Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Integrating Complete Bond Dissociation In Class Ii Force Fields, Joshua Kemppainen, Hendrik Heinz, Gregory M. Odegard

Michigan Tech Publications

Predicting the physical and mechanical properties of organic materials from purely chemical understandings remains a significant challenge due to the limitations of conventional force fields in molecular dynamics (MD). In this work, we present a novel reformulation of Class II force fields that integrates Morse bond potentials with newly derived cross-term interactions, explicitly capturing complete bond dissociation while maintaining computational efficiency. This reformulated functional form combines the stability of fixed-bond models with the reactive capabilities of bond-breaking force fields, achieving accurate and robust MD predictions across crystalline, semi-crystalline, and amorphous organic systems. Extensive benchmarking confirms its predictive accuracy and speed, …

Prediction Model Of Storage Quality Change And Shelf Life Of Dried Pork Slice, Chen Xiaohe, Qian Ping, Huang Ning, Yang Ran, Qu Lingbo, Zhao Changcheng, Li Chunxia

Food and Machinery

[Objective] To investigate the quality changes of dried pork slices under different temperature storage conditions and to predict their shelf life. [Methods] Hardness, color parameters (L* value, a* value, b* value ), and sensory quality of dried pork slices were investigated under storage at 25, 35, 45, and 55℃. Pearson correlation analysis was performed for each index, and the key index was fitted using a dynamic model. Combining the Arrhenius equation with the Q10 model, a shelf life prediction model was established. [Results] Under storage at 25, 35, 45, and 55 ℃, the a* value of dried pork slices decreased …

Adaptive Pi Control Using Recursive Least Squares For Centrifugal Pump Pipeline Systems, David A. Brattley, Wayne Weaver

Michigan Tech Publications

Pipeline transportation of petroleum products remains one of the safest and most efficient methods of bulk energy delivery, yet overpressure events continue to pose serious operational and regulatory challenges. Traditional fixed-gain PI controllers, commonly used with centrifugal pump drives, cannot adapt to varying product densities or transient disturbances such as valve closures that generate water hammer. This paper proposes a self-tuning adaptive controller based on Recursive Least Squares (RLS) parameter estimation to improve safety and efficiency in pipeline pump operations. A nonlinear simulation model of a centrifugal pump driven by an induction motor is developed, incorporating pipeline friction losses via …

Child Occupant Safety In The United Arab Emirates: Crash, Injury, And Anthropometric Analysis, Muhammad Uba Abdulazeez

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has one of the highest rates of child occupant injuries and fatalities globally. A comprehensive review of the literature revealed very limited research on child occupant injuries and fatalities in the UAE. All but two of the identified studies relied on data from Al Ain-based sources namely - Al Ain Department of Preventive Medicine, Al Ain Hospital, and Tawwam Hospital - and were restricted to that city. Furthermore, most of these studies were conducted nearly 30 years ago with the two most recent ones (conducted over a decade ago) based on crash data that was …

Microstructural And Mechanical Characterization Of Aa6082 /Sic/Al2o3 Hybrid Nanocomposite Fabricated By Ultrasonic-Assisted Vacuum Die Stir Casting, Anasmon Koderi Valappil

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

The utilization of aluminium alloys has increased rapidly in past decades due to the increasing demand for lightweight and high-performance materials. Among the popular aluminium alloys, AA6082 is widely favoured for its excellent combination of strength, corrosion resistance, and machinability. Most previous work, however, has concentrated on either on micro scale reinforcement or on single ceramic particles, leaving very few experimental studies on the use of hybrid nano reinforcement in AA6082. Therefore, to further enhance its mechanical properties without compromising its inherent advantages, hybrid metal matrix composites were developed using various nano particulates as reinforcements. In this current study, AA6082-based …

Impact Of The Inclination Angle Of Corrugated Energy Absorbers On The Crashworthiness Performance: Numerical Study, Mahmoud Mohammad Ousama

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

In the present study, cylindrical energy absorbers with various corrugation inclination angles were numerically analysed to evaluate their crashworthiness under quasi-static axial loading. Simulations were performed using ANSYS/Explicit Dynamics, operated in a quasi-static regime by applying a sufficiently slow loading rate to suppress inertial effects. Seven designs were evaluated: a smooth tube (no corrugation) and corrugated tubes with inclination angles of 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°, measured from the horizontal axis.

The total absorbed energy (TAE), mean crushing load (MCL), stroke efficiency (SE), specific energy absorption (SEA), initial peak force (IPF), and crushing force efficiency (CFE) were computed …

Enhanced Air Hockey Robot Performance Through Adaptive Control Algorithm Using Ai-Based Hierarchical Decision Architecture, Ayham Majed Salim

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

This thesis presents the development of an intelligent air hockey robot that combines precise mechanical design, computer vision, and adaptive control within an AI-based hierarchical decision architecture. The system integrates synchronized stepper motors, high-speed image processing, and a real-time decision framework to achieve competitive gameplay performance. The robot detects the puck using adaptive HSV color segmentation, supported by dynamic calibration that maintains accuracy under different lighting conditions. A two-stage trajectory prediction model, based on exponential decay velocity estimation, enables anticipation of puck motion and improves response time during fast gameplay.

At the decision level, a fuzzy-logic supervisor governs the robot’s …

Investigation Of Electrochemical Corrosion Fatigue Mitigation Strategies For Mild Carbon Steel, Joel Andrew Hudson

Doctoral Dissertations

Corrosion fatigue remains a critical durability challenge for steels used in boiler tubes and other safety-critical components, where the interaction of cyclic stresses and corrosive environments accelerates material degradation. This dissertation comprises three experimental studies aimed at advancing mitigation strategies and test methodologies: (1) enhancing corrosion resistance through electrodeposited Fe-Ni anodic coatings, (2) inducing synthetic crack closure to suppress fatigue crack growth, and (3) developing an accessible, low-cost, automated testing system to investigate environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) under controlled laboratory conditions. The first study examined the corrosion behavior of Fe and Fe-Ni electrodeposits synthesized from sulfate-based baths and applied to …

Development Of New Design Criteria For Coastal Highway Embankment Under Wave-Induced Loading, Udaya Bilas Panta

Master's Theses

In the face of intensifying hurricanes and rising sea levels, Louisiana’s coastal highways, lifelines for communities and commerce, stand increasingly vulnerable. This thesis introduces a pioneering methodology for designing geosynthetic-reinforced highway embankments capable of withstanding wave-induced loading and rapid drawdown scenarios, the most critical failure condition identified in coastal environments. By integrating statistical wave modeling, advanced numerical simulations using SEEP/W and SLOPE/W, and a comprehensive parametric analysis, the study develops a novel hybrid regression formula that accurately predicts optimal reinforcement lengths based on site-specific geotechnical and hydraulic parameters. Validated against Hurricane Katrina data and real-world soil profiles from Cameron Parish, …

A Magnesium Alloy With High Corrosion Resistance, Hardness And Elastic Modulus Enabled By Elemental Synergy, Alexander Helmer, Manoj V. Mugale, Tushar Borkar, Rajeev K. Gupta

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

A magnesium alloy containing Ca, Ti, Zn, and In was synthesized via high-energy ball milling of elemental powders followed by spark plasma sintering. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy revealed a homogeneous matrix with dispersed Mg-rich phases and intermetallics. Potentiodynamic polarization tests revealed low corrosion current density (9.6 f 2.1 mu A/cm2), a noble corrosion potential (-1197 f 4 mVSCE), and a clear passive region, indicating excellent corrosion resistance. Nanoindentation tests showed high hardness (2.61 f 0.21 GPa) and elastic modulus (55.35 f 5.47 GPa), exceeding those of commercial Mg alloys.

Interfacial Gap Prediction In Laser Welding Of Pure Copper Overlap Joints Using Multiple Sensors., Hyeonhee Kim, Cheolhee Kim, Minjung Kang

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this study, a novel approach was proposed for predicting the interfacial gap in copper overlap joints by using deep learning and multi-sensor fusion. In this method, an image sensor, a spectrometer, and optical sensors tomography (OCT) sensors were used to develop and validate deep learning models under various gap conditions. The results revealed that the variation in melt pool dimensions, changes in keyhole behavior, intensity variations at specific wavelengths, and keyhole depth derived from the OCT data could be used to accurately predict the interfacial gap. Among the proposed models, a binary gap classification model achieved the highest accuracy …

User Interface And Watchstation Improvements Required For Multi-Vehicle Usv Operations, Val Schmidt, Joshua Bergeron

Faculty Publications

In October 2024, the University of New Hampshire and NOAA’s Uncrewed Systems Office embarked on a mapping mission in the Gulf of Maine, simultaneously operating two DriX Un-crewed Surface Vehicles. Goals of the project were focused on testing hypotheses related to concepts of operation, including the safety of operations, cognitive loading of operators, management of vehicle endurance, vehicle logistics, maintenance and field support, refueling and a host of others.

Development And Characterization Of Sustainable Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites With Date Palm Agro-Residues As Reinforcement, Ansar Kareem

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Aluminum matrix composites (AMCs) are extensively used in various industrial applications owing to their exceptional mechanical, material, and tribological properties. This led to the development of AMCs with every possible aluminum alloy as matrix, incorporated with various reinforcement materials to achieve desired material properties. There has been an increasing trend in the utilization of agricultural and industrial waste products as reinforcement material in AMCs. Date palm trees produce huge quantity of agricultural waste in different forms. Usually, these wastes are burned or disposed of in landfills which cause environmental pollution. Date palm agro-wastes can be incinerated to produce date palm …

First-Principles Theory Of Five-And Six-Phonon Scattering, Yi Xia

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

igher-order phonon scatterings beyond fourth order remain largely unexplored despite their potential importance in strongly anharmonic materials at elevated temperatures. We develop a theoretical formalism for first-principles calculation of five- and six-phonon scatterings using Green’s function techniques based on a diagrammatic formalism, and systematically investigate multi-phonon interactions in Si, MgO, and BaO from room temperature to near melting points. Our calculations reveal dramatically different material-dependent behaviors: while five- and six-phonon processes remain negligible in Si even at high temperatures, they become increasingly important in MgO near its melting point (3100 K) and in BaO at intermediate temperatures (1200 K). Most …

Measurement Uncertainty, Barton L. Smith, Douglas R. Neal

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Textbooks

This text is based on the graduate Measurements course notes from BLS at Utah State University. It is intended as a textbook for graduate students in engineering or physics or as a reference text.

If one collects several texts on measurement uncertainty, it quickly becomes clear that the measurement uncertainty community lacks a consistent language or nomenclature. This can be confusing to a new reader who may view measurement uncertainty as a very old and settled topic. The lack of consensus on nomenclature likely stems from the lack of a clear winner–a paradigm and nomenclature set sufficiently superior to be …

Experimental Investigation: Performance Of Ranque-Hilsch Vortex Tubes Under Various Surface Boundary Conditions, Ahmad Al-Najjar

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

The Ranque–Hilsch vortex tube (RHVT) is a passive thermos-fluid device that splits compressed gas into simultaneous cold and hot streams through strong swirling flow inside a slender tube, without moving parts. This study experimentally examines how external boundary conditions applied to the tube wall influence RHVT performance. Three wall conditions were imposed: (i) externally cooled (cooling), (ii) externally heated (heating), and (iii) adiabatic (insulated). Tests were conducted with air over an inlet pressure range of 2–6 bar. The primary objective was to understand the extent to which wall thermal condition modifies temperature separation and energy efficiency. Performance was quantified using …

“How Can Ai Data Centers In The U.S. Meet Projected Electricity Demands By 2030?, Aiden M. Matano

Sustainable Supply Chain Management

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is driving a sharp increase in U.S. electricity demand, with AI-driven data centers emerging as a central contributor through 2030. This paper asks how U.S. AI data centers can meet projected electricity needs while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions. Using a supply-chain and systems perspective, it analyzes the full energy chain of AI data centers: upstream electricity supply and grid deliverability, midstream facility design and grid interaction, and downstream operational practices, waste management, and disclosure. Drawing on recent projections from the International Energy Agency, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and U.S. federal guidance, the paper shows …

Localized Nuclear Utility For Erau Environmental Improvement, Timothy Schroeder, Jacob Blanton, Christopher Anderson

Sustainability Conference

The reliance of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) on energy supplied by Florida Power & Light (FPL), which currently draws large amounts of power from fossil fuel sources, is continuously suboptimal both environmentally and financially. This study proposes assessing the feasibility of deploying a campus scale nuclear reactor tailored to ERAU’s power consumption profile. This serves as a path toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting dependence on external fossil fuel generation. The methods used are primarily literature review(s), and numerical analysis on comparable use cases. The literature reviews focused on design theory and yield of nuclear reactors on a …

Optimizing Driving Waveforms To Enhance Inkjet Printing Speed, Chao Jan Sui, Wenchao A. Zhou

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Inkjet printing has been extensively employed across various industrial applications due to its capability to produce high-resolution outputs and accommodate a diverse range of materials. However, its printing speed (volumetric printing rate or volumetric productivity) has remained a bottleneck for large-scale manufacturing. This study introduces a new strategy aimed at enhancing the speed of piezoelectric inkjet printing by optimizing waveform parameters. Expanding on our prior work, which analyzed the relationship between driving signal parameters and key factors like droplet volume and jetting frequency, we now focus on optimizing these parameters to maximize printing speed. To establish a fair comparison across …

Optimization Of Rheological Models Using Machine Learning-Based Surrogates, Sourav Saha

LSU Master's Theses

This study addresses the challenge of accurately modeling flows of complex, multiphase media through fluid machines, where highly viscous, compressible, and shear-thinning behavior of the medium complicates the construction of predictive models. Such media include slurries, biomass, foods, and other materials of high value and societal importance. A high-fidelity CFD model of a screw-type fluid machine with an outlet flow restriction is developed. The flowing medium is treated as a single-phase, compressible, non-Newtonian fluid. The model incorporates a non-linear pressure-dependent density model and a strain-rate-dependent viscosity law (Cross power law). A parametric study is conducted by varying key rheological parameters …