Engineering Commons^™

Redesigned Endoscopic Bite Block For Geriatric Patients, Kayla Fisher, Katherine Gregory, Owen Corey

Honors Theses

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is an examination of the interior of the esophagus, stomach, and beginning of the small intestine. Upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopies are used to diagnose ulcers, cancers, and gastrointestinal tract diseases, as well as to collect biopsy samples. In 2008, over 55 million procedures were performed with GI endoscopic devices [1]. In order to keep the mouth propped open during this procedure, a bite block is used. This bite block ensures that the patient will not bite down on the endoscope during the procedure. Geriatric patients are more likely to have poor dental health due to medications they take, …

Structural Health Monitoring Of Composite Parts: A Review, Jacob Pessin

Honors Theses

Structural health monitoring has the potential to allow composite structures to be more reliable and safer, then by using more traditional damage assessment techniques. Structural health monitoring (SHM) utilizes individual sensor units that are placed throughout the load bearing sections of a structure and gather data that is used for stress analysis and damage detection. Statistical time based algorithms are used to analyze collected data and determine both damage size and probable location from within the structure. While traditional calculations and life span analysis can be done for structures made of isotropic materials such as steel or other metals, composites …

Design Of Natural Composite I-Beam For Sampe 2019, Brian Harkness

Honors Theses

In recent years, the demand for high performance, lightweight, fiber-reinforced composites have grown substantially. Fiberglass and carbon fiber have exemplary material properties that meet the demand and have set the industry standard for performance materials. Although these materials meet their design function, they suffer from high environmental impacts throughout their life cycle and are not cost effective to produce. Flax fiber composites have comparable properties to fiberglass but can be produced more efficiently and production requires much less energy consumption. Flax is a readily available, renewable material that will easily biodegrade once it is the end of its useful life …

Applying An Innovative Idea To Kidney Stone Removal, Jack Beaty

Honors Theses

Renal lithiasis, commonly referred to as “kidney stones” is a condition in which the urine composition crystallizes and cannot pass through the ureter, causing pain and discomfort. Renal lithiasis can be caused by diet, infection, reduced water retention, or hereditary disorders; each of which results in a distinct stone composition [1]. Stone compositions can vary between calcium oxalate, struvite, uric acid, and cystine[2]. Each stone type, however, provides the same pain to the patient and the same potential risk of blocking the urinary system.

Kidney stone symptoms may include but are not limited to: pain in the lower back, the …

Exploring The Behavior Repertoire Of A Wireless Vibrationally Actuated Tensegrity Robot, Zongliang Ji

Honors Theses

Soft robotics is an emerging field of research due to its potential to explore and operate in unstructured, rugged, and dynamic environments. However, the properties that make soft robots compelling also make them difficult to robustly control. Here at Union, we developed the world’s first wireless soft tensegrity robot. The goal of my thesis is to explore effective and efficient methods to explore the diverse behavior our tensegrity robot. We will achieve that by applying state-of-art machine learning technique and a novelty search algorithm.

The Theia Soteria: Alternative Design For Safer Initial Entry During Laparoscopic Procedures, Kayla Dubois, Patrick Ryan, Madelyn Joanis

Honors Theses

Laparoscopic procedures account for 15 million surgeries worldwide [1], with the initial entry into the peritoneal cavity accounting for 33-50% of all major laparoscopic complications [7]. This initial entry is the most dangerous as surgeons must enter the cavity using a sharp object with no visibility and space between the outer surface of the cavity and internal tissues. During the initial entry into the peritoneal cavity, the patients undergoing laparoscopic procedures are at a high risk for damage to internal organs and vasculature, necessitating the development of a device to protect these internal tissues and increase patient safety.

Designing A Low-Cost Ultrasound Pulser, Andrea Huey

Honors Theses

Ultrasound imaging allows for those studying living beings to see inside a subject without causing it harm. This allows for real-time images to be taken, leading to ease of observational research. However, while this technology is beneficial to those who utilize it, the devices used to create and receive ultrasound pulses can be incredibly complex, allowing for precise adjustment of the output signal and various other functions, and therefore expensive. The focus of this senior project is the design of a low-cost pulser for use with an ultrasound transducer. While it does not have all the high-level functions of the …

Thermoplastic Composite Heat Recovery Ventilator, Keegan Guinn

Honors Theses

Heat recovery ventilation continues to increase in importance as building codes mandate reduced air infiltration and increased energy efficiency. Heat recovery ventilators are able to reduce building heating and cooling loads by transferring heat between the exiting air and incoming ventilation air. In the role of heat recovery ventilation, additively manufactured polymer composite heat recovery ventilators offer significant advantages over traditionally manufactured metallic alloy heat recovery ventilators. Through the implementation of additive manufacturing, the internal geometry of the heat recovery ventilator can be optimized to decrease the head loss across the system and features to improve heat transfer such as …

Ar Blockers, Emma Merlino, Charles Nelson, Brendan Laing

Honors Theses

Access Recirculation (AR) severely decreases the efficiency of dialysis while having the potential to lead to a variety of complications (Fig. 3). If recirculation occurs during treatment, the patient may be at risk of developing stenosis (narrowing of blood vessels), leading to thrombosis (the local coagulation/clotting of blood) [4]. The most influential cause of recirculation results from the misplacement of the arterial and venous needles that will significantly harm the patient, wasting both money and resources. It is clear that the medical community has focused their energy on developing a proactive approach to monitoring AR, instead of preventing it. Creating …

Automated Greenhouse Watering System For Schenectady Arc, Lisa Gu

Honors Theses

All people need to feel useful and able to perform productive jobs. Since 1952, the ARC has strived to provide people with developmental disabilities the resources, services, and support that enable them to advocate and participate within their communities. One way in which the ARC accomplishes this mission is by encouraging people with disabilities to develop skills and hobbies that give them independence and purpose. An integral part of their center is the greenhouse. Individuals at the Maple Ridge Center are responsible for operating the water system to irrigate the plot daily and ensuring that the proper amount of water …

Design Of A Model Rocket Flight Logging System And In-Air Deployable Rover, Sirus Negahban

Honors Theses

The goal of the project laid out in this paper is to develop a model rocket range and altitude tracking system and a payload for said rocket which conducts an experiment of some scientific merit. The requirements for the project are defined by the rules of an international model rocket design and build competition for undergraduate and graduate students. This paper presents a design to accomplish the specified goals to the standards of the competition rule set, for use by the Union College Rocket Team at the competition. First, an off-the-shelf flight computer is purchased to implement the range and …

Gesture-Controlled Quadcopter System, Wenhao Yang, Anthony Xu, Kendra Crawford

Honors Theses

According to the statistic given by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 514 police officers casualties have been attributed to gunfire in the last decade(2008-2017). It is the leading cause of death among police officers and accounts for more than a third of the total 1511 police casualties in the past decade. In this project, we want to provide a safer solution to police officers that are surveying a building for one or multiple potential dangerous personnel. We are working to design and build a gesture-controlled quadcopter that can scout ahead of the officer and provide information about the …

Design & Evaluation Of Cooling Systems For Photovoltaic Modules, Peter Leary

Honors Theses

There is a persistent need for further development and implementation of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Due to the increase in global population, the disappearance of fossil fuels, and the reality of climate change, renewable power is needed now more than ever. One such renewable power technology is solar photovoltaic, otherwise known as PV. These modules work via silicon cells which are as semiconductors, outputting electrical energy when incident with solar radiation. This is done by separating electrons and protons within the cell. One of the largest issues with PV technology is that there is a linear …

Prevention Of Access Recirculation During Hemodialysis Treatment, Brendan Laing, Emma Merlino, Charles Nelson

Honors Theses

Approximately 660,000 Americans are being treated for kidney failure or end stage renal disease annually. Access recirculation can happen to any patient, varying from treatment to treatment, as it is a problem with the current technology of two butterfly needles used during a dialysis procedure and not with the patient. Access Recirculation severely decreases the efficiency of dialysis while having the potential to lead to a variety of complications.There is a clear need for a device that can be implemented during hemodialysis treatments to reduce the percentage of recirculated blood, thusly reducing the occurrence of treatment for an individual and …

Cuffed Pediatric Endotracheal Tubes, Jennifer Nutter, Emmanuela Oppong, Colleen Pouliot

Honors Theses

Endotracheal tubes (ET) are used to provide patients with an adequate airway when they are unable to breathe on their own. ET tubes can be used in emergency situations, surgical procedures, and on-floor intubations. The two main types of ET tubes are cuffed and uncuffed. Due to the fragile structure of a child's throat, uncuffed tubes are primarily used in pediatric patients. Uncuffed tubes can slip out of place resulting in air leakage and improper oxygenation. In contrast, cuffed ET tubes provide a proper seal to the airway and prevent against aspiration. The following work proposes an improved design for …

Role Of Diagnostic Monitoring Software Versus Fault-Tolerant Components In The Development Of Spacecraft Avionics Systems, Andrew Attorri

Honors Theses

In any spacecraft, there are several systems that must work simultaneously to ensure a safe mission. One critical system is the ‘avionics’ system, which is comprised of all of the electronic controls on-board the spacecraft, as well as radio links to other craft and ground stations. These systems are present for both manned or unmanned spacecraft.

Throughout the history of spaceflight, there have been several disasters related to avionics failures. To make these systems safer and more reliable, two main strategies have been adopted. The first, more established approach is through use of fault-tolerant components, which can operate under a …

Optimization Of Superhydrophobic Surface Production Using Ambient-Dried Silica-Based Aerogels, Elizabeth Donlon

Honors Theses

Superhydrophobic surfaces exhibit particular properties that make them functional in various anti-sticking, anti-contamination, self-cleaning and drag reduction applications. Though such surfaces are found in nature - most notably the lotus leaf - they are difficult to produce. There are numerous methods and techniques for fabricating superhydrophobic surfaces. One such method is the sol-gel method, in which aerogel, a highly porous and lightweight material that can be made hydrophobic or superhydrophobic, is coated onto a surface. The purpose of this project is to devise a simple and repeatable procedure for making hydrophobic silica aerogel coatings that can be used for drag …

Design Of A Robotic Cownose Ray, Mark Marzotto

Honors Theses

Nature often inspires advances in science and technology and a promising example of this is mimicking locomotion of underwater animals. The main ways in which manmade aquatic vehicles propel themselves are water jets and propellers, which are inconsistent with how underwater animals swim. The cownose ray displays very efficient thrust with low frequency strokes by using a combination of oscillations and undulations with its pectoral fins. The goal of this paper is to mechanically replicate the actual fin motion of the cownose ray in order to capture these attractive features. The design will account for both the oscillations by designing …

High Performance Thermal Insulation: Silica Aerogels In Construction Technology, Matthew Giarrusso

Honors Theses

The United States is a world leader in the production and expenditure of energy, accounting for 18% of the total global energy consumption in 2016, 40% of which was used for the heating, cooling, and lighting of commercial and residential buildings. Currently, traditional air-based insulation products are being used in thicker and more numerous layers in an attempt to keep up with contemporary codes and standards. One promising alternative to traditional insulation is silica aerogel. With a remarkably low density and thermal conductivity, silica aerogel could save energy, space, and weight in new and retrofit structures. Silica aerogels are currently …

2018 Ieee Signal Processing Cup: Forensic Camera Model Identification Challenge, Michael Geiger

Honors Theses

The goal of this Senior Capstone Project was to lead Union College’s first ever Signal Processing Cup Team to compete in IEEE’s 2018 Signal Processing Cup Competition. This year’s competition was a forensic camera model identification challenge and was divided into two separate stages of competition: Open Competition and Final Competition. Participation in the Open Competition was open to any teams of undergraduate students, but the Final Competition was only open to the three finalists from Open Competition and is scheduled to be held at ICASSP 2018 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Teams that make it to the Final Competition will …

Analysis Of The Properties Of Supercapacitors And Possible Applications For The Technology, Vincent Oliveto

Honors Theses

Supercapacitors have a lot of excellent qualities that would make them a great substitute for batteries when it comes to electrical energy storage systems. Supercapacitors can discharge and charge very rapidly, they have a lifespan in the realm of millions of cycles, and they are much more efficient than batteries. Unfortunately, they cannot hold nearly as much charge as batteries. This paper seeks to further investigate the properties of supercapacitor technology and the best way to exploit these properties with the purpose of integrating them into renewable energy systems. There is currently a lot of research occurring around the world …

Environmentally Friendly Sneakerboot Shanks And Their Effect On Aerobic Performance And Human Walking Gait, Adam Ashcroft

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research endeavor is to identify and record the differences in human performance from altering the shank material of a Forsake “Trail” sneakerboot. Three materials were analyzed in this study: the legacy nylon material that is currently used in Forsake boots, a PEEK thermoplastic impregnated carbon fiber, and a resin impregnated flax composite. The stiffness of each material was calculated using a standardized ISO 18896 longitudinal stiffness test. Each shank was then installed in size 10.5 (USA) “Trail” boots using an identical installation method in Forsake’s factory. The human performance tests were quantified by measuring the heart …

Applications Of Latent Heat Storage Using Phase Change Materials, Daniel Giroux

Honors Theses

Thermal Storage Systems are gaining more attention in recent years with the increased emphasis on more renewable energy sources. Energy storage is necessary whenever there is greater amounts of energy being produced than is required. Various improvements to the conventional heat storage system can be made by integrating latent heat storage into the conventional heat storage system. Latent heat storage can be utilized for thermal storage applications by using phase change materials, materials that will undergo a change in their physical state in the temperature range desired for heat storage.

Analysis was conducted on four different waxes considering the waxes …

Development Of A Fully Instrumented, Resonant Tensegrity Strut, Kentaro Barhydt

Honors Theses

A tensegrity is a structure composed of a series of rigid members connected in static equilibrium by tensile elements. A vibrating tensegrity robot is an underactuated system in which a set of its struts are vibrated at certain frequency combinations to achieve various locomotive gaits. Evolutionary robotics research lead by Professor John Rieffel focuses on exploiting the complex dynamics of tensegrity structures to control locomotion in vibrating tensegrity robots by finding desired gaits using genetic algorithms. A current hypothesis of interest is that the optimal locomotive gaits of a vibrating tensegrity exist at its resonant frequencies.

In order to observe …

Diesel Particulate Generation, Matthew Ferdenzi

Honors Theses

The goal of this project is to design a diesel particulate generator to test aerogels as diesel particulate filters. Diesel particulate generators are machines that generate diesel particulate matter, or diesel soot. Diesel particulate filters have been recently put into the market to help many car companies meet the ever-changing diesel emission regulations set by the EPA and other international agencies. The main goal of the filter is to block soot from exiting to the environment. Once the filter is full, the soot is oxidized and released. The problem with these filters is that they are large, costly, detrimental to …

Design Of Diffusiometer For Aerogel Monoliths, Kamin Sylvia

Honors Theses

Aerogels’ have great potential to be used as catalytic substrates and filters. To use them as such, we must first understand how gas flows through them. Diffusivity is a property of aerogels that relates the gas flow through a sample with the pressure gradient driving the flow. This project sets out to design an experimental apparatus (diffusiometer) and methodology that can be used to obtain diffusivity values of various kinds of aerogels. Adapting the method outlined in Stumpf et. al 1992[1], a diffusiometer was designed and built for aerogels at sub-atmospheric pressures. This device utilizes a control mass system rather …

Multicomponent Working Fluids In Organic Rankine Cycle Evaporators, Jennifer Fromm

Honors Theses

Organic Rankine cycles are a promising technology to convert waste heat energy into usable mechanical or electric power, giving them the potential to reduce fossil fuel emissions generated by traditional energy generation. The heat exchangers of these devices are of particular interest, as maximizing energy extraction from these free heat sources will increase net electrical power output. For this project I created a model to predict the effects of mixture working fluids on the evaporator performance of an organic Rankine cycle generator for a wide range of waste heat source temperatures. This model combines empirically derived heat exchanger performance parameters …

Triboelectric Turbines: Design And Construction Of A Multi-Rotor Counter-Rotating Wind Turbine Utilizing Direct-Current Triboelectric Nanogenerators, Adam Forti

Honors Theses

Direct-current triboelectric nanogenerators (DC-TENG) harness the friction generated between dissimilar rotating materials and convert it to useable electrical power. One of the many potential applications of this technology is in small scale renewable energy. A wind turbine was designed in which multiple DC-TENG generators would be attached to turbine blades of varying dimensions. This project involved the design and construction of several rotating DC-TENG prototypes, followed by measuring the electrical output of each nanogenerator at various rotational speeds.

Electronic Dive Mask: A Heads Up Display For Deep Diving, David Fishman

Honors Theses

The top five dangers in diving are marine life, malfunctioning equipment, asphyxiation, pulmonary embolism, and nitrogen narcosis. These risks exist even with the current standards of diving equipment. Most of these risks can be attributed to a lack of information, either due to inattention or because the information is not accessible to the diver. The current solution to these risks are dive computers, wearable devices around the diver's wrist which provides numeric displays of various information. One value the devices do not display is orientation. These devices also have insufficient methods of warning the user. As such a device is …

Design Of A New Ice Thermal Energy Storage System, Andrew Fontaine

Honors Theses

Over the past 30 years, alternative energy sources and concepts have been researched and desired as current energy resources are diminishing. One such alternative energy concept is an Ice Thermal Energy Storage system (ITES). ITES systems both store and create ice that helps them serve as a cold sink that can be used to cool down buildings using only the ice in the system. This project explores a new and more complex type of ITES system that decreases the heat transfer into the system, lengthens the amount of time the ice in the system stays frozen, and lessens the amount …