Other Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Theoretical Research On Determining The Length Of The Shovels Of A Wheel Of Centrifugal Fans, V.A. Arkhipov, D. Dzhuraev, I.Zh. Toirov, A.E. Urishev

Irrigation and Melioration

Presents the results of theoretical research by scientists, carried out scientific work to determine the length of the shovel of a centrifugal fan wheel. A technological scheme for installing a shovel on a fan wheel disk has been developed Analyzes of these works are carried out, which show that the length of the wheel shovel has a significant dependence on the parameters of the wheel (R, R₁), the angle of installation α and the radius of the arc R₃ of the shovel. An analytical dependence is derived for determining the length of the shovel of a …

Spectral Absorption Coefficient Of Additive Manufacturing Materials, Nicholas J. Wallace, Matthew R. Jones, Nathan B. Crane

Faculty Publications

Active thermography techniques are of interest for quality assurance of additive manufacturing processes. However, accurate measurements of thermophysical properties of materials are required to successfully implement active thermography. In particular, the spectral absorption coefficient of materials commonly used in additive manufacturing must be known to accurately predict the spatial distribution of thermal energy generated from absorption of power emitted by a laser or pulsed flash lamp. Accurate measurements of these optical properties are also needed to develop greater understanding of additive manufacturing processes that rely on radiative heat transfer to fuse powders. This paper presents spectral absorption coefficient measurements and …

Microparticle Propulsion For In Vivo Navigation, Louis Rogowski

Mechanical Engineering Research Theses and Dissertations

Microscale propulsion impacts a diverse array of fields, with simplistic microrobots allowing for novel innovations in microscale surgery and drug delivery. Propulsion at the microscale is constrained by physics, with time-reversal and geometric symmetries limiting available propulsion mechanisms. However, certain fluid environments and surface coatings allow for the propulsion of microparticles through externally applied magnetic fields. Presented here is a detailed analysis of microparticles propelling using spontaneous symmetry breaking, flagella surface coatings, and multi-modal actuation mechanisms. Spontaneous symmetry breaking in nonlinearly viscoelastic fluids is presented for the first time in literature, with two equal and opposite propulsion states existing along …

A Numerical And Experimental Study Of Lid Driven Square Cavity Flow For Laminar And Turbulent Cases, Abdullah Bin Naeem

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Experimental and numerical studies are performed on steady and unsteady lid-driven cavity flow for laminar flow regime. In the experiments, a PIV and an LDA were employed to measure the global and local velocities, respectively inside a cavity of AR 1.0. The velocity vector plots and streamline plots which represent unsteady circulation patterns are obtained using the PIV. The steady local velocities measured with LDA are then used to calibrate the PIV measurements. The numerical study is performed using a commercial CFD solver. For turbulent flow simulation RANS equations with K-Epsilon closure model were used. From the PIV calibration study, …

Performance Improvements For Next Generation Falling Particle Receiver Systems, Nathan R. Schroeder

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Falling particle receiver (FPR) systems are a rapidly developing technology for concentrating solar power applications. Solid particles are used as both the heat transfer fluid and thermal energy storage media. Through the direct solar irradiation of the solid particles, flux and temperature limitations of tube-bundle receives can be overcome leading to higher operating temperatures and energy conversion efficiencies. Particle residence time, curtain opacity, and curtain stability affect the performance of FPR designs. As the particles fall through the receiver the curtain accelerates, increasing its transmissivity thus decreasing the amount of energy absorbed. Multistage release trough structures catch and release the …

Understanding Of Aerosol Transmission Of Covid 19 In Indoor Environments, Adama Barro, Cathal O'Toole, Jacob S. Lopez, Matthew Quinones, Sherene Moore

Publications and Research

Our reason for discussing severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or 2019 novel corona virus (Covid-19), is to understand its aerosol transmission characteristics in indoor spaces and to mitigate further spread of this disease by designing a new HVAC system. The problem that we are tackling is the spread of covid-19 droplets through aerosol transmission by looking at potential engineering solutions to the existing HVAC systems. The purpose is to eradicate the spread of the COVID-19 by testing indoor spaces in an effort to understand the effectiveness of ventilation controls. We believe that scientists and engineers have not …

Direct Solar Absorption Nanoparticle Doped Membranes For A Hybrid Membrane Distillation And Photovoltaic Cell, Alejandro Espejo Sanchez

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The growing demand for clean water supplies is driving the need for an innovative approach of water desalination. Developing a method for treating water with high salinities is possible with membrane distillation (MD). Additionally, MD is very attractive for pairing with solar energy due to the low temperature requirements. The integration of a membrane distillation system with a photovoltaic (PV) system will result in the co-production of electricity and clean water, thereby improving the economics of MD. Such a hybrid system will directly absorb thermal energy in the membrane for desalination while taking advantage of the spectrally selective nature of …

A.C. Moyer Eye-Cap Manufacturing, Thais Bertolus, Alexa Steidl, Hana Welsh, Jarod Kinney, Maya Willis

Mechanical Engineering

A.C. Moyer company has been making eye caps as a family business since 1947. Eye caps are a product used during the embalming process. Currently the machines being used to produce the eye caps are outdated and unsafe. We are a team of 5 mechanical engineering students tasked with either designing new machines or updating the existing machines to make the manufacturing process more efficient, automated, and safer. This document describes the design process, provides background, relevant research, establishes project objectives, and defines plans for project implementation.

Improvement Of Labyrinth Seal Leakage Rates Using Additive Manufacturing, Austin L. Gasbarra

Master's Theses

The growing popularity of additive manufacturing in commercial applications has al- lowed for new ideas and new ways of thinking when designing components. Further optimization at the component level is possible, though powder metallurgy is in its infancy. This study explores the possibility of using additive manufacturing to develop better labyrinth seals in turbomachinery. Labyrinth seals have a torturous fluid path with high losses, thus limiting the amount of fluid leakage. These types of seals can be non-rotating, allowing them to better take advantage of the additive manufacturing process due to the absence of rotating stresses. Labyrinth seal performance is …

Sustainable Drug Release From Polycaprolactone Coated Chitin‑Lignin Gel Fibrous Scaffolds, Turdimuhammad Abdullah, Kalamegam Gauthaman, Azadeh Mostafavi, Ahmed Alshahrie, Numan Salah, Pierfrancesco Morganti, Angelo Chianese, Ali Tamayol, Adnan Memic

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Non-healing wounds have placed an enormous stress on both patients and healthcare systems worldwide. Severe complications induced by these wounds can lead to limb amputation or even death and urgently require more effective treatments. Electrospun scaffolds have great potential for improving wound healing treatments by providing controlled drug delivery. Previously, we developed fibrous scaffolds from complex carbohydrate polymers [i.e. chitin-lignin (CL) gels]. However, their application was limited by solubility and undesirable burst drug release. Here, a coaxial electrospinning is applied to encapsulate the CL gels with polycaprolactone (PCL). Presence of a PCL shell layer thus provides longer shelf-life for the …

Data Analysis To Evaluate The Performance Of Breathing Masks Used For Filtering Nano-Level Particles At Manufacturing Sites, Gracia M. Dardano

Honors College Theses

The work performed in this research aims to evaluate the performance of commercially available breathing masks in filtering airborne nanoparticles at manufacturing sites. Nanoparticles are found virtually anywhere, from dust in a worksite to a simple sneeze. Therefore, they pose a substantial threat to human health as their velocity and volatility are high. This research analyzes if current efforts of breathing masks to hinder nanoparticles are effective, especially at manufacturing sites. Data has been collected in order to analyze the behavior of nanoparticles and to measure nanoparticle levels at manufacturing sites and its working environment. Data is statistical in nature …

Centrifugal Microfluidic Platform For Solid-Phase-Extraction (Spe) And Fluorescence Detection Applications, Yong Zhang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Solid phase extraction (SPE) is a widely used method to separate and concentrate the target molecules in liquid mixture. Traditional SPE has to be conducted in the laboratory with professional equipment and skilled operators. The microfluidic and 3D printing technology have opened up the opportunity in developing miniaturized automatic instruments. The main contribution of this research is to integrate the SPE process on a novel centrifugal platform. Various valves are applied on the platform to help control the aqueous sample and reagents in the cartridge.

First, a centrifugal microfluidic platform was built for automatically detecting trace oil pollution in water. …

Bibliometric Survey On Supply Chain In Healthcare Using Artificial Intelligence, Shruti Maheshwari, Gagandeep Kaur, Ketan Kotecha, Pramod Kumar Jain Dr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

With the increasing demand for the supply chain in the service sector, new techniques have become essential. With the latest emerging technologies, it has become crucial to have a bibliometric analysis of supply chain management (SCM) in the healthcare sector. The paper represents the analysis of research supply chain in the service sector using artificial intelligence techniques. The main aim of the analysis is to accomplish the technology in healthcare supply chain management using SCOPUS, Google Scholar, Research Gate, etc. and the various softwares like Gephi, GSP Visualizer, etc. The bibliometric analysis shows that India has ranked 4th in publishing …

Portable Wind Turbine Blade Leading Edge Erosion Test, Joe Blakewell, Tim Holt, Kevin Vartan

Mechanical Engineering

Turbine Technology Partners, LLC (TTP) is a company located in Santa Barbara, California that provides expert independent engineering (IE) consulting services to the wind energy industry - supporting its goal of generating cost effective and reliable carbon-free renewal energy for the world. TTP customers include some of the largest wind turbine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), wind turbine power plant developers, and wind turbine owner/operators. One of the biggest problems challenging the wind energy industry currently is the power loss that results from the leading edge (LE) erosion of wind turbine blades. The purpose of our senior design project is to …

Bolted Flanged Assembly Test Stand, Mark Christian Damasco Sunga, Paulina Mercedez Delgado, Philip John Coleman

Mechanical Engineering

The following Final Design Report (FDR) is the last formal documentation for the senior design project. The project was carried out by three senior mechanical engineering students at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo for Phillips 66. The project proposed was to design a test stand and implement a procedure which will evaluate craftsmen’s abilities to assemble a bolted flanged joint assembly. The goal was to create a fully functional test setup that can be duplicated and utilized throughout Phillips 66’s refineries. This document details the design process that was completed over the course of three quarters, including concept …

Deep-Sea Water Collector, Chandler Jones, Jenny Verheul, Michael Di Giorgio

Mechanical Engineering

Properties such as nutrients, DNA, pH levels, and primary productivity are difficult to measure onboard an Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (UROV) as mobile submarine sensors are highly expensive and conventional water capture devices are too large to be equipped. However, these properties provide an integral view into our oceans, the species that inhabit them, and our influence on the environment. Collected samples of seawater taken back to labs allow researchers to see a clearer picture of ecosystems’ inhabitants and lifecycle with the analysis of Environmental DNA (eDNA) among many other properties. The scope of this project is to design a …

Extending The Functional Subnetwork Approach To A Generalized Linear Integrate-And-Fire Neuron Model, Nicholas Szczecinski, Roger Quinn, Alexander J. Hunt

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Engineering neural networks to perform specific tasks often represents a monumental challenge in determining network architecture and parameter values. In this work, we extend our previously-developed method for tuning networks of non-spiking neurons, the “Functional subnetwork approach” (FSA), to the tuning of networks composed of spiking neurons. This extension enables the direct assembly and tuning of networks of spiking neurons and synapses based on the network’s intended function, without the use of global optimization ormachine learning. To extend the FSA, we show that the dynamics of a generalized linear integrate and fire (GLIF) neuronmodel have fundamental similarities to those of …

Optimal Control Of Active Nematics, Michael M. Norton, Piyush Grover, Michael F. Hagan, Seth Fraden

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this work we present the first systematic framework to sculpt active nematic systems, using optimal control theory and a hydrodynamic model of active nematics. We demonstrate the use of two different control fields, (i) applied vorticity and (ii) activity strength, to shape the dynamics of an extensile active nematic that is confined to a disk. In the absence of control inputs, the system exhibits two attractors, clockwise and counterclockwise circulating states characterized by two co-rotating topological þ1 2 defects. We specifically seek spatiotemporal inputs that switch the system from one attractor to the other; we also examine phase-shifting perturbations. …

Microfluidic Systems With Embedded Cell Culture Chambers For High Throughput Biological Assays, Arian Jaberi, Amir Monemian Esfahani, Fariba Aghabaglou, Jae Sung Park, Sidy Ndao, Ali Tamayol, Ruiguo Yang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The ability to generate chemical and mechanical gradients on chips is important both for creating biomimetic designs or enabling high-throughput assays. However, there is still a significant knowledge gap in the generation of mechanical and chemical gradients in a single device. In this study, we developed gradient-generating microfluidic circuits with integrated microchambers to allow cell culture and to introduce chemical and mechanical gradients to cultured cells. A chemical gradient is generated across the microchambers, exposing cells to a uniform concentration of drugs. The embedded microchamber also produces a mechanical gradient in the form of varied shear stresses induced upon cells …

Impact Of Sintering Time And Temperature On Mechanical Properties In Projection Sintering Of Polyamide-12, Justin Nussbaum, Taranjot Kaur, Julie Harmon, Nathan B. Crane

Faculty Publications

In powder bed fusion additive manufacturing (AM), the fusing process is temperature and time dependent. However, little work has been done to understand how different processing temperatures and times might impact the mechanical properties at longer sintering times than are typical in laser sintering (LS) systems. Prior results with projection sintering have shown that heating for longer times (>1s) improves part toughness compared to laser sintering. In this work, Large Area Projection Sintering (LAPS) is used to sinter entire layers of material simultaneously over the course of a few seconds with spatial control of layer temperature. This work evaluates …