Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

An Object-Oriented Approach For Modeling And Simulation Of Crack Growth In Cyclically Loaded Structures, D. Cojocaru, Anette M. Karlsson

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

We present an object-oriented modeling frame for simulating crack propagation due to cyclic loadings. Central to the approach is that the crack propagates when a user-defined propagation criterion is fulfilled, i.e., the crack propagation rate is not prescribed but predicted. The approach utilizes the commercial finite element software package ABAQUS and its associated Python based scripting interface. The crack propagation is simulated by a generalized node release technique. If the propagation criteria are satisfied in the end of a cycle, the crack is allowed to propagate. The incremental crack growth is inferred from an iterative investigation of the propagation criteria. …

Micromechanics Model Based On The Nanostructure Of Pfsa Membranes, Ahmet Kusoglu, Michael H. Santare, Anette M. Karlsson, William B. Johnson, Simon Cleghorn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

A micromechanics model is developed to predict Young’s modulus of perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes at various temperatures and water contents. The morphology of PFSA membranes is characterized by a two-phase structure, where hydrophilic clusters expand to hold water molecules during swelling, whereas the hydrophobic polymer network maintains the structural stability. A representative volume element (RVE) is proposed based on the descriptions for the nanostructure of PFSA membranes available in the literature. On the basis of mechanics model, we estimate Young’s modulus in tension of PFSA membranes as a function of water volume fraction for various temperatures. The results show that …

Image Analyses Of Two Crustacean Exoskeletons And Implications Of The Exoskeletal Microstructure On The Mechanical Behavior, Liang Cheng, Liyun Wang, Anette M. Karlsson

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The microstructures of exoskeletons from Homarus americanus (American lobster) and Callinectes sapidus (Atlantic blue crab) were investigated to elucidate the mechanical behavior of such biological composites. Image analyses of the cross-sectioned exoskeletons showed that the two species each have three well-defined regions across the cuticle thickness where the two innermost regions (exocuticle and endocuticle) are load bearing. These regions consist of mineralized chitin fibers aligned in layers, where a gradual rotation of the fiber orientation of the layers results in repeating stacks. The exocuticle and endocuticle of the two species have similar morphology, but different thicknesses, number of layers, and …

Closure To “Discussion: ‘On The Reference Length And Mode Mixity For A Bimaterial Interface’ ” (2008, Asme J. Eng. Mater. Technol., 130, P. 045501), Anette M. Karlsson

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

On Cracks And Delaminations Of Thermal Barrier Coatings Due To Indentation Testing: Experimental Investigations, Jin Yan, Thorsten Leist, Marion Bartsch, Anette M. Karlsson

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Rockwell indentation testing as a method of establishing the interfacial fracture toughness of thermal barrier coatings is investigated. To this end, indentation tests have been systematically performed on coatings with yttria-stabilized zirconia top coat deposited by electron beam physical vapor deposition. Specimens in “as-coated” condition and after heat treatment in air have been studied. Unexpectedly, indentation of the heat-treated samples resulted in smaller delaminations than the as-coated samples, suggesting an increase in fracture toughness for coatings subjected to elevated temperatures. Careful image analyses of the cross-section of the indented area show that the ceramic top coat undergoes a complex damage …

Investigating Isolated Neuromuscular Control Contributions To Non-Contact Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Risk Via Computer Simulation Methods, Scott G. Mclean, Xuemei Huang, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Background

Despite the ongoing evolution of anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention methods, injury rates and the associated sex-disparity remain. Strategies capable of successfully countering key control parameters existent within the injury mechanism thus remain elusive. Forward dynamics model simulations afford an expedited means to study realistic injury causing scenarios, while controlling all facets of the movement control strategy. Utilizing these methods, the current study examined the potential for perturbations in key initial contact neuromuscular parameters to injure the anterior cruciate ligament during the stance phase of sidestep cutting maneuvers.

Methods

Controlled experiments were performed on optimized and validated subject-specific forward …

A Weighted Least-Squares Method For Inverse Dynamic Analysis, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert, Anne Su

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Internal forces in the human body can be estimated from measured movements and external forces using inverse dynamic analysis. Here we present a general method of analysis which makes optimal use of all available data, and allows the use of inverse dynamic analysis in cases where external force data is incomplete. The method was evaluated for the analysis of running on a partially instrumented treadmill. It was found that results correlate well with those of a conventional analysis where all external forces are known.

Mechanical Properties Of A Reinforced Composite Polymer Electrolyte Membrane And Its Simulated Performance In Pem Fuel Cells, Yaliang Tang, Ahmet Kusoglu, Anette M. Karlsson, Michael H. Santare, Simon Cleghorn, William B. Johnson

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The hygro-thermo-mechanical properties and response of a class of reinforced perfluorosulfonic acid membranes (PFSA), that has potential application as an electrolyte in polymer fuel cells, are investigated through both experimental and numerical modeling means. A critical set of material properties, including Young’s modulus, proportional limit stress, break stress and break strain, is determined for a range of temperature and humidity levels in a custom-built environmental test apparatus. The swelling strains are also determined as functions of temperature and humidity level. To elucidate the mechanical response and the potential effect these properties have on the mechanical durability, mechanics-based simulations are performed …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Zno Nanowire Arrays With An Investigation Into Electrochemical Sensing Capabilities, Jessica Weber, Sathyaharish Jeedigunta, Ashok Kumar

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

ZnO nanowire arrays were grown on a Si (100) substrate using the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) method. ZnO nanowires were characterized by XRD, SEM, bright field TEM, and EDS. They were found to have a preferential orientation along the -axis. The as-prepared sample was functionalized with glucose oxidase by physical adsorption. FTIR was taken before and after functionalization to verify the presence of the attached enzyme. Electrochemical measurements were performed on the nanowire array by differential pulse voltammetry in the range of -0.6 to 0.4 V. The nanoarray sensor displayed high sensitivity to glucose in the range of 1.0 x 10^{-4 …}

Multiplexed Predictive Control Of A Large Commercial Turbofan Engine, Hanz Richter, Anil V. Singaraju, Jonathan S. Litt

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Model predictive control is a strategy well-suited to handle the highly complex, nonlinear, uncertain, and constrained dynamics involved in aircraft engine control problems. However, it has thus far been infeasible to implement model predictive control in engine control applications, because of the combination of model complexity and the time allotted for the control update calculation. In this paper, a multiplexed implementation is proposed that dramatically reduces the computational burden of the quadratic programming optimization that must be solved online as part of the model-predictive-control algorithm. Actuator updates are calculated sequentially and cyclically in a multiplexed implementation, as opposed to the …

Helical Axes Of Skeletal Knee Joint Motion During Running, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert, C. Reinschmidt, A. Lundberg

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to determine the changes in the axis of rotation of the knee that occur during the stance phase of running. Using intracortical pins, the three-dimensional skeletal kinematics of three subjects were measured during the stance phase of five running trials. The stance phase was divided into equal motion increments for which the position and orientation of the finite helical axes (FHA) were calculated relative to a tibial reference frame. Results were consistent within and between subjects. At the beginning of stance, the FHA was located at the midepicondylar point and during the flexion phase …

Creating A Reinforcement Learning Controller For Functional Electrical Stimulation Of A Human Arm, Philip S. Thomas, Michael Branicky, Antonie Van Den Bogert, Kathleen Jagodnik

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Clinical tests have shown that the dynamics of a human arm, controlled using Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES), can vary significantly between and during trials. In this paper, we study the application of Reinforcement Learning to create a controller that can adapt to these
changing dynamics of a human arm. Development and tests were done in simulation using a two-dimensional arm model and Hill-based muscle dynamics. An actor-critic architecture is used with artificial neural networks for both the actor and the critic. We begin by training it using a Proportional Derivative (PD) controller as a supervisor. We then make clinically relevant …