Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) and Long-term Memory

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) and Long-term Memory

Mentor(s): Bin Chen

Undergraduate

Oral Presentation

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) uses constant low current to stimulate the brain. tDCS has been a popular subject in research because of its effects in human cognition. Our goal is to manufacture the instrument which can generate a constant current of 1.2mA intensity and apply it to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC).'

Creating an Interactive Educational Program for Nurses

Mentor(s): Chenn Zhou and John Moreland

Undergraduate

Oral Presentation

Nursing, the largest healthcare profession in the U.S., can benefit significantly through implementing technologically interactive education programs. Furthermore, the utilization of virtual environments has tremendously increased teaching potential and experience. The objective of this project is to develop a user-friendly and effective teaching program for a medical surgical unit at a local hospital. The interactive program will educate nurses on a newly implemented protocol that detects the deadly medical condition sepsis, a dangerous body wide inflammatory response; thus reducing sepsis, readmission, costs, and mortality rate. The creation of the 3D models and animation for the interactive program will be completed on the 3DS Max and Unity, both 3D animation software. Nurses will interact with the virtual environment simulator through first person perspective. Upon completion, the nurse will utilize this program to test their knowledge, skill, and application of the protocol.

Design of a Fluid Catalytic Cracking Riser Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Mentor(s): Chenn Zhou, Armin Silaen, and Bin Wu

Undergraduate

Oral Presentation

A three-dimensional working model of a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) riser was developed to accurately simulate the catalytic cracking process and achieve process efficiency data. A dimensionally accurate model of the riser was created in ANSYS Design Modeler. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in ANSYS FLUENT was used to simulate the endothermic reactions taking place between the crude oil and the granular catalyst. The model incorporates the multi-phase species transport taking place between both product inlets. Using the data from the CFD simulations, the computational results and post-processing data were analyzed using Paraview. An interactive virtual reality model was created using the software Unity. This interactive virtual reality model will be used for company education purposes, in order to give a visual understanding of what takes place within the riser. The simulated three-dimensional working model will be used as a future optimization tool.

Design of a Virtual Power Plant Boiler Training Program

Mentor(s): Chenn Zhou, Bin Wu, and Armin Silaen

Undergraduate

Oral Presentation

A power plant boiler is an important industrial facility for generating electric power. The operation condition inside the boiler is hard for employees to measure and observe. Simulations of operating boilers can accurately explore the basic phenomena inside the boiler by exporting various pictures with colors and visualization technology can be used to make it easier to analyze the operation condition by integrating simulation results and 3D models. According to the demands of the company, a virtual boiler training program was designed to show direct models and operation data by combining simulation and visualization technologies. In this training tool, various software were used to give an easy understanding to trainers. The CFD (computational fluid dynamics) software Fluent was used to complete simulations, while the Unity game engine was utilized to design an interactive program. A lively and vivid training process can be achieved in this program.

Design of Wind Turbine Gearbox Borescope Training Simulator

Mentor(s): Chenn Zhou, John Moreland, and Mike Wang

Undergraduate

Oral Presentation

A borescope is used to inspect wind turbine gear box and understand the cause of a symptom such as a fractured tooth or cracked bearing. It is difficult to gain experience to maneuver the instrument and get understanding of the internal structure of a gearbox. Therefore, this project will build a borescope simulator for the purpose of training wind turbine technicians on gear box inspection. In addition, a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of the gearbox model will be given that the problematic area will have already been determined. First, a detailed gearbox model is needed to provide technicians with a tool to become proficient in using a borescope and navigating inside the gearbox. Second, a wind turbine gearbox is needed to be structurally analyzed, and compared with an actual current condition. Third, a user interface is needed to link the physical control with the 3D model using Augmented Reality (AR) to help technicians to navigate inside the visual gearbox model.

Evaluation of 3D Printing Design and Process

Mentor(s): Chenn Zhou, Bin Wu, and Armin Silaen

Undergraduate

Oral Presentation

The final goal of this project is to solve the warping problem that accompanies a 3D printer at CIVS department. To achieve this goal, there is a need to design a more efficient air-circulation system in the printer. This implemented system is to be designed from a simplified model of the 3D printer and based upon numerical analysis results obtained from that model. The simulations are decomposed into various separate fields: air flow and temperature distribution are the basic aspects that need to be analyzed. Related data, such as mass flow rate of the fan and heating temperature need to be measured in order to accurately incorporate them into the analysis. The internal environment of the 3D printer will be visualized throughout these simulations. The adjustment of the fan flow rate will be based on the comparison between the actual values shown in the simulation figures and the expected values at the nozzles. After the testing is completed, high quality prints are expected.
Fluid Catalytic Cracking Regenerator

Hector Mendez and Joshua Castillo

Mentor(s): Chenn Zhou, Armin Silaen, and Bin Wu

Undergraduate

Oral Presentation

During the oil refining process, catalyst, a small particle which increases the chemical reaction rates, loses its reactivity due to the carbon formation on its surface. The purpose of the regenerator is to reactivate and recycle the catalyst, by burning carbons off its surface. Inside the regenerator, a two-stage cyclone separates the final product from flue gas. Recycled catalyst is then transferred back to the FCC process. The project analyzes the regenerator, an important system in Fluid Catalytic Cracking. A 3D model of the regenerator was built and simulated in ANSYS. A visualization using virtual reality was also developed in order to be able to physically see what is happening inside the regenerator. Flow behaviors, catalyst distribution, volume fraction and other parameters are then studied. The parameters can be adjusted in order to find the optimal boundary condition to maximize the system’s efficiency.