by Jenn Donovan, director of news and media relations
Three graduate students have received Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Gregory Hardy and David Diesenroth in mechanical engineering and Christa Meingast in environmental engineering won the competitive fellowships. Benjamin Winter in civil engineering received an honorable mention.
Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics Graduate Seminar: Dr. Partha Mukherjee, Texas A&M University; Thursday, Apr. 17, 2014 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Room 103 EERC Bldg.
Title: Mesoscale Perspective of Electrode Physics in Energy Storage
Recent years have witnessed an enormous interest in energy storage (battery) to enable vehicle electrification, renewable energy utilization as well as accommodating an ever-increasing demand in powering myriad portable electronic devices. In particular, a critical imperative is to accelerate innovation toward improved performance, life and safety of lithium-ion batteries, the primary candidate for electric drive vehicles. Lithium-ion batteries are complex, dynamical systems which include a multitude of coupled physicochemical processes encompassing electronic/ionic/diffusive transport
in solid/electrolyte phases, electrochemical and phase change reactions and diffusion induced stress generation in hierarchical, multi-scale porous electrodes. While innovations in nanomaterials and nanoarchitectures have spurred the recent advancements, fundamental understanding of the underlying thermo-mechano-electrochemical interactions is of paramount interest. In this presentation, a
mesoscale perspective of electrode physics for lithium-ion batteries will be elucidated.
Partha P. Mukherjee is currently an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University (TAMU). Before joining TAMU in 2012, he worked for 4 years in the U.S. Department of Energy Labs, as a Staff Scientist (2009-2011) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and as a Director’s research fellow (2008-2009) at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. Prior to PhD studies, he worked as a Consulting Engineer for 4 years at Fluent India Pvt. Ltd, a fully-owned subsidiary of Fluent Inc., currently Ansys Inc. His research interests include mesoscale physics and stochastics of transport, materials and manufacturing aspects in energy storage and conversion (batteries and fuel cells).
David Deisenroth, a graduate student pursuing an MS in Mechanical Engineering, has received an National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute Fellowship to travel to Korea this summer to conduct research.
Deisenroth will conduct an in-depth study on the collision of a falling drop of water and a resting drop of water. He will film the drops at high speeds and observe their characteristics. The results can be used to further the understanding of thermal management systems, aerosols and fuel injection.
Mo Rastgaar has received a National Science Foundation grant of nearly $500,000 to make his new artificial limb design a reality. With the five-year Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, Rastgaar, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics, will further develop his powered ankle-foot prosthesis: an artificial lower leg with the unique ability to restore amputees’ mobility and agility.
Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics Graduate Seminar, 103 EERC, 4 pm
Lucia Gauchia Babe, Michigan Tech
Title: From the Lab to Your Car: Challenges that Batteries Face during Design and Development
Electric and hybrid vehicles are receiving substantial attention due to their high efficiency, low greenhouse emissions and lower/non dependence on petroleum. Most vehicle manufacturers are already designing and even commercializing electric vehicles. However, extensive research and development is needed in battery technology in order to guarantee it presents a long life, safe operation, competitive power and energy densities whilst being cost effective. One of the most critical aspects is the safe operation and long life characteristics, due to the fact that batteries chemistries degrade during its lifetime This seminar will present the design and development process a battery needs to follow in order to develop a battery from a single cell to the battery pack that will finally be used to power and electric or hybrid vehicle. This path is full of challenges that go from the material selection, testing procedures to assess performance and aging, safety policies, testing standards, environmental issues and cost, among others. During the seminar we will present how these challenges affect the battery development and the success of vehicle electrification.
Dr. Lucia Gauchia received her PhD degree in Electrical Engineering in December 2009 from the University Carlos III of Madrid (Spain). She was a Postdoctoral Research Associate during 2012 at McMaster University (Canada), working for the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Hybrid Powertrain in the ECE Dept. as well as in the Green Auto Powertrains Program in the ME Dept. Since Fall 2013 she is the Richard and Elizabeth Henes Assistant Professor on Energy Storage Systems, with a joint appointment between the ECE and MEEM Depts. Her research interests are focused on the testing, modeling and energy management of energy storage systems in both transport and stationary applications.
Michigan Technological University is a partner in the newly formed $148 million American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute (ALMMII). The new facility, to be headquartered in the metro-Detroit area, will be part of the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation, a federal initiative to help US manufacturers become more competitive and encourage investment in the United States.
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics are leading the Michigan Tech partnership with ALMMII. MSE Chair Stephen Kampe, Associate Professor Paul Sanders, Professor Walter Milligan and Research Professor Steven Mashl will be primary participants from MSE.
ME-EM Graduate Seminar: Dr. Robert Prucka, Clemson University, International Center for Automotive Research
Thursday, Apr. 3, 2014 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Room 103 EERC Bldg.
Title: Automobile Engine Control and Calibration Strategies to Address Future Fuel Economy Standards
Mandated fuel economy regulations worldwide are driving unprecedented research and development for automobile powertrains. These stringent new regulations require automobile manufacturers to double their current fleet average fuel economy by 2025, while still satisfying customer performance and cost expectations. Advanced internal combustion engines are likely to be prime mover for the vast majority of automobiles in 2025 and beyond due to their relatively low cost as compared to competing technologies. To improve fuel economy and meet global energy demands the number of engine control actuators is increasing and multiple fuels are being considered. The increased engine control complexity brought about by new actuators and fuels motivates the use of model-based control methodologies over traditional map-based empirical approaches. Purely physics based control techniques have the potential to decrease calibration burdens, but must be complex to capture non-linear engine behavior with low computational requirements. This talk will discuss two examples of on-going research related to engine modeling and control system development at Clemson University. First, a semiphysical approach to combustion phasing control for multi-fuel adaptive engines will be examined. This work is intended to adapt to fuel behavior and maintain proper spark timing on-the-fly when fuel type changes. The second example will be focused on the implementation of model predictive control (MPC) to improve engine response during a transmission shift.
Dr. Robert Prucka is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Automotive Engineering at the Clemson University – International Center for Automotive Research. His research interests include the design, performance, control, calibration, and emissions of advanced internal combustion engines. He has extensive engine testing experience, including dynamometer cell design and advanced instrumentation development. Currently, he is developing experimental techniques, simulations and control strategies for advanced high degree of freedom spark-ignition engines to improve fuel economy and reduce time to market. He also performs research related to the performance aftermarket for SEMA member companies. Dr. Prucka teaches two graduate level engine combustion and emissions courses that incorporate fundamental engineering principles, experimental work, and 1-D engine simulation software. He is the faculty advisor for Clemson University’s Formula and Baja SAE student competition teams, and the Director of the Brooks Institute for Motorsports at Clemson University. He has three degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan; PhD (2008), MSE (2004) and BSE. (2000). Prior to joining Clemson Robert has worked for the Ford Motor Company and as an independent consultant for racing engine companies.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics Graduate Seminar:
Thursday, March 26, 2014 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Room 103 EERC Bldg.
Dr. William de Ojeda, Navistar
Title: Relevant Research Areas in Heavy-Duty Engines
The drivers for technologies in the Heavy Duty truck market are cleaner emission regulations and higher fuel efficiency standards. This presentation will illustrate how increased engine efficiencies have been attained by more capable injection and charge air systems, while at the same time engine designers work to increase the mechanical limits of the engine to allow operation at higher compression ratios and higher peak cylinder pressures. Reduction of parasitic losses and effective designs to recover the heat energy are also active areas of development. Increased efficiency is accompanied by highly integrated emission reduction technologies. Effective operation of these aftertreatment units require strict thermal management and this presentation will provide insight from novel approaches such as provided by variable valve timing over conventional techniques that require excess fuel. Finally, the area of fuels opens new possibilities for advanced combustion modes. The use of natural gas with Diesel pilot ignition, or gasoline like fuels with Diesel, of oxygenated fuels like Dimethyl Ether represent current areas of research and development and will be briefly reviewed here.
Further advances in HD powertrains with these new fuels will require continuous aligning and successful migration of basic research into the applied work of industry.
Dr. de Ojeda is a senior engineer in Powertrain Group at Navistar where he has led several advanced engine development programs. More recently he directed Navistar’s High Efficiency Vehicle-Engine Supertruck DOE Program based on the Navistar MAXXFORCE13 engine. Dr. de Ojeda holds multiple patents and publications in the
area of electro-hydraulics, variable valve train systems, combustion and controls. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The Cooper Union in New York, a M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from The University of Virginia and a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
The ME-EM Graduate Seminar guest speaker on Thursday, March 20 at 4:00 in 103 EERC will be Dr. David Garren from the Naval Postgraduate School.
The title of his presentation will be ‘Signatures of Surface Moving Targets within Synthetic Aperture Radar Imagery’.
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) enables accurate collection of imagery data in all weather conditions, day or night. SAR image formation yield well-focused imagery of geophysical scenes, since the radar signal processing uses a filtering process that is matched to the radar echoes from stationary scattering centers within the scene. However, moving targets yield a signal mismatch in the processing and thus appear defocused, wherein the majority of the smearing occurs in the radar cross-range direction. This current investigation presents methods for analytically predicting the detailed shape of the smear signatures for surface targets with arbitrary motion in spotlight SAR imagery. This analysis considers the standard collection geometry in which the radar sensor moves with constant speed and heading on a level flight path, with radar beam-pattern pointed perpendicular to the direction of flight. Examples in which a target moves with constant speed and heading yield smear shapes that are simply curved, as with a parabola. However, complicated smear shapes can be obtained for cases of non-uniform target motion, as with a target that is undergoing a braking maneuver. The current investigation develops accurate equations for predicting the shapes of mover signatures based upon input values for the target motion. This predictive capability offers the potential of providing insight into the details of the target motion based upon mover signatures that are observed within SAR imagery.
Professor Garren is an Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the Naval Postgraduate School – National Capital Region. He has over twenty years of experience in applied research in various disciplines, including radar, image processing, and signal processing. He has over thirty-five research publications in journals and conference proceedings, and he holds seven U.S. Patents. Professor Garren received the Ph.D. degree in 1991 from the College of William and Mary.
Students from the Michigan Tech National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) visited seven middle and high schools in Detroit over their Spring Break, March 11-14, 2014, to promote college and engineering to K-12 students. Two ME-EM students were in the group, Anza Mitchel and Taylor Driscoll. In the evenings, they conducted Family Engineering Night events at three K-8 schools. NSBE’s Alternative Spring Break is conducted in collaboration with the Detroit Public Schools Office of Science and the Detroit Math & Science Center, and funded in part, with a grant from John Deere.