AVA N ALTON

ION

Project ION is a 50-inch high-power research vehicle intended for validating modular and 3D-printed aerospace structures for upcoming NASA Student Launch events. The mission architecture includes a high-strength NylonX airframe and AeroTech J415W propulsion to deliver a 3D-printed robotic payload, SOL, to a target altitude of 6,200 feet. The vehicle includes a dual deployment recovery system consisting of a 15-inch drogue parachute and a 100-inch main parachute for a safe and controlled rate of 15 feet per second. The flight and recovery events are executed using a Featherweight avionics system, while the SOL payload includes autonomous functions for collecting and analyzing soil samples and measuring pH levels for determining habitability.

To break through the 10-inch vertical build height limitation of the Bambu X1 Carbon, a customized module-based airframe design is implemented, consisting of a 10-inch fin can with airfoil fins, a 10-inch shouldered lower body tube, and a 15-inch upper section divided into two pieces of 7.5 inches each. NylonX-Carbon Fiber Reinforced Nylon is selected as the primary material for its high strength-to-weight ratio. To achieve optimal material integrity and interlaminar properties, a 12-hour desiccation cycle is applied to the filament material prior to printing by exposing it to 150°F. This removes moisture-induced porosity, allowing the 3D-printed rocket to endure extreme loads during high-power flight.

The rocket itself is propelled via an AeroTech J415W, which is a reloadable rocket motor. It has the ability to attain a peak thrust of 556N. It has the potential of attaining an apogee of 6,200 feet. Simulations have indicated that the rocket has the potential of attaining a high velocity as it leaves the launch rail, thus ensuring aerodynamic stability. It has the potential of attaining a top speed of Mach 0.7. The rocket has been chosen based on the fact that it has the ability to test the performance of the 3D-printed trapezoidal fins at high transonic flow.

The heart of this recovery system is the Featherweight avionics module, which is contained within its own 1-inch COTS coupler made by Madcow Rocketry. The avionics module is designed to protect the barometric and inertial sensors from the high G-forces of launch. The module controls the precision timing of the dual deployment charges that fire the 15-inch drogue parachute at apogee and the 100-inch main parachute at a predetermined lower altitude. During the entire flight, the system records real-time telemetry information such as altitude, velocity, and acceleration.

SOL has a payload of its own, which is an autonomous robot contained within the 14-inch parabolic nose cone. After landing, the autonomous robot navigates the 100-foot radius from the landing site. It has a fully 3-D-printed body with four limbs, each of which has dual MG90 servos. It has a fully 3-D-printed body with four limbs, each of which has dual MG90 servos. It has three collection vessels, which store the collected soil samples. It has the ability to analyze the pH levels of the collected samples. It is the base model of the SLU RPL payload initiative. It has the ability to analyze the pH levels of the collected samples. It has the ability to analyze the pH levels of the collected samples. It has the ability to analyze the pH levels of the collected samples. It has the ability to analyze the pH levels of the collected samples. It has the ability to analyze the pH levels of the collected samples.

BALEEN

The BALEEN project has the main goal of creating autonomous systems aimed at alleviating the world crisis of micro plastic pollution, using aquatic biomimicry-inspired filters. Through the study of the high-efficiency filtration mechanisms of the Baleen whales, the team of engineers created the filtrations system, which comprises fibers used to trap the micro plastic. As the team has grown, the projects have expanded from the incorporation of these filters to flow optimization, breaking down the micro plastic, other aquatic filter nations, as well as underwater drones equipt with a series of these filters, which is the research I conducted. The mission of the project has the goal of deploying autonomous underwater drones, which can navigate through the water, effectively feeding on the micro plastic, thereby alleviating the aquatic ecosystem crisis.

The Aqua Vitae is used as the sub-scale proof of concept for the proposed BALEEN filtration architecture. The drone is designed to possess a 10-inch wingspan, mimicking the airfoil profile of the AH 93-W-480B wing for maximum hydrodynamic lift and minimized drag during low-velocity filtration sweeps. The drone airframe is created using 3D printing technology and includes a unique frontal intake system for water flow directly through the baleen-inspired filters. As part of its high versatility in land-based applications, this drone is designed for operation in various waterways and is intended for localized microplastic collection and water analysis at a reduced cost.

As a research project under the auspices of the MSOG (Missouri Space Grant Consortium), my research project this past summer involved a transformation of the BALEEN architecture from terrestrial to extraterrestrial exploration. This research project was specifically concerned with the icy and highly irradiated environment of the moon of Europa, one of the moons of the planet Jupiter. This moon is of particular interest due to the subsurface oceanic environment that may support the presence of microorganisms. This project sought to determine the potential of the BALEEN filtration system for the detection of biological life in the extraterrestrial aquatic environment. The filters, therefore, are no longer for filtering plastic but for filtering biological materials to determine if life exists in these distant aquatic environments.

In order for the vehicle to survive in the cryogenic environments and Jovian belts, the material composition was reassessed for space-grade performance. The structural airframe was changed to Polyether ether ketone and Carbon Fiber, which are mechanically ductile in extreme cold environments and can withstand radiation damage. Additionally, the electronics system within the drone utilizes Radiation Hardened Silicon on Insulator technology to protect the autonomous systems from high-energy particles. This ensures that the drone maintains structural integrity while traveling through the high-pressure, sub-zero aquatic environments in the outer solar system.

Starlance

Starlance is a high-performance sounding rocket built for the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition. The rocket was engineered to compete in the 10,000 ft SRAD competition, which is part of the Student Researched and Developed category. It is a hybrid rocket made from in-house airframe components and a custom-made solid propellant. The mission design involved a fiberglass nose cone and upper body tube, along with a lower airframe built using an X-winder filament winding machine. The main mission objective was to validate a proof-of-concept experimental energy harvesting device based on the Seebeck effect, which would be used to power a bone conduction acoustic communication device during recovery.

In the role of Payload Lead, I led the design of a thermoelectric generator system, which aimed at harnessing the potential of the temperature gradient to generate electrical current. The system comprised four Peltier modules, which were oriented to take advantage of the temperature gradient between the solar-heated airframe and the actively cooled interior. In order to cool the cold side of the Peltier, I also created a copper vapor pipe heat sink, which utilized a 5V battery-powered fan. The generated electrical current powered the payload's 'brain,' which comprised an Arduino Nano microcontroller with a data logger, thereby successfully driving a bone conduction transducer, thereby essentially creating a speaker from the payload structure.

The propulsion system used for Starlance was a high-performance, student-designed M-Class Solid Motor, which used an in-house-designed Mixed Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant. The motor was tested for safety and structural integrity by conducting three successful static fire tests, after which the motor was ready for integration. The motor performed admirably during operation, producing a peak thrust of 4,780 N and an average thrust of 3,838 N, thus producing a total impulse of 11,747 N/s. The high-performance propulsion system was carefully designed to provide the high thrust-weight ratio necessary to carry the experiment, Seebeck, to the desired altitude.

Starlance excelled greatly in the IREC competition, where a successful ignition and steady ascent to a total height of 9,597 feet AGL were attained. This achievement, coupled with the successful integration of the SRAD motor, enabled the team to achieve 4th Place in the SRAD Category and a 36th Place overall ranking, which comprised over 150 teams worldwide. These successes attest to the structural integrity of our in-house filament-wound airframe and the reliability of our student-designed propellant and payload systems.

Resume

View my full Resume below. You can also download a copy here.

Elements

i = 0;

while (!deck.isInOrder()) {
    print 'Iteration ' + i;
    deck.shuffle();
    i++;
}

print 'It took ' + i + ' iterations to sort the deck.';