College of Engineering Poster Presentations

Development of a Smart Crossed- Field Amplifier

Sonya Shawver et al. — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:00:00 PDT

A Crossed-Field Amplifier (CFA) is a vacuum device that uses electrons to amplify a radio-frequency (rf) wave. These types of devices are used in radar systems and satellites. An experimental CFA apparatus, operating around 1 GHz, is being built to study the dynamic control of the device in order to improve performance (e.g., efficiency). The major components of the CFA include an rf slow wave circuit (SWC), an electromagnet, and a cathode. The cathode and SWC are fabricated using a Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic and thick film metal electrodes. The cathode consists of an array of gated field emitters that inject electrons between the SWC and the cathode. These electrons give energy to the rf signal traveling on the SWC. The electromagnet consists of two coils in a Helmholtz configuration that produces a 450 G field in the region where the cathode and SWC will interact. The methods of fabrication and measurements of the performance of these major components will be presented. The SWC performance is analyzed by measuring the characteristic impedance and attenuation versus frequency. The electromagnets generate a magnetic field proportional to the applied current, so the magnetic field strength and uniformity will be measured using a Tesla meter. The cathode structure requires fabrication of several thin ceramic layers with slits that allow injection of the electrons. The design, fabrication, and testing of this cathode structure will be presented.

Log Cutting Apparatus Design Analysis

John Katzenberger et al. — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:00:00 PDT

Our senior design team from the College of Engineering has been selected to design and build a tool that will assist in producing window notches in pre-manufactured logs. Currently, to make a notch, three cuts are made freehand using a chainsaw Two of these cuts are short cross cuts, which are relatively easy to make. The third is a long rip-cut, and is much more difficult. The current process is not accurate and has several safety issues. Our team designed an apparatus which provides a guide so that the difficult rip-cut is not made freehand. This solves the primary customer issues, resulting in a safer, quicker, more accurate cut. Our team has fabricated a full scale prototype from this design. We have determined the most catastrophic mode of failure to be yielding of the axle for the chainsaw attachment. Due to the complexity of the design we are unable to analytically determine the amount of force on the axle. Our current research will consist of physically verifying the strength of this pin. This will be accomplished by suspending the apparatus, with a chainsaw attached but not running. We will then add successive amounts of weight to the end of the chainsaw. Since the maximum force that the chainsaw can undergo without binding is 11 pounds, weight will be added from 11 to 33 pounds, demonstrating a safety factor of three for the strength of the axle. After each amount weight has been applied, a visual inspection will be done to look for localized yielding. We will also be analyzing the design to see if there are any areas that can be improved upon. This will be accomplished by actually using the prototype and confirming that it acts as predicted. We will also compare the accuracy of cuts made with the apparatus to freehand cuts.

Prescribed Burn Apparatus

Brett Alspach et al. — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:00:00 PDT

The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) is the support center for wild land firefighting in the US located in Boise, ID. One of the many activities that the NIFC coordinates is prescribed burns. Prescribed burns are one of NIFC’smanagement tools to help prevent major forest fires by burning undergrowth and they also help with maintaining and improving habitat. Recently, NIFC has decommissioned their prescribed burn apparatus due to lack of safety specifications, the Terra-Torch, produced by Firecon, based out of Ontario, Oregon. Last year, Boise State University produced a burn apparatus prototype for NIFC to replace the Terra-Torch. Although last year’sprototype was better than the Terra-Torch, NIFC wants Boise State University to re-engineer the apparatus utilizing standard parts with certain safety ratings such as the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) rating. Our group has focused on re-engineering the ergonomics and robustness of last year’sapparatus using standardized parts. We have focused our attention to the apparatus’sfront handle and igniter bracket. So far, we have developed a front handle design that will include two switches: one that will control the igniter switch and the other will control both the pump’sclutch and mapp gas solenoid. With this design, we will have a fail-safe system that will protect the operator and others around. The failsafe system will shut down the apparatus in case the operator would happen to fall and or drop the apparatus. This would include extinguishing the flame and disengaging the clutch to the pump. Our design for the igniter bracket include: two hose clamps and a curved flame tip. The two hose clamps and curved flame tip will provide easy adjustability for any weather condition to ensure proper ignition of the gelled fuel. In near future, we plan on relocating the sparker ignition box, and mapp gas solenoid. Once these items are completed, we will have a working prototype. We will first test our prototype with water to ensure that our apparatus is sealed properly. If the water test is a success then by mid March, we plan on testing our prototype with NIFC using the actual gelled fuel. The exact date is unknown at this time due to weather conditions and NIFC’s schedule. Once we have the form of our apparatus finalized, we also plan on having the entire apparatus powder coated Boise State blue and orange.

Collapsible Storage Tank

Nathan Kerns et al. — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:00:00 PDT

The team designed a collapsible water tank to be used for emergency activities such as fire fighting. The goal was to design a light-weight circular frame which quickly and easily sets up and packs up to a managable size and wieght. The most important design requirements included: fast and easy set up, competitive weight, modular design, and circular in shape. The concept design was tested in a computer simulation to ensure that it would work. Data from the simulation was used to optimize part sizes and choose materials. A prototype was built and tested. The test results were used to produce the final design specifications for the collapsible storage tank.

Multi-Vector Zip Line

Arthur Morais et al. — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:00:00 PDT

The purpose of the project is to design and test the turning curvature for a multi-vector zip line. A zip-line is a cable and trolley system that permits a rider to travel over long distance high above ground riding on a cable which supports a trolley that suspends the rider. A multi-vector zip line is a zip line system that allows for the rider to turn. The forces and the behavior of the rider must be analyzed in order to construct the final design. The rider’s theoretical acceleration and g-forces at various points along the curve have been calculated. A scale model of the curve has been created and the actual accelerations will be measured. Design refinements will be made from the test results.

Wind Turbine Replacement Blades

Justin Hunter et al. — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:00:00 PDT

Our goal in this project is to design a replacement blade for the 100kW Kenetech wind turbines. These turbines have a 30 meter rotor and are on 60 foot or 80 foot lattice towers. The originally designed blades are composed of Glass-Reinforces Plastic (fiberglass) with balsa wood supports. The majority of these 900 turbines have been installed for 20 years in the Altamont pass near Tracy, California. While these blades are reaching the end of their useful life, the turbines continue to perform extraordinarily well. To replace the blades with new blades using the original design would be costly and unreasonable due to the lessened life of the current turbines. By designing a less expensive and lower maintenance blade we can restore the feasibility of blade replacement and increase the overall lifetime of these turbines. Research shows the shell of the airfoil of a hybrid design turbine blade made with currently used fiberglass intertwined with plastic materials at points of blade with lower stresses. Sections of turbine blade with plastic lower cost in materials and reduce production time due to quicker manufacturing processes of those parts of the blade. Finite analysis and air turbine blade software WT_Perf were used as methods of final design. Though prototyping and testing are not within the scope of the project, Preliminary testing devices for stress and strain will be considered.

20 MW Solar Power Plant

Kristen McGovert et al. — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:00:00 PDT

PowerWorks LLC, a privately-owned renewable energy development company, has asked a student team at Boise State University to design a 20 MW solar power plant. Various technologies have been researched and the three kilowatt dish-stirling Infinia Solar System has been selected as the most efficient and cost effective technology. A parametric solid model has been used to determine the closest allowable array spacing. A mathematical model of the project has been developed to simulate various input levels and conversion efficiencies. An electrical flow diagram was created to develop a balanced plant layout. An economic analysis was formulated to determine the initial project cost, operation and maintenance costs over the 25 year life of the project, and the internal rate of return for the project. The results of our analysis led to the selection of a three by three array configuration and wide array spacing.

Design of a Tracking Collar Enclosure for Use in the Wild by the USDA

Tyler Brown et al. — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:00:00 PDT

The purpose of this engineering design project is to design a more efficient enclosure to house animal tracking equipment for the USDA, making it fit for smaller animals. The USDA currently uses various tracking devices on animals, both domestic and wild. The enclosure that houses the electronic equipment is a standard box attached to a collar. The current collars are sized appropriately for cattle-sized animals; however USDA researchers want to use the same devices for smaller animals, such as wolves. In order to track these smaller animals without interfering with their day-to-day activities, the current standard box needs to be redesigned.

Solar Thermal Test Stand Apparatus

Steve Arndt et al. — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:00:00 PDT

Heating of water for domestic use is often the largest single point of energy consumption in modern homes. By augmenting conventional water heating systems with a solar thermal heat system, the consumption of conventional fuels is reduced. This saves the customer money over time and reduces the use of non-renewable resources. Solar energy is free and renewable. It makes sense to utilize solar energy for these reasons. The collector panel is the component that absorbs solar thermal energy and transfers it to a working fluid. The performance of the collector panel is an important factor in the overall solar system design and is worthy of analyzing and comparing. The purpose of the Solar Thermal Test Stand design project is to design and build a modular solar collector panel test stand to be used by the engineering students and faculty at Boise State University. Energy conservation and the study of renewable energy are more important now than ever before. The Solar Thermal Test Stand will deliver a number of benefits to Boise State. First, it will serve to engage Boise State engineering students in the study of renewable solar energy. Second, it will allow students to get involved in a hands-on way with solar energy systems. Finally, the solar energy laboratory will provide an opportunity for the students and faculty at Boise State University to engage with those involved in the solar thermal industry. This could lead to other opportunities for growth at Boise State in this area of research.

Towards Integrated Visualization and Computation of Fluid Flows on Modern Graphics Hardware

Dillon Cower — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:00:00 PDT

Modern graphics hardware has emerged as a lowcost massively parallel computing platform, allowing scientists and engineers to tackle computationally “big” problems on desktop computers. NVIDIA has introduced the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) to ease the programming of massively parallel graphics cards. CUDA provides orders of magnitude acceleration of numerical calculations on the graphics processing units (GPU). Our research is motivated by these recent breakthroughs and focuses on integrating computation and visualization of fluid flow simulations on modern GPUs. In particular, we adopt the CUDA programming model for fast numerical computations and the Open Graphics Library (OpenGL) for visualization of the time-dependent flow physics. Numerical simulations enable one to quickly explore structures and patterns in fluid flow systems and make predictions for design improvements in engineering systems. Our integrated simulation approach on the GPU has the potential to shorten engineering analysis of fluid flow systems substantially.