Engineering Commons^™

The Analysis And Study Of Power System Designs For Same Polytechnic College In Tanzania, Kevin Lum Hua

Master's Theses

The Mbesese Initiative for Sustainable Development (MISD) is a group aiming to help eliminate extreme poverty in Africa by creating educational opportunity. One project that the group is currently doing is to build Same Polytechnic College (SPC) in Tanzania. As part of the project, this thesis aims to study and analyze the electrical power system and distribution for the college. Based on the projected load profile of the college and high potential for solar generation in Tanzania, several different power systems utilizing local utility AC electricity and/or photovoltaic (PV) DC electricity are explored and simulated for their feasibility and performance. …

Study Of The Effect Of Biowish Aqua On Simultaneous Nitrification And Denitrification In A Membrane Aerated Bioreactor, Joelle Arakaki

Master's Theses

This research entails the investigation of the effects of a bioaugmentation product from BiOWiSH^® called Aqua, referred to as “Aqua” for the remainder of this paper, on the nitrogen removal rate in a membrane aerated bioreactor (MABR). This research was conducted using a MABR design that consisted of a silicone membrane and continuous flow airline with compressed air. The membrane system was designed to supply oxygen, creating an aerated layer at the membrane-biofilm interface and an anoxic layer at the biofilm-water interface. Laboratory experiments were conducted to compare the nitrogen removal rates of natural bacteria alone to natural bacteria …

Preparation Of Supramolecular Amphiphilic Cyclodextrin Bilayer Vesicles For Pharmaceutical Applications, Kate E. Frischkorn

Master's Theses

Recent pharmaceutical developments have investigated using supramolecular nanoparticles in order to increase the bioavailability and solubility of drugs delivered in various methods. Modification of the carbohydrate cyclodextrin increases the ability to encapsulate hydrophobic pharmaceutical molecules by forming a carrier with a hydrophobic core and hydrophilic exterior. Guest molecules are commonly added to these inclusion complexes in order to add stability and further increase targeting abilities of the carriers. One such guest molecule is adamantine combined with a poly(ethylene glycol) chain. Vesicles are formed by hydrating a thin film of amphiphilic cyclodextrin and guest molecules in buffer solution that mimics physiological …

Finite-Difference Modeling Of The Batch Process Smoldering Combustion Of Wastewater, Laura H. Kawashiri

Master's Theses

A MATLAB model was developed for the smoldering combustion of wastewater in the context of a decentralized residential wastewater treatment appliance. Data from a batch process sewage smoldering experiment was simulated using implicit finite-difference approximations, assuming one-dimensional transient conductive heat transfer. The time-dependent temperature profiles within the column represented the main parameters of interest and were used to verify recoverable heat energy estimations. Given that the modeling method used for this thesis represents a unique approach, the assumptions and limitations of this model are thoroughly described in the context of reproducing results for other smoldering setups. A lack of convergence …

Effects Of Raceway Pond Water And Nutrient Recycling On Microalgae Production And Harvesting, Christian A. Bowen

Master's Theses

To be environmentally sustainable, algae biofuel production requires extensive recycling of water and nutrients during algae cultivation. Such recycling can be in the form of reuse of external wastewaters, such as from municipal sewers, but, to achieve significant biofuels production, internal recycling at the algae farms is also needed. A potential difficulty with internal recycling is the accumulation of auto-inhibitory compounds in recycled algae pond water. An additional concern is that nutrients in the residuals from algae biofuel manufacturing will be only partly bioavailable. Both these factors can limit the extent of internal recycling. Ultimately, combining external and internal recycling …

Adaptation Of Vt-Dbr Lasers For Lidar, Luke Horowitz

Master's Theses

Vernier Tuned Distributed Bragg Reflector (VT-DBR) lasers have had great success in the field of Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography (SS-OCT) due to their continuous and nearly 40 nm wavelength tuning range in a single longitudinal mode. Fast sweeps allow for real time imaging with micrometer resolution at a distance of a few centimeters. While this laser has proven quite useful as a medical imaging tool via OCT, it has yet to similarly prove itself for general light detection and ranging (LIDAR) applications due to range limitations that arise from a finite laser coherence length. The goal of this thesis is …

The Modified-Multiphase Boost Converter: Combined Inductors And Capacitors Topology, Zachary L. Eldredge

Master's Theses

In this work, a modified boost converter design has been implemented in a multiphase configuration with a condensed topology. The modified aspect of the design has already been proven to drastically reduce input current ripple by about 40% in a single-phase implementation. By placing two modified boost converters in parallel with interleaving main switches (multiphase), the input inductors and modified capacitors of the modified topology can be reduced to just one of each, lowering the number of components, size, and cost. Additionally, multiphase DC/DC converters lower input/output voltage and current ripples while delivering more power compared to single-phase converters. By …

Design And Verification Of A Labview Automated Antenna Radiation Pattern Measurement System, Dylan C. Bloom

Master's Theses

In 2014, Toyon Research Corporation donated a 6’x6’x8’ anechoic chamber to the Cal Poly EE department to advance student education in the areas of antennas and wireless communications. An anechoic chamber is a room designed to suppress electromagnetic radiation reflections so that accurate measurement of radio frequency (RF) systems such as wireless radios and antennas can take place. Despite the fact that Cal Poly already has a larger anechoic chamber, primarily used for antenna characterization, it is the purpose of this project to design, code, and equip the new chamber so that it performs at least as good, or better …

Evaluation Of Electrochemical And Laser Polishing Of Selectively Lasermelted 316l Stainless Steel, Julian R. Lohser

Master's Theses

Selective laser melting has shown incredible growth as a metallic additive manufacturing process in recent years. While it does provide many solutions and new ways to approach challenges, it does not come without issues of its own, namely, surface roughness. In the as-printed state, the surface roughness of selectively laser melted parts is unacceptable for use in engineering applications. Additionally, selective laser melting is used to produce complex geometries with hard to reach features, preventing conventional mechanical polishing from being successful. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate non-mechanical polishing processes as treatments for surface roughness. In this study, electrochemical and …

Utilizing Permanent On-Board Water Storage For Efficient Deep Space Radiation Shielding, Nathan Ryan Gehrke

Master's Theses

As space technologies continue to develop rapidly, there is a common desire to launch astronauts beyond the ISS to return to the Moon and put human footsteps on Mars. One of the largest hurdles that still needs to be addressed is the protection of astronauts from the radiation environment seen in deep space. The most effective way to defend against radiation is increasing the thickness of the shield, however this is limited by strict mass requirements. In order to increase the thickness of the shield, it is beneficial to make mission critical items double as shielding material.

The human rated …

Exploring The Concept Of A Deep Space Solar-Powered Small Spacecraft, Kian Guillaume Crowley

Master's Theses

New Horizons, Voyager 1 & 2, and Pioneer 10 & 11 are the only spacecraft to ever venture past Pluto and provide information about space at those large distances. These spacecraft were very expensive and primarily designed to study planets during gravitational assist maneuvers. They were not designed to explore space past Pluto and their study of this environment is at best a secondary mission. These spacecraft rely on radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) to provide power, an expensive yet necessary approach to generating sufficient power. With Cubesats graduating to interplanetary capabilities, such as the Mars-bound MarCO spacecraft, matching the modest …

Improving Introductory Computer Science Education With Draco, Mike Dongyub Ryu

Master's Theses

Today, many introductory computer science courses rely heavily on a specific programming language to convey fundamental programming concepts. For beginning students, the cognitive capacity required to operate with the syntactic forms of this language may overwhelm their ability to formulate a solution to a program.

We recognize that the introductory computer science courses can be more effective if they convey fundamental concepts without requiring the students to focus on the syntax of a programming language. To achieve this, we propose a new teaching method based on the Design Recipe and Code Outlining (DRaCO) processes. Our new pedagogy capitalizes on the …

Neuro-Silicon Interface Of A Hirudo Medicinalis Retzius Cell Integrated With Field Effect Transistor, Kurt Christian Sjoberg

Master's Theses

The focus of this thesis was to measure the intracellular voltage of a living neural cell using a silicon transistor. The coupling of neurological tissues with silicon devices is of interest to the fields of neurology, neuroscience, electrophysiology and cellular biology. In previous work by Peter Fromherz, single neurons were successfully coupled to transistors [1]. This thesis aims to show proof of concept of the fabrication of a simple neuro-silicon interface using wafer processing methods currently available at Cal Poly. The types of transistors and cells used, the methods for dissecting and preparing the cells, the electrophysiology methods for validating …

Modeling The Spatially Varying Point Spread Function Of The Kirkpatrick-Baez Optic, Nathan Adelman

Master's Theses

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) National Ignition Facility (NIF) uses a variety of diagnostics and image capturing optics for collecting data in High Energy Density Physics (HEDP) experiments. However, every image capturing system causes blurring and degradation of the images captured. This degradation can be mathematically described through a camera system's Point Spread Function (PSF), and can be reversed if the system's PSF is known. This is deconvolution, also called image restoration. Many PSFs can be determined experimentally by imaging a point source, which is a light emitting object that appears infinitesimally small to the camera. However, NIF's Kirkpatrick-Baez Optic …

Characterization Of Arterial Flow For Junctional Bleeding Control, Nick Bosio

Master's Theses

This study investigated reducing volumetric flowrate under steady flow conditions by varying lengths of compression with constant cross-sectional area and varying cross-sectional area reduction with constant length in order to better understand how to control junctional hemorrhaging. The hypotheses of this study were that length reduction will have little effect on volumetric flowrate and that cross-sectional area reduction would need to be approximately 80 percent in order to obtain bleeding control. The study found that length reduction has little effect on changing the flowrate. However, in order to obtain at least 80 percent reduction in flow, the area needs to …

Thermal Modelling And Validation Of Heat Profiles In An Rf Plasma Micro-Thruster, Alec Sean Henken

Master's Theses

The need and demand for propulsion devices on nanosatellites has grown over the last decade due to interest in expanding nanosatellite mission abilities, such as attitude control, station-keeping, and collision avoidance. One potential micro-propulsion device suitable for nanosatellites is an electrothermal plasma thruster called Pocket Rocket. Pocket Rocket is a low-power, low-cost propulsion platform specifically designed for use in nanosatellites such as CubeSats. Due to difficulties associated with integrating propulsion devices onto spacecraft such as volume constraints and heat dissipation limitations, a characterization of the heat generation and heat transfer properties of Pocket Rocket is necessary. Several heat-transfer models of …

Validation Of A 1d Algorithm That Measures Pulse Wave Velocity To Estimate Compliance In Blood Vessels, James Leung

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research is to determine if it is possible to validate the new 1D method for measuring pulse wave velocity in the aorta in vivo and estimate compliance. Arterial pressure and blood flow characterize the traveling of blood from the heart to the arterial system and have played a significant role in the evaluation of cardiovascular diseases. Blood vessel distensibility can give some information on the evolution of cardiovascular disease. A patient’s aorta cannot be explanted to measure compliance; therefore we are using a flow phantom model to validate the 1D pulse wave velocity technique to estimate …

Smart Espresso Machine, Hasham Ali, Justin L'Heureux, Hayden Yeung, Pei Hang Zhang

Electrical Engineering

With the recent “Internet of Things” trend, more and more home devices are connected to the Internet. Smart light bulbs, smart thermostats, smart door locks; just to name a few. These smart appliances enable users to view their status and control their settings remotely with just a few clicks on the smartphone. Moreover, the arrival of intelligent personal voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa revolutionized how users interact with these smart appliances. Nowadays, users are able to control these devices by just speaking.

If controlling smart devices is so easy, why not have your morning cup of joe be that …

Introduction Of Mechatronics Specialization Through Concentration Areas In The Mechanical And Electrical Engineering Technology Programs, Otilia Popescu, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Sanjeevi Chitikeshi, Isaac L. Flory Iv

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The last few decades have experienced an explosion of technology, both in industry and in customer products. A large variety of embedded systems from various areas of applications, digital electronics, internet of things, automatically controlled products, and ultimately mechatronics systems are part of the everyday life. The changes in the industries, consumer markets and implicitly in the job markets, impose changes in the academic programs and curricula. Recently, mechatronics undergraduate programs started being developed in 2 or 4 years colleges across the nation, mainly driven by international companies operating in countries that already offer mechatronics degrees ranging from high school …

Advancing The Engineering Field: Opportunities To Support Transfer Students, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Narketta Sparkman-Key, Konstantin P. Cigularov, Daniela Cigularova, Bonita G. Anthony, Otilia Popescu

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Advancements in technology have made it vital that technicians advance their skills to stay current and competitive in the job market. Many technicians choose to transfer to baccalaureate programs in engineering and other STEM fields in order to advance their skills. As a result, engineering programs usually have a large population of transfer students. Many of transfer students are studying while employed in the field and some juggle a career and family while advancing their education. Accordingly, transfer students face various issues when transferring to different university settings. Some of these issues are related to embeddedness into the university community …

Lessons From Two Years Of Eportfolio Implementation In Engineering Technology Courses, Orlando M. Ayala, Otilia Popescu

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

In an undergraduate as well as in a graduate academic setting, an ePortfolio is a collection of student work designed to exhibit student’s achievements, which often includes student’s reflective commentaries. While in academia ePortfolios are used to document the student learning process over time, they have been also well received by employers as work portfolios or showcases. This paper provides detailed explanations of two years of implementation of ePortfolio activities in junior and senior level engineering technology courses. The goal of the paper is to present to the community the best practices learned during the implementation and to provide information …

Art To Engineering: Curved Folding And Developable Surfaces In Mechanism And Deployable Structure Design, Todd G. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

This work investigates how curved-crease origami and the developable surfaces which compose it can be transitioned to engineering design. Methods for creating flexible, tailorable-property surfaces that function as thick panels in place of paper are presented. Concepts from curved-crease origami and developable surfaces that can describe and extend engineering applications are discussed and demonstrated. These concepts are particularly beneficial to applications where curved surfaces are integral to the function, deployability is desired, and planar manufacturing could be beneficial.The first part of this work uses arrays of compliant elements to create flexible-tailorable property surfaces. The key feature to these arrays is …

Board 85 : Cadcompare™: A Web-Based Application That Compares Pdf Cad Drawings, Lukas W. Dibeneditto, Rustin Webster

School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

This work in progress describes the development of a web application titled CADcompare™, which automatically compares, displays, and highlights differences in Portable Document Format (PDF) files of computer-aided design (CAD) drawings and is specifically designed to compare multiple student files to an instructor's grading key. CADcompare augments the grading process of technical and engineering CAD drawings by highlighting differences that can be easily missed by a human grader, such as incorrect line type(s), color(s), or double lines (i.e., lines on top of each other). Some CAD software has built-in comparison tools, however, none of the comparison tools accept PDF files …

Nutrient Removal In Microalgae Raceway Ponds And Nitrification Modeling, Esmeralda Diego

Master's Theses

This thesis explores the treatment of municipal wastewater using pilot-scale raceway ponds and looks specifically at the capability of the raceways in removing BOD and nitrogen. Nine 33 square-meter algal raceway ponds were used to conduct research at the San Luis Obispo Water Resources Recovery Facility. Main objectives of this study were to increase the removal of total ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N plus NH₄⁺-N) from municipal wastewater through increased assimilation and nitrification. Raceway ponds with CO₂ addition were operated in series with an intermediate settling step and a total hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 4 …

How Useful Is Travel-Based Multitasking? Evidence From Commuters In Portland, Oregon, Patrick A. Singleton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

As research on travel-based multitasking—doing other things while traveling—becomes more common, some studies also investigate the quality or value of activity participation during travel. This idea of travel usefulness is a component of the positive utility of travel concept; understanding the benefits of travel-based multitasking is important for calculating accurate economic values trading-off travel time and other variables. This study analyzed travel usefulness and its potential determinants using a 2016 survey of about 650 commuters in the Portland, Oregon, area. Ordered logit models identified factors associated with subjective assessments of the overall usefulness of activity participation while on a recent …

A National Pragmatic Safety Limit For Nuclear Weapon Quantities, Joshua M. Pearce, David C. Denkenberger

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Publications

This study determines the nuclear pragmatic limit where the direct physical negative consequences of nuclear weapons use are counter to national interests, by assuming all unknowns are conservatively optimistic. The only effect considered is nuclear winter (“nuclear autumn” in the low weapons limits) and the resultant effects on the aggressor nation. First, the ability of low nuclear weapon limits is probed for maintaining deterrence in the worst-case scenario of attacking the most-populous nation. Second, the ability of aggressor nations to feed themselves is assessed without trade and industry resultant from a nuclear attack causing “nuclear autumn” (10% global agricultural shortfall). …

Automated Pruning Of Greenhouse Indeterminate Tomato Plants, Joey M. Angeja

Master's Theses

Pruning of indeterminate tomato plants is vital for a profitable yield and it still remains a manual process. There has been research in automated pruning of grapevines, trees, and other plants, but tomato plants have yet to be explored. Wage increases are contributing to the depleting profits of greenhouse tomato farmers. Rises in population are the driving force behind the need for efficient growing techniques. The major contribution of this thesis is a computer vision algorithm for detecting greenhouse tomato pruning points without the use of depth sensors. Given an up-close 2-D image of a tomato stem with the background …

Comparative Analysis Of Physiological Measurements And Environmental Metrics On Predicting Heat Stress Related Events, Mckenzie Lee Barlow

Master's Theses

Exposure to high heat and humidity can lead to serious health risks, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) and heat index have historically been used to predict heat stress events, but individualized factors are not included in the measurement. It has been shown that there is a relationship between cardiovascular measurements and heat stress, which could be used to measure heat stress risk on an individual level. Research has been done to find relationships between cardiovascular metrics in a workplace environment, however the study did not include the use of a controlled environment as a …

A Protocol-Based Blended Model For Fluid Mechanics Instruction, John Solomon, Eric Hamilton, Vimal Viswanathan, Chitra Nayak, Firas Akasheh

Faculty Publications, Mechanical Engineering

A personalized and media-rich learning framework called “Knowledge and Curriculum Integration Ecosystem” (KACIE) has been developed and implemented in a junior level fluid mechanics course in Fall 2016 and Spring 2017. This model shares characteristics of blended instruction as well as a flipped classroom, with an overall structure that includes the application of established principles emerging from the learning sciences and from cognitive neuroscience. These principles have taken form in the KACIE model as classroom protocols or written instructions to scaffold and guide teaching and learning by faculty and students respectively. In KACIE, the course has been presented as a …

Application Of Brain-Based Learning Principles To Engineering Mechanics Education: Implementation And Preliminary Analysis Of Connections Between Employed Strategies And Improved Student Engagement, Firas Akasheh, John Solomon, Eric Hamilton, Chitra Nayak, Vimal Viswanathan

Faculty Publications, Mechanical Engineering

In a pilot study supported by NSF, an instructional model that uses brain based learning principles as instructional protocols has been developed and successfully implemented in the course Introduction to Fluid Mechanics at a HBCU. Motivated by that success, we extended a similar intervention to another course, Dynamics, in the same school. In this paper, we report preliminary data from this intervention. The main strategies implemented in this intervention include: organization of the course into specific concepts and sub-concepts, which are concisely presented by short (limited to 2-6 minutes) content-rich lectures (diagrams, animations, narrations), active learning through in-class worksheets, and …