Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Structure Climbing Monkey Robot, Paul Bessent

Master's Theses

This report describes the design, building, and testing of the Structure Climbing Monkey Robot (SCMR). It is composed of seven successive joints and linkages with two grippers at the two ends. Each gripper can act as the base or the end of the robot. The SCMR has the ability to climb any structure. The gripper plates can be changed to grab different kinds of structures, but this one is made to grab 2x4‘s. A program was written to assist the user to grab four non-coplanar, non-orthogonal points.

The SCMR is actuated by a total of nine motors: two to open …

Thermodynamic Based Model Eliciting Activities For Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Education, Paul Nicholas Van Bloemen Waanders

Master's Theses

Undergraduate engineering education is designed to prepare students for their careers.  The rise of technology in modern engineering allows for a shift in the way undergraduates are prepared for the modern workplace.  Model Eliciting Activities (MEAs) allow students to think critically about their own work and allow instructors to analyze the students’ problem solving methods.  To ensure that new MEAs are as effective as possible they are subject to six basic principles: model construction, reality, generalizability, self-assessment, model documentation, and effective prototype.

This document focuses on evaluating new MEAs for their adherence to the six principles from an instructor's and …

Building Balls: Final Design Report, Jumpsport Inc., Gary Johnson, Rosalie Mangione, Steven (Steve) Rose

Mechanical Engineering

JumpSport, a major trampoline company, has requested Cal Poly to design a custom play-structure consisting of large diameter balls with two types of connectors-long rod connections and very close connectors (for a ball-to-ball type connection).  By the end of the project, appropriate testing will be carried out on the connections and a full-scale model will be constructed.

After an extensive design process, our team of three decided on a rod connection style for both the long and short connectors.  These consist of a hook that latches into a loop protruding from the ball where the hook is attached by a …

Port Flow Test System, Daniel Chairez, Chelsea E. Crawford, Daniel S. Welch

Mechanical Engineering

Solar Turbines Gas Compressor Engineering Division of San Diego, California called upon the Mechanical Engineering students of California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo to provide recommendations for optimization of compressor end cap port design. Various sizes of compressors have end caps with numerous ports that exchange fluids between the inside and outside of the working fluid pressure vessel. Because so many ports must exist on the end caps, unusual flow paths are created to supply the appropriate location within the compressor. These flow paths commonly consist of a drilled inlet hole which intersects with a sudden expansion. The sudden expansion …

Rapid Animatronic Target System, Brandon Keith Bray, Matt Gerhardt Guise, Martin Thomas Quinn

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Optimization And Modeling Tools For Telescope Hexapod Structures, Michael Edward Feeney

Master's Theses

Hexapod trusses are an important element in many mechanical design systems. The natural frequency and stiffness behavior under geometric and mass variations of such structures is largely undocumented. Furthermore, the ability to quickly model hexapod designs and explore a large design-space in finite element software packages is, in general, time consuming and inefficient. The purpose of this project was to develop software tools that made design-space exploration (modeling and simulation processes) for hexapod structures drastically more efficient. Secondly, the project included an experimental analysis portion to demonstrate the various modal study techniques and to validate finite element analysis predictions. Lastly, …

Bevcool, Matthew (Matt) Slette, Ryan Talyat, Camille Sybert

Mechanical Engineering

A consumer product for rapidly cooling canned and bottled beverages.

Automated Mail Stacker, Robert (Rj) Atkinson, Stephanie Henning, Tyler Wetzel

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Marauder Marine: Spearfishing Float Design, Kevin Glen, Kyle Lancaster, Andrew Wickham

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Flow Loop Simulator, John Abruzzini, Manuel Carrasco, Neil Sutherland, Elise Woolworth

Mechanical Engineering

PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) has requested an operational flow loop simulator to aid in operator/technician training. The flow loop simulator will provide hands-on training that the current plant training process cannot model. This project is a continuation from the 2009-2010 school year. Project scope and design requirements were gathered from the previous group’s design reports as well as meetings with PG&E. The goal of this year’s project team is to verify, enhance and implement the schematic diagram proposed by last year’s team.

The main focus of the flow loop simulator is to provide operators and technicians with …

Automated Adaptive Feeding Device, John Dolcini, Stephanie Smith, Pavel Yakovlev

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Pop-A-Wheelie Design Team, Mackenzie Hill, Thuyen Nguyen, Shaun Van't Hul

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this report is to illustrate the Pop-a-Wheelie design team’s progression and implementation of a concept in regards to the project sponsored by Break the Barriers (BTB). The Pop-a-Wheelie design team was tasked to design two devices that will be attached onto wheelchairs. The devices should facilitate the independence of user’s ability to pop-a-wheelie and return to an upright position without any assistance. After a list of specifications was agreed upon, the design process initiated. All customer specifications are listed in Objectives section located in Chapter 1: Introduction. A complete engineering specification table can be found in the …

Solar Powered Oil Well Site, Jonathan Hyland, Matthew Mastro, Kyle Moore

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Competition Sit Ski Final Design Report, Kyle Martinez, Vinay Clauson, Ben Woodward

Mechanical Engineering

This project consisted of designing and fabricating a competition sit ski for an above-knee double-amputee, Andy Soule.  Andy is a talented athlete who won a bronze medal in the 2010 Winter Paralympics.  The project was completed by VinayClauson, Kyle Martinez, and Ben Woodward, mechanical engineering seniors at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA. The project advisor, Professor Sarah Harding, and sponsor Dr.  Brian Self, of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Cal Poly, oversaw the project with the help of Jon Kreamelmeyer, a former coach of Andy's and a valuable source of knowledge.  The sit ski project was …

Mustang Adaptive Nordic Sports Conceptual Design Report, Krystina Murrietta, Tom Silva, Allen Thrift, Dan Murray

Mechanical Engineering

Mustang Adaptive Nordic Sports has undertaken a recreational sit ski as a mechanical engineering senior project. The team consists of four seniors: Daniel Murray, Krystina Murrietta, Tom Silva, and Allen Thrift. The goal of this project was to design, build, and test an adjustable sit ski that is lightweight and accommodates different users. The first half of this project focused on researching past senior projects and existing designs, defining the need and specifications, brainstorming, designing, and analyzing the validity of the final design. The second half of this project required the acquiring materials, building the prototype and testing it. The …

Rock-N-Bowler Ii, Josh Grip, Travis Rodrigues, Richard Rozporka

Mechanical Engineering

The report of the creation of an adaptive bowling device designed for people in powered wheelchairs. The basic design is a ramp that attaches to the wheelchair and has the ability to add spin to the ball to allow the user to hook the ball.

Rayleigh Test Apparatus Design Report, Josef Duller, Owen Raybould, James Nicovich

Mechanical Engineering

The Rayleigh Test Apparatus is a device that will be used to test the thermodynamic properties of Nitrous Oxide to assess the feasibility of using this fluid as a coolant for a hybrid rocket aero spike. The aero spike is intended to redirect the propulsion flow as it leaves the engine to create a more efficient flow pattern at low and high altitudes. However, there are issues of overheating which leads to melting of the aero spike. For this reason, the use of nitrous oxide (N2O) as a coolant is being explored. N20 is being considered because it is already …

Photovoltaic System Design For Dc House, Luis B. Perez, Hao Ming Mai

Electrical Engineering

The objective of this project is to research and design a practical 200W photovoltaic system at the lowest cost and highest efficiency in order to support the DC House Project. The impetus for this project stems from the necessity of delivering energy to people in developing countries who otherwise lack the benefits of electricity. The Photovoltaic System Design is divided into two main parts, the buck DC-DC converter and the optimized photovoltaic panel. The converter consists of schematics, efficiency calculations, load/line regulation calculations, component comparisons, data plots from simulations and testing. The optimized photovoltaic panel section includes component comparisons, complete …

Design Optimization Of Gaas Betavoltaic Batteries, Haiyanag Chen, Lan Jiang, Xuyuan Chen

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

GaAs junctions are designed and fabricated for beta voltaic batteries. the design is optimized according to the characteristics of GaAs interface states and the diffusion length in the depletion region of GaAs carriers. under an illumination of 10 mCi cm-263Ni, the open circuit voltage of the optimized batteries is about ∼0.3 V. It is found that the GaAs interface states induce depletion layers on P-type GaAs surfaces. the depletion layer along the P+PN+ junction edge isolates the perimeter surface from the bulk junction, which tends to significantly reduce the battery dark current and leads to a high open circuit voltage. …

Machine Design Lab: Using Automotive Transmission Examples To Reinforce Understanding Of Gear Train Analysis, Roger A. Beardsley, Charles O. Pringle

Engineering Technologies, Safety, and Construction Faculty Scholarship

In studying mechanical gear train analysis, some students struggle with relatively simple gear design concepts, and virtually all have difficulty with the complexities of planetary gear sets. This paper describes two labs developed for an undergraduate senior level machine design course. One lab uses a three-speed manual synchromesh transmission with parts of the case cut away to demonstrate the operation of the gears, shifting mechanism, bearings, and other aspects of the design. Students then count teeth and analyze the gear ratios using standard gear train analysis methods. The other lab uses a 1924 Ford Model T planetary transmission to observe …