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Laboratories
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Mechanical Engineering Labs
Undergraduate Labs: - Manufacturing Processes Laboratory - Acoustics and Vibrations Lab - Dynamics and Control Laboratory
Research Labs: - Combustion Engines Laboratory - Nanoscience & Engineering Laboratory - Additive Manufacturing Processes Laboratory (AMPL) - DENSO Climate Control Education and Research Laboratory
Undergraduate Labs
The fluid mechanics laboratory is intended to demonstrate the concepts introduced in the lecture periods. Accordingly, emphasis is on conveying concepts and not on precise measurements of the flow properties as in a research project. The experiments include demonstration of basic laws, flows inside internal channels and over external bodies, and basic measurements on the flow characteristics of pumps.
The laboratory is equipped with three water tables, two wind tunnels, and various devices such as laminar flow elements, micromanometers, and velocity meters. In addition, fluid visualization equipment enables the study of streamlines around solid bodies.
Experiments conducted include laminar and turbulent flow in pipes, Bernoulli's principle of both incompressible and compressible fluids, flow over wires of various shapes, potential flow around bodies, laminar and turbulent boundary layer flows, drags over solid bodies and wings, and head capacity of centrifugal pumps.
The Heat Transfer Laboratory is designed to enhance the undergraduate students' understanding of fundamental phenomena and develop their experimental capabilities. The experiments focus on verifying concepts as well as establishing working relations in conduction, convection, and radiation heat transfer.
The laboratory is equipped with a Technovate convection unit to predict the convection heat transfer coefficients over objects such as discs and cylinders; a Technovate conduction unit to measure transient and steady state temperature distributions in various materials, including the prediction of thermal contact resistance; a lab science setup for the measurement of effectiveness of cross flow heat exchangers (and also for prediction of surface emissivities of plates); an Oriel system for the spectral measurements of radiative properties; a parallel flow/counter flow concentric tubes heat exchanger setup for the measurement of heat exchanger effectiveness and the prediction of heat transfer coefficients in a baffled shell; a heat pipe experiment for the prediction of the effective thermal conductivity of heat pipes; a lumped analysis system for the prediction of heat transfer coefficients from the transient behavior of a heated or cooled copper slug; honeycomb solar collector setups for the prediction of the performance of a solar collector with natural convection suppressors; a radiation experiment for studying the emissive behavior of electric heaters under vacuum; and a general experiment on the theory of thermocouple circuitry. Three of these experiments are connected to data acquisition systems for data logging and analysis.
The thermodynamics laboratory in the department is used to strengthen the thermal sciences part of the ME curriculum and, in particular, the applied thermodynamics component of the program. The laboratory is equipped with experimental setups that allow undergraduates to acquaint themselves with energy conversion and energy transfer systems and gain hands-on experience through experimentation. The laboratory has a refrigeration system, humidity analysis equipment, and transparent Otto cycle engines. Some of the equipment is integrated with computer based data acquisition systems. Students are required to use the laboratory in the Applied Thermodynamics course (ME 325). The equipment is also available for students to conduct guided study/design projects.
Manufacturing Processes Laboratory
The manufacturing processes laboratory enables the students to learn about tensile testing, rolling, welding, metallographic sample preparation, hardness measuring equipment, heat-treated microstructures, cold-worked and recrystallized microstructures. Furthermore, the lab introduces the student to the evaluation of quality, properties, and methods of manufacture of commercial parts through visual examination, sectioning, digitizing, and printing of microstructures. The lab is used primarily to complement the lectures in the courses ME 381 and ME 481.
This lab is equipped with: a rolling mill used for demonstration and sample preparation with (a) AC/DC stick welders, (b) DC/MIG welder, (c) submerged arc welder, and (d) spot welder; furnace equipment used for preparing samples; hardness testing equipment such as (a) Rockwell testers, (b) Brinnel testers, and (c) Tukon microhardness tester; microsample preparation equipment which includes (a) belt sander, (b) polishing wheels, and (c) mounting press; microsample viewing, digitizing, and printing setups which include (a) microscopes, (b) metallographs, (c) closed-circuit television, and (d) Amiga computer equipment; and two tensile testing units, (a) a Baldwin universal testing machine, and (b) a Tinius Olsen universal testing machine.
The objectives of the acoustics, vibration, and measurements laboratory are twofold: (1) to provide the student with hands-on experience in the use of transducers and instruments to conduct sound and vibration measurements, and (2) to acquire noise and vibrations control experience by completing a self-initiated project with team members.
The laboratory is equipped with an anechoic chamber, three B&K 2034 FFT dual-channel analyzers, one B&K 2144 real-time analyzer, three 486 IBM compatible computers, three sound pressure meters, one wave generator, standard sound sources, one sound intensity probe, vibration meter and calibrators, and various microphones. The equipment is used for both course-related laboratory projects and projects outside of the classroom.
Dynamics and Control Laboratory
The dynamics and control laboratory is designed to provide students with hands-on experience involving the principles of control engineering and system dynamics. The laboratory is equipped with electromechanical torsional plants, brushless DC servo motors, high-resolution encoders, adjustable inertias, power amplifiers, and data acquisition systems. The electromechanical instruments may be transformed into a variety of dynamic configurations, from rigid bodies to up to three degrees of freedom, which represent important classes of real life systems. The laboratory enables students to acquaint themselves with real time implementation of various control strategies as well as system identifications. The laboratory is used primarily to compliment the control course ME 442. It also supports the advance instrumentation and control course ME 563 through demonstrations.
Research Labs
The combustion engines laboratory has dual purposes: (1) it is used for instructional purposes in combustion engines courses, including ME 496, ME 596, and AE 596, and (2) it is used for research and student projects. The laboratory is equipped with several engines, some of which have computer-based controls for fuel management and for ignition. The engines are coupled to dynamometers (eddy current, water-brake, and motoring/absorbing types), some of which have microprocessor based controls and data acquisition systems. As an integral part of the engines laboratory, the test cells have emissions measuring equipment to measure gaseous exhaust species such as CO, NOx, hydrocarbons, etc.
The undergraduate design laboratory is intended to illustrate the fundamentals of planned experiments in mechanical testing of machine components. The individual laboratory experiments are chosen to support the concept that proper testing involves the appropriate loading, environment, material processing, geometry, etc. Thus, the lab is intended to provide the motivation and background for future mechanical reliability tests.
The fatigue component of this lab has five Sonntag fatigue machines: one SF10U with a solid-state mean load controller; two SF1Us, one with and one without a solid state mean load controller; and two SF01Us, neither of which has a mean load controller. The SF10U is used primarily for fatigue testing of bolted composite joints. The SF1Us and the SF01Us are used primarily for composite specimen testing. The design component of this lab consists of a relatively extensive collection of failure exhibits to illustrate the fracture surface characteristics associated with various modes of failure for a wide range of materials.
Nanoscience & Engineering Laboratory
The nanoscience & engineering laboratory has dual objectives: (1) instructional purposes in the introduction to nanoscience and engineering course (ENGR 350), and (2) faculty and student research projects. The laboratory provides hands-on experience to students on nanoscale phenomena and nano-devices. Various research projects in the area of amorphous and nanocrystalline materials are being carried out in this laboratory. The laboratory was developed with grants from the National Science Foundation and is currently equipped with an optical microscope, an electron microscope with RFD, and a transmission electron microscope unit (provided by the Pfizer Corporation). Additional funding was provided by NSF and was used to procure an atomic force microscope (AFM), scanning tunneling microscope (STM), scanning electrochemical microscope (SEM), and a nanolithography facility. Additional equipment in the lab includes an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) with thermal gravimetric analysis capabilities, Tribometer, high temperature Tribometer, and Solartron electrochemical analysis system.
Additive Manufacturing Processes Laboratory (AMPL)
The additive manufacturing processes laboratory is used for faculty and student research projects in the area of lightweight materials and rapid prototyping. The laboratory has been renovated with a grant from the SME Foundation and is equipped with an abrasive cutter, mounting press, and polishing unit for sample preparation, as well as a 30kw induction-melting unit. A major piece of equipment in this laboratory is the 5-axis direct metal deposition (DMD) machine, which uses laser cladding technology.
The laboratory is also equipped to work with all major thermal spray technologies, consisting of atmospheric plasma spray (APS), low pressure plasma spray (LPPS), high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF), and twin wire arc spray. Additionally, this laboratory has cold-spray capabilities and will soon be equipped to work with surface and microstructure modification using a Lambda Physik 3000 200W KrF excimer laser at a 248nm wavelength. Fabrication of a rapid prototyping unit based on spray forming is also underway, and will be used for research as well as senior design projects.
DENSO Climate Control Education and Research Laboratory
The DENSO Climate Control Education and Research Laboratory is well-equipped to conduct basic and applied research in thermally-related automotive climate control and thermal management projects. |