Mechanical Engineering Senior Projects 2009

 

Adjustable Wheelchair
2010 SAE® Aero Design
2010 Baja SAE®
End-of-Line Seat Transfer Project
2010 Formula SAE®
2010 Formula SAE® Drivetrain
2010 Formula SAE® Suspension, Steering, and Braking
Lightweight Automotive Seat Structure
Nova Drag Car
Personal Watercraft Trailer Modification
Spinal Alignment Electric Device

 

 

Adjustable Wheelchair

Members Amanda Cleghorn   Chelsea Colbert

Faculty Advisor Greg Feierfeil

 

Project Description
The students designed and built a wheelchair that adjusts the chair width and handle height to accommodate riders and pushers of varying sizes. The width of the chair adjusts from the original 16-inch seat to 18 inches and 20 inches. Telescoping pipes produce the adjustments and a pin keeps the chair locked in position. The chair’s handles are adjustable from 34 inches to 39 inches from the ground in one-inch increments. Telescoping tubes allow the height adjustment and pins with ball bearings on the end secure the handles in each position. The wheelchair is ergonomically correct for all the widths and heights involved and it fits through standard-size doorways.

 

2010 SAE® Aero Design

Members Chris Campbell Danielle Kozak Mike Martinico (team leader) Steve Musselman Stephanie Shevenock    Dan Weitzmann

Faculty Advisor Andrew Gerhart Industrial Advisors      Bill Brown Jim Cross

Sponsors The Martinico Family Aon Corporation Jeanne Campbell

Project Description
The 2010 SAE® Aero Design East Competition, held in Fort Worth, Texas, challenges engineering students from around the world to design, build, test, and fly a radio-controlled heavy-lift cargo airplane. Given a set of constraints, the goal is to airlift the most weight possible. Some of the constraints include a maximum linear dimension (length plus width plus height) of 200 inches, an unmodified OS 0.61 FX engine, a cargo bay area of at least 5 inches by 5 inches by 10 inches, and the ability to take off within 200 feet and land within 400 feet. The plane is a full fuselage design with a T-tail. The wing uses a Selig 1223 airfoil with a 128-inch span and a slight taper to reduce drag.

 

2010 Baja SAE®

Members Arif Ahmed Chris Bastian Mike Bell Michelle Campbell    Katie Elden Candace Hurston Lance Lamson

Faculty Advisor Giuseppe DeRose

Sponsors DENSO Giuseppe DeRose Lawrence Tech SAE® Student Branch Lockery McLaren Performance Technologies Polaris Chris Riedel R.J.S. Racing Equipment Inc.

 Project Description
The 2010 Baja SAE® competition held in Greenville, South Carolina, provides engineering students from all over the world an opportunity to design and fabricate an original all-terrain vehicle and to compare their designs and vehicles with those produced by teams from other universities. The object of the competition is to provide SAE® student members with a challenging project that involves the real-world planning and manufacturing tasks encountered when introducing a new product to the consumer market. Teams compete against one another to have their design accepted for manufacture by a fictitious firm. Students must function as a team not only to conceptualize, design, build, test, promote, and race a vehicle within the limitations of the competition, but also to generate financial support for their project and manage their educational priorities.

 

End-of-Line Seat Transfer Project

Members Mark Elsenety Martin Gojcaj Tigran Khatchatrian Andrew Kruczynski    Joe Puranen

Faculty Advisor Patricia Shamamy

Industrial Sponsor Faurecia Automotive Corp.

Project Description
The students designed, assembled, and tested a conveyor system on which rear automotive seatbacks are transported from one work station to another. The transfer system has a 12-by-12-foot footprint and utilizes an L-shaped aluminum gravity-fed track with standardized grabbing/hooking devices that enables the track to be used for three different seat variations. The transfer system was synchronized with existing manufacturing processes and timings and was designed to minimize human error and maximize overall plant efficiency.

 

2010 Formula SAE®

Members Daniel Baker Zelan Banks Angelo DiCicco Kelvin Duncan Bogdan Florea Aaron Hanson Troy Hawkins Matthew Malnar Matthew Meyer Jonathan Ruszala    Peter Sawka Jeff Schocker Craig Schmehl Joseph Sweet Anthony Waller

Faculty Advisor Giscard Kfoury Industry Advisors Grantley Hodge, senior engineer, Ford Racing   Scott Innes, vice president, marketing, Lotus Engineering Mark Wilby, senior manager, powertrain, Lotus Engineering

Sponsors DENSO The Innes Family Lawrence Tech faculty Lotus Engineering Mark Schmidt Solidworks Tico V-line

Project Description
The Formula SAE® Competition is an international racing event sponsored every year in May by the Society of Automotive Engineers. Approximately 150 colleges and universities participate. Students are challenged to use their engineering skills to design, build, and test a powerful small-scale Formula racecar. The team’s goal was to design a more reliable engine system that also produces more horsepower and low-end torque, more responsive suspension and drivetrain systems, and a body that incorporates carbon fibers in a plastic matrix.

 

2010 Formula SAE® Drivetrain

Members Angelo DiCicco Anthony Waller

Faculty Advisor    Giscard Kfoury

Alumni Advisor Michael Akpe Sponsor Shared Vision

Project Description
The Drivetrain subteam supplied the drivetrain for the 2010 Formula SAE® race car. The students studied the drivetrain design of the 2009 Formula SAE® vehicle and worked to improve it. The differential gear set was selected and all components of the 2009 vehicle were validated, analyzed, and optimized when possible. Every basic design decision, component, and process employed to build the drivetrain system was recorded in a formal Component Breakdown Structure (CBS). Also included in the CBS were the contact information for all parts, part numbers, materials used, and methods of creation.

 

2010 Formula SAE® Suspension, Steering, and Braking

Members Zelan Banks Aaron Hanson (team leader)   Peter Sawka Jeff Schocker

Faculty Advisor   Giscard Kfoury

Alumni Advisors Chance Debuff Paul Kowalsky Sponsor Brembo

 

Project Description
The goal of the 2010 Formula SAE® suspension, steering, and braking subteam was to design, fabricate, assemble, and test a suspension, steering, and braking system for the 2010 Formula SAE® race car. The suspension, steering, and braking systems consist of uprights, control arms, tie rods, ball joints, bushings, shocks, springs, wheel hubs, spindles, tires, wheels, calipers, brake rotors, brake pads, master cylinder, brake hoses, pedal box, and fasteners. The suspension, steering, braking, and chassis components are designed and fabricated in order to work well together as an assembly to produce a performance race car. Vehicle dynamics were studied and analyzed to create and meet optimal performance settings through the utilization of the best-designed components.

 

Lightweight Automotive Seat Structure

Members Ryan Beaudrie   Ryan Busse Tim Olsen

Faculty Advisor Patricia Shamamy

Industrial Advisor Vincent Adragna

 

Project Description
The students worked directly with Lear Corporation to develop a new lightweight and environmentally friendly automobile seat frame. It focused on two challenges: reducing the weight of the seat frame and reducing the environmental impact of producing the seat frame. The seat frame was required to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and ECE (European) standards so that the seat frame meets the standards that all other seats are held to.

One of the primary purposes of this project was to research the materials that were used in the seat frame design along with the ways in which they are used and assembled. Research included bamboo, which was the chosen material for this project.

 

Real-Time Implementation of DC Motor Position Control

Member George Thomas

Faculty Advisor Vladimir V. Vantsevich

 

Project Description
This project aimed at designing a PI Controller (proportional-integral controller) for the accurate positioning of a known mass using a Permanent Magnet DC Motor. The mathematical model of the system was obtained based on the differential equation that governs the system using Kirchoff’s Voltage law and Newton’s law of motion. Using the Pole Placement method, the controller was designed to ensure that the motor reached the desired position and also met set system performance characteristics. Initially, the dynamical system model was simulated using LabVIEW 2009 and the calculated gain values were tuned until the system reached the desired response. The tuned gain values were then tested on the real system and the system responses were analyzed and compared to the response of the dynamical system for validating the accuracy of the mathematical model. The real-time implementation of the system was done using a NI 9004 cRIO and NI 9505 I/O module.

 

Nova Drag Car

Members Trevor Ferry Tony Flanigan Ryan Lehtonen Andrew Monticello    Sean White Scott Wilson

Faculty Advisor    Kingman Yee

Industrial Advisor Bryan Thomson

 

Project Description
The students developed a drag race vehicle that conforms to both National and International Hot Rod Associations’ specifications and thus is eligible to compete on as many tracks as possible. The platform chosen was a 1978 Chevrolet Nova. The vehicle can cover a quarter mile track in at least 11.5 seconds. To achieve this speed, the team installed and mated a GM performance LSX 427 to a modified TH350 transmission. An aftermarket aluminum driveshaft and new rear end were also incorporated. The team modified the suspension and sub-frame to optimize performance and added safety features, including a six-point roll cage, racing seat, and five-point harness.

 

Personal Watercraft Trailer Modification

Members Dave Adamski Greg Starcevic    Ayman Taleb

Faculty Advisor Patricia Shamamy

Industrial Advisor Steve Adamski

 

Project Description
The students developed a kit that modifies a two-watercraft trailer to allow a third watercraft to be mounted and towed on the trailer. The lightweight attachment is bolted to the trailer and requires minimal assembly. It is also versatile in that it allows other recreational vehicles, such as a motorcycle or bicycle to be mounted and towed.

 

Spinal Alignment Electric Device

Members Mark Felker Mark Kowalski

Faculty Advisor Patricia Shamamy

Industrial Advisor Eric Michalak  Project Sponsor Johnson Controls

 

Project Description
The purpose of this project was to design and build an electromechanical device that will help align the spine to reduce muscle fatigue, lower back pain, and cramping. The device consists of an electrical control module that regulates the mechanical component, which helps align the spine.