Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Me-Em Enewsbrief, June 2015, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Experimental Evaluate Gas Separation Using Ranuehilsch Vortex Tube, Ali Salah Omar Owiemer Omar Owiemer

Theses

Through experimental investigation, this study is offering a closer look into the performance of the vortex tube energy separation and a better understanding of the effect of the vortex tube length, diameter and internal tapering angle on the energy separation. Also the study addresses the effect of inlet pressure on the performance of the vortex tube and the effect of different working fluids (Air, H2 and O2). The vortex tube is a thermal static tube that was discovered by the French scientist George Ranque in 1933 and it is used to separate compressed gas flow into two different streams: one …

Nanofiber-Based Membrane Separators For Lithium-Ion Batteries, Mataz Alcoutlabi, Hun Lee, Xiangwu Zhang

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Nanofiber-based membranes were prepared by two different methods for use as separators for Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In the first method, Electrospinning was used for the fabrication of Polyvinylidene fluoride PVDF nanofiber coatings on polyolefin microporous membrane separators to improve their electrolyte uptake and electrochemical performance. The nanofiber-coated membrane separators show better electrolyte uptake and ionic conductivity than that for the uncoated membranes. In the second method, Forcespinning® (FS) was used to fabricate fibrous cellulose membranes as separators for LIBs. The cellulose fibrous membranes were made by the Forcespinning® of a cellulose acetate solution precursor followed by a subsequent alkaline hydrolysis …

High Aspect Ratio, Carbon Nanotube Membranes Decorated With Pt Nanoparticle Urchins For Micro Underwater Vehicle Propulsion Via H2O2 Decomposition, Kevin M. Marr, Bolin Chen, Eric J. Mootz, Jason Geder, Marius Pruessner, Brian J. Melde, Richard R. Vanfleet, Igor L. Medintz, Brian D. Iverson, Jonathan C. Claussen

Faculty Publications

The utility of unmanned Micro Underwater Vehicles (MUVs) is paramount for exploring confined spaces, but their spatial agility is often impaired when maneuvers require burst-propulsion. herein we develop high-aspect ratio (150:1), multi-walled carbon nanotube microarray membranes (CNT-MMs) for propulsive, MUV thrust generation by the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). The CNT-MMs are grown via chemical vapor deposition with diamond shaped pores (nominal diagonal dimensions of 4.5 × 9.0 [µm]) and subsequently decorated with urchin-like, platinum (Pt) nanoparticles via a facile, electroless, chemical deposition process. The Pt-CNT-MMs display robust, high catalytic ability with an effective activation energy …

Beverage Dispensing Backpack Design And Business Plan, Sterling Blake Grande

Biomedical Engineering

Grande Beverage Equipment

Mission Statement:

To deliver beverage dispensing products, services, and solutions to our customers in innovative and cost effective ways.

Product:

We provide portable beverage dispensing backpacks that can deliver soda or beer from pressurized tanks.

Integrating Synchronous Collaborative Applications With Product Lifecycle Management Workflows, Jordan Lowell Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems are used by thousands of engineering companies world wide. Improving these systems will have a drastic and global effect. One possible improvement is to integrate synchronous collaborative applications with PLM systems. These applications allow multiple people to work on a single digital object simultaneously. They have already been shown to reduce the time a task requires. Using these applications to complete a project will reduce the project time. However, simply including synchronous collaborative applications within a PLM system ignores powerful benefits that could provide further time-saving benefits. The integration must allow improved awareness at the …

A Study Of Carbon Infiltrated Carbon Nanotubes Fabricated On Convex Cylindrical Substrates For The Creation Of A Coronary Stent, Warren Beecroft Robison

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores the minimizing of cracks in the fabrication of carbon-infiltrated carbon nanotube (CI-CNT) forests on cylindrical rods for the purposes of creating a CI-CNT coronary stent. It is a continuation of the work begun by Jones [1] and Skousen [2] whose work included the creation of a feasible CI-CNT coronary stent on a planar surface. The current research was performed in two parts: 1) growth on the whole circumference of the rod for ~20mm in length and 2) growth in lines and patterns. Experiments were done on either a 309 or 304 stainless steel rod ~3mm in diameter.The …

Aerodynamic Design And Structural Analysis Procedure For Small Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine Rotor Blade, Dylan R. Perry

Master's Theses

This project accomplished two correlated goals of designing a new rotor blade to be used with the Cal Poly Wind Power Research Center, as well as defining the methodology required for the aerodynamic analysis of an optimized blade, the procedure required for generation of an accurate CAD model for the new blade geometry, and structural integrity verification procedure for the new blade via finite element analysis under several operating scenarios. The new rotor blades were designed to perform at peak efficiency at a much lower wind speed than the current CPWPRC rotor blades and incorporated a FEA verification process which …

Telepresence: Design, Implementation And Study Of An Hmd-Controlled Avatar With A Mechatronic Approach, Darren Michael Chan

Master's Theses

Telepresence describes technologies that allow users to remotely experience the sensation of being present at an event without being physically present. An avatar exists to represent the user whilst in a remote location and is tasked to collect stimuli from its immediate surroundings to be delivered to the user for consumption. With the advent of recent developments in Virtual Reality technology, viz., head-mounted displays (HMDs), new possibilities have been enabled in the field of Telepresence. The main focus of this thesis is to develop a solution for visual Telepresence, where an HMD is used to control the direction of a …

Development Of Electronics, Software, And Graphical User Control Interface For A Wall-Climbing Robot, Lynda Beatriz Tesillo

Master's Theses

The objective for this project is to investigate various electrical and software means of control to support and advance the development of a novel vacuum adhesion system for a wall-climbing robot. The design and implementation of custom electronics and a wirelessly controlled real-time software system used to define and support the functionalities of these electronics is discussed. The testing and evaluation of the overall system performance and the performance of the several different subsystems developed, while working both individually and cooperatively within the system, is also demonstrated.

Development And Validation Of A Tibiofemoral Joint Finite Element Model And Subsequent Gait Analysis Of Intact Acl And Acl Deficient Individuals, Nicholas Czapla

Master's Theses

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative condition of articular cartilage that affects more than 25 million people in the US. Joint injuries, like anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears, can lead to OA due to a change in articular cartilage loading. Gait analysis combined with knee joint finite element modeling (FEM) has been used to predict the articular cartilage loading. To predict the change of articular cartilage loading during gait due to various ACL injuries, a tibiofemoral FEM was developed from magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of a 33 year male, with no prior history of knee injuries. The FEM was validated for …

Development Of A Finite Element Method For Light Activated Polymers, Craig Hamel

Theses

Traditional Shape Memory Polymers (SMPs) belong to a class of smart materials which have shown promise for a wide range of applications. They are characterized by their ability to maintain a temporary deformed shape and return to an original parent permanent shape. The first SMPs developed responded to changes in temperature by exploiting the difference in modulus and chain mobility through the glass transition temperature. However, in recent years, new SMPs have been developed that respond to other stimuli besides temperature; these can include electricity, magnetism, changes in chemical concentration, and even light.

In this thesis, we consider the photo-mechanical …

Power Maximization Of A Three-Phase Hydrokinetic Turbine, Matthew Carleson

Senior Theses

As Earth`s expendable resources dwindle, the need for alternative, renewable energy sources grows. Out of this need, an old favorite source is rising in popularity: small water turbines. Water-driven turbines first began as a means for turning mills and eventually evolved into massive dams that can power whole regions. This project focused on the construction of, and testing the properties of, a small pico-hydro power turbine. By using compressed air to drive the turbine, a representation of the peak power output was measured, serving as a basis for determining the value of pico-power systems in regards to the world`s current …

Branch Cutter Adapter For Electric Impact Gun, Cullen Hubbard

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

There are many homeowners that would like to maintain the trees around their homes but cannot do so. The drive of this project was to develop a 0g mechanism which would provide a senior citizen or an individual with limited upper body strength, with the ability to cut through branches that would otherwise pose challenging. The design would allow the end user to cut a branch by simply pulling a trigger. A branch cutting attachment was designed to attach to the front of a DeWALT cordless impact gun. This attachment will convert the rotational torque and motion from the impact …

Collapsible Wheelchair Wheel Design, Joseph Fischer

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

Portability, convenience, and efficiency are becoming more and more prevalent as technology increases. This is also true with wheelchairs; Wheelchairs are being designed to fold and collapse smaller and smaller with every iteration but there is one parameter that remains constant, the wheel. No matter how small the wheelchair frame folds it is always limited by its’ wheel’s diameter. This project aims to create a collapsible wheel design to accompany a foldable wheelchair in order to make it more portable and storable. Since the diameter of the wheel is the limiting factor in a foldable wheelchair, the relatively small width …

Custom Glasses Cases, Nikolas Ivan Klukas

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

The modern market is centralized around technological advances that improve and better everyday life. With approximately 150 million Americans that use corrective eye-ware on a daily basis, the need for improved technology in glasses cases is inevitable. Current glasses cases work to either protect the glasses and are big and bulky, or are made smaller to be more easily transported. The concept is to take any pair of glasses and make a custom case for them. The programs being utilized to complete the project are solidworks and excel. The process is started by making a base layout of the glasses …

Composite Brake Rotor Assembly By Utilizing Replaceable Friction Surfaces, John Evert

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

This project investigated a proof of concept design involving a rotor fabricated from aluminum with replaceable friction surfaces with greater or equal performance characteristics in order to reduce cost and maintenance. The replaceable friction surfaces provide a means to mitigate cost to the end user. The structure is constrained by the dimensions, 11.75” diameter and 1.25” width and serves as a direct replacement rotor for a circle track racecar. Analyses provide a direct comparison in static mass, moments of inertia, and forced convection thermal calculations in order to determine if the concept was viable. Requirements for a successful design were …

Pivoting Motocross Foot Pegs, Michael Leblanc

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

The ability to keep a dirt bike rider’s feet in full contact with the foot pegs at all times is something all riders’ face when riding their bike. The foot pegs that come factory and aftermarket today are universally static and non-rotational which prevent the ability for maximum contact to be maintained. During various riding positions, a rider’s foot can partially become disconnected from the peg allowing for a loss of potential control and balance/stability. The solution devised was a set of pegs that have the ability to rotate with the rider’s foot. The rotational ability of the pegs allow …

Instron Tt-C 1055 Redesign For Tensile Testing Lab Use: The Design And Construction Of Tensile Test Gripping Assemblies, Melvin Lee Hortman

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

The goal of this project was to design, manufacture, and test a pair of cheap gripping assemblies with mount adapters to the Instron TT-C tensile testing machine, which was currently out of service in the Materials Laboratory of Central Washington University’s Hogue Technology Building, for educational use. The gripping assemblies would enable tensile, or pulling force, tests on tensile specimens up to 20,000 lbs, being able to test high carbon steel. The gripping assemblies and mounting adapters were designed and manufactured completely by a Central Washington University Mechanical Engineering Technology student who used the cumulative knowledge gained from engineering analysis …

Mx Snow Ski, Jordan Olson

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

Living in the Pacific Northwest has many perks when it comes to enjoying the outdoors. All of the seasons can be enjoyed, as well as being completely surrounded by beautiful rolling hills and mountains. Being someone who continuously enjoys the outdoors year-round it’s always fun to try new hobbies. The problem with owning a dirt bike is that most people ride during the dryer and warmer seasons of the year. This project would enable the bike to be ridden even during the snowy winter season. Riding a dirt bike in snow has been recently explored by only a few companies …

Seat Jack, Justin Worden

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

Many people around the world struggle with mobility. One of the biggest obstacles for who may struggle in this area is the simple task of moving from a sitting position to their feet. For some, this is the only thing that keeps them from walking around. Creating a portable device to help move a person from their chair to their feet would extremely aid the efforts of completing this simple task at any given moment. This report provides a proposed solution for this simple reoccurring task that countless people painfully struggle with every day. In order to make this device …

The Phone In The Sky ---- Quad-Copter For Aerial Video, Heng Wei Zhang

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

With the development of aircraft model technology, quadcopters equipped with cameras are used for aerial video more and more frequently. Cell phones, moreover, allow people to share photos online immediately, so many people prefer to take photos or videos by cell phones instead with expensive cameras. Thus, the purpose of this project is to design and build a light weight quadcopter frame and select the system components that allow the quadcopter to fly smoothly while carrying a cell phone for aerial video. The method for creating the quadcopter is separated into three steps: design, build, and test. The design part …

Composite Snowmobile Suspension Assembly, Michael Villarma

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

Snowmobile technology is constantly evolving and incorporating new ideas into products for the consumer to enjoy. After market manufactures are competing among themselves for the top position in suspension technology, yet none have broken the boundaries and really pushed to the next level, until now. The objective of this design was to provide the consumer with a lightweight and simplistic suspension system that would meet the performance demands of the consumer market. In order to meet the strength to weight ratio requirements of this design, composites were implemented to provide the necessary structural strength for the overall system. A one …

Solar Evaporative Fan Coil Unit, Kyle Kluever, Samuel Budnick, Jeremy Dickson

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

The purpose of any engineering project is to anticipate a need and meet that need through prediction analysis and design. Over 70% of the nation’s energy is consumed by building infrastructure such as HVAC systems, electrical, etc. HVAC systems use boilers to generate hot water or steam to heat buildings and evaporative chillers to provide air conditioning, much like the central plant on campus. The project included the construction of a solar collector that will heat water to 140F in order to run it through a heat exchanger that can have air passed over it. An evaporative chiller was also …

Plate And Frame Heat Exchanger, Eric Johnson

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

Heat exchangers are a commonly used device in many different industries, with many different applications. The heat exchanger used in the brewing program here at CWU is a brazed plate and frame heat exchanger, so it cannot be taken apart for cleaning. Due to this, the overall efficiency of the heat exchanger will be reduced, causing fouling, because of the buildup of brewing material. In order to effectively combat this fouling, a heat exchanger must be constructed that can be disassembled for cleaning, and then reassembled with ease, while still being able to perform the same amount of heat transfer …

Toyota Disc Brake Conversion Brackets, Geoffrey Gibson

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

A common issue with Toyota pickups from the 1980’s is the factory braking system is not responsive enough for the driver to properly brake during an emergency situation. The cause of the poor response in braking comes from the drum brakes that are on the rear of the vehicle. Aftermarket vendors offered disc brake conversions that change the brakes on the rear axle from drum to disc. The aftermarket brackets that are in the conversion are thick and bulky adding excess weight to the already heavy pickup. These thick brackets in the conversion do not retain the factory emergency brake …

Space Saver Bike Rack, Taylor Johnson

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

Apartment living can be crowded especially for a cyclist. Bicycles are bulky and difficult to store. A device is needed to store two road bikes weighing up to 40 pounds each while saving as much space as possible. To solve this problem many iterations of various free standing and wall-leaning bike rack designs were drawn. Evolution of the design can be traced through the drawings included in the report. The first design analyzed was a free standing rack. After calculations and adjustments this design was going to have to be very bulky in order to achieve the stability requirements. The …

Solar Evaporative Fan Coil Unit, Samuel Budnick, Kyle Kluever, Jeremy Dickson

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

The purpose of any engineering project is to anticipate a need and meet that need through prediction analysis and design. Over 70% of the nation’s energy is consumed by building infrastructure such as HVAC systems, electrical, etc. HVAC systems use boilers to generate hot water or steam to heat buildings and evaporative chillers to provide air conditioning, much like the central plant here on campus. The project included the construction of a solar collector that will heat water to 140F in order to run it through a heat exchanger that can have air passed over it. An evaporative chiller was …

Improved Tennis Racquet Stringer, William Ligon Bruno

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

What design change to a conventional ATS Sports model drop-weight stringer can be made to decrease the stringing time for a tennis racquet? To answer this, a detailed analysis on design, manufacturability, and structural integrity was done to design a product that is manufacturable within the timeframe and produces a device which decreases the stringing time. First, an analysis on each vital component was done including the ratcheting components, pressure arm/drop mass, etc. Second, a virtual model was created with auxiliary components to test different designs. Through this analysis and the virtual model it was indicated that a duel stringing …

Dump Bed Lifting Mechanism, Zachary Pate

Mechanical Engineering and Technology Senior Projects

The project was motivated by a need to create a device that would cause a small truck or trailer bed to lift up quickly and dump its contents. This would eliminate the need to use manual physical labor, which is both slow and exhausting. Additional design constraints require the stroke and diameter of the cylinder to be 6” x2”. A design was conceived with the intent to incorporate a less costly device onto an existing trailer frame that would lift the bed and dump the load. With this in mind, a scissor lift device would have two basic requirements, first …