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Senior mechanical engineering majors are engaged in three major design projects and several important honors research projects this school year. The design projects involve building a racecar, remote-controlled airplane, and solar-powered boat. Research projects include design of a combined loading and testing machine, redesign of medical equipment, study of arterial blockages and aneurisms, and structural analysis of Romanesque churches.
SAE Formula Car
The Formula SAE Team is collaborating to build a three-quarter-scale Formula 1 racecar. The car will be entered in an international competition that involves dynamic events such as an endurance race, autocross course, skid-pad test, acceleration, and braking. There also will be design judging and safety inspection. Participants are 16 seniors and a group of underclassmen advised by Scott R. Hummel, associate professor of mechanical engineering, andJeffrey Helm, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. The team seeks improve on last year’s design.
SAE Aero Challenge
The SAE Aero Challenge involves the design and construction of a radio-controlled airplane. An international competition challenges the contestants to predict the maximum load their aircraft is capable of lifting given a fixed wingspan and limited takeoff and landing distances. The team must also provide sufficient experimental evidence to support its predictions. Using an innovative delta wing design, last year’s team won awards at the international competition. This year’s team, advised by Louis Hayden, visiting part-time instructor of mechanical engineering, hopes to win the competition by building on last year’s success and using specialized software for more precise predictions of design performance.
Team Solar Splash
A new project called Solar Splash, advised by Len Van Gulick, Matthew Baird Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is an intercollegiate solar boating competition that will take place at the University of Arkansas. The object is to design and race a manned solar-powered boat; teams are judged on their technical report, visual display, workmanship, and overall quality. The competition also tests the boats’ endurance, maximum speed, and maneuvering abilities. Key areas of the design are the development of a propulsion system and a catamaran-style hull that will offer minimal resistance, enabling the boat to reach a projected speed of 20 mph. The students’ goal for fall is to complete the preliminary design and have all mechanical drawing ready for the second semester, when they will manufacture and test the boat.
Combined Load Testing Machine
Laura Raibeck ’06 (Albrightsville, Pa.) is designing a hydraulic testing machine for her senior honors thesis guided by Karl Seeler, associate professor of mechanical engineering. The machine will be capable of placing a test specimen or a machine component under simultaneous, combined axial and transverse forces and axial torsion. It is intended for use by junior mechanical engineering students to test machine components that they have designed and analyzed in the Mechanical Design course sequence, and by seniors to test parts designed for their senior projects. Specifically, it will “close the loop” between engineering analysis and the actual response of a part to combined loads and allow the faculty to address topics ranging from the limitations of common engineering analyses to statistics and probability.
Redesign of Medical Equipment
For her senior honors thesis, Katie Herchenroder ’06 (Breezy Point, N.Y.) is redesigning the speculum instrument used in obstetric and gynecologic medicine to better meet the needs of more patients. She is researching the history of the speculum and of medicine, putting her own design in this context. Her adviser is Jenn Rossmann, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
Arterial Blockages and Aneurisms
Brent Utter ’06 (Concord, N.H.) is analyzing the blood flow near intracranial aneurysms for his senior honors thesis. He is simulating the blood flow in physiologically realistic ways, calculating expected forces on the arterial wall due to fluid pressure and stress, and correlating these to the risk of aneurysm rupture. More detailed information about the fluid mechanics will enhance the diagnosis and treatment of aneurysms. Tim Nish ’06 (Vernon, N.J.) is also undertaking a senior thesis, constructing a new facility in which models of blood vessels affected by stenosis (partial blockage) may be studied. Qualitative and quantitative experiments will demonstrate the level of patient risk posed by particular stenoses. This facility will be a significant addition to the department’s experimental capabilities in the thermo-fluids area. Utter and Nish are advised byRossmann.
Structural Analysis of Romanesque Churches
For her senior honors thesis, Marie Berninger ’06 (North Potomac, Md.) is studying the structural principles of the nave of the Romanesque medieval priory church of Paray-le-Monial in Burgundy, France with the guidance of her adviser, Van Gulick. Paray-le-Monial is a relatively small church attributed to the same builders as Cluny III, the largest Romanesque church ever built. Only one transept (a section that crosses the nave or center at a right angle) remains of Cluny III, making Paray-le-Monial the best source of information on how both churches were designed and constructed. In this study, finite element analyses using the commercial software ANSYS will provide structural information to answer the questions about their design and construction.