Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Process Planning And Control For Functionally Graded Material Fabrication Using Freeze-Form Extrusion Fabrication, Brad Deuser, Lie Tang, Jeff Geldmeier, Robert G. Landers, Ming-Chuan Leu

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Using multiple materials in additive manufacturing technologies is critical for building parts with functionally gradient geometries. In order to achieve a desired material gradient, an advanced process planning and control system is required. This paper details the development of a process planning method and control system for functionally graded material fabrication using a triple extruder Freeze-form Extrusion Fabrication (FEF) system including motion code generation, extruder dynamic modeling and control, and composition gradient control. The effect that extruding multiple materials from a single orifice via static mixing has on the time delay of the resulting mixture is taken into account for …

Bio-Inspired Design Of Bipolar Plate Flow Fields For Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells, Nannan Guo, Ming-Chuan Leu, Maoliang Wu

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The flow field of a bipolar plate distributes hydrogen and oxygen for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells and removes the produced water from the fuel cells. It greatly influences the performance of fuel cells, especially regarding reduction of mass transport loss. Flow fields with good gas distribution and water removal capabilities reduce the mass transport loss, thus allowing higher power density. Inspired by natural structures such as veins in tree leaves and blood vessels in lungs, which efficiently feed nutrition from one central source to large areas and are capable of removing undesirable by-products, a mathematic model has been …

Octree Approach For Simulation Of Additive Manufacturing Toolpath, Ch. Sweta Dhaveji, Todd E. Sparks, Jianzhong Ruan, Frank W. Liou

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Machine simulation is an effective way of checking additive manufacturing tool paths for both interferences and errors in part produced. This paper presents an algorithm to visually simulate a multi axis additive manufacturing system as it executes a process plan. Simulation results are intended to be used as a verification step before physically producing the part. Verification is particularly important for large builds of expensive materials. The algorithm uses an octree approach to efficiently model the deposition of part geometry and its changes. This paper discusses development of the simulation algorithm, including both the representation of the additive manufacturing machine …

A Strategy For Fabricating Complex Structures Via A Hybrid Manufacturing Process, Tarak A. Amine, Todd E. Sparks, Frank W. Liou

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a strategy for fabricating complex structures via a hybrid manufacturing process. The Laser Aided Manufacturing Process (LAMP) lab at Missouri S&T has developed a hybrid process combining both a direct metal deposition process and a five-axis CNC milling. Accessibility is a difficulty when finish machining internal features. The concept is to pause the deposition process to finish machine an internal feature while it is still visible is one possible solution to this issue. However, this must be done in a manner that will not be spoiled when the deposition process continues. This …

Freeze-Form Extrusion Fabrication Of Composite Structures, Ming-Chuan Leu, Lie Tang, Bradley K. Deuser, Robert G. Landers, Greg Hilmas, Shi C. Zhang, Jeremy Lee Watts

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A Freeze-form Extrusion Fabrication (FEF) process capable of making three-dimensional (3D) parts and structures with graded composite materials is presented in this paper. The process development includes the design and manufacture of a gantry machine with a triple-extruder mechanism and the associated electronics hardware and computer software for fabricating functionally graded parts from multiple aqueous pastes. A rheological behavior study with Al₂O₃ paste is performed to identify an efficient binder for transforming the paste into a pseudoplastic with a high yield stress. A green part is first fabricated using the triple-extruder FEF machine in a layer-by-layer manner …

Effect Of Particle Size, Binder Content And Heat Treatment On Mechanical Properties Of 13-93 Bioactive Glass Scaffolds, Krishna C. R. Kolan, Ming-Chuan Leu, Greg Hilmas, Mariano Garcia Velez

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Particle size, binder content and the post-processing schedule are important parameters that affect the microstructure, and, hence, the mechanical properties of parts produced using the indirect selective laser sintering process. 13-93 bioactive glass, with mean particle sizes ranging from 10 μm to 44 μm, is mixed with different amounts of stearic acid binder to fabricate green scaffolds. Through the design of the post-processing schedule, the time required for postprocessing the green scaffolds is reduced from the initial 80 hrs to 12 hrs. The compressive strength varies from 41 MPa for a part with~60% porosity to 157 MPa for a part …

Numerical Simulation Of Ram Extrusion Process For Ceramic Materials, Mingyang Li, Lie Tang, Fei Xue, Robert G. Landers

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The freeze–form extrusion process for aqueous-based ceramic paste is complex due to the non-Newtonian behavior of the paste. In this paper the process is studied numerically using a developed mathematical model. The ceramic paste viscosity is characterized by the Herschel-Bulkley model. The relationship between plunger velocity and extrusion force is computed numerically. The influence of air, which is mixed with the paste during the loading process, is also examined. Due to the compressibility introduced by the trapped air, the plunger force dynamic response is typically dominated by a first order response. It is also shown that the extrusion plunger force …

Development Of Lower Cost Imaging Systems For Laser Metal Deposition Process, Shyam Barua

Masters Theses

"Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) has been used as an additive manufacturing process in industries such as aerospace and die castings. LMD is especially useful in repair applications involving die repair. However, it is still not used widely in industry due to variations in the quality of parts. There are multiple interactions between various factors which influence the quality of deposit.

There exists a need for defect detection systems to detect any changes in the deposition quality during deposition. On demand detection enables adjustment in process parameters and minimization of rework cost.

Vision systems have been used extensively in the industry …

Development Of Virtual Engineering Simulation For Lean Education, Akalpit Kiran Gadre

Masters Theses

"Global competition and customer demands are pressing modern industry operations to become leaner. The race among the global corporations to "go lean" demands engineers with an in-depth understanding of lean philosophies. An overview of current methods for teaching lean shows that they include small scale hands-on projects, presentations, and guest lectures. There is a need to incorporate a more immersive virtual simulation to further inspire students. Many lean simulation games are available in the market; however, they lack simplicity, ability to store the results, and modeling power.

The goal of this research is to develop a virtual simulation platform, enabling …

Innovative Air Breathing Design And Output Control For Portable Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell, Amar Bala Sridhar

Masters Theses

"Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell Technology is an energy source that can provide several times more energy per unit volume than current lithium ion batteries that are available in the market today. The barriers that exist that prevent the fuel cell from entering the world of portable applications are mainly system architecture integration. The idea is to have a fully functioning fuel cell with optimum power output using an innovative chimney design. Tests were conducted to quantify the advantage of using a chimney with the fuel cell. Further research was done to shed light on how different chimney designs …

Analysis And Modeling Of Depth-Of-Cut During End Milling Of Deposited Material, Haythem Gaja

Masters Theses

"This study addresses depth-of-cut detection and tool-workpiece engagement using an acoustic emission monitoring system during milling machining for a deposited material. Online detection of depth-of-cut presents many technical difficulties. Researchers have used various types of sensors and methods to assess the depth-of-cut and surface errors. Due to the strong correlation between acoustic emission and cutting depth during the depth end milling process, it is useful to forecast the depth-of-cut from the acoustic emission signal. This work used regression analysis to model and detect the depth-of-cut. The experiments were carried out on a Fadal vertical 5-Axis computer numerical control machine using …