Engineering Science and Materials Commons^™

Jominy Hardenability Tester With In-Situ Heating, Luke Allen

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project centers on building a Jominy Hardenability tester with In-Situ heating for the manufacturing lab at the University of Akron. A new process and setup will be designed using engineering concepts in order to make the testing more efficient and safer for the teaching and testing of metal hardness. The current Jominy testing setup has efficiency issues within the transfer of specimen from induction heater to testing rig. Our design will simplify the design by creating a test rig that removes the traveling aspect of the specimen which will limit the amount of premature cooling done and will be …

Ideal Lacrosse Stick, Josh Beck, Tyler Skoloda, Noah Reed, Stanley Dembosky

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project is focused on the design of a new and innovative lacrosse stick. Our main points of focus will be the strength and durability of the head. As well as solving some of the problems that exist in existing equipment. These problems were identified by interviewing experienced players at the college level. Benefits would include a stronger head that is easier to use for a player on the field to do things like pass, catch, shoot, and field ground balls in an optimal manner. Normally players will have to purchase new heads every season as a result of warping …

Investigation Of Iron Doped Gallium Oxide (Ga-Fe-O) System: Structure Property Relationship And Performance Evaluation For Optical And Catalytic Applications, Swadipta Roy

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

From September 2012 to May 2015, a phenocam monitored the seaward edge of a protected mangrove forest. Calculated GCC revealed seasonal greening patterns of a mangrove species, Rhizophoa apiculata, and an overall increase in the GCC, suggesting mangrove expansion. In comparing temperature and precipitation effects, it was found that this particular mangrove species had a greening optima at temperatures between 28°C and 28.5°C, and greening and canopy development response lag time of 10 weeks in response to precipitation. Tree saplings were monitored and showed to grow by 50%, mostly during a three month period during the rainy season. The establishment …

Additive Manufacturing Of Engineered Material Systems For Energy Applications, Luis Angel Chavez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Despite increasing efforts to use renewable electricity generation techniques in the last couple of decades, the world is still heavily reliant on traditional power generation techniques. This creates the need to make such systems cheaper and less pollutant through improvements to their efficiency. Increasing the efficiency and reliability of energy conversion systems, specially those based on combustion processes has been of interest for many years. However, material limitations have brought these systems to a stagnant condition.

A novel approach to help increase the efficiency of such systems is to closely monitor their operating conditions and therefore be able to increase …

Evaluation Of Cyclo Olefin Polymer As Sabot Material For High-Density Projectiles, Estebanne Tarango

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Assuring the integrity of spacecraft and its occupants are a priority in the field of space exploration. Micrometeoroids and orbital debris are one of the primary threats that affect spacecraft materials due to the high kinetic energies involved with hypervelocity impacts. Improvement of projectile launching capabilities prompts the investigation of adequate materials for the manufacturing of sabots able to carry high-density projectiles without catastrophic failure. Polycarbonate (PC) has been the chosen material by the Hypervelocity Team at White Sands Test Facility for sabots on the 0.50 caliber launcher; however, there is a material constraint when the projectile becomes significantly dense …

The Study Of Non-Permanent Tattoo Ink Using Nano Silver Compounds And Untact 3d Printing Technology, Jisu Lee

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Due to a recent epidemic of COVID 19, the possibility of 3D tattoo printing technology using the Internet of Things (IoT) control system developed in a non-face-to-face contact process was identified. A non-surgical tattoo process and hygiene safety differentiated with silver tattoo ink was used to solve the health problems arising from the surgical tattoo process and to identify 3D tattoo printing techniques through a non-personal contact concept. During the tattoo processing, the image selected by the customer is sent to a designated printer via an IoT control system in a separate location. A piston-type extruder (PTE) printing technique was …

Automated Runout Measurement Tool, Ethan Tisch

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A new measurement process and tool is to be developed to improve the existing method for measuring runout on the commutators of brushed DC product.

After an armature is manufactured, the commutator is inspected by placing the completed rotor assembly in one of several non-standard measurement fixtures. An indicator is then positioned on the commutator. A trained operator proceeds to rotate the armature while taking runout and bar-to-bar measurement at various positions along the length of the commutator.

This existing process is slow, costly, and unreliable. For these reasons, there is substantial economic pressure to develop a superior method for …

Determination And Validation Of Mechanical Properties Of Materials And Substructures, Karl Bates

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The nature of this project is confidential and cannot be disclosed in detail. Generally, this project involves the manufacturing of an original design, which is subjected to a variety of tests – including tensile, compressive, bending, fatigue, and environmental testing, as well as qualitative destructive tests – to determine the mechanical properties of the component. This testing data compares with values predicted using Finite-Element Analysis. The validation of predicted FEM values is crucial to the success of this component, as it is designed for lifecritical applications. If test results indicate poor structural performance, considerable redesign will be necessary.

Tabletop Mechanical Tester, Jamie Dombroski, Brian English, Richard Leffler, Andrew Shirk

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The need for hands-on and face-to-face experiences in the engineering classroom is very great. The equations, principles, and concepts can all be learned, but without the visual and tactile application, these don’t always sink in or become concrete. A small-scale tensile test machine was designed, sourced, manufactured, and tested for the purpose of being applied in classroom settings to provide this experience to engineering students. Extensive research was performed concerning tensile machines on the market, the essential elements of which are the load cell, grips, crosshead, extensometer, motor, and frame. The raw materials for the frame were purchased and drawings …

Metal Coupon Testing In An Axial Rotating Detonation Engine For Wear Characterization, Gary S. North

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Rotating Detonation Engines (RDE) are being explored as a possible way to get better fuel efficiency for turbine engines than is otherwise possible. The walls of the RDE are subjected to cyclic thermal and mechanical shock loading at rates of approximately 3 KHz, with gas temperatures as high as 2976 K. This project performed testing with Inconel 625 and 304 stainless steel coupons in an RDE outer body to attempt to measure material ablation rates. Significant microstructural changes were observed to include grain growth in both alloys, carbide formation and grain boundary melting in Inconel, and formation of delta ferrite …

Stabilization Of Β-Cristobalite In The Sio2-Alpo4-Bpo4 System, Kathryn Doyle

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Fused silica (silica glass) is transparent in the optical and near-infrared and has a low dielectric constant, making it suitable as a window material for radio frequency radiation. However, at high temperatures (>1100C), fused silica will easily creep and lose dimensional stability. Crystallized silica is much more creep resistant than fused silica. Silica crystallizes to many different structures including quartz, tridymite, and α- and β cristobalite. The only cubic polymorph, which is suitable for both optical and radio frequency transmission in polycrystalline form, is β -cristobalite. Unfortunately, this polymorph transforms to α-cristobalite at ~300C, and the volume change during …

Nanothermomechanical And And Or Logic Gates, Ahmed Hamed, Sidy Ndao

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Today’s electronics cannot perform in harsh environments (e.g., elevated temperatures and ionizing radiation environments) found in many engineering applications. Based on the coupling between near-field thermal radiation and MEMS thermal actuation, we presented the design and modeling of NanoThermoMechanical AND, OR, and NOT logic gates as an alternative, and showed their ability to be combined into a full thermal adder to perform complex operations. in this work, we introduce the fabrication and characterization of the first ever documented Thermal AND and OR logic gates. Theresults show thermal logic operations can be achieved successfully through demonstrated and easy-to- manufacture nanothermoMechanical logic …

Electrospun Thymosin Beta-4 Loaded Plga/Pla Nanofiber/ Microfiber Hybrid Yarns For Tendon Tissue Engineering Application, Shaohua Wu, Rong Zhou, Fang Zhou, Philipp N. Streubel, Shaojuan Chen, Bin Duan

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Microfiber yarns (MY) have been widely employed to construct tendon tissue grafts. However, suboptimal ultrastructure and inappropriate environments for cell interactions limit their clinical application. Herein, we designed a modified electrospinning device to coat poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) PLGA nanofibers onto polylactic acid (PLA) MY to generate PLGA/PLA hybrid yarns (HY), which had a well-aligned nanofibrous structure, resembling the ultrastructure of native tendon tissues and showed enhanced failure load compared to PLA MY. PLGA/PLA HY significantly improved the growth, proliferation, and tendon-specific gene expressions of human adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (HADMSC) compared to PLA MY. Moreover, thymosin beta-4 (Tβ4) loaded PLGA/PLA …

Additive Manufacturing Of Magnesium Alloys, Rakeshkumar Karunakaran, Sam Ortgies, Ali Tamayol, Florin Bobaru, Michael P. Sealy

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Magnesium alloys are a promising new class of degradable biomaterials that have a similar stiffness to bone, which minimizes the harmful effects of stress shielding. Use of biodegradable magnesium implants eliminates the need for a second surgery for repair or removal. There is a growing interest to capitalize on additive manufacturing's unique design capabilities to advance the frontiers of medicine. However, magnesium alloys are difficult to 3D print due to the high chemical reactivity that poses a combustion risk. Furthermore, the low vaporization temperature of magnesium and common biocompatible alloying elements further increases the difficulty to print fully dense structures …

Passivation Of Defects In Perovskite Materials For Improved Solar Cell Efficiency And Stability, Jinsong Huang, Xiaopeng Zheng

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Semiconductor devices, and methods of forming the same, include a cathode layer, an anode layer, and an active layer disposed between the cathode layer and the anode layer, wherein the active layer includes a perovskite layer. A passivation layer is disposed directly on a surface of the active layer between the cathode layer and the active layer, the passivation layer including a layer of material that passivates both cationic and anionic defects in the surface of the active layer.

3d Printing Of Multilayered Scaffolds For Rotator Cuff Tendon Regeneration, Xiping Jiang, Shaohua Wu, Mitchell Kuss, Yunfan Kong, Wen Shi, Philipp N. Streubel, Tieshi Li, Bin Duan

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Repairing massive rotator cuff tendon defects remains a challenge due to the high retear rate after surgical intervention. 3D printing has emerged as a promising technique that enables the fabrication of engineered tissues with heterogeneous structures and mechanical properties, as well as controllable microenvironments for tendon regeneration. In this study, we developed a new strategy for rotator cuff tendon repair by combining a 3D printed scaffold of polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) with cell-laden collagen-fibrin hydrogels. We designed and fabricated two types of scaffolds: one featuring a separate layer-by-layer structure and another with a tri-layered structure as a whole. Uniaxial tensile tests …

Imparities Of Shear Avalanches Dynamic Evolution In A Metallic Glass, Yin Du, Qing Zhou, Qian Jia, Yidi Shi, Haifeng Wang, Jian Wang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The imparities of shear avalanches dynamic evolution under nanoindentation originating from the soft regions and the stiff matrix were explored in a metallic glass by statistical and dynamic analysis. Upon the continuous indentation process, the dynamic state of the stiff matrix exhibits a transition from a chaotic behavior to a self-organized critical (SOC) behavior, whereas the soft regions are domi-nated by the SOC behavior throughout the indentation process. The mechanism was clarified by the evolution of the cut-off size of shear avalanches. These findings might advance our fundamental understanding of inhomogeneous deformation on microscale.

IMPACT STATEMENT The shear avalanches dynamic …

Foundry Sand Source Reduction Options: Life Cycle Assessment Evaluation, Samuel Ghormley, Robert Williams, Bruce Dvorak

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Foundries represent a significant part of the world’s economy and are a large consumer of energy and producer of solid waste. Sand-handling processes can use 5–10% of a foundry’s total energy. The goal of this research was to explore source reduction and waste minimization at a foundry, using both economic and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) techniques to compare three secondary sand-reclamation options. LCA software modeled all sand processes at a mid-sized ferrous foundry in the USA. The LCA showed all secondary reclamation technologies, while more energy intensive at the foundry, lowered life cycle environmental impacts, including GHG emissions, ecotoxicity, and …

An Overview Of Additive Manufacturing Technologies—A Review To Technical Synthesis In Numerical Study Of Selective Laser Melting, Abbas Razavykia, Eugenio Brusa, Cristiana Delprete, Reza Yavari

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes enable their deployment in broad applications from aerospace to art, design, and architecture. Part quality and performance are the main concerns during AM processes execution that the achievement of adequate characteristics can be guaranteed, considering a wide range of influencing factors, such as process parameters, material, environment, measurement, and operators training. Investigating the effects of not only the influential AM processes variables but also their interactions and coupled impacts are essential to process optimization which requires huge efforts to be made. Therefore, numerical simulation can be an effective tool that facilities the evaluation of the AM …

Facile Production Of Large-Area Cell Arrays Using Surface-Assembled Microdroplets, Karla Perez-Toralla, Angel Olivera-Torres, Mark A. Rose, Amir Monemian Monemianesfahani, Keerthana Reddy, Ruiguo Yang, Stephen Morin

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Techniques that enable the spatial arrangement of living cells into defined patterns are broadly applicable to tissue engineering, drug screening, and cell–cell investigations. Achieving large-scale patterning with single-cell resolution while minimizing cell stress/damage is, however, technically challenging using existing methods. Here, a facile and highly scalable technique for the rational design of reconfigurable arrays of cells is reported. Specifically, microdroplets of cell suspensions are assembled using stretchable surface-chemical patterns which, following incubation, yield ordered arrays of cells. The microdroplets are generated using a microfluidic- based aerosol spray nozzle that enables control of the volume/size of the droplets delivered to the …