Mechanical Engineering Faculty: Thomas Grimm

Thomas R. Grimm
Personal Web Page
E-mail: trgrimm@mtu.edu

Office: 905 MEEM
Phone: 487-2574

Associate Professor; PhD, Michigan Technological University

Mechanical Engineering Design, Computer-Aided Design, Biomechanics

Research Interests

Development of new design tools to enable engineers to more efficiently and effectively create designs that meet functional requirements while addressing the manufacturing and assembly requirements. Use of rapid prototyping techniques to evaluate designs with the goal of providing rapid structural modeling capabilities. Application of the finite element method and other numerical techniques to the solution of problems in biomechanics and sports mechanics with emphasis on design of prosthetic implants and equipment to help prevent injuries from contact sports.

Investigation of fatigue failures in high strength threaded fasteners subjected to varying levels of preload and fluctuating external loads. The objective of this work is to help establish a well defined design methodology for bolted joint design. Additional work is being conducted in the design of special test equipment for fatigue and wear studies related to both tracked and wheeled ground vehicles.

Publications

Grimm, T. R., Kernosky, S. K., and Weinmann, K. J. , “Design and Modeling of a Transducer for a Sheet Metal Forming Control System,” Proceedings of the Irish Manufacturing Committee, Competitive Manufacturing, Dublin, Ireland, pp. 757-64, 1995.

Grimm, T. R., Beard, J. E., and Minor, M. A., “Finite Element Analysis of a Powered Gait Orthosis,” Proceedings of the ASME Advances in Bioengineering, ASME Publication, Book No. H010041995.