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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Low Velocity Impact Tower Feasibility, Setup, And Impact Testing Of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Thermoset And Peek Thermoplastic Matrix Composites, Brent Plehn Jun 2013

Low Velocity Impact Tower Feasibility, Setup, And Impact Testing Of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Thermoset And Peek Thermoplastic Matrix Composites, Brent Plehn

Materials Engineering

A low velocity impact tower was donated to Cal Poly's Materials Engineering Department along with four fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites. The tower was set up in building 192 in the Mechanical Testing Laboratory. Improvements were made to the tower including adding velocity detection capabilities, making loose hardware inclusive, adding an extra tower arm for better consistency, adding a double jawed clamp for faster testing, and rerouting the tower's compressed air system to improve performance. A standard operating procedure was drafted, tested, and redrafted for impact testing composite panels. The four composite panels consisted of two quasi-isotropic 16 ply AS-1 …


Analyzing The Flexural Properties Of Self-Constructed Bamboo Laminates, Brett Dorren Jun 2013

Analyzing The Flexural Properties Of Self-Constructed Bamboo Laminates, Brett Dorren

Materials Engineering

Bamboo plies of 1/8" and 1/32" thicknesses were glued together to form multiple unidirectional and cross-ply laminates that measured 12" by 12". The thickness of each laminate was between 0.25" and 0.375". All laminates were pressed together with a Tetrahedron MTP-10 bench top precision press at 75°F and 1000 lbf for 40 minutes. Laminates were then cut with a band-saw into four 3" by 12" test specimens, 24 hours after pressing. Each test specimen was three-point bend tested to identify the modulus of rupture (MOR) and apparent bending stiffness. Three-point bend testing was also performed on laminates that were …


Evaluation Of High Phosphorus Electroless Nickel Platings To Protect Carbon Steel Heat Exchangers In Seawater Service, Nathan Brink Jun 2013

Evaluation Of High Phosphorus Electroless Nickel Platings To Protect Carbon Steel Heat Exchangers In Seawater Service, Nathan Brink

Materials Engineering

The purpose of this project was to determine the suitability of using a high phosphorus electroless nickel (HPEN) coating to prevent corrosion in carbon steel heat exchangers in seawater service. 1 in. x 4 in. samples were cut from ¼ in. SA-516-70 pressure vessel plate, pickled to remove mill scale, dressed with 300 grit sand paper and sent out for plating with 2 mils of HPEN. Due to a clerical error during plating, samples were plated to a significantly lesser extent than requested. Samples were plated with approximately 0.6 mils of HPEN versus the 2 mils requested, however this was …


Measuring The Mechanical Properties Of A Newly Developed Discontinuous Carbon Fiber And Epoxy Composite, Morgan Adams Jun 2013

Measuring The Mechanical Properties Of A Newly Developed Discontinuous Carbon Fiber And Epoxy Composite, Morgan Adams

Materials Engineering

Engineering firm Pratt & Miller have developed a new and previously untested carbon fiber/epoxy composite using a spray lay-up process similar to a process commonly used in fiberglass production. This new composite is made by using a pneumatic chop gun that simultaneously cuts the carbon fibers to a specific length and deposits the chopped fibers and resin onto surface of an exposed mold surface. The composite is then rolled down to flatten and better wet the fibers and then the whole mold is vacuum bagged at room temperature to cure. The flexural stiffness and flexural strength of the composite with …


Tensile Properties Of Adhesive Joints Between Alclad 2024-T3 Aluminum Sheets And Extruded 6061-T6511 Aluminum For Use In Ultralight Personal Aircraft, Kevin Jones Jun 2013

Tensile Properties Of Adhesive Joints Between Alclad 2024-T3 Aluminum Sheets And Extruded 6061-T6511 Aluminum For Use In Ultralight Personal Aircraft, Kevin Jones

Materials Engineering

Cold cure two-part epoxy adhesives were tested in aluminum joints to investigate their viability for use in an ultralight aircraft. The joints consisted of Alclad 2024-T3 aluminum sheets adhesively bonded to extruded 6061-T6511 aluminum, and are part of low-load-bearing members required to carry a minimum load of 175 lbs./ft. or 14.58 lbs./in. The Alclad 2024-T3 and 6061-T6511 aluminum were prepared by sanding with 80 grit abrasive paper, the surface was cleaned with acetone to remove surface contaminants, rinsed with distilled water, and dried using paper towels. Once the surface was prepared, the test coupons were assembled using one of the …


Design Of A Children’S Earth Science Exhibit For The Exploration Station In Grover Beach, California With An Emphasis On Fog Collection, Kathryn Thomas Jun 2013

Design Of A Children’S Earth Science Exhibit For The Exploration Station In Grover Beach, California With An Emphasis On Fog Collection, Kathryn Thomas

Materials Engineering

An outdoor earth science museum exhibit was designed for the Exploration Station in Grover Beach, California, and will use the harvesting methods of fog as a clean water resource to educate children. The design of the exhibit has two parts: a 1 m x 1 m static Standard Fog collector for long term fog collection which rises 2 m off the ground, and a mobile six-panel display consisting of six different materials and structures of meshes, all of which could potentially be used in a large scale fog collection setting. The six-panel portion will present the children with a hands-on …


Fluorescence Characterization Of Quantum Dots For Use As Biomarkers, Logan M. Grimes Jun 2013

Fluorescence Characterization Of Quantum Dots For Use As Biomarkers, Logan M. Grimes

Materials Engineering

Fluorescence profiles of quantum dots (QDs) were characterized to select the ideal QDs for encapsulation in phospholipids for use as biomarkers to selectively adhere to cancer cells. QDs were synthesized and extracted 0, 30, 60, and 90 seconds after precursor compounds were mixed. These extractions were isolated by extraction time. Portions from each vial were coated in a zinc sulfide shelling procedure, leaving at least half of the QD solution unshelled. These samples were characterized over four days to monitor fluctuations in fluorescence. This was done utilizing an Ocean Optics spectrometer in conjunction with Spectra Suite software. The central wavelength, …


Design And Construction Of A Simulated Evaporative Heat Exchanger For Testing The Mitigation Effects Of Pipe Coatings On Mineral Scale Deposition, Taylor J. Anderson Jun 2013

Design And Construction Of A Simulated Evaporative Heat Exchanger For Testing The Mitigation Effects Of Pipe Coatings On Mineral Scale Deposition, Taylor J. Anderson

Materials Engineering

The thermal efficiency of evaporative heat exchangers is diminishing due to mineral scale buildup on heat exchanger surfaces. A simulated evaporative heat exchanger was designed and constructed for testing the mitigation effects of polymer coatings on mineral scale deposition rates. The heat exchanger was designed to cool hot mud at 200°F using a cooling water supply with a calcium concentration of 1000 ppm. The system was constructed using 1.5-inch diameter polypropylene piping, a DIG Corporation drip irrigation system, a TotalPond 530 GPH pond pump, an Omega CSI32K miniature benchtop controller, Omega FWH321-020 high temperature heater tape, and fifteen copper pipe …


Application Of Quantum Dots Onto Glass Wafers As A Feasibility Test For The Spectral Down Conversion Of Uv Light For Solar Cells, Anthony Fong Jun 2013

Application Of Quantum Dots Onto Glass Wafers As A Feasibility Test For The Spectral Down Conversion Of Uv Light For Solar Cells, Anthony Fong

Materials Engineering

Quantum dots have the ability to convert high energy photons into multiple lower energy photons. Down conversion of such high energy photons from sources such as UV light can be beneficial for applications on solar cells which waste much of the energy in the form of thermalization. To test this theory, a solar cell was hooked up to an Amprobe Solar Analyzer and tests were run to compare power output with and without the presence of quantum dots. Additionally, quantum dots were spin coated onto a glass wafer to determine its adhesion ability. Spectrometer readings were taken of the wafer …


Thermally Insulating Coating For Steel Drill Pipe, Matthew Mccaffrey Jun 2013

Thermally Insulating Coating For Steel Drill Pipe, Matthew Mccaffrey

Materials Engineering

A 5/16 in thick, 6 in x 6 in steel plate was used as a simple analog to 4 inch grade “S” steel drill pipe. Ethylene tetraflouroethylene (ETFE) applied as a powder coating was selected as the desired thermally insulating coating because of its excellent chemical resistance, maximum service temperature of 300°C, its thermal conductivity of 0.238 W/m-K, and for its ability to be applied in thicknesses of up to 80 mils. A powder primer coat of approximately 2 mils was applied using a conventional corona electrostatic powder sprayer, and then the high build topcoat was applied directly over the …