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[Display omitted] • Heat sinks based on standard and novel, non-standard morphologies were designed using parametric modelling and computational optimization. • To allow their cross-morphological performance comparison, equity was established between them with regard to (thermal) mass. • The heat sinks were compared in a passive cooling application using numerical simulation and experimental methods. • Some heat sink morphologies performed more efficiently than others in the passive cooling application. • The approach to cross-morphological performance comparison is shown to be viable, despite shortcomings in technologies used. Cross-morphological performance comparisons in mechanical engineering design may well resemble comparisons of apples and oranges. They are meaningful only if pertinent properties shared across compared morphologies (so-called tertia comparationis) are identified, and equity with regard to these properties is established. This article demonstrates such an approach with the use of parametric geometry modeling, optimization, and additive manufacturing, enabling a thermal performance comparison of different heat sink morphologies, using both steady-state numerical simulation and experimental evaluation, by establishing equity across the compared heat sinks in terms of (thermal) mass. Limitations in additive manufacturing precision, as well as inconsistencies between numerical simulation and experimental evaluation results, were encountered in this case study. Likely resulting from the heat sinks' thermal properties on the additive manufacturing process and the simulation environment's disproportionate reliance on convection surface area, these limitations and inconsistencies will likely diminish as additive manufacturing and numerical simulation technologies improve. The cross-morphological comparison approach presented here is shown to be viable in principle and may inform decision-making in applied mechanical engineering design research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Magnetorheological (MR) fluid is a manageable fluid that exhibits drastic changes in rheological properties and interchangeable depending on the applied magnetic field strength. The fluid is potentially advantageous to be employed in many applications. This paper presents the design of test equipment for the performance of compression and tension tests. Finite element method magnetics (FEMM) was used to analyze the magnetic field distribution through the MR fluid. The test equipment was constructed and modified according to the operational principles, conditions and simulation results. The tests were performed in a vertical direction to the DC magnetic field generated by a coil. Experimental results showed that the compressive/tensile stresses of MR fluids increased as the applied current increased. The test equipment was utilized to investigate the performance of the MR fluid in squeeze mode. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Material selection for mechanical designs is an important task. Different approaches have been proposed to fulfill this job, so far. However, most of them work well with only quantitatively measurable properties of materials. Also, due to a wide range of materials available, the selection space finds a fuzzy characteristic. Therefore, here a simplified fuzzy logic approach is introduced to provide a powerful tool for easy dealing with the qualitative properties of materials and the corresponding fuzzy space. With this approach the volume of mathematics involved with the conventional methods reduces, considerably. The results show an excellent match with the Manshadi’s method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]