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

Mechanical Engineering Commons

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

University of Central Florida

2018

Discipline
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type

Articles 31 - 53 of 53

Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

Fluid Dynamics Modeling And Sound Analysis Of A Bileaflet Mechanical Heart Valve, Fardin Khalili Jan 2018

Fluid Dynamics Modeling And Sound Analysis Of A Bileaflet Mechanical Heart Valve, Fardin Khalili

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the main causes of death in the world. Some CVD involve severe heart valve disease that require valve replacement. There are more than 300,000 heart valves implanted worldwide, and about 85,000 heart valve replacements in the US. Approximately half of these valves are mechanical. Artificial valves may dysfunction leading to adverse hemodynamic conditions. Understanding the normal and abnormal valve function is important as it help improve valve designs. Modeling of heart valve hemodynamics using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) provides a comprehensive analysis of flow, which can potentially help explain clinical observations and support therapeutic …


Biomechanical Models Of Human Upper And Tracheal Airway Functionality, Don Nadun Kuruppumullage Jan 2018

Biomechanical Models Of Human Upper And Tracheal Airway Functionality, Don Nadun Kuruppumullage

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The respiratory tract, in other words, the airway, is the primary airflow path for several physiological activities such as coughing, breathing, and sneezing. Diseases can impact airway functionality through various means including cancer of the head and neck, Neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, and sleep disorders and all of which are considered in this study. In this dissertation, numerical modeling techniques were used to simulate three distinct airway diseases: a weak cough leading to aspiration, upper airway patency in obstructive sleep apnea, and tongue cancer in swallow disorders. The work described in this dissertation, therefore, divided into three biomechanical …


A Modeling Framework Of Brittle And Ductile Fractures Coexistence In Composites, Yangyang Qiao Jan 2018

A Modeling Framework Of Brittle And Ductile Fractures Coexistence In Composites, Yangyang Qiao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In order to reduce the weight of automobiles and aircrafts, lightweight materials, such as aluminum alloy, advanced high strength steel, composite materials, are widely used to replace the traditional materials like mild steel. Composite materials are complicated in material mechanical properties and less investigated compared to metallic materials. Engineering composites can be categorized into polymer matrix composites (PMCs), metal matrix composites (MMCs) and ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) according to their matrix materials. A set of mechanical experiments ranging from micro scale (single fiber composite and thin film composite) to macro scale (PMCs and MMCs) were conducted to fully understand the …


A Framework For Miniaturized Mechanical Characterization Of Tensile, Creep, And Fatigue Properties Of Slm Alloys, Jonathan Torres-Caceres Jan 2018

A Framework For Miniaturized Mechanical Characterization Of Tensile, Creep, And Fatigue Properties Of Slm Alloys, Jonathan Torres-Caceres

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the heightened design complexity that may be achieved through additive manufacturing (AM) comes an equally complex set of distinct material characteristics. To properly characterize new materials for use in selective laser melting (SLM), extensive analysis is necessary. Traditional testing techniques, however, can be prohibitive in time and cost incurred. The small punch test (SPT) has been developed for such purposes, where material is scarce or costly. Although lacking standardization, SPT has been successfully employed with various materials to assess material properties such as the yield and ultimate strength and verified by traditional testing results. With the accompaniment of numerical …


Characterization, Classification, And Genesis Of Seismocardiographic Signals, Amirtaha Taebi Jan 2018

Characterization, Classification, And Genesis Of Seismocardiographic Signals, Amirtaha Taebi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Seismocardiographic (SCG) signals are the acoustic and vibration induced by cardiac activity measured non-invasively at the chest surface. These signals may offer a method for diagnosing and monitoring heart function. Successful classification of SCG signals in health and disease depends on accurate signal characterization and feature extraction. In this study, SCG signal features were extracted in the time, frequency, and time-frequency domains. Different methods for estimating time-frequency features of SCG were investigated. Results suggested that the polynomial chirplet transform outperformed wavelet and short time Fourier transforms. Many factors may contribute to increasing intrasubject SCG variability including subject posture and respiratory …


Pressure Image Based Attitude Controller For Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Kenneth Thompson Jan 2018

Pressure Image Based Attitude Controller For Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Kenneth Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As technology improves, small unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAV) have been identified for their utility in a variety of applications in which larger unmanned craft may be incapable of accomplishing mission objectives. These aircraft with their small size and long flight durations are ideal for hazardous inspection and long duration surveillance missions. One challenge preventing the widespread adoption of these systems is their instability to abrupt changes in the flow field around them due to wind gusts or flow separation. Currently, traditional rigid body based sensors are implemented in their flight control systems, which are sufficient in higher inertia aircraft for …


Electrospray And Superlens Effect Of Microdroplets For Laser-Assisted Nanomanufacturing, Eduardo Castillo Orozco Jan 2018

Electrospray And Superlens Effect Of Microdroplets For Laser-Assisted Nanomanufacturing, Eduardo Castillo Orozco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nanoparticles of various materials are known to exhibit excellent mechanical, chemical, electrical, and optical properties. However, it is difficult to deposit and transform nanoparticles into large two-dimensional and three-dimensional structures, such as thin films and discrete arrays. Electrospray technology and laser heating enable the deposition of these nanoparticles through the dual role of microdroplets as nanoparticle carriers and superlenses. The main goals of this dissertation are to delineate the electrospray modes, to achieve subwavelength focusing, and to enable a process for the deposition of nanoparticles into microlayers and discrete nanodots (a nanodot is a cluster of nanoparticles) on rigid and …


Characterization Of Fast Flames For Turbulence-Induced Deflagration To Detonation Transition, Jessica Chambers Jan 2018

Characterization Of Fast Flames For Turbulence-Induced Deflagration To Detonation Transition, Jessica Chambers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the fundamental mechanisms for detonation initiation is turbulence driven deflagration to detonation transition (TDDT). The research experimentally explores the propagation dynamics demonstrated by fast deflagrated flames interacting with highly turbulent reactants. Fast flames produce extremely high turbulent flame speeds values, increased levels of compressibility and develop a runaway mechanism that leads to TDDT. The flame structural dynamics and reacting flow field are characterized using simultaneous high-speed particle image velocimetry, chemiluminescence, and Schlieren measurements. The investigation classifies the fast flame propagation modes at various regimes. The study further examines the conditions for a turbulent fast flame at the boundary …


The Study Of An Impinging Unsteady Jet - Fluid Mechanics And Heat Transfer Analysis, Andrea Osorio Jan 2018

The Study Of An Impinging Unsteady Jet - Fluid Mechanics And Heat Transfer Analysis, Andrea Osorio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The high heat transfer capabilities of impinging jets have led to their widespread use in industrial applications, such as gas turbine cooling. These impinging jets are usually manufactured on the walls of super-alloy metals and are influenced by being positioned with a confined setting. Studies have been shown to enhance the heat transfer of impinging jets by fluctuating the flow which will be analyzed in this project with two designs. The first design is a self-sustaining stationary fluidic oscillator that causes a sweeping motion jet to impinge on the surface. This is investigated using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to study …


Multi-Scale Fluid-Structure Interaction Model Analysis Of Patient-Specific Geometry For Optimization Of Lvad Outflow Graft Implantation: An Investigation Aimed At Reducing Stroke Risk, Ray Prather Jan 2018

Multi-Scale Fluid-Structure Interaction Model Analysis Of Patient-Specific Geometry For Optimization Of Lvad Outflow Graft Implantation: An Investigation Aimed At Reducing Stroke Risk, Ray Prather

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD), is a mechanical pump capable of providing circulatory myocardium relief when used as bridge-to-transplantation by reducing the workload of a failing heart, with the additional bonus of allowing for cardiac recovery when used as destination therapy. The newer generations of continuous flow VADs are essentially axial or radial flow pumps, and while these devices are capable their efficiency depends upon fluid composition and flow field patterns. The most devastating complication of VAD therapy is caused by embolization of thrombi formed within the LVAD or inside the heart into the brain leading to stroke. Anticoagulation …


Numerical Study Of Interfacial Flow Using Algebraic Coupled Level Set-Volume Of Fluid (A-Clsvof) Method, Majid Haghshenas Jan 2018

Numerical Study Of Interfacial Flow Using Algebraic Coupled Level Set-Volume Of Fluid (A-Clsvof) Method, Majid Haghshenas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Solving interfacial flows numerically has been a challenge due to the lack of sharpness and the presence of spurious currents at the interface. Two methods, Algebraic Coupled Level Set-Volume of Fluid (A-CLSVOF) method and Ghost Fluid Method (GFM) have been developed in the finite volume framework and employed in several interfacial flows such as Rayleigh-Taylor instability, rising bubble, impinging droplet and cross-flow oil plume. In the static droplet simulation, A-CLSVOF substantially reduces the spurious currents. The capillary wave relaxation shows that this method delivers results comparable to those of more rigorous methods such as Front Tracking methods for fine grids. …


Investigation Of Oxy-Fuel Combustion Behind Reflected Shockwaves, Owen Pryor Jan 2018

Investigation Of Oxy-Fuel Combustion Behind Reflected Shockwaves, Owen Pryor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Supercritical carbon dioxide has brought about new questions on the chemical kinetics of several small hydrocarbon fuels and the effects of carbon dioxide as the primary diluent on the different fuels. This report presents work on the ignition delay times and several species time-histories of methane, ethylene and syngas over a range of conditions. All experiments were conducted behind reflected shock waves using two different shock tubes. The ignition delay times were measured using a GaP photodetector to measure the emission of light. The species time-histories were measured using single laser spectroscopy. The effect of CO2 as a diluent on …


Application Of Trained Pod-Rbf To Interpolation In Heat Transfer And Fluid Mechanics, Rebecca A. Ashley Jan 2018

Application Of Trained Pod-Rbf To Interpolation In Heat Transfer And Fluid Mechanics, Rebecca A. Ashley

Honors Undergraduate Theses

To accurately model or predict future operating conditions of a system in engineering or applied mechanics, it is necessary to understand its fundamental principles. These may be the material parameters, defining dimensional characteristics, or the boundary conditions. However, there are instances when there is little to no prior knowledge of the system properties or conditions, and consequently, the problem cannot be modeled accurately. It is therefore critical to define a method that can identify the desired characteristics of the current system without accumulating extensive computation time. This thesis formulates an inverse approach using proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) with an accompanying …


Equibiaxial Flexural Strength Testing Of Advance Ceramics, Ryan T. Jordan Jan 2018

Equibiaxial Flexural Strength Testing Of Advance Ceramics, Ryan T. Jordan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Ceramics are very important materials with many unique properties used in numerous industrial applications. Ceramics could be very hard and very strong in comparison to metals; however, they are very brittle, thus they are prone to instantaneous and catastrophic failure. Therefore, their reliability is compromised and it is very important to have advanced techniques that allow evaluating their mechanical behavior in many unusual stress states. One of such testing methods is biaxial strength method, that allows to measure properties not only unidirectional, but also in a biaxial way. The research work for this thesis will be built on design and …


Mechanical Properties Of The Skeleton Of Acropora Cervicornis, Bridget Masa Jan 2018

Mechanical Properties Of The Skeleton Of Acropora Cervicornis, Bridget Masa

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This research explores the instantaneous mechanical behavior of the skeleton of the critically endangered staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis. Both bleached and sanded skeletons were used in this experiment. The Raman spectroscopy test showed that there was no significant change in the Raman shift between the three branches tested. The shifts were nearly identical to Raman shifts of calcium carbonate. Vickers hardness test found that 1 Bleached had the average hardness of 3.44 GPa with a standard deviation of 0.12 GPa. The sanded sample also had a similar value of 3.54 GPa with a standard deviation of 0.13 GPa. Samples from …


Mimicking Blood Rheology For More Accurate Modeling In Benchtop Research, Lindsey Webb Jan 2018

Mimicking Blood Rheology For More Accurate Modeling In Benchtop Research, Lindsey Webb

Honors Undergraduate Theses

To confirm computer simulations and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis, benchtop experiments are needed with a fluid that mimics blood and its viscoelastic properties. Blood is challenging to use as a working fluid in a laboratory setting because of health and safety concerns. Therefore, a blood analogue is necessary to perform benchtop experiments. Viscosity is an important property of fluids for modeling and experiments. Blood is a shear thinning fluid, so it has a decreasing viscosity with higher shear rates. This project seeks to create a blood mimicking fluid for benchtop laboratory use. Numerous fluids with different combinations of water, …


Raman Spectroscopy Of The Skeleton Of The Coral Acropora Cervicornis, Zachary C. Shepard Jan 2018

Raman Spectroscopy Of The Skeleton Of The Coral Acropora Cervicornis, Zachary C. Shepard

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Coral reefs are an important element of marine ecosystem that are critical to maintain a healthy environment. Unfortunately, in recent years coral reefs are doing poorly and many in parts of the ocean are simply dying. Therefore, study of coral’s structural response to external loads could answer what will happen with their structures, while they exhibit different types of loading. Therefore, the proposition of using in-situ micro-Raman spectroscopy to study skeletons of Acropora cervicornis was used. Coral skeleton samples I subjected to mechanical loading studied their vibrational properties by exciting the material with 532nm visible light. A uniaxial compressive load …


Optimal Sintering Temperature Of Ceria-Doped Scandia Stabilized Zirconia For Use In Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Amanda K. Assuncao Jan 2018

Optimal Sintering Temperature Of Ceria-Doped Scandia Stabilized Zirconia For Use In Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Amanda K. Assuncao

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Carbon emissions are known to cause decay of the Ozone layer in addition to creating pollutant, poisonous air. This has become a growing concern among scientists and engineers across the globe; if this issue is not addressed, it is likely that the Earth will suffer catastrophic consequences. One of the main culprits of these harmful carbon emissions is fuel combustion. Between vehicles, power plants, airplanes, and ships, the world consumes an extraordinary amount of oil and fuel which all contributes to the emissions problem. Therefore, it is crucial to develop alternative energy sources that minimize the impact on the environment. …


Ignition Studies Of Oxy-Syngas/Co2 Mixtures Using Shock Tube For Cleaner Combustion Engines, Samuel Barak Jan 2018

Ignition Studies Of Oxy-Syngas/Co2 Mixtures Using Shock Tube For Cleaner Combustion Engines, Samuel Barak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study, syngas combustion was investigated behind reflected shock waves in order to gain insight into the behavior of ignition delay times and effects of the CO2 dilution. Pressure and light emissions time-histories measurements were taken at a 2 cm axial location away from the end wall. High-speed visualization of the experiments from the end wall was also conducted. Oxy-syngas mixtures that were tested in the shock tube were diluted with CO2 fractions ranging from 60% - 85% by volume. A 10% fuel concentration was consistently used throughout the experiments. This study looked at the effects of changing the …


Characterization Of Anisotropic Mechanical Performance Of As-Built Additively Manufactured Metals, Sanna Siddiqui Jan 2018

Characterization Of Anisotropic Mechanical Performance Of As-Built Additively Manufactured Metals, Sanna Siddiqui

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies use a 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) model to develop a component through a deposition and fusion layer process, allowing for rapid design and geometric flexibility of metal components, for use in the aerospace, energy and biomedical industries. Challenges exist with additive manufacturing that limits its replacement of conventional manufacturing techniques, most especially a comprehensive understanding of the anisotropic behavior of these materials and how it is reflected in observed tensile, torsional and fatigue mechanical responses. As such, there is a need to understand how the build orientation of as-built additively manufactured metals, affects mechanical performance …


A Study On The Plasticity And Fracture Of Aisi 4340 Steel Under Different Loading Conditions Considering Heat Treatment And Micromechanics, Sami Ghazali Jan 2018

A Study On The Plasticity And Fracture Of Aisi 4340 Steel Under Different Loading Conditions Considering Heat Treatment And Micromechanics, Sami Ghazali

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Accurate predictions of material strength under different loading conditions with large plastic deformation and ductile fracture are of great importance. This dissertation aims to develop an essential understanding of ductile fracture of AISI 4340 steel alloy using both empirical and micromechanics based models. For this purpose, 29 specimens of different geometries with different heat-treatments were designed to investigate the effects of stress states. These specimens are: (a) 13 round bars with different notches (axial symmetric tension); (b) 13 flat grooved specimens with different grooves; (c) 3 small round cylinders. Mechanical tests up to fracture were conducted on these specimens to …


Investigation Of A Self-Powered Fontan Concept Using A Multiscale Computational Fluid-Structure Interaction Model, Kyle Beggs Jan 2018

Investigation Of A Self-Powered Fontan Concept Using A Multiscale Computational Fluid-Structure Interaction Model, Kyle Beggs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) occurs in about 1\% (40,000) of newborn babies each year in the United States alone. About 10.9\% (960) of whom suffer from Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) - a subset of CHD where children are born with a single-ventricle (SV). A series of three surgeries are carried out to correct HLHS culminating in the Fontan procedure where venous flow returns passively to the lungs. The current configuration for the Fontan results in elevated Central Venous Pressure (CVP), inadequate ventricular preload, and elevated Pulmonary Vascular Resistance (PVR) leading to a barrage of disease. To alleviate these complications, …


Detailed Understanding Of Flow, Heat Transfer, And Pressure Drop Behavior In A Square Channel With 45 Deg Ribs, Lumaya Ahmed Jan 2018

Detailed Understanding Of Flow, Heat Transfer, And Pressure Drop Behavior In A Square Channel With 45 Deg Ribs, Lumaya Ahmed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Internal Duct Cooling (IDC) with rib turbulators is one of the common cooling techniques applied inside the turbine airfoils. It is very important for the gas turbine industry to design and develop an optimized cooling channel that maximizes the amount of heat removed, while simultaneously minimizing the pressure drop for a target overall cooling effectiveness. Angled ribs perform superior to the transverse ribs due to additional secondary flow associated with them. However, they result in a highly non-homogenous heat transfer distribution, which is a manifestation of the complex, turbulent flow field inside the channel. It is very important to comprehend …