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Mechanical Engineering Commons

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University of Massachusetts Amherst

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publication Series

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

Floating Platform Effects On Power Generation In Spar And Semisubmersible Wind Turbines, Hannah M. Johlas, Luis A. Martínez-Tossas, Matthew J. Churchfield, Matthew A. Lackner, David P. Schmidt Jan 2021

Floating Platform Effects On Power Generation In Spar And Semisubmersible Wind Turbines, Hannah M. Johlas, Luis A. Martínez-Tossas, Matthew J. Churchfield, Matthew A. Lackner, David P. Schmidt

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publication Series

The design and financing of commercial-scale floating offshore wind projects require a better understanding of how power generation differs between newer floating turbines and well-established fixed-bottom turbines. In floating turbines, platform mobility causes additional rotor motion that can change the time-averaged power generation. In this work, OpenFAST simulations examine the power generated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's 5-MW reference turbine mounted on the OC3-UMaine spar and OC4-DeepCWind semisubmersible floating platforms, subjected to extreme irregular waves and below-rated turbulent inflow wind from large-eddy simulations of a neutral atmospheric boundary layer. For these below-rated conditions, average power generation in floating turbines …


Robust Identification Of Dynamically Distinct Regions In Stratified Turbulence, Gavin D. Portwood, Stephen M. De Bruyn Kops, J. R. Taylor, H. Salehipour, C. P. Caulfield Jan 2016

Robust Identification Of Dynamically Distinct Regions In Stratified Turbulence, Gavin D. Portwood, Stephen M. De Bruyn Kops, J. R. Taylor, H. Salehipour, C. P. Caulfield

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publication Series

we present a new robust method for identifying three dynamically distinct regions in a stratified turbulent flow, which we characterise as quiescent flow, intermittent layers, and turbulent patches. The method uses the cumulative filtered distribution function of the local density gradient to identify each region. We apply it to data from direct numerical simulations of homogeneous stratified turbulence, with unity Prandtl number, resolved on up to 8192x8192x4092 grid points. In addition to classifying regions consistently with contour plots of potential enstropy, our method identifies quiescent regions as regions where ∊ ⁄ νΝ2 ~ Ο(1), layers as regions where …


Large Excitonic Effects In Monolayers Of Molybdenum And Tungsten Dichalcogenides, Ashwin Ramasubramaniam Sep 2012

Large Excitonic Effects In Monolayers Of Molybdenum And Tungsten Dichalcogenides, Ashwin Ramasubramaniam

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publication Series

Quasiparticle band structures and optical properties of MoS2, MoSe2, MoTe2, WS2, and WSe2 monolayers are studied using the GW approximation in conjunction with the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE). The inclusion of two-particle excitations in the BSE approach reveals the presence of two strongly bound excitons (A and B) below the quasiparticle absorption onset arising from vertical transitions between a spin-orbit-split valence band and the conduction band at the K point of the Brillouin zone. The transition energies for monolayer MoS2, in particular, are shown to be in excellent agreement with available absorption and photoluminescence measurements. Excitation energies for the remaining monolayers …


Tunable Band Gaps In Bilayer Graphene-Bn Heterostructures, Ashwin Ramasubramaniam, Doron Naveh, Elias Towe Nov 2010

Tunable Band Gaps In Bilayer Graphene-Bn Heterostructures, Ashwin Ramasubramaniam, Doron Naveh, Elias Towe

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publication Series

We investigate band-gap tuning of bilayer graphene between hexagonal boron nitride sheets, by external electric fields. Using density functional theory, we show that the gap is continuously tunable from 0 to 0.2 eV, and is robust to stacking disorder. Moreover, boron nitride sheets do not alter the fundamental response from that of free-standing bilayer graphene, apart from additional screening. The calculations suggest that the graphene-boron nitride heterostructures could provide a viable route to graphene-based electronic devices.


Interatomic Potentials For Hydrogen In A-Iron Based On Density Functional Theory, Ashwin Ramasubramaniam, Emily Carter, Mitsuhiro Itakura May 2009

Interatomic Potentials For Hydrogen In A-Iron Based On Density Functional Theory, Ashwin Ramasubramaniam, Emily Carter, Mitsuhiro Itakura

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publication Series

We present two interatomic potentials for hydrogen in α–iron based on the embedded atom method potentials for iron developed by Mendelev et al. Philos. Mag. 83 3977 (2003) and Ackland et al. J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 16 S2629 (2004). Since these latter potentials are unique among existing iron potentials in their ability to produce the same core structure for screw dislocations as density functional theory (DFT) calculations, our interatomic potentials for hydrogen in iron also inherit this important feature. We use an extensive database of energies and atomic configurations from DFT calculations to fit the cross interaction of hydrogen with …


Edge-Stress Induced Warping Of Graphene Sheets And Nanoribbons, Ashwin Ramasubramaniam, Y. Zhang, C. Reddy, V. Shenoy Dec 2008

Edge-Stress Induced Warping Of Graphene Sheets And Nanoribbons, Ashwin Ramasubramaniam, Y. Zhang, C. Reddy, V. Shenoy

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publication Series

We show that edge stresses introduce intrinsic ripples in freestanding graphene sheets even in the absence of any thermal effects. Compressive edge stresses along zigzag and armchair edges of the sheet cause out-of-plane warping to attain several degenerate mode shapes. Based on elastic plate theory, we identify scaling laws for the amplitude and penetration depth of edge ripples as a function of wavelength. We also demonstrate that edge stresses can lead to twisting and scrolling of nanoribbons as seen in experiments. Our results underscore the importance of accounting for edge stresses in thermal theories and electronic structure calculations for freestanding …


Three-Dimensional Simulations Of Self-Assembly Of Hut Shaped Si-Ge Quantum Dots, Ashwin Ramasubramaniam, V. Shenoy Jan 2004

Three-Dimensional Simulations Of Self-Assembly Of Hut Shaped Si-Ge Quantum Dots, Ashwin Ramasubramaniam, V. Shenoy

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publication Series

This article presents the results of three-dimensional modeling of heteroepitaxial thin film growth with the objective of understanding recent experiments on the early stages of quantum dot formation in SiGe/Si systems. We use a continuum model, based on the underlying physics of crystallographic surface steps, to study the growth of quantum dots, their spatial ordering and coarsening behavior. Using appropriate parameters, obtained from atomistic calculations, the (100) orientation is found to be unstable under compressive strains. The surface energy now develops a minimum at an orientation that may be interpreted as the (105) facet observed in SiGe/Si systems. This form …