This work proposes and explores a new propulsion mechanism for sessile droplets which could be of interest for microfluidic applications. This mechanism relies on the Marangoni stresses resulting from the surface tension gradient arising when two droplets of different surface tensions coalesce. We argue that the tendency of the fluid to flow towards regions of higher surface tension is sufficie...

Several methods are available for computing the location of the point of force application (PFA) in manual wheelchair propulsion using kinetic data. We compared five different techniques for computing the PFA location in analysis of data from five wheelchair users propelling their own wheelchairs using their normal propulsion style. The effects of the assumptions used in the calculations on the...

Lingual propulsion during swallowing is characterized by the sequential elevation of the anterior, middle, and dorsal regions of the tongue. Although lingual discoordination underlies many swallowing disorders, the coordinative organization of lingual propulsion during the typical and disordered swallow is poorly understood. The purpose of this investigation was to quantitatively describe the c...

The hydrodynamics and undulating propulsion of tadpoles were studied using a newly developed two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling method. The mechanism of thrust generation associated with the flow patterns during swimming is discussed. Our CFD analysis shows that the kinematics of tadpoles is specifically matched to their special shape and produces a jet-stream propulsio...

An assessment of model uncertainty via probabilistic methods is described. An important question that arises in conceptual design is how accurate do models have to be to be useful? That is to say, when do other uncertainties in a higher fidelity model counteract its accuracy when compared to a lower fidelity model faced with these same uncertainties? A detailed definition of model uncertainty i...

OBJECTIVES Conventional wheelchair propulsion is physiologically demanding because of the small muscle mass that is used and the low mechanical efficiency of the movement. Previous research has suggested that a reverse wheeling technique might be more economical than conventional forward wheeling. The present study sought to compare the physiologic demands of forward and reverse wheeling techni...

This study aims at studying the reliability evaluation for the marine propulsion shaft system under the severe sea conditions. The variations of the contact stress between the bearings and the marine propulsion shaft under the severe sea conditions are analyzed using the finite element simulation. The stress-strength interference theory is used to evaluate the reliability of the marine propulsi...

As aircraft continue to increase their power and thermal demands, transient operation of the power and propulsion subsystems can no longer be neglected at the aircraft system level. The performance of the whole aircraft must be considered by examining the dynamic interactions between the power, propulsion, and airframe subsystems. Larger loading demands placed on the power and propulsion subsys...

An analysis is made of the synergism of electric propulsion and non-nuclear power for deep space applications (i.e., to the asteroid belt and beyond). In current generation systems, electric propulsion is usually considered to be impractical because of the lack of high power for deep space, and non-nuclear power is thought to be impractical partly due to its high mass. However, when taken in co...

Yinghui Liu, Brian Weinberg, Constantinos Mavroidis* Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston MA 02115, Tel: 617-373-4121, Fax: 617-373-2921 Email: [email protected], Webpage: http://www.coe.neu.edu/~mavro * Associate Professor, Corresponding Author Abstract Deep space drilling is necessary for appropriate chemical and biological s...