Robotic Bipedal locomotion holds the potential for efficient, robust traversal of difficult terrain. The difficulty lies in the dynamics of locomotion which complicate control and motion planning. Bipedal locomotion dynamics are dimensionally large problems, extremely nonlinear, and operate on the limits of actuator capabilities, which limit the performance of generic...
Natural stream systems contain a variety of flow geometries which contain flow separation, turbulent shear layers, and recirculation zones. This work focuses on streams with dead zones. Characterized by slower flow and recirculation, dead zones are naturally occurring cutouts in stream banks. These dead zones play an important role in...
The organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is a versatile approach in the utilization of waste heat in the production of electricity, clean drinking water, and cooling. The efficiency of these cycles must be maximized to make them economical. Parameters for the optimization of ORCs such as evaporator and condenser temperature have...
As drop-on-demand (DOD) applications continue to gain ground in desktop inkjet-printing, 3D printing, fluid mixing, and other areas the demand for higher frequency operations are beginning to push against the current physical boundaries in DOD technology. The current research is exploring the possibility of controlling drop volume and velocity at...
With the widespread replacement of aluminum with composite materials, particularly in aircraft structures, the lack of comprehensive understanding of these materials is unsettling. The complex nature of these materials, with respect to isotropic aluminum, makes the prediction of their mechanical response equally complex. The failure of carbon fiber reinforced plastic...
Mechanical design is often based on formal methodologies such as Quality Function Deployment. Techniques to quantitatively account for attractability, sensory perception, and affective design have been successfully incorporated into these methods and are receiving growing acceptance across many industries. Although the adoption of these methods marks a large improvement for...
For robotic manipulation tasks in uncertain environments, research typically revolves around developing the best possible software control strategy. However, the passive dynamics of the mechanical system, including inertia, stiffness, damping and torque limits, often impose performance limitations that cannot be overcome with software control. Discussions about the passive dynamics are...
Hydrogen has been shown to be a promising replacement for fossil fuels for use in light duty vehicles because it is a clean, renewable and plentiful resource with a high gravimetric energy density. However, in order to obtain an acceptable volumetric energy density, densification of the hydrogen is required. Adsorptive...
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...
The need for clean and renewable fuel such as hydrogen is driven by a growing worldwide population and increasing air pollution from fossil fuels. One of the major barriers for the use of hydrogen in automotive industry is the storage of hydrogen. Physisorption is the most promising storage technique due...