Engineering Commons^™

Laser Assisted Direct Writing Of Liquid Metal For Microprinting Applications, Olga Vargas Cruz

Theses and Dissertations

This paper presents a research study for potential printing of a Liquid Metal (LM) Eutectic Gallium Indium alloy (EGaIn) through the applications of the innovative additive manufacturing technology LIFT (Laser Induced Forward Transfer). LIFT is a precise printing technology that allows to create small, detailed printing. The liquid metal in study, EGaIn, has demonstrated great potential for microelectronics applications due to its minimum toxicity and high conductivity. Throughout this research different printing parameters are studied to comprehend the behavior of EGaIn printing with LIFT technique, these include laser energy, laser pulse, receiver material substrate, donor layer thickness, and …

Stability And Control Flight Testing Of A Modified Cessna 172, Tatiana Dirrigl Forbes

Theses and Dissertations

The Cessna 172N is a small, fixed-wing, single-engine aircraft. The modified Cessna 172N included a swapped engine to a Lycoming O-360-A4M, tuned exhaust, and variable timing ignition installed. Test flights on this aircraft were performed order to evaluate the stability and control characteristics of the Cessna 172N, and compare them with the regulations in the Title 14 CFR Part 23 Airworthiness Standards for Normal, Utility, Acrobatic, and Commuter Category Airplanes. The flight test consisted of four separate tests performed during a single flight, departing from and returning to Melbourne Orlando International airport (KMLB). The data was collected through static and …

A Tessellation Of Engineers, Grace Jenkins Welsh

University Honors Theses

A capstone project is the culmination of what a student has learned while pursuing an undergraduate degree. A project of this magnitude requires a lot of time and dedication from every member of the team. This essay looks back at the experience of an electrical engineering student participating in the design of an auxiliary power and protection of a planned substation. The author describes the team's work, how they performed as a team, and their involvement with the professional sponsor and advisor. The author examines the experience with the goal of informing and encouraging prospective engineering students who may be …

Uncertainty Quantification Framework For Design Optimization, Austin Ryan Williams

Masters Theses

Difficulty to obtain neutron sources of interest have driven the need for optimization
techniques to tailor a neutron generator as a replacement. A proposed solution uses
off-the-shelf neutron sources coupled with an energy-tuning assembly to mimic the
source of interest (i.e. AmLi, AmBe, thermonuclear fission spectra, etc.). These
energy-tuning assemblies have been designed with complex optimization algorithms
coupled with Monte Carlo simulations. These new system surrogate designs often
do not have an experimental counterpart for validation and comparison, and lack
non-statistical uncertainties. This work aims to improve confidence in the predictions
by providing a tool for fast uncertainty quantification to …

Comparing Polytechnic And Liberal Arts Institutions: Leaks In The System, Ryan Drew Baldwin

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The United States has long been a pioneer in higher education, yet the last few decades have proven challenging in maintaining its lead in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields (STEM). Students entering postsecondary education and participating in a STEM degree face increased academic rigor and this study’s goal is to better understand factors that influence their retention. There are many psychosocial, environmental, and academic variables that may impact a student’s retention and this study aims to investigate how those variables inform a students likelihood of being retained and if there are meaningful differences between polytechnic and non-polytechnic institutions.

The Performance Analysis And Optimization Of Wave Energy Converters From Modeling To Basin Testing, Lauren Dickson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The successful development and optimization of wave energy converters (WECs) are pivotal to the pursuit of sustainable and renewable energy sources. This thesis explores the elements in a workflow that develops and demonstrates the protocols for the optimization of WECs using a rapid design\build\test procedure. This thesis establishes the characterization of scaled ocean test sites, develops the performance metrics, generates the performance modeling techniques to predict the optimum design geometries which will be produced for final testing, and finally, establishes the basin test plan which will be used to conduct the testing on the optimum design. The findings of this …

Thermoacoustic Refrigerator, Rees Phillip Verleur, Colleen Farrell Mccandless, Anders Matthew Bjork, Yashraj Ashwinkumar Solanki

Mechanical Engineering

In the Thermoacoustic Refrigerator Cal Poly Mechanical Engineering senior project, we designed, built, and tested a thermoacoustic refrigeration system which achieved an average temperature difference of 11.0°C. Our system consists of a resonator tube with an instrumented stack, mounted onto a base with a speaker and amplifier. An external power supply and function generator provide the power and signal to the system, and a thermocouple reader displays the temperature of the top and bottom of the stack. The system consistently achieved a significant temperature difference between the two ends of the stack in various ambient conditions, and it was quick …

Study Of A Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite Using A Biobased Polyurethane As A Thermosetting Resin, Teddy Mageto

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer composites (CFRP) have garnered increasing interest in recent years especially in the aerospace and automobile industries where they are gradually replacing metals as structural materials. This is owing to their light weight, high strength, high modulus, and excellent strength-to-weight ratio. Polymers are typically used as thermosetting resins in these composites. However, the synthesis of polymers currently is conducted via petrochemical processes which leads to adverse effects on the environment. To this end, in this work a biobased Polyurethane (PU) was used as a thermosetting resin in a CFRP. The biobased PU was synthesized by the reaction …

A Screening Tool For The Implementation Of Electric And Thermal Energy Storage Systems At Commercial And Industrial Facilities, Mckenna P. Amerson

Theses and Dissertations

The integration of on-site renewable systems with energy storage devices is an important topic in improving energy management for commercial buildings and industrial facilities. Energy storage technologies have the ability to impact the end user’s power reliability while creating measurable energy and cost savings. However, the potential yet remains to increase the application of these systems. To determine the feasibility of renewables and energy storage in commercial and industrial applications, a pre-screening software tool is developed using data-driven algorithms to complete an energy, cost, and carbon savings analysis of storage implementation. A case study of a standalone retail building is …

Designing The Power System Of A Robot, Nolan Hays

Honors College Theses

This thesis outlines the acquired skills and knowledge acquired through the course of four years of Murray State University’s School of Engineering. The capstone for students in the department was to team up and complete an interdisciplinary senior design project using skills from various tracks of engineering. For this thesis, there is a greater emphasis on the electrical engineering track. The objective of the project was to build an autonomous robot to complete the various tasks within the scope of the IEEE SoutheastCon 2023 Hardware Competition. The robot was controlled via a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B. There were three …

An Electric Commerce Platform For Material Testing Laboratories, John Ferris Mitchener

Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of the Internet has allowed businesses to create new sales and marketing channels to provide value for their customers in the marketplace. Engineering manufacturers and suppliers have taken advantage of the internet to automate the customer service aspects of their businesses as well as to market their services in a cost-effective but widespread manner. This work aims to apply the practices and benefits of electronic commerce (e-commerce) to a material testing laboratory through the creation of a functioning website with e-commerce features. The effects of Search Engine Optimization, website accessibility issues, marketing considerations, security concerns, and common business …

The Engineering Challenges Of Designing And Manufacturing A Tensegrity Cup Stand, Yaniv Goulet, Daniel Ferro

Honors Theses

Progressing from a simple idea into a fully developed product is one of the main goals of any engineer. Through Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence’s capstone program, the team was tasked with realizing a tensegrity cup stand. The tensegrity structure consists of a top and a bottom of some form only supporting itself by tension. The team had to research the concept, create an initial design, create a prototype of the product, improve the design after the prototype’s mistakes, apply lean principles to improve the manufacturing efficiency, and analyze all the economic impacts of the engineering decisions. In the …

Free-Body Diagram Analysis And Movement Design Of A Functional Prosthetic Hand, Hayden Smee

Honors College Theses

The loss of a limb is a devastating event to an individual on both physical and psychological levels. Despite decades of advancements in medicine, occupational health, and general safety in society, most people know someone or have encountered individuals affected by limb loss. This project created a prosthetic hand designed to aid those individuals. The hand is a predominantly 3D-printed prosthetic hand that includes an individually moving index finger and opposable thumb capable of grasping a full soda can weighing 385 grams (0.85 pounds). Numerous design solutions for the actuation of the fingers and thumb were considered and rejected. Cable …

Structure And Movement Design To Build A Functional Prosthetic Hand, John Campbell

Honors College Theses

This project aims to create a functional prosthetic hand that will improve upon the previous design for this project. The previous design included four fingers which were moved using a four-bar linkage and slider crank mechanism in combination with a linear actuator to move all four fingers in unison. Two servo motors were used to create an opposable thumb that could be used to grasp objects. Movement of the prosthetic hand was activated using a signal received from a myoelectric sensor. The goal of this project is to study this design and attempt to upgrade the prosthetic hand utilizing a …

A Questionnaire Survey Of Student Engagement Among First-Generation College Students In Engineering, Abigail Lehto

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

First-generation college (FGC) students are defined as students whose parents do not have a bachelor's or graduate degree. FGC students tend to face more overall challenges in the college environment than their continuing-generation counterparts. Often, FGC students have lower grade-point-averages (GPAs) and are less likely to graduate than their peers. In majors like engineering, the struggles that first-generation college students face can be further magnified. This quantitative study examines the activities FGC students in engineering engage in based on the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Questions from the NSSE cover different educational activities and are categorized into ten educational …

Level 3 High Powered Rocketry Certification Through Tripoli Rocketry Association, Zachary Foster

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper aims to give an overview of the Level 3 certification process through the TRIPOLI Rocketry Association. This paper will also give an overview of Zachary Foster’s Level 3 Certification submission. The overview of the certification submission will include fin flutter calculations, stability calculations, descent rate calculations, flight simulations, flight results, construction overview, drawing package for the airframe, and pre-flight checklists. The results of fin flutter calculations showed that the minimum flutter speed is 1972 ft/s. The maximum flight velocity is 1309.6 ft/s. The flutter calculation has a total factor of safety of 1.5. The stability calculations show a …

Fixing The Maze: Redesigning The Ksu Johnson Library Map, Gabriella Cumberbatch, Alexa Cosgrove, Katia Alexis, Ipek Erbaz

Senior Design Project For Engineers

The purpose of this report is to research and implement new ways to redesign the KSU Johnson Library map and increase the amount of navigation signage. Through time studies and surveys, the team identified resources that take a long time to find. A second round of time studies and surveys was conducted to ensure that the new implementations, signages, and maps are effective. The team also suggests redesigning the floor plans to make them clearer and easier to understand. Team Scrappy concludes that the redesigned map and library signage have significantly improved the ease of navigation within the Johnson Library. …

Surface Engineering And Microfabrication Of Pdms-Based Devices For Women’S Health Applications, Jamar Hawkins

Doctoral Dissertations

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) is a widely used polymer in biomedical and microfluidics research due to its optical transparency, castability, gas permeability, and relative biocompatibility. However, while the favorable intrinsic properties of the polymer are typically suitable for preventing experimental artifacts, the true advantage of these devices often comes from their customized patterning and design, which can be tailored to specific applications. Critical parameters in biomedical applications such as chemical concentration profiles, fluid streamlines, substrate topography, and mechanical stiffness can all be fine-tuned simply by selecting the appropriate dimensions and arrangement of PDMS microstructures. To address challenges in expanding the application of …

Advancing The Engineering Workforce By Enhancing Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In The Engineering Classroom, Phoneia Hughes Myers

Theses and Dissertations

Society’s dependence on engineered products is steadily increasing. This dependence requires the engineering workforce to continually innovate and design new advancements. In pursuit of this, engineering employers are implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to attract prime candidates and retain employees. For employers to achieve the goals of their initiatives, engineering colleges and universities must produce a diverse pool of graduates. The purpose of this thesis report is to investigate how the diversity, equity, and inclusion concept can be implemented into engineering education to assist with producing diverse graduating classes. A universal methodology is proposed to provide a roadmap on …

The Analysis, Development And Calibration Of Prototype Hardware In Effort To Improve Brake Thermal Efficiency And Real-World Fuel Economy Of The International Supertruck, Matthew Taylor

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The work performed for this project was in part of the effort of the Department of Energy Sponsored program called ‘SuperTruck’. The entirety of the Supertruck program encompasses total vehicle re-design to achieve 80% freight efficiency improvement (over the 2009MY baseline production vehicle). However, the other main goal for the program is to achieve 50% engine brake thermal efficiency. The work outlined in this document describes the efforts performed on base engine and thus mainly contributing towards 50% BTE. Though ultimately reducing BSFC by increasing BTE contributes to both outcomes. The engine development data discussed in this paper was collected …

Frostflex, Isaac Edmondson, Caleb Edmondson, Joey Esker, Nadine Salem

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Research has shown that the majority of heat lost during physical exercise leaves the body through the hands, feet, and the face. Our design project seeks to develop cooling glove technology to increase the rate at which heat leaves the body during recovery from physical exertion. The goal of this project was to investigate different ways in which heat absorption through various mediums can be manipulated and scaled into an adaptable, flexible design in which athletes of all levels, from recreational to professional, can improve their physical performance with the use of our gloves. Deliverables include a functional prototype, product …

Winter Dynamics Of Storm Water Management Ponds And Winter Tolerance In Three Aquatic Plant Species, Patrick Strzalkowski

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The vast majority of the research into the performance of stormwater management ponds (SWMPs) has been performed in warm regions or during the warmer seasons in temperate regions. It is presumed that SWMPs are inactive in the winter as any potential stormwater is trapped in snow and ice. The main goal of this thesis was to test this presumption and to study the dynamics and performance of three SWMPs during the winter. Remote water level loggers were installed into the three SWMPs and daily grab samples from the influents and effluents were taken and analyzed for total phosphorus (TP), chloride, …

Engineering The Development Of Neuromuscular Circuitry On-Chip, Inès Khiyara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neuromuscular development happens in a complex interconnected network of biochemical pathways. This complicated embryonic development follows a strong, functional, and precise neuromuscular network that has interested both scientists and engineers who seek to better understand neuromuscular diseases. These disorders can be inherited or acquired, and their severity and mortality can vary. Researchers first studied the neuromuscular network from an organismal perspective, and more recently from an embryological, cellular, molecular, biochemical, and genetic perspective. From these studies, the fundamental principles of motor neuron pathfinding to muscles are widely understood, but the molecular drivers of specific nerve-muscle pairing remain unknown. Although in …

Recruiting More U.S. Women Into Engineering Based On Stories From Morocco: A Qualitative Study, Soundouss Sassi

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this project is to examine the differences between Moroccan and American students with regards to the cultural influences that led them to pursue an engineering degree. Annually since 2015, a partnership between a university in Morocco and MSU allows senior engineering Moroccan students to study at MSU to obtain their graduate degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering. The roughly equal gender representation in most Moroccan cohorts prompted our research question: “How do students from Morocco and the United States describe the cultural reasons that factored into their choice to pursue an engineering degree?” This exploratory qualitative study …

Exploring The Effect Of Environmental Degradation On The Shape Memory Properties Of Polymers, Jorge Mario Avila

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A key detriment of the use of polymers by our society is the negative effect this material class has had on the environment. A category of polymers known as shape memory polymers (SMP)s have the ability to return to a programmed original shape form after deformation to a temporary shape by using stimuli such as temperature, electrical pulses and even magnetism. The shape memory effect allows for some polymers to heal if they are damaged. This ability to heal means that components made from these materials can be reused rather than thrown away if they are damaged. The work presented …

Development Of An Excel Model To Evaluate The Stability Of Slopes, Bradley Davis

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This objective of this study is to determine a method or tool for taking given slope stability parameters and quickly and effectively determining the factor of safety against sliding of fully softened slopes. This study evaluates the effects of soil and geometric parameters of common slopes, and models these properties in a hypothetical model. The methodology is based on a parametric analysis using the Spencer’s Method of Slices limit equilibrium analysis used in the computer program Slide2. A parametric analysis is performed to determine which soil and/or geometric properties have a high influence on slope stability. The parametric analysis is …

Brain Electrophysiology In The Presence Of Acoustic Stimuli, Kristen Howorka

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Neuroscience is the study of the structure and function of the brain. This is inclusive of neurochemistry, physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, computer science, engineering and many adjacent disciplines. While there have been a multitude of studies in this field, there are still so many questions left unanswered about the brain. One such question pertains to how animals and humans perceive stimuli from the environmental periphery, a neuroscience sub-area known as sensory processing.

By design, humans have neurological states and receptors which organically take in all of these stimuli and decipher them for everyday needs. Sensory input enables subjects to perform …

Mmteg Heatsink Design, Peyton Nienaber, Kadin Feldis, Alec Savoye, Jack Waeschle

Mechanical Engineering

In this document, Cal Poly Senior Design Team F16 presents a summary of its work developing a suitable heatsink for Gas Technology Institute’s Methane Mitigation Thermoelectric Generator. After several months of iterating between experimental testing and simulated heat transfer, a suitable prototype was selected for use in further refining simulation parameters. This was called the structural prototype and it allowed Team F16 to confirm several remaining unknowns relating to component thermal conductivity. All documentation of this process can be found in Preliminary, Critical, and Interim Design Review documents (PDR, CDR, IDR), included in this report. Having a realistic model …

Mechanized Theatre Turntable, Chloe Huiyi Chou, Ethan Lee Stroh, Ruodolf Reller Quelnat Rumbaoa, Davide Lanfranconi

Mechanical Engineering

This project aimed to create a remote-control and drive system for a theatrical turntable that was constructed by the Theatre and Dance Department of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Over the course of three quarters, the team successfully designed and manufactured a working verification prototype. This verification prototype was then tested, and the project sponsor verified that it met all specifications. The current iteration of the verification prototype can support up to a load of 1400 lbf, rotate a 12 ft diameter turntable clockwise and counterclockwise with a speed range of 1 to 4 rpm, and is able …

Current-Source Dc-Dc Converter, Rocio Sanchez-Mendoza, Carlos Aguilar, Adrian Aranjo

Electrical Engineering

In this project, a hardware implementation of a current-source DC-DC converter for powering sensors used in an underwater communications system is presented. The proposed converter is designed to step down an input current of 0.9 A to 0.625 A, while maintaining an output voltage of 24 V and output power of 15 W. An overview of the system design is explained as well as the component selection process. The design of the converter was simulated and evaluated using LTspice before being physically constructed on a printed circuit board. Performance evaluation of the proposed converter was carried out in multiple lab …