Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Mechanical Engineering Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 30 of 148

Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

Planar Compliance Realization With Two 3-Joint Serial Mechanisms, Shuguang Huang, Joseph M. Schimmels Oct 2022

Planar Compliance Realization With Two 3-Joint Serial Mechanisms, Shuguang Huang, Joseph M. Schimmels

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In this paper, the realization of any specified planar compliance with two 3R serial elastic mechanisms is addressed. Using the concept of dual elastic mechanisms, it is shown that the realization of a compliant behavior with two serial mechanisms connected in parallel is equivalent to its realization with a 6-spring fully parallel mechanism. Since the spring axes of a 6-spring parallel mechanism indicate the geometry of a dual 3R serial mechanism, a new synthesis procedure for the realization of a stiffness matrix with a 6-spring parallel mechanism is first developed. Then, this result is extended to a geometric construction-based synthesis …


Poly (5-Carboxyindole)–Β-Cyclodextrin Composite Material For Enhanced Formaldehyde Gas Sensing, John N. Hodul, Nikhil F. Carneiro, Allison K. Murray, Wilson Lee, Kelly M. Brayton, Xinping He, Carsten Flores-Hansen, Dimitry Zemlyanov, George T.-C. Chiu, James E. Braun, Bryan W. Boudouris, Jeffrey F. Rhoads Jun 2022

Poly (5-Carboxyindole)–Β-Cyclodextrin Composite Material For Enhanced Formaldehyde Gas Sensing, John N. Hodul, Nikhil F. Carneiro, Allison K. Murray, Wilson Lee, Kelly M. Brayton, Xinping He, Carsten Flores-Hansen, Dimitry Zemlyanov, George T.-C. Chiu, James E. Braun, Bryan W. Boudouris, Jeffrey F. Rhoads

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Formaldehyde, a compound commonly employed in many construction materials, paints, and plastics, has been linked to deleterious health effects. Thus, monitoring the presence of formaldehyde in interior locations is increasingly important when it comes to public health. Currently, there is a crucial need for a low-cost, small-scale, selective, and sensitive indoor sensor capable of real-time formaldehyde detection. To meet these performance metrics, materials need to be incorporated onto existing gas sensor platforms to act as chemically selective recognition layers. A main challenge when addressing this issue is creating a material that can remain easily processable, can be easily synthesized, and …


Microstructural Characteristics And Mechanical Properties Of Additively Manufactured Cu–10sn Alloys By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Abhishek Mehta, Le Zhou, Holden Hyer, Thinh Huynh, Binghao Lu, Erica J. Drobner, Sun Hong Park, Yongho Sohn Mar 2022

Microstructural Characteristics And Mechanical Properties Of Additively Manufactured Cu–10sn Alloys By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Abhishek Mehta, Le Zhou, Holden Hyer, Thinh Huynh, Binghao Lu, Erica J. Drobner, Sun Hong Park, Yongho Sohn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Cu – 10 wt% Sn (Cu–10Sn) alloy specimens were additively manufactured by varying the laser powder bed fusion (LBPF) processing parameters, e.g., laser power (200–350 W) and laser scan speed (100–1400 mm/s) at a fixed hatch spacing (0.12 mm) and slice thickness (0.03 mm), to examine their effects on the density, melt pool structure, and microstructure. Microstructural characteristics of the most dense sample were examined using electron microscopy (SEM, TEM) and X-ray Diffraction. The grains in the top-most melt pool layer showed a fan-like structure, whereas all other areas showed small columnar structure aligned nearly parallel to the build direction …


Elimination Of Extraordinarily High Cracking Susceptibility Of Aluminum Alloy Fabricated By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Holden Hyer, Le Zhou, Sharon Park, Thinh Huynh, Abhishek Mehta, Saket Thapliyal, Rajiv S. Mishra, Yongho Sohn Mar 2022

Elimination Of Extraordinarily High Cracking Susceptibility Of Aluminum Alloy Fabricated By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Holden Hyer, Le Zhou, Sharon Park, Thinh Huynh, Abhishek Mehta, Saket Thapliyal, Rajiv S. Mishra, Yongho Sohn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Using the calculation of phase diagrams approach and Scheil solidification modeling, the Al-2.5Mg-1.0Ni-0.4Sc-0.1Zr alloy was designed, intentionally with an extraordinarily high cracking susceptibility, making it prime for solidification cracking during laser powder bed fusion. This study demonstrates the ability to mitigate even the most extreme solidification cracking tendencies in aluminum alloys with only minor alloying additions of Sc and Zr, 0.5 wt.% max. Furthermore, by employing a simple direct ageing heat treatment, good tensile mechanical properties were observed with a yield strength of 308 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of 390 MPa, and a total elongation of 11%.


A Continuum Damage Approach To Spallation And The Role Of Microinertia, S. B. Qamar, John A. Moore, Nathan R. Barton Feb 2022

A Continuum Damage Approach To Spallation And The Role Of Microinertia, S. B. Qamar, John A. Moore, Nathan R. Barton

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Spall failure is of interest due to its prevalence in high strain rate problems in which the spallation is driven by the interaction of release waves. In this article, a porosity-based damage model that includes microinertial effects is used to examine spall failure. The model is successfully calibrated to plate impact-driven experiments and then used to evaluate experimental conditions producing more extreme strain rate conditions, such as those in laser-driven experiments. The incorporation of microinertia allows us to better understand the increase in apparent macroscopic spall strength seen at high strain rates. Correspondingly, we conclude that the incorporation of microinertial …


Microstructural Development In Inconel 718 Nickel-Based Superalloy Additively Manufactured By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Thinh Huynh, Abhishek Mehta, Kevin Graydon, Jeongmin Woo, Sharon Park, Holden Hyer, Le Zhou, D. Devin Imholte, Nicolas E. Woolstenhulme, Daniel M. Wachs, Yongho Sohn Jan 2022

Microstructural Development In Inconel 718 Nickel-Based Superalloy Additively Manufactured By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Thinh Huynh, Abhishek Mehta, Kevin Graydon, Jeongmin Woo, Sharon Park, Holden Hyer, Le Zhou, D. Devin Imholte, Nicolas E. Woolstenhulme, Daniel M. Wachs, Yongho Sohn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Excellent weldability and high temperature stability make Inconel 718 (IN718) one of the most popular alloys to be produced by additive manufacturing. In this study, we investigated the effects of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) parameters on the microstructure and relative density of IN718. The samples were fabricated with independently varied laser power (125–350 W), laser scan speed (200–2200 mm/s), and laser scan rotation (0°–90°). Archimedes’ method, optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy were employed to assess the influence of LPBF parameters on the relative density and microstructure. Optimal processing windows were identified for a wide range of processing parameters, …


The Relationship Between Mechanism Geometry And The Centers Of Stiffness And Compliance, Shuguang Huang, Joseph M. Schimmels Jan 2022

The Relationship Between Mechanism Geometry And The Centers Of Stiffness And Compliance, Shuguang Huang, Joseph M. Schimmels

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A significant amount of research has been directed toward developing a more intuitive appreciation of spatial elastic behavior. Results of these analyses have often been described in terms of the elastic behavior (stiffness or compliance) centers. This paper investigates the properties of centers of stiffness and compliance and provides a fresh view of elastic center locations, specifically, the locus of centers associated with a given mechanism’s topology and geometry. We show that the location of the center of stiffness (compliance) for a set of elastic components connected in parallel (in serial) can be described in terms similar to the …


Conductive Polymer Spark Gap Igniters, Miranda P. Mcconnell, Allison K. Murray, Bryan W. Boudouris, I. Emre Gunduz, Steven F. Son, George T.-C. Chiu, Jeffrey F. Rhoads Oct 2021

Conductive Polymer Spark Gap Igniters, Miranda P. Mcconnell, Allison K. Murray, Bryan W. Boudouris, I. Emre Gunduz, Steven F. Son, George T.-C. Chiu, Jeffrey F. Rhoads

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Electrodes fabricated from electronically active polymers offer some benefits over those fabricated with common metals, including an appreciable resistance to corrosion and lower density. These benefits, and potentially others, manifest the advantages of using conductive polymers in lieu of metals for the mass production of ignition systems. In this work, spark gap igniters were fabricated using a potentially low-cost, roll-to-roll compatible process utilizing the doped conductive polymer polyaniline as the electrode material. Subsequently, nanothermite was printed on the spark gap igniters between the organic leads and ignited using a high voltage source to demonstrate the effectiveness of the device. All …


The Coalescence Of Incipient Soot Clusters, Akaash Sharma, Khaled Mosharraf Mosharraf Mukut, Somesh Roy, Eirini Goudeli Aug 2021

The Coalescence Of Incipient Soot Clusters, Akaash Sharma, Khaled Mosharraf Mosharraf Mukut, Somesh Roy, Eirini Goudeli

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Reactive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are employed to investigate the coalescence of incipient soot clusters. Initially, one thousand acetylene molecules collide and react with each other, allowing bond breakage and new bond formation upon collision, leading to various species (e.g., linear hydrocarbons, branched polyaromatic hydrocarbons) up to the formation of nascent soot clusters with diameter of up to 3.5 nm. The structure and composition of the formed soot clusters are quantified by the packing density and carbon-to-hydrogen (C/H) ratio, respectively, during nucleation and up to the formation of large nascent soot nanoparticles. Then, the nucleated incipient soot clusters are isolated …


Microstructure, Mechanical Performance, And Corrosion Behavior Of Additively Manufactured Aluminum Alloy 5083 With 0.7 And 1.0 Wt% Zr Addition, Le Zhou, Holden Hyer, Jinfa Chang, Abhishek Mehta, Thinh Huynh, Yang Yang, Yongho Sohn Aug 2021

Microstructure, Mechanical Performance, And Corrosion Behavior Of Additively Manufactured Aluminum Alloy 5083 With 0.7 And 1.0 Wt% Zr Addition, Le Zhou, Holden Hyer, Jinfa Chang, Abhishek Mehta, Thinh Huynh, Yang Yang, Yongho Sohn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Effect of 0.7 wt% and 1.0 wt% of Zr alloying on the laser powder bed fused (LPBF) printability/buildability of AA5083 alloys was investigated by examination of the microstructure and mechanical property. General corrosion behavior of these Zr-modified AA5083 alloys produced by LPBF in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution was also examined and compared to the LPBF AlSi10Mg alloy and AA5083-H131 alloy. Unmodified AA5083 alloy produced by LPBF exhibited extensive solidification cracks, but alloying it with Zr mitigated the cracking due to the grain refinement from the formation of the primary L12-Al3Zr. Moreover, 1.0 wt% of Zr alloying …


Pore-Resolving Simulations To Study The Impacts Of Char Morphology On Zone Ii Combustion And Effectiveness Factor Models, Dongyu Liang, Simcha L. Singer Jul 2021

Pore-Resolving Simulations To Study The Impacts Of Char Morphology On Zone Ii Combustion And Effectiveness Factor Models, Dongyu Liang, Simcha L. Singer

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Combustion and gasification of pulverized char often occur under zone II conditions, in which the rate of conversion depends on both heterogeneous reaction and gas transport within the particle's porous structure. The morphology of porous char has a strong influence on intra-particle diffusion, and thus, on the overall conversion rate. Because pulverized coal and biomass char particles are often irregularly shaped and contain pores and voids which can approach the size of the particles themselves, conventional models based on spherical symmetry and coarse-grained, upscaled, effective continuum conservation equations are not applicable or appropriate. A recent 3-D, pore-resolving CFD simulation approach …


Design Of Heterogeneous Structured Al Alloys With Wide Processing Window For Laser-Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing, Saket Thapliyal, Shivakant Shukla, Le Zhou, Holden Hyer, Priyanshi Agrawal, Priyanka Agrawal, Mageshwari Komarasamy, Yongho Sohn, Rajiv S. Mishra Jun 2021

Design Of Heterogeneous Structured Al Alloys With Wide Processing Window For Laser-Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing, Saket Thapliyal, Shivakant Shukla, Le Zhou, Holden Hyer, Priyanshi Agrawal, Priyanka Agrawal, Mageshwari Komarasamy, Yongho Sohn, Rajiv S. Mishra

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Required microstructural attributes of an alloy vary with structural applications. The microstructural fine-tuning capability of laser-powder bed fusion (L-PBF) additive manufacturing (AM) enables application specific manufacture of the components. Such manufacture with L-PBF AM requires alloys that exhibit wide processing window and are amenable to multiple deformation mechanisms. However, high hot cracking susceptibility of Al alloys poses a barrier to such printability-performance synergy. In this work we show that an integration of, a) grain refinement through heterogeneous nucleation, and b) eutectic solidification, leads to crack-free parts at wide range of process parameters, microstructural heterogeneity, and hierarchy in the Al-Ni-Ti-Zr …


High Throughput Mechanical Testing Platform And Application In Metal Additive Manufacturing And Process Optimization, Ke Huang, Chris Kain, Nathalia Diaz-Vallejo, Yongho Sohn, Le Zhou Jun 2021

High Throughput Mechanical Testing Platform And Application In Metal Additive Manufacturing And Process Optimization, Ke Huang, Chris Kain, Nathalia Diaz-Vallejo, Yongho Sohn, Le Zhou

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Agility of additive manufacturing (AM) warrants a development of an equally agile, high-throughput properties evaluation technique that can efficiently assess properties of AM specimens as functions of materials and process variables. High throughput (HTP) tensile testing rig has been developed, enabled by miniature sample design and Python based control codes for a full automation of testing and data processing. The rig is capable of testing 60 specimens per hour, much faster than conventional tensile testing. To luminate the merit of its use, an efficient process optimization workflow based on HTP testing is proposed and demonstrated on laser powder bed fusion …


High Strength We43 Microlattice Structures Additively Manufactured By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Holden Hyer, Le Zhou, Qingyang Liu, Dazhong Wu, Shutao Song, Yuanli Bai, Brandon Mcwilliams, Kyu Cho, Yongho Sohn May 2021

High Strength We43 Microlattice Structures Additively Manufactured By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Holden Hyer, Le Zhou, Qingyang Liu, Dazhong Wu, Shutao Song, Yuanli Bai, Brandon Mcwilliams, Kyu Cho, Yongho Sohn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

WE43 is a high strength, high creep resistant Mg-alloy containing Y, Nd, and Zr, and has potential for many lightweight structural applications in the automotive, aerospace, and biomedical industries. Additive manufacturing technology such as laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) brings an opportunity to produce complex geometries such as lattice structures. In this study, fabrication, compressive behavior, and fracture modes of 24 different microlattice structures were investigated by varying unit cell type, strut diameter, and number of unit cells. These complex lattice structures were produced by LPBF using the parameter set: laser power = 200 W, scan speed = 1100 mm/sec, …


Additive Manufacturing And Mechanical Properties Of The Dense And Crack Free Zr-Modified Aluminum Alloy 6061 Fabricated By The Laser-Powder Bed Fusion, Abhishek Mehta, Le Zhou, Thinh Huynh, Sharon Park, Holden Hyer, Shutao Song, Yunali Bai, D. Devin Imholte, Nicolas E. Woolstenhulme, Daniel M. Wachs, Yongho Sohn May 2021

Additive Manufacturing And Mechanical Properties Of The Dense And Crack Free Zr-Modified Aluminum Alloy 6061 Fabricated By The Laser-Powder Bed Fusion, Abhishek Mehta, Le Zhou, Thinh Huynh, Sharon Park, Holden Hyer, Shutao Song, Yunali Bai, D. Devin Imholte, Nicolas E. Woolstenhulme, Daniel M. Wachs, Yongho Sohn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

For additive manufacturing such as laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), commercial aluminum alloy (AA) 6061 is typically considered unsuitable due to formation of solidification cracking and/or excessive porosity. In this study, to improve buildability/printability of AA6061, 1 wt% of Zr was alloyed to produce Zr-modified AA6061 by LPBF. Powders of unmodified and Zr-modified AA6061 were produced by gas atomization, and utilized as a feed-stock for the LPBF to fabricate specimens for microstructural examination and mechanical testing. The as-built unmodified AA6061 exhibited poor printability due to formation of cracks and porosity in the microstructure regardless of LPBF parameters. However, the Zr-modified …


In Situ Tem Characterization Of Microstructure Evolution And Mechanical Behavior Of The 3d-Printed Inconel 718 Exposed To High Temperature, Supriya Koul, Le Zhou, Omar Ahmed, Yongho Sohn, Tengfei Jiang, Akihiro Kushima Apr 2021

In Situ Tem Characterization Of Microstructure Evolution And Mechanical Behavior Of The 3d-Printed Inconel 718 Exposed To High Temperature, Supriya Koul, Le Zhou, Omar Ahmed, Yongho Sohn, Tengfei Jiang, Akihiro Kushima

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This in situ transmission electron microscopy work presents a nanoscale characterization of the microstructural evolution in 3D-printed Inconel 718 (IN718) while exposed to elevated temperature and an associated change in the mechanical property under tensile loading. Here, we utilized a specially designed specimen shape that enables tensile testing of nano-sized thin films without off-plane deformations. Additionally, it allows a seamless transition from the in situ heating to tensile experiment using the same specimen, which enables a direct correlation of the microstructure and the mechanical property of the sample. The method was successfully used to observe the residual stress relaxation and …


Composition-Dependent Solidification Cracking Of Aluminum-Silicon Alloys During Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Holden Hyer, Le Zhou, Abhishek Mehta, Sharon Park, Thinh Huynh, Shutao Song, Yuanli Bai, Kyu Cho, Brandon Mcwilliams, Yongho Sohn Apr 2021

Composition-Dependent Solidification Cracking Of Aluminum-Silicon Alloys During Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Holden Hyer, Le Zhou, Abhishek Mehta, Sharon Park, Thinh Huynh, Shutao Song, Yuanli Bai, Kyu Cho, Brandon Mcwilliams, Yongho Sohn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Consistent manufacturing of volumetrically dense engineering components, free of solidification cracks by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), has been demonstrated for Al-Si alloys such as AlSi10Mg and Al12Si. The success in LPBF of these alloys is attributed to the near eutectic composition with a small freezing range. To illuminate this observation, cracking susceptibility was examined from Scheil-Gulliver solidification modeling by calculating the hot cracking susceptibility, |dT/dfS1/2|. To validate the findings from hot cracking susceptibility calculations, six binary Al-Si alloys, whose compositions were strategically chosen at hypo-, near-, and hyper-eutectic compositions, were gas atomized into alloy powders, and …


A Hybrid Droplet Vaporization-Adaptive Surrogate Model Using An Optimized Continuous Thermodynamics Distribution, Simcha L. Singer, Michael Hayes, Alanna Y. Cooney Mar 2021

A Hybrid Droplet Vaporization-Adaptive Surrogate Model Using An Optimized Continuous Thermodynamics Distribution, Simcha L. Singer, Michael Hayes, Alanna Y. Cooney

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Liquid transportation fuels are composed of hundreds of species, necessitating the use of surrogates in CFD simulations. Surrogates composed of a few species are often formulated to emulate the combustion properties targets (CPTs) of pre-vaporized fuels but fail to reproduce their vaporization behavior, implying that such surrogates cannot replicate the CPTs in the presence of preferential vaporization. The prevailing approach to this problem proposes a physical–chemical surrogate formulated to match the fuel’s distillation curve in addition to its CPTs. However, the physical–chemical surrogate approach requires more species, may not reproduce the instantaneous (distillation-resolved) CPTs, and is not well-suited to conditions …


Microstructural Development In As Built And Heat Treated In625 Component Additively Manufactured By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Holden Hyer, Ryan Newell, Dan Matejczyk, Sinsar Hsie, Mason Anthony, Le Zhou, Cathy Kammerer, Yongho Sohn Feb 2021

Microstructural Development In As Built And Heat Treated In625 Component Additively Manufactured By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Holden Hyer, Ryan Newell, Dan Matejczyk, Sinsar Hsie, Mason Anthony, Le Zhou, Cathy Kammerer, Yongho Sohn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The RL10 engine program is exploring the use of IN625 Ni-base superalloy components that are additively manufactured using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). IN625 alloy powders are commercially available for LPBF to produce dense, complex parts/components. In this study, IN625 components, with both simple and complex geometries with overhangs, were manufactured via LPBF, and subjected to a heat-treatment consisting of a stress relief, hot isostatic pressing (HIP), and a solution anneal. The microstructure was examined with optical, scanning electron, and transmission electron microscopy. Changes in phase constituents and microstructure were documented as a function of heat treatment and component geometry …


Effects Of Alloy Composition And Solid-State Diffusion Kinetics On Powder Bed Fusion Cracking Susceptibility, Holden Hyer, Le Zhou, Abhishek Mehta, Yongho Sohn Feb 2021

Effects Of Alloy Composition And Solid-State Diffusion Kinetics On Powder Bed Fusion Cracking Susceptibility, Holden Hyer, Le Zhou, Abhishek Mehta, Yongho Sohn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) has demonstrated its unique ability to produce customized, complex engineering components. However, processing of many commercial Al-alloys by LPBF remains challenging due to the formation of solidification cracking, although they are labelled castable or weldable. In order to elucidate this divergence, solidification cracking susceptibility from the steepness of the solidification curves, specifically |dT⁄dfs1⁄2|, as the fraction solidified nears 1 towards complete solidification, was calculated via Scheil–Gulliver model as a function of solute concentration in simple binary Al-Si, Al-Mg, and Al-Cu systems. Introduction of “diffusion in solid” into Scheil–Gulliver model resulted in a …


Addressing The Practical Limitations Of Volatile Organic Compound Sensors Through An Oscillator-Based Sensing Array, Allison K. Murray, Joseph R. Meseke, Nikhil Bajaj, Jeffrey F. Rhoads Jan 2021

Addressing The Practical Limitations Of Volatile Organic Compound Sensors Through An Oscillator-Based Sensing Array, Allison K. Murray, Joseph R. Meseke, Nikhil Bajaj, Jeffrey F. Rhoads

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This work demonstrated the development of an array of oscillator-based sensors for the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) was leveraged to monitor the oscillation frequency of 16 sensing elements in parallel. It was shown that three functional chemistries can be deposited via inkjet printing to detect several analytes selectively. These unique response characteristics allowed for the creation of a linear regression model that relates the shifts in oscillation frequencies to the concentration of specific analytes. This approach utilized a single array with sufficient elements to incorporate intentional redundancies. Ultimately, this work demonstrated a low-cost …


A New Line-By-Line Methodology Based On The Spectral Contributions Of The Bands, Felipe R. Coelho, Aline Ziemniczak, Somesh Roy, Francis H.R. França Jan 2021

A New Line-By-Line Methodology Based On The Spectral Contributions Of The Bands, Felipe R. Coelho, Aline Ziemniczak, Somesh Roy, Francis H.R. França

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This study presents a new methodology to solve thermal radiation in participating gases, the spectrally reduced integration (SRI), which employs a non-uniform spectral discretization to considerably reduce the computational cost of the line-by-line (LBL) solution while still maintaining good levels of accuracy. This non-uniform spectral mesh is generated from discretization schemes based on the spectral contributions of the bands, which apply less or more refined spectral resolution depending on the importance of the bands to the radiative transfer. Based on this methodology, several schemes were initially proposed and evaluated for a homogeneous H2O-CO2 mixture test case. Results …


Globally Optimal Passive Compliance Control For Tasks Having Multiple Homotopy Classes, Jacob J. Rice, Joseph M. Schimmels Dec 2020

Globally Optimal Passive Compliance Control For Tasks Having Multiple Homotopy Classes, Jacob J. Rice, Joseph M. Schimmels

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Redundant serial manipulators with variable stiffness actuators (VSAs) are capable of passive compliance control, in which the elastic behavior of the end-effector is controlled for robust interaction with a stiff environment. This paper addresses the problem of finding the globally optimal joint manipulation path (sequence of joint positions and compliances) that yields a desired task manipulation path (sequence of end-effector positions and compliances) when there is one degree of redundancy. The space of admissible joint paths can be very complex, with multiple bifurcations resulting in multiple homotopy classes of joint paths. Bifurcations due to singularities in the combined kinematic and …


Modifying The Surface Chemistry And Nanostructure Of Carbon Nanotubes Facilitates The Detection Of Aromatic Hydrocarbon Gases, John N. Hodul, Allison K. Murray, Nikhil F. Carneiro, Joseph R. Meseke, Jacob Morris, Xinping He, Dimitry Zemlyanov, George T.-C. Chiu, James E. Braun, Jeffrey F. Rhoads, Bryan W. Boudouris Oct 2020

Modifying The Surface Chemistry And Nanostructure Of Carbon Nanotubes Facilitates The Detection Of Aromatic Hydrocarbon Gases, John N. Hodul, Allison K. Murray, Nikhil F. Carneiro, Joseph R. Meseke, Jacob Morris, Xinping He, Dimitry Zemlyanov, George T.-C. Chiu, James E. Braun, Jeffrey F. Rhoads, Bryan W. Boudouris

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) compounds currently utilized in many building materials and paints have been linked to deleterious health effects, and thus, monitoring the presence of these compounds is of increasing importance with respect to public health. As such, there is a critical need for next-generation low-cost, selective, and sensitive indoor BTX sensors. Current BTX detection systems require multicomponent, complex devices or require high power input to achieve BTX detection at meaningful concentrations, but this long-standing paradigm can be altered through the introduction of tailored nanomaterials. Specifically, we demonstrate a selective BTX resonant mass sensor platform that leverages …


Anomalous Growth Of Al8Mo3 Phase During Interdiffusion And Reaction Between Al And Mo, Abhishek Mehta, Le Zhou, Dennis D. Keiser Jr., Yongho Sohn Oct 2020

Anomalous Growth Of Al8Mo3 Phase During Interdiffusion And Reaction Between Al And Mo, Abhishek Mehta, Le Zhou, Dennis D. Keiser Jr., Yongho Sohn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.


Understanding The Laser Powder Bed Fusion Of Alsi10mg Alloy, Holden Hyer, Le Zhou, Sharon Park, Guilherme Gottsfritz, George Benson, Bjorn Tolentino, Brandon Mcwilliams, Kyu Cho, Yongho Sohn Aug 2020

Understanding The Laser Powder Bed Fusion Of Alsi10mg Alloy, Holden Hyer, Le Zhou, Sharon Park, Guilherme Gottsfritz, George Benson, Bjorn Tolentino, Brandon Mcwilliams, Kyu Cho, Yongho Sohn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

We examine the microstructural characteristics of LPBF AlSi10Mg produced by using a wide range of LPBF processing parameters with independently varied laser power, hatch spacing, scan speed, slice thickness, and the normalized energy density. The lower energy density produced lack of fusion flaws from residual interparticle spacing, while the higher energy density produced spherical pores from trapped gas. The highest density (> 99%) samples were produced by using an energy density of 32 to 54 J/mm3. Within this energy density range, use of smaller slice thicknesses increased the processing window that would produce dense AlSi10Mg samples. A cellular …


Multi-Homotopy Class Optimal Path Planning For Manipulation With One Degree Of Redundancy, Jacob J. Rice, Joseph M. Schimmels Jul 2020

Multi-Homotopy Class Optimal Path Planning For Manipulation With One Degree Of Redundancy, Jacob J. Rice, Joseph M. Schimmels

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Redundant manipulators have an infinitely large set of joint paths that yield a desired end-effector path in the task space. A unique joint path can be obtained by minimizing a global cost function. Prior optimal control methods minimize a global cost function to find a local minimum within a homotopy class. Many possible locally optimal joint paths are in different homotopy classes. This paper presents an algorithm that effectively searches the solution space and finds many locally optimal paths in all relevant homotopy classes. The path with the lowest cost is very likely the globally optimal path. The algorithm is …


Mechanical Analysis And Modeling Of Porous Thermal Barrier Coatings, Shiyu Cui, Wenping Liang, Luis Saucedo Mora, Qiang Miao, Joseph P. Domblesky, Hao Lin, Lijia Yu May 2020

Mechanical Analysis And Modeling Of Porous Thermal Barrier Coatings, Shiyu Cui, Wenping Liang, Luis Saucedo Mora, Qiang Miao, Joseph P. Domblesky, Hao Lin, Lijia Yu

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are applied to the surface of components that are used in gas turbines and aircraft engines in order to increase the heat load. In this study, the cross-sectional microstructures of TBCs were investigated via scanning electron microscopy. After calculating the porosity and the pore size distribution, a two-dimensional finite element model with four different porosities (0, 1, 3, and 5%) were established. A stochastic method was used to generate a randomly distributed porous structure. Based on the results of FE analysis and nanoindentation tests, It was found that, at a high porosity (>3%), radial cracks …


Additive Manufacturing Of Dense We43 Mg Alloy By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Holden Hyer, Le Zhou, George Benson, Brandon Mcwilliams, Kyu Cho, Yongho Sohn May 2020

Additive Manufacturing Of Dense We43 Mg Alloy By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Holden Hyer, Le Zhou, George Benson, Brandon Mcwilliams, Kyu Cho, Yongho Sohn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

WE43 is a high-strength, corrosion-resistant Mg-alloy containing rare earths such as Y and Nb, and has potential for many lightweight structural or bioresorbable prosthetic applications. In this study, additive manufacturing of dense WE43 alloy by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) from gas atomized powders has been accomplished through studies involving single track scan of wrought WE43, parametric variation of LPBF, microstructural analysis and mechanical testing, both in compression and tension. The Archimedes method and image analyses from optical micrographs were employed to document the LPBF of dense (>99 % relative density) WE43 using optimum parameters of 200 W laser …


Detailed Modeling Of A Small-Scale Turbulent Pool Fire, Bifen Wu, Somesh Roy, Xinyu Zhao Apr 2020

Detailed Modeling Of A Small-Scale Turbulent Pool Fire, Bifen Wu, Somesh Roy, Xinyu Zhao

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Turbulent pool fires have been studied as a canonical configuration in fire science with wide interest. A numerical study of a small-scale turbulent heptane pool fire is conducted in the present study to understand the interactions and coupling among turbulence, chemistry, soot, and radiation in pool fires. A Monte Carlo ray tracing based radiation solver, with line-by-line spectral models for five gaseous species and soot, is coupled with a fireFOAM-based reacting flow solver to describe the dynamics of the target fire. A 33-species skeletal mechanism is employed to describe the finite-rate chemistry. A two-equation soot model with C2H …