Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Analysis Of Blood Pressure Waveform For Detection And Diagnosis Of Cardiovascular Anomalies, Atul Shrotriya

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortalities worldwide as well as in the United States. Early diagnosis and prediction of these diseases is critical to mitigate the risks to the patient. A common method to assess a person’s heart health is through the use of cuff type oscillometric devices placed on the arm of the patient. As the mean pressure in the cuff is increased the blood flow in the brachial artery becomes blocked. When the cuff pressure is reduced the blood starts flowing again; during this cycle, pressure fluctuations in the cuff are measured using a pressure transducer. …

Determination Of Guidance Laws For Uav Systems In Communication Networks Using Collision Cone Theory, Utsav Mudgal

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also commonly known as drones, are used in various applications, including military applications such as surveillance and intelligence-gathering as well as civilian applications such as search and rescue. The use of UAVs to form communication networks is a topic of active research interest. This thesis aims to investigate the development of guidance laws for multiple UAVs to form such communication networks. Toward this end, this thesis employs tools from collision cone theory and incorporates them with parameters used to describe a communication network. Different types of networks are evaluated for use of the guidance laws. Simulation …

Guidance Laws For N-Mobile Agents To Grip A Moving Target, Pranay Gadiya

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

In this thesis, we consider the problem of n mobile agents carrying a gripper, with the objective of gripping a moving circular target. The target may move with constant velocity, or even maneuver. We develop guidance laws by which the agents can first cage the target and subsequently grip it. These guidance laws are developed based on a collision cone framework, using which the mobile agents cooperatively steer their velocity vectors in an appropriate fashion to meet their objective. It is assumed that each of the mobile agents are equipped with a lidar sensor, using which they obtain the range …

Buckling Load Optimization Of Variable Stiffness Composite Plate Using Fem And Semi-Analytical Method, Jeegar Vallabhbhai Patel

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

The advent of new composite manufacturing techniques like Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) offers greater flexibility in structural designs by allowing curvilinear fiber paths. Hence, it is now possible to change laminate stiffness locally, thereby enabling Variable Stiffness (VS) composite structures. Such structures demonstrate superior buckling performance over traditional constant stiffness structures. However, obtaining the optimum fiber paths to improve buckling performance remains an open area of research due to the complexity of determining such fiber paths. This research investigated two approaches for optimizing fiber paths; First, a Finite Element Method (FEM) approach that utilizes linear shape functions to interpolate local …

A Modular Platform For Intrusive Diagnostics And Tps Testing In The Onr-Uta Arc-Jet Facility, Blake Anthony Hamilton

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

This work presents an approach to the design, and successful experimental implementation, of a modular platform for intrusive diagnostics and TPS testing in the ONR-UTA Arc-Heated Wind Tunnel "Leste" Facility. The harsh conditions typical of arc-jet facilities (hypersonic, high-enthalpy, chemically-reacting, continuous flows) present a challenge to the design of insertion platforms. In this work a detailed analysis of the aerothermal loads is used to aid in the design process. Specific design points for this modular platform and its ancillary instrumentation have been identified. Based on this design approach, a modular platform for intrusive diagnostics and TPS testing has been developed. …

Solar-Powered Automated Transportation: Feasibility And Visualization, Burford J. Furman, Laxmi Ramasubramanian, Shannon Mcdonald, Ron Swenson, Jack Fogelquist, Yu Chiao, Alex Pape, Mario Cruz

Mineta Transportation Institute

A solar-powered automated transportation network (ATN) connecting the North and South campuses of San José State University with three passenger stations was designed, visualized, and analyzed in terms of its energy usage, carbon offset, and cost. The study’s methodology included the use of tools and software such as ArcGIS, SketchUp, Infraworks, Sketchup, Rhinoceros, and Autodesk 3DS Max. ATN vehicle energy usage was estimated using data from the university’s Park & Ride shuttle bus operation and by modeling with SUMOPy, the advanced simulation suite for the micro-traffic simulator SUMO. The energy study showed that an extensive solar photovoltaic (PV) canopy over …

Theoretical Prediction Of Mechanical Behavior Of Regular And Chiral Honeycombs Based On Loading Of Single Cell., Sai Krishna K. Pinnamaneni

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Cellular solids are both naturally occurring and man-made materials depending on the characteristic length or Stochastic manner, these materials exhibit a low-relative density usually 30% than the constituent solid material. Low-density cellular solids have been demonstrating superior mechanical properties in various applications from marine to aerospace and lightweight sandwich structures, which has intrigued in development of novel structured materials. Cellular solids offer great design flexibility ashowows how for the targeted geometric for the application-based industry. These materials are used in sandwich structures and come in the shape of hexagonal. An additional aspect of determining the properties and behavior is by …

Multi-Parametric And Multi-Objective Optimization Of Heatsinks For Forced And Natural Convection Based Single-Phase Immersion Cooling Of Server, Tushar Rohidas Wagh

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

An increase in utility of internet-based services, cloud computing and greater performance demands due to rising AI and ML applications have led to a steep growth in GPU and CPU thermal design power. Efficient thermal management of these processors has become a bottleneck in performance enhancement and corresponding power densification of these components. Furthermore, increased pressure on data center owners to reduce power demands and move towards green computing has exacerbated the data center cooling challenges. Single-phase immersion cooling allows data center owners to not only dissipate the increasing heat fluxes efficiently but can also potentially improve equipment reliability as …

A Framework For The Design And Characterization Of Advanced Gaskets, Sannmit Shinde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Most industrial manufacturing or processing plants use bolted connections between pipes that transfer media from one location to another. Gaskets are often used to seal these systems as they offer elevated levels of leak mitigation; however, despite their nearly universal usage, the current understanding of gasket mechanics at the meso-scale is still limited. Contemporary gaskets feature viscoelastic materials, fillers, textures, and are fabricated at various thicknesses. They are used in a wide range of thermal, mechanical, chemical, and temporal conditions. The current work characterizes polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) gaskets made with several different filler materials and having vastly different geometries. The chemically …

Gaylord Produce Removal Machine, Marcus Takashi Hirose Lee, Jacob Michael Perlman, Carissa Abigail Kamm, Mark Misao Loera

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review Report outlines the senior design project that began Winter Quarter of 2021 at California Polytechnic State University. Our team consists of three mechanical engineers and a general engineer, working together to design, build, and test a product for Alameda County Food Bank. The goal of the final product is to relieve volunteers and employees of tedious manual labor and increase efficiency during the removal of produce from large Gaylord containers. This document describes background research, the objectives of the project, chosen concept design, analysis and initial prototyping of said concept, the final design, and verification prototype …

Supercritical Co2 Recompression Closed Brayton Cycle Analysis, Andres Eduardo Gutierrez Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

On this research, the results of an analysis made of a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (sCO2) Recuperated Closed Brayton Cycle (RCBC) done by performing theorical calculations and comparing it to the results obtained with the use of the software ASPEN Plus will be presented. To demonstrate and determine that this software is a useful tool for modeling the proposed type of cycle, a preliminary comparison was made to verify with previous studies found in literature. A comparison and analysis between the possible working fluids and thermal energy sources was also performed to emphasize the decision of using CO2 as the cycle …

Anomaly Detection And Failure Prediction In Gas Turbines, Vipul Goyal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study is based on time-series data taken from the combined cycle heavy-duty utility gas turbines. For analysis, first, a multi-stage vector autoregressive model is constructed for the nominal operation of powerplant assuming sparsity in the association among variables, and this model is used as a basis for anomaly detection and prediction. This prediction is compared with the time-series data of the powerplant test data containing anomalies. Granger causality networks, which are based on the associations between the time series streams, can be learned as an important implication from the vector autoregressive modelling. This method suffers from the disadvantage that …

Medial And Lateral Tibiofemoral Contact Forces For Individuals With High Body Mass Index In Gait And Cycling Training, Reymil Fernandez

Master's Theses

The prevalence of knee osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease characterized by the degradation of articular cartilage, is correlated with the rise in obesity. The rising rates of obesity in children and adults highlight the need for identifying a sustainable physical activity that promotes fitness while mitigating initiation and progression of osteoarthritis. The objective of this study was to determine an effective rehabilitation and lifelong fitness sustainment exercise regimen that minimize risk of osteoarthritis in individuals with high body mass index (BMI). The aim was to examine knee medial and lateral contact forces in gait and cycling training. Gait at self-selected …

Triangular Cosserat Point Element Method For Reducing Soft Tissue Artifact: Validation And Application To Gait, Jake Edward Deschamps, Stephen Klisch

Master's Theses

Human motion capture technology is a powerful tool for advancing the understanding of human motion biomechanics (Andriacchi and Alexander, 2000). This is most readily accomplished by applying retroreflective markers to a participant’s skin and tracking the position of the markers during motion. Skin and adipose tissue move independently of the underlying bone during motion creating error known as soft tissue artifact (STA), the primary source of error in human motion capture (Leardini et al., 2005).

(Solav et al., 2014) proposed and (Solav et al., 2015) expanded the triangular Cosserat point element (TCPE) method to reduce the effect of STA on …

Printed Circuit Board Design And Layout For Hobbyists, Engineers, And Students, Michael A. Derrenbacher

Master's Theses

Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) are a ubiquitous element of virtually every electronic system manufactured world-wide. It is not a stretch of the imagination to say that if it’s electronic, there is a PCB in it. PCBs are necessary tools for electronics work, and tools need to have instructions. For better or worse, PCB knowledge is a deep and wide ocean. There is much to cover for even a surface level understanding, and there are deep areas rich in technical expertise. Navigating the ocean of knowledge is treacherous; common knowledge of yore can be downright dubious now. PCB manufacturing and electronics …

Microstructure And Mechanical Properties Of Cast And Hot-Rolled Medium-Carbon Steels Under Isothermal Heat-Treatment Conditions, Byungsue Shin, Kwangyuk Kim, Sung Yi, Sanggyu Choi, Soongkeun Hyun

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this study, the changes in the microstructure and mechanical properties during isothermal heat treatment of cast steel before and after hot deformation were investigated using medium carbon steel with low alloy content. The microstructural characteristics of the cast and hot-rolled medium-carbon steel under isothermal heat-treatment conditions were examined using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with electron backscatter diffraction. The variation in the mechanical properties was evaluated using Rockwell hardness and tensile tests. After maintaining an austenitizing condition at 1200 ◦C for 30 min, an isothermal heat treatment was performed in the range 350–500 ◦C, followed by …

W22 Landing Gear And Door Uplocks Final Design Review (Fdr), Jason Szeto, Garrett Donovan, Christopher Edward, Kevin Lee

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review report outlines the senior project sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., to design an unmanned aerial vehicle landing gear uplock and door locks. The main goal of the project is to create a proof-of-concept uplock that does not operate on hydraulic power, has minimal moving parts, and can support the weight, vertical acceleration and aerodynamic loads on the landing gear or doors. The document covers the background research, design specifications, design selection process, justifications, manufacturing, and verification of the functional prototype.

Compact In-Rack Dielectric Immersion Cooling System, Salvador Landeros Jr, Joshua M. Hannaman, Marshall D. Reid

Mechanical Engineering

The Compact Dielectric Cooling team consisting of Josh Hannaman, Marshall Reid, and Salvador Landeros worked with Aria Technologies to create a thermal management system for data centers that can easily implement liquid cooling into current infrastructure for high density computing servers. The project was to design, build, and test a compact immersion cooling system for a senior project at California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo. Immersion cooling is a liquid-cooling process that involves the immersion of electrical IT equipment and the removal of heat from the hot IT components using dielectric liquid. The goal was to build a …

Optimized Tip Cooling Using Am Process, Alberto H. Gamez, Lourdes Sarmiento Martinez, Andrew Van Bogelen

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review (FDR) reports on the senior design project undertaken by our team of mechanical engineering seniors at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. This project seeks to use the additive manufacturing process to improve the existing design of a Taurus 60 gas turbine injector tip. The current injector tip is owned by Solar Turbines, a designer and manufacturer of gas turbines for electric generation, propulsion, as well as natural resource transportation. The challenge at hand is to design a new injector tip that will be reliable for at least 60,000 hours and provide ease of replacement, …

Mug For Veterans With Tremors, Eliot Daniel Briefer, Nicholas Michael Greco, Lucas Paul Martos-Repath, Tiernan Lif Kehoe

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review Report outlines the senior design project completed by a team of mechanical engineering students attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo for the McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond, VA. The scope of the project was to design, build, and test a device for veterans with tremors that would allow them to enjoy their favorite drinks comfortably and easily, without worrying about spills. The final product must be lightweight, aesthetic, capable of handling various tremor types, and can be operated in multiple planes to allow the veterans full control over the device. This document …

Gasification Based Waste Tire Integrated Energy Conversion Systems, Karah Powell

Honors Theses

The objective of this study was to evaluate the operating parameters impacts on the performance of a gasification-based waste tire integrated energy conversion system. In this system, the waste tires are put into a downdraft gasifier that is providing fuel for a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The system is evaluated by the syngas production, power generation, and overall efficiency under various operating conditions. A hybrid 1-D model was adopted to perform a parametric study of the tire gasification and calculations were done to estimate the integrated system power generation and overall efficiency using MATLAB. Three parameters were studied: the …

Product Lifecycle Management - Application Of Patterning Methods To Gas Turbine Blades And Creation Of Learning Materials, David Procopio

All Theses

To compete in the global marketplace, companies need to embrace virtual design and manufacturing methods. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) embodies both the workflow processes and tools to bring forth products from conception to design to fabrication to service to decommissioning, and to eventual recycling. In response to the growing demand for engineers and technicians with these critical skills, colleges and universities should introduce these virtual tools through seminars, software workshops, and computer laboratory sessions. Some of the opportunities in the PLM Center at Clemson University include short courses on PLM practices, focused software training sessions, hands-on exploration activities, and research …

Development And Application Of A Digital Twin For Chiller Plant Performance Assessment, Mihir Kale

All Theses

As the complexity of industrial equipment continues to increase, the management of the individual machines and integrated operations becomes difficult without computer tools. The availability of streaming data from manufacturing floors, plant operations, and deployed fleets can be overwhelming to analyze, although it provides opportunities to improve performance. The use of dedicated monitoring systems in the plant and field to troubleshoot machinery can be integrated within a product lifecycle management (PLM) architecture to offer greater features. PLM offers virtual processes and software tools for the design, analysis, monitoring, and support of engineering systems and products. Within this paradigm, a digital …

Design And Fabrication Of A Polymer Fdm Printer Capable Of Build Parameter Monitoring And In-Sit Geometric Monitoring Via Photogrammetry, Travis Roberts

All Theses

Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is a complex process that creates free-form geometric objects by sequentially placing material in a location to construct an object, usually as a layer-by-layer process. One of the most widespread methods is Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). FDM is used in many of the consumer-grade polymer 3D printers available today. While consumer grade machines are cheap and plentiful, they lack many of the features desired in a machine used for research purposes and are often closed-source platforms. Commercial-grade models are more expensive and are also usually closed-source platforms that do not offer flexibility for modifications often …

Silver Microparticle And Submicron Wire - Polylactic Acid Composites For Additive Manufacturing, Jenna W. Robichaux

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the incorporation of silver microparticle and submicron wire additives into thermoplastic filament feedstock for fused filament fabrication (FFF) to create multifunctional three-dimensional (3D) printable composites. The impact of silver microparticle and submicron wire additives on mechanical behavior along with antibacterial effect of the silver microparticle and submicron wire additives on printed objects were assessed.

Composite FFF filaments were fabricated by solution processing, granulation, and extrusion. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) was conducted to measure the glass transition and melting point temperatures of the composite filaments for 3D printing. The effect of the additive addition on the thermal properties …

A Machine Learning Method For The Prediction Of Melt Pool Geometries Created By Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Jonathan Ciaccio

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A machine learning model is created to predict melt pool geometries of Ti-6Al-4V alloy created by the laser powder bed fusion process. Data is collected through an extensive literature survey, using results from both experiments and CFD modeling. The model focuses on five key input parameters that influence melt pool geometries: laser power, scanning speed, spot size, powder density, and powder layer thickness. The two outputs of the model are melt pool width and melt pool depth. The model is trained and tested by using the k fold cross validation technique. Multiple regression models are then applied to find the …

Accelerated Performance Degradation Of Single-Phase Cold Plates For Direct-To-Chip Liquid Cooled Data Centers, Lochan Sai Reddy Chinthaparthy

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Expanding demands for cloud-based computing and storage, the Internet of Things, and AI-based applications have escalated thermal loads in high-density data centers which necessitated the utilization of more efficient cooling technologies. Direct-to-chip liquid cooling using cold plates has proven to be one of the most efficient methods to dissipate the high heat fluxes of modern high-power CPUs and GPUs. While the published literature has well-documented research on the thermal aspects of direct liquid cooling, a detailed account of reliability degradation is missing. The present investigation provides an in-depth analysis of the reliability degradation of copper cold plates used in high-power …

Tailoring Of The Left Ventricular Assist Device Cannula Implantation Using Coupled Multi-Scale Multi-Objective Patient Specific Optimization., Abubakar Dankano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Despite advancements in device design and anti-coagulation treatments, there are numerous adverse events that may occur following implantation of LVADs. The most devastating involves the embolization of thrombus into the brain causing a stroke, with incidence of up to 14-47% over a 6–12-month period. This study aims to elucidate ways to reduce this risk by surgical maneuvers guided by a multi-scale computational fluid dynamics analysis wrapped around a multi-objective shape optimization scheme which optimizes the anastomosis location of the VAD outflow graft (OG) along the ascending aorta to minimize the incidence of thrombi reaching the cerebral vessels and reduce particle …

Topology Optimization Of Internal Cooling Channels In Turbulent Flows, Shinjan Ghosh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Topology optimization, introduced by Bendsoe and Sigmund in 1988 has been a topic of research in the structural mechanics field for several decades. This technique is commonly used to optimize system performance of structural components with minimum material usage by varying the distribution of materials in a given domain. Fluid dynamic topology optimization, a relatively new research topic uses a method of adding or subtracting materials to a given flow domain to obtain an optimal flow-path for a given objective function. While the structural TO creates a solid structure by introducing holes into the domain, fluid TO introduces solid into …

Autonomous Guidance Of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles In Basic Fighter Maneuvering, Jeffery G. Dean

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Basic fighter maneuvering, or BFM, is the dynamic engagement of two or more aircraft in close-range air combat. The relatively recent introduction of advanced unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) has opened the possibility for automated systems to be players in this arena of air-to-air combat, which has thus far been limited to manned aircraft. In order to design an unmanned system that could fight and win a BFM engagement, the system must include an advanced system for guidance. This dissertation leverages techniques from gain scheduling and incorporates adjustable aimpoint guidance, in order to address the capability for UCAVs to execute …