Joe,

Good Luck.....

IMO, the sealed vs. unsealed hinge idea is the real winner. Simple concept, but willl likely yield surprisong result that may confirm or challenge conventional wisdom on the subject. It may seem mundane compared to the others, but your senior project is less about the results and more about learning the process of doing the project. Pick a subject that you are confident you lets you do the process well without bogging yourself down in technical complexities that are not necessary.

Richard