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| Vol. 17, No. 33 | May 28, 1998 |
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| Vol. 17, No. 33 | May 28, 1998 |
The winning team in the mechanical engineering senior design
competition are shown with their metal foam injection gun,
developed for Fraunhofer Resource Center. From left, (standing)
are Dina Berlingieri and Stephanie Simpson and
(kneeling) Shawn Riley and Harminder Parmar.
Taught this year by Dick Wilkins and Michael Keefe, the class functions as a pseudo-company, New Castle Design Associates. Students are divided into teams and are linked with clients to design and manufacture products that meet specific needs.
At the end of the year, the teams display their inventions, make presentations and are judged by members of Delaware Section of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
This year's winning team designed an injection gun, a system for injecting molten metal foam while maintaining a desired temperature. The client was Fraunhofer Research Center, and the team's adviser was Azar Parvizi-Majidi.
According to Wilkins, the gun can be compared to a glue gun. But, while a glue gun uses plastic at low temperatures, the injection gun is designed for light metals at high temperatures that must be carefully regulated. The injection gun is a prototype for a system for structural applications, such as injecting light metal to the inside of a car door, for example.
In addition to winning first place, the group was awarded the Fraunhofer Resource Center-Delaware Achievement Award, which consists of a plaque and cash award.
The second place winner was the team that designed a rocket sled that tests the impact of a projectile on a target at supersonic speeds. This was designed for the U.S. Army Ballistics Laboratory at Aberdeen, Md.
The third place award was for a bridge protection system, using a working scale model which can give meaningful information on the fender system of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, for the Delaware River and Bay Authority and Hardcore DuPont.
Photo by Gwynn Lyell
