Nuclear Engineering Commons^™

Finite Element Analysis Of A Friction Clutch System In An Automatic Transmission, Samuel Cook

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The purpose of this project is to develop a computational solution to the effects of certain variables present inside an automatic transmission, more specifically, the friction clutch system that enables and disables different gear-sets. Afton partnered with the School of Engineering looking for a time-sensitive, computational solution to serve as a valuable comparison to what exists at Afton’s disposal currently. The solution is a finite element analysis (FEA) simulation that transforms a real world device with many nuances and intricacies into a simplified model in a two dimensional test space. The challenge exists in keeping the simplified model accurate to …

3d Printed Ear Canal Model, Ahmad Ali, Rosheena Hairston, Hunter Locks

Capstone Design Expo Posters

A multi-material ear canal model was designed and created from CT scans of an actual patient. This ear canal model serves as a training model for trainees, surgeons and doctors to develop a better understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the ear by physically looking, touching and testing the model. The major task taken was to establish and identify the area of interest provided with the files of medical scans by using 3D Slicer. The files were then converted to a stereolithographic (STL) file where it was able to be edited for smoothing in programs such as Meshmixer or …

Radiotherapy Ergonomic Patient Positioning System, Anthony Briscoe Ii, Joseph Oliva, Yvette Smith, Darius Stuvaints

Capstone Design Expo Posters

External beam radiotherapy is a powerful tool to combat cancer, but requires precise positioning of patients. The standard practice involves patients lying on treatment tables within immobilization equipment. These systems have limited clearance between treatment sources and the patient that can be uncomfortable or claustrophobic for patients. Patients may move when uncomfortable, leading to improper dose delivery, possibly causing painful side effects or further cancers. We present an alternative, open configuration patient positioning solution for more ergonomic setup options with competitive positioning capabilities compared to conventional systems.

Our ergonomic positioning system consists of a seat for patients on a scissor …

Underwater Ant House, Mark Duggan, Zachary Ellis, Zachary Soulier

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The project seeks to design and test and submersible enclosure capable of sustaining oxygen breathing life. A mesh covered in a superhydrophobic coating can both restrain water up to a maximum pressure and retain a direct interface between air and water. Oxygen can transfer over this boundary if there is a sufficient difference in concentrations between the water and air.

Multiple designs have been produced with the intent of testing and demonstrating these theories. 3D printing allowed for quick and customizable production of every component. Enclosures were made for testing the maximum allowable pressure and to fit an oxygen sensor. …

Reducing Noise In Automatic Transmission, Connor Golden-Weathers, Riley Hall, Matthew Bosco, Felix Pyatigorskiy

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The efficiency of an automobile increases as its running torque increases. This is an avenue for improving fuel economy that is actively being pursued. However, transmissions running at higher torques produce an unacceptable amount of noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH). NVH occurs most visibly as a result of the vehicle’s friction clutch behavior. At present, machines capable of testing this behavior exist (MTM machine and LVFA rig) but are very expensive in terms of time, space, and production cost.

The goal of this project is to produce a cost-effective machine in which friction clutch behavior can be analyzed in a …

Media Mixing Apparatus, Nick Colt, Eric Depew, Kurt Thoele, Chris Ward

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The purpose of this project is to reduce the physical exertion and radiological exposure of the maintenance worker by reducing mixing time of water and resin beads when replacing resin beads in a shipboard tank. Presently, a maintenance worker empties ⅓ cubic foot of resin media into a bucket, and fills the bucket with about 1-⅓ gallons of water. Then the water and resin media is mixed with a paddle by hand, until it appears homogeneous, creating a slurry. The slurry is dumped into a funnel after the mixing process and introduced to the system after the discharge valve is …

Unattended Underground Energy Harvesting Sensor, Jeffrey Buck, Tzshay Wade, Jaeton Foxley, Brandon Ruffin

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The team designed an underground energy harvesting sensor that utilizes the ambient energy from its surroundings to provide low power telecommunications to a remote host. The scope of this project is to analyze the feasibility of such system and explore the capabilities of available energy harvesting techniques that utilize the environment, feasibility of operation, and creating a design. Some of the most common methods that have been proven to function on certain environments are thermoelectric and solar energy. Thermoelectricity uses a temperature gradient and solar uses the energy of the sun. To provide a remote vibration signal an accelerometer was …

Explosion Damping Device (Blast Shield), Cullen Bade, Juwan Cephas, Raymond Long

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The proposed device has the main goal to protect a vehicle and personal inside the vehicle in the event of an explosion from underneath of a Humvee most likely caused by an IED explosion. The constraints were that the vehicle could not be lifted too far off the ground to increase the chance the vehicle rollover; the design should not block accessibility to the passengers; be versatile in order to help fit different model vehicles; and most important be able to help in deflecting the blast away from the vehicle. The final design consisted on a V-shaped blast shield similar …

3d Printed Sports Mouthguard, Abdullah Mohsen, Abdulrahman Alharshani

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The 3D printed sports mouthguard can be specifically designed to provide exceptional protection and comfort to athletes in any sport. The process by which an athlete undergoes for obtaining their mouthguard requires a substantial amount of time and cost. Introducing 3D printer capabilities into the dental and sporting fields would elicit faster manufacturing time with more economically priced materials.

In testing our theory, the initial components of the research consisted of scanning a dental impression cast and transferring the S.T.L. file scan onto the C.A.D. software. The next important step required us to discover which material to wire with the …

Venus Lander Design, Garon Morgan, Brian Rodrigues, Dhruv Sachani, Jason Scott

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The students designed an Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) system for a lander to reach the surface of Venus. The students used a combination of 3D modelling and programming to design the EDL within given constraints under specific tolerances. An EDL takes into consideration entry flight dynamics, aeroheating, and landing systems. The EDL was divided into three stages (see below). The separation of stages was designed to address unique challenges found at different points throughout the EDL. The primary objective of the first stage was to minimize the heat associated with the entry velocity to the payload. The second stage …

Measurement Of Impact Forces On Teeth And Jaw When Wearing Sports Mouth Guards, Alghamdi Abdullah, Alnaser Mobarak, Quiroz Ingrid, Serrate Ciro Alcoba, Veizaga Rodrigo

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The objective of this project is to accurately measure the forces the teeth and jaw experience when subjected to impact. For this purpose piezoelectric technology (PVDF), which converts voltage to force and vice versa can be used to measure forces applied to teeth. A PVDF cable is calibrated and used for measuring force along with a control measuring device (PCB Piezotronics). The method involves wrapping the PVDF cable around a 3D home-printed, customized denture. The cable was chosen due to the fact that it allows for adequate fit between mouth guard and denture. Two masses, a baseball and 2 lbs …

Anthem Sustainability Project, James Askegren, David Coleman, Luis Morgan

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Data centers are multiplying in number and size as electronic business, communication, collaboration, and recreation continue to increase in popularity. A large amount of electrical power consumed by data center computing equipment is converted to heat, requiring dedicated cooling systems 24 hours a day. Some data center operators have begun taking advantage of this heat instead of expelling it to the atmosphere. This approach not only reduces the electricity costs of these facilities but also minimizes the environmental impact they generate. Anthem has a 2.5 MW data center for which they would like to develop an air-to-air thermal recycle method. …

Iec Fusor Mobile Shielding Unit, Dominic Balducci, John Lawson, Bryce Mcdaniels, Robert Rodi, William Simmons

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The VCU Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) Fusor Senior Design Project provides Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) with a mobile fusor complete with the necessary shielding to protect operators as well as the general public from potentially hazardous radiation. The VCU IEC fusor is a Farnsworth-Hirsch type reactor, and consists of five basic components; a high voltage power supply, vacuum system, gas regulation system, primary reactor vessel assembly, and radiation shielding. These components were serviced and reassembled on a customized mobile cart. In addition to these components, a specimen holder and viewing monitor were added to the design. The specimen holder provides …

Formula Sae Intake System, Esa Mahmood, Arman Sarwar, Michael R. Smith

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The Formula SAE Intake System is intended to optimize the airflow into a restricted 600cc engine. The intake system is designed, fabricated, and installed in accordance with the FSAE rule book with a focus on maximizing the vehicle’s acceleration. It is directly responsible for determining the drivability of the car and how much horsepower the flow restricted engine produces.

Design of the intake was conceptualized based on researching a number of factors including venturi diffusion angles, plenum volumes, and runner lengths. Initial tests were performed utilizing computational fluid dynamics for a total of 367 flow simulations and 261 running hours …

Design And Prototype Of Next Generation Nascar Brake Caliper, Jesse Crowder, John Knighton, Lenny Ports, Miranda Snyder

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Efficient braking is pivotal to the success of a NASCAR team. Braking occurs when the brake pedal is depressed, causing hydraulic pressure within the caliper housing and on the pistons, which forces the pistons to push the brake pads against the rotors reducing the vehicle’s speed due to the high friction between the pads and rotors. High performance brake calipers are arguably one of the most crucial components of a race car braking system. Short track brake calipers were designed to efficiently decelerate vehicles traveling upwards of one-hundred twenty miles per hour. This is an essential function of vehicles on …

Enhanced Dynamometer For Conducting Long-Term Brake Wear Testing, Grant Adams, Andres Alvarez Del Piño, Casey Greenstreet, Matthew Wall

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The purpose of this project is to develop an automated control system for two constant torque dynamometers Krauss Friction Tester Type RWS60A – Serial no. 080 built in Orangeburg, West Germany recently obtained by FDP Friction Science. This control system will be efficient, effective, safer, and meet the standards of modern day technologies. Currently, the machines are outdated, obsolete, and unable to operate. Therefore, to bring the dynamometers back into full operation and be competitive in today’s industry a new control system that meets industry expectations must be implemented. For this reason, a programmable logic controller from Automationdirect named ClickPLC …

Alternative Method For Posterior Lumbar Discectomy And Development Of Associated Bench Top Test, Alfred Levinson, Parth Patel, Rahul Peddi, Sarah Peters, Jon Willard

Capstone Design Expo Posters

A discectomy is a common surgical procedure performed to remove the fibrous disc material between adjacent vertebrae in the spine, known as vertebral disc. Current methods and tools used in discectomies are time consuming and potentially dangerous, with opportunity for human error. There is a need for a new method of disc removal that can improve clinical results by reducing surgical times, preventing damage to surrounding anatomy, and more thoroughly removing the vertebral disc. A reduction in surgery times and increase of effective disc removal will help to increase success, recovery, and spinal fusion rates. This project aims to provide …

Automated Din Rail Cut And Punch Machine, Youssif Alkheder, Gaston Charreun, Derrian Flemings, Jonathan Liss

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Our project’s main goal is to optimize the process of punching and cutting DIN rail in a manufacturing setting. The current method for cutting and punching DIN rails is tedious and simply too time consuming. An operator is needed to manually load the DIN rail into the cutter, measure the required length and activate the cutter. While this simple process may not take too long at first glance, companies, like Weidmuller, must be able to produce large-quantity orders to successfully meet the demands of their customers. By turning to automation, we are effectively reducing the amount of time it takes …

Mars Atmospheric And Climatic Survey System, Mounika Kari, Vu Nguyen, Surjan S. Singh, Sneha J. Vakani

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Before Mars can be explored by humans, its extreme climate and environment must be investigated. This can be achieved through the deployment of weather station probes capable of measuring Martian air temperature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, and wind speed. The Mars Atmospheric and Climatic Survey System (MACSS) aims to collect this data, allowing predictive models of global climate patterns on Mars to be developed. These models will aid NASA in providing the needed knowledge to prepare for long-term exposure to the conditions on Mars.

The probes are compact and lightweight; they have been designed to withstand Mars’ harsh environment: extreme …

Ergonomic Immobilization Frame For Radiotherapy, Raheel Ahmed, Travis Alford, Talal Almutairi, Kaleem Farooq

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The primary purpose of this project is to demonstrate that patients can be safely immobilized using air in the general torso area so that radiation can be administered to that region. The primary target will be to treat tumors in the lungs and liver. By immobilizing patients during treatment it allows for the radiation to be consistent in targeting the desired region of the body, which would not be the case if the patient was moving. Air was chosen as the desired medium to immobilize the patient because of comfort and it provides an easy medium for radiation to travel …

Automated Source-Detector Positioner For Radiation Detection, Andre Patterson, Morgan Davis, Joel Person, Allan Roberts

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The Nuclear Engineering Department at Virginia Commonwealth University has an unmet need for an automated source detector positioner for radiation detection experiments that are carried out in lab work. During radiation data collection in radiation detection systems it is of the utmost importance that radioactive samples are positioned and moved with the highest degree of precision possible. This high degree of precision allows for more meaningful data to be collected. The current methods employed by the Nuclear Engineering Department are not as accurate as they can be due to the fact the the current detection systems are manual. Furthermore they …

Transformer Support-Base:Design & Analysis, Tamrat Abebe, Hiba Aldar, Charles Wold

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Engineering design is vitally important and is the backbone of any industrial organization. The innovative approach to engineering design requires extensive calculations, estimations, workability and economic considerations to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction. Our project, for the ABB Group, was to design a structural frame-base for their transformers, and develop a set of design-standards to accommodate a range of transformer sizes. A transformer is used to step-up or step-down the voltage as needed to satisfy the electrical power needs of a facility. Industrial size transformers are an extremely heavy, sensitive and precise electrical devices that require a reliable …

Thermal Insulation Coating For Pipe Applications, Ismail Alaithan, Alhawraa Husain, Wejdan Reda, Katiana Slaton

Capstone Design Expo Posters

NNSB tasked the Capstone team with testing the anti-condensation abilities of the Thermal Insulation Coating (TIC) Aerolon®, an aerogel-based insulation manufactured by Tnemec, using Federal test specifications for Coating Compound, Paint Antisweat. The main goal was to observe the anti-condensation abilities of the insulation and to initiate an analysis and comparison of the spray-applied aerogel insulation versus the hand-applied thick foam insulation that is currently used on ship pipes and ventilation. The plan includes creating a computer simulation of the thermal properties of the insulated cylinders as well as a physical experimental setup.

The Capstone team built an acrylic test …

Nasa Mars Weather Station, M. Cole Hendricks, J. E. West Redington, S. Sahir Shehzad, Byron M. Watts

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The purpose of this project is to design an economical ground based weather station, with the overall goal of using these stations to gather meteorological data on the planet Mars. This data will then be used to create a working meteorological model for the planet, which in turn will be used to better coordinate the necessary resources to plan and carry out a manned mission to Mars. These weather stations will function by taking various meteorological measurements, such as air and ground temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, UV radiation levels, and air pressure, and then transmit this data to one …

Rolatube Deployment System, Zachary Allin, Zachary Ratliff, Nathaniel Trepatschko, Jeffrey Wilson

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The team has been tasked with designing a compact mechanism capable of deploying and retracting the Rolatube horizontally and vertically at a controlled rate in confined spaces (i.e. tank housing structures). Because workers are confined to tight quarters, a mechanism to aid in common activities is at times required. The mechanism will allow for tool deployment with attachments for easily sending tools and utilizing cameras. It will also be used to assist workers in stringing lights, keeping wires organized, and delivering hoses and tubes. This design will allow workers at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) to save time and energy while …