Engineering Commons^™

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.

Xenabloom, Sophia Maglabe, Ryer Lauth, Elizabeth Shaw, Sheyna Rongong

Architectural Engineering

Proposal for an architectural and structural design of a shade structure at the Leaning Pine Arboretum, employing the Xenaform typology of Poly Shells, LLC.

Impact Of Traffic On Air Pollution In A Mid-Sized Urban City During Covid-19 Lockdowns, Nathan Hay, Otito Onwuzurike, Somesh Roy, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Margaret L. Mcnamara, Walter M. Mcdonald

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In this study, we evaluated the changes in air pollutant concentrations around Milwaukee, WI, during and after lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic for a period of 126 days. Measurements of particulate matter (PM₁, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀), NH₃, H₂S, and O₃ + NO₂, were made on a 74-km route of arterial and highway roads from April to August 2020 using a Sniffer 4D sensor mounted to a vehicle. Traffic volume during measurement periods were estimated from smartphone-based traffic data. From lockdown (March 24, 2020–June 11, 2020) to …

Investigation Of Natural Pozzolans: Analyzing The Practicality Of Natural Pozzolans As A Partial Substitute For Cement In Grout Production, Jadyn I. Breien, Andrew J. Baro, Logan T. Marino

Architectural Engineering

This senior project aims to investigate whether natural pozzolans are more sustainable than fly ash and a sufficient substitute for cement in the production of grout. By following the intent of the ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials) standards, a conclusion will be made to determine if natural pozzolans can contribute comparable strength in compression. The objective is to prove that natural pozzolans should be utilized in the production of grout rather than alternatives such as fly ash because it can provide similar strength while being more economical and more sustainable.

The Center For Centering Dome, Olek Piechaczek, Ryan M. Scharf

Architectural Engineering

The Center for Centering seeks to create a large-scale healing center, conducive to individual centering of the mind and body. This mobile installation provides a relaxing, enclosed space while still maintaining a connection to the outdoors. The clients liked the idea of having a pop-up installation that could be easily set up as a touring display. With a deadline for installation looming in June 2022, a team of students had five months to design and manufacture the structure.

In winter 2022, the students developed custom geometry to minimize the number of individual parts and built a ¼ scale model of …

Filters For Fiji: A Modified Cracker Box Biosand Filter For Rural Fiji, Geneva Newell, Cameron Lowrey, Thomas Burt, Lexie Caterine

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Water quality remains a major issue throughout rural Fiji, as current solutions rely on outside organizations providing money or technology. The goal of Filters for Fiji’s research was to develop a sustainable water filtration method for the people of rural Fiji, through ethnographic and biological research. In order to be sustainable, the filter had to be inexpensive (less than USD$15), simply built and maintained, and suitable for the end-user. The driving question of the research was: can a plastic, modified biosand filter be constructed from materials that could be sourced locally in rural Fijian communities? To answer this question, feedback …

City Farm Slo Garden For All Accessible Planter Beds, Allison C. Wild

Construction Management

This paper outlines the design, coordination, and construction efforts to build the Accessible Planter Boxes for the City Farm SLO’s Garden for All. The Garden for All was a concept created by the City Farm SLO staff to meet the need for an accessible learning space for students. The full design for the Garden for All also included mobile benches and tables, a shade structure, and decomposed granite pathways that were completed by other students. This project included the construction of 6 raised planter beds of differing heights and designs. Each planter bed was approximately 10 feet long and varied …

Development Of The New Hasslein Caed Collaborative, Catie Dines

Construction Management

This paper outlines the development and execution of the new Hasslein CAED Collaborative student competition which engages students of all five majors in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design in a Request for Proposal style competition. CAED houses students studying Architecture, Architectural Engineering, City and Regional Planning, Construction Management, and Landscape Architecture. There is little opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration within the CAED, despite our future career paths being heavily intertwined. This competition followed research by Greta Stout, class of 2022, on the benefits and support of interdisciplinary collaboration at Cal Poly SLO in CAED. The competition is named after …

Floating Dock At Santa Rita Ranch: A Design And Cost Estimate Package Prepared For The Land Conservancy Of San Luis Obispo, Sophia Ann Federico

Construction Management

The purpose of this project is to provide the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo with three design options for a floating fishing/boat dock system that they want to build on a small lake located on a plot of land that they own and preserve called Santa Rita Ranch. The design package that I created includes drawings, weight and buoyancy calculations, a cost estimate, and product specs. My approach was to utilize my estimating skills that I have acquired from my construction management classes and from my work at a general contractor’s office in the preconstruction department. The design and …

Skip The Grid: Restoring Light To The Navajo Nation, Diego Isaias Gonzalez

Construction Management

Skip the Grid is an interdisciplinary service project through California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) where students and faculty partnered with sponsors including SOLV Energy and Goal Zero, and facilitation by Heart of America, an educational equity non-profit, to bring solar power to 27 families of school aged children in the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation is a historically disadvantaged community which lacks the infrastructure and financial capacity to provide electrical service to about a third of the families living on the reservation. Families in the Red Mesa and Chinle School Districts were the focus for this …

Construction Panel Discussion At San Luis Obispo High School, Morgan P. Conway

Construction Management

Jake Ornellas and Morgan Conway conducted a panel discussion during the “tutorial” session on Monday, May 22, 2023, in the San Luis Obispo High School theater with three guest speakers, asking them questions about their respective organizations, then opening the floor for students to ask questions. Jake Ornellas and Morgan Conway also distributed flyers to students which included information about the organizations discussed and a survey to gauge student interest. This project was designed to expose high school students to opportunities they have in the construction industry as well as to create a connection between Cal Poly Construction Management and …

Voice Exhibit Design And Construction Of Temporary Structures, Gage Davenport

Construction Management

The Voice Exhibit showcases the testimonials of BIPOC and queer environmental engineers, activists, and industry professionals and shares the connection between sustainability and identity. The goal of the builder was to utilize a condensed Design Build methodology and project management tools learned throughout his time at Cal Poly in order to deliver a design with a temporary structure for the showcase. Design of the exhibit floor, post + curtain barrier, testimonial displays, and bay door mosaic was done after a meeting by the show runner, architect, and builder was conducted. The barrier and exhibit floor design were created after a …

A Comparison Of Carbon-Based Calculators For Building Construction, Adam J. Walsh

Construction Management

The construction industry has a significant environmental impact, contributing to energy usage, carbon emissions, and waste generation. Efforts to promote sustainability and reduce this impact have emerged, with organizations like the U.S. Green Building Council and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency leading the way. One key aspect of sustainable construction is the use of carbon calculators, web-based tools that estimate and track carbon emissions throughout the building process. These calculators consider factors such as energy consumption, transportation, and waste disposal to provide a holistic view of a building's carbon footprint. However, there are challenges and limitations associated with these calculators, …

Comparative Analysis Of Construction Scheduling: Consultant-Led Vs. Project Team-Led Approaches, Elijah J. Stennett

Construction Management

Efficient and accurate construction scheduling plays a pivotal role in the successful completion of construction projects. Most construction companies understand this importance, and they heavily rely on their schedulers. This research paper investigates the advantages and drawbacks of employing a consultant-led scheduling approach compared to a scheduling process managed solely by the project team. To assess the effectiveness of the two scheduling approaches, two companies and their scheduling practices were analyzed, and project management individuals were interviewed from each company. The findings reveal that a consultant-led approach brings specialized expertise in scheduling software, provides advantages in court litigation, and provides …

Optimal Domain-Partitioning Algorithm For Real-Life Transportation Networks And Finite Element Meshes, Jimesh Bhagatji, Sharanabasaweshwara Asundi, Eric Thompson, Duc T. Nguyen

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

For large-scale engineering problems, it has been generally accepted that domain-partitioning algorithms are highly desirable for general-purpose finite element analysis (FEA). This paper presents a heuristic numerical algorithm that can efficiently partition any transportation network (or any finite element mesh) into a specified number of subdomains (usually depending on the number of parallel processors available on a computer), which will result in “minimising the total number of system BOUNDARY nodes” (as a primary criterion) and achieve “balancing work loads” amongst the subdomains (as a secondary criterion). The proposed seven-step heuristic algorithm (with enhancement features) is based on engineering common sense …

City Farm Of Slo Animal Feed Shed, Jacob Ryan Pizzifred

Construction Management

The City Farm of SLO is a local nonprofit for San Luis Obispo that functions as an education center for individuals looking to live more sustainably. This organization teaches different aspects of farming such as planting crops, taking care of them, how to care for a wide variety of farm animals, and maintain the health of the farm. To achieve all these objectives, facilities must be in place to ensure the correct number of materials are available. One lacking feature of this farm is the space to store animal feed. Before this project the food was stored outside subject to …

Ranking And Analyzing Soft Skills Of Cal Poly Cm Students During Their Internships And Importance Of Possessing Them In The Cm Industry, Alex Cervantes

Construction Management

Possession of a strong set of soft skills is essential to leading a successful career in the construction industry. Soft skills allow one to become an indispensable, well-respected, and effective member of one’s team. Should one need to facilitate processes, solve problems, positively influence others and even just complete day to day tasks, a well-versed construction industry professional can rely on soft skills to manage any situations that cross their path. This study determines the perception and value of certain soft skills of student interns along with construction industry professionals alike. Along the dimensions of the study, the soft skills …

Enhancing Construction Safety Training Of Bridges Using Augmented Reality And Virtual Reality, Mohamed Sherif Elrifaee

Theses and Dissertations

Infrastructure development projects are widely acknowledged as some of the most complex and challenging projects to undertake. The construction of bridges, in particular, has proven to be a significant safety risk for workers, with a considerable number of accidents reported on construction sites. There is a lack of comprehensive training programs specifically designed for bridge construction safety, and only a few studies have explored the use of both AR and VR to enhance safety training in construction. As such, this research aims to improve the safety of bridge construction sites through the implementation of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality …

The Feasibility Of Using High Strength Stainless Steel In Pre-Stressing Applications, Rana Khaled Morsy

Theses and Dissertations

This paper evaluates the applicability of using a corrosion-resistant reinforcement high strength stainless steel strands (HSSS) Duplex 2205 in pre-stressing applications. HSSS-Duplex 2205 is a high performance steel which can be used as an alternative to the conventional carbon steel strands, for a better service life. The high strength and corrosion resistance of the material allows it to show its impressive performance in marine structural applications. Although the use of HSSS-Duplex 2205 could be initially costly; however, the improved durability and extended service life of the concrete structures using HSSS would require less life-cycle cost. Although there is a gap …

Drinking Water Contaminants: Lead, Bruce I. Dvorak, Becky M. Schuerman

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Any lead exposure, even low levels, can be a serious health concern, especially for infants, children, and developing fetuses. This NebGuide discusses how to safely manage lead in a domestic water supply (or often referred to as a private well). This NebGuide includes discussion related to topics such as lead services lines and changes in public water supply regulations related to lead in drinking water.

Perceptions Of Major Barriers On The Leed Scorecard Preventing Projects From Reaching The Platinum Level, Gavin R. Beadle

Construction Management

This paper is an overview of the main barriers faced by general contractors when working with the LEED Scorecard on their projects. Oftentimes projects either do not chase LEED certification or are held up at the gold or silver certification levels, never making it to the highest-level being platinum. The purpose of this paper is to identify the main factors general contractors are facing causing their projects to be held up at a lower certification level or not certified at all. In addition to examining the main factors, some specific credits on the scorecard will also be examined that are …

Mep Comparison Of 3d Printed Homes And Stick Framed Homes, Carsen Quick

Construction Management

New construction technology is one of the most intriguing subjects in the construction industry, and new technologies are constantly being developed and improved on. In recent years, 3D printing has been developed and introduced into the residential construction industry. The content of this report aims to showcase the promising new technology of 3D printing in residential construction. In order to create new knowledge on this subject, an MEP comparison between 3D printed homes and traditional stick framed homes will be analyzed. This project was done in collaboration with a Northern Californian construction company, Emergent 3D. A site visit with Emergent …

Standardizing Hands-On Building Activities In Commercial Construction Management And Recommendations For Semester Conversion Adaptations, Lauren T. Mcclurg

Construction Management

CM 313 Commercial Construction Management at Cal Poly is an integrated lab course and one of the main hands-on learning experiences construction management students participate in. It is currently administered in the quarter system and as the university transitions to the semester calendar, the lab needs to be converted in order to accommodate this change. The main purpose of this project was to document existing practices and improve the process and experience for students, instructional students assistants, Simpson Strong Tie coordinator, and other professors of CM 313. This project included creating a builders guide to help the student assistants by …

City Farm Slo ‘Garden For All’ – Shade Structure, Reed Aitken

Construction Management

Local non-profit, City Farm SLO, recently presented an opportunity for four Cal Poly Construction Management students to complete senior projects to construct their vision of a “Garden for All.” This paper will focus on the design, preconstruction, and construction processes necessary to complete the shade structure. The project will provide much needed shade to an outdoor classroom area where City Farm SLO hosts farm based education programs all year round. The completion of this senior project required thorough design, estimating, coordination, and construction efforts, while keeping safety and sustainable building practices at the forefront of every decision. This was particularly …

Effects Of Admixes On The Compressive Strength Of Permeable Concrete, James T. Lyon

Construction Management

Compression tests were performed on three samples of permeable concrete to evaluate the effects of admixes on a conventional permeable concrete. The first mix served as the control, representing a standard permeable concrete sample. The second mix replicated the control but added a small amount of fiberglass, accounting for 0.5% of the cement's weight. The third mix again mirrored the control and incorporated the manufacturer's recommended amount of a water reducing admix known as "Reducer 555". The objective of testing the two new mixes against the control mix was to evaluate the potential increase in ultimate compressive strength. Four 6” …

Slab Extension At Woods Humane Society, Corey K. Smith

Construction Management

Woods Humane Society is an animal shelter that provides pet rehabilitation and adoption services to San Luis Obispo and surrounding areas. The Woods’ facility contains a number of kennels for dogs as well as numerous outdoor, fenced-in, concrete exercise yards. These yards give dogs the opportunity to play outside a few times a day allowing them to get vital exercise. One of these yards on the south side of the property had an exterior fence that was offset from an existing slab on the interior of the fence by one foot. This was an issue for the shelter as dogs …

Utilization Of Agtek In Construction Management Classes, Ryan C. Dougher

Construction Management

AGTEK Sitework 4D is a building information modeling program designed to conduct takeoff and estimating procedures for earthwork purposes. This program provides an opportunity for the construction management department to implement a building information modeling (BIM) program related to heavy civil construction. Nearly seventy percent of construction management students agree that the BIM programs that they have learned during their time at Cal Poly have been directed toward residential and commercial construction. AGTEK can provide students an opportunity to learn site planning, earthwork estimating, as well as cut and fill diagrams all through a new BIM experience geared toward heavy …

Creating A Demolition Estimate Lab Assignment, Alex Domine

Construction Management

This senior project aims to create a Demolition Estimate Lab as part of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo's Demolition Topics Course, with the goal of enhancing construction education through practical experience in estimating demolition costs. The Lab will be equipped with industry-standard tools and software to simulate diverse demolition scenarios, covering site preparation, equipment requirements, waste disposal, labor needs, and environmental considerations. The project methodology entails extensive research and the integration of interactive learning activities. This initiative is expected to yield several benefits for students. Firstly, it will lead to improved learning outcomes by providing hands-on experience in estimating demolition …

Construction Panel Discussion At San Luis Obispo High School, Jake T. Ornellas

Construction Management

The senior project idea for conducting a panel discussion presentation at San Luis Obispo (SLO) High School during a tutorial period was completed by Jake Ornellas and Morgan Conway. This paper provides details on the entire process of reserving a tutorial session at SLO High School, contacting and coordinating with trade representatives and university faculty, and executing the group panel discussion. The purpose of the project was to share and inform local high school students with the information regarding what careers in the different construction industry branches look like and what opportunities are there. The goal of this project was …

Slo City Gaga Pit, Scott Geier

Construction Management

This project included designing, constructing, and assembling a GaGa court, also known as a GaGa pit, for a local community church in San Luis Obispo. GaGa is a game similar to dodgeball where all the players are inside an octagonal court and try to hit each other with a rubber ball below the knees. The walls help keep the ball within the court and can be used to bounce the ball off of. Dimensional lumber was used to construct the walls as it is both durable and strong. The walls were also extensively sanded to prevent any sharp corners or …