Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Test And Evaluation Model For Midwater Docking Of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, Parker Baillon

Theses and Dissertations

This research created a Test and Evaluation (T&E) model for midwater Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) capture. The creation of this model will allow for a better assessment of the feasibility of midwater AUV capture. To achieve this, the T&E model was exposed to various flow conditions to assess stability. Capturing an AUV in midwater, the area below the wave-affected zone to the sea floor, has many benefits for an AUV and its mission. AUVs basing missions from a midwater dock will not be affected by wave motions. A midwater dock can be transported to any mission site and deployed with …

Mechanics Desktop Lab Equipment, Dante Azpilcueta, Quentin F. Mormann, Arfan Ansar

Mechanical Engineering

This paper overviews the design, implementation and testing of a senior project designed to fix the issue of there being no lab equipment or space for content pertaining to mechanic of materials topics. This is of concern as Cal Poly is reorganizing content as it switches to the semester system and is in need of labs for this material. The solution found was to create a portable miniature universal test machine that could be carted into non-lab classrooms. The goal was to create a device that was low-cost, modifiable, durable, easy to manufacture and repair as these were the qualities …

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 …

Correlation Of And Development Of Procedure To Use A Resonant Plate With Mechanical Excitation For Shock Testing Small-To-Medium Size Spacecraft And Provide Aerospace Shock Analysis And Testing Guidelines, Monty Kennedy

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In the aerospace industry it is known that performing shock analysis and testing on spacecraft is difficult to do mostly because shock loads create a very short duration shock wave transient that can have high acceleration peak levels (1,000-5,000 g) and wide frequency content (100-10,000 Hz). FE (finite-element) shock analysis is difficult because implicit linear FE software commonly used for most vibration analysis in aerospace does not account for shock wave propagation, reflection, and attenuation that occurs based upon the distance from the shock source at the base of the spacecraft and the attenuations that occurs through mechanical joints. Spacecraft …

A Low-Cost And Low-Tech Solution To Test For Variations Between Multiple Offline Programming Software Packages., Steffen Wendell Bolz

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This research paper chronicles the attempt to bring forth a low-cost and low-tech testing methodology whereby multiple offline programming (OLP) software packages’ generated programs may be compared when run on industrial robots. This research was initiated by the discovery that no real research exists to test between iterations of OLP software packages and that most research for positional accuracy and/or repeatability on industrial robots is expensive and technologically intensive. Despite this, many countries’ leaders are pushing for intensive digitalization of manufacturing and Small and Mediumsized Enterprises (SMEs) are noted to be lagging in adoption of such technologies. The research consisted …

Adjust-A-Ramp, Taylor Sharrits, Courtney Banks, Emily Beck, Jazmin Buenrostro

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Adjust-A-Ramp is a portable ramp designed to ensure the safety of consumers and prevention of damage to cars, specifically towards low profile cars. A low-profile vehicle includes any vehicle that has a clearance off the ground of 6.5 inches or less. Advantages of low-profile vehicles include improved handling, better braking, increased fuel efficiency, increased stability, and an overall luxury aesthetic. The reduced tire size increases grip on smooth surfaces with better wheel response, creating a fast, more efficient ride. The simple tire tread patterns and the stiff sidewalls allow for lower rolling resistance which increases fuel economy. The Adjust-A-Ramp can …

Automated Scenario Generation Using Halton Sequences For The Verification Of Autonomous Vehicle Behavior In Simulation, Andrew Ferree

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

As autonomous vehicles continue to develop, verifying their safety remains a large hurdle to mass adoption. One component of this is testing, however it has been shown that it is impractical to statistically prove an autonomous vehicle’s safety using real-world testing alone. Therefore, simulation tools and other virtual testing methods are being employed to assist with the verification process. Testing in simulation still faces some of the challenges of the real world, such as the difficulty in exhaustively testing the system in all scenarios it will encounter. Manual scenario creation is time consuming and does not guarantee scenario coverage. Pseudo-random …

Thermal Conductivity Measuring Device, Kyle Saalfeld

All Undergraduate Projects

The thermal conductivity measuring device is used to measure thermal conductivity of solids, liquids, and food products. Thermal conductivity is a material property that determines the rate at which heat disperses through a material. This determines how well insulation works, what materials are used as heat sinks, refrigeration, and how thoroughly food is cooked. The device measures thermal conductivity by heating up a thermistor bead using a high magnitude current for a measured duration and allowing the given heat to disperse; meeting the goal of designing a device that can easily measure the conductivity. Additional requirements of this device include …

Estimating The Inner Ring Defect Size And Residual Service Life Of Freight Railcar Bearings Using Vibration Signatures, Jennifer Lima, Constantine Tarawneh, Jesse Aguilera, Jonas Cuanang

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

There are currently two primary wayside detection systems for monitoring the health of freight railcar bearings in the railroad industry: The Trackside Acoustic Detection System (TADS™) and the wayside Hot-Box Detector (HBD). TADS™ uses wayside microphones to detect and alert the train operator of high-risk defects. However, many defective bearings may never be detected by TADS™ since a high-risk defect is a spall which spans about 90% of a bearing’s raceway, and there are less than 30 systems in operation throughout the United States and Canada. HBDs sit on the side of the rail-tracks and use non-contact infrared sensors to …

Optimization Of Railroad Bearing Health Monitoring System For Wireless Utilization, Jonas Cuanang, Constantine Tarawneh, Martin Amaro Jr., Jennifer Lima, Heinrich D. Foltz

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the railroad industry, systematic health inspections of freight railcar bearings are required. Bearings are subjected to high loads and run at high speeds, so over time the bearings may develop a defect that can potentially cause a derailment if left in service operation. Current bearing condition monitoring systems include Hot-Box Detectors (HBDs) and Trackside Acoustic Detection Systems (TADS™). The commonly used HBDs use non-contact infrared sensors to detect abnormal temperatures of bearings as they pass over the detector. Bearing temperatures that are about 94°C above ambient conditions will trigger an alarm indicating that the bearing must be removed from …

Prototyping A Conductive Polymer Steering Pad For Rail Freight Service, Anthony A. Villarreal, Constantine Tarawneh, Miguel Ontiveros, James Aranda, Robert Jones

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The AdapterPlus™ steering pad is a polymer component on a railcar that helps to reduce stresses on the axle as a railcar rounds a curve. One railway application requires a minimum of 240 mA to be passed through the steering pad to the rail, which activates air valves that control automated cargo gates. Currently, two copper studs are inserted into the pad to provide a conductive path. However, after continuous cyclic loading caused by normal service operation, the copper studs deform, wear, and eventually lose contact between the two surfaces rendering the pad nonconductive. One proposed solution to this problem …

Estimating The Outer Ring Defect Size And Remaining Service Life Of Freight Railcar Bearings Using Vibration Signatures, Joseph Montalvo, Constantine Tarawneh, Jennifer Lima, Jonas Cuanang, Nancy De Los Santos

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The railroad industry currently utilizes two wayside detection systems to monitor the health of freight railcar bearings in service: The Trackside Acoustic Detection System (TADS™) and the wayside Hot-Box Detector (HBD). TADS™ uses wayside microphones to detect and alert the conductor of high-risk defects. Many defective bearings may never be detected by TADS™ since a high-risk defect is a spall which spans more than 90% of a bearing’s raceway, and there are less than 20 systems in operation throughout the United States and Canada. Much like the TADS™, the HBD is a device that sits on the side of the …

Aerodynamic Design Optimization Of A Locomotive Nose Fairing For Reducing Drag, Chad Lamar Stucki

Theses and Dissertations

Rising fuel cost has motivated increased fuel efficiency for freight trains. At cruising speed,the largest contributing factor to the fuel consumption is aerodynamic drag. As a result of stagnationand flow separation on and around lead and trailing cars, the first and last railcars experiencegreater drag than intermediate cars. Accordingly, this work focused on reducing drag on lead locomotivesby designing and optimizing an add-on nose fairing that is feasible for industrial operation.The fairing shape design was performed via computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software.The simulations consisted of two in-line freight locomotives, a stretch of rails on a raised subgrade,a computational domain, and …

Vibration-Based Defect Detection For Freight Railcar Tapered-Roller Bearings, Joseph Montalvo, Constantine Tarawneh, Arturo A. Fuentes

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The railroad industry currently utilizes two wayside detection systems to monitor the health of freight railcar bearings in service: The Trackside Acoustic Detection System (TADS™) and the wayside Hot-Box Detector (HBD). TADS™ uses wayside microphones to detect and alert the conductor of high risk defects. Many defective bearings may never be detected by TADS™ due to the fact that a high risk defect is considered a spall which spans more than 90% of a bearing’s raceway, and there are less than 20 systems in operation throughout the United States and Canada. Much like the TADS™, the HBD is a device …

Defect Prognostics Models For Spall Growth In Railroad Bearing Rolling Elements, Nancy De Los Santos, Constantine Tarawneh, Robert E. Jones, Arturo A. Fuentes

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Prevention of railroad bearing failures, which may lead to catastrophic derailments, is a central safety concern. Early detection of railway component defects, specifically bearing spalls, will improve overall system reliability by allowing proactive maintenance cycles rather than costly reactive replacement of failing components. A bearing health monitoring system will provide timely detection of flaws. However, absent a well verified model for defect propagation, detection can only be used to trigger an immediate component replacement. The development of such a model requires that the spall growth process be mapped out by accumulating associated signals generated by various size spalls. The addition …

A Vertical Axis Rotor For Wave Energy Conversion, Yingchen Yang, Joab Soto, Francisco Salazar

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The present work augments vertical-axis unidirectional wave energy converter (WEC) designs with a new approach. The enabling technique is the hydrodynamic design of a special rotor, which consists of a series of uniquely shaped blades in a certain formation. Specifically, individual blades are realized by revolving a two-dimensional symmetric hydrofoil about its chord line. Then the blades are arranged around a vertical shaft in a desired formation to form the rotor. When driven by an approaching flow through interaction, the rotor naturally rotates about the vertical shaft in a predefined direction. The approaching flow could be from any spatial direction, …

Development Of Novel, Microscale Fracture Toughness Testing For Adhesives, Dillon S. Watring

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to develop microscale fracture toughness tests to be performed in situ based off previously used macroscale fracture toughness tests. The thesis also was to use these tests to perform in situ analysis and imaging of reinforced adhesives during crack propagation. Two different fracture toughness tests were developed for this thesis through developing fixtures and sample geometry. A microscale double cantilever beam (DCB) test was developed for mode I fracture (opening mode). A microscale end notch flexure (ENF) test was developed for mode II fracture (sliding mode).

Three different types of materials were used as …

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 …

Measurement And Analysis Of The Physical And Climatic Distribution Environment For Air Package Shipment, David Guadagnini

Master's Theses

The modern air parcel distribution industry has significantly grown to become one of the most commonly employed methods to quickly transport goods throughout the world. Although it comes with many benefits, including higher speed, greater reliability, and tighter security, the multimodal transport system within it can expose packages to a wide variety of climatic and physical distribution hazards. In a single route of transportation, packages could be included in different types of small delivery vans, large commercial semi trucks, cargo dollies, feeder aircraft, and high altitude commercial jetliners. The varying hazard level presented during distribution could directly weaken the packaging …

The Influence Of Bmss On The Characterization And Modeling Of Series And Parallel Li-Ion Packs, Sandra Castano-Solis, Daniel Serrano-Jimenez, Lucia Gauchia, Javier Sanz

Michigan Tech Publications

This work analyzes the effects of a BMS (battery management system) on the characterization and modeling of series and parallel connections of Li-ion cell packs. The Li-ion pack studied consists of four series modules connected in parallel. This pack has been characterized by means of charge, discharge and frequency tests. As a result of these tests, series and parallel influence on battery parameters have been determined. A model considering the effects of a BMS is established and compared with a model based on a single-cell approach. Experimental validations show that the single cell based approach gives poor results in comparison …

Test Cell Set-Up To Enable Drive-Cycle Testing Of A Variable Valve Actuation Enabled Camless Diesel Engine, Alexander Harrison Taylor

Open Access Theses

The previous facility which was used for engine testing at Purdue's Ray W. Herrick Laboratories utilized an eddy current dynamometer which is only suited for steady-state testing and throttle snaps. To better utilize a pre-existing camless diesel engine, which is is enabled via variable valve actuation, it was desired to perform transient drive-cycle tests. To accomplish this goal, a variable frequency drive AC dynamometer was required. Given that a brand new facility was constructed, the team was presented with an opportunity for ground up design of a test cell.

The new test cell's operation was proved out using a cammed …

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

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Physical Testing Of Potential Football Helmet Design Enhancements, Michael Jeremy Schuster

Master's Theses

Football is a much loved sport in the United States. Unfortunately, it is also hard on the players and puts them at very high risk of concussion. To combat this an inventor in Santa Barbara brought a new design to Cal Poly to be tested.

The design was tested in small scale first in order to make some preliminary conclusions about the design. In order to fully test the helmet design; however, full scale testing was required. In order to carry out this testing a drop tower was built based on National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, NOCSAE, …

Characterization Of A Wind Tunnel For Use In Offshore Wind Turbine Development With Mitigation Measures For The Wall Effect Of Proximal Structures, James Newton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis supports the development of the Harold Alfond W² Ocean Engineering Laboratory constructed at the University of Maine through several investigations conducted with a one-third scale wind generation system. The scale wind generator is first tested in what is considered an open-circuit wind tunnel configuration to determine the influence proximal building walls of a facility housing such a device may have on the consistency and capacity of a wind generator. Turbine performance testing with the wind generator to identify any susceptibility to proximal wall influence is also conducted. This is of interest as the full-scale system will operate …

Flow-Differential Pressure Test Rig, Stuart Jennings, David Keegan, Juan Ramonet, Nicholas Upton

Capstone Design Expo Posters

provider of filters for critical applications in various industries, Porvair Filtration Group often needs to validate the pressure drop across a given filter medium at various flow rates and to perform quality assurance prior to delivery. The Flow-Differential Pressure Test Apparatus will allow for a test cycle with significant savings in time and money for Porvair going forward.

The design uses high-purity deionized water as the test fluid and performs continual filtration to ensure consistent properties. Flow rates of 0-100 gallons per minute at pressures up to 100 psi gauge are achieved by controlling a pump with i) a variable-frequency …

Software-And Hardware-In-The-Loop Verification Of Flight Dynamics Model And Flight Control Simulation Of A Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Calvin Coopmans, Michal Podhradsk, Nathan V. Hoffer

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Unmanned aerial system (UAS) use is ever-increasing. In this paper, it is shown that even with low-cost hardware and open-source software, simple numerical testing practices (software- and hardware-in-the-loop) can prove the accuracy and usefulness of an aeronautical flight model, as well as provide valuable pre-flight testing of many situations typically only encountered in flight: high winds, hardware failure, etc. Software and hardware simulation results are compared with actual flight testing results to show that these modeling and testing techniques are accurate and provide a useful testing platform for a small unmanned aerial vehicle. Source code used in simulation is open …

Tracking Of Spall Deterioration On Tapered Roller Bearings, Amy Gonzalez, Constantine Tarawneh, Ping Hu, Joseph A. Turner, Brent Wilson

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Fatigue spall initiation is one of the major modes of premature bearing failure. The spall initiation is often exacerbated by the presence of impurities in the near-surface region (∼400 μm) of the bearing raceways. Once a spall initiates, it can propagate rapidly, leading to abnormal bearing operation and possible catastrophic failure if not detected early. Testing performed at the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) has focused on ultrasonically scanned tapered roller bearings found to have inclusion content within 400 μm of the surface of the raceways. These bearings undergo accelerated service life tests in which spall initiation is detected and …

Freehub Test Machine, Brett Murphy, Mitch Ambrosini, Nick Boldt, Stephen Knaus

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this project is to design and build a machine to test a bicycle freehub in a lab environment. The conditions need to imitate the forces experienced by a bike wheel in a repeatable fashion. To do this we designed a machine that can fatigue the freehub in two distinct modes, pedaling and freewheeling. In the pedaling mode the freehub will be repeatable torqued to find how many engagement cycles freehub can endure before failure. The freewheeling test will spin the freehub in its coasting direction to find how the freehub wears during its lifetime. A freehub is …

Formula Sae Hybrid Carbon Fiber Monocoque / Steel Tube Frame Chassis, Matthew Hagan, John Rappolt, John Waldrop

Mechanical Engineering

The Cal Poly Formula SAE Team created this project in order to design and fabricate a high-performance chassis which would be competitive at 2013 FSAE Lincoln, and to document the process so that future teams could more easily create a chassis. One of the main goals was to reduce weight from the 143- lb 2012 chassis subsystem. A weight of 95 lb was achieved, with 82 lb in the chassis structure itself and a predicted torsional stiffness of 1700 lb*ft/deg. Composite materials design and manufacturing techniques were developed during the project. Design, testing, and manufacturing processes are detailed, and results …

Pvc Pipe Longevity Report: Affordability And The 100+ Year Benchmark Standard, Steven Folkman

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

In the United States and Canada, underground water infrastructure was installed during three main time periods because of population growth in the 1800s, 1900–1945, and post 1945. Pipes made of iron constructed in each of these three eras will all start to fail at nearly the same time over the next couple of decades due to the corrosion of the iron pipes. Additionally, the life span of the materials used since the 1960's has changed. Grey cast iron pipes are no longer manufactured and the new ductile iron material has been made thinner to reduce costs, but as a result, …