical devices involving rubbery materials such as plungers in medical syringes. This paper presents a new direction for the reduction of friction in medical syringes based on surface texturing of the rubber plunger. The specimens were prepared by casting poly(vinylsiloxane) (PVS) rubber into a pre-fabricated negative template obtained by 3D printing. Friction tests were performed on a home-made test-rig. It was clearly shown that friction resistance can be considerably manipulated when using textured plungers.


Erosive Wear Properties Of Za-27 Alloy-Based Nanocomposites: Influence Of Type, Amount, And Size Of Nanoparticle Reinforcements, Aleksandar Vencl, Ilija Bobić, Biljana Bobić, Kristina Jakimovska, Petr Svoboda, Mara Kandeva Oct 2020

Erosive Wear Properties Of Za-27 Alloy-Based Nanocomposites: Influence Of Type, Amount, And Size Of Nanoparticle Reinforcements, Aleksandar Vencl, Ilija Bobić, Biljana Bobić, Kristina Jakimovska, Petr Svoboda, Mara Kandeva

Friction

Metal matrix nanocomposites (MMnCs) comprise a metal matrix filled with nanosized reinforcements with physical and mechanical properties that are very different from those of the matrix. In ZA-27 alloy-based nanocomposites, the metal matrix provides ductility and toughness, while usually used ceramic reinforcements give high strength and hardness. Tested ZA-27 alloy-based nanocomposites, reinforced with different types (SiC and Al2O3), amounts (0.2 wt.%, 0.3 wt.%, and 0.5 wt.%) and sizes (25 nm, 50 nm, and 100 nm) of nanoparticles were produced through the compocasting process with mechanical alloying pre-processing (ball milling). It was previously shown that the presence of nanoparticles in ZA-27 …


Friction And Wear Behaviors Of Mos2-Multi-Walled-Carbon-Nanotube Hybrid Reinforced Polyurethane Composite Coating, Zhaozhu Zhang, Mingming Yang, Junya Yuan, Fang Guo, Xuehu Men Oct 2020

Friction And Wear Behaviors Of Mos2-Multi-Walled-Carbon-Nanotube Hybrid Reinforced Polyurethane Composite Coating, Zhaozhu Zhang, Mingming Yang, Junya Yuan, Fang Guo, Xuehu Men

Friction

MoS2-multi-walled-carbon-nanotube (MWCNT) hybrids containing two-dimensional MoS2 and one-dimensional MWCNTs were synthesized through a one-step hydrothermal reaction. X-ray-diffraction and transmission-electron-microscopy results demonstrated that MoS2 nanosheets were successfully synthesized, and uniformly anchored on the MWCNTs' surfaces. Furthermore, the effects of the MoS2-MWCNT hybrids on the tribological performances of polyurethane composite coatings were investigated using a UMT-2MT tribo-tester. Friction and wear test results revealed that the friction coefficient and wear rate of a 3 wt% MoS2-MWCNT-1 filled polyurethane composite coating were reduced by 25.6% and 65.5%, respectively. The outstanding tribological performance of the MoS2-MWCNT-1 reinforced polyurethane composite coating was attributed to the excellent …


Sliding Friction Of Shale Rock On Dry Quartz Sand Particles, Huijie Zhang, Shuhai Liu, Huaping Xiao Oct 2020

Sliding Friction Of Shale Rock On Dry Quartz Sand Particles, Huijie Zhang, Shuhai Liu, Huaping Xiao

Friction

The sliding friction of rock, involving all kinds of particles at the contact surface, is relevant to many problems, ranging from those in artificial engineering to earthquake dynamics. In this work, the frictional performance of the shale rock-dry quartz sand contact was investigated using a self-developed testing device. The study showed that the coefficient of friction of the contact increases with nominal stress and that the corresponding friction force increases approximately linearly with nominal stress, which is directly related to the contact stress between each single sand particle and rock shale. An overall dynamic coefficient, γ, reflecting the response of …


Friction Predication On Pin-To-Plate Interface Of Ptfe Material And Steel, Zhuming Bi, Donald W. Mueller Oct 2020

Friction Predication On Pin-To-Plate Interface Of Ptfe Material And Steel, Zhuming Bi, Donald W. Mueller

Friction

In this paper, the friction behavior at a pin-to-plate interface is investigated. The pin and plate are made of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and steel, respectively, and there is a reciprocating motion at the interface. Governing mathematical models for the relations of design variables and frictions are investigated, and a general procedure is proposed to solve the developed models and predict the friction forces at the interface subjected to given test conditions. Novel models have been developed to represent intrigued friction behaviors affected by various factors such as pin geometrics and finishes, lubrication conditions, and reciprocating speed. The test data from experiments …


Significant Friction Reduction Of High-Intensity Pulsed Ion Beam Irradiated Wc-Ni Against Graphite Under Water Lubrication, Gaolong Zhang, Yuechang Wang, Ying Liu, Xiangfeng Liu, Yuming Wang Oct 2020

Significant Friction Reduction Of High-Intensity Pulsed Ion Beam Irradiated Wc-Ni Against Graphite Under Water Lubrication, Gaolong Zhang, Yuechang Wang, Ying Liu, Xiangfeng Liu, Yuming Wang

Friction

Two types of commercial WC-Ni samples were irradiated with the High-intensity pulsed ion beam (HIPIB). Both the surface characteristics and tribo-characteristics of the non-irradiated and irradiated WC-Ni samples, sliding against graphite under water lubrication, were compared. Quite low steady friction coefficients (approximately of 0.02) of the irradiated WC-Ni were observed. The surface topographies and components were investigated. The quite low friction of the irradiated WC-Ni samples was ascribed to the higher fluid retention capability of the latter and the tribofilm formed during sliding.


Metal-Containing Nanomaterials As Lubricant Additives: State-Of-The-Art And Future Development, Igor E. Uflyand, Vladimir A. Zhinzhilo, Victoria E. Burlakova Oct 2020

Metal-Containing Nanomaterials As Lubricant Additives: State-Of-The-Art And Future Development, Igor E. Uflyand, Vladimir A. Zhinzhilo, Victoria E. Burlakova

Friction

This review focuses on the effect of metal-containing nanomaterials on tribological performance in oil lubrication. The basic data on nanolubricants based on nanoparticles of metals, metal oxides, metal sulfides, nanocomposities, and rare-earth compounds are generalized. The influence of nanoparticle size, morphology, surface functionalization, and concentration on friction and wear is analyzed. The lubrication mechanisms of nanolubricants are discussed. The problems and prospects for the development of metal-containing nanomaterials as lubricant additives are considered. The bibliography includes articles published during the last five years.


Experimental Study On The Tribo-Chemical Smoothening Process Between Self-Mated Silicon Carbide In A Water-Lubricated Surface-Contact Reciprocating Test, Le Jin, Herbert Scheerer, Georg Andersohn, Matthias Oechsner, Dieter Hellmann Oct 2020

Experimental Study On The Tribo-Chemical Smoothening Process Between Self-Mated Silicon Carbide In A Water-Lubricated Surface-Contact Reciprocating Test, Le Jin, Herbert Scheerer, Georg Andersohn, Matthias Oechsner, Dieter Hellmann

Friction

Silicon carbide (SiC) can be tribo-chemically smoothened during a self-mated sliding procedure in the aqueous environment. As well reported in the point-contact tests, this smoothening process works well due to the abundant water as oxidant. After this smoothening process, the tribo-surface is well polished, a closely mated tribo-gap naturally forms, and an ultra-low friction state is built. However, water in the tribo-gap could be insufficient in industrial applications, e.g., the seal gap in mechanical seals. In this study, the tribo-chemical smoothening behavior in such environment was researched. A surface-contact reciprocating test was used to simulate the aqueous environment where water …


Water-Based Superlubricity In Vacuum, Chen Xiao, Jinjin Li, Lei Chen, Chenhui Zhang, Ningning Zhou, Tao Qing, Linmao Qian, Jiyang Zhang, Jianbin Luo Oct 2020

Water-Based Superlubricity In Vacuum, Chen Xiao, Jinjin Li, Lei Chen, Chenhui Zhang, Ningning Zhou, Tao Qing, Linmao Qian, Jiyang Zhang, Jianbin Luo

Friction

This study achieved water-based superlubricity with the lubrication of H3PO4 solution in vacuum (highest vacuum degree <10-4 torr) for the first time by performing a pre-running process in air before running in vacuum. The stable water-based superlubricity was sustainable in vacuum (0.02 torr) for 14 h until the test was stopped by the user for non-experimental factor. A further analysis suggested that the superlubricity may be attributed to the phosphoric acid-water network formed in air, which can efficiently lock water molecules in the liquid lubricating film even in vacuum owing to the strong hydrogen bond interaction. Such capability to lock water is strongly affected by the strength of hydrogen bond and environmental conditions. The realization of water-based superlubricity with H3PO4 solution in vacuum can lead to its application in space environment.


Tribological Performance Of Novel Nickel-Based Composite Coatings With Lubricant Particles, Ignacio Tudela, Andrew J. Cobley, Yi Zhang Oct 2020

Tribological Performance Of Novel Nickel-Based Composite Coatings With Lubricant Particles, Ignacio Tudela, Andrew J. Cobley, Yi Zhang

Friction

The present study is focused on the evaluation of the tribological performance of novel Ni/hBN and Ni/WS2 composite coatings electrodeposited from an additive-free Watts bath with the assistance of ultrasound. Lubricated and non-lubricated scratch tests were performed on both novel composite coatings and on standard Ni deposits used as a benchmark coating to have an initial idea of the effect of the presence of particles within the Ni matrix. Under lubricated conditions, the performance of the Ni/hBN composite coating was very similar to the benchmark Ni coating, whereas the Ni/WS2 behaved quite differently, as the latter did not only show …


Numerical Analysis Of Time-Varying Wear With Elastic Deformation In Line Contact, Wanglong Zhan, Ping Huang Oct 2020

Numerical Analysis Of Time-Varying Wear With Elastic Deformation In Line Contact, Wanglong Zhan, Ping Huang

Friction

Wear is an important factor for failures of mechanical components. Current research on wear is mainly focused on experiments while the numerical simulation of wear is hardly used owing to the complexities of the wear process. Explaining the effect of friction on the wear process is important, as it will lead to a deeper understanding of the evolution of wear. This study proposed a numerical method to expound the wear process in the contact between an elastic cylinder and a half-space simulating the ring-block tester. There are two difficulties during the calculation; one is that the contact shapes vary with …


Theoretical Studies Of Spinning Line Parameters Of Ring Spinning Machines, Nurilla Dadaxanov Oct 2020

Theoretical Studies Of Spinning Line Parameters Of Ring Spinning Machines, Nurilla Dadaxanov

Acta of Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent

The article studies the angle of discharge of exhaust devices and obtaining of analytical dependencies for calculating the angle of flow around the sliver of the exhaust cylinder on the spinning line of ring spinning machines.


The Concept Of The Mathematical Description Of The Multi-Coordinate Mechatronic Module Of The Robot, Temurbek Omonboyevich Rakhimov Sep 2020

The Concept Of The Mathematical Description Of The Multi-Coordinate Mechatronic Module Of The Robot, Temurbek Omonboyevich Rakhimov

Acta of Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent

The article deals with the concept of mathematical de- scription of multi-coordinate mahatronic modules of robots. The main results of the work are a generalized structure of a multi- coordinate mechatronic module of motion, a kinematic diagram of an electromagnetic multi-coordinate mechatronic module with three independent coordinate linear and angular movements is proposed, consisting of four electromagnets, controlled couplings designed to transmit the reciprocating motion of the moving parts of electro- magnets to the output rods and a cable, which are associated with the links of work and bringing them into linear and angular mo- tion. A simulation model of …


Me-Em 2019-20 Annual Report, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University Sep 2020

Me-Em 2019-20 Annual Report, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Annual Reports

Table of Contents

  • Element 1
  • Element 2
  • Element 3
  • Element 4
  • Enrollment & Degrees
  • Graduates
  • Department
  • Alumni
  • Donors


Me-Em Enewsbrief, September 2020, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University Sep 2020

Me-Em Enewsbrief, September 2020, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.


Design And Development Of Strong And Ductile Single Bcc Refractory High-Entropy Alloys For High-Temperature Applications, Chanho Lee Aug 2020

Design And Development Of Strong And Ductile Single Bcc Refractory High-Entropy Alloys For High-Temperature Applications, Chanho Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

The objectives of this proposed study are to (1) design and develop single BCC phase refractory high-entropy alloys (HEAs) for the high-temperature applications, (2) investigate the deformation mechanisms of refractory HEAs, (3) improve an integrated approach, coupling focused experiments and theoretical modeling, to design, discover, and develop HEAs, and (4) understand the alloy design-microstructure-property-performance links underlying the mechanical behavior of refractory HEA systems for gas-turbine applications

A traditional alloy system generally includes one or two principal elements that form the matrix with other additional elements, e.g., iron or aluminum alloys, to strengthen some specific properties, such as strength and corrosion …


Development Of High-Density Propulsion System Technologies For Interplanetary Small Satellites And Cubesats, Morgan Andrew Roddy Jul 2020

Development Of High-Density Propulsion System Technologies For Interplanetary Small Satellites And Cubesats, Morgan Andrew Roddy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to support the development of a novel propulsion system for small satellites (<180 kg) and CubeSats. This was pursued by conducting a collection of studies that were designed to provide engineering data that would be critical in designing a functional prototype. The novel propulsion system was conceived by the author to provide best-in-class performance for the small satellite and CubeSat families of spacecraft. This context presents specific design requirements that the presented technology attempts to satisfy. The most critical among these is high density; the propellant was designed to be stored with high density and the thruster was designed to be as compact as possible. The propulsion system is composed of two primary elements, a propellant generator and a thruster. The propellant generator works by sublimating a solid crystal into vapor and then using this vapor to etch a dense metal. The resulting gaseous byproducts of this reaction are the propellant. This dissertation used xenon difluoride (XeF2) vapor to etch tungsten (W) which react to form xenon gas (Xe) and tungsten hexafluoride (WF6). This approach gave a theoretical propellant storage density 5.40 g/cm3; and 5.17 g/cm3 was demonstrated. The sublimation dynamics of the XeF2 were studied as a function of surface area and temperature and it was found to be suitable for the intended application due to its high effluence rate; that is, it sublimates fast enough to be useful. The sublimation rates are on the order of 10’s of µg/s. The etch rate of XeF2 on W was also studied and found to be suitably fast to provide useful amounts of reactants for use as a propellant, again on the order of 1’s of µg/s. The thruster is an electrostatic radio frequency (RF) ion thruster design and is manufactured with Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic (LTCC) materials system and manufacturing technology. Manufacturing samples of the thruster were built at the University of Arkansas in July 2015 and tested at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in May 2018. Testing validated the viability of the LTCC thruster and provided valuable information on how to improve the thruster’s design.


Open-Source Digitally Replicable Lab-Grade Scales, Benjamin R. Hubbard, Joshua M. Pearce Jun 2020

Open-Source Digitally Replicable Lab-Grade Scales, Benjamin R. Hubbard, Joshua M. Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications

This study provides designs for a low-cost, easily replicable open-source lab-grade digital scale that can be used as a precision balance. The design is such that it can be manufactured for use in most labs throughout the world with open-source RepRap-class material extrusion-based 3-D printers for the mechanical components and readily available open-source electronics including the Arduino Nano. Several versions of the design were fabricated and tested for precision and accuracy for a range of load cells. The results showed the open-source scale was found to be repeatable within 0.05 g with multiple load cells, with even better precision (0.005 …


Mechani-Kits Senior Design Project, Jake Utley, Sophie Carson, Vincent Seguin Jun 2020

Mechani-Kits Senior Design Project, Jake Utley, Sophie Carson, Vincent Seguin

Mechanical Engineering

Studies suggest that when designed and executed well, hands-on activities can enhance student understanding of key mechanics concepts. Current products are expensive and typically not designed to meet a variety of learning objectives. Through the Mechanics of Inclusion and Inclusivity in Mechanics grant, the Cal Poly Physics and Engineering Departments are seeking to incorporate new hands-on activities into their courses. Our team has designed three inexpensive ”MechaniKits” to be used in physics, statics and dynamics courses [1]. This Final Design Review outlines our findings, objectives, and final designs for this project. It also explains our manufacturing and design verification plans. …


Me-Em Enewsbrief, June 2020, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University Jun 2020

Me-Em Enewsbrief, June 2020, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.


Fly Ash Based Geopolymer For High Temperature And High Compressive Strength Applications In Aggressive Environment, Aaryan Manoj Nair, Akm S. Rahman May 2020

Fly Ash Based Geopolymer For High Temperature And High Compressive Strength Applications In Aggressive Environment, Aaryan Manoj Nair, Akm S. Rahman

Publications and Research

Geopolymers are the results of geosynthetic reactions between aluminosilicates and strong bases. This results in chemical bonds between aluminum (Al), Silicon (Si)and oxygen (O) composing polymer rings in tetrahedral coordination. These bonds give them widespread useful applications such as high heat bearing ceramics, and base construction material whilst being far more environmentally conscious. The purpose of the experiment is to examine the effect of Silicon Carbide whisker and inorganic glass particles on thermal and mechanical properties of Geopolymers. This study will help understand the effect of various compositions and concentrations of SiO2 in mechanical strength. In this experiment, the …


Tympanal Asymmetry In A Parasitoid Fly: Small Asymmetries Produce Big Gains, Max Mikel-Stites, Anne E. Staples May 2020

Tympanal Asymmetry In A Parasitoid Fly: Small Asymmetries Produce Big Gains, Max Mikel-Stites, Anne E. Staples

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.


Development Of Multi-Axial Fatigue Retrofits For Lock Gate Components, Logan Verkamp May 2020

Development Of Multi-Axial Fatigue Retrofits For Lock Gate Components, Logan Verkamp

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lock gates are essential infrastructure components to the United State (US) supply chain. They create large cost savings and environmental benefits when compared with traditional methods of transport (freight and rail). Because of the large quantity of goods and dependence on these shipping chains, the US economy can be drastically affected by an unexpected gate closure. Unfortunately, many lock gates within the US have reached or exceeded their designed life. Due to the intensity of cyclic loads and the environment, fatigue cracks have become a prominent issue. Developed cracks near the pintle region (a joint which the gate rotates and …