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Me-Em 2009 Annual Report, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Annual Reports

Table of Contents

• Energy Systems
• Health Systems
• Faculty & Staff
• Students
• Alumni
• Resources
• Graduates
• Publications
• ME-EM Community

Explicit Finite Element Modeling Of Knee Mechanics During Simulated Dynamic Activities, Mark A. Baldwin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The natural knee is one of the most commonly injured joints in the body due to relatively high loads and motions that can lead to debilitating degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis. Total knee arthroplasty is a clinically successful method for eliminating pain in the osteoarthritic knee, but is subject to complications that can affect patient satisfaction and long-term implant performance. The work presented in this dissertation is a demonstration of how anatomic three-dimensional (3D) computational knee models can be an effective alternative for investigating knee mechanics when compared to the cost and time prohibitive nature of in-vivo and in-vitro methods. …

Meso-Scale Heating Predictions For Weak Impact Of Granular Energetic Solids, Rohan Panchadhara

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

An explicit, two-dimensional, Lagrangian finite and discrete element technique is formulated and used to computationally characterize meso-scale fluctuations in thermomechanical fields induced by low pressure deformation waves propagating through particulate energetic solids. Emphasis is placed on characterizing the relative importance of plastic and friction work as meso-scale heating mechanisms which may cause bulk ignition of these materials and their dependence on piston speed (vp ~ 50-500 m/s). The numerical technique combines conservation principles with a plane strain, thermoelastic-viscoplastic constitutive theory to describe deformation within the material meso-structure. An energy consistent, penalty based, distributed potential force method, coupled to a penalty …

Modeling And Simulation Of High Pressure Composite Cylinders For Hydrogen Storage, Jianbing Hu

Doctoral Dissertations

"Composite hydrogen cylinders provide an efficient means of storage of hydrogen gas for modern hydrogen vehicles. Safety issues arising from the high gas pressure, temperature variation, fire attack, and fracture failures are the main concerns. The focus of this study is to develop a Finite Element (FE) model to predict the performance of composite cylinders subjected to extreme mechanical/thermal loadings and provide guidance for design optimization"--Abstract, page iv.

Fundamentals Of Friction Stir Spot Welding, Harsha Badarinarayan

Doctoral Dissertations

"The recent spike in energy costs has been a major contributor to propel the use of light weight alloys in the transportation industry. In particular, the automotive industry sees benefit in using light weight alloys to increase fuel efficiency and enhance performance. In this context, light weight design by replacing steel with Al and/or Mg alloys have been considered as promising initiatives. The joining of structures made of light weight alloys is therefore very important and calls for more attention. Friction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW) is an evolving technique that offers several advantages over conventional joining processes.

The fundamentals aspects …

Information Archival And Reuse: Drawing Conclusions From The Past, Matt R. Bohm

Doctoral Dissertations

"Over the last few decades design researchers have put forward theories and proposed methodologies that increase the chance that a design team will reliably arrive at the optimal solution to a given design problem. Studies, however, bear out that theories and methodologies alone will not guarantee an optimal or even good design solution. Instead, a breadth of knowledge across multiple engineering domains and the time and tools to thoroughly evaluate the design space are as important as any prescriptive design method. This work presents a set of underlying engineering technologies to define, archive and reuse product design knowledge to provide …

Large Eddy Simulation Of Turbulent Premixed Combustion In Gas Turbines, Ashoke De

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

An artificially Thickened Flame (TF) approach based on LES framework is used to model the turbulent premixed combustion in gas turbine combustors. A number of variants of the Thickened Flame approach including a modified version of TF model have been studied in details. In the TF model, the flame front is artificially thickened to resolve on LES computational grid. With this approach, reaction rate modeling does not require any ad-hoc closure assumptions. However, suitable modifications have to be made to compensate for flame thickening. To verify the predictive capability of the models, a stoichiometric methane-air flame on Bunsen burner type …

Multiphase Flows In Polymer Microfluidic Systems, Namwon Kim

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Continuous delivery of segmented reagents using pressure-driven multiphase flow in microchannels is a promising technology for high throughput microfluidic bioassays. Separation and encapsulation of the target reagents with another inert fluid provide many advantages over single phase flow in microfluidic applications of biotechnology. In order to achieve these advantages and control these multiphase flows, it is necessary to understand their generation and transport characteristics as influenced by geometrical miniaturization, channel wall properties, the effects of surfactants and operating conditions. For gas-liquid two-phase flow, dry air and deionized water were driven into hot embossed PMMA microchannels with 200 μm square test …

Providing Academic Leadership Through The Role Of Senior Lecturer 1 (Teaching) Using The Theme Of 'Sustainable Energy' As An Example, Jim Mcgovern

Articles

An academic leader should lead in their particular area and should love what they are doing. An example of leadership in the area of 'sustainable energy use' is presented that involves leading through identifying and participating in the development of emerging technologies. Excellent academic leadership can be provided by a Senior Lecturer through active research, incorporating the latest developments in student-centred learning in their work and providing example and encouragement for colleagues and learners.

The Effect Of Air Preheating In A Biomass Cfb Gasifier Using Aspen Plus Simulation, Wayne Doherty, Anthony Reynolds, David Kennedy

Articles

In the context of climate change, increasing efficiency and energy security, biomass gasification is likely to play an important role in energy production. Atmospheric circulating fluidised bed (CFB) technology was selected for the current study. The primary objective of this research is to develop a computer simulation model of a CFB biomass gasifier that can accurately predict gasifier performance under various operating conditions. An original model was developed using ASPEN Plus (Advanced System for Process ENgineering Plus). The model is based on Gibbs free energy minimisation. The restricted equilibrium method was used to calibrate the model against experimental data. This …

Production Sequencing And Stability Analysis Of A Just-In-Time System With Sequence Dependent Setups, John Thomas Henninger

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Just-In-Time (JIT) production systems is a popular area for researchers but real-world issues such as sequence dependent setups are often overlooked. This research investigates an approach for determining stability and an approach for mixed product sequencing in production systems with sequence dependent setups and buffer thresholds which signal replenishment of a given buffer. Production systems in this research operate under JIT pull production principles by producing only when demand exists and idle when no demand exists.

In the first approach, an iterative method is presented to determine stability for a multi-product production system that operates with replenishment signals and may …

Modelling And Simulation Of A Biomass Gasification-Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Combined Heat And Power Plant Using Aspen Plus, Wayne Doherty, Anthony Reynolds, David Kennedy

Conference Papers

In this paper the operation and performance of a high temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack on biomass syn-gas from a demonstration biomass gasification combined heat and power (CHP) plant is investigated. The objective of this work is to develop a computer simulation model of a biomass-SOFC CHP system, flexible enough for use in industry, capable of predicting system performance under various operating conditions and using diverse fuels. The biomass gasifier is of the dual fluidised bed (DFB) type with steam as the gasifying agent and is operated at atmospheric pressure. The tubular SOFC configuration, developed by Siemens Power …

Alternative Sources Of Energy, David Kennedy

Conference Papers

Ireland relies on imports of fossil fuels for up to 83% of its energy needs and this statistic is relatively common in other European countries. Apart from the high import costs and pollutions associated with fossil fuels and the need to meet new targets in terms of CO2 emissions, energy security is essential. This paper provides an overview and outline of the different alternative energy sources available for use either at domestic or on large scale production, some of which are established and others less likely to succeed in our climate.
Some of the alternative energy sources such as wind …

Effects Of Processing Parameters On The Embrittlement Of Self Reacting Friction Stir Welds, David Eric Taylor

LSU Master's Theses

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) has been adopted as one of the major welding processes for joining Aluminum. Many aerospace and marine structures are welded through this novel FSW processes currently. The Lockheed Martin Space Systems (LMSS), Michoud Operations, in New Orleans is continuously pursuing Friction Stir Welding technologies in its efforts to advance fabrication of the external tanks of the space shuttle. Recently, a reduction in mechanical strength (embrittlement) has been observed especially in self-reacting (SR) friction stir welds. This strength reduction was attributed to Residual Oxide Defects (ROD) but the exact reasons for this type of behavior needed to …

Numerical Investigation Of Film Cooling Fluid Flow And Heat Transfer Using Large Eddy Simulations, David Houston Leedom

LSU Master's Theses

Large eddy simulations of film cooling from discrete holes inclined at 35° with a feeding plenum chamber are performed at a density ratio of 2 and blowing ratios from 0.5 to 2.0 in order to gauge the suitability and performance of different hole shapes. Cylindrical holes at length to diameter ratios of 1.75 and 3.5 as well as shaped holes (laterally diffused and console holes) at a length to diameter ratio of 3.5 are simulated issuing into a laminar crossflow at a Reynolds number of approximately 16,000 based on freestream velocity and hole diameter. The domain extends 15 hole diameters …

Functionally Gradient Syntactic Foams, Kanakaji Chittineni

LSU Master's Theses

Syntactic foams are comprised of hollow microballoons in matrix systems. The superior mechanical and physical properties of syntactic foams such as light weight, high compressive strength, and low moisture absorption make them attractive materials for structural applications. As these materials are used in high mechanical performance applications, there is a need to achieve both high compressive strength and high energy absorption with minimal or no increase in density. In this study, the effect of gradient configuration of syntactic foams on the energy absorption and compressive strength is studied. Functionally Gradient Syntactic Foams (FGSFs) in five different layer sequencings are fabricated …

A Multi-Function, Disposable, Microfluidic Module For Mutation Detection, Tae Yoon Lee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Recognition of point mutations in a codon 12 of the K-ras gene, most frequently observed, is considered to be useful in the early diagnosis of several types of the human cancers. We have developed a multifunction, disposable, microfluidic module which detects low-abundant point mutations in human genomic DNA in modular architecture. Each functional component including a microfluidic PCR reactor, a passive diffusional micromixer reactor, and a microfluidic LDR reactor was separately designed and fabricated. Fluidic interconnects were also developed to make a fluidic passage between the functional components. Polycarbonate substrates were micro-molded, using hot embossing with micro-milled brass mold inserts …

Intracellular Ice Formation In Adult Stem Cells In The Presence Of Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone, Avishek Guha

LSU Master's Theses

The main objective of this work was to assess the effect of 10% (w/v) polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on the pattern of intracellular ice formation (IIF) in human adipose tissue derived adult stem cells (ASCs) in the absence of serum and other cryoprotective agents (CPAs). Passage 1 (P1) ASCs were cultured, washed and suspended in either 1x PBS (Phosphate Buffered Saline) or 10% w/v solution of PVP in 1x PBS. The freezing experiments were carried out using a fluorescence microscope equipped with a Linkam™ cooling stage using two different temperature/time cooling protocols. Both the cooling protocols had a common cooling ramp: cells …

A Modular Approach To High Throughput Microsystems, Pin-Chuan Chen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A modular high throughput microsystem was developed using microfabrication technology and nucleic acid analysis. The purpose of developing this microsystem is to identify acute infectious disease and prevent contagious outbreak in a matter of time. This microsystem included three major components, a reagent distribution device, a 96 CFPCR array, and a multi-zone thermal system, to efficiently amplify specific DNA fragments to determine the disease status or precisely pinpoint a disease from multiple patients. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the key component in the nucleic acid analysis for disease because it can be used to amplify interested DNA fragments by repeatedly …

Aerodynamic And Heat Transfer Studies In A Combustor-Fired, Fixed-Vane Cascade With Film Cooling, James William Post

LSU Master's Theses

Pressure and heat transfer data has been generated in a high-pressure, high-temperature vane cascade. This cascade differs from many others seen in typical low-pressure facilities using room temperature air. Primarily, a natural gas-fired combustor generates realistic turbulence profiles in the high-temperature exhaust gases that pass through the vane cascade. The fixed-vane cascade test sections have film cooling holes machined into the surfaces in arrangements that closely model configurations seen in real-life first-row nozzle guide vanes (NGV). Theoretical coolant jet-to-crossflow blowing ratios (M) range from 0.5 to 3.0. Coolant jet-to-crossflow theoretical density ratios (DR) used for typical tests vary between 1.0 …

Thermomechanical Characterization Of A Shape Memory Polymer Based Syntactic Foam, Damon Nettles

LSU Master's Theses

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are a type of smart material capable of “remembering” multiple shapes and transitioning between them in response to an external stimulus. They offer the potential to self-seal macro-length scale damage in a nearly autonomous fashion. Syntactic foams are lightweight structural materials currently used in the marine and aerospace industries. This study seeks to bring syntactic foams and SMPs together, retaining characteristics of both components, to create a low-density smart composite. The SMP based syntactic foam is used as the core of a grid stiffened sandwich structure capable of healing impact damage multiple times. In order to …

Fabrication, Bonding, Assembly, And Testing Of Metal-Based Microchannel Devices, Fanghua Mei

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Microsystem technologies are believed to be an important part of the contemporary technological foundation and are becoming a commercially significant specialty area in manufacturing. The design and fabrication of microscale engineering structures has the potential of generating revolutionary changes in many products over a wide range of industrial sectors. Metal-based microchannel heat exchangers (MHEs) promise high heat transfer coefficients together with mechanical robustness, and are of interest for a wide range of applications. Fabrication technologies capable of creating high-aspect-ratio microscale structures (HARMSs) in metals such as Cu at low cost and high throughput are of particular interest. Likewise, simple and …

Analysis Of Factors Causing Failure Mode For Automotive Hitch Control System Calibration In Agriculture Equipment, Setordji Yao Abotsi

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Traditionally, agricultural tractors have used hydro-mechanical draft control systems to mechanically sense implement draft. Technological development of low cost, reliable microprocessors has contributed to allowing greater flexibility in designing agricultural tractor control systems (Rutkowski & Welchens, 1986). To successfully control the depth of which an implement penetrates the ground, it has become imperative to incorporate a draft control system on agricultural tractors. The control system operates by responding to the draft load or force acting on the tractor. Increasing the draft load or force allows the implement to be raised and decreasing the draft load or force allows the implement …

Selection Of Pressure Equation For Preliminary Planing Hull Design Using Modified Analytical Hierarchy Process, Pamela Sue Fergen

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In the early stages of design when data availability is limited, engineers often times rely upon experience and regression analysis to select the most suitable design equation among many competitive ones. This study presents an alternative that applies a modified Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to select the most suitable design equation. The Analytical Hierarchy Process, a multi-criteria decision making method, has been utilized in the business and management world to collect and evaluate experts' opinions in order to arrive at a final decision. The Analytical Hierarchy Process employed here will treat each of the design equations as an expert and …

Piezoresistive Feedback Control Of A Mems Thermal Actuator, Robert K. Messenger, Quentin Theodore Aten, Timothy W. Mclain, Larry L. Howell

Faculty Publications

Feedback control of MEMS devices has the potential to significantly improve device performance and reliability. One of the main obstacles to its broader use is the small number of on-chip sensing options available to MEMS designers. A method of using integrated piezoresistive sensing is proposed and demonstrated as another option. Integrated piezoresistive sensing utilizes the inherent piezoresistive property of polycrystalline silicon from which many MEMS devices are fabricated. As compliant MEMS structure’s flex to perform their functions, their resistance changes. That resistance change can be used to transduce the structures’ deflection into an electrical signal. The piezoresistive microdisplacement transducer (PMT) …

Analysis Of Possible Use Of Identification Technologies In Disassembly, Vukica Jovanović, Sreten Filipović, Gordana Ostojić, Stevan Stankovski, Milovan Lazarević

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The barcodes and Radio Frequency Identification tags that are being used during manufacturing, assembly, warehousing, and distribution could also be reused at the end of the product lifecycle for an identification of the correct disassembly process that would result in recycling of its components. The barcodes or RFID tags can be helpful in identifying objects in terms of sustainable development, regarding disassembly, recycling and reuse. In this paper, the analysis of the current applications of RFID Technology in the final phase of the product lifecycle will be presented. The simulation of the disassembly process supported by both barcode and RFID-enabled …