Week 4

Introduction

Aerospace Engineering: Aerospace engineers design and build aircraft/spacecraft for commercial use, weapons, and space exploration. The fundamentals of aerospace engineering deal with physics concepts including thrust, drag, and lift, and overall, requires a strong understanding of math and physics. Materials science is critical in aircraft design to optimize weight and save fuel. Aerospace engineers work in both private and public industry.

Mechanical Engineering: Mechanical engineers work on anything that moves. From robots to vehicles, it is one of the broadest and oldest fields of engineering. They used computer-aided design and manufacturing programs to create and analyze systems. Mechanical engineering requires a strong understanding of math and physics, particularly with regards to thermodynamics and materials science. They work primarily in the technology industry, but also employed to work for the military, science research, or space exploration.

Chemical Engineering: Chemical engineers deal with chemical production and manufacturing, from designing equipment to systems for processing raw materials and mixing chemicals to make valuable products. In addition to physics and math, chemical engineering also requires a strong background in biology and chemistry. Chemical engineering has a wide range of applications, from large scale industrial processes, such as dealing with construction materials, to nano-materials, such as developing drugs. Because of this, they work in a variety of industries, both public and private.

Industrial Engineering: Industrial engineers work on optimizing systems to operate more efficiently. They use both engineering and management science principles to design and implement improved systems of people, equipment, or information. Industrial engineering requires a strong foundation in math, particularly in statistics, and programming. They use computational tools to analyze and evaluate systems through complex models and machine learning. Industrial engineers work in every sector of our society, from retail to healthcare to technology.

CO2 Filter

DESIGN PROCESS - CO2 Capturing Device

1. Define the problem: Design a device that can capture and process atmospheric CO2

2. Generate alternative solutions: We didn't really have an alternative solution, we thought the idea of doing a square filter with a vacuum fit the purpose.

3. Evaluate and select a solution: We chose this design because it seemed the most effective and took up the least amount of space.

4. Detail the design: The surrounding air is sucked in through the vacuum and then goes through the filter and the CO2 is stored in the tank below.

5. Defend the design: This is most effective because the vacuum takes in the air and filters out the CO2 which is then securely stored in a tank.

6. Manufacture and test: If it were to be tested we would evaluate the success of the device and make changes accordingly for the greatest CO2 capture.

7. Evaluate the performance: We are unable to evaluate the performance at this time.

8. Prepare the final design report: By using the vacuum a great amount of air can be sucked in and filtered out leaving us with CO2 to be stored in the tank.

DESIGN PROCESS - Rocket

1. Define the problem: Build a rocket with three stages.

2. Generate alternative solutions: Direct staging or complicated staging involving circuits and springs

3. Evaluate and select a solution: Direct staging is the easiest.

4. Detail the design: Have a hollow tube with all three motors connected; when the propellant in a booster motor is used up, the heat will ignite the next motor and the pressure will separate the stages.

5. Defend the design: Most practical for model rocketry.

6. Manufacture and test: We used RockSim to test the rocket.

7. Evaluate the performance: The rocket flew pretty high with three stages, but it probably could have flown higher with a more efficient design.

8. Prepare the final design report: The 3-stage model rocket works because all three motors are connected. The motors ignite each other in rapid succession, causing the stages to separate once the propellant in a motor is used up. As a result, the rocket is able to reach an altitude of approximately 12,000 feet.