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CNC Retrofits
Get PDFThe Boxford CNC Lathe is a machine used for educational purposes. The goal of the CNC Retrofits project is to improve the Boxford MT2’s performance and functionality to enable Mr. Lonczak to manufacture customized ballpoint pens. Within this Final Design Review (FDR) document, we present design updates since the CDR and implementation/assembly techniques. This work culminates in a solution to Mr. Lonczak’s needs which is analyzed in three subsystems: main control, spindle position tracking, and user interface. Within this report, we show the results of each subsystem’s verification process. These results prove that the design concept was met by describing test results that verify project specifications. Tests described within this FDR conclude in statistical analysis of process capability. Process capability analysis revealed that our project approaches a pre-determined process capability of 1.3. After discussing the results of our project, we clearly present the manufacturing methods that could be used by a trained professional to recreate our project. The conclusion of the FDR is an important milestone in the CNC Retrofits project because it represents a transition from verification prototyping to the early stages of industry implementation
Foundations Of Memory Capacity In Models Of Neural Cognition
Get PDFA central problem in neuroscience is to understand how memories are formed as a result of the activities of neurons. Valiant’s neuroidal model attempted to address this question by modeling the brain as a random graph and memories as subgraphs within that graph. However the question of memory capacity within that model has not been explored: how many memories can the brain hold? Valiant introduced the concept of interference between memories as the defining factor for capacity; excessive interference signals the model has reached capacity. Since then, exploration of capacity has been limited, but recent investigations have delved into the capacity of the Assembly Calculus, a derivative of Valiant\u27s Neuroidal model. In this paper, we provide rigorous definitions for capacity and interference and present theoretical formulations for the memory capacity within a finite set, where subsets represent memories. We propose that these results can be adapted to suit both the Neuroidal model and Assembly calculus. Furthermore, we substantiate our claims by providing simulations that validate the theoretical findings. Our study aims to contribute essential insights into the understanding of memory capacity in complex cognitive models, offering potential ideas for applications and extensions to contemporary models of cognition
Designing a Modular French Drain Driveway: Addressing the Impact of Stormwater Runoff from Residential Communities
Get PDFStormwater runoff poses a significant threat to the environment and can have in impact on public health. Contaminants from our homes accumulate in stormwater and flow down our streets into our sewer systems. Ultimately, the hazardous water ends up in various natural waterways, creating a substantial pollution problem which harms the local ecosystem. Of the millions of driveways across the country, almost all are underutilizing the footage of land that they are occupying. By developing an easy-to-incorporate drainage system, a large portion of stormwater that would normally flow into the street can be contained within the property beneath the driveway. The goal is to design a system which can perform its double-duty of being a residential driveway as well as being a stormwater containment and infiltration system with enough void volume to accommodate most, if not all, rainstorm events. The system would provide contractors with time savings and a positive image, while homeowners would be able to perform the installation themselves. If the system is adopted by a substantial portion of homes, the impact would keep our communities cleaner and minimize harm to the climate and surrounding environment
2nd Annual Girls Build Summer Academy: Logistics and Scheduling
Get PDFThis paper discusses the logistics and scheduling involved for Cal Poly construction management department’s second annual Girls Build Summer Academy. The week-long academy was hosted to introduce construction related activities to 19 high school-aged girls so they could learn more about the careers available within the architecture, engineering, and construction industry, while learning skills to build individual and team projects. To achieve this goal, a full schedule was developed for each day of the camp, allowing for a variety of activities, including listening to guest speakers, completing building projects, and training to safely use tools. There were many challenges that affected the schedule. Twice as many girls participated in the camp than in the previous year along with increased industry participation and volunteers – without schedule adjustments made from the previous year to accommodate the increased number of girls. As a result, finishing everything throughout each day and over the week proved challenging. This paper highlights the necessary scheduling aspects and logistics and provides recommendations for future academy setup and schedule to accommodate up to 20 participants
Temporal and Spectral Analysis of 1ES 2344+514 in Two Flaring States Observed by VERITAS
Get PDFVERITAS observed the bright blazar 1ES 2344+514 during two flaring periods, one from Dec. 17 to Dec. 18, 2015 (MJD 57373-57374) with a peak flux of ~60% of the Crab and another from Nov. 28 to Dec. 3, 2021 (MJD 59546-59551) with a peak flux of ~20% of the Crab. This blazar, located at a redshift of z = 0.044, is classified as an extreme high-frequency-peaked BL Lacertae object (HBL). It is known to be variable, including several previous day-scale flares: Whipple on Dec. 20, 1995, VERITAS on Dec. 7, 2007, and MAGIC on Aug. 11, 2016. The VERITAS near-nightly monitoring of 1ES 2344+514 during the 2015-2016 and 2021-2022 seasons provides good coverage of the pre- and post-flare flux as well as the rise/fall time of the flares. We present the multiwavelength light curves of each flare as well as the very high-energy spectra in the two flare states and the two pre-flare states
Statistical Uncertainty of the Ignition Time, Burning Rate, and Extinction Characteristics of Engineered Timber Products
Get PDFThe characterization of flammability parameters such as time to ignition, mass loss rate (MLR), and extinction criteria is critical for understanding ignition and burning behavior of timber products. These parameters, often determined with bench scale experiments, have previously been presented in literature. However, standard test methods generally use relatively low trial quantities (e.g., n=3) which can potentially cause large variation in reported values. This study investigates the influence of trial quantity on observed statistical variation in key flammability metrics for timber products (e.g., ignition time, peak MLR, MLR at extinction). Using a conical heater, 100 repeat trials were conducted at incident heat exposures of 20 kW/m2, 40 kW/m2, and 50 kW/m2 on 12.7 mm thick ACX cross laminated plywood samples. Ignition time data was found to exhibit significant positive skew and 20-30 trials were required for the reduction in uncertainty with each additional trial to fall below 0.1s at each heat flux. The normalized uncertainty in ignition time was greatest at 50 kW/m2 and was 20-70% than at 20 kW/m2 and 40 kW/m2. Significant variability was observed in the extinction characteristics of samples exposed to 40 kW/m2 where 39 samples experienced self-extinction while the remainder sustained combustion until burnout. Uncertainty in MLR at extinction for these trials was nearly double that of trials exposed to 20 kW/m2. These results exhibit the significance of large trial quantities when determining flammability characteristics
Productivity And Modelling Of Microalgae Mono- And Polycultures Grown On Wastewater In Raceways
No full textMicroalgae biomass has potential as a feedstock for various bioproducts, including biofuel. Algae can be cultivated on treated wastewater or on untreated wastewater, accomplishing treatment as a co-benefit. Greater understanding of algal productivity is needed. This study compared the net productivity of naturally forming algae polycultures, and monocultures of Scenedesmus obliquus (DOE0152Z) and Tribonema minus cultivated on treated municipal wastewater or primary clarifier effluent. The experiments were conducted in outdoor, 1350-L and 1000-L, raceway tanks in coastal central California during a multi-year period. A linear regression model of net productivity (i.e., based on the difference of biomass in the influent and effluent of the raceways) was developed. The highest productivity culture was a polyculture grown on primary clarifier effluent at 20.0 +/- 3.8 g/m2-day (ash-free dry weight, AFDW over 12 months of continuous cultivation). The monoculture with the highest productivity was Tribonema minus at 16.1 +/- 0.8 g/m2-day (summer through winter). In the various strain and wastewater type combinations tested, solar radiation was the most statistically significant predictor of net productivity (
Food For Thought: The Effects Of Feeding On Neurogenesis In The Ball Python, Python Regius
Get PDFPythons are a well-studied model of postprandial physiological plasticity. Consuming a meal has been shown by past work to evoke a suite of physiological changes in pythons and elicit one of the largest documented increases in post-feeding metabolic rates relative to resting values. However, little is known about how this plasticity manifests in the brains of ball pythons, Python regius. Previous work using the cell-birth marker 5-bromo-12’-deoxyuridine (BrdU) has shown that cell proliferation in the python brain increases six days following meal consumption. This study aimed to confirm these findings and build on them in the long term by tracking the survival and maturation of these newly created cells across a two-month period. We investigated whether these cells differentiated into neurons using double-immunofluorescence for BrdU and a reptile-specific neuronal marker (Fox3). We did not find significantly greater rates of cell proliferation in snakes six days after feeding, but we did observe more newly created cells in neurogenic regions in fed snakes two months after the meal. Feeding did not influence neurogenesis, but feeding does appear to have a neuroprotective effect. More newly created cells survived in fed snakes two months later, particularly in the olfactory bulbs and lateral cortex. These findings shed light on the extent of postprandial plasticity and regional differences in the creation of new neural cells in the brains of ball pythons
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fire Behavior Impacts Following California Fuel Treatments
Get PDFFuel treatments are being increasingly applied across California landscapes as communities struggle to recover from wildfire disasters nationwide. Increased funding for treatments stems from grants under CARB’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and funding requires reports accounting the yielded benefits from these fuel treatments. Using data from real-world local scale fuel treatments, I used the forest simulation model FVSFEE and fire behavior software IFTDSS to quantify GHG emission benefits and fire behavior impacts 70 years after treatment. Results suggest that fuel treatments do not yield significant GHG benefits, and fire behavior impacts (conditional flame length) are minimal but overall show slight reductions in the impact area’s burn severity. However, treatment outcomes may vary on the localized landscapes, size of treatment, and unique parameters applied to each treatment simulation
Development Of Mirror Flexures For Use In The Muvi Instrument
Get PDFThe Miniaturized Ultraviolet Imager (MUVI), is a compact wide field UV imaging instrument in development at UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. MUVI is designed to fit in a 2U CubeSat form factor and provide wide field, high resolution images of the ionosphere at far ultraviolet wavelengths. This thesis details the design and analyses of MUVI’s deployable cover mirror mounting flexures. Three different flexure geometries were evaluated, an optimal candidate was determined based on a number of criteria including isolation of vibration and stress to the mirrors, manufacturability and cost. The design of the flexure system includes the flexure blades themselves, Invar pads bonded to the mirror to mitigate the difference in CTEs of the different material, mounting of flexure blades to the deployable cover and ground support equipment for assembly and testing.
During the design of the flexures, various materials were studied, and Titanium was concluded as the optimum material due to its combination of high strength and flexibility compared to stainless steel, aluminum and other metals. Utilizing titanium, several flexure designs were proposed, and three candidates were selected to be manufactured and tested. Throughout the design phase, all flexures went through several rounds of analysis utilizing finite element analysis to simulate quasi-static loads, modal analysis of the systems natural frequency as well as random vibration simulations to simulate testing environments.
Once the front-runner designs were selected and manufactured, several tests were conducted. Testing included adhesive bond coupon testing of the adhesive in tension and bending to experimentally validate the bonding size of the invar pads would be sufficient. The adhesive bond testing conducted tension and three-point bend tests to characterize the epoxy adhesive used in the flexure assembly. Testing also consisted of sine sweep and random vibration environment in accordance with the NASA General Environmental Verification Standard to qualify the hardware for spaceflight. Throughout the vibration testing, an autocollimator was used pre and post-test to measure shifts in the optical alignment of the mirror after it underwent vibration qualification testing.
Experimental and analytical models were compared once all testing was completed. The Curved Blade showed to test in the real world very close to that predicted by the finite element model, however, the Bent Blade and Z Blade showed a larger difference between analysis and test. Discussion into the reasoning for this difference and lessons learned is included