Applied Mechanics Commons^™

Restraint System Design And Evaluation For Military Specific Applications, Sebastian Karwaczynski

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This research focuses on designing an optimal restraint system for usage in a military vehicle applications. The designed restraint system must accommodate a wide range of DHM’s and ATD’s with and without PPE such as: helmet, boots, and body armor. The evaluation of the restraint systems were conducted in a simulated vehicle environment, which was utilized to downselect the ideal restraint system for this program.

In December of 2011 the OCP TECD program was formulated to increase occupant protection. To do this, 3D computer models were created to accommodate the entire Soldier population in the Army. These models included the …

The University Of Akron Nfpa 2015/2016 Chainless Challenge, Andrew Tupta, Andrew Ball, Stefan Stamboldziev, Jordon Spence, Sean Catchpole

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Parker Hannifin has issued a challenge to student design teams of creating a Chainless bike using a hydraulic system. Each student design team will be assigned a technical advisor from the University. The project will be divided into two phases after the initial kickoff. The first phase will align with senior design course for motion control and hydraulics and will yield the student obtaining knowledge in hydraulics, including bio-degradable fluids, pneumatics, electromechanical systems, green technologies (sustainable energy) and controlling force and motion. Students will be provided data sheets, a list of in-stock Parker components and by the end of the …

In-Field Fuel Use And Load States Of Agricultural Field Machinery, Santosh Pitla, Joe D. Luck, Jared Werner, Nannan Lin, Scott A. Shearer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The ability to define in-field tractor load states offers the potential to better specify and characterize fuel consumption rate for various field operations. For the same field operation, the tractor experiences diverse load demands and corresponding fuel use rates as it maneuvers through straight passes, turns, suspended operation for adjustments, repair and maintenance, and biomass or other material transfer operations. It is challenging to determine the actual fuel rate and load states of agricultural machinery using force prediction models, and hence, some form of in-field data acquisition capability is required. Controller Area Networks (CAN) available on the current model tractors …

Inter-Row Robot Navigation Using 1d Ranging Sensors, Tyler A. Troyer, Santosh Pitla, Ethan Nutter

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this paper a fuzzy logic navigation controller for an inter-row agricultural robot is developed and evaluated in laboratory settings. The controller receives input from one-dimensional (1D) ranging sensors on the robotic platform, and operated on ten fuzzy rules for basic row-following behavior. The control system was implemented on basic hardware for proof of concept and operated on a commonly available microcontroller development platform and open source software libraries. The robot platform used for experimentation was a small tracked vehicle with differential steering control. Fuzzy inferencing and defuzzification, step response and cross track error were obtained from the test conducted …

Three-Dimensional Microstructural Effects On Multi-Site Fatigue Crack Nucleation Behaviors Of High Strength Aluminum Alloys, Yan Jin

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

An experimental method was further developed to quantify the anisotropy of multi-site fatigue crack initiation behaviors in high strength Al alloys by four-point bend fatigue testing under stress control. In this method, fatigue crack initiation sites (fatigue weak-links, FWLs) were measured on the sample surface at different cyclic stress levels. The FWL density in an alloy could be best described using a three-parameter Weibull function of stress, though other types of sigmoidal functions might also be used to quantify the relationship between FWL density and stress. The strength distribution of the FWLs was derived from the Weibull function determined by …

Determination Of Rejected Landing Roll Runway Point-Of-No-Return And Go-Around In Transport Category Airplanes, Nihad E. Daidzic, Ph.D., Sc.D.

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The decelerate-accelerate-takeoff maneuver in transport category airplanes has been discussed. Mathematical model based on total energy conservation has been used to calculate the rejected landing point-of-no-return on a runway which will still enable the airplane to safely execute go-around and achieve regulatory screen heights and takeoff safety speeds. After this point has been exceeded or below the point-of-no-return speed no go-around should ever be considered. Landing long and fast and/or decelerating on slippery runways may very well result in an overrun which could be prevented if the go-around is attempted before reaching this critical runway point. The point-of-no-return on the …

Design And Fabrication Of A Suspension Rig, Abhijith Geo Philip

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Owing to its placement under the vehicle body, the suspension system is one of the parts of the vehicle which are difficult to comprehend completely, albeit being a vital component. For demonstrating the working of a suspension system, a physical model in which one can actually see the movement of all the components would be a great tool. A Mustang II independent front suspension system was purchased from Heidts Engineering Performance and a rig that can emulate some of the real world situations of vehicle suspension action was designed and fabricated. All the components are accessible and conditions like bounce, …

Investigation Of A Numerical Algorithm For A Discretized Rubber-Belt Continuously Variable Transmission Dynamic Model And Techniques For The Measurement Of Belt Material Properties., Brian Gene Ballew

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A numerical algorithm for modeling the dynamic response of a rubber-belt Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) belt is recreated. The numerical attributes applied to the algorithm and difficulties with numerical stability are discussed in detail. The degrees of freedom of the system have been expanded to include the dynamics of the engine torque output and vehicle loads such as rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag. This was done to emphasize the use of the model as an analysis tool for simulating CVT/engine/vehicle response. The increased degrees of freedom require the addition of a linear dampening element between belt nodes to dampen resonance …

Carbon Articulating Backpack Spine, Salvatore Monforte Iii, Darci Lawrence, Savan Patel

Mechanical Engineering

In the field, firefighters and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) personnel need to transport variable loads efficiently, safely, and comfortably while simultaneously performing certain physical tasks. Current models of external and internal framed backpacks distribute the load of a pack efficiently, but do not allow for the natural movement of the wearer. Wolfpack Gear, Inc. proposed the need for a system which both effectively carries a load and allows for the unhindered natural movement of the user. The goal of this project was to design, build, and test an articulating backpack support system. The first stage of the project comprised …

Underwater Rope Fatigue Testing Machine, Napoleon Nino, Andrew Pimentel

Mechanical Engineering

The design and fabrication of an underwater rope fatigue testing machine meant to simulate the effects of an oceanic environment and the effects on rope.

Numerical Solutions Of Generalized Burgers' Equations For Some Incompressible Non-Newtonian Fluids, Yupeng Shu

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The author presents some generalized Burgers' equations for incompressible and isothermal flow of viscous non-Newtonian fluids based on the Cross model, the Carreau model, and the Power-Law model and some simple assumptions on the flows. The author numerically solves the traveling wave equations for the Cross model, the Carreau model, the Power-Law model by using industrial data. The author proves existence and uniqueness of solutions to the traveling wave equations of each of the three models. The author also provides numerical estimates of the shock thickness as well as maximum strain $\varepsilon_{11}$ for each of the fluids.

Efficient Exploration Of Quantified Uncertainty In Granular Crystals, Juan C. Lopez Ramirez, Marcial Gonzalez, Ilias Bilionis, Rohit K. Tripathy

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Granular crystals present unique nonlinear properties that support standing waves. These depend on precompression and impurities. Thus, they can be used for different applications such as impact and shock dissipation. There are different models which rely on reasonable approximations and assumptions. While experimental results show good agreement with theory, there are experimental errors that are not easily explained and are usually attributed to the approximations made and phenomena that are not accounted for. This might be the result of not quantifying the uncertainty, since variables like the grain size, position, mass and Young modulus, of each particle, are uncertain. Building …

Simulation, Control And Testing Of Advanced Hydraulic Hybrid Transmissions, Italo M. Ramos, Monika Ivantysynova, Michael Sprengel

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Hydraulic hybrids transmissions have the potentially to substantially improve the fuel efficiency of on road vehicles. In fact recent studies have demonstrated that this technology can improve fuel economy by upwards of 30% over competing electric hybrids. To further improve the fuel economy and performance of this technology a novel blended hydraulic hybrid transmission has been constructed at the Maha Fluid Power Research Center. While this novel hybrid architecture created by the Maha lab has many benefits over conventional systems, there are a number of control challenges present due to several discrete modes of operation. And though improving fuel economy …

Development Of A Shape Memory Polymer Soft Microgripper, Marshall Tatro, David J. Cappelleri, Wuming Jing

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The ability to control microrobots by means of magnetic fields has become of increasing interest to researchers. These robots’ ability to reach places tethered microrobots otherwise could not leads to many possible applications in the body, such as delivering drugs to targeted locations and performing biopsies. This study shows the use of shape memory polymer (SMP) to wirelessly actuate a microgripper to be used by a controllable microrobot to achieve these functions. Many smart materials were analyzed in order to find the material that most effectively would accomplish wirelessly gripping, manipulating, and releasing a microobject. Multiple microgripper designs were designed, …

On The Selection Of A Good Shape Parameter For Rbf Approximation And Its Application For Solving Pdes, Lei-Hsin Kuo

Dissertations

Meshless methods utilizing Radial Basis Functions~(RBFs) are a numerical method that require no mesh connections within the computational domain. They are useful for solving numerous real-world engineering problems. Over the past decades, after the 1970s, several RBFs have been developed and successfully applied to recover unknown functions and to solve Partial Differential Equations (PDEs).
However, some RBFs, such as Multiquadratic (MQ), Gaussian (GA), and Matern functions, contain a free variable, the shape parameter, c. Because c exerts a strong influence on the accuracy of numerical solutions, much effort has been devoted to developing methods for determining shape parameters which provide …

Traction-Separation Relationships For Hydrogen-Induced Grain Boundary Embrittlement In Nickel Via Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Wesley Allen Barrows

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The deleterious effects of atomic and molecular hydrogen on the mechanical properties of metals have long been observed. Although several theories exist describing the mechanisms by which hydrogen negatively influences the failure of materials, a consensus has yet to be reached regarding the exact mechanism or combination of mechanisms. Two mechanisms have gained support in explaining hydrogen’s degradative role in non-hydride forming metals: hydrogen-enhanced localized plasticity and hydrogen-enhanced decohesion. Yet, the interplay between these mechanisms and microstructure in metallic materials has not been explained. Accordingly, for this thesis, the three main objectives are: (i) to develop a numerical methodology to …

Computational Fluid Dynamics Study Of Balloon System Tethered To A Stratosail, Jayakanth Loganathan, Kian-Meng Lim, Heow Pueh Lee, Boo Cheong Khoo

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

In this paper, we present a numerical study of a stratospheric balloon system tethered to a passive device, known as the Stratosail, for station-keeping operation. For scientific applications, stratospheric balloons that operate at altitudes between 15 and 20 km will need to maintain station over a fixed point above the earth for a prescribed period of time. This is a challenging problem due to the limitation of payloads and lack of an energy source. The present study uses computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to analyze the drift velocity of such a balloon-Stratosail system under typical wind conditions in the stratosphere. …

Freedom Ski, Toby A. Goldsteinholm, Ashley Scharff, Justin Satnick, Markus Rutner

Mechanical Engineering

The current availability of water skis for people who are paraplegic or quadriplegic is very limited. The aim of our project is to design a system that improves upon the current models of specialized water skis. Our intent is to create a waterski system that is structurally stable and handles responsively, in order to ensure that anyone is capable of effectively using our system to waterski.

The main client of our project is Quality of Life Plus, an organization that aims to aid veterans of the armed forces who have physical disabilities to still enjoy a good quality of life. …

Human Powered Vehicle Frame Design, Matthew S. Allen, Peter B. Aumann, Trent J. Hellmann

Mechanical Engineering

This report discusses the Human Powered Vehicle Frame Design senior project’s contributions to the design, manufacture, testing, and competition of the Cal Poly Human Powered Vehicle Club’s 2015 vehicle, Sweet Phoenix. The project’s guiding rules and timeline were dictated by the ASME Human Powered Vehicle Challenge (HPVC), held in April 2015. The Club sought to improve upon its previous vehicle, Aria, which suffered from a range of faults including a catastrophic structural failure at the 2014 HPVC. Largely in response to this failure, the Frame Design project’s major focus was Sweet Phoenix’s frame, from concept to manufacturing. During the design …

Power Maximization Of A Three-Phase Hydrokinetic Turbine, Matthew Carleson

Senior Theses

As Earth`s expendable resources dwindle, the need for alternative, renewable energy sources grows. Out of this need, an old favorite source is rising in popularity: small water turbines. Water-driven turbines first began as a means for turning mills and eventually evolved into massive dams that can power whole regions. This project focused on the construction of, and testing the properties of, a small pico-hydro power turbine. By using compressed air to drive the turbine, a representation of the peak power output was measured, serving as a basis for determining the value of pico-power systems in regards to the world`s current …