Mechanical Engineering
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Development of liquid propellant tanks for a suborbital launch vehicle.
(2022)Having developed several hybrid sounding rockets, the Aerospace Systems Research Group (ASReG) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal is currently investigating the development of an indigenous launch vehicle for micro satellites. ... -
Low-cost sensory glove for human-robot collaboration.
(2020)Human Robot Collaboration (HRC) is a technique that enables humans and robots to co-exist in the same environment by preforming operations together. HRC has become a vital goal for industry to achieve progress towards the ... -
Renewable energy powered reverse osmosis system for seawater desalination.
(2022)Desalination is one of the most successful procedures for freshwater supply from seawater in the world. Reverse osmosis (RO) is a major technology in the business of seawater desalination because of its ability to produce ... -
Development of a titanium sheet manufacturing process via direct powder rolling and spark plasma sintering.
(2022)The intention of this research was the improvement of titanium processing in South African industry. South Africa currently has limited ability to efficiently process its titanium reserves and the results of this research, ... -
Combustion studies of hybrid nanoadditive doped waste cooking oil biodiesel and its blends in compression ignition engine.
(2021)South Africa, among the developing nations in sub-Saharan Africa lacks technologies for converting crude biooil into biodiesel to run fuel CI engines. The country has also struggled to identify a suitable feedstock that ... -
Buckling of woven fibre and graphene platelet reinforced nanocomposite laminates.
(2021)Composite materials are known for exhibiting high specific stiffness, strength and light weight. Their properties can be optimized by designers for a specific application. They currently have many applications in various ... -
Multi-point static dexterous posture manipulation for the stiffness identification of serial kinematic end-effectors.
(2020)The low stiffness inherent in serial robots hinders its application to perform advanced operations due to its reduced accuracy imparted through deformations within the links and joints. The high repeatability, extended ... -
Multiscale nanocomposites and laminates reinforced by carbon nanotubes and fibres.
(2020)The addition of nanomaterials to conventional composites as reinforcement results in a new generation of composites, namely, multiscale composites. Multiscale composites comprise of reinforcements from two or more different ... -
Fused deposition modelling (FDM) to fabricate a transitional vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for transportation of medical supplies in underdeveloped areas.
(2020)This dissertation’s work has focused on the design and development of a prototype UAV that aims to facilitate the delivery of emergency medical aid supplies to remote locations within South Africa (SA). This research has ... -
The impact of disruptive technology on the manufacturing process, and productivity, in an advanced manufacturing environment.
(2022)Disruptive technology plays a critical role in the performance of mechatronic systems in an advanced manufacturing environment. Robots were used to perform pick and place task in a virtual manufacturing environment. ... -
Studying the feasibility of hydroprocessing used cooking oil into hydrogenation derived renewable diesel from local feedstock and catalyst.
(2021)Identifying and developing heterogeneous catalysts capable of mild-cracking used cooking oil (UCO) into hydrogenation-derived renewable diesel (HDRD) or green diesel production has posed a considerable challenge to ... -
Development and fabrication of functionally graded aluminium metal matrix composite for automobile component applications.
(2021)In recent times, interest in aluminium matrix composites (AMCs) have garnered traction over conventional aluminium alloys as the material of choice in the manufacturing of components for various engineering applications. ... -
Design, modeling and optimization of a seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant.
(2021)Potable water is one of the major needs for human, animals and plant survival. But recently, due to the growth in population and industrialization, fresh water shortage has escalated to alarming levels particularly in the ... -
Research, design and investigation of a multiple user mixed reality system.
(2021)Current forms of virtual technology are limited by their single-user capability per device. Additionally, these technologies are listed at expensive price ranges due to the robust technology and processing power required ... -
Effect of flexible supports on the frequencies of nanobeams with tip mass and axial load for applications in atomic force microscopy (AFM)
(2020)This aim of this investigation is to describe the mechanical performance of a beam (probe) used in dynamic atomic force microscopy (dAFM) which can be utilized in scanning the topographical features of biological samples ... -
Effects of pyrolyzed municipal solid waste feedstocks as energy sources for non-road diesel engine, combustion, performance and emissions characteristics using biodiesel blended ratios.
(2021)Biodiesel oil blending is not a new concept in the study of biofuels and production. Blending is a chemical process of two or more different feedstocks comingled in varying proportions in the production of a new oil or ... -
Preliminary design considerations for a commercial launch vehicle upper stage.
(2021)The African small satellite industry (micro and nano satellites in particular) continues to grow with developments in the miniaturization of satellite technology. However, the costs and delays involved with the traditional ... -
Optimization of energy conservation measures to improve efficiency in commercial buildings.
(2021)In addition to international energy concerns, South Africa is facing its own electricity generation challenges. Periodic load shedding leads to a decrease in national revenue as the production of goods and services comes ...
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