Matching Items (9)
Filtering by
- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
- Creators: Arizona State University
Description
The ocean is vital to the health of our planet but remains virtually unexplored. Many researchers seek to understand a wide range of geological and biological phenomena by developing technologies which enable exploration of the deep-sea. The task of developing a technology which can withstand extreme pressure and temperature gradients in the deep ocean is not trivial. Of these technologies, underwater vehicles were developed to study the deep ocean, but remain large and expensive to manufacture. I am proposing the development of cost efficient miniaturized underwater vehicle (mUV) with propulsion systems to carry small measurement devices and enable deep-sea exploration. These mUV's overall size is optimized based on the vehicle parameters such as energy density, desired velocity, swimming time and propulsion performance. However, there are limitations associated with the size of the mUV which leads to certain challenges. For example, 2000 m below the sea level, the pressure is as high as 3000 psi. Therefore, certain underwater vehicle modules, such as the propulsion system, will require pressure housing to ensure the functionality of the thrust generation. In the case of a mUV swimming against the deep-sea current, a thrust magnitude is required to enable the vehicle to overcome the ocean current speed and move forward. Therefore, the size of the mUV is limited by the energy density and the propeller size. An equation is derived to miniaturize underwater vehicle while performing with a certain specifications. An inrunner three-phase permanent magnet brushless DC motor is designed and fabricated with a specific size to fit inside the mUV's core. The motor is composed of stator winding in a pressure housing and an open to water ring-propeller rotor magnet. Several ring-propellers are 3D printed and tested experimentally to determine their performances and efficiencies. A planer motion optimal trajectory for the mUV is determined to minimize the energy usage. Those studies enable the design of size optimized underwater vehicle with propulsion to carry small measurement sensors and enable underwater exploration. Developing mUV's will enable ocean exploration that can lead to significant scientific discoveries and breakthroughs that will solve current world health and environmental problems.
ContributorsMerza, Saeed A (Author) / Meldrum, Deirdre R (Thesis advisor) / Chao, Shih-hui (Committee member) / Shankar, Praveen (Committee member) / Saripalli, Srikanth (Committee member) / Berman, Spring Melody (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
CubeSats are a newly emerging, low-cost, rapid development platform for space exploration research. They are small spacecraft with a mass and volume of up to 12 kg and 12,000 cm3, respectively. To date, CubeSats have only been flown in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), though a large number are currently being designed to be dropped off by a mother ship on Earth escape trajectories intended for Lunar and Martian flyby missions. Advancements in propulsion technologies now enable these spacecraft to achieve capture orbits around the moon and Mars, providing a wealth of scientific data at low-cost. However, the mass, volume and launch constraints of CubeSats severely limit viable propulsion options.
We present an innovative propulsion solution using energy generated by onboard photovoltaic panels to electrolyze water, thus producing combustible hydrogen and oxygen for low-thrust applications. Water has a high storage density allowing for sufficient fuel within volume constraints. Its high enthalpy of formation provides more fuel that translates into increased ∆V and vastly reduced risk for the launch vehicle. This innovative technology poses significant challenges including the design and operation of electrolyzers at ultra-cold temperatures, the efficient separation of the resultant hydrogen and oxygen gases from liquid water in a microgravity environment, as well as the effective utilization of thrust to produce desired trajectories.
Analysis of the gas combustion and flow through the nozzle using both theoretical equations and finite-volume CFD modeling suggests an expected specific impulse of 360 s. Preliminary results from AGI's Satellite Toolkit (STK) indicate that the ΔV produced by the system for an 8kg CubeSat with 6kg of propellant in a LEO orbit (370 km altitude) is sufficient for an earth escape trajectory, lunar capture orbit or even a Mars capture orbit. These results suggest a promising pathway for an in-depth study supported by laboratory experiments to characterize the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed concept.
We present an innovative propulsion solution using energy generated by onboard photovoltaic panels to electrolyze water, thus producing combustible hydrogen and oxygen for low-thrust applications. Water has a high storage density allowing for sufficient fuel within volume constraints. Its high enthalpy of formation provides more fuel that translates into increased ∆V and vastly reduced risk for the launch vehicle. This innovative technology poses significant challenges including the design and operation of electrolyzers at ultra-cold temperatures, the efficient separation of the resultant hydrogen and oxygen gases from liquid water in a microgravity environment, as well as the effective utilization of thrust to produce desired trajectories.
Analysis of the gas combustion and flow through the nozzle using both theoretical equations and finite-volume CFD modeling suggests an expected specific impulse of 360 s. Preliminary results from AGI's Satellite Toolkit (STK) indicate that the ΔV produced by the system for an 8kg CubeSat with 6kg of propellant in a LEO orbit (370 km altitude) is sufficient for an earth escape trajectory, lunar capture orbit or even a Mars capture orbit. These results suggest a promising pathway for an in-depth study supported by laboratory experiments to characterize the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed concept.
ContributorsPothamsetti, Ramana Kumar (Author) / Thangavelautham, Jekanthan (Thesis advisor) / Dahm, Werner J.A (Committee member) / Solanki, Kiran N (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
In recent years, a new type of ionic salt based solid propellant, considered inert until the application of an electric current induces an electro-chemical reaction, has been under investigation due to its broad range of possible uses. However, while many electric propellant formulations and applications have been explored over the years, a fundamental understanding of the operational mechanisms of this propellant is necessary in order to move forward with development and implementation of this technology. It has been suggested that the metallic additive included in the formulation studied during this investigation may be playing an additional, currently unknown role in the operation and performance of the propellant. This study was designed to examine variations of an electric propellant formulation with the purpose of investigating propellant bulk volume electrical resistivity in order to attempt to determine information regarding the fundamental science behind the operation of this material. Within a set of fractional factorial experiments, variations of the propellant material made with tungsten, copper, carbon black, and no additive were manufactured using three different particle size ranges and three different volume percentage particle loadings. Each of these formulations (a total of 21 samples and 189 specimens) were tested for quantitative electrical resistivity values at three different pulse generator input voltage values. The data gathered from these experiments suggests that this electric propellant formulation’s resistivity value does change based upon the included additive. The resulting data has also revealed a parabolic response behavior noticeable in the 2D and 3D additive loading percentage versus additive particle size visualizations, the lowest point of which, occurring at an approximately 2.3% additive loading percentage value, could be indicative of the effects of the percolation phenomena on this material. Finally, the investigation results have been loosely correlated to power consumption testing results from previous work that may indicate that it is possible to relate propellant electrical resistivity and operating requirements. Throughout this study, however, it is obvious based on the data gathered that more information is required to be certain of these conclusions and in order to fully understand how this technology can be controlled for future use.
ContributorsBrunacini, Lauren (Author) / Middleton, James (Thesis advisor) / Dai, Lenore (Committee member) / Langhenry, Mark T (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The objective of this project was to design an electrically driven centrifugal pump for the Daedalus Astronautics @ASU hybrid rocket engine (HRE). The pump design was purposefully simplified due to time, fabrication, calculation, and capability constraints, which resulted in a lower fidelity design, with the option to be improved later. The impeller, shroud, volute, shaft, motor, and ESC were the main focuses of the pump assembly, but the seals, bearings, lubrication methods, and flow path connections were considered as elements which would require future attention. The resulting pump design is intended to be used on the Daedalus Astronautics HRE test cart for design verification. In the future, trade studies and more detailed analyses should and will be performed before this pump is integrated into the Daedalus Astronautics flight-ready HRE.
ContributorsShillingburg, Ryan Carl (Author) / White, Daniel (Thesis director) / Brunacini, Lauren (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Monatomic gases are ideal working mediums for Brayton cycle systems due to their favorable thermodynamic properties. Closed Brayton cycle systems make use of these monatomic gases to increase system performance and thermal efficiency. Open Brayton cycles, on the other hand, operate with primarily diatomic and polyatomic gases from air and combustion products, which have less favorable properties. The focus of this study is to determine if monatomic gases can be utilized in an open Brayton cycle system, in a way that increases the overall performance, but is still cost effective.
Two variations on open cycle Brayton systems were analyzed, consisting of an “airborne” thrust producing propulsion system, and a “ground-based” power generation system. Both of these systems have some mole fraction of He, Ne, or Ar injected into the flow path at the inlet, and some fraction of monatomic gas recuperated and at the nozzle exit to be re-circulated through the system. This creates a working medium of an air-monatomic gas mixture before the combustor, and a combustion products-monatomic gas mixture after combustor. The system’s specific compressor work, specific turbine work, specific net power output, and thermal efficiency were analyzed for each case. The most dominant metric for performance is the thermal efficiency (η_sys), which showed a significant increase as the mole fraction of monatomic gas increased for all three gas types. With a mole fraction of 0.15, there was a 2-2.5% increase in the airborne system, and a 1.75% increase of the ground-based system. This confirms that “spiking” any open Brayton system with monatomic gas will lead to an increase in performance. Additionally, both systems showed an increase in compressor and turbine work for a set temperature difference with He and Ne, which can additionally lead to longer component lifecycles with less frequent maintenance checks.
The cost analysis essentially compares the operating cost of a standard system with the operating cost of the monatomic gas “spiked” system, while keeping the internal mass flow rate and total power output the same. This savings is denoted as a percent of the standard system with %NCS. This metric lumps the cost ratio of the monatomic gas and fuel (MGC/FC) with the fraction of recuperated monatomic gas (RF) into an effective cost ratio that represents the cost per second of monatomic gas injected into the system. Without recuperation, the results showed there is no mole fraction of any monatomic gas type that yields a positive %NCS for a reasonable range of current MGC/FC values. Integrating recuperation machinery in an airborne system is hugely impractical, effectively meaning that the use of monatomic gas in this case is not feasible. For a ground-based system on the other hand, recuperation is much more practical. The ground-based system showed that a RF value of at least 50% for He, 89% for Ne, and 94% for Ar is needed for positive savings. This shows that monatomic gas could theoretically be used cost effectively in a ground-based, power-generating open Brayton system. With an injected monatomic gas mole fraction of 0.15, and full 100% recuperation, there is a net cost savings of about 3.75% in this ground-based system.
Two variations on open cycle Brayton systems were analyzed, consisting of an “airborne” thrust producing propulsion system, and a “ground-based” power generation system. Both of these systems have some mole fraction of He, Ne, or Ar injected into the flow path at the inlet, and some fraction of monatomic gas recuperated and at the nozzle exit to be re-circulated through the system. This creates a working medium of an air-monatomic gas mixture before the combustor, and a combustion products-monatomic gas mixture after combustor. The system’s specific compressor work, specific turbine work, specific net power output, and thermal efficiency were analyzed for each case. The most dominant metric for performance is the thermal efficiency (η_sys), which showed a significant increase as the mole fraction of monatomic gas increased for all three gas types. With a mole fraction of 0.15, there was a 2-2.5% increase in the airborne system, and a 1.75% increase of the ground-based system. This confirms that “spiking” any open Brayton system with monatomic gas will lead to an increase in performance. Additionally, both systems showed an increase in compressor and turbine work for a set temperature difference with He and Ne, which can additionally lead to longer component lifecycles with less frequent maintenance checks.
The cost analysis essentially compares the operating cost of a standard system with the operating cost of the monatomic gas “spiked” system, while keeping the internal mass flow rate and total power output the same. This savings is denoted as a percent of the standard system with %NCS. This metric lumps the cost ratio of the monatomic gas and fuel (MGC/FC) with the fraction of recuperated monatomic gas (RF) into an effective cost ratio that represents the cost per second of monatomic gas injected into the system. Without recuperation, the results showed there is no mole fraction of any monatomic gas type that yields a positive %NCS for a reasonable range of current MGC/FC values. Integrating recuperation machinery in an airborne system is hugely impractical, effectively meaning that the use of monatomic gas in this case is not feasible. For a ground-based system on the other hand, recuperation is much more practical. The ground-based system showed that a RF value of at least 50% for He, 89% for Ne, and 94% for Ar is needed for positive savings. This shows that monatomic gas could theoretically be used cost effectively in a ground-based, power-generating open Brayton system. With an injected monatomic gas mole fraction of 0.15, and full 100% recuperation, there is a net cost savings of about 3.75% in this ground-based system.
ContributorsBernaud, Ryan Clark (Author) / Dahm, Werner (Thesis director) / Wells, Valana (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Many industries require workers in warehouse and stockroom environments to perform frequent lifting tasks. Over time these repeated tasks can lead to excess strain on the worker's body and reduced productivity. This project seeks to develop an exoskeletal wrist fixture to be used in conjunction with a powered exoskeleton arm to aid workers performing box lifting types of tasks. Existing products aimed at improving worker comfort and productivity typically employ either fully powered exoskeleton suits or utilize minimally powered spring arms and/or fixtures. These designs either reduce stress to the user's body through powered arms and grippers operated via handheld controls which have limited functionality, or they use a more minimal setup that reduces some load, but exposes the user's hands and wrists to injury by directing support to the forearm. The design proposed here seeks to strike a balance between size, weight, and power requirements and also proposes a novel wrist exoskeleton design which minimizes stress on the user's wrists by directly interfacing with the object to be picked up. The design of the wrist exoskeleton was approached through initially selecting degrees of freedom and a ROM (range of motion) to accommodate. Feel and functionality were improved through an iterative prototyping process which yielded two primary designs. A novel "clip-in" method was proposed to allow the user to easily attach and detach from the exoskeleton. Designs utilized a contact surface intended to be used with dry fibrillary adhesives to maximize exoskeleton grip. Two final designs, which used two pivots in opposite kinematic order, were constructed and tested to determine the best kinematic layout. The best design had two prototypes created to be worn with passive test arms that attached to the user though a specially designed belt.
ContributorsGreason, Kenneth Berend (Author) / Sugar, Thomas (Thesis director) / Holgate, Matthew (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This paper studies the history and development of ion propulsion systems and survey past, present, and developing technology with their applications to space missions. This analysis addresses the physical design parameters and process that is a part of designing and optimizing a gridded ion thruster. It also identifies operational limits that may be associated with solar-powered ion propulsion systems and posits plausible solutions or alternatives to remedy such limitations. These topics are presented with the intent of reviewing how ion propulsion technology evolved in its journey to develop to today's systems, and to facilitate thought and discussion on where further development of ion propulsion systems can be directed.
ContributorsTang, Justine (Author) / White, Daniel (Thesis director) / Dahm, Werner (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
For the past two decades, advanced Limb Gait Simulators and Exoskeletons have been developed to improve walking rehabilitation. A Limb Gait Simulator is used to analyze the human step cycle and/or assist a user walking on a treadmill. Most modern limb gait simulators, such as ALEX, have proven themselves effective and reliable through their usage of motors, springs, cables, elastics, pneumatics and reaction loads. These mechanisms apply internal forces and reaction loads to the body. On the other hand, external forces are those caused by an external agent outside the system such as air, water, or magnets. A design for an exoskeleton using external forces has seldom been attempted by researchers. This thesis project focuses on the development of a Limb Gait Simulator based on a Pure External Force and has proven its effectiveness in generating torque on the human leg. The external force is generated through air propulsion using an Electric Ducted Fan (EDF) motor. Such a motor is typically used for remote control airplanes, but their applications can go beyond this. The objective of this research is to generate torque on the human leg through the control of the EDF engines thrust and the opening/closing of the reverse thruster flaps. This device qualifies as "assist as needed"; the user is entirely in control of how much assistance he or she may want. Static thrust values for the EDF engine are recorded using a thrust test stand. The product of the thrust (N) and the distance on the thigh (m) is the resulting torque. With the motor running at maximum RPM, the highest torque value reached was that of 3.93 (Nm). The motor EDF motor is powered by a 6S 5000 mAh LiPo battery. This torque value could be increased with the usage of a second battery connected in series, but this comes at a price. The designed limb gait simulator demonstrates that external forces, such as air, could have potential in the development of future rehabilitation devices.
ContributorsToulouse, Tanguy Nathan (Author) / Sugar, Thomas (Thesis director) / Artemiadis, Panagiotis (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This thesis examines how a recently proposed concept for a highly-truncated aerospike nozzle
can be expected to perform at altitudes corresponding to ambient pressures from sea-level to
full vacuum conditions, as would occur during second-stage ascent and during second-stage
descent and return to Earth. Of particular importance is how the base pressure varies with
ambient pressure, especially at low ambient pressures for which the resulting highly underexpanded flows exiting from discrete thrust chambers around the truncated aerospike merge to
create a closed (unventilated) base flow. The objective was to develop an approximate but
usefully accurate and technically rooted way of estimating conditions for which the jets issuing
from adjacent thrust chambers will merge before the end of the truncated aerospike is reached.
Three main factors that determine the merging distance are the chamber pressure, the altitude,
and the spacing between adjacent thrust chambers. The Prandtl-Meyer expansion angle was
used to approximate the initial expansion of the jet flow issuing from each thrust chamber.
From this an approximate criterion was developed for the downstream distance at which the
jet flows from adjacent thrust chambers merge. Variations in atmospheric gas composition,
specific heat ratio, temperature, and pressure with altitude from sea-level to 600 km were
accounted for. Results showed that with decreasing atmospheric pressure during vehicle
ascent, the merging distance decreases as the jet flows become increasingly under-expanded.
Increasing the number of thrust chambers decreases the merging distance exponentially, and
increasing chamber pressure results in a decrease of the merging distance as well.
ContributorsHerrington, Katie (Author) / Dahm, Werner (Thesis director) / Takahashi, Timothy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Department of Physics (Contributor)
Created2024-05