Samir Mekid

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | KFUPM · Department of Mechanical Engineering

This paper presents a critical review of the main sensing techniques considered for online monitoring of the integrity of alloys steel-made equipment used in process industry. This includes pipelines, tanks, electrical transformers and other metallic structures used in construction of buildings and bridges. Radio frequency (RF), Magnetic flux leak...

In the last interim guidance, the WHO advised the use of masks in communities, during home care, and in healthcare settings in areas with reported cases of COVID-19. This advice was intended for individuals in the community, public health and infection prevention and control (IPC) professionals, healthcare managers, healthcare workers (HCWs), and c...

Among several kinds of metal matrix composite materials (MMCs), such as silicon-based reinforced aluminum matrix (SiCp/Al) composites have become the most valuable composite material due to their various applications in industries, sports equipment, electrons, and automotive. Due to the presence of hard ceramic reinforcements, the SiCp/Al composite...

The potential impacts of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) on society are receiving increased attention owing to the rapid growth of these technologies during the fourth industrial revolution. Thus, a detailed analysis of the positive implications and drawbacks of AI technology in human society is necessary. The development of AI...

The development results of a single-point contact system set up as a pendulum to study the laws of rolling resistance to contacting bodies at a distance significantly reduced compared to the elastic contact spot size. The designed device uses a physical pendulum sustained by only one ball on a flat polished surface. The problem of stability of the...

In this paper, the face milling experiments were performed to investigate the cutting process of SiCp/Al (SiCp 65%) volume percentage and their effect on tool life and tool wear mechanism. The study was performed based on different cutting parameters (cutting speed vc, feed per tooth fz, and axial depth of cut ap, 1mm, and width of cut ae 8mm,) and...

Global competitiveness creates a challenge for manufacturing companies to maintain their market share with dynamic customer requirements. Capital investment in machinery does not allow facility expansion to accommodate large orders from customers but to reconfigure the manufacturing enterprise. Distributed manufacturing (DM) is embraced in order to...

Whisker sensors are a class of tactile sensors that have recently attracted attention. Inspired by mammals’ whiskers known as mystacial vibrissae, they have displayed tremendous potential in a variety of applications e.g., robotics, underwater vehicles, minimally invasive surgeries, and leak detection. This paper provides a supplement to the recent...

Quality management and metrology are important components in manufacturing enterprises. Producers can assess the conformance quality or degree to which a product or service was manufactured in accordance with the required specifications. Quality management oversees all activities and tasks that must be accomplished to maintain a desired level of ex...

Measurement constitutes a fundamental basis for all daily transactions, research, and development. Mechanical calibration is meant to be carried out using measurements executed with relatively simple tools to record changes in the dimensions of an object because of breakdown or wear during use. The most frequently tested instruments and sensors are...

Thermodynamic properties of any material or solution are valuable not only for estimating the usefulness of the material or the feasibility of reactions in solution, but they provide one of the best methods for investigating theoretical aspects related to the material or solution structure. Enthalpy is a property of a thermodynamic system. It has t...

Math and science are of great importance when dealing with measurement since the inception of humanity. This chapter aims to introduce basic math and science background mainly to refresh memories and be a reference in case there is a need to check information. Measurement data is quantitatively conveying information about the measurement being carr...

The ISO 15189:2012 standard describes some enhanced expectations on the measurement of uncertainty and the ISO 17025 standard specifies requirements when reporting and evaluating uncertainty of measurement. Uncertainty is a consequence of the interchange of errors, which create dispersion around the estimated value of the measure and; the smaller t...

The calibration was used for division of linear distance and angles using specific instruments, such as a dividing engine, and on the other side the measurement of gravitational mass to cover most commerce and technology development since early civilization about AD 1800. The calibration of instruments is needed to minimize any measurement uncertai...

Tolerance analysis is a name given to a number of approaches used today in product design to understand how imperfections in parts as they are manufactured, and in products as they are assembled, affect the capability of a product to meet customer expectations. Tolerances can be essential to ensuring that products assemble correctly, operate safely...

Measurement and quantification are the basic concepts of metrology. Metrologists consider measurement as a complex structured process in which a measurement task is carried out by applying theoretical and methodological principles and by executing agreed procedures and techniques for data generation. Metrologists derive a specific model of the meas...

This chapter introduces the following metrology scales: nanometrology, micrometrology, standard‐scale metrology, and large‐scale metrology. The long‐term growth of nanotechnology products is dependent on increased investment in infrastructure, including technology, manufacturing, and inspection development. Standardization is a prerequisite for suc...

Measurement of length is very comprehensive and includes distance, displacement, position, dimensions, size, volume, and surface texture. This chapter covers some of instruments for displacement and length measurements. From length measurement calibration of instruments such as micrometers, calipers, gauges, or tape measures, to high‐tech optics‐ba...

Metrology's measurement error is an important subset. This chapter describes error and its various possible sources, how error propagates in measurement, errors associated with motion, error classification, and error elimination. A systematic error occurs consistently in only one direction each time the measurement is performed, that is, the value...

Among the new requirements needed in industry are the digitalization, automation, and fast measurements that are becoming extremely important in this era of digital manufacturing. In the digitalization of the economy, metrology plays a fundamental role not only in the verification and approval but also in a constant access to data and measurement a...

Metrology includes precision, repeatability, and accuracy, which refers to how accurate the measured value is. It establishes a well‐known understanding of the measuring process and the related units that are critical in connecting various human activities and ensures that these measurements are linked to reference standards, which are commonly ref...

This paper discusses embedding conditions of fiber-optic sensors in powder-based materials using two different techniques, i.e., cold compaction followed by furnace sintering and spark plasma sintering. The purpose is to build haptic sensorial materials for robotics applications. The results have shown promising possibilities for the sensors to be...

Interactivities between devices using network technologies form Internet of Things (IoT) is of interest to Manufacturing. IoT is the advanced technology that is useful for condition-based monitoring of systems, more known as Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS). These all are inscribed under e-maintenance and more recently under I4.0 Maintena...

The paper presents an investigation and analysis of the electromechanical and thermal characteristics of the carbon fiber alone as single tow and embedded in host materials such as polymer e.g., acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) using 3D printing. While carbon fibers can partially reinforce the structure, they can act as sensors to monitor the...

Bringing real life to objects to serve various aspects of our life can fundamentally improve the quality of our life. This is allowed through new nervous materials hosting sensors and actuators. The material can, therefore, sense and react to sensing according to specifications. In an on-going research, this paper discusses the conditions of embedd...

This paper aims to experimentally determine the pre-rolling resistance coefficient based on a theoretical model for various contact material interfaces e.g. Al2O3 and silica balls on aluminum nanometer coated and non-coated single crystal Si wafers. The pre-rolling is the initial transient phase before complete rolling. This is of great interest to...

Nanomanipulation techniques are extensively in use not only to reveal more characteristics of nano, micro and mesoscopic phenomena but also to build functional nano-devices that can bridge components between two or more scales to diversify the functions. In this paper, a novel integrated and numerically controlled instrument for nanomanipulation, i...

Currently, the study of rolling friction is one of the main directions in the study of the laws of contact interaction of solids. The complexity of solving the problems existing in this area is evidenced by the practically vast number of publications, the list of which is constantly growing. In this paper, attention is paid to studies of the moment...

The paper discusses the opportunities and challenges in a decentralized global manufacturing network infrastructure for international load sharing (ILS) envisaged for customized manufacturing. This is proposed to leverage Industry 4.0 factories to improve manufacturing throughput for worldwide orders. Smart manufactures are identified within IIoT w...

The pre-rolling coefficient of friction is determined using a method based on theoretical model for various contact material interfaces. In this experiment, a designed two-ball based pendulum oscillating on flat material is used in a pure rolling without any mechanical or physical effect on the rolling and on pre-rolling in particular. The induced...

Nervous and sensorial materials are gaining more attention with in-material host of both sensors and actuators together to build functional materials for robotics and structural health monitoring. This paper presents a case study of a cantilever beam made with different materials including metals, polymers and powder-based materials using variety o...

Introducing Nanotechnology course with extensive lab experiments to engineering students becomes essential during their undergraduate studies. It is believed that Nanotechnology should be defined in a specific track within the undergraduate engineering curriculum. The current practice shows several universities adopting this course but with differe...

Purpose Novel nanomaterials and nano-devices require further functional aspects that can be designed and supported using new nanomanipulation techniques allowing specific functions at the design phase. The nano-manipulator becomes a key instrument for technology bridging sub-nano to mesoscale. The integration of various operations in nano-devices...

Novel nanomaterials and nano-devices require further functional aspects that can be designed and supported using new nanomanipulation techniques allowing specific functions at the design phase. The nano-manipulator becomes a key instrument for technology bridging sub-nano to mesoscale. The integration of various operations in nano-devices requires...

The purpose of this work is to investigate various ways of energizing micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)-based sensors and actuators operating at low power, which can be embedded in various types of host materials without adding any extra devices as a power source. These host materials can be either soft materials or membranes, such as nylons o...

This paper contributes to the design of a new table top size tri-actuated spatial parallel manipulator. The manipulator configuration is considered for its ability to provide a maximum achievable workspace freedom. A minimum of three legs with all the spherical joints is selected to make three SPS (Spherical-prismatic-spherical) kinematic chain con...

High sensitivity of Gravity Inertial Sensors (GIS) can be achieved with low natural frequency Ω of the proof mass (PM) that must have low level noises in the read-out system and a minimized torsion stiffness. In this article, a differential electrostatic system (DES) is proposed where both previous two conditions are met. We also consider the effec...

A systematic real-time methodology is adopted for leak detection in underground buried pipes. The wireless communication system is used to analyze the system performance based on the received power by monopole antenna deployed at the receiving side. Instrumentation designed for underground measurement and control such as leak and materials loss det...

The paper investigates the ultrasonic consolidation process of fiber optics inside metals. It allows surface embedding of fiber Bragg grating to protect them from exposure to open environment. This particular process requests small amount of heat created at the contact interface to embed the fibers. FEM modeling and simulation of the process has be...

The challenges of designing simple, reliable, and high sensitivity graviinertial sensors are investigated. The sensor comprises a proof mass (PM) and is fixed with the housing by the elastic torsion suspension. PM makes small rotations under the action of gravitational forces or inertial forces. The distinctive features of the sensor are that the...

A new in-process atomic-force microscopy (AFM) based inspection is presented for nanolithography to compensate for any deviation such as instantaneous degradation of the lithography probe tip. Traditional method used the AFM probes for lithography work and retract to inspect the obtained feature but this practice degrades the probe tip shape and he...

Ultrasonic consolidation of fiber optics in metals is of major importance allowing surface embedding and protecting the fibers from exposure to open environment. The paper investigates the computational modeling of this process of embedding fibers at the aluminum subsurface. This new method provides an opportunity to develop sensory materials [1] a...

Experimental tests have been conducted to investigate the ultrasonic consolidation process of fiber optics inside Aluminum. It allows surface embedding of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) to protect them from exposure to open environment. This particular process requests small amount of heat created at the contact interface to embed the fibers. Extensive...

Ambient energy harvesting has been an attractive area of research due to its prospective applications in several modern low-power systems. The paper reports on the feasibility assessment of energy harvesting from ambient radio frequency signals radiated by different communication sources. The rectenna efficiency and leakage current of a storage cap...

The design of a gravi-inertial sensor with an elastically suspended sensing mass exhibiting a maximum sensitivity and minimum noise level is being studied. It is conceived that such a sensor contains a torsion mass-spring system, a capacitive pick-off circuit to detect motions of the sensing mass, and a capacitive system to reduce torsion stiffness...

Background: Nanomanipulation techniques have gone through several phases to be used in scientific explorations not only to reveal more characteristics of nano, micro and mesoscopic phenomena but also to build functional nano-devices useful for specific applications. The nano-manipulator becomes a key instrument for technology bridging between sub-...

Embedding of fibers in materials has attracted serious attention from researchers and has become a new research trend. Such material structures are usually termed "smart" or more recently "nervous". Materials can have the capability of sensing and responding to the surrounding environmental stimulus, in the former, and the capability of feeling mul...

The paper discusses recent attempts to support the development of nervous materials based on structural health monitoring, augmented with corrective actions using actuators against any external effect or impending failure within the structure. This configuration features embedded sensors inside materials of structural importance e.g. metal and comp...

The present paper discusses the design of a new numerically controlled nanomanipulator operating in a dynamic platform dedicated to various operations with an embedded AFM having an in-process inspection of nanomanifacturing e.g. scratching. Nanomanipulation techniques have gone through several phases to be used in scientific explorations not only...

Single or array FBGs in fiber optics are embedded inside materials through various processes where sometimes integrity of the fibers may not be guaranteed. This paper reports on investigations of various aspects securing integrity of the measurements received from these sensors under various conditions of strains, temperature and geometry of sensor...

This paper has explored and analyzed new routes to design new concepts of materials capable of feeling external effects and feed information back to a monitor and/or react through embedded actuators to resist any deformation. The material with its new artificial sensing property can be easily scaled-up to govern a whole structure at macro scale. Th...

The paper discusses recent attempts to support the development of nervous materials based on structural health monitoring, augmented with corrective actions using actuators against any external effect or impending failure within the structure. This configuration features embedded sensors inside materials of structural importance e.g. metal and comp...

Single or array FBGs in fiber optics are embedded inside materials through various processes where sometimes integrity of the fibers may not be guaranteed. This paper reports on investigations of various aspects securing integrity of the measurements received from these sensors under various conditions of strains, temperature and geometry of sensor...

This paper has explored and analyzed new routes to design new concepts of materials capable of feeling external effects and feed information back to a monitor and/or react through embedded actuators to resist any deformation. The material with its new artificial sensing property can be easily scaled-up to govern a whole structure at macro scale. Th...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss an example of modelling with experiments of robot prototype with dependent joint concept, including a full description of related functionalities. Reduction in active degrees of freedom in a machine can lead to improved accuracy, improved reliability and lower cost. The reconfiguration of machines a...

Further to prior development in enhancing structural health using smart materials, an innovative class of materials characterized by the ability to feel senses like humans, i.e. ‘nervous materials’, is discussed. Designed at all scales, these materials will enhance personnel and public safety, and secure greater reliability of products. Materials m...

Wireless sensor networks can provide effective means for monitoring and controlling a wide range of applications. Recently, tremendous effort was directed towards devising sensors powered from ambient sources such as heat, wind, and vibration. Wireless energy transfer is another source that has attractive features that make it a promising candidate...

The theoretical dynamics modeling and design of an electrostatic sensor measuring noncontact harmonic forces and torques, both inertial and gravitation are described. The sensor combines both the electrostatic sensor and electrostatic actuator. The linear differential and algebraic equations were derived in part 1 and the sensor’s behaviors at harm...

The dual resonator chamber with variable volume includes first and second housings. The second housing is slidably mounted within the first housing such that a second inner neck portion of the second housing is slidably mounted about the first inner neck portion of the first housing and forms a fluid-tight seal therewith. A sliding wall is slidably...

The through metal communication system sends messages by tapping on metal barriers, such as pipelines, bulkheads, and the like. A robotic element attaches itself to a metal barrier, wall, pipe, and the like. A piezoelectric tapping device is attached to the robotic element and can tap an encoded message onto the metal. The robot preferably includes...

Structural and industrial environments use hundreds to thousands of bolts to hold parts together. For most mechanical systems, the bolts are critical components because they are subject to axial tension triggering various failures; for example, compromised screw threadsand/or vibration caused untightening. Severe damages can result injury of person...

This paper reports on the impact of Value Analysis Value Engineering (VAVE) applied to an industrial product where manufacturability and choice of manufacturing methods can be of great benefit in reducing cost and sometimes manufacturing time in a mass production line. The purpose of this requested task is to reduce the cost of a specific product u...

The effect of geometry shape of the Helmholtz resonator on its resonant frequency and noise attenuation capability is discussed in this paper. The theory of resonant frequency depending on the shape of the vessel of the resonator is verified analytical and numerically using COMSOL for one degree of freedom resonators. The simulation was validated e...

The structural material with embedded sensors provides of diagnostics and measurement of static and/or dynamic strains in structures and structural elements formed from the structural material. The structural material includes an array of fiber Bragg grating sensors or the like embedded therein for strain measurement and monitoring. An array of lin...

The emerging miniaturized 'high-tech' products are required to have increased functionalities of systems within a volumetric size on the order of 1 cm3. Hence, the parts are mesoscopic with complex microscopic features of a few mm length with machining accuracy of better than 1 micrometer with secured surface integrity as components will require hi...

This paper presents the theoretical dynamics modeling and design of an electrostatic differential-capacitance sensor measuring noncontact harmonic forces and torques. The sensor combines both electrostatic sensor and actuator. The dynamic nonlinear differential equations of the sensor system, stability, its linearization, and behavior at resonance...

Dynamics of small free swings of a pendulum supported by two spherical balls pre-rolling on a flat basis are considered to investigate the occurrence of micro-slippage at the contact interface between the balls and the flat surface. The basic mechanisms of this micro-slippage are investigated, showing how geometric conditions could initiate and mag...

The bolt tension monitoring system provides remote monitoring of the tension of a bolt, thus allowing for remote monitoring of general structural health and integrity of the fastener. The bolt tension monitoring system includes a housing adapted for being retained on a head of a bolt to be monitored. The system further includes a force transducer p...

Motivated by recent applications of wireless sensor networks in monitoring infrastructure networks, we address the problem of optimal coverage of infrastructure networks using sensors whose sensing performance decays with distance. We show that this problem can be formulated as a continuous p-median problem on networks. The literature has addressed...

The smart lid for smart bolts and probes is an electronic sensor for use with a smart bolt or probe having a color indicator for indicating tension. The smart lid includes a color sensor that provides electrical data corresponding to light received from the color indicator of the smart bolt or probe, a microcontroller that receives electrical data...

Leak detection system. The system locates leaks in pipelines that includes RFID tags deployed at known locations along the pipeline. A pair of bodies tethered to one another a fixed distance apart travels along the pipeline.

This paper introduces the design, manufacturing and tests of a new CNC desktop milling machine dedicated to micro and meso-scale components. The paper discusses two types of micro-machine structure i.e. egg shape bridge and cantilever egg shape column. Both structures have been designed using an enhanced deterministic design method combining FEM an...

Numerical controlled high speed micromachining on desktop machines is known to induce inherently new types of errors and machining issues at micro scale. The sources of these errors are either not known, or difficult to be modeled. Some of these errors are due to the downscaling effect of machine elements to a small micro-machine. This paper attemp...

Theoretical and experimental investigations of pre-rolling resistance of a ball on a flat surface were carried out. The cycling displacements of the ball were considered within a range much smaller than the radius of a contact patch. The method of free oscillations of a pendulum supported with two balls on a substrate is proposed for experimental i...

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) provide an effective approach for underground pipeline inspection. Such WSNs comprise of sensor nodes (SNs) and relay nodes (RNs) for information sensing and communication. WSNs can perform accurate and realtime inspection, especially in adverse environments. However, transmitting information between underground and...

The system and method for measuring rolling resistance provide for the measurement of various properties associated with pre-rolling resistance. A cruciform pendulum is formed from a rigid rod having opposed upper and lower ends and a horizontal support extending orthogonal thereto. A pair of substantially hemispherical samples formed from a first...

The system and method for measuring rolling resistance provide for the measurement of various properties associated with pre-rolling resistance. A cruciform pendulum is formed from a rigid rod having opposed upper and lower ends and a horizontal support extending orthogonal thereto. A pair of substantially hemispherical samples formed from a first...

The paper explains the utility of pod-like parallel structures in locomotion of bioinspired robots and motion platforms. Parallel robots are characterized by few performance measures which include workspace size, dexterity, orientation space limits and existence of singular regions. Conventionally, the parallel robots are six-legged, hexapods, but...

The through metal communication system sends messages by tapping on metal barriers, such as pipelines, bulkheads, and the like. A robotic element attaches itself to a metal barrier, wall, pipe, and the like. A piezoelectric tapping device is attached to the robotic element and can tap an encoded message onto the metal. The robot preferably includes...

A thorough design methodology of one and two degrees of freedom Helmholtz resonators leading to optimised transmission loss is described and validated in this paper. Numerical simulations of acoustic wave propagation in pipelines fitted with designed resonators have shown great agreement with analytical modelling and experimental tests. The Helmhol...

The kinematic platform is a spherical-prismatic-spherical kinematic platform providing six degrees of freedom with controlled braking at each joint. The kinematic platform includes a base and an upper platform plate, with the upper platform plate having opposed upper and lower surfaces. The upper surface thereof provides a mounting surface for an e...

In this paper the effect of geometry shape of the Helmholtz resonator on its resonant frequency and on its noise attenuation capability is discussed. The theory of resonant frequency depending on the shape of the vessel of the resonator is verified analytical and numerically using COMSOL for one and two degrees of freedom. The simulation was valida...

Helmholtz resonators are known to be efficient resonators for ducts if they are properly designed. A design procedure is suggested in this paper to identify the size of the resonators in one and two degrees of freedom. The procedure is supported by a through numerical simulation of acoustic wave propagation that is presented and is verified using p...

The contemporary routing algorithms were built and tested under the assumption of uniformly distributed sensor nodes. However, this assumption is not always true. In some industrial applications and due to the scope of the ongoing monitoring process, sensors are installed and condensed in some area, while they are sparse in other areas. In this wor...

This paper presents the outcomes of experiments performed to acquire data and to evaluate various parameters to: (1) assess the feasibility of harvesting the energy from the ambient RF power to energize wireless sensor nodes, and, (2) characterize commercially available PowerCastTM energy harvester. The parameters of interest are: (1) Ambient RF po...

The present paper introduces a new configuration of a smart bolt capable of sensing the variation of its axial tension. The information is processed in a built-in board and a wireless alarm is sent to a receiver to inform about the health of the bolts at any time. Both way communications is allowed within a designed network of bolts in a plant. For...

The present paper reviews recent patents disclosing various ways to monitor the variation of the bolt tension in order to timely readjust the torque to initial specifications. The recent advances related to bolted joints have seen tremendous developments to ease inspection of the fastening tension in both visual and remote inspections. Precision of...

Compressors are at the heart of most petrochemical and industrial power plants. They are usually the source of noise generation transmitted to pipelines. This noise is undesirable for people living close to installation and can also potentially cause structural failures in the piping. Particular attention is given to the modified solution using the...