Overview of Status of Analysis, Design, Fabrication, Tests, etc.
Currently putting dry ice-based solutions on hold due to difficulty with producing temperatures required
Investigating vortex tube airflow separators as a method of producing a cold air flow sufficient to cool the coupon
Completed Proof of Concept presentation
Completed report and website drafts, pending further revisions.
Accomplishments from Previous Week
Completed testing of dry ice, discovered an alternative solution that might work better
Pursued vortex tube solution - obtained a working model and designed test apparatus to characterize its performance
Determined that vortex tube cooling will be sufficient (conditional upon the ability to control cooling)
Assignments for Coming Week
Jayant Mathur
Design control suite and data collection user interface
Work on CAD and website layout
Nate Goldberg
Continue CFD and heat transfer analyses relevant to vortex tube operation
Select assembly configuration to best deliver the cooling airflow to the coupon
Kristen Matsuno
Continue CAD assembly and miscellaneous fluid mechanics related analyses
Design aerodynamically optimized coupon stand
Nathaniel Liu
Finish ordering hardware and finalize receipts
Complete work on vortex tube holder and begin assembly of heated airflow emulation setup
Sponsor Feedback and Corresponding Action Items
Sponsor approves of the vortex tube. However, this is conditional on the fact that compressed air is made readily available at a reasonable cost.
To determine whether this is a viable option, the cost of compressed air has been investigated and deemed to be within reason.
Instructor Feedback and Corresponding Action Items
Professor Tustaniwskyj approved of the cool air method much more than the Peltier cooling method, and to this end we have chosen to pursue the use of a vortex tube to cool the substrate.
Comments from Other Students
During our previous presentation, we had other students respond positively to the idea of using cold air to cool the coupon rather than the Peltier coolers originally intended quite long ago.
Risks and Areas of Concern
Vortex tube provides a sufficient means of delivering cold air, however the steadiness with which it can be operated and the consistency are uncertain.
Due to this, we have decided to use an open loop control scheme but this may require some sort of lag compensation if we implement a larger thermal mass.
Resources or Information Required but not Available
Exact specifications for t-slot extrusion used in preexisting hardware setup is not yet known, but is necessary to design a few external mounting components.
Coupon sizing is also somewhat uncertain, as sponsor provided coupons that are smaller than originally specified.
Schedule
Monday 5/8 - 10:00 am Team meeting
3:00 pm Meeting with Professor T.
4:00 pm If necessary, additional team meeting.
Wednesday 5/3 - 2:00 pm Phone call with sponsor contact (Jeremy)
5:00 pm Team meeting (revamp 3D printed parts)
Friday 5/5 - Complete third hardware iteration
Budget
Remaining Funds: $564.13
Progress on Report and Webpage
Entire first draft of report has been written and is pending revision. Webpage draft is complete as well, but still requires much work.