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California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

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Residential Boundary Fence Installation In Oceano, Ca, Ulysses Beas Mar 2026

Residential Boundary Fence Installation In Oceano, Ca, Ulysses Beas

Construction Management

This Senior Project focuses on the planning and execution of a residential boundary wooden fence for an elderly homeowner located in Oceano, California, alongside a partial front yard renovation that was an appreciation gift from her grandson. Prior to construction, the front yard was divided by a small ornamental iron fence, which provided very little privacy. This fence installation was designed to improve privacy, security and overall safety while working alongside hired concrete laborers. Not only was the goal to improve safety but also the aesthetics of the home. This Project includes a project scope statement, site measurements, fence layout, …

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Slo Botanical Garden Lean-To Carport, Saul Gracian, Sergio Gonzalez Mar 2026

Slo Botanical Garden Lean-To Carport, Saul Gracian, Sergio Gonzalez

Construction Management

This paper documents the planning, design, funding, and construction of a lean-to carport for the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden, completed as a student-led Construction Management senior project by Saul Gracian and Sergio Gonzalez. The purpose of the project was to provide a functional storage structure for garden equipment while applying construction management principles in a real-world, nonprofit setting. The project methodology included site evaluation, collaborative design development, cost estimating, funding acquisition, regulatory review, and hands-on construction. Design decisions were informed by site constraints, county code requirements, budget limitations, and stakeholder input, resulting in a final 10’ x 12’ structure …

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Risk Management Strategies Used By Project Leaders In Construction Projects On The East Coast, Dylan David Decuffa Mar 2026

Risk Management Strategies Used By Project Leaders In Construction Projects On The East Coast, Dylan David Decuffa

Construction Management

Construction projects are often defined by their visible outcomes, structures completed on time, within budget, and built to the required standards. Yet beneath these outcomes lies a less visible force that quietly shapes whether success is achieved or compromised. Uncertainty is present in every phase of construction, influencing decisions, performance, and ultimately the trajectory of the project. The ability to recognize and respond to this uncertainty may separate projects that proceed with stability from those that experience delays, escalating costs, and diminished quality. Project managers, superintendents, project engineers, and other related fields play a central role in navigating this uncertainty …

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An Analysis Of Injury And Fatality Trends In The U.S. Construction Industry, Ryan Dutt Mar 2026

An Analysis Of Injury And Fatality Trends In The U.S. Construction Industry, Ryan Dutt

Construction Management

Construction work is one of the most dangerous industries in the United States, with different trades and work types showing various risk levels for injuries and fatalities. This paper’s objective is to identify the safety trends in construction over the past 10 to 20 years and understand the trades, accident types, and construction sectors with the highest safety risks. All of the data was obtained from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the National Safety Council (NSC) databases, broken down by trade, accident …

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Thousand Hills Pet Resort Ada Compliant Access Ramp And Connecting Deck: Preconstruction Activities, Sonya Nahama Wijoyo Mar 2026

Thousand Hills Pet Resort Ada Compliant Access Ramp And Connecting Deck: Preconstruction Activities, Sonya Nahama Wijoyo

Construction Management

This paper presents the design and preconstruction of an ADA-compliant access ramp and connecting deck system for two mobile homes located at Thousand Hills Pet Resort. The primary objective was to enhance accessibility and safety for residents by providing code-compliant, durable, and functional access to the mobile homes on site. This project is interdisciplinary between construction management and architectural engineering. The project began with a site evaluation to assess existing conditions. Field measurements and site observation guided planning decisions and helped identify potential challenges. Following the site evaluation, the project proceeded into the design phase, where the ramp and deck …

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Assessing The Current Experiences With Electrically- Powered Construction Vehicles Within The Heavy Civil Industry, Matthew Joseph Beauchesne Mar 2026

Assessing The Current Experiences With Electrically- Powered Construction Vehicles Within The Heavy Civil Industry, Matthew Joseph Beauchesne

Construction Management

Heavy machinery, such as cranes, trucks, dozers, and more, are a necessity to build dams, bridges, highways, and all the other types of projects within the Heavy Civil Construction industry. Traditionally, such machinery is powered using fossil fuels - gas or diesel - which in turn affects both the efficiency and emissions of these vehicles. This study focuses on the prospects of using alternative energy - namely electricity - to power such vehicles, and these electric variants differ from their fossil fuel using versions. The methodology of this paper involved seeking out construction contractors within the Heavy Civil sector who …

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Case Study: The Benefits Implementing Azure 3d Printed Homes Onto Dignitymoves Project In San Luis Obispo, Lucy E. Heimer Mar 2026

Case Study: The Benefits Implementing Azure 3d Printed Homes Onto Dignitymoves Project In San Luis Obispo, Lucy E. Heimer

Construction Management

California is actively addressing the challenges of housing shortages and climate change. These challenges have shifted the construction industry, steering the market into finding more sustainable means of construction. This case study evaluates the sustainable benefits of modular construction fabricated by Azure Homes. The focused project is a DignityMoves project in San Luis Obispo where modular units are factory built in El Segundo, CA and set on site. DignityMoves is a nonprofit organization that aims to provide housing for unhoused individuals throughout California. Thus far, DignityMoves has opted to use prefabricated modular units as their primary means of construction on …

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Impact Of Regional Heat Differences On Construction Productivity: A Comparative Study Of California’S Central Valley And Central Coast, Berthalidia Acosta Mar 2026

Impact Of Regional Heat Differences On Construction Productivity: A Comparative Study Of California’S Central Valley And Central Coast, Berthalidia Acosta

Construction Management

Construction productivity is influenced by many environmental conditions, particularly extremely high temperatures. In regions where high temperatures are normal, workers experience increased fatigue, require additional safety controls, and can even lead to scheduling conflicts. This senior project evaluates how heat differences in two parts of California affect productivity by comparing two projects managed by the same general contractor: one located in California’s Central Valley (Sacramento) and one located on the Central Coast (San Luis Obispo). Throughout the study, there will be two data sources seen: weekly labor recap reports focusing on a particular task (Concrete) and semi-structured interviews with industry …

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Slo Garden Guy: Applying Construction Management Principles To A Residential Woodworking Business, Carson Smith Mar 2026

Slo Garden Guy: Applying Construction Management Principles To A Residential Woodworking Business, Carson Smith

Construction Management

This senior project applies construction management principles to evaluate the launch, performance, and future direction of SLO Garden Guy, a small-scale residential woodworking venture operating in San Luis Obispo. The project implemented structured estimating, standardized workflows, financial tracking, and risk analysis to assess real market demand, operational efficiency, and long-term scalability. Over the course of operation, the business completed numerous customer orders and demonstrated consistent seasonal demand patterns, particularly during peak gardening months. Analysis of production capacity, cost structure, and regulatory considerations provided insight into both the strengths and limitations of a niche, product-based service model. While the operation proved …

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Analysis Of Construction Trends On California’S Central Coast, Erik G. Asplund Mar 2026

Analysis Of Construction Trends On California’S Central Coast, Erik G. Asplund

Construction Management

The California Central Coast experiences sustained housing demand and infrastructure pressure, yet it lacks the visible concentration of construction firms found in larger markets. This study examines why construction activity in the region appears limited despite a strong demand. Using a qualitative, interview-based approach, four construction companies who operate across Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties were interviewed to identify recurring themes related to labor, environmental regulation, housing feasibility, technology adoption, and future outlooks. The study concludes that structural constraints rather than lack of opportunity limit the scalability of construction on the Central Coast.

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From Concept To Construction: A Carport For The Slo Botanical Garden, Trent A. Denholm Mar 2026

From Concept To Construction: A Carport For The Slo Botanical Garden, Trent A. Denholm

Construction Management

This paper documents the design, budgeting, procurement and construction of a timber framed carport with architectural shingle roofing at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden (SLOBG). The Botanical Garden, a nonprofit organization dependent on community support and volunteer labor, identified the need for covered storage and a dedicated charging station for its golf cart, a vehicle central to daily operations across the property. Without permanent shelter, the cart was exposed to the elements year-round, which contributed to equipment wear and reduced operational efficiency. Working simultaneously as project manager and lead builder, Trent coordinated stakeholder relationships, developed a project budget, secured …

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Developing And Commercializing Large Language Model Applications For Automated Construction Submittal Review Requirements, Ryan Cracolice Mar 2026

Developing And Commercializing Large Language Model Applications For Automated Construction Submittal Review Requirements, Ryan Cracolice

Construction Management

The construction industry faces persistent challenges in document management, quality assurance, and project coordination. Despite advances in project management software, critical workflows such as submittal review, drawing interpretation, and specification compliance remain predominantly manual processes that consume significant project management resources and introduce risk through human error. Point Construction is an entrepreneurial venture that applies artificial intelligence and advanced imaging technologies to automate and enhance construction document intelligence. The platform integrates directly with industry-standard project management systems to provide AI-driven submittal review, automated drawing analysis, intelligent specification cross-referencing, and natural language querying of project documents. This paper details the conception, …

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Factors Impacting Wildland-Urban Interface (Wui) Fires: A Systematic Literature Review, Albert Jimenez Mar 2026

Factors Impacting Wildland-Urban Interface (Wui) Fires: A Systematic Literature Review, Albert Jimenez

Construction Management

Fires in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) pose a significant danger to communities. The WUI refers to the space where development meets vegetation. Significant research has been conducted into wildfire and WUI vulnerability across the world to help combat vulnerability. These include the identification of factors of vulnerability to create indices that quantify vulnerability, and address scope gaps and inconsistencies within literature. However, existing research seems to be fragmented in finding the WUI vulnerability factors and often it focuses on wildfires and not WUI fires. The objective of this systematic literature review is to synthesize wildfire vulnerability factors identified in the …

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Drainage And Pedestrian Access Improvements At City Farms Slo, Benjamin Marc Kocher, Jacob Anthony Booker Mar 2026

Drainage And Pedestrian Access Improvements At City Farms Slo, Benjamin Marc Kocher, Jacob Anthony Booker

Construction Management

This senior project focused on planning, designing, and constructing drainage and pedestrian access improvements at City Farms SLO, a nonprofit in San Luis Obispo that promotes sustainable agriculture and youth education. Prior to construction, the site experienced significant stormwater pooling and erosion in a central area of the farm, making daily operations and visitor access difficult during wet weather. The team excavated an 80-foot trench drain with appropriate slopes, installed a 15-foot corrugated HDPE culvert with proper bedding and backfill, built a seven-foot pedestrian bridge over the trench, and created a 17-foot gravel pathway connecting the bridge to an existing …

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A Comparison Of Waste Management Practices In Residential And Commercial Construction, Jayce S. Ford Mar 2026

A Comparison Of Waste Management Practices In Residential And Commercial Construction, Jayce S. Ford

Construction Management

Construction Waste continues to be a major issue within the construction industry, affecting project costs, schedules, and environmental performance. A large portion of construction and demolition materials/ waste ends up in landfills. This is due to poor planning, limited worker training, and inefficient jobsite practices. This research-based senior project examines waste management efficiency on construction jobsites, while comparing and contrasting residential and commercial construction practices. The study evaluates how contractors manage material separation, recycling, reuse, and disposal of common construction waste. These include wood, drywall, concrete, metals, and packaging. A mixed-methods approach is used combining a review of academic and …

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Skip The Grid 25-26: A Safety-Driven Solar Installation Project In The Navajo And Hopi Nations, James R. Wall Mar 2026

Skip The Grid 25-26: A Safety-Driven Solar Installation Project In The Navajo And Hopi Nations, James R. Wall

Construction Management

Skip the Grid is an interdisciplinary service-learning project that provides sustainable energy solutions to families with school-aged children living in the Navajo and Hopi Nations. In March 2026, a team of 23 students from five academic disciplines at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) partnered with Heart of America, SOLV Energy, and NextPower to complete the fifth year of the program. The project's purpose was to improve quality of life and support educational success by providing reliable access to electricity, lighting, and refrigeration in underserved communities. Participants were organized into five installation teams consisting of Cal Poly students, faculty, industry …

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The Impact Of Bilingual Superintendents On A Multilingual Job Site, Cesar Barajas Mar 2026

The Impact Of Bilingual Superintendents On A Multilingual Job Site, Cesar Barajas

Construction Management

Language barriers are frequently encountered on construction job sites. Construction crews can often be limited in their proficiency when speaking English and in states like California, construction superintendents oversee a lot of Spanish-speaking crews. This study aims to identify if bilingual superintendents lead to better performing projects. Communication impacts major metrics of project performance including schedule, rework costs, safety performance, and coordination across trades. This qualitative study includes superintendents, project managers, and field crew semi structured interviews backed by survey answers. Interview participants discuss specific examples of how communication can affect jobsite performance both negatively and positively. Subjects are asked …

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The Future Of Commercialized Bamboo Construction, Katie Hunt Mar 2026

The Future Of Commercialized Bamboo Construction, Katie Hunt

Construction Management

Bamboo construction is a niche area of research and development in the sustainable construction realm. The material has impressive structural properties and minimal carbon emissions relative to the world’s most common building materials (concrete, steel, and timber). It has long been used to build homes in tropical regions around the world. Outside of these regions, bamboo is rarely used for construction despite its abundant benefits as a sustainable building material. This report took an interview-based approach to address why bamboo is not more popular in the American commercial construction market and where it has potential for growth in the global …

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Cmbuilder Introduction Tutorial, Hannah G. Benner Mar 2026

Cmbuilder Introduction Tutorial, Hannah G. Benner

Construction Management

This paper details the process and deliverables for a introductory-level tutorial for the program, cmBuilder. Recognizing the software’s growing relevance in the construction industry and its ease of-use, this student tutorial project aims to provide early exposure to the program for first- and second-year Cal Poly Construction Management students. There is currently no existing course or module at Cal Poly that covers an introduction to the basics of cmBuilder, so the goal of this course module is to bridge that gap. The deliverable is a course module for the Fundamentals of Virtual Design and Construction class, containing two tutorial videos …

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Evaluating The Feasibility Of Recycled Asphalt Pavement And Warm Mix Asphalt In California Highway Construction, Ryan A. Milanesa Mar 2026

Evaluating The Feasibility Of Recycled Asphalt Pavement And Warm Mix Asphalt In California Highway Construction, Ryan A. Milanesa

Construction Management

California’s highway infrastructure faces increasing material costs, limited aggregate availability, and aggressive greenhouse gas reduction mandates. Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) offers a practical solution to reduce virgin binder demand and improve sustainability. However, Caltrans maintains conservative RAP limits due to concerns regarding stiffness related cracking and long term durability. This research evaluates the feasibility of increasing RAP content to approximately 40% when combined with Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) technologies under California performance standards. A performance based framework was developed by reviewing federal guidance, peer-reviewed fatigue studies, life cycle cost analysis, and environmental assessment literature. Findings indicate that high RAP mixtures …

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Slo Botanical Garden Outdoor Classroom, Nathan Berger, Jake Galster Mar 2026

Slo Botanical Garden Outdoor Classroom, Nathan Berger, Jake Galster

Construction Management

This paper focuses on the construction and completion of outdoor benches and tabletops for the renovation of the SLO Botanical Garden’s Outdoor Classroom. This project is student lead for the completion of the Cal Poly SLO Construction Management curriculum requirement of a senior project by the project team consisting of Nathan Berger and Jake Galster. The objective of the project is to build two 12’ long benches that allow the SLO Botanical Garden staff to store four bins beneath each bench. The table tops objective to provide students in the outdoor classroom a flat and level workspace that is removable …

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Family Christian Center Storage Shed, Jacob Nehemiah Zuniga Mar 2026

Family Christian Center Storage Shed, Jacob Nehemiah Zuniga

Construction Management

This project focused on the planning and construction of a storage shed for my church to address growing space limitations. As classrooms and other functional areas were being used for storage, the goal was to create a dedicated storage solution that would free up interior space for ministry use. After receiving approval from church leadership, I developed a full project plan including a scope of work, cost estimate, quantity takeoff, schedule using Microsoft Project, site logistics plan, safety plan, and construction drawings. I also coordinated with the City of Patterson Planning Department to ensure compliance with local requirements. The project …

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Life Cycle Assessment And Cost Analysis Of Exterior, Electrical, And Appliance Systems In A Prefabricated Mass Timber Residential Unit, Ella Rohrbough Mar 2026

Life Cycle Assessment And Cost Analysis Of Exterior, Electrical, And Appliance Systems In A Prefabricated Mass Timber Residential Unit, Ella Rohrbough

Construction Management

This study presents a detailed process-based life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis of selected building systems within a prefabricated mass timber residential unit constructed through an interdisciplinary design build project at California Polytechnic State University. The research focuses specifically on exterior envelope systems electrical infrastructure and major appliances. Material quantities were derived from a comprehensive construction material takeoff and modeled in OpenLCA using the ecoinvent database. A cradle to site system boundary including modules A1 through A5 was applied to quantify embodied environmental impacts such as global warming potential acidification fossil fuel depletion and human toxicity. Results indicate …

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Time-Dependent Amplification Of Growth Rates In A Plankton-Oxygen Model, Rapha Coutin Mar 2026

Time-Dependent Amplification Of Growth Rates In A Plankton-Oxygen Model, Rapha Coutin

Master's Theses

Near-bottom hypoxia occurs when dissolved oxygen levels drop to a level that is harmful to marine biology, creating biological dead zones along the ocean floor. Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the percentage of coastal, near-bottom, hypoxic water, with the average in 2021 nearly double that of the average from 2009 to 2018 and about twenty-eight times the average from 1950 to 1980. Recent literature has linked this increase in oceanic hypoxia to the increase in upwelling-favorable winds caused by climate change. Upwelling brings low-oxygen, nutrient-rich water up to the surface, leading to plankton blooms and mass consumption …

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Video Generation Techniques For Novel View Synthesis With Flow-Matching Transformers, Xiuyuan Qiu Mar 2026

Video Generation Techniques For Novel View Synthesis With Flow-Matching Transformers, Xiuyuan Qiu

Master's Theses

Novel view synthesis (NVS) aims to generate images of a scene from unseen camera viewpoints. Recent work, such as Stable Virtual Camera, shows that large-scale image diffusion models like Stable Diffusion can be adapted for pose-conditioned view synthesis by incorporating video-generation techniques with camera conditioning. In this thesis, we introduce MVFlow, a new NVS model that extends this approach to a different image generation architecture: a flow-matching diffusion transformer, specifically FLUX.1, which has demonstrated strong performance in image synthesis. We evaluate MVFlow under varying input view counts and pose distance settings. Our results show that this architectural transfer is feasible; …

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Sustainabake, Kevin Kunta Swanson Ii Mar 2026

Sustainabake, Kevin Kunta Swanson Ii

Electrical Engineering

This senior project outlines the development of an oven that utilizes renewable energy to operate safely and effectively. It aims to test building an oven using mostly basic hardware students acquired during their time at Cal Poly and provide a starting point for those interested in creating a solar-powered oven. As our society continues to innovate and increasingly relies on electricity, it is important to place more emphasis on how we can make our lives sustainable to take care of our environment without introducing excessive pollutants. Food preparation is a daily activity that typically involves significant energy consumption, making this …

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Evolving U.S. And Chinese International Development Policy: Institutions, Strategies, And Global Impact, Julian Kai Lehto Mar 2026

Evolving U.S. And Chinese International Development Policy: Institutions, Strategies, And Global Impact, Julian Kai Lehto

Social Sciences

This paper is inspired by, and meant to understand, recent changes in global policy towards foreign aid and international development. 2025 saw one of the biggest changes to international development in decades, when President Donald Trump’s new administration made the decision to effectively shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). At the same time, China has been taking on a growing role in foreign aid and development over the last decade. Chinese projects like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have become globally significant. This paper will explore the changing impacts and influence of both the U.S. …

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Exploring The Mental Health Impacts Of Dating Experiences For Racial And Ethnic Minorities At A Predominantly White Institution, Maya Sánchez, Mylina Garza, Emma Chung Mar 2026

Exploring The Mental Health Impacts Of Dating Experiences For Racial And Ethnic Minorities At A Predominantly White Institution, Maya Sánchez, Mylina Garza, Emma Chung

Communication Studies

The present study examined the mental health implications of racial and ethnic minorities’ dating experiences at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI). The authors conducted retrospective interviews with 20 minority-identifying college students that attend California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Three primary themes emerged from the conducted research. 1) Feeling excluded from racialized beauty standards threatens self-worth, 2) struggling to find romantic belonging limits emotional safety in relationships and navigating cultural differences in dating produces identity hyperawareness. This study also offers interesting theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, findings display the communication maintenance of identity to how romantic involvement impacts …

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Pollinators Exhibit For Paso Robles Children’S Museum, Isabelle Moll, Matthew Moore, Joseph Hovanesian, Evan Stock, Matthew Wiecking Mar 2026

Pollinators Exhibit For Paso Robles Children’S Museum, Isabelle Moll, Matthew Moore, Joseph Hovanesian, Evan Stock, Matthew Wiecking

Mechanical Engineering

This report documents the design and development of an interactive pollination exhibit created for the Paso Robles Children’s Museum as part of the Mechanical Engineering Senior Project program. The goal of the project was to design a durable, safe, and engaging educational exhibit that introduces children to the role of pollinators in local ecosystems and agriculture through hands-on play. The final design features a triple-track system with rolling bee elements and a central pollen ball pathway that demonstrates how pollinators move between flowers and return resources to the hive. The exhibit incorporates visual feedback and locally inspired design elements to …

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Baja Sae Gear Testing, Selina Bayles, Lucia Giacalone, Claire Cornelsen, Sarah Talbert Mar 2026

Baja Sae Gear Testing, Selina Bayles, Lucia Giacalone, Claire Cornelsen, Sarah Talbert

Mechanical Engineering

The Baja SAE Gear Testing project outlined a test stand and procedure to update the S-N curve currently used by the Baja SAE team. Currently the Cal Poly Baja SAE geartrain team uses a S-N curve to design custom gears, but this S-N curve does not accurately reflect the gears uses and their fatigue life. This project outlines the exploration of a dyno set up to allow for future testing of different categories of short life cycle gears to collect data and generate a new S-N curve and, ultimately, update the design of the gears. This team created a dyno …

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