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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Cooled Liquid Rocket Thrust Chamber, Benjamin Gibson, Kealan Frederick Harris, Ryan Frank Schackel, Bjorn Thorsen Jun 2023

Cooled Liquid Rocket Thrust Chamber, Benjamin Gibson, Kealan Frederick Harris, Ryan Frank Schackel, Bjorn Thorsen

Mechanical Engineering

Cooling may affect the thrust output of a small-scale rocket. Little research is published about small-scale rocket performance. We hypothesize the thrust produced varies as the amount of cooling varies. To facilitate assessing this hypothesis, we have designed and built a liquid rocket engine rated for at approximately 25 lbf of thrust. Our objective was to build in parallel with Cal Poly Space Systems, who built a rocket engine with similar specifications except without cooling. Our challenge is to integrate film cooling, so that the effects of cooling may be compared to Cal Poly Space System’s engine which has …


3d Printed Aircraft, Matthew Nagy, Charles D'Amico, Alexis Salgado Medina Jun 2023

3d Printed Aircraft, Matthew Nagy, Charles D'Amico, Alexis Salgado Medina

Mechanical Engineering

This project is to design, build, and test a 3D-printable aircraft. The goal is to create a final design that will be able to fly for the longest duration possible, around 20 seconds. To determine the correct preliminary design and manufacturing process for a 3D printed RC aircraft, an analysis of multiple design options and manufacturing materials was performed. This allowed for a variety of choices for aircraft type, airfoil design, structure, among other topics to be narrowed down to the most promising option. It has been found that the aircraft will follow a design similar to industry motor-gliders, with …


Disc Golf Throwing Robot, Nevada S. Schultz, Sydney M. Lewis, Erick Edmundo Daza, Rachel Alysse Greenberg, Peter M. Kean Jun 2023

Disc Golf Throwing Robot, Nevada S. Schultz, Sydney M. Lewis, Erick Edmundo Daza, Rachel Alysse Greenberg, Peter M. Kean

Mechanical Engineering

Disc golf companies need better methods to test disc flight. The scope of this project is to create a disc throwing robot that can throw a disc golf driver 450-500 feet, with control over the speed, spin, and release angle. Research shows that multiple disc-throwing products exist; however, none meet the full requirements of this project. The Cal Poly senior project design team created a proof-of-concept machine. This prototype started as a two-wheel mechanism. Eventually, a third wheel was added, allowing for complete control over disc spin. The three-wheel prototype reached 62 mph when perfectly calibrated. The prototype is accurate, …


Uv Space Imager Enclosure Coating, David Silva Cortez, Victor Alexander Rempel Dekhtyar, Maria L. Muñoz Jun 2022

Uv Space Imager Enclosure Coating, David Silva Cortez, Victor Alexander Rempel Dekhtyar, Maria L. Muñoz

Mechanical Engineering

The goal of this project is to reduce the amount of stray light entering an ultraviolet (UV) imager through absorption. This report outlines the use of ZnO nanoparticles mixed in an epoxy matrix for use in a CubeSat enclosure. Through testing, our team verified that the ZnO and epoxy coating experienced a peak absorption between 360-370 nm. The epoxy mixture with the .75% by weight ZnO nanoparticles absorbed up to 99.9 % of UV light at its peak. The effect on material properties, such as Young’s modulus and ultimate tensile strength, was also tested. Tensile tests demonstrated that adding ZnO …


Break The Ice Challenge, Peter Karkos, Alex Lewis, Eva Kouyate, Vy Han Dec 2021

Break The Ice Challenge, Peter Karkos, Alex Lewis, Eva Kouyate, Vy Han

Mechanical Engineering

The report documents and justifies team LEGION’s senior design project, from research and ideation to prototype manufacturing and testing. It begins by providing some background on the project and outlining the mission scenario given by NASA. This is followed by related literature on excavation of icy regolith on the moon, water transportation, lunar environment, and space law. Next, research is performed into existing products, such as patents and various designs from previous related NASA competitions.

After providing the relevant background information, focused objectives are outlined, with a problem statement, boundary sketch, and engineering specifications. The wants & needs of NASA …


3-Axis Reaction Wheel System For Cubesats, Alexandra Mae Lee, Daniel Leon, Christopher Pablo Casillas, Rose Mccarver Jun 2021

3-Axis Reaction Wheel System For Cubesats, Alexandra Mae Lee, Daniel Leon, Christopher Pablo Casillas, Rose Mccarver

Mechanical Engineering

Reaction wheels are a common, but expensive, component used in CubeSats, that can accurately position a satellite using an imparted momentum (or impulse) from a rotating flywheel to adjust a satellite’s attitude. This document serves as the final design review and report for the 3-Axis Reaction Wheel Senior Design Project in the Mechanical Engineering Department of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The goal of this project is to produce a functional, low-cost 3-axis reaction wheel system based on previous research done by a master’s student at Cal Poly to be implemented in future CubeSats in the Cal Poly …


Nasa Micro-G Next Challenge: Sample Container Dispensing Device, Kristin G. Kraybill-Voth, Kelsey L. Mickelson, Oscar D. Popravka Jun 2021

Nasa Micro-G Next Challenge: Sample Container Dispensing Device, Kristin G. Kraybill-Voth, Kelsey L. Mickelson, Oscar D. Popravka

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review (FDR) report outlines a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo senior design project developing a sample container dispensing device for NASA Johnson Space Center’s Micro-g NExT design challenge, a competition for university students. NASA aims to bring the first woman and next man to the moon through the Artemis missions beginning in 2024. The Micro-g NExT 2021 challenges focus on developing equipment which will support the Artemis mission, where Astronauts will conduct extensive geological sampling to further the scientific understanding of the moon. Our team designed, built, and tested a device that holds sample bags as they …


Space Suit Attachment Quick Release System, Elyse C. Gillis-Smith, Andres I. Elzaurdia, Cole H. Stanton, Michael T. Roth Jun 2021

Space Suit Attachment Quick Release System, Elyse C. Gillis-Smith, Andres I. Elzaurdia, Cole H. Stanton, Michael T. Roth

Mechanical Engineering

NASA plans to make it back to the Moon by 2024 with their Artemis Program, and stay there for a longer period of time to conduct research which will support the future of space exploration. While on the lunar surface, astronauts need to maximize their efficiency by carrying tools on their Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU), and to accommodate this need, the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tools Team is pursuing a utility belt concept. The objective of this project is to develop a system capable of interfacing between the utility belt and any given tool, while also accommodating numerous restrictions and …


Uav For Medical Equipment Distribution, Richard Barakat, Logan Christensen, Brandon Halebsky, Justin Slavick Jun 2021

Uav For Medical Equipment Distribution, Richard Barakat, Logan Christensen, Brandon Halebsky, Justin Slavick

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review report documents the senior project participating in the Vertical Flight Society’s 38th Annual Student Design Competition sponsored by The Boeing Company. The goal of this project and competition is to develop an unmanned vertical lift for medical equipment distribution capable of safely delivering a 50 kg payload over distances up to 200 km. This system must be autonomous and have a backup plan to land if any part of the system malfunctions. We discuss the research and justification that drove the selection of the aircraft configuration, a winged quadcopter with a rear propeller. Furthermore, we document …


Vibration Isolation System, Bradley Y. Kwan, Bailey Groh, Max Wu, Nicole Yen Jun 2020

Vibration Isolation System, Bradley Y. Kwan, Bailey Groh, Max Wu, Nicole Yen

Mechanical Engineering

The Vibration Isolation System Senior Project is a collaborative group project between its sponsor, Maxar Technologies, and a team of students from Cal Poly - SLO to effectively design, manufacture, and test a structural assembly for satellites, isolating vibrations during launch and orbit conditions. After initial sponsor contact, requirements and needs were set which dictated deliverables for the senior project group. The group performed analyses to validate all design decisions, including a modified concept and design direction, selection of a prototype viscoelastic damping material, preliminary testing to validate design specifications, and detailed design and analysis toward a finalized design. Instead …


Safran Seat Attachment System, Craig John Kimball, Tyler Bragg, Lynette Cox Jun 2020

Safran Seat Attachment System, Craig John Kimball, Tyler Bragg, Lynette Cox

Mechanical Engineering

This final design review (FDR) document outlines the senior design project being carried out by a team of mechanical engineering undergraduate students attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo for Safran Seats in Santa Maria, CA. The project originally was to design, build, and test a universal attachment to secure a widebody business class seat to seven aircraft models with different seat track geometry. The goal was to design, document, and create a finished product that fits design, weight, and manufacturing requirements, as well as passes static 9G FWD testing. Structural analysis, manufacturing analysis, FEA, and CAD assemblies will …


Miniaturized Ultraviolet Imager Phase Iii, Bradley D. Albright, Nicolas A. Armenta, Colin W. Harrop Jun 2020

Miniaturized Ultraviolet Imager Phase Iii, Bradley D. Albright, Nicolas A. Armenta, Colin W. Harrop

Mechanical Engineering

This document details the work to date, June 9, 2020, done by the Cal Poly Mechanical Engineering senior project team, Miniaturized Ultraviolet Imager: Phase III (MUVI III), sponsored by the University of California, Berkeley – Space Sciences Laboratory (UCB SSL). MUVI III is the third senior project team of an ongoing design, MUVI: the prototype of a 2U sized CubeSat intended to capture aurora images in the ionosphere. The first team, MUVI I, finished development of the UV imager. The second team, MUVI II, designed the mirror mounting and deployable door mechanisms. The goal of MUVI phase III is to …


Lip Thrust Apparatus, Ian M. Wilson, Alvin K. Cheong Mar 2020

Lip Thrust Apparatus, Ian M. Wilson, Alvin K. Cheong

Mechanical Engineering

This document contains the background information, defined scope of work, preliminary design philosophy, conceptual design development, and final design choices along with its corresponding manufacturing and design verification plans. It also includes the preliminary testing and prototyping necessary in bringing our verification prototype to its final configuration for delivery. Finally, it includes the entire manufacturing process followed in creating the final project and the extensive testing performed to ensure it meets the defined engineering specifications. The aerodynamic phenomenon being analyzed and demonstrated in our final deliverable can be seen in a scenario where when a propeller is enclosed in a …


Tumble Bot, Alena Beyer, Blake Gonzales, Jensen Severance, Liam Chaffey Dec 2019

Tumble Bot, Alena Beyer, Blake Gonzales, Jensen Severance, Liam Chaffey

Mechanical Engineering

Passive locomotion is the ability for an object to move from one place to another by the means of the environment. In nature species such as tumbleweed, fox tails, plankton, and man o’ war jellyfish rely on passive modes of transportation for survival and are able to cross vast distances with little to no expenditure of their own energy. This document seeks to explore the feasibility of building a machine relies on the energy of Mars’ environment to explore the Martian surface.

The “Tensegrity Tumbleweed Locomotion” (nicknamed Tumble Bot) senior project was sponsored by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The …


Ultraviolet Imager Application For A Cube Satellite, Jason Grillo, Troy Hajjar, Brady Hill Dec 2018

Ultraviolet Imager Application For A Cube Satellite, Jason Grillo, Troy Hajjar, Brady Hill

Mechanical Engineering

This document serves as the final design review (FDR) report for the 2018 Cal Poly CubeSat Ultraviolet Imager senior project, sponsored by UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratories (SSL). SSL wants to monitor the ionosphere above Earth to gain a better understanding of its properties and particle interactions. Far Ultraviolet (FUV) imaging is a good way to obtain high quality images of the ionosphere and the Earth's auroras, and advancement in optic technologies have made cube satellites (CubeSats) an ideal vessel for a FUV imager, as they are relatively low-cost, lightweight, and can be repeatedly deployed. These CubeSat FUV imagers could …


Jfs Turbine Engine For Cal Poly Mechanical Engineering Department, Dorian Capps, Zoe Kai Tuggle Jun 2017

Jfs Turbine Engine For Cal Poly Mechanical Engineering Department, Dorian Capps, Zoe Kai Tuggle

Mechanical Engineering

This project concerns the development of a gas turbine engine laboratory activity for use in one of Cal Poly’s technical elective courses in the Mechanical Engineering Department, ME 444: Combustion Engine Design. The class is taught by Dr. Patrick Lemieux, who is also in charge of the on-campus engines lab where the turbine engine will be installed. The engine itself is a JFS-100-13A turboshaft engine that will be coupled to an electric dynamometer inside of the dyno test cell. Students taking the ME 444 class, likely starting in Winter Quarter of 2018, will be able to perform hands-on experiments using …


Leading Edge Boundary Layer Suction Device For The Cal Poly Rolling Road Wind Tunnel, Daniel C. Glover, Liam M. Madden, Robert J. Cabri Jun 2017

Leading Edge Boundary Layer Suction Device For The Cal Poly Rolling Road Wind Tunnel, Daniel C. Glover, Liam M. Madden, Robert J. Cabri

Mechanical Engineering

Over the course of three quarters from Fall of 2016 to Spring of 2017, our team designed and built a boundary layer suction device. The boundary layer suction device has three main functions: a scoop that redirects most of the boundary layer air out of the wind tunnel, fans that suck the remaining boundary layer air through a porous plate and ducting and out of the wind tunnel, and a transition bridge that transitions the remaining air smoothly onto the rolling road. The wind tunnel is owned by Cal Poly and the rolling road is a new addition to it. …


Deployable Antenna For Cubesat, Mackenzie Thomas Lennon, Caleb Andrew Barber, David Matthew Galves Jun 2017

Deployable Antenna For Cubesat, Mackenzie Thomas Lennon, Caleb Andrew Barber, David Matthew Galves

Mechanical Engineering

This project is a proof-of-concept ground model of a large deployable antenna designed for the small space requirements of CubeSats. This small deployment module is designed to fit a 2 m by 1 m reflective antenna inside a storage volume of with the dimensions 20 cm by 20 cm x 40 cm. The reflector will be deployed to a parabolic shape with the goal of modeling the reflector necessary for high frequency communication. Because this module is designed as a proof-of-concept for the deployable parabolic reflector specifically, no electrical components will be incorporated and will just focus on the deployment …


Polysat Helmholtz Cage, Alex Nichols, Nicolas Le Renard, Jordan Skaro, Louie Thiros, Madeline Tran Jun 2017

Polysat Helmholtz Cage, Alex Nichols, Nicolas Le Renard, Jordan Skaro, Louie Thiros, Madeline Tran

Mechanical Engineering

The MagCal5 Helmholtz cage project is an interdisciplinary approach to provide the PolySat/CubeSat research lab with a magnetic testing environment for the calibration of magnetic components and verification of various control laws. The Cal Poly CubeSat organization is the home of the CubeSat Specification, and acts as a testing and integration facility for CubeSats built by universities across the world. The PolySat organization is a CubeSat developer that works with numerous industry partners to design, manufacture, and operate CubeSats to further scientific advancement. The addition of a magnetic test stand to the lab will allow CubeSat to extend to the …


Accumulator Volume Sensor Final Project Report, Chris Naughton, Kinwei Yu, Michael George Dec 2016

Accumulator Volume Sensor Final Project Report, Chris Naughton, Kinwei Yu, Michael George

Mechanical Engineering

Accumulator Volume Sensing Team has developed two sensor designs aimed at detecting the position of the piston within a 4024 accumulator. The two designs include the use of a Renishaw LMA10 magnetic encoder and a SpectraSymbol HotPot linear potentiometer. The magnetic encoder solution drastically increases the accuracy of sensing the piston position compared to the current solutions of both a string-pot and linear variable differential transformer while costing slightly less. The linear potentiometer seeks to provide a solution that drastically decreases the cost compared to the present sensing methods. Both designs call for a modification to one half of the …


Flow Meter Test Rig, Cory Davis, Emily Guss, Michael Swartz Jun 2016

Flow Meter Test Rig, Cory Davis, Emily Guss, Michael Swartz

Mechanical Engineering

As part of a fluid mechanics laboratory, there should be an experiment that demonstrates the proper use of flow meters, devices that are necessary and relevant in many fluids-related industries. In order to provide students with exposure to these types of devices and how they work, a test rig was developed with the ability to interchange a variety of flow meters in order to broaden the students’ knowledge of the different types of measuring devices. This report was also written to outline the steps taken to ensure the test rig would match a laboratory and industry setting. Additionally, it was …


Tesseract, Edgar Uribe, Vanessa Faune Jun 2015

Tesseract, Edgar Uribe, Vanessa Faune

Mechanical Engineering

PolySat is a student-run, Cal Poly research program in which students develop small satellites, known as CubeSats, to be sent into space. Since the start of the program in 2000, PolySat has developed eight 10cm x 10cm x10cm CubeSats. Recently, the team has developed two satellites of double, and triple, that size for NASA-KSC & AI-Solutions and the National Science Foundation. The recent volumetric expansion has been driven by high demand for further satellite functionality, which necessitates large power generation capabilities. To remain competitive in the growing CubeSat industry, PolySat must develop a platform that can provide enough power to …


Electric Commuter Multicopter, Marley Hunter Miller, Blake Sperry, Ike Sheppard, Olliver Fredrick Kunz, Sam Juday, Alex O'Hearn, Kyle Seth Kruse, Arthur Norwood, Jarrell Washington Jun 2015

Electric Commuter Multicopter, Marley Hunter Miller, Blake Sperry, Ike Sheppard, Olliver Fredrick Kunz, Sam Juday, Alex O'Hearn, Kyle Seth Kruse, Arthur Norwood, Jarrell Washington

Mechanical Engineering

This document describes the design, analysis, and overall goals of the Electric Commuter Multicopter (ECM) Senior Project. It was presented by Bob Addis and Bill Burner to the senior mechanical engineering class of 2015 at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. The progress and development of the project are described in detail and to an extent that an individual or group with similar aspirations can construct their own multicopter or expand upon this one. The goal of this project is to create an Ultralight, as defined by FAA Part 103, commuter multicopter vehicle capable of transporting an individual to and from …


Compact Deployable Antenna For Cubesat Units, Sarah Bolton, Dominic Doty, Peter Rivera Jan 2015

Compact Deployable Antenna For Cubesat Units, Sarah Bolton, Dominic Doty, Peter Rivera

Mechanical Engineering

CubeSats are an appealing platform for space exploration due to their low build and launch costs. Due to their small size, communication rates are often severely limited, preventing missions beyond low earth orbit. A low cost, high gain, high frequency antenna is needed to extend the capabilities of CubeSats.

The goal of the project was to design and build an axisymmetric parabolic antenna that could be deployed from a 10cm x 10cm x 15cm (1.5U) volume and operate at Ka band frequencies. The design selected consisted of an expanding perimeter truss supporting a tensioned mesh reflector. The perimeter truss was …


Lightweight Uav Launcher, Ben Miller, Christian Valoria, Corinne Warnock, Jake Coutlee Jun 2014

Lightweight Uav Launcher, Ben Miller, Christian Valoria, Corinne Warnock, Jake Coutlee

Mechanical Engineering

This report discusses the design, construction, and testing of a lightweight, portable UAV launcher. There is a current need for a small team of soldiers to launch a US Marine Tier II UAV in a remote location without transport. Research was conducted into existing UAV launcher designs and the pros and cons of each were recorded. This research served as a basis for concept generation during the initial design development stage. It was required that the design weigh less than 110 lbs, occupy a smaller volume than 48" x 24" 18" in its collapsed state, be portable by a single …


Rocket Fuel Pressurization, Sean Green, Joe Marcinkowski, Andrew Nahab Jun 2013

Rocket Fuel Pressurization, Sean Green, Joe Marcinkowski, Andrew Nahab

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.


Integrated Collision Avoidance System Sensor Evaluation Final Design Project, Alex F. Graebe, Bridgette S. Kimball, Drew T. Lavoise Jun 2013

Integrated Collision Avoidance System Sensor Evaluation Final Design Project, Alex F. Graebe, Bridgette S. Kimball, Drew T. Lavoise

Mechanical Engineering

Following the development of Aircraft Collision Avoidance Technology (ACAT) by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a need arose to transition the life-saving technology to aid the general aviation community. Considering the realistic cost of implementation, it was decided that the technology should be adapted to function on any smartphone, using that device as an end-to-end solution to sense, process, and alert the pilot to imminent threats. In September of 2012, the SAS (Sense and Survive) Senior Project Team at California Polytechnic University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo was assigned the task of using smartphone technology to accurately sense …


Design Of A Human Powered Helicopter Airframe, Sheen Kao, Daniel Layton, Philip Sobol Jun 2012

Design Of A Human Powered Helicopter Airframe, Sheen Kao, Daniel Layton, Philip Sobol

Mechanical Engineering

In 1989 Cal Poly’s Da Vinci III was the first human powered helicopter (HPH) to achieve flight; our goal is to research and develop a new airframe for the next generation Da Vinci. This report outlines a brief history of human powered flight and details a method of constructing for the airframe. An optimized airframe geometry was also researched and is explained in detail.


Human Powered Helicopter: Rotor Structure, Joseph Ram, Juan Carlos Olvera Jun 2012

Human Powered Helicopter: Rotor Structure, Joseph Ram, Juan Carlos Olvera

Mechanical Engineering

The following report encompasses the Human Powered Helicopter Rotor Team’s conceptual models and ideas based on research and modeling analysis. The following gives an overview of material researched, concept generation, analyzation, manufacturing, and testing for a rotor structure to be installed in a Human Powered Helicopter.


Aerodynamic Test Platform For Human Powered Vehicle (Hpv), Spencer Wangerin, Spencer Lillywhite, Colburn Davis Jun 2012

Aerodynamic Test Platform For Human Powered Vehicle (Hpv), Spencer Wangerin, Spencer Lillywhite, Colburn Davis

Mechanical Engineering

The Aerodynamic Test Platform (ATP) for the Cal Poly HPV Club is a system that was designed by Cal Poly mechanical engineering students to measure aerodynamic characteristics of a human-powered vehicle (HPV). The HPV team desired a system that could quantify the lift, drag, and other aerodynamic qualities of a full scale HPV at various orientations in oncoming airflow. Established methods for determining aerodynamic characteristics include computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and wind tunnel testing of scaled models. The ATP was devised to simulate the test results given by a full-scale wind tunnel without requiring a wind tunnel large enough to …