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Michigan State University
215 Farrall Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: 517-355-4720
Fax: 517-432-2892
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2005 senior Design Projects
In BE 487—Biosystems Design Project, the senior design capstone course, students work in teams on development, evaluation and selection of design alternatives, and completion of a detailed engineering design. The projects are diverse, but they have a common theme: they all reflect “systems thinking” At the completion of the work, projects are presented to a jury of licensed professional engineers and engineering faculty for evaluation. After this course, we find that our students move through the rest of the curriculum with a greater understanding of the importance of creativity and teamwork in engineering design
At the end of spring semester, the students truly get to “showcase” what they have learned--during the annual Biosystems Showcase.
Turkey Power
Team Members(left to right): Roger Doherty, Scott Liberman, Erin Thelen, and Valerie Sanglier
Technical Advisors: Dr. Ajit Srivastava, P.E. and Dr. Gary VanEe, P.E.
Michigan currently produces 4.5 million turkeys per year, which generate 1.9 billion pounds of litter. Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) currently rely on land application for disposal of turkey litter. The sheer volume of nutrient-rich turkey litter from confined operations often results in land application rates that locally exceed the soil’s ability to adsorb or utilize nutrients. Excess nutrients become significant non-point polluters of surface water and groundwater in the Great Lakes basin.
The team designed and constructed a concentric vortex-cell biomass furnace to convert transported turkey litter into a usable on-site heating source for Michigan’s greenhouse industry. The furnace extracted 70% percent of the theoretically available heat. Stack emissions were 5% below the federal government’s emission standards. The $3,500 annual fuel oil cost, for heating a Michigan State University greenhouse, would be reduce by 90% through the combustion of freely available turkey litter in an on site biomass vortex furnace.
The designed process and equipment pose a cost-effective and useful solution to problems of turkey litter disposal, rising greenhouse heating costs, non-point source pollution, and global depletion of fossil fuels.
Aero-Flow
Team Members (left to right): Becky Larson, Vern Moore, Matt Williams, and Brandon Whittaker
Advisor: Dr. Ted Loudon, P.E.
Sponsor: Ring Industrial Group
Nearly 25 percent of U.S. homes utilize an on-site septic system for waste disposal and 10 to 20 percent of these systems are found in failure when surveys are conducted. Many failures are blamed on inadequate distribution of effluent, which causes anaerobic conditions that result in the formation of a biomat. The biomat clogs the drain field and necessitates costly replacement. Uniform distribution of effluent can prevent anaerobic conditions and prolong the life of the drainfield.
The team developed a theoretical fluid analysis to assist with the design and testing of gravity-fed distribution pipe configurations that optimize effluent distribution. Gravity-fed surging mechanisms appear to be beneficial. For the experimental drainfield, we used manufactured polystyrene aggregate made from recycled material. An economic analysis shows that achieving uniform distribution is cost-effective. The team also developed an installation manual for the septic field designers and installers.
Discover the Fiesta
Team Members: Jari Buechler, Rory McClintock, Andrew Stoeckle, Blong Yang
Technical Advisors: Dr. Kirk Dolan, Dr. Brad Marks, P.E., Dr. James Steffe, P.E.
Do you crave chocolate? Try the Fiesta Bar, a new and exciting candy bar that incorporates a Central American twist. It is a crisped rice bar layered with dulce de leche and covered with dark chocolate.
The process facility design layout includes all stages from receiving raw ingredients to product packaging and distribution. A preliminary marketing analysis targeted 0.5% of the candy bar market and showed that the facility will need to produce 21 million Fiesta Bars per year. Preliminary analysis predicts a profit of over $2 million during the third year. Challenges included meeting standardized sanitation requirements, product development, equipment selection, and an economic and market analysis.
LiNKS Consulting
Team Members (left to right): Andrew Lauwers, Johanna Nugent, Andrew Knowles, and Christie Sampson
Technical Advisor: Dr. Gary VanEe, P.E.
Sponsor: White Hydraulics
LiNKS Consulting has engineered a noise-reducing exhaust system and an ergonomically superior cockpit for the Spartan Tractor Pullers off-road, suburban utility vehicle that will compete in June at the 2005 ASAE ¼ Scale Tractor Competition. This year marks the eighth consecutive MSU entry into the ASAE National Student Design Competition held in East Moline, Illinois.
System modifications that protect the human operator must be made without significantly reducing the vehicle performance, while strictly complying with extensive design competition rules.
LiNKS’ modifications include creating a quiet exhaust system that minimizes back pressure, enhancing operator safety, and constructing an ergonomically designed cockpit. The design reflects consumer demand and improves the natural human interface between the operator and the control system. The new features increase cost about five (5) percent above that of a comparable unimproved vehicle, while reducing noise by up to 12 percent.
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