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Space Force Spacecraft Hull Inspection: Creation of a Process to Inspect, Compare, and Fault Detect on the Surface of a Spacecraft Hull
Get PDFThe Space Force Inspection design project aims to create a system for scanning the hull of a spacecraft, identifying any damage by cross-checking the new scan with a previous scan, and fixing any identified damage picked up by the scan. This project contains key objectives such as defining testable parameters for any given scanner, creating a repeatable process for comparing scans, and automating the process using open-source code and software. The ideal outcome for this project is to have the fully automated system implemented to a robot that is being designed and manufactured by a sister team. Some of the project constraints we have are we must have a testable system by the end of the semester along with case studies completed by the end of spring semester, the type of scanner that we use, and software limitations such as file size
Recommendations for Generation Z Civic Engagement on College Campuses
Get PDFBecause there is little existing research specifically about Generation Z civic engagement in higher education in the United States, comparisons must be made with research about different generations’ voting and civic engagement patterns, specifically Millennials, since they share many similarities with Gen Z, and Gen Z civic engagement in different countries. This, paired with survey data and statistics about Gen Z civic engagement, provide a strong foundation for this project. To supplement this literature review, interviews with industry professionals were held to learn more about the environment of Gen Z civic engagement on college campuses. From these different sources of information, recommendations were written on how to improve Gen Z civic engagement in higher education. Those recommendations included, but were not limited to, increasing the amount of research in this subfield, encouraging more, and more diverse young people into the fold of politics, and stronger institutional and sustained commitment to this cause
Maximum Entropy Species Distribution Modeling for the spring ephemeral herb Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) in Eastern North America
Get PDFThe spring ephemeral plant Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) has a widespread native range in North America, spanning much of the eastern United States and Canada. While its current NatureServe conservation status is designated as ‘secure’ (NatureServe, 2023), its status as a spring ephemeral places it at a heightened risk for climate change-induced phenological mismatch with advancing forest canopy closure. Additionally, under continued anthropogenic climate change, Bloodroot may also experience range shifts or contractions as the edges of its present range warm past physiological thresholds. To determine the potential for range shifts and contractions under future warming, I generated a species distribution model (SDM) for Bloodroot. The model was built under contemporary (1960-1990) climate variables and then projected to a future climate scenario (2050s) using maximum entropy modeling (Maxent). 17,203 georeferenced and spatially rarefied occurrences with an 80-20% split were used for training and testing the model, respectively. I used the 19 Bioclim variables from WorldClim for both contemporary and future scenarios. Comparisons of thresholded range maps from the contemporary and future predictions demonstrated a northward shift in Bloodroot’s distribution, with a small overall decrease in the predicted suitable area, primarily at the trailing southern edge. These results will inform management and conservation for this important native species under climate change, with ramifications for other aspects of Bloodroot life history, including pollination and seed dispersal
The Effects of Relative Humidity and Valency on Water Absorption and Structure in Polyelectrolyte Brushes
Get PDFThe purpose of this project was to understand the relationship between relative humidity, ion valency, and the structure of water on positively (PMETAC) and negatively (PSPMA) charged polyelectrolyte brushes. The polyelectrolyte brushes were synthesized using Activators Regenerated by Electron Transfer Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ARGET ATRP) and were soaked in concentrations containing 0.1 M of the target counterion. The brushes were then exposed to humid vapor, and spectra were collected in 5% intervals between 0% and 85% for each counterion. Two trials were completed for each counterion studied to ensure agreement between datasets. In all spectra, peaks appeared for the carbonyl group and OH bonding. Each water peak was divided into three types of water based on the location, ice-like (3061 to 3265 cm-1) , liquid-like (3265 to 3520 cm-1) , and free (3500 to 3742 cm-1). It was observed that as humidity increased, the water peak present at approximately 3400 cm-1 increased in intensity and shifted towards lower wavenumbers, indicating a more strongly bonded ice-like water structure at high humidity. Multivalent counterions produced twice the fraction of ice-like water compared to monovalent ions, demonstrating a difference in both water absorbance and structure when multivalent counterions are present
Degradable Staples and Delivery Device
Get PDFThe scope of this project is to design a method to secure skin grafts to healthy tissue. The ultimate goal for the proposed method is to be dissolvable in some form. Currently, skin grafts procedures utilize staples in most cases to hold a skin graft in place, but there are disadvantages that come with it. Staples are easy to place, but time consuming during the removal procedure. They also cause a lot of pain and discomfort for the patient. The goal of this project is to determine a way a secure skin grafts to healthy skin in order to reduce pain, minimize resources, and conserve time. If successful, the new method can be used to treat any patients who requires skin grafting surgeries. The product can be adopted by general surgeons, plastic surgeons, and orthopedic surgeons. The methodology behind this design project will follow the FDA design process. The stages in this process include user needs, design input, design process, design output, and verification/validation
Fanfic! in the Library: What Can be Learnt from How Readers Search for Fics?
Get PDFThis research seeks to explore the use of fanfiction-specific language (FSL) within the fanfiction community and whether fanfiction readers would find it useful if FSL was incorporated into library catalogues. The aims of the research are to investigate how fanfiction readers learn, use and interact with FSL and to explore if incorporating FSL into public library catalogues would encourage use. A mixed-methods approach was taken – participants were surveyed using a questionnaire and follow-up interviews, which were analysed using descriptive statistics and coding following the constant comparative analysis process. The major findings of the study are that fanfiction readers largely do understand and use FSL when searching for fanfiction, and that readers learn FSL through three different methods: figuring it out, looking it up, and asking the community. It was also found that fanfiction readers can be frustrated when searching library catalogues as they do not have the same levels of detailed searching as fanfiction websites. Participants generally did not feel that just incorporating FSL into library catalogues would be useful – instead, the style of search system used by fanfiction websites could be utilised. The main recommendation from this study is that library catalogues should take a more user-centric approach
Fanfiction: When Copyright Violation Benefits Brands
Get PDFWe investigate fanfiction (i.e., original fiction adopting elements of pre-existing media), as a copyright-violating phenomenon and show it can benefit brands. Our work first identifies two benefits of fanfiction: 1) reading fanfiction increases purchase intent for brand content, 2) and fanfiction production rates can be used to generate more accurate estimates of next-week TV viewership. Next, we identify that brands can grow their fanfiction communities by waiving copyright protection, thus removing a barrier to publication faced by many fanfiction authors. We demonstrate these results using two real-world datasets representing billions of words of fanfiction content, and one lab study (N=600)
Causational Analysis and Rectification of Issues Concerning Scale Formation on Hot-Rolled Straight Bar Product and its Effects on Ultrasonic Testing
Get PDFAt Charter Steel\u27s NDT Processing Plant located in Cleveland, Ohio, a concern has arisen regarding the recently implemented bar straightening and UT (Ultrasonic Testing) equipment. A substantial amount of mill scale, which is typically removed during the straightening process, is persisting on the bar’s surface throughout most of the NDT procedure. This lingering scale has been observed to flake off once inside the UT equipment, introducing unwanted noise and phantom peaks into the UT readings. Additionally, thick mill scale has been identified as a source of background interference in the received data. In contrast, bars that have been subjected to sandblasting (resulting in a scale-free surface) exhibit minimal to no background noise. The primary objective of this project is to develop cooling procedures to be employed during the SBQ hot rolling process. These procedures aim to minimize noise in UT measurements while considering the associated costs related to alterations in corrosion resistance and changes in water volume used for cooling
Design of an Experimental Solid Rocket Motor
Get PDFThis project utilizes mechanical and chemical principles to characterize propellant grains and to manufacture a custom nozzle to create experimental Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs) with a propellant called Angry Listerine. For the propellant grains, one major non-chemical factor that determines its thrust performance is the grain geometry, or the core of the grains for which hot gases flow through the propellant and out of the nozzle to further react with exposed chemical surfaces. The two kinds of grain geometries analyzed and tested in this report are called MoonBurner, an offset circular core, and Finocyl, a gear-shaped core. The nozzle for this project is a three-part assembly, utilizing an outer aluminum carrier to hold the middle phenolic ablative layer with a graphite insert in the center. The main purpose of using three materials instead of one large graphite piece is the issue of cost and machining graphite at larger scales of 6” to 8” diameters. Testing at smaller scales for both grain geometry and nozzle carrier provides the groundwork and testing analysis for future SRMs up to the 8” scale, which will be utilized by the Akronauts Rocket Design Team to send a student-built rocket to the Kármán Line. Grain geometry and nozzle carrier were tested individually first to ensure desired results, and a future goal of this project is to combine the two ideas into one SRM to be launched in a high-powered rocket