CoE News

ME 4202 Capstone Design

The LSU College of Engineering (CoE) Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) hosted the ME 4202 Capstone Design II annual seminar presentation April 30 and May 1, 2009. Mechanical engineering undergraduates worked throughout two semesters on a design project of their choice. Projects are judged by a design panel consisting of local industry leaders and LSU faculty and alumni. This year’s design panel consisted of:

• Michael W. Ackman (BSME, 1996; MSME, 1997)-ExxonMobil Chemical Company
• Pete Bertrand (BSME, 1957)-consulting engineer
• Jason W. Bitting (BSME, 1996; MSME, 1998)-Albemarle Corporation
• David F. Bowles-technical communication instructor, Engineering Communications Studio
• Dr. Jason Hugenroth (BSME, 1993; MSME, 1996)- InvenTherm, LLC
• Warren R. Hull, Sr. (BSME, 1968)-Manager, Engineering Communications Studio
• Todd Lindrew, P.E.-Thermal and Process Inc.
• David Mustain (BSME, 2008)-Shell Corporation
• Andrew J. McPhate-professor emeritus, CoE Mechanical Engineering
• Benedict Lim (BSME, 2001)-Shell Corp

The following are this year’s projects and presenters:

The Formula SAE team included Bradley Barrington, Lance Brumfield, Steven Devoe, James Dupree, Norman Eger, Jeremy Jenkins, Ryan Paul Meyer, Chase Nelson, Mark Suplee, Geoffrey Wilkinson, and Thomas Zimmerman. The team designed and built a scaled-down Formula-style race car and competed with teams from 120 other universities at the Michigan International Speedway. Their advisors were Drs. Eyassu Woldesenbet and John R. Smith (PETE).

Creating the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine were Baine Breaux, Alexander Combe, Joseph LeBlanc, Lance LeBlanc, Mary LeBlanc, Michael LeBlanc, and Jacob Savoy. The goal of this project was to design a vertical axis wind turbine prototype capable of producing power. The team’s advisor was Dr. Dimitris Nikitopoulos.

The Flexible Fuel Gas Micro-Turbine team was comprised of Loren Faire, David Garner, Thomas Guillot, and Thomas Luehr. The task was to reverse-engineer several donated prototype turbines, make them operational, test them, and create an operations manual. Their faculty advisor was Dr. Sumanta Acharya.

Designing the Lunar Rappelling Rover were Kevin Brassette, Cheryl Osterman, Joel Sasser, and Alciades Velasquez. The team designed a prototype crater entry system, ultimately to be used on the moon to search for water. Their advisor was Dr. Marcio De Queiroz.

The Mini Baja competition team included Rohithe Amarsinghe, John Decou, Joseph Eldridge, Mark Eyre, Leslie Keyes, Adam Lillich, Stuart Lunn, Raghvan Madawela, Ike Morein, Don Teko, David Weaver, and Ryan Yates. The task was to design, build and compete with a drivable all-terrain vehicle. Their advisor was Dr. Warren Waggenspack.

Presenting the High Lift Aircraft for SAE Aero Design were Theodore Bounds, Eric Bourgeois, John Dykes, Edward Scheuermann, and Ian Walsdorf. The team designed and built a model plane that can carry nearly double its own weight in payload. They represented LSU for the first time at the SAE Aero Design contest. Their faculty advisor was Dr. Keith Gonthier.

The Thermocouple Analysis for Cryogenics team were Stephen Edelblut, Brian Geddes, Gene LeFevre, and Mayowa Olofin. Their goal was to analyze temperature sensing performance and minimize temperature change using thermocouples in a variety of types and sizes as well as testing angle of insertion. The data will be used in NASA’s rocket engine testing. Their advisors were Drs. Shengmin Guo and Muhammad Wahab.

The LSU Hurricane Tower (Storm 2.0) was presented by Santhana Balaji, Allison Belanger, Ryan Broughton, Eric Frederickson, Jack Giles, Peyton Mayre, Jonathan McNabb, Valerie Vogler, and Josh Williams. The team designed an 82 foot portable tower with instrumentation to gather weather data from a hurricane over land. The data collected can be transmitted in real time for the LSU Hurricane Center. Their advisors were Drs. Marc Levitan, Su-Seng Pang, and Wanjun Wang.

Designing the Hurricane Missile Cannon & Chamber were Gisela Barany, Luis Lopez, and Brian Martin. This project supports testing for the LSU Hurricane Center. The team designed and built air-powered cannon for testing penetration of flying debris as well as an automated pressure chamber to simulate wind gusts caused by hurricanes for testing deflection. Faculty advisors were Drs. Marc Levitan and Dimitris Nikitopoulos.

The Shell Eco-Marathon 2009 team were Andrew Bayer, Monica Cage, Daniel Currault, Paul Duhon, Corey Mitchel, Brad O’Dwyer, Nicholas Seghers, and Jordan Truit. The team designed and built an extremely low-MPG vehicle and competed with 43 other teams in Fontana, California. Their supervisor was Dr. Shengmin Guo.

Portable Tire Washer was presented by Ryan Ballard, Dean Dantin, William Magee, Wesley Rasch, and Kurt Zeringue. The purpose of this project was to create a portable system to clean tires as part of a tire recycling process. Their advisor was Dr. Su-Seng Pang.

The Large Area, Temperature-Controlled Multiple Unit Die (MUD) team members were Christopher Brown, Brooks Lowrey, and Adam Romaguera. This project was to design and manufacture a 2-sided MUD (for injection molding) capable of extremely fine detail (micro channels). Eventually, units produced with the die might be used to develop a suitcase-sized portable laboratory. The team’s advisor was Dr. Mike Murphy.

The LSU Flugtag team was comprised of Jason Cary, George Hunsucker, Abraham King, Eugene Lopez-Ona, and Ryan Michael Meyer. The team designed and substantially modified a hang-glider and crafted a launch cart in hopes of competing in the Red Bull Flugtag; however the 2009 U.S. competition was cancelled. Their advisors were Drs. Keith Gonthier and Warren Waggenspack.

Finally, Manually Controlled Continuously Variable Transmission was presented by Brian Beyt, Scott Dieffenbaugher, Ryan Hill, and Alexis Voorhies. This project was to design and build a transmission for a small engine that may be manually operated, eliminating shift shock, improving operating and fuel efficiency, and decreasing emissions. The design may have application in the auto racing industry. Their faculty advisor was Dr. Jack Helms.

All Mechanical Engineering faculty members, projects sponsors, faculty advisors, alumni, graduate students, Mechanical Engineering undergraduates, and the general public are invited to this event each year. To obtain information for next year’s event, submit an area for research, or to become a judge or sponsor, please contact Dr. Mike Murphy at murphy@me.lsu.edu or Don Eisenberg at eisenberg@lsu.edu.

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