Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Automated Robotic Light Bulb Testing Platform, Agha I. Akram, Muhammad Ali Ummy

Publications and Research

The main purpose of this project is to create a functional prototype of a multilayered system that incorporates aspects of electrical, mechanical, and computer engineering technology. The main objective of the system is to be able to determine whether a light bulb is working or not. The building blocks of this system are a robotic arm that is able to slide along a rail (for added mobility), a conveyor belt, and an electromechanical device that holds and tests light bulbs. Initially, the robot arm picks up a light bulb and places it into the holder which then tests it. A …

Active Membrane Energy Exchanger For Air Cooling And Dehumidification, Songhao Wu, Andrew Fix, David M. Warsinger, James E. Braun

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment consume 35% of total building energy use in the US, among which a large share is used for cooling and dehumidification. The majority of air dehumidification systems take the conventional approach of moisture condensation removal. It requires air to be cooled below its dew point temperature and is an energy-intensive process, especially for areas with hot and humid climates. Vapor selective membrane systems are promising alternatives for air dehumidification as they do not require cooling energy for latent (humidity) heat removal. It allows water vapor transport through the membrane while blocking air. Previous …

Force-Feedback Design For Robotics: Bio-Based Design And Simulation, Husnain Khan, Zhou Zhang

Publications and Research

The great challenge for the Virtual Assembly Platform is how to make the users have the in-person feeling with the augmented tools. Hands are the most important organs that are used to provide touch feeling. In a real assembly scenario, the force from the components and tools will be feedback to the brain via the hands. Unfortunately, the virtual assembly failed to mimic the in-person scenarios since it will not provide such kind of feedback. As a result, the users’ real identities are lost. Then, the users’ slower-progressing wrong habits will prevent them from success in the future. Therefore, it …

Photocatalytic Inactivation Efficacy Of Sars-Cov-2 In Hvac Systems, Andrew J. Freeman, Sudharshan Anandan, Ernest R. Blatchley Iii, W. Travis Horton, David M. Warsinger

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

The coronavirus pandemic has emphasized a need for robust and reliable air purification systems in buildings; with that comes a need for a standardized testing methodology for air purification technologies in HVAC air circulation systems. One such method of air purification is photocatalytic oxidation (PCO), a mechanism in which a catalyst irradiated by light produces reactive molecules that degrade a wide range of pollutants, including the aerosols that carry COVID. This technology has primarily been used in aqueous applications, but there have recently been developments in air purification that have made it a promising contender to existing technologies. One of …

Understanding Of Aerosol Transmission Of Covid 19 In Indoor Environments, Adama Barro, Cathal O'Toole, Jacob S. Lopez, Matthew Quinones, Sherene Moore

Publications and Research

Our reason for discussing severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or 2019 novel corona virus (Covid-19), is to understand its aerosol transmission characteristics in indoor spaces and to mitigate further spread of this disease by designing a new HVAC system. The problem that we are tackling is the spread of covid-19 droplets through aerosol transmission by looking at potential engineering solutions to the existing HVAC systems. The purpose is to eradicate the spread of the COVID-19 by testing indoor spaces in an effort to understand the effectiveness of ventilation controls. We believe that scientists and engineers have not …

Static Analysis Of Circular Plates Under Mechanical Loads, Harpreet Lalia

Publications and Research

In this research statics analysis of circular plates is performed using SolidWorks.

Circular plates with different material properties, thickness to radius ratios, and boundary conditions under mechanical loads are modeled and analyzed in SolidWorks.

The results are obtained for deflections of circular plates under uniform and point loads.

A three-dimensional (3D) model of circular plates is first created in SolidWorks. Then the material properties, mechanical loads and boundary conditions are defined for the plate.

It is found deflection of plates is depended on magnitude of mechanical loads, geometrical parameters, boundary conditions and material properties. Responses of SolidWorks for deflections of …

Merrill-Cazier Library Gas Exhibition, Betty Rozum, Andrew Wesolek, Pamela N. Martin

Education and Outreach

This exhibition, presented in the Merrill-Cazier Library, captured the history and accomplishments of the GAS program. Click the download button to see a PowerPoint presentation featuring images and text from the exhibition.

Surface Geometry And Heat Flux Effect On Thin Wire Nucleate Pool Boiling Of Subcooled Water In Microgravity, Troy Munro, Andrew Fassman

Presentations

The motivation of this nucleate boiling research is to understand the effects of surface geometry and heat flux as applied to a thin wire heater. This will further the understanding of the fundamental behaviors of boiling onset, steady state heat transfer, and bubble dynamics with respect to nucleate boiling with the goal of creating efficient thermal management systems for future space applications. Using three different thin platinum wire geometries and five different power levels, subcooled water was boiled over a period of approximately 30 seconds for 15 parabolic arcs to simulate microgravity. To represent the trends in bubbles behavior across …