Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Design Of Novel Experimental Techniques To Investigate The Formation Of Nanoparticle-Based Tribofilms, Corey Thompson

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Nano-engineered lubricant additives such as organically-active nanoparticles of molybdenum disulphide (Hybrid-milled MoS2) are becoming increasingly popular in the fight against harsh friction and wear that occurs during boundary-layer lubrication. A previous paper (Verma, 2007), has reported improvements in both coefficient of friction and wear scar diameter; however, there exists very little data concerning the methods through which this improvement is achieved. Using techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), nanoindentation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), focused ion beam (FIB), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) as well as tribometery, the chemical and mechanical characteristics of the nanoparticle based tribofilm are characterized. …

Investigation Of Knock In Gaseous Fuels In The Presence Of Diluents, Roshan Ashok Rodrigues

Masters Theses

Recent energy security and environmental concerns have prompted growing interest into utilization of alternative fuels such as, natural gas and landfill gas. These gaseous fuels contain significant amount of diluents in the fuel composition, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water vapor and other trace gases, which vary by geographical location. Successful engine operation is limited by a phenomenon called "knock", which occurs due to auto-ignition of the end gas ahead of the flame front, and therefore, needs to be investigated with the utilization of these gaseous fuels.

The present contribution discusses the experimental set-up, procedure and results of the investigation …

Multisensor Processing Algorithms For Underwater Dipole Localization And Tracking Using Mems Artificial Lateral-Line Sensors, Saunvit Pandya, Yingchen Yang, Douglas L. Jones, Jonathan Engel, Chang Liu

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

An engineered artificial lateral-line system has been recently developed, consisting of a 16-element array of finely spaced MEMS hot-wire flow sensors. This represents a new class of underwater flow sensing instruments and necessitates the development of rapid, efficient, and robust signal processing algorithms. In this paper, we report on the development and implementation of a set of algorithms that assist in the localization and tracking of vibrational dipole sources underwater. Using these algorithms, accurate tracking of the trajectory of a moving dipole source has been demonstrated successfully.

A Fuzzy Logic Controller For Autonomous Wheeled Vehicles, Mohamed Trabia, Linda Z. Shi, Neil Eugene Hodge

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Autonomous vehicles have potential applications in many fields, such as replacing humans in hazardous environments, conducting military missions, and performing routine tasks for industry. Driving ground vehicles is an area where human performance has proven to be reliable. Drivers typically respond quickly to sudden changes in their environment. While other control techniques may be used to control a vehicle, fuzzy logic has certain advantages in this area; one of them is its ability to incorporate human knowledge and experience, via language, into relationships among the given quantities. Fuzzy logic controllers for autonomous vehicles have been successfully applied to address various …

Vision-Based Target Geo-Location Using A Fixed-Wing Miniature Air Vehicle, D. Blake Barber, Joshua D. Redding, Timothy W. Mclain, Randal W. Beard, Clark N. Taylor

Faculty Publications

This paper presents a method for determining the GPS location of a ground-based object when imaged from a fixed-wing miniature air vehicle (MAV). Using the pixel location of the target in an image, with measurements of MAV position and attitude, and camera pose angles, the target is localized in world coordinates. The main contribution of this paper is to present four techniques for reducing the localization error. In particular, we discuss RLS filtering, bias estimation, flight path selection, and wind estimation. The localization method has been implemented and flight tested on BYU’s MAV testbed and experimental results are presented demonstrating …

Field Monitoring And Computer Modeling To Determine Energy And Demand Savingsfrom The Melink Intellihood Exhaust And Make-Up Air Control System At Two Supermarkets, One Restaurant, And One Fast Food Restaurant, Florida Solar Energy Center, James Cummings

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Note: Only the Executive Summary of this proprietary report is available for public download.

Defining A Model For Tool Consumption Rate On Asphalt Reclamation Machines, Matthew H. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

Asphalt and concrete reclamation machines are used to cut roadways when a repair is required. The performance of these machines can affect the quality of road repairs, and cost/profitability for both contractors and governments. We believe that several performance characteristics in reclamation machines are governed by the placement and pattern of cutting picks on the cutter head. Previous studies, focused on mining and excavation applications, have shown strong correlation between placement and wear. The following study employs a screening experiment (observational study) to find significant contributors to tool wear, in applications of asphalt milling or reclamation. We have found that …

Balanced Return Air, Duct Airtightness, And Combustion/Dilution Air Code Compliance In 40 Central Florida Homes, Florida Solar Energy Center, James Cummings

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This report has been extracted from a larger report titled "Florida Building Code - Enhance Florida's Building to Next-Generation Energy & Mechanical Codes and Enrich Compliance", FSEC-CR-1678-06, November 29, 2006, which can be found at http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/publications/pdf/FSEC-CR-1678-06.pdf

Florida Building Code - Enhance Florida's Building To Next-Generation Energy & Mechanical Codes And Enrich Compliance, Florida Solar Energy Center, Muthusamy V. Swami

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The project implemented ASHRAE 90.1 2004 into Florida's compliance tool, EnergyGauge, to allow inclusion of the methodologies and rule sets of ASHRAE 90.1-2004. The project also implemented IECC 2003 into Florida's compliance tool to allow inclusion of the methodologies of Chapters 4, 5, and 6 of the International Energy Conservation Code 2003 (IECC 2003). Field testing was completed in 40 central Florida homes (built after March 1, 2002) to examine compliance with the balanced return air, duct leakage, and combustion/dilution air requirements of the Florida Mechanical Code. A course titled Complying with Duct System Requirements of the Florida Energy Code …

Simulation Of A Carbon Nanotube-Based Compliant Parallel-Guiding Mechanism: A Nanomechanical Building Block, Martin L. Culpepper, Christopher M. Dibiasio, Robert M. Panas, Spencer P. Magleby, Larry L. Howell

Faculty Publications

The authors report the behavior of a nanoscale parallel-guiding mechanism wherein the compliant components are single-walled carbon nanotubes. Parallel-guiding mechanisms are often the building blocks of macro- and microscale mechanical systems. The authors present results that provide insight into the performance of a parallel-guiding mechanism for nanoscale devices. The device exhibits a range over 75% of the device size, i.e., 5.5 nm, when actuated with 6.4 nN. Below 3.6 nN, displacements are due to bulk elastic bending of the nanotubes. Above 5.2 nN, displacements are governed by the hingelike bending of kinks in the nanotubes. van der Waals forces are …

Methods And Metrics For Human Control Of Multi-Robot Teams, Jeffrey D. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Human-controlled robots are utilized in many situations and such use is becoming widespread. This thesis details research that allows a single human to interact with a team of robots performing tasks that require cooperation. The research provides insight into effective interaction design methods and appropriate interface techniques. The use of team-level autonomy is shown to decrease human workload while simultaneously improving individual robot efficiency and robot-team cooperation. An indoor human-robot interaction testbed was developed at the BYU MAGICC Lab to facilitate experimentation. The testbed consists of eight robots equipped with wireless modems, a field on which the robots move, an …

Characterization Of Black Liquor Sprays For Application To Entrained-Flow Processes, Andrew John Mackrory

Theses and Dissertations

In this work the differences between and characteristics of water and high solids, heated black liquor sprays from air-assist atomizers are examined. Sprays were imaged with a high speed camera and the images analyzed with computer code to produce droplet size data and macroscopic spray characteristics such as mass distribution. Fluid flow rates were measured to allow relevant dimensionless groups for the spray to be calculated. A 1000 degree C tubular furnace was placed around the spray to determine the effect of industrially relevant temperatures on the droplet formation process, relative to room-temperature conditions. It was found that high solids …

Active Minimization Of Acoustic Energy Density To Attenuate Radiated Noise From A Diesel Generator, Andrew J. Boone

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this thesis was to use active noise control (ANC) to globally minimize the tonal and broadband noise radiating from a diesel generator enclosure. The major goal of this research was to show that minimizing the noise within the enclosure can lead to an overall sound pressure level (SPL) reduction of radiated noise. The target levels for overall SPL reduction were at least 2 dBA. The control algorithms used in this research were based on a filtered-x LMS adaptive algorithm, which minimizes energy density (ED). Both feedforward and feedback control approaches were investigated. The noise spectrum produced by …

Biogasoline Production From Palm Oil Via Catalytic Hydrocracking Over Gamma-Alumina Catalyst, Anondho Wijanarko, Dadi Ahmad Mawardi, Mohammad Nasikin

Makara Journal of Technology

Biogasoline Production from Palm Oil Via Catalytic Hydrocracking over Gamma-Alumina Catalyst. Bio gasoline conversion from palm oil is an alternative energy resources method which can be substituted fossil fuel base energy utilization. Previous research resulted that palm oil can be converted into hydrocarbon by catalytic cracking reaction with γ-alumina catalyst. In this research, catalytic cracking reaction of palm oil by γ-alumina catalyst is done in a stirrer batch reactor with the oil/catalyst weight ratio variation of 100:1, 75:1, and 50:1; at suhue variation of 260 to 340oC and reaction time variation of 1 to 2 hour. Post cracking reaction, bio …

Segmental Sinusoidal Model For Speech Signal Coding, Florentinus Budi Setiawan, Soegijardjo Soegijoko, Sugihartono Sugihartono, Suhartono Tjondronegoro

Makara Journal of Technology

Segmental Sinusoidal Model for Speech Signal Coding. Periodic signal can be decomposed by sinusoidal component with Fourier series. With this characteristic, it can be modeled referring by sinusoidal form. By the sinusoidal model, signal can be quantized in order to encode the speech signal at the lower rate. The recent sinusoidal method is implemented in speech coding. By using this method, a block of the speech signal with 20 ms to 30 ms width is coded based on Fourier series coefficients. The new method proposed is quantization and reconstruction of speech signal by the segmental sinusoidal model. A segment is …

A Study On Parallel Computation Tools On Networked Pcs, Heru Suhartanto

Makara Journal of Technology

A Study on Parallel Computation Tools on Networked PCs. Many models for natural phenomena, engineering applications and industries need powerfull computing resources to solve their problems. High Performance Computing resources were introduced by many researchers. This comes in the form of Supercomputers and with operating systems and tools for development such as parallel compiler and its library. However, these resources are expensive for the investation and maintenance, hence people need some alternatives. Many people then introduced parallel distributed computing by using available computing resource such as PCs. Each of these PCs is treated as a processors, hence the cluster of …

Crude Oil Sludge Degradation In Microcosmic Scale: Simple Simulation As Preliminary Study On Land Treatment Bioremediation., Astri Nugroho

Makara Journal of Technology

Crude Oil Sludge Degradation in Microcosmic Scale: Simple Simulation as Preliminary Study on Land Treatment Bioremediation. A study in microcosmic condition has been carried out to evaluate the bacterial hydrocarbonoclastic capability in increasing the oil sludge degradation being mixed with NPK fertilizer as nitrogen resources. Aerobic test was carried out by putting erlenmeyers in a shaker incubator, 120 rpm shaking speed, at 50°C temperature. While 150 days in microcosmic one observation showed that the consortium has the potential to grow up to 50% (v/v) sludge oil load. Maximum growth and maximum growth rate of the consortium occurred in the III …

Determination Of Operation Condition And Product Dimension Accuracy Optimization Of Filament Deposition Modelling On Layer Manufacturing Application, Slamet A. Widyanto, Alva Edy Tontowi, Jamasri Jamasri, Heru Santoso Budi Rochardjo

Makara Journal of Technology

Layer manufacturing process has proven as a process that can produce a high complexity mechanical part. Now, Improvement of LM methods continuously conduct that is aimed to increase precessions and efficiency of these processes. Pressure filament deposition modelling is a form of layer manufacturing process that is designed to produce a plastic part with controlling its semisolid phase. In this research, the equipment of filament depositor is designed and tested to make the product filament deposition. With operation condition observation, the optimal temperature and pressure of deposition process was determined. These experiments used PVC as crystalline material and polypropylene as …

Magnetic Field Effects On Caco3 Precipitation Process In Hard Water, Nelson Saksono, Setijo Bismo, Elsa Krisanti, Azwar Manaf, Roekmijati Widaningrum

Makara Journal of Technology

Magnetic Field Effects on CaCO3 Precipitation Process in Hard Water. Magnetic treatment is applied as physical water treatment for scale prevention especially CaCO3, from hard water in piping equipment by reducing its hardness. Na2CO3 and CaCl2 solution sample was used in to investigate the magnetic fields influence on the formation of particle of CaCO3. By changing the strength of magnetic fields, exposure time and concentration of samples solution, this study presents quantitative results of total scale deposit, total precipitated CaCO3 and morphology of the deposit. This research was run by comparing magnetically and non-magnetically treated samples. The results showed an …

Stress Corrosion Cracking Behavior Of Stainless Steel 304 In The Sulfuric Acid Environment Due To Prestrain, Mohammad Badaruddin, Ahmad Suudi, Arinal Hamni

Makara Journal of Technology

Stress Corrosion Cracking Behavior of Stainless Steel 304 in the Sulfuric Acid Environment Due to Prestrain. The aim of research is to investigate the effect of prestrain on the stress corossion cracking behavior of AISI 304 stainless steel in the sulfuric acid of 10% concentration under the static cantilever loading according to ASTM E-1681 standart. The specimen of 304 Stainless steel was strain up over the yield strength until reaching the uniform strain of 5% and 10% using servopulser UTM 9506 under the displacement control of 0,3 mm/sec. The results of test show that the prestrain of 5% specimen is …

Comparison Of Solar Hot Water Systems Simulated In Energygauge Usa And Trnsys 15, Florida Solar Energy Center, Michael Anello

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This document is meant to serve as a detailed summary of the comparison between the simulation methods of EnergyGauge USA and TRNSYS (version 15) relating to solar hot water systems. The initial motivation behind this comparison was to verify that the f-chart model created for EnergyGauge's solar hot water calculations was reporting the correct results. To this end, models of three systems were created in TRNSYS in order to serve as a baseline for the EnergyGauge results. The three systems modeled were: Liquid-active closed loop (LACL), Liquid-active open loop (LAOL), Integrated collector storage (ICS). This document will detail each of …

Effect Of Chromium–Gold And Titanium–Titanium Nitride–Platinum–Gold Metallization On Wire/Ribbon Bondability, Jianbiao Pan, Robert M. Pafchek, Frank F. Judd, Jason B. Baxter

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Gold metallization on wafer substrates for wire/ribbon bond applications requires good bond strength to the substrate without weakening the wire/ribbon. This paper compares the ribbon bondability of Cr-Au and Ti-TiN-Pt-Au metallization systems for an optoelectronic application. Both Chromium and Titanium are used to promote adhesion between semiconductor substrates and sputtered gold films. However, both will be oxidized if they diffuse to the gold surface and result in the degradation of the wire/ribbon bondability. Restoring bondability by ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) etch was investigated. Experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of Cr-Au and Ti-TiN-Pt-Au, annealing, and CAN etch processes, on …

Thermal Enhancement Of Stacked Dies Using Thermal Vias, Baekyoung Sung

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Following Moore's law, the number of transistors on a die continues to rise and has recently exceeded a billion on high end processors. In light of the convergence of technology, power requirements is becoming a serious concern even on low density interconnect systems such as cellular phones and personal digital assistants. Also, in order to minimize foot prints, the recent trend in packaging is stacking. The stacking, however, creates challenges in cooling and especially if one is to include logic in the stack. The primary heat flow path for stacking is through the substrate and as the number of stacks …

Integrated Guidance And Control Of Missiles With Θ-D Method, Ming Xin, S. N. Balakrishnan, Ernest J. Ohlmeyer

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new suboptimal control method is proposed in this study to effectively design an integrated guidance and control system for missiles. Optimal formulations allow designers to bring together concerns about guidance law performance and autopilot responses under one unified framework. They lead to a natural integration of these different functions. by modifying the appropriate cost functions, different responses, control saturations (autopilot related), miss distance (guidance related), etc., which are of primary concern to a missile system designer, can be easily studied. A new suboptimal control method, called the θ-D method, is employed to obtain an approximate closed-form solution to this …

One-Class-At-A-Time Removal Sequence Planning Method For Multiclass Classification Problems, Chieh-Neng Young, Chen-Wen Yen, Yi-Hua Pao, Mark L. Nagurka

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Using dynamic programming, this work develops a one-class-at-a-time removal sequence planning method to decompose a multiclass classification problem into a series of two-class problems. Compared with previous decomposition methods, the approach has the following distinct features. First, under the one-class-at-a-time framework, the approach guarantees the optimality of the decomposition. Second, for a K-class problem, the number of binary classifiers required by the method is only K-1. Third, to achieve higher classification accuracy, the approach can easily be adapted to form a committee machine. A drawback of the approach is that its computational burden increases rapidly with the number of classes. …

Systems And Methods For Inspecting Coatings, Kozo Saito, Mohammed I. Hassan Ali, Akira Numasato, Mohammed A. Omar, Sakakibara Masahito, Suzuki Toshikazu, Tanigawa Yasuo

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Patents

A system for detecting defects in paint coatings includes a temperature manipulation apparatus configured to change the temperature of a surface and a coating applied to the surface. The system may further include an infrared sensor for measuring the change in temperature of the surface and coating and a processor to compare the measured change in temperature of the surface and coating to an expected change of temperature in order to determine anomalies in the coatings.

High Temperature Heat Exchanger Project: Quarterly Progress Report July 1, 2006 Through September 30, 2006, Anthony Hechanova

Publications (NSTD)

Hydrodynamics and thermal numerical modeling coupled with sulfur trioxide decomposition for the one channel geometry with three different channel configurations were performed. The results obtained from the numerical modeling were compared with the baseline design under the same boundary and operation conditions. The case with diamond shaped channels has the highest percentage of sulfuric acid decomposition. The baseline channel geometry has the lowest pressure drop compared with other cases.

Mechanical Response Of Fuel Cell Membranes Subjected To A Hygro-Thermal Cycle, Ahmet Kusoglu, Anette M. Karlsson, Michael H. Santare, Simon Cleghorn, William B. Johnson

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The mechanical response of fuel cell proton exchange membranes subjected to a single hygro-thermal duty cycle in a fuel cell assembly is investigated through numerical means. To this end, the behavior of the membrane with temperature and humidity dependent material properties is simulated under temperature and humidity loading and unloading conditions. The stress-evolution during a simplified operating cycle is determined using finite element analysis for two clamping methods and two alignments of the bipolar plates. It is shown that compressive, plastic deformation occurs during the hygro-thermal loading, resulting in tensile residual stresses after unloading. These residual in-plane stresses in the …

An Evaluation Of Attributes And Competencies For Manufacturing Engineering Technology Graduates, Loni S. Williamson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the required attributes and competencies required for a graduate from a manufacturing engineering technology baccalaureate program. A document called “Competencies of Manufacturing Engineering Technology Graduates” was compiled in October 2004. This document lists twelve attributes thought to be important for MET graduates: Leadership, Professionalism, Creativity and Problem Solving, Management, Materials, Processes, Quality, Systems, Design, Communication, Safety and Environmental Issues, and Global Awareness. Under each attribute is a list of five to seven competencies creating a total of seventy-three competencies for graduates of an MET baccalaureate program. This list of attributes and competencies …

Measured Impacts Of Proper Air Conditioning Sizing In Four Florida Case Study Homes, Florida Solar Energy Center, Jeffrey Sonne

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Previous studies have shown that residential air-conditioning system oversizing is a common practice that has both energy and comfort penalties. A Florida Power and Light / Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) study involving over 350 homes found that 50% of the studies AC systems were over sized by 120% or more (James et al. 1997). The same study found oversizing AC systems by 1.0 to 1.2 times Manual J resulted in 3.7% higher cooling energy use and oversizing systems 1.2 to 1.5 times Manual J resulted in 9.3% higher cooling energy use.

The goal of Task 3.2, Benefits of Proper …