Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Outrigger Project, Jose Reyna, Tyler Hoffman

All Undergraduate Projects

Outrigger Project

Author: Jose Reyna ([email protected])

Co-Author: Tyler Hoffman ([email protected])

Mentors: Neil Hauff ([email protected]), Dr. Choi ([email protected]), Professor Pringle ([email protected]), Professor Bramble ([email protected]), Dr. J ([email protected])

Abstract

Agricultural areas sometimes experience cold weather in early spring and risk damage to crops due to freezing. To combat this issue, farms can employ temporary fans to keep the blossoms from freezing. The design of a 17-foot-tall wind turbine mounted on 7-foot-wide trailer can help mix the warm air that’s above the wind turbine with the colder air that’s below to keep the crop from freezing. These wind turbines can produce …

Assessing 3d Printability Of Bioinks, Nicole Ramirez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The field of tissue engineering (TE) is continuously improving through the use of additive manufacturing techniques (AM) such as three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting. The 3D bioprinter has significantly gained attention in the TE field because it is more efficient than regenerative medicine and is readily available as opposed to organ transplants. Working like a conventional 3D printer, the 3D bioprinter is able to dispense material layer by layer from the bottom up with the printing head able to move in the X, Y, and Z direction. This movement allows for the fabrication of structures with complex geometries. In this study, the …

Continuous Otm 33a Analysis Of Controlled Releases Of Methane With Various Time Periods, Data Rates And Wind Filters, Robert S. Heltzel, Mohammed T. Zaki, Aron K. Gebreslase, Omar I. Abdul-Aziz, Derek R. Johnson

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Other test method (OTM) 33A has been used to quantify emissions from natural gas sites since it was introduced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The method relies on point source Gaussian (PSG) assumptions to estimate emissions rates from a targeted site or source. However, the method often results in low accuracy (typically ±70%, even under conducive conditions). These accuracies were verified with controlled-release experiments. Typically, controlled releases were performed for short periods (15–20 min) under atmospheric conditions that were ideal for effective plume transport. We examined three methane release rates from three distances over various periods of time ranging …

Design Of Banner Tow Mechanism For Bush Plane, Kyle Ciarrone, Ivan Martin, Rishabh Gadi, Tyler Brandt

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The 2019-2020 AIAA DBF objective was to design, build, and test a banner-towing bush plane that carries wooden passengers and luggage. Senior members on the team undertook the creation of the banner tow mechanism subsystem as their senior design project on behalf of the design team due to the challenge of its mechanical design and the aerodynamic considerations regarding its placement and enclosure aboard the aircraft. The competition as well as access to campus resources were canceled due to COVID-19, so full testing and integration of the mechanism was not achieved. However, the engineering design process was experienced from the …

Classical Engineering Systems Provide Behavioral Analog For Ephemeral Insect And Plant Biomechanics, Nicholas Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In this dissertation we consider ephemeral behaviors of two small-scale living systems, mosquitoes and citrus fruit reservoirs. While these two systems share few obvious commonalities, they both express life events that are complex and conclude within approximately 50 milliseconds. We utilize high-speed videography, between 1,000-16,000 fps, to detail how complex behavior can be modeled as classical engineering systems. Beginning with the larger organism we assessed the landing and takeoff behavior of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to ascertain the secrets of their covert interaction with humans. At takeoff, mosquitoes decrease pushing contact time with substrates of low friction through a modified takeoff …

A Computational Biomechanical Model-Based Optimization Of Fulcrum Support In Orthosis Enabled Closed Reduction Of Developmental Dysplasia Of The Hip, Christopher Rose

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Hip abduction orthosis devices (HAOD) are used to reduce the hip joint of infants affected by developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). HAOD have been successful for mild cases of DDH and ineffective for severe cases. Efforts in understanding the biomechanics of lower limbs have been made to improve the success rate of current treatment methods, especially for Grade IV dislocations (G4). The aim of this dissertation is twofold: first, it proposes the use of a varying fulcrum point (FP) located below the leg to improve DDH treatment; and secondly, it defines the optimal FP (OP) location for a broad …

Evaluation Of Far-Side Occupant Safety Based On Numerical Modeling, Syed Akhtar Imam

Wayne State University Dissertations

The objective of this study was to augment the knowledge of the far-side occupant injury biomechanics in side impact vehicle crashes. Most research studies conducted to investigate the far-side occupant injuries are through the field crash data for a better understanding of human impact responses, injury mechanisms, and injury tolerance levels. The data obtained from field data is also used in the development of injury mitigation technologies, such as safety belts, airbags, etc. A field data represents the injury outcome of an automotive crash, but it doesn’t leave behind enough information for in-depth knowledge. The use of cadaver is the …

Low- And High-Drag Intermittencies In Turbulent Channel Flows, Rishav Agrawal, Henry C.-H. Ng, Ethan A. Davis, Jae Sung Park, Michael D. Graham, David J.C. Dennis, Robert J. Poole

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Recent direct numerical simulations (DNS) and experiments in turbulent channel flow have found intermittent low- and high-drag events in Newtonian fluid flows, at Reτ = uτh/ν between 70 and 100, where uτ, h and ν are the friction velocity, channel half-height and kinematic viscosity, respectively. These intervals of low-drag and high-drag have been termed “hibernating” and “hyperactive”, respectively, and in this paper, a further investigation of these intermittent events is conducted using experimental and numerical techniques. For experiments, simultaneous measurements of wall shear stress and velocity are carried out in a channel flow facility using hot-film anemometry (HFA) and laser …

Experimental Studies Of Interfacial Behavior Of Contact System During Liquid Mediated Rough Surfaces Separation, Nhat Le

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In the applications related to liquid-solid interface, their operation could be affected by the properties of the interface especially the applications that have infinitesimal interaction force at the interface surface and high interaction velocity. This study provides real time dynamic force measurement in separation process along with the real time image acquisition to explain the deviation between theoretical and experimental methods. The experimental design, setup and initial conditions for experiment are described in detail for further study related to liquid separating force. The simulation model is created to apply the theoretical model in prediction of meniscus force for different initial …

Indoor Navigation For Visually Impaired Person Using Inertial And Geomagnetic Information, Jayanth Ammanabrolu

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Motivated by the need for assistance of indoor guidance for visually impaired persons (VIPs), a sensing system using inertial and geo-magnetic information has been developed to navigate a VIP person indoor. Orientation estimation, which is critical for indoor localization, is conducted using the information of the angular velocity, acceleration and geomagnetic field. By analyzing the characters of human gait, a method to eliminate the accumulated drift introduced by double integrations is introduced. By attaching the inertial sensor to the foot, the periodic stationary state will facilitate the drift correction. Also, the distinctive distortion of the geomagnetic field, which contains spatial …

Additive Manufacturing Of Elastomeric Lung Phantoms In Radiation Oncology, Jonathan Sookdeo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Cancer is a particularly difficult disease to manage and treat, with cancer of the lung being a notably complex disease to treat with radiation therapy. In this study, a stereolithography-based 3D printing process was developed to fabricate human lung phantoms with identical mechanical and physical properties of human lungs in order to assist with targeted radiation therapy. A highly flexible UV photopolymer material with an elastic modulus of approximately 350 KPa was formulated for use in a custom-built stereolithography-based 3D printing apparatus. The printer built for 3D printing of the photopolymer features a large build volume with off-shelf components with …

Detailed Study Of Flow And Surface Heat Transfer Enhancement Mechanism In The Presence Of Dimples And/Or Protrusions, Gaurav Gupta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Recent advancements in material technology have led to the development of non-porous negative Poisson's ratio (NPR) materials (also called auxetic structures) by making spherical inline dimples on both sides of an elastic sheet. Manufacturing technologies such as 3-D printing and additive manufacturing paved the way to realize the complex shapes needed to achieve NPR behavior. These materials are desirable in many engineering applications, especially in the gas turbines hot-gas-path, due to their unique properties. In the current study, an effort is made to understand the flow physics and surface heat transfer mechanism for channel flow having one wall with spherical …

Tip Clearance Effect On Convective Heat Transfer In Micro Scale Pin Fins, Hanieh Tabkhivayghan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Fluid flow and local heat transfer in a microchannel with single and array of pin fins have been studied. For the single pin fin case, a microchannel with a 150-µm diameter pin fin with a tip clearance was experimentally and numerically studied for three Reynolds numbers in laminar regime. Tip clearances of 0, 30, 45 and 100 µm in a 200-µm high microchannel. Experimental and numerical local temperatures and the corresponding Nusselt numbers along the centerline of the pin fin were presented and discussed. Local temperatures were measured on top of the heater surface and downstream the pin fin through …

Seismocardiography - Genesis, And Utilization Of Machine Learning For Variability Reduction And Improved Cardiac Health Monitoring, Peshala Thibbotuwawa Gamage

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Seismocardiography (SCG) is the measured chest surface vibrations resulting from cardiac activity. Although SCG can contain information that correlate with cardiac health, its utility may be limited by lack of understanding of the signal genesis and a variability that can mask subtle SCG changes. The current research utilized medical imaging reconstruction and finite element method (FEM) to simulate SCG by modeling the propagation of myocardial movements to the chest surface. FEM analysis provided a link between myocardial movements and the SCG signals measured at the chest surface and suggested that myocardial movement is a primary source of SCG. Increased understanding …

A Facile, Fast, And Low-Cost Method For Fabrication Of Micro/Nano-Textured Superhydrophobic Surfaces, Amir Esmaeili, Noshin Mir, Reza Mohammadi

Graduate Research Posters

Background

Alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) is frequently used in paper industry as an inexpensive sizing agent. The formation of a fractal structure after curing the solidified AKD for an extra-long time (4 - 6 days) results in superhydrophobicity. In this study, a facile and low-cost method was utilized to turn AKD’s surface superhydrophobic in a very short period of time.

Method

We fabricated a superhydrophobic layer by dipping glass and paper substrates in molten AKD and then treating them with ethanol after solidification. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Confocal …

Dose Deposition And Electrostatic Charging Of Kapton Films Irradiated With Electrons, Youssef Abouhussien, Gennady Miloshevsky

Graduate Research Posters

Kapton films are widely utilized in harsh radiation environments where radiation resistant insulating materials are required. For space applications, Kapton polymers are used on satellites as substrates for solar arrays and outer layers of thermal systems. Kapton is also used in nuclear power plants as wire insulation. Kapton materials can be exposed in nuclear reactors to a reactive chemical environment in addition to severe radiation. It is of utmost important to understand how Kapton materials behave under high irradiation conditions and mitigate radiation damage effects. High-energy electrons can deposit ionizing dose and electric charge deeply inside Kapton materials. The charge …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Shielding Material, Vehicle Shape And Astronaut Position For Deep Space Travel, Daniel Bond, Braden Goddard, Robert Singleterry, Sama Bilbao Y Leon

Graduate Research Posters

Background: As future crewed, deep space missions are being planned, it is important to assess how spacecraft design can be used to minimize radiation exposure. Collectively with shielding material, vehicle shape and astronaut position must be used to protect astronauts from the two primary sources of space radiation: Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and Solar Particle Events (SPEs).

Methods: The On-Line Tool for the Assessment of Radiation in Space (OLTARIS) version 4.1 analysis package is used to evaluate and analyze this detailed radiation field. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Langley Research Center, the tool enables engineering and …

Elastic Foundations As Heterogeneous Adventitial Boundary Condition For The Assessment Of Aortic Wall And Peri-Aortic Stiffness From Dense-Mri Data Using Inverse Fem Approach, Johane H. Bracamonte, John S. Wilson, Joao S. Soares

Graduate Research Posters

Background: The establishment of in vivo, patient-specific, and regionally resolved techniques to quantify aortic properties is key for improving risk assessment in clinical practice and scientific understanding of cardiovascular growth and remodeling. Many in vivo studies quantify vascular stiffness using Pulse Wave Velocity. This method provides an averaged measure of stiffness for the entire aorta, ignoring variations in wall stiffness and boundary conditions. Previous studies using Displacement Encoding with Stimulated Echoes Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DENSE-MRI) suggested that the infrarenal abdominal aorta (IAA) deforms heterogeneously throughout the cardiac cycle.

Method: Herein, we hypothesize that the aortic wall strain heterogeneity is driven …

Spatio-Temporal Evolution Of Warm Dense Plasmas: Molecular Dynamics Modeling, Harrison Wenzel, Gennady Miloshevsky

Graduate Research Posters

SPATIO-TEMPORAL EVOLUTION OF WARM DENSE PLASMAS: MOLECULAR

DYNAMICS MODELING Cole Wenzel and Gennady Miloshevsky

Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, 401

West Main St, Richmond, VA 23284-3015

The exo-atmospheric detonation of nuclear device would be of great impact on the material integrity of orbiting satellites. The spectral energy distribution of high intensity X-ray flux, ~10 28 -10 35 photons/(cm 2 ∙s), originating from a nuclear blast is described by the Planck's blackbody function with the temperature from 0.1 keV to 10 keV. Particular damage would occur to the multi-layered, solar cell panels of satellites. However, the X-ray …

Time- And Space-Dependent Uncertainty Analysis And Its Application In Lunar Plasma Environment Modeling, Xinpeng Wei

Doctoral Dissertations

”During an engineering system design, engineers usually encounter uncertainties that ubiquitously exist, such as material properties, dimensions of components, and random loads. Some of these parameters do not change with time or space and hence are time- and space-independent. However, in many engineering applications, the more general time- and space-dependent uncertainty is frequently encountered. Consequently, the system exhibits random time- and space-dependent behaviors, which may result in a higher probability of failure, lower average lifetime, and/or worse robustness. Therefore, it is critical to quantify uncertainty and predict how the system behaves under time- and space- dependent uncertainty. The objective of …

Study On Ductile Fracture With Anisotropic And Strain Rate Effects In Manufacturing Processes, Hao Pan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Ductile fracture is a topic of great importance in automotive and aerospace industries. Prediction of ductile fracture in engineering structures relies on developing robust material models under complex loading conditions. This dissertation addresses the anisotropic and strain rate effects in constitutive and ductile fracture models of lightweight metals. In the present modeling framework, the anisotropic plasticity behavior is modeled by combination of an initial anisotropic yield function and an isotropic hardening correction by Lode dependence. A new all-strain based anisotropic fracture model is proposed based on the approach of linear transformation on plastic strain rate tensor. The strain rate effects …

Interfacial Properties Modulate Water Entry Dynamics For Spherical Projectiles, Daren Watson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Rigid bodies impacting liquid pools incite splashing and air-entraining cavities that depend on impactor shape, entry speed, surface texture, and free surface conditions. In this body of work, we investigate the influence of interfacial properties on water entry dynamics for free-falling spherical projectiles. Our investigations translate to everyday fluid-structure interactions that are complex and generally conclude beyond the temporal acuity of the naked eye. High-speed videography between 1000 -- 3200 fps is used to digitize the water entry process and measure salient splash features under different initial conditions. We assess splashes arising from the impacts of free-falling hydrophilic spheres with …

Pathological Tremor As A Mechanical System: Modeling And Control Of Artificial Muscle-Based Tremor Suppression, Christopher Kelley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Central nervous system disorders produce the undesired, approximately rhythmic movement of body parts known as pathological tremor. This undesired motion inhibits the patient's ability to perform tasks of daily living and participate in society. Typical treatments are medications and deep brain stimulation surgery, both of which include risks, side effects, and varying efficacy. Since the pathophysiology of tremor is not well understood, empirical investigation drives tremor treatment development. This dissertation explores tremor from a mechanical systems perspective to work towards theory-driven treatment design. The primary negative outcome of pathological tremor is the undesired movement of body parts: mechanically suppressing this …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Aerospace Materials, Vehicle Shape And Astronaut Position At Lowering The Whole Body Effective Dose Equivalent In Deep Space, Daniel K. Bond

Theses and Dissertations

As future crewed, deep space missions are being planned, it is important to assess how spacecraft design can be used to minimize radiation exposure. Collectively with shielding material, vehicle shape and astronaut position must be used to protect astronauts from the two primary sources of space radiation: Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) and Solar Particle Events (SPE). GCRs, which are composed of low intensity, highly energetic, and fully ionized stable and meta-stable isotopes, are considered a chronic source of radiation risk to the astronauts. SPEs, which originate from solar coronal mass ejections, are composed mostly of high intensity protons that can …

A Reduced Model For Microbial Fuel Cell, Dina Aboelela, Moustafa A. Soliman, Ibrahim Ashour

Chemical Engineering

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a group of microbial electrochemical cells (bioreactors) that are used to generate energy from organic waste found in wastewater. MFCs represent a promising method of waste disposal and production of electricity. Scaling up the use of MFCs requires extensive analysis and detailed grasp of the required processes. The current work aimed to study a model of an MFC, and find the optimum parameters needed for maximum energy production. The process was simulated and validated on continuous-flow MFCs with a Columbic efficiency of 162% and 35% COD removal. Sensitivity analysis of the model was performed. The …

Characteristics Of Nanosilver Ink (Utdag) Microdroplets And Lines On Polyimide During Inkjet Printing At High Stage Velocity, Aamir Hamad, Adam Archacki, Ahsan Mian

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

The performance of printed electronics strongly depends on printing techniques and printing resolution that enhance their electrical and mechanical properties. In this research paper, a Jetlab 4xl was used to control and dispense microdroplets of highly conductive nanosilver ink (UTDAg) on a polyimide substrate. The waveform effect on the droplet generation is characterized by measuring the size and the speed of the drops. The behavior of ejected drops on the substrate is studied by printing lines at different drop spacing and stage velocity. The jetting parameters that drive the piezoelectric actuator were properly determined and two waveforms (bipolar) were created …

A Numerical Simulation On The Airfoil S833 Equipped With Flapping Trailing Edge Fringes, H. Yu, Zifeng Yang

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Design optimization has been increasingly investigated for an airfoil, aiming to reduce the vorticity in the wake and increase the aerodynamic performance. In the current work, a two-dimensional (2D) S833 airfoil equipped with a flapping fringe at the trailing edge has been studied using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The objective is to investigate the influence of the length (Lf) and flapping frequency (f) of the fringe on shedding vortices from the airfoil and the drag and lift coefficients. The validation of the current numerical approach for both static and dynamic motions of the airfoil was conducted. First, four different …

Perfusion Cell Seeding And Expansion In Dual Mechanical Stimulation Bioreactor For In Vitro Tissue Development, Sarah Saunders, Sam Coles, Joao S. Soares

Graduate Research Posters

BACKGROUND: Engineered tissues are an exciting potential source of small diameter vascular grafts due to limited supply and patency of available alternatives. Engineered tissue vascular grafts (ETVGs) will provide physiological function that resembles native arteries and maintain the required mechanical properties as they integrate with host tissue. Mechanical stimulation during incubation encourages proper cell alignment and increases extracellular matrix deposition. The enhanced organization of the engineered tissue leads to improved compliance over synthetic alternatives without sacrificing strength and may lead to better integration in vivo.

METHODS: We have developed a bioreactor that mechanically trains grafts during incubation. To test the …

Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study On Thermal Conduction Of Cnt-Cu/Al Composites With New Meam Potentials Between C And Cu/Al, Luyang Ren

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been a promising material for thermal management applications including micro/nano-electromechanical system (MEMS/NEMS) due to their extremely high thermal conductivity values. CNTs-reinforced Cu/Al (CNT-Cu/Al) composites are attractive to meet all-around requirements on high thermal performance materials to be applied in many areas, such as aerospace, automotive and electronic packaging. However, the experimental results on resultant thermal conductivity of these composites are far from expectation due to the law of mixture. In this research, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is used to study the thermal conduction of CNT-Cu/Al composites. Before the simulation is conducted, new inter-atomic potentials for the …

Production And Elastomer Compatibility Of Renewable Fuels, Alan Felix

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Hydrocarbon fuel plays an essential role in modern day society and significant research effort is put forth for fuel characterization, performance optimization, and new procedures for synthesis. Despite the eventual and inevitable shift away from hydrocarbon fossil fuels to more renewable energies, investigations into liquid hydrocarbons remain useful while governments slowly adopt and integrate alternative energies. Many hydrocarbon fuel alternatives can potentially bridge the gap between today's heavy reliance on fossil fuels and future complete adaptation of clean energy. One such alternative is biofuel, which is still hydrocarbon based but is made from bio-materials, most notably plants. Widespread use of …