Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Conductive Polymer Blends And Their Use In Memory Devices, Mohammad Yousef Al-Haik

Theses

The aim of this project is to synthesize and characterize conductive polymers made out of blending nonconductive polymers with ionic liquids. An application to demonstrate the use of these novel conductive polymers is to create an organic memory device.

Attempts to synthesize conductive polymers have been reported in the literature; several of these approaches include doping a polymer with arsenic or iodine based dopant. In this work, ionic liquids, known as plasticizer, are sued as the dopant for non-conductive polymers. There are several advantages of employing the ionic liquids over other dopants, including the maintenance of organic based blends (both …

Structural Health Monitoring Data Transmission For Composite Hydrokinetic Turbine Blades, A. Heckman, Joshua L. Rovey, K. Chandrashekhara, Steve Eugene Watkins, Daniel S. Stutts, Arindam Banerjee, Rajiv S. Mishra

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Polymer Fiber Arrays For Adhesion, Shing Chung Josh Wong, Johnny F. Najem, Guang Ji, Shuwen Chen

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

The ability of geckos to adhere to vertical solid surfaces comes from their remarkable feet with millions of projections terminating in nanometer spatulae. In this paper, we present a simple yet robust method for fabricating directionally sensitive dry adhesives. By using electrospun nylon 6 nanofiber arrays, we create gecko-inspired dry adhesives, that are electrically insulating, and that show shear adhesion strength of 27 N/cm2 on a glass slide. This measured value is 270% that reported of gecko feet and 97-fold above normal adhesion strength of the same arrays. The data indicate a strong shear binding-on and easy normal lifting-off. Size …

Measurement Of Adhesion Energy Of Electrospun Polymer Membranes Using A Shaft-Loaded Blister Test, Shing Chung Josh Wong, Haining Na, Pei Chen

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

This study aims to examine the adhesion work of electrospun polymer nano- and micro-fibers. The adhesion energy at the interface of electrospun membrane and a rigid substrate is characterized by a shaft-loaded blister test (SLBT). By controlling the processing parameters, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) fibrous membranes are prepared with fiber diameters ranging from 201 ± 86 nm to 2,724 ± 587 nm. The adhesion energy between electrospun membrane and rigid substrate increases from 8.1 ± 0.7 mJ/m2 to 258.8 ± 43.5 mJ/m2 by use of smaller fiber diameters. Adhesion energies between electrospun PVDF membranes and SiC substrates made of different grain …

Adaptive Golf Device, Nick Baker, Katie Delaurentis, Grant Martens, Liz Allison

Mechanical Engineering

Our primary objective was to design a golf device that enables its user, who has limited leg movement and control, to be able to produce a balanced golf swing. Ultimately, the device maximizes the golfer's independence, and increases the accuracy of and power behind each shot. Specifically, the device was designed around the needs and requirements of Dr. Joshua Pate, Professor of Adapted Recreation at James Madison University. Dr. Pate has cerebral palsy limiting his lower body mobility and making it difficult for him to produce a balanced golf swing.

Stirling Engine - Bringing Electricity To Remote Locations, Joshua Dulin, Matthew Hove, Jonathan D. Lilley

Mechanical Engineering

This project report details the development of a prototype Stirling engine designed to be capable of running on many different heat sources.

On-Demand Labeling, Nathan Cheadle, Lorne Stoops, Tony Wang, Robert Zimmerman

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Mobybike Human Powered Hydrofoil, Steven Bieri, Tim Buckmaster, Kristen Heckman

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this project is to develop a human powered hydrofoil bicycle that uses the patented foil motion of the sponsor, Liquid Ideas, to generate lift and thrust to ride across the water. The bicycle will then be used to further develop and test the actuators that Liquid Ideas currently has. This report contains information from the concept design report on how the final design was chosen and detailed information on the final design, as well as plans for manufacturing, assembling, and testing the completed project.

Ewb Micro Hydropower System Design For Mae Chan Thai, Adam Eberwein, Adam Hendry, Ravi Sahai

Mechanical Engineering

The village of Mae Chan Thai has a need for a dependable source of power that the Cal Poly Engineers Without Borders Thailand team is currently pursuing to overcome. This Cal Poly senior project team will focus on aiding EWB by providing external consultation on all aspects of building a hydroelectric system sized for Mae Chan Thai; including research, design, and construction practices. This senior project team is designing a system sized for the village and is building a full scale model of the Mae Chan Thai system in the Cal Poly Fluid Mechanics Laboratory that properly simulates the real …

Loaded Shift Tester Sram, Nick Cox, Sam Shaffer, Michael Polka

Mechanical Engineering

This report details the design, manufacturing, and testing of a loaded shift tester for the SRAM Bicycle Corporation. The machine is used to perform developmental and qualification tests on various bicycle drivetrain components. Using SolidWorks, the design team created a solid model of the machine on the computer, then ordered and manufactured the parts required to build it. The machine was tested to ensure that all the parts worked together, and was finally delivered to SRAM when it was deemed ready.

High Temperature Filter Test Unit Upgrades, Blair Frandeen, Will Schill, Erick Shewmaker, Joshua Turgeon

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this project was to improve the existing High Temperature Filter Test Unit (HTTU) by optimizing performance and adding new features. These features include viewing ports and a camera system for observation of tests, a leak detection system, and a flame impingement system. Additional considerations included improving the current operation of the HTTU by reducing test time and energy loss. The HTTU is designed to test High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters at temperatures up to 1300 ˚F, creating conditions which simulate a fire in a chemical processing facility. The HTTU was originally built as a Cal Poly …

Tilton Clutch Release Load Tester, Ryan T. Bylard, Kevin A. Campbell, Trevor J. Hebbel

Mechanical Engineering

This proposal is for the development of an automated clutch release measurement device for Tilton Engineering, Inc. Tilton has expressed its desire for a piece of test equipment to supplement their existing CT2000 clutch clamp load testing machine. This device will acquire r el e as e load and travel data for the pressure plate of a clutch immediately after it is tested for clamp load on the CT2000 machine, and will serve as a quality control check for Tilton’s clutches before they are sent out to the customer. Tilton wants a clutch release test machine to ensure that their …

Pier Portal Ii, Misha Balingit, Cory Spieler, Aaron Jen

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Bicycle Wheel Test Machine, Dylan Harper, Kevin Hom, Ross Williams

Mechanical Engineering

In recent years, the cycling industry has witnessed huge advancements in bicycle components and materials. The age old goals of speed and low weight are still present today, but the pursuit of these goals may be reducing the structural stability of various components integral to wheel performance, including the wheel hub bearings. These bearings are invaluable to bicycles but little is known about how the forces and loads applied to a bicycle affect the performance of these bearings. Broken axles and hubs are indicators of significant stresses within the hub, but little is known about how the resulting deformation affects …

Autonomous Collision Avoidance, Thomas Stevens, Elliot Carlson, Ian Painter

Mechanical Engineering

A steering controlled, autonomous collision avoidance system has been developed by California Polytechnic State University. This system represents a step in the direction of fully autonomous driving, while allowing the driver to maintain control of the vehicle during normal driving conditions. In the case of an imminent collision, the system removes control of the vehicle from the user and autonomously steers around the obstacles. The final system is able to avoid two static obstacles with a 95% pass rate and one moving obstacle with a 50% pass rate. With full scale, fleet wide, implementation of this system it is expected …

Stent Graft Blush, Vanessa Barrett, Thomas Matzinger, Mike Morelli

Mechanical Engineering

In order to better understand Type IV endoleaks (“blush”), the Cal Poly Senior Project team GraftTest has developed a blush evaluation system able to mimic several of the aorta’s environmental parameters. Capable of both pressure and flow rate control, this bench top system accommodates Medtronic’s wide range of abdominal and thoracic aortic stent grafts. Having researched endoleaks, stent grafts, and numerous other factors affecting stent graft blush, a system was developed with the aim of assessing and comparing the performance of Medtronic’s stent grafts with regard to blush. Furthermore, this system has been designed to provide reliable and repeatable results …

Rapid Tool Heating, Jason Chi, Bobby Dodge

Mechanical Engineering

Quatro Composites creates various molded parts for an array of industries. They are seeking to improve their thermoplastic molding process by decreasing the amount of time to heat up the steel tool that molds the thermoplastics. Currently, it takes approximately 1 hour to heat up their 120 pound steel mold from room temperature to approximately 700°F. The goal of this project is to create an optimum heating method that will minimize that heating time to about 20 minutes or less. It is critical for the stakeholders (Quatro Composites) to have a faster heating time in order to increase their production …

Rocket Fuel Pressurization, Sean Green, Joe Marcinkowski, Andrew Nahab

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

M600 Servo Test Stand Makani Power, Jennifer Tibble, Jeremy Dong, Arianna Lasche, Alex Serventi

Mechanical Engineering

Tempest has designed and built a test stand to validate the servo selection for Makani Power’s M600 prototype. The test stand tests the servo at a specified frequency and torque. It also includes an environmental housing that can later be used to incorporate a heater, cooler, and humidifier. The applied frequency, torque, and servo position is controlled by the operator. The stand also measures and provides a readout for temperatures throughout the chamber, humidity within the chamber, frequency felt by the servo, and load applied to the servo. The table has two tiers: the first tier supports all torque application …

Hoist To Transfer Athletes From Wheelchair Into A Kayak, Jennifer Batryn, Javier Mendez, Kyle Mooney

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Ir Imaging Chip Fixturing System, Curtis Wagner, Scott Solomon

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Design Of An Energy Efficient Virtual End Node Client Using Openadr2.0a And Smap, Kevin Navero

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Demand Response (DR) describes the set of actions taken to impose a reduction in electrical loads to stabilize the power grid and decrease costs. It is used when power grid emergencies or extremely high demand and congestion, threaten the electricity supply-demand balance. Automated Demand Response (ADR) describes a web-based control system that triggers DR events automatically by signaling other pre-programmed control systems. This project intends to use the OpenADR2.0 specifications provided by the OpenADR Alliance to construct an open source Virtual End Node (VEN) client to retrieve DR signals. The Simple Measurement and Actuation Profile (sMAP) software is also used …

Residential Fire Sprinkler Design For The Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity House, Nolan Frost

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design of a residential fire sprinkler system for a local fraternity house. The design follows NFPA 13D code, and contains design calculations, design drawings, material specifications, and cost analysis. The design was completed with the intention of being used for the installation of a fire sprinkler system in the house.

Low Speed Alternator Design, Scott Merrick

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Micro Hydropower System, Christpher Neally, Ian Verstuyft

Electrical Engineering

The micro hydropower project strives to meet the needs of a specific village in northern Thailand in partnership with Engineers Without Borders. Specifically, the electrical side of the system must be designed to convert the mechanical power of a flowing river that is turning a turbine into sustainable and dependable power. Currently available hydropower systems will be considered, analyzed, and tailored to suit the specific needs of the community in need. The system to be designed will be flexible enough to demonstrate proof-of-concept with the limited maximum generable power in lab while having the ability to be easily scaled for …

Human Powered Hydrofoil Bike Pontoon Floatation, Shelley Dangoor, Tyler Brennent

Mechanical Engineering

This report documents the brainstorming and design development of the hydrofoil bike floatation device. This project is in conjunction with senior project team MobyBike. MobyBike’s focus is in the development of the bike actuation system, as our team’s focus is on designing and developing the floatation device to be incorporated in the final hydrofoil bike design.

Hvac Lab, Adrian Leon, Wes Allen

Mechanical Engineering

The Cal Poly Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Department was donated a fume hood so that it could be used for educational purposes in the lab. The fume hood was not fully set up and only ran in a constant volume mode; the fan ran at full speed with no feedback to reduce air flow. A fume hood can be opened or closed using the sash; air flowing through the sash opening must always be above a certain speed. As the sash is closed the opening grows smaller and the speed of the air increases. Two additional modes of …

Adaptive Eating Device, Patrick Yale, Jillian Hiu, Jeremy Black, Kevin Farmer

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Cal Poly Brocade Challenge 2013, Chandler Morehardt, Alexa Coburn, Juan Silva, Kerry Sun, Greg Wang, Raul Chagoya, Jd Torres

Architectural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Guidance System, Kayaking For The Visually Impaired, D. Ryan Kirtland, Ryan Phife, William Gardner, Amy Johnson

Biomedical Engineering

Quality Life Plus is working with Team River Runner to develop an assistive guidance system for veterans who want to remain active by kayaking, after sustaining an injury that impairs vision. This system allows these veterans to complete a slalom speed race independent of a personal guide in the water. The system incorporates 3 stations that each contain a speaker connected to a microcontroller system covered by a Pelican Case on a custom made buoy. During the slalom race, a kayaker will travel from shore towards buoy #1 as it omits sound from the speaker. As the kayaker moves around …