Document 2171730

Contents
Welcome!
3
Senior Capstone Projects!
4
Designing a Sustainable Health Care Center for Sub-Saharan Africa!
5
Autonomous Fire-Fighting Robot!
6
Biomimicry on the Road!
7
Design and Development of a Campus Composting Facility!
8
Electric Commuter Scooter!
9
Energy Modeling Project!
10
Home Brew Volume Sensor!
11
Testing Apparatus and Procedure to aid in the Characterization of Semi-Conductor
Photoelectrodes!
12
Redesign and Construction of a Piezoelectric Oligonucleotide Synthesizer and
Microarrayer (POSaM)!
13
Resource Recovery Facility Centralized Vacuum System!
14
Junior Capstone Projects!
15
Aero Team!
16
High Energy Battery Development Team!
17
Electric Assist Bicycle Trailer!
18
Converting Waste Cooking Oil to Biodiesel!
19
Building Energy Optimization!
20
Energy Modeling Project!
21
Assessment of Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Mining on Water Quality in the
Chesapeake Bay Watershed!
22
Design and Construction of a Versatile Distributable Stereo Hearing Testing
Machine!
23
Robotic Teaching and Learning Platform!
24
Development of a Sustainability Assessment Matrix (SAM) as a Decision-making
Tool to Evaluate a Medical Clinic Design in Benin!
25
Solar Hydrogen/Sulfurization Chamber!
26
Stormwater Filtration System!
27
Vehicle Integration Team!
28
Wind Harvesting Capstone Project!
29
Engineering Capstone Project Solicitation!
30
Welcome
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the First Annual School of Capstone
Symposium Day. The Engineering Symposium showcases junior and
senior projects from the School of Engineering capstone experience.
The School of Engineering capstone experience is a culminating
engineering design experience that enables our students to address a
real-world need through the application of a design process, design
methods, systems thinking, and sustainability perspectives. The
experience spans two years (junior and senior years) with students
working in teams of four to six students. The projects on display today were done with the assistance of a
variety of sponsors and funders to whom we are most grateful. The
specific sponsors and funders are listed with each project. If you or
your firm is interested in becoming a project sponsor, please contact
me. We would love to connect you with our students.
We hope you enjoy seeing the fruits of the students' labors and
getting a chance to meet the engineering leaders of tomorrow.
Thanks for coming.
Bob Kolvoord, Ph.D.
Interim Director, School of Engineering ______ 3 ______
Senior Capstone
Projects
______ 4 ______
Designing a Sustainable Health Care
Center for Sub-Saharan Africa
Areas of Sub-Saharan Africa lack the critical infrastructure to address basic
medical needs of the people who live in third world countries. Most of these
people have to walk miles to get clean water and have poor health and
sanitation. The mission of this project is to provide Sub-Saharan Africa with
a sustainable health center design that can help address the needs of the
people in the surrounding communities by providing medical services as well
as health education. The first task was to determine how to design a
sustainable and holistic health clinic. This lead to a conceptual design of the
clinic including subsystems such as sustainable building materials, solar
energy, a rainwater collection system, telecommunications, water treatment,
architecture, and on-site waste management. A specific subsystem was then
chosen to be designed, constructed, and tested. The first subsystem chosen
was the rainwater collection system. A prototype of the rainwater collection
system was completed this semester and tested with a flow rate comparable
to a rainstorm in Benin, West Africa, the headquarters of one of our main
stakeholders. The results indicate that the collection system was able to
capture about 80% of the water from the rainstorm simulation.
Senior Project Team
Starting at the top left: Dan Wolfe, Adib Amini, Bryan Morrison
Starting at the top right: Dana Anderson, Valentina Sanmiguel,
Leah Haling, Ericka Smith
Adib Amini
Dana Anderson
Leah Haling
Bryan Morrison
Valentina Sanmiguel
Ericka Smith
Daniel Wolfe
Advisors
Adebayo Ogundipe, Ph.D.
Bradley Striebig, Ph.D.
______ 5 ______
Autonomous Fire-Fighting Robot
The mission of this project is to design an autonomous robot to find and
extinguish a fire within a simulated household as defined by the guidelines
set in the Trinity College Firefighting Home Robot Competition (TCFFHRC).
One of the primary goals of this project is to acquire the knowledge
necessary to program and interface microcontrollers with a mobile platform of
sensors and motors. Customer needs and constraints for this system were
determined, prioritized, and assigned a level of difficulty based on the
competition guidelines and ability to complete the robot by April 2012. There
is potential that the technology and skills acquired from this project could be
useful for creating cheaper widespread personal and commercial robotic
applications.
(From left to right) Peter Epley, Joey Lang, Matt McHarg, and
Jed Caldwell testing sensors on “Optimus Primitive” before
placing the robot in the arena to navigate autonomously. (Not
pictured: Pat Byerly)
Senior Project Team
Pat Byerly
Jed Caldwell
Peter Epley
Joey Lang
Matt McHarg
Advisor
Robert Nagel, Ph.D.
______ 6 ______
Biomimicry on the Road
Biomimicry on the Road is a design group that contains six undergraduate
engineers at James Madison University School of Engineering. In the fall of
2010 the design group was given the capstone assignment of solving an
engineering problem with the implementation of a biologically inspired
application, which is known as biomimicry. The biomimicry team is focusing
on reducing aerodynamic drag on a class 8 over-the-road tractor trailer. The
two areas that the design team is focusing on to reduce aerodynamic drag
are the gap, which is between the cab and the trailer, and the surface of the
tractor trailer. Currently, the group has purchased twelve scale model tractor
trailers for testing purposes. Six of these models are 1:32nd scale of an
actual class 8 over-the-road tractor trailer and the remaining six models are
1:53rd scale.
The design team has conducted two interviews with experts in the trucking
industry. Bill Demastus, Dan Smith, and Alvin Showalter all express that
there is a significant market for aerodynamic drag reducing attachments and
applications. The existing gap designs that are currently on the market are
limited in motion and in coverage of the entire gap. The shark-skin surface
modification has been adopted on boats and planes but no such application
exist for road vehicles. If Biomimicry on the Road is able to produce data that
proves a reduction in aerodynamic drag by 3% or more, there is a possibility
of significant gains in reducing fuel emissions, diesel fuel consumption, and
major fuel costs for trucking companies.
Senior Project Team
Biomimicry on the Road consists of (left to right): Ross Mowchan,
Vincent Iosso, Aaron Story, CJ Schlager, Michelle Beatty, and Stefan
Jobe
Michelle Beatty
Vinny Iosso
Stefan Jobe
Ross Mowchan
CJ Schlager
Aaron Story
Advisors
Casey Flanagan
Olga Pierrakos, Ph.D.
Heather Watson, Ph.D.
John Wild
______ 7 ______
Design and Development of a Campus
Composting Facility
The objective of this project was to explore the possibility of providing James
Madison University (JMU) with sustainable means of recycling food waste
from the dining halls. The project team did this by designing an aerobic
composting reactor for use on the JMU campus. The final deliverable of this
project is to be a prototype reactor and a proposal for a composting facility to
provide JMU with quality humus for use as fertilizer by grounds crews. In
addition to producing an organic alternative to chemical fertilizer, this system
will also significantly reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills,
and consequently, will reduce green house gases associated with
compostable landfill waste.
Description: The implementation of a composting reactor on the JMU
campus will have a notable impact on the overall environmental, social and
economic sustainability of the institution. It will help reduce environmental
impacts from JMUʼs operations associated with land use and production of
greenhouse gases, specifically methane from landfills and carbon dioxide
from waste transportation. From a social perspective, implementing a
composting facility at JMU will contribute to and promote the collective
consciousness of sustainability within the community and may provide
opportunities for job creation. This facility will provide an experiential learning
opportunity for faculty and students to study decomposition, sustainability,
green engineering, data acquisition and carbon-nitrogen ratio testing.
Implementing the proposed composting system will improve economic
prosperity by eliminating costs associated with the current disposal systems
and fertilizer
purchases.
Humus may
also be sold
locally for
gardening
applications.
Senior Project Team
Tim Brooks
Jack Cash
Kent Graham
Connor Heede
Bobby McCloud
Advisors
The compost team is setting up an initial trial with the
reactor prototype. (From left to right: Kent Graham, Tim
Brooks, Connor Heede, Jack Cash. Robert McCloud is
taking the picture)
Robert Nagel, Ph.D.
Adebayo Ogundipe, Ph.D.
External Sponsors
Environmental Protection
Agency, P3 Phase I Grant
______ 8 ______
Electric Commuter Scooter
Our Capstone team is building a scooter to meet the needs of a James
Madison University Student who lives in an apartment complex near the
college campus. We have designed the scooter using an analytical model,
geo-spatial data, and 3D modeling programs. We have also fabricated and
tested a working prototype
Kenan OʼKeefe, Gary Kenealy, Paul Boots, and Drew Joyner
Senior Project Team
Paul Boots
Drew Joyner
Gary Kenealy
Kenan OʼKeefe
Advisor
Robert Prins, Ph.D.
External Sponsors
Mark Jenkins, President,
Battery Mart
John Salatino, Vice
Chairman and Executive
Vice President, NuGen
Mobility
______ 9 ______
Energy Modeling Project
This project has three overarching goals: (1) to create a mathematical model
which assess the energy efficiency of different residential wall systems, (2) to
create a physical model that will be able to validate the accuracy of the
mathematical model, and (3) to have the mathematical model generate a
cost benefit analysis of different building systems to determine which is the
most efficient. In order to accomplish these tasks, a mathematical model has
been created using the software package, MATLAB. This model currently
generates a set of graphs that models how the walls transition to steady
state. This mathematical model will be verified using a physical testing setup
which will reflect the variables in the MATLAB code. This experimentation
method will be used to compare the efficiency of four different wall systems:
Insulated Concrete Foam, Structural Insulated Panel, two-by-four inch with
open cell spray foam, and two-by-four inch with fiberglass sheet insulation.
The short term and long term costs of these four walls will be compared
using a cost benefit analysis which will be delivered to the teamʼs customer,
Charles Hendricks at the end of next semester. The following year, the
juniors on this project will continue to work on improving the accuracy of the
mathematical
model as well as
testing different
wall systems for
Charles Hendricks.
Senior Project Team
From left to right: Bobby Kostinas, Leslie Bland,
Peter Gelsomino, and Anthony Bonadies working on
the construction of the Structural Insulated Panel
(SIP) physical model which will be used to gather
real-world data to compare with their mathematical
model.
Leslie Bland
Anthony Bonadies
Robert Dwyer
Peter Gelsomino
Bobby Kostinas
Advisor
Robert Nagel, Ph.D.
External Sponsor
Charles Hendricks,
The Gains Group, PLC
______ 10 ______
Home Brew Volume Sensor
The team is designing and prototyping a sensor to monitor volume in the hot
liquor tank and boil kettle of a typical home brewing system to provide home
brewers with repeatable results. Repeatable results are important for home
brewers so they can attain the same beverage characteristics, such as
potential alcohol content, specific gravity, texture, taste, color, and bitterness.
The volume sensor will be cost-affordable, ranging from $100-$200. It will
have a resolution of 6-12 ounces. Installation of the volume sensor to the
home brewery system will take less than two hours, while detachment of the
volume sensor will take less than five minutes. The overall goal of the project
is to have a working volume sensor specifically made for a typical home
brewing system.
From Left to Right: Brandon McKearney is monitoring the volume
displayed on the LCD from the alpha capacitor volume sensor
prototype in the bucket, Mitul Patel and Rishi Patel are ensuring the
circuitry is correctly connected to the prototype, Andy Whetzel is
checking the programming to the microcontroller, and Matt Passarge
is monitoring the step input response on the oscilloscope.
Senior Project Team
Brandon McKearney
Matt Passarge
Mitul Patel
Rishi Patel
Andy Whetzel
Advisor
S. Keith Holland, Ph.D.
______ 11 ______
Testing Apparatus and Procedure to aid in
the Characterization of SemiConductor Photoelectrodes
Hydrogen has the potential to be one of the most promising renewable, clean
sources of energy. It is the most abundant element in the universe and is an
excellent energy carrier. When hydrogen is used as the energy source in
fuel cells to power electric motors, the only outputs are electricity, heat, and
water. Current methods, however, for hydrogen production, most notably
steam-methane- reformation (SMR), require large energy inputs and emit
harmful greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. A more sustainable means to
create hydrogen if it is to be a true clean energy source. One such method is
photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen production, where hydrogen gas is
produced through solar-aided electrolysis.
During PEC hydrogen production, semi-conductors are used to generate the
voltage necessary to split water into its component parts, hydrogen and
oxygen. Photoelectrochemical electrodes utilizing the semi-conductors are
submerged into an electrolyte solution and illuminated. As a result of the
material properties of the semi-conductor, the incident light energy creates a
potential across the electrode, powering the electric circuit it is part of. The
resulting electric current causes oxidation and reduction reactions at the
surfaces of each of the two electrodes, effectively creating hydrogen and
oxygen gas.
This project focuses on the development of a standardized testing apparatus
and procedure used to evaluate the photoelectric properties of PEC
electrodes. By altering the material composition of the semi-conductors and
varying the deposition techniques used to fabricate the electrodes,
researchers can attempt to optimize the photoelectric properties for hydrogen
production. The reliability between and consistency of data collected across
experimental trials is therefore key to giving researchers the best chance of
producing efficient, viable electrodes. Our universal testing procedure and
standardized testing system allow researchers to compare results from
distinct trials, knowing that their data is reliable and consistent.
In future semesters,
researchers at JMU will
conduct testing of PEC
electrodes utilizing the
testing apparatus and
procedure, collecting
data from their trials to
inform the electrode
design. Other
universities can
develop similar
systems to compare
results or pursue
research on novel PEC electrode materials and designs. Ideally, the project
will spur the exploration of this promising, yet nascent, technology.
______ 12 ______
Senior Project Team
Brandon Journell
John Murdock
Patrick Nutbrown
Bradley Wenzel
Advisors
S. Keith Holland, Ph.D.
David Lawrence, Ph.D.,
(Department of Integrated
Science and Technology)
External Sponsor
The ʻShenandoah Valley as a
National Demonstration
Project Achieving 25 Percent
Renewable Energy by the
Year 2025ʼ under U.S.
Department of Energy Grant
#DE-EE0003100
DOD-ASSURE/NSF-REU
grant # DMR-0851367
Redesign and Construction of a
Piezoelectric Oligonucleotide
Synthesizer and Microarrayer
(POSaM)
This project, which was funded by the National Science Foundation, involved
redesigning and constructing a piezoelectric oligonucleotide synthesizer and
microarrayer (POSaM). This microarrayer uses phosphoramidite synthesis
in conjunction with piezoelectric inkjet technology to synthesize custom DNA
sequences on an aminosilane substrate. The POSaM is an open-source
design that was originally created by the Hood Laboratory in 2004 to be an
affordable alternative to a commercial microarrayer. Because most of the
components used in the original design are no longer in production, the
device had to be redesigned to incorporate modern parts. This device will be
used for undergraduate bacteriophage classification and gene expression
research and teaching at James Madison University as well as four other
local colleges and universities. This research is significant because it can
lead to improved diagnosis of diseases such as Tuberculosis.
Senior Project Team
Taylor Clark
Steve Danielson
(Computer Science)
Christina DiMarino
Tim Eisenhardt
Zack Murter
Jared Price
Advisors
Ronald Kander, Ph.D.,
(Philadelphia University)
Robert Kolvoord, Ph.D.
Richard Scott Padgett
Louise Temple, Ph.D.,
(Department of Integrated
Science and Technology)
External Sponsor
National Science Foundation
______ 13 ______
Resource Recovery Facility Centralized
Vacuum System
Our capstone project involves designing a centralized vacuum system that
can be integrated into the local municipal solid waste incineration plant
known as the Resource Recovery Facility. Currently, the Resource Recovery
facility is facing an issue with ash escaping during the incineration process
causing maintenance issues, health concerns, and reducing the usable life
span of plant equipment. This project focuses heavily on the research of
vacuum systems as well as understanding how the multiple processes in the
incineration facility operate and interact. The scope of our project includes
creating a design of a centralized vacuum system; which includes a ducting
system, a vacuum pump, and a filtration system. The stakeholders for this
project include the Resource Recovery Facility, Novo Engineering, LLC, the
city of Harrisonburg, and the School of Engineering. The deliverables of this
project include a proof-of-concept prototype that has been scaled to behave
like the system designed for the Resource Recovery Facility, a dimensioned
design of the proposed system,
and an installation and
maintenance manual to
supplement the design.
(From left to right) Top Row - Nick Thiel,
Grant Morgan. Middle Row - Patrick
Williams, John Tran. Bottom Row - Christen
Rhodes
Senior Project Team
Grant Morgan
Christen Rhodes
Nick Thiel
John Tran
Patrick Williams
Advisor
Heather Watson, Ph.D.
External Sponsor
City of Harrisonburg
Resource Recovery Facility
______ 14 ______
Junior Capstone
Projects
______ 15 ______
Aero Team
The Purpose of the Aero-Car project is to design an add-on device to
enhance the aerodynamic performance of a Volkswagen R32 race car. The
Volkswagen R32 competes in the national amateur racing series, the
German Touring Series (GTS), which is organized under the National Auto
Sports Association (NASA) and the goal of this capstone project is to use
knowledge of thermodynamics testing, materials, and design software to
develop, model, and test conventional and unconventional car parts that will
optimize the Volkswagens aerodynamic performance. The GTS series
consists mostly of Porsches, BMWʼs, and Audiʼs; which are high-performance
cars that are built with a much higher aerodynamic efficiency relative to a
Volkswagen R32. The Aerocar team will be working with Dr. Beck and Mid
Atlantic Motorwerkes, of Harrisonburg to acquire knowledge about different
parts, materials, fabrication, and testing methods so the Volkswagen R32 will
not only be competitive but will start to win races on a more consistent basis.
Junior Project Team
The aero team after a day at the track and a ride with
professional drivers. Team members from left to right, Mike
Twardy, Alex Mancil, Emilio Jimenez, Chris McShane.
Emilio Jimenez
Alex Mancil
Chris McShane
Mike Twardy
Wade Wennik
Advisors
Olga Pierrakos, Ph.D.
Heather Watson, Ph.D.
External Sponsors
Mr. Greg Shaffer, Owner of
Mid Atlantic Motorwerkes
Dr. Avent Beck, Owner of
VW R32
______ 16 ______
High Energy Battery Development Team
The High Energy Battery Development Team has been commissioned to
conceptualize, design, prototype, test, and construct a mass productionworthy high voltage, high amperage battery pack to power a motorcycle
entirely by electricity. The battery pack must be capable of propelling the
motorcycle to a speed of 70 miles per hour and maintain this speed for a
minimum of 150 miles. The battery pack will be comprised of multiple
Lithium Ion cells that are given a size designation of “18650.” These “18650”
cells are similar in shape but slightly larger than a common “AA” battery.
These cells were chosen for their energy density, their ability to recharge
over numerous discharge cycles, and their potential technology and cost
improvements. Other desirable Li-Ion battery properties include lightweight,
near-flat discharge voltage, and no “memory effect”; a reduction of energy
capacity of the lifecycle of the battery. Key goals will be to minimize volume
and weight and maximize power output, reliability, and serviceability for
potential customers. The High Energy Battery Development Team worked in
conjunction with the Vehicle Integration Team to produce an Alpha prototype
electric motorcycle using an existing combination of prismatic Li-Ion cell and
an electric motor to validate our calculations for energy requirements and
demonstrate the feasibility of the project. The testing and development for
the Beta prototype electric motorcycle has begun; with plans to design and
construct a new, unique battery pack and battery management system to
supply an all electric motorcycle to a new market segment. The sustainability
goals will be to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels and eliminate vehicle
emissions, all while being capable of a full energy recharge overnight.
Junior Project Team
Evan Bowen
Brandon Cash
John Edinger
Matt Muller
From left to right: Brandon Cash, Evan Bowen, Matt Muller,
and John Edinger.
Advisor
Robert Prins, Ph.D.
External Sponsor
John Lowitz, O.D., Founder
and CEO, Outlier EV
______ 17 ______
Electric Assist Bicycle Trailer
Bicycle trailers today are able to transport groceries and children safely at a
much larger power output at the expense of the rider. Team Electric Bike
Trailer (EBT) sets out to design a trailer able to seat children and haul
groceries that “pulls its own weight” so the bicyclist is applying only the
necessary force to pull the bicycle and not the additional trailer load. This
trailer will be able to recognize different terrain and traveling scenarios. For
example, when the rider is traveling up-hill, the trailer will in turn apply a
larger power output to pull the trailer up the hill. This variable motor output
will also be
adjustable by
the bicyclist in
case he/she
desires a
better cycling
exercise.
Team EBT is
currently
developing
concepts.
Team EBT analyzing the rear axel of a memberʼs mountain
bicycle. The rear axel of many bicycles is the most
common point of attachment for recreational bicycle
trailers.
Junior Project Team
Blake Anderson
Chad Earhart
Danny Ford
Devin Imholte
Advisors
S. Keith Holland, Ph.D.
Jacquelyn Nagel, Ph.D.
External Sponsor
Greg Lewin, Manager,
2RW Engineering
______ 18 ______
Converting Waste Cooking Oil to Biodiesel
The purpose of this project is to design and construct a portable continuous
flow biodiesel reactor (CFR). This reactor will be capable of converting waste
cooking oil into biodiesel that will meet ASTM standards and that can be
used in a standard diesel engine. The reactor will also be easily transportable
so that it can be brought to locations where waste oil will be stored and
biodiesel will be used. Although there are many variants of a CFR, a packed
bed reactor (PBR) is the choice of the design team. A PBR is characterized
by a reaction chamber that is filled with inert beads that serve to diffuse and
mix the liquid inputs of the reaction and ensure a consistent and predictable
reaction. The PBR was the choice of the team due to its simplicity of design,
lack of moving parts, and bench-scale characteristics, all of which allow for
the design to be completed within the time frame and budget provided. The
simplicity of the design and the lack of moving parts increase the ease of the
use of the product as well as minimizing required maintenance. Ease of use
is an important design aspect due to the potential of users coming from a
non-technical background. In addition to ease of use and reduction of
maintenance, the simplicity of the PBR concept allows for the final design to
be relatively small compared to other CFR concepts. Considering that a key
aspect of the design is
mobility, a smaller
scale concept is
important.
Biodiesel team constructing alpha prototype
continuous flow reactor. (From left to right: Parker
Helble, Danny Vargas, Nate Collins, Rekan
Mirawdaly)
Junior Project Team
Nate Collins
Parker Helble
Rekan Mirawdaly
Danny Vargas
Valerie Wade
Advisor
Adebayo Ogundipe, Ph.D.
______ 19 ______
Building Energy Optimization
Currently commercial buildings are designed and built to run at optimal
efficiency, however, energy is still being wasted. The equipment will preform
the necessary operations; therefore the inefficiencies are the result of poor
system maintenance. These inefficiencies produce higher CO2 emissions
and higher energy bills. Prior to the automation of building energy
optimization, the energy systems were monitored and assessed by hiring a
professional energy auditor. This manual process is costly and time
consuming which inevitably leads to infrequent evaluations.
To solve the problem of building energy inefficiencies in commercial
buildings, the team will develop methods of mathematical modeling to be
used for intelligent analysis of the energy data. The process will consist of
analysis techniques through data manipulation using Excel and MATLAB that
will be transfigured into pseudo code. The final deliverable will be a process
designed to report inefficiencies and predict where problems may occur
when applied to a set of data. This will allow building owners to quickly and
efficiently optimize their building energy consumption, as well as prevent any
future problems that may arise. The benefits of this process, is a professional
energy expert will not be the only person able to analyze the building
functionality. The system will continuously produce information specifically
identifying where the issues are.
Junior Project Team
From left to right: Andrew Almquist, Thomas Brus,
Brittany Crichton, Matt Hulvey, Brittany Murphy
Andrew Almquist
Thomas Brus
Brittany Crichton
Matt Hulvey
Brittany Murphy
Advisor
S. Keith Holland, Ph.D.
External Sponsor
Greg Lewin, Manager,
2RW Engineering
______ 20 ______
Energy Modeling Project
This is a two year project that will be completed by May of 2013 by James
Madison Universityʼs Engineering Students. This team is creating an
accurate, user friendly, energy-modeling system to test the energy efficiency
of wall systems that can be tested in both a laboratory and real-world setting.
The wall systems that will be tested are 2x4 stud walls, Structurally Insulated
Panel (SIP) walls, and Insulate Concrete Foam (ICF) walls. The teamʼs
research on the different types of wall systems will help a local architect in
the Harrisonburg area explain to his customers the differences between the
quality and cost efficiency of each wall system. The analysis will show the
customer the amount of heat lost during the course of time (in years) and
incorporate the cost of each wall. Each customer will be able to determine
how many years it will take to earn back the money spent on the wall system.
The teams overarching goals are: (1) to finish a mathematical model which
assesses the energy efficiency of different residential wall systems, (2) to
create a testing device to validate the accuracy of the mathematical model,
(3) to perform a cost benefit analysis of different building wall systems to
determine which is the most cost efficient, and (4) to define new types of wall
systems by possibly combining different known insulation types. The team
has finished the 2x4 stud wall physical prototype and is currently working on
the SIP wall physical prototype. The team will finish the SIP wall physical
prototype by May of 2012 and compare the data results of both the 2x4 stud
wall and the SIP
wall physical
prototypes.
Junior Project Team
Leslie Bland (Senior)
Anthony Bonadies
Robert Dwyer
Peter Gelsomino
Bobby Kostinas
From left to right: Bobby Kostinas, Leslie Bland,
Peter Gelsomino, and Anthony Bonadies; the team
is shaping the Styrofoam core of a Structurally
Insulated Panel (SIP) section for the teamʼs SIP wall
physical model.
Advisors
Robert Nagel, Ph.D.
Olga Pierrakos, Ph.D.
Heather Watson, Ph.D.
External Sponsor
Charles Hendricks,
The Gains Group, PLC
______ 21 ______
Assessment of Marcellus Shale Natural
Gas Mining on Water Quality in the
Chesapeake Bay Watershed
This project will address the impact of frac-water from Marcellus Shale
Natural Gas mining on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed by creating a model
to evaluate water quality. Frac-water is the wastewater from the
hydrofracking process that is recovered and contains harmful chemicals and
sand. In order to create the model, we will describe the process of MSNG
mining, wastewater treatment processes, and how chemical and dissolved
solids affect water quality. In order to form a baseline for our research, we will
research historical data on the contents and pollutants of the Chesapeake
Bay.
In addition, the impacts of Marcellus Shale Natural Gas mining will be
compared to those of coal produced electricity using Sima Pro life cycle
software. The net environmental impact of natural gas will be compared to
energy production from coal.
The results of this study will assist the Chesapeake Bay Foundations and
environmental policy makers develop scientifically sound energy
development policy in
the Chesapeake Bay
Watershed.
From left: Hillary Benedict, Matt Wisniewski, Chase
Delans, and Cari Troupe. In this photo, the team is
working on writing a report and looking at data.
Junior Project Team
Hillary Benedict
Chase Delans
Cari Troupe
Matt Wisniewski
Advisor
Brad Striebig, Ph.D.
______ 22 ______
Design and Construction of a Versatile
Distributable Stereo Hearing Testing
Machine
Differences found in bilateral versus unilateral hearing result in measureable
variances to specific hearing capabilities such as sound localization and
enhanced ability to understand speech in noise. Current research does not
accurately understand how the brain learns to use two ears. Binaural hearing
unlike binaural vision is not clearly understood, given the defined age ranges
for optimal corrective hearing surgery is still under investigation.
Patients with unilateral aural atresia gain bilateral hearing once they receive
corrective surgery for their hearing loss. The length and severity of the
unilateral condition is well known because it spans from the date of birth until
surgery. The pre and post operation creates isolated events for observations
of the change in the patientʼs quality of hearing. The unilateral aural atresia
population is currently under study at James Madison University. While these
investigations at James Madison University as well as other institutions
provide information on how the capability of bilateral hearing develops,
additional long term patient data is needed.
Traditional means for
collecting long term
data is cost prohibitive
for most patients due
to the need for them to
return to a testing
facility periodically.
The goal of this project
is to develop a
platform to implement
hearing tests, which
will be used to collect
long term data at a site
local to the patient.
The project serves as
Portable Hearing Team having dinner at Dr. Lincoln
a case study into the
Gray residence. (Names from left to right: Brian
feasibility of building
Allen, Amy Byers, Brittany Harwell, Dr. Lincoln Gray,
such a platform.
Anticipated challenges Sofie Ganev, Dr. Robert L. Nagel, Brandon
Lancaster, Dr. Bradley Kesser, Michael Kessler,
of the case study
Jonathan Smith)
include integrating
system adaptability,
elimination of environmental noise, and ensuring a repeatable identical
physical setup. The current system design implements multiple audio and
video inputs and processes the signals with custom written software.
Junior Project Team
Brian Allen
Amy Byers
(Communication Sciences
and Disorders)
Sofie Ganev
(Communication Sciences
and Disorders)
Brittany Harwell
Michael Kessler
Brandon Lancaster
Jonathan Smith
Advisors
Lincoln Gray, Ph.D,
(Department of
Communication Sciences
and Disorders)
Robert Nagel, Ph.D.
External Sponsor
Bradley Kesser, M.D,
Department of
Otolarngology, University of
Virginia
______ 23 ______
Robotic Teaching and Learning Platform
The goal of this capstone project is to create a robot that can be used as a
learning platform for Elementary Education (IdLS) majors and high school
students in Rockingham County who may be interested in pursuing a
Robotics Minor at James Madison University. The team is working with Dr.
Gabriel Niculescu and Lt. Dominic Swayne to build a curriculum and teaching
platform which teaches students how to build and code a robot. The robot
has to meet the following criteria: weigh less than five pounds, fit within a
10”x10”x10” box, be autonomous andmodular, and use the the Arduino
microcontroller. With parts received from Dr. Niculescu, the team has been
designing both the hardware and software that will comprise the learning
platform robot that will make it easy for students to learn the aspects of
robotics and
teaching STEM
concepts.
Michael Nguyen, Pavan Panjeti, Patrick Southerly and
Kritika Vayur are working on controling the motors
velocity through the Arduino Microprosessor.
Junior Project Team
Michael Nguyen
Pavan Panjeti
Patrick Southerly
Kritika Vayur
Advisors
Jacquelyn Nagel, Ph.D.
Robert Nagel, Ph.D.
External Sponsors
Gabriel Niculescu, Ph.D.,
JMU Physics and Astronomy
LTC Dominic Swayne,
JMU College of Education
______ 24 ______
Development of a Sustainability
Assessment Matrix (SAM) as a
Decision-making Tool to Evaluate a
Medical Clinic Design in Benin
One of the major problems in Porto-Novo, Benin is the poor quality of health
clinics that serve the people. Many clinics there are dark with little lighting, no
air-conditioning, are cramped, and have no proper disposal of waste. The
Songhai Center is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) located in PortoNovo that seeks to create viable socio-economic environments in Africa.
They currently propose to build a sustainable clinic to serve the local
community and serve as a model for other clinics. The Songhai Center
currently has no way of knowing if any proposed design is truly sustainable. The basis of this capstone project is to design a decision-making tool that will
not only evaluate the sustainability of a new medical clinic design for the
Songhai center, but can also apply to any proposed medical clinic in SubSaharan Africa. The final deliverable of this product will be a software
application that allows users to choose appropriate criteria indicators for their
own specific design. The software application is based off of a sustainability
assessment matrix. The criteria of this sustainability assessment matrix
(SAM) will be a function of the four dimensions of sustainability:
environmental, social, economical, and technical. The SAM will also evaluate
the three life cycle stages of the medical clinic: the construction, life, and end
of life stages. This product will benefit NGOʼs and future stakeholders by
producing a
numerical
indication of their
designʼs
sustainability.
Junior Project Team
(From left) Charles Ohrnberger, Paulina Hoang, Sara
Bethel, Zurisadai Pena, and Emily Cummings
Sara Bethel
Emily Cummings
Paulina Hoang
Charles Ohrnberger
Zurisadai Pena
Advisors
Adebayo Ogundipe, Ph.D.
Bradley Striebig, Ph.D.
______ 25 ______
Solar Hydrogen/Sulfurization Chamber
The objective of this project is to develop equipment for the fabrication of thin
film Copper Zinc Tin Sulfuide (CZTS) coatings for photovoltaic (PV) and
photoelectrochemical (PEC) applications. CZTS is of interest as a
semiconductor material for solar applications due to its composition of more
earth-abundant and relatively low-toxicity elements. Currently, researchers
at JMU do not access to eqipment for annealing compounds in a sulfur
atmosphere. Therefore, such a sulfurization chamber will be designed,
fabricated, and tested for use in the JMU Materials Fabrication Laboratory.
The Sulfurization chamber is separated into two chambers, one containing
the solid sulfur source, and the other containing the CZT compound. The
sulfurization process will begin by producing a sulfur atmosphere by
evaporation of a solid sulfur source through heating. Once the sulfur
atmosphere is induced, an inert gas will flow through the system, transferring
the vaporized sulfur to a CZT coated sample. Reaction between the CZT
coating and the sulfur atmosphere will result in the creation of the CZTS thin
film.
Upon completion the project will benefit the JMU School of Engineering by
creating a cheaper, sustainable, and more efficient process of creating and
studying next-generation PV and PEC materials. It will also supply the school
with a sulfurization chamber that can be used in various experiments
requiring differed temperature and pressure.
Junior Project Team
Project Team Members (from left to right) Dylan Joyner, Chris
Nutbrown, Ian MacIsaac, Chris Lundquist
Dylan Joyner
Chris Lundquist
Chris Nutbrown
Ian MacIsaac
Advisors
S. Keith Holland, Ph.D.
David Lawrence, Ph.D.,
(Department of Integrated
Science and Technology)
______ 26 ______
Stormwater Filtration System
The focus of the team is to remove contaminants from stormwater runoff.
The project objective consists of analyzing stormwater filtration media in
order to determine the factors that have a significant impact on the filtration
efficacy. The parameters to be investigated are pore size, grain size, surface
area, pH, porosity, and bed depth. These parameters will be used to analyze
various filtration media such as peat, perlite, and zeolite. The Pollutant
Transport in Soil (PTS) apparatus and protocol provided by the department of
ISAT will be utilized as the basis of filtration media evaluation. The effluent
samples from PTS will be examined via an atomic absorption spectrometer in
order to determine the constituents in the after filtered samples. The results
will aid in the understanding of the relationship between the parameters and
their impact on contaminant filtration. Upon completion of the design of
experiment, conditions which indicate significant impacts on contaminant
filtration will be selected to maximize filtration efficiency. A spherical
prototype filtration device will also be designed by the team and filtration
efficiency will be
evaluated
against a
standard column
filtration device.
The members of the Stormwater Filtration Team: Zach
Goehring, Gail Moruza, and Brittany Toney
Junior Project Team
Zach Goehring
Gail Moruza
Brittany Toney
Advisor
Kyle Gipson, Ph.D.
______ 27 ______
Vehicle Integration Team
The Vehicle Integration Team is working with the High Energy Battery
Development Team to construct a high-range electric motorcycle for a realworld client, John Lowitz. Throughout the two year duration of this project,
there are two prototypes to be designed, an Alpha and a Beta. The first
iteration of the Alpha Prototype was completed in October of 2011. Ever
since the teamʼs proof of concept, there has been continual improvement
within the fields of aerodynamics, data acquisition, street legality, aesthetics,
and ergonomics. The Alpha is also targeted for completion by May 2012. The
component hardware of the project has been and will continue to be
researched and manufactured in-house within the AFV (Alternative Fuel
Vehicle Lab). Testing of the vehicle has been conducted by the team
members locally and remotely at a land speed racing venue in Maxton, NC.
The final deliverable for the Vehicle Integration Team will be the Beta
Prototype. This motorcycle will be able to achieve a top speed of at least
100mph, run for 150 miles at 70mph, to resist inclement weather, be driven
on public roadways, and quickly accelerate from a dead stop. This model will
contain custom battery packs produced by the High Energy Battery
Development Team
and efforts toward
this prototype will
begin in August,
2012. This is a picture of the team as it prepared to race at
the “the Maxton Mile” and break the East Coast
Timing Associationʼs non-faring class, electric
motorcycle record.
(From left to right: Sam Osterhout, Richard Arena,
Brandon Cash, Dr. Prins, Grant Haskins, Dr. Lowitz,
O.D. , Matt Muller, and Travis Knight)
Junior Project Team
Richard Arena
Grant Haskins
Travis Knight
Sam Osterhout
Advisor
Robert Prins, Ph.D.
External Sponsor
John Lowitz, O.D., Founder
and CEO, Outlier EV
______ 28 ______
Wind Harvesting Capstone Project
The objective of the Wind Harvesting Capstone Project is to design and
develop a wind harvesting system that captures wind energy produced by
tractor-trailers travelling under overpasses and converts this into electrical
energy. To meet our objective, the capstone team has researched items
regarding; possible system locations, conventional and unconventional wind
harvesting devices, aerodynamic modeling of the systemʼs environment, and
potential output usages.
Two wind generators are currently being prototyped. The first prototype is of
a wind belt, which uses the aerodynamic flutter of a band to oscillate an
attached rare-earth magnet between magnetic coils to produce electricity.
The second prototype is of a Savonius Wind Turbine. This vertical axis wind
turbine (VAWT) takes the rotational force resulting from wind captured in its
turbine blades and converts this mechanical work into an electrical current.
Using design process methods such as characterizing user needs, creation
of target specifications, testing of prototypes in simulated and actual settings,
conceptual system design generation, and final design selection and
construction will lead the team to successful and groundbreaking wind
harvesting device.
Wind Harvesting Team members working on the
construction of the Savonius Wind Turbine
prototype. From left to right: Alexander Price,
Grand McDaniel, and McKenzie Miller
Junior Project Team
Brian Elliott
Grant McDaniel
McKenzie Miller
Jacob Powell
Alexander Price
Advisors
Steven Harper, Ph.D.
Olga Pierrakos, Ph.D.
______ 29 ______
Engineering Capstone Project Solicitation
The School of Engineering aims to offer a variety of capstone projects
that address a real-world need or problem, and ideally have a specific
client or user in mind. Our capstone projects involve the design of a
product, process, software, or system over a two-year period. The
longer timeframe allows students to dive deep into each phase of the
engineering design process, but also apply systems thinking and
analysis. Analysis from multiple viewpoints ensures a well thought out
deliverable that meets the design need or problem as well as assures
a sustainable design.
If you or your company is interested in taking part in the JMU
Engineering Capstone Experience and would like to sponsor a future
engineering capstone project please fill out the contact information
below and submit it to the JMU School of Engineering in HHS 3232,
or send an email with the following information to
[email protected].
Thank you for attending our Engineering Capstone Symposium!
Name:
Company:
Telephone:
Email:
Capstone Project Idea:
Will this capstone idea be sponsored by and individual or company?
Individual
Company
______ 30 ______
______ 31