Engineering Commons^™

Real-Time Face Recognition Drone Surveillance System, Jacob Segal, Asa Kaplan, Christopher Butler

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Drones are becoming more relevant and could potentially become a part of everyday life. From Amazon delivering packages to light displays used in the Super Bowl half-time show, drones are taking the place of people and inefficient systems. They are being used by military forces for scouting and relaying information from a distance, and by normal people every day to get an aerial view of a park or just for the entertainment of flying. This project develops a system for identifying and recognizing faces in real-time using a drone, specifically a Parrot ‘Bebop’, which is flying autonomously. The drone company, …

C.A.R.E (Cohort Assessment & Retrieval Environment), Kyle Ellis, Payal Shah, Jordan Tang

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The purpose of clinical trials is to explore whether a medical treatment is safe and effective for humans or to enhance preexisting methods. The identification of patients who satisfy a set of predefined criteria for the trial is instrumental. However, the process of distinguishing these patients on the basis of their clinical records is a challenging task since it can have structured (ex: precise measurements) and unstructured data (ex: physician notes). One difficulty with this is data normalization; there are many ways to describe a single concept. For example, “heart attack” and “myocardial infarction” both refer to the death of …

Gyrus Higher Learning Management System, Nicholas Turnquist, Bailey Kingsley, Ryan Schnarre

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Our project was to develop a prototype learning management system for use of higher education for our sponsor, Gyrus Systems. This consisted of creating a MySQL relational database to store user and class information, to design and code a user interface that emphasized user experience, and to implement functionalities for each user role.

Early in the design phase we outlined which features were must haves, in order to demonstrate an adequate prototype, and had this list approved by our sponsor. They were then divided into two roles. The role of “student” has the ability to submit assignments, get information from …

Active/Active Cloud Infrastructure, Charles Bradshaw, Edwin Lobo, Curtis Jackson

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Determining a stable implementation of an Active/Active system has been a topic of great interest to those maintaining multi-datacenter cloud-based services. This type of infrastructure is highly valued because it allows for services and applications to remain continuously available, even during planned and unplanned downtimes. Before implementing an Active/Active system, one must first determine the most effective ways to satisfy its two key constraints: maintaining fast and reliable cross-datacenter replication, as well as determining efficient disaster recovery options. Based upon these two constraints, we had determined that the problem could be addressed at the database level using the NoSQL database …

Capital One Mobile Directory, Nicholas Bellucci, Ricky Lee, Austin Mccracken

Capstone Design Expo Posters

One issue that large companies struggle with is the ability for employees to find contact information and communicate with other employees. Capital One has had a mobile directory iOS application in the past, but their information was static and difficult to change, and the interface left much to be desired. Instead of refactoring the app, Capital One requested us to scrap the previous application entirely, and start from scratch, keeping just the basic principle of it being a mobile directory app. The purpose of the new application is to be able to easily access information and communicate with other members …

Proam Sports, Shruti Patel, Haseeb Niazi, Neelam Jhurani

Capstone Design Expo Posters

ProAm Sports takes fitness one step further by designing a tournament-based program, where members can sign up to participate in matches as individuals or teams in various sports and win actual cash prizes accumulated from a portion of their membership fees. Our project required implementing a database which stores information on players, teams, and games as well as a website that offers the ability for players to sign up, view information on events, pay for membership, and communicate with other players. There are three levels of paid membership, where each offers different benefits including discounts on event registration. After registering …

Fabricating Non-Close Packed Colloidal Monolayers For Ion Irradiation Templates, Nandini Padaraju

Undergraduate Research Posters 2017

Due to their unique properties, anisotropic nanoparticles are desirable components for future applications yet there are few processes capable of fabricating nanoparticle impregnated coatings for the manufacturing environment. Our work seeks to develop new masking techniques for the production of the templated substrates that will induce ordered nanoparticle films. Specifically, we are fabricating non-close packed colloidal monolayers onto silicon substrates, which then serve as the template for ion irradiation. The first steps to creating this monolayer are obtaining a spin-coated poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) thin film of ~200 nm and a close-packed colloidal monolayer using a peltier heater. We achieved a …

Sensor Technology Using Fluorescent Dyes, Rebecca Jarrell, Rashed Rashed, Joshua Petteway

Capstone Design Expo Posters

This project is concerned with the application of fluorescent dye technology for leak detection in pulp and paper recovery boiler systems in order to avoid a smelt / water explosion. The dyes’ property to absorb light of short wavelength and emit light of a longer wavelength (fluoresce) is what makes them a quintessential candidate for the desired sensor technology. The projected benefits of this technology pertain to cost-effectiveness and safety of recovery boiler operations.

For all purposes, the inert dye pyrenetetrasulfonic acid (PTSA) was used as a tracer agent. Multiple methods of experimental design were attempted to determine the reaction …

Spirit Of Broad Street Station, Rhey Igou, Allyson Yohe, Kyle Sutherland

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The Science Museum of Virginia used to be an active train station, known as Broad Street Station. The building itself has since been radically renovated and contains a vast history of important visitors and events. The Science Museum has hundreds of beautiful photos from throughout the building’s lifespan, however the average visitor to the museum might not even realize that the museum was once a train station. The goal of this project was to present these photographs in a “story” format as the user is traveling through the museum. This is accomplished with Bluetooth beacons (Estimotes), placed in relevant locations …

Picshare, Kyle Crane, Emily Klein, Ben Wunschel

Capstone Design Expo Posters

PicShare is an app that allows companies to easily manage their social media presence without having to dedicate large amounts of time to the process. Your social media department can now extend their reach with the help of all of your other employees.

Our platform allows users to upload images/text from a mobile application or directly from the web. Administrators have the ability to take their own or user's image/text uploads and prepare for a social media post.

Employees attending events can get content to your social media staff much faster and with more variety. Our application is a great …

Infrared Stereo-Vision Target Tracking Robot, Alex Elliott

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Computer stereo-vision consists on a system that is able to obtain, estimate, and extract distance information of a scene in space from a set of 2D images. The system can be upgraded one step further by utilizing LWIR (Long Wave Infrared) sensors, in order to potentially place the system in low-visibility scenarios where ordinary color sensors might not be the best option. The data streams via an analog signal and is converted to serial-USB to be processed. The sensors are placed parallel, mounted on a bracket and attached to a robotics platform.

In order to estimate depth, a concept called …

Automated Din Rail Cut And Punch Machine, Youssif Alkheder, Gaston Charreun, Derrian Flemings, Jonathan Liss

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Our project’s main goal is to optimize the process of punching and cutting DIN rail in a manufacturing setting. The current method for cutting and punching DIN rails is tedious and simply too time consuming. An operator is needed to manually load the DIN rail into the cutter, measure the required length and activate the cutter. While this simple process may not take too long at first glance, companies, like Weidmuller, must be able to produce large-quantity orders to successfully meet the demands of their customers. By turning to automation, we are effectively reducing the amount of time it takes …

Mars Atmospheric And Climatic Survey System, Mounika Kari, Vu Nguyen, Surjan S. Singh, Sneha J. Vakani

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Before Mars can be explored by humans, its extreme climate and environment must be investigated. This can be achieved through the deployment of weather station probes capable of measuring Martian air temperature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, and wind speed. The Mars Atmospheric and Climatic Survey System (MACSS) aims to collect this data, allowing predictive models of global climate patterns on Mars to be developed. These models will aid NASA in providing the needed knowledge to prepare for long-term exposure to the conditions on Mars.

The probes are compact and lightweight; they have been designed to withstand Mars’ harsh environment: extreme …

Remote Aerial Mapping Spectrometer, Kenny Parker, José Ramirez, Chris Lillard, Quan Ma

Capstone Design Expo Posters

According to the EPA, harmful algal blooms may occur more frequently in coastal areas like the Chesapeake Bay due to warming waters and increased nutrient pollution. Algal blooms cause aquatic dead zones which damage the ecosystem and can produce toxins which are dangerous to animals and humans. Continual environmental monitoring is required to research algal blooms and to prevent harm to residents and industries.

We researched technologies to locate harmful algal blooms and found spectroscopic remote surveying an effective approach. A material’s wavelength-dependent reflectance reveals its material composition. Unfortunately, existing methods which can map spectral characteristics are lacking. Field researchers …

Nasa Mars Weather Station, M. Cole Hendricks, J. E. West Redington, S. Sahir Shehzad, Byron M. Watts

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The purpose of this project is to design an economical ground based weather station, with the overall goal of using these stations to gather meteorological data on the planet Mars. This data will then be used to create a working meteorological model for the planet, which in turn will be used to better coordinate the necessary resources to plan and carry out a manned mission to Mars. These weather stations will function by taking various meteorological measurements, such as air and ground temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, UV radiation levels, and air pressure, and then transmit this data to one …

Engineering News, Winter 2017, School Of Engineering

Engineering News

No abstract provided.

Method And Apparatus For Removal Of Phosphate From Wastewater Streams, Steven Skeels, Arjun Subedi, Fred Williams

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Church and Dwight uses a phosphate-containing soap in their latex condom manufacturing process in Chesterfield County, VA. The wastewater streams from this process contain a concentration of phosphate that is over the county limit, costing $100,000/yr for non-optimized disposal. C&D has a need for an in-house method of phosphate removal which does not interfere with current manufacturing or wastewater treatment processes. The focus of the project was precipitation methodology as it is the most economically feasible option for these high concentrations of phosphate; more advanced technologies were considered for a potential final polishing step to remove any residual phosphate. The …

Improved Mixing System For Aquatic Mesocosm Facility, Kyle Boyce, Ben Chalfant, Ron Fitch

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The VCU Environmental Science Department had in its possession 24 500 gal tanks they had implemented to study the plankton and bacteria activity of the James River. Water was pumped up from the James River a quarter mile to the tanks and studied over week long periods to analyze the growth and survival of plankton and bacteria as it exists in the river. Over time it was found that the bacteria in the mesocosms would growth at an increased rate as sediments and inorganic matter fell out of suspensions. For this reason, it was necessary to develop an agitator that …

Smart Exoskeleton Hand With Soft Electronics, Andrew Choi, Han Ha, Gabrielle Jones, Gregory Zobel

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Many people in the modern world suffer from a loss of hand and finger strength due to diseases in the muscle or nervous system such as ALS, Muscular Atrophy, and more. This problem has become more widespread with the surge of technology over the last 5-10 years. Therefore, we have created a smart exoskeleton hand with soft electronics that will allow people with less than average hand strength to perform daily activities.

The exoskeleton device utilizes small, lightweight linear actuators to provide additional strength to the user’s fingers and the hand itself will be 3D-printed with ABS and PLA plastics …

Transformer Support-Base:Design & Analysis, Tamrat Abebe, Hiba Aldar, Charles Wold

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Engineering design is vitally important and is the backbone of any industrial organization. The innovative approach to engineering design requires extensive calculations, estimations, workability and economic considerations to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction. Our project, for the ABB Group, was to design a structural frame-base for their transformers, and develop a set of design-standards to accommodate a range of transformer sizes. A transformer is used to step-up or step-down the voltage as needed to satisfy the electrical power needs of a facility. Industrial size transformers are an extremely heavy, sensitive and precise electrical devices that require a reliable …

Thermal Insulation Coating For Pipe Applications, Ismail Alaithan, Alhawraa Husain, Wejdan Reda, Katiana Slaton

Capstone Design Expo Posters

NNSB tasked the Capstone team with testing the anti-condensation abilities of the Thermal Insulation Coating (TIC) Aerolon®, an aerogel-based insulation manufactured by Tnemec, using Federal test specifications for Coating Compound, Paint Antisweat. The main goal was to observe the anti-condensation abilities of the insulation and to initiate an analysis and comparison of the spray-applied aerogel insulation versus the hand-applied thick foam insulation that is currently used on ship pipes and ventilation. The plan includes creating a computer simulation of the thermal properties of the insulated cylinders as well as a physical experimental setup.

The Capstone team built an acrylic test …

Measurement Of Impact Forces On Teeth And Jaw When Wearing Sports Mouth Guards, Alghamdi Abdullah, Alnaser Mobarak, Quiroz Ingrid, Serrate Ciro Alcoba, Veizaga Rodrigo

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The objective of this project is to accurately measure the forces the teeth and jaw experience when subjected to impact. For this purpose piezoelectric technology (PVDF), which converts voltage to force and vice versa can be used to measure forces applied to teeth. A PVDF cable is calibrated and used for measuring force along with a control measuring device (PCB Piezotronics). The method involves wrapping the PVDF cable around a 3D home-printed, customized denture. The cable was chosen due to the fact that it allows for adequate fit between mouth guard and denture. Two masses, a baseball and 2 lbs …

S.H.I.E.L.D Relays (Shadow-Masked Hack-Proof Ion Etched Latch Deterrence Relays), Anh Dinh, Adrienne Ilustre, Thomas Nuckols, Sean Payne

Capstone Design Expo Posters

We are presenting micro-scale logic devices using single cantilever relays fabricated in-plane from single crystal Silicon. These logic devices are designed to protect electrical systems that require a high level of security by being completely hack proof by not having the ability or need to be connected to any outside internet connection. Because these devices are fabricated from silicon, they are extremely reliable, durable and adaptable. Silicon’s high Young’s Modulus allows the cantilevers to function for an extremely long time, compared to other materials such as metal that will start to fatigue over time, producing a longer life span of …

Conference Registration System, Pooja Krishnan

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The main purpose of our project was the creation of a persistent conference registration management system. The Computational Complexity Foundation (CCF) is an organization aiming to foster research and education in computational complexity theory. The main activity of the organization is its annual conference, the Computational Complexity Conference (CCC). Dr. Sevag Gharibian, member of the Board of Governors for the CCF and assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Engineering Computer Science Department, wished for our team to design a user-friendly fully-integrated conference registration system for the CCC. Dr. Gharibian wanted our product to have the following functionalities: creation/management …

Chloracam, Aayushi Agarwal, Nathaniel Brigle, Ramya Nandigam, Zachary Siou

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Currently, dialysis water is tested for chloramines by obtaining a sample of the water and using a colorimetric test strip to estimate the chloramine concentration. The objective of this project is to design and prototype a device that can automatically read and record the chloramine test results. The deliverables of our project are a proof of concept that shows the ability of the device to automatically read and record chloramine test results, and a working prototype of this design. The most important design requirements were that the device must automatically read the test strips and quantify the chloramine concentration based …

Me-Em 2016-17 Annual Report, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Annual Reports

Table of Contents

• Undergrad Features
• Graduate Features
• Enrollment & Degrees
• Graduates
• Faculty & Staff
• Department News
• Alumni
• Donors
• Contracts & Grants
• Patents & Publications

3d Printed Embedded Force Sensors, Derek Faltz, Chad Majewski, Andrew Perkins, Faiwei Zhang

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Additive Manufacturing and 3D printing has opened the door to an endless amount of opportunities, including recent advances in conductive and resistive circuit printing. Taking advantage of these new technologies, we have designed a 3D printed insole with embedded plantar pressure sensor arrays. The customizable aspect of 3D printing allowed us to uniquely design a multitude of sensors. With the use of a dual extrusion printer we were able to produce a model that printed both the resistive circuit and complete insole simultaneously. These distinctive technologies have given us the capability to capture valuable pressure data from the sole of …

Wearable Device To Detect Cardiac Arrest, Jon Dyke, Majid Alashari, Ashraf Al Gumaei

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death globally and is unwitnessed in most cases. This begs the question: how can anyone know that an individual is experiencing cardiac arrest if no one is around to see it? MULT 603 has designed a cardiac arrest monitoring device that a person can wear on their wrist. This device detects the individual’s heartbeat; in the case that the person’s heartbeat drops below their normal individual threshold, their family, doctors, and friends along with emergency medical services will be notified of their location and condition. The hope is to drastically improve …

Automated Source-Detector Positioner For Radiation Detection, Andre Patterson, Morgan Davis, Joel Person, Allan Roberts

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The Nuclear Engineering Department at Virginia Commonwealth University has an unmet need for an automated source detector positioner for radiation detection experiments that are carried out in lab work. During radiation data collection in radiation detection systems it is of the utmost importance that radioactive samples are positioned and moved with the highest degree of precision possible. This high degree of precision allows for more meaningful data to be collected. The current methods employed by the Nuclear Engineering Department are not as accurate as they can be due to the fact the the current detection systems are manual. Furthermore they …

Automatic Dispensing Pill Caddy For The Elderly, Timothy H. Bruce, William Friend, Damien Nobles, Andrew Stasi, Courtney Bailey, Damoneke Harper

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The report, Aging in the United States, finds that baby boomers who are at retirement age are in worse health compared with previous generations. More of them are living with chronic conditions such as high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease; all which require medication. The report also anticipates the number of people with dementia could nearly triple in the coming decades, resulting in senior adults requiring more assistance with daily activities.

Our product intends to enhance the quality of life of the older adult population by providing a pill dispenser that creates convenience with alerts and notifications. This …