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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Demonstration Of High-Temperature Operation Of Beta-Gallium Oxide (Β-Ga2o3) Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (Mosfet) With Electrostatic Model In Comsol, Nicholas Paul Sepelak Jan 2022

Demonstration Of High-Temperature Operation Of Beta-Gallium Oxide (Β-Ga2o3) Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (Mosfet) With Electrostatic Model In Comsol, Nicholas Paul Sepelak

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

β-Ga2O3 is a robust semiconductor material set with a large band gap of ~4.8 eV, low intrinsic carrier concentration, and high melting point that offers a stable platform for operating electronic devices at high temperatures and extreme environments. The first half of this thesis will cover the fabrication of a fixture and packaging to test electronic components at high temperatures. Then it will highlight the characterization of β-Ga2O3 field effect transistors from room temperature (RT) up to 500 °C. The devices, fabricated with Ni/Au and Al2O3 gate metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS), demonstrate stable operation up to 500 oC. The tested device shows …


Robust Impedance Control Of A Four Degree Of Freedom Exercise Robot, Santino Joseph Bianco Jan 2019

Robust Impedance Control Of A Four Degree Of Freedom Exercise Robot, Santino Joseph Bianco

ETD Archive

The CSU 4OptimX exercise robot provides a platform for future research into advanced exercise and rehabilitation. The robot and its control system will autonomously modify reference trajectories and impedances on the basis of an optimization criterion and physiological feedback. To achieve this goal, a robust impedance control system with trajectory tracking must be implemented as the foundational control scheme. Two control laws will be compared, sliding mode and H-infinity control. The above robust control laws are combined with underlying impedance control laws to overcome uncertain plant model parameters and disturbance anomalies affecting the input signal. The sliding mode control law …


The Vessel For Autonomous Research Underwater (The Varuna), Tyler Briles, Shae Connor, Erin Guthrie, Anthony Jackson, Madeleine Peauroi Jun 2018

The Vessel For Autonomous Research Underwater (The Varuna), Tyler Briles, Shae Connor, Erin Guthrie, Anthony Jackson, Madeleine Peauroi

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Humans are intimately connected to the Earth’s ocean, and yet only 5% of it has been explored. Learning more about marine life and ocean chemistry can only improve our stewardship efforts. The addition of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle to the Santa Clara University Robotic Systems Laboratory’s collection of marine robots will contribute to this quest for knowledge. It will assist researchers by providing a low-cost, easy-to-use, portable, reliable, and safe alternative to operator-controlled vehicles. This report describes our motivations for this project, the decisions we made in the design and manufacturing of the VARUNA, and tradeoff analyses of possible options. …


Pcb Prototyping, Kasey Chun, Dylan Hack, Ilja Medan, Michael Rudolf, Ryan Sidley Jun 2016

Pcb Prototyping, Kasey Chun, Dylan Hack, Ilja Medan, Michael Rudolf, Ryan Sidley

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

In today’s world, Printed Circuit Boards, also known as PCBs, are part of our daily lives. However, it is currently difficult for students in university classes or hobbyists to quickly produce custom made PCBs since no system exists where every step in the production process is on one platform. There are four main steps that go into manufacturing a PCB once it is fully designed which are: milling, solder dispensing, component placement, and a reflow process. The goal will be to create various toolheads and place them onto a single platform allowing the user to perform the aforementioned production processes. …


Marv: Marine Autonomous Research Vessel, Drew Azevedo, Sam Beltram, Gregorio Delvecchio, Ben Hopner Jun 2016

Marv: Marine Autonomous Research Vessel, Drew Azevedo, Sam Beltram, Gregorio Delvecchio, Ben Hopner

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Conducting hydrologic research in remote areas is currently performed manually, making it a labor intensive and inaccurate solution. Due to the size, weight, and cost of automated solutions on the market today, a need has arisen for a low cost, highly portable, autonomous solution. Working closely with Santa Clara University’s Robotics Systems Lab (RSL), our team has developed a low cost, highly portable autonomous marine research vessel named MARV (Marine Autonomous Research Vessel). It is an autonomous surface platform where scientists outfit the vessel with their own data acquisition equipment. The mechanical chassis is collapsible for modes of remote transportation …


A Simulation And Experimental Study Of Active Disturbance Rejection For Industrial Pressure Control, Xiaoxu Li Jan 2016

A Simulation And Experimental Study Of Active Disturbance Rejection For Industrial Pressure Control, Xiaoxu Li

ETD Archive

The quality of control loop is very important in hydraulic machineries, where pressure must be accurately regulated in the presence of various disturbances. Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control has dominated the industry for a long time and it is by far the most popular general purpose controller for pressure control. The purpose of this study is to conduct a simulation and experimental study comparing PID with an emerging new technology, namely active disturbance rejection control (ADRC). For the purpose of this study, an experimental testbed similar to those used in industry settings is used; its mathematic model is derived and used in …


Rsl Autonomous Rover, Cris Madrigal, Jiachi Zhang, Nicholas Peacock, Brogan O'Hara Jun 2015

Rsl Autonomous Rover, Cris Madrigal, Jiachi Zhang, Nicholas Peacock, Brogan O'Hara

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Autonomous vehicles are useful for a variety of applications such as military, urban, and agricultural environments. This paper discusses adding an autonomous navigation system to an all-terrain vehicle by implementing controllers that interface with its current system, installing sensors on the vehicle for obstacle detection, and developing effective safety mechanisms to prevent injury to others. The result is a vehicle capable of waypoint navigation and obstacle avoidance. Testing the vehicle showed that the LIDAR and the autonomous navigation system were integrated seamlessly, and that the sensor output signals were successfully translated into vehicle commands the existing system uses. This system …


Might-E Wheel, Abigail Grills, Daniel Doke, Jared O'Rourke, Zach Jesberger Jun 2015

Might-E Wheel, Abigail Grills, Daniel Doke, Jared O'Rourke, Zach Jesberger

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Electric bikes are proving to be an increasingly reliable source of transportation, but with large price tags and existing conversion kits proving too complicated and unapproachable for the average user, commuters are failing to consider electric bicycles as an option. A prototype of a wireless, rear-wheel replacement to convert a bicycle from manual to full-power electric was built. This motorized wheel is called Might-E Wheel. Might-E Wheel was designed as the most approachable and user-friendly way to convert a bicycle from manual to full-power electric. Might-E Wheel was able to achieve a top speed of 27.5 km/h, a range of …


Mobile Music: A Musical Therapy Assistance Device, Alex Hildebrand, Tanner Malkoff Jun 2015

Mobile Music: A Musical Therapy Assistance Device, Alex Hildebrand, Tanner Malkoff

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Children suffering from Cerebral Palsy often undergo gait therapy in order to strengthen and coordinate their trunks and legs. The patients often feel unmotivated to perform their gait training because the physical movements associated with it are difficult and there is no immediate reward. Physical therapists (PT) will often play music as an incentive to get the children focused on their physical therapy, but this is inefficient and impedes the PT from analyzing and tuning the patients' gait. Mobile Music is a small device designed for automating musical therapy during gait training. In this paper, we go through several design …


Uavino, Matthew Belesiu, Aaron Chung, Kirby Linvill, Nathan Carlson, Phillip Coyle, Megan Peekema Jun 2015

Uavino, Matthew Belesiu, Aaron Chung, Kirby Linvill, Nathan Carlson, Phillip Coyle, Megan Peekema

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

UAVino is a drone solution that uses aerial imagery to determine the overall plant health and water content of vineyards. In general, the system focuses on automating crop inspection by taking aerial imagery of a vineyard, conducting post-processing, and outputting an easily interpreted map of the vineyard's overall health. The project's key innovation is an auto-docking system that allows the drone to automatically return to its launch point and recharge in order to extend mission duration. Long term, UAVino is envisioned as a multi-year, interdisciplinary project involving both the Santa Clara University Robotics Systems Laboratory and local wineries in order …


Wireless Impact Sensing Headband - W.I.S.H., Ryan Daly, Doug Furstinger, Tim Sashegyi, Nicklaus Schmidt, Mihir Shah Jun 2014

Wireless Impact Sensing Headband - W.I.S.H., Ryan Daly, Doug Furstinger, Tim Sashegyi, Nicklaus Schmidt, Mihir Shah

Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses

The prevalence of undiagnosed head injuries in the athletic world, and their associated health risks, is too great to ignore. This is especially true in non-helmeted sports where the availability of impact monitoring technologies is few and far between. In this paper, we discuss our wireless impact sensing headband technology that aids in the awareness and detection of potential concussions, from inception through design completion. Through the use of a custom-built validation system capable of simulating impact collisions, along with a series of experiments and revisions, our team was able to build a device that can sense and transmit data …


Formula Electric : Powertrain, Mark Allison, Bryan Bidwell, Stuart Hopson, Jackson Smith, Carlos Streegan, Dominic Villa Jun 2013

Formula Electric : Powertrain, Mark Allison, Bryan Bidwell, Stuart Hopson, Jackson Smith, Carlos Streegan, Dominic Villa

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

The Santa Clara Formula Electric team designed, and manufactured a powertrain for an electric racecar according to the rules prescribed by the SAE International Formula Electric competition. The powertrain is divided into subsystems: the battery pack, battery pack cooling system, motor controller, and the motor. The battery pack was constructed, but full electrical connection of all cells were not made. The pack was not integrated with the motor and motor controller. In addition, due to time constraints, extensive testing could not be completed.