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Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering
Human-Powered Concrete Mixer, Connor Mcloughlin, Nathan Metzger, Nicholas Szychowski, Madelyn Bustard-Gustafson
Human-Powered Concrete Mixer, Connor Mcloughlin, Nathan Metzger, Nicholas Szychowski, Madelyn Bustard-Gustafson
Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses
There are currently many non-profit organizations and social enterprises working to alleviate the hardships of living in a developing economy, such as lack of proper homes, schooling, and bathrooms. The solutions to these problems rely on concrete, and are currently limited by the mixing time for these batches of concrete in rural and remote areas. Mixing with shovels is inefficient and imprecise, and the possible solution of a portable gas-powered concrete mixer is too expensive and too immobile for remote areas. The Human-Powered Concrete Mixer (HPCM) provides an alternative to these methods that is more efficient and more precise than …
Scu Mini Baja, Christian Ruiz, Mauricio Jimenez, Anmol Josen, Christian Hellmers, Angel Robles, Matthew Nagy, Ruben Contreras, Westley Tusa, Chad Russick
Scu Mini Baja, Christian Ruiz, Mauricio Jimenez, Anmol Josen, Christian Hellmers, Angel Robles, Matthew Nagy, Ruben Contreras, Westley Tusa, Chad Russick
Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses
Baja SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) is an intercollegiate competition to design, fabricate, and race a small, single passenger, off-road vehicle powered by a 10 HP Briggs & Stratton 4-Stroke gasoline engine. The purpose of this project was to optimize the design of a baja vehicle appropriate enough to compete in the SAE competition held in California and perform finite element analysis (FEA) for the verification of the frame and overall design of the vehicle. The design of this vehicle was created through outside research of previous baja buggies made for the competition and the group was split into three …
Vtol Search And Rescue, Nicholas Keyes, Francesca Caruso, Nick Gagliardi, Joshua Ramayrat, Kia Moazzami
Vtol Search And Rescue, Nicholas Keyes, Francesca Caruso, Nick Gagliardi, Joshua Ramayrat, Kia Moazzami
Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses
This project focuses on the design of a hybrid vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft that, by using separate propulsion systems, transitions from a quadcopter into horizontal flight. It was designed for use in search and rescue (SAR) missions in national parks due to their high costs, long search times, and the volume of these missions. The aircraft can be easily deployed in less than a couple minutes reducing search time, costs only $2000 saving SAR teams money, and allows for camera integration for hiker location. The aircraft used a pre-built airframe with added modifications, and a specifically designed avionic …
Benchtop Centrifuge For Materials Science, Ryan Schulz, Thomas Valentine, Abhay Gupta
Benchtop Centrifuge For Materials Science, Ryan Schulz, Thomas Valentine, Abhay Gupta
Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses
The Benchtop Centrifuge was designed to serve for research purposes within theMechanical Engineering Department at Santa Clara University. The prototype has been completely assembled and is functioning to the desired specifications of applying up to 1000 g’s of force for over 4 hours. The current uses are anticipated for separation of particles within materials for material processing and testing. The overall systemdesign has been adapted froma legacy project within the University. Various tests were conducted in order to ensure safety and usability of the system. Through Abaqus analysis and drop-test experiments, it was found enclosure itself can withstand an impact …
Poly Pelletizer: Recycled Pet Pellets From Water Bottles, Logan Costa-Smith, Ian Maltzer, James Martino
Poly Pelletizer: Recycled Pet Pellets From Water Bottles, Logan Costa-Smith, Ian Maltzer, James Martino
Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses
Plastic water bottles comprise a large amount of waste worldwide. The goal of the Poly Pelletizer project is to create a system that will turn water bottles into polyethylene terephthalate (PET) pellets compatible with extruders to produce 3-D printer lament, along with other recycling applications.The system promotes a sustainable solution to plastic pollution by giving manufactures, particularly in developing nations, the means to produce their own bulk materials using waste plastic. Shrinking industrial recycling processes to a workbench scale gives individuals the ability to convert excess bottles into seemingly limitless products. The system works by using a dual heating and …
Wear-Resistant Extrusion Auger For The Production Of Charcoal Briquettes From Agricultural Waste, Maureen O’Neill, Aaron Wagner
Wear-Resistant Extrusion Auger For The Production Of Charcoal Briquettes From Agricultural Waste, Maureen O’Neill, Aaron Wagner
Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses
Ugandan social enterprise AEST makes and sells agricultural waste charcoal briquettes. The extrusion auger used wore down quickly, hampering production. The team worked to find a better material or heattreatment process to improve the auger's lifetime. The team built a custom pin-on-disk testing apparatus and used it along with optical microscopy to analyze the wear mechanism. The team then heat-treated and tested additional samples to find the best treatment. The team suggested improving AEST’s current case hardening process by increasing the case depth to 0.04 in (0.1016 cm) and using oil quenching.
Variable Drive Vehicle, Christopher Clark, Michael D'Arrigo, Graham Mcclone, Joseph Sahyoun
Variable Drive Vehicle, Christopher Clark, Michael D'Arrigo, Graham Mcclone, Joseph Sahyoun
Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses
The versatility of current rovers and exploratory vehicles is limited by a single drive system. The Variable Drive Vehicle (VDV) employs a actuated systemcapable of switching between wheeled and tracked drive modes. This allows the vehicle to travel quickly and efficiently over smooth terrain and to traverse more arduous terrain by switching between these two systems. The small scale prototype built over the course of this project is equipped with two modular wheel driven track units to demonstrate the viability of the system. Electric linear actuators and servo motors allow for simple control and a smooth transition between each drive …
Forge 2.0 Clean Burning Cook Stove, William Gebb, Matthew Lee, Thai Ha Sloan, Emily Gray-Gribble
Forge 2.0 Clean Burning Cook Stove, William Gebb, Matthew Lee, Thai Ha Sloan, Emily Gray-Gribble
Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses
Team Forge 2.0 is a team of mechanical engineers that has designed, modified, and manufactured a cook stove that creates a clean burn in order to help relieve respiratory disease and harmful environmental impacts resulting from the combustion of biomass in developing nations. The stove is developed specifically for developing communities in Nicaragua that still use traditional cooking methods which contribute to premature deaths due to respiratory illness. The designed product is a cylindrical cooking device that has a unique air flow system which optimizes the gasification process. Gasification is the process in which gas released from the primary combustion …