Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Challenges In Kinetic-Kinematic Driven Musculoskeletal Subject-Specific Infant Modeling, Yeram Lim, Victor Huayamave, Tamara Chambers, Christine Walck, Safeer Siddicky, Erin Mannen

Publications

Musculoskeletal computational models provide a non-invasive approach to investigate human movement biomechanics. These models could be particularly useful for pediatric applications where in vivo and in vitro biomechanical parameters are difficult or impossible to examine using physical experiments alone. The objective was to develop a novel musculoskeletal subject-specific infant model to investigate hip joint biomechanics during cyclic leg movements. Experimental motion-capture marker data of a supine-lying 2-month-old infant were placed on a generic GAIT 2392 OpenSim model. After scaling the model using body segment anthropometric measurements and joint center locations, inverse kinematics and dynamics were used to estimate hip ranges …

Water Based Soil Fluidization Using A Soft Eversion Robot, James E. Hand

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Soft robotics, a form of robotics that incorporates nonrigid components, continues to grow in scope, system design, and application. A recent addition to this field is the Vine Robot platform, a bio-inspired robot designed by Stanford University in 2017. Its method of movement, known as eversion, closely resembles the way that a vine grows along a tree, giving it its name. The focus of this research was to take its proven abilities of underwater vine-like movement and soil fluidization, a process where granular materials are converted from a solid-like state to a fluid-like state, to create an underwater eversion robot …

A Meshless Approach To Computational Pharmacokinetics, Anthony Matthew Khoury

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The meshless method is an incredibly powerful technique for solving a variety of problems with unparalleled accuracy and efficiency. The pharmacokinetic problem of transdermal drug delivery (TDDD) is one such topic and is of significant complexity. The locally collocated meshless method (LCMM) is developed in solution to this topic. First, the meshless method is formulated to model this transport phenomenon and is then validated against an analytical solution of a pharmacokinetic problem set, to demonstrate this accuracy and efficiency. The analytical solution provides a locus by which convergence behavior are evaluated, demonstrating the super convergence of the locally collocated meshless …

Experimental And Numerical Investigation Of Lauric Acid Melting At Suboptimal Inclines, Casey J. Troxler

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Validation experiments are the baseline for completing numerical studies for engineering design. Applications of the enthalpy-porosity model have expanded in research with the growth of new technologies such as metal additive manufacturing or the renewed interest in thermal energy storage for supplementing renewable energy. A simplified experiment examining the melting behavior of lauric acid from an isothermal surface has become a common case for validating the performance of numerical models. Several studies of this rectangular experiment have been repeatedly used as model validation in a variety of problem conditions.

The first part of this study presents experimental data for the …

Experimental Study Of Wall Bounded Harbor Seal Whisker Inspired Pin Geometries, Anish Prasad, Mark Ricklick

Publications

Conventional cylindrical/elliptical pins are one of the most widely used geometries in convection cooling systems and are used in the internal cooling of gas turbine blades and other applications, as they promote better heat transfer at the expense of large pressure losses and unsteadiness in the flow. The need to reduce pressure drop and maintain the heat transfer rates are a pressing requirement for a variety of industries to improve their cooling efficiency. One such prominent field of research is conducted in optimizing the design of pin geometries. In this study, a harbor seal whisker inspired geometry is being studied …

Cool Thermal Energy Storage: Water And Ice To Alternative Phase Change Materials, Sandra K. S. Boetcher

Publications

Cool thermal energy storage has a long history dating back to ancient times with modern developments beginning in the mid-nineteenth century where blocks of ice were cut from frozen lakes for cooling applications. Today, the prevalent mode of thermal energy storage is the utilization of ice tanks in commercial buildings for peak shaving and load shifting. In this chapter, a summary of different types of water/ice thermal energy storage systems is provided; an overview of alternative phase change materials for use in cool thermal energy storage is given; and alternative phase change material thermal energy systems, their implementation, challenges, and …

Numerical Simulation Of A Cryogenic Spray, Neel Kishorkumar Shah

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Cryogenic sprays have many applications in modern engineering. Cooling of electronic equipment subject to high heat flows, surgical ablation of gastrointestinal mucosae or orbital maneuvering are a few examples of their versatility. However, the atomization of a cryogenic liquid is a complex process. During such an event, aerodynamic effects associated with secondary atomization are further affected by thermodynamic flashing. A better understanding of the characteristics of cryogenic sprays is then necessary to allow for improved design and optimization in applications. The overarching objective of this study is to document such characteristics. The numerical simulation was performed over cryogenic nitrogen spray …

State-Of-The-Art Of Thermal Control Solutions To Establish A Modular, Multi-Orbit Capable Spacecraft Thermal Management System Design Methodology, Robert C. Consolo Jr

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Today, the exploration and exploitation of space continues to become a more common occurrence. All types of spacecraft (S/C) utilize various types of thermal management solutions to mitigate the effects of thermal loading from the unforgiving vacuum of space. Without an appropriately designed thermal system, components on-board the S/C can experience failure or malfunction due to fluctuations in temperatures either beyond the designed operational parameters or unstable oscillating temperatures. The purpose of this study is to perform a comprehensive review of technologies available today that are being used for thermal management onboard S/C in addition to investigating the means to …

Moisture Affinity Of Hdpe/Phase-Change Material Composites For Thermal Energy Storage Applications, Sandra K. Boetcher, Thomas B. Freeman, Rafael M. Rodriguez, Kashif Nawaz

Publications

Moisture adsorption can degrade the structural integrity of thermal energy storage devices and can negatively impact the capacity and charging/discharging behavior. Steady-state and transient experiments are conducted at various operating temperatures to evaluate the moisture affinity of organic phase-change material (PCM) shape stabilized with high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

Dynamic Modeling Of Soft Robotic Dielectric Elastomer Actuator, Abdullah De Jesus El Atrache Ceballos

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Dielectric elastomers actuators (DEAs) are among the preferred materials for developing lightweight, high compliance and energy efficient driven mechanisms for soft robots. Simple DEAs consist mostly of a homogeneous elastomeric materials that transduce electrical energy into mechanical deformation by means of electrostatic attraction forces from coated electrodes. Furthermore, stacking multiple single DEAs can escalate the total mechanical displacement performed by the actuator, such is the case of multilayer DEAs. The presented research proposes a model for the dynamical characterization of multilayer DEAs in the mechanical and electrical domain. The analytical model is derived by using free body diagrams and lumped …

Helical Dielectric Elastomer Actuator, Daewon Kim

Publications

A helical dielectric elastomer actuator (HDEA) can include a first dielectric region comprising an elastomer defining a helix. In an example, a dielectric material can be deposited, and a compliant conductive material can be deposited, such as using an additive manufacturing approach, to provide an HDEA. In an example where the HDEA has multiple mechanical degrees of freedom, at least two compliant conductive regions can be located on a first surface of the first dielectric region and at least one compliant conductive region can be located on an opposite second surface of the first dielectric region. For such an example, …

Design, Development, And Testing Of Research Payloads On Various Suborbital Flight-Test Platforms, Vijay Vishal Duraisamy

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

With recent advances in the commercial space industry, suborbital payload launches have become more common and accessible to researchers actively seeking solutions for problems involving prolonged space travel and future missions to Moon and Mars. Suborbital payload missions compared to orbital launches are less expensive and offer faster turnaround times; however, the novelty of this domain provides unique challenges. This multidisciplinary research effort aims to tackle some of these challenges by detailing the design, development, and testing techniques followed in the successful launch and recovery of payload experiments in currently active and upcoming suborbital launch vehicles. The research methodology involves …

An Economical Method For Securely Disintegrating Solid-State Drives Using Blenders, Brandon J. Hopkins Phd, Kevin A. Riggle

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Pulverizing solid-state drives (SSDs) down to particles no larger than 2 mm is required by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) to ensure the highest level of data security, but commercial disintegrators that achieve this standard are large, heavy, costly, and often difficult to access globally. Here, we present a portable, inexpensive, and accessible method of pulverizing SSDs using a household blender and other readily available materials. We verify this approach by pulverizing SSDs with a variety of household blenders for fixed periods of time and sieve the resulting powder to ensure appropriate particle size. Among the 6 household …

In-Vitro And In-Silico Investigations Of Alternative Surgical Techniques For Single Ventricular Disease, Arka Das

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Single ventricle (SV) anomalies account for one-fourth of all cases of congenital Heart disease. The conventional second and third stage i.e. Comprehensive stage II and Fontan procedure of the existing three-staged surgical approach serving as a palliative treatment for this anomaly, entails multiple complications and achieves a survival rate of 50%. Hence, to reduce the morbidity and mortality rate associated with the second and third stages of the existing palliative procedure, the novel alternative techniques called “Hybrid Comprehensive Stage II” (HCSII), and a “Self-powered Fontan circulation” have been proposed. The goal of this research is to conduct in-vitro investigations to …

Use Of Machine Learning For Automated Convergence Of Numerical Iterative Schemes, Leonardo A. Bueno-Benitez

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Convergence of a numerical solution scheme occurs when a sequence of increasingly refined iterative solutions approaches a value consistent with the modeled phenomenon. Approximations using iterative schemes need to satisfy convergence criteria, such as reaching a specific error tolerance or number of iterations. The schemes often bypass the criteria or prematurely converge because of oscillations that may be inherent to the solution. Using a Support Vector Machines (SVM) machine learning approach, an algorithm is designed to use the source data to train a model to predict convergence in the solution process and stop unnecessary iterations. The discretization of the Navier …

Desalination For Sustainable Water Production With An Emphasis On Low Pressure Distillation, Jessica Vivian Savage

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Freshwater resources depletion is a growing concern. This freshwater scarcity motivates research into seawater desalination as a means for alleviating the stresses on water demands. The primary methods of desalination include filtration and distillation. This paper explores the potential energy savings of vacuum distillation for seawater desalination to reduce the amount of energy needed to achieve phase change.

Depending on the vacuum boiler design, the vaporization mechanism may be boiling, evaporation, or cavitation. There is very little literature on cavitation that involves mass transfer, so cavitation is not developed here. This thesis focuses on standard models for boiling and evaporation …

Validation Of A Two-Dimensional Clinostat Design To Provide Functional Weightlessness To Custom Gas Exchange Vessels, Collin R. Topolski

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Understanding the impacts of microgravity on bacteria is vital for successful long duration space missions. In this environment, bacteria have been shown to become more virulent, more resistant to antibiotics and form more biofilms. To learn more about these phenomena, many experiments must be sent to the International Space Station, which is cost- and time prohibitive. Instead, the use of ground-based analogs is advantageous to define preliminary results that can later be verified with a space-based experiment. This research explored the development of an innovative 2D clinostat for simulating microgravity using bacteria. Computational fluid dynamics, standards established by previous literature …

Automated Scenario Generation Using Halton Sequences For The Verification Of Autonomous Vehicle Behavior In Simulation, Andrew Ferree

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

As autonomous vehicles continue to develop, verifying their safety remains a large hurdle to mass adoption. One component of this is testing, however it has been shown that it is impractical to statistically prove an autonomous vehicle’s safety using real-world testing alone. Therefore, simulation tools and other virtual testing methods are being employed to assist with the verification process. Testing in simulation still faces some of the challenges of the real world, such as the difficulty in exhaustively testing the system in all scenarios it will encounter. Manual scenario creation is time consuming and does not guarantee scenario coverage. Pseudo-random …

A Comparative Study Between 6 Degree-Of-Freedom Trajectory Model And Modified Point Mass Trajectory Model Of Spinning Projectiles, Ange Du

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

For spinning projectiles, the 6 Degree-of-Freedom model can closely capture their trajectories with high accuracy and details. However, it comes with the drawbacks of long computation time and needing many aerodynamic coefficients which can be hard to obtain. The Modified Point Mass Trajectory Model was introduced as a simplified solution. This work compares them with each other, and with some more conventional methods. A program is developed to simulate and visualize trajectories. With some augmentations, the Modified Point Mass model is able to generate comparable results in most cases, but not including special cases such as when the projectile is …

A Comparison Of Pid And Sliding Mode Controllers When Applied To The Orbit Raising Of A Satellite Using Solar Sail Propulsion, Kayla Marie Ormiston

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Solar Sail spacecraft have become increasingly popular due to their ability to perform long term missions without the need for propellant. Because solar sail propulsion is so unique, most research has been focused on developing new mechanical control techniques. However, it can be argued that more advanced control algorithms can be used to mitigate the shortcomings of commonly used control actuators, specifically reaction wheels, when applied to solar sails. This thesis will research how a sliding mode controller compares to a PID controller with respect to settling time and state response error over a range of maximum reaction wheel torque …

Monocular Visual Inertial Odometry Using Learning-Based Methods, Yuan Tian

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Precise pose information is a fundamental prerequisite for numerous applications in robotics, Artificial Intelligent and mobile computing. Many well-developed algorithms have been established using a single sensor or multiple sensors. Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO) uses images and inertial measurements to estimate the motion and is considered a key technology for GPS-denied localization in the real world and also virtual reality and augmented reality.

This study develops three novel learning-based approaches to Odometry estimation using a monocular camera and inertial measurement unit. The networks are well-trained on standard datasets, KITTI and EuROC, and a custom dataset using supervised, unsupervised and semi-supervised …

Active Drag Reduction Of Ground Vehicles Using Air-Jet Wheel Deflectors, Kaloki Nabutola

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Seven turbulence models were used to simulate the flow within the wheelhouse of a simplified vehicle body. The performance of each model was evaluated by comparing the aerodynamic coefficients obtained using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to data collected from wind tunnel experiments. The performance of large eddy simulation (LES) and detached eddy simulation (DES) was largely dependent on the time step and grid size to accurately resolve turbulent eddies. The standard k-e, realizable k-e, k-w, DES, and LES all trended towards a drag coefficient which was 20% lower than the experimental value. In all numerical cases, the lift coefficient was …

7-Dof Robotic Arm Xy-Plane Translational Stability, Christopher Dean Alkire

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Robotic arms are traditionally mounted to rigid structures as they perform tasks. As a result, the arm’s movement would not affect the position of its mount and its operational space that it is performing a task within would remain constant. If a robotic arm were to function in orbit, the motion of the arm would cause it to rotate and translate about its center of mass, which changes as the joints of the arm rotate.

The purpose of this thesis is to focus on the two-dimensional translational effects of an arm operating on a simulated zero-friction surface and provide a …

System Level Model For Pumped Two-Phase Cooling Systems, Leitao Chen, Timothy Joseph Chainer, Pritish Ranjan Parida, Mark Delorman Schultz, Fanghao Yang

Publications

Techniques are provided for system level modeling of two-phase cooling systems. In one example, a computer implemented method comprises determining, by a system operatively coupled to a processor, respective sets of steady state values for parameters at inlet-outlet junctions using a system model, wherein the determining is based on first user input specifying a cooling system design comprising a plurality of part objects, wherein adjacent part objects in a flow direction are connected at the inlet-outlet junctions. The computer-implemented method can also comprise generat­ing, by the system, a graphical display that depicts the respective sets of parameter values at the …

Theoretical And Computational Analyses On Transition And Turbulence In Purely Oscillating Pipe Flow, Ali Ahmed Abdulrasool

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The hydrodynamic instability of purely oscillating pipe flows is investigated in terms of the quasi-steady formulation assuming the temporal changes of the laminar base flow relative to disturbances are slow. A simple model equation is introduced to compare the exact solution of the current approach with those of the major theories dedicated for unsteady flows. The results of the analysis show that the quasi-steady assumption and the multiple scales method are more efficient and accurate than the formal Floquet theory in predicting the transient instabilities within a period in addition to the long-term growth or decay of disturbances. The most …

Solar District Cup Competition, Qi Jiang, Kristen A. Holman, Benjamin F. Aulenbab, Adi Alharbi, Chenge Liu

Sustainability Conference

The Solar District Cup is a two-semester design competition sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Energy in which teams from across the nation compete to design the most efficient and cost effective solar plus storage system for a unique district case. The Embry Riddle team was tasked with designing such a system for New Mexico State University in Las Cruses, NM.

Residential Thermal Storage And Cooling, Joao Marcelo Rocha Belmonte, Jacob Anderson, Andrew Clarke, Daphne Forester, Bianca Hardtke, Josh Hartman, Marc D. Compere

Sustainability Conference

No abstract provided.

Solar Powered Parking Lot Lights, Jordyn Taylor

Sustainability Conference

Solar energy is a renewable resource growing exponentially around the country over the past few decades. Solar energy works through the use of photo-voltaic cells, which work to convert energy from sunlight into electricity. This is done within solar panels, which are then connected to batteries for energy storage to use as needed. As production has increased over past decades, the cost for solar panel hardware and installment has thus fallen to meet consumer need. While most common implementations include solar panels attached to one’s home or solar panel ‘fields’ for charging entire towns, there has been a steady rise …

Experimental Evaluation Of Strength Degradation Temperature For Carbon Epoxy Filament Wound Composite, Jai Krishna Mishra, Surya Prakash Rao Ch Dr, Subhash Chandra Bose P Dr, Kishore Nath N Dr, Rama Rao Golla Mr

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Polymeric composites have been widely used in various structural and thermal aerospace applications. Polymeric composites having high strength and high modulus reinforcement are ideally suited for lot of critical aerospace applications as structure is designed with high specific strength and high specific modulus. In case of launch vehicles/ missile one such application is design and manufacturing of solid rocket motor casing with polymeric composites as it give high performance and reduces inert weight of propulsion system. The high specific strength and high specific modulus of composite materials makes it ideal choice for designing the composite rocket motor case (CRMC). These …

Environmental Advantages In Additive Manufacturing, Analise Walter, Cheryl Marcham

Publications

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a technology that uses a variety of methods to ultimately apply layers of material and create products (Ford & Despeisse, 2016; Ford, Mortara & Minshall, 2016). Although there has been an expansion in recent technology, AM has been used in manufacturing for a few decades (Ford, Mortara, et al., 2016). Since the late 1980s, AM has grown from simple product designs, with a focus on prototyping and customization, to modern times with billions of dollars in revenue and large-scale production of consumer and industrial products (Cotteleer, 2014). Forecasts showed a near $10 billion market by 2020, …