You are an EPFL student and you are looking for a semester credited, Bachelors or Masters Project ? Look no further! We have something for you.
For the fall semester, all projects are for Master’s students.
FALL SEMESTER 2021
COMPETITON PROJECT
AVIONICS
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Currently, most of the EPFL Rocket Team electronics is based on what we call Hostboards. These Hostboards are development boards based on the STM32F446RE microcontroller. They were developed in house a few years back and the microcontroller is not produced anymore. Thus, making our current Hostboards outdated.
The purpose of this project is to develop an upgraded version of this Hostboard with a new microcontroller and some improved functions
WARNING: This is a complex project, some pre-existing experience in PCB Design is highly recommended.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Choose Electronic components
- Design the circuit
- Design and manufacture the PCB
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Electronics
- PCB design and production
Contact: iacopo.sprenger@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Schmid
Number of students: 0/1
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
During the last semester, the EPFL Rocket Team has started developing a Kalman filter to estimate the rocket’s state. The current Kalman filter aims to estimate the state of the rocket for the purpose of active MPC control. The software currently runs on a raspberry pi and is based on the ROS and Eigen3 frameworks.
The purpose of the project is to improve the existing filter. This project is to be developed in cooperation with the Icarus team (research project that aims to reach propulsive landing of a rocket) as they need a very accurate state estimation for their control
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Develop the filter on the simulator
- Deploy the filter on the Icarus Drone
- Deploy the filter on a sounding rocket
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- C/C++ Programming
- ROS/Eigen
- Kalman filter theory
Contact: iacopo.sprenger@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. TBD
Number of students: 0/1
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The EPFL Rocket team has the long-term goal of launching a sounding rocket above the kármán line (100km). This ambitious objective requires the avionics subsystem to be able to communicate with the rocket at such a great distance.
The goal of the project is to find antennas and radio modems capable of such long-range communication. Ideally, the solution should have an emission power lower than 25mW which is the highest allowed without a licence.
This project will be realized in cooperation with the Ground Segment team as they are responsible for the “other side” of the communication device.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Investigate different options in RF modems
- Investigate different options in RF antennas
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Antenna Design
- Radio Communications
Contact: iacopo.sprenger@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. TBD
Number of students: 0/1-2
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The EPFL Rocket team has the long-term goal of launching a (supersonic) sounding rocket above the kármán line (100km). Until today,
the rocket’s position is estimated using barometers, gyroscopes, and accelerometers. This only provides us with an accurate altitude estimation under the assumption that the pressure around the barometers corresponds to the ambient pressure. This might not be the case during a supersonic flight at high altitudes.
The purpose of this project is to investigate the use of other sensors for the position estimation of our sounding rocket.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Research literature
- Investigate the different possibilities
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Sensors
- Fluid Dynamics
- Electronics
Contact: iacopo.sprenger@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. TBD
Number of students: 0/1-2
RECOVERY
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The goal of this project is to design and build a testing facility to certify avionic cards for a rocket flight.
The avionics are microcontrollers used to record data and trigger event, such as the parachute’s deployment, during a flight, using sensor such as accelerometers and barometers. Some of the cards used in our rocket are students made, for both the hardware and the software. It is therefore important to fully test them to prove their reliability.
The testing facility should be able to simulate flight profiles, by controlling the variation of both the acceleration and the pressure felt by the avionic cards. A good control system of the variables is necessary to reproduce precise flight profiles.
A previous semester project was already conducted on this subject during spring semester 2021. The result is the prototype of a vacuum centrifuge design. It can be chosen to iterate on the previous prototype or to redesign a new testing facility.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Learning from the existing devices
- Design of the testing facility
- Building and real-life testing
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Electronics
- Control Systems
- Mechanical Design
Contact: dominique.humbert@heig-vd.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Jones
Number of students: 0/2-3
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The goal of this project is to interface the KRTEK module with the electronic of the Avionics sub-system (AV).
The KRTEK module is an in-house standalone card that is the sensing and computing element of the Recovery sub-system (RE). Its purpose is to detect various phases of the flight and trigger actions accordingly.
The KRTEK_V2 should be able to communicate with the AV computer and physically interface with it. Its components should to some extend be harmonised with these of the AV sub-system.
As part of this project, you will work closely with the AV team and to some extend with KRTEK originals designers.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Learning from existing devices
- Designing the new electronics
- Programming of the electronics
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Electronics
- PCB design
- Programming
Contact: dominique.humbert@heig-vd.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Schmid
Number of students: 1/1-2
STRUCTURE
PROJECT STATUS : TAKEN
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The goal of this project is to develop a fins module optimised for mass and supersonic flight.
The fins module is composed of an attachment system for the fins, a support for the rocket motor and a boattail that protects the rocket during landing. The boattail should be ablative.
The CFRP fins will need to be integrated directly to the structure of the rocket, the module, while still being able to be replaced in case of a broken fin.
The fins module and the boattail should be tapered and be as flush as possible with one other.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Learning from existing module
- Design of the new module
- Production and manufacturing
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- CAD design
- FEM
- Composites
Contact: alexandre.clement@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Michaud
Number of students: 1/1
PROJECT STATUS : TAKEN
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The goal of this project is to develop a nosecone optimised for supersonic flight and potentially research for the use of ablative material.
During a supersonic flight, the nosecone is submitted to high temperature and constraints that should be taken into account.
The nosecone should be RF transparent if there are electronic components inside that would need to communicate with the ground.
With such temperature, the use of a layer of ablative material on the nosecone could be considered
The manufacturing process of the nosecone is to have a mould to apply the fibber and create the ogive shape.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Design the shape (and materials)
- Production and manufacturing
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- CAD design
- FEM
- Materials / Composites
Contact: alexandre.clement@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Michaud
Number of students: 1/1
PROJECT STATUS : TAKEN
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The goal of this project is to develop a new coupler design, more mass efficient than the current one.
The coupler joins the different sections of the rocket and contain fixation points to attach other subsystems.
It should be easy to assemble and disassemble to limit the complexity of the integration before a flight.
It is an important structural component that need to withstand high loads during the flight as well as high and/or cryogenic temperature constraints in the following year.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Design of the coupler
- Tests and manufacturing
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- CAD design
- FEA
Contact: alexandre.clement@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Mäusli
Number of students: 1/1
GROUND SEGMENT
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
As the Rocket Team aims towards higher and higher apogees, a need to improve our antenna systems becomes obvious.
This is what this project is for, it’s goal is to develop a long-range antenna capable of communicating with the avionics of the rocket throughout the entirety of the flight up to a predicted altitude of at least 10km for this year, and 100km ultimately. The antenna will also require some electronics to transform and retransmit the data to an interface and a logging system.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Research and documentation
- Design phase
- Development and tests
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Antenna Design
- PCB design
Contact: yanis.debusschere@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. TBD
Number of students: 0/1 for antennas, 0/1 for electronics
SIMULATIONS
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Six Degree-Of-Freedom flight simulators are critical tools that are used throughout all the steps of rocket design, from preliminary design to actual launch operations. In the context of supersonic rockets, physics factors – such as air compressibility and shock waves formation – have a considerable influence onto the rocket’s performance, adding some complexity to its dynamics.
The aim of this project is to extend the validity of our flight simulator to transonic and supersonic regimes, which implies writing and adding code to the actual simulator.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Research and documentation
- Simulator Development
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Physics, fluids
- CFD
- Matlab / Python
Contact: taha.bouwakdh@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Noca
Number of students: 0/2
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The aim of this project is to build a small experimental setup to study flow in the supersonic regime and test imperfections on the rocket body.
The work should focus on first designing and building a small-scale setup using supersonic air jets to generate the flow around an aero structure rocket component. Then, to design and manufacture a low-cost schlieren photography system to visualize the effect of a supersonic flow on the component.
The results from this setup will be used to validate qualitatively fluid flow simulations for the same components.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Literature review of low-cost supersonic wind tunnels and schlieren setups.
- Feasibility study and design
- Manufacturing of both systems
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Physics: optics
- Fluid Dynamics
- Manufacturing
Contact: taha.bouwakdh@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Noca
Number of students: 0/2
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Since the ERT aims to make its next rocket go supersonic, the Simulations subsystem needs data to validate their predicted rocket flight performance. There are several methods to validate these simulations, but much less for supersonic flights. Published data are scarce for custom geometries going at supersonic speeds and running experimental tests with a supersonic wind tunnel is challenging because this type of facility is rare in Switzerland.
To tackle this scarcity in validation data, Hermes was born: a small-scale supersonic test rocket to help us acquire data for supersonic flights, validating the results from our computational tools. A few flights have been performed and more are planned, however, Hermes still requires some development in terms of software and hardware. For the former, a Kalman filter needs to be implemented, either post-flight or in-flight (embedded). Then for the latter, the current PCB can be expanded to include recovery capabilities and telemetry as well as see its footprint shrink considerably. This PCB could also have a low-cost version which could be implemented into other model rockets in order to gather as much flight data as possible, which would help our flight simulators. The aim of this project is therefore to take the current avionics and bring it past the development stage.
WARNING: This project requires the student to have taken the course ENV-548: Sensor Orientation given by Prof. Skaloud PRIOR to taking this project.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Understand current avionics on Hermes
- Write a functional Kalman filter
- Incorporate recovery capabilities and telemetry on the current PCB
- On-the-ground testing then in-flight
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Kalman filters
- Embedded systems
- Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design and manufacturing
Contact: taha.bouwakdh@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Skaloud
Number of students: 0/2
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This project derives from a recent wind tunnel test of our Bella Lui II rocket, which was carried out at Swiss F1 team, Sauber, in June 2021. Preliminary experimental results were obtained from the obtained raw data and were then compared with 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of the corresponding rocket for the same velocity and Angle of Attack (AoA) ranges. The overall trends for both experimental and CFD results were matching, although there was with a certain discrepancy between them.
This project has the following principal objectives:
- Improve/Automatise the post-processing procedure to gain time-efficiency when processing raw data from future wind tunnel tests at Sauber.
- Finetune CFD simulations to match better the results obtained from the performed wind tunnel test.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Understand how the post-processing of the wind tunnel test & the CFD simulations were performed.
- Develop a method to reduce the post-processing stage after a wind tunnel test.
- Find which CFD parameters need to be changed for a better physical accuracy of the simulations.
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Excel / Matlab / Python
- CFD (ANSYS Fluent)
- Experimental fluid mechanics
- Aerodynamics
Contact: taha.bouwakdh@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Noca
Number of students: 0/1
RESEARCH PROJECTS
ICARUS
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
As part of our research project on Thrust Vector Control, we started developing last year a drone prototype allowing us to test our first guidance, navigation and control algorithms.
This work will include comparing our guidance algorithm with others used in the industry, improving the existing guidance algorithm and developing new ones for controlled descent and landing.
As a finalisation of your work, you will be required to assess the performances of your algorithm by testing it on our simulator, in real-time on a raspberry pi and test them on our drone.
As there are other projects revolving around developing a guidance, navigation and control algorithms, you will be required to work in parallel and collaborate with other students and members of the team.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Compare existing guidance algorithms
- Improve and adapt ascent and descent phase guidance
- Benchmark and test your algorithm in the simulator and on the drone
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Optimal Control (MPC)
- C++/Python
- Familiarity with ROS (Robot Operating System) is a plus
Contact: Icarus@epflrocketteam.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Jones
Number of students: 0/1-2
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
As part of our research project on Thrust Vector Control, we started developing last year our first guidance, navigation and control algorithms.
This work includes developing a robust controller for a sounding rocket. This controller should focus on stability of the launch vehicle and robustness against perturbations rather than tracking performances. You will also be required to benchmark the robust controller you developed against our existing optimal controller (MPC), in order to conclude which one or which combination of the two would be more suited for the thrust vector control of a sounding rocket.
As a finalisation of your work, you will be required to benchmark and test all the algorithms in our simulator, in real-time on a raspberry pi and on our drone.
As there are other projects revolving around developing a guidance, navigation and control algorithms, you will be required to work in parallel and collaborate with other students and members of the team.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Developing a robust controller
- Benchmarking the robust and optimal controllers
- Analysing the results
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Robust Control
- Electronics
- C++ / Python
- Familiarity with ROS (Robot Operating System) is a plus
Contact: Icarus@epflrocketteam.ch
Supervisor: Prof. TBD
Number of students: 0/1
PROJECT STATUS : TAKEN
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
As part of our research project on Active attitude control, we developed last year a drone prototype allowing us to test our first control algorithm. This semester the drone will be expanded to feature some navigation and guidance capabilities as well as for exterior testing.
This work includes the full design of a lighter and more capable drone according to the mission requirements provided. It is mainly about designing a new structure as well as designing the two degree of freedom of gimbal mechanism and choosing of the propellers and actuators.
As a finalization of this project, the students will be asked to manufacture the drone and adjust its design if required. Then, the new drone shall be fully characterized from its mechanical properties to the identification of the actuators and propelling system.
As this project aimed to develop the long-term flying platform for the team to test their algorithms, some flexibility and great communication with the other team members to understand their future needs are required.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Design a new prototype
- Build the prototype
- Characterize the new design
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- CAD
- Motor characterization
- Manufacturing
- Team communication and adaptability
Contact: Icarus@epflrocketteam.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Mäusli
Number of students: 0/1
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
As part of our research project on Active attitude control and in order to implement it on the future Bi-Liquid engine developed by the team, we will develop an actively controlled hopper rocket starting this year.
This work includes the research and the first designs of the future vehicle as well as evaluating the different engineering options (materials, size, …) in order to match the mission requirements provided. The student will also be asked to write some more precise requirements for specific future design projects.
As a finalization of this project, the student would have to present the main architecture for this vehicle with a first design of every subsystems enabling every aspect of the vehicle to be dimensioned.
As this project aimed to design a vehicle that will be powered by an engine developed in parallel, the student will have to work in coordination with the propulsion team as well as with the designer of the gimbal mechanism to ensure a correct design as well as the correct definition of the interface with the motor.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Exploring the different engineering options
- Choice of the vehicle architecture
- Design work on the different parts
- Dimensioning of the vehicle
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Systems Engineering
- Design Expertise
- CAD
- Team communication and adaptability
Contact: Icarus@epflrocketteam.ch
Supervisor: Prof. TBD
Number of students: 0/1
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
As part of our research project on Active attitude control and in order to implement it on the future Bi-Liquid engine developed by the team, we will develop an actively controlled hopper rocket.
This work includes the design of a 2 Degree of Freedom gimbal mechanism module to steer a student researched and developed Bi-Liquid engine according to the requirements provided. The design of the mechanism also includes the selection of the actuator needed as well as the interface with the motor structure, the test bench developed in parallel as well as future vehicles.
As a proof of work and finalization of this project, the student would be asked to submit a comprehensive manufacturing plan and procedure. If timing allows and if the student is motivated, a first prototype of the mechanism developed can build and a characterization of the actuator selected can be done to prepare ground for a future static fire test.
As this module will be fitted first on a test bench designed in parallel, both projects would have to work in coordination to ensure a correct design. This will be supervised by a systems engineer.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Selection of gimbal technology
- Design of the mechanism and interfaces
- Selection of the actuators
- Characterization of the mechanism
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- CAD
- Actuator characterization
- Manufacturing
- Team communication and adaptability
Contact: Icarus@epflrocketteam.ch
Supervisor: Prof.Mäusli
Number of students: 0/2
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The EPFL Rocket Team has set as a goal to developing the technologies necessary to land a rocket as part of Icarus, its research project.
This work will revolve around choosing how the rocket will be landed. This means choosing how the rocket will return to the launchpad (grid fins, guided parachutes, etc), which structure will support the landing (retractable legs, fixed legs, ground structure, etc) and whether and how the engine will be relighted.
As a finalization of your work, you will be demanded to provide the trade-offs for the different technologies researched, provide a detailed report of the consequences of the chosen technology on the rocket (added mass, points of failure, etc) and to simulate the expected trajectory of the rocket with the technology chosen.
Since this project is crucial for the EPFL Rocket Team’s long-term goal, you will be supervised by the system engineers. You will also need to coordinate with students working in parallel on guidance and control algorithms for the decent phase.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Research existing landing technologies
- Choose the most appropriate technology
- Simulate the expected trajectory of a landing
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Systems Engineering
- Python or Matlab/Simulink
Contact: Icarus@epflrocketteam.ch
Supervisor: Prof. TBD
Number of students: 0/1
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
As part of our research project on Active attitude control, we will develop a small-scale rocket prototype allowing us to test our control strategy.
This work includes the design of a 2 Degree of Freedom gimbal mechanism module to steer a commercial of the shelf solid rocket motor according to the requirements provided. The design of module also includes the selection of the actuator needed as well as the structure to ensure a proper fixation of the motor throughout the flight, and the interface with the rocket developed in parallel.
As a proof of work and finalization of this project, the student would be asked to submit a comprehensive manufacturing plan and procedure. If timing allows and if the student is motivated, a first prototype of the mechanism developed can build and test.
As this module will be fitted inside a rocket prototype developed in parallel, both projects would have to work in coordination to ensure a correct design and will be supervised by a system engineer.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Design of the gimbal module
- Manufacturing procedure definition
- Manufacture of a first prototype
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- CAD
- Actuator characterization
- Manufacturing
- Team communication and adaptability
Contact: Icarus@epflrocketteam.ch
Supervisor: Prof.Mäusli
Number of students: 0/1
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
As part of our research project on Active attitude control, we will develop a small-scale rocket prototype allowing us to test our control strategy.
This work includes many different developments to allows the team to get approval and conduct safe launch operations of the small-scale rocket prototype.
The first step of this project is to elaborate a complete safe mission architecture as well as studying the different options to allow the recovery of the rocket allowing for an approval to manufacture and later launch the rocket.
Then the student will be asked to design an automatic onboard abort system with a safe recovery module according to the architecture developed and approved earlier. As well, it is imperative to design a manual abort system allowing the launch officer to cancel or stop the launch in a safe way.
Finally, if timing allows and if the student is motivated, a full launching system will be designed and manufactured including a launch rail, and some ignition electronics. The student will be encouraged to continue working on this project and to actively participate in flight campaigns during the next semester.
As this project covers a lot of different expertise domain, a multi-skilled, meticulous and safety-minded candidate is desired. The student will be supported by the system engineer, as well as experienced members from the team and will work in cooperation with the launching authorities in Switzerland.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Mission architecture development
- Project approval
- Development of the abort and recovery systems
- Design of the launch support equipment
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Mechanical design
- Electronics and software
- Manufacturing
- Team communication and adaptability
- Meticulous and safety-oriented
Contact: Icarus@epflrocketteam.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Schmid
Number of students: 0/1-2
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
As part of our research project on Thrust Vector Control, we developed last semester a real time rocket simulator to support and test our Guidance Navigation and Control algorithm.
The current simulator used ROS (Robot Operating System) and is highly modular allowing to test our code in a Software-in-the-Loop, Processor-in-the-Loop as well as Hardware-in-the-Loop with little modifications.
The first step in this work will be to improve the current simulator making it more user friendly and more performant. The goal here is to have a strong optimized base to support further development of the simulator. The porting on a newer platform or another language will have to be evaluated.
The second step in this work will focus on expanding the capabilities of the simulator by adding features that will support further development of the GNC. The features will mainly be focused on simulating more sensors, actuators as well as expanding the environment complexity. The student is also welcomed to propose and add more features to the simulator.
As the simulator is implemented to support the GNC developed in parallel by the Icarus team, this project will have to adapt and work in coordination with the second simulator semester project as well as the rest of the team.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Improvement of the Simulator
- Addition of new features
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Software Engineering
- C++, Python, ROS
- Team communication and adaptability
Contact: Icarus@epflrocketteam.ch
Supervisor: Prof. TBD
Number of students: 0/1-2
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
As part of our research project on Thrust Vector Control, we developed last semester a real time rocket simulator to support and test our Guidance Navigation and Control algorithms. The simulator is developed using ROS (Robot Operating System) and is based on a six-degree-of-freedom rigid body with varying mass dynamic model.
The goal of this work is to fine tune the simulator to make it more reliable and have more precise simulations in order to fully match the simulation with the real vehicle dynamics.
The first step in this work is to review all the equations used with a special attention on the aerodynamics model, and correct them if necessary. The reliability improvements also includes some work on the proper simulation of the different actuators dynamics as well as the refining and evaluation of the different uncertainties and disturbances.
The student will also be asked to develop a system identification method for our flight prototypes.
The second step in this work consists of fully evaluating the precision of the simulation against flight and test data for various vehicle and testing set-up.
As the simulator is implemented to support the GNC developed in parallel by the Icarus team, this project will have to adapt and work in coordination with the second simulator semester project as well as the rest of the team.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Simulator physic equations correction
- Simulator precision improvements
- Simulation precision evaluation
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- System Identification
- Software Engineering
- C++, Python, ROS
- Team communication and adaptability
Contact: Icarus@epflrocketteam.ch
Supervisor: Prof. TBD
Number of students: 0/1-2
BI-LIQUID
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Rocket engines usually uses turbo pumps to pressurize and inject the liquid propellants into the combustion chamber. It allows to optimize efficiency and weight compared to pressure-fed systems.
The goal of this project is to perform the mechanical design of the pump side of the system, including the impeller and volute, and to assess the performances for the nominal regime.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Research
- Development
- Evaluation
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- CAD design
- CFD simulations
- Fluid dynamics
Contact: theophile.balestrini@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. TBD
Number of students: 0/3
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Rocket engines using bi-liquid propellants expose their parts to extreme temperatures, well above the melting point of most metals. In order to be able to fire the engine for long durations, the combustion chamber and nozzle jackets have to be cooled by a fluid, generally the fuel, using regenerative cooling and/or film cooling.
The goal of this project is to select one or several cooling solutions and provide designs’ implementation on the currently developed motor.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Research and documentation
- Development
- Evaluation
- Iterative process
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- CAD design
- CFD simulations
- Fluid dynamics
Contact: theophile.balestrini@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Boillat
Number of students: 0/2
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Starting this year, the team will be developing a bi-liquid rocket engine, meaning that the fuel and the oxidizer are both liquids, mixed in a combustion chamber to generate thrust. Liquids are desirable because they have a high density and high specific impulse, but they need a more complex fuelling system.
The goal of the project is to develop the plumbing system of the bi-liquid fuelling system that will be first used in the engine test facilities, and then be converted to a flight support equipment for a real launch.
You can either iterate on the previous fuelling system used for the oxidizer of
the Hybrid Engine developed last year, or only use it as inspiration and start anew.
You will be working in cooperation with other students on the development of these test facilities, especially on the electronics aspect and sizing of the components.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Research and documentation
- Design phase
- Manufacturing and tests
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- CAD
- Thermodynamics
- Fluid Dynamics
Contact: yanis.debusschere@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. TBD
Number of students: 0/2
PROJECT STATUS : TAKEN
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Starting this year, the team will be developing a bi-liquid rocket engine, meaning that the fuel and the oxidizer are both liquids, mixed in a combustion chamber to generate thrust. Liquids are desirable because they have a high density and high specific impulse, but they need a more complex fuelling system.
The goal of the project is to develop an electronics system to control actuators and gather data from the test area.
The actuator control as well as the sensor data acquisition will be done through COTS (Commercial Of The Shelf) components that are put together within a network of some sort to then be sent to the user in a separate location.
You will be working in cooperation with other students on the development of these test facilities, especially on the plumbing aspect and sizing of the components.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Research on different options available
- Design of the overall system
- Component acquisition and configuration
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Electronics
- Communication Systems
- Embedded Systems
Contact: yanis.debusschere@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. TBD
Number of students: 1/1
EPFL ROCKET TEAM
ASSOCIATION
PROJECT STATUS : FREE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The EPFL Rocket Team is an interdisciplinary project and an association whose goal is to build a rocket and participate in an international competition in Portugal. At this competition, the rocket must reach 9’000m and in the future will be aimed at 100’000m. As sustainability becomes a more and more important topic, also within engineering projects, we would like to assess the life cycle of our rockets and understand the environmental impact of the whole project. Everything must be looked at, from design, fabrication processes and launches to external activities like transportation and logistics. If we understand where most of the pollution or wasting is generated from, we can take decisions on future development to limit those and work toward a more environmentally sustainable interdisciplinary project.
PROJECT TIMELINE
- Research and documentation
- Analysis applied to current project
- Improvements and advice to the team
SKILLS NEEDED (or that you are willing to learn)
- Project Analysis
- Resources Management
Contact: william.cottier@epfl.ch
Supervisor: Prof. Kyritsis
Number of students: 0/1