Mechanical Engineering
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Research

Both faculty and students in Mechanical Engineering at Texas Tech work on a number of research projects. The following list of research areas provides general information on the topic, specific research projects that are ongoing in the research area, and faculty members to contact for additional information or possible graduate work on a specific project.

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Acoustic Emissions

Acoustic emissions research studys the discrete wavelet decomposition of acoustic emissions from composite material failure, including the quantification of failure modes and residual strength.

The experimental setup of the Acoustic Emissions Laboratory includes a carbon composite tensile specimen with two sensors attached to the specimen for the purpose of collecting data. The research objective is to prove that the failure modes detected from acoustic emission signals will be represented by different wavelet levels. The combination of acoustic emissions, wavelet transforms, and fracture mechanics will be the mechanism through which this statement will be proven.

The following faculty have research interests in acoustics:

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Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics is the branch of dynamics that deals with the motion of air and other gaseous fluids and with the forces acting on solids in motion relative to such fluids. Aerodynamics categorizes fluids according to whether their velocity is below or above the local speed of sound. When the velocity range is below the local speed of sound, the flow of the fluid is categorized in the subsonic regime. When the velocity range is above the local speed of sound, the flow of the fluid is categorized in the supersonic regime. The term transonic refers to flows in which the velocity range falls in both the subsonic and supersonic regimes. The hypersonic regime comprises fluid velocities in excess of five times the speed of sound.

The following faculty have research interests in Aerodynamics:

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Alternative Fuels

Alternative fuels are fuels that can be derived from non-crude oil resources. In general, alternative fuels include all vehicular fuels other than gasoline and diesel fuels, although reformulated gasoline and clean diesel fuels are sometimes considered to be alternative fuels.

Transportation fuels that can be derived from non-crude oil resources include methanol, ethanol, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), hydrogen, and hydrocarbons from coal and shale. Although electricity is not actually a fuel, it is considered an alternative fuel since it is a source of energy which can be used to propel a vehicle.

Researchers in the mechanical engineering department at Texas Tech University has been involved in alternative fuels research since 1988, when they were first awarded a 1988 Chevrolet Corsica to be converted to operate using M-85 -- a combination of methanol and gasoline. Since that time, the department has been involved in vehicle design projects and research programs using M-100 (100% methanol), ethanol, natural gas, hybrid electricity, and LPG. Research programs have involved cold-starting methanol engines, engine operation using enriched oxygen, and long-term effects of engine operation using M-100. The department has been very successful in their work, winning first place overall in the 1993 Natural Gas Challenge and consistently being ranked in the top five in other competitions.

The following faculty have research interests in Alternative Fuels:

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Dynamics and Control

Dynamics is the branch of mechanics that deals with forces and their relation primarily to the motion but sometimes also to the equilibrium of particles or bodies. Dynamics is used for the modeling and analysis of dynamic mechanical, electrical, fluid, and thermal systems.

The following faculty have research interests in Dynamics and Control:

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Energy Systems

Energy systems research studies alternative energy sources as well as energy conservation.

The following faculty have research interests in Energy Systems:

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Failure Analysis

Failure of engineering materials and components can be traced back to material flaws, imperfections in the manufacturing process, or errors in the design of the component at issue.  Given the fact that the consequences of a failure are often tragic and costly, therefore determination of the root-cause of a failure is an important step for  identifying the culprit and the development of corrective actions necessary for prevention of similar failures in the future.  Fortunately, every type of failure leaves a distinct pattern (fingerprint) which can be isolated and identified through stereo-microscopy and scanning-electron-microscopy techniques, and traced back to the root-cause of the failure.  The Materials Performance & Failure Analysis Laboratory's mission is to support research, teaching and service activities related to characterization of materials behavior under adverse loading condition and root-cause failure analysis.                

The following faculty have research interests in Failure Analysis:

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Fluid Mechanics

Fluid mechanics research studies the principles of fluid statics, fluid dynamics, ideal and viscous flows, and turbomachinery. Equations governing fluid kinematics can be applied to such topics as potential flow, low Reynold's number flow, and boundary layer flow. These equations can be solved by applying finite difference techniques to the governing partial differential equations.

The following faculty have research interests in Fluid Mechanics:

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Heat and Mass Transfer

Heat transfer research is the study of energy transfer by combined mechanisms of radiation, conduction, and convection heat transfer. Heat transmission by radiation investigates gray surfaces, network methods, and absorbing media. Conduction heat transfer investigates the fundamental principles of steady-state equations; exact and approximate methods of solutions; prediction of conductivities; and advanced topics such as fins, slabs, porous media, and moving heat. Heat transmission by convection investigates theoretical, numerical, and empirical methods of analysis for internal and external flows.

The following faculty have research interests in Heat and Mass Transfer:

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Manufacturing Processes

Research in manufacturing processes for engineering materials analyzes the stresses, tribology, and economics associated with primary and secondary manufacturing processes and their effects on the properties of engineering materials.

The following faculty have research interests in Manufacturing Processes:

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Materials

Materials research studies the thermodynamic and chemical nature of the structure and properties of materials. This information is used during material selection in the design process.

The following faculty have research interests in Materials:

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Metallurgy

Metallurgy is the science and technology of metals. It studies the elasticity, plasticity, dislocation theory, and strengthening mechanisms associated with metals. This research area also investigates the testing and controlling of mechanical properties and their variations with temperature, strain rate, and microstructure.

The following faculty have research interests in Metallurgy:

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Optical Measurement Techniques

Optical measurement techniques research investigates the theory behind experimental stress analysis. Moire, photoelasticity, holography, and other experimental techniques are used in the experimental investigation of solid mechanics.

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Phase Transformations

Solid-solid phase transformations are phenomena that are very widespread in nature, physical experiments, and modern technologies. The practical significance of Phase Transformations is connected to such technologies as the heat treatment of metals, high pressure synthesis of diamonds and other superhard materials, as well as to the new class of smart materials called shape memory alloys (SMA). One of the mechanisms of earthquakes is related to instability caused by shear strain-induced Phase Transformations. Phase transformations play an important role in such phenomena as transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP), stress and strain induced Phase Transformations, pseudoelasticity and pseudoplasticity, shape memory effect (SME), and plastic shear-induced Phase Transformations under high pressure.

The following faculty have research interests in Phase Transformations:

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Plasticity and Viscoelasticity

Plasticity and viscoelasticity study the yield criteria and constitutive relations for ideal plastic and strain hardening materials. Boundary value problems are investigated, as is the slipline field theory, with applications toward large deformation metal forming processes.

The following faculty have research interests in Plasticity and Viscoelasticity:

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Robotics

Robotics is the technology that deals with the study of the design, construction, and operation of robots in automation.

The following faculty have research interests in Robotics:

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Solid Mechanics

Solid mechanics is the branch of physical science that deals with energy and its effect on solids -- three dimensional objects that do not flow perceptibly under moderate stress.

The following faculty have research interests in Solid Mechanics:

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Tribology

Tribology investigates the design, friction, wear, and lubrication of interacting surfaces in relative motion (as in bearings or gears).

The following faculty have research interests in Tribology:

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Vibrations

Vibrations research deals with the free and forced vibration of damped and undamped single and multiple degree of freedom mechanical systems. Other areas of research include generalized coordinates, nonlinear vibrations, and other advanced topics.

The following faculty have research interests in Vibrations:

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