Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Mems 411: Group B Prosthetic Arm Design, Gage Fuller, Abby Jaeger, Oliver Reid, Max Gordon

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

Design a custom prosthetic arm for a customer who is missing her arm two inches past her elbow. Introduce mobility so that she can utilize the arm to perform more everyday tasks than she was able to before with her immobile arm.

Mems 411: The Rock Collecting Rover Design Project, Henry Collins, Sam Mattecheck, Connor Burke

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The rock collecting over project challenged groups to construct a small,, remote controlled rover that is able to move and collect dice.

Mems 411: Air Capture Dynamic Seal, Erik Truitt, Thomas Rexing, Cole Kelez, Hernan Perez

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

For the DAC (direct air capture) machine, a CO₂ collecting machine, it needs a seal that allows rotation while still being airtight. Currently, a liquid seal is used but is having issues with contamination and evaporation.

Mems 411: Dynamic Seal, Devin Fredericks, Abdul Majeed Lalani, Matthew Schmidt, Edward Tinnemeyer

Mechanical Engineering Design Project Class

The purpose of this design project is to design a dynamic seal to be used on AirCapture’s carbon capture machine. The task is to create an air-tight seal between the top and bottom halves of AirCapture’s carbon capture machine. The seal needs to be capable of periodically rotating and must not leak while in operation.

Reliable Mode Tracking For Gradient-Based Optimization With Dynamic Stability Constraints, Taylor Mcdonnell, Andrew Ning

Faculty Publications

In order to construct mode-specific flutter constraints for use in gradient-based multidisciplinary design optimization frameworks, mode tracking must be used to associate the current iteration's modes with the modes corresponding to each constraint function. Existing mode tracking methods, however, do not provide a method by which to ensure the accuracy of mode associations, making them unsuitable for use in situations where obtaining correct mode associations is critical. To remedy this issue, a new mode tracking method is presented which incorporates backtracking logic in order to maintain an arbitrarily high degree of confidence in mode correlations during gradient-based optimization and/or during …

Synthesizing And Printing Of Tin Oxide Nanoparticles Using A Single Ultrafast Laser System: A Feasibility Study, Enrique Contreras Lopez, Farid Ahmed, Jianzhi Li

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

In laser-based manufacturing, processing setup customization is one of the popular approaches used to enhance diversity in material processing using a single laser. In this study, we propose setup design modification of an ultrafast laser system to demonstrate both Tin Oxide (SnO2) nanoparticle synthesis from bulk metal, and post printing of said nanoparticles using Laser Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) method. Using the Pulse Laser Ablation in Liquid (PLA-L) method, nanoparticles were synthesized from a bulk tin metal cube submerged in distilled water. Such nanoparticles dispersed in water can form colloidal ink that can be used for different printed electronics applications. …

A Numerical Study On The Powder Flowability, Spreadability, Packing Fraction In Powder Bed Additive Manufacturing, Yeasir Mohammad Akib, Ehsan Marzbanrad, Farid Ahmed, Jianzhi Li

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

The powder bed fusion (PBF) process is widely adopted in many manufacturing industries because of its capability to 3D print complex parts with micro-scale precision. In PBF process, a thermal energy source is used to selectively fuse powder particles layer by layer to build a part. The build quality in the PBF process primarily depends on the thermal energy deposition and properties of the powder bed. Powder flowability, powder spreading, and packing fraction are key factors that determine the properties of a powder bed. Therefore, the study of these process parameters is essential to better understand the PBF process. In …

Ultrafast Laser Direct Writing Of Conductive Patterns On Polyimide Substrate, Ishrat Jahan Biswas, Enrique Contreras Lopez, Farid Ahmed, Jianzhi Li

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Laser direct writing (LDW) is a fast and cost-effective method for printing conductive patterns in flexible polymer substrates. The electrical, chemical, and mechanical properties of polyimide (PI) make it an attractive material choice for laser writing of conductive circuits in such polymer. Electrically insulating PI has shown great potential for flexible printed electronics as LDW enables selective carbonization in the bulk of such material leading to the formation of conductive lines. However, existing studies in this area reveal a few key limitations of this approach including limited conductivity of written structures and fragility of carbonized PI. Therefore, more research is …

Investigation Of Adhesion, Deformation Mechanics, And Electrical Properties Of Ag/Sio2/Pdms Tri-Layers For Stretchable Electronic Applications, Rhandy Joe Paladines

Theses and Dissertations

The motivation behind this research is to improve the interfacial layer bonding of metallic thin films to PDMS substrates with the aid of a buffer layer. The physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique of sputtering was used to deposit bilayer thin films of silver (Ag) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) on PDMS. Two chamber pressures were used in this work, 5 and 20 mTorr, to investigate the role of this parameter in determining the interfacial adhesion and the role in determining the resistance sensitivity. Studies of the surface energy and increased bonding strength for metallization are carried out. Surface characterization using atomic …

Machine Learning-Based Peripheral Artery Disease Identification Using Laboratory-Based Gait Data, Ali Al-Ramini, Mahdi Hassan, Farahnaz Fallahtafti, Mohammad Ali Takallou, Hafizur Rahman, Basheer Qolomany, Iraklis I. Pipinos, Fadi M. Alsaleem, Sara A. Myers

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) manifests from atherosclerosis, which limits blood flow to the legs and causes changes in muscle structure and function, and in gait performance. PAD is underdiagnosed, which delays treatment and worsens clinical outcomes. To overcome this challenge, the purpose of this study is to develop machine learning (ML) models that distinguish individuals with and without PAD. This is the first step to using ML to identify those with PAD risk early. We built ML models based on previously acquired overground walking biomechanics data from patients with PAD and healthy controls. Gait signatures were characterized using ankle, knee, …

Machine Learning-Based Peripheral Artery Disease Identification Using Laboratory-Based Gait Data, Ali Al-Ramini, Mahdi Hassan, Farahnaz Fallahtafti, Mohammad Ali Takallou, Basheer Qolomany, Iraklis I. Pipinos, Fadi Alsaleem, Sara A. Myers

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) manifests from atherosclerosis, which limits blood flow to the legs and causes changes in muscle structure and function, and in gait performance. PAD is underdiagnosed, which delays treatment and worsens clinical outcomes. To overcome this challenge, the purpose of this study is to develop machine learning (ML) models that distinguish individuals with and without PAD. This is the first step to using ML to identify those with PAD risk early. We built ML models based on previously acquired overground walking biomechanics data from patients with PAD and healthy controls. Gait signatures were characterized using ankle, knee, …

Turbine Cooling System With Energy Separation, James L. Rutledge, Matthew Fuqua, Carol M. Bryant

AFIT Patents

A method and system for cooling an engine and/or vehicle using energy separation is disclosed herein. An energy separation device is operable for separating a compressed gaseous coolant stream into a first relatively cooler coolant flow stream and a second relatively hotter coolant flow stream. The relative cooler coolant flow stream is directed to a first region requiring increased cooling and the relative hotter coolant flow stream is directed to a second region requiring lower cooling than the first region in the engine or vehicle.

Impact Of Zirconia Slurry In Steel Powder On Melt Pool Characteristics In Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Taylor Davis, Tracy W. Nelson, Nathan B. Crane

Faculty Publications

Purpose – dding dopants to a powder bed could be a cost-effective method for spatially varying the material properties in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) or for evaluating new materials and processing relationships. However, these additions may impact the selection of processing parameters. Furthermore, these impacts may be different when depositing nanoparticles into the powder bed than when the same composition is incorporated into the powder particles as by ball milling of powders or mixing similarly sized powders. This study aims to measure the changes in the single bead characteristics with laser power, laser scan speed, laser spot size and …

Design Of An Innovative Hybrid Sandwich Protective Device For Offshore Structures, Hozhabr Mozafari, Fabio Distefano, Gabriella Epasto, Linxia Gu, Emanoil Linul, Vincenzo Crupi

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Lightweight foam sandwich structures have excellent energy absorption capacity, combined with good mechanical properties and low density. The main goal of this study is to test the application of an innovative hybrid sandwich protective device in an offshore wind turbine (OWT). The results are useful for offshore structure applications. Different lightweight materials (aluminum foam, agglomerated cork, and polyurethane foam) were investigated using experimental tests and numerical simulations. Closed-cell aluminum foam showed the best performance in terms of the energy absorption capacity during an impact. As such, a Metallic Foam Shell (MFS) device was proposed for the fender of offshore wind …

Effect Of Lubricant Type On Deep Drawing Ratio And Drawing Force During Cylindrical Cup Deep Drawing, Walid M. Shewakh

Emirates Journal for Engineering Research

Cylindrical cup deep drawing technology is used in various manufacturing processes. For example, it is used in the automotive industry to manufacture auto parts. It is also used in the manufacture of household items. Lubricants are used in metal forming, especially deep drawing, to reduce friction between the tool and the workpiece. As a result, lubrication reduces forming energy and forming steps, increases the drawing ratio and tool life, while preventing galling, seizure and surface damages to the products. In this paper, the main purpose was to increase the deep drawing ratio and reduce the drawing force by angling the …

Accurate Predictions Of Thermoset Resin Glass Transition Temperatures From All-Atom Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Gregory Odegard, Sagar Patil, Prashik Gaikwad, Prathamesh Deshpande, Aaron Krieg, Sagar P. Shah, Aspen Reyes, Tarik Dickens, Julia A. King, Marianna Maiaru

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

To enable the design and development of the next generation of high-performance composite materials, there is a need to establish improved computational simulation protocols for accurate and efficient prediction of physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of thermoset resins. This is especially true for the prediction of glass transition temperature (Tg), as there are many discrepancies in the literature regarding simulation protocols and the use of cooling rate correction factors for predicting values using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The objectives of this study are to demonstrate accurate prediction the Tg with MD without the use of cooling rate correction factors and …

Pseudo-Stem Banana Fiber As A Potential Low-Cost Adsorbent To Remove Methylene Blue From Synthetic Wastewater, Md. Wasikur Rahman, Sumaya Tarannum Nipa, Sarmin Zaman Rima, Md. Mahmudul Hasan, Raghunath Saha, Md. Abdul Halim, Yousuf Ali, Anjan Deb

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

In this work, pseudo-stem banana (Musa acuminata) (PBF) fiber was utilized as a potential low-cost natural adsorbent to uptake methylene blue (MB) dye from synthetic wastewater by batch adsorption process. Different adsorption factors like contact time, pH, initial concentration, and adsorbent dosage were explored and found that the separation process is strongly pH dependent. Additionally, the adsorption data were fitted with various adsorption isotherms like Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin–Radhushkevich models to detect the adsorption equilibrium phenomena. Reaction kinetics was inspected using pseudo-first-order and second-order kinetic models. Mass transfer and intra-particle diffusion analyses indicate the adsorption mechanism of the system …

A Cfd-Based Scaling Analysis On Liquid And Paint Droplets Moving Through A Weak Concurrent Airflow Stream, Masoud Arabghahestani, Nelson Akafuah, Tianxiang Li, Kozo Saito

Progress in Scale Modeling, an International Journal

We conducted volume of fluids (VOF) multiphase model numerical simulations to obtain the interaction among all the major governing forces identified in our previous paper. Our numerical experiments are intended to assess the droplet generation process and the jetting behavior by providing specific input conditions, offering CFD as a tool to study scaling correlations instead of physical experiments. Water droplets that can represent waterborne paints were generated by piezo-generated sinusoidal waveforms at the inlet of the nozzle. The governing forces included the external piezo-based wave-generation force, the inertial force of droplets, the inertial force of air, the viscose force of …

Effect Of Degradation Of Methylene Blue Dye (Mb) By Using Erbium Oxide (Er2o3) Nps, Hind Ahmed Jasim, Farah Farman Abbass, Sarah A. Hamood, Hind Mohammed Hassan, Mohammed Sellab Hamza

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

In an experiment investigating the photo catalytic degradation of methylene blue using varied concentrations of Er2O3 nanoparticles, different conditions were tested including with and without sunshine, as well as in the absence of a UV source. The presence of a UV source was also considered in the research. UV-Visible spectroscopy was utilized to characterize the catalysts. The degradation of methylene blue dye was monitored by spectrophotometry by tracking dye absorbance at regular time intervals and adjusting the dye concentration. The results indicated that the most effective degradation of methylene blue dye occurred during a 5-hour irradiation time and in the …

Architecture Between Development And Ability Programs, Allaa Ahmed Rasheed, Ibrahim Jawad Kadhim

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

The development of architecture and its pursuit of perfection can only be achieved through society to reach a specific result when meeting new desires that arise as a result of human development, expanding individual and societal needs, and deepening their relationships in multifaceted ways. The research focuses on development as it requires a clear cumulative vision of the integrative relationship between practice and participation in interpreting the act (effect) from the force (influence). It emphasizes that the power of capabilities is understood through learning and education in describing the capabilities of architecture. This involves adopting new ideas and intellectual premises …

The Designing Of Contemporary Teaching- Learning Spaces According To Interactive Flow Action Local School Spaces-A Case Study, Aseel Jasem Al-Ataby, Anwar Subhi Ramadan Al-Qaraghuli

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

The world today faces many challenges related to environmental issues, as well as other social and economic challenges, and in light of intellectual, cognitive, and technical transformations, which led to the emergence of many new phenomena and concepts that correspond to them, including the concept of flow. This concept has been associated with many aspects of life, including architecture, whose importance has emerged recently in light of the challenge of the spread of the Corona virus and its effects on architecture with its residential, educational, and other spaces. This research focuses on the flow in the architectural space in general, …

A New Compact Triple-Band Micro-Strip Monopole Antenna Based On Minkowski Fractal Geometry, Hayder S. Ahmed, Zahra' Salah Ahmed, Sarah A. Hamood, Mohammed Sellab Hamza, Taha A. Elwi

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

Wireless communication systems have made significant advancements in size reduction, with antenna terminals remaining a primary challenge for system compatibility. As a result, much of industrial research is focused on antenna miniaturization in wireless systems. In this work, a novel compact Triple-Band Fractal (TBF) antenna is proposed, utilizing three coupling fractal patches with varying iteration levels of Minkowski geometry to provide three resonant bands. The antenna design is implemented using an antenna substrate with a dielectric constant of 10.8 and a thickness of 1.27 mm within the CST Microwave Studio environment. The zero iteration patch resonator is responsible for the …

The Role Of Community Participation In The Architectural Production, Allaa Ahmed Rasheed, Ibrahim Jawad Kadhim

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

The role of community participation as a power in building architectural output at the level of the act of thinking in architecture and the design process in non-existence is related to power and presence with act. The research is concerned with expanding knowledge in the direction of the holistic language and searching for the role that builds the privacy of the architectural product versus the community's societal identity. It studies the concept of act within the limits of existence at the level of community participation since the act of architecture is the act of man to meet certain needs and …

The Communicative Deviation In Contemporary Architectural Production, Haneen Hosham Abd-Alrahman, Panrizat Q. Hussein Fehmi

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

Deviation is one of the most important concepts discussed in various architectural and non-architectural theses when addressing the topic of creative production. It involves breaking away from the familiar and surpassing established architectural rules to create unique and excellent products that are characterized by their creativity and aesthetic appeal. Recognizing the significance of this concept in shaping contemporary architectural production, the research endeavors to explore the concept of connective displacement in architecture and delve into its essential aspects. The research identifies the research problem as the "cognitive deficiency surrounding connective displacement in the semantic structures embedded in architecture." The objective …

Developed Rc4 Algorithm With Double Reverse For Better Data Protect, Fouad Sahib Muhamed Alkhazraji

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

Computer security plays a crucial role in protecting users' data, and cryptographic techniques are commonly used for this purpose. Encryption is a method employed to ensure data confidentiality, whether it is stored on hard drives or transferred through various media. RC4 (Rivest Cipher 4) is a cryptographic algorithm that utilizes the same key for both encryption and decryption processes. It falls under the category of stream ciphers, which are widely utilized in numerous protocols due to their flexibility and speed. RC4 employs XOR (exclusive OR) function to implement its encryption and decryption steps. In this paper, a technique known as …

Morton-Ordered Gpu Lattice Boltzmann Cfd Simulations With Application To Blood Flow, Gerald Gallagher, Fergal J. Boyle

Conference Papers

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is routinely used for numerically predicting cardiovascular-system medical device fluid flows. Most CFD simulations ignore the suspended cellular phases of blood due to computational constraints, which negatively affects simulation accuracy. A graphics processing unit (GPU) lattice Boltzmann-immersed boundary (LB-IB) CFD software package capable of accurately modelling blood flow is in development by the authors, focusing on the behaviour of plasma and stomatocyte, discocyte and echinocyte red blood cells during flow. Optimised memory ordering and layout schemes yield significant efficiency improvements for LB GPU simulations. In this work, comparisons of row-major-ordered Structure of Arrays (SoA) and Collected …

Design Of Composite Double-Slab Radar Absorbing Structures Using Forward, Inverse, And Tandem Neural Networks, Devin Nielsen, Juhyeong Lee, Young-Woo Nam

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The survivability and mission of a military aircraft is often designed with minimum radar cross section (RCS) to ensure its long-term operation and maintainability. To reduce aircraft’s RCS, a specially formulated Radar Absorbing Structures (RAS) is primarily applied to its external skins. A Ni-coated glass/epoxy composite is a recent RAS material system designed for decreasing the RCS for the X-band (8.2 – 12.4 GHz), while maintaining efficient and reliable structural performance to function as the skin of an aircraft. Experimentally measured and computationally predicted radar responses (i.e., return loss responses in specific frequency ranges) of multi-layered RASs are expensive and …

Hyper-Velocity Impact Performance Of Foldcore Sandwich Composites, Nathan Hoch, Chase Mortensen, Juhyeong Lee, Khari Harrison, Kalyan Raj Kota, Thomas Lacy

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

A foldcore is a novel core made from a flat sheet of any material folded into a desired pattern. A foldcore sandwich composite (FSC) provides highly tailorable structural performance over conventional sandwich composites made with honeycomb or synthetic polymer foam cores. Foldcore design can be optimized to accommodate complex shapes and unit cell geometries suitable for protective shielding structures

This work aims to characterize hypervelocity impact (> 2000 m/s, HVI) response and corresponding damage morphologies of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) FSCs. A series of normal (0° impact angle) and oblique (45° impact angle) HVI (~3km/s nominal projectile velocity) impact …

Predicting Stochastic Lightning Mechanical Damage Effects On Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composites, Juhyeong Lee, Syed Zulfiqar Hussain Shah

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Three stochastic air blast models are developed with spatially varying elastic properties and failure strengths for predicting lightning mechanical damage to AS4/3506 carbon/epoxy composites subjected to < 100 kA peak currents: (1) the conventional weapon effects program (CWP) model, (2) the coupled eulerianlagrangian (CEL) model, and (3) the smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) model. This work is an extension of our previous studies [1–4] that used deterministic air blast models for lightning mechanical damage prediction. Stochastic variations in composite material properties were generated using the Box-Muller transformation algorithm with the mean (i.e., room temperature experimental data) and their standard deviations (i.e., 10% of the mean herein as reference). The predicted dynamic responses and corresponding damage initiation prediction for composites under equivalent air blast loading were comparable for the deterministic and stochastic models. Overall, the domains with displacement, von-Mises stress, and damage initiation contours predicted in the stochastic models were somewhat sporadic and asymmetric along the fiber’s local orientation and varied intermittently. This suggests the significance of local property variations in lightning mechanical damage prediction. Thus, stochastic air blast models may provide a more accurate lightning mechanical damage approximation than traditional (deterministic) air blast models. All stochastic models proposed in this work demonstrated satisfactory accuracy compared to the baseline models, but required substantial computational time due to the random material model generation/assignment process, which needs to be optimized in future work.

Robotic Manufacturing System For Unattended Machining And Inspection Of Graphite Bipolar Flow Field Plates For Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Vladimir Gurau, Ryan Kent

Manufacturing Engineering: Faculty Publications (2015-2023)

A single robot-based manufacturing system for unattended machining and inspection of graphite bipolar flow field plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cells is designed and integrated for demonstration and validation. Unlike most robotic manufacturing systems where an industrial robot is used for tending an automated tool such as a computer numerical control machine, in the present system the industrial robot performs all manufacturing operations, including machining the flow fields on both sides of the plates, changing the tools, handling the plates, vacuuming the plates and the workholding device of graphite dust, flipping the plates, air blowing them and performing machine …