Energy Systems Commons^™

Prosthetic Socket Cooling System, Benjamin K. Kraw, Kathy Ha, Derek Piastrelli, Cuong Lai

Mechanical Engineering

A team of four senior-level undergraduate students in the Interdisciplinary Senior Project Design course in the Engineering Department of California Polytechnic State University: San Luis Obispo have worked to develop a prosthetic socket cooling system, namely for veteran Taylor Morris and exclusively for a transfemoral prosthetic socket, under the Quality of Life+ Laboratory. This cooling system will utilize the thermoelectric effect known as the Peltier effect to transmit heat generated from the residual limb to the surrounding environment by means of forced convection over small aluminum heat sinks. Two measurement devices have also been developed to, one, measure the heat …

Thermal Hydraulic Turbine Dynamometer, Ryan Baskett, Alexander Campbell, Andrew Puntorno-Carlberg

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

High Temperature Hepa Filter Test Unit Upgrades, Alexander Krippner, Ian Corcorran, Michael Burlando

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Solar Decathlon 2015, Solar Cal Poly; Solar Cal Poly Project Engineers, Cristina Paquin, Julien Blarel, Sanchit Joshi

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 …

Bellevue-Santa Fe Charter School Solar Panel Project, Dulce Arroyo Martinez, Henrik Lee, Moises Quiroz, Timothy Iafrate

Mechanical Engineering

This project covers the design, manufacture, and installation of solar panel frames on a charter school in Avila Beach, CA. Through preliminary research regarding important factors (such as solar movement, ideal panel angle, and site-specific factors), a frame that meets the standards set forth in the California Building Codes was designed. After approval by presiding authorities, parts specified in the design were ordered, inspected upon arrival, and manufactured to the design as necessary. Much of the challenge was related to the installation aspect of the project—coordination with the proper authorities and correct submission of applications was integral to the success …

Evaluation Of Solar Energy Solution For Egyptian Remote Areas, Tarek Ihab Abdelsalam, Tarek M. Hatem

Mechanical Engineering

Egypt is currently suffering the symptoms of the energy crises, such as electricity outage and high deficit as a result of constant increase in fossil foils through the last decades. On the other hand, Egypt has a high solar availability of more than 18.5 MJ annually. Additionally, Egypt has large uninhabited deserts on both sides of the Nile valley and in Sinai Peninsula, which represent more than 96.5% of the nation’s total land area. Therefore, solar energy is one of the prospective solutions for energy shortage in Egypt. Furthermore, these vast lands are advantageous for commissioning huge solar power generation …

Low-Cost Scheffler Solar Concentrator For The Developing World, Darren Sholes, Jason Morgan, Nicholas Fuller

Mechanical Engineering

This report will outline an approach to design, test, and build a low-cost Scheffler solar concentrator to be used for safer, sustainable and cost effective cooking in the developing world. The function of Scheffler concentrators and a proposed method to create one in an economic, environmentally conscious manner is summarized. If successful, the design will be presented in a way that is readily and freely available to anyone in the world. The authors have examined existing technology and researched the availability and cost of different materials. Analysis was performed in order to verify the feasibility of the different design ideas …

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 …

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 …

Rebounder Fatigue Test Machine, Caroline Reeves, Will Robertson, Ethan Flory

Mechanical Engineering

JumpSport, a company that designs and sells trampolines and trampoline accessories, has sponsored this senior project team to design, build, and test a trampoline fatigue test machine. The machine must simulate a person jumping on the trampoline to test the life of JumpSport’s fitness trampolines and kids’ trampolines. Partway through the design process, the objectives were altered and this senior project team was tasked with merging with another Cal Poly senior project group to create an all-inclusive test machine to accommodate both full-trampoline testing and individual bungee cord testing.

The final design is centered on a slider crank linkage driven …

Cal Poly Nano Hydro, Brandon N. Fujio, Alex J. Sobel, Andrew F. Del Prete

Mechanical Engineering

This projects goal was to design, construct, and test a machine capable of generating a usable amount of energy from naturally flowing water. The device conceived for this purpose is a portable raft with a turbine mounted to the underside. The turbine is mated directly to a low angular velocity generator which outputs to a power electronics system on shore. Using a Gorlov Helical turbine, this proof-of-concept is designed to output ~50 Watts of electricity to charge a battery for later use. Possible applications for this device include camping in remote locations, supplemental power generation for a home, or for …

Micro-Grid Wind Energy System, Aaron Steinkraus, Brian Huntziker, Cesar Hurtado

Mechanical Engineering

With the completion of a 3.5kW wind turbine located on Esculea Ranch, the power generated from the turbine was dissipated through electric resistance heaters. ABC Wind was given the task to design, build, and implement a system what will efficiently use the turbine’s harnessed power. After interviewing with the Beef Operations Manager of Escuela Ranch, it was decided to use the turbine’s power to supply supplementary water to anywhere on the ranch where and when needed by grazing cattle. The purpose of this project was to research, design, build and implement a system that would harness the generated power and …

Sole Power: Pedal Phone Charger Final Report, Nicole Hensley, Anthony Ruh, Krista Schmidt, Joseph Garcia

Mechanical Engineering

The device design was conceived to meet the energy needs of rural populations in India. These communities have cell phones but lack access to reliable grid power, especially during monsoon season. The charger is designed to be affordable, durable, and easily repairable for each owner family. It uses off-the-shelf components and is intended to be replicated by backyard manufacturing startups in developing countries.

Its purpose is to efficiently transfer human foot motion via a treadle, four-bar-linkage, and sprocket-chain step-up to drive a rotor & stator generator from a common gas scooter. The single-phase alternating current from the generator is passed …

Wireless Solar-Powered Thermal Imaging Camera, Andy Bonk, Billy Mcvicker, Jacob Richardson

Mechanical Engineering

Creation of a mounted wireless self-powered thermal imaging camera system.

Flow Loop Simulator, John Abruzzini, Manuel Carrasco, Neil Sutherland, Elise Woolworth

Mechanical Engineering

PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) has requested an operational flow loop simulator to aid in operator/technician training. The flow loop simulator will provide hands-on training that the current plant training process cannot model. This project is a continuation from the 2009-2010 school year. Project scope and design requirements were gathered from the previous group’s design reports as well as meetings with PG&E. The goal of this year’s project team is to verify, enhance and implement the schematic diagram proposed by last year’s team.

The main focus of the flow loop simulator is to provide operators and technicians with …

Solar Powered Oil Well Site, Jonathan Hyland, Matthew Mastro, Kyle Moore

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Boundary Layer Data System (Blds) Heating System, John Hauge, Drew Hutcheson, Paul Scott

Mechanical Engineering

The boundary layer data system (BLDS) is the result of a collaborative effort between Dr. Westphal, a researcher and instructor at Cal Poly, and Northrop Grumman. The BLDS is capable of measuring the boundary layer profile and characteristics of flow over aerodynamic surfaces and is intended for high altitude, high speed use. The instruments inside the BLDS malfunction at the low temperatures present when operating in flight at altitudes above 30,000 ft. To solve this problem, analysis was done on the existing BLDS which determined the heating requirements, around 50 watts, needed to keep the internal temperature within the rated …

Pump Sequencing Optimization, John S. Allan, Kyle J. Nekimken, Spencer B. Weills

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this document is to demonstrate the design, production, and testing of optimum pump sequencing logic for variable frequency drive (VFD) pumps in commercial heating ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The product will be developed by Pump Efficiency Solutions (PES), which is a group of Cal Poly students working on their senior project. The product is being developed for Trane, an industry leader in large scale HVAC systems. MATLAB™, Microsoft Excel, Pump System Improvement Modeling Tool™ (PSIM), and fluid mechanics hand calculations were used during software development. Next, we converted the program into Trane’s graphical programming language …

Harvesting Human Exercise Power At The Cal Poly Rec Center: Exercise Bike Power Generator Ii, Jared Rounsevell, Claire M. Shubert, Matthew Snitowsky, Andrew Wong

Mechanical Engineering

The overall goal of this project is to create a workable system to harvest the power generated on exercise bikes at the Cal Poly Rec Center so that the electricity produced can eventually be sent to the power grid. Our part of the project will focus on the mechanical harvesting of this power with the goal of using the product to run the Morningstar ProStar 12V 30 amp charge controller available from the 2007 project. Eventually, the power produced could be fed to the grid in the appropriate form. The finished result of this project should be marketable to exercise …