Matching Items (43)
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- All Subjects: engineering
- Creators: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Description
This thesis details the design and construction of a torque-controlled robotic gripper for use with the Pheeno swarm robotics platform. This project required expertise from several fields of study including: robotic design, programming, rapid prototyping, and control theory. An electronic Inertial Measurement Unit and a DC Motor were both used along with 3D printed plastic components and an electronic motor control board to develop a functional open-loop controlled gripper for use in collective transportation experiments. Code was developed that effectively acquired and filtered rate of rotation data alongside other code that allows for straightforward control of the DC motor through experimentally derived relationships between the voltage applied to the DC motor and the torque output of the DC motor. Additionally, several versions of the physical components are described through their development.
ContributorsMohr, Brennan (Author) / Berman, Spring (Thesis director) / Ren, Yi (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / School for Engineering of Matter,Transport & Enrgy (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This thesis examines the mechanical properties of an origami inspired structure and its equivalent cube counterpart to determine if this origami configuration is an effective load bearing and energy absorption structure. To test this, a folded paper model was created for visual realization and then 3D printed models were created to undergo compression testing using the Instron 4411. The data from testing was used to create stress-strain curves for each sample, which were then used to determine the maximum stress and toughness of each structure. The performance of these structures was also compared to other known material performance. The origami structure was found to outperform the equivalent cube in both maximum stress it could withstand before failure and toughness. These results are grounds for further research to be done to determine the validity of origami structures as viable alternatives to current material configurations.
ContributorsFong, Jessica (Author) / Jiang, Hanqing (Thesis director) / Kingsbury, Dallas (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This thesis examines a variety of techniques implemented in modern senior design classes at Arizona State University with a special focus on the mechanical engineering senior capstone the traditional ABET capstone mechanical engineering capstone course, as well as the InnovationSpace Program. First, an overview regarding the growing profession of engineering and its relation to academic education is examined. Next, program and project overviews of both the capstone senior design course and the InnovationSpace are detailed, followed by a comparison of the two course's curriculum. Finally, key differences are highlighted, and suggestions introduced that might serve to improve both courses in the future. The senior design capstone course was found to lack accountability and diversity leading to a lack of innovative solutions. However, the course simultaneously succeeded in maintaining wellaccepted traditional engineer practices and documentation. The InnovationSpace program on the other hand provides accountability, diversity, and modern approaches to product development.
ContributorsKennedy, Patrick Bernales (Author) / Kuhn, Anthony (Thesis director) / Hedges, Craig (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This paper describes the research done to attempt to scale up thrusts produced by ionic wind thrusters, or "lifters" to magnitudes needed to power a 2 kg hobbyist remote-control airplane. It includes background information on the Biefeld-Brown effect and the thrust it produces, an experiment that attempted to prove that thrust can be scaled up from smaller ionic wind thrusters to larger scales, and two models predicting thruster geometries and power sources needed to reach these thrusts. An ionic wind thruster could not be created that would power the hobbyist remote as a high-voltage power source with voltage and power high enough could not be obtained. Thrusters were created for the experiment using balsa wood, aluminum foil, and thin copper wire, and were powered using a 30 kV transformer. The thrusters attempted to test for correlations between thrust, electrode length, and current; electric field strength, and thrust; and thrust optimization through opening up air flow through the collector electrode. The experiment was inconclusive as all the thrusters failed to produce measurable thrust. Further experimentation suggests the chief failure mode is likely conduction from the collector electrode to the nearby large conductive surface of the scale.
ContributorsHaug, Andrew James (Author) / White, Daniel (Thesis director) / Takahashi, Timothy (Committee member) / Middleton, James (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Department of Military Science (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
For those interested in the field of robotics, there are not many options to get your hands on a physical robot without paying a steep price. This is why the folks at BCN3D Technologies decided to design a fully open-source 3D-printable robotic arm. Their goal was to reduce the barrier to entry for the field of robotics and make it exponentially more accessible for people around the world. For our honors thesis, we chose to take the design from BCN3D and attempt to build their robot, to see how accessible the design truly is. Although their designs were not perfect and we were forced to make some adjustments to the 3D files, overall the work put forth by the people at BCN3D was extremely useful in successfully building a robotic arm that is programmed with ease.
ContributorsCohn, Riley (Co-author) / Petty, Charles (Co-author) / Ben Amor, Hani (Thesis director) / Yong, Sze Zheng (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
The purpose of this project focuses on analyzing how a typically brittle material, such as PLA, can be manipulated to become deformable, through the development of an origami structure, in this case—the Yoshimuri pattern. The experimental methodology focused on creating a base Solidworks model, with varying hinge depths, and 3D printing these various models. A cylindrical shell was also developed with comparable dimensions to the Yoshimuri dimensions. These samples were then tested through compression testing, with the load-displacement, and thus the stress-strain curves are analyzed. From the results, it was found that generally, the Yoshimuri samples had a higher level of deformation compared to the cylindrical shell. Moreover, the cylindrical shell had a higher stiffness ratio, while the Yoshimuri patterns had strain rates as high as 16%. From this data, it can be concluded that by changing how the structure is created through origami patterns, it is possible to shift the characteristics of a structure even if the material properties are initially quite brittle.
ContributorsSundar, Vaasavi (Author) / Jiang, Hanqing (Thesis director) / Kingsbury, Dallas (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The quality of life of many people is lowered by impediments to walking ability caused by neurological conditions such as strokes. Since the ankle joint plays an important role in locomotion, it is a common subject of study in rehabilitation research. Robotic devices such as active ankle-foot orthoses and powered exoskeletons have the potential to be used directly in physical therapy or indirectly in research pursuing more effective rehabilitation methods. This paper presents the LiTREAD, a lightweight three degree-of-freedom robotic exoskeletal ankle device. This novel robotic system is designed to be worn on a user's leg and actuate the foot position during treadmill studies. The robot's sagittal plane actuation is complemented by passive virtual axis systems in the frontal and transverse planes. Together, these degrees of freedom allow the device to approximate the full range of motion of the ankle. The virtual axis mechanisms feature locking configurations that will allow the effect of these degrees of freedom on gait dynamics to be studied. Based on a kinematic analysis of the robot's actuation and geometry, it is expected to meet and exceed its torque and speed targets, respectively. The device will fit either leg of a range of subject sizes, and is expected to weigh just 1.3 kg (2.9 lb.). These features and characteristics are designed to minimize the robot's interference with the natural walking motion. Pending validation studies confirming that all design criteria have been met, the LiTREAD prototype that has been constructed will be utilized in various experiments investigating properties of the ankle such as its mechanical impedance. It is hoped that the LiTREAD will yield valuable data that will expand our knowledge of the ankle and aid in the design of future lower-extremity devices.
ContributorsCook, Andrew James Henry (Author) / Lee, Hyunglae (Thesis director) / Artemiadis, Panagiotis (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The aerospace industry has been conducting research on the additive manufacturing (AM) process since the 1980's, but companies have recently just begun to apply AM in hopes that this new technology will meet or exceed the requirements met by previous manufacturing methods, as well as producing more cost effective, geometrically-complex products. This investigation evaluated the performance of 3D-printed aerospace test specimens made by Powder Bed Fusion Technologies, and compared them to forged specimens. A design of experiments varying build parameters was conducted in order to determine AM component porosity. Factors such as powder post-processing, directionality of the build, and fractology of the samples were evaluated through tensile strength testing and hardness testing of Inconel 718 wrought and EBM printed materials. Using electron microsopy, the responses to these factors were analyzed for stress fractures, grain boundaries, and other defects that occurred in the testing process. The comparison determined which metallurgical process provides the most effective material for aircraft usage.
ContributorsNez, Brittany Amber (Author) / Parsey, John (Thesis director) / Hsu, Keng (Committee member) / Godfrey, Donald (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Earth and Space Exploration (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Essential to the field of petroleum engineering, well testing is done to determine the important physical characteristics of a reservoir. In the case of a constant production rate (as opposed to a constant pressure), the well pressure drop is a function of both time and the formation's boundary conditions. This pressure drop goes through several distinct stages before reaching steady state or semi-steady state production. This paper focuses on the analysis of a circular well with a closed outer boundary and details the derivation of a new approximation, intended for the transient stage, from an existing steady state solution. This new approximation is then compared to the numerical solution as well as an existing approximate solution. The new approximation is accurate with a maximum 10% margin of error well into the semi-steady state phase with that error decreasing significantly as the distance to the closed external boundary increases. More accurate over a longer period of time than the existing line source approximation, the relevance and applications of this new approximate solution deserve further exploration.
ContributorsKelso, Sean Andrew (Author) / Chen, Kangping (Thesis director) / Liao, Yabin (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This creative project details 5 engineers who made contributions to the ways that we live life today, yet have received little to no recognition for their efforts. The 5 engineers presented are Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, George Stephenson, Charles Babbage, David Alter, and Nikola Tesla. Each engineer is detailed via a portrait and a biography that covers a little bit of their life and the contributions that they made.
ContributorsNieves, Timothy (Author) / Davis, Turner (Thesis director) / Green, Heather (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2023-12