Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Degradation And Fatigue Involving Dissipated Processes, Md Liakat Ali

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Irreversible material degradation due to cyclic mechanical loading is investigated utilizing the concept of thermodynamic entropy, plastic strain energy, and temperature slope measurement. Uniaxial tension-compression and fully-reversed bending fatigue tests are performed over a wide range of loading conditions with metallic and composite materials subject to both constant- and variable-amplitude loading. A methodology is developed for the estimation of the fatigue fracture entropy (FFE) and fatigue toughness of metallic specimens in a rapid fashion. It is found that the FFE and the fatigue toughness of each material tested are within a small band. The value of FFE is found to …

Modeling Two-Phase Flow And Heat Transfer In Polygonal Microchannels, Sai Sashankh Rao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Microfluidics is a burgeoning research area with applications ranging from microfluidic cooling to biomolecule synthesis. Here we study two problems to gain an improved understanding of two-phase flow and heat transfer in microfluidic devices. We also study a third problem on boundary layer flow out of theoretical interest. In the first problem, we study the heat and mass transfer in polygonal micro heat pipes under small imposed temperature differences. A micro heat pipe, used in electronics cooling, consists of a closed polygonal microchannel filled with a wetting liquid and a long vapor bubble. We model the evaporation, fluid flow, and …

Assessment Of The Wear Effects Of Alumina-Nanofluids On Heat-Exchanger Materials, Fnu Aktaruzzaman

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Nanofluids are nano-size-powder suspensions in liquids that are mainly studied for their abnormal thermal transport properties, and hence as enhanced alternatives to ordinary cooling fluids. The tribological effects of nanofluids are, however, largely unknown, in particular their likely wear and/or erosion effects, because of their interaction with cooling-system (heat-exchanger) materials. The thesis presents research to establish methodologies for testing and evaluating surface-change by nanofluid impact. The work is presented on development of novel test rigs and testing methodologies, and on the use of typical surface analysis tools for assessment of wear and erosion that may be produced by nanofluids; prediction …

Torque Testing System: Flowserve Corporation, Taylor Catlin, David Reese, Bodin Rojanachaichanin, Kyle Stangland

Mechanical Engineering

Flowserve Corporation provides products and customer support to companies in the process industry for the design, testing, and manufacturing of mechanical seals. This includes, but is not limited to, companies concerned with power generation, fossil fuels, water resources, and chemical processing. In industries where fluid transportation is leveraged, mechanical seals have been utilized in pumps to increase performance. A mechanical seal is a design feature in pumps that seal the impeller housing and allow for little to no leakage. This technology is cutting edge and a considerable amount of research pertaining to the advantageous effects of specialized surface features is …

Modeling Crabbing Dynamics In An Electron-Ion Collider, A. Castilla, V. S. Morozov, T. Satogata, J. R. Delayen

Physics Faculty Publications

A local crabbing scheme requires π/2 (mod π) horizontal betatron phase advances from an interaction point (IP) to the crab cavities on each side of it. However, realistic phase advances generated by sets of quadrupoles, or Final Focusing Blocks (FFB), between the crab cavities located in the expanded beam regions and the IP differ slightly from π/2. To understand the effect of crabbing on the beam dynamics in this case, a simple model of the optics of the Medium Energy Electron-Ion Collider (MEIC) including local crabbing was developed using linear matrices and then studied numerically over multiple turns (1000 passes) …

Predictive Methods For End Of Life Prognosis In Composites, Vamsee Vadlamudi

Theses and Dissertations

The long-term properties of continuous fiber reinforced composite materials are increasingly important as applications in airplanes, cars, and other safety critical structures are growing rapidly. The mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of composite materials are altered by the initiation and accumulation of discrete fracture events whose distribution and eventual interaction defines the limits of design, such as strength and life. There is a correlation that exists between the long term behavior of those materials under combined mechanical, thermal, and electrical fields, and the functional properties and characteristics of the composite materials that requires a fundamental understanding of the material state …

Intelligent Supervisory Switching Control Of An Unmanned Surface Vehicle, Ivan Rodrigues Bertaska

Link Foundation Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation Fellowship Reports

The project originally proposed for this fellowship focused on developing a framework for multimodal control of an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) – transitioning it from an underactuated system to an overactuated one. This would assist in two main functions USVs are typically tasked with: transiting and station-keeping. This project has since expanded to encompass novel territory in control theory, robotics, and computer science. The author is hopeful that the work reported here will assist in the transition of USVs from an academic pursuit into a valuable, pervasive tool for the oceanic sciences and the ocean industry. For the continued expansion …

Development And Preliminary Evaluation Of A Spray Deposition Sensing System For Improving Pesticide Application, Melissa A. Kesterson, Joe D. Luck, Michael P. Sama

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

An electronic, resistance-based sensor array and data acquisition system was developed to measure spray deposition from hydraulic nozzles. The sensor surface consisted of several parallel tin plated copper traces of varying widths with varying gap widths. The system contained an embedded microprocessor to monitor output voltage corresponding to spray deposition every second. In addition, a wireless module was used to transmit the voltage values to a remote laptop. Tests were conducted in two stages to evaluate the performance of the sensor array in an attempt to quantify the spray deposition. Initial tests utilized manual droplet placement on the sensor surface …

Inducing Persistent Flow Disturbances Accelerates Atherogenesis And Promotes Thin Cap Fibroatheroma Development In D374y-Pcsk9 Hypercholesterolemic Minipigs, Ryan M. Pedrigi, Christian Bo Poulsen, Vikram V. Mehta, Niels Ramsing Holm, Nilesh Pareek, Anouk L. Post, Ismail Dogu Kilic, Winston A.S. Banya, Gianni Dall'ara, Alessio Mattesini, Martin M. Bjorklund, Niels P. Andersen, Anna K. Grondal, Enrico Petretto, Nicolas Foin, Justin E. Davies, Carlo Di Mario, Jacob Fog Bentzon, Hans Erik Botker, Erling Falk, Rob Krams, Ranil De Silva

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background—Although disturbed flow is thought to play a central role in the development of advanced coronary atherosclerotic plaques, no causal relationship has been established. We evaluated whether inducing disturbed flow would cause the development of advanced coronary plaques, including thin cap fibroatheroma (TCFA).

Methods and Results—D374Y-PCSK9 hypercholesterolemic minipigs (N=5) were instrumented with an intracoronary shear-modifying stent (SMS). Frequency-domain optical coherence tomography was obtained at baseline, immediately post-stent, 19, and 34 weeks and used to compute shear stress metrics of disturbed flow. At 34 weeks, plaque type was assessed within serially-collected histological sections and co-registered to …

Self‑Propelled Droplets On Heated Surfaces With Angled Self‑Assembled Micro/Nanostructures, Cory Kruse, Isra Somanas, Troy Anderson, Chris Wilson, Craig Zuhlke, Dennis Alexander, George Gogos, Sidy Ndao

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Directional and ratchet-like functionalized surfaces can induce liquid transport without the use of an external force. In this paper, we investigate the motion of liquid droplets near the Leidenfrost temperature on functionalized self-assembled asymmetric microstructured surfaces. The surfaces, which have angled microstructures, display unidirectional properties. The surfaces are fabricated on stainless steel through the use of a femtosecond laser-assisted process. Through this process, mound-like microstructures are formed through a combination of material ablation, fluid flow, and material redeposition. In order to achieve the asymmetry of the microstructures, the femtosecond laser is directed at an angle with respect to the sample …

Quantification Of Ultraprecision Surface Morphology Using An Algebraic Graph Theoretic Approach, Prahalad Rao, Satish T. S. Bukkapatnam, Zhenyu (James) Kong, Omer F. Beyca, Kenneth Case, Ranga Komanduri

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Assessment of progressive, nano-scale variation of surface morphology during ultraprecision manufacturing processes, such as fine-abrasive polishing of semiconductor wafers, is a challenging proposition owing to limitations with traditional surface quantifiers. We present an algebraic graph theoretic approach that uses graph topological invariants for quantification of ultraprecision surface morphology. The graph theoretic approach captures heterogeneous multi-scaled aspects of surface morphology from optical micrographs, and is therefore valuable for in situ real-time assessment of surface quality. Extensive experimental investigations with specular finished (Sa ~ 5 nm) blanket copper wafers from a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process suggest that the proposed method was …

Acoustic Nonlinearity Parameters For Transversely Isotropic Polycrystalline Materials, Christopher M. Kube, Joseph A. Turner

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

This article considers polycrystalline materials with macroscopic elastic anisotropy and the effect of the anisotropy on the quadratic nonlinearity parameter used to describe second harmonic generation in solids. The polycrystal is assumed to have transversely isotropic elastic symmetry, which leads to a directional dependence of the nonlinearity parameters. Additionally, the anisotropy leads to second harmonic generation from an input shear wave. Estimates of the longitudinal and shear wave nonlinearity parameters are given as a function of single-crystal elastic constants, macroscopic anisotropy constants, and propagation direction. An inverse model is presented that relates measured nonlinearity parameters to the macroscopic anisotropy constants. …

Interfacial Electronic Structure At The Ch3nh3pbi3/Moox Interface, Peng Liu, Xiaoliang Liu, Lu Lyu, Haipeng Xie, Hong Zhang, Dongmei Niu, Han Huang, Cheng Bi, Zhengguo Xiao, Jinsong Huang, Yongli Gao

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Interfacial electronic properties of the CH₃NH₃PbI₃ (MAPbI₃)/M_oOx interface are investigated using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. It is found that the pristine MAPbI₃ film coated onto the substrate of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate)/indium tin oxide by two-step method behaves as an n-type semiconductor, with a band gap of ~1.7 eV and a valence band edge of 1.40 eV below the Fermi energy (EF). With the MoOx deposition of 64A ° upon MAPbI3, the energy levels of MAPbI3 shift toward higher binding energy by 0.25 eV due to electron transfer …

The Operation Mechanism Of Poly(9,9-Dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-Diyl) Dots In High Efficiency Polymer Solar Cells, Chunyu Liu, Yeyuan He, Xinyuan Zhang, Zhiqi Li, Liang Shen, Zhihui Zhang, Wenbin Guo, Shengping Ruan

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The highly efficient polymer solar cells were realized by doping poly(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFO) dots into active layer. The dependence of doping amount on devices performance was investigated and a high efficiency of 7.15% was obtained at an optimal concentration, accounting for a 22.4% enhancement. The incorporation of PFO dots (Pdots) is conducted to the improvement of Jsc and fill factor mainly due to the enhancement of light absorption and charge transport property. Pdots blended in active layer provides an interface for charge transfer and enables the formation of percolation pathways for electron transport. The introduction of Pdots was proven an effective …

Surface Analytical Investigation On Organometal Triiodide Perovskite, Chengong Wang, Xiaoliang Liu, Congcong Wang, Zhengguo Xiao, Cheng Bi, Yuchuan Shao, Jinsong Huang, Yongli Gao

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

In a little over a year, there has been an unexpected breakthrough and rapid evolution of highly efficient solid-state hybrid solar cells based on organometal trihalide perovskite materials. This technology has the potential to produce solar cells with the very highest efficiencies while retaining the very lowest cost. The authors have measured the electronic density of states of CH₃NH₃PbI₃ using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS), inverse photoemission spectroscopy (IPES), and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). The valence band maximum and conduction band minimum positions are obtained from the UPS and IPES spectra, respectively, by linear extrapolation of …

Evaluation Of Peritoneal Microbubble Oxygenation Therapy In A Rabbit Model Of Hypoxemia, Nathan D. Legband, Jameel A. Feshitan, Mark A. Borden, Benjamin S. Terry

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Alternative extrapulmonary oxygenation technologies are needed to treat patients suffering from severe hypoxemia refractory to mechanical ventilation. We previously demonstrated that peritoneal microbubble oxygenation (PMO), in which phospholipid-coated oxygen microbubbles (OMBs) are delivered into the peritoneal cavity, can successfully oxygenate rats suffering from a right pneumothorax. This study addressed the need to scale up the procedure to a larger animal with a splanchnic cardiac output similar to humans. Our results show that PMO therapy can double the survival time of rabbits experiencing complete tracheal occlusion from6.6 ± 0.6 min for the saline controls to 12.2 ± 3.0 min for the …

Efficiency Enhancement In Polymer Solar Cells With A Polar Small Molecule Both At Interface And In The Bulk Heterojunction Layer, Zhengguo Xiao, Qingfeng Dong, Qi Wang, Wenjing Tian, Hui Huang, Jinsong Huang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The polar molecules, including ferroelectric materials with large dipole moments, have been applied as interfacial layers to increase the efficiency of organic solar cells by increasing the bounded charge separation, tuning the energy levels, etc. Here, we report a small polar molecule 2-cyano-3- (4-(diphenylamino) phenyl)acrylic acid (TPACA) that can be either blended in the active layer or at the polymer/electrode interface to increase the efficiency of organic solar cell devices after poling. It is found that the built-in potential of the device is increased by 0.2 V after poling under negative bias. Blending TPACA into the active layer has shown …

Towards Tuning The Mechanical Properties Of Three-Dimensional Collagen Scaffolds Using A Coupled Fiber-Matrix Model, Shengmao Lin, Lauren A. Hapach, Cynthia Reinhart-King, Linxia Gu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Scaffold mechanical properties are essential in regulating the microenvironment of three-dimensional cell culture. A coupled fiber-matrix numerical model was developed in this work for predicting the mechanical response of collagen scaffolds subjected to various levels of non-enzymatic glycation and collagen concentrations. The scaffold was simulated by a Voronoi network embedded in a matrix. The computational model was validated using published experimental data. Results indicate that both non-enzymatic glycation-induced matrix stiffening and fiber network density, as regulated by collagen concentration, influence scaffold behavior. The heterogeneous stress patterns of the scaffold were induced by the interfacial mechanics between the collagen fiber network …

Electrospray Of An Energetic Ionic Liquid Monopropellant For Multi-Mode Micropropulsion Applications, Steven P. Berg, Joshua L. Rovey, Benjamin D. Prince, Shawn W. Miller, Raymond J. Bemish

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The multi-mode chemical-electric propulsion capable energetic ionic liquid propellant [Emim][EtSO4]-HAN is electro sprayed in a 100 µm capillary emitter to test the electric-mode performance of the propellant. The ionic liquid exhibits stable electrospray emission in both cation and anion extraction modes at a nominal extraction voltage of 3400 V. Near field measurements of current and mass flow rate distribution are taken at flow rates from 0.19 nL/s to 3.06 nL/s. Total emission current, as measured by Faraday cup and integrated, increases from 754 nA to 3195 nA for cation emission and from 552 nA to 2012 nA for anion emission. …

Stochastic Interdigitation As A Toughening Mechanism At The Interface Between Tendon And Bone, Y. Hu, Victor Birman, A. Demyier-Black, A. G. Schwartz, S. Thomopoulos, G. M. Genin

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

A Novel In Situ Microscope For Studying Benthic Organisms, Andrew Mullen

Link Foundation Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation Fellowship Reports

Coastal marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, kelp forests, sea grass beds and mangroves have significant societal value. As economic resources they support tourism, fisheries and storm protection while ecologically they host high biological diversity and productivity. Many basic biological, chemical, and physical processes taking place in these marine ecosystems occur at ‘micro-­‐scales’ less than a millimeter in size. Examples of significant micro-­‐scale activities include: coral bleaching of their single-­‐ celled symbiotic algae, larval settlement and attachment, competition between sessile organisms along thin interfaces, and fluxes of particles to and from the seafloor. It is also important to consider that …

System Integration Of Hydrogen Energy Technologies Using Renewable Energy Resources, Tarek A Mohammed Hamad

Doctoral Dissertations

"The objective of this work has two major tasks that investigation the use of CHHP system at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) campus and studying solid waste as renewable source of energy: current and future possibility in Libya. Task one has three major topics. In Topic I, Design of Combined Hydrogen, Heat and Power (CHHP) system for the campus using local resources and treated biogas can be used to generate CHHP using a Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC). In Topic II, hydrogen recovery and cleaning system, Heat recovery and electric power usage, hydrogen compression, storage, and …

High-Resolution Bottom-Loss Estimation Using The Ambient-Noise Vertical Coherence Function, Lanfranco Muzi, Martin Siderius, Jorge E. Quijano, Stan E. Dosso

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The seabed reflection loss (shortly "bottom loss") is an important quantity for predicting transmission loss in the ocean. A recent passive technique for estimating the bottom loss as a function of frequency and grazing angle exploits marine ambient noise (originating at the surface from breaking waves, wind, and rain) as an acoustic source. Conventional beamforming of the noise field at a vertical line array of hydrophones is a fundamental step in this technique, and the beamformer resolution in grazing angle affects the quality of the estimated bottom loss. Implementation of this technique with short arrays can be hindered by their …

Local Alternative Sources For Cogeneration Combined Heat And Power System, Abdulhakim Amer Agll

Doctoral Dissertations

"Global demand for energy continues to grow while countries around the globe race to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions by implementing policy measures and advancing technology. Sustainability has become an important issue in transportation and infrastructure development projects. While several agencies are trying to incorporate a range of sustainability measures in their goals and missions, only a few planning agencies have been able to implement these policies and they are far from perfect. The low rate of success in implementing sustainable policies is primarily due to incomplete understanding of the system and the interaction between …

Rigidly Foldable Origami Twists, Thomas A. Evans, Robert J. Lang, Spencer P. Magleby, Larry L. Howell

Faculty Publications

Rigid foldability is an important characteristic of origami structures that becomes significant with non-paper materials. A rigidly foldable origami tessellation is one where the sectors remain rigid and all deflection occurs at the crease lines. Many rigidly foldable patterns have only one degree of freedom, making them potentially useful for deployable structures. Methods have been developed to construct rigidly foldable origami tessellations using materials with finite thickness based on zero-thickness rigidly foldable patterns. [Tachi 11].

Origami methods have been considered for application in deployable structures such as solar panels [Miura 85] [Zirbel et al. 13] and sterile shrouds [Francis et …

Phase Transitions And In Situ Dynamics Of Crystal Grain Formation Of Alumina Nanotubes Templated By Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotubes, L. F. Lampert, A. Barnum, S. W. Smith, J. F. Conley, Jun Jiao

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Phase transitions of amorphous alumina (a-alumina) nanotubes grown by atomic layer deposition and templated by carbon nanotubes were investigated with thermal annealing, transmitted Kikuchi electron diffraction, electron-irradiation-induced crystallization, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The resulting, engineered alumina nanotube arrays demonstrate a large range of tunable phases that are vital for understanding how alumina nanotube arrays can be applied for uses within biotechnology, catalysis, and other academic and industrial uses.

Anisotropy Of The Reynolds Stress Tensor In The Wakes Of Wind Turbine Arrays In Cartesian Arrangements With Counter-Rotating Rotors, Nicholas Hamilton, Raúl Bayoán Cal

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A 4 × 3 wind turbine array in a Cartesian arrangement was constructed in a wind tunnel setting with four configurations based on the rotational sense of the rotor blades. The fourth row of devices is considered to be in the fully developed turbine canopy for a Cartesian arrangement. Measurements of the flow field were made with stereo particle-image velocimetry immediately upstream and downstream of the selected model turbines. Rotational sense of the turbine blades is evident in the mean spanwise velocity W and the Reynolds shear stress −vw. The flux of kinetic energy is shown to be of greater …

Thermodynamic Grain Size Stabilization Models: An Overview, Mostafa Saber, Carl C. Koch, Ronald O. Scattergood

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Grain boundaries in a nanocrystalline microstructure produce an increase in the excess free energy of the system. Grain growth is a consequence of the thermodynamic driving force reducing this excess. Thermodynamic stabilization is an approach based on eliminating the driving force by suitable alloy additions that can produce a metastable equilibrium state at the nanoscale grain size, as opposed to kinetic stabilization where the grain growth mobility is restricted by pinning and/or drag mechanisms. The present paper reviews and compares various models proposed for thermodynamic stabilization.

Estimation Of Transient Temperature Distribution During Quenching, Via A Parabolic Model, Diego E. Lozano, Gabriela Martinez-Solis, Rafael David Mercado-Solis, Rafael Colás, George E. Totten

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A material-independent model to estimate the transient temperature distribution in a test probe quenched by immersion is presented in this study. This model is based on the assumption that, under one-dimensional unsteady heat conduction, the radial temperature distribution at the end of an interval belongs to the equation of a parabola. The model was validated using AISI 304 stainless steel test probes (Φ8×40 mm and Φ12×60 mm) quenched from 850 to 900 °C in water and in water-based NaNO2 solutions at 25 °C and in canola oil at 50 °C. Additionally, square test probes (20×20×100 mm) were quenched from 550 …

Relationship Between Product Quality And Customer Satisfaction, Albert Vitales Cruz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The National Safety Council (NSC) estimated that over 35,000 people died in U.S. traffic accidents. About 3.8 million traffic crash injuries requiring medical attention occurred in 2013, and the number of deaths was about the same over the last 5 years. The NSC found that product recalls, car repairs, injuries, and deaths were due to unsafe product designs or inferior product quality. These statistics underscore the challenge of producing quality vehicles while satisfying customers. The purpose of this nonexperimental study was to examine relationships among product (vehicle) quality, product cost, product safety, and consumer satisfaction. The hypotheses inquired the extent …