Mechanical Engineering

MEMBERS: Thulana Delana Mudiyanselage, Chelsie Crook, Noah King

ADVISOR: Dr. Rajeev Nair

SPONSOR: Textron

The purpose of this project is to come up with different system improvements to increase the overall cooling capacity of the APU compartment located at the end of the Cessna Citation Latitude business jet. This project will aim to increase the cooling capacity of the APU compartment while maintaining the weight of the system within acceptable weight limitations. This will be addressed with the modification of the APU intake, exhaust eductor, and exhaust funnel which will work together to reduce the heat within the APU compartment by increasing the overall flow of cool air from the outside of the aircraft through the compartment itself. This project will yield information regarding the implementation of different composites, eductor, and intake systems within an APU that could also be implemented in other APU systems as well for better cooling.

MEMBERS: Lieth Jaradat, Alan Cecenas, Corey Hubbard, Jarrett Barton

ADVISOR: Dr. Rajeev Nair

SPONSOR: Honeywell FM&T

This project will create a fixture to compress a 1” x 1” square of polymeric material to an adjustable height while allowing the material to undergo lateral shear in one direction with minimal friction effects.

MEMBERS: George Alfi, Umesh D Dharmarathna, Faisal Salamah, Abdulrahman Alazemi

ADVISOR: Dr. Rajeev Nair

SPONSOR: Koch-Glitsch

Data collection is an essential process in many fields of research and industry. Accurate and precise data can provide insights into various phenomena and inform decision-making processes. In certain scenarios, traditional data collection methods may not be sufficient, and specialized equipment is required. This is where strobe and laser-based data collection apparatus come into play. Strobe-based data collection apparatus uses a high-intensity light source that emits brief pulses of light at regular intervals. This equipment is particularly useful in situations where motion needs to be captured, in our case we will be detecting small droplets of a liquid. The strobe light illuminates the subject at precise moments, freezing motion and allowing it to be captured in still images or video. The use of advanced technologies such as 3D printing can aid in the design and fabrication process, ensuring that the equipment meets the required levels of accuracy and performance.

MEMBERS: Tyson J. Klaassen, Mason Day, Irene De Giacomi Leite, Colton Watters

ADVISOR: Dr. Rajeev Nair

SPONSOR: Trane (Chris Torline, Kansas City)

Truesdell Middle School in Wichita, KS, was constructed in 1955. It's had many extensions which breed complexity, specifically for the HVAC system. The current HVAC system is at the end of its lifespan and needs updating to keep up with current energy standards. Our mission is to reduce energy usage and the overall carbon footprint by replacing the old system with more efficient and sustainable equipment. Adding renewable energy sources, thermal storage devices and tuning the overall system to be as efficient as it can be. We will also analyze the building's construction for additional optimization through piping, updated windows, LED retrofits, and insulation. The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and 179D tax reductions provide incentives to commercial low-rise buildings to take advantage of tax credits starting with increases in efficiency of at least 25%. It is important to be able to hit these thresholds to get as much money back on this investment. The project must break ground by the end of 2024 to be eligible, this puts a time constraint on this project and can lead to future issues. Lastly, we have data to analyze and turn into models so we can properly model.

MEMBERS: Alex Recio, Alex Danler, Remington Creed, Kenneth Brown

ADVISOR: Dr. Rajeev Nair

SPONSOR: Honeywell

This project evaluates the effects of particle size distribution in SLS printing.

MEMBERS: John Avino, Steven Gillespie, Kaegan Ewers, Joel Golubski

ADVISOR: Dr. Wei Wei

SPONSOR: Honeywell 

This project will involve fabrication of polymer-derived ceramic matrix composites, design of test jigs, and assessment of mechanical properties of mini-composites. Optimizations to sample preparation are expected to produce ideal specimens for mechanical evaluations. Test jigs will need to be designed for determining tensile strength, flexural modulus, flexural strength, and flexural strength of a variety of ceramic mini composites in accordance with ASTM and/ or ISO standards. The final report will include designs, optimizations, and tensile and flexural property measurements.

MEMBERS: Emanuel Andrade, Rakan Alnasser, Tony Tran, Jinwen Liu

ADVISOR: Dr. Ramazan Asmatulu

Most composite materials lack necessary impact resistance against high-speed objects. This can cause issues in applications with the safety of applications such as aircraft structures and ballistic vests. To help solve this problem, a new type of composite has been planned. For this project, Poly ether ether ketone (PEEK) polymer is treated and turned into Sulfonated PEEK (SPEEK). This material is processed and dissolved to form a resin that enhances Kevlar fiber into a strong, lightweight composite plate of varying layers. The composite plates are then subject to various destructive and non-destructive characterization tests, such as drop testing, vertical flame testing, tensile testing, DSC, and TGA to analyze the properties of the completed composite.

MEMBERS: Charles Harder, Felipe Lima de Oliveira, Nathan Gonzalez, Dylan Peeler

ADVISOR: Dr. Gisuk Hwang

Our group is tasked with designing a surface that will minimize the effects of pool boiling and allow the coolant to be in contact with a larger area of the heating source's surface. We will have to construct an immersion cooling unit first in order to test the designed surfaces. A test to calculate the heat transfer will be done with a smooth flat surface as a control. The test will then be repeated with the different surface geometries designed by us to be compared to the control. This will result in seeing if the efficiency in cooling increases with the geometries that are designed.

MEMBERS: Thulana Delana Mudiyanselage, Noah King, Chelsie Crook

ADVISOR: Dr. Rajeev Nair

SPONSOR: Textron Aviation (Wichita, KS)

The purpose of this project is to come up with different system improvements to increase the overall cooling capacity of the APU compartment located at the end of the Cessna Citation Latitude business jet. This project will aim to increase the cooling capacity of the APU compartment while maintaining the weight of the system within acceptable weight limitations. This will be addressed with the modification of the APU intake, Exhaust Eductor, and Exhaust funnel which will work together to reduce the heat within the APU compartment by increasing the overall flow of cool air from the outside of the aircraft through the compartment itself. This project will yield information regarding the implementation of different composites, eductor, and intake systems within an APU that could also be implemented in other APU systems as well for better cooling.

MEMBERS: Tyler Hook, Carson Powell, Jacob Wilson, Weston Lewis 

ADVISOR: Dr. Rajeev Nair

SPONSOR: LS Industries (Wichita, KS)

LS Industries is a business that produces Industrial Cleaning equipment. Currently, their product line uses up to 50 HP Motors which need to be bored and thread taped to secure equipment to the motors. We are tasked with providing a universal tool to allow them to fill this need to avoid risks associated with the current hand drilling that they are using.

MEMBERS: Shayna Smits, Kyle Walter, Matthew Doerneman, Cade Anderson

ADVISOR: Dr. Rajeev Nair

SPONSOR: Honeywell (Thomas Canfield, Kansas City)

This Mechanical Engineering senior design project has been working to test pressure-less sintering of Silicon Carbide for applications at Honeywell-KCNSC. The group has researched various types of testing that we will do in an attempt to produce near theoretical density. Pressure-less sintering, in the context of this project, is the process of compressing fine ceramics without the use of external pressure during the sintering process. The goal is to provide mechanical strength, dimensional stability, and surface characteristics for various mole ratios.

MEMBERS: Cameron Gillespie, Grant Hutchings, Richard Oswalt, Ryan Walter

ADVISOR: Dr. Rajeev Nair

SPONSOR: Dr. Ikramuddin Ahmed

Design a tricycle with a carrier that can be easily reconfigured to function as a shopping cart to be pushed around while inside a grocery store without inconveniencing other shoppers; must fit through the typical check-out aisle; the shopping basket/carrier must be sable enough to withstand the dynamic loading/shocks from the streets as the user pedals their way home. Gears need to be included for negotiating typical urban landscapes with moderate gradients.

MEMBERS: Madalyn Shoup, Kenna Biddle, Jared Welsby, Ryan Savage

ADVISOR: Dr. Rajeev Nair

SPONSOR: Textron Aviation (Wichita, KS)

Aircraft rely on submerged inlets to provide ventilation and cooling for internal systems. Typically, these inlets are tested for efficiency with on-wing test flights, but it is of interest to the sponsor to perform wind tunnel tests on inlet prototypes before consideration for on-wing tests. Textron has sponsored the design team to provide both the design of a basic wind tunnel for testing submerged inlet prototypes and the design of a test fixture that allows the inlet prototype to rotate relative to the air flow in the wind tunnel. The wind tunnel is required to use a fan provided by Textron, and the construction of both the wind tunnel and the test fixture must be economical and reasonable. Deliverables for this project include engineering drawings for each designed part, a basic test plan for observing the pressure recovery of the inlet prototypes, and a bill of materials for the wind tunnel and test fixture.