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Engineering-Enhanced Theatre: How Engineering Involvement Can Aid Regional Theatres
Get PDFEngineering and theatre are disciplines not often associated with each other within regional and small theatre companies in the United States. The distinction between the two fields of study is not simply from the fundamental differences between how each field is taught and practiced, but also the difficulties encountered within a scope of theatre often constrained with limited budget and time for each production. However, when beginning to explore the intersection between engineering and theatre, it is found that the empirical nature of current theatrical practices can be countered, and scenic design and construction can be re-envisioned with engineering involvement in theatre. This engineering support can provide theatrical professionals with more confidence regarding the safety of scenic elements along with the opportunity to push the limits of theatre design. Through past experiences with many productions, discussions with professionals in both fields, and additional online research, it is concluded that seeking engineering consulting, developing engineering applications for theatrical uses, and learning from the established textbook Structural Design for the Stage by Holden, Alys E., et al. all are ways to utilize engineering in theatre practices. Ultimately, the involvement of engineering should be considered and explored to enhance a regional theatre’s production process from design to the stage
A Study on the Effects of Cementless Total Knee Arthroplasty Implants’ Surface Morphology via Finite Element Analysis
Get PDFTotal knee arthroplasty (TKA) is one of the most commonly performed orthopedic surgeries, with nearly one million performed in 2020 in the United States alone. Changing patient demographics, predominately indicated by increases in younger, more active, and more obese patients undergoing TKA, poses a challenge to orthopedic surgeons as these factors present a greater risk of long-term complications. Historically, cemented TKA has been the gold standard for fixation, but long-term aseptic loosening continues to be a risk for cemented implants. Cementless TKA, which relies on the surface morphology of a porous coating for biologic fixation of implant to bone, may provide improved long-term survivorship compared with cement. The quality of this bond is dependent on an interference fit and the roughness, or coefficient of friction, between the implant and the bonebone. Stress shielding is a measure of the difference in the stress experienced by implanted bone versus surrounding native bone. A finite element model (FEM) can be used to quantify and better understand stress shielding in order to better evaluate and optimize implant design. In this study, a FEM was constructed to investigate how the surface coating of cementless implants (coefficient of friction) and the location of the coating application affected the stress-shielding response in the tibia. It was determined that the stress distribution in the native tibia surrounding a cementless TKA implant was dependent on the coefficient of friction applied at the tip of the implant’s stem. Materials with lower friction coefficients applied to the stem tip resulted in higher compressive stress experienced by implanted bone, and more favorable overall stress-shielding responses
Dynamic Maze Puzzle Navigation Using Deep Reinforcement Learning
Get PDFThe implementation of deep reinforcement learning in mobile robotics offers a great solution for the development of autonomous mobile robots to efficiently complete tasks and transport objects. Reinforcement learning continues to show impressive potential in robotics applications through self-learning and biological plausibility. Despite its advancements, challenges remain in applying these machine learning techniques in dynamic environments. This thesis explores the performance of Deep Q-Networks (DQN), using images as an input, for mobile robot navigation in dynamic maze puzzles and aims to contribute to advancements in deep reinforcement learning applications for simulated and real-life robotic systems. This project is a step towards implementation in a hardware-based system. The proposed approach uses a DQN algorithm with experience replay and an epsilon-greedy annealing schedule. Experiments are conducted to train DQN agents in static and dynamic maze environments, and various reward functions and training strategies are explored to optimize learning outcomes. In this context, the dynamic aspect involves training the agent on fixed mazes and then testing its performance on modified mazes, where obstacles like walls alter previously optimal paths to the goal. In game play, the agent achieved a 100\% win rate in both 4x4 and 10x10 static mazes, successfully making it to the goal regardless of slip conditions. The number of rewards obtained during the game-play episodes indicates that the agent took the optimal path in all 100 episodes of the 4x4 maze without the slip condition, whereas it took the shortest, most optimal path in 99 out of 100 episodes in the 4x4 maze with the slip condition. Compared to the 4x4 maze, the agent more frequently chose sub-optimal paths in the larger 10x10 maze, as indicated by the amount of times the agent maximized rewards obtained. In the 10x10 static maze game-play, the agent took the optimal path in 96 out of 100 episodes for the no slip condition, while it took the shortest path in 93 out of 100 episodes for the slip condition. In the dynamic maze experiment, the agent successfully solved 7 out of 8 mazes with a 100\% win rate in both original and modified maze environments. The results indicate that adequate exploration, well-designed reward functions, and diverse training data significantly impacted both training performance and game play outcomes. The findings suggest that DQN approaches are plausible solutions to stochastic outcomes, but expanding upon the proposed method and more research is needed to improve this methodology. This study highlights the need for further efforts in improving deep reinforcement learning applications in dynamic environments
Effects Of Extreme Starvation On The Fasting-Adapted Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus Oreganus)
Get PDFAmbush-hunting snakes have long been of great interest in the biology of fasting and starvation, as they are adapted to withstand well over a year without taking a meal. Well-justified ethical constraints have limited our understanding of their biology at the limits of these abilities. Unfortunate circumstances, in which the California Department of Fish and Wildlife confiscated over 50 Western Rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus) from an animal hoarder that had long neglected them, culminated in the euthanized animals ending up in the hands of our lab. Some of these snakes were extremely starved, being only one-half to one-third of the weight of wild snakes of the same length. We used dissection to determine the effects of starvation on the mass of their hearts, livers, kidneys, gallbladders, testes, and body fat. We also desiccated their hearts, livers, and kidneys to investigate effects on tissue water content in those organs. We used nano-indentation and photo analysis of bone cross sections to assess whether starvation had impacts on the material properties and structural integrity of their bones. We demonstrate that all measured organs dramatically shrink in response to starvation, with the exception of the gallbladder that shows the opposite response. The tissue water content of the liver and kidneys increases with the extent of starvation, and that of the heart appears to be unaffected. We found no evidence for changes in the material properties or structural integrity of rattlesnake bones in response to starvation. These results provide insight into how the body of one of the most fasting-adapted species of vertebrate responds to extreme starvation. Future work may need to act opportunistically to better understand these processes at different levels of biological organization
Teaching Disability (Self-)Advocacy as We “Return to Normal”: Addressing Ableism in Higher Education
Get PDFUnderstanding and Enhancing Sustainability Literacy in Cal Poly\u27s College of Engineering
Get PDFThis study uses survey data collected from Cal Poly students to analyze engineering students\u27 sustainability knowledge and their perspectives on Cal Poly\u27s efficacy in teaching concepts in sustainability. It also compares the College of Engineering to other colleges to determine if, and how, CENG is behind in environmental education at Cal Poly
Digital Twin for Shelf Intelligence: AI-Driven Inventory Management for Minimizing Food Waste
Get PDFThis project aims to develop a solution for improving grocery store inventory management by leveraging AI-driven image recognition. Traditional inventory methods, which rely on manual counting or barcode scanning, are inefficient, labor-intensive, and prone to human error. Over an 8-week period, we designed and developed a basic iPad app capable of identifying specific types of fruit and automatically updating inventory records in real time. By utilizing the iPad’s camera and machine learning algorithms, the app demonstrates the potential to streamline inventory tracking, reduce manual labor, and improve accuracy in managing perishable goods. Future work will focus on expanding the app’s capabilities to include a wider range of products, integrating real-time tracking, detecting spoilage, and syncing with existing store management systems. This project provides a foundation for creating more efficient, automated inventory systems to minimize food waste and enhance operational efficiency in grocery stores
Shake Table Testing of Full-scale Fully Equipped Timber Assembly in Residential Timber Homes
No full textIris Island Culminating Project Report
Get PDFThis report covers an analysis of each component of the fire protection system within the Iris Island building. The Iris Island building contains several unique features such as a three-story monumental stair on Levels 1 through 3. It also contains several mock court rooms and lecture rooms on Levels 2 and 3 as well as a two-story library on Levels 4 and 5. This document begins with a description of the prescriptive requirements for this building as required by the 2018 edition of the International Building Code. Analysis is performed for the egress systems, the fire resistive construction, the fire alarm system, the fire suppression system, and the smoke control system. These components are compared to their respective requirements and are generally described in their implementation within the building.
This report also discusses performance-based analyses for the building as tested by three theoretical design fires. These design fires are placed throughout the building in areas where they challenge the fire protection system. The three locations for these fires were in a lounge space on Level 5 of the building, a Christmas tree fire within the monumental stair, and a fire that travels through the bookshelves within the library of the building. A fire dynamic simulator (FDS) was used to analyze the fire within the monumental stairs due to the complex construction within the space. The goal of the simulation was to determine if a smoke control system would be required to implemented in the three-level space in order to maintain tenability for occupants egressing through the area. It was determined that the Required Safe Egress Time (RSET) was 1463 seconds. The Available Safe Egress Time (ASET) was approximately 300 seconds without an atrium exhaust system. This means a smoke control system is required due to occupants not having enough time to evacuate before the atrium is untenable. An exhaust system with a flow rate of 174,659 CFM was determined to be able to maintain the smoke layer 6 feet above the highest walking area on Level 3. This would allow for occupants to egress unimpeded.
Based on the overall analysis of the building, the building’s fire protection system can be considered sufficient with some required modifications. Doors must be added around the monumental stair to enclose the atrium boundaries as modeling shows that a fire in the atrium can quickly spread to other spaces within the building. An atrium smoke exhaust system is also required to be added. A horizontal exit was also required to be added to allow for proper egress from the third floor of the building. With all of these additions, the building is compliant with the 2018 edition of the IBC
AGED 539 Graduate Internship Report
No full textThis project report includes documentation required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. the documents are concurrently used for the Ag Incentive Grant review process at Livingston High School conducted by staff of the California Department of Education. The supporting documents include information to receive state and local funding and they outline the goals and objectives of the program. This document also provides an overview of operations of the Livingston High School Agriculture Department