Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Necessity Of Education For Efficient And Sustainable Production And Consumption Of Energy In Tanzania, George Kahangwa

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

This paper reports the findings of a study that was conducted in Tanzania to grasp how the policies, plans and curricula at different levels of education accommodate knowledge gathered on energy to support the fostering of energy education. The study interrogated what necessitates the inclusion of energy education into the curricula in Tanzania. Subscribing to a qualitative approach, the study employed a desk research method to review curricula and other documents guiding secondary and university level education in the country. The study found out that heightening people’s consumption of energy for domestic and industrial purposes constituted the main issue that …

Assessing The Importance Of Air-Decking Blasting In Controlling Bigv At An Open Pit Gold Mine In Tanzania Using Ann Model, Karim R. Baruti

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Air-decking blasting technique is used to control blast induced ground vibration (BIGV) in several mines including open-pit gold mines located in Tanzania. While the importance of air-deck to control BIGV is practically evident, theoretical models such as BIGV prediction models cannot be used to assess the importance of air-decking. The main objective of this study was to assess the importance of the air-decking blasting technique to control BIGV using the artificial neural network (ANN)Model. To achieve this objective, ANNs were modeled and trained to learn the pattern of data using Multilayer Perception with Back Propagation to predict BIGV. The main …

The Effect Of Chromium Coatings On Hydrogen Uptake In Zirconium Alloy Nuclear Fuel Cladding, Jorie Lyn Walters

Theses and Dissertations

The amount of hydrogen in a nuclear reactor can have a profound impact on its performance and safety when it is absorbed into or released from fuel rods. Hydrogen pickup in modern fuel cladding materials has been minimized by alloying additions and microstructural texture engineering, but these materials are still susceptible to hydrogen release during high temperature oxidation. The nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in 2011 resulted in hydrogen gas production and subsequent explosions which led the United States Department of Energy to initiate a program to develop enhanced nuclear fuel cladding materials. New cladding materials include …

Microchannel Slip Flow Characteristics By Time Travel After Photobleaching Velocimetry, Brandon James Sellers

Theses and Dissertations

Interfacial science follows the study of observing behavior between two or more phases of matter when in contact. For example, a liquid solution passes through a microchannel, and the walls interact with the fluid shearing along the surface. The fluid particles develop momentum changes from interfacial phenomena and slip along the wall begins to affect the fluid body. Slip flow is a name for the phenomenon, and with it, modeling velocity for the interfacial behavior demands both resolution and minimal interference. Laser-induced fluorescence photobleaching anemometry (LIFPA) works as a sound method for acquiring data on microchannel flow, but it needed …

Thermodynamic Modeling Of Uranium Nitride With Select Actinides And Fission Products, Eric Reece Mcmanus

Theses and Dissertations

Uranium mononitride fuel is being investigated as a potential nuclear fuel for a Westinghouse lead-cooled fast reactor due to factors such as its high uranium density, high melting point, and favorable thermal conductivity. To obtain an understanding of the thermochemical behavior of UN fission products and minor actinides, thermodynamic data was obtained from various resources to create a database to represent the behavior of the fuel. This database was used to generate an Ellingham diagram to represent the relative thermodynamic stability of the phases over the reactor temperature range. A simulation was run computing the equilibrium state of the fuel, …

Simultaneous Crack & Wave Propagation And Acoustic Emission Signal Modelling Using Peri-Elastodynamic, Md Mushfiqur Rahman Fahim

Theses and Dissertations

This work presents the use of Peri-Elastodynamic, a guided wave simulation method based on meshfree non-local Peridynamics theory. To model simultaneous crack and wave propagation simulation and its application on Acoustic Emission (AE) signal modelling, a new formulation is presented. The field of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and structural health monitoring (SHM) is slowly embracing the advancement in Machine Learning (ML) / Artificial Intelligence (AI) for better and cost-effective assessment of structures and damage prediction. AI/ML can revolutionize the NDE/SHM field by automating the data collection and analyzing processes. However, the big challenge is that the model needs a sheer amount …

A Plug-And-Produce Connectivity Framework For Manufacturing Systems, Theodros Abraham Tarekegne

Theses and Dissertations

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) movement has birthed technologies that enable the fusing of physical and digital environments. However, the extensive number of available options for industrial communication and data formatting has remained a barrier to achieving digital knowledge synonymy in industry. There have been previous attempts to establish standards for industrial connectivity and communication, but legacy machines, as well as custom and non-proprietary devices, still face issues communicating data with other manufacturing equipment. To address these challenges, the Industrial Internet of Things initiative has led to the creation of the Plug and Produce (PnP) concept to facilitate the …

Application Of Machine Learning Techniques And The Unscented Kalman Filter To Real-Time Gas Turbine Clearance Prediction, Donald Earl Floyd

Theses and Dissertations

The growth in renewable energy sources and retirement of large baseload coal-fired power stations has led to an accompanying decrease in reliability and security of the electrical grid. Since renewable energy sources are typically non-dispatchable, this can lead to blackouts and/or brownouts for customers. Heavy duty gas turbine power plants (HDGT) offer a solution to this problem. HDGTs are dispatchable, clean, and offer flexibility in the fuel they consume, but operational limitations must be well understood to fully exploit their benefits.

One of the main operational limitations is the tip clearances in the gas turbine. In many cases, the gas …

Enhanced Two-Phase Heat Spreading Enabled By Dropwise Condensation, Kai Luo

Theses and Dissertations

The rapidly increasing power density of electronic systems has raised challenges for thermal management. Efficient heat spreading plays an important role in distributing high-density heat to the large-area heat sink and maintaining the junction temperature below the temperature limit during operation. Vapor chambers, a type of flat heat pipe utilizing two-phase heat transfer and fast travel of vapor flow, can achieve far more efficient two-dimensional heat spreading than most conduction-based thermal ground plane materials. By promoting dropwise condensation in vapor chambers, the thermal performance and scalability can be further improved due to the enhanced condensation heat transfer and unique droplet …

Crystal Plasticity Modeling Of Heterogeneous Microstructure Of Additively Manufactured Metals, Md Mahabubur Rohoman

Theses and Dissertations

Additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as a promising technique in the manufacturing industry for producing complex metal components as it provides shape freedom and simplistic processing chain.

Powder bed fusion is the widely used AM technique that uses laser or electron beam as the energy source to melt the metal powder and deposit it in a layer-by-layer fashion. While doing so, the previously molten layers are constantly are in re-heating and re-cooling processes which end up creating an intricate solidification for the deposited layers. Due to the complexity involved in the thermal cycles for the solidification process, columnar grains develop. …

Experimental And Computational Understanding Of Solid Oxide Iron Air Battery Performance, Chaitali Morey

Theses and Dissertations

Long-duration energy storage (LDES) (10+ hours) is considered a key technical solution for a widespread penetration of renewable energy into the utility market. However, the currently available storage technologies are limited to less than 10 hours for cost reasons. The benchmark Li-ion battery technology would be economically prohibitive if the storage time goes beyond 4 hours. Therefore, developing new low-cost LDES-compatible battery technologies is highly desirable. A solid oxide iron air battery (SOIAB) has been developed which consists of a reversible solid oxide cell (RSOC) and energy storage unit (ESU) of an iron bed. This battery is considered a promising …

A Holistic Quality Management Model For Optimization Of Quality Assurance In Manufacturing, Devon Blakeney Clark

Theses and Dissertations

Quality Management (QM) is essential in manufacturing to ensure products are consistent and functional every time. Consumers expect high quality products that last, and industries unable to accomplish this are destined to fail. Therefore, product quality has always been at the forefront of manufacturer decision making, though it is normally viewed as a given more than as a goal. This means that businesses want quality because it is needed for their survival, but there has not been consideration for how to incorporate innovation into this essential field. Quality needs to be viewed holistically with regards to all manufacturing factors that …

Utilization Of Sodium Flame Synthesis For The Formation And Deposition Of Pure Metal Materials For Applications In Additive Manufacturing, Zachariah Wargel

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Advanced material classes, such as high temperature alloys, ceramics, and refractory materials have become a key area of focus for expansion in the realm of additive manufacturing. Factors such as high melting points, material homogeneity, and physical properties such as ductility limit the application of popular additive manufacturing methods to these material classes. By utilizing sodium flame synthesis and deposition (SFD) technology, nanoparticle materials can be synthesized via combustion in a laminar co-flow diffusion burner and impacted such that the deposits can be used to manufacture designed components. By using the applicable precursor materials of metal chlorides and elemental sodium …

Layered Naba2m3q3(Q2) (M = Cu Or Ag; Q = S Or Se) Chalcogenides And Local Ordering In Their Mixed-Anion Compositions, Ayat Tassanov, Huiju Lee, Yi Xia, James M. Hodges

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Three new NaBa2M3Q3(Q2) (M = Ag or Cu; Q = S or Se) chalcogenides were prepared by using solid-state methods and structurally characterized by using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. NaBa2Ag3Se3(Se2) and NaBa2Cu3Se3(Se2) crystallize in monoclinic space group C2/m and have a two-dimensional structure composed of edge-sharing MSe4/4 tetrahedra separated by Na+ and Ba2+ cations, along with (Se2)2– dimers at the center of the spacings between [M3Se3]3– slabs. NaBa2Ag3S3(S2) adopts a related structure with space group C2/m but has additional, crystallographically distinct Ag atoms in the [Ag3S3]3– layer that are linearly coordinated. NaBa2Ag3Se3(Se2) and NaBa2Ag3S3(S2) have indirect band gaps measured to be …

Tribology Of Mos2 Thin Films Stabilized By A Chromium Underlayer And Max Phase, Nihal Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

MoS2 is a popular solid lubricant with limited application at room temperature due to its’ sensitivity to atmospheric oxygen and humidity. This thesis focuses on the stabilization of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) coatings on aluminum substrates to enhance their tribological performance at room temperature. MoS2 exhibits exceptional lubricating properties in vacuum conditions, but its reactivity with atmospheric oxygen leads to the formation of abrasive molybdenum trioxide (MoO3), restricting its effectiveness in ambient environments. This thesis investigates the effects of a Chromium underlayer and the incorporation of MAX phase (Ti3SiC2) on the tribological performance and chemical stability of MoS2 solid lubricant. Physical …

Customized Agile Project Management For Scientific Computing: Addressing Challenges And Developing A Framework, Yashesh Sakharikar

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

This paper presents a novel Agile framework tailored for scientific computing projects. Identifying gaps in existing methodologies, the research emphasizes the need for adaptable solutions in this dynamic field. The proposed framework, characterized by flexibility and stakeholder engagement, addresses specific challenges posed by scientific computing endeavors. Through a comprehensive literature review, the paper highlights the limitations of generic Agile practices and positions the proposed framework as a valuable contribution. The study motivates further exploration into specialized Agile approaches, promising enhanced efficiency and success in scientific computing projects.

Raw Data For M5h2r1 Origami Flasher Deployment Tests, Philip Klocke

ScholarsArchive Data

These data sets contain raw force data from the deployment tests of a case study origami Flasher.

Modular Approach To Soft Mobile Robots, Dimuthu Kodippili Arachchige

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Soft robot locomotion is a highly promising but under-researched subfield within the field of soft robotics. The compliant limbs and bodies of soft robots offer numerous benefits, including the ability to regulate impacts, tolerate falls, and navigate through tight spaces. These robots have the potential to be used for various applications, such as search and rescue, inspection, surveillance, and more. The state-of-the-art still faces many challenges, including limited degrees of freedom, a lack of diversity in gait trajectories, insufficient limb dexterity, limited payload capabilities, lack of control methods, etc. To address these challenges, this research introduces a modular approach to …

Inspection Planning Of Subsea Pipeline Using Risk-Based Inspection, Ni Luh Triska Adelia, Badrul Munir, Johny Wahyuadi Soedarsono

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

Pipelines are an important tool in oil and gas exploration. Pipeline is a transmission and liquid collection lines, including their accessories, which transport fluids from one plant to another. In transmission and collection process, there is a possibility of failure which can have minor to major impact on personnel injury, the environment and interrupt the business process. To maintain safety and to prevent accidents, the source and cause of failure needs to be calculated. Risk-based inspection (RBI) is a method that can be used to calculate the risk and determine the inspection planning both schedule and method, by combining the …

Maintenance Notes To Improve The Reliability Of Wheel Flange Failure For Overhead Crane, Fakhri Burhanuddin, Akhmad Herman Yuwono

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

Overhead traveling cranes in the industry have utility workload classifications and require high standards of safety and reliability by mobilizing lifting and transporting capacity variants of steel products, equipment, and other supports. The crane wheels are the main support in moving the end carriage so that the crane can work according to its function. Failures in the operation and maintenance cycle have occurred. Therefore, proper repair and maintenance methods are highly needed to restore the original design function to its working integrity. Logic tree analysis was used to breakdown all causes of failure; thus, mitigation was performed by carrying out …

Analysis Risk Based Inspection Api 581 On Lpg Spherical Tank At Pt. Xyz, Sigit Trahmawan, Eddy Sumarno Siradj, Jaka Fajar Fatriansyah

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

Liquified petroleum gas (LPG) spherical tanks are pressure vessel equipment for storing fuel gas products. The high pressure along with the fuel gas inside as flammable and combustible substance means that this equipment might result major accident hazard such as explosion, fires and environmental pollution. This study is aimed calculated and mitigate risk on 500 metric ton capacity LPG spherical tank using Risk-based inspection (RBI) analysis method that makes risk as its foundation. This RBI method uses quantitative analysis referring to API 581 to determine the risk of LPG Spherical Tank by determining the probability of failure (PoF) and the …

Root Cause Analysis Of Leakage Tube Boiler: A Study Case, Lydia Kartika Basaria Sitompul, Dedi Priadi

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

Oil and gas industry can have catastrophic implications for human life, the environment, and the economy. This paper investigated failure analysis using root cause analysis especially for boiler tube leakage of Heat Exchanger. Identify the issue using microscopic examination and energy dispersive x-ray analysis were conducted on the tube inside and outside surface to determine root cause of the failure. The formation of a protective film in the aluminum-brass tube during the starting stage is very important for ensuring adequate film protection throughout the service life of the heat exchanger. During this stage, exposure to unpolluted water is essential. The …

Lifetime Prediction Of Pan Feeder Based On 3d Laser Scanning For Wear Assessment, Nony Maulidya, Dedi Priadi, D. Rizal Asral

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

Apron feeder is one of stages in crushing circuit to convey material in short distance. Pan flight is the main component of apron feeder that is severely exposed to wear mechanism due to its direct contact with open cut abrasive ore. With this operating environment of apron feeder, regular maintenance and inspection must be conducted to assess wear rate of pan’s surface to maintain equipment availability and provide information and sign before the equipment undergoes severe and sudden degradation. 3D laser scanning is method used in this study as Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) based inspection. The aim of using 3D scanning …

Enhancing Crossflow Dynamics Through The Gas Injection From Multiple Cylinders, Sahrish B. Naqvi, Sadia Siddiqa, Maciej Matyka, Rama S. R. Gorla, Md. Mamum Molla

Faculty Publications

We investigate unsteady, two-dimensional laminar fluid flow around cylinders, focusing on understanding the impact of injecting methane gas through two diametrically opposite arcs on the cylinder in the crossflow of the second fluid. This study encompasses applications in mixing and dispersion, which are crucial in various technological and natural processes. Our analysis addresses velocity field’s contribution to the spatiotemporal distribution of transported quantities. We observed that mixing induces a transition from laminar to turbulent flow. Depending on the injected-to-crossflow velocity ratios, the wake vortices downstream of cylinder arrays separate from or connect to the injected gas. This phenomenon significantly impacts …

Effects Of Fluid Slip On Heat Transfer In The Thin Film Region In A Microchannel, Rama S. R. Gorla, John Brewer, Abdeel Roman

Faculty Publications

A theoretical study was undertaken to investigate the influence of interfacial slip on evaporation of a thin liquid film in a microfluidic channel. The disjoining pressure and the capillary force which drive the liquid flow at the liquid-vapor interface in thin film region are adopted. The evaporating thin film region is an extended meniscus beyond the apparent contact line at a liquid/solid interface. Thin film evaporation plays a key role in a highly efficient heat pipe. Slip length was found to affect the heat transfer in the microchannel by altering the thin film geometry.

Vibration Analysis And Condition Monitoring For Cement Mill (Case Of Hamma Bouziane-Constantine Cement Plant), Linda Bouyaya

Emirates Journal for Engineering Research

Monitoring and diagnosing damage in dynamic machinery is a growing area of interest in the cement industry. Indeed, industrial equipment is disrupted throughout its operation by malfunctions; especially in old age; which reduces their operating costs and availability. Therefore, the detection and identification of faults in industrial systems - diagnosis - is of capital importance for their operation and a major challenge for modern industry. Among the most used diagnostic techniques, we find spectral analysis, a condition-based maintenance tool, which is used to study the vibration signals of dynamic machines.

In this context, the objective of this work is the …

Multiphysics Simulation Of Biochar Adsorption Rates, Joseph Salerno

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

An accepted carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) method to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is via adsorption onto biochar. While the characteristics of the char are important and greatly impact the adsorption of CO2 molecules, the conditions in which the adsorption occurs are equally critical. Factors such as char particle size and quantity, environmental temperature and pressure, as well as outside driving mechanisms such as vibration frequency, driving force, and flow rates play an impactful role on how the char adsorbs CO2 particles. These factors and their effects will be studied in multiphysics simulations performed using methods that work …

Design Of A Semi-Continuous Bio-Oil Upgradation Process Using Iron/Bone-Char Catalysts, Kelli Thomas

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

• 07Bio-oil is a pyrolysis byproduct that consists of heavily oxygenated organic fractions with low caloric values. There are very few industrial-sized facilities that can process bio-oil into useful hydrocarbons comparable to petroleum products. With the increase in biochar production for remediation efforts and forest clean-up, there is a demand for portable, small-scale refineries that do not require extensive process and safety equipment to convert byproducts into usable fuels. Refining bio-oil via atmospheric hydrodeoxygenation (HDO), the removal of the oxygenated functional groups under an unpressurized hydrogenated atmosphere, results in the upgradation of the heavy hydrocarbons within the bio-oil. This process is …

Mechanical Characterization Of Polymer Composites Embedded With Aramid Nanofiber, Evan Griffiths

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Self-healing materials are repairable and extend product lifetimes but are limited in application due to their mechanical properties such as low yield strength. Here, the mechanical properties of an elastomeric polymer composite containing aramid nanofiber are examined. These studies provided an economically feasible foundation to understand the doping concentration and resultant mechanical properties that would result should aramid nanofibers be used to reinforce a self-healing polymer that requires complex synthesis methods and expensive reactants. The elastomeric polymer used was polycaprolactone containing various weight percent aramid nanofiber. Quasi-static mechanical testing of these samples was performed following ASTM standardized tests for tension, …

Boiling Crisis Is A Consequence Of Thermal Runaway In The Substrate Due To Degradation Of Nucleate Boiling Heat Transfer, Manohar Bongarala, Justin A. Weibel, Suresh V. Garimella

CTRC Research Publications

Chaotic bubble interactions during vigorous boiling have foiled attempts at an accurate mechanistic understanding of this important industrial transport process. Prediction of the boiling crisis (dryout) that occurs due to the spontaneous merger of bubbles into an insulating vapor film at critical heat flux remains an unsolved challenge. This work diagnoses the dryout process using synchronized high-resolution spatiotemporal heat flux and phase data, obtained via through-substrate infrared and visual inspection. We examine prevailing theories for the boiling crisis and provide evidence to rule out all but one. The boiling crisis is found to be a consequence of a peak in …