The Effect of Acceleration on the Crystallization of Sodium Acetate

PROJECT HOT ICE

Part I: Vehicle

• December 7 Begin work on scale model• January 4 Scale model completed• January 13 Scale model test flight• February 15 Full scale vehicle completed• February 22 Sustainer test flight• March 15 Two stage rocket test flight• March 22 Payload test flight• April 15 – 16 Rocket fair and safety check• April 17 – 18SLI launch weekend

Major Milestone Schedule

1. First stage burn, reaction starts

2. Stage separation

3. Booster coasts to its apogee and

deploys drogue parachute

4. Booster deploys main parachute

5. Booster lands safely

6. Second stage motor burn

7. Sustainer reaches apogee, deploys

drogue parachute

8. Descent under drogue

9. Main parachute deploys, slowing

rocket to safe landing speed

10. Sustainer lands safely

Flight Sequence

• Stable launch of the vehicle • Target altitude of one mile reached• Smooth stage separation• Second stage ignition• Proper deployment of all parachutes• Safe recovery of the booster and the

sustainer

Vehicle Success Criteria

Length 120”Diameter 4”Liftoff weight 21 lbs (9 kg)Motor K1100T

CP 70” (from nosetip)CG 93” (from nosetip)Static Margin 5.75 calibers

Entire Vehicle

Length 82”Diameter 4”Liftoff weight 14 lbs (6 kg)Motors AT-K1100T (booster),

AT-J1299N (sustainer)

CP 51” (from nosetip)CG 63” (from nosetip)Static Margin 3 calibers

Sustainer

Letter Part Letter PartA Nosecone H Payload Bay

B Main Sustainer Parachute I Booster Drogue Parachute

C Sustainer E-Bay J Drogue Sustainer Parachute

D Sustainer Fins K Sustainer Motor Mount

E Interstage coupler L Booster Main Parachute

F Booster E-Bay M Payload Electronics

G Booster Fins N Booster Motor Mount

Vehicle Schematics

• Fins: 1/32” G10 fiberglass + 1/8” balsa sandwich• Body: fiberglass tubing, fiberglass couplers• Bulkheads: 1/2” plywood • Motor Mounts: 54mm phenolic tubing, 1/2” plywood

centering rings • Nosecone: commercially made plastic nosecone• Rail Buttons: standard nylon rail buttons• Motor Retention system: Aeropack screw-on motor

retainer• Anchors: 1/4” stainless steel U-Bolts• Epoxy: West System with appropriate fillers

Construction Materials

Thrust Curve

Acceleration Profile

Velocity Profile

Altitude Profile

Booster SustainerFlight Stability Static Margin 5.75 3.00

Thrust to Weight Ratio

11.53 20.43

Velocity at Launch Guide Departure:

68 mph(launch rail length 144”)

Flight Safety Parameters

Wp - ejection charge weight in pounds. dP - ejection charge pressure, 15psiV - free volume in cubic inches. R - combustion gas constant, 22.16 ft- lbf/lbm R for

FFFF black powder.T - combustion gas temperature, 3307 degrees R

Ejection Charge Calculations

Ejection charges will be verified in static testing when the vehicle is fully constructed.

Section Ejection ChargeBooster (Drogue) 2.0 g (of FFFF black powder)Booster (Main) N/A (The main uses an ARRD

for deployment)

Sustainer (Drogue) 1.6 gSustainer (Main) N/A (The main uses an ARRD

for deployment)

Stage Separation Charge 0.8 g

Calculated Ejection Charges

Component Weight Parachute Diameter

Descent Rate

Booster 62 oz. 12 in.(drogue)

53 fpsBooster 62 oz. 36 in.

(main)18 fps

Sustainer 199 oz. 24 in.(drogue)

48 fpsSustainer 199 oz. 60 in.

(main)19 fps

Parachutes

Tested Components

• C1: Body (including construction techniques)• C2: Altimeter• C3: Data Acquisition System (custom computer board and sensors)• C4: Parachutes• C5: Fins• C6: Payload• C7: Ejection charges• C8: Launch system• C9: Motor mount• C10: Beacons• C11: Shock cords and anchors• C12: Rocket stability• C13: Second stage separation and ignition electronics/charges

Verification Plan

Verification Tests• V1 Integrity Test: applying force to verify durability.• V2 Parachute Drop Test: testing parachute functionality.• V3 Tension Test: applying force to the parachute shock cords to test • durability• V4 Prototype Flight: testing the feasibility of the vehicle with a scale model.• V5 Functionality Test: test of basic functionality of a device on the ground• V6 Altimeter Ground Test: place the altimeter in a closed container and decrease air

pressure to simulate altitude changes. Verify that both the apogee and preset altitude events fire. (Estes igniters or low resistance bulbs can be used for verification).

• V7 Electronic Deployment Test: test to determine if the electronics can ignite the deployment charges.

• V8 Ejection Test: test that the deployment charges have the right amount of force to cause parachute deployment and/or planned component separation.

• V9 Computer Simulation: use RockSim to predict the behavior of the launch vehicle.• V10 Integration Test: ensure that the payload fits smoothly and snuggly into the

vehicle, and is robust enough to withstand flight stresses.

Verification Plan

V 1 V 2 V 3 V 4 V 5 V 6 V 7 V 8 V 9 V 10

C 1

C 2

C 3

C 4

C 5

C 6

C 7

C 8

C 9

C 10

C 11

C 12

C 13

Verification Matrix

Part II: Payload

• Determine the effect of acceleration on the crystallization from the supersaturated sodium acetate (CH3COONa) solution

• Determine the effects of impurities (dopes) on the crystallization of sodium acetate under high and low accelerations

Payload Objectives

• Crystallization will initiate at ignition

• Sensors will successfully obtain temperature and acceleration data through flight

• Collected data are accurate

Payload Success Criteria

1a. Reaction initiation at ignition 1b. Ignition, data acquisition 2. The second stage ignition and data acquisition 3. Data saved into non-volatile memory 4. Apogee, parachute deploys 5. Data downloaded and analyzed 6. Crystals examined 7. The final report is written.

Experiment Sequence

• Our payload will be entirely in our sustainer• Two identical payload modules, each module consisting of four

crystallization vessels, cooling system and data acquisition electronics

Preliminary Integration Plan

• Payload consists from two encapsulated modules, each module housing four reaction vessels

• Payload fits snugly in the body tube

• Payload wiring is hidden inside the modules

• Payload vents align with fuselage vents

Payload Integration PlanReactor vesselsVents

Fan

• A fan is located at the end of each reactor chamber.

• The chamber will have a set of eight holes in each end to allow airflow.

• The moving air will maintain ambient temperature inside the payload compartments

Ambient TemperatureRegulation

• A hypodermic needle filled with the seed crystals is attached to the plunger of the solenoid

• When the solenoid is activated, the needle will puncture the membrane covering the glass reactor vessel and the seed crystals will enter the supersaturated solution

Reaction Activation System

Data Acquisition

Sampling Locations: – 20 thermistors per Reactor Vessel*– Accelerometers/altimeters in the Electronics Bay

Sampling Rate:– Thermistor are sampled at 50Hz frequency– Accelerometer samples at 100Hz per second with 8

times oversampling– Altimeter samples at 100Hz with 8x oversampling

*Thermistors are located along the vessel where we expect the most change will occur

Data Acquisition

The payload will measure the temperature along each reactor

vessel using an array of thermistors

Ambient temperature inside each payload module will be also

monitored and recorded

Master flight computer will provide timeline, altitude and acceleration

information

Data Acquisition

• Each reactor vessel has a dedicated printed circuit board (PCB) for data acquisition

• Data are sent to the Master Flight Computer Storage System (MFCSS)

• MFCSS logs the data in a non-volatile memory

Data Acquisition

• Independent Variables– C Pure sodium acetate solution (no

impurities)– I1 Concentration of impurity number 1– I2 Concentration of impurity number 2– I3 Concentration of impurity number 3– A Acceleration– D Direction of reaction initiation

• Dependent Variables– R Reaction Rate– S Crystal Structure Deformities– T Temperature of Reaction

Variables

• Cooling method inside rocket• Amount of sodium acetate

solution• Thermistors used• Initiation method

Controls

• R = f (I ) Reaction rate in relation to impurities• R = f (A)Reaction rate in relation to acceleration• R = f (D)Reaction rate in relation to direction of initiation

• S = f (I ) Crystal deformities in relation to impurities• S = f (A) Crystal deformities in relation to acceleration• S = f (D)Crystal deformities in relation to direction of initiation

• T = f (I ) Temperature profile of reaction in relation to impurities• T = f (A)Temperature profile of reaction in relation to acceleration• T = f (D)Temperature profile of reaction in relation to direction of

initiation

Correlations

• Commercially available sensors will be used

• Sensors will be calibrated

• Extensive testing will be done on ground

Instrumentation and Measurement

Test Measurement Temperature Temperature will be

collected 50x per second by each sensor

Acceleration Acceleration will be collected 100x per second with 16x oversampling

Test and Measurement

Tested Components

• C1: Vessel• C2: Reaction Activation Subsystem• C3: Super Saturated Sodium Acetate Solution• C4: Sensor Attachment Unit• C5: Reaction Temperature Monitoring Subsystem• C6: Reactor Chamber Ambient Temperature Sensor• C7: Acceleration/Altitude Recording Subsystem• C8: Cable Data Transfer• C9: Fans• C10: Power and Fan Activation Subsystem• C11: Analog to Digital Conversion Subsystem• C12: Master Flight Computer and Data Storage Subsystem

Verification: Components

Verification Tests• V1. Drop Test• V2. Connection and Basic Functionality Test• V3. Pressure Sensor Test• V4. Scale Model Flight• V5. Temperature Sensor Test• V6. Stress Test• V7. Acceleration Test• V8. Battery Capacity Test

Verification: Tests

V 1 V 2 V 3 V 4 V 5 V 6 V 7 V 8

C 1

C 2

C 3

C 4

C 5

C 6

C 7

C 8

C 9

C 10

C 11

C 12

Verification Matrix

• 4 inch tubing justification–Minimum possible diameter for

experiment–Existing ejection and deployment data

for 4 inch tubing–Maximum possible diameter for

vehicle to reach 1 mile with 2,560Ns total impulse limit

Reviewer Feedback Response

Questions

Any questions?