Papers by Ankit Rukhaiyar
The Engineering Physics Propulsion Laboratory (EPPL) student team advised by Dr. Sergey Drakunov ... more The Engineering Physics Propulsion Laboratory (EPPL) student team advised by Dr. Sergey Drakunov and Dr. Patrick Currier, has been working on the design, development, and construction of a Thruster Test Stand (TTS) in the College of Arts and Science. The TTS is a tool developed for a NASA, UCF, and Honeybee Robotics STTR Phase II project that will allow the team to measure the thrust, temperature, pressure, exhausted velocity, frequencies, and electrical loads on any kind of propulsion unit. The Thruster Test Stand thus provides a valuable tool to develop and optimize propulsion units.
Educational Experiences and Lessons Learned in the Multidisciplinary Design, Fabrication, Integration and Pre-Flight Testing of Embry-Riddle High Altitude Science Engineering Rig (ERHASER) Payload Aboard NASA\u27s WB-57 Aircraft
This paper describes the unique educational experiences and highlights the lessons learned during... more This paper describes the unique educational experiences and highlights the lessons learned during the multidisciplinary design, fabrication, integration and flight testing preparation of our prospective payload as part of the NASA’s Student Opportunities in Airborne Research (SOAR) pilot program aboard the WB57 aircraft. Our payload was comprised of several modular experiments referred as the Embry-Riddle High Altitude Science Engineering Rig (ERHASER), which was tested at about 60,000 feet during an analog suborbital trajectory over the Gulf of Mexico. One of the ERHASER’s experiments was dedicated to fly an ADS-B technology kit that can enhance students’ knowledge in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) with emphasis in aviation, and understand some of the challenges the Federal Administration Aviation (FAA) is facing with integrating new emerging era of suborbital space vehicles into the National Air Space. Understanding suborbital requirements, procedures and AD...
CRATOS: A Cis-Lunar Reusable semi-Autonomous Transport Operation System
Preliminary Design and Testing of a Small Spacecraft Steam Propulsion System
AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum, 2019
The results from calculating the apogee altitude for different 1u configuration payloads show tha... more The results from calculating the apogee altitude for different 1u configuration payloads show that the maximum altitude expected is 21,000 ft. for a 1U payload and 11,000 ft. for a 6U payload. The motor chosen for the launch is the Pro 150 O5800 White Thunder with a total impulse of 30,601 Ns, average thrust of 5,802 N, and burn time of 5.27 seconds. OpenRocket software was used to simulate the flight profile and the loads expected during the launch. Previous Work
T3-F: Educational Experiences and Lessons Learned in the Multidisciplinary Design, Fabrication, Integration and Flight Testing of Embry-Riddle High Altitude Science Engineering Rig (ERHASER) Payload aboard NASA’s WB-57 Aircraft
This paper describes the unique educational experiences and highlights the lessons learned during... more This paper describes the unique educational experiences and highlights the lessons learned during the multidisciplinary design, fabrication, integration and flight testing preparation of our prospective payload as part of the NASA’s Student Opportunities in Airborne Research (SOAR) pilot program aboard the WB57 aircraft. Our payload was comprised of several modular experiments referred as the Embry-Riddle High Altitude Science Engineering Rig (ERHASER), which was tested at about 60,000 feet during an analog suborbital trajectory over the Gulf of Mexico. One of the ERHASER’s experiments was dedicated to fly an ADS-B technology kit that can enhance students’ knowledge in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) with emphasis in aviation, and understand some of the challenges the Federal Administration Aviation (FAA) is facing with integrating new emerging era of suborbital space vehicles into the National Air Space. Understanding suborbital requirements, procedures and AD...
Optimization of a Non-Classical Trajectory
AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum, 2019
The objective of this research is to use Pontryagin\u27s Minimum Principle to solve the constrain... more The objective of this research is to use Pontryagin\u27s Minimum Principle to solve the constrained nonlinear minimum-fuel problem of a small craft performing a hop maneuver on Mars. The solution then should return a continuous optimal control or control law which is then applied to sub-optimal trajectories that are known solutions. The augmented trajectories are then evaluated through a cost function to determine the optimal trajectory to be followed to reach its destination with minimum fuel expenditure. Since the final state of the craft is known, but the time it takes to reach its destination is variable, there is no analytical solution. Therefore, numerical iterations of MatLab\u27s bvp4c solver are required with varying guesses until an optimal solution is found. Results show that, although many solutions can be found, no sufficient solution has been determined. Further research towards a solution will likely require different numerical solvers, as solutions generated by bvp4c are highly dependent on the accuracy of the initial solution guess and the control being continuous
The Engineering Physics Propulsion Laboratory (EPPL) student team advised by Dr. Sergey Drakunov ... more The Engineering Physics Propulsion Laboratory (EPPL) student team advised by Dr. Sergey Drakunov and Dr. Patrick Currier, has been working on the design, development, and construction of a Thruster Test Stand (TTS) in the College of Arts and Science. The TTS is a tool developed for a NASA, UCF, and Honeybee Robotics STTR Phase II project that will allow the team to measure the thrust, temperature, pressure, exhausted velocity, frequencies, and electrical loads on any kind of propulsion unit. The Thruster Test Stand thus provides a valuable tool to develop and optimize propulsion units.
Comparative Methodology and Validation of Steam as a Monopropellant Through a Converging-Diverging Nozzle
AIAA AVIATION 2021 FORUM, 2021
This paper presents an extensive understanding of the behavior of steam as a compressible gas thr... more This paper presents an extensive understanding of the behavior of steam as a compressible gas through a thrust optimized parabolic nozzle designed for small spacecraft In-Situ Resource Utilization missions. Assuming isentropic steam, the flow was treated as single-phase due to the allotted volume super-heated water was given to expand into prior to entering the nozzle. ANSYS Fluent was used to conduct computational fluid dynamic analysis on the steam as it traveled through the nozzle and after it existed. The change in phase inside the chamber and reduction in the back pressure was not considered in order to study extended firing of the propulsion system. Significant attention was paid to turbulence in the fluid flow and flow detachment in the nozzle to accurately model the behavior of steam in the nozzle due to its small size. The overall nozzle efficiency was calculated to be 94.25%, falling within the optimal efficiency range of 92-98%.
AIAA AVIATION 2021 FORUM, 2021
This paper presents an extensive understanding of the behavior of steam as a compressible gas thr... more This paper presents an extensive understanding of the behavior of steam as a compressible gas through a thrust optimized parabolic nozzle designed for small spacecraft In-Situ Resource Utilization missions. Assuming isentropic steam, the flow was treated as single-phase due to the allotted volume super-heated water was given to expand into prior to entering the nozzle. ANSYS Fluent was used to conduct computational fluid dynamic analysis on the steam as it traveled through the nozzle and after it existed. The change in phase inside the chamber and reduction in the back pressure was not considered in order to study extended firing of the propulsion system. Significant attention was paid to turbulence in the fluid flow and flow detachment in the nozzle to accurately model the behavior of steam in the nozzle due to its small size. The overall nozzle efficiency was calculated to be 94.25%, falling within the optimal efficiency range of 92-98%.
AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum
A test apparatus was developed to prove the application of steam as a propulsion source for small... more A test apparatus was developed to prove the application of steam as a propulsion source for small spacecraft conducting in-situ resource utilization on small gravitational bodies. The apparatus consists of an instrumented aluminum tank outfitted with a heating system, solenoid valve, and SLA 3-D printed exhaust nozzle. Initial testing was performed on a thruster test stand at sea level atmospheric conditions at 10 bar and 160 degrees Celsius. Results show a mean measured thrust force of 6.7N and specific impulse of 73s with steam. Data extrapolation and calculations for an isentropic system indicate that the estimated thrust in a vacuum could be up to 12N with a specific impulse of 133s at the same steam conditions, which is potentially sufficient for use on a low-gravity body such as Ceres.
Research Gate
This paper overviews the design and assembly process for a bench-test prototype model of a 6U sol... more This paper overviews the design and assembly process for a bench-test prototype model of a 6U solar sail-based debris capture LEO orbiter. The purpose of this paper is to prove the successful operation of the CubeSat's various subsystems in a 1G environment and to provide the requisite knowledge for future progression of this project. The core systems being designed and tested for this prototype are the boom deployment mechanism, debris capture mechanism, and electronics systems. The end goal of this project is to provide a suitable foundation for future funding opportunities to further the TRL of the design through additional investigative research. The research and development for the prototype was undertaken at the Engineering Propulsion Physics Lab
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Papers by Ankit Rukhaiyar