Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME) International Congress
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The Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME) International Congress promotes the communication and transfer of technology among industry, government agencies, universities and R&D laboratories. The CSME Congress offers a platform for national and international Mechanical Engineering experts to meet, exchange information, discuss recent research challenges, and explore problems of practical importance to the profession and its related fields.
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Item Open Access Modeling Viscoelastomers With Nonlinear Viscosity(CSME-SCGM, Jun-18) Zhou, Jianyou; Jiang, Liying; Khayat, RogerConsisting of highly mobile and flexible polymer chains, elastomers are known to exhibit viscoelastic behavior. Adopting concepts from the theory of polymer dynamics and finite-deformation viscoelasticity, this work presents a micromacro constitutive model to investigate the viscoelastic behavior of elastomers, in which the material viscosity varies with the macroscopic deformation. The developed model is then applied to study the stress response of elastomers. From the simulation results, it is observed that the developed model exhibits strong capability of capturing the typical response behaviors of elastomers (e.g., strain-softening behavior). A comparison of the stress responses between linear and nonlinear viscosity is also considered in this work. The modeling framework in this paper is expected to provide a general approach and a platform to analyze the viscoelastic behavior of rubber-like materials with nonlinear viscosity.Item Open Access Investigation of Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage System for Air- Conditioning Applications(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Alomair, Muath; Alomair, Yazeed; Tasnim, Syeda; Abdullah, Hussein A.; Mahmud, ShohelAround 40% of the total energy in USA is consumed by buildings, and about $370 billion US dollar is spent each year to supply this energy and thus reduction in energy consumption is extremely important. One of the most effective and reliable ways to reduce energy consumption is the use of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) in Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage (LHTES) systems. In this study an experimental setup was constructed to investigate the solidification process of PCM using two different types of heat exchangers: pipe heat exchanger and horizontal finned-pipe heat exchanger. The PCM used in this study is Rubitherm (RT-18) that has a melting point of 18°C, and the heat transfer fluid (HTF) is water. To investigate the performance of pipe heat exchanger versus finned-pipe heat exchanger, two experiments were performed under identical initial, thermal and boundary conditions. The PCM is cooled down from 20°C to 5°C in both heat exchangers. Result of the temperature distribution as a function of time during the solidification process inside the TES system is presented and investigated. Visualization of the solidification process inside the TES system is also presented. Generally, the PCM is solid when its temperature is lower than the melting point, and it is liquid when its temperature is higher. PCM stores thermal energy during melting and releases heat as it solidifies. Both visualization and periodic temperature distribution results showed that as time progresses, the amount of the solid PCM increases in both heat exchangers. At a certain time, finnedpipe heat exchanger has higher amount of the solid PCM than the pipe heat exchanger. Also, the solidification time is reduced significantly when fins are added to the TES system. After 75,000 seconds of solidification, the average PCM temperature of pipe heat exchanger reached to 8.5°C. Whereas, the average PCM temperature of the finned-pipe heat exchanger reached to 8.5°C after 19,000 seconds of solidification. Significant time reduction equivalent to 54,000 seconds is observed when the fins are added to the TES system. Employment of fin is preferred to improve heat transfer rate as the solidification process is enhanced due to the incorporation of fin.Item Open Access Direct Switching Position Control Algorithms For Pneumatic Actuators Using On/Off Solenoid Valves(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Zhang, Yile; Bone, Gary M.Pneumatic actuators are advantageous in terms of cost, power to weight ratio and inherent safety. However, their dynamics makes precise closed-loop position control very difficult in practice. Two sliding-mode control algorithms for controlling the position of a pneumatic cylinder by directly switching four on/off solenoid valves are proposed in this paper. The solenoid valves are much less expensive than the commonly used servo or proportional valves. The proposed algorithms are compared to two state of the art position control algorithms. Based on experiments on a high friction cylinder with various payloads, the proposed controllers provide superior performance in terms of valve switches per second, steady state error, settling time and overshoot. The achieved number of valve switches per second is also about one tenth of the number required by the pulse-width modulation method that is commonly used with on/off valves. This should result in prolonged valve lifetimes and reduced maintenance costs.Item Open Access A New Mechanical Band Pass Filter Design For Energy Harvesting(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Keshmiri, Alireza; Wu, NanThis work presents an analytical methodology for development of a mechanical band pass filter for energy scavenging. The model is based on Adomian decomposition method to derive the dynamic response of the non-uniform smart structure with strain rate damping to external environmental excitations and efficiently harvest the subsequent vibrational energy. The steady state response of the nonlinearly tapered cantilever beam subjected to a harmonic base motion is obtained and electromechanical outputs in open circuit condition are analytically derived. In other to design a band pass filter, an array of cantilever beams with nonlinear geometry and surface bonded piezoelectric layers are considered. Therefore, the filter can choose one harvester to resonate at one particular ambient vibration frequency and reach the maximum electromechanical output. Compared with uniform beam design, it is also demonstrated that the proposed non-uniform configuration can generate higher electrical output over a wide frequency range.Item Open Access Development Of Raw And Treated Flax Straw For Oil Spill Cleanup(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Ghasemi, Pooya; Cree, Duncan; Ulrich, AlvinAn oil spill is a critical problem and appears to have increased in the number of incidence over the past decade. There are several methods for oil spill cleanups. One method is called sorption using either synthetic or natural sorbents. Synthetic sorbents are harmful to the environment as they create another form of waste for nature. This gives rise to evaluate a more environmentally friendly natural sorbent. This research represents the results of study carried out to evaluate the effect of chemical treatment (acetylation) on properties of flax straw as a natural fiber. Sorption capacity of untreated and chemically treated flax straw was examined. It was found that performing the acetylation treatment on flax straw, significantly increases oil sorption capacity in both light and heavy oil by 41% and 22% respectively and also decreases their water uptake by 5%. Moreover, by decreasing the particle size (to 0.6 mm) of the chopped flax straw, the oil sorption capacity increases. This research contributes to a greater understanding of flax straw properties for potential remediation and reclamation applications, representing the possibility of turning the available waste material into a valuable oil sorbent.Item Open Access Design And Simulation Of The First Joint For A Prospective 5 Degrees Of Freedom Manipulator With Mr Actuators(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Pisetskiy, Sergey; Kermani, MehrdadThis paper presents the mechanical design and mathematical modeling for the first joint of a five degrees of freedom collaborative manipulator. The robot is actuated using Magneto-Rheological (MR) clutches in order to ensure full backdrivability and intrinsic torque control for safe human-friendly operation. One of the unique features of this design is the usage of a single motor for powering all five joints of the robot simultaneously and independently. After a brief description of the MR clutch principles, the details of the mechanical design and a state-space representation of the first joint are discussed. The paper will conclude with some preliminary simulation resultsItem Open Access Composite Heat Sink LED Cooling(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Gibbons, Michael; Feng, Chen; Chandra, SanjeevMetal coating of 3D printed polymers is an attractive proposition for thermal dissipation of light emitting diodes, due to its high efficiency and markedly lower material costs than conventional aluminum heat sinks. Efficient thermal cooling of light emitting diodes is essential in maintaining electronic and optical performance. The thermal performance of three heat sink designs were experimentally investigated for three applied heat fluxes (0.5-1.5 W cm-2). The results show that metal coating of the polymer heat sinks enables significant heat transfer enhancement of 37% over the uncoated case. The inclusion of an aluminum insert into the base of the composite heat sink design, in tandem with the zinc coating reduced on chip temperatures by 27% over the zinc coated case for the greatest applied heat flux.Item Open Access Adaptive Yaw Control Of Three-Axle Road Vehicles Based On Mass, Yaw Inertia And Cg Position Identification(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Zhang, Yubiao; Woo, Ami; Khajepour, AmirThis paper introduces an adaptive yaw control scheme based on the estimation of the vehicle mass, yaw inertia and center of gravity (CG) position. The control deigns for three-axle road vehicles, which can be trucks, buses, or even three-axle passenger cars. System parameters of these vehicles vary significantly due to varying conditions, such as unloading and fully-loading of payloads. As a result, control references and fixed-model-based controller lose efficacy. The proposed adaptive yaw control compensates these issues, utilizing the integration of a least-square based parameter identification algorithm and a Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC) law. Simulation test results verify the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive control scheme.Item Open Access Effect of Dispersing Copper Oxide Nanoparticles to RT-35 filled a Circular Thermal Energy Storage System(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Ebadi, Soroush; Hajiyan, Mohammadhossein; Tasnim, Syeda; Aliabadi, Amir Abbas; Mahmud, ShohelPhase Change Materials (PCMs) have been widely used in Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage Systems (LHTES) to store and release thermal energy. However, PCMs suffer from their low thermal conductivities, which leads to longer melting (charging) or solidification (discharging) time. Dispersing highly conductive nanoparticles into PCM is one of the methods to improve the thermal conductivity of the PCM. In this paper, we have experimentally and numerically investigated the effect of dispersing Copper Oxide nanoparticles into RT-35 filled a vertical cylindrical Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system. The TES system is consisted of two vertical cylindrical enclosures, which are attached to a thick acrylic plate. One of the enclosures is filled with pure PCM and the other one is filled with nano-PCM. The setup is insulated from the bottom and isothermally heated from its sides by using a constant temperature bath. To study more about the thermal and velocity fields, melting fraction and stored energy, a numerical simulation is conducted by using COMSOL Multiphysics software. It is concluded that although adding nanoparticles to PCM improves the melting rate, it is lowering the amount of energy stored inside the TES system.Item Open Access Effect Of The Error Propagation Rates In Developing A Skin Model Of Measured Surfaces In Coordinate Metrology(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Berry, Cody; Goodwin, Lillian; Barari, AhmadCoordinate metrology is the most commonly used inspection method to analyze surfaces for manufacturing errors and imperfections. The computational in today’s coordinate metrology are composed of a series of extensive computational tasks. Developing a triangulated skin model using a finite element method is an approach to construct a surface based on the discrete measured points, which can be used for integrated computational algorithms reducing the uncertainty of the inspection process. Reducing the errors in developing the skin model by calibrating the two main parameters of the algorithm, which specify the propagation of the geometric deviations in two orthogonal directions, is the objective in this work. By varying theses propagation parameters and tracking the overall error of the constructed skin model, their effects are evaluated. Various cases are studied and the resulting patterns of the errors for different surfaces are used to make suggestions on selection of the two parameters resulting accurate construction of the skin model of the measured work pieces based on the coordinate metrology data. This will provide a reliable technique to develop the skin model of the manufactured products for quality control, manufacturing process control, or repair and finishing of the products.Item Open Access Analysis Of A Low-Cost Sensor Towards An Emg-Based Robotic Exoskeleton Controller(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Bauer, Georgeta; Pan, Ya-Jun; Adamson, RobertThis paper describes the evaluation of the MyoWare Electromyographic (EMG) sensor performance during a typical end-use application to help determine if it could be used for an EMG-based controller of an upper-limb robotic exoskeleton. Tests were conducted to study the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and a series of experiments were performed to determine the sensor’s capability of capturing key EMG signal features while a subject performed bicep curls. LabVIEW was used for data collection and processing, and Matlab was used for statistical analysis. The results revealed that the SNR was between 10dB and 33dB for the average peak root mean square (RMS) EMG, and between 1dB and 27dB for the average voluntary contraction (AVC) EMG which – except for one case – were all above the acceptable level in the field. The validation of the sensor performance showed a correlation consistent with literature between the force exerted and the RMS EMG signal under both dynamic and static loading. These initial results indicate that the MyoWare EMG sensor could be used in a more advanced robotic exoskeleton EMG-based controller beyond its current popular use as an EMG-level threshold-based ON/OFF switch.Item Open Access Generating Reuse Possibilities For Retired Wind-Turbine Blades(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Jiang, S R X.; Inkermann, David; Vietor, Thomas; Shu, L H.This work examines identifying reuses for wind-turbine blades that are retired when they reach the end of their technical life. Wind-turbine blades are made from fibercomposite materials, for which effective material-based recycling technologies are extremely limited. An approach to avoid or postpone recycling is to repurpose wind-turbine blades in other applications, as they should not be reused as windturbine blades for safety reasons.Item Open Access Modeling Of Magneto-Mechanical Response Of Magnetorhological Elastomers Having Different Arrangement Of Magnetic Particles(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Khanouki, Mostafa Asadi; Sedaghati, RaminA model describing the magneto-mechanical properties of magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) under an external magnetic field and a mechanical shear deformation is presented. The main purpose of the present study is to demonstrate the effect of particle distribution and applied magnetic field on the MRE mechanical properties. Four types of rectangular lattice models are considered as the representation of spatial distribution of magnetic particles in the matrix. Using the energy method, shear modulus is obtained and numerically calculated as function of the strength of the external magnetic field and the shear strain. The results show a high sensitivity of shear modulus on the spatial distribution of particles. Depending on the lattice type, shear modulus exhibits an increasing or decreasing behavior with the increase of magnetic field intensity.Item Open Access One-Dimensional Fully Coupled Heat And Moisture Transfer Using The Finite Volume Method(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Dang, Lam; Leong, Wey; Fung, AlanIn this paper, one-dimensional coupled heat and mass transfer is studied using the finite volume method. The simulated results are compared with the experimental results and show good agreements with the experimental data. Soil from Northern Victoria County (silt loam, a medium soil) is compacted in a cylinder with 5 heat pulse probes to measure the thermal and moisture responses. Moisture content at field capacity is used for the soil.Item Open Access Microfluidic Platform For Studying Biofilm Formation Of Oil-Degrading Bacteria(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Yazdi, Saeed Rismani; Stevens, Corey; Davies, Peter; Escobedo, CarlosCrude oil spill is a significant threat to marine wildlife and human health. Understanding the interaction of oil-degrading bacteria at aqueous-oil interfaces at submillimeter scale is crucial to biodegradation and bioremediation. Here we present a microfluidic system that allows real-time and parallel observation of bacteria interaction with crude oil during biofilm formation and degradation of the oil. A simple and robust microfluidic platform is designed, fabricated and tested. Stable and controllable oil-bacterial solution interfaces are formed. The theory of the capillary valves used in the device and the microfabrication steps are presented. Experimental results show the accumulation of Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus –an oil degrading bacteria– at the bacterial solution interface with paraffin oil. After ~3 hr of incubation, bacteria start to form microcolony at the oil interface. Results show that presented microfluidic device can be successfully used for research on bacteria-oil interactions and other applications requiring an interface formed by two immiscible liquids.Item Open Access Effect Of Photoacoustic Radar Chirp Parameters On Profilometric Information(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Zuwen, Sun; Baddour, Natalie;Continuous wave photoacoustics has been under investigation for more than a decade. Matched-filtering and pulse compression techniques, which use a chirp waveform as input light source, have been implemented into this imaging modality to improve signal to noise ratio (SNR) and resolution. However, the chirp parameters’ effects on SNR are still not clear. The theory behind chirp parameters’ effects on SNR is discussed in this paper. It is found that in order to get a higher SNR, chirp duration T should be maximized, chirp center frequency 0 f should be controlled to make the chirp spectrum overlap with absorber spectrum, and chirp bandwidth should be smaller or equal to the absorber bandwidth.Item Open Access Dynamic Testing System For Rocks Under In Situ Stresses(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Yao, Wei; Xia, KaiwenRocks may be subjected to dynamic disturbances while under high in situ stresses. When disturbed by dynamic loads from blasting, seismicity or rockbursts, the underground structures would be vulnerable to failure. Depending on the distance from the underground opening, the in situ stress states change from hydrostatic in the far-field, to triaxial in the intermediate distance, and to the pre-tension nearby the opening. Thus, SHPB testing system is further adjusted with confining pressure system into dynamic testing system of rocks under different in situ states. In the experiment with this dynamic testing system, the Brazilian disc rock specimens are first subjected to pre-stresses simulating in-situ stresses underground (including pre-tension, hydrostatic confinement, and triaxial confinement) and then loaded dynamically using the modified SHPB system. The dependence of dynamic tensile strength of the rock material on the static pre-stress and loading rate is investigated. These experimental results will be of great importance in the design and safety of underground rock engineering projects.Item Open Access Thermal Management For Efficient Fast Refill Of Compressed Natural Gas(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Lan, Aiqing; Li, Ri; Brinkerhoff, JoshuaAs an alternative fuel, compressed natural gas (CNG) plays an important role fueling transportation. Like driving other types of vehicles, drivers of CNG-powered vehicles prefer to refill on-board CNG tanks in a short time, which is referred to as fast refill. Accompanied by a fast pressure increase in the cylinder, temperature will also rise significantly due to re-compression work with limited time for the heat to dissipate. This phenomenon ends with a common problem referred to as under-refill, which means less mass filled than the standards. This article presents a summary of the research works to solve this problem and improve fill efficiency by thermal management. Twodimensional axisymmetric CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations of unsteady, compressible, turbulent flow in fast refill process are conducted. Three different types of thermal management concepts are discussed, including active cooling, pre-chilling and real-time chilling. The results show that thermal management is a promising way to mitigate the under-refill problem with a maximum of 7% increase of fill efficiency achieved by active cooling. These provide guidelines for future research on improving fill efficiency through cooling strategies in which real-time chilling should be firstly focused on.Item Open Access On-Line Determination Of A Go-Nogo State Using A Continous Estimation Of The System Response(CSME-SCGM, May-18) McPhee, Johanna; Irani, RishadThe formulation, tuning and performance of a signal prediction algorithm as applied to the determination of a Go-NoGo state are discussed. Simulations were used to tune and assess the performance of the signal prediction algorithm. The paper describes the development of useful criteria, based on the mean and standard deviation of the predicted signal, used for producing the Go-NoGo state. A latching algorithm was used to improve the output of the Go-NoGo state.Item Open Access Automation In High Throughput/Content Screening For Cancer Stem Cell Drug Discovery(CSME-SCGM, May-18) Sachlos, Eleftherios