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Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering
Spacecraft Fire Safety Research: Combustion Of Lithium-Ion Batteries To Predict Fire Scenarios, Elisabeth Meyer
Spacecraft Fire Safety Research: Combustion Of Lithium-Ion Batteries To Predict Fire Scenarios, Elisabeth Meyer
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
The purpose of this project was to research characteristics of a Lithium-ion battery fire to determine if trends exist in measured fire characteristics that can help predict different fire scenarios. These experiments will ultimately aid in developing an alarm threshold for a spacecraft smoke detector, specifically for Orion, a new, multi-purpose crew vehicle under development by NASA. Orion is the next-generation of spacecraft designed to replace the space shuttle and will play an important role in NASA’s journey to Mars.
In the experiments performed, Lithium-ion batteries were placed in a test chamber and ignited while smoke concentration was measured, simulating …
Design Of Shape-Conforming Nosecone For Optimal Fluid Flow From Transonic To Supersonic Range, Anna Tombazzi
Design Of Shape-Conforming Nosecone For Optimal Fluid Flow From Transonic To Supersonic Range, Anna Tombazzi
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
Modern flight vehicles, such as rockets, missiles, and airplanes, experience a force caused by forebody wave drag during the flight. This drag force is induced when the frontal point of each vehicle breaks the pressure wave during flight. Efforts to reduce this wave drag force to improve flight efficiency include modifying the nosecone profile of the flight vehicles to lower the drag force.
This project revolved around creating a design to make the transformation of nosecone shapes from a ¾ Parabolic profile to a ½ Power Series profile possible, mid-flight. Using a novel nosecone assembly, shape memory alloys (SMAs) and …
Guardian Condor, Kevin Bayonnet
Guardian Condor, Kevin Bayonnet
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
Our group has teamed up with Dr. Williams from Discovery Lab Global to research the capabilities of 3D printed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The goal of our project is to deliver a 3D printed glider prototype which can later be fitted with electronics for controlled flight. The glider must also carry a payload of 2 to 3 pounds in addition to the electronics. These requirements must be met all while using a basic 3D printer with low cost plastic
Throughout the Fall 2017 semester, our group made a significant amount of progress by completing the conceptual design portion of the …