Date of Award

5-4-2026

Degree Type

Capstone Project

First Advisor

Professor Bahram Nassersharif

Abstract

This final design report outlines how our team developed a detachable connection mechanism for the "Connection Survivability Under High Stress Situations" senior engineering capstone project. The objective is to design, prototype, and test a mechanical connection that engages four rails with a 21-inch diameter internal cylinder, each component being 3 feet in length. The connection must be able to toggle off and on when needed to secure the cylinder inside of its housing. The connection has to go inside the railing slot with the dimensions of 2.94” wide by 1.5” tall, and 36” long. Ideally this connection doesn’t affect the integrity of the cylinder as this is the important component in the assembly we were given. The ultimate goal is to create a togglable connection between the railing set and cylinder that can help the cylinder withstand a dynamic 2G impact.

Key parts of the Final Design Report include a comprehensive outline of the methodology behind our design, features added after prototyping, and our testing analysis of connection mechanisms. After coming up with multiple conceptual designs in the fall semester and boiling our idea down at the start of this semester we switched our design that we focused on last semester’s preliminary design report. At the start of this semester we decided to instead focus on a device that expands inside the railing slot which would compress the cylinder at all 4 connection points. This device would have a bottom plate that presses against the cylinder when engaged and a top plate that is fastened to the top of the railing slot with screws. A camshaft can actuate the plates apart when turned 90°.

The design process followed a structured approach, beginning with requirements analysis and project scoping, followed by literature and patent research, ideation, down-selection using a weighted decision matrix, and preliminary analytical validation. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulations were conducted to evaluate stress concentrations and predict performance under impact, with initial results indicating that while the applied load is less than the yield strength, the margin was not large enough to ensure the connection would pass reliably every time. Subsequent phases will involve detailed engineering, prototype fabrication, and physical testing to validate the design against the final 2G drop test criterion, ensuring structural integrity and connection survivability.

Comments

Team Name: Team 3

Company Sponsor: Naval Undersea Warfare Center

Sponsor Representative: James LeBlanc

Document Reference: URI-MCE-2026-FDR-003

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