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The Design And Manufacturing Process Of The Concealed Shelf, Clarence A. Matthews Iv

Honors Theses

The Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CME) at the University of Mississippi challenges students to manufacture a product and put forth a balanced manufacturing line in a senior capstone project. The chosen product was a concealed shelf, or a shelf with a hidden compartment. The team aimed to design a product, formulate a project plan, analyze the market, conduct financial analysis, develop a prototype, establish a manufacturing process, and demonstrate that process in two production runs. The team used tools such as Computer Aided Design (CAD), market surveys, jig creation, and line balancing to accomplish these tasks. After two …

Waste Wood Biochar As A Potential Agricultural Soil Amendment, Gavin Rahl

Honors Theses

Biochar, as a technology, has and continues to be evaluated for a wide variety of purposes including drinking water treatment of heavy metals and air filtration for harmful contaminants. When evaluating the logging industry, a problem has emerged around residual wood waste (slash piles) in the field that biochar production may be able to address. Additionally, agriculture has begun to look for alternatives to nitrate heavy fertilizers that can cause eutrophication in waterways that biochar has the potential to address. In this study, the effect of biochar addition was assessed in agricultural fields with tight margin alfalfa/grass hay crops to …

Design Optimization Of Active-Stabilizing Canards For High-Powered Rockets, Simon Babcock

Senior Honors Theses

Rocket canards are a common means of stabilizing a high-powered rocket in flight by producing aerodynamic forces to correct the rocket's trajectory. The size, shape, and position of the canards relative to the rocket body determine their control effectiveness and aerodynamic efficiency – two objectives of canard design with an inverse relationship to each other. By integrating automated iterative rocket trajectory simulation with adaptive surrogate modelling, this research optimized the canard planform geometry for a high-powered rocket to maximize the canards’ control effectiveness and aerodynamic efficiency through multi-variable, multi-objective design optimization. The canard design was first parameterized into four design …

Development Of A Putting Green Manufacturing Process, Jose Andres Cepeda Santiago

Honors Theses

Our Capstone project investigates the end-to-end design, development, and production of a 6‑foot long portable putting green marketed for individuals seeking a high quality, competitively priced golf product for home or office use. The capstone project examines the full lifecycle of product creation applying manufacturing principles learned through the center of manufacturing’s coursework. From the initial concept through engineering design, market research, prototyping, manufacturing optimization, and final production the project emphasizes cross‑functional collaboration across engineering, business, and accountancy majors. Methods used to gather data included marketing surveys, CAD drawings, time studies during production runs, value stream mapping, and controlled documentation …

Development Of A Putting Green Manufacturing Process, Avalon R. Madden

Honors Theses

Our Capstone project investigates the end to end design, development, and production of a 6‑foot long portable putting green marketed for individuals seeking a high quality, competitively priced golf product for home or office use. The capstone project examines the full lifecycle of product creation applying manufacturing principles learned through the center of manufacturing’s coursework. From the initial concept through engineering design, market research, prototyping, manufacturing optimization, and final production the project emphasizes cross‑functional collaboration across engineering, business, and accountancy majors. Methods used to gather data included marketing surveys, CAD drawings, time studies during production runs, value stream mapping, and …

The Design And Manufacturing Process Of The Concealed Shelf, Emma R. Freeman

Honors Theses

The Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CME) at the University of Mississippi challenges students to manufacture a product and put forth a balanced manufacturing line in a senior capstone project. The chosen product was a concealed shelf, or a shelf with a hidden compartment. The team aimed to design a product, formulate a project plan, analyze the market, conduct financial analysis, develop a prototype, establish a manufacturing process, and demonstrate that process in two production runs. The team used tools such as Computer Aided Design (CAD), market surveys, jig creation, and line balancing to accomplish these tasks. After two …

Design And Production Of A Carbon Fiber Longboard, Jacob T. Williams

Honors Theses

This thesis contains an overview of the design, prototyping, and manufacturing of a carbon fiber long board. The purpose of this capstone was to create a viable product for the real-world market and then determine how to manufacture it at scale with sustainable financial practices. In order to accomplish this task, engineering, accounting, and manufacturing challenges had to be overcome throughout all stages. The production process involved the carbon fiber layup, baking, water jet cutting, and assembly of the carbon fiber longboard. In order to optimize this process, continuous improvement and lean manufacturing problem solving techniques were applied. After a …

The Design And Manufacturing Process Of The Concealed Shelf, Mexrojiddinbek Sattorov

Honors Theses

This document contains information regarding the design and build process of the Concealed Shelf, which is a furniture product with hidden storage capability. First, the team members decided on the design of the product, followed by market analysis and manufacturing feasibility. Lean manufacturing principles were applied to improve the process efficiency and reduce waste.

Multiple prototypes were built with varying raw materials and locking mechanisms. Jigs and fixtures were handcrafted to ensure more consistent product quality. Two production runs were conducted to evaluate performance and identify areas for improvement.

The final design includes economic considerations, manufacturing layout, and continuous improvement …

Recovering Sn From Ultrafine Tails At Mina San Rafael, Peru, Angelica Plenge

Honors Theses

San Rafael is currently the only mine producing tin (Sn) in Peru, operating two concentrators. In the first, called the San Rafael plant, tin concentrate is produced through gravity separation circuits consisting of jigs, spirals, and Mozley tables, followed by reverse flotation, where sulfides are floated while cassiterite (78.77% theoretical tin content) is depressed. Material containing tin values is then directed to a desliming circuit, where the pulp density is adjusted prior to sulfide reverse flotation. The tailings from this stage are subsequently processed through another flotation circuit but, in this case, the Sn is floated. Cycloning is applied throughout …

Hydrogen Engine For A Continuous Biochar Reactor, Andrew Woods

Honors Theses

A biochar reactor produces biochar, syngas, and bio-oil, which can be utilized for many useful products that are used in environmental remediation and power generation. The hydrogen that is captured from the syngas during the thermochemical gasification process opens the door to a unique opportunity to provide green energy from a biomass feedstock. The research aims to incorporate a single-cylinder, 10-hp engine that has been converted from gasoline to hydrogen fuel into a continuous biochar production reactor. This will play the role of power generation in a larger system that intends to mobilize biochar production. This study focuses on the …

Brine Solidification And Metals Sequestration Using Lignocellulosics, Frank Kvietok

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

Coal ash has historically been used as a convenient, on-site solidification material for brines generated from flue gas desulfurization at power plants. As alternate utilization scenarios are developed for coal ash, lignocellulosic (wood-based) sorbents can serve as a highly efficient substitute for the solidification process. Results will be shared for a variety of different brine types: thermally reduced, thermally reduced and neutralized, and reverse osmosis. In addition to solidification performance, which demonstrated a 3-4x mass of liquid vs mass of sorbent factor, studies were conducted to quantify the strength of binding to the wood-based sorbent for a broad range of …

Lessons Learned: Commissioning An Fgd Wastewater Treatment System, Bella Triolet, Mckale Grant, Louis Manigault

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

Stantec recently supported commissioning a flue gas desulfurization (FGD) Wastewater Treatment System in accordance with the 2020 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) Rule, which requires that coal fired power plants meet their more stringent requirements by December 31, 2025. With the addition of the 2024 EPA ELG Rule, coal fired power plants will now be expected to move to zero liquid discharge (ZLD) systems or permanently cease coal combustion by 2034. Due to this change, it is likely that coal fired power plants will be looking to design and install ZLD systems within the next decade. While …

Building Better Partnerships: Design-Build Lessons From The Ash Pond Closure Front Lines, Brian Egan, Nicholas Golden, Mark Edlebeck

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

This presentation shares lessons learned on an ash pond dig-and-haul project delivered by a design-build team with CTI providing engineering and Fisher Contracting delivering construction services. CTI and Fisher Contracting will discuss how they formed their partnership, what makes a good teaming arrangement work, and the challenges that come with working closely together. This team has worked side by side from early design through construction, which has helped cut costs and keep the project on schedule. The talk will show how the partners divide tasks, then adjust roles as needed instead of locking into a fixed plan. In some cases, …

Lunar Regolith Sintered Brick Apparatus, Andrew Fasano, Noah Parayil, Darius Felix Karra

Senior Design Project For Engineers

This project describes the preliminary design and analysis of the Semi-Autonomous Lunar Regolith Sintered Brick Apparatus that will assist in developing permanent infrastructure on the Moon. An issue with permanent lunar operations is the transportation of materials to the Moon. To address this, the designed device uses lunar regolith as the source material for producing bricks. This design considers the constraints set for operation with the Griffin lunar lander: maximum payload mass of 200 kg, power consumption below 5 kW, and limited payload dimensions. The design uses a combination of a laser sintering motion system, a regolith layering subsystem, a …

Establishing A Roadmap For The Planning, Design, And Construction Of A Water Treatment System For A Ccr Unit Closure, Mariah Schroeder, Matthew Balance

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

The treatment of water from a CCR unit is an important step in the closure strategy for surface impoundments to comply with 40 CFR §257.102(d)(2)(i) of the CCR rule. The unwatering and dewatering of a surface impoundment is a necessary first step in ensuring that the eventual closure of the unit will meet the requirements for closure in place described in 40 CFR §257.102(d). Depending on the operational conditions and requirements of the plant, the NDPES discharge limits, and the impacted water quality, the water treatment system needs can vary greatly. This presentation will outline a roadmap for assessment, evaluation, …

Establishing Sustainable Vegetation On A Challenging Legacy Ccr Site, Derek Oosterhouse, Blake Arthur

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

American Electric Power (AEP) is closing and restoring a legacy Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) site in Ohio that once held a power plant that pioneered innovative steam generation technology. The plant was closed in 1975. Today, the legacy CCR site is being transformed back to natural, sustainable vegetation. To comply with and close the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) permit, permanent stabilization is required on the site. AEP, one of the largest electric companies in the country, holds a core principle to respect the environment through creative sustainable solutions. AEP connected with Profile Products, the world’s largest manufacturer and supplier …

Narrative Power: Strengthening Coal Ash Communications In A Shifting Policy And Media Environment, Tamara Hinton

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

As coal ash management and beneficial use practices continue to advance and regulatory frameworks evolve, the industry still faces a persistent challenge: sharing its story clearly, credibly, and proactively to audiences beyond engineers and regulators. Public perception, media narratives, and stakeholder understanding increasingly influence policy decisions, project timelines, and market opportunities. This session focuses on how strategic communications can serve as a critical tool to support responsible coal ash management and beneficial use. This presentation explores how utilities and industry partners can move from reactive communications to a more deliberate, strategic approach that strengthens trust, mitigates risk, and reinforces the …

Improving Economic And Environmental Outcomes Of Legacy Coal Ash Ponds, Grace Wilken

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

This project demonstrates a novel approach to utilize legacy coal ash waste ponds by processing the solids for use in cement/concrete and bioremediating the water fraction through algae cultivation. The algal biomass can then be used for animal feed, biofuels, or other valuable bio-products. There is an increasing demand for more environmentally friendly and cost-effective materials for concrete production, such as coal fly ash, yet a decreasing supply of ash as coal power plants are decommissioned in the transition to other energy sources. However, there are billions of tons of coal ash accumulated in legacy ash ponds across the US. …

Coal Combustion Residual Impoundment Closure And Capping Impacts To Groundwater, Danielle Sylvia Cofelice, Thomas Haskins

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

Closure of coal combustion residual (CCR) impoundments is a critical step in mitigating long-term environmental risks, particularly to groundwater quality. This presentation evaluates spatial and temporal behavior of key groundwater contaminants during and following closure that included excavation and capping of CCR impoundments at one coal fired electric generating facility. The assessment integrates spatiotemporal plume mapping, plume area and concentration trend charts, and dissolved mass in place metrics to assess contaminant concentration, migration, and attenuation in post-closure environments. Observed trends include both increasing and decreasing concentrations of key constituents during and following closure activities, suggesting complex interactions involving residual CCR …

Novel Use Of Ped-Xrf For Identification Of Ccr In Fill Units And Comingled Media, Charla Barnes, Harris Byers, Eric Hageman

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

The EPA CCR Legacy Rule requires utilities to identify any areas of land on which noncontainerized accumulation of CCR is received, is placed, or is otherwise managed. While performing preliminary delineation efforts for implementation of the Legacy Rule, it has become apparent that not all encountered materials are easily identified through visual means. Depending on unit location, previous uses of the land underlying the potential CCR Management Units, and the type of native soils present, there may be uncertainty if an encountered material is CCR, native soil, or another non-CCR material. In cases where the color/texture of CCR fill is …

Phytomining Potential Of Native Rocky Mountain Plants, Halle Cogley

Honors Theses

Standard mining practices of the past have left valuable, critical minerals remaining within mine waste and tailings piles. Phytoremediation, or the use of plants to uptake and store heavy metals, has grown in popularity for these sites. A new technology, phytomining, is being developed that not only offers the benefits of phytoremediation but also allows a new pathway to extract and generate revenue from these untouched critical minerals. Certain plants have been identified as hyperaccumulators with the ability to bioaccumulate a high level of certain minerals in their plant tissue. This study explored different species of native plants within the …

Optimization Of Refolding, Purification, And Analytical Characterization Of Proinsulin(F25d) Soluble Antigen Array Immunotherapy, Abigail Richardson

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is characterized by autoreactive immune responses to insulin and its precursor, proinsulin. Soluble antigen arrays (SAgAs) displaying the metabolically inactive proinsulin variant, proinsulin(F25D), represent a promising antigen‑specific immunotherapy candidate for T1D. However, the production of these platforms is hindered by substantial practical challenges, including protein aggregation, inefficient refolding, and the lack of sensitive analytical tools to verify quality and dosage. This work establishes an integrated, scalable pipeline for the purification, conjugation, and quantification of a proinsulin(F25D) SAgA. First, we optimized the refolding of recombinant methionine-proinsulin(F25D) (M-PI(F25D)) from inclusion bodies using controlled buffer systems and created a …

Hybird Vtol Gust Load Alleviation Uav, Ryan Birch, Mouhamadou Diop, Sebastian J. Flores, Alan Alan Rubio-Saavedra

Senior Design Project For Engineers

Here's a 250-word abstract:

Abstract

This paper presents the conceptual and preliminary design of a sub-500g hybrid vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with an active gust load alleviation (GLA) system. The aircraft combines passive twist wingtip (PTWT) devices with an inertial measurement unit (IMU)-based adaptive feedforward control architecture to reduce peak wing-root bending moments by 30–40% relative to an unmitigated baseline configuration.

The propulsion system employs a twin tilt-rotor plus rear pusher arrangement within an 80g mass budget, enabling clean sensor inflow while supporting both hover and efficient cruise flight at 12–13 m/s. Electronic …

Lunar Manufacturing Systems And The Role Of Additive Recycling Technologies, Camille A. Newman

Honors Theses

Renewed international interest in sustained lunar exploration has created a growing demand for technologies to support long-duration space exploration. Part of the recent Artemis missions and the Moon to Mars initiative is to improve key mission capabilities and fill critical gaps necessary to sustain lunar habitation. Waste management, recycling systems, and manufacturing systems have been identified as critical technologies that need further development before a sustained mission is possible. This thesis explores the feasibility of an additive manufacturing and recycling system designed to process plastic waste generated during extended lunar habitation. Initial research focused on existing manufacturing and recycling technologies …

Engagement Modeling And Inference For Risk-Aware Path Planning Under Adversarial Uncertainty, Grant Stagg

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation develops methods for planning safe and efficient trajectories for autonomous vehicles operating in environments containing adversarial and environmental threats with uncertain parameters. The central objective is to quantify and control the risk of adverse events--such as interception or detection--when threat characteristics are imperfectly known. To address this challenge, probabilistic weapon engagement zone (PEZ) models are introduced to estimate the likelihood of violating adversarial engagement constraints under uncertainty in pursuer state and capabilities. Multiple computational strategies are developed for PEZ evaluation, including first-order sensitivity-based approximations, Monte Carlo estimation, and neural-network surrogate models. These approaches enable rapid engagement-probability assessment and …

Lunar Manufacturing Systems And The Role Of Additive Recycling Technologies, Camille A. Newman

Honors Theses

Renewed international interest in sustained lunar exploration has created a growing demand for technologies to support long-duration space exploration. Part of the recent Artemis missions and the Moon to Mars initiative is to improve key mission capabilities and fill critical gaps necessary to sustain lunar habitation. Waste management, recycling systems, and manufacturing systems have been identified as critical technologies that need further development before a sustained mission is possible. This thesis explores the feasibility of an additive manufacturing and recycling system designed to process plastic waste generated during extended lunar habitation. Initial research focused on existing manufacturing and recycling technologies …

Rf Properties Of Military Radio Enclosures, Ethan Messner

Honors Theses

Ghost radios are used in a MANET setup by the 11th Airborne Division during operations in Alaska, however, the Ghost radios are limited by battery life and extreme cold temperatures. This work investigates the effects of different enclosures on the propagation characteristics of the Ghost radio. A testing setup was created to measure the S-parameters of a 2-port network in an open field to quantify the impact the enclosures will have on antenna gain. A finite element model of the final enclosure design was created in ANSYS HFSS to determine the effectiveness of adding an attachment onto the enclosure to …

Phytoextraction Potential Of Willows (Salix Spp.) For Common Heavy Metal Contaminants., Johannes Chandler

Honors Theses

Phytoextraction is a method for removal and recovery of heavy metals from contaminated substrates using plants. There is a growing need to test, identify, and further understand species effective for phytoextraction to feasibly remove and recover heavy metals. In this study, the phytoextraction capacity of Willow (Salix) species was tested for metal contaminated soils and waters from legacy mining in Butte, Montana. The willows were grown in a hydroponic system in two 8-week long growth trials, employing a 2x2 factorial design of contaminated soil, clay beads, contaminated mine water and uncontaminated water as the media. Heavy metal concentrations (Mn, Zn, …

Evaluating Team Formation Strategies With Algorithms, Ethan E. Lopez, Andy Vo

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Effective teamwork is essential for collaborative learning, yet forming compatible student groups remains a persistent challenge. This study explores how algorithmic team-building methods influence students’ social and academic compatibility overtime. To support this investigation, we designed a visual survey system called “The Disco Ball." Evaluating work ethics, lifestyles, behaviors, and communication styles, students were initially assigned to project teams using one of three conditions: (1) random assignment (control), (2) a “most matches” condition maximizing similarity between students, and (3) a “diverse communication styles” condition designed to balance differing interaction preferences. After an initial collaboration period, students were given the opportunity …

From Clogs To Compliance: Overcoming Persistent Leachate Head Issues In Ccr Landfills, Breanne Kahnk, Zachary Bauman

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

State and federal regulations require that landfills, including coal combustion residual (CCR) landfills, be designed and operated to maintain leachate head levels of less than 30 centimeters (approximately 1 foot). While proper leachate collection system design and routine maintenance are critical for meeting this requirement, challenges such as clogging of drainage media, pipes, fittings and/or pipeline perforations, settlement of collection pipes, and breaks in the piping system can lead to elevated leachate levels, posing risks to compliance and long-term system performance. TRC will provide an overview of leachate collection system regulatory requirements along with design, operation, and maintenance strategies that …