Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

An Engineering Approach To Industrial Research And Development Of Pillows, Wesley Patterson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Comfort during sleep, though taken for granted, involves a great amount of research and engineering. Few give it a second thought, but nearly one-third of a person’s life is spent with their head on a pillow, thus making them a point for increased quality. Having been approached by a tier-1 bedding manufacturer, a team of both mechanical and electrical engineers was been tasked with the goal of creating a valid research tool that the customer, Tempur-Sealy, will utilize in the company’s research and development of high-end pillows. The team sought to tackle this project utilizing tools and knowledge gained throughout …

Optimizing An Organizational Program For Halton Company, Chandler Clark

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

A team of WKU Mechanical Engineering students is collaborating with Halton Company to create an organizational system for their plant. Each job performed at Halton is custom, leading to several different processes needing to be accounted for at once. The team is designing a program in Visual Studio that will be used to control the progression of the plant as well as store data to optimize future processes involved. Visual Studio will be implemented by summer of 2016 in order to give the team and company time to troubleshoot the program and insert optimizing options into the c ode of …

Design, Testing And Evaluation Of Robotic Mechanisms And Systems For Environmental Monitoring And Interaction, James K. Higgins

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have significantly lowered the cost of remote aerial data collection. The next generation of UAVs, however, will transform the way that scientists and practitioners interact with the environment. In this thesis, we address the challenges of flying low over water to collect water samples and temperature data. We also develop a system that allows UAVs to ignite prescribed fires. Specifically, this thesis contributes a new peristaltic pump designed for use on a UAV for collecting water samples from up to 3m depth and capable of pumping over 6m above the water. Next, temperature sensors and their …

Integrating E-Learning Modules Into Engineering Courses To Develop An Entrepreneurial Mindset In Students, Nadiye O. Erdil, Ronald S. Harichandran, Jean Nocito-Gobel, Maria-Isabel Carnasciali, Cheryl Q. Li

Engineering and Applied Science Education Faculty Publications

Engineering graduates who will be leaders in today’s rapidly changing environment must possess an entrepreneurial mindset and a variety of professional skills in addition to technical knowledge and skills. An entrepreneurial mindset applies to all aspects of life, beginning with curiosity about our changing world, integrating information from various resources to gain insight, and identifying unexpected opportunities to create value. The Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) defines curiosity, connections and creating value as three core components of an entrepreneurial mindset. These 3Cs coupled with associated engineering skills forms KEEN’s entrepreneurial mindset framework. An entrepreneurial mindset enables engineers to develop sound …

National Society Of Sales Engineers & National Sales Engineering Competition, Joseph Lynes, Tyler Sasse

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Sales Engineering is a popular career choice for many engineers coming out of university. Despite its continuing growth, many students lack the knowledge and preparation to be successful in the early years of their career. A small collection of sales engineering minors and student clubs are the only option for students interested in technical sales.

Using the DMAIC process, the senior project team went step by step to find and implement the best possible solution to better connect college students and the professional sales engineering industry . The team worked side by side with professionals in the industry and students …

Walking Simulator Mechanism, Titus Lungu, Igor Tachynskyy, Omri Tayyara

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

This paper presents the design, simulation, and kinematic evaluation of a mechanism aimed at simulating both the motion and ground reaction forces produced by a human foot while walking. Such a mechanism can be used to test the durability of shoes through life cycle analysis. In attempting to mimic the physical motion of the human foot as closely as possible, the forces experienced by the human foot were also accurately replicated through the incorporation of a non-stationary testing platform. As is shown in the paper, this testing environment allows for simple adjustments to be made in order to simulate different …

Orchard Bin Atv Trailer, Neil F. Leitz

All Undergraduate Projects

A local orchardist was experiencing a problem that was being caused by their lack of apple picking bin moving equipment. The orchardist needed a well-engineered solution to this lack of equipment. The solution arrived at was a five bin trailer. There were multiple design requirements for this trailer, including the device needing to be able to interface with an ATV, be able to be loaded by hand, be able to carry five bins, and not exceed a budget of $750. While perfecting the design of the trailer, a number of different disciplines were utilized, which included dynamics, kinematics, static loading …

H.F. Hauff Pruner Housing & Ergonomics, Erich E. Heilman

All Undergraduate Projects

The technology of electric tree pruners in the current agricultural market has many engineering problems, including; a deficit in power output, excessive overheating, and ergonomics. The 3-man pruner team has coordinated with H.F. Hauff Co. Inc., an agricultural equipment company owned by Neil Hauff, to produce an electric pruner prototype which addresses these problems. The methods used to design the optimal pruner prototype includes traditional engineering stress analysis, force flow analysis, finite element software, and Solidworks modeling software. The construction of the pruner involved manual machining methods and C.N.C. (Computerized Numerical Control) mill technology. During the design process, the team …

Multiple Apple Box Lift 1/10th Scale Model, Kyle J. Burlingame

All Undergraduate Projects

Title and Author: 1/10th Scale Multiple Apple Box Lift by Kyle Burlingame (Engineering Technologies, Safety, and Construction) Abstract/Artist statement: A 1/10th scale Multiple Apple Box Lift was designed and built as a proof of concept for a full scale device. The Multiple Apple Box Lift was designed to meet a customer’s requirements and to be presented at SOURCE. This device lifts the top half of the stacked apple boxes on a pallet in order to allow access to the boxes in the middle of the stack. The device can be manually operated by two people while in-between narrow rows of …

Asme Mini Rc Baja: Drivetrain, Jason M. Moore

All Undergraduate Projects

Title and author: ASME mini RC Baja Drivetrain by Jason Moore; partner Mike Cox. (Engineering Technologies, Safety, and Construction)

Abstract/Artists Statement: The issue that this project is concerned with is how to design and build a drivetrain, steering and suspension systems for an RC car. The systems must be simple and functional. Furthermore, these systems will be designed to fit on a small chassis and not interfere with each other. They also need to be strong and durable enough to propel the car forward and maneuver through various obstacles and be built in a way that is easy to take …

Truss Alignment Tool, Jason Hedin

All Undergraduate Projects

The purpose of this project is to follow the engineering process from start to finish, and create a fully functioning truss alignment tool that has been designed, constructed, and tested successfully. The first phase involves the design of the truss alignment tool. The main design requirements of the tool includes taking an input force of 60 pounds and outputting the 630 pounds of clamping force needed to realign a set of two stacked trusses and pull their bottom edges flush. The second phase involves the construction of the tool. This involves all machining processes associated with the cutting, shaping, and …

Tabletop Die Cast System, Brad C. Barringer

All Undergraduate Projects

The project was to design, manufacture, and test a tabletop die cast system to be used as lab equipment in MET 257 – Casting Processes. The motivation for this project was the MET 257 – Casting Processes instructor’s desire to physically demonstrate the die casting process, but they were unable to find a system that would meet all of their requirements. They required a system design that was small, portable, would fit in the foundries limited space, had an open concept to allow students to see what was occurring during the pour, and compatibility with the foundries current equipment. The …

Physical Modeling Of The Atmospheric Boundary Layer In The University Of New Hampshire’S Flow Physics Facility, Stephanie Gilooly, Gregory Taylor-Power

Honors Theses and Capstones

The atmospheric boundary layer is the lowest part of the atmosphere, and is defined by a region from the surface of the earth to approximately 500-1000m altitude in which air velocity changes from zero at the surface to the velocity of the wind at a certain altitude. The type of atmospheric boundary layer is characterized by the terrain it encounters, varying from open sea and mud flats to suburban areas and city centers with high- and low-rise buildings. The goal of this project is to generate different types of atmospheric boundary layers for scale model testing in the UNH Flow …

Proceedings Of The 16th Annual Early Career Technical Conference (Front Matter), Ectc Coordinating Committee

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Proceedings of the 16th Annual Early Career Technical Conference, November 5, 2016. School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; pp. i-xi

Section 1: Bio-Medical/Bioengineering, Ectc Coordinating Committee

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Proceedings of the 16th Annual Early Career Technical Conference, November 5, 2016. School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; pp. 1-30

Section 3: Materials, Ectc Coordinating Committee

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Proceedings of the 16th Annual Early Career Technical Conference, November 5, 2016. School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; pp. 63-94

Section 2: Design & Manufacturing, Ectc Coordinating Committee

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Proceedings of the 16th Annual Early Career Technical Conference, November 5, 2016. School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; pp. 31-62

Section 4: Materials, Ectc Coordinating Committee

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Proceedings of the 16th Annual Early Career Technical Conference, November 5, 2016. School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; pp. 95-124

Section 5: Miscelleneous, Ectc Coordinating Committee

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Proceedings of the 16th Annual Early Career Technical Conference, November 5, 2016. School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; pp. 125-152

Respiratory Airflow Characteristics In Obstructed Small Airways, Jongwon Kim, Ramana Pidaparti

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Section 1: Bio-Medical/Bioengineering; pp. 3-8

Section 6: Thermal Sciences, Ectc Coordinating Committee

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Proceedings of the 16th Annual Early Career Technical Conference, November 5, 2016. School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; pp. 153-174

Dynamical Response Of Alveolar Sac Due To Different Breathing Condition: A Mechanical Model, Tarin Singhapakdi, Israr B M Ibrahim, Ramana Pidaparti

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Section 1: Bio-Medical/Bioengineering; pp. 9-14

Proceedings Of The 16th Annual Early Career Technical Conference (Complete Issue), Ectc Coordinating Committee

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Proceedings of the 16th Annual Early Career Technical Conference, November 5, 2016. School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama

A Subject-Variability Study Of Airflow Transport For Three Human Lung-Airway Configurations, Yu Feng, Clement Kleinstreuer

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Section 1: Bio-Medical/Bioengineering; pp. 22-29

Tractor Power Hop: Wheel Normal Reaction Analysis, Siyuan Hunter Zhang, Vladimir Vantsevich

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Section 2: Design & Manufacturing; pp. 38-41

Design Of A Balance Sensing System For People With Physical Disabilities Using Velostat, John M. Hoyle, Alan W. Eberhardt

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Section 2: Design & Manufacturing; pp. 50-55

Viscosity And Morphology Modification Of Length Sorted Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes In Pib Matrices, Hanxiao Huang, Bohoa Li, Daneesh Simien

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Section 2: Design & Manufacturing; pp. 42-49

Design And Analysis Of A Long-Endurance Humanitarian Uav, Ali Darwish, Arie Nakhmani

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Section 2: Design & Manufacturing; pp. 56-61

On-Machine Cutting Tool Wear Monitoring Technique Based On Edge Diffraction Theory, Chabum Lee, Seongkyul Jeon

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Section 3: Materials; pp. 65-69

Determination Of Mechanical Properties For Type 1 Portland Cement Paste With Glass Microspheres As An Inert Filler, Zachary J. Wallace, Damian L. Stoddard, Matt Nelms, Wayne Hodo, A M. Rajendram

Early Career Technical Journal (ECTJ)

Section 3: Materials; pp. 70-74