Date of Graduation
5-2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor/Mentor
Huang, Po-Hao
Committee Member/Reader
Albers, David
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to explore an experiment developed for validating the usage of a gaseous solution of water and propylene glycol for cold gas propulsion. The experiment involves a “Time of Flight” method of calculating the speed of sound in the gas and the corresponding specific heat ratio using a copper tube, two MEMS microphones, a piezoelectric speaker, and data-acquisition hardware. The experiment was calibrated using the known thermodynamic properties of air. The accuracy of the experiment was found to be within 0.6% for calculations of the speed of sound in air and within 1.0% of the specific heat ratio of air. This experiment can be used to determine the specific heat ratio of any gas placed inside the tube, which will allow for the usability of the gas as a cold gas propellant to be verified.
Citation
Kempf, B. W. (2016). Time-of-Flight Based Sonic Speed Measurements for Cold Gas Thruster Development. Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/meeguht/60
Included in
Acoustics, Dynamics, and Controls Commons, Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics Commons, Navigation, Guidance, Control and Dynamics Commons, Propulsion and Power Commons