Engineering Commons^™

Deep Ocean Vehicle (Dov) Scientific Payload, Nichole "Nikki" T. Arm, Mason Gariepy, Brianna Roberts, Kyle C. Walsh

General Engineering

This report aims to provide technical insight into the Deep Ocean Vehicle project performed by the Barrel Eye Explorers. The project was a part of the 2021-2022 Interdisciplinary Senior Project class at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The team consisted of Nikki Arm, Mason Gariepy, Brianna Roberts, and Kyle Walsh who were engineering students in the Mechanical, Materials, General, and Industrial engineering departments, respectively. This project was sponsored by Dr. Crow White and overseen by Karla Carichner. The project was a continuation of Nikki Arm’s internship with Global Ocean Design during the Summer of 2021. The lander, Deep …

Cable Transit De-Icing Project, Brooke Marvin, Christian Degrood, James Lavelle, Shanna Plouff

General Engineering

Holmes Solutions has presented two projects that require similar solutions - ice removal from the Switchback and the Whoosh, with the Switchback’s cables currently being the primary focus. The Frost Fighters have been tasked to find a way to stop ice formation on the Switchback’s cables so that the ride can operate safely in cold climates and during the colder months of the year. To be an adequate solution, the chosen de-icing method must operate in temperatures from -10°C to 40°C and be on standby in temperatures from -40°C to 60°C. In addition, it must prevent any falling debris that …

Digital Forensics Range, Cody P. Shanahan, Bryson Y. Shishido, Samuel R. Mckee, Justin Siu, Lisa Li, Maxwell Brewer

Computer Engineering

The Digital Forensics Range was developed to serve as an online training for groups interested in computer forensics. This year's team had the goal to expand upon last year, by adding a new forensics image, unity scenario, and additional AWS functionality. The team still wanted to continue with last year's goals of keeping the training easily runnable, quickly deployable, and rapidly scalable through the use of the cloud. Adding to last year's work, this year's team hoped to further increase the educational value of the simulation with more practice, and the addition of feedback. The training is meant to be …

Stabilization Of Palm Wood Using Water-Based Impregnation, David A. Barnes

Materials Engineering

Impregnation is a technique for stabilizing wood that involves saturating the material in a liquid and allowing it to cure before use. Stabilization methods such as this are employed for a variety of reasons; chiefly, the low dimensional stability of wood and palm means that they are subject to several failure modes that arise from changing environmental conditions, such as cracking, warping, and bending. Samples of Borassus flabellifer, black palm, provided by DuraPalm were impregnated with solvent-based and water-based stabilizers, and untreated wood samples used as a control group. Kop-Coat WoodYouth® Plus was used as a solvent-based stabilizer, and impregnation …

Radiology Associates Medical Scan Forecasting, Everett M. Notaro, Mitchell Carpenter, Tyler Deis, Kimberly Williams

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

After discontinuing their subscription with Shinyapps and relying on a manual forecasting process, Radiology Associates needs a new method to forecast the number and types of scans that will be executed at each site location. Radiology Associates utilizes Quinsite, which incorporates a live link to their database, as a host for all their Tableau dashboards. This project will create an accurate forecasting model utilizing complex forecasting methods to be hosted by Quinsite which is accessible by all management within Radiology Associates. To begin this process, an exponential smoothing model was created in Tableau to solidify dashboard and storyboard design. Additionally, …

Increasing Legends Salon Revenue Per Square Foot, Jacob William Andreatta, Margaret Faison Gustafson, Julia Galina Odisho, Joshua Spry Morrison

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Katie MacNamara acquired Legends Hair Salon in Atascadero, California in January of 2021. After a few months of learning to run her own business she discovered that her retail revenue per square foot was not high enough. Her goal, and the project objective, was to raise her revenue while also increasing space for her stylists. The metrics used for these objectives were revenue per square foot and the square footage of the retail areas. The beginning state metrics were 48.75 square feet of retail and a retail revenue per square foot of $2.15 with a total of six stylist stations. …

Effects Of Release Materials And Temperature Ramp Rates On The Surface Finish Of Carbon-Fiber Composite Components, Sudeep Louis, Thucmy Dang, Ethan Schlocker

Materials Engineering

Toray Advanced Composites is interested in improving their carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) manufacturing process by enhancing their control on the amount of surface roughness for varied customer preference. Surface roughness of CFRP is important in post-production processes including coating, priming, and painting. This project seeks to determine the effects of three release materials and two temperature ramp rates on the surface finish of CFRP. The release materials used were Tooltech, FEP, and Frekote 770-NC. The two initial temperature ramp rates were 1°F/min and 2°F/min. Surface roughness was measured using a profilometer and analyzed using Ra values. Ra is an …

Analysis Of Novel Corrosion Resistant Maraging Steels For Use In Additive Manufacturing, Bradley Michael Samuel, James Knowlton Smith

Materials Engineering

Stainless maraging steel has been proven to be an industry standard material for plastic injection molds. Its high hardness and corrosion resistance extend the lifetime of the tool. This alloy system is also well-suited to additive manufacturing, which can be utilized to form internal cooling channels, further increasing tool life. Using Rapid Alloy Development (RAD) Oerilkon METCO is developing a new composition of stainless maraging tool steel that has high hardness/strength, is corrosion resistant, and has additive-capable melting and solidification properties. This study tests the hardness and corrosion resistance of the new RAD alloys against the current market competitor Corrax …

Processing And Characterization Of Silicon Nitride For Rapid And Low-Level Detection Of Water Pathogens, Arielle H. Buchanan, Logan A. Chai

Materials Engineering

Water sanitation is a serious issue affecting the lives of many, and methods for assessing water cleanliness have been a major research interest for decades. Rapid and accurate water pathogen detection methods that can be performed in field applications have been a growing research focus, especially in low-income countries most affected by poor water quality. Silicon nitride was explored as a material for colorimetric water-pathogen sensing due to the large body of knowledge around its processing, and its isoelectric point. A bioassay of chlorophenol red-β-Dgalactopyranoside (CPRG) and β-galactosidase (β-gal) enzymes with Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria was used to examine …

In Situ Marine Biodegradation Of Poly(Lactic) Acid And Thermoplastic Starch Blends, Brittany Denicholas

Materials Engineering

Marine life has been suffering from macro- and microplastics since the inception of petroleum-based plastic. Bio-based biodegradable polymers such as PLA and TPS can help mitigate the damage done by petroleum plastics. Blending PLA and TPS can reduce the cost while preventing a significant effect on the material properties. PLA/TPS blend compositions such as 90/10, 80/20, 70/30 could be candidates for a solution. The PLA/TPS blends have been submerged in a marine environment at the Cal Poly Pier in Avila Beach for 8 weeks. Three sample sets containing three of each blend composition were collected every week and tested in …

Non-Destructive Material Analysis Of Metals And Composites Via Thermography, Jonathan R. Doubt, James L. Chapman

Materials Engineering

The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, is interested in the development of non-destructive damage assessment of shipboard materials via drones at distance. Long Pulsed Thermography (LPT), a method of non-destructive evaluation, was investigated as a possible method for detecting damage in metals (5005h24 Al alloy and 1008 carbon steel) and composites (aramid fiber honeycomb sandwich structure) at distances from 0.5 m to 3.0 m. LPT was conducted using two 1000 W can lights to heat the samples, and a FLIR E8-XT thermal camera. The images were then analyzed using ImageJ software to determine if damage could be detected …

Citric Or Acetic Acid Effects On The Crosslinking Of Pvoh, Samuel Carr, Erika Szaldobagyi

Materials Engineering

Transportation and shipping processes are the most dangerous times for food due to harsh handling and frequent temperature changes. Plain corrugated boxes cannot withstand the damp environment caused by melting ice that is used to keep foods cold and fresh. To minimize damage, a protective polymer film coating can be applied. These coatings can be unsafe when used with food and will lead to excess waste by limiting the recyclability of the boxes. The purpose of this project was to produce nontoxic crosslinked PVOH films to determine suitability for a cost effective, biodegradable, and repulpable corrugated box coating. Polyvinyl alcohol …

Determining The Efficacy Of A Silica And Bacterial Cellulose Composite Model System, Hannah Martin, Daisy Kamp

Materials Engineering

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based polymer films for synthetic leather applications. Synthesized by a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, BC is a three-dimensional structure composed of cellulose microfibrils. However, pure BC lacks certain desirable properties such as high tensile strength. Previous studies have shown that loading BC with nanoparticles to form nanocomposites has improved BC’s mechanical properties. However, this was not studied as a function of particle size. This study focuses on using silica/BC nanocomposites to model the impact that particle size and silica soaking concentrations have on the uptake efficiency of these particles into …

Soil Degradation Of A Plastic Blend Of Opuntia Ficusindica Juice, Animal Protein And Beeswax, Isabel A. Gamez, Daniel R. Kava

Materials Engineering

Since the introduction of single use plastics in the early 1900s, their usage has increased exponentially. Unfortunately, due to this exponential increase there are negative environmental implications of their production, which requires further consideration. Currently, there are various waste disposal practices for SUPs, including landfilling, incineration, and recycling. Recent data revealed that only 14 % of plastic waste was recycled, with 40% of plastic waste being landfilled, while the rest of the plastic waste was incinerated or released to the environment at 14 % and 32 %, respectively. A potential solution to the plastic waste issue is developing a polymer …

Eagle Medical Tray Denesting & Debris Removal Process, Nicholas Allen Ungefug, Noah Chavez, Susana Shu-Lin Okhuysen, Michael Augustine Pennington

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Eagle Medical Incorporated is a contract medical device packaging and sterilization company. The company purchases thermoformed medical packaging trays, which maintain the sterility of medical devices, from various manufacturers. To ensure packaging quality and to prevent cleanroom contamination, Eagle Medical inspects and sterilizes each blister tray that they order. This process is an essential non-value-added activity that creates a bottleneck. Cleanroom employees must stop packaging medical devices and attend to the processing of blister trays and packaging solutions. The blister trays arrive at Eagle’s facility in nested stacks. Vibration and movement during shipping further compresses the stacks, which makes separation …

Effect Of Oxygen Equivalence On The Strength And Toughness Of Ti-6al-4v Forgings, Kira Baylor, Clarissa Drouillard

Materials Engineering

Tensile testing and fracture toughness testing were conducted to establish a numerical relationship between interstitial content and performance in forged Ti-6Al-4V. The value of oxygen equivalence was used to represent the interstitial content by combining the weight percent of oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. The correlation between oxygen equivalence and mechanical properties can be used to accurately predict the performance of forged parts. Samples of forged parts with varying levels of interstitial content were subjected to a recrystallization anneal at 75 F below the beta transus temperature to decrease microstructure variability across parts with a second anneal at 1300 F to …

Investigation Of The Effects Of Cladding Layers On Longitudinal And Transverse Mechanical Properties In Composite Laminates, Rachel Potratz, Tiffany Foo, Joseph Kamlet

Materials Engineering

The addition of cladding layers to composite laminates is used in industry to improve bond adhesion and the ease of manufacturing. However, there is no public data on the effects of cladding layers on the mechanical properties of composite components. To directly observe how cladding layers affect mechanical properties, four laminates with zero, one, two, and three cladding layers of twill fabric were added symmetrically to a biased core. The mechanical testing performed was tensile, short beam strength, and compression testing in the longitudinal and transverse directions. The measured strengths were related to the longitudinal properties of the core, and …

Kinetic Energy Harvesting Device For Long Distance Thru-Hikers, Jarod Reece Lyles, Ryan William Mclaughlin, Shaw Hawkeye Hughes, David Hernandez

Mechanical Engineering

The intent of this project was to design and build a device capable of harnessing biomechanical energy from a thru-hiker to charge electronic devices. To begin, we ruled out any potential solutions that could be intrusive to the hiking experience, limiting us to a device that could be placed in a backpack.

After defining the scope of the project, we ideated upon potential designs, and chose to move forward with a rotational generator based design. Detailed analysis included both system dynamics and vibrations based models, and from this analysis we developed a mechanical design in SOLIDWORKS®️ and a custom printed …

Skip The Grid 2022: Solar Powered Refrigeration In The Navajo Nation, Heather L. Sailor

Construction Management

This paper summarizes the process of an interdisciplinary group of students and faculty at Cal Poly installing eleven off-grid solar systems for families of the Navajo nation. This paper further delves into the lean principals and prefabrication that made it possible as well as the lessons learned to increase the feasibility and scalability of repeating this project in the future. This project was a combined effort of an interdisciplinary group of Cal Poly students and faculty as well as company sponsors Solv Energy, Dometic USA, and Goal Zero, facilitated through the non-profit, Heart of America. The goal of this project …

Construction Of A Visitor Deck At City Farm Slo, Brett Bryan Jones

Construction Management

This paper will discuss the construction of my senior project. For my senior project, I completed the construction of an observation deck at City Farm SLO. City Farm SLO is a non-profit that provides food to local food banks and has educational gardens that allow students of all ages come to learn and volunteer their time. The deck is centrally located at the highest point on the property, making it a great lookout spot for visitors to view the entire farm. However, the location on top of the hill created challenges that we had to overcome. I completed my senior …

Re-Assessing The Granite Heavy Civil Minor, Natalie H. Holnes

Construction Management

This research-based project analyzes issues within the Granite Heavy Civil Minor that contribute to declining student retention. This document specifically focuses on the program’s course curriculum and graduation date extensions as major drivers of student withdrawals from the minor. Two separate surveys were conducted from students within the minor and students who had dropped out of the minor, to gauge the specific issues students have with the program. The results concluded that many students dislike certain courses in the curriculum, such as CE 222 and CE 321, and felt that these required courses were unessential and unhelpful in preparing them …

Farm Stand Build And Service Days For The Ranch, John Reis Blackwood Calhoun

Construction Management

This paper outlines the building of a farm stand and service days done for The Ranch which works with the United Cerebral Palsy of Central California. The construction of a farm stand was requested by the client because they did not have one and would like to start selling the vegetables and fruits that they grow on their property. Additionally, there was an opportunity to do other improvements around the farm and simultaneously help brothers in the fraternity get service hours. To do this set up service days were set up where miscellaneous tasks around the farm such as spreading …

The Effect Of Inflation And The Pandemic On A Southern California Solar Company: A Case Study, Adrian Avila

Construction Management

Supply chain issues are causing panic in certain sectors of the economy particularly the solar sector. Solar energy already has problems that can affect its growth in the long term such as lack of government incentives, high cost, and energy curtailment. These problems are becoming more pronounced as the pandemic is prolonged. California is a state that has been encouraging the use of solar energy and has introduced incentives for its citizens to install solar. Because of this, solar companies in California may be able to more adequately circumvent issues and better excel economically than companies in other states. In …

San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden Alternative Learning Space- Preconstruction, Jonah Kirmse

Construction Management

This paper will review the process behind the preconstruction efforts for the creation of an alternative learning space within the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden. The SLO Botanical Garden is a nonprofit that serves the local community by supporting public interest in the natural environment. The project sought to aid in the garden’s aforementioned mission by building upon their ability to provide outdoor education spaces. The project’s eventual completion was a collective effort that spanned across multiple disciplines, representing the building industry. The original intention of the project group was to complete the project from concept to construction, but delays …

Journeyman International: The Well Rusororo Project, Maranda F. Maliska

Construction Management

The Well Rusororo Project is based in Kigali, Rwanda on the same property of the Light Church of Kabuga. The non-profit organization, Journeyman International has teamed up with the Africa Mission Alliance in an effort to create a community campus available to the public. This project has been broken up into two stages; the first is a renovation of two existing buildings totaling 500 square meters, and the second is a ground-up construction of a 3,000 square meter multipurpose center. For their project-based senior project, this student volunteered with Journeyman International to assist in the creation of the following deliverables …

San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden - Children's Garden Observation Deck, Troy James Kauffman

Construction Management

This paper will explain the preconstruction process for an observation deck in the San Luis Obispo Botanical Gardens, specifically the children’s garden. The children’s garden is a subsection of the botanical gardens dedicated to educating children through outdoor learning. The San Luis Obispo Botanical Gardens reached out to the Cal Poly Construction Management department in need of a team to create an outdoor learning space. Four students were interested in the project and decided to pursue it. The team for this senior project is an interdisciplinary group consisting of 3 construction management students and 1 architectural engineering student. The team …

Oceanside Angler’S Club David Pine Memorial Weight Board, Tanner Joseph Pine

Construction Management

The David Pine Memorial Weight Board was constructed for the Oceanside Angler’s Club. I was contacted by this organization, to create a weigh board in founding member David Pine’s memory. The club had a previous weight board that was destroyed due to the harsh conditions of the coast. The process of building this board incorporated many of the facets taught in the Cal Poly curriculum. I had to work with the owners in order to create a suitable design, materials had to be acquired using alternative methods, subcontractors were worked with to create components of the board, and a schedule …

Impact Of Cell Phone Usage On Jobsite Productivity, Nathan C. Saedi

Construction Management

Technological advances in cell phones have led to a change in the way contractors are able to complete project management tasks. When utilized while upholding safety standards, smartphones possess the capabilities to successfully function as a supervision, reporting, and communication tool. This paper examines some of the daily time spent on cell phones and impacts safe cell phone usage can yield. This paper further presents an exploration into an effective usage of cell phone applications to support construction field activities and promote productivity on the jobsite. The primary objective of this research is to highlight cell phone applications that can …

Exploring Student Feedback In Order To Help Build An International Summer Program, Gillian Mcafee

Construction Management

Studying abroad presents students with the opportunity to acquire and develop a diverse range of employability and life skills. Exposure to diverse cultures introduces you to innovative ideas and ways of thinking that you might not have thought of otherwise. International travel is extremely beneficial to those working in the construction industry as they can study foreign business practices, architectural styles, and intercultural communication. While Cal Poly has had a successful summer study abroad program in the past, the faculty leaders are looking for student feedback to help better structure the program and in turn hopefully increase enrollment. This project …

Son Care Foundation - Shade Structure Construction, Nicole Bocanegra

Construction Management

This paper will outline the preconstruction and construction processes that took place to erect a shade structure for the Son Care Foundation. This project included the design, estimate, and construction of the 8 ft tall shade structure. The structure was composed of pressure-treated lumber, concrete, metal post bases, and corrugated metal roofing. While originally expected to be around 15 foot in length, the final structure ended up being closer to 20 feet long. Based on existing shade structure of the foundation, the roof of the shade structure is sloped one way towards the back of the structure. The construction and …