Engineering Commons^™

Heat Transfer And Flow Characteristics Inside A Gas Turbine Combustor, Yap-Sheng Goh

LSU Master's Theses

Heat transfer and flow characteristics inside a typical can-annulus gas turbine combustor are investigated. This is the first study in a public domain to focus on the convective heat loads to combustor liner due to swirling flow generated by swirler nozzles. The objectives of this study are to physically design an experimental combustor test model, to perform local accurate heat transfer and flow measurements, and to better understand the fundamental thermo-fluid dynamic effects inside a combustor equipped with a swirler nozzle provided by Solar Turbines Inc. The local temperature and heat transfer distribution were determined to locate the heat transfer …

Annular Beam Shaping And Optical Trepanning, Danyong Zeng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Percussion drilling and trepanning are two laser drilling methods. Percussion drilling is accomplished by focusing the laser beam to approximately the required diameter of the hole, exposing the material to one or a series of laser pulses at the same spot to melt and vaporize the material. Drilling by trepanning involves cutting a hole by rotating a laser beam with an optical element or an x–y galvo-scanner. Optical trepanning is a new laser drilling method using an annular beam. The annular beams allow numerous irradiance profiles to supply laser energy to the workpiece and thus provide more flexibility in affecting …

Study Of Discharge Coefficient And Trends In Film Cooling Effectiveness Of Conical Holes With Increasing Diffusion Angles, Humberto Zuniga,

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies indicate that increasing the diffusion angle in conical film-cooling holes leads to an improvement in their film cooling effectiveness. Discharge coefficient and film cooling effectiveness measurements are conducted to characterize this behavior. Part of the focus of this investigation is to find out how this trend develops and attempt to ascertain the optimum cone angle, if possible. Six test plates, each with one row of eight conical-shaped cooling holes of equal diffusion angles of 0, 1, 2, 3, 6, or 8 [degrees], with respect to the hole axis are used in this study. The ratios of the hole …

Efficient Large Scale Transient Heat Conduction Analysis Using A Parallelized Boundary Element Method, Kevin Erhart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A parallel domain decomposition Laplace transform Boundary Element Method, BEM, algorithm for the solution of large-scale transient heat conduction problems will be developed. This is accomplished by building on previous work by the author and including several new additions (most note-worthy is the extension to 3-D) aimed at extending the scope and improving the efficiency of this technique for large-scale problems. A Laplace transform method is utilized to avoid time marching and a Proper Orthogonal Decomposition, POD, interpolation scheme is used to improve the efficiency of the numerical Laplace inversion process. A detailed analysis of the Stehfest Transform (numerical Laplace …

Creating Cross-Over Vehicles: Defining And Combining Vehicle Classes Using Shape Grammars, Seth D. Orsborn, R. Pawlicki, R. Smith, Jonathan Cagan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In the push for new vehicle designs, the distinctions between vehicle classes are quickly becoming blurred. We use shape grammars to quantify the differences between vehicle classes through the application of class-specific rules and the constraint of rule applications to within parametric ranges determined for each class. This allows for the development of new vehicle forms that clearly fall within a class or purposefully cross over the boundaries of classes and mix rules and ranges to create unique and interesting cross-over vehicles.

Neuroadaptive Model Following Controller Design For A Nonaffine Uav Model, Nishant Unnikrishnan, S. N. Balakrishnan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper proposes a new model-following adaptive control design technique for nonlinear systems that are nonaffine in control. The adaptive controller uses online neural networks that guarantee tracking in the presence of unmodeled dynamics and/or parameter uncertainties present in the system model through an online control adaptation procedure. The controller design is carried out in two steps: (i) synthesis of a set of neural networks which capture the unmodeled (neglected) dynamics or model uncertainties due to parametric variations and (ii) synthesis of a controller that drives the state of the actual plant to that of a reference model. This method …

Novel Conceptual Design And Anlysis Of Polymer Derived Ceramic Mems Sensors For Gas Turbine Environment, Narasimha Nagaiah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Technical challenges for developing micro sensors for Ultra High Temperature and turbine applications lie in that the sensors have to survive extremely harsh working conditions that exist when converting fuel to energy. These conditions include high temperatures (500-1500°C), elevated pressures (200-400 psi), pressure oscillations, corrosive environments (oxidizing conditions, gaseous alkali, and water vapors), surface coating or fouling, and high particulate loading. Several technologies are currently underdeveloped for measuring these parameters in turbine engines. One of them is an optical-based non-contact technology. However, these nondirective measuring technologies lack the necessary accuracy, at least at present state. An alternative way to measure …

Design And Implementation Of An Emission Spectroscopy Diagnostic In A High-Pressure Strand Burner For The Study Of Solid Propell, Jason Arvanetes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The application of emission spectroscopy to monitor combustion products of solid rocket propellant combustion can potentially yield valuable data about reactions occurring within the volatile environment of a strand burner. This information can be applied in the solid rocket propellant industry. The current study details the implementation of a compact spectrometer and fiber optic cable to investigate the visible emission generated from three variations of solid propellants. The grating was blazed for a wavelength range from 200 to 800 nm, and the spectrometer system provides time resolutions on the order of 1 millisecond. One propellant formula contained a fine aluminum …

Automated Adaptive Data Center Generation For Meshless Methods, Eric Mitteff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Meshless methods have recently received much attention but are yet to reach their full potential as the required problem setup (i.e. collocation point distribution) is still significant and far from automated. The distribution of points still closely resembles the nodes of finite volume-type meshes and the free parameter, c, of the radial-basis expansion functions (RBF) still must be tailored specifically to a problem. The localized meshless collocation method investigated requires a local influence region, or topology, used as the expansion medium to produce the required field derivatives. Tests have shown a regular cartesian point distribution produces optimal results, however, in …

Design Optimization Of Solid Rocket Motor Grains For Internal Ballistic Performance, Roger Hainline

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The work presented in this thesis deals with the application of optimization tools to the design of solid rocket motor grains per internal ballistic requirements. Research concentrated on the development of an optimization strategy capable of efficiently and consistently optimizing virtually an unlimited range of radial burning solid rocket motor grain geometries. Optimization tools were applied to the design process of solid rocket motor grains through an optimization framework developed to interface optimization tools with the solid rocket motor design system. This was done within a programming architecture common to the grain design system, AML. This commonality in conjunction with …

Driver-Gas Tailoring For Test-Time Extension Using Unconventional Driver Mixtures, Anthony Amadio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To study combustion chemistry at low temperatures in a shock tube, it is of great importance to increase experimental test times, and this can be done by tailoring the interface between the driver and driven gases. Using unconventional driver-gas tailoring with the assistance of tailoring curves, shock-tube test times were increased from 1 to 15 ms for reflected-shock temperatures below 1000 K. Provided in this thesis is the introduction of tailoring curves, produced from a 1-D perfect gas model for a wide range of driver gases and the production and demonstration of successful driver mixtures containing helium combined with either …

Study Of Low Speed Transitional Regime Gas Flows In Microchannels Using Information Preservation (Ip) Method, Umit Kursun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Proper design of thermal management solutions for future nano-scale electronics or photonics will require knowledge of flow and transport through micron-scale ducts. As in the macro-scale conventional counterparts, such micron-scale flow systems would require robust simulation tools for early-stage design iterations. It can be envisioned that an ideal Nanoscale thermal management (NSTM) solution will involve two-phase flow, liquid flow and gas flow. This study focuses on numerical simulation gas flow in microchannels as a fundamental thermal management technique in any future NSTM solution. A wellknown particle-based method, Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) is selected as the simulation tool. Unlike continuum …

Water On Fire, Said Shakerin

All Faculty Articles - School of Engineering and Computer Science

No abstract provided.

Regulation Of Powder Mass Flow Rate In Gravity-Fed Powder Feeder Systems, Vishnu Thayalan, Robert G. Landers

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Precise regulation of powder mass flow in laser-based manufacturing processes is critical to achieving excellent part dimensional and microstructure quality. Control of powder mass flow is challenging because low flow rates, where nonlinear effects are significant, are typically required. Also, gravity-fed powder feeder systems have significant material transport delays, making the control of powder mass flow even more challenging. This paper presents a control strategy for regulating the powder mass flow rate in a gravity-fed powder feeder system. A dynamic model of the powder feeder system, including material transport delay, is constructed, and a modified proportional plus integral (PI) controller …

An Optimal Dynamic Inversion Approach For Controlling A Class Of One-Dimensional Nonlinear Distributed Parameter Systems, Radhakant Padhi, S. N. Balakrishnan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Combining the principles of dynamic inversion and optimization theory, a new approach is presented for stable control of a class of one-dimensional nonlinear distributed parameter systems, assuming the availability a continuous actuator in the spatial domain. Unlike the existing approximate-then-design and design-then-approximate techniques, here there is no need of any approximation either of the system dynamics or of the resulting controller. Rather, the control synthesis approach is fairly straight-forward and simple. The controller formulation has more elegance because we can prove the convergence of the controller to its steady state value. To demonstrate the potential of the proposed technique, a …

The Role Of Electrospinning In The Emerging Field Of Nanomedicine, S. Y. Chew, Y. Wen, Yuris A. Dzenis, K. W. Leong

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The fact that in vivo the extracellular matrix or substratum with which cells interact often includes topography at the nanoscale underscores the importance of investigating cell-substrate interactions and performing cell culture at the submicron scale. An important and exciting direction of research in nanomedicine would be to gain an understanding and exploit the cellular response to nanostructures. Electrospinning is a simple and versatile technique that can produce a macroporous scaffold comprising randomly oriented or aligned nanofibers. It can also accommodate the incorporation of drug delivery function into the fibrous scaffold. Endowed with both topographical and biochemical signals such electrospun nanofibrous …

Virtual Prototype Of Shuttle Bay Door, Nick Harrington, Raphael Schulz, Pierre Chapron

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study analyzed the motion of the Space Shuttle free floating in space after one of its bay doors is opened and closed. Kane's method and Autolev motion simulation software were used to carry out simulation and analysis. The Space Shuttle has two large bay doors that open simultaneously, but for our study we analyzed a hypothetical situation, in which only one door functioned properly, in order to achieve amplified results. To model this system we used a rigid body to resemble the Shuttle and an attached rotating flap to resemble the door. Since the Shuttle is free floating in …

Dynamical Multi-Body Gyroscopic Motion Simulation, Andy Ries, Johnathan Deppe

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

In this paper, the motion of a three-degree-of-freedom gyro scope is analyzed in three different force scenarios. The equations of motion for the gyroscope are derived by hand as well as derived by the dynamical analysis software, Autolev These equations are compared with each other to show the consistency between the two methods and the time savings of using software applications for analyzing complex multi-body dynamical systems. The Autolev™ program drastically reduced the workload for determining the motion equations and the program even compiled Matlab code that was used to produce numerical values to show the respective motion of each …

Cracking Of Martensitic Alloy Ep-823 Under Controlled Potential, Ajit K. Roy, M. K. Hossain

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

The susceptibility of martensitic Alloy EP-823 to stress corrosion cracking was evaluated with and without an applied cathodic potential using the slow-strain-rate (SSR) testing technique. The magnitude of the applied potential was based on the corrosion potential determined by cyclic polarization. The cracking susceptibility in an acidic environment at different temperatures was expressed in terms of the true failure stress (ơ_f), time to failure (TTF), and ductility parameters, including percent elongation (%El) and percent reduction in area (%RA). The data indicate that the magnitudes of ơ_r, TTF, %El, and %RA were reduced due to cathodic charging. …

Magnetohydrodynamic Simulation Of Electromagnetic Pump In Tc-1, Lillian J. Ratliff

Reactor Campaign (TRP)

The pilot molten lead-bismuth target circuit (TC-1) in university of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) was designed for beam power of 1 MW accelerator driven system (ADS). The TC-1 is a liquid lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) circulation loop. Circulation of the liquid alloy is driven by an annular linear induction pump (ALIP). Experimental measurements of system parameters have yielded a surprisingly low pump efficiency of less than 1%. A numerical study of the pump efficiency is being conducted to determine which operational parameters are responsible for this low efficiency and to give insight into future EM pump design. The numerical study will …

Developing A Sensing System For The Measurement Of Oxygen Concentration In Liquid Pb-Bi Eutectic, Yingtao Jiang, Bingmei Fu

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

The research objectives of this project were as follows:

• To generate calibration curves of voltage versus oxygen concentration for the YSZ oxygen sensor system under various temperatures in liquid LBE.
• To determine the sensor characteristics of the YSZ sensor system.
• To determine oxygen dissolving rates in LBE under different temperatures in vitro.
• To study the effects of unwanted electrical conductivity, contributed by the mobility of the electrons at high temperatures, for more accurate oxygen measurement.
• To study alternative and promising oxygen measuring methods.

Dielectric Properties Of Graphite Nanocomposites, Shing Chung Josh Wong, Erwin M. Wouterson, Eric M. Sutherland

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Polymer nanocomposites are an emerging class of multifunctional materials that have not been optimized for their functional potential. In this study, the dielectric properties of graphite polymer nanocomposites were evaluated. The objective was to develop for composite applications, an alternative cost-effective nanoscale carbon material with properties comparable to those of carbon nanotubes.

Alkaline Fuel Cell Engineering And Testing, James Brunton, David Kennedy, Eugene Coyle

Conference Papers

A fuel cell is a device that directly converts the chemical energy of reactants (a fuel and an oxidant) into low d. c. electricity [1]. Used in conjunction with other sustainable energy options, hydrogen and fuel cell technology can provide a realistic alternative to fossil fuels. Although research is continuing in many areas we are no closer now to commercialisation than ten to twenty years ago. This is due to a number of key reasons, some of which include efficiency, scale, accessories and power output. This paper outlines the benefits that could be derived from switching to a hydrogen based …

Including Embodied Energy Considerations At The Conceptual Stage Of Building Design, Y. Yohanis, Brian Norton

Articles

Elevated operating temperatures reduce the solar to electrical conversion efficiency of building integrated photovoltaic devices (BIPV). Phase change materials (PCM) can be used to passively limit this temperature rise although their effectiveness is limited by their low thermal conductivities and by crystallization segregation during solidification. This paper presents an experimental evaluation of the effects of convection and crystalline segregation in a PCM as a function of efficiency of heat transfer within the finned PV/PCM system. The thermal performances of bulk PCM with crystallization segregation for different internal fin arrangements are presented. It is noted that the addition of internal fins …

Test 1875: Challenger Mt 635b Diesel, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

No abstract provided.

Test 1889: John Deere 8430t 16 Speed, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

No abstract provided.

Rfid Technology Use In Assembly And Disassembly Processes, Gordana Ostojić, Milovan Lazarević, Vukica Jovanović, Stevan Stankovski, Ilija Ćosić

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Modern production conditions demand the application of the concept of distributed production. Today companies are specialized for partial technology processes. Hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of collaborative processes depend on workers’ interaction and communication in product assembly and disassembly phases. RFID technologies can be really helpful in identifying objects in terms of sustainable development, regarding disassembly, recycling and reuse. In this paper we presented VCDE system architecture and the realization method of RFID technology as well as the data acquisition using RFID technology during the product lifecycle from the design process, production, assembly, usage, and an special example is given regard- …

Analysis Of Damage In Laminated Automotive Glazing Subjected To Simulated Head Impact, Shuangmei Zhao, Li Chai, S. D. Barbat, Lokeswarappa R. Dharani

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

During vehicle accidents, occupant's head impacting on windshield or side window is commonly observed. Any attempt to design glazing that minimizes injury to and death of occupants during a vehicle accident requires a thorough understanding of the mechanical behavior of automotive glazing subjected to head impact loads. A continuum damage mechanics (CDM) based constitutive model is developed and implemented into an axisymmetric finite element model to study the failure and impact resistance of laminated automotive glazing subjected to simulated head impact. An anisotropic elastic damage tensor with a linear damage evolution law is chosen to model the failure of the …

Nonlinear Control Concepts For A Ua, Vijayakumar Janardhan, Derek Schmitz, S. N. Balakrishnan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A reconfigurable flight control method is developed to be implemented on an Unmanned Aircraft (UA), a thirty percent scale model of the Cessna 150. This paper presents the details of the UA platform, system identification, reconfigurable controller design, development, and implementation on the UA to analyze the performance metrics. A Crossbow Inertial Measurement Unit provides the roll, pitch, and yaw accelerations and rates along with the roll and pitch. The 100-400 mini-air data boom from SpaceAge Control provides the airspeed, altitude, angle of attack, and the side slip angles. System identification is accomplished by commanding preprogrammed inputs to the control …

Optimal Impulse Control Of Systems With Control Constraints And Application To Hiv Treatment, Vivek Yadav, S. N. Balakrishnan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, conditions for optimal impulse control of an impulsive system with constraints on control are derived. These hold for a system whose states can be changed instantaneously at discrete times with impulses while a continuous control is being applied between those times. The conditions derived are applied to the problem of optimal HIV treatment. Simulation results are presented to show the treatment procedure. The results obtained show that the intervention method developed leads to good results.