National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)

DoD Awards to Stimulate and Support Undergraduate Research Experiences (ASSURE)

Automotive Research and Industrial Mentorship Program at Oakland University

Department of Mechanical Engineering

May 27 - August 1, 2008

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Listed below are some sample research projects from summer 2006 and 2007. The actual list of summer 2008 projects will be finalized prior to the start of the program. All of the projects will have some relevance to the automotive industry and may include areas of heat transfer, fluid mechanics, tribology, lubrication, thermodynamics and energy. Most of the projects will involve experimental work, although some may also involve computational work such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The background for the projects varies. Some may only require an introductory thermodynamics or statics course. Others may require fluid mechanics or heat transfer course too.

These sample projects are intended to give you an idea of the type of projects that prior REU students got to worked on  Note that research project assignments will be made the first week of the program and will be based on a matching of student preferences, course background and project availability. Most projects will involve teams of two students and students will be given the opportunity to discuss each project with the faculty involved prior to having to state a preference.

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1.      Wear and Scuffing of Engine Components (Zou, Barber)

This research involves the areas of lubrication, friction and wear, which is an area of particular concern to automobile companies. Students working on this project will study the wear and scuffing resistance of engine components, such as piston skirts, piston rings and cylinder bores. Students might also investigate the effect of surface coatings, surface finishes, and lubrication conditions on wear and scuffing. Most of the tests will be conducted at the Material Test Lab of GM powertrain. Students will have opportunity to use other facilities at GM such as WYKO and SEM as well.

 2.      Design of a Biodiesel Reprocessor (Kobus)

 Biodiesel is an alternative to petroleum-based diesel fuel made from renewable resources such as vegetable oils or animal fats. Students working on this project will design and build a reprocessor to make biodiesel.  This includes sizing and ordering storage tanks for the vegetable oil and methanol, tubing, fittings and connections, sizing of appropriate pump(s), designing a high-temperature cut-off system, drainage system for the glycerin, etc.  The system should be mounted on a base as compactly ass possible and the system must have an appealing aesthetic look to it.

 3.      Investigation of the Effect Bipolar Plate Flow Channel Design on the Performance of PEM Fuel Cells (Wang)

 The fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts the chemical energy of a fuel directly into electricity. The Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell is a low temperature fuel cell, which uses hydrogen as the fuel and either oxygen or air as the oxidant. The PEM fuel cell is favored in the automotive industry and for stationary power applications due to its high power density, low pollutants emission and low operating temperature.

The heart of a PEM fuel cell is the MEA (Membrane Electrode Assembly) which includes an ion conducting polymer membrane and the catalyst and gas diffusion layers on both the anode and cathode sides, respectively. The MEA is sandwiched between two bipolar plates on which flow channels are designed to deliver the fuel and oxidant to ensure the steady operation of the fuel cell.

The purpose of this project is to investigate how the various flow patterns on the bipolar plates affect the performance of the PEM fuel cell.  Three 5 W PEM fuel cells will be assembled and tested in the OU lab. Each cell should have a different bipolar plate flow pattern.  The experimental results will be verified using numerical simulations.

4.      Experimental Investigation of Gas Temperature Measurement and Heat Transfer in Pulsating Flows (Sangeorzan, Guessous, Alkidas)

Higher heat transfer rates have been observed experimentally in pulsating or reciprocating flows. Such flows occur in a variety of problems including internal combustion engines and exhaust systems and cover a wide range of engine RPM’s. More accurate predictions of heat transfer rates in the presence of an imposed pulsation (frequency) are needed to improve the thermal and structural modeling of automotive engine manifolds, exhaust systems and surrounding components. Students working on this project will experimentally and numerically investigate the thermal response of a thermocouple to imposed flow oscillations.

5.      Investigation of Flow Through Engine Valves (Sangeorzan, Guessous, Alkidas)

Intake valve design has a tremendous impact on internal combustion engine performance. It has been observed that increasing the diameter of a valve improves the flow through the valve up to some limit; thereafter, the flow rate decreases presumably due to interactions with the cylinder wall. Students working on this project will experimentally and possibly numerically investigate the effect of valve lift, as well as the effect of the proximity of the cylinder wall to the valve on the discharge coefficient.

Funded by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense through Award # 0552737

Maintained by: guessous@oakland.edu

Last modified: 01/15/2008

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