Engineering Commons^™

Senior Design Proposal For Brakes Subsystem 2019-2020, Jasmine Zogheib, Zachary Demetriades, Devin Seay

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This report concentrates on efforts to design a new braking system for the Zips Formula Electric Race Team. The improvements to the braking system will be based upon previous years’ official designs along with optimizing for predetermined criteria. The design will be influenced based on design factors of the car such as weight, center of gravity, wheelbase, and integration with other systems of the car.

Shock Wave And Boundary Layer Interaction, Blake Keuchel, Lauren Andrews, Corryn Rahe

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Air entering the engine of a supersonic aircraft must be slowed to subsonic speeds for the engine to perform properly and not become significantly damaged over time. Diffusers are designed to create a shockwave to slow down air to subsonic speeds before the air enters the engine. This project will focus on the numerical analysis and design of diffuser geometries for supersonic aircraft engines. The main objective is to evaluate supersonic flow over different geometries, specifically the interaction between shock waves and boundary layer, and to minimize the amount of drag created by different diffuser geometries to optimize the efficiency …

Filtration Apparatus Design For Oil-Water Separation Using Membranes And Sponges, Alec Jerger

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

It can be difficult to separate water and oil emulsions through traditional filtration. Therefore, investigations of filtering using thermo-responsive (TR) polymers, in this case poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME), was conducted. It’s hypothesized that below its lower critical solution temperature (LCST), PVME has an affinity for water while oil substances do not. Above the LCST the opposite will be true. To verify this hypothesis, iterations of filtration designs were created to provide optimum control over the parameters to measure flow. The final optimized experimental apparatus was a Chromaflex glass column which was air tight and controlled all parameters besides fluid flow. …

Effects Of Hofmeister Ions On Solubility And Swelling On Gelatin Hydrogels, Hannah Eldridge

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Hydrogels are known to be weak and brittle, due to the amounts of water that they hold. Gelatin-based hydrogels specifically are inexpensive and easily accessible, but often have poor physical properties. The goal of my project was to strengthen gelatin-based hydrogels and improve their mechanical properties by forming these hydrogels in different aqueous solutions containing kosmotropic Hofmeister's ions. Prior research has shown that these ions are able to take water away from gelatin-based gels, which forms a tougher hydrogel. The success of this project will be measured by studying the solubility and swelling effects that different Hofmeister ions have on …

A Foundational Approach To Extrusion And Compounding, David Frankart

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

With a history of nearly 200 years, polymer processing and compounding is constantly changing to fit the material science needs of the era. Exposure of undergraduate students to the technology and practices used in industry today in a lab setting would create new opportunities for experiential learning and growth. The objective was to set up a 0.75”, 25 L/D Thermo Haake single screw extruder for lab use and run trials of material in a single screw extruder to set up a basis for experiments. Trials were run of co-polyester resin through a single screw extruder with carbon fiber additives varying …

Optimization Of E-Textiles For Lactic Acid Detection, Andrew Laboy, Mallory David

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The overall goal of the project is to develop an e-textile that will be able to determine different characteristics of an athlete's health through multiple sensors. The goal of these sensors is to monitor physiological parameters for health and fitness uses in real time. Building from the existing sodium concentration sensor, these new sensors will detect lactate levels within sweat to monitor instantaneous health which allows customization of workout and overall health regimen.

Rocket Motor Nozzle, Corey Hillegass

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

For this honors research and senior design project, the authors will research, analyze, and manufacture a rocket motor nozzle for the Akronauts rocket design team. This research and design project will improve how the rocket design team will decide and manufacture nozzles going forward. The impact of this improvement allows the rocket design team to take steps toward being self-sustaining by manufacturing student designed parts as opposed to commercially bought parts. This will not only be successful in increasing student impact on future designs, but also provides a technical challenge for the authors and will present as an impressive feat …

Controlled Crystallization Of Pet Filaments In Additive Manufacturing, Ryan Kordahi

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) appears in daily life in many forms, the most common being disposable soft drink bottling. To deal with the ever-growing quantitity of disposed PET (both in landfills and environment), a waste plan revolving around depolymerization should be implemented. Specifically, the potential of PET depolymerization through aminolysis into useful, low molecular weight monomers will be explored with the end goal of producing a 3D printing filament and analyzing economic feasibility.

A Survey Of Education In Civil Engineering, Tyler Fuller

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper provides an overview of the current education requirements in the field of civil engineering. This is achieved through means of an anonymous survey sent to civil engineering academics and data gathered from the published curricula of ten existing civil engineering programs. These ten programs were selected by means of a random number generator from the list of institutions the survey was sent to. Such an overview is important for gauging the effectiveness of civil engineering education for current and future students.

Comparision Of Fillet-Welded Base Plate Fatigue Design For Highway Support Structures With Laboratory Research Tests, William Shea

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

There are many types of vertical structures along highways that serve unique purposes. These structures include traffic signs for directing, warning, or regulating traffic, luminaires for distributing and directing light, traffic signals supporting equipment such as traffic lights, and combination structures including any combination of the aforementioned structures. Highway support structures are typically fabricated from steel or aluminum and are designed to the guidelines and specifications of the AASHTO Standard Specifications for Structural Supports for Highway Signs, Luminaires, and Traffic Signals. The structures are connected to a foundation by anchor bolts through a welded base plate. Often a cause …

Supersonic Propulsion: Inlet Shock Wave/Boundary Layer Interaction In A Diffuser, Lucas Fulop, Ian Henry, Jordan Ruffner, Anthony Mcmullen

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Using a finite-volume approach and ANSYS/FLUENT, supersonic flow over a 2-D ramp of varying angles is modeled. The computational results from this model will be used to further explore the design of supersonic diffusers used on military aircraft. Using grid capturing features and inflation layers, shockwave and boundary layer interactions will be observed as well as wave-associated pressure changes in supersonic turbulent flow. The Spalart-Allmaras single-equation model of turbulent flow will be used in all simulations to more accurately represent the phenomena that occur in such high-speed environments. The size of upstream zones and recirculation zones will be obtained through …

Testing The Effectiveness Of Reflective "Cool" Pigments, Ashleigh Carpenter

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project is an exploration of reflective "cooling" pigments used in coatings for the exterior of a structure in order to control the temperature inside. The pigments reflect sunlight to reduce the heating effect inside a structure. While the project will include the synthesis and testing of these pigments, the focus will be on the design and construction of an apparatus to test the effectiveness of these pigments. An apparatus will be constructed with a heat source and two structures of identical dimensions. The set-up will allow for the temperature of the inside of the structures to be recorded at …

Kettlebell Ultra, Elissa Peters, Kathryn Wegman, Daniel Basch, Mason Pastorius

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project will consist of an attachment to an average kettlebell that will track the number of repetitions that the user has performed. The device will send this data over Bluetooth to a smart phone application so the user can track their workout accurately.

Zips Electric Racing Suspension Design, Madison Hughes, Christopher Thompson, Erikah Jackson, Anna Signorino

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

I am working with three others on the suspension and steering sybsystems for the Zips Electric Racing design team at The University of Akron. We are improving upon last year's design to help create an optimized vehicle. As part of this project, we take part in weekly design reviews and team meetings, model parts in Solidworks, and perform simulations and FEA using MATLAB/SIMULINK, Solidworks, and Optimum Kinematics.

Vehicle Operator Attention Monitor, Matthew Krispinsky, Matt Marsek, Matthew Mayfield, Brian Call

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Motor vehicle operators’ attention levels can be monitored to improve driver safety. By recording and analyzing the drivers eye gaze, hand position, vehicle speed and engine rpm the driver’s attention can be determined. A Raspberry Pi will be the main processing unit. Data will be pulled and analyzed from the OBD-II port on vehicle speed and engine rpm. The system will be powered from a 12V, 4A pin on the OBD-II port connected to the car battery. A webcam will be used to track the pupil location and determine when the driver is looking at the road. A battery powered …

Applications Of Ultra-High Performance Concrete, Zachary Plevny

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The main objective of this research paper is to determine the current applications of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC). A second objective is to determine the reason UHPC is used in various applications. More than 17 bridges in the United States have been built with UHPC components. A handful of state departments of transportation have deployed UHPC components within their infrastructure, and many more are actively doing research and considering the use of UHPC. So, this is a relatively new material that is becoming more widely used. The following seven projects, which include UHPC components are discussed in detail: Mars Hill …

Formula Electric Sae Frame, David Streen, David Kinion, Dylan Ramey

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The project is for the FSAE Zips Racing Electric Team. The last race car made by the Zips Racing Electric Team has a large potential for optimization. We plan to redesign the frame from the ground up in an effort to reduce weight and increase the performance potential while meeting all FSAE rules and packaging constraints.

Formula Electric is an event in which teams from colleges around the world compete in various events including autocross, endurance and many others with an electrically driven car.

This project will involve the design, analysis, and fabrication of a steel tube space frame for …

Digital, Automated Reactive Target System, Nicholas Haas, Saipranay Vellala, Trandon Ware, Thomas Martin

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In this era, technology is woven into almost every facet of our leisure activities. Although technology has innovated hobbies ranging from chess to soccer, the art of shooting has been neglected. Unnecessary insufficiency such as bullet ricochets off of mechanical steel targets, ineffective progress tracking, and general inaccessibility to outdoor training facilities are all improvable areas of this sport. The Dynamic Automated Reactive Target (D.A.R.T) System aims to fill some of these gaps and help modernize recreational marksmanship. Modeling the system after a dueling tree will optimize the use of the system and allow for different training models to challenge …

Impact Of Increased Precipitation On Midwestern Construction, Monica Feltman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper presents the current impact of increased precipitation in the Midwest on the construction industry. Mainly, the impact on jobsite safety, increasing insurance rates, and the resulting changes in design codes, or lack thereof. The goal of this independent research is to gather a better understanding of the influence of these changes, because only then can one accurately seek to combat their harmful effects. As a vital element of the global economy, the construction industry must be conscious of their changing relationship with the environment around them. Therefore, understanding the affects of harmful climate change, will increase awareness of …

I/O Master, Aaron Dubler, Corey Dye, Cameron Sinko, Ian Glen, Nikolaus Untch

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The I/O Master is an engineering tool designed to let users quickly and efficiently use their computer to interface with embedded devices and sensors. Using a general purpose design, the goal is to make it possible to implement any digital protocol on the I/O Master. With the use of onboard level shifting, differential communication components, peripheral DMA through GPIO and a USB 2.0 High Speed computer interface, the I/O Master is able to implement such a general purpose design with initial implementation of five protocols to verify the design's capabilities. The implementation of a computer-based GUI and underlying framework allows …

Designing A Recycling Facility For Energy Materials, Bartholomew Kitko, Matthew Berger, Elias Chiti, Trayce Harris, Mark Kulesa

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this design project is to create a recycling facility for energy materials. Different energy systems will be analyzed to determine the most economically appropriate energy material to recycle. A list of the energy systems to be analyzed includes catalyst converters, wind turbines, lithium ion batteries, photo-voltaic cells, and precious materials with high energy applications. This study involves two main parts: the research to determine the most appropriate energy material for recycling, while also choosing or creating recycling processes efficient enough to reduce the US’s reliance on foreign nations for obtaining their rare-earth materials. The second part is …

A Novel Approach To Mid-Foot Reconstruction Surgery In Patients With Charcot Arthropathy, Jessi Martin, Deborah Falokun

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This honors project details the design and development of an internal orthopedic implant that surgically corrects the midfoot fracture and subsequent arch collapse in patients with Charcot arthropathy. The client of the project is Dr. David Kay, an orthopedic surgeon with the Crystal Clinic in Akron, Ohio. He presented a problem surrounding surgical implants meant to repair Charcot arthropathy. Implants that repair the midfoot fracture failed at a rate of about 60%. A team of senior biomedical engineering students attending the University of Akron developed a goal to design a new surgical implant that would reduce the failure rate of …

Effects Of Crosslinking Conditions On Biofouling Of Polymer Substrates With A Hydrogel Layer, Laura Davila

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The introduction of a hydrogel coating to a surface has been looked at for different benefits. Certain hydrogels offer antifouling properties that are beneficial to different applications like medical components. Previous attempts (2) (3)have been done to introduce a hydrogel surface to plastic substrates. One of them is to use grafting brushes which works properly but it is not sufficient since the layer is too thin and therefore can be damaged. The second method have a bulkier coating without crosslinking. Opposite to grafting brushes this method has too thick of a layer. Additionally, there is no crosslink therefore the coating …

Automated Runout Measurement Tool, Ethan Tisch

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A new measurement process and tool is to be developed to improve the existing method for measuring runout on the commutators of brushed DC product.

After an armature is manufactured, the commutator is inspected by placing the completed rotor assembly in one of several non-standard measurement fixtures. An indicator is then positioned on the commutator. A trained operator proceeds to rotate the armature while taking runout and bar-to-bar measurement at various positions along the length of the commutator.

This existing process is slow, costly, and unreliable. For these reasons, there is substantial economic pressure to develop a superior method for …

Upper Extremity Mobility Device, Timothy J. Grassi, Jacob R. Miller

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of this project was to evaluate a clinical problem, explore possible solutions, and produce a functioning prototype that would conform to all the established guidelines and requirements. The project focused on developing an upper extremity mobility device for a singular client with limited muscle activity in his arms due to childhood polio. Our design process was governed by an adapted form of the FDA Design Control Process, 21 CFR 820.30 [1]. The outcome of this project was a functioning prototype that utilized the concept of a motorized pulley system remote controlled using a key fob. This research project …

Design Of Banner Tow Mechanism For Bush Plane, Kyle Ciarrone, Ivan Martin, Rishabh Gadi, Tyler Brandt

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The 2019-2020 AIAA DBF objective was to design, build, and test a banner-towing bush plane that carries wooden passengers and luggage. Senior members on the team undertook the creation of the banner tow mechanism subsystem as their senior design project on behalf of the design team due to the challenge of its mechanical design and the aerodynamic considerations regarding its placement and enclosure aboard the aircraft. The competition as well as access to campus resources were canceled due to COVID-19, so full testing and integration of the mechanism was not achieved. However, the engineering design process was experienced from the …

Automatic Seeder, Zachary Bunting, Nicholas Muscarella, Trevor Tout, Dalton Denny

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Our Senior Design Project is the construction and implementation of an automatic seeder that is to be used in the agricultural industry. The automatic seeder is being designed to eliminate prevalent issues within the process of planting seeds by hand, such as labor requirements and inconsistent operations. The seeder is meant to reduce time spent on planting seeds and place them in an efficient manner for optimal growth conditions.

This project will require several specific research questions to be addressed in the form of application and good usability. We will investigate the method of planting the seed, the conveyor track …

Redesign And Analysis For Landing Gear Components, Daniel Clarke

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A project for Collins Aerospace, the company I co-op at, where I will redesign several components of a landing gear for a military program. Any structural/stress analysis will also be performed. The goal is to reduce weight while maintaining strength and structural integrity.

Jominy Hardenability Tester With In-Situ Heating, Luke Allen

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project centers on building a Jominy Hardenability tester with In-Situ heating for the manufacturing lab at the University of Akron. A new process and setup will be designed using engineering concepts in order to make the testing more efficient and safer for the teaching and testing of metal hardness. The current Jominy testing setup has efficiency issues within the transfer of specimen from induction heater to testing rig. Our design will simplify the design by creating a test rig that removes the traveling aspect of the specimen which will limit the amount of premature cooling done and will be …

Simulation Of Lubricant Evaporation / Flow From A Nanoscale Film Under Laser Heating For Cloud-Storage Applications, Sean Anthony, Hannah Verbanac, Turki Alkhelaiwi

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The process known as heat-assisted magnetic recording is an advanced data storage technology which can be applied to develop higher data-density storage in next generation hard disk drives. Such drives are instrumental in the utility of server storage devices and the storage of large-data projects such as that of the Event Horizon Telescope array. During this process, data is written to a magnetic surface by means of laser heating; the coercivity of the magnetic medium is reduced by the heating of this surface, and within this heating period, data is able to be written to the disk in a smaller …