Digital Commons Network^™

Dc Treasure Box, Michael A. Derrenbacher

Electrical Engineering

An all in one DC resource would enable electronics students to prototype circuits for labs and projects without the need for the lab equipment present on campus. The labs on campus can be physically far, closed, or overcrowded, preventing students from accessing the equipment. Roughly 75% of upper division electrical engineering students do not own power supplies, with even fewer students owning a source measurement unit (SMU). There is a significant need for a product capable of providing standard lab equipment functionality. The functionally this project provides are positive and negative DC power supplies, 4-Quadrant SMU, analog inputs and outputs, …

Composite Liftwalker For Shurouq, Daniel Martinez, Robert Boyd, Vikram Thridandam, Madeline Faase

Mechanical Engineering

The following document describes the scope of our project and the methods we have deployed in designing and manufacturing a personalized composite LiftWalker for a young woman in Egypt named Shurouq. Our objective is to design a lightweight and durable LiftWalker to improve upon the current product of our project sponsor, Charlie Gutierrez. To accommodate Shurouq’s physical disabilities as well as the limits of transporting the device to her by plane, our team will need to alter the current product’s dimensions, materials, and structure. Through researching similar products and interviewing potential customers, we have compiled engineering specifications to guide the …

Spring Loaded Camming Device, Jared S. Christner, Kaitlin O. Deherrera, Ryan W. Edwards, John S. Hickey

Mechanical Engineering

Spring loaded camming devices or “cams” are used in traditional rock climbing as a means of active fall protection. Climbers place cams in cracks and fissures in the rock wall. The cam’s lobes press against the walls, locking it in place, anchoring the climber in case of a fall. Currently, there is a lack of large cams on the market. Only two small companies produce cams that are usable in cracks 6.5 inches wide and larger, however their designs are either too heavy and/or lack features to be comfortable. We are a group of mechanical engineering students at Cal Poly …

Portable Fluorescence Illuminator, Katherine Hui, Emran Baryal, Emmett Lambert

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review (FDR) document outlines the senior design project implemented by a team of three mechanical engineering students at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo for a professor in the biochemistry and chemistry department, Dr. Javin Oza. The project involved designing and manufacturing a portable ultraviolet fluorescence illuminator that will indicate the fluorescent glow of biomaterials for viewing purposes. The goal was to create a portable product out of recyclable material that can be used in field applications and increase accessibility to affordable science equipment. The initial sponsor and user interviews, technical background research, product research, and …

Inverted Fluorescence Microscope, Makenzie Lyn Kamei, Enoch Wright Nicholson, Eduardo Reyna Miranda Jr., Trevor John Brown

Mechanical Engineering

The Inverted Fluorescence Microscope senior project team at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo designed, assembled, and tested a proof-of-concept inverted fluorescence microscope for the university’s Microfabrication Laboratory. Administrators of the laboratory wished to use fluorescence for research and experiments involving cell growth and flow visualization on the micro-scale, and did not have the budget to purchase one of the costly commercially available options. The scope of this design challenge was to produce a low-cost inverted fluorescence microscope employing available optical components and additional readily sourced parts to expand the use of fluorescence microscopy accessible to undergraduate students in the Microfabrication …

Sharpening Images Using Guidestars At The Hale Telescope, Jordan Alura Rupp, Jonah Kai Silva, Samantha Ahn Tran, Josh David Robinson

Mechanical Engineering

The SIGHT Senior Project team at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo designed and prototyped the Science Cryostat subsystem of the Sharpening Images using Guidestars for the Hale Telescope (SIGHT) Adaptive Optics system. SIGHT will improve the capabilities of astronomical observations and measurements at the Hale Telescopes using adaptive optics. SIGHT will consist of a Laser Guidestar (LGS) subsystem which focuses a UV laser into Earth’s high atmosphere, adjacent to a science target the Hale Telescope is observing. The LGS subsystem calculates how the laser light has been distorted by temperature and pressure differences as the light travels through the atmosphere. …

Design For Additive Manufacturing, Michael Charonnat, Leonardo Franco-Muñoz, Sam Noble, J.P. Purdom

Mechanical Engineering

This document outlines the critical design details and timeline for the Design for Additive Manufacturing Senior Project sponsored by Solar Turbines, Inc. The scope of this project encompasses the redesign of two of Solar Turbine’s cast parts for metal additive manufacturing in order to minimize lead time, cost, and weight. With the overall objective of performing in-depth analysis exploring affordability & feasibility, this redesign process will aid Solar Turbines in expanding their knowledge of Design for Additive Manufacturing principles and enable them to further incorporate the use of additive manufacturing into their production processes. The first part that the team …

Adaptive Exercise Equipment, Jake Ryan Walejko, Spencer Goodman, Kalina Burns, Journey Martinson

Mechanical Engineering

This document outlines the senior design project carried out by a team of mechanical engineering students at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The task is to design adapted exercise equipment for the non-profit organization, Achievement House. The objective of this Final Design Review is to document the final design, manufacturing plan, design verification plan, and project management plan. In addition, this document includes previously presented information on the project background, objectives, and concept design. The background and objective sections document various forms of customer research and include the project goals developed by the athletes and fitness instructors of …

Vehicle Wheelchair Storage Final Design Report, Alexander Nicholas Cherry, Alex Morcate, Chloe Ng, Tyler Habu

Mechanical Engineering

Many people who use wheelchairs are very active. They have errands to run and lives to live just like everybody else. For a busy person who uses a wheelchair there are currently no quick methods for storing and unloading your wheelchair from your vehicle that do not require expensive custom modifications which can ruin the resell value and the aesthetics of the vehicle. This has resulted in users hastily loading their wheelchairs which can cause damage to the wheelchair, the vehicle, and other passengers while the vehicle is in motion. The goal of this project was to develop a wheelchair …

California Solar Regatta - Hull Team: Up A Creek, Torrey Duncan, Sean Neuman, Kyle Krietzman, Andrew Offhaus

Mechanical Engineering

The SMUD Solar Regatta competition tasks students with developing a solar-powered watercraft to compete in various events on a fresh water lake. Cal Poly has created two mechanical engineering senior project groups to coordinate the design of a boat for the Solar Regatta competition. Up a Creek, the boat construction team, has created the following Final Design Review document to highlight the group’s progress on the project over the year. This document captures the design process from the background research, project objectives, and early concepts to the final design, manufacturing processes, and planned testing procedures. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic halted …

Mindfulness For Stress Reduction: Qualitative Analysis Of Perceptions From College Students And Mindfulness Instructors, Beth Marie Merlo

Master's Theses

Although mindfulness interventions with college students have yield positive results, many students are not continuing to engage after the interventions. This may be because very little research has been done to investigate the health behavior beliefs of college students in regard to mindfulness for stress reduction. The purpose of this investigation was to identify the most influential components of the Integrated Behavioral Model (IBM) that potentially assist with predicting college student participation in mindfulness activities for stress reduction. Interviews, informed by the IBM, were conducted with 20 current college students and 5 current mindfulness instructors working with college students. The …

Analysis And Optimization Of Colorimetric Nanosensors For Rapid Detection Of Microbes In Water, Ruby A. Lang

Master's Theses

Access to safe water is a basic human right recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010 (WHO, 2020). However, a least 2.2 billion people globally still are without safely managed water services meaning they use a drinking water source that can be contaminated with faeces (WHO, 2020). With such a pressing global health issue, it is clear that improvement to water systems is important and required in the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, to improve water systems and prove they are safe water sources, water quality testing must occur. A solution to this issue is the …

Altering An Epoxy-Amine Thermoset's Performance Through Varying Mix Ratios, Kiersten M. Smith

Master's Theses

Epoxy resins are used in a number of different industries and therefore have application-specific material requirements, from satellites that require materials that operate in space, to paints and coatings that require high scratch resistance and mechanical durability, to medical devices, designed to be in continuous contact with biological fluids. Commercial epoxy products come with manufacturer’s information explaining the epoxy properties and recommended preparation processing conditions, which may include epoxy resin to curing agent mix ratio (Part A : Part B), cure time, and cure temperature, for example. Due to proprietary reasons, it can be difficult to understand why these values …

Pier Portal, Alec W. Hardy

Master's Theses

The Pier Portal marine monitoring system is an internet controlled underwater camera that will enable students, researchers, and the general public the ability to monitor underwater marine life and ocean conditions. Installed at Cal Poly’s Center for Coastal Marine Science pier at Avila Beach, California, the camera can be commanded in real-time to raise or lower to any position between the top of the pier and the bottom of the ocean floor, while providing a live-stream video to the operator and general public. This thesis effort focused on the integration of the various subsystem components through software, and the development …

Analysis Of Burning Wood In The Transient State And The Application To Structural Design, Roberta Veliz, Kimberly Guzman

Architectural Engineering

Determining the extent of the contribution of exposed timber on compartment fire dynamics in open floor plans is a complex process. Designers traditionally used compartmentalization design methods which create spaces where flashover is likely, given the fuel load and ventilation conditions. However, due to the large geometric dimensions and spread of fuel, fires in open floor plans are more likely to remain as localized or traveling fires. As such, an understanding of not only ignition potential but also flame spread is critical to characterizing the contribution of exposed timber. An integral step in characterizing the potential contribution is through an …

Wine History Project Pavilion, Douglas Mcarthur

Architectural Engineering

The Wine History Pavilion Project is a continuing endeavor of Cal Poly students working on an exhibitive, traveling structure for the San Luis Obispo community. The project started during the 2019 Fall Quarter in the interdisciplinary Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Studio and has progressed to the detailed design stage for its eventual fabrication and installation. This report discusses the detailed design stage that 4th year Architectural Engineering student, Douglas McArthur, worked on.

The Aloe: High Rise Schematic Design And Analysis, Tony Duc Nguyen, Lilliann Lan Lai

Architectural Engineering

The authors of this document are architectural engineering (ARCE) undergraduate students from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). They joined the 2020 Skyscraper Collaboratory as part of the ARCE course 415: Interdisciplinary Capstone Project. This course emphasizes the analysis and evaluation of interdisciplinary challenges associated with integrating the design and construction processes to deliver a project with respect to the design, quality, and performance expectations for a client or presented criteria. The course was taught in collaboration with industry partners and associates from the global architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). Instruction …

Analysis Of High Rise Structures, Elitsa P. Vutova

Architectural Engineering

The design of a high rise tower involves many moving parts and is best done in collaboration with all construction disciplines. This report examines the basic steps and principles followed and discovered along the collaborative design process between Architectural and Architectural Engineering students of two high rise building systems. The report will look at physical model tests and digital model analyses. It will also follow the design of two high rise towers proposed for San Francisco, CA: The Crystal and the HOODOO. The tower design includes a study of possible lateral loading systems, a dual core and outrigger system analysis …

Piazza Di Ulivo: Arce Patio Redesign, Sophia Kim-Oanh Ha, David Colman

Architectural Engineering

Piazza de Ulivo was Phase 1 of a multi-quarter initiative to redesign and bring life to a patio space adjacent to Engineering West (Building 21) in Spring of 2020. Located within the central courtyard of Engineering West (Hasslein Garden), the patio space previously contained a senior project pergola that collapsed and has been removed. The remaining elements from this previous structure were an inverted moment frame consisting of five concrete columns and beams joining them. Additionally, a wooden bench with concrete pedestals remained under the shade of the existing olive tree. Desire within the Architectural Engineering (ARCE) department for the …

Addressing Reentry Experiences In California During Covid-19, Emily R. Cook

Social Sciences

I will first provide a literature review surrounding the topic of reentry and recidivism. Next, I will describe the projects that I completed related to reentry and reintegration in California including: participating in various parts of an educational reentry simulation, analyzing student responses to participation in this simulation, organizing a care package drive to assist those recently released, and creating a resource website compiling updates on the COVID- 19 crisis inside of the California incarceration system. I conclude by reflecting on my senior project experience.

Sandy Feet, Garrett E. Herbst, Jacqueline Chuang, Jerin T. Brust, Parker S. Duncan

General Engineering

Sgt. Brady is a former armed forces member with a transtibial amputation. He walks on sand frequently for work and leisure, but experiences severe pain and inconvenience because his current prosthesis is not meant for use on sand. Sand Foot V2 is a prosthesis that allows Sgt. Brady to walk on sand for long periods of time without issue.

Otter Debugger, Keefe Johnson

Computer Engineering

This project is a debugger and programmer for the OTTER CPU, the implementation of the RISC-V ISA used by Cal Poly to teach computer architecture and assembly language in CPE 233/333 and usually implemented on the Basys3 FPGA development board. With this tool, students can quickly program their OTTER with a new/revised RISC-V program binary without resynthesizing the entire FPGA design. They can then use the debugger from a PC to pause/continue/single-step execution and set breakpoints, while inspecting and modifying register and memory contents. This enables real-time debugging of OTTER projects involving custom hardware such as a keyboard and VGA …

Free Space Detection And Trajectory Planning For Autonomous Robot, Zachary Ross Winger

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Autonomous robots need to know what is around them and where it is safe for them to move to. Because having this ability is so important, Dr. Seng and myself have created a model to predict the free space in front of his autonomous robot, Herbie. We then use this prediction to enforce a driving policy to ensure Herbie drives around safely.

The Effect Of An Educational Workshop On High School Future Farmers Of America Parliamentary Procedure Leadership Development Teams, Brooke Gilstrap, Alyssa Snow

Agricultural Education and Communication

Within the California Future Farmers of America Association (FFA), there are a variety of Leadership Development Events (LDE’s) including the Parliamentary Procedure contest. Within this contest students sharpen their knowledge through reviewing Robert's Rules of Order and applying this knowledge to an exam as well as a live demonstration. Through this contest, students also improve upon their public speaking skills and research agricultural education and industry issues. Students compete in several invitational contests before entering the sectional, regional, and state levels of competition where their advanced knowledge comes into play with a wider audience. Over the span of California, there …

Pitting Corrosion Of Oerlikon’S Abrasion Resistant Ferritic Stainless Steels, Matthew P. Nalty, Emma Wagstaff

Materials Engineering

Existing hardfacing coatings for hydraulic cylinders and brake disc applications crack during use leaving the components susceptible to corrosion. To address this problem, Oerlikon has designed three new alloys to be abrasion and corrosion resistant. This paper reviews the literature necessary to understand and quantify pitting resistance of stainless-steel alloys. It documents one round of testing ASTM G48 method A: Ferric Chloride Pitting Test of Stainless Steels on the new alloys P72-X9, P72-X13, P129-X9, as well as samples of 431, 316, and 2205 stainless steels. This paper also discusses improvements to the G48 testing method and industry use of the …

Failure Analysis Of Investment Cast Near-Alpha Titanium Alloys, Garrett Ryan Bader, Jonathan Anton Linquist

Materials Engineering

In this project, fracture surfaces of three titanium investment castings were studied as part of a failure analysis on a TaylorMade metalwood. The crack formation occurred between investment cast Ti 9-1-1 and rolled Ti 6-4 joined by laser beam welding. The microstructure of the Ti 9-1-1 contained alpha colonies in large prior beta grains, while the Ti 6-4 was primarily Widmanstätten in basket weave morphology, refined with subsequent rolling. Over a period of cyclic loading, cracking occurred at the face-sole transition in the metalwoods that had been cast from a certain supplier B, while metalwoods that had undergone similar treatment …

Explorando Lo No-Binario: Un Proyecto Sobre El Lenguaje Inlcusivo, Los Pronombres De Género, Y El Género No-Binario En Español, Elijah Michael Sobrien

World Languages and Cultures

En este proyecto, he traducido un sitio web de Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, sobre el uso de los pronombres de género. Además de la traducción, he explicado la razón por la cual es importante traducir este documento y proporcionar acceso a la información a diversas comunidades. La meta de este proyecto es promover el uso del lenguaje inclusivo entre todas personas. La traducción es importante porque para usar lenguaje inclusivo, una persona tiene que educarse sobre los pronombres de género y esforzarse por cambiar su modo de hablar. Este documento puede servir como recurso para personas que quieren aprender …

Creating A Livestock Show From The Beginning For The Benefit Of Youth In The Agriculture Industry And Continuing The Tradition Of Showing, Chloé Fowler, Matthew Durian

Agricultural Education and Communication

Youth throughout the country have been shown to benefit through organizations focused on leadership and real-world tangible skills. Organizations such as the National FFA Organization and 4-H Youth Development are key organizations for this growth. Livestock shows are another layer to these organizations and youth development. “Livestock shows provide interactions through different environments that expose participants to different cultures,” (Davis, 1998).

For these reasons it is important to provide more opportunities to the next generation of agriculture. There are currently 28 different livestock jackpots within the state of California throughout one year, (CJLA, 2020). Due to the large geographic landscape …

Mechani-Kits Senior Design Project, Jake Utley, Sophie Carson, Vincent Seguin

Mechanical Engineering

Studies suggest that when designed and executed well, hands-on activities can enhance student understanding of key mechanics concepts. Current products are expensive and typically not designed to meet a variety of learning objectives. Through the Mechanics of Inclusion and Inclusivity in Mechanics grant, the Cal Poly Physics and Engineering Departments are seeking to incorporate new hands-on activities into their courses. Our team has designed three inexpensive ”MechaniKits” to be used in physics, statics and dynamics courses [1]. This Final Design Review outlines our findings, objectives, and final designs for this project. It also explains our manufacturing and design verification plans. …

Analysis And Design Of An Off-Grid Residential Power System, Christopher Rotsios

Master's Theses

This thesis aims to provide a recommended power system design for optimal efficiency, reliability, and cost in off-grid applications. The power system examined in this project is a residence in an off-grid community called Quail Springs that generates its energy from roof mounted solar panels. The existing system was analyzed to see what equipment can remain, what needs to be upsized, and what needs to be added to the system. Two power systems are considered for the residence: a fully AC power system and a hybrid AC/DC power system. Simulations were run in PSCAD to compare the efficiencies of the …