Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Feature-Based Neuro-Symbolic Networks For Global Diagnostics, Tracy Lynn Schantz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Engineered system diagnostics have been researched over the years with many successful results. From transportation systems to office technologies, many have been equipped with self-diagnostic capabilities and are called Smart Machines. In spite of these advances, current diagnostic systems are driven by direct sensory information without much concern for patterns of the system behavior or features associated with them. For large-scale systems with complex dynamics, global as well as local diagnostics become of great importance, where sensory information is used as input for the local diagnostics, and patterns of behavior or features are utilized for global diagnostics.

The main objective …

The Effect Of Magnetic Bearing On The Vibration And Friction Of A Wind Turbine, Mark Ryan Vorwaller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Demands for sustainable energy have resulted in increased interest in wind turbines. Thus, despite widespread economic difficulties, global installed wind power increased by over 20% in 2011 alone. Recently, magnetic bearing technology has been proposed to improve wind turbine performance by mitigating vibration and reducing frictional losses. While magnetic bearing has been shown to reduce friction in other applications, little data has been presented to establish its effect on vibration and friction in wind turbines. Accordingly, this study provides a functional method for experimentally evaluating the effect of a magnetic bearing on the vibration and efficiency characteristics of a wind …

Computationally Efficient Finite Element Models Of The Lumbar Spine For The Evaluation Of Spine Mechanics And Device Performance, Sean D. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Finite Element models of the lumbar spine are commonly used for the study of spine mechanics and device performance, but have limited usefulness in some applications such as clinical and design phase assessments due to long analysis times. In this study a computationally efficient L4-L5 FSU model and a L1-Sacrum multi-segment model were developed and validated. The FSU is a functional spine unit consisting of two adjacent vertebral bodies, in this case L4 and L5. The multi-segment model consists of all lumbar vertebrae and the sacrum. The models are able to accurately predict spine kinematics with significantly reduced analysis times, …