As structural durability analysis is increasingly trusted during the design processes of the automotive industry, more complete and sophisticated modeling of material behavior under both static and dynamic loading conditions is paramount. This is especially true regarding the application of heavy-duty trucks, where modern designs contain large parts such as...
Considering human factors in early engineering design stages can improve expensive late stage processes, facilitate user safety, improve product quality and help reduce the need for physical prototyping. Currently, car pillar design (the vertical pillars between windows which connect the roof and car body) provide safety for the passengers in...
The large wind resource off the United States West Coast has the potential to generate wind power for millions of homes, yet the high cost of energy for offshore wind power compared to traditional sources has slowed the development of offshore wind farms in the US. The four studies presented...
Aggregate piers have been used for centuries, with increasing occurrence in the last few decades. Their usage has been driven by land development demand and enabled through equipment and engineering improvements. Understanding the principles controlling bearing capacities and serviceability performance has been an ongoing area of interest for structures supported...
Realizing the vast amount of energy available in ocean waves, an industry has emerged that is progressing towards the deployment of grid–connected wave energy converters. Likely to be deployed in arrays, a challenge to the wave energy industry is maximizing the energy production of such arrays. We have been developing...
Complex engineered systems design is a collaborative activity. To design a system, experts from the relevant disciplines must work together to create the best overall system from their individual components. This situation is analogous to a multiagent system in which agents solve individual parts of a larger problem. Current multiagent...
As manufacturing advancements continue to develop, designers must be able to consider these technologies during the design process. Unfortunately, many of these new technologies, such as additive and advanced joining, have many nuances that require expert knowledge to effectively apply. Additionally, new design techniques, such as topology optimization, allow users...
This thesis is the combination of two research publications working towards automating functional modeling. Functional modeling is an underutilized yet critical tool for concept generation and product design. Understanding the difficulty both novice and expert designers have in implementing functional modeling in their design process, this research sets out to...
Given the immense energy potential of oshore wind and ocean waves, offshore renewable energy can significantly contribute to the renewable energy landscape. Fixed floating wind is already making strides internationally with increased electricity capacity, while floating offshore wind turbines and marine hydrokinetic (MHK) technology have significant potential that can...
Several wave energy converter designs have been recently proposed that are made of flexible materials. Flexible devices are able to generate electricity by being stretched, and are intended to simplify deployment and maintenance concerns over existing wave energy devices. Due to the relative infancy of flexible wave energy converters, however,...