Submitted by: Kellie Schneider

University of Arkansas
[email protected]

Freshman Engineering Program

University of Arkansas
Fall Semester 2012

Biomechanical Project 1
Water Filter
Topic Summary

Outcomes

At the end of the Engineering Design Project 1: Water Filter, each student should possess:
1. experience working on a team;
2. an understanding of the engineering design process;
3. a fundamental understanding of the use natural materials in a water filtration system;
4. an ability to construct a technical report.

Project Tasks

Task 1- Form a team

In class on Monday, September 10 or Tuesday, September 11, students will be assigned to
teams of three or four. Locate your team, introduce yourselves, exchange contact information
and record the information in the table provided.

Team # Team Name:

Member Name Email Phone

Task 2- Build a Filter

Use the time allotted during class to build your filter.
Hint: Take measurements as you build your filter so that you can replicate/improve your results
later.

Materials and Tools:

 • 500mL water bottle
• Cotton Ball
• Drainage rock
• Pea gravel
• Sand
• Scissors
• 9 oz Collection cup (clear plastic)
• 8 oz Styrofoam cup
Filter Construction
• Remove the label from the bottle and write your team name/number on it
• Empty the contents of the water bottle into the clean water collection tank.
• Cut the bottom off of the bottle (less than 1”)
• Poke four or five pin size holes in the cap. (place the cap back on the bottle)
• Invert the bottle(cap down)
• Add a cotton ball to the bottom (cap end)
• Add a 1”-2” layer of drainage rock (10-15 rocks)
• Add a 1”-2” layer of pea gravel (level it)
• Add a 2”-3” layer of sand (level it)

Filter Holder Construction

• Cut a hole in the bottom of the Styrofoam cup large enough for the bottle cap
• Cut the top edge of the Styrofoam cup until the edge will fit inverted inside the
plastic one
• Place the inverted Styrofoam cup into the plastic collection cup
• Place the filter bottle (cap down) onto the Styrofoam cup

Task 3- Check Flow Rate

Once your filter is built, examine whether your filter will flow under ideal conditions. Pour
100mL of clean water through your system. Measure the time it takes to collect your water
from your filter and the amount you collected. Record the data and calculate the flow rate.
Repeat the process multiple times to check accuracy. Compare the clarity of your water to the
pure water.

Task 4- Filtration
Once your filter has shown that it can pass clean water, you must determine whether it can
actually filter particles. Set up your filter as you have done previously. Add 100mL of “dirty
water” to the filter. Again, you should measure the flow rate. You should also keep a sample of
the water for comparison. Repeat the process three more times. Compare your results for flow
rate and water clarity.

Safety Note: Although your filter should produce clear water, there may still be bacteria in it.
You would then have to boil the water to kill the microorganisms before drinking it.

Task 5- Design Improvement

Using only the materials and tools provided for your original filter, create a second design which
you think may improve the filtering process. Explain the changes you made to the design. Why
you think it will improve the filtration? Experiment with your design and record your results.

Task 6 – Obtaining a quality resource

Find a magazine article, journal article, government document, or book that shows a practical
application of water filtration. Provide a complete reference for the item. Include information
from your reference in the Background portion of your technical report.

Project Assessment (300 project points)

Intermediate Deliverable 1 (50 points)

Prior to the end of class on Wednesday, September 12 (sections 004 and 005) or Thursday,
September 13 (sections 012 and 013) each team should demonstrate a working water filter for
their instructor or Primary TA.

Intermediate Deliverable 2 (100 points)

In class on Wednesday, September 19 (sections 004 and 005) or Thursday, September 20
(sections 012 and 013), teams will submit their final filter design. Each filter will have three
cycles of 100mL of dirty water added to it. Samples will be collected from the third cycle on
each filter. The samples will be compared against the other teams for yield, clarity, and color.

Honors Students: In class on Wednesday, September 19 (sections 004 and 005) or Thursday,
September 20 (sections 012 and 013), honors teams will be asked to reconstruct their filter
from scratch during the class period. Each filter will have three cycles of 100mL of dirty water
added to it. Samples will be collected from the third cycle on each filter. The samples will be
compared against the other teams for yield, clarity, and color.

Final Deliverable (150 points)

Each student will complete an individual technical report in the form of a 1 – 2 page memo. The
memo should include background information including real-world applications associated with
inexpensive water filtration, a summary of the tasks accomplished during the Biomechanical
Project 1, a summary of your filter and how it compared to other teams, and a peer evaluation.
In class during the week of September 24, students will have an opportunity to work on their
memo, and the Engineering Librarian will discuss appropriate citation styles and library
resources for inclusion in technical reports. The memo should follow the FEP Assignment Policy
with regards to Formatting of Word-Processed Work Submitted as Part of an Assignment. The
completed memo should be uploaded to the individual section BlackBoard page (not the
master course) by 4:20pm on Monday, October 1 (sections 004 and 005) or Tuesday, October 2
(sections 012 and 013).

Peer Evaluation
Include the Peer Evaluation in your memo. There are 100 total points to be allocated.

Your Name: Points Assigned:

Tasks you completed:

Team Member 1 Name: Points

Assigned:
Tasks Member 1 completed:

Team Member 2 Name: Points

Assigned:
Tasks Member 2 completed:

Team Member 3 Name: Points

Assigned:
Tasks Member 3 Completed:
 Submitted by: Kellie Schneider
University of Arkansas
[email protected]
Freshman Engineering Program
University of Arkansas
Fall Semester 2012

Computing Project 1
Arduino Basics
Topic Summary

Outcomes

At the end of the Engineering Design Project: Arduino Basics, each student should possess:
1. experience building and testing a programmable circuit;
2. experience programming for the Arduino Uno R3 Microcontroller;
3. experience with LEDs and resistors;
4. experience working on a team;
5. an ability to construct a technical report.

Project Tasks

Task 1 – Forming a team and obtaining an Ardunio kit

In class on Monday, September 10 or Tuesday, September 11, students will be assigned to
teams of two or three. Locate your team, introduce yourselves, exchange contact information
and record the information in the table provided.

Team # Team Name:

Member Name Email Phone

Task 2 – Constructing your initial circuit

With the help of the instructor, build a simple circuit using the Arduino Uno, breadboard, two
wires (one connected to GND and one connected to port 13), one LED, and one resistor.
Connect the Arduino to the computer with the provided USB cable and open the Arduino Uno
program. If you would like to obtain a copy of the software for your computer, a download is
available at http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software. You may need to change the serial port
setting by clicking on “Tools” and then “Serial Port”. A green light next to the word “ON”
should be lit up on the Arduino Uno. Next, click on “File”, “Examples”, “Basics”, and “Blink”.
Click the arrow button to upload the “Blink” program. Watch your light blink.
Task 3 – Constructing a circuit with two LEDs
Using another wire, resistor, and LED add another light to your breadboard. The LED should be
connected to port 12. Go back to the “Blink program” and modify the code to make both lights
blink.
Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_TwoBlinkingLights.ino.”

Example Code for Task 3

int led = 13;
int led2 = 12;

void setup() {
pinMode(led, OUTPUT);
pinMode(led2, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
digitalWrite(led, HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(led, LOW);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(led2, HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(led2, LOW);
delay(1000);
}

Task 4 – Binary Numbers

Build and program a circuit, by modifying the “Blink” program,that counts from 0 to 16 using
only 5 LEDs.Binary is a base 2 counting system that only uses the digits 1 and 0. All numbers and
values can be expressed in binary form. The following table shows all the binary
representations from the numbers 0 to 16:

Table 1. Decimal to Binary Numbers

Decimal Binary
Number Number
0 00000
1 00001
2 00010
3 00011
4 00100
5 00101
6 00110
7 00111
8 01000
9 01001
10 01010
 11 01011
12 01100
13 01101
14 01110
15 01111
16 10000
Your team must use 5 LEDs to represent the binary digits in the table above. A “1” indicates a lit
LED and a “0” is an unlit LED. For example, when the 5 LEDs are lit in the pattern in figure 1, the
number should be read as 13.

Figure 1. Lit LEDs Representing 13 in Binary

Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_BinaryNumbers.ino.”

Task 5 – Battlestar Galactica

Build and program a circuit, by modifying the “Blink” program,with 9 LEDs that flash back and
forth in a straight line. Battlestar Galactica has a landing strip of running lights. Your team
should replicate one bank of LEDs that light up successively in a straight line within one
row/column of lights. The link below gives an example of the lighting succession that should be
used:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za33Fe5Ygvc

Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_BattlestarGalactica.ino.”

Task 6 – Jeopardy!
Build and program a circuit, by modifying the “Blink” program, with 9 LEDs that replicates the
timer used after a contestant buzzes in on the game show “Jeopardy!”.A link below gives an
example of the lighting succession that should be used:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJno60x3T1A

Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_Jeopardy.ino.”

Task 6H – Knight Rider (Honors Students Only)

Complete Task 6. In addition, Build and program a circuit, by modifying the “Blink” program,
with 9 LEDs that chase themselves in a straight line as seen in the 1980’s television program
“Knight Rider”.A link below gives an example of the lighting succession that should be used:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgMpZFDnlEU

Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_KnightRider.ino.”

Task 7 – Obtaining a quality resource
Find a magazine article, journal article, government document, or book that shows a practical
application of microcontrollers. Provide a complete reference for the item. Include information
from your reference in the Background portion of your technical report.

Project Assessment (300 project points)

Intermediate Deliverable 1 (50 points)

Prior to the end of class on Wednesday, September 12 (sections 002 and 007) or Thursday,
September 13 (sections 010 and 015) students should complete Tasks 1 – 3 and demonstrate
completion of the tasks to their instructor or primary TA.

Intermediate Deliverable 2 (10 points)

Before class on Wednesday, September 19 (sections 002 and 007) or Thursday, September 13
(sections 010 and 014), each team should submit one e-mail containing all Arduino program
files to their primary teaching assistant. (Students in the regular sections will submit 3
programs, and students in the honors sections will submit 4 programs). The sender of the e-
mail should cc all teammates on the e-mail.

Intermediate Deliverable 3 (90 points)

In class on Wednesday, September 19 (sections 002 and 007) or Thursday, September 13
(sections 010 and 014), teams will build a 9 LED circuit and then demonstrate each of their
submitted programs. An individual team member will be chosen at random to demonstrate
each program. All team members should be prepared to answer questions regarding the
content of the programs.

Final Deliverable (150 points)

Each student will complete an individual technical report in the form of a 1 – 2 page memo. The
memo should include background information including real-world applications associated with
microcontrollers (see Task 7), a summary of the tasks accomplished during the Computing
Project 1, a summary of the programming techniques used including a brief discussion on loops,
and a peer evaluation.

In class during the week of September 24, students will have an opportunity to work on their
memo, and the Engineering Librarian will discuss appropriate citation styles and library
resources for inclusion in technical reports. The memo should follow the FEP Assignment Policy
with regards to Formatting of Word-Processed Work Submitted as Part of an Assignment. The
completed memo should be uploaded to the individual section BlackBoard page (not the
master course) by 4:20pm on Monday, October 1 (sections 002 and 007) or Tuesday, October 2
(sections 010 and 015).

Peer Evaluation
Include the Peer Evaluation in your memo. There are 100 total points to be allocated.

Your Name: Points Assigned:

Tasks you completed:
Team Member 1 Name: Points Assigned:
Tasks Member 1 completed:

Team Member 2 Name: Points Assigned:

Tasks Member 2 completed:
 Submitted by: Kellie Schneider
University of Arkansas
[email protected]
Freshman Engineering Program - University of Arkansas
Fall Semester 2012

Robotics Project 1
LEGO Mindstorms Basics
Topic Summary

Outcomes

At the end of the Engineering Design Project: LEGO Mindstorms, each student should possess:
1. experience constructing a LEGO Mindstorms robot;
2. experience programming with LEGO Mindstorms;
3. experience with light sensors and bump sensors;
4. experience working on a team;
5. an ability to construct a technical report.

Project Tasks

Task 1 – Forming a team and obtaining a Mindstorm kit

In class on Monday, September 10 or Tuesday, September 11, students will be assigned to
teams of three or four. Locate your team, introduce yourselves, exchange contact information
and record the information in the table provided. Complete the LEGO Mindstorm Liability
Form, and obtain your assigned Mindstorm kit.

Team # Team Name:

Member Name Email Phone

Task 2 – Constructing a basic robot

Use the provided instruction manual to assemble your basic robot. Begin with Step 1 (on page
8) and continue the assembly through Step 17 (on page 22). Implement the program depicted
on page 22 of the instruction manual.

Task 3 – Completing the “Drive in Square” tutorial

You will need access to the LEGO Mindstorms Education NXT 2.1 Programming software. The
software is installed on all computers in the FEP Computer Lab (ENGR 337). You may also install
the software to your personal laptop by visiting the TA office hours.
In groups of two, students should complete the “Drive in Square” tutorial. To access the
tutorial, open the LEGO Mindstorms Education NXT 2.1 Programming software. From the main
page, expand the “Common Palette” by clicking on the “+” and choose “08. Drive in Square”.
The Building Guide indicates the robot assembly required for the tutorial. “Drive in Square”
requires the “driving base” completed in Task 2. The Programming Guide includes step-by-step
instructions for completing the tutorial. Once you have completed the tutorial, download the
program to your robot and test it. Make modifications as necessary to the parameters in your
program until your robot drives in a square.

Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_DriveInSquare.rbt.”

Task 4 – Modifying your robot

Modify for your robot to include a light sensor and a bump sensor. Use steps 22 – 23 in the
instruction manual to add the light sensor, and use steps 26 – 28 to add the bump sensor. Test
your sensors by using implementing the programs on page 35 and 45, respectively. (Note that
we have had difficulty in implementing the program on page 35.)

Task 4H – Modifying your robot (Honors Students Only)

Complete Task 4. In addition, modify for your robot to include an ultrasonic sensor. Use steps
20 – 21 in the instruction manual. Implement the program depicted on page 31 of the assembly
guide.

Task 5 – Completing the “Follow A Line” tutorial

In groups of two, students should complete the “Follow A Line” tutorial. To access the tutorial,
open the LEGO Mindstorms Education NXT 2.1 Programming software. From the main page,
expand the “Common Palette” by clicking on the “+” and choose “17. Follow A Line”. The
Building Guide indicates the robot assembly required for the tutorial. “Follow A Line” requires
the “driving base” completed in Task 2 and the “light module down” completed in Task 4. The
Programming Guide includes step-by-step instructions for completing the tutorial. Once you
have completed the tutorial, download the program to your robot and test it. Make
modifications as necessary to the parameters in your program until your robot follows a line.

Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_FollowALine.rbt.”

Task 6 – Completing the “Detect Touch” tutorial

In groups of two, students should complete the “Detect Touch” tutorial. To access the tutorial,
open the LEGO Mindstorms Education NXT 2.1 Programming software. From the main page,
expand the “Common Palette” by clicking on the “+” and choose “18. Detect Touch”. The
Building Guide indicates the robot assembly required for the tutorial. “Detect Touch” requires
the “driving base” completed in Task 2 and the “touch module front”. Note that in Task 4, you
created the “touch module back” attachment, so you will need to modify your program
accordingly. The Programming Guide includes step-by-step instructions for completing the
tutorial. Once you have completed the tutorial, download the program to your robot and test
it. Make modifications as necessary to the parameters in your program until your robot stops
when the bump sensor encounters an object.

Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_DetectTouch.rbt.”

Task 6H – Completing the “Sensor Bumper” tutorial (Honors Students Only)
Complete Task 6. In groups of two, students should also complete the “Sensor Bumper”
tutorial. To access the tutorial, open the LEGO Mindstorms Education NXT 2.1 Programming
software. From the main page, expand the “Common Palette” by clicking on the “+” and
choose “19. Sensor Bumper”. The Building Guide indicates the robot assembly required for the
tutorial. “Sensor Bumper” requires the “driving base” completed in Task 2 as well as the “touch
module back” and “ultrasonic module” completed in Task 4H. The Programming Guide includes
step-by-step instructions for completing the tutorial. Once you have completed the tutorial,
download the program to your robot and test it. Your program should drive forward until an
ultrasonic sensor encounters an object then travel backward until the bumper sensor
encounters an object. Modify your code so this action is repeated 3 times.

Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_SensorBumper.rbt.”

Task 7 – Completing the “Calibrate Sensor” tutorial

In groups of two, students should complete the “Calibrate Sensor” tutorial. To access the
tutorial, open the LEGO Mindstorms Education NXT 2.1 Programming software. From the main
page, expand the “Complete Palette” by clicking on the “+” and choose “34. Calibrate
Sensor”.The Building Guide indicates the robot assembly required for the tutorial. “Calibrate
Sensor” requires the “driving base” completed in Task 2 and the “light module down”
completed in Task 4. The Programming Guide includes step-by-step instructions for completing
the tutorial. Once you have completed the tutorial, download the program to your robot and
test it. Make modifications as necessary to the parameters in your program until your sensor is
properly calibrated.

Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_CalibrateSensor.rbt.”

Task 8 – Obtaining a quality resource

Find a magazine article, journal article, government document, or book that shows a practical
application of robotics. Provide a complete reference for the item. Include information from
your reference in the Background portion of your technical report.

Project Assessment (300 project points)

Intermediate Deliverable 1 (50 points)

Prior to the end of class on Wednesday, September 12 (sections 001 and 008) or Thursday,
September 13 (sections 009 and 016) students should complete Tasks 1 – 3 and demonstrate
completion of the tasks to their instructor or primary TA.

Intermediate Deliverable 2 (10 points)

Before class on Wednesday, September 19 (sections 001 and 008) or Thursday, September 13
(sections 009 and 016), each team should submit one e-mail containing all robot program files
to their primary teaching assistant. (Students in the regular sections will submit 4 programs,
and students in the honors sections will submit 5 programs). The sender of the e-mail should cc
all teammates on the e-mail.
Intermediate Deliverable 3 (90 points)
In class on Wednesday, September 19 (sections 001 and 008) or Thursday, September 13
(sections 009 and 016), teams will demonstrate their implementation of the tutorials associated
with the project. An individual team member will be chosen at random to perform each task.
All team members should be prepared to answer questions regarding the content of the
programs.
Final Deliverable (150 points)
Each student will complete an individual technical report in the form of a 1 – 2 page memo.
The memo should include background information including real-world applications associated
with robotics (see Task 8), a summary of the tasks accomplished during the Robotics Project 1, a
summary of the programming techniques used including a brief discussion on loops, and a peer
evaluation.
In class during the week of September 24, students will have an opportunity to work on their
memo, and the Engineering Librarian will discuss appropriate citation styles and library
resources for inclusion in technical reports. The memo should follow the FEP Assignment Policy
with regards to Formatting of Word-Processed Work Submitted as Part of an Assignment. The
completed memo should be uploaded to the individual section BlackBoard page (not the
master course) by 4:20pm on Monday, October 1 (sections 001 and 008) or Tuesday, October 2
(sections 009 and 016).
Peer Evaluation
Include the Peer Evaluation in your memo. There are 100 total points to be allocated.
Your Name: Points Assigned:
Tasks you completed:

Team Member 1 Name: Points Assigned:

Tasks Member 1 completed:
Team Member 2 Name: Points Assigned:
Tasks Member 2 completed:
Team Member 3 Name: Points Assigned:
Tasks Member 3 Completed:

Additional Tutorials
In preparation for Project 2, students are encouraged to continue working with their robot and
completing additional tutorials. The following tutorials may be useful in the next project:
• Common Palette
o Driving
 Drive Forward, Reverse, Accelerate, Curve Turn, Point Turn, My Block 1,
Parking Bay

o Sensors
 Detect Distance, Detect Dark Line, Follow a Line, Detect Touch, Sensor
Bumper
• Complete Palette
 React to Distance, React to Light, Rotation Sensor, Reset Rotation Sensor,
Calibrate Sensor, My Block 2
 Submitted by: Kellie Schneider
University of Arkansas
[email protected]

Freshman Engineering Program - University of Arkansas

Fall Semester 2012

Structures Project 1
West Point Bridge Design
Topic Summary
Outcomes

At the end of Engineering Design Project1: West Point Bridge Design, each student should
possess:
1. experience using the engineering design process;
2. a basic understanding of compression and tension forces in truss systems;
3. a basic understanding of design optimization;
4. experience working on a team;
5. an ability to construct a technical report.

Project Tasks

Task 1- Form a team

In class on Monday, September 10 or Tuesday, September 11, students will be assigned to
teams of two or three. Locate your team, introduce yourselves, exchange contact information
and record the information in the table provided.

Team # Team Name:

Member Name Email Phone

Task 2 – Getting Started with the West Point Bridge Design Software
Students wishing to download the West Point Bridge Design 2012 software may do so at
http://bridgecontest.usma.edu/download.htm. The software will also be available in the
computer lab. When the software loads, choose “Create a New Bridge Design” and use the
Bridge Design Setup Wizard. Read the design requirement and indicate that you are not
participating in a local bridge contest. Select your site configuration, the deck material, and
loading configuration given the design specification from West Point Bridge Design
Problem Statement and Design Objective
You are a civil engineer working for the Department of Transportation. You have been assigned
responsibility for the design of a truss bridge to carry a two-lane highway across a river valley.
Your objective is to design a truss bridge that costs as little as possible while still passing the
load test with no member failures.

Design Specifications
For a complete listing of the design specifications, select the “Help” button on the Design
Project Setup Wizard.

Contest Information
Select “No” on the Local Contest Information page of the Setup Wizard. We are not
participating in an official contest although there will be a competitive component to some of
the project grading.

Deck Elevation and Support Configuration

The total cost of the design is the Site Cost plus the Truss Cost. In general, designs that increase
Site Cost tend to reduce the Truss Cost. Try to find the best balance between these two
competing costs. For more information on selecting a site configuration, select the “Help”
button.

Deck Material and Truck Loading

You may select either Medium-Strength or High-Strength concrete for the deck of your bridge.
To learn more about the trade-offs associated with the materials, use the “Help” button. For
this project, we will use the “Standard 225kN Truck” loading.

Truss Templates
You may use one of the built-in truss templates or you may create your own. To learn more
about truss stability, select the “Help” button.

Title Block
Include your team name and give the project a meaningful ID so you may keep track of your
various designs.

Truss Design
Follow the instructions to activate the drawing board and create your truss design. Run the
Load Test to check the strength of your design. Strengthen any members that fail and run the
Load Test again. Repeat this process until you have a successful design.
Task 3 – Designing your Bridges
Use the West Point Bridge Design Software to create three bridges with the design
specifications shown below. The only requirement for these bridges is that you submit a
“successful design” for each scenario.
Bridge A
Deck Elevation: 24 meters
Support Configuration: standard abutments, pier, and no cable anchorages
Loading: Standard 225kN Truck
Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_BridgeA.bdc.”

Bridge B
Deck Elevation: 12 meters
Support Configuration: arch abutments, no pier, and no cable anchorages
Loading: Standard 225kN Truck
Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_BridgeB.bdc.”

Bridge C
Deck Elevation: 4 meters
Support Configuration: standard abutments, no pier
Loading: Standard 225kN Truck
Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_BridgeC.bdc.”

Task 3 H – Additional Designing your Bridges (Honors Only)

Use the West Point Bridge Design Software to create three bridges with the design
specifications shown below. The only requirement for these bridges is that you submit a
“successful design” for each scenario.

Bridge D
Deck Elevation: 24 meters
Support Configuration: standard abutments, pier, and no cable anchorages
Loading: Permit 472kN Truck
Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_BridgeD.bdc.”

Bridge E
Deck Elevation: 12 meters
Support Configuration: arch abutments, no pier, and no cable anchorages
Loading: Permit 472kN Truck
Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_BridgeE.bdc.”

Bridge F
Deck Elevation: 4 meters
 Support Configuration: standard abutments, no pier
Loading: Permit 472kN Truck
Save your completed program as “SecXXX_TeamXX_BridgeF.bdc.”

Task 4- Experimentation
Continue using the West Point Bridge Design Software to determine the cheapest combination
of materials and bridge design for various combinations of elevation and support
configurations.
Task 5 – Obtaining a quality resource
Find a magazine article, journal article, government document, or book that documents a
structural design failure. Provide a complete reference for the item. Include information from
your reference in the Background portion of your technical report.

Project Assessment (300 project points)

Intermediate Deliverable 1 (50 points)
Prior to 4:30 pm on Monday, September 17 (sections 003 and 006) or Tuesday, September 18
(sections 011 and 014) each team should submit one e-mail containing all three (six for Honors)
bridge design files to their primary teaching assistant. The sender of the e-mail should cc all
teammates on the e-mail.

Intermediate Deliverable 2 (100 points)

In class on Wednesday, September 19 (sections 003 and 006) or Thursday, September 20
(sections 011 and 014), teams will be given a set of requirements for the Deck elevation,
Support Configuration, and Load. During the class period, teams are to create the least
expensive bridge which will successfully support the load. The designs will be compared against
the other teams for cost. All team members should be prepared to answer questions regarding
the content of the programs. Teams must submit their design before the end of class.

Final Deliverable (150 points)

Each student will complete an individual technical report in the form of a 1 – 2 page memo.
The memo should include background information including an instance of structural design
failure (see Task 5), a summary of the tasks accomplished during the Structures Project 1, a
summary of the team’s designs, and a peer evaluation.

In class during the week of September 24, students will have an opportunity to work on their
memo, and the Engineering Librarian will discuss appropriate citation styles and library
resources for inclusion in technical reports. The memo should follow the FEP Assignment Policy
with regards to Formatting of Word-Processed Work Submitted as Part of an Assignment. The
completed memo should be uploaded to the individual section BlackBoard page (not the
master course) by 4:20pm on Monday, October 1 (sections 003 and 006) or Tuesday, October 2
(sections 011 and 014).
Peer Evaluation
Include the Peer Evaluation in your memo. There are 100 total points to be allocated.

Your Name: Points Assigned:

Tasks you completed:

Team Member 1 Name: Points Assigned:

Tasks Member 1 completed:

Team Member 2 Name: Points Assigned:

Tasks Member 2 completed:

Team Member 3 Name: Points Assigned:

Tasks Member 3 Completed:
 Submitted by: Tom Shepard
University of St. Thomas
[email protected]

Water Balloon Launcher Design Project

ENGR 150
Note to Instructors: Students rank their interest in building a compressed air cannon, catapult or trebuchet for
their design and are split into teams accordingly.
Objective: Design, build and test aremotely triggered water balloon launcher for distance, accuracy, and
consistency.
Key Dates:
– Design ready for initial testing: October 23rd
(device must successfully launch a water balloon towards target by end of lab on this date)
– Final testing: October 30th
– Final Report Due: November 6th
Design Rules:
1. Your launcher must have at least 3 layers of safety built in.
2. Your team must complete a safety report before building and testing.
3. Your launcher must be made from scratch. Individual components such as wheels, ball bearings, fasteners,
may all be purchased but the body must be built/shaped by the team.
4. Your launcher must be remotely launched from a distance of at least 8 ft.
5. UST will cover up to $100per project. Students may use free materials which will not count towards the
$100, but their cost must be included in the bill of materials.
6. Only the water balloons provided may be used, teams are responsible for filling them to the desired volume.
Final Testing:
1. At the final testing teams will have 10 minutes to launch a maximum of 10 balloons.
2. Teams may make adjustments during the 10 minutes.
3. Balloons will be measured based on where they first impact the ground.
4. Balloons which break during launch will be measured based on where the rubber first impacts the ground.
5. All parts of the launcher must remain behind the chosen launch line.
Performance criteria:

A team’s overall performance score will be the sum of all balloons which score points during the final testing.
Any design which is damaged so badly it is deemed unsafe to launch, will receive a performance score of 0 for
any remaining balloons.
The target has 3 scoring rings worth 1 pt., 3 pts., and 5 pts. Points are also determined by how far from the
target the launcher is placed. A launcher placed 50 ft. from the target will receive a distance score of 1 pt. while
a launcher placed 115 ft. from the target will receive a distance score of 5 pts. The total score for a balloon is:
target score x distance score. For example, a balloon which is launched from 70 ft. which lands in the 3 pt. ring
would earn a score of: 2 x 3 = 6 pts. The total performance score for a team will be calculated by summing up
the score for each balloon in the final test.

Performance score = sum of (target score x distance score) (for all balloons in final testing)

The performance grade for each team is determined by the overall final testing performance score from:

Performance Grade Total Performance Score

A >30
B 25-30
C 20-24
D 15-19
F <15
Grading:
25% - working initial design that meets constraints by initial testing deadline
25% - Performance grade
25% - final report
25% - group member assessment

** Points will be lost for failing to adhere to your safety report guidelines

Extra Credit:

5% - extra credit for team with highest (final test points)/(material cost)

2% - design looks professional

Final Report:
The final report must be typed, Times New Roman font size 12, normal 1” margins and 1.5 line spacing. It
should include the following sections while being concise, yet thorough. The audience for your report is a 1st
semester engineering student just learning about the engineering design process. The length should be roughly
6-10 pages. The final report is to be e-mailed to the instructor on the due date.
Cover page – team member names, date, lab day/time, photo/detailed sketch of final design (optional name of
final design)

Body – The main body of the paper should be broken into the different steps of the engineering design process.
Each section should define the specific step, discuss why it is important to include in an engineering design
problem, and detail what your team specifically did for that step and the results which were reached.

Though one frequently needs to jump backwards in the process in order to move forward, the different steps
are:

1. Identify the need/problem and its constraints

2. Research the problem
3. Develop possible solutions
4. Select the best possible solution(s)
5. Construct & prototype
6. Test & evaluate the solution
7. Communicate the solution
a. final testing performance
b. energy efficiency
c. what worked well
d. what did not work well
e. major lessons learned during the project
f. bill of materials
8. Redesign (suggestions for future improvements)

References – Include all references which were cited in your report.

 Submitted by: Michael Woodburn
Mt. Hood Community College
[email protected]

Modular Bridge Cardboard Project

Background
This project is not only a test of design function, but also a test of constructability and teamwork.

Goal
The goal of this project is to create a modular bridge spanning 22 feet. The first team to construct their
bridge from the modules and have two members go out to the center of it without any team member,
bridge component, or construction component touching the ground beneath wins.

Span
The bridge is to be constructed to span between planters in the courtyard between the 1400 and 1500
wings of the academic center. You may place your materials anywhere outside of the dead zone in
Figure 1 on either side before construction. If anything touches the ground in the dead zone during
construction or loading: construction material, tool, or person, your team must quickly disassemble your
bridge and start over. You may walk in the dead zone for disassembly.

Figure 1: Assembly Site

Modules
Each module of the bridge must fit within a 34” x 42” x 8’ box. You may use as many modules as you
need. Modules must be composed entirely of cardboard, duct-tape, rope, adhesive and paint. If you’re
uncertain if you can use a particular material or substance, consult your instructor.

Assembly
The modules of your bridge must fit together without any adhesive. Your bridge must be assemblable,
disassemblable, and reassemblable. For the assembly of your bridge, you may make cardboard tools,
but they also must fit within a 34” x 42” x 8’ box. You are also allowed to use rope for bridge assembly.
Also, you may not use the tree or any anchor points to aid in assembly.

Loading
The bridge should hold the weight of 2 team members within 3 ft from the center without deflecting
enough for anything or anyone to touch the ground in the dead zone. The planters are approximately
16 inches off the ground.

Weight
There is no limit imposed on how much your bridge or the modules can weigh, but heavier modules will
generally be more difficult to maneuver and take longer to fit into place. Also, consider your ability and
health when design and assembling. No part of this competition is worth an injury. You must also be
able to move your modules to and from the assembly site in a reasonable amount of time.

A heavier bridge may be required to support heavier team members, but heavier team members also
have advantages for assembling a heavier bridge.

Competition
On assembly day, heats of teams will gather their modules next to where their bridges will be
assembled. Before the start of assembly, all modules and construction tools must be disassembled such
that each fits within its 34” x 42” x 8’ space. The rope must also be disconnected from anything else
without any knots tied in it. After the instructor indicates to start, the first team to assemble their
bridge, remove any construction rope, and load their bridge with 2 members from their team will
advance to the next heat.

Budget
You must itemize your expenditures and provide receipts. Your expenditures must not exceed $25.
Most of your materials should be donated or free.

Storing Materials
Non-hazardous materials and modules may be stored in the corresponding room of the Engineering
Project Space should you choose to use that facility before assembly day. You may not store materials
or modules at the assembly site before that day.
Team members:
Bridge name:
Section:

Modular Bridge Rubric

Rubric:

Only appropriate materials used: ________/10

All modules and tools fit within required dimensions: ________/10
Originality of design: ________/10
Assembled without touching the ground in the dead zone: ________/20
Speed of construction: ________/10
Supports own weight without touching the ground in the dead zone: ________/20
Supports team’s weight: ________/20
Ranking extra credit: ________

Total: ________/100
Design, Construct, and Test a
Water Filtration System

Submitted by: Truc Ngo

University of San Diego
[email protected]
 ENGR 101 Fall 2012 Dr. T. T. Ngo

ENGR 101 – INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING

GROUP PROJECT

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this project, students will be able to:
 Effectively participate in a team to brainstorm ideas and develop work plan
 Creatively design and build a simple water filtration system
 Organize and deliver an oral presentation to a group of audience
 Have enhanced understanding of how engineering skills and knowledge can be
applied to developing solutions to sustainability problems around the world.

Deliverables
 One mid-project report: design concepts and work plan
 One 5-minute long, final PowerPoint presentation
 Demonstration of the water filtration system

Project Description
If you were born and grew up in a developed country, most likely you never had to worry
about not having clean water to drink or use for daily purposes. However, there are still many
people in the world (1.1 billion people or 1/6 of the world population) who lack access to clean
water. Contaminated water has caused many deaths especially among children in developing
countries. According a statistics, half of the world’s hospital beds are filled with people suffering
from water-borne diseases, and nearly 20% of children deaths under the age of five worldwide
are due to a water-related disease. (Data sources: http://thewaterproject.org and
http://cleanwaterfortheworld.org).
This project introduces students to the concept of utilizing their engineering skills and
knowledge towards building a simple prototype of a sustainable water filtration system that can
be implemented in parts of the world where access to clean water is still a daily struggle.
Students will be working in groups to construct the water filtration system out of ordinary
materials such as charcoal, sand, gravel, cotton balls/sheets, plastic bottles/containers, PVC
pipes, cardboard, tapes, etc. To increase students’ interaction outside of classroom, each group is
required to recruit a non-engineering student from within the Sustainability Living Learning
Community. Commitment from the non-engineering group member must be finalized by 10/22.
Students will be given one full lecture class period to brainstorm ideas, come up with
design features and alternatives for the system, and decide on a work plan for the group. Each
group will then meet outside of class to construct the water filtration system and perform initial
testing. The non-engineering student in the group is expected to participate in the construction
and testing of the system and the final demonstration of the system in class. Although the
remaining project activities are optional to this non-engineering student, the group is expected to
keep all group members involved and up to date with project plan and progress.

University of San Diego Page 1 of 3

 ENGR 101 Fall 2012 Dr. T. T. Ngo

Project Evaluation
Project evaluation will be based on the following criteria (total to 100 points):
1. Mid-project group report: 15 points
2. Final oral presentation: 25 points
3. Teamwork: 10 points
4. Final product demonstration:
a. System design: 30 points, evaluated based on design features and system
integration.
b. System performance: 20 points, evaluated based on the Total Dissolved Solids
(TDS) concentration and pH value of filtered solution. Lower PPM reading
indicates higher water purity; closer to pH value of 7 means more neutral water.

Project Timeline

Date Activity Notes

Oct. 10 Each group is required to recruit 1 to 2
Project assignment
(regular class non-engineering students from within the
Group formation
hour) Sustainability LLC to join their group.
Class time will be available for this
Oct. 22 Research/Brainstorm ideas
activity. Each group is responsible to
(regular class Formulate alternative designs
involve their non-engineering teammate(s)
hour) Develop work plan and schedule
into the project activities.
One per group, approximately two pages
Oct. 29
long, with appropriate drawings (may be
(beginning of Mid-Project Report due
drawn by hand). See detailed requirements
class)
for this first report below.
Each group will have 5 minutes to present.
Hardcopy of the PowerPoint slides will
Nov. 12
need to be submitted to class professor at
(regular class Oral presentation
the beginning of class (4 slides per page,
hour)
stapled). See below for detailed
requirements for the presentation.
All groups will have their water filtration
Nov. 14
systems ready to demonstrate. All team
(to be Final product demonstration
members are expected to be present and
confirmed)
participate.

University of San Diego Page 2 of 3

 ENGR 101 Fall 2012 Dr. T. T. Ngo

Mid-Project Report: Design Concept and Work Plan:

 Use Word for your report, mostly in paragraph format but bullet points are also accepted
if used appropriately.
 Class number and name, professor’s name, project title, date of submission, group
assigned number, and all group members’ names must appear on top of the first page of
the report.
 Report should be approximately 2-page long, with appropriate drawing(s) of your water
filtration system (your design may evolve throughout the project and your final system
could be different than this preliminary one).
 Must include at least three alternative designs that your group considered, either original
or taken from others (must be cited if ideas taken from others).
 Must include a work plan that your group has agreed on to achieve the project objectives,
with specific schedule that your group will try to adhere to.

Final Presentation:
 Use PowerPoint for your presentation.
 Presentation should be 5-minute long.
 Not all group members are required to talk during the presentation.
 Must include one cover slide with project title and all group members’ names.
 Must include one slide about the individual contribution of each group member.
 Must discuss alternative designs that your group considered.
 Must discuss how your group came to decide on the final design.
 Must state what kind of environment/location your particular system is suitable for (i.e.
design with an implementation purpose in mind).
 Any other thought/comment/discussion that your group touched on during the project
regarding engineering solutions to sustainability problems around the world is a plus.

University of San Diego Page 3 of 3

 Submitted by: Erin Baker
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
[email protected]

Engin 113 -Fall 2012

Project: Energy, Environmental, and Economic Analysis of
an Energy Technology
Choose a specific, cutting edge energy-related technology that is aimed at improving the
environment. The technology can be used to generate electricity, provide heat, provide
transportation, or can be an energy-intensive end-use product. The technology should be very
new or not even on the market yet. It can be a part of a technology (such as a new blade design
for a wind turbine).

Your job is to do a thorough evaluation of this new technology. Your team will be in the role of
a consultant. As part of the project, you must choose a perspective to evaluate the technology
from. That is, you must decide if you are evaluating the technology from the point of view of a
consumer, a utility, a manufacturer, etc.

You must also choose two technologies with which to compare your technology. One should be
a close substitute (i.e. an alternative or “old” version of the technology). The other should be the
norm in society. For example, if you are evaluating purely organic solar cells, you would
compare this technology to traditional silicon solar cells and to coal-fired electricity generation
(or perhaps the electricity mix in the Pioneer Valley).

The project has four main parts: Technology, Energy, Environment, and Economics.

Technology: describe the technology, how it works, how it integrates with any related systems,
provide pictures and diagrams. If possible, draw a diagram using Pro-E. Discuss how the new
technology is different from previous versions.

Energy: describe the energy in and energy out of the technology. For example, if it is a generator
of electricity: how much energy is in the resource, how much is captured by the technology,
where are efficiency losses. If it is an appliance, talk about the efficiency and what causes
efficiency losses and where the energy goes.

Environment: for this part you do a comparative analysis of the environmental effects of your
technology and the other two comparison technologies. Include the key pollutants discussed in
class (CO2, CO, SO2, NOx, VOC) as well as any other relevant issues such as toxics, water
pollution, nuclear waste, etc.

Economics: for this part of the project do an analysis of the costs of the technology, and compare
it with published costs of the two comparison technologies. Discuss the details that drive the
costs, i.e. materials, difficulty to manufacture, installation, useful life, etc. Provide a levelized
cost for your technology.
Each Team must prepare the following deliverables:

1. Initial written proposal.

2. Oral progress report with slides.
3. Draft final written report.
4. Final presentation with slides and/or other visual aids.
5. Final written report.

Initial written proposal. Due October 1. This should be a brief write-up of what your team
proposes to do. It should include which project you are doing; the technology or good your team
with analyze, specific and different responsibilities for each team member; and a timeline with
milestones.

Oral progress report with slides. Due Oct. 22. Two team members will present the progress so far
on the project. Present the timeline from the proposal and discuss the milestones that have been
achieved. Present initial results. Present plan for finishing project.

Draft Final written report. Due Nov. 16. This is your only chance for feedback on your written
report. See the written report assessment template for guidelines.

Final Presentation with slides and/or other visual aids. Due Nov. 26. The other two team
members will present the final report. This presentation will be limited to 10 minutes. Be sure to
practice the presentation for time and clarity.

Final Written report. Due Nov. 30. This is a professional report. It should include an executive
summary; introduction; sections on technology, energy, environment, and economics, (or
product, drawings, energy efficiency, and design improvement) and a conclusion. Figures and
tables should be in the body of the text and referred to by number. It should be written using
formal language with correct grammar and spelling.

Some of the things we will be looking for are:

- Quality of your analysis, assembly drawings (where appropriate), graphs, etc.
- Presentation of the results in graphical and/or tabular form.
- Readability, presentability, highlights, title, abstract, results, spelling, punctuation, etc.

Each person's major contribution to the project must be clearly indicated in both the written
report and the oral presentation. This is to be done by indicating on each drawing, graph, table,
spreadsheet, computer program, etc. the person primarily responsible for producing it as well as
the name of the person who checked it and the date it was checked.

Preparing a report requires considering the reader. The structure of a report should help the
reader grasp the recommendations and several major factors which support it. A good report is
not a chronology of analysis, but a clearly articulated statement of recommendations and
supporting arguments.
Examples of energy technologies:
Nuclear power
Solar PV: Fusion
Crystalline –SI Fission
thin film o LWR
concentrating o Gen IV
Purely organic solar cells. o Small Long Lived Core
third generation
Combined Heat and Power
Solar Thermal Power
Solar Hot water Liquid biofuels
cellulosic ethanol
Wind gasoline and diesel from
on shore cellulosic biomass
off shore methanol
rooftop corn-based ethanol
other concepts
Electric vehicles
Ocean Power Hybrid E electric Vehicles
Geothermal power Plug in HEV
Geothermal heat EV

Integrated Gasified Combined Cycle Super efficient Internal Combustion

power generation from Coal Engines
Natural gas combined cycle Hydrogen fuel cells
Electricity from biomass
End use energy intensive goods
Carbon capture and storage
with coal Tankless water heaters
with natural gas Compare paper towels with hand
with biomass blowers.
Example Proposal for 113

Wind Spire: Initial Written Proposal

For our project, we are planning to evaluate the new wind turbine, known as the Wind
Spire. The Wind Spire is a thin cylindrical turbine measuring 30 feet high and about four feet
wide. It is compact and more affordable than traditional wind turbines and can power an entire
household. Wind Spire has the potential to be the next step in wind power technology. We plan
to compare this new technology to traditional wind turbines and to the societal norm (i.e.
coalpower
plant).

Our group plans to split up each of the four main parts of this project: technology, energy,
environment, and economics. As of right now we plan to have J work on technology,
assessing how the Wind Spire operates and how it is different from the technology of traditional
wind turbines. A plans to analyze the energy in and energy out of the Wind Spire,
discussing energy efficiency or efficiency losses of the Wind Spire compared to that of
traditional wind turbines and coal power plants. D is working on the environment part of the
project, analyzing the environmental effects of the Wind Spire compared to traditional turbines
and coal. B will work on the economics portion of the project, comparing the costs of the
technologies and analyzing the factors that determine costs. We also plan to work on an
AutoCAD rendering of the Wind Spire to aide with the technology part of the project.

Our group’s timeline is going to be based on the initial timeline of the project outlined by
the class structure and including our own milestones to break up the project deadlines. We plan
to meet at about the half-way point between each deadline and again the day before the project is
due for last minute polishing of the assignment. Therefore, we plan to meet on October 27th and
November 3rd before the oral report with slides is due. We plan to have research on each of our
individual segments of the project and come with any questions or comments ready on the 27th
and begin working on our slides. Then on the 3rd we will pull together all our completed
research and do any last minute touch-ups to complete the oral presentation. We have a similar
attempt planned out for all the other deadlines for this project. For example, we plan to meet on
the 10th and 17th of November before the written draft is due. Also, we are meeting on
November 27th and December 1st before the final presentation and final written project is due. If
necessary we can meet at other times if it is deemed necessary.

Overall, we are all extremely excited to begin working on this project and everyone has a
very positive attitude toward the successful completion of this project! We are excited that we
are becoming involved with a technology that is so new and cutting-edge, and that has the
potential to be a standard technology in a few short years. Our group, The Purple Cobraz, gets
along well and is working hard already to make this project a success!
Project Format – Project I Energy, Environmental, Economic analysis of an energy technology.

I. Introduction

The introduction should start with a clear statement of what the paper is about (in the first 1-3
sentences). “In this report we evaluate the effectiveness of using porous materials in sidewalks in order
to reduce the problem of storm water runoff.”

Then you can include brief motivation (why this technology is interesting or important) “One of the
expected effects of climate change is an increase in extreme precipitation events, leading to problems
with excess storm water runoff” etc.

For this particular project, you need to clearly establish the perspective of the analysis; and the
comparison technologies. This should be done in the introduction.

The rest of the introduction section should lay out what the report is going to do. This is sometimes
called signposting. It is a good idea to specifically outline the report by section. “In Section 2 we describe
the problem of storm water runoff in detail. In Section 3 we describe a number of alternatives for
addressing this problem. In Section 4 we define the evaluation criteria that we will be using. Etc…”

In general: Please number sections and subsections; it makes it much easier to follow the organization.

II. Technology

In this section describe your technology. You should have a picture of the actual technology, and you
should have some kind of diagram explaining how it works. After reading this section, the reader
should have a good idea of how the specific technology you are researching works.

III. Energy

In this section describe the efficiency of your technology. What is the “energy in”? What kind of energy
comes out? Where are the losses along the way? What would constitute an ideal efficiency for this
technology?

This section should compare your technology’s efficiency with the comparison technologies. Make sure
you are comparing on an even playing field. You should include some kind of table comparing the
efficiencies.

If you are doing a vehicle, you need to be careful that all of the efficiencies can be compared. For
example, it is not useful to give the MPG for one car and the miles/kWh for another car; or to give a
mixed metric telling what MPG the car gets on gas and how far it can go on a kW. Choose one metric;
make the assumptions you need to; and compare all vehicles on that metric.

IV. Environment

In this section you discuss the environmental impacts (or lack thereof) of your technology, and compare
it to the comparison technologies. You can start out with the benefits of your technology, for example,
that it has no or low CO2 emissions, and compare it with the CO2 emissions of the other technologies.
Again, be careful to compare on an even basis, such as emissions per kWh.

Then, go on to discuss any other environmental impacts of your technology. Be sure to also discuss (but
in far less detail) other impacts of the comparison technologies as well.

Again, it is a good idea to have some kind of table here comparing the technologies.

V. Economics

In this section discuss the economics of the technology. Specifically, include a calculation of a levelized
cost of electricity for electricity technologies; or some levelized cost per mile (including the capital costs)
for vehicles; or some levelized cost per Btu of heat for a heater.

You can also discuss other issues, such as if the technology has a higher initial cost than its comparison
technologies; subsidies; other incentives.

Again, a table comparing the technologies is a very good idea.

This is also a good section to include some sensitivity analysis. If you had to make any major
assumptions to do the economic analysis, then present graphs showing how these assumptions impact
your results.

VI. Conclusion

This section should briefly summarize the report: “In this report, we evaluated multiple technologies for
porous surfaces.” It should provide a concise summing up of your conclusions “Replacing existing
impervious surfaces with porous surfaces is quite expensive compared to the benefits received;
however, using porous materials whenever surfaces need to be built appears to be quite cost effective
in terms of…”

It is a good idea to put some kind of summarizing table here, so that we can see the three technologies
side by side with all important evaluation criteria laid out.

VII. Bibliography

Bibliographies should follow the CSE format, preferably the citation-name system. For detailed
information on this system see: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/lls/students/cse_citation.html

For general information about citation styles see:

http://www.library.umass.edu/services/instruction/instructional-services-for-students/using-citation-
styles/

You should include at least two peer-reviewed references (journal articles or books).

VIII. Figures and Tables

Figures and tables should be in the body of the paper, NOT in the appendix. Figures and tables should be
numbered and labeled (“Cost of porous materials”). If the figure or table is from some other source,
then should be labeled as such (usually on the lower right-hand corner you write “Source: EIA [put
webpage here]”
Project I
Criteria Distinguished Proficient Basic Unacceptable

Introduction The specific The specific May be unclear no reference to the

technology or technology or (hard to tell which technology,
product is clearly product is technology is the perspective, or
specified. The specified. The focus, or what the relevance.
perspective of the perspective of the perspective is),
paper, and the paper, and the appear unoriginal,
comparison comparison or offer relatively
technologies are technologies are little that is new;
clearly specified; specified. An provides little
and their relevance attempt is made as around which to
is made clear. to their relevance, structure the paper.
The groundwork but may be slightly
for paper easy to unclear, or lacking
predict because in insight or
important topics originality.
that will be Organization for
discussed are rest of the paper
specifically stated.
mentioned.
Content -- general Clear examples to Examples support Examples support The report relies
support specific most topic some topic on stringing
topic sentences and sentences and sentences; reader together quotes or
to support the support general gains little insight; close paraphrasing;
overall purpose; purpose; reader The report shows Failure to support
reader gains gains some insight; little of the writer’s statements, with
important insight; Topics adequately own work, relying major content
depth of coverage addressed but not instead on quotes omitted;
without being in the detail or and paraphrasing
redundant. depth expected. that are poorly
connected.

Technology Clear description Description of Description of Very hard to

of technology with technology with technology vague understand how
figures and figures and or unclear and the technology
diagrams. Reader diagrams, but less lacking helpful works..
understands how clear or dynamic. figures and
technology works diagrams.
and why it is of Reader has some
interest. understanding of Reader has some
how technology understanding of
works and why it how technology
is of interest. works and why it
is of interest.
Energy Analysis A clear description A description is Description of There is no
is given of the key given of the key energy discussion of the
energy energy transformation is energy
transformations transformations missing or very transformations or
that take place, and that take place, and vague. Discussion efficiency
of the efficiency of of the efficiency of of the efficiency of
the technology the technology, but the technology is
less clear weak
Economic A thorough, An economic A single metric is Economic analysis
Analysis rigorous analysis analysis is not given to is missing or
of the economic presented. A single compare the three impossible to
costs and benefits metric is used to technologies, understand.
of the technology compare leaving the reader
is presented. A technologies. unsure about how
single metric is Analysis is hard to to compare them.
used to compare follow or not all The paper relies
the main supporting too heavily on
technology and the information is published values,
two comparison given. and does not go
technologies. into detail about
Reader can follow capital costs and so
analysis and has all on.
information
needed to check
calculations
Environmental A thorough, An analysis of the Key environmental Environmental
Analysis rigorous analysis environmental issues are not analysis is missing
of the benefits and addressed, or not or very difficult to
environmental problems of the addressed clearly understand.
benefits and technology is and convincingly.
problems of the given. Some points The technology is
technology is may be missing or not compared
given. The not clear. The directly to the
technology is technology is comparison
carefully compared compared with the technologies.
with the two two comparison Tables and figures
comparison technologies. not well thought
technologies. Relevance of out.
Reader can follow different
and understand the environmental
relevance of issues not always
different clear.
environmental
issues.
Organization The ideas are The ideas are In general, ideas Ideas are not
arranged logically arranged logically are arranged logically.
to support the to support the logically, but organized.
purpose. central purpose sometimes ideas Frequently, ideas
Transitions link Transitions fail to make fail to make sense
paragraphs. It’s usually sense together. The together.
easy to follow the link paragraphs. reader is The reader cannot
line reasoning. For the most part, fairly clear about identify a line of
Subheadings are the reader can what writer reasoning.
used throughout follow the line of intends. While Subheadings not
the paper allowing reasoning. subheadings are used. Few or no
the reader move Subheadings are used, the content topic sentences.
easily through the used throughout beneath them does
text. Paragraphs the paper to guide not follow; many
have solid topic the reader without paragraphs without
sentences. undue confusion; a topic sentences.
few paragraphs
without strong
topic sentences.

Tone for Consistently Generally Not consistently Not professional or

an academic professional and professional and professional or appropriate.
research paper. appropriate. No appropriate. appropriate.
casual language
such as “cheap” or
“kids”

Sentence Sentences are well- Sentences are Some sentences Errors in sentence
Structure phrased and correct with minor are awkwardly structure
varied in length variety in length constructed so that are frequent
and type. and structure. The the reader is enough to be a
They flow flow from sentence occasionally major distraction
smoothly from one to sentence is distracted. Run on to the reader. Run
to another with no generally smooth sentences are on’s and fragments
run on sentences or although some run present or Short, common.
comma splices. on sentences are simple and
present. compound
sentences prevail.
Word Choice Word choice is Word choice is Word choice is Many words are
consistently generally good. merely adequate, used
precise and The writer often and the range of inappropriately,
accurate. The finds words that words is confusing the
writer uses the are more precise limited. Some reader. It is
active voice. and effective. words are used difficult for the
Unnecessary inappropriately. reader to
words are unnecessary words understand what
occasionally used. are fairly common. the writer is trying
to express.
Grammar, Essentially free of A few grammatical Several Pattern of
Spelling, grammatical errors; There are grammatical ungrammatical
Writing errors; The writing occasional errors, errors; The writing writing; There are
Mechanics is free or almost but they don't has many errors, so many errors that
(punctuation, free of errors. represent a major and the reader is meaning is
italics, distraction or distracted by them. obscured. The
capitalization, obscure meaning. reader is confused
etc. and stops reading.

Conclusion The writer makes Some of the Conclusions are There is little or no
succinct and conclusions are not uninteresting and indication that the
precise supported. some conclusions writer tried to
conclusions based are not supported; synthesize the
on the evidence information or
given in report. draw conclusions
based on the
evidence in paper.
Reference Quality All data is All data is Some data is not Considerable data
referenced. referenced, but referenced. is not referenced.
References are some of the The references that
papers or well references are exist are low
respected websites general web sites. quality.
such as EIA.
Multiple sources Only a signle
are cited for source is given for
important data. most data
 Submitted by: Erin Baker
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
[email protected]

Project: Redesign of a Consumer Good to Reduce Energy Usage

Choose a specific consumer good. The objective is to suggest a re-design of the product that
will reduce energy usage (or improve the environment in other ways). Note, that you may
save energy usage in the manufacture of good or in the use of the good. The good must be
inexpensive enough for your team to buy a copy and take it apart. It must have moving parts,
enough parts to make it interesting, not so many parts to make it too difficult. You will be
responsible for purchasing one or more of the goods in order to analyze it.

In carrying out the project you should assume that you are working for a large national or
international corporation and that you are carrying out this investigation at the request of its
chief executive officer (CEO). The CEO wants to make this product more “green”. It may be
more “green” by using less energy itself, by requiring less energy or materials in its
manufacture, or by being less toxic.

The project has four main parts: Technology, Redesigned product, Energy & Environment, and
Economics.

Technology: describe how the original product works. Include assembly drawings using Pro-E
of the original product. Be sure to include both the individual parts and the entire product.

Redesigned product: describe your redesign including assembly drawings.

Energy & environment: Discuss the energy efficiency of the product, and how your
redesign saves energy or is more “green.”

Economics: Discuss the costs of your product before and after redesign. Include a levelized
cost if appropriate.
Example Proposal for 113

Wind Spire: Initial Written Proposal

For our project, we are planning to evaluate the new wind turbine, known as the Wind
Spire. The Wind Spire is a thin cylindrical turbine measuring 30 feet high and about four feet
wide. It is compact and more affordable than traditional wind turbines and can power an entire
household. Wind Spire has the potential to be the next step in wind power technology. We plan
to compare this new technology to traditional wind turbines and to the societal norm (i.e.
coalpower
plant).

Our group plans to split up each of the four main parts of this project: technology, energy,
environment, and economics. As of right now we plan to have J work on technology,
assessing how the Wind Spire operates and how it is different from the technology of traditional
wind turbines. A plans to analyze the energy in and energy out of the Wind Spire,
discussing energy efficiency or efficiency losses of the Wind Spire compared to that of
traditional wind turbines and coal power plants. D is working on the environment part of the
project, analyzing the environmental effects of the Wind Spire compared to traditional turbines
and coal. B will work on the economics portion of the project, comparing the costs of the
technologies and analyzing the factors that determine costs. We also plan to work on an
AutoCAD rendering of the Wind Spire to aide with the technology part of the project.

Our group’s timeline is going to be based on the initial timeline of the project outlined by
the class structure and including our own milestones to break up the project deadlines. We plan
to meet at about the half-way point between each deadline and again the day before the project is
due for last minute polishing of the assignment. Therefore, we plan to meet on October 27th and
November 3rd before the oral report with slides is due. We plan to have research on each of our
individual segments of the project and come with any questions or comments ready on the 27th
and begin working on our slides. Then on the 3rd we will pull together all our completed
research and do any last minute touch-ups to complete the oral presentation. We have a similar
attempt planned out for all the other deadlines for this project. For example, we plan to meet on
the 10th and 17th of November before the written draft is due. Also, we are meeting on
November 27th and December 1st before the final presentation and final written project is due. If
necessary we can meet at other times if it is deemed necessary.

Overall, we are all extremely excited to begin working on this project and everyone has a
very positive attitude toward the successful completion of this project! We are excited that we
are becoming involved with a technology that is so new and cutting-edge, and that has the
potential to be a standard technology in a few short years. Our group, The Purple Cobraz, gets
along well and is working hard already to make this project a success!
Project Format – Project II Design of a consumer good.

I. Introduction

The introduction should start with a clear statement of what the paper is about (in the first 1-3
sentences). “In this report we evaluate the effectiveness of using porous materials in sidewalks in order
to reduce the problem of storm water runoff.”

Then you can include brief motivation (why this product is interesting or important to redesign) “One of
the expected effects of climate change is an increase in extreme precipitation events, leading to
problems with excess storm water runoff” etc.

You need to clearly establish the perspective of the analysis. You should also make it clear what you will
be comparing your redesigned product to (the current product, other products on the market, etc). This
should be done in the introduction.

The rest of the introduction section should lay out what the report is going to do. This is sometimes
called signposting. It is a good idea to specifically outline the report by section. “In Section 2 we describe
the problem of storm water runoff in detail. In Section 3 we describe a number of alternatives for
addressing this problem. In Section 4 we define the evaluation criteria that we will be using. Etc…”

In general: Please number sections and subsections; it makes it much easier to follow the organization.

II. Description of the product.

In this section describe your product. You should have a picture of the actual product; potentially a
diagram explaining how it works; and the Pro-E drawings. The pro-E drawings must include the
individual parts, an engineering drawing of the entire product, and an exploded view.

After reading this section, the reader should have a good idea of how the specific product works and
what it does.

III. Description of the redesigned product

In this section describe your redesign. In general, this should NOT be a narrative (i.e. a narrative says
“first we tried this, but it wasn’t strong enough, so then we tried that…”). Rather, describe the
redesigned product and give the justification for your choices (“We increased…in order to assure a
strength of at least…”). This section should include pro-E drawings of the redesign. If you built a
prototype, then include photos.

IV. Evaluation of the redesigned product

This section may include any experiments you performed to test the effectiveness of your redesign (i.e.
strength, speed, airflow, etc). The experiments may be approximations (that is, if you don’t have a
prototype you need to think about how to run experiments that get at the idea of your prototype).

a. Energy &/or the environment

If your product has improved energy usage (either directly or through its manufacture) then discuss it
here. Estimate how much energy is saved. Compare with the original product and other products on the
market.

If your product is more “green”, then discuss it here. Give specific values for the improvements.
Compare with original and others on the market.

Include any other evaluation criteria (looks, lightness, convenience, accuracy, etc)

It may be appropriate to include tables to compare the aspects of your redesigned product, the original,
and others on the market.

V. Economics

In this section discuss the economics of the redesign. Do a cost estimate and compare the redesigned
product with original and others on market. If the redesign changes the amount of time the product will
last or the number of uses it will get, then be sure to calculate the levelized cost per unit of time, or the
cost per use.

You can also discuss other issues, such as if the redesigned technology has a higher initial cost than its
comparison technologies; or is able to take advantage of subsidies or other incentives.

This is also a good section to include some sensitivity analysis. If you had to make any major
assumptions to do the economic analysis, then present graphs showing how these assumptions impact
your results.

VI. Conclusion

This section should briefly summarize the report: “In this report, we evaluated multiple technologies for
porous surfaces.” It should provide a concise summing up of your conclusions “Replacing existing
impervious surfaces with porous surfaces is quite expansive compared to the benefits received;
however, using porous materials whenever surfaces need to be built appears to be quite cost effective
in terms of…”

It is a good idea to put some kind of summarizing table here, so that we can see how the redesigned
product stacks up with the original product and any other comparisons, on all important evaluation
criteria laid out.

VII. Bibliography

Bibliographies should follow the CSE format, preferably the citation-name system. For detailed
information on this system see: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/lls/students/cse_citation.html

For general information about citation styles see:

http://www.library.umass.edu/services/instruction/instructional-services-for-students/using-citation-
styles/

You should include at least two peer-reviewed references (journal articles or books).
 VIII. Figures and Tables

Figures and tables should be in the body of the paper, NOT in the appendix. Figures and tables should be
numbered and labeled (“Cost of porous materials). If the figure or table is from some other source, then
should be labeled as such (usually on the lower right-hand corner you write “Source: EIA [put webpage
here]”
PROJECT II (Product Redesign)
Criteria Distinguished Proficient Basic Unacceptable

Introduction The product is The product is May be unclear no reference to the

clearly specified. specified. The (hard to tell product, the goals
The perspective of perspective of the exactly what the of the redesign, or
the paper, and paper, and the product is or is for, the relevance.
goals for the goals for the or the purpose of
redesign are redesign are the redesign is),
clearly specified; specified. An appears unoriginal,
and their relevance attempt is made as or offers relatively
is made clear. to their relevance, little that is new;
The groundwork but may be slightly provides little
for paper easy to unclear, or lacking around which to
predict because in insight or structure the paper.
important topics originality.
that will be Organization for
discussed are rest of the paper
specifically stated.
mentioned.
Content -- general Clear examples to Examples support Examples support The report relies
support specific most topic some topic on stringing
topic sentences and sentences and sentences; reader together quotes or
to support the support general gains little insight; close paraphrasing;
overall purpose; purpose; reader The report shows Failure to support
reader gains gains some insight; little of the writer’s statements, with
important insight; Topics adequately own work, relying major content
depth of coverage addressed but not instead on quotes omitted;
without being in the detail or and paraphrasing
redundant. depth expected. that are poorly
connected.

Product Clear description Description of Description of Very hard to

Description of product and product with product vague or understand how
how it works with figures and unclear and the product works
figures and diagrams, but less lacking helpful or why we should
diagrams. Reader clear or dynamic. figures and car.
understands how diagrams.
product works and Reader has some
why it is of understanding of Reader has some
interest. how technology understanding of
works and why it how technology
is of interest. works and why it
is of interest.
Product redesign A clear description A description is The description of It is unclear what
is given of the key given of the the redesign is not is being proposed
goals of the redesign itself, clear, no reference for the redesign.
redesign and a referring to figures to any figures or
description of the and diagrams. diagrams.
redesign itself,
referring to figures
and diagrams.
Pro-E drawings Drawings of Drawings of Key drawings are The drawings are
original (and original product missing. Some missing, incorrect,
possibly are slightly drawings appear or inaccurate
redesigned) incomplete. inaccurate.
product are Drawings are not
present, correct, presented clearly.
and clearly
presented
Economic A thorough, An economic A single metric is Economic analysis
Analysis rigorous analysis analysis is not given to is missing or
of the economic presented. A single compare the impossible to
costs and benefits metric is used to products, leaving understand.
of the redesigned compare products. the reader unsure
product versus the Analysis is hard to about how to
original product is follow or not all compare them.
presented. A single supporting
metric is used to information is
compare the two given.
products. Reader
can follow analysis
and has all
information
needed to check
calculations
Analysis of other A thorough, An analysis of Key issues are not Analysis is missing
issues rigorous analysis other key issues addressed, or not or very difficult to
of any other key (such as safety, addressed clearly understand.
issues (such as convenience, and convincingly.
safety, environmental The redesigned
convenience, benefits) is given; product is not
environmental but some points compared directly
benefits) is given. may be missing or to the original
The products are not clear. The product. Tables
carefully products are and figures not
compared. Reader compared. Reader well thought out.
can follow and can follow and
understand the understand the
relevance of relevance of
different issues. different issues.
Organization The ideas are The ideas are In general, ideas Ideas are not
arranged logically arranged logically are arranged logically.
to support the to support the logically, but organized.
purpose. central purpose sometimes ideas Frequently, ideas
Transitions link Transitions fail to make fail to make sense
paragraphs. It’s usually sense together. The together.
easy to follow the link paragraphs. reader is The reader cannot
line reasoning. For the most part, fairly clear about identify a line of
Subheadings are the reader can what writer reasoning.
used throughout follow the line of intends. While Subheadings not
the paper allowing reasoning. subheadings are used. Few or no
the reader move Subheadings are used, the content topic sentences.
easily through the used throughout beneath them does
text. Paragraphs the paper to guide not follow; many
have solid topic the reader without paragraphs without
sentences. undue confusion; a topic sentences.
few paragraphs
without strong
topic sentences.

Tone for Consistently Generally Not consistently Not professional or

an academic professional and professional and professional or appropriate.
research paper. appropriate. No appropriate. appropriate.
casual language
such as “cheap” or
“kids”

Sentence Sentences are well- Sentences are Some sentences Errors in sentence
Structure phrased and correct with minor are awkwardly structure
varied in length variety in length constructed so that are frequent
and type. and structure. The the reader is enough to be a
They flow flow from sentence occasionally major distraction
smoothly from one to sentence is distracted. Run on to the reader. Run
to another with no generally smooth sentences are on’s and fragments
run on sentences or although some run present or Short, common.
comma splices. on sentences are simple and
present. compound
sentences prevail.
Word Choice Word choice is Word choice is Word choice is Many words are
consistently generally good. merely adequate, used
precise and The writer often and the range of inappropriately,
accurate. The finds words that words is confusing the
writer uses the are more precise limited. Some reader. It is
active voice. and effective. words are used difficult for the
Unnecessary inappropriately. reader to
words are unnecessary words understand what
occasionally used. are fairly common. the writer is trying
to express.
Grammar, Essentially free of A few grammatical Several Pattern of
Spelling, grammatical errors; There are grammatical ungrammatical
Writing errors; The writing occasional errors, errors; The writing writing; There are
Mechanics is free or almost but they don't has many errors, so many errors that
(punctuation, free of errors. represent a major and the reader is meaning is
italics, distraction or distracted by them. obscured. The
capitalization, obscure meaning. reader is confused
etc. and stops reading.

Conclusion The writer makes Some of the Conclusions are There is little or no
succinct and conclusions are not uninteresting and indication that the
precise supported. some conclusions writer tried to
conclusions based are not supported; synthesize the
on the evidence information or
given in report. draw conclusions
based on the
evidence in paper.
Reference Quality All data is All data is Some data is not Considerable data
referenced. referenced, but referenced. is not referenced.
References are some of the The references that
papers or well references are exist are low
respected websites general web sites. quality.
such as EIA.
Multiple sources Only a single
are cited for source is given for
important data. most data
Tamarin and Macaw
Enrichment “Tree”

Submitted by: Cecelia Wigal

University of Tennessee Chattanooga
[email protected]
UTC CECS ENGR 1850 Project Proposal
CMW 9-25-12

Project Proposal:
Tamarin & Macaw Enrichment “Tree”

Problem Statement:
Tamarins and Macaws at the Chattanooga Zoo need enrichment devices that simulate behavior in
the wild. These devices must be natural looking (i.e. made of wood), be safe for the animals
using them, and be built to be used over and over again. The Tamarins and Macaws need “trees”
with holes of different sizes, depths, and angles to hide food or objects inside for them to try to
retrieve. Trees could be just a trunk (for Tamarins) or tree like with branches for the Macaws.

Background and Substantiation:

The Chattanooga Zoo has 6 Cotton-Top Tamarins, 2 Pied
Tamarins and 6 Macaw parrots. The Tamarins are small
primates that come from the rainforests of South America and
the Macaws are large, colorful parrots living in the rainforests
of Central & South America. Tamarins are small-bodied
monkeys – the Cotton-Top Tamarins have a fan of long, white
hair on their heads, and the Pied Tamarins are bald. Both
Tamarin species are some of the most endangered primates in the
world, mostly due to habitat loss of their rainforest home and an
increase in the local pet trade. They are
omnivores, eating fruit, vegetation, tree sap,
insects, small lizards, and eggs. At the
Chattanooga Zoo we feed them a primate diet
along with fruits, vegetables, meal worms and
marmoset diet. Macaws boast large, powerful
beaks that easily crack nuts and seeds, while their
dry, scaly tongues have a bone inside them that makes them an effective
tool for tapping into fruits. Macaws also have gripping toes that they use to
latch onto branches and to grab, hold, and examine items. The birds sport
graceful tails that are typically very long. There are 17 species of Macaws,
and several are endangered. These playful birds are popular pets, and many are illegally trapped
for that trade. The rain forest homes of many Macaw species are also disappearing at an alarming
rate.

Design Objectives:
It is desired that the enrichment “trees”
 Be natural looking (i.e. not made out of neon pink plastic) for placement in their exhibit
 Be safe for the Tamarinsand Macaws to bite into and work with
 Be easy to secure to existing locations in the exhibit
 Be easy to remove from exhibit for cleaning
 Be easy to clean
 Be easy for the animals to climb
 Be easy for the animals to hold onto
UTC CECS ENGR 1850 Project Proposal
CMW 9-25-12

 Vary in size of access holes for Macaw beaks and feet and Tamarin
hands and fingers.

Design Functions:
It is desired that the enrichment “trees”
 Hold food
 Hold objects
 Hide food
 Hide objects
 Attract animals
 Challenge animals

Design Constraints:
The enrichment trees must be natural looking. The designs and materials must be approved by
the Chattanooga Zoo staff before buying and building.

Deliverables:
1. Testing of the “enrichment trees” before completion is required. This should be
done directly with the Zoo staff and Tamarins & Macaws at the Chattanooga Zoo.
2. Adequate evidence of the design process.
 Understanding of present designs
 Understanding of seat rocker functions, objectives, constraints, and standards and
their relationships
 Brainstorming sketches and lists
 Selection of Solution
 Demonstration of the Decision Matrix
 Detailed/Annotated hand sketches
3. SolidWorks 3D models of parts (includes 2D constraints and dimensions)
4. Completed SolidWorks 3D Assembly of device
5. Supporting device part and assembly drawings including
 Multi-view presentation drawing of Assembly with isometric view and overall
dimensions
 Exploded view, with balloons and parts list
 Detail Drawing of each, non-standardized part, completely dimensioned with
appropriate title block included
 Specialty” views as appropriate to completely define the part(s) or assembly.
Examples of specialty views include
 Section Views
 Auxiliary Views
 Detail Views
 Broken Views
 Positional Representations
6. Instructions on how to build the device (important!)
UTC CECS ENGR 1850 Project Proposal
CMW 9-25-12

Project Customer
Jordan O'Rylee
Education Department
Chattanooga Zoo
(423) 643-5780
[email protected]

Financial Limit:
TBD
Design and Build a Concrete Canoe
Display Stand

Submitted by: Cecelia Wigal

University of Tennessee Chattanooga
[email protected]
Design and Build a Concrete Canoe
Display Stand

Submitted by: Cecedia Wigal

University of Tennessee Chattanooga
[email protected]
UTC CECS ENGR 1850 Project Proposal
CMW 9-26-11

Project Proposal: Concrete Canoe Display Stand

Problem Statement:
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapter concrete canoe team needs a unique
and attractive stand to safely display and transport their canoe during the final product display portion of
competition at the ASCE Southeast Conference in March, 2013.

Figure 1.0: Concrete Canoe Team and “The Night Rambler” at the ASCE Southeast Conference 2012

Background & Substantiation:

The National Concrete Canoe Competition (NCCC) is often called the Olympics of Civil Engineering
because the competition requires a team of students to design and build a streamlined lightweight canoe
out of reinforced concrete and pit it against other canoe teams from universities all over the world in five
challenging sprint and endurance races. The competition is broken into 4 equally weighted sections: the
design report, the oral presentation, the races, and the final product display.

The product display is the projection of an environment inspired by the canoe’s theme and name; it can
include everything from multimedia art to engineering demonstrations of techniques used to construct
and develop the canoe design. In most of the other university displays, the canoe is nestled in the center
of the environment, proudly displayed by an inventive and unique stand; however, last year UTC’s
canoe, The Night Rambler was towering above eye level. Their display was also somewhat less
inventive than others.
UTC CECS ENGR 1850 Project Proposal
CMW 9-26-11

This year ASCE is inviting underclassmen in the 1850 class to be part of the concrete canoe team and
build an attractive and unique stand to take to this year’s competition and possibly future competitions.
In addition, the concrete canoe team would be delighted if any members of the 1850 project design team
could attend the 2013 ASCE Southeast Conference as part of our team and participate in the final
product display.

Device Objectives:
It is desired that the Concrete Canoe Display Stand
 Be attractive in appearance
 Be professional in appearance
 Be versatile enough to match multiple themes
 Be durable enough to use for multiple years
 Be safe when holding the canoe in an heavily populated area
 Be easy to place the canoe in
 Be easy to remove the canoe from
 Be quick to place the canoe in
 Be quick to remove the canoe from
 Be static in its area
 Be mobile to its area
 Securely hold canoe until it is removed
 Appropriately display canoe at the required height
 Be safe to the canoe (do not damage it)

Device Functions:
It is desired that the Concrete Canoe Display Stand
 Support canoe
 Fix canoe position
 Display canoe
 Support Team Theme
 Transport Canoe
 Present Team Theme

Device Constraints:
The Concrete Canoe Display Stand Must
 Be fabricated and finished by January 1st (with aid of ASCE members if necessary)
 Not exceed Concrete Canoe team budget for the stand
 Be able to be assembled in 30 minutes or less

In addition, any purchases of material for the project must be approved by the customer (the concrete
canoe team)
UTC CECS ENGR 1850 Project Proposal
CMW 9-26-11

Deliverables:
1. Testing of the “Concrete Canoe Display Stand” before completion is required. This should be
done directly with the Concrete Canoe Team to eliminate project failure.

2. Adequate evidence of the design process.

· Understanding of present designs
· Understanding of seat rocker functions, objectives, constraints, and standards and their
relationships
· Brainstorming sketches and lists
· Selection of Solution
 Demonstration of the Decision Matrix
 Detailed/Annotated hand sketches
3. SolidWorks 3D models of parts (includes 2D constraints and dimensions)
4. Completed SolidWorks 3D Assembly of device
5. Supporting device part and assembly drawings including
· Multi-view presentation drawing of Assembly with isometric view and overall
dimensions
· Exploded view, with balloons and parts list
· Detail Drawing of each, non-standardized part, completely dimensioned with appropriate
title block included
· Specialty” views as appropriate to completely define the part(s) or assembly. Examples
of specialty views include
 Section Views
 Auxiliary Views
 Detail Views
 Broken Views
 Positional Representations
6. Instructions on how to build the device (important!)

Project Customer:
The ASCE concrete canoe team is the customer for this project. The project management for the team
includes:

Team Role: Name: UTC email Phone #

Co - Captain Rachel Garrard [email protected] 931-409-2320
Co - Captain Haley Robert [email protected] 931-215-7442
Project Manager Brandon Ennis [email protected]
UTC CECS ENGR 1850 Project Proposal
CMW 9-26-11

Project Budget:
The project budget should not exceed $400 unless approved by the canoe team captain prior to the
selection of a design and construction of the stand. If a stand design is presented that is clearly going to
meet the objectives stated and is of remarkably better quality than other alternatives, it is likely the team
will be open to increasing the budget.
Design a Walker for a Disabled Boy

Submitted by: Cecelia Wigal

University of Tennessee Chattanooga
[email protected]
UTC CECS ENGR 1850 Project Proposal
ETR 09-14-2012
CMW 9-25-12

Project Proposal: Aiden Cruise Control Walker

Problem Statement
Aiden is a three-year old boy. He has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and is in the management
phase of leukemia. He needs help walking, but has difficulty controlling his walker. He
tends to turn sideways in his walker and “cruise”. He needs a device to allow him to
walk properly.

Background and Substantiation

Due to his leukemia treatments, Aiden’s performance varies from day to day. Some days
he needs more help than on others; on some days he is more affected by his condition.
He does not yet walk independently. His left side tends to be weaker. When he is in his
walker, this left-side weakness causes him to continually drift to one side. He
compensates for this by turning sideways and shuffling sideways (“cruising”). He needs
a device that will help him walk properly.

Device Objectives
It is desired that the walker
 compensate for Aiden’s left-side weakness
 allow Aiden to walk correctly without turning sideways
 allow Aiden to enter it independently
 allow Aiden to exit the device independently.
 be transportable (between school and home, etc.)
 be safe for Aiden to use
 be easy to clean

Design Functions
It is desired that the walker
 facilitate Aiden’s physical development
 encourage walking
 provide independent mobility (for Aiden)
 Support Aiden’s weight

Design Constraints
Safety and flexibility are the most important constraints. For example,
 There must be no rough or sharp edges,
 The surface must be smooth.
 Paint must be non-toxic.
 Any wood surfaces must be sealed.
 There should not be any choking / strangulation hazards
 There should not be any pinching or entrapment hazards

1
UTC CECS ENGR 1850 Project Proposal
ETR 09-14-2012
CMW 9-25-12

These constraints are underdefined – not specific or measurable. Further

understanding of the project will result in defining more specific and measureable
constraints.

Deliverables
At a minimum the teams will provide, based on course requirements:
1. Beta testing of the walker before completion is required. This should be done
directly with Aiden (substitutions allowed only with explicit permission) to
eliminate project failure.
2. Adequate evidence of the design process.
 Understanding of present designs
 Understanding of device functions, objectives, constraints, and standards
and their relationships
 Brainstorming sketches and lists
 Selection of Solution
 Demonstration of the Decision Matrix
 Detailed/Annotated hand sketches
3. SolidWorks 3D models of parts (includes 2D constraints and dimensions)
4. Completed SolidWorks 3D Assembly of device
5. Supporting device part and assembly drawings including
 Multi-view presentation drawing of Assembly with isometric view and
overall dimensions
 Exploded view, with balloons and parts list
 Detail Drawing of each, non-standardized part, completely dimensioned
with appropriate title block included
 Specialty” views as appropriate to completely define the part(s) or
assembly. Examples of specialty views include
 Section Views
 Auxiliary Views
 Detail Views
 Broken Views
 Positional Representations
6. Instructions on how to build the device (important!)

Project Customer
Ezra Reynolds Sarah Mak
Signal Centers, Inc. Signal Centers, Inc.
(423) 629-4174 x 20 (423) 629-4174 x 26
[email protected] [email protected]

2
UTC CECS ENGR 1850 Project Proposal
ETR 09-14-2012
CMW 9-25-12

Project Budget
Grant: Educational Grant with UTC Engineering Department and Signal Centers
Financial limit: One goal in the design is to make a product that is reasonably priced.
Some of the material, however, may be expensive, so a maximum expense has been built
into the project – the expenses for the project should not go over $400.00 without special
permission from Dr. Wigal.

3
Bridge Component Tests

Submitted by: Feng-Ju Hsieh

University of Washington
[email protected]
 ENGR 100

Bridge Component Tests

Purpose

The purpose of this activity is to simulate the “Research and Development” aspect of
engineering. Your team will act as “engineering researchers” completing a series of
component tests to determine the strength and characteristics of the bridge materials. In the
end, you will compose an individual memo addressed to the design team summarizing your
findings and recommendations. Once this is completed, you will then switch roles,
becoming the “designer”, and use this information directly to design and build your team’s
prototype bridge.

Group Assignment

The class will work together on this assignment, with groups completing different tests and
then sharing the results. The following is a list of tests:

Test 1 - Tension Test

Test 2 - Compression Test

Test 3 – Torsion and Bending Test

Test 4 - Fishline Tension Test (Optional)

At the end of class, each team will write their results (tables, graphs, findings) on the board
for everyone to copy. Each team will then present and explain their findings and we will
have a short discussion about how these findings will be useful for bridge design.

Individual Assignment

Each person will be responsible for writing a memo summarizing the results of the tests and
making recommendations to a fictitious design team. The purpose of writing this memo,
even though you are essentially the design team for whom it is written, is to be introduced to
the fundamentals of technical writing.

Feel free to experiment! If you have any ideas about how to change a test or perform
additional tests, please let the instructor/TA know.
 Test 1 - Tension Test

Objective

The objective of the tension test is to determine a recommended overlap distance for two
tongue depressors in tension (taking into account strength and total span length).

Procedure

1. Build the test specimens by gluing two tongue depressors together using different
lengths of overlap ( max. < 3/4"). Be sure to test at least 3 specimens for a given
overlap distance to ensure more accurate results. Reinforce the hole with extra pieces
of tongue depressor.
2. Place the sticks in the vice on the testing platform and reinforce the hole at the other
end with tape. Test the sticks by pulling straight up with the force gauge. Record
the forces (in lbs) required to break each of the specimens in your notebook. Also
note how each specimen failed!
3. If you are getting inconsistent results, create several more specimens and try to
standardize your testing methods.

Figure 1. Tension Test

Deliverables (to be included in the memo)

1. How did the different specimens fail?

2. Why you think they may have failed at different places?
3. What is the relationship between failure force and overlap length? From examining
the results, what would you recommend for an overlap length? Why?

If you have more time…

Do a similar test using elmers or wood glue. How do the results compare?

Test 2 - Compression Test

Objective

The objective for Test 2 is to determine a maximum length that designers should not exceed,
to ensure adequate strength from compressions members.

Procedure

1. Use a ruler to prepare several specimens for the compression test ranging in length
from 3” to about 10”. For members greater than 6”, glue two tongue depressors
together with a 1” overlap length and then cut the ends to the desired length. Prepare
at least 2 samples for each length to ensure some level of accuracy.
2. To test the specimens, place them upright on the scale and push down as shown in
Figure 2 (using pliers may be easier on your hands). Record the force (in grams)
required to bend the specimen. Convert the grams to lbs in EXCEL.

Figure 2. Compression Test

Deliverables (to be included in the memo)

1. Does the location of the 1" overlap glue joint (end or middle) affect the buckling
strength?
2. Create a table in Excel showing the specimen length in one column and the failure
force in another.
3. Plot the Force (lb) vs. Length (in) (For accuracy, use "x-y scatter" graph not a line
graph).
4. Look at the graph to see how the force changes as the length changes. Is there a
particular point on the graph where the force required to buckle the specimen
decreases signficantly with little change in length? If so, the bridge design team
should be notified of this length so they can avoid designing a bridge with
compression members that are prone to buckle under smaller loads.
 Submitted by: Feng-Ju Hsieh
University of Washington
[email protected]

LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT Lab 1

This lab session is to introduce you how to connect your LEGO Mindstorms NXT brick and Wii
remote controller (Wiimote) to the laptop or computer via Bluetooth wireless protocol.

Lab Sections

A. Use the LEGO Mindstorms NXT software to connect NXT brick to your computer
B. Connect Wii remote controller to your computer.
C. Run NI LabVIEW sample program and use Wiimote to control NXT Tribot.

Software

• Lego Mindstorms NXT.

• NI LabVIEW with Lego NXT toolkit.

Hardware

• Lego Mindstorms NXT Tribot.

• Wii remote controller.
• Laptop or computer with D-Link Bluetooth DBT-120 dongle.

Part A: Connect NXT to the Laptop via Bluetooth

1. Plug in D-Link DBT120 Bluetooth dongle into one of the computer’s USB port.
2. Double Click on the Mindstorms NXT icon on your computer’s desktop to open the
Mindstorms NXT software.

3. Go to File >> New to create a new project or just click on Go>> button on the screen.

NXT Lab 1 Page 1/7

4. Press the orange, square Enter button on the Mindstorms NXT brick to turn the robot on
5. Make sure you have Bluetooth icon and “<” shown on the upper left corner of the NXT
screen. If not , try to use the arrow button on the NXT brick to choose Bluetooth icon and
press the orange Enter button and choose ON/Off icon to turn on Bluetooth function of
NXT and also make use NXT brick is visible to other Bluetooth device by choosing
Visibility icon>>Visible.
6. Click on the NXT Window button on the lower right of the screen as shown here:

7. There will be a connection dialog window prompt out. If you have everything setup
correctly, you can see the detailed information about your NXT brick including battery life,
free storage space on the NXT block, and the version of the firmware installed, which
indicates that the connection is established. If you can’t have the NXT connected now,
click on the Scan button to detect the NXT brick that is visible to the PC. The name of

NXT Lab 1 Page 2/7

 your NXT brick should appear on the list of the dialog window. Click on your robot’s
name, and then click Connect. You may have the query prompt out on your NXT brick
windows to ask you to key in passkey, just press Orange button to accept the default
value (1234). Once you establish the connection, you can see the icon on upper left
corner of your NXT brick windows changed from “<” to “<>” to indicate you the
connection is established.

8. Click on the Memory tab at the top of the dialog window to see what programs are
currently loaded onto the NXT block.
9. Close the dialog window, and now you can try to program the code in NXT environment
or close the whole NXT programming environment and go to the section B to connect
Wiimote to your PC. Notice that once you close the Mindstorms NXT program, the icon
on your NXT brick windows will change back to “<”.

Questions:

a) What should you do if you want to change the name of your robot?
b) What should you do if you want to download the program to your robot but the memory is
full already?

NXT Lab 1 Page 3/7

Part B: Connect Wiimote to the Computer
Before this part of exercise, make sure you have plugged in the Bluetooth dongle and finished
Part A exercise. Now check that the Wiimote has batteries in it. And follow the procedure.

1. Double Click on the Bluetooth icon on the notification area of windows task bar, i.e. lower
left side of windows desktop. You will have a window showing Bluetooth Devices.

2. Click Add, even you already have Nintendo RVL-CNT-01 device shown on your list.

3. Press and hold 1 and 2 buttons of Wiimote at the same time for a while until you see the
LEDs flash on and off. Check the check box of dialog and click Next.
4. Wait for a while for window to search Bluetooth devices. And you will see the following
window if you have Wiimote around you.

NXT Lab 1 Page 4/7

5. Choose Nintendo RVL-CNT-01 device and click Next.

6. Select Don’t use a passkey for this device. Before you move on, make sure the LED on
your Wiimote are still flashing, or you may need to press and hold 1 and 2 buttons of your
Wiimote again to make it flash before you click Next.
7. Now click Next, you will see that the window will try to connect and install the driver for
your Wiimote.

NXT Lab 1 Page 5/7

8. Now you have Wiimote connected with your PC. Double Click on Wiimote Test icon on
your Desktop to check if you can actually read the sensor data from Wiimote and control
the LEDs on Wiimote.

NXT Lab 1 Page 6/7

Part C: Run LabVIEW Sample Program
For this part of exercise, you will see that we can achieve much more functionality than LEGO
Mindstorms NXT program. For example, we can use LabVIEW to accomplish the communication
between different kinds of Bluetooth devices and won’t be constrained in communication between
NXT bricks and PC. Before starting this part of exercise, make sure you already finish the
exercise of Part A and B correctly. Follow the procedure to run the sample program. In this demo,
you will be able to use Wiimote to control the rotation speed and direction of motor A of LEGO
NXT brick by flipping Wiimote forward and backward.

1. Double click on the file, motor A with Wiimote.vi, located on the Desktop>>ENG100>>
My LabVIEW example>>run in pc, to invoke LabVIEW programming environment and
prepare to run the demo program.

2. Click on the run button on the LabVIEW Toolbar to run the demo program. Notice
that the system will take a few seconds to connect Wiimote and NXT brick to your PC.
Once the connection is established, you will see that the lights of LEDs on Wiimote will
be turned off and the icon on the NXT brick screen will be changed from “<” to ”<>”.

3. On the left half part of LabVIEW window is the control and information of NXT brick. You
can try to control different motor of NXT brick by changing Output Port from Port A to Port
B or C. On the right half part of windows is the information about Wiimote Status. You
can see the readings of different sensors and tell which button is pressed.
4. Press button A on your Wiimote to stop the demo program, or use mouse to click on
STOP button located on the middle of demo program window.

Questions:

a) What should you do if you have error alert message shown up?
b) How to use Wiimote to control motor B and C at the same time?

NXT Lab 1 Page 7/7

 Submitted by: Leonard Perry
University of San Diego
[email protected]
Lab #1 - Drag Race
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this laboratory, you will:
• Be aware of the lab safety rules and procedures followed by USD Engineering.
• Have become more familiar with some of the LEGO NXT elements that will be used throughout the
semester.
• Have worked in a team to complete your first engineering design challenge including design, test, and
improvement phases.
DELIVERABLES
• Completed Student Questionnaire
• Signed Laboratory Safety Practices and Rules of Conduct
• Compete in the drag race competition.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to your first Engineering laboratory at USD! During the semester, you will perform a variety
of activities to help you develop fundamental engineering skills and an understanding of some of the
different disciplines in engineering.
During the first several weeks of the semester, the labs will use LEGO NXT to introduce elements of
the engineering design process and fundamental ideas needed to build successful robots. As the semester
progresses, the challenges will become more open-ended and more challenging. Depending on your
experiences, many aspects of this lab may be familiar to you already. If that’s the case, you should your lab
partners learn the ideas. This will help reinforce what you know, and it will help you continue to develop the
collaborative teamwork skills needed to be a successful engineer. Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you have
problems completing any part of the lab.
SAFETY FIRST!
Throughout your study at USD you will have many lab classes where you have a chance to apply the
ideas that are presented to you in lectures. As you progress through one of the engineering majors you will
have the opportunity to use a wide range of machines, instruments and test equipment. As you are
introduced to specific equipment you will be told how to use it safely. Today you will complete the
Laboratory Safety Practices and Rules of Conduct form, sign on the last page of the handout and turn it in to
your lab instructor. Please take these policies seriously. Students who do not comply with these or other
department policies will be asked to leave the lab.
L’EGGO My LEGO!
Your lab instructor will assign you to a team for the remainder of this lab. Teams will change several
times throughout the semester so that you have an opportunity to work with most of the others in the class.
Your team will be given a set of LEGO NXT components. These components will be used throughout
the semester to design increasingly complex robots. Your first reaction might be to ask why we are using
LEGOs in an engineering course. Although the LEGO NXT system was designed to make it very easy to
build simple robots, it was also engineered to be a system that can be extendedwith new components and
electronics. There are several companies making some of these NXT enhancements. In fact, USD’s 2006-
07 Electrical Engineering Senior Design Project was to modify the NXT system to allow it to read Radio
Frequency ID (RFID) chips. These RFID chips are small electronic tags that can be used to track the
location of things such as medical charts in a hospital, or cartons of clothing shipped to Wal*Mart.
1
USD ENGR 101 Lab #1 – Drag Race Fall 2011
You should spend 10 minutes or so examining the NXT components. You won’t be using the
controller or the sensors this week, so you should focus on the wheels, axles, gears and connectors. How can
you combine these items to make a vehicle? The Appendix summarizes some principles of LEGO
construction and has notes on gears, but there are many ways to build things with these elements.

DESIGN CHALLENGE #1 – LEGO DRAG RACE

Challenge: To design and build a LEGO vehicle that travels the greatest distance when powered only by
a rubber band.

Procedure:
Phase I:
• You have 30 minutes to design, build and test a rubber-band powered vehicle. The official rubber-
bands will be supplied by the instructor. You may use only one rubber band and any items in the
LEGO kit.
• The winner is determined as the longest distance traveled. The distance traveled is defined as distance
from the start line to the LEGO piece closest to the start line.
Phase II:
• You will have 15 minutes to redesign your vehicle. You may not begin to redesign until after all
teams have completed Phase I.
• No points will be awarded in Phase II.
• Teams will compete in the reverse order of Phase I.
Phase III:
• You have 15 minutes to re-design your vehicle once more. You may not begin to redesign until after
all teams have completed Phase II.
• The winner is determined as the longest distance traveled.
• Teams will compete in random order determined by the instructor.

Scoring:
Your score will be based 70% on distance traveled (30 pts max for Phase I and 40 pts max for phase III) and
30% on the overall creativity and aesthetics of your vehicle. The Design & Aesthetics points will be
evaluated before the final round of the competition.
Total Points available for this lab: 100
Scoring Guideline:
Phase I Design & Phase III
Distance Aesthetics Distance
30 pts - Winner! 30 pts - Best design 40 pts - Winner!
28 pts - Moved 15+ ft 28 pts - Outstanding 38 pts - Moved 15+ ft
26 pts - Moved 10+ ft 26 pts - Some clever 34 pts - Moved 10+ ft
23 pts - Moved forward features 30 pts - Moved forward
20 pts - Moved 23 pts - Good 26 pts - Moved
15 pts - Didn’t Move 20 pts - Nothing special 20 pts - Didn’t Move
0 pts– No entry 15 pts - Downright ugly 0 pts– No entry

CLEAN-UP
After you have finished with the challenge you should completely dismantle your vehicle, place the
parts in the tote, and return everything to your lab instructor.

2
USD ENGR 101 Lab #1 – Drag Race Fall 2011

APPENDIX
LEGO NXT Construction Tips
When building your robot you may need to make strong connections that will support tension or
compression. These pictures illustrate some simple ways to connect components. In each case the figure on
the left is an exploded view version of the completed assembly on the right.
The dark beams in these figures will support compression, but can come apart under tension.

In the figures below, additional the beams have been reinforced to support both compression and tension, but
they are much more complicated to build.

3
USD ENGR 101 Lab #1 – Drag Race Fall 2011

LEGO NXT Gear Tips

(From materials at the Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute)

The LEGO NXT system comes with several types of gears that can be used to change the speed or force
delivered by the motor, or to rotate parts of your robot. This page illustrates the use of some of these gears.

Spur gears are the most common gear in the LEGO NXT system.
Spur gears do three things: 8 Teeth 40 Teeth
• Change the speed of rotation
• Change the torque delivered
• Cause a change in direction
Mating spur gears rotate in opposite directions. The gear ratio is the
ratio of the number of teeth on one gear to the number of teeth on the
other gear. For the gears shown at the right the gear ratio is 40 to 8 or,
5:1. This also means the 40 tooth gear’s axle has 5 times the torque as
the 8 tooth gear’s axle and 1/5 the rotational speed.

Idler gears are spur gears placed between two identically sized gears. Idler
gears do not change the gear ratio. They do cause the gears on either side to turn
in the same direction. Here the 40 tooth gear acts as an idler gear between two
8T gears.

Bevel gearsmesh at a 90 degree angle. The gear ratio rules remain the same, but
the axles are perpendicular to one another. LEGO NXT includes unusual bevel
gears with curved teeth that mesh with spur gears and bevel gears.

Worm gears have a single tooth that wraps around its axis of rotation. Because
it acts as a gear with one tooth it has a very high gear ratio.You can turn the
worm gear’s axle, but you can’t turn the spur gear’s axle.

Belts & pulleys are related to gears. They change speed and torque,
but:
• Pulleys transfer their force by the friction of the belts, rather than
direct contact with the teeth of gears. As a result the belts can
slip.
• The pulleys rotate in the same direction.

4
 Submitted by: Leonard Perry
University of San Diego
[email protected]

Lab #2 – Shuttle Race

OBJECTIVES
By the end of this laboratory, you will:
• Have become familiar with more of the LEGO NXT elements that will be used
throughout the semester.
• Have constructed your first LEGO robot in ENGR 101 and made it move autonomously.
• Have conducted an experiment involving measurements, data collection and analysis.
• Have completed the Design Challenge #2: The Robot Shuttle Race including design, test,
and improvement phases

DELIVERABLES
By the end this lab period -
• A functional LEGO robot able to move forward and backward on its own.
• A set of data characterizing the movement of your robot.
At the beginning of next lab period -
• A typed, two-page brief write-up(one submission per team) that includes the following
sections:
1. Names of team members (right justified)
2. A title of “Lab 2 Technical Brief” (centered)
3. Awell-formatted graph (with appropriate title and axis labels) that represents the
movement characteristics of your robot
4. Adescription of how your team will use the graph in implementing the shuttle moves
5. A flow-chart (may be hand-drawn) for the shuttle move task
• A program ready on your robot to execute the shuttle moves.
By the end the next lab period -
• Completed the Design Challenge #2: The Robot Shuttle Race

1
INTRODUCTION
Last week you completed a car powered by a rubber band with LEGO components. It’s time
now to get a bit more sophisticated and build your first robot using the same
LEGOMindstormsNXT Kit. A robot is a device that executes a preset task without operator’s
intervention. In this lab, you are going to build a car-like mobile robot which can execute a basic
task of moving forward and backward autonomously.
Your lab instructor will assign you to a team and will give you a set of LEGOMindstorms NXT
components. Make note of the label number on the set, as you will continue to use the same set
for next week. Now open and inspect the set; use the component sheet as guide to quickly go
over the contents. Make sure the major components such as the NXT Brick, motors, and sensors
are there. Let the instructor know if you have any problems. If not, proceed to complete the
following tasks.

TASK 1: Constructing a LEGO Robot That Goes

Your first task for this lab is to construct a robot that can move. Instructions for constructing
such a basic robot can be accessed through CE6, under Lab folder (look for file titled “2-Motor
NXT Vehicle Instructions”. While some of you may wish to design and build your own robot –
and you may do so if your team decides to, it is highly recommended that you as a team begin by
following the instructions so that everyone is familiar with the basics. If you are already
comfortable building using LEGO components, you should let other team members do most of
the construction work. You will have many opportunities in the weeks to come to expand and
come up with your own robot design to meet various challenges. Show your completed robot to
the instructor when you complete this task.

TASK2: Characterizing the Movements of Your Robot

Working with the robot you have, devise an experiment to determinerelationship between the
distance traveled and time your robot runs (or the number of times the motor turns). Here
movement characteristics meansthe relationships between distances traveled and time (or number
of motor turns/rotations) of your robot. Knowing the movement characteristics will enable you
to command or program your robot to go for any set distance. Collect as many data points as
you can so you can reasonably use them to generate a graph in Excel. Use XY scatter plot to
generate your graph. Your graph should show a trendline with displayed equation. You should

2
also set the y-intercept to zero as your robot should travel zero distance at time zero (or rotation
zero). Show the instructor the result when you’re finished with this task.

TASK 3: Programming for the Shuttle Race Design Challenge

Your robot will be used to compete in the “Shuttle Race” design challenge next week (see details
on the design challenge on page 4). In order to complete the challenge, it should be able to move
forward and backward on commands. Create a program that will command your robot to go
back and forth 3 times for a certain distance. The distances do not matter this week, but you
might consider next week’s challenge when writing your program. Name the program ‘Shuttle I’
and save it on your robot and on your file space on the Engineering network. You’ll need to
have this ready to go at the beginning of the lab next week. It may also be a good idea for each
team member to have a copy of the program in case of unexpected absences/tardiness next week.

Wrap-up
After you have finished with the tasks you should return all unused parts in the tote, thenstore
your robot and the tote in the area assigned by instructor. Clean up your work area completely,
and have your lab instructor inspect it before leaving.

3
 Design Challenge #2: The Robot Shuttle Race
Challenge: To design and build a LEGO robot that can complete the shuttle line drill, namely,
moving between a starting line and other lines spaced 18”
progressively apart (as shown in Figure 1). The
distances between the lines will be given at the time of
competition at the beginning of next lab period. Third line
Rules:
• The robot must start behind the starting line. Second line
• After the initial start, the robot needs only to touch each line for
all subsequent shuttle moves. The robot, however, may not
touch any other line beyond the one it is trying to reach. For 60”
example, the robot can touch only line 1 when completing leg
one of the race; touching line 2 or 3 will be considered failing
First line
leg one.
• Any robot touched by an operator after it has started is
disqualified.
• The robot must return back behind the starting line at the end of
the third leg run. Completion time is taken when your entire Start
robot crosses the starting line. Figure 1: Shuttle Race Course Layout
• The team who can successfully complete all legs of the shuttle run in the fastest time will win.
Procedure:
Phase I:
• After the instructor reveals the specific layout of the shuttle course, you have 10 minutes to set up
your robot and adjust your program. You will need to use the previous results that you obtained
on the relationship between robot’s travel distance and time (or number of rotations) to predict
how much time (or how many rotations) you should input into your program in order to achieve
the objectives of this challenge. You may conduct up to 2 test runs during this setup period. No
additional work is allowed at the end of this period.
• Team will compete in random order determined by the instructor. Your robot must be ready to go
when called.
Phase II:
• You have 10 minutes to improve your program and re-configure your robot if necessary. You
may not begin this phase until after all teams have completed Phase I. You may conduct 1 test
run only during this phase.
• Team will compete in random order determined by the instructor. Your robot must be ready to go
when called.
Grading:
Your performance score for each trial will be based on the following metric. The best score of the two
trials will be taken as your final grade for this challenge.
100 pts – Champion 60 pts – moved
95 pts – Complete 3 legs of shuttle 50 pts – didn’t move
85 pts – Complete 2 legs of shuttle 0 pts – no entry
75 pts – Complete 1leg of shuttle

4
 Submitted by: Leonard Perry
University of San Diego
[email protected]
LAB #3 – SENSORS ARE SNAZZY!
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this laboratory, you will:
• Have become more familiar with some of the LEGO NXT sensors that will be used
throughout the semester, specifically touch, light, and ultrasonic sensors
• Be able to view sensor output on LEGO NXT Brick
• Have written and executed computer code to control a LEGO NXT robot with sensors
• Have completed the third design challenge including design, test, and improvement
phases
DELIVERABLES
• Demonstrated flowchart, code, and successful operation for Design Tasks A.2, B.3, and C.2
to instructor
• NXT-G computer code for Design Challenge #3
• Completed the Design Challenge #3 “The Robot Shuttle Race with Sensors”
• Store all components in lab in designated area
INTRODUCTION
We’ve begun learning about LEGO NXT components. Today, we will experiment with sensors:
specifically light, ultrasonic, and touch sensors. Using these components will allow us to
complete more sophisticated tasks and help get us ready for our final design challenge in ENGR
101. Next week, we’ll use these sensors in Design Challenge #3: The Robot Shuttle Race with
Sensors.
A. TOUCH SENSOR
A.1.Viewing Output of Touch Sensor on NXT Brick
• Add a touch sensor to your robot and connect it to Port 1.
• Press orange Select button to turn on NXT Brick.
• Cycle Left or Right using gray triangle buttons on NXT Brick to get to View
• Select View using orange button
• Cycle Left or Right and then Select Touch
• Choose the Port being used by the sensor
• Press the orange tip on the sensor. Does the display change?
A.2. Touch Sensor Application
Design Task: Robot waits until a touch sensor is pushed and then moves forward and says
“Good job!”
Write a flowchart and NXT-G code to complete this task. Execute your code and demonstrate for
your instructor.

Page 1 of 3
B. LIGHT SENSOR
B.1. Calibrate Light Sensor
• Add a light sensor to your robot and connect it to Port 2.
• It is a good idea to calibrate your light sensor each time you start using it in a new
environment such as the lab or competition area.
• Use Calibrate Sensors from the Tools menu. Be sure NXT Brick is connected (and not on
View) before you select this or dialog box will be grayed out. You only need to calibrate
once per location after turning the Brick on.
• Follow directions on the Brick.
• Point light sensor toward material that should measure as dark. (Note that you will
probably have a number greater than 100 displayed. Don’t worry. This is not a
percentage of reflected light but the actual sensor reading between 0 and 1023.) Press
orange Enter button on Brick.
• Point toward material that should measure as bright. (A larger value should be
displayed than what you had over the dark area. Again, this is not a percentage so it is
ok for it to be much greater than 100.) Press orange Enter button on Brick.
B.2. Viewing Output of Light Sensor on NXT Brick
• As you did in Part A.1., on your NXT Brick, select View then select “Reflected Light”
Sensor (not the one with the *)
• Choose the Port being used by the sensor
• Point the sensor toward the table. closer to the table? Farther from the table? How does the
display change?
• What happens as you point the sensor at the tape on the floor? What happens when you point
the sensor at other places on the floor?

B.3. Light Sensor Application

Design Task: Robot moves forward until it hits a line of tape on the floor.
Write a flowchart and NXT-G code to complete this task. Execute your code and demonstrate for
your instructor. (You will need to decide what level to use as your trigger for the sensor.)

C. ULTRASONIC SENSOR
C.1. Viewing Output of Ultrasonic Sensor on NXT Brick
• Attach an ultrasonic sensor to your robot and connect it to Port 3.
• Select View and then Select “Ultrasonic inch” Sensor or “Ultrasonic cm” (remember which
units you are using)
• Choose the Port being used by the sensor
• Point the sensor toward the table. What happens as you point the sensor closer to the table?
Farther from the table? How does the display change?
C.2. Ultrasonic Sensor Application
Design Task: Robot moves to within 12 inches of a wall and then stops and moves backwards
for 5 seconds.
Write a flowchart and NXT-G code to complete this task. Execute your code and demonstrate for
your instructor.

Page 2 of 3
 Design Challenge #3 – The Robot Shuttle Race with Sensors

Challenge: To design and build a LEGO robot that can complete the shuttle line drill with sensors
(as shown in Figure 1). The specific course will be laid out at the time of competition at
the beginning of the next lab period.
18”
Rules: (similar to Design Challenge #2 with some exceptions)
• NEW: Robot must Wall
o Touch the first line based on using a light sensor and return to
behind the start line.
o Touch the second line based on distance from wall and then return Second line
to behind the start line
o Bump into the “third line” (i.e. the wall) and return to behind the
start line 60”
• The robot must start behind the starting line which will be made from
white tape.
• After the initial start, the robot may not touch any other line beyond First line
the one it is trying to reach.
• Any robot touched by an operator after it has started is disqualified.
• The robot must return back behind the starting line at the end of the
third leg run. Completion time is taken when your entire robot crosses
the starting line. Start
• The team who can successfully complete all legs of the shuttle run in Figure 1: Shuttle Race Course Layout
the fastest time will be the champion.
Phase I:
• After the instructor reveals the specific layout of the shuttle course, you have 10 minutes to set up
your robot and adjust your program. You may conduct up to 2 test runs during this setup period.
No additional work is allowed at the end of this period.
• Team will compete in random order determined by the instructor. Your robot must be ready to go
when called.

Phase II (Optional):
• You have 10 minutes to improve your program and re-configure your robot if necessary. You
may not begin this phase until after all teams have completed Phase I. You may conduct 1 test
run only during this phase.
• Team will compete in random order determined by the instructor. Your robot must be ready to go
when called.
Grading:
Your performance score for each trial will be based on the following metric. The best score of the two
trials (if ran both phases) will be taken as your final grade for this challenge.
100 pts – Champion 60 pts – moved
95 pts – Complete 3 legs of shuttle 50 pts – didn’t move
85 pts – Complete 2 legs of shuttle 0 pts – no entry
75 pts – Complete 1leg of shuttle

Page 3 of 3
 Submitted by: Leonard Perry
University of San Diego
[email protected]

Design Challenge #4 – Breakout

Challenge: To design and build a LEGO robot that can find the exit of a box made out of
electrical tape.

Rules:
• The robot will be placed by the instructor inside the box in a random position facing in a
random direction.
• The robot must find its way out of the box without crossing the black electrical tape.
• We will use the soccer rule: Out means all parts of the robot have crossed the tape.
• You can increase the difficulty level (and your grade) by adding three obstacles (bricks)
to the inside of the box. The location of the obstacles will be determined by the instructor.
• Any robot touched by an operator after it has started receives a penalty.
• Any robot crossing completely over the tape receives a penalty.

Trial I:
• Decide if you want to compete with or without the obstacles in the box.
• One robot will be placed into the box at a time.
• Teams will compete in random order determined by the instructor.
• Your robot must be ready to go when called.

Trial II:
• You have 20 minutes to improve your program and reconfigure your robot if necessary.
You may not begin this phase until after all teams have completed Phase I.

1
 • Decide if you want to compete with or without the obstacles in the box. You can change
your mind.
• One robot will be placed into the box at a time.
• Teams will compete in random order determined by the instructor.
• Your robot must be ready to go when called.

Grading:
Your performance score for each trial will be based on the following metric. The best score of
the two trials will be taken as your final grade for this challenge.
100 points – Fastest Escape with obstacles.
95 points – Your robot escapes from the box with obstacles within three minutes.
95 points – Your robot escapes from the box without obstacles within one minute.
90 points – Your robot escapes from the box without obstacles within three minutes.
80 points – Your robot doesn’t find the exit within four minutes, but stays within the box.
70 points – Your robot reacts in a meaningful way to a black line or obstacle.
60 points – Your robot runs over the black tape or requires help.
50 points – You have built a robot.

2
 Submitted by: Leonard Perry
University of San Diego
[email protected]

Design Challenge # 5 – Relay Race

Challenge: To work in a team of 6-8 members to design and build three different LEGO
robots that can participate in a relay race and bring the puck to goal.
Rules:
• The first robot must start behind the starting line and at the center of the line, which is
marked by black tape.
• The first robot retrieves a puck from inside a box (Box # 1) that is marked by white tape,
brings the puck to the transfer point. The puck must cross the transfer point and stay
within its boundaries (marked by a 12”-line of black tape) before the second robot can
start the second leg of the race.
• The second robot must start out on the other side of the transfer point from the first robot,
at any point along the marked 12”-line of black tape. This robot will have its own puck,
bring the puck to Box # 2 (also marked by white tape) and drop it inside the box. The
puck must stay completely inside Box # 2 before the third robot can start the third leg of
the race.
• The third robot will start out right next to Box # 2 (closest wheel is within 4” of the box
boundaries), orienting in any direction selected by the team. None of its components
should cross the box boundary. This robot will also have its own puck. Its task is to bring
the puck pass the goal line which is 6”-wide and marked by black tape.
• Robot can move the puck throughout the course using any method, as long as it has full
control and possession of the puck. No kicking/throwing of the puck to the target is
allowed.
• Team must make use of at least two different types of sensors (light, touch or ultrasonic)
during the competition. Team will receive penalties for using fewer sensors.
• Team will receive bonus points if only one puck is used throughout the three legs of the
race.

Competition:
• Decide if you want to use the brick post on either one of the white boxes. If so, you can
choose to place the brick post anywhere around the white box.
• Decide if you want to strive for using only one puck throughout the three legs of the race.
• One team will compete at a time.
• Teams will compete in random order determined by the instructor.
• Your robots must be ready to go when called.
• Team will receive penalty when the next robot starts without previous robot completing
its leg of the race.
• Team who completes all 3 legs of the race without violating any rules with the fastest
time will win the competition.

Page 1 of 3
Grading:
Your team performance score will be based on the following metric:
100 points – Completed all 3 legs with the puck at goal in fastest time.
95 points – Completed all 3 legs of the race correctly with the final puck at goal.
85 points – Have all three robots in the race, but only completed 2 legs of the race.
75 points – Have all three robots in the race, but only completed 1 leg of the race.
65 points – Have all three robots built, entered the competition. Robots moved around but
were unable to complete any leg of the race correctly.
55 points – Have at least two robots built.

Bonus:

+ 5 points: Used one single puck throughout all three legs of the race.

Penalties:

–5 points: Every time the next robot starts without previous robot completing its leg of
the race.

–5 points: Used only one type of sensor in the race.

– 10 points: Used no sensors in the race.

–2 points: Puck # 1 did not cross the transfer point completely.

–2 points: Puck # 2 did not go inside Box # 2 completely.

–2 points: Puck # 3 did not cross the goal line completely.

Page 2 of 3
 GOAL

Brick post
(optional)

BOT 3

Box # 2
Puck

Puck

BOT 2

Transfer Point
Brick post
(optional)

Box # 1

Puck

Starting Line

BOT 1

Page 3 of 3
 Submitted by: Leonard Perry
University of San Diego
[email protected]

Design Project Overview

Design, Build, and Document an Autonomous LEGO Robot that Navigates a
Course and Retrieves a “Yellow Diamond”

Scope
This document describes the requirements of the major design project for ENGR 102.

Introduction
In ENGR 102, you will apply the engineering design process to a project which will span most of
the semester. This project involves carrying out a complete engineering design project by
employing the methods followed by practicing engineers. This semester your task is to propose,
design, build, and document an autonomous LEGO robot that navigates a course and retrieves a
“yellow diamond”.

You will work on this project in teams of two to four. In order for you to complete your project
by the end of the semester, it is essential that you create and follow a reasonable schedule.

Learning Objectives
The main learning objectives of this project are
• To continue to develop open-ended problem solving skills
• To gain experience in the practice of engineering by emulating engineers
• To develop skills in project planning and control
• To use skills and concepts related to Electrical, Industrial & Systems, and Mechanical
Engineering in completing a design project
• To prepare accurate written documentation

Deliverables
By the completion of your project, you will have produced the following deliverables
• Project Concept Proposal
• Project Proposal
• Working autonomous LEGO robot
• Weekly status reports
• Written final report
• Oral presentations
• Peer assessment of team performance
 Design Project Milestones

Due Date Assignment(s)

Monday, February 28 Concept Proposal
(Week 6, Day 1)
Monday, March 28 Proposal
(Week 10, Day 1)
Wednesday, April 6 Status Report 1
(Week 11)
Wednesday, April 13 Status Report 2
(Week 12)
Wednesday, April 20 Status Report 3
(Week 13, Day 2) Subsystem Test
Wednesday, April 27 Status Report 4
(Week 14, Day 2) Design Project Binder Check
Monday, May 2 Design Review Presentation Deliverable
(Week 15, Day 1) (Word or PowerPoint)
Wednesday, May 4 Design Review Presentation
(Week 15, Day 2) Final Competition (Each team will compete on Courses 1
and 2)
Friday, May 13, 12 noon Final Design Project Binder
(Finals Week)

Project Grading (The project is worth 70% of your ENGR 102 grade)
Project grade based on
25% Working autonomous LEGO robot
10% Weekly Status Reports
10% Concept Proposal
20% Design Proposal
25% Final Engineering Design Binder
10% Design Review Presentation, homework, and activities related to
the design project.
Individual contribution to the project team may raise or lower an individual's grade from the
team project grade.
 QUEST FOR THE YELLOW DIAMOND: RULES

Object of the competition

To capture the precious yellow diamond and return to the home position in
the least amount of time while traversing obstacles. Bonus points will be
awarded for retrieving the rare red ruby.

Rules
• At the start, your robot must be completely within the “home position” (white area on
floor, measuring 15”x15”).
• To leave the home position and enter the course, you must cross a “bridge” (black area on
the floor next to “home”).
• You must return to home by going back over the “bridge”.
• Obstacles include a cave, a wall, and trees.
• Trees are 8” high (height of a brick)
• Wall is 4” high (made from multiple bricks)
• Cave is approximately 17” high by 16” wide.
• Trees are placed at least 15” from the cave, wall or other trees.
• Diamond and Ruby are on a pedestal. They must be picked up, not pushed back to home.
• Only 1 robot will be on the course at a time.
• There are two layouts of the course (see last page for map).
• Each course is approximately 6’ by 9’ overall. A moat defines the outside perimeter,
marked by 2” black tape.
• The competition will occur during the last week of lab: each team’s robot will go on its
Quest for the Yellow Diamond once for each course.
• Each trial will last 4 minutes maximum.
Competition Scoring
10 pts Crossing the Bridge to enter the course
10 pts Reaching back 1/3 of course
20 pts Finding the Yellow Diamond or Red Ruby (part of robot is within 6” of the jewel).
15 pts Removing the Diamond or Ruby from its pedestal
15 pts Taking possession of the Yellow Diamond or Red Ruby
5 pts Returning to the front of the course (only if back 1/3 was reached)
10 pts Returning Home (2 wheels of robot completely within the black tape of Home)
5 pts for 1 wheel of robot completely within the black tape of Home
15 pts Possessing Yellow Diamond at Home

Penalties:
Not using the Bridge when returning home: -5 pts

BONUS
Returning home with Red Ruby at least one time + 10 pts
Fastest time in section +10 pts

You will be given 3 attempts on each course for full credit.

Additional attempts will be scored using: (1 - 0.1*Additional_Attempt_#)*Course Score
For example, your fourth attempt will be worth at most 90 pts

Score: 0.5 * (Best Course 1 Score) + 0.5*(Best Course 2 Score) + BONUS

Bonus points may only be earned during the first 4 attempts on each course.
Yellow Diamond and Red Ruby Information
• Yellow Diamond and Red Ruby will be
• on a pedestal of 2.0” diameter and 3.6” height (See Figure 1)
o Pedestal will be smooth clear plastic with a steel base
• plastic balls of 3.1” diameter and approximately 400g mass
• Pedestals will have a light source at a height of approximately 3.1” (See Figure 1).

Figure 1 Schematic of ball and pedestal with dimensions indicated. Yellow diamond and
red ruby will be balls on pedestals.
 Homebase Homebase

HOME

Cave Cave
Ruby

Diamond Diamond
Ruby

COURSE 1 COURSE 2
 Project Proposal Guidelines

Introduction
The project proposal is a written document that describes what your group intends to accomplish
this semester. After your instructor approves this proposal, it becomes the project plan.

In general, a proposal is a type of report that describes a future task and includes a complete plan
of how to accomplish this task. If the task is related to solving an engineering problem, then the
proposal should explain the existing problem and describe the procedure and steps for solving
the problem, along with the resources required: costs, equipment, personnel, and a time schedule.

Each group will write a full design project proposal based on your concept proposal and the
feedbacks that you have received from your instructor. The final proposal is due at the
beginning of class on Monday, March 28th.

Organization and Format of Proposal

An extremely important part of your education is learning how to document your work and
communicate it to others. You will need to write reports so that other engineers can understand
them, as you will often not be available to clarify details. Sometimes the format and length of
these reports are specified, sometimes not. In general, characteristics of any good report are:
• Concise
• Complete
• Clear
• Logical organization
• Free of grammar and spelling errors
• All figures and tables have numbers and captions and are referred to by their number
• All pages numbered sequentially, except for the title page.

A proposal should include:

A clear statement of what is being proposed and why.
An explanation of the task or problem.
A description of the plan for how to accomplish the task or solve the problem.
A description of methods, costs, personnel, and action schedules.

1
A given organization often uses a specific report format. Your proposal for your ENGR 102
project should have the following parts, many of which will appear in every report you prepare:

1) Title Page
This page should include:
- A clear, complete, and descriptive title.
- The name, title, and company of the person(s) to whom the report is directed.
- The name, title, and company of the writer(s).
- The date.

2) Purpose (of the Proposal Report)

Every report should include a statement of purpose. Briefly describe the objective of the report.
For example: “This is the proposal for ENGR 102 from Team X. It describes the project plan for
developing a robot to capture a jewel and return to the home position in the least amount of
time.”

3) Description of the Proposed System

This section should describe in detail how your system will operate. Your explanation should
include words and drawings. Include a Table of Devices such as Table 1 with a description of
each device.

Table 1: Sample Table of Devices

Label Component Function

1 Input Light Sensor Detect Jewel
2 Input Light Sensor Detect perimeter of course
3 Input Ultrasonic Sensor Detect cave
4 Input Unused
A Output Motor Left Motion
B Output Motor Right Motion
C Output Motor Jewel retrieval

2
Drawings of the system should clearly show the location and type of all motors and sensors (e.g.,
see Figure 1. You may use Lego Digital Designer (free download at http://ldd.lego.com), or a
very neat 3-view or perspective scale drawing of your system. For more information on Lego
Digital Designer, see handout posted on CE6 (in the “Quest for the Yellow Diamond” folder).

Figure 1: Sample Lego Digital Designer model showing layout of major components. Your
model should have at least this much detail, but need not have all structural elements.

Break your overall system into functional subsystems. For example, detecting the yellow
diamond might be a subsystem. The description of each subsystem includes the hardware as
well as algorithms for accomplishing that function.

4) Activities and Time Schedule

Indicate how you will balance the workload for completing your project. Who is in charge of
which tasks? Who is in charge of which subsystem?

Include a timetable for completing the project using a Gantt chart including all relevant activities
and milestones. Make it as detailed as possible. Include known holidays or other nonworking
days. This Gantt chart will be used to monitor your progress during the execution of the project
so it is important for it to be complete and achievable. Display your timescale in weeks so that
the chart is readable.

Sample Student Proposal

Refer to the sample student proposal from Spring 2008 posted on CE6 to see a “B” quality
report. Note that the challenge has changed somewhat from Spring 2008 (do not copy and do not
refer to “Sherwood Forest” or the “flag”).

3
 Submitted by: Laura Prendergast
Rutgers University
[email protected]
Seismic Disasters
14:440:125 - Engineering Exploration

Project Abstract: Earthquakes have devastated nations

for centuries. In 2010, there was a rash of earthquakes
that had crippling effects. In January, a quake, with a 7.0
magnitude on the Richter scale, utterly overwhelmed Haiti
with destruction. Chile was rocked by the 8.8 magnitude
earthquake in February. The California-Mexico area was
shaken with a 7.2 earthquake. In March of 2011 a 9.0
magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami destroyed
much of northern Japan.

In preparation for an earthquake, the local township has

announced the Seismic Building Competition for the best
building design, and you are invited to compete. The
winner receives the best Engineer of the Year award.
Construct a model building that is mechanically and
structurally sound. The structural integrity of the building
will be determined by the maximum seismic disturbance
that the building is able to support.

Project Design: The task for your team is to design and build a 5 story building with bracing for
provided dead, live, and lateral loading. The structure that withstands the maximum seismic
disturbance wins the contest.

Each team of 4 will construct a five-story building prototype made of balsa wood. Structures
should be constructed to a height of 30 inches A unidirectional earthquake shake table, with
dimensions of 18 in by 15 in and a capacity of 50 lb, will be used for structure testing.

Model Dimensions and Details

 Building Plan Dimensions = 12 in x 12 in (outside-to-outside)
 Total building height = 30 in
 Minimum floor height = 3 in
 Diaphragms (floors) = 12 in x 12 in
 Base plate = 15 in x 15 in x 1/4 in should be fixed to the base of the structure. The base
plate will also attach the structure to the shake table using mechanical clamps.
 Columns = 1/4 in x 1/4 in cross section. Built-up rectangular columns ½ in x ¼ in can be
allowed at the corners if necessary. Interior edge columns are acceptable using allocated
materials.
 Each floor can have a maximum of 6 columns.
 1/8 in x 1/8 in pieces can not be used for columns.
 Braces = 1/8 in x 1/8 in cross section. Braces can be diagonal, cross, v-shaped, inverted v-
shape, other design, or non-existent.
 Each group will get 8 glue sticks to complete structure and extra glue to affix tiles only.
 Strain gauges will be affixed to bracing to record strain, which will be used to calculate the
stress in bracing.
Assessment
Each project will be evaluated in terms of the maximum acceleration or ‘shake’ that the structure
is able to support without failure, and on the oral presentation. Each team member should keep
record of project specifications (prototype/real structure), concepts used, and conclusions which
should be included in the presentation.
Homework
Read materials on earthquakes and structural design; Define all highlighted terms in the project
write-up *Hint: Physics Textbook* (include definitions in presentation); Summarize main points;
Make at least one connection to your building design (to be included in presentation). Include
one slide detailing Civil Engineering major (see Sakai Forum).

Presentation Rubric
 Goal(s) clearly stated.
 Math/Science concepts and methodologies used are correct and detailed
properly.
 How goal was achieved is clearly stated.
 How do you know goal was achieved (assessment).
Adequate  Limitations.
 Topics and information learned (reflection).
 None of the presenters read verbatim.
 Transition between presents was smooth.
 Slides formatted properly: bullet points, efficient use of words,
spelling/grammar correct.
 Goals are present but not completely clear.
 Math/Science concepts and methodologies used are incomplete and/or
unclear.
 Incomplete assessment.
Needs Improvement  Little or no reflection.
 Little to no limitations addressed.
 Some of the presenters read verbatim from slides/notecards
 Transition between presenters needs some work.
 Slides may be wordy, poorly formatted, and/or unpleasing.
 Goal unclearly stated or not present.
 Math/Science concepts and methodologies used are incorrect or not
addressed.
 No reflection.
Inadequate
 No limitations addressed.
 Transition between presenters was not smooth
 Presenters read verbatim from slides/notecards
 Slides present but do not match presentation parameters.
Missing  No presentation.
 Submitted by: Laura Prendergast
Rutgers University
[email protected]
What’s Inside the Black Box?
14:440:125 – Engineering Exploration

Project Abstract
Comvision is the largest cable company that supplies cable services to
commercial buildings. In many commercial buildings built in the past,
cable tv service is run from an outdoor antenna to several locations in the
building. The standard cables used in the past were 300Ω cables.
However, recent TVs have a 40Ω to70Ω cable connection, depending on
the brand. If the resistance of incoming cable does not match what the TV
cable connection requires, ghosts of previous images will linger on the TV
screen making it impossible to watch the TV. One obvious solution to the
problem is to replace all the 300Ω cables in the building cables that are
40Ω or 60Ω. This is expensive. A smart solution is to design an
interfacing circuit between the 300Ω cable and the TV. Comvision is
hosting a competition for the best circuit design. The best design wins the
contract and receives a permanent job offer from Comvision.

Project Design
Consider the figure given below where the dotted box represents the interface between the cable and the
TV. It contains the interface circuit. The terminals ‘a’ and ‘b’ are to be connected to TV and the terminals
‘c’ and ‘d’ are to be connected to the cable coming from an outdoor antenna. Assuming that the interface
box is already connected to the cable coming from an outdoor antenna, the resistance of 300Ω between
the terminals c and d is the equivalent resistance of the cable.

The mathematical design problem can then be expressed as follows: Design the interface circuit that
should be in the dotted box such that the equivalent resistance REq between the terminals ‘a’ and ‘b’ is
50Ω.
Design Constraint 1: The terminal b cannot be interconnected to terminal d, They need to be
distinctly different. The terminals a and c can be interconnected.

Design Constraint 2: The circuit designed need to be symmetrical. This implies that looking at the
layout of the circuit either from the terminals a and b to the right or from the terminals c and d to the
left must be the same. Such a symmetrical circuit allows us to connect either end of it to the cable,
while the other end is connected to the TV. Each team must pick one of the designs shown below.
 Below are two examples of symmetrical circuits that also satisfy Design Constraint 1:

Assessment Homework
Each project will be evaluated in terms of the circuit Read 3 project papers and summarize main
design, technical paper, and oral presentations. points (1 paragraph per paper). This assignment
Each team member should keep record of project is to be included in the final draft of the technical
specifications, concepts, and conclusions. paper and will not be collected separately.
Resistor Chart
Example: 470Ω resistor:
4 = yellow
7 = violet
1 = brown
Add 1 zero to 47 to make 470,
So, 470 = yellow, violet, brown

Available Resistor Values

 Submitted by: Laura Prendergast
Rutgers University
[email protected]

Gas-less Car Competition

14:440:125 Engineering Exploration
Project Abstract:
 Greencorp Inc. is an environmentally friendly company that helps other companies to
become more ‘green’. Greencorp Inc. needs to design a wheeled vehicle to be used in
production plants to transport products on an assembly line between stations as fast as
possible. Greencorp Inc. is hosting a competition for Rutgers Engineers to construct 2
versions of a wheeled vehicle (one that travels with the greatest speed between two
assembly line points, and one that travels the greatest distance). The vehicle is powered by
a single mouse trap. The basic design costs $6. Any modifications come at an additional
cost and weight; costs of materials to be purchased can be referenced from www.kelvin.com
or from another source. The best product wins the competition and contract.

 Once the vehicle design is complete, Greencorp Inc. must determine the Cartesian
coordinates of a new factory to manufacture these vehicles. The vehicles will be used in
plants of five companies, each with their own demand for the vehicle.

Project Design Specifications:

 Design and build wheeled vehicle capable of traveling solely powered by a single mouse
trap. Once the car is released, no human intervention is allowed.
 The design may be modified using materials supplied. The only part that must stay constant
is the mousetrap itself.
 Determine the most optimal place to build a factory to build the vehicles. The companies
buying the vehicles are located in the capital cities of the states indicated in the chart below.
The optimal location will be where the distance to travel between companies is minimized
keeping the demand in mind. The coordinates of the company sites are obtained using the
latitude and longitude and translated into miles with respect to lat-long of (0, 0). The
company sites and demands for each company are as follows (demand in millions pounds
of the vehicle).
State Arizona California Texas North Dakota New Jersey
Demand 300 900 1000 50 1000

• X = (x,y) denotes the location of the new facility

• P= (ai,bi) denotes the location of existing facility i, i = 1,…,m
• wi denotes the weight (or demand/flow) associated with travel between the new
facility and existing facility i
• d(X,Pi) denotes the distance between the new facility and existing facility (described
by the distance calculations)
 M fi ( X )n= ∑ wiid ( Xm, Pi )
i

 Helpful terms: Moment of Inertia, Torque, Squared Euclidean distance, Manhattan

(rectilinear) distance, Chebyshev distance, Euclidean distance. Weighted center method
may not be used for this project.

Assessment:
 Each team will have three attempts and only the best attempt will be considered.
 Version 1- speed: The team with the fastest speed traveled (over a 15’ distance) "wins". In
case of a tie, the team traveling along the straightest line will win.
 Version 2-distance: The team with the longest distance “wins”. In case of a tie, the team
traveling along the straightest line will win.
 Identify at least 1 professor at Rutgers University who has research interests in car design.
Make at least one relation of the research to your project.
 Each team will make a group presentation describing project specifications, concepts, data,
and conclusions that describe how it works, why it works, and physics/math involved.
 Each group member will write their own technical report detailing all of the information about
this project, requirements, limitations, design modifications with relevant math/science
concepts, pictures, diagrams, etc.
 The presentation and technical paper will be your final exam. Further details about the
paper will be provided to you.

Problem Solving Strategy

1. State the problem: Read problem at least 3x
2. Visualize, sketch, and translate English into Engineering (mathematical and scientific) terms.
3. Set specifications. Identify limitations and constraints.
4. Identify possible solution(s), analyze for viability.
5. Select most viable solution: dissect, research, design, and solve.
6. Check solution for consistency, evaluate, re-identify (step 1).

Presentation Rubric
 Goal(s) clearly stated.
 Math/Science concepts and methodologies used are correct and detailed properly.
 How goal was achieved is clearly stated.
 How do you know goal was achieved (assessment).
Adequate  Limitations.
 Topics and information learned (reflection).
 None of the presenters read verbatim.
 Transition between presents was smooth.
 Slides formatted properly: bullet points, efficient use of words, spelling/grammar correct.
 Goals are present but not completely clear.
 Math/Science concepts and methodologies used are incomplete and/or unclear.
 Incomplete assessment.
Needs  Little or no reflection.
Improvement  Little to no limitations addressed.
 Some of the presenters read verbatim from slides/notecards
 Transition between presenters needs some work.
 Slides may be wordy, poorly formatted, and/or unpleasing.
 Goal unclearly stated or not present.
 Math/Science concepts and methodologies used are incorrect or not addressed.
Inadequate  No reflection.
 No limitations addressed.
 Transition between presenters was not smooth
  Presenters read verbatim from slides/notecards
 Slides present but do not match presentation parameters.
Missing  No presentation.
 Submitted by: Defne Apul
University of Toledo
[email protected]
University of Toledo, Spring 2012
CIVE 1000 Freshmen Orientation for Civil Engineers
Instructor: Defne Apul, Ph.D., P.E.
Team Project (TP) on Sustainable Civil Engineering Technologies
This semester, you will work in teams to prepare a project that you will present in class using Powerpoint (or
Prezi) and then at a professional conference (http://www.utoledo.edu/dl/sustainableu/index.html ) using poster
format. The project topic is sustainable civil engineering technologies. Each team will be assigned a project.
Team work and peer grading:Assignments TP1, TP2, TP3, and TP4 are related to the team project and should
be submitted as a team. For these four assignments, you will be receiving one grade for the entire team.
However, for each one of these assignments you will also be peer grading each other. Each team will receive
one single grade for this assignment. However, a team member’s grade may be made higher or lower by
Dr. Apul or TAs
a) if peer evaluations show unequal contribution to the overall effort and/or
b) if Dr. Apul or TAs notice some unequal contribution by observing team product and dynamics
Important Advice
1. This a fairly detailed assignment that will lead to a public sharing of your work at the UT
Sustainable U conference. This means, the teams need to meet at least once a week, likely twice a
week until assignments project related assignments are are completed. It is quite possible that
you will put in more hours into this class per week as you work on the team project. Other weeks
will have lighter loads.
2. TAs and Dr. Apul are very excited about this project and want to help you as much as they can.
Keep your TAs and Dr. Apul informed of your progress and your thoughts. Use their expertise to
help you successfully complete the team project assignments. Show up during office hours. Use
other communication means to work with them if necessary.

Project Topics
Each team will work on one of the following technologies:
Structural:
Low-carbon concrete versus traditional concrete
Low energy concrete klinker versus traditional klinker
Steel versus concrete
Transportation
Porous asphalt (also environmental) versus traditional asphalt
Porous concrete (also environmental) versus traditional concrete
Roundabouts versus traffic lights and stop signs
Environmental
Composting toilets versus flushed toilets
Rainwater harvesting versus municipal water use in toilets and in irrigation
Green roofs versus traditional roofs
Combined heat and power (CHP) at wastewater treatment plants versus without CHP
Living machines versus centralized wastewater treatment plants
Geotechnical
Bioreactor landfills versus traditional landfill
Beneficial reuse of dredged sediments versus placement in confined disposal facility (CDF)
Geothermal energy versus fossil fuel energy
TP1: Success Skills: Personal and Technical Skills
(Team assignment, 7 points)
Work with your team members to prepare one final word document that has answers to following questions.
Once your responses are typed up and your document is ready, print and bring the document to class to turn it in
before class on. Only one document should be submitted per team.

Question 0: Fill in the box below for your team

Project topic:
Names of team members:
Your team’s weekly
meeting time and place

Question 1
All of you are bringing with you some ideas on what you need to do to be successful in the civil engineering
program and in your career. Some of these skills may or may not overlap with skills you will need to be
successful in the CIVE 1000 team project assigned to you. These skills can be thought of in terms of personal
attributes and technical skills. Both are equally important for your career but unfortunately some students ignore
one or the other. What are these attributes? In other words, what do you need to be successful in your project, in
the civil eng. program, and in your career? I would like you to be conscious about what you need to be doing to
be successful. Also, I want the team projects to run as smoothly as possible and knowing upfront what is needed
from each one of you will help make your project be successful. For these reasons, I am asking you to fill out
tables 1 and 2 below. Each person should contribute with at least two ideas for each category for that person to
receive full credit for this question. Also, to help you with brainstorming, I have provided (after Table 2) the
ideas from last year’s students. Feel free to use these ideas and expand on them.

Table 1: Personal attributes necessary for you to be successful in this team project and in the civil eng.
program (and in your career)
Personal attributes necessary for success of team project Personal attributes necessary for you to be
successful in civil eng. program and in your
career
Idea / Attribute Name of person Idea / Attribute Name of person
contributing this idea contributing this idea
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
6. 6.
Table 2: Technical skills necessary for you to be successful in this team project and in the civil eng.
program (and in your career)
Technical skills necessary for success of team project Technical skills necessary for you to be
successful in civil eng. program and in your
career
Idea / Skill Name of person Idea / Skill Name of person
contributing this idea contributing this idea
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
6. 6.

Past Student’s Tips for Success!

How To Be A Successful Student/Group Member
Important Qualities Important Actions Important Skills
Persistence Meet on a regular basis, at least once a week Teamwork
Leadership Do not be bossy because it is a team effort Communication
Positive Attitude Find Inspiration Time management
Dependability Make Goals Organization
Honesty Dividing the workload Brainstorming
Dedication Motivate each other Cooperation
Patience Think outside of the box Compromising
Energy Be positive, Encourage others
Punctuality Complete assigned tasks
Perseverance Ask questions to clarify expectations of the project
Flexibility Have respect for each other
Responsibility Thorough research
Effort, Work Ethic Elect a team leader (to submits assignments)
Creativity Understanding the teams strengths and weaknesses
Willingness to Learn Understanding the teams goals
Open-mindedness Participation from all Group Members
Plan out a schedule
Do not procrastinate
Be Prepared
Find statistics
Estimate time of construction and total cost
Have Fun!
Question 2
I want you to get started with your research right away. To do this, let’s have you find some websites that might
provide potentially helpful information for your project. Please do a little google search on the topic of your
project and fill in Table 3 below. You may later find out that these websites may or may not be that helpful but
you need to get started somewhere! Each person should provide at least two website resources. A minimum of
10 websites are needed for full points for this assignment.

Table 3: Preliminary resources to get started on the project

Website address Website brief description Name of person locating this resource
and how it may be helpful
for your project

Question 3:
You need to delegate work and set deadlines to be able to successfully complete the project. Some work ahead
of you is listed below:
- Registering for the Sustainable U conference
- Submitting an abstract for the Sustainable U conference
- researching information
- compiling information
- determining what to present and what to leave out
- preparingpowerpoint
- practicingpowerpoint before in class presentation
- preparing poster
- printing poster
- preparing different sections of the powerpoint and poster. These sections are:
o introduction
o technical performance
o economic performance
o environmental performance
o social performance
- relation to sustainable rating system
- summary

Use the table below to help you delegate tasks and assign deadlines. This table is meant to help you get
started. As project progresses
Person responsible Task Due date for when that
task will be done
TP2: Conference abstract submission
(Team assignment, 5 points)
Every profession has professional conferences. Typically, a person attends a conference to network with others,
share some expertise, and learn from other presenters and colleagues. You will be presenting at the Sustainable
U conference (http://www.utoledo.edu/dl/sustainableu/index.html). To be able to present a poster, you need to
submit an abstract so they include you in the program. Look up online what ‘abstract’ means. You will find out
that abstracts are used both in presentations and in technical reports.

To complete TP2, go to http://www.utoledo.edu/dl/sustainableu/index.html, click on ‘submit your abstract’ at

the bottom of page and follow directions. Note that each team will submit one abstract. In addition, each
student must register for the conference.

To help you put together your abstract, I pasted below a draft that you can fill in with your own information.

Abstract Title: Evaluation of _________ as a sustainable civil engineering technology

Abstract Text: Various sustainable design approaches are emerging in the geotechnical, transportation,
environmental, and structural aspects of civil engineering. Within __________ engineering, a promising
technology is __________. The goal of this study was evaluate the performance of this technology in
comparison to its traditional alternative; __________ . In this presentation, we introduce the technology and
compare its technical, economic, environmental, and social performance to ________. We also present the role
of this technology in emerging sustainable rating systems such as _______.
TP3: Class Presentation
(Team assignment, 15 points)
Presentation format:
0. Cover slide (one slide) (title of the presentation, your names)
1.Introduction (2-4 slides)
- introduce what the traditional technology is and what the issues with it are
- once you have laid out some potential issues with the current technology, introduce the
‘sustainable’ technology as a potential alternative to the traditional system. Describe your
‘sustainable’ technology. How does it work, what does it do, how is it different? Some of this
discussion may be (should be) included later on in the presentation where you will be discussing
performance metrics. But here, you need to briefly introduce the technology so people know
what you are talking about.
- determine if there is an example of this technology on campus or locally in Toledo area and
present photos of these applications along with how well you think they may be working
2. Objectives (1 slide)
- State the objectives (goals) of your study. This slide should contain a sentences that reads like
this: “the goal of this study was to evaluate ____________ and compare its technical, social,
economic, environmental performance to its traditional alternative ____________”
2. Technical, economic, environmental, and social performance (3-7 slides)
Each technology may have slightly different performance expectations. Pick the appropriate
metrics relevant to your own technology. At a minimum, your performance evaluation should
include cost, and some other environmental, technical, and social considerations.

Some performance metrics to consider are [this is NOT a comprehensive list. You need to
develop your own list and organize the slides so they flow in a logical order]:
-maintenance requirements
-corrodibility
-reliability
-strength
-safety
-practicality
-permeability
-life cycle cost (initial cost, operation cost, end of life cost)
-life cycle environmental impacts
- human health and ecosystem health impacts
-social implications
- ethical considerations

3. Relation to sustainable rating systems (1-3 slides)

Discuss which rating system may be applicable to your technology. Very briefly introduce that rating
system. Then, discuss if your technology may help obtain points towards achieving any of the credits
included in the rating system. Possible rating systems to consider are LEED, GreenRoads, and Sustainable
Infrastructures Rating System.

4. Conclusions (1 slide)
Based on your earlier comparison, conclude if the ‘sustainable’ technology is really sustainable or not. To
do this, you may find yourself summarize some main points discussed in earlier slides. You may consider
presenting (perhaps in a table format) advantages and disadvantages of the technology as a way to
summarize what was said earlier. You should have a final conclusion on what your comparison of the
new technology to the traditional system showed. Think of conclusions slide as the ultimate slide to
summarize what you found related to the objectives you presented earlier. Also note that conclusions
slide should not introduce any new information.
5. Acknowledgements (either at the end or below on the slide that has the figure that is not yours)
If you copy pasted any figures/images from anywhere to do your presentation, you should acknowledge
this either on the slide where you have the figure (use small text) or you can have one acknowledgements
slide in the end where you say from where came each one of the figures that were not your own
creations.

6. Thank you (1 slide) (optional)

Typically we end the presentation with a thank you for your attention type of statement. Then, we open
up the floor to questions.

Other requirements
Everyone in your team should present at least one slide. You will be peer grading each other on this
assignment (as well as each one of the TP assignments). Students not having contributed positively and
effectively to preparing the presentation, doing the work, practicing, etc. will receive lower grades. Often,
the value each student added to the presentation shows at the time when the team is presenting.

As a team, you should practice your presentation at least two times before coming in to class to present
it. Maintain eye contact and confidence while presenting. Dress code should be business casual during
your presentation. No hats, no jeans or pants with holes. Please show professionalism. Google ‘business
casual’ if you are not sure. In general, get used to Googling and finding online information to any concept
or words you may be unclear about.

General slide guidelines:

- Each slide should have a title.
- Avoid too much text.
- Add relevant figures/photos as needed. Do NOT add these just to make the slide more
interesting.
- You should be very clear about what point you will be making on each slide. The slide should be
designed to help you make that point. The slide is an aid. Do not abuse it but use it effectively.

Grading Scheme for Assignment 5

1. (5 points) Effective communication
Points are taken off if you:
- Are not professional
- Are not engaged in the presentation
- Do not face and talkto the audience
- Seem you are not prepared
- Slides are not well put together
2. (9 points) Technical depth and quality of work presented
Technical depth refers to content you will discuss regarding technical, economic (means
you must present cost numbers!), environmental, social considerations.
3. (1 points) Ability to handle or answer questions. (Expect questions from Dr. Apul and TAs. All
students are also encouraged to ask questions.)
TP4: Team Project Poster Presentation
(Team assignment, 20 points)
- You will be preparing a poster on your work to present at the upcoming Sustainability
conference at UT. Here is the link to the conference webpage:
- All students planning on attending the conference should register online (at the conference
website) by October 1st.
- Poster size should be minimum 3ft tall. Width can be anywhere between 4 to 5 ft.
- Use online resources to help you prepare the poster. Here are two helpful links:
o http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/NewSite/index.html
o http://utwatersustainability.wikispaces.com/file/view/how+to+prepare+a+poster.pdf

Grading Scheme for TP4:

Your poster presentation will receive a grade based on the following criteria:
- (4 points) Team members are professional, confident, and on top of their work
- (2 point) Poster is easy to read from an appropriate distance.
- (7 point) Poster is visually appealing, well organized and easy to follow. Poster uses explicit
numbering, column bars, row bars, or some other means to guide viewer how to move through
the poster. Poster is neat and appealing to look at. Content is clear and easy to understand.
Unnecessary details are not presented. Graphics and other visuals enhance presentation. There
is a good balance between text and graphics.
- (7 points) Poster has all necessary content including but not limited to:
o Title, authors, affiliations, contact info
o Abstract
o Objectives
o Performance evaluation
 Technical performance
 Environmental performance
 Social performance
 Economic performance
o Relation to sustainable rating system
o Conclusions
o Other relevant sections
Chemical Engineering Process
Design Competition

Submitted by: Mike Duncan

Cornell University
[email protected]
 Design Competition Overview - 2012
Produce P by the reaction A → P, which is accompanied by a parallel reaction, A → X. Both
reactions are irreversible and both reactions are incomplete. Reactant A is available only as a
mixture with inert impurity I. A, I, and P have identical boiling points; we obtain pure P with a
liquid-solid separator.

The simplest design is a reactor and a separator.

P (liquid)

A and I reactor A, I, P, and X liquid-solid

A→P
separator
A→X

purge solids A, I, and X,

wet with liquid P

You may decide to recycle unreacted A, with a purge to remove impurity I and by-product X.
P (liquid)

A and I A, I, P, and X reactor A, I, P, and X

A→P liquid-solid
separator
A→X

solids A, I, and X,
wet with liquid P
A, I, P, and X

purge

Or you may install a gas-liquid separator to purify by-product X, which can also be sold.
P (liquid)

A and I A, I, P, and X reactor A, I, P, and X liquid-solid

A→P
separator
A→X
A, I, and P
solids A, I, and X,
wet with liquid P

gas-liquid A, I, P, and X
separator
purge
X
 Design Competition - 2012
You have two choices for the reactant purity:
Grade 1: High purity (at least 95 mol% A) and high price.
Grade 2: Modest purity (at least 80 mol% A) and modest price.

You have two choices for the reactor:

Type 1: High conversion and modest selectivity of P over X.
Type 2: Low conversion and good selectivity of P over X.

You have two choices for the liquid-solid separator:

Type 1: High recovery of P; low mol% P in the solids stream.
Type 2: Good recovery of P; modest mol% P in the solids stream.

In general, equipment with better specifications costs more to purchase and costs more to operate.
The equipment has economy of scale; the equipment price is proportional to (capacity)0.6

For the first year, you must decide what grade of reactant to use, what types of equipment to
purchase, what size equipment to purchase, and your production rates. Economic data are
provided in a separate file.

Your fiducial goal is to achieve an ROI greater than zero. Additional rewards are earned for an
ROI greater than 0.20 and for the highest ROI in your Division.
 EngrI 1120 - Introduction to Chemical Engineering
Design Competition - Fall 2012 - Part 1.
Your company has decided to produce P by the reaction A → P. Unfortunately, there is a parallel reac-
tion, A → X. Both reactions are irreversible and both reactions are incomplete. Reactant A is available
only as a mixture with inert impurity I.

A, I, and P have identical boiling points; we obtain pure P with a liquid-solid separator. But the solids A,
I, and X retain some liquid P.

A generic process is shown below. To produce and sell product P, you need only a reactor and a liquid-
solid separator. You have three options for the A+I+P+X mixture in the liquid-solid separator bottoms
stream: (1) you may discard the mixture by sending 100% of the stream to the purge, or (2) you may
recycle some of the mixture, for example, by purging 50% and sending 50% through the recycle, or (3)
you may purchase a second separator to separate and sell by-product X. If you wish to produce X, the
bypass plus purge must be less than 100%.
P (liquid)
to market

A and I A, I, P, and X reactor A, I, P, and X liquid-solid

A→P
separator
A→X
recycle A, I, P, and X
A, I, P, and X liquid-solid
solids A, I, and X,
separator
gas-liquid wet with liquid P
bypass bottoms
separator A, I, and P
tops

gas-liquid A, I, P, and X
separator
purge
X
to market

There are two options for reactant purity. Grade 1 mixture is high purity A and is expensive. Grade 2
mixture is modest purity A and is less expensive.

There are two options for the reactor. Reactor Type 1 has a high conversion of A but has modest
selectivity for P over X. Reactor Type 2 has a lower conversion of A, but better selectivity for P over X.

There are two options for the liquid-solid separator. Both options produce pure P, but differ by the
amount of P retained by the solids. Liquid-solid separator Type 1 recovers more P. Liquid-solid
separator Type 2 retains more P in the solids stream, but is less expensive to operate.

Disposal of the purged stream requires special treatment and is expensive.

Engineering and Economic Data for Manufacturing P (and X) from A.
Equipment specifications, equipment costs, operating costs, chemical costs, and disposal costs vary with
Design League and Division. Identify your team’s League and Division and then download the data from
the EngrI 1120 homepage - see “Design Competition.”

Wednesday Design League: Keynes Division: Teams W1 - W7

Smith Division: Teams W8 - W13
Thursday Design League: Friedman Division: Teams R1 - R6
Galbraith Division: Teams R7 - R13

Reactor and separator prices are given by the formula price = k × (FT)0.6, where k is a constant
conversion factor, FT is the flow through the unit, in mol/day, and price is in $. For example, a reactor
with double the capacity costs only 1.5 times as much. Operating costs for reactors and separators are
given by the formula operating cost = c × FT; the units of operating cost are $/year.

All economic parameters - equipment prices, operating costs, chemical prices, and disposal cost - are
constant. Equipment depreciation is calculated with straight-line formula, with a lifetime of 10 years.
The process operates 365 days/year.

Equipment purchase costs are paid at the beginning of the year. Operating costs are paid during the year.
Revenue from sale of P (and perhaps, X) is received at the end of the year.
_________________________________

Goal: Start with $10,000,000 and maximize the ROI for your process in the first year.

You must decide what grade of reactant purity and what type of reactor and liquid-solid separator to
purchase, and the capacity of each. You must decide if you wish to purchase a gas-liquid separator to
purify and sell by-product X.

You must specify the fraction of liquid-solid separator bottoms to be purged and the fraction to be
recycled. You also must decide how much reactant to purchase.

Annual Plans are due by 2:30 p.m. on the day of your Calculation Session, either October 17 or October
18. You will receive an Annual Report of your team’s results by Friday, October 19.

If your team achieves a positive Return On Investment, your team will earn 25 homework points. If your
ROI is greater than 0.2, your team will earn an additional 10 points. If your team has the highest Return
On Investment in your Division, your team will be bestowed an additional 10 points.

Hint: There are eight combinations of reactant grade, reactor type, and liquid-solid separator type. Every
combination can be operated to produce a positive ROI. Half of the combinations can be operated to
produce an ROI greater than 0.2.
 EngrI 1120 - Introduction to Chemical Engineering
Design Competition - Fall 2012 - Part 2.
In addition to buying reactant mixture A+I and selling product P (and perhaps, X), you may buy and sell
intermediate compositions by trading with other companies. For example, you may decide to buy only a
reactor – no separators. Because the reactor price scales non-linearly, your reactor will produce reactor
effluent cheaper than smaller reactors. You could supply other companies with reactor effluent at a price
below their cost to manufacture it. Both companies may benefit.

Or perhaps your company may decide to invest in a large gas-liquid separator to purify X. Perhaps your
company can charge less than the disposal cost for purged waste. So other companies will give you
liquid-solid separator bottoms and pay you a fee less than the disposal cost. You can sell by-product X.
All companies may benefit.

The process flowsheet is modified as follows:

to from
other other
team(s) team(s)
A A
I I P (liquid)
A A
P P to market
I reactor I
P A→P P X X
A and I X A→X X liquid-solid
separator
from recycle
A, I, P, and X
other
team(s) liquid-solid solids A, I, and X,
separator wet with liquid P
A, I, and P
bottoms
to other
team(s) to other
bypass team(s)
A, I, and P

A, I, P, and X from
gas-liquid
other
separator
purge team(s)
X
to market

What price to charge for reactor effluent? What price to pay for reactor effluent? What fee to charge for
disposing purged mixtures? Prices and fees must be negotiated between companies.

Trading with other companies is optional; you may eschew intercompany entanglements and operate
independently.

Rules:
This is a new competition. Every team is starting with $10,000,000 and no equipment. The costs and
equipment specifications are unchanged from the previous competition.

Annual Plans and (optional) Contracts are due by 3:00 p.m. on the day of your Calculation Session, either
October 24 or October 25. You will receive an Annual Report of your team’s results by Friday, October
26.
continued on the back ...
More Rules.
Teams may write contracts with other teams in their League and Division only.

Because a company will depend on another company fulfilling the contract, the contracts have a provision
for penalties. For example, if a company agrees to supply Reactor Type-1 effluent at 50.0 mol/day, but
fails to do so, that company must pay the penalty stated on the contract.

Contracts are valid for one year only. If you want a perpetuity arrangement, you must write contracts for
years one (1) and two (2).

Services and cash from contracts (see below) exchange during the year.

Company X may not give its money to company Y, even if company X has a contract to be repaid by
company Y, with interest or a share of the profits. This contract is essentially a merger of two companies
into a single company with twice the assets. The competition is intended to exercise engineering design
and negotiation skills, so all companies should start with the same resources.

For subsequent years, each company may spend the amount listed on the line “cash at end of year” plus
money received by contract(s). If your company does nothing in year 1, your company has $10,000,000
(plus or minus money by contract(s)) in year 2.

Every contract must be a reasonable exchange of process streams and/or cash. Every contract must be
explicit. Cash amounts must be specific numbers. For example, contracts with payments described as
“half the profits” will not be accepted.

Equipment may not be exchanged between companies. If your company needs additional processing
capacity and another company has excess processing capacity, your companies should arrange to
exchange process streams, such as reactor effluent, or liquid-solid separator bottoms, for example.

In the second year, new equipment may be purchased to increase the size of an existing process, and/or
new equipment may be purchased to create a new process.

In summary, Annual Plans and InterCompany Contracts must be unambiguous. Add comments to indi-
cate precisely how each equipment purchase is to be used. If you have questions, please ask. I will try to
respond promptly to e-mail by the next business day and I am available during office hours, 1:30-3:30
p.m. Mondays.

Goal: Start with $10,000,000 and maximize the net value of your process after two years. The net value
of a company is cash plus depreciated value of equipment.

For each week that your team achieves a positive Return On Investment, your team will earn 25 home-
work points. If your ROI is greater than 0.2, your team will earn an additional 10 points. For each week
that your team has the highest Return On Investment in your Division, your team will be bestowed an
additional 10 points.
Equipment Specifications and Economic Data for Manufacturing P (and X) from A.

Reactor and separator prices are given by the formula price = k × (FT)0.6, where k is a constant
and FT is the flow through the unit, in mol/day.

Operating costs for reactors and separators are given by the formula operating cost = c × FT. The
units are $/year. So if c = 2500 and you have a unit operating with a flow rate of FT = 300
mol/day, the annual operating cost is 2500 * 300 = $750,000 / year.

Tables of constants k and c appear below. Be careful to select the data for your League and Division.

All economic parameters - equipment prices, operating costs, chemical prices, and disposal cost -
are constant. Equipment depreciation is calculated with straight-line formula, with a lifetime of 10
years. Your process operates 365 days/year.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday Design League - John Maynard Keynes Division 2012 - Teams W1 - W7.

reactant mixture grade 1 (98 mol% A) $31/mol

reactant mixture grade 2 (94.5 mol% A) $22/mol
k c
reactor, type 1 (57% conversion of A, P:X = 4:1) $75,000 $2,700
reactor, type 2 (38% conversion of A, P:X = 10:1) $52,000 $2,100

liquid-solid separator type 1 (P retained by solids = 3 mol% of solids) $65,000 $2,200

liquid-solid separator type 2 (P retained by solids = 8 mol% of solids) $47,000 $1,700

gas-liquid separator $30,000 $3,800

Product P sells for $111/mol. By-product X sells for $37/mol.

Disposal of purged waste costs $6/mol.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday Design League - Adam Smith Division 2012 - Teams W8 - W14.

reactant mixture grade 1 (93 mol% A) $35/mol

reactant mixture grade 2 (81 mol% A) $18/mol
k c
reactor, type 1 (85% conversion of A, P:X = 2:1) $78,000 $2,300
reactor, type 2 (55% conversion of A, P:X = 8:1) $49,000 $2,100

liquid-solid separator type 1 (P retained by solids = 5 mol% of solids) $62,000 $1,800

liquid-solid separator type 2 (P retained by solids = 18 mol% of solids) $34,000 $1,400

gas-liquid separator $35,000 $3,400

Product P sells for $106/mol. By-product X sells for $33/mol.

Disposal of purged waste costs $6/mol.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Thursday Design League - Milton Friedman Division 2012 - Teams R1 - R6.

reactant mixture grade 1 (97 mol% A) $29/mol

reactant mixture grade 2 (90 mol% A) $15/mol
k c
reactor, type 1 (33% conversion of A, P:X = 3:1) $45,000 $2,500
reactor, type 2 (22% conversion of A, P:X = 8:1) $22,000 $1,800

liquid-solid separator type 1 (P retained by solids = 5 mol% of solids) $22,000 $1,800

liquid-solid separator type 2 (P retained by solids = 13 mol% of solids $17,000 $1,600

gas-liquid separator $12,000 $1,400

Product P sells for $127/mol. By-product X sells for $47/mol.

Disposal of purged waste costs $5/mol.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Thursday Design League - Kenneth Galbraith Division 2012 - Teams R7 - R13.

reactant mixture grade 1 (95 mol% A) $23/mol

reactant mixture grade 2 (88 mol% A) $15/mol
k c
reactor, type 1 (45% conversion of A, P:X = 1:1) $55,000 $2,200
reactor, type 2 (30% conversion of A, P:X = 2:1) $39,000 $1,700

liquid-solid separator type 1 (P retained by solids = 4 mol% of solids) $44,000 $1,600

liquid-solid separator type 2 (P retained by solids = 13 mol% of solids) $29,000 $1,200

gas-liquid separator $28,000 $2,400

Product P sells for $155/mol. By-product X sells for $48/mol.

Disposal of purged wastes costs $4/mol.

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 EngrI 1120 - Introduction to Chemical Engineering
Design Competition - Annual Investment and Operation Plan - 2012
Company

Year

Equipment Purchases:

Reactor: Type: (1 or 2)
Size: (capacity in mol/day or cost in $)

Liquid-Solid Separator: Type: (1 or 2)

Size: (capacity in mol/day or cost in $)

(optional) Gas-Liquid Separator:

Size: (capacity in mol/day or cost in $)

Operating Parameters:

Reactant A+I Purity: Grade: (1 or 2)

Reactant A+I flow rate: (mol of A+I per day, or write MAXIMUM*)

Fraction of Liquid-Solid Separator bottoms to purge:

Fraction of Liquid-Solid Separator bottoms to bypass Gas-Liquid Separator**:

Company Representative:

*You need not calculate the exact flow rate of A+I. If you write “MAXIMUM,” we will process as much
A+I as possible, limited by your equipment capacity or your cash remaining after buying equipment.

** The sum of fraction purged plus fraction bypassed must be less than or equal to 1. If you do not
purchase a gas-liquid separator (and therefore sell no by-product X), you must set the sum of fraction
purged plus fraction bypassed to exactly 1.
 EngrI 1120 - Introduction to Chemical Engineering
Design Competition - InterCompany Contract - 2012

Year

Company (hereafter known as company 1) gives

mol/day of reactant grade (1 or 2).
mol/day of reactor effluent with at least mol% P.
mol/day of liquid-solid separator bottoms with at least mol% A.
mol/day of gas-liquid separator tops with at least mol% A.
$ cash.
and

Company (hereafter known as company 2) gives

mol/day of reactant grade (1 or 2).
mol/day of reactor effluent with at least mol% P.
mol/day of liquid-solid separator bottoms with at least mol% A.
mol/day of gas-liquid separator tops with at least mol% A.
$ cash.

Penalties:
If company 1 fails to deliver, a penalty of $ will be paid to company 2.
If company 2 fails to deliver, a penalty of $ will be paid to company 1.

Signatures:

Company 1 Representative:

Company 2 Representative:
 EngrI 1120 - Introduction to Chemical Engineering

Generic Process Flowsheet for the Design Competition - 2012

to other from other

team(s) team(s) to other from other
team(s) team(s)
P
A A A A A A
1b I 8 to market
I 1a I I I 6 I
A P P 4 P P
A A
I X reactor X X X
I I liquid-solid
1 2 A→P 3 5 7
separator
A A→X reactor
I effluent
recycle 22
P
from X bypass A
other 21 liquid-solid I
15
team(s) separator 9 P
bottoms X
20
to other
to other 10
19 team(s)
team(s) A
gas-liquid A I A
separator 17 I A P 11 I
tops P I X P
P X
X from
gas-liquid other
16 13 12
separator team(s)
X 14 purge
to market 18