The project team analyzed the effects of free versus forced vortex flow in a jet engine. To conduct the analysis, cooling vanes and blades were integrated on the stationary and rotating discs of a mock jet turbine engine.

The blades and vanes were adjusted during the integration to achieve different aerodynamic properties that resulted in changes to internal cavity pressure and velocity. Data collected using airflow velocity anemometers and pressure transducers was analyzed to determine internal cavity behavior in a free or forced vortex relationship.

The relationship between the integrated blades and vanes and the vortex discovered during testing provides critical data for optimizing turbine main cavity pressure, and for maximizing overall engine efficiency and performance.

Exposure to elevated levels of ultrafine airborne particulates may result in severe health effects, such as asthma. This establishes a need for a standalone air-quality detector that provides early warning of high concentrations of ultrafine particles in the air conditioning systems of buildings, public transportation, and aircraft.

The objective of this project is to design a low-cost ultrafine particle detector that senses air particulates with a diameter of 10-200 nanometers at a concentration of 10,000-500,000 particles per cubic centimeter with greater than 80 percent accuracy. The detector designed consists of a 3-D printed body, blue LED, photodiode sensor, aspheric lenses, carbon filter, and a Raspberry Pi microcontroller. 3-D software such as SolidWorks and FRED was used to run simulations and model the optical geometry of the detector.

The designed detector is smaller, lighter and more affordable than currently available ultrafine particle detectors, and can operate continuously while maintaining nanometer-level accuracy.

The team was asked to model, design and build a partial-turn transformer that meets the high tolerances specified by the sponsor. Transformers are widely used in electrical appliances that plug into a wall outlet and are designed by winding a conductive wire around a magnetic core.

The input winding is referred to as the primary winding, and the secondary winding outputs to the rest of the circuit. The ratio of the number of primary windings to the number of secondary windings determines the “transformation” capability of the device. With partial turns, the transformation capability of existing devices can be replicated at a fraction of the weight. However, partial turns are associated with high levels of leakage inductance, which inhibits transformation capability.

Modeling different system parameters in ANSYS Electronic Studio with the intent of minimizing leakage inductance determined the optimal design for the prototype, which was designed and machined using Solidworks and delivered to the sponsor.

The project’s objective is to design a mechanism for changing ground-engaging tools used on earth-moving equipment. A ground-engaging tool is the removable edge on the bottom of the blade of a machine such as a bulldozer.

These edges are designed to wear and to be replaceable so the blade lasts longer. Key design requirements are safety and ease of replacement. The mechanism designed attaches to a forklift and the edges are held in clamps designed for three edge types.

The clamps can be rotated about a rod using a manual gearbox, which allows the new edge to be oriented at the correct angle for attachment to the machine. The gearbox has a ratio of 50:1 for ease of rotation, and the mechanism is made out of 1020 steel for safety.

The goal is to develop an optimized wind turbine prototype to generate electrical power.

The prototype’s size, pitch, shape and insertion depth were all considered in order to optimize for minimum air resistance and maximum power generation from a typical heating, ventilation and air conditioning duct air stream with a velocity of 750-1000 feet per minute.

Maximum power generation was accomplished by modifying the blade design, adding a more efficient generator, and optimizing the system as a whole.

The team was charged with developing and building a system that identifies touch events on a touch screen by four individual users. The team’s solution is an amplitude-modulated bit-sequence injected through the user’s hand using a programmable signal generator.

The signal propagates into the screen as the user interacts with the touch device. Once detected, the propagated signal is decoded and associated with a unique ID that corresponds to one of the four users touching the screen. The final system comprises two function generators that send the designed signals, a touch screen provided by the sponsor, and a laptop to run the code written by the team.

This technology can be easily integrated, using software programs such as C++ and Matlab, into touch-screen applications such as those used in corporate collaboration and in the gaming industry.

The team’s goal is to develop a computer vision system that can be mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, to detect, localize and classify ground targets. The UAV will compete in the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Student Unmanned Aerial Systems competition and be required to search for objects and identify attributes such as shape, color and letter.

This is often done by an operator monitoring an image feed, which limits the versatility and scalability of the system. The designed system eliminates the human operator and automates the imaging while minimizing hardware requirements through use of a hybrid onboard-offboard processing architecture.

The onboard system uses a single-board computer to detect objects, which reduces the communication bandwidth required, and the offboard ground-based system uses machine-learning algorithms such as convolutional neural networks to classify received images.

The prototype Vidi VR headset creates a 3-D environment using original optics, hardware and software designed from scratch by the team. The integrated camera system and gesture-recognition software allow users to send commands to their existing wearable 3-D camera.

The design uses off-the-shelf optical components and 3-D-printed parts to reduce cost and simplify configuration. The hardware includes three Raspberry Pi Zero microcontrollers equipped with Wi-Fi adapters to streamline functional development and support external applications.

The software combines C++, OpenCV, BabylonJS and Python to process user gestures and display content. This prototype is the first iteration of a new augmented reality product for the sponsor’s company, and will serve as an adaptable base for future development.

The goal of this project is to create a booth display piece that is the graphic part of a graphic audio equalizer. The display device uses a mass-flow controller to adjust the extension of a spring-loaded air cylinder and demonstrate pressure differences in physical movement.

Air flows from the air compressor into the device, which regulates the air pressure going into the air cylinder. As the device regulates the air pressure, the arm of the air cylinder rises and falls, creating a seismograph-like drawing system that uses a dry erase marker to continuously write on a rotating spool of whiteboard paper, which shows pressure transients and stable pressure levels.

This paper is rotated continuously around two spools powered by a direct-current motor controlled by an H-Bridge and software to adjust speed. The drawn image represents mechanically the electronic data represented in the software and produces an eye-catching trade show display.

Mechanical shock experienced by the sponsor’s lenses during shipment can cause imaging problems, such as a change in beam pointing, that burden customers with costly and time-consuming recalibration of their imaging systems.
The sponsor developed ruggedized lenses that resist these misalignments and wants to develop a specification for lens beam displacement following a shock of 15g or more.
The team’s goal is to develop an optical test system for the ruggedized lenses that collects the data needed to create the specification. The test system designed is split into two separate test benches: one induces a 15g mechanical shock and the other measures preshock imaging and any postshock shift in image location.