Engineering Commons^™

Battery Thermal Management For Hybrid Electric Vehicles Using A Phase-Change Material Cold Plate, Sandra Boetcher, Marc Compere, Domenic Barsotti, William Townsend Hyatt, Brian Neal Harries

Publications

A thermal management system for an energy storage device that includes a liquid-cooled cold plate made of phase-change material changeable from a substantially solid form to a sub­stantially liquid form upon absorbing heat generated by the energy storage device. The system may be useful as a thermal management solution for energy storage systems (ESS) in hybrid-electric vehicles (HEY).

Design And Commissioning Of A Community Scale Solar Powered Membrane-Based Water Purification System In Haiti, Shavin Pinto, Yung Wong, Kyle Fennesy, Yan Tang, Marc Compere

Publications

This paper presents the design and commissioning of a solar powered water purification system at the Ryan Epps Home for Children (REHC) in Michaud, Haiti. This system supplies clean drinking water to the 200 children who live and go to school at REHC and also to the community in the form of a micro-business. This micro-business is the mechanism for income generation for sustainable system operation. The purifier uses a three stage filtration system with a disc-type sediment filter, a 0.1 micron ultrafiltration membrane, and an ultraviolet light for disinfection. The backwash cycle extends the life of the ultrafiltration membrane …

The Epa P3 Program: An Opportunity For Growing Student Entrepreneurs, Marc Compere, Yan Tang, Yung Wong

Publications

In this paper we will share our experiences of fostering entrepreneurial spirit through projects funded by EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) P3 (People, Prosperity, and the Planet) Program which hosts the P3 collegiate competition for designing solutions for a sustainable future. Since 2012, we have integrated the P3 competition with the capstone design course of Clean Energy Systems track in mechanical engineering as an effective educational vehicle for introducing the concept of sustainable design. Since the competition focuses on designs which have values of real world application, it is also a great opportunity to create entrepreneurial spirit. We have successfully turned …

Natural Convection From Circular Cylinders, Sandra K. S. Boetcher

Publications

Chapter 1

Natural convection heat transfer from circular cylinders in quiescent environments is a subject which has been studied extensively. Although a well-established topic, to the best knowledge of the author no single source of reference is found for natural convection from circular cylinders for varying orientations (horizontal, vertical, and inclined). This book attempts to be a reference for Nusselt number correlations for circular cylinders of all inclinations including horizontal and vertical.

Variable Viscosity Condition In The Modeling Of A Slider Bearing, Kedar Nath Uprety, S.C. Mancas

Publications

To reduce tear and wear of machinery lubrication is essential. Lubricants form a layer between two surfaces preventing direct contact and reduce friction between moving parts and hence reduce wear. In this short letter the lubrication of two slider bearings with parallel and nonparallel is studied. First, we show that bearings with parallel plates cannot support any load. For bearings with nonparallel plates we are interested on how constant and temperature dependent viscosity affects the properties of the bearings. Also, a critical temperature for which the bearings would fail due to excess in temperature is found for both latter cases. …

Standoff Methods For The Detection Of Threat Agents: A Review Of Several Promising Laser-Based Techniques, J. Bruce Johnson, Susan D. Allen, Jonathan Merten, Lewis Johnson, Daniel Pinkham, Scott W. Reeve

Publications

Detection of explosives, explosive precursors, or other threat agents presents a number of technological challenges for optical sensing methods. Certainly detecting trace levels of threat agents against a complex background is chief among these challenges; however, the related issues of multiple target distances (from standoff to proximity) and sampling time scales (from passive mines to rapid rate of march convoy protection) for different applications make it unlikely that a single technique will be ideal for all sensing situations. A number of methods for spanning the range of optical sensor technologies exist which, when integrated, could produce a fused sensor system …

A Novel Method For Prediction Of Mobile Robot Maneuvering Spaces, Patrick N. Currier, Alfred L. Wicks

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

As the operational uses of mobile robots continue to expand, it becomes useful to be able to predict the admissible maneuvering space to prevent the robot from executing unsafe maneuvers. A novel method is proposed to address this need by using force-moment diagrams to characterize the robot’s maneuvering space in terms of path curvature and curvature rate. Using the proposed superposition techniques, these diagrams can then be transformed in real-time to provide a representation of the permissible maneuvering space while allowing for changes in the robot’s loading and terrain conditions. Simulation results indicate that the technique can be applied to …

Mechanics Of Hip Dysplasia Reduction In Infants Using The Pavlik Harness: A Physics Based Computational Model, Orlando Ardila, Eduardo Divo, Faissal Moslehy, George Rab, Alain Kassab, Charles Price

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

Biomechanical factors influencing the reduction of dislocated hips with the Pavlik harness in patients of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) were studied using a three-dimensional computer model simulating hip reduction dynamics in (1) subluxated and (2) fully dislocated hip joints. Five hip adductor muscles were identified as key mediators of DDH prognosis, and the non-dimensional force contribution of each in the direction necessary to achieve concentric hip reductions was determined. Results point to the adductor muscles as mediators of subluxated hip reductions, as their mechanical action is a function of the degree of hip dislocation. For subluxated hips in …

Project Haiti 2012: Providing An Experiential Learning Experience Through The Design And Delivery Of A Water Purifier In Haiti, Yung Wong, Johnathon Camp, Shavin Pinto, Kyle Fennesy, Marc Compere, Yan Tang

Publications

In this paper, we share our experiences and lessons learned from Project Haiti 2012, a project to design and install a water purification system serving 20,000 people per day in the largest tent city in Haiti. Project Haiti 2012 was the third and largest system we have built for Haitians and represents a huge success for all participants and stakeholders. This paper discusses the unique experiential learning opportunity involved in the design and delivery of the water purifier in a foreign developing country. Multiple positive educational, social, and economic outcomes were achieved including students applying knowledge gained from coursework towards …

Walking, Running, And Resting Under Time, Distance And Average Speed Constraints: Optimality Of Walk-Run-Rest Mixtures, Leroy L. Long Iii, Manoj Srinivasan

Publications

On a treadmill, humans switch from walking to running beyond a characteristic transition speed. Here, we study human choice between walking and running in a more ecological (non-treadmill) setting. We asked subjects to travel a given distance overground in a given allowed time duration. During this task, the subjects carried, and could look at, a stop-watch that counted down to zero. As expected, if the total time available were large, humans walk the whole distance. If the time available were small, humans mostly run. For an intermediate total time, humans often use a mixture of walking at a slow speed …

Multi-Color Cavity Ringdown Based Detection Method And Apparatus, Scott W. Reeve, Susan Davis Allen

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

A multi-color cavity ringdown based spectrometer system is housed in a light tight enclosure to detect the presence of trace quantities of gas phase molecules emanating from a subject, explosives, drugs, or hazardous materials. A method is also disclosed for simultaneous real time detection of gas phase molecules emanating from explosives, drugs, hazardous materials, a subject's breath skin or bodily fluid.

Computational Analysis Of Hybrid Norwood Circulation With Distal Aortic Arch Obstruction And Reverse Blalock-Taussig Shunt, Andres Ceballos, I. Ricardo Argueta-Morales, Eduardo Divo, Ruben Osorio, Christopher A. Caldarone, Alain J. Kassab, William M. Decampli

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

BACKGROUND: The hemodynamics characteristics of the hybrid Norwood (HN) procedure differ from those of the conventional Norwood and are not fully understood. We present a multi-scale model of HN circulation to understand local hemodynamics and effects of aortic arch stenosis and a reverse Blalock-Taussig shunt (RBTS) on coronary and carotid perfusion. METHODS: Four 3-dimensional models of four HN anatomic variants were developed, with and without 90% distal preductal arch stenosis and with and without a 4-mm RBTS. A lumped parameter model of the circulation was coupled to a local 3-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model. Outputs from the lumped parameter model …

Computational Fluid Dynamics In Congenital Heart Disease, William M. Decampli, I. Ricardo Argueta-Morales, Eduardo Divo, Alain J. Kassab

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

Computational fluid dynamics has been applied to the design, refinement, and assessment of surgical procedures and medical devices. This tool calculates flow patterns and pressure changes within a virtual model of the cardiovascular system. In the field of paediatric cardiac surgery, computational fluid dynamics is being used to elucidate the optimal approach to staged reconstruction of specific defects and study the haemodynamics of the resulting anatomical configurations after reconstructive or palliative surgery. In this paper, we review the techniques and principal findings of computational fluid dynamics studies as applied to a few representative forms of congenital heart disease.

A New Control System For Left Ventricular Assist Devices Based On Patient-Specific Physiological Demand, George Faragallah, Yu Wan, Eduardo Divo, Marwan Simaan

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

A left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a mechanical pump that helps patients with a heart failure (HF) condition. This pump works in parallel to the ailing heart and provides a continuous flow from the weak left ventricle to the ascending aorta. The current supplied to the pump motor controls the flow of blood. A new feedback control system is developed to automatically adjust the pump motor current to provide the blood flow required by the level of activity of the patient. The systemic vascular resistance (RS) is the only undeterministic variable parameter in a patient-specific model and also a …

An Inverse Pod-Rbf Network Approach To Parameter Estimation In Mechanics, Craig A. Rogers, Alain Kassab, Eduardo Divo, Ziemowit Ostrowski, Ryszard Bialecki

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

An inverse approach is formulated using proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) integrated with a trained radial basis function (RBF) network to estimate various physical parameters of a specimen with little prior knowledge of the system. To generate the truncated POD-RBF network utilized in the inverse problem, a series of direct solutions based on FEM, BEM or exact analytical solutions are used to generate a data set of temperatures or deformations within the system or body, each produced for a unique set of physical parameters. The data set is then transformed via POD to generate an orthonormal basis to accurately solve for …

Multi-Disciplinary Hands-On Desktop Learning Modules And Modern Pedagogies, Bernard J. Van Wie, David B. Thiessen, Marc Compere, Ximena Toro, Jennifer C. Adam, Et Al.

Publications

Our team’s research focuses on fundamental problems in undergraduate education in terms of how to expand use of well researched, yet still “new”, teaching pedagogies of ‘sensing’ or ‘hands-on’, ‘active’ and ‘problem-based learning’ within engineering courses. It is now widely accepted that traditional lectures ARE NOT best for students – yet that is what the community almost universally does.

To address this issue we are developing new Desktop Learning Modules (DLMs) that contain miniaturized processes with a uniquely expandable electronic system to contend with known sensor systems/removable cartridges, as well as, unknown expansions to the project. We have shown that …

High Tech High Touch: Lessons Learned From Project Haiti 2011, Yan Tang, Marc Compere, Yung Lun Wong, Jared Anthony Coleman, Matthew Charles Selkirk

Publications

In this paper, we will share our experiences and lessons learned from a design project for providing clean water to a Haitian orphanage (Project Haiti 2011). Supported by funds from a renewable energy company and the university president’s office, five engineering students and two faculty members from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University successfully designed and installed a solar powered water purification system for an orphanage located in Chambellan, Haiti. This paper discusses the unique educational experiences gained from unusual design constraints, such as ambiguity of existing facilities due to limited communication, logistics of international construction at a remote village location, and cross-cultural …

Multi-Disciplinary Project-Based Paradigm That Uses Hands-On Desktop Learning Modules And Modern Learning Pedagogies, William David Schlecht, Bernard J. Wie, Paul B. Golter, Robert F. Richards, Marc Compere, Et Al.

Publications

It has been established that traditional lectures ARE NOT best for student learning – yet that is what the community almost universally does! Furthermore, engineers work in broad multidisciplinary teams while classroom learning is individual and narrow. Yet, educators rarely invest the time and resources necessary to employ such innovations.

In this CCLI type II award we are further refining Desktop Learning Modules (DLMs) within a Cooperative, Hands-on, Active, Problem based, Learning (CHAPL) setting for Chemical, Civil, Mechanical, Bio- and Electrical Engineering courses at a diverse set of institutions, including a community college engaged through a distance learning mode. A …

Body Limb Movement Limiter, Susan Davis Allen

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

A body limb movement limiter restrains the movement of a person's arm so as to protect the person's shoulder or restrains the movement of a person's lower leg with respect to the upper leg so as to protect the person's knee. The device uses a housing having a reel disposed therein with a tether attached thereto and a shear thickening non-Newtonian fluid disposed within the housing so that the fluid acts on the reel during a payout procedure of the tether. The housing is attached to a strap secured about the torso of the person while the free end of …

Multi-Color Cavity Ringdown Based Detection Method And Apparatus, Scott Reeve, Susan Allen

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

A multi-color cavity ringdown based spectrometer is housed in a light tight enclosure to detect the presence of trace quantities of gas phase molecules emanating from explosives, drugs, or hazardous materials being transported through the enclosure or compounds contained in a patient's breath. A method is also disclosed for detecting gas phase molecules emanating from explosives, drugs, hazardous materials, or a patient's breath.

A Proposed Learner-Centered Mechatronics Engineering Instructional Program, Patrick N. Currier, Richard Goff, Janis Terpenny

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

This paper examines the need and requirements for a mechatronics degree program. The results of a survey of the few existing programs in this field are provided. Then, using a case study example for Virginia Tech, a proposed mechatronics curriculum based on a learner-centered paradigm is described. The curriculum combines existing courses in mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering with new, hands-on courses to provide students with a chance to practice and explore the subject matter in ways consistent with the demands of both industry and accreditation. This program, if implemented, could provide a university with a unique offering to attract …

Singular Superposition/Boundary Element Method For Reconstruction Of Multi-Dimensional Heat Flux Distributions With Application To Film Cooling Holes, Mahmood Silieti, Eduardo Divo, Alain J. Kassab

Publications

A hybrid singularity superposition/boundary element-based inverse problem method for the reconstruction of multi-dimensional heat flux distributions is developed. Cauchy conditions are imposed at exposed surfaces that are readily reached for measurements while convective boundary conditions are unknown at surfaces that are not amenable to measurements such as the walls of the cooling holes. The purpose of the inverse analysis is to determine the heat flux distribution along cooling hole surfaces. This is accomplished in an iterative process by distributing a set of singularities (sinks) inside the physical boundaries of the cooling hole (usually along cooling hole centerline) with a given …

Body Limb Movement Limiter, Susan Davis Allen

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

A body limb movement limiter restrains the movement of a person's arm so as to protect the person's shoulder or restrains the movement of a person's lower leg with respect to the upper leg so as to protect the person's knee. The device uses a housing having a reel disposed therein with a tether attached thereto and a shear thickening non-Newtonian fluid disposed within the housing so that the fluid acts on the reel during a payout procedure of the tether. The housing is attached to a strap secured about the torso of the person while the free end of …

Apparatus For Removal Of Minute Particles From A Surface Using Thermophoresis To Prevent Particle Redeposition, Susan Davis Allen

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

A method and apparatus for removing minute particles from a surface of a sample are provided that prevent redeposition of the particles onto the surface. By combining thermophoresis with laser assisted particle removal (LAPR), the methods and apparatus remove minute particles (for example, micrometer and nanometer sizes) and assure that they will not redeposit.

Derivation And Application Of A Conserved Orbital Energy For The Inverted Pendulum Bipedal Walking Model, Jerry E. Pratt, Sergey V. Drakunov

Publications

We present an analysis of a point mass, point foot, planar inverted pendulum model for bipedal walking. Using this model, we derive expressions for a conserved quantity, the “Orbital Energy”, given a smooth Center of Mass trajectory. Given a closed form Center of Mass Trajectory, the equation for the Orbital Energy is a closed form expression except for an integral term, which we show to be the first moment of area under the Center of Mass path. Hence, given a Center of Mass trajectory, it is straightforward and computationally simple to compute phase portraits for the system. In fact, for …

Nanosecond Near-Spinodal Homogeneous Boiling Of Water Superheated By Pulsed Co/Sub 2/ Laser, Sergey I. Kudryashov, Kevin Lyon, Susan D. Allen

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

The fast boiling dynamics of superheated surface layers of bulk water cavitating under near-spinodal conditions during nanosecond C O2 laser heating pulses was studied using contact broad-band photoacoustic spectroscopy. Characteristic pressure-tension cycles recorded by an acoustic transducer at different incident laser fluences represent (a) weak random oscillations of transient nanometer-sized near-critical bubbles-precursors and (b) well-defined stimulated oscillations of micron-sized supercritical bubbles and their submicrosecond coalescence products. These findings provide an important insight into basic thermodynamic parameters, spatial and temporal scales of bubble nucleation during explosive liquid/vapor transformations in absorbing liquids ablated by short laser pulses in the thermal confinement regime. …

Transient Non-Linear Heat Conduction Solution By A Dual Reciprocity Boundary Element Method With An Effective Posteriori Error Estimator, Eduardo Divo, Alain J. Kassab

Publications

A Dual Reciprocity Boundary Element Method is formulated to solve non-linear heat conduction problems. The approach is based on using the Kirchhoff transform along with lagging of the effective non-linear thermal diffusivity. A posteriori error estimate is used to provide effective estimates of the temporal and spatial error. A numerical example is used to demonstrate the approach.

Method And Apparatus For Removal Of Minute Particles From A Surface Using Thermophoresis To Prevent Particle Redeposition, Susan Davis Allen

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

A method and apparatus for removing minute particles from a surface of a sample are provided that prevent redeposition of the particles onto the surface. By combining thermophoresis with laser assisted particle removal (LAPR), the methods and apparatus remove minute particles (for example, micrometer and nanometer sizes) and assure that they will not redeposit.

Laser-Assisted Fabrication Of Nmr Resonators, William W. Brey, Susan D. Allen

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

A detection coil for use in nuclear resonance magnetic (NMR) spectroscopy and a method of manufacture thereof. At least two film layers of material are deposited on an outer surface of a cylindrical tube of dielectric material. The layers are patterned to form a solenoid on the tube. At least one of the deposited materials is a conductor.

Simulation Of Engineering Systems Described By High-Index Dae And Discontinuous Ode Using Single Step Methods, Marc Compere

Publications

This dissertation presents numerical methods for solving two classes of or-dinary diferential equations (ODE) based on single-step integration meth-ods. The first class of equations addressed describes the mechanical dynamics of constrained multibody systems. These equations are ordinary differential equations (ODE) subject to algebraic constraints. Accordinly they are called differential-algebraic equations (DAE).

Specific contributions made in this area include an explicit transforma-tion between the Hessenberg index-3 form for constrained mechanical systems to a canonical state-space form used in the nonlinear control communities. A hybrid solution method was developed that incorporates both sliding-mode control (SMC) from the controls literature and post-stabilization from …