2010 Senior Design Brochure

Senior Design Project Program 2009-2010 Page 2

The UConn Senior Design Project Program (Senior Design Project Course I and II) is a hallmark of success for the Department of Mechanical Engineering. In this two-semester course, senior students are mentored by department faculty and industry engineers as they work to solve real-life en-gineering problems for company sponsors. Students learn about the principles of design, how ethics affect engineering decisions, how professionals commu-nicate ideas and the day-to-day implications of intellectual property. In the course of a year the student teams synthesize design know-how, judgment, technical skills, analysis, creativity and innovation to design, optimize and man-ufacture a prototype model, or to perform product simulations.

Each Senior Design Program project meets the design criteria established by ABET, an engineering accreditation board, as a necessary component in a successful undergraduate engineering education. A mechanical engineering program must demonstrate that graduates have the ability to work profession-ally in both thermal and mechanical systems and complete the design and the realization of such systems.

Students begin by researching the problem, brainstorming a range of so-lutions, and traveling to the sponsor company site to learn more about how the company works and how the project fits in. They hold meetings, communicate regularly with their industrial and faculty mentors, and make presentations on their work. They conduct peer design reviews, submit for-mal written reports and demonstrate their final solution at Senior Design Demonstration Day.

Senior Design Demonstration Day gives parents, friends and sponsors the chance to see projects at work, ask questions of students, and learn more about mechanical engineering at the University of Connecticut.

This April 30th the University of Connecticut Wilbur Cross Building will be filled with students, dressed to impress, explaining their projects to visi-tors, including a team of judges chosen from local engineering industries. The judges will review the projects and award first to third place cash prizes for excellence. A Professor’s Choice prize will also be awarded by faculty members to the team that most effectively applied fundamental principles to their project.

Design Demonstration Day clearly demonstrates that UConn ME engi-neers are educated to lead, create and innovate. Many seniors have been of-fered jobs from their company sponsor before graduation, and four patents are pending from Senior Design projects completed in the last five years.

The Senior Design Project ProgramA Note from Professor Tom Barber, Coordinator

For additional information or future participation contact:

Professor Thomas BarberDept. of Mechanical EngineeringUniversity of Connecticut191 Auditorium Road, Unit 3139Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3139Tel: (860) 486-5342 Fax: (860) 486-5088E-mail: [email protected]

Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Presentation Day 2010

Friday April 30, 20101:00 - 4:00 PMReading RoomsWilbur Cross BuildingUniversity of ConnecticutStorrs, CT 06269

The Wilbur Cross Building (above). The gold dome is visible from many spots on campus. Handicapped parking is avail-able in the lot adjacent to the building. General parking is available in both the North and South Parking Garages. The South Parking Garage is on Stadium Road (behind the UConn Coop building). The North Parking Garage is on North Hillside road off of North Eagleville Road.

Walking from North Parking Garage > Head south on North Hillside Rd. > Turn left at Glenbrook Rd., look for Swan Lake on your left> Turn right at the Mansfield Busway

Wilbur Cross is the first building on your right.

Rte. 195

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North Hillside Road < NORTH Parking Garage

< SOUTH Parking Garage

WILBUR Cross Building >

UConn Coop

Benton Museum

Jorgensen Aud.

CLAS Building

Gampel

Hillside Road


Thank you to our sponsorsOur project sponsors generously support senior design. They provide the time, experience, and financial support that make the program possible, and in the process help our students become professionals.

We thank these sponsors and donors for their support.

AlstomASML Bevilaqua KnightCapewellCovidienDominion NuclearDr. John RussellGeneral Dynamics / Electric BoatGeneral Electric GKN StructuresHamilton SundstrandHenkel Loctite Jacobs Vehicle SystemOSIM Otis ElevatorPratt & WhitneyRBC BearingsRogers Corporation Siemon CompanySchick Wilkinson SwordUTC PowerWestinghouse Electric Windham Dental GroupWiremold Legrand

Army Research OfficeNational Science FoundationUConn Foundation

Message from the Department Head

Dear Students, Guests, Faculty and Staff,

I am delighted to welcome you to the annual Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Day. This year’s event marks the twelfth anniversary of our comprehensive senior design course sequence. This year our students are showcasing 37 industri-ally-sponsored projects sponsored by 27 different companies and organizations. We are extremely proud of our students’ achievements and grateful for the support and engagement of many industries in Connecticut and across the nation. We strongly believe the experience gained by our students in pursuit of their senior design projects enriches their UConn education and will benefit them throughout their careers. We invite you to explore and inquire about the projects our stu-dents will be presenting, and welcome your suggestions and feedback.

Enjoy your time and thank you for your contributions and support.

With my best wishes,

Baki M. CetegenProfessor and Department Head


Team 1: Cyanoacrylate Fixture Time Measuring SystemSponsored by HenkelSponsor Advisor: Pat Courtney

Team 1: Steven Cios, Michael Galdo, Jeffrey Rudolph and Faculty Advisor Prof. Chengyu Cao

The design team worked in partnership with the Henkel Corporation to develop a production-ready apparatus for the testing and recording of cyanoacrylate fixture times. Cyanoacrylates are fast-acting adhesives commonly known as Super Glue. All testing was done at the Henkel Rocky Hill facility using various Loctite brand adhesives. The current Henkel Test Procedure outlines the standards for the testing of fixture times which involves clamping metal lap shears together and hanging a three kilogram weight from the end. This method is very simple and involves many sources of human error and inconsistency.

A 2008-2009 senior design team created an apparatus to improve upon this, however it still needed more automation, ease of operation, and the ability to time the experiment. The device now includes two pneumatic actuators to apply the proper pressure needed to satisfy the procedure standards. One actuator clamps the lap shears together and then the other applies a force to pull them apart. The device also in-cludes a programmable timer and pressure regulators that will control the actuators to the operators preferences. With this

device there can now be quick repetitive testing with the ability to deliver consistent, accurate data and ensure product quality control for the Henkel Corporation.


Team 2: Shear Strength of Adhesives on Plastic SpecimensSponsored by HenkelSponsor Advisor: Pat Courtney

Team 2: Kathryn Colella, Jonathan Wing and Faculty Advisor Prof. Tai-Hsi Fan

The design team is developing a testing process that can be used by Henkel Loctite to increase the reliability of adhesive shear testing with composite materials. The initial phase of this project was focused on analyzing the current adhesive testing configuration as well as researching other shearing devices that could be used to improve repeatability of results. During the research phase, finite element computer modeling began on the current specimen configuration. The design team also conducted several tests using the current configuration at the Henkel laboratories to better understand the adhesive failure modes and to witness the data scatter. During this testing, adhesive application methods that were being researched were implemented to determine whether or not they had any effect on the reliability of the test results. A secondary testing method, Iosipescu, was researched and finite element computer analysis was performed on the specimen configuration required for this type of testing. The finite element analysis showed substantial consolidation of shear stress within the adhesive as compared to the traditional block shear specimens. This prompted further investigation into the Iosipescu test method.


Team 3: On-Vehicle Pneumatic Energy Storage

Sponsored by Jacobs Vehicle SystemsSponsor Advisors: Jeff Mossberg and John Schwoerer

Jacobs Vehicle Systems, the worldwide leader in engine retarding solutions and valve actuation technology, is seeking options for reducing diesel vehicle energy expenditures and gaining improvements in vehicle fuel economy. The team’s assignment is to investigate, propose and model a concept for a heavy duty vehicle energy recovery system for the recuperation and storage of kinetic energy currently lost to the environment through diesel compression braking.

Energy calculations and simulations were developed to predict the potential payback of implementing the vehicle pneumatic energy storage system based upon a variety of initial vehicle and environmental assumptions for an over the road class 8 (40 ton) vehicle. With successful recapture of just 10% of the total braking energy, the fuel savings are approximately $920 per year per vehicle. With over 2.5 million class 8 vehicles in operation in the United States alone, extrapolation of these savings to just 10% of these vehicles represents a yearly fleet fuel savings of over $200 million dollars.

The system selected for the project includes a revolutionary rotary screw high flow/high pressure air compressor as well as a currently available air compressor, both driven by the front engine power takeoff. The compressor

system is activated through a magnetic clutch only when braking is desired, using the existing Jake Brake con-trol system. When in operation, the compressed air storage system consumes a percentage of the previously wasted kinetic energy to compress air for storage in an on-vehicle storage tank. The operation of the compressor assists in slowing the vehicle while storing reusable energy, reducing use of the truck’s friction brakes, and enabling the vehicle owner to operate with a lower vehicle cost.

Brent Mayerson, Eric Jurczyszak, Faculty Advisor Prof. Brice Cassenti and Dainius Kerikas


Team 4: Air Cooling Options for AP Containment DesignSponsored by Westinghouse Electric CompanySponsor Advisors: Charles Kling and Richard Ofstun

Team 4: Gregory Patella, Faculty Advisor Prof. Wilson Chiu and Michael Davis

Westinghouse is a company that provides fuel, services, technology, plant design and equipment for the commercial nuclear power plant industry. Westinghouse currently has two successful plants on the market: the AP600 and the AP1000, which generate approximately 600 MW and 1000 MW of electricity respectively.

Westinghouse is now designing a larger passive plant (LPP) called the AP1800, which generates about 1800 MWe. This design team was charged with the task of finding the best ways to keep the containment of the AP1800 and AP1000 sufficiently cool should a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) event occur within the containment. The team analyzed the effects of changing the heat transfer coefficient of the containment walls and inves-tigated the effects of extending the water cooling time on the containment surface. All of the analyses were performed using GOTHIC (Generation of Thermal-Hydraulic Information for Containment), an application created by Numerical Applications Inc. Models of the AP1000 and AP1800 were sent to the design team by Westinghouse and modified to simulate the pressure among other parameters of the containment. Finally, the team modeled the volume above the operating deck as a 3-D volume rather than a 1-D volume. This was done to allow Westinghouse to look at the

containment with more detail, and ultimately will aid them in finding out how to best keep the contain-ment cool should a LOCA event occur.


Team 5: Effects of Coil Design & Eddy Currents on Solenoid Actuator PerformanceSponsored by Westinghouse Electric CompanySponsor Advisor: Ed Sirica

Team 5: Ryan Simmons, Weston Kruse and Faculty Advisor Prof. Thomas Barber

The Westinghouse Electric Company is responsible for the development and production of many components used in nearly fifty percent of the worlds operating nuclear power facilities. The company continually seeks to improve the design of its components for higher reliability and failure resistance over long periods of time. This project focuses on the drive mechanisms responsible for actuating the control rods in and out of the reactor core through the use of interacting solenoids and magnets. When a solenoid coil is activated, a magnetic field diffuses through an interior magnet. During this diffusion process, circulating eddy currents form which inhibit the

actuator response. This effect results in an overall slowing of control rod motion, which is undesirable.

To further understand the magnetic diffusion process, a parametric analysis is performed using an ideal mathematical model. The analysis results are used to design a testing apparatus consisting of a scaled solenoid and magnet analogous to the control rod drive

mechanism. The testing mechanism allows for the alteration of several key factors which affect system response and induction of eddy currents. More specifically, the testing factors include applied field strength, field diffusion rate, and the systems response to air gaps within the magnetic flux path. Additionally, several core sizes shall be tested for device scaling purposes. The results will show a quantifiable deviation between ideal and inhibited operation. The analyses of these results shall provide data which will lead to the development of improved drive mechanisms.


Team 6: High Impact Water Loading of Composite LaminatesSponsored by Electric BoatSponsor Advisor: David Hufner, Bob Groner and Matthew Augustine

Electric Boat (EB), the world’s leading design and manufacturer of nuclear submarines, is interested in testing composite laminates under a dynamic, impulsive pressure force.

Composite material behavior is generally well understood in the linear regime, and can be predicted with sufficient confidence up to the point of first ply failure. However, the mechanical behavior beyond first ply failure is more difficult to characterize due to material nonlinearity, strain rate dependence, and progressive fail-ure. Use of composite materials often requires that dynamic material behavior be fully characterized. This year’s design team is continuing the efforts put forth by last year’s design team who successfully built an inexpensive fixture to strain composite specimens. The fixture utilizes a pneumatic actuator as a means of transferring kinetic energy, which creates an impulsive pressure wave in a water column by an impact between a striker and piston. This pressure wave travels down the water column and deforms the composite laminate sitting at the bottom.

This year’s design team continued development of the test fixture, making sure it performed correctly and efficiently, and correlating the Abaqus FEA material models to actual test results. The FEA was initially used to determine the amount of kinetic energy needed to deform the composite specimen between one and two percent. This translated to an actuator velocity using the kinetic energy equation. The actuator was bench tested using last year’s design approach, a modified approach utilizing a quick release method, and finally a quick release method

with a vacuum in the lower chamber of the actuator. With the actuator performance validated and the FEA energy requirements shown to be achievable, the use of last year’s fixture was proven to be an efficient means for testing composite laminates. The fixture was then modified to support a quick release method and designed for experimental repeatability. The design team was successful in its efforts to validate actuator performance, modify

the fixture built last year to efficiently utilize the capabilities of the actuator and correlate the material models to actual experimental test results.

Faculty Advisor Prof. Eric Jordan, Daniel Gardner, Brian Beahn and Stephen Hakenjos


Team 7: Shrouded Fan Design and TestSponsored by Hamilton Sundstrand Flight Sponsor Advisors: Gregory Quinn and David Converse

Team 7: Faculty Advisor Prof. Baki Cetegen, Christopher Rahusen, Joseph Filomeno and Jigar Chhaya

Hamilton Sundstrand has designed an oxygen-passing centrifugal compressor to be used in space suits for the NASA Orion Space Project. After delivering the current model, the corporation has asked the University of Connecticut design team to investigate the effects of adding a shroud on top of the blades of the fan. The cover on the blades would be used to contain overflow which caused turbulence and inefficiencies within the turbomachine. With sponsor support, the team decided to analyze the previous unshrouded fan model and shrouded version using analytical and experimental techniques.

Hamilton Sundstrand supplied the team with an unshrouded CAD model to be used for computational fluid dynamic analysis. Using FLUENT software, the students analyzed fluid models from basic diffusers and rotating disks to the full fan model. Concurrently, the team set up a small testing rig to verify the CFD results. Imitating the company’s procedure, air was passed through a low pressure loop at 4.3 psia and pushed through an SLA housing and aluminum impeller, both shrouded and unshrouded. A model plane motor was used to reach a rotational speed of 50,000 rpm and the power readings were measured to determine the input work. Pressure taps leading to manometers measured the difference in static pressure which was used to determine the work on the fluid and then the efficiency of the system. The team was able to complete the CFD and experimental testing in order to report the results and conclusions back to Hamilton Sundstrand.


Team 8: Highly Accurate Flow SensingSponsored by Hamilton Sundstrand AMS Sponsor Advisor: Wayne Spock

The goal of this project is to design a highly accurate, robust, and low cost flow meter for the Hamilton Sundstrand-designed Cabin Air Circulation (CAC) system on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The CAC system takes care of air filtering, heat, and cooling needs for the interior of the aircraft and is designed to dynamically respond to variation in air demand. In order to respond efficiently to system load changes accurate, real-time measurement of air-flow is necessary. Due to packaging issues, the system’s current flow measurement device is placed at the start of an elbow. Typically, flow meters are placed in straight pipe sections with readily known flow velocity profiles; placement in an elbow yields an unknown measurement

error. Hamilton Sundstrand asked the team to focus on quantifying this measurement error and redesign the meter to accommodate for this unorthodox immersion location.

After extensive research, this project focused on the design and implementation of an averaging Pitot tube flow meter to replace the current meter. Averaging Pitot tube design theory was studied in order to recognize the best ways to modify the sensor for the current application. Computational fluid dynamic modeling was performed to analyze the velocity profile of the flow meter in its present location. Error analysis of the current flow meter positioning was performed and the computational, and supporting physical, testing showed that errors due to the current meter’s constant velocity profile assumption account for more than 10% of the maximum allowable flow meter error. The new flow meter design has the ability to sample the flow velocity at multiple points over its profile and mechanically integrate these velocities, eliminating a source of error. The new design readily adapts to use all of the current meter’s auxiliary components so it will be a bolt-in solution for Hamilton Sundstrand. A scaled model was built of the actual operating environment and potential designs were fabricated for validation of computational models. The output of this project was the theoretical design of a novel averaging Pitot tube-type flow meter with the ability to be almost immediately placed into service.

Faculty Advisor Prof. Michael Renfro, Branden David Reid, Thuan Pham and James Dayton


Team 9: Composite Electronics Chassis Using NanotechnologySponsored by Hamilton Sundstrand APECSSponsor Advisor: Charles DeSantis

Team 9: Faculty Advisor Prof. Rajeev Bansal [EE], Riyazahmed Desai [EE], Paul Gottier [EE], Daniel Warriner [ME], Pui Chun Chan [ME], and Faculty Advisor Prof. Shiva Kotha [ME]

Aerospace electronics requires lightweight low cost electronics packaging to protect the electronic circuit boards. These electronics packages provide circuit board mounting, EMI protection, connector interfaces, thermal conductivity, insulation, as well as fire and overheat protection. Today’s electronic packaging is typically complex and made from aluminum. This design team is helping Hamilton Sundstrand redesign two separate aerospace

electronics chassis to reduce the cost and the weight. These light-weight and low-cost chassis are metal enclosures being used to encapsulate electronics and interconnects that control various functions in an aerospace setting. These are necessary to provide protection to the core functionalities that the electronics provide to the aircraft. The redesign of the chassis would provide a direct benefit in cost reduction and indirect cost benefit in fuel savings with a lighter design. This was done using a composite core made up of a top and bottom layer of solid aluminum and a middle layer of an aluminum honey-comb structure which provides excellent structure with a small amount of material. Using this composite structure as the core makeup of the chassis provides immediate weight reduction and these light-weight panels were attached together with aerospace-grade adhesives. Additionally, mountings

were attached for the electronics, covers, and foundation. Weight reduction was achieved with the use of light-weight composite panels and price was reduced by cutting the man-ufacturing costs with a simple adhering solution.


Team 10: Heat Treat Cycle Time ReductionSponsored by Pratt & Whitney CANMCSponsor Advisor: Steve Burd

Team 10: Ankur Patel, Faculty Advisor Prof. Amir Faghri and Elizabeth Bernard

The team worked in conjunction with members of Pratt and Whitney staff to reduce the heat treatment time cycle of the support ring for an F119-PW-100 jet engine used on the F22 Raptor. The support ring provides support for the turbine of the F119 engine. The alloy of the support ring is widely used in the aerospace industry because of its high strength, light weight, and good corrosion resistance. This ring needs to be heat treated in order to relieve stresses caused during the processing of the part. Heat treatment of the ring increases fracture toughness and decreases yield and tensile strength. This ensures that the part can be machined with the least amount of

resistance, but will not break or fail during its machining, welding and life cycle.

Issues affecting the efficiency of the heat treating process include the tooling used and the standardization of the process used by technicians. The process involves heating the ring (via radiation) in the furnace in a vacuum environment. Most of the cycle time is accrued in the pre- and post- stages of the heating cycle. Moreover, there are multiple variables that affect the process cycle time. After re-searching all aspects of Pratt and Whitney’s heat treat process, the team developed a problem statement to focus their efforts. Goals for the project include: modeling

and standardizing the current process, modifying the tooling and fixtures, improving process flow and part handling and developing better process controls.

The team focused on building a virtual model identical to Pratt and Whitney’s heat treat cycle using Unigraphics NX6.0 (CAD software) and ANSYS 12.0 (FEA Software). The team tested several new tooling designs and procedures and explored the idea of batch processing the support ring to help optimize the heat treat process. In this way, tooling fixtures would be designed that allow the concurrent heat treatment of multiple parts within a shorter time cycle than the end-to-end production of the same number of parts. Ultimately, usage of this model allows Pratt and Whitney to simulate the heat treatment process using variable parameters instead of running actual parts in a heat furnace.


Team 11: Christopher Russo, Harshil Patel, Noah Bennett, Faculty Advisor Prof. Thomas Barber

Team 11: Impingement Cooling for Advanced Film Cooled Airfoils Sponsored by Pratt & Whitney TMC Sponsor Advisors: Atul Kohli and Stephanie Santoro

Pratt & Whitney is one of the leaders in producing gas turbine engines. A key source of power for these engines is rotating turbine blades which are moved by hot combustion gasses. The temperatures experienced by turbine blades in the stages after the combustion chamber exceeds the melting point of the material that makes up the blade. Advanced film cooled airfoils use a process known as impingement cooling on the interior surface of a turbine blade as a means to reduce the temperature. Jet impingement cooling is a method capable of greatly increasing the heat transfer at a targeted area. Air from the compressor of a gas turbine engine is expelled through an array of jets on the interior surface of the airfoil. This array of cooling jets and the impinging surface was analyzed using the computational fluid dynamic software FLUENT to create a model to predict thermal performance. The specific area of focus is the leading edge of the airfoil. This leading edge was modeled with various design parameters altered to find the conditions that op-timize the heat transfer. Parameters include the spacing between holes in the array, the spacing between the hole and the impinge-ment surface, and hole shape. A design of experiments approach was used to develop a model showing the heat transfer under the optimal

conditions. Calculationswere validated against experimental data for model configurationsfound in the published literature.


Team 12: Oil Flow Splits in Under-Race Cooling PassagesSponsored by Pratt & Whitney Mechanical Systems MCSponsor Advisor: Denman James and Ravi Madabhushi

Team 12: Anthony Spagnoletti, Kristopher Lee, Mat-thew Tucker and Faculty Advisor Prof. Tom Barber

Team 12’s project is sponsored by Pratt and Whitney, a world manufacturer of advanced gas turbines for both military and commercial use. More specifically the project is for the Mechanical Systems module center. They are responsible for the architecture, design and specification of the bearing compartments, lubrication system and external engine accessories for all their engines. This project involves the testing of oil flow through under race cool-ing passages. These passages are used to lubricate and cool the bearings close to the combustion chamber of the gas turbines. The project’s goal is to develop an understanding of the effects of the geometry in the under race cooling passages and to create a model of the oil flow through a representative geometry provided by the sponsors. This project is necessary because recent analysis has shown a non-uniform wear on the bearing compartments. Research involves both computational modeling using Fluent and physical testing using a custom test rig. The computational model provides insight into the effects of different aspects of the geometry on the oil flow. Both a full model and partial models of features within the geometry are used in the overall analysis. The physical testing provides data on the rotational speed and mass flow rates at both the inlet and exits. The computational and physical results were used in conjunction to develop an understanding of the flow patterns, and suggestions on modifications to the geometry were presented to Pratt and Whitney.


Team 13: Design of Bolt Joint for a Composite FlangeSponsored by Pratt & Whitney CSMCSponsor Advisor: Wendy Zhang

Team 13: Andrew McLean, Kathryn Heinzer and Faculty Advisor Prof. Horea Ilies

This senior design team worked with Pratt and Whitney’s Compression Systems Module Center (CSMC) to develop a new design of the flange joint that mates the inlet case and the fan containment case (FCC). The FCC serves to contain a blade to the front of the engine in the case that it is released from the fan mechanism. This is an important role in keeping the engine in full operation, thus its design is critical. Previously the FCC design was maintained for use of aluminum or titanium. In hopes of removing weight from the engine, Pratt and Whitney CSMC decided to begin using composites to manufacture the FCC. Due to the differences in properties of composites and the currently used aluminum and titanium, a new design was required.

To develop the new design Team 13 performed tests in ANSYS to determine the effects of seven different parameters on the sep-aration and stress in this joint. These tests were done on a model that the team built in ANSYS using a script. This script allowed the team to complete a design of experiment (DOE) using four parameters that demonstrated the largest effect on separation in the first seven tests. Based on the results of the four parameter DOE an optimal design was developed to minimize both stress and separation of the joint, and tested using ANSYS.


Team 14: Adhesion between Thermally Mismatched MaterialsSponsored by ASMLSponsor Advisors: Steve Roux

Team 14: Bryan Bohn, Prof. Brice Cassenti, Sponsor Steve Roux, Junaid Qureshi, and Shayan Ahmadian

ASML is the current leader in the silicon wafer lithography market. Their flagship product, the Twinscan NXT: 1950i processes up to 175 wafers per hour with a remarkable 2.5 nanometer line overlay resolution. To achieve the accuracy required for the creation of these nano-scale structures, they must undertake the challenge of effectively bonding thermally expanding and non-expanding materials. For this project, Team 14 investigated the nature of the thin adhesive bond layer between metallic magnetic levitation motor-housings and a thermally stable Zerodur® structure with the goal of reducing adhesion failures during manufacturing.

Using ANSYS 12.0 finite element software in conjunction with the UG NX6.0 computer-aided modeling program, a variety of cases were examined, giving insight into both the mechanisms of failure and potential solutions. The research-oriented project involved a stress study of a current housing design under multiple conditions, along with an investigation of proposed improvements to the geometry of the adhesive surface. The effects of alternative modes of failure, including chemical peculiarities and surface preparation techniques were evaluated. As an extension of

the exploration, a stress comparison between a less-prone-to-fail housing and a more troublesome design was performed, as well as research into alternative sources of bond failure. Upon

completion, all aspects of the study were compiled into a set of general design suggestions – the intent being to help ASML avoid pitfalls and improve function of future designs.


Team 15: Blade Micro Weld Analysis & OptimizationSponsored by Schick Wilkinson SwordSponsor Advisor: David Noble

The Schick Wilkinson Sword Company is moving forward with the next generation of consumer shaving products. The new generation moves from the standard straight blade razor to a new blade stiffener combination that provides numerous advantages to challenge the leading competitors. It provides a much more comfortable shave and better flow between blades than any previous Schick product. This new configuration requires that the miniscule blade and stiffener be fastened together, and this attachment is done by micro-spot welds that run along the length of the blade. The quality of these welds must be determined and quantified by some means to ensure product reliability. Currently, the Schick quality control team tests their welds using a destructive impact test that is somewhat inaccurate and involves breaking the two pieces apart. The UConn design team will investigate improved methods of testing for these micro-welds, preferably ones that are non-destructive. Some preliminary concepts included ultrasonic, eddy current, and improved impact testing. The new method should be easily implemented into the production process, as well as allow for retesting at any point during production. Along with the new test method, the team is challenged with using Finite Element Software to analyze the structure of both the blade and stiffener with forces applied during the shaving process. Using this analysis the team can optimize the lateral position of

the spot welds to allow for increased and improved production methods. With these two goals combined, the manufacturingof these blades should be faster and provide major improvements.

Team 15: Michael Tabak, Christopher Tatta and Faculty Advisor Prof. Jiong Tang


Team 16: Single Rolling Element Fatigue Test MachineSponsored by RBC Bearings Sponsor Advisors: John Cowles and John Albini

Team 16: Michael Mckeon, Faculty Advisor Prof. Bi Zhang, Jamison Tryon, Bradley Smith

RBC Bearings is an international bearing manufacturer with a very extensive product line. In order to make improvements and evaluate performance of these products testing must be done. Tests are generally done evaluating the performance of the bearing as a whole. However, it is desired to develop a testing machine to evaluate the individual rolling elements within the bearing. The testing of individual roller elements allows changes in their material, geometry, processing, etc. to be evaluated and compared. To accomplish this RBC provided the 2009 UConn team with an old thread rolling machine that was to be modified into the desired test rig.

This year’s team was charged with the task of bring the machine up to RBC’s laboratory standards. The testing machine rolls the element being tested while applying a compressive load to it. The applied load, displacement, temperature, and vibrations are all observed and recorded throughout testing via LabView data acquisition

software. This software is also to shut down the test. The machine records how long the test ran for and how much force was applied. The data can be compared to other results to determine the best possible roller element material and shape.


Team 17: Arun Maniyakupara, Faculty Advisor Prof. Tiangfeng Lu and Jesse Dlugos

Team 17: Pipe Transport System/Particle-Flow DistributorSponsored by Alstom PowerSponsor Advisors: Richard Stamatelos and Doug Hart

Alstom power is a large provider of electricity throughout the world. Many of Alstom’s power plants contain a series of combustion processes resulting in an excess of mercury vapor in the exhaust or what Alstom refers to as the flue gasses. Due to the Clean Air Act and Alstom’s environmental views, this mercury vapor cannot be allowed to be exhausted into the atmosphere. To solve this problem Alstom introduces fine particles of activated carbon into the flue gas to absorb the mercury. The problem given to the senior design team by Alstom is to analyze and design a better system to distribute the carbon evenly into the exhaust gasses.

This senior design project explores the possible systems to distribute the microscopic carbon particles into 16 equal flows, while still keeping losses at minimum and minimizing erosion throughout the pipe. Research was done in the area of conical diffusers with splitters to propose possible solutions. Each model proposed was first cre-ated in the 2D CAD software Gambit and then analyzed in Fluent computational fluid dynamics software. After a brief qualitative analysis in Fluent 2D modeling, the proposed systems were fine-tuned to account for phenom-ena occurring within the distribution system. In each case several variables were explored including, diffuser and splitter angle along with spacing and bend radius of the pipes. Several problems arose while exploring the conical diffusers including a phenomenon referred to by Alstom as roping. Roping is where the carbon particles separate from the air flow within tight bent curves and form ropes of high particle concentrations. After the proposed systems were analyzed and fine tuned they were created in the 3D CAD software Pro E. The models were then run in Fluent and compared to a model created to the exact specification of the current system and run with the same input parameters in Fluent. This allowed for a final proposed system along with validation and performance data for the distribution system currently in use.


Team 18: Parachute/ Payload DynamicsSponsored by Capewell Components Co.Sponsor Advisors: Vincent Juchniewicz and Stephen Parkinson

Team 18: Faculty Advisors Profs. Hanchen Huang and Robert Jeffers, Lou Bachenheimer and Vi Ha

Capewell is the world leader in aerial drop systems. While testing a self-guided cargo parachute system, Capewell noticed an unexpected motion of the parachute control unit (PCU) and main parachute bag during the drogue parachute (DP) stage. As this motion draws the system off course and can result in the system not landing on target, Capewell has asked for a computerized model to be developed that will accurately describe the unexplained motion. This model should be as accurate as necessary and should match recorded video of the actual system.

Two different approaches were used to construct this model. First, Newtonian kinematics was used to analytically solve the system. The system was modeled by using a frame of reference that was accelerating at the same rate as

the center of mass, roughly removing axial motion and leaving primarily torques and spin. Next the force of the wind was bro-ken into a vertical component and a non vertical component, and differential equations of motion were developed to de-scribe the 4 degrees of freedom: Rotation about each axis, and rotation of the PCU with respect to the main parachute bag.

While this process yielded correct results, it was very long and complex. Therefore, the system was also modeled via a Matlab

extension called SimMe-chanic. SimMechanic allows the programmer to create an object in an environment and simulate its motion. Comparing the results of these two approaches confirms that the system is modeled correctly, and comparing this to the recorded video fur-ther confirms the model.


Team 19: Magnetic Shape Memory Alloy ActuatorSponsored by General Electric Consumer & IndustrialSponsor Advisor: Tom Papallo and Brent Kumfer

Team 19: Faculty Advisor Prof. Jiong Tang, Michael Santone and Shawn Fonseca

General Electric has sponsored this design group to discover an application for a shape memory alloy material that to date has no application. The material is similar to a typical shape memory alloy, but deformation is also triggered by an applied magnetic field. As leaders in the electrical distribution industry, GE hopes to use this state-of-the-art material within one of their product lines. The group was required to fully understand the material and to determine a potential application. Extensive research was completed, and material samples were purchased. The samples were subjected to a mechanical test using a testing apparatus designed by the project group. The test apparatus measured the strain and the output force of the material as a function of applied magnetic field, and applied pre-stress. Using the results from this testing, the group optimized a unique mechanism design to prove the ability of the material as an actuator.


Team 20: Rail Profilometer Sponsored by Otis ElevatorSponsor Advisor: Patty Driesch and G. Scott Copeland

Steven Porter, Faculty Advisor Zbigniew Bzymek, and George Philbrick

Otis Elevator is the world’s largest manufacturer of vertical transportation. Otis has asked the design team to develop an improved elevator rail survey unit for the Otis Elevator Company. All elevators use guide rails secured to the side of a hoistway to ensure proper alignment and movement of the elevator car as it travels up and down the height of the building. These rails play an important role in the ride quality, i.e. vibration, noise, speed, and most importantly, the safety of the elevator system. A rail survey unit, or RSU, is designed to take constant measurement of the geometries and profile of the elevator rail as the elevator car travels up a building. These measurements are used to find slight defects in the rail system so that experienced technicians can make adjustments accordingly. These defects include misalignment of rails, missing bolts or connection, and warping of a stretch of rail.

The team has developed an improved method for measuring the rail profile with the use of extremely precise inclinometers, as well as updating outdated technology with the most recent advances in sensor equipment. As the elevator travels up the hoistway, the inclinometer will sense minute changes in the vertical alignment of the rail by measuring angles from true vertical in thousandths of a degree and record this data to an onboard data logging device. The team has designed a testing platform that will simulate the possible rail misalignments the RSU will encounter to allow for testing of the desired equipment. The testing rig simulates a 10 foot section of rail and allows the user to duplicate rail bowing and other defects to test the accuracy of the survey unit. Testing of the chosen components will prove the validity of their use and the measuring techniques employed before being installed in a prototype rail survey unit for Otis Elevator.


Team 21: Staple Force Test FixtureSponsored by CovidienSponsor Advisor: Frank Viola, Yong Ma and James Power

Team 21: Matthew Bonito, Faculty Advisor Prof. Nejat Olgac and Isaac Anderson [Prof. Helena Silva and Peter Liaskas [EE], not shown]

The multi-disciplinary project involving elements of both electrical and mechanical engineering consists of the design and execution of a prototype to determine the stapling force in a commercially available surgical stapler provided by Covidien. The forces which are allowable and those which should be considered to be out of specification for proper staple formation are to be determined. The goal is to advise the surgeon using the device on whether to complete the staple once the instrument is in firing position. This information is of utmost importance and value to the surgeon. It is our task as the senior design team contracted by Covidien to create a device which will provide the surgeon with this information. A system of carefully placed force sensitive resistors (FSRs) installed on the single use loading unit (SULU) stapling head was used in conjunction with appropriate circuitry and a computer interface to allow for the acquisition of relevant force measurements and subsequent analysis. This project has potentially far-reaching implications for the field of minimal-ly-invasive surgery.

Although our task was simply to create a prototype of the SULU with a safety mecha-nism, the incorporation of our ideas into the final design should prove to be but a matter of streamlining the solution offered by our team. The use of such safety-check mecha-nisms will serve to make minimally invasive surgery only safer and more successful.


Team 22: Fuel Cell Pressure Plate OptimizationSponsored by UTC PowerSponsor Advisors: Don Jacques

UTC power is an industry leader in fuel cell technology, producing fuel cells for power plant, transportation, and space applications. The goal of this project was to optimize the pressure plates for the PureCell Model 400®, as well as to incorporate a load follow-up system into the design. The pressure plates are structural components of the fuel cell, located on both the top and bottom of the stack. They provide the necessary loading to ensure proper sealing and fuel cell performance. Over time the repeat parts of the fuel cell stack will creep under the continuously ap-plied load and the performance of the cell will drastically decrease. A follow-up system is needed in order to allow the plates to follow the stack as it creeps, thereby maintaining a constant and uniform pressure. The pressure plates from last years’ senior design team were used as a guide in creating the new redesign. In one redesign Belleville Washers were added on to the tie rods that are used to bolt the pressure plates down in order to incorporate follow-up into the system. The Belleville Washers act as a linear spring and allow the top plate to

follow the stack as the stack creeps. In the second new design a two part system was designed to be made out of ductile cast iron. The top half is an X rib structure while the bottom half is a cast iron box. In between the two halves springs are used to accom-modate creep in the cell stack, once again maintaining a constant pressure in the stack as it creeps. FEA analysis was done on this design to determine the optimal spring locations for an even load distribution. FEA analysis was also done on the other two designs to confirm load distribution. Testing was done on both of these designs, as well as last year’s design, to validate the FEA analysis

and to determine the best follow-up solution.

Team 22: John Palomba, Brian Carpenter, Matt Thompson and Faculty Advisor Prof. Ugur Pasaogullari


Team 23: Compact Jaw Force Measurement DeviceSponsored by Windham LaboratoriesSponsor Advisor: Dr. Dennis Flanagan

Windham Laboratories, run by Dr. Dennis Flanagan, repairs damaged dentures and conducts research in the area of dental implants to better the experience of the patient. One of Dr. Flanagan’s main goals is to determine a way to personalize the patient’s wait time between implant insertion and crown placement. The current wait time of 4 to 8 months was established to ensure that even in patients with a strong bite force, the implant would have had adequate time to fuse to the bone. This would ensure that the implant would not be dislodged once the crown was placed and force was imparted on the implant. In patients with a low maximum bite force, the bond between the implant and the bone would be sufficient much sooner than 4-8 months. To help deter-mine a minimum wait time, Dr. Flanagan requested a device that can measure a human jaw force. The device needed to be inexpensive yet accurate, small enough to fit in the mouth comfortably (about 10mm in height), versatile so it could measure the force in different areas of the mouth, sterilizable, have replaceable parts, measure up to 2000 N, and be easy to use. The device was designed using a paper thin FlexiForce® sensor. The final design sandwiches the sensor between two pieces of aluminum and uses a small metal button to impart the force on the sensing area of the sensor when the person bites on the device. The readout is a voltage which is linearly related to the force. The bite force is determined by using a calibration curve to find the force correspond-ing to the output voltage.

Anne McManus, Brendan O’Brien, Beau Larrow, and Faculty Advisor Prof. Horea Ilies


Team 24: Simulation of Atomic Structure for Massage HeadSponsored by OSIM International Ltd.Sponsor Advisor: James Wong

Team 24: Salvatore De Lucia, Faculty Advisor Prof. Kazem Kazerounian and Daniel Boyden

OSIM, a health and wellness company located in Singa-pore, designs many different devices for massaging various parts of the body. With more than 1,100 outlets in over 28 countries, using Brookstone as its main U.S. distributer, OSIM has established itself as a world leader in this field. They have been named to the "200 Best Under-A-Billion" companies outside the U.S. by Forbes twice, in 2002 and 2005. Also in 2008, they have earned an honorable mention by the “reddot design award” for the uSpace massage chair along with winning the award in 2007 and 2005. OSIM also sponsors multiple sporting events such as marathons and golf tournaments.

The task of this project was to design heads for a massage chair which mimic the human hand holding a molecular structure. The heads must fully conform to the back of the user and be able to freely oscillate regardless of the size of the user. The design used springs, spherical rollers, and a series of guiding pins to accomplish this. The massage apparatus will be retrofitted onto the chairs of buses and airplanes; therefore, the design must be low profile. This

project, which was a continuation of one from last year, uses some of the previouslydeveloped ideas. After implementing many of our own, the apparatus achieves the goals that were set.


Team 25: OSIM Head Massaging System Sponsored by OSIM Sponsor Advisor: Mr. James Wong

Team 25: Andrew Harold, Faculty Advisor Prof. Kazem Kazerounian, Benjamin Sirois and Mark Meotti

OSIM is a Singapore based company that specializes in designing and manufacturing products that promote overall health and well being for its consumers. While they produce a variety of products, OSIM is best known for their top of the line massage technology. Currently, OSIM markets a complete head massaging system called the uCrown2 that combines vibration and patented airbag pressure massage with sooth-ing heat and relaxing music. OSIM has charged Team 25 to improve upon this current design.

There are three main focus areas to the project: to make the crown massage more human-like and realistic, to improve upon the neck massaging system, and to completely redesign the tightening and locking mechanism that fits the product onto the head. The crown and neck message systems must be improved because OSIM desires a better simulated message for the next generation uCrown. The fitting mechanism needs to be changed because the current design is already patented by another company, and OSIM pays for the rights to use it.

After exploring and researching head massage techniques and the mechanics of vibration, node, heat, and airbag massage, the design

team successfully improved both the crown massage and the neck massage system by adding more dynamic movement, and more realistic human-like massage by mechanically simulating human thumbs and fingers.


Team 26: Development of a Visual Inspection System for Pipe Welds Under High Temperature Conditions

Sponsored by Dominion Nuclear Sponsor Advisors: Clint Gladding and Michael Lalikos

The development of a visual inspection system for pipe welds under high temperature conditions will assist Dominion Nuclear to optimize the use of time and ease in the replacement of pipe sections. Dominion would like to visually inspect the joining of pipe sections during and directly after the welding procedure. During this procedure the temperature at the inspection site reaches 600°F. The inspection equipment can only operate prop-erly up to a temperature of 175°F. The development of a cooling unit to surround the visual inspection equipment will allow for the inspection to be done concurrently with welding. The designed cooling unit must meet many specifications to allow the operator optimal functionality.

Currently, the operator must wait until the environment cools down to inspect the weld. If imperfections are detected the full weld must be grinded away and redone. The development of an inspection system to withstand high temperatures will allow the welder to detect imperfections during the procedure and correct the imperfec-tion immediately. The team developed a simple design that will meet costumer needs. It consists of an insulated flexible hosing that surrounds the visual inspection system. Compressed air, a readily available inexpensive supply, is expelled through the hosing and around the visual inspection system. This maintains the temperature of the visual inspection system to temperatures below 175°F. Heat transfer modeling was completed along with test ex-periments to ensure the design would achieve the results predicted by the team. Results from both methods were compared and re-evaluated to ensure accuracy.

Team 26: Max Plomer, Brad Huff, Brittany Estes and Faculty Advisor Prof. Robert Gao


Team 27: Regenerative Braking for Mail TrucksSponsored by UConn Office of CommercializationSponsor Advisor: Jonathan Russell

The purpose of this project is to improve the fuel efficiency of the common United States Postal delivery vehicle through the use of regenerative braking. In particular, the system will be a bolt-on modification to fit on the existing mail trucks. The idea was originated by Dr. Jonathan Russell and was brought to the attention of John Hanson in the Office of Technology Commercialization at the University of Connecticut with help from Dr. John Bennett as faculty advisor.

The regenerative braking system selected for this project is composed of an electric motor and a capacitor. The electric motor is directly attached to the driveshaft of the mail truck and works both to generate and return energy

to the truck. Ultracapacitors are used to safely capture the rapid charge during the frequent braking. The ultimate cost per unit will pay itself off in three years or less with savings in gasoline.

Currently, there are 142,000 common mail delivery vehicles, also known as Grumman Long Life Vehicles (LLV). The vehicles are exhibiting a fuel mileage of less than 9 mpg. The frequency and nature of the use of the vehicle lends itself well to this project. With the bolt-on regenerative brak-ing system, an increase of 15% in fuel efficiency is expected. This will yield a savings of 15 million gallons of gasoline annually. Furthermore, this complements the ultimate goal of the United States Postal Service of cutting back on total energy usage by 30% by 2015.

Team 27: John Hanson [UConn], Sponsor Jonathan Russell, Peter Giuliano, Faculty Advisor Prof. John Bennett, Andrew Grigg, and Frank Sclafani


Team 28: Christopher Von Kohorn and Faculty Advisor Prof. Kevin Murphy [ME], (not pictured: Eric Snapper [EE], Jeffrey Urban [EE], Prof. Jeffrey Park [EE], Faculty Advisor Prof. John Bennett [ME])

Team 28: Health Monitoring of Structures with Cable Members under TensionSponsored by Dr. John RussellSponsor Advisors: Dr. John Russell

The purpose of this project is to create a device that is able to obtain a quick, accurate measurement of the tension for guy cables by measuring the cable’s natural frequencies. Specifically, this device is being developed for guy cables of broadcasting towers. These cables must have their tensions monitored periodically in order to maintain the structural integrity of the tower. Although the chance of the cable’s tension being out of specification is low, the result of such a circumstance could be the tower’s integrity failing. A quick, more efficient process would place the device being developed as the ideal tool in a niche market. The current, most accurate method of performing this measurement is through use of a coupling and a hydraulic cylinder to take the load of the cable, and perform-ing a direct force measurement. This is a time-consuming process. The device being made through this project will theoretically yield better accuracy, as well as be a much more time efficient method. This project is a combined effort of the Mechanical Engineering department and the Electrical and Computer Engineering department. Progress to date includes completing a peak extraction algorithm for obtaining the natural frequencies of the

cable, creating a lab test setup to verify the accuracy of the device, as well as creating a prototype device. The algorithm for determining the tension of the cable via the cable’s natu-ral frequencies was supplied by Dr. Russell.


Team 29: Erik Kong, Faculty Advisor Prof. Bi Zhang and Stephen Symski

Team 29: Metering Tank Bearing Failure & Design Analysis Sponsored by Rogers CorporationSponsor Advisors: Chad Waddell

Rogers Corporation has a fiberglass coating roller system that has premature failing bearing and pin. This system has a high frequency circuit material used in a dielectric. Resin is seeping between the bushing and pin assembly on their submerged rollers. Because of the abrasive nature of the resin combined with the high tension forces applied by the fiberglass cloth running through the rollers, the hard particles are wearing down the bushing and

pin assembly. The time scale at which these bushing and pin assemblies are wearing down occur as early as one month; much sooner than an expected life of a non obstructive, functional bushing and pin. Once the bushings and pins are worn down, the system becomes unaligned because of offset roller positions. This in turn causes metering rollers to create uneven coatings on each side of the fiberglass material, thus creating unusable material to be discarded. Frequent downtime to replace bushing and pins are also costly and effect productivity.

The team has designed and built a bearing tester which is able to model the current system’s processes with equivalent characteristics (e.g. applied forces, rotational speeds). This tester has the ability to accommodate the cur-rent bushing and pin assembly and collect baseline data, while also being able to adapt new bearing technologies. A second aspect of the project was to re-

search and apply new bearing tech-nologies to test and find alternatives that will improve their lives within the abrasive resin. Ideas involving either new materials or different en-gineering alternatives to the current design are tested within the team’s bearing tester. Superior bearings, the bearing tester, along with data collected are the deliverables given to Rogers.


Team 30: David Shurtleff, Faculty Advisor Prof. Amir Faghri and Jesse Trinque

Team 30: Optimized Control for Resin PreheatSponsored by GKN StructuresSponsor Advisor: Steve Hayse and Jeff Mogavero

GKN Structures specializes in carbon fiber molding for the aerospace industry. GKN specializes in Resin Transfer Molding (RTM). In this method flat patterns of carbon cloth are cut to shape, stacked with specific weave orientation,and heated inside a mold where they are subject to a pre-heated, high pressure resin injection. The quality of the finished part is largely dependent on the delivery of the resin. The control of the pre-heat operation needs to be con-

sistent and repeatable in order to completely catalyze the two part epoxy res-in. The former system used a wound copper pipe coil sandwiched between two heated plates. This arrangement was effective but very unreliable. No fail safe control existed in the system and up to six or seven injections could occur without the operator knowing a problem existed. Therefore, the main goal of this project was to modify or produce a resin pre-heater that provid-ed more precise operation of the process. This was accomplished through a custom designed, hand-built electronic control unit utilizing auto-tuning Athena temperature controllers. These controllers were used to operate re-lays in order to pulse electric power to the existing heater in the unit. This new control unit allows for independent control of each of the four electric heaters in the unit. The Athena temperature controllers were also used to monitor each zone and to activate warning lights and alarm sounds if a faulty injection were to occur. In order to fully utilize the new control unit the old pre-heater had to be retrofitted with four separate thermocouples. The heater’s electrical system was also revamped to be safer as well as much more user-friendly when connecting to the control unit.

Another interesting requirement of GKN is the “green” aspect to this proj-ect. Currently, the resin pre-heat process requires a large quantity of copper tube per injection. This tube is only used for one injection before being sent to be recycled. The company would like to see the copper consump-tion either reduced or completely eliminated saving them money while reducing the impact on the environment. Using Fluent, the team modeled the system to optimize the length of the tube to reduce copper usage. These analytical results were verified with lab testing. The results were also made general enough to apply to various processes throughout GKN. This opti-mization information can now be referenced by process engineers at GKN tackling new projects.


Team 31: Michael Cocuzza, Brian Child, Faculty Advisor Prof. Thomas Barber and Douglas Read

Team 31: Air Steam Hybrid EngineSponsored by Bevilacqua Knight Inc. Sponsor Advisor: Michael Brookman

The design team has designed and fabricated an engine model that will run using compressed air and steam as the working fluids. In the initial automobiles, steam engines were as common as internal combustion gasoline powered engines. Some advantages of external combustion steam cars are that they can create a large amount of torque with a small engine and that they can run on any number of different types of fuel. Also, external combus-tion steam cars can be more efficient than their internal combustion counterparts because they do not use certain components such as catalytic converters and transmissions. However, various factors like long start-up times and unsafe open flames pushed internal combustion to the forefront of the auto industry.

In this design project, the sponsor started the team with the solu-tions to rectify most of the problems encountered in earlier gen-eration steam cars. Applying these design ideas, the design team developed a new system that could be commercially relevant. First, a thermodynamic model of the new engine was developed in a Matlab code. This helped size the new engine components to be retrofitted into a SMART car. Once the components were acquired, the SMART car was assembled to be able to run using water and compressed air as the working fluids and propane as the fuel. Using the running engine, the design team was able to calibrate a Matlab code that would allow for sizing of different engines such as fleet vehicles or an everyday sedan.


Team 32: Tamper Resistant OutletsSponsored by Wiremold-LegrandSponsor Advisor: Mark Makwinski and Ray Szekretar

This project is paired with Wiremold Legrand, which is located in West Hartford, CT. The goal was to create a tamper resistant version of the Plugmold 2000 raceway, an external metal enclosure containing wires and outlets. The raceway allows outlets to be placed in most rooms without the hassle of having to wire the circuits through the walls. The raceway is marketed into residential locations mainly for kitchen and bathroom use. The 2008 edition of the National Electric Code requires that all hard-wired residential outlets be tamper-resistant, which is why the Plugmold raceway must modified. This goal was accomplished by creating a 3-track shutter mechanism designed in SolidWorks. The shutter mechanism was preliminarily tested in SolidWorks for the conditions found in standard Underwriters Laboratories testing code (most electrical requirements come from this code). The shut-ter mechanism adds size to the Plugmold design, which is already very sleek in design. Recommendations on how to implement and manufacture the new product are being given to the company team.

Team 32: Faculty Advisor Prof. Marty Wood, Ronnie Noujaim, Abby Magro, Christopher Aliapoulios and Faculty Advisor Prof. Zbigniew Bzymek


Team 33: Faculty Advisor Prof. Marty Wood, Todd Fetcho and Karl Hecht

Team 33: LC Fiber Optic Port LockIT DeviceSponsored by Siemon Company Sponsor Advisors: Randy Bielow and Scott Nagel

The Siemon Company is an industry leader of network cabling and coupling devices based in Watertown, Connecticut. Team 33 is working closely with Siemon to create a locking device for the industry standard fiber optic LC adapter. For this device team members learned to design and model the product in Solid-works, and perform finite element analysis using Cosmoworks. The team also created blueprints of the part, and performed a comprehensive review of the part to ensure moldability.

This locking device, which will join other security solutions in the LockIt product line, will utilize the LockIt key already used with other Siemon products. It is made to be used with all brands of LC adapters. The device is designed to withstand the forces associated with forced entry into the LC adapter, and will prevent access to data being transmitted to the adapter.

The device has been approved for molding, and will be in production by the beginning of May 2010, which meets the goal set by Siemon. The goal of the project is to create a fully functional product which will be released for sale to the public by the second quarter of 2010.


Team 34: Ashwin Billava, Prof. John Bennett and Edward Proulx

Team 34: Food SafetySponsored by UConn Foundation and Northeast UtilitiesSponsor Advisor: John Hanson

Standard industry food safety regulations require that all foods served hot or cold be maintained at specific temperatures. This regulation means that the internal temperature of the served food must be taken and recorded at prescribed intervals, so that a writ-ten record may be generated. This record is checked by health inspectors for compliance. Failure to comply with this regulation can result successively in warnings, fines and finally the complete shutdown of a business’s operation.

Overall the purpose of this system is to make compliance with the above stated food regulations easier. The system will do this by taking the human interaction out of the process of food tempera-ture measurement and log creation. This will be accomplished through the use of an embedded system that will control a tem-perature probe and generate a time temperature record from the probes data.

The final design will incorporate a vertically mounted temperature probe driven by an electric motor. The electric motor will be con-trolled by a PIC microcontroller. A graphical user interface will enable the user to select the time interval at which temperature measurements will be taken. The data taken by the probe will be stored in the memory of the PIC for later download. Additionally

the temperature probe itself will be sealed in a chamber through which cleaning wa-ter will be pumped in and out after every use.


Team 35: Christopher Madormo, Prof. George Lykotrafitis and Maxim Budyansky

Team 35: CGS Shearing Interferometry Adapted to the Nano-WorldSponsored by UConn Department of Mechanical Engineering Sponsor Advisor: George Lykotrafitis

Noninvasive, highly accurate imaging techniques that can obtain spatial and temporal information from living cells are essential not only for research in cell biology but also for medicine and drug development. In addition, the modeling of the structural properties and the dynamic behavior of healthy and abnormal cells can substan-tially benefit from this information. The majority of current optical techniques in biology provide only qualita-tive information on specimens. Therefore, there exists a clear need for an optical technique which can provide reliable quantitative biological imaging. The goal of the project is to develop such an optical technique which will ultimately allow for quantitative biological imaging. Specifically, the measurement of curvature and mechanical properties of cellular specimen. To meet this goal the senior design team has developed Micro-CGS, which is an integration of the well-established interferometric optical technique of Coherent Gradient Sensing (CGS) with an inverted microscope setup. The team developed the experimental setup as well as digital image processing software. The experimental setup exploits the change in phase of a laser beam as it passes through a specimen to produce fringe interference patterns, or interferograms, which are directly related to specimen curvature. These

interferograms are recorded by a high speed CCD cam-era and read into the digital image processing program. The program post-processes the interferograms in order to obtain specimen curvature and 3-D surface topology. Moving forward the group intends to obtain the capa-bility of imaging dynamic cellular specimens.


Team 36: Mass Transfer in Polymer Electrolyte MembranesSponsored by Army Research Office [ARO]

Water diffusion in a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) is important for understanding how a fuel cell is going to perform. As a general trend, higher water content in the membrane results in higher ionic conductivity and better fuel cell efficiency. This Accelerated Masters project is investigating water transport through a polymer elec-trolyte membrane (Nafion® 117) to better understand the effects of hydration on ionic conductivity and ohmic losses. Experimental work has been conducted at the Center for Clean Energy Engineering and has involved refin-ing and calibrating the experimental test rig as well as numerous trial runs. The rig has been designed such that water diffusion is the sole source of transport, eliminating the permeation and electro-osmotic drag effects present in a complete fuel cell. This has been done to isolate the diffusion condition such that it can be analyzed separately from the other two processes, which follow different fundamentals. The data from the experiment has been used to validate an existing numerical model, called the MP09. The model accounts for the different phenomena pres-ent in the overall water diffusion process, including the convective mass transport, absorption/ desorption, and diffusion effects as water moves through the membrane. The experiment and model show good agreement for 50 and 60 degree Celsius cases, each of which were run under a variety of flow conditions. The flow rate of moisture on one side of the membrane was varied so that the rig could operate under a range of relative humidity values. By creating this range of operating conditions, the membrane can be observed as it would behave in conditions that are similar to that within an operating fuel cell. In addition, numerous trials validate the robustness of the computer model.In addition, a Dusty Fluid Model (DFM) for transport in porous media is used to simulate the transport of ions through the hydrated membrane. This scheme accounts for the porous structure of the membrane by considering the polymer matrix as an additional species in the multi-component diffusion equations. By using hydration con-ditions similar to those present in the above-mentioned experiment and model, the membrane’s ability to conduct

a charged ion can be determined and compared to published data. These results can lead to conclusions regarding how effectively the membrane performs its task of ionic conduction.

Team 36: Faculty Advisor Prof. Wilson Chiu, William Harris, and Andrew Kiss


Team 37: Faculty Advisor Prof. Ugur Pasaogullari and Charles Banas

Team 37: Proton Transport Phenomena in NSTF Electrolyto-CatalystsSponsored by the National Science Foundation

Over recent decades, alternative electric energy systems have been a major focus of researchers across the world. Using hydrogen and oxygen, the Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell produces electrical power, while producing only water and heat as waste products. Conventional models use known transport mechanisms called ionomers to pass protons from one side of the fuel cell (anode) to the opposite side (cathode). Research done into this area has modeled the phenomenon to provide a scientific understanding of the motion of the proton. A new innovation by 3M has changed the way that the traditional PEM fuel cell operates. Reconfiguring the catalyst layer to become platinum “whiskers,” the NSTF electrocatalyst has the potential to improve the performance of standard carbon-based electrocatalysts, while having removed the ionomer network common to today’s fuel cell. In doing so, the system now only moves protons via motion through open voids in between the “whiskers.” Sponsored by NSF, as part of the Accelerated Master’s program here at the University of Conneticut, it is the goal of this Senior Design Program (SDP) to begin researching the proton transport phenomenon seen in the NSTF electrocatalyst. Since this project will be a two year effort culminating in a Master’s Thesis, the effort done during the SDP will be the initial steps to solving this problem. During this research, effort has been made to understand the water condensation and corresponding effect on proton motion. Understanding how the water condensates will provide insight into fuel cell operation once the point of water saturation occurs, and how the proton moves in a liquid water, water vapor, and reactant gas field. Using CFD software, a physical model was created that accurately reproduced condensing water within small scale pipes, similar to the conditions found in the NSTF “whiskers.” Added to this was the elementary proton migration as viewed without an electrochemical reaction occurring. Future research will then be done to accurately model this process under real world conditions. This analysis will then be useful to understand the phenomenon of proton transport through open space, not via an ionomer network.

Rich BonazzaSerge DoyonLaurie HocklaEmily JeromeChris LaRosaTom MealyIgor ParsadanovKelly TylerJacqueline Veronese

Thomas J. BarberJohn C. Bennett, Jr.Zbigniew M. BzymekChengyu CaoBrice CassentiBaki M. CetegenWilson K. S. ChiuAmir FaghriTai-Hsi FanRobert GaoYen-Lin HanHanchen HuangHorea IliesRobert G. JeffersEric H. JordanKazem KazerounianShiva KothaTianfeng LuGeorge LykotrafitisKevin D. Murphy Nejat OlgacUgur PasaogullariMichael W. RenfroChih-Jen (Jackie) SungJiong Tang Marty WoodBi Zhang

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First place: Next Generation Current Interrupter Sponsored by GE Consumer & IndustrialWilliam Maurer and Bryan Marazzi developed a current limiting circuit interrupter that uses a unique opening motion and new arc absorption techniques. The system responds to a short circuit within 5 milliseconds and restricts the peak let-thru current to about 3kA. The movement is initiated by the magnetic constriction forces associated with adjoining electri-cal contacts. The concept used the latest in ablative techniques to open and extinguish the arc. The design was prototyped, tested, and analyzed against current UL standards.

Second place (tie): Validation of FLUENT for Predicting Flow & Heat Transfer Characteristics of Turbine Pedestal ArraysSponsored by Pratt & WhitneyGraham Philbrick and Daniel Gindraux used FLUENT CFD software to successfully predict the fluid flow and heat trans-fer characteristics of pedestal arrays in the trailing edge of turbine airfoils. Pratt & Whitney uses internal cooling flows through the pedestal (pin fin) array before exiting back into the main engine flow. These channels have historically been predicted through the use of correlations. While adequately predicting the cooling performance, the range of applicabil-ity is limited, only really useful for the geometric configura-tions tested in those laboratory experiments.

2008-2009 Demonstration Day AwardsCash prizes ($1500, $1000, $500) are awarded to outstanding ME senior design teams, as judged by a panel of engineers from industry. Faculty also award a Professor’s Choice prize to the team that most successfully applied the fundamental principles of Mechanical Engineering to their solution. Performance is determined by the team’s understanding of the project, approach to solving the problem, management of the effort, and achievements.

Third place (tie): Product Packaging and Handling Standard WorkSponsored by Pratt & WhitneyMark Scarzella and Stephen Stagon developed an improved packaging system for Pratt & Whitney’s Joint Strike Fighter nozzle assembly. The new modular packaging was designed to be easily assembled to reduce cost and improve ergonomics, while decreas-ing the weight, size and FOD (foreign object damage to nozzle part). In addition, the new packaging will be reusable and able to endure the several loading conditions experienced throughout shipping and handling. A prototype was developed which was validated by subjecting it to shock and vibration tests. Failure modes were analyzed and modifications were made to optimize the design.

Third place (tie): Experimental Method for High Rate Water Impact Loading of Composite Laminates Sponsored by General Dynamics/Electric BoatBrian Anderson and Christopher Howard developed a method for testing composite laminates under a dynamic, impulsive pressure force. Composite material behavior is generally well understood in the linear regime. The mechanical behavior beyond first ply failure is more difficult to characterize due to material nonlinear-ity, strain rate dependence, and progressive failure. This project has adopted previous ideas and has improved the validity of the system parameters. FEA modeling was completed to determine the energy requirements needed to obtain the project goals. A pneumatic system was then developed. The pneumatic actuator was used to strike a piston which rests atop a water column. The contact between the striker and piston creates an impulsive pres-sure wave traveling through the water, deforming the composite specimen at the bottom. The design team successfully created an inexpensive fixture to determine the dynamic material character-izations of composite laminates.

Professor’s Choice Prize: Design and Construction of a Narrow Depth-of-Field Optical Imaging SystemSponsored by the National Science FoundationKathryn Gosselin developed a Cassegrainian optical system for imaging of combustion and plasma systems. Cassegrainian opti-cal systems, as used in telescopes, have large working distance but typically have large depths of field. Researchers have shown re-cently that Cassegrain systems can be optimized to improve depth resolution. A Cassegrain optical system has been designed and constructed. The optimized system provides a low-cost imaging system with the desired narrow depth-of-field and has proven it-self to be a useful tool in producing spatially-resolved images of natural flame emissions.

(Electric Boat is an SEI rated and ISO9001 organization)

Sponsors

AlstomASML Bevilaqua KnightCapewellCovidienDominion NuclearDr. John RussellGeneral Dynamics / Electric BoatGeneral Electric GKN StructuresHamilton SundstrandHenkel Loctite Jacobs Vehicle SystemOSIM Otis ElevatorPratt & WhitneyRBC BearingsRogers Corporation Siemon CompanySchick Wilkinson SwordUTC PowerWestinghouse Electric Windham Dental GroupWiremold Legrand

Army Research OfficeNational Science FoundationUConn Foundation

Senior Design 2010

Yes, together we will contribute to economic, social and environmental progress. Through thedevelopment of advanced public transport and cleaner electric power production, 65,000 Alstomemployees in over 70 countries are helping to address some of the key issues that face this planettoday. If you are looking for a world of economic, social and environmental change, look no further. As a leading global player in energy and transport infrastructures we suggest it's time to act and think of the future. Your future.

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Documents

2010 Senior Design Brochure