Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Design And Analysis Of One-Piece 10” Carbon Fiber Wheels For Zips Racing Zr20 Formula Sae Racecar, Patrick Kruse, Henry J. Wathen, Jordan J. Hyde, Nicholas D. Dobben, Jordan D. Blake

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Reducing the weight of a vehicle in racing can substantially improve the vehicle dynamics and general performance capabilities. More specifically, the reduction of the unsprung corner weight can provide noticeable performance gains in handling and responsiveness, leading to a quicker, more agile car due to a lower yawing moment of inertia. Unsprung weight reduction also improves the car’s ability to maintain contact between the tires and the road surface for a more consistent grip. In this project we identified the loads that act on the wheel rims according to the data collected from the sensors in the car’s suspension, and …

Gene Gun Research Project, Victoria Wargo, Eid Alolayan, Joseph Bader, Feras Alyamani, Connor Nagelkirk

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The motivation behind this project is to design or improve a cheaper gene gun that can help the world. The goal is to design a new low-cost gene delivery system that will allow Dr. Mahajan and University of Akron students conduct new research, with the aim of advancing society in many different fields. A few examples would be improving crops resistances to insects or harsh weather. This could happen by altering their genes to repulse insects or have stronger bases to have better resistance to the wind. In the medical world you could use gene therapy to help fight cancer …

Theoretical Design Of A 360 Degree Pendulum Ride, John William Elliott

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project uses several areas of study: mechanical physics/design of moving parts, electrical power, and human comfort. It is based on the pendulum ride at Cedar Point called "maXair." One of the goals with this project is to create a theoretical, simpler version of a 360 Degree Pendulum Ride that operates on the same principles of a conventional pendulum rides. The velocity, forces on the shaft in the middle of the ride, the accelerations, the g force on the riders, and all the other forces associated with the pendulum ride were analyzed as well.

Hydraulic Vehicle Challenge, Jacob Steiner, David Kotovets, Evan Blitz, Luke Fetherston, Alex Colucy

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The target goal of this project is for a team of students to design a vehicle which is based on human power as the primary mover of the system and achieves vehicle propulsion through the required use of hydraulics and pneumatics. In summary, the rider will power a pump that will generate pressure in order to move the fluid that drives the motor. This will result in the powered rotation of the wheels. As there are many possible designs, naturally, this means that the final design for the vehicle will have specific limitations such as weight and the required use …

Entertainment 721, Mark Hendricks, Noah John, Jadon Vanyo, Chelsea Payne

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of this project was to design a luxury, aesthetically pleasing entertainment system with a TV lift mechanism that could be remote controlled. The design would also include a cooling cabinet for gaming systems, a remote locking system, and additional storage. Using a morphological chart and weighted decision matrix for each subsystem key features were determined to be included in the design. Several performance benchmarks were determined to accomplish the team’s design. Almost every benchmark was successful in the build of the first prototype. Several heat calculations and FEA analyses were performed on the system to ensure the success …

Formula Sae Design Validation Through Lap Time Simulation, Noah Gresser, Akos Jasper, Michael Metropoulos, Paul Buczynski, James Volcansek

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Lap time simulation is capable of advancing Zips Racing into a new, modern era for future vehicle designs. Through the use of VI-grade simulation software, Zips Racing was able to validate its current combustion and electric vehicle designs in spite of the challenges brought on to the team as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout this project, the design team gained an enhanced understanding of suspension designs and optimizations through the usage of computer simulations. As a result, the teams have a better understanding of the fundamental changes that need to occur to enhance the race team’s final race …

Jominy Hardenability Tester Redesign, Dennis Kopacz, Shadoe Beatty, Thomas Benenati, Jared Mclean, Matthew Yokosuk

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Our project is Redesigning a Hardenability Tester. The goal of this project is to figure out how to incorporate an intensive quenching system to the current design from last years group. An intensive quench is a new system that is safer to harden steel and it hardens steel more effectively than other quenching processes. This will be achieved through testing the initial design to make sure it is able to run. After that as a group we will take this system through a design process to introduce a safe process of intensive quenching to the tester.

Sim Wheel Hand Controls For Disabled Users, Weston Davis, Jade Reese, Joshua King, Duncan O'Brien

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Sim Wheel Hand Controls kit is an open-source project for disabled individuals to experience simulation racing. The project converts a Thrustmaster TX foot pedal set into hand-operated brake and throttle controls. The module uses elements from the pedal set, a 3D printed housing and commonly available hardware. The Do-It-Yourself nature of the project allows the product to be inexpensive and accessible compared to its single competitor. A website was created to share the 3D printing files, detailed instruction manual and resources provided free by the University of Akron. The team found the module to be ergonomic, durable, realistic, and …

Golf Ball Mark Repair Tool, Peter Gildea, Jacob Cunningham, Simon Aramouni, Michael Buckley, Andrew Perez

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Golf is a unique sport because the players consist of various ages. Inexperience and old age are two factors that cause issues on the course for others, such as improperly repaired divots. Divots are “craters” in the ground caused by the golf ball landing with high velocity on the greens. Older players encounter body limitations that make it difficult for them to bend over in order to properly fix the divots on every hole. This device will be created to properly repair divots to keep the greens in good playing condition for all players and to keep the older players …

4040c Universal Tester Backup, Devan Keeling, John Bowen, Cameron Bosner, Jacob Lenart

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The 40 Series valve is one of Swagelok's highest volume part families of which 60,000 parts per year shipped are multi-ported. The multiport configuration requires a unique tester to ensure proper assembly and quality of upstream processes.

Due to the multiport configuration of these valves no alternate testing option exists, resulting in a high rate of customer disappointments per day should the equipment fail.

In addition to the tester's criticality, it has also been ranked as one of Swagelok's most unhealthy assets and is probable to experience extended downtime in the future.

This project proposes to design and build a …

Implementation Of An Autonomous Guided Vehicle (Agv), Allen St. Myers, Alan Miller

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This report thoroughly represents a proposal to AAM Metal Forming Minerva for the implementation of an AGV (Autonomous Guided Vehicle) Unit. Our recommendations are made with consideration to existing manufacturing processes and demonstrate how using an AGV would be a net positive investment for the company. By first examining the current operating costs, a three-tiered proposal is tailored based on increasing investment cost. Each tier increase encompasses the previous tiers’ proposed improvements while also growing in complexity and investment cost. The results of our research indicate that our Tier 2 proposal will provide the most benefit to our facility now …

Design Of Banner Tow Mechanism For Bush Plane, Kyle Ciarrone, Ivan Martin, Rishabh Gadi, Tyler Brandt

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The 2019-2020 AIAA DBF objective was to design, build, and test a banner-towing bush plane that carries wooden passengers and luggage. Senior members on the team undertook the creation of the banner tow mechanism subsystem as their senior design project on behalf of the design team due to the challenge of its mechanical design and the aerodynamic considerations regarding its placement and enclosure aboard the aircraft. The competition as well as access to campus resources were canceled due to COVID-19, so full testing and integration of the mechanism was not achieved. However, the engineering design process was experienced from the …

Medical Device For Loading Of Knee At Differing Angles, Alex Dragota

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Abstract

This was a design report for a device that would be used in patellar instability research. The device would be used inside an MRI machine and allow the patient to adjust the angle of their knee to the desired position.

Methods: Solidworks was used in the design process to model and to simulate the strength of the components used. The Solidworks simulation software allowed for a better understanding of the strength of individual components and the strength of the full device. Complexity of operating the device while inside an MRI machine were taken into account by using animations of …

Snug Fit Crescent Wrench, Jacob M. Miterko, Michael E. Buchbinder, Gavin J. Griffith, Andrew J. Jarrett

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The most commonly used brand of adjustable wrench, a Crescent Wrench, dates back to the early nineteen hundreds. The tolerances associated with the adjustable wheel used by the most common adjustable wrench designs allow the position of the lower jaw to vary while using the tool. These undesired fluctuations in the position of the lower jaw make it difficult to adjust the wrench to the desired position and keep it in position once the desired position is set.

The proposed adjustable wrench design addresses the tolerance issues by constraining the lower jaw with a new mechanism. The mechanism makes minor …

Mini Baja Frame Analysis, Jacob Swanson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of our senior design project is to optimize the Baja frame to reduce its weight and material cost while keeping the required rigidity. Through force analysis we will be able to determine if any rigidity is lost by removing a set of tubes (figure 1), along with the other forces seen by the frame. If it is found that the frame rigidity is still within the determined factor of safety, 2, then we will be able to reduce the frame weight and the number of tubes that make up the frame. Along with force analysis, we will use …

Senior Design Proposal For Brakes Subsystem 2019-2020, Jasmine Zogheib, Zachary Demetriades, Devin Seay

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This report concentrates on efforts to design a new braking system for the Zips Formula Electric Race Team. The improvements to the braking system will be based upon previous years’ official designs along with optimizing for predetermined criteria. The design will be influenced based on design factors of the car such as weight, center of gravity, wheelbase, and integration with other systems of the car.

Redesign And Analysis For Landing Gear Components, Daniel Clarke

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A project for Collins Aerospace, the company I co-op at, where I will redesign several components of a landing gear for a military program. Any structural/stress analysis will also be performed. The goal is to reduce weight while maintaining strength and structural integrity.

Jominy Hardenability Tester With In-Situ Heating, Luke Allen

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project centers on building a Jominy Hardenability tester with In-Situ heating for the manufacturing lab at the University of Akron. A new process and setup will be designed using engineering concepts in order to make the testing more efficient and safer for the teaching and testing of metal hardness. The current Jominy testing setup has efficiency issues within the transfer of specimen from induction heater to testing rig. Our design will simplify the design by creating a test rig that removes the traveling aspect of the specimen which will limit the amount of premature cooling done and will be …

Akron Honey- Honey Infuser, Niklas Hilmoe, Timothy Snider, Richard Bitzel, Preston Fillman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The initiative for this project was created by the local business, Akron Honey, who has recently developed a new product line called ‘honeytune’. The basis of the product line is the addition of active ingredients to the natural honey. Currently, they are using a 20 gallon traditional honey extractor to mix the ingredients with the honey. This extractor uses a variable speed motor which causes a long mixing time. Also, the extractor is made of heavy stainless steel which lacks mobility of the machine. This process is tedious and inefficient and therefore, needs improvement. They would like a large scale …

Custom 3d Printed Orthotic, Dakota Kirtley, Andrew Wiles

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of this senior design projet is to develop a cutsom 3D printed orthotic shoe insert. Pressure mapping, laser scanning, and 3D modeling will be used to create a truly custom orthotic for each foot. Pressure mapping will give the weight distribution on an individual's food and the laser scanner will give the x-y coordinates of the foot. these two together will be used to generate a a 3D model which will then be 3D printed to create a custom orthotic. Research and material testing will also be done to determine the best material type to be used in …

Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Improvement, Nathan Embaugh, Jason Mack, Jeremiah Fitzgerald, Zachary J. Lindsey

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The energy harvester is used to convert a portion of the tire deflection waste energy to power up tire embedded sensors. A piezoelectric energy harvester is designed and some preliminary tests are done on it. So far, it has been shown that this design is sufficient for tire application. The team will need to modify the design of the energy harvester, the measurement setup and add a temperature and a strain senor to the existing setup so that the tire deflection and temperature can be measured and at the same time the energy harvester should be tested to see how …

Pediatric Blood Calculator, Richard Desatnik

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper outlines an expert system based solution for calculating the optimal amount of blood draw from infants to carry out critical tests requested by the attending clinicians. The solution is a hand-held device with a user-friendly interface that allows a meaningful two-way conversation between the clinician and the pathology office. Based on the tests being requested, the calculator determines the minimum amount of blood required in the different vials based on a smart expert system. This removes the uncertainty that is prevalent today in the amount of blood required to do all the tests, since in some cases there …

A Commercial Apartment Complex, Kathleen A. George

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Within this project the similarities and differences of new and used heating, cooling, and plumbing systems and equipment will be compared and contrasted in depth. Doing so would help further knowledge and understanding of the design field and help to foster quicker decision making in an educated way. The questions to be answered are: in which stage of this project did the client have the best equipment (the high-end outcome) and why, in which stage did they have the cheapest equipment (the low-end outcome) and why, in which stage did they have the best equipment while also being cost efficient …

Zips Electric - Cooling System, Guan-Bok Kwok

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

I am working with Zips Electric Racing to design a new cooling system for the ZER-20 car. The new cooling system will be more efficient and effective than the current design. We will investigate lighter materials with better thermal conductivity. Flow rate will also be optimized to meet the system’s needs. Also calculations and testing will be completed to determine if a fan is necessary. To adapt to the new proposed chassis, it is likely that the radiator must be mounted outside of the frame. If this is necessary, we will also design composite side pods to conceal and direct …

Rocket Motor Nozzle, Corey Hillegass

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

For this honors research and senior design project, the authors will research, analyze, and manufacture a rocket motor nozzle for the Akronauts rocket design team. This research and design project will improve how the rocket design team will decide and manufacture nozzles going forward. The impact of this improvement allows the rocket design team to take steps toward being self-sustaining by manufacturing student designed parts as opposed to commercially bought parts. This will not only be successful in increasing student impact on future designs, but also provides a technical challenge for the authors and will present as an impressive feat …

Shock Wave And Boundary Layer Interaction, Blake Keuchel, Lauren Andrews, Corryn Rahe

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Air entering the engine of a supersonic aircraft must be slowed to subsonic speeds for the engine to perform properly and not become significantly damaged over time. Diffusers are designed to create a shockwave to slow down air to subsonic speeds before the air enters the engine. This project will focus on the numerical analysis and design of diffuser geometries for supersonic aircraft engines. The main objective is to evaluate supersonic flow over different geometries, specifically the interaction between shock waves and boundary layer, and to minimize the amount of drag created by different diffuser geometries to optimize the efficiency …

Formula Electric Sae Frame, David Streen, David Kinion, Dylan Ramey

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The project is for the FSAE Zips Racing Electric Team. The last race car made by the Zips Racing Electric Team has a large potential for optimization. We plan to redesign the frame from the ground up in an effort to reduce weight and increase the performance potential while meeting all FSAE rules and packaging constraints.

Formula Electric is an event in which teams from colleges around the world compete in various events including autocross, endurance and many others with an electrically driven car.

This project will involve the design, analysis, and fabrication of a steel tube space frame for …

Zips Electric Racing Suspension Design, Madison Hughes, Christopher Thompson, Erikah Jackson, Anna Signorino

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

I am working with three others on the suspension and steering sybsystems for the Zips Electric Racing design team at The University of Akron. We are improving upon last year's design to help create an optimized vehicle. As part of this project, we take part in weekly design reviews and team meetings, model parts in Solidworks, and perform simulations and FEA using MATLAB/SIMULINK, Solidworks, and Optimum Kinematics.

Comparision Of Fillet-Welded Base Plate Fatigue Design For Highway Support Structures With Laboratory Research Tests, William Shea

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

There are many types of vertical structures along highways that serve unique purposes. These structures include traffic signs for directing, warning, or regulating traffic, luminaires for distributing and directing light, traffic signals supporting equipment such as traffic lights, and combination structures including any combination of the aforementioned structures. Highway support structures are typically fabricated from steel or aluminum and are designed to the guidelines and specifications of the AASHTO Standard Specifications for Structural Supports for Highway Signs, Luminaires, and Traffic Signals. The structures are connected to a foundation by anchor bolts through a welded base plate. Often a cause …

Human Powered Vehicle Internal Systems Design, Zachary Broadbent, Jordan Boos, Patrick Gaertner, Caleb Miner

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The objective of this design project is to redesign the seat and steering system for the Human Powered Vehicle Team. The goal of the seat design is too improve ergonomics by making it more comfortable and adjustable. In making the seat adjustable, it will be easier for drivers to achieve an optimal efficiency when pedaling. The aim for steering will be to improve the ergonomics as well as performance by analyzing steering systems in the past and evaluating how each design was successful and for what reason. Another main goal of the steering system will be improving the stability and …