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...
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...
Bipedal locomotion is a complex phenomenon to understand and control, making it difficult for legged robots to achieve the speed, agility, efficiency, and robustness of their animal counterparts. This thesis argues for the use of numerical optimization to investigate and implement bipedal control as it applies to biology, dynamical models,...
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...
The objective of this study is to propose control strategies for legged robots to walk and run naturally like humans and animals. To achieve this goal, we use the spring-mass model for the legged robots to be able to create the same dynamics in the leg as humans and animals....
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...
The ability to engineer stiffness and strength in any desired direction make composites an ideal material candidate for various applications when compared to their traditional isotropic counterparts. In spite of this, the ability to model the material response in composites has yet to be fully explored. Composite research largely focuses...
Formula Student challenges collegiate teams around the world to compete against one another in global racing competitions. Global Formula Racing (GFR) is a collaboration between Oregon State University and German at Duale Hochshule Baden- Wurttemberg Ravensburg students to build a racecar. The task assigned was to create a pedal assembly...