During critical stages of flight, when turbo fan engines perform at their operating limits, unfavorable atmospheric conditions can cause the direction of airflow through the engine to reverse through gaps between the engine casing and compressor rotor blades. This reverse flow is called a surge, and it can allow high temperature gases in the combustion chamber to back-flow into the compressor. This may cause catastrophic failure of the engine, necessitating an emergency landing.

To address the issue, the team designed a system to prevent backflow and 3D printed a prototype portion of a compressor with rotor blades and engine casing. It was tested by injecting a stream of high-pressure air into the gap. The team used a wind tunnel to measure changes in pressure across the airfoil when controlled by the injected stream of air. The design improves aircraft safety and reduces man-hours and costs required to repair engines after an occurrence of engine surge.

The Slide Prep Utility for Roche (SPUR) is a new system that prepares slides for tissue staining from liquid-based cytology samples instead of tissue. Cytotechnicians manually stack hundreds of the slide and vial samples for processing, which presents the risks of damage and human error. The team developed a tray that allows cytotechnicans to keep the patient samples and slides safe and organized, resulting in a more efficient process.

The design includes a mechanical assembly and an electronic assembly. The mechanical portion consists of 12 holes designed for vial placement and 12 slide holders designed to fit two slides each. The electronic assembly includes an Arduino Nano, a temperature sensor and an E-Ink display, all powered by two 10Ah rechargeable batteries. The device temperature and sample storage age are monitored and presented on the display. If the temperature of the device moves outside a particular range, or if the sample storage exceeds six months, a visual alarm will be displayed, indicating the samples are no longer usable.

The boarding ladder attachment for Caterpillar’s D9 through D11 tractors enables operators to access the cab of the machine safely. However, the current actuator driven latching mechanism that secures the ladder in the stowed position fails at low operating hours, creating downtime of the machine and loss of production. This project presents a motor-driven redesign of the latching mechanism to improve reliability and ensure backward compatibility for machines already in the field.

In this design, the access ladder swings up from the ground to the side of the tractor and is secured by two pins that firmly hold the ladder to the latching assembly on the machine. These pins are engaged by custom linkages driven by a geared motor and keyed shaft. This motor removes the linear actuator, the key source of failure from the current design. The redesigned linkages consist of a pivot link that interfaces with a shaft and connecting rods that drive the pins. The new system adds holding pads which adjust to the optimum stopping location of the stowed ladder. It also integrates limit switches with the current system of relays to stop actuation of the latching pins. This, in turn, interfaces with the switches, proximity sensor and rotational actuator that controls ladder movement. The new latching mechanism shows higher natural frequencies and reduction of stresses, ultimately improving structural reliability.

In the event of an emergency, the WELS guides passengers to safety with luminescent signs and directions. To power this system, a WELS Battery Unit (WBU) must always be on board, fully charged, and safely operable. Currently, the Combined Ganged Battery Tester is used to verify the functionality of WBUs, but there is an issue with parts obsolescence. To keep up with the growing demand for WBUs, the WELS Battery Tester (WBT) has been designed with safety, reliability and manufacturability in mind.

The project centers around the electrical design which utilizes a custom circuit to interface with the WBU. This allows for charging, discharging, measuring battery temperature, reading internal memory and setting the WBU to a safe charge level for storage and shipping. These tests are implemented in the firmware of the microcontroller, which serves as the link from hardware to software. The packaged software application for the WBT confirms connection with a system, sends commands for which test is to be run and processes the data. The mechanical enclosure is lightweight, easily portable and ensures the WBU can make a secure connection with the device.

At Roche Tissue Diagnostics, the current method for tissue staining involves dispensing chemicals through a spigot, which regulates the flow of reagents from chemical storage containers known as carboys. This existing system has recently been beset with leaks and issues, which are rooted in a faulty spigot connected to the carboy. The problems arose from a combination of mechanical failure, chemical degradation and incorrect operation.

The team used CAD software, 3D fabrication techniques, chemical compatibility testing, and mechanical and fluid analyses to develop multiple design iterations. Each iteration was tested extensively to ensure that the design is ready for mass production. The improved spigot not only enhances safety by eliminating mechanical failures and chemical degradation, but it also promises better ease of use. Additionally, the modular design approach offers cost efficiency in the manufacturing process.

Utilizing off-the-shelf development kits from SWARM/SEMTEC/SPACEX: explore, document, and build a system that can exhibit the relationship between polling frequency, message sizes, and other identified parameters versus power consumption. Build a system to prove real-world versus theoretical. One may suggest building an end-to-end system, and use a mobile app to adjust variables to measure the power effect. Based on the understanding of the physical system, build a model to represet how changing parameters impacts power in the face of environmental uncertainty. Validate the model with a subset of real experiements.

Light scatters differently as it interacts with varying surface properties. Scattered light poses a problem for optical applications as it contributes to undesired stray light reaching the focal plane of a system. Understanding how light scatters helps predict stray light paths and prevents them from compromising system performance. To further this goal, the team designed an inexpensive optical scatterometer to measure the light scattering properties of a material.

The device shines a laser through an optical system which outputs a converging chopped beam onto a test sample and accurately measures the scattered power emitted as a function of angle in the plane of incidence. The focused spot is incident on a high-sensitivity detector, processed through a variable-gain transimpedance amplifier built from scratch, with noise reduction utilizing a lock-in amplifier. Recorded data are then plotted as a bidirectional scattering distribution function (BSDF). The BSDF characterizes the scatter distribution of optical radiation from the test surface, facilitating the analysis and mitigation of stray light in the system.

During hostage situations, SWAT teams toss “throw phones” into buildings and encourage hostage-takers to initiate communication with a negotiator at a remote command center. These phones must be rugged, reliable and provide clear communication. However, the current 20-year-old system is hard-wired, cumbersome and intimidating to hostage-takers.

The team has advanced the technology to a more robust, reliable and friendly wireless solution. The solution consists of two major components, the throw phone and the command module. The design utilizes a 4G cellular network to ensure wireless connectivity and full-duplex communication across long distances. Low-light cameras controlled by a multiplexor provide video surveillance of the phone’s surroundings. Audio and video data is wirelessly sent over antennas, processed by a Raspberry Pi microcontroller and recorded onto a micro SD card capable of storing over six hours of audio and video footage. The data can then be quickly uploaded to an external thumb drive. All the components are contained in hard and soft plastic casing that is rugged enough to withstand throwing through windows.

Results of the project have shown the system provides real-time audio and video and a clear line of communication from as far as 300 feet for up to six hours. The device has proven to be nonintimidating to focus groups, which invites users to pick up and handle the phone without worry.

With millions of dollars being spent on tooling for automated assembly lines, companies are relying more on reconfigurable part feeding and sorting mechanisms to save costs. This project provides a solution by being easily adaptable to any assembly process without compromising effectiveness or reliability.

The AUPS consists of a cartesian robot, a high resolution camera, a gripping mechanism and a vibrating table. The robot is controlled using the CtrlX Machine Controller developed by Rexroth and an Arduino is used for controlling the sensors and gripper. Parts are fed manually onto the vibrating table, where the camera identifies and locates them, allowing the robot to travel, pick up and sort them correctly. If no parts are detected, the system uses the vibratory table to disperse parts until the camera can locate one. The gripping mechanism is attached to the end of the Z-axis of the robot and is capable of handling parts between 2-10 cm3 with a weight limit of 0.5 kg.

The system can automatically sort parts based on their shape and size. It is designed to operate in an enclosed factory floor environment and is therefore shielded from external interference with a metal frame and acrylic walls.

The rapid growth in smartphone usage has led to a surge in demand for cloud services. Major data centers, which store information for cloud service providers, have replaced traditional local computer storage with large data storage facilities. These facilities require a huge amount of energy to power and drinkable water is used to keep them cool.

To address these issues, the team designed hardware and software to cool the computer servers using FC-72 Fluorinert as an alternative to current swamp cooling forced air systems. Flourinert was selected for its low boiling point of 132.8 degrees Fahrenheit. They also designed a custom filtration system to reduce and mitigate dendritic salt growth, which can lead to electrical shorting. This system eliminates vulcanizers and plasticizers that cause the damaging growth.

The team built a test system for data center applications, which required finding a suitable pump that handles the low boiling point and low viscosity of Fluorinert. Finally, they created an interactive graphical user interface to allow technicians to monitor cooling system efficiency. The team then measured progress toward the goal of reducing power and water consumption.