​Image: (a) Raven RQ-11B CAD model, (b) engine schematic, (c) 3D printed titanium crankcase. Modified from: DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2020.112514.

Jared Hobeck, assistant professor in the Alan Levin Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, has been awarded a subcontract as part of a short-term $127,000 Seed Research Initiation grant from NASA.

The project seeks to develop a design framework for 3D-printable hybrid internal combustion engines to power unmanned aerial vehicles on both Mars and Earth missions. Hobeck's Multifunctional Structures Lab is responsible for designing and simulating an electromagnetic linear generator integrated with the engine to provide electrical power while maximizing system efficiency.

This one-year project, led by Wichita State University, is a collaborative effort between three Kansas universities — Wichita State, Kansas State University and the University of Kansas; three industry partners — KalScott Engineering, Brij Systems and Aerojet Rocketdyne; and the NASA Glen Research Center.

The team expects these early efforts to pave the way for long-term sustained collaboration, STEM outreach events and future funding opportunities.

See this article on K-State Today

MSL's computing cluster "CRUNCH" has recently received some hefty upgrades. Six new dual processor compute nodes were added to the original six nodes. The new processors are slightly faster and each new node has twice the RAM (128GB) of the original system nodes. CRUNCH is primarily used for: fluid-structure interaction simulations, stochastic nano-particle network modeling, artificial neural networks, machine learning, image analysis, and aero-structural optimization.

"We're getting too good at moving heavy things". While this may be an unfortunate truth, the group is now happily settled into their new larger space on the ground floor of Rathbone Hall. The photos show (in-order): (1) entrance to the newly renovated room 0028; (2) student work/office space; (3) servohydraulic load frame stations; (4) dedicated room for hydraulic pumps and storage; (5) laser vibrometer cart and impact testing frame; (6) oven and environmental chamber; (7) sample prep and wet lab; and (8) vibration isolation tables.

In September Khalid and Dr. Hobeck attended the ASME Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS) hosted at the Omni Hotel in Louisville, KY. Khalid presented their peer-reviewed paper titled "Developing a Smart Façade System Controller for Wind-Induced Vibration Mitigation in Tall Buildings". In addition to providing great technical talks, the conference also included a tour and banquet at Churchill Downs - home of the Kentucky Derby!

Welcome MSL's newest member! CRUNCH is our Linux-based high-performance computing cluster. We have projects that will immediately benefit from its computing abilities spanning across topics including: fluid-structure interaction, stochastic nano-particle networks, artificial neural networks, machine learning, image analysis, and aero-structural optimization. Time to put it to work!

Congratulations to Tyler Albright for winning third place in the best student paper competition at this year's SPIE Smart Structures / NDE Conference in Denver, CO. Our paper was titled "Stochastic modeling of strain and fatigue sensing elements". Thanks to Dr. John Domann for organizing the competition.

​It's always good to catch up with old friends at conferences. Here we took the opportunity to get a SOD (Students of Dan Inman) beard picture.

Dr. Hobeck traveled to Iowa State University to meet with Dr. Alipour and her team. The meeting marked the official kickoff for a 3-year National Science Foundation funded project that will be a collaborative effort between KSU and ISU. The project focuses on developing a smart morphing façade (smorphaçade) system that will adapt with changing wind conditions in order to mitigate wind-induced vibrations in tall buildings. Photo: (left-to-right) Behrouz Shafei, Jared Hobeck, Partha Sarkar, Alice Alipour. Photo credit: Christopher Gannon, ISU photographer.

The MSL has undergone major changes in recent weeks. The materials testing hardware donations  described in  an earlier post was installed and is now operational. Moving the 1 ton load frame to the 2nd floor lab was no easy task. However, our group put our minds and muscles to the test and made the move seamless! The top left image shows the load frame in the Rathbone Hall elevator. The top right image  shows the group handling the freight containing the MTS hydraulic pump used to power the load frame. The bottom images show the load frame in its fully upright position in the MSL. The lab setup was significantly modified to accommodate this huge frame! Peek in the MSL window at 2087 Rathbone Hall to see our new hardware!

Yesterday the MSL unboxed a brand new ultrasonic processor! The high shear mixing capabilities of this homogenizer is perfect for the dispersion of nanoparticles in a semi-viscous media such as an uncured thermosetting polymer. It can also be used to disperse the sugar granules in your morning coffee, but you definitely want to sanitize the probe before submerging it in your drink!