Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Deep Reinforcement Learning Of Variable Impedance Control For Object-Picking Tasks, Akshit Lunia

All Theses

The increasing deployment of robots in industries with varying tasks has accelerated the development of various control frameworks, enabling robots to replace humans in repetitive, exhaustive, and hazardous jobs. One critical aspect is the robots' interaction with their environment, particularly in unknown object-picking tasks, which involve intricate object weight estimations and calculations when lifting objects. In this study, a unique control framework is proposed to modulate the force exerted by a manipulator for lifting an unknown object, eliminating the need for feedback from a force/torque sensor. The framework utilizes a variable impedance controller to generate the required force, and an …

A Multi-Aerial Vehicle Platform For Testing Collaborative Mobility Formation Controllers, Matthew Snellgrove

LSU Master's Theses

Multi-agent systems have potential applications in a multitude of fields due to their ability to perform complex tasks with a high degree of robustness. Decentralized systems are multi-agent systems where sensing, control, and communication responsibilities are distributed amongst the agents giving this scheme a particularly high potential for robustness, adaptability, and complexity; however, this comes with its own list of challenges. Formation control is a topic in multi-agent systems that aims to have the agents moving as a virtual rigid body through space. In the literature, there have been successful implementation of formation control algorithms on robot agents in both …

Improving Autonomous Vehicles Operational Performance Using Resilience Engineering, Johan Fanas Rojas

Dissertations

Autonomous vehicles are expected to revolutionize the transportation industry by providing a safer and more efficient means of transportation. However, as autonomous vehicles are deployed on public roads, they are exposed to significant risks, both in terms of safety and system performance. Recent studies have highlighted a range of errors and accidents associated with autonomous vehicles, underscoring the need for a systematic approach to improve their operational resilience. Resilience engineering, a discipline focused on designing and analyzing complex systems to better cope with unexpected events and disruptions, offers a promising framework for addressing these challenges. Despite the potential benefits of …

Laser Stabilization Through Optical Turbulence, Liam Vanderschaaf

All Theses

Laser jitter presents a significant issue in the fields of laser communication and sensing. There are two main categories of positional noise in regards to the instantaneous centroid of a laser propagating over long distances: jitter resulting from optical turbulence and jitter resulting from mechanical vibrations. Optical turbulence was generated using Clemson University’s Variable Turbulence Generator (VTG). The VTG is capable of creating a desired level of optical turbulence that is comparable to atmospheric conditions with fried parameters greater than 0.3 cm. A gaussian laser was transmitted through the VTG and a system of Fast Steering Mirrors and Position Sensing …

Polygait Conveyor Upgrade, William J. Schafer, Carolyn E. Palmer, Carly A. Tudor, Bryan C. Cordutsky

Mechanical Engineering

The PolyGAIT Conveyor Upgrade Mechanical Engineering Senior Project consisted of the complete design process to construct an operational “smart” control system for the conveyor belt loop on Cal Poly’s campus. As requested by project sponsor Dr. Tali Freed, an Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering professor at Cal Poly, the control system requirements included connecting existing conveyor components together, such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader tunnels, photo eye motion sensors, motor powered rollers, and diverting elastic bands. The main design problem is when packages with RFID tags are moving at industry high speed (10 ft/s) they are occasionally not scanned by …

Modelling, Sensing, And Control Of Weld Beads In Gravity Aligned And Non-Gravity Aligned Orientations For Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing, Joshua J. Penney

Doctoral Dissertations

Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) has recently developed into a viable manufacturing process for large, complex metal parts. The WAAM process uses a Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) torch mounted to an automated motion platform to execute a predetermined path plan based on a desired CAD geometry. As the desired geometry becomes more complex, it is advantageous to utilize out-of-position welding techniques used by human welders to stabilize the weld pool during the deposition of large overhangs. To ensure part accuracy and quality, adding layers of real-time control to manage various aspects of the WAAM process is critical. First, a …

Quickcut Waterjet Cutter, Kennedy Dunn, Jacob Storrow, Benjamin Laughrey

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The QuickCut Waterjet Cutter was created in 2019 as a senior design project. This is the third iteration of the waterjet cutter. The goal of this project was to create an operable CNC waterjet cutter that is able to cut 1/16” tensile specimens consisting of nonferrous metal or plastic. This machine will be utilized in the Manufacturing Laboratory at the University of Akron to provide education to interested students on the waterjet cutting process, how it operates, and industrial application of the technology. Waterjet cutting is a subtractive manufacturing process which is recognized for its specialized applications such as cutting …

Inverted Fluorescence Microscope, Matthew B. Pfeiffer, Spencer George Hann, Thomas James Eggenberger, Trevor Lee Blythe

Mechanical Engineering

Team F13 is composed of Trevor Blythe, Spencer Hann, Matthew Pfeiffer, and Thomas Eggenberger. We are all majoring in mechanical engineering and in our final year of study here at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. This project is a continuation of a 2019-2020 senior project. The previous team designed and built a functioning inverted fluorescence microscope (IFM) from scratch. This device was created as a lab tool for undergraduate students to be able to perform experiments on microfluidic devices constructed in Cal Poly’s Microfabrication Laboratory. Although substantially functional, several design constraints had not yet been met. Our team has improved …

Cnc Feed Drive Control, Ryan J. Funchess, Caleb P. O'Gorman, Nick J. Desimone, Juan M. Majano, Samuel K. Wong

Mechanical Engineering

This document serves as the Final Design Report (FDR) for a senior project developed by our team: four senior Mechanical Engineering students and one computer engineering student at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). While the project was completed for, and sponsored by, Professor Simon Xing of Cal Poly, the remainder of the university’s controls professors will be indirectly benefited from this project. Our goal was to design and implement a functional CNC Feed Drive to be used for educational demonstrations and data collection. This document discusses our early product research and benchmark goals, which established constraints …

Controlling Locomotion Of A Robotic Leg, Tai K. Mitchell, Connor Bush, Patrick Ward, Ben Spin

Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Xing and Professor Refvem are working to research and develop a quadruped robot that is capable of basic movements including walking, running, and jumping. As senior project group F-11, we are joining a team of engineers to assist in the development of the quadruped. Our team was tasked with creating a mathematical model, designing a control method, and implementing that control method for the quadruped's legs in Simulink. This will allow both current and future students to understand the response of the system and provide a building point for future researchers to create working quadrupedal robots. This report documents …

Automated Control System For The Remote-Controlled Torch Positioner, Christopher Ferguson, Anna Abate, Kyle Cramer, Alex Sabitsch, Jacob Stefanko

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of this project is to design and implement a controls system for Dr. Morscher’s burner rig. The rig serves to simulate jet turbine conditions and test how materials, specifically ceramic matrix composites, react under high temperatures and stresses. Currently, the location of the torch relies solely on manual adjustments and has no automated control system. The improved design will automatically adjust the torch position based on the desired temperature of the sample being tested, therefore maintaining a steady environment for the sample. The current method of manual adjustments for regulating temperature is a crude solution that does not …

2 Degree Of Freedom Robotic Leg, Oded Tzori, Henry Terrell, Adan Martinez

Mechanical Engineering

Professor Xing, an assistant professor at Cal Poly, proposed the 2 DOF Robotic Leg project for this quarter’s senior project class. The project is to build a robotic leg attached at the hip to a stand, which will be used as a teaching tool and eventually help develop Cal Poly’s very own robotic quadruped. Since this project has multiple uses after its completion, there are multiple customers that it must perform well for: the Cal Poly Mechanical Engineering (ME) Department, the ME Lab instructors, and the students. The Scope of Work (Sections 2 & 3) is composed of 2 main …

Electronic Cvt - Controls, Alec William Hardy, Jessalyn Leora Ann Bernick, Nicholas Esteban Capdevila, Tristan Charles Perry

Mechanical Engineering

The following document outlines the design process, manufacturing, and testing of the control system for an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission (ECVT). This control system was integrated into the custom designed and manufactured mechanical transmission system created in parallel by another senior project group. The transmission was designed for use in the Cal Poly Baja SAE vehicle. Through researching customer needs, competition requirements, previous and alternate CVT designs, and vehicle characteristics, we were able to determine the requirements and specifications for our unique system. Input, output, speed, and durability requirements guided our hardware selection. The primary components which comprised our …

Autonomous Vehicles Operating Collaboratively To Avoid Debris And Obstructions, Toan T. Le, Cole W. Oppenheim, James H. Gildart, Kyle M. Bybee

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the safety and increased fuel efficiency of an automated collision avoidance system in collaborative vehicle platooning. This project was cosponsored by Daimler Trucks North America headquartered in Portland, Oregon, as well as Dr. Birdsong, and Dr. DeBruhl of Cal Poly. The mechanical engineering team consists of Cole Oppenheim, James Gildart, Toan Le, and Kyle Bybee who worked in coordination with a team of computer engineers. Vehicle platooning is a driving technique to increase the fuel efficiency of a group of vehicles by following a lead vehicle closely to reduce the drag experienced …

Development Of A 2d Scr Catalyst On A Diesel Particulate Filter Model For Design And Control Applications To A Ultra Low Nox Aftertreatment System, Venkata Chundru

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This research focuses on modeling and control of PM and NO_x in diesel engine exhaust using an SCR catalyst on a Diesel Particulate Filter (SCR-F). A 2D SCR-F model was developed that is capable of predicting internal states: 2D temperature, PM and NH₃storage distributions and filtration efficiency, pressure drop, PM mass retained in the PM cake and substrate wall and outlet NO, NO₂and NH₃concentrations. The SCR-F model was used to simulate a DOC + SCR-F + DOC + SCR ultra-low NOx system that can achieve > 99.5% NOx conversion efficiency.

The model was calibrated …

Power/Thermal Interaction Within An Adaptive Turbine Engine, Andrew K. Desomma

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Usually power take off (PTO) with a two-spool turbofan engine has been accomplished via the high pressure (HP) shaft and bleed air from the high-pressure compressor (HPC). The PTO is used to run various aircraft components such as generators and hydraulic pumps, which also produce waste heat. To better understand the coupled transient nature of balancing engine thrust, power take off and thermal management, a transient variable cycle three stream turbofan engine model has been developed to investigate the integrated behavior. The model incorporates many dynamic features including a third-stream heat exchanger as a heat sink for thermal management and …

Remotely Controlled Industrial Robotic Arm And Simulation Of Automated Thermal Furnace, Prince Mehandi Ratta

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The right execution of controllers ensures the correct analysis of information, generating efficient results and better optimizing the system. In this report, two controllers were designed. Firstly, a remotely controlled robotic arm, since there are no such type commercially available controllers. Moreover, robotic platforms are costly, so students and researchers are often unable to learn the concepts of programming industrial robots. This project makes a non-destructive, remotely-controlled robotic arm to better teach students and researchers about programming and control of robotic arms. Secondly, simulation of an automated thermal furnace for ArcelorMittal on SIMULINK, which is used for the annealing process …

Wheelie King Trainer And Controller, Michael C. Uytingco, Paul E. Hubner, Dmitriy Petrovykh

Mechanical Engineering

The ``wheelie'' is a popular, classic bicycle trick which novice bicyclists often attempt as an introduction to advanced bike tricks. However, many are hesitant to try due to the risks and safety hazards associated with performing one. The purpose of this project is to create an on-board system which will assist a user in maintaining a wheelie after achieving the required position while incorporating safety mechanisms to prevent the user from injuring themselves or others. Additional requirements of the system are non-obstructive features and seamless transitioning between wheelie conditions.

Upon researching the state of wheelie technology, existing products, such as …

Dynamics And Control Of Jumping Legged Robot, Gurashish Singh

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses

This research aims to studying the agility of legged robots particularly their interactions with the ground and achieve a jumping motion by using an operational space controller. Methods were developed to first formulate the equations of motions of the full system. Then we used the published impact and contact analytical framework to detect simultaneous, indeterminate impact and transition to contact with friction and addressed the well-known issues with energy consistency when using rigid body models for dynamic systems (i.e. there are no unusual gains in the energy after impact has ended). Non-penetration of the ground was achieved through online constraint …

A Two Stage Event Based Data Driven Controller For Improved Grasping Of An Artificial Hand, Christopher Abrego

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations

The human hand is one of the greatest (if not the greatest) tool known to mankind for grasping objects. So much so, that researchers have been investigating the development of artificial biomimetic hands in an effort to mimic their functionality and dexterity with the indent to apply the technology to various robotic platforms; ranging from end effectors for industrial pick-and-place robotics, to upper-limb prosthetics, to humanoids. There are certain features that make this endeavor challenging such as the mechanical design, actuation and sensorization, and functionality as well as the interaction from both the view point of interacting with an end …

Dyno-Mite Redesign, Brandon Joseph Miller, Daniel Robert Hoffman, Richard Demedici Young

Mechanical Engineering

The Cal Poly Mechanical Control Systems Laboratory currently employs an outdated device, known as the Motomatic, to teach students about various motor characteristics and control methods. These include open-loop vs. closed-loop control, speed vs. position control, and DC motor response curves. The current device does not function properly and produces unreliable data due to overwhelming non-linear effects such as stiction and shaft misalignment. Our team was tasked with designing a replacement device that retains many of the same educational goals as the original lab procedure, while also adding new educational goals pertaining to the device system dynamics. The new apparatus, …

Real-Time Minimum Jerk Optimal Trajectory Synthesis And Tracking For Ground Vehicle Applications, Naga Venkata Murali Veerapaneni

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses

Research on wheeled mobile robots has been an active research field for several decades with focus on the problems of stability, maneuverability and control. The trajectory generation for wheeled mobile robots is usually handled by considering a smooth function satisfying the boundary conditions. Even though this problem is well posed for several function classes, the real issue occurs in generating a feasible trajectory for the robot which takes into account the constraints of the system. Another problem from the control system perspective is, whether the derived controller is stable for the entire trajectory span to track the given trajectory. The …

Large Area Sintering Test Platform Design And Preliminary Study On Cross Sectional Resolution, Christopher J. Gardiner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Additive manufacturing involves the layer-wise patterned addition of material to create 3D parts, allowing for parts with complex geometries that traditional subtractive manufacturing processes cannot create, while offering good value for low run production parts by eliminating the cost of tooling. Large Area Sintering is a form of powder based additive manufacturing where entire layer cross sections are heated and fused in a single continuous exposure process. This layer by layer powder sintering process is similar to selective laser sintering, but by heating the cross section at a slower and controllable rate there is an opportunity to achieve tighter control …

Small-Scale Intelligent Vehicle Design Platform, Christopher Grant, Jay Miley, Evan Phillips

Mechanical Engineering

Intelligent Vehicle Design is a growing field with the potential to save many lives by actively minimizing the impacts of human error. Though there are many ways to research intelligent vehicle control, full-scale implementations are expensive and dangerous and computer simulations have extremely steep learning curves. Researchers and students need an accessible, adaptable, and robust development platform to rapidly create and test autonomous control algorithms. While small-scale platforms are often designed from the ground up for specific projects, this requires analysis, design, and manufacture. The goal of this project is to develop a small-scale intelligent vehicle that can be configured …

Blend It Wine Blending Distribution System, Connor Clarry, Russell Temple, Matt Moren

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Semi-Autonomous Golf Cart, Daniel T. Garza, Richard S. Emeott, Matthew E. May, Valerie A. Cherry, Brooke Davidson

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Corgi: Compute Oriented Recumbent Generation Infrastructure, Christopher Allen Hunt

Master's Theses

Creating a bicycle with a rideable geometry is more complicated than it may appear, with today’s mainstay designs having evolved through years of iteration. This slow evolution coupled with the bicycle’s intricate mechanical system has lead most builders to base their new geometries off of previous work rather than expand into new design spaces. This crutch can lead to slow bicycle iteration rates, often causing bicycles to all look about the same. To combat this, several bicycle design models have been created over the years, with each attempting to define a bicycle’s handling characteristics given its physical geometry. However, these …

A Visual Velocity Impedance Controller, Victor Nevarez

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Successful object insertion systems allow the object to translate and rotate to accommodate contact forces. Compliant controllers are used in robotics to provide this accommodation. The impedance compliant controller is one of the more researched and well known compliant controllers used for assembly. The velocity filtered visual impedance controller is introduced as a compliant controller to improve upon the impedance controller. The velocity filtered impedance controller introduces a filter of the velocity impedance and a gain from the stiffness. The velocity impedance controller was found to be more stable over larger ranges of stiffness values than the position based impedance …

Advanced Hydraulic Systems For Next Generation Of Skid Steer Loaders, Mrudula Uday Orpe

Open Access Theses

Fluid power systems have been extensively used in off highway applications like skid steer loaders, wheel loaders, excavators since many years. Work has been done by both industry and academia to improve efficiency, reduce noise and leakages in these systems. With increasing competition in the market, importance is now also given to operator comfort and machine productivity in off highway applications.

Mobile, off – highway vehicles like Skid-steer loaders are widely used in labour saving applications like loading earth into a truck, dig and move material on construction sites to, clean roads, clear snow from roads etc. To carry out …

Biomimetic Seal Flipper Test Rig, Gordon D. Belyea, Laura Kawashiri, Dylan Rinker, Kurt Beske

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.