Mechanical Engineering

MEMBERS: Afshan, Dawson, Isaac, Luke, Sam

ADVISOR: Dr. Bin Li 

SPONSOR: Mechanical Engineering Department, Wichita State University, Wichita

Our project is about improving 3D-printed ceramic materials using special types of plastics called pre-ceramic polymers. These polymers can be shaped like plastic, but when we heat them up to very high temperatures, they turn into ceramic. We are testing how adding nanomaterials changes this process. These nanomaterials might help make the final ceramic stronger and better. We are focusing on two main steps: curing and pyrolysis. Curing is when the material hardens before heating, and pyrolysis is when it’s heated to turn into ceramic. We measure how heavy and dense the final ceramic is to understand how good it is. A denser ceramic is usually stronger and more useful for things like aerospace parts, where strength and heat resistance are important. By doing this project, we hope to create better ceramic materials that can be used in advanced technologies, especially in fields where lightweight and strong materials are needed.

MEMBERS: Edgar Campos, Jacob Helten, Lina Ishimwe, Rachel Mosqueda, and Muhammad Hazim Zubair

ADVISOR: Dr. Yang-Seon Kim

HVAC systems are fundamental to the maintenance of air quality, comfort, and energy efficiency within buildings. Our senior design project, carried out under ASHRAE's 2025 Design Competition, comes up with some solutions in selecting HVAC systems that seek not only the most cost- and energy-effective solution, but also an environmentally friendly one, using a life cycle cost analysis (for a medical building situated in Manchester, UK). ASHRAE standards provide guidelines to ensure high-performance systems, such as ASHRAE 189.1, which establishes the performance targets, water use, and indoor air quality as sustainable benchmarks. ASHRAE 90.1 minimum energy efficiency requirements for buildings and properties decreases the operating cost and reduction of environmental impact caused by buildings. ASHRAE 55 disclosing temperature, humidity, and movement of air. ASHRAE 62.1 Indoor Air Quality Standard addresses indoor air quality, including ventilation rates and control of contaminants that are healthy indoors. Overall, the team seeks to select an optimal HVAC system, while ensuring compliance with ASHRAE standards criterion, life-cycle cost analysis, and impact on environment due to these buildings. 

MEMBERS: Jonathan Spachek, Erik Enriquez, Brandon Tran, Jace White, Jacob Rees

ADVISOR: Dr. Rajeev Nair

SPONSOR: Fractionation Research Inc, Stillwater, OK

Gamma-ray sources are employed in the scanning of systems in hydrocarbon distillation towers to monitor internal operations and enhance efficiency. The current gamma ray source shutter is manually operated which puts the operator at risk of dangerous radiation exposer. This project developed an electro-pneumatic-mechanical system that allows the operator to manipulate the shutter from the safety of the control room while still allowing it to be manually operated if required. The device must pull a pin, rotate 180 degrees, and release the pin to open the shutter before repeating the action to close the shutter. The device was forced to meet stringent electrical requirements set by the National Electric Code (NEC) for a Class I Division 2 Group D environment for an area where flammable hydrocarbons are present. Additional requirements include surviving in an outside environment, functioning for a long period of time, and fitting inside a small footprint. The final design uses a rotary pneumatic device and pneumatic piston, electrically controlled pneumatic valves, and limit switches to detect the location of the device. 

MEMBERS: Leonardo Torres; Oases Carrington; Pubudu Perera; Sawin Ratnayake

ADVISOR: Dr. Rajeev Nair

SPONSOR: Spirit AeroSystems Inc. & Wichita, KS

This project presents the development of a Compact Fastener Loading System designed for Spirit AeroSystems Inc., with the goal of improving the efficiency, precision, and cost-effectiveness of fastener handling in aerospace manufacturing. Fasteners are crucial components in aircraft assembly, and the current system in use lacks key issues such as excessive vibration, fastener coating damage, high cost, bulky size, and manual intervention. These factors negatively impact productivity and quality. The newly designed system aims to address these limitations by providing a compact, automated step-feeding mechanism that can deliver one fastener every 1 to 2 seconds. It is engineered to fit within a volume of 12” wide by 18” deep by 18” tall and follows a budget of $1,500. The design uses a hopper to store up to 1,000 fasteners, a bar feeder to organize them into a single line, air pressure to reject misaligned fasteners, and a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to activate an AC gear motor. The motor drives a timing pulley system that ensures smooth, stepwise motion, resulting in accurate and reliable fastener delivery. This system not only minimizes damage to fasteners but also improves long-term reliability and operational safety. By reducing manual labor and incorporating key automation principles, the proposed design improves efficiency and is well-suited for relocation, scalability, and integration into existing manufacturing setups at Spirit AeroSystems. The final design will demonstrate improvements over the original system in terms of performance, size, cost, and usability.

MEMBERS: Ryan Gibson, John Claybon, Bryan Vu, Austin Goforth

ADVISOR: Dr. Davood Askari

SPONSOR: Wichita State University, Dr Askari's research budget

Our project is the design of endcaps for a tube furnace used in a chemical vapor deposition system for the construction of Carbon Nanotubes. This project is being executed for the Multifunctional Nanocomposites Lab at Wichita State University on behalf of our sponsor Dr. Askari. We will use principles of material design, manufacturing, computer-aided analysis, and iterative design to create a set of endcaps, a support mechanism, and a loading mechanism for the caps and sample growth trays. Our problem statement is to develop a method by which the end panel of the glass tube cap can be attached easily and safely, and that may reduce the load placed on the end of the tube. We wish to retain as much of the original end cap design as possible to minimize machining and material costs. We will have to consider design standards such as ASTM E228-22, ASTM A962, ASTM A193, and ASME Y14.5 when designing these end caps and additional supports. Through the use of design software like SolidWorks and Catia, we plan to fully design these parts and use manufacturing devices like mills and CNCs to fabricate them per our design. These devices will be provided by WSU through workshops such as GoCreate and the Innovation Hub. This allows us to reduce the manufacturing cost while focusing on the material cost. 

MEMBERS: Eliseo Barreno, Noah Fanning, Mohamed Aly, Kamran Hafeez, Thamod Fernando

ADVISOR: Dr. Shuang Gu

In industrial applications, one effective process used in water purification is electrodialysis, a membrane-based separation technique that relies on the efficient movement of ions through ion exchange membranes. This process is governed by fluid dynamics within flow channels. To improve efficiency, porous media can be placed on the inner walls of these channels to serve two main functions: optimizing flow by enhancing fluid mixing and turbulence and providing structural support to withstand the high pressures generated during operation.

The overall performance of electrodialysis is highly dependent on the design of these porous materials. Two design issues may arise: either the support media overly restricts fluid flow, causing high pressure drops and increased energy consumption, or it fails to generate sufficient turbulence, reducing ion transfer efficiency.
To address this, we will use Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) through COMSOL Multiphysics to analyze and optimize the structure of the porous media within electrodialysis channels. By examining velocity distributions and pressure drops, we aim to develop an optimal design that balances efficient fluid mixing with minimal energy loss. We will evaluate common mesh materials such as Nylon, Polypropylene, and Teflon to determine their effectiveness in meeting these criteria.The goal is to propose a high-performance electrodialysis system that maximizes ion transfer rates while maintaining low energy consumption, achieving the highest possible efficiency in water purification processes.

MEMBERS: Clayton Ehrstein, Clint Gordon, John Valentine, Jordan Chastain, Markus Lallement

ADVISOR: Dr. Ikramuddin Ahmed

Taking advantage of the constant year-round temperature in the ground, we want to design an air-conditioning system for cooling a modest sized housing unit during summer months without and thus eliminate the need for the usual refrigerant based air-conditioning units. Deliverables: The full specifications of the Heat Exchanger must be provided including CAD drawings so any manufacturer can build it without additional input or communication from the design team. Constraints: For a 2000 sq ft stand-alone housing unit for a family of four, ASHRAE standards for indoor temperature and ventilation must be met on a hot summer day in Wichita.

MEMBERS: Zachary Hyatt, Reese Avino, Nathaniel Bongato, Alex Johnson

ADVISOR: Dr. Yang-Seon Kim

​The city of Manchester, England is developing a new medical office building to improve local access to healthcare services. Services provided throughout this building include primary care, women's health, dental services, and clinical laboratories. The three-story structure will house clinical administration support offices, exam rooms, nurses’ stations, and other support spaces necessary for operation. The challenge presented to our team is to design a high-performance HVAC system for the Manchester Medical Office Building that meets ASHRAE Standards and the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR) while optimizing energy efficiency, occupant health and comfort, and sustainability. This project must comply with ASHRAE Standards, including Standard 55 for thermal comfort, Standard 62.1 for ventilation, Standard 90.1 for energy efficiency, and Standard 170 for healthcare facilities.

MEMBERS: Thomson Nguyen, Paul Boulom, Peter Porcaro, Jacob Woody

ADVISOR: Dr. Ramazan Asmatulu

Radome is an important part of the airplane, protecting the antenna from enviromental
and physical factors. Not only that it has to be strong and durable, but it also must
have good dielectric properties so that the radar waves can pass through the radome
and detect any signal without too much interference. The purpose of this project is to
test and design a honeycomb sandwich composite panel that is lightweight, durable,
and allows any electromagnetic waves to pass through the panel with ease.
Our team will perform series of testing and experimenting to see which materials,
compositions or layup methods produce the best results overall.

MEMBERS: Kaycee Schkolovyi, Alexander Spear, Andrew Frieden, Hannah Kraus

ADVISOR: Dr. Rajeev Nair

SPONSOR: Matt Tomblin, Wichita KS

The group has been tasked to design a 45-foot automated transport and offload system for NIAR ARC to move metallic tubing of varying lengths and diameters from the indoor processing plant to the outdoor storage area. The tube size, sensor placement, and environmental conditions provide an added layer of difficulty to this problem.

MEMBERS: James Marshall

ADVISOR: Dr. Rajeev Nair

SPONSOR: Spirit Aerosystems

The Boeing 787 has approximately 4,000 drill holes that need to be covered by half-inch vinyl dots to prevent water from entering drilled holes prior to non-destructive inspection. However, in order to achieve this task, the employees of Spirit Aerosystems are manually placing the stickers onto the drill holes by hand which causes fatigue and decreased work production time. The sponsor, Spirit Aerosystems, has given our  group a task to design a semi-automated handheld ergonomic device to accurately place the stickers onto the drill holes to improve efficiency, decrease employee fatigue and to protect the fuselage surface from damage. The modified semi-automatic manual masking dot overlay tool will serve as a function to dispense the vinyl sticker while the operator will place the device over the drill hole of the fuselage. In the future, continuous development will occur to ensure quality, long-term safety of the aircraft, and lean manufacturing practices.

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