Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Application Of Data Envelopment Analysis To Identify Undervalued Equities On The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Ryan L. Kotzebue

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Two factors that drive investors to and away from the stock market are reward and risk, respectively. By using a stock selection strategy that is quantitative, investors may feel more comfortable and secure with their decisions. However, there lacks a quantitative strategy that can produce increased returns with lower risk by purchasing a small number of stocks. The objective of this project was to formulate a quantitative stock trading strategy that produced exceptional returns with low risk while also fulfilling additional requirements to benefit the common investor.

By using a linear programming based operations research technique known as data envelopment …

Facility Redesign At The Systech Corporation, Jacob J. Rucker

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This senior project is a redesign of Systech’s manufacturing floor as they move to their new facility to be able to support the expected increase in customer demand. As of January 2013, Systech was working near full capacity, and because of their new product release, they expect the demand to outstrip the production capabilities of the current facility. Because of this, Systech is moving their final testing operations in San Diego to a larger building. During this transition, they have expressed interest in redesigning the current floor layout in order to maximize the productivity of their employees. To accomplish this, …

Wart Eliminator Project Report, Colton Story, Kyle Shipman

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The Wart Eliminator is a product based on the theory of resonant frequency and its ability to devitalize pathogens with the use of electronic pulses. Using the resonant frequency of the wart’s pathogen, the device is operated by the user with two switches for power and a probe connected by a wire to the device for applying to the affected area of the user while running three minute cycles. The product is in the beginning stages with only a prototype made. The product needed a proper ergonomic design to be easily used by the user and a cost analysis to …

Simulating The Flow Of Students Through Cal Poly's Undergraduate Industrial Engineering Program For Policy Analysis, Alexander Clayton Weber

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The purpose of this project is to analyze the flow of Industrial Engineering students at California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo in order to measure various graduation metrics by use of a simulation. Currently, graduation rates are relatively low in comparison with the rest of the state of California and future growth and decreased budgets may threaten graduation rates for incoming students. This simulation will identify bottleneck classes [those that hold up students from graduating] and provide a basis for a sensitivity analysis in which different scenarios are constructed to determine their effects on graduation metrics. The simulation will offer …

Lunalight - Bringing Light To The Expanding World, Gabriela M. Igel, Daniel J. Patrick, Kimberley M. Smith

Materials Engineering

The LunaLight, a solar rechargeable light and cell phone charger, addresses the lack of access to electricity faced by 1.4 billion of the world’s population (International Finance Corporation). The LunaTech team has developed a product that is bright, simple, compact, versatile and competitive with existing products. Through a partnership with the non-profit organization One Million Lights, LunaTech has improved a previous team’s design to address user feedback, concerns of durability, and manufacturability.

The LunaLight design includes a 5 component plastic housing held together by 4 screws, a surface mounted PCB, a lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery, one high-brightness LED, a solar panel, …

An Efficient Navigation-Control System For Small Unmanned Aircraft, Jonathan Alejandro Girwar-Nath

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have been research in the past decade for a broad range of tasks and application domains such as search and rescue, reconnaissance, traffic control, pipe line inspections, surveillance, border patrol, and communication bridging.

This work describes the design and implementation of a lightweight Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) semi-autonomous Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Presented here is a methodology for System Identification utilizing the Box-Jenkins model estimator on recorded flight data to characterize the system and develop a mathematical model of the aircraft. Additionally, a novel microprocessor, the XMOS, is utilized to navigate and maneuver the aircraft utilizing a PD …

Connecting Design Problem Characteristics To Prototyping Choices To Form A Prototyping Strategy, Bradley Camburn, Brock Dunlap, Vimal Viswanathan, Julie Linsey, Daniel Jensen, Richard Crawford, Kevin Otto, Kristin Wood

Faculty Publications, Mechanical Engineering

Connecting Design Problem Characteristics to Prototyping Choices to Form a Prototyping Strategy Abstract Prototyping is a critical part of the product design process with the potential to play a significant role in determining the success or failure of the product. A variety of decisions are made by the design team when determining the manner in which they will develop prototypes. Example decisions include: choosing to develop either multiple prototypes or only a single prototype; and choosing to develop either a scaled or fully functional prototype. We define a prototyping strategy as the compilation of all the decisions that need to …

Application Of Systems Engineering And Project Management For Algae Photo Bioreactors, Andrew S. Balberchak

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Today there is much talk about different sources for biofuel to replace the decreasing supply of fossil fuels. Algae seem very promising with its abundance across the globe and relatively simple growing conditions. Lipids can be extracted from this organism which is then converted to biofuel. Although biofuel production from algae is not economically viable at this stage, researchers are suggesting using the by-products of algae for supplemental and healthcare use. If true, this could justify the economics of obtaining fuel from algae by creating more markets from various algae products.

Cal Poly State University’s Food Science and …

Convertible High Heel Design, Mathew Caspari, Tyler Shelton

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Many women feel pain and discomfort when wearing high heels to certain events. This is a problem because it can lead to a variety of health issues. It would be beneficial and convenient if a woman could remove the heelpiece from her shoe while still wearing the same product. However, there is currently no popular high heels that can convert to a flat shoe on the market today. Our goal was to perform an in depth human factors analysis with regards to high heel use and formulate a solution to these problems. After reviewing literature, conducting a survey, and analyzing …

Thermal Characterization Of A System On Chip (Soc), James Gilstrap

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Electronics are getting more and more advanced. Companies are designing their product to be more powerful, but at the same time they are designing them to be smaller and more user friendly. Heat becomes a major factor with the limited amount of surface area. The objective of this project is to measure the junction temperature of three system on chips (SoC) under various loading conditions and their time constant. The junction temperature was measured based on the diode’s I-V linear relationship. Both calibration and measurement of the junction temperature were conducted for three different SoC packages. The measurement results can …

Reason-To-Reuse: A Sustainable To-Go Food Storage Container System For Restaurants, Ryan Christopher Labuda

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

A food storage container (FSC), also known as a to-go box, is a very popular way for Americans to pick up food when in a rush and take it with them or store leftovers after dining. Some of the more popular materials that make up FSCs include Styrofoam, paper and plastic. These FSCs are meant for one time use and subsequently the majority end up as waste in their local regions. Reason-To-Reuse is a sustainable business that provides an alternative to the current model of disposable FSCs at restaurants by cutting down on waste. The objective of the Reason-To-Reuse project …

Design And Analysis Of A Materials Management System For Boeing Commercial Airplanes' (The Boeing Company) Metallic Raw Material Supply Chain With A Focus On Lead Time Manipulation And Corresponding Effects On Inventory And Cost, Henry Lu

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The purpose of this project is to identify the costs associated with an aggregation strategy run by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. In order to identify these costs, a rudimentary replenishment system must be designed for the supply chain due to the fact that there is currently no such system in place. This replenishment system will be used to create a model (created in Excel) to calculate the total annual costs of the system. The model must allow changes to some of the important inputs such as mill performance measures and lead times and report the resulting changes in the total annual …

Companion Pass Program, Andrew Toney

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

At the end of each quarter the students of Cal Poly prepare to sign up for their classes for next quarter. This process is more difficult for seniors who must meet very specific requirements in order to graduate on time. Students can spend hours trying to find the “perfect schedule”, that one schedule that fits their personal schedule and their graduation requirements, while not over taxing themselves during that quarter by having too much class work. This Cal Poly explores the creation and implementation of an extra scheduling tool to address the weaknesses of the current scheduling system, PASS, and …

Bicycle Mounted Iphone 5 Case With Charging System, Patrick Goebel

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This purpose of this project is to design and manufacture a bicycle handlebar mounted case that will house Apple’s iPhone 5 and a charging system that utilizes a charge from a generator hub in the front wheel of a bicycle. The charging system and software for this project will be developed by an Electrical Engineering Graduate student. The case and charging system must be a self-contained unit that is weather-proof and aesthetically pleasing. It must allow the user to use all of the features of the iPhone 5 under a wide range of speeds. It must be adjustable between portrait …

Analyzing The Costs Of Different Energy Storage Systems For California Polytechnic State University, Christian Royer

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The goal of this project was to analyze the different ways to release energy from an energy storage device into the grid to save money. This project was worked in conjunction with a Master’s of Science student. An entire year of Cal Poly’s energy usage was examined and multiple trends were observed about when the maximum amount of energy was used. These trends looked at the time of day, the day of the week, and season to see what would be the best way to release energy into the grid to save money. There were two different batteries sizes examined …

The Decision Process Of Transitioning From A 3-Axis To A 4-Axis Or 5-Axis Mill Machine, Andrew Van Cleve, David Sherman

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Companies are always looking for new ways to increase productivity and help the company save money. The way this is done is by researching new and more efficient ways to produce whatever it is the company is selling. Since there are always new technologies coming forward it can be difficult to distinguish which ones are viable and which ones are not. This paper looks at the decision of moving a company from a traditional 3-axis milling set-up to a 4-axis or 5-axis milling set-up. Through research and analysis this report will guide a company through the decision making process and …

Reducing Customer Wait Time And Improving Processes At Abc’S Atv Rentals, Thomas Allen Merrill Jr.

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This project serves to explore the system bottlenecks of a small, family owned ATV rental company. The main objective is to reduce the average time a customer spends in the system, focusing on customer wait time as well as other areas that can be improved. This was done by collecting time studies and inputting the values into simulation software, which was run to represent the current system as well as various other possible scenarios encountered by rental companies. While creating the simulation, adaptive techniques were incorporated into the simulation. These techniques aim to increase the durability and reusability of the …

Evaluation And Redesign Of Potting Shed For The Non-Profit Organization, Growing Grounds Farms, Adya Sinha, Julianna Levy

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Growing Grounds, a local nonprofit organization, operates as a fully functioning nursery in San Luis Obispo. Their planting facility is outdated and the process is inefficient. They have new funding available and need to determine if they should automate certain processes or improve existing methods. This report details the current process and presents two possible ergonomic solutions and the accompanying layouts and improvements. An analysis is conducted to determine which new layout is recommended for Growing Grounds based on their current production and revenue, and future recommendations are given.

In Vitro And In Vivo Study Of Sustained Nitric Oxide Release Coating Using Diazeniumdiolate-Doped Poly(Vinyl Chloride) Matrix With Poly(Lactide-Co-Glycolide) Additive, Hitesh Handa, Elizabeth J. Brisbois, Terry E. Robinson, Lahdan Refahiyat, Kagya Amoako, Robert H. Bartlett, Mark E. Meyerhoff

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Nitric oxide (NO) is an endogenous vasodilator as well as natural inhibitor of platelet adhesion and activation that can be released from a NO donor species, such as diazeniumdiolated dibutylhexanediamine (DBHD/N2O2) within a polymer coating. In this study, various Food and Drug Administration approved poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) species were evaluated as additives to promote a prolonged NO release from DBHD/N2O2 within a plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix. When using an ester-capped PLGA additive with a slow hydrolysis time, the resulting coatings continuously release between 7 and 18 × 10−10 mol cm−2 min−1 NO for 14 days at 37 °C in …

A Mechanism-Based Approach For Predicting Ductile Fracture Of Metallic Alloys, Xiaosheng Gao

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Ductile fracture in metallic alloys often follows a multi-step failure process involving void nucleation, growth and coalescence. Because of the difference in orders of magnitude between the size of the finite element needed to resolve the microscopic details and the size of the engineering structures, homogenized material models, which exhibits strain softening, are often used to simulate the crack propagation process. Various forms of porous plasticity models have been developed for this purpose. Calibration of these models requires the predicted macroscopic stress-strain response and void growth behavior of the representative material volume to match the results obtained from detailed finite …

Edwards Lifesciences - Skirt To Frame Attachment Manufacturing Aid, Samuel Joda, Cesar Grimaldo, Patrick Hutchinson

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Multilink Suspension & Steering System For Cal Poly Formula Electric, Tristan French, Alissa Roland, Maximilian Sluiter

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this project was to design a suspension that would improve the performance of the Cal Poly SAE Formula Electric car around a racing track Performance would be quantified through skidpad, slalom, and straight-line acceleration tests as well as autocross lap times. The approach to meeting the objective was to increase the steady-state lateral acceleration and quicken the transient response while maintaining predictable handling so that the driver could extract maximum performance from the car.

The car uses round-section (motorcycle) tires at a large negative camber angle because the lateral force generated by a pair of negatively-cambered tires …

Cisco Rackmount Bracket Optimization, Michael Baldwin, Edwin Lee, Garrett Smith

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Evs Sports Knee Brace Testing Machinefinal Design Report, Silvia Aguilar, Nick Mattison, Chris Mccarthy

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this document is to report on the development of a test machine for EVS’ Web and Axis knee braces. Between September 2012 and June 2013, Team CSN, comprising of Nick Mattison, Silvia Aguilar, and Chris McCarthy, have methodically planned, designed, built, and tested this machine. The overarching goal of this unique machine is to address the need for both hyperextension and fatigue testing. From here on out this report dives into details of the machine with an Appendix C reporting testing results of said knee braces.

Drape Forming Machine, Adam Johnson, Will Schlosser, Brian Miller

Mechanical Engineering

The goal of this project was to build a prototype machine that formed multiple sheets of debulked pre-preg OOA carbon fiber into a 2-foot long trapezoidal shape. The machine was required to do this process semi-automatically.

Rapid Decompression Containment System, Evan Domingue, Michelle Rudney, Daniel Trees

Mechanical Engineering

Cal Poly students; Evan Domingue, Michelle Rudney and Daniel Trees; are working with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA, ASI) and engineer John Wilcox to complete a senior project. The senior project is focused on finding a solution to meet the requirement set forth in MIL-HDBK 1791 4.2.5.2 for rapid decompression which requires cargo items to be designed with pressure relief devices or to be configured for air shipment as to prevent any part from becoming a projectile in the event of catastrophic loss of aircraft cabin pressure. The goal of this project is to design a safe, cost-effective, and …

Titan 130 Engine Aft-Mount, Woody Newell, Michael Haworth, Dylan Perry

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Android App For General Aviation Ground Collision Avoidance, Corey Taylor Christiansen, Timothy Justin Dascomb, John Preston Cook

Mechanical Engineering

This project used ground collision avoidance algorithms developed by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center to create an Android application that could be used by general aviation pilots. The application uses GPS and accelerometer data to calculate future trajectories and checks them against a terrain elevation map of the United States stored on the SD card. X-Plane, a flight simulator, was used for project testing.

Barbeque Grill Temperature Distribution Design Improvement, Peter Gobell, Connor Mcgill, Thomas Willson

Mechanical Engineering

Team License to Grill set out to asses Bull Outdoor Products, Inc.’s barbeques and quantify the apparent uneven temperature distribution or “hot spots” and “cold spots” across the grill. This testing was accomplished with the design and fabrication of a test fixture allowing for accurate and repeatable temperature collection across the barbeque. With results that matched the sponsor’s claims of hot and cold spots, an engineering model was made using heat transfer and thermodynamic equations. Once the model somewhat resembled the experimental data, it was used to suggest different modifications that would allow for better temperature distribution. It was discovered …

Design, Construction And Evaluation Of A Low Head Hydroelectric Turbine For Canals, Sean Phillip Ellenson

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Means of hydroelectric power generation today typically require state or federal funding, massive construction projects and high head differentials with the use of a dam. With thousands of miles of canals and waterways at our disposal, it is necessary to find a cost effective way of generating a substantial amount of power from low-head hydroelectric power sources.

This senior project details research on low-head hydroelectric power generation, along with the design, construction and evaluation of a twisted Savonius hydroelectric turbine. Sizing optimizations for a twisted Savonius turbine were performed, and the hydroelectric power generation unit was constructed, including a housing …