AME IS

AME is... nano. lightest.

complex. strongest.

collaborative. current. historic. impacting how you watch, test,

Faculty Research at the University of Oklahoma School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

2010-2011

fast. faster. fastest. create, construct, think.

From the Director Farrokh Mistree

Research that impacts academia, industry and the future of how we understand the world around us is being conducted every day at the University of Oklahoma School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering as our faculty, and graduate and undergraduate students pose insightful questions and work synergistically together to answer them.

Our research is aimed at the realization and sustainment of complex engineered systems. It falls into three areas: the transformation of matter, energy and information. We promote interdisciplinary collaborations that lead to transformative research, leveraging the learning community to enhance the creation of economic and intellectual capitals, through partnerships with government, government laboratories, industry and academic institutions.

The featured faculty members represent a small number of those involved in this endeavor. I invite you to view a sampling of our research efforts and consider collaborating with us in investigating problems of mutual interest.

AME Strategic Plan and Research Areas AME Strategic Plan Established 2009

AME Research Areas

1. Promote excellence in research and scholarship 2. Enhance graduate educational experience 3. Enhance undergraduate programs through excellence in experiential learning and innovations in curricula and knowledge delivery 4. Create and enhance the AME learning community 5. Showcase the AME

“Value creation in engineering involves the transformation of matter, energy and information. Faculty at AME strive to create economic and intellectual value through research of complex systems while engaging in multi-disciliplinary collaboration with fellow faculty members.�

Farrokh Mistree

Transforming Matter

M. Cengiz Altan

President’s Associates Presidential Professor

AME is nano

W

hen the study of nano materials first emerged 10 years ago, M. Cengiz Altan realized his background in composite materials would be beneficial to this new study. Today, he is a pioneer in the crossroads of materials manufacturing and mechanics – exploring and explaining how materials behave on a nano scale.

Altan’s research addresses the challenges involved in manipulating and creating useful products from nano composites. He is currently researching the use of carbon nano tubes in the creation of multi-functional composite laminates. With a grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, he also is conducting research to enhance thermal and mechanical properties of composite materials while keeping production costs reasonable.

“We are able to focus on making materials at this small size and finding useful commercial applications. Our research is fundamental in nature and may lead to products used in aircraft, automobiles, wind turbine blades and rooftops,” he said.

Altan’s research will continue as the need for high-performance, low-weight materials grow. He is one of the many professors and students at AME who work with all aspects of nano technology, including, design, manufacturing and characterization.

“We are asking important research questions that can make an impact on society.”

Transforming Matter

Peter J. Attar

AME is everywhere

P

ractical applications of Micro Air Vehicles, flying vehicles typically the size of a human hand, for surveillance in both civilian and military settings are numerous, ranging from emergency first responders to border control. Peter Attar and his colleagues at AME are performing research to advance the understanding of the basic fluid and structural physics of MAVs to allow for improved design and implementation.

Various types of MAV designs exist, ranging from fixed-wing variants, much like pint-sized conventional aircraft, to biologically inspired flapping-wing vehicles, similar to small birds and insects. Equipped with video recorders and real-time digital feeds, MAVs could observe and record data in hazardous environments, while imposing minimal environmental impact or human risk.

“Due to their small size, the underlying fundamental physics of MAV flight is significantly more complicated than conventional aircraft, and currently is not completely understood,” said Attar. He cited an example of determining the effect of highly flexible wings, typical of biological flyers, on the aerodynamic performance of MAVs. “For the potential of MAVs to be fully realized, many questions must be properly answered,” he said.

He believes his research, funded by the Department of Defense, which explores the characteristics of MAV flight using theoretical, computational and experimental methods, will result in a body of knowledge that will allow for substantial advances in MAV design and positive societal impact.

“You want to get to difficult-to-reach places without getting in harm’s way.”

Transforming Energy

J. David Baldwin

AME is watching

J

. David Baldwin sees a future where bridges don’t collapse from unknown structural problems. His research is part of ongoing studies at AME and the OU College of Engineering to reduce and provide warning of accumulated damage to bridges, and to lessen the tragedies caused when bridges collapse without warning.

Baldwin’s focus is on infrastructure protection through the development of an advance warning system to predict imminent structural failure in bridges. By creating complex algorithms to interpret data from sensors monitoring the motion of a bridge, Baldwin hopes to quantify bridge health. An accompanying video feed shows the bridge’s physical condition at all times.

Testing is under way at a bridge running over Interstate-35 in Purcell, Okla., approximately 18 miles from the OU Norman campus. Baldwin has partnered with the Intelligent Transportation Systems Lab, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the city of Purcell. In exchange for the small amount of power needed to run the sensors and video feed, emergency management agencies can use Baldwin’s cameras to monitor wildfires, severe weather and traffic accidents. It is a partnership Baldwin sees as viable in many communities. Another prototype is underway on a Norman bridge that will be run by solar power.

Baldwin’s hope is that in the future, local authorities and engineers can use this technology to monitor the health of bridges in their regions.

“Structures don’t come with little meters on them.”

Transforming Energy

S.R. Gollahalli

AME is testing

S

. R. Gollahalli is internationally recognized for his work in the field of combustion. With multi-faceted research facilities – his four research laboratories respectively encompass combustion and flame dynamics, fire dynamics, internal combustion engines, and aero propulsion – Gollahalli is conducting basic and applied research on the use of petroleum and alternative fuels in power production and transportation systems that will be both efficient and environmentally safe.

Past research includes the study of combustion of coal-derived synthetic fuels and innovative burners.

Gollahalli’s current research, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and Oklahoma Bioenergy Center, focuses on basic thermochemical processes in the flames of renewable energy sources such as biofuels and their applications in automotive aircraft engines.

“We believe biofuels, particularly the fuels made from cellulosic materials such as switch grass will become a significant part of the fuel mix in the future,” said Gollahalli.

By studying these fuels, Gollahalli hopes to improve efficiency and reduce harmful emissions of combustion systems.

“Biofuels...will become a significant part of the fuel mix in the future.”

Transforming Information

Zahed Siddique

AME is creating

A

s the faculty advisor for the internationally ranked Sooner Racing Team, and with focuses in engineering education and design theory and methodology, Zahed Siddique works to enhance engineering design and efficiency, and to pass that knowledge on to his students.

In his research of design theory and methodology, Siddique works to streamline the design of product families through a platform approach – avoiding the waste associated with designing one product at a time – and review mathematical and computational foundations that will support platform design and development. By exploring uses of design tools such as CAD, Finite Element Analysis and decision making tools, he seeks to further streamline the design process. His efforts work hand-in-hand with another research interest: ecologically friendly net-zero footprint design. Siddique recently helped facilitate a semester-long dream course entitled Net Zero Energy/Eco Footprint in the Built Environment, which explored net-zero footprint design dilemmas ranging from engineering, philosophical, architectural and economic barriers, and solutions to overcome those barriers.

In his research in the area of engineering education, Siddique seeks innovative and novel ways of teaching engineering concepts to undergraduate engineering students. In a National Science Foundation funded project, he used a racecar game to teach concepts of tolerancing to undergraduate students. In another NSF research project, he is creating an interactive scenario-based approach to help his students understand casting, through design of components for casting.

“Experiential learning happens in curricular and extra curricular activities.”

AME Faculty AME faculty are conducting cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary research throughout the fields of aerospace and mechanical engineering, and partnering with government and industry to implement valuable applications of their research findings. By studying complex systems through the lenses of energy, information and matter, faculty partner with each other to conduct synergistic research from the multiple vantage points of their unique areas of expertise, experience and academic focus.

Transforming Energy

J. David Baldwin baldwin@ou.edu

S.R. Gollahalli gollahalli@ou.edu

Feng C. Lai flai@ou.edu

Wilson E. Ramkumar N. Parthasarathy Merchan-Merchan rparhasarathy@ou.edu wmerchan-merchan@ou.edu

Li Song lsong@ou.edu

Transforming Information

Kurt Gramoll gramoll@ou.edu

Takumi Hawa hawa@ou.edu

David P. Miller Farrokh Mistree Zahed Siddique dpmiller@ou.edu farrokh.mistree@ou.edu zsiddique@ou.edu

Alfred G. Stritz stritz@ou.edu

Prakash Vedula pvedula@ou.edu

Transforming Matter

M. Cengiz Altan altan@ou.edu

Peter J. Attar peter.attar@ou.edu

Kuang-Hua Chang khchang@ou.edu

Rong Zhu Gan rgan@ou.edu

Mrinal C. Saha msaha@ou.edu

Harold L. Stalford stalford@ou.edu

865 Asp Ave., Felgar Hall, 212 Norman, Oklahoma 73019 Phone: (405) 325-5011 www.ame.ou.edu The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution. This publication, printed by the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, is issued by the University of Oklahoma. Two-hundred copies have been prepared and distributed at no cost to the taxpayers of the State of Oklahoma