Engineering Commons^™

A Study And Simulation Of Flux Induced Corrosion In Copper Tubing Used For The Distribution Of Potable Water, Daniel O. Benham

Materials Engineering

Water side corrosion within copper plumbing can occur due to a wide variety of unwanted circumstances. Through the controlled immersion of six ¾” copper tubing samples with five utilizing a unique industry standard soldering flux, this investigation associates residual flux deposits with the initiation of pitting in copper. Water stagnation in a copper potable water distribution system, typically associated with an infrequently used faucet, is a condition highly prone to copper pitting. A test apparatus designed to produce a partially stagnant flow condition with scheduled electrolyte flushes every 3 days was developed and constructed to contain 6 test samples for …

The Impact Of Preheat On 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel Welds, Angelee G. Q. Breuninger, Iris I. Li, Cristian V. Sion

Materials Engineering

The goal of this project is to determine the relationship between preheat temperature and phase balance of austenite and ferrite in the heat affected zone (HAZ) of a dissimilar thickness weld made of Sandvik SAF 2205 duplex stainless steel (DSS). Various preheat temperatures were applied (no preheat, 63°C, 98 °C, 141 °C, 181 °C, and 214 °C) to a 2-inch thick plate that was welded to a 0.072-inch thin sheet, with a 0.125-inch standoff, using manual gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). Welding variables (voltage, amperage, and travel speed) were recorded and thermocouples were placed along the backside of the weld, …

Investigation Of The Encapsulation Efficiency Of Hexanal In Y-Cyclodextrin Metal Organic Frameworks, Travis J. Lang

Materials Engineering

Nanoporous materials have been extensively studied for applications such as drug delivery and organic compound storage. The nanoporous material of this study is a metal organic framework (MOF) which is a coordination of metal ions with organic binders. The structure created by this coordination can be used to absorb organic compounds, such as plant growth regulators, and subsequently release the organic compounds over a prolonged period to extend the storage life of foods. This study is examining the encapsulation efficiency of hexanal in γ-cyclodextrin metal organic frameworks (γ-CDMOFs) as a mechanism for potential active packaging applications. γ-CDMOFs were synthesized by …

Moisture Characterization Of Thermoplastics And Thermosets For Use As Matrices In Fiber Reinforced Composites, Kieran Hook, Ray Hsu

Materials Engineering

Epoxy matrix composites are widely used in aerospace industry for lighter aircraft while thermoplastic-matrix composites have traditionally been underutilized despite their excellent fracture resistance, impact strength, and the ability to be recycled. Toray Advanced Composites (Morgan Hill, CA) wants to investigate the structural integrity of thermoplastic matrices in common aircraft operating environments. An experiment was conducted to observe the effect of moisture absorption on thermoplastic composites’ mechanical strength. PEEK, PPS, and PEI matrices were compared to an epoxy matrix in this experiment. Samples were submerged in 160ºF distilled water to accelerate moisture absorption. For two months, the changes in mass …

Microstructural Transformation Of Cold-Sprayed Grcop-42 For Rocket Engine Combustion Chamber Liners, Mason Souther

Materials Engineering

Rocket engines have always relied on high-conductivity copper liners to protect structural components from extreme thermal loads produced by combustion. Forged NARloy-Z has been the material of choice for decades but increasing cost of its constituent silver and high waste in the machining process has reduced the alloy’s cost effectiveness. Aerojet Rocketdyne wants to determine the viability of cold-spray additively manufactured GRCop-42 as a replacement alloy to reduce liner cost. Screening tests were performed to observe the microstructural development and microhardness changes of cold-sprayed GRCop-42 after being subjected to multiple stages of the typical heat treatment of a combustion chamber …

Weld Fracture Between C450 Stainless And C300 Maraging Steels In Golf Club Heads, Emily Oreste, Shea Costner

Materials Engineering

This project studied fractures along the weld on the face of TaylorMade metalwood golf clubs. The weld joint investigated was between investment cast C450 stainless steel and hot rolled C300 maraging steel that had been joined by plasma arc welding (PAW). Cracking in the welds between these two metals was discovered during in-house prototype testing. To understand the differences between the clubs with intact weld joints and clubs with fractured weld joints, the microstructures throughout the weld zones were imaged and a grid of microhardness values of the entire sample cross-section was generated. The images and hardness values were analyzed …

Investment Cast C450 Microstructural Characterization In Golf Club Heads, Kenneth Yin-Fai Lau

Materials Engineering

Two types of tensile bars were observed in this study of golf iron heads for TaylorMade Golf. As-cast and as-cast then machined tensile bars. The tensile bars underwent tensile tests to observe tensile strength, percent elongation, and fracture mechanisms. Furthermore, the hardness of the tensile bars was also taken despite seeing no difference in sample types. However, the as-cast samples did not consistently meet the requirements of percent elongation > 10.00% as there was a sample with 0.00% and another with 1.26%. These samples also showed brittle fracture, instead of the desired cup-and- cone ductile fracture. To investigate further, transverse sections …

Minimizing The Dimensional Change In Two Component Epoxy Based Thermoset Adhesives Through Adapting Mix Ratio And Initial Crosslink Density, Jefferson Peter Norman

Materials Engineering

Meissner Filtration uses amine-hardened epoxy as a high-performance adhesive to encapsulate hollow fiber membranes at the ends of rigid filter housings. Dimensional change of the epoxy while curing can result in residual stress formation that is detrimental to the manufacturing of the filter and causes structural integrity issues when the filter is used in industrial processes where heating and cooling cycles are implemented. The residual stresses can cause cracks, microscopic fractures, and delamination from the housing, resulting in failure of the filter. The goal of this project was to evaluate how changes in processing conditions could minimize dimensional variability due …

Non-Toxic Soil Thickeners For Reducing Mudslide Intensity, Miranda Miao, Isaac Blackburn, Erika Haley Yao

Materials Engineering

Non-toxic food thickeners were investigated as a solution for thickening mud to mitigate the effects of mudslides. All soil was obtained from a site on the California Polytechnic State University campus where a mudslide occurred in 2017. Guar gum was mixed into the soil at 1 wt% and 10 wt% of the moisture content in the soil. Whey protein was mixed into the soil at 2 wt% and 19 wt% of the moisture content in the soil. The soils’ liquid limit was found using the Casagrande cup testing method. Liquid limit testing indicated that thickeners raised the liquid limit, most …

Mechanical Tear Testing And Failure Analysis Of Armordillo® Textile For Future Comparison With Next Generation Replacement Textiles, Jordan Bryce Pohl

Materials Engineering

ArmorDillo^® is a heavy-duty, waterproof textile designed to protect valuable equipment against outdoor elements such as rain, dirt, salt, ultraviolet rays, and damage from other external factors that is manufactured by Transhield^® USA and is currently in service with many branches of the United States Armed Forces, primarily the United States NAVY. Due to emerging security threats to classified military hardware the US NAVY through the United States Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) is actively researching and sourcing a textile replacement for ArmorDillo^® to meet these threats. This study investigates the mechanical durability of ArmorDillo^® under …

Cervis: Cervical Cancer Early Response Visual Identification System, Julia Lanoha, Claire Hultquist, Rosie Mcdonagh, Hallie Mcnamara

Bioengineering Senior Theses

The goal of CERVIS is to make a substantial, positive impact in the cervical cancer screening space through the development of a minimally invasive, cost effective solution that enables women in low-resource settings to test for cervical cancer on a frugal and effective platform. In the developed world, there are a variety of options that can aid in early detection, including Pap smears. However, due to the high cost and laboratory requirements that accompany this procedure, women in low-resource settings rarely have access to this preventative care or regular screenings for cervical cancer. Using new research about the changes in …

Reducing Construction Costs Through Effective Field Communication And Administration, Gabriel B. Dadi, Roy E. Sturgill Jr., Steven Waddle, Steven Douglas Kreis

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Falling Road Fund receipts have placed added strain on the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s (KYTC) already-underfunded highway program. Revenue declines have increased the urgency of improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the Cabinet’s operations. One method KYTC can use to realize greater cost savings is improving the administration of construction projects. Effective field communication and administration helps control construction costs, enhances quality, and minimizes delays and claims. One challenge the Cabinet will need to confront to more effectively administer projects, however, is the loss of institutional knowledge associated with staff attrition. The report documents KYTC current methods for project staffing, communication, …

Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis Of Long-Span Cable-Stayed Bridges With Train-Bridge And Cable Coupling, Zhihui Zhu, Lidong Wang, Michael T. Davidson, Issam E. Harik, Anand Patil

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Span lengths of newly constructed cable-stayed railway bridges continue to show increases relative to those of older bridges. Accompanying such increases is the importance of ensuring that vibrations of long-span cable-stayed bridges satisfy both safety and serviceability requirements, particularly for bridges that support train passages. In contrast to modern design of bridges that support roadway vehicles, current methods for analyzing cable-stayed railway bridges do not yet typically account for coupling effects that may occur between cables and the surrounding bridge structure during train passages. This paper presents a computational framework for the nonlinear dynamic analysis of railway bridges based on …

High Speed Roll-To-Roll Printable Transistor Enabled By A Pulsed Light Curable Cnt Ink, Harish Subbaraman

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper reports the first high speed roll-to-roll printable transistor using a carbon nanotube (CNT) semiconducting layer. The transistor is made possible through the development of a pulsed light curable CNT ink compatible with typical drop on demand inkjet cartridges. This CNT ink uses a xylene based solvent with methanol, glycerin, and Triton X-100 modifiers to create an evaporable solution with appropriate absorption spectra for a mercury or xenon flash lamp with strong energy transmission in the UVB to mid visible light range, allowing the solution to absorb the energy from the flash lamp and evaporate. Transistor dimensions were defined …

Gold Tree Solar Farm - Machine Learning To Predict Solar Power Generation, Jonathon T. Scott

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Solar energy causes a strain on the electrical grid because of the uncontrollable nature of the factors that affect power generation. Utilities are often required to balance solar generation facilities to meet consumer demand, which often includes the costly process of activating/deactivating a fossil fuel facility. Therefore, there is considerable interest in increasing the accuracy and the granularity of solar power generation predictions in order to reduce the cost of grid management. This project aims to evaluate how sky imaging technology may contribute to the accuracy of those predictions.

The Soul Annoyed Robot: A Senior Project Report, Dayton Andrew Muxlow, Christian Johansen

Computer Engineering

Our goal for this senior project was to create a competitive robot designed to com- pete in Roborodentia 2019. Our project started during the Winter 2019 quarter, and ended with the competition on May 18, 2019. During that time, we developed an accurate solenoid shooting mechanism, an elevated conveyor belt to carry poker chips, and a servo arm to scoop in stacks of poker chips. These hardware compo- nents were attached to a circular differential-drive wooden base designed to be easy to control. We also planned out our match strategy and implemented this strategy with software written in C/Wiring to …

Planr.: Planar Learning Autonomous Navigation Robot, Gabrielle S. Santamorena, Daniel Kasman, Jesus Mercado, Ben Klave, Andrew Weisman, Anthony Fortner

Computer Engineering

PLANR is a self-contained robot capable of mapping a space and generating 2D floor plans of a building while identifying objects of interest. It runs Robot Operating System (ROS) and houses four main hardware components. An Arduino Mega board handles the navigation, while an NVIDIA Jetson TX2, holds most of the processing power and runs ROS. An Orbbec Astra Pro stereoscopic camera is used for recognition of doors, windows and outlets and the RPLiDAR A3 laser scanner is able to give depth for wall detection and dimension measurements. The robot is intended to operate autonomously and without constant human monitoring …

Design And Development Of Wireless Power Transmission, Harvindren Rajan

Manipal Journal of Science and Technology

In the era of technology, there is a constant increase in the demand for wireless technology which is environment-friendly. To use the wired network, lots of cables and ports are required to transfer the power. The users also feel that the wired network is messier and untidier. It is also not convenient for public use. Moreover, charging cables of the mobile phone usually will be fragile and breakable at some time due to the careless and poor handling by the users, wired network causes inconvenience to the users. In this project, the main objectives are to design and implement a …

Transition Practices In Hrm Functions: A Review, R Krishnaveni

Manipal Journal of Science and Technology

Crossing a decade of the 21st century, the paradigm of Human Resources is seen evolving with the strategic gene induced into it. There seems to be a radical shift descending as the corporate sector calls on its HR team to become strategic rather than administrative. This transferal eventually requires the metrics employed by these HR teams not to be just operationally reactive but to be aligned to evidence-based strategic thinking. On realizing the trend for a prescriptive metric model for effective HR analytics, this study has designed a conceptual framework for a basic metric model that assists IT-HRM professionals in …

Analysis Of Power Losses Of Different Buck Converters For Led Application, Srividya R

Manipal Journal of Science and Technology

A buck converter efficiently step-downs the voltage level. Financial power transformation expands the robustness of battery, loss of heat energy is lowered and aides in building smaller devices. This can be used in household and industrial areas. The activity of numerous converters relies upon the switching properties of the power elements. Many buck converters utilize the second MOSFET instead of a diode. When the diode turns ON in buck converter, losses occur in the diode, which are called conduction losses, which keep increasing when the ON time of diode increases. Hence, the efficiency of the converter decreases due to these …

Future Of Workforce – The Changing Scenario, Suprabha Kr

Manipal Journal of Science and Technology

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Land Use And Land Cover Change On Manipal Lake Using Remotely Sensed Data And Study Of The Features Of The Terrain, K Balakrishna

Manipal Journal of Science and Technology

Human civilization has been colonizing land areas with an ample amount of water supply, good living conditions, accessibility, etc. since historical times. The proliferation of human activities since the industrial revolution has led to rapid urbanization and shrinkage of water bodies surrounding the cities. This is because of the siltation and blockade of major and minor recharge structures. One of the ways to assess the impact of colonization on the landscape is by using remotely sensed data. Manipal town in Udupi, Karnataka, India is one such landscape and Manipal lake is a reservoir present in Manipal affected by this. This …

Cp Ewheel, Garrett Maxon, Adam Berg, Logan Griffith, Jacob Butler, Alexander Evans

Electrical Engineering

With an increasing demand for environmentally friendly transportation options, the bike market is larger than ever. According to bikeleague.org, from 2005 to 2013, the number of commuters using bikes has grown by 62%, and continues to rise. Regardless, commute time remains a barrier for many prospective users. Traditional bikes are useful in scenarios where the user only needs to travel a short distance. Electric bikes allow individuals to travel to farther destinations quicker, and with less effort. However, most electric bikes are rather expensive, typically ranging in price from one thousand to ten thousand dollars. Additionally, because the bike, motor, …

Dc To Dc Usb-C Charger, Nikki Gmerek, Kenneth Nguyen, Uriel Serna

Electrical Engineering

The DC House USB-C Charger will convert the 48V input from the DC house, found on the Cal Poly campus, to 3 USB-C outputs: 5V, 12V, and 24 volts. The converter will deliver a total of 185 Watts out across all 3 outputs, with an efficiency greater than 82% at full load. The USB-C ports will be used to connect to compatible phones, laptops or any other device for charging/powering purposes. The goal of this project is to develop the most efficient and safe converter to deliver power to multiple outputs using USB-C, for items as small as a cell …

Sensor Systems For Combustion Control, Aodhan Arias, Joshua Kyle Alba Wong, Joeny Zhen

Electrical Engineering

This project is the first iteration of a larger multi-year project working towards utilizing ammonia (NH₃) as an alternative fuel. The purpose of this iteration is a proof of concept for the creation of a control loop that can measure oxygen levels in a system and control the flow rates of nitrogen and oxygen in order to maintain an ideal ratio metric flow to reduce the overall emissions of the system. It is the hope of this project that the concept can eventually be used to maximally reduce to the point of near complete elimination of NOx emissions …

Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle Controller With Pid Stability Regulation, Christian E. Aguirre

Electrical Engineering

The earth’s oceans and rivers remain widely unexplored. Hobbyists and companies across the globe invest money and resources into remotely operated vehicles (ROV) to further expand underwater knowledge. Each ROV includes a controller that operates motors and monitors other crucial system vitals. The ROV Controller project makes the process of designing an ROV simpler and more affordable by providing a multi-purpose programmable controller.

The ROV controller features programmable digital inputs/outputs and analog inputs. The controller processes control signals from analog joysticks, digital signals from a gyroscope and utilizes a MUX to expand the analog input capabilities of the Arduino. The …

Dc House Smart Pathway Lighting System, Benjamin H. Tan, Rafael Santiago, Brendan Schoemehl

Electrical Engineering

The Student Experimental Farm (SEF) is a two-acre site where students are able to create projects and experiments. It is also the location of the DC House project, a house with electricity provided by DC power as opposed to the traditional AC power. The motive of the DC house project is to provide affordable and renewable electricity for people living in remote areas where ac power grids are not available. Currently, the SEF does not have any lighting, so students would have to work in the dark after the sun sets. By creating a smart lighting system for the pathway …

Eeg Classification Using Residual Neural Networks, Eren Esener

Electrical Engineering

There is a growing desire to understand the EEG (electroencephalogram) signals related with brain activities. In order to analyze EEG signals, they first must be measured by sensors, which induces a lot of noise; then these signals are classified to understand the intended actions. In many cases a neural network is used as the algorithms for classification. A residual neural network (ResNet) is an artificial neural network (ANN) of a kind that are related with the pyramidal cells in the cerebral cortex. The goal of this work is to investigate the viability of ResNets for classifying EEG signals for hand …

Dc-Dc Converter For Electric Vehicle, Jason Y. Zhou, Nicholas James Mah

Electrical Engineering

In this work, a DC-DC converter is designed for an electric vehicle. The DC-DC converter is designed to provide 500W with a 200-400V input and a 12-15V adjustable output. Electric vehicle sales are beginning to increase in popularity and the need for DC-DC converters to siphon power from the tractive system is not yet fully satisfied, especially for single-seater class vehicles. Additionally, improving performance in efficiency without sacrificing wide input voltage range can benefit future DC-DC converter designs. In the end, a forward active clamp DC-DC converter is designed and tested. Additionally, spreadsheet calculators, LTSpice simulations, and Matlab scripts were …

Human Sensing Expansion For A Rolling Robot, Eric Hanson

Electrical Engineering

For the past twenty years, fans of the Star Wars movies have been building their own replica robots or “droids” that they fell in love with on the big screen. This project takes an existing design for the BB-8 droid and integrates sensors that can detect people and then interact with them. This design uses six IR sensors and one main 8x8 IR sensor grid to be able to detect the closest person and turn BB- 8’s dome towards them as though they are looking at them.