Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Freehand Sketching For Engineers: A Pilot Study, Richard W. Marklin Jr., Jay R. Goldberg, Mark L. Nagurka

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper describes a pilot study to evaluate Freehand Sketching for Engineers, a one credit, five week course taught to undergraduate engineering students. The short-term goal of this course was to improve engineering students’ freehand sketching ability and to assess their progress with metrics. The long-term objective (desired learning outcome) of this course is to improve the creativity and innovation of student design projects by enhancing students’ ability to visualize their ideas with freehand sketches. The class met two days a week for 75 min per day. Students were taught to draw simple objects such as electrical boxes, with orthographic, …

Using Remote Access For Sharing Experiences In A Machine Design Laboratory, Mark L. Nagurka, Fernando Rodriguez Anton, Richard W. Marklin Jr.

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A new Machine Design Laboratory at Marquette University has been created to foster student exploration and promote “hands-on” and “minds-on” learning. Laboratory experiments have been developed to give students practical experiences and expose them to physical hardware, actual tools, and design challenges. Students face a range of real-world tasks: identify and select components, measure parameters (dimensions, speed, force), distinguish between normal and used (worn) components and between proper and abnormal behavior, reverse engineer systems, and justify design choices. The experiments serve to motivate the theory, spark interest, and promote discovery learning in the subject of machine design.

This paper presents …

Improving Student Learning Through Use Of An In-Class Material Processing Design Project, Joseph P. Domblesky, James A. Rice, Jay R. Goldberg, Mark L. Nagurka

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

At Marquette University, hybrid project-based learning has been implemented in an undergraduate mechanical engineering course on materials processing and forming using a team-based approach. The goals of the project are to 1) introduce more active and student-centered activities to improve student engagement and mastery of core concepts, 2) increase students' confidence in their ability to apply what they learned in the course to solving real-world problems, 3) enable students to gain experience using engineering software as part of the learning process and in applications context. While use of process modeling software in materials processing and manufacturing courses is not entirely …

Discovery Learning Experiments In A New Machine Design Laboratory, Mark L. Nagurka, Fernando Rodriguez Anton

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A new Machine Design Laboratory at Marquette University has been created to foster student exploration with hardware and real-world systems. The Laboratory incorporates areas for teaching and training, and has been designed to promote “hands-on” and “minds-on” learning. It reflects the spirit of transformational learning that is a theme in the College of Engineering.

The goal was to create discovery learning oriented experiments for a required junior-level “Design of Machine Elements” course in mechanical engineering that would give students practical experiences and expose them to physical hardware, actual tools, and real-world design challenges. In the experiments students face a range …

Numerical Study Of Pressure Fluctuations Due To A Mach 6 Turbulent Boundary Layer, Lian Duan, Meelan M. Choudhari

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) are used to examine the pressure fluctuations generated by a Mach 6 turbulent boundary layer with nominal freestream Mach number of 6 and Reynolds number of Reτ ≈ 464. The emphasis is on comparing the primarily vortical pressure signal at the wall with the acoustic freestream signal under higher Mach number conditions. Moreover, the Mach-number dependence of pressure signals is demonstrated by comparing the current results with those of a supersonic boundary layer at Mach 2.5 and Reτ ≈ 510. It is found that the freestream pressure intensity exhibits a strong Mach number dependence, irrespective of …

Modeling And Testing Of An R-23/R-134a Mixed Refrigerant System For Low Temperature Refrigeration, Nicholas Hugh, Margaret Mathison, Anthony Bowman

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Low temperature refrigeration storage equipment in the biotechnology industry typically uses cascade refrigeration to achieve evaporating temperatures of -80 °C (-112 °F) or below. Current systems utilize multiple compressors leading to high energy consumption. Equipment operating costs contribute significantly to the total operating costs of biotechnology companies and therefore motivate the development of more efficient alternatives for low temperature refrigeration. This paper describes a single compressor R-23/R-134a mixed refrigerant cycle that has been designed to extract a load of 0.256 kW (873.5 Btu/hr) from a conditioned space at -80 °C (-112 °F). The designed system compresses a mixture of the …

Simulation Studying Effects Of Multiple Primary Aberrations On Donut-Shaped Gaussian Beam, Chen Zhang, K. Wang, J. Bai, Y. Liu, Guiren Wang

Faculty Publications

In this paper, we demonstrate the variation of donut-shaped depletion pattern which influenced by multiple primary aberrations. The simulation is base on a common stimulation emission of depletion (STED) system composed by Gaussian laser and vortex phase plate. The simulation results are helpful guidelines for analyzing the aberration of depletion patterns in real situations.

Water Management Capabilities Of Bio-Inspired Flow Field Configurations For Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells, Nicholas Warren Freer

Masters Theses

"Fuel cells have received an increasing amount of attention over the past decade for their power production capabilities. Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells in particular are researched because of their high power density, large range of operating conditions, green products, and ease of scalability. PEM fuel cells do have a number of issues that reduce their overall performance. These issues include variations in reactant distribution, materials issues for the bipolar plate, and flooding caused by poor water management. Variations in the reactant distribution causes lower overall power output due to regions of low reactant density. This means that optimizing …

Robustness Of A Derivative-Free Adaptive Control Law In The Presence Of Unmodeled Dynamics, Tansel Yucelen, Anthony J. Calise

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Although adaptive control theory offers mathematical tools to achieve required system performance without excessive dependence on modeling, its application to safety-critical systems can be limited by the presence of unmodeled dynamics. This paper examines the robustness to unmodeled dynamics of a recently developed derivative-free adaptive control law. In contrast to derivative-based adaptive laws it is shown, using a Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, that robustness to unmodeled dynamics is improved by increasing the adaptation gain. This is accomplished by including a bias term in the set of basic functions employed by the adaptive control law. It is shown that derivative-based adaptive laws do …

Neuropredictive Control And Trajectory Generation For Slung Load Systems, Gerardo De La Torre, Eric N. Johnson, Tansel Yucelen

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a neuropredictive trajectory generation architecture for slung load systems. The presented architecture integrates the real-time trajectory generation method with a system uncertainty identifying neural network. It is shown that the effect of system uncertainty on a model predictive control approach can be mitigated by the use of neural networks. A numerical example of an uncertain slung load system is shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented framework.

Consensus Protocols For Networked Multiagent Systems With Relative Position And Neighboring Velocity Information, Gerardo De La Torre, Tansel Yucelen, Eric N. Johnson

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The consensus problem appears frequently in the coordination of multiagent systems in science and engineering and involves the agreement of networked agents upon certain quantities of interest. In this paper, we focus on a new consensus protocol for networked multiagent systems. The proposed control protocol consists of a standard term capturing relative position information and a new term capturing neighboring velocity information. In particular, the addition of the latter term results in an increase of the rate of system convergence while maintaining a fixed graph structure and without increasing the maximum eigenvalue of the graph Laplacian. Furthermore, in certain cases, …

Separate-Channel Integrated Guidance And Autopilot For Automatic Path-Following, Takeshi Yamasaki, S. N. Balakrishnan, Hiroyuki Takano

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An integrated guidance and autopilot scheme for a path-following uninhabited aerial vehicle is presented in this study. A fixed-wing aircraft usually performs a bank-to-turn maneuver to change its flight direction. The novel approach presented here, however, assumes that each of the three channels of the integrated guidance and autopilot can be independently designed. This concept makes the design process simple. A virtual target moving on the prespecified path for the uninhabited aerial vehicle is introduced to facilitate the algorithm development. A first-/ second order sliding structure with a second order sliding mode and a high-order sliding mode differentiator for the …

Development Of Dynamic Thermal Performance Metrics For Eco-Roof Systems, Seth Sinclair Moody

Dissertations and Theses

In order to obtain credit for an eco-roof in building energy load calculations the steady state and time-varying thermal properties (thermal mass with evapotranspiration) must be fully understood. The following study presents results of experimentation and modeling in an effort to develop dynamic thermal mass performance metrics for eco-roof systems. The work is focused on understanding the thermal parameters (foliage & soil) of an eco-roof, further validation of the EnergyPlus Green Roof Module and development of a standardized metric for assessing the time-varying thermal benefits of eco-roof systems that can be applied across building types and climate zones. Eco-roof foliage, …

Three-Dimensional Evolution Of Mechanical Percolation In Nanocomposites With Random Microstructures, Bethany Suzanne Fralick

Theses and Dissertations

One mechanism that is expected to play a large role in the enhanced, and sometimes novel, mechanical properties of nanocomposites is the probabilistic formation of percolated or connected microstructures. The majority of the models used to describe mechanical percolation have the functional form of a power law and depend on prior knowledge of a percolation threshold or critical volume fraction. While these models have been fairly accurate predictors of electrical conductivity in composites, they do not take any microstructural mechanisms, other than connectivity, into consideration. Classic mean-field micromechanics models, however, do not capture the variability in effective properties due to …

Structural Health Monitoring Of Composite Laminates Using Piezoelectric And Fiber Optics Sensors, Catalin Roman

Theses and Dissertations

This research proposes a new approach to structural health monitoring (SHM) for composite laminates using piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) and fiber optic bragg grating sensors (FBG). One major focus of this research was directed towards extending the theory of laminates to composite beams by combining the global matrix method (GMM) with the stiffness transfer matrix method (STMM). The STMM approach, developed by Rokhlin et al (2002), is unconditionally stable and is more computationally efficient than the transfer matrix method (TMM). Starting from theory, we developed different configurations for composite beams and validated the results from the developed analytical method …

Modeling And Simulation Study Of A Dynamic Gas Turbine System In A Virtual Test Bed Environment, Eshwarprasad Thirunavukarasu

Theses and Dissertations

Gas Turbine is a complex system and highly non linear in its overall performance. For power generation applications, it is essential to develop a reliable gas turbine model for simulating the impact on electric power generated under various load conditions. This research focuses on development of a dynamic gas turbine model to simulate both single shaft and twin shaft engines. The model is developed on a virtual test bed platform which is an advanced dynamic multidisciplinary simulation environment. The modeling approach starts by developing mathematical models for individual components of gas turbines based on the thermodynamic laws and is coupled …

Multi-Physicochemical Modeling Of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells And Electrolyzer Cells, Yuanyuan Xie

Theses and Dissertations

Multi-physicochemical models are developed for solid oxide fuel cells and electrolysis cells. The models describe the complicated transport processes of charge (electron/ion) conservation, mass/species conservation, momentum conservation, and energy conservation. Transport processes are coherently coupled with chemical reforming processes, surface elementary reaction processes, as well as electro-oxidation processes of both hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The models are validated with experimental data and utilized for fundamental mechanism studies of SOFCs fueled with different type of fuels, such as hydrogen, hydrocarbon, e.g., methane, H2S, and their mixtures. The fundamental mechanisms associated with syngas generation using electrolysis cell are also extensively investigated using …

Electrokinetic Mixing And Separation In Microfluidic Systems, Fang Yang

Theses and Dissertations

Electrokinetics involves the study of liquid or particle motion under the action of an electric field; it includes electroosmosis, electrophoresis, dielectrophoresis, and electrowetting, etc. The applications of electrokinetics in the development of microfluidic devices have been widely attractive in the past decade. Electrokinetic devices generally require no external mechanical moving parts and can be made portable by replacing the power supply by small battery. Therefore, electrokinetic based microfluidic systems can serve as a viable tool in creating a lab-on-a-chip (LOC) for use in biological and chemical assays. Here we present our works of electrokenitic based mixing and separation in microfluidics …

Synthesis And Characterization Of New Ionic And Mixed Ionic/Electronic Conductors, Kevin Gregory Romito

Theses and Dissertations

In a constantly growing and developing world, there is a great need to develop new forms of clean energy generation. Many solutions have been proposed to ameliorate these global concerns, which include fuel cell technology and new processes for reducing polluting chemicals in the atmosphere. These technologies are still in their infancy and require further development before becoming viable options.

In the case of fuel cells, particularly solid oxide fuel cells, and CO2 separation membranes, there is a need to develop ion conducting materials that are highly efficient, less costly to synthesize, and can perform strongly under many real-world conditions. …

Experimental And Simulation Predicted Crack Paths For Al-2024-T351 Under Mixed-Mode I/Ii Fatigue Loading Using An Arcan Fixture, Eileen Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Mixed mode I/II fatigue experiments and simulations are performed for an Arcan fixture and a 6.35mm thick Al-2024-T351 specimen. Experiments were performed for Arcan loading angles that gave rise to a range of Mode I/II crack tip conditions from 0 ¡Ü ¦¤KII/¦¤KI ¡Ü ¡Þ. Measurements include the crack paths, loading cycles and maximum and minimum loads for each loading angle. Simulations were performed using three-dimensional finite element analysis (3D-FEA) with 10-noded tetrahedral elements via CRACK3D. While modeling the entire fixture-specimen geometry, a modified version of VCCT with automatic crack tip re-meshing and a maximum normal stress criterion were used to …

Modeling Ultrasonic Field Emanating From Scanning Acoustic Microscope For Reliable Characterization Of Pathogens (Biological Materials), Rowshan Ara Rima

Theses and Dissertations

Acoustic microscopy provides extraordinary advantages over state-of-the-art invasive imaging techniques to determine the mechanical properties of living colonies of pathogens and micro-organisms. It is possible to obtain the morphomechanical parameters of the pathogenic colonies e.g. variation of thickness, stiffness and the coefficients of attenuation, using scanning acoustic microscope (SAM). However, the process requires an expert with extensive understanding of SAM and ultrasonic signals which is very time consuming and expensive for complex form of analysis. Due to lack of a suitable computational tool, presently the ultrasonic wave scattering, reflection and transmission through the biological specimens cannot be properly visualized. Without …

Improved Limits And Portability Over Currently Employed Cadmium Monitoring Systems Through Preconcentration For Detection By Way Of Micro-/Nanofluidic Mechanisms, Paul F. Wach

Theses and Dissertations

Due to risk of environmental and biological accumulation of Cadmium (Cd), improved methods of early detection and monitoring must be explored as a preventative measure. Listed as one of the top three toxic heavy metals by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the effects on ecological and human systems have well documented side-effects of physical mutation, reproductive sterility, kidney failure, liver disease, bone loss, and death. Found in batteries, metal plating, pigments, plastics, and cigarettes, Cd is also used as a neutron absorber in the nuclear industry as well as having 3 known radioactive isotopes. Urine Cd levels, which have been …

Numerical Study Of Stable Tearing Crack Growth Events Using The Cohesive Zone Model Approach, Xin Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Numerical analysis of stable tearing crack growth events plays an important role in assessing the structural integrity and residual strength of critical engineering structures. The cohesive zone model (CZM) has been widely applied to simulate fracture processes in a variety of material systems. However, its application to the study of elastic-plastic stable tearing crack growth events in ductile materials, especially under mixed-mode loading conditions, has been limited. The current study is aimed at investigating the applicability of the CZM based approach in simulating mixed-mode stable tearing crack growth events in aluminum alloys. In the simulations, which are carried out using …

Structural Origin Of Mechanical Prowess In Conch Shells, Haoze Li

Theses and Dissertations

Conch shells are natural nanocomposites with an exquisite multiscale hierarchical architecture which exhibit coupled ultrahigh mechanical strength and toughness. What materials design strategy renders conch shells such mechanical prowess? In this study, micro/nanoscale structural and mechanical characterization of conch shells (Busycon carica) has been carried out. We demonstrate, for the first time, direct evidence that the previously claimed single-crystal third-order lamellae - the basic building blocks in conch shells are essentially assembled with aragonite nanoparticles of the size ranging from 20 to 45 nm. The third-order lamellae exhibit not only elasticity but also plasticity with the strain up to 0.7% …

Synthesis And Characterization Of One Dimensional Boron-Based Nanomaterials, Rui Li

Theses and Dissertations

One dimensional (1D) metal borate and boride nanomaterials have attracted tremendous attention due to their good chemical inertness, high-temperature stability, excellent mechanical properties, and low thermal expansion coefficient.

Beta-BaB2O4 (BBO) is a well-known nonlinear optical material with a high second-order nonlinear susceptibility, wide transparency range, and high damage threshold. Using a low temperature, organic-free hydrothermal technique, single-crystalline barium polyborate Ba3B6O9(OH)6 (BBOH) nanorods were synthesized. It was found that BBO nanospindles can be achieved by annealing the BBOH nanorods at a relatively low temperature of 810 oC. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques were …

Dual-Phase Mixed Ion And Electron Conducting Co2-Selective Permeation Membranes, Lingling Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

Fossil fuels are the dominant energy source powering our modern society. However, burning fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas that can cause climate change and ultimately threaten the survival of humanity. Effectively mitigating CO2 emissions from the use of fossil fuels has become an intense subject of scientific research as well as political debate in recent years. The current mainstream technical approach to achieving that goal is to curb the emission of CO2 by capturing CO2 at point-sources and geologically storing it. The CO2 separation and capture process, the first step toward the ultimate storage of CO2, …

A New Class Of Solid Oxide Metal-Air Redox Batteries For Advanced Stationary Energy Storage, Xuan Zhao

Theses and Dissertations

Cost-effective and large-scale energy storage technologies are a key enabler of grid modernization. Among energy storage technologies currently being researched, developed and deployed, rechargeable batteries are unique and important that can offer a myriad of advantages over the conventional large scale siting- and geography- constrained pumped-hydro and compressed-air energy storage systems. However, current rechargeable batteries still need many breakthroughs in material optimization and system design to become commercially viable for stationary energy storage.

This PhD research project investigates the energy storage characteristics of a new class of rechargeable solid oxide metal-air redox batteries (SOMARBs) that combines a regenerative solid oxide …

Environmental Effects On Mechanical And Thermal Behaviors Of Zinc Oxide Nanobelts And Dispersion Of Carbon Nanostructures, Yingchao Yang

Theses and Dissertations

One-dimensional (1-D) nanostructures, such as nanowires, nanobelts, and nanotubes of different materials, have significant applications as nanoscale interconnects and active/functional components of electronic and optoelectronic devices, sensors, actuators, nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), and energy generation/conversion systems. The thermal and mechanical stabilities of those nanodevices and nanoenabled energy systems are of both theoretical and practical interests. Thermodynamic properties of nanomaterials are different from those of bulk materials. As the size of a solid particle reduces to the nanometer scale, the surface-to-volume ratio increases and the melting temperature may remarkably decrease. The functionality and/or reliability of those nanodevices and nanoenabled energy systems are …

Ionization In Diesel Combustion For On-Board Diagnostics And Engine Control, Tamer Hassan Badawy

Wayne State University Dissertations

Diesel engines have been known for their high thermal efficiency and specific power output, but there is concern about engine-out NOx and particulate matter emissions. To meet the current emission standards, advanced diesel engines are fitted with electronically controlled fuel injection systems and sophisticated and expensive after-treatment devices. Further improvements are still needed to meet future goals in better fuel economy and the more stringent emission standards. In order to meet these goals, there is a need for the control of the combustion process to reduce engine-out emissions in real-time and reduce the demand on the after-treatment devices. This requires …

Asme District F Ectc Proceedings / Early Career Technical Journal (Front Matter), Asme Ectc Coordinating Committee

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Proceedings of the ASME District F Early Career Technical Conference, November 2-3, 2013. School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama

pp. i-xiv