mechanical engineering
senior DESIGN 2010- 2011
Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Presentation Day 2011
Friday April 29, 2011 1:00 - 4:00 PM Gampel Pavilion University of Connecticut Storrs, CT 06269
Gampel Pavilion
UConn Coop
Gampel Pavilion (below). Gampel Pavilion is next to the UConn Coop, on the corner of Hillside Road and Stadium Road. It has a large grey domed roof.
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Parking is available in the South Parking Garage on Stadium Road (behind the UConn Coop building).
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Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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The Senior Design Project Program A Note from Professor Tom Barber, Coordinator The UConn Senior Design Project Program (Senior Design Project Course I and II) is a hallmark of success for the Department of Mechanical Engineering. In this two-semester course, senior students are mentored by department faculty and industry engineers as they work to solve real-life engineering problems for company sponsors. Students learn about the principles of design, how ethics affect engineering decisions, how professionals communicate ideas and the day-to-day implications of intellectual property. In the course of a year, the student teams synthesize design knowhow, judgment, technical skills, analysis, creativity and innovation to design, optimize and manufacture a prototype model, or to perform product simulations. Each Senior Design Program project meets the design criteria established by ABET, an engineering accreditation board, as a necessary component in a successful undergraduate engineering education. A mechanical engineering program must demonstrate that graduates have the ability to work professionally in both thermal and mechanical systems and complete the design and the realization of such systems. Students begin by researching the problem, brainstorming a range of solutions, and traveling to the sponsor company site to learn more about how the company works and how the project fits in. They hold meetings, communicate regularly with their industrial and faculty mentors, and make presentations on their work. They conduct peer design reviews, submit formal written reports and demonstrate their final solution at Senior Design Demonstration Day. Senior Design Demonstration Day gives parents, friends and sponsors the chance to see projects at work, ask questions of students, and learn more about mechanical engineering at the University of Connecticut. This April 29th the University of Connecticut Gampel Pavilion will be filled with students, dressed to impress, explaining their projects to visitors, including a team of judges chosen from local engineering industries. The judges will review the projects and award first to third place cash prizes for excellence. A Professor’s Choice prize will also be awarded by faculty members to the team that most effectively applied fundamental principles to their project. Design Demonstration Day clearly demonstrates that UConn ME engineers are educated to lead, create and innovate. Many seniors have been offered jobs from their company sponsor before graduation, and four patents are pending from Senior Design projects completed in the last five years.
For additional information or future participation contact: Professor Thomas Barber Dept. of Mechanical Engineering University of Connecticut 191 Auditorium Road, Unit 3139 Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3139 Tel: (860) 486-5342 / Fax: (860) 486-5088 E-mail: barbertj@engr.uconn.edu
Message from the Department Head Dear Students, Guests, Faculty and Staff, I welcome you to the annual Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Day. This year’s event marks the thirteenth anniversary of our comprehensive undergraduate senior design program. This year our students are showcasing 41 year-long projects sponsored by 28 different companies and organizations. We are extremely proud of our students’ achievements and grateful for the support and engagement of many industries in Connecticut and across the nation. We firmly believe that the experience gained by our students and the teamwork in pursuit of their senior design projects enriches their UConn education and prepares them well for their careers in the future. We invite you to explore and inquire about the projects our students will be presenting, and welcome your suggestions and feedback. I hope that you enjoy seeing these projects and interacting with our students. Thank you for your support and contributions. With my best wishes,
Baki M. Cetegen Professor and Department Head
Thank you to our sponsors Our project sponsors generously make senior design possible with their time, experience, and financial contributions. We thank these sponsors and donors for their participation. Alstom ASML Bevilaqua Knight Capewell Courtbridge Creatac Energy Beam Science General Dynamics / Electric Boat General Electric GKN Structures Habco Hamilton Sundstrand Henkel Loctite Jacobs Vehicle System Maks PacRim Renewable Energy Nufern OSIM Otis Elevator Photoglobe Pratt & Whitney RBC Bearings Sikorsky TTM Technologies Westinghouse Electric Wiremold Legrand Army Research Office Center for Resilient Transportation Infrastructure Department of Energy UConn Mechanical Engineering
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Team 1: Manufacturing a Low Cost High Performance Fiber Optic Gyro Coil Sponsored by NUFERN Sponsor Advisors: Martin Siefert and Daniel Hennessey Sean Lynch, Andrew Severson, Thuc Bui and Faculty Advisor Prof. Robert Gao
The fiber optic gyroscope manufacturing industry is seeing a great deal of change. The coils that are used in inertial measurement units need to be 100% error free when each 125 micron diameter fiber is wound and placed onto the coil. Nufern and the students of the design team are developing a closed-loop error detection system for automated fiber optic coil winding machines. This year, the team has been working with cutting edge vision technology to actively detect errors during fiber winding. Utilizing a Cognex Insight Micro camera and vision software, the team has developed an algorithm that will take the feedback from the camera, and turn it into error messages that will ultimately control the operation of an automated winder. The camera detects errors on the order of 10 microns and sends information to the user up to four times per second, monitoring multiple cross sections of the fiber to ensure a perfect wind. The team has developed a test winding rig to perform multiple experiments involving dry and “wet” coils, which are coated in epoxy to protect each layer of the coil. The epoxy made it nearly impossible for older cameras to detect errors of any sort, so the major obstacle for this year’s project was to find a way to “see through” the epoxy. Many winding trials were performed with a multitude of lighting options to detect errors. LED arrays capable of outputting ultraviolet and diffuse lighting were chosen to perform the experiments with and ultimately determine the best conditions. The intensity and position of the light array was also fine-tuned to find the best image possible and run error tests from it. The error detection process is a scalable and flexible system so that it can be adapted to run on current and future automated winding machines. Senior Design Project Program 2009-2010
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Team 2: Going Green Sponsored by TTM Technologies Sponsor Advisors: Steve Plasse and Mitch Russo
Faculty Advisor Prof. Ted Bergmann, Stephen Bakonyi, Dayna Tran and Tanner Krechko
TTM Technologies, a printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer, has presented us with the task of performing a full system analysis of their entire production process in order to further progress their efforts of going green. The analysis includes assessing their current energy usage in order to both reduce their consumption of energy and investigate current alternative energy generation methods. The implementation of our recommendations will be based on many important aspects, such as the system’s physical size, its energy capacity, reliability, flexibility, maintenance, control and its return on investment. Only those suggestions that will be beneficial to TTM Technologies based on these variables are being considered and ultimately recommended for implementation. The definitive goal of this project is to find new ways for TTM Technologies to reduce their energy costs, while minimizing any negative effect on both their production process and the surrounding environment.
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Team 3: Planarization Sponsored by TTM Technologies Sponsor Advisors: Vern Pursley and Phil Titterton Olaleye Aina, Rebecca Steinbach, Faculty Advisor Prof. Robert Jeffers and Dominique Smith
The goal of the project is to design a process to fill vias in a printed circuit board that does not involve sanding. Most printed circuit boards are composed of many alternating layers of a fiberglass substrate and copper. Various holes (known as vias) are drilled into the circuit boards in order to allow electrical components to be attached to the circuit boards as well as to provide electrical connectivity between layers in the circuit board. The vias must be filled with an epoxy in order to prepare the circuit board for further processes in the production of printed circuit board and microchip assemblies. The current process for filling vias is one which has been in use since the creation of printed circuit boards. The process is similar to silk screening; epoxy is applied with the use of a squeegee which is swept across the surface of the circuit board forcing the epoxy into the vias. After the silk-screening process there exists excess epoxy in the area surrounding the hole which must removed. An indentation of 0.002� at each hole is acceptable but the epoxy must not protrude above the surface of the circuit board at all. In order to remove the excess epoxy on the circuit board, an orbital sander is used. This step is potentially destructive to the panel but is necessary with the current hole fill process. Thus, a process to fill vias in printed circuit boards that eliminates this step would greatly reduce the number of damaged panels which would, in turn, greatly improve the reliability of the printed circuit boards. The current process is an additive and subtractive process; material is added and then excess is removed. The solution to this is to replace the process with a purely additive process. In the new process, precise amounts of epoxy are dispensed into each via with the use of an augervalve mounted on a computer-controlled assembly. An auger valve consists of a corkscrew encased in a cylinder; the corkscrew is controlled by a servo motor which turns the corkscrew a prescribed amount to dispense a specific volume of the epoxy through a nozzle. The auger valve allows for the dispensing of precise amounts of fluids, especially those with large viscosities to be dispensed, making it ideal for the application. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Team 4: LabPulse Point of Care Tissue Processing Sponsored by Energy Beam Science Sponsor Advisor: Greg Tedeschi Michael Shannon [BME], Christopher Pelletier, Royce Labriola, Honorio Valdes [BME], Faculty Advisor Prof. Thomas Barber, and not shown Chelsea Andrews [Smith College], Iris Gonzales [Smith] and Faculty Advisor Prof. Suzannah Howe [Smith]
The Lab Pulse Point of Care Tissue Processor (LPPC) from Energy Beam Sciences aims to improve the way doctors and patients interact by significantly decreasing the time it takes to process biopsies. It will bring the preparation of tissue samples out of distant facilities right to the clinic. Instead of waiting weeks for a lab result, a patient can receive their results the same day. The LPPC accomplishes this by being a fully automated system. It will take the user through three major steps of preparing tissue samples for examination: fixation, dehydration, and embedding. The user can define the parameters by which the processor performs by interacting with the user friendly interface. Without any further exertion, the LPPC will run through the three steps and the user will have a fully embedded sample when it finishes. The user can then move on to analyzing the sample for diagnosis. The design of the LPPC is a collaborative effort between the University of Connecticut and Smith College. Over the course of eight months the team designed and tested key concepts that will turn the LPPC into a reality. This includes an automated dispensing unit that can operate within a microwave environment, a dynamic cooling and drainage system, and unique tray and cartridge components that will cradle the tissue samples.
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Team 5: Oil Flow in UnderRace Cooling Passages Sponsored by Pratt & Whitney Sponsor Advisor: Ravi Madabushi
Faculty Advisor Prof. Ugur Pasaoguillari, Daniel Karoll, Nichole Pellerin, and Jonathan Heaven
This design project is sponsored by Pratt & Whitney, a leading manufacturer in gas turbine engines for both commercial and military use. This project is under the Mechanical Systems division of the company, which deals with the design of bearings, cooling components, and accessories driven by turbine operation. The scope of this project included computational and experimental analysis of the fluid flow through a bull gear component found on a PW6000 gas turbine engine. Flow through the actual component as well as the delivery nozzle is considered. Experimental data and fluid dynamics theory are to be tested by using a custom built experimental rig and Fluent computational fluid dynamics software. The purpose built test rig features a machined replica bull gear as well as a fluid delivery system that mimics the typical oil flow found under operating conditions in this engine. Working fluid is sprayed into the bull gear through interchangeable jets which have been machined by the team to test spray patterns resulting from different jet dimensions. The bull gear piece is mounted to an electric motor that spins near actual operating speed of 10,000rpm. Once fluid discharges through the four exit holes found on the bull gear replica, the flow rate is measured through LABVIEW software. Ansys Fluent CFD software was used for the two and three dimensional analysis of the fluid delivery jet that feeds the oil into the bull gear. Investigation was done to measure the effects the L/d ratio of the orifice, the flow rate, and the orifice angle had on the pressure gradient and fluid velocity across the boundary. Using the data from the experiments paired with the data from the fluid dynamics analysis, the cooling efficiency of the process can be improved by changing jet and bull gear geometries. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Team 6: Torsional Creep Testing of Various 304 Stainless Steel Geometries Sponsored by Pratt & Whitney Sponsor Advisors: Don Kastel and Tom Cap Adam Swagger, Faculty Advisor Prof. Eric Jordan Ryan Anthony
Pratt & Whitney designs and manufactures aircraft jet engines for both military and commercial applications, as well as industrial gas turbines for power generation. The FT8 gas turbine is derived from the JT8 engine, which is used in the aerospace industry to power MD-80 series aircraft. The problem that Pratt & Whitney faces is torsional creep in the third stage FT8 turbine blades that is leading to a loss of efficiency and vibration control after extended use. For this project the goal is to provide Pratt & Whitney with a torsional creep law for 304 stainless steel of different geometries that will allow for a better understanding of the untwist due to creep. To establish a law, a torsional creep test rig was fabricated in order to apply a constant torsional load to stainless steel samples, as well as maintain an operating temperature of 1500áľ’F. Rectangular and cylindrical samples were tested for a period of 100 hours in conditions that caused an expected secondary radial creep of 10áľ’. The creep rate differences of the various samples were compared in order to develop a sound creep law. The experimental torsional creep of the samples was also compared to a full ANSYS finite element analysis in order to confirm the validity of the testing. This finite element analysis can be applied to the creep characteristics of the FT8 turbine blade to allow for a better understanding of the untwisting blades due to torsional creep.
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Team 7: Structural Guide Vanes Sponsored by Pratt & Whitney Sponsor Advisors: Ryan Cox, Nick Stilin, and Wendy Zhang Joshua Vassell, Faculty Advisors Profs. Horea Ilies and Prof. Brice Cassenti, Gao Cai and Daniel Boyd
Structural guide vanes are an important component in a high-bypass turbofan aircraft engine’s operation. The function of the structural guide vane is to provide both structural support and guide thrust for Pratt & Whitney’s engines. Composite material was selected for its high strength to weigh ratio. At the same time the aluminum vane was also studied to provide baseline comparisons. In order to study the effects of different loading conditions, material properties and fiber orientation, simpler cases were investigated and studied. A parametric model of the vane was first created in Unigraphics to allow the ease of changing the geometry. Finite element model of the geometry was then decomposed into hexagonal meshes for the ANSYS solver. The stress, deflection and mode shape results from ANSYS FEA were then analyzed. High stress concentrations were found on the edges between the airfoil and the inner diameter gloves which might lead to crack propagation in brittle composite material. After the structural and modal analysis, the aerodynamics of the airfoil was studied using the ANSYS FLUENT code. The result gathered allowed for redesign and optimization of the geometry in high stress areas.
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Team 8: Robotic Welder Tooling Sponsored by Pratt & Whitney Sponsor Advisors: Monica Arias and Eric Engsberg Christopher Rogers, Faculty Advisor Prof. Nejat Olgac, Adam Lambert and Matthew Heckel
Pratt & Whitney, a company that specializes on commercial and military jet engines has plans to increase production. To do that, the production of engine parts also needs to be sped up. In the Combustor Augmentors and Nozzle (CAN) module center production speed-up would not be as easy for two reasons: physical strain of the welders on the floor and the deformation of the material after the TIG welding process. Pratt & Whitney decided to implement a robotic TIG welder to decrease TAC time and deformation, therefore increasing efficiency. The goal of this team was to make a fixture for the robotic welding process that is both easy to use and increases efficiency. This was accomplished by designing a fixture from scratch to create a design with a fresh point of view. In addition some of the features and ideas of the old fixture that worked best were used to enhance the design. Improvements were made on the design to be able to change the weld orders to a much more effective process. One improvement to the process was to weld two features to the main part at the same time, which was previously impossible due to deformation. This improvement not only eliminates another fixture and in essence a fixture change, but also eliminates a heat treatment cycle which is time consuming and costly. Additionally, a light detection sensor is located in the fixture below all gap locations to give a simple read out of when it does not sense light and therefore the gap is closed, preventing an overzealous operator from over tightening the fixture. In addition, there are clamps strategically placed in the design that clamp over top of the parts to add additional support and stability.
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Team 9: CoolPac: A Cooling Device for Firefighters Sponsored by Creatac Sponsor Advisor: Hans Almqvist Jaspreet Mankoo [BME], Nedim Begovac, Faculty Advisor Prof. Yen-Lin Han, Kerri Blanc [BME] and Sean Meehan
CoolPac is a cooling sleeve intended for firefighters at risk for heat related injury due to endemic (internally generated) heat. The members of this senior design team were able to redesign a prototype in order to increase its useful area by nearly 4%, allowing for greater heat removal. This was accomplished by reorienting the Phase Change Material (PCM) pads within the sleeve as thin strips running the length of the arm. The comfort of the product was also improved by changing the fastening mechanism of the sleeve to a compression material called Nomex®, which also meets necessary standards according to the National Fire Protection Association. This team was also successful in setting up a mechanical testing rig in order to assess the viable heat absorption of the sleeve prior to performing human testing on live subjects. The mechanical rig was modeled to closely resemble the human arm during heat stress conditions, with water modeling the flow of blood through the body. The PCM material was also tested individually to measure its peak theoretical capacity to absorb heat. Finally, the team worked with Southern Connecticut State University’s Human Performance Lab to test the product on human subjects under heat stressed conditions. All subjects were tested using an encapsulating suit in order to simulate the firefighter’s insulating coat worn while on duty. The tests were performed both with a control, in which the subjects were not wearing the sleeves, as well as while wearing the CoolPac sleeves in order to measure their effect in reducing the effects of heat stress on the human body. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Team 10: Stress Concentration Factors in a Torispherical End Cap Sponsored by Hamilton Sundstrand Sponsor Advisor: Mark Zaffetti Faculty Advisor Prof. Chengyu Cao, Chris Scanlon and Patrick Masella
Hamilton Sundstrand is Space, Land and Sea division of Hamilton Sundstrand (HS) designs and builds pressure vessels of various sizes into new designs for pneumatic, hydraulic, or life support applications. A vessel with shallow torispherical (as compared to hemispherical) ends is often used due to the combination of gross weight and space savings that it offers; two very fundamental characteristics when dealing with a space vehicle component. Sensors may penetrate the surface of each vessel for optics as well as the monitoring of pressure and temperature. With these sensors entering at a variety of locations and angles, HS must run time-consuming simulations to verify that a new vessel design will perform exactly as required by the customer. The goal of this project was to determine the unique stress concentration factors that develop as these sensory inclusions approach the tight contour area of the torisphere, denoted the knuckle. In order to analyze the shape of the torisphere, the design team has created and finalized vessel end cap iterations, completed fabrication of the physical test samples based on the designs, and completed physical trial pressure testing of each iteration. Testing focuses on measuring the surface deformation and related stress/ strain that occurs within each cap sample. The design team used ANSYS FEA to verify the design characteristics during each design phase. It was also used to identify the highest stress locations on the surface of the cap iterations, which decided the placement of each strain gauge. Ansys FEA simulations were utilized as a validation technique, allowing the team to compare the virtual solutions against each set of physical data and hand calculations. The test data included 15 different cases of varying sensory angle and radial placement, with successive iterations approaching the known high stress knuckle location. HS can use these data to facilitate future vessel designs that require sensory inclusions at a given angle and locational proximity to the knuckle of the torisphere.
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Team 11: Airfoil Thrust Bearing Test-Rig Design & Displacement/Force Analysis Sponsored by Hamilton Sundstrand Sponsor Advisor: Wayne R. Spock Faculty Advisor Prof. Kevin Murphy, Joshua Rosenzweig and Alexander Dellin
Hamilton Sundstrand uses airfoil thrust bearings in their aircraft environmental systems such as air conditioning systems that refrigerate aircraft environments. These airfoil bearings use clean air as the working fluid to resist axial loads that exist inside rotating-shaft machinery. Currently, Hamilton Sundstrand tests applied load vs. shaft displacement statically to determine the thrust load capability. However, testing in a static setup is not ideal as the thrust bearing is not operational until approximately 6,000RPM. For this reason, this design team was tasked with characterizing the performance of airfoil thrust bearings under operating conditions, up to 20,000RPM. The UConn team designed and constructed a test-rig that allows for the bearings to operate with a high-speed shaft on which a known axial load of up to 100 lbs can be applied. This involved numerous design iterations as shaft and rig components were often re-designed to fit radial bearing and dynamic seal constraints as well as budget goals. The final design incorporated a high-precision displacement probe machined into the rig housing and a pressurized enclosure at one end of the rotating shaft to apply the desired force. Once the rig was up and running, the design team calibrated the displacement sensor and ran tests of shaft displacement at axial loads of 10 lb increments to characterize the airfoil thrust bearings. This gave a well-defined relationship of force vs. displacement for the dynamic operation of the thrust bearings up to 20,000RPM.
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Team 12: Flow Optimization in the Vacuum Pads of a Scanning Reticle Stage Sponsored by ASML Sponsor Advisors: Steve Roux and Enrico Zordan Peter Zywiak, Faculty Advisor Prof. Baki Cetegen, and Benjamin Rubino
A study of the reticle stage cavity depressurization has been conducted by two different analyses of the air flow. In order to analyze the gas flow within the cavity, a flow network analysis was set up in order to determine the pressure change with time in each of the compartments. A separate CFD analysis utilizing Ansys Fluent was conducted to (1) calibrate the resistances in the flow network analysis and (2) provide more detailed results of the evacuation process. Governing equations for pressure change were derived as a function of time, and a flow network has been set up to analyze the behavior of the pressure in the cavity. As the pressure drop was analyzed the resistances of the individual sections of the cavity were also obtained, which assisted in optimizing the design of the cavity. Using these results from the Fluent analysis, the results from the flow network were validated. The results from Fluent depicting the pressure drop and mass flow rate over time were produced. One aspect of the cavity ASML was interested in was deformation as a cause of an uneven pressure drop because the cavity was not symmetrical. In order to analyze a possible cause of deformation, pressure contour graphs over time were created to show where possible areas of stress may be occurring. These areas of stress will lead to design analysis and recommendations which will help ASML to optimize the flow within the cavity. By optimizing the flow in the cavity this will increase the productivity of the Twinscan XT.
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Team 13: Investigation of Air Hybrid Regeneration Sponsored by Jacobs Vehicle System Sponsor Advisor: Jeff Mossberg Brian Mascia, Peter Raggio, Nicholas Robinson, and Faculty Advisor Prof. Brice Cassenti
Jacobs Vehicle Systems (JVS), the manufacturer of the Jake Brake®, has continued their partnership with the University of Connecticut’s Senior Design class to develop a regenerative hybrid pneumatic braking system. The mission is to design a system which will utilize a surplus of compressed air, stored through captured kinetic energy, to recycle previously wasted energy by inputting it back into the system and reducing the load on the engine and the devices it drives. With the generation of power taken from the compressed air rather than burning additional fuel, increases in the vehicles’ fuel economy can be recognized and measured. A Simulink model of the system has been developed with the help of the JVS engineering sponsors to predict relevant values. With the addition of specialized function blocks; such as the air compressor, tank, and air alternator, the new fuel economy can be compared to the base levels. A lab test at Jacobs is being conducted. Using a dynamometer to produce the desired loading patterns on the Cummins ISB engine, a working physical model can be achieved. The engine will be driving an air compressor to fill the air tank. During stop start cycles the engine will shut off, and then restart using an air starter. The change in air pressure and fuel savings for the idling shutoff and restart will be monitored throughout the testing.
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Team 14: Designing Rotorcraft Components for Synthetic Fuels Sponsored by Sikorsky Sponsor Advisor: Russ Smiley Daniel Lynn, Sam Masciulli, Kenya Evans, and Faculty Advisor Prof. Jackie Sung
Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of military and commercial helicopters, has been using petroleum based fuels, specifically Jet-A fuel, to run in the engines of their helicopters. Due to an increase in the price of petroleum-based fuels as well as the increase in the greenhouse gas emissions, Sikorsky has asked the team to use the same fuel system and come up with a blend of synthetic fuels (specifically n-butanol, biodiesel, and/or Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene) that are compatible with the materials inside of the fuel system, as well as the Jet-A fuel used in the system, to replace the petroleum-based fuel. Current industry efforts are striving to recreate the properties of conventional jet kerosene, and resorting to 50-50 blending to achieve compatibility. An alternative approach to facilitate the acceptability of synthetic fuels is to make the rotorcraft fully compatible with a variety of fuels, natural and synthetic, that are likely to be encountered in the future. The primary material component that is essential in the fuel system is the rubber seals that hold the fuel. If the synthetic fuel is not compatible with the type of rubber used inside of the fuel system, a major leakage in the system will most likely occur which may cause substantial damage in the system. Hence, we have completed compatibility testing of each synthetic fuel type to compare each fuel to selected properties of the Jet-A fuel. We have also run compression tests involving different types of elastomers per ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards and procedures to come up with a synthetic replacement for the petroleum-based fuel to run in all helicopters made by Sikorsky Aircraft. We have documented and reported all key components, their materials, the assessment of compatibility with 3 synthetic fuels as well as Jet-A, and the recommended replacement materials for all key components. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Team 15: R&D of a Life Cycle Cost Model for a “Green� S-92 Sikorsky Rotorcraft Sponsored by Sikorsky Sponsor Advisors: Russ Smiley and Roosevelt Samuel
Timothy Jaekle, Faculty Advisor Prof. Amir Faghri, and Ayesheh Nims
The Sikorsky S-92 Helicopter is a popular rotorcraft for both civil and military use. This team has been assigned to research the current life cycle cost of the S-92 design. This includes analyzing development, manufacturing, direct maintenance, operational, and disposal costs for the rotorcraft. Since it is estimated that the S-92 costs $20 million to manufacture, and much of the cost is associated with the maintenance and operation, Sikorsky is interested in looking into green technologies and how they can be implemented into the S-92 design to reduce the overall life cycle cost. The team researched and analyzed several green technologies ranging from altering materials and weight of the rotorcraft to adding a waste heat regeneration system. After much research, the team decided that including an electric tail rotor to the current design would be most beneficial. A projected life cycle cost modeled was then successfully completed to estimate how the life cycle cost of the S-92 would be affected with the inclusion of the electric tail rotor. This LCC model has different inputs for users to utilize in order to see how the life cycle cost of the current design and greener design change. This includes ownership time period, flight hours per year, and fuel prices. This model will be useful to determine the benefits and risks of implementing an electric tail rotor into the S-92 design.
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Team 16: Portable Airflow Measurement Sponsored Sponsor Advisors: Reed Shipman and Tom McColl Ryan Brielmann, Faculty Advisor Prof. Michael Renfro and Matthew Noll
To assure that a submarine’s ventilation system is providing the appropriate amount of cool air to the correct locations onboard, a series of measurements must be taken while the boat is constructed. These measurements are taken by several devices; some measure a fraction of the flow and require calculations and averaging techniques, while others capture the entire flow, but restrict it in a manner that results in inaccuracies. Many of these methods are not well suited for submarine measurements. Research, design, production, calibration, and test of a new device to overcome these problems are the goals of the project. The prototype, termed the Fan Powered Collector (FPC), overcomes the back pressure from the restriction by using a fan, and allows for the minimization of the size of the measurement device. With its compact size and weight, the FPC is very mobile and requires minimal operator involvement—two attributes highly sought after in the confined areas of a submarine. The FPC is controlled by a pressure sensor and a PID controller to automate the measurements, and contains an anemometer to measure the flow. To calibrate the FPC, a wind tunnel was constructed to simulate a diffuser with a known volume of airflow. Another issue that the FPC overcomes is the requirement to have the data output into the volumetric unit, cubic feet per minute. The FPC is designed for the easiest possible operation while still providing Electric Boat with accurate measurements. The Fan Powered Collector uses its ability to take accurate, useable measurements in its small frame to give Electric Boat a great advantage in the process of taking measurements, reducing cost and labor.
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Team 17: Wake Measurements Sponsored Sponsor Advisors: Denny Gibbs and Jim Campbell Mark Wade, Faculty Advisor Prof. Ted Bergman and Alex Dunn
The purpose of this project is to test the drag coefficient with different hydrophobic coatings. In the study we will be testing two hydrophobic coatings, and one hydrophobic material. The baseline measurements will be using standard PVC tubing, with tube diameters of one, two, and four inches. A flume will be used to apply the constant water stream on the tubes. The testing will be completed at the University of Connecticut’s Civil Engineering Lab where a flume is available. A series of four tests will be performed to test the drag reduction properties of hydrophobic surfaces. The first test will measure the pressure with Pitot tubes upstream and downstream of the cylinder. Using Bernoulli’s equation we relate the pressure between the upstream and downstream measurements to the velocity. By measuring the pressure at these locations across the width of the flume a velocity profile can be calculated. The baseline cylinder will produce a velocity profile with increasing velocity as you get closer to the walls of the flume. We are testing to see if the hydrophobic surface will then produce a more uniform velocity profile across the flume. The second test will look at the movement of particles in the flow around the cylinder. Using time lapsed photography we hope to see what direction and about how fast the flow is traveling in. The third test examines the wake in a thermal spectrum as well as measure thermodynamic properties of the cylinder. Using an IR imaging camera we will be able to see the profile of the wake. If a reduction in wake is present, then this will confirm that the drag on the cylinder has been reduced. The fourth test also involves thermal imaging. In this test the cylinder is heated up prior to being placed in the flow field. Once in the water, cooling of the cylinder by convection will be measured by the IR camera. If we can measure how fast each cylinder is being cooled, then this will tell us whether the coating is having an effect on flow of water. Through these four tests we hope to be able to determine if the hydrophobic coatings are reducing the drag on a cylinder in water. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Team 18: Designing A Dilute Phase Pneumatic Conveying System Sponsored by Alstom Sponsor Advisors: John Iovino and Richard LaFlesh Faculty Advisor Prof. Tianfeng Lu, Stephen Strickland, Michael Clark, Augustin Kopp and Faculty Advisor Prof. Thomas Barber
The design team’s work on this project revolves around the particle distribution system, Mer-CureTM, designed by Alstom to capture toxic mercury from the exhaust gas of coal burning power plant boilers. The piping system of interest transports fine particles of Powdered Activated Carbon, using compressed air, from a dispenser to an array of lances that inject particles into the exhaust gas duct. Since the mercury capture system is designed for specific power plant set-ups, the transport system configuration must vary from location to location. Relationships between pipe lengths, pipe diameters, flow velocities, pressure drop, and system geometry variations were developed to deliver accurate design parameters for future mercury capture systems. Research was done in the areas of particle flow and pressure drop in piping systems to understand how different parameters affect the total system pressure drop. Models of different pipe sizes, geometries, and configurations were then created and analyzed in the computational fluid dynamics software FLUENT. After validating the results of each case, a design tool was created that incorporates FLUENT results with industry standard pressure drop formulae into an easy to use spreadsheet which allows for quick estimations of pressure drop for any piping system configuration.
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Team 19: Developing Unique Light Cure Systems Utilizing LED Technology Sponsored by Henkel Sponsor Advisors: Pat Courtney and John Schunemann David Stockford, Michael Tyszkiewicz, Jordan Brown, and Faculty Advisor Prof. Tai-Hsi Fan
This project focuses on the advancement of a Henkel product known as a CureJet. These are Light-Emitting Diode (LED) sources used to cure multiple adhesives for purposes such as syringes in medical fields. The purpose of the project is to determine if creating a hybrid 380 nm, 405 nm CureJet would be beneficial to the company using their previously patented CureJets. Two CureJets will be calibrated and positioned at a central focal point to ensure equal curing effects by both. The CureJets will be positioned at the optimum angle of 53.4 degrees from the base to any point on the lower face of the CureJet mounting bracket. Four tests will be completed in order to complete the task to its entirety: (1) A shear strength test to find the amount of force needed to break the bond between two lap shears, (2) a depth of cure test to measure the ability of the UV light to cure to certain depths, (3) a surface cure test to find the time for the adhesive to reach a tack-free surface, and (4) advanced testing which includes testing CureJets at higher power, changing the time intervals and order of operation of the CureJets to simulate different 3 by 3 arrays of LED lights in the new hybrid CureJet. After completed testing, conclusions will be drawn and recommendations to Henkel will be made.
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Team 20: The Effects of Heating in a Pressure-Time Dispensing System Sponsored by Henkel Sponsor Advisor: John Breault Jason Ellis, Christina Alban, Faculty Advisor Prof. George Lykotrafitis and Gina Cavallo
Henkel Loctite is a leader in the adhesive industry. They produce positive displacement and pressure time dispensing systems that dispense adhesives used for assembling medical devices. The pressure-time dispensing systems are less costly than the positive displacement systems however they do not dispense a consistent drop size between batches of adhesive. This is mainly due to the adhesive viscosity varying between batches, and changes in pressure and time. In order to decrease this variation, Henkel customers began independently heating their pressure-time valves and claimed to experience positive results. As a result, Henkel proposed the development of a safe and controlled heating accessory for their automated pressure-time valve. The objective of the project is to develop a heating accessory that will connect to an existing pressure-time system and allow the valve to dispense consistent drop volumes between different batches of the same adhesive. The attachment will raise and maintain the Loctite 3900 series adhesive to a temperature of 131°F. This will decrease the range of viscosity values for different batches and provide a consistent target drop size of 0.005 mL. Secondary objectives include developing a method for measuring the adhesive temperature at the exit of the dispensing nozzle, as well as testing the heated system when subjected to environmental changes. The heating accessory will be tested using the 3971™ and 3972™ medical device adhesives. The dispensing system is composed of three main components: the reservoir, feed line, and dispensing valve. The heating accessory consists of a ceramic band heater around the pressurized reservoir, foam insulation around the feed line, and a custom heated fitting around the valve. It is expected that heat will be lost from the adhesive as it travels through the system, but the heating devices will counteract this to allow constant heating and steady flow. The experimental design will be used to investigate the validity of Henkel’s current method for measuring dispensed drop sizes. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Team 21: Magnetic Rope Speed Detector Sponsored by Otis Sponsor Advisors: Dr. Jerry Piech and Martin Hardesty Brian Molgano, Patrick Devaney, Derek Welch and Faculty Advisor Prof. Hanchen Huang
Otis Elevator Company desired an alternative method to measure the speed and direction of a moving elevator cable. The goal of this project was to design and manufacture a device that uses permanent magnets to take advantage of the steel elevator cable’s ferromagnetic properties. As elevator cables are made of helically wound steel strands, a cable moving vertically through a ring magnet will be subject to the magnetic field of the permanent magnet. Steel rings with inner cutouts following the helical pattern of the elevator cable will be attached above and below the magnet to guide magnetic flux. By guiding magnetic flux from the permanent magnet across a small air gap into the elevator cable, rotational pulsations of the magnet and the attached rings will be linked to the movement of the cable. As the moving elevator cable will seemingly be rotating from the fixed position of the magnet, the magnet and rings will be forced to pulsate about the cable. Pulsation frequencies of the magnet/ring assembly will be analyzed by sensor and related to vertical speed. A test rig has been manufactured to demonstrate the feasibility of the design. The setup allows a DC motor to run a length of elevator cable around two pulleys. Two magnets are vertically offset from one another, each having machined steel rings attached directly above and below it. The initial design was improved upon using simulations obtained from Ansys FEA analyses of the electromagnetic field. From a Hall sensor measuring pulsation of each magnet assembly, vertical speed of the cable can be determined. From the phase shift of the two pulsation graphs of the two magnets, direction of the cable can be determined. Speed results can be compared against data read by a wheel speed sensor attached to a pulley, and direction can be confirmed visually. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Team 22: Cab Panel Stiffness & Damping Optimization Sponsored by Otis Sponsor Advisor: Patricia Driesch and Soumitra Borthakur Jamel Smith, Faculty Advisor Prof. Zbigniew Bzymek, Abhijeet Shrestha and Michael Kwok [not shown]
The goal of this project is to provide Otis with a prototype of a testing rig and a method to test and optimize elevator cab panels on the component level. Elevator cab panels must be able to withstand a 300 N force without deflecting more than 15 mm. Elevator cab panels must also perform satisfactorily in terms of noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) control. Currently Otis does not have a developed method to test a single cab panel. Finite element analysis (FEA) based simulations have been developed using ANSYS. These simulations would predict the deflection, strain energy, and resonance frequencies of a single cab panel. While developing simulations, the team ensured their results were mesh independent. The team also examined boundary condition sensitivity, i.e. are the results dependent loading/support, in order to ensure the simulation results correlated with expected results. Simplifications (to ensure higher quality meshing) and other adjustments have been made until the simulation accurately depicted what occurs on a rig test. A test rig has also been designed in order to help validate the viability of the computational model of the cab panel design. This rig holds a cab panel horizontally to allow weights to be placed on the panel for deflection tests, and a modal hammer to strike the panel for frequency tests. The rig has been designed and computationally analyzed to verify the final design before fabrication. A mock-up rig was designed and built in order to test stability against sizing, and rig cost/effectiveness analysis. The combined analysis-experimental approach developed in this project is more efficient than simply testing a fully assembled elevator cab. Raw data on one panel can be generated without a fully assembled elevator cab, giving Otis an opportunity to establish metrics on which designs will fail before an elevator cab test. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Team 23: Automated Resin Injection Sponsored by GKN Sponsor Advisors: Steve Hayse & Mike Robertson Francesco Macri, Faculty Advisor Prof. Amir Faghri and Christopher Fenwick
GKN Structures is looking to redesign their current mold interface port to allow for a temperature regulating process. Currently, they are using a nozzle and port design from the 1980’s, where the nozzle must be manually inserted and removed after each use. GKN is using a Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) process, which is used to manufacture high performance composite products. Resin at 200°F is injected into a mold maintained at 250°F. The resin is then pressurized to 200 psi and allowed to inject for 30 minutes. The mold is then heated to 375°F at a rate of 3°F/minute and then allowed to cool to room temperature for one to two hours. If for some reason during the injecting process the resin drops below 200°F or if it rises above 350°F it will solidify and create a blockage in the mold or mold interface. By running a cooling fluid at a certain flow rate through a series of channels, the temperature of the resin will be significantly reduced by removing approximately 50 Watts of heat. By keeping the temperature of the resin in the port cooler than the mold temperature, the polymer chemical reaction is delayed. Ideally, if the temperature is kept below 250°F it will not react with the catalyst within the process time frame. In this case, after the molding cycle, it can be reheated, liquefied, and flushed out of the mold or mold interface. In order to analyze a new mold interface design, it was necessary to use ANSYS and FLUENT computer software packages. ANSYS was used to run a transient analysis of the current mold interface port to achieve a baseline for the new mold interface port and FLUENT was used to model the cooling fluid flowing in the channels of the new mold interface port. By combining the results obtained from both ANSYS and FLUENT, a detailed analysis of a new mold interface port was achieved.
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Team 24: Canopy Release Slide Manufacturing Study Sponsored by Capewell Sponsor Advisor: Stephen Parkinson
Faculty Advisor Prof. Bi Zhang, Jonathan Wescott, Travis Goeller, Jeff Magnusson
Capewell Components Co. is the premier global Life Support and Aerial Delivery manufacturer & supplier to U.S. & worldwide military forces. They currently manufacture a part for use in their paratrooper parachute canopy release system which is judged to be over engineered for its intended purpose. The current part is machined SAE 4140 aircraft quality low alloy steel and has been in use with little change since the original patent was issued to Capewell in 1949. The dimensions of the part cannot be changed. A thorough study of the part was conducted using resources available at the University of Connecticut. Areas of interest included ANSYS modeling, using a profilemeter, studying the microstructure and conducting a tribology study. The tribology study consisted of designing and constructing a test stand capable of existing in Capewell’s THERMOTRON environmental chamber. A highlighted area of concern is the robustness of moving components at temeprature extremes. The test stand pushes and drags sample materials across a cast iron plate using a pneumatic actuator. The setup is contained in an environmental chamber provided by Capewell in order to expose the samples to temperatures from -65°F to 165°F, the most extreme temperatures the slide release will experience in the field. Measurements of the sample thickness were taken with a micrometer in three sections before and after the test to determine the amount of wear. The test rig was used to study the wear on the slide release made of materials such as sintered powder metals, plastics, aluminum alloys, and various platings and coatings. Using this qualitative test along with calculations to confirm that the mechanical properties of the materials are suitable for the slide release, a new material and or plating will be proposed to Capewell.
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Team 25: Design & Construction of a Test Fixture to Test a Next Generation Electrical Device Sponsored by Wiremold Sponsor Advisor: John Marrotte, Mark Makwinski and Nate Hoffman
David Ferguson, Faculty Advisor Asst. Dean Marty Wood and Jeffrey Daverio
The goal of this project is to design and create a test fixture to assist Wiremold-Legrand in demonstrating that their revolutionary new electrical outlet will be able to operate safely and will not fail during its lifetime. This new outlet design features a mechanically actuating outlet face that allows users to hide and display the outlet faces when desired. The team’s design tests the mechanical actuating feature of the outlet, as well as monitors electrical continuity and spring force and displays when and how it fails. A test apparatus has been built to accomplish that, using 80/20 extruded aluminum for a frame that supports the motor run cam design. The fixture features a double sided cam design which translates the rotational motion of the motor-pulley system into the horizontal, linear motion that is required to test the actuating feature of the device and allows 2 cycles per rotation for greater speed. It also uses 2 Banner photoelectric sensors to detect when the outlet face is stuck in or out, as well as a force transducer to continuously monitor the force produced by the springs. The team also has a test circuit to monitor electrical continuity through the three leads during the testing. All the sensors are run through a DAQ and LabView system which continuously take data and count the number of cycles, as well as stop the fixture and display the cycle number when failure, whether mechanical or electrical, occurs. The prototype has been thoroughly tested with the device provided by Wiremold as well as findings from our tests. Wiremold will be able to use the team’s designed system for repeated testing as they wish. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Team 26: Spherical Plain Bearing Outer Ring Forming Sponsored by RBC Sponsor Advisor: John Cowles
Anthony Orfitelli, Cody Johanson, Dane Schneemann and Faculty Advisor Prof. Bi Zhang
RBC Bearings Incorporated is a leading international manufacturer of highly-engineered precision plain, roller and ball bearings for the industrial, defense, and aerospace industries. RBC has continued to develop spherical bearing technology since their market-changing invention of the fractured outer race design over 40 years ago. In addition, RBC also specializes in the creation of spherical plain bearings. These products are used in high load bearing applications involving angular misalignment. Some examples of use include vehicle steering linkage suspensions, hydraulic cylinder rod ends, and heavy equipment articulated joints. This project focuses on the method of creating spherical plain bearings called swaging. The swaging process is a method of compressing the outer ring of the bearing around, yielding varying results. Such results create a roadblock during the manufacturing of newly designed bearings. When manufacturing a bearing for a new customer, bearings of different sizes must be swaged and compared to the customer’s specifications in order to determine the appropriate initial geometry that yields the most accurate final dimensions. This iterative process creates downtime on active machines, wasting time and money as well as extra resources. This team has been given the task of modeling the swaging process in ANSYS, a finite element analysis computer program, in order to reduce the time and money put into the creation of a new bearing. Using ANSYS, areas of high stress concentrations can be identified as well as the overall deformation at any given point on the bearing outer ring. Furthermore, material properties are easily adjustable, allowing the simulation to closely mimic that of a real life swaging process. Emphasis is then placed on quantifying all bearing deformations associated with swaging in hopes of being able to predict the final outcome.
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Team 27: Helicopter Sonar Unit Load/ Upload Fixture Sponsored by Habco Sponsor Advisor: Vinay Patel John McBrien, Joesph Foster, Joe Davis and Faculty Advisor Prof. Eric Jordan [not shown]
HABCO Inc., located in Glastonbury Connecticut, designs and manufactures ground support and testing equipment for the aviation, automotive, power generation, industrial HVAC and medical industries. Improving on a previous design that Sikorsky, a United Technologies Company, currently uses, HABCO Inc. and the Team 27 designed and manufactured the 7933 HELRAS load/unload fixture. This hoist will raise and lower and allow transport of a 380lb Sonar Unit from the Sikorsky S70B aircraft reel mechanism. This load/unload fixture was designed to incorporate collapsing features to allow for compact storage and loading door clearance aboard the Singapore Navy RSS Formidable #68 frigate, on which it will be used. The scope of the project encompasses the design, manufacturing, validation, and marketing of the hoist. Physical and environmental constraints were considered and incorporated in the design in order to ensure that no damage to the HELRAS unit or surrounding hardware on the ship would occur. The range of motion of the hoist boom, the deck angle of the #68 frigate, and the normal and tangential accelerations of the ship deck caused by sea state 3 conditions all affect the stress and strain in the hoist components and were calculated in the process of designing the hoist. Other dynamic assumptions due to sea-state 3 conditions aboard the vessel were used as design parameters. A material study was conducted to determine the best-suited material for the hoist. The hoist is predominately A36 steel while some telescoping components are 316 stainless steel. Polyurethane Hi-tech caster tread material and stainless steel hubs were selected to be compatible with the rolling resistance, weight carrying capacity, ship deck surface, exposure to contaminants, and temperature as well as humidity range. Extensive hand calculations for deflection, stress, strain, and dynamic load were carried out to ensure the strength and safety of the hoist components. Finite element analysis was then used to verify these hand calculations. Preliminary designs as well as a fully dimensioned final design were presented in detail and engineer reviewed. Prototype testing, validation of our analysis, a service manual and warning labels are presented to ensure safe-operation. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Team 28: New Passive Cooling Containment Sponsored by Westinghouse Sponsor Advisor: Charles King and Richard Ofstun Matthew Molgano, Sean McGuffin, Joshua Pennie and Faculty Advisor Prof. Wilson Chiu
This design team is working with the Westinghouse Electric Company on new passive containment cooling designs for upgraded power versions of the AP1000 model. Westinghouse’s goal is to upgrade the current AP1000 design to output 60-80% more power. This requires additional safety measures to account for the upgrade in heat energy being extracted from the reactor core. The secondary goal is to accomplish this without having to change the overall configuration of the AP1000. We have been researching pressure suppression methods utilizing additional exterior volumes along with sparger and spray nozzle technologies to maintain the containment under design pressure. The end result will hopefully allow Westinghouse to upgrade the previously built AP1000 reactors without requiring major construction. Three concepts were identified and chosen for further investigation. Exterior expansion volumes were the most basic idea, using an increase in volume to account for the power increase with cooling fins to encourage heat transfer. Another method utilizing expansion volumes was researched, but with the addition of spargers and water as a suppression pool inside the expansion. The third method involves a pressurized water tank inside the containment vessel as a means for suppressing the steam expansion from inside. It became clear after scoping studies that the first method would not be prudent to Westinghouse’s goals due to the size of the volume necessary to maintain an atmosphere below the design pressure of the containment. The other two methods carried research into the end of the semester, with additional research going toward the Fukushima Nuclear accident in Japan, and comparisons to GE’s Mark I BWR.
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Team 29: Evaluating the Time Delay in Magnetic Flux Buildup in Fast Acting Solenoid Circuits Sponsored by Westinghouse Sponsor Advisor: Ed Sirica Faculty Advisor Prof. Jiong Tang, Timothy Harding, and Christopher Thouin
Westinghouse Electric Company utilizes electromechanical Control Element Drive Mechanisms (CEDMs) to withdraw or insert control rods in the reactor core of commercial nuclear power reactors as a means of regulating or effectively stopping nuclear reactions. These functions are important for efficient and safe operation of the reactor. Analysis of the electromechanical operating characteristics of similar solenoid type actuators provides useful information that could be used for diagnostic purposes and as input for the design of future equipment. Westinghouse Electric Company has given this team the task of evaluating and measuring the electromagnetic response of a solenoid actuator system. Two separate test fixtures are being constructed in order to evaluate different features associated with solenoid operation. The first test involves measurement of the axial time delay in magnetic flux build-up along a ferromagnetic path of a closed loop solenoid. The expected delay is a result of an opposing magnetic flux that is generated from magnetically induced eddy currents. A second test will be performed using a solenoid apparatus with a movable armature. The purpose of this test is to measure induced transient changes in coil current arising from armature motion, and to display the relationship between these changes and armature position. Results obtained from these two tests will be compared with theoretical predictions based on analytical models of the tested configurations.
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Team 30: Air–Steam Hybrid Engine Sponsored by Bevilaqua Knight Sponsor Advisors: Mike Brookman and Michael Cocuzza Justin Swann, Faculty Advisor Prof. Yen-Lin Han and Ronald Pickering (not shown Costen Cameron, Prof. Rajeev Bansal, and Daniel Johnson [ECE])
As home heating prices rise, alternate sources for power are investigated. A great alternative for oil is the tremendous power of steam. Steam power has died down since the beginning of the 20th century, but it may see revised interest. This team will be implementing a newly designed “flash steam burner,” which can create instantaneous steam. Once steam is created, it will then flow through a series of safety valves, then enter a 6 cylinder steam engine. This engine has a driveshaft, which can be connected to an electric generator using a pulley system. The generator for this project will create 10KW of electricity. This amount of electricity for this small scale project is a great example of how a residential house can be “taken off the grid,” therefore saving money due to low electricity costs. With a known steady state operation and power output, the air-steam fraction can be varied, allowing us to correlate the fuel burn, mechanical work performed, electrical power available, and the efficiency of the system. Once this system is complete and quantitative data has been collected and analyzed, another system can be analyzed. Another application of the “flash steam burner” design will be the implementation on a two cylinder Jet Ski engine. This 650cc engine will help show RPMs created by steam, but the efficiency of this system will be very difficult to measure, since there will be no known output, as opposed to the generator. This system will help show that steam can be applied to mobile power, but in fact is more useful in creating stationary power while being much more economically friendly and saving electricity and money.
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Team 31: Palm-Wrist Massager System Sponsored by OSIM Sponsor Advisor: Prof. Kazem Kazerounian Sean Dring, Faculty Advisor Prof. Kazem Kazerounian, and Benjamin Jack
OSIM International Ltd. has a desire to build the world’s first palm-wrist massager. This massager is being created for the purpose of giving people who are afflicted with carpal tunnel syndrome and people who work at the office desk typing for many hours, a pleasurable experience that stretches their wrist and massages their hands and fingers, giving them relief from their office tasks. The massager is compact, lightweight, easily integrated into the home or office setting, AC powered and able to be used on the left and the right hand, one hand at a time, not both hands at the same time. The palmwrist massager stretches the wrist, massages the palms and massages the fingers. Stretching of the wrist is performed by a moving hand mount on which the hand rests and that gives the user the option of a horizontal, vertical, or circular motion. The maximum angle in any direction is 20 degrees, since that maximum movement of the hand rotating inward is 20 degrees. These motions are achieved through a series of gears, bars, and links that connect in the necessary way to achieve the desired motion at the desired angle. These motions are achieved in the final design and the palm-wrist is successful in providing the user a pleasurable experience, fulfilling the desire of OSIM for the palm-wrist massager creation.
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Team 32: Forearm Massager Sponsored by OSIM Sponsor Advisor: Prof. Kazem Kazerounian Michael DiRe, Faculty Advisor Prof. Kazem Kazerounian and Raza Zaidi
OSIM, based in Singapore, focuses on manufacturing products that promote a healthy and comfortable lifestyle. It is the desire of OSIM in conjunction with the University of Connecticut’s Mechanical Engineering Department to design the world’s first mechanical forearm massager. OSIM strives to improve the overall massage performance of their uPilot massage chair by incorporating the forearm massager into the armrest. The forearm is one part of the human body that is continually under stress from daily activities. Unfortunately, the forearm tends to receive minimal attention and often goes neglected and untreated when in ache and pain. This senior design project aims at developing the first mechanical forearm massager, which uses both airbags and a roller to target specific acupressure points on the forearm, providing a deep and effective massage experience. The use of a mechanical roller distinguishes it from competitor massagers, which only utilize airbags. OSIM provided a set of requirements and limitations and the remainder of the design was open to our creativity. After multiple design phases and evolutions, a final design was agreed upon and a prototype was developed with attention given to safety, cost, size constraints, and ease of use. The prototype is a C-channel design which uses just one motor and one air pump to massage the entire forearm. The design allows for ergonomic entry, exiting and positioning of the forearm. The adjustable palm support and fixed elbow support allow for a customized massage experience based on the user’s specific forearm length. The multiple airbags inflate, providing cushion and proper placement of the forearm. Simultaneously, the roller relieves the muscle tension in the upper portion of the forearm as it moves along a guided shaft from the user’s wrist to elbow. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Team 33: OSIM Head Massaging System Sponsored by OSIM Sponsor Advisor: Prof. Kazem Kazerounian Brendan Yonsky, Faculty Advisor Prof. Kazem Kazerounian and Christie Barbera
The uCrown2, developed by OSIM International Limited, is a head massaging unit that utilizes air pressure, vibration, heat, music, and magnetic therapy to mimic a traditional head massage. OSIM is a global supplier of well-being products and owner of the popular retail store, Brookstone. The current uCrown2 design provides a rudimentary base for the internal massaging components, but lacks the aesthetics and ergonomics that OSIM desires from its products. The structure is relatively bulky and requires the user to make three separate motions to tighten it to their head. Both of these features are inconvenient to the user and therefore decrease the value of the product. Several design changes have been made to the uCrown2, including a complete remodel of the structure and locking mechanism. The modernized head massager is a sporty and chic two-piece helmet highlighted by a curved frame and rounded edges. The front piece of the new structure contains the forehead, temple, and crown massage components. The back piece contains the neck massaging nodes and houses the simplified locking mechanism. The new locking system is made up of a single knob that is used for tightening and loosening. A snap fit design allows the device to be locked in place during the massage. The completely redesigned helmet is able to house the same massaging mechanisms as the uCrown2, with the exception of the crown massage mechanism as airbags are replacing the vibrating nodes. These modifications have revolutionized the original uCrown2 to increase the ergonomics of the product while maintaining the same level of massaging comfort. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Team 34: Design and Set up of a Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar Sponsored by the Center for Resilient Transportation Infrastructure Sponsor Advisor: Prof. Robert Jeffers Faculty Advisors Prof. Kay Wille [CE], and Prof. Robert Jeffers, Benjamin Cyr and Tintu Augustine
Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar or Kolsky bar is a device used to measure the dynamic compression properties of solid materials. The device invented by Bertram Hopkinson in 1914 was mainly focused on measuring the stress pulse propagation in a metal bar; but the experimental method has been modified throughout the years to measure the stress, strain, torsion, tension, and compression in various materials. The project goal is to design and assemble a pressure bar to measure the compressive behavior of concrete type materials for the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Connecticut. The device consists mainly of three parts; a striker bar, an incident bar, and a transmittal bar. The specimen is placed between the incident and the transmitted bar and the striker is shot into the incident bar with a pressurized gas gun. The impact causes a stress wave to travel along the incident bar, through the specimen and to the transmittal bar; some waves are reflected back as compressive waves. Strain gauges attached to the incident and transmittal bar provides data required for the experiment and a high speed camera is placed near to the specimen to see the action. A 36 foot long steel structure was built in the Civil Engineering Laboratory to accomplish the necessary requirements from the sponsor. The incident, transmittal, and striker bars are made of 4340 steel and the entire structure is painted in UConn blue and white. A 2200 psi Nitrogen gas tank connected to a pressure regulator fills a 3ft steel chamber. The quick release of pressure, which is needed to shoot the striker bar into the incident bar from the chamber, is accomplished by a solenoid valve which can open and close in 50 milliseconds. The launching of the striker bar into the incident and transmittal bars will create stress waves that go through the specimen and are measured with strain gauges.
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Team 35: Mobile Solar Powered Water Filtration Unit to Produce Potable Water for Bangladesh Sponsored by Maks PacRim Renewable Energy Sponsor Advisor: Henry Abbott
Prof. Jeffrey R. McCutcheon, Brendan O’Grady, Kara Der, Dan Anastasio graduate student advisor, Emily Cole [all CHEG] and Marty Wood Assoc. Dean, Dan Milligan, Joshua Cocciardi and Brian Martins [all ME]
Maks PacRim is a renewable energy company that currently produces solar powered water pumping units that are used for irrigation purposes, and would like to expand its product line to include water filtration devices for the impoverished rural communities of southern Asia. This water filtration unit must be capable of producing water that meets or exceeds the World Health Organization (WHO) standards for potable water. In order to achieve this goal, the designed filter must be capable of reducing or removing the wide range of contaminants that are found in south Asian water. One major contaminant of concern in this part of the world is Arsenic, which causes skin lesions, cancer, heart disease, and neurological disorders. Over 100 million people in southern Asia are exposed to concentrations of arsenic that are above the WHO standard for safe drinking. Other significant water contaminants include coliform bacteria, heavy metals, and cyanobacteria, an organic toxin. A team of ME and CHEG students have devised two portable, solar powered water filtration systems in order to filter water to meet WHO standards. The designs are capable of producing clean, potable water at a flow rate of two gallons per minute. The filters will operate over the course of six hours, producing 720 gallons per day. Each system uses a separate filtration technology in order to perform its task: one system uses an adsorption based technology; the other uses a nanofiltration process. Tests have been performed in order to evaluate the product water quality of each filtration system. FEA analysis of the system trailer has been conducted to ensure structural fidelity when the system is at rest with deployed solar panels, and for when the system is being transported through rough, rural terrain with its solar panels stored. Testing of the filtered water was undertaken to confirm that the WHO standards for drinking water were met. Solar insolation data were analyzed in order to design the solar array. A battery bank and battery charge controller have been implemented into the design in order to ensure that the power levels required by the system’s pumping and filtration components are at the optimal levels. A sizing study also considered a system capable of filtering 12,000-25,000 gallons of water per day. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Team 36: The Commercialization of Photoglobes Sponsored by Photoglobe Sponsor Advisor: Jim Miller Kathryn Macauley, Waleed Ahmad, Tara Yankee and Faculty Advisor Prof. Horea Ilies
This project focused on automating the captivating artwork of artist Jim Miller. The PhotoGlobe is a unique form of art that combines sculpture with panoramic photography. Jim Miller’s PhotoGlobe provides an artistic product for a variety of needs, especially in advertising. To achieve his goal of mass producing PhotoGlobes and PhotoGlobe based products, his patented process called Mounted Immersive View needed to be automated and streamlined, so that pictures could be taken quickly anywhere and by anyone. His original camera system (or indexer) was inaccurate and cumbersome. After some research it was found that a commercial panoramic tripod head could replace Jim’s current indexer. The camera is situated on the tripod head and is able to move to every position necessary to create a globe. To automate Miller’s process, application of computer programs for digital processing of the photographs was necessary, so that when the pictures are digitally modified they can be printed out and placed on a sphere skeleton. A program was needed to place all the pictures in an array, with each picture having a unique location. A MATLAB program has been successfully created to place photos together in an M X N array where the numbers M and N are specified by the user. Jim Miller uses a stamp in the shape of 13 canoes or gores, attached to one another by their middle section to modify the 2-D array of pictures. Canoes sketched using the CAD program NX Unigraphics is used in MATLAB on the 2-D array as a mask, assigning pixels outside of the desired canoe area white. Using a program such as MATLAB allows for any amount of pictures to be used to create a PhotoGlobe. The final phase of this project was to develop a prototype of the globe based on Jim’s patented process. This prototype will be pitched to an organization related to the University of Connecticut as a medium for advertisement. The degree of automation made possible by using computer programs and an industry standard panoramic tripod head would make it possible to create hundreds of PhotoGlobes in a substantially shorter amount of time while also increasing the flexibility of the original process.
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Team 37: Smart Air Station Sponsored by Courtbridge Sponsor Advisor: Charles Ackeifi
Michael Daglio, Faculty Advisor Prof. Zbigniew Bzymek, Jason Chapman, and [not shown] Matthew Huang, Prof. John Chandy and Donnisha Frison [ECE]
The smart air station is a standalone air kiosk that will correctly fill or deflate tires to the recommended pressure with respect to car make and model as well as temperature. User interaction has been eliminated as much as possible with the use of this device. Clients need only input their car make, model, and the year it was made then attach the air chuck to the tire. The air station uses data from various sensors to determine the proper pressure for the circumstances, and an audible tone will sound when the filling / deflating operation is complete. The air station itself is constructed using corrosion resistant 6061 aluminum plating, and houses the touch screen PC, micro-controller, compressor, and automatic cable reel. All of the devices are regulated via software to produce the desired results as inputted by the user at the touch screen. The visual profile of the air station tries to keep a slim and sleek aesthetic look while providing adequate stability to any conceivable misuse. While these would be placed at gas stations if mass produced, some forms of vandalism are bound to occur. While an improvement over virtually every existing air station, the smart air station could be made even better by noninvasively determining the temperature state of the air inside the tire, as opposed to simply the ambient temperature. The team is currently evaluating ways to make this improvement in a timely and cost effective manner. Another problem that exists in the current model is the susceptibility of the tablet PC to low temperatures: it simply does not work in extreme colds. Interior heating of the unit runs into some serious liability concerns for safety reasons, so alternate methods will need to be explored.
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Team 38: The Hybrid Go-Cart Sponsored by the University of Connecticut Andrew Coats, Faculty Advisor Prof. Ugur Pasaogullari and John Giuliano
The goal of this project was to create a fuel cell-battery hybrid go-cart. Initially, the team had to recondition and characterize the 1.2 kW Nexa™ fuel cell. Once the characterizations were obtained, the peak performance and efficiencies were then determined. The team then had to design a hybrid power circuit that allowed the fuel cell to power the go-cart under normal driving conditions, but allow the batteries to aid in providing power to the motor during high load operations. The transition from the single power source to the duel power source was to happen seamlessly, without compromising the safety of either device. The team then designed a charging circuit that allowed the fuel cell to charge the batteries, but also gave the operator the option to plug-in the go-cart to an AC power source to charge the batteries once the cart was parked. While working on the electronics of the hybrid system, the team also made mechanical modifications to the gocart. These included mounting the fuel cell on its specially designed suspension system, mounting the purpose built onboard computer, as well as mounting the hydrogen fuel tanks. Modifications were also made to the chassis of the cart, turning the original two-seater into a single seat gocart. This modification, along with the mounting of all the peripherals was done to optimize the weight distribution as well as the center of gravity of the go-cart, thus improving its driving characteristics. Once the circuits were installed, and the modifications were completed, tests were conducted to determine the overall performance of the go-cart. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Team 39: Development of CFD Training Tools for Application to the Design of Complex Systems Sponsored by the Department of Mechanical Engineering
Momtchil Petkov, Faculty Advisor Prof. Thomas Barber and Mario Roman
ANSYS Fluent is high-end computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software capable of modeling flow past complicated motion of parts and is used by thousands of companies throughout the world for software designs and testing. While Fluent is extremely useful, it is also difficult to use. In Fluent, there are five main components and each has its own array of difficulties. The five components are Geometry, Meshing, Set up, Solution, and Post Processing. The complexities arise from inputting information and getting results as well as ensuring the obtained data is meaningful. For the reasons listed above, the goal of the project is to be able to guide new users through ANSYS Fluent in the way of analyzing complicated flow problems by working through a series of tutorials, created under this design effort. The modules follow a series of problems of increasing complexity, beginning with laminar and turbulent flow through a pipe, following laminar flow past a flat plate, then turbulent flow through a nozzle. The more complex training problems / modules include turbulent compressible and incompressible flow analysis past an airfoil and jets, as well as flow past a rotating airfoil. For each module, step-by-step directions are given and every module is validated with accepted analytical or experimental data. Validation is a significant component of these training modules, forcing the new user to make sure data predicted in their Fluent simulation are correct. The importance of this project is to ensure new users will use these modules to their capabilities before moving on to more complicated problems.
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Team 40: SOFC Performance Degradation: Ni Coarsening in the Ni-YSZ Anode Sponsored by Department of Energy Faculty Advisor Prof. Wilson Chiu and Alex Cocco
The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a high-temperature operating fuel cell (700-1000°C) with potential application in small, portable, residential and auxiliary power systems (i.e. > 50 kWe applications). Susceptibility to performance degradation over long periods of operation has proven to be a major hindrance to the wider application and commercialization of the technology. SOFC performance is directly related to the microstructures of the components of the cell. Therefore, in order to investigate SOFC performance degradation, accurate characterization of changes in the component microstructures over extended periods of operation is a necessity. X-ray nanotomography is a nondestructive microstructural characterization technique, which, along with complementary numerical analysis tools, has been developed by UConn Professor Wilson Chiu’s research group. The x-ray nanotomography technique, which offers nanometer-resolution, three-dimensional, phase-specific microstructural information, has the potential to provide new insights on many SOFC performance degradation mechanisms. For this design project, x-ray nanotomography was applied to study nickel coarsening in the SOFC anode. Nickel coarsening has been widely observed in the literature as a significant contributor to cell performance degradation. Aged anode samples were analyzed using x-ray nanotomography. Analytical models were then compared to the results of the analysis to better understand the fundamental physics that drive nickel coarsening in order to limit its affect on cell performance.
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Team 41: Determination of Derived Cetane Number for Alternative Fuels Using a Fuel Ignition Tester and the Development of Surrogate Fuels Sponsored by Department of Energy Sponsor Advisor: Charles Ackeifi
Dylan Gardner and Faculty Advisor Prof. Jackie Sung
One of the most important characteristics of a fuel that will be combusted in a compression ignition engine is Cetane Number (CN). This is a dimensionless quantity that describes the ignition delay (ID) of the fuel. This number is important because it will give an indication how a fuel will react in a compression ignition engine. Another quantity that is related to CN is Derived Cetane Number (DCN). This is calculated by directly measuring the ID of a fuel and calculating the DCN by using an experimentally generated formula. The device that was used during this project to measure ID/DCN is called the Fuel Ignition Tester (FIT). Once the CNs/DCNs of the alternative jet fuels were known, it was important to understand how blending these fuels would affect CN/DCN. Because it is currently impossible to entirely replace the petroleum or jet fuel infrastructure with an alternative fuel infrastructure, blending is a requirement. Therefore the experimental portion of this project was to get DCN data for the pure fuels and then blend them in ratios of 25:75, 50:50, and 75:25 to see how they behaved. It turns out that the DCN is a linear function of the blending ratio. This project first required a knowledge and understanding of the device that was to be used to measure the DCN. Once a calibration and operation procedure was developed, the device was used to measure the DCN of several alternative fuels. These fuels were then blended to determine a blending strategy.
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2009-2010 Demonstration Day Awards
Cash prizes ($1,500, $1,000, $500) are awarded to outstanding ME senior design teams, as judged by a panel of engineers from industry. Faculty also award a Professor’s Choice prize to the team that most successfully applied the fundamental principles of Mechanical Engineering to their solution. Performance is determined by the team’s understanding of the project, approach to solving the problem, management of the effort, and achievements. First place: Magnetic Shape Memory Alloy Actuator Sponsored by General Electric Industrial System Michael Santone and Shawn Fonseca worked to discover an application for a shape memory alloy material that to date has no application. The material is similar to a typical shape memory alloy, but deformation is also triggered by an applied magnetic field. Extensive research was completed, and material samples were purchased. The samples were subjected to a mechanical test using a testing apparatus designed by the project group. The test apparatus measured the strain and the output force of the material as a function of applied magnetic field, and applied pre-stress. Using the results from this testing, the group optimized a unique mechanism design to prove the ability of the material as an actuator. Second place (tie): Metering Tank Bearing Failure & Design Analysis Sponsored by Rogers Corporation Erik Kong and Stephen Symski developed a device for testing premature bearing failure in a fiberglass coating roller system. This system has a high frequency circuit material used in a dielectric. Abrasive resin is seeping between the bushing and pin assembly on their submerged rollers causing failures within one month. Because of the abrasive nature of the resin combined with the high tension forces applied by the fiberglass cloth running through the rollers, the hard particles are wearing down the bushing and pin assembly. The team has designed and built a bearing tester, which was able to model the current system’s processes with equivalent applied forces and rotational speeds. This tester can accommodate current bushing and pin assemblies and collect baseline data, while also being able to adapt new bearing technologies. New bearing technologies were identified that could have improved lifetimes.
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Third place (tie): Cyanoacrylate Fixture Time Measuring System Sponsored by Henkel Loctite Steven Cios, Michael Galdo and Jeffrey Rudolph developed a productionready apparatus for the testing and recording of cyanoacrylate [Super Glue] fixture times. Building off of a previous design team’s idea, this team created an apparatus with improved automation, ease of operation, and ability to time the experiment. The device now includes two pneumatic actuators to apply the proper pressure needed to satisfy the procedure standards. One actuator clamps the lap shears together and then the other applies a force to pull them apart. The device also includes a programmable timer and pressure regulators that will control the actuators to the operator’s preferences. This device allows for quick repetitive testing with the ability to deliver consistent, accurate data and ensure product quality control for the Henkel Corporation. Third place (tie): Compact Jaw Force Measurement Device Sponsored by Windham Dental Laboratories Anne McManus, Brendan O’Brien and Beau Larrow developed a way to personalize the patient’s wait time between dental implant insertion and crown placement. The current wait time of 4 - 8 months is used to ensure that the implant would have had adequate time to fuse to the bone. This would ensure that the implant would not be dislodged once the crown was placed and force was imparted on the implant. In patients with a low maximum bite force, the bond between the implant and the bone would be sufficient much sooner than 4-8 months. A device was developed to measure a human jaw force. The device is inexpensive yet accurate, small enough to fit in the mouth comfortably, versatile so it could measure the force in different areas of the mouth and sterilizable. Professor’s Choice Prize: CGS Shearing Interferometry Adapted to the Nano-World Sponsored by UConn Department of Mechanical Engineering Maxim Budyansky and Christopher Madormo developed a noninvasive, highly accurate imaging technique that can measure the curvature and mechanical properties of cellular specimen. The team developed MicroCGS, which is an integration of the well-established interferometric optical technique of Coherent Gradient Sensing (CGS) with an inverted microscope setup. The team developed the experimental setup as well as digital image processing software. The experimental setup exploits the change in phase of a laser beam as it passes through a specimen to produce fringe interference patterns, or interferograms, which are directly related to specimen curvature. These interferograms are recorded by a high speed CCD camera and read into the digital image processing program. The program post-processes the interferograms in order to obtain specimen curvature and 3-D surface topology. Maxim Budyansky was also recognized for his oral communication skills, placing first in the national ASME competition, held in Vancouver, Canada. Senior Design Project Program 2010-2011
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Thank you! Faculty Mentors Thomas J. Barber Theodore Bergman Zbigniew M. Bzymek Chengyu Cao Brice Cassenti Baki M. Cetegen Wilson K. S. Chiu Amir Faghri Tai-Hsi Fan Robert Gao Yen-Lin Han Hanchen Huang Horea Ilies Robert G. Jeffers Eric H. Jordan Kazem Kazerounian Tianfeng Lu George Lykotrafitis Kevin D. Murphy Nejat Olgac Ugur Pasaogullari Michael W. Renfro Chih-Jen (Jackie) Sung Jiong Tang Marty Wood Bi Zhang
Assisting Staff Rich Bonazza Serge Doyon Laurie Hockla Emily Jerome Tom Mealy Igor Parsadanov Kelly Tyler Jacqueline Veronese
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Guest Lecturers Mr. Brian Montanari, Habco Inc. ‘Lean Management’ Mr. Thomas Meyer, Pratt & Whitney, retired ‘Fatigue in the Real World’ Professor Robert G. Jeffers ‘Critical Path Method, PERT’ Mr. Rafael Rosado, UTC Fire and Safety ‘Patent Law and Intellectual Property’ Mr. Samuel Schrager, Esq., UConn School of Business ‘Strict Liability and Product Liability’ Mr. Richard Dino, UConn School of Business ‘Entrepreneurship’ Mark Austin, Paul Taormina, and Charles Warren, CT Society Prof. Engineers ‘Professionalism & Ethics’ Stephen Heath, Pratt & Whitney, retired ‘Project Management’
Senior Design
2011
For more information about the Senior Design program please contact Prof. Thomas Barber barbertj@engr.uconn.edu UTEB Rm. 388 860-486-5342
Mechanical Engineering Department School of Engineering University of Connecticut 191 Auditorium Rd., U-3139 Storrs, CT 06269-3139