Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Design And Testing Of A Linear Compliant Mechanism With Adjustable Force Output, William Niemeier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a novel compliant mechanism with adjustable force output. The force comes from the bending of a rectangular cross section beam within the mechanism. By rotating this beam with a stepper motor, the force output of the mechanism changes. A model was made to simulate this mechanism, and a prototype was made based off of this data. A test apparatus was constructed around this mechanism, and a series of tests were performed. These tests adjusted parameters such as beam rotation speed and weight in order to characterize the system. Adjustments were made based on this information and the …

Defect Detection In Additive Manufacturing Utilizing Long Pulse Thermography, James Pierce

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Additive Manufacturing (AM), over the years, has seen a tremendous amount of research for improving the manufacturability of materials into final products. The main advantages of additive manufacturing are the minimizing of waste material as it is an additive process. As well as the ability to create custom low-volume products without the need for creation of expensive tooling or programming before manufacturing begins. Because of these advantages, however, AM is susceptible to unique challenges in the quality side of manufacturing. These challenges include minimizing and detecting defects during the build. The focus of this research looks at the capability of …

Analysis Of Ni And Fe-Based Alloys For Turbine Seal Ring Applications, Dawei She

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Metal sealing rings have been used widely in compressors, turbines and hydraulic devices. Such rings can extend out due to elasticity, and keep close contact with the valve wall, resulting in the formation of a functional seal under pressure. In this project, the failure of metal sealing rings is considered. Sealing component failure due to stress relaxation can threaten the safety of the whole steam turbine. The object of this study was to examine the stress relaxation response and corresponding changes in microstructure of metal sealing rings used in nuclear steam turbine under high temperature and applied stress. The two …

The Subject Librarian Newsletter, Engineering And Computer Science, Spring 2018, Buenaventura "Ven" Basco

Libraries' Newsletters

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Poly (Glycerol Sebacate) Incorporation Within Hybrid Chitin–Lignin Sol–Gel Nanofibrous Scaffolds, Tuerdimaimaiti Abudula, Lassaad Gzara, Giovanna Simonetti, Ahmed Alshahrie, Numan Salah, Pierfrancesco Morganti, Angelo Chianese, Afsoon Fallahi, Ali Tamayol, Sidi A. Bencherif, Adnan Memic

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Chitin and lignin primarily accumulate as bio-waste resulting from byproducts of crustacean crusts and plant biomass. Recently, their use has been proposed for diverse and unique bioengineering applications, amongst others. However, their weak mechanical properties need to be improved in order to facilitate their industrial utilization. In this paper, we fabricated hybrid fibers composed of a chitin–lignin (CL)-based sol–gel mixture and elastomeric poly (glycerol sebacate) (PGS) using a standard electrospinning approach. Obtained results showed that PGS could be coherently blended with the sol–gel mixture to form a nanofibrous scaffold exhibiting remarkable mechanical performance and improved antibacterial and antifungal activity. The …

Mechanical Engineering News, Georgia Southern University

Mechanical Engineering: News & Publications (2013-2023)

• Student Eagle Week

Experimental Examination Of Vorticity Stripping From A Wing-Tip Vortex In Free-Stream Turbulence, Hari C. Ghimire, Sean C. C. Bailey

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Time-resolved stereoscopic particle image velocimetry measurements were conducted of a wing-tip vortex decaying in free-stream turbulence. The objective of the research was to experimentally investigate the mechanism causing the increased rate of decay of the vortex in the presence of turbulence. It was observed that the circulation of the vortex core experienced periods of rapid loss and recovery when immersed in free-stream turbulence. These events were not observed when the vortex was in a laminar free stream. A connection was made between these events and distortion of the vortex, coinciding with stripping of core fluid from the vortex core. Specifically, …

Geometric Construction-Based Realization Of Spatial Elastic Behaviors In Parallel And Serial Manipulators, Shuguang Huang, Joseph M. Schimmels

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper addresses the realization of spatial elastic behavior with a parallel or a serial manipulator. Necessary and sufficient conditions for a manipulator (either parallel or serial) to realize a specific elastic behavior are presented and interpreted in terms of the manipulator geometry. These conditions completely decouple the requirements on component elastic properties from the requirements on mechanism kinematics. New construction-based synthesis procedures for spatial elastic behaviors are developed. With these synthesis procedures, one can select each elastic component of a parallel (or serial) mechanism based on the geometry of a restricted space of allowable candidates. With each elastic component …

Developing Motion Platform Dynamics For Studying Biomechanical Responses During Exercise For Human Spaceflight Applications, Kaitlin Lostroscio

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In future human spaceflight missions, with prolonged exposure to microgravity, resistive and aerobic exercises will be countermeasures for bone loss, muscle loss, and decreased aerobic capacity. Two of the exercises of interest are squats and rowing. The cyclic forces produced during these exercises are at relatively low frequencies which are likely to excite structural resonances of space vehicles. Vibration Isolation Systems (VIS) are being designed to be paired with future exploration exercise devices in order to prevent these cyclic exercise forces from impacting the space vehicle. The VIS may be configured such that a platform supports the human and exercise …

Atomic Layer Deposition On Porous Materials: Problems With Conventional Approaches To Catalyst And Fuel Cell Electrode Preparation, Tzia Ming Onn, Rainer Küngas, Paolo Fornasiero, Kevin Huang, Raymond J. Gorte

Faculty Publications

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) offers exciting possibilities for controlling the structure and composition of surfaces on the atomic scale in heterogeneous catalysts and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) electrodes. However, while ALD procedures and equipment are well developed for applications involving flat surfaces, the conditions required for ALD in porous materials with a large surface area need to be very different. The materials (e.g., rare earths and other functional oxides) that are of interest for catalytic applications will also be different. For flat surfaces, rapid cycling, enabled by high carrier-gas flow rates, is necessary in order to rapidly grow thicker …

Electric Vehicle And Wireless Charging Laboratory, Florida Solar Energy Center, Richard Raustad

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Wireless charging tests of electric vehicles (EV) have been conducted at the EVTC Wireless Laboratory located at the Florida Solar Energy Center, Cocoa, FL. These tests were performed to document testing protocols, evaluate standards and evaluate operational related wireless charging characteristics. The presented results give the charging efficiency of a Plugless wireless charger of 3.3 kW rated input power operating at 20 kHz resonant frequency. The results show a maximum charging efficiency of 94% at about 19 cm (7.5 in) of vertical separation. The electric and magnetic fields emanating from the transmitter were measured with and without the unit installed …

Relationship Between Anisotropy And Dispersive Stress In Wind Plants With Variable Spacing, Tamara S. Dib

Dissertations and Theses

Large eddy simulations are considered for wind plants with varied spanwise and streamwise spacing. Data from five different configurations of staggered and aligned LES wind turbine arrays with a neutrally stratified atmospheric boundary layer are employed for analysis. Fields are analyzed by evaluating the anisotropy stress invariants based on the Reynolds shear stresses and dispersive stress tensor. The relationship between quantities are drawn as a function of the wind plant packing. Reynolds stresses and dispersive stresses are investigated alongside a domain altered version of the second and third scalar invariants, ξ, η, as well as the combination of the …

Numerical Simulation Of Heat Transfer And Chemistry In The Wake Behind A Hypersonic Slender Body At Angle Of Attack, Matthew J. Satchell, Jeffrey M. Layng, Robert B. Greendyke

Faculty Publications

The effect of thermal and chemical boundary conditions on the structure and chemical composition of the wake behind a 3D Mach 7 sphere-cone at an angle of attack of 5 degrees and an altitude of roughly 30,000 m is explored. A special emphasis is placed on determining the number density of chemical species which might lead to detection via the electromagnetic spectrum. The use of non-ablating cold-wall, adiabatic, and radiative equilibrium wall boundary conditions are used to simulate extremes in potential thermal protection system designs. Non-ablating, as well as an ablating boundary condition using the “steady-state ablation” assumption to compute …

An Experimental Study On Static And Dynamic Strain Sensitivity Of Embeddable Smart Concrete Sensors Doped With Carbon Nanotubes For Shm Of Large Structures, Andrea Meoni, Antonella D'Alessandro, Austin Downey, Enrique García-Macías, Marco Rallini, A. Luigi Materazzi, Luigi Torre, Simon Laflamme, Rafael Castro-Triguero, Filippo Ubertini

Faculty Publications

The availability of new self-sensing cement-based strain sensors allows the development of dense sensor networks for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of reinforced concrete structures. These sensors are fabricated by doping cement-matrix mterials with conductive fillers, such as Multi Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs), and can be embedded into structural elements made of reinforced concrete prior to casting. The strain sensing principle is based on the multifunctional composites outputting a measurable change in their electrical properties when subjected to a deformation. Previous work by the authors was devoted to material fabrication, modeling and applications in SHM. In this paper, we investigate the …

Classical Molecular Dynamics Study For Defect Sink Behavior In Oxide Dispersed Strengthened Alloys, M. Mustafa Azeem, Zhongyu Li, Qingyu Wang, Qazi Muhammad Nouman Amjad, Muhammad Zubair, O. M.H. Ahmed

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Oxide Dispersed Strengthened (ODS) alloys are considered as a potential candidate for future generation reactors and can even be graded as better radiation resistant materials than the ones already in use. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation study for defect sinks properties of ODS alloys have been investigated at 700K using LAMMPS (Atomic/Molecular massively parallel simulator software. SRIM (stopping range of ions in matter) code was used to see the approximate range of the ions and damage cascade profile. It has been observed that the oxide particle attracts vacancies/interstitials produced in the base matrix near the interface. The modeled structure looked amorphous …

Mechanical Engineering News, Georgia Southern University

Mechanical Engineering: News & Publications (2013-2023)

• 2018 Student Research Symposium

Enucleated Cells Reveal Differential Roles Of The Nucleus In Cell Migration, Polarity, And Mechanotransduction, Gunes Uzer

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The nucleus has long been postulated to play a critical physical role during cell polarization and migration, but that role has not been defined or rigorously tested. Here, we enucleated cells to test the physical necessity of the nucleus during cell polarization and directed migration. Using enucleated mammalian cells (cytoplasts), we found that polarity establishment and cell migration in one dimension (1D) and two dimensions (2D) occur without the nucleus. Cytoplasts directionally migrate toward soluble (chemotaxis) and surface-bound (haptotaxis) extracellular cues and migrate collectively in scratch-wound assays. Consistent with previous studies, migration in 3D environments was dependent on the nucleus. …

Effectiveness Of Biocide Substitution And Management Plan Implementation For The Control Of, Adelmarie Bones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

After the notorious outbreak and discovery of Legionella bacteria in 1976, the waterborne pathogen was added to the list of disease-causing agents associated with the built environment. Legionella pneumophila was discovered when it was identified as the agent that caused 34 deaths and an outbreak of pneumonia-like symptoms in several attendees of the 1976 American Legion Convention held in Philadelphia (OSHA, 2017).

Recently published data from the year 2015 reported more than 6,000 Legionnaires’ cases identified in the United States (CDC, 2016). This is a concerning number given that one in every ten infected persons will die of the disease. …

Superpositioning High Power Lasers For Mid-Air Image Formation, Auston Viotto

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Abstract

This research evaluates different methods to create voxels, 3-dimensional pixels, in air without the need for special glasses or reflections off of surfaces. Research on the advantages of superimposing or the culmination, focusing, of laser light will be conducted. The point of superpositioning/culmination will be evaluated by the brightness of the voxel due to the Rayleigh Scatter Effect. The voxel’s brightness is dependent on the laser output strength and inversely proportional to its wavelength. Once a superimposed/culminated voxel has been created in the lab the next step will be to manipulate the location of the voxel through 3-dimensional space. …

A Novel Approach To Visualize And Quantify The Transient Air Infiltration/Exfiltration In Walk-In Coolers, Ramin Faramarzi, Homayun K. Navaz, K. Kamensky

Mechanical Engineering Publications

Walk-in coolers are room-sized, insulated, and refrigerated compartments for food product storage. Walk-ins have areas equal or below 280 m2 (3,000 ft2), and are classified either as coolers operating above 0 degrees C (32 degrees F) (medium-temperature) to store fresh fruit, vegetables, and dairy products, or freezers that operate below 0 degrees C (32 degrees F) (low-temperature) to meet health and safety standards of frozen food products. Walk-ins are typically found in restaurants as well as small- and medium-to-large grocery stores or supermarkets.

Sensel Morph: Product Communication Improvement Initiative, Kasper W. Lui-Delange, Samuel Distler, Rafael Paroli

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Sensel is a startup company that recently launched their first product. The Morph is a multi-functional touch interface that interacts with a wide range of software through touching enabled silicon overlays. The support documentation was believed to cause confusion, which is leading to limited sales and increased returns. We focused on the structures of its website and product documentation, which were initially developed without end user testing. Our team explored Sensel’s current state to develop two multiphase design alternatives. These designs provide multiple user-facing testing frameworks as well as determine the root-cause of the Morph’s current communication issues. The designs …

Improving Warehouse Capacity For Synergy Manufacturing, Brian Garcia

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This report aims to aid Synergy Manufacturing (a well-recognized producer of high-performance components for off-roading vehicles) to improve in-house production capacity in wake of an expanded facility space and substantial increase in the number of current available products over the span of a few years. Current warehouse issues include struggling to meet demand, high inventory, and an unsafe overcrowding of WIP on the floor space. The steps taken to resolve these issues are to collect setup times, operational times, total process times, machine tool usage, and flow process from a selected group of five high-demand items from Synergy Manufacturing’s current …

Building A Database For A Startup: Boltabout, Danielle Tran

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

BoltAbout is a young start-up based out of San Luis Obispo, CA. Their primary business is renting out bikes via monthly-subscription with the opportunity to lease to own. BoltAbout has seen great success over the past 2 years and is looking to expand. The company currently has 200 bikes, but the demand is far outweighing the supply. The CEO of BoltAbout hopes to grow to grow the company’s inventory to 500 bikes by the end of 2017 and 1500 by the end of the school year. As the company continues to expand, it will need to be able to accurately …

Crystal Engineering Manufacturing Facility Analysis, Maximiliano Cortes, Eric Dustin Kornrumpf, Sthefano Alvarado

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This report will encompass a two-quarter long senior project effort to provide a recommendation for the client, Crystal Engineering. Crystal Engineering is currently in the process of introducing three new products, one now and two within the next six months. However, their existing lines already occupy the available production space and as a result, they are unable to determine how to effectively incorporate new production lines within the facility. Therefore, the main objectives of this project were to deliver several facility redesign layouts backed by a holistic justification for each. The formulation of the facility redesign layouts incorporated several industrial …

Me-Em Enewsbrief, March 2018, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Twisting Phase And Intensity Of Light With Plasmonic Metasurfaces, Yuchao Zhang, Xiaodong Yang, Jie Gao

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Twisting light in both phase and intensity has recently drawn great interests in various fields related to light-matter interactions such as optical manipulation of particles and quantum entanglement of photons. Conventionally, bulky optical components are required to produce such twisted optical beams, which significantly limits their applications in integrated photonics and optical chips. Here, we design and demonstrate aluminum plasmonic metasurfaces consisting of nanoslit antennas as ultracompact beam converters to generate the focused twisted beams in both phase and intensity across the visible wavelength range. The metasurface is encoded with the combined phase profile containing the helico-conical phase function together …

The Positive Role Of Curcumin-Loaded Salmon Nanoliposomes On The Culture Of Primary Cortical Neurons, Mahmoud Hasan, Shahrzad Latifi, Cyril J.F. Kahn, Ali Tamayol, Rouhollah Habibey, Elodie Passeri, Michel Linder, Elmira Arab-Tehrany

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a natural bioactive compound with many health-promoting benefits. However, its poor water solubility and bioavailability has limited curcumin’s biomedical application. In the present study, we encapsulated curcumin into liposomes, formed from natural sources (salmon lecithin), and characterized its encapsulation efficiency and release profile. The proposed natural carriers increased the solubility and the bioavailability of curcumin. In addition, various physico-chemical properties of the developed soft nanocarriers with and without curcumin were studied. Nanoliposome-encapsulated curcumin increased the viability and network formation in the culture of primary cortical neurons and decreased the rate of apoptosis.

Computational Investigation Using Bleed As A Method Of Shock Stabilization, Dayle L. Chang

Theses and Dissertations

Shock-wave/boundary layer interactions (SWBLI) produce undesirable dynamic loads and separated unsteady flows, adversely impacting the performance and structural integrity of supersonic vehicles. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a successful tool in experimental planning and shows promise as a critical tool in understanding and mitigating negative effects of SWBLI. The goal of this research is to demonstrate the effect of bleed holes on shock stability using the OVERFLOW CFD solver to inform the planning of an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) SWBLI wind tunnel experiment. First, a two-dimensional, flat plate, single-hole configuration was developed. Massflow discrepancies of 14.8% were initially observed …

Development Of Product Recyclability Index Utilizing Design For Assembly And Disassembly Principles, Darshan P. Yadav, Deep N. Patel, Beshoy W. Morkos

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Designing products for recyclability is driven by environmental and economic goals. Several design for assembly (DFA) rules and parameters can be used to gauge the recyclability index of product designs. These indices can be used for comparative analysis of the recyclability of different products. This assists the designer in making design choices related to the product's end of life. However, many of the existing recyclability indices are only available after design and manufacturing decisions are made. If such design decisions could be made earlier in the design process, when the design space is less bound, recyclability could be considered earlier. …

Comparative Analysis Of Designing Solar And Geothermal Power Plants: A Case Study, Roberto Venegas, Sarada Kuravi, Krishna Kota, Mary Helen Mccay

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Geothermal and solar thermal are renewable, clean energy sources with immense potential for electricity generation. Concentrating Solar Power can achieve very high temperatures and high efficiencies compared to geothermal power plants. However, it is intermittent and must be coupled with thermal storage or another source for continuous power generation. Geothermal resources exist in varying temperatures but are too small for economic power production; however, it is not intermittent. This paper briefly summarizes the location-specific design considerations for geothermal and solar thermal plants. The performance of both these types of power plants is analysed in terms of capacity factor, thermal energy …