Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Cost Avoidance Analysis Of Military Aircraft Components Utilizing Condition-Based Maintenance Practices, Erin Ballentine

Theses and Dissertations

This research involves two major case studies. Both look at the current maintenance practices done by the United States Army and propose a solution for improvement utilizing condition-based maintenance (CBM) practices. Each study details a cost avoidance that can be earned by implementing the solutions and the resulting benefits that can be experienced. Case Study I is a return on investment (ROI) that analyzes the benefits of the implementation of elastomeric wedges as vibration control on the Apache (AH-64D) aircraft. Analysis of the material and operational costs shows that the use of self-adhering elastomeric trailing edge wedges on the Apache …

Behavior Of Piezoelectric Wafer Active Sensor In Various Media, Tuncay Kamas

Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation addresses structural health monitoring (SHM) techniques using ultrasonic waves generated by piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) with an emphasis on the development of theoretical models of standing harmonic waves and guided waves. The focal objective of the research is to extend the theoretical study of electro-mechanical coupled PWAS as a resonator/transducer that interacts with standing and traveling waves in various media through electro-mechanical impedance spectroscopy (EMIS) method and guided wave propagation. The analytical models are developed and the coupled field finite element analysis (CF-FEA) models are simulated and verified with experiments. The dissertation is divided into two parts …

Developing A Wireless Sensor Network Programming Language Application Guide Using Memsic Devices And Labview, Xiao Xie

Master of Technology Management Plan II Graduate Projects

The principal objective of this project is to develop a wireless sensor network (WSN) programming language application guide for junior and senior undergraduate students in College of Technology, Architecture and Applied Engineering in Bowling Green State University. Memsic device, MoteWorks and LabVIEW software are used to conduct experiments in developing WSN applications after both software and hardware platform are verified to be usable with experimental and statistical analysis. The guide is divided into six chapters including both theoretical knowledge and practical experiments in WSN area. Programs, both in nesC language and LabVIEW are improved from previous work, tested to run …

Toy Train Group Ii, Track Laying Train, William Andersen, Jordan Zwetchkenbaum, Chiamaka Asinugo

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

No abstract provided.

A Microstructural Constitutive Framework For Injured Ligament, Christina J. Stender, Evan Rust, Raquel J. Brown, Trevor J. Lujan

Biomedical Research Institute Student Presentations

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of The Mass Transfer Effect Of The Stalk Contraction–Relaxation Cycle Of Vorticella Convallaria, Jiazhong Zhou

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

Vorticella convallaria is a genus of protozoa living in fresh water. It has a bell-shaped zooid equipped with adoral ciliary bands and a contractile stalk tethering the zooid to a substrate. Vorticella is regarded as a biological spring because its contractile stalk can pull the zooid towards the substrate at a remarkably high speed and then relaxes to its extended state much more slowly. However, reasons for Vorticella’s stalk contraction are still unknown. It is presumed that the flow field induced by the contraction-relaxation cycle of Vorticella would augment mass transfer effect near the substrate. We investigated this hypothesis …

Toy Train Group 1, Peter A. Szostak, Chris Levin, Chris Haeberle

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Create a toy train that lays its own tracks.

Team Sunflower - Solar Tracker Team 2, Lindsey Warden, Laura Scott, Ethan Glassman, Max Kapczynski

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Our design problem was to create a solar radiation tracking device. The primary goal of this device was to keep a solar panel perpendicular to the solar radiation with 95% efficiency throughout the day. The tracker had to be able to account for the sun’s seasonal angle in St. Louis, and the design would be even better if it could account for the sun’s seasonal angle at any latitude. Another important aspect of the solar tracker design was that it must be able to reset itself each day for the sunrise without human input. Other aspects to consider were weatherproofing …

Mems 411 Rc Glider 2.0 Senior Design Project, Armando Gallegos, Sayan Patra, Reggie S. Clark, Diego Alarcon

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Design a radio controlled scale model glider with a true "morphing" wing.

Mems 411 Senior Design: Wind Powered Walking Robot, Timothy J. Elliott, Kenna Middleton, Jose Rodes

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Build a ‘Machine That Walks’ using leg like linkages that is only powered by wind. It must walk a minimum of 4 meters to prove that it is capable of walking and at least half of the materials used must be recyclable or reusable within the greater St. Louis area. The machine must not exceed 10 kg and must fit in the volume of 30 cm x 60 cm x 40 cm and must be unable to be easily knocked over.

Process Simulation Of Biomass Gasification Integrated With A Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stack, Wayne Doherty, Anthony Reynolds, David Kennedy

Articles

Biomass gasification-solid oxide fuel cell (BG-SOFC) combined heat and power (CHP) systems are of major interest in the context of climate change mitigation, energy security and increasing energy efficiency. Aspen Plus is employed to simulate various BG-SOFC CHP systems. The aim of the research work is to investigate the technical feasibility of these systems and to study the influence of important operating parameters and examine integration options. Systems based on dual fluidised bed steam gasification and tubular SOFC technologies are modelled. The cathode recycle and electric heater integration options are not attractive in comparison to the base case anode recycle …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2014, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

Phased Retrofits In Existing Homes In Florida Phase I: Shallow And Deep Retrofits, Florida Solar Energy Center, Danny Parker

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building America program, in collaboration with Florida Power & Light (FPL), is conducting a phased residential energy-efficiency retrofit program. This research seeks to establish impacts on annual energy and peak energy reductions from the technologies applied at two levels of retrofit ' shallow and deep, with savings levels approaching the Building America program goals of reducing whole-house energy use by 40%. Under the Phased Deep Retrofit (PDR) project, we have installed phased, energy-efficiency retrofits in a sample of 56 existing, all-electric homes. End-use savings and economic evaluation results from the phased measure packages and …

Design Of Gan-Based Low-Loss Y-Branch Power Splitter, Retno Wigajatri Purnamaningsih, Irma Saraswati, Nji Raden Poespawati, Elhadj Dogheche

Makara Journal of Technology

We present a Y-branch power splitter design with a multimode section using GaN on Sapphire at telecommunication wavelength. The GaN sample optical properties were also investigated, resulting in a refractive index for the GaN layers nTE=2.289±0.001 and nTM=2.324±0.00. Optimization of the structure parameters for this structure was conducted accurately using BPM methods. The results demonstrated the possibility of realizing a GaN-based Y-branch power splitter for various applications.

Ultra-Wideband Notched Characteristic Fed By Coplanar Waveguide, Rastanto Hadinegoro, Yuli Kurnia Ningsih, Indra Surjati

Makara Journal of Technology

In this paper, a novel Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) notch patch antenna with co-planar waveguide (CPW) fed is presented. This antenna only used one layer and the patch antenna is constructed on the first layer and back to back with CPW fed and bottom part is ground plane. The width notch is used to achieve the UWB characteristic. The results shown that the impedance bandwidth is 1130 MHz (1.662–2.792 GHz) or about 50.7% for VSWR <2.

Development Of The Soekarno–Hatta International Airport Rail Link Project Using The Value Engineering Method: Creating Value For Money, Mohammed Ali Berawi, Bambang Susantono, Suyono Dikun, Tommy Ilyas, Herawati Zetha Rahman, Abdur Rohim Boy Berawi, Teuku Yuri Zagloel, Perdana Miraj, Jade Sjafrecia Petroceany

Makara Journal of Technology

Soekarno–Hatta Airport is the main gateway for international flights to Greater Jakarta. Its accessibility depends on the inter-city and Sedyatmo toll roads, which causes congestion in peak hours, leading to uncertainty about travel times. The Soekarno–Hatta International Airport Rail Link (SHIARL) is proposed as an alternative mass transportation project, which is expected to provide accessibility and mobility for people and goods to and from the airport. Previously, the project was unattractive to private investors as it was technically and financially unfeasible. Therefore, this research aims to improve the feasibility of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Rail Link (SHIARL) by using a …

The Mechanical And Tribology Properties Of Sputtered Titanium Aluminum Nitride Coating On The Tungsten Carbide Insert Tool In The Dry Turning Of Tool Steel, Esmar Budi, Mohd. Razali Bin Muhamad, Md. Nizam Bin Abdul Rahman

Makara Journal of Technology

The effect of the sputtering parameters on the mechanical tribology properties of Titanium Aluminum Nitride coating on the tungsten cabide insert tool in the dry turning of tool steel has been investigated. The coating was deposited using a Direct Current magnetron sputtering system with various substrate biases (-79 to -221 V) and nitrogen flow rates (30 to 72 sccm). The dry turning test was carried out on a Computer Numeric Code machine using an optimum cutting parameter setting. The results show that the lowest flank wear (~0.4 mm) was achieved using a Titanium Aluminum Nitride-coated tool that was deposited at …

Continuous Production Of Nanotubes And Carbon Clusters By Use Of The Revolver-Injection-Type Arc Jet Producer, Tetsu Mieno, Naoki Matsumoto, Takahashi Tomie, H. Inoue

Makara Journal of Technology

Efficient and continuous production of fullerenes, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), and carbon nano-particles has been developed by the JxB arc jet method, where the Lorentz force of magnetic field jets out gaseous carbon particles to the JxB direction. In order to realize continuous mass production of these carbon clusters, the revolverinjection- type arc jet producer (RIT-AJP) has been developed. Production of fullerenes, endohedral metallo-fullerenes, SWNTs, metal-encapsulated carbon nano particles has been examined.

Control Of Responses Of Smart Plate Structures Under Non-Stationary Random Excitations, Xiaojian Yang

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

This thesis is concerned with an investigation of the control of responses of plate structures with piezoelectric layers and under complicated excitations modeled as a non-stationary random process. The plate structures and piezoelectric layers are both discretized by the mixed formulation finite element method (FEM).

The investigation consists of three parts. The first part is a literature survey and theoretical development. The second part is the eigenvalue solution and computation of uncontrolled response statistics of laminated plate structures under nonstationary random excitations. The final part is the introduction and application of the stochastic central difference (SCD) method that was presented …

Heat Transfer Enhancement And Applications Of Femtosecond Laser Processed Metallic Surfaces, Corey M. Kruse

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

In the present work, functionalized 304 stainless steel metallic surfaces were created with the use of a Femtosecond Laser Surface Processing (FLSP) technique. The laser processing technique produces self-organized micro/nanostructures on the surface. The heat transfer performance of various FLSP functionalized surfaces were characterized through pool boiling and Leidenfrost experiments. Enhancement in both the nucleate and film boiling heat transfer were observed through an increase of the critical heat flux and heat transfer coefficient as well as shifts in the Leidenfrost temperature respectively. For both experiments, a polished reference sample was used as a baseline line to compare against the …

Analysis Of Vibration Generated By The Rubbing Of Flat Surfaces, Zahrul Fuadi

Makara Journal of Technology

Among the phenomena that occur as a result of contact between two surfaces is friction sound, in which surface roughness is of great importance. In this study, the parameter of contact stiffness is used to explain the frequency characteristic of vibration generated by the rubbing of flat surfaces under a small load. A 3-disk configuration rubbing method was used, which provides a unique characteristic of the system's frequency response function containing specific information about the rubbing vibrations. It is shown that the peak frequency of the rubbing vibration can be explained by using a two-degrees-of-freedom model incorporating the parameter of …

Modified Design Of Pin-On-Ring Tribometer For Hip Joint Prostheses Measurement; Case Study On Salat Activity, Muhammad Khafidh, Jamari Jamari, Sulardjaka Sulardjaka, Mohamad Tauviqirrahman, Emile Van Der Heide

Makara Journal of Technology

Total hip replacement (THR) is one of the most successful orthopedic surgical procedures for replacing a broken hip joint. In THR, wear may occur at the articulating surface of the acetabular cup and the femoral head. In Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, most of the inhabitants do salat (praying) every day. THR users are banned from doing salat for fear it will damage the hip joint prostheses. The previous wear calculation methods on the hip joint prostheses use the gravimetric, coordinate measuring machine (CMM), profiler, and geometric method. The disadvantages of the previous methods …

Endoscopic Application Of A Compact Compound-Eye Camera, Keiichiro Kagawa, Shoji Kawahito

Makara Journal of Technology

A multi-functional compound-eye endoscope enabling multi-spectral imaging and variable field-of-view is presented, which is based on a compact compound-eye camera called TOMBO (thin observation module by bound optics). Narrow-band filters attached to some lenses provide snap-shot multi-band images. Fixed and movable mirrors are introduced to control the field of view, which realizes several observation modes such as three-dimensional shape measurement, wide field-of-view, and close-up observation.

Lateral Load Resistance Of Laminated Veneer Lumber Sengonwooden Joints With Wooden Dowels, Niken Palaeowati, Ali Awaludin, Suprapto Siswosukarto

Makara Journal of Technology

Analytical models for wooden-doweled joints need to be developed. The objective of this research is to determine whether the strength of wooden-doweled joints can be well predicted by equations developed for steel-doweled joints. In this experiment, various connection parameters, such as dowel diameter, species of the wooden dowel, and angle of joints, are studied. The joint specimens are loaded in a quasi-static state with four replications each. A5% offset diameter method is used to determine the lateral load resistance of the tested joints, while the predictions are evaluated by equations given in Indonesian National Standard (SNI) 7973-2013 and the European …

Process Improvements Of Cilantro Harvesting With Ergonomic Considerations, Eric Penningroth, Branden Shimamoto

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The problems presented by Talley Farms to the team were a lower than desired cilantro harvesting capacity and work health pertaining to lower back problems. The project objectives were to address and improve upon both of these objectives. To increase harvesting capacity, a simulation model was created using standard times from time studies. The simulation model helped to compare the different harvesting methods as well as the effect of the utilization of the on-site manager. The throughputs between each of the models were analyzed. To address ergonomic concerns, a work sampling study was conducted and it was determined that kneeling …

Bikeshare Business Model For Cal Poly- San Luis Obispo, Justin Benson, Andrew Neil Gatchalian

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

With the increasing admittance of students into colleges and universities across the nation, the need for alternate modes of transportation is becoming more pressing. College and university campuses, as well as small cities, in which there is a college or university, are being overloaded with student cars. In San Luis Obispo specifically, parking on campus as well as downtown can be extremely difficult to find. Traffic is also getting progressively worse, especially at the hour when class begins/ends and student arrive to or leave campus. Financial reasons are yet another deterrent for students at Cal Poly. Parking permits, gas, and …

Effects Of Patient Factors On Implantation Rates In In Vitro Fertilization, Heidi Richardson, Sofia Soto

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The purpose of this report is to evaluate the effects of patient factors and embryo quality on the implantation rate in In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). For this report, statistical methods are used to test the significance of several patient and embryo characteristics on embryo implantation rate. This project is an analysis of data collected from over 36,000 patients.

The analysis concluded several findings. There was enough statistical evidence to conclude that age was significant in regards to implantation rate and FSH levels. As the patient ages, the amount of FSH levels found in their blood increases. A patient with high …

Ole Miss Engineer 2014-2015

Ole Miss Engineer

No abstract provided.

Redesign Of Talley Farm's "Fresh Harvest" Produce Program, Nicole Bordwell, John Rivera, Jared Toboni

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Fresh Harvest, a Central Coast Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program run by Talley Farms located in Arroyo Grande, CA, has a rapidly growing customer base. They harvest, package, and deliver boxes of fresh quality produce to almost 3000 subscribers. However, Talley Farms’ space for production and processing is limited and at times required for other aspects of business. This results in a problem where Talley Farms current processing system of produce for the Fresh Harvest program is not suitable for the forecasted growing demand. This report addresses the need to prepare for continued significant growth to the demand for Fresh …

Analysis And Improvement Of The Security Building At Pg&E Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, Alyssa Carter, Natalie Christa, Phuong Anh Pham Dinh

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

A new Security building was recently designed and built at the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP).This building’s staff and equipment are responsible for performing routine inspections on all personnel entering the facility in order to prevent security-related incidents from occurring at the nuclear power plant. Similar to airport security procedures, the DCPP security building routine inspections include the use of x-ray machines, metal detectors, and explosive detectors.

The Power Plant periodically experiences pre-planned, preventive maintenance outages, that last 4-6 weeks. During an outage, a power plant reactor is shut down for maintenance, repair, and re-fueling. …