Wind energy is one of the fastest growing renewable forms of energy in the United States and the world. However, interactions between wind turbines and wildlife have the possibility to injure animals such as birds and bats. Strategies to assess and minimize wind turbine interactions with wildlife are critical for...
Aperiodic structures cause significant challenges to subtractive manufacturing methods due to the common features such as inaccessible voids within the structure. Additive man- ufacturing presents an appealing alternative for this purpose. The aim of this research is to test analysis heuristics for validity through application to periodic structures. First, a...
The electrical conductivity data of ceramic material at high temperatures can be useful in the application of modeling, solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD). The existing data is considerably lacking at extreme temperatures. Our research focuses on bridging this gap by reporting the electrical conductivity measurements of sets...
The “why” of any situation is one of the most important questions to ask. Inventors have ideas every day. Some ideas are the brilliant ideas that lead to a better tomorrow. To protect these ideas, inventors turn to patents, a governmental grant of the right to stop others, for a...
Designs for improved cookstoves aim to decrease the detrimental environmental and health impacts that are associated with traditional biomass cooking practiced by nearly 40% of the global population. Programs to provide improved cookstoves are found worldwide, and regional testing centers support development of these through emissions testing services. Aprovecho Research...
Hydrogels have been attractive for use as a medium in porous flow studies,
but have always been limited in this role because of their poor mechanical properties.
This project analyzes and tests two recently developed hydrogels,
poly(methacrylamide-co-methacrylic acid) (PMM), and a heat-treated long chain
PVA hydrogel. Particle image velocimetry (PIV)...
The purpose of this project is to assist the OSU Baja Racing vehicle in turning more sharply. This is done using a turning brake, which locks one rear wheel to facilitate turning on a smaller radius. This project focuses on the development of a custom cylinder housing for the turning...
In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic began. This prompted quarantines, mask mandates, and stopped many businesses and services. This study asked the question of what people decided to do in terms of their recreation habits in response to the pandemic. We took a sample of Oregon State University...
An electrically driven propellant pump (HALE E-Pump) was analysed and tested to determine its viability for use in a bi-propellant launch vehicle for the High-Altitude Liquid Engine (HALE) student rocket team at Oregon State University (OSU). The pump, manufactured in 2022 by students in OSU machine shops, was hydrostatically tested...
As new cost-effective cultivation methods are needed for macrophytic red algae, this experiment expands upon a previously studied land-based approach. The experiment aimed to determine how the fluid dynamics of a previously researched land-based method affected the growth of the macrophytic red alga, Gracilaria Vermiculophylla. A clonal culture of G....
With growing awareness of the negative impacts of the built environment, solutions for dramatic environmental, economic, and social improvements are sparking in all sectors, especially within the construction industry. The work of this thesis aims to quantify and compare social, economic, and environmental impacts of a three-story mass timber structure...
This thesis explores the relationship between design cycle models and knowledge management systems applied to various physical prototypes that the author developed from 2020 to 2023. The author walks through the process of prototyping a potty-training device in OSU’s Prototype Development Lab and an automated testing fixture for her Senior...
Latinas in engineering face discrimination on the intersectionality of their two identities, Latinx and woman. The barriers that happen to them as an indirect effect of previous or existing institutional systems of oppression are called systemic barriers. Coming from the lens of four subjects, in a ranking of the barriers...
In the United States, 58.7% of the spinal cord injuries that occur each year result in some degree of tetraplegia, this leads to reduced control of upper limb muscle. One surgery that can restore some upper limb function is a brachioradialis (BR) to flexor pollicis longus (FPL) tendon transfer surgery,...
Metallic glasses (also referred to as amorphous metals) have been gaining interest in the materials science community in recent years. These amorphous materials demonstrate promising properties compared to their crystalline counterparts that include much higher strength and elastic strain limit, better corrosion and wear resistance, superior soft magnetism, and an...
Menstrual health and hygiene insecurity is a global health issue people across the world face, particularly in developing countries. According to the World Bank, an estimated 500 million lack access to adequate menstrual products, and “to effectively manage their menstruation, women and girls require access to water, sanitation, and hygiene...
This thesis explores the mechanical properties of hemp fiber reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) composites. Fused filament fabrication (FFF) was used to compare the performance of three different weight percentages of hemp fiber reinforced PLA against PLA and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). It was found that as the weight percentage of...
To investigate the viability of staging hydraulic air compressors (HACs), a model for HACs operating with a closed loop water cycle powered by a pump was made. This model was used to simulate how these HACs would respond to variable heights and mass flow ratios for both single-stage and multi-stage...
Visitors to waterways need a way to securely lock up their non-motorized watercrafts to allow for exploration of the local area and communities. The Willamette Water Trail Steering committee recognized this problem and approached the Oregon State University Prototype Development lab to develop and fabricate a solution. The engineering design...
Waste-heat-recovery Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems use excess heat from industrial processes to produce electrical power. In many cases, the temperatures and mass flow rates of these excess-heat streams vary significantly over time, causing the ORC to often operate far from its design point. In this study, a control strategy...
This thesis explores the differences in puppetted and teleoperation control of robotic hands, using the Asterisk test as a benchmark. Two hands were tested, including modified versions of the Model Q and Model Q developed by Yale's GRAB Lab. Small differences were observed between the puppetted and teleoperation control of...
The US industrial sector accounts for about one-third of the nation’s energy consumption and is predicted to grow twice as quickly as other sectors through 2050. International organizations such as the International Energy Agency project energy efficiency improvements will account for over 40% of greenhouse gas emissions reductions through 2040....
This thesis describes an automated method to estimate tree trunk width in a commer-cial apple orchard. Trunk cross sectional area, which is an important consideration with regards to nutrient uptake, is a feature being integrated in a decision support system for precision Nitrogen management. The data used to generate the...
0.1 Purpose of Report
During my time on this project, I have written two reports. My SAE22 ePowertrain report details last year's design, the design process, design changes, and manufacturing in extreme detail. The capstone course report will be useful for future students looking to educate themselves on everything that...
Aluminum alloys are popular in aerospace and automotive industries because of their relatively high strength-to-weight ratio. The study of enhancing aluminum’s mechanical properties through grain refinement is especially important. One such technique is High-Pressure Torsion processing (HPT), which leads to significant grain size refinement and enhances mechanical properties like ductility...
A six degree of freedom (6DOF) point-absorber wave energy converter (WEC) called LUPA is being developed at Oregon State University. This research focused on analyzing a full- scale LUPA, called LUPA20, to answer the following questions: 1) How does a full-scale WEC perform due to various factors; 2) What are...
This work details the development of 3D printed TPU pneunet actuators for use in apple picking for agricultural soft robotics. These actuators increase the force capabilities of soft pneunets and simplify manufacturing. Grippers based on these actuators are ideal for apple picking because they are compliant, yet exert sufficient force...
In current prosthetic practices, the design process heavily relies on the prosthetist’s expertise and the limited methods to quantify design choices. This thesis investigates the lower-limb prosthetic fitting process and the importance of the socket design. Previous research has taken local stiffness of the limb to provide prosthetists with more...
The High Altitude Liquid Engine (HALE) team is developing of a 2000 lbf thrust liquid propellant engine for a flight vehicle capable of breaching the Karman Line (100 km in altitude). As part the development of this flight vehicle, this research focuses on the design and characterization of a novel...
Rear brake calipers are a critical component of the brake system within a vehicle. Brake calipers function by clamping against the brake rotor when the brake pedal is pressed by the driver and thus results in deceleration of the vehicle. This thesis aims to design and develop custom rear brake...
This thesis follows two studies performed with simple robots. The first follows a robot interacting with eight improvisers to create scenes and perform five isolated gestures (towards, away, sideways, spin, and circle) for interpretation. The second follows a group of three robots performing the same five isolated gestures at two...
Between Oregon State University and DHBW Ravensberg, Global Formula Racing produces two Formula style vehicles every year for competition. This thesis has served as a pre-development project in the ergonomics and driver interface of the team's vehicles. This project will determine the position of the seat back, steering wheel, and...
Turbulent flows with suspended, non-spherical particles are common in many natural and industrial processes. To identify the effects of anisotropic geometry on particle dynamics, a one-way coupled Lagrangian direct numerical simulation solver was written, verified, and used to collect data on particles simulated in multiple flows. This thesis explains the...
In the wake of climate change, the risk of heat related illnesses has continuously increased over the past several decades. While thermal management solutions have continued to improve, there is a need for efficient cooling systems that conform with the human body. This study combines the solutions from fractal-like flow...
This project examines the portrayal of the life and times of Kaiserin Elisabeth von Österreich (Empress Elisabeth of Austria) in the popular Austrian musical "Elisabeth das Musical" (Elisabeth the Musical), written by Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay. "Elisabeth" was first performed in Vienna in 1992 and has since become the...
The aerospace industry uses chemical kinetic models when designing propulsion systems to acquire specific details about the rate of chemical reactions, heat release, and combustion stability. These models, however, are too large and stiff to be useful as they can take weeks to run computations on. The pyMARS python package...
The intent of this thesis is to develop three creative non-fiction essays exploring the experience of being an undergraduate woman in a STEM field. The essays will all take on variations in form, humor, and perspectives. The purpose is to explore the position of women in STEM and the different...
This research aims to demonstrate the viability of actively controlled distributed-electric propulsion as a method to postpone flutter in high aspect-ratio elastic wings. A semi-wing on a spring mount with two propellers powered by electric motors, mounted at alternate pitch angles relative to the chord line, was used as the...
The intention of this undergraduate research project was to design and build a fully functional high-vacuum chamber testing environment for use in the development of ion propulsion engines. This project was conducted in an effort to aid ongoing projects between the Deep Space Propulsion Group (DSPG) at Oregon State University...
Integrated Distributed Electric Augmented Lift (IDEAL) applies upper surface blowing in a novel way to achieve electric short take-off and landing to meet the growing need for urban air transportation. Additional research on propulsion airframe interaction (PAI) with trailing edge flaps at low Reynolds numbers was necessary to advance the...
This study aims to explore whether a robotic cookstove feeder can sufficiently reduce variability between tests of a cookstove, produces statistically similar firepower and measured emissions rates, and reduce tester interaction time during standard cookstove testing as compared to a trained human operator. A series of modified ISO/FDIS 19867-1 testing...
In anatomical education, clinicians, surgeons, and anatomists support the use of human cadavers over digital or artificial alternatives. Cadaver use raises the challenge of preventing tissue dehydration. The OSU cadaver labs attempt to maintain hydration by re-covering the exposed tissues with original skin, layers of plastic wrap, and/or towels and...
The goal of this thesis is to explore the possibility of an upgrade of materials used in the wing-structure of a high-performance light aircraft operating under severe aerodynamic and inertial loads. The case aircraft considered in the thesis is the Caproni A-21 SJ, an all-metal high-performance motorglider powered by two...
Non-destructive testing is a methodology to inspect production and operational parts for potential flaws, defects, or damages. The present work is based on pulsed wave thermography, a thermal imaging method based on heat conduction to identify surface and subsurface defects potentially present in a component. Pulsed wave thermography applies a...
The development of a continuous and reliable cooling method for computer chips is an evolving subject requiring continuous research in both computer science and thermal management. Two-dye laser induced fluorescence (LIF) provides a minimally invasive way to investigate electronics cooling fluid behavior. Dielectric fluids are of particular interest as they...
With the continued decrease in size and subsequent increase in power of computer processors, thermal management in electronics is becoming more important than ever before. The chip heat densities are reaching new peaks (> 100 W cm-2) that current cooling methods are not able to keep up with. However, some...
Studying honey bee behavior is a very important aspect of horticulture, especially in recent years as honey bee colonies face population decline, or colony collapse. While studying honey bees, researchers often keep honey bees in captivity, where it can be challenging to meet nutritional and hydration requirements using existing liquid...
An experimental setup has been partially developed to investigate the impact of an actively controlled trailing edge component upon the energy harvesting performance of an oscillating airfoil in a pitching and heaving regime. While previous and current efforts have and continue to
function to characterize the performance of such a...
In order to generate practical ways to easily design functional flexible lattice structures, this research seeks to find a way to predict reactive forces of compressed hyperelastic cubic lattice structures. Using 3D printed test coupons, material data was collected for use in finite element analysis. Cubic lattice structures with varying...
Gas turbine engines for propulsion applications can use fuel as a coolant, exposing the fuel to high temperatures well within the ranges associated with thermal decomposition. Species produced as a result of these processes have been shown to correlate with changes in the combustion performance of the fuels. In this...