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Project Portfolio

Joseph Beaupre April 2015

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Introduction: I would like to introduce this portfolio by saying “Within this portfolio is a small sample of some of the projects completed by Joseph Beaupre” but I feel that is self-explanatory, since this is a project portfolio written by Joseph Beaupre. Instead, I am going to introduce my portfolio in the preceding manner, mostly because I don’t have any other ideas. Being an electrical engineering student, most of the projects within will have a heavy emphasis on electrical engineering. But I am also just a general maker; anything I can get my hands dirty doing is worth doing. For example, the red and white rocket on the front cover, ASTRo, was painted by me. Speaking of rockets, you might be curious why there are so many on the front cover. I am a member, and director elect, of the Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group (BURPG). We develop the most advanced amateur rockets in the United States, and are one of only two groups the world over working on rockets this advanced. I am mostly involved in the electronics development, focusing on ground support controls and data acquisition systems, as well as telemetry systems. But being one to try my hand at anything, I am very familiar with the more mechanical engineering side of the rockets. While it is not featured in this portfolio, I have done machining, composite layup, 3D printed component design, casting, and large scale system assembly. These skills (and my electronics abilities as well) have also been utilized outside BURPG at my internships and hobby work, both of which are mentioned in brief here. I hope you find these projects of interest.

Work at Boston University

Autoclave Heating Element Controller: The composite nozzle being developed by BURPG for its Starscraper rocket requires an

autoclave to cure the resin preimpregnated phenolic material. Due to the performance requirements of the nozzle, the material of choice required a custom autoclave solution, on top of the fact that commercially available autoclaves are prohibitively expensive. The autoclave we developed has to be capable of reaching 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and 100 psi pressure. My component of the project was to design the interface electronic hardware, allowing the G.O.D. Box (highlighted later) to control the heaters in the autoclave.

This device, referred to as the heater controller, is designed to control 4 heater elements, each up to 3500 watts (for a total of 14000 watts) using a logic high/low signal from the G.O.D. Box, which takes data on the process and handles the control of the autoclave. Heaters can be controlled either individually or simultaneously using hardware selectable settings. There are also numerous safety features, including indicator lights for power to the system and the heaters being on, as well as fuses and safety grounds.

Autoclave

Controller

G.O.D. Box

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Sounding Rocket Telemetry System: For the Starscraper sounding rocket a telemetry system had to be designed. The performance goals for the system were relatively straight forward, but also challenging to meet: -Link distance of 500,000 feet with a bit rate error of .01% -Limited radiation pattern nulls for rocket transmitter antenna -Wide beam width for receiver antenna for simplified aiming -Easy integration into the rocket avionics and ground software systems To meet these goals, link analysis had to be done and research into RF electronics and antenna design needed to be completed. This fostered the design considerations for the separate components of the project, including antenna design and component selection and modification. Rocket Antenna Design:

The antenna on the rocket is a wrap around, vertically polarized patch antenna. This design choice was made after considerations to radiation patterns, design complexity, and mechanical integration into the rocket. The design of the patch antenna took into consideration such details as RF loading, impedance matching, feed network design, material properties, and far field radiation patterns.

Ground Antenna Design:

The ground antenna is a helical antenna to provide circular polarization and moderate directivity. This provides some gain for the antenna while making aiming easier, due to the wide beamwidth. The polarization also means rocket orientation will not affect the ability to receive the signal. The antenna was simulated and optimized using NEC software, and is currently being constructed.

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Hyperion Rev B Ground Support and Data Acquisition Board: The most recently completed PCB project, Hyperion Rev B is currently the data acquisition and ground support control board utilized by BURPG for testing of the Mk V hybrid rocket engine, and launching the Starscraper rocket. Rev B builds off of the many design goals of Rev A, with the addition of: - 4 solenoid valve control channels, providing 12 volts at up to 8 amps - ESD/Over-voltage protected signal inputs - Higher power and high efficiency voltage regulators

- Further optimized board design for lower noise floor using isolated ground planes and integral shielding, arc suppression on relays, and hardware filters

- Full range K-Type thermocouple measurement - 32 GPIO expansion pins from the microcontroller

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Hyperion Rev A Ground Support and Data Acquisition Board: Hyperion, which is the successor to Fill Control Unit, was the main ground support board used by the Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group for testing the Mk IIB hybrid rocket engine. Hyperion takes on two different functionalities. First, it receives commands from the ground support computer to open and close valves to allow fueling of the rockets. During this process, as well as static tests, it then serves as the data acquisition board, collecting vertical and horizontal thrust values, pressure in ground tanks and rocket tanks, and temperature readings for various parts of the rocket. Hyperion has the capabilities to control 8 servos, fire 6 electric matches, read 16 thermocouples, 4 differential bridge sensors, and 8 single ended bridge sensors.

Fill Control Ground Support and Data Acquisition Board: Fill Control Unit (FCU) was the predecessor to Hyperion. It was used for the Mk. IV testing during 2013-2014. Technologies honed on FCU were expanded on to create greater flexibility and reliability for Hyperion. It is occasionally still used in conjunction with Hyperion to expand power supply capacities.

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Ground Operation Devices Box Electronics Integration: The Ground Operation Devices (G.O.D.) box is the box that houses all the ground support electronics for the Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group. It is designed to function as a stand-alone system, not relying on external power input. This is achieved by using a 100 Ah internal battery. Inside, there is also Hyperion and the main ground support computer, an inverter for powering external devices in the field, and a DC-DC power supply for the ground support computer. Access to the equipment is through a removable back cover, while the front has an aluminum panel featuring weather proof connectors, switches, and filtered fans to allow air circulation inside the box.

Electro-Dynamic Screen Driver Circuit: A hurdle in harvesting energy from sunlight is the effect dirt and dust have on the energy collectors used, whether they be solar panels or mirrors. Places that often have the greatest solar energy available also have the greatest issues with dust contamination, such as deserts. Electro-dynamic screens use the repulsive effects of like static charges to move small dust and dirt particles in order to clean solar panels and mirrors. This technology requires no moving parts, is extremely energy efficient, and the electro-dynamic screens can be retrofitted onto existing systems as well as manufactured into new solar panels and mirrors. My component of the project was to take the required operating parameters, and design a cost-effective prototype power supply and screen driver circuit. The circuit had to be adjustable for various operating parameters, allowing run and cycle times to be adjustable for different installations.

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Professional Work: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Wireless Charging System: With UAVs taking on more autonomous roles in the future, such as package delivery, automated support systems need to be developed. This wireless charging system, developed while at FloDesign Inc., is designed to allow the same charging rate the UAV would be capable of using a wired power connection, and achieve this with at least 75% end-to-end efficiency. It also includes automatic UAV detection and shutoff. The theory of operation is that a UAV would autonomously land on the pad, triggering it to start power transmission. A feedback system allows detection of the UAV’s battery reaching full charge, triggering the power transmitter to shut down. Shut down would also occur when the UAV takes off.

Charging and Voltage Regulation Board for Chinese-market Pollution Mask. The increasing pollution issue in major Chinese cities has created the need for filtered masks to ensure people’s health. FloDesign Inc. was hired to create a mask with a built-in fan system to prevent the mask from becoming uncomfortable with prolonged use, and to make breathing easier than it would be inhaling through the filters in traditional masks. For this, a compact-form circuit board had to be developed that included battery charging controllers and voltage boosters for operating the fans. Batteries also had to be specified that offered the required form factor and battery life.

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Personal and Hobby Work: Personal projects are published to Instructables, a DIY community website allowing users to share how-to articles about their work. Updates on the Boston University Rocket Propulsion Group have also been published there, in order to reach out to the large DIY audience. Articles that have been featured on the home page of Instructables have included: DIY Hi-Fi: Grado Headphone Modification DIY Hi-Fi: Class A Hybrid Headphone Amp DIY Hi-Fi: WiBAQ Speakers Pocket Sized Guitar Amp AA Battery Powered “Tesla Coil” There are many other projects, which can be found at the following URL: http://www.instructables.com/member/JoeBeau/