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Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering
Design And Analysis Of A 3d-Printed, Thermoplastic Elastomer (Tpe) Spring Element For Use In Corrective Hand Orthotics, Kevin Thomas Richardson
Design And Analysis Of A 3d-Printed, Thermoplastic Elastomer (Tpe) Spring Element For Use In Corrective Hand Orthotics, Kevin Thomas Richardson
Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering
This thesis proposes an algorithm that determine the geometry of 3D-printed, custom-designed spring element bands made of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) for use in a wearable orthotic device to aid in the physical therapy of a human hand exhibiting spasticity after stroke. Each finger of the hand is modeled as a mechanical system consisting of a triple-rod pendulum with nonlinear stiffness at each joint and forces applied at the attachment point of each flexor muscle. The system is assumed quasi-static, which leads to a torque balance between the flexor tendons in the hand, joint stiffness and the design force applied to …
Assisted Development Of Mesophase Pitch With Dispersed Graphene And Its Resulting Carbon Fibers, Aaron Owen
Assisted Development Of Mesophase Pitch With Dispersed Graphene And Its Resulting Carbon Fibers, Aaron Owen
Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering
The efficacy of dispersed reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as a nucleation site for the growth of mesophase in an isotropic pitch was investigated and quantified in this study. Concentrations of rGO were systematically tested in an isotropic petroleum and coal-tar pitch during thermal treatments and compared to pitch without rGO. The mesophase content of each thermally treated pitch was quantified by polarized light point counting. Further characterization of softening temperature and insolubles were quantified. Additionally, the pitches with and without rGO were melt spun, graphitized, and tensile tested to determine the effects of rGO on graphitized fiber mechanical properties and …