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Assessment and Applications of the Conversion of Chemical Energy to Mechanical Energy Using Model Rocket Engines

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Conference

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Location

Virtual On line

Publication Date

June 22, 2020

Start Date

June 22, 2020

End Date

June 26, 2021

Conference Session

Engineering Physics and Physics Division Technical Session 1

Tagged Division

Engineering Physics and Physics

Page Count

25

DOI

10.18260/1-2--34185

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/34185

Download Count

942

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Paper Authors

biography

Huseyin Sarper P.E. Old Dominion University

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Hüseyin Sarper, Ph.D., P.E. is a Master Lecturer with a joint appointment the Engineering Fundamentals Division and the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He was a professor of engineering and director of the graduate programs at Colorado State University – Pueblo in Pueblo, Col. until 2013. He was also an associate director of Colorado's NASA Space Grant Consortium between 2007 and 2013. His degrees, all in industrial engineering, are from the Pennsylvania State University (BS) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (MS and Ph.D.). His interests include Space, manufacturing, reliability, economic analysis, and renewable energy.

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Nebojsa I. Jaksic Colorado State University, Pueblo Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-1695-790X

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NEBOJSA I. JAKSIC earned the Dipl. Ing. degree in electrical engineering from Belgrade University (1984), the M.S. in electrical engineering (1988), the M.S. in industrial engineering (1992), and the Ph.D. in industrial engineering from the Ohio State University (2000). He is currently a Professor at Colorado State University-Pueblo teaching robotics and automation courses. Dr. Jaksic has over 90 publications and holds two patents. Dr. Jaksic's interests include robotics, automation, and nanotechnology engineering education and research. He is a licensed PE in the State of Colorado, a member of ASEE, a senior member of IEEE, and a senior member of SME.

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Ben J. Stuart Old Dominion University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-5759-0174

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Ben Stuart currently holds the position of Interim Dean and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Old Dominion University. His current research interests include biofuels production from waste and renewable feedstocks (specifically algal biomass), CO2 capture using a novel membrane photobioreactor, and thermochemical processing of biomass. Dr. Stuart received his Ph.D. from the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey and he is a registered professional environmental engineer.

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Karina Arcaute Old Dominion University

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Dr. Karina Arcaute received her BS in Chemical Engineering from the Instituto Tecnologico de Chihuahua, and her MS (Mechanical Engineering) and PhD (Materials Science and Engineering) from the University of Texas at El Paso. Dr. Arcaute is the Director of First Year Engineering Programs in the Batten College of Engineering and Technology at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA.

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Abstract

To provide the first-year engineering students with a hands-on experience in an engineering application using both chemistry and physics, this team project uses a set of chemical and physical energy concepts and MS Excel based analysis. The main objective of the project is to calculate how much of the potential maximum possible chemical energy is converted into propulsion when using model rocket engines with solid fuel. The secondary objective is to determine the effects of increasing conversion rates on the performance of a model rocket. The solid fuel or propellant used in common model rocket engines is black powder. Compared to composite and hybrid engines, engines with black powder are cheaper and easier to ignite. Affordability of this propellant has made it possible to test fire many engines of different sizes. In addition, solid model rocket engines provide a good analogy to solid rocket boosters used in some of today’s launch vehicles. Rockets are momentum engines, thus, it is unusual to consider them in terms of energy, but energy is felt by observers even in model rocket launches. Total impulse is the measure of momentum imparted to the vehicle and depends on several processes including the chemical energy of the propellant and the useful kinetic energy of the exhaust. The project centers around calculation of the total energy released by the combustion of the reactants in model rocket engines of various types (A through F). The propulsion energy is a small fraction of the total energy released during combustion where a significant part of the total is lost heat. Many students enjoyed this activity as they learned how to code several sets of chemical balance and physical energy equations using MS Excel. Each team wrote a detailed technical report that explains the overall project. They used field pictures and the graphs to illustrate various parts of the project. They also included an essay on alternative propulsion means to explore the outer Solar system and beyond. An anonymous learning survey was developed, implemented, and analyzed to assess the educational effect of this project. The survey results and anecdotal evidence show this was a good and a challenging learning experience that was also too demanding for some of the students.

Sarper, H., & Jaksic, N. I., & Stuart, B. J., & Arcaute, K. (2020, June), Assessment and Applications of the Conversion of Chemical Energy to Mechanical Energy Using Model Rocket Engines Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--34185

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