Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Sae Baja Custom Caliper And Upright Design, Katelynn R. Kise

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Zips Baja Off-Road Racing team had a successful 2018 season however some aspects of the car needed to be updated and improved for the 2019 season. This reports captures the design cycle performed to improve the cost, integration, and reliability of the front braking caliper and upright.

Hydro-Aeroponic Design, Megan J. Doll, Nathan J. Boring, Meredith B. Taylor, Chancelor L. Sunkle

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

“Aeroponics” is a plant cultivation technique where roots hang suspended in the air while the nutrient solution is delivered in the form of a fine mist. NASA has done experiments in space and found out that plants grow very well with aeroponic technology. However, “Hydroponics” is the most preferred method, where plants are grown in a non-soil medium, and mostly in nutrient liquid that flows through rectangular channels. There are advantages and disadvantages to each system. With the intention of combining the efficiency of aeroponics and the compactness of hydroponics, a hydro-aeroponic system was created to grow spinach and lettuce. …

Expendable 3d Printed Rescue Drone, Matthew Chapman, Nathan Knutty, Matthew Chapman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project team designed a 3D printed, expendable drone capable of flying for 80 minutes with a 5 lb payload in order to deliver rescue supplies to individuals in distress.

Carbon Fiber Monocoque, Dan Brown, Leland Hoffman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The University of Akron’s Human Powered Vehicle Team designed a high performing, fully functioning vehicle that is safe, efficient, and practical for the 2018-2019 season. These objectives were the main priorities when it came to the initial stages of designing the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle was designed in accordance with the ASME 2019 Human Powered Vehicle Challenge guidelines to satisfy all the rules and requirements. Additional priorities have been created to teach practical engineering skills and techniques to the students participating in the project through different points in the production process including research, vehicle design, construction, and testing.

The …

Metric Coil Car, Abigail Eberly

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Coil cars are a vital part of many steel mills. They allow mills to easily transfer a coil from one location to another without the use of a crane, manual labor, or other extraneous forces. Steel Equipment Specialists, or SES, gets multiple orders every year for coil cars. While the general functions and goals of the cars remains consistent, the details, such as the size of the car, the distance between rails, and the weight/ size of the coils differs between each place. Due to this variety, SES has requested a coil car that can easily be manipulated and produced …

Theoretical Study Of Fano Resonance In A Mechanical System, Alex Alberts

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Resonance conditions are a major area of study in theoretical and experimental investigation. Normally, a resonance condition is characterized by a symmetric shape on either side of the resonance. In some cases, we can observe an asymmetric resonance shape, which is called a Fano resonance. We will study the appearance of Fano resonance in a purely mechanical system. The frequency response of the primary system is approximated using the method of multiple scales focusing on the location of the resonance condition. Then, curve fitting is used to approximate the Fano parameter associated with the system, which provides a measurement of …

Generator Design: A Study Of Optimized Airflow, Rachel Wattleworth

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The core goal of this project was to prototype, test, and evaluate a new type of fan for the Safran Electrical & Power air-cooled generators. The idea of a new fan being made for these two generators arose when they were not adhering to design requirements. A base mixed-flow fan was created to test on multiple generators. Upon creating a prototype, it will be tested to prove if it can increase the air flow, decrease temperatures, and increase power and life of the machines. They all proved to be successful and achieve the main objectives for this project. Data such …

Power Wheelchair Canopy, Mohamed F. Battah, Joshua D. Brown, Dujuan J. Mcclendon, Gavin M. Francisco

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Some power wheelchair users can not drive and independently hold an umbrella at the time because they do not have much upper body strength. Therefore, users are unprotected from the rain and are getting soaking wet. One of the members of this group is in a wheelchair and faces this problem. He has previously searched for something to protect him from rain, but could not found something he could independently use. What users need is a powered umbrella that attaches to their power wheelchair. There is no such umbrella available in the market. In this project, the solution to this …

Fatigue Tester, Nicholas Fazio

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this project is to combine all my experience, knowledge and skills that I’ve acquired over the years as a Mechanical Engineering Technology student to completely design and build a fatigue tester. This will give me valuable experience in the process of designing and assembling a product and give me a great example to add to my portfolio. The tester will be completed through a process of researching design and modeling. Once everything is properly calculated and designed the parts that can be fabricated will. The rest will be ordered and then everything will be assembled. Upon completion, …

Recumbent Bicycle Balancing Aid, James Hager

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

For our senior design project, our team will be consulting to create a balancing aid system intended for the recumbent bicycle shown below in Figure 1. The owner of the bicycle is Robert Henderson, a former United States Navy sailor from Northeast Ohio who picked up biking and skiing while he was stationed in Maine in the late 80’s. While there, he took to the mountains on the rugged terrain and brought this passion of biking back home to share with his wife, Johanna once he completed his service to his country. Biking became an integral part of the …

Interlaminar Damage Detection In Composite Materials, Hariharan Rangarajan

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Using ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) for high-temperature applications in jet engines increases durability and reduces weight and cooling requirements resulting in improved efficiency and fuel savings. Understanding, detecting, and monitoring different types of damage is essential to achieve optimal performance of CMC components. The Direct Current Potential Drop (DCPD) method is a non-destructive technique of estimating damage in composite materials.

DCPD technique works by measuring nodal potential differences when current is flown through the material. Direct current spreading in different woven and laminate composites is modeled to follow a ladder resistor network in which the nodal voltages decrease exponentially as …

Testing Of A Human Powered Vehicle, Bailey Conard, Marlee Reynolds

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The University of Akron’s Human Powered Vehicle Team designed a high performing, fully functioning vehicle that is safe, efficient, and practical for the 2018-2019 season. These objectives were the main priorities when it came to the initial stages of designing the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle was designed in accordance with the ASME 2019 Human Powered Vehicle Challenge guidelines to satisfy all the rules and requirements. Additional priorities have been created to teach practical engineering skills and techniques to the students participating in the project through different points in the production process including research, vehicle design, manufacturing, and testing.

The …

Examination Of Ice Impactor And Mold, Matt Wilson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research project investigates impact and damage response of composite sandwich structures impacted with solid ice at extreme low-temperature. Composite sandwich structures of carbon fiber reinforced polymer sheets lining a polyvinyl chloride foam core are subjected to low-velocity impact at arctic temperatures. This impact will be delivered by a solid ice tool-tip via a drop impact testing machine. Data and test results acquired will be composed into a research report that will be submitted to The University of Akron and published in a scientific journal. This project builds upon the earlier study by Elamin, Li, & Tan (2018).

Robotic Mining Digging Core, John Stefan, Ryan Weir

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this design project is to design a digging core for a lunar robot that will collect large amounts of material buried beneath the surface of Mars so one day, astronauts can use those resources. This lunar robot will be competing in the NASA Robotic Mining Competition, where teams from universities around the country display and test their designs. This design must adhere to a newly implemented rule which states that the amount of gravel a robot collects will determine the team score. The layer of gravel is located underneath a layer of Regolith, which simulates the surface …

Garbage Disposal, Madison Popa, Tyler Miller, Mitchell Wheeler, Johnathon Klebe

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this report is to outline a new design for a sink garbage disposal system. The goal of this design is to develop a garbage disposal that could be made for less money, which would turn into a cost savings for the consumer and would lead to an increase in the amount of garbage disposal systems being used throughout the world. This allows the garbage disposal system to be marketed to different parts of the world that currently can’t afford the systems available on the market.

The increased use of garbage disposals, help reduce the amount of organic …

Battery Test Chamber, Olivia Cole, Noah Purdy, Jacob Happ

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A battery test chamber was designed for temperature-controlled experiments on batteries. The apparatus is a standalone desktop unit capable of testing a battery of maximum size 2.25” x 2.25” x 2”. There are two separate chambers divided by a rotating, 90° door. The chamber halves are used for heating and cooling the battery, respectively. An adjustable mount for the battery allows for variation in sample size and securely holds the battery throughout the experiment. The operator can twist a knob on top of the box to spin the battery between the hot and cold chambers. The hot side is equipped …

Impedance Tube Alternative Via The Transfer Function Method, Nathan Palella, Griffin J. Binkley

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Typical industry-ready impedance tube systems for measuring sound absorption cost between $20,000 and $60,000. The scope of this project was to explore an industrial impedance tube and its functions as well as iteratively reduce the cost of each component of the system to its lowest possible conclusion without severely sacrificing quality of data acquisition. Replacement of the hardware and software with “off-the-shelf” alternatives and custom-made components can reduce the overall cost by as much as two orders of magnitude in order to be used in the education sector, mainly high schools. We find that the designed tube and driver replacements …

Guardian Condor, Kevin Bayonnet

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Our group has teamed up with Dr. Williams from Discovery Lab Global to research the capabilities of 3D printed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The goal of our project is to deliver a 3D printed glider prototype which can later be fitted with electronics for controlled flight. The glider must also carry a payload of 2 to 3 pounds in addition to the electronics. These requirements must be met all while using a basic 3D printer with low cost plastic

Throughout the Fall 2017 semester, our group made a significant amount of progress by completing the conceptual design portion of the …

Human Powered Vehicle Design Team: Speed Variable Steering Stabilizer, Eric Miller, Matt Kraml

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Human Powered Vehicle Competition (HPVC) is held annually by ASME at a few locations. The University of Akron has competed in the ASME-East and ASME-West competitions over the past handful of years against universities from all over the world. Objectives of each team for the competition are three-fold: vehicle design, racing performance, and innovation. Our senior design project involved working on the innovation concept for ASME-East 2018 held at Penn State University during the weekend of 4/13. Speed variable steering was decided upon by the entire HPVC team early in the design process as the innovation choice for this …

Building Entry Flood Barrier, Richard Esker, Shannon Mccall, Andrew Udovich, Brian Foust

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this project is to develop a flood barrier that would resist flood water from entering through the doorways of a building. The goal is to mitigate extensive flooding within a structure. After the disastrous weather events that impacted American citizens late in the year of 2017, the team was inspired to develop a project to help disaster victims. Through extensive preliminary and market research, it was discovered that flooding is a serious issue that affects people all over the world. A product to stop flooding could benefit people in developed countries, but it could also help citizens …

Indicator-Supporting Fixture Based On A Time And Motion Study, James Anthony

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The design goal of this project was proposed by the sponsor company, Jay-Em Aerospace in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. I was tasked with observing a process carried out in the Assembly department by multiple people and charged with coming up with a fixture to improve safety, speed, and accuracy of this task. To determine how to make the process safer, interviews were conducted with the people who would usually be carrying out this process and determined their top concerns and issues with how it is carried out currently. To improve the speed and accuracy of the process, a "time and motion …

Ball Oscillating Bouncer, Eric Blok, Daniel Altemese, Ryan Nowacki, Maram Qurban

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this report is to document the need, objectives, marketing and engineering requirements, as well as validate the design of an autonomous control device capable of continuously bouncing a table tennis ball on a paddle. This includes the design of a self correcting system using lightweight materials, and as few sensors and components as possible to achieve a compact, portable design. To accomplish this, the system is designed to react to a ball falling from as short a distance as 10 centimeters above the paddle, meaning all sensor processing, control processing, and motor drives should be able to …

Spacecraft Fire Safety Research: Combustion Of Lithium-Ion Batteries To Predict Fire Scenarios, Elisabeth Meyer

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this project was to research characteristics of a Lithium-ion battery fire to determine if trends exist in measured fire characteristics that can help predict different fire scenarios. These experiments will ultimately aid in developing an alarm threshold for a spacecraft smoke detector, specifically for Orion, a new, multi-purpose crew vehicle under development by NASA. Orion is the next-generation of spacecraft designed to replace the space shuttle and will play an important role in NASA’s journey to Mars.

In the experiments performed, Lithium-ion batteries were placed in a test chamber and ignited while smoke concentration was measured, simulating …

Human Powered Vehicle Frame Design, Analysis, Manufacturing, And Testing, Christopher Reed, Kole W. Williams

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The University of Akron Human Powered Vehicle Design Team began this academic year with a mission to create a practical, lightweight, safe, and efficient human powered vehicle. The main objectives of ZC18 were inspired by competition in the 2018 Human Powered Vehicle Challenge at ASME E-Fest East. In addition to adhering to the rules of this competition, scoring high on the submitted reports, and competing well in the racing events, the team set a goal to assist in furthering knowledge related to the topic of human powered vehicles.

ZC18 was constructed nearly completely in the University of Akron’s Design Center …

Swagelok Adjustable Check Valve Setting Device, Brandon Sours, Paul Olson, David Race, Nick Rimpf

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Check valves are used to control the amount of flow through a valve and only open when a certain pressure is reached. The path of the fluid is strictly in one direction, which allows the valve to prevent any back flow within a system. They are also one of few self-automated piping system components that do not require assistance to open or close. Some check valves use a combination spring-and-nut compression assembly to set an opening pressure. As the nut is used to set the spring compression, and by extension the opening pressure, problems tend to arise when adjusting the …

Design Of Shape-Conforming Nosecone For Optimal Fluid Flow From Transonic To Supersonic Range, Anna Tombazzi

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Modern flight vehicles, such as rockets, missiles, and airplanes, experience a force caused by forebody wave drag during the flight. This drag force is induced when the frontal point of each vehicle breaks the pressure wave during flight. Efforts to reduce this wave drag force to improve flight efficiency include modifying the nosecone profile of the flight vehicles to lower the drag force.

This project revolved around creating a design to make the transformation of nosecone shapes from a ¾ Parabolic profile to a ½ Power Series profile possible, mid-flight. Using a novel nosecone assembly, shape memory alloys (SMAs) and …

Galvanic And Pitting Corrosion Of A Fastener Assembly, Julie Shallman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research focuses on coupled galvanic/pitting corrosion of AA7075 when combined with stainless steel in a fastener assembly. A one-dimensional mathematical model of a well-mixed thin film electrolyte is developed to predict the damage profile of the AA7075 surface when its protective coating is damaged. The damage exposes the galvanic couple. A time dependent system of partial differential equations for potential, chloride concentration, aluminum ion concentration, and damage is developed and solved numerically. Two approaches to calculate the current density within aluminum pits are discussed. The first is a current balance between the cathodic, anodic and passive portions of the …

Dynamic Mechanical Analysis Piezoelectric Design, Letia Bass, Michaela N. Mccrae, Ethan W. Goodman, Joesph W. Mazur

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project is a continuation into the design and implementation of a Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) device that will be used to conduct high frequency testing on tire tread compounds. The design requirements necessary were to design a device that will produce a target frequency of 10 kHz with a 0.05% strain, while being at room temperature. The 3-D model developed by the previous year’s students was improved upon and new parts were designed as well. The assemblies (most importantly the connector piece) were 3-D modeled using Creo Parametric and analyzed with COMSOL Multiphysics. A new design involving flexures was …

Enhancement Of Instruction Pamphlet Insertion Machine, Zachary Skraba, Colton Rentsch, Brad Ruhaak, Abdulwahab Almuhwish, Faris Almulhim

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

For this project, we were tasked with improving the current operation of a pamphlet insertion machine for Weaver Industries. Located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Weaver Industries is a company whose mission is to “maximize the independence and personal fulfillment of individuals with disabilities.” The main operation of the prototype is to assist the handicapped operator by automating the process for one of their products, a “Kong” dog toy. Currently, the workers manually insert each pamphlet into the cardboard packaging by hand. Over the past three years, there have been three separate design groups tasked with building and improving upon each …

Mht Assembly Line, Sean Lundholm

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this report is to record the process followed and steps taken to design and implement a new product assembly line. While the implementation of the line required more than what is in this report, the projects outlined are those I was personally involved in and responsible for. This report will outline why the project was required, the steps taken to complete the project, and the challenges faced. Throughout the progression of the project, many different parts and areas were considered. As each of these was brought into focus, new challenges presented themselves and were dealt with accordingly. …