Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering

Project

Te Waipounamu, the South Island of New Zealand, contains many braided rivers where the riverbed is often coarse gravel and pebbles. The riverbed is therefore a porous media, which enables the water to penetrate through the spaces between individual grains. Furthermore, the mean speed and dynamics of the turbulent water flowing above is affected by the porous media. Understanding the influence of riverbed porosity and permeability is therefore critical for predicting discharge rates, biogeochemical processes and ultimately river health.

This project will utilise computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate a turbulent fluid flow passing over porous media representing a gravel riverbed. Different porosities and permeabilities will be studied, with comparisons made to experimental and high-fidelity CFD data available in the literature. The changes to the turbulent water flow (e.g. bed friction and mean flow rates) can be analysed. The CFD data can also enable the sediment-water interface to be studied to better understand the hyporheic zone, which plays an important role for stream ecosystems.

A background in fluid mechanics (e.g. MECHENG 325, MECHENG 712 or similar) and/or CFD (e.g. MECHENG 711/718 or similar) would be desirable.

Project

Mechanical shocks produced during the launch of satellites can damage on board equipment. Therefore it is crucial to be able to perform tests on the ground to verify that the hardware is capable of withstanding the predicted shock environment.

The project will start with a survey of the state-of-the-art equipment that is used to reproduce mechanical shock environment. The student will then have to characterise the performance of the equipment currently available at the Space Institute - TPA, and devise a methodology to set parameters to execute specific tests.

Skills/Prerequisite: Familiarity with laboratory data acquisition system would be beneficial, particularly for experimential vibration analysis.

Project

For deployable spacecraft structures, reliability is a fundamental requirement, and for one-shot devices, passive motorization systems offer significant advantages. In these systems, energy is usually stored as potential energy of elastic elements, and during the deployment this is transformed into kinetic energy of the moving parts. At the end of the deployment, stopping the moving parts could produce a significant mechanical shock, incompatible with optical payloads. Dampers can be used to reduce the deployment velocity and ultimately contain the final shock. The main project outcome will be the design of an innovative damping system compatible with the space environment, to be used to control the velocity of a deployable baffle for a space camera.

Skills/Prerequisite: 1.Knowledge on CAD packages (Fusion/Solidworks) 2. Knowledge on 3D printing

Project

The performance of optical payloads is driven by the size of their optics and focal length. Further, small satellite platforms have significant constraints on volume, and multiple satellites must be accommodated in the fairing of a launcher for constellations. Such requirements demand a reduction in the size of the instrument. For a typical Cassegrain configuration, the size of the assembly is dominated by the barrel, and for an optical baffle, it is the length of the baffle. This project will investigate the possibility to use a STACER type of deployable tubular structure for the applications mentioned above.

Skills/Prerequisite: 1.Knowledge on CAD packages (Fusion/Solidworks) 2.Finite Element Analysis

Project

Computational modelling of wind flow about yachts and buildings requires a stable model of the inlet wind profile. A number of different models have been proposed in the past, and all have their defects. In this project the student will test and compare these profiles using Ansys CFX and Fluent.

Students should have prior knowledge of one of these codes, through taking MECHENG 325, ENGSCI 344, or similar.

Project

In our day-to-day spoken communication, we listen to speech in varying acoustic environments. To decipher the speech signal accurately we ignore any variations caused by the environment while picking up on important acoustic cues such as, timing, pitch. Each language employs these acoustic features differently, for example, te reo Māori has vowel length contrasts while English has sound contrasts that do not exist in Māori. In this project, we will examine how distortion from different acoustic environments affects our speech perception to understand how we decode speech in real-world environments. This project will utilise audio VR to create an application to test how we perceive different speech sounds. The student will be working alongside members of the Communication Acoustics Lab and the Speech Research group to develop the system and conduct perceptual tests in a particular language (e.g. English, Te Reo Māori, Japanese.) The project will involve taking acoustic measurements, developing a software platform for testing, and conducting experiments using the platform developed.

Student suitable for this project should be interested in linguistics, acoustics, and VR audio technologies. Reasonable familiarity with MATLAB or Python programming is recommended.

Project

Non-native listeners have been proven to be more disadvantaged in understanding speech in noisy environment than the native listeners due to their limited language proficiency and unfamiliarity with accents and variations in pronunciation. Speech enhancement is a technique in signal processing, which could potentially address the issue by bridging the comprehension gap and facilitating effective communication. It aims to enhance the quality and intelligibility (how well the speech can be understood) of target speech by reducing background noise, reverberation, and other factors interfering understanding the speech. In recent years, machine learning (ML) and neural network-based speech enhancement algorithms have achieved significant improvement in speech intelligibility in noise.
While various speech enhancement algorithms have been developed to date, their performance has been generally evaluated only by native listeners of the language spoken, leaving their efficacy on improving the understanding of non-native listeners unknown. To address this knowledge gap, this project aims to gain insights into the strengths and limitations of the current speech enhancement algorithms on non-native listeners. Through subjective listening tests and data analysis, we will assess the effectiveness of these algorithms in enhancing speech intelligibility for native and non-native listeners of New Zealand English. The project endeavours to inform the future development and refinement of speech enhancement algorithms tailored specifically to the needs of non-native listeners
The project provides a prospective candidate with an excellent opportunity not only to deepen their understanding of signal processing principles but also gain hands-on experience in implementing and evaluating speech enhancement algorithms including the state-of-the-art ML and deep neural network (DNN)-based algorithms. Due to its multidisciplinary nature, the project will also offer a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of linguistics, speech perception, and signal processing applications.
Suitable candidates should have gained fundamental knowledge in signal processing such as completing MECHENG370. Reasonable familiarity with MATLAB or Python programming is recommended.
The supervisor is leading the Communication Acoustics Lab (CAL) of the Acoustics Research Centre. To see how this project is related to the research conducted by the CAL, visit the website from this link: http://cal.auckland.ac.nz.

Project

In the astrodynamics group we have developed different methods to guide a spacecraft. Some of these however are computationally expensive or require large memory and thus are not suitable to be run onboard spacecraft. In this project we want the explore supervise learning techniques to establish a neural network guidance law. We will test these new guidance law for Earth-Mars transfers and asteroid landing.

Required:

• Excellent mathematical skills
  
• Excellent programming skills (MATLAB/Python or C++)
• Excellent scientific computing skills
• Good knowledge of classical mechanics
• Space enthusiast and autonomy

Project

In this project we will study the feasibility of a solar sailing mission to explore the cislunar space. The student will work on the optimization of trajectories between different periodic orbits in the Earth-Moon System with the objective to characterise the meteoroid environment. Feasibility to leave the Earth-Moon System to explore Near Earth Astroids will be investigated as well. This mission will be proposed within the Artemis Accords and the NZ-NASA collaboration.

Required:

• Excellent mathematical skills
  
• Excellent programming skills (MATLAB/Python or C++)
• Excellent scientific computing skills
• Good knowledge of classical mechanics
• Space enthusiast and autonomy

Project

Marine farming of aquaculture is one of the fastest growing industries in New Zealand and requires a resilient supply of clean and cheap electrical energy. Tidal energy conversion has great potential for supplying New Zealand’s current and future energy needs, including the marine farming industry, and provides an opportunity to grow New Zealand’s economy.

Previously, there have been attempts to use solar energy for aquafarming needs, however, the cost-effectiveness has been inconsistent and solar panels required frequent maintaining and replacing. Tidal energy is a more continual source of energy and have much higher energy density compared to solar. The aim of the project is to perform theoretical and experimental analysis of a concept design of a tidal energy converter compatible with conventional floating structures used in marine farming. The converter includes an underwater turbine and a generator. Shape of the turbine blades and mechanical (gear) connection of the turbine to the generator are to be optimised within the project.

What we are looking for in a successful applicant:

• Theoretical background in dynamics
• Experience in Matlab and/or ANSYS

Project

The Acoustic Black Hole (ABH) is a recently proposed innovative technique for attenuating sound and vibration in various applications, including aero-space and automotive industries. The extraordinary effect is achieved by inducing local variations of stiffness and damping properties along a structure, and as a result, vibrational energy gets trapped in the ABH.
The aim of the present project is to design, manufacture and test a structure illustrating the ABH effect. The structure can be a plate or a beam with varying thickness and added layers of viscoelastic materal (rubber). Manufacturing techniques that can be used in the project include 3D printing and laser cutting. Potential application of the ABH effect to reduce noise transmission through walls in NZ houses is to be explored.

What we are looking for in a successful applicant

• Background in dynamics
• Experience with Matlab and/or ANSYS or similar

Project

PREREQUISITES: (1) At least an A grade in each of MECHENG 211 and MECHENG 325. (2) Aptitude for hands-on experimental work involving setup and computer based data acquisition. (3) Matlab / data processing interest / ability / experience. (4) Ability to work in a team.

DESCRIPTION: The student will learn wind tunnel testing techniques, characteristics of atmospheric boundary layers and their simulation in the wind tunnel using existing techniques and hardware, and carry out tests with a new idea of augmenting the flow characteristics to include the usually missing low-frequency content in the wind-tunnel simulated winds. Data analysis is to be carried out in the time domain (to establish statistical properties of the simulated winds) and in the frequency domain (to establish the frequency distribution of turbulence).Pressure distrubutions on an existing instrumented cubical building model will be made, with conventional simulations and under the new wind simularions.

TEAMWORK: The student will have the opportunity to work with (and be guided by) research students doing Masters and PhD studies, as well as technical staff and their academic supervisor.

Project

PREREQUISITES: (1) At least an A grade in each of MECHENG 211 and MECHENG 311. (2) Aptitude for hands-on experimental work involving setup and computer based data acquisition. (3) Matlab / data processing interest / ability / experience. (4) Ability to work in a team.

DESCRIPTION: The student will experimental flow and heat transfer measurement techniques, characteristics of 'synthetic jets' and their impingement on a heated spherical body using established techniques and hardware,and carry out heat transfer and flow visualisation experiments. Synthetic jets are pulsatile jet flows generated from a synthetic jet actuator (SJA) - we have an instrumented setup already available in our Thermofluids lab, and our past work has considered a heated cylindrical body. With a spherical body, the collision of vortex rings emanating from the SJA, will be understood through these experimentas and visualisation of the flow field. These will help explain the resulting heat transfer trends. An existing spherical body will be modified or a new one will be designed and built with the help of the technical staff.

TEAMWORK: The student will have the opportunity to work with (and be guided by) research students doing Masters and PhD studies, as well as technical staff and their academic supervisor.

Project

Recent trends in modern manufacturing highlight a shift towards ultra-flexible smart manufacturing systems. This shift has necessitated the introduction of collaborative robots equipped with artificial intelligence. As a summer research student, you will have the opportunity to explore the emerging technologies in this field.The project focuses on using RGB and Depth sensors to teach the UR5 robot to execute industrial manipulation tasks. During your involvement in this project, you will familiarize yourself with the UR5 robot and its control interface, gain a deep understanding of RGB+D sensors and how to integrate it with the robot to execute basic manipulation tasks based on visual feedback.This project offers an exciting opportunity for the student to engage in hands-on research and gain practical experience in machine learning, robotics and automation.

Project

The Internet of Things (IoT) has become integrated into everyday life, with devices becoming permanent fixtures in many homes. As countries face increasing pressure on their healthcare systems, innovative home technologies have the potential to support population health through continuous monitoring. In this project, the summer scholar will undertake a systematic literature review on the sensors network and a suitable development of an algorithm required to monitor unhealthy homes in real-time to prevent unhealthy home-related hospitalisations. The research methods for this review will include the searching of Library catalogues, Search engines for key databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed and Medline. Online databases or abstracting and indexing services provide access to journal articles, conference proceedings, reports, dissertations and other grey literature. The summer student will support our research team with various tasks, including literature reviews, research ethics, instrument development (survey and semi-structured interviews), and (potentially) data analysis for a mixed methods project. Familiarity with both quantitative and qualitative methods and software is strongly preferred. The student should be self-directed and intellectually curious.

Project

Wearable devices have a wide range of potential clinical applications ranging from arrhythmia screening of high-risk individuals to remote management of chronic conditions such as heart failure or peripheral artery disease. In this project, the summer scholar will undertake a systematic literature review of intelligent wearable devices for heart diseases and their impact on early detection when a suitable algorithm is integrated with the sensor network. The research methods for this review will include the searching of Library catalogues, Search engines for key databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed and Medline. Online databases or abstracting and indexing services provide access to journal articles, conference proceedings, reports, dissertations and other grey literature. The summer student will support our research team with various tasks, including literature reviews, research ethics, instrument development (survey and semi-structured interviews), and (potentially) data analysis for a mixed methods project. Familiarity with both quantitative and qualitative methods and software is strongly preferred. You should be self-directed and intellectually curious.

Project

Multirotor drones flying outdoors need to be agile and efficient: agility allows for the effect of the wind to be rejected, while efficiency increases flight time or payload. However, these requirements conflict, as a smaller rotor is less efficient, but faster to respond. A solution is to change the angle of the rotor blades (variable-pitch), rather than changing the speed of the motor.

In this project, we seek to combine efficiency and agility by using a variable-pitch rotor in tandem with a standard rotor, creating a coaxial pair which can rapidly change thrust. This work would be conducted experimentally in conjunction with an MBIE-funded research programme, working to develop novel drone types. Applicants should ideally be enthusiastic for drones and keen to get hands-on with experimental testing.

Project

Over the course of the summer, existing research around the loading of kitefoil raceboards will be synthesised and the findings will be used to design, construct and test a kitefoil raceboard. This will include research into design for manufacture, structural mechanics of composite materials (including some numerical modelling) and then validation of the final design experimentally.

Project

Untreated flax fibres do not adhere well to recyclable thermoplastics, making it a challenge to create advanced composite materials from these reinforcing fibres. As a result, many manufacturers utilise wet-chemistry surface treatments to improve fibre-matrix interfacial strength. Unfortunately, wet-chemistry methods use solvents and hazardous chemicals which are environmentally damaging. In this project, we will use a continuous air plasma treatment process to chemically and structurally modify the flax fibre surface. Flax fibre-thermoplastic composites will then be manufactured to measure mechanical properties. Improvements will be explained by routine surface analysis techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and polarized light microscopy. By completing this summer research scholarship, you will learn about composite processing, composite structural properties, and material characterisation. You will also participate in research group meetings to gain insight into post-graduate research at the Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing and Design. The project will suit students studying Mechanical Engineering, or Chemical and Materials Engineering, who have good attention to detail for experimental studies.

Project

At the Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing and Design, we are developing technology to shape a more circular plastics economy in Aotearoa New Zealand. One research area is improving reinforcing fibre surface compatibility with recyclable thermoplastics by air plasma treatment. This type of treatment modifies the fibre surface roughness and chemical composition. As a result, the surface free energy changes. Characterising the surface free energy is important to understand the fibre interaction with thermoplastic when manufacturing high-performance composite materials. The modified Wilhelmy technique is an accurate method used to measure the surface free energy of microscopic fibres. The technique does not rely on optical systems and image processing. Capillary force is measured and related to dispersive and polar surface free energy based on the known surface tension of multiple test fluids. In this summer research scholarship, you will design a setup for this technique and then measure the surface free energy of plasma-modified carbon fibre or flax fibre. Completing this work will teach you about experimental design and surface energy characterisation – an immensely important materials science technique. You will also participate in research group meetings to gain insight into post-graduate research at the Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing and Design. The project will suit students studying Mechanical Engineering, or Chemical and Materials Engineering, who have good attention to detail for experimental studies.

Project

To ensure the production of high-quality recycled plastics, they must first be appropriately sorted and separated based on their resin type. The sorting process is expensive, and contamination of hard-to-recycle plastics will often still be present. At the Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing and Design (CAMMD), we are developing a novel plasma treatment process to modify the chemical structure of polymers through free-radical reactions. This process will allow the production of high-performance polymer blends, mitigating the need for sorting and creating new recycling paths, contributing to a more circular economy.
One fundamental property of polymers is the molecular weight distribution (MWD), and we need to know how the plasma treatment affects it. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) is a well-established technique for measuring particles' size and distribution. In this project, you will apply DLS to measure the MWD of plasma-modified polymers and correlate the results with viscosity measurements. This research will give you a great understanding of polymer science as you will learn the relationship between the polymer's molecular structure and macroscopic properties. Furthermore, you will also participate in research group meetings to gain insight into post-graduate research at the Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing and Design.

Project

This research encourages the efficient and sustainable production of high-performance polymer blends from recycled plastics. This study uses an atmospheric plasma treatment method to modify the properties of the polymers by introducing functional groups and enhancing the compatibility of polymer blends. This technology can be used to enhance the properties of common polymer blends now used by various industries and establish a recycling technique effective for several polymers. Using this recycling strategy, complex recycled thermoplastic blends can be converted into effective polymer matrices for high-end applications.

Project

This research intends to produce biobased natural fibre reinforced composites with recyclable polymers as a viable option for sustainable polymer composites. Natural fibres offer superior mechanical performance, biodegradability, low cost, low density, and low abrasiveness compared to synthetic fibres. However, to have outstanding mechanical capabilities, there must be adequate adhesion between the fibres and the polymer matrix. Increased surface roughness and improved interfacial interaction result from plasma treatment of natural fibres.

Project

Metamaterials are engineered materials with internal structures designed to function in ways not available from existing materials and technology. By using combinations of acoustic resonators and other acoustic dissipation devices the student will help develop a window surround that has the desired acoustic properties. One technique to aid in the design of these acoustic structures is the use of machine learning techniques such as evolutionary algorithms and neural networks.

Project

In 2023, the department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering upgraded the robots used to teach in MECHENG 201 to use the VEX V5 kit. This project aims to investigate how we can use the new hardware capabilities to support the student activities in the course. Tasks will include, but not limited to some or all of the following: testing wireless upload for reliability and interference, developing custom graphical user interfaces using the LVGL library, developing tools for onboard datalogging and further analysis, completing the development of a simulation environment using CoppeliaSim (significant work has already been done in this area).

Requirements:
This project has a strong emphasis on programming in C for hardware control. You need to have excellent programming skills (at least A in MECHENG 270 or equivalent) and be willing to learn new tools and dive into lightly documented open-source software tools. You do not need to have done MECHENG 201 to be able to do this project; this project is not restricted to mechatronics engineering students. The tools you will be using include, but not limited to, VS Code, CoppeliaSim, MATLAB, and Excel (all on Windows). If you’re interested, please email me (h.namik@auckland.ac.nz) to discuss further details.

Project

Many UAV commercial applications, like tree pruning and powerline testing, require multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to hover in a spot in inaccessible, challenging environments. Wind disturbances and contact forces from the attached cutting/testing tools can adversely affect UAV station-keeping performance. So far, researchers have reduced the disturbance effects on UAVs by designing robust control methods or aerodynamically modified airframes. Meanwhile, another way of improving performance is perching like a bird. Inspired by birds placing their feet on tree branches or powerlines while still flapping their wings, this project will focus on the design and build of adjustable legs for UAVs to generate vertical lift support. For example, a UAV can perch on a branch and cut the other branches as required. Perching on a surface will give less susceptibility to disturbances. It also facilitates generating less lift and consuming less battery during the performance. These legs should be designed to be suitable for landing on flat surfaces and perching. They can be 3D printed by rigid or a hybrid of soft and rigid material.

Skills required: CAD design, 3D printing, robotics, Part 2, 3, and 4 or mechanical or mechatronics.

Project

One of the exciting applications for multirotor UAVs is pruning the branches high up the tree trunk, which is quite challenging and dangerous for humans to reach. In order to achieve pruning performance by UAVs, autonomous cutting tools must be attached to the airframe in a way that disturbs the stability as less as possible. A critical challenge in pruning by UAVs is the external forces coming from the pruning tool toward the drone, which can affect its stability adversely. So far, researchers have tried to reject those disturbances with the help of control methods such as admittance control where the UAV follows external forces by calculating the desired position or velocity, using the equation of motion of a virtual object. This project aims to design and propose a cutting tool equipped with a force sensor, which can feed back the force data to the controller in real time to increase the stability of the UAV while pruning. This tool will help design a more reliable and stable controller while contacting a surface.

Skills required: CAD design, 3D printing, robotics, Part 2, 3, and 4 or mechanical or mechatronics.