Journal of Undergraduate Research

Stephen Carlson and Dr. Jerry Bowman, Mechanical Engineering The mission of this project was the development of an Unmanned Air Vehicle capable of complete autonomy in a terrestrial environment. Using a jumping system for zero-distance take-offs and the addition of ground locomotion devices and energy harvesting systems, the vehicle could operate indefinitely without human assistance. […]

Alan Bordon and Dr. Anton Bowden, Mechanical Engineering My ORCA grant proposal was to study the effect that freezing and thawing a soft tissue has on the results of the mechanical property tests (i.e how strong) performed on the tissue. I was to study the effect of a single and multiple freeze/thaw cycles on the […]

Brent L. Weight and Dr. Larry L. Howell, Mechanical Engineering A compliant mechanism is one in which the mechanism’s motion comes from deflection of one or more of its members. Compliant mechanisms offer several advantages over rigid-body mechanisms. The member deflection characteristic of compliant mechanisms results in the ability to store energy directly within the […]

Jeremy D. Webb and Dr. Russell Daines, Mechanical Engineering Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a semi-solid state joining process. The process utilizes a threaded pin tool “stirring” two aluminum plates together as it “sews” the seam together. One application of this process would replace the use of rivets to join aluminum paneling on commercial aircraft. […]

Matthew Christensen and Dr. Larry L. Howell, Mechanical Engineering Compliant mechanisms are those which gain part or all of their motion from the flexibility of their parts. For example, the motion of a hinge can be alternatively provided by a pin (like a hinge on a door), or by a thin flexible member (like a […]

Jisang Sun and Dr. Robert H. Todd, Mechanical Engineering Introduction The Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) is a mechanical device that transfers power from an engine to another device such as a gear box or reducer. It mainly consists of three major parts; a speed sensitive drive pulley, a torque sensitive driven pulley and a V-belt. […]

James D. Baker and Dr. Larry L. Howell, Mechanical Engineering Contemporary engineering has received the benefits of computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools that automate and simplify the design of mechanical systems. However, such tools do not provide direct support for the specific field of compliant mechanisms, whose behavior can require difficult techniques for design and synthesis. […]

Ryan J. Larsen and Dr. Brent L. Adams, Mechanical Engineering A growing focus of material science research is relating material properties to grain boundary geometry. The purpose of my research has been to improve current methods of determining grain boundary geometry and to relate interface geometry to sensitization of AISI type 304 stainless steel. Sensitization […]

Michael I. Kellogg and Dr. Russell Daines, Mechanical Engineering Space is the final frontier. That has been generally believed since Sputnik went up in the 1950’s, but in spite of this optimistic belief, homesteaders have not yet begun to settle Mars, nor have businesses sponsored ventures to other planets. One of the reasons that the […]

S. James Felsted and Dr. Tracy W. Nelson, Mechanical Engineering Friction Stir Welding is a solid state joining process that makes possible the joining of materials that were previously difficult or impossible to weld. A closer examination of friction stir welding shows that welding occurs because of mechanical mixing, frictional heating, and forging. Welds are […]