Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Probabilistic Risk Assessment And The Path Planning Of Safe Task-Aware Autonomous Resilient Systems (Staars), Uluhan Cem Kaya

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Recent advancements on the unmanned systems manifest the potential of these technologies to impact our daily life. In particular, the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) become ordinary for people in almost any area from aerial photography to emergency responses, from agricultural services to even autonomous deliveries. Increased autonomy and advancements in low-cost high-computing technologies made these compact autonomous solutions accessible to any party with ease. Easiness and affordability to access these systems accelerated the innovations and the novel ideas for the solution of diverse real-life problems. Despite its benefits, however, this widespread availability also resulted in the safety and regulatory concerns …

Simulation Modelling Of Thermal Runaway Propagation In Li Ion Batteries, Dhananjay Mishra

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Li Ion batteries are highly engineered systems which have become part and parcel of our daily lives. Safety of these systems has been in jeopardy ever since they were created. Mechanical abuse, shot circuit, overcharging or unfavorable working conditions can lead to catastrophic repercussions which might destroy complete battery pack. Previous works have investigated this problem, but many important aspects of design characteristics were left folded. This work not only investigates behavior of a single cell under adverse conditions but also lays emphasis on important factors such as thermal conductivity of the medium and cell gaps in a pack of …

Thermal Destratification Of Air Streams To Improve The Cooling Provisioning Of Air-Cooled Data Centers, Anto Joseph Barigala Charles Paulraj

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Air side economization is an arrangement of duct, damper and automatic control system which together allow introducing outside air to reduce the mechanical cooling during mild or cold weather thereby decrease the energy consumption. The outside ambient air and heated return air from the information technology (IT) pod is mixed inside a dedicated space to achieve a target cold aisle operating temperature and thereby increase economization. Major constrain faced by the design engineers while designing the Mixing Chamber/ Plenum is the stratification of air stream due to the Temperature gradient in the mixed air stream and this stratification can be …

Development Of A One-Equation Turbulence Model Based On K-Ε Closure And Its Extension For Computing Transitional Flows By Including An Intermittency Transport Equation, Cheng Peng

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Multi-Probe Kelvin Scanner Device For Industrially-Relevant Characterization Of Surface-Activated Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites, Kirby Simon

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) composites are becoming increasingly attractive materials in manufacturing due to their lightweight nature, mechanical strength, and corrosion resistance. Surface activation of these materials is usually required during processing to increase the bond strength of assemblies (aerospace and automotive industries) or improve adhesion with implants (biomedical industry). Industrially-relevant, nondestructive quality control methods for assessing the activation state of these materials do not currently exist, however. Applying principles discovered through the use of scanning probe microscopy, a multiple-probe Kelvin scanning (MPKS) device has been developed that can assess the uniformity of the activation state of plasma-treated CFRTP …

A Comparison Of Discrete Damage Modeling Methods: The Effect Of Stacking Sequence On Progressive Failure Of The Skin Laminate In A Composite Pi-Joint Subject To Pull-Off Load, Joseph Keith Novak

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Discrete damage modeling of composite failure mechanisms including delamination, matrix cracking, and their interactions was performed for the skin laminate in a composite pi-joint test specimen subject to a pull-off load. The skin laminate stacking sequence was varied, and the pull-off load and path of predicted damage were recorded. Within the study two discrete damage modeling tools were used, Abaqus XFEM with a LaRC05 built-in user subroutine and BSAM. Both tools implement failure criteria developed at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) to predict the location of damage initiation and both tools use similar cohesive zone models to model damage …

Stability Analysis Of A More General Class Of Systems With Delay-Dependent Coefficients, Chi Jin, Keqin Gu, Islam Boussaada, Silviu-Iulian Niculescu

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

This paper presents a systematic method to analyse the stability of systems with single delay in which the coefficient polynomials of the characteristic equation depend on the delay. Such systems often arise in, for example, life science and engineering systems. A method to analyze such systems was presented by Beretta and Kuang in a 2002 paper, but with some very restrictive assumptions. This work extends their results to the general case with the exception of some degenerate cases. It is found that a much richer behavior is possible when the restrictive assumptions are removed. The interval of interest for the …

Impact Of Immersion Cooling On Thermo-Mechanical Properties Of Pcb's And Reliability Of Electronic Packages, Shrinath Shrinivas Ramdas

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Immersion cooling technique is used for the thermal management of high-density data centers to avoid overheating of components and failure of servers. However, to use this as a viable cooling technique, the effect of dielectric coolants on the reliability of server components needs to be evaluated. Previous work reported contradicting findings for Young’s modulus of PCBs, providing motivation for this work. This study focuses on effect of immersion cooling on the thermos-mechanical properties of printed circuit board (PCB) and its impact on reliability of electronic packages. Changes in thermo-mechanical properties like Young’s modulus (E), Glass transition temperature (Tg), Coefficient of …

Unmanned Aerial Power Line Surveillance Drone, Brock Arp, Wade Vine, Cameron Whigham, Lorenzo Stewart

Senior Design Project For Engineers

The purpose of our project is to provide power line workers and linemen with a safe way to inspect the power lines. Our Aircraft is an UAV that is capable of surveying 200 linear miles in a normal working shift. The aircraft will be launched/landed and operated from an F-150 pickup truck with a facilitated launch mechanism attached. The aircraft must maintain an altitude of 150-400 ft. It will be recovered via net that will extend from the truck as the plane comes in for a landing, This will eliminate the need for landing gear. The goal for this project …

Thermal Management Design Tool System For Cubesat Applications, Siakrishna Reddy Kanumuru

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Saikrishna Reddy Kanumuru on April 26, 2019.

Mass Accommodation At A High-Velocity Water Liquid-Vapor Interface, J. Nie, A. Chandra, Z. Liang, P. Keblinski

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We Use Molecular Dynamics to Determine the Mass Accommodation Coefficient (MAC) of Water Vapor Molecules Colliding with a Rapidly Moving Liquid-Vapor Interface. This Interface Mimics Those Present in Collapsing Vapor Bubbles that Are Characterized by Large Interfacial Velocities. We Find that at Room Temperature, the MAC is Generally Close to Unity, and Even with Interfaces Moving at 10 Km/s Velocity, It Has a Large Value of 0.79. using a Simplified Atomistic Fluid Model, We Explore the Consequences of Vapor Molecule Interfacial Collision Rules on Pressure, Temperature, and Density of a Vapor Subjected to an Incoming High-Velocity Liquid-Vapor Interface.

A High Magnification Uv Lens For High Temperature Optical Strain Measurements, Robert S. Hansen, Trevor J. Bird, Ren Voie, Katharine Z. Burn, Ryan B. Berke

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Digital Image Correlation (DIC) measures full-field strains by tracking displacements of a specimen using images taken before and after deformation. At high temperatures, materials emit light in the form of blackbody radiation, which can interfere with DIC images. To screen out that light, DIC has been recently adapted by using ultraviolet (UV) range cameras, lenses, and filters. Before now, UV-DIC had been demonstrated at the centimeter scale using commercially available UV lenses and filters. Commercial high-magnification lenses using visible light have also been used for DIC. However, there is currently no commercially available high-magnification lens that will allow images to …

Water Walking As A New Mode Of Free Surface Skipping, Randy Craig Hurd, Jesse Belden, Allan F. Bower, Sean Holekamp, Michael A. Jandron, Tadd T. Truscott

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Deformable elastomeric spheres are evaluated experimentally as they skip multiple times over a lake surface. Some spheres are embedded with small inertial measurement units to measure the acceleration experienced during water surface impact. A model for multiple impact events shows good agreement between measured acceleration, number of skipping events and distanced traveled. The experiment reveals a new mode of skipping, “water walking”, which is observed for relatively soft spheres impacting at low impact angles. The mode occurs when the sphere gains significant angular velocity over the first several impacts, causing the sphere to maintain a deformed, oblong shape. The behavior …

Design And Manufacture Of An Inertial Cascade Impactor For Industrial Hygiene Purposes, Hector Joel Gortaire

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Inertial cascade impactors are devices commonly used for industrial hygiene and pharmaceutical studies. Their main purpose is to separate particulate matter suspended in aerosols according to their sizes, which can vary from over 10 µm to 0.5 µm. Their versatility and ease of operation make them suitable for on-site sampling; however, designing them requires a careful consideration of the different geometric parameters that characterize them.

In this thesis, a 5-stage inertial cascade impactor was designed, modelled, constructed, and tested. The main design parameter was the volumetric flow rate, 40 l/min, which was provided by a vacuum pump. By continuous iterations, …

Energy Analysis And Orbit Simulation Of Actuating Cubesat Solar Arrays, Justin T. Ehren

Honors Theses

CubeSats are used in space research to explore new technologies and detect data to gain a better understanding of various areas of research and subjects affecting human life. CubeSats rely on a solar array to generate energy from the sun and perform their various functions in space. This research studies the energy capturing potential of various solar array configurations and positioning devices for CubeSats. The location and orientation of a CubeSat is simulated with MATLAB for both geo-synchronous and sunsynchronous orbits. Two degree-of-freedom (DoF) positioning devices are sufficient to continuously adjust the photovoltaic array to face towards the sun. Lower …

Algorithm For Geodetic Positioning Based On Angle-Of-Arrival Of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcasts, Richard Allen Gross

Masters Theses

This paper develops a non-precision, three-dimensional, geodetic positioning algorithm for airborne vehicles. The algorithm leverages the proliferation of Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) equipped aircraft, utilizing them as airborne navigation aids to generate an RF Angle-of-Arrival (AOA) and Angle-of-Elevation (AOE) based geodetic position. The resulting geodetic position can serve as a redundant navigation system for use during locally limited Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) availability, be used to validate on-board satellite navigation systems in an effort to detect local spoofing attempts, and be used to validate ADS-B position reports.

The navigation algorithm is an implementation of an Extended Kalman …

Characterization And Optimization Of A Propeller Test Stand, Colin Bruce Leighton Benjamin

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In recent history, there has been a rapid rise in the use of drones, and they are expanding in popularity each year. The widespread use and future capabilities of these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will call for increased study and classification of propellers to maximize their performance. As a result, it is necessary to have continuity in the development, maximization, and optimization of propeller test stand’s capability to collect accurate and precise measurements. It is of significant advantage to have the capability of accurately characterizing a propeller based on its thrust and torque. In this study, a propeller test stand …

Comparison Of Support Methods For Static Aerodynamic Testing And Validation Of A Magnetic Suspension And Balance System, Cameron K. Neill

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Magnetic suspension wind tunnels offer an alternative to traditional physical support methods. They allow for the collection of support interference free data and broader dynamic test capabilities than existing methods. Determination of dynamic aerodynamic characteristics is a crucial portion of the design of new re-entry capsules. A NASA initiative restored the 6-inch Magnetic Suspension and Balance System to support the design of a new MSBS for a supersonic wind tunnel. Before a new MSBS can be constructed, the characteristics of the current MSBS must be examined.

This thesis discusses the calibration and validation of the 6-inch MSBS. After calibration, three …

Design And Fabrication Of Automatic Single Axis Solar Tracker For Solar Panel, Ghazanfar Mehdi, Naveed Ali, Shafquat Hussain, Asad A. Zaidi, Ahmer Hussain Shah, M. Mustafa Azeem

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Sun energy is a considered to be one of most promising sources to address the world energy crises. Photovoltaic cell is one of the prominent sources of energy. The most important factors that affect the efficiency of solar cells are cell temperature, maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and energy conversion efficiency. The optimization of these factors improves solar cells efficiency for more reliable applications. This study associated by means of the designing and manufacturing process of single axis tracker device by using photo voltaic conversion panels. This solar tracker system assures the conversion optimization of electricity from the source of …

Flow Behavior In Radial Rotating Detonation Engines, Scott A. Boller

Theses and Dissertations

Recent progress has been made in demonstrating Radial Rotating Detonation Engine (RRDE) technology for use in a compact Auxiliary Power Unit with a rapid response time. Investigation of RRDEs also suggests an increase in stable operating range, which is hypothesized to be due to the additional degree of freedom in the radial direction which the detonation wave can propagate. This investigation seeks to determine if the detonation wave is in fact changing its radial location. High speed photography was used to capture chemiluminescence of the detonation wave within the channel to examine its radial location, which was found to vary …

Application Of Metamaterials For Multifunctional Satellite Bus Enabled Via Additive Manufacturing, Michael A. Macchia

Theses and Dissertations

Space systems require materials with superior stiffness to weight ratios to provide structural integrity while minimizing mass. Additive manufacturing processes enable the design of metamaterials that exceed the performance of naturally occurring materials in addition to allowing the integration of non-structural functions. This research explored the use of a high stiffness, high density, small melt pool track width AM material, Inconel 718, to enable the production of metamaterials with finer features possible than can possibly be created using a lower density aluminum alloy material. Various metamaterials were designed utilizing thin wall triply periodic minimal surface infilled sandwich structures. The performance …

Fluorine-Containing Oxidizers For Metal Fuels In Energetic Formulations, Siva Kumar Valluri, Mirko Schoenitz, Edward Dreizin

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fluorine containing oxidizers, primarily polymers, are extensively used in pyrotechnic compositions. Fluorinated oxidizers are less explored for metalized propellants and explosives despite a potential advantage of substantial heat release combined with gaseous combustion products. This review summarizes different types of fluorinated oxidizers used in energetic formulations or of potential interest for such systems, including gases, polymers, and inorganic compounds. Types of energetic formulations employing metals and fluoropolymers are discussed in more detail, including methods used to prepare composites and resulting salient features of the obtained materials. Laboratory experiments characterizing such materials, in particular, electron microscopy and thermal analysis, are discussed, …

A Procedure For The Calculation Of The Perceived Loudness Of Sonic Booms, Christian R. Bolander, Douglas F. Hunsaker, Hao Shen, Forrest L. Carpenter

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Student Publications and Presentations

Implementing a method to calculate the human ear’s perceived loudness of a sonic boom requires consulting scattered literature with varying amounts of detail. This work describes a comprehensive implementation of Stevens’ Mark VII in Python, called PyLdB. References to literary works are included in enough detail so that the reader could use this work as a guide to implement the Mark VII algorithm. The details behind the mathematics of the Mark VII algorithm are included and PyLdB is used to calculate the perceived loudness of an example pressure signature. PyLdB is benchmarked against a widely used and validated code by …

Bending Nanoindentation And Plasticity Noise In Fcc Single And Polycrystals, Ryder Bolin, Hakan Yavas, Hengxu Song, Kevin J. Hemker, Stefanos Papanikolaou

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Abstract: We present a high-throughput nanoindentation study of in situ bending effects on incipient plastic deformation behavior of polycrystalline and single-crystalline pure aluminum and pure copper at ultranano depths (< 200 nm). We find that hardness displays a statistically inverse dependence on in-plane stress for indentation depths smaller than 10 nm, and the dependence disappears for larger indentation depths. In contrast, plastic noise in the nanoindentation force and displacement displays statistically robust noise features, independently of applied stresses. Our experimental results suggest the existence of a regime in Face Centered Cubic (FCC) crystals where ultranano hardness is sensitive to residual applied stresses, but plasticity pop-in noise is insensitive to it.

A Review Of 2d And 3d Plasmonic Nanostructure Array Patterns: Fabrication, Light Management And Sensing Applications, Sujan Kassani, Katherine Curtin, Nianqiang Wu

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Abstract: This review article discusses progress in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) chip-based nanostructure array patterns. Recent advancements in fabrication techniques for nano-arrays have endowed researchers with tools to explore a material’s plasmonic optical properties. In this review, fabrication techniques including electron-beam lithography, focused-ion lithography, dip-pen lithography, laser interference lithography, nanosphere lithography, nanoimprint lithography, and anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template-based lithography are introduced and discussed. Nano-arrays have gained increased attention because of their optical property dependency (lightmatter interactions) on size, shape, and periodicity. In particular, nano-array architectures can be tailored to produce and tune plasmonic …

Exploration Of High Entropy Ceramics (Hecs) With Computational Thermodynamics - A Case Study With Lamno3±Δ, Yu Zhong, Hooman Sabarou, Xiaotian Yan, Mei Yang, Michael C. Gao, Xingbo Liu, Richard D. Sisson Jr.

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The concept of the new category materials high entropy ceramics (HECs) has been proposed several years ago, which is directly borrowed from high entropy alloys (HEAs). It quickly attracts a lot of interests and displays promising properties. However, there is no clear definition of HECs differentiating it from HEAs, as it is still in its early research stage. In the current work, we are trying to use the classic perovskite LaMnO3±δ (LMO) to demonstrate the fundamental differences between HECs and HEAs. We have adopted the integrated defect chemistry and CALPHAD approach to investigate the mixing behavior and how it is …

Quaternion-Based Robust Attitude Estimation Using An Adaptive Unscented Kalman Filter, Antonio C. B. Chiella, Bruno O. S. Teixeira, Guilherme A. S. Pereira

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This paper presents the Quaternion-based Robust Adaptive Unscented Kalman Filter (QRAUKF) for attitude estimation. The proposed methodology modifies and extends the standard UKF equations to consistently accommodate the non-Euclidean algebra of unit quaternions and to add robustness to fast and slow variations in the measurement uncertainty. To deal with slow time-varying perturbations in the sensors, an adaptive strategy based on covariance matching that tunes the measurement covariance matrix online is used. Additionally, an outlier detector algorithm is adopted to identify abrupt changes in the UKF innovation, thus rejecting fast perturbations. Adaptation and outlier detection make the proposed algorithm robust to …

On The Unusual Amber Coloration Of Nanoporous Sol-Gel Processed Al-Doped Silica Glass: An Experimental Study, Alvin Chang, Yujuan He, Maria A. Torres Arango, Maoyu Wang, Yang Ren, Zhenxing Feng, Chih-Hung Chang, Knostantinos A. Sierros

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Silica is the most abundant component on the earth’s surface. It plays an important role in many natural processes. Silica is also a critical material for a wide range of technical applications such as in optics and electronics. In this work, we discuss our recent experimental observation of the unusual amber coloration of aluminum doped sol-gel glass that has not been reported in the past. We characterized Al-doped sol-gel glasses, prepared at different sintering temperature, using a plethora of techniques to investigate the origin of this unusual coloration and to understand their structural and chemical properties. We used these experimental …

Programmed Design Of A Lithium–Sulfur Battery Cathode By Integrating Functional Units, Zhipeng Zeng, Wei Li, Qiang Wang, Xingbo Liu

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Sulfur is considered to be one of the most promising cathode materials due to its high theoretical specific capacity and low cost. However, the insulating nature of sulfur and notorious “shuttle effect” of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) lead to severe loss of active sulfur, poor redox kinetics, and rapid capacity fade. Herein, a hierarchical electrode design is proposed to address these issues synchronously, which integrates multiple building blocks with specialized functions into an ensemble to construct a self‐supported versatile cathode for lithium–sulfur batteries. Nickel foam acts as a robust conductive scaffold. The heteroatom‐doped host carbon with desired lithiophilicity and electronic conductivity …

Design And Fabrication Of A Remote-Controlled Plane For The Advanced Class Sae Aero Design Competition, Simon Esau

Theses

The goal of the present research is to optimize the radio-controlled airplane design for the Society of Automotive Engineers International (SAE) Aero Design Advanced Class competition. The SAE Aero Design Advanced Class seeks to further research and development of an aeronautic system that can deliver cargo and passengers to form a colony on Mars. Mission success is achieved by attending to the rules, constraints, and requirements of the competition. System-level engineering is applied to meet these diverse requirements and create a robust final product. The radio-controlled airplane submitted for competition can theoretically be scaled to carry colonists, habitats, and supplies …