Engineering Commons^™

Aerodynamic Effects Of Phase Offset Between Synchronized Propellers In Hover, Nathan Welker, Daniel Maynes

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Emerging advances in electric-propulsion technology are enabling aircraft to use distributed electric propulsion (DEP) to increase efficiency and maneuverability. The implementation of DEP effectively decreases the spacing between propellers, introducing complex aerodynamic interactions that are not well understood. This study presents the use of stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (SPIV) to obtain 3D velocity measurements of the flow fields of phase locked and synchronized propellers at close proximity in a side-by-side configuration. These experiments were performed to explore the aerodynamic effect of phase offset between the propellers. It was found that while the propeller interactions cause an induced upwash and a …

Internal Wave Generation By Multiple Peak Topographies, Natsha Wilson, Julie Crockett

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Internal waves are generated in the oceans and atmosphere and play an important role in their energy budgets. The semidiurnal oscillation of the tides over topography in the oceans combined with the density stratification can create internal waves that radiate away from their source. The effect of multiple peaks on a single topography has on internal wave generation is explored. Initial results begin to show that multiple ridges create two parallel IW beams with smaller IWs between them compared to the single beam created by a one ridge topography. Kinetic energy is also tightly clustered at lower wavenumbers in Fourier …

Refill Friction Stir Spot Welding As An Alternative Jointing Method For Wing Spar Structures, Paul Blackhurst, Yuri Hovanski, Andrew Curtis

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Refill Friction Stir Spot Welding (RFSSW) is an emerging solid state joining process for thin sheet aluminum. Many researchers are developing RFSSW process parameters, thus enabling the use of RFSSW in many industries. Some work within this development has been on the application of RFSSW to wing spar stringer and skin joining. This is thanks to the RFSSW process being capable of welding the high-strength aluminum alloys used for wing spar construction. Traditionally wing spar joining has been achieved using rivets. This newer method has the potential to improve the strength, reduce the weight, and lower the cost of wing …

Development Of Optical Systems For In-Situ Measurements Of High-Temperature Combustion Plumes, Cara Frischkorn, Stephen A. Whitmore

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Results from proof-of-concept tests using fiber-optic cables inserted into the combustion port of a lab-scale hybrid rocket system are reported. The fiber optic cables transmit optical signals to miniature spectrometers and allow in-situ optical characterization of the combustion plume properties including flame temperature and combustion plume species. Multiple firings with burn durations varying from 5 to 25 seconds were performed. The fiber optic sensors survived all tests and resulting rocket performance data were correlated with in-situ optical spectra data. When the optical measurements were adjusted to account for the spectrometer transfer function and the resulting spectra were curve-fit to Planck's …

Ionosphere/Thermosphere Dynamics Obtained From Cosmic Satellite Observations, Layne Pedersen, Ludger Scherliess

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The morphology and climatology of thermospheric neutral winds play an important role in ionospheric and thermospheric dynamics. Thermospheric neutral winds effect temporal and spatial variations of ionospheric plasma which plays an important role F-region dynamics. However, direct observations of thermospheric neutral winds are historically limited both temporally and spatially [1]. For example, interferometric methods for measuring thermospheric winds are restricted to nighttime observations and cloudless conditions and are limited to relatively few locations. Space-based observations made by cross-track measurements from accelerometers as well as onboard interferometers and spectrometers provide valuable information of thermospheric winds but coverage is inconsistent over a …

Acoustic Analysis Of The Delta Iv Heavy Launch Vehicle, Griffin Houston, Grant W. Hart, Kent L. Gee

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The Delta IV Heavy is an orbital heavy class launch vehicle that has been in operation since 2004. In this study, the overall sound power level and other acoustic properties of the Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle will be calculated and analyzed. Five data acquisition systems with a wide frequency bandwidth were placed in a far-field arc around a 2021 launch. Using a weighted mean to compare results across stations, a maximum overall sound pressure level (OASPL) of 140 dB and an average maximum polar directivity angle of 69 deg were calculated. An overall sound power level of 198 dB …

Selecting Appropriate Axis Of Movement For Accurate Breath Detection, Magaly Sencion, Joe Orr, Lara Brewer

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression can be characterized as a severe side effect of opioid therapy that is well known for causing high mortality rates in the postoperative period. Other than suppressing various respiration parameters, like those such as respiration rate or tidal volume, the effects of opioids can lead to irregular breathing patterns.

A 3-axis accelerometer has been proposed as an affordable respiratory sensor to detect suppressed respiratory drive. The challenge is to identify the best signal of three recorded axes.

In this study, we tested an algorithm that could automatically detect the best signal of the three recorded axes (x,y, …

Modeling Brown Dwarf Atmospheres In Preparation For Jwst Observations, Brayden Roberts, Joshua Lothringer

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Using three inputs, metallicity, effective temperature, and surface gravity, we can model a BD to simulate traits like pressure, temperature, density, spectra, etc.

By comparing the modeled spectra with observed spectra, we can make changes to our models to make them more accurate.

An Estimate Of The Distance To An Ser Using An Rr Lyrae Period-Luminosity Relationship, Cordelia Latham, Julia Kamenetzky

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Cepheid variable stars have been used as “standard candles” to find distances to other stars. The fluctuation of brightness in variable stars can help identify their distance by comparing the apparent luminosity to the absolute luminosity as determined by a relationship between the period of the fluctuation and the absolute luminosity of the star (called the period-luminosity relationship). Stars that have shorter periods with a lower luminosity than Cepheid variables can be classified as RR Lyrae stars, which are particularly useful for estimating distances to the oldest stellar clusters.

Byu Propulsion Development – Experimental Lox/Paraffin Hybrid Rocket, Jayson Davis, Lincoln Stewart, Logan Morse, David Andelin, Joshua Cook, Brennen Dover, Cameron Van Dyke, Cole Halverson, Elizabeth Barnett, Eric Christie, Gerritt Graham, Jacob Hansen, Jason Metten, Kendall Green, Matt Bozer, Oscar Escobar, Samuel Craven, Zachary Lyman, Courtney Payne, Ben Larson, Tyson Butterfield

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The "Blue Jay" is a 12 ft., LOX and paraffin hybrid rocket with a designed total impulse of 20,330 Ns. The rocket will have its maiden flight summer 2022 at the Friends of Amateur Rocketry with a target altitude of 10,000 ft. above ground level. The rocket is expected to weigh around 100 lbs. dry. This is BYU's first hybrid rocket, and one of the first LOX paraffin hybrids to be flown. The rocket is divided into four subsystems: structures and recovery, electronics and controls, plumbing, and propulsion.

Mars Rover Challenge, Miguel Urbina Rivera, Jake Nance, James Sorge, Austin Stone, Connor Mattson, Michael Bronson, Ben Glines, Ben Graff, Brad Ferguson, Dallin Cordon, Alex Wonnacott, Charlie Tainter, Mckay Christensen, Alejandro Brozalez, Joe Liechty, Daniel Cheney, Alexa Lindberg, Marc Killpack, Brianna Bischoff, Dinah Bronson, Chris Sypherd, Berrett Robinson, Kyle Rippstein, Blake Harsh, Matthew Wilding, Aaron Newman, Rock Kim, Colin Rubow

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Our objective is to develop a competition ready rover as defined by scoring 95% or higher in each of the four University Rover Challenge (URC) tasks, within a budget of 14,000 by March 14th, 2022

Usu’S Gaspacs Cubesat, Jack Danos, Carter Page, Shawn Jones, Ben Lewis

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The Get Away Special Passive Attitude Control Satellite (GASPACS) is a 1U CubeSat technology demonstration mission designed to test inflatable structures in space. The project aims to present a possible solution to the limited capacities of spacecraft by providing an inflatable boom that can be packed into a small space and then expanded into something much larger. GASPACS is the world’s first completely undergraduate CubeSat as well as the first satellite to use a Raspberry Pi as its onboard computer.

Asteroids, Binaries, And Cepheid Variables: The Abc's Of Ktp Observatory, Jade Hills, Alyssa Stauffer, Stacy Palen, Anemone Burkey, Erik Britton, Chloe Jones, Zachary Kennedy, Carson Matthews, Jordyn Redmond, Nathan Tanner

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The observatory research team spends time operating a telescope to gather data on countless astronomical targets, such as asteroids, binary star systems, and cepheid variables to name a few. Our team is made up of WSU undergraduate students pursuing studies in astrophysics, material science, and nuclear physics, and computer engineering. Our work as a team strengthens us as students and physicists by giving us opportunities to do our own research, experience in work that will prepare us for our fields, and a learning environment outside of a traditional classroom. We as a team work together closely alongside our advisor Dr. …

Building A Foundation For Autonomous Navigation, David Goodrich, Ashton Young, Abraham Teng

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Using Robot Operating System (ROS), safely navigate obstacles in environments without human input. Given a GPS target, the robot should autonomously drive to the goal avoiding obstacles and impassable terrain. Build an environment map using odometry, camera and lidar information for future path planning.

Simulated Icrh In A Vasimr, Benjamin Miera, Phil Matheson

Utah Space Grant Consortium

A Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) uses Ion Cyclotron Resonant Heating (IRCH) to heat a plasma near a magnet nozzle. Thrust is generated as the plasma expands through the nozzle. A VASIMR is expected to develop several Newtons of thrust and exhaust velocities of up to 50,000 m/s. Although the VASIMR plasma is collisional, an upper limit of the efficiency of a VASIMR may be explored by modeling the pumping of the magnetic moment of an ion with circularly polarized IRCH RF fields.

Nominally the magnetic moment of an ion, which is the ratio of its perpendicular kinetic energy …

Imaging Waves In Space, James Morley, Kim Nielsen

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Atmospheric gravity waves are disturbances in the atmosphere and near-space environments caused by displacement of air in a stable environment. These waves transport energy away from the source of the disturbance and can transfer large amounts of energy between atmospheric regions through wave dissipation. One of the regions of most energy transfer is the mesopause region, in the transition between the Earth's atmosphere and the near-space environment. This is a region that is difficult to observe, but the presence of certain atoms and molecules allows for remote sensing of faint emissions named airglow. As the waves passes through the airglow, …

Characteristics Of Reverse Hybrid Rocket Propellants Based On Nanomaterials, Sierra Padilla, Jessica North, Amber Stricklen

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The purpose of this project is to create dense and porous 3D macrostructures to store nanoenergetic hybrid propellants through the formation of graphene organogels and by incorporating fuel and inorganic oxidizers by applying the resulting compound to rocket propulsion. Graphene organogels raise the reactivity of the hybrid propellants because of the increased surface and volumetric area for more reactions to occur. Hybrid propellants have advantages over liquid and solid propellants, with lower toxicity and reactivity than either propellant on its own. The organogels also have an immense amount of mechanical strength. Since functionalized graphene oxide (FGO) structures have electrostatic interactions, …

Achieving Low-Variation Deployable Panels For Space Telescope Applications, Jared Hunter, Spencer Magleby

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology uses short bursts of high frequency laser light to gather data used for critical NRO and NASA measurements (atmospheric gases, surface topography, vegetation, etc.). Reducing the size and complexity of LiDAR satellites will lower cost and allow for more frequent missions.

Emission Expedition: A Spectral Study Of 800,000 Galaxies, Saxon Stockton, Christian Draper

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Star forming regions and AGN are both strongly associated with emission lines. What can a large sample study of emission lines in galactic spectra tell us about the star formation and AGN history of the universe? We use data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to observe changes in the number of emission line galaxies, star forming galaxies, and AGN with redshift. We obtained the spectra for close to 800,000 galaxies out to a redshift of about z = 0.6 from Data Release 16 of the SDSS. This gives a sample size large enough to draw conclusions about the …

Open Source Antenna Pattern Measurement System -- Phase Ii, Matthew Finger, Christian Hearn, Ren Fisher, Justin Knighton

Utah Space Grant Consortium

No abstract provided.

Lunar Mining: Designing An Improved Mining System, Evan Cleveland, Rian Simpson, Trevor Mcfarland, Chandler Millar, Alexander Charters, Arthur Steur, Andrew Tolton, Noah Graber, Rene Valles, Sebastien De Villiers, Leaticia Mimche, Nathan Yonkee, Jonathan Warner, Michael Lukowski, Daniel Robinson, Mandy Zheng, Haley Platas, Greyson Mitra, Najman Husaini, Alexander Gill, Lincoln Sand, Shing Ho, Parker King, Byron Liu

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The annual NASA Robotic Mining Challenge: Lunabotics tasks teams with building robots capable of traversing and mining simulated Lunar terrain. The material to mine is approximately 30-45 cm below the surface regolith, and is represented using gravel.

This year, Utah Student Robotics built upon an already successful platform from the 2020-2021 robot. With the biggest changes being the removal of the carbon fiber rocker bogie design and the implementation of a improved sliding mechanism to extend the digging module.

Launch Vehicle Acoustics Research, Taggart Durrant, Carson Cunningham, Kent Gee, Grant Hart, Mark Anderson, Logan Mathews, Griffin Houston, Michael Bassett, Matthew Yancey, Samuel Olausson

Utah Space Grant Consortium

No abstract provided.

Long-Range Autonomous Aerial Package Delivery Via Aggieair 55-Pound Suas, Nathan Schwemmer, Tex Johnson, Chase Vance, Brandon Dearden, Stockton Slack, Cal Coopmans, Dan Robinson, David Crummitt

Utah Space Grant Consortium

This project includes the development of a package delivery system for AggieAir’s long-range sUAS to enable the vehicle to deliver packages autonomously to rural areas.

Rr Lyrae Metallicity In Gaia Data Release 2, Justin Bates, Fernando Araujo, Tyler Trotter, Jonathan Barnes

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Metallicities of RR Lyrae stars can be determined by Fourier parameters of their light curves (Jurcsik and Kovacs 1996). Clementini et al. (2019) analyzed Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) for RR Lyrae stars and determined metallicities through this method. In this work we attempt to re-determine RR Lyrae membership of known globular clusters from the Gaia data and compare derived metallicities to published globular cluster metallicity values. Early results indicate that the Jurcsik and Kovacs method may be better for c-type RR Lyrae stars.

Construction And Characterization Of The Fiber Coupled Diode Laser For A Baga4se7 Non-Linear Optical System, Alexander Gibb, York Young, Brantson Wayman

Utah Space Grant Consortium

One way to probe tissue for disease is via long wave infrared spectroscopy. This technique uses wavelength dependent absorption of specific molecules which serve as early indicators of disease onset in human tissue.

Though proven to work, this method of using long wave spectroscopy to probe tissue is not widely used. This is because detectors that function in the long wave infra red (LWIF) are generally expensive, cryogenically cooled and slow.

Another deterrent is that typical LWIF light sources, such as quantum cascade lasers, (QCL) are difficult to tune over wavelength ranges spanning several microns. This limits the molecule types, …

Analyzing Electron Yield Decay Curves With The Electron Emission Spectra, Matthew Robertson, Jr Dennison

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Electron emission is when electrons escape from the surface of a material. Emissions can be caused by many different mechanisms such as thermionic effects, photon, electron, or ion radiation. When energy is imparted to a material, it can cause electron emissions. Emitted electrons have an energy distribution or emission spectra. Figure 1 shows the emission spectra of gold when irradiated with an ~80 eV electron beam. Emission spectra are related to the work function for metals or the electron affinity for insulators. The goal of this research is to measure the work function or electron affinity of a material using …

Effect Of Various Inlet Distortion Patterns On Distortion Transfer And Generation At The Near-Stall Operating Point, Andrew Bedke, Steven Gorrell

Utah Space Grant Consortium

An increased understanding of how inlet flow distortion affects transonic fans enables improved fan design and performance prediction. Inlet distortion refers to non-uniformities in the incoming flow properties. Complex inlet ducts in high performance aircraft result in distorted flow at the fan inlet. In this paper, Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) simulations were used to investigate how the P_t gradient between the clean and distorted sector in the inlet profile affects distortion transfer and generation through a transonic fan. Variants with an increasingly more gradual P_t gradient at the boundary of the distorted sector were applied at the fan …

Preliminary Concepts For Magnetic Actuation And Stabilization Of Origami-Based Space Arrays, Hunter T. Pruett, Nathan M. Coleman, Spencer P. Magleby

Utah Space Grant Consortium

A framework for the generalization of pairs of cuboid magnets embedded in origami-based hinges is presented. Various design variables for the framework are defined. Two novel self-actuation and self-stabilizing hinges (the MaLO hinge and the MaLDO hinge) are presented. The characterization of these hinges is defined, and the hinges are shown in application. The presented applications are the VEMO reflect array antenna design and a deployable truss.

Exploring Depth Adjustable Embedded Membrane Joints, Collin Ynchausti, Larry L. Howell

Utah Space Grant Consortium

This work presents methods for using membrane joints in origami-inspired mechanisms. Our method takes the previously presented hinge ideas of the Regionally Compliant Sheets (ReCS) method and the Compliant Rolling Contact Element (CORE) joint, and builds upon them to provide a hinge that has the benefits of being adhered between sheets using clamping with no adhesive needed, preserving panel volume that can be used as hard stops, and keeping the stress in the bending membrane below the yield stress, while reducing the parasitic motion of previous membrane joints. Two different configurations are presented: The Contacting Circles Embedded Membrane and the …

Selecting And Optimizing Origami Flasher Pattern Configurations For Finite-Thickness Deployable Space Arrays, Katie Varela, Diana Bolanos, Brandon Sargent, Larry L. Howell, Spencer P. Magleby

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Design parameters of the flasher pattern can be modified to meet a variety of design objectives for deployable array applications. The focus of this paper is to improve understanding of design parameters, objectives, and trade offs of origami flasher pattern configurations. Emphasis is placed on finite-thickness flasher models suitable for engineering applications. The methods presented aim to provide clarity on the effects of tuning flasher parameters based on existing synthesis tools. An optimization technique is implemented and results are presented to converge on optimal design parameters for a specific case study. Lastly, an approach used to develop thick flasher arrays …