Impact Of 0.7 Inch Diameter Strands On Nu I-Grinders, Maher K. Tadros, George Morcous

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Non-Nuclear Method For Density Measurements, Yong-Rak Kim, Yong Cho

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) are necessary to ensure fulfillment and compliance to specifications, guidelines, manuals, and programs which outline methods and requirements during construction. Density, an important part of quality control, can be used to evaluate the quality of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) and soil compaction. This study investigated new technologies used for QC and QA by comparing the Pavement Quality Indicator (PQI) model 301 with a nuclear gauge and core sample measurements for HMA. For soil QC and QA, non-nuclear technologies—the Electrical Density Gauge (EDG), the Moisture Density Indicator (MDI), and the Light Weight Deflectometer (LWD)—were …

Variability Of Electroluminescent Displays, Christopher (C.) Michael Shedd, Nathan Ostrout

Graphic Communication

No abstract provided.

Performance Of The Crack, Seat, And Overlay Rehabilitation Technique For Concrete Pavements In California, Reed Calkins

Master's Theses

Research was performed to analyze the performance of the crack, seat, and overlay (CS&O) roadway rehabilitation technique in the Central Coast and Northern regions of California. This technique was evaluated through literature review to determine the state of practice and their conclusions. California highway sections rehabilitated using CS&O were selected for evaluation based on age and location. Pavement distresses and traffic data for these sections were collected and analyzed. Prior to beginning analysis this data was checked for errors, outliers, and omissions. The analysis consisted of checking the data for correlations among distresses and regions.

The focus of this research …

Development Of A Cubesat Instrument For Microgravity Particle Damper Performance Analysis, John Trevor Abel

Master's Theses

Spacecraft pointing accuracy and structural longevity requirements often necessitate auxiliary vibration dissipation mechanisms.  However, temperature sensitivity and material degradation limit the effectiveness of traditional damping techniques in space.  Robust particle damping technology offers a potential solution, driving the need for microgravity characterization.   A 1U cubesat satellite presents a low cost, low risk platform for the acquisition of data needed for this evaluation, but severely restricts available mass, volume, power and bandwidth resources.  This paper details the development of an instrument subject to these constraints that is capable of capturing high resolution frequency response measurements of highly nonlinear particle damper dynamics.

Bridgeless Active Power Factor Correction Using A Current Fed Push Pull Converter, Jeramie Seth Bianchi

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Bridgeless Active Power Factor Correction

Using a Current Fed Push Pull Converter

Jeramie Seth Bianchi

Switched Mode Power Supplies have become increasingly popular for efficient methods of delivering power to an assortment of electronic devices. This thesis proposes a method of using a current fed push pull converter to provide active power factor correction and rectification in a single stage. While most AC-DC converters utilize a bridge rectifier to convert AC-DC and then perform DC-DC conversion, the proposed circuit will utilize its output diodes to perform rectification, thus eliminating the need for a bridge rectifier. This circuit will also …

Me-Em Enewsbrief, June 2011, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Design And Assembly Of A Super Treadmill, Simon Iacob

Aerospace Engineering

This report describes the design and construction of an oversized, ruggedized treadmill built for testing heavy loads. The design permits for speed and slope control, as well as a safety tether and emergency stops. The design description is categorized by related systems. The walking belt is powered by an electric motor, which transfers the mechanical rotation via hubs, a linkage belt and rollers. The floor and surface base are sized and designed for proper operation and clearance. The electronics board provides electric power, speed control, and a powered braking system. Safety features are designed for user protection: guard rails, covers, …

Hybrid Rocket Based Combined Cycle Test Rig Design, Construction, And Testing, Mark Costa, Matthew Handfelt

Aerospace Engineering

No abstract provided.

Construction Of Naca 66-415 Nlf Composite Wing For Acoustic Turbulence Testing, Scott Sawyer, Sean Stewart

Aerospace Engineering

A design is developed for a Natural Laminar Flow (NLF) wing, to be used at California Polytechnic State University for acoustic turbulence testing. Composite materials are used to produce high-quality surface finishes necessary for laminar flow. A design for the test apparatus is presented and justified. A manufacturing procedure is proposed for the carbon fiber skin, using Vacuum Resin Infusion (VRI). This procedure is tested on a scaled part with satisfactory results; lessons learned are discovered and integrated into the final manufacturing process. The test section has been fit to the Cal Poly wind tunnel, but full implementation has not …

Cp7 And Datalogger Design And Implementation, Hoang (Mike) Tran

Computer Engineering

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Heat Treatment On Area Percent Porosity And Corrosion Behavior Of High-Nickel Thermal Spray Coatings, Travis Crowe, Alec Guraydin

Materials Engineering

Samples of two Thermal Spray Coating (TSC) alloys on a low carbon steel substrate were obtained: alloy C276 and Nicko-Shield 200. Specimens of each alloy were subjected to heat treatments at temperatures at 1100° for 60 minutes and 1200° for 10 minutes, with some specimens left in the as-sprayed condition. Three replicates were prepared for each condition. Thin 1” strips were cut using a diamond wafering blade for porosity measurements and 2” x 1” specimens were cut for corrosion testing using a SiC abrasive saw. The porosity specimens were mounted in acrylic resin, polished, and examined using SEM. From these …

Characterization Of A Pdms Microfluidic Reactor For Synthesizing Quantum Dots, Brian Harley

Materials Engineering

A PDMS microfluidic reactor was made in Cal Poly’s class 1000 clean room for the purpose of synthesizing quantum dots.  The device master mold was made from a silicon substrate and SU-8 features 50μm tall.  The PDMS reactor was cast from that mold.  The flow rates of fluid through the channels, heating of the reactor and pressure in the reactor were measured in order to characterize the potential for synthesizing quantum dots.  Flow rates of 20 mL/hr through 4 mL/hr were tested to characterize the consistency of amount of time the fluid remains in the reactor at a constant flow …

Project 308: Augmented Reality Mario Kart, Joseph Abad, David Allender, Joryl Calizo, Ryan Gaspar, Gavin Lee

Computer Engineering

Mario Kart is a popular go-kart racing game developed by Nintendo. The premise of the game is simple: drive a go-kart along a racetrack and reach the finish line before the other players. What makes this game unique, however, is the inclusion of weapons, traps, and other projectiles that a player can use to gain an advantage in the race. We have taken on the challenge of not only recreating this amazing game, but using the art of Augmented Reality to fully immerse the player in the full experience. Rather than play the game on a television screen with a …

Characterization Of The Oxidation Kinetics Of Fecral Ferritic Stainless Steels At 900°C For Catalytic Converter Applications, Stacy Stamm

Materials Engineering

This study characterized the oxidation kinetics of two types of ferritic stainless steel foils used as substrates for catalytic converters. Catalytic converters rely on an alumina layer on the surface of the foils, which allows the catalyst to attach to the substrate. Because the alumina layer is so important, this study characterized the weight gain, thickness, and composition of the alumina as it grew at 900°C for up to 400 hours. The two foils characterized were an MK foil, used for gasoline engines, and an EMS foil, used for diesel engines. The MK foil showed a percent weight gain of …

Design, Construction And Evaluation Of An Automotive Bridge Jack, Thomas Gomes Jr.

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This Senior Project discusses the design, construction and evaluation of an automotive lift. This lift will be hydraulically powered with a 6000 lb lifting capacity. The lift constructed in this project will be installed within a current 4 post drive on vehicle lift and allows the user to lift one axle of a vehicle a few inches off the ramp of the drive on lift in order to remove the tires.

Evaluation Of The Safe Patrol Program In Kentucky, Pengfei Li, Jennifer R. Walton

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Members within the SAFE Patrol program have expressed concern that there is a lack of a clear understanding of the value or benefits of the SAFE Patrol program, both among various officials and the general public. The basis of this project is to explain the services provided by the program, and determine the value and benefit of those services. This evaluation report also serves to identify areas of improvement for the program. The result of investigation shows that the other stakeholders are basically satisfied with the SAFE Patrol service whereas some issues should also be addressed to improve the service …

Optimization And Modeling Tools For Telescope Hexapod Structures, Michael Edward Feeney

Master's Theses

Hexapod trusses are an important element in many mechanical design systems. The natural frequency and stiffness behavior under geometric and mass variations of such structures is largely undocumented. Furthermore, the ability to quickly model hexapod designs and explore a large design-space in finite element software packages is, in general, time consuming and inefficient. The purpose of this project was to develop software tools that made design-space exploration (modeling and simulation processes) for hexapod structures drastically more efficient. Secondly, the project included an experimental analysis portion to demonstrate the various modal study techniques and to validate finite element analysis predictions. Lastly, …

Plasma Processing Of Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate) (Pet) In An Oxygen Decoupled Plasma Source, Russell L. Rhoton

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Hexahedral Mesh Refinement Using An Error Sizing Function, Gaurab Paudel

Theses and Dissertations

The ability to effectively adapt a mesh is a very important feature of high fidelity finite element modeling. In a finite element analysis, a relatively high node density is desired in areas of the model where there are high error estimates from an initial analysis. Providing a higher node density in such areas improves the accuracy of the model and reduces the computational time compared to having a high node density over the entire model. Node densities can be determined for any model using the sizing functions based on the geometry of the model or the error estimates from the …

Elasto-Plastic Lateral Torsional Buckling Of Steel Beams With Perforated Web, Mohammad Iqbal Mohammad Hesham Martini

Theses

I-shaped steel members represent the basic structural element in the majority of steel structures. Perforated-web I-shaped steel sections have been used as structural members since the Second World War in an attempt to enhance the flexural behavior of traditional solid-webbed I-shaped steel sections without increasing the cost of the material. In general, two types of web perforations are commonly used in engineering practice; hexagonal and circular. Although, the main intent of the perforation process is to produce stiffer I-sections by increasing the web height and providing higher major-axis flexural capacity than solid-webbed members of the same weight, it also provides …

The Effect Of On-Line Videos On Learner Outcomes In A Mechanics Of Materials Course, Jeffery S. Thomas, Richard H. Hall, Timothy A. Philpot, Douglas R. Carroll

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Mechanics of Materials course is one of the core engineering courses included in the curriculum of mechanical, civil, mining, petroleum, marine, aeronautical, and several other engineering disciplines. As a core course, the Mechanics of Materials course typically has large enrollment. Initiatives aimed at improving the effectiveness of the engineering core courses can have a major impact on engineering education by virtue of the large number of students affected.

Computers afford opportunities for creative instructional activities that are not possible in the traditional lecture-and-textbook class format. The study described in this paper examines the effectiveness of asynchronous online video that …

Using Social Networking Game To Teach Operations Research And Management Science Fundamental Concepts, Ivan G. Guardiola, Susan L. Murray, Elizabeth A. Cudney

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents our experience using the popular game FarmVille by Zynga® to teach the fundamentals of linear programming and integer programming concepts to undergraduate students in an introductory operations research course. FarmVille is a popular game within the social networking website Facebook®. A month-long contest was introduced amongst the students with the goal to be the best individual farmer by striving to reach high levels of revenue, experience, and aesthetic appeal of their own unique farm. The contest is to demonstrate the concepts of problem formulation, solution methods, multiple and competing objectives, implementation of policy, and reformulation. The students …

Enhancing Undergraduate Engineering Education Of Lean Methods Using Simulation Learning Modules Within A Virtual Environment, Elizabeth A. Cudney, Steven Corns, Jennifer A. Farris, Stephen Gent, Scott Erwin Grasman, Ivan G. Guardiola

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper highlights the use of an integrated user-centered virtual learning environment throughextensible simulation learning modules that is currently being developed to enhance undergraduate curricula to meet the industrial needs for engineers with education in lean. The purpose of the research is to address these expectations by developing learning modules that incorporate lean simulation models into various Engineering Management, Industrial Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering courses at Missouri S&T, Texas Tech, and South Dakota State, respectively. In recent years, increasing global competition, rapidly changing technology, and a deficit of U.S. engineering graduates have intensified the need to produce graduating engineers who …

Low-Power Self-Sustaining Schedule Display, Samuel (Sam) August

Electrical Engineering

The completed project is an Amazon Kindle, powered by a USB solar charger, running a student designed program to display a weekly schedule for a faculty member.  The purpose of the project was to design a sustainable electronic schedule display for use outside a faculty office.  It was designed in the hopes that faculty members could more easily update their schedules, and possibly allow for students to schedule appointments.  The program was designed using Java and the solar-charger was designed using a solar cell, Schottky diode, and a USB to micro-B USB cable.

Current Tracking Power Supply For Sensor Calibration, Joshua Brookley

Electrical Engineering

This report highlights the steps taken to design and develop a constant 5V power supply capable of tracking load current. The background of its previous design, its necessary specifications and steps taken to achieve specifications are highlighted throughout the report. The report also contains conclusions and final recommendations for the design chosen, including its strengths and drawbacks.

Imu Integration To The Cal Poly Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator Power System, Wayland Chan

Electrical Engineering

The Cal Poly Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator mimics the rotation dynamics of a spacecraft in orbit and acts as a test bed for spacecraft attitude control system development and demonstration. Prior to this project, the simulator measured its attitude dynamics from a total of seven sensors mounted on to the platform, including three micro-electromechanical system (MEMs) gyroscopes, and four motor encoders. This project entails the installation of an LN-200 high performance gyroscope, which will provide a greater measure of accuracy. The goal of this project is to design a power circuit that will integrate the LN-200 inertial measurement unit onto …

Dyl-Light: An Acn Controlled, Rgbw Led Light Fixture, Dylan Pavelko

Electrical Engineering

The Dyl-Light is a LED lighting fixture that is controlled with a recently released suite of entertainment technology protocols called A.C.N. This new protocol has a number of advantages to its use over the existing protocol, DMX512, used for controlling entertainment lighting fixtures. This project attempts to use this new protocol to directly control a light fixture, something that currently is not available on the market.

The project includes several aspects of engineering from electronics, embedded systems, applications, networking, power electronics, and computer interfacing.

Heart-Rate Monitoring Control System Using Photoplethysmography (Ppg), Wesley Nguyen, Ryan Horjus

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Discrete Alarm Clock, Travis Moore, Collin Barth

Electrical Engineering

The standard alarm clock, as used daily by millions worldwide, has clear room for modification and improvement.  This paper documents an implementation that rectifies many of these flaws.  Improvements include adjustable snooze length, an IR remote for ease of use, and an RF headset for discrete alarm use or potential incorporation into a device much like a hearing aid.  The processes involved in creating a digital alarm clock, as well as the obstacles met in the implementation of the enhanced design, are detailed within.