Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Me-Em Enewsbrief, July-December 2017, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Rotordynamic Signal Processing Matlab Interface And A Two-Disk Rotor Model, David L. Baker

Master's Theses

Using MATLAB and a National Instruments data acquisition card, a signal processing program meant to monitor the behavior of rotordynamic systems in real-time was developed and tested. By using traditional analysis methods in this field of engineering, commonly desired data representations such as bode, polar, orbit, full spectrum plots were able to be produced to a very high accuracy. Additional capabilities offered by this application are slow roll compensation, synchronous and sub-synchronous filtering, and true three dimensional plotting. The verification of this program was done by comparing the results to the ones acquired with Bently Nevada’s “Automated Diagnostics for Rotating …

Nitrogen Doped Carbon Nanofibers Derived From Water-Soluble Precursors, Lee Cremar, Ben Jones, Nicole Martinez, Gustavo Mejia, Hilario Cortez, Edgar Muñoz, Rocío Nava, Karen Lozano

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Nitrogen doped carbon fibers were synthesized from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), a water soluble precursor. The PVA fine fibers were first developed by centrifugally spinning an aqueous based solution using Forcespinning® technology. The precursor fibers were then exposed to sulfuric acid vapors to partially carbonize and stabilize the fibers for further heat treatment. For nitrogen doping, the fibers were exposed to two different heat treatment routes. One was under a nitrogen atmosphere at 850°C followed by exposure to ammonia gas at 500°C. The second route consisted of heating the treated fibers in pure ammonia gas only, up to 850°C. Both heating …

Coorstek- Spine Discectomy, Rhett Prestwich, Logan Bolingbroke, Ryan Thomsen, Aaron Blanchard, Kayla Park

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The objective is to design improved instrumentation for performing a spine discectomy. In particular, the instrument should remove the nucleus pulposus without damaging the annulus in order to prepare the spine disc for the insertion of an artificial spacer. As more nucleus pulposus is removed from the disc, the spine will fuse more quickly and completely after the artificial spacer is inserted. The current process involves removing the nucleus pulposus piece by piece with pituitary rongeurs. This process is slow and often incomplete.

The Influence Of Varying Fiber Stacking Sequence On The Tensile, Impact, And Water Absorption Properties Of Unidirectional Flax/E-Glass Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composite, Mohammed F. Al-Edhari

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis includes the study of the mechanical performance of two different types of fibers reinforced hybrid composites. Two kinds of fibers, natural fiber (flax) and synthetic fiber (E-glass), are used to reinforce epoxy resin. To evaluate the effective properties of the hybrid composites, a micromechanical analysis of the structure genome (SG) of a unidirectional fiber hybrid composites is performed using nite element analysis (FEA). Both fibers are assumed to be circular and packed in a hexagonal pattern. The effects of varying volume fractions and fiber locations, of the two fibers, on the elastic properties of the hybrid composites are …

Fuel Performance Modeling Of Reactivity-Initiated Accidents Using The Bison Code, Charles Pearson Folsom

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accidents in 2011 sparked considerable interest in the U.S. to develop new nuclear fuel with enhanced accident tolerance. Throughout the development of these new fuel concepts they will be extensively modeled using specialized computer codes and experimentally tested for a variety of different postulated accident scenarios. One accident scenario of interest, reactivity-initiated accident, is a nuclear reactor event involving a sudden increase in fission rate that causes a rapid increase in reactor power and temperature of the fuel which can lead to the failure of the fuel rods and are lease of radioactive material. The focus …

Aerodynamic Centers Of Arbitrary Airfoils, Orrin Dean Pope

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The study of designing stable aircraft has been widespread and ongoing since the early days of Orville and Wilbur Wright and their famous Wright Flyer airplane. All aircraft as they fly through the air are subject to minor changes in the forces acting on them. The field of aircraft stability seeks to understand and predict how aircraft will respond to these changes in forces and to design aircraft such that when these forces change the aircraft remains stable. The mathematical equations used to predict aircraft stability rely on knowledge of the location of the aerodynamic center, the point through which …

An Obstacle Avoidance System For The Visually Impaired Using 3-D Point Cloud Processing, Evan Justin Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

The long white cane offers many benefits for the blind and visually impaired. Still, many report being injured both indoors and outdoors while using the long white cane. One frequent cause of injury is due to the fact that the long white cane cannot detect obstacles above the waist of the user. This thesis presents a system that attempts to augment the capabilities of the long white cane by sensing the environment around the user, creating a map of obstacles within the environment, and providing simple haptic feedback to the user. The proposed augmented cane system uses the Asus Xtion …

Design And Validation Of An Experimental Setup To Study Single Phase Heat Transfer Enhancement Of Femtosecond Laser Processed Metallic Surfaces, Sarah Jane Wallis

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the present work, a single phase flow heat transfer experimental loop was designed with the intention of studying the effects of femtosecond laser surface processing (FLSP) on metallic surfaces with the specific goal of enhancing heat transfer in compact heat exchangers currently in use by NASA. This experimental setup went through two major design iterations which are detailed in this thesis. The first iteration consisted of a counterflow fluid-to-fluid heat exchanger, which measured overall heat transfer coefficients and pressure drops, where the overall heat transfer coefficient is defined in terms of the total thermal resistance to heat transfer between …

Modeling Acoustic Microfluidic Phenomena In Unconventional Geometries, Andrew Ledbetter

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

In this work, the performance of a piezoelectrically-actuated ultrasonic droplet generator is analyzed by modeling the harmonic response of a two-dimensional representation of the device cross-section. Observed vibrational and acoustic resonances provide insight into optimal design conditions to achieve efficient, robust droplet ejection. Numerical simulations highlight the importance of the coupled electrical and mechanical behavior of the resonator assembly and show that elastic modes can effectively amplify or dampen acoustic modes within the fluid chamber. Experimentally-validated modeling results guide development of an optimization strategy to further improve device performance. In addition, the standing acoustic field that is the focus of …

A Comparison Between Self-Cleaning Properties Via Rolling Droplets And Condensation On Superhyrophobic Surfaces, David Leland Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Superhydrophobic (SH) surfaces are super water repellent surfaces on which a droplet of water will bead up like a marble and roll off the surface with minimal tilting of the surface. This is caused by the combination of a hydrophobic coating and a rough surface structure. To achieve thermodynamic stability, surface tension of the water pulls the droplet into this shape to minimize the contact area between the droplet and the surface. This creates a high contact angle (CA) between the droplet and the surface and a low sliding angle (SA) of which the droplet begins to roll off the …

Microstructural Evaluation Of Hydrogen Embrittlement And Successive Recovery In Advanced High Strength Steel, Quentin Scott Allen

Theses and Dissertations

Advanced high strength steels (AHSS) have high susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement, and are often exposed to hydrogen environments in processing. In order to study the embrittlement and recovery of steel, tensile tests were conducted on two different types of AHSS over time after hydrogen charging. Concentration measurements and hydrogen microprinting were carried out at the same time steps to visualize the hydrogen behavior during recovery. The diffusible hydrogen concentration was found to decay exponentially, and equations were found for the two types of steel. Hydrogen concentration decay rates were calculated to be -0.355 /hr in TBF steel, and -0.225 /hr …

Trading Off Sound Pressure Level And Average Power Production For Wind Farm Layout Optimization, Eric Tingey, Andrew Ning

Faculty Publications

This research explores the trade-offs between a wind farm’s average power production and noise impact on nearby observers. Two specific wind farm designs were studied and optimized using the FLORIS wake model and an acoustic model based on semi-empirical turbine noise calculations. It was found in the two wind farms that the average power production could be increased, up to 8.01% in one and 3.63% in the other, ignoring sound level considerations. Including a noise restriction in the optimization had a minimal impact on the optimal average power production within about a five-decibel range. Past this range, sound limitations decreased …

Eigenblades: Application Of Computer Vision And Machine Learning For Mode Shape Identification, Alex W. La

Theses and Dissertations

On August 27, 2016, Southwest Airlines flight 3472 from New Orleans to Orlando had to perform an emergency landing when a fan blade separated from the engine hub and destroyed the cowling and punctured the fuselage. Initial findings from the metallurgical examination conducted in the National Transpiration Safety Board Materials Laboratory found that the fracture surface of the missing blade showed curving crack arrest lines consistent with fatigue crack growth. Fatigue is often cause by resonate vibrations. Modal analysis is a method that can model the natural frequencies and bending modes of turbomachinery blades. When performing modal analysis with finite …

Development Of A Ferrite-Based Electromagnetic Wave Detector, Muhammad Hanis Bin Zakariah, Poppy Puspitasari, Nur Azliza Ahmad

Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science and Technology (JMEST)

Direct detection of hydrocarbon by an active source using electromagnetic (EM) wave termed Sea Bed Logging (SBL) has shown very promising results. However, currently available electromagnetic wave technology has a number of challenges including sensitivity and lapsed time. Our initial response to this issue is to develop a ferrite-based EM wave detector for Sea Bed Logging (SBL). Ferrite bar and copper rings in various diameters were used as detector 1 (D1). For Detector 2 (D2), toroid added with copper wires in different lengths at the centre of it were used. The first experiment is to determine the inductance and resistance …

Thermogravimetric And Kinetic Analysis Of Cassava Starch Based Bioplastic, Nanang Eko Wahyuningtiyas, Heru Suryanto, Eddy Rudiyanto, Sukarni Sukarni, Poppy Puspitasari

Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science and Technology (JMEST)

Cassava starch based bioplasticfor packaging application has great potency because of the various starchproducing plants in Indonesia.Bioplasticcan contribute to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels andpetroleumthat can solve the environmentalproblem.Thepurpose of this research is to find out the thermal decomposition and the activation energy of cassava starch based bioplastic. The methods weresynthesis bioplastic with cassava starch as main component and glycerol as plasticizer. The thermogravimetry analysis was conducted to obtain the decomposition process mechanism of bioplastic and the heating valueof bioplasticwas measured using theadiabatic bomb calorimetric. Data analysis was conducted using a fitting model approach with an acikalin method to …

Blanking Clearance And Punch Velocity Effects On The Sheared Edge Characteristic In Micro-Blanking Of Commercially Pure Copper Sheet, Didin Zakariya Lubis, Ichsan Ristiawan

Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science and Technology (JMEST)

This study aims to identify the influences between clearance and punch velocity on the part edge quality of blanked parts. Experiments have been conducted using material copper, punch-die clearance and punch velocity variations. In order to determine the reachable punch-die clearance and punch velocity required for blanking. The quality of the part-edge characteristics shows that higher punch velocity and decreases clearance value can improve the part-edge quality, resulting in smaller burr height and rollover, and a larger shear zone. Furthermore, it could be observed that the part-edge quality improvement when blanking with high punch velocity is much more distinct for …

Properties Of Brass Under Different Pouring Temperatures In Sand Casting Process, Poppy Puspitasari, Avita Ayu Permanasari, Andoko Andoko, Bayu Angga Pratama

Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science and Technology (JMEST)

This study aimed to determine the toughness of casts produced by the sand casting process at various temperatures against brass, and to investigate the structure contained in the cast madeusing abrass metal mould. This study was experimental research that observed the results of a treatment applied to a specimen group. This pre-experimental study usedthe one-shot case study model in which a group of samples was given treatment. The results showed that the specimen poured at 900°C exhibiteda microstructure consisting ofgood Cu-Zn content, while that at 700°Chad the least Cu content. It indicates that the higher the temperature used for metal …

Compositional And Structural Evolution During Ball Milling Of Ti-Based Metallic Glass Powder, Yanuar Rohmat Aji Pradana

Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science and Technology (JMEST)

Ti42Zr40Ta3Si7.5Sn7.5metallic glass powder prepared for subsequent consolidation by hot pressing were produced by high energy ball milling from amorphous ribbon and both of the compositional and structural evolution on milled powders were studied using XRD and DSC analyses. By using WC vial and balls, the abrasion of milling media occurred causing WC contamination on < 105 µm milled powder after 2 cycles of milling. Based on DSC analysis, the contamination clearly reduced theΔTxof the alloy up to 48%. On the other hand, the contamination were overcome after milling using SS vial and balls, proved by no crystal peak observed on XRD pattern of all milling cycle levels. However, the thermal stability was noticed to be decreased implying the presence of nanocrystals on the amorphous powder after ball milling and the nanocrystal amount tend to be higher when more milling cycles were applied.

Formula Of Moulding Sand, Bentonite And Portland Cement To Improve The Quality Of Al-Si Cast Alloy, Andoko Andoko, Poppy Puspitasari, Avita Ayu Permanasari, Didin Zakaria Lubis

Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science and Technology (JMEST)

A binder is any material used to strengthen the bonding of moulding sand grains. The primary function of the binder is to hold the moulding sand and other materialstogether to produce high-quality casts. In this study, there were four binder compositions being tested, i.e. 5% bentonite + 5% Portland cement, 4% bentonite + 6% Portland cement, 6% bentonite + 4% Portland cement, and 7% bentonite + 3% Portland cement. Each specimen was measured for its compressive strength, shear strength, tensile strength and permeability. The highest compressive strength was obtained fromthe specimen composed of 6% bentonite+ 4% Portland cement. The highest …

Modeling Of Antenna For Deep Target Hydrocarbon Exploration, Nadeem Nasir, Noorhana Yahya, Hasnah Mohd Zaid, Afza Shafie, Norhisham Hamid

Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science and Technology (JMEST)

Nowadays control source electromagnetic method is used for offshore hydrocarbon exploration. Hydrocarbon detection in sea bed logging (SBL) is a very challenging task for deep target hydrocarbon reservoir. Response of electromagnetic (EM) field from marine environment is very low and it is very difficult to predict deep target reservoir below 2km from the sea floor. This work premise deals with modeling of new antenna for deep water deep target hydrocarbon exploration. Conventional and new EM antennas at 0.125Hz frequency are used in modeling for the detection of deep target hydrocarbon reservoir. The proposed area of the seabed model (40km ´ …

Ensemble Machine Learning And Forecasting Can Achieve 99% Uptime For Rural Handpumps, Daniel L. Wilson, Jeremy R. Coyle, Evan A. Thomas

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Broken water pumps continue to impede efforts to deliver clean and economically-viable water to the global poor. The literature has demonstrated that customers’ health benefits and willingness to pay for clean water are best realized when clean water infrastructure performs extremely well (>99% uptime). In this paper, we used sensor data from 42 Afridev-brand handpumps observed for 14 months in western Kenya to demonstrate how sensors and supervised ensemble machine learning could be used to increase total fleet uptime from a best-practices baseline of about 70% to >99%. We accomplish this increase in uptime by forecasting pump failures and …

Suspension-Driven Gravity Surges On Horizontal Surfaces: Effect Of The Initial Shape, ‪Nadim Zgheib, T. Bonometti, S. Balachandar

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

We present results from highly resolved direct numerical simulations of canonical (axisymmetric and planar) and non-canonical (rectangular) configurations of horizontal suspension-driven gravity surges. We show that the dynamics along the initial minor and major axis of a rectangular release are roughly similar to that of a planar and axisymmetric current, respectively. However, contrary to expectation, we observe under certain conditions the final extent of the deposit from finite releases to surpass that from an equivalent planar current. This is attributed to a converging flow of the particle-laden mixture toward the initial minor axis, a behaviour that was previously reported for …

Transient Analysis Of Fracture Initiation In A Coupled Thermoelastic Solid, Louis Milton Brock

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

An isotropic, thermoelastic solid is initially at rest at uniform (absolute) temperature, and contains a semi-infinite, plane crack. Application of in-plane and normal point forces to each face of the crack causes transient 3D growth. The related problem of discontinuities in temperature and displacement that exist on regions that exhibit dynamic similarity is first considered. Asymptotic expressions, whose inverses are valid near the crack edges for short times, are obtained in integral transform space. These lead to equations of the Wiener–Hopf type for the fracture problem. Analytical solutions are obtained and, upon inversion, subjected to a dynamic energy release rate …

Evolution Of The Pore Size Distribution In Sheared Binary Glasses, Nikolai V. Priezjev, Maxim A. Makeev

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to investigate mechanical properties and porous structure of binary glasses subjected to steady shear. The model vitreous systems were prepared via thermal quench at constant volume to a temperature well below the glass transition. The quiescent samples are characterized by a relatively narrow pore size distribution whose mean size is larger at lower glass densities. We find that in the linear regime of deformation, the shear modulus is a strong function of porosity, and the individual pores become slightly stretched while their structural topology remains unaffected. By contrast, with further increasing strain, the shear …

Characterizing The Electromechanical Response Of Flexible Foam For Multifunctional Impact-Sensing Applications, Evan Troy Bird

Theses and Dissertations

Flexible foams have unique properties that make them well-suited to several engineering systems. They are often used in impact-related applications because of their superior energy absorption performance. Many multifunctional materials are also derived from flexible foams due to their high customizability, which allows them to satisfy a wide range of performance requirements. Though flexible foams have high potential in these and other classes of material applications, their success relies on the proper characterization of their complex behavior. This thesis promotes the application of flexible foams by characterizing their electromechanical response through both experimental and theoretical approaches. One study in this …

Optimal Design And Control Of An Electromechanical Transfemoral Prosthesis With Energy Regeneration, Farbod Rohani, Hanz Richter, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

In this paper, we present the design of an electromechanical above-knee active prosthesis with energy storage and regeneration. The system consists of geared knee and ankle motors, parallel springs for each motor, an ultracapacitor, and controllable four-quadrant power converters. The goal is to maximize the performance of the system by finding optimal controls and design parameters. A model of the system dynamics was developed, and used to solve a combined trajectory and design optimization problem. The objectives of the optimization were to minimize tracking error relative to human joint motions, as well as energy use. The optimization problem was solved …

Dns And Les Of Scalar Transfer Across An Air-Water Interface During Inception And Growth Of Langmuir Circulation, Amine Hafsi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of an initially quiescent coupled air-water interface driven by an air flow with free stream speed of 5 m/s have been conducted. The DNS solves a scalar advection-diffusion equation for dissolved gas (or scalar) concentration in order to determine the impact of the water-side turbulence on scalar (mass) transfer from the air side to the water side and subsequent vertical transport in the water column. Two simulations are compared: one with a freely deforming interface and a second one with a flat interface. In the first simulation, the deforming interface evolves in the form of gravity-capillary …

Nonlinear Model-Based Control For Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation, Ruzhou Yang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is a technology where skeletal muscles are externally stimulated by electrodes to help restore functionality to human limbs with motor neuron disorder. This dissertation is concerned with the model-based feedback control of the NMES quadriceps muscle group-knee joint dynamics. A class of nonlinear controllers is presented based on various levels of model structures and uncertainties. The two main control techniques used throughout this work are backstepping control and Lyapunov stability theory.

In the first control strategy, we design a model-based nonlinear control law for the system with the exactly known passive mechanical that ensures asymptotical tracking. …

Investigating Scalable Manufacturing Of High-Conductivity Wires And Coatings From Ultra-Long Carbon Nanotubes, Pouria Khanbolouki

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a promising candidate for next generation of electrical wirings and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials due to their exceptional mechanical and electrical properties. Wires and coatings from ultralong nanotubes that are highly crystalline, well-aligned and densely packed can achieve this goal. High-performance CNT conductors will be relatively lightweight and resistant to harsh conditions and therefore can potentially replace current conductors in many industries including aerospace, automotive, gas and oil.

This thesis investigates a new manufacturing approach, based on conventional solution coating and wire drawing methods, to fabricate high conductivity wires and coatings from ultra-long carbon nanotubes. …