Engineering Commons^™

Mechanized Advent Calendar, Oma Skyrus, Sigrid Derickson, Tyler Koski, Daniel Clifton

Mechanical Engineering

Within this document, the “Naughty and Nice” team will describe the details associated with the completion of this project, which involves creating an animated advent calendar for the Cambria Christmas Market. The problem, the customers and stakeholders, and the general goals of the project are introduced. The team conducted background research; how this research helps in finding a solution or supporting the needs of the sponsor is illustrated. Initial research includes interviews with the sponsor and potential users, patent and existing product searches, and some technical research pertaining to the subject. The team found that there are not many existing …

Damage Resistance And Tolerance Of 3d Woven Composites, Justin T. Mcdermott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Composite materials have been adopted into primary aircraft structures by virtue of their great strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios, fatigue insensitivity, and corrosion resistance. These characteristics are leveraged by aircraft designers to deliver improved fuel effciency and reduced scheduled maintenance burdens for their customers. These benefits have been impressively realized in the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 XWB, with airframes utilizing about 50% composites by weight. Tempering these successes, however, are the inherent vulnerabilities of carbon-fiber reinforced composites. When compared to conventional metallic structure, composite laminates are more sensitive to stress concentrations at mechanical fastenings and damage due to low-velocity impact. …

Flight Test Data System For Strain Measurement, Zachary David Wilson

Master's Theses

This thesis describes the design and evaluation of two devices to be included in the next generation of the family of devices called the Boundary Layer Data System (BLDS). The first device, called the Quasi-Static Strain Data Acquisition System, is a continuation of the BLDS-M series of devices to be known as the Flight Test Data System (FTDS) that uses a modular approach to acquire non-flow, quasi-static mechanical strain measurements. Various breakout boards and development boards were used to synthesize the device, which were housed by a custom PCB board. The system is controlled by the Simblee^TM System on …

Combined Molecular Dynamics And Phase Field Simulation Of Crystal Melt Interfacial Properties And Microstructure Evolution During Rapid Solidification Of Ti-Ni Alloys, Sepideh Kavousi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Phase field method has become a popular tool to investigate the microstructure evolution during the solidification. Quantitative predictions using this method is still limited, and in this dissertation, we try to study this problem from different perspectives.

Most of the phase field models consider the solid-liquid interface to be in local equilibrium. Solidification during some manufacturing processes like selective laser melting, and electron beam additive manufacturing is rapid and far from equilibrium which can result in supersaturated solid solutions, segregation-free crystals, or metastable phases. Before obtaining any conclusions from the phase field simulations, we must know the answer for “which …

Residual Stress Models For Large Eddy Simulation Of Stratified Turbulent Flows, Felipe Augusto Ventura De Bragança Alves

Doctoral Dissertations

The residual stresses and scalar fluxes are required to close the momentum and scalar transport equations in simulations of turbulence that are not fully resolved in space. In stratified turbulence, the stress and fluxes are statistically anisotropic unless the smallest resolved length scale is smaller than the Ozmidov scale and the buoyancy Reynolds number is sufficiently high for there to exist a range of scales that is statistically isotropic. In this work, a tensorial basis set is derived analytically that potentially contains sufficient information about the anisotropic interaction between resolved and residual scales. The residual stress tensor is evaluated by …

Topology Network Optimization Of Facility Planning And Design Problems, Ravi Ratan Raj Monga

Masters Theses

The research attempts to provide a graphical theory-based approach to solve the facility layout problem. Which has generally been approached using Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP) in the past, an algebraic method. It is a very complex problem and is part of the NP-Hard optimization class, because of the nonlinear quadratic objective function and (0,1) binary variables. The research is divided into three phases which together provide an optimal facility layout, block plan solution consisting of MHS (material handling solution) projected onto the block plan. In phase one, we solve for the position of departments in a facility based on flow …

Graphene-Based Water Desalination Using Atomistic Simulations, Thanh Chinh Nguyen

Mechanical Engineering Research Theses and Dissertations

My research focused on investigating saltwater transport through nanoporous graphene membranes using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Particularly, in this dissertation, we focused on pressure-driven flows of salt water through uncharged and charged nanoporous graphene membranes for water desalination applications. In the first study, desalination performance of uncharged single-layer nanoporous graphene membranes was observed based on volumetric flow rate, required pressure drop, and salt rejection efficiency. A functional relationship between the volumetric flow rate, pressure drop, pore diameter, and the dynamic viscosity of saltwater was also examined. In further studies, transport of salt ions through positively and negatively charged single-layer nanoporous …

A Novel Fiber Jamming Theory And Experimental Verification, Jared Richard Chafetz

Master's Theses

This thesis developed a novel theory of fiber jamming and experimentally verified it. The theory relates the performance, which is the ratio between the stiff and soft states of a fiber jamming chamber, to three relative design parameters: the ratio of the wall thickness to the membrane inner diameter, the ratio of the fiber diameter to membrane inner diameter, and the number of fibers. These three parameters, when held constant across different chamber sizes, hold the performance constant. To test the theory, three different types of fiber jamming chambers were built in three different sizes. Each chamber was set up …

An Experimental Study On The Impact Of Pressure Drop In The Ranque-Hilsch Vortex Tube, Mark Parker

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A vortex tube converts a single stream of compressed gas into two outlet streams; one heated, and the other cooled. This phenomenon, referred to as energy separation, is not fully understood, thereby requires further experimentation and analysis. CFD can provide insight, however, such simulations require a complete set of information of the geometric, operational, and performance parameters of particular vortex tube experiments.

An experiment is developed to provide complete information for CFD simulations. The vortex tube under consideration is established by considering reported data from past studies and selecting parameters that yield significant energy separation. An experimental apparatus is developed …

Pneumatic Hyperelastic Robotic End-Effector For Grasping Soft Curved Organic Objects, Alexandre Galley

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Pneumatically-driven soft robotic grippers can elastically deform to grasp delicate, curved organic objects with minimal surface damage. However, common actuators have complex geometries and are fabricated with ultra-soft hyperelastic elastomers not originally intended for scientific applications. The complexity of the actuator geometry and extreme nonlinearity of their material’s stress-strain behaviour make it difficult to predict the actuator’s deformation prior to experimentation. In this work, a compact soft pneumatic gripper made with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is developed for grasping delicate organic objects, analyzed through computational modelling and experimentally validated. COMSOL Multiphysics is used to simulate the impact of geometrical parameters on the …

Fluid Flow Analysis Of Diluted Evaporating American Whiskey Droplets., Martin J. Brown Vi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The recent discovery of the unique structures, whiskey webs, formed when the evaporation of diluted American whiskey, has raised many questions as to the nature of the structures. Their formation process follows as such: (1) dilution of the whiskey to form nanoaggregates, (2) formation of a monolayer at the air-liquid interface, (3) chaotic ethanol evaporation caused monolayer collapse (via dynamic pressure), (4) bulk fluid evaporation caused monolayer collapse (via reduction of surface area), where the web-like structures reside on the surface, and finally, (5) web-like structures deposit on the substrate. The webs imaged via SEM had a striking resemblance to …

System Integration Of C-Arm Robotic Prototype Using Motion Capture Guidance For Accurate Repositioning, Alireza Yazdanshenas

Mechanical Engineering Theses

One of the important surgical tools in spinal surgery is the C-Arm X-ray System. The C-Arm is a large “C” shaped and manually maneuvered arm that provides surgeons and X-ray technicians the ability to take quick quality X-rays during surgery. Because of its five degrees of freedom, the C-Arm can be manually maneuvered around the patient to provide many angles and perspectives, ensuring surgical success.

This system works fine for most surgical procedures but falls short when the C-Arm must be moved out of the way for complicated surgical procedures.

The aim of this thesis is to develop an accurate …

Characterization Of Single- And Multi-Phase Shock-Accelerated Flows, Patrick John Wayne

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Experiments conducted in the Shock Tube Facility at the University of New Mexico are focused on characterization of shock-accelerated flows. Single-phase (gaseous) initial conditions consist of a heavy gas column of sulfur hexafluoride seeded with approximately 11% acetone gas by mass. Visualization of the image plane for gaseous initial conditions is accomplished via planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) with a high-powered Nd:YAG ultraviolet laser and an Apogee Alta U-42 monochrome CCD camera, with a quantum efficiency > 90%. Multi-phase (gas-solid) initial conditions consist of glass micro-beads deposited on small 1-cm diameter discs of specific surface chemistry, mounted flush with the bottom wall …

Flow-Induced Oscillations In Floating Offshore Wind Turbines, Daniel Carlson

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this thesis is to experimentally study the structural dynamics, wake interaction, and fluid forces on the multiple-degree of freedom systems typical of floating wind turbines. Vortex--surface alignment about flexibly-mounted prisms is studied to investigate the response of barges and semi-submersible hulls, and new results pertaining to the galloping response kink for a prism with dual inline--crossflow resonance is presented. Flow--induced oscillations of a spar model free to rotate in 3D space is replicated and observed as 2D figure--eight orbits about the center of the spar. Methods to suppress the flow from exciting the spar are proposed. The …

High Enthalpy Storage Thermoset Network With Giant Stress And Energy Output In Rubbery State And Associated Applications, Jizhou Fan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this study, a new shape memory thermoset network with giant stress and energy output in rubbery state is synthesized and studied firstly since the low output in stress and energy in rubbery state has been a bottleneck for wide-spread applications of thermoset shape memory polymers (SMPs). Traditionally, stress or energy storage in thermoset network is through entropy reduction by mechanical deformation or programming. We here report another mechanism for energy storage, which stores energy primarily through enthalpy increase by stretched bonds during programming. As compared to entropy-driven counterparts, which usually have a stable recovery stress from tenths to several …

Transient Flow Analysis Of A Closing Blowout Preventer Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (Cfd), Daniel Barreca

LSU Master's Theses

Reliability of blowout preventers (BOPs) is crucial for drilling and production operations. Erosion of BOP components and hydrodynamic forces on rams may cause failure of BOP elements to seal the well. Transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of fluids within the wellbore and BOP offer quantitative and qualitative data related to this reliability during the closure of various BOP components. Since limited research has been published in transient CFD simulations of closing BOPs, this thesis discusses challenges and solutions to simulating closing blowout preventers. Single component fluids are simulated through several BOP geometries such as annular preventers, pipe rams, and …

Human Powered Vehicle Trainer, Nicholas Hung Nguyen, Gregory Reece Bridges, Jacinta Garcia, Mitchell Sidney Smith

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review (FDR) document describes the final design and completed prototype of a Mechanical Engineering senior project team at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The project goal is to create an adjustable human powered vehicle training bike for George Leone that allows a rider to gain confidence with the unique reclined bike geometry ahead of the World Human Powered Speed Challenge at Battle Mountain, Nevada. This document outlines the customer’s needs and technical research performed which together determine the project’s scope and engineering specifications. Next, we present the initial idea generation process and its results, along …

Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge - The Incompressibles - Final Design Report, Nicholas Gholdoian, Russell Posin, David Vitt, Alex Knickerbocker, Kyle Franck, Julian Rodkiewicz

Mechanical Engineering

This report provides a comprehensive description of the research, analysis and design work that The Incompressibles have completed thus far in the senior project process. This document includes all the work that The Incompressibles have completed for the team’s Preliminary Design Review (PDR), Critical Design Review (CDR), the work leading up to the 2019 FPVC competiton and the competition results. This report includes the initial research that the team completed for the fluid power competition, first iterations of designs, final iterations of designs, manufacturing results and processes, and finally testing and results from competition. With a new design for the …

Reduce, Reuse, Reengineer, Neil Ryan Robertson, Anthony James Beers

Architectural Engineering

Our senior project is a research exploration of renewable energy. We recognized there is a major need in the world for the advancement of green power sources. For our project, we wanted to go beyond what we have learned in our Cal Poly architectural engineering classes and to use some of our own creativity to investigate the possibilities of renewable energy from a structural perspective. The guiding question we asked ourselves was, “as architectural engineering students, how could we shift our world to use more renewable energy?” To start our journey off, was the original inspiration from the work of …

Fracture Toughness Improvement Of ����� Ceramics By Grain Size Control And Ductile Phase Reinforcement, Kesong Wang

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This study used grain size control and ductile phase reinforcement to improve fracture toughness of ����� ceramics. Alpha alumina particles of 100 nm, 0.5-1 micrometers, and 10 micrometers were coated with 1-5 nm nickel by electroless nickel plating (ENP). The coated powders were consolidated at 1200℃-1500℃ by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The sintered samples were annealed at 1100 oC for 1.5 hours and 10 hours to determine the effect of post sintering annealing on hardness and fracture toughness. Density of the samples were measured by the standard Archimedes method using a 5 mL pycnometer. Hardness values were determined by Vickers …

Universal Bike Suspension Design, Ernesto Huerta, Gregory Ryan Ritter, Chris Michael Fedor, Michael Wu

Mechanical Engineering

Cal Poly Bike Builders (CPBB) is a student club at Cal Poly helping students design and fabricate their own bicycles. Currently, club members build rigid frames and mountain bikes with only front-suspension–commonly referred to as a “hardtail”. As more students join the club, interest grows in building full-suspension mountain bikes (FSMTB). Designing and manufacturing a mountain bike rear-suspension system requires a diverse skillset and a substantial time commitment. As a result, individual efforts building FSMTB have proven unsuccessful. The scope of this project is to develop a defined method and necessary tools such that all CPBB members can efficiently build …

Go With The Flow, Scott Weinhardt, Priscilla Ng, Ben Rydberg, Ritika Makhijani

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review (FDR) report outlines the Fuel System Flow Analysis senior project completed by the presenters listed. Included is research about Solar Turbines’ needs, and objectives for our project, our design decision process and final design, manufacturing, design verification report, final results, and suggestions moving forward with this experiment. The goal of the project is to identify stable pressure fields throughout the Solar Turbines fuel delivery system. Specifically, the optimal placement for taking measurements downstream of the main and pilot fuel control valves. The data is used to validate the accuracy of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models that …

Danny’S Recumbent Bike Accessibility Device Final Design Report, Joseph J. Lee, Huy Nguyen, Jack Mcatee, John Kulick

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this document is to fully define our design solution and explain our manufacturing and testing results. Our project’s goal is to find a way to allow Danny Knutson, a retired Navy pilot and incomplete quadriplegic with limited use of his arms and an impaired sense of balance, to enter and exit his recumbent tricycle without any discomfort for him or his aide. We completed multiple interviews with Danny, patent research, existing product research, and other technical literature research in order to fully understand the problem. We synthesized this information to create a concrete list of customer wants …

Vaccine Cooler For The Global Poor, Benjamin J. Larson, Cooper E. Gibson, Eilbron Younan, Cody R. Volk

Mechanical Engineering

Cal Poly physics professors Peter Schwartz and Nathan Heston approached the Solar Freeze team with the problem that remote communities in Africa have limited access to modern-day medicine or vaccines. They suggested that we try and design a cooling device that can keep vaccines cold for multiple days at a time while the medicine is transported to remote villages. Currently, there are vaccine cooler products on the market, but most of them are very expensive or lack portability. Peter and Nate have tasked the Solar Freeze team to come up with a less expensive solution that is also portable and …

Framed Human Powered Vehicle Frame, Keyanna Brielle Henderson, Brendon Howard Morey, Kyra Noelle Schmidt, Austin Patrick Henry

Mechanical Engineering

The following is the Final Design Review (FDR) Report for Framed, a team tasked with designing and fabricating the frame of the 2018-2019 Cal Poly Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) Club bike. The bike is to be raced at the 2019 World Human Powered Speed Challenge in Battle Mountain, Nevada with the goal of breaking the American collegiate speed record. The purpose of the FDR Report is to introduce the project’s background and objectives, discuss the final design, and present the results of manufacturing and testing. Prior to beginning work on the design of the frame, the group conducted extensive research …

Solar Tracking Using A Parallel Manipulator Mechanism To Achieve Two-Axis Position Tracking, Joseph Otto Hubach

Graduate Theses - Mechanical Engineering

A novel solar tracker is presented that uses a parallel manipulator for the tracking mechanism instead of a traditional serial manipulator. The motivation is to create a solar tracker that displays the advantages of two-axis tracking systems (e.g., increased exposure to incident radiation, and enabling the use of efficient concentrating solar cells) while addressing some of the disadvantages of current two-axis tracking systems (e.g., the difficulties associated with having actuators mounted to moving elements within the mechanism). The mobility of the proposed parallel manipulator is examined using Grübler’s Criterion to establish that the manipulator displays the required two degrees of …

Construction Of A Hyperspectral Camera Using Off-The-Shelf Parts And 3d-Printed Parts, Connor Heo

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences (ACSPS) is working together with the Mechanical Engineering Department to build a modifiable camera with 3D-printed parts and off-the-shelf parts (sourced from Edmund Optics and Amazon). The design is to be readily changeable, primarily with the 3D printed parts, as to accommodate new ideas and functionalities in the future. Ultimately, the camera should be relatively cheap while maintaining functionality for proposed use cases. Earlier versions of the design will be tested extensively and rapidly updated in the ACSPS labs with benchtop testing. This will involve subjects with both visible and infrared emissions, …

Methods To Remotely Eliminate Biofilm From Medical Implants Using 2.4 Ghz Microwaves, Brett Glenn

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Infections associated with biofilm growth are usually challenging to eradicate due to their high tolerance toward antibiotics [11, 12]. Biofilms often form on the inert surfaces of medically implanted devices [13]. No matter the sophistication, microbial infections can develop on all medical devices and tissue engineering constructs [12]. Related infections lead to 2 million cases annually in the U.S., costing the healthcare system over $5 billion in additional healthcare expenses [12].

Novel solutions to biofilm’s microbial colonization span the spectrum of engineering and science disciplines. Yet a practical solution still does not exist. The research presented here will explore a …

Final Design Report For The Bioburden Pre-Cleaning Device And Dr. Mark Rasnake At The University Of Tennessee Medical Center, Katherine Elizabeth Stiles, Megan Pitz, Kayla Franklin, Simran Dayal, Austin Bullock

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Thermal Management Design Tool System For Cubesat Applications, Siakrishna Reddy Kanumuru

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Saikrishna Reddy Kanumuru on April 26, 2019.