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Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

Fungi In Flux | Designing Regenerative Materials And Products With Mycelium, Arvind Bhallamudi Jun 2023

Fungi In Flux | Designing Regenerative Materials And Products With Mycelium, Arvind Bhallamudi

Masters Theses

As the world grapples with the escalating crisis of climate threats and environmental degradation, this research delves into the synergistic potential of design and biology, developing safe and sustainable materials for applications in prototyping, furniture and interior design. Harnessing the power of a unique organism - fungi, the study proposes an accessible, efficient, and resilient material resource system. It utilizes local waste streams and mycelium (the vegetative part of fungi) to grow functional structures. An experimental and small-scale protocol is modeled by testing bio-fabrication and bio-printing methods. The composites' performance qualities and characteristics are evaluated through mechanical testing and a …


Development Of Phase Change Thermal Storage Medium: Cooking With More Power And Versatility, Martin Osei Jan 2022

Development Of Phase Change Thermal Storage Medium: Cooking With More Power And Versatility, Martin Osei

Masters Theses

With an Insulated Solar Electric Cooker (ISEC), a 100 W solar panel directly cooks food while providing 5W off-grid electricity access; but it cooks slowly. Storing the day’s energy with phase change thermal storage allows ISEC to cook more rapidly as well as cook after sunset. The ISEC is made by sticking a 3ohm resistive to an aluminum pot (inner phase change assembly PCA) where another cooking pot fits. The resistive heater is surrounded by a bigger pot (outer PCA) that contains the PCM and is tightly sealed. The solar panel is connected to the resistive heater with a thermal …


Application And Evaluation Of Lighthouse Technology For Precision Motion Capture, Soumitra Sitole Oct 2018

Application And Evaluation Of Lighthouse Technology For Precision Motion Capture, Soumitra Sitole

Masters Theses

This thesis presents the development towards a system that can capture and quantify motion for applications in biomechanical and medical fields demanding precision motion tracking using the lighthouse technology. Commercially known as SteamVR tracking, the lighthouse technology is a motion tracking system developed for virtual reality applications that makes use of patterned infrared light sources to highlight trackers (objects embedded with photodiodes) to obtain their pose or spatial position and orientation. Current motion capture systems such as the camera-based motion capture are expensive and not readily available outside of research labs. This thesis provides a case for low-cost motion capture …


Microenvironment Regulates Fusion Of Breast Cancer Cells, Peiran Zhu Jul 2018

Microenvironment Regulates Fusion Of Breast Cancer Cells, Peiran Zhu

Masters Theses

Fusion of cancer cells has been observed in tumors for more than a century and is thought to contribute to tumor development and drug resistance. The low frequency of cell fusion events and the instability of fused cells have hindered our ability to understand the molecular mechanisms that govern cell fusion. We have developed a patterned gel system that can isolate cell fusion events and we demonstrate that several breast cancer cell lines can fuse into multinucleated giant cells in vitro, and the initiation and longevity of fused cells can be regulated solely by biophysical factors. Dynamically tuning the adhesive …


The Effects Of Mechanical Loading And Tumor Factors On Osteocyte Dendrite Formation, Wenbo Wang Apr 2018

The Effects Of Mechanical Loading And Tumor Factors On Osteocyte Dendrite Formation, Wenbo Wang

Masters Theses

Advanced breast cancer predominantly metastasizes to the skeleton, at which point patients suffer bone loss, pain, heightened fracture risk and their prognosis significantly declines. The skeleton is sensitive to its highly dynamic mechanical environment whereby bone mass is increased when applied loads are increased whereas bone loss occurs when applied loads are reduced. Increased mechanical loading inhibited bone metastatic tumor formation and progression in vivo, but the underlying mechanisms are currently under investigation. Here, we focus on the osteocyte, a specialized bone cell well-known as the primary mechanosensor and director of remodeling in the skeleton. Osteocytic dendrites are important for …


Effects Of Malformed Or Absent Valves To Lymphatic Fluid Transport And Lymphedema In Vivo In Mice, Akshay S. Pujari Oct 2017

Effects Of Malformed Or Absent Valves To Lymphatic Fluid Transport And Lymphedema In Vivo In Mice, Akshay S. Pujari

Masters Theses

Lymph is primarily composed of fluid and proteins from the blood circulatory system that drain into the space surrounding cells, interstitial space. From the interstitial space, the fluid enters and circulates in the lymphatic system until it is delivered into the venous system. In contrast to the blood circulatory system, the lymphatic system lacks a central pumping organ dictating the predominant driving pressure and velocity of lymph. Transport of lymph via capillaries, pre-collecting and collecting lymphatic vessels relies on the synergy between pressure gradients, local tissue motion, valves and lymphatic vessel contractility. The direction of lymph transport is regulated by …


A Magnetic Resonance Compatible Knee Extension Ergometer, Youssef Jaber Jul 2017

A Magnetic Resonance Compatible Knee Extension Ergometer, Youssef Jaber

Masters Theses

The product of this thesis aims to enable the study of the biochemical and physical dynamics of the lower limbs at high levels of muscle tension and fast contraction speeds. This is accomplished in part by a magnetic resonance (MR) compatible ergometer designed to apply a load as a torque of up to 420 Nm acting against knee extension at speeds as high as 4.7 rad/s. The system can also be adapted to apply the load as a force of up to 1200 N acting against full leg extension. The ergometer is designed to enable the use of magnetic resonance …


Were Neandertal Humeri Adapted For Spear Thrusting Or Throwing? A Finite Element Study, Michael Anthony Berthaume Nov 2014

Were Neandertal Humeri Adapted For Spear Thrusting Or Throwing? A Finite Element Study, Michael Anthony Berthaume

Masters Theses

An ongoing debate concerning Neandertal ecology is whether or not they utilized long range weaponry. The anteroposteriorly expanded cross-section of Neandertal humeri have led some to argue they thrusted their weapons, while the rounder cross-section of Late Upper Paleolithic modern human humeri suggests they threw their weapons. We test the hypothesis that Neandertal humeri were built to resist strains engendered by thrusting rather than throwing using finite element models of one Neandertal, one Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) human and three recent human humeri, representing a range of cross-sectional shapes and sizes. Electromyography and kinematic data and articulated skeletons were used …