Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Table Of Contents, Timothy S. Fisher, Amy Marconnet

International Thermal Conductivity Conference (ITCC) and the International Thermal Expansion Symposium (ITES)

No abstract provided.

Microstructure And Thermal Conductivity Modeling Of Granular Nanoplatelet Assemblies, Ishan Srivastava, Timothy S. Fisher

International Thermal Conductivity Conference (ITCC) and the International Thermal Expansion Symposium (ITES)

Consolidation and sintering of bismuth telluride nanoplatelets is a cost-effective method of manufacturing high thermoelectric figure-of-merit materials. A structural optimization method is employed here to study the effects of columnar structures formed by nanoplatelet composites on thermal transport. The initially sparse and random distribution of nanoplatelets is compacted into a jammed state under an external hydrostatic stress, thereby simulating the compaction of nanopowders in experiments. The jammed morphology exhibits randomly oriented stacks of nanoplatelets and a discontinuous distribution of the pore phase within the microstructure. Grain and pore morphologies are statistically quantified using computational geometry techniques. High aspect ratio nanoplatelets …

Metal Hydride Component Design (Mhy-Code) Tool For The Selection Of Hydrides In Thermal Systems, Essene L. Waters, Timothée L. Pourpoint, Tyler G. Voskuilen

International Thermal Conductivity Conference (ITCC) and the International Thermal Expansion Symposium (ITES)

A system has been developed to enable the targeted down-selection of an extensive database of metal hydrides to identify the most promising materials for use in thermal systems. The materials’ database contains over 300 metal hydrides with various physical and thermodynamic properties included for each material. Submodels for equilibrium pressure, thermophysical data, and default properties are used to predict the behavior of each material within the given system. The application used at this time is a stationary combined heat and power system containing a hightemperature proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, a hot water tank, and two metal hydride beds …

Characterization Work And Comparative Testing Of Expanded Glass Granulate As A Round Robin Material For Thermal Conductivity At Higher Temperatures, Roland Schreiner, Ernst-G. Hencke

International Thermal Conductivity Conference (ITCC) and the International Thermal Expansion Symposium (ITES)

For laboratories within the scheme of the voluntary surveillance system for technical insulation materials in Europe (VDI/Keymark), a proficiency test is the basis for obtaining a “registered laboratory.” The VDI/Keymark is a cooperation between the VDI, The Association of German Engineers, and the Keymark Group dealing with European voluntary product certification systems, within the scope of thermal insulation materials. Registered laboratories are allowed to conduct measurements to verify the declared thermal conductivity curve of technical insulation materials under the umbrella of the quality mark “VDI/Keymark”. The initial characterization work on a round robin material for the determination of thermal conductivity …

Thermal Conductivity Of Simulated Soils By The Needle Probe Method For Energy Foundation Applications, J. E. Low, F. A. Loveridge, W. Powrie

International Thermal Conductivity Conference (ITCC) and the International Thermal Expansion Symposium (ITES)

Soil thermal conductivity is an important parameter in the design of ground source heat pump and energy foundation systems. A laboratory method for measuring the soil thermal conductivity is the needle probe method. Earlier, analysis of the needle probe test data has been simplistic, relying heavily on human judgment and rules of thumb. This article presents an alternative method of analyzing the needle probe data with the aid of MATLAB, which is a technical programming language and computing environment. Four agar–kaolin specimens of varying densities were prepared to resemble simple soils. These were tested using the needle probe for a …

Application Of Goldratt’S Thinking Process To Constraints Within An Emergency Department—A Case Study, Augustine O. Amonge

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Emergency department (ED) acts as a feeder to many hospitals as it determines a large proportion of admissions. ED also acts as a buffer zone for many patients who cannot get care in other institutions due to insurance issues. Most hospitals are trying to invest heavily on their EDs, but cannot meet patients’ satisfaction in terms of cost and quality of care. There is great need for EDs to understand customers’ expectation given the rising cost of healthcare.

The focus of this study is at an ED center in Bowling Green Kentucky, using theory of constraints (TOC) thinking process application …

Multiple Point Constraint (Mpc)-Based Variable Node Super-Element, Mohamad Eftekharjoo

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The multiple point constraint (MPC)-based variable node element is introduced in this study to handle mismatched meshes between sub-domains in finite element analysis. The MPC-variable node element is a collection of a group of elements. The compatibility condition along the interface boundary is imposed along the edge of these elements through Lagrange multipliers. The Elimination method is then used to remove the effects of the dependent nodes in these elements to produce a single MPC-based variable node element. The derived variable node elements are applied to solve two plane strain problems in order to validate the accuracy of the proposed …

Gasification Of Coal And Heat Integration Modification For Igcc - Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle, Dalia A. Ali Eng, Mamdouh A. Gadalla Prof., Fatma H. Ashour Prof.

Chemical Engineering

Use of energy is closely related to the development of an economy. The most useful form of energy in the modern world is electricity. IGCC has higher fuel flexibility (biomass, refinery residues, petroleum coke, etc.) and generates multiple products (electricity, hydrogen and chemicals like methanol and higher alcohols) and by-products - sulphur, sulphuric acid, slag, etc. IGCC plants include coal preparation unit, air separation unit (ASU) to separate oxygen from air to use it in the gasification process, gasification unit where an incomplete combustion for coal is made to produce Syngas, cleaning unit to remove acid gases and CO2 from …

Using Star-Ccm+ To Evaluate Multi-User Collaboration In Cfd, Kasey Johnson Webster

Theses and Dissertations

The client-server architecture of STAR-CCM+ allows multiple users to collaborate on a simulation set-up. The effectiveness of collaboration with this architecture is tested and evaluated on five models. The testing of these models is a start to finish set-up of an entire simulation excluding computational time for generating mesh and solving the solution. The different models have distinct differences which test every operation that would be used in a general CFD simulation. These tests focus on reducing the time spent preparing the geometry to be meshed, including setting up for a conformal mesh between multiple regions in conjugate heat transfer …

Mems 411 Final Report - Plate Pourer Ii, Minsoo Ha, Patrick Champlin, Timothy Young

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The objective of this project is to create a machine that has the capability to pour Petri dishes. The usage of this machine must be easier than simply performing the task by hand, be automated, capable of producing 120 plates per hour, be sterile, prevent the plates from sloshing, fit in a fume hood, and stack the plates while they are cooling so that they may cool properly. This all was accomplished with a device that drops the plates vertically down, fills them, and then lowers them into storage thanks to their now increased mass and a spring-loaded platform.

2015 Asme Design Competition - Group Iii Final Report, Matthew J. Yurescko, Nick Divincenzo, Sam Johnson, Sean Cole-Jansen

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The 2015 ASME Challenge was to construct a device which manufactures a projectile from a piece of copy paper then launches it as far as possible. At the competition, each team has five minutes to assemble their machine, craft three projectiles and fire them for a cumulative distance. In addition to launching paper projectiles as far as possible, the machines must also be designed to take up as little space as possible while still performing its main function effectively. A team’s final score is the ratio of the cumulative distance of all three projectiles to the volume of a box …

Plate Pouring Device I, Katelyn Jones, Lydia Stensberg, Rebecca Ansolabehere

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The goal of this project was to build a cost-effective automated system that can handle the process of pouring agar into plates, but is also easily sterilized and operates with no supervision. This agar plate-pouring machine is intended to increase productivity in small-scale biology and research labs by pouring at least 120 plates per hour while keeping the agar sterile and preventing contamination. This was accomplished with a multi-valve system controlled by an Arduino board which could also fit inside of a fume hood.

Human Powered Ice Resurfacing Machine, Nicholas Furman, Kameryn Truman, Meagan Leonard

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The purpose of this project was to design and build an ice-resurfacing machine that was entirely human powered so it could be used safely on outdoor rinks and prevent harmful emissions indoors. This required analysis of several different mechanical systems and many different attempts to produce a working prototype. The prototype reduces the amount of water used when compared to a current ice-resurfacing machine by recycling snow from the ice. The sources of risk were determined, analyzed and solved throughout the project.

Collapsible Moped, Kyle Seymour, Christopher Mertens, David Southmayd, Margaret Liu

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The ultra-light, collapsible street-legal moped combines the desired qualities of a motorcycle, a bicycle, and a skateboard. This innovative design allows the user to travel distances with a speed up to 30 miles per hour on a standard street, but also to navigate safely around a pedestrian-dominated college campus. Weighing less than 30 lbs, this moped allows the user to carry it wherever without the being burdened by the bulk or size of the vehicle. The user can fold up the moped in less than 60 seconds to fit under his or her arm for easy transportation and storage. Like …

Designing A High-Lift Performance Wingsuit, Kimon Stephanopoulos, Ben Levy, Ignacio Rabadan Jr.

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Many current wingsuits are at their aerodynamic limit due to poor performance from the fabric that makes them up. We propose to evaluate the benefit of adding a rigid wing to the wingsuit, using rapid prototyping in a 3D printer and non-dimensional wind tunnel analysis.

Asme Design Challenge Final Report, Charles S. Ahrens Feldman, Ashley R. Hosman, Julian D. Cecil, Maria E. Ferguson

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) 2016 Student Design Competition Challenge is to construct a compact system that can manufacture a projectile from a standard sheet of paper and propel it a maximum distance.

From Quadcopter To Submarine, Everett C. Brown Ii, Juan Matheus, Sam Gardner

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The goal of this project was to create a quadcopter that is capable of going underwater and returning to the surface to take off again. This concept was created after speaking with a customer that had very specific user needs. The project included creating several different designs and doing a concept selection based on these user needs. After selecting a concept, a design was created and adjusted based on an engineering analysis. The parts were selected based on a budget that was assigned to the project and a prototype was created. The final prototype was capable of flight and was …

Plate Pouring Iii, Dagmawi T. Gebreselasse, Zach Rouse, Adam Cooperberg

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

This project, Plate Pouring III, is an automated device that fills petri dishes with a liquid solution called Agar. This is done in a sterile environment, not needing any human interaction for the mechanism to function. It safely removes the lid individually from petri dishes, injects the solution, reinserts the lid, and stacks the filled petri dishes.

Mems 411 Senior Design 2015 Moped 3 Final Report, Megan Rupp, Luke Duschl, Ben Lake, Brandon Staffeil

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Our goal was to design and build a moped/motor scooter that is legal to drive in Missouri, collapses for storage, and rolls around like luggage. The user wanted the vehicle to be comfortable enough for a twenty-minute commute. This report documents our design process and highlights our final prototype.

Mems 411 Design Report - Modular "Do-It-All" Drone, Nicholas Okafor, Jordi Turner, David Brablec, Ike Witte

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The main objective of this senior design project is to design and build a capability that allows different attachments (i.e. camera, flashlight, speakers, hook) to be attached and detached electromechanically from a drone. The main challenge in this project was our cost constraints. Weight is one of the most important constraints in aerial vehicles, and with a small budget, it was very challenging to find a powerful drone and manufacture light and durable parts. The modular system involved two general components: a drone retrofit and the attachments. The drone needed to be retrofitted to house additional electronics (i.e. Arduino, remote …

Saran Wrap Handling Device, Son N. Trinh, Yi M. Hou, Andres Adams

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

No abstract provided.

Senior Design Report, Watermelon Washer/Cutter, Jack Walsh, Eric Martel, Colin Lane, John Jedlicka

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

This project's goal was to design a mechanical system that would help facilitate: (1) washing the rind of a watermelon before cutting; (2) Cutting the first disk from the melon; (3) Catching the two “halves” after cutting the first disk; (4) Sealing the exposed surface of the two halves as is now commonly done with plastic wrap; and (5) storing the “started” watermelon in the refrigerator.

Backpack I Final Report, James E. Norlin, Catherine G. Roy-Ting, Anna L. Stebbins, Justin Bae

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The backpack carrier carries a child between 15 and 35 lbs. safely and securely. The carrier is specifically designed to be useful for a parent traveling with their child by airplane. Key additional features include roll-behind ability, diaper storage, and a stable kickstand mechanism.

Drone Iv - The Final Chapter (Parasol Drone), Noah M. Rosenblatt, Charles F. Warwick, Connor M. Furlong

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Project to create a controllable, aerial drone capable of providing shading from UVA/UVB radiation. Consumers will be able to participate in outdoor activities (run, walk, play sports, etc.) while being protected from the sun. Shading mechanism can open and close midflight with the press of a button. No prior experience necessary for operation. Appropriate for all weather conditions except rain or snow (electronics of drone should not get wet). Adult supervision is necessary for children under the age of twelve.

Investigation Of Surface Topography Effects On Metal Flow Under Lubricated Hot Compression Of Aluminum, Justin Irvin Kurk

Master's Theses (2009 -)

An investigation was conducted to study the effects of die surface topography, specifically surface roughness and lay, on metal flow and the friction factor under lubricated hot compression. 6061-T6 aluminum rings and square bar stock specimens were compressed on H-13 tool steel platens machined with a unidirectional lay pattern to six different roughnesses between a R 10 and 240 μin. A lab based hydraulic press mounted with an experimental die set was used for all testing. Repeated trials were conducted using high temperature vegetable oil and boron nitride lubricants. Metal flow was quantified as a function of surface roughness, lay …

Optimizing A Hammer Forging Progression For A Large Hand Tool, Edgar Espinoza

Master's Theses (2009 -)

In the forging industry of today the need for United States based companies to reduce cost and maintain or improve the quality of a product has become essential in order to remain competitive. A company such as Green Bay Drop Forge (GBDF), a manufacturer of standard and custom steel forgings, was tasked with improving the forging process of one of their large hand tool products. A large wrench, forged at GBDF was noticed to contain a large amount of flash and excessive amount of hammer blows required to forge the part. The large amounts of flash and excessive hammer blows …

Achieving Wing-Like Structural Response With Piezocomposite Unimorph Thin Plates, Francis Hauris

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This research investigates the geometric parameters that structurally influence static and dynamic bending and twisting of a wing-like plate when actuated with a surface-bonded piezoelectric material. The plate is parameterized using a finite element model that is validated by comparison with known analytical solutions. The geometric parameters analyzed for static and dynamic analysis are: the aspect ratio, actuator position, actuator angle, thickness-ratio of the active piezocomposite to the inactive substrate, and portion of the fixed end of the cantilevered structure that is fixed in the chordwise direction. For harmonically actuated cases, the resonant flapping frequency is also examined. Performance metrics …

Dynamic Project Time And Cost Evaluation Under The Combined Influence Of Contract, Quality, And Uncontrollable Change, Thomas V. Hammock

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation proposes a method that quantifies the dynamics caused by disruptions due to multiple changes that can occur during the progression of a large scale project. To begin, equations consisting of multiple parallel event sequences are derived that define the relationship between individual process events and the final project completion time. Matrix notation and a precedence matrix concept are used in this derivation to produce equations that are best suited for computer programming applications. This relationship is the foundation upon which the equations are built to calculate the variation impact on each event of a large scale project. Pursuing …

2015 (Fall) Ensi Informer Magazine, Morehead State University. Engineering Sciences Department

ENSI Informer Magazine Archive

The ENSI Informer Magazine published in the fall of 2015.

Design And Validation Of A Complex Loading Whole Spinal Segment Bioreactor, Amanda Marie Beatty

Theses and Dissertations

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a prevalent health problem that is highly linked to back pain. To understand the disease and tissue response to therapies, ex-vivo whole IVD organ culture systems have recently been introduced. The goal of this study was to develop and validate a whole spinal segment culturing system that loads the disc in complex loading similar to the in-vivo condition, while preserving the adjacent endplates and vertebral bodies. The complex loading applied to the spinal segment was achieved with three pneumatic cylinders. The pneumatic cylinders were rigidly attached to two triangular alumni plates at each corner, comprising …