Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Estimation Of Energy Use Intensity By Space Usage At Minnesota State University, Mankato, Rocio Alvarado Ramirez

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis creates a model that serves as an evaluation tool for testing decarbonization strategies on energy-related projects at Minnesota State University, Mankato, by estimating Energy Use Intensity for different types of spaces across campus. These EUIs can be used to predict future energy consumption when space usage changes and also serve as a baseline for dynamic energy modeling. The methodology used was a regression-based spreadsheet model proposed by Dr. Shreshth N. and originally applied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. EUIs were estimated across five different scenarios, and for electricity, steam, and chilled water. Three criteria were used to …

Comparison Of Cnn And Lstm Networks On Human Intention Prediction In Physical Human-Robot Interactions, Khosro Ghorbani Zadeh, Niloofar Zendehdel, George L. Holmes, Keyri Moreno Bonnett, Amy Costa, Devin Michael Burns, Ming-Chuan Leu, Yun Seong Song

Psychological Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Advancements in robotics and AI have increased the demand for interactive robots in healthcare and assistive applications. However, ensuring safe and effective physical human-robot interactions (pHRIs) remains challenging due to the sophistication of human motor communication and intent recognition. Traditional physics-based models struggle to capture the dynamic nature of human force interactions, limiting robot adaptability. To address these limitations, neural networks (NNs) have been explored for force-movement intention prediction. While multi-layer perceptron (MLP) networks show potential, they struggle with temporal dependencies and generalization. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks effectively model sequential dependencies, while Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) enhance spatial feature …

Nebraska Test #2302: Claas Xerion 12.650 Terra Trac, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Nebraska Test #2300: Claas Xerion 12.590 Terra Trac, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Nebraska Test #2268: Case Ih Steiger 595, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Horizontal Infiltration Of Water Through Porous Snow As A Gravity Current, Anthony Cheng

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

On the surface of the Greenland ice sheet or around the margins of the Antarctic ice shelf, water infiltrates porous ice. It is important to understand this infiltration process since water populating the pore space of ice directly impacts the density, porosity, and wetness of ice. These properties influence the mechanics and tensile strength of ice, as greater amounts of infiltration result in faster or more widespread deformation events, which may lead to adverse climatic effects such as sea level rise and ocean current disruption. While studies have considered the thermodynamics and fluid mechanics of water vertically percolating through snow …

Molecular Dynamics Simulation Of Thermal Properties Of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes, Shiv Nath Jha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are a powerful tool for investigating the thermal behavior of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which are renowned for their exceptional thermal conductivity and potential in nanoscale thermal management applications. This study employs the open-source software LAMMPS, in conjunction with VMD for model generation, to explore the thermal transport properties of (10,10) single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD). The thermal conductivity of SWCNTs was evaluated across four tube lengths (5 nm, 10 nm, 20 nm, and 40 nm) and at temperatures ranging from 300 K to 600 K under two distinct boundary conditions: free boundary …

Effect Of Build Orientation On Tensile Properties And Fractography Of Additive Manufactured Inconel 718 Alloy, Ajay Kumar Maurya, Amit Kumar, Swarnambuj Suman

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

The additive manufacturing (AM) technique “Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)” is used to create 3D objects directly from 3D design data. A lightweight and complexity-free part without any expensive tooling can be fabricated easily using this method, but it is still challenging to achieve the desired mechanical strength from AM parts, as the mechanical properties of AM-produced parts vary with orientation, scan strategy, and process parameters. Inconel 718 alloy is most commonly utilized in the aerospace and automotive industries, because of its high resistance to corrosion and excellent mechanical qualities. This work presents a study to investigate the orientation-based mechanical …

Application-Driven Materials Development Of Solid-State Conductive Composites Of Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene, Peder Solberg

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is a linear long chain homopolymer valued for its toughness, wear resistance, and chemical inertness. In the medical field, these properties make it the material of choice for bearing surfaces despite recognized tradeoffs between wear resistance, toughness, and oxidation resistance. Electrically conductive composites of UHMWPE show promise to enable new types of smart and active load-bearing implants in a future of personalized medicine, if beneficial properties can be maintained with the addition of solid-state additives.

Clinical need-finding conducted through Dartmouth’s Training Program in Surgical Innovation revealed several potential applications for conductive, load-bearing polymers. These include: …

Design And Manufacturing Of Multifunctional Piezoelectric Composites, Huan Zhao

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Piezoelectric materials possess a unique ability to convert mechanical energy into electrical signals and have broad industrial applications. However, monolithic piezoelectric materials such as piezoceramics and piezopolymers often suffer from inherent trade-offs among mechanical strength, elasticity, and durability. Piezoelectric composites, typically consisting of a polymer matrix with ceramic reinforcements, offer a solution by combining the advantages of each constituent. Nevertheless, maintaining stable mechanical performance in high-temperature environments remains a significant challenge as conventional polymer matrices usually experience structural degradation.

In this thesis, a novel piezoelectric composite is developed using a preceramic polymer (PCP) matrix with barium titanate (BTO) inclusions. PCPs …

Development And Deployment Of In Situ Fiber Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing Systems And Data Processing Workflows For Oceanographic Observatories In Coastal And Deep-Sea Environments, Johann Sebastian Becker

Open Access Dissertations

Over the last two decades, fiber optic distributed temperature sensing (DTS) has emerged as a transformative technology capable of providing unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution observations of temperature in a broad range of environmental sensing, industrial, and civil engineering monitoring applications. DTS uses a single interrogator unit to measure temperature continuously along an optical fiber, effectively turning the fiber into the equivalent of an array of temperature probes that can be interrogated synoptically. Modern commercially-available DTS systems are capable of continuous sensing with sampling frequencies up 5 sec, spatial resolution of 0.25 m, and temperature precision up to 0.01 °C) observations, on …

Comparison Of Dynamic Mode Decomposition With Other Data-Driven Models For Lung Cancer Incidence Rate Prediction, L. Raymond Guo, Jifu Tan, M. Courtney Hughes

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Introduction: Public health data analysis is critical to understanding disease trends. Existing analysis methods struggle with the complexity of public health data, which includes both location and time factors. Machine learning offers powerful tools but can be computationally expensive and require specialized knowledge. Dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) is an alternative that offers efficient analysis with fewer resources. This study explores applying DMD in public health using lung cancer data and compares it with other machine learning models.

Methods: We analyzed lung cancer incidence data (2000–2021) from 1,013 US counties. Machine learning models (random forest, gradient boosting machine, support vector machine) …

A Finite Volume-Based Approach For Modeling Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy For Healing Chronic Wounds, Cade M. Layser

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The current number of people in America with diabetes is approximately 38.4 million, that population is expected to rise to 54.9 million by 2030. Chronic wounds, which are characterized by impaired or stalled healing, are commonly associated with diabetes. These wounds if not treated properly can cause significant complications such as sepsis, infection, and gangrene which can lead to limb amputation or death of the patient. Limb amputations can be a large financial burden and significantly reduce the patient’s quality of life. The timely and efficient treatment of chronic wounds is essential to prevent adverse patient outcomes. Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy …

Multiphysics Modeling Of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells For Gradient Minimization And Inductive Loop Analysis In Impedance Spectroscopy Using Machine Learning-Based Microstructural Property Estimation, Muhammad Usman Khan

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Solid oxide fuel cells have significant advantages in renewable energy utilization due to their high efficiency, fuel flexibility, and low emissions. However, despite the numerous efforts of technology, thermal and current density gradients and impedance behavior fluctuations are still causing performance degradation. A combined computational framework that integrates machine learning and three-dimensional Multiphysics modeling is needed to investigate and optimize the performance of solid oxide fuel cells. A machine learning model, trained on synthetic microstructure data by percolation analysis, is used to predict important microstructural parameters like triple phase boundary density and geometric tortuosity. These are then employed in a …

Rfid Occupied Advanced Framework For Specialized Vehicle Access, Operating System, And Wireless Data Transmission Without Human Intervention, Abdullah Al Mamun Anik, Mosammet Sadia Akter Moon, Fahim Faysal Arnob, Mehedi Hasan, S. A. Naimal Hoque, Mohammad Mashhunar Rahman, Tahzin Bin Ahmed, Tonmoy Barua

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Radio frequency identification system (RFID) tags are tiny electronic devices that include a distinctive code that can be detected by a reader that supports RFID. The string of characters is used for recognizing and monitoring the object to which the tag is connected. RFID tags interact with RFID readers using radio frequency. While the tag comes into close proximity to the scanner, that device sends a radio signal that triggers the tag. The tag then responds by sending its unique identity. RFID pinpointing ability is verified experimentally in two different techniques, one utilizing radar and the other a photosensitive transition. …

Accurately Constituting Robust Interfaces For High-Performance High-Energy Lithium Metal Batteries, Kevin V. Carballo, Meetesh Singh, Xiangbo Meng

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

High-energy lithium metal batteries (LMBs) have received ever-increasing interest. Among them, coupling lithium metal (Li) with nickel-rich material, LiNi_xMn_yCo_zO₂ (NMCs, x ≥ 0.6, x + y + z = 1), is promising because Li anodes enable an extremely high capacity (∼3860 mA h g⁻¹) and the lowest redox potential (−3.04 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode), while NMCs can achieve a much higher capacity of ∼200 mA h g⁻¹ and lower cost than those of LiCoO₂. However, the resultant Li‖NMC cells have been hindered from commercialization due to a …

Drag Reduction In Ground Vehicles Using A Model Porous Medium, Abdullah Ikram Nabi

Master’s Theses

This research investigates aerodynamic drag reduction on a 25° Slanted Ahmed Body (SAB) by integrating porous media model rods through combined experimental and computational methods at a Reynolds number of 1.16×10⁴. Two porous media configurations: short rods (6.75% of the model height) and long rods (20.0% of the model height), both featuring cylindrical rods with 80% porosity, were systematically compared against a baseline SAB. In-depth analyses were performed to investigate the wake flow topology, recirculation region characteristics, pressure coefficient distribution, Reynolds stress distributions and drag coefficient. Experimental investigations employed particle image velocimetry for precise flow visualization, while Reynold Averaged Navier-Stokes …

Using Post-Supercritical Co2-Assisted Method To Deposit Niep Alloy Coating On The Micro-Arc Oxidation Layer Of Az31 Magnesium Alloy And Its Corrosion Behavior Analysis, Kang-Yu Liao, Hung-Hua Sheu, Ming-Yuan Lin, Ming-Chih Kuo, Po-Hsun Wu, Hung-Bin Lee

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In this study, a Ni-P alloy coating was deposited on the micro arc oxidation (MAO) layer of AZ31 magnesium alloy to improve its corrosion resistance. The MAO layers were prepared under different operated voltages from 300 to 400 V. The results indicated that the optimize operated parameters for MAO layer is at 350 V, the MAO coatings had the most compact microstructure and superior corrosion resistance. In order to improve the corrosion resistance of MAO coating, this study chose to deposit Ni-P alloy coating on the surface of MAO coating via the post supercritical CO₂-assisted electroless plating (PSC-CO …

The Effect Of Feedback On A Remote Operator’S Maneuvering Control For Mass Remote Navigation Competency, Hyoseon Hwang, Ik-Hyun Youn

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The rapid advancement of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) technology has highlighted the growing need for Remote Operators (ROs) to manage MASS effectively. ROs possess specialized competencies in areas such as situational awareness, crisis management, and system operation. Despite the introduction of competency-based training and assessment in the maritime sector through the international convention on standards of training, certification, and watchkeeping for seafarers convention, the framework's implementation remains incomplete, particularly in remote operator training for MASS. This study is purpose to identify which competencies improve rapidly with performance feedback and which improve slowly. This study conducted an experiment to quantitatively …

Evaluation Of Carbon Sequestration In Seagrass Meadows Of Kenting: A Comparative Study With Penghu And Dongsha Island, Zih-Wei Tang, Huei-Fen Chen, Jordi Mahardika Puntu, Ping-Yu Chang, Li Lo, Jian-Jhih Chen, Wen-Chen Chou, Lan-Feng Fan, Ying-Ju Chang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This study investigates the controlling factors of carbon sequestration (CS) in seagrass bed sediments across three distinct environments in Taiwan: the Kenting (KT) coastal area, the Penghu (PH) open inner bay, and the Dongsha (DS) Atoll lagoon. Actual measurements of the substrate depth beneath the sediment and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) scans of the beach reveal that the coral reef bedrock in KT slopes landward. A field survey of the seagrass area in KT was conducted, and three cross-sectional profiles were analyzed to determine their topography, yielding a median sediment thickness of 88.2cm. Based on these measurements, the sediment volume was …

Calculation Of Aquifer Transmissivity From Borehole Resistance Measurements And Pumping Test Results, Fen-Rong Yang, Chien-Wei Huang, Tien-Kuen Huang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Transmissivity is a crucial hydrogeological parameter for evaluating groundwater resources. This parameter is conventionally evaluated using pumping tests; however, these tests are costly and can be conducted at few sites. Many researchers have used ground resistance and pumping test data to estimate various hydrogeological parameters. In this study, borehole resistance survey and pumping test data collected by the Taiwan Groundwater Monitoring Network were used to establish the relationship between transmissivity and formation factor for aquifers in the Zhuoshui River alluvial fan. This relationship was then used to estimate the water output of the aforementioned aquifers in a cost-effective manner from …

A Neural Network-Based Sliding Mode Adaptive Control System For Unmanned Surface Vehicles, Sun Qiaomei, An Liang, Jiang Linglin

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Over the past decades, numerous studies have explored the use of autonomous unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). Successful USV operation requires a robust tracking control system to perform a range of tasks. However, USV dynamics are uncertain, time-varying, and nonlinear. This paper presents a neural network-based sliding mode adaptive control (NNSMAC) system to enhance USV tracking performance. Trajectories were generated using spline and polynomial interpolation based on a set of N predefined waypoints. Simulation results show that the proposed method outperforms traditional sliding mode control in error reduction, enabling more effective tracking.

An Approach To Quantifying The Lifecycle Sustainability Impacts Of Tungsten Carbide Tools, Gatewood Arnold, Julian Polizzi, Syed Ibn Mohsin, Daniel Carnesi, Julius Schoop, Fazleena Badurdeen

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Tungsten carbide cutting tools are widely used for their high machining performance and low cost. However, their cost does not currently reflect the material rarity, environmental costs, nor societal costs associated with their production. Critically, embodied energy makes a sizeable contribution to the total lifecycle energy consumption. This study quantifies the true triple bottom line cost of the tools with respect to established sustainability metrics by leveraging cross-disciplinary insights from the product, process, and system levels. Based on the adjusted cost, a comparative analysis of the cutting tool sustainability on the profitability of a nickel-based superalloy machining process was carried …

A Multi-Scale Finite Element Method For Investigating Fiber Remodeling In Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Mohammad Mehri, Kenneth S. Campbell, Lik Chuan Lee, Jonathan F. Wenk

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

A significant hallmark of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is fiber disarray, which is associated with various cardiac events such as heart failure. Quantifying fiber disarray remains critical for understanding the disease’s complex pathophysiology. This study investigates the role of heterogeneous HCM-induced cellular abnormalities in the development of fiber disarray and their subsequent impact on cardiac pumping function. Fiber disarray is predicted using a stress-based law to reorient myofibers and collagen within a multiscale finite element cardiac modeling framework, MyoFE. Specifically, the model is used to quantify the distinct impacts of heterogeneous distributions of hypercontractility, hypocontractility, and fibrosis on fiber disarray development …

Non-Invasive Glucose Monitoring Using Ppg, Ai, And Iot-Driven Mobile Integration For Real-Time Diabetes Management, Mostafa Abdelaziz, Amr Refaie

Mechanical Engineering

Diabetes mellitus patients must regularly monitor their blood glucose levels to manage glycaemia, typically requiring capillary tests at least three times daily and laboratory tests one to two times per month. These conventional methods involve finger pricking, causing significant discomfort and stress. This study introduces an innovative non-invasive glucose monitoring approach by integrating photoplethysmography (PPG) technology with an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm, complemented by a mobile application using Flutter, IoT systems, and Firebase cloud for real-time data access. Among the AI models tested, polynomial regression demonstrated superior accuracy in glucose prediction, achieving a Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 14.76 and …

Ai-Driven Robotic System For Predictive Maintenance: Urban Road Defect Detection In Smart Cities, Mostafa Abdelaziz, Mahmoud Khedr

Mechanical Engineering

This paper presents the development and evaluation of an integrated AI & robotic solution for predictive maintenance in smart cities, focusing on urban road defect detection. The proposed system integrates a mobile robot equipped with a high-resolution camera and a GPS module to capture video footage and geolocation data of road surfaces. The collected data is processed using cloud-based AI models, with YOLOv9 and Roboflow 3.0 Object Detection (Fast) identified as the most effective for analyzing footage to detect cracks and potholes. Experimental results validate the system's ability to accurately identify defects and generate timely reports for maintenance teams. While …

On High-Speed Breakup Of Water Droplets Behind High Mach Number Shocks, Sydney M. Briggs

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Water droplet breakup in high-speed flow is a relatively popular experimental study to analyze breakup mechanisms. There is a plethora of experiments performed at low Mach number and low Weber number, but studies with higher speed flows and higher Weber numbers are less common. In this study, water droplet breakup is assessed using high-speed shock waves (Mach 2.3-above Mach 5) in a shock tube. Multiple methods are used to introduce droplets, and multiple different water purity levels are considered. An assessment was made into whether cavitation played a role in the breakup process physically, as this has been a budding …

Stability And Resonance Of Cylindrical Wave Energy Converters, Gregory M. Ballen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

With increased focus on wave energy converters that produce power in multiple degrees of motion, more tools are necessary to understand the behavior of these devices and cause them to reach critical resonance points. This thesis uses Floquet theory and a numerical solver to understand how a WEC of given parameters operating in surge, heave and pitch may approach points of instability using feedback control schemes. It finds that a WEC reaches these resonance points when the surge and pitch motions are driven to resonate at either the same frequency as the heave motion, or at half this frequency. This …

Heuristic Approaches For Coordination Of Heterogeneous Robotic Systems In Harvesting Automation With Size Constraints, Hyeseon Lee

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This thesis presents the development of path planning algorithms for the coordination of heterogeneous robotic systems while considering size constraints. The objective is to generate practical and efficient solutions for real-world applications. The use of heterogeneous collaborative robots is beneficial in many applications, such as transportation operations in warehouses or manufacturing environments, surveillance, and monitoring, and task allocation and path planning are critical techniques that need to be addressed to deploy in real-world applications. This research focuses on automating lavender harvesting, where robots with varying capabilities must collaboratively navigate complex field layouts to efficiently complete harvesting tasks.

The problem considers …

Knowledge Integrated Deep Learning For Enhanced Fault Diagnosis And Prognosis For Rotating Machinery And Its Applications On Marine Systems, Yunsheng Su

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation develops a knowledge-informed deep learning framework for robust fault diagnosis and prognosis across various engineered systems, including bearings, lithium-ion batteries, and mooring systems in wave energy converters (WECs). A deep transfer learning (DTL) method is first developed to improve bearing fault diagnosis by fusing data from multiple sources and extracting key features using convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Building upon this, a knowledge-informed deep network (KIDN) framework is proposed, integrating physics-based features with deep learning to enhance diagnostic accuracy and generalizability. A constrained Gaussian process (CGP) model is further employed to guide adaptive network design and reduce model tuning …