Mechanics of Materials Commons^™

The Efficacy Of Hybrid Manufacturing For High Stress Automotive Parts, Logan Trimmer

Harrisburg University Other Works

Presentation covering the broad strokes of the project. The goal was to prove the viability of hybrid/additive manufacturing for high stress automotive applications. This project focused on recreating a piston from an old engine to examine if hybrid manufacturing could be used for such applications. On a small scale, hybrid manufacturing was able to be more cost effective if the costs of the equipment and electricity were ignored. The decision to ignore those costs came from the inability to find accurate prices for industrial casting.

Effect Of Complex Alloying Elements On Oxide Scale Formation And Water-Jet Descaling Performance On Continuously Cast Low-Carbon Steels, Tochukwu P. Ojiako, Tsvetkov Dmitry, Mario Buchely, Haiming Wen, Simon N. Lekakh, Ronald J. O'Malley

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The formation and evolution of oxide scale in contact with mold flux during continuous casting, subsequent reheating, and hydraulic descaling are strongly governed by steel chemistry. To elucidate the effect of complex alloying elements (Si, Mn, and Cr), two industrially produced continuously cast low-carbon steel grades for manufacturing stamped parts (a base and alloyed steel grade) were investigated. The objective was to determine how alloying elements influence oxidation behavior, scale morphology, interfacial adhesion, and water-jet descaling efficiency. Continuously cast slab specimens were subjected to controlled thermal and atmospheric oxidation cycles simulating multistage industrial practice. Three initial surface conditions (industrial as-cast, …

Made On Mars: Design And Manufacturing Of Structural Polymer-Regolith Composites, Pailey M. Vitale

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Human exploration of Mars is constrained by harsh environmental conditions and the prohibitive cost of transporting materials from Earth. Long-term sustainability requires the local production of mechanical and structural components using resources available on Mars, thereby minimizing payload mass. This project investigates polymer–regolith composites derived from atmospheric CO₂ and mineral-rich regolith as a pathway toward in-situ manufacturing. These composites, when compatible with additive manufacturing, could replace imported plastics, enable on-demand fabrication, and support closed-loop recycling systems. The objective is to design and evaluate polymer–regolith composites that maintain mechanical integrity and environmental resistance under Martian conditions, including extreme temperature swings, radiation …

Akron Soap Box Derby Super Kids Car, Alexis Schultz, Cooper Sites, Sean Stevenson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project aims to redesign the All-American Soap Box Derby Super Kids vehicle to enhance safety, accessibility, and performance while maintaining full compliance with official regulations. The Super Kids program enables children with physical and cognitive disabilities to race alongside a co-pilot, but the current vehicle design presents challenges in stability, entry/exit accessibility, and control—especially following recent regulation changes that increased vehicle speed. The redesigned car will focus on improved ergonomics, lightweight construction, and structural integrity within a $1,000 budget and a 165 lb weight limit.

An iterative engineering design process will guide the project through research, CAD modeling, FEA …

Discrete Element Modeling Of Granular Soils: Critical State Behavior Applied To Impact Pile Driving, Esteban Patino Marin

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis investigates the use of the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to study two complementary aspects of granular soil mechanics: critical state behavior of granular materials and dynamic response of driven piles in sand, both of which are governed by the same particle-scale mechanisms of dilation, contraction, and fabric evolution.

The first examines the critical state behavior and fabric anisotropy of granular soils through DEM simulations of direct shear, direct simple shear, and true triaxial tests. Sphere-cluster particles representative of a uniform sand are used in two assemblages of approximately twenty-five thousand and one hundred twenty-five thousand spheres to evaluate …

The Efficacy Of Hybrid Manufacturing For High Stress Automotive Components, Logan Trimmer

Harrisburg University Other Works

The goal of this research was to establish the viability of using hybrid manufacturing for automotive applications. By verifying that high-stress components can be created, it can be assumed that any other lower stress part could be made to match the strength requirements. A limiting factor of adoption for hybrid manufacturing is how new the technology is. Studies on time and cost were performed allowing for comparisons with traditional manufacturing technologies (casting, forging, milling) used in automotive applications. This research utilized a Haas Automation UMC750 5-axis CNC mill with a Meltio laser wire direct energy deposition attachment. Fusion 360 was …

Modeling Of Transformation Temperatures In Cast Martensitic Stainless Steels-Ca6nm: Effects Of Composition, Heating Rate, And Grain Size, Ugochukwu Agbedo, Mario Buchely, Laura Bartlett, Caelan Kennedy

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Accurate prediction of the critical transformation temperatures Ac1 and Ac3 is one of the essential factors in the heat treatment of CA6NM cast martensitic stainless steel. In this study, the influence of alloy composition, heating rate, and prior austenite grain size on the critical temperatures was quantified using dilatometric measurements and statistical modeling. Six heat treatment conditions produced prior austenite grain sizes ranging from ~75 to 247 µm. Experimental results showed that grain size variations produced only minor changes in Ac1 and Ac3, indicating a weak dependence of transformation temperatures on prior austenite grain size within the investigated range. In …

Multiphysics Simulation And Experimental Validation Of Phase Transformation And Hardness In Jominy End-Quenched Low-Alloy Steels, J. S. Alabi, E. Heidari, M. F. Buchely, K. Chandrashekhara, S. N. Lekakh, R. J. O'Malley, V. A. Athavale, A. Kumar

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

High-volume industrial continuous hot-rolled steel heat treatment processes involve sophisticated multi-phase modeling. The performance of a given process can be optimized by coupling phase transformation kinetics with the cooling conditions of the process. This study develops a multiphysics model to simulate an intensive quenching process for steel, which is inherently transient and highly dependent on numerous parameters. The simulated object was a Jominy end-quenched specimen geometry using two commercial steels, AISI 4130 and AISI 4140, with the goal of transferring a verified methodology to the heat treatment process for industrial heavy-section products (bars, slabs). The simulation employs thermal, mechanical, and …

Critical Parameters Controlling Oxide Scale Formation And Hydro-Descaling Efficiency During Steelmaking, Tochukwu Princewill Ojiako

Doctoral Dissertations

In modern steelmaking, cast slabs are exposed to high-temperature oxidizing environments during secondary cooling, reheating, and hot rolling, resulting in the formation of multilayer oxide scales on the steel surface. These scales interact with mold-flux residues originating from the casting process (CC). The morphology, chemistry, and adhesion of oxide scale strongly influence its removability during high-pressure hydraulic descaling and ultimately determine the surface quality of hot-rolled products. However, the mechanistic relationship between oxide scale evolution, scale-steel interfacial structure, and hydraulic descaling performance remains poorly understood.

This dissertation investigates oxide scale formation, modification, and removal in low-carbon thin-slab steels produced by …

Castrip Process Technology: Non-Grain Oriented (Ngo) Si Steels Extension And Carbide-Free Bainitic (Cfb) For Flat Products, Naram Naidu Meesala

Masters Theses

"This research explores the development of advanced steel grades manufactured through Castrip® twin-roll thin strip casting technology, with particular attention to non-grain-oriented electrical Si-Steels (NGOES) and carbide-free bainitic (CFB) steels. The Castrip® process offers a near-net-shape route for producing thin steel strips, which greatly decreases the number of processing stages, lowers energy demand, and reduces carbon dioxide emissions when compared with traditional steel production methods.

In the NGOES part of the study, several industrial Fe–Si steel compositions were cold rolled to final thicknesses ranging from 0.35 mm to 0.15 mm. These materials were then exposed to short-duration continuous annealing at …

Process Optimization And Quality Control In Manufacturing Of Frp Composites By Vartm, Mohamed Emadeldin Omar Abdelhadi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Railroad tank cars, being one of the most used means of transportation of hazardous material across the country, have not been structurally upgraded for a long time. Thus, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), a United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) agency, released a rule for safer transportation of highly hazardous and flammable liquids by railroad to enhance the design specifications of both the new and existing tank cars in May 2015. A multifunctional composite jacket is proposed as a new material to structurally enhance the railroad tank cars to withstand any accidents that could happen en route. …

A Nonlocal Lattice Particle Method For Modeling Hcp Polycrystalline Solids, Di Liu

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Polycrystalline materials, composed of individual grains with varying grain size, shape, and crystallographic orientation are widely used in various engineering and industrial applications. Conventional applications of polycrystalline materials rely on the macroscopic performance, and the microstructural features are usually homogenized out. With the advancement of modern technologies and improvement of characterization methods, polycrystalline materials find their applications in meso- and micro-scale systems. At these length scales, the microscopic features including grain boundary characteristics significantly affect the material physical responses. As a result, the conventional continuum mechanics models become problematic, especially for material failure problems where the microstructural features play dominant …

Entropic Forces Near Fluctuating Surfaces, Rubayet Hassan

Dissertations

Nanoscale structures are inherently dynamic due to persistent thermal fluctuations. Even in solid materials, these random deformations, driven by ambient thermal energy, can become significant when their characteristic scale approaches that of the structure itself and strongly influence their overall mechanical behavior. Examples of such structures include crystalline membranes, appearing in diverse forms such as nanotubes, nanoribbons, and kirigami/origami structures. Similarly, biological nanostructures, including lipid membranes, microtubules, actin filaments, and DNA, exhibit extreme flexibility and responsiveness due to their low bending rigidity. Numerous physiological processes are intrinsically linked to these thermal fluctuations, including exocytosis and endocytosis, membrane fusion, pore formation, …

In-Situ Investigations Of Calcium-Magnesium-Aluminosilicates (Cmas) Infiltration Effects On Thermal Barrier Coatings Under Extreme Environments Replicating Jet Engines, Zachary Stein

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Calcium-magnesium-aluminosilicate (CMAS) particulates, such as sand or volcanic ash, are ingested by gas turbine jet engines during operation. When operating within high abundance regions, these particulates negatively interact and degrade the high temperature thermal barrier coatings (TBC) protecting underlying superalloy turbine blades vital to engine operation. These CMAS particulates melt within the engine and infiltrate into the ceramic coatings. In electron-beam physical vapor deposited (EB-PVD) TBCs, the CMAS within the intercolumnar gaps stiffens the coatings and causes thermomechanical induced high stress concentrations, risking crack formation. While molten, the CMAS thermochemically alters and destabilizes the coating, also risking coating failure. Premature, …

Coupling Material Formulation Strategies To Tailor Piezoelectric Properties Of Ceramic Lattices, Amanda Lauren Borgaro

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the material formulation and infiltration processes required to create interpenetrating ceramic composites with a particular focus on developing piezoelectric ceramic-epoxy lattice structures (PCELS). Following this, a high–solid loading barium titanite photopolymer resin (BT40) was developed to produce BTO scaffolds with controlled porosity suitable for metal infusion. The resin’s shear-thinning behavior and scattering-dominated curing response enabled the formation of stable, uniform ceramic structures whose pore networks directly influence infiltration behavior. Building on this foundation, a low-temperature Field’s Metal (FM) infiltration method was established using controlled thermal equilibration and the melting of pre-formed alloy rods. By maintaining the ceramic …

Development Of Oxide And Oxynitride Thin Films For Advanced Optical Applications, Nathan Christopher Episcopo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

To develop Ga2O3 and TiOₓNᵧ thin films for optical applications, the process–structure–properties relationship was investigated using a comprehensive set of characterization techniques to establish the atomic structure and composition of the films in relation to the deposition conditions. The results provide critical insights into how deposition parameters influence the atomic structure and composition during magnetron sputtering. Furthermore, the correlation between atomic structure and composition with the optical and electrical properties of the films was examined to determine how variations in these factors affect functional performance. Collectively, these findings offer the necessary information to target desirable optical properties for Ga2O3 and …

Microstructure Evolution During Annealing Of Cryogenically Processed Cantor High Entropy Alloy, Mynel Gomez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This work focuses on the annealing behavior of a cryogenically processed Cantor high entropy alloy over a wide temperature range of 500–800°C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were employed to analyze the microstructural evolution, with particular emphasis on twinning. Hardness and grain size were measured to correlate these microstructural changes with mechanical properties. The cryogenically processed alloy exhibited a high density of twin bundles, resulting in an initial hardness of 338 HV. Upon annealing at 500 °C, 550 °C, and 600 °C, the material showed only a limited degree …

Decoupling Piezoelectric And Pyroelectric Effects In Anisotropic Polymer-Ceramic Lattices Produced Via Fused Filament Fabrication, Sofia Alexandra Perez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis investigates how multi-material fused filament fabrication (FFF) can be used to engineer lattice structures that decouple piezoelectric and pyroelectric responses within a single polymer–ceramic composite. A hybrid ABS–BaTiO3/PLA lattice—referred to as the Hybrid PIZCAL—was designed to direct mechanical strain along the Z-axis while suppressing deformation in the transverse directions. After thermal poling, the lattice exhibited a 293% increase in Z-axis voltage sensitivity compared to a monolithic ABS–BaTiO3 cube and significantly reduced off-axis electromechanical output. Finite element simulations and directional compression testing confirmed that geometric anisotropy and material zoning produce strong, axis-selective piezoelectric behavior. The second part of this …

Powder Degradation Analysis In Reused Pure Tungsten For Electron Beam Melting (Ebm), Hernan Valenzuela

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Additive manufacturing (AM) enables unparalleled design freedom and geometric complexity, driving its adoption in aerospace and medical fields. A major advantage of metal powder AM technologies, such as Electron Beam Melting (EBM), is its ability to reuse unused metal powder, reducing material waste and costs. However, reusing powder repeatedly alters its properties, affecting the final product. Despite its significance, research on powder degradation remains limited, primarily focusing on alloys like Ti-6Al-4V. This thesis investigates the degradation of pure tungsten powder reused over multiple Electron Beam Melting (EBM) cycles. A literature review revealed general powder-reuse mechanisms across additive manufacturing (AM) technologies …

Characterization Of The Fatigue Threshold Behavior Of Uhmwpe, Bethany B. Smith, Anurag Roy, Robert O. Ritchie, Lisa A. Pruitt

Faculty Journal Articles

Ultra-high-molecular-weight-polyethylene (UHMWPE) has been the material of choice for bearings in total joint replacements (TJRs) for decades as a result of its excellent wear resistance, chemical inertness, energetic toughness, low friction, and biocompatibility. Utilization of this polymer in orthopedic devices requires oxidation, wear, and fatigue resistance. Balancing these important properties by tailoring processing techniques and modulating microstructural features has been an ongoing endeavor in the field. Research into the clinical applications of UHMWPE has primarily focused on the challenges of wear and oxidation while studies into the realm of fatigue have been more limited. Literature gaps exist in fully understanding …