Something Old,Something New: Integrating Engineering Practice into the Teaching of Engineering Mechanics

This paper presents a multifaceted method for teaching engineering mechanics designed to satisfy the following set of desiderata: (1) integrate engineering practice into the teaching of engineering science; (2) address a wide set of learning styles; (3) provide opportunities for practice in group work and learning; (4) promote communication and synthesizing skills; (5) engage students in the teaching and learning process; (6) maintain traditional achievement levels with respect to traditional measures; (7) motivate students to continue their engineering studies; and (8) maintain reasonable resource demands. Consistent with this variety of objectives, the approach presented here is composed of a variety of ingredients. In addition to the standard homework problems and exams, these ingredients include design projects, group work, basic competency exams, computational environments for simulating and visualizing phenomena, multimedia instructional tools, hands-on experiences, and student presentations. This educational model is intended to be suitable for teaching engineering mechanics in general, but this paper focuses on a particular sophomore-level mechanics of materials course in which the method has been implemented, refined over several years of classroom use, and tested relative to traditional approaches. The paper describes the and techniques that together make up the method, followed by summaries of the results of evaluations that have been applied to the course.     

Processing,microstructure, and mechanical properties of hot-pressed ZrB2 ceramics with a complex Zr/Si/O-based additive

Densification behavior, microstructure, and mechanical properties of zirconium diboride (ZrB₂) ceramics modified with a complex Zr/Si/O-based additive were studied. ZrB₂ ceramics with 5–20 vol.% additions of Zr/Si/O-based additive were densified to >95% relative density at temperatures as low as 1400°C by hot-pressing. Improved densification behavior of ZrB₂ was observed with increasing additive content. The most effective additive amount for densification was 20 vol.%, hot-pressed at 1400°C (∼98% relative density). Microstructural analysis revealed up to 7 vol.% of residual second phases in the final ceramics. Improved densification behavior was attributed to ductility of the silicide phase, liquid phase formation at the hot-pressing temperatures, silicon wetting of ZrB₂ particles, and reactions of surface oxides. Room temperature strength ranged from 390 to 750 MPa and elastic modulus ranged from 440 to 490 GPa. Vickers hardness ranged from 15 to 16 GPa, and indentation fracture toughness was between 4.0 and 4.3 MPa·m^1/2. The most effective additive amount was 7.5 vol.%, which resulted in high relative density after hot-pressing at 1600°C and the best combination of mechanical properties.     

The distribution of grain boundary planes in polycrystals

During the last ten years, techniques have been developed to measure the distribution of grain boundaries in polycrystals as a function of both lattice misorientation and grain boundary plane orientation. This paper presents a brief overview of the techniques used for these measurements and the principle findings of studies implementing these techniques. The most significant findings are that grain boundary plane distributions are anisotropic, that they are scale invariant during normal grain growth, that the most common grain boundary planes are those with low surface energies, that the grain boundary populations are inversely correlated with the grain boundary energy, and that the coincident site lattice number is a poor predictor of the grain boundary energy and population.     

In-Plane Cracking Behavior and Ultimate Strength for 2D Woven and Braided Melt-Infiltrated SiC/SiC Composites Tensile Loaded in Off-Axis Fiber Directions

The tensile mechanical properties of ceramic matrix composites (CMC) in directions off the primary axes of the reinforcing fibers are important for the architectural design of CMC components that are subjected to multiaxial stress states. In this study, two-dimensional (2D)-woven melt-infiltrated (MI) SiC/SiC composite panels with balanced fiber content in the 0° and 90° directions were tensile loaded in-plane in the 0° direction and at 45° to this direction. In addition, a 2D triaxially braided MI SiC/SiC composite panel with a higher fiber content in the ±67° bias directions compared with the axial direction was tensile loaded perpendicular to the axial direction tows (i.e., 23° from the bias fibers). Stress–strain behavior, acoustic emission, and optical microscopy were used to quantify stress-dependent matrix cracking and ultimate strength in the panels. It was observed that both off-axis-loaded panels displayed higher composite onset stresses for through-thickness matrix cracking than the 2D-woven 0/90 panels loaded in the primary 0° direction. These improvements for off-axis cracking strength can in part be attributed to higher effective fiber fractions in the loading direction, which in turn reduces internal stresses on weak regions in the architecture, e.g., minicomposite tows oriented normal to the loading direction and/or critical flaws in the matrix for a given composite stress. Both off-axis-oriented panels also showed relatively good ultimate tensile strength when compared with other off-axis-oriented composites in the literature, both on an absolute strength basis as well as when normalized by the average fiber strength within the composites. Initial implications are discussed for constituent and architecture design to improve the directional cracking of SiC/SiC CMC components with MI matrices.     

Some aspects of the analysis of coal by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

Bituminous coal samples from 84 distinct sources were analysed by conventional British Standards (BS) methods for phosphorus, sulphur, chlorine, ash and the ash-forming elements (calcium, silicon, aluminium, iron, sodium, magnesium, potassium, titanium and manganese). In most cases four determinations were made per element per source. Samples were crushed to ?212 μm (72 BS mesh) and pressed into aluminium cups at 20 t in^?2 (309 MPa) without binder or backing. Two pellets from each sample were analysed by wave-length dispersive X-ray fluorescence techniques, using a spectrometer equipped with a rhodium rube; the X-ray count took 60 s. The X-ray results were calibrated against the conventional results using multiple regression. The accuracy obtained was comparable with routine ‘wet chemical’ techniques. The X-ray technique is suitable for the routine determination of large numbers of samples.     

A molecular dynamics simulation of bacteriophage T4 lysozyme

An analysis of a 400 ps molecular dynamics simulation of the164 amino acid enzyme T4 lysozyme is presented. The simulationwas carried out with all hydrogen atoms modeled explicitly,the inclusion of all 152 crystallographic waters and at a temperatureof 300 K. Temporal analysis of the trajectory versus energy,hydrogen bond stability, r.m.s. deviation from the startingcrystal structure and radius of gyration, demonstrates thatthe simulation was both stable and representative of the averageexperimental structure. Average structural properties were calculatedfrom the enzyme trajectory and compared with the crystal structure.The mean value of the C displacements of the average simulatedstructure from the X-ray structure was 1.1 ± 0.1 Å;differences of the backbone and angles between the averagesimulated structure and the crystal structure were also examined.Thermal-B factors were calculated from the simulation for heavyand backbone atoms and both were in good agreement with experimentalvalues. Relationships between protein secondary structure elementsand internal motions were studied by examining the positionalfluctuations of individual helix, sheet and turn structures.The structural integrity in the secondary structure units waspreserved throughout the simulation; however, the A helix didshow some unusually high atomic fluctuations. The largest backboneatom r.m.s. fluctuations were found in non-secondary structureregions; similar results were observed for r.m.s. fluctuationsof non-secondary structure and angles. In general, the calculatedvalues of r.m.s. fluctuations were quite small for the secondarystructure elements. In contrast, surface loops and turns exhibitedmuch larger values, being able to sample larger regions of conformationalspace. The C difference distance matrix and super-positioninganalyses comparing the X-ray structure with the average dynamicsstructure suggest that a ‘hinge-bending’ motionoccurs between the N- and C-terminal domains.     

Objective classification of vehicle seat discomfort

The objective of this study was to identify how physiological measures relate to self-reported vehicle seating discomfort. Twelve subjects of varied anthropometric characteristics were enrolled in the study. Subjects sat in two seats over a 2-h period and were evaluated via three physiological measures (near-infrared spectroscopy, electromyography and pressure mapping) yielding six testing sessions. Subjective discomfort surveys were recorded before and after each session for nine regions of the body. Conditional classification discomfort models were developed through dichotomised physiological responses and anthropometry to predict subjective discomfort in specific body locations. Models revealed that subjects taller than 171 cm with reduced blood oxygenation in the biceps femoris or constant, low-level muscle activity in the trapezius tended to report discomfort in the lower extremities or neck, respectively. Subjects weighing less than 58 kg with reduced blood oxygenation in the biceps femoris or unevenly distributed pressure patterns tended to report discomfort in the buttocks. The sensitivities and specificities of cross-validated models ranged between 0.69 and 1.00.