Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

The Effect Of Chromium Coatings On Hydrogen Uptake In Zirconium Alloy Nuclear Fuel Cladding, Jorie Lyn Walters

Theses and Dissertations

The amount of hydrogen in a nuclear reactor can have a profound impact on its performance and safety when it is absorbed into or released from fuel rods. Hydrogen pickup in modern fuel cladding materials has been minimized by alloying additions and microstructural texture engineering, but these materials are still susceptible to hydrogen release during high temperature oxidation. The nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in 2011 resulted in hydrogen gas production and subsequent explosions which led the United States Department of Energy to initiate a program to develop enhanced nuclear fuel cladding materials. New cladding materials include …

Microchannel Slip Flow Characteristics By Time Travel After Photobleaching Velocimetry, Brandon James Sellers

Theses and Dissertations

Interfacial science follows the study of observing behavior between two or more phases of matter when in contact. For example, a liquid solution passes through a microchannel, and the walls interact with the fluid shearing along the surface. The fluid particles develop momentum changes from interfacial phenomena and slip along the wall begins to affect the fluid body. Slip flow is a name for the phenomenon, and with it, modeling velocity for the interfacial behavior demands both resolution and minimal interference. Laser-induced fluorescence photobleaching anemometry (LIFPA) works as a sound method for acquiring data on microchannel flow, but it needed …

Thermodynamic Modeling Of Uranium Nitride With Select Actinides And Fission Products, Eric Reece Mcmanus

Theses and Dissertations

Uranium mononitride fuel is being investigated as a potential nuclear fuel for a Westinghouse lead-cooled fast reactor due to factors such as its high uranium density, high melting point, and favorable thermal conductivity. To obtain an understanding of the thermochemical behavior of UN fission products and minor actinides, thermodynamic data was obtained from various resources to create a database to represent the behavior of the fuel. This database was used to generate an Ellingham diagram to represent the relative thermodynamic stability of the phases over the reactor temperature range. A simulation was run computing the equilibrium state of the fuel, …

Simultaneous Crack & Wave Propagation And Acoustic Emission Signal Modelling Using Peri-Elastodynamic, Md Mushfiqur Rahman Fahim

Theses and Dissertations

This work presents the use of Peri-Elastodynamic, a guided wave simulation method based on meshfree non-local Peridynamics theory. To model simultaneous crack and wave propagation simulation and its application on Acoustic Emission (AE) signal modelling, a new formulation is presented. The field of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and structural health monitoring (SHM) is slowly embracing the advancement in Machine Learning (ML) / Artificial Intelligence (AI) for better and cost-effective assessment of structures and damage prediction. AI/ML can revolutionize the NDE/SHM field by automating the data collection and analyzing processes. However, the big challenge is that the model needs a sheer amount …

A Plug-And-Produce Connectivity Framework For Manufacturing Systems, Theodros Abraham Tarekegne

Theses and Dissertations

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) movement has birthed technologies that enable the fusing of physical and digital environments. However, the extensive number of available options for industrial communication and data formatting has remained a barrier to achieving digital knowledge synonymy in industry. There have been previous attempts to establish standards for industrial connectivity and communication, but legacy machines, as well as custom and non-proprietary devices, still face issues communicating data with other manufacturing equipment. To address these challenges, the Industrial Internet of Things initiative has led to the creation of the Plug and Produce (PnP) concept to facilitate the …

Application Of Machine Learning Techniques And The Unscented Kalman Filter To Real-Time Gas Turbine Clearance Prediction, Donald Earl Floyd

Theses and Dissertations

The growth in renewable energy sources and retirement of large baseload coal-fired power stations has led to an accompanying decrease in reliability and security of the electrical grid. Since renewable energy sources are typically non-dispatchable, this can lead to blackouts and/or brownouts for customers. Heavy duty gas turbine power plants (HDGT) offer a solution to this problem. HDGTs are dispatchable, clean, and offer flexibility in the fuel they consume, but operational limitations must be well understood to fully exploit their benefits.

One of the main operational limitations is the tip clearances in the gas turbine. In many cases, the gas …

Enhanced Two-Phase Heat Spreading Enabled By Dropwise Condensation, Kai Luo

Theses and Dissertations

The rapidly increasing power density of electronic systems has raised challenges for thermal management. Efficient heat spreading plays an important role in distributing high-density heat to the large-area heat sink and maintaining the junction temperature below the temperature limit during operation. Vapor chambers, a type of flat heat pipe utilizing two-phase heat transfer and fast travel of vapor flow, can achieve far more efficient two-dimensional heat spreading than most conduction-based thermal ground plane materials. By promoting dropwise condensation in vapor chambers, the thermal performance and scalability can be further improved due to the enhanced condensation heat transfer and unique droplet …

Crystal Plasticity Modeling Of Heterogeneous Microstructure Of Additively Manufactured Metals, Md Mahabubur Rohoman

Theses and Dissertations

Additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as a promising technique in the manufacturing industry for producing complex metal components as it provides shape freedom and simplistic processing chain.

Powder bed fusion is the widely used AM technique that uses laser or electron beam as the energy source to melt the metal powder and deposit it in a layer-by-layer fashion. While doing so, the previously molten layers are constantly are in re-heating and re-cooling processes which end up creating an intricate solidification for the deposited layers. Due to the complexity involved in the thermal cycles for the solidification process, columnar grains develop. …

Experimental And Computational Understanding Of Solid Oxide Iron Air Battery Performance, Chaitali Morey

Theses and Dissertations

Long-duration energy storage (LDES) (10+ hours) is considered a key technical solution for a widespread penetration of renewable energy into the utility market. However, the currently available storage technologies are limited to less than 10 hours for cost reasons. The benchmark Li-ion battery technology would be economically prohibitive if the storage time goes beyond 4 hours. Therefore, developing new low-cost LDES-compatible battery technologies is highly desirable. A solid oxide iron air battery (SOIAB) has been developed which consists of a reversible solid oxide cell (RSOC) and energy storage unit (ESU) of an iron bed. This battery is considered a promising …

A Holistic Quality Management Model For Optimization Of Quality Assurance In Manufacturing, Devon Blakeney Clark

Theses and Dissertations

Quality Management (QM) is essential in manufacturing to ensure products are consistent and functional every time. Consumers expect high quality products that last, and industries unable to accomplish this are destined to fail. Therefore, product quality has always been at the forefront of manufacturer decision making, though it is normally viewed as a given more than as a goal. This means that businesses want quality because it is needed for their survival, but there has not been consideration for how to incorporate innovation into this essential field. Quality needs to be viewed holistically with regards to all manufacturing factors that …

Review Of Fourth-Order Predictive Modeling And Illustrative Application To A Nuclear Reactor Benchmark. I. Typical High-Order Sensitivity And Uncertainty Analysis, Dan Gabriel Cacuci, Ruixian Fang

Faculty Publications

This work (in two parts) will review the recently developed predictive modeling methodology called “4th-BERRU-PM” and its applicability to nuclear energy systems as exemplified by an illustrative application to the Polyethylene-Reflected Plutonium (acronym: PERP) OECD/NEA reactor physics benchmark. The acronym 4th-BERRU-PM designates the “Fourth-Order Best-Estimate Results with Reduced Uncertainties Predictive Modeling” methodology, which uses the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) principle to incorporate fourth-order experimental and computational information, including fourth (and higher) order sensitivities of computed model responses to model parameters, while yielding best-estimate results with reduced uncertainties for the first fourth-order moments (mean values, covariance, skewness, and kurtosis) of the optimally …

Development Of A Large Format Additive Manufacturing System Based On An Off-The-Self Pellet Extruder, Aywan Das

Theses and Dissertations

Large Format Additive Manufacturing (LFAM), or Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM), was introduced to resolve the limitations of the low deposition rate, low scalability, and therefore long print times, of traditional 3D printing methods when applied to the manufacturing of large structures and tooling. LFAM can be used to overcome the high conventional tooling costs of large structures. However, even with robotic setups, LFAM still mainly relies on quasi-planar, 2.5D printing strategies. This fails to reap the advantages of multi-axis printing, such as improved adhesion, reduced support material use, and the ability to create complex curved surfaces. In this research, …

Surface Acoustic Waves-Based Point-Of-Care Biosensor, Debdyuti Mandal

Theses and Dissertations

A biosensor is an analytical tool consisting of biologically active material used in close conjunction with a device that converts a biochemical signal into a quantifiable electrical signal. The early detection of the disease biomarkers can enhance the increased curability of the disease, reduce healthcare costs, and finally, improve the quality of life for patients. Thus, for the following purpose, there is always a need for an effective biosensor as a diagnostic device. The biosensor typically consists of an actuator, a bio-recognition component, and a transducer that converts captured signals into a meaningful display. The bio-recognition component uses biomolecules to …

Multidimensional Simulation Of Cool Diffusion Flame, Ejaz Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the behavior of spherical cool diffusion flames in microgravity conditions is crucial for advancing combustion research. This knowledge has significant implications for both fundamental science and practical applications, such as spacecraft fire safety and the development of advanced, high-efficiency engines that benefit from low-temperature chemistry. Spherical cool diffusion flames are typically characterized by peak temperatures between 500 and 1000K and are often followed by the radiative extinction of a hot flame. Some low-temperature ignitions can sustain indefinitely at around 700K, leading to chain-branching pathways that produce intermediate species such as C2H4, H2O2, HO2, CH2O, CH3O, and HCO. In some …

Accelerating Numerical Modeling And Optimization Of Structural Mechanical Systems, Fatemeh Hashemian

Theses and Dissertations

This research proposal presents Bayesian optimization and reduced order modeling methods to accelerate numerical analysis and design of structure mechanical system. First, a holistic framework of Bayesian optimization (BO) based on parameterized numerical models and genetic algorithm-guided adaptive sampling is developed to automate and accelerate the design of a front-loading washing machine. The research aims to address challenges associated with the model parameterization and global optimization and design. A multibody dynamics model of the washing machine incorporating a set of 9 key design variables is developed. The design variables are implemented to enable automated modifications of the dynamics model for …

Correction: Graph Theory And Graph Neural Network Assisted High-Throughput Crystal Structure Prediction And Screening For Energy Conversion And Storage, Joshua Ojih, Mohammed Al-Fahdi, Yagang Yao, Jianjun Hu, Ming Hu

Faculty Publications

Correction for ‘Graph theory and graph neural network assisted high-throughput crystal structure prediction and screening for energy conversion and storage’ by Joshua Ojih et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 2024, 12, 8502–8515, https://doi.org/10.1039/D3TA06190F.

On page 8511 in section 3.2 of the published article, the text “The single values of bonding and antibonding for each structure are obtained by performing integration over COHP curves for each atomic pair as evaluated by the LOBSTER package” should have included citations to six references. The missing references are listed below as ref. 1–6.

The Royal Society of Chemistry apologises for …

Cognitive Manufacturing: Definition And Current Trends, Fadi El Kalach, Ibrahim Yousif, Thorsten Wuest, Amit Sheth, Ramy Harik

Publications

Manufacturing systems have recently witnessed a shift from the widely adopted automated systems seen throughout industry. The evolution of Industry 4.0 or Smart Manufacturing has led to the introduction of more autonomous systems focused on fault tolerant and customized production. These systems are required to utilize multimodal data such as machine status, sensory data, and domain knowledge for complex decision making processes. This level of intelligence can allow manufacturing systems to keep up with the ever-changing markets and intricate supply chain. Current manufacturing lines lack these capabilities and fall short of utilizing all generated data. This paper delves into the …

A Redox-Reversible A/B-Site Co-Doped Bafeo3 Electrode For Direct Hydrocarbon Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Haixia Li, Wanhua Wang, Kai Zhao, Ka-Young Park, Taehee Lee, Ramin Babazadeh Dizaj, Andreas Heyden, Dong Ding, Fanglin Chen

Faculty Publications

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) can directly convert the chemical energy in fuel to electrical energy with fuel flexibility; however, the conventional nickel-based anodes face great challenges due to coking upon direct oxidation of hydrocarbon fuels and redox instability. Thus, developing new anode materials which can provide high coking resistance as well as redox stability is crucial. In this work, Ba_0.6La_0.4Fe_0.8Mo_0.1Ni_0.1O_3−δ (BLFMN) has been synthesized in air using a sol–gel combustion method, resulting in a dual phase consisting of a cubic BLFMN main phase and scheelite BaMoO_{4 …}

The Second-Order Features Adjoint Sensitivity Analysis Methodology For Response-Coupled Forward/Adjoint Linear Systems (2nd-Fasam-L): Mathematical Framework And Illustrative Application To An Energy System, Dan Gabriel Cacuci

Faculty Publications

The Second-Order Features Adjoint Sensitivity Analysis Methodology for Response-Coupled Forward/Adjoint Linear Systems (abbreviated as “2nd-FASAM-L”), presented in this work, enables the most efficient computation of exactly obtained mathematical expressions of first- and second-order sensitivities of a generic system response with respect to the functions (“features”) of model parameters. Subsequently, the first- and second-order sensitivities with respect to the model’s uncertain parameters, boundaries, and internal interfaces are obtained analytically and exactly, without needing large-scale computations. Within the 2nd-FASAM-L methodology, the number of large-scale computations is proportional to the number of model features (defined as functions of model parameters), as opposed to …

Design Of A Launchable Remote-Controlled Rover And Protective Aeroshell, Matthew Loewer, Colby Weeks, Lake Williams, Jackson Zazzaro

Senior Theses

Planetary rovers, vehicles that can traverse challenging terrain, have excelled in their exploration missions to other celestial bodies. They have been especially suitable for exploring Mars, as rovers such as Opportunity and Perseverance have collected valuable geological, atmospheric, seismic, and magnetic information from the Martian surface. Rovers will remain vital in future space exploration missions, and it is necessary to understand their design and functionality. This paper focuses on the design and prototyping of a miniature rover that can survive the rough Martian terrain while collecting and submitting environmental data for scientific analysis. The design is based off proven Martian …

Predicting The Rate Of Degradation Related To Oxygen Electrode Delamination In Solid Oxide-Ion Electrolyzers, Yeting Wen, Kevin Huang

Faculty Publications

Language comprehension is often affected in individuals with post-stroke aphasia. However, deficits in auditory comprehension are not fully correlated with deficits in reading comprehension and the mechanisms underlying this dissociation remain unclear. This distinction is important for understanding language mechanisms, predicting long-term impairments and future development of treatment interventions. Using comprehensive auditory and reading measures from a large cohort of individuals with aphasia, we evaluated the relationship between aphasia type and reading comprehension impairments, the relationship between auditory versus reading comprehension deficits and the crucial neuroanatomy supporting the dissociation between post-stroke reading and auditory deficits. Scores from the Western Aphasia …

Graph Theory And Graph Neural Network Assisted High-Throughput Crystal Structure Prediction And Screening For Energy Conversion And Storage, Joshua Ojih, Mohammed Al-Fahdi, Yagang Yao, Jianjun Hu, Ming Hu

Faculty Publications

Prediction of crystal structures with desirable material properties is a grand challenge in materials research, due to the enormous search space of possible combinations of elements and their countless arrangements in 3D space. Despite the recent progress of a few crystal structure prediction algorithms, most of those methods only target a few specific material families or are restricted to simple systems with limited element diversity. Moreover, these algorithms are usually coupled with first principles calculations and thus are computationally expensive and very time consuming. Therefore, establishing a workflow that can generate a large number of hypothetical structures with diverse elements …

Left Ventricle Function And Post-Transcriptional Events With Exercise Training In Pigs, Stephanie L. Samani, Shayne C. Barlow, Lisa A. Freeburg, Traci L. Jones, Marlee Poole, Mark A. Sarzynski Facsm, Michael R. Zile, Tarek Shazly, Francis G. Spinale

Faculty Publications

Background

Standardized exercise protocols have been shown to improve overall cardiovascular fitness, but direct effects on left ventricular (LV) function, particularly diastolic function and relation to post-transcriptional molecular pathways (microRNAs (miRs)) are poorly understood. This project tested the central hypothesis that adaptive LV remodeling resulting from a large animal exercise training protocol, would be directly associated with specific miRs responsible for regulating pathways relevant to LV myocardial stiffness and geometry.

Methods and results

Pigs (n = 9; 25 Kg) underwent a 4 week exercise training protocol (10 degrees elevation, 2.5 mph, 10 min, 5 days/week) whereby LV chamber stiffness (KC) …

Protecting Zn Anodes By Atomic Layer Deposition Of Zro2 To Extend The Lifetime Of Aqueous Zn-Ion Batteries, Shichen Sun, Yeting Wen, Aiden Billings, Roya Rajabi, Boyu Wang, Kangkang Zhang, Kevin Huang

Faculty Publications

Aqueous rechargeable Zn-ion batteries (ARZIBs) are a newly emerged class of electrochemical cells suited for large-scale stationary energy storage applications due to their unique advantages in safety, cost, and supply chain. To advance ARZIB technology toward commercialization, the corrosion problem of Zn anodes in aqueous electrolytes must be adequately addressed. Here we report our efforts to tackle this issue by using atomic layer deposition (ALD) to coat the Zn anode surface with a protective nanoscale ZrO₂ thin film, collectively denoted as ALD-ZrO₂@Zn in this study. We show the pertinent properties of ALD-ZrO₂@Zn in aqueous Zn-salt …

Elastic Sensing Skin For Monitoring Of Concrete Structures, Emmanuel Abiodun Ogunniyi

Theses and Dissertations

Soft elastomeric capacitors (SECs) are emerging as potential low-cost solutions for monitoring cracks and strains in concrete infrastructure, a crucial aspect of structural health monitoring. Effective long-term monitoring of civil infrastructure can reduce the risk of structural failures and potentially reduce the cost and frequency of inspections. However, deploying structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies for bridge monitoring is expensive, especially long-term, due to the density of sensors required to detect, localize, and quantify cracks. Previous research on soft elastomeric capacitors (SEC) has shown their viability for low-cost monitoring of cracks in transportation infrastructure. However, when deployed on concrete for strain …

Water Quality Monitoring And Mapping Using Rapidly Deployable Sensor Nodes, Mohamed Abdelwahab

Theses and Dissertations

Efficient and continuous monitoring of water quality parameters plays a pivotal role in responding to pollution incidents and ensuring the safety of both human consumption and ecological resources. This research introduces an affordable and dependable in-situ water quality sensor package designed for seamless continuous monitoring, providing essential data to facilitate informed decision-making in water resource management. The sensor package enables comprehensive on-site assessment of key water characteristics, including pH, temperature, turbidity (measured in NTU), and total dissolved solids (TDS, measured in ppm). Spatial interpolation techniques, specifically Kriging, are employed to extrapolate variable values at unobserved locations based on nearby measurements. …

Studies Of Damage Tolerance In Automated Fiber Placement Based Heterogeneous Meso-Architectured Carbon/ Epoxy Composite Laminates., Karan Kodagali

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional unidirectional (UD) carbon fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites manufactured via automated fiber placement (AFP) are widely used in aerospace structures. While heterogeneous at the micro-scale, these materials are homogeneous at the meso-scale (ply-scale). The major limitation is its limited toughness, poor damage tolerance/impact resistance capability and the inability to sufficiently redistribute stresses, resulting in strength-toughness tradeoffs, making them susceptible to impact damage. From previous studies, there is an understanding that fiber architecture has a first order effect on the damage tolerance. Introducing new discontinuous/heterogeneous meso-scale architectures, through an optimal merger of material and structure, can result in unprecedented property improvements …

Real-Time Product Structural Validation For Fused Filament Fabrication, Yanzhou Fu

Theses and Dissertations

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is one of the fastest-growing, most promising, and widely-used Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, as its capabilities of largely reducing material waste, feasible and flexible designing complicated structure or geometry product. Except for the advantages mentioned above, the unique affordability has made FFF a popular technique for small-scale 3D printing. However, its widescale adaption for industrial applications still faces significant challenges, especially for Industry 4.0, due to the process’s intrinsic uncertainties. During the printing process, even a trivial bonding gap or material void dramatically influences the final product’s structural quality and mechanical properties. Therefore, a defect detection …

Rational Design Of Complex Oxides By Understanding Structure-Property Relationships For Energy Applications, Gene Yang

Theses and Dissertations

Developing novel energy materials is a key step toward satisfying the needs for next-generation energy conversion and storage devices. Complex oxides are widely used in many energy technologies owing to their fascinating properties, including electrocatalytic activity, and ionic and electronic conductivity. In particular, oxides in thin film form yield many intriguing physicochemical properties that are unattainable in bulk oxides and thus have become critical to improving the performance of many energy devices, such as fuel cells, batteries, solar cells, and thermoelectric devices. This thesis is centered on designing oxide thin films and nanostructures via pulsed laser deposition (PLD) based on …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Electrode Materials Of Solid Oxide Cells For Energy Conversion And Storage, Haixia Li

Theses and Dissertations

Solid oxide cells (SOCs) can directly convert chemical energy to electricity in the fuel cell mode and store electricity to chemicals in the electrolysis mode. However, there are still critical barriers, such as energy efficiency and durability, for developing and commercializing SOCs. This dissertation aims to design electrode materials and optimize the cell fabrication process to address the critical barriers for SOCs in energy conversion and energy storage applications. Therefore, one primary focus of the dissertation is to develop robust fuel electrode material for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with improved sulfur tolerance. In addition, the design of novel fuel …