Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Rarified Water Vapor Deposition From Icy Lunar Regolith On An Engineered Cold Plate, Nathaniel Ian Jurado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This work presents the fundamental ice collection experiments conducted under rarefied flow regime to develop a high-capacity cryogenic heat pipe for ice recollection on the Moon’s surface. Preliminary ice collection experiments are conducted under cryogenic vacuum environment of 1.5 × 10-2 Torr and -60 °C. The characterization of water vapor sublimation rates from icy lunar regolith (JSC-1A) at various heating powers is established by utilizing a cryogenic thermal vacuum chamber (T-VAC). A custom-built engineered cold plate is designed, manufactured and tested at various degrees of subcooling and vapor sublimation rates. A thin film heater is embedded within the cold plate …

Low Weight Design Of A Pressure-Fed System For A Small Payload Launch Vehicle, Lucero Buendia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites have become of great interests to aerospace industries because of their low-cost, lightweight and their tailorable mechanical properties. In aerospace structures, for example, heavy metals have been used in cryogenic fuel and oxidizer tanks for over 50 years. However, weight savings can be substantial if materials such as composites are used instead. From Delta IV heavy-lift launch vehicle it is known that cryogenic composite tanks can save approximately up to 30% of weight in fuel and oxidizer tanks. Although there is a wealth of studies in the mechanical behavior of composites at room temperature, …

Development And Integration Of The Janus Robotic Lander: A Liquid Oxygen - Liquid Methane Propulsion System Testbed, Raul Ponce

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Initiatives have emerged with the goal of sending humans to other places in our solar system. New technologies are being developed that will allow for more efficient space systems to transport future astronauts. One of those technologies is the implementation of propulsion systems that use liquid oxygen and liquid methane (LO2-LCH4) as propellants.

The benefits of a LO2-LCH4 propulsion system are plenty. One of the main advantages is the possibility of manufacturing the propellants at the destination body. A space vehicle which relies solely on liquid oxygen and liquid methane for its main propulsion and reaction control engines is necessary …

Cryogenic System Development For Lox/ Hydrocarbon Propulsion Research, Francisco Pineda

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A propulsion research facility is being developed at the Center for Space Exploration Technology Research (cSETR) at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). These facilities were developed in order to meet new research demand for Liquid Oxygen (LOX)/Liquid methane (LCH4) experiments. The main goal of this system is to produce in-house liquid methane and supply propellants to their respective test set up in a cryogenic state. The work presented describes the design, development, and operation of a liquid methane condensation system and a cryogenic delivery feed system. The condensation system design will allow for a production of methane …