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Applying CFD and Novel Development in Electromagnetic Flow Control to A Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Project

Abstract

A research project in electromagnetic control of hypersonic shockwaves for re-entry bodies is in progress at Alabama A&M University (AAMU). A group of propulsion students were asked to design a mechanical cradle to support a test object for an experiment involving electromagnetic control of shockwaves as a senior project. The thermal and mechanical design of this cradle required students to apply Computational Fluid Dynamics and novel development in electromagnetic flow control to complete the required design tasks. This paper describes the project and the assessment method used to evaluate student learning.

Introduction

Mechanical Engineering graduates must demonstrate: 1) an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs; 2) an ability to function in multidisciplinary teams and 3) an ability to use the techniques, skills and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice. One of the key challenges faced by the engineering educator today is how to provide a fast track for the project and design engineering experience while also providing a strong fundamental engineering education and solid preparation in engineering analysis and design in a four-year program.

The ME program at AAMU strongly encourages teamwork on class projects for courses in the major. This allows students to develop a design portfolio starting from the freshman year. Project training continues through their capstone design course. The projects assigned to students are often combined with on-going, externally funded faculty research projects.

A research project in electromagnetic control of hypersonic shockwaves for re-entry bodies is in progress at Alabama A&M University. During hypersonic re-entry, the air behind the bow shockwave around the leading edge of the vehicle is highly ionized due to the abrupt shock- induced temperature increase. As a result, the plasma electrical conductivity can become high enough to effect significant magnetohydrodynamics interaction. By super-imposing a magnetic field on this ionized region, it is possible to induce electromagnetic forces which can control the shockwave structure and, in turn, decrease heat and increase drag on a re- entry vehicle through the interaction of the charged particle stream and the electromagnetic field. It is clear that undergraduate mechanical engineering students cannot conduct the required full-scale research tasks within their senior year; however, it is possible to spin off some of the research elements so that the students can be trained in multidisciplinary design. For example, a mechanical cradle with a six-degree of freedom moving mechanism is required to support the test model in a vacuum chamber. Consequently, a group of Mechanical Engineering senior students were asked to design the required cradle as a senior design project. The design effort consisted of three parts: computational simulation of fluid and plasma dynamics coupling with an electromagnetic field, design of the cradle using the results from the simulation and experimental investigation using a hypersonic Arc Heater test

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Deng, Z., & Qian, C., & Rojas-Oviedo, R. (2007, June), Applying Cfd And Novel Development In Electromagnetic Flow Control To A Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Project Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--2519