Engineering Commons^™

Cmbuilder Introduction Tutorial, Hannah G. Benner

Construction Management

This paper details the process and deliverables for a introductory-level tutorial for the program, cmBuilder. Recognizing the software’s growing relevance in the construction industry and its ease of-use, this student tutorial project aims to provide early exposure to the program for first- and second-year Cal Poly Construction Management students. There is currently no existing course or module at Cal Poly that covers an introduction to the basics of cmBuilder, so the goal of this course module is to bridge that gap. The deliverable is a course module for the Fundamentals of Virtual Design and Construction class, containing two tutorial videos …

Microstructural Evolution Of Zirconium Diboride Irradiated With 5–10 Mev Au Ions At Room Temperature And 570 °C, Narrie Loftus, José Olivares, Miguel Crespillo, Esther Enríquez Pérez, Jeremy Watts, Eric W. Bohannan, Gregory Hilmas, William Fahrenholtz, Joseph Graham

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Zirconium diboride was irradiated with 5 MeV Au^2 + , 7 MeV Au⁴⁺ and 10 MeV Au³⁺ ions at room temperature and 570 °C to doses from 1 to 8 displacements per atom (dpa). Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) analysis revealed no secondary phase formation. Rietveld analysis of the GIXRD data indicated an accumulation of microstrain at low dpa and room temperature. Dislocations observed in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) cross-sections are likely the main contributor to the microstrain. High dpa and high-temperature samples exhibit lower lattice distortion than lower dpa samples, suggesting the presence of enhanced defect …

Thermally Stable Sic Particulate-Reinforced Sic Composites Up To 2000 ℃ Fabricated By Precursor Impregnation And Pyrolysis Method, Jian Gu, Vu Viet Hung, Lun Feng, William G. Fahrenholtz, Daejong Kim, Seyoung Kim, Sea Hoon Lee

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The thermo-mechanical properties of SiC particulate-reinforced SiC composites (SiC-PRCs), fabricated using precursor impregnation & pyrolysis (PIP) process, were analyzed up to 2000 ℃. The relative density of the SiC-PRCs after 4 PIP cycles was 88.6 %. The number of PIP cycles required decreased to nearly half compared with the conventional PIP method by using ultra-high concentration slurries up to 70 vol%. In addition, room-temperature bending strength (215 MPa) and Young's modulus (269 GPa) improved as the solid loading of the slurry increased. The bending strength increased to 232 MPa at 2000 ℃ in Ar. Despite the thermal deterioration of the …

A Software Package For Generating Robust And Accurate Potentials Using The Moment Tensor Potential Framework, Josiah Roberts, Biswas Rijal, Simon Divilov, Jon Paul Maria, William G. Fahrenholtz, Douglas E. Wolfe, Donald W. Brenner, Stefano Curtarolo, Eva Zurek

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We present the Plan for Robust and Accurate Potentials (PRAPs), a software package for training and using moment tensor potentials (MTPs) in concert with the Machine Learned Interatomic Potentials (MLIP) software package. PRAPs provides an automated workflow to train MTPs using active learning procedures, and a variety of utilities to ease and improve workflows when utilizing the MLIP software. PRAPs was originally developed in the context of crystal structure prediction, in which one calculates convex hulls and predicts low energy metastable and thermodynamically stable structures, but the potentials PRAPs develops are not limited to such applications. PRAPs produces two potentials, …

Superhard Refractory High-Entropy Diborides, M. D. Hossain, N. S. Mcilwaine, N. O. Marquez-Rios, A. C. Feltrin, V. Chawla, R. A. Mayanovic, W. G. Fahrenholtz, D. Penumadu, E. Zurek, D. W. Brenner, D. E. Wolfe, S. Divilov, H. Eckert, S. Curtarolo

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Using first-principles calculations and companion experimental validations, we demonstrate that the valence electron concentration (VEC) can be used to self-consistently parameterize the bonding characteristics of high-entropy diborides (HEBs) and in turn predict their mechanical properties. When VEC is 10.0 per formula unit (f.u.), HEBs enter the superhard category where Hv>40GPa because bonding states are optimally filled to resist shear deformation. Conversely, above or below a VEC of 10.0, the hardness decreases due to the filling of antibonding or the emptying of bonding states of the HEBs, respectively. This result is supported by analyses of the electronic structure, bonding, antibonding, …

Evaluating The Feasibility Of Recycled Asphalt Pavement And Warm Mix Asphalt In California Highway Construction, Ryan A. Milanesa

Construction Management

California’s highway infrastructure faces increasing material costs, limited aggregate availability, and aggressive greenhouse gas reduction mandates. Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) offers a practical solution to reduce virgin binder demand and improve sustainability. However, Caltrans maintains conservative RAP limits due to concerns regarding stiffness related cracking and long term durability. This research evaluates the feasibility of increasing RAP content to approximately 40% when combined with Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) technologies under California performance standards. A performance based framework was developed by reviewing federal guidance, peer-reviewed fatigue studies, life cycle cost analysis, and environmental assessment literature. Findings indicate that high RAP mixtures …

Slo Botanical Garden Outdoor Classroom, Nathan Berger, Jake Galster

Construction Management

This paper focuses on the construction and completion of outdoor benches and tabletops for the renovation of the SLO Botanical Garden’s Outdoor Classroom. This project is student lead for the completion of the Cal Poly SLO Construction Management curriculum requirement of a senior project by the project team consisting of Nathan Berger and Jake Galster. The objective of the project is to build two 12’ long benches that allow the SLO Botanical Garden staff to store four bins beneath each bench. The table tops objective to provide students in the outdoor classroom a flat and level workspace that is removable …

Family Christian Center Storage Shed, Jacob Nehemiah Zuniga

Construction Management

This project focused on the planning and construction of a storage shed for my church to address growing space limitations. As classrooms and other functional areas were being used for storage, the goal was to create a dedicated storage solution that would free up interior space for ministry use. After receiving approval from church leadership, I developed a full project plan including a scope of work, cost estimate, quantity takeoff, schedule using Microsoft Project, site logistics plan, safety plan, and construction drawings. I also coordinated with the City of Patterson Planning Department to ensure compliance with local requirements. The project …

Life Cycle Assessment And Cost Analysis Of Exterior, Electrical, And Appliance Systems In A Prefabricated Mass Timber Residential Unit, Ella Rohrbough

Construction Management

This study presents a detailed process-based life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis of selected building systems within a prefabricated mass timber residential unit constructed through an interdisciplinary design build project at California Polytechnic State University. The research focuses specifically on exterior envelope systems electrical infrastructure and major appliances. Material quantities were derived from a comprehensive construction material takeoff and modeled in OpenLCA using the ecoinvent database. A cradle to site system boundary including modules A1 through A5 was applied to quantify embodied environmental impacts such as global warming potential acidification fossil fuel depletion and human toxicity. Results indicate …

Plm-Effector: Unleashing The Potential Of Protein Language Models For Bacterial Secreted Protein Prediction, Dandan Zheng, Lihong Chen, Guansong Pang, Jian Yang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Bacterial secreted proteins, particularly effectors delivered by specialized secretion systems, are key mediators of virulence and host-pathogen interactions. However, accurate computational identification remains challenging, as many existing methods rely heavily on sequence similarity or handcrafted features, and often focus on a single secretion system. Recent studies have reported that some bacterial effectors may be associated with more than one secretion system, highlighting the complexity of secretion system annotation and motivating the development of system-aware computational prediction approaches. Here, we present PLM-Effector, a hybrid deep learning framework that integrates modern protein language models (PLMs) with multiple neural architectures via a two-layer …

Sustainabake, Kevin Kunta Swanson Ii

Electrical Engineering

This senior project outlines the development of an oven that utilizes renewable energy to operate safely and effectively. It aims to test building an oven using mostly basic hardware students acquired during their time at Cal Poly and provide a starting point for those interested in creating a solar-powered oven. As our society continues to innovate and increasingly relies on electricity, it is important to place more emphasis on how we can make our lives sustainable to take care of our environment without introducing excessive pollutants. Food preparation is a daily activity that typically involves significant energy consumption, making this …

Bridging 2d And 3d Computational Modeling Of Vacuum Arc Remelting: Capturing Rotating Arc Dynamics In Axisymmetric Simulations, Zilong Zhang, Elaheh Dorari, Ramesh Minisandram, Shakarjee Krishnamoorthi, Lang Yuan

Faculty Publications

Computational modeling of the Vacuum Arc Remelting (VAR) process has been developed to provide a deeper physical and metallurgical understanding and assist in the manufacture of defect-free ingots. While fully 3D, time-resolved arc models capture arc–melt interactions with high fidelity, their high computational cost makes 2D steady arc models still the preferred option in industrial applications. In this study, a multi-physics VAR model, which accounts for magnetohydrodynamics, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and melting/solidification, was established in ANSYS Fluent for Alloy 718 in 3D with a rotating arc. It was validated against measured melt pool morphology. A new 2D axisymmetric oscillating …

Pollinators Exhibit For Paso Robles Children’S Museum, Isabelle Moll, Matthew Moore, Joseph Hovanesian, Evan Stock, Matthew Wiecking

Mechanical Engineering

This report documents the design and development of an interactive pollination exhibit created for the Paso Robles Children’s Museum as part of the Mechanical Engineering Senior Project program. The goal of the project was to design a durable, safe, and engaging educational exhibit that introduces children to the role of pollinators in local ecosystems and agriculture through hands-on play. The final design features a triple-track system with rolling bee elements and a central pollen ball pathway that demonstrates how pollinators move between flowers and return resources to the hive. The exhibit incorporates visual feedback and locally inspired design elements to …

Baja Sae Gear Testing, Selina Bayles, Lucia Giacalone, Claire Cornelsen, Sarah Talbert

Mechanical Engineering

The Baja SAE Gear Testing project outlined a test stand and procedure to update the S-N curve currently used by the Baja SAE team. Currently the Cal Poly Baja SAE geartrain team uses a S-N curve to design custom gears, but this S-N curve does not accurately reflect the gears uses and their fatigue life. This project outlines the exploration of a dyno set up to allow for future testing of different categories of short life cycle gears to collect data and generate a new S-N curve and, ultimately, update the design of the gears. This team created a dyno …

3d Bouldering Project, Joseph Robison

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

Many indoor rock climbers struggle to make the transition from indoor to outdoor bouldering due to differences in route visualization. This project applies photogrammetry to create 3D scans of outdoor holds with accurate measurements and textures to improve climber visualization. The measurements were then mapped onto a Tension Board 1 simulation. Six climbers were divided into control and simulation groups to test effectiveness. Results showed that confidence and perception of outdoor ability were increased in the simulation group. Performance outcomes were approximately equal between both groups. These findings suggest that visualization tools can enhance mental preparation for outdoor climbing.

A Unified Methodological Framework For Generating Digital Twins Of Multi Class Uncrewed Systems (Uxs), Sai Raghava Pathuri

Shelby Hall Graduate Research Forum Presentations

No abstract provided.

Modeling Advanced Complex And Evolutionary Systems Utilizing End-To-End (E2e) Mbse Framework, Joshua Adelabu

Shelby Hall Graduate Research Forum Posters

Modern Systems Engineering (SE) practices dearth full-cycle framework for next generation systems.

Ai Agent For Healthcare Education, Sudhanshu Tarale

Shelby Hall Graduate Research Forum Presentations

No abstract provided.

A Scalable Iteration Of The Horizon Simulation Framework Using Multithreading Techniques, Jason E. Beals

Master's Theses

The Horizon Simulation Framework (HSF) occupies a unique space in the modern aerospace modeling landscape, enabling flexible, modular modeling of mission-level agent behavior through an object-oriented, hierarchical design. HSF's hallmark breadth-first search scheduling algorithm explores a "multiverse" of possible mission execution pathways, enabling exhaustive evaluation of schedule combinations against user-defined heuristics.

As aerospace systems become increasingly complex, HSF faces critical challenges in establishing verifiable, deterministic behavior. The framework's core scheduling algorithm had not undergone systematic validation, leaving questions about temporal consistency, state management correctness, and reproducibility across different program executions. Furthermore, the exponential growth of schedule combinations creates computational bottlenecks …

Dataset For Equity And Justice In Water Pricing And The Effects On Water Distribution System, Brian Barkdoll

Michigan Tech Research Data

“Equity and Justice in Water Pricing and the Effects on Water Distribution System Management” Equity and justice regarding access to potable drinking water are paramount. Municipal Water Distribution Systems supply potable water to users and are essential to public health. They comprise a complicated set of source(s), pump(s), tank(s), and pipes. The price of water to users can affect the amount of usage. To find the optimal price of water to maximize utility revenue and allow changes to the system components for capital and maintenance expenditures, network modeling using the network solver fixed was performed for 15 real MDWSs.  A …

Mud Sound Speed Profile Constraints From Sub-Bottom Arrival Times, Charles W. Holland

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Arrival times of sub-bottom reflected paths together with co-located direct measurements of the angle of intromission provide narrow constraints on the sediment sound speed profile. Measurements of these two quantities at the central New England Mud Patch in March 2017 indicate that the average sound speed gradient in the upper 3m and upper 9m of mud is 6 s1. Gradients of 5 s1 and 7 s1 over the upper 9m are too small and large, respectively. Below 9m, the sandmud transition interval has a gradient of 200 s1. VC

Globalizing The Engineering Job Market: Optimizing Engineering Career Expos To Serve International Students, Hailey A. Hesseltine

Journal of Global Education and Research

As the United States hosts approximately one million international students annually, it becomes imperative that on-campus resources are tailored to meet the needs of this diverse student population. One on-campus resource that is crucial to student success is career services, especially considering the aspirations of many international students to secure employment post-graduation. To address this, this study aimed to understand the satisfaction levels of international engineering students with an engineering career expo in Hawaiʻi. Utilizing a combination of surveys and interviews using a neo-racism framework, international students shared their experiences from the career expo through discussion and assessment. Information given …

Impact Of Femalized Kinesthetic Learning Model On African American Middle School Girls’ Career Interest, Mercy F. Fash, Andrea Ofori-Boadu

Journal of Global Education and Research

Engaging African American middle school girls in out-of-school-time (OST) Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) programs can boost interest in male-dominated AEC careers. This study adopts Lent’s Social Cognitive Career Theory to evaluate the impact of an OST feminized AEC kinesthetic learning model (fAEC-KLM) on the career interests of this demographic. Through a qualitative research approach, fourteen (14) African American middle school girls from Guilford County, NC, completed pre- and post-interviews on how fAEC-KLM interactions influenced their AEC career interests. Inductive thematic analysis was carried out on transcribed interviews. Results show that effective components, such as lectures on AEC, bridge construction …

Conceptual Architecture For Digital Twin (Dt) In Disaster Response Applications, Sai Raghava Pathuri

Shelby Hall Graduate Research Forum Posters

Digital Twin Enabled Artificial Intelligence Uncrewed System (Model-Based Systems Engineering) Artificial Intelligence Digital Twin (DT)+Cyber Physical System. The goal was to create DTs of Multi Class UxS. The system of interest was the Uncrewed Ground Vehicle (UGV) and Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The modeling language used SysML v2.

Effects Of Asphalt Or Concrete On Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer, Yuou Peng, Daniela Wolter Ferreira Touma

Shelby Hall Graduate Research Forum Posters

Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) allows measurements should be done for 100 kHz and 77 kHz. electrical energy to be transferred wirelessly to a moving object, and it also possesses the ability to charge vehicles continuously while they are traveling down a specially equipped road.

A method of embedding the coils in the surface course shows that all coils achieve more than 54 kW of power at an efficiency of 95% in the power transmission evaluation. Advantage: Ability to charge vehicles continuously while they are traveling down a specially equipped road. Objective: Investigation of physical and structural feasibility of embedding …

Development Of An Automated Platform For Cell Biology Experiments, Dipendra Nepal

Shelby Hall Graduate Research Forum Posters

Cell biology experiments involve repetitive tasks such as pipetting, sample preparation, and imaging, which are typically performed manually. These manual processes can introduce variability, reduce efficiency, and increase the cost of biomedical research. To address these challenges, our lab is developing a modular robotic platform, iEye™, to automate key steps in cell biology workflows [1]. The system is designed as self-contained modules, allowing flexible development and integration of different functionalities. In this work, we focus on a sample preparation module that integrates a 6-degree-of-freedom robotic arm, a motorized stage, and a pneumatic pipetter. This module is being developed to automate …

Calibration Of Time-Domain Impedance Probe (Tdip) To Investigate Space Plasma Dynamics During Periods Of Ionospheric Instability, Piyas Chowdhury, Soumyajit Dey, Edmund A. Spencer

Shelby Hall Graduate Research Forum Posters

The traditional Plasma Impedance Probe (PIP) is popular for diagnosing parameters of the ionospheric plasma to study the space environment. However, the resolution of data measurements of existing PIP instruments, operating at higher frequencies, limits the analysis to studying the plasma features at electron scales. Studying plasma ion parameters is essential to understanding the ionospheric instability growth rates. This can only be accomplished by operating a diagnosing instrument at lower frequencies corresponding to ion scales. A recently developed Time Domain Impedance Probe (TDIP) is implementable for fast moving spacecraft using a time domain approach. The instrument has higher measurement resolution …

Ai Driven Assessment For Clinical Scenarios, Sudhanshu Tarale, Bhushan Lohar, Ninad Pandit

Shelby Hall Graduate Research Forum Posters

Beta 1 captured granular data to validate the system’s ability to measure clinical thoroughness and deliver real-time feedback. Data collection formally approved by the USA IRB (Protocol 25 037; #22849172).

Aurora – Autonomous Urban & Rural Optimization And Resilience Architecture, Ninad Pandit

Shelby Hall Graduate Research Forum Posters

Problem statement: Undetected systemic “leaks” within large-scale food distribution networks result in severe post-harvest perishable losses and critical nutrient degradation.

Real-Time Simulation Analysis Of V2g Technique For Demand Response Using Survey Based Data Approach, Joseph Bentil

Shelby Hall Graduate Research Forum Posters

The demand of energy in the world concerning the power industry keeps growing even with the introduction of EVs. Traditional based demand response relies on load shedding and energy storage systems. However, EVs with their battery pack can serve as mobile energy storage systems for grid services.

Development of data-driven microgrid model using survey based vehicle data to evaluate V2G and demand side management strategies to improve grid services and test emerging artificial-based control algorithms.