Applied Mechanics Commons^™

Compost Grinder For The University Of South Carolina Office Of Sustainability, Rori E. Pumphrey, Grace Yaegel, Aaron R. Sawyer, Bradley White

Senior Theses

This project originates from a collaboration with the USC Office of Sustainability, which seeks to improve the handling and processing of food waste generated on campus. The primary challenge is the difficulty in composting certain types of food waste, such as avocado pits, pumpkin rinds, and other dense or fibrous organic materials that are not easily broken down using conventional methods. Existing commercial solutions are often too large and expensive, or electrically powered, and are thus not well suited for the volume or nature of USC's food waste. To address these limitations, our team designed a manually operated food waste …

3d Printed Microfluidic Fabrication Methodology, Characterization, Mechanical Design, And Applications In Electrostatic Artificial Muscles And Benthic Microbial Fuel Cells, Terak B. Hornik

Master's Theses

The fabrication of microfluidic devices often requires specialized methods. The development of these methods requires careful characterization and understanding of the processes involved. Using primarily PolyJet 3D printing technology, microfluidics offers a wide scope of applications such as microfluidic benthic microbial fuel cells (MBMFCs) and electrostatic artificial muscles. MBMFCs benefit from the confinement of the microbes resulting in close proximity between the electrode and the organisms. Using a modular design called the Sponge, assembly and upscaling is possible. Electrostatic artificial muscles benefit from a microfluidic approach due to the non-linearity of electrostatic attraction creating disproportionate benefits when miniaturized. When designed …

Effects Of Redrying Methods On The Milling Potential, Crude Protein And Total Phenolic Content, And Antioxidant Activity Of Stored Inorganic And Organically-Grown Paddy, Mary Ann Baradi, Jessica Solero, Clarence Dangcil, Gerome Corpuz, Marissa Romero

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

This study sought to determine the effects of redrying techniques (no redrying or Control, 2-h, 4-h, and 6-h redrying with stirring every 30 min, Farmer's Practice or 6-h redrying with one stirring) on grain quality of stored inorganic and organic paddy rice as well as the redrying method that gives the best quality rice. PSB Rc82 rice harvested in October 2016 was used in the experiment conducted in February 2017. Quality parameters evaluated were moisture content, brown rice, total milled rice, crude protein content in percent, total phenolic content, and 2-2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. PSB Rc82 paddy exposed …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Deep Ocean Vehicle Applications And Modifications, Nichole "Nikki" T. Arm

Master's Theses

This project had two primary goals: (1) to explore opportunities to further a deep-ocean vehicle’s reach using alternative pressure spheres, and (2) to implement an existing deep-ocean vehicle (lander) in active scientific research.

I gained a greater understanding of the limitations and design choices made for existing pressure spheres using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). My simplified FEA model predicted sphere failure for the existing 30% Fiber Glass 70% Nylon injection molded spheres at an external pressure of 3,954psi or 2,690m ocean-depth (only a 7.38% error compared to the tested minimum failure depth), so I determined it a valid model. I …

Chocolate Bar Wrapping Machine, Austin M. Hoff, Daniel R. Trepke, Caleb B. Krichbuam

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Gilbert Chocolates has proposed to manufacture a machine to wrap chocolate bars. This machine is intended to replace two people wrapping the chocolate bars by hand, which is a time consuming method. This is especially apparent between October and January when the workers are working long hours in preparation for the Christmas rush of customers. Currently wrapping a bar takes about a minute and Gilbert Chocolates wants this time reduced down to 20-30 seconds. The budget for this project is set at $1000, and is being funded by the company. This machine needs to fit in a cubic foot of …

Effect Of Local Magnetic Field Disturbances On Inertial Measurement Units Accuracy, Xavier Robert-Lachaine, Hakim Mecheri, Christian Larue, André Plamondon

Études primaires

Inertial measurement units (IMUs), a practical motion analysis technology for field acquisition, have magnetometers to improve segment orientation estimation. However, sensitivity to magnetic disturbances can affect their accuracy. The objective of this study was to determine the joint angles accuracy of IMUs under different timing of magnetic disturbances of various durations and to evaluate a few correction methods. Kinematics from 12 individuals were obtained simultaneously with an Xsens system where an Optotrak cluster acting as the reference system was affixed to each IMU. A handling task was executed under normal laboratory conditions and imposed magnetic disturbances. Joint angle RMSE was …

Physical Testing Of Potential Football Helmet Design Enhancements, Michael Jeremy Schuster

Master's Theses

Football is a much loved sport in the United States. Unfortunately, it is also hard on the players and puts them at very high risk of concussion. To combat this an inventor in Santa Barbara brought a new design to Cal Poly to be tested.

The design was tested in small scale first in order to make some preliminary conclusions about the design. In order to fully test the helmet design; however, full scale testing was required. In order to carry out this testing a drop tower was built based on National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, NOCSAE, …

Adaptive Basketball Shooter - Final Project Report, Jenna N. Becker, Richard A. Galanti, Justin D. Haley, Brett Y. Nayudu

Mechanical Engineering

The Friday Club is a joint venture between the Cal Poly Kinesiology Department and the San Luis Obispo Special Olympics that offers people with varying degrees of disability the opportunity to meet weekly and learn various sports and games. At Friday Club, athletes in wheelchairs with limited arm strength use devices built by Cal Poly mechanical engineering students in order to participate in various sports. Many devices are designed to attach to the Universal Play Frame (UPF), a wheel-chair attachment. The purpose of this project was to design and build a UPF device that will launch a basketball, so that …

Throwing Frame For Athletes With Dissabilities, Andrew Higgins, Stefan Owechko, Gabriel (Gabe) Terrasas, Kevin Crisfield

Mechanical Engineering

Team Zeus’ senior project was to design, build and test a working throwing frame system for Bridge II Sports, a nonprofit organization in North Carolina. The throwing frame is used to allow athletes and individuals with disabilities to throw shot-put, discus, and javelin using a frame to sit against. Team Zeus was specifically tasked to build a frame that is lighter weight and more transportable than products that are currently on the market. This frame also is adjustable to accommodate a wide range of athlete weights, sizes, and abilities. The final result is a 35lb aluminum frame with two different …

An Investigation Of Fraxinus Americana Branch Sway Using A 3 Dimensional Motion Capture System, Anna T. Campiformio

Master's Theses

Abstract

Wind is a dominant abiotic factor that a tree experiences throughout its lifetime and can cause severe tree damage, resulting in risk of injury to humans, and economic and ecological losses. It is thought that trees develop structural properties and architectures that help withstand loading conditions by dissipating wind energy through damping mechanisms. The role of branch motion in reducing potential dangerous wind loads has been the focus of relatively few studies. Even fewer studies have examined tree sway response to natural wind loaded conditions. In this investigation, branch frequencies were calculated for three Fraxinus americana using a three-dimensional …

History Of The Biological Systems Engineering Program In Nebraska, University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, William E. Splinter

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The Farm Machinery/Agricultural Engineering/Biological Systems Engineering program current and former faculty members at the University of Nebraska, as demonstrated here, has made a statewide, national, and worldwide impact on the efficient production of food. The quality of this recognition is evidenced best by peer professionals through recognized ASABE awards received by Nebraska alumni or professors. Since its inception in 1909 and until 2010, there have been 10 national presidents, 19 gold medal recipients and 33 named national award recipients. Currently there are 31 ASABE Fellows and two members of the National Academy of Engineering. This national recognition comes as a …

Universal Play Frame Vi, Justin Bazant, Cullen Crackel, Anthony Franceschi

Mechanical Engineering

This design report details the design process utilized by Adaptive Exercise Designs (AED) in creating the sixth design of the Universal Play Frame (UPF). The UPF is an adaptive frame which supports a variety of devices that allows athletes in wheelchairs with limited range of motion to participate in physical activity. The past five frame designs do not meet the needs of the Friday Club due to complications with function and time constraints. To ensure all of Fridays Club's needs were met, the problem was better defined by converting the customer requirements into engineering specifications. The design process our team …

System Identification Of A Pasteurisation Process: A Comparison Of Direct And Indirect Methods, Niel Canty

Theses

The primary focus of this research is to identify a linear model for a direct steam injection (DSI) pasteurisation process which is a component of a large-scale pilot evaporation process widely used in the dairy industry. The pasteurisation process has been identified as a key component of the evaporation process. The author believes that no previously published work has focused on identifying models for a DSI pasteurisation process which makes this work an original contribution to the area. The pasteurisation process can be modelled as a single-input, single-output (SISO) process with a measurable disturbance. Thus two transfer functions were required …

Medical Technology: Contexts And Content In Science And Technology, Michael A. De Miranda, Mark Doggett, Jane T. Evans

Architectural and Manufacturing Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Diffusion Problems In Wound Healing And A Scattering Approach To Immune System Interactions, Julia Suzanne Arnold

Mathematics & Statistics Theses & Dissertations

A theoretical model for the existence of a Critical Size Defect (CSD) in certain animals is the focus of the majority of this dissertation. Adam [1] recently developed a one-dimensional model of this phenomenon, and chapters I–V address the exist the CSD in a two-dimensional model and a three-dimensional model. The two dimensional (or 1-d circular) model is the more appropriate for a study of CSD's. In that model we assume a circular wound of uniform depth and develop a time-independent form of the diffusion equation relevant to the study of the CSD phenomenon. It transpires that the range of …

Wiping Out Tall Weeds, Brad Rayner

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Control of weeds is an on-going battle for farmers, with many weapons becoming increasingly expensive. A refreshing exception to this trend is the blanket wiper, a cheap but effective meens of applying herbicides to taller weeds in pasture. Brad Rayner explains how it works.

Stubble : Friend And Foe, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Several articles in this issue of the Journal of Agriculture discuss some of the important issues of stubble management. The articles are condensed from some of the papers presented at a stubble workshop at Geraldton in 1991.

The Development Of An Efficient Lupin Harvesting Front, E D. Blanchard

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Harvest losses represent a significant reduction in lupin production and farm productivity.

Since 1984, the Department's Farm Machinery Research and Liaison Unit at the Dryland Research Institute has studied the lupin harvesting operation to improve its mechanical efficiency. An experimental and a prototype harvesting front were built and tested in the field. Guidlines for efficient lupin harvesting were produced, and commercial modifications developed.

Improved Fertilizing Practices On The Peel-Harvey Catchment, P T. Arkell

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Broad-acre farmers in the Peel-Harvey catchment have met a challange and achieved a great deal since the fertilizer extension programme started in 1983.

The main objective of the extension programme has been to ensure that every year three-quarters of the farmers make economically and technically sound fertilizer decisions, thus causing a minimum amount of phosphorus to enter the waterways of the Peel-Harvey estuarine system.

Getting The Best From Tractor Tyres, J Quealy

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The amount of pull a tractor develops depends largely on tyre efficiency and so with so many tyre size options for the one tractor model it is very easy to make the wrong decision on tyre fitment.

Tyre efficiency varies with tractor weight, soil conditions, inflation pressure and tyre size.

Hers we look at some of these factors and how changing them may affect efficiency.

Calibration Of Boom Sprays, J R. Peirce

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Boom sprays have become increasingly common on Western Australian farms, allowing farmers to take advantage of modern herbicided.

Most boom sprays used on farms have 50 cm nozzle spacings and require calibrating regularily to ensure accurate herbicide application.

By following these steps, the boom will deliver accurate amounts of herbicide.

How To Select A Tractor, W T. Brown

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A look at some of the factors to be considered when choosing a tractor for your farm. There is no one answer

Replacing Farm Machinery, R Crossman

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

In talking of machinery replacement it seems implied that the replacement items of plant are bigger and therefore better than their predecessers. It is also implied that plant replacement is becoming more costly.

Before any decision to replace machinery, the reason for replacement should be carefully considered.

There may be alternatives to the bigger and better solution.

Options For Machinery And Labour, A F. Herbert

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Machinery is one of the highest costs in farming today. It is not unusual for capital investment in machinery to be 20 to 30 percent of the total investment in the farm.

On an annual basis, expenditure directly attributable to machinery can be 40 per cent or more.

This article cannon be a panacea for everyone to reduce machinery costs - each farm is different. But some of the issues might be of help.

Matching Tractors And Implements, I W. Grevis-James

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Tractor and implement matching involves balancing implement load characteristics with tractor output characteristics to obtain the best output from the combination. Too much or too little can be costly.

Crutching Cradles Can Work Well, N M. Marney, R. A. Mills

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Crutching cradles allow successful do-it-yourself crutching if a continuous flow of sheep can be maintained. This article describes some units available and discusses costs.

Faulty Germination Of Lupin Seeds, B J. Quinlivan

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE number of lupin seed samples tested in the seed laboratory over the last few years has shown a marked increase with the increasing popularity of lupins as a cash crop.

A seed with satisfactory germination is one which produces a healthy seedling. The germination of lupin samples tested in the laboratory has varied markedly.

Super Spreader Distributes Snail Baits, G D. Rimes, W. M. O'Donnell

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE problem of distributing snail bait on broad acres has been overcome by simple modifications to a conventional super spreader.

The Setting And Control Of Disc Ploughs, P A. Taylor

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE trailed disc plough is the most commonly used tillage implement in Australian broadacre farming, yet it is considered in some areas to be difficult to set and to operate. These notes provide information resulting from C.S.I.R.O. research to assist operators in the control and operation of trailed disc ploughs.