Engineering Commons^™

Sawrm Of Autonomous Search And Rescue Drones, Ryan Jaynes, Rudolf Von Niederhausern

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Every year millions of dollars are spent on search and rescue missions with thousands of volunteers spending countless hours on these operations. We have designed a search and recue swarm that is capable of more effectively performing these search and rescue operations. Our drones are designed to comb a definable search area to find subjects.

We designed our drone with the following attributes in mind.

• Cost effectiveness
• Simplicity
• Flexibility

The Perfect Gift: Burnt Wood, Jaden Miller, Blaine Cook

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Laser Engraving System (LES) is a CNC-based laser engraving system. LES is able to:

• Import an image from a user
• Obtain user inputs such as image width and height
• Convert the image to grayscale
• Engrave the image on a piece of wood

The S.M.A.R.T. Helmet, Josh Perkins, Ben Zeller

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Motorcycle has long been a simple pass-time for many individuals. However in recent years this singular method of transportation has steadily grown into a reliable method of regular commute. The technology behind the motorcycle however, has yet to catch up to that of the modern vehicle until now.

The S.M.AR.T. Helmet helps to bridge the gap between modern vehicles and this beloved pass-time by adding GPS Navigation and Video Recording

Track-It Golf, Jeff Holtman

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Avid golfers are infatuated with improving their golf game at every opportunity they get. Through the use of launch monitors, golfers have been able to make changes to their swing to manipulate golf ball flight based on numerical calculations of the flight of a golf ball. The senior design project that I chose to construct is a low cost launch monitor which can accurately represent the flight dynamics of a golf ball, giving the golfer the knowledge needed to improve.

Visible Light Data Transfer (Vldt): A Research Tool For Data Transmission Using Leds, Trevor Carter, Joshua Lynn

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Due to overcrowding of transmission frequencies using visible light as a wireless transmission medium has become a popular idea due to its low congestion. [1] To gain a stronger understanding of this concept we created a device allowing users to perform data transmissions using an LED with various encoding schemes, transmission rate, and potential noise injection selectable by the user.

Weight Lifting Fitness Tracker, Usu Department Of Electrical And Computer Engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Keeping track of your fitness has become easier with technology advancements. One area which has not made as much progress is weight lifting. The primary reason for this is it requires more hardware components to keep track of your exercise. This project attempts to create a simple solution to implement a fitness tracker for lifting weights.

A Sound Idea: An Investigation Into Accessible Video Game Design For The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing, Luke James Brook

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A widely accepted, and incorrect, assumption towards hearing accessibility in video games is that deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) users are those who encounter the least barriers and are generally well catered for. Rapid advancement in video game technology has seen video game sound evolve from simple blips generated by internal circuitry to fully realised digital audio used to convey critical information. To accommodate the DHH, this information needs to be conveyed in an alternative manner. However, evidence suggests existing accessible design solutions for the DHH lack specificity and are insufficient. Thus, the inability to hear, or hear well, …

360 Cam, Nathan Elmer, Mahli Guerrero, Eric Rasmussen

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The 360 Cam Camera is capable of taking panoramic images without moving any camera lenses. The panoramic image is then used to track an object through a 360-degree field of view.

Sonahr: An Open Water Navigational Device, Zakk Rhodes

Electrical and Computer Engineering

SONAHR is a stand-alone unit for open water navigation, mainly geared towards swimming. It is designed to help swimmers to stay on course in any course that the swimmer wants to swim.

Wireless Charging System For Low-Power Devices, Sara Larson

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Many Smartphone users have experienced a broken or missing charging cable at some point. Over 200 million Americans own a low-power device (according to a Pew Research Center Survey taken in October of 2015). So there is a large target market for this sleek option to charge low-power devices.

Smartbeat Car Seat Clip, Kevin Johnson, Nathan Yost

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Smartbeat Clip is an infant temperature monitor for car seats. It combines cutting edge computing and wireless communication technology to provide parents with an additional assurance that their child is protected.

The Smartbeat Clip system consists of an electronic base, which communicates with a key fob, a display, and a mobile app. The three devices will alert the user if the ambient temperature near his/her child rises above 80 degrees Fahrenheit while in a car seat.

Design Of Electrical Layout Of Offshore Wind Farms, Shirshak K. Dhali, Mahidhar Nandigam

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The cost and efficiency of offshore wind farms are determined by a variety of factors which include the type of electrical system (AC or DC), transmission length, transmission voltage, rated power, wind turbine type, farm topology, and wind speed. Since the design variable space is large for such problems, computational optimization is necessary to find an optimal solution. This paper discusses a design methodology to determine the optimal values of components to minimize the cost of an offshore wind farm. The cost, loss, reliability models, and the application of geometric programing for optimization of the layout and configuration of an …

Design And Prototyping Of An Adjustable Putter, Daulton Morgan

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Being able to demo a golf putter is essential for a golfer since the feel of the putter is critical in determining what suits the golfer best. Due to the market being primarily dominated by right-handed players, it is difficult for left-handed players to demo high quality putters since the selection is sparse.

This report is about designing and integrating an interchangeable fastening system that allows a putter to be altered between a right and left-handed orientation, while still maintaining the traditional look of a putter. The report covers the necessary design steps, the prototyping of the putter, the projected …

Design And Validation Of An Electro-Hydraulic Pressure-Control Valve And Closed-Loop Controller, Jerry Boza

Dissertations

Electro-hydraulic pressure-control valves are used in many applications, such as manufacturing equipment, agricultural machinery, and aircrafts to name a few. They are often used to actuate hydraulic clutches, such as those found in power shift transmissions. A traditional pressure-control valve with open-loop control algorithm is typically used in clutch applications. This scheme often results in inconsistent or undesirable system behavior due to the nature of open-loop control as well as the nonlinear system dynamics and uncertainties.

In this research two new electro-hydraulic pressure-control valves were designed in order to decouple the valve and control port (hydraulic) dynamics. This was achieved …

A Genetic Algorithm Incorporating Design Choice For The Preliminary Design Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Kenneth Michael Mull

Masters Theses

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are currently at the forefront of aerospace technologies. The design of these aircraft is complex and often performance characteristics are coupled to multiple design attributes. At the early design phase both discrete and continuous design choices are present limiting the feasibility of traditional derivative based optimization techniques. In place of these methods, the design space can be explored using a genetic algorithm that mimics the process of natural selection, providing a capable and reliable base airframe constructed from the required performance metrics. By incorporating a genetic multidisciplinary optimization algorithm early in the conceptual design phase, aircraft …

Optimal Design Of Automotive Exhaust Thermoelectric Generator (Aeteg), Hassan Fagehi

Masters Theses

A consumption of energy continues to increase at an exponential rate, especially in terms of automotive spark ignitions vehicles. About 40% of the applied fuel into a vehicle is lost as waste exhaust to the environment. The desire for improved fuel efficiency by recovering the exhaust waste heat in automobiles has become an important subject. The thermoelectric generator (TEG) has the potential to convert exhaust waste heat into electricity as long as it is improving fuel economy. The remarkable amount of research being conducted on TEGs indicates that this technology will have a bright future in terms of power generation. …

Designing Fixed-Base Operations Utilizing Systems Engineering Principles, Ross L. Stephenson Jr., David A. Carroll

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

There are currently over 3,200 fixed-base operations (FBOs) conducting business in the United States attempting to meet the demands of FAA Part 91, Part 135, and a limited number of Part 121 operations. With the US economy slowly climbing out of the trough during 2013, the utilization of fixed-base operations has become more attractive and economical to the corporate business and the affluent recreational traveler. Despite the increased flight activities utilizing the services of fixed-base operators, keen competition, rising fuel cost, and the economies of scale recognized by large FBO franchises significantly erode the profitability and sustainability of smaller FBOs. …

A Real-Time Programmable Pulsatile Flow Pump For In Vitro Cardiovascular Experimentation, Rahul Raj Mechoor, Tyler Schmidt, Ethan Kung

Publications

Benchtop in vitro experiments are valuable tools for investigating the cardiovascular system and testing medical devices. Accurate reproduction of the physiologic flow waveforms at various anatomic locations is an important component of these experimental methods. This study discusses the design, construction, and testing of a low-cost and fully programmable pulsatile flow pump capable of continuously producing unlimited cycles of physiologic waveforms. It consists of a gear pump actuated by an AC servomotor and a feedback algorithm to achieve highly accurate reproduction of flow waveforms for flow rates up to 300 ml/s across a range of loading conditions. The iterative feedback …

The Design Of An Extradosed Bridge, Drilon Rraci, Milan Kuhta

UBT International Conference

Bridges are attractive structures consisting of great interest in both aspects: professional and the general public one. At the end of 19. and start of 20. century, one of the most relevant contributions to bridges engineering has been the introduction of prestressed technique, aiming to be a great solution to the need of controlling stress on elements in bridges. The purpose of this paper is to discuss and analyze the design model and structural behavior of an Extradosed bridge. The strategies and factors that must be considered in the design of an Extradosed bridge are included in this paper. The …

Mechanical Design And Optimization Of An Interactive Animatronic Bald Eagle, Eric Burns

Phi Kappa Phi Research Symposium (Archived)

Animatronics is a specialized sub-category of mechatronics, a fusion of mechanical and electrical engineering. The field has grown from small, individual projects into a major industry. As animatronics progress, mechanical engineers are pushed to design internal structures which occupy ever-decreasing spaces and to ensure designs can undergo maintenance and modifications smoothly. This research investigates methods of reducing space required for mechanisms and several other beneficial methods of development as well as varying satisfactions for audiences when exposed to actor-controlled systems rather than pre-scripted functions. The mechanical systems are designed using CAD software available at Georgia Southern. On-campus, resources are used …

Spur Gear Design: Some New Perspectives, Edward Osakue, Lucky Anetor

Faculty Publications

New perspectives such as harmonic mean, contact patch as translating third body, contact form factor, and service load factor are introduced in spur gear design. The harmonic mean rule characterizes the physical and geometric properties of the contact patch. The contact patch is construed as a body in translation during gear teeth engagement. The contact form factor may be used to compare the load capability of different pressure angle standards. The service load factor captures the influence of different conventional rated load modification factors. Gear design analysis is separated into design sizing and design verification tasks. Design sizing and design …

An Engineering Approach To Industrial Research And Development Of Pillows, Wesley Patterson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Comfort during sleep, though taken for granted, involves a great amount of research and engineering. Few give it a second thought, but nearly one-third of a person’s life is spent with their head on a pillow, thus making them a point for increased quality. Having been approached by a tier-1 bedding manufacturer, a team of both mechanical and electrical engineers was been tasked with the goal of creating a valid research tool that the customer, Tempur-Sealy, will utilize in the company’s research and development of high-end pillows. The team sought to tackle this project utilizing tools and knowledge gained throughout …

Design, Testing And Evaluation Of Robotic Mechanisms And Systems For Environmental Monitoring And Interaction, James K. Higgins

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have significantly lowered the cost of remote aerial data collection. The next generation of UAVs, however, will transform the way that scientists and practitioners interact with the environment. In this thesis, we address the challenges of flying low over water to collect water samples and temperature data. We also develop a system that allows UAVs to ignite prescribed fires. Specifically, this thesis contributes a new peristaltic pump designed for use on a UAV for collecting water samples from up to 3m depth and capable of pumping over 6m above the water. Next, temperature sensors and their …

Design For Manufacturability: Off-Road Toyota Bumper, Drew Donlon

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The purpose of this project is to design a new off-road bumper that is improved from the stock form of a 1996-2002 Toyota 4Runner and a 1996-2004 Toyota Tacoma. The current state of the component is too weak to endure to off-road endeavors, and a kit bumper market is virtually untapped for these vehicles. The objectives of this project were met by redesigning the stock front bumper, conducting a finite element analysis on the model to test for strength, prototyping the bumper with CNC cut cardboard, and conducting a full cost analysis including the costs for waterjet and laser cutting …

Corrosion Of Steel In Concrete And Its Prevention In Aggressive Chloride-Bearing Environments, Luca Bertolini, Maddalena Carsana, Matteo Gastaldi, Federica Lollini, Elena Redaelli

International Conference on Durability of Concrete Structures

This keynote paper deals with the durability of reinforced concrete (RC) structures exposed to aggressive environments characterized by high concentration of chloride ions, namely, marine environments or the use of de-icing salts. The mechanism of chloride-induced corrosion of steel in concrete is introduced, and its influence on the service life of RC structures is analyzed. Factors affecting the time to corrosion initiation are described with regard to both concrete properties and environmental exposure conditions. Design approaches available for achieving durability targets associated with the design service life are analyzed, focusing on studies carried out by the authors in recent years …

E-Learning Design For Microsoft Access & Asp.Net, Jonathan Choi, Christopher Hom

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The problem definition is that the current video tutorial series is outdated and lacks interactive features that aid with E-Learning. The goal of the project is to create a platform that incorporates features such as structure, interaction, assessments, and competency tests. The project revolved around integrating four softwares together in order to create an effective E-Learning platform. The four softwares were Adobe Captivate, Camtasia, Microsoft Access and Microsoft Visual Studios. Adobe Captive is used to store the tutorial video and assign quizzes. Camtasia is used to record the tutorial videos. Microsoft Access is used to store all the questions given …

An Iteration On The Horizon Simulation Framework To Include .Net And Python Scripting, Morgan Yost

Master's Theses

Modeling and Simulation is a crucial element of the aerospace engineering design pro- cess because it allows designers to thoroughly test their solution before investing in the resources to create it. The Horizon Simulation Framework (HSF) v3.0 is an aerospace modeling and simulation tool that allows the user to verify system level requirements in the early phases of the design process. A low fidelity model of the system that is created by the user is exhaustively tested within the built-in Day-in-the-Life simulator to provide useful information in the form of failed requirements, system bottle necks and leverage points, and potential …

Automated Bearing Press, David Baker, David Brock, Engelbert Diec

Mechanical Engineering

Our group was presented with a challenge to design an automated machine to replace Micro-Vu’s current manual pressing operation. We moved, planned, and scheduled our tasks for the three quarters we will be working on this project by using a Gantt chart. In designing the machine, we generated concepts and used analysis and prototyping to select the most promising ones. Our final design uses a pneumatic press to press the parts, and it includes magazines to hold the parts before pressing, pneumatic actuators to move the parts to and from the pressing location, and a lever to separate the defective …

Crop Selection, Cost Analysis, And Irrigation System Design For The Replanting Of A Nut Orchard, Maximilian Bricker

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This report was made to help the landowner of Bricker Farms make decisions regarding the replanting of his orchard. The decisions that need to be made in this process include: which crop to plant, how to plant it, and how to improve the distribution uniformity of irrigation water on the orchard. The report does not give definitive final decisions, but presents viable options that the landowner can utilize when deciding. In addition to the options that are presented, the report offers suggestions to the landowner so that the replanting process is done properly in a timely and economically-friendly manner.

Seismic Design Of A Prestressed Concrete Bridge, Alperen Ozel

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Latest advancements in software have become an indispensable tool in structural analysis. The main goal of this thesis is to examine dynamic responses of bridges in seismic activity with the help of such tool as CSi Bridge. Therefore, throughout this study, a prestressed concrete bridge model will be thoroughly designed. In the first section, the required materials and structural components will be introduced. The following section will cover calculations required for modeling. The actual modeling of the structure will be carried out in Section 3. In Section 4, the set of required analysis for seismic design such as modal, pushover …