E-DAYS 2025

E-Days 2025 - Mechanical Engineering

Engineering Days (E-Days) is a long-standing CSU tradition that allows senior undergraduate students the opportunity to showcase their senior design projects and senior practicum research. E-Days visitors include faculty, family, industry representatives, peers, and prospective students interested in exploring engineering.

The event will be held at the CSU Lory Student Center Plaza on Friday April 18th, 2025. 

For additional information, visit the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering E-Days page.

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2021 Projects

Projects from other years: 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026

Advanced Extruder Head Development

Project ID: 16

Students:

Josefina Belay, Jason Sayre
The Advanced Extruder Head project advances the development of 3D printing composite materials. There is a need in the composites industry to improve continuous fiber placement for continuous fiber thermoplastic matrix composites. Composite materials typically require a manual lay-up and/or mixture of solid material (fiber) and the liquid/resin material (matrix), followed by a curing process to solidify the composite. This traditional manufacturing process is time and labor consuming and poses limitations to part geometry. 3D printing improves the composite manufacturing process through higher levels of customization, diminished labor and process costs, and scalability. The expected cost of this project is $1000. The Colorado State University Composite Materials, Manufacture and Structures (CMMS) Lab has allocated funding towards this project. Progress from this project will support the group’s larger efforts to develop a successful composite material 3D printing robot. This team focused its efforts on a feedback system for the advanced extruder which monitors important factors of the printing process; temperature, pressure, and tow width. The team also developed mechanisms to control interlayer fusion as well as consolidation. The final product will be an advanced extruder head capable of thermal, pressure, and tow width monitoring to further supplement print quality.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Composite Materials, Manufacture and Structures (CMMS) Lab 
Advisors:
Don Radford

Biomedical Sciences Diseased Animal Activity Monitoring

Project ID: 12

Students:

Jacqueline Clark, Kayla Hackett, Hannah Hindie, Sean Mulvihill
COVID-19 research is critical during the current pandemic. Looking to better understand the disease and to create vaccines and therapeutics, the need for viral research in rodents has increased. Hamsters are a good model for COVID-19 research because the disease affects them in a way similar to humans. However, hamsters are difficult to observe due to their nocturnal nature, stoic tendencies, and change in behavior with human interaction. This causes current low-cost methods to provide unreliable and subjective data. While there are accurate methods of studying rodent activity, they are not cost-effective and can range from $4,000 to $5,000 for one device making them unrealistic options as hundreds of cages need to be simultaneously monitored. Therefore, this Hamster Team, a team of mechanical engineers, is creating a low-cost device that automatically measures the overall activity levels of rodents in a cage and returns that data to the researchers in a useful manner. Our device will make the research more financially feasible while providing objective, reliable data. Come visit us these E-days to learn more about our infrared break-beam data acquisition system, our sealed custom casing, and the behind-the-scenes work done to bring this device to life!
Department:
Biomedical Sciences
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Biomedical Sciences
Advisors:
Angela Bosco-Lauth, Richard Bowen, Bonnie Roberts

Caterpillar Super Knock RCM Study

Project ID: 21

Students:

Michael Lauch, Mason Reinick, Zack Swartwout, Shozab Zaidi
This project involves studying a phenomenon in natural gas engines called super knock. Super knock is caused by oil droplets escaping the crankcase and entering into the combustion chamber. This creates a rich area in the chamber which causes the fuel to auto-ignite. Auto-ignition spikes internal chamber pressures and can cause severe engine damage. The goal of this project is to simulate this phenomenon and study it using a Rapid Compression Machine (RCM). A combustion chamber has been designed with windows in it so we have the ability to observe the combustion. A droplet generator injects engine oil into the chamber and a laser ignites it. The current senior design team is working on a new combustion chamber, focusing on improving the viewing area of the windows. We are also working on a Matlab code that has the ability to track the oil droplet through the chamber and measure its size and velocity. We are also working on an ANSYS model which will allow us to simulate the temperatures experienced on the chamber and surrounding components
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
CAT, Dr. Dave Montgomery
Advisors:
Anthony Marchese

Centrifugal Compressor and Expander for SOFC/IC System

MECH 498 Research Practicum

Students:

Rustin Jensen
Fuel cell technology has seen large improvements in feasibility. In some fuel cell applications, pressurizing the fuel cell allows for higher power and lower temperatures within the cell. This pressurization requires a compressor. The efficiency of the system depends on the efficiency of the compressor system. One such application of a pressurized fuel cell that has been under development is using a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) in conjunction with an internal combustion (IC) engine as an electric generator. This project focused on developing a high efficiency centrifugal compressor and expander system that would sufficiently meet the efficiency and pressure requirements for a SOFC/IC system. Various compressor and expander configurations were modeled, the most suitable configuration was selected, and a test bench was designed to study the performance of the selected configuration. The test bench was assembled, with testing currently underway.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Todd Bandhauer

Composite Tubes and Pressure Vessel development

Project ID: 17

Students:

Ethan Anspach, Aidan Hughes
This project aims to greatly reduce the manufacturing time of composites produced in the filament winding process. Traditionally, composites produced in the filament winding process are manufactured by passing filament through a resin or epoxy then wrapping it around a rotating profile called a mandrel until desired thickness is reached, followed by a secondary curing process for several hours inside an autoclave. The autoclave curing process is a large part of why composites are only used in high end applications because the large amount of time and energy needed to create a single composite part make these materials unfeasible for any very large scale manufacturing. This project will remove the lengthy secondary cure process by utilizing a self propagating curing reaction called frontal polymerization to cure the part without needing to even remove the part from the mandrel. This reaction will be induced by several energy sources, including resistively heating the mandrel and ceramic infrared heat lamps. The process demonstrated by this project has potential to make composites more feasible for a variety of applications
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Multifunctional Polymers and Composites Laboratory
Advisors:
Mostafa Yourdkani

Course Rover

Project ID: 32

Students:

Connor Cloherty, Tomas Martinez, Greg Spaulding, Trent Weldon
The Course Rover is the contemporary Sunday bag for novice to intermediate golfers who are looking to play casual golf and invest minimal time and money in their game. Instead of hoisting an entire club set over their shoulder and paying hundreds of dollars to do it, the Course Rover gives players a lightweight, rolling golf bag that carries all of the tools and accessories they would need on a shorter, easier course. The Rover started as two mailing tubes duct taped together, one to hold a few golf clubs and one to hold a water bottle or a couple canned drinks. It now uses 3D printed components to house a set of wheels, a drink elevator system and other features. The Course Rover is a customizable and modular product that can be almost completely manufactured with a 3D printer
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
WSCOE
Advisors:
John Petro

Customized 3D Printed COVID Masks

Project ID: 20

Students:

Abdulaziz Abuhaimed, Ferass Aljaber, Ahmad Esmat, Alyssa Shepherd
The demand for masks have drastically increased in the last year due to the rapid growth and spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States. An important question we must ask ourselves is, how effective and efficient are the masks that are commonly used today? A cloth/surgical mask is only about 40 percent efficient due to leaks around the nose and under the chin. The goal of our project is to design and manufacture (through 3D printing) a respirator mask that is comparable to the N95 in terms of efficiency, as well as increase the “effectiveness” by providing a sealed fit around the face. This is done by customizing the masks to the customers' facial dimensions through image analysis. Measurements from the customer’s face are used to scale the “base” SolidWorks file which results in a sealed fit from the nose to the chin, thereby increasing the effectiveness. The team then 3D prints all components of the mask, assembles and delivers the mask to the customer(s). The masks are tested at CSU's Center for Energy Development and Health (CEDH) Lab to ensure that they are both effective and safe to use
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
WSCOE
Advisors:
David Prawel

Data Center Power Conservation Through Return Jet Impingment Server Cooling

MECH 498 Research Practicum

Students:

Roman Yoder
In recent years, improvements in power usage effectiveness (PUE) for data centers have stalled as conventional cooling methods are limited. PUE quantifies the amount of additional power (cooling power, lights, etc.) a data center requires over computational output. Return jet impingement cooling demonstrates a potential solution to improve the PUE metric by providing high heat flux cooling at ambient conditions and low flow rates. Comparing collected data for a baseline server to that of an equivalent system using a return jet impingement device allows a direct performance comparison and demonstrates the degree of improved PUE. Traditionally PUE is calculated by considering each server as a purely computational load; onboard server measurements facilitate a new high-resolution category 5 PUE metric accounting for individual server’s onboard fan power. The ideal pumping power of return jet impingement alone is 10% of the consumed onboard fan power for traditional server operation; this coupled with reduction in air conditioning load creates a competitive PUE metric. This results in identical computational output for a significant reduction in data center power consumption.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Todd Bandhauer

Deep Reinforcement Learning in FEA Driven Virtual Environments for Control of Flexible Robotics

MECH 498 Research Practicum

Students:

Sebastian Mettes
High precision robotics traditionally require stiff arm links which can be controlled with simple kinematics. Robots with flexible arm links are difficult to control precisely due to the dynamic nature of link deflection under load. By training a deep reinforcement network to compensate for these deflections, precise control of flexible robotic arms is possible in real time with low-cost controllers. Precise, flexible robotic arms have the potential to decrease the cost of underwater and space robotics by enabling low cost and low density link materials, such as plastic, to replace traditional steel, aluminum, and carbon fiber.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Steve Simske

Development of a Chemical Kinetic Model for LPG Combustion Under Engine-like Conditions

MECH 498 Research Practicum

Students:

Colin Slunecka
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has many properties that make it an attractive alternative fuel such as lower cost than conventional fuels and an established distribution infrastructure. The development of high efficiency, spark ignited LPG engines is currently limited by engine knock and misfire. A rapid compression machine (RCM) was used to characterize the effects of variation in LPG fuel reactivity, equivalence ratio, and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on autoignition of LPG/oxidizer/inert/EGR blends. Experiments were conducted with 100% propane (C3H8) and a mixture of propane, propene, ethane, isobutane, and n-butane. EGR was simulated with mixtures of Ar, CO2, CO, and NO at substitution percentages from 0 to 30 mass percent. Equivalence ratio was varied from 0.75 to 1.5. Ignition delay period under homogeneous autoignition conditions was measured at compressed pressures and temperatures of 23 to 25 bar and 701 to 921 K. Zero-dimensional simulations of the RCM experiments were performed using CHEMKIN with several detailed chemical kinetic mechanisms to determine their suitability at predicting ignition delay periods. Multiple reduced chemical kinetic mechanisms were created from the NUIGMech1.1 mechanism to determine the optimal balance between accuracy and computational efficiency for future three-dimensional, time-dependent spark-ignited engine computations.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Anthony Marchese

Development of Advanced Combustion Strategies for Direct Injection Heavy Duty LPG Engines to Achieve Near-Diesel Engine Efficiency

MECH 498 Research Practicum

Students:

Manav Sharma
Internal combustion engine research focuses on the improvement of fuel economy and the reduction of the tailpipe emissions of CO2 and other regulated pollutants. Direct-injection and alternative fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas are promising solutions. LPG represents a practical and economical solution for fueling the United States’ heavy-duty transportation sector. However, before widespread adoption can occur, energy conversion efficiencies for LPG engines must achieve values comparable to those seen in diesel engine platforms. The overarching goal of the proposed research is to address fundamental limitations to achieving near-diesel efficiencies in heavy duty on-road LPG engines. The proposed project will focus on developing an experimental setup to verify and finely tune DI LPG engine simulation of the injection and mixing process by utilizing a constant volume high pressure spray chamber to study direct LPG fuel injection penetration, vaporization, and mixing. To date, limited information is available regarding the spray dynamics of LPG at engine relevant conditions. On the global market LPG composition can vary dramatically, leading to even more insufficient data. The successful completion of the project will allow future research to use the finely tuned LPG spray model to develop a heavy-duty LPG engine with diesel like efficiency.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Bret Windom

Development of Highly Efficient Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Tail Gas Engine

MECH 498 Research Practicum

Students:

Thomas Muetterties
Initiatives for increasing micro-grid power generation throughout the US have pushed for a need for highly efficient, cost-competitive electricity generation fueled by natural gas (NG). A promising solution is a hybrid pressurized SOFC + internal combustion engine (ICE) system that has the potential to achieve 70+% efficiency at a competitive price of less than $1000/kW. To achieve these targets, an ICE needs to deliver up to 15 kW at a thermal efficiency of 35% fueled off a dilute fuel, containing a fraction of the energy found in NG. To achieve this goal, CSU and Kohler are converting a stock 2-liter diesel to operate on the anode tail gas of the SOFC. A test facility has been set up and baseline diesel data has been collected and used to verify the stock diesel engine in GT-Power modeling software. Using the validated GT-Power model, it was converted to operate on the SOFC tail gas making optimizations to increase engine efficiency. Future work will require gasifying the diesel engine and testing to prove the engine's performance.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Bret Windom

FSAE Racecar

Project ID: 1

Students:

Hussain Abusaab, Uzair Athar, Jordan Basile, Jacob Brown, Justin Falk, Ryan Joyner, Zachery Kahn, Brandon Moore, Christopher Tomaschow, Tanner Wilson
The goal of this project is to envision, build, and test a formula style race car to compete against schools across the country. The design is handled by students at every step, from the chassis design, to suspension choices, engine tuning, and electronics. Design is a major portion of this project where both engineering and creative skills will be put to the test to create a competitive final car in only one year. After the design stage there is a major focus on manufacturing in every form from welding, to metal bending, CNC, and composite manufacturing.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Chris Weinberger

H2O and GO

Project ID: 31

Students:

Steven Baird, Michael Bowers, Brandon Cook, Halley Havlicek, Tara Mensch
The H2O & GO is a floating wheelchair that is designed to give paraplegics independence in the pool, where users will be able to enter a pool with a ramp independently. Once in the water, gear-driven propellers allow for maneuvering in water, whether the user wants to get some exercise or just to float around in the common areas. The adjustable backrest also allows the user to find a comfortable position in the water and out of the water based on what they are doing. This wheelchair aims to enable users to enter the water and enjoy themselves. Users are comfortably immersed in the water up to their mid-chest region and with quick releasing straps, the user does not slide around on the seat. When a user is ready, they can exit the water and join their friends or family for a snack without relying on others to get them where they want to go. Additionally, an independent swimming float is worn around the waist for quick access adding extra security
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
WSCOE
Advisors:
Bonnie Roberts, John Petro

Heavy Lift Multi-Copter Drone

Project ID: 11

Students:

Ryan Ashburn, Brandon Avers, Joe Felder, Bryan Foster, Jearold Henry, Colton Kindvall,
This project aims to design and build a proof-of-concept unmanned aerial vehicle capable of stable flight while maximizing lift.  The design utilizes brushless motor, electronic speed controllers, and a flight controller for both manual and automated control. Custom carbon fiber, aluminum, and 3D printer parts were created to ensure a strong and light craft. The goal of this project is to design a custom drone from the ground up in an attempt to break the drone heavy lift world record
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Applied Energy Lab
Advisors:
John Mizia

Household Fire Detection, Tracking, and Suppression System Using Machine Vision and Sensor Fusion

MECH 498 Research Practicum

Students:

Doncey Albin
The wall-mounted robotic system presented in this research will find, track, and suppress a household fire. It also will alert all occupants in the household of the fire via email with a photo of the fire and sound a fire alarm. The goal of this research is to introduce a groundbreaking autonomous technology that can remedy household fires, possibly serving as an alternative to traditional fire sprinkler systems.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Steve Simske

Integration of Mobile Wind Sensor for Methane Sensing from Oil and Gas Infrastructure

MECH 498 Research Practicum

Students:

Bilal Khan
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that causes climate change. It has a 20-year global warming potential (GWP20) which is 84 times more than that of CO2. The oil and gas industry is responsible for the majority of methane emissions in the United States. A range of technologies are under development to detect and mitigate these emissions to minimize the adverse effects on human health and the climate. The current research proposes to deliver an economically viable, novel, mobile methane-sensing system with an on-board ultrasonic anemometer that is capable of quantifying methane emissions from data that is gathered through intensive experimental investigations of methane-producing sites. The methane sensor has been under development for several years; the anemometer is a new addition. The objective of the proposed work is to seamlessly integrate the anemometer to the current methane sensing system so that methane emissions can be quantified more accurately. This would make the system more scalable and practical for widespread use since it will not require the setup and maintenance of fixed sensors. The detection from the sensor will allow for preventive measures to be taken which would reduce overall methane emissions into the environment.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Azer Yalin

John Deere Low Temperature Thermal Cooling Loop

Project ID: 29

Students:

Shahzeb Chaudhary, Alec DeStefano, Hadley Patterson
The John Deere Low Temperature Thermal Cooling Loop (LTCL) senior design project is a one year, top to bottom design process. The primary objective of this project is to design a system to moderate the temperature of various machine components while they undergo testing at John Deere’s headquarters. This objective must be accomplished by a system taking up no more than one cubic meter and capable of coping with environments ranging from -40 to 115 °C. The system is almost entirely automated, requiring only initial interfacing with the test components and a brief system check. From there on the cooling loop can monitor its own pressures and temperatures, adjusting as needed to maintain a constant temperature in the test component.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
John Deere, Dave Robinson
Advisors:
Dan Olsen, Don Grove

Lockheed Martin Electric Propulsion

Project ID: 25

Students:

Joseph Clemmer, Matt Collard, Kolbin Dahley, Tyler Kelly, Sam Reagan
Demand for satellites and long distance exploration probes has never been higher. Due to this demand, aerospace companies around the globe are scrambling to engineer improved ion propulsion devices capable of propelling their satellites. This design team is working with the CEPPE Lab and Lockheed Martin on development of a Hall-Effect thruster. Hall-Effect thrusters are devices that electro-statically accelerate ionized gas (normally xenon or krypton) at incredibly high velocities to produce thrust. The thrust produced by electric propulsion devices is incredibly small, in the mN range, but these thrusters can operate for extremely long periods of time and reach incredibly high velocities in the vacuum of space
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Lockheed-Martin, Bao Nguyen
Advisors:
John Williams

Multimedia Field Solutions

Project ID: 8

Students:

Ali Almajid, Adam Almarhoon, Christian Atkins
The goal of this project is to design and build a collapsible media cart for the CSU Media Department. This cart is termed “media cart” since it will provide all the necessary functions for media use, including photography, videography, and more. No other cart on the market can boast the features of this cart, or leave you with a wallet. This cart features a never-seen-before friction hinge linkage assembly that controls the collapsing and raising mechanism of the upper shelf. The cart has achieved an overall weight under 45lbs which is less than half of the industry-leading 100lbs! Have a small car and need to fit in a media cart for your next edit on the trails? Look no further as this media cart collapses down to 13” in height and has enough length and width on either side to fit in your back seat! Rugged adventures, you say? This cart is made from strong and lightweight 6105-T5 aluminum and boasts heavy-duty pneumatic locking rubber wheels. This media cart has the capability of hauling up to 300 lbs of equipment and provides common threaded holes for various media connections.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Bonnie Roberts, Steve Johnson

NASA Robot Mining

Project ID: 4

Students:

Kyle Ciccarelli, James Henander, Jonathan Jacobson, Jarryd Meyers, Lex Pollicita, Colby Richardson, Alden Truesdale, Connor Worrell, Bin Akmal Yeshel
The NASA Robot Mining team competes in a NASA sponsored university event to design, build and test a lunar mining robot. The goal of the competition is to autonomously cross over an obstacle zone, dig into moon dust and extract some gravel, and deposit this gravel into a bin. This is the 4th year CSU is competing in this competition. This year the team is working to improve the previous year's design. The robot we designed consists of a metal belt with buckets connected to it that rotate and dig into the ground. These buckets place the moon dust and gravel into a storage tank. The storage tank is made of a mesh to allow the moon dust to fall through and is actuated like a dump truck to deposit the gravel into a bin. The electronics use various sensors to detect obstacles and map a course through the obstacle zone which allows the robot to operate autonomously. 
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Allied Electronics
Advisors:
Jianguo Zhao

Opterus Spiral Wrapped Antenna (SWATH) Deployable Reflector

Project ID: 26

Students:

Theo Beck, Carter Fortuin, Shea Mielke
SWATH is a composite dish antenna designed to be spiral wrapped for storage and transportation into space. The general antenna design was understood by Opterus as a simulation. This project focuses on the fabrication of  the first useful antenna of this type. The design challenges revolve around manufacturing, including mold design and material selection, machining and treatment of the molding, drapability of the composites over complex curvatures, thermal expansion and validation of the design. Put simply, the problem was "How do we make one in real life?"  The composite antenna is a 53 inch diameter parabolic dish with a composite spring to store potential energy used in deployment. This is manufactured on a 1000 lbs. carbon mold with 3D printed complex edge geometry
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Opterus
Advisors:
Thomas Murphy

Programmable Origami Folding with Variable Stiffness

MECH 498 Research Practicum

Students:

Elisha Lerner
A robot made out of PLA, acting as a shape memory polymer. The actuation properties are dictated by the stiffness patterns. Stiffness patterns are created by regulating glass transition temperatures with rapid response heating elements.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Jianguo Zhao

RBCs interaction with nanostructred surfaces

MECH 498 Research Practicum

Students:

Harvinder Singh Virk
There are many implants that come in contact with blood such as stents, artificial heart valves, and vascular grafts. A lot of these medical devices are made of titanium and titanium alloys. Due to undesirable interaction of blood with the implant surface results in inflammation and thrombosis. Thrombosis is one of the main reasons for implant failure, where a blood clot forms on the implant surface, thus obstructing the further flow of the blood. Initially, proteins (fibrinogen and albumin) get adsorbed on the surface which triggers the thrombus formation.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Ketul Popat

Remote Livestock Monitoring and Management

Project ID: 14

Students:

Hunter McClung, Zach Rafert, Lexy Seeley
Ranching is a critical job to the world’s food supply system and in Colorado specifically, it is still a job involving vast swaths of land. With these large amounts of land comes the dilemma that a rancher faces on a constant basis, spend time checking cattle by horse/motor vehicle or completing chores around the ranch. Thus, a cattle monitoring system utilizing radio transmitter technology is being developed. A fixed-wing drone will house a receiver node that monitors powered tags on the livestock. The receiver node communicates with a small radio and antenna connected to a computer. This system will allow the rancher to monitor a large area of land much quicker. Once the land has been scanned by the drone, data will be compiled to form a GPS map of the livestock’s location and identity. This project will provide useful information to ranchers that will save them much needed time and energy.
Department:
Agricultural Sciences
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Agricultural Sciences, Dr. Mark Enns, Dr. Jasmine Dillon
Advisors:
Wade Troxell

Replication of the mechanical loading of rotator cuff tendons for the development of implantable scaffolds

MECH 498 Research Practicum

Students:

Becca Schaldach
The lack of an effective solution for rotator cuff tears make the development of new technology essential. The use of scaffolding for this application is novel and requires analysis of many scaffold candidates. For efficient analysis, a mechanism that replicates the in vivo environment of the rotator cuff was created.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Kirk McGilvray

Riff Raff Brewery Solar Hydronic Heating

Project ID: 28

Students:

Brianna Bartlett, Tyler Haman, Annalisa Hund, Shannon Langfield, Arturo Quintero Castillo, Sam Stringfield
Riff Raff Solar Hydronic Heating is a project that teamed up with a small brewery in southern Colorado to make their “Earth Powered Beer” slogan a possibility. The team used the foundation made by last year’s senior design students to finish a proof-of-concept prototype and then create a full-scale design with a functional control system. The full-scale design will use the domestic cold water provided by the city and then heat it up through solar panels on the roof. The prototype shows that the solar panels will be able to raise the temperature of the water by at least 40F, which will be used to feed the hot water applications in the brewery. The preheated water will, in turn, reduce the brewery’s dependence on natural gas and lessen their environmental impact
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Riff Raff Brewery, Jason Cox
Advisors:
Bonnie Roberts

Skytask UAV Smart Parachute System

Project ID: 27

Students:

Trevor Andrews, Garrett Garcia, Ava Raymond
The senior design team is working with Skytask Inc to integrate their advanced boundary system for UAV remote inspection and monitoring with a smart parachute system. The parachute system is necessary to receive additional waivers from the FAA to allow for commercial drone flight over people, at night, and beyond the visual line of sight. In the past few years, the FAA has granted more waivers than ever before due to the introduction of the smart parachute system. Our system will deploy a parachute whenever the UAV exceeds the boundary limit, begins to free fall from failure, or if it exceeds its maximum tilt angle. The controls are programmed using a raspberry pi and will be connected to the drone power source. The actuation system is triggered by a stepper motor. The system itself is spring based with projectiles to spread the parachute upon deployment. The enclosure is 3D printed and mounts onto a Tarot 650 V2.1 UAV
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Skytask, David Belt
Advisors:
Wade Troxell

Spaceport America Cup Rocket Team

Project ID: 3

Students:

Adam Boyd, Joe Canterbury, Christina Chang, Logan Dahlgren, Darren Dugan, Ryan Earl, Zach Fuelberth, Garrett Johnson, Sean Jones, Tyler Kaley, Jon Leininger, Kevin Schroeder,Cole Taylor, Cannen Welch
The Spaceport America Cup Rocket Team is its seventh year of iteration with the Aries program through the Colorado State University mechanical engineering department. The purpose of the team is to design, build, and fly a rocket with a student researched and developed bi-propellant liquid propulsion system. Last year’s iteration of the rocket, Aries VI, was largely designed by 2020 CSU graduates. However, the manufacturing was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the designs and calculations from the previous team have been inherited by this year’s team, so we have named the rocket Aries coVId to keep the spirit of the Aries VI alive. Aries coVId is planned to launch at Spaceport America Cup during June 2021 carrying an 8.8 lb experimental payload to an apogee of 30,000-ft while achieving a successful recovery of the system. The fourteen-student team consists of eleven mechanical engineers and three electrical engineers.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Anthony Marchese

Special Needs Playground

Project ID: 7

Students:

Colin Diehl, Sarah Martinez, Sydney McDonald, Alex McPheeters, Seth Roethemeyer
This team of five is working together on a community service project to build an all-inclusive and ADA-compliant backyard for the Cronin family who have two daughters Hanora and Sophie.  Hanora is six years old and was born with a rare genetic condition, 8p inverted duplication/deletion syndrome, that is known to show ranges of developmental complications and in this case, results in Hanora's main form of transport being a wheelchair. Three main components are being built in this backyard, they are a heated pathway for ease of access through the backyard, a playhouse with sensory equipment put inside, and a three-person swing with ADA compliant swings. These three components will greatly help the social and physical development of the two daughters
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Bonnie Roberts, Steve Johnson, James Tillotson

TCA Actuation of a Spherical Tensegrity Robot

MECH 498 Research Practicum

Students:

Brandon Tighe
Leveraging the advantages of Twisted and Coiled Actuator (TCA) synthetic muscles for actuation of a spherical tensegrity robot addresses many current challenges in tensegrity robot design. The robot we designed addresses traditional TR problems with scalability, weight, noise, and energy efficiency.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Jianguo Zhao

Urban Air Quality Impacts Inferred from Ground-Based Monitoring Networks Due to Geographic Variability and COVID 19 Pandemic

MECH 498 Research Practicum

Students:

Abigail Maben
This project analyzed the spatiotemporal variability of air pollution and quantified the change in human exposure due to geographic location and large social disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In this work, three particle optical spectrometers were deployed in Fort Collins to determine the spatiotemporal variability of particulate number concentrations and size distributions to express the validity of a single monitor accurately describing the air quality of the whole region. In addition, the seventeen largest metropolitan statistical areas in the United States were analyzed to determine the effect of the pandemic on the urban air pollutant burden with PM2.5, NO2, and CO mass concentrations being the pollutants of interest.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Shantanu Jathar

USDA ORV Delivery Team

Project ID: 19

Students:

Matt Illa, Nathan Jacques, Kurrin Severns, Ryan Smith
The USDA National Rabies Management Program (NRMP) has reached out to seniors at the college of mechanical engineering in an effort to help improve the effectiveness in which they vaccinate animals for rabies disease. One of the ways in which the program currently vaccinates animals includes dropping Oral Rabies Vaccine (ORV) out of a helicopter on a targeted population along the East Coast. This effort is made to help resolve wildlife damage to a wide variety of resources and reduces threats to human health and safety. Seniors on this project have been tasked with developing an (ORV) bait distribution device that fits in the lap of a crew member in the cockpit/flight deck of a helicopter. The baiting machine needs to be lightweight, have the ability to count baits and geocode locations where baits are distributed, as well as comply with Agency (USDA APHIS Wildlife Services) and FAA safety standards and regulations
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
USDA APHIS, Dr. Amy Gilbert
Advisors:
Wade Troxell

Ventricle Viscoelasticity Biaxial Tester

MECH 498 Research Practicum

Students:

Kellan Roth
The Ventricle Viscoelasticity Biaxial Tester can measure the viscoelasticity of myocardium tissues through tensile dynamic mechanical testing at a range of various heart rates. There is currently limited data on the passive viscoelastic behavior of myocardium tissue, and it remains unclear if and how myocardium viscoelastic behavior changes during heart failure progression. This novel device will enable investigation into how passive myocardium viscoelasticity behaves at physiologically relevant deformations across large and small animal species in both diseased and healthy states.
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisors:
Zhijie Wang

Woodward Composite Flowbody

Project ID: 22

Students:

Philip Allmendinger, Emerson Birch, Ben Dyer, Ryan Fahrenkrug, Jason Richard
This project is designed to develop a platform for Woodward Inc., a prominent aerospace company, to design future air-valves featured in jet turbine engines that are stronger, more lightweight, and cheaper. The current design of the flowbody (air-valve) is made of Aluminum and features a thin heat shield to withstand emergency conditions within the turbine engine. The aluminum is heavy and the heat shield is fragile, so Woodward wished to improve upon this design. This project features research into high-temperature composite material suppliers to determine how Woodward might manufacture and create these parts, and which suppliers would have the most cost-effective and high-performing materials. Following research into these materials, bench testing samples on various properties to determine which might suit the needs of Woodward was the next step. These tests include a 15-minute 2000 degree flame test, an impact test, and a 100 hour bake test in a kiln. In parallel with testing, a new design of the flowbody was created out of composite materials and run through simulations to prove it would not leak air or burst from the necessary internal pressures as well as maintaining structural integrity at high-temperatures
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Woodward, Shawn Pollock, Mike Morgan
Advisors:
John Petro

Woodward Concentrated Winding DC Motor

Project ID: 23

Students:

James Bryce, Will McBryde, Tye Sandoval, Nick Trammell-Jamison
Woodward currently uses an out-sourced DC motor to operate its GS Series Gas Control Valves (HP Aero) and Large Electric Linear Actuators (LELA). The current motor is a distributed winding DC motor, in which the copper windings are arranged in several full-pitch or fractional pitch coils. The goal of this project was to design, analyze, build, and test a concentrated winding DC motor to replace the current distributed winding motor. In contrast to its distributed counterpart, all of the winding turns in a concentrated winding motor are together in series to form one multi-turn coil. Woodward was seeking to replace its current motor with a concentrated alternative to increase performance while simultaneously reducing overall costs associated with the motor. It was also important to maintain the motors inner and outer dimensions for seamless integration. Early research and analysis revealed that a 12 slot/10 pole single-layer configuration would yield the greatest performance for the desired application. As such, the final motor assembly consists of a rotor, laminated stator, 6 wrapped bobbins, and 10 arc magnets, among other components. The concentrated winding prototype was then tested for comparison to the existing distributed winding motor
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Woodward, Josh Been
Advisors:
John Petro

Woodward Reaction Link Flight Control Actuator

Project ID: 24

Students:

Jake Irwin, Andrew Kollar, Eric Robak, Kyle Van Aken
To maneuver through the air, aircraft actuate "flaps" known as control surfaces. If you’ve ever gotten a window seat on an airplane, you may have seen these flaps along the trailing edge of the wing. These control surfaces are typically actuated by a hydraulic actuator, which utilizes pressurized fluid to extend and retract the piston, therefore rotating the control surface about its hinge. For use in traditional aircraft wings made of aluminum, the hydraulic actuator can be connected to the wing structure at one end and to the control surface at the other. This works because aluminum can handle the large shear forces that the actuator exerts on the wing structure during flight. However, this method of attachment does not work for lightweight composite wing structures, which have been of interest due to their ability to increase the fuel efficiency of aircraft, because composites cannot handle shear forces as well as metals. This issue necessitates a new configuration known as a reaction link actuator, which is designed to direct forces away from the wing structure. We have been working with Woodward Inc. to design, build, and test a prototype reaction link actuator to inform future development of a production model
Department:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Video presentation:
Link to project video
Sponsors:
Woodward, Brian Hahn
Advisors:
John Petro