Engineering Commons^™

Bolted Flanged Assembly Test Stand, Mark Christian Damasco Sunga, Paulina Mercedez Delgado, Philip John Coleman

Mechanical Engineering

The following Final Design Report (FDR) is the last formal documentation for the senior design project. The project was carried out by three senior mechanical engineering students at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo for Phillips 66. The project proposed was to design a test stand and implement a procedure which will evaluate craftsmen’s abilities to assemble a bolted flanged joint assembly. The goal was to create a fully functional test setup that can be duplicated and utilized throughout Phillips 66’s refineries. This document details the design process that was completed over the course of three quarters, including concept …

Adaptable Classroom And Workspace Table, Emily Richter, Aaron Mccallister, Jett Bolusan

Mechanical Engineering

Mr. Michael Brennan, entrepreneur and founder of Co-Act Furniture, presented the problem of a classroom and workspace table that can be quickly, easily, and safely reconfigured to accommodate different types of collaboration and learning within a limited space. Current classroom and workspace furniture lacks modularity, which limits the usability of the space. Different groups use the same room to learn in different ways; adjustable furniture would benefit their learning and productivity. Mr. Brennan has developed several prototype tables with varying features, including adjustable angle, height, and tabletop surface area. Our team, composed of three mechanical engineering students, has a project …

Deep-Sea Water Collector, Chandler Jones, Jenny Verheul, Michael Di Giorgio

Mechanical Engineering

Properties such as nutrients, DNA, pH levels, and primary productivity are difficult to measure onboard an Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (UROV) as mobile submarine sensors are highly expensive and conventional water capture devices are too large to be equipped. However, these properties provide an integral view into our oceans, the species that inhabit them, and our influence on the environment. Collected samples of seawater taken back to labs allow researchers to see a clearer picture of ecosystems’ inhabitants and lifecycle with the analysis of Environmental DNA (eDNA) among many other properties. The scope of this project is to design a …

Modular Attachment System For Tactical Robot, Michelle K. Chandler, Jacob A. Nelson, Adam V. Ivelia, Quang Truong

Mechanical Engineering

The goals of this report are to clearly define the problem and the scope of this project, present information regarding background design research, explain the process taken to reach the final design, go over the part procurement and manufacturing process, outline the assembly steps, and verify the design against the criteria through testing. The problem and scope of the project were defined using the constraints provided by the project sponsor, Blueline robotics. Blueline needs a modular attachment system for their tactical robot. The completed background research contains existing robot solutions that deal with similar tasks. Many of these existing robots …

Implementing Project Management Software Into A Small Residential Construction Company, Collin Peter Martin

Construction Management

Over the past twenty years, the popularity of web-based project management software in the construction industry has grown tremendously. Today, there are a variety of different project management software companies that aim to specifically serve the construction industry. Many construction companies have committed significant financial and personnel resources to the implementation of project management software. The largest users of project management software in the construction industry are large commercial and/or heavy civil construction firms. This is because of the large and complex nature of the projects these companies typically work on. Small residential construction companies deal with projects that are …

Recycling Cigarettes Into Concrete, Jonathan R. Rosete

Construction Management

The objective of my senior project is to find a solution for the growing amount of improperly disposed cigarette butts on our planet. To accomplish this, I created and tested concrete cylinders mixed with different amounts of used cigarettes. It is my goal that we will be able to recycle cigarette butts and incorporate them into our everyday concrete use. By adding cigarettes to our mixes, I also understand their will be concerns with its potential strength. However with this in mind, it is my intention that these current mixes will only be used for non-structural concrete. In the following, …

Content Development For Leadership (Slo 23), Jaime A. Olmedo

Construction Management

As the construction industry evolves, the curriculum that prepares future builders must change and account for new ideas and concepts as well. In September of 2020, the Construction Management department at the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) gave the opportunity to five senior level students to assist them with research on how to develop content and programming for the five extra student learning outcomes and have it count toward their senior project. These five students, each being paired up with a student from CM 461, were asked to produce a study guide and survey questions for one of the …

Understanding Slo 22 - Lifelong Learning, Madeleine Zetterquist

Construction Management

This paper is an informative overview of the student learning objective SLO 22, lifelong learning, in relation to the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Construction Management Department. The student learning objective of lifelong learning is an existing university objective for Cal Poly, however, recently has also become a department specific objective for Construction Management. This senior project explores what lifelong learning means to the Construction Management department. Further, the paper explores how the current outcomes of this objective may improve to more closely embody the department mission. These findings will allow for emphasis on lifelong learning in order …

Iot Asset Tracker, Jonny M. Erickson, Matt A. Murray

Electrical Engineering

This senior project will be the completion of an IoT asset Tracker. In today’s day and age, technology is weaving its way into every aspect of life. Because of this, we demand to know more and more information about everything that is going on in our lives. One of these needed pieces of information is knowing the location of our most valuable assets. This is the main goal of this project: to build a portable SMS driven GNSS tracking device. The device is designed to provide two methods of tracking for any mobile asset. The device will utilize a large …

Surf Leg Prosthetic 2, Aris C. Recidoro, Kyler D. Peterson, Alec C. Goodman

Mechanical Engineering

The following final design review outlines the process our team took in order to create a prosthetic for surfing. With the results of the Surf Leg V1 prosthetic, we designed, created, and tested our own product. The goal was to create a prosthetic that can immediately be used by an individual for surfing. From our findings, we decided that the focus of our project was to improve upon different features of the prosthetic leg designed by the previous senior project team. Our main focus was to improve mobility and reduce the weight of the ankle mechanism. The choice of Aluminum …

Effects Of Marathon Training On Male And Female Femoral Stress Fracture Risk, Clara Lin

Master's Theses

Marathon runners are prone to femoral stress fractures due to the high magnitudes and frequencies of lower extremity loads during training. Female runners tend to have a greater incidence of stress fracture compared to male runners. Sex-specific differences in body structure, joint pressure, and muscle activation patterns that influence bone remodeling may cause this observed difference in stress fracture occurrence. The goal of this thesis was to develop a finite element model of the femur during marathon training, then determine if marathon training affected bone properties of male and female runners differently. To achieve this goal, a finite element femur …

A Quantitative Approach For Tuning A Mountain Bike Suspension, Steven Robert Waal

Master's Theses

A method for tuning the spring rate and damping rate of a mountain bike suspension based on a data-driven procedure is presented. The design and development of a custom data acquisition system, known as the "MTB DAQ," capable of measuring acceleration data at the front and rear axles of a bike are discussed. These data are input into a model that is used to calculate the vertical acceleration and pitching angular acceleration response of the bike and rider. All geometric and dynamic properties of the bike and rider system are measured and built into the model. The model is tested …

Optimal Parameter Values For Accurate And Repeatable Nanoindentation Of Human Trabecular Bone, Stephen Matthew Kmak

Master's Theses

Nanoindentation techniques have not been standardized for use on bone tissues, making comparison of bone material properties obtained via nanoindentation across studies difficult and unreliable. This study determined a set of optimal parameter values for thermal drift correction time, dwell time, and loading rate that can be used to obtain accurate and repeatable material properties from human femoral trabecular bone through experimentation and statistical analysis. All testing was conducted using a single nanoindenter on a single trabeculae, with the assumption that material properties within the individual trabeculae were internally consistent. Parameters not of interest during this study, such as ambient …

Testing Of Two 10-Inch Insertion Propeller Flow Meters, Stuart Styles, Sierra Layous, Jack Evans

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

With funding from the US Bureau of Reclamation, California – Great Basin Region (Region 10), the Cal Poly Irrigation Training & Research Center (ITRC) conducted flow measurement accuracy testing on two 10-inch insertion (strap-on saddle) McCrometer Water Specialties propeller flow meters. Both meters were new and recently purchased by Westlands Water District. One of the meters is shown in Figure 1. Testing was performed at the ITRC Water Resources Facility (WRF) using the ITRC volumetric tank as the standard flow rate measurement for all tests. The ITRC volumetric tank was calibrated with the NIST¹-traceable ITRC gravimetric tank using …

Testing Of Two 10-Inch Insertion Magnetic Flow Meters, Stuart Styles, Sierra Layous, Jack Evans

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

With funding from the US Bureau of Reclamation, California – Great Basin Region (Region 10), the Cal Poly Irrigation Training & Research Center (ITRC) conducted flow measurement accuracy testing on two 10-inch insertion (saddle-mount) McCrometer Mc Mag3000 magnetic flow meters. The meters were two of 360 new meters that were purchased by Westlands Water District. One of the meters is shown in Figure 1. Testing was performed at the ITRC Water Resources Facility (WRF) using the ITRC gravimetric (weigh) tank as the standard flow rate measurement for all tests. The ITRC gravimetric tank has a NIST¹-traceable uncertainty of …

Magnetic Flow Meter Testing, Stuart Styles, Sierra Layous, Jack Evans

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

With funding from the US Bureau of Reclamation, California – Great Basin Region (Region 10) and the California Department of Water Resources (Agreement No. 4600011908), the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Irrigation Training & Research Center (ITRC) conducted testing on 4-inch and 10-inch spool-type magnetic flow meters ( also known as mag meters and electromagnetic flow meters) from six manufacturers (12 meters total). The testing was performed to assess the effects of various hydraulic conditions on meter accuracy.

Implementation Of An Open-Source Digital Image Correlation Software For Structural Testing, Nicole V. Buck

Master's Theses

This thesis investigates the appropriateness of a simplified, open-source digital image correlation (DIC) software for use in quasi-static, structural testing utilizing two-dimensional (2D) DIC measurements. DIC is a non-contact optical measurement technique that uses computer vision to track unique attributes on the surface of an object. For structural testing, traditional instrumentation such as displacement sensors and strain gages are impractical for full field measurements due their limited ability to capture large amounts of data. However, over the past decade, DIC has proven a successful method for full-field kinematics measurements, making it an appealing tool for collecting high densities of accurate …

Dairy Manure Flushwater Treatment By Algae Raceway Ponds And Aerated Biofilm Reactors, Darin Son

Master's Theses

Nitrogen removal technologies can help dairy industries meet their nutrient management needs. This thesis investigated two separate treatment technologies for total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) removal: algae raceway ponds and aerated biofilm reactors. Six 1000- liter algae raceway ponds and four 1000-liter tote tanks, each equipped with 10 sheets of nonwoven geotextile (i.e., thermally bonded or needle-punched) biofilm substrate, were used to treat the effluent from a flush dairy in central coastal California (TAN = 251 mg/L, cBOD5 = 204 mg/L). For the algae raceway ponds (TAN loading rate = 7 - 35 g/m³-day among 7-, 10- and 14-day hydraulic residence …

Development Of Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks For Enhancing Post-Combustion Co2 Capture, Dustin Lee

Master's Theses

Post-combustion CO₂ capture is a promising approach for complementing other strategies to mitigate climate change. Liquid absorption is currently used to capture CO₂ from post-combustion flue gases. However, the high energy cost required to regenerate the liquid absorbents is a major drawback for this process. As a result, solid sorbents have been investigated extensively in recent years as alternative media to capture CO₂ from flue gases. For example, metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are nanoporous materials that have high surface areas, large pore volumes, and flexible designs. A large number of MOFs, however, suffer from 1) low CO …

How Mandatory Stretches Increase Safety In The Workplace, Alec Pitts

Construction Management

The construction industry is one that revolves around safety. Without safety this industry fails. Jobsite safety keeps companies afloat longer whether it's financially, physically, or even mentally. This senior project dives into the benefits of mandatory stretching prior to each work day. This study also questions contractors and tests the stretches and their results. These benefits include muscle warm ups, increase of focus, added flexibility, increased range of motion, and even mental awareness. The idea of these morning stretches means more upfront costs for less costs later down the road. These stretches are an extra form of insurance when completed …

Analyzing The Safety Effects Of Edge Lane Roads For All Road Users, Marcial F. Lamera

Master's Theses

This thesis acts as one of the first studies that analyzes the safety effects of Edge Lane Roads (ELR) for all road users. This is important since ELRs can be a solution to many issues, such as alleviating congestion, increasing multimodality along roadways, and reducing maintenance costs. ELRs in both North America and Australia were observed. Starting with the North American ELRs, the following study designs were employed to estimate the safety of ELRs: (a) yoked comparison where each ELR installation was matched with at least two comparable 2-lane roads to serve as comparison sites and (b) an Empirical Bayes …

Exploration And Comparison Of Image-Based Techniques For Strawberry Detection, Yongxin Liu

Master's Theses

Strawberry is an important cash crop in California, and its supply accounts for 80% of the US market [2]. However, in current practice, strawberries are picked manually, which is very labor-intensive and time-consuming. In addition, the farmers need to hire an appropriate number of laborers to harvest the berries based on the estimated volume. When overestimating the yield, it will cause a waste of human resources, while underestimating the yield will cause the loss of the strawberry harvest [3]. Therefore, accurately estimating harvest volume in the field is important to farmers. This paper focuses on an image-based solution to detect …

Investigation Of Modeling Strategies For Slender Lightly Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls, Jenna Marie Williams, Tracy Destiny Doan

Architectural Engineering: Graduate Reports

A large number of pre-1980’s non-ductile reinforced concrete (RC) structures in California utilizing RC shear walls to resist seismic lateral forces have been identified as deficient by industry practitioners. These non-ductile wall systems are typically lightly reinforced and lack adequate boundary element detailing. Analytical studies suggest these walls are susceptible to brittle, compression-controlled failure modes due to damage from concrete crushing and bar buckling. Furthermore, poor behavior of lightly reinforced concrete walls was observed in many recent earthquakes, for example in Chile (1985), New Zealand (2010/2011) and Mexico (2017). This has generated concern among engineers in high seismic regions around …

Maleic Anhydride Compatibilized Peach Waste As Filler In Polypropylene And High Density Polyethylene Biocomposites, Caralyn Wong, Stephanie Jung, Joongmin Shin, Ajay Kathuria

Master's Theses

It is estimated that roughly 103, 515 tons of peach waste is produced annually in the US. The majority of the waste is disposed of in landfills, which contributes to climate change as they release 93 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent. Peach waste principally consists of remaining stone and seed after flesh removal. The agro-waste includes both cellulose and lignin, which can be utilized as a filler in plastic packaging to reduce carbon footprints and material cost. The objectives of this research are (1) to develop peach flour (PF)-filled biocomposites with a polyolefin matrix using maleic anhydride-g-high density …

Testing Of A 10 To 48-Inch Insertion Magnetic Flow Meter, Stuart Styles, Jack Evans, Sierra Layous, Chad Tenbrink

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

With funding from the US Bureau of Reclamation, California – Great Basin Region (Region 10), the Cal Poly Irrigation Training & Research Center (ITRC) conducted flow measurement testing on one (1×) 10 to 48-inch Seametrics EX21x insertion magnetic meter (“Seametrics”, “test meter”) in April 2020. Figure 1 shows the meter installed at the testing facility. The testing determined the accuracy of the test meter in a straight pipe configuration across a range of typical water velocities (0.5 to 5.8 feet per second). Testing was performed at the ITRC Water Resources Facility (WRF) using calibrated measurements from a 30-inch Krohne Enviromag …

Magnetic Flow Meter Testing And The Effect Of Upstream Chemical Injection On Meter Performance, Stuart Styles, Sierra Layous, Jack Evans

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

With funding from the US Bureau of Reclamation, California – Great Basin Region (Region 10), the Cal Poly Irrigation Training & Research Center (ITRC) performed testing on magnetic flow meters to examine issues related to upstream chemical injection. Two sets of tests were completed:

• Meter Accuracy Testing – This testing determined the flow measurement accuracy of ten (10×) meters. Previously, all the meters had been installed in irrigation pipelines immediately downstream of chemical injection and showed significant fluctuations in flow measurement readings.

• Upstream Chemical Injection Testing – This testing quantified the variability of flow rate measurements at various …

Testing Of Two 30-Inch Magnetic Flow Meters, Stuart Styles, Jack Evans, Sierra Layous, Chad Tenbrink

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

With funding from the US Bureau of Reclamation, California – Great Basin Region (Region 10), the Cal Poly Irrigation Training & Research Center (ITRC) conducted flow measurement testing on two (2×) 30inch spool-type magnetic flow meters in March of 2020. Figure 1 shows the meters installed at the testing facility. The testing determined the accuracy for each test meter in a straight pipe configuration across a range of typical water velocities (0.4 to 3.8 feet per second). Testing was performed at the ITRC Water Resources Facility (WRF) using the ITRC volumetric tank as the standard flow rate measurement for all …

Entrepreneurial Based Project: Minority Owned Guardrail Installation Company, Nicholas Rubio

Construction Management

This company will provide commercial and highway guardrail installation services to the Northern California Region. The organization will retain a Minority Owned Business Certification and will operate under a Class C-32 License for Parking and Highway Improvement. Due to the large backlog of guardrail projects and the lack of qualified contractors in Northern California, the company plans to partner with existing firms that are unable to take on work. After firmly establishing ourselves in the private commercial market, the organization plans to migrate to public road work where the Minority Owned title can provide more benefit. Through this process we …

Cooking Systems Using Aluminum Foam, Ryan Tetsuo Mizukami

Physics

In developing countries, the use of wood burning fires for cooking is cause for illness and death. With this in mind, research was conducted to develop a solar cooking device capable of cooking of soup within 15 mins in order to reduce the negative impacts of cooking with wood. Current methods of solar-based cooking, such as solar concentrators and solar tube ovens, are impractical. A small solar panel is a cost-effective way to produce energy but will not produce enough power to cook within a reasonable amount of time. Even if it is assumed that all of the energy produced …

Formula Sae Monocoque Chassis Development, Kc Egger, Brian Ford, Kyle Nagao, Neal Sharma, Donovan Zusalim

Mechanical Engineering

Formula SAE is a collegiate competition hosted by SAE International with the primary goal being to design, manufacture, and race an open wheel race car. The Cal Poly Racing Formula SAE team strives for improvement every race season and has remained competitive as a result. The 2019-2020 management team determined that further research and development towards the chassis would yield the greatest performance benefit for future seasons, as the previous chassis platform limited packaging and mounting options for vehicle subsystems which interfaced with the chassis.

A redesign of the Cal Poly Racing Formula SAE team’s carbon fiber reinforced polymer monocoque …