Global Research Engagement by Undergraduates and its Impact: Laser Metal Deposition Studies in US-South Africa Collaboration

Author(s):  
Subha Kumpaty ◽  
Esther Akinlabi ◽  
Elizabeth Paoli ◽  
Arianna Ziemer ◽  
Sisa Pityana

This paper presents the follow-up work of research conducted by Milwaukee School of Engineering senior undergraduate students in South Africa under the second year of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates grant EEC-1460183 sponsored by the National Science Foundation (Principal Investigator Dr. Kumpaty). Elizabeth Paoli and Arianna Ziemer conducted research in summer of 2016 under advisement of Dr. Kumpaty and his South African collaborators, Dr. Esther Akinlabi and Dr. Sisa Pityana. Arianna extended the work of Mueller (reported in IMECE2016-65094), with 10% Mo in the combination of Ti64-Mo deposited on Ti64 substrate at a laser power of 1700 W for five scan speeds ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 m/min. It was observed that lower scan speeds produced elongated grains. Hardness and corrosion tests were also completed in her study. Elizabeth worked on varying the percent of Mo from layer to layer deposited (5%, 10%, 15%) and characterized these functionally graded samples for biomedical applications. Laser metal deposition was completed at the CSIR – National Laser Center, in Pretoria, South Africa and the material characterization was performed at the University of Johannesburg as in the previous year. An alumnus of MSOE, Peter Spyres was an important liaison for our international REU participants as he engaged them during the weekends in a cultural immersion which otherwise would not have been possible. While the research collaborators have generously provided support, it is the care taken by Peter’s remarkable household, which enhanced the beneficial value of this global research enterprise. The paper addresses yet another successful completion of the international Research Experiences for Undergraduates.

Author(s):  
Subha Kumpaty ◽  
Esther Akinlabi ◽  
Andrew Gray ◽  
Kevin Sivak ◽  
Mutiu Erinosho ◽  
...  

This paper details the ongoing research conducted by Milwaukee School of Engineering senior undergraduate students in South Africa under the third year of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates grant EEC-1460183 sponsored by the National Science Foundation (Principal Investigator Dr. Kumpaty). Andrew Gray and Kevin Sivak conducted research in summer of 2017 under advisement of Dr. Kumpaty and his South African collaborators, Dr. Esther Akinlabi, Dr. Mutiu Erinosho and Dr. Sisa Pityana. They extended the work of Paoli (reported in IMECE2017-71037), with varying percent of Mo (0–15%) in the combination of Ti64-Mo deposited on Ti64 substrate at laser powers of 1500 and 1700 W for a select scan speed. Laser metal deposition was completed at the CSIR – National Laser Center, in Pretoria, South Africa and the material characterization was performed at the University of Johannesburg as in the previous year. Hardness decreased with addition of Mo. Lowest hardness was observed in 10% Mo layers, and greater percent of Mo led some agglomeration issues due to its melting temperature being much higher than that of Ti64. Corrosion tests were also attempted. Etching challenges were present as percent of Mo varied in the same sample. Results are directly applicable to biomedical industry in evaluating functionally graded materials. An alumnus of MSOE, Peter Spyres served as a liaison for our international REU participants as he engaged them during the weekends in a cultural immersion which otherwise would not have been possible. Gray and Sivak were able to spend July 4th at the U.S. Consulate in Pretoria. While the research collaborators have generously provided support, it is the care taken by Peter’s remarkable household, which enhanced the beneficial value of this international research enterprise.


Author(s):  
Subha Kumpaty ◽  
Esther Akinlabi ◽  
Christopher Reynolds ◽  
Robert Mueller ◽  
Sisa Pityana

This paper presents the characterization studies conducted by Milwaukee School of Engineering senior undergraduate students in South Africa under the Research Experiences for Undergraduates grant EEC-1460183 sponsored by the National Science Foundation (Principal Investigator Dr. Kumpaty). Robert Mueller and Christopher Reynolds conducted research in summer of 2015 under advisement of Dr. Kumpaty and his South African collaborators, Dr. Esther Akinlabi and Dr. Sisa Pityana. The foreign collaborators’ excellent support was pivotal to the success of our U.S. students. Ti-6 Al-4 V is a titanium alloy that accounts for about 80% of the titanium market. The Ti-64 alloy contains 6 wt% Aluminum and 4 wt% Vanadium, an almost equal ratio of α + β phases. Through the laser surface modification process known as Laser Meal Deposition, this alloy offers the optimum combination of enhanced properties. This research focuses on the application of adding a combination of molybdenum (Mo) and Ti-64 powders to a Ti-64 substrate surface in order to improve the durability for various biomedical/aerospace applications. Deposition of the powders was completed at the CSIR - National Laser Center, in Pretoria, South Africa. The characterization studies were carried out at the University of Johannesburg. The results of the hardness tests showed that the addition of molybdenum to Ti-64 increased the hardness of the deposited material compared to that of the substrate. This verifies that the addition of Mo to metals can affect the mechanical properties to better suit various applications. While Robert Mueller studied the effect of laser power on the properties of laser metal deposited Ti-6Al-4V + Mo for wear resistance enhancement, Christopher Reynolds investigated scanning velocity influence on the evolving properties of laser metal deposited Ti-6Al-4V + Mo. The results of this promising research and various options for further investigation are presented. The beneficial value of such a global research enterprise on the budding engineers will be apparent and the paper details the process of the international component of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bupe Mwamba ◽  
Pat Mayers ◽  
Jawaya Shea

Abstract BackgroundGlobally and in South Africa, university students’ knowledge of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is low. This study was conducted in response to the dearth of information about the sexual and reproductive health knowledge of postgraduate students. Research conducted to explore the SRH knowledge of undergraduate students suggests that the level of SRH knowledge among undergraduate students is low. The aim of this study was to determine the SRH knowledge of postgraduate students with regards to contraceptives, sexually transmitted illnesses (STI), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Pap smear and clinical breast examination at University of Cape Town (UCT), in South Africa. MethodA cross sectional survey design was utilized, using an adapted and pretested online questionnaire. All postgraduate students enrolled in the first semester of 2017 (9444) were invited to anonymously complete the online survey.ResultsFour hundred and six (406) students completed the online survey, of whom 293 were female and 107 males. The age range of respondents was between 18 years and 57 years, with the median age for both male and female respondents being 24 years. Six survey responses were excluded from the statistical analysis because of incomplete data. Post graduate students from the African continent comprised 90.75% of the respondents. Most respondents were white (51.50%) from both Africa and abroad. The results indicated that respondents knew about sexually transmitted infections, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) & acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Female respondents were more aware of breast examination, and the role of Papanicolaou smear (Pap smear) in SRH. Almost half of the respondents in this study (49%) stated that they had no need for more information about contraceptives. Lecturers were identified as one of the top five sources of information, which suggests that the university environment provides students with important SRH-related information.ConclusionMost postgraduate students had knowledge of sexual and reproductive health with regards to contraception, Pap smear, clinical breast examination, STIs, HIV and AIDS. Further research should focus on the relationship between SRH knowledge and usage among this population. As university lecturers were identified as an important source of information across faculties, the University should consider the incorporation of SRH education in the broader curriculum and as an integral component of student health services.


Author(s):  
Chaka Chaka ◽  
Tlatso Nkhobo

Abstract The current study employed online module login data harvested from three tools, myUnisa, MoyaMA and Flipgrid to determine how such data served as a proxy measure of student engagement. The first tool is a legacy learning management system (LMS) utilised for online learning at the University of South Africa (UNISA), while the other two tools are a mobile messaging application and an educational video discussion platform, respectively. In this regard, the study set out to investigate the manner in which module login data of undergraduate students (n = 3475 & n = 2954) and a cohort of Mathew Goniwe students (n = 27) enrolled for a second-level module, ENG2601, as extracted from myUnisa, MoyaMA, and Flipgrid served as a proxy measure of student engagement. Collectively, these students were registered for this second-level module at UNISA at the time the study was conducted. The online login data comprised myUnisa module login file access frequencies. In addition, the online login data consisted of the frequencies of instant messages (IMs) posted on MoyaMA by both the facilitator and Mathew Goniwe students, and video clips posted on and video clip view frequencies captured by Flipgrid in respect of the afore-cited module. One finding of this study is that student engagement as measured by login file access frequencies was disproportionally skewed toward one module file relative to other module files. The other finding of this study is that the overall module file access metrics of the Mathew Goniwe group were disproportionally concentrated in a sub-cohort of highly active users (HAU).


2012 ◽  
Vol 271-272 ◽  
pp. 131-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Yun Qin ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Guang Yang

Referring to the ultrasonic vibration effect on casting, welding and laser cladding, the paper demonstrates the feasibility that it can be also used in Laser Metal Deposition(LMD)of titanium alloy to protect the defects such as crack,pore and oxidation and refine the grain size and improve the distribution uniformity of solidified structure.So the paper applies ultrasonic vibration system to fabricate the functionally graded materials(FGMs) samples and analyses its effect on the specimen microstructure and mechanical property by experiments.The results show that ultrasonic vibration can suppress the formation of pore、refine the grain and make the TiC hard phase more homogeneous in the FGMs parts, which is also indicated by the microhardness tests


JOM ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 2756-2761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Yan ◽  
Xueyang Chen ◽  
Yunlu Zhang ◽  
Joseph W. Newkirk ◽  
Frank Liou

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