Bird and bat collisions with wind turbine blades are an occurrence which are extremely variable in
frequency. With the expansion of wind farms, determining the true quantity of collisions and the
species involved is imperative for preventing ecological damage. Explored in this thesis is a blade
mounted camera for wirelessly...
This project analyzes, tests, and redesigns an environmental control system for Global Formula Racing’s (GFR) dynamometer. It seeks to develop a working system to test GFR’s car engine under air conditions similar to those faced during competition. A model is developed to predict the performance of the environmental control system,...
OSU’s Global Formula Racing (GFR) team creates two carbon fiber chassis each year, one for combustion engine powered the other electric. These two vehicles compete in SAE sanctioned competitions teams and in order to enter they both have to provide design and testing information to prove the vehicle is safe...
The intent of this report is to provide a brief description of water quality issues in Nicaragua, Uganda and Bangladesh, and the technologies available to address these issues. The water quality parameters considered include: bacterial contamination, heavy metals and arsenic, pesticides and industrious chemicals, turbidity, radiological characteristics, and taste and...
Assessing student conceptual understanding is a valuable method for gauging specific student learning outcomes but can be difficult and time consuming to measure. This research investigates the potential of automating some intermediary steps of a qualitative analysis of student conceptual understanding with tools from the field of Natural Language Processing...
This thesis examines the effect of aerodynamics on Formula SAE cars. Due to the different objectives of the Formula SAE events, an understanding of the car's complete aerodynamic design is necessary. Using a half car computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, a series of sensitivity studies are conducted to determine trends...
Turbulent flows over rough surfaces are encountered in many engineering and geophysical applications. Flows of this nature, due to their increasing technological interests, have been a subject of rigorous investigation in recent years. Of the particular interest to the oceanographic community is the study of turbulent oscillatory flow over rough...
The purpose of this study is to measure and compare radiation emissions from flames burning large hydrocarbon fuels to assist in understanding how the molecular composition changes radiation emissions. Radiative heat transfer is significant because it is a primary mode of heat transfer for many combustion devices. This study also...
This thesis details the applications of a new method of agent-based structure synthesis. The goal of this research is to create structures that meet a structural goal within a simulated physics environment. The method proposed works as an iterative process of changing the structure, evaluating the new structure and using...
Combustion systems for transportation applications typically use large hydrocarbon fuels in turbulent premixed or partially premixed environments. Combustion products can enter the reaction region through natural recirculation or combustion control mechanisms. The objective of this study is to characterize how dilution by combustion products affects the turbulent consumption speed for...
Recent interest in nano aerial vehicles (NAVs) has sparked an increase in research on the mechanics of biological flapping flight. The ability of NAVs to fly in confined spaces and perform tight maneuvers make them a valuable technological asset. Researching the mechanisms behind small-scale flapping flight promises progress toward the...
As global population and affluence continues to rise, demand for and disposal of
consumer products is increasing. Currently, there are established process that guide
designers to develop innovative products, but these products still have a large impact
on the environment. There is beginning to be an emphasis on product sustainability,...
The purpose of this thesis was to understand the relation between the actual performance and the design performance of the manufacturing plane which was designed for the 2016 Design/Build/Fly competition. The actual performance was determined using an Arduino Uno based system with data from an accelerometer, gyroscope and pitot tube....
This project created a stand-alone unit capable of providing on-board sensing and processing for robotic vehicles. This unit was designed to be compact, lightweight, inexpensive, and adaptable. The goal of this project is to help advance robotics research in mapping and multi-agent coordination by making it easier to equip vehicles...
This project consists of the analysis, design, and manufacturing of the 2016 cooling system for Global Formula Racing’s combustion vehicle. Several water configurations were examined, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to estimate airflow and heat transfer calculations in MATLAB to estimate heat rejection through each concept. Data used to perform...
The purpose of this project was to design the 2016 combustion car drivetrain for Global Formula Racing (GFR). The goal of this project was to improve upon the 2015 drivetrain design by reducing complexity, weight, and maintenance time. To reduce complexity the spool was changed to a one piece system...
Flexible aerodynamic surfaces have been shown to favorably influence flight characteristics at low Reynolds numbers by increasing lift, angle of attack at stall, and resistance to perturbation. The objective of the research presented within this thesis is to investigate the influence of two aspects of flight observed in biological flyers,...
Sustainable product design is becoming an important component of the development of consumer products. Currently there are limited design resources to aid in the creation of environmentally sustainable products. The purpose of this research is to theorize a new method for integrating sustainable design knowledge into the early design phase...
The large wind resource off the United States West Coast has the potential to generate wind power for millions of homes, yet the high cost of energy for offshore wind power compared to traditional sources has slowed the development of offshore wind farms in the US. The four studies presented...
Poor material utilization is inherent to conventional manufacturing processes, leading to high material waste and machining times. Additive manufacturing processes attempt to solve this issue by allowing production of near-net shapes, but the processes may be too expensive or infeasible. By leveraging both processes in a single part, the waste...