Three Intra-Departmental NCATE Reviews: a Case Study

This Action Research case study examined the relationship of the specialty professional association accreditation process to curricular revisions in content concentrations which service both teacher licensure degree candidates and non-licensure degree candidates at a particular liberal arts institution of higher education. It sought to answer the question, Does the SPA/NCATE accreditation process, as experienced by the content faculty at a particular liberal arts institution of higher education in three licensure programs, contribute to the NCLB Highly Qualified Teachers mandate through curricular change? through the examination of the NCATE review process, as experienced during the preparation of and subsequent responses to three simultaneous intradepartmental reviews, which conformed to the criteria of three different specialty professional associations\u27 standards. The results of the study indicate that curricular change does occur in the course of such reviews, and that such curricular change provides evidence of contribution to the preparation of highly qualified teachers, although the definition of a highly qualified teacher suffers from shifting political and professional positions. The results also provide evidence that the NCATE process suffers, at times, from inconsistencies, from lack of uniformity from one professional association to another, and from participant frustration, due to mid-report adjustments on the part of NCATE. Suggestions for further research are also included

Design and Development of a Multi-material, Cost-competitive, Lightweight Mid-size Sports Utility Vehicle’s Body-in-White

Vehicle light-weighting has allowed automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to improve fuel efficiency, incorporate value-adding features without a weight penalty, and extract better performance. The typical body-in-white (BiW) accounts for up to 40% of the total vehicle mass, making it the focus of light-weighting efforts through a) conceptual redesign b) design optimization using state-of-the-art computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools, and c) use of advanced high strength steels (AHSS), aluminum, magnesium, and/or fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) composites. However, most of these light-weighting efforts have been focused on luxury/sports vehicles, with a relatively high price range and an average production of 100,000 units/year or less. With increasing sports utility vehicle (SUV) sales in North America, focus has shifted to developing lightweight designs for this segment. Thus, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office has initiated a multi-year research and development program to enable cost-effective light-weighting of a mid-size SUV. The proposed designs shall enable weight reduction of a minimum of 160 lb. (~72.7 kg), with a maximum allowable cost increase of $5 for every pound of weight reduced. The proposed designs shall enable vehicle production rates of 200,000 units/year and will be aimed at retaining the joining/assembly line employed by the OEM. A systems approach has been utilized to develop a multi-material, light-weight redesign of the SUV BiW that meets or exceeds the baseline structural performance. This study delves into the development of design targets for the proposed redesign at the system, sub-assembly, and component levels. Furthermore, results from topology optimization studies on a design volume were assessed to understand the load paths under various loading conditions. Several multi-material concept designs were proposed based on the insights provided by the topology optimization study. Novel multi-material joining methodologies have been incorporated to enable maximum retention of the OEM’s joining and assembly process without significantly increasing cost. This paper presents the systems approach, and results from design studies undertaken to meet the program challenges

Ultrasonic additive manufacturing using feedstock with build-in circuitry for 3D metal embedded electronics

Embedded electronics and sensors are becoming increasingly important for the development of Industry 4.0. For small components, space constraints lead to full 3D integration requirements that are only achievable through Additive Manufacturing. Manufacturing metal components usually require high temperatures incompatible with electronics but Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM) can produce components with mechanical properties close to bulk, but with the integration of internal embedded electronics, sensors or optics. This paper describes a novel manufacturing route for embedding electronics with 3D via connectors in an aluminium matrix. Metal foils with printed conductors and insulators were prepared separately from the UAM process thereby separating the electronics preparation from the part consolidation. A dual material polymer layer exhibited the best electrically insulating properties, while providing mechanical protection of printed conductive tracks stable up to 100 °C. General design and UAM process recommendations are given for 3D embedded electronics in a metal matrix

New concept to aid efficient fibre integration into metal matrices during ultrasonic consolidation

Ultrasonic consolidation has been shown to be a viable metal-matrix-based smart composite additive layer manufacturing process. Yet, high quantity fibre integration has presented the requirement for a method of accurate positioning and fibre protection to maintain the fibre layout during ultrasonic consolidation. This study presents a novel approach for fibre integration during ultrasonic consolidation: channels are manufactured by laser processing on an ultrasonically consolidated sample. At the same time, controlled melt ejection is applied to aid accurate fibre placement and simultaneously reducing fibre damage occurrences. Microscopic, scanning electron microscopic and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopic analyses are used for samples containing up to 10.5% fibres, one of the highest volumes in an ultrasonically consolidated composite so far. Up to 98% of the fibres remain in the channels after consolidation and fibre damage is reduced to less than 2% per sample. This study furthers the knowledge of high volume fibre embedment via ultrasonic consolidation for future smart material manufacturing

Effect of electroceramic particles on damping behaviour of aluminium hybrid composites produced by ultrasonic cavitation and mechanical stirring

In this study, electroceramics PBN and PLZT along with SiC were included in Al-3.96. wt.%. Mg (A514.0) master alloy. Ultrasonic cavitation (UST) and mechanical stirring (MS) were employed to improve wettability and dispersion during casting. Two composite systems were produced: PBN system (5. wt.% PBN + 1. wt.% SiC and 15. wt.% PBN + 1. wt.% SiC) and the PLZT system (follows the same designation). The influence of fabrication method on the microstructures, particle distribution and wettability as well as electroceramic impact on dynamo-mechanical properties of prepared composites were investigated. Optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) results indicate that the processing technique was effective as it promoted wettability and homogeneous dispersion of particles throughout the Al matrix. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) study of the composites demonstrated that the addition of the functional particles to the Al alloy matrix improved damping capacity (Tan δ) at 200. °C. The composites exhibited an increase in Tan δ of 24.3 ± 0.3% and 91.4 ± 0.2% for 5 and 15. wt.% PBN + 1. wt.% SiC and an increase of 19.7 ± 0.5% and 42.5 ± 0.3% for 5 and 15. wt.% PLZT + 1. wt.% SiC, respectively, when compared to the aluminium alloy matrix.The authors CMW and Koduri Ramam acknowledge and are grateful to CONICYT for Doctoral Research Fellowship and also acknowledge Brunel University, UK for hosting internship to carry out doctoral research work as Universidad Carlos III, Spain, for characterization support. The authors Koduri Ramam and CMW greatly acknowledge the Fondecyt Research Project Number 1110583 for the financial support with the research project and characterization equipment

Embedding sensors using selective laser melting for self-cognitive metal parts

We devised a novel method to embed sensors or integrated circuit (IC) chips into metal components by using a selective laser melting (SLM) process. The concept of a protective layer is introduced to fabricate all parts without damaging the sensors during the laser scanning process. The operation of sensors in the parts is analyzed from a computational analysis on the thermal influence of laser heat. The fabricated metal parts show continuous microstructures including grains and phases between the base part and the new part formed after embedding the sensor despite the intermittent SLM process. The embedded sensor operates properly when compared to bare sensors. Plastic circuit board-based IC components were embedded into an Inconel 718C turbine blade, which accurately distinguished three-dimensional vibration along the X, Y, and Z axes. Our results imply that the proposed process can open new avenues for SLM technology to realize metal components with a self-cognitive ability using integrated sensors