Engineering Commons^™

Adapted Trailer Hitching System, Joseph Neil Hearn, Maxwell M. Selna, Maximilian D. Cossalter, Eric B. Ringsrud

Mechanical Engineering

This report highlights the entire design process of an adapted trailer hitching system for Taylor Morris: a navy veteran and quadruple amputee. This begins with problem definition through customer and product research. Objectives are generated after the problem is defined and the boundary of the project is set. This outcome of the project focuses on modifications/improvements to the vehicle side of the problem and leaves the trailers untouched. Engineering specifications are developed to constrain the concept design direction, which ultimately dictates the outcome of the final design. The final design is used as a basis to manufacture a structural prototype …

Sand Foot: A Prosthesis For Walking On Sand, Samantha A. Galicinao, John Dewing, Daniel Dugan Dotson, Christopher Urasaki

Biomedical Engineering

This critical design report describes the product development of a prosthesis for use on sand. Quality of Life Plus (QL+), a national non-profit organization aimed to develop prostheses for veterans and people with disabilities, introduced this project and its accompanying challenger, Sgt. Brady, to Cal Poly’s Interdisciplinary Senior Project class in September 2018. After consulting with Sgt. Brady and QL+ and performing extensive research, the Sand Foot team defined customer requirements and engineering specifications to meet these requirements. Comfortability, durability, and sandproof were key customer requirements. Several conceptual models were brainstormed and a final design was selected based on the …

Danny’S Recumbent Bike Accessibility Device Final Design Report, Joseph J. Lee, Huy Nguyen, Jack Mcatee, John Kulick

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this document is to fully define our design solution and explain our manufacturing and testing results. Our project’s goal is to find a way to allow Danny Knutson, a retired Navy pilot and incomplete quadriplegic with limited use of his arms and an impaired sense of balance, to enter and exit his recumbent tricycle without any discomfort for him or his aide. We completed multiple interviews with Danny, patent research, existing product research, and other technical literature research in order to fully understand the problem. We synthesized this information to create a concrete list of customer wants …

Surf Leg, Samantha Campbell, Oyundari Altansukh, Caroline Swanson, Kurtis Barth

Mechanical Engineering

The Surf Leg Prosthetic project team in conjunction with QL+ and Operation Surf designed a transtibial prosthetic to be used for surfing. The senior project team focused on the missions of QL+ and Operation Surf as they went through the design process during the 2018-2019 academic year. The problem solved was that a standard prosthetic for a transtibial amputee does not provide the flexibility in enough degrees of freedom for a user to squat and balance on a surfboard. The goal of this project was to create a device specifically designed to improve the user’s balance and control while surfing. …

Single Arm Recumbent Bicycle, Alexander Borsotti, Ryan Westermann, Sean Liston

Mechanical Engineering

The goal of this report is to outline and cover the scope of work for the Single Arm Recumbent Bicycle Senior Project. The report will give an introduction of the problem, a background of the existing research or products relating to our project, the objectives of our project, our project management plan, our final design, manufacturing, testing, our project management, and final recommendations for improving the final design. The team is being supported by the Quality of Life Program, a non-profit organization that works to improve the lives of those injured in duty while serving our nation.

Up until now, …

Wheelie King Trainer And Controller, Michael C. Uytingco, Paul E. Hubner, Dmitriy Petrovykh

Mechanical Engineering

The ``wheelie'' is a popular, classic bicycle trick which novice bicyclists often attempt as an introduction to advanced bike tricks. However, many are hesitant to try due to the risks and safety hazards associated with performing one. The purpose of this project is to create an on-board system which will assist a user in maintaining a wheelie after achieving the required position while incorporating safety mechanisms to prevent the user from injuring themselves or others. Additional requirements of the system are non-obstructive features and seamless transitioning between wheelie conditions.

Upon researching the state of wheelie technology, existing products, such as …

Hip And Knee Biomechanics For Transtibial Amputees In Gait, Cycling, And Elliptical Training, Greg Orekhov

Master's Theses

Transtibial amputees are at increased risk of contralateral hip and knee joint osteoarthritis, likely due to abnormal biomechanics. Biomechanical challenges exist for transtibial amputees in gait and cycling; particularly, asymmetry in ground/pedal reaction forces and joint kinetics is well documented and state-of-the-art passive and powered prostheses do not fully restore natural biomechanics. Elliptical training has not been studied as a potential exercise for rehabilitation, nor have any studies been published that compare joint kinematics and kinetics and ground/pedal reaction forces for the same group of transtibial amputees in gait, cycling, and elliptical training. The hypothesis was that hip and knee …

Subject-Specific Finite Element Predictions Of Knee Cartilage Pressure And Investigation Of Cartilage Material Models, Michael G. Rumery

Master's Theses

An estimated 27 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis (OA). Symptomatic OA is often treated with total knee replacement, a procedure which is expected to increase in number by 673% from 2005 to 2030, and costs to perform total knee replacement surgeries exceeded $11 billion in 2005. Subject-specific modeling and finite element (FE) predictions are state-of-the-art computational methods for anatomically accurate predictions of joint tissue loads in surgical-planning and rehabilitation. Knee joint FE models have been used to predict in-vivo joint kinematics, loads, stresses and strains, and joint contact area and pressure. Abnormal cartilage contact pressure is considered a risk factor …

Analysis Of The Low-Cycle Fatigue Behavior Of Silicone Rubber For Biomedical Balloons, Chase Cooper

Materials Engineering

The development of a medical drug delivery device that allows for the deployment drugs into the adventitial tissue of blood vessels requires the inflation of a silicone elastomer. The inflated silicone must be able to consistently endure multiple loading cycles without failing so that the device can operate reliably. There are multiple methods of processing the silicone for the device and the goal of this study is to examine the effect of the various processing methods on the characteristics of the silicone. The Dynamic Mechanical Analysis Machine (DMA) is used to model the conditions of the device’s application by performing …

Team Joseph's Bike Trailer, Keely Thompson, Curtis Wathne, Ryan Meinhardt

Mechanical Engineering

This final design report shows the results of this senior project’s design process of creating a custom bike trailer for Team Joseph. As done in the Scope of Work, Preliminary Design report, and Critical Design report, current products, relevant technologies, and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards are fully researched and benchmarked to aid in the design selection process. Customer requirements are looked at and developed into engineering specifications. A detailed design was created for CDR to show to Team Joseph, and manufacturing and testing plans were laid out. This final design report adds the final design revisions …

Curb Navigation, Cole A. Tudor, Kaitlyn R. Adams, Robbie Huerta

Mechanical Engineering

The Curb Navigation senior project, proposed by the QL+ organization, was presented to find a solution to an issue a former veteran, Velette, is having. Velette has a difficult time maneuvering curbs when out doing day-to-day errands and activities. The goal of this project is to develop a solution that will give Velette the ability to traverse curbs without the assistance of others or the need to do a wheelie that can lead to an injury. The team has found that adapting and optimizing an anti-tipper design may be the best way to solve the proposed challenge. The team decided …

Fixing Vertebral Compression Fractures With Medtronic, Kelly Fitzgerald, Trevor Bingham, Alex Denbaugh, Jordan Tang, Jon Stearns

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

No abstract provided.

Human Knee Fea Model For Transtibial Amputee Tibial Cartilage Pressure In Gait And Cycling, Gregory Lane

Master's Theses

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating disease affecting roughly 31 million Americans. The incidence of OA is significantly higher for persons who have suffered a transtibial amputation. Abnormal cartilage stress can cause higher OA risk, however it is unknown if there is a connection between exercise type and cartilage stress. To help answer this, a tibiofemoral FEA model was created. Utilizing linear elastic isotropic materials and non-linear springs, the model was validated to experimental cadaveric data. In a previous study, 6 control and 6 amputee subjects underwent gait and cycling experiments. The resultant knee loads were analyzed to find the maximum …

Knee Angles And Axes Crosstalk Correction In Gait, Cycling, And Elliptical Training Exercises, Jordan M. Skaro

Master's Theses

When conducting motion analysis using 3-dimensional motion capture technology, errors in marker placement on the knee results in a widely observed phenomenon known as “crosstalk” [1-18] in calculated knee joint angles (i.e., flexion-extension (FE), adduction-abduction (AA), internal-external rotation (IE)). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has recently been proposed as a post hoc method to reduce crosstalk errors and operates by minimizing the correlation between the knee angles [1, 2]. However, recent studies that have used PCA have neither considered exercises, such as cycling (C) and elliptical training (E), other than gait (G) nor estimated the corrected knee axes following PCA correction. …

Usa Boccia Ball Ramp For Athletes With Quadriplegia, Alissa A. Koukourikos, Matthew Lee, Nathan Bernards

Mechanical Engineering

In this report, the design process in creating an assistive device for Boccia Classification 3 (BC3) players is outlined. The initial research steps, including research into the rules of the game, capabilities of the players, and existing products is documented to show where ideas for the product stemmed from. This transitions into requirements that the sponsor requested, and preliminary designs and ideas for the product. Finally, this report explains the details of the final design, which has been analyzed for safety, ease of use, and ability to function under different conditions. The processes of manufacturing and testing will also be …

Self-Powered Ankle Prosthetic, Corina M. Espelien, Kelsey Pietzsch, Anna Sullivan

Mechanical Engineering

Originating from QL+'s customer requirements, the main technical specifications were to have 80% physiological range of motion, elastic energy return, impact absorption, and no external power sources. Based on the background research conducted and the discussions with experts in the field, the project team decided to focus on designing a prosthetic that focused on plantarflexion and dorsiflexion for a more comfortable gait. The main components of the final design are a hydraulic shock absorber, cam, torsion springs, heel, stopper, and separated keel. The heel, front and back keels, and stopper were manufactured out of carbon fiber. The link, lever, attachment …

Non-Puncturing, No Slip Thv Leaflet Gripper, Brooks Kelly, Eric Nagaoka, Johnny Phane

Mechanical Engineering

Confidential

Low-Cost Prosthetic Transfemoral Socket, Emelie Deans, Joshua Ledgerwood, Leah Moore, Shaina Jung, Kristen Temnyk

Mechanical Engineering

The goal of this senior project was to design and fabricate a low-cost adjustable prosthetic socket for above the knee amputees. This low-cost consideration was incorporated with the original intent to be used in Fiji, however, this changed to the Dominican Republic. It became clear that the need for an adjustable socket was more as a transitional socket. This transitional socket would be used for the first 6 -12 months upon amputation because this when the most amount of volume fluctuation occurs. The project sponsor, LIM Innovations, has already designed the Infinite Socket which contains four main functioning parts: baseplate, …

Biomimetic Seal Flipper Test Rig, Gordon D. Belyea, Laura Kawashiri, Dylan Rinker, Kurt Beske

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Prosthetic Socket Cooling System, Benjamin K. Kraw, Kathy Ha, Derek Piastrelli, Cuong Lai

Mechanical Engineering

A team of four senior-level undergraduate students in the Interdisciplinary Senior Project Design course in the Engineering Department of California Polytechnic State University: San Luis Obispo have worked to develop a prosthetic socket cooling system, namely for veteran Taylor Morris and exclusively for a transfemoral prosthetic socket, under the Quality of Life+ Laboratory. This cooling system will utilize the thermoelectric effect known as the Peltier effect to transmit heat generated from the residual limb to the surrounding environment by means of forced convection over small aluminum heat sinks. Two measurement devices have also been developed to, one, measure the heat …

The Effects Of Obesity On Resultant Knee Joint Loads For Gait And Cycling, Juan Gutierrez-Franco

Master's Theses

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease of cartilage and bone tissue and the most common form of arthritis, accounting for US$ 10.5 billion in hospital charges in 2006. Obesity (OB) has been linked to increased risk of developing knee OA due to increased knee joint loads and varus-valgus misalignment. Walking is recommended as a weight-loss activity but it may increase risk of knee OA as OB gait increases knee loads. Cycling has been proposed as an alternative weight-loss measure, however, lack of studies comparing normal weight (NW) and OB subjects in cycling and gait hinder identification of exercises that may …

Design And Analysis Of A Lift Assist Walker, Deep P. Shah

Master's Theses

Walkers provided stability to the elderly but cannot assist a person from sitting to standing. The objective of this project is to present the design and analysis of a lift assist walker. This report discusses the design and analysis of a collapsible lift assist walker capable of lifting a patient up to 250 lbs. from seated to standing in under 10 seconds. The designed walker utilized a two stage scissor mechanism with a gas spring assisted embedded linear actuator.

Carbon Articulating Backpack Spine, Salvatore Monforte Iii, Darci Lawrence, Savan Patel

Mechanical Engineering

In the field, firefighters and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) personnel need to transport variable loads efficiently, safely, and comfortably while simultaneously performing certain physical tasks. Current models of external and internal framed backpacks distribute the load of a pack efficiently, but do not allow for the natural movement of the wearer. Wolfpack Gear, Inc. proposed the need for a system which both effectively carries a load and allows for the unhindered natural movement of the user. The goal of this project was to design, build, and test an articulating backpack support system. The first stage of the project comprised …

Sapien3 Comb Stitch Improvement For Edwards Lifesciences, William Harley, Thomas Pluschkell, John Mctigue, Garrett Reed

Mechanical Engineering

The complete senior project report was submitted to the project advisor and sponsor. The results of this project are of a confidential nature and will not be published at this time.

A Finite Element Analysis Of Tibial Stem Geometry For Total Knee Replacements, Aaron Isidro Bautista

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of tibial stem geometry on stress shielding of the tibia for patients with a total knee replacement. Finite element analysis was used to study different tibial stem geometry types, as well as a vast array of different geometric sizes. Both a peg and stem type geometry were analyzed and compared in order to determine what type geometry causes the least amount of stress shielding. A static loading condition with a dynamic loading factor of three was used for the system and the stress responses were analyzed at regions of interest …

Development And Validation Of A Tibiofemoral Joint Finite Element Model And Subsequent Gait Analysis Of Intact Acl And Acl Deficient Individuals, Nicholas Czapla

Master's Theses

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative condition of articular cartilage that affects more than 25 million people in the US. Joint injuries, like anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears, can lead to OA due to a change in articular cartilage loading. Gait analysis combined with knee joint finite element modeling (FEM) has been used to predict the articular cartilage loading. To predict the change of articular cartilage loading during gait due to various ACL injuries, a tibiofemoral FEM was developed from magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of a 33 year male, with no prior history of knee injuries. The FEM was validated for …

Team Nathan Suspension, Frankie J. Wiggins, Alex D. Seitz, Justin P. Bautista

Mechanical Engineering

Nathan Cooper is an 8-year old boy with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). SMA has affected Nathan’s muscle development and requires him to use the Standing Dani™ mobility device. The Standing Dani is a motorized standing wheelchair, or Wheelstand. Nathan controls and uses it to get around. Though the Standing Dani performs well for most functions, it has some distinct issues. The primary issue that this project addresses is its lack of suspension and the discomfort that Nathan feels as a result. After talking with our client, we developed several specifications generally related to geometry, safety, vehicle dynamics, and reliability. Many …

Semi-Automated Method Of Assembly For Physio Ii Ring, Cameron Anderson Deines, Kelsey Jean Engel, Christopher Kiuyen Wong

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Folding Wheelchair Improvement, Matthew Edison Grace, Kevin Alan Miyamoto, Andrey Lee Oliveira

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Low-Cost Strider For Guatemala, Nicole Catherine Cooper, Gonzalo Hernandez, Jared W. Tower

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this project was to create a strider, a type of standing rehabilitation device, for children in developing countries who have trouble walking and supporting their full body weight. The project was initially brought to us by Cal Poly professor Brian Self, who had visited a clinic in San Marcos and determined that there were children there who had difficulties with walking and were a need for a rehabilitation device. The team discussed the problem with Dr. Self, Matt Robinson (a local San Luis Obispo prosthetist), and Cal Poly physics professor Pete Schwartz, all of whom had visited …