Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Final Design Report: Polymer Fatigue Characterization Test Method, Wyatt Ayling, Tyler Price, Brandon Stell, Michela Upson

Mechanical Engineering

Polylogix is a team dedicated to the design, build, and testing of a fatigue machine to simulate cyclic loading on a biomedical polymer. This project is sponsored by Endologix, Inc. to provide test data characterizing mechanical material properties of various formulations of polymer used in abdominal aortic aneurysm surgeries. With this project goal, the machine must be able to test the polymer at body conditions; these include a testing temperature of 37°C and a cycling frequency ranging from 1 Hz to 10 Hz. This report proposes the following solution to this design challenge: an AC motor-driven mechanism utilizing a planetary …

Android Drone: Remote Quadcopter Control With A Phone, Aubrey John Russell

Computer Engineering

The purpose of the “Android Drone” project was to create a quadcopter that can be controlled by user input sent over the phone’s Wi-Fi connection or 4G internet connection. Furthermore, the purpose was also to be able to receive live video feedback over the internet connection, thus making the drone an inexpensive option compared to other, equivalent drones that might cost thousands of dollars. Not only that, but the Android phone also has a host of other useful features that could be utilized by the drone: this includes GPS, pathing, picture taking, data storage, networking and TCP/IP, a Java software …

Optical Sub-Diffraction Limited Focusing For Confined Heating And Lithography, Luis M. Traverso

Open Access Dissertations

Electronics and nanotechnology is constantly demanding a decrease in size of fabricated nanoscale features. This decrease in size has become much more difficult recently due to the limited resolution of optical systems that are fundamental to many nanofabrication methods. A lot of effort has been made to fabricate devices smaller than the diffraction limit of light. Creating devices that are capable of confining fields by means of interference patterns of propagating wave modes and surface plasmon, has proven successful to confine light into smaller spot sizes.

Zone plate diffraction lenses generate spots with dimensions very close to the diffraction limit. …

Design Of A Rotating Brush Underwater Grooming Device With A Focus On Brush Optimization, Motor Control And Design For Reliability, Mark Harrison Nanney

Theses and Dissertations

The design and control of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) to groom or clean the underwater surface of ship hulls is becoming an important aspect of the maintenance of vessels to the United States Navy. The biological growth below the waterline of the vessels can be the cause for drag penalties near 21% causing up to 32% increase in shaft power at 15 knots (Schultz, 2007). Research conducted by the Center for Corrosion and Biofouling Control at Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) indicated that weekly grooming can prevent high profile biological growth (Hearin, et al., 2015). The design of a rotating …

Design, Modeling And Simulation Of A Thermoelectric Cooling System (Tec), Pooja Iyer Mani

Masters Theses

Thermoelectric Devices are solid state devices which directly convert thermal energy to electrical energy and vice versa. In the recent past, a lot of effort has been made to improve the performance and also the power generated by a thermoelectric device. This is done by attaching heat sinks on either sides of the device. Optimizing heat sinks improves the overall efficiency of it but on the other hand the device also has to be optimized. TECs are mostly used for electronic cooling where the heated electronic devices serve as target that needs to be cooled while air acts as a …

Design And Evaluation Of Pediatric Gait Rehabilitation Robots, Cale J. Stolle

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Gait therapy methodologies were studied and analyzed for their potential for pediatric patients. Using data from heel, metatarsal, and toe trajectories, a nominal gait trajectory was determined using Fourier transforms for each foot point. These average trajectories were used as a basis of evaluating each gait therapy mechanism. An existing gait therapy device (called ICARE) previously designed by researchers, including engineers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was redesigned to accommodate pediatric patients. Unlike many existing designs, the pediatric ICARE did not over- or under-constrain the patient’s leg, allowing for repeated, comfortable, easily-adjusted gait motions. This design was assessed under clinical …

Microstructure And Properties Of Spark Plasma Sintered Moalb Ceramics, Ting Lou

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Molybdenum aluminum boride (MoAlB) is a ternary transition metal boride which has promising aeronautic and nuclear applications. It inheres excellent properties of the binary transitional metal borides (e.g., MoB, ZrB₂) such as high melting temperature, high hardness, and thermal conductivity. Besides, MoAlB is superior to MoB because: (1) the Al element provides an oxidation resistance at high temperatures; (2) its nanolaminated structure consisting of M-B layers with alternating Al layers results in a unique damage tolerance property. In this research, polycrystalline MoAlB have been successfully synthesized and simultaneously sintered using spark plasma sintering (SPS) from molybdenum boride (MoB) …

A Genetic Algorithm Incorporating Design Choice For The Preliminary Design Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Kenneth Michael Mull

Masters Theses

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are currently at the forefront of aerospace technologies. The design of these aircraft is complex and often performance characteristics are coupled to multiple design attributes. At the early design phase both discrete and continuous design choices are present limiting the feasibility of traditional derivative based optimization techniques. In place of these methods, the design space can be explored using a genetic algorithm that mimics the process of natural selection, providing a capable and reliable base airframe constructed from the required performance metrics. By incorporating a genetic multidisciplinary optimization algorithm early in the conceptual design phase, aircraft …

Modeling, Optimizing And Testing Thermoelectric Generators For Liquid-To-Liquid Low Grade Waste Heat Recovery, Ali Eyddan Hamil

Masters Theses

The use of thermoelectric generators (TEGs) for producing electricity from low grade waste heat is thought to be a great solution in the future to reduce the power generation cost because of their advantages of reliability and environmental friendliness. Therefore, the current project aims to study thermoelectric generators for low grade waste heat recovery. In this work, a single unit cell of liquid to liquid thermoelectric generator attached with heat exchangers (heat sinks) is modeled using an internal flow. Its optimum design is obtained based on heat sink optimization and the optimal design method. An analytical model of four unit …

Analytical Study Of Miniature Thermoelectric Device, Mohammed Dhannoon

Masters Theses

Miniature thermoelectric devices (TE) have been regarded as hopeful devices to attain efficient cooling in microprocessors and other small-scale devices. To recognize the performances of miniature thermoelectric coolers, a thermoelectric cooling module is theoretically analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the impact of the thermoelectric element length effect and the substrate material type influence on the cooling performance. The electrical contact resistance and thermal contact are taken into account.

Furthermore, miniature thermoelectric is compared with large thermoelectric, and effective material properties of miniature thermoelectric are studied. The obtained results also demonstrate power density (cooling/heating power per unit area of the …

Materials, Mechanics, And Patterning Techniques For Elastomer-Based Stretchable Conductors, X. Yu, B. Mahajan, W. Shou, Heng Pan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

A Robotic Device To Assist With In-Vivo Measurement Of Human Pelvic Organ Tissue Properties, Shashank S. Kumat

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Measurement of the biomechanical properties of human pelvic organ tissue without undergoing minimally invasive surgery is desired for diagnostics purposes and take precautionary actions if needed. The biomechanical properties of the bladder change with age and due to diseases. Thus, identification of the viscoelastic properties of the tissue could help in detecting early stages of the disease in the bladder. A literature survey revealed that no device exists that could be used to characterize the biomechanical properties of the human bladder in-vivo. This research contributes towards the development of a diagnostic system that could be used in a medical setting …

The Influence Of Functional Weights On The Performance Of Least Squares Finite Element Formulation On Hybrid Meshes, Anirudh Rajagopal

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

The Least-Squares Finite Element Method (LSFEM) is a numerical method for solving partial differential equations (PDE) approximately by minimizing the L-2 norm of the PDE residuals. Unlike the more common Galerkin approach, this method does not employ integration by parts to reduce the continuity requirements of the basis functions. Instead, the PDE is cast as a first-order system of differential equations, which allows for the solution of primary and secondary variables with the same order of accuracy. In addition, this approach always leads to a direct minimization problem and therefore not subject to the restrictive inf-sup condition and does not …

Application Of Artificial Neural Network For Evaporative Cooling In Data Centres, Feyisola Adejokun

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

A data center is a facility that may be used to house telecommunication or storage devices. Because of the 24/7 required operation of a data center, large segments of a data center are geared towards evacuating heat generated from operating one. Data centers entail multiple operating configurations, great amount of constraints and nonlinear correlations. The need to effectively optimize a data center operation presents a daunting challenge. The data center considered in this research is a test bed modular data center (MDC). Comprising of an Information Technology (IT), DEC and IEC module. Typical MDC are dynamic and complex in nature …

Shape Optimization Of Helical Coil Tube For Maximizing Heat Transfer, Venkat Manoj Kandukuri

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Many researchers have observed the enhancement of heat transfer in coiled tubes compared to straight tubes with the same diameter and length. It is known fact, that in a helical coil tube the maximum axial velocity shifted towards the outer wall of the pipe and imbalance between centrifugal forces and inertial loads to a secondary motion of the fluid in the cross-section of the tube. This secondary motion is responsible for improved transport of heat energy to/from the tube walls. Previous conducted Experimental and computational parametric studies show the relationship between the increased heat transfer and parameters such as pitch, …

Self-Transport Of Liquid Drops Through A Functional Mesh For Removing Sweat Away From Skin, Manasvikumar Oza

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

In this work, a functional mesh is developed to transport liquid drops from one side of the mesh to the other. A theoretical model is established, which has been used to obtain three design criteria. Based on these design criteria, functional meshes have been generated and tested with commercially available sponge attached to the mesh. Finally, such a mesh is demonstrated to be effective to remove sweat from human skin. As an application of this research, the concept of this functional mesh solves existing problems with a sport wear. The current sport wear is capable of absorbing sweat, but not …

Thermal Stress Analysis Of Unidirectional Composite Material By Fem Modeling, Gopal D. Gulwani

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Micromechanics of composite is study of complex mechanism of stress and strain transfer between fiber and matrix within a composite as well as distributions of physical fields inside heterogeneous medium. It was used successfully in predicting accurately physical properties like effective stiffness, effective linear thermal expansion of heterogeneous materials like composite. However, when it comes to strength characteristics of composite especially in transversal direction it failed to predict more accurate results. This thesis is focused on thermally induced stress analysis of unidirectional composite by finite element method. Thermal stresses which are dangerously ignored factor in mechanics of composite usually occur …

Formation Flight For Fuel Saving In Coronet Missions Of Kc-135r And F-15c/E, Christopher Allen Kniffin

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

The fuel saving benefit of formation flight has been demonstrated through theoretical and computational analyses, simulation, wind tunnel and flight tests. When an aircraft flies in a specific region in the wake of another aircraft, it experiences upwash, which results in reduced drag and thus reduced thrust requirement. One specific USAF mission that can potentially benefit from formation flight is coronet missions. In a coronet mission, fighter aircraft are escorted and refueled, as needed, by tanker aircraft over a long range. During the flight, the receiver aircraft fly in formation with the tanker but outside of the wake of the …

Final Design Report: Grasp Data Acquisition Project Axon Vr, Michael Erberich, Jack Schultz, Tyler Yeaman

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Final Design Report: Allergen Mixing Assistant (Ama) Micro-Refrigeration Redesigning, Mitchell Parks, Minwoo (Michael) Suh

Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

Allergen Mixing Assistant (AMA) by Xtract Solutions is a device designed to more “effectively refrigerate, organize, and mix allergenic extracts”. Although Xtract Solutions intended the product to be fully automated, the company has decided against its automation and declared its current design as a minimum viable product whose components are too expensive, difficult to source and complex. Therefore, Cal Poly AMA design team - Mitchell Parks and Minwoo Suh - has decided to replace these expensive components with much more economical alternatives as shown below:

Stirling cooler

→

Thermoelectric (Peltier) cooler

Custom Arduino

Controller Card

→

TEC Thermostat *** …

Biofuel Gasification For Residential Heating, Bryan Duke, Courtney Mcintosh, Jeron Hogan

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Experimental Characterization And Simulation Of Carbon Nanotube Strain Sensing Films, Nagendra Krishna Chaitanya Tummalapalli

Masters Theses

Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) have excellent mechanical, electrical and electromechanical properties. These properties led to a lot of novel applications. Due to change in electrical properties under mechanical loading, these composites have potential applications in strain sensors, when these are fabricated as films. CNT-based films are commonly fabricated using different physical and chemical techniques based on the property requirements governing those applications. In this work, CNT films were prepared using wet chemical based methods and chemical vapor deposition techniques.

Plasma chemical vapor deposition using microwave power is used in the first method to deposit films on silicon substrates, using Nickel film …

Analytical Modeling And Numerical Simulation Of A Thermoelectric Generator Including Contact Resistances, Shripad Dhoopagunta

Masters Theses

With increasing demand for energy harvesting systems, research has been conducted in different areas in which Thermoelectric Generators (TEG) find their way into the top of many available resources. Out of many energy harvesting systems available, TEGs are comparatively easier to study, to manufacture and also to comprehend while producing enough energy for applications they find use in. They are solid state devices, meaning; they do not have any moving parts and hence makes them durable. Most of the energy that goes out of the automobile as exhaust is reused to power the TEGs. In most of the works that’s …

Application Of Floating Pedal Regenerative Braking For A Rear-Wheel-Drive Parallel-Series Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle With An Automatic Transmission, Dylan Lewis Lewton

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

As the world continues to move further away from our reliance on fossil fuels, hybrid vehicles are becoming ever more popular. Braking is a system on both hybrid and normal vehicles that involves a significant amount of power and energy. A hybrid can recapture some of that energy using regenerative braking. In this thesis, a method is devised to blend hydraulic and regenerative braking in the most effective manner. A MATLAB Simulink model was built to simulate a parallel-series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. The model allows for the implementation of a regenerative brake controller that utilizes floating pedal regen, custom …

3-Axis Automated Probe Traverse For Aerodynamic Testing, Tananant Boonya-Ananta, Ricky Wai, Zander Oostman, Teyvon Brooks

Mechanical Engineering

Our primary objective is to design, build, and test an automated traverse to hold measurement probes in Cal Poly’s low speed wind tunnel. The device should cause minimal flow disturbance. It’s movements must be able to cover eighty percent of the three-dimensional test section. The device should have a mounting point for interchangeable probes. The assembly is to be integrated with the current frame structure on the wind tunnel test section, and should allow very minimal deflection of the measurement probe. The user should be able to control the motion of the traverse via a computer interface which supports automatic …

Revolutionized Additive Manufacturing, Matthew Walker, Winthrop Townsend, Luca Fuller

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Haul Truck Tires Recycling, Omkar Bhave

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The disposal of large Off-the-Road (OTR) tires is an increasingly important concern. These tires can weigh up to 8,450 pounds with an overall diameter and width of approximately 140.7 inches and 45.1 inches respectively. OTR tires are used for mining vehicles such as haul trucks, wheel loaders, backhoes, graders, and trenchers.[1] These new tires cost between $38,000 and $50,000 each, depending on multiple factors including oil prices and the cyclical nature of the industry. Haul trucks contain six tires per vehicle, and mines replace these tires around every 9-12 months.[2] Statistics regarding discarded OTR tires are not provided by the …

Investigating Co2 Removal By Ca- And Mg-Based Sorbents With Application To Indoor Air Treatment, Elliott T. Gall, Cem Sonat, William W. Nazaroff, Cise Unluer

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Indoor carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) levels serve as an indicator of ventilation sufficiency in relation to metabolic effluents. Recent evidence suggests that elevated CO 2 exposure (with or without other bioeffluents) may cause adverse cognitive effects. In shelter-in-place (SIP) facilities, indoor CO 2 levels may become particularly elevated. This study evaluates four low-cost alkaline earth metal oxides and hydroxides as CO 2 sorbents for potential use in indoor air cleaning applications. Sorbents studied were MgO, Mg(OH) 2 , Ca(OH) 2 and commercially available soda lime. Uncarbonated sorbents characterized with nitrogen adsorption porosimetry showed BET surface areas in the 5.6–27 …

Me-Em Enewsbrief, December 2016, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Optimization Methodology For Cvt Ratio Scheduling With Consideration Of Both Engine And Cvt Efficiency, Steven Beuerle

Masters Theses

A transmission ratio schedule is developed to optimize the fuel consumption for an automotive continuously variable transmission (CVT) connected to an internal combustion engine (ICE). Although the optimal operating line (OOL) generated from an engine brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) map can be used to generate a CVT ratio schedule that yields maximum engine efficiency, it was found that OOL-based CVT ratio scheduling does not necessarily offer the best fuel economy because optimal CVT efficiency does not always correspond to OOL tracking. To develop a CVT ratio schedule that can offer the best fuel economy, a novel ratio-scheduling methodology is …