High Altitude Balloon Instrument Survival Package

Joseph Burns, Tom Fox, Augustine Isitor, Nick Schuyler

Team Members

Joseph Burns, Team Leader

Tom Fox, Parachute Packing

Augustine Isitor, AVMap operation

Nick Schulyer, Flight Predictions

All team member’s responsibilities include

Solidworks designing

Earning amateur radio licenses

Package content programming

Package construction

Material testing

Goals

Gather acceleration data to model CFD simulations

Ensure operation and survival of all electronics

Achieve a successful parachute deployment

Use as much automation as possible in fabrication

Test new tracking equipment Gain practical field experience

Design of Package

Ballute design Torroidal device to maintain

stability Solidworks used for

design Components fabricated in

Epilog Laser Cutting Machine

Use of a removable subassembly for ease of installation and maintenance

Keep remanufacturable components in reserve

Must withstand high impulses in ascent and descent, and withstand extreme environments

Skeleton Design

Material chosen was “LitePly” for skeleton

Webbed I-Beam shape chosen as main rib structures

Liteply was coated with CA glue to provide water resistance and act as an adhesive

Fabrication of Skeletal Structure

Assembly was completed with “MonoKote” skin for aerodynamics

Elastic cords chosen as shock absorbers Parachute lines are

attached via 2 points of contact to elastic cords and main package ribs

Styrofoam was chosen for lid with wooden washers

Foam nose added to absorb impact

Table 1. Material Comparison (Matbase)

Design and Fabrication of Removable Frustum

Paper-Foam composite board for mounting of electronic components

Nylon hardware chosen

Contains all electronics for versatility and simplicity

Selection of I Beam over Box Beam

Box beam was originally selected

I-Beam was chosen as its replacement

28 % reduction in weight with maximum 15% reduction in strength

Faster manufacturing and treatment

Box Beam had stress concentrators and was more brittle

Applied Load vs Deflection

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

-50

0

50

100

150

200

250

Box BeamI-Beam 1I-Beam 2

Deflection (mm)

Applied F

orc

e (

N)

Parachute Deployment

Lid is attached to parachute via clip

Lid is detached by NiCr cutters

Ejected lid will drag out parachute then will detach

Lid is disposable and will fall at low speeds

Testing of Package

Package was dropped 13 meters with various configurations

Testing showed that 4 points of attachment of

parachute deployment clip to lid was best

Subsection and contents survived if no parachute deployed

Calculated terminal velocity, depending on Cd, varies from 14.3 to 16.5 m/s for package with no parachute

Testing for Effectiveness in Cold

All primary electronics were subjected to extreme cold (-40° C)

Insulation was applied as needed

Devices were required to continue working after soaking for >3 hours, 4 hour operation was achieved

Method of Operation

Balloon launched with packages

Units tracked via GPS Signal sent to drop primary

package Control package descends

independently after balloon bursts and is tracked separately

Falling package pulls pin to start 10 minute timer on lid and parachute release

Altitude is monitored, signal is sent to package to release lid and parachute at 60,000 feet

Arrested descent until landing Package retrieval

Electronic Pack Reliability

Redundant tracking components

Automated and manual triggering of parachute deployment Quad redundant

parachute deployment

Yaesu VX-8G/R

Intuitive Circuts DTMF-8

RCP Electronics RTrak-HAB

Vectornav VN-100DV

Logomatic V2

Component Flow Diagram

Tracking of Package

Package has two APRS systems that transmit GPS data on two frequencies

Yaesu GPS has hardware set altitude limit of 18000 m, or 59055 feet, OR speed of 1800 kph, or 1181 mph, before cutout due to regulation

RTrak HAB APRS has 18000 m, or 59055 feet, AND speed of 1800 kph, or 1181 mph limits before cutout

Command package has tracking as well

AcknowledgmentsDr. Joseph C. Slater P.E. – AdvisorNicholas Baine – Graduate AdvisorStephen Mascarella – Volunteer ExpertSteve Overmyer – Volunteer ExpertBruce Rahn – Volunteer Expert

Teams 19 Mile High Club, Chutes and Giggles, Foxhound

Questions?

References REFERENCES Adminstration, Federal Aviation. Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) PART 101. 2 17, 2011. Andrews Space, Inc. Ballute Reentry Technology. 2008. http://www.andrews-space.com/content-main.php?

subsection=MTA0. Bishop, Jennifer, Chris Byers, and Brandon Kirby. "Shape Memory Polymer Composite Deployment in Near

Space Environments:A sub project of theWSU High Altitude Balloon Program." 2007. Corbett, Michael, John Holtkamp, Sean Stevens, Jessica Williams, and Brian Wirick. "High Altitude Balloon

Project." 2006. Corbett, M, “High Altitude Balloon Flight Path Prediction,” 31st Dayton-Cincinnati Aerospace Sciences

Symposium, March, 2006. Corbett, M, Williams, J, and Holtkamp, J, “Design of a High Altitude Balloon Payload,” 2nd Annual Dayton

Engineering Sciences Symposium, October 2006. Design and Launch of a Reentry Vehicle for Near Space Experimentation. Wright State University, 2009. Holtkamp, J.C., Williams, J.M., and Corbett, M, “Design of High Altitude Balloon,” 31st Dayton- Cincinnati

Aerospace Sciences Symposium, March, 2006. Kirby. B, Byers, C, Mascarella, S, Pestak, T, Bishop, J, Yelamarthi, K, Wolff, M, Slater, J, Mawasha, PR and Wu,

Z, “Engineering Research in Space using a High Altitude Balloon: an Interdisciplinary Senior Design Project,” ASEE-NCS Conference, 2007.

Mawasha, PR and Yelamarthi, K, “Project Management in an Interdisciplinary Senior Design Team,” ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, 2007.

Mawasha, PR, Yelamarthi, K, Wolff, M, Slater, J, and Wu, Z, “An Integrated Technology Project and its Potential Impact on Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Engineering Experience,” 114th Annual ASEE Conference & Exposition, 2007.

Sharra, Besmira, and Casey Richardson. "Design and Launch of a Balloon Re-entry Vehicle for Free Fall Experimentation." 2010.

Slater, Dr. Joseph C. Main Page. January 6, 2011. http://www.cs.wright.edu/balloon/index.php?title=Main_Page&action=history.

Snyder, B, Bozeman, J, Ilenbiluan, O, Rahn, D, Andras. M, and Yelamarthi, K, "Deployable Truss in a Near Space Environment," ASEE-NCS Conference, 2008. (2nd place, student papers).

Yelamarthi, K, Mawasha, P. R, Rowley, B. A and Bazzoli, T. L, “The Temperature Satellite Project: The Integration of Engineering Experience to First year Students,” ASEE/NCS Spring Conference, April 2004.

Yelamarthi, K, Maurer, J, and White, B, “The Temperature Satellite Project,” NASA’s Great Midwestern Regional Space Grant Meeting, November 2004.