Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Data On Cost-Optimal Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (Nzebs) Across Europe, Florida Solar Energy Center, Delia D'Agostino

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This data article refers to the research paper A model for the cost-optimal design of Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) in representative climates across Europe [1]. The reported data deal with the design optimization of a residential building prototype located in representative European locations. The study focus on the research of cost-optimal choices and efficiency measures in new buildings depending on the climate. The data linked within this article relate to the modeled building energy consumption, renewable production, potential energy savings, and costs. Data allow to visualize energy consumption before and after the optimization, selected efficiency measures, costs and renewable …

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

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

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

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

Theses and Dissertations

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

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

Theses and Dissertations

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

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

Faculty Publications

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

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

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

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

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

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

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

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

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

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

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

Additive Manufacturing Of Transparent Fused Quartz, Junjie Luo, John M. Hostetler, Luke Gilbert, Jonathan T. Goldstein, Augustine M. Urbas, Douglas A. Bristow, Robert G. Landers, Edward C. Kinzel

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper investigates a filament-fed process for additive manufacturing (AM) of fused quartz. Glasses such as fused quartz have significant scientific and engineering applications, which include optics, communications, electronics, and hermetic seals. AM has several attractive benefits such as increased design freedom, faster prototyping, and lower processing costs for small production volumes. However, current research into glass AM has focused primarily on nonoptical applications. Fused quartz is studied here because of its desirability for use in high-quality optics due to its high transmissivity and thermal stability. Fused quartz filaments are fed into a CO₂ laser-generated molten region, smoothly depositing …

Simplified, Alternative Formulation Of Numerical Simulation Of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell, Russell L. Edwards

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Three-Dimensional proton exchange fuel cell (PEMFC) operation in steady-state is simulated with computational fluid dynamics / multiphysics software that is based upon the finite-element method. PEMFC operation involves the simultaneous simulation of multiple, interconnected physics involving fluid flows, heat transport, electrochemical reactions, and both protonic and electronic conduction. Modeling efforts have varied by how they treat the physics occurring within and adjacent to the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA). Several approaches treat the MEA as part of the computational domain, solving multiple, and coupled conservation equations via the CFD approach within the 3 regions of the MEA. The thickness dimensions of the …

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

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

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

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

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

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

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

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

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

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

Faculty Publications

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

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

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

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

Mechanical Engineering News, Georgia Southern University

Mechanical Engineering: News & Publications (2013-2023)

• Honor Society Chapter Wins National Service Award

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

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

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

Evaluation Of High Velocity Wear, Armando Deleon

Theses and Dissertations

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

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

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

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

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

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

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

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

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

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

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

Mechanical Engineering

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

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)

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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 …