Digital Commons Network^™

Flexible Water Cooling, Joshua Terlaje, Andrew Lin, Nicholas Morales, Tanner Parrott

Mechanical Engineering

The goal of this project is to develop and deploy a water-cooling system to reduce the danger of heat exhaustion among communities of farmworkers. Currently, it is difficult to keep chilled water available throughout the workday when using portable water coolers. The idea uses a refrigeration system to chill the water supply by using the power take-off (PTO) on farm equipment and a corresponding generator to get around this restriction.

The project places a strong premium on keeping the chilled water supply at a maximum temperature of 59°F to ensure compliance with the California Department of Industrial Relations' requirements. Each …

In-Situ Mechanical Tester, Andrrew Murach, Gustavo Marquez, Kosimo Tonn, Jake Vormbaum

Mechanical Engineering

Over the course of the 2022-23 Cal Poly SLO school year, a small tensile tester device was developed specifically for Dr. Long Wang to test thin film materials under a microscope and generate accurate force versus displacement graphs. A tensile tester was manufactured using purchased and machined components, electronics were consolidated in a separate box and connected, and a program and user interface were written to control the motion, provide custom inputs, and organize useful data for the researcher. Tests were conducted to compare the performance of the device to universal tensile testers available in the Composites lab. The device …

Metamaterial-Based Soft Actuators, Savannah June Cheney, Nathan Kessenich, Marco Leen, Merek Mcgill

Mechanical Engineering

For this project the team was tasked with designing a soft actuator that incorporated aspects of mechanical metamaterials. The team’s goal was to demonstrate the feasibility of structural metamaterials in the field of soft robotics and demonstrate a novel response with a final assembly. Also included in the team's discussion are the manufacturing steps, protype tests & results, and suggested future next steps. Following the previous report (critical design review) the team chose to follow the path of designing a continuum robot with metamaterials incorporated into the design. A continuum robot consists of a soft cylindrical body with rigid evenly …

Microfabrication Lab Furnace Upgrade, Brooke Ann Benedict, Benjamin Ozer Fields, Nathaniel David Burtnett, Thomas Mackay Taylor

Mechanical Engineering

This project, undertaken by the Mechanical Engineering Department at California Polytechnic State University, aimed to upgrade the control system, user interface, and control software for Cal Poly's oxidation and diffusion furnaces. The upgrade was designed to enhance the usability of the furnaces for students learning in the microfabrication lab and improve the lab's image for prospective students. The project involved a comprehensive design process, including mechanical design, controls, software, human factors, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, electrical design, integration, and testing. The implementation phase entailed procurement of over 300 distinct components, manufacturing, and assembly.

The project's primary goal was to ensure …

Zero-Waste Ocean Floor Hydrophone Mooring, Chloe Schofield, German Jack Ellsworth, Jathun Somasundaram, Evan Brown

Mechanical Engineering

Maddie Schroth-Glanz, from the Statistics Department of Cal Poly, requires a system that assists in the deployment and retrieval of a marine hydrophone used to record ocean mammal vocalization patterns, specifically in large whales. This report discusses the final design, including changes to the design after the Critical Design Review, and the tests that were done to ensure the final design achieves the specifications of the project. We will discuss everything from material purchases to manufacturing and assembly for all subsystems of the project, and then discuss how our testing justified the design choices we made. Finally, the report will …

Therapeutic Mechanical Horse Project, Broghan Martin, Carson Roff, Zach Barnisham, Lydia Barnes

Mechanical Engineering

This project team created a simple mechanical model of a horse that disabled children could ride on to feel more comfortable partaking in equine therapy. This project was sponsored by Jack’s Helping Hand as part of their equine therapy program. The team went through the entire design process of researching, ideating, prototyping, and testing to create the final product. Finite element analysis of the structural members of the horse was performed. The forces used in that model were later validated through testing of the strength of those same members after manufacturing. In the end, a self-actuating single degree of freedom …

Bespoke Bicycle Enclosure, Thomas Link, Kyle Mcafee, Marc Monier, Hunter Walden

Mechanical Engineering

Brian Higgins is an American veteran with retinitis pigmentosa who relies on cycling for transportation. The motivation for this project is to design and manufacture a refined prototype bicycle attachment to support him while biking in the rain and cold. The attachment will serve to enclose him for optimal protection from inclement weather, while maintaining sufficient mobility for daily cycling. Mr. Higgins’ bicycle is equipped with an attached sensor system which assists his visual impairment by using an ultrasonic sensor. Therefore, the attachment cannot adversely affect the function of the sensor system. The project timeline is set at approximately 7 …

Disc Golf Throwing Robot, Nevada S. Schultz, Sydney M. Lewis, Erick Edmundo Daza, Rachel Alysse Greenberg, Peter M. Kean

Mechanical Engineering

Disc golf companies need better methods to test disc flight. The scope of this project is to create a disc throwing robot that can throw a disc golf driver 450-500 feet, with control over the speed, spin, and release angle. Research shows that multiple disc-throwing products exist; however, none meet the full requirements of this project. The Cal Poly senior project design team created a proof-of-concept machine. This prototype started as a two-wheel mechanism. Eventually, a third wheel was added, allowing for complete control over disc spin. The three-wheel prototype reached 62 mph when perfectly calibrated. The prototype is accurate, …

Baja Sae Semi-Active Suspension, Cameron Paul Jones, Ethan Jacobi Mikel, Joshua Macguire Wright, Aditya Garg

Mechanical Engineering

This document outlines the design and justification for the final design of the Baja SAE Semi-Active Suspension Senior Project. The goal of the project was to build a base valve that can adjust suspension damping rates on the fly. This document details the ideation, design, manufacturing, design verification results, and detailed drawing package for the project. Additionally, this document includes information regarding the pressure drop calculator, O-ring calculations, and CAD. The manufacturing processes used to create the valve and the testing and evaluation of the valve are included as well. Finally, the methods that were used to manage this project …

Home Based Business Ordinance For The City Of Reno, Maxwell Hp Johnson

City and Regional Planning

Home based businesses allow for some commercial and business activities to occur within private residences by residents without the need of commercially zoned properties or structures. Home based businesses provide affordable accommodation for less impactful small businesses, but can additionally impact neighbors and communities with negative externalities when not properly regulated. The City of Reno, Nevada currently faces rising land prices and limited availability of commercial properties. Such conditions increase the adoption of home based businesses, and combined with the lack of regulation can create nuisances within communities.

The ordinance proposal analyzes relevant legal cases, case study ordinances, and the …

Frontier - A Bus Rapid Transit System In Frisco, Tx, Matthias Berry

City and Regional Planning

This study explores the increasing inaccessibility produced by reliance and catered infrastructure to mass ownership of personal vehicles. Accessing employment, service, and activity destinations has become extremely difficult for those who cannot possess, afford, or operate personal vehicles; even cyclists have a more difficult time navigating roads due to limited infrastructure and accommodations. Public transit has often become an afterthought within cities, with local routes competing with other cars on the road and adding to overall traffic volume. Bus-Rapid Transit (BRT) systems are an expanding concept within car-centric regions, often being called the "subways, but on wheels", that not only …

French Drain Project At Woods Humane Society, Thomas Douglas Collins

Construction Management

The Woods Humane Society is a prominent animal care facility that aims to rehabilitate, rescue, and assist in the adoption of dogs and cats in the greater San Luis Obispo area. The property contains multiple dog playpen areas which consist of a concrete slab surrounded by a chain link fence, designed for the animals to have an open space to run around throughout the day. Employees are required to hose down the slab hourly to maintain a clean environment for the animals. When employees hose down the playpen areas, a considerable amount of water runs off the slab and into …

A Novel Approach To Extending Music Using Latent Diffusion, Keon Roohparvar, Franz J. Kurfess

Master's Theses

Using deep learning to synthetically generate music is a research domain that has gained more attention from the public in the past few years. A subproblem of music generation is music extension, or the task of taking existing music and extending it. This work proposes the Continuer Pipeline, a novel technique that uses deep learning to take music and extend it in 5 second increments. It does this by treating the musical generation process as an image generation problem; we utilize latent diffusion models (LDMs) to generate spectrograms, which are image representations of music. The Continuer Pipeline is able to …

Experimental Characterization And Computer Vision-Assisted Detection Of Pitting Corrosion On Stainless Steel Structural Members, Riley J. Muehler

Master's Theses

Pitting corrosion is a prevalent form of corrosive damage that can weaken, damage, and initiate failure in corrosion-resistant metallic materials. For instance, 304 stainless steel is commonly utilized in various structures (e.g., miter gates, heat exchangers, and storage tanks), but is prone to failure through pitting corrosion and stress corrosion cracking under mechanical loading, regardless of its high corrosion resistance. In this study, to better understand the pitting corrosion damage development, controlled corrosion experiments were conducted to generate pits on 304 stainless steel specimens with and without mechanical loading. The pit development over time was characterized using a high-resolution laser …

The Effect Of Adding Mango To A Breakfast Meal On Glycemic And Satiety Responses And Next Meal Energy Consumption, Natalie R. Ramos

Master's Theses

Spikes in blood glucose (BG) result in adverse health consequences in people with and without diabetes. This study aimed to compare the BG and satiety responses of adding mango or sugar to a high glycemic load (HGL) breakfast. A randomized, controlled trial (cross-over design) was conducted with 18 participants. Participants consumed cornflakes and almond milk (Control), control plus 34gm added sugar (ASug), or added mango (AMango) with 34gm carbohydrate. BG was determined at fasting, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120min postprandial; satiety was rated with a visual analog scale at each time point. At 120min, subjects consumed a snack of hummus …

Investigation Of Placement Of Polyethylenimine Within Thin Film Composite Reverse Osmosis Membranes For Enhanced Anti-Fouling Properties, Taylor F. Austin

Master's Theses

Fresh water scarcity is an alarming issue for communities across the globe. The development of water recycling and reuse technologies has become crucial in expanding the limited water resources. Reverse osmosis (RO) is among the key processes that can treat wastewater to meet potable water reuse standards. Despite the advancements in RO membrane technologies, many challenges persist regarding the operation and maintenance of RO membranes, such as membrane fouling. Extensive research investigations have focused on developing RO membrane modifications to combat the decreased performance due to fouling. Polyethylenimine (PEI) is a promising polymer used for enhancing the anti-fouling properties of …

Physical And Digital Models For Timber Design And Analysis Courses, Paulina Robles, Gabrielle Rose Favro, Anahid Behrouzi, Abby Lentz

Architectural Engineering

Among structural engineering education research, there is a limited number of studies on interactive learning tools and activities specifically for the timber design classroom to assist students in visualizing material behavior, vertical and lateral load paths, and construction sequence. Timber design courses within the undergraduate program in the Architectural Engineering department at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), place an emphasis on seismic and wind design. Therefore, the proposed learning tools and activities are intended to pair with an introduction to concepts in the American Wood Council’s National Design Specifications (NDS) and Special Design Provisions for …

Branding And Designing A Website Mockup For A New Curly Hair Brand, Sophie Isabelle Shif

Graphic Communication

For this project I created a fictitious curly hair brand named Twirl. Twirl’s mission is to make curly hair care fun and easy. I started by making a logo and creating branding guidelines. Next I designed some labels and put them on packaging mockups. I wanted this project to have a UX/UI element so I made a landing page wireframe and then converted it into a mockup that incorporated the branding guidelines and packaging mockup. Throughout the design process I kept the brand’s mission in mind, and prioritized the user’s experience with the products and website.

Multi-Process Print Artwork With Integrated Electronics, Justin M. Pioletti

Graphic Communication

"Multi-Process Print Artwork with Integrated Electronics" explores the production of screen, block, and digital printing, and incorporates capacitive sensing to generate interactivity. The primary function of the art is to serve as promotional material for the student media group ".wavzine." Moreover, the multi-print production is intended to demonstrate the inherent, tangible benefits of various printing methods. This is important to consider as the print industry continues to move towards digital homogeneity.

Mechanics Desktop Lab Equipment, Dante Azpilcueta, Quentin F. Mormann, Arfan Ansar

Mechanical Engineering

This paper overviews the design, implementation and testing of a senior project designed to fix the issue of there being no lab equipment or space for content pertaining to mechanic of materials topics. This is of concern as Cal Poly is reorganizing content as it switches to the semester system and is in need of labs for this material. The solution found was to create a portable miniature universal test machine that could be carted into non-lab classrooms. The goal was to create a device that was low-cost, modifiable, durable, easy to manufacture and repair as these were the qualities …

Valve Efficiency Testing Device, Jake Robert Rydberg, Andrew Keith Willardson, Jake Ben Jezier, Emily Marie Wannenmacher

Mechanical Engineering

This document serves as the official Final Design Review (FDR) for the mechanical engineering team on the Valve Efficiency Testing Device project for the Phillips 66 Rodeo Refinery. The team attends California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The project involved designing and building a valve efficiency testing device. The goal was to create a finished test device that can be used in the Phillips 66 Rodeo Refinery machine shop to test reciprocating compressor valves before they are installed. The purpose of this document is to describe the manufacturing and design verification activities that have been completed since Critical Design …

Graduate Internship Report - Cal Poly Bull Test, Kayla Marie Dubowsky

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

The Cal Poly Bull Test has a long-standing history on the university campus. The program has continued to grow and improve since it was founded in 1956 and with these improvements to the program, the marketing and curriculum need to adapt as well. For this internship, I worked in partnership with Dr. McFarlane on three main projects focusing on rebranding, curriculum development, and the creation of marketing materials. The rebranding consisted of the creation of a new logo and an updated brand guide. The curriculum development consisted of the creation of a marketing module for the enterprise-class that focuses on …

Aged 539 Internship Report: Cal Poly Rodeo Media, Marina Levine

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

Cal Poly Rodeo is one of the oldest, largest, and winningest college rodeo programs in the country. While completing my Masters in Agricultural Education, I held the position of Assistant Coach for Cal Poly Rodeo and served as head of media and marketing. The program’s social media rivals that of a professional sports media page. This year, I strived to take it to the next level. Throughout the year, I filmed, edited, and produced videos introducing our freshmen, highlighting our seniors and graduate students, and promoting our events such as the Break-A-Wave and Poly Royal. I also spent time in …

Aged 539/580 Final Report, Quintin Mcwhorter

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This report details the role of an assistant coach and responsibilities associated with managing the rodeo facility, which was comprised of daily and weekly tasks, as well as improvement projects.

Cal Poly Rodeo Team Event Planning Handbook, Paula W. Cooper

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

As an aspiring leader in Agricultural Education and a dedicated member of the Cal Poly Rodeo team, I was presented with the unique opportunity to organize a fundraiser for Jack's Helping Hand, a non-profit organization aiding children with cancer and special needs. This remarkable experience, coupled with my ongoing academic pursuits, sparked an idea for my master's project: creating a comprehensive handbook for future event planners of the rodeo team.

Cal Poly Rodeo | Improving Speed And Consistency Of Student Athletes: Goat Tying, Taylour Q. Latham

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

Cal Poly Rodeo is an amazing program for student athletes competing in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA). These athletes are expected to obtain a 2.0 GPA in 12 or more units, while being active in practices, and rodeo activities. Mandatory goat tying practice is held every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:00 AM. During this time athlete performance is observed and recorded on Tuesdays, and broken down on Thursdays to implement areas where they can improve. The purpose of these practices is to give the athletes feedback from another point of view, and take those points into their own practices …

Sustainability In Concrete Masonry With Natural Pozzolans, Ceiley L. Davis

Architectural Engineering: Graduate Reports

To achieve greater sustainability in masonry construction for the Western market it is common to replace masonry grout's partial cement content with waste pozzolans. As waste pozzolans are in limited supply, as the coal burning market in the West diminishes, this research investigates viable grout mixtures which replace cement with Natural Pozzolans, a more plentiful sustainable replacement. The present work investigated the percentage of Natural Pozzolans that can be partially substituted for cement for grout mixtures to achieve an axial compressive strength of 2000psi within 28 and 56 days of curing. To determine efficacy per ASTM 476-22, “Standards Specifications for …

Mbesese Build 2023, Ben Stewart, Matthew Chung, Ian Mcconnell

Architectural Engineering

In collaboration with the Mbesese Initiative for Sustainable Developments, the senior project group from California Polytechnic State University of San Luis Obispo, researched, designed, and created construction documents for the Same Polytechnic College project in the town of Same, Tanzania. This project aims to combat poverty in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania by providing education and infrastructure development. In 2023, the senior project group focused on completing a communal and educational space and addressing clean water scarcity through a rainwater collection system on the site of the future college.

Crescent: Proposed Arboretum Shade Structure, Hayle Jones, Ian Kelly, Emilie Phuong, Brooke Heitman

Architectural Engineering

This is a sunshade structure that uses shells as the facade to create the enclosing of this structure.

The Design And Construction Of A Radio Telescope, Avery Elizabeth Bunting, Kira Hope Tolman

Architectural Engineering

Two architectural engineering students and an electrical engineering student worked together to design and build a radio telescope that is capable of using hydrogen line astronomy to map the galaxy. The telescope is made entirely out of aluminum, which, combined with small deflection limits, made for an iterative design process that focused primarily on constructability and supporting the desired outcomes of the electrical side.