Computer-Aided Engineering and Design Commons^™

Investigating Challenges Of Converting Cad Models To Game Ready Assets, Vathsa Pawar

All Theses

This thesis explores the challenges associated with converting detailed CAD models into game-ready assets optimized for use in virtual reality (VR) environments using game engines, focusing on enhancing using mechanical engineering models. The primary goal is to establish a toolchain that allows the integration of CAD models into game engines for immersive applications, enabling engineers and stakeholders to interact with 3D models in a synthetic environment. The study employs several test cases ranging from simple door models to complex automotive vehicle prototypes, elaborating the process of exporting CAD models through intermediate formats (such as STEP, STL, GLB) using tools like …

Expandable And Retractable Wheel Design, Ethan Fortenberry, Emily Cottrell, Keegan Martin, Benjamin Mcconnell

Mechanical Engineering

Our sponsor, Jeremy Goren, wants to see his patented expandable wheel design come to life. He requires a functional final product actuated by linear actuators and with a continuous, circular outer shell. The overall design can be broken up into 2 parts: the inner hub and outer shell. The wheel's shell will consist of a 12-piece outer shell that guides the 6 inner shell pieces. The outer shell pieces will be connected via a UBracket. The hub will consist of 3 identical parts that will hold 2 linear actuators each. The pieces will be bolted together to create 1 singular …

The Waterbug: Adaptive Paddle Board Frame, Remy James Elio Lacchia, Katie Kellum, Madeline Evenson, Shelbi Sullaway

Mechanical Engineering

People with disabilities, particularly wheelchair users, face limitations in participating in outdoor activities like paddleboarding. Central Cal Adaptive, a nonprofit organization, aims to bridge this gap by offering adapted paddleboarding experiences. However, their current paddleboard presents challenges such as portability, range of motion, stability, and safety. Our team, comprising Madeline Evenson, Remy Lacchia, Katie Kellum, and Shelbi Sullaway, has collaborated with Central Cal Adaptive to refine the existing paddleboard design. The team’s goal is to enhance the paddleboard's functionality to better cater to wheelchair users' needs, ensuring lightweight, portable, and safe features for an improved outdoor experience.

Our paddleboard concept …

Piston Crown Design, Kurt L. Lippmann, Liam T. Janssen, Alex Rangel, Larry J. Davis

Mechanical Engineering

This project investigates the effects of dimpling a piston crown, and its impact on engine combustion dynamics. Through computational methods, the effects of piston crown dimpling on flow characteristics were evaluated. Theoretical results were verified with experimental methods. Experimental methods included characterization of exhaust gas content, engine horsepower and torque, and exhaust opacity.

Neural Operator And Physics-Informed Deep Learning Approaches For Inverse Design Of Composites And Manufacturing Processes, Minglei Lu

All Dissertations

In this dissertation, artificial intelligence (AI) models are designed and used to accelerate inverse design of composites and manufacturing processes. The critical bottlenecks in machine learning (ML) including data availability, data quality, model generalization and adaptation, interpretability, physical consistency, and the ’black box’ nature of models for the inverse design are addressed. And the proposed AI models are tested under different engineering scenarios. Firstly, a fast deep neural operator (DNO) structure was developed to significantly reduce training time. This model was tested in the context of additive manufacturing, a transformative industrial technology that allows for the creation of materials with …

Investigation Of Conductive Die-Top Thermal Capacitors During Short Circuit Operation Of Silicon Carbide Devices, Youssef Abotaleb

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Silicon carbide (SiC) power devices have garnered significant attention in recent years due to their superior thermal and electrical properties compared to traditional silicon devices. However, SiC power devices suffer from severe reliability issues arising from their mechanical properties. This is because the Young's modulus of SiC is about three times larger than that of silicon, which correspondingly raises the mechanical stresses acting on the bonding structure, often leading to device failure under power shock events.

Traditional packaging materials and designs tend to constrain SiC performance, as hot-spot temperature resulting from a power shock is one of the key factors …

An Efficient Computational Frameworks For Design And Analysis Of Metamaterials, Raj Pradip Khawale

All Dissertations

Advancement in additive manufacturing helps in building artificial lattice structures with unique properties that are not available in naturally occurring materials or in continuum structures. Specifically, beam-based lattices are well known for producing lightweight structures with very high strength, auxetic behavior, and energy absorption capabilities. In recent years, numerous research studies have been conducted on generating algorithms and frameworks to obtain unusual properties based on the variation in the cell geometry and material properties. However, the exploration of the full design space is hampered in practice primarily due to restrictions on cell tiling variation. Additionally, the lattices are very intricate, …

Autonomous Driving Trajectory Prediction, Carlos Funes

Undergraduate Research Symposium Lightning Talks

Autonomous driving is undoubtedly one of the world's most revolutionary technologies, opening the door to a more secure traffic environment. This innovation has led to vehicles being able to drive by themselves without the necessity of a person behind the wheel, as well as cruise control, lane-keeping assist, and automatic emergency braking. Unfortunately, there is still plenty of work before autonomous driving becomes more popular among drivers. While at UNLV as an undergraduate student/research assistant, one of my goals is to learn how these technologies work to bring ideas into the automotive industry by refining solutions to problems within these …

Hypoxic Incubator: Improving Robustness/Reliability And Demonstrating Physiological Efficacy, Damon Dennis Tan

Master's Theses

The Microphysiological Systems Laboratory aims to develop colorectal cancer tumor models under a hypoxic environment to assess model response to pharmaceutical compounds in vitro. To perform relevant studies, researchers have attempted to use different hypoxic inducing strategies such as a nitrogen pod and hypoxic incubator to recreate in vivo physiological responses to hypoxia. However, studies would be interrupted due to incubator functionality failure. To ensure successful and physiologically relevant studies, I improved and verified the robustness and reliability of a hypoxic incubator previously designed and manufactured in the lab. Through the testing and iterating design processes, I engineered and implemented …

An In-Situ Method For Quantifying Entropy Generation In Fatigue Via A Novel Thermographic Approach, Peyton J. Wilson

LSU Master's Theses

This work features a new approach that is used to measure the rate of plastic work during a cyclic fatigue test, based on the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Using the one-dimensional Fourier heat equation coupled with the concept of fracture fatigue entropy, the rate of plastic work during fatigue can be measured without the need to interrupt a fatigue test, and the accumulated entropy to failure can be quantified. Experimental fatigue tests are conducted on Aluminum 6061-T6 specimens under cyclic axial loading and Carbon Steel 1018 specimens under fully reversed cyclic bending loading. The obtained results in addition …

Biomechanical Effects Of Worn-Out Shoe Outsoles And Insoles On The Human Foot, Yuka M. Iwashita, James A. Engebretson, Shreeshan Jena

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

The combination of outsole, midsole and insole layers of new shoes provide proper cushioning to the foot during the daily activities of life. Subsequently, the wear-based degeneration or damage to one or more of these sole layers can reduce the cushioning effect to the plantar surface of the foot. This reduction of cushioning effect can impact the distribution of stress concentration regions along the foot plantar surfaces and lead to foot pathologies. The present proposed research intends to study these effects of shoe-wear on the plantar surface of the human foot, using FEA (ABAQUS) and experimental methods. Commonly, the worn-out …

Performance Studies Of An Axial Flow Waterjet Pump Using An Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Model, Stephen E. Monroe, Junfeng Wang, Chunlei Liang

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

In this study, an Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) model is demonstrated its suitability for studying the flow and performance of open marine propellers and waterjet pumps. First, the accuracy of the URANS model is validated by studying turbulent flow past counter-rotating propellers (CRPs). Specifically, experimental data from Miller (1976) is employed for comparison against the URANS results. Subsequently, URANS is used to study the flow and performance of an Office of Naval Research (ONR) axial flow waterjet pump (AxWJ-2). Due to the large number of degrees of freedom for both simulations, parallel computations over 80 cores are performed. For the …

Investigation Of Distributed Additive Manufacturing For 3d Printed Headband Component During Global Supply Chain Disruptions, Elizabeth M. Mamros, Saketh Kantipudi, Matthew C. Eaton, Jinjin Ha, Brad L. Kinsey

Faculty Conference Papers and Presentations

During the COVID-19 global pandemic, a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) occurred. Manufacturers of these critical products were unable to keep up with the growing demands as the situation evolved. Most face shields, a common type of PPE, include a headband component to provide the appropriate fit for the user and curvature for the clear face shield attachment. To mitigate this shortage in the local region, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY) generated a computeraided design (CAD) file for the headband component and asked the University of New Hampshire (UNH) to manufacture it with all available 3D printers, including printers …

Evaluation Of Business-Driven Reference Architecture For Big Data Analytics Implementation By Public Sector Organizations In Resource-Constrained Setting: A Case Study Of Uganda, Matendo Didas

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Big Data Analytics (BDA) is a new area at the nexus of agenda, public sector organizations, and government business. It may satisfy the growing need for trustworthy, cost-effective services in the public sector for better, more informed decision-making processes. BDA has been proposed on the planning schedules of several public sector organizations and the government. Therefore, from the previous work, using Uganda as a case study, specifically the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), Ministry of Health (MoH), and Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), this study aims to evaluate a designed Business-Driven Reference Architecture for Big Data Analytics Implementation (BRABDAI) …

Data Communication Over Power-Lines: A Review On Technical, And Applications Challenges, Abdi Abdalla

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

This paper presents a review study on the data communication over power-lines, commonly referred to as power-line carrier, power-line communication (PLC), mains communications, or power-line digital subscriber line (PDSL). This study examines the technical and application advantages and challenges associated with adopting PLC as a preferred alternative technology for wideband or broadband data communication. The broader coverage area of the PLC network gives it a distinct advantage over other communication network technologies. Additionally, implementing a communication system using the existing power-line network is more cost-effective and less time-consuming compared to constructing a new network from scratch. However, the primary challenge …

Assessment Of Web Security Vulnerabilities For Common Open Source Virtualization Software, Said Ally

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Open-source hypervisors have emerged as an integral technology for virtualizing server resources in cloud and data center computing. Hypervisor security efficiency is determined by virtual machine isolation, which is a de facto adoption factor in the selection process, as well as its ability to respond to web attacks. This paper assesses the security performance of Proxmox VE and XenServer for type 1 hypervisors, and Kernel Virtual Machine and Oracle Virtual Box for type 2 hypervisors. Security analysis was conducted using common exposures extracted from vulnerability databases and mapped against the OWASP 2013 and 2017 projects. For clarity, experiments were carried …

Investigations Of Cell Tower Antennas Parameters On Reduction Of Radio Frequency Radiation Levels From Radio Base Stations, Florence U. Rashidi

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The widespread deployment of mobile cellular base stations in populated areas has raised public health concerns due to increased exposure to radio frequency (RF) radiation emissions. Exposure to high levels of RF radiation can have potential thermal and non-thermal biological effects. Optimizing the configuration of cell tower antenna parameters is crucial for mitigating these radiation levels. This study therefore aims at systematically investigating the influence of different cell tower antenna parameters on reducing the RF radiation levels from mobile base stations. Field measurements were conducted at two cell sites shared by multiple mobile operators. Electric field strengths were measured at …

Developing An Assessment Tool For Ideation Effectiveness: A Survey-Based Approach For The Shah’S Method Of Design Space Exploration, Venkat Jaya Deep Jakka

All Theses

The research is focused on creativity in engineering design. The goal is to understand if creativity in engineering design can be assessed using a less resource-intensive approach, specifically a survey, compared to design exercises. The survey builds on the metrics established by Shah and colleagues. The four metrics are Novelty, Quality, Variety and Quantity. The metrics are measured with the help of a design activity that is deployed to the participants. These metrics have been used in comparative analysis to assess treatments such as new design methods and personality types. However, the downside of the metrics is that they require …

Linear And Nonlinear Topology Optimization With Morphing Beam Networks, Andrew S. Montalbano

All Dissertations

Topology optimization (TO) is an engineering design discipline dedicated to optimizing material distribution within a given domain. In traditional gradient-based topology optimization, the solid domain is discretized into small volumetric elements. Using finite element analysis (FEA) of the structure, the gradient of the objective function with respect to the design variables (the pseudo densities) is computed, and these design variables are updated iteratively until convergence is achieved. Although gradient-based TO methods are well-established, sensitivity analyses of objective functions and constraints can be both mathematically complex and computationally intensive. The nonconvex nature of most TO problems often complicates efficient convergence. Furthermore, …

Development Of A Rule-Based Monitoring System For Autonomous Heavy Equipment Safety, Amirpooya Shirazi

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Roadway construction work zones are constantly exposed to interactions among construction equipment, workers, and vehicles. Furthermore, ensuring safety in these areas is considered a challenging task due to the complexity of the environment. As shown in the rising trend of fatal accidents in roadway work zones, current OSHA regulations in construction safety are insufficient in effectively detecting unsafe situations and mitigating the risks. Furthermore, best practices, such as internal traffic control planning (ITCP), exhibit critical limitations requiring continuous monitoring of active work zones as well as adjustments to the site coordination plans due to the dynamic nature of work zone …