Fastening and Joining Research Institute  The objective of this institute is to enhance the reliability and safety of metallic, composite and polymeric joints by advancing the science and technology of mechanical fastening, adhesive bonding, welding and riveting. The institute is a one-of-a-kind facility that pursues fundamental and applied research to develop and disseminate new technologies for the fastening and joining of metals, composites and polymers. The Institute develops and disseminates novel advanced technologies in the areas of automated assembly of bolted joints, adhesive bonding of composites, resistance welding and riveting, a niche area that significantly impacts the safety and reliability of many products. |
Low cost fuel injection system  Most small engines still use traditional carburetor technology which produces decreased reliability and increased emissions when compared to fuel injection. Current electronic fuel injection technology is not cost effective for application in small engines. This technology allows for the manufacture of a low-cost mechanical fuel injector that can be utilized in place of a traditional carburetor. Development work to-date suggests that the mechanical injector can be designed to simply replace existing carburetors on production small engines without any significant redesign other than a means to connect the injector to the engine’s camshaft. |
Very High Purity Alumina Processing Technique This technology allows for the production of a new aluminum oxide (alumina) material with very high compressive strength making the material suitable for applications that require high strength and/or high temperature. The failure strength of alumina created with this process is considerably greater than any other commercially available alumina. The manufacturing process for this new ultra high-strength alumina includes traditional processing techniques such as vacuum hot pressing and hot isostatic pressing. |
Zinc Aluminum Alloys Zinc – Aluminum alloys as an environmentally friendly alternative to bronze for bearings Classic problems with Z-Al alloys are dimensional stability, corrosion resistance, and brittle fracture. This technology solves the strength and brittleness problems through new forming techniques. This inventor has written a book chapter on this topic. |
Fuel Cell Group This group is a multi-disciplined team focused on fuel cell heat recovery and fuel cell conversion efficiency improvement. These thrust areas are linked to a set of topics within which the group possesses expertise including heat recovery, initial start issues of high temperature fuel cells, high thermal and/or electrical conductivity materials, energy density, weight, and space related issues, high temperature membranes. low cost high energy cathode/anode, hydrogen generation, storage, transportation, and safety, fuel reforming, low CO emission, long life high power density battery development and hybrid battery. |
Pedestrian Detection System This is a novel approach to vehicle warning systems. The system is “active” in the sense that it relies on the external objects to be avoided to communicate their presence to the vehicle on their own. In this approach, the external objects inform the car of their presence without the car having to directly search for them. The means by which this is accomplished in by a wireless signal that presumably each pedestrian would be giving out from their cellular phones. The car’s detection system would assume that wherever a cellular signal is present, so is a pedestrian. Additional objects that a driver would also want to avoid (such as a bridge), could be given the ability to also send a cellular signal to the car. |
Hybrid Robotic Control The technology being developed addresses the problem that most commercial robotic systems use only joint level control and not task level. The innovation involves adding task level to join level control that results in the robotic arm being more accurate. By adding task level control there are also a host of new application areas related to sensors and the resultant information management for a distributed system of robotic modules. |
Location and Tracking Technology Development and Testing Service This is one of the few laboratories across the country that specializes in antenna location and tracking systems. Efforts are focused on developing and promoting a location technology development and research Center of Excellence. The Center will offer a research service component to advance the development and design of new products in the location and tracking space. In addition, the Center would become one of only ten facilities in the world to provide antenna testing facilities aimed at the automotive market. The program is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. |
Coatings Research Institute  The CRI's two-fold mission is to be a leading academic organization that develops relevant scientific knowledge for understanding and for expanding the science and technology of paints, coatings, inks, adhesives and related nano-based materials. Areas of expertise represented in the CRI include, among others, coating technologies and formulation, polymer modification, cross-linking mechanisms and enabling technologies such as nanotechnology (nanoparticle materials), polymer structure/property relationships, characterization, vibrational spectroscopy (Raman and FT-IR), thermal analysis (DSC,DMA,TGA, DEA) and nanotribology. |
Surface Science and Nano-Tribology Laboratory (SSNTL) The Surface Science and Nano-Tribology Laboratory (SSNTL) is equipped with a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM), a Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM), a Nano Indenter XP system, a Localized Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (LEIS) and other major equipment. Ongoing activities includes studies of surface mechanics and nano-tribology, as well as surface structure of polymeric coatings and other molecular films, and corrosion mechanisms at the micro and nano-scale. For example, a modified SPM has been used to study mechanical properties of nanomaterial and the newly developed Localized Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscope (LEIS) enables measurement of the impedance dot by dot with a resolution of microns while it scans across the surface of sample. Combined with Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM), that can image surface morphology with nano and sub-nano resolution, this technology allows investigation of corrosion mechanism in micro and nano-scale. Other areas of expertise include the mechanisms of fouling release coatings (nanotribological properties of non-toxic fouling release coating systems) and micro mar resistance (MMR), and different responses of the coatings/materials to scratch stress. |
Tribology, Surface Topography and Vibratory Stress Relief Research in tribology has focused on topics such as: simulation of liner/ring wear, effect of cylinder wall surface topography on cylinder kit wear and scuffing, theoretical prediction of oil film thickness between piston rings and cylinder walls and use of advanced materials and coatings to enhance tribological performance. The primary goals and another research track are to characterize and simulate valve wear mechanisms which occur on engine valves. The laboratory simulator which has resulted from this work is being used to rank the wear resistance of various valve materials and processing methods.
A related program of research has focused on the effect of tool wear on the surface topography of turned work pieces has been studied. A physical model which describes this relationship has been determined and future work will likely concentrate on developing non-contacting methods of monitoring work piece surface topography to help provide on-line optimization of metal cutting.
Finally, vibratory Stress relief (VSR) is being investigated as an alternative to tempering. VSR is expected to be more economical, faster and cleaner than tempering. Welded, cast, plastically deformed and heat treated samples are being investigated. |
Evaporating and Condensing Flow in Single and Multitube Systems This research is forcused on large flow oscillations of the condensate in single-tube and multitube condensing flow systems that can substantially affect performance, control and safety. The governing equations features the System Mean Void Fraction (SMVF) Model, a one-dimensional, two-fluid, distributed parameter integral model describing the primary physical mechanisms within the two-phase region and incorporating a non-fluctuating system mean void fraction. This concept makes the problem open to closed-form analytical solution, and yields valuable insight into the relevant physical parameters of the transient characteristics of the condensing flow systems.
Specific research targets include prediction of Transients and Instabilities in Multitube Two-Phase Condensing Flow Systems; Influence of Heat Flux on Horizontal Single-Tube Condensing Flow Systems; Influence of Gravity in Vertical Condensing Flow Systems, Upflow and Downflow; Effect of Subcooled Liquid Inertia on Transient- and Frequency Response Characteristics of Single and Multitube Condensing Flow Sytems. |
Broadband Communication Systems This research program covers a range of targets in broadband communication systems including ultra-broadband wireless communication networks and testbed, routing, protocol design and analysis. Additional topics for investigation are spread spectrum communications, CDMA, signal design and detection, modulation and coding, and synchronization.
This research program also covers optical wireless communications networks, ultra-broadband wireless transceiver design and implementation, communications circuits, and integrated broadband automotive networks. |
Internal Combustion Engines This research program covers a range of topics that can find application for internal combustion engines. Specific topics include droplet and particle sizing methods, fuel sprays and liquid atomization,heat transfer and fluid mechanics. |
Physical Processes Involved in Adhesive Bonding and Material Damage Skills and expertise is available for modeling, analysis and simulation of contact between deformable bodies including mechanical models, mathematical formulations, variational analysis, and numerical analysis of the associated variational formulations. Areas of current activity are modeling of Industrial Processes by PDEs, variational inequalities as well as thermoelastic dynamic contact with friction, wear, adhesion or damage. |
Robotics and Embedded Systems Laboratory The robotics and embedded systems laboratory conducts research on large scale networked system of distributed robotics and sensors, body sensor networks and sensor network applications in intelligent transportation systems. Current lines of inquiry include scalable coordination for hybrid sensor/actuator networks, multi-robot and sensor coordination, body sensor networks, sensor network localization using mobile robots, mobile sensor navigation in hybrid sensor networks, and real-time protocols for sensor networks. |
Automotive Research Diagnosis and Service Facility  The automotive diagnosis and service facility is capable of holding twelve vehicles and is equipped with the latest computerized test and service equipment. Capabilities include a multi-function chassis dynamometer capable of testing for drive wheel horsepower and individual wheel braking effort, an enclosed engine test cell is available for testing engines up to 12,000 RPM, 1,000 horsepower and 1,000 lb-ft of torque can automatically measure, display, and record up to 35 separate functions on a real time basis. The facility also contains a high power flow bench measures dynamic gas flow through cylinder heads, intake and/or exhaust systems, and has the capability of performing many ASTM fuel and lubricant procedures for evaluating the operating characteristics of many fuels and lubricants. |
Materials Testing Laboratory The Materials Testing Laboratory supports testing of plastics, metals, and fuels and lubricants. Laboratory analysis and certified testing in these areas is supported by a Tinius Olson tensile test machine (30,000# load cell). The laboratory has capabilities for magnetic particle testing, fluorescent penetrant testing, eddy current testing, and carbon analysis tests. The facilitity incorporates a complete metallurgy lab, high temperature furnaces, humidity chamber, hardness testing, micro-hardness testing, abrasion testing, plastics testing (extrusion and deflection), gas chromatograph, infra-red spectrophotometer, sulfur in oil analyzer, and fuel and lubricant testing apparatus. |
Automotive Antenna Measurement Instrumentation This project creates a near-field antenna measurement system, for use in research and education on automobile antennas. The system will be a spherical near-field antenna measurement system capable of measuring on-vehicle antenna performance in the frequency range 800 MHz to 6 GHz for a variety of vehicle platforms. Major components include: (1) positioning and control equipment, which controls the motion of the vehicle platform; (2) signal source and receiver component, which generates the radio frequency test signal and measures the coupling between the desired source antenna and the antenna under test; and (3) the data collection and processing component. The research will involve vehicle-level measurement techniques, development of mathematical models for on-vehicle antennas and vehicle-integrated antenna designs. This equipment allows Oakland to contribute to the growing field of automotive telematics, which has relevance to safety (e.g. broadcasting location and occurrence of events like collisions and airbag deployment), to security operations (e.g. track or disable stolen vehicles), and to convenience (e.g., concierge services, navigation assistance, etc.). Industrial collaborations and support will be major aspects of this project. The equipment will also be used heavily in undergraduate education, in student training, and in outreach to minorities in the Pontiac, Michigan and Detroit, Michigan public schools. |
The Least-Squares Meshfree Particle Finite Element Method Although the finite element method has been astonishingly successful in solving various problems in engineering and science, it has significant drawbacks: mesh generation and remeshing are very difficult and time-consuming. Meshfree methods may avoid these difficulties by constructing approximation functions entirely in terms of a set of nodes. Most meshfree methods are based on the Galerkin principle and employ moving least-squares approximation for the construction of shape functions. Although there is no need for an explicit mesh in the construction of moving least-squares shape functions, a separate background mesh is required to integrate the weak form, so they are not truly meshfree methods. Due to the non-interpolative character of the moving least-squares approximation, the enforcement of essential boundary conditions in the Galerkin formulation is quite awkward. Moreover, the moving least-squares approximation is more expensive computationally than the finite element interpolation. In the proposed research, we will develop a least-squares meshfree particle finite element method which combines the features of the least-squares finite element method and the meshfree particle method. The least-squares finite element method (LSFEM), based on minimization of the L2 norm of the residuals of a first-order system of differential equations, is a simple, efficient and robust technique, and can solve almost any kind of partial differential equation with the same mathematical/computational formulation. Since the least-squares method doesn't make use of the integration by parts for converting domain integration into boundary integration, and the meshfree particle method employs the usual finite element interpolations based on particles, all troubles that plague the Garlerkin-based meshfree methods disappear. The least-squares meshfree particle finite element method always leads to a symmetric positive definite system of linear algebraic equations. The matrix-free particle-by-particle conjugate gradient method can be used to solve very large problems on parallel computers, and the implementation is straightforward..
The purpose of this project is to develop a new computer method to simulate complicated engineering designs and sophisticated multi-physical processes with much greater accuracy and efficiency. Achievements of this project would enable numerical simulations beyond current capabilities in many important applications of national interest, including car crash safety analysis, noise reduction of cars, energy efficiency in full cells, heat reduction in semiconductor devices, etc. |
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