Vol. 3 No. 3 (2025)

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 2587

Optimization of mirror mount design based on opto-mechanical performance for space applications
by Fatouma Maamar

Mechanical Engineering Advances, Vol.3, No.3, 2025;

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59400/mea2587

A new fixation type for mirror assembly was proposed in space telescope. The optomechanical design of a large aperture is necessary to maintain the stability of the optical structure regarding environmental disturbances, restrictions on the weight, size and shape of the mirror, which must be satisfied for space applications. This paper presents a study focusing on the optimal optomechanical design for mirror mounting using glue pad bonding. We have developed a new design specifically tailored for the BK-7 mirror with a diameter of 500 mm and a thickness of 45 mm. The primary aim of this research is to determine the optimal combination of glue pad number, size, and thickness to minimize both glue stress and errors in the mirror’s shape. To achieve this, we conduct simulations under various load cases, varying the size and thickness of the glue pads. The new design results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed optimization method, which greatly minimizes thermal stress in the mirror and ensures adequate supporting stiffness. This solution for the mirror and mount design can provide valuable support to decision-makers and optical engineers during the development phase of space optomechanical systems.

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Open Access

Article

Article ID: 2529

Multi-objective Thermal Exchange Optimization algorithm applied to mechanical system design
by Fran S. Lobato, Fabian A. Lara-Molina

Mechanical Engineering Advances, Vol.3, No.3, 2025;

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59400/mea2529

Engineering system design is a highly relevant and dynamic field, with numerous applications reported in the literature. This type of problem generally encompasses several objectives and constraints, including those arising from mass, energy, and momentum balances, material behavior equations, and a range of environmental, physical, and operational restrictions. To address such challenges, a range of evolutionary optimization strategies has been proposed and evaluated. This work presents a Multi-objective Thermal Exchange Optimization (MTEO) algorithm that integrates concepts of Pareto dominance along with crowding distance strategies. To assess its performance, the proposed algorithm is applied to three well-established mechanical design problems. The results demonstrate that the MTEO algorithm provides accurate approximations of the Pareto front in comparison with conventional evolutionary methods. Specifically, average reductions of approximately 36%, 32%, and 68% were observed for the respective design problems. Furthermore, the MTEO parameters were found to be easy to configure across all applications.

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Open Access

Article

Article ID: 3077

Development of a stealth-enabled supersonic interceptor missile: Design, propulsion, and guidance
by Jacob Nagler

Mechanical Engineering Advances, Vol.3, No.3, 2025;

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59400/mea3077

This research presents the Horned-Viper project—a technological demonstrator for a stealth-enabled, supersonic homing interceptor missile with multi-domain engagement capability (air-to-air, air-to-ground, and ground-to-ground). Distinguished by a dual-horn inlet blended into the fuselage, Horned-Viper achieves a 45% reduction in frontal RCS compared to canonical designs (e.g., AIM-120C-7, R-73). Its two-stage, dual-pulse solid-propellant architecture delivers a total impulse of 538.6 kN·s while sustaining 10 g maneuvers at Mach 1.5 and achieving a 60 km range from a 6000 m altitude launch—exceeding comparable systems by 20%–30% in agility and thrust management. A refined PNG-based guidance loop, augmented with PID (proportional-integral-derivative)-controlled canards, ensures a 10 Hz closed-loop bandwidth, yielding a 12% shorter time-to-kill relative to AIM-120C-7 under identical intercept conditions. The warhead employs directional spherical fragments, maximizing lethality within a 10 m lethal radius with an optimized fragment mass-to-explosive ratio, surpassing traditional fragmentation yields by 15 %. High-fidelity CFD (ANSYS Fluent) and 6-DOF trajectory simulations validate aerodynamic shaping and flight stability, demonstrating drag coefficient minimization in the Mach 1.8–2.2 regime and lift-to-drag improvements of 25% during terminal maneuvers. Collectively, these quantitative advances—coupled with modular servomotor and warhead innovations—establish Horned-Viper as a promising next-generation interceptor concept with critical performance advantages over X-90, R-73, Sidewinder, and Arrow systems.

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Open Access

Article

Article ID: 3277

Sustainable mechanical design and manufacturing of pressure relief valves
by Suhaila E. Abidou, Ganna G. Ismail, Hesham A. Hegazi

Mechanical Engineering Advances, Vol.3, No.3, 2025;

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59400/mea3277

This paper aims to provide an argument to take a closer look at the development and application of technology in relation to sustainability. Environmental awareness is driving industries across all sectors to re-evaluate their practices to reduce their impact on the environment. Therefore, integrating sustainability into the mechanical design and manufacturing of products and systems has become mandatory. An often-overlooked aspect of industrial processes is the role of valves; however, only a few studies have addressed their environmental sustainability. To address this research gap, this study aims to integrate mechanical engineering design with sustainable environmental engineering of industrial valves. The redesign concept has been applied to pressure relief valves and has been achieved by proposing the use of alternative materials other than metals, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and perfluoro alkoxy polymer (PFA). This study used some relevant tools to evaluate the suitability of such proposed materials, including energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. A modified design that met the properties and specifications of the proposed polymer type was implemented, resulting in a simpler valve design, fewer valve parts, easier assembly, less weight, and lower cost. The implications of the trade-offs between metallic and polymeric valves for sustainable manufacturing fall within the theoretical framework of 6R, where all its concepts play an important role in promoting sustainable and environmentally conscious manufacturing. All to reduce emissions, energy consumption, and waste.

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In order to improve thermal comfort of vehicle cab, reduce driver fatigue and further improve work efficiency, researches on thermal comfort of vehicle cab are summarized. Research background of thermal comfort for vehicle cab is analyzed. And then related research progress on thermal environment in vehicle cab is studied from aspect of time and space, and thermal environment inside and outside vehicle are compared. Affecting factors of thermal comfort in vehicle cab are discussed in depth, which conclude thermophysical parameters, human physiological factors, clothing thermal resistance and other secondary factors. And thermal comfort evaluation indexes are analyzed in depth. Evaluation methods of thermal comfort in uniform environment are analyzed, related experimental research and theoretical analysis are summarized, and it also points out some problems in thermal comfort of vehicle at this stage, and also gives corresponding solutions. The future trend of thermal comfort of vehicle cab is predicted. Analysis results can provide theoretical guidance for optimization design of air conditioning supply parameters and structural parameters, and has significant meaning of improving thermal comfort of vehicle cab.

This manuscript presents a sophisticated deep neural networks (DNNs)-driven adaptive control paradigm for concurrently regulating the attitude and suppressing structural oscillations of a flexible spacecraft in a fully three-dimensional domain. By leveraging Hamilton’s principle, the spacecraft’s motion is formulated as an infinite-dimensional dynamic model described by partial differential equations, capturing the subtle interactions between rigid-body rotational maneuvers and flexible panel deformations. In contrast to traditional schemes, the proposed control methodology integrates a DNNs module to compensate for uncertain actuator anomalies and external input disturbances in real time, thereby ensuring fault tolerance under arbitrary, potentially unbounded actuator malfunctions. A rigorously constructed Lyapunov-based stability analysis corroborates that the system’s energy, angular rates, and transverse deflections remain uniformly bounded and asymptotically converge to zero, even in the face of multiple actuator failures. This theoretical guarantee stems from the synergistic interplay between the network’s representational power and the adaptive control law’s robust learning capabilities. Extensive computational experiments demonstrate the efficacy of the developed framework in orchestrating high-precision attitude stabilization while simultaneously mitigating detrimental vibrations, showcasing the superior performance and resiliency of the proposed DNNs-infused control architecture.

This study focuses on the development of a cleaning robot, covering the three main aspects of mechanical design, circuit design, and software design. First, in the area of mechanical design, we created a structure capable of agile movement and efficient cleaning to ensure the robot can operate smoothly in various environments. Second, for circuit design, we developed a microcontroller-based control system to coordinate the operation of various components, including drive motors, sensors, and image recognition modules. Furthermore, in the software design aspect, we utilized YOLO (You Only Look Once) and OpenCV technologies to enable the robot to accurately identify and classify waste during the automatic cleaning process. Finally, we conducted practical cleaning experiments to verify the robot’s ability to recognize waste and the accuracy of waste classification. The experimental results show that the cleaning robot not only possesses the ability to recognize waste but also accurately classify it, demonstrating its potential for practical applications.