Computer-Aided Engineering and Design Commons^™

Formula Sae Turbocharger Engine Development, Eric Griess, Kevin Mccutcheon, Matthew Roberts, William Chan

Mechanical Engineering

This project, Formula SAE Turbocharger System Development, was sponsored by the Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo Formula SAE team. The team proposed this project in order to have a powerful yet lightweight engine so they can be extremely competitive at their competition. The baseline output of the single cylinder 450cc engine (2006 Yamaha WR450F) was 46 horsepower and 27 ft-lb of torque. The goal of this project was to increase the output of that engine to 60 horsepower and 35 ft-lb through the use of a turbocharger.

Kase, The Laptop Cooling Case, Jana Morrison, Tyler Ries

Biomedical Eng/General Eng.

This report describes the final design and analysis of a laptop cooling case as a marketable product for a group of entrepreneurial marketing student based out of California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. Background market research and empirical measurements were taken in order to confirm that this would be a marketable product worth designing. Then previous solutions were researched in order to identity weaknesses and strengths. After rigorous research, it was determined that a passive cooling system, in which channels directed airflow to the computer fan would be the best system in terms of functionality, performance, and cost. A ...

Predicting Vehicle Dynamics For Roadside Safety Using Multibody Systems Simulations, Brett D. Schlueter

Mechanical (and Materials) Engineering -- Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Accurate means for predicting vehicle dynamics is required in the design and testing of roadside safety hardware. Past research has used finite element (FE) modeling to this end, but multibody systems (MBS) modeling may provide a more efficient way to solve these problems. MBS modeling using Adams/Car was investigated by first compiling an introduction to the program, then performing basic vehicle dynamics simulations using a supplied model. Next, a model of a 2270 kg pickup was created and validated against physical test data involving impact with a speed bump. Finally, pickup trajectories in 4H:1V and 6H:1V V-ditches ...

Development Of A Novel Handheld Device For Active Compensation Of Physiological Tremor, Abhijit Saxena

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In microsurgery, the human hand imposes certain limitations in accurately positioning the tip of a device such as scalpel. Any errors in the motion of the hand make microsurgical procedures difficult and involuntary motions such as hand tremors can make some procedures significantly difficult to perform. This is particularly true in the case of vitreoretinal microsurgery. The most familiar source of involuntary motion is physiological tremor. Real-time compensation of tremor is, therefore, necessary to assist surgeons to precisely position and manipulate the tool-tip to accurately perform a microsurgery. In this thesis, a novel handheld device (AID) is described for compensation ...

Retrofitting Suburban Homes For Resiliency: A Prototype Decision Support System, Glen Prevost

Open Access Dissertations and Theses

North American suburbs are facing decline and obsolescence. They cannot meet the needs of North America’s ageing society, future climate change, or higher energy prices. Compounded with their negative environmental impact, non-resilient is an appropriate label for North American suburbs.

Resilient suburban communities can be realized through retrofitting to meet current and future needs. Community scale retrofitting is in the early stages of development. House-level retrofitting tools exist but must be synthesized into a useable form for homeowners.

Homeowners arguably have the largest stake in the future of the suburbs for both financial and social reasons. Empowering them with ...

Biaxial & Twist Testing Of Composite Carbon-Fiber Sandwich Panels For Automotive Racing Vehicles, Erik Eckberg

Materials Engineering

Composite sandwich panels were constructed with 4-ply plain weave carbon-fiber/epoxy face sheets in the 0^o/45^o/0^o/45^o orientation and 1/8^th inch Nomex honeycomb core. The panels were cut into 5-inch square test plates for mechanical testing. All testing was done on a fixture designed and fabricated by Pratt & Miller Engineering and installed on an Instron testing system at Cal Poly. The twist test was performed by supporting diagonal corners of the plate while simultaneously loading the opposite two corners at a crosshead rate of .06 in/min (ASTM 3044-94R11). Out of 10 panels tested, six were tested longitudinally, with the L direction of the honeycomb parallel to the front of the test plate, and four were tested in the transverse orientation, with the L direction of the honeycomb perpendicular to the front of the plate. The average compliance for the longitudinal loading was 1.303 mil/lb, and the transverse loading was 1.394 mil/lb. The panels failed with a combination core shear failure and face-to-core debonding. The anisotropic nature of the honeycomb core supports the difference in the compliance of the panels; however the complex loading of the twist test results the difference being not statistically significant. The biaxial bending tests involved supporting the composite plate on each corner and loading it in the center. In 5 tested plates, the measured average compliance was .4363 mil ...

Numerical Simulation Of Catalytic Ozone Decomposition Reaction In A Gas-Solids Circulating Fluidized Bed Riser, Lei Kong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of catalytic ozone decomposition reaction in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) riser using iron impregnated FCC particles as catalyst is carried out. The catalytic reaction is defined as a one-step reaction with an empirical coefficient. Eularian-Eularian method with kinetic theory of granular flow is used to solve the gas-solids two-phase flow in the CFB riser. The simulation results are compared with experimental data, with the reaction rate modified using an empirical coefficient to provide better simulation results than the original reaction rate. Moreover, the particle size has great effects on the reaction rate. Studies on ...

Static Balancing Of The Cal Poly Wind Turbine Rotor, Derek Simon

Master's Theses and Project Reports

The balancing of a wind turbine rotor is a crucial step affecting the machine’s performance, reliability, and safety, as it directly impacts the dynamic loads on the entire structure.

A rotor can be balanced either statically or dynamically. A method of rotor balancing was developed that achieves both the simplicity of static balancing and the accuracy of dynamic balancing. This method is best suited, but not limited, to hollow composite blades of any size. The method starts by quantifying the mass and center of gravity of each blade. A dynamic calculation is performed to determine the theoretical shaking force ...

Design, Analysis And Testing Of Haptic Feedback System For Laparoscopic Graspers In In Vivo Surgical Robots, Nikhil Salvi

Mechanical (and Materials) Engineering -- Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Laparo-Endoscopic Single Site (LESS) Robotics Surgery is an advanced technology in the field of Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS). The LESS surgical robots significantly improve the surgeon’s accuracy, dexterity and visualization, and reduce the invasiveness of surgical procedure results in faster recovery time and improved cosmetic results. In a standard robotic endosurgery, the palpation of tissues is performed by laparoscopic graspers located at the end effectors. The master-slave configuration in robotic surgery leads in remote access to the operation site. Therefore, surgeon’s ability to perceive valuable sensory information is severely diminished. Sensory information such as haptics, which is essential ...

Supermileage Chassis Dynamometer, Jose Garcia, Steve Janning, Timothy Lui, Kyla Purvis

Mechanical Engineering

This report describes the final design and analysis of a hydraulic chassis dynamometer as a testing tool for California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Supermileage Vehicle Team (CPSMV). Literature review was conducted to understand the various types of chassis dynamometers on the market as of the year 2011. After rigorous research, it was determined that a hydraulic system was the best system for a chassis dynamometer in terms of functionality, performance, and cost. Critical study of hydraulics, dynamometers, and data acquisition systems (DAQ) was followed by a complete design of a hydraulic system. The chassis dynamometer proposed in this ...

Consistent Density Scanning And Information Extraction From Point Clouds Of Building Interiors, Kuldeep Kumar Sareen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Over the last decade, 3D range scanning systems have improved considerably enabling the designers to capture large and complex domains such as building interiors. The captured point cloud is processed to extract specific Building Information Models, where the main research challenge is to simultaneously handle huge and cohesive point clouds representing multiple objects, occluded features and vast geometric diversity. These domain characteristics increase the data complexities and thus make it difficult to extract accurate information models from the captured point clouds.

The research work presented in this thesis improves the information extraction pipeline with the development of novel algorithms for ...

Finite Element Modeling Of Ballistic Impact On A Glass Fiber Composite Armor, Dan M. Davis

Master's Theses and Project Reports

Finite Element Modeling of Ballistic Impact on a Glass Fiber Composite Armor

Dan Davis

Experiments measuring the ballistic performance of a commercially available fiberglass armor plate were used to guide the development of constitutive laws for a finite element model of the impact. The test samples are commercially available armor panels, made from E-glass fiber reinforced polyester rated to NIJ level III. Quasi-static tensile tests were used to establish material properties of the test panels. These properties were then used to create models in the explicit finite element code LSDYNA.

Ballistic impact testing of the panels was conducted using a ...