High-Level Project Summary
By cracking the "LET IT GO (WITHOUT A BANG)", we are developing a non-pyrotechnic separation device with the aim of achieving separation without any pyrotechnics. This device will solve the challenge by using an innovative structural design to meet the requirements. The advantages of this device are efficiency, safety and reusability. More attention needs to be paid to the safety of the parts as the rocket industry is growing rapidly and each component is important to the overall operation - even a separator is important. In addition, the device has great potential from a commercial point of view. All materials (including the main part M-12 bolt) are common, which makes it cost-effective.
Link to Project "Demo"
Link to Final Project
Detailed Project Description
A separation is always a crucial act during space travel, for examples rocket stage separating, satellite releasing, or more. And most of them were done by Frangibolts.
Although the old designed Frangibolts work well throughout history. However, the bulky pyrotechnics propelled Frangibolt seems to be outdated. Since pyrotechnics create shock during the action and same part can't be tested again. Besides, most heavy Frangibolts are designed for heavy spacecraft, small satellites like CubeSats need a new design bolt for separation.
As the aerospace industry has recently flourished and space launches have become routine, greater attention must be paid to safety in launch operations. For this reason, we decided to develop a non-pyrotechnic separation device to replace the traditional pyrotechnic separation device. Thus, we utilize the M-12 bolt as the main part with an innovative structure to perform the separation.
We intend to develop a novel separation device to replace the NASA Frangibolt, which is used for cutting wires and step cutting and can be used only once. To meet the requirements of the future aerospace industry, the design of our device must reduce the size and decrease the force generated during collisions. In addition, our device must function vertically to prevent collisions between separated objects.
Our new device is a non-pyrotechnic separation bolt. The purpose of this device is to separate between launch vehicle and payload and also between payloads such as satellites. Operation begins with the propulsion motor; the motor unlocks the main body by rotating it 45 degrees. Once actuated, the spring on the pin is released and generates an action-reaction force that releases challenging objects through its elastic potential energy. The development of this device is to solve the problems of conventional pyrotechnic devices, such as mass and reusability. This lighter blot can be tested over and over to make sure it works well during the flight.
The mass of this device is 76 grams, which is less than that of conventional pyrotechnic devices. In addition, the device will be reusable, which will increase the efficiency of the testing process and have a positive impact on implementation. Our design was made according to the standard structural unit. We used a standard M-12 bolt as the main component, which is easy to install and operate. The advantage of this unit is that it has a standard size and is suitable for the requirements of NASA, including atmospheric pressure and harsh temperature conditions.
In addition, the unit could be modular. For example, the unit may include a module for cutting cables, which facilitates recycling and deployment of parachutes. In terms of manufacturing, materials are widely available in the market, so production costs are low. In addition, the device is 100 percent recyclable, which best meets aerospace requirements.
Therefore, we hope that our device can reduce the deployment cost, improve the reusability and promote the future progress of the aerospace industry. Therefore, this device is not only suitable for this challenge, but also the future aerospace industry. Since this device has a simple and concrete design, it can be used in a variety of applications beyond the aerospace industry, such as the automobile industry, maritime transport, fire hydrant systems, etc.
The design concept of our device is flexible. The device can adapt to different working environments, different module modes, and corresponding size changes. Therefore, our device has great potential in terms of multiple usabilities, future prospects, technical capabilities, and application diversity.
Space Agency Data
During hacking, we found it is funny that NASA doesn't release much information about separate devices. So we turned to search for information on the Internet.
After viewing 3 major separating device's designs, we came up with our design.
In these 3 major separate device designs, we found that spring is the best way to make the device work without making too much shock.
https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/handle/2014/45484/14-0701_A1b.pdf?sequence=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JaEk66p4_4
https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2020/ip_8.html
Hackathon Journey
As a member of The Space Explorers, we chose the challenge that every space travel will face -Let it go without a bang.
Our inspiration came from ballpoints, we also did digitalized modeling. As for the structure part, we used ballpoints’ mechanical structure. Which helped us along the way while we were designing this very device. And it is also the very heart of our every project.
During hacking, we decided to make a full-scale prototype for testing and demonstration. So we basically do a lot of modifications on parts we can afford, which makes our device budget-friendly and also easy to apply.
However, time is not on our side. After the design is completed, we don't have much time to do digital simulation, as a result, Such a shame that we can't really build a prototype for both testing and demostration.
Although this very topic is hard, but we stilled managed to learn a lot.
References
Tags
#Rocket #Heardwear #CudeSat #Frangibolts
Global Judging
This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.