Engineering Commons^™

Agv Design, Vincent Orzel, Zachary Woodrum

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This report details the design and calculation work done towards creating an autonomous guided vehicle (AGV) for use in the steel and metal related industries. Steel Equipment Specialists (SES) is a major manufacturer of coil transportation vehicles for these industries. SES believes the future of coil transportation within the mills includes AGVs in some circumstances. The team was tasked with exploring the design and cost of a base model for use in future designs, since SES has not yet modeled or manufactured an AGV. This design was successful under the stress from the application in calculations, and the cost of …

The Effects Of The Coronavirus On Transportation, Brittney Crandall

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This year the world has been challenged with the Coronavirus pandemic. This has led to national shutdowns which have negatively affected many aspects of everyday life. One of the industries that has seen adverse effects from the global pandemic is the transportation industry. This raises the question of exactly how the transportation industry has been affected by the pandemic, what the long-term effects will be, and what the future of the transportation industry will look like. Using existing data and research, predictions will be made to solve these questions.

Door Barricade, Alex Cerino

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

My senior capstone project will be a door barricade. The main idea for the use of the door barricade is for schools in the case of an intruder. The barricade that I will be designing is a solution to the inefficient barricades that I saw at my high school. It could also be used at businesses and homes. My design would be easy to use and have a fail-safe option. The two areas of mechanical engineering technology that my capstone project will focus on are stress analysis and electronics. Every part for my door barricade is drawn in SolidWorks. All …

Comparison Of The Effects Of Hofmeister Ions On Transition Temperature Of Two Thermoresponsive Polymers, Ashley Knight

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

It has been hypothesized that poly(vinylmethylether) (PVME) could be used to replace poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAAM) in various thermoresponsive applications based on literature searches and previous lab experiments. PVME is cheaper and easier to process, and would make pNIPAAM applications more cost effective. In order to verify this, experimental data was gathered on the effects of four anions from the Hofmeister series (SO₄₂-, Cl-, I-, and SCN-) on the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of pNIPAAM and compared to previous data collected on PVME. Commercial pNIPAAM from Sigma Aldrich and Polysciences were used. The reported LCST range for pNIPAAM is …

Hard Hat Ambient Liability Observer (Halo), Hunter Hykes, Nathan Kish, Brian Thomson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Capturing workplace incident information is a growing area of concern for most companies. To assist with this, the design team proposed the H.A.L.O. This design uses time-of-flight sensors connected to LEDs to create a proximity-based hazard warning system. It also records incident data using an accelerometer and micro-SD card. This helps workers avoid some of the most common workplace injuries, slips, trips, and falls and accidental collisions.

Students have created a design with engineering, and marketing requirements that accomplish this task. The proposed design allows for this monitoring and mitigation systems to be attached to hard hats. Team members developed …

Analyzing And Improving Calculation And Tuning Process For A Uav, Laurel Wardell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The nature of this project is confidential and cannot be disclosed in detail. Generally, this project deals with the analysis of a control system of a UAV with several electric motors and gimbals. The goal of this analysis is to improve control calculations for increased stability. In addition, development has been started on an application to streamline the tuning of gains for this particular controller, allowing for more efficient use of precious flight time.

Liquid Rocket Engine And Test System, Ronnie Wallingford, Grace Ann Phillips, Blake Bowser, Jack Dalton

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of this project is to design the University of Akron’s first design team built liquid propulsion rocket engine and testing system. The creation of this engine and testing system will create new opportunities for the Akronauts Rocket Design Team moving forward, allowing the team to enter more prestigious competitions, and will also enable students to better pursue opportunities in the space and defense industry by exposing them to more relevant industry experiences.

The liquid rocket engine designed by the team will utilize ethanol and liquid nitrous oxide to generate approximately 500 lbf of thrust. An accompanying test system …

Concusion Detection Headband Design, John Durkin, Noah Lewis, John Michel

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Concussion in sports is a prevalent medical issue. It can be difficult for medical professionals to diagnose concussions. With the fast pace nature of many sports, and the damaging effects of concussions, it is important that any concussion risks are assessed immediately. There is a growing trend of wearable technology that collects data such as steps, and provides the wearer with in-depth information regarding their performance. The Smart Headband project created a wearable that can record impact data and provide the wearer with a detailed analysis on their risk of sustaining a concussion. The Smart Headband uses accelerometers and gyroscopes …

Design And Testing Of A Feed-Forward Control System For Deployable Vortex Generators Dependent On Angle Of Attack, Solomon B. Whitmire, Christopher J. Chapanar, Kirklin M. Anderson, Nickalus R. Amon, Daniel W. Chech

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A vortex generator (VG hereafter) is a common feature of an aircraft wing that disturbs the flow on the leading edge of the wing, thus energizing the boundary layer and reducing flow separation. For an aircraft experiencing flow separation, VGs can increase the lift-to-drag ratio of the wing and prevent stall; however, if flow separation isn’t an issue, the unnecessary frontal area of the VGs has the potential to produce parasitic drag. This study seeks to determine whether the use of a deployment system can improve the performance of VG’s by raising or lowering them depending on the angle of …

Tubing/Lines Entanglement Reduction In Healthcare Settings, Abigail Kraft, Amy Beskitt, Grace Elerick, Zachery Steck

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Intravenous (IV) lines used in various healthcare settings pose a risk to patients and their caretakers. A few common risks include IV lines becoming torn out and coming into contact with open wounds. We propose to solve this problem by designing a device that prevents IV and wire entanglement without obstructing patient care. Our objectives in identifying a solution include increasing patient comfort, mobility, and ease of transfer. By solving this issue, other potential benefits include reducing time spent on non-essential tasks and reducing number of personnel needed to transport patients. We intend to validate our product with healthcare employees …

Atmospheric Corrosion Of Galvanically Coupled Aluminum Alloys And Carbon Steel, Mitchell Felde

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Aluminum alloys are a steadily growing material being commonly used in lieu of typical steels. Additional alloying, heat treatment, and other property enhancing processes are expanding the use of these alloys. However, with this expansion, galvanic corrosion is becoming more of an issue in the design stage due to the combination of these alloys with steels. The automotive industry is one industry where the use of aluminum alloys is becoming common practice. Aluminum alloys provide a lightweight aspect over the conventional carbon steel that was used previously. As a result of this transition towards more lightweight materials, galvanic coupling is …

Design And Analysis Of One-Piece 10” Carbon Fiber Wheels For Zips Racing Zr20 Formula Sae Racecar, Patrick Kruse, Henry J. Wathen, Jordan J. Hyde, Nicholas D. Dobben, Jordan D. Blake

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Reducing the weight of a vehicle in racing can substantially improve the vehicle dynamics and general performance capabilities. More specifically, the reduction of the unsprung corner weight can provide noticeable performance gains in handling and responsiveness, leading to a quicker, more agile car due to a lower yawing moment of inertia. Unsprung weight reduction also improves the car’s ability to maintain contact between the tires and the road surface for a more consistent grip. In this project we identified the loads that act on the wheel rims according to the data collected from the sensors in the car’s suspension, and …

Simulation Of Water Loading In Filter Medium, Anthony Mole

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research will model fluid flow through a filter plugged with water droplets using FlexPDE software. After simulations are run at various initial conditions, curves will be developed to correlate the permeability of the filter to variables like water droplet distribution and size.

Automated Blind Control, Daniel Nahra, Matthew Lacek, Timothy Kurczewski, William Daulton Baksa

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The objective of this project would be to design and prototype an automated, light and temperature sensing window blinds system. The device would detect temperature, both inside and outside, and incoming sunlight to determine proper window blind position for maximum energy savings. The user would also have the ability to change the settings of the blind from a remote device to a setting that they desire at any given time

Pulse Reverse Current Electrodeposited Tio2 Doped Ni-W Coating, Sydney Hughes

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Nickel-Tungsten (Ni-W) coatings via the pulse reverse current method have been under development as a potential replacement for typical Chromium/Cadmium coatings. To increase the effectiveness of Ni-W as a coating, dopants have been tested to decrease microcracks and pores and increase overall tribological performance. Previous research by Timken Engineered Surfaces Laboratory showed that Ni-W doped with TiO₂ nanoparticles had a positive effect on coating performance. The purpose of this study was to determine the ideal solution parameters (i.e. TiO₂ concentration, pH) to maximize the benefit of the dopant when samples are subjected to tribological testing. Here, solutions of …

Wetting Transition On 3d-Printed Featured Surface, Hannah Pineault

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The primary objective of this research project was to gain a better understanding of surface characteristics to produce a long-lasting superhydrophobic or superhydrophilic surface. In other words, when will a droplet of water remain on top of a featured surface and when does the transition occur to water filling the grooves of the surface? This research focused on how to best fabricate porous structures that would stay completely dry at all times by preventing the liquid from penetrating. In particular, we followed the behaviors of water droplets placed on top of 3-D printed featured surfaces with various geometries and surface …

A Comparison Of The Effectiveness And Integration Capability Of Personal Aerial Vehicles (Pav) Into The Existing Transportation Network Of The City Of Los Angeles, Alec Perkins

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Traffic demands on the current infrastructure network is becoming more strained as populations migrate and increase, particularly in large cities. Therefore, city officials, transportation and traffic authorities and researchers, and city inhabitants themselves are always striving to find faster and more efficient means of transportation. With the rise of new technologies such as autonomous vehicles and drones, the applications for transportation are endless. Therefore, this paper will describe and explore the operations, and consequently the efficacy, of Personal Aerial Vehicles (PAV), also known as Urban Air Mobility (UAM). The machines, while still hypothetical, are being researched extensively by some of …

Dji Drone Modification, Sean Lacey, Seth Mancuso, Bryce Mckenzie

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

For this project, we set out to create a lightweight carrying case that would be mounted to a DJI Phantom 3. This case is designed to transport small packages, such as medications, from a delivery vehicle to their final destination. Based on our maximum drone lifting capacity of 600 grams, our case, servomotor, and contents had to weigh less than or equal to that value. The coronavirus pandemic has led to an increase in contactless delivery options along with the push for immunocompromised people to avoid contact with people that may be sick. Our product would help transport necessary supplies …

The Effects And Motion Of An Air-Filled Cylinder Being Submerged In Water In The Axial Direction, Ethan Davis

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Submarines operate on the basis of a difference in relative densities between of vessel and the surrounding fluid. This principle is based on the force balance that exists between the total buoyancy force and the force due to gravity. Previous work focuses on the neutral buoyancy depths and velocities of object that once submerged, their buoyancy force is a constant along with the force due to gravity. This work aims to better understand how the compression of air at various depths below the surface of the water contribute to the neutral buoyancy depth, velocity of the object as it rises, …

Analog & Digital Remote Synthesizer, Adam Brunner, Andrew Cihon-Scott, Scott Grisso, Linus Wright

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this project is to develop and design an analog synthesizer musical instrument that integrates embedded digital hardware into the design to enable control from a remote source. The use of digital hardware enables the potential for a wide range of convenient features such as sound profile saving and loading, output recording functionality, and the ability to accept digital input from another musical instrument utilizing the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI). In addition to the synthesizer itself, this project also includes the design of a companion application that can be hosted on a wide variety of consumer computing …

Relating Modified Ergun's Equation To Hindered Settling Correlations, Ryan Zahniser

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Correlations were developed between the Modified Ergun’s and Hindered settling correlations under the condition of dense packing of particles in the bed. As the porosity of the slurry increases, so does the interference between particles in the solution which mimics the behavior of a packed or densely concentrated fluidized bed. The similarity between the two sets of conditions was modeled using mathematical equations to calculate settling velocities and pressure drops by means of the Hindered Settling correlations and Modified Ergun’s equation at porosities ranging from 0.4242 to 0.89. The results showed that a porosity of 0.52 and 0.009 ft particle …

Development Of Phagotrophic Algae-Based Process For Conversion Of Waste Organics To Algae Lipids As Potential Feedstock For Biofuel, Hannah Nelson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Interest in sustainable feedstock for biofuel has encouraged research on the production of phagotrophic algae from bacteria using a two-staged continuous-flow system. Bacteria cultures were fed the content of a waste stream from The J.M. Smuckers Company containing high concentrations of sugar. In the design, the bacteria effluent overflowed into the algae tank which was kept at a set volume. Several methods were developed to assist in maintaining the system at steady state and minimize the impact from contaminants. A rigorous cleaning protocol was implemented for both tanks, effectively eliminating protozoa from the bacteria system. The protozoa were decreased in …

Soil Sensor Network, Andrea Wyder, Ross Klonowski, Alexis Alves, Luke Farnsworth

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Water management during crop irrigation is a problem for the agricultural industry. To help farmers better maintain water usage, a wireless soil sensor network comprised of a sensor pod and wireless communication has been designed and implemented. It was proven that the sensor pod can be installed 6-8 inches below the ground and communicate up to at least a 6km distance back to the gateway. The senor pod shells have a 2 mm thick shell to prevent the pod from shattering when coming into contact with the ground after being released from the planter, as calculated through the force of …

Increasing The Corrosion Protection Of Aisi 1008 Carbon Steel By Surface Treatment With Unmodified And Benzotriazole Modified Sol-Gel Films, Shane Thomas Kelliher

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The corrosion performance of sol-gel coated AISI 1008 carbon steel was investigated in 3.5 wt% NaCl solutions of pH 7, 9, and 12 using electrochemical measurements. A corrosion inhibitor, benzotriazole (BTA) was added to the sol-gel mixture and tested as a second, modified sol-gel coating. Sol-gel films adhered evenly to metal samples and were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) showed an increase in polarization resistance from blank to sol-gel coated samples (600-18,800,000 ohms). Cyclic polarization (CPP) curves showed positive hysteresis loops for blank and unmodified sol-gel coated samples which increased at high pH following the backward potential …

Relation Of Wettability Of Surfaces To Virus Survival Times, Anthony Pintola

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A newly identified coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, also known as COVID-19, has caused a worldwide respiratory illness pandemic. The virus is known to spread via contact with water droplets from an infected person. These drops can contaminate the surfaces we as humans interact with on a daily basis. It can be beneficial to understand if there is a correlation between how long the virus can survive on these surfaces and how easily wettable they are. The data was collected by placing 10 mL droplets onto various surface samples and collecting images of the surface contact. From the image a radius was determined …

Ecg Monitoring In Athletes, Jalal Jwayyed, Kelly Purgason, Joseph Linder, Annamarie Alfery, Silvia Furman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Athletes and medical personnel need reliable methods to monitor vital signs and detect potentially life-threatening issues before they occur. Electrocardiograph (ECG) monitors are currently the best method of detecting heart-related health issues. Current ECG monitors worn by athletes are difficult to use and lack the ability to track ECGs in real time. Through research and interviews with various clinicians, further problems have been identified that include poor electrode adhesion, and a lack of compatibility with the equipment worn by athletes. Our team proposes to develop solutions that will improve performance and comfort associated with ECG monitors for athletic applications. This …

Electrospinning Of Formic Acid/Acetic Acid And Nylon-6 Solutions For Wearable Hydration Sensors, Nichole Cooper, Jonathan Doak

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Students have been working on the development of wearable hydration sensors at the startup company RooSense. The goal of the company is to develop a lightweight wearable sensor that enables the user to know their hydration level, thus elevating their performance goals. To measure the hydration of the wearer, the sodium and other salt ions are collected from the user’s sweat as they exercise. This sweat is analyzed as it is collected to give the user an exact level of hydration, so they know how much fluids they need. The production of this ion sensor requires numerous steps and iteration …

Feasibility Study To Measure The Impact Of A Specialized Core Exercise On Metabolic Efficiency And Stability During Walking For Above Knee Amputees, Shaye M. Tiell, Sabrina R. Segretario, Serena M. Myers, Emily G. Tully

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The objective of this study is to determine the feasibility of improving the gait of above-knee (AK) amputees by performing daily core exercises aimed to provide an efficient and stable walking pattern. The goal of the exercise is to strengthen core muscles and form temporary neural connections in the brain aimed at improving metabolic efficiency and stability. We will be implementing the Wright Balance Core 360 Exercise Technique for completion by our subjects. Motion capture technology will be utilized in conjunction with a metabolic oxygen consumption analyzer to collect stability and metabolic efficiency data while amputees walk on a treadmill. …

Development Of A Heavy-Duty Aluminum Rail Hole Punch Manufacturing Fixture, Reese Hawthorne

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This report details the development and testing of an improved replacement for a worn manufacturing fixture which was used to position the location of four drilled holes on the outside of a heavy-duty aluminum rail. Commissioned by JohnDow Industries, the new process improves upon the old one by implementing an electro-hydraulic punch and new locating fixture. The new design produced higher quality slots, decreased cycle time by 15%, and aimed to improve the ergonomics of the process for the employees. All these factors contributed to making the aluminum rails a high-quality end product for JohnDow’s customers. Further iteration of the …

Hydraulic Vehicle Challenge, Jacob Steiner, David Kotovets, Evan Blitz, Luke Fetherston, Alex Colucy

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The target goal of this project is for a team of students to design a vehicle which is based on human power as the primary mover of the system and achieves vehicle propulsion through the required use of hydraulics and pneumatics. In summary, the rider will power a pump that will generate pressure in order to move the fluid that drives the motor. This will result in the powered rotation of the wheels. As there are many possible designs, naturally, this means that the final design for the vehicle will have specific limitations such as weight and the required use …