Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Redesign Of A Volume Adjustable Transtibial Prosthetic Socket, Samuel Terrazas Quezada

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recent research and development in prosthetics have aimed at improving socket designs and components to mimic more efficiently the human body. One such innovation is the Aperture Socket, a low-cost volume adjustable prosthetic socket. During the validation stage of its development, the Aperture Socket successfully demonstrated that it could compensate for volume changes, but various improvements on use and comfort were identified. This project develops and tests a redesign of the Aperture Socket previously developed for amputees in developing countries and subsequently patented and licensed to LIMBS International, Inc.

The first phase of this study was the creation of various …

Design & Analysis Of A 500 Lbf Liquid Oxygen And Liquid Methane Rocket Engine, Daniel Eduardo Vargas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The rapid growth in demand for spacecraft technologies has spawned a need for a variety of new and innovative research. The utilization of liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid methane (LCH4) in rocket engines have played an important role in space exploration efforts to promote missions to Mars with in-situ resource utilization for propellant production. This will allow the production of fuel needed to come back to Earth making the overall mission more cost effective by enabling larger usable mass.

The Center for Space Exploration and Technology Research has focused its efforts to developing Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Methane (LCH4) …

Design And Development Of A Foil Application Tool For A Foil Embedding Process In The Multi3d Manufacturing System, Betty Elizabeth Mckenzie

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Additive manufacturing (AM) encompasses different technologies, including material extrusion 3D printing, a technology commonly referred to as fused deposition modeling (FDM), which is the focus of the work described in this manuscript. Additive manufacturing is a growing technology with many applications in numerous fields from the air force to medical offices. FDM is a process that uses thermoplastics, in this case polycarbonate (PC), where the PC is heated and selectively dispensed in a layer-by-layer process to create a 3D printed part. Currently, FDM systems have advantages over subtractive manufacturing or machining because cavities and other components (e.g., microchips, valves, and …

Design Of A 2000 Lbf Lox/Lch4 Throttleable Rocket Engine For A Vertical Lander, Israel Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid methane (LCH4) has been recognized as an attractive rocket propellant combination because of its in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) capabilities, namely in Mars. ISRU would allow launch vehicles to carry greater payloads and promote missions to Mars. This has led to an increasing interest to develop spacecraft technologies that employ this propellant combination.

The UTEP Center for Space Exploration and Technology Research (cSETR) has focused part of its research efforts to developing LOX/LCH4 systems. One of those projects includes the development of a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle called JANUS. This vehicle will employ a LOX/LCH4 …

Microstructure And Mechanical Properties Of Sputter-Deposited Nanocrystalline W1-Ymoyo3 Thin Films, Gabriel Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Currently, there is a wide-spread interest in the design and development of indium (In) free transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) for utilization in photovoltaics and optoelectronics. Tungsten oxide (WO3)-based materials are being explored for their utilization in solar cells, photo-electrochemical cells (PECs), electrochromic (EC) "smart windows," information displays, variable reflectance mirrors, and photo-detector materials. Designing ternary compounds or composite/hybrid structures coupled with tailoring the nano-architectures of WO3-based materials has been considered to be attractive develop potential candidates with enhanced performance. In this context, in this Thesis work, an attempt is made to prepare W-Mo-O nanocomposite films, which can be considered as …

Structural And Mechanical Characterization Of Nanocrystalline Tungsten And Tungsten-Based Alloy Thin Films For Extreme Environment Applications, Gustavo Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Extreme environments associated with nuclear applications often results in degradation of the physical, mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of the materials. Tungsten (W) exhibits unique physical and mechanical properties, which makes tungsten a good candidate for nuclear applications; however, intrinsic W exhibits low fracture toughness at all temperatures in addition to a high ductile to brittle transition. In the present work, nanocrystalline W, W-Y and W-Mo alloys were nanoengineered for nuclear applications. Nanocrystalline tungsten coatings with a thickness of ~1 µm were deposited onto Silicon (100) and Sapphire (C-plane) using RF and DC sputtering techniques under various growth conditions. Yttrium content …

Hardware Development And Testing For Lox/Lch4 Rocket Engine, Pedro Nunez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Center for Space Exploration and Technology Research (cSETR) has focused its research efforts on developing LOX/LCH4 propulsion systems. As part of the Janus Sub-orbital vehicle program, UTEP is developing a 2000 lbf throttleable rocket engine (Chrome X). The first iteration of this engine design will be geared for further optimization towards a flight engine. Components like electric motors, valves, and sealants have been selected to achieve throttle ability and sealing of the engine. These components play a crucial part on the engine to be able to have a successful firing. As part …

Three Dimensional Finite Element Model For Residual Stresses In Parts Manufactured By Slm And Ebm, Jesus Gerardo Reyes Schuldes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Ongoing research efforts in industry and academia have a focus on optimal build parameters that lead to suitable mechanical properties with minimum defects in parts manufactured by powder bed fusion additive manufacturing technologies, such as Electron Beam Melting (EBM) and Selective Laser Melting (SLM). Additional and significant resources, including energy, time, and money are spent as a result of obligatory post-manufacturing heat and/or mechanical treatment to ensure optimum mechanical properties. One intrinsic fault in these technologies, which contributes to the need for treatment processes after part fabrication, is the creation of residual stresses during these processes. Residual stresses remain in …

Modeling The Effects Of Manufacturing Geometric Imperfections In The Buckling Analysis Of Three-Dimensional Structures, Juan Carlos Salcido

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Reticulated three-dimensional structures follow design practices based on the common assumption that joints are either rigid, or pinned. However, the actual non-linear behavior of the jointing system interaction is required to be incorporated into the analysis of the structure to accurately predict its buckling stability. Besides, currently, there is a concern on how manufacturing imperfections of these jointing systems affect the global behavior of three-dimensional structures. This Dissertation incorporates and captures the effect that manufacturing geometric imperfections in the fir-tree jointing system produce in the non-linear buckling behavior of three-dimensional structures.

To understand the effect that initial manufacturing imperfections of …

Design Optimization For Heat Dissipation In Polymer Additive Manufacturing With Joule Heating, Tania Alejandra Ventura

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Nowadays, the use of additive manufacturing (AM) is mainly focused on the production of prototypes with the purpose of evaluating a design. This industry has become a subject of constant reinvention; in fact, an emerging application of AM is focused on creating parts with embedded electronics. However, the development of both traditional and additive manufactured electronics has led to an increase in power densities and size reduction. Consequently, thermal management has become essential in electronics, as overheating decreases reliability of the component leading to a premature failure.

In this study, a polycarbonate component design with integral electrical circuitry that is …

Comprehensive Finite Element Modeling Of Ti-6al-4v Cellular Solids Fabricated By Electron Beam Melting, Edel Arrieta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Additive manufacturing permits the fabrication of cellular metals which are materials that can be highly customizable and possess multiple and extraordinary properties such as damage tolerance, metamorphic and auxetic behaviors, and high specific stiffness. This makes them the subject of interest for innovative applications. With interest in these materials for energy absorption applications, this work presents the development of nonlinear finite element models in commercial software platforms (MSC Patran/Nastran) that permit the analysis of the deformation mechanisms of these materials under compressive loads. In the development of these models, a detailed multiscale study on the different factors affecting the response …

Development And Integration Of The Janus Robotic Lander: A Liquid Oxygen - Liquid Methane Propulsion System Testbed, Raul Ponce

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Initiatives have emerged with the goal of sending humans to other places in our solar system. New technologies are being developed that will allow for more efficient space systems to transport future astronauts. One of those technologies is the implementation of propulsion systems that use liquid oxygen and liquid methane (LO2-LCH4) as propellants.

The benefits of a LO2-LCH4 propulsion system are plenty. One of the main advantages is the possibility of manufacturing the propellants at the destination body. A space vehicle which relies solely on liquid oxygen and liquid methane for its main propulsion and reaction control engines is necessary …

Improving The Regression Rate Of An Htpb Hybrid Rocket Fuel Grain, Travis Wesley Belcher

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hybrid rockets are the combination of liquid and solid propellant systems. The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is currently researching combining Hydroxyl-Terminated Polybutadiene (HTPB) and Hydroxyl Ammonium Nitrate (HAN) in preparation for conducting testing using an Air Force developed monopropellant known as AF-M315E as an oxidizer. A new system was developed to conduct this testing based in the Goddard Laboratory at UTEP. This system was subjected to a series of tests to ascertain its performance characteristics, which are detailed in this Thesis.

Investigation On A Cooling Channel Design For A High Heat Flux Oxy-Fuel Direct Power Extraction Combustor, Luisa Alejandra Cabrera Maynez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The implementation of oxy-fuel technology in fossil-fuel power generation could result in a drastic increase of system efficiencies and a reduction of emissions. While typical system temperatures are dictated by material constraints, open-cycle magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generators have the potential to utilize the energy of undiluted flames. This work presents design and modeling strategies to develop steady-state supersonic MHD combustors operating at temperatures exceeding 3000 K. Throughout the study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models were extensively used as a design and optimization tool. A proof-of-concept 60 kWth model was designed, manufactured and tested in accordance to methods relevant to rocket …

The Development Of A Data Acquisition And Control System For Rocket Propulsion Research, Javier Chaparro

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The MIRO Center for Space Exploration Technology Research (cSETR) at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has developed the Technology Research and Innovation Acceleration Park (tRIAC) in Fabens, Texas. This facility has been established in order to meet new research demands for experimental testing of Liquid Oxygen (LOX)/Liquid methane (LCH4) propulsion systems. Within this facility, a vertical test stand capable of measuring up to 3,000lbf will be constructed for main engine testing of the JANUS and DAEDALUS vehicle programs.

In order to meet challenges of precise remote system operation and data acquisition during engine testing, cSETR designed and …

Design And Development Of A High Pressure Oxy-Methane Combustor, Jaime Cruz Gurrola

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Most of the greenhouse gas emissions in the US comes from the electricity sector by burning fossil fuels. Environmental regulations have been implemented to reduce the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere. One method to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere is oxy-fuel technology. One of the biggest challenges of oxy-fuel combustion is thermal management due to the elevated temperature combustion. The main objective of this Thesis was to design and develop a steady-state high pressure combustor that uses oxygen and methane with a thermal power input of 500 kW and operation at 20 bar pressure. An …

Test Methods For The Fracture And Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior Of Hot Mix Asphalts, Eduardo Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The service life and mechanical properties of bituminous mixtures are greatly affected by distress problems such as fracture, thermal cracking, and fatigue cracking of the asphalt layers. The fracture and fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior of bituminous mixtures are difficult to quantify due to material-, test-, and equipment-related uncertainties. The goal of this study is to introduce a systematic fracture and fatigue crack growth testing approach for hot mix asphalts (HMAs). The objective is to experimentally evaluate the fracture resistance and fracture toughness behavior of a dense-graded HMA material at different temperatures and varying thicknesses. The effect of thickness on …

Process Development And Characterization Of Smart Parts Fabricated Using Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing Technologies, Mohammad Shojib Hossain

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The fields of modern energy conversion, e.g., fossil fuel, natural gas, and coal power plants, are in increased need of health monitoring and data collection (temperature, pressure, and flow rate) to improve process efficiency and satisfy the demand for clean energy. In situ process monitoring can lead to a robust automated system to achieve the goal. The monitoring equipment or sensors in energy systems components (e.g., pressure tube, turbine blade, and fuel injector) undergo high temperature, high pressure, and corrosive environments; for example, combustion inlet conditions can reach up to 810 K and 2760 kPa [1]. Therefore, a reliable, accurate, …

Nondestructive Evaluation And Health Monitoring Of Adhesively Bonded Composite Structures, William Walker Roth

Theses and Dissertations

As the growth of fiber reinforced composite materials continues in many industries, structural designers will have to look to new methods of joining components. In order to take full advantage of composite materials, such as increased stiffness, decreased weight, tailored material properties and increased fatigue life, mechanical fasteners will need to be replaced by adhesive bonding or welding, when possible. Mechanical fasteners require the drilling of holes, which damages the laminate and becomes the source of further fatigue damage. Also, an increase in laminate thickness or inclusion of other features is required for the material to withstand the bearing stress …

A Comprehensive Evaluation Of Hybrid Wetting Configurations On Dropwise Condensation, Karim Khazal Egab

Theses and Dissertations

The heat transfer during condensation on a surface depends on the pattern design of the surface, which can highly influence hydrophobic/hydrophilic wettability. In this study hybrid pattern designs were studied. The relationship between the droplet dynamic and the hybrid pattern design can alter the drainage rates, droplet departure frequencies, and the condensation heat transfer rates. Therefore, two series of hybrid patterned surfaces have been designed, developed, and tested during condensation of water vapor on horizontal copper tubes, and compared to complete dropwise and complete filmwise condensation samples. This is to investigate the design that provides the maximum improvement in the …

Multi-Axis Multi-Material Fused Filament Fabrication With Continuous Fiber Reinforcement, Wout De Backer

Theses and Dissertations

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has become a well-recognized method of manufacturing and has steadily become more accessible as it allows designers to prototype ideas, products and structures unconceivable with subtractive manufacturing techniques for both consumer grade and industrial grade applications. Commonly used thermoplastics for 3D printing have properties that may not be sufficient to comply with the application’s certification requirements, or their performance is less than desirable for aerospace and other high performance applications. Additionally, additively manufactured parts have reduced mechanical properties in the build direction of the print, and are generally weaker than their equivalent injection-molded parts. Furthermore, Computer Aided …

On The Microstructural Behavior Of Pure Magnesium Under Various Strain Rates, Peter Malchow

Theses and Dissertations

An investigation into the localized microstructural response of pure magnesium under both quasi-static and dynamic loading is presented in the form of several experimental works. The meso-scale events were examined using Digital Image Correlation techniques, which provide a methodology for mapping the in-situ full-field material strain behavior.

Firstly, an analysis of the grain boundary activity specifically under dynamic conditions at high magnification is discussed. An area of interest in the region of multiple grain boundaries and triple junctions is selected for characterizing the evolution of the strain and local rotation. This is followed by a study experimentally verifying the causes …

Enhanced Dropwise Condensation Via Wettability Contrast Mechanism, Mohammad Alwazzan

Theses and Dissertations

Condensation heat transfer performance can be improved by many methods including the most common used method, which is by increasing the droplet removal rate of the condensing surface. Commonly, this approached can be achieved by promoting a dropwise condensation mode in which super/hydrophobic coatings can be applied on the entire condenser surface to reduce the surface wettability degree. In this dissertation, two main approaches were adapted to enhance the condensation heat transfer performance of the condensing surface via wettability contrast mechanism. Three approaches of investigation were performed to better understand such dropwise condensation promoter methods.

In the first part, alternative …

Mechanical Characterization Of Parts Produced By Ceramic On‐Demand Extrusion Process, Amir Ghazanfari, Wenbin Li, Ming Leu, Gregory Hilmas

Faculty Publications, Mechanical Engineering

Ceramic On‐Demand Extrusion (CODE) is an additive manufacturing process recently developed to produce dense three‐dimensional ceramic components. In this paper, the properties of parts produced using this freeform extrusion fabrication process are described. High solids loading (~60 vol%) alumina paste was prepared to fabricate parts and standard test methods were employed to examine their properties including the density, strength, Young's modulus, Weibull modulus, toughness, and hardness. Microstructural evaluation was also performed to measure the grain size and critical flaw size. The results indicate that the properties of parts surpass most other ceramic additive manufacturing processes and match conventional fabrication techniques.

Experimental And Numerical Investigation Of Pressure Drop In Silicon Carbide Fuel Rod For Application In Pressurized Water Reactors, Ahmed Musafi Abir

Theses and Dissertations

Spacer grids are used in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) fuel assemblies which enhances heat transfer from fuel rods. However, there remain regions of low turbulence in between the spacer grids which contributes to lower heat transfer. To enhance turbulence in these regions surface roughness is applied on the fuel rod walls. Meyer et al [1] used empirical correlations to predict heat transfer and friction factor for artificially roughened fuel rod bundles at high performance light water reactors (LWRs). At present, several types of materials are being used for fuel rod cladding including zircaloy, uranium oxide, etc. But researchers are actively …

Investigating The Parameters That Influence The Particle Mass Concentration Rates In A Grade C Cleanroom., Nazar H. Baker

Theses

The cleanroom design engineers use the guidelines tables, in which the Air Change Rates (ACHs) are determined based on the room cleanliness class. These guidelines are based on experience and do not fully address many other critical variables that influence the particulate level and particle distribution. These simplified approaches could often cause significant energy waste. In the last five decades, a number of mathematical models were developed to determine the airflow required in cleanrooms. As a consequence of the approximation of many critical variables in these models, these models can only be used as a qualitative indicator of the airflow …

Design And Control Of A 2-Dof Rehabilitation Robot With A Task Defined In A Virtual Environment., Natthapong Angsupasirikul

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This research proposes a novel upper-limb rehabilitation robotic system. Instead of an exoskeleton type, the proposed robot is designed as active 2-DOF end-effector type moving in a horizontal plane, with being compact and easy to use with the harmless image. The rehabilitation robot system consists of a robot, a controller system and a virtual environment (game). The proposed rehabilitation robot system has been evaluated with 2 healthy subjects. The robot system has been evaluated in passive, active non-assist and active intent-based assistive rehabilitation type.

Design And Development Of An Assistive Hand Device For Enhancing Compatibility And Comfortability, Siwakorn Toochinda

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Currently, there are plenty of hand exoskeletons for rehabilitation and assistive purpose that have been developed. They have been designed for working with patient's limbs and can be used for hand positioning and executing task which help reduce therapist's workload and gives them an alternative way to rehabilitate patients. However, there are some patients with permanent impairment which cannot improve from rehabilitation further. Thus, portable assistive devices could greatly help them performing simple activities of daily living (ADL), but such device has not been fully explored yet, the present design of tendon routing cannot closely replicate finger orientation and motion …

แบบจำลองเชิงประจักษ์ขนาดความหนาของฟิล์มของเหลวของการไหลแบบวงแหวนระหว่างแก็สและของเหลวในท่อแนวดิ่ง, เนตรชนก เทียบสี

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This thesis establish a database of experimental results of liquid film thickness in vertical annular flow. A total of 8 experimental results were collected from different experimental groups, which measured the liquid film thickness covering the conditions of annular flow. And propose a mathematical model to predict the liquid film thickness in the vertical annular flow. Annular flow is described as high velocity of gas flow in pipe center and liquid is flowing low velocity around pipe wall. When the velocity of gas is very high, interfacial shear stress increases and shear the surface of fluid drops into gas core …

การวิเคราะห์ความเค้นของฟันที่มีการอุดหรือการครอบโดยระเบียบวิธีไฟไนต์เอลิเมนต์, กันยวันต์ ตวงวิไล

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

วิทยานิพนธ์นี้นำเสนอการสร้างแบบจำลองโครงสร้างฟันดีและแบบจำลองฟันที่ผ่านการรักษาคลองรากฟันแล้วบูรณะด้วยการอุดและการครอบฟัน โดยสร้างแบบจำลองมาจากการสแกนฟันด้วยวิธีภาพถ่ายคอมพิวเตอร์ (CT scan) แล้วนำไฟล์สแกนมาปรับเปลี่ยนให้อยู่ในรูปแบบของแข็งก่อนที่จะนำไปวิเคราะห์หาความเค้นของฟันด้วยระเบียบวิธีไฟไนต์เอลิเมนต์ การศึกษาในวิทยานิพนธ์ฉบับนี้แบ่งออกเป็น 3 ส่วนดังต่อไปนี้ การศึกษาที่หนึ่งเป็นการศึกษาแบบจำลองเอ็นยึดปริทันต์ โดยศึกษาผลของการมีและไม่มีชั้นเอ็นยึดปริทันต์ในแบบจำลอง จากการศึกษาพบว่าควรมีการรวมชั้นเอ็นยึดปริทันต์ไว้ในแบบจำลองเพื่อให้ได้ผลการจำลองที่แม่นยำขึ้น การศึกษาที่สองเป็นการศึกษาความเค้นในฟันที่ผ่านการรักษาคลองรากฟันแล้วบูรณะด้วยการอุดของแบบจำลองของฟันกรามน้อยส่วนล่างของฟันแท้ ซึ่งเปรียบเทียบเทคนิคในการอุดที่ต่างกันและวัสดุที่ใช้อุดฟัน 2 ชนิดที่ต่างกันคือ อะมัลกัม (amalgam) และ มัลติคอร์ (multicore) พบว่าความเค้นในตัวฟันและในวัสดุอุดที่เป็นอะมัลกัมมีค่าสูงกว่าแบบจำลองอื่น ๆ และแบบจำลองที่มีเดือยฟันมีความเค้นต่ำกว่าแบบจำลองอื่น ๆ การศึกษาสุดท้ายเป็นแบบจำลองการครอบฟันของฟันกรามส่วนล่างของฟันน้ำนมที่มีการสร้างแกนฟันด้วยวัสดุต่างกัน จากการศึกษาพบว่าแบบจำลองที่มีแกนฟันเป็นกลาสไอโอโนเมอร์ซีเมนต์ (Glass ionomer cement: GIC) มีความเค้นสูงกว่าแบบจำลองที่มีแกนฟันเป็นมัลติคอร์ การศึกษานี้เป็นข้อมูลเบื้องต้นในการศึกษาโดยการทดลองทางด้านทันตกรรม การเลือกรูปแบบและวัสดุในการบูรณะ และช่วยในการพัฒนาการบูรณะฟันโดยการอุดและการครอบฟันต่อไป