Exploration Into Properties Of Molybdenum Disulfide Using Atomistic Simulation,
2013
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Exploration Into Properties Of Molybdenum Disulfide Using Atomistic Simulation, Joseph Simpson
Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses
Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has a lamellar crystal structure, which makes it ideal for use as a solid lubricant. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images have shown that line defects exist within the lattice of mechanically deformed MoS2, but the physical mechanisms which lead to the formation of these defects are unknown. The two central objectives of this research are to use molecular dynamics simulations to study the effects of tensile deformation on both single layer and bulk MoS2 and explore the properties of line defects in an otherwise perfect lattice of MoS2. Under tensile loading, molecular dynamics simulations show a multi-stage …
Transformable Wheelchair,
2013
Utah State University
Transformable Wheelchair, Benjamin Shurtz
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
This report includes the development, design, and analysis of a transformable wheelchair. There was a need to design and build a wheelchair that transformed to be pushed, pulled, or self-propelled. This design meets the need of physically restricted wheelchair users who frequent simple hiking trails without needing to move to a secondary off-road capable device. Documentation for concepts, analysis, and completed design details follows.
Determining Appropriate Heating And Cooling Thermostat Set Points For Building Energy Simulations For Residential Buildings In North America,
2013
Florida Solar Energy Center
Determining Appropriate Heating And Cooling Thermostat Set Points For Building Energy Simulations For Residential Buildings In North America, Florida Solar Energy Center, Danny Parker
FSEC Energy Research Center®
Existing building energy simulation tools have a purported tendency to over-predict heating use and, in some cases, to under-predict cooling use, an outcome often attributed to inappropriate assumptions about thermostat management. As a result, a systematic review was conducted for the purposes of determining typical heating and cooling set points for single-family houses in North America. The preliminary consensus results provide an empirical basis for establishing typical inputs for building energy simulation models, increasing prediction accuracy of heating and cooling loads. The results of this review have been applied as default values in the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Home Energy …
Analysis And Design Of A Thermal Capacitor For Use In The Food Industry,
2013
Utah State University
Analysis And Design Of A Thermal Capacitor For Use In The Food Industry, Karen Nielson
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Team Hot Stuff is working with Thermal Management Technologies (TMT) of Logan, UT to explore the concept of a thermal capacitor serving platter. With the funding from TMT, Hot Stuff will design, build, and test a prototype serving platter. This report is written by Hot Stuff for MAE 4800, Capstone Design I; it covers the design and analysis of a serving platter.
Helicopter Toy And Lift Estimation,
2013
University of the Pacific
Helicopter Toy And Lift Estimation, Said Shakerin
All Faculty Articles - School of Engineering and Computer Science
A $1 plastic helicopter toy (called a Wacky Whirler) can be used to demonstrate lift. Students can make basic measurements of the toy, use reasonable assumptions and, with the lift formula, estimate the lift, and verify that it is sufficient to overcome the toy's weight.
Transient Small Wind Turbine Tower Structural Analysis With Coupled Rotor Dynamic Interaction,
2013
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Transient Small Wind Turbine Tower Structural Analysis With Coupled Rotor Dynamic Interaction, George R. Katsanis
Master's Theses
Structural dynamics is at the center of wind turbine tower design - excessive vibrations can be caused by a wide range of environmental and mechanical sources and can lead to reduced component life due to fatigue, noise, and impaired public perception of system integrity. Furthermore, periodic turbulent wind conditions can cause system resonance resulting in significantly increased structural loads. Structural vibration issues may become exacerbated in small wind applications where the analytical and experimental resources for system verification and optimization are scarce. This study combines several structural analysis techniques and packages them into a novel and integrated form that can …
Analysis And Mitigation Of The Cubesat Dynamic Environment,
2013
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Analysis And Mitigation Of The Cubesat Dynamic Environment, Steve M. Furger
Master's Theses
A vibration model was developed for CubeSats inside the Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer (P-POD). CubeSats are fixed in the Z axis of deployers, and therefore resonate with deployer peaks. CubeSats generally start fixed in the X and Y axes, and then settle into an isolated position. CubeSats do not resonate with deployers after settling into an isolated position. Experimental data shows that the P-POD amplifies vibration loads when CubeSats are fixed in the deployer, and vibration loads are reduced when the CubeSats settle into an isolated position. A concept for a future deployer was proposed that isolates CubeSats from the deployer …
Stability Control Of Triple Trailer Vehicles,
2013
Clemson University
Stability Control Of Triple Trailer Vehicles, Michael O'Neal Arant
All Dissertations
While vehicle stability control is a well-established technology in the passenger car realm, it is still an area of active research for commercial vehicles as indicated by the recent notice of proposed rulemaking on commercial vehicle stability by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA, 2012). The reasons that commercial vehicle electronic stability control (ESC) development has lagged passenger vehicle ESC include the fact that the industry is generally slow to adopt new technologies and that commercial vehicles are far more complex requiring adaptation of existing technology. From the controller theory perspective, current commercial vehicle stability systems are generally passenger …
Supersonic Turbine Cascade Studies Using Computational Fluid Dynamics And Water Table Experiments,
2013
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Supersonic Turbine Cascade Studies Using Computational Fluid Dynamics And Water Table Experiments, Shelby E. Nelson
Honors College Theses
Design engineers use a variety of tools to perform calculations and to aid in the design process. For example, engineers designing gas turbines, specifically the aerodynamicists, use a combination of hand calculations, experimental data, and complex numerical codes to simulate air flow around each blade. Aerodynamicists designing gas turbines must predict the locations of the shocks to locate inefficiencies in the flow. In this thesis, three methods of calculating the shock angles are compared: analytical, experimental, and computational. Three different airfoil shapes are tested: a rectangular flat plate, a supersonic diamond, and a turbine airfoil. Cascade tests of the airfoil …
A Preliminary Discourse On Adhesion Of Nanofibers Derived From Electrospun Polymers,
2013
University of Akron, main campus
A Preliminary Discourse On Adhesion Of Nanofibers Derived From Electrospun Polymers, Pei Chen
Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research
To bio-mimic gecko’s foot hair, which possess high adhesion strength and can be re- usable for lifetime, fibrous membranes are fabricated by electrospinning to provide sufficient adhesion energy. Shaft-loaded blister test (SLBT) is firstly used to measure the work of adhesion between electrospun membrane and rigid substrate. Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) were electrospun with an average fiber diameter of 333±59 nm. Commercial cardboard with inorganic coating was used to provide a model substrate for adhesion tests. In SLBT, the elastic response PVDF was analyzed and its adhesion energy measured. FEA model with cohesive layer is developed to evaluate the experiment results. …
End-Of-Life Management Of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Module,
2013
University of Dayton
End-Of-Life Management Of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Module, Jun-Ki Choi
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications
PV manufacturing has been growing over the past 10 years and further annual growth of 15% is expected until 2020. A study on positioning a grand plan for solar power shows how vast PV arrays and other renewable energies can provide significant amount of electricity and total energy needs by 2050. Various new PV technologies have been introduced in the market and existing technologies have undergone further development. How all these developments will affect the fate of the end-of-life PV modules is uncertain. In addition, the market price of some rare earth materials utilized in the manufacturing of the various …
Vibration And Acoustic Properties Of Honeycomb Sandwich Structures Subject To Variable Incident Plane-Wave Angle Pressure Loads,
2013
Clemson University
Vibration And Acoustic Properties Of Honeycomb Sandwich Structures Subject To Variable Incident Plane-Wave Angle Pressure Loads, Jiaxue Yan
All Theses
Honeycomb structures are widely used in many areas for their material characteristics such as high strength-to-weight ratio, stiffness-to-weight, sound transmission, and other properties. Honeycomb structures are generally constructed from periodically spaced tessellations of unit cells. It can be shown that the effective stiffness and mass properties of honeycomb are controlled by the local geometry and wall thickness of the particular unit cells used. Of particular interest are regular hexagonal (6-sided) honeycomb unit cell geometries which exhibit positive effective Poisson's ratio, and modified 6-sided auxetic honeycomb unit cells with Poisson's ratio which is effectively negative; a property not found in natural …
Three-Dimensional Finite Element Analysis Of Sound Transmission Performance Of Honeycomb Sandwich Structures,
2013
Clemson University
Three-Dimensional Finite Element Analysis Of Sound Transmission Performance Of Honeycomb Sandwich Structures, Xin Wang
All Theses
Due to the lighter weight of honeycomb structures compared with a cuboid of similar material, honeycomb is widely used in applications requiring a high stiffness to weight ratio. One important honeycomb meta-structure is sandwich composites designed with a honeycomb core between two thin panel layers. The geometry of the honeycomb is formed from periodically spaced, non-overlapping unit cells. An important advantage of cellular materials such as honeycomb is that vibration and acoustic properties can be changed simply by changing the unit cell geometry variables such as included angle, cell wall thickness and length, while keeping the overall dimensions of the …
Decision Support Systems For Assembly Line Planning -Modular Subsytems For A Large Scale Production Management System,
2013
Clemson University
Decision Support Systems For Assembly Line Planning -Modular Subsytems For A Large Scale Production Management System, Rahul Renu
All Theses
In the domain of assembly lines, process sheets are entities that carry assembly process descriptions (work instructions), assembly time estimations, product workspaces and other configuration management and control information. These process sheets get assigned to workstations during the process of assembly line balancing. In this research two tools have been developed to aid in the assembly line planning process. In order to ensure that assembly line workers do not intrude upon each other's workspace, two assembly processes operating on the same product workspace must not be assigned to the same station. Generating and maintaining product workspace information for every process …
Computational Modeling Of The Friction Stir Welding (Fsw) Process And Of The Performance Of Fsw Joints,
2013
Clemson University
Computational Modeling Of The Friction Stir Welding (Fsw) Process And Of The Performance Of Fsw Joints, Ajay Prasad Arakere
All Theses
Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid-state metal-joining process. Within FSW, a (typically) cylindrical tool-pin (threaded at the bottom and terminated with a circular-plate shape shoulder, at the top) is driven between two firmly-clamped plates (placed on a rigid backing support). Due to a high normal downward pressure applied to the shoulder and due to frictional sliding and plastic-deformation, substantial amount of heat is generated at the tool/work-piece interface and in the region underneath the tool shoulder. Thermally plasticized work-piece material is then extruded around the traveling tool and forged into a welding-joint behind the tool. Due to its solid-state …
Modal Analysis To Minimize Gearbox Induced Noise Of General Electric Wind Turbines,
2013
Clemson University
Modal Analysis To Minimize Gearbox Induced Noise Of General Electric Wind Turbines, Matthew Evans
All Theses
With the current global emphasis on alternative green energy sources, wind turbine technologies have seen significant growth in recent years. Today, wind turbines are being produced and constructed at unprecedented levels with their sites inching closer and closer to residential communities. With that, wind turbine companies have been receiving growing complains about the noise emitted from these turbines during operation. To resolve this issue, many of these companies are spending more resources to design and manufacture quieter wind turbines. In particular, General Electric (GE) intends to reduce the noise created by their 2.5 MW CGDT wind turbines. Previous studies showed …
Laser-Assisted Printing Of Alginate And Cellular Tubes,
2013
Clemson University
Laser-Assisted Printing Of Alginate And Cellular Tubes, Jingyuan Yan
All Theses
Laser-assisted printing such as laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) has found increasing biofabrication applications as an orifice-free cell/organ printing approach. Unfortunately, there have been very few studies on its efficacy of three-dimensional (3D) printing performance. In addition, the effects of printing parameters on jet/droplet formation during the printing of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids are lacking. Therefore, it is important to investigate its printing process and quality. The resulting knowledge will help to better control the resulting printing quality and feature resolution.
The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of laser-assisted 3D printing process and its applicability in making …
A Model-Free Approach To Vehicle Stability Control,
2013
Clemson University
A Model-Free Approach To Vehicle Stability Control, Chinmay Pandit
All Theses
This project explored the feasibility of using measured responses of a passenger car together with a fuzzy logic based control algorithm to sense the onset of under-steer (or loss of steering control) and mitigate or eliminate it. The controller is simple and robust and, unlike existing controllers, instead of comparing the vehicle response to that of an idealized model it makes decisions based solely upon the measured response of the car.
Simulations were conducted (using CarSim) of various vehicles executing the skid pad and the double lane change tests to characterize the vehicle behavior. Consistent and qualitatively similar patterns in …
An Experimental Study On The Influence That Failure Number, Specialization, And Domain Have On Confidence In Predicting System Failures,
2013
Clemson University
An Experimental Study On The Influence That Failure Number, Specialization, And Domain Have On Confidence In Predicting System Failures, Somaiah Thimmaiah
All Theses
Design reviews are typically used for three types of design activities: 1) identifying errors, 2) assessing the impact of the errors, and 3) suggesting solutions for the errors. This experimental study focuses on understanding the second issue as it relates to the number of errors considered, the existence of controls, and the level of domain familiarity of the assessor. A set of design failures and associated controls developed for a completed industry sponsored project is used as the experimental design problem. Non-domain individuals (psychology class students), domain generalists (first year engineering students), and domain specialists (graduate mechanical students) are provided …
Identification Of And Effects On The Depth Of The Machining Affected Zone In Nickel-Based Superalloys,
2013
Clemson University
Identification Of And Effects On The Depth Of The Machining Affected Zone In Nickel-Based Superalloys, Boyce Richardson
All Theses
The formation of subsurface damage during machining of nickel-based superalloys is a critical quality concern for the manufacture of gas turbine components. The identification and understanding of this zone are critical to the reduction of destructive testing and scrap costs in an ever changing manufacturing environment. This thesis seeks to provide a novel objective method for identification of the depth of this zone and an empirical model for the effects of machining parameters on this zone. This allows for optimal machining parameters to be used in manufacturing reducing the need for destructive testing, while also reducing manufacturing costs by reducing …
