Tag Archives: mechanical engineering

Victoria Hand Project helps amputees and kids in Canada and US

December 3, 2019 | UVic News

A University of Victoria initiative that provides 3D-printed prosthetic hands to amputees in seven developing countries around the world will now be able to extend its reach to help people in underserved and remote communities in Canada and the US. 

This initiative led by Nick Dechev, UVic professor of mechanical engineering and executive director of the Victoria Hand Project (VHP), received a $1-million award by the 2019 TD Ready Challenge. UVic was one of ten 2019 grantees announced on December 3, 2019.

Interested in reading more about Nick Dechev’s exciting work? Follow this link to read his papers in UVicSpace, UVic’s institutional repository.

Congratulations to everyone at the Victoria Hand Project!

Featured Engineering Theses/Dissertations on “Green Vehicle” Technology

Here is a selection of UVic theses and dissertations going back through the years, dealing with hybrid and alternative vehicles. By no coincidence, UVic is host to the UVic Formula Hybrid Team , the Institute for Integrated Energy Systems,  and the Sustainable Systems Design Laboratory. Sustainable transportation is one of the many engineering areas we focus on here at UVic.

S. Munthikodu, “Driving data pattern recognition for intelligent energy management of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles,” M.A.Sc. thesis, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, 2019. Available: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8443/handle/1828/11052

R. Cheng, “Modeling and simulation of plug-in hybrid electric powertrain system for different vehicular applications,” M.A.Sc. thesis, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, 2016. Available: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8443/handle/1828/7164

S. Ehtesham Al Hanif, “Multi-objective Optimization of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) Powertrain Families considering Variable Drive Cycles and User Types over the Vehicle Lifecycle,” M.A.Sc. thesis, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, 2015. Available: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8443/handle/1828/6739

B.W. Kerrigan, “The techno-economic impacts of using wind power and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles for greenhouse gas mitigation in Canada,” M.A.Sc. thesis, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, 2010. Available: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8443/handle/1828/3140

L. Kelly, “Probabilistic modelling of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle impacts on distribution networks in British Columbia,” M.A.Sc. thesis, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, 2009. Available: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8443/handle/1828/1702

J.D. WIshart, “Modelling, simulation, testing, and optimization of advanced hybrid vehicle powertrains,” PhD dissertation, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, 2008. Available: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8443/handle/1828/937

M.B. Guether, “Modelling and design optimization of low speed fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles,” M.A.Sc. thesis, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, 2005. Available: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8443/handle/1828/675

*UVic’s open access repository, UVicspace, makes worldwide knowledge mobilization possible. Through this platform, researchers at any institution have access to dissertations (and theses and graduate projects) published by our graduate students. This also makes works available to the interested layperson, who may be engaged in learning more about the research being done at UVic, with no paywall. UVic’s graduate students are doing valuable research every day – but sometimes it goes unsung. Our goal with this series is to shine a light on our students by featuring excellence, one achievement at a time.

The UVic LIbraries ePublishing Services Team

Featured Thesis: A non-gradient heuristic topology optimization approach using bond-based peridynamic theory

Today, we would like to feature a Master’s thesis from the department of Mechanical Engineering. This thesis has notably been downloaded 405 times (all over the world) since its publication in 2017.

A non-gradient heuristic topology optimization approach using bond-based peridynamic theory

by Ahmed Abdelhamid

Abstract:

Peridynamics (PD), a reformulation of the Classical Continuum Mechanics (CCM), is a new and promising meshless and nonlocal computational method in solid mechanics. To permit discontinuities, the PD integro-differential equation contains spatial integrals and time derivatives. PD can be considered as the continuum version of molecular dynamics. This feature of PD makes it a good candidate for multi-scale analysis of materials. Concurrently, the topology optimization has also been rapidly growing in view of the need to design lightweight and high performance structures. Therefore, this thesis presents the potential for a peridynamics-based topology optimization approach. To avoid the gradient calculations, a heuristic topology optimization method is employed. The minimization of the PD strain energy density is set as the objective function. The structure is optimized based on a modified solid isotropic material with a penalization approach and a projection scheme is utilized to obtain distinct results. Several test cases have been studied to analyze the suitability of the proposed method in topology optimization.

To read more, visit UVicSpace https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/handle/1828/8452

*UVic’s open access repository, UVicspace, makes worldwide knowledge mobilization possible. Through this platform, researchers at any institution have access to dissertations (and theses and graduate projects) published by our graduate students. This also makes works available to the interested layperson, who may be engaged in learning more about the research being done at UVic, with no paywall. UVic’s graduate students are doing valuable research every day – but sometimes it goes unsung. Our goal with this series is to shine a light on our students by featuring excellence, one achievement at a time.

The UVic LIbraries ePublishing Services Team