ME 411/412 Capstone Design Project

In this course, students work in teams of four or five students each to carry out a comprehensive design effort encompassing the entire semester. The projects are usually suggested by outside firms, or in some cases are in conjunction with longer-term student projects within the university. The faculty coordinator reviews the suggested projects for appropriateness, and serves as the initial liaison with the sponsor.

The student teams are responsible for preparing the overall project plan, including detailed task lists and schedule, followed periodic progress reports during the semester. The student are expected to make use of engineering design and development tools and methods in completing their project, and build on the coursework completed earlier in their studies. A central location for team meetings, experimentation, and prototyping is provided in the new Ralph G. Anderson Building. At the end of the semester, each team submits a final report and provides a final presentation.

Capstone Design Projects (2005-2006)

Projects are listed with an identifier, and links are provided for further details on selected projects.

   
BOOM: Boom Design to Mitigate Deflection due to Thermal Effects
A manufacturer of telescopic mobile cranes utilizes booms constructed of multiple steel sections. The trend in the industry is toward longer booms, lighter weight, and increased lifting capacities. Technological advances in material strength, boom shape, fabrication, and telescopic systems have enabled these trends. The increased boom length and high strength material obviously lead to increased deflections. However, the booms also exhibit a noticeable increase in horizontal boom deflection due to thermal effects. Solar heating on one side of the boom sometimes causes significant horizontal side deflections during periods of "mild" ambient temperatures. The shaded side of the boom remains cool while the sunny side of the boom is warmed by the sun. It is not practical to move the crane to mitigate the thermal effects. Objectives were: (1) Explore methods to reduce side deflection due to thermal effects;(2) Develop a computer program to predict horizontal tip deflection due to thermal effects.

 
HITACHI: Electronic Case Design
UK worked with Hitachi Automotive Products to develop a high quality and low cost electronic case design for the automotive industry by reducing the number of components and assembly time.

ASME-FISH-2 and ASME-FISH-3: ASME Quadriplegic Fishing Rod
Several years ago the ASME Student Design Contest centered around designing and demonstrating a device which could accurately and repeatedly cast a specified simulated fishing lure, and which could be operated orally by a paraplegic with a "sip and puff" set of switches. After the contest, numerous requests were received for information on where such a device could be obtained. For this year, the ASME contest revisited this project. Specifically, students were requested to design and demonstrate a well-tested, cost-effective, and reliable prototype apparatus which would allow a paraplegic to cast a fishing lure accurately, to retrieve the lure, to make additional casts without assistance, and to reel in and lift a heavier weight simulating a fish on at least one cast.

ASME-HPV: Human Powered Vehicle
ASME sponsors the Human Powered Vehicle Competition in hopes of finding a design that can be used for everyday activities ranging from commuting to and from work to going to the grocery store. Senior engineering students can use this competition for their capstone project and with their efforts design and construct a fast, sleek, and safe vehicle capable of road use.
HPV Team Website

 
TELE-JCC: Telescope Mount Design
Jefferson Community College operates an observatory at Otter Creek Park near Fort Knox and needed a telescope mount and pier designed and built for a 4 to 6-inch diameter F-18 refracting telescope measuring approximately 10-feet long. With a telescope 10-feet long the eyepiece of the telescope would be near the ground looking overhead and at least 5-feet off the ground looking at the horizon. It was desired to have a mount and pier to position the eye piece at a point such that a person in a wheel chair will be able to view through the telescope independent of the telescope position. The telescope mount will also automatically track celestial, solar and planetary objects from a limited power supply.

EWB-SCD: EWB Solar Collector
Engineers Without Borders has identified small research projects, set up so that senior design classes can develop the technology and then pass along that information to the national chapter once the project is over. For this project -- Many Central Asian countries would benefit from solar thermal collectors for water and space heating. High quality manufactured collectors such as in the US are not available there. Basic materials such as wood, horsehair, sheet metal, glass, and black paint are available. How well does a simple collector built of these perform compared to commercially manufactured collectors? The performance numbers and design parameter report were prepared and made available to EWB for teams who may eventually use them.

FSAE: SAE Formula Car
The Formula SAE competition is for SAE student members to conceive, design, fabricate, and compete with small formula-style racing cars. The restrictions on the car frame and engine are such that knowledge, creativity, and imagination of the students are challenged. The cars are built with a team effort over a period of about one year and are taken to the annual competition for judging and comparison with approximately 120 other vehicles from colleges and universities throughout the world. For this project, the team designed and built an intake manifold for more efficient engine operation.

BIG BLUE Projects for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (3)
BBFC: BIG BLUE Flight Control
This project focused on developing and testing a flight control system for BIG BLUE. Autonomous flight of unmanned aerial vehicles requires a flight platform that is stable, but more importantly, the flight control system must be able to adequately control the vehicle in both static and dynamic conditions. The flight control system consists of the control surfaces, actuators, electronics, and control algorithm; thus, a systems engineering approach must be used. The final requirement was for a flight control system that allows a vehicle released from a balloon or parachute to pull out of a dive at 100,000' ASL. Substantial ground and flight testing was involved, as well as hardware and software in the loop autopilot training.

 
BBFE: BIG BLUE Flight Experiment
The flight experiment team is responsible for the design and planning of the flight experiment, including integration of the flight test article with the balloon. This will involve determination of launch platform including balloon size and weight, flight envelope including maximum altitude, off board data acquisition and recoding including images and movies, and ground station. As integral to this effort is the determination of the launch platform, launch site, and payload recovery. This team will coordinate with the airframe and flight control teams to determine vehicle weight, flight performance, and data flow and incorporate these into the aggregate flight experiment.

BBRC: BIG BLUE Roll Control
Since the inflatable wings do not contain traditional flight control surfaces, the team must develop a system for adequate roll control, which may include novel tail surface, wing warping, or add on devices. The team developed and analyzed aircraft test data on the performance of the inflatable wings as compared to traditional rigid wings. Substantial ground and flight testing were involved.