Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 58
Description
An in-depth analysis on the effects vortex generators cause to the boundary layer separation that occurs when an internal flow passes through a diffuser is presented. By understanding the effects vortex generators demonstrate on the boundary layer, they can be utilized to improve the performance and efficiencies of diffusers and other internal flow applications. An experiment was constructed to acquire physical data that could assess the change in performance of the diffusers once vortex generators were applied. The experiment consisted of pushing air through rectangular diffusers with half angles of 10, 20, and 30 degrees. A velocity distribution model was created for each diffuser without the application of vortex generators before modeling the velocity distribution with the application of vortex generators. This allowed the two results to be directly compared to one another and the improvements to be quantified. This was completed by using the velocity distribution model to find the partial mass flow rate through the outer portion of the diffuser's cross-sectional area. The analysis concluded that the vortex generators noticeably increased the performance of the diffusers. This was best seen in the performance of the 30-degree diffuser. Initially the diffuser experienced airflow velocities near zero towards the edges. This led to 0.18% of the mass flow rate occurring in the outer one-fourth portion of the cross-sectional area. With the application of vortex generators, this percentage increased to 5.7%. The 20-degree diffuser improved from 2.5% to 7.9% of the total mass flow rate in the outer portion and the 10-degree diffuser improved from 11.9% to 19.2%. These results demonstrate an increase in performance by the addition of vortex generators while allowing the possibility for further investigation on improvement through the design and configuration of these vortex generators.
ContributorsSanchez, Zachary Daniel (Author) / Takahashi, Timothy (Thesis director) / Herrmann, Marcus (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This experiment used hotwire anemometry to examine the von Kármán vortex street and how different surface conditions affect the wake profile of circular airfoils, or bluff bodies. Specifically, this experiment investigated how the various surface conditions affected the shedding frequency and Strouhal Number of the vortex street as Reynolds Number is increased. The cylinders tested varied diameter, surface finish, and wire wrapping. Larger diameters corresponded with lower shedding frequencies, rougher surfaces decreased Strouhal Number, and the addition of thick wires to the surface of the cylinder completely disrupted the vortex shedding to the point where there was almost no dominant shedding frequency. For the smallest diameter cylinder tested, secondary dominant frequencies were observed, suggesting harmonics.
ContributorsCoote, Peter John (Author) / Takahashi, Timothy (Thesis director) / White, Daniel (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The purpose of this paper is to discover what geometric characteristics of a wing and airfoil help to maximize leading edge suction through experimental testing. Three different stages of testing were conducted: a Proof of Concept, a Primary Experiment, and a Secondary Experiment. The Proof of Concept shows the effects of leading edge suction and the benefits it can posses. The Primary Experiment provided inconclusive data due to inaccuracies in the equipment. As a result, the Secondary Experiment was conducted in order to reduce the error effect as much as possible on the data. Unfortunately the Secondary Experiment provided inaccurate data as well. However, this paper does provide enough evidence to begin to question some of the long held beliefs regarding theoretical induced drag and whether it is true under all circumstances, or if it is only a good approximation for airfoils with full leading-edge suction effects.
ContributorsMorrow, Martin (Author) / Takahashi, Timothy (Thesis director) / Middleton, James (Committee member) / School for the Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This project, which consists of a review article and an applied creative project, proposes mirror neurons as being a physiological mechanism for motor imagery. The review article highlights similarities between motor imagery research and research on mirror neurons. The research is roughly divided into three types of studies: neuroimaging studies, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electromyography (EMG) studies, and electroencephalography (EEG) studies. The review also discusses the associative hypothesis of mirror neuron origin as support for the hypothesis and concludes with an assessment of conflicting research and the limitations of the hypothesis. The applied creative project is an instructional brochure, aimed at anyone who teaches motor skills, such as dance teachers or sports coaches. The brochure takes the academic content of the review and presents it in a visually pleasing, reader-friendly fashion in an effort to educate the intended audience and make the research more accessible. The brochure also prescribes research-based suggestions for how to use motor imagery during teaching sessions and how to get the best benefits from it.
ContributorsNgai, Valerie Christina (Author) / Hoffner, Kristin (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
A model has been developed to modify Euler-Bernoulli beam theory for wooden beams, using visible properties of wood knot-defects. Treating knots in a beam as a system of two ellipses that change the local bending stiffness has been shown to improve the fit of a theoretical beam displacement function to edge-line deflection data extracted from digital imagery of experimentally loaded beams. In addition, an Ellipse Logistic Model (ELM) has been proposed, using L1-regularized logistic regression, to predict the impact of a knot on the displacement of a beam. By classifying a knot as severely positive or negative, vs. mildly positive or negative, ELM can classify knots that lead to large changes to beam deflection, while not over-emphasizing knots that may not be a problem. Using ELM with a regression-fit Young's Modulus on three-point bending of Douglass Fir, it is possible estimate the effects a knot will have on the shape of the resulting displacement curve.
ContributorsSexton, Thurston Bryant (Author) / Takahashi, Timothy (Thesis director) / Jones, Donald (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Introduction/Purpose: This paper describes the process of the community needs assessment phase of program implementation for the Student Health Outreach for Wellness (SHOW) clinic. Homeless individuals are more likely (than non homeless individuals) to experience serious illness, depression and mental illness. Access to health care has been identified as a barrier to receiving appropriate health care to manage the diseases and conditions clients may have. SHOW's vision is to operate on Saturdays utilizing Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) to offer extended primary health care hours, along with offering health promotion programming to address the biopsychosocial components of their health. Ultimately, this aims to reduce the homeless population's need to visit emergency room departments for non- urgent, primary care visits. Methods: To validate the need for this clinic's operation of programming and health services, a community needs assessment was conducted to collect data about the population's current health status. Forty-three people (n=43) ages 20-76 (M = 44.87) were surveyed by a trained research team using interview questionnaires. Results: The results show a prevalence of self\u2014reported physical and behavioral conditions, and support that this population would benefit from extended hours of care. Mental and behavioral health conditions are the most prevalent conditions (with the highest rates of depression (41.86%) and anxiety disorder (32.56%)), followed by the common cold (23.36%) and back pain (16.28%). The average reported emergency department (ED) visits within the past six months was 1.18 times. Almost everyone surveyed would visit a free medical clinic on the Human Services Campus (HSC) staffed by health staff and health professional students on the weekends (93.18%). Conclusion: Overall, the community needs assessment conducted for SHOW supports the need for weekend access to health care facilities and an interest in health programming for this population.
ContributorsShqalsi, Eneida Agustin (Author) / Hoffner, Kristin (Thesis director) / Harrell, Susan (Committee member) / Harper, Erin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Creative adventurers are a modern artistic subculture defined by aesthetic individualism and rugged outdoor practicality. Contemporary photographers and videographers who live an active outdoor lifestyle place significant demands on their shoes and feet wherever they work. As a result of the increasing growth of photo based social media, part of producing creative content in this field involves artists interacting directly with their favorite brands through "product tagging" and other means of rapid networking. This energetic atmosphere of creativity and brand engagement presents a unique opportunity to introduce a footwear product specifically made for the brand-conscious visual artist. A collaborative shoe project between a major footwear brand such as Nike or Adidas and a major camera brand such as Canon or Sony is a unique and exciting way to meet the functional and aesthetic demands of this population.
ContributorsHansen, Chase Arthur (Author) / Hoffner, Kristin (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The study was based on research done on the achievement goal theory. The purpose of the study was to discover if goal orientation would change after manipulation of the motivational climate. The study also was conducted to find if there was evidence of gender differences in motivational climate preference and satisfaction. These findings may help to provide a fun and motivating environment for all children in a physical activity setting. Investigators manipulated the climate to present lessons that were more task orientated in nature (mastery climate), and lessons that were more ego oriented in nature (performance climate). Participants consisted of girls and boys ages eight to ten years old (M = 9.5) recruited from a fourth grade P.E. class (n=42, females=20, males=22). The children participated in activities in a mastery and performance climate. The Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ), the Athlete in Sport Questionnaire (ASQ), and the Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire 2 (PMSQ-2) were administered. From the data it was concluded that there were no gender differences between baseline task and ego orientation scores. The children also did not perceive a performance climate after the performance climate intervention There were no gender differences in satisfaction following the mastery climate and the performance climate. The children's task and ego personal goal orientation scores on the PMCSQ-2 did not change following the mastery climate or the performance climate. There may be an absence of a gender difference in satisfaction and possessing either a task or ego orientation due to the factor of age. The student's regular PE coach enforces a mastery climate in their class, which may explain why the participants did not perceive a performance climate during the performance climate intervention. There were some methodological hurdles and problems in conducting the present study, which may account for the results.
ContributorsHolt, Rachelle Brooke (Author) / Hoffner, Kristin (Thesis director) / Harper, Erin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The thesis is an investigation on current regulations of commercial aircraft landing and take-off procedures and an analysis of potential weaknesses within the regulatory system for commercial aerospace. To determine such flaws, an area of worse-case scenarios with regard to the aforementioned flight operations was researched. The events selected to best-depict these scenarios where incidents of aircraft overrunning the runway, referred to as runway excursions. A case-study conducted of 44 federal investigations of runway excursions produced data indicating four influential factors within these incidents: weather, pilot error, instrument malfunction, and runway condition. Upon examination, all but pilot error appeared to have federal enforcement to diminish the occurrence of future incidents. This is a direct result of the broad possibilities that make up this factor. The study then searched for a consistent fault within the incidents with the results indicating an indirect relationship of thrust reversers, a technique utilized by pilots to provide additional braking, to these excursions. In cases of thrust reverser failure, pilots' over-reliance on the system lead to time being lost from the confusion produced by the malfunction, ultimately resulting in several different runway excursions. The legal implication with the situation is that current regulations are ambiguous on the subject of thrust reversers and thus do not properly model the usage of the technique. Thus, to observe the scope of danger this ambiguity presents to the industry, the relationship of the technique to commercial aerospace needed to be determined. Interviews were set-up with former commercial pilots to gather data related to the flight crew perspective. This data indicated that thrust reversers were actively utilized by pilots within the industry for landing operations. The problem with the current regulations was revealed that the lack of details on thrust reverser reflected a failure of regulations to model current industry flight operations. To improve safety within the industry, new data related to thrust reverser deployment must be developed and enforced to determine appropriate windows to utilize the technique, thus decreasing time lost in confusion that results from thrust reversers malfunction. Future work would be based on producing simulations to determine said data as well as proposing the policy suggestions produced by this thesis.
ContributorsCreighton, Andrew John (Author) / Takahashi, Timothy (Thesis director) / Marchant, Gary (Committee member) / Kimberly, Jimmy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This study aims to showcase the results of a quadrotor model and the mathematical techniques used to arrive at the proposed design. Multicopters have made an explosive appearance in recent years by the controls engineering community because of their unique flight performance capabilities and potential for autonomy. The ultimate goal of this research is to design a robust control system that guides and tracks the quadrotor's trajectory, while responding to outside disturbances and obstacles that will realistically be encountered during flight. The first step is to accurately identify the physical system and attempt to replicate its behavior with a simulation that mimics the system's dynamics. This becomes quite a complex problem in itself because many realistic systems do not abide by simple, linear mathematical models, but rather nonlinear equations that are difficult to predict and are often numerically unstable. This paper explores the equations and assumptions used to create a model that attempts to match roll and pitch data collected from multiple test flights. This is done primarily in the frequency domain to match natural frequency locations, which can then be manipulated judiciously by altering certain parameters.
ContributorsDuensing, Jared Christopher (Author) / Takahashi, Timothy (Thesis director) / Garrett, Frederick (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05