2009 Electrical Engineering Senior Design Projects

Kathleen Rucci and Andrew Barhite

Using an Ultrasound to Detect Vibrations in Musical Instruments and the Human Voice

The goal of our project is to explore another application of ultrasound by using the Doppler setting on an ultrasound machine to measure the vibrations of a stringed instrument. These measurements should provide information about the vibration characteristics of the instrument in question. Research in this field will allow for expansion into the research of the use of Doppler ultrasound to better understand vibrations in the human vocal tract. In pursuit of this goal, a homemade ultrasound has been donated by Howard Fidel, an alumnus of the college. The use of this machine was deciphered and we inputted the data into LabView and MATLAB using the PCI 6115 DAQ. We then analyzed the signals outputted by the system.

Kevin Donovan and Malysa Cheng

Advisor: Prof. Spinelli and Prof. Wilk

Power Conversion for a Micro-Wind Turbine

In a joint project between the mechanical and electrical engineering departments, we have designed a hybrid Darrieus-Savonius vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) with a microcontroller-based power conversion system for implementation on the Union College campus. With increasing demand for alternative energies, wind power is emerging as one of the earth's viable renewable resources. Though horizontal-axis turbine designs currently dominate the market, VAWT's can provide better performance in lower-class wind. With our prototype, we hope to evaluate the feasibility of wind power generation on campus, while also laying a foundation for wind energy development at Union.

This was a multidisciplinary project. My partner was Malysa Cheng, a Mechanical Engineering major. Her project supervisor was Professor Wilk. Her report on the mechanical design of this project is available here.

Jonathan T. Gold

Advisor: Prof. Hedrick

Applications of Piezoelectrics as a Battery-less Power Source

Our landfills are full of toxic dead batteries from small handheld devices such as TV remote controls. I have designed and implemented a system for harnessing the energy created from human activities to power handheld devices. For example, the force of pushing the button on a TV remote control could be used to power the remote, itself. In this project, I developed a general purpose battery-less system, which generates its energy using a piezoelectric element. Piezoelectricity is the ability of some materials to generate an electric potential in response to applied mechanical force. The most common materials that exhibit this effect are crystals and certain ceramics, which take the form of a separation of electric charge across the crystal lattice. An electric voltage results from a separation of electric charges, and allows piezoelectric materials to convert mechanical energy you pushing on a TV remote button to electrical energy. The piezoelectric system I designed consists of a piezoelectric element, a spring loaded striking device to create the mechanical force, matching circuitry composed of a voltage transformer. Also, a rectifier circuit is used to convert the alternating current (AC) generated from the piezoelectric element to direct current (DC), and a capacitor is used to store the energy. This harvested energy was investigated, to power a number of low voltage devices.

Project Link     Poster Link

Ryan Gwinn

Advisor: Professor James Hedrick

Conceptualizing and Constructing the Smart Speaker:

The goal of this project is to design a governor that limits the power reaching a loudspeaker's drivers regardless of the input signal connected to its external terminals. This system, not meant to be an add-on, but part of a speaker's design will be created using the parameters of two drivers physical/material limitations. To accomplish this, a two driver enclosure complete with a 2-way passive crossover will be designed and constructed. Individual limiting circuits will then be placed between the crossover and each driver within the loudspeaker.

Erin L. Plasse

Advisor: Prof. Hanson

Image Processing Algorithm for Speech Acoustics

A series of cineradiographic x-ray images of the vocal tract were taken in the 1960's in an experiment done by Prof. Kenneth Stevens and Dr. Sven Ohman. In the past, manual methods were used to make tracings of the articulators. Twenty measurements were made on each image. The goal of this project is to design an image processing algorithm to automate the production of these tracings. The algorithm is implemented in MATLAB. The tongue was specifically focused on since it required using an algorithm that would work sufficiently on open contours. The final design will use gradient image forces and intensity information in local regions to find the energy minimization of some initial points. Other design alternatives used only gradient image and were only successful at finding closed contours.

Project Link     Poster Link

Christopher M. Potts

Advisor: Prof. Spinelli

The Wingman: Self-Spotting Bench Press

The goal of this project was to design and build an electromechanical safety lift for a self-spotting bench press machine. In modern day society, health and fitness have become the focus of many Americans. As a result, working out and weight lifting plays a large role in many people's lives. In order to obtain more strength, one must maximize his/her potential muscle growth by working the muscles until failure. This can be extremely hazardous on the bench press machine without a human spotter there to provide aid if the circumstances require it. The Wingman is used to replace the role of the human spotter and allows weight lifters to work their muscles until he/she doubts him/herself capable of lifting the barbell. Consequently, the Wingman is able to perform all the functions of a human spotter and provides assistance to the lifter only when it is necessary. The Wingman recognizes when the lifter can no longer lift the barbell, whether it be from manual activation by the lifter or automatic activation by the system. The Wingman then lifts the barbell and weight vertically away from the lifter. The system is able to compensate for any horizontal or vertical movement of the barbell. The Wingman is also able to keep track of the number of repetitions and the total time to complete each set. The system is able to accomplish these tasks while maintaining true free weight lifting features. Therefore, the Wingman is a safe alternative to lifting without a human spotter. The Wingman's there to take the fall so you can be the strongest of them all.

This was a multidisciplinary project. My partner was Lane A. Caffaro, a Mechanical Engineering major. His project supervisor was Professor Jennifer Currey. His report about the mechanical design of this project is available here.

Project Link     Poster Link

Matthew Statton

Advisor: Prof. Helen Hanson

Biofeedback Training for Improved Athletic Performance

For most people participating in exercise programs, a goal is muscle growth. This muscle growth, called muscle hypertrophy, is the result of muscle fatigue through stimulation of the muscle fibers which triggers a growth response in the body. However, not all people know how to properly fatigue their muscles, and they either fall short of their goals because of this or do not train properly which can lead to injury. Thus, a system which gives people feedback on their muscle fatigue would be useful to help them to reach their goals and learn to train properly. The goal of this project is to produce a biofeedback training system that leads to improved athletic training. Electrical signals produced by muscles when they contract, measured by an electromyograph, are used as an indicator of muscle fatigue. The measured signals are processed using a microcontroller, which analyzes the signals and provides a feedback response to the user when the amplitude gets below a certain threshold. In the end, a biofeedback training system was produced that can help people of all ages and fitness levels maximize their benefits from exercise, reach their goals faster, and improve their health.

Project Link     Poster Link