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All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

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Articles 31 - 36 of 36

Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

An Empirical Study On Quality Management Practices, Organization Performance And Suppliers' Selection In Southern Minnesota Manufacturing Firms, Rachel Yetunde-Abiodun Awoku Jan 2012

An Empirical Study On Quality Management Practices, Organization Performance And Suppliers' Selection In Southern Minnesota Manufacturing Firms, Rachel Yetunde-Abiodun Awoku

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Quality management systems (QMS) have been widely applied successfully by many manufacturing companies to improve their process, increase profits and organizational performance. The most applied of the quality programs are ISO 9001, Total Quality Management (TQM), Just-In-time (JIT), Lean Management and Six Sigma. Although past studies on quality management have identified and studied the implementation of quality management practices, there is little or no research on quality management practices and business performance in Southern Minnesota manufacturing companies. Many researchers have concluded that the implementation of quality management practices has led to significant improvements in companies' business performance while others have …


Introducing Fly Ash Into Lsi's Recipe, Andrew Mathias Beckrich Jan 2012

Introducing Fly Ash Into Lsi's Recipe, Andrew Mathias Beckrich

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

There has been published data that states that concrete producers can use Fly Ash as an alternative to Portland cement and still generate similar or better strength properties. By applying these principles to our industry and products, what new processes will need to be put in place and followed? What is the correct combination/portion of Fly Ash that will produce similar and better results as well as the adjusted new recipes? What type of cost is associated with the introduction of this new ingredient? Lastly, how does this affect the quality and reputation of the product?


Investigation Into The Usability Of Micromechanical Models To Predict The Behavior Of A Nanocomposite Polymer, Jason Handlogten Jan 2012

Investigation Into The Usability Of Micromechanical Models To Predict The Behavior Of A Nanocomposite Polymer, Jason Handlogten

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this thesis was to determine the acceptability of a set of existing nanocomposite test specimens for tensile testing and then to determine the Young's and shear modulus of these test specimens. If the test specimens were found to be acceptable, the accuracy of three micromechanical models was to be evaluated by comparing their predictions to the mechanical properties determined from testing the specimens. The set of existing nanocomposite test specimens had a distinct concave shape on two surfaces that were believed to be intended as flat. In order to determine if they adhered to the Type I …


Application Of The Tdma Technique Toward The Size And Charge Distribution Measurement Of Graphite, Gold, Palladium, And Silver Aerosols, Matthew Paul Simones Jan 2011

Application Of The Tdma Technique Toward The Size And Charge Distribution Measurement Of Graphite, Gold, Palladium, And Silver Aerosols, Matthew Paul Simones

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The knowledge of charge distributions among aerosol particles has been an important topic for many years because of the strong electrostatic interactions which can greatly influence aerosol transport and evolution. Theoretical models have been developed although experimental verification has been limited because of the difficulty in measuring charged aerosols. Recently a method utilizing a tandem differential mobility analyzer (TDMA) has been shown to be applicable toward measuring both the size and charge distributions of nanosized combustion aerosols. The goal of this work is on further exploration of this method toward the measurement of non-combustion aerosols and in particular those associated …


Investigation Into The Potential Use Of Windbreaks To Improve Solar Collector Performance, Michael Watts Jan 2011

Investigation Into The Potential Use Of Windbreaks To Improve Solar Collector Performance, Michael Watts

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The global demand for energy is ever increasing; however, the world has a limited number of fossil fuels available. Therefore, alternative renewable energy sources must be utilized. For this reason, solar thermal collectors have become an increasingly popular method for providing hot water or space heating. However, solar thermal collectors are most commonly used in areas that experience warm climates throughout the year. In areas that experience seasonal climates, the cold temperatures and harsh climate conditions significantly reduce the performance of solar thermal collectors during the winter months. This thesis examined the potential that the implementation of a windbreak could …


Employing The Spectral Collocation Method In The Modeling Of Laminar Tube Flow Dynamics, Corey Michael Thibeault Jan 2009

Employing The Spectral Collocation Method In The Modeling Of Laminar Tube Flow Dynamics, Corey Michael Thibeault

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The spectral collocation method is a numerical approximation technique that seeks the solution of a differential equation using a finite series of infinitely differentiable basis functions. This inherently global technique enjoys an exponential rate of convergence and has proven to be extremely effective in computational fluid dynamics. This paper presents a basic review of the spectral collocation method. The derivation is driven with an example of the approximation to the solution of a 1D Helmholtz equation. A Matlab code modeling two fluid dynamics problems is then given. First, the classic two-dimensional Graetz problem is simulated and compared to an analytical …