Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Laminar Flow Past An Oscillating Circular Cylinder In Cross Flow, Pham Anh-Hung, Lee Chang-Yeol, Seo Jang-Hoon, Chun Ho-Hwan, Kim Hee-Jung, Hyun-Sik Yoon, Dong-Woo Park, Il-Ryong Park

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The present study numerically investigates the twodimensional laminar flow past a circular cylinder forced to oscillate transverse to the free-stream. The numerical simulations are performed at a various range of cylinder oscillation frequency ranged between 0.8 and 1.2 of the natural vortex shedding frequency, and the oscillation amplitude extended up to 50% of the cylinder diameter at one Reynolds number of 185 showing the typical two-dimensional vortex shedding. The immersed boundary method is used to handle the oscillating cylinder in a rectangular grid system using the finite volume method. The primary vortex shedding frequency has the same value with the …

Computer Simulation Of A Biomass Gasification-Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Power System Using Aspen Plus, Wayne Doherty, Anthony Reynolds, David Kennedy

Articles

The operation and performance of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack on biomass syn-gas from a biomass gasification combined heat and power (CHP) plant is investigated. The objective of this work is to develop a model of a biomass-SOFC system capable of predicting performance under diverse operating conditions. The tubular SOFC technology is selected. The SOFC stack model, equilibrium type based on Gibbs free energy minimisation, is developed using Aspen Plus. The model performs heat and mass balances and considers ohmic, activation and concentration losses for the voltage calculation. The model is validated against data available in the literature …

Natural Fibers And Fiberglass: A Technical And Economic Comparison, Justin Andrew Zsiros

Theses and Dissertations

Natural fibers have received attention in recent years because of their minimal environmental impact, reasonably good properties, and low cost. There is a wide variety of natural fibers suitable for composite applications, the most common of which is flax. Flax has advantages in tensile strength, light weight, and low cost over other natural fibers. As with other natural and synthetic fibers, flax is used to reinforce both thermoset and thermoplastic matrices. When flax is used in thermoplastic matrices, polypropylene and polyethylene are the main resins used. Although at first glance flax may seem to be a cheaper alternative to fiberglass, …

Testing Guidelines For New Product Development, Derek W. Egbert

Theses and Dissertations

While many literary sources outline the product development process, few make mention of the prototyping and testing stage. This thesis suggests that because of its importance in the product development process, "Testing" should be documented as a major step and not just listed as a side note. As part of the testing step, it is suggested that standardized, in-use, and market tests be used to properly evaluate a product. While many rely solely on standardized tests to validate their products, effective in-use tests can be another vital tool that can prove the performance of the product in more specific and …

Side-By-Side Testing Of Water Heating Systems Results From 2009-2010 Testing, Florida Solar Energy Center, Carlos Colon

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The Hot Water System (HWS) Laboratory test facility at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) in Cocoa, FL was used for testing seven differing types of residential water heating systems. The HWS building provides unconditioned housing (similar to a garage in Florida) for one reference electric 50-gallon heater, three solar thermal electric assisted systems, one electric tankless system, one reference 40-gallon natural gas (NG) and tankless gas system. The performance of all seven systems has been compared in a side-by-side test configuration over a full year period. Simultaneous hot water draws take place for all hot water heating systems on …

Development And Assessment Of A Pcb Layout And Manufacturong Laboratory Module In Introductory Electric Circuits For Ee And Non-Ee Majors, Albert Liddicoat, Jianbiao Pan, James G. Harris, Gary Perks, Linda Shepherd

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

In standard introductory electric circuits laboratories for electrical engineering (EE) majors and non-EE majors, prototype boards are typically used to construct and test electric circuits. Students typically do not learn how to design and manufacture Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) that are commonly used in more sophisticated design projects and other engineering applications. This paper will present the development and assessment of a PCB layout and manufacturing laboratory module that has been used in introductory electric circuits laboratories for EE and non-EE majors. The feasibility of integrating the new PCB layout and manufacturing module into the electric circuit course will be …

Assessing Curriculum Improvement Through Senior Projects, Jianbiao Pan, Albert Liddicoat, James G. Harris, Linda Shepherd

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Senior project and/or capstone design courses are intended to provide a culminating design experience for students and to demonstrate their understanding of engineering knowledge and their ability to apply that knowledge to practical problems. It is expected that the quality and attributes of students’ senior design projects can be used as a good measure of determining how well the curriculum prepares students to engage in engineering design as well as a measure of faculty teaching and student learning. This paper reports the results of a study designed to assess whether the new computer engineering curriculum implemented at Cal Poly over …

Thermodynamic Optimisation Of The Otto / Stirling Combined Cycle, Barry Cullen, Michel Feidt, Jim Mcgovern, Stoian Petrescu

Conference Papers

Combined cycle systems are an established method for increasing primary energy efficiency of power generation systems. Some ongoing research is concerned with investigating the novel combined cycle system involving the Otto and Stirling thermodynamic cycles. The Otto cycle is to act as the topping cycle, with the Stirling cycle acting to recover heat from the exhaust for the purpose of additional power generation. The present work investigates the thermodynamic optimisation of the combined cycle system for the case of the engines operating under two imposed parametric constraints: 1) imposed heat addition to the Otto cycle, and 2) imposed maximum cycle …

Ground Support Equipment For Northrop Grumman Massive Heat Transfer Experiment, Michael A. Manuel, Christopher J. Sparber, Greg A. Trent

Aerospace Engineering

California Polytechnic State University students designed, built, and certified ground support equipment for the Northrop Grumman Massive Heat Transfer Experiment. The Cal Poly design team built the 10000, 20000, and 30000 assemblies to meet Northrop Grumman requirements. The requirements included interface limitations, design load factors, delivery, and testing specifications. The design process consists of requirements generation, conceptual design, preliminary design, design reviews, manufacturing, and certification. The hardware was successfully completed and is used at the Johnson Space and Kennedy Space Center.

Irrigation Leak Detection: Using Flow Rate Sensors To Detect Breaks In An Irrigation System, Adam Openshaw, Kalvin Vu

Computer Engineering

This report details the exploration and invention of a mechanism that can detect breaks in an irrigation system. With the ultimate goal of conserving water, we have designed an inexpensive, self sustaining flow rate monitor that can be used to identify anomalies in an irrigation system and wirelessly communicate the status of the system to a base station. Our implementation can also determine the direction of the anomaly based on the nature of the anomaly itself. This means that multiple monitors can be used to pinpoint the location of a break within the system in addition to merely detecting its …

Investigation Into The Possible Benefits Of A Refrigeration Based Intercooling System, Ronan Kierans, Jim Mcgovern

Conference Papers

This paper describes findings from analysis and simulation in relation to the possible benefits of applying refrigeration based intercooling to the engine of a modern passenger car or haulage vehicle. Initial theoretical analysis showed that, depending on the engine specifications and the boost pressure level of the turbo/supercharger, the power improvement could range from 15–30% and there would be a similar improvement in torque. This meant a smaller engine could be used to do the work of a larger engine. The power required to run the refrigeration system, the space required and the charge air pressure drop due to its …

The Applications And Limitations Of Printable Batteries, Matthew Delmanowski

Graphic Communication

This study focuses on the potential applications for printed batteries and how they could affect the printing industry. It also analyzes the main problems associated with manufacturing this technology and what needs to be done to overcome these issues. To find the answers to these questions, two methods of research were used. The first was through the elite and specialized interviewing of Dr. Scott Williams of Rochester Institute of Technology and Professor Nancy Cullins from Cal Poly. The second form of research was a common, yet useful, method called secondary research. This entailed looking at recent written research papers about …

Residential Energy Performance Metrics, Christopher Wright, Stuart Werner Baur, Katie Grantham, Robert B. Stone, Scott Erwin Grasman

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Techniques for residential energy monitoring are an emerging field that is currently drawing significant attention. This paper is a description of the current efforts to monitor and compare the performance of three solar powered homes built at Missouri University of Science and Technology. The homes are outfitted with an array of sensors and a data logger system to measure and record electricity production, system energy use, internal home temperature and humidity, hot water production, and exterior ambient conditions the houses are experiencing. Data is being collected to measure the performance of the houses, compare to energy modeling programs, design and …

Pg&E Flow Loop Simulator, Cole Brooks, Seth Berger, Ben Thacker

Mechanical Engineering

PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant requested a full-sized Flow Loop Simulator to train technicians by giving them hands-on experience. The basic design requirements were established to determine the scope of the project and develop the specific characteristics of the system. The detailed system design is composed of a piping schematic, a three-dimensional layout of the system components and piping, and a skid structure for the support and transportation of the system. Heat transfer and fluid mechanics were used to analyze the system to size components.

Flow Loop Simulator, Tyler Ista, Kevin Rehm, Matt Starbuck

Mechanical Engineering

PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant has requested a full-sized flow process system for training of technicians by providing them a hands-on experience in a controlled environment. The basic design requirements were established to determine the scope of the project. An initial system layout was selected from a variety of concepts after similar system schematics, components, and processes had been researched. The resulting schematic was flexible to suit several needs of the control aspect while remaining simple.

Design efforts resulted in a system capable of many configurations; allowing for implementation of three training experiments. These experiments involve control of tank level …

Tk Ripper, Charles Volk, Vincent Priolo, Zachary Mckibbin

Mechanical Engineering

The TK Ripper was designed to pull a rider on a wakeboard up from a deep water start. We believe the force and power required to pull a rider on a wakeboard out of the water provides enough force and power for many other extreme sports.

Supermileage Seat And Wheel Development And Production: Final Report, James Casey Alvernaz, Verent Chan, Brian Hamstrom, David Lewis, James Sciaini

Mechanical Engineering

This report documents the design and manufacturing efforts of the Cal Poly senior project team Central Coast Composites. It details the design, analysis and manufacturing of a composite seat and wheels for the Cal Poly Supermileage team. It further outlines suggestions for future efforts to manufacture composite wheels for Cal Poly Supermileage team's Urban Concept Vehicle.

Traversing Probe Assembly, Josh Bugni, Andrew Sofranko

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

High Temperature Thermodynamic Data For Cdte (C), Robert F. Brebrick

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The high temperature heat capacity, Gibbs energy of formation, and standard enthalpy and entropy of formation at 298 K are combined with thermodynamic data for Cd and revised data for Te to provide an internally consistent data set for CdTe(c). Equations are given for the Gibbs energy of formation from Cd(g) and Te₂(g) and from the solid or liquid elements as a function of temperature. These give values similar to those used before. However, the derived enthalpy and entropy of formation are significantly different due to a revised heat capacity for CdTe(c). The standard enthalpy and entropy of …

Measurement Of Refractive Index Change Of Optical Fiber Core Induced By Femtosecond Laser Scanning, Y. Han, T. Wei, Hai-Lung Tsai, Hai Xiao

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We report a new method to measure the refractive index change in optical fiber core induced by femtosecond (fs) laser exposure. An in-line Fabry-Perot interferometer, serving as the measurement platform, is constructed on a commercial single-mode optical fiber by onestep femtosecond (fs) laser fabrication. A positive refractive index change is observed and measured accurately as the laser pulse energy surpasses the ablation threshold.