Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Designing And Testing 3-D Printed Wafer-Box With Embedded Pzt Sensors To Identify The Shape Effect On Energy Harvesting, Ahmad Jami Safayet

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Piezoelectric energy has been recently paid attention in the field of alternative energy. Day by day the traditional energy sources including Coal tar and oils are becoming scarce. People are heading to an alternative energy source to meet the future energy demand. Piezoelectric energy is one of the competitive energy sources compared to the conventional renewable energy sources including solar, wind, and geothermal power and so on. This energy production method bears enormous research potential because it can be used as the roadway for a new method of power generation. This research project aimed to identify which shaped wafer-box produced …

Sustainable Living Factories For Next Generation Manufacturing, Yoram Koren, Xi Gu, Fazleena Badurdeen, Ibrahim S. Jawahir

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

To be profitable and to generate sustainable value for all stakeholders, next generation manufacturers must develop capabilities to rapidly and economically respond to changing market needs while at the same time minimizing adverse impacts on the environment and benefiting society. 6R-based (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Redesign and Remanufacturing) sustainable manufacturing practices enable closed-loop and multi-life cycle material flow; they facilitate producing more sustainable products using manufacturing processes and systems that are more sustainable. Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems (RMS) and its characteristics of scalability, convertibility, diagnosability, customization, modularity and integrability have emerged as a basis for living factories for next generation manufacturing …

Towards Developing Sustainable Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems, Aihua Huang, Fazleena Badurdeen, Ibrahim S. Jawahir

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper aims to examine the sustainable manufacturing performance of Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems (RMSs) using existing sustainable manufacturing metrics. RMS has six key characteristics including modularity, integrability, customization, scalability, convertibility, and diagnosability. In this paper, ‘convertibility’ is quantified by considering configuration convertibility, machine convertibility, and material handling device convertibility from the RMS perspective. In addition, the performance of RMSs with different convertibility levels is also evaluated by using sustainable manufacturing metrics. A numerical example is used to demonstrate the computational approach. Results of the analysis are used to show how sustainable manufacturing performance of RMS changes as system convertibility varies. …

Advanced Process To Embed Optical Fiber Sensors Into Casting Mold For Smart Manufacturing, Raghavender Reddy Jakka

Masters Theses

"Optical fiber sensors embedded in metals with distributed sensing can sense temperature at multiple points with single fiber. This is useful for smart manufacturing like structural health monitoring in aerospace industry and smart molds in manufacturing plants. There is a huge difference in thermal coefficient of expansion for fiber and metal. This is the reason for the increase in sensitivity for embedded fiber sensors. However, at high temperatures, the stress on the fiber increases, eventually damaging the sensor. The fiber-metal interface determines the sensor performance. A tight interface results in high sensitivity and a gap in the interface enhances sensing …

Numerical Modeling Of Capillary-Driven Flow In Open Microchannels: An Implication Of Optimized Wicking Fabric Design, Mehrad Gholizadeh Ansari

Masters Theses

"The use of microfluidics to transfer fluids without applying any exterior energy source is a promising technology in different fields of science and engineering due to their compactness, simplicity and cost-effective design. In geotechnical engineering, to increase the soil's strength, hydrophilic wicking fibers as type of microfluidics have been employed to transport and drain water out of soil spontaneously by taking advantage of natural capillary force without using any pumps or other auxiliary devices. The objective of this study is to understand the scientific mechanisms of the capability for wicking fiber to drain both gravity and capillary water out of …

A Study Of The Product Development Process For The Stackable Shelf, Stool, And Table, Harleigh Elizabeth Huggins

Honors Theses

The purpose of this project was to create a viable furniture product by utilizing the various phases of the product development process. The project began in Phase 0 with market research, formulation of an initial idea, and a product pitch to an executive board to check the viability of the idea. Then, the idea was developed into a concept with Phase 1 by finalizing an initial concept and looking into the potential customer. Next, the product concept was prototyped through several iterations of trial and error in Phase 2. By Phase 3, the product design was finalized, and an initial …

Comparison Of Emissions Measurement Between A Sensor-Based Compact Emissions Meter And A Standard Pems, Jordan Matthew Leatherman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The emissions produced by diesel engines are detrimental to human health, and the environment. To reduce these harmful emissions, engine manufacturers have used exhaust after treatment systems. The main objective of these after-treatment systems is to reduce exhaust emissions with minimal impact on an engines performance. The increase in emission regulations resulted in the need for a portable device to measure emissions. Portable emissions measurement systems (PEMS) are used to ensure engines comply with regulations in the real world. Although these systems are portable and can be installed on a vehicle they are bulky, expensive and time consuming to install. …

An Experimental Investigation Of The Cooling System For A Free Piston Stirling Engine, Akshay Milind Gupte

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Free-Piston Stirling Engine (FPSE) has been identified as a good candidate for combined heat and power application (CHP). FPSE being highly efficient and environmentally friendly promises to facilitate the increasing demand in waste heat energy recovery systems. FPSE system consists of three important components: (1) hot side heat exchanger; (2) regenerator; and (3) cold side heat exchanger. The cold side heat exchanger is a crucial part as it enables to maintain an optimal temperature of the working fluid by rejecting heat.

This research contributes to the design of heat exchanger test rig and experimental measurement of cooling heat exchanger. The …

Meniscus Modeling And Emission Studies Of An Ionic Liquid Ferrofluid Electrospray Source Emitting From A Magneto-Electric Instability, Brandon Jackson

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation presents three studies on the electrospray of ionic liquid ferrofluid. Ionic liquid ferrofluids are electrically conductive super-paramagnetic fluids which respond strongly in the presence of electric and magnetic fields. When a small reservoir of ionic liquid ferrofluid is positioned within a magnetic field, magnetic stresses will deform the fluid interface into a peak. The addition of a strong electric field will further stress the fluid interface until a threshold stress is reached at which point the surface tension cannot contain the combined stresses and a spray of fluid or ions results at the apex. This process is termed …

Investigation On The Potential Of A Co2 Capture System, Downstream Of The Aftertreatment System For A Heavy-Duty Engine Application, Murchana Pathak

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The transportation sector accounts for the second largest source of CO₂ emissions after power generation. New Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations are focusing on improving energy through reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This work investigates the potential of a CO₂ capture system downstream of an aftertreatment system for a heavy-duty engine application. Amine absorption has been described as one of the most effective ways to capture CO₂ from the exhaust for point sources. Therefore, using thermal-swing absorption process with potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) as the absorbent liquid, a process was analyzed …

The Interaction Of Ignition And In-Cylinder Flow On Flame Kernel Development And Its Impacts On Combustion In An Optically Accessible Direct Injection Engine, Yanyu Wang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A significant challenge facing spark-ignited (SI) engines to achieve higher efficiency via highly diluted combustion is the quickly increased combustion instability as the dilution level increases. The flow motion variation has been identified as a dominant factor that introduces combustion variability at highly diluted conditions. However, the detailed mechanism of how the variation in flow motion impacts the flame kernel development and introduces combustion instability is only partially understood. This research investigated the impacts of the in-cylinder flow on variability of the ignition and early flame kernel development in a single cylinder direct-injection spark-ignition (DI-SI) optically accessible engine and accessory …

System Architecture Optimization Using Hidden Genes Genetic Algorithms With Applications In Space Trajectory Optimization, Shadi Ahmadi Darani

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In this dissertation, the concept of hidden genes genetic algorithms is developed. In system architecture optimization problems, the topology of the solution is unknown and hence, the number of design variables is variable. Hidden genes genetic algorithms are genetic algorithm based methods that are developed to handle such problems by hiding some genes in the chromosomes. The genes in the hidden genes genetic algorithms evolve through selection, mutation, and crossover operations. To determine if a gene is hidden or not, binary tags are assigned to them. The value of the tags determine the status of the genes. Different mechanisms are …

A New Technique To Determine Accommodation Coefficients Of Cryogenic Propellants, Kishan Bellur

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The control of propellant boil-off is essential in long-term space missions. However, a clear understanding of cryogenic propellant phase change and the values of accommodation coefficients are lacking. To that effect, a new method to determine accommodation coefficients using a combination of neutron imaging, thin film evaporation modeling and CFD modeling has been established. Phase change experiments were conducted in the BT-2 Neutron Imaging Facility at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) by introducing cryogenic vapor (H2 and CH4) at a set pressure into Al6061 and SS316L test cells placed inside a 70mm cryostat. Condensation is achieved by …

Analysis Of The Shock Response Spectrum And Resonant Plate Testing Methods, William Larsen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Intricacies of the shock response spectrum were discovered and investigated by testing a circular plate structure with integral damping. Effects on the SRS from physical alterations to the nonlinear structure were monitored from low and high shock impulses. A method was developed and validated to estimate high amplitude shock inputs from low amplitude frequency response functions. Finite element models explored variable thickness plate designs.

Control Oriented Modeling Of An Automotive Drivetrain For Anti-Jerk Control, Gurijala Venkat Prithvi Reddy

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Drivability is an important metric during the development of an automobile. Calibration engineers spend a significant amount of time trying to improve the drivability of vehicles for various driving conditions. With an increase in the available computational power in an automobile, novel model-based methods are being implemented for further improving the drivability, while reducing calibration time and effort. Phenomenon known as clunk and shuffle, which are caused due to backlash and compliance in the driveline, are a major cause of issues related to drivability and noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) during tip-in and tip-out scenarios.

This thesis focuses on developing …

Experimental And Computational Investigation Of Dual Fuel Diesel- Natural Gas Rcci Combustion In A Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine, Mufaddel Dahodwala

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Among the various alternative fuels, natural gas is considered as a leading candidate for heavy-duty applications due to its availability and applicability in conventional internal combustion diesel engines. Compared to their diesel counterparts natural gas fueled spark-ignited engines have a lower power density, reduced low-end torque capability, limited altitude performance, and ammonia emissions downstream of the three-way catalyst. The dual fuel diesel/natural gas engine does not suffer with the performance limitations of the spark-ignited concept due to the flexibility of switching between different fueling modes. Considerable research has already been conducted to understand the combustion behavior of dual fuel diesel/natural …

Experimental And Modeling Study Of Particulate Matter Oxidation Under Loading Conditions For A Scr Catalyst On A Diesel Particulate Filter, Abhishek Jadav

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The heavy-duty diesel engines use a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC), a Catalyzed Particulate Filter (CPF), a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) with urea injection and a Ammonia Oxidation Catalyst (AMOX), to meet the US EPA 2010/2013 particulate matter (PM) and NO_x emission standards. However, it is not possible to achieve the 2015 California low NO_x standards with this arrangement. Hence, there is a need to improve the existing aftertreatment system. This can be achieved by coating the SCR catalyst on a diesel particulate filter (DPF), thus combining the PM filtration and NO_x reduction functionality into a single device. …

Physical Modeling Of Lithium-Ion Aging For Automotive Applications, Anurag Kamal

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This thesis extends the full-scale electrochemical model for a Lithium-ion battery based on the porous electrode theory to incorporate aging mechanisms of solid electrolyte interface formation, cyclic electrode degradation, and lithium plating during overcharge, automotive vibrations, mechanical stress, and cell temperature, as reported in the existing literature. Further, the thesis presents the scope of the parameters used in the model to enable designers to extend the equations for new mechanisms and variability of other parameters.

An increased set of equations makes the complexity of the model even higher, and it would be very computationally complex to simulate this model. This …

Energy Harvesting Nanocoated Piezoceramics For Low Power Systems, Quinten Humphrey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Barrier-To-Entry Of Robotics Development Through The Use Of Robot Operating System, Matham Latif Al-Saaty, Kevin Mcfall

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Section 3: Miscellaneous; pp. 86-90

การประมาณค่าในช่วงเชิงพหุนามลากรานจ์ร่วมกับตัวประกอบถ่วงน้ำหนักนอกช่วงแบบใหม่เพื่อแก้ปัญหาการไหลภายในช่องว่างสี่เหลี่ยมผืนผ้า, อุทัย ประสพชิงชนะ

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อนำเสนอแผนแบบใหม่ที่มีชื่อว่าแผนแบบ LIP (Lagrange Interpolating Polynomial scheme) และการประมาณค่านอกช่วงแบบใหม่ที่มีชื่อว่าการประมาณค่านอกช่วงแบบ WF-LIP (Weighting Factors with Lagrange Interpolating Polynomial extrapolation) โดยแผนแบบ LIP ถูกใช้สำหรับการประมาณค่าของตัวแปรและอนุพันธ์ของตัวแปรทั้งเทียบกับระยะและเวลาในระเบียบวิธีไฟไนต์วอลู่ม ข้อดีของแผนแบบ LIP คือ เป็นแผนที่มีความแม่นยำลำดับสี่ เป็นแผนที่ง่ายต่อการพัฒนาโปรแกรมที่ใช้การแก้ปัญหาด้วยเม็สซ์ที่ไม่สม่ำเสมอ และเป็นทั้งแผนทางระยะและแผนทางเวลา สำหรับการประมาณค่านอกช่วงแบบ WF-LIP ถูกนำมาใช้ในการหาค่าคาดเดาเริ่มต้นของตัวแปรในแต่ละช่วงเวลาย่อยของปัญหาที่สภาวะไม่คงตัว ซึ่งใช้วิธีการหาคำตอบของแต่ละช่วงเวลาย่อยด้วยวิธีการทำซ้ำ จากผลการตรวจสอบความถูกต้องของคำตอบที่คำนวณจากแผนแบบ LIP และการทดสอบประสิทธิภาพของการประมาณค่านอกช่วงแบบ WF-LIP พบว่า คำตอบที่คำนวณจากแผนแบบ LIP มีความถูกต้องและมีความสอดคล้องกับคำตอบที่นำมาใช้ในการเปรียบเทียบความถูกต้อง ขณะที่การประมาณค่านอกช่วงแบบ WF-LIP สามารถช่วยลดระยะเวลาที่ใช้ในการคำนวณเพื่อหาคำตอบของปัญหาได้สูงสุดถึงร้อยละ 49.69 เมื่อเทียบกับกรณีที่การคำนวณหาคำตอบ โดยไม่ได้ใช้การประมาณค่านอกช่วงแบบ WF-LIP

Inspection Process Flow Development For A Warehouse, Pahalawaththage Perera

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The project is based on a medical device outsourcing company in the US. In 2018 the company added a 44,000 sq ft new warehouse. With the scales of growth and market competition, it has come to a need to optimize production capacity to achieve 98% monthly on time delivery target. Optimizing production capacity comes with efficiently managing operations that impact overall product lead time. A primary factor that impacts the overall product lead time is production preparation time. Production preparation time is impacted by lead times of 3 operations managed by the new warehouse - Receiving Inspection, Incoming Inspection, and …

Effects Of Air-Fuel Ratio And Operating Conditions On Particle Emissions From A Small Diesel Engine, Odinmma John-Paul Ofili

Master’s Theses

Automotive engineers typically increase the air-fuel ratio (AFR) of an engine to control the amount of smoke emitted, but it not quite known how this process affects particulate number (PN). In the work presented, AFR was independently varied to study its effects on PN. It was found that increasing the AFR reduced the concentrations of larger particles from 10⁸ #/cm³ to 10⁶ #/cm³ which is an effect observable as a reduction in smoke. However, the same increases in AFR only resulted in an energy specific PN change from 10¹⁵ #/kWh to 10¹⁴ #/kWh. The …

Dynamics Of A Circular Cylinder In Close Proximity To A Wall, Yargo Teixeira Gomes De Melo

Master’s Theses

The effect of wall proximity on the mechanism of flow-induced vibration of a circular cylinder mounted in a wind tunnel and free to vibrate with two degrees-of-freedom near a rigid plane boundary were examined at a Reynolds number of 1.86 x 10⁵. Hot-wire anemometry and cylinder-mounted accelerometers were used to characterize the flow-induced vibration of the cylinder. In the near wall region (gap ratios, G/D< 0.4) the system was found to exhibit symptoms of movement-induced vibration resulting from the push-and-draw effect of the cylinder pushing into and out of the fluid immediately upstream and downstream of the cylinder. The variation of the width of the separated wake region with the cylinder motion produces a force in phase with the cylinder velocity, resulting in excitation of the cylinder motion. For G/D > 1.0, the alternate shedding of vortices (the Kármán vortex street) produces a fluctuating lift on the body. The lift force also has an associated drag fluctuation at twice the vortex shedding frequency For …

An Adaptive Creep Modeling Approach Using Metamodeling, Mohammad Shafinul Haque

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recent drives to increase the efficiency of existing fossil energy power plants and the development of Advanced Ultrasupercritical power plants, have led to designs with steam pressures above 4000 psi and temperatures exceeding 1400°F. The complexity of the applied thermo-mechano chemical boundary conditions makes it critically important to consider creep and creep related failures. A primary concern to FE practitioners is the determination of which constitutive models are the "best", capable of reproducing the mechanisms expected in an intended design accurately; as well as what experimental data sets are proper or "best" to use for fitting the constitutive parameters needed …

Proceedings Of The 18th Annual Early Career Technical Conference (Front Matter), Ectc Coordinating Committee

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Proceedings of the 18th Annual Early Career Technical Conference, November 3, 2018. School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; pp. i-xii

Section 3: Miscellaneous, Ectc Coordinating Committee

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Proceedings of the 18th Annual Early Career Technical Conference, November 3, 2018. School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; pp. 71-90

Effect Of Screen Layers And Orientations On Mesh Wicked Heat Pipes, K Kaddoura, O Y W Abotsi, John Kizito

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Section 1: Thermal Sciences; pp. 27-32

Numerical Predictions Of Hydrokinetic Turbine Wake And Freesurface Signatures, Oumina El Fajri, Simon Bushan, D Thompson

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Section 2: Numerical Methods; pp. 43-51

Design Optimization Of A Non-Axisymmetric Endwall Contour For A High-Lift Low Pressure Turbine Blade, Jacob Allen Dickel

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Various approaches have been used to shape the geometry at the junction of the endwall and the blade profile in high-lift low-pressure turbine passages in order to reduce the endwall losses. This thesis will detail the workflow to produce an optimized non-axisymmetric endwall contour design for a front-loaded high-lift research turbine profile. Validation of the workflow was performed and included a baseline planar and test contour case for a future optimization study. Endwall contours were defined using a series of Bezier curves across the passage to create a smooth surface. A parametric based approach was used to develop the test …