Heat Transfer Activity for a First-Year Mechanical Engineering Course

A heat transfer educational activity is designed for freshman students who declare a mechanical engineering major. This activity is part of an introductory course given during the first year to introduce students to mechanical engineering and give them tools to use in while pursuing their Bachelors of Science degree in mechanical engineering. The activity is designed to challenge students in learning heat transfer concepts. However, its rigor is planned for students (at the freshman level) who have not yet taken the prerequisites required for heat transfer. The activity is scalable and can be easily deployed in other educational institutes. It is presented with its goals, goal attainment measures, and feedback representing the student perception.Cockrell School of Engineerin

Mechanical Engineering: Medium-Sized Companies with Highest Savings Potential

The German mechanical engineering industry, dominated by medium-sized companies, is greatly successful - both on the domestic and on the international market. A first analysis conducted by DIW Berlin reveals that this success cannot be attributed to a better exploitation of potential efficiencies - mechanical engineering is about as efficient as other key sectors (for instance the chemical industry). In fact, despite their obvious success medium-sized mechanical engineering businesses have larger savings potential than bigger companies and even than smaller enterprises in this industry.Data envelopment analysis, German engineering firms, Efficiency, Firm size

Quantum mechanical spectral engineering by scaling intertwining

Using the concept of spectral engineering we explore the possibilities of building potentials with prescribed spectra offered by a modified intertwining technique involving operators which are the product of a standard first-order intertwiner and a unitary scaling. In the same context we study the iterations of such transformations finding that the scaling intertwining provides a different and richer mechanism in designing quantum spectra with respect to that given by the standard intertwiningComment: 8 twocolumn pages, 5 figure

Mechanics of Hip Dysplasia Reduction in Infants Using the Pavlik Harness: A Physics Based Computational Model

Biomechanical factors influencing the reduction of dislocated hips with the Pavlik harness in patients of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) were studied using a three-dimensional computer model simulating hip reduction dynamics in (1) subluxated and (2) fully dislocated hip joints. Five hip adductor muscles were identified as key mediators of DDH prognosis, and the non-dimensional force contribution of each in the direction necessary to achieve concentric hip reductions was determined. Results point to the adductor muscles as mediators of subluxated hip reductions, as their mechanical action is a function of the degree of hip dislocation. For subluxated hips in abduction and flexion, the Pectineus, Adductor Brevis, Adductor Longus, and proximal Adductor Magnus contribute positively to reduction, while the rest of the Adductor Magnus contributes negatively. In full dislocations all muscles contribute detrimentally to reduction, elucidating the need for traction to reduce Graf IV type dislocations. Reduction of dysplastic hips was found to occur in two distinct phases: (a) release phase and (b) reduction phase

A six degrees of freedom MEMS manipulator

This thesis reports about a six degrees of freedom (DOF) precision manipulator in MEMS, concerning concept generation for the manipulator followed by design and fabrication (of parts) of the proposed manipulation concept in MEMS. Researching the abilities of 6 DOF precision manipulation in MEMS is part of the Multi Axes Micro Stage (MAMS) project in which the disciplines of precision engineering, control engineering and micro mechanical engineering are represented

Laser-Assisted Fabrication of NMR Resonators

A detection coil for use in nuclear resonance magnetic (NMR) spectroscopy and a method of manufacture thereof. At least two film layers of material are deposited on an outer surface of a cylindrical tube of dielectric material. The layers are patterned to form a solenoid on the tube. At least one of the deposited materials is a conductor