Date of Last Revision
2023-05-03 12:52:48
Major
Mechanical Engineering - Cooperative Education
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science
Date of Expected Graduation
Spring 2019
Abstract
The following report has been completed over the course of the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters at The University of Akron by Joseph P. Stack (Aerospace Systems Engineering), Thomas J. Wheeler (Mechanical Engineering) and Zachary M. Williams (Mechanical Engineering). The purpose of this project was to create a payload system for the Akronauts Rocket Design Team to use at the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) Spaceport America Cup. The Competition as a challenge that is sponsored by Space Dynamics Laboratory specifically regarding payload systems. The challenge in very open-ended and allows student to identify their own scientific experiment and design it to a form that can fit in the launch vehicle.
The team chose to model the experiment for the Senior Design and Honors Research project at UA. The project is an autonomous UAV that deploys from the launch vehicle during descent, flies to a nearby body of water, collects a water sample, and flies back to base camp. This is modeled after a NASA mission planned for 2025 that will send a quadcopter to Saturn’s moon Titan. The team scaled down the mission objectives for the sake of prototyping and will focus on the autonomous flight and the sample collection.
Several vehicle options and sample types were considered in the early design phase. Ultimately a quadcopter that can obtain a water sample via a small DC pump and nylon tubing. The UAV will have a 3D printed body with a variety of off-the-shelf components that are compatible with software packages that the team has access to.
Research Sponsor
Dr. Francis Loth
First Reader
Dr. Ajay Mahajan
Second Reader
Joseph Beck
Recommended Citation
Wheeler, Thomas; Williams, Zachary; and Stack, Joseph, "Space Dynamics Laboratory Payload Challenge: Autonomous Water Sampling UAV" (2019). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 831.
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/831
Included in
Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics Commons, Computer-Aided Engineering and Design Commons, Manufacturing Commons, Navigation, Guidance, Control and Dynamics Commons, Other Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons, Space Habitation and Life Support Commons, Systems Engineering and Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Commons