Final Post: Emily

While it has been great to get back to University of Illinois, I definitely miss Vanderbilt University and Nashville. It is very exciting to return to my lab at University of Illinois with the knowledge and perspective I gained in my lab at Vanderbilt. I am grateful for the experience and look forward to continuing to learn more about research and graduate studies.

Final Post,Timothy Anderson

The objective of my research this summer was to determine the effects of CO2 tank cooling as a power source for the Portable Power Ankle-Foot Orthosis. It was anticipated that fuel usage would increase and performance decrease due to cooling the CO2 tank undergoes during operation.

The results showed that fuel was consumed consistently at all tank temperatures experienced during operation, this was the opposite of expectations. Also observed was unstable pressure resulting in unreliable power output from the actuator, and suggestions were made on possible mechanical systems that could remedy this problem.

This was all outlined in the following power point presentation, and if anyone has any questions they can contact me at email at any time.
presentation link:

https://app.box.com/s/g4kifnodzwvo32r0l07c

Timothy Anderson
timothy.anderson-2@mnsu.edu
mechanicalengineer85@gmail.com

Aaron Bouncer's Final Blog

Our project was to simulate the task of a nurse moving a patient from the bed to their wheelchair with a patient transfer device and to evaluate any types of stress or possible opportunities for musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) in Jack Simulation. One of our team members, Kiffinae Sanders, created a survey and created a task analysis to get a better picture of where and how strain is put on nurses when they operate a Hoyer lift.

We tested both the original patient transfer device aka Hoyer lift and the fluid powered patient transfer device to see if there would be any difference in lower back stress, task time and percentage capable.

Our end result was that the fluid power device was better when it came to lower back relief and time to complete task but it is a prototype and still needs some tweaking. All in all I believe we met our objective.

The only thing I wasn't able to complete was the Static Strength Prediction (SSP) for the fluid powered device so I was not able to get the percent capable with this task but with the other data we got I can say that our results show which machine is a better choice.

What I will take away from this experience is how much work and dedication you must have in order get any type of result whether it is good or bad. Its better to get something than nothing. I'll also take away the fun times I've had here.

And my advice for future REU students would be prepare to read because you will be reading....... a lot!
Anyway it was fun and I'm glad for the experience.

Test Bed 4 Presentation

Final Blog

Our objective was to simulate the task of nurses operating the patient transfer device(test bed #4) in a digital human modeling software called Jack and analyze how the new and improved device is more efficient and causes less strain on people operating it. My colleagues and I have successfully met out objective by collecting data on both the traditional patient transfer device and the fluid power one. The data we received proved that the fluid power device is much more efficient and creates less stress on the caregiver who operates it. Our faculty and graduate student that we were working with were pleased with what we gathered and I am grateful to be given the opportunity to do research with them and for CCEFP for providing me with experience on how to conduct research and understanding how important fluid power is in todays industries.

One thing i will take away from this research experience is how to effectively collaborate with  people in different areas of study and being able to communicate in a language we both can understand. Also, I am very excited to have been able to conduct research and be apart of something so important that can have a positive impact on someone else's life.

I would like to thank the awesome people at CCEFP, Purdue University, NSF, as well as NC A&T for allowing me to be apart of such great organizations. I'm so grateful and thankful to be given such a wonderful opportunity. In the near future I plan on conducting more research and hopefully working along with CCEFP and NSF to help make something else in this world better.

Week 8

My job first started off with me having to research and get more information on what a transfer device looks like, how it works, etc.  Once I was able to gain a firm understanding then I was to create a hierarchy task analysis and with those recorded steps we were to determine which step is the most important.  With that step being acknowledged Shae and Aaron were then to simulate that in process in Jack Simulations.  Not only that but to be able to get a better understanding of where the nurses pain(s) were coming from I created a survey.  The end result is that we were able to cut the relief of all stress and strains on nurses lower back, neck, shoulders, and wrist by almost half.  I would say that all of our work was very conclusive and met all standards an objectives that we were given this summer.  Due to the fact that our graduate student left the country for almost a month set us back in work ethics just a little but non the less we still managed to present an outstanding and pretty referable information.  Everything on my end was completed.  I will take away the memories that I gained with my fellow co-workers and as well as graduates students and staff! This experience is one that I will never forget and has opened many more doors for me.  The only advice I have to offer is don't rush your time away.  Utilize all of your time because deadlines will sneak up on you and you WILL have to present no matter what you have prepared.  Oh and of course ENJOY THIS AMAZING EXPERIENCE!!!!  It was such a pleasure to have encountered each and every REU and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors!!

PEACE, LOVE, AND HAPPINESS!!


Kiffinae D. Sanders

Synopsis of the Strain Energy Accumulator Research

Hello all!

This summer has gone by too quickly, but it has been an awesome ride here in Nashville. As a research team, we have grown closer together as friends, as well as make ample progress to our goals for the summer. They have been great to work with and are some of the sharpest tools in the shed!

Research Results

The purpose of my research this summer, was to prove that conductive elastomers can successfully be used to monitor damage inflicted upon them. The material that is in development for use in the Strain Energy Accumulator will need to successfully determine if critical damage has been inflicted. To prove this, we tested an on-the-market conductive elastomer. The following tests were performed:
           

  1) Damage Infliction -- we purposefully scratched and cut the material to measure resistance    changes. The results formulated gave us insight into how the material shows promising directional sensing abilities. This is shown especially with the vertical abrasion, which permanently eliminated conductance in the material. 

          2) Tensile Test -- a test rig was configured to observe how the resistance changes with increasing load, as well as the hysteresis and Mullens effects of the elastomer. This test yielded repeatable results and really gave me insight into how conductive elastomers will actually react in an application

This research successfully proved that elastomers can be used practically when sensing applications are necessary! Though the research did give our team a proof-of-concept, the material tested has many shortcomings for our application including: deficient durability, single sided conductance (conductance only on surface level of the elastomer), and conductance at only small strains (< 100%).

Future Work

A couple of trials are going to be done with this conductive material. The research team will adhere a rectangular specimen to the current Strain Energy Accumulator design, with attached leads to monitor resistance changes through out charge and discharge. Secondly, a specimen will be glued to a elastomeric sample during tensile testing on an MTS machine. Each of these experiments will gives us insight into the reactions that can be expected in practical applications. Here is a picture of our accumulator that was made this summer:

   

This polypropylene tube is filled with hydraulic fluid and begins to balloon, much like an animal ballon. The energy is stored in the strain of the elastomeric material and can be harvested during discharge.

Closing

I would like to thank the CCEFP, Dr. Adams, Dr. Barth, and the rest of my research team for giving me the resources that I needed to complete my research this summer! The experience for myself was wonderful and is something that I will take with me through out my life and career. Living in Nashville has been a blessing, and I have met some amazingly talented and respectable people along the way. Again, thanks for everything. I look forward to seeing all of my fellow REU's in our future careers, and I hope to stay in contact.

Final Post - Don

Hello everyone,

It has been a great summer. There is no doubt about that. Here is a summary of everything I have been working on this summer.

Gas-Power-Cycle-Specific Pulley Optimization for a Walking-Engine-Actuated Active Ankle-Foot Orthosis

Donald H. Kuettel III MSOE REU 2014

Outcome

The main goal of this research was to help people with disabilities regain natural walking ability by replicating the normal walking gait of a human through the use of a walking-engine-actuated active ankle-foot orthosis (AAFO). This was done using an internal-combustion engine and pulley system to reproduce the moment experienced at the ankle during gait. Through this research, the optimal pulley geometry was determined for the AAFO, but had a very complicated geometry.

Impact/Benefit

Active orthotic devices for joint articulation have a vast number of applications that could benefit many people. Individual examples of this include: joint articulation for people suffering from disabilities, increased load carrying capacity and walking distance for humans, and gait training applications. The results of this research provided insight and laid the groundwork for future experiments for the further development of un-tethered, compact, lightweight, efficient, long-lasting, and safe AAFO devices.

Explanation

This research investigated the optimization of a pulley system for the primary actuator of an AAFO utilizing a high-efficiency pneumatic “Walking Engine”. The AAFO’s internal-combustion (IC) engine was characterized using a dual-combustion (limited-pressure) gas-power-cycle model. Using the dual-combustion model, both a pressure-volume diagram and the thermodynamic engine efficiency were calculated. The moment experienced at the ankle due to the AAFO was calculated using the pressures in the AAFO engine. By finding the pressure in the AAFO engine as a function of time and multiplying it by the cross-sectional area of the actuator piston, the force output of the engine was then determined. Finally, by dividing the optimal ankle moment by the engine’s force output, the optimal pulley geometry was found as a function of time.

Meeting everybody involved in the REU Program has been a great honor. I will give the whole parting words thing a shot. In my opinion one of the most important aspects of research is to share the knowledge that you have gained. It is only through this process of sharing that the world as a whole may benefit from the research that has been done. So get out here and don't be afraid to tell people about the great accomplishments that you have made.

This is Donald Harry Kuettel III signing off.