Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Tesseract, Edgar Uribe, Vanessa Faune

Mechanical Engineering

PolySat is a student-run, Cal Poly research program in which students develop small satellites, known as CubeSats, to be sent into space. Since the start of the program in 2000, PolySat has developed eight 10cm x 10cm x10cm CubeSats. Recently, the team has developed two satellites of double, and triple, that size for NASA-KSC & AI-Solutions and the National Science Foundation. The recent volumetric expansion has been driven by high demand for further satellite functionality, which necessitates large power generation capabilities. To remain competitive in the growing CubeSat industry, PolySat must develop a platform that can provide enough power to …

Carbon Fiber Monocoque Development For A Formula Sae Racecar, Andrew Cunningham, Andrew Ferrell, Matthew Lee, Tony Loogman

Mechanical Engineering

Monocoque development of the 2015 Cal Poly Formula SAE racecar from design to competition.

Mini-Hand Extension, Aulivia Bounchaleun, Haden Cory, Scott Onsum, Zack Phillips

Mechanical Engineering

Lam Research supplies equipment for manufacturing silicon wafers used in semiconductor manufacturing. Their equipment is highly sophisticated and therefore costly, both in time and money, to repair. Much of the time and money spent to service those machines when they require maintenance or repair is spent on disassembly, so Lam seeks a faster way to service their equipment. Al Schoepp, a Senior Technical Director at Lam Research, came to Cal Poly seeking a team of students to design and build a device that could emulate the human hand well enough to handle hardware and thread nuts and bolts but also …

Final Design Report For An Automatic Diffraction Grating, Timothy Jung, Edlin Garcia, Kelly Rorden

Mechanical Engineering

The Automatic Diffraction Grating project explored using said technology to measure the angular separation between binary stars. This system would be a dramatic improvement from the current, fixed and manually adjusted diffraction gratings in use, increasing the capability of observatories to conduct autonomous studies of binary systems. Ideally, realizing such a system would be accomplished using a simple design and off the shelf parts, so that the project could easily replicated. The design of this system was approached with a broad look at the possible mechanisms that could be used to effectively construct an Automatic Diffraction Grating, as well as …

Pier2pier: Final Report, Kevin Nelson, Anthony Miller, Paul Maalouf, Chahan Shah

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Active Fog Catcher, Michael Giglio, Carson Hand, William Beechinor, Kai Zhang

Mechanical Engineering

The active fog catching senior project team has been asked to develop a device that will harvest water from the atmosphere, namely fog, using active means. The project will be centered on maximizing water collection rate, with efficiency as a secondary concern. The final design utilizes a refrigeration system in which fans pull air across the cold evaporators inside of a duct. Water condenses on the evaporators and drain into a collection container. It was decided to focus on maximizing water collection at the cost of efficiency because the feasibility of actively harvesting fog must be proved before trying to …

Solar Decathlon Plumbing Subsystem Final Design Report, Robert Burtt, Chris Lutze, Tyler Dunaway

Mechanical Engineering

The U.S. Department of Energy announced it will be hosting an international public competition called the Solar Decathlon in Irvine, CA during October 2015 to showcase high-efficiency houses. Cal Poly students created a team – Solar Cal Poly – to participate. Three mechanical engineering students joined the team to work on the plumbing section of the competition. The team completed multiple iterations and designs of the plumbing system within the Solar Cal Poly house as the house was designed and redesigned. The construction and final design of the plumbing system will be decided by the construction crew and architecture team …

Solar Cal Poly Water Systems, Jake L. Morris, Zachary F. Yasuda, Lauren P. Jones

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Solar Cal Poly Active Hvac Project, James Cornish, Jake Cosmo, Patrick Weston

Mechanical Engineering

For this project, the goal was to conceptualize, design, test, and implement an active HVAC system to be used in the Solar Cal Poly house competing in the Department of Energy’s 2015 Solar Decathlon. With many house iterations, it was decided to use a split system with an outdoor heat pump and indoor air handler, paired with a HRV for ventilation. Through system modeling using Design Builder and Energy Pro 6.5, the cooling load of the house was determined along with the cooling schedule. The foreseen safety precautions and limited construction time guided the entire project, along with the active …

Sapien3 Comb Stitch Improvement For Edwards Lifesciences, William Harley, Thomas Pluschkell, John Mctigue, Garrett Reed

Mechanical Engineering

The complete senior project report was submitted to the project advisor and sponsor. The results of this project are of a confidential nature and will not be published at this time.

Transcatheter Heart Valve Subassembly Device, Adam Aslam, Matthew Bezkrovny, Daniel Degree

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Cal Poly Heliodon, Gregory Bucher, Lucas Carter, Jake Hamilton, Robin Hubilla

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of the Heliodon project is to provide professors with a means to educate students about the movement of the sun and how that movement varies with location on earth and throughout the year.

Sports For Nathan, Delaney Bales, Joseph Garrett, Chris Harter

Mechanical Engineering

Nathan Cooper is a local boy with spinal muscular atrophy. He enjoys playing games and being active. One assistive device that Nathan uses is his Standing Dani, a motorized mobile stander. Nathan enjoys playing golf and kickball, and prior to this project he had no way of playing golf and no safe way of playing kickball. The purpose of this project was to design and build a golf attachment for Nathan’s Standing Dani that allows him to putt, and a kickball attachment that allows him to play kickball safely. First, the design team researched and defined the problem in terms …

Analysis Of A Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Impact Attenuator For A Formula Sae Vehicle Using Finite Element Analysis, John T. Rappolt

Master's Theses

The Hashin failure criteria and damage evolution model for laminated fiber reinforced polymers are explored. A series of tensile coupon finite element analyses are run to characterize the variables in the physical model as well as modeling techniques for using an explicit dynamic solver for a quasi-static problem. An attempt to validate the model on an axial tube crush is presented. It was found that fiber buckling was not occurring at the impactor-tube interface. Results and speculation as to why the failure initiation is incorrect are discussed. Lessons learned from the tube crush are applied successfully to the quasi-static Formula …

Increasing Isentropic Efficiency With Hydrostatic Head And Venturi Ejection In A Rankine Power Cycle, Nathan Daniel Ruiz

Master's Theses

This thesis describes the modifications made to the Cal Poly Thermal Science Laboratory’s steam turbine experiment. While the use of superheating or reheating is commonly used to increase efficiency in a Rankine cycle the methods prove unfeasible in a small scale project. For this reason, a mathematical model and proof of concept design using hydrostatic head generated by elevation and venturi ejection for use by the condenser is developed along with the equations needed to predict the changes to the system. These equations were used to create software to predict efficiency as well as lay down the foundation for future …

The Influence Of Neuromusculoskeletal Model Calibration Method On Predicted Knee Contact Forces During Walking, Gil Serrancolí, Allison Kinney, Benjamin J. Fregly, Josep M. Font-Llagunes

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

This study explored the influence of three model calibration methods on predicted knee contact and leg muscle forces during walking. Static optimization was used to calculate muscle activations for all three methods. Approach A used muscle-tendon model parameter values (i.e., optimal muscle fiber lengths and tendon slack lengths) taken directly from literature. Approach B used a simple algorithm to calibrate muscle-tendon model parameter values such that each muscle operated within the ascending region of its normalized force-length curve. Approach C used a novel two-level optimization procedure to calibrate muscle-tendon, moment arm, and neural control model parameter values while simultaneously predicting …

Hydrogen And Syngas Production From Gasification Of Lignocellulosic Biomass In Supercritical Water Media, Jun-Ki Choi, Abtin Ataei, Ahmad Tavasoli, Farid Safari

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Novel biomass-processing technologies have been recently used for conversion of organic wastes into valuable biofuels like bio-hydrogen. Agricultural wastes are available and renewable energy resources to supply energy demand of the future. The purpose of this study is to investigate the production of hydrogen-rich syngas from wheat straw, walnut shell, and almond shell.

Conversion Of A Gas Combustion Engine To An Electric Motor In A Porsche 924, Ashley Weed

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This paper is a walk-through of converting a gasoline Porsche 924 to and electric engine. The paper begins with steps on how to remove the gasoline engine. It then goes into setting up the electrical system for the new electric vehicle and then follows up with the motor installation. The end of the report discusses the testing and results of the electric vehicle and finishes up with recommendations to anyone who attempts a similar project.

Integrating Synchronous Collaborative Applications With Product Lifecycle Management Workflows, Jordan Lowell Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems are used by thousands of engineering companies world wide. Improving these systems will have a drastic and global effect. One possible improvement is to integrate synchronous collaborative applications with PLM systems. These applications allow multiple people to work on a single digital object simultaneously. They have already been shown to reduce the time a task requires. Using these applications to complete a project will reduce the project time. However, simply including synchronous collaborative applications within a PLM system ignores powerful benefits that could provide further time-saving benefits. The integration must allow improved awareness at the …

Development Of Electronics, Software, And Graphical User Control Interface For A Wall-Climbing Robot, Lynda Beatriz Tesillo

Master's Theses

The objective for this project is to investigate various electrical and software means of control to support and advance the development of a novel vacuum adhesion system for a wall-climbing robot. The design and implementation of custom electronics and a wirelessly controlled real-time software system used to define and support the functionalities of these electronics is discussed. The testing and evaluation of the overall system performance and the performance of the several different subsystems developed, while working both individually and cooperatively within the system, is also demonstrated.

Development And Validation Of A Tibiofemoral Joint Finite Element Model And Subsequent Gait Analysis Of Intact Acl And Acl Deficient Individuals, Nicholas Czapla

Master's Theses

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative condition of articular cartilage that affects more than 25 million people in the US. Joint injuries, like anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears, can lead to OA due to a change in articular cartilage loading. Gait analysis combined with knee joint finite element modeling (FEM) has been used to predict the articular cartilage loading. To predict the change of articular cartilage loading during gait due to various ACL injuries, a tibiofemoral FEM was developed from magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of a 33 year male, with no prior history of knee injuries. The FEM was validated for …

Telepresence: Design, Implementation And Study Of An Hmd-Controlled Avatar With A Mechatronic Approach, Darren Michael Chan

Master's Theses

Telepresence describes technologies that allow users to remotely experience the sensation of being present at an event without being physically present. An avatar exists to represent the user whilst in a remote location and is tasked to collect stimuli from its immediate surroundings to be delivered to the user for consumption. With the advent of recent developments in Virtual Reality technology, viz., head-mounted displays (HMDs), new possibilities have been enabled in the field of Telepresence. The main focus of this thesis is to develop a solution for visual Telepresence, where an HMD is used to control the direction of a …

Using The Offset Panel Technique To Develop Innovative Origami-Based Applications, Michael Robert Morgan

Theses and Dissertations

Origami, the art of folding paper, was once only an art form. In recent years, it has collided with the world of engineering and is acting as a source of inspiration for solutions to various engineering problems. Paper, the typical material used in the art form, is thin and works well for origami, but is not often suitable for use in engineering. Researchers have developed a handful of methods for accommodating thick/rigid materials in origami design. Most of these preserve only the kinematics of the model or its range of motion. Not only does the offset panel technique (OPT) preserve …

Me-Em Enewsbrief, June 2015, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Carbon Infiltrated Carbon Nanotubes Fabricated On Convex Cylindrical Substrates For The Creation Of A Coronary Stent, Warren Beecroft Robison

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores the minimizing of cracks in the fabrication of carbon-infiltrated carbon nanotube (CI-CNT) forests on cylindrical rods for the purposes of creating a CI-CNT coronary stent. It is a continuation of the work begun by Jones [1] and Skousen [2] whose work included the creation of a feasible CI-CNT coronary stent on a planar surface. The current research was performed in two parts: 1) growth on the whole circumference of the rod for ~20mm in length and 2) growth in lines and patterns. Experiments were done on either a 309 or 304 stainless steel rod ~3mm in diameter.The …

Temperature Control In Friction Stir Welding Using Model Predictive Control, Brandon Scott Taysom

Theses and Dissertations

Temperature is a very important process parameter in Friction Stir Welding (FSW), but until lately active control of temperature has not been practiced. Recently, temperature control via a PID controller has proven to be effective. Model Predictive Control (MPC) is a control method that holds promise, but has not been attempted in FSW before. Two different model forms are developed for MPC and are evaluated. The first is a simple first-order plus dead time (FOPDT) model. The second is the Hybrid Heat Source model and is more complex; it combines the heat source method and a 1D discretized thermal model …

High Aspect Ratio, Carbon Nanotube Membranes Decorated With Pt Nanoparticle Urchins For Micro Underwater Vehicle Propulsion Via H2O2 Decomposition, Kevin M. Marr, Bolin Chen, Eric J. Mootz, Jason Geder, Marius Pruessner, Brian J. Melde, Richard R. Vanfleet, Igor L. Medintz, Brian D. Iverson, Jonathan C. Claussen

Faculty Publications

The utility of unmanned Micro Underwater Vehicles (MUVs) is paramount for exploring confined spaces, but their spatial agility is often impaired when maneuvers require burst-propulsion. herein we develop high-aspect ratio (150:1), multi-walled carbon nanotube microarray membranes (CNT-MMs) for propulsive, MUV thrust generation by the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). The CNT-MMs are grown via chemical vapor deposition with diamond shaped pores (nominal diagonal dimensions of 4.5 × 9.0 [µm]) and subsequently decorated with urchin-like, platinum (Pt) nanoparticles via a facile, electroless, chemical deposition process. The Pt-CNT-MMs display robust, high catalytic ability with an effective activation energy …

Investigation Of The Effectiveness And Failure Rates Of Whole-House Mechanical Ventilation Systems In Florida, Florida Solar Energy Center, Jeffrey Sonne

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This report presents the results of a field investigation of the effectiveness and failure rates of whole-house mechanical ventilation systems installed in Florida homes over the last 15 years. The report includes homeowner survey and ventilation system testing results and code modification recommendations based on study findings.

Beverage Dispensing Backpack Design And Business Plan, Sterling Blake Grande

Biomedical Engineering

Grande Beverage Equipment

Mission Statement:

To deliver beverage dispensing products, services, and solutions to our customers in innovative and cost effective ways.

Product:

We provide portable beverage dispensing backpacks that can deliver soda or beer from pressurized tanks.

Cookie Dough Portioning Tool, Alex Haughton, Courtney Shipp, Grant Wittenberg

Mechanical Engineering

The Brown Butter Cookie Company (BBCC) is located in Cayucos, California. They sell handmade cookies made without eggs. After a batch is made, dough pieces must be portioned by hand. This process is time consuming, labor intensive, and limits the number of cookies they can make.

Our task was to design a machine to replace or improve this step of the process. After talking with the members of the BBCC and creating a list of specifications for our device, the team has formulated a detailed design of a cookie dough portioning tool for the BBCC. This report includes information on …