1. art and entertainment
2. visual art and design
3. design

INDEX
1. Chemical Engineering
3
2. Civil Engineering
7
3. Electrical and Computer Engineering
10
4. Geomatics engineering
17
5. Mechanical and Manufacturing
Engineering
20
Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
TEAM 1 - BOOTH 101
TEAM 4 - BOOTH 104
Design of a Natural Gas Plant
Treatment of Heavy Oil Stripper Bottoms
Lukas Smith, Christopher Sardinha, Andrew Beaule
Kevin Lam, Beverly Sia, Duy Nguyen, Erica Sugianto
This project involves the design of a sweet natural gas processing plant with a
capacity of 500 million standard cubic feet per day. The feed stream is wet
natural gas with a significant fraction of heavier hydrocarbons. The gas is
first dehydrated using a triethylene glycol liquid absorption unit while the
heavier hydrocarbon fractions are removed using a refrigerated lean oil
process. The liquefied gas is then separated into propane, butane, pentane,
and natural gas liquid products. A vapour recovery unit recaptures
hydrocarbon vapours venting from a water storage tank. A VMGSim
computer model was formulated to complete the material and energy
balances. A preliminary economic evaluation suggests that the project may
not be feasible, with a return on investment of only 1.8% and a payout
period of 45 years.
A settling tank process has been designed to treat Shell Canada’s heavy sour
crude oil, known as Albian Heavy Synthetic. The process involves a heavy oil
sedimentation treatment unit and a gas treatment unit. The sedimentation
unit utilizes settling tanks to remove sediments from the heavy oil, allowing
the product to be sold at a higher market price. The gas treatment unit
employs a standard amine gas sweetening process (absorber plus
regenerator) to remove hydrogen sulphide from the heavy oil offgas. The
sweetened gas is separated into butane and heavier hydrocarbons, which
represent additional saleable products. The total capital investment required
is $23.4 million. The estimated expected rate of return is 2108%, the
discounted cash flow rate of return is 2108%, and the net present worth is
$3.7 billion. The expect payout period is 0.04 years.
TEAM 2 - BOOTH 102
TEAM 5 - BOOTH 105
Propane Dehydrogenation Plant
Manufacture of Phenol and Acetone
Joran Kosterman, Nicole Hawkins, Richard Kaldenhoven, Dylan Bouchard
With propane supply and propylene demand on the rise in recent years, an
opportunity existed for the development of a propane dehydrogenation
plant in Alberta. Propylene is a valuable commodity that is used in the
manufacturing of acetone, phenol, isopropanol, acrylonitrile and, most
commonly, polypropylene. The Oleflex process was selected for the design of
the plant because it is continuous and has more industrial applications than
any other dehydrogenation technology. The plant was modelled using
VMGSim simulation software and is expected to meet the design production
rate of 500,000 metric tonnes per year of polymer-grade propylene. Based
on a $900 million capital forecast and a project life of 25 years, it was
estimated that the project will result in a 24% return on investment and a
payout period of 3.5 years.
Amanda Chan, Jessica Weber, Kimberly Bowal, Katelyn Knudsgaard
Phenol is a vital precursor in the production of important industrial
compounds such as epoxy and phenolic resins, polycarbonates, and nylon-6.
Global phenol demand is projected to exceed 11.5 metric tonnes per year
(MT/y) by 2020. This project investigates the feasibility of establishing a
phenol production plant in Alberta. The ‘cumene process’ is a good design
due to its ability to make acetone as a by-product, its high overall yield, and
its relatively low energy costs. The proposed facility will produce over 54,000
MT/y of 99.9% phenol and 34,000 MT/y of 99.5% acetone. The project is
expected to generate a return on interest of 47.3%, a discounted cash flow
rate of return of 49.9%, a net present worth of over $68M, and a payout
period of 1.49 years.
TEAM 6 - BOOTH 106
TEAM 3 - BOOTH 103
Mixed Feed Gasification
Jeffrey Kent, Karen Park, Patrick Petanca
The objective of this project is to design a gasification plant capable of
converting 10 tonne/hr of feedstock, comprising biomass and petcoke, into
syngas. The syngas are combusted and sent through a turbine to generate
electricity. A plant location in Fort McMurray was chosen due to a demand
for electricity and availability of feedstock in the area. A preliminary
economic analysis produced a payout period of 6.24 years and rate of return
of 14.4%. After evaluating the feasibility of various gasifiers, it was
determined that the characteristics of a dual circulating fluidized bed gasifier
would most effectively meet the needs of the client. Fluidized bed gasifiers
demand a moderate amount of steam and oxygen, have high heat transfer
rates, uniform temperature profiles, and are able to gasify a variety of feed
stocks.
Cleaning up Oil Sands Tailing Ponds –
Hydrocarbon Recovery and Water Recycling
Victoria Gibson, Odeza Bactin, Scarlett Su, Mariko Dela Rosa
This design project explores the feasibility of establishing a plant that would
recover hydrocarbons and recycle water from Mature Fine Tailings (MFTs).
The proposed process consists of four main blocks: a clay and hydrocarbon
separation unit, a thickener, a fine particle separator, and a dewatering unit
for sludge removal. It is intended to be incorporated into the current
bitumen extraction facility. A detailed design of the mixing tank, the froth
flotation column, and the rapid depth filtration unit is underway and will be
completed by April 15, 2015. A preliminary economic analysis suggests that
the project is feasible as it generates $11,318,000/year in total profits, the
payout period is 11 years, and the rate of return is 6.5%. Net present worth
is currently negative, but this reflects low oil prices; when prices recover the
aforementioned financial metrics will improve.
TEAM 7 - BOOTH 107
Small Scale Nitrogen Removal from Natural Gas
Luke Myhre, Karl Bauer, Matt Syp, Mariana Murillo
The goal of this project is to design a small scale natural gas plant capable of
removing nitrogen, acid gas, and water from its inlet feedstream. This feed
2015 Capstone Design Fair
4
Chemical Engineering
consists of 5 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas from the
Provost gas field. It contains high nitrogen concentrations with carbon
dioxide and hydrogen sulfide contaminants. Gas processing will yield three
sales streams: natural gas liquids, pipeline sales gas and carbon dioxide
liquid. The process involves two stages: pre-treatment and nitrogen
removal. Pre-treatment uses conventional ethylene glycol dehydration and
amine sweetening; physical solvent absorption will achieve the degree of
nitrogen removal from the produced gas to ensure that it meets pipeline
specifications regarding the hydrocarbon dew point and gas heating value. A
yearly revenue of $9.43M implies a payout period of 3.64 years, with a
discounted cash flow rate of return of 27.3%.
TEAM 8 - BOOTH 108
Removal of H2S and Mercaptans from SAGDProduced Gas
Willis Cheung, Jonathan Wong, Michael Leung, Joshua West
Many oil and gas processes involve sweetening, i.e. removal of sulphur
compounds. In this project, a plant was designed to sweeten gas produced
from Cenovus’ Foster Creek SAGD operation. After sweetening, 9 million
standard cubic feet per day of produced gas will be burned for steam
generation. The feed gas contains 3% hydrogen sulphide and 1000 parts per
million of methyl mercaptan. The plant must recover 11 tonnes per day of
sulphur – equivalent to 96.5% of the feed stream sulphur. The proposed
design was based on the biological Thiopaq process; the sulphur produced is
not of commercial grade and will therefore be disposed of in a landfill.
Additional feedstocks required are sodium hydroxide, water, and nutrients
for the bacteria. The discounted cash flow rate of return for this project is
17.7% with a projected payout period of 3.7 years.
TEAM 9 - BOOTH 109
Converting Alberta Oil Sands Deposits into
‘Pipelineable Bitumen’
Keith Lee, John Guo, Ryan Liu
Mixing light-end hydrocarbons with bitumen to produce diluted bitumen
(‘dilbit’) is a widely-used technique to reduce bitumen density so that it is
suitable for pipeline transport. This method requires approximately 30% of
the transport capacity to be the diluent. Purchasing and transporting this
diluent to/from various Alberta SAGD operations is a major cost. An
alternative approach involves partial upgrading. This process gets the
bitumen to pipeline specifications but has not been sufficiently developed for
commercial application. This design project considers the partial upgrading
of bitumen extracted from a 70,000 barrel per day SAGD facility. The net
present value estimated for this project was $553M with an internal rate of
return of 17%. The key technical breakthrough involved redesign of the
solvent deasphalting unit to increase the yield of deasphalted oil by 4%
without violating product specifications.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
TEAM 10 - BOOTH 110
Dimethyl Ether Production from Methanol
Ahmed Moussa, Brayden Kooistra, Justin Henke, Robert Palmer
Significant advances in energy markets worldwide and regulatory
developments are driving interest in the potential of dimethyl ether (DME) as
a renewable and extremely low emission fuel. Over the last two decades,
several international initiatives have led to the advancement of the DME
business, primarily in Asia. The goal of this design project was the
development of a DME production facility to produce 50,000 metric tonnes
of 99.5 weight percent DME per year from crude methanol (which contains
water, ethanol, acetone, and other impurities). Computer simulation
confirmed that purifying crude methanol, reacting the purified product over
a zeolite catalyst, then separating DME via conventional distillation, is a
feasible process. At current prices, the project yields a net present value of
$16.7M, discounted cash flow rate of return of 21%, return on investment of
16%, and a payback period of 6.0 years.
TEAM 11 - BOOTH 111
Manufacture of Pipeline Quality Crude from SAGD
Extracted Bitumen
Aaron Baskerville-Bridges, Justin Woods, Julian Mulia, Robert Pryde
The facility to be designed has an inlet feed capacity 250,000 barrels per day
of Western Canadian Select (WCS) crude blend purchased from the Husky
terminal near Hardisty, Alberta. Diluent must first be recovered from the
WCS then recycled to Alberta heavy oil producers. Instead of using diluent to
further transport the bitumen residue, it will be partially upgraded to meet
pipeline specifications. The technology chosen to accomplish this was
‘methanoconversion’. It is currently being developed at the University of
Calgary and differs from conventional upgrading processes in that the
upgrading reactant is natural gas rather than hydrogen. Use of natural gas as
an upgrading reactant eliminates the need for expensive steam-methane
reformers, reducing plant cost. Preliminary economic indicators are
favourable and include internal rates of return of 41% and 29%, based on
2014 and 2015 (forecast) oil prices, respectively.
TEAM 12 - BOOTH 112
Value-Added Products from Light Alkanes
Arathi Haridas, Eric Lim, Mahfam Vakili Mafakheri
The recent large-scale “shale revolution” in North America has greatly
increased natural gas production, further reducing its price. Fortunately, the
liquid-rich component of natural gas, Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs), can be
further processed into more profitable products, such as ethylene and
propylene. This project considers the design of a facility which can produce
350,000 tonnes per year of value-added products given a mixed feedstock of
ethane, propane and n-butane. Product streams include ethylene,
propylene, 1-butene and 1,3-butadiene. Steam cracking was chosen because
of its high selectivity and ability to handle mixed feeds. An economic
feasibility study was carried out for the proposed facility; calculations show
that the project will be earning $19.55M in after-tax profits with a rate of
return of 15.1%.
5
Chemical Engineering
TEAM 13 - BOOTH 113
Design of a Scaled-Up Influenza Vaccine
Production System using Mammalian Cells
Daniel Morley, Rutvik Patel, Trevor Paffrath, Jessica Withell
Seasonal flu is a respiratory illness that is caused by influenza viruses. The
best protection against this contagious disease is a flu vaccine. Vaccines
typically contain either an infectious agent (e.g. a virus) that has been
weakened or killed. In the case of influenza, the viruses that cause the flu
change annually, consequently, new vaccines are required each year.
Currently, the most common method of producing influenza vaccine is in
chicken eggs. However, the eggs themselves may contain infectious agents
that render them unusable. In the event of a global pandemic, current
production methods will not be able to provide a sufficient number of doses.
Mammalian cells can also be used to make influenza vaccines in bioreactors.
In this work, an influenza vaccine production process was designed using a
mammalian cell type to generate 250 million doses annually.
TEAM 14 - BOOTH 114
Design of a 200 MMSCFD Hydrogen Plant
Lama Ayoub, Nigel Cox, Parul Wadodkar, Rohit Dhawan
The demand for hydrogen is increasing due to its use in hydrocracking,
desulfurization, and ammonia and methanol production. The objective of
this project is to design a 200 Million Standard Cubic Feet per Day (MMSCFD)
hydrogen plant. The plant is based on a steam reforming process using a
highly endothermic reaction of natural gas and steam to produce syngas.
Based on results obtained via process simulation and short-cut methods, a
preliminary economic evaluation was performed. It is estimated that the
project will have a capital cost of $835M, return on investment of 14.1%, a
discounted cash flow rate of return of 12.8%, a net present worth of $42M,
and a payout period of 6.2 years. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the
greatest impact on economics is the sale price of hydrogen
2015 Capstone Design Fair
6
Civil Engineering
Civil Engineering
TEAM 1 - BOOTH 201
Camp Borealis
Carley Algeo, Christine Lieu, Colby Humphry, Gabe Goral, Jessica Dumont, John Roxas,
Jordan Heck, Justin Wong, Kate Kirkland, Marianne Stevenson, Patrick Gill, Steve Cheng
As oil projects move into remote locations in Northern Alberta, companies
like Cenovus must develop facilities to accommodate their workforce.
Borealis is a conceptual camp located at Narrows Lake and is a selfcontained facility that will house 2400 workers. The camp was developed
using forward thinking ideas, modern technologies, and a focus on the
environment. A complete site layout of this two-phase camp has been
created, with full design considerations for water and wastewater
management, solid waste management and power requirements.
Innovative ideas have been implemented in the design of Borealis, such as
on-site composting, a “bottle-free camp” policy and the use of reclaimed
water to minimize environmental impacts.
TEAM 2 - BOOTH 202
TEAM 4 - BOOTH 204
Elbow River Pedestrian Bridges
Albert Lee, Andrew Richardson, Brandon Farrell, Coltin Walsh, Connor Lemieux, Jeff Lin,
Jonathan van Aggelen, Kyle Strachan, Oleksiy Manukyan, Raymond Wong, Samuel Leung
In June 2013, a massive flood raged through the City of Calgary, destroying
three pedestrian bridges along the Elbow River. In an effort to rebuild,
ClearSpan Engineering has been tasked to design a replacement bridge for
the Riverdale Avenue location. Through careful consideration, a cablestayed bridge was chosen for design. The cable-stayed bridge design is
capable of withstanding another flood, resembles the previous cable
suspended bridge structure, and is an innovated and modern structural
system. Detailed structural design and calculations were performed
involving static and dynamic analysis of all major structural components. A
thorough cost estimation and construction phasing schedule was also
prepared, examining the feasibility of the design. The primary deliverable of
this project is to present the City of Calgary with a suitable, sustainable,
and economically feasible design to be used as a viable replacement for
previously destroyed bridges.
Pipeline Life Cycle Optimization
Azan Jamal, Brett Laidlaw, Elaine Dias, Amir Fardi, Eric Szeto, Eugene Lee, Heng Lin,
Keyvan Abedanpourkoushki, Man Tam, Rochelle Belleza, Yusuf Yusuf
The purpose of this project is to create a user-friendly Excel spreadsheet that
optimizes pipeline life cycle by manipulating line size, pressures, and flow
rates for a user-defined pipeline system. The user-defined pipeline system
can contain up to five production phases, three commodities, and two
lateral pipes that are either injections or deliveries. The data are entered in
user forms after which a modifiable visual representation of the pipeline
system is displayed. In the analysis section, the spreadsheet follows
hydraulic principles by utilizing Visual Basic commands and Excel Solver to
calculate pipeline size and commodity batching sequences. The pipeline life
cycle is optimized by reducing the erosion rate and pressure cycles in the
pipeline. The results displayed include tables for the optimal batching
sequence as well as graphs detailing pipeline fatigue in terms of erosion and
pressure cycles.
TEAM 5 - BOOTH 205
Erosion Control and Stepped Chutes Design
Bogdan Masala, Davide Milos, Hanzhe Lu, Thao Cu
Water conveyance, slope stabilization, and surface erosion prevention are
issues on many large projects in northern Alberta. Team 5 evaluated various
engineering techniques to help reduce soil erosion at Suncor Energy’s
Millennium oil sands mine. Specifically, the Mine Dump 2 (MD2) and Mine
Dump 9 (MD9) drainage channels were evaluated due to their long-standing
issues with erosion. At the MD2 channel, the team assessed various bioengineering and commercial erosion prevention techniques that could
replace the use of costly riprap in maintaining channel stability. At the MD9
channel, the team evaluated the feasibility of using stepped chutes to
replace the existing drop structure and riprap system currently used to
control water flow velocity.
TEAM 3 - BOOTH 203
TEAM 6 - BOOTH 206
Student Residence - Crowsnest Hall Calgary
Design of Pile Foundations for Well Pads
Chester Lam, Dmitry Fradkin, Dylan Kramer, Eric Mitchell, Jerry (Brian) Lee Kim Gnok,
Keith Jackson, Lael Dilworth, Matthew Njaa, Robert Soos, Robyn Szymoszowskyj, Stuart
MacDonald
With continued expansion of the University of Calgary facilities and student
numbers, it is important to increase student capacity through construction
of new student residences. Our team has been tasked with the design of the
Crowsnest Hall 11-storey north tower. Crowsnest Hall will house graduate
students in one and two bedroom suites. The residence will also include
rooms for study, music, a multipurpose room, a common room, and a
kitchen. The design of the building will include all fundamental structural
engineering elements such as foundation systems, slab/column systems, and
lateral forces resisting systems. For each component, we provide the
structural design and cost estimates for two different systems and evaluate
which systems would be best employed for the project. We also included the
design of the single-floor building that links the two towers together.
Hao (Arthur) Feng, Jiwan Bariyar, Juan Aguilar, Nathan Lau, Vivian Yeung
The goal of this project was to design the most suitable pile foundations for
well pads at four different locations based on the subsurface properties at
each site. Cast-in-place concrete piles, H-beam and hollow pipe steel piles,
and steel screw piles were considered for each site. Each type of pile was
designed to resist axial and lateral loading. Site specific environmental
factors such as the effects of frost penetration into the soil were also
considered. In order to design the dimensions for each pile, the soil
properties at each site were determined from the analysis of borehole logs.
The most cost effective design that was able to support the specified axial
and lateral loadings was selected as the final design.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
8
Civil Engineering
TEAM 7 - BOOTH 207
TEAM 10 - BOOTH 210
Debris Flood Mitigation: Pigeon Creek
Greywater Reclamation System
Arthur Kozlowski, Brendin McCaughan, Derek Ross, Ethan Miles, Jacqueline Smith, Katie
Auchterlonie, Michael Cecchini, Michael Murray, Peter Yee, Samuel Frederick
D'Arcy Kroeker, Evan Fong, Jan Nowicki, Ruth Laing
Rapid snow melt combined with heavy spring precipitation can trigger
debris floods, or flows, in mountainous areas with high velocities and large
impact forces. In June 2013, one such event occurred in the Pigeon Creek
watershed causing significant damage to public and private land. This
project aims to assess the risk associated with future channelized debris
floods in the Pigeon Creek area, located south of Dead Man’s Flats in the
Kananaskis region of the Rocky Mountains. Over the course of three
months, 118 channel cross-sections from 11 creeks that had experienced
debris flows/floods were studied. The field data were analyzed to
determine the flow volumes, impacts, and other parameters expected in
the area. These parameters were subsequently used in the design of a
debris flood mitigation strategy aimed at reducing the risk of future damage
to downstream infrastructure.
With water being a scarce resource around the world, water recycling is a
topical and relevant design problem. This project encompasses the design
of a greywater reclamation system to hypothetically be installed during the
construction of a new 400 unit apartment building. The project includes
the logistics of collection of the greywater as it leaves the apartment units,
as well as investigation of the quality. It also includes the design of an “inhouse” treatment system for the greywater and the redistribution of the
water for reuse. The treated water will primarily be used for toilet flushing
within the building, and shall be treated to the Canadian Guidelines for
Domestic Reclaimed Water for Use in Toilet and Urinal Flushing
requirements and the EPA Guidelines for Water Reuse. Any excess treated
water will be used for laundry wash-water.
TEAM 11 - BOOTH 211
TEAM 8 - BOOTH 208
Biogas Collection and Energy Recovery at Shepard
Lagoons
Connor Scheu, Kirby Ma, Michelle Mah, Yuan Zhou
The wastewater treatment plants in Calgary are capable of removing more
than 95% of the impurities from wastewater. The leftover impurities, known
as anaerobically digested sludge (ADS), are stored in the Shepard Lagoons
until ready to be reused for biosolid land applications. During storage, the
ADS undergoes further anaerobic biodegradation, producing a methane rich
biogas. By introducing a capture system over the lagoons it is possible to
prevent the release of this greenhouse gas and to use the biogas as a source
of clean energy. The simplest option is to flare the biogas, converting the
methane to carbon dioxide, decreasing the global warming potential.
Alternatively, the biogas can be compressed and stripped of hydrogen
sulfide to be used as a natural gas fuel source, or a gas engine generator can
convert the biogas into electricity and heat.
Sandy Hollows Sustainable Subdivision
Courtenay Farrington, Heather Graffunder, Jenn Currie, Malithi Fernando, Michael Dirk,
Phil Nettleton, Ross Thompson, Sahil Sharma, Vlad Tabelev
Sustainable development is often synonymous with densification in urban
environments, leaving development in rural or semirural settings largely
unchanged. Westland Design aims to address this need and provide a more
ecologically sensitive and community-centred alternative to traditional
acreage living in Alberta. Sandy Hollows is a sustainable, semirural
subdivision located west of Edmonton. Its hybrid design combines
traditional country living with the environmental benefits of a cluster
community. The multidisciplinary team at Westland Design optimized the
site layout, storm water management plan, road design and grading to
provide innovative solutions while working within the constraints posed by
market demand, site characteristics and stakeholder interests. Aiming to
apply LEED Neighborhood Development standards, Sandy Hollows
implements key principles of sustainable design to minimize impact and
take an active role in reversing environmental damage.
TEAM 9 - BOOTH 209
Rio de Janeiro Airport Master Plan
Alexandre Frotten, Amulpreet Bassi, Ariel McCance, David Weisbrot, Gina Yee, Jordan
Hogan, Luna Velez, Sahaer Moghareb-Samadi, Taylor Hudson, (Tom) Li Shu Yang,
Valentina Fazio, Zachary Skotheim
The Brazilian government has reached a 30-year concession agreement
to privatize the Rio de Janeiro (Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim)
International Airport. The agreement requires the expansion of the
runway and taxiway systems as well as significant expansion of the
aircraft aprons and passenger terminals. Due to limited time and
resources we focused on expansion design of the runways, aircraft apron
and passenger terminals. Cargo terminal expansion and ground
movement transportation were excluded. To determine future demand,
the projected volumes of passenger and aircrafts were required. These
volumes include both international volumes, domestic volumes, peak
hour volumes and aircraft types. The projected volumes determined the
capacity required of the new runway and taxiway system, the size of the
aircraft aprons and passenger terminals, as well as the expansion
timeline.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
9
ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING
Electrical & Computer Engineering
TEAM 1 - BOOTH 301
TEAM 4 - BOOTH 304
Fi+
Web-based Application for Well Mapping
Allan Liang, Beenish Khurshid, Jobelle Firme, Nicolas Valera, Ralph Kimoden, Sean
Mikalson
Behar Ibishi, Christopher Dart, Daniel Sheedy, Jennifer Jaafar, John Chau, Piril Kusoglu,
Thomas Condon
We have developed an Android application (Fi+) that will allow users to
create spontaneous fitness events and easily connect with others who
want to participate. Our intention is to use social networking to
stimulate real-world social interaction and encourage physical activity.
With Fi+ you will have an easier time finding and joining events that fit
your schedule—saving your time and energy for the game.
We have designed a modern, web-based application for the purpose of
replacing an older software program, known as PetroDesk. This new
software enables the user to display well data such as location and
output on a digital map and works with a web browser such as Windows
Explorer 10 and Google Chrome. Since this is a web-based application, a
user may easily access data from almost anywhere.
TEAM 2 - BOOTH 302
TEAM 5 - BOOTH 305
Searching for Sanity (Virtual Reality Game)
uSchedule
Cuong Truong, Hai Huo, Jose Luna, Kevin Bradley, Sean Boyd
Searching for Sanity is a Virtual Reality video game powered by Facebook’s
Head-Mounted Display: the Oculus Rift. The game will explore the current
Oculus Rift technology in a horror-game setting. This short, entertaining
game allows players to interact with a virtual world - including playing with a
second player! (Multiplayer) The short demo will immerse you in a dark
storyline, where no one feels safe… Are you brave enough?
Hamza Elkhair, Ian Macaulay, Stephen Burchill, Thomas McEvoy, Yunus Emre
uSchedule allows students of UofC to plan their schedules for a
semester quickly and efficiently, by displaying all the possible schedules
that can be made (without conflicts) given a list of courses. Once they
can see and review each timetable option, they simply pick their favorite
and sign up for those sections via myUofC.
TEAM 6 - BOOTH 306
TEAM 3 - BOOTH 303
Traffic Control Unit
Aamar Maqsood, Adnan Ishfaq, Dilpreet Dhillion, Saad Naeem, Yussef Akl, ZiXuan Mei
Purpose of our project is to develop a solution that will reduce
congestion in downtown area.We aim to facilitate downtown Calgary
commute during the peak rush hours. After studying the root causes of
delayed traffic movement we found our culprit to be distracted drivers.
Drivers that aren't paying attention to when the light turns green cause
extra delays in traffic movement which causes the rush hour to last
longer and become more excruciating. Our solution is to notify mobile
users, through their cellphones, of a changing traffic light, several
seconds in advance, so that they have are attentive and have ample time
to react without holding up traffic.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
Hype Train
Becker Luu, John Flores, Muhammad Sarwar, Tieulong Trac, William Kwok
Hype Train is a web platform for pro-players and fans to connect. Through
this platform, fans can crowd-fund matches between their favourite
professional gamers. Professional players must then reach an agreement
with regard to the match date, funding goals and payouts. Funding will then
commence and once a minimum fundraising threshold has been reached, the
match will commence and be streamed online for fans to spectate.
11
Electrical & Computer Engineering
TEAM 7 - BOOTH 307
TEAM 10 - BOOTH 310
Project Columbia
Power System Protection
Anas Ibrahim, Jaclyn Chang, Jan Ong, Mariam Dost, Nguyen Jack, Ryan Damm
Dilshad Palani, Ebad Hanafi, Jaime Lopez, Mohammad Butt, Umer Pervaiz
Our project is a mobile application for the Android operating system that
can be used for searching and displaying hiking trails in the Columbia
Valley. We are working with the Columbia Valley Greenways Trail
Alliance (CVGTA). The goal is to provide users with an application that
can help people that love hiking, skiing, cycling, and many other types of
outdoor activities, to find the perfect trail for them! Our application can
be used to search trails that accommodate specific types of activities
and amenities, and then provide the user with information for each
trail. The user taps on the name of a trail and is provided with a
description of the trail, directions to the start of the trail, other users’
comments and pictures of the trail!
This project consists of designing a power system protection system for
a high-voltage substation. The substation provides power to a pipeline
pump-station by reducing the high voltage of the transmission lines (144
kilovolt) to a lesser, more usable value (6.9 kilovolt) via a step-down
transformer. The protection system uses relays and circuit breakers to
prevent damage to the electrical equipment and the adjoining
transmission lines in the event of abnormal behavior. Relays are digital
computing devices which detect information about the condition of the
power system. This information is recorded and manipulated to
determine if the system is behaving normally. If a significant fluctuation
are detected, the relay communicates to a nearby circuit breaker to
disconnect the affected portion. The objective is to only disconnect the
affected area while allowing the remaining areas to continue on as
normal.
TEAM 8 - BOOTH 308
Automated Testing and Simulation Tool
Adam Mah, Kyle Petric, Nilanka Ranasinghe, Sidra Malik, Wiam Katoue
The Automated Testing and Simulation Tool (ATST) performs standard
control system testing procedures on Enerflex standardized control systems
and reports the results of the testing. It is split up into two parts: The ATST
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Program and The ATST Reporting Tool.
The ATST PLC Program is a software program that performs standardized
tests on existing Enerflex standardized control programs. The ATST Reporting
Tool controls the ATST PLC Program, then reports the results of the tests. The
ATST Reporting Tool also acts as a user interface in order to allow user
control, visually report results, and report any test failures. The ATST reduces
testing time and automates repetitive testing tasks in current Enerflex
standardized control systems. The ATST also reduces human error in testing
and streamlines reporting.
TEAM 9 - BOOTH 309
TEAM 11 - BOOTH 311
Dynamic Thermal Line Rating
Angela Chan, Basil Mahmoud, Josh Krahn, Redjie Olino, Roscoe Llamzon
To implement a dynamic thermal line rating system to estimate the sag
and calculate the clearance of a line. Our device consists of a
MicroController controlling a triple axis accelerometer for angle
measurement and an XBee Radio for transmitting information. Our
project sponsor, AltaLink, has the ability to identify certain spans that
contain clearance hazards, such as trees or roads. These specific spans
are the limiting factor for how much current is allowed to be transmitted
along the line. Our device is installed on the critical spans between two
transmission poles where potential clearance hazards are present. A full
scale implementation would include a more rugged enclosure, and
possibly, a different type of communication protocol that is more in line
with AltaLink's current communication systems.
Issuedin
John Ma, Kim Francis, Mitchell Edmund Lee, Navid Pourmomtaz, Philip Athyal, Tim
Driedger
Oil and gas construction projects in Alberta face serious shortcomings
when it comes to productivity and effective communication. The
implications of this are high overhead costs, wasted effort, and schedule
delays for moderate cases. More extreme cases result in legal disputes
or shutting down of the project. A simple solution is to ensure project
status data is effectively and efficiently communicated throughout the
duration of a project. IssuedIn aims to provide a portfolio of support
tools for project managers, so that they have high accessibility to the
most up-to-date and accurate information regarding the activities of
their project via an independent web application module for
management and tracking of project issues. This application bridges the
communication gap between the job site and the office. This module
demonstrates the feasibility and applicability of the overall proposed
solution.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
TEAM 12 - BOOTH 312
Transformer Noise Mitigation Using Active Noise
Cancellation
Ashley Davison, John Holmes, Josh Spackman, Kody Haugli, Shaun Woykin
In previous years, passive noise cancellation, in the form of structural
barriers, was used as a means to control unwanted noise. These
barriers, however, can be obtrusive and are not aesthetically pleasing.
For these reasons, AltaLink requested a solution driven by electrical
engineering components to reduce the noise radiating from their
transformers by 5 decibels. The transformer we focused on emits a
120Hz hum that needed to be reduced. Active noise cancellation was
chosen as the solution to the transformer noise. Active noise
cancellation involves reading the source noise signal, which in our case is
the transformer noise, into the processing board and using it to create a
new signal of the same form, only shifted by 180°. This new phaseshifted signal is emitted from a speaker and added with the source signal
into the air to ultimately cancel the transformer noise.
12
Electrical & Computer Engineering
TEAM 13 - BOOTH 313
Enhanced Wind and Solar Power Forecasting
Model for Alberta
Hasan Qureshi, Jiajing Lin, Li Yi, Liam Nodwell, Pierre Carlo Panorel, Yuxiang Huang,
Zhao Luo
Our project is a forecasting tool for reliable wind and solar power
forecasting in Alberta. It allows users to predict the power output of
existing wind farms or potential wind farm sites based on various
weather factors, historical outputs in similar weather conditions and
terrain characteristics. Having access to this data is critical to power
markets being able to make important decisions for load demands,
power contracts, maintenance, and scouting areas rich with wind and
solar energy. In the future, a user will be able to access our power
forecasting tool both online and offline in a visually appealing and easily
understandable format to obtain reliable wind and solar power
forecasting results.
TEAM 16 - BOOTH 316
UMDL Designs
Corey Bird, Dallas Rathbone, Eric Wu, Jenessa Fett, Kelsey Shields, Patricia Groves
UMDL Designs is a team of electrical engineering students who have
designed a universal multichannel datalogger. The idea developed after
a discussion with one of the university’s professors who required a
datalogger that would work with his unique set of biomedical sensors.
From this discussion a solution arose that included a datalogger that has
a universal interface so that any type and number of sensors could be
connected to it. While this datalogger has many potential applications,
the initial development has been focused on the biomedical industry,
specifically, hospital applications. There is a growing trend for smart
device usage among physicians, so a datalogger that can easily and
wirelessly connect with the user’s device to transfer real-time data and
alerts has been identified as valuable. UMDL’s datalogger addresses
these concerns while maintaining a sleek form-factor and sufficient
battery capacity.
TEAM 14 - BOOTH 314
Dialog Convenience Store and Gas Bar
Brynne Wilson, John Butcher, Maryam Adeyemo, Michael Luik, Ryan Burke
The objective of our project is to create standard electrical schematics and
drawings for a gas bar and convenience store that meets the strictest safety
codes (fire, electrical, environmental, etc.) in Saskatchewan, B.C., and
Alberta. A convenience store, an underground tank nest, a gas bar with a
canopy, a cardlock and a monument sign are among the main
buildings/merchandise considered. A large part of the final solution is
encompassed by the following drawings/specifications, to be reviewed by a
professional engineer in order to ensure all systems are safe and
constructible: Conduit Power & Data, Exterior Lighting & Detail, Duct Detail,
Gas Bar & Cardlock Underground Conduit, Store Pathways, Line Voltage Gas
Bar Pathways, Cardlock Pathways, Store Lighting, Gas Bar Lighting, Low
Voltage Systems, Cardlock CCTV & Lighting, Propane Tank, Underground
Tanks/Sump Pumps, Single Line Diagram, Fire Alarm Riser and Lighting.
TEAM 17 - BOOTH 317
❄Let it Snow❄: Roomba for Your Driveway
Christopher Bowal, Christopher Deimert, Michael Herrmann, Nigel Gutzmann, Troy
Graham
Anna, a fearless optimist, sets off on an epic journey - teaming up with
rugged engineers and their loyal snow-clearing robot - to find her sister
Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Calgary in eternal
winter. In a never-before attempted feat of bravery, the snow-robot
battles Everest-like conditions in a race to save the kingdom. From the
outside, Elsa looks poised, regal and reserved, but in reality, she lives in
fear as she wrestles with a mighty secret - she was born with the
inability to shovel ice and snow. Haunted by her weakness, Elsa has
isolated herself behind a driveway filled with untouched snow. Her
mounting emotions trigger panic, accidentally setting off an eternal
winter that she can't stop. She fears she's becoming a monster and that
no one can help her… Rated R. 132 Minutes.
TEAM 15 - BOOTH 315
Software Generated Single Line Diagrams
Brett Pelletier, Edmond Chih, Nathan Yu, Roshaan Ali, Sina Arman
Alberta Electric System Operator is responsible for the safe, reliable and
economic planning and operation of Alberta's interconnected electric
system. The long-term planning group utilizes PSS®E, a transmission
planning software, to develop conceptual alternatives for the entire
province of Alberta. A comparison between the original base case and
new case provides information to draw a single line diagram.
Subsequently, these diagrams are used to help visualize additions,
subtractions, and unchanged components on transmission lines. These
single line diagrams are then painstakingly drawn in Microsoft Visio since
PSS®E does not contain an in-house drawing tool. Our project objective
is to develop a custom compare and draw tool for the development of
future conceptual alternatives, while streamlining workplace efficiency.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
13
Electrical & Computer Engineering
TEAM 18 - BOOTH 318
Time To Failure Battery Life Monitor
Justin Huskic, Kai Rasporich, Nick Saar, Robert Hanna, Robert Pipo
Monitoring the current and voltage of a sealed lead acid battery pack the
Time To Failure Battery Life Monitor predicts the remaining usage time for
the users equipment. The monitor allows a user to select a desired time
remaining threshold. Once the threshold is reached the monitor will deliver a
message using an existing Ethernet gateway, sending an email to inform that
the threshold has been reached and mitigating unexpected power failure.
The email notification will also deliver the approximate time remaining and
the current voltage level. The monitor logs the information (current, voltage,
and temperature) of the battery pack on a removable SD card to determine
usage characteristics and battery health. This enables the user to replace/
repair battery packs in a timely and cost effective fashion.
TEAM 19 - BOOTH 319
Upgrade to Human-Machine Interface on an
Offset Printing Press
Arpita Saha, Maryam Abdullah, Musse Abdullahi, Venkatesh Amararajan, Zohaib Rashid
Makeda press has an offset printing machine from the 1980’s with an archaic
user interface and a broken memory system. Due to the broken memory
system, settings must be recorded manually by the operator if he/she wishes
to save them from one print job to the next. Our project is a prototype that
demonstrates how a PC-based user interface and file system can be easily
integrated with the current system to enhance operator experience. In our
system, the operator interacts with custom software built by our team to
control the motor, save and recall settings.
TEAM 21 - BOOTH 321
Power Quality Monitor
Ayesha Irfan, Bryson Siemens, Neena Marasinghe, Nolan Kelly, Roberto Cavedoni
Our project involves designing, building and testing a Power Quality
Monitor (PQM) Board. This device works by obtaining current and
voltage data from energized systems. This data is sent to a
microprocessor for further analysis and then sent to a Laptop or
Personal Computer to study the quality of the power in the system.
TEAM 22 - BOOTH 322
A Hardware Solution for Mapping Venues Christopher
Burke, Christopher Yee, Ciaran Geaney, Samanpreet Jammu, Sumit Narang
Modern sound system and acoustic technology allows for the
directionality of speakers to be configured remotely using actuators in
order to optimize sound quality in a venue, and thus improve the
experience of event attendees. Software which is used to find the
optimal speaker configurations requires a 3D map of the venue in order
to operate. The system developed by our group acquires data that can
later be used to generate these 3D maps. The hardware solution utilizes
a laser distance meter that can be rotated about two axes of motion
using stepper motors to collect distance measurements from around the
inside of a venue from a common origin. The acquired distance
measurements in 3D space allow for a map of the venue to be produced.
TEAM 23 - BOOTH 323
DRESSFRESH - The Fully Automated Garment
Refresh System
TEAM 20 - BOOTH 320
Adam Wagner, Aram Razouki, Ashley Fernandes, Jason Woo, Kevin (Yueh-Chen) Lin,
Patrick Mah
Partial Discharge within a Substation
Washing clothes after a single day’s use is a waste of time, money, and
energy. Most of the time, the garment is not dirty and simply needs to
be refreshed. With the push of a button, the DRESSFRESH system aims to
remove wrinkles and eliminate odour-causing bacteria from lightly worn
clothes using a mixture of steam, heat, and air. The design of
DRESSFRESH was sponsored by aspiring entrepreneur – Aram Razouki –
and completed as a joint venture between the Mechanical and Electrical
teams. The Mechanical Team is responsible for designing and building
the housing unit to incorporate key components, and the Electrical Team
is focused on creating the control system and integrating the electronics
of the product. Our control system has been engineered to maximize the
refreshing cycle within five minutes, while ensuring safe operation
during the process.
Ahmed Uqaili, Nadun Wijesinghe, Tayyab Tahir Mohammad, Uzair Syed, Zoheb Hassan
Syed
Partial discharge is a phenomenon that occurs within high voltage
equipment. When insulation in an electrical system experiences high
voltage stress, small electrical currents or even sparks can occur through
the voids in the insulation. These electrical sparks are referred to as
partial discharge (PD). Team F-5-I has researched and implemented a
solution to detect and continuously monitor partial discharge occurring
within a transformer in a substation. Using an oscilloscope, an ideal
waveform of partial discharge was simulated. The simulation is then
amplified and filtered through electrical circuitry before being inputted
into a microprocessor. Furthermore, the signal is transmitted wirelessly
to a laptop where it is measured and stored for further analysis. Partial
discharge monitoring is a crucial procedure in the power industry for
assessing the condition of all electrical equipment in order to maintain
its reliability, efficiency and lifespan.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
14
Electrical & Computer Engineering
TEAM 24 - BOOTH 324
Wireless Power Transfer
Angus Ho, Jingwen (Belinda) Huang, Joey McGraw, Sajna Massey, Tugso Batjargal
TEAM 27 - BOOTH 327
Sensor Solution for Wireless Tuning of Acoustic
Instruments
How often is your phone flashing a low battery warning? How often do you
forget your phone charger at home, leaving you with a dead phone in the
middle of the day? We have designed a transmitter and receiver unit that
transfers power wirelessly to an iPhone. Our product allows smartphone
users frustrated by poor battery life to utilize a convenient new way of
charging. This wireless charger can charge over a distance and is much more
convenient than inductive charging pads which require contact with the
phone. You can easily use your phone while it is charging and multiple
devices can be charged from a single transmitter. Wireless charging is the
next step in charging electronic devices and has gained momentum in
companies such as Ikea, Samsung and Intel.
The Sensor and Wireless Applications Group has designed and
prototyped a wireless guitar tuner. By sensing the mechanical vibrations
of a guitar’s body instead of relying on sound, tuning can be done even
in noisy environments. The tuner will wirelessly transmit the tuning
information to either a display on an Android smartphone or a Garmin
smartwatch display. The intuitive user display will show the closest note
to the note being played, whether it is sharp or flat, and how far offpitch it is. The lack of a screen directly on the tuner allows it to have a
reduced form factor which will be unobtrusive to the user.
TEAM 25 - BOOTH 325
TEAM 28 - BOOTH 328
Well Leak Detection Tool
On-Board Diagnostics Monitoring and Tracking
Breanne Fisher, Glen Yanosik, Jesreen Jamaldeen, Lingjie Ye, Raymond Yip
Production logging uses a combination of tools to determine the flow rate of
different phases and show where fluid is entering or exiting the borehole.
The focus of our project is leak detection using an audio sensor. Current
convention relies on the interpretation of leak location by an experienced
operator. This method is time consuming, inefficient and prone to error. The
Leak Hunters have developed a prototype audio recording tool. The data
collected is sent up-hole via a robust and established telemetry system. A
program processes the data and correlates the output with known leakage
signatures. From cross-correlation, the operator can be confident in
distinguishing if the source of the noise is from a leak, instead of relying on
qualitative analysis. This technology will reduce operator error, production
downtime and add further functionality to existing production logging tool
strings.
TEAM 26 - BOOTH 326
Design-Build of a Hydroelectric Generator Airgap
Measurement System
Blaine Daugherty, Brad Coleman, Navdeep Gill, Salima Kairzhanova, Tyler Schwebius
The measurement and alignment of the space between the stator and
rotor of a hydroelectric generator (airgap) is critical to generator
operation. Currently, airgap measurements of hydroelectric generators
are done using either feeler gauges or electronic sensors where the raw
data needs to be manually processed to be useful. This takes time from a
human resource perspective and can prolong outage times due to the
laborious task of taking the airgap measurements. The excessive use of
cabling in the current system creates inefficiency in setup time and is a
significant safety hazard. The airgap measurement system we have
designed and constructed performs a fully automated measurement of
the airgap using wireless technologies to collect and synthesize data.
This decreases the time needed to take these measurements and
reduces the skill set needed by the operator to amass the data.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
Ian Haigh, Jules LaPrairie, Michael Rohs, Pouyan Keshavarzian, Stephanie Hladik
Erin Dekker, Hasitha Anisingaraju, Mac Tonogai, Reeta Suman, Shivani Tata
The purpose of this project is to improve driver safety for offsite trips. A
vehicle’s On-Board Diagnostics System (OBDII) tracks data such as RPM
(rotations per minute of the wheels). A Raspberry Pi (RPi) connects to
the OBDII to extract and filter the data from the vehicle. The data is
stored on an SD card on the RPi until the end of the trip. It is then
transmitted over WiFi to a database in the cloud. This data can be
analyzed to study driver behaviour, and to give insights to the situations
they are faced with. This system could be further expanded by gathering
more data from the OBDII, or adding a video camera inside and outside
the vehicle to better track the driver's actions.
TEAM 29 - BOOTH 329
DC-DC Solar Electric Car Charging Station
Anenya Yohannes Mebrhatom, Gabor Paroczai, Kevin Ka-Fai Ma, Nirikshan Kamalakar
Maditha, Zenel Gajtani
Our group aims to solve the problem of charging electric cars in remote
locations where there is no access to the electrical grid. Our solution is
to design and construct a direct current to direct current (DC-DC)
charging module prototype, which is more efficient than the standard
direct current to alternating current to direct current (DC-AC-DC)
method. This prototype will use solar energy as the power supply, a
charge controller to regulate the voltage and current produced by the
solar panel, and a nickel-metal hydride battery bank to store this energy.
Our innovation for this project is charging the battery bank piecewise or
by battery module using a microcontroller and relays as a control
system. Once each battery module within the battery bank is fully
charged, they are connected to each other in a string (series
configuration) by the control system and can now charge an electric car
battery.
15
Electrical & Computer Engineering
TEAM 30 - BOOTH 330
Navi-Sol: Solar Powered Watercraft System
TEAM 33 - BOOTH 333-DUPLICATE BOOTH NUMBER
2D Microwave Imaging
Yin Hao Chen, Zixin Chen, James Decoux, Danielle Lam, Kyle Skelly, Alexander Ta
Adam Deunk, Anton Deriabine, David Ryan, Marshall Doig, Stefan Lund
Team Navi-Sol designed the electrical systems for a solar powered
watercraft. The motivation for this project was to provide an
environmentally friendly method for recreational travel over water.
Systems that were designed, built, and tested include MPPT (maximum
power point tracking), battery control, battery monitoring/cell
balancing, and user feedback. The solar cell panel design and
construction and interface to the battery was also done by the team. The
purpose of these systems was to achieve the maximum power output
from the solar cells to charge the battery and provide power for the
motor. When there is sufficient sunlight to power the motor, the battery
will also be charging. In times where there is not sufficient sunlight due
to cloud cover, night time, etc., the charged battery will act as a back up
power source for the motor to run off of.
The Automated Microwave Imaging (AMI) group has worked closely with
their Industry Sponsor, the Tissue Sensing Adaptive Radar (TSAR) Lab on
campus to produce a 2D Microwave Image Scanner. This device uses
microwave radio waves of varying frequency to scan a flat object of
unknown electrical properties, in order to understand the composition
of the material. The device uses an emitter antenna and a receiver
antenna array to perform this interrogation. The process is automated
using LabVIEW, a Graphical User Interface program that allows for entry
of patient and scanning parameters, computes mathematical
calculations, and externally controls the movement of the emitter
antenna in order to produce an image representation of the scan. The
future of this technology will be to develop the ability to use the
antenna in 3-Dimensional space to allow doctors to perform noninvasive breast cancer screening.
TEAM 31 - BOOTH 331
Integrated Renewable Energy Modelling Tool
Anirudh Chopra, Madhav Narendran, Robert Panchuk, Yi Zhi Wan, Zachary Lesko
Our project is an accurate system-level model of electrical production from
renewable generation sources (e.g. wind and solar) accompanied with
storage in correlation to amount of electrical demand for a specific
application. This project is designed to serve as a demonstrative tool
depicting the optimized size of components based on amount of generation
possible at a specific geographic location. Core facets of this project are: a
system case study, a load profile model, and a component sizing tool.
Ultimately, this software intakes weather data at a specific location and user
demand, and determines the amount of generation possible on an hourly
basis. It will then optimize the number and size of the components based on
criteria outlined by the user. A modelling software which takes into account
hourly variability in generation and scales for various applications is currently
not available.
TEAM 34 - BOOTH 334
4" Caliper Pipeline Inspection Tool
Alaa Yousif, Darren Schmautz, Lucas Pacentrilli, Russell Holmes, Spencer McLeod
The Caliper tool provides necessary information about a pipeline's inner
diameter (ID) using a user defined 8, 16 or 32 channels that comprises of
Hall Effect sensors fastened at the end of Caliper arms. This information
helps to ensure that other pipeline inspection technologies will safely
navigate through the pipeline. The tool gets propelled through a
pressurized pipeline and records the following data: Hall Effect,
Internal/External Pressure and Temperature, Distance and Spatial
(Acelerometer, Gyroscope).
TEAM 32 - BOOTH 332
Electrical Design of a Prefabricated Skid-mounted
Oilsands Slurry Pumphouse
Barett MacLeod, Curtis Craig, Jordan Lienau, Kuntal Pandya, Samra Saeed
Modern oilsands mining operations in Alberta utilize hydrotransport
pipelines as an economical alternative to conveyor systems for
transporting mined oil sand from the mine to the processing facility.
Hydrotransport pipelines can extend as long as 40 km, requiring large
slurry pumps to be installed at intermediate locations along the pipeline.
Our team has designed a skid-mounted pumphouse module for this
application, and drafted a complete electrical drawing package
supported by power system studies modelled with ETAP. The
pumphouse skid is designed to be constructed completely offsite,
substantially reducing construction costs for the project. The
pumphouse skid comes complete with high and medium voltage
transformers, distribution equipment, process motors and pumps, and
supporting equipment such as an integral bridge service crane, building
lighting, and life safety systems as required by industry standards and
best practices.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
16
GEOMATICS ENGINEERING
Geomatics Engineering
TEAM 1 - BOOTH 401
TEAM 4 - BOOTH 404
Beakerhead: A Geomatics Perspective
Wetland Delineation Using Remote Sensing
Techniques
Carson Bannon, Xunchen Bao, Shirley Chan, Anna Ross
The BeakerHead Team aims to communicate Geomatics Engineering in a
form that is innovative and engaging to the general public. We believe
Geomatics Engineering is the science and technology behind the concept
of "where". The group will use BeakerHead to its advantage by creating
an experience that integrates aspects of Geomatics Engineering with art.
Ultimately, the audience will gain a better understanding of Geomatics
in an artistic and visually astounding way.
TEAM 2 - BOOTH 402
Road Sign Detection Using LIDAR Data
Nicole Beier, Andrea Bordieanu, Sarah DeMong, Raymond Khuu
This project utilizes a set of mobile Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data
and process it to automatically detect road signs. Historically, data was
obtained through static laser scanners with time consuming setup or
photogrammetric data. Presently, data can be acquired on-the-go through
mobile terrestrial LiDAR scanners, increasing the quantity, quality and rate at
which the data is obtained. Detection of navigation attributes, specifically
road sign detection, has many applications such as determining the condition
of the signs, or updating mobile mapping systems and inventory of useful
navigation information. Once data has been obtained, the sign detection can
then be performed, using the Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC)
algorithm and using the Point Cloud Library (PCL) and libLAS C++ libraries.
Planes whose normal face the direction of travel of the mobile LiDAR data
are most likely to be signs.
TEAM 3 - BOOTH 403
High Precision Survey Network
Clayton Berg, Jeffrey Cornish, Luke Meister, Walter Morvillo
The project requires a survey of high precision network control points
near and on campus connected to the Calgary high precision control
using static GNSS measurements. This network connected a secondary
network that will be used by future Geomatics Engineering students
using high precision traverses. These traverses throughout campus will
be done by utilizing a number of high orientation points which were
fixed using intersection and trigonometric heighting. Instruments such as
the EDM and meteorological handhelds are to be calibrated throughout
the project to get the best possible results in different weather
conditions. Finally, all data will be plotted using ArcGIS to get a fina l
representation of all fieldwork performed.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
Aref Ahmed, Samridhi Anand, Kurt Bioletti, Robert Fung
Wetlands provide many advantages for society. These advantages
include water purification, preventing erosion, and creating biodiversity.
It is in our best interest to ensure the current and future sustainability of
these areas. Remote sensing techniques allow for the analysis of an area,
without having to visit the area in person. Using images taken by
satellites, generation of different types of indices which describe various
features of the area can be done. Using these indices, generalizations
about the area can be found, and thus utilized to either monitor the
area, or find areas of similar type. This is especially useful for wetlands
area, as they are hard to traverse on foot, and ground level surveys can
become expensive. Using remote sensing techniques, safety of the
researcher can be ensured, while potentially reducing costs.
TEAM 5 - BOOTH 405
Behavioral Context Detection Using Smart Phones
Rafael Canelon, David Krawczuk, Luis Rodriguez Mendoza, Jean Vianney
The group is developing an Android sports app that utilizes behavioral
context recognition. The app will have a step counter and will track how
much a person walks and runs. It will use this information to estimate
calories burnt, etc. The app uses the cell phone’s accelerometer. The group
had to gather data in order to be able to tell when a person is walking,
running, or standing (behavioral context recognition). This task included data
pre-processing, feature extraction and feature classification in order to
assess the effectiveness of the accelerometer data and the activity class
thresholds.
TEAM 6 - BOOTH 406
Terrestrial Laser Scanning for 3D Building
Modelling Purposes
Juan Aguilar, Jiwan Bariyar, Hao (Arthur) Feng, Nathan Lau, Vivian Yeung
The group has been assigned to complete tasks necessary to develop an
accurate georeferenced 3D model of a building on the University of Calgary
(U of C) campus. The model will be created from observations gathered using
terrestrial laser scanning methods. The main project tasks include: selecting
an appropriate building to model at the U of C, selecting equipment and
methods to establish a control point network surrounding the chosen
building, performing field work to gather scans representing building surface
data, combining every scan into one registered point cloud, and generating
an accurate building model from the final registered point cloud. After a final
3D model is created, attempts will be made to upload a condensed version of
the model to Google Earth.
18
Geomatics Engineering
TEAM 7 - BOOTH 407
High Sensitivity GPS & Analysis
Fengyu Cai, Blake Lange, Willem Smienk, Venice Tang
This project involves the development of a program to read, process,
and analyze GPS data. The main goal of the program is to compute the
position and velocity of various receivers and compare the sensitivity in
various environments. The project as a whole had the following
requirements: work with static or kinematic data, be able to work
standalone using pseudorange and Doppler (carrier phase rate)
measurements, apply available augmentation corrections to improve
positioning accuracy, assess the performance of high-sensitivity
receivers in a variety of environments in both static and kinematic
modes. Lastly, comparing the result of the high-sensitivity receivers with
geodetic grade receivers and assess the strengths and weaknesses of the
various different receivers within various environments.
TEAM 8 - BOOTH 408
Valve Placement Strategies in Oil Pipelines
Gerald Andreiuk, Jordan Colebrook, Thomas Howat, Nicholas Weir
In collaboration with an industry sponsor, the group has undertaken the task
of analyzing one of the most crucial risk mitigation strategies in the pipeline
industry, valve placement. Valves are essentially a means of isolating flow in
the event of leaks, ruptures or maintenance. In the initial phase, the group
compared the environmental impacts of both fixed distance and variable
distance spacing regimes for simulated terrain samples. The group then
analyzed digital elevation models and created a realistic scenario,
representative of the topography and geographic features a pipeline could
encounter when transporting bitumen from Alberta to the Pacific coast.
Through analyzing the potential volumes released in the event of a pipeline
rupture, the group was able to conduct a final comparison of the two
methodologies, as well as an independent engineering assessment in
determining the placement of valves.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
19
MECHANICAL & MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING
Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering
BOOTH 501
BOOTH 504
Liquefying Hybrid Rocket Propellant Test
Apparatus
Electric Arctic Rover Project
Ciaran Dunn, Garrett Gustafson, Marwa Amery, Matthew Kindree, Przemyslaw Iwaniec,
Scott Stanger
Hybrid rocket engines differ from conventional rocket engines by using a
fluid phase oxidizer in conjunction with a solid phase fuel. However, the
mechanism by which the fuel liquefies and mixes with the oxidizer is not
well characterized. Thus, the purpose of this project was to design an
apparatus that can visualize the liquefying process and enable computer
simulation of the experiments. The designed apparatus consists of two
major components: a flow conditioner and a combustion chamber. The flow
conditioner provides a steady fully-developed oxidizer flow to the
combustion chamber. This type of flow simplifies the transition to
computer modelling. Inside the combustion chamber, a strip of fuel is
ignited and the behavior of the combustion is studied through the glass
side walls. Test conditions are measured with pressure and temperature
sensors located throughout the apparatus.
BOOTH 502
Independent Dual Output Continuously Variable
Transmission for a Bicopter
Brendon Kerber, David Stewart, Jungyo Choi, Taylor Townsend, Wesley Van Harberden
A typical bicopter uses two motors, one to drive each individual rotor.
Efficiency can be improved by using a single, larger central motor. The
output from the central motor must then be transferred to both rotors using
a dual output transmission, which splits the motor input into two outputs,
one to each rotor. To improve control and efficiency, a continuously variable
transmission (CVT) will be used. A traditional transmission uses gears to
manipulate the output speed and as a result has a limited number of fixed
gear ratios between the input motor speed and the output speeds. A CVT
allows for continuous variation between the motor input and the output
speeds allowing the motor to operate at its peak efficiency while changing
the speed. The speed of each rotor will be controlled independently allowing
for control of complex maneuvers.
BOOTH 503
Highly Maneuverable Autonomous Underwater
Vehicle
Ahmed Al-Mahdi, Daniel Anhorn, David Haehlen, Marshall Staples, Matthew Szczesny,
Quinn Hepburn
A Highly Maneuverable Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (HMAUV) that is
capable of performing complex maneuvers inside underwater caves and
other confined spaces where traditional underwater vehicles cannot
penetrate. The vehicle is neutrally buoyant in all the vehicle’s attitudes (roll,
pitch & yaw configurations). The mechanical and electronic aspects of this
HMAUV provides space to integrate a full suite of sensors including a DVL,
IMU, Altimeter, 180-degree tiltable color camera, and an acoustic
hydrophone array. Some primary goals of the HMAUV will be to conduct
survey missions and detect and map submerged wrecks and rocks that could
be hard to be navigated by commercial and recreational vessels.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
Cory Genovese, Gavin Williams, Kayla Olde, Kevin Hendrickson, Luke Ryan, Matt
Howorko
The goal of this project is to create an electric vehicle for use in Arctic
conditions that will cause minimal environmental disruption when in
operation. The design of the vehicle is based on the pre-existing version
designed by the University of Calgary Robotics Laboratory for mining
operations. The vehicle must have a top speed of at least 10 mph and be
able to transverse a 10 by 10 mile area without requiring battery
recharge. The vehicle must also be able to climb over objects and up
inclines of at least 45 degrees. The vehicle sub systems must be modular
and easily serviceable. The main project focus is the design of the track
system and drive train. Although initially the vehicle will be manually
controlled, measures must be taken so that autonomous control can be
implemented in the future.
BOOTH 505
ASME Student Design - Remote Inspection Device
Anh Viet Le, Daniel Faszer, Jashan Makan, MerrylArokiasamy, Naanak Sodhi, Tyler
Gravelle
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) hosts an
engineering design competition each year - this year’s competition
involves designing a small payload delivery vehicle that can traverse
rough and disaster ridden terrain. Vehicles are evaluated on energy
efficiency, speed, and the amount of payload delivered over a test
course that contains a ramp, water, sand, and stairs. Our design consists
of two individually driven three armed ‘wheels’ mounted at the front of
the main body with each arm having a fixed wheel on its end. This design
ensures the stability of the vehicle over sand, water, and stairs. The two
rear wheels allows for stability and balance over the steep incline and
stairs.
BOOTH 506
High Inertia Propeller
Austin Mireault, Brendyn Stone, David Dyck, Derek Chen, Jeffrey Woolsey, Jovana
Cuzovic
Gary Gress, the founder of Gress Aeronautics, has devoted much of his time
to the study and development of a tilted rotor system for a Vertical Take-Off
and Landing (VTOL) drone. His current design utilizes two basic 13” hobby
propellers and an active control system. Our group has been tasked with the
design and prototyping of an alternative propeller that self-stabilizes during
pitching and rolling movements. The challenge is to balance the need of
increased inertia with the additional weight of the design. With this in mind,
our design consists of an aluminum ring that is fitted and balanced around
the original propeller. This arrangement allows for a low-cost option that can
be easily mass produced.
21
Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering
BOOTH 507
BOOTH 510
The Wheelchair Assist: Helping Patients Return to
their Wheelchair after a Fall
Portable Evaporative Cooler
Courtney MacDonald, Dave Morin, Joshua Herauf, Mico Madamesila, Samuel
Arulnathan, Yifan Wang
One of the greatest physical trials for a spinal cord injury patient is the
challenge to return to his or her wheelchair, unassisted, after a fall.
Unless a patient has the ideal body proportions suited to this task – arms
longer than torso – the effort of raising ones rear-end 18” from the
ground without full use of leg, core or hand muscles, and with only the
wheelchair to grab onto, is nearly impossible. Our device, designed for
spinal cord injury patients with capable arm and shoulder muscles, aids
in this task. The Wheelchair Assist is intended to provide lightweight,
compact and unobtrusive support to improve the safety, independence,
and livelihood of paraplegic patients that depend on wheelchairs for
mobility.
Bassem Younis, Cameron Relke, Carlo Santos, Dave Barrett, Ellycia Ford, Jeff Edwards
An air conditioner designed to make those hot dry summer days more
bearable. This project is a low cost and effective evaporative cooler that
uses water’s latent heat to reduce the temperature of the air and
increase the relative humidity of the air to a more comfortable level.
Suited for hot dry climates, this cooler is designed for use in Aswan,
Egypt, but works in any hot and dry climate. The cooler is lightweight
and small enough to transport between rooms in a home. Easy to
maintain, this project takes advantage of one of the oldest forms of air
conditioning known to society. Our working prototype was constructed
with a see through acrylic so that you can see for yourself how the
cooling process works.
BOOTH 511
BOOTH 508
Parks Explorer
Pressure Management in Intra-Hospital Patient
Transportation
Adam Cornfield, Duncan Pawson, Matthew Hill, Matthew Johnson, Phillip Retzlaff,
Steven Stosky
Chloe Green, Daniel Stuart, Stephanie Vogt, Victor Tran
Low-mobility patients often need to be transported from one facility to
another within the Foothills Hospital. This movement requires patients to be
transferred between numerous surfaces (bed to stretcher, stretcher to MRI
table, etc.). Currently this transfer is facilitated by a simple plastic board,
onto which patients are placed and then moved via sliding from one surface
to another. Patients may spend upwards of two hours on these boards,
which provide no source of pressure relief, and can be very uncomfortable.
The Project 12 Team has a design goal of creating a device to mitigate
pressure in these intra-hospital transport situations in order to increase
patient comfort. The proposed solution is a foam mattress with a non-porous
cover that will attach to the current transfer board. This mattress will
increase patient comfort without overcomplicating or significantly altering
the patient transfer process.
BOOTH 509
Wii-Hab
Brian Pansky, Courtney Duggan, Kent Le, Yin Zhu
When working with patients with spinal injuries, therapists routinely
work on upper extremity function and strength. In order to make the
strengthening exercises more engaging and fun the therapists have tried
to use a Wii to play games. The goal of this project is to create an
interface that is compatible with both the Wii and the limited dexterity,
grip strength, and power of the patients’ movements. Our design allows
the patients to successfully play Wii games, improve the strength and
control in their elbow and neck, broaden their range of motion and
therefore allow them to gain confidence.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
It is difficult for traditional wheelchairs to operate throughout the rough
terrain of Alberta’s hiking trails. This excludes a large group from hiking,
a past-time many Albertans take for granted. The Parks Explorer, an
important piece of the Alberta Parks Inclusion Plan, is a project that will
open up Alberta’s world-class hiking trails to those with lower-body
disabilities. The recumbent tricycle design provides greater stability and
control, allowing users to comfortably ascend provincial trails. The drive,
braking, tilting, and steering systems are incorporated into the handle
bars, allowing the trike to be operated without lower-body movement.
Key to the design was creating a user experience that was easy to learn,
comfortable to use, and universal for all levels of athleticism and
disability. Ultimately, the Parks Explorer is a vehicle of inclusion,
enjoyment, and empowerment.
BOOTH 512
Flow Rate Control of Water Filters for Balancing
Water Quality and Usability
Andrew Diec, Hairu Liu, JunYi (Larissa) Zhang, Robert Crane, Sandeep Sidhu, Xingi
The bio-sand filters are used in developing countries for providing
drinkable water in households. The bio-sand filters function best at
lower flow rates. The purpose of this project to design a flow rate
controller for a version 10 bio-sand water filter for Centre for Affordable
Water and Sanitation Technologies (CAWST). The main function of this
flow rate controller is to reduce the initial peak flow rate of the water in
the bio-sand filter in order to increase the quality. The objective of the
project is to design a mechanical device as an add-on system to the
existing bio-sand that will reduce and control the initial flow rate. The
design has to be safe, simple to use, attractive, marketable, and built
from locally available materials.
22
Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering
BOOTH 513
BOOTH 516
Improving the Portability and Durability of
Biosand Filters
Adrian Miranda, Haider Kirmani, Kevin Fielding, Phillip Spanswick, Sebastian-Adrian
Alexandru, Tara Gholami
This project was sponsored by the Center for Affordable Water and
Sanitary Technology (CAWST), seeking to provide access to clean
drinking water to people in developing communities around the globe.
One of the chief strategies in bringing this vision to reality is providing
families with Biosand Filters. Currently, a huge percentage of these
filters are made of concrete because it is a relatively cheap option that
can be made anywhere, potentially by people with no prior technical
skill. Despite these important advantages, the concrete filters are
extremely heavy and frequently break during transportation. To remedy
these challenges, our team has developed a Biosand Filter prototype
made primarily out of sheet metal, drastically reducing weight.
Additionally, this model can be easily assembled on site and uses nonbrittle parts to eliminate the risk of damage or failure during
transportation.
BOOTH 514
Manufacturing Process for the Biosand Water
Filter
Kohl Lounsbury, Konrad Kasprzyk, Max Lee, Oana Cantacioiu, Sam Yoo
Biosand filters are used in developing countries to provide clean drinking
water. The household filters are constructed by means of batch process using
locally available resources. The goal of the project is to improve the
manufacturing process using affordable tools and easier manufacturing
methods. The filter casing was chosen to be the main focus, specifically,
more effective ways to settle the concrete while decreasing time and labour
effort. Two main solutions were developed to improve the concrete settling
process. The first design is an attachment for a concrete vibrator. In cases
where no electricity is available, a second manual solution is a flywheel
mechanism powered by a bicycle. Both prototypes provide a less labour
intensive and time effective method of settling the concrete, which is ideal
for a batch process.
The Mech-Winder: Retractable Waterski &
Wakeboard Rope Housing
Brett Ladick, Gillian Bruce, Graham Dunn, Michael Martinovich, Scott
Lalonde, Suzanne Listoe
When waterskiing or wakeboarding it is a constant struggle to keep the
watersport rope untangled and out of the passenger’s way, but still
easily accessible. Our project was to design and prototype a safe,
compact and lightweight device that addresses these concerns and
mounts onto a variety of different boats. Our design retracts the
watersport rope and keeps it untangled and out of the way until it is
needed for use, when it can be extracted by pulling on the rope handle.
It also allows for the exchange of watersport ropes and easy rope length
adjustment, which both depend on rider preference. Lastly, the device
has been designed to withstand forces created during watersports and
sustain wear from natural elements, such as sunlight and water.
BOOTH 517
Assembly Test Stand for Hydraulic Actuators of Oil
Rigs
Alison McKenny, Carolyn Cepuch, Chad Maag, Dimitrije Protic, Fabricio Romero,
Varun Sharma
The sponsor of this project, MECHALTA, designs and constructs hydraulic
actuators, which are rotary mechanisms that control the flow of mud
through oil rig drill strings. These actuators are placed below the top
drive and act as a “switch” to open and close the valve that controls the
flow of mud during drilling. MECHALTA requires a test stand in their
facility to test and showcase their actuators for potential and existing
clients. Therefore, our group designed and built a test stand that
simulates the rotation of a top drive. This project serves to advertise
MECHALTA’s products in the future, and to test the rotating and
actuating aspects of each finished actuator.
BOOTH 515
Retrofitable Autoflush Device for Tank-Style
Toilets
Devon Glover, Karam Ahluwalia, Laree Block, Megan Leslie, Yawei Xiao
Toilets are something we use every day and are an excellent breeding
ground for bacteria. Our project focuses on finding a way to decrease the
potential of cross-contamination when flushing a toilet. Our goal is to
develop an improved retrofittable autoflush system for tank-style toilets.
This design was created by a team in the previous year for their design
project and our task is to create an improved design. This will allow the
customer to flush their toilet without having to physically touch anything,
greatly reducing the chance of coming in contact with foreign bacteria, as
well as making everyday life a little easier. People that would be interested
in our project include our sponsor, advisor, professor, teaching assistant,
and members of the general public, such as home owners, apartment
complex owners, and hotel managers.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
23
Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering
BOOTH 518
BOOTH 521
Solar Panel Mounting Mechanism with
Orientation Detection
Adam Stosky, Andrew Mancini, Chris MacDonald, Kevin Sas, Marc Russel, Zeeshan
Ahmed
Solar Energy Systems are playing an ever-increasing role in renewable
energy. Capturing the radiation the sun emits is done using solar
modules to convert this radiation to electricity. Initially, the concept of
capturing solar radiation was done by means of a stationary module to
be aimed at the sun's path. The problem with this technique is that as
the sun moves across the sky, the level of radiation that can be captured
is lowered due to the sun being at optimal angle only briefly each day.
The goal of this project is to design a device that can track and follow
the sun as it moves to maximize the radiation the solar module can
capture. Once tested, the information gathered will allow for a contrast
to be made between the effectiveness of stationary commercial devices
and moving modules with tracking.
BOOTH 519
Motorcycle Seat Design for Women
Christine Hughes, Emily Tworek, Monique Sullivan, Susan Trinh, Vachan Dhillon
The majority of motorcycles available today are designed for and marketed
to male riders, and as a result, female riders often find the ergonomics to
be uncomfortable and ill-suited to their body size and shape. Torch is a
new company that aims to reinvent the motorcycle experience for women
by creating motorcycles that are uniquely customized for the female rider.
The design team chose to focus on the motorcycle saddle as a starting
point for the motorcycle design as it is central to the riding experience.
Anthropometric data was collected and analyzed to create a new saddle
that increases safety and comfort for female riders.
BOOTH 520
JCI Sheet Metal Manufacturing Station
Adrien Dechaine, Alberto Trejo, Andres Noboa, Andres Peluso, Lawrence Kong,
Matthew Nesselbeck
Sponsored by Jonell Canada Inc. (JCI), this project seeks to develop a
manufacturing process for structured packing, which is typically used in
mass transfer applications. This project focuses on exploring different sheet
metal manufacturing techniques in order to determine a suitable process
for this application. Structured packing is manufactured from extremely
thin sheet metal and is designed to incorporate features such as
perforations, corrugations, and dimples. The objective of this project is to
design a manufacturing process that focuses specifically on forming dimples
and corrugations onto the raw work material with the least amount of
flaws while optimizing consistency, and efficiency. The work material is a
0.004” thick 316L stainless steel sheet. Process evaluation was done
through physical testing using small scale simulations under varying
conditions, and computer simulations with ANSYS structural mechanics
software.
BOOTH 522
FLOCO Test Stand Upgrading
Bradley Seaman, Cory Charron, Dushyant Puri, Isawm Hammoud, Melissa Lam, Rui Ning
Li
Cameron Measurement Systems, requires a mechanism to allow for the
safe transportation and loading of large FLOCO Meters, weighing up to
120lbs during the fabrication process. The current process implemented at
the facility requires two technicians to share the lifting of all objects over
50lbs, which is dictated by OHS Code (Occupational Health and Safety).
The design was required to be compatible with the pre-existing equipment:
the assembly table, calibration stand, and hydro-test stand; each of which
possess a unique challenge. Decomposition of the design allowed for
simple mechanisms to be installed resolving issues at respective stands.
Our design solution consists of a caddy with cam followers to facilitate the
translational and rotational movement of the meter, that coupled with
minor modifications to the existing equipment allow for the process to be
carried out by only one technician.
Fatigue Testing of Glass Fiber Reinforcement in
Composite Pipelines
Ahmed Rasool, Cory Purdy, Harold Lau, John Kim, Musaab Yaqub, Raza Anees
Flexpipe Systems is a leading manufacturer and distributor of flexible,
composite pipeline solutions for use in the energy industry. Their products
are designed to be corrosion resistant and flexible while used in highpressure applications. This is accomplished through reinforcing the
thermoplastic pipe with a layer of high-strength material, such as steel-cord
or fiber glass. It was found that severe fluctuations of internal pressure
reduced the expected lifespan of the fiber glass product. To further their
understanding of this fiber glass fatigue problem, Flexpipe Systems has
sponsored this Capstone Design project to develop an apparatus that
simulates the effect of severe pressure cycling on test fibers. The result is a
machine that uses a reciprocating piston to cycle pressure within a fiberwrapped, flexible bladder, and is intended for use in material evaluation
and comparison.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
BOOTH 523
Automated Pigging (Sender and Receiver)
Dylan Gareau, Eric Evenson, Jen Moravec, Parminder Mand, Rebekah Dyckerhoff, Robel
Palazzi
This project involves the design of an automated pig sender and receiver
for a 6” pipeline for Pembina Pipeline Corporation. Pipeline pigs are used
in the oil and gas industry to clean the interior walls of pipelines as well
as provide a barrier between different types of fluid during batching.
There are currently some designs available in the market however they
do not meet Pembina’s requirements for operability and cost. The
purpose of automated pigging is to increase safety and reduce the
operational cost of manually sending pigs, especially for stations in
remote locations. Our design enables twelve pipeline pigs to be stored
and sequentially launched into the pipeline using automatic valves and
actuated pins. At the receiving end, the pigs are stored in hot operation
and are able to be easily extracted by the operator with a removable
grate.
24
Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering
BOOTH 524
BOOTH 527
DRESSFRESH – A Fully Automated Garment
Refresh System
Armando Borjas, Churchill Oseghale, Daniel Chan, Maria Shmerko, Rachel Manzano,
Todd Rolfson
Washing clothes after a single day’s use is a waste of time, money, and
energy. Most of the time, the garment is not dirty and simply needs to
be refreshed. With the push of a button, the DRESSFRESH system aims to
remove wrinkles and eliminate odour-causing bacteria from lightly worn
clothes using a mixture of steam, heat, and air. The design of
DRESSFRESH was sponsored by aspiring entrepreneur – Aram Razouki –
and completed as a joint venture between the Mechanical and Electrical
teams. While the Electrical Team is responsible for the electrical
components and controls of the system, the Mechanical Team is focused
on designing and building the housing unit to incorporate key
components. Our housing unit is also designed to withstand the stresses
and strains of the refreshing process while also being modestly sized and
lightweight.
BOOTH 525
Redesign Of A Ski And Snowboard Vise
Cody Edwards, Lin Bu Zhe, Robert Wong, Scott Kosasih
For this project, an existing ski and snowboard vise is being redesigned in
order to eliminate some of the existing issues in order to create a more
streamline and marketable product. The purpose of the vise is to clamp skis
and snowboards in place in order to perform maintenance on the boards.
The focus of the redesign will be on the following issues: failure of the metal
guide rods due to fatigue, the vise jaws binding when being closed, the
rubber grips that hold the ski/snowboard in place fall off, the clip ring that
keeps the threaded rod centered wears quickly and leads to excessive play in
clamp, and lastly, creating a vise with a simpler design in order to ensure
jaws touch when closed completely.
Sensor Arm Design
Bo Feng, Evan D’Altorio, Gregary Groeneveld, Matthew Hall, Parsa Samavati, Suraj
Jhuty
Pipeline Inspection Gauges (PIGs) are electronic and mechanical tools
which travel through thousands of kilometers of pipe to determine its
integrity, while ensuring the safety of operators. “Smart PIGs” use
sensors to detect anomalies along the pipeline during inspection. A
widely used method detects corrosion and defects with magnetic fields
and sensors. The sensors are mounted to arms, which through some
mechanism maintain the sensors in contact with the pipe wall, even
when deflected by turns or anomalies in the pipe. The focus of this
project is to re-design this sensor arm to allow greater deflection and
reduce complex components. With these objectives, the new sensor arm
deign aims to increase the dependability and reduce the cost of
operation.
BOOTH 528
Redline Gap Sub
Alex Warthe, Arvin Silva, Harold Schmit, Mark Elliott, Yusra Hemed
Pacesetter’s Electromagnetic Measurement While Drilling (EM MWD)
tool is used while directional drilling to send locational and directional
information from the drill to the surface in order to steer the drill. The
Redline Gap Sub provides an electrically insulated gap in the drill string
to allow the EM MWD tool to transmit an electromagnetic signal through
the ground formation to the surface. As well as being electrically
insulating, Pacesetter requires the gap sub to be durable in order to
reliably perform in the strenuous downhole environment while
withstanding large tensile and torsional forces from the drill string. The
gap sub consists of two pieces of drill pipe connected with an electrically
insulating material. Our design features a custom threaded connection
to maximize strength and a durable epoxy resin gap in between the
threads for insulation.
BOOTH 526
Downhole Cementing Unit Optimization
Akram Ali Al-Mawern, Brandon Nelson, Hoeun Jang, Jeremy Roles, Nicholas Benham,
Nik Mouwen
In an effort to reduce wasted product and increase the versatility of its
oilfield downhole cementing fleet, Magnum Cementing Services wishes
to design a system capable of blending a diverse range of powdered
additives into dry cement in the field. This system must be designed to
blend these additives accurately, consistently, and ‘on-the-fly’. The new
equipment is designed to be installed on Magnums existing cement
hauling trailers. It will add powdered additives to water using an eductor
and dry additive feed system. This water containing “pre-hydrated”
additives will then be added to dry cement using Magnums existing
system. The design will allow the blends to be changed during a
cementing job and means that no extra trucks or personnel will be
needed in the field to operate this system.
2015 Capstone Design Fair
25