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Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Propulsion and Power
The Regeneratively Cooled Engine Development (R.E.D.) Project, Joseph Traverso, Sharjeel Malik, Ford Catlin
The Regeneratively Cooled Engine Development (R.E.D.) Project, Joseph Traverso, Sharjeel Malik, Ford Catlin
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
The Experimental Rocket Propulsion Lab (ERPL) is a student-run organization dedicated to designing, building, and testing experimental rocket engines. With ERPL transitioning toward flight vehicles, developing engines with longer burn times is critical to future club success. One limitation to burn time is an engine’s ability to withstand extreme combustion temperatures, typically in excess of 5000 F. ERPL engines have found success with passive cooling techniques such as ablative, heatsink, and film cooling, but these techniques aren’t suitable for extended burn times. Therefore, ERPL has created the Regeneratively cooled Engine Development (R.E.D) project, with the objective to design, analyze, and …
Zfq-50 "Radiance", Craig Slovensky, Michael Rath Iii, Kyan Spaete, Long P. Nguyen, Woo Hyun Lee, Roman Czerniejewski
Zfq-50 "Radiance", Craig Slovensky, Michael Rath Iii, Kyan Spaete, Long P. Nguyen, Woo Hyun Lee, Roman Czerniejewski
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
This project presents the preliminary design of the ZFQ-50 "Radiance", a Collaborative Unmanned Vehicle (CUV) built around the VerdeGo VH-5 blended turbofan intended for military defense applications. This design presents a novel aircraft coupled with a powerplant that blends traditional combustion thrust with electrical power output, an new and evolving capability within the aerospace industry. This aircraft was sized considering multiple constraint parameters, configuration trade studies, CFD analysis, and mission requirements including carrier assisted take-off and landing, an effective operational range, and a loiter period with 40 kW of continuous power output from the powerplant. The selected configuration allows for …
Preliminary Jetpack Design For Air, Space, And Sea Applications, Andrew Thummel
Preliminary Jetpack Design For Air, Space, And Sea Applications, Andrew Thummel
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
This course work is intended as an exploratory engineering and design program dedicated to the building and testing of an underwater jetpack design, using dynamic similarity principles to extrapolate how tested results and performance in an underwater environment transition to airborne or zero gravity testing. By testing underwater, it is estimated that the design will attain a Reynolds number in the range of 8 to 10 million, creating novel qualitative research on how a blended wing body jetpack design built at human scale performs and handles in extremely turbulent and high Reynolds number flows.
Satellite Autonomous Launch Assembly (Satlass), Anthony Todisco, Jaden Caradine, Justin Della, Essence Howard, Andrew Hawks, Alexander Kushto, Colin Mccaughey, Javier Narvaez, Frányerson R. López Ochoa, Diana Tormo
Satellite Autonomous Launch Assembly (Satlass), Anthony Todisco, Jaden Caradine, Justin Della, Essence Howard, Andrew Hawks, Alexander Kushto, Colin Mccaughey, Javier Narvaez, Frányerson R. López Ochoa, Diana Tormo
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
The Satellite Autonomous Launch Assembly (SATLASS) is a Cube Satellite deployer whose development falls under the Embry-Riddle Orbital Research Association (ERORA), an organization focusing on CubeSat technology development. Project SATLASS provides hands-on experience in spacecraft subsystem development, including propulsion design, instrumentation, applied structural analysis, and experimental testing. The current objectives of this research are to map pressure changes throughout a high-pressure feed system, evaluate the pressure and velocity response of nitrogen gas after solenoid valve actuation, and determine the most effective nozzle geometry through direct thrust measurements. A static propulsion test stand was designed and fabricated to house a high-pressure …
Turbine Aerodynamics And Performance Characterization, Anuranan Bharadwaj, Kalkamanali Satvaldy, Vincent Shi
Turbine Aerodynamics And Performance Characterization, Anuranan Bharadwaj, Kalkamanali Satvaldy, Vincent Shi
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
This research presents an integrated study combining computational modeling and experimental validation to enhance the design and performance characterization of small-scale turbine systems. The theoretical component focuses on developing an object-oriented Python code for the preliminary design and performance prediction of radial turbines, capable of generating velocity triangles, thermodynamic properties, and geometric parameters from user-defined inputs. The tool employs Whitfield-based correlations and fundamental gas-dynamic relations to estimate exit flow parameters, work ratio, and efficiency, offering flexibility for expansion into geometry export and CAD integration. Complementing the computational model, the experimental component aims to improve the aerodynamic testing capabilities of the …
Magnesium-Enhanced Methane: A Novel Metalized Fuel For Mars Return Missions And Next-Generation Propulsion Systems, Kinga Wysocka
Magnesium-Enhanced Methane: A Novel Metalized Fuel For Mars Return Missions And Next-Generation Propulsion Systems, Kinga Wysocka
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
This research investigates magnesium-enhanced methane as a novel metalized fuel concept for high-performance, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU)-compatible rocket propulsion. While methane is a leading candidate for Mars missions due to its producibility via the Sabatier process, its combustion performance is limited by the high activation energy of the initial C–H bond (~4 eV). To address this limitation, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to analyze methane and hydrogen interactions with a Mg(0001) surface. A converged slab model (3×3×4 and 3×3×5) was validated with energy differences below 1 meV per atom for k-point sampling and ~13.99 meV per atom for …
Experimental Manufacturing Optimization Of 3d-Printed Ducted Fans, Stanlie Cerda-Cruz
Experimental Manufacturing Optimization Of 3d-Printed Ducted Fans, Stanlie Cerda-Cruz
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
This study aims to assess the efficiency gains, feasibility, and practicality of 3D printing fan and ducts with pre and post processing techniques. With the rapid expansion of MAV use; labs, students, hobbyists, can benefit from manufacturing Electric Ducted Fans (EDFs), both fans and ducts, in-house rather than purchasing traditional propellers. There are several advantages of utilizing EDFs, as they can minimize wing tip vortices, reduce wake contraction, and induce a duct lip Coanda effect which all lead to an increased system efficiency. However, EDF implementation in MAV's remain largely unexplored due to the difficulty of development and the production …
Multi-Dimensional Particle-In-Cell With Monte Carlo Collisions (Pic-Mcc) Simulation For Visualizing Plasma Flow And Secondary Ionization In Constricted-Anode Geometries, Parth Thakar
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
Constricted-anode plasma sources generate locally intensified electric fields that enhance ionization near the anode, making them valuable in propulsion and laboratory plasma systems. However, the narrow geometry produces complex charge accumulation and secondary ionization effects that remain difficult to measure experimentally. To address this challenge, our research develops and applies a multi-dimensional Particle-in-Cell with Monte Carlo Collisions (PIC-MCC) simulation of a DC discharge in 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D configurations that model a constricted-anode device. PIC-MCC is a first-principles method that tracks electrons and ions individually while computing self-consistent electric fields and incorporating energy-dependent collision processes. This approach enables direct visualization …
Effect Of Anode Size On The Properties Of Constricted Hollow Anode Pulsed Plasma Source, Nirav Patel, Garret Seckinger
Effect Of Anode Size On The Properties Of Constricted Hollow Anode Pulsed Plasma Source, Nirav Patel, Garret Seckinger
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
With the advent of ion thrusters, burns requiring large velocity changes can be performed with a fraction of the propellant required by traditional chemical rocket engines. However, current ion thrusters produce thrust in the order of millinewtons and thus cannot be viable for launching vehicles or burns requiring velocity changes in a small amount of time. Furthermore, current ion thrusters experience grid and component erosion, where the two grids at the termination of the nozzle slowly erode due to particle impact, and the hot electrodes degrade due to high thermal load. This limits the life of ion engines, which require …
Optimization Of Engine, Jordan Reed, Dev Shah
Optimization Of Engine, Jordan Reed, Dev Shah
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
A matrix-based framework for modeling and optimizing fluid and gas in feed systems to pressurize for propulsion applications using advanced linear algebra techniques will be used in this project. The governing equations are derived from conservation of mass, momentum, and energy and are formulated in state space form. This enables the system to be expressed as a set of coupled linear differential equations. These equations are assembled into structured system matrices that show the interactions between pressure, flow rate, and component dynamics. This representation allows for numerical implementation and scalability to complex systems with multiple components. System behavior is analyzed …
Modeling Seiche Oscillations Using Damped Vibration Differential Equations, Sharjeel Malik, Justin Della
Modeling Seiche Oscillations Using Damped Vibration Differential Equations, Sharjeel Malik, Justin Della
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
Combustion instability in liquid rocket engines is driven by coupling acoustic pressure oscillations and unsteady heat release. To achieve specific desired outcomes, small perturbations can be made to either decay or grow, depending on system dynamics and artificial parameters. Using a linearized eigenvalue framework, where eigenvalues determine growth/decay rates and frequencies, and eigenvectors describe spatial mode shapes and couplings between pressure, velocity, and heat release, a mathematical model can be derived to describe said behavior for a cross-section of the rocket engine. The Rayleigh criterion is used to identify conditions under which energy is added to oscillations, while flame transfer …
Navier Stokes Pressure Drop Derivation, Brayden Benedetti, Gedaliah Dimbert, Jaden Turobiner
Navier Stokes Pressure Drop Derivation, Brayden Benedetti, Gedaliah Dimbert, Jaden Turobiner
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
Accurate prediction of pressure losses in propellant and fluid feed systems is essential for reliable design and operation of aerospace and industrial flow networks. This project presents a systematic derivation of a practical pressure drop calculator for a feed system using isopropyl alcohol, beginning from the fundamental conservation laws and culminating in an engineering-level computational model. Starting with the differential form of the Navier–Stokes equations for incompressible flow, the governing equations are simplified through a series of physically justified assumptions, including steady-state flow, negligible body forces, and fully developed internal flow within circular piping. The resulting momentum balance is reduced …