All ETDs from UAB

Advisory Committee Chair

Alan M Shih

Advisory Committee Members

Roy P Koomullil

Jong-Eun Kim

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

2006

Degree Name by School

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME) School of Engineering

Abstract

Over the years, the use of computational engineering applications such as computer-aided design (CAD), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and computational structural mechanics (CSM) has grown rapidly in the aerospace, automotive, electronics, biomedical, and many other industries. Various software tools have emerged and evolved to meet the user’s demand for solving the complex physics associated with complex configurations in the processes of design, analysis, and optimization. The value of computational tools in product designs is obvious: They can provide reliable data for improving the design, reduce the design cycle and product validation process, and provide on effective and efficient means for assessing design performance characteristics, such as structural strength or fluid flow behaviors, that would otherwise require expensive and time-consuming physical experimentation. However, despite all the benefits provided by computational tools, it is still mostly a piecemeal process. All computer-based design tasks commence with the use of CAD systems to create detailed geometrical models. These models serve as a basis for diverse analysis tools, such as CFD and CSM, which would require another process called mesh generation to generate discrete spatial points for CFD and CSM tools to use in performing analyses. The accuracy of the analysis depends on the geometrical fidelity, iii the quality of the meshes, and the accuracy of the mathematical models. Any of these steps can often become a hurdle that requires tedious user interactions and parameter modifications. This thesis is an effort to address this issue, primarily by designing, modeling, and meshing complex patterned and repetitive geometries, such as springs or cardiac stents, using parametric geometry design and template mesh generation approaches. This can be done by developing modules in an integrated geometry and mesh generation software system called MiniCAD.

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Engineering Commons

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