Capstone Design Expo 2023

Self-Production of Raw Materials for Flame Retardant Unit

Upgrade of Laboratory Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor

Carbon Capture and Utilization to Produce Valuable Products

Deadman Anchor System Replacement

Dewatering System Design of Lake Whitney Dam

Design of a New Wheel Truing Facility for the New Haven Railyard

Ella T. Grasso Blvd: Traffic Calming with Intersection and Traffic Light Design

Arclight

A Novel Smart Electronic Liaison to Support International Students

HeartBuddy

Virtual Reality Situational Awareness Training for First Responders Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

TEAM MEMBERS

Ahmed Muntasir Hossain

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Mehdi Mekni

GOAL

To provide a digital reputation management tool by analyzing social media content using multiple sentiment analysis engines. SASM collects data from Twitter, Reddit, and Tumblr, then filters and aggregates trends in sentiment to provide insights on content posted on social media. To validate the system, a case study focusing on major oil companies, including Shell, ExxonMobil, and BP, will be conducted. The outcomes of the study will explore how social media content about these companies varies depending on various factors.

TEAM MEMBERS

Ryan Gibbons and Lester Barrio

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Mehdi Mekni

GOAL

To prevent firefighter injuries and assess performance. A performance study will be done with a fire and smoke simulation model that leverages CPU and GPU processing. The propose revising HellSmoke's architecture is to allow anywhere accessibility, flexible resources, and economies of scale. These improvements would enable fire science students and professionals to access training sessions from anywhere without compromising realism or interactivity. It can run on less powerful hardware, making training more accessible.

TEAM MEMBERS

Ryan Horgan, Hugh-John Dunkley, Olivia Knight, and Michael Shea

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Mehdi Mekni

GOAL

To create an educational VR experience for teaching astronomy. Building on the computational power and astronomical databases of the open-source Stellarium platform, StellariumVR offers more portable and affordable options to students. By leveraging the strengths of VR technology, StellariumVR aims to create an unparalleled and engaging learning experience for students without requiring logistical considerations such as planetarium trips. This project offers an innovative and cost-effective solution to enhance astronomy education and increase students' interest in the subject.

TEAM MEMBERS

Jake Sullivan, Jessica Berrios, Emily Carlow, Nathan Platt, and Matthew Swaggerty

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Amir Esmailpour

GOAL

To design a college enterprise network which will also have a PXE boot server implemented. Items such as cloud, firewalls, LAN/WAN, and IoT will be included as well as an international campus location. A theoretical implementation of the PXE boot server over an entire college enterprise will be presented alongside a physical implementation of the PXE boot server using the UNH lab computers. A DHCP attack will also be performed on the physical PXE server to assess the potential security vulnerabilities it may present.

TEAM MEMBERS

Devonne Croll, Anta Fall, and Mariel Segovia

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Amir Esmailpour

GOAL

To design an enterprise network for Bradley International that is optimized for high performance and security. This topology prioritizes network segmentation which enables efficiency and provides additional security throughout the network.

TEAM MEMBERS

Brian Gervais, Hayden Beauty, and Christian Nnonyelu

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Amir Esmailpour

GOAL

To tackle the shortcomings of modern recording applications that corporations currently use, and introduce our own secure device capable of recording, storing, and cataloging audio files.

TEAM MEMBERS

Jason Ash, Brian Whritenour, Zachary Donovan, Chase Capano, and Justin Hollman

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Amir Esmailpour

GOAL

To research and explore the lingering security threats and solutions for an enterprise network with the increase in work from home activity. The design will be recreated, and a test bed will be made to explore and experiment with the current market solutions to working from home on secure networks over VPN or proxy.

TEAM MEMBERS

Karrie LeDuc-Santoro

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Amir Esmailpour

GOAL

To design and build an enterprise network for a car manufacturing company using V2N and Bluetooth to secure a key fob. The network design will secure the usage of a key fob at the manufacturing level to ensure that the fob is safe to use in public settings.

TEAM MEMBERS

Nelson Bordeleau and Justin Duprey

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Ismail Orabi

INDUSTRY ADVISOR

Joseph Miranda, Collins Aerospace

SPONSOR

Collins Aerospace, specialists in aerostructures, avionics, interiors, mechanical systems, mission systems, and power and control systems across the aerospace industry

GOAL

To produce a cheap, effective, easy-to-use, state-of-the-art quick disconnect system for use in space applications. The quick disconnect must effectively seal closed on both ends when disconnecting and provide a minimal leakage passage for fluid upon locking. The team will improve the existing quick disconnect system and provide force and fluid dynamics simulation data to prove the viability of the design. A manufactured or 3D printed prototype will be produced to demonstrate the practicality of the mechanisms.

TEAM MEMBERS

Jonathan Kolodziejczak (Mechanical Engineering) and Kristen Vogle (Biomedical Engineering)

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Ismail Orabi

INDUSTRY ADVISOR

Nick Schreiber, Senior Product Engineer, Value Analysis/Value and OI Enterprise Engineering, Medtronic

SPONSOR

Medtronic, a global leader in medical technology, services, and solutions

GOAL

To redesign and build the actuator assembly of a surgical stapler currently on the market to simplify and reduce the cost of the actuator component while adhering to the assumptions and constraints provided by the company. The design improvement will increase the company’s competitive advantage in the market, meet Medtronic's annual cost-saving targets, and promote the Value Analysis, Value Engineering (VAVE) initiative.

TEAM MEMBERS

Tyler Crowley, Remy Plattiers, and Ethan Silver

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Ismail Orabi

INDUSTRY ADVISOR

Bill Welsh, Senior Technical Fellow, Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin

SPONSOR

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company, is a global leader in supporting customers’ missions, strengthening security and advancing scientific discovery

GOAL

To design a rig to test a few different inventions for the X2 helicopter that increase maneuverability in the case of an engine malfunction. The team will review previous teams’ work and rectify damaged components. Currently there is a tilt in the bearings that ride along the inside of the cam rig that will be rectified through force analysis by hand calculation and the use of the MSC software, ADAMS.

TEAM MEMBERS

Daryl DeCohen Jr., Sebastian Silva, and Kendall Barrow-Spencer

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Ismail Orabi

INDUSTRY ADVISOR

Rajiv Thapa, Associate Electrical Engineer, Edgewell Personal Care

SPONSOR

Edgewell Personal Care, a trailblazing personal care company that leverages its employees’ creativity and passion to challenge convention and drive growth

GOAL

To design and create a tumbler feeder mechanism that will individualize razor handles coming out of the feeder. A conveyor belt will be used to feed the razor handles through the tumbler feeder. A double drum system will be utilized; one drum will be vibrating, the other drum will be rotating with interchangeable pegs located within the interior. Tests of force, stress, and strain will all be observed to analyze any areas of improvement or concern. The addition of the tumbler feeder should provide an increased rate of efficiency and speed for the current assembly line process.

TEAM MEMBERS

Brian Rowe and Peter Violano

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Ismail Orabi

INDUSTRY ADVISOR

Phil Smith, Sr. Analytical Engineer, RBC Bearings

SPONSOR

RBC Heim, provider of global industrial, aerospace, and defense customers with unique design solutions to complex problems and an unparalleled level of service, quality, and support

GOAL

To design and construct a bearing capable of reading loads, which allows for a more in-depth understanding of the stresses the bearing experiences. Machine downtime can be very costly to customers, especially in the canning industry. The design aims to prevent errors in downtime calculations arising from assumptions, and replace the calculations with a real-time reading on the status of the bearing. The strain gauge measurements will be transmitted wirelessly or with minimal wiring due to the dynamic nature of bearing applications.

TEAM MEMBERS

Sean Purnell and Kevin Bologna

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Ismail Orabi

INDUSTRY ADVISOR

Paul Spahr, Principal Project Engineer, Damian Bianchi, Vice President, and Matthew Schomaker, Chief Engineer, all from the Control Valve Group

SPONSOR

The Lee Company, designer and builder of state-of-the-art miniature fluid control products which exceed customer expectations for utility, performance, and quality

GOAL

To design and build a tabletop apparatus to test pneumatic leakage of a small elastomeric specimen. A seat contacts the elastomer and the air leakage between these two parts must be read in standard micro-liters per minute. The test is conducted by an operator who will set applied load and air pressure and record the results in a program. Data collected includes Load (g) vs. Air leakage (SμLPM) graphs.

TEAM MEMBERS

Justin Haire, Adriel Gill, and Jaden Sylvester

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Joseph Levert

INDUSTRY ADVISOR

Clifford Esmiol, Maintenance Manager

SPONSOR

FirstLight Power Services LLC, owner and operator of various hydroelectric, solar and wind assets that provide clean renewable energy to the electrical grid

GOAL

To design and implement a bearing oil cooling system at the Falls Village hydroelectric power generation station. The current oil cooling system relies on river water to remove the heat generated by the bearing. An air oil heat exchanger system to cool the bearing oil is proposed. The redesigned cooler will provide greater temperature control of the bearing lubricating oil, thus improving system reliability. In addition to controlling temperature more effectively, the proposed solution will no longer require cooling water permits.

TEAM MEMBERS

Abdulrahman Aljalidi (Industrial and Systems Engineering); Alexander Betro, Jason Nguyen (Electrical Engineering); Devin DiCocco (Electrical & Computer Engineering); and Tyler Kanter (Mechanical Engineering)

FACULTY ADVISORS

Drs. Mohsen Sarraf and Laurence Levine

INDUSTRY ADVISORS

Shanthala Nagesh Kumar, Hardware Test Automation Engineer; Michael Yanofsky, Regulatory & Compliance Engineering Supervisor – Fire Safety

SPONSOR

Honeywell Fire-Lite, provider of cost effective non-proprietary fire alarm solutions for small to medium buildings at educational institutions, hospitals and health care facilities, commercial complexes, retail spaces and government buildings around the world

GOAL

To design, fabricate, and test a modernized Regulated Notification Appliance Certification (NAC) Tester to replace the existing legacy device and provide a sustainable and more usable system. The tester will simplify the use of the system during fire panel qualification testing, reduce test configuration errors, modernize the system’s components, and provide a supportable code base.

TEAM MEMBERS

Jordan Berrocales, Thomas Erdmann, and Melanie Methot (Mechanical Engineering); Ryan Langlois, Cole Tardif (Electrical & Computer Engineering); and McKenzie Lewis (General Engineering)

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Joseph Levert

INDUSTRY ADVISOR

Philip Gorman, Interim Director – Global Phage Discovery, Manager – U.S. Antibody Discovery, Abcam

SPONSOR

Abcam, a leading global proteomics pioneer that identifies, develops, and manufactures quality biological, protein, and custom cell engineering tools to the life science research and clinical communities.

GOAL

To design and build a highly automated system that will perform two of the major steps of the currently manual Western Blot Process for protein detection. The design will streamline the automation of manual inputs and the use of multiple samples instead of typical individual samples. The system will be designed to be almost fully automated from start to finish with push button operation.

TEAM MEMBERS

Kiefer Neumann, Brian Sanfilippo and Ian Robinson (Mechanical Engineering); Laela Butow (Electrical & Computer Engineering); Anthony Varbaro (Computer Engineering); and Anthony Sihaphong (Electrical Engineering)

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Joseph Levert

INDUSTRY ADVISOR

Dr. Chong Qiu

SPONSOR

National Science Foundation and National Aeronautics and Space Administration

GOAL

To use high-altitude ballooning with portable ozone sensors to enable stratospheric ozone measurements during the 2023 & 2024 solar eclipses. The team will design and build several payloads that will be sent into the stratosphere from optimized balloon launch locations during the 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses.

TEAM MEMBERS

Alyssa Alves, Evan Lima (Mechanical Engineering); Michael Gentile (Electrical Engineering); Laela Butow, Michael Daly, and Justin Stewart (Electrical & Computer Engineering)

FACULTY ADVISOR

Dr. Mohsen Sarraf

SPONSOR

General Dynamics Electric Boat, provider of design, construction, and lifecycle support of submarines that meet standards of excellence for the U.S. Navy.

GOAL

To design and mount a transceiver that is capable of transmitting and receiving data through the two-inch-thick metal plate of a submarine’s hull. This will avoid the cost of recertification since radio signals neither propagate in water nor through metal. Using a software-defined radio device, a message will be sent through ultrasound transducers and processed using MATLAB to send and receive an image through the plate of steel. The transceiver will be housed in an enclosure that has a watertight seal.