The School of Engineering and Mines prides itself on the quality and quantity of “real world” engineering experiences students receive in laboratory exercises and design projects assigned throughout their undergraduate program. What follows are just a few examples of these design projects.
Two Cycle Engine Design Project Using Rapid Prototyped Parts
Mechanical engineering students completed this project as a part of their ME 322 Kinematics and Dynamics of Machine Design class. This project displays the use of prototyped parts in a working environment. Students are introduced to the technology of prototyping along with design experience. Click here to view a video of the working engine. The white sleeve and piston seen in the video are the prototyped parts.
The following are design projects assigned to senior mechanical engineering students. The full story and pictures are included in the Mechanical Engineering 2002 newsletter
Click here to view a .pdf file of the newsletter
Shrouded Blade Cascade with Labyrinth Seal Project
Rolls Royce is expecting to fund this senior design project in order to allow UND to get a head start in designing and fabricating the large-scale blade cascade needed for this study. Students are working on:
• Variable speed wake generator to mimic the effect of the upstream vane wakes on flow heat transfer.
• A mold to cast a 2D representation of a 90% span profile of an F136 turbine blade design.
• A variable speed translating wall to mimic velocity variation between the tip of the blade and the nonrotating seal path. This project will involve both mechanical design and fabrication as well as aerodynamic and heat transfer issues.
Explosive Proof Box
Sioux Manufacturing Corporation (SMC) Fort Totten, ND received a request from the US Navy to build an explosion proof box to handle an explosion of 1 pound of high explosive (C4). SMC’s chief scientist, Dr. Dana Grow, teamed up with a group of Mechanical Engineering senior design students to determine if such an explosive charge could safely be contained in a Kevlar box. Currently, the students are tensile testing the Kevlar phenolic composite using the Reiley Tensile tester to determine the mechanical properties of the composite. Once the mechanical properties are established, the design specification, design drawings and parts lists will be completed. The students are moving toward filament winding as the preferred manufacturing method.
Hydraulic Puller
Posilock Pullers, Inc. from Cooperstown, ND has marketed a 100 and a 50 ton hydraulic puller in the past few years. Mitch Trostad, Posilock’s chief engineer, felt that there was a market for a 75 ton hydraulic puller and is working with 3 senior design students to develop a new puller. The student group has spent countless hours on the development of the jaw assembly and the protective safety cage that surrounds the jaw in case the puller slips off its work piece. Once all calculations are completed, the design group will finish their detailed design of the new puller so they can build the prototype in spring semester.
Target Launching Device
The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) representative, Dennis Mischel (ME ‘86), has asked the University of North Dakota School of Engineering and Mines mechanical engineering department to solve a target launching problem that the Army, Air Force and Navy all have. It is the intent of the OSD to eliminate the need of JATO (Jet Assisted Take Off) bottles during the launching of target drones. The ME department recently returned from a base inspection trip at Tyndall Air Force Base, FL; Army field range White Sands, NM, and Navy target launch center Pt. Mugu, CA; reviewing each service’s launch situation. The senior design group is now finalizing both a stationary launch platform and a portable launch platform. The launch is similar to throwing a one ton weight at a speed of 200 knots before the onboard engine takes over flight.
Plant Layout/Material Processing
Pribbs Steel and Manufacturing Company in Grand Forks has a senior design team working with the owner of the company Tim Pribula (ME,’92). Last year, Pribbs student design team won the Andy Freeman Design Award for a portable die-lifting device which was designed, built and is now in use at Pribbs. This year the student design group was challenged by Tim to evaluate all plant material flow patterns and come up with a better and more efficient way to process steel through the plant. Already there has been positive feedback from Pribbs on the findings and recommendations the students have made toward this goal. Additionally, the students designed a specialized die rack which will work in conjunction with the lifting device.
Tape Measurement Sensing
The Imation project focuses on non-contact sensor technologies that will evaluate tape transport spools used in the production of data tape cartridges at the Imation production facility at Wahpeton, North Dakota. The design is to be incorporated into an automated production line to acquire data to be used to increase yield, for performance tracking, as well as defect detection. Therefore, the design must have high throughput along with excellent accuracy and repeatability. Team members are evaluating several non-contact sensor technologies including laser and optical methods. A test procedure has been developed to evaluate the efficiency of each method and recommend the most effective technology. A complete CAD assembly will be created of the final design during the fall semester. The final apparatus will be built and installed on the Imation production line during spring semester. Data will be obtained and evaluated during production use. The industrial partner is headed by Steven Vigesaa of Imation, Inc.
Gas Turbine Engine Project Startup
The purpose of this present project is to develop an operating gas turbine using a turbocharger donated by Borg Warner. This “gas turbine” engine will be developed as a laboratory for the gas turbine class at UND. However, it will be very similar to several micro-turbines, which are being developed for distributed energy generation. There will be several significant challenges in developing UND’s own gas turbine. These challenges include: developing a method to start the gas turbine, designing and building a high intensity combustor for the gas turbine, developing a safe method to ignite the combustor, developing an oil pumping and cooling system for the bearing, and developing an exhaust system. The design group from last year developed an oil cooling and delivery system and made progress on the combustion system. The oil delivery system is to be completed and they are to test a pneumatic method to spin the microsystem.
