Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Altering An Epoxy-Amine Thermoset's Performance Through Varying Mix Ratios, Kiersten M. Smith

Master's Theses

Epoxy resins are used in a number of different industries and therefore have application-specific material requirements, from satellites that require materials that operate in space, to paints and coatings that require high scratch resistance and mechanical durability, to medical devices, designed to be in continuous contact with biological fluids. Commercial epoxy products come with manufacturer’s information explaining the epoxy properties and recommended preparation processing conditions, which may include epoxy resin to curing agent mix ratio (Part A : Part B), cure time, and cure temperature, for example. Due to proprietary reasons, it can be difficult to understand why these values …

Corrosion Prevention, Matthew Walker

Physics

In Insulated Solar Electric Cooking (ISEC), heating is done by passing current through a chain of diodes directly connected to a solar panel (Gius et al, 2019). It is crucially important that the wires remain conducting, but not conduct to any metal surface that might short the heating circuit. Corrosion of any wires will cause a loosening of the mechanical (twisted) wire connection and could result in a loss of electrical connection completely, or undesired increased resistance.

Free Space Detection And Trajectory Planning For Autonomous Robot, Zachary Ross Winger

Computer Science and Software Engineering

Autonomous robots need to know what is around them and where it is safe for them to move to. Because having this ability is so important, Dr. Seng and myself have created a model to predict the free space in front of his autonomous robot, Herbie. We then use this prediction to enforce a driving policy to ensure Herbie drives around safely.

Non-Toxic Soil Thickeners For Reducing Mudslide Intensity, Mitchell William Jensen

Materials Engineering

This project was intended to be a continuation of senior project work done last year by a group consisting of two Materials Engineering students and a Soil Science student. Their report was crucial in identifying a range of food thickeners that could be capable of performing in the mud thickening application. All thickeners that were chosen both this year and last year are biocompatible, to alleviate some toxicity concerns. The food thickeners all belong to a class of compounds known as colloids. Since water is the fluid being thickened, these compounds are more accurately referred to as hydrocolloids. Hydrocolloids are …

Pitting Corrosion Of Oerlikon’S Abrasion Resistant Ferritic Stainless Steels, Matthew P. Nalty, Emma Wagstaff

Materials Engineering

Existing hardfacing coatings for hydraulic cylinders and brake disc applications crack during use leaving the components susceptible to corrosion. To address this problem, Oerlikon has designed three new alloys to be abrasion and corrosion resistant. This paper reviews the literature necessary to understand and quantify pitting resistance of stainless-steel alloys. It documents one round of testing ASTM G48 method A: Ferric Chloride Pitting Test of Stainless Steels on the new alloys P72-X9, P72-X13, P129-X9, as well as samples of 431, 316, and 2205 stainless steels. This paper also discusses improvements to the G48 testing method and industry use of the …

Mechani-Kits Senior Design Project, Jake Utley, Sophie Carson, Vincent Seguin

Mechanical Engineering

Studies suggest that when designed and executed well, hands-on activities can enhance student understanding of key mechanics concepts. Current products are expensive and typically not designed to meet a variety of learning objectives. Through the Mechanics of Inclusion and Inclusivity in Mechanics grant, the Cal Poly Physics and Engineering Departments are seeking to incorporate new hands-on activities into their courses. Our team has designed three inexpensive ”MechaniKits” to be used in physics, statics and dynamics courses [1]. This Final Design Review outlines our findings, objectives, and final designs for this project. It also explains our manufacturing and design verification plans. …

Conceptual Design Of A South Pole Carrier Pigeon Uav, Kendrick M. Dlima

Master's Theses

Currently, the South Pole has a large data problem. It is estimated that 1.2 TB of data is being produced every day, but less than 500 GB of that data is being uploaded via aging satellites to researchers in other parts of the world. This requires those at the South Pole to analyze the data and carefully select the parts to send, possibly missing out on vital scientific information. The South Pole Carrier Pigeon will look to bridge this data gap.

The Carrier Pigeon will be a small unmanned aerial vehicle that will carry a 30 TB solid-state hard drive …

Using Generative Adversarial Networks To Classify Structural Damage Caused By Earthquakes, Gian P. Delacruz

Master's Theses

The amount of structural damage image data produced in the aftermath of an earthquake can be staggering. It is challenging for a few human volunteers to efficiently filter and tag these images with meaningful damage information. There are several solution to automate post-earthquake reconnaissance image tagging using Machine Learning (ML) solutions to classify each occurrence of damage per building material and structural member type. ML algorithms are data driven; improving with increased training data. Thanks to the vast amount of data available and advances in computer architectures, ML and in particular Deep Learning (DL) has become one of the most …

Effect Of Polymer Design And Coating Formulation On The Water Uptake And Sensitivity Of Acrylic Water-Borne Films, William Z. Thompson

Master's Theses

Water-borne latex coatings represent a safer, more user-friendly, and environmentally responsible alternative to solvent-borne coatings, and are growing in popularity each year. However, these coatings often exhibit unfavorable performance when exposed to water for extended periods of time. This prolonged exposure often results in water uptake, which may give rise to other detrimental effects such as a decrease in modulus, blushing or water-whitening, reduced serviceable life, and softening of the film. In this study, various polymer composition latex design spaces are studied to develop an understanding of how water uptake can be modulated and minimized using common synthetic approaches. Factors …

Formation Pathways In Brightest Cluster Galaxies: Measuring The Distribution Of Ages, Metallicities, And Hydrodynamics Of Stellar Populations, Priscilla E. Holguin West

Physics

Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BCGs) are the most massive galaxies in the local universe and have had the full age of the universe to build. This makes their formation and evolution history particularly interesting as they offer a glimpse at potential evolutionary pathways for younger systems. We present the radial profile of ages, metallicities, and preliminary classification of companions to 23 BCGs observed using the SparsePak instrument on WIYN by running the STARLIGHT stellar population synthesis models. This analysis of the BCGs’ stellar populations is done by separating each BCG into different regions, and preliminary results of the stellar populations for …

An Overview Of Lasers And Their Applications, Luis Cristian Giovanni Guerrero

Physics

This paper is an overview of lasers and their applications. The fundamentals of laser operation are covered as well as the various applications of advanced laser systems. The primary focus is to highlight some of the technological advancements made possible by lasers in the last half-century.

An Investigation Of Diode Failure, Nicholas James Adams

Physics

Solar electricity can be used to cheaply cook food and charge electronic devices. We investigate the viability of using diodes as heating elements for insulated solar electric cooking (ISEC). In addition, information on designing and constructing ISEC compatible phone chargers and rechargeable LED lighting systems is included.

Viable Renewable Energy Sources And Storage For The Retired Power Plant In Morro Bay, Ca, Teresa Netro

Physics

This project will investigate renewable energy production and storage options possible for the Morro Bay Power Plant and provide a recommendation for the energy portfolio of the renovated site. These suggestions can be tested at the Morro Bay facility before being extended to the nearby Diablo Nuclear Power Plant.

Integrated Visionaries, David Ocelotl Garcia, Eden Knapp, Catherine Trujillo

Creative Works

Integrated Visionaries, David Ocelotl Garcia, University Art Collection, College of Science and Mathematics. Acrylic on board.

Cal Poly’s College of Science and Mathematics unveiled a 22’ by 6’foot diversity-themed mural on May 26, 2017 in the main lobby of the Warren J. Baker Center for Science and Mathematics (No. 180). The mural—“Integrated Visionaries”—represents the study and research of science and mathematics while considering themes of inclusivity, diversity and community. It integrates a stylized approach that allows viewers to see themselves in the mural. This catalog is based on the onsite installation and opening reception for the mural in May 2017.

Neural Network Pruning For Ecg Arrhythmia Classification, Isaac E. Labarge

Master's Theses

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are a widely accepted means of solving complex classification and detection problems in imaging and speech. However, problem complexity often leads to considerable increases in computation and parameter storage costs. Many successful attempts have been made in effectively reducing these overheads by pruning and compressing large CNNs with only a slight decline in model accuracy. In this study, two pruning methods are implemented and compared on the CIFAR-10 database and an ECG arrhythmia classification task. Each pruning method employs a pruning phase interleaved with a finetuning phase. It is shown that when performing the scale-factor pruning …

Seasonal And Interannual Variability Of Phytoplankton Abundance And Community Composition On The Central Coast Of California, Alex Barth, Ryan K. Walter, Ian C. Robbins, Alexis Pasulka

Physics

Variations in the abundance and composition of phytoplankton greatly impact ecosystem structure and function. Within the California Current System (CCS), phytoplankton community structure is tightly coupled to seasonal variability in wind-driven coastal upwelling, a process that drives changes in coastal water temperatures and nutrient concentrations. Based on approximately a decade (2008-2018) of weekly phytoplankton measurements, this study provides the first characterization of the seasonal and interannual variability of phytoplankton abundance and composition in San Luis Obispo (SLO) Bay, an understudied region within the CCS. Overall, the seasonality of phytoplankton in SLO Bay mirrored that of the larger CCS; diatoms dominated …

Valorization Of Carrot Processing Waste, Alexandra M. Duval

Master's Theses

Commercial carrot processors produce up to 175,000 tons of carrot waste annually. Carrot Mash (CM) is the term referring to the waste by-product of peeled baby carrot processing. Transportation of carrot processing waste is expensive due to its high- water content (approx. 83-95%). High in bioactive compounds (carotenoids) and dietary fibers, it is expected that its conversion into a value-added by-product is of interest to the carrot processing industry. Hemicellulose-rich plant materials have proven to be a source of oligosaccharides, which are known for their beneficial prebiotic activity. The objectives of this research were to: 1) determine the effect of …

Optimizing Llrf Parameters In The Electron-Ion Collider, William M. Bjorndahl

Physics

To improve particle interaction in the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), we investigated different feedback implementations to control the accelerating voltage and examined the power and beam phase for each instance. Using MATLAB, we studied three feedback mechanisms: Direct, One Turn, and Feedforward. Enacting feedforward yielded the best performance. To minimize the klystron power consumption, we analyzed different Low-Level Radio Frequency (LLRF) parameters such as detuning. Combining theory and simulated results, we found the optimal detuning value that minimizes klystron power consumption.

Host-Galaxy Morphology Of 14 Local Active Galaxies As Imaged By The Hubble Space Telescope, Tomas Henry Snyder

Physics

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are galaxies with super-massive black holes, that are undergoing accretion, at their centers. The study of these objects provides us with a deeper understanding of how the black holes evolved along with their host galaxies since black hole mass is highly correlated with bulge mass. A sample of 66 AGNs were imaged using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and 14 of those are analyzed in this paper to determine their structure, bulge luminosity, and bulge type. The program GALFIT is implemented to determine these parameters, that will be used in further research in the future. These …

Llama: The MBh–Σ⋆ Relation Of The Most Luminous Local Agns, Turgay Caglar, Leonard Burtscher, Bernhard Brandl, Jarle Brinchmann, Richard I. Davies, Erin K. S. Hicks, Michael Koss, Ming-Yi Lin, Witold Maciejewski, Francisco MüLler-Sánchez, Rogemar A. Riffel, Rogério Riffel, David J. Rosario, Marc Schartmann, Allan Schnorr-MüLler, T. Taro Shimizu, Thaisa Storchi-Bergmann, Sylvain Veilleux, Gilles Orban De Xivry, Vardha N. Bennert

Physics

Context. The MBH–σ_⋆ relation is considered a result of coevolution between the host galaxies and their supermassive black holes. For elliptical bulge hosting inactive galaxies, this relation is well established, but there is still discussion concerning whether active galaxies follow the same relation.

Aims. In this paper, we estimate black hole masses for a sample of 19 local luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs; LLAMA) to test their location on the MBH–σ_⋆ relation. In addition, we test how robustly we can determine the stellar velocity dispersion in the presence of an AGN continuum and AGN emission lines, …

Automating Deep-Sea Video Annotation Using Machine Learning, Hanson Egbert, Lubomir Stanchev, Benjamin Ruttenberg

Computer Science and Software Engineering

As the world explores opportunities to develop offshore renewable energy capacity, there will be a growing need for pre-construction biological surveys and post-construction monitoring in the challenging marine environment. Underwater video is a powerful tool to facilitate such surveys, but the interpretation of the imagery is costly and time-consuming. Emerging technologies have improved automated analysis of underwater video, but these technologies are not yet accurate or accessible enough for widespread adoption in the scientific community or industries that might benefit from these tools. To address these challenges, we developed a website that allows us to: (1) Quickly play and annotate …

Hydrologic Response Of A Montane Meadow From Conifer Removal And Upslope Forest Thinning, Christopher Surfleet, Noel Fie, John Jasbinsek

Physics

This study evaluates the hydrologic response of restoration of a montane meadow by removal of encroached Pinus contorta and thinning of the adjacent forest. It is now a follow-up with four years of post-restoration data, on a previous analysis of a hydrologic response of the same meadow one year following restoration. A hydrologic change was evaluated through a statistical comparison of soil moisture and depth to groundwater between the restored Marian Meadow and a Control Meadow. Meadow water budgets and durations of water table depths during the growing season were evaluated. The four years following restoration of Marian Meadow had …

The Mass Relations Between Supermassive Black Holes And Their Host Galaxies At 1 < Z < 2 With Hst-Wfc3, Xuheng Ding, John Silverman, Tommaso Treu, Andreas Schulze, Malte Schramm, Simon Birrer, Daeseong Park, Knud Jahnke, Vardha N. Bennert, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe, Anton M. Koekemoer, Matthew A. Malkan, David Sanders

Physics

Correlations between the mass of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) and the properties of its host galaxy (e.g., total stellar mass M*, luminosity Lhost) suggest an evolutionary connection. A powerful test of a coevolution scenario is to measure the relations –Lhost and –M* at high redshift and compare with local estimates. For this purpose, we acquired Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging with WFC3 of 32 X-ray-selected broad-line (type 1) active galactic nuclei at 1.2 < z < 1.7 in deep survey fields. By applying state-of-the-art tools to decompose the HST images including available ACS data, we measured the host galaxy luminosity and stellar mass along with …

Intelligent Cinematic Camera Control For Real-Time Graphics Applications, Ian Harris Meeder

Master's Theses

E-sports is currently estimated to be a billion dollar industry which is only growing in size from year to year. However the cinematography of spectated games leaves much to be desired. In most cases, the spectator either gets to control their own freely-moving camera or they get to see the view that a specific player sees. This thesis presents a system for the generation of cinematically-pleasing views for spectating real-time graphics applications. A custom real-time engine has been built to demonstrate the effect of this system on several different game modes with varying visual cinematic constraints, such as the rule …

Human Path Prediction Using Auto Encoder Lstms And Single Temporal Encoders, Hayden Hudgins

Master's Theses

Due to automation, the world is changing at a rapid pace. Autonomous agents have become more common over the last several years and, as a result, have created a need for improved software to back them up. The most important aspect of this greater software is path prediction, as robots need to be able to decide where to move in the future. In order to accomplish this, a robot must know how to avoid humans, putting frame prediction at the core of many modern day solutions. A popular way to solve this complex problem of frame prediction is Auto Encoder …

The American Astronomical Society, Find Out More The Institute Of Physics, Find Out More Where Do Quasar Hosts Lie With Respect To The Size–Mass Relation Of Galaxies?, John D. Silverman, Tommaso Treu, Xuheng Ding, Knud Jahnke, Vardha N. Bennert, Simon Birrer, Malte Schramm, Andreas Schulze, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe, David B. Sanders, Renyue Cen

Physics

The evolution of the galaxy size–mass relation has been a puzzle for over a decade. High-redshift galaxies are significantly more compact than galaxies observed today at an equivalent mass, but how much of this apparent growth is driven by progenitor bias, minor mergers, secular processes, or feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is unclear. To help disentangle the physical mechanisms at work by addressing the latter, we study the size–Mstellar relation of 32 carefully selected broad-line AGN hosts at 1.2 < z < 1.7 (7.5 < log MBH < 8.5; Lbol/LEdd ≳ 0.1). Using the Hubble Space Telescope with multiband photometry and …

A Transfer Students Guide To Becoming A Pca, Zack J. Krueger

Agricultural Education and Communication

A transfer students guide to becoming a PCA through the AGED department as opposed to AEPS. Agricultural science majors. Classes shown and listed cooperate with the California Department of Pesticide Regulations required course list necessary to take the Pest Control Advisers exam.

Leveraging Defects Life-Cycle For Labeling Defective Classes, Bailey R. Vandehei

Master's Theses

Data from software repositories are a very useful asset to building dierent kinds of

models and recommender systems aimed to support software developers. Specically,

the identication of likely defect-prone les (i.e., classes in Object-Oriented systems)

helps in prioritizing, testing, and analysis activities. This work focuses on automated

methods for labeling a class in a version as defective or not. The most used methods

for automated class labeling belong to the SZZ family and fail in various circum-

stances. Thus, recent studies suggest the use of aect version (AV) as provided by

developers and available in the issue tracker such as …

The Seoul National University Agn Monitoring Project. Ii. Blr Size And Black Hole Mass Of Two Agns, Suvendu Rakshit, Jong-Hak Woo, Elena Gallo, Edmund Hodges-Kluck, Jaejin Shin, Yiseul Jeon, Hyun-Jin Bae, Vivienne Baldassare, Hojin Cho, Wanjin Cho, Adi Foord, Daeun Kang, Wonseok Kang, Marios Karouzos, Minjin Kim, Taewoo Kim, Huynh Anh N. Lee, Daeseong Park, Hyun-Il Sung, Vardha N. Bennert, Matthew A. Malkan

Physics

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) show a correlation between the size of the broad line region and the monochromatic continuum luminosity at 5100 Å, allowing black hole mass estimation based on single-epoch spectra. However, the validity of the correlation is yet to be clearly tested for high-luminosity AGNs. We present the first reverberation mapping results of the Seoul National University AGN Monitoring Project (SAMP), which is designed to focus on luminous AGNs for probing the high end of the size–luminosity relation. We report time lag measurements of two AGNs, namely, 2MASS J10261389+5237510 and SDSS J161911.24+501109.2, using the light curves obtained over …

An Introduction To Shape Dynamics, Patrick R. Kerrigan

Physics

Shape Dynamics (SD) is a new fundamental framework of physics which seeks to remove any non-relational notions from its methodology. importantly it does away with a background space-time and replaces it with a conceptual framework meant to reflect direct observables and recognize how measurements are taken. It is a theory of pure relationalism, and is based on different first principles then General Relativity (GR). This paper investigates how SD assertions affect dynamics of the three body problem, then outlines the shape reduction framework in a general setting.