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California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Mechanical Engineering

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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Resistance Temperature Detectors In A Cryostat Refrigeration System, Kirsten Marie Manahan, Alice Callen Jan 2018

Resistance Temperature Detectors In A Cryostat Refrigeration System, Kirsten Marie Manahan, Alice Callen

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is a ground-based telescope that will survey the Southern sky every few nights. Located in the telescope will be a 3.2 gigapixel digital camera. To ensure proper instrumentation of the camera, there must be a monitored stable temperature. As part of my research, I assembled resistance temperature detectors and tested them to verify their reliability in measuring temperature in the camera’s cryostat refrigeration cooling system. Resistance temperature detectors function by the principle of thermal resistivity, in which their electrical resistances vary as temperature varies. Through testing, I was able to determine whether these particular …


Optimizing The Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator For Sofia, Zoe E. Sharp, Alex Quyenvo, Jennifer Briggs, Brian Eney Oct 2016

Optimizing The Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator For Sofia, Zoe E. Sharp, Alex Quyenvo, Jennifer Briggs, Brian Eney

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) conducts research on a modified Boeing 747sp aircraft. By using a variety of infrared science instruments mounted on a 2.7 meter telescope, researchers can make discoveries about the galactic center, star formation, and various topics associated with a deeper understanding of our universe. To efficiently collect data through the SOFIA instruments, the instruments must be tested and prepared prior to being placed on the aircraft. Therefore, with the use of the Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator (TAAS), researchers can design and construct improvements needed for these instruments to efficiently perform while in flight. The …


Design And Fabrication Of Liquid Scintillator Counter, Andrea Calderon Saucedo, John L. Orrell Aug 2015

Design And Fabrication Of Liquid Scintillator Counter, Andrea Calderon Saucedo, John L. Orrell

STAR Program Research Presentations

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is currently developing an ultra-low background liquid scintillator counter (ULB LSC) in the shallow underground laboratory. At a depth of 35-meters water-equivalent, the underground laboratory has a multi-layered shielding to keep out cosmic-ray induced background. The ULB LSC, which is located in a clean room facility, is a multi-layered design made up of various materials, including plastic scintillator veto panels, borated polyethylene, lead and copper. These layers help lower the contributions of the terrestrial background and intrinsic background, resulting from the impurities present in the materials, to the overall background count rate observed by the …


Characterization Of The Drilling Via The Vibration Augmenter Of Rotary-Drills And Sound Signal Processing Of Impacted Pipe As A Potential Water Height Assessment Tool, Nicholas Morris Aug 2013

Characterization Of The Drilling Via The Vibration Augmenter Of Rotary-Drills And Sound Signal Processing Of Impacted Pipe As A Potential Water Height Assessment Tool, Nicholas Morris

STAR Program Research Presentations

The focus of the internship has been on two topics: a) Characterize the drilling performance of a novel percussive augmenter – this drill was developed by the JPL’s Advanced Technologies Group and its performance was characterized; and b) Examine the feasibility of striking a pipe as a means of assessing the water height inside the pipe. The purpose of this investigation is to examine the possibility of using a simple method of applying impacts to a pipe wall and determining the water height from the sonic characteristic differences including damping, resonance frequencies, etc. Due to multiple variables that are relevant …