Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Assessing The Implications Of A Tidal Barrage Power Plant In Hvalfjörður, Iceland, Olive M. Colangelo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As climate change continues to threaten the future state of our world, we are searching for measures to take for mitigation. Among these measures, the most talked about method is the development of renewable energies. Great amounts of attention is paid to solar and wind power, but relatively little effort is given to researching the possibilities of ocean energy, particularly tidal barrage energy. This study assesses the possibility of a tidal barrage plant in Hvalfjörður, Iceland. This hypothetical power plant in Hvalfjörður would have an installed capacity of 840MWh and could produce 613GWh per year. This is less than 0.01% …

Medical Dental Device: Biogeneric Implant Prototype, Ibeth Erazo, Aneeza Hussain, Renata Budny, Gaffar Gailani

Publications and Research

Teeth are lost due to tooth decay, injury, disease, or other causes. Today, dental implants extend the range of care to a variety of patients undergoing necessary prosthodontic rehabilitation. If the benefits of such treatments are to be maximized, then implants must be selected on logical basis and placed within the context of the full range of treatment modalities. However, modern dental implant systems are based on multiple components often leading to micro-movements which cause stress on the bone or bacterial infections, both of which compromise the success of osseointegration and consequently jeopardize the whole implant adaptation. Thus, a new …

Enhanced Heat Transfer In Spray Cooling Through Surface Modifications: An Experimental And Computational Study, Azzam Saadi Salman

Theses and Dissertations

Today, dissipating high heat flux safely is one of the greatest challenges for thermal engineers in thermal management systems, and it becomes a critical barrier to technological developments for many engineering applications. Due to technological advances and aggressive micro-miniaturization of electronic components, the surface area of most devices has shrunk while the computational power increased exponentially. Therefore, the amount of heat dissipated from surfaces has increased significantly. Numerous cooling techniques have been introduced to replace the traditional air cooling systems and to maintain the efficiency and reliability of electronic components. Microelectronics work efficiently and safely at surface temperatures of < 100 ℃ and 125 ℃ for general and defense applications, respectively. One of the proposed alternative schemes is spray cooling, which is considered one of the most advanced cooling methods. It is used for high and ultra-high heat flux dissipation, as it can dissipate 150-200 W/cm2 while maintaining the surface temperature within this range. Also, spray cooling removes a large amount of energy at a lower liquid flow rate compared to other cooling techniques, such as jet impingement and microchannel heat sink. The thermal performance of spray cooling systems can be enhanced either actively or passively. Active enhancement is a very efficient technique; however, it adds more pumping power. The present work focuses on three main objectives: evaluating and analyzing spray cooling performance, developing a three-dimensional numerical multi-phase model for heat transfer process in spray cooling and enhancing the thermal performance of spray cooling passively.

First, …

Computational Wave Field Modeling In Anisotropic Media, Sajan Shrestha

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, a meshless semi-analytical computational method is presented to compute the ultrasonic wave field in generalized anisotropic material while understanding the physics of wave propagation in detail. To understand the wave-damage interaction in an anisotropic material, it is neither feasible nor cost-effective to perform multiple experiments in the laboratory. Hence, recently the computational nondestructive evaluation (CNDE) received much attention to performing the NDE experiments in a virtual environment. In this thesis, a fundamental framework is constructed to perform the CNDE experiment of a thick composite specimen in a Pulse-Echo (PE) and through-transmission mode. To achieve the target, the …

Using A Nondispersive Wave Propagation For Measuring Dynamic Fracture Initiation Toughness Of Materials: Experimental And Numerical Based Study, Ali Fahad Fahem

Theses and Dissertations

Fracture mechanics has been a subject of great interest in the engineering community for decades. During this period, fracture parameters such as Stress Intensity Factor (SIF), J-integral, and Crack-Tip Opening Displacement (CTOD) have been developed and used to characterize the fracture properties of most engineering materials under quasi-static loading condition. Usually, these properties are obtained experimentally by using standard methods such as ASTM E399, E1820 or E1920 to evaluate the stress intensity factor ������ ������������, elastic-plastic toughness ������ ������������ and crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) respectively. Conversely, most critical engineering applications are subjected to a sudden or high strain rate …

Smart Additive Manufacturing: In-Process Sensing And Data Analytics For Online Defect Detection In Metal Additive Manufacturing Processes, Mohammad Montazeri

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

The goal of this dissertation is to detect the incipient flaws in metal parts made using additive manufacturing processes (3D printing). The key idea is to embed sensors inside a 3D printing machine and conclude whether there are defects in the part as it is being built by analyzing the sensor data using artificial intelligence (machine learning). This is an important area of research, because, despite their revolutionary potential, additive manufacturing processes are yet to find wider acceptance in safety-critical industries, such as aerospace and biomedical, given their propensity to form defects. The presence of defects, such as porosity, can …

Study Of Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing With Aluminum Alloy 2219, Sritam Kumar Dash

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses WAAM (wire arc additive manufacturing) technology using TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding method with aluminum 2219 as the substrate and aluminum 2319 as the filler material. The most important characteristic of this method of manufacturing is very little wastage of material as it does not follow the conventional method of manufacturing where material is removed from a bigger block to finally achieve the desired shape. This method uses a layer by layer approach to build the part. Generally, in additive manufacturing, the production time may vary depending on the type of method used. The material deposition rate …

Meeting 2030 Primary Energy And Economic Growth Goals Mission Impossible, Matthew K. Heun, Paul E. Brockway

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

To meet climate change mitigation objectives, international institutions have adopted targets aimed at reducing or ending growth of primary energy consumption. Simultaneously, continued economic growth is forecasted to meet human development goals. Together, declining energy consumption and rising gross domestic product (GDP)is called “absolute decoupling.” However, absolute decoupling is unprecedented for the world economy as a whole (since at least 1971). Is absolute decoupling “Mission impossible?” Given the high stakes, we need a clearer understanding of the extent of future energy–GDP decoupling. To gain that understanding, we perform societal exergy analyses using a novel Physical Supply Use Table framework to …

Wind Farm Layout Optimization With Loads Considerations, Andrew P. J. Stanley, Jennifer King, Andrew Ning

Faculty Publications

The objective of this paper is to improve the annual energy production of a wind farm by optimizing the layout of a wind farm, while considering fatigue loads on turbines. In this paper, the loads are estimated using the edgewise bending moment computed using CCBlade, a steady-state blade element momentum code. The edgewise bending moment is then used to calculate fatigue damage using Miner’s rule. The fatigue damage is used to constrain the layout optimization problem. We show that our method can predict blade root damage with similar trends to damage calculated with other methods, such as a complex, computationally …

A Cfd Study Of Steady Fully Developed Laminar Flow Through A 90-Degree Bend Pipe With A Square Cross-Sectional Area, Subodh Sushant Toraskar

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Fluid flow through a closed curved conduit has always been a topic of extensive research, as it has many practical and industrial applications. The flow is generally characterized by a presence of secondary flow, vortical motions and pressure losses for different flow regimes. These observed irregularities may positively or negatively impact the flow. They are beneficial for cases where mixing of fluids is required, usually observed for multiphase flow regimes or detrimental for cases involving particles in the fluid. There are also instances where a particle-laden fluid transported through the curved pipe was directly related to corrosion- erosion related problems. …

Stretchable Piezoelectric Power Generators Based On Zno Thin Films On Elastic Substrates, Ioana Voiculescu, Fang Li, Glen Kowach, Nicolas Mistou, Russell Kastberg

Publications and Research

The paper describes a stretchable, microfabricated power generator that will be attached on the skin and will produce energy based on the movements of the human body. The device was fabricated on a polymeric, elastomeric, poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) sheet. It consists of a piezoelectric thin film of ZnO sandwiched between two stretchable gold electrodes. An innovative technique was used for the deposition of ZnO thin film on the gold electrode-coated polymeric substrate at low temperatures below 150C. This is the first attempt to use a uniform film of ZnO, for energy harvesting. The ZnO film had the thickness at the submicron …

System And Method For Sensing Wind Flow Passing Over Complex Terrain, Saleh Nabi, Piyush Grover, Mithu Debnath

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

A wind flow sensing system determines a first approximation of the velocity field at each of the altitudes by simulating computational fluid dynamics ( CFD ) of the wind flow with operating parameters reducing a cost function of a weighted combination of errors , determines a horizontal derivative of vertical velocity at each of the altitudes from the first approximation of the velocity fields , and determines a second approximation of the velocity fields using geometric relationships between a velocity field for each of the altitudes , projections of the measurements of radial velocities on the three - dimensional axes …

Centrifugally Spun Α-Fe2o3/Tio2/Carbon Composite Fibers As Anode Materials For Lithium-Ion Batteries, Luis Zuniga, Gabriel Gonzalez, Roberto Orrostieta Chavez, Jason C. Myers, Timothy P. Lodge, Mataz Alcoutlabi

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

We report results on the electrochemical performance of flexible and binder-free α-Fe₂O₃/TiO₂/carbon composite fiber anodes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The composite fibers were produced via centrifugal spinning and subsequent thermal processing. The fibers were prepared from a precursor solution containing PVP/iron (III) acetylacetonate/titanium (IV) butoxide/ethanol/acetic acid followed by oxidation at 200 °C in air and then carbonization at 550 °C under flowing argon. The morphology and structure of the composite fibers were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), …

Multi-Resonant Feedback Control Of A Single Degree-Of-Freedom Wave Energy Converter, David G. Wilson, Rush D. Robinett Iii, Ossama Abdelkhalik, Jiajun Song, Giorgio Bacelli

Michigan Tech Patents

A multi-resonant wide band controller decomposes the wave energy converter control problem into sub-problems; an independent single-frequency controller is used for each sub-problem. Thus, each sub-problem controller can be optimized independently. The feedback control enables actual time-domain realization of multi-frequency complex conjugate control. The feedback strategy requires only measurements of the buoy position and velocity. No knowledge of excitation force, wave measurements, nor wave prediction is needed. As an example, the feedback signal processing can be carried out using Fast Fourier Transform with Hanning windows and optimization of amplitudes and phases. Given that the output signal is decomposed into individual …

Environmental And Economic Implications Of Energy Efficiency In New Residential Buildings: A Multi-Criteria Selection Approach, Florida Solar Energy Center, Delia D'Agostino

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The choice of the most appropriate technologies in buildings is often a challenge at the design stage, especially when many different criteria are taken into account. Consequently, the decision process relies often on one criterion only, such as costs or energy savings. We propose a multi-criteria approach based on multi-attribute utility theory to assess alternative energy efficiency measures, explicitly considering both environmental and economic criteria. We apply it to the design of a new residential building in Milan (Italy), with the aim to maximize CO₂ emission savings related to electricity and gas consumption, and to minimize embodied energy and …

The Improvement Of The Solar Air Heater Duct By Wired Ribs Utilization, Osamah Raad Skheel Alkhafaji

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Abstract Heat transfer coefficient of the solar air heater duct (SAH) is low due increasing the thermal performance of its absorber. The present study tends to enhance the thermal characteristics of the SAH by adopting the wired ribs on the absorber under different ribs dimensions and arrangements. A rectangular duct is used to form the SAH with length L=1500mm, width w=100mm and height H=30mm. The used heat fluxes over the absorber are 1000W/m2 and 500W/m2 while the operated Reynolds number range is 708 ~ 6375. The utilized wired ribs are arranged over the absorber so as to develop a relative …

Analytical Approach To Investigation Of Free Vibration Of Thin Rectangular Plate Immersed In Fluid, Resting On Winkler And Pasternak Foundations, Obanishola Sadiq, Gbeminiyi Sobamowo, Saheed Salawu

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Dynamic behaviour of free vibration of rectangular plate is investigated. This study considered an analytical approach to investigation of free vibration of thin rectangular plate immersed in fluid, resting on Winkler and Pasternak foundations.The governing nonlinear partial differential equation is analyzed using two-dimensional differential transform method. The accuracy of the analytical solutions obtained is verified with existing results in literature and confirmed in excellent agreement. Thereafter, the analytical solutions are used for investigation of effect of elastic foundation, fluid and aspect ratio on vibrating plate.From the result, it is observed that, increase elastic foundation parameters increases natural frequency, increase aspect …

Adhesion Testing Of Printed Inks While Varying The Surface Treatment Of Polymer Substrates, Clayton Neff, Edwin Elston, Amanda Schrand, Nathan B. Crane

Faculty Publications

Additive manufacturing with conductive materials enables new approaches to printed electronics that are unachievable by standard electronics manufacturing processes. In particular, electronics can be embedded directly into structural components in nearly arbitrary 3D space. While these methods incorporate many of the same materials, the new processing methods require standard test methods to compare materials, processing conditions, and determine design limits. This work demonstrates a test method to quantitatively measure the adhesion failure of printed inks deposited on a substrate without changing the ink printing conditions. The proposed method is an adaption of single lap shear testing in which the lap …

Bridging The Gap Between Automated Manufacturing Of Fuel Cell Components And Robotic Assembly Of Fuel Cell Stacks, Devin C. Fowler, Vladimir Gurau, Daniel Cox

Manufacturing Engineering: Faculty Publications (2015-2023)

Recently demonstrated robotic assembling technologies for fuel cell stacks used fuel cell components manually pre-arranged in stacks (presenters). Identifying the original orientation of fuel cell components and loading them in presenters for a subsequent automated assembly process is a difficult, repetitive work cycle which if done manually, deceives the advantages offered by either the automated fabrication technologies for fuel cell components or by the robotic assembly processes. We present for the first time a robotic technology which enables the integration of automated fabrication processes for fuel cell components with a robotic assembly process of fuel cell stacks into a fully …

Fabrication And Evaluation Of A Novel Non-Invasive Stretchable And Wearable Respiratory Rate Sensor Based On Silver Nanoparticles Using Inkjet Printing Technology, Ala’Aldeen Al-Halhouli, Loiy Al-Ghussain, Saleem El Bouri, Haipeng Liu, Dingchang Zheng

Mechanical Engineering Graduate Research

The respiration rate (RR) is a key vital sign that links to adverse clinical outcomes and has various important uses. However, RR signals have been neglected in many clinical practices for several reasons and it is still difficult to develop low-cost RR sensors for accurate, automated, and continuous measurement. This study aims to fabricate, develop and evaluate a novel stretchable and wearable RR sensor that is low-cost and easy to use. The sensor is fabricated using the soft lithography technique of polydimethylsiloxane substrates (PDMS) for the stretchable sensor body and inkjet printing technology for creating the conductive circuit by depositing …

Model Predictive Control Of Parametric Excited Pitch-Surge Modes In Wave Energy Converters, Ossama Abdelkhalik, Rush D. Robinett Iii, Shangyan Zou, David G. Wilson, Giorgio Bacelli, Umesh Korde, Ryan G. Coe

Michigan Tech Patents

A parametric excitation dynamic model is used for a three degrees-of-freedom (3-DOF) wave energy converter. Since the heave motion is uncoupled from the pitch and surge modes, the pitch-surge equations of motion can be treated as a linear time varying system, or a linear system with parametric excitation. In such case the parametric exciting frequency can be tuned to twice the natural frequency of the system for higher energy harvesting. A parametric excited 3-DOF wave energy converter can harvest more power, for both regular and irregular waves, compared to the linear 3-DOF. For example, in a Bretschneider wave, the harvested …

Optimal And Decentralized Control Strategies For Inverter-Based Ac Microgrids, Michael D. Cook, Eddy H. Trinklein, Gordon Parker, Rush D. Robinett Iii, Wayne Weaver

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

This paper presents two control strategies: (i) An optimal exergy destruction (OXD) controller and (ii) a decentralized power apportionment (DPA) controller. The OXD controller is an analytical, closed-loop optimal feedforward controller developed utilizing exergy analysis to minimize exergy destruction in an AC inverter microgrid. The OXD controller requires a star or fully connected topology, whereas the DPA operates with no communication among the inverters. The DPA presents a viable alternative to conventional P−ω/Q−V droop control, and does not suffer from fluctuations in bus frequency or steady-state voltage while taking advantage of distributed storage assets necessary for the high penetration of …

Tracking Center Of Mass With Limited Inertial Measurement Units, Connor Nathaniel Morrow

Dissertations and Theses

Wearable motion tracking systems pose an opportunity to study and correct human balance and posture during movement. Currently, these observations are either being conducted in laboratories with the use of camera systems and markers placed on the body, or through the use of suits containing large numbers (15-20) of inertial measurement units. However, to aid with rehabilitation of individuals with impaired balance, there needs to be an option to collect these observations outside of clinics and without incurring much cost from the user. I have focused on three inertial measurement units, one placed on each shank and one placed on …

Multi-Agent Control System And Method, Piyush Grover, Karthik Elamvazhuthi

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Motion of multiple agents with identical non - linear dynamics is controlled to change density of the agents from the initial to the final density . A first control problem is formulated for optimizing a control cost of changing density of the agents from the initial density to the final density subject to dynamics of the agents in a density space . The first control problem , which is a non - linear non - convex problem over a multi - agent control and a density of the agents , is trans formed into a second control problem over the …

Development Of A Plc-Based Control Systems Trainer Using Open Source Hmi Simulation Software, Nathaniel Bryce Blevins

Student Theses and Dissertations

The integration of an open-source HMI program, AdvancedHMI, into a PLC control systems trainer is discussed in detail. This document assists the reader in understanding the steps required to connect controllers with AdvancedHMI and construct simulated projects. This document is intended to serve as an instructional guide to students, faculty and users. This document outlines and discusses in detail the many tools contained within AdvancedHMI that are necessary to construct simulations for projects. How each tool interacts and is connected to the controller is discussed in detail, including each tools’ applicability to general applications. This document serves as a guide …

3d Printing Of Silk Fibroin-Based Hybrid Scaffold Treated With Platelet Rich Plasma For Bone Tissue Engineering, Liang Wei, Shaohua Wu, Mitchell Kuss, Xiping Jiang, Runjun Sun, Reid Patrick, Xiaohong Qin, Bin Duan

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

3D printing/bioprinting are promising techniques to fabricate scaffolds with well controlled and patient-specific structures and architectures for bone tissue engineering. In this study, we developed a composite bioink consisting of silk fibroin (SF), gelatin (GEL), hyaluronic acid (HA), and tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and 3D bioprinted the silk fibroin-based hybrid scaffolds. The 3D bioprinted scaffolds with dual crosslinking were further treated with human platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to generate PRP coated scaffolds. Live/Dead and MTT assays demonstrated that PRP treatment could obviously promote the cell growth and proliferation of human adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (HADMSC). In addition, the treatment of PRP …

3d Printing Of Silk Fibroin-Based Hybrid Scaffold Treated With Platelet Rich Plasma For Bone Tissue Engineering, Liang Wei, Shaohua Wu, Mitchell Kuss, Xiping Jiang, Runjun Sun, Reid Patrick, Xiaohong Qin, Bin Duan

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

3D printing/bioprinting are promising techniques to fabricate scaffolds with well controlled and patient-specific structures and architectures for bone tissue engineering. In this study, we developed a composite bioink consisting of silk fibroin (SF), gelatin (GEL), hyaluronic acid (HA), and tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and 3D bioprinted the silk fibroin-based hybrid scaffolds. The 3D bioprinted scaffolds with dual crosslinking were further treated with human platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to generate PRP coated scaffolds. Live/Dead and MTT assays demonstrated that PRP treatment could obviously promote the cell growth and proliferation of human adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (HADMSC). In addition, the treatment of PRP …

Materials Selection Of 3d Printing Filament And Utilization Of Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (Pet) In A Redesigned Breadboard, Mark Keanu James E. Exconde, Julie Anne A. Co, Jill Z. Manapat, Eduardo R. Magdaluyo Jr.

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

The demand for a novel and sustainable alternative materials for 3D printer filaments has been knowingly increasing. One alternative source for the filament is to reuse and recycle post-consumer plastic products, which is also a compelling approach to conserve energy and sustain the environment. Thus, this study is focused on the materials selection of virgin polymer resins and recycled post-consumer plastics for use in 3D printer filaments. A multi-criteria decision method of Elimination and Choice Expressing the Reality (ELECTRE) was utilized to determine the best materials for 3D printer filaments. The study has shown that the virgin low-density polyethylene (LDPE) …

The Impact Of Patient-Specific Vascular Structure On Localized Cooling In The Human Heart, Nathan Paul Spangenberg

Theses and Dissertations

Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) is the leading cause of worldwide death and disability, and approximately 720,000 Americans will experience an AMI in 2018. Studies have shown that rapid hypothermia therapy (<35°C) before reperfusion in patients with AMI can reduce infarct size by 37%. Localized therapeutic hypothermia has proven the potential to cool heart tissue rapidly following AMI, 3°C in 5 minutes. Using Materialise Mimics digital imaging software and the finite volume method we analyzed temperature distributions in six patient-specific left main coronary artery (LMCA) models. A mock circulatory loop was used to determine the exiting temperatures of a standard 7 Fr catheter to feed into our model with flow rates ranging from 29.2 ml/min to 68.85 ml/min. Our work showed that therapeutic hypothermia (TH) temperatures were evident at the outlets of three out of all six heart models, which varied in each left anterior descending (LAD) and left circumflex (LCX) artery depending on flowrate. Results of this study indicate that biovariability in patient-specific vascular structures significantly impacts therapeutic hypothermia (TH) treatment methods. These results indicate that further research is needed to examine more accurate physiological effects, such as pulsatile flow and vessel wall thickness. Future models will be used to provide insight to guide more efficient TH device designs and operation parameters to optimize patient outcomes following AMI.

Competence Of A Spray Passive Down-Draft Evaporative Cooling (Pdec) System For Space Cooling, Daeho Kang, Richard K. Strand

Publications and Research

A spray PDEC system has been relatively less considered than other passive cooling strategies as one of the viable low-energy solutions in the cooling of buildings while having a great potential in energy savings. This study is intended to evaluate the capability of a spray PDEC system for space cooling. It comprises four simulation scenarios to see the system response and influence of indoor thermal environment when a spray PDEC system is adopted as a primary cooling system in two different climates. The simulation results show that a spray PDEC system causes a substantial variation in the indoor thermal environment …