Engineering Mechanics Commons^™

Characterization And Modeling Of Asphalt Concrete For Dynamic Properties And Performances, A S M A. Rahman

Civil Engineering ETDs

The recently developed mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG, also known as Pavement M-E design method) uses the nationally calibrated, binder viscosity-based dynamic modulus predictive model for the design and analysis of asphalt pavements. In this study, this model is assessed for its appropriateness for asphalt-aggregate mixtures typically used in New Mexico. In essence, this study investigates the predictability issue of complex modulus of New Mexico mixes. A total of 54 Superpave mixes with different aggregate gradations, air voids, and binder grades were collected from the mixing plants and from the pavement construction sites. The loose asphalt mixtures were then compacted, …

The Role Of Soil Stiffness In Reverse Fault Rupture Propagation, Moises I. Buelna

Master's Theses

A nonlinear Mohr-Coulomb constitutive model with a strain dependent yield surface and non-associated flow was employed to study the plastic soil properties which affect the rate of surface fault rupture propagation in reverse events. These numerical simulations show a trend for soils with higher stiffness to have a higher rate of rupture propagation. Additionally the study shows the effects of strain softening and hardening on the rate of rupture propagation. Soils which strain harden exhibiting ductile behavior typically require more basal offset to rupture to the surface than soils which strain soften exhibiting brittle behavior. These results agree with our …

A Comparison Study Of Composite Laminated Plates With Holes Under Tension, Joun S. Kim

Master's Theses

A Comparison Study of Composite Laminated Plates with Holes under Tension

A study was conducted to quantify the accuracy of numerical approximations to deem sufficiency in validating structural composite design, thus minimizing, or even eliminating the need for experimental test. Error values for stress and strain were compared between Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and analytical (Classical Laminated Plate Theory), and FEA and experimental tensile test for two composite plate designs under tension: a cross-ply composite plate design of [(0/90)4]s, and a quasi-isotropic layup design of [02/+45/-45/902]s, each with a single, centered hole of 1/8” diameter, and 1/4" diameter (four sets …

Me-Em Enewsbrief, July-December 2017, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Wireless Power Transfer Roadway Integration, Trevor Gardner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Electric vehicles represent a major accomplishment in the energy and transportation industry. Unfortunately, they are restricted to a small travel range because of limited battery life. Successful integration of wireless power transfer (WPT) systems into the infrastructure would remove the range restrictions of EVs. To successfully integrate this technology, several requirements must be met. First, the embedment process cannot interfere with the electrical performance of the inductive power transfer (IPT) system. Second, the presence of the IPT system in the pavement structure cannot negatively affect the roadway’s lifespan.

Several systems were directly embedded in roadway materials. The electrical properties of …

Incorporating Student Reflection Into Engineering Courses, Nancy Barr

TechTalks

Critical reflection as students move through their disciplinary curriculum is one way to cultivate capacity for critical thinking. By embedding opportunities for critical reflection in disciplinary courses, educators can combine aspects of writing theory, metacognitive learning, and critical pedagogy to help students begin to frame how they will apply their skills and talents to problems effecting diverse populations. The new undergraduate ME curriculum combines applied learning and project-based learning methods in a series of four ME Practice courses. Technical communication instruction is also embedded in these courses, and the “capstone” of each course is a reflective essay. By responding to …

Space Mining Is Almost Here!, Paul Van Susant

TechTalks

When going to the Moon and Mars for extended stays with humans it is required to minimize mass by "living off the land" as soon as possible. Mining local resources and using them to produce consumables and construct simple structures can leverage launch mass to the surface of those bodies. In addition, asteroid mining will be able to provide rocket fuel to further spur economic development in CIS-Lunar space and further open up solar system activities. I am working on mining on Mars and the Moon as well as construction using local rocks.

New Concepts In Evolutionary Algorithms For Systems Architecture Optimization, Ossama Abdelkhalik

TechTalks

This talk will present recent developments in evolutionary algorithms that focus on the systems architecture optimization. One challenge in systems optimization is the variable number of design variables. Three new concepts will be presented in this talk that enable evolutionary algorithms to handle this type of problems more efficiently. The first is the biologically inspired concept of Hidden Genes that implements tags to cover/uncover genes in the variables' code, which enable handling variable number of variables in evolutionary algorithms. The second concept is a structured chromosome approach that transcripts the variables in a multi-layer code as opposed to the standard …

Development Of The End-Effector Of A Cable-Driven Parallel Manipulator For Automated Crop Sensing, Iman Salafian

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A four cable-driven parallel manipulator (4CDPM), consisting of sophisticated spectrometers and imagers, is under development for use in acquiring phenotypic and environmental data over an acre-sized maize field. This thesis presents the design, controls, and testing of two sub-systems in a 4CDPM: a Center of Mass Balance System (CMBS) and a Drop-Down System (DDS).

One of the factors that influences stability is the center of mass (COM) position of the end effector. An offset in COM can cause a pendulum effect or an undesired tilt angle. A center of mass balancing system is presented in this thesis to minimize the …

Innovative Non-Thermal Food Processing Technologies Used By The Food Industry In The United States, Harlin Kaur Saroya

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis discussed the non-thermal food processing technologies being used within the United States of America. The technologies discussed in this thesis are High- Pressure Processing (HHP), Pulsed Electric Field, Pulsed Light, Irradiation, Ultra Sound, Oscillating Magnetic Fields, and Cold Atmospheric Plasma. A survey was designed and conducted to study the major reasons behind a preference for a particular technology by the organization, and the limitations for not implementing specific technologies. The survey participants were management level, food scientists and, food technologists employed by food processing companies. The questionnaire consisted of ten questions related to demographics, current technology, barriers from …

Design And Manufacture Of A Waste Compactor Prototype: A Step Towards Implementing A Non-Burn Health Care Waste Disposal In Developing Countries, Tito Mwinuka

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Non-burn technology is the only safe way of handling and disposing infectious healthcare waste. It involves steam treatment of infectious waste at temperatures higher than 121 o C for a minimum of 30 minutes before disposing them just like other municipal waste. Infectious healthcare waste is normally only about 10 25% of all healthcare waste. In this paper, design, manufacturing and testing of a waste compactor for reducing waste volume to facilitate its handling is discussed. Preliminary tests show that the waste volume can be reduced to less than 10% of its original volume using the developed compactor. Waste compactors …

Me-Em Enewsbrief, June 2017, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Feasibility Of Using Oxide Thickness Measurements For Predicting Crack Growth Rates In P91 Steel Components, Ralph Edward Huneycutt Iv

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are only few methods available for predicting the age of cracks that are found in high

temperature structural components during service; among the promising ones is the oxide

thickness measurement technique. Oxide thickness profiles are taken from crack surfaces of

components and used for predicting the rates of crack propagation. This technique is particularly

suitable for high temperature components fabricated from ferritic steels commonly used in power

plants that run on fossil fuels. To implement this technique, it is necessary to fully understand the

kinetics of high temperature oxidation in these steels. In this study, the oxidation characteristics

of …

Peridynamic Models For Fatigue And Fracture In Isotropic And In Polycrystalline Materials, Guanfeng Zhang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

To improve design and reliability, extensive efforts has been devoted to understanding damage and failure of materials and structures using numerical simulation, as a complement of theory and experiment. In this thesis, peridynamics is adopted to study fatigue and dynamic failure problems.

Fatigue is a major failure mode in engineering structures. Predicting fracture/failure under cyclic loading is a challenging problem. Classical model cannot directly be applied to problems with discontinuities. A peridynamic model is adopted in this work because of important advantages of peridynamics in allowing autonomous crack initiation and propagation. A recently proposed peridynamic fatigue crack model is considered …

The Mathematical Theory Of Deformation Arrest In Large-Strain Dynamic Plasticity, Brendan A. Kullback

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Ductile structural components subjected to explosive loadings exhibit a large range of behaviors. The response of beams, walls, and blast doors is estimated using two methods. The engineering level approaches are highly simplified and neglect much of the relevant physics while the use of finite element or shock-code simulation is expensive and not suited to rapid problem solving and parameter studies. In this dissertation, a medium fidelity reduced order modeling approach has been derived to capture the most relevant physics governing rupture of ductile bodies dynamically deforming in tension.

Solution of the inertially stretching jet is used to reveal the …

Negahban Group Report: Saw-Tooth Shear Response Of Aged Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) (Pmma), Mehrdad Negahban

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Results for isothermal saw-tooth shear loading experiments conducted on annealed and oven-cooled poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) at temperatures between 50^oC and 140^oC. The experiments were conducted 1996.

Professional Development, Outreach, And Technology Awareness With The Mobile Lab, Jeremy Worm

TechTalks

The Mobile Lab is a one of a kind mobile event facility operated by the Advanced Power Systems Research Center (APS LABS). The Mobile Lab travels the country providing hands-on Professional Development short courses, STEM Outreach, and as a venue for increasing awareness of new technologies. The Mobile Lab consists of a classroom, two full-functional powertrain test cells, a fleet of over 25 vehicles, and a chassis dynamometer. The configurability of the Mobile Lab enables support of virtually any technical or non-technical short course or outreach. The Mobile Lab commands attention, generating large crowds at conferences, expos, and community events, …

Model-Driven Design Of Materials, Gregory M. Odegard

TechTalks

Thomas Edison once said “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” The Edisonian approach to materials development has been the gold standard for most of human history. However, advances in computational speeds and modeling techniques over the last couple of decades have enabled new model-driven approaches to materials development, as manifested in the Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) and Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) efforts. By designing and simulating new materials in a computational environment, we can dramatically cut down on the cost and time associated with the Edisonian approach to material development. At Michigan Tech, …

Formation Of Mound-Like Multiscale Surface Structures On Titanium By Femtosecond Laser Processing, Edwin Peng, Alfred Tsubaki, Craig A. Zuhlke, Ryan Bell, Meiyu Wang, Dennis R. Alexander, George Gogos, Jeffrey E. Shield

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Surface Functionalization Technique • Femtosecond Laser Surface Processing (FLSP) • Utilize high power, femtosecond (10-15 s) laser pulses • Produce self-organized, multiscale surface micro/nanostructures • Diverse range of applicable substrates: semiconductors, metals, polymers, & composites

Why? • What are the different types of FLSP structures on Ti? • Physical evidence needed for FLSP formation models • Optimize FLSP of Ti for biomedical & other applications

How? • Obtain evidence of mound growth processes by examining underlying microstructure • Utilize dual beam Scanning Electron Microscope-Focused Ion Beam instrument to cross section surface structures & fabricate transmission electron microscopy samples

Me-Em Enewsbrief, March 2017, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.