Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Presentations Session B - Spring 2021
Solar Car Hinging, Propping, and Latching Mechanisms
The WMU Solar Car Project designs, builds, and races solar-powered vehicles. Hinging, propping, and latching mechanisms were designed for the 2021 iteration of the Sunseeker Solar Car. SolidWorks was used to create CAD drawings of the parts used in the mechanisms. An FEA analysis was also carried out in SolidWorks to evaluate the strength of the hinging mechanism. A combination of machinable and commercially-available parts were used in the designs of these mechanisms.
Catamaran Solar Race Vehicle Suspension and Steering System
Suspension and steering are critical systems in any race vehicle and have special constraints when designed for solar racing. WMU SunSeeker’s new solar-powered catamaran design requires low profile, reliable, serviceable, and lightweight suspension and steering systems. Using SolidWorks, models were created considering CNC machining and additive manufacturing techniques. To validate a final design, these models were evaluated with a battery of stress and dynamic multibody simulations using Ansys and Adams software. The most competitive, financially viable iteration was selected for use in the American Solar Challenge and Formula Sun Grand Prix 2021 races.
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE CAMERA MOUNT APPLICATION
The rise in autonomous vehicle research has created the need for improved data collection of different sensors including object detection and depth-sensing cameras. A universal camera mount was designed in SOLIDWORKS to increase the quality of data collection of a stereo camera by reducing windshield and camera lens glare. Object detection software was created using Python on Ubuntu and utilized by a ZED stereo camera to test the effectiveness of data collection using the created mount. The products created will assist with further research with autonomous vehicle applications using depth-sensing stereo cameras and other related instrumentation.
Automated Hydroponics System
An automated hydroponic system offers better control over the growing process and allow for easier maintenance. An NFT hydroponic system, capable of growing romaine lettuce, was constructed. A control system was designed to control the lights, water pump, and nutrient dispensers, using information collected from various sensors. If the system detects a variable is outside of optimal parameters, it can automatically make adjustments. This control system would allow people a better way to grow their own produce at home and reduce reliance on commercially grown produce. Alternatively, commercial growers could incorporate the control systems to improve their own operation.
DESIGN OF A FULL-SCALE PLANT FOR PLASTIC PYROLYSIS
An estimated 27 million US tons of plastic is wasted in landfill per year while only about 8 million US tons of plastic waste is recycled or combusted for energy recovery, according to data from the US Environmental Protection Agency for 2018. This team, partnered with Gulf Coast Environmental Systems, is investigating the feasibility of a full-scale pilot plant design to recycle high and low density polyethylene as well as polypropylene into oil. The team was responsible for creating and optimizing the technical concept of the plant and design of the reactor. The plant is designed to process 10 US tons per day. The environmental and economic impact of recycling these plastics was also analyzed. The pilot design is expected to begin manufacturing in the summer of 2021 in Conroe, Texas. Each plant will help recycle 3,650 US tons a year, bringing us closer to eradicating the plastic waste problem.
Optimum Double Rhombic Flap design for Z-plasty
In medicine especially in plastic surgery, rhombic transposition flaps are widely used for complex wound closure, where transposing a skin flap leads to a stress field throughout the tissue around affected area. The adverse effects of these high tensile stresses are deemed to be a major cause of flap failure. In this project, a double rhombic flap design for z-plasty that can be a replacement for conventional single rhombic flap for z-plasty was developed. This design was analyzed using the finite element method. Ansys, a finite element analysis software, was utilized to carry out a parametric study to determine an optimum rhombic angle that can minimize these stresses on the skin. By reducing these magnitudes of tensile stresses can result in a reduction in healing time and prevent harmful consequences such as the formation of necrosis, dehiscence, granulation, and ischemia.
HALO+ REDESIGN
Diamond turning plays an important role in ultra-precision machining. Recent breakthroughs in diamond turning includes laser-assisted machining by Micro-LAM INC. The laser is emitted through a transparent diamond cutting tool precisely at the cutting edge, applying heat to soften the workpiece. The ideal wattage being emitted from the laser differs based on the material being machined. Micro-LAM currently uses the system HALO+ to measure the power being emitted from the laser through the diamond which consists of a power meter and camera on a swivel bracket. Current issues with the HALO+ includes the inability to vertically adjust the power meter and camera independently as well as high production costs from machining and assembly time. The end goal of the HALO+ design is improved adjustment about the power meter and camera as well as to cut production costs.
SUSPENSION ANALYSIS FOR FORMULA SAE VEHICLE
Each year Western Michigan University’s Formula SAE team designs and manufactures a formula one style vehicle to compete in an international racing competition. The suspension system plays a critical role in both the handling and performance of the vehicle. The previous suspension load analysis failed to consider both aerodynamic loads and accurate tire characteristics. An updated load case was created through the use of simulation and test data. Suspension components were then simulated using ANSYS and redesigned with weight reduction in mind.
Portable Solar Water Pump
Water is essential to all living beings and having an easy access to clean water is substantial. Inability to access safe water is likely to occur in areas without proper means of transporting water duly. A portable water pumping mechanism helped solving this problem using renewable solar energy, water filters, 12V battery, charge controller, an inverter, and a DC motor to run the pump. The electrical part was simulated using LabVIEW software, and the design was done on SolidWorks. This project diminished the lack of water in remote areas and can be done on a larger scale to support irrigation.
Design of an Autonomous Quadcopter
Autonomous drones have many practical applications. A quadcopter prototype was designed and built featuring autonomous flight controller software that was coded using Arduino. The manually controlled vehicle is capable of acrobatic motion and automatic functions such as holding attitude and altitude. The prototype was primarily created to study engineering concepts such as hardware and software integration, flight dynamics, structural mechanics, performance, and design. The project successfully demonstrates the process of design and analysis of an aerial vehicle.
Two - Shot Transducer
A transducer has been installed in a Two-shot CX 1.000 KN Krauss Maffei Plastic Injection Molding Machine which used a shoot and ship method. The transducer collects live data to track the quantity and quality of mass injected by the machine. A user-friendly interface display’s this data for the monitoring of goods. This interface also stores data for future analytics. Being able to create an alternative to the shoot and ship method has reduced poor quality of goods from reaching the supplier and creation of scrap.
Automation of the Die Casting in a Box (DCIB) machine
The “Die Casting in a Box” (DCIB) 4.0 project is a machine built to demonstrate the fundamentals of the die-casting process in an educational environment. DCIB 3.0 was a fully realized die-casting press which required manual regulation of metal poured into the cast and produced a singular product. The goal of DCIB 4.0 was to automate this process and electronically regulate the flow of metal into the cast. This was accomplished by mounting a servo motor which actuated a steel plunger allowing us to send programmable signals to the device to regulate the flow of metal in the casting basin.
DESIGN OF VENTILATION SYSTEM FOR SOLAR CAR BATTERY BOX
When a solar car’s battery pack overheats, the battery cells constituting the pack are prone to combust and/or explode. Effective ventilation is paramount to avoid such disasters. A ventilation system was designed using a combination of modelling, and data collection. Thermal data was obtained through testing battery cells in a lab setting. This data was used to build thermal/CFD models in a Finite-Element Analysis (FEA) software, ANSYS Fluent solver. The insights gained from aforementioned trials and modelling guided the design of a ventilation system which will properly regulate battery pack temperature for the Sunseeker 2020 racecar.