NAME: MARC JEXSON B.

DE GUZMAN DATE: SEPTEMBER, 26, 2017

PY&S: BSME-5G

TYPE OF RESEARCH: INFERENTIAL

TITLE: THERMODYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF THE APPLICATION OF THERMAL ENERGY

STORAGE TO A COMBINED HEAT AND POWER PLANT

AUTHOR/ AFFILIATION: Benjamin McDaniel, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Mechanical

Engineering Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (M.S.M.E.), 2015

ABSTRACT: The main objective of this paper is to show the economic and environmental benefits that
can be attained through the coupling of borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) and combined heat and
power (CHP). The subject of this investigation is the University of Massachusetts CHP District Heating
System. Energy prices are significantly higher during the winter months due to the limited supply of
natural gas. This dearth not only increases operating costs but also emissions, due to the need to burn
ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD). The application of a TES system to a CHP plant allows the plant to deviate
from the required thermal load in order to operate in a more economically and environmentally optimal
manner. TES systems are charged by a heat input when there is excess or inexpensive energy, this heat is
then stored and discharged when it is needed. The scope of this paper is to present a TRNSYS model of a
BTES system that is designed using actual operational data from the campus CHP plant. The TRNSYS
model predicts that a BTES efficiency of 88% is reached after 4 years of operation. It is concluded that
the application of BTES to CHP enables greater flexibility in the operation of the CHP plant. Such
flexibility can allow the system to produce more energy in low demand periods. This operational attribute
leads to significantly reduced operating costs and emissions as it enables the replacement of ULSD or
liquefied natural gas (LNG) with natural gas.
TYPE OF RESEARCH: EXPERIMENTAL

TITLE: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON VISCOELASTIC FLUID-STRUCTURE INTERACTIONS

AUTHOR/ AFFILIATION: Anita Anup Dey, Mechanical Engineering Master of Science (M.S.), 2017.

ABSTRACT: It is well known that when a flexible or flexibly-mounted structure is placed perpendicular
to the flow of a Newtonian fluid, it can oscillate due to the shedding of separated vortices at high Reynolds
numbers. If the same flexible object is placed in non-Newtonian flows, however, the structure's response
is still unknown. The main objective of this thesis is to introduce a new field of viscoelastic fluid-structure
interactions by showing that the elastic instabilities that occur in the flow of viscoelastic fluids can drive
the motion of a flexible structure placed in its path. Unlike Newtonian fluids, the flow of viscoelastic
fluids can become unstable at infinitesimal Reynolds numbers due to the onset of a purely elastic flow
instability. This instability occurs in the absence of nonlinear effects of fluid inertia and the Reynolds
number of the flows studied here are in the order of 10-4. When such an elastic flow instability occurs in
the vicinity of a flexible structure, the fluctuating fluid forces exerted on the structure grow large enough
to cause a structural instability which in turn feeds back into the fluid resulting in a flow instability.
Nonlinear periodic oscillations of the flexible structure are observed which have been found to be coupled
to the time-dependent growth and decay of viscoelastic stresses in the wake of the structure. Presented in
this thesis are the results of an investigation of the interaction occurring in the flow of a viscoelastic
wormlike micelle solution past a flexible rectangular sheet. The structural geometries studied include:
flexible sheet inclinations at 20, 45 and 90 and flexible sheet widths of 5mm and 2.5mm. By varying
the flow velocity, the response of the flexible sheet has been characterized in terms of amplitude and
frequency of oscillations. Steady and dynamic shear rheology and filament stretching extensional
rheology measurements are conducted in order to characterize the viscoelastic wormlike micelle solution.
Bright field images show the deformation of the flexible sheet during an unstable oscillation while flow-
induced birefringence images highlight the viscoelastic fluid stresses produced in the wake of the flexible
sheet.
TYPE OF RESEARCH: SIMULATION

TITLE: SIMULATIONS OF TURBULENCE OVER SUPERHYDROPHOBIC SURFACES

AUTHOR/ AFFILIATION: Michael B. Martell, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Mechanical

Engineering Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (M.S.M.E.), 2009.

ABSTRACT: Significant effort has been placed on the development of surfaces which reduce the amount
of drag experienced by a fluid as it passes over the surface. Alterations to the fluid itself, as well as the
chemical and physical composition of the surface have been investigated with varying success.
Investigations into turbulent drag reduction have been mostly limited to those involving bubbles and
riblets. Superhydrophobic surfaces, which combine hydrophobic surface chemistry with a regular array
of microfeatures, have been shown to provide significant drag reduction in the laminar regime, with the
possibility of extending these results into turbulent flows. Direct numerical simulations are used to
investigate the drag reducing performance of superhydrophobic surfaces in turbulent channel flow. Slip
velocities, wall shear stresses, and Reynolds stresses are considered for a variety of superhydrophobic
surface microfeature geometry configurations at friction Reynolds numbers of Re = 180, Re = 395, and
Re = 590. This work provides evidence that superhydrophobic surfaces are capable of reducing drag in
turbulent flow situations by manipulating the laminar sublayer and turbulent energy cascade. For the
largest micro-feature spacing of 90 microns an average slip velocity over 80% of the bulk velocity is
obtained, and the wall shear stress reduction is found to be greater than 50%. The simulation results
suggest that the mean velocity profile near the superhydrophobic wall continues to scale with the wall
shear stress, but is offset by a slip velocity that increases with increasing micro-feature spacing.
TYPE OF RESEARCH: DESIGN, FABRICATION AND TESTING

TITLE: MULTIFERROIC MOTOR DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND CHARACTERIZATION

AUTHOR/ AFFILIATION: Chavez, Andres Cornel, California State University, Northridge,

Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering Masters of Mechanical Engineering (M.S.M.E), 2014.

ABSTRACT: The proposed research is a scientific feasibility and characterization study of a multiferroic
motor stator constructed of two rings. An outer piezoelectric ring (e.g., lead zirconate titanate) was
concentrically bonded to an inner magnetostrictive ring (e.g., Terfenol-D). The objective of the study was
to determine if a specific macroscale multiferroic design could operate as a motor stator and thus be
considered as an alternative to traditional electromagnetic motors. The motivation for the macroscale
design stemmed from nanoscale multiferroic designs which have proven to be advantageous in efficiency
and power density. An experimental setup was created, in which a bias magnetic field was applied to the
bulk motor structure, i.e. composite multiferroic ring structure, and an AC electric field was applied to
the piezoelectric ring. The bias magnetic field was monitored using a Gaussmeter, while the electric field
was measured using a high-voltage probe and was observed on a digital oscilloscope. The generated AC
magnetic field was measured using search coils and a Lock-In amplifier. The bias magnetic field ranged
between 0 and 2000 Oe, while the applied electric field was varied between 0 and 400 volts. The frequency
of the AC electric field ranged between 4 and 45 kHz. The resonant frequency was found to be 36 kHz.
It was found that the investigated motor design did not generate a rotating magnetic field indicating that
this design is not feasible as a stator. This was attributed to the lack of change in magnetization of the
inner Terfenol-D ring upon the application of the electric field to the piezoelectric outer ring. Additionally,
a dependence of the magnetization on the applied voltage was observed. However, the effect was equal
for the tested voltages ranging from 100Vpp to 400Vpp. The converse magnetoelectric (CME) coefficient
was found to be near 5 mG/V for non-resonant frequencies with a drastic increase to 100 mG/V at
resonance (36 kHz). Data indicate that the design may be suitable for sensor application or use as an RF
magnetic field generator for nano/micro resonators.