Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering
Transforming A Circular Economy Into A Helical Economy For Advancing Sustainable Manufacturing, Ryan T. Bradley
Transforming A Circular Economy Into A Helical Economy For Advancing Sustainable Manufacturing, Ryan T. Bradley
Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering
The U.N. projects the world population to reach nearly 10 billion people by 2050, which will cause demand for manufactured goods to reach unforeseen levels. In order for us to produce the goods to support an equitable future, the methods in which we manufacture those goods must radically change. The emerging Circular Economy (CE) concept for production systems has promised to drastically increase economic/business value by significantly reducing the world’s resource consumption and negative environmental impacts. However, CE is inherently limited because of its emphasis on recycling and reuse of materials. CE does not address the holistic changes needed across …
Pressure-Driven Stabilization Of Capacitive Deionization, Landon S. Caudill
Pressure-Driven Stabilization Of Capacitive Deionization, Landon S. Caudill
Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering
The effects of system pressure on the performance stability of flow-through capacitive deionization (CDI) cells was investigated. Initial data showed that the highly porous carbon electrodes possessed air/oxygen in the micropores, and the increased system pressure boosts the gases solubility in saline solution and carries them out of the cell in the effluent. Upon applying a potential difference to the electrodes, capacitive-based ion adsorption occurs in competition with faradaic reactions that consume oxygen. Through the addition of backpressure, the rate of degradation decreases, allowing the cell to maintain its salt adsorption capacity (SAC) longer. The removal of oxygen from the …
A Framework For Sustainable Material Selection For Multi-Generational Components, Ryan T. Bradley
A Framework For Sustainable Material Selection For Multi-Generational Components, Ryan T. Bradley
Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering
The early stages of a product’s design are a critical time for decisions that impact the entire life-cycle cost. Product designers have mastered the first generation; however, they currently do not have the ability to know the impact of their decisions on the multi-generational view. This thesis aims at closing the gap between total life-cycle information and the traditional design process in order to harbor sustainable value creation among all stakeholders involved. A framework is presented that uses a combination of a life-cycle costing methodology and an evolutionary algorithm in order to achieve a sustainability assessment for a true multi-generational …