Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Applied Mechanics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Applied Mechanics

Universal Play Frame Vi, Justin Bazant, Cullen Crackel, Anthony Franceschi Dec 2010

Universal Play Frame Vi, Justin Bazant, Cullen Crackel, Anthony Franceschi

Mechanical Engineering

This design report details the design process utilized by Adaptive Exercise Designs (AED) in creating the sixth design of the Universal Play Frame (UPF). The UPF is an adaptive frame which supports a variety of devices that allows athletes in wheelchairs with limited range of motion to participate in physical activity. The past five frame designs do not meet the needs of the Friday Club due to complications with function and time constraints. To ensure all of Fridays Club's needs were met, the problem was better defined by converting the customer requirements into engineering specifications. The design process our team …


Reliability Estimation Of Complex Numerical Problems Using Modified Conditional Expectation Method, Christopher D. Eamon, Bulakorn Charumas Oct 2010

Reliability Estimation Of Complex Numerical Problems Using Modified Conditional Expectation Method, Christopher D. Eamon, Bulakorn Charumas

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research Publications

A simulation-based structural reliability analysis method is presented. It is intended as an alternate approach to estimate reliability for problems for which most-probable point of failure methods fail and when computational resources are limited. The proposed method combines conditional expectation and estimating the PDF or CDF of a selected portion of the limit state. In the proposed approach, complex limit state functions are simplified to two random variable problems. The success of the simplification depends on the quality of the CDF estimate. Results indicate that the method may provide accurate and efficient solutions for some difficult reliability problems.


Sae Baja: Final Drive Gearbox, Michael Mccausland, Michael Watkins, Ian Masterson, Andrew Sommer Sep 2010

Sae Baja: Final Drive Gearbox, Michael Mccausland, Michael Watkins, Ian Masterson, Andrew Sommer

Mechanical Engineering

This paper presents the results of a manual transmission project for SAE Baja. A full engineering process is documented, including problem definition, scheduling, conceptualization, decision theory, synthesis, analysis, manufacturing, and testing. A comparison is made between existing and potential mechanical power train solutions. The final design is analyzed in dynamic simulations, AGMA stress, predicted FFT spectrums, and shifting rod buckling. A number of complicated parts are manufactured through investment casting and direct CNC machining. Issues in the final assembly have prevented the project from being fully realized, recommendations are made for future SAE Baja teams.


A Generalized Finite Element Formulation For Arbitrary Basis Functions: From Isogeometric Analysis To Xfem, D. J. Benson, Y. Bazilevs, E. Deluycker, Ming-Chen Hsu, M. Scott, T. J. R. Hughes, T. Belytschko Aug 2010

A Generalized Finite Element Formulation For Arbitrary Basis Functions: From Isogeometric Analysis To Xfem, D. J. Benson, Y. Bazilevs, E. Deluycker, Ming-Chen Hsu, M. Scott, T. J. R. Hughes, T. Belytschko

Ming-Chen Hsu

Many of the formulations of current research interest, including iosogeometric methods and the extended finite element method, use nontraditional basis functions. Some, such as subdivision surfaces, may not have convenient analytical representations. The concept of an element, if appropriate at all, no longer coincides with the traditional definition. Developing a new software for each new class of basis functions is a large research burden, especially, if the problems involve large deformations, non-linear materials, and contact. The objective of this paper is to present a method that separates as much as possible the generation and evaluation of the basis functions from …