Electro-Mechanical Systems Commons^™

Capacitive Sensors With Ultra-Small Capacitance For Smart Measurement And Control Systems, Rustam Baratov, Farrux Jabbor O'G'Li Ko'charov

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

This article discusses methods of low capacitance measurement of capacitive sensors. The results of the study of the amplitude-frequency (AF) and phase-frequency (PF) response of measurement circuits of capacitive sensors for low capacitances measurement, consisting of RC - differentiating elements are presented. The input and output parameters of the differentiating circuit and the complex transfer function are analyzed. The research results show that low capacitances measurement by measuring the rectangular pulses duration is the most effective measurement method.

Assessing The Importance Of Air-Decking Blasting In Controlling Bigv At An Open Pit Gold Mine In Tanzania Using Ann Model, Karim R. Baruti

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Air-decking blasting technique is used to control blast induced ground vibration (BIGV) in several mines including open-pit gold mines located in Tanzania. While the importance of air-deck to control BIGV is practically evident, theoretical models such as BIGV prediction models cannot be used to assess the importance of air-decking. The main objective of this study was to assess the importance of the air-decking blasting technique to control BIGV using the artificial neural network (ANN)Model. To achieve this objective, ANNs were modeled and trained to learn the pattern of data using Multilayer Perception with Back Propagation to predict BIGV. The main …

A Case Study On Optimizing Industrial Air Conditioning With Thermal Solar Energy In Egypt, Tamer Adel Mohamed, Hesham Safwat, Mohammed A. Ebaid

Mechanical Engineering

This study investigates the feasibility of implementing a solar-assisted adsorption chiller in an industrial building at the Oriental Weavers International factory located in 10th of Ramadan City, Cairo, Egypt. The objective is to replace an inefficient split air conditioning system currently used to cool the Jacquard units during carpet manufacturing. The research begins by analyzing the performance of the existing cooling system to establish a baseline. It then explores the potential energy savings achievable by replacing the current system with a solar-assisted adsorption chiller. The existing oversized boiler will serve as an auxiliary heater for the new system. TRNSYS simulation …

Spring Rate Measurement Of A Pneumatic Mountain Bike Tire, Joseph D. Balderama, Alexandre Kachlakev, Duncan Wyke, Luki Rosen

Mechanical Engineering

The Final Design Review (FDR) presents a comprehensive overview of the spring rate measurement project for a pneumatic mountain bike tire. This report details the project's design, its implementation, and how it met all specified requirements. It also includes a discussion of the project's findings and recommendations for future work, assuming continuation of the project. The primary goal is to develop a device that allows professional race teams or experienced mountain bike riders to parameterize tires based on their spring rate in addition to internal pressure.

Since the Critical Design Review (CDR), the design has undergone significant changes due to …

Rapid Composter, Cate Seay, Clarisbet De Jesus, Lesley Milena Estrada, Reese Dennett

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review documents the efforts of a team of mechanical engineering students from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo as they work towards completing their assigned senior design project. This team was tasked with designing and developing an onsite rapid composter for the Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast. The selected design concept that will be explained focuses on creating a composter that is child-safe, portable, weatherproof, solar-powered, and requires minimal manual user input. This report will not only provide a detailed description of the chosen design but will also supply an extensive design justification. This mainly …

F56: Rocket Thrust Vector Control, Ethan Douglas Anderson, Yiming Trent Jia, Sahil Sampat

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review (FDR) report compiles relevant information regarding the Rocket Thrust Vector Control senior project as sponsored by Ethan Anderson from Cal Poly Space Systems (CPSS). Documented in this report is our progress from the months following our Critical Design Review (CDR) completion. This consists of a brief overview of the design our thrust vector control (TVC) system and its subassemblies with design changes noted, a thorough walkthrough of our procurement, manufacturing, and assembly process for creating our verification prototype (including software), a breakdown of how we verified each of our specifications through inspection and testing and the …

Cal Poly Battle Bot (F41), Jyotaaver S. Nirula, Andrew D. Peterson, Johnathan W. Waldmire, Nathaniel Ab Davis

Mechanical Engineering

This senior project endeavored to design, construct, and optimize a 120lb robot combatant tailored for the competitive arena of combat robotics. The project is a collaborative effort between mechanical, computer, and electrical engineering students at Cal Poly, combining diverse expertise to achieve a unified goal. Our competition, RoboGames, was in April of this year in Northern California.

The mechanical engineering team assumed primary responsibility for the physical components of the battle bot, focusing on three pivotal components: a robust drivetrain, armor, and a highperformance vertical spinner. These elements constitute the foundation of the battle bot's offensive and defensive capabilities, crucial …

Cal Poly Battle Bot, Jyotaaver S. Nirula, Johnathan W. Waldmire, Andrew D. Peterson, Nathaniel Ab Davis

Mechanical Engineering

This senior project endeavored to design, construct, and optimize a 120lb robot combatant tailored for the competitive arena of combat robotics. The project is a collaborative effort between mechanical, computer, and electrical engineering students at Cal Poly, combining diverse expertise to achieve a unified goal. Our competition, RoboGames, was in April of this year in Northern California.

The mechanical engineering team assumed primary responsibility for the physical components of the battle bot, focusing on three pivotal components: a robust drivetrain, armor, and a highperformance vertical spinner. These elements constitute the foundation of the battle bot's offensive and defensive capabilities, crucial …

Nsf-Eri Evolution Of Liquid Sheet Edges Project: Soap Film Frame Withdrawal And Positioning Apparatus, Samir S. Patel, Sophia Young, Nicole N. Morgan

Mechanical Engineering

The experimental investigation of instabilities along retracting liquid sheet edges seeks to answer a fundamental fluid mechanics question. We’ve successfully delivered an experimental apparatus to conduct research and answer this question. This document chronicles a design overview of our apparatus, our manufacturing process, our design verification, and recommendations for future steps. The final product is a document outlining our final design (i.e., our ‘Final Design Review’ (FDR)).

Autolacing The Dml, Harrison Hong, Chanh Tu Derek Lam, Candice Espitia, Paolo Navarro

Mechanical Engineering

The design challenge present is the design of a system to efficiently speed up the lacing of the dry mat loop (DML), part of the GAF production line. For this year, the scope of the project focuses on research and creating a proof of concept for the mechanism responsible for moving the mat within the DML. Compiled research focuses on competitor solutions, material properties, and possible mover mechanisms to be integrated into the major design. Competitor solutions provide an idea of raw material manipulation options. Material properties and possible mover mechanisms provide the foundation for ideation and concept prototyping. The …

Robot Rodeo, Daniel Rickers, Tyler Vaughn, Vinayak Sharath, Berent Baysal, Promit Das Gupta

Mechanical Engineering

This document outlines the Final Design Review (FDR) for an autonomous robot developed in response to the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Ship Maintenance Robot Rodeo Challenge. Through extensive analysis, we selected a design concept, built a verification prototype, and tested the prototype in the NSWC Robot Rodeo Competition. The design overview portion of this report will present the details of our design while explaining how it will function. Next, is our implementation section, which provides evidence about our procurement, manufacturing, and assembly of our product. Our design verification follows and explains the tests that we conducted on the robot …

Non-Linear Modeling Of Hysteresis In Piezoelectric Actuated Cantilever Beam Using The Bouc-Wen Model, Andrew Donald Maas

Master's Theses

Piezoelectric actuators frequently exhibit a time-dependent behavioral phenomenon known as hysteresis, resulting in a lag in the deformation of the actuator compared to linear models. The presence of hysteresis complicates control systems involving piezoelectric actuators. However, traditional modeling methods for piezoelectric actuated smart structures often treat the piezoelectric patches as linear actuators without considering hysteresis, leading to suboptimal controller performance.

This thesis aims to establish a comprehensive model by integrating the Euler-Bernoulli beam bending model with the hysteresis dynamics induced by two opposing piezoelectric patches attached to a beam. A model expansion method is employed to transform the partial differential …

Autonomous Bottling And Packaging System - Mechanical Bottling Portion, Kathryn Gray

Honors College Theses

This report details the complete mechanical design of an autonomous bottling automation system. This system is fully integrated with a bottling and packaging system. The scope of the full project is to successfully bottle and cap twelve small bottles (approximately 68 cm3) in under three minutes and thirty seconds. The bottles shall be filled with an “electrolyte” and water mixture, and the mixture should be fully mixed. To complete this task, two tanks will dispense liquid (one electrolyte, and one water) into the bottles. Each tank shall have a measuring chamber, that will fill with the correct amount of volume …

Novel Designs Of Soft Tactile Sensor And Robot Finger Manipulator Based On Optical Fibers., Seokyoung Han

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Robotic manipulation is one of the main types of automated labor that humans want to achieve in order to free ourselves from mundane and hazardous tasks. The range of realizations could be very broad, from massive industrial robots to highly advanced medical devices for human healthcare. Given the critical nature of these application spaces, they require robust, safe, and most of all versatile designs. In that direction, one of the most interesting topics is the anthropomorphic robotic manipulator. Since it is inspired by human hands’ function and structure, it is able to achieve the aforementioned system requirements. However, the perfect …

Implementation Of Explainable Ai For Bearing Fault Classification, Mohammad Mundiwala

Honors Scholar Theses

It is difficult to overstate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) over the past decade. The rapid expansion of machine learning has stimulated a race to deploy AI in all facets of life, one such domain being machine health monitoring. There is no doubt that machine learning excels in prediction accuracy, but oftentimes, these models are cryptic and fail to provide valuable insight into their decisions. This paper presents an overview of a neural network and what it means to learn. Next, two distinct Explainable AI (XAI) techniques will be presented: Gradient Class Activation Mapping and SimplEx . Finally, these …

Towing Tank Trials Of Hydrokinetic Turbine Scale Model To Support Marine Energy System Verification, Shahab Rouhi

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In response to the escalating demand for sustainable energy solutions and the critical reevaluation of conventional fossil fuels due to environmental concerns, this dissertation embarks on a comprehensive exploration of hydrokinetic energy as a promising alternative. The study delves into the underexplored domain of hydrokinetic energy, leveraging innovative methodologies for effective utilization and harnessing, particularly through the development and investigation of hydrokinetic turbines.

In the realm of hydrokinetic energy conversion, our research has exclusively concentrated on horizontal-axis turbines, distinct from other turbine configurations. Noteworthy is the adaptation of a conventional horizontal-axis wind turbine for water currents, revealing enhanced performance through …

Cal Poly Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge 2024, J. Mason Gray, Ryan D'Amour, Alberto Acho Lopez, Christian Ferrandino, Johnathan Dietz

Mechanical Engineering

In this Final Design Review, the Cal Poly Fluid Power Vehicle Team competed in Norgren’s 2024 Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge. The design need of the competition was for college teams to compete with human-powered, hydraulic-driven vehicles in an endurance race, a sprint race, an efficiency race, and a regenerative power race. The competition need was to design a vehicle to win in as many races as possible, achieving the highest overall score and winning the competition. With a design emphasis on the endurance and sprint race, the Cal Poly team designed a fluid power system that fastened to a purchased …

Comparative Analysis Of Command Protocols For Cubesat Data Handling Systems, Roman Dowling

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Researchers at the University of Arkansas developed ARKSAT-1, a cubic satellite with the purpose of employing an LED with a tracking system to perform spectroscopic measurements of the atmosphere.

The control board of the satellite contained several microcontrollers which worked in concert to collect and manage data. Discussed in this report are the software programs developed for the microcontrollers, dual Arduino MKRZeros, utilized as data repositories and for control of satellite peripherals. The programs discussed in this project include an original existing command-response protocol and an improved batch-command protocol, each with its accompanying data handling and storage system. These programs …

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 …

System Identification For Motion Control Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Platform, Raj Ramesh Agarwal

Theses and Dissertations

Comprehensive research on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) system identification for motion control parameters is presented in this thesis, with a focus on the necessity of precise control and improved performance. Using Pseudorandom Binary Sequence (PRBS) and Normally Distributed Random Numbers, it presents a unique technique for excitation of UAV dynamic systems. It also shows how effective random signals are in time-domain identification for precise control in a range of flying circumstances. The piece of research includes a thorough analysis and implementation of various approaches and its further improvements, highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of each. These approaches include the free …