Document Type

Undergraduate Project

Date of Degree Completion

Spring 2021

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Department

Mechanical Engineering Technology

Committee Chair

Charles Pringle

Second Committee Member

Jeunghwan Choi

Abstract

Students of the Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) program at Central Washington University have contributed to an ongoing Carbon Fiber Recycler project funded by the Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation (JCATI). The goal of this project was to modify the existing recycling system to produce a higher success rate of recycled carbon composite material. This report focuses on increasing the rigidity of the crushing gears so that the deflection occurring among the components during operation was below 0.005 inches to ensure proper operating conditions. The operating speed of the crushing gears was 2.5 rpm with a crushing load of 10,500 pounds. A base plate design ensured the rigidity of all components operating on a singular plane. Flat plate analysis was conducted to determine the thickness of the plate required of ASTM A36 Steel to produce a deflection less than the required value. Plate models run in Autodesk Nastran provided stress and deflection results used to confirm green sheet calculations and assembly modifications. Testing consisted of using dial indicators to determine deflections at various locations of the base plate and confirmed the deflection of the plate to be 0.003 inches within the required maximum deflection of 0.005 inches. All testing, manufacturing, and analyses took place in the Hogue Technology Building at Central Washington University with the help of MET Faculty.

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