Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Exploring Energy, Comfort, And Building Health Impacts Of Deep Setback And Normal Occupancy Smart Thermostat Implementation, Zachary Ethan Alderman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As smart thermostat adoption rates continue to increase, it becomes worthwhile to explore what unanticipated outcomes may result in their use. Specific attention was paid to smart thermostat impacts to deep setback and normal occupancy states in a variety of conditions while complying with the ventilation and temperature requirements of ASHRAE 90.2-2013. Custom weather models and occupancy schedules were generated to efficiently explore a combination of weather conditions, building constructions, and occupancy states. The custom modeling approach was combined with previous experimental data within the Openstudio graphics interface to the EnergyPlus building modeling engine. Results indicate smart thermostats add the …

3d Printed Pcu/Uhmwpe Polymeric Blends For Artificial Knee Meniscus, Raissa Araujo Borges

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

3D printing was used to fabricate porous artificial knee meniscus material from biocompatible polymeric blends of polycarbonate-urethane (PCU) and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) to enable “weep” lubrication that mimics the native meniscus. 3D printed and molded pure PCU, as well as molded PCU and UHMWPE, were used for comparison. Preliminary printing was done to evaluate the impact of process parameters on the results. The samples were subject to a variety of rotational oscillating friction and wear tests under simulated body fluid and loading conditions to replicate the natural motion of the knee. Results show that 3D printed PCU samples yielded a …

Developing Methods Of Obtaining Quality Failure Information From Complex Systems, Oladapo Olalekan Bello

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The complexity in most engineering systems is constantly growing due to ever-increasing technological advancements. This result in a corresponding need for methods that adequately account for the reliability of such systems based on failure information from components that make up these systems.

This dissertation presents an approach to validating qualitative function failure results from model abstraction details. The impact of the level of detail available to a system designer during conceptual stages of design is considered for failure space exploration in a complex system. Specifically, the study develops an efficient approach towards detailed function and behavior modeling required for complex …