Norwich Engineering Aerospace Projects and Industry Collaboration

Danner Friend, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Presented at the Vermont Aerospace and Aviation Association MeetingNorwich UniversityFebruary 23, 2012

Outline

Aerospace Projects at Norwich CubeSat Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Torch

Capstone Design Projects Project Requirements and Expectations Examples of Industry Sponsored Projects

Other Areas of Collaboration

Funding through the Vermont Space Grant Consortium (VSGC), a NASA sponsored program to promote research infrastructure within the state, encourage Vermont students to engage more in mathematics and science, and promote consideration of careers in aerospace-related areas.

CubeSat - nanosatellite, 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm, 1.33 kg. Developed primarily by universities. Many have been launched into earth orbit.

Norwich University is working in collaboration with Vermont Technical College and the University of Vermont to build a CubeSat that is capable of autonomous navigation in space allowing missions beyond earth orbit.

Aerospace Projects at NorwichCubeSat

CubeSat We are scheduled in 2013 to

launch our first CubeSat into low earth orbit to do some initial testing of the navigation system using a camera to capture images of the moon and stars.

Long term goal is to design for missions that go beyond low earth orbit (outside of GPS range) Dynamic Testing Apparatus

Project started in January 2010 16 Norwich engineering students (7 ECE and 9 ME) 2 faculty mentors (Jacques Beneat-ECE and Danner Friend-ME) Two senior design projects 6 summer research students Research Focus:

Autonomous navigation Celestial Navigation Sensors (cameras, star trackers, sun sensors, inertial measurement units (IMU’s) Image processing

Results presented at Vermont Space Grants Awards Ceremony (Oct 2010 and Oct 2011) National Conference for Undergraduate Research (March 2011) ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (Nov 2010)

CubeSat Project Accomplishments

Sponsored by Vermont’s NASA EPSCoR program Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) torch facility at UVM

has been developed for testing materials for spacecraft thermal protection systems

Since 2007, Norwich students have been working on projects that have support the development of this testing facility

Inductively Coupled Plasma Torch Facility

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/multimedia/orion_contract_images.html

12 Norwich engineering students (3 senior projects and 4 summer research fellowships).

Water-cooled sample holder LabView-based control and monitoring system that automates the

actuator inputs and sensor outputs Investigation of a Rogowski Coil for Measuring Peak Voltage Pitot Pressure and Heat Flux Measurement Using a Calorimeter Fiber Optic Based Measurement of Total Radiant Heat Flux

ICP Facility Project Accomplishments

Results presented at: ASME Old Guard Oral Presentation -

U. of Connecticut (April 2011) 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences

Meeting (Jan 2012 – paper published in the proceedings)

Capstone Design

The goal of this major design experience is to emulate the practice of planning and designing of an engineering project. To achieve this goal, we involve students, faculty, and the engineering community in the design process.

Capstone Design Projects Include:

Define problem, design constraints, project objectives Prepare a schedule for project completion using Gantt

Charts Investigate alternate concepts to achieve objectives Conduct engineering analyses and create engineering

drawings Build prototype/proof of concept models Test and evaluate components and prototypes (when

applicable)

Capstone Design Projects Include:

Maintain a design notebook Meet with faculty advisors weekly and document

progress and activities Meet with engineers from the sponsoring firms as

needed Present preliminary design to students, faculty,

engineers, and anyone interested Present the project to students, faculty, engineers,

and anyone interested Submit written reports at the end of each semester

Proprietary Issues

When requested by the sponsoring company or an organization, the design team members and faculty advisor will sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Should the project lend itself to patent(s), the sponsor of the project will hold the rights to the patent.

The patent will bear the names of those who were involved in the project.

Examples of Industry Sponsored Senior Design Projects

Current projects Micro Hydro-Electric Generator (Concepts NREC) Robotic Arm Design for the Advanced Unexploded Ordinance Detection System

(Applied Research Associates) Innovative Compact Thermal Imaging Headgear (DRS Technologies) Four Channel Vertical Tissue Bath (iWorx Systems)

Examples from previous years Design and Fabrication of a Motion Monitoring System for CNC Plasma Cutting Tables

(Thermadyne) Test Platform for the ThermoSight High Performance In-line Sniper Scope (FLIR Systems) Radial Blower Test Apparatus (Concepts NREC) Data Acquisition for Gatling Gun 25 mm Round (General Dynamics) Redesigned Violent Battery Testing Apparatus (U.S. Army’s Communications-Electronics

Research, Development and Engineering Center, Fort Monmouth, NJ) Plasma Cutting Qualifying Instrument (Thermadyne)

Other Areas of Collaboration

Collaborative Research Faculty Expertise - Please visit our website: Engineering.Norwich.edu

InternshipsCan lead to sponsored capstone projects and possible job after graduation

Continuing EducationShort courses, workshops