AF
Aaron French
10:45AM-12:00PM
Mechancial Engineering
Table 17 Side R & Table 17 Side L
Nanocellulose Insulation (Table 17 Side R)
Much of the focus on energy in the modern age is how to produce energy efficiently and without the use of fossil fuels. However, a largely untapped idea that has been around for much longer is how to be more efficient using energy. Therefore, there is a current research project that will examine the effects of using different forms of insulation, specifically a biodegradable particle board that is currently in production. This particle board uses a blend of nanocellulose wood material with a mycelium adhesive in place of formaldehyde based particle board. This technology is currently being used in packing materials, cabinetry, furniture, and numerous other products, but there is a potential for it to be used in buildings for insulation. This research has begun with a life-cycle analysis (LCA) of the nanocellulose wood material that is used in the production of this particle board, and in continuing the research project an LCA of the mycelium adhesive will also be conducted to examine the energy and environmental effects of producing the particle board. In order to examine the insulation potential, the particle board will undergo thermal testing and 3D simulations to predict its functionality in a real environment.
Co-authors: Sam Stilwell, Shawn Soucie, Jacob Theriault
Autonomous Land Drone (Table 17 Side L)
Currently, surveying dense wilderness such as that seen on the US Canadian border or in the state of Maine is a difficult undertaking. Air surveillance is ineffective for seeing through the tree canopy, current land drone technology is expensive, and personally surveying on the ground is dangerous. The team, Land Drone 13, has designed an autonomous land drone, where the task is to be able to traverse the Maine wilderness during the spring season, while agreeing with the design restrictions prescribed at the beginning of the Fall 2016 semester. The task given to the team for designing the drone started with an initial design phase, discussing different designing options and weighing the benefits versus the failure modes. The design required 3D modeling of the entire land drone, documentation to support design decisions, programming in the open source Arduino software, and wiring diagrams. Once the design phase was complete, fabrication of the drone had to be from ordered parts and had to be done by the team. Finally, experimentation of the likely failure modes was conducted, and the assembled land drone could compete in the design challenge course. The final report documentation as well as a poster displaying the design process were required as final submissions for this capstone project.
Faculty Mentor: Wilhelm Friess