Microgravity Drop Tower - Simulating Weightlessness

1. P14651: Drop Tower for Microgravity Simulation Adam Hertzlin Dustin Bordonaro Jake Gray Santiago Murcia Yoem Clara

2. Agenda • Team Introduction • Project Background • Problem Statement & Project Deliverables • Use Scenarios • Customer Requirements • Engineering Requirements • Draft of Project Plan

3. P14651: Team Introduction & Roles

4. P14651: Microgravity http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/62474main_Microgravity_Teachers_Guide.pdf • Microgravityis an environment where a system appears weightless by putting an object in a state of freefall and eliminating all forces except for gravity.

5. P14651: What is a Microgravity Drop Tower? • Vacuum chamber in the form of a tower or tube. • Objects dropped from the top of the tower, inside of the vacuum will experience microgravity. http://quest.nasa.gov/smore/background/microgravity/MGintro3.html http://quest.nasa.gov/smore/background/microgravity/MGintro3.html

6. P14651: Problem Statement • Current State: Existing drop towers at… • NASA Lewis Research Center (30m drop~2.5sec) • NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (100m drop~4.5sec) • NASA Glenn Research Center (132m drop~5.2sec) • Japan’s Vertical Mine Shaft (490m drop~11.7sec) • Desired State: • 9-12m drop ~ 1.3-1.6sec • 15-30cm diameter tube • Object visible during drop • Quiet operation  Pumps • Safe operation • Educational and fun  All Ages

7. P14651: Problem Statement Cont... • Project Goals: • Design and Build a cost efficient drop tower. • Fast Cycle Time • Cost efficient • Aesthetically pleasing • Precision in measurements (1% estimation of standard gravity) • Adaptability for future uses • Access for loading objects and cleaning base, with minimal vacuum loss. • Constraints: • Location and design approval from the dean(s). • Material availability/size (ex. tube, pump) • Budget $3,000

8. P14651: Additional Project Deliverables • User’s Guide for operation • Designed Lab Experiments: • Determine gravity in the vacuum within 1% error • Compare drag at different pressures and drag vs. acceleration • Additional vacuum related experiments

9. P14651: Theory of Operation

10. P14651: Project Stakeholders MSD Team Dr. Kandlikar RIT Graduate and Undergraduate Students Middle School Students RIT Faculty RIT Prospective Students RIT College Dean(s) Middle School Teachers

11. P14651: Use Scenarios • Scenario 1: MS/HS students; exploring the effects of gravity on a ball bearing and a feather dropped simultaneously in a near vacuum • Scenario 2: Undergraduates; calculating and testing the effects of aerodynamic drag on various objects at different air pressures • Scenario 3: Tower demonstrated for general public at Imagine RIT or other events • Scenario 4: (future application): Grad students; experiments to monitor boiling in near zero-gravity. Example: filming boiling sites in a beaker of boiling water as it falls

12. P14651: Engineering Requirements

13. P14651: Customer Requirements

14. P14651: Requirements Matrix Legend

15. P14651: Requirement Matrix

16. P14651: Draft of Project Plan

17. P14651: Early Concept Draft

18. Questions?