Senior Design Projects
The Senior Design Project, a unique two-semester course, is the capstone of Johns Hopkins’ Mechanical Engineering program. In the class, students, working in small teams, tackle specific design challenges presented by industry, government, and non-profit organizations. The sponsors provide each team with the funds for materials, access to world-class resources, and the technical contacts. Ultimately, each team conceptualizes a novel solution to the sponsor’s problem and then designs, constructs, and tests a real-world prototype.
The course requires students to draw upon the four years of knowledge and experience they’ve gained in their engineering studies and put it to practical use. Throughout the year, they produce progress reports as they design, build, and test the devices they’re developing. Combining engineering theory, budgeting, and time management with interactions with real clients, the senior design project is critical to students’ preparation for the transition from school to the workplace.
2009-2010 PROJECTS
PROJECT BRAINS
Bone Re-Attachment Instrument for Neuro Surgery
Sponsor: Synthes, Inc.
Contact: Mr. Phil Watt
During neurosurgery, doctors must temporarily remove a portion of the cranium, the cranial bone flap, to gain access to the brain. Team BRAINS was tasked with developing a simple and fast way, after the surgery is completed, to secure the cranial bone flap in place so that the healing process can begin. The team’s principal challenges were: the very small space available; having their device very easy to install; and not harming the brain in any way. They invented a small expandable device, which fit into the kerf (cut gap) between the cranium and the bone flap. Several of these Expanders were used to securely hold the bone flap. A tiny threaded rod and nut applied the compressive force to four leaf springs, which expanded to hold the bone flap in place. A special tool was developed to allow the surgeon to quickly and accurately tighten the Expander. Once installed, the Expander had no protrusion above the cranium, and only a small plate below.
Project Designers: Sam Giovannini, Emre Oguzoncul, Kathryn Smith
PROJECT CURE
Circumcision Use for the Reduction of an Epidemic
Sponsor: Jhpiego
Contacts: Dr. Harshad Sanghvi & Dr. Kristin Chrouser
Studies have shown that male circumcision can dramatically decrease the spread of AIDS in heterosexual populations. In developing nations, where highly trained caregivers, access to medical facilities and funding are in short supply, providing a simple, safe, quick, inexpensive, painless and bloodless procedure for circumcising adult males will be lifesaving. The Project CURE team has developed a device that would allow relatively inexperienced caregivers to perform these circumcisions in a way that has the potential for rapid acceptance in developing nations. Several plastic parts comprise the “CircumStapler,” which uses biodegradable staples in lieu of sutures to secure the cut surface after the foreskin has been removed. After application of a pain deadener, interlocking parts cause a crushing action which cuts off blood supply, and thus allows a bloodless incision to be made. The set of once-used parts are estimated to cost about $1.00 when mass produced.
Project Designers: Catherine Colwell, Pietro Ranieri, Leah Vilkanskas
PROJECT DUFF
Design of UAV Fowler Flap
Sponsor: AAI Corporation
Contacts: Mr. Todd Graves & Dr. Michael Guterres
The Fowler flap is a device found on an airplane wing that, by enlarging the wing area and increasing available lift, allows pilots to land at slower speeds on a shorter landing strip without the risk of stalling and crashing. The Project DUFF team created a fully functional version of the Fowler flap, similar to the type found on commercial jets, but designed for the much smaller, unmanned aircraft used for battlefield reconnaissance missions. A single motor, affixed to a lead screw, drove the movement of the flap, which was aerodynamically designed to maintain a smooth airflow from the main wing area. Two curved guide tracks caused the wheels on the two ends of the flap to move along the required guide path. A yoke provided an even distribution of the force from the lead screw.
Project Designers: Austin DiOrio, Matti Makela, Josh Skolnick
PROJECT GRAB BAG
Sponsor: Volunteers for Medical Engineering, Inc.
Contact: Mr. John Walker
Christine, a high school student with cerebral palsy, is confined to a motorized wheelchair. Although she operates her chair with ease, she is unable to access the contents of her book bag, which hangs on the back of the chair. The students on Project GRAB BAG designed a sturdy mechanism that allows Christine, with the push of a button, to access the contents of her bookbag without interfering with the use of the wheelchair. Using two motors and a complex electronic control and safety system, the book bag was first raised up and then swung over and down in front of Christine. She has now gained a new independence -– and was heard to exclaim, “This has changed my life!”
Project Designers: Tristan Arbus, Diana Sandy, Adam Sierakowski
PROJECT HANDY CAP
Sponsor: Innovoducts, LLC
Contact: Mr. Lawrence Walters, Jr.
Designing a cap that would enable users to open a bottle of soda, a medicine container, or a jar of baby food with one hand -- this was the objective of Project HANDY CAP. In addition to ease of use, the criteria for the cap were that it provides a tight seal and that the container is reusable, child-proof, and affordable. This new, product should have wide acceptance for numerous types of containers. The mechanism to allow one-hand opening involved a lever built into the cap. One merely squeezed the lever against the neck of the container to pop off the cap. In mass production, a cost per cap of less than three cents was estimated.
Project Designers: John Lippe, Gordon Mack, Jeremy Reyes
PROJECT LEGS
Lunar Explorer Grounding System
Sponsor: JHU Applied Physics Laboratory
Contact: Mr. Tim Cole
Assuring a gentle landing for a new class of robotic lunar exploration vehicles was the objective of Project LEGS. For their assignment, this team designed and built prototypes for remotely operated mechanisms that are suitable for a variety of lunar exploration equipment. Among the criteria the students had to consider were that the landing legs had to deploy in flight from a stowed position; absorb landing energy to protect on-board components; create a stable platform for the equipment; and adjust for an uneven landing surface. All of these requirements were achieved. A pre-tensioned coil spring, held in place by a locking pin which was solenoid actuated, was used to deploy the legs. A cylinder of crushable aluminum foam was found to easily absorb the required landing impact energy; and a motor-powered lead screw allowed the system to be leveled as needed.
Project Designers: Ben Kissner, Christian Murphy, Ezra Obstfeld
PROJECT MATAR
Move And Translate And Rotate
Sponsor: Baltimore Aircoil Company
Contact: Mr. Beau Shideler
During the assembly of Baltimore Aircoil Company’s cooling towers a key component, the fill bundle, is constructed in a series of steps. First, this large, heavy subsystem must be partially built, then moved and completed and finally rotated into an upright position. This team’s objective was to create special handling equipment that would facilitate each these processes. Team MATAR succeeded in developing a purely mechanical system, requiring minimal changes to the existing production steps, and providing much safer procedures for both people and equipment. The heart of this new equipment was a pair of “skates,” wheeled supports upon which the first stage of the assembly was performed. These wheeled components allowed the fill bundle to be easily rolled by hand to the location where the remainder of the assembly took place. Pivots bolted to the shop floor were connected with pivot rods in the MATAR device, allowing the completed fill bundle to be smoothly rotated to the vertical position, ready to be lifted by an overhead crane and placed into the base of the main cooling tower assembly.
Project Designers: Ilana Cember, John Chang, Eileen Hernandez
PROJECT MR E
Miniature Radiation Escutcheon
Sponsor: JHU NSF ERC CISST
Contact: Dr. Peter Kazanzides
When cancer research is conducted on small rodents, it is necessary to create a very small and controllable zone of radiation exposure. To do this, researchers need a way to automatically adjust the shape and size of the area being exposed to radiation. Because these areas are highly irregular in shape; accuracy, repeatability and rapid means of adjustment of the exposure are essential requirements. The students on Project MR E created a miniature version of a multi-leaf collimator, a tool used for radiation dose delivery on humans. The solution to the essential feature of quickly and accurately moving these very thin plates of tungsten was a ball-screw type X-Y actuator, which moved one leaf, then translated to the next leaf and so on. A solenoid pushed a gripper down to make contact with the top of the leaf, so that the moving force could be applied. An optical technique was developed to provide absolute positioning of the leaves.
Project Designers: Ioannis Antoniou, Avik De, Christopher Ivey,
Rebecca Pierce
PROJECT SHARKE
Submerged Harnesser of Available Renewable Kinetic Energy
Sponsor: Northrop Grumman Undersea Systems
Contacts: Mr. Daniel Barvenik & Dr. Dave Smallwood
A method to harness subsea energy, which is needed to power underwater vehicles and systems, was the objective of this project. Its specific application was recharging the batteries of a tethered Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) while it is submerged. After considering a number of approaches, Team SHARKE chose to tap the flow of underwater currents for use in this project. A single motor was used to deploy two 20-inch long blades, through a gear train, and this same motor also became a generator. Except when generating power, these blades were stowed within the 7.5-in diameter hull of the UUV. As the current rotated the blades, the gearing system caused the torque to be transmitted to the motor, which now acted as a generator, sending power into the UUV’s batteries.
Project Designers: Oliver Ashley, Adam Barber, Ellen Berlinghof,
Robert Calderon
PROJECT SMARTHOOK
Sponsor: Baltimore Gas & Electric Co..
Contact: Mr. David Barnard & Mr. Bruce Hirsch
When electrical crews install a new overhead electrical wire, it is essential that they create the correct amount of tension in the wire in order to minimize damage from unusual loads, such as those caused by wind or ice. Because the existing methods (large winch & separate circular tensile gauge) used to achieve this wire tension were cumbersome and slow, the Baltimore Gas & Electric Company asked the Project SMARTHOOK team to devise an easier means to accomplish this work. This team developed a force-measuring component, using an array of strain gauges, which could be linked directly into the winch that is used to provide the tension in these often large and heavy wires. Solid state circuitry, also embedded into the force-measuring tool, provided digital readouts of the force on two sides, thus making it a more ergonomically useful tool.
Project Designers: Adam Baumgartner, Brian Min, Alex Thibau
PROJECT WHISPER
W HIgh SPeed Envelope Registration
Sponsor: Pitney Bowes DMT
Contacts: Mr. Mark MacLeod & Mr. John Masotta
The objective of this project was to create a mechanism that enables automatic repositioning of envelopes of varying sizes in PB-DMT’s high-speed automated mail processing machinery. This “registration” step is defined as moving all envelopes so that their top edges are aligned. This step is needed to allow efficient subsequent automatic postage affixing and sorting of envelopes, which facilitates the mail handling process. Team WHISPER devised an envelope-shifting mechanism that can complete the action in less than the required 0.05 seconds while the envelopes are moving by at 100 inches per second. This was accomplished by using a 1 HP motor connected to a spline shaft through a rack and pinion. This allowed the motor to be run at a slow RPM, thus affording maximum torque to achieve the speed needed. Sensors upstream provided a signal as to envelope size, hence sending the proper control information to the translator . This envelope-size-signal also actuated the proper guide rollers via pneumatic cylinders, so that adequate contact was maintained with the envelopes at all times.
Project Designers: Anthony Denny, Dante Ross, Yonatan Silverman
Check out the 2008-2009 PROJECTS
Check out the 2007-2008 PROJECTS
Check out the 2006-2007 PROJECTS
Check out the 2005-2006 PROJECTS
Check out the 2004-2005 PROJECTS
Check out the 2003-2004 PROJECTS