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Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling Of Atmospheric Flow Applied To Wind Energy Research, Alan Russell

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

High resolution atmospheric flow modeling using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has many applications in the wind energy industry. A well designed model can accurately calculate wind speed, direction, and turbulence at any point in a wind farm using data from a fixed location source. The model can extend point source data over an area of several square kilometers, or map terrain influenced microclimates using remote wind data. A local flow model is critical for wind resource site assessment, and for optimizing wind farm turbine layout for maximum power production. A CFD simulation of an operating wind farm, coupled with a …

Nightcool: Nocturnal Radiation Cooling Concept, Long Term Performance Evaluation, Florida Solar Energy Center, John Sherwin

FSEC Energy Research Center®

An experimental evaluation has been conducted on a building-integrated night sky cooling system designed to substantially reduce space cooling needs in homes in North American climates. The system uses a sealed attic covered by a highly conductive metal roof (a roof integrated radiator) which is selectively linked by air flow to the main zone with the attic zone to provide cooling - largely during nighttime hours. Available house mass is used to store sensible cooling. The system's capability for solar dehumidification with minimal electricity input is demonstrated with long-term performance data taken over 2007 - 2009. A year-long study period …

Laboratory Generation And Physics Of Propagation Of Solitary Waves And Water Surface Depressions, Siamak Malek Mohammadi

All Dissertations

Solitary waves and water surface depressions are generated using a piston-type wavemaker. Different aspects of their propagation including profile evolution, establishment rate, stability, and celerity are examined experimentally.
Traditionally, solitary waves are generated in laboratory set-ups using a methodology developed by Goring (1979) that considers a wave of permanent form during the generation process. A New methodology for generation of solitary waves using piston-type wavemakers is proposed by considering the evolving nature of the wave during generation phase. The capability of the New methodology in generation of solitary waves is assessed by conducting a series of laboratory experiments in water …

Callaway Golf: Variable Curved Impulse Sealer, Justin Cook, Ben Jones, Sean Reynolds

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Boundary Layer Data System (Blds) Heating System, John Hauge, Drew Hutcheson, Paul Scott

Mechanical Engineering

The boundary layer data system (BLDS) is the result of a collaborative effort between Dr. Westphal, a researcher and instructor at Cal Poly, and Northrop Grumman. The BLDS is capable of measuring the boundary layer profile and characteristics of flow over aerodynamic surfaces and is intended for high altitude, high speed use. The instruments inside the BLDS malfunction at the low temperatures present when operating in flight at altitudes above 30,000 ft. To solve this problem, analysis was done on the existing BLDS which determined the heating requirements, around 50 watts, needed to keep the internal temperature within the rated …

Module Cover Conductivity Enhancement, Niles Dhanens, James Fortner

Mechanical Engineering

A clam shell module cover for printed circuit boards (PCB) has been designed for use in Boeing’s AECM cabinet. The cover utilizes materials with high thermal conductivity and cools the PCB by conducting the heat to a cold plate interface. Materials were compared and aluminum 6061-T6, aluminum 3003, and annealed pyrolytic graphite (APG) were chosen. A prototype was built and tested using aluminum 6061-T6 which was able to dissipate 57.7% of the projected wattage. Issues may include unforeseen complications in assembly along with components performing at lower levels than specified by manufacturers. The APG prototype was unable to be tested …

Two-Material Cylinder Stress Response Software, Katherine Gage, Matt Highstreet, Liz Del Cid

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Pump Sequencing Optimization, John S. Allan, Kyle J. Nekimken, Spencer B. Weills

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this document is to demonstrate the design, production, and testing of optimum pump sequencing logic for variable frequency drive (VFD) pumps in commercial heating ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The product will be developed by Pump Efficiency Solutions (PES), which is a group of Cal Poly students working on their senior project. The product is being developed for Trane, an industry leader in large scale HVAC systems. MATLAB™, Microsoft Excel, Pump System Improvement Modeling Tool™ (PSIM), and fluid mechanics hand calculations were used during software development. Next, we converted the program into Trane’s graphical programming language …

Best-In-Class Global Bumper Reinforcement Beam, Garret Anthony Bautista, Chad Anthony Hardin, Benjamin Ray Taylor

Mechanical Engineering

Modern bumper systems are governed by laws and regulations imposed separately by various countries. Today, the regulations in China, North America, and Europe are becoming more similar, but there is not a widely accepted bumper reinforcement that meets the requirements of all markets around the globe.

A universal bumper reinforcement beam incorporating Plug-n-Play techniques was developed to meet and exceed all testing requirements and performance standards of each country. These Plug-n-Play techniques consist of adding energy absorbing attachments to the front of a base bumper beam. Simple beam analysis and FEA were the primary analysis tools in the development of …

Chip Removal Tool Project, Brett Mori, John Cote, Kyle Rowland, Micah Wells

Mechanical Engineering

The Cal Poly senior project team worked with Helical Products Inc. to develop an automated method for removing swarf and chip buildup from the drill bits of their CNC milling machines. The removal methods in this report were designed for and tested using a Fanuc Robodrill while keeping the potential in mind for their use in other CNC milling machines. After extensive background research, preliminary and prototype design and testing the final chosen design is shown below. The cleaning device is made from flexible sheet metal and placed on a fixture that occupies one of the two pallet locations inside …

Indirect Pipe Pressure Measurement, Clayde Barkley, Mikel Betts, Anthony Olay

Mechanical Engineering

Statement of Confidentiality The complete senior project report was submitted to the project advisor and sponsor. The results of this project are of a confidential nature and will not be published at this time.

Air Cooling For Aecm Module, Final Project Report, Kevin Whipp, Abraham Bruno Caulk

Mechanical Engineering

Advancements in electronics have created the need for improved cooling standards. The AECM standard, created to replace the antiquated ARINC 600 specification for aircraft, draws inspiration from a cooling specification known as VITA 48.2. The ARINC standard is in early stages of development and this project researches the feasibility of using air as a convective fluid instead of a liquid, the fluid used in the VITA specification.

A performance factor calculated from the ratio of the heat dissipated by convective heat exchanger plates over the power used to cause forced convective flow over said plates helps to quantify the effectiveness …

Supermileage Team - Urban Concept Competition Vehicle Chassis Design Report, Andrew Allport, Kevin Braico, Kevin Charles, George Kyi, William Lai

Mechanical Engineering

This research and design project was proposed by the Cal Poly Supermileage team. They have requested for our team to design an Urban Concept car, a new category of vehicles to compete for fuel efficiency in the Shell Eco-marathon in 2010. The primary focus of our team is in the design and construction of a chassis the Supermileage team can use for the 2010 competition in Fontana, CA. This design must meet dimensional and functional requirements set by Shell while being designed to maximize efficiency in the competition.

There were various chassis concepts under consideration that would possibly work for …

Formula Sae Interchangeable Independent Rear Suspension Design, Mike Mccune, Daniel Nunes, Mike Patton, Courtney Richardson, Evan Sparer

Mechanical Engineering

The Suspension Solutions design team has completely designed built and tested an independent rear suspension system for the 2008 FSAE car. The car currently features a solid rear axle, and the task of converting it to incorporate an interchangeable rear suspension has been undertaken in order to quantify the advantages and disadvantages of each design philosophy. The car has been properly tested with both the solid axle and independent rear suspension side-by-side, however more testing is suggested. After pushing both setups to their limits on a 50ft diameter skid pad, the test results were quantified, and a final comparison between …

Broccoli Floret Cutter: Gold Coast Packaging, Inc., Sean Stamm, Walter Salguero, Felipe Gomez Jr, Ruben Duenas

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

A Fast Nir Spectrometer For Examining Explosive Events: Emission Of Petn Based Explosives And H2O Absorption Method Feasibility, Scott Piecuch

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The chemical dynamics and decomposition pathways of explosive materials are not entirely known. Measurements of chemical transients during explosive events can lead to enhanced knowledge of the detailed chemistry and eventually control of the end products; however, these measurements are often difficult to obtain due to fast time scales and harsh environments. Optical diagnostics present fast-response, minimally invasive methods for resolving properties in detonation environments and previous fast spectroscopic measurements have been recorded in the ultra-violet and visible regions. This work extends the range of such measurements to the near-infrared (NIR) through the development of a fiber-coupled NIR spectrometer utilizing …

Hydraulic Hand Press Final Project Report, Nathaniel Marc Brown, Matthew Thomas Knorr

Mechanical Engineering

This report provides a thorough description of the design of a hydraulic hand-operated press by mechanical engineering students at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, for the Estrella Warbirds Museum in Paso Robles, California. It begins with research into hydraulic operations, a brief study of fluid power and incompressible fluids, and a look into existing products. Specified customer requirements stipulate the loading and general size constraints. As part of the project, a schedule is laid out following industry techniques. Brainstorming and decision matrices are utilized as well, conveying our design process. A basic structure is developed using strength …

Me-Em Enewsbrief, December 2009, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Thermocapillary Effects In Driven Dewetting And Self-Assembly Of Pulsed Laser-Irradiated Metallic Films, Mikhail Khenner

Mathematics Faculty Publications

A mathematical model for the evolution of pulsed laser-irradiated, molten metallic films has been developed using the lubrication theory. The heat transfer problem that incorporates the absorbed heat from a single laser beam or the interfering laser beams is solved analytically. Using this temperature field, we derive the 3D long-wave evolution PDE for the film height. To get insights into dynamics of dewetting, we study the 2D version of the evolution equation by means of a linear stability analysis and by numerical simulations. The stabilizing and destabilizing effects of various system parameters, such as the reflectivity, the peak laser beam …

Thermocapillary Effects In Driven Dewetting And Self-Assembly Of Pulsed Laser-Irradiated Metallic Films, Mikhail Khenner

Mathematics Faculty Publications

A mathematical model for the evolution of pulsed laser-irradiated, molten metallic films has been developed using the lubrication theory. The heat transfer problem that incorporates the absorbed heat from a single laser beam or the interfering laser beams is solved analytically. Using this temperature field, we derive the 3D long-wave evolution PDE for the film height. To get insights into dynamics of dewetting, we study the 2D version of the evolution equation by means of a linear stability analysis and by numerical simulations. The stabilizing and destabilizing effects of various system parameters, such as the reflectivity, the peak laser beam …

Simulation, Synthesis, And Characterization Of Hydrogels And Nanocomposite Gels., Kamleshkumar J. Suthar

Dissertations

Stimuli-responsive gels are three-dimensional, cross-linked polymeric materials that undergo large physical change in response to the environmental stimuli, like temperature, pH, electrical potential, and irradiation. Ferrogels are colloidaldispersion of magnetic nanoparticles in the hydrogel network. The magnetic nanoparticles are attached to the polymeric network by different adhesive forces; as a result, it becomes sensitive to the applied magnetic field.

The main objective of this research is the simulation, synthesis, and characterization of the hydrogel and ferrogel. Simulation of the hydrogel response was performed for various environmental stimuli using a multiphysics finite element analysis software, COMSOL. The pH and electrical response …

The Cryogenic Bonding Evaluation At The Metallic-Composite Interface Of A Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel With Additional Impact Investigation, Eric A. Clark

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A bonding evaluation that investigated the cryogenic tensile strength of several different adhesives / resins was performed. The test materials consisted of 6061 aluminum test pieces adhered to a wet-wound graphite laminate in order to simulate the bond created at the liner-composite interface of an aluminum lined composite overwrapped pressure vessel. It was found that for cryogenic applications, a flexible, low modulus resin system must be used. Additionally, the samples prepared with a thin layer of cured resin – or prebond – performed significantly better than those without. It was found that it is critical that the prebond surface must …

Parallelization Of Performance Limiting Routines In The Computational Fluid Dynamics General Notation System Library, Kyle Horne

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Computational Fluid Dynamics General Notation System provides a unified way in which computational fluid dynamics data can be stored, but does not support the parallel I/O capabilities now available from version five of the Hierarchical Data Format library which serves as a back end for he standard. To resolve this deficiency, a new parallel extension library has been written and benchmarked for this work which can write files compliant with the standard using parallel file access modes. When using this new library, the write performance shows an increase of four-fold in some cases when compared to the same hardware …

Final Report: Space Coast Clean Cities Coalition Programmatic Support, Florida Solar Energy Center, William Young

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This Final Report summarizes the work performed by the Florida Solar Energy Center for U.S. Department of Energy for the National Clean Cities Program to reduce emissions and energy consumption of transportation vehicles. This report describes the activities and events of Florida Space Coast Clean Cities Coalition encompassing a nine county area in east central Florida. FSEC administers the Coalition and support the Coalition Board of Directors with meetings, workshop, reports, mailing list, membership, activities, questionnaires, fuel pricing, alternative vehicle and infrastructure deployment.

Vision-Based Precision Landings Of A Tailsitter Uav, Paul Travis Millet

Theses and Dissertations

We present a method of performing precision landings of a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned air vehicle (UAV) with the use of an onboard vision sensor and information about the aircraft's orientation and altitude above ground level (AGL). A method for calculating the 3-dimensional location of the UAV relative to a ground target of interest is presented as well as a navigational controller to position the UAV above the target. A method is also presented to prevent the UAV from moving in a way that will cause the ground target of interest to go out of view of the …

Device And Methods For Atomizing Fluids, Vedanth Srinivasan, Abraham J. Salazar, Kozo Saito, Richard Alloo, Sakakibara Masahito

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Patents

One embodiment of the invention is directed to an apparatus for atomizing a fluid. This apparatus includes an atomizing nozzle assembly. The atomizing nozzle assembly includes: a spray applicator enclosure having a fluid entry zone, a flow shape profiler region, a transducer, and a cavitation enhancer module, wherein the cavitation enhancer module includes a residence modulation zone and the residence modulation zone includes a backward facing step region. The apparatus is configured such that fluid can enter the fluid entry zone to the nozzle profiler, the transducer and the cavitation enhancer module. Other embodiments relate to methods for atomizing fluids.

Imprinting Polymerfilm On Patterned Substrate, Li Tan, Yen-Peng Kong, Stella W. Pang, Albert F. Yee

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

A method of applying a pattern on a topography includes first applying a polymer film to an elastormer member, such as PDMS, to form a pad. The pad is then applied to a substrate having a varying topography under pressure. The polymer film is transferred to the substrate due to the plastic deformation of the polymer film under pressure compared to the elastic deformation of the PDMS member pulls away from the polymer layer, thereby depositing the polymer layer, thereby depositing the polymer layer upon the substrate.

Developing G-Rim And Participants Tests For Specific Commercial Programs For The Florida Natural Gas Association, Florida Solar Energy Center, Richard Raustad

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The Florida Solar Energy Center performed an economic assessment for 7 common commercial appliances. This assessment calculates the gas rate impact measure and participants test score for selecting natural gas equipment over comparable electric equipment over a 20-year period. This type of analysis provides an indication whether or not the specific appliance program favors the end use customer and/or the utility company as economic beneficiaries. Given the project assumptions, all natural gas equipment types, with the exception of the pool heat pump water heater, show measures greater than 1 indicating that the natural gas appliance will have lower life-cycle costs …

Intermittent Behaviour Of A Cracked Rotor In The Resonance Region, Grzegorz Litak, Jerzy T. Sawicki

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Vibrations of the Jeffcott rotor are modelled by a three degree of freedom system including coupling between lateral and torsional modes. The crack in a rotating shaft of the rotor is introduced via time dependent stiffness with off-diagonal couplings. Applying the external torque to the system allows to observe the effect of crack “breathing” and gain insight into the system. It is manifested in the complex dynamic behaviour of the rotor in the region of internal resonance, showing a quasi-periodic motion or even non-periodic behaviour. In the present paper report, we show the system response to the external torque excitation …

Enhanced Vehicle Identification Utilizing Sensor Fusion And Statistical Algorithms, Stephane Roussel, Hemanth Porumamilla, Charles Birdsong, Peter Schuster, Christopher Clark

Mechanical Engineering

Several studies in the area of vehicle detection and identification involve the use of probabilistic analysis and sensor fusion. While several sensors utilized for identifying vehicle presence and proximity have been researched, their effectiveness in identifying vehicle types has remained inadequate. This study presents the utilization of an ultrasonic sensor coupled with a magnetic sensor and the development of statistical algorithms to overcome this limitation. Mathematical models of both the ultrasonic and magnetic sensors were constructed to first understand the intrinsic characteristics of the individual sensors and also to provide a means of simulating the performance of the combined sensor …