Portfolio

Project6done.pdf

Material Optimization using Genetic Algorithms

In this assignment I explored the use of the genetic algorithm in finding a combination of materials that achieved several objectives simultaneously. These objectives included desired mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of the resulting composite material, and this algorithm could be used, for example, to guide early-stage experimental trials in the design of a particle-doped composite. The objective was to match a set of desired material properties while minimizing "concentration factors" that would limit the effectiveness of load sharing between different phases.

Optimized Control of F-16 Landing Path using MPC

In this project, my team attempted to utilize Model Predictive Control (MPC) to optimize an airplane’s flight path towards a runway, specifically a F-16 fighter aircraft. The strategy that we chose revolved around first simplifying the dynamics of 2D flight for the F-16, our plant, and then using a finite-time optimization algorithm to identify a feasible path for the plane to take in landing. Problems in the feasibility and trajectory of calculated paths arose from the large amount of nonlinearity in our system, and the different strategies we used to tackle this.

Final Presentation

ME_C231A_Team11_Project (1).pdf

H₂GLO

H₂GLO is a product that my group and I designed as a part of a graduate human-centered design class in Fall 2020. The concept of H₂GLO is a rechargeable light-up bike water bottle that fits into any standard bike cage. Although simple in concept, our design was the result of months of research and design that began with the simple goal of reducing car-cyclist collisions.

The project began with extensive research surrounding our initial goal including direct observation, literature review, and interviews with cyclists to gather information about possible problem opportunity gaps that we could zero in on. From this we decided to target increasing side visibility for cyclists, and from then on we employed further observation, interviews, and competitor analysis to identify our key product requirements.

With the key product requirements identified, we used design heuristics, brainstorming, and bio-inspired design to generate over 70 concepts, of which the light-up water bottle was one of mine. Following this, we clustered similar concepts and then used pugh charts, dot voting, and some rough prototyping in order to narrow down to the final concept which eventually became H₂GLO.

The last phase involved creating high-fidelity prototypes, one of which can be seen in the photo to the left, for more extensive user testing in real world situations before finalizing the design. Ultimately, what I took away from this project was an understanding of the complexity that goes into designing products that humans interact with, and the strategies that one needs in order to design something that people will actually use, and will truly solve the problem that you intended. It can be very easy to come up with an idea and then quickly move onto designing and prototyping before the necessary forethought, but this class taught me the value in taking the time to make sure both the problem one intends to solve and the concept one creates to solve it are rooted in real human experience and will be effective in their original mission. Slides demonstrating our research, design process, and final concept can be seen below.

Behance Page

Autonomous Wing Sail

In Fall 2019, as a part of a mechatronic design class, my group designed and built an autonomous wing sail. The concept was a two-part solid wing sail, similar to those used on America's Cup catamarans, that would be actuated based on the direction and velocity of the wind, measured by a self-designed anemometer at the front of the boat. From this, the wing would provide the optimal forward force on the boat without any human intervention. Below are some pictures and our final report.

ME_102B_Final_Report_Team_F.pdf

Seagate Technology Internship Projects

This presentation represents the major projects that I worked on during my Summer 2019 internship at Seagate Technology in the Consumer Solutions Group, and was presented by me at the end of my term there. My work mostly revolved around creating thermal solutions for current HDD and future SSD products, but included a large amount of product design as well.

Final Presentation (Compressed).pptx

Airfoil Design

In Fall 2019, the final project for my aerodynamics course was to design a foil profile for use in both air and water, a "hyrofoil", based on vortex panel theory and certain parameters laid out for us. Below are some plots of the blade design from MATLAB, as well as my full final report.

ME 163 Final Project.pdf

Basketball Shooting Robot

In Spring 2019, as a part of a mechatronic design course, my group designed and built a robot that would be able to shoot a basketball into a hoop from any distance within a certain range on a basketball court. There were many challenges in achieving both accuracy and distance in the shooting of the ball, but in the end our firing mechanism worked well. The mechanism relied on the inertia built up in two rubber-coated wheels spinning at high rpm, between which the ball was pushed into and through which it was shot out of the robot. Deciding the direction and angle that the ball would be shot at the hoop was achieved through a LIDAR detector at the front of the robot.

Team Lamp Final Report.pdf

Scissor Lift

This scissor lift was designed during my year on the rocketry team at Cal, CalSTAR. It's purpose was to push the payload out of the airframe once the rocket had landed. Due to its use in the rocket, there were many constraints such as shape, weight (important), strength, and durability that affected how the end product looked and functioned. The lifting mechanism itself was adapted from a common scissor lift mechanism, and then changed my the team and I to fit in the rocket, support the weight of of the payload, and be light enough to still achieve the apogee we needed.

Lathe Collet

During my Summer 2017 internship at JACO Machine Works, I was tasked with created a special lathe collet for a new high-profit part the company was producing. The goal with this collet was to let the part sit on the collet on a different surface of the part than the current collet allowed, and in doing so this would increase the accuracy of an important dimension during the machining. This would remove a step after machining that was used to ensure this dimension was in tolerance, and speed up the production of the part. Below are some pictures of the collet.

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