Micromachining has seen application growth in a variety of industries requiring a miniaturization of the machining process. Machining at the micro level generates different cutter/workpiece interactions, generating more localized temperature spikes in the part/sample, as suggested by multiple studies. Temper-etch inspection is a non-destructive test used to identify `grind burns' or localized over-heating in steel components. This research investigated the application of temper-etch inspection to micromachined steel. The tests were performed on AISI 4340 steel samples. Finding, indications of localized over-heating was the primary focus of the experiment. In addition, change in condition between the original and post-machining hardness in the machined slot bottom was investigated. The results revealed that, under the conditions of the experiment, no indications of localized over-heating were present. However, there was a change in hardness at the bottom of the machined slot compared to the rest of the sample. Further research is needed to test the applicability of temper-etch inspection to micromilled steel and to identify the source of the change in hardness.

This study analyzes the thermoelectric phenomena of nanoparticle suspensions, which are composed of liquid and solid nanoparticles that show a relatively stable Seebeck coefficient as bulk solids near room temperature. The approach is to explore the thermoelectric character of the nanoparticle suspensions, predict the outcome of the experiment and compare the experimental data with anticipated results. In the experiment, the nanoparticle suspension is contained in a 15cm*2.5cm*2.5cm glass container, the temperature gradient ranges from 20 °C to 60 °C, and room temperature fluctuates from 20 °C to 23°C. The measured nanoparticles include multiwall carbon nanotubes, aluminum dioxide and bismuth telluride. A temperature gradient from 20 °C to 60 °C is imposed along the length of the container, and the resulting voltage (if any) is measured. Both heating and cooling processes are measured. With three different nanoparticle suspensions (carbon nano tubes, Al2O3 nanoparticles and Bi2Te3 nanoparticles), the correlation between temperature gradient and voltage is correspondingly 8%, 38% and 96%. A comparison of results calculated from the bulk Seebeck coefficients with our measured results indicate that the Seebeck coefficient measured for each suspension is much more than anticipated, which indicates that the thermophoresis effect could have enhanced the voltage. Further research with a closed-loop system might be able to affirm the results of this study.

Phase Change Material (PCM) plays an important role as a thermal energy storage device by utilizing its high storage density and latent heat property. One of the potential applications for PCM is in buildings by incorporating them in the envelope for energy conservation. During the summer season, the benefits are a decrease in overall energy consumption by the air conditioning unit and a time shift in peak load during the day. Experimental work was carried out by Arizona Public Service (APS) in collaboration with Phase Change Energy Solutions (PCES) Inc. with a new class of organic-based PCM. This "BioPCM" has non-flammable properties and can be safely used in buildings. The experimental setup showed maximum energy savings of about 30%, a maximum peak load shift of ~ 60 min, and maximum cost savings of about 30%. Simulation was performed to validate the experimental results. EnergyPlus was chosen as it has the capability to simulate phase change material in the building envelope. The building material properties were chosen from the ASHRAE Handbook - Fundamentals and the HVAC system used was a window-mounted heat pump. The weather file used in the simulation was customized for the year 2008 from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) website. All EnergyPlus inputs were ensured to match closely with the experimental parameters. The simulation results yielded comparable trends with the experimental energy consumption values, however time shifts were not observed. Several other parametric studies like varying PCM thermal conductivity, temperature range, location, insulation R-value and combination of different PCMs were analyzed and results are presented. It was found that a PCM with a melting point from 23 to 27 °C led to maximum energy savings and greater peak load time shift duration, and is more suitable than other PCM temperature ranges for light weight building construction in Phoenix.

Given the growing market in solar energy, specifically by the thin-film technologies, it is imperative that adequate and accurate standards be developed for these newer photovoltaic devices. Cadmium Telluride, CdTe, one of the major players in the thin-film PV industry is currently rated and certified using standards that have been developed under the context of older technologies. The behavior of CdTe has been shown to be unique enough to suggesting that standards be revised. In this research, methods built on previous industry and independent studies are used to identify these unique behaviors. As well new methods are developed to further characterize CdTe modules in the context of current standards. Clear transient and meta-stable behavior is identified across modules from four different commercial manufacturers. Conclusions drawn from this study show illumination and temperature hysteresis effects on module ratings. Furthermore, suggestions for further study are given that could be used to define parameters for any reexamination of module standards.

Passive flow control achieved by surface dimpling can be an effective strategy for reducing drag around bluff bodies - an example of substantial popular interest being the flow around a golf ball. While the general effect of dimples causing a delay of boundary layer separation is well known, the mechanisms contributing to this phenomena are subtle and not thoroughly understood. Numerical models offer a powerful approach for studying drag reduction, however simulation strategies are challenged by complex geometries, and in applications the introduction of ad hoc turbulence models which introduce additional uncertainty. These and other factors provide much of the motivation for the current study, which focused on the numerical simulations of the flow over a simplified configuration consisting of a dimpled flat plate. The principal goals of the work are to understand the performance of the numerical methodology, and gain insight into the underlying physics of the flow. Direct numerical simulation of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations using a fractional step method was employed, with the dimpled flat plate represented using an immersed boundary method. The dimple geometry utilizes a fixed dimple aspect ratio, with dimples arranged in a single spanwise row. The grid sizes considered ranged from approximately 3 to 99 million grid points. Reynolds numbers of 3000 and 4000 based on the inlet laminar boundary layer thickness were simulated. A turbulent boundary layer was induced downstream of the dimples for Reynolds numbers which did not transition for the flow over an undimpled flat plate. First and second order statistics of the boundary layer that develops agree reasonably well with those for turbulent channel flow and flat plate boundary layers in the sublayer and buffer layers, but differ in the outer layer. Inspection of flow visualizations suggest that early transition is promoted by thinning of the boundary layer, initiation of shear layer instabilities over the dimples, flow separation and reattachment, and tripping of the boundary layer at the trailing edge of the dimples.

As miniature and high-heat-dissipation equipment became major manufacture and operation trends, heat-rejecting and heat-transport solutions faced increasing challenges. In the 1970s, researchers showed that particle suspensions can enhance the heat transfer efficiency of their base fluids. However, their work was hindered by the sedimentation and erosion issues caused by the relatively large particle sizes in their suspensions. More recently, nanofluids--suspensions of nanoparticles in liquids-were proposed to be applied as heat transfer fluids, because of the enhanced thermal conductivity that has generally been observed. However, in practical applications, a heat conduction mechanism may not be sufficient for cooling high-heat-dissipation devices such as microelectronics or powerful optical equipment. Thus, the thermal performance under convective, i.e., flowing heat transfer conditions becomes of primary interest. In addition, with the presence of nanoparticles, the viscosity of a nanofluid is greater than its base fluid and deviates from Einstein's classical prediction. Through the use of a test rig designed and assembled as part of this dissertation, the viscosity and heat transfer coefficient of nanofluids can be simultaneously determined by pressure drop and temperature difference measurements under laminar flow conditions. An extensive characterization of the nanofluid samples, including pH, electrical conductivity, particle sizing and zeta potential, is also documented. Results indicate that with constant wall heat flux, the relative viscosities of nanofluid decrease with increasing volume flow rate. The results also show, based on Brenner's model, that the nanofluid viscosity can be explained in part by the aspect ratio of the aggregates. The measured heat transfer coefficient values for nanofluids are generally higher than those for base fluids. In the developing region, this can be at least partially explained by Prandtl number effects. The Nusselt number ( Nu ) results for nanofluid show that Nu increases with increasing nanofluid volume fraction and volume flow rate. However, only DI-H2O (deionized water) and 5/95 PG/H2O (PG = propylene glycol) based nanofluids with 1 vol% nanoparticle loading have Nu greater than the theoretical prediction, 4.364. It is suggested that the nanofluid has potential to be applied within the thermally developing region when utilizing the nanofluid as a heat transfer liquid in a circular tube. The suggested Reynold's number is greater than 100.

Efficient performance of gas turbines depends, among several parameters, on the mainstream gas entry temperature. At the same time, transport of this high temperature gas into the rotor-stator cavities of turbine stages affects the durability of rotor disks. This transport is usually countered by installing seals on the rotor and stator disk rims and by pressurizing the cavities by injecting air (purge gas) bled from the compressor discharge. The configuration of the rim seals influences the magnitude of main gas ingestion as well as the interaction of the purge gas with the main gas. The latter has aerodynamic and hub endwall heat transfer implications in the main gas path. In the present work, experiments were performed on model single-stage and 1.5-stage axial-flow turbines. The turbines featured vanes, blades, and rim seals on both the rotor and stator disks. Three different rim seal geometries, viz., axially overlapping radial clearance rim seals for the single-stage turbine cavity and the 1.5-stage turbine aft cavity, and a rim seal with angular clearance for the single-stage turbine cavity were studied. In the single-stage turbine, an inner seal radially inboard in the cavity was also provided; this effectively divided the disk cavity into a rim cavity and an inner cavity. For the aft rotor-stator cavity of the 1.5-stage turbine, a labyrinth seal was provided radially inboard, again creating a rim cavity and an inner cavity. Measurement results of time-average main gas ingestion into the cavities using tracer gas (CO2), and ensemble-averaged trajectories of the purge gas flowing out through the rim seal gap into the main gas path using particle image velocimetry are presented. For both turbines, significant ingestion occurred only in the rim cavity. The inner cavity was almost completely sealed by the inner seal, at all purge gas flow rates for the single-stage turbine and at the higher purge gas flow rates for 1.5-stage turbine. Purge gas egress trajectory was found to depend on main gas and purge gas flow rates, the rim seal configuration, and the azimuthal location of the trajectory mapping plane with respect to the vanes.

Recent studies of the occurrence of post-flutter limit cycle oscillations (LCO) of the F-16 have provided good support to the long-standing hypothesis that this phenomenon involves a nonlinear structural damping. A potential mechanism for the appearance of nonlinearity in the damping are the nonlinear geometric effects that arise when the deformations become large enough to exceed the linear regime. In this light, the focus of this investigation is first on extending nonlinear reduced order modeling (ROM) methods to include viscoelasticity which is introduced here through a linear Kelvin-Voigt model in the undeformed configuration. Proceeding with a Galerkin approach, the ROM governing equations of motion are obtained and are found to be of a generalized van der Pol-Duffing form with parameters depending on the structure and the chosen basis functions. An identification approach of the nonlinear damping parameters is next proposed which is applicable to structures modeled within commercial finite element software.

The effects of this nonlinear damping mechanism on the post-flutter response is next analyzed on the Goland wing through time-marching of the aeroelastic equations comprising a rational fraction approximation of the linear aerodynamic forces. It is indeed found that the nonlinearity in the damping can stabilize the unstable aerodynamics and lead to finite amplitude limit cycle oscillations even when the stiffness related nonlinear geometric effects are neglected. The incorporation of these latter effects in the model is found to further decrease the amplitude of LCO even though the dominant bending motions do not seem to stiffen as the level of displacements is increased in static analyses.

Dissimilar metal joints such as aluminum-steel joints are extensively used in automobile, naval and aerospace applications and these are subjected to corrosive environmental and mechanical loading resulting in eventual failure of the structural joints. In the case of aluminum alloys under aggressive environment, the damage accumulation is predominantly due to corrosion and is accelerated in presence of other metals. During recent years several approaches have been employed to develop models to assess the metal removal rate in the case of galvanic corrosion. Some of these models are based on empirical methods such as regression analysis while others are based on quantification of the ongoing electrochemical processes. Here, a numerical model for solving the Nernst- Planck equation, which captures the electrochemical process, is implemented to predict the galvanic current distribution and, hence, the corrosion rate of a galvanic couple. An experimentally validated numerical model for an AE44 (Magnesium alloy) and mild steel galvanic couple, available in the literature, is extended to simulate the mechano- electrochemical process in order to study the effect of mechanical loading on the galvanic current density distribution and corrosion rate in AE44-mild steel galvanic couple through a multiphysics field coupling technique in COMSOL Multiphysics®. The model is capable of tracking moving boundariesy of the corroding constituent of the couple by employing Arbitrary Langrangian Eulerian (ALE) method.Results show that, when an anode is under a purely elastic deformation, there is no apparent effect of mechanical loading on the electrochemical galvanic process. However, when the applied tensile load is sufficient to cause a plastic deformation, the local galvanic corrosion activity at the vicinity of the interface is increased remarkably. The effect of other factors, such as electrode area ratios, electrical conductivity of the electrolyte and depth of the electrolyte, are studied. It is observed that the conductivity of the electrolyte significantly influences the surface profile of the anode, especially near the junction. Although variations in electrolyte depth for a given galvanic couple noticeably affect the overall corrosion, the change in the localized corrosion rate at the interface is minimal. Finally, we use the model to predict the current density distribution, rate of corrosion and depth profile of aluminum alloy 7075-stainless steel 316 galvanic joints, which are extensively used in maritime structures.

Design problem formulation is believed to influence creativity, yet it has received only modest attention in the research community. Past studies of problem formulation are scarce and often have small sample sizes. The main objective of this research is to understand how problem formulation affects creative outcome. Three research areas are investigated: development of a model which facilitates capturing the differences among designers' problem formulation; representation and implication of those differences; the relation between problem formulation and creativity.

This dissertation proposes the Problem Map (P-maps) ontological framework. P-maps represent designers' problem formulation in terms of six groups of entities (requirement, use scenario, function, artifact, behavior, and issue). Entities have hierarchies within each group and links among groups. Variables extracted from P-maps characterize problem formulation.

Three experiments were conducted. The first experiment was to study the similarities and differences between novice and expert designers. Results show that experts use more abstraction than novices do and novices are more likely to add entities in a specific order. Experts also discover more issues.

The second experiment was to see how problem formulation relates to creativity. Ideation metrics were used to characterize creative outcome. Results include but are not limited to a positive correlation between adding more issues in an unorganized way with quantity and variety, more use scenarios and functions with novelty, more behaviors and conflicts identified with quality, and depth-first exploration with all ideation metrics. Fewer hierarchies in use scenarios lower novelty and fewer links to requirements and issues lower quality of ideas.

The third experiment was to see if problem formulation can predict creative outcome. Models based on one problem were used to predict the creativity of another. Predicted scores were compared to assessments of independent judges. Quality and novelty are predicted more accurately than variety, and quantity. Backward elimination improves model fit, though reduces prediction accuracy.

P-maps provide a theoretical framework for formalizing, tracing, and quantifying conceptual design strategies. Other potential applications are developing a test of problem formulation skill, tracking students' learning of formulation skills in a course, and reproducing other researchers’ observations about designer thinking.