Alek's Final Post

This summer flew by, I can not believe we are already at the end of the REU program. I had a blast working on my project this summer and it was very rewarding to finally see everything come together in these last few weeks. My final REU deliverable was a poster for a campus wide poster show here at the UMN.

My project was to design and manufacture a fluid compressibility sensor which will be used to determine the Bulk Modulus of a given gas/oil mixture. Many inefficiencies and control problems can be traced back to the hydraulic fluid's compressibility factor (Bulk Modulus). After much painstaking calculations and design revisions, my design was finally cleared for fabrication. Machining was very fun but long grueling work, now I know how difficult steel is to work with and this will become a factor in my next mechanical design. I finished constructing the sensor two days before my poster was due and was just able to get some crude data to put on the poster. The sensor worked great after a little mechanical/electrical troubleshooting and I was informed the lab will be using this sensor for years to come which I found to be rewarding. Here is the final product 

I can't thank the CCEFP enough for this incredible experience, I really learned a lot from this research. I had a blast getting to know all of you and wish you luck on all of your future endeavors. I hope we cross paths again some day.

Best regards,

Alek