Engineering Commons^™

Robotic Origami Worm, Carter Josef, Michael Freeman, Mohammad Hasan

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

Soft robotics can solve many unique engineering problems. The ancient art of origami has inspired design for a new breed of robots. In this research, a novel fold design was created which has high linear stiffness, high bending stiffness, and the ability to deform omnidirectionally in order to turn. The robot is operated using a DC motor to expand and contract and electromagnets to control friction. The robot moves very quickly compared with many other origami robots in the literature. Other interesting ways to control friction were explored including expansion mechanisms. An origami design was created and tested that expands …

Exoskeletons - Designing For Social Justice, Grace Cd Murphy

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

Many engineering professionals believe that discussions surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and social justice do not belong in engineering because engineering is supposed to be a neutral or objective field. Through an extensive review of the literature and a survey sent out to potential users, the need for DEI in engineering was examined. Many current engineering projects do not take into consideration social justice principles which leaves certain groups further marginalized and disempowered while empowering a select few. Engineering has the opportunity to be a field of service, but first risks and benefits must be weighed and the outcome …

Hardware-In-The-Loop Reaction Wheel Testbed With Camera Vision, Abigail Romero, Harvey Perkins, Stephen Kwok-Choon

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

Reaction wheels are widely used in aerospace systems as a method of attitude control. This research was focused on the design, development, and testing of a hardware-in-the-loop reaction wheel testbed that can be used for research and teaching applications related to satellite navigation and control. This project successfully utilized commercial off-the-shelf components to develop a reaction wheel capable of controlling the orientation of a freely rotating platform, as well as tracking objects using computer vision.

Additive Manufacturing For Medical Education, Michael Noon

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

A growing body of evidence is suggesting that anatomical knowledge, the keystone of many medical specialties, is suffering among new graduates. While a host of reasons are provided, one common thread that many point to is the decline of cadaver dissections in the classroom. Many virtual audio-visual tools are used to address this gap, yet evidence has shown their ineffectiveness. Given this gap, the high degree of flexibility found in additive manufacturing (AM), and the many uses AM has already found in the medical field, we propose its use to fill this gap, allowing for students to learn with touch …

Review Study On Promoting Diversity And Inclusion In Engineering Education Through Digital Twins, Devon Bountry

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

This study investigates the effect of digital twins in engineering education. This research was based on published research papers, conference papers, and case studies. Throughout a large range of studies, it was shown that digital twins can increase learning motivation and retainment through uses such as game-centered learning, personalized learning, and virtual prototyping. Particularly in engineering laboratory classes, digital twins can increase the variety of laboratory options while not increasing the cost due to equipment. This results in less barriers for students as there are more learning tools available at no additional cost or other requirements.

Sociotechnical Thinking In Statics And Dynamics, Raul Espinoza

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

This project introduced Canvas modules to instill a sociotechnical mindset in engineering students. By emphasizing the synergy between social and technical systems, the modules aim to produce engineers capable of crafting solutions that are technically adept and socially responsible.

Upper Limb Tensegrity Exoskeleton, Emily Mendyke, Sha'anan Levy, Alan Zhang

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

Tensegrity structures are composed of stiff rods and elastic cables suspended in a flexible tension network. Their inherent properties have several key advantages when used in assistive medical devices such as supportive braces or rehabilitation exoskeletons: 1) the lightweight and natural compliance reduces the power consumption required to operate the system; 2) the system stiffness and pretension can be individually tuned to accommodate the user’s needs; and 3) the impact-resistant properties can protect users in the event of collisions and falls. This project explores the design space of assistive tensegrity devices to augment human dexterity in the upper limb. Suitable …

Me 343 Heat Transfer Laboratory, 6th Edition

Mechanical Engineering Lab Manuals

Welcome to the documentation used to describe and conduct ten heat transfer experiments located in the Thermal Sciences Laboratory in Building 13, Room 203, at Cal Poly State University. All of the experiments are designed to illustrate many of the concepts that are presented in undergraduate thermodynamics and heat transfer classes. The first objective of each lab is to provide students with hands-on experience with thermal science experiments. This includes working with standard facilities and instrumentation commonly found in thermal science laboratories. The second objective of each lab is to learn how to use experimentally collected data to either validate …

Senior Capstone Team Formation Based On Project Interest: Team Selection By Students Compared To Team Selection By Instructors, Peter Schuster, Lauren Anne Cooper, Eltahry Elghandour, Eileen W. Rossman, Sarah Harding, Brian P. Self

Mechanical Engineering

Assigning teams in large courses is logistically challenging and students are sometimes unhappy with their assigned team. This is exacerbated when the project work extends over multiple terms and teams have unique projects. Giving students some agency in team and project selection is one way to improve their project experience. This paper examines two key questions: (a) What is the best way to incorporate student interests into the team-forming process? (b) What impact does the team-forming process have on the student experience throughout the project?

We consider two different approaches to giving students agency in the team formation / project …

Teaching Top-Down Approaches To The Engineering Design Process, Joshua E. Katz, Joshua E. Katz

STAR Program Research Presentations

One of the main focuses of metacognition is to have students think about their learning. By bringing the engineering design process with educational psychology together, it can lead to a society that thinks more in-depth on various topics. The goal of the internship was to utilize and teach top-down educational and instructional objectives. Throughout the project, we followed a modified progression of the System Architecture Methodology to help other interns think in a top-down fashion. The purpose of this procedure is to create and induce new innovative and creative ideas for different projects. As teaching this methodology was tasked, research …

Resistance Temperature Detectors In A Cryostat Refrigeration System, Kirsten Marie Manahan, Alice Callen

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is a ground-based telescope that will survey the Southern sky every few nights. Located in the telescope will be a 3.2 gigapixel digital camera. To ensure proper instrumentation of the camera, there must be a monitored stable temperature. As part of my research, I assembled resistance temperature detectors and tested them to verify their reliability in measuring temperature in the camera’s cryostat refrigeration cooling system. Resistance temperature detectors function by the principle of thermal resistivity, in which their electrical resistances vary as temperature varies. Through testing, I was able to determine whether these particular …

Modeling Of Selective Laser Sintering/ Selective Laser Melting, Xuan Wang, Connor West

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Selective laser sintering and selective laser melting are powder based additive manufacturing (AM) process that can rapidly manufacture parts with comparable mechanical properties to conventional manufacturing methods directly from digital files. However, the processing recipe development and design optimization of AM parts are often based on trial and error which erodes the benefit of AM. Modeling is a powerful tool to enable faster development cycle by significantly reducing the experimental efforts. In this paper we discussed the current status of selective laser sintering/melting modeling, in which the laser and powder interaction was studied to understand and predict the process and …

Optimizing The Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator For Sofia, Zoe E. Sharp, Alex Quyenvo, Jennifer Briggs, Brian Eney

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) conducts research on a modified Boeing 747sp aircraft. By using a variety of infrared science instruments mounted on a 2.7 meter telescope, researchers can make discoveries about the galactic center, star formation, and various topics associated with a deeper understanding of our universe. To efficiently collect data through the SOFIA instruments, the instruments must be tested and prepared prior to being placed on the aircraft. Therefore, with the use of the Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator (TAAS), researchers can design and construct improvements needed for these instruments to efficiently perform while in flight. The …

Mechanisms And Solutions To The Brittle Solder Joint In Electroless Ni Plating, Xuan Wang, C. Key Chung

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Brittle solder joints in Electroless Ni electroless Pd immersion Au (ENEPIG) surface finishes are one of the key reliability issues in electronics assembly. Previous characterization of the reflow process has indicated that interfacial voids formed after solder reflow are responsible for the decreases in solder joint strength. However, the mechanisms behind the formation of these voids in the ENEPIG process remain unclear. In this paper, the interaction between various aspects of the ENEPIG process and solder joint strength were investigated. Surface roughness, morphology, and nano-pitting at the interface between electroless Pd and Ni-P were characterized. The size and density of …

All Active All The Time? What Are The Implications Of Teaching A Traditional Content-Rich Machine Components/Mechanical Systems Design Course Using Active Learning?, James M. Widdmann, Peter Schuster

Mechanical Engineering

This paper examines the use of research-proven Active Learning techniques to transform the teaching of a traditional Machine Components/Mechanical Systems Design class. We know from research in Active learning that use of these methods can often lead to greater conceptual understanding and greater engagement of the students with engineering course materials, yet a common concern among engineering faculty is that the adoption of Active learning techniques will not allow the full breadth and depth of traditional content coverage. In this work, the authors reimagined one of the most content-heavy courses in a traditional Mechanical Engineering curriculum by including many Active …

Densification Of W-Ni-Fe Powders Using Laser Sintering, Xuan Wang, Matthew Wraith, Stephen Burke, Howard Rathbun, Kyle Devlugt

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

In this paper, Laser Sintering (LS) of 90%W–7%Ni–3%Fe (wt.%) powders have been investigated, with the goal to understand the influence of final density by laser power, scanning speed, laser trace width, and the number of scanning passes. The results suggest that the laser power and scanning speed are the most important factors influencing density; the influence of trace width and number of scanning passes are not significant. With the increase of laser power and decrease of scanning speed, higher density can be achieved. The microstructure analysis indicated that the porosity changed from open porosity to closed porosity with higher laser …

Design And Fabrication Of Liquid Scintillator Counter, Andrea Calderon Saucedo, John L. Orrell

STAR Program Research Presentations

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is currently developing an ultra-low background liquid scintillator counter (ULB LSC) in the shallow underground laboratory. At a depth of 35-meters water-equivalent, the underground laboratory has a multi-layered shielding to keep out cosmic-ray induced background. The ULB LSC, which is located in a clean room facility, is a multi-layered design made up of various materials, including plastic scintillator veto panels, borated polyethylene, lead and copper. These layers help lower the contributions of the terrestrial background and intrinsic background, resulting from the impurities present in the materials, to the overall background count rate observed by the …

Design And Implementation Of An Instrumented Pedal For Cycling Biomechanics Research, Luke I. Kraemer, Juan D. Gutierrez-Franco, Jake E. Deschamps, Karim C. Dudum, Eshan M. Dandekar, Scott Hazelwood, Hemanth V. Porumamilla, Stephen M. Klisch

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Human Knee Joint Finite Element Model Using A Two Bundle Anterior Cruciate Ligament: Validation And Gait Analysis, Nicholas A. Czapla, Meghan K. Sylvia, Zachary F. Lerner, David J. Tuttle, Otto J. Schueckler, Scott J. Hazelwood, Stephen M. Klisch

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Pseudo-Rigid Body Method For Reducing Soft Tissue Artifact: Validation And Application To Gait, Jake E. Deschamps, Karim C. Dudum, Eshan M. Dandekar, Scott Hazelwood, Stephen M. Klisch

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Using Opensim To Predict Knee Joint Moments During Cycling, Karim C. Dudem, Jake E. Deschamps, Juan D. Gutierrez-Franco, Luke I. Kraemer, Alejandro M. Gonzalez-Smith, Eshan M. Dandekar, Scott Hazelwood, Stephen M. Klisch

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Human Knee Joint Finite Element Model To Investigate Cartilage Stress During Walking In Obese And Normal Weight Adults, Meghan K. Slyvia, Nicholas A. Czapla, Zachary F. Lerner, David J. Tuttle, Otto J. Schueckler, Scott Hazelwood, Stephen M. Klisch

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Development And Implementation Of A Long-Term Freshmen Service Project: The Design And Deployment Of An Engineering Outreach Experience For Underserved Populations, James M. Widdmann, Brian P. Self, Peter Schuster

Mechanical Engineering

Freshmen year programs in engineering have received recent and growing attention as a method to engage first year students in their profession and start them on a path to success. Service learning is a well-known pedagogical method that has been shown to improve retention, especially of underrepresented groups in engineering, and to promote deeper learning through reflection. This paper describes the implementation of a new long-term (full year) service learning project where 240 freshmen mechanical engineering students worked together in small teams to design and deploy an engineering outreach experience for a designated age-group of 4th-11th grade students. This educational …

Warpage And Shape Distortion In Laser Metal Sintering, Xuan Wang

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is the primary method to fabricate metal and ceramic components in additive manufacturing. Due to the anisotropy of powder material, the sintering rate difference will inevitably causes shape change, distortion , and other defects of sintered parts. In this paper, a continuum model was developed to simulate the SLS process. The developed model has been successful to predict sintering kinetics. The impact of processing parameters, such as laser power, scanning speed, hatching distance, and particle size has been studied . The proposed method provides an innovative tool to optimize SLS process parameters.

A Control-Chart Based Method For Solder Joint Crack Detection, Jianbiao Pan

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Many researchers have used different failure criteria in published solder joint reliability studies. Since the reported timeto-failure would be different if different failure criteria were used, it would be difficult to compare the reported reliability life of solder joints from one study to another. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of failure criteria on the reported thermal fatigue life and determine which failure criterion could detect failure sooner. First, the application of the control-chart-based method in a thermal cycling reliability study is described. The reported time-to-failure data were then compared based on four different failure criteria: …

Foss Big Data Storage Solution, Nurdeen Salami

STAR Program Research Presentations

NASA projects require a reliable approach to store large volumes of data. Accordingly, it is crucial to adopt a lightweight, reliable, and scalable database. Current NASA databases bear costly license fees with undesirable speed and flexibility. The purpose of utilizing the AERO Institute as an IT test bed, or “Sandbox,” is to design, build, test, and implement software solutions prior to transfer to NASA projects. Cassandra coupled with the Astyanax API is a viable solution for storing big data. Store a minimum of 2GB of C-FOSS data in multiple file formats (.csv, .log, .xml, and .jpg). Use benchmark tests to …

Space Race: Capturing An Orbiting Sample And A Nation’S Imagination, Stephanie La Liberte, Andrew Chavarin, Shubham Gogna, C. Daniel Thomas, Vy Phung, Gabriel Udomkesmalee

STAR Program Research Presentations

A proposed architecture for future planetary sample return missions would consist of capturing on-orbit a sample container (collected from the surface of a planetary body and launched into space) and transferring the sample container into an earth return/reentry capsule. A challenge to this proposed architecture is integrating space applicable sensor technologies with sufficient capturing devices. While useful technologies on Earth, Earth-related rendezvous/capture technologies, such as magnetic field sensors, sound-based sensors, and Earth orbit-based radios like GPS, are not applicable to space. Inspired by the in-orbit sample capture challenge, NASA JPL has designed the Space Rendezvous And Capture Experiment (Space RACE). …

A Control-Chart Based Method For Solder Joint Crack Detection - Conference Proceeding, Jianbiao Pan

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Many researchers have used different failure criteria in the published solder joint reliability studies. Since the reported time-to-failure would be different if different failure criteria were used, it would be difficult to compare the reported reliability life of solder joints from one study to another. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of failure criteria on the reported thermal fatigue life and find out which failure criterion can detect failure sooner. First, the application of the control-chart based method in a thermal cycling reliability study is described. The reported time-to-failure data were then compared based on four …

A Finite Element Model Based On Coupled Refined High-Order Global-Local Theory For Static Analysis Of Electromechanical Embedded Shear-Mode Piezoelectric Sandwich Composite Beams With Various Widths, S.B. Beheshti-Aval, S. Shahvaghar-Asl, M. Lezgy-Nazargah, Mohammad N. Noori

Mechanical Engineering

In this study, a new theory for the accurate simulation of the shear-mode behaviour of thin or thick piezoelectric sandwich composite beams is developed. The effects of transverse normal stress and transverse flexibility of layers are considered in the development of the proposed formulation. In order to increase the computational accuracy, all kinematic and stress continuity conditions are satisfied at layer interfaces. Moreover, for the first time, both the electrically induced strain components and the transverse flexibility are taken into account in the proposed formulation. Despite the fact that the number of unknown mechanical parameters in this theory is only …

Workshop A - Implementing The "Design Your Process Of Becoming A World Class Engineering Student" Project, Steffen Peuker, Raymond B. Landis

Mechanical Engineering

Many students come into an engineering program lacking a strong commitment to stay in an engineering program and to graduate with an engineering degree. For students to accomplish the challenging goal of graduating in engineering requires a strong commitment, and behaviors and attitudes to follow through that commitment. To strengthen the commitment of the freshman engineering students an innovative project has been developed. The project challenges students to develop their process to become a "World-Class Engineering Student". Having freshman engineering students design their individually tailored learning process as part of a semester long project in the setting of a student …