Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Health Condition Monitoring And Fault-Tolerant Operation Of Adjustable Speed Drives, Jiangbiao He

Dissertations (1934 -)

Adjustable speed drives (ASDs) have been extensively used in industrial applications over the past few decades because of their benefits of energy saving and control flexibilities. However, the wider penetration of ASD systems into industrial applications is hindered by the lack of health monitoring and fault-tolerant operation techniques, especially in safety-critical applications. In this dissertation, a comprehensive portfolio of health condition monitoring and fault-tolerant operation strategies is developed and implemented for multilevel neutral-point-clamped (NPC) power converters in ASDs. Simulations and experiments show that these techniques can improve power cycling lifetime of power transistors, on-line diagnosis of switch faults, and fault-tolerant …

Golden Bite Mouth Guard, Caitlin M. Braun, Austin Fiegel, Eric Tyra, Alexandra Michaels

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Dr. Kirk Quigless has designed the Golden Bite™ athletic mouth guard to properly align the jaw. Literature suggests that the proper alignment of the jaw will provide users with increased performance gains. Accurately determining these gains without bias is a difficult task. Dr. Kirk Quigless needs to quantify the performance gains from his mouth guard. The portable device designed in the Golden Bite™ Mouth Guard Project will record the force exerted by an individual over a period of time. From this data, Dr. Kirk Quigless can determine the change in force output from individuals with and without the mouth guard, …

Commuting Moped For Mems411, Jon Okenfuss, Charlie Mellinger, Ethan Bermudez

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Our project is to design and build a moped that can be used to commute from home to the Washington University campus, and then be used as a pedal powered transport for travel on the campus grounds.

Saran Wrap 2: Clip Handling Device, Alex Arteaga, Brian Lockwood, Cameron Adams

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The common household Saran Wrap has been in production since 1933. A common problem comes in the handling of the plastic sheet after being torn from the roll. Corners frequently fold on themselves, the sheet bunches up, and renders some pieces useless. Our objective was to create a device along with a system to eliminate these problems, without compromising the simplicity and speed of the original box cutter.

Moped Ii - Frankenbike, Nkiru Udenze, Sade Odumuye, Jake Gaskill

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

A “street legal” traditional moped (functions with both motorized and pedal components) was set forth as the basis of our design problem. Additional commuter needs of rain protection and storage capabilities were chosen for our design niche. Some collapsible components were developed as well.

Whiteboard Marker Dispenser, Ellen Toennies, Nicole Kawamoto, Aditya Sharma

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

In an effort to provide a constant supply of functioning markers to classrooms, labs, and other student spaces around campus, we designed and built a device to incentivize the storage, use, and return of whiteboard markers. Our Whiteboard Marker Dispenser offers customers a visually appealing, interactive manner of ensuring that the collaborative nature of the learning experience will not be hindered by a lack of resources.

Plate Pouring Iv, Alexander F. Kwakye, Carey D. Haefele, Arjay Parhar

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

From a high school biology class to a small research facility, this machine will cheaply (relative to its competitors) automatically pour a layer of agar into a large number of Petri dishes in order to grow bacteria micro-cultures. Designed to be powered within a fume hood, the user simply needs to open up the containment facility, insert stacks of Petri dishes, and pour in a batch of premade agar. Within the hour, approximately 120 Petri dishes should be layered and ready for further experimentation.

The Design Of A Paper Launching Device, Nicholas J. Cooley, Jake Michael Emmerick, Matthew Ludwig

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers has challenged us to create a machine that forms a projectile from a single sheet of paper, and then launches that projectile. The success of the device will be measured by how far the projectile is effectively propelled, how straight the projectile is propelled, and how much volume the device takes up when packaged.

Mems 411 - Self-Leveling Drone, Sarah Schubert, Anne Shellum, Andreea Stoica, Jillian Rose

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

1.1 The objective of this senior design project was to design and build an aerial drone with a landing gear system that would allow leveling and take off from a sloped terrain. The drone should be able to level on a slope with a maximum incline of 20 degrees and the leveling process should not exceed 30 seconds. In addition, the leveling system must be automatic and deployed using the flight controller.

Axisymmetric Bi-Propellant Air Augmented Rocket Testing With Annular Cavity Mixing Enhancement, Allen A. C. Capatina

Master's Theses

Performance characterization was undertaken for an air augmented rocket mixing duct with annular cavity configurations intended to produce thrust augmentation. Three mixing duct geometries and a fully annular cavity at the exit of the nozzle were tested to enable thrust comparisons. The rocket engine used liquid ethanol and gaseous oxygen, and was instrumented with sensors to output total thrust, mixing duct thrust, combustion chamber pressure, and propellant differential pressures across Venturi flow measurement tubes.

The rocket engine was tested to thrust maximum, with three different mixing ducts, three major combustion pressure sets, and a nozzle exit plane annular cavity (a …

Simulating The Energy Performance Of A Foam Roof System, Florida Solar Energy Center, Jeffrey Sonne

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Annual residential simulations were run in 13 US cities to determine the energy savings of using an insulated foam tile roof in retrofit applications where ceiling insulation was only R-11 or R-19. Variations included leaving the attic vented and sealing the attic space.

Thermodynamic Analysis Of Closed Steady Or Cyclic Systems, Jim A. Mcgovern

Articles

Closed, steady or cyclic thermodynamic systems, which have temperature variations over their boundaries, can represent an extremely large range of plants, devices or natural objects, such as combined heating, cooling and power plants, computers and data centres, and planets. Energy transfer rates can occur across the boundary, which are characterized as heat or work. We focus on the finite time thermodynamics aspects, on energy-based performance parameters, on rational efficiency and on the environmental reference temperature. To do this, we examine the net work rate of a closed, steady or cyclic system bounded by thermal resistances linked to isothermal reservoirs in …

The Effect Of A Reversible Shear Transformation On Plastic Deformation Of An Amorphous Solid, Nikolai V. Priezjev

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Molecular dynamics simulations are performed to investigate the plastic response of a model glass to a local shear transformation in a quiescent system. The deformation of the material is induced by a spherical inclusion that is gradually strained into an ellipsoid of the same volume and then reverted back into the sphere. We show that the number of cage-breaking events increases with increasing strain amplitude of the shear transformation. The results of numerical simulations indicate that the density of cage jumps is larger in the cases of weak damping or slow shear transformation. Remarkably, we also found that, for a …

Molecular Simulations And Lattice Dynamics Determination Of Stillinger-Weber Gan Thermal Conductivity, Zhi Liang, Ankit Jain, Alan J.H. Mcgaughey, Pawel Keblinski

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Bulk Thermal Conductivity of Stillinger-Weber (SW) Wurtzite GaN in the [0001] Direction at a Temperature of 300 K is Calculated using Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics (EMD), Non-Equilibrium MD (NEMD), and Lattice Dynamics (LD) Methods. While the NEMD Method Predicts a Thermal Conductivity of 166 ± 11 W/m·K, Both the EMD and LD Methods Predict Thermal Conductivities that Are an Order of Magnitude Greater. We Attribute the Discrepancy to Significant Contributions to Thermal Conductivity from Long-Mean Free Path Phonons. We Propose that the Grüneisen Parameter for Low-Frequency Phonons is a Good Predictor of the Severity of the Size Effects in NEMD …

Near Field Transducer For Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording, Xianfan Xu, Edward C. Kinzel

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An antenna for heat assisted magnetic recording is disclosed. The antenna includes an optically opaque material and an optically transparent material positioned on the optically opaque material, the optically transparent material includes a half bowtie shape which includes a first half-wing substantially shaped in form of a right angle trapezoid, having a height substantially equal to the overall height of the half bowtie, a second half-wing Substantially shaped in form of a mirror image of the first half-wing and formed proximate and coupled to the first half-wing by a Substantially rectangular aperture having an aperture width and an aperture height. …

Mechanical Engineering News, Georgia Southern University

Mechanical Engineering: News & Publications (2013-2023)

• Martin Muinos NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Novel Applications Of A Thermally Tunable Bistable Buckling Silicon-On-Insulator (Soi) Microfabricated Membrane, Robert A. Lake

Theses and Dissertations

Buckled membranes are commonly used microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) structures. Recent work has demonstrated that the deflection and stiffness of these membranes can be tuned through localized joule heating. These devices were implemented into the design and fabrication of two novel device applications, a tunable pressure sensor and a steerable micromirror. A differential pressure across the membrane causes de reflection, up or down, which can be measured and related to a specific pressure. By tuning the stiffness of the membrane, its pressure response is varied providing a wider range of application for the pressure sensor. A 2.0mm by 2.0mm square membrane …

Ductility And Use Of Titanium Alloy And Stainless Steel Aerospace Fasteners, Jarrod Talbott Whittaker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the ductility and application of titanium alloys, like titanium 6Al-4V, when used in aerospace fasteners compared to more conventional stainless steel aerospace fasteners such as A286. There have been concerns raised about the safe usability of titanium 6-4 in the aerospace industry due to its lack of strain hardening. However, there is a lack of data pertaining to this concern of safe usage which this thesis aims to address. Tensile tests were conducted to find the ductility indexes of these fasteners which quantify the amount of plastic to elastic elongation. From …

Dual 7-Degree-Of-Freedom Robotic Arm Remote Teleoperation Using Haptic Devices, Yu-Cheng Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A teleoperated system of dual redundant manipulator will be controlled in this thesis. The robot used with the dual redundant manipulator in this thesis is Baxter. Baxter’s redundant robot arms are 7-degree-of-freedom arms. The problem that will be solved in this thesis is optimization of the 7-degree-of-freedom robot arms. The control algorithm of the 7-degree-of-freedom robot arms will be discussed and built. A simulation program will be built to test the control algorithm. Based on the control algorithm, a teleoperation system will be created for Baxter. The controller used is Omni, which is a six-joint haptic device. Omni will also …

Nanomechanical And Nanotribological Characterization Of Sub-Micron Polymeric Spheres, Himanshu Kumar Verma

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Friction between nanoscale objects has been a subject of great interest and intense research effort for the last two decades. However, the vast majority of the work done in this area has focused upon the sliding friction between two rigid, atomically smooth surfaces. Thus the parameter most explored has been the corrugation in the atomic potentials and how this affects the force required to slide one object across another. In truth, many nanoscale objects whose translation force is of practical interest are more spherical in nature. We hypothesize that the factors that determine the translation force will be related, not …

Rigidly Foldable Origami Gadgets And Tessellations, Thomas A. Evans, Robert J. Lang, Spencer P. Magleby, Larry L. Howell

Faculty Publications

Rigidly foldable origami allows for motion where all deflection occurs at the crease lines and facilitates the application of origami in materials other than paper. In this paper, we use a recently discovered method for determining rigid foldability to identify existing flat-foldable rigidly foldable tessellations, which are also categorized. We introduce rigidly foldable origami gadgets which may be used to modify existing tessellations or to create new tessellations. Several modified and new rigidly foldable tessellations are presented.

2015 Fall Engr333 Project Assignment, Matthew K. Heun

ENGR 333

The Fall 2015 ENGR333 project focused on building operational efficiency.

I asked the students “What would it take for Calvin College to save $600,000/year on campus operations?”

Customer

The customer for this project was Calvin’s Physical Plant director Phil Beezhold.

Long-Term Stability Of 14yt-4sc Alloy At High Temperature, Lulu Li, Weizong Xu, Mostafa Saber, Yuntian Zhu, Carl C. Koch, Ronald O. Scattergood

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

14YT alloy (Fe-14Cr-0.25wt.%Y2O3-0.4wt.%Ti) with 4 at.% Sc addition was previously reported to exhibit a nanoscale microstructure and high strength when annealed at temperatures up to 1000 °C (0.65Tm) for 1 hour. Here we report that the microstructure and mechanical behavior of 14YT-4Sc alloy after long-term annealing for up to 60 hours at 1000 °C. FIB analysis shows abnormal grain growth with annealing time, while a large fraction of the matrix still consists of nanoscale grains. TEM images reveal a slight growth of nano grains, with estimated grain growth exponent, n, to be 0.29. Sc-Ti-Y-O enriched nano oxide particles (nm) were …

An Energy Cube Project For Teaching Engineering Design Process, Fionnuala Farrell, Shannon Chance, Micheal O'Flaherty

Conference papers

This year, the College of Engineering and the Built Environment at our institute inaugurated a new Common First Year design project module that helps inform students in the selection of a specific engineering discipline. Each student, prior to selecting their bachelor’s specialism, completes three group-based design projects: a bridge design project (to familiarise students with civil and structural engineering), a RoboSumo project (involving robotics, programming, electrical and electronics engineering), and an Energy Cube project (introducing fundamentals of mechanical, manufacturing and design, and building services engineering). This paper focuses on how the engineering design process was taught via the Energy Cube. …

Creation And Analysis Of Checklists To Improve Raquet Stringing Performance In Tennis Warehouse, Alston S. Nguyen

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Tennis Warehouse has a need to increase the supply of strung racquets and man hours to complete these strung racquets over the course of a year. That is, the demand can be increased by up to 4 times its average load during certain hectic parts of the year (professional tournaments, holidays, and competitive seasons). Not meeting this demand can lead to upset customers, unnecessary waste and replacing of rushed items and shipping costs, and a discouraged customer service representative workforce. The objective of this project is to use a set of checklists to address this problem and attempt to increase …

Enhanced Structural Color Generation In Aluminum Metamaterials Coated With A Thin Polymer Layer, F. Cheng, Xiaodong Yang, D. Rosenmann, L. Stan, D. Czaplewski, Jie Gao

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Ultrasensitive Detection And Characterization Of Molecules With Infrared Plasmonic Metamaterials, F. Cheng, Xiaodong Yang, Jie Gao

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Modeling And Test Of The Efficiency Of Electronic Speed Controllers For Brushless Dc Motors, Clayton R. Green

Master's Theses

Small electric uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAV) represent a rapidly expanding market requiring optimization in both efficiency and weight; efficiency is critical during cruise or loiter where the vehicle operates at part power for up to 99% of the mission time. Of the four components (battery, motor, propeller, and electronic speed controller (ESC)) of the electric propulsion system used in small UAVs, the ESC has no accepted performance model and almost no published performance data. To collect performance data, instrumentation was developed to measure electrical power in and out of the ESC using the two wattmeter method and current sense resistors; …

Lipopolysaccharide Induced Map Kinase Activation In Raw 264.7 Cells Attenuated By Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles, Vellaisamy Selvaraj, Niraj Nepal, Steven Rogers, Nandini D.P.K. Manne, Ravikumar Arvapalli, Kevin M. Rice, Shinichi Asano, Erin Fankenhanel, J. Y. Ma, Tolou Shokuhfar, Mani Maheshwari, Eric R. Blough

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

High mortality rates are associated with the life threatening disease of sepsis. Improvements in septic patient survivability have failed to materialize with currently available treatments. This article represents data regarding a study published in biomaterials (Vellaisamy et al., Biomaterials, 2015, in press). with the purpose of evaluating whether severe sepsis mortality and associated hepatic dysfunction induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can be prevented by cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2NPs) treatment in male Sprague Dawley rats. Here we provide the information about the method and processing of raw data related to our study publish in Biomaterials and Data in Brief (Vellaisamy et al., …

Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles Inhibit Lipopolysaccharide Induced Map Kinase/Nf-Kb Mediated Severe Sepsis, Vellaisamy Selvaraj, Niraj Nepal, Steven Rogers, Nandini D.P.K. Manne, Ravikumar Arvapalli, Kevin M. Rice, Shinichi Asano, Erin Fankenhanel, J. Y. Ma, Tolou Shokuhfar, Mani Maheshwari, Eric R. Blough

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The life threatening disease of sepsis is associated with high mortality. Septic patient survivability with currently available treatments has failed to improve. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced sepsis mortality and associated hepatic dysfunction can be prevented by cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2NPs) treatment in male Sprague Dawley rats. Here we provide the information about the methods processing of raw data related to our study published in Biomaterials (Selvaraj et al., Biomaterials. , 2015, In press) and Data in Brief (Selvaraj et al., Data in Brief, 2015, In Press). The data present here provides confirmation …