Mechanical Engineering

Efficiency in finite element solutions is increasingly important, as some solutions now involve over one billion unknowns [1]. Closed-form solutions for straight-sided triangular and tetrahedral elements have been found more efficient than numerically integrated solutions [2 -6]. This project expands on research involving closed-form isoparametric tetrahedral elements through the third order (limited at the time by computer memory and storage) [2, 4 -6]. The fourth-order closed-form solutions are found to be more efficient than numerically integrated solutions. The fourth order closed-form straight-sided elements are also combined with numerically integrated curve-sided elements, demonstrating potential for efficient solutions using a combination of elements.

In the modern age the engineering filed is rapidly evolving into a complex system with the need of multiple branches of engineering know how to solve modern problems. Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Software Engineers and even those experts outside of the engineering field should collaborate to produce quality designs and solutions for the Future. With these new elements and demands in the engineering field, engineers are expected to behave like multipurpose tools. Engineers with applicable knowledge form varying technological displaces that can be utilized effectively on demand of the projects. Likewise, the engineers of the future need to be compatible with engineers of the older generation who might have limited to no knowledge of fields outside of their practice. To succeed in the future workforce engineering students not only need technical knowledge, creativity, and soft skills, but also the quality to synergize into engineering systems that include multiple disciplines. With these new requirements of the future engineering education face a new duty of introducing challenges of multidisciplinary design and projects to its students. At the university level, the most effective way to unify various engineering fields is by integrating students through multidisciplinary design projects. These projects encourage teams of students to tackle engineering problems more efficiently as a group rather than as individuals. By combining multiple engineering disciplines, the student is able to collaborate with peers who have a different educational background and to even collaborate with departments that have nothing to do with engineering. This enhances the student's learning experience by exposing them to nontraditional ideas, while encouraging them to cultivate their own. Most important of all, for the student all other traditional barriers are removed. Thereby the learning and application limits are set by the student rather than by the instructor, curriculum, department and even school district. By giving the students absolute control we allow them to branch out to places and people they would have never been otherwise exposed to. Our teams have worked on multiple multidisciplinary projects in the past few months. These multidisciplinary projects included the Plane on a Pole project, T-Ball Design project, and Cellular Automata Simulation project. Each of these projects has presented its own multidisciplinary challenges which have forced the students to adapt to the modern engineering world. Lastly, the students had to reach beyond their knowledge, step out of their comfort zone and find help in many different departments and even off campus. The nature of this nontraditional classroom approach strengthened the soft skills of the engineering student, a value that is not tangible in the classroom. Multidisciplinary design projects are one solution to bridging the gap between graduate requirements and industry employers' needs.

Engineering milestones: from the control of fire, to the modern clock, to our first future footsteps on mars and beyond, engineering has benefited all humankind either directly or indirectly. Therefore, one of biggest potentials of engineering is the fact that it can benefit the community. In the past six months at the University of Texas at Tyler, Engineering students have partaking in " Independent Study " and/or " Undergraduate Research " as a team in terms of " Project-based Learning " , which are composed of three independent projects, 1) Plane on a Pole, 2) Tai-Chi Ball (T-Ball) design, and 3) Dynamic Fracture Simulations. In result, it is expected that these enhanced learning experiences will allow students to directly affect their communities and work on projects that could manifest positive impact globally. Effects on the community as a result of project-based learning are in most cases in the hands of the students and could range from simple to significant. Keywords Design for community, plane on a pole, dynamic fracture, Tai Chi ball, project-based learning 1. Frame of Reference The sharks are excellent swimmers, eagles are best in flying, kangaroos are most efficient in jumping, and we humans are best in creative thinking, for example, science or engineering. Looking around the animal kingdom, it quickly becomes obvious that we humans have no special physical talent; however, we have managed take over planet earth. Regardless of whether you believe in the creation of man or accept the expensive tissue theory to be true, one fact is clear: we humans have created tools and changed our surroundings to survive and improve our lives. Engineering milestones: from the control of fire, to the modern clock, to our first future footsteps on mars and beyond, engineering has benefited all humankind. Therefore, one of the most important characteristics of engineering is that it will benefit the community. Engineering itself has always been powerful because it can create vast impacts for the good by creating solutions to problems. Solving certain issues, or improving certain systems can not only have physical effects on a community, but also social and economic. Since engineering has such great potential, it is also expected for one to see engineering students making a significant impact on their communities also. In the past six months at the University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler), Mechanical engineering students have performed an " Independent Study " and/or " Undergraduate Research " course as a project team in terms of " Project-based Learning " in an undergraduate level. For

Alireza Yazdanshenas Mechanical Engineering student form the University of Texas at Tyler (Undergrad) Will continue my education to my last days. Born in Iran and Lived in Germany for an extended amount of time. Dual College athlete yet in love with Engineering. Hoping to compete in the 2020 Olympics in the Hammer throw.

The C-Arm x-ray system (C-Arm) is a useful medical device commonly used in surgeries that require the use of x-ray images during operations. In some operations, surgeons rely heavily on the mobile C-Arm to effectively execute the surgery. In some cases, the success of the operation is directly correlated with the C-Arm and its ability to be repositioned to any desired position relative to the patient. In this paper, an integrated approach is provided for the automatic and accurate repositioning of a mobile C-Arm. The development of a C-Arm prototype is explained through the use of computer-aided design and manufacturing. To automatically reposition the C-Arm, a two-step integrated approach is introduced that uses motion capture systems and artificial intelligence-based repositioning. In the first step, the C-Arm is repositioned using Vicon motion capture along with a virtual platform and graphic user interface. In the second step, the accuracy of the repositioning of the C-Arm is further improved by incorporating a deep learning convolutional neural network with image processing and point feature matching. Key results indicate successful integration of the proposed method with the C-Arm prototype for the purpose of automatic and accurate repositioning.

This project asked engineering students to develop a multi-subsystem design that would produce electricity. Students over the duration of this project learned how to simulate and design systems theoretically using computer tools. Furthermore, students were expected to produce a prototype of their model, thereby self-analyzing the practicality levels and enhancing learning. With the technology available to students advancing, systems integration techniques become more efficient learning experiences to the students. The benefits of systems integration can also be expanded to the professional world these students will soon step into. Therefore, teaching these techniques now will give students a better further insight on real world experience in a classroom setting. When students make the expected leap into the job market, it is important for them to have a solid understanding of system integration and multi-system design. It is this understanding that will make students more desirable ...

First, I must thank my parents for supporting me through my college career. I hope that one day I can pay them back for all their hard work and sacrifice. Next, I want to thank my fiancé Stephanie Tutt for always being patient with me while I spent many hours apart working on my academic goals. Now it is time that I put us first. I would also like to express my special thanks and gratitude to my thesis advisor Dr. Chung Hyun Goh for helping and guiding me through my college career. Dr. Goh has always been there for us, through sickness and health, no matter what. His work ethic and dedication are unmatched. Thank you. In addition, I want to thank my brother Armin Yazdanshenas for being a good research partner, teammate and roommate. I also want to express my explicit gratitude to my thesis committee members Dr. X. Neil Dong and Fredericka Brown. Without their help and without the skills they have taught me, my research would have been impossible. My deepest appreciation also goes to Dr. Nael Barakat he has done a lot for my brother and me. We will never forget that. Without hesitation, I thank Dr. Michael McGinnis for always guiding the students into the right direction and for being a great mentor to us all. My respect and appreciation also go to Dr. Javier Kypuros for always trussing in me and helping us all move in the right directions. Finally, I want to thank Kirill Safrin, Joseph Oyedele, Emilli Morrison, Steven Auzenne, and Andrew Hernandez for being good friends and for helping me achieve this goal. i

Alireza Yazdanshenas Mechanical Engineering student form the University of Texas at Tyler (Undergrad) Will continue my education to my last days. Born in Iran and Lived in Germany for an extended amount of time. Dual College athlete yet in love with Engineering. Hoping to compete in the 2020 Olympics in the Hammer throw.

Fission products decay power and residual fission power generated after shutdown of Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1) by reactivity insertion accident were estimated by solution of the decay and residual heat equations. A Matlab program code was developed to simulate the heat generation rates by fission product decay and resi-dual fission processes. Immediately after the shutdown, the residual heat generated was ~ 3.2 kW and reduced to 0 kW after 80 s, while the decay power of 1.8 kW reduced to 1.34 kW after 80 s. Twelve seconds after shut-down, the decay power dominated the reactor heating, indicating that the long term shutdown heating in the reactor system was generated by decay of fission products.