• Micro Flow Laboratory

• Materials Processing Laboratory

• Man-Machine Systems Laboratory

• Vibrations Research Laboratory

• Materials and Microfabrications Research Laboratory

• Advanced Materials and Mechanics Laboratory

• Computational Materials Laboratory

• Heat Transfer Laboratory

• Optomechanics and Physical Reliability Laboratory

• Materials Testing Laboratory

• Computational Heat Transfer Laboratory

• Microacoustics Sensors Laboratory
   

Sample Activity

Simulation of Dendritic Solidification Solidification of crystalline materials often occurs dendritically (e.g., in castings). The image shows dendritic growth into an undercooled liquid of a pure material. The two-dimensional computation was performed using the phase-field method, which employs a single set of model equations for both the solid and liquid regions. Displayed are contours of the phase-field variable which tracks the diffuse interfacial region separating solid and liquid. In the figure the liquid region is light gray and the solid dendrites are dark gray. The figure corresponds to a late stage in the computation where the solid dendrites have almost reached the boundaries of the domain.

Vibration Research Laboratory

Mission:
The Vibration Research Laboratory serves as the focal point for research covering a broad spectrum of mechanical and biomechanical phenomena. State-of-the-art measurement, testing, and computational facilities provide the tools for the advancement of our understanding of vibration, acoustic and stress related problems in engineering science.

Facility:
The Laboratory occupies 1400 square-feet of ground-floor space in the
Engineering Building. The Lab infrastructure includes electrical hookups from 120V to 440 V, compressed air, water, and forced-air ventilation are available. Two vibration isolation tables are available to reduce environmental interference for precise measurements. The Lab combines the computational/simulation and measurement/testing capabilities in an efficient floor plan. Additionally, a well equipped student machine shop and other research laboratories are also located
in the Engineering Building.

Faculty:
Ron N. Miles, Ph.D.
Professor , Department of Mechanical Engineering
Acoustics, Bio-mechanics/acoustics, Vibration Analysis/Measurement
Phone: (607) 777-4038
miles@binghamton.edu

James M. Pitarresi, Ph.D.
Professor and Chairman, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Vibration/Mechanical/Thermal Stress Analysis, Vibration
Analysis/Measurement
Phone:(607) 777-4037
jmp@binghamton.edu
www.me.binghamton.edu/jmp

Current Projects:

• Auditory mechanics and bioacoustics of directional hearing - NSF
• Mechatronics and development of vibration dampers for magnetic data storage systems - NSF
• Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and biomimicry for acoustic and vibratory sensors - NIH
• NPR/National Geographic Radio Expeditions Link Hearing Aid Microphone Project - Inside Magazine article
• Thermal-Stress Induced Low-cycle Fatigue of Solder Joints - CSP/DCA Industrial Consortium
• Dynamic Stress Analysis of Motion Platforms – Doron, Inc.
• Contact Analysis of Laminated Liquid-Crystal Panels - NSF
• Early Detection of Solder Joints Fatigue – IEEC (NSF/NYS/Industry)

Measurement/Testing Capabilities:

The Vibration Research Laboratory's test/measurement capabilities are aimed at vibration and acoustic measurement of mechanical and bio-mechanical systems. Controlled shaking capabilities (random, sine, and shock) from modest sized packages weighting hundreds of pounds to very small biological systems (such as a fly's eardrum) are available. A shaker and an environmental chamber can be combined to do “shake and bake” testing. The Lab's measurement capabilities are enhanced by our state-of-the-art non-contacting laser measurement systems. The Lab's two laser vibrometers can be used for precise, focused (10 micron measurement point) vibration measurements. In addition, traditional transducers (accelerometers, LVDTs, strain gages) are also available.

Major Measurement/Test Equipment:

1 PolytecScanning Laser Vibrometer
1 Polytec High Resolution Laser Vibrometer
1 Oriel Micro-positioning Stage
1 1250 lb LDS V830T-SPA-K Shaker/Slip Table and Amplifier
1 LDS DVC 4000 Sine, Random, and Transient Controller
1 Cincinnati Sub-Zero Environmental Chamber with Shaker Interface
1 Unholtz-Dickie 800 LB Shaker/Slip Table and Amplifier
1 Newport Research Series 4' x 8' x 1' Optical Table
1 Newport RS 6000 3'x6'x8" Optical Table

Additional Measurement/Test Equipment:

1 B&K 4809 Shaker with 2706 Amplifier
3 VTS 100 LB Shaker and Amplifier
1 Unholtz-Dickie 50 LB Shaker and Amplifier
2 B&K 2304 dual channel signal analyzers
3 PC Based Data Acquisition Computers
2 DSP SigLab 50-21 Data Acquisition Systems
2 B&K 8202 Instrumented Hammers
1 PCB 086C80 Miniature Instrumented Hammers
1 B&K 2230 Sound Level meter
1 GenRad Sound Level meter
2 Leica Wild Stereo Microscopes with Coaxial Illuminator/Ring Light
1 Edmund Stereo Microscope with B&W Video Interface
Various Accelerometers, Microphones, and Transducers
Various Amplifiers, Filters, and Support electronics

Computational Capabilities:

In addition to full access to the University's computer platforms and software, the Vibration Research Laboratory has its own computational capabilities. The Lab has its own Local Area Network connecting powerful engineering workstations, PCs, data acquisition computers, and B&W/color scanning and output devices. The LAN is fully connected to the Internet. A host of state-of the-art software packages give the Lab the ability to simulate mechanical/bio mechanical and acoustic phenomena and document/present research results.

Hardware:

• 2 IBM AIX RISC/6000 Desktop Workstations
• 16 PCs (1 Portable/Laptop)
• 3 Microstar 2400/6 PC Data Acquisition Processors 1
• 1 Analogic 1 MHZ, 16 bit, 4 channel A/D board
• 4 GPIB PC boards

Software:

• SMS Star Modal Software
• ANSYS 5.5 Finite Element Code
• SolidWorks99 Computer Aided Design Software
• Matlab 5.2.1 Computational Software
• Mathematica 4.0 Computational Software
• Various High-Level Programming Languages
• Various Data Reduction, Report Writing, and Graphics Software Packages

Heat Transfer Laboratory

The Heat Transfer Laboratory is equipped to perform experimental investigations of convection and conduction heat transfer. Thermal measurements are obtained with a variety of techniques using one or more of the available precision bath and N.S.B. traceable temperature standard calibration facility, IR thermography camera or holographic interferometry system. Fluid flow studies are performed using techniques of flow visualization and laser doppler velocimetry (LDV). Data acquisition and analysis is facilitated by PC based systems. Rheological measurements are used to characterize complex fluids, such as dense suspensions.

Faculty:

Gary Lehmann
Associate Professor, , Department of Mechanical Engineering
Phone (607) 777-4798
FAX: (607) 777-4620
E-mail:lehmann@binghamton.edu

Research Topics

• Capillary flow of dense suspensions in microscale channels, with applications to electronics packaging.
• Interface heat conductance using low melt temperature metal alloys.
• Applications in cooling of electronic equipment.
• Coupled fluid-soild motion due to the interaction of a thin film and flexible bounding wall.

Recent Additions to Facilities:

DEC 3000 Mod 800 Workstation; High performance video microscope system with frame grabber and image digitizing and processing capability, Laser Sheet Photography System.

Materials Research Laboratory

The Materials Research Laboratory (in combination with associated facilities at the University) provides capabilities for thermal, chemical and deformation processing and characterization of materials. Characterization equipment includes: specimen preparation facilities; optical microscopy (including differential interference contrast optics); scanning electron and scanning transmission electron facilities (with computer image analysis); electron microprobe analysis; x-ray diffraction (with high temperature capability); scanning tunnelling microscopy; thermal anaylsis (TGA, DTA, DSC); computer controlled servohydraulic mechanical testing (55 kip); hardness and microhardness facilities.

Faculty associated with this lab:

Dr. Junghyun Cho
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Phone (607) 777-2897
FAX: (607) 777-4620
E-mail:jcho@binghamton.edu

Dr. Roy T. R. McGrann
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Phone (607) 777-6676
FAX: (607) 777-4620
E-mail:mcgrann@binghamton.edu

Dr. Bruce T. Murray
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Phone: (607) 777-6561
FAX: (607) 777-4620
E-mail:bmurray@binghamton.edu

Dr. Timothy J. Singler
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Phone: (607) 777-4330
Fax: (607) 777-4620
E-mail:singler@binghamton.edu

Research Topics:

• Microstructural design of advanced ceramics
• Solder/substrate wetting reactions
• Solidification Processing
• Morphological Stability in step growth
• Fatigue and residual stress analysis
• Thermal Spray Coatings