Mechanical Engineering Research
Faculty are engaged in various research projects. Following are some of the current research activities and contacts.
Drilling of hybrid composite materials in aerospace applications
To increase fuel efficiency and reduce lifecycle cost, aerospace and transportation industries have been seeking a material or material combinations, which exhibit high strength-to-density ratios and excellent mechanical properties in the extreme loading conditions. The hybrid structure of carbon fiber reinforced plastics composite (CFRP) and titanium (Ti) stack has been widely utilized due to its unique ability to withstand high stress in service. Due to the dissimilar machining characteristics of CFRP and Ti, the CFRP-Ti stack is very challenging to drill holes in the construction of a plane. The field of manufacturing processes of hybrid composite materials and their performances is the focus of this research.
For research opportunity at the undergraduate and graduate level, please contact kimd @vancouver.wsu.eduDr. Kim
Manufacturing and mechanical performance verification of glass fiber composites for marine and renewable energy systems
The integration of glass fiber reinforced composites (GFRP) in maritime use can be seen as far back as the Second World War when small personnel boats for the US Navy were first created with composite material. Immediate popularity grew when it was determined that composites were stiff, strong, durable, easy to repair, and simple to form. Since then, increasing efforts have been made to incorporate these materials into the design of various components and structures for recreational, commercial, and military craft. Now, the same technology has been applied into wind turbine blade design and manufacturing. The focus of this research is to develop manufacturing processes for GFRP products in marine/renewable energy systems applications and investigate their mechanical performances.
For research opportunity at the undergraduate and graduate level, please contact kimd @vancouver.wsu.eduDr. Kim
Fatigue Improvement process development and analysis
In aircraft structural design, one of the main goals is to increase the fatigue life and damage tolerance capability of the structures in order to minimize the maintenance costs. The cold hole expansion process is one of the most popular techniques in the fatigue enhancement processes for aircraft structures and the process produces beneficial compressive residual stresses around the hole, which retards the initiation and propagation of the crack at the hole edge. Numerical and experimental studies have been conducted to analyze crack initiation and propagation on the cold hole expension processed holes. For the automotive applications, a post-weld cold working process has been recently introduced in order to improve fatigue strength of low carbon steel and aluminum RSWs. The cold working process generates uniform and consistent large zones of compressive residual stresses in resistance spot-welded low carbon steel structures using a specially designed indentation device. This innovative technology can minimize the cost needed to improve the fatigue life of the resistance spot weld in metal structures.
For research opportunity at the undergraduate and graduate level, please contact kimd @vancouver.wsu.eduDr. Kim
Simulation of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)
Micro-electro-mechanical System is a rapidly growing research area that may ultimately rival integrated circuit in importance. The past few decades have seen innovative MEMS applications in biomedical, telecommunication, electronic, automotive, aerospace and other industries. Microfabrication technologies now allow development of highly miniaturized structures of unprecedented level of functionality on small-scale devices such as biochips, optical switch arrays, airbag sensors and other critical applications across diverse fields.
Experimentation at small scales is quite challenging and expensive. This leads to a strong need for high fidelity simulation to effectively predict the performance of micro-electro-mechanical systems. Our interest in this area is to develop computational tools to simulate complicated physical behaviors of MEMS by accounting for multiphysics interactions between coupled fields.
For research opportunity at the undergraduate and graduate level, please contact kimd @vancouver.wsu.eduDr. Kim
Computer-aided tissue engineering
Tissue engineering is a multidisciplinary field to develop strategies for regenerating biological tissues. Current surgical practice in treating diseased or damaged tissues through transplantation is constantly facing the risk of immune rejection and limited donor supply. This leads to emerging research areas in tissue engineering that has the potential to revolutionize traditional ways of health care treatment.
A particular challenge in addressing material issues in tissue engineering is to design biocompatible materials to guide the growth of the seeded cells in the process of forming functional tissues. Desirable biomaterials should not only match properties of the healthy tissue but also have an interconnected porous microstructure to allow cell proliferation.
Computational simulations can play an important role to augment experimental techniques in the design of emerging biomaterials. Our research interest in this area is to approach clinical challenges by applying and developing simulation tools in the modeling and characterization of biomaterials.
For research opportunity at the undergraduate and graduate level, please contact kimd @vancouver.wsu.eduDr. Kim
MR-Glove: A force feedback device for virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is an interactive technology that places the user in an artificial, computer generated world. A typical application achieves this effect through the use of a graphics workstation with advanced input and output devices such as head-mounted audio/visual displays, position/orientation sensors, instrumented gloves, etc. The rich and real-time sensorial interaction provided in a virtual environment makes the user feel immersed in the simulation. Unlike looking at the computer screen, the user feels surrounded by the synthetic world. To provide sufficient realism, the simulation must include physical characteristics such as object rigidity, weight, friction, dynamics, surface texture, etc. This is accomplished by using force feedback devices known as haptic interfaces.
Our research goal is to explore development of a passive actuator using a magnetorheological fluid to design a haptic glove (MR-Glove). A user wearing the MR-Glove is able to hold and manipulate virtual objects (computer generated graphical objects). Using a VR system with haptic interfaces, new products can be quickly designed and tested without a need for making physical prototypes.
For research opportunity at the undergraduate and graduate level, please contact:
Haptic interface for AFM microscope to manipulate carbon nanotubes
In order to manipulate materials at the nanometer scale, we are developing a force-feedback interface for an atomic-force-microscope (AFM). With the aid of this interface, direct positioning of the AFM probe will be possible. In addition, the interface enables the user to feel tip-sample force interactions in real-time.
For research opportunity at the undergraduate and graduate level, please contact:
Micro-channel enhancement for thermal management
The rapid increase in power dissipation from electronic devices has led to challenging thermal management issues. With heat fluxes approaching hundreds of watts per square centimeter, even aggressive techniques such as single-phase micro-channel cooling are being stretched to their limits. Fortunately, micro-scale enhancement methods could extend traditional micro-channels beyond their current regime to meet future thermal loads. Passive techniques can include micro-fabricated versions of macro-enhancement methods, such as turbulators, dimples, and pin fins. Further, the unique flow physics observed in microfluidics permit unconventional enhancement methods involving electrical, surface tension, and viscous effects. Active flow control devices, such as micro-scale jets, can also be developed to augment local heat transfer at hot spots. Our laboratory investigates enhancement methods to determine their efficacy and potential applicability in electronics devices, using advanced experimental techniques, such as micro-PIV, as well as computational tools incorporating the micro-scale physics.
For research opportunity at the undergraduate and graduate level, please contact:
Volcanic fluid dynamics
Volcanic explosions result in a sudden release of a high pressure jet into the atmosphere. As ambient air is entrained into the jet, the density of the fluid changes, which can change the buoyancy and the ultimate growth response of the column. Existing experimental data for this flow is somewhat limited in scope, as entrainment correlations are largely based on subsonic, fully developed assumptions. Because the actual eruption features highly overpressured, developing flow with complex shock structures, the entrainment can be significantly different. Our laboratory investigates these phenomena experimentally using high-accuracy velocity measurements, which will help aid in improving hazard predictions.
For research opportunity at the undergraduate and graduate level, please contact:
Microfabrication and Nanotechnology
Microfabrication refers to the fabrication of devices with at least one of their dimensions in the micrometer range. Integrated circuit (IC) and microsensors are two examples from microfabrication. The devices are usually achieved by repeating sequences of lithography, wet/dry etching, and deposition steps in order to produce the desired microscale structures. Nanotechnology, the engineering of functional systems at nanometer scale, has received much attention in the past two decades. It investigates structures and components at the atomic or molecular scale. The objective of our research is to investigate these technologies and demonstrate an effective method to fabricate micro/nano systems. The effective combination of the nanomaterials and fabrication techniques creates a great deal of opportunities for innovative device design and development.
For research opportunity at the undergraduate and graduate level, please contact:
Microelectronics and high-performance biosensors
The conventional semiconductor, silicon, based sensors have shown high performance as biosensors. However, the silicon-based sensors are restricted by the devices' planar structures. As a result, these sensors are unable to detect analytes at very low concentrations. We plan to use nanomaterials in the sensors to improve the performance. The sensors are able to transmit more charges due to the very large surface-to-volume ratio of nanomaterials. We will investigate the sensing mechanism and device performance using analytical and experimental approaches.
For research opportunity at the undergraduate and graduate level, please contact:
