Engineering Commons^™

Design Optimization Of A Pneumatic Soft Robotic Actuator Using Model-Based Optimization And Deep Reinforcement Learning, Mahsa Raeisinezhad, Nicholas Pagliocca, Behrad Koohbor, Mitja Trkov

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

We present two frameworks for design optimization of a multi-chamber pneumatic-driven soft actuator to optimize its mechanical performance. The design goal is to achieve maximal horizontal motion of the top surface of the actuator with a minimum effect on its vertical motion. The parametric shape and layout of air chambers are optimized individually with the firefly algorithm and a deep reinforcement learning approach using both a model-based formulation and finite element analysis. The presented modeling approach extends the analytical formulations for tapered and thickened cantilever beams connected in a structure with virtual spring elements. The deep reinforcement learning-based approach is …

Design Optimization Of A Pneumatic Soft Robotic Actuator Using Model-Based Optimization And Deep Reinforcement Learning, Mahsa Raeisinezhad, Nicholas Pagliocca, Behrad Koohbor, Mitja Trkov

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

We present two frameworks for design optimization of a multi-chamber pneumatic-driven soft actuator to optimize its mechanical performance. The design goal is to achieve maximal horizontal motion of the top surface of the actuator with a minimum effect on its vertical motion. The parametric shape and layout of air chambers are optimized individually with the firefly algorithm and a deep reinforcement learning approach using both a model-based formulation and finite element analysis. The presented modeling approach extends the analytical formulations for tapered and thickened cantilever beams connected in a structure with virtual spring elements. The deep reinforcement learning-based approach is …

Lab Home Testing Of Residential Isolation Space Control To Minimize Infectious Disease Transmission In Existing Single-Family Homes - Fact Sheet, Florida Solar Energy Center, Tanvir Khan

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The FSEC Energy Research Center at the University of Central Florida performed research to test the effectiveness of interventions to isolate an ill person recovering from a contagious disease in a single-family home from the rest of the occupants in the home. Focus was placed on interventions requiring minor cost and effort on the part of the occupants.

DOE/GO-102021-5537, https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/79519.pdf

Device Development For Long-Term Systemic Oral Biologic Drug Delivery, Benjamin Wankum

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A biologic drug is a drug that is produced by a living organism. Biologic drugs are used to treat various medical conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, or certain forms of cancers due to their high potency and high selectivity of action. Drawbacks of biologics include their poor stability in the gastrointestinal tract and their poor absorption. In effect, this gives the drugs very low bioavailability and short therapeutic half-lives. To combat these obstacles, current delivery methods include subcutaneous injections at home or intravenous or intramuscular injections in a medical facility.

The overall scientific goal of the research was to utilize …

Lab Home Testing Of Residential Isolation Space Control To Minimize Infectious Disease Transmission In Existing Single-Family Homes, Florida Solar Energy Center, Tanvir Khan

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Existing evidence strongly suggests that viral infectious diseases can be transmitted via an airborne route across distances in indoor environments. Accordingly, the risk of airborne transmission within homes should be managed. The public health emergency associated with SARS-CoV-2 makes controlling airborne transmission of respired viruses in indoor environments critical, especially in poorly ventilated indoor environments. The effectiveness of engineering interventions requiring minor efforts that create a negative-pressure isolation zone (IZ) for a contagious person has yet to be tested for existing residential homes.

To mitigate the risk of airborne virus transmission and maximize health protection for the population in existing …

Collapsible Prosthetic Shower Leg, Amanuel Matias, Mahsa Ebrahim

Honors Thesis

The purpose of this capstone project is to build a collapsible prosthetic shower leg that can provide a transtibial amputee with reliable support while showering. Phil Tamoush, an 83-year old transtibial amputee, was the inspiration for this work. Phil’s constant travel for his arbitration work leaves him without the option to bring along his usual shower leg due to the additional space it takes up in his travel bag. There are currently no commercially available prosthetic shower legs that can collapse into a condensed unit, so this capstone project explores an unexplored field for which there is a significant need. …

An Investigation Of The Effects Of Variable Magnetic Field Gradients On Soot And Co Emissions From Non-Premixed Hydrocarbon Flames, Edison Ekperechukwu Chukwuemeka

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The interaction of the paramagnetic species in a combustion process with the mag- netic field placed in the vicinity of non-premixed flames affects the characteristics of the non-premixed flames - flame height and flame lift-off height. However, the effect of this magnetic interaction on the pollutants generated by the flame is unknown.

In general, pollutant formation is promoted in most combustion systems due to in- complete combustion of the hydrocarbon due to improper mixing. Since paramagnetic combustion species such as O2, O, OH, etc interacts with magnetic fields and possess a preferential motion direction, imposing magnetic field on non-premixed flames …

Simultaneous Thermal Zoning And Demand Control Ventilation, Jose Rodriguez

Mechanical Engineering Theses

Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems include the equipment used to control the conditions and distribution of indoor air in any closed environment that requires certain variables, such as temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration, etc. to be controlled to levels of human comfort and safety, and to levels that keep machines and other devices in special conditions to protect them or guarantee their best performance. In developed countries, HVAC energy consumption is usually between 25% and 42% of the total energy consumption. Thermal zooning and demand control ventilation have shown improvements in comfort and energy consumption savings. The …

Survival And Proliferation Under Severely Hypoxic Microenvironments Using Cell-Laden Oxygenating Hydrogels, Shabir Hassan, Berivan Cecen, Ramon Peña-Garcia, Fernanda R. Marciano, Amir K. Miri, Ali Fattahi, Christina Karavasili, Shikha Sebastian, Hamza Zaidi, Anderson O. Lobo

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

Different strategies have been employed to provide adequate nutrients for engineered living tissues. These have mainly revolved around providing oxygen to alleviate the effects of chronic hypoxia or anoxia that result in necrosis or weak neovascularization, leading to failure of artificial tissue implants and hence poor clinical outcome. While different biomaterials have been used as oxygen generators for in vitro as well as in vivo applications, certain problems have hampered their wide application. Among these are the generation and the rate at which oxygen is produced together with the production of the reaction intermediates in the form of reactive oxygen …

Lateral Torsional Buckling Resistance Of Continuous Steel Stringers In Existing Bridges, Dinesha Malky Kuruppuarachchi Kuruppuarachchi Appuhamilage Don

Master's Theses

Some of the Louisiana’s bridges built in the 1950s and 1960s used two-girder or truss systems, in which floorbeams are carried by main members and the continuous (spliced) stringers are supported by the floorbeams. The main members are either two edge (fascia) girders or trusses. When the flexural capacity of continuous stringers is calculated, the moment gradient factor (Cb) is not accurately calculated considering the lateral torsional buckling (LTB) at the negative moment section. In particular, the bracing effect of the non-composite concrete deck is not accounted for, and as a result, the current practice has underestimated the LTB strength …

Lateral Torsional Buckling Resistance Of Continuous Steel Stringers In Existing Bridges, Dinesha Malky Kuruppuarachchi Kuruppuarachchi Appuhamilage Don

Doctoral Dissertations

Some of the Louisiana’s bridges built in the 1950s and 1960s used two-girder or truss systems, in which floorbeams are carried by main members and the continuous (spliced) stringers are supported by the floorbeams. The main members are either two edge (fascia) girders or trusses. When the flexural capacity of continuous stringers is calculated, the moment gradient factor (Cb) is not accurately calculated considering the lateral torsional buckling (LTB) at the negative moment section. In particular, the bracing effect of the non-composite concrete deck is not accounted for, and as a result, the current practice has underestimated the LTB strength …

An Investigation Of Testing Parameters On The Frictional Properties Of Patterned Core-Shell Nanostructures, Colin Phelan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Friction tests are a beneficial means to analyze the tribological characteristics and advantages of materials and textured surfaces. However, the selected test parameters can significantly influence the results. This work explores the significance of the friction testing parameters on the frictional performances of core-shell nanostructure-textured surfaces (CSNTSs). Several applied normal loads (10 μN, 100 μN, and 500 μN) and diamond counterface indenter tip radii (1 μm, 5 μm, and 20 μm) were selected for the testing of Al/diamond-like-carbon (DLC) and Al/amorphous silicon (a-Si) CSNTSs. The measured friction values of the CSNTSs were then compared to a matching Al/DLC film and …

Real-Time Material State Assessment Of Composites Using Artificial Intelligence And Its Challenges, Muthu Ram Prabhu Elenchezhian

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Over several decades of careful experimental investigation and exhaustive development of discrete damage analysis methods including integrated computational mechanics methods, our community knows a great deal about how discrete defects such as matrix cracks and defect growth (e.g. delamination) can be predicted in structural composites. For many practical situations controlled by laminated multiaxial composite structures, the loss of performance and “sudden death” end of life is controlled by defect coupling which becomes a precursor to fracture plane development. These interaction sequences are highly dependent on local details of manufacture, design configurations, and loading for a given application material and influenced …

Cooling Efficiency Improvement Of A Data Center Using Optimized Cabinet Design And Hybrid Cooling With High Inlet Conditions Of Single-Phase Coolant And Air, Uschas Chowdhury

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The objective of this study is to improve and optimize the cooling efficiency of liquid and air cooling from server to room level while applying best practices in the industry. The effect of increased air and coolant temperature has been explored through a literature survey and studies are conducted from device level to room level for air and liquid cooling. Three major aspects are considered. A closed-form air cooling solution is proposed for high-powered racks in a modular data center equipped with in-row coolers. Direct-to-chip liquid cooling technology is extensively studied at the server level for raised air and coolant …

Impact Of Material Models On Immersion Cooled Electronics Packages And Reliability Assessment For Chip-Package Interaction, Tushar Jashvantbhai Chauhan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The immersion cooling for IT equipment has been around for decades. From thermal energy management perspective, immersion cooling is better than traditional cooling technology. However, there is need for more work in open literature when it comes to impact of immersion cooling on the reliability of IT equipment to make it commercially implemented. Detailed study of material compatibility of the various electronics packaging materials for immersion cooling is essential to understand their failure modes and reliability. The stiffness and thermal expansion are critical material properties for electronics mechanical design. This part of the study mainly focuses on two things. The …

Development Of A Test Method For Characterizing An Indirect Evaporative Cooling Module For Data Center Cooling Application, Abhijit Rajendra Bhosale

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Evaporative cooling is a smarter way of maintaining optimum operating conditions in data centers. Indirect Evaporative Cooling (IEC) provides the advantage of cooling without changing the humidity of the Data Center (DC) air. We analyze and develop a method of testing to help build IEC modules at larger scales with improved characterization that is intended to help DC engineers achieve stringent Power Utilization Efficiency (PUE) targets by expending minimum power. We study the design parameters pertinent to sizing an IEC module used in DC cooling and develop a test method while technically selecting the components involved. The module is planned …

Sensitivity Study Of Calibrated Data Center Models To Minimize Site Survey Time Using Cfd, Saurabh Singh

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Data center (DC) consists of components like cooling pipes, data cables, power conduits, etc. To analyze the thermal behavior of DC using computational fluid dynamics, virtual model of DC is required. To build this virtual model, data is required regarding the different components like size, location and defining parameters. Site surveys are required to collect this data. Data collection is important to build an accurate model. There is lack of guidance with respect to which components are crucial to achieve level of accuracy in computational model. Sensitivity study can be used to determine accuracy achieved by introducing simplification in component …

Effectiveness Of Closed-Loop Inverse-Kinematic Landmark Navigation Method On Drifting And Heading Errors Of Imprecise Multi-Legged Robots, Thong Quang Nguyen

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

This work addresses the effectiveness of a closed-loop inverse-kinematic control methodology on alleviating drifting and heading errors in the walking and turning of a hexapod robot. Most work in this area focuses on stability, hardware design, and control. This work is aimed at controlling imprecise hardware on unknown structured environments. The proposed controller uses a camera and an ultrasonic sensor as sensory feedback. It also uses the well-known tripod gait for locomotion, implemented with the closed-loop inverse-kinematic method. Experimental results show the effectiveness of this approach in walking and turning the hexapod on an unknown surface.

Thermal Design Analysis Of Server Chassis Manifolds For Liquid Cooled Servers Using Cfd, Kaustubh Kantilal Adsul

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Direct-to-chip liquid cooling is one of the most popular methods in data center thermal management when it comes to cooling high chip power densities. A cold plate-based liquid cooling system contains various components such as pumps, data center room, and rack-level manifolds, and server chassis-level manifold. Efficient coolant distribution to the heat-dissipating cold plates plays an important role in both the thermal and hydraulic performance of the server. It is, thus, very important to design and manufacture server chassis manifold geometry that can perform efficiently under the anticipated heat loads and coolant flow rates. In the present thesis, two such …

Design And Cfd Analysis Of A Tank Solution For Natural Convection Based Single-Phase Immersion Cooling Of Servers, Siddhesh Manohar Khanvilkar

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

The issue of thermal management of data centers is becoming even more challenging with increasing chip power densities. This has been primarily driven by increasing demands in artificial intelligence and machine learning-based applications, increased usage of cloud-based services, and high-performance computing. The development of these applications has led to a corresponding increment in high performance and high power density CPUs and GPUs. Liquid cooling technologies are outperforming the traditional air cooling approach in dissipating high heat fluxes. Out of these technologies, single-phase immersion cooling offers advantages like substantially lower PUE values, simplified data center infrastructure, ease of deployment for edge …

Design, Development, And Characterization Of A Flow Control Device For Dynamic Cooling Liquid-Cooled Servers, Hardik Yashwant Hurnekar

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Since the early ’60s, based on Moore’s law, transistor density has been doubling every generation resulting in increased power density. Eventually, in the early ’90s, we moved from constant voltage to constant electric field and corresponding constant power for a given area during technology changes. Dennard’s model of voltage scaling and corresponding constant power ceased, ending improved performance gains in the early 2000s that again required techniques to mitigate increased power and corresponding temperature. The performance gain is being achieved by using multi-core processors, leading to non-uniform power distribution and localized high temperatures making cooling very challenging. Direct cold plate-based …

Designing Cryogenic Strain Device For 2d Materials, Jake Carter

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Churchill lab working within the Physics Department at the University of Arkansas is working to create important quantum states including weak topological insulators (TIs) through the use of symmetry engineering and topological electronic states in two-dimensional (2D) crystals of WHM materials. Experimental results of these topological states have been obstructed due to the difficulty to perform controlled in situ strain. This project strives to create a mount to utilize a piezoelectric nanopositioner within cryostats achieving an in situ strain that creates the quantum states the lab is looking to observe. This report also examines the necessary equations to determine …

Thermal Testing And Characterization Of Nanoparticles Synthesized For Biological Treatment, Tonie Butler

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The overall goal of this research project is to synthesize iron core, silica capped nanoparticles that, when they are exposed to a particular magnetic field, will react by increasing in temperature and emitting substantial thermal output. They will be injected into the human body for biological benefit by targeted thermal radiation. Once in the human body, ideally, they will be able to target a specific area, and then a magnetic field will be applied to induce thermal output through the process of hyperthermia. As the nanoparticles emit heat, they will mimic the natural bodily behavior seen by way of hyperthermia, …

Algorithm Development Of Topology Optimization For Pcm Based Heat Sinks, Diego L. De Los Reyes

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

With the inherent usage of the computer when dealing with additive manufacturing, it only makes sense to use that higher computing power through simulation and iterative design to use the mathematical concept of topology and optimize the kind of geometry and shapes to be produced for a certain application, especially thermal ones since most 3D printing applications focus on purely the mechanical. To determine what the shape will be, an objective function of how much heat can be dispersed from a hypothetical heat source, assumed to be a type of electronic device, is maximized while being constrained by other variables, …

Evaluating The Thermal Performance Of Topology Optimized Low-Cost 3d Printed Heat Sink Made Of Copper, Bilal Taha

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

The performance of a heat sink is highly dependent on the overall surface area available for heat transfer. Designing heat sinks with greater surface areas meant bigger size, weight, and volume of heat-exchanger thus making it unfeasible to produce. Design and manufacture of compact-sized heat sinks is a difficult task, as it would require the use of complex surface modeling and complex surface cutting. But with the advent of 3D printing technology, it has become easier to manufacture heat sinks having complex designs producing larger surface areas as they add material layer by layer rather than cutting it away. The …

Investigation On Microstructure And Mechanical Properties Of Porous Structures Processed By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Samarth Ramachandra

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Inconel 718 (i.e., IN718) is a prominent nickel-based, precipitation-hardening superalloy which exhibits exceptionally stable mechanical and corrosion resistant properties, even at temperature range of 650ºC to 700ºC, making it suitable for a wide range of applications such as aerospace, nuclear reactors, tooling, turbines, oil and gas applications. The high toughness and work hardening offered by this superalloy, however, greatly limits the choice of machinability. The presence of low levels of aluminum permits good weldability which further allows the use of laser-based additive manufacturing (AM) to efficiently fabricate IN718 parts without the limitations associated with conventional manufacturing methods. Thanks to AM …

Investigation Of The Microstructural And Mechanical Properties Of Selectively Laser Melted In718 Overhangs Fabricated Without Support Structures, Manjunath Hanumantha

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Additive manufacturing is a new manufacturing technology that allows for extreme design freedom as well as the simultaneous production of many parts with high complexities. IN718 is a high-strength, corrosion-resistant super alloy of nickel and chromium. It is ideal for high-end applications such as rocket nozzles and turbines because it can handle exceptionally high pressure and heat. Because of its high stiffness qualities, conventional manufacturing of complex IN718 geometries is challenging. Various fabrication techniques have been developed, and this study focuses on selective laser melting (SLM) because of its potential to produce near-perfect parts at a low cost when working …

Structural Optimization And Reliability Assessment Of Heterogeneous 3d Ic Packages And Analysis Of Rheological Properties Of Particle Based Thermal Interface Materials, Mehzabeen Binte Kabir

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

As computing and communication devices are converging with improved functionally, denser, and finer pitch which creates complexity of circuit interconnections for 2-D devices becomes a limitation for overall performance and drives up power dissipation [1]. Thus the ordinary 2-D structures of IC packages cannot address those demands where 3-D through-silicon via (TSV) is the key to 3-D IC integration and stacking of chips, is emerging now as a powerful tool to converge the needs of integrated circuit (IC) packages. In 3D TSV the chips are stacked on top of another so heat trapped in a small region which is difficult …

Sonic Boom Loudness Reduction Through Localized Supersonic Aircraft Equivalent-Area Changes, Troy A. Abraham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The NASA University Leadership Initiative (ULI) titled “Adaptive Aerostructures for Revolutionary Civil Supersonic Transportation” looks to study the feasibility of distributed structural adaptivity on a supersonic aircraft for maintaining acceptable en-route sonic boom loudness during overland flight. The ULI includes a team of industry and university partners that are working together to develop and implement the systems necessary to accomplish this goal.

The Utah State University Aerolab is a member of this ULI team and has been tasked with developing and using low-fidelity supersonic aerodynamic and sonic boom predictions tools to rapidly study the effects of localized geometry changes on …

Modeling, Simulation And Optimization Of Nuclear Hybrid Energy Systems Using Openmodelica And Raven, Stephen Michael Hills

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nuclear hybrid energy systems (NHES) are a viable option to combine renewable energy sources, such as wind, with a less fluctuating energy source. Given recent development and their inherent safer and modular design, small modular reactors (SMRs), which are smaller versions of a nuclear reactor, can play an instrumental role in complementing renewables and supporting carbon-free power sectors in the coming decades. With increasing population and demand for clean water, Freeze desalination (FD), which uses freezing to separate water from salt, is a possible way to produce clean water while converting excess power from a SMR into stored thermal energy …