Thesis (M.S., Mechanical Engineering)--California State University, Sacramento, 2018.

Efficient hybrid rocket engine designs are highly desirable due to the inherent safety of these systems when compared to the premixed solid rocket motor or bi-propellant rocket engines. Hybrid rocket motors use a pressurized tank to impel liquid oxyge . . .

Using a Venturi to Capture and increase wind velocity are carried out to enhance the performance of wind turbines, the Idea of Ducted Wind Turbines has been an interest because of the ability to increase the velocity through them, the results of multi . . .

Statement of Problem: Improvements to internal combustion efficiency have soared in the last decade due to stricter emission regulations and increased consumer demand for fuel-efficient vehicles. Variable valve timing (VVT), engine start-stop cycles, . . .

In Track and Field, sprinters such as Usain Bolt undergo wind resistance or drag forces during a race competition. Athletic clothing and shoes help reduce drag of a sprinter. Eyewear, which is used to block glare and harmful UV rays, have not been stu . . .

The goal to achieve higher fuel-efficient internal combustion engines is a common goal for engine manufacturers. Current engines reject approximately 20 percent of the fuels energy to the engine cooling system. The waste energy is rejected to the atmo . . .

To better understand the phenomena of various thrust outputs with constant energy input in the RF Resonant Cavity Thruster, a theoretical space travel propulsion system, the impact of microstructural variations in the cavity material was investigated. . . .

Vehicle dynamics is highly dependent on mass distribution. Airplanes are particularly affected by mass distribution. Altering the moment of an airplane change how well it can fly and even lead to disaster [1]. Ocean vehicles will also undergo disaster . . .

The protection of soldiers and law enforcement personnel form ballistic threats is a growing concern with the increase of armor piercing small caliber projectiles. In this thesis, a design will be proposed for a new ballistic plate insert for wearable . . .

A generic remote control airplane is converted into an autonomous UAV. The aircraft’s dynamic behavior is represented in state space form, with a series of 1st order differential equations. Stability and control derivatives are estimated using softwar . . .

Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is the deterioration of mechanical and chemical properties under mutual action of corrosive environment stress and sensitive material. Aluminum alloys such as 2xxx, 6xxx, and 7xxx series are considered extremely suscept . . .

Increasing energy demand and environmental pollution in United States has been led toward using renewable energy sources over recent decades. Ground-source heat pump systems are one of the promising new energy technologies that have shown rapid increa . . .

Unmanned aerial vehicles are seeing increasing use in a variety of applications including warfare, imaging, communication, search and rescue, meteorology, agriculture, and more. For most applications, flight endurance on the order of days, weeks, or e . . .

In the precision instrument approach and landing of an airplane where the uncertainty is very frequent due to the high sensitivity of the activity to many factors that influence the behavior of the pilots, Fuzzy logic can be used to produce estimates . . .

In order to assure precision and quality of boring operations, on-line tool condition monitoring is essential. In this research, Counterpropagation Neural Networks (CPN’s) and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS) are used in conjunction with . . .

A light duty, desktop size, 3 axis CNC milling machine is designed with a frame featuring a novel welded steel design composed entirely of precision cut plate steel featuring interlocking and self aligning geometry. The wide availability of high accur . . .

Nowadays the reduction of drag is becoming a very important challenge for all the car manufacturers as they are competing intensely to produce powerful pickup trucks with better gas mileage in the market regulated with law reinforcement on fuel emissi . . .

In the history of aerodynamic research around the bluff bodies like SUV, trucks and trailers, it has always been observed that their shapes with square base have served as an obstacle improving vehicle fuel economy. When the air passes over the vehicl . . .

With dwindling petroleum resources, the need for alternate fuel resources has become immense. Any new fuel source needs to be home grown, economically feasible, and environmentally friendly. Although many such fuels are available for ground transporta . . .

This study of the first automated Sepak Takraw ball throwing mechanism presents the design of a new mechanism which is able to generate common types of Sepak Takraw ball motion. Sepak Takraw is a unique competitive ball sport where two teams of three . . .

There are several assumptions made when the ballistics of a solid rocket motor (SRM) is being modeled. Among them is the assumption that the case wall of the motor is adiabatic, i.e., no heat from combustion is lost through the case and nozzle walls a . . .

In recent years, a special attention is given to the research on the dynamics and control of a flexible aircraft. However, dynamic models, especially control of the flexible aircraft, remains to be one of the most challenging problems in engineering. . . .

As efficiency of the equipment improves, there is a need for more sophisticated control over all equipment to achieve a global optimization. The idea of a simulation-powered building energy management and control system (SPEMS) to achieve such optimiz . . .

Liquefied petroleum (LP) gas is used as a backup energy system for glass production furnace. LP gas is mixed with air at a desired ratio in order to get a proper gravity. The previous research was conducted to improve a performance of monitoring and d . . .

The Optimization theory of the radio bracket pair was described. The radio bracket pair was optimized by utilizing Altair CAE optimization tools. The FEM model of brackets was established by HyperMesh, the Linear static and vibration analysis was done . . .

Solar sails are spacecrafts that use light propulsion to push their large sails to accelerate forward. Just like how sailboats use the wind to move across the ocean, solar sails use the pressure from light particles emitted from the Sun to push them f . . .

Although electricity generation is steadily increasing in Ethiopia, a bias between the grid extension and the load of power generated resulted in shortage of electricity and thus frequent power cut. Limited electricity service makes the reliable power . . .

In contrast to a current propellant-based rocket, the concept in this thesis uses the rotational mass to create an imbalanced centrifugal force in a non-circular enclosure, which results in a propulsion force being generated. The approach to analyze a . . .

In recent years, the demand for air conditioning systems due to the demand of higher comfort conditions has led to a significant increase for primary energy resources such as solar energy for cooling. Solar cooling (SC) is getting more and more readil . . .

In recent years, wind power has become one of the fastest growing energy supply industries in the world. In fact, wind turbines are considered to be fairly simple mechanical applications powered by the energy of the wind. In order to generate adequate . . .

As well as inflicting harm upon to the environment through the production of green house gases and harmful to people through fires, oil spills and toxic ashes; fossil fuels are also a limited resource with a rising cost. Additionally, society as a who . . .

Moore’s Law has brought upon innovation and technological advances to the semiconductor industry, which has resulted in advancements to Solid-State Drives (SSD). This thesis is a design verification of a Solid-State Drive that utilizes a Peripheral Co . . .

The millimeter or insect scale sized electrostatic force driven mechanisms using a parallel plate actuation with multilayered dielectric considering air gap as a dielectric has not been delved into so much. This thesis is directed towards design param . . .

In a time when computing power is becoming exponentially more integral to everyday business, energy efficient environmental control for data processing has come to the forefront of conversation in the pursuit of energy saving. Whether it is due to reg . . .

Space traveling is still in its infancy. The idea that one can traveling throughout space is intriguing. The idea of a solar sail to travel or "sail" through space using just sunlight as a propulsion system is still a fairly new field. This thesis is . . .

The United States is highly dependent on fossil fuels as a primary source of energy. An interest in viable renewable sources of energy is on the rise given the cost and availability of petroleum based energy. A source of untapped renewable energy exis . . .

Delineators are used to mark roadways to indicate to motorists the location of the edge of the road, lane reduction transitions and curves. They are an effective guidance device especially at night and adverse weather conditions. Due to their location . . .

Comfortable ride is one of the main index of comfortable vehicle and engine mount plays important role in it. Automobile industries are in need of reducing the vibration forces to satisfy customer requirements. Vibration of car engine arises from unba . . .

The main aim for this presented work is to prove that higher efficiencies can be achieved when considering allotted drying time as a parameter of the drying cycle. This thesis explains how to theoretically calculate the most efficient drying parameter . . .

Aerojet Rocketdyne (AR) is an aerospace and defense company that specializes in rocket propulsion. AR manufactures the Atlas V solid rocket boosters that are used on the Atlas V launch vehicle. These boosters were designed and are in production at the . . .

Road vehicles such as passenger cars, trucks and SUVs are categorized as bluff bodies. As a vehicle moves forward, the motion of the air around it produces pressure gradients, which vary across the entire body surface. This in turn helps to develop a . . .

Fuel combustion inside the cylinder of an engine is greatly affected by the mixing of the air and the fuel. Better mixing leads to more efficient combustion. There has been a lot of research in the past to improve the mixing of air fuel mixture in the . . .

It is estimated that California’s dairies have the potential to produce an estimates 40 million cubic feet of biogas per day, representing a potential capacity of about 140 mW of energy. Due to the distributed nature of these resources, reciprocating . . .

NASA is currently in development of a vertical test bed vehicle demonstrating new green propellant propulsion systems and autonomous landing and hazard detection technology. The vehicle is required to land on the Earth’s surface without the aid of par . . .

The purpose of this thesis is to develop Artificial Intelligence Models to predict the 28-days compressive strength of Portland cement (CCS). Two models, Artificial Neural Network and Fuzzy Logic were created using 4 input parameters of Portland cemen . . .

Electroencephalography (EEG) signals recorded from the Motor Cortex and Electromyography (EMG) signals recorded from the facial muscles are used to control a prosthetic hand. Preprocessing and pattern recognition phase of EEG signal analysis is perfor . . .

Soil solarization is a non-chemical treatment of agricultural soil for the control of soil-borne pathogens and pests. To be most effective, the solarization process is undertaken when ambient temperatures are highest, often causing growers to lose the . . .

Peridynamic theory is an alternative theory of continuum mechanics that utilizes integral equations in place of problematic spatial derivatives in areas of material discontinuity. By doing so, specialized techniques required to correct for computation . . .

Solar Energy in one form or another is the source of nearly all energy on the earth. It can also be harvested to generate electrical energy that can be used in everyday life. This is done by implementing Photovoltaic cells that exhibit photoelectric e . . .