2013 (Spring) Ensi Informer Magazine, Morehead State University. Engineering Sciences Department

ENSI Informer Magazine Archive

The ENSI Informer Magazine published in the spring of 2013.

Women's High Heel Discomfort Analysis And Prototype Solution, Kevin Blakley, Annamarie Kepple

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

ABSTRACT

WOMEN’S HIGH HEEL DISCOMFORT ANALYSIS AND SOLUTION

Kevin Blakley and Annamarie Kepple

Women love high heeled shoes, but this love comes at the cost of comfort. Wearing high heels causes a lot of pain and, in the long term, health complications. This project tries to overcome the problem by ultimately making high heels more comfortable. In order to do this, one must first understand the reasons that high heels are uncomfortable, such as arch angle, heel height, and the changes in walking motion. Once there is a true understanding of the factors that contribute to high heel discomfort, the …

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

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Kase, The Laptop Cooling Case, Jana Morrison, Tyler Ries

Biomedical Engineering

This report describes the final design and analysis of a laptop cooling case as a marketable product for a group of entrepreneurial marketing student based out of California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. Background market research and empirical measurements were taken in order to confirm that this would be a marketable product worth designing. Then previous solutions were researched in order to identity weaknesses and strengths. After rigorous research, it was determined that a passive cooling system, in which channels directed airflow to the computer fan would be the best system in terms of functionality, performance, and cost. A …

Quantifying The Nonlinear, Anisotropic Material Response Of Spinal Ligaments, Daniel J. Robertson

Theses and Dissertations

Spinal ligaments may be a significant source of chronic back pain, yet they are often disregarded by the clinical community due to a lack of information with regards to their material response, and innervation characteristics. The purpose of this dissertation was to characterize the material response of spinal ligaments and to review their innervation characteristics.


Review of relevant literature revealed that all of the major spinal ligaments are innervated. They cause painful sensations when irritated and provide reflexive control of the deep spinal musculature. As such, including the neurologic implications of iatrogenic ligament damage in the evaluation of surgical procedures …

Investigations Of Attitudes Towards Offshore Wind Farm Development In Ireland: Their Implication Towards Future Development Of The Industry., Aidan Melia

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

This current research investigates what the attitudes of Irish people are towards the development of offshore wind farms in Ireland. Using a qualitative approach, a questionnaire is carefully designed and distributed among a sample population from three coastal communities. One is located on the west coast and two on the east coast. The two locations on the east coast have an involvement in offshore wind farms. One of the locations plays host to Ireland’s only offshore wind farm, while there are plans in place for an offshore wind farm at the other location. The results from the questionnaires are analyzed …

Analysis Of Hers Index Scores For Recent Versions Of The International Energy Conservation Code (Iecc) [Revised], Florida Solar Energy Center, Philip W. Fairey

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The EnergyGauge HERS software tool was used to examine the IECC Standard Reference Design (IECC SRD) configuration for one-story 2000 ft2 and two-story 2,400 ft2 single-family homes in sixteen representative U.S. cities. IECC SRD homes were configured for the 2006 IECC, the 2009 IECC and the 2012 IECC. Two additional set of analysis were conducted, both using the 2012 IECC SRD with enhanced equipment: 1) with equipment configured to meet the 2015 National Appliance Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) equipment requirements and 2) with equipment that is on the cusp of significant market penetration with efficiencies greater than the 2015 standard.HERS …

Criteria For The Initiation Of Modes Of Response Of A Caisson Subjected To A Breaking Wave Force, Jaw Guei Lin, Chi Chao David Tung

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This paper concerns problems of a caisson subjected to a breaking wave force: (1) what are the possible modes of response and (2) the conditions initiate into these modes. These two questions have not been studied. The objective of this paper is to answer these two questions. However, the actual response of a caisson that takes place in each mode is not addressed in this study. A caisson placed on a horizontal frictional base, subjected to a concentrated horizontal force of short duration, applied to the seaward side face of the caisson and accompanied by a corresponding uplift force on …

Carbonation Service Life Prediction Of Existing Concrete Viaduct/Bridge Using Time-Dependent Reliability Analysis, Ming-Te Liang, Ran Huang, Shen-Ann Fang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This paper examines the predicted carbonation life of an existing concrete viaduct/bridge in the atmospheric environment based on probability and reliability indices. The probability is dependent upon the carbonation rate, carbonation remainder, concrete quality, and concrete cover. The carbonation life is defined as the service life of reinforced concrete (RC) or prestressed concrete (PC) structure at the beginning of time of steel corrosion when concrete cover surfers from carbonation and loses the protection function to steel. The carbonation life is equivalent to the initiation time of corrosion of reinforcement. Both the Chorng-ching viaduct and Wannfwu bridge were offered as illustrative …

Equilibrium And Nonequilibrium Molecular Dynamics Simulations Of Thermal Conductance At Solid-Gas Interfaces, Zhi Liang, William Evans, Pawel Keblinski

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Thermal Conductance at Solid-Gas Interfaces with Different Interfacial Bonding Strengths is Calculated through Green-Kubo Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics (EMD) Simulations. Due to the Finite Size of the Simulation System, the Long-Time Integral of the Time Correlation Function of Heat Power Across the Solid-Gas Interface Exhibits an Exponential Decay, Which Contains the Information on Interfacial Thermal Conductance. If an Adsorbed Gas Layer is Formed on the Solid Surface, It is Found that the Solid-Gas Interface Needs to Be Defined at a Plane Outside the Adsorbed Layer So as to Obtain the Correct Result from the Green-Kubo Formula. the EMD Simulation Result …

Material Characterization And The Effects Of Moisture And Drying On Injection Molded Torlon 5030, Michael R. Di Re

Master's Theses

The effects of water absorption and drying were studied on injection molded Torlon 5030, a high performance thermoplastic fabricated by Solvay Specialty Polymers. Torlon 5030 contains 30% by weight glass fibers in a polyamide-imide base resin. The objective behind this work was to test and better define relevant properties for industrial applications using this material. While the material design guide offers information on many mechanical properties including tensile, fatigue, and creep data; there is little to no publicly published data on the effects of water absorption and any subsequent drying of Torlon 5030. Blistering was also studied. With exposure to …

Environmental And Energy Saving Technologies Of Vinyl Chloride Production, Mykola Kurta

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recently, because of the increase of environmental concerns in process design, the need to enhance conversion to product and prevent generation of wasteful byproducts in the reactor network has become urgent. This prevents high cost treatment and separation costs downstream in the process. Therefore, in this thesis I focus on making production of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) more efficient and on possible ways of industrial organochlorine waste (OCW) recycling. In particular, in the first experiment, we investigate how catalyst and its structure can affect product output.

Infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis were utilized to investigate the structure of the …

Short-Term Test Results: Transitional Housing Energy Efficiency Retrofit In The Hot-Humid Climate, Florida Solar Energy Center, Karen Sutherland

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This project evaluates the renovation of a 5,800-ft², multiuse facility located in St. Petersburg, on the west coast of central Florida, in the hot-humid climate. An optimal package of retrofit measures was designed to deliver 30%-40% annual energy cost savings for this building with annual utility bills exceeding $16,000 and high base load consumption. Researchers projected energy cost savings for potential retrofit measures based on pre-retrofit findings and disaggregated, weather-normalized utility data. A cost-benefit analysis was conducted for the seven retrofit measures implemented; adding attic insulation and sealing soffits, tinting windows, improving whole-building airtightness, upgrading heating and cooling …

Improvement Of Heat Transfer Efficiency At Solid-Gas Interfaces By Self-Assembled Monolayers, Zhi Liang, William Evans, Tapan Desai, Pawel Keblinski

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations, We Demonstrate that the Efficiency of Heat Exchange between a Solid and a Gas Can Be Maximized by Functionalizing Solid Surface with Organic Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs). We Observe that for Bare Metal Surfaces, the Thermal Accommodation Coefficient (TAC) Strongly Depends on the Solid-Gas Interaction Strength. for Metal Surfaces Modified with Organic SAMs, the TAC is Close to its Theoretical Maximum and is Essentially Independent from the SAM-Gas Interaction Strength. the Analysis of the Simulation Results Indicates that Softer and Lighter SAMs, Compared to the Bare Metal Surfaces, Are Responsible for the Greatly Enhanced TAC. © 2013 …

Single Network Adaptive Critics Networks-Development, Analysis, And Applications, Jie Ding, Ali Heydari, S. N. Balakrishnan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Solving infinite time optimal control problems in an approximate dynamic programing framework with two-network structure has become popular in recent years. In this chapter, an alternative to the two-network structure is provided. We develop single network adaptive critics (SNAC) which eliminate the need to have a separate action network to output control. Two versions of SNAC are presented. The first version, called SNAC outputs the costates and the second version called J-SNAC outputs the cost function values. Special structure called Finite-SNAC to efficiently solve finite time problems is also presented. Illustrative infinite time and finite time problems are considered; numerical …

Vector Acoustic Intensity Around A Tuning Fork, Daniel A. Russell, Justin Junell, Daniel O. Ludwigsen

Physics Publications

The acoustic intensity vector field around a tuning fork is investigated. Theory for a longitudinal quadrupole source predicts a well-defined transition between near-field and far-field, with significant circulation of sound energy in the near-field. Vector components of the time-averaged intensity were measured using a two-microphone intensity probe and found to agree well with predictions from theory. The vector intensity map is interpreted, and shown to provide useful information about the near-field of an acoustic source.

Measured Cooling Performance And Potential For Buried Duct Condensation In A 1991 Central Florida Retrofit Home, Florida Solar Energy Center, Dave Chasar

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) conducted energy performance monitoring of two existing residences in Central Florida that were undergoing various retrofits. These homes were occupied by FSEC researchers and were fully instrumented to yield detailed energy, temperature, and humidity measurements. The data gave feedback about the performance of two levels of retrofit in two types of homes in a hot-humid climate. This report covers a moderate-level retrofit and includes 2 years of pre-retrofit data to characterize the impact of improvements. The other home, covered in a separate report (Parker and Sherwin 2012), is a deep energy retrofit that has …

Electrospun Polymeric Membranes For Adhesion, Johnny F. Najem, Shing Chung Josh Wong, Guang Ji

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

With growing interest in detachable adhesives, new materials are explored such as the types that employ elastomers, thermoplastics, and pressuresensitive polymers [1]. Generally, these adhesives produce substantial shear adhesion strengths but are considerably difficult to detach from surfaces. Commercial high strength adhesives make use of chemical interactions such as glues and permanently attach two surfaces. Subsequently, fabrication of dry adhesives with anisotropic force distributions has the potential in several applications such as tapes, fasteners, treads of wall-climbing robots, spiderman's suits, microelectronics, medical and space applications. High aspect ratio (AR) structures exhibit significant shear adhesion strength compared to ones with low …

Mechanical Behavior Of A Magnesium Alloy Nanocomposite Under Conditions Of Static Tension And Dynamic Fatigue, T. S. Srivatsan, C. Godbole, T. Quick, M. Paramsothy, M. Gupta

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

In this paper, the intrinsic influence of nano-alumina particulate (Al₂O_3p) reinforcements on microstructure, microhardness, tensile properties, tensile fracture, cyclic stress-controlled fatigue, and final fracture behavior of a magnesium alloy is presented and discussed. The unreinforced magnesium alloy (AZ31) and the reinforced composite counterpart (AZ31/1.5 vol.% Al₂O₃) were manufactured by solidification processing followed by hot extrusion. The elastic modulus, yield strength, and tensile strength of the nanoparticle-reinforced magnesium alloy were noticeably higher than the unreinforced counterpart. The ductility, quantified by elongation-to-failure, of the composite was observably lower than the unreinforced monolithic counterpart (AZ31). …

Objectives And Constraints For Wind Turbine Optimization, Andrew Ning, Rick Damiani, Patrick Moriarty

Faculty Publications

Efficient extraction of wind energy is a complex multidisciplinary process. This paper examines common objectives used in wind turbine optimization problems. The focus is not on the specific optimized designs, but rather on understanding when certain objectives and constraints are necessary, and what their limitations are. Maximizing annual energy production, or even using sequential aero/structural optimization, is shown to be significantly suboptimal compared to integrated aero/structural metrics. Minimizing the ratio of turbine mass to annual energy production can be effective for fixed rotor diameter designs, as long as the tower mass is estimated carefully. For variable diameter designs, the predicted …

State Of The Irish Housing Stock - Modelling The Heat Losses Of Ireland’S Existing Detached Rural Housing Stock & Estimating The Benefit Of Thermal Retrofit Measures On This Stock, Ciara Ahern, Philip Griffiths, Micheal O'Flaherty

Articles

Ireland’s housing stock has been identified as being amongst the least energy efficient in Northern Europe. Consequently, atmospheric emissions are greater than necessary. Government funded schemes have been introduced to incentivise the uptake of thermal retrofit measures in the domestic Irish market. A study of Ireland’s housing highlights the dominance of detached houses (43%), 72% of which are rurally located and are predominantly heated with fuel oil. This paper investigates the economic and carbon case for thermal retrofit measures to the existing detached, oil centrally heated, rural housing stock. The study found the case for energy efficiency measures to be …

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

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

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

Resistance Factors For Ductile Frp-Reinforced Concrete Flexural Members, Bashar Behnam, Christopher D. Eamon

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research Publications

To prevent damage caused by corroding reinforcement, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcing bars have been used in place of steel in a relatively small but increasing number of structures in the civil infrastructure. A concern with the use of traditional FRP bars, however, is the resulting lack of ductility. This problem has been overcome with the development of a new generation of composite reinforcement, ductile hybrid FRP (DHFRP) bars. However, standards that address the design of DHFRP bars are unavailable, and appropriate resistance factors for the use of DHFRP reinforcement are unknown. In this study, a reliability analysis is conducted …

Reliability Analysis Of Rc Beams Exposed To Fire, Christopher D. Eamon, Elin A. Jensen

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research Publications

A procedure for conducting reliability analysis of reinforced concrete beams subjected to a fire load is presented. This involves identifying relevant load combinations, specifying critical load and resistance random variables, and establishing a high-temperature performance model for beam capacity. Based on the procedure, an initial reliability analysis is conducted using currently available data. Significant load random variables are taken to be dead load, sustained live load, and fire temperature. Resistance is in terms of moment capacity, with random variables taken as steel yield strength, concrete compressive strength, placement of reinforcement, beam width, and thermal diffusivity. A semi-empirical model is used …

Experimental Study Of Nanofiber Production Through Forcespinning, Simon Padron, Arturo Fuentes, Dumitru Caruntu, Karen Lozano

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

A newly developed method of producing nanofibers, called forcespinning, has proven to be a viable alternative to mass produce nanofibers. Unlike electrospinning, the most common method currently being employed (which draws fibers through the use of electrostatic force), forcespinning utilizes centrifugal forces which allow for a host of new materials to be processed into nanofibers (given that electric fields are not required) while also providing a significant increase in yield and ease of production. This work presents a detailed explanation of the fiber formation process. The study is conducted using high speed photography to capture the jet initiation process at …

Hydrophobic Hydrogel Caged H3Po4 As A New Class Of High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membranes With Enhanced Acid Retention, Qunwei Tang, Guoging Qian, Kevin Huang

Faculty Publications

We herein report a new class of high-temperature proton exchange membranes comprised of poly(acrylic acid-graft-hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide) (PAA-g-CTAB) or poly(acrylic acid)-graft-poly(ethylene glycol) (PAA-g-PEG) hydrophobic hydrogel caged H₃PO₄. The membranes exhibit reasonable proton conductivity, enhanced H₃PO₄ retention ability and low solubility in water, making them promising as potential high performance and robust electrolytes for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Although the proton conductivity is still lower than that of H₃PO₄ doped PBI membranes, the new concept provides a different approach to proton exchange membranes for acid retention.

Capillary Phenomena: Investigations In Compressed Bubble Migration, Geometric Wetting, And Blade-Bound Droplet Stability, William Henry Blackmore

Dissertations and Theses

Capillary flows continue to be important in numerous spacecraft systems where the effective magnitude of the gravity vector is approximately one millionth that of normal Earth gravity. Due to the free fall state of orbiting spacecraft, the effects of capillarity on the fluid systems onboard can dominate the fluid behavior over large length scales. In this research three investigations are pursued where the unique interplay between surface tension forces, wetting characteristics, and system geometry control the fluid behavior, whether in large systems aboard spacecraft, or micro-scale systems on Earth. First, efforts in support of two International Space Station (ISS) experiments …

Effect Of Intake Temperature And Boost Pressure On The Auto-Ignition Of Fuels With Different Cetane Numbers And Volatilities, Chandrasekharan Jayakumar

Wayne State University Dissertations

The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of air inlet temperature and boost pressure on the auto-ignition of fuels that have different CNs and volatilities in a single cylinder diesel engine. The inlet air temperature is varied over a range of 30°C to 110°C at a constant intake pressure of 1.1 bar. The boost pressure is varied from 1.1 bar to 1.5 bar at a constant intake temperature of 60°C. All engine tests are run at steady-state conditions. The fuels used are ultra-low-sulfur-diesel (ULSD), JP-8 (two blends with CN 50 & 31) and F-T SPK. Detailed analysis …

Exergetic Analysis Of Hydrogen Combustion Involving Electronically Excited Species, Devon Alan Washington

Wayne State University Dissertations

Plasma-assisted combustion (PAC) is a growing field of research that involves using nonthermal plasma (NTP) to enhance combustion. PAC research involves modeling reaction mechanisms and chemical kinetics. Exergy analysis of combustion devices focuses on combustion irreversibility, including mixing, internal heat transfer, and oxidation. This novel research project merges these two branches of research.

The focus of this work is the application of exergy analysis to PAC systems, to analyze the effect introducing NTP has on trends in exergy destruction associated with oxidation during hydrogen combustion. This was accomplished by developing a plug flow reactor model using the chemical simulation tool …

Self-Healing Of Ionomeric Polymers With Carbon Fibers From Medium-Velocity Impact And Resistive Heating, Vishnu Baba Sundaresan, Andrew Morgan, Matt Castellucci

Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Publications

Self-healing materials science has seen significant advances in the last decade. Recent efforts have demonstrated healing in polymeric materials through chemical reaction, thermal treatment, and ultraviolet irradiation. The existing technology for healing polymeric materials through the aforementioned mechanisms produces an irreversible change in the material and makes it unsuitable for subsequent healing cycles. To overcome these disadvantages, we demonstrate a new composite self-healing material made from an ionomer (Surlyn) and carbon fiber that can sustain damage from medium-velocity impact and heal from the energy of the impact. Furthermore, the carbon fiber embedded in the polymer matrix results in resistive heating …