Senior Design Projects Spring 2011
Hammer Mill Optimization
Team Members
Megan Beyer, Alex Longe, Casey Wendrick and Beth Russart, Mechanical Engineering; Chuck Workman, Chemical Engineering
Advisor
Sponsor
Woychowski Family Foundation
Project Overview
Through sponsorship of a Zambian child, the family of mechanical engineering alumnus Terry Woychowski recognized the effort and cost of the process of grinding corn into flour. This process was a great burden on families and inhibited the education of children. The Woychowski Charitable Foundation has tasked us with making improvements to the hammer mill designed and prototyped by a previous Senior Design team. The foundation aims to provide the people of sub- Saharan Africa with an improved way of life and educational success through supplying a less costly and more efficient method to process corn.
Gun Drill Sharpening Device
Team Members
Travis White, Jonathan Johnson, Ravi Shah, Jeff Schumacher, Matthew Heyse, and James Licht, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Josh Loukus
Sponsor
Precision Edge Surgical Products
Project Overview
The goal is to design and build a CNC gun drillsharpening machine to resharpen a single flute, as well as carbide gun drills, and replace the manual device.
Conformal Cam Follower
Team Members
Michael Rademacher, Brian Sollars, Skyler Teske, Jiongxun Zhang, and Venkatesh Shetty, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Sponsor
Cummins
Project Overview
In the ISX 15.0-liter diesel engine, Cummins currently utilizes a convex-to-convex interface between roller followers and cams. The advantage of this design lies in the fact that high stress, due to edge contact, is eliminated. However, the small point of contact at this interface creates high Hertzian stresses. The project investigates the possibility of using a more conformal convex-toconcave interface. Theoretically, this design will create a larger area of contact between the rollers and cams and, therefore, reduce Hertzian stress.
Keel-Mounted Grid Cooler Efficiency Optimization
Team Members
Mario Bonvini, Brad Gillen, Inkyoung Kim, and Tyler Lung, Mechanical Engineering; Logan Janka, Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering
Advisor
Chuck Margraves
Sponsor
R.W. Fernstrum
Project Overview
We were tasked with developing an optimized interior surface morphology for use in the cooling tubes in keel coolers. The goal is a design that would increase the heat-transfer performance of the keel coolers while minimizing pressure drop. An optimized keel cooler is needed to meet the increased cooling demands of modern diesel engines that produce high power output and low emissions. To accomplish these objectives, multiple design concepts were evaluated using computational fluid dynamics. A final design concept was then chosen and its performance was validated through laboratory testing.
Self-Cleaning Keel-Mounted Cooler
Team Members
Max Lent, David Arnold, Ben Ranta, Will Prins, Mechanical Engineering; Karl Warsinski, Materials Science and Engineering
Advisor
Sponsor
R.W. Fernstrum
Project Overview
Keel-mounted coolers are heat exchangers mounted on the outside of a boat hull to expose them to cold seawater. The client has asked us to find a coating that prevents marine growth while maintaining the performance of the coolers. We must find a coating with high thermal conductivity. In order to pinpoint this function, we are building a Guarded Hot Plate test apparatus, from which the thermal conductivity can be experimentally obtained.
Fuel Blender
Team Members
Troy Carlson, Ben Heidfeld, Marc Kubas, Ben Meemken, and Chris Noah, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Chuck Margraves
Sponsor
General Motors
Project Overview
The team has built a fuel-metering system for use in fuel-blend studies. The design is capable of measuring the fuel consumption of the power train in a dyno-cell as well as in a moving vehicle. The long-range objective is to begin to mature the chassis dynamometer test capability at Michigan Tech to perform steady-state, fuel-economy testing, as well as the ability to characterize the performance of various ethanol fuel blends using a flex-fuel vehicle. Recent publications report fuel economy and vehicle performance tradeoffs for various gasoline-ethanol fuel blends, but have conflicting conclusions regarding optimal blend.
Assistive Device for Children in India
Team Members
Bryan Cook, Eric Sturos, Bryan Plunger and Nicole Swegle, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Sponsor
Dr. Tammy Donahue
Project Overview
The people in India have a need for a low-cost, easy-to-use leg brace. The current design is difficult to use, and it does not allow people to sit cross-legged or squat, both of which are culturally significant positions for the region. The major goals are keeping the cost less than $10 per brace as stipulated by the sponsor to accommodate the financial situation of the end users in India, allowing for the brace to “grow” with the person it is fitted for, and make it easy to operate and build. We will develop several prototypes that are different from the current design.
Instrument Panel Attachment BSR Optimization
Team Members
Aaron Valenti, Breanna Cronk, Ross Benner, Troy Schultz, and Craig Reynolds, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Sponsor
Bayer Material Science
Project Overview
The goal is to obtain buzz, squeak, and rattle (BSR) test data on the types of fasteners in automobile instrument panels (IP). The team also will design a new fastener to reduce BSR in IPs.
Salt Delivery System
Team Members
Matthew Baumann, Jason Bernard, Izaak Harvey, Carl Vonck, David Haefs, Viraj Godapola, and Jacob Warden, Mechanical Engineering; Bruce Hall, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering
Advisor
Josh Loukus
Sponsor
Peterson Salt Co.
Project Overview
The goal is to design a prototype of an efficient water softener, salt-delivery system suitable for residential and commercial use. The truck system uses pneumatics to blow the salt from the truck to the on-site tank.
Electric Parking Brake Design
Team Members
BShiran Chen, Joshua Howell, Fei Pi, and Jeff Rice, Mechanical Engineering; Brian Thompson and Jared Helminen, Electrical Engineering
Advisor
Sponsor
HB Performance Systems
Project Overview
Design an electric parking brake—to replace the cable-driven parking brake—on Harley Davidson Tri-Glide and Can-Am Spyder three-wheel motorcycles.
Waste Gate System Integration
Team Members
Jason Beck, Brian Cisar, Ryan Messner, Corey Simonetta, and Keegan Shannon-Lohenry, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Chuck Margraves
Sponsor
Cummins
Project Overview
To meet with the upcoming US Tier 4 off-highway emission standards, the client is integrating a turbocharger waste gate into their existing product line. Using finite element analysis and Pro Engineering CAD software, we designed a prototype system for use as a test bed.
Office-Access Stair System
Team Members
Daniel Cook, Aaron Andersen, Andrew Breyer, and Max Guel, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Sponsor
James De Clerck
Project Overview
The objective is to design a device to enable human access to an elevated office space, and fold out of the way when not in use. The unit must provide a safety barrier to prevent an occupant in an office chair from rolling out of the opening. Also, it should be easily removable, be safe for the range of individuals able to use it, and require minimal effort to operate.
Chassis Deflection Measurement
Team Members
Andrew Ramsey, Karl Selewski, Paul Shenkosky, Scott Gittins, and Matt Latham, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Sponsor
General Motors
Project Overview
The goal is to create a new concept for taking small-scale deflection measurements on multi-length, vehicle suspension points for the General Motors Vehicle Handling Facility. These measurements allow engineers to determine the stiffness required by the attachment points, allowing for weight to be saved or for an increase in vehicle performance. We will present the design process, prototype testing, and final results of the project.
Iron Pulverizer
Team Members
Joseph Anhalt, Kevin Poppe, Dallas Williams, Stephen Stacy, and Jacob Janiksela, Mechanical Engineering; Taylor Biallas, Materials Science and Engineering
Advisor
Sponsor
Cliffs Natural Resources
Project Overview
The goal of our project is to design and build a machine/process that will produce cast-iron pucks from iron nodules. The beginning iron nodules have a melting temperature of near 1600 C. The size of the individual nodules ranges from 5-15 grams, with a total sample size of 500 grams. The iron nodules will be melted using an induction heating furnace. Once the iron is molten, it will be cast into a 39mm diameter, 4mm tall puck. The pucks will then be analyzed to determine their iron, carbon, and sulfur content.
Keel Cooler Fatigue Resistance
Team Members
Kane Johnson, Jake Mohan, Shawn Bretting, Kayla Tobias, and Matthew Carney, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Sponsor
R.W. Fernstrum
Project Overview
The FERNSTRUM® GRIDCOOLER® unit is a closed-circuit heat exchanger mounted externally on a ship’s hull. The goal is to determine and understand the vibration-induced fatigue failures that occur in a small percentage of the FERNSTRUM GRIDCOOLER units. The project includes testing and modeling the GRIDCOOLER in order to design a solution to the vibration problems, without sacrificing efficiency of the heat exchanger. We conducted data acquisition, modeling, testing, designing, and prototyping.
Table Column Support Process Optimization
Team Members
Roger Crawford, Drew Schorfhaar, Mike Dettl, Stosh Talaske, Austin Merkel, and Qianyu Liang, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Sponsor
Grand Rapids Chair
Project Overview
The goal is to redesign Grand Rapids Chair Company’s “Labor Saver” table column while removing the current joining method of welding. An organized manufacturing process for the laborsaving method, along with analytical data, are required for the project.
Cab Suspension
Team Members
Jay Greenberg, Erik Riutta, Beau Ihnken, Jeremy Skjold, and Andrew Wiegand, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Sponsor
John Deere
Project Overview
John Deere will be offering a semi-active cab suspension option on their 2011 model year tractors. This design makes controlling the system’s responses difficult, however. The goal is to modify this pneumatic-over-hydraulic suspension system to eliminate those negative responses and improve operator isolation.
Reciprocal Gait Orthosis
Team Members
Wilbur P. Winkle III, Cody Thompsom, Scott Cartwright, and Mike Nienhaus, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Sponsor
Tammy Donahue
Project Overview
A reciprocating gait orthosis (RGO) is composed of a pelvic brace, a propulsion system, and bilateral femur-tibia-ankle support with hip and knee locks, and strengthened ankles. These devices are generally used for rehabilitative purposes. The design is geared towards both increasing the metabolic efficiency required of the use, as well as reducing the cost to $600 USD. Another target is range of motion to allow squatting, which is culturally appealing. A propulsion system of handlebars used to lift the leg, as well as adjustable bars for the femur and tibia, have helped facilitate a reduction in cost.
Alpha Washer Green Packaging
Team Members
Josh Weyburne, Sean Anderson, Andy Brabant, and Patrick Towell, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Sponsor
Whirlpool Corp.
Project Overview
The goal is an improved packaging system for the Alpha washing machine. The current packaging does not effectively protect the product during packaging testing, which results in cracking of the front console and denting in the side panel. We redesigned the extruded polystyrene packaging in order to optimize load paths through the packaging, maximize energy absorption, minimize waste, reduce cost, and improve sustainability.
