Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Diesel Spray Mixing Limited Vaporization With Non-Ideal And Multi-Component Fuel Thermophysical Property Effects, Jaclyn Elyse Nesbitt

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Internal combustion engines are, and will continue to be, a primary mode of power generation for ground transportation. Challenges exist in meeting fuel consumption regulations and emission standards while upholding performance, as fuel prices rise, and resource depletion and environmental impacts are of increasing concern. Diesel engines are advantageous due to their inherent efficiency advantage over spark ignition engines; however, their NO_x and soot emissions can be difficult to control and reduce due to an inherent tradeoff. Diesel combustion is spray and mixing controlled providing an intrinsic link between spray and emissions, motivating detailed, fundamental studies on spray, vaporization, …

A Study On The Feasibility Of Universal Chip Control In Machining, Thimmaiah Kumbera Ganapathi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

A novel solution to the long standing issue of chip entanglement and breakage in metal cutting is presented in this dissertation. Through this work, an attempt is made to achieve universal chip control in machining by using chip guidance and subsequent breakage by backward bending (tensile loading of the chip's rough top surface) to effectively control long continuous chips into small segments.

One big limitation of using chip breaker geometries in disposable carbide inserts is that the application range is limited to a narrow band depending on cutting conditions. Even within a recommended operating range, chip breakers do not function …

The Hemocompatibility Of A Nitric Oxide Generating Polymer That Catalyzes S-Nitrosothiol Decomposition In An Extracorporeal Circulation Model, Terry C. Major, David O. Brant, Charles P. Burney, Kagya Amoako, Gail M. Annich, Mark E. Meyerhoff, Hitesh Handa, Robert E. Bartlett

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Nitric oxide (NO) generating (NOGen) materials have been shown previously to create localized increases in NO concentration by the catalytic decomposition of blood S-nitrosothiols (RSNO) via copper (Cu)-containing polymer coatings and may improve extracorporeal circulation (ECC) hemocompatibility. In this work, a NOGen polymeric coating composed of a Cuo-nanoparticle (80 nm)-containing hydrophilic polyurethane (SP-60D-60) combined with the intravenous infusion of an RSNO, S- nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), is evaluated in a 4 h rabbit thrombogenicity model and the anti-thrombotic mechanism is investigated. Polymer films containing 10 wt.% Cuo-nanoparticles coated on the inner walls of ECC circuits are employed concomitantly with systemic SNAP administration …

Predicting Shape And Stability Of Air–Water Interface On Superhydrophobic Surfaces With Randomly Distributed, Dissimilar Posts, B. Emami, Hooman Vahedi Tafreshi, M. Gad-El-Hak, Gary C. Tepper

Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Publications

A mathematical framework developed to calculate the shape of the air–water interface and predict the stability of a microfabricated superhydrophobicsurface with randomly distributed posts of dissimilar diameters and heights is presented. Using the Young–Laplace equation, a second-order partial differential equation is derived and solved numerically to obtain the shape of the interface, and to predict the critical hydrostatic pressure at which the superhydrophobicity vanishes in a submersed surface. Two examples are given for demonstration of the method’s capabilities and accuracy.

Fabrication And Testing Of A Nonstandard Thin-Film Heat Flux Sensor For Power System Applications, Scott D. Wilson

ETD Archive

Stirling convertors are being operated by NASA Glenn Research Center for many years to demonstrate a Radioisotope Power System (RPS) capable of providing reliable power for potential multi-year space missions. Techniques used to monitor Stirling convertors for change in performance include measurements of temperature, pressure, energy addition, and power output. It is difficult to measure energy addition to Stirling convertors due to the complex geometries of the hot components, temperature limits of sensor materials, and invasive integration of sensors. A thin-film heat flux sensor was used to directly measure heat energy addition to a Stirling convertor. The one micron thick, …

Modeling And Performance Investigation Of A Rotor With Dissimilar Bearing Support System, Yunlu Li

ETD Archive

Different types of bearings have different dynamic characteristics. By using one type of bearing at one end of a rotor and another type of bearing at the other end of the rotor, it is possible to exploit the advantages of both types in the same system. One example of such combination is a bronze bushing and active magnetic bearing (AMB). In the available literature, there are examples of such systems but are not fully explored with regard to how to model the system to fully utilize both support type properties. This thesis investigates the modeling and performance of such a …

A Detailed And Systematic Investigation Of Personal Ventilation Systems, Jackie Russo

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - Dissertations

This research investigates the use of personal ventilation (PV) in a typical office space as a means of contaminant removal from ones breathing zone (BZ). For this work, a validated computational model was developed and used for PV assessment under different scenarios. Experimental data of Khalifa et al. (2009), Ito (2007) and Rim et al. (2009) were used to validate a computational model that is capable of simulating indoor chemical reactions with excellent agreement compared with the experiments. Through the validation process, various computational parameters were determined to be significant for producing accurate results. Grid resolution, geometry, far field BCs, …

A Method For Defining Wind Turbine Setback Standards, Jonathan Rogers, Nathan Slegers, Mark Costello

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Setback distances established by regulatory authorities to minimize the probability of blade fragment impact with roads, structures and infrastructure can often have a significant impact on wind farm development. However, these minimum distance requirements typically rely on arbitrary rules of thumb and are not based on a physical or probabilistic analysis of blade throw. The work reported here uses a probabilistic approach to evaluate the effectiveness of current standards and to propose a new technique for determining setback distances. This is accomplished through the use of a dynamic model of wind turbine blade failure coupled with Monte Carlo simulation techniques …

Techniques From Workshops On Teaching: Implementing The Concepts And Evaluating Our Approaches, Michael R. Foster, Justin R. Vander Werff

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

The challenges for new engineering educators abound and there are never enough hours in a day or days in a week. Young educators may lack confidence in course subject material given that they have never taught (the topic and/or in a classroom) before. In addition, their knowledge of teaching pedagogy and classroom management strategies often lacks refinement since their education is almost exclusively in a field of engineering rather than education. Teaching workshops have been developed to expose instructors in higher education to practical teaching pedagogy and effective classroom management. These workshops often emphasize research-based methods including use of clearly …

Get Away Special: Microgravity Research Team, Getaway Special Team

Education and Outreach

No abstract provided.

Report For 2011 Urco Funded Experiment: Development Of Optimal Bubble-Seeding Microheaters To Study Nucleate Boiling Heat Transfer In Microgravity, Ryan Martineau

Reports and Proposals

No abstract provided.

Me-Em 2011 Annual Report, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Annual Reports

Table of Contents

• ME-EM: 85 Years of Excellence
• Faculty & Staff
• Enrollment & Degrees
• Alumni
• Resources
• Graduates

A Collaborative Computational Framework For Multidisciplinary And Reliability-Based Analysis And Optimization Using Sorcer, Karkada Nagesha Aithala

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

In a globalized and highly competitive world of product design, collaboration is a necessity to leverage the expertise available among various engineering teams to meet stringent product specifications and strict product delivery schedules reducing the concept to release time, and hence maintaining a competitive edge in the market. Physical location of teams may span organizational firewalls and different countries. Seamless access must be provided to hundreds of design tools that are utilized by the teams to carry out multidisciplinary analysis, optimization, and reliability studies in order to accurately estimate product performance. Service ORiented Computational EnviRonment (SORCER) is one of the …

Wind Energy Potential For Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plants In La Guajira, Colombia, Carlos Martinez-Smit

Faculty-Selected Student Works

Project report required by the Master of Science Degree in Renewable and Clean Energy.

Abstract:

The region of La Guajira, located in the north of Colombia, has a lot of potential for wind power with annual average wind speeds up to 11 m/s at 10 m height in some locations, according to the national wind map. Most of the wind potential is located in Upper Guajira, where 90% of the population is indigenous Wayuu people (among the country’s poorest population) and it is also characterized with low precipitation, 500 mm/yr, high evapotranspiration, 1500 mm/yr, and low humidity. All this creates …

Modeling Diverse Physics Of Nanoparticle Self-Assembly In Pulsed Laser-Irradiated Metallic Films, Mikhail Khenner

Mathematics Faculty Publications

Presents physics behind dewetting of thin liquid films and mathematical/computational modeling tools (Educational/Research presentation for senior physics majors).

Label-Free Biochemical Recognition Using Mems Resonators For Microarray Technology, Babak Tousifar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Highly sensitive biosensors capable of detecting and characterizing smallest quantities of cellular and molecular targets are needed in pharmaceutical and medical diagnostics industries. In this work, the importance of biological target recognition specifically proteins through microarray technologies has been discussed and the most successful tools and techniques have been studied. Moreover, a thermally actuated Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) resonator has been demonstrated and fabricated in this work as an accurate, reliable and low cost biotechnology tool. As a proof of concept, amine to epoxide coupling of octadecylamine to functionalized silicon dioxide surface have been shown through resonator frequency monitoring. The …

Computational Prediction Of The Influence Of Crosslink Distribution On The Thermo-Mechanical Properties Of Epoxies, Ananyo Bandyopadhyay

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Experimental studies on epoxies report that the microstructure consists of highly crosslinked localized regions connected with a dispersed phase of low crosslink density. The various thermo-mechanical properties of epoxies might be affected by the crosslink distribution. But as experiments cannot report the exact number of crosslinked covalent bonds present in the structure, molecular dynamics is thus being used in this work to determine the influence of crosslink distribution on thermo-mechanical properties. Molecular dynamics and molecular mechanics simulations are used to establish wellequilibrated molecular models of EPON 862-DETDA epoxy system with a range of crosslink densities and various crosslink distributions. Crosslink …

In-Situ Electrical, Mechanical And Electrochemical Characterizations Of One-Dimensional Nanostructures, Hessam Mir Shah Ghassemi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

One-dimensional nanostructures initiated new aspects to the materials applications due to their superior properties compared to the bulk materials. Properties of nanostructures have been characterized by many techniques and used for various device applications. However, simultaneous correlation between the physical and structural properties of these nanomaterials has not been widely investigated. Therefore, it is necessary to perform in-situ study on the physical and structural properties of nanomaterials to understand their relation. In this work, we will use a unique instrument to perform real time atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) of nanomaterials inside a transmission electron microscopy …

Computational Simulations Of Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage Systems - With Innovative And First-Principles Based Simulation For The Underlying Unsteady Melting (And Solidification) Processes, Rohan Achyut Gumaste

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This thesis develops an effective modeling and simulation procedure for a specific thermal energy storage system commonly used and recommended for various applications (such as an auxiliary energy storage system for solar heating based Rankine cycle power plant). This thermal energy storage system transfers heat from a hot fluid (termed as heat transfer fluid - HTF) flowing in a tube to the surrounding phase change material (PCM). Through unsteady melting or freezing process, the PCM absorbs or releases thermal energy in the form of latent heat. Both scientific and engineering information is obtained by the proposed first-principle based modeling and …

Development Of A Continuum Mechanics Model Of Passive Skeletal Muscle, Duane A. Morrow

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Skeletal muscle force evaluation is difficult to implement in a clinical setting. Muscle force is typically assessed through either manual muscle testing, isokinetic/isometric dynamometry, or electromyography (EMG). Manual muscle testing is a subjective evaluation of a patient’s ability to move voluntarily against gravity and to resist force applied by an examiner. Muscle testing using dynamometers adds accuracy by quantifying functional mechanical output of a limb. However, like manual muscle testing, dynamometry only provides estimates of the joint moment. EMG quantifies neuromuscular activation signals of individual muscles, and is used to infer muscle function. Despite the abundance of work performed to …