Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) resin grades have been successfully incorporated into plastic ink supply cartridges, with 80% of cartridge products containing 45% to 70% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET). With this tremendously successful experience, incorporation of recycled polypropylene (rPP) into Injection Stretch Blow Molding (ISBM) bottles has been attempted to increase sustainability...
In recent years, the research community's interest in fully integrated mm-Wave wireless communication systems has increased significantly. With the standards for 5G NR now in place, the focus has shifted to actual deployment. Mm-Wave systems provide wider bandwidths, higher capacity, and lower latency than existing systems such as 4G. Higher...
The objective of this research is to support DfX considerations in the early phases of design, particularly Design for the Environment. In order to include DfX considerations, especially early in the design process, there needs to be access to knowledge and information that is usually only applicable further downstream in...
Modern product design drives the boundaries of innovation by encompassing complex Design-for-X objectives, and the inclusion of multidimensional stakeholders. This growing complexity in product design has left design teams unequipped, as classical design theory is bounded by designer experience, expertise, and cognition. One novel approach to tackling product complexity is...
Novel graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) and associated chemistry have been explored, specifically: (1) containing alkyl- substituted imidazolium cations; (2) a series containing alkaline earth metal (Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) cations with ethylenediamine (en) co-intercalates; (3) showing reversible intragallery M-M bonding and (4) via electrochemical intercalation of Mg cations with potential...
Work occupies a considerable amount of time in most peoples’ lives and can be a source of great pleasure or a source of pain. To enhance peoples’ experience at work, we must first understand how to measure and improve the design of work. This research sought to do just that,...
The United States generates over 70 million tonnes of wood waste annually, with over 27 million tonnes still available for recovery. Current recycling rates for wood waste are in the range of 10% to 15%, which is much lower than other common building materials and indicative of an underutilized resource....
Manufacturing process design (MPD) represents a design-oriented approach to manufacturing engineering. In this dissertation, Haynes 230 (H230), a solid solution-strengthened Ni-based superalloy, was chosen to meet the material requirements of a microchannel solar receiver (MSR) needed to increase the efficiency and reduce the cost of solar thermal power generation. An...
The fuzzy front end of engineering design can present a difficult challenge, and as such, recent engineering design research has focused on guiding and influencing the way a designer ideates. Early ideation can be especially difficult when attempting to integrate specific design objectives in product design, called Design for X...
As CAD tools become more sophisticated, engineers are able to more easily create complex part geometries with minimal mass given strength and stiffness requirements. However, these complex part geometries can be difficult to subtractively manufacture, which consequently increases manufacturing cost and production time. This thesis presents a method independent of...