Digital Image Correlation(DIC) is one of full-field strain measurement techniques devel- oped in recent decades, which has been well-demonstrated to conduct the mechanical properties study of solid materials, by collecting data using digital cameras. X-ray to- mography(CT) imaging helps the correlation techniques expanded to three dimensional investigation of materials, known...
Steel foundries are in great need of automation as current operations involve many hazardous manual tasks. Automating foundry operations is very challenging due to the variety of tasks that must be performed on physical objects that vary significantly in size, shape, and weight. This thesis focuses on robotically automating the...
Automating pick-and-place operations for large steel castings in a foundry is challenging, particularly from a perception point of view. Accurately estimating the identity and orientation of a given part is an open and complex problem, especially if that part sits in a bin of very similar parts. The problem is...
This thesis discusses the design of several microchannel solar receiver devices for use in CSP (concentrated solar power) using CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations. The goal is to demonstrate that, by taking advantage of the higher heat transfer coefficienct of microchannels, solar receivers can achieve higher efficiency than current receiver...
Formula SAE is a collegiate engineering competition that has participants from around the globe. Of the 1000 points available throughout the event, 100 (10%) are dedicated to the fuel efficiency of the student built race cars. Competition rules allow either gasoline or E85, a mix of 85% ethanol and 15%...
Cutting operations using blades appear in several different industries such as food processing, surgical operations, gardening equipment, and so forth. As our society continues to increase our technological prowess, there is an ongoing need to better understand the underlying causes of simple tasks such as cutting so that cutting operations...
Improving the quality of the medical system has always been of great importance but has not always made the largest advances. A significant percentage of medical errors are due to wrong, missed, or delayed medical diagnosis. Diagnostic errors are among the most preventable categories of medical errors, but when an...
Given the current abundant supply and cheap price of natural gas (NG) in the United States, there is a significant opportunity to use this fuel for transportation. However, there are few fueling stations for consumers. To address this need, a dual-mode engine has been developed where in one mode all...
After a mobile communication device (MCD), such as a smartphone or tablet, has been sold to the public, the customer may find that there is a defect. Each MCD is sold with a warranty that covers the repair of manufacturing defects and is supported by the MCD manufacturer. A third...
Companies working on new product development of smartphones seek to adopt designs and methodologies to help them stay competitive. Due to its high cost contribution to a smartphone, optimizing display cost is an important part of a smartphone's cost reduction activity. Hence, strategically sourcing displays in the development of smartphones...