Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Mechanical Engineering Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 30 of 66

Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

Methods For Identifying Acoustic Emissions From The Front Face Of A Small Piezoelectric Blower, Brad K. Solomon Dec 2012

Methods For Identifying Acoustic Emissions From The Front Face Of A Small Piezoelectric Blower, Brad K. Solomon

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on identifying acoustic noise generating components in piezoelectric blowers through transverse velocity measurements and the development of a numerical fluid model. Piezoelectric ceramics have proven useful for many industries and areas of research involving: high precision actuators, noise control, ultrasonic devices, and many other areas. As of late, a unique adaptation of piezoelectric ceramics is surfacing in the area of pumping and cooling. Air pumps that use these ceramics replace the traditional electric motor, resulting in lower power consumption, less moving parts, constant pressure gradients, lower overall weight, and a low profile. The current drawback of this …


The Effects Of Freestream Turbulence On Serpentine Diffuser Distortion Patterns, Jesse Scott Johnson Dec 2012

The Effects Of Freestream Turbulence On Serpentine Diffuser Distortion Patterns, Jesse Scott Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Serpentine diffusers have become a common feature in modern aircraft as they allow for certain benefits that are impossible with a traditional linear configuration. With the benefits, however, come certain disadvantages, namely flow distortions that reduce engine efficiency and decrease engine surge stability margins. These distortions are now being researched comprehensively to determine solutions for mitigating the adverse effects associated with them. This study investigates how varying the freestream turbulence intensity of the flow entering a serpentine diffuser affects the distortion patterns that are produced by the diffuser. Experiments were performed with a model serpentine diffuser on the Annular Cascade …


Vibrotactile Feedback Generation Using Envelope Waveforms And Eccentric-Mass Motors, Michael G. Plooster Dec 2012

Vibrotactile Feedback Generation Using Envelope Waveforms And Eccentric-Mass Motors, Michael G. Plooster

Theses and Dissertations

The usefulness of vibrotactile feedback as a channel to communicate information has been widely recognized. However, most of the recent work on this subject uses actuators that are either too expensive or too large for many practical applications. This thesis explores the generation of vibrotacatile feedback patterns using a simple, inexpensive eccentric-mass motor that is constrained to use a constant voltage and a low on/off switching frequency. In particular, it explores the pulse timing method, which utilizes the slow transient response of the eccentric-mass motor to calculate pulse and rest times for an arbitrary envelope waveform shape. Several hardware tests …


Best Practices Using Building Information Modeling In Commercial Construction, Simon Beveridge Dec 2012

Best Practices Using Building Information Modeling In Commercial Construction, Simon Beveridge

Theses and Dissertations

There has been an increase in adoption of building information modeling (BIM) by commercial contractors over the past few years but there is not a clear indication of current application or the frequency of each use. This research was undertaken to determine the frequency and best practices of using BIM in commercial construction. Leading commercial contracting firms were contacted and employees were selected to complete a telephone survey that was designed to determine how they are using BIM. It was found that BIM is being used with more frequency on projects, with plans to continue to implement it even further …


Internal Wave Generation Over Rough, Sloped Topography: An Experimental Study, Lauren Elizabeth Eberly Dec 2012

Internal Wave Generation Over Rough, Sloped Topography: An Experimental Study, Lauren Elizabeth Eberly

Theses and Dissertations

Internal waves exist everywhere in stratified fluids - fluids whose density changes with depth. The two largest bodies of stratified fluid are the atmosphere and ocean. Internal waves are generated from a variety of mechanisms. One common mechanism is wind forcing over repeated sinusoidal topography, like a series of hills. When modeling these waves, linear theory has been employed due to its ease and low computational cost. However, recent research has shown that non-linear effects, such as boundary layer separation, may have a dramatic impact on wave generation. This research has consisted of experimentation on sloped, sinusoidal hills. As of …


Comparison Of 3-D Friction Stir Welding Viscoplastic Finite Element Model With Weld Data And Physically-Simulated Data, Maria Posada Dec 2012

Comparison Of 3-D Friction Stir Welding Viscoplastic Finite Element Model With Weld Data And Physically-Simulated Data, Maria Posada

Theses and Dissertations

Models (both physical and numerical) of the friction stir (FS) welding process are used to develop a greater understanding of the influence of independent process parameters on dependent process output variables, such as torque, power, specific weld energy, peak temperature, cooling rates and various metallurgical factors (e.g., grain size and precipitates). An understanding of how the independent process parameters influence output variables and ultimately their effect on resultant properties (e.g., strength, hardness, etc..) is desirable. Most models developed have been validated primarily for aluminum alloys with relatively small amounts of experimental data. Fewer models have been validated for steels or …


Effective Collaboration Through Multi User Cax By Implementing New Methods Of Product Specification And Management, Vonn L. Holyoak Dec 2012

Effective Collaboration Through Multi User Cax By Implementing New Methods Of Product Specification And Management, Vonn L. Holyoak

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a new design process in which design specifications and task distribution are determined from a parallel multi user prospective. Using this method, projects are more easily decomposed into tasks that can be performed concurrently, thus decreasing the design time. Also, a framework is provided to determine the correct distribution of available talent and stakeholders that can be utilized on a given project. The research suggests that by involving the necessary stakeholders in a multi user setting, changes can be made quickly and without additional approval wait time. By including individuals from the various areas of required talent, …


An Optimization-Based Method Of Traversing Dynamic S-Pareto Frontiers, Patrick K. Lewis Nov 2012

An Optimization-Based Method Of Traversing Dynamic S-Pareto Frontiers, Patrick K. Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

The use of multiobjective optimization in identifying systems that account for changes in customer needs, operating environments, system design concepts, and analysis models over time is generally not explored. Providing solutions that anticipate, account for, and allow for these changes over time is a significant challenge to manufacturers and design engineers. Products that adapt to these changes through the addition and/or subtraction of modules can reduce production costs through product commonality, and cater to customization and adaptation. In terms of identifying sets of non-dominated designs, these changes result in the concept of dynamic Pareto frontiers, or dynamic s-Pareto frontiers …


Measurement Of Thermal Diffusivities Using The Distributed Source, Finite Absorption Model, James B. Hall Nov 2012

Measurement Of Thermal Diffusivities Using The Distributed Source, Finite Absorption Model, James B. Hall

Theses and Dissertations

Thermal diffusivity in an important thermophysical property that quantifies the ratio of the rate at which heat is conducted through a material to the amount of energy stored in a material. The pulsed laser diffusion (PLD) method is a widely used technique for measuring thermal diffusivities of materials. This technique is based on the fact that the diffusivity of a sample may be inferred from measurement of the time-dependent temperature profile at a point on the surface of a sample that has been exposed to a pulse of radiant energy from a laser or flash lamp. An accepted standard approach …


A Hybrid Bishop-Hill Model For Microstructure Sensitive Design, Ribeka Takahashi Nov 2012

A Hybrid Bishop-Hill Model For Microstructure Sensitive Design, Ribeka Takahashi

Theses and Dissertations

A method is presented for adapting the classical Bishop-Hill model to the requirements of elastic/yield-limited design in metals of arbitrary crystallographic texture. The proposed Hybrid Bishop-Hill (HBH) model, which will be applied to ductile FCC metals, retains the `stress corners' of the polyhedral Bishop-Hill yield surface. However, it replaces the `maximum work criterion' with a criterion that minimizes the Euclidean distance between the applicable local corner stress state and the macroscopic stress state. This compromise leads to a model that is much more accessible to yield-limited design problems. Demonstration of performance for the HBH model is presented for an extensive …


Force Optimization And Flow Field Characterization From A Flapping Wing Mechanism, Nathaniel Stephen Naegle Oct 2012

Force Optimization And Flow Field Characterization From A Flapping Wing Mechanism, Nathaniel Stephen Naegle

Theses and Dissertations

Flapping flight shows promise for micro air vehicle design because flapping wings provide superior aerodynamic performance than that of fixed wings and rotors at low Reynolds numbers. In these flight regimes, unsteady effects become increasingly important. This thesis explores some of the unsteady effects that provide additional lift to flapping wings through an experiment-based optimization of the kinematics of a flapping wing mechanism in a water tunnel. The mechanism wings and flow environment were scaled to simulate the flight of the hawkmoth (Manduca sexta) at hovering or near-hovering speeds. The optimization was repeated using rigid and flexible wings …


Thermal And Mechanical Properties Of Nitrate Thermal Storage Salts In The Solid-Phase, Brian D. Iverson, Scott T. Broome, Alan M. Kruizenga, Joseph G. Cordaro Oct 2012

Thermal And Mechanical Properties Of Nitrate Thermal Storage Salts In The Solid-Phase, Brian D. Iverson, Scott T. Broome, Alan M. Kruizenga, Joseph G. Cordaro

Faculty Publications

Implementation of molten salt compounds as the heat transfer fluid and energy storage medium provides specific benefits to energy collection and conversion. Nitrate salts have been identified as a strong candidate for energy transfer and storage and have been demonstrated for use in these applications over time. As nitrate salts have solidification temperatures above ambient, concern for recovery from salt freezing events has instigated efforts to understand and predict this behavior. Accurate information of salt property behavior in the solid-phase is necessary for understanding recovery from a freeze event as well as for phase change thermal energy storage applications. Thermal …


Spherical Lamina Emergent Mechanisms, Samuel E. Wilding, Larry L. Howell, Spencer P. Magleby Oct 2012

Spherical Lamina Emergent Mechanisms, Samuel E. Wilding, Larry L. Howell, Spencer P. Magleby

Faculty Publications

Lamina emergent mechanisms (LEMs) are compliant mechanisms that can be manufactured from planar materials and are capable of motion out of the plane of manufacture. Spherical LEMs combine the unique motion of spherical mechanisms with the compactness and simple topology of LEMs. The fundamentals of spherical LEMs are discussed in this work. It is found that 21 of the 33 possible spherical 4R types can be spherical LEMs. A classification based on these 21 possible types is developed. This classification is used to predict motion capabilities of spherical 6R, and Equintet mechanisms. It is also applied to arrays of spherical …


Introduction Of Planar Compliant Joints Designed For Combined Bending And Axial Loading Conditions In Lamina Emergent Mechanisms, Samuel E. Wilding, Larry L. Howell, Spencer P. Magleby Oct 2012

Introduction Of Planar Compliant Joints Designed For Combined Bending And Axial Loading Conditions In Lamina Emergent Mechanisms, Samuel E. Wilding, Larry L. Howell, Spencer P. Magleby

Faculty Publications

This work introduces three joints to allow motion in lamina emergent mechanisms (LEMs) that were designed to have minimal parasitic motion under tension, compression, and a combination of tension and compression loading. Closed-form models of the joints were developed and combined with optimization algorithms for maximum flexibility in bending and then modeled using finite element analysis (FEA). The FEA results were used to predict the stiffness of the joints in bending, tension, and compression. As a baseline, lamina emergent torsional (LET) joints were designed to match the bending stiffness of each of the joints, so that the tensile-compressive performance could …


Liquid Jet Impingement Experiments On Micro Rib And Cavity Patterned Superhydrophobic Surfaces In Both Cassie And Wenzel States, Michael G. Johnson Sep 2012

Liquid Jet Impingement Experiments On Micro Rib And Cavity Patterned Superhydrophobic Surfaces In Both Cassie And Wenzel States, Michael G. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Experiments were performed to characterize hydraulic jumps that form due to liquid jet impingement on superhydrophobic surfaces with alternating micro-ribs and cavities. If the surface is unimmersed, a surface tension based transition into droplets occurs, so a known depth of water was imposed downstream from the hydraulic jump to ensure the existence of a hydraulic jump. The surfaces are characterized by the cavity fraction, which is defined as the width of a cavity divided by the combined width of a cavity and an adjoining rib. Four different surface designs were studied, with respective cavity fractions of 0 (smooth surface), 0.5, …


Effects Of Haptic And 3d Audio Feedback On Pilot Performance And Workload For Quadrotor Uavs In Indoor Environments, Robert Mark Philbrick Sep 2012

Effects Of Haptic And 3d Audio Feedback On Pilot Performance And Workload For Quadrotor Uavs In Indoor Environments, Robert Mark Philbrick

Theses and Dissertations

Indoor flight of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has many applications in environments in which it is undesirable or dangerous for humans to be, such as military reconnaissance or searching for trapped victims in a collapsed building. However, limited visual feedback makes it difficult to pilot UAVs in cluttered and enclosed spaces. Haptic feedback combined with visual feedback has shown to reduce the number of collisions of UAVs in indoor environments; however, it has increased the mental workload of the operator. This thesis investigates the potential of combining novel haptic and 3D audio feedback to provide additional information to operators of …


Friction Stir Spot Welding Of Ultra-High Strength Steel, Trent J. Hartman Aug 2012

Friction Stir Spot Welding Of Ultra-High Strength Steel, Trent J. Hartman

Theses and Dissertations

Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) is quickly becoming a method of interest for welding of high strength steel (HSS) and ultra high strength steel (UHSS). FSSW has been shown to produce high quality welds in these materials, without the drawbacks associated with fusion welding. Tool grade for polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) tools has a significant impact on wear resistance, weld quality, and tool failure in FSSW of DP 980 steel sheet. More specifically, for a nominal composition of 90% CBN, the grain size has a significant impact on the wear resistance of the tool. A-type tools performed the best, …


Laboratory Experiments On Colliding Nonresonant Internal Wave Beams, Sean Paul Smith Aug 2012

Laboratory Experiments On Colliding Nonresonant Internal Wave Beams, Sean Paul Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Internal waves are prominent fluid phenomena in both the atmosphere and ocean. Because internal waves have the ability to transfer a large amount of energy, they contribute to the global distribution of energy. This causes internal waves to influence global climate patterns and critical ocean mixing. Therefore, studying internal waves provides additional insight in how to model geophysical phenomena that directly impact our lives. There is a myriad of fluid phenomena with which internal waves can interact, including other internal waves. Equipment and processes are developed to perform laboratory experiments analyzing the interaction of two colliding nonresonant internal waves. Nonresonant …


The Effect Of Friction Stir Welding Process Parameters On Charpy V-Notch Impact Toughness In Hsla-65, Samuel C. Sanderson Aug 2012

The Effect Of Friction Stir Welding Process Parameters On Charpy V-Notch Impact Toughness In Hsla-65, Samuel C. Sanderson

Theses and Dissertations

HSLA-65 steel (6.4 mm thick) was friction stir welded at various welding speeds and spindle speeds. Varying weld parameters provided a range of heat inputs. Impact toughness was evaluated as a function of the different weld parameters and corresponding weld heat inputs. Charpy V-Notch (CVN) tests were conducted in parent material and at both the weld nugget centerline and heat-affected zone (HAZ) locations. The upper shelf CVN impact energy of the weld nugget was above that of the base metal for all weld parameters. The upper shelf impact toughness in the HAZ was largely unaffected by changing weld parameters. The …


The Extraction Of Shock Waves And Separation And Attachment Lines From Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations Using Subjective Logic, Matthew C. Lively Aug 2012

The Extraction Of Shock Waves And Separation And Attachment Lines From Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations Using Subjective Logic, Matthew C. Lively

Theses and Dissertations

The advancement of computational fluid dynamics to simulate highly complex fluid flow situations have allowed for simulations that require weeks of computation using expensive high performance clusters. These simulations often generate terabytes of data and hinder the design process by greatly increasing the post-processing time. This research discusses a method to extract shock waves and separation and attachment lines as the simulation is calculating and as a post-processing step. Software agents governed by subjective logic were used to make decisions about extracted features in converging and converged data sets. Two different extraction algorithms were incorporated for shock waves and separation …


Study On The Fracture Toughness Of Friction Stir Welded Api X80, Allan M. Tribe Aug 2012

Study On The Fracture Toughness Of Friction Stir Welded Api X80, Allan M. Tribe

Theses and Dissertations

High strength low alloy (HSLA) steels have been developed to simultaneously have high yield strength and high fracture toughness. However, in practical applications steel must be welded. Traditional arc welding has proven detrimental to the fracture toughness of HSLA steels. Friction stir welding has recently shown mixed results in welding HSLA steels. The range of welding parameters used in these recent studies however has been very limited. With only a few welding parameters tested, the effect of spindle speed, travel speed, and heat input on the fracture toughness of friction stir welded HSLA steel remains unknown. To understand how the …


Design And Testing Of A Biological Microelectromechanical System For The Injection Of Thousands Of Cells Simultaneously, Gregory Herlin Teichert Jul 2012

Design And Testing Of A Biological Microelectromechanical System For The Injection Of Thousands Of Cells Simultaneously, Gregory Herlin Teichert

Theses and Dissertations

The ability to inject DNA and other foreign particles into cells, both germ cells (e.g. to produce transgenic animals) and somatic cells (e.g. for gene therapy), is a powerful tool in genetic research. Nanoinjection is a method of DNA delivery that combines mechanical and electrical methods. It has proven to have higher cell viability than traditional microinjection, resulting in higher integration per injected embryo. The nanoinjection process can be performed on thousands of cells simultaneously using an array of microneedles that is inserted into a monolayer of cells. This thesis describes the needle array design requirements and the fabrication process …


Mathematical Model And Experimental Exploration Of The Nanoinjector Lance Array, Nathan C. Toone Jul 2012

Mathematical Model And Experimental Exploration Of The Nanoinjector Lance Array, Nathan C. Toone

Theses and Dissertations

The Nanoinjector Lance Array has been developed to inject foreign material into thousands of cells at once using electrophoresis to attract and repel particles to and from the electrically-charged lances. A mathematical computer model simulating the motion of attracted or repelled proteins informs the design of the nanoinjection lance array system. The model is validated by accurately predicting protein velocity in electrophoresis experiments. A complete analysis of parameters is conducted via simulations and specific research questions regarding the counter electrode of the nanoinjector lance array system are explored using the model. A novel technique for fabricating lance arrays from collapsed …


The Biomechanical Implications Of An Intrinsic Decompressive Pre-Load On A Posterior Dynamic Stabilization System, Jeffrey Ellis Harris Jul 2012

The Biomechanical Implications Of An Intrinsic Decompressive Pre-Load On A Posterior Dynamic Stabilization System, Jeffrey Ellis Harris

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of applying an intrinsic decompressive pre-load to a particular dynamic stabilization device on the biomechanical response of the lumbar spine. The FlexSPAR, which supports this ability, was used as a test case. A finite element model of a full lumbar spine was developed and validated against experimental data, and tested in the primary modes of spinal motion. The model was used to compare five lumbar spine test cases: healthy, degenerate, implanted with a pre-loaded device, implanted with a device without a pre-load, and implanted with rigid fixators. Results indicated that …


Data Consistency And Conflict Avoidance In A Multi-User Cax Environment, Robert Aaron Moncur Jul 2012

Data Consistency And Conflict Avoidance In A Multi-User Cax Environment, Robert Aaron Moncur

Theses and Dissertations

This research presents a new method to preserve data consistency in a multi-user CAx environment. The new method includes three types of constraints which work by constraining and controlling both features and users across an entire multi-user CAx platform. The first type of constraint includes locking or reserving features to enable only one user at a time to edit a given feature. The second type of constraint, collaborative feature constraints, allows flexible constraining of each individual feature in a model, and the data that defines it. The third type of constraint, collaborative user constraints, allows the constraining of user permissions …


A Comparative Study Of Strength And Stiffness Of Thin-Walled Specimens Fabricated By Fdm And 3d Printing Technologies, Miranda Rodrigo Jul 2012

A Comparative Study Of Strength And Stiffness Of Thin-Walled Specimens Fabricated By Fdm And 3d Printing Technologies, Miranda Rodrigo

Theses and Dissertations

Rapid Prototyped part failure constitutes a major issue for both RP providers and customers. When parts fail the reputation of the vendor is heavily deteriorated, customer dissatisfaction increase and replacement of the broken parts is often necessary to avoid the loss of future business. Product design teams often run into situations where Rapid Prototyped parts are not able to withstand shipping and handling and delivered broken or while demonstrating and examining the parts. When done in the face of customers this builds a perception of poor quality and lack of aptitude on the design group as well as the RP …


Analytical Thermal Model Of Friction Stir Welding With Spatially Distributed Heat Source, Gordon Scott Reese Jul 2012

Analytical Thermal Model Of Friction Stir Welding With Spatially Distributed Heat Source, Gordon Scott Reese

Theses and Dissertations

Friction stir welding (FSW) has been studied extensively for the past two decades. Thermal modeling has been of particular interest, as the quality of the weld is dependent upon the temperature history of the work piece during the process. Since direct temperature measurements of the welded zone are not possible, an analytical model was developed to predict the temperature in this area. This model requires parameters that cannot be easily experimentally determined, so a best fit for these parameters was acquired via regression analysis by comparing the model to experimental data acquired outside of the weld zone. The model was …


Modeling Of Complex Pentahedron Solar Still Covers To Optimize Distillate, Jeremy D. Lefevre Jul 2012

Modeling Of Complex Pentahedron Solar Still Covers To Optimize Distillate, Jeremy D. Lefevre

Theses and Dissertations

This work shows the results of modeling and optimizing pentahedron-shaped covers for application on a passive solar still. While modeling under the assumption of clear weather in Provo, Utah, United States of America, it was found that two main geometries resulted: A single slope still with fully vertical back and sidewalls and a south face tilted at 37.1°, absorbing a total of 8.98 megajoules of direct solar radiation. A half-pyramid shaped cover with vertical backwall, sidewalls tilted in at 60.6°, and a south face tilted in at 41.5°, absorbing 9.34 megajoules of direct solar radiation.With improved covers, solar radiation absorbed …


Three Dimensional Characterization Of Vocal Fold Fluid Structure Interactions, Joseph R. Nielson Jul 2012

Three Dimensional Characterization Of Vocal Fold Fluid Structure Interactions, Joseph R. Nielson

Theses and Dissertations

Voice quality is strongly linked to quality of life; those who suffer from voice disorders are adversely affected in their social, family, and professional relationships. An effort has been made to more fully understand the physics behind how the voice is created, specifically the fluid structure interactions that occur during vocal fold vibration. Many techniques have been developed and implemented to study both the motion of the vocal folds and the airflow that creates the motion. Until recently these techniques have sought to understand a highly three-dimensional phenomenon with 1D or 2D perspectives.This research focuses on the development and implementation …


Investigation Of Internal Wave Spectra Due To Observed Interactions, Benjamin Lee Hillyard Jul 2012

Investigation Of Internal Wave Spectra Due To Observed Interactions, Benjamin Lee Hillyard

Theses and Dissertations

Observational data are analyzed and decomposed to reveal internal ocean waves and their interactions with one another. Particularly, the interaction of small-scale internal waves with a large inertia wave packet is examined. Using the governing internal wave equations, an analysis is made of the energy propagation of a small scale internal wave with a large-scale inertia wave. With that, an assessment is made of the frequency of occurrence of various encounter types. Next, the possibility of energy transfer during an interaction is explored. The relative energy of the small wave before interacting with the large-scale inertia wave is calculated and …