Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Investigation Of Fiber Orientation And Mechanical Properties Of Pyrolysis Recycled Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Thermoset Composite, Reva N. Simmons, Harry Lee, Garam Kim

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

With increasing demand of carbon fiber reinforced fiber thermoset composites, establishing a sustainable cycle for these materials becomes crucial. Pyrolysis is a process of reclaiming carbon fiber from thermoset composites by thermally degrading the polymer at high temperatures allowing the fibers to be extracted. Carbon fiber reclaimed through current pyrolysis processes for thermoset composites typically loses its original shape and orientation, making it difficult to reorganize the fibers. This study investigated the feasibility of maintaining the fiber orientations for continuous fiber reinforced thermoset composite during pyrolysis by stitching the carbon fiber layup to a conformable copper mesh during the manufacturing …

Impact Of Lubricant In The Performance Of Variable Speed Heat Pumps Working With R290, Rubén Ossorio, Emilio Navarro-Peris, Riley Barta

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Modulating the speed of the compressors and adapting its capacity to the required load has led to a decrease in the annual energy consumption in many applications. However, in the compressor, having adequate lubrication at low speeds usually implies discharging too much lubricant at higher speeds. Although necessary for compressor operation, lubricating oil acts as a contaminant in the rest of the system. Consequently, manufacturers have to consider the oil circulation rate (OCR), as it limits the speed range of the compressor. In a previous study, a compressor was tested over its speed range (30 – 110 Hz), working with …

Wave-Powered Batch Reverse Osmosis Buoy, Austin Howse, Camden Frieling, Cooper Ford, Imaan Qazilbash, Joel Veihl, Mariya Savchenko, Ryan Vulich, Sultan Alnajdi, Abhimanyu Das, Antonio Esquivel-Puentes, Ali Naderi Beni, David M. Warsinger, José Garcia-Bravo

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

As populations grow across the world, the availability of freshwater at a reasonable cost has become a growing concern to many nations. An estimated 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water [5]. Many of these areas also exist in coastal communities which get burdened by severe weather storms. During these occasions, access to clean drinking water drastically decreases. Combining this with the potential for ocean energy, access to clean drinking water can be derived with a potential solution. The ocean contains abundant resources that comprise of untapped wave-powered energy, unharvested salt water to be turned potable, …

Wind-Powered Continuous Reverse Osmosis Water Desalination, Aliah Adriana Binti Khairul Hisham

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Water scarcity is a grave issue that is faced by lots of people worldwide. This phenomenon is further exacerbated by climate change, overpopulation, and water-intense industrial activities. To combat this issue, reverse osmosis (RO) water desalination system is broadly introduced in order to produce freshwater while maintaining the desired thermodynamic efficiency and economic feasibility. RO water desalination is a process of separating freshwater from salt water using a semi-permeable membrane. In status quo, there are various forms of energy present in RO system (e.g: hydraulic, mechanical, electrical energy, etc.) to power the hydraulic components. The conversion from one form of …

The Design And Manufacturing Of An Environmental Chamber To Test Microelectronic Devices, William Graber, Aniket Roy Chowdhury

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Sculpting Charge In Graphene Through Patterned Strain, Dylan J. Balter, Jenna Smith

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Processing Of Plastic Film From Potato Starch: Effect Of Drying Methods, Kourtney Collier, Samantha Goins, Austin Chirgwin, Isabelle Stanfield

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Starch-based plastics are biodegradable, compostable compounds made of starch and plasticizers from natural sources. Their fabrication involves the starch-plasticizer reaction at 70–100°C followed by cooling and drying. Th e most common drying method is air drying (natural convection), which is effective but slow. Th e objective of this work is to study the effect of fast drying (forced convection) on the quality of the plastic film. Th is work compares the effects of drying conditions and drying rate on warpage, shrinkage rate, and presence of bubbles. Five drying methods are studied: (1) natural convection with uncovered petri dish, (2) natural …

Better Tools For Women: Serving Local Gynecologic Cancer Patients, Caitlin Crowley

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Introduction: Cervical patients require a mirror to view anatomy between doctor visits. Existing mirrors have inadequate light and magnification, limit available free hands, or require another individual’s assistance.

Skin lesion size is tracked over time to record advances in healing or disease progression. Current options are inadequate for cutaneous lesion documentation. Parkview Cancer Institute asked me to develop a better self-examination tool for cervical patients. The new device may be used by all women for wellness checks.

Materials and Methods: A hands free illuminated cleanable mirror with magnification was designed after anthropometric and regulatory review.

Device performance was established by …

Thermodynamic Limits Of Atmospheric Water Harvesting, Akshay K. Rao, Andrew J. Fix, Yun Chi Yang, David M. Warsinger

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) is a rapidly emerging approach for decentralized water production, but current technology is limited by trade-offs between energy consumption and yield. The field lacks a common basis to compare different AWH technologies and a robust understanding of the performance impacts of water recovery, desorption humidity (for sorbent systems), and realistic component-level efficiencies. By devising a set of unifying assumptions and consistent parameters across technologies, we provide the first fair thermodynamic comparison over a broad range of environmental conditions. Using 2nd law analysis, or least work, we study the maximum efficiency for common open system AWH methods …

Impact Of Spray Coating On The Performance Of Hydrophobic Membranes, Dominick J. Maiorano, Hamid Fattahijuybari, David Warsinger

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Membrane distillation (MD) is a rapidly emerging water treatment technology used to combat the global water crisis. Membrane pore wetting is a primary barrier to widespread industrial use of MD. The primary causes of membrane wetting are membrane fouling and an exceedance of liquid entry pressure. The development of different types of polymer membranes and the use of pretreatment have led to significant movement towards the prevention of wetting in MD. We sought to take a new approach to combat membrane wetting that involves coating these membranes with hydrophilic chemical compounds, which consequently would decrease their air permeability. Pulling data …

Modeling Energy Efficiency Of Solar Thermal Powered Batch Reverse Osmosis, Lahiri Chitturi

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Batch reverse osmosis is the most energy efficient water desalination method and when powered by renewable energy, suggests promise for a cost-effective, low-carbon solution. One abundant energy source on Earth is solar energy which can be implemented using solar panels which have an established maximum efficiency of 25%, or solar thermal engines which can outperform solar photovoltaic systems by achieving higher efficiencies between 20% and 40% according to market research. Here, an approach to model and quantify the energy efficiency of a direct-drive solar thermal powered batch reverse osmosis system is presented to indicate the feasibility of pursuing this technology. …

Managing Humidity In Electronics Using Water Vapor-Selective Membranes, Songhao Wu, Andrew J. Fix, Allison Mou, David M. Warsinger, James Braun

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Abstract: As outdoor electronics have become prevalent in every aspect of daily life, handling humidity in them is an emerging issue for reliable devices. As water vapor enters the electronics enclosure, there is a risk of condensation, which could prevent the electronics from functioning and further damage the device. Traditionally, the humidity removal for electronics is usually done by heating the air within the enclosure, which can be energy-intensive and less efficient. Vapor selective membrane systems are promising alternatives for air heating dehumidification as they do not require heating energy for water vapor removal. It allows water vapor transport through …

Vapor-Selective Active Membrane Energy Exchanger With Mechanical Ventilation And Indoor Air Recirculation, Andrew J. Fix, Bryan C. Pamintuan, James Braun, David M. Warsinger

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

It is widely known that increasing outdoor air ventilation rates in buildings can help improve indoor air quality and mitigate the spread of diseases. However, cooling and dehumidifying outdoor air requires significantly more energy than treating indoor recirculated air. Recent developments in water vapor-selective membranes, which use a vapor partial pressure gradient to remove water vapor from air, offer a unique opportunity to provide highly efficient dehumidification in HVAC systems that can justify high outdoor air ventilation rates without drastic increases in energy consumption. This work presents an analysis of a novel membrane HVAC system referred to as the Active …

Integrating Wave-Powered Batch Reverse Osmosis With Pressure Retarded Osmosis For Higher Efficiency Desalination Method, David M. Warsinger, Akshay Rao, Abhimanyu Das, Sultan Alnajdi, Ali Naderi, Antonio Esquivel, Alondra Ramos, Cole Heald, Vivek Singh, Ryan Soltis, Kaitlyn Kelsey, Adriana Hisham, Aaron Harp, Bryan Pamintuan, Paige Beck, Matthew Sheridan, John Pacholski, Carolina Bernal Botero

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Overpopulation, intensive industrial water usage and climate change are some of the occurrences that are exacerbating global water scarcity. By 2050, the United Nations predicts that over 6 billion people will be affected by water scarcity. Over 70% of the earth's surface is covered by oceans yet its water remains unusable due to the high salinity of seawater. Reverse Osmosis (RO) is the most common method of desalinating water but is dependent on non-renewable generated electricity to meet its high energy requirements. The majority of the power supplied to desalination plants is generated using emission-heavy fuels. Given the UN’s goal …

Active Membrane Energy Exchanger For Air Cooling And Dehumidification, Songhao Wu, Andrew Fix, David M. Warsinger, James E. Braun

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment consume 35% of total building energy use in the US, among which a large share is used for cooling and dehumidification. The majority of air dehumidification systems take the conventional approach of moisture condensation removal. It requires air to be cooled below its dew point temperature and is an energy-intensive process, especially for areas with hot and humid climates. Vapor selective membrane systems are promising alternatives for air dehumidification as they do not require cooling energy for latent (humidity) heat removal. It allows water vapor transport through the membrane while blocking air. Previous …

Signal Processing Capacity Of The Cellular Sensory Machinery Regulates The Accuracy Of Chemotaxis Under Complex Cues, Hye-Ran Moon, Soutick Saha, Andrew Mugler, Bumsoo Han

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

Chemotaxis is ubiquitous in many biological processes, but it still remains elusive how cells sense and decipher multiple chemical cues. In this study, we postulate a hypothesis that the chemotactic performance of cells under complex cues is regulated by the signal processing capacity of the cellular sensory machinery. The underlying rationale is that cells in vivo should be able to sense and process multiple chemical cues, whose magnitude and compositions are entangled, to determine their migration direction. We experimentally show that the combination of transforming growth factor-β and epidermal growth factor suppresses the chemotactic performance of cancer cells using independent …

Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Face-Coverings On The Death Ratio Of Covid-19 Using Machine Learning, Ali Lafzi, Miad Boodaghi, Siavash Zamani, Niyousha Mohammadshafie, Veeraraghava Raju Hasti

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

The recent outbreak of the COVID-19 led to death of millions of people worldwide. To stave off the spread of the virus, the authorities in the US employed different strategies, including the mask mandate order issued by the states’ governors. In the current work, we defined a parameter called average death ratio as the monthly average of the number of daily deaths to the monthly average number of daily cases. We utilized survey data to quantify people’s abidance by the mask mandate order. Additionally, we implicitly addressed the extent to which people abide by the mask mandate order, which may …

Collision Tracking And Brain Mapping, Carl Russell Iii

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Multiphase Energetic Experiments: Application Of Multiple Object Tracking, Sarah Davis Finch

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

The process of using computer vision for multiple-objects tracking is incredibly complex. Thus, simulated data was created to mimic the complexities of more realistic data. These test cases would isolate a few of the inaccuracies of real data and allow the researchers to determine what factor of said data is the most detrimental to the object-tracking process. Due to the large quantity of factors at play, Cotter’s method was used to analyze the significance of each factor. The number of detections and the number of centroids were the main dependent results that were utilized to analyze the data. The overall …

Creating Reel Designs: Reflecting On Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita In The Community, Iris Layadi

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Because of its extreme rarity, the genetic disease arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC) and the needs of individuals with the diagnosis are often overlooked. AMC refers to the development of nonprogressive contractures in disparate areas of the body and is characterized by decreased flexibility in joints, muscle atrophy, and developmental delays. Colton Darst, a seven-year-old boy from Indianapolis, Indiana, was born with the disorder, and since then, he has undergone numerous surgical interventions and continues to receive orthopedic therapy to reduce his physical limitations. His parents, Michael and Amber Darst, have hopes for him to regain his limbic motion and are …

Occurrence And Probabilistic Health Risk Assessment (Pra) Of Dissolved Metals In Surface Water Sources In Southern Peru, Alexander Ccanccapa-Cartagena, Betty Paredes, Corina Vera, Francisco D. Chavez-Gonzales, Elizabeth Joy Olson, Lisa Welp, Nadezhda N. Zyaykina, Timothy R. Filley, David M. Warsinger, Chad T. Jafvert

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Often, metal and metalloid ions are present in water at concentrations that seriously affect human health; understanding their occurrence is critical, especially in regions such as Peru, where natural volcanic activity and anthropogenic activity have made them more prevalent in local waterbodies. In this study, river, lake, aquifer, and irrigation water samples, collected from the Chili-Quilca, Camana-Majes, Colca-Chivay-Siguas, Oco˜na, Urubamba-Vilcanota, and Titicaca river basins in Southern Peru, were analyzed for transition metals, other metals, metalloids, and other inorganic water constituents. Special emphasis was placed on metals and metalloids regulated by Peruvian Water Quality Standards and those categorized as of “primary …

Nanofluids Improve Energy Efficiency Of Membrane Distillation, Harsharaj B. Parmar, Hamid Fattahi Juybari, Yashwant S. Yogi, Sina Nejati, Ryan M. Jacob, Prashant S. Menon, David M. Warsinger

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Thermal desalination of high salinity water resources is crucial for increasing freshwater supply, but efficiency enhancements are badly needed. Nanomaterial enhancements offer enormous potential for improving promising technologies like membrane distillation (MD). However, while many approaches have been tried, such as nanoparticle solar absorbers or nanomaterial membranes, there have not been studies to directly enhance the fluid properties in MD; via nanofluids. In this work, we examine nanofluids for gap-based MD systems, including the role of nanoscale physics and system-level energy efficiency enhancements. Our model includes the dominant micro-mixing from Brownian motion in fine particle nanofluids (copper oxide) and the …

Stable Thermally-Modulated Nanodroplet Ultrasound Contrast Agents, Anastasiia Vasiukhina, Javad Estraghi, Adib Ahmadzadegan, Craig J. Goergen, Pavlov P. Vlachos, Luis Solorio

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Liquid perfluorocarbon-based nanodroplets are stable enough to be used in extravascular imaging, but provide limited contrast enhancement due to their small size, incompressible core, and small acoustic impedance mismatch with biological fluids. Here we show a novel approach to overcoming this limitation by using a heating–cooling cycle, which we will refer to as thermal modulation (TM), to induce echogenicity of otherwise stable but poorly echogenic nanodroplets without triggering a transient phase shift. We apply thermal modulation to high-boiling point tetradecafluorohexane (TDFH) nanodroplets stabilized with a bovine serum albumin (BSA) shell. BSA-TDFH nanodroplets with an average diameter under 300 nanometers showed …

Vapor-Selective Active Membrane Energy Exchanger For High Efficiency Outdoor Air Treatment, Andrew J. Fix, James E. Braun, David M. Warsinger

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

As much as 40% of the total load on air conditioning systems can be attributed to condensation dehumidification. However, new water vapor-selective membranes present a unique opportunity to greatly reduce the power requirements for moisture removal by avoiding phase change and have thus been ranked as a top alternative to traditional HVAC systems. To date, however, all such systems have relied on the assumption of constant temperature, even terming the technology “isothermal dehumidification.” This work proposes a membrane-based air cooling and dehumidification approach, referred to as the Active Membrane Energy Exchanger (AMX), which is the first to provide simultaneous, yet …

Bioinspired Fabrication Of Reconfigurable Elastomeric Cementitious Structures Using Self-Healing Mechanical Adhesives Interfaces, Vanessa Restrepo, Ramses V. Martinez

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

Modern construction technologies are in high demand of new highly customizable and easy-to-assemble structural materials with enhanced mechanical performance and the capability to self-repair autonomously. This article describes the simple and cost-effective manufacturing of Self-Healing Elastomeric/Cementitious/Mechanical Adhesive Structures (SECMAS). SECMAS are comprised of cementitious bricks joined by mechanical adhesive interfaces and organized in nacre-inspired, brick-and-mortar structures. This scalable staggered design provides SECMAS with the capability to concentrate the formation and propagation of cracks along the mechanical adhesive interfaces, which efficiently distribute loading forces and accommodate deformation. The periodic distribution of elastomeric reinforcing layers inside the SECMAS facilitates its elastic self-recovery …

Rattle Detection – An Automotive Case Study, Orla Hartley

International Conference on Lean Six Sigma

This case study showcases the use of statistical tools to develop an objective Squeak and Rattle (S&R) measurement and detection test for End Of Line (EOL) sign off in an automotive manufacturing environment. Audio Induced S&R is an unwanted vibration within the vehicle caused by the sound system, impacting on customer perception of vehicle quality. Testing for S&R in an automotive environment has a key challenge; how to robustly detect a rattle at the EOL and thus prevent plant escapes to the customer. The objective test developed used microphones and analysers in order to replace an e subjective listening test. …

Double-Acting Batch Reverse Osmosis Configuration For Best-In-Class Efficiency And Low Downtime, Sandra Cordoba, Abhimanyu Das, Jorge Leon, Jose M. Garcia, David M. Warsinger

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Energy consumption in reverse osmosis has decreased substantially over the last few decades thanks to the implementation of energy recovery devices, high efficiency pumps, and improved membranes. However, to further increase the adoption of the technology, its energy needs must still be reduced. Batch and semi-batch reverse osmosis configurations have shown potential to be the most energy efficient reverse osmosis variants, but have remaining inefficiencies from brine mixing and high downtime. In this study, we modeled in new detail a further improved double-acting batch reverse osmosis system that uses a high-pressure tank with a reciprocating piston. A high-pressure pump is …

Photocatalytic Inactivation Efficacy Of Sars-Cov-2 In Hvac Systems, Andrew J. Freeman, Sudharshan Anandan, Ernest R. Blatchley Iii, W. Travis Horton, David M. Warsinger

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

The coronavirus pandemic has emphasized a need for robust and reliable air purification systems in buildings; with that comes a need for a standardized testing methodology for air purification technologies in HVAC air circulation systems. One such method of air purification is photocatalytic oxidation (PCO), a mechanism in which a catalyst irradiated by light produces reactive molecules that degrade a wide range of pollutants, including the aerosols that carry COVID. This technology has primarily been used in aqueous applications, but there have recently been developments in air purification that have made it a promising contender to existing technologies. One of …

Osmocean, Katie Brodersen, Alec Lanter, Maulee Sheth, Nathaniel Kiefer, Emily Bywater, Kumansh Furia, Brittany Cafferty, Hayden Schennum, Yi Xie, Abigail Werner, Deepika Ramchandani, Sandra Cordoba, Akshay Rao, Jun Chen, Abhimanyu Das, David M. Warsinger

School of Mechanical Engineering Working Papers

The objective of this Build & Test was to prove that the Osmocean wave-powered batch reverse osmosis (BRO) system is physically realizable. Through a comprehensive and systematic engineering process, the optimal components for the WEC-side Osmocean coupling were procured, assembled, and tested. The results indicate that a control effort developed for the main loop throttle valve successfully tracks input signals meant to simulate interaction with the BRO system to within 6% error. Future work will include developing a controller for the kidney loop throttle valve to assist in keeping the main loop flow rate constant as well as the direct …

Design And Optimization Strategy For Ejectors Applied In Refrigeration Cycles, Riley Barta, Parveen Dhillon, James Braun, Davide Ziviani, Eckhard A. Groll

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Implementation of an ejector for expansion work recovery in transcritical Carbon Dioxide (CO2) cycles provides an opportunity to improve the efficiency of these environmentally-friendly refrigeration systems. However, literature outlining an approach to ejector design for a given application is lacking. This paper presents a tool to design a complete ejector applied in a vapor compression cycle. In this work, the developed design tool was validated using experimentally-derived polynomials at air conditioning conditions, then efficiencies were input to broaden the analysis to study a transcritical CO2 system with an ejector operating in the evaporating temperature range of −15 °C to 20 …