Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Ergonomichandle And Articulating Laparoscopictool, M. Susan Hallbeck, Dmitry Oleynikov, Kathryn Done, Tim Judkins, Allison Dimartino, Jonathan Morse, Lawton N. Verner

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The present invention relates to a laparoscopic apparatus. The apparatus includes a handle having a body portion, a top surface, opposite bottom surface, a proximal and distal end. The top surface of the base is contoured to compliment the natural curve of the palm. The apparatus further includes a shaft projecting from the distal end of the handle. The shaft has a proximal and distal end. A control sphere is located on the handle. The control sphere can be moved by one or more of a user's fingers to indicate direction. An end effector is located at the distal end …

Scalar Differential Equation For Slowly-Varying Thickness-Shear Modes In At-Cut Quartz Resonators With Surface Impedance For Acoustic Wave Sensor Application, Huijing He, Jiashi Yang, John A. Kosinski

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

For time-harmonic motions, we generalize a 2-D scalar differential equation derived previously by Tiersten for slowly-varying thickness-shear vibrations of AT-cut quartz resonators. The purpose of the generalization is to include the effects of surface acoustic impedance from, e.g., mass layers or fluids for sensor applications. In addition to the variation of fields along the plate thickness, which is considered in the usual 1-D acoustic wave sensor models, the equation obtained also describes in-plane variations of the fields, and therefore can be used to study the vibrations of finite plate sensors with edge effects. The equation is compared with the theory …

Code Optimization For Phase Field Method, Sergio Andres Monsalve, Marisol Koslowski

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The Phase field model method for studying grain dislocation at atomic level after applying an external force to the materials being tested, enables simulate the behavior of different materials after applying stress. With the appropriate numerical method the simulation could change drastically the complexity of the algorithm. Finding the most accurate and stable numerical method for the phase field model give us a considerable improving in the performance of the code used to simulate the phase field dynamic dislocation in larger and more complex simulations can be performed. We made an statistic comparison between the different methods, comparing stability and …

A New Angle On Microscopic Suspension Feeders Near Boundaries, Rachel E. Pepper, Marcus Roper, Sangjin Ryu, Nobuyoshi Matsumoto, Moeto Nagai, Howard A. Stone

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Microscopic sessile suspension feeders are a critical component in aquatic ecosystems, acting as an intermediate trophic stage between bacteria and higher eukaryotic taxa. Because they live attached to boundaries, it has long been thought that recirculation of the feeding currents produced by sessile suspension feeders inhibits their ability to access fresh fluid. However, previous models for the feeding flows of these organisms assume that they feed by pushing fluid perpendicular to surfaces they live upon, whereas we observe that sessile suspension feeders often feed at an angle to these boundaries. Using experiments and calculations, we show that living suspension feeders …

Metal-Assisted Etching Of Silicon Molds For Electroforming, Ralu Divan, Dan Rosenthal '14, Karim Ogando, Leonidas E. Ocola, Daniel Rosenmann, Nicolaie Moldovan

Student Publications & Research

Ordered arrays of high-aspect-ratio micro/nanostructures in semiconductors stirred a huge scientific interest due to their unique one-dimensional physical morphology and the associated electrical, mechanical, chemical, optoelectronic, and thermal properties. Metal-assisted chemical etching enables fabrication of such high aspect ratio Si nanostructures with controlled diameter, shape, length, and packing density, but suffers from structure deformation and shape inconsistency due to uncontrolled migration of noble metal structures during etching. Hereby the authors prove that a Ti adhesion layer helps in stabilizing gold structures, preventing their migration on the wafer surface while not impeding the etching. Based on this finding, the authors demonstrate …

Me-Em Enewsbrief, September 2013, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

3d Modeling And Design Optimization Of Rod Shaped Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Actuator, Siul A. Ruiz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) are some of the most well-known electro-active polymers. This is due to their large deformation provided a relatively low voltage source. IPMCs have been acknowledged as a potential candidate for biomedical applications such as cardiac catheters and surgical probes; however, there is still no existing mass manufacturing of IPMCs. This study intends to provide a theoretical framework which could be used to design practical purpose IPMCs depending on the end users interest.

This study begins by investigating methodologies used to develop quantify the physical actuation of an IPMC in 3-dimensional space. This approach is taken in …

Thickness-Shear And Thickness-Twist Vibrations Of Circular At-Cut Quartz Resonators, Huijing He, Jiashi Yang, Qing Jiang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Exact solutions for free vibration frequencies and modes are obtained for thickness-shear and thickness-twist vibrations of unelectroded circular AT-cut quartz plates governed by the two-dimensional scalar differential equation derived by Tiersten and Smythe. Comparisons are made with experimental results and the widely-used perturbation solution by Tiersten and Smythe under the assumption of weak in-plane anisotropy. Our solution is found to be much closer to the experimental results than the perturbation solution . For the frequency of the fundamental thickness- shear mode, the error of the perturbation method is 0.4549%, significant in resonator applications.

Beach Wheelchair Project, Rory Aronson, Joshua Marcum, Samuel Coyne, Alex Hayes, Alexa Colburn, Max Hessel, Benedikt Strauss, Marvin Rimmele, Marco Pietsch

Mechanical Engineering

The Beach Wheelchair, Sandcrawler, is a machine intended to help give people with disabilities the full beach experience. The non-profit organization Bridge II Sports sponsored this project, and tasked us with developing the design and fabricating a prototype. This chair has several features including a linkage mechanism that raises and lowers a chair relative to an external frame, hand crank drive with Gates Carbondrive belt and sprockets, buoyant Wheeleez balloon tires, and much more.

Me-Em Enewsbrief, June 2013, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2013, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Senior Design Experience

Part of every UNLV engineering student's academic experience, the Senior Design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. Working in teams, the senior design project encourages students to use everything learned in the engineering and computer design programs to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge.

Beyond the classroom ...

Because of the requirement to work in teams, students also build good communication skills, presentation skills and even business writing skills. They also have to …

Numerical Characterization Of The Hydrodynamics And Thermal Behavior Of Air Flow In A "Flex-Duct" Air Distribution System, Samad Gharehdaghi, Samir Moujaes

College of Engineering: Graduate Celebration Programs

The aim of this research paper is to compute the hydrodynamic and heat transfer characteristics of the air flow inside a flexible duct used for residential/small commercial buildings. Various new information which manufacturers do not provide usually are produced numerically among which heat transfer coefficient, needed for estimating heat loss, is a principal one. Circulation zones in depressions are found to exist. It is shown that these regions act as an insulator and decrease the heat loss along the duct. The results show that fully developed conditions exist much earlier with regard to the inlet for both hydrodynamic and thermal …

High-Resolution Correlation Spectroscopy Of 13c Spins Near A Nitrogen-Vacancy Centre In Diamond, Abdelghani Laraoui, Florian Dolde, Christian Burk, Friedemann Reinhard, Jorg Wrachtrup, Carlos A. Meriles

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Spin complexes comprising the nitrogen-vacancy centre and neighbouring spins are being considered as a building block for a new generation of spintronic and quantum information processing devices. As assembling identical spin clusters is difficult, new strategies are being developed to determine individual node structures with the highest precision. Here we use a pulse protocol to monitor the time evolution of the 13C ensemble in the vicinity of a nitrogenvacancy centre. We observe long-lived time correlations in the nuclear spin dynamics, limited by nitrogen-vacancy spin–lattice relaxation. We use the host 14N spin as a quantum register and demonstrate that hyperfine-shifted resonances …

Thickness-Shear Vibration Of A Rectangular Quartz Plate With Partial Electrodes, Huijing He, Jiashi Yang, John A. Kosinski, Ji Wang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

We study free vibration of a thickness-shear mode crystal resonator of AT-cut quartz. The resonator is a rectangular plate partially and symmetrically electroded at the center with rectangular electrodes. A single-mode, three-dimensional equation governing the thickness-shear displacement is used. A Fourier series solution is obtained. Numerical results calculated from the series show that there exist trapped thickness-shear modes whose vibration is mainly under the electrodes and decays rapidly outside the electrodes. The effects of the electrode size and thickness on the trapped modes are examined.

Mechanics Of Blast Loading On Post-Mortem Human And Surrogate Heads In The Study Of Traumatic Brain Injury (Tbi) Using Experimental And Computational Approaches, Shailesh Govind Ganpule

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Blast induced neurotrauma (BINT) has been designated as the “signature injury” to warfighters in the recent military conflicts. The occurrence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in blasts is controversial in the medical and scientific communities because the manifesting symptoms occur without visible injuries. Whether the primary blast waves alone can cause mechanical insult that is comparable to existing traumatic brain injury thresholds is still an open question, and this work is aimed to address this issue.

In the first part of this dissertation, mechanics of primary blast loading on Realistic Explosive Dummy (RED) head with and without helmets is studied …

Starch Resin Moisture Level Effect On Injection Molding Processability And Molded Part Mechanical Properties With Pure Starch Resin And Polymer Blends, Jordan M. Ellingson

Theses and Dissertations

The current and forecasted global consumption of plastic packaging and products through the 21st century combined with the already reported and growing negative impact of plastics on the environment due to plastics being synthesized from nonrenewable resources that do not biodegrade is of serious concern. However, recent advances in starch technology including the development of thermoplastic starch (TPS) materials —polymers that are both renewable and biodegradable—have brought hope to reducing this impact. The mechanical properties of thermoplastic starch have often been improved by blending with synthetic polymers. One issue that arises with blending is volatilization of the melt from moisture …

Me-Em Enewsbrief, March 2013, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Room-Temperature Organic Ferromagnetism In The Crystalline Poly(3-Hexylthiophene): Phenyl-C61-Butyric Acid Methyl Ester Blend Film, Bin Yang, Zhengguo Xiao, Yongbo Yuan, Tanjore V. Jayaraman, Jeffrey E. Shield, Ralph Skomski, Jinsong Huang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Pronounced ferromagnetism was observed in a crystalline blend film of conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) by using magnetic force microscopy measurements. A substantial room-temperature saturation magnetization of about 0.65 emu g−1 was measured by an alternating gradient field magnetometer. Multiple experimental evidences demonstrate the charge transfer from the P3HT to the PCBM and the formation of P3HT crystal domain are expected to be two critical factors for the originals of room-temperature organic ferromagnetism.

Me-Em 2012-13 Annual Report, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Annual Reports

Table of Contents

• Research Centers
• Students
• Faculty & Staff
• Alumni
• Contracts & Grants
• Publications

A Mathematical Evaluation Of Hemodynamic Parameters After Carotid Eversion And Conventional Patch Angioplasty, Alexey Kamenskiy, Iraklis I. Pipinos, Yuris A. Dzenis, Prateek K. Gupta, Syed A. Jaffar Kazmi, Jason N. Mactaggart

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Carotid endarterectomy has a long history in stroke prevention, yet controversy remains concerning optimal techniques. Two methods frequently used are endarterectomy with patch angioplasty (CEAP) and eversion endarterectomy (CEE). The objective of this study was to compare hemodynamics-related stress and strain distributions between arteries repaired using CEAP and CEE. Mathematical models were based on in vivo three-dimensional arterial geometry, pulsatile velocity profiles, and intraluminal pressure inputs obtained from 16 patients with carotid artery disease. These data were combined with experimentally derived nonlinear, anisotropic carotid artery mechanical properties to create fluid-structure interaction models of CEAP and CEE. These models were then …

Effects Of Mode Coupling On The Admittance Of An At-Cut Quartz Thickness-Shear Resonator, Huijing He, Jiashi Yang, Wei-Ping Zhang, Ji Wang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

We study the effects of couplings to flexure and face-shear modes on the admittance of an AT-cut quartz plate thickness-shear mode resonator. Mindlin’s two-dimensional equations for piezoelectric plates are employed. Electrically forced vibration solutions are obtained for three cases: pure thickness-shear mode alone; two coupled modes of thickness shear and flexure; and three coupled modes of thickness shear, flexure, and face shear. Admittance is calculated and its dependence on the driving frequency and the length/thickness ratio of the resonator is examined. Results show that near the thickness-shear resonance, admittance assumes maxima, and that for certain values of the length/thickness ratio, …

A Comparative Study Of The Dry And Wet Nano-Scale Electro-Machining, M. P. Jahan, K. R. Virwani, Kamlakar P. Rajurkar, A. P. Malshe

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

In recent years, a nano-electromachining (nano-EM) process based on a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) platform has been demonstrated. Nano-EM is capable of machining nano-features, under both, liquid dielectric (wet nano-EM) and air dielectric (dry nano-EM) media. The objective of this paper is to present a comparative study between the wet and dry nano-EM processes based on process mechanism, machining performance, consistency and dimensional repeatability of these two processes. The comparison of the two processes has been conducted at near field nano-EM, where the gap between the tool electrode and workpiece is 2 nm and the machining is performed at room …

Inducing Neurite Outgrowth By Mechanical Cell Stretch, Suzanne Higgins, Jeong Soon Lee, Ligyeom Ha, Jung Yul Lim

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Establishing extracellular milieus to stimulate neuronal regeneration is a critical need in neuronal tissue engineering. Many studies have used a soluble factor (such as nerve growth factor or retinoic acid [RA]), micropatterned substrate, and electrical stimulation to induce enhanced neurogenesis in neuronal precursor cells. However, little attention has been paid to mechanical stimulation because neuronal cells are not generally recognized as being mechanically functional, a characteristic of mechanoresponsive cells such as osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and muscle cells. In this study, we performed proof-of-concept experiments to demonstrate the potential anabolic effects of mechanical stretch to enhance cellular neurogenesis. We cultured human neuroblastoma …

Systems Biology Of The Functional And Dysfunctional Endothelium, Jennifer Frueh, Nataly Maimari, Takayuki Homma, Sandra M. Bovens, Ryan M. Pedrigi, Leila Towhidi, Rob Krams

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

This review provides an overview of the effect of blood flow on endothelial cell (EC) signalling pathways, applying microarray technologies to cultured cells, and in vivo studies of normal and atherosclerotic animals. It is found that in cultured ECs, 5–10% of genes are up- or down-regulated in response to fluid flow, whereas only 3–6% of genes are regulated by varying levels of fluid flow. Of all genes, 90%are regulated by the steady part of fluid flow and 10% by pulsatile components. The associated gene profiles show high variability from experiment to experiment depending on experimental conditions, and importantly, the bioinformatical …

Process Study And Control Of Electron Beam Melting Technology Using Infrared Thermography, Jorge Mireles

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

An IR camera was installed in an Arcam A2 system (Arcam AB, Mölndal, Sweeden) and layer-by-layer image acquisition was achieved. The camera's capability to detect manufacturing defects was evaluated by implementing computer vision techniques using LabVIEW measurement and programming software (National Instruments, Austin, TX). Thermal maps acquired by the IR camera allowed layer-by-layer part temperature to be recorded. A core objective of this research was to study the impact of processing temperature on EBM-fabricated Ti-6Al-4V parts and achieve controlled mechanical properties. In this research, build variations were achieved by modifying parameters that change processing temperature from the standard processing temperature. …

Experimental Study On The Fabrication Of Advanced Materials For Energy Applications Using High Energy Mechanical Milling, Ashvin Kumar Narayana Swamy

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The reaction of aluminum (Al) powder with water has the potential for on demand hydrogen generation. Conventional Al powders, however, react with water slowly due to a highly protective oxide layer on the particle surface. Current methods for Al activation involve harmful and expensive materials. The nano-scale Al powders also remain very expensive and have problems such as a large amount of oxide on the surface. The use of aluminum in an energy generation cycle is also hindered by the fact that, although Al is the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust, its recovery from ore consumes a lot …

Effect Of Hafnium-Incorporation On The Microstructure And Dielectric Properties Of Cobalt Ferrite Ceramics, Stephen Josiah Wells

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The effect of hafnium ion (Hf⁴⁺) incorporation in cobalt ferrite (CFO) was studied. Samples of Hf substituted CFO ceramic (CoFe_2-xHf_xO₄), were synthesized in the laboratory with hafnium concentrations ranging from x=0.000 to x=0.200. X-ray diffraction scans show that the Hafnium CFO crystalizes in the inverse spinel phase. Inclusion of hafnium causes lattice expansion, increasing the lattice parameter from 8.374 í? for pure CoFe2O4 to 8.391 í? for the highest concentration of hafnium tested (x=0.020). The dielectric properties of CFO are greatly enhanced by inclusion of hafnium. The enhancement is due to the …

Thermal Barrier Coatings (Tbc's) For High Heat Flux Thrust Chambers, Christopher Michael Bradley

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The last 30 years materials engineers have been under continual pressure to develop materials with a greater temperature potential or to produce configurations that can be effectively cooled or otherwise protected at elevated temperature conditions. Turbines and thrust chambers produce some of the harshest service conditions for materials which lead to the challenges engineers face in order to increase the efficiencies of current technologies due to the energy crisis that the world is facing. The key tasks for the future of gas turbines are to increase overall efficiencies to meet energy demands of a growing world population and reduce the …

New Topics On Nanoindentation Of Polymers And Composite Materials, Ricardo Martinez-Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In this study, nanoindentation was used to determine Young's modulus of homogeneous plastic materials as well as inhomogeneous epoxy woven fabric composites using various indenters. In the first part, homogeneous PMMA and polycarbonate were characterized using conical and spherical indenters. The conventional approach of the inverse analysis was modified in order to account for effects obtained during spherical nanoindentation. The experimental results were verified using FEA analysis in ABAQUS. It was found that viscous effects were present in conical nanoindentations which led to an overestimation of contact stiffness. The second part, the response of carbon and glass fiber woven fabric …

Analysis Of An Actuated Two Segment Leg Model Of Locomotion, Nikhil Vinayak Rao

Open Access Theses

Research studies on dynamic models of legged locomotion have generally focused on telescoping-type leg models. Such telescoping spring loaded inverted pendulum (SLIP) models have been able to accurately predict observed center of mass (CoM) trajectories. There have been comparatively fewer studies on dynamics of locomotion

with segmented legs. Some earlier studies on the dynamics due to leg segmentation appear straightforward. For example, a simple model with the only joint moment being due to a passive springy knee has been shown to behave similarly to a telescoping spring-mass model. However, in real-life animal locomotion, there are multiple joint-moments acting at the …