Engineering Commons^™

Fabrication And Testing Of Arabinan Cellulose Nanocomposites, Ross Johnson, Austin Rosso, Nick Semansky

Materials Engineering

Inspired by the structure and composition of cactus spines found in nature, arabinan-cellulose nanocomposites were fabricated into thin films and tested for mechanical stiffness. The composites consisted of varying amounts of nanocrystalline cellulose reinforcement suspended in an arabinan matrix. Both materials are polysaccharides and are known to be biodegradable and food safe. The thin film samples were tensile tested using a dynamic mechanical analysis machine both as-cast and after a heat-treatment. The heat treatment of the arabinan itself resulted in an order of magnitude increase in stiffness, while the cellulose reinforced composites increased roughly six fold. The arabinan-50 wt% cellulose …

A Process Development Study On Reducing The Anisotropy While Maintaining The Strength Of Extruded Aluminum Alloy 2195 Through Heat Treatment, Theodore James Arehart

Materials Engineering

The purpose of this study was two-fold: develop an aging curve for extruded 2195 aluminum and test the magnitude of the anisotropy in the extrusion throughout the aging process. Two aging curves were developed, one at 290^oF and the other at 320^oF, through hardness tests of aged samples. The hardness was found to change, from approximately 72 HRB to 90 HRB, within the first 6 hours and not change more than 2 HRB in the 42 hours following. It was determined that the 320^oF temperature was more promising due to faster aging time, and …

Manufacture And Mechanical Testing Of Thin Film Composites Composed Of Poly-Lactic Acid And Nanocrystalline Cellulose, Catherine E. Mohan

Materials Engineering

Society’s overuse of petroleum-based plastic products has created a waste problem that is threatening environments around the world. New efforts have been made to find a suitable replacement derived from a renewable source. Poly-lactic acid has become one of the front-runners in this search. It is derived from starches found in potatoes, corn, and other grains. There are many factors that make Poly-lactic acid-based polymers a suitable replacement for petroleum-based ones, but it still suffers from low mechanical strength due to low crystallinity percentages. Doping the polymer with nanocrystalline cellulose provides more nucleation sites for the crystallization of the polymer …

Micro-Irrigation Design For Avocado Orchard In California, Michael C. Meyer

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project encompasses the design and recommendations for a micro-irrigation system on an avocado orchard owned by Underwood Family Farms in Somis, California. The main objective of this report is to improve the existing irrigation system’s efficiency and uniformity with the new design and recommendations. The analysis includes information about good irrigation practices, irrigation system design and all the processes herein. Although there are many opinions on growing, irrigating and maintaining an avocado orchard, all of the methods, procedures and suggestions must be based on accurate data to provide reliable information to the grower. Evaluating the irrigation system and suggesting …

Fire And Life Safety Analysis Of The Bonderson Engineering Projects Center, Brian Sackett

Fire Protection Engineering: Culminating Experience Project Reports

As part of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Science in Fire Protection Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, a prescriptive and performance based design analysis was conducted for the Bonderson Engineering Projects Center building (Cal Poly campus). The purpose of this analysis was to review the Bonderson Engineering Projects Center’s compliance with applicable and recognized fire and building codes with regards to its fire protection systems and features. The fire protection systems and features analyzed in this report include: 1) Egress Systems, 2) Structural Fire Protection, 3) Fire Detection and Alarm Systems, 4) Fire …

Fire And Life Safety Report- Agricultural Sciences Building- Cal Poly, Jonathan Schram

Fire Protection Engineering: Culminating Experience Project Reports

The purpose of this fire and life safety analysis is to provide a conclusion on whether the Agricultural Sciences Building (ASB) meets fire safety goals. The primary fire safety goal is to provide building occupants a safe environment during fire conditions. This goal can be achieved by protecting the occupants not intimate with the initial fire development and improving survivability of those occupants intimate with the initial fire development. A prescriptive-based design approach and a performance-based design approach are used to evaluate building safety. The prescriptive-based approach is used to evaluate the building's structural fire protection systems, fire detection and …

Multi-Team Strategic Game Development, Alvin Bokun Feng

Computer Engineering

No abstract provided.

Fire And Life Safety Analysis- Uw Medicine Lake Union Phase 3.1, Marge Hong

Fire Protection Engineering: Culminating Experience Project Reports

This report provides a summary of the fire protection and life safety features for UW Medicine Lake Union, a research and laboratory building, in accordance with Seattle Building Code (SBC), International Building Code (IBC), and Life Safety Code (NFPA 101). The objective of this report is to identify if UW Medicine Lake Union meets both the prescriptive and performance based code. The primary fire safety goal is to provide life safety system that reduced the risk of fire-related injuries and loss of life due to fire. The prescriptive analysis is used to identify the building integrity per code. This evaluates …

Cal Poly Student Recreation Center Fire Protection Review, Alain N. Mamada

Fire Protection Engineering: Culminating Experience Project Reports

This report summarizes the analysis of the existing fire protection features and systems installed in the Recreation Center building on the Cal Poly campus. The analysis is conducted into two different approaches. A prescriptive analysis approach will examine installed fire protection features and systems in accordance with the International Building Code. The analysis will consider the building as existing building as per IBC provisions. A performance-based approach will assess whether the building occupants will egress the building before conditions become untenable. Fire dynamic simulations will be used to determine the available safe egress time and evacuation simulations will performed to …

Westside Christian High School, Michael Stewart

Fire Protection Engineering: Culminating Experience Project Reports

The building I have chosen to use as the model for exemplifying the components of a wet fire suppression system is Westside Christian High School (WCHS). This building completed construction in January of 2014 and is located at: 8200 SW Pfaffle Street Tigard, Oregon 97223. The existing structure was previously owned and occupied by City Bible Church who will now lease space from the High school during and after construction. The renovations include the addition of space for music, art classes, fitness center, gym, science labs, and others. The renovations will also be widening existing rooms and hallways. The core …

Fire Protection Analysis Robert And Margrit Modavi Center For The Performing Arts- Uc Davis, Jeffrey Paterson

Fire Protection Engineering: Culminating Experience Project Reports

This document is the report of the culminating experience as part of the master’s program in fire protection engineering at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. This report contains a life safety analysis of the fire protection systems of a chosen project building. The building examined is the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, located on the University of California Davis campus. The building was constructed in 2002 where the first performance occurred in October 2002. A large portion of the report applies prescriptive code requirements to evaluate compliance with current codes and standards. The …

Fire Analysis Of The Walter F. Dexter Building- Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Jeff Jenkins

Fire Protection Engineering: Culminating Experience Project Reports

The purpose of this report is to provide a fire analysis of the Walter F. Dexter Building on the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Campus. The report will detail egress analysis, notification systems, and building construction in a prescriptive approach. The report will also include a performance based analysis of the building with a designed fire scenario. This performance based analysis will show that in one of the most likely fire scenarios for the building, there is still ample time for the occupants to escape safely.

Hotel- Georgia, Rock Toler

Fire Protection Engineering: Culminating Experience Project Reports

The State of Georgia modifies the International Building Code through State amendments, to require a fire resistance rating between residential occupancies and all other occupancies. This fire and life safety analysis report will substantiate the necessity for the barrier in a mixed-use hotel occupancy. The first-half of the report addresses the prescriptive-based code requirements, reporting a compliant design was presented. Then the performance portions primary objective was established, maintain a tenable environment for egressing guest room occupants. Three conditions were evaluated to define a tenable environment, carbon monoxide levels, temperature, and visibility limits. Selecting the location of the fire required …

Fire And Life Safety Analysis Of The Grant M. Brown Engineering Building- Cal Poly, Daniel Gregory Blanchat

Fire Protection Engineering: Culminating Experience Project Reports

This fire and life safety analysis was performed on the Grant M. Brown Engineering Building in order to determine if the building meets the life safety goals set forth by a prescriptive and performance based analysis. This building was built to a strict set of codes and standards. For the prescriptive analysis the buildings egress design, fire detection and alarm systems, fire sprinkler system, occupancy classification, construction type, and structural fire protection are evaluated in terms of the life safety of the occupants. In the performance based design analysis four computer based programs were used to model egress and fire …

Comprehensive Fire And Life Safety Analysis- Moa Public Works Building- Anchorage, Alaska, Andrew J. Bigalke

Fire Protection Engineering: Culminating Experience Project Reports

This report is a Comprehensive Fire and Life Safety Analysis addressing both prescriptive and performance based engineering analysis of the MOA Public Works building located in the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska. The Public Works building was originally built in 1997 under the code requirements of the Uniform Building Code, as a Type II-N building. An addition was constructed in 2002 using the International Building Code (IBC), 2000 Edition. A prescriptive analysis is performed using the requisite building code and standards currently adopted by the State of Alaska, and by the Municipality of Anchorage. The currently adopted building codes and standards …

Fire Protection And Life Safety Evaluation- Hinesville Cboc Va Clinic, Jeff Dew

Fire Protection Engineering: Culminating Experience Project Reports

The Hinesville MOB will be analyzed throughout the course of this report to determine if it meets the prescriptive-based requirements set forth by local and national regulating bodies. Further, a performance-based approach will be taken to assess the buildings ability to sustain life while a safe and timely evacuation occurs. It will be determined that the Hinesville MOB does comply with all regulations set forth for fire and life safety. In some cases its construction and systems may exceed the required minimum standards. It will contain 100% coverage with an automatic sprinkler system, be equipped with adequate emergency notification system, …

Fire And Life Safety Analysis- Cal Poly Recreation Center, Connor Mcgill

Fire Protection Engineering: Culminating Experience Project Reports

The purpose of this fire and life safety analysis is to determine whether Cal Poly’s Recreation Center meets fire safety goals. The primary fire safety goal is to provide building occupants with an environment that is tenable and allows for safe egress in the event of a fire, and reduce the likelihood of any catastrophic fire event. This goal can be achieved by protecting the occupants not intimate with the initial fire development and improving survivability of those occupants intimate with the initial fire development, NFPA 101, 2012. A prescriptive-based design approach and a performance-based design approach are used to …

High Cycle Rotating Bending Fatigue Of 6061-T6 Friction Stir Welded Extrusions, John Chang, Travis Miller

Materials Engineering

Fatigue testing was done on friction stir welded joints of 6061-T6 aluminum extrusions. Tests were run using a rotating bending fatigue machine at stresses from 111.5 to 138.7 MPa. Failures occurred on the order of 10⁵ to 10⁷ cycles, and an S-N curve was generated based off of the failure results. After the samples failed, the location of the failure and the number of cycles to failure were noted. Fatigue samples were designed in SolidWorks with a tapered 2 inch reduced section. The 2 inch reduced section will include the entire weld region as seen from the microhardness …

Relationship Between Bagging Methods And Pre-Weld Holding Times On Porosity Formation In 2219 Aluminum Ac-Tig Welds, Mariah Grace Head, Tyson Daniel Mobley

Materials Engineering

The purpose of this study was to determine relationships between bagging methods and pre-weld holding times on the formation of porosity when AC-TIG welding 2219 aluminum. Considering the strict guidelines and specifications required within the aerospace industry, maintaining quality welds is of paramount importance to control part integrity for aerospace applications. This project focused on two parameters involved in the preparation of aluminum parts for welding: bagging method and pre-weld holding time. Welding geometry was simplified to bead-on plate instead of the standard joint welds. Radiographic analysis of the samples showed that all levels of both parameters produced “passing welds.” …

An Intercritical Heat Treatment Study Of High Strength, Microalloyed Ferrous Open Die Forgings, Kelly Elizabeth Stewart

Materials Engineering

High strength, low alloy steel is most commonly utilized in plate or sheet form-with a thickness under 4 in, one unconventional application however, is open die forging where cross-sectional area can be as large as 9.5 in by 11.5 in. When forging to larger section size than one would thermo-mechanically roll sheet steel, a new set of complications, such as variation in microstructure and mechanical properties, arise. This study investigates the heat treatment and processing options needed to negate the inherent microstructural irregularity and Charpy V-Notch (CVN) toughness variation. Intercritical heat treatment—normalizing and then quench and tempering above the A …

Characterization Of Pressure Driven And Electro-Kinetically Driven Flow In A Micro-Fluidic Chip Using Particle Imaging Velocimetry, Alexis Paige Weckel

Materials Engineering

The goal of this research is to compare electro-kinetic and pressure driven flow rates and velocity profiles (near wall vs. middle) in a microfluidic chip made of PDMS using particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) of an aqueous solution of fluorescent polystyrene (PS) particles using a laser confocal microscope (LCM). Microfluidic channels were fabricated out of PDMS using a SU-8 mold to be 25mm long and 180um by 1000um. Pressure-driven data did not show the expected parabolic profile because of the large width to depth ratio. In addition, data showed a calculated average significantly higher than the projected particle velocity through the …

Mechanical Behavior Of Compression Molded Polyethylene Terephthalate, Daniel Cole Greinke, Paul Jackson Mcewan, Dan Tran

Materials Engineering

The purpose of this project was to investigate the effects of time, temperature, and pressure on the tensile strength and elastic modulus of recycled PET. Compression molding trials were performed on shredded PET bottles to produce tensile test specimens conforming to ASTM D638-03. Aluminum molds containing the PET were mechanically fastened together at the desired pressure and heated in an electric oven. The resulting specimens were subjected to tensile testing for analysis. This screening experiment failed to generate any statistically significant data concerning the factors of interest. These preliminary results may be used to design a more systematic follow-up study.

Material Composition And Toxicology Of Cosmetic Products, Hilda Gonzalez

Materials Engineering

In today’s modern society, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates many industries to protect consumers’ health; the cosmetics industry is not one of them. Through self-regulation, companies continue to sell products for topical use on the body that have been known to contain toxic chemicals with little to no testing on the effects they have on the human body. The purpose of this project was to determine the content of such known toxins in five different brands of face powders. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) was used to verify the primary component and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emissions Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was used …

The Environmental Impact Assessment Of Cal Poly's Manufacturing Laboratory, Yoonho Mark Kim

Materials Engineering

The purpose of the study is to obtain basic understanding of the sustainability of Cal Poly IME 144 laboratory. Since the general condition of the lab prevents precise, efficient data collection, fuzzy logic is used to provide an overview of the laboratory's sustainability. Aluminum chips, brass chips, and paper waste are identified as primary waste streams. Electric usage of the laboratory is approximately calculated based on the machines' running time. Fuzzy logic system with three inputs and one output is designed in the Matlab software environment with Simulink to simulate a model for the laboratory's sustainability. Also the study suggests …

The Effect Of Silicon On The Electrochemical Corrosion Resistance Of Carbon Steel, Loan Faget, Michael S. Rouse

Materials Engineering

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the silicon (Si) content of carbon steels affects their electrochemical corrosion resistance. Tests were conducted using concentrated HCl and carbonated water on three carbon steels with different levels of silicon: 0.02, 0,19, and 0.94 weight percent. Like H2S, the prime concern of Chevron, HCl and CO2 are corrosive components in oil refinery. Electrochemical properties were measured using a potentiodynamic test outlined in Standard ASTM G59-97: Test Method for Conducting Potentiodynamic Polarization Resistance Measurements. Previous studies have determined that adding silicon to steel increases the corrosion resistance; however, results show that corrosion …

Prediction Of Tribological Behavior Of Candidate Materials For Rotor Seals, John W. Franzino, Will F. Michul

Materials Engineering

To reduce high costs associated with manufacturing and testing materials for rotor seals, a procedure needs to be developed to quickly and accurately test candidate materials as they are released. The test should reduce the amount of fabrication required and model working conditions in order to accurately assess the tribological behavior of candidate materials. A possible solution was examined that utilized a rig meant to model operational stresses and wear. Compression modulus data was then taken in order to quantify the accumulation of damage due to microcracking, the primary mode of failure, through a damage index parameter. Testing results concluded …

Characterization Of A Thin Film Composite Membrane: Fluorinated Copolymer In A Carbon Nanotube Matrix, Eric P. Bonaventure, Michael A. Brew, Cynthia R. Shannon

Materials Engineering

IDEX Health and Science has created a thin-film composite membrane consisting of a carbon nanotube matrix impregnated with a fluorinated copolymer called Teflon® AF 2400. This membrane is being studied for use in degassing chambers of analytical instruments such as a High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) degassing modules. The level of impregnation of the Teflon® in the carbon matrix affects the diffusion properties which are crucial for the performance of the membrane. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) characterization techniques were used to measure the outer Teflon® and the inner carbon matrix layer thickness. The outer Teflon® and inner carbon matrix layer …

Development Of Low Temperature, Aqueous Synthesis Method Of Lead Sulfide Quantum Dots, Albert Nakao, Colin Yee

Materials Engineering

Quantum dots have become an active area of research in the past decade due to their unique properties. Quantum confinement effects allow for efficient spectral conversion and size tunable fluorescence and absorption peaks. Near infrared spectral converting lead sulfide quantum dots have potential applications in solar power, biological imaging and communications technology. However at Cal Poly, lead sulfide dots have not been synthesized. The quantum dot synthesis currently adapted at Cal Poly encompasses organometallic precursors at high reaction temperatures, producing cadmium selenium dots. The organometallic approach has been found to produce nanocrystals with high quality photoluminescence, but due to its …

Frameworks For A General-Purpose Smart Home Operating System, Donald Hoelle

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Smart home technologies are rapidly growing in prevalence. For my senior project, I designed and implemented the beginnings of a general-purpose framework for a unified Smart Home Operating System, capable of controlling all of the diverse aspects of automated homes. This paper outlines the design challenges involved in building generic smart home systems, as well as the project architecture I designed and implemented to attempt to solve this problem.

Regen: Optimizing Genetic Selection Algorithms For Heterogeneous Computing, Scott Kenneth Swinkleb Winkleblack

Master's Theses

GenSel is a genetic selection analysis tool used to determine which genetic markers are informational for a given trait. Performing genetic selection related analyses is a time consuming and computationally expensive task. Due to an expected increase in the number of genotyped individuals, analysis times will increase dramatically. Therefore, optimization efforts must be made to keep analysis times reasonable.

This thesis focuses on optimizing one of GenSel’s underlying algorithms for heterogeneous computing. The resulting algorithm exposes task-level parallelism and data-level parallelism present but inaccessible in the original algorithm. The heterogeneous computing solution, ReGen, outperforms the optimized CPU implementation achieving a …