Mechanical Engineering Graduate
Projects
Sol-Terrain: sun-tracking solar panel
Senior Design Group Project - Integration Lead
September 2021 - June 2022
Overview:
For our senior design project, team Sol-Terrain designed and built a solar panel system that tracked the sun as well as collected rain runoff. The system was designed to be mounted to the top of an existing tiny home/shelter to allow for the shelter to operate off-grid.
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Main Project Duties:
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Partnered with a social purpose company and worked with a diverse team of interdisciplinary peers in designing and building a sun-tracking solar panel prototype that will assist in achieving off-grid status for small shelters.
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Analyzed and chose the most effective materials for construction with consideration of materials available to our industry partner.
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Worked within a strict budget and timetable while also considering customer priorities and desires.
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As Integration Lead, ensured multiple subsystems designed by different disciplines — mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering — worked together with no issues once the whole system was assembled.
Falcon Racing, Baja SAE
SPU Engineering Club - Team Lead
September 2021 - June 2022
Overview:
As part of the Falcon Racing team, I helped design and build an off-road racing vehicle. Using mechanical design strategies, Solidworks, FEA analysis, and machining and fabrication the team built a vehicle ready to race in the Tennesee Tech SAE Baja competition in May of 2022
Main Project Duties:​
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Participated in the design and fabrication of an off-road vehicle to be raced as part of the Baja SAE competition.
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As a Team lead, headed a small team in designing parts primarily used in the rear construction of the vehicle.
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Used mechanical design strategies, SolidWorks, and FEA (Finite Element Analysis) to efficiently design parts to be machined and used in the construction of the vehicle.
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Participated in the construction of the vehicle, which involved welding the frame, machining small parts, and assembling subsystems such as the gearbox and braking system.
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Attended and participated in the May 2022 Baja SAE competition held at Tennessee Tech.
Rear differential to wheel axel adapter part w/ brake disk connection
Gearbox output to rear differential adapter spline
SolidWorks parts shown above were designed by me and my small team
Fluidized Bed
Independent Study
January 2022 - June 2022
Overview:
As an independent study, I researched, designed, and built a small-scale fluidized bed. Forcing air to flow up through a packed bed of small particles causes the bed to act similarly to a liquid. As part of the project I tested and researched the effect of depth, pressure input, and type or particulate on the beds' apparent density while fluidized.
Main Project Duties:
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Manage time efficiently to produce a working prototype for testing in a timely manner.
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Research fluidized bed designs in industry and adapt to a much smaller scale version to produce a suitable testing apparatus.
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Demonstrate that when pressurized air is forced up through a packed bed, the bed acts similar to a liquid.
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Designed a second prototype to test with significantly deeper packed beds.
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Test and explore fluidized bed properties such as acting density and minimum fluidizing pressure
CSWA - Mechanical Design
SolidWorks Certifiction
Summer 2021
Overview:
Over summer 2021 since I was not able to get an internship, to further my education I obtained my CSWA certification. Being a Certified SolidWorks Associate in mechanical design is proof that I have expertise in SolidWorks at an Associate level.
Certification Preperation:
​To prepare for the certification exam I did a number of personal projects over the summer of 2021. All of which I practiced common prototyping techniques such as iterative and parallel prototyping in the design process.
Shampoo Bottle Lock:
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​Designed and printed a small locking mechanism to keep a push top shampoo bottle from leaking during travel.
Tic-Tac Gun:
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​Designed and printed a laincher capable of firing Tic-Tacs.
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Gravity fed, from standard Tic-Tac container.
