This bio-inspired research will focus on using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) to calculate the drag of rigid geometries that resemble a sailfish bill inside a channel with low fluid speed and high viscosity. These 2D simulation results will compare the performance of these similar structures, each with the same area but slightly different shapes, ...

Phase change heat transfer has been an area of interest for decades due to its application in solar collectors, nuclear reactor cooling, buildings, vehicle engines, and others. Melting of phase change material around a spherical nanoparticle with natural and forced convection at its boundary is analyzed. The continuity, momentum, and energy equations ...

In the automotive and aerospace industries, every component experiences dynamic loading. The complex, multi-axial loads and surrounding system are the environmental conditions. Due to the lack of understanding of nonlinear system dynamics, the components and structures have been over-designed to handle these environmental conditions and reduce nonlinear ...

Presented in this dissertation are novel models and techniques to analyze the whirling vibration of drillstrings during oil and gas (O&G) operations. Mathematical models are developed to solve for the dynamic whirl response. For this purpose, the drillstring is modeled by a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs), which are derived ...

All people experience the world around them by receiving information through their senses. While vision and hearing are generally sufficient, there are occasions when these senses become overwhelmed or are simply unavailable. One potential solution is haptics, the use of touch to convey information, which has recently become widespread in wearable ...

Minimally invasive endovascular surgery is increasingly becoming the technique of choice for a variety of procedures ranging from aneurysm repair to heart valve replacement. To guarantee the benefits of fewer complications and faster recovery times, among several others, it is necessary that surgeons acquire a strong proficiency in navigating flexible ...

Research in haptic devices has led to them becoming ubiquitous. One of the most popularly used and researched types of cutaneous haptic feedback is vibration. Though, current implementation options are either limited in their usability for complex, such as virtual reality, applications, very expensive, or require high techical expertise. Syntacts is ...

The advancements in the field of smart materials have enabled their use in numerous industries. Though commonly used in biomedical fields, their use in energy management solutions is currently underexplored. Thermoresponsive gels, specifically, have been found to provide cooling to batteries and buildings. Thermal savings in both of these applications ...

This thesis explores how surface electromyography (EMG) -- the measurement of muscle force through voltage changes at the skin surface – can be of use to the field of upper-limb robotic rehabilitation. We focus on two main aspects: detecting human intention from measured muscle activity and assessing human motor coordination through synchronous muscle ...

The study of elastic-plastic contact mechanics is fundamental in understanding the multi-scale behavior of mechanical systems. The e ects of the varying the radius of curvature in elastic-plastic asperity contact, and resulting impact on contact parameters, has been largely neglected in previous studies. A typical approach for elastic-plastic contact ...