Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Computer-Aided Process Planning (Capp) Sorich, Sohail Pirzada

Theses

The last two decades have witnessed the increasing role of the computer in the process planning function. This has been further enhanced by the advent of the knowledge based expert system, and its impact on Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP). CAPP has emerged as a strategic link between design and manufacture. This thesis discusses the various methods used in the process planning function. Group Technology (GT) plays a pivotal role in establishing CAPP. The utilization of Artificial Intelligence techniques in CAPP is listed. This study also presents an Interactive Software adaptive to product/part configuration variables.

Redesign Of Parts And Simulation Of Flexible Assembly Cell For Safety Water Shower Assembly, Balraj Y. Gardilla

Theses

A Design for Assembly (DSA) method is used to analyze the safety water shower assembly and to redesign the components with emphasis on meeting the criteria of allowing for flexible Assembly Cell (FAS). An Expert System is developed to select the right Assembly using VP-Expert. This thesis contrasts the old and new safety water shower assembly designs and describes the design of a final Flexible Assembly Cell. A PUMA 550 robot was investigated for use in the cell design. The flexible Assembly cell is simulated on silicon graphics using the IGRIP software. The economics of each part presentation method is …

An Experimental And Analytical Investigation On The Production Of Microfibers Using A Single Hole Melt Blowing Process, Bryan David Haynes

Doctoral Dissertations

An extensive experimental investigation was undertaken to study the influence of the processing variables on the production of microfibers using a single hole melt blowing process. included: The processing variables that were investigated air jet exit velocity, polymer throughput, die air gap, die setback, polymer and air temperatures, polymer melt viscosity as expressed by ASTM Melt Flow Rate (MFR), and collection distance. Polypropylene was used for the investigation. In addition to the experimental investigation, a one dimensional single hole melt blowing analytical model was developed.

The air jet exit velocity and polymer throughput had the most influence on the average …

Development Of An Advisory System For Indoor Radon Mitigation, Patricia Hiromi Byrne

Dissertations and Theses

A prototype hybrid knowledge-based advisory system for indoor radon mitigation has been developed to assist Pacific Northwest mitigators in the selection and design of mitigation systems for existing homes. The advisory system employs a heuristic inferencing strategy to determine which mitigation techniques are applicable, and applies procedural methods to perform the fan selection and cost estimation for particular techniques. The rule base has been developed employing knowledge in existing publications on radon mitigation. Additional knowledge has been provided by field experts. The benefits of such an advisory system include uniform record-keeping and consistent computations for the user, and verification of …

Finite Element Frequency Domain Solution Of Nonlinear Panel Flutter With Temperature Effects And Fatigue Life Analysis, David Yongxiang Xue

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A frequency domain solution method for nonlinear panel flutter with thermal effects using a consistent finite element formulation has been developed. The von Karman nonlinear strain-displacement relation is used to account for large deflections, the quasi-steady first-order piston theory is employed for aerodynamic loading and the quasi-steady thermal stress theory is applied for the thermal stresses with a given change of the temperature distribution, ΔΤ (x, y, z). The equation of motion under a combined thermal-aerodynamic loading can be mathematically separated into two equations and then solved in sequence: (1) thermal-aerodynamic postbuckling and (2) limit-cycle oscillation. The Newton-Raphson iteration technique …

Computer Aided Process Planning System For Generating Alternative Process Plans, Rao T. Gali

Masters Theses

Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) has a key role in Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) as an interface between design and manufacturing. Current CAPP systems treat process planning as a static function, and always generate the same machine and process combinations. Thus, these CAPP systems are inadequate for advanced manufacturing facilities such as Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS). This thesis presents research conducted for the design and development of a CAPP system called Alternative Computer Aided Process Planning (A-CAPP) which generates alternative process plans by interacting with production planning and machine loading functions to satisfy system capacity constraints.

A-CAPP is a variant …

Integrated System Identification And Adaptive State Estimation For Control Of Flexible Space Structures, Chung-Wen Chen

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Accurate state information is crucial for control of flexible space structures in which the state feedback strategy is used. The performance of a state estimator relies on accurate knowledge about both the system and its disturbances, which are represented by system model and noise covariances respectively. For flexible space structures, due to their great flexibility, obtaining good models from ground testing is not possible. In addition, the characteristics of the systems in operation may vary due to temperature gradient, reorientation, and deterioration of material, etc. Moreover, the disturbances during operation are usually not known. Therefore, adaptive methods for system identification …

On Shock Capturing For Liquid And Gas Media, Tze Jang Chen

Mathematics & Statistics Theses & Dissertations

The numerical investigation of shock phenomena in gas or liquid media where a specifying relation for internal energy is absent poses special problems. Classically, for gas dynamics the usual procedure is to employ a splitting scheme to remove the source terms from the Euler equations, then up-wind biased shock capturing algorithms are built around the Riemann problem for the system which remains. However, in the case where the Euler equations are formulated in the term of total enthalpy, a technical difficulty associated with equation splitting forces a pressure time derivative to be treated as a source term. This makes it …

Investigation Of Stagnation Flow Heat Transfer For A Heated Horizontal Round Plate, Ching-Hua Wei

Dissertations

The heat transfer characteristics in stagnation flow are investigated through three cases in this study. The first is forced convection by an array of air jets; the second is free convection of a downward-facing heated round plate; the third is free convection of an upward-facing heated round plate.

The first case is investigated by systematic experiments which examine the heat transfer characteristics mainly by five air jets impinging normally to a flat plate, with varying nozzle diameters, and Reynolds numbers, at different distances between the nozzles and the plate. The empirical formulas of heat transfer around the stagnation point and …

Development Of A Classification And Coding System For Computer-Aided Process Planning, Shilpan K. Patel

Theses

The chore of this work was to develop a Group Technology Classification Code which can represent the full gamut of simple, rotational parts. The automated coding plan is developed to alleviate the endeavor of the process planner to plan the tasks related to the manufacturing of a specific part. The 15 digits were devised from the Japanese KK-3 Classification and Coding system. The KK-3 System contains 21 digits. Our aim is to minimize the code length, and concurrently to eliminate the redundancies. As a result, a 15 digit G.T. Code is created. The proposed plan also generates the operation logic …

Petri Net Modeling And Analysis Of An Fms Cell, Paresh A. Patel

Theses

Petri nets have evolved into a powerful tool for the modeling, analysis and design of asynchronous, concurrent systems. This thesis presents the modeling and analysis of a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) cell using Petri nets. In order to improve the productivity of such systems, the building of mathematical models is a crucial step.

In this thesis, the theory and application of Petri nets are presented with emphasis on their application to the modeling and analysis of practical automated manufacturing systems. The theory of Petri nets includes their basic notation and properties. In order to illustrate how a Petri net with …

Off-Line Programming Using Igrip, Narahari K. Bhandary

Theses

AT&T's FWS-200 (Flexible Work Station) has been modeled and simulated to implement Off-Line Programming (OLP). IGRIP (Interactive Graphics Robot Instruction Program) from Deneb Robotics, Inc. has been used to simulate the FWS operation.

A GSL(Graphics Simulation Language) program has been used to simulate the chip placements during PCB assembly. The program leads the user through the motions of chip placement, and after the simulation run downloads the motion sequence to the FWS. The animation sequences of the FWS have been downloaded to the FWS on the Factory Floor using a C program, which is utilized to communicate the data to …

Effect Of Shrinkage On The Design And Manufacture Of Plastic Parts In Injection Molding Using Cad/Cam Techniques, Deepak M. Shastri

Theses

Computer aided design software in injection molding has revolutionized injection molding in the design and manufacturing processes. Computer Aided Engineering can be applied to injection molding to increase the process efficiency, reduce part costs, and produce accurate parts in less time. The mold designer has many software programs to choose from to produce satisfactory mold designs from part geometries, and a correct selection can produce profitable results. A study of the need for and the scope of computers in injection molding is performed to evaluate the suitability of a CAE package by considering the value added to the parts using …

Size Reduction Of Polymeric Particulates By Jet Milling, Cheng Hua

Theses

A basic theory for the size reduction operation by jet milling has been developed.

Typical samples of feedstock have been analyzed using screen analysis to determine the initial distribution of polymeric particulate sizes prior to jet milling.

A statistical theory .was developed using probabilities to represent the likelihood that specific size reductions would occur. These probabilities include the effects of various equipment.

The theory was then used to predict the distribution of polymeric particulate sizes after jet milling. The agreement between the predictions and actual results was within 5 %.

Encouraged by the successful work of the simulation of the …

Design For Manufacturability : Re-Design Of Pencil Sharpener For The Ease Of Assembly, Amit R. Rathod

Theses

A Design For Manufacturability (DFM) approach is used to analyze the existing design of a pencil sharpener, and to reduce and re-design the parts of pencil sharpener for the ease of assembly. The procedure for the selection of a suitable and economical assembly method is based on the Boothroyd and Dewhurst methods. Analysis of the initial design for manual assembly and re-design for automatic as well as manual assembly is presented. An algorithmic approach for simplified generation of all mechanical assembly sequences and selection of the assembly sequences is presented using De Fazio and Whitney approach.

Analysis Of The Influence Of Natural Wear And Tear In Gates And Runners On The Filling Of A Balanced Multi-Cavity Injection Mold, Ranga Reddy V. Adavelly

Theses

Design of injection molds is outmost important in the manufacture of parts. Its components runners and gates significantly influence the mold filling. Using a simulation package for injection molding a balanced multi-cavity mold was designed. Wear in the gates of runner was simulated by varying the cross-sectional area of the components. Influence of wear of tear in gates of runners on mold filling was measured in terms of flow rate of time of fill. Detailed analysis is done on four different models using four different materials Polycarbonate, Polypropylene, Nylon6 and Polybutylene terephthalate. Graphical display of result is presented and analyzed …

Development Of An Adaptive Fuzzy Shell Clustering Algorithm And Validity Measures, Kurra Bhaswan

Theses

In objective functional based fuzzy clustering algorithms the weighted sum of the distances of the feature vectors from cluster prototype are minimized. The fuzzy memberships are utilized as weighing factors. The cluster prototype can be a point or a line or a plane, etc. This work extends the recent concept of using curved prototypes by utilizing the Adaptive Norm Theorem proposed by Dave¹ to develop an algorithm for the detection of fuzzy hyper-ellipsoidal shell prototypes. The Objective functional associates a norm for each cluster in which to measure the proximity of the shell prototype adaptively. The resulting implementation necessitates …

Dynamic Analysis Of The Generalized Slider Crank, Sahidur Rahman

Theses

A numerical technique is used to analyze the kinematics of the generalized slider crank mechanism and an analytical technique to derive dynamic force equations for that mechanism has been formulated. The numerical technique used for displacement analysis is based on a combination of Newton-Raphson and Davidon-Fletcher-Powell optimization algorithm using dual-number coordinate-transformation matrices. Velocity analysis is performed by using a dual number method. Finally, dynamic force analysis is accomplished on the basis of the dual-Euler equation and D'Alembert's principle. The approach is developed in such a manner that a digital computer can detect when a solution is possible and then solve …

Design For Assembly : Re-Design Of An Electrical Switch For The Ease Of Automatic Assembly, Achyuta Reddy Pannala

Theses

A design for assembly (DFA) method is used to analyze the existing design of parts of an electrical switch, and to reduce and re-design them, for the ease of automatic assembly. The procedure for the selection of suitable and economical assembly method is presented based on the Boothroyd & Dewhurst methods. Analysis of the initial design for manual assembly and the re-design for automatic assembly are presented. An algorithmic approach for simplified generation of all mechanical assembly sequences and selecting the good assembly sequences is presented with graphical representations. A work station needed for the automatic assembly is developed, which …

Implementation Of Automated Assembly, Kang H. Kong

Theses

Research has shown that about 60 - 80% wealth producing activities is related to manufacturing in major industrial countries.

Increased competition in industry has resulted in a greater emphasis on using automation to improve productivity and quality and also to reduce cost.

Most of the manufacturing works such as machining, painting, storage, retrieval, inspection and transportation have changed to automation successfully, except assembly. Manual assembly is predominant over automatic assembly techniques due to inherent assembly problem and the fact that the assembly machines lack the innate intelligence of human operator and lack sufficient flexibility to changeover when product designs and …

Design For Manufacturability, Kocherlakota Sreedhar

Theses

Design for Manufacturability represents a new awareness of the importance of design as the first manufacturing step. It recognizes that a company cannot meet all its objectives with isolated design and manufacturing operations. The Design for Manufacturability approach embodies certain underlying imperatives that help maintain communication between all components of the Manufacturing and Design system and permit flexibility to adopt and to modify design during each stage of the product realization. Design for Manufacturability cannot be bought or sold and it should be implemented by management. Complete support of management to the implementation is very important to the success of …

Prediction And Control Of Asymmetric Vortical Flows Around Slender Bodies Using Navier-Stokes Equations, Tin-Chee Wong

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Steady and unsteady vortex-dominated flows around slender bodies at high angles of attack are solved using the unsteady, compressible Navier-Stokes equations. An implicit upwind, finite-volume scheme is used for the numerical computations.

For supersonic flows past pointed bodies, the locally-conical flow assumption has been used. Asymmetric flows past five-degree semiapex cones using the thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations at different angles of attack, freestream Mach numbers, Reynolds numbers, grid fineness, computational domain size, sources of disturbances and cross-section shapes have been studied. The onset of flow asymmetry occurs when the relative incidence of pointed forebodies exceeds certain critical values. At these critical …

Large-Amplitude Finite Element Flutter Analysis Of Composite Panels In Hypersonic Flow, Carl E. Gray Jr.

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A finite-element approach is presented for determining the nonlinear flutter characteristics of two-dimensional isotropic and three-dimensional composite laminated thin panels using the third-order-piston, transverse loading, aerodynamic theory. The unsteady, hypersonic, aerodynamic theory and the von Karman large deflection plate theory are used to formulate the aeroelastic problem. Nonlinear flutter analyses are performed to assess the influence of the higher-order aerodynamic theory on the structure's limit-cycle amplitude and the dynamic pressure of the flow velocity. A solution procedure is presented to solve the nonlinear panel flutter and large-amplitude free vibration finite element equations. This procedure is a linearized updated mode with …

Two-Dimensional Heat Loss From A Building Slab Including Convective Effects In Saturated Soil, William W. Rust Iii

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The heat loss from a building slab was investigated. The continuity equation, Darcy's Law and the energy equation were formulated to include the temperature dependence of viscosity and density of water. The governing equations and appropriate boundary conditions were transformed into dimensionless variables. A finite difference numerical scheme was constructed based on the Gauss-Seidel method by lines and solved iteratively in alternating directions. A correlation between the geometrical characteristics of the domain, the convective surface heating parameters, and the total nondimensional slab heat loss in two dimensions was discovered. Furthermore, the correlation was extended to three-dimensional slabs and produced good …

Kinematic Synthesis Of Deployable-Foldable Truss Structures Using Graph Theory, Dirk B. Warnaar

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A graph theoretic approach is applied to the conceptual design of deployable truss structures. The characteristics that relate to the inter-connectivity of the elements of a deployable truss structure can be captured in a schematic representation, called a graph. A procedure is presented that enables the exhaustive generation of these graphs for structures of any given number of nodes and links and which are foldable onto a plane or onto a line.

A special type of truss structures, called truss modules, is presented. Graphs of this class of structures form a subset of the graphs of truss structures. Two procedures …

On Local Stresses And Spring Constants Of A Sphere-Nozzle Connection, Ban-Li Lyow

Dissertations

This dissertation studies the local stresses and spring constants of a spherical shell with a nozzle attachment when it is under various loadings, namely radial force, overturning moment, horizontal shear force, and torsional moment. Because of the mathematical difficulty in modeling the nozzle-sphere configuration, particularly with nozzle opening, the finite element method (ANSYS package) is utilized in this study. The model used in this study is a quadrilateral thin shell element model when the γ_s (spherical radius/thickness) value is larger than 10. Otherwise the isoparametric solid element is used. The resulting stresses are basically biaxial state of stresses. It …

Toward The Optimization Of Cell Operator Productivity In Computer Integrated Manufacturing, David Leonard Gobeski

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) has been seen as the answer to maintaining the lead in American productivity. The cell operator was seen as being critical to the success of CIM. The design of the operator's job was seen as very important. As manufacturing engineers design cell jobs, including the roles and tasks, with the operators, it was believed important for the engineer to know what motivated the cell operator. However, past studies of supervisors and their subordinates have shown that supervisors are unable to predict the importance of the elements of job enrichment of the subordinates. It was questioned whether …

Numerical Modeling Of Flame Lift-Off Phenomenon And Calculation Of Thermal Loads On A Methane Fuel Injector With Complex Geometry, Taj O. Mohieldin

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A numerical study has been conducted to analyze a fuel injector with three in-line cylinder geometry that has been adopted as a model for investigating the combustion phenomenon in the 8-Foot High Temperature Tunnel (HTT) combustor at the NASA Langley Research Center. The primary objective here is to analyze the flame lift-off phenomenon in the three cylinder fuel injector geometry in two-dimensions. The fluid mechanics model used in the analysis includes time-averaged Navier-Stokes equations that are employed in conjunction with a two-equation k-$\epsilon$ model for predicting the effects of turbulence. Calculations were performed with three chemistry models, namely fast chemistry, …

Micromechanics Of Granular Materials And Its Relation To Wave Velocity, Tarun K. Agarwal

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The macro characters of the granular materials depend upon micromechanical parameters such as the void ratio, particle shape, contact force distribution, and initial state of the fabric of the assembly. Since it is difficult to evaluate these internal parameters from laboratory experiments, a macro measure is desired which depends directly on these internal parameters. One such measure has been shown to be dynamic shear modulus but it was incomplete in predicting directional changes in the internal parameters. Therefore, it is hypothesized here that the complete elastic moduli matrix will have more direct information about the internal parameters, especially the dynamic …