Mechanical 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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …