Browsing by Author "Dr. M. K. Ramasubramanian, Committee Chair"

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Analysis and Redesign of the Brim Forming Manufacturing Process
(2003-09-15) Hughes, Robert Eugene; Dr. M. K. Ramasubramanian, Committee Chair
The principles of mechatronic design have been further applied to develop a robust brim curling system. The brim curling machine uses integration of mechanical, electrical, and computing systems to form a unique machine that is able to produce quality finished paperboard cups. This research involves the conversion from a PC controller to a stand-alone servo/stepper controller. The controller offers more programming flexibility with improved process control. This research also explores optimization of the brim curling machine to determine the maximum production rate. The rotary and linear servo actuators were tuned using a PID scheme. The machine processes for forming a brim were explored and time for the machine to complete these processes was evaluated. The process that took the most amount of time was the cup shell feeding mechanism. The feeding mechanism was reconfigured and the time required to feed a cup shell was reduced. Analysis was performed on a falling cup shell to determine a theoretical time estimate. This research also investigates the effects of machine turret deflection and the deflection's affect on cup brim thickness. Finite element analysis was used to determine the stresses present in a redesigned coupling. The coupling replaced a previously failed coupling. The brim curling machine was completely reconfigured and the result is an industry ready high speed brim curling machine.
Electronically Towed Micro Vehicles
(2003-09-25) Sanders, Keith; Dr. Larry Silverberg, Committee Member; Dr. M. K. Ramasubramanian, Committee Chair; Dr. Eric Klang, Committee Member
In recent years, tremendous advancements have been made in the area of intelligent vehicle systems, autonomous vehicles, and remote navigation. Applications of such advancements vary from highway transportation systems, to military convoys, to unmanned exploration of dangerous environments. The evident benefits of these intelligent vehicle systems include more efficient travel, transportation of multiple vehicles by a single driver, and remote exploration of hazardous or otherwise dangerous terrain. The purpose of this research is to develop and implement an electronically towed micro vehicle system using a 1/10 scale R/C car as the platform. The system will use minimal external sensors and will be capable of following a lead vehicle through various maneuvers at various speeds. The scope of the project includes modifying an R/C car for autonomous control by a microprocessor, establishing a wireless link between two vehicles for direct communication, and developing a control algorithm that will enable the towed vehicle to follow a leader operated by radio control. The towed vehicle will rely on information transmitted from the leader as well as from on board sensors to determine the path of the leader and follow accordingly. Several experimental tests have been conducted to test the performance and determine the limits of the system. The results of these experiments demonstrate a working leader follower system implemented on 1/10 scale vehicles. Future development and research will be aimed at implementing this system on full scale automotive vehicles for transportation or military applications.
An Integrated Microoptical Microfluidic Device for Agglutination Detection and Blood Typing
(2007-07-31) Alexander, Stewart Parks IV; Dr. M. K. Ramasubramanian, Committee Chair; Dr. William Roberts, Committee Member; Dr. Kara Peters, Committee Member
Blood type identification is an important requirement for many medical procedures, especially blood transfusions. Currently, medical professionals have several ways for determining a person's blood type; however the potential for human error is a factor in all these ways. No automated process exists that takes this human error out of the equation without great expense. The accuracy of testing methods used on a large scale relies heavily upon the experience of the technician performing the test. Pervious work performed at NC State University in this area made use of the light-scattering properties of particles with a macoscopic sample. The device described in this paper uses a much smaller sample and overall can be miniaturized significantly. The focus is a microfluidic device that is able to detect blood type compatibility. It specifically does this by identifying agglutinated blood cells vs. free non‐agglutinated blood cells. The fluid portion of the apparatus is a polymer based two dimensional microfluidic device. It provides channels for the fluid flow but also holds and very accurately aligns two fiber optic cables that are used for agglutination detection. In short the device has a fluid channel perpendicular to two fiber optic cables. The fluid, a blood/saline mixture, flows in between the two cables. When a red blood cell passes across the beam of light some amount of the light is absorbed by the cell and some it is scattered, the rest continues on to the receiver fiber. When an agglutinated cell passes through the gap between the fibers more of the light is absorbed and scattered than as with the individual cell. This larger reduction in amplitude of light transmitted to the receiver fiber is indicative of red blood cell agglutination and is ultimately how the device determines blood type compatibility. Another way to setup the device makes use of Mie light scattering to detect agglutination. This device is solely a research piece of equipment in its current configuration but has very appealing qualities that would allow it to easily be scaled down into a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device. From the results obtained one can clearly see that the device is able to detect an agglutinated sample vs. a non agglutinated sample.
A Method for the Encapsulation of MicroSpherical Particles
(2007-08-15) Fisher, Sarah M; Dr. M. K. Ramasubramanian, Committee Chair; Dr. William Roberst, Committee Member; Dr. Kara Peters, Committee Member
A Miniaturized Device for Blood Typing Using a Simplified Spectrophotometric Approach
(2006-08-01) Lambert, Jeremy Brandon; Dr. Kara J. Peters, Committee Member; Dr. M. K. Ramasubramanian, Committee Chair; Dr. William Roberts, Committee Member
A new blood typing technology has been developed by Narayanan et al. using ultraviolet and visible light spectroscopy. Blood groups can be typed using changes in the UV and visible spectra between antibody treated and non-treated samples. These changes can be observed by optical density measurements in the 665 to 1000 nm region. Comparison of the slopes between the optical densities of control samples and antibody treated samples can be used to calculate an agglutination index number (A.I.) that describes whether or not the sample reacts to the antibody treatment. A simplified system using a discrete LED/photodiode system to take the place of the monochromator⁄photodiode array system in the spectrophotometer has been developed by Anthony and Ramasubramanian that has shown promising results reproducing the measurements of the spectrophotometer. This system was used as a starting point for the proposed research. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the scattering⁄absorption effects of red blood cells, designing a miniaturized system, and investigate this approach. The miniaturized system has been able to reproduce similar results to the spectrophotometer and is consistent with the simplified method of Anthony and Ramasubramanian. The miniaturized system also explores the use of fiber optics to improve repeatability of source mounting. A plano-convex lens is used to collimate the source beam incident on the detector and eliminate the need for specific placement of the sample that would be necessary for the converging/diverging beam used previously. This allows the components to be placed closer together and further miniaturize the setup. Packaging of this system into a compact device has been investigated and a device configuration is proposed. This packaged device could be modified further to include fluid handling that would yield a fully automated system. It is concluded that an automated blood typing system or a possible bedside pretransfusion safety device using the spectrophotometric approach is a possibility.