Manufacturing Commons^™

Laser Assisted Direct Writing Of Liquid Metal For Microprinting Applications, Olga Vargas Cruz

Theses and Dissertations

This paper presents a research study for potential printing of a Liquid Metal (LM) Eutectic Gallium Indium alloy (EGaIn) through the applications of the innovative additive manufacturing technology LIFT (Laser Induced Forward Transfer). LIFT is a precise printing technology that allows to create small, detailed printing. The liquid metal in study, EGaIn, has demonstrated great potential for microelectronics applications due to its minimum toxicity and high conductivity. Throughout this research different printing parameters are studied to comprehend the behavior of EGaIn printing with LIFT technique, these include laser energy, laser pulse, receiver material substrate, donor layer thickness, and …

Numerical Study Of Solar Receiver Tube With Modified Surface Roughness For Enhanced And Selective Absorptivity In Concentrated Solar Power Tower, Shawn Hatcher, Mathew Z. Farias, Jianzhi Li, Peiwen Li, Ben Xu

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Concentrated solar power (CSP) is a reliable renewable energy source that is progressively lowering its cost of energy. However, the heat loss due to reflected and emitted radiation hinders the maximum achievable thermal efficiency for solar receiver tubes on the solar tower. Current solar selective coatings cannot withstand the high temperatures that come with state-of-the-art CSP towers often needing to be recoated soon after initial operation. We intend to use Inconel 718 with different additive manufacturing (AM) practices to construct surfaces that allow for more light-trapping to occur. By adjusting printing parameters, we can tailor a surface to allow for …

Effects Of Machining Parameters Of C45 Steel Applying Vegetable Lubricant With Minimum Quantity Cooling Lubrication (Mqcl), Mayur A. Makhesana, Prashant J. Bagga, Kaushik M. Patel, Jaime Taha-Tijerina

Informatics and Engineering Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

One of the most significant performance indicators for measuring the machinability of materials is tool wear and surface roughness. Choosing the best combination of cutting parameters can help reduce production costs, which is what the manufacturing industry is interested in. At the same time, industries are always looking for an alternative to conventional flood cooling since its use creates an environmental burden and health concerns for the operators. Therefore, vegetable oil-based minimum quantity cooling lubrication (MQCL) is considered a cutting environment. Sunflower oil is utilized as base fluid in MQCL and applied to the cutting zone through a nozzle. The …

Developing Control System For Manufacturing Processes, Md Shahriar Forhad

Theses and Dissertations

Process control has been a critical component in today's manufacturing industry. Industrialists nowadays want reliable control to assure precision manufacturing. Modern control systems must be more dynamic, so that any needed modifications may be made quickly to accomplish the desired product change. For innovative research and development, system customization is critical to ensure freedom for experimental works. In addition, full control of manufacturing systems is necessary to realize and implement Industry 4.0. Often, it is difficult to achieve such control due to limited access to proprietary equipment. To this end, this thesis focuses on developing a custom control platform for …

Laser-Induced Forward Transfer (Lift) Based Bioprinting Of The Collagen I With Retina Photoreceptor Cells, Md Shakil Arman, Ben Xu, Andrew Tsin, Jianzhi Li

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study focuses on the 3D bioprinting of retina photoreceptor cells using a laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) based bioprinting system. Bioprinting has a great potential to mimic and regenerate the human organoid system, and the LIFT technique has emerged as an efficient method for high-resolution micropatterning and microfabrication of biomaterials and cells due to its capability of creating precise, controlled microdroplets. In this study, the parameters for an effective femtosecond laser-based LIFT process for 3D bioprinting of collagen biomaterial were studied. Different concentrations of collagen I solutions were tested and 0.75 mg/ml to 1 mg/ml collagen Ⅰ was identified as …

Estudio Termoquímico Asistido Por Computadora De Los Polifenoles Presentes En La Fresa [Thermochemical Computer Assisted Study Of Polyphenols Presented In Strawberry], Federico Lopez, Jeimmy Rocio Bonilla Méndez, Luis Ricárdez Sandoval, Hiram Moya, Daniela Mainardi, Arturo González Quiroga, Jeffrey Leon-Pulido

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Las fresas son un alimento importante en Latinoamérica debido a sus componentes químicos, puesto que son una considerable fuente de calorías y polifenoles. Estos elementos son útiles por su capacidad antioxidante y otras propiedades beneficiosas para la salud. Sin embargo, la presión y la temperatura pueden llegar a afectar la integridad molecular de estos componentes, por lo tanto, en el proceso de producción de diferentes productos basados en fresas, se requiere estudiar las propiedades termoquímicas de los diferentes polifenoles presentes en esta fruta. Para ello, se extrajeron datos de las principales familias de polifenoles, antocianinas, flavanoles, flavonoles, ácidos hidroxibenzoicos y …

Image Segmentation With Human-In-The-Loop In Automated De-Caking Process For Powder Bed Additive Manufacturing, Vincent Opare Addo Asare-Manu

Theses and Dissertations

Additive manufacturing (AM) becomes a critical technology that increases the speed and flexibility of production and reduces the lead time for high-mix, low-volume manufacturing. One of the major bottlenecks in further increasing its productivity lies around its post-processing procedures. This work focuses on tackling a critical and inevitable step in powder-bed additive manufacturing processes, i.e., powder cleaning or de-caking. Pressing concerns can be raised with human involvement when performing this task manually. Therefore, a robot-driven automatic powder cleaning system could be an alternative to reducing time consumption and increasing safety for AM operators. However, since the color and surface texture …

Comparative Cutting Fluid Study On Optimum Grinding Parameters Of Ti-6al-4v Alloy Using Flood, Minimum Quantity Lubrication (Mql), And Nanofluid Mql (Nmql), Jaime Taha-Tijerina, Immanuel A. Edinbarough

Informatics and Engineering Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Titanium alloys have been of paramount interest to the aerospace industry due to their attractive characteristics. However, these alloys are difficult to machine and require grinding post-processes for quality assurance of the products. Conventional grinding takes a long time and uses a flood coolant-lubrication technique, which is not cost effective nor environmentally friendly. Several studies have been performed to prove the viability and benefit of using Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) with vegetable or synthetic-ester fluids. This work aims to find the optimum grinding parameters of creep feed grinding Ti-6Al-4V with a green silicon carbide wheel, using a flood lubrication system …

Thermal Transport And Physical Characteristics Of Silver-Reinforced Biodegradable Nanolubricant, Jaime Taha-Tijerina, Karla Aviña, Nicolás Antonio Ulloa-Castillo, Dulce Viridiana Melo-Maximo

Informatics and Engineering Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this investigation, the thermal transport behavior of biodegradable lubricant reinforced with silver nanostructures (AgNs) at various filler fractions of 0.01, 0.05, 0.10, and 0.20 weight percent was evaluated over a temperature scan analysis, ranging from room temperature up to 60 °C. The experimental results revealed significant gradual enhancements in thermal conductivity as AgNs concentration and evaluating temperatures were increased. These improvements showed the important role of nanostructures’ interaction within the biodegradable lubricant. The thermal conductivity performance improved for nanolubricants ranging from 6.5% at 30 °C and 0.20 wt.% AgNs content up to a maximum 32.2%, which was obtained at …

Developing Executable Digital Models With Model-Based Systems Engineering – An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Surveillance Scenario Example, Viviana Guadalupe Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

There is an increase in complexity in modern systems that causes inconsistencies in the iterative exchange loops of the system design process and in turn, demands greater quality of system organization and optimization techniques. A recent transition from document-centric systems engineering to Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is being documented in literature from various industries to address these issues. This study aims to investigate how MBSE can be used as a starting point in developing digital twins (DT). Specifically, the adoption of MBSE for realizing DT has been investigated, resulting in various literature reviews that indicate the most prevalent methodologies and …

Naphtha Characterization (Piona, Density, Distillation Curve And Sulfur Content): An Origin Comparison, Aline Pioli Silva, Juliana Otavia Bahú, Renato Soccol Jr., Leonardo Rodriguez-Urrego, William Stive Fajardo-Moreno, Hiram Moya, Jeffrey Leon-Pulido, Víktor Oswaldo Cárdenas Concha

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Naphtha is an important distillation product of crude oil, and is used as a raw material for first-generation products such as ethylene, propylene, gasoline, xylene (BTX), and others. However, due to the different sources of crude oil, differences in naphtha composition impact the quality of conversion processes. Parameters such as pressure, charge flow, and temperature need to be adjusted for conversion efficiency. This work aims to compare naphtha samples from different origins, through the analysis of distillation curve (ASTM D86), density (ASTM D4052), total sulfur (ASTM D4294), and n-paraffins, iso-paraffins, olefins, naphthene, and aromatics (PIONA, ASTM D5134). Among these parameters …

Study Of The Graphene Energy Absorbing Layer And The Viscosity Of Sodium Alginate In Laser-Induced- Forward-Transfer (Lift) Bioprinting, Shuqi Zhou, Jianzhi Li, Ben Xu

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Laser induced forward transfer (LIFT) bioprinting has been viewed as a new and actively developed three-dimensional bioprinting technology due to its high accuracy and good cell viability. The printing quality is highly dependent on the jet formation and its stability in the LIFT bioprinting process. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of a graphene Energy Absorbing Layer (EAL) and alginate hydrogel (SA) (w.t. 1% and 2%) viscosity on jet generation in the LIFT bioprinting process. Since SA exhibits a shear-thinning behavior, it is a non-Newtonian fluid. The effect of EAL thickness and SA’s viscosity were addressed …

A New Course In Defense Manufacturing – An Introduction To Shipbuilding, Alley C. Butler

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper discusses the development and deployment of a new course in DMEI (Defense Manufacturing Engineering Innovation) titled, “Introduction to Shipbuilding.” This course has been taught using Zoom since 2021 at both the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, a Hispanic Serving Institution, and Virginia State University, a Historically Black University. After a brief literature review, an outline of the course is presented with topics including the maritime market for shipbuilding, economics of shipbuilding, the classification agencies, metallurgy and welding processes, ship structure and assembly, shipyard layout, accuracy control, and shipbuilding planning and scheduling. Difficulties in obtaining an appropriate textbook …

Fabrication Of Solar Absorber Tube With Internal Fin Structure With In718 And Effect Of Boron With In718 For Solar Absorber Tube Using Selective Laser Melting 3d Printing Technology, Naznin Nuria Afrin

Theses and Dissertations

This research aimed to fabricate Solar Absorber Tubes for Solar-Thermal Power Plant with internal fin structures using Selective Laser Melting (SLM) technology. In this study, we investigated the effect of B with IN718 in 3D printing using SLM for solar absorber tubes. The objective was to study the material-process-properties relationship with goal to identify and validate the optimal parameters for the SLM process. Material selected for this study was IN718 with 0.5% and 1% B particle mixed using a V-shape mixing machine. The flowability test was conducted using the Angle of Repose (AOR) method. 3D printed samples …

A Numerical Simulation Of The Powder Bed Additive Manufacturing Process With Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Yeasir Mohammad Akib

Theses and Dissertations

Many manufacturing industries utilize powder bed fusion (PBF) since it can produce microscale precision 3D parts. During PBF, powder particles are selectively fused layer by layer using thermal energy. The build quality in the PBF process relies heavily on powder bed properties and thermal energy deposition. Powder flowability, spreadability, and packing fraction are some of the insightful factors that determine the quality of the powder bed. In this study, a two-dimensional powder bed is developed using the LAMMPS package. A cloud-based pouring of powders with varying volumes and initialization is adopted for the work. A blade-type and circular recoater is …

Ultrafast Laser Direct Writing Of Conductive Patterns On Modified Polyimide Film For Flexible Electronic Applications, Ishrat Jahan Biswas

Theses and Dissertations

Conductive patterns can be printed on a flexible polymer substrate using the direct laser writing (DLW) method. In order to write conductive circuits in such polymer using a laser, polyimide (PI) is a desirable material choice due to its electrical, chemical, and mechanical properties. Electrically non-conductive PI has shown great potential for flexible printed electronics as LDW enables selective carbonization in the bulk of such material leading to the formation of conductive lines. The technique is shown to be a rapid and minimal cost method for printing electrodes to nanoscale devices. However, investigations in this field show several limitations to …

A Study Of The Surface Properties Of Additive Manufactured Inconel 718 After Laser Surface Treatment And Cnc Grinding, Sampson K. Canacoo

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the surface properties of additive manufactured Inconel 718 produced through selective laser melting, and the effects of laser ablation and CNC grinding on the surface finish. The objectives were to investigate the effects of the various parameters of laser ablation and CNC grinding on the Inconel 718 surface. The parameters used for the laser experiments were pulse energy (4, 20, and 30 µJ), scanning speed (5, 10, and 15 mm/s), and hatch distance (10, 30, and 50 µm). For the grinding experiments, the wheel speed was kept constant at 20.3 m/sec, however, two different workpiece speed (8.6 …

Investigation Of Process Parameters To Fabricate Refractory Medium-Entropy Alloy By Selective Laser Melting Process, Abdullah Al Masum Jabir

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis proposal investigates the synthesis of TiWMo refractory medium entropy alloy (RMEA) by selective laser melting process from elemental powder. Steel, titanium and tungsten substrates were used to study the impact on the formation of TiWMo RMEA. Different process parameters were applied to investigate the effects on melting, diffusion and formation of RMEA. The microstructure of TiWMo and elemental distribution were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). SEM analysis revealed that with higher energy density the pores and microcracks were improved. EDS data validated the composition is homogenized and stable after few layers …

Feasibility Analysis Of Embedding Optical Fiber Sensor Into Additively Manufactured Part, Mahmudul Hasan Porag

Theses and Dissertations

The research tried to examine the viability of the embedment of optical fiber sensors in Additively built components, packaging the sensors within the components, and characterizing the sensors for sensing a specified measurement. Optical fiber sensors are popular due to their small size, resilience against electromagnetic radiation, and reliability in potentially dangerous conditions. Embedding fibers inside a product allows for the monitoring of critical areas, allowing for preemptive action in the case of a breakdown. Coupons of Inconel 718 were made using laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF), with the fabrication settings tuned to determine whether such a development was possible. After …

Femtosecond Pulse Filamentation In Dielectric Media Toward Photonics Sensor Fabrication, Anitha Narayanan

Theses and Dissertations

Through pulse filamentation, femtosecond laser pulses have been utilized to modify the refractive indices of dielectric materials such as glass, A-plane sapphire crystal, and Cplane sapphire crystal. The 10x Infinity Corrected Lens was used, and the focusing condition was tuned as being the same and fixed to both glass and sapphire crystals. First, 8uJ of laser energy was optimized to produce controlled pulse filamentation voids in the glass. The laser intensity was then optimized to 2-3.5 uJ, 1.5 uJ, & 2.5 uJ, respectively, for the controlled pulse filamentation in A and C plane sapphire crystals. Due to the different crystal …

The Deflection And Heat Transfer Analysis Of Injection Mold Cavity With Sla Cooling Channel Insert, Olumide Temidayo Aladesiun

Theses and Dissertations

Fast cooling in injection molding is the critical in the process economy. Among many different cooling channel designs available, conformal cooling offers the best and the most efficient cooling. However, limited awareness, accessibility, complexity, cost, knowledge, and experience limit the use of conformal cooling channels to be used into the mold in a molding process.

Typically, SLM(Selective Laser Melting) method is used to create cavity inserts with conformal cooling channels, however, due to the difficulties listed above, applications of conformal cooling channels are very limited. For an inexpensive alternative SLA (Stereolithography Apparatus) can print cavity inserts with conformal cooling channels. …

A Survey Of Smart Manufacturing For High-Mix Low-Volume Production In Defense And Aerospace Industries, Tanjida Tahmina, Mauro Garcia, Zhaohui Geng, Bopaya Bidanda

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Defense and aerospace industries usually possess unique high-mix low-volume production characteristics. This uniqueness generally calls for prohibitive production costs and long production lead-time. One of the major trends in advanced, smart manufacturing is to be more responsive and better readiness while ensuring the same or higher production quality and lower cost. This study reviews the state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies to solve these issues and previews two levels of flexibility, i.e., system and process, that could potentially reduce the costs while increasing the production volume in such a scenario. The main contribution of the work includes an assessment of the current solutions …

Ultrafast Laser Direct Writing Of Conductive Patterns On Polyimide Substrate, Ishrat Jahan Biswas, Enrique Contreras Lopez, Farid Ahmed, Jianzhi Li

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Laser direct writing (LDW) is a fast and cost-effective method for printing conductive patterns in flexible polymer substrates. The electrical, chemical, and mechanical properties of polyimide (PI) make it an attractive material choice for laser writing of conductive circuits in such polymer. Electrically insulating PI has shown great potential for flexible printed electronics as LDW enables selective carbonization in the bulk of such material leading to the formation of conductive lines. However, existing studies in this area reveal a few key limitations of this approach including limited conductivity of written structures and fragility of carbonized PI. Therefore, more research is …

A Numerical Study On The Powder Flowability, Spreadability, Packing Fraction In Powder Bed Additive Manufacturing, Yeasir Mohammad Akib, Ehsan Marzbanrad, Farid Ahmed, Jianzhi Li

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The powder bed fusion (PBF) process is widely adopted in many manufacturing industries because of its capability to 3D print complex parts with micro-scale precision. In PBF process, a thermal energy source is used to selectively fuse powder particles layer by layer to build a part. The build quality in the PBF process primarily depends on the thermal energy deposition and properties of the powder bed. Powder flowability, powder spreading, and packing fraction are key factors that determine the properties of a powder bed. Therefore, the study of these process parameters is essential to better understand the PBF process. In …

Synthesizing And Printing Of Tin Oxide Nanoparticles Using A Single Ultrafast Laser System: A Feasibility Study, Enrique Contreras Lopez, Farid Ahmed, Jianzhi Li

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In laser-based manufacturing, processing setup customization is one of the popular approaches used to enhance diversity in material processing using a single laser. In this study, we propose setup design modification of an ultrafast laser system to demonstrate both Tin Oxide (SnO2) nanoparticle synthesis from bulk metal, and post printing of said nanoparticles using Laser Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) method. Using the Pulse Laser Ablation in Liquid (PLA-L) method, nanoparticles were synthesized from a bulk tin metal cube submerged in distilled water. Such nanoparticles dispersed in water can form colloidal ink that can be used for different printed electronics applications. …

Turning Of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (Cfrp) Composites: Process Modeling And Optimization Using Taguchi Analysis And Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm, S. M. Abdur Rob, Anil K. Srivastava

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites have been widely used in aerospace, automotive, nuclear, and biomedical industries due to their high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, durability, and excellent thermo-mechanical properties in non-oxidative atmospheres. Machining of CFRP composites has always been a challenge for manufacturers. In this research, a comparative study was performed between the optimal machining parameters of coated and uncoated carbide inserts obtained from the Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm during turning of CFRP composites. It was found that coated carbide inserts provide lower tool wear and surface roughness, but higher cutting forces compared to those of uncoated carbide inserts …

Automated Posture Positioning For High Precision 3d Scanning Of A Freeform Design Using Bayesian Optimization, Zhaohui Geng, Bopaya Bidanda

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Three-dimensional scanning is widely used for the dimension measurements of physical objects with freeform designs. The output point cloud is flexible enough to provide a detailed geometric description for these objects. However, geometric accuracy and precision are still debatable for this scanning process. Uncertainties are ubiquitous in geometric measurement due to many physical factors. One potential factor is the object’s posture in the scanning region. The posture of target positioning on the scanning platform could influence the normal of the scanning points, which could further affect the measurement variances. This paper first investigates the geometric and spatial factors that could …

Ultrafast Laser Ablation Of Inconel 718 For Surface Improvement, Sampson Canacoo, Enrique Contreras Lopez, Oscar Coronel, Farid Ahmed, Jianzhi Li, Anil K. Srivastava

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Inconel 718 is considered difficult to machine because of its ability to maintain its properties at high temperatures. The low thermal conductivity of the alloy causes accelerated tool deterioration when machining. Selective laser melting (SLM) additive manufacturing introduces a possibility of eliminating these difficulties, and producing complex shapes with this difficult-to-machine material. However, high surface roughness and porosity usually occur at the surface of components produced through additive manufacturing. In this study, the surfaces of Inconel 718 samples produced through selective laser melting were treated using laser ablation. The process parameters for the laser ablation process were analyzed in …

Minimax Registration For Point Cloud Alignment, Zhaohui Geng, Mauro Garcia, Bopaya Bidanda

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The alignment, or rigid registration, of three-dimensional (3D) point clouds plays an important role in many applications, such as robotics and computer vision. Recently, with the improvement in high precision and automated 3D scanners, the registration algorithm has become critical in a manufacturing setting for tolerance analysis, quality inspection, or reverse engineering purposes. Most of the currently developed registration algorithms focus on aligning the point clouds by minimizing the average squared deviations. However, in manufacturing practices, especially those involving the assembly of multiple parts, an envelope principle is widely used, which is based on minimax criteria. Our present work …

Disruptions In International Trade: A Perspective On Ports Of Entry And Supply Chain Resilience, Jose A. Jara Jr. Guerrero

Theses and Dissertations

United States (U.S.) ports of entry (POEs) and supply chains (SCs) have a prominent trade relationship with a growing desire to improve their operational capabilities. Though trade deals like the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement have facilitated trade between these countries, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at POEs have also increased security inspections, following the September 11th incident, which have impacted international and global SCs. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused labor shortages at both sea and land POEs, increasing vessel and commercial vehicle congestion. These POE disruptions have also propagated into the third-party logistics (3PL) of SC networks, which …