Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Prerequisites For Public Acceptance Of Waste-To-Energy Plants: Evidence From Germany And Indonesia, Uwe Lahl, Barbara Zeschmar-Lahl

Makara Journal of Technology

Construction of waste incinerators often encounters resistance from the public. The minimum requirements for the ac- ceptance of these installations include modern air pollution control (APC) technology and safe disposal of residues. Confidence in the statements of government and government agencies as well as on those who support is an important point of acceptance. Independent scientific bodies such as universities can help to make this happen. In the case of the installation of waste into energy (WtE), such scientific support can be the measurement of emissions and their evalua- tion. Many products that enter the waste stream contain heavy metals, …

Hybrid Brain-Computer Interface: A Novel Method On The Integration Of Eeg And Semg Signal For Active Prosthetic Control, Reza Darmakusuma, Ary Setijadi Prihatmanto, Adi Indrayanto, Tati Latifah Mengko

Makara Journal of Technology

This paper describes a novel method for controlling active prosthetics by integrating surface electromyography (sEMG) and electroencephalograph signals to improve its intuitiveness. This paper also compares the new method (RTA-2) with other existing methods (AND and OR) for controlling active prosthetics. Based on analysis, RTA-2 features higher true positive rate (TPR) and balanced accuracy (BA) than AND method. On the other hand, the new method (RTA-2) yields lower false detection rate (FPR) than OR method. Analysis also shows that RTA-2 possesses equal TPR, FPR, and BA with the detection of movement intention using sEMG-based system. Although the RTA-2 method shows …

Seismic Response Analysis Along The Coastal Area Of Bengkulu During The September 2007 Earthquake, Lindung Zalbuin Mase

Makara Journal of Technology

A strong earthquake of 8.4 Mw occurred at the Sumatra Subduction Zone in September 12, 2007. The area that underwent the impact of the earthquake was located along the coastal area of the Bengkulu Province. A seismic ground response study was then performed with reference to the event. Several site investigations, including standard penetration test and shear wave velocity tests, were conducted to understand the subsoil condition. The data were used to analyze a ground response during the earthquake. The amplification factor of each site was obtained, and a comparison of the spectral accelerations was performed. The results showed that …

Coax-Fed Dipole-Type Applicator For Hepatic Cancer Rf Ablation, Basari Basari, Aditya Rakhmadi, Kazuyuki Saito

Makara Journal of Technology

Cancer is the third leading cause of mortality in the world and is one of the most difficult diseases to detect and cure. This fact motivates us to investigate a treatment method by using radiofrequency (RF) ablation. RF ablation therapy kills cancer cells by electromagnetically heating them up. The treatment uses an applicator that is inserted into the body to heat the cells. The cancer cells are exposed to a temperature of more than 60 °C in short duration (a few seconds to a few minutes), thereby causing cell destruction locally. To ensure effective treatment, a minimally invasive method is …

Heterogeneous Templated Grain Growth, Dallin James Frandsen

Theses and Dissertations

Heterogeneous Templated Grain Growth (HTGG) is a developing method to fabricate designedcrystallographic textures of polycrystalline materials. Designed crystallographic texturesare important for enhancing desired material properties for specific applications. Four steps toHTGG have been identified: fabricating single crystal seeds, aligning seeds embedded into a powdermatrix, compacting seeds in the powder matrix, and promoting templating through sintering.Experimental research was performed on processing parameters, powder particle size and compaction,to indicate template coarsening trends during sintering. The results demonstrated thatlarger powder particles were influenced faster by the seeds crystallographic orientations comparedto smaller particles. The local effects of porosity on the seed and powder interface …

Stress Modulated Grain Boundary Mobility, Derek Michael Lontine

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis consists of a thermodynamically based kinetic model that more accurately predicts grain boundary mobility (GBM) over a large range of thermodynamic states including changes in temperature, pressure and shear stress. The form of the model was validated against calculated GBM values for Al bicrystals via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. A total of 98,786 simulations were performed (164 different GBs, each with a minimum of 250 different thermodynamic states, and 2 different driving forces). Methodology for the computation of the GBM via MD simulations is provided. The model parameters are directly linked to extensive thermodynamic quantities and suggest potential …

Simulated Tremor Propagation In The Upper Limb: From Muscle Activity To Joint Displacement, Thomas Henry Corie

Theses and Dissertations

Although tremor is the most common movement disorder, there are few non-invasive treatment options. One of the obstacles to creating effective tremor suppression devices is our lack of understanding regarding where tremor originates (which muscles), how it propagates through the limb (to which degrees of freedom, DOF), and where it manifests most severely (which DOF). To investigate these questions, we created a simple, linear time-invariant model to simulate tremor, with tremorogenic muscle activity input (in the 15 major superficial muscles from the shoulder to the wrist) and joint displacement output (in the 7 major upper limb DOF). The model included …

Towards Net Zero Energy Buildings: A Parametric Study On Building Energy Performance For Different Us Climate Zones, Owen Geraldo Betharte

Theses and Dissertations

A Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) can produce as much energy as it requires over an annual basis. This research investigated the building energy performance of different parameters over six US climate zones to ascertain which passive and active strategies would be most effective in each climate zone. Six cities were chosen to represent different climate zones. The focus of this study is for the Alumni House at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, FL to achieve NZE through retrofitting energy efficient measures (EEMs). An implementation of all active and passive strategies, also referred to Energy Efficiency Measures (EEM), …

Development Of Waste-Based-Thermoplastic Composite Heat Insulators, Waseem Yousef Hittini

Mechanical Engineering Theses

The main scope of this research is to develop polymer-filler thermal insulators utilizing natural and industrial local waste such as date pit powder (DPP), devulcanized tire rubber (DVR), and buffing dust (BD). Recycling and reuse of these local wastes as fillers in insulation materials has significant benefits for the UAE environment. An objective of this work was to study the effect of the combination of these local wastes with polystyrene (PS) on the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the developed thermal insulators. PS was used as a matrix, mixed in different proportions with the waste fillers. Each mixture was …

Effect Of Gyroscope Parameters On Gyroscopic Tremor Suppression In A Single Degree Of Freedom, Brendon Connor Allen

Theses and Dissertations

Although tremor is one of the most common movement disorders, there are few effective tremor-suppressing options available to patients. One potential tremor-suppression device involves a wearable gyrostabilizer similar to those used to stabilize cameras. However, we do not currently know how to design a gyrostabilizer to suppress tremor in an optimal manner. To address this gap, we present a systematic investigation of how gyrostabilizer parameters affect tremor suppression in a single degree of freedom (DOF). A simple model of the hand with a single DOF at the wrist and a gyroscope mounted on the back of the hand was used …

Simulation Of The Inertia Friction Welding Process Using A Subscale Specimen And A Friction Stir Welder, Ty Samual Dansie

Theses and Dissertations

This study develops a method to simulate a full-scale inertia friction weld with a sub-scale specimen and modifies a direct drive friction stir welder to perform the welding process. A torque meter is fabricated for the FSW machine to measure weld torque. Machine controls are modified to enable a force control during the IFW process. An equation is created to measure weld upset due to deflection of the FSW machine. Data obtained from a full-scale inertia friction weld are altered to account for the geometrical differences between the sub-scale and full-scale specimens. The IFW are simulated with the sub-scale specimen …

Force And Motion Based Methods For Planar Human-Robot Co-Manipulation Of Extended Objects, Erich Allen Mielke

Theses and Dissertations

As robots become more common operating in close proximity to people, new opportunities arise for physical human-robot interaction, such as co-manipulation of extended objects. Co-manipulation involves physical interaction between two partners where an object held by both is manipulated in tandem. There is a dearth of viable high degree-of-freedom co-manipulation controllers, especially for extended objects, as well as a lack of information about how human-human teams perform in high degree-of-freedom tasks. One method for creating co-manipulation controllers is to pattern them off of human data. This thesis uses this technique by exploring a previously completed experimental study. The study involved …

A Comparative Analysis Of Computer-Aided Collaborative Design Tools And Methods, Keenan Louis Eves

Theses and Dissertations

Collaboration has always been critical to the success of new product development teams, and the advent of geographically dispersed teams has significantly altered the way that team members interact. Multi-user computer-aided design (MUCAD) and crowdsourcing are two results of efforts to enable collaboration between geographically dispersed individuals. In this research, a study was done to investigate the differences in performance between MUCAD and single-user CAD teams, in which teams competed to create the best model of a hand drill. This was done across a three-day period to recreate the scenario found in industry. It was found that MUCAD increases awareness …

Soot And Spectral Radiation Modeling For High-Pressure Turbulent Spray Flames, Sebastian Ferreyro Fernandez, C. Paul, A. Sircar, A. Imren, D. C. Haworth, Somesh Roy, Michael F. Modest

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A transported probability density function (PDF) method and a photon Monte Carlo/line-by-line (PMC/LBL) spectral model are exercised to generate physical insight into soot processes and spectral radiation characteristics in transient high-pressure turbulent n-dodecane spray flames, under conditions that are relevant for compression-ignition piston engines. PDF model results are compared with experimental measurements and with results from a locally well-stirred reactor (WSR) model that neglects unresolved turbulent fluctuations in composition and temperature. Computed total soot mass and soot spatial distributions are highly sensitive to the modeling of unresolved turbulent fluctuations. To achieve reasonable agreement between model and experiment and to capture …

Integrated Free-Form Method For Aerostructural Optimization Of Wind Turbine Blades, Ryan Barrett, Andrew Ning

Faculty Publications

A typical approach to optimize wind turbine blades separates the airfoil shape design from the blade planform design. This approach is sequential, where the airfoils along the blade span are pre-selected or optimized and then held constant during the blade planform optimization. In contrast, integrated blade design optimizes the airfoils and the blade planform concurrently and thereby has the potential to reduce cost of energy (COE) more than sequential design. Nevertheless, sequential design is commonly performed because of the ease of precomputation, or the ability to compute the airfoil analyses prior to the blade optimization. This research compares two integrated …

Anthropomorphically Inspired Design Of A Tendon-Driven Robotic Prosthesis For Hand Impairments, Manali Bapurao Bhadugale

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This thesis presents the design of a robotic prosthesis, which mimics the morphology of a human hand. The primary goal of this work is to develop a systematic methodology that allows a custom-build of the prosthesis to match the specific requirements of a person with hand impairments. Two principal research questions are addressed toward this goal: 1) How do we cater to the large variation in the distribution of overall hand-sizes in the human population? 2) How closely do we mimic the complex morphological aspects of a biological hand in order to maximize the anthropomorphism (human-like appearance) of the robotic …

Distributed Sensing And System Identification Of Cantilever Beams And Plates In The Presence Of Weak Nonlinearities, Patrick Sean Heaney

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

While the mathematical foundation for modal analysis of continuous systems has long been established, flexible structures have become increasingly widespread and developing tools for understanding their mechanics has become increasingly important. Cantilever beams and plates, in particular, have been extensively studied due to their practical importance as approximations of more complex structures. The focus of this thesis is on understanding the dynamics of vibrating cantilever beams and plates through analytical and experimental investigation. Various models for the mechanics of these structures, of varying physical fidelity, are described and compared. A fiber optic sensing system is utilized to experimentally acquire distributed …

Investigation Of Microfluidic Kelvin Water Dropper And Its Applications In Contact And Contactless Electrowetting, Elias Yazdanshenas

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A typical Kelvin water dropper is a device that can convert gravitational potential energy to a high voltage electrostatic. This device consists of two inductors, two collectors, tubes, and electrical connections. A Kelvin water dropper is able to generate extremely high voltage by separating ions using two positive feedback loops. A Kelvin water dropper provides a low cost solution for the applications in which high voltage is needed. In the present research, low cost Microfluidic Kelvin Water Droppers (MKWDs) were developed and built in house for electrowetting applications. Two MKWDs with different tube inner diameters (254 and 508 μm) were …

Understanding The Mechanical Behavior Of Costal Cartilage At Their Curved Exterior Surface Via A Tactile Sensor With A Built-In Probe For Distributed-Deflection Detection, Jiayue Shen

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation is aimed to determine the mechanical properties at the exterior surface of costal cartilages (CC) and examine how they vary with the cartilage length and the anatomical sites of CC in the ribcage via conformal indentation testing which is built upon a tactile sensor for distributed-deflection detection. The sensor entails a rectangular Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microstructure sensing-plate integrated with a 5 ×1 transducer array with 0.75mm spatial resolution underneath and a built-in probe of 0.5mm×5mm×3mm above. By pressing the sensor against the exterior surface of a CC tissue with a pre-defined indentation pattern, the sensor conforms to the curved …

A Cost Effective Design For A Propeller Thrust/Torque Balance, Nicholas Barrett Sadowski

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Wind tunnel balances are used with aircraft models, propellers, and components to measure applied forces and moments. The design and manufacture of a balance is often for a specific test, test article and conditions. This paper discusses the theory, design, calibration, and testing of a new small propeller balance for use in a low-speed wind tunnel. The new balance is named the ODU15X15.

Theory discussed herein covers how the two measurement components, thrust and torque, affect the balance design. These loads generate strains which are in turn read by strain gages arranged in Wheatstone bridges. The design follows well known …

Experimental Investigation Of A New Spiral Wingtip, Naseeb Ahmed Siddiqui, Mohammed Aldheeb, Waqar Asrar, Erwin Sulaeman

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Experiments on the relative merits and demerits of slotted wingtips mimicking a bird’s primary feathers have been performed. The real emargination length of feather tips, their flexibility and curved shapes during cruise are considered in the present study. The experiments were performed at a Reynolds number of 3.7 x 10⁵ on a symmetric flat plate half wing of aspect ratio 3. Lift, drag and pitching moments were measured using a six component aerodynamic balance. Four different shapes inspired by bird primary feathers have been analysed. The rigid curved tip performed the best increasing the L/D ratio by 20%. This …

Highly Efficient Electrochemical Reforming Of Ch4/Co2 In A Solid Oxide Electrolyser, Jinhai Lu, Changli Zhu, Changchang Pan, Wenlie Lin, John P. Lemmon, Fanglin Chen, Chunsen Li, Kui Xie

Faculty Publications

Reforming CH₄ into syngas using CO₂ remains a fundamental challenge due to carbon deposition and nanocatalyst instability. We, for the first time, demonstrate highly efficient electrochemical reforming of CH₄/CO₂ to produce syngas in a solid oxide electrolyser with CO₂ electrolysis in the cathode and CH₄ oxidation in the anode. In situ exsolution of an anchored metal/oxide interface on perovskite electrode delivers remarkably enhanced coking resistance and catalyst stability. In situ Fourier transform infrared characterizations combined with first principle calculations disclose the interface activation of CO₂ at a transition state between a CO …

Modeling Of Nitihf Using Finite Difference Method, Nazanin Farjam, Reza Mehrabi, Haluk E. Karaca, Reza Mirzaeifar, Mohammad Elahinia

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

NiTiHf is a high temperature and high strength shape memory alloy with transformation temperatures above 100oC. A constitutive model based on Gibbs free energy is developed to predict the behavior of this material. Two different irrecoverable strains including transformation induced plastic strain (TRIP) and viscoplastic strain (VP) are considered when using high temperature shape memory alloys (HTSMAs). The first one happens during transformation at high levels of stress and the second one is related to the creep which is rate-dependent. The developed model is implemented for NiTiHf under uniaxial loading. Finite difference method is utilized to solve the proposed equations. …

Mechanical Engineering News, Georgia Southern University

Mechanical Engineering: News & Publications (2013-2023)

• Honor Society Chapter Wins National Service Award

Manufacturing Process Simulation – On Its Way To Industrial Application, Dennis Otten, Tobias A. Weber, Jan-Christoph Arent

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Manufacturing process simulation (MPS) has become more and more important for aviation and the automobile industry. A highly competitive market requires the use of high performance metals and composite materials in combination with reduced manufacturing cost and time as well as a minimization of the time to market for a new product. However, the use of such materials is expensive and requires sophisticated manufacturing processes. An experience based process and tooling design followed by a lengthy trial-and-error optimization is just not contemporary anymore. Instead, a tooling design process aided by simulation is used more often. This paper provides an overview …

Evaluation Of High Velocity Wear, Armando Deleon

Theses and Dissertations

The HHSTT located at Holloman Air Force Base conducts hypersonic testing in a unique way. Rather than perform cost prohibitive flight testing or hypersonic wind tunnel testing, a rocket-powered sled propels test articles down a track. This test setup has been used to test at speeds up to 2885 m/s (~Mach 8.6). The sled is kept on the rails by utilizing slippers, fabricated to wrap around the rail [1]. This slipper design keeps the sled from separating from the rail during a test due to the airflow producing lift, in a designed effort to minimize the wear that occurs during …

Measuring The Creep Behaviour Of Corrugated Board By Cascade And Individual Test Rig, Viktoria Köstner, Jörg B. Ressel, Bernd Sadlowsky, Péter Böröcz

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

In this paper static and quasi-static test are conducted to determine the creep behaviour of corrugated board. This study shows a possible way to take the real loads occurring in container shipping into account. The aim of the measurements is to develop a new test option, which is in keeping with the loads occurring. Two test rigs have been developed and constructed for this purpose. These make it possible to measure the creep of corrugated board extremely precisely over a longer period in the aspect of climate chamber size and relative humidity (RH) distribution in the chamber. To increase the …

Selective Laser Melting Of Ni-Rich Niti: Selection Of Process Parameters And The Superelastic Response, Narges Shayesteh Moghaddam, Soheil Saedi, Amirhesam Amerinatanzi, Ehsan Saghaian, Ahmadreza Jahadakbar, Haluk E. Karaca, Mohammad Elahinia

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Material and mechanical properties of NiTi shape memory alloys strongly depend on the fabrication process parameters and the resulting microstructure. In selective laser melting, the combination of parameters such as laser power, scanning speed, and hatch spacing determine the microstructural defects, grain size and texture. Therefore, processing parameters can be adjusted to tailor the microstructure and mechanical response of the alloy. In this work, NiTi samples were fabricated using Ni_50.8Ti (at.%) powder via SLM PXM by Phenix/3D Systems and the effects of processing parameters were systematically studied. The relationship between the processing parameters and superelastic properties were investigated …

Influence Of Slm On Compressive Response Of Niti Scaffolds, Narges Shayesteh Moghaddam, Soheil Saedi, Amirhesam Amerinatanzi, Ahmadreza Jahadakbar, Sayed Ehsan Saghaian, Haluk E. Karaca, Mohammad Elahinia

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Porous Nickel-Titanium shape memory alloys (NiTi-SMAs) have attracted much attention in biomedical applications due to their high range of pure elastic deformability (i.e., superelasticity) as well as their bone-level modulus of elasticity (E≈12-20 GPa). In recent years, Selective Laser Melting (SLM) has been used to produce complex NiTi components. The focus of this study is to investigate the superelasticity and compressive properties of SLM NiTi-SMAs. To this aim, several NiTi components with different level of porosities (32- 58%) were fabricated from Ni_50.8Ti (at. %) powder via SLM PXM by Phenix/3D Systems, using optimum processing parameter (Laser power-P=250 W, …

Adaptive Navigation Control Primitives For Multirobot Clusters: Extrema Finding, Contour Following, Ridge/Trench Following, And Saddle Point Station Keeping, Christopher A. Kitts, Robert T. Mcdonald, Michael A. Neumann

Mechanical Engineering

Adaptive navigation is the process of modifying a vehicle's direction or motion path based on measurements taken while moving. When exploring a scalar field, such as the temperature or the concentration level of a pollutant across a region of interest, adaptive navigation may allow the identification of locations of interest-like the maximum temperature or the source of the pollutant-without exhaustively mapping the entire region. Adaptive navigation has been hailed as a powerful capability, and significant work has been performed to explore how such techniques can be used to find the local extreme points and follow contour levels in a field. …