Nerds (engineers) click me

[TwoJ's]

In my time here I have seen that there are quite a few engineers here that either have their degree, or are in school to get it. I myself am a mechanical engineering student, and I am starting to formulate an idea for what my senior project will be.

So if you've graduated, what did you do for a senior project (if you did one at all)? If you haven't graduated, what are you going to do?

My passion lies in things that fly, so I am leaning towards a project involving rocket propulsion; specifically building a small rocket engine. In preliminary research, it seems that liquid fuel is the way to go because of energy concentration (and fuel is cheap, readily available etc.)

I found this nice little .pdf file that got me started.

I'm curious if what you are all doing/have done, and if anyone has any insight for me.

[kronus]

Since my school doesn't offer a specific EE degree, I switched from general engineering to CS with a bunch of EE electives a few semesters ago. Going to be doing an embedded electronics or robotics Clinic (corporate-sponsored project) next year.

Rockets are cool, too. Have you looked into ramjets/scramjets at all?

[whiltebeitel]

I'm doing Formula Hybrid as my senior design project, since A&M doesn't do FSAE any more.

Have you looked into the piping work required for liquid fueled rockets? Would you feel comfortable working with that sort of thing, considering the volatile nature of liquid rockets?

If you do it, I suggest you limit it to just thrust-based engine research as your topic. The actual flight would be very disappointing if it was to peter out and crash, dashing 4 months of work in a few seconds.

Just some thoughts. Not trying to judge you.

[Ral]

I'm doing Formula Hybrid as my senior design project, since A&M doesn't do FSAE any more.

Have you looked into the piping work required for liquid fueled rockets? Would you feel comfortable working with that sort of thing, considering the volatile nature of liquid rockets?

If you do it, I suggest you limit it to just thrust-based engine research as your topic. The actual flight would be very disappointing if it was to peter out and crash, dashing 4 months of work in a few seconds.

Just some thoughts. Not trying to judge you.

This happened to some friends of mine.. they spent a year designing a UAV, building it out of composites, installed nearly 40k worth of surveillance equipment and had everything working.. incredibly complex system, coupled autopilot, the works. They took all the surveillance stuff out and test-flew it via remote control and the aircraft went out of range and crashed. I was an aeronautical engineer, so my final projects (yes, we had 3) won't be of much use to you but me and another guy did a performance and handling report on the P-47 thunderbolt, including building the thing in a flight simulator to get stability derivatives, all based on weights, dimensions, and other basic info we had to research ourselves. That was first semester. The second was to design a UAV (paper design, but could have been built easily) around an M-16 that came out very well, and the third, that happened simultaneously to the paper design, was a flight test report based on data students gathered while flying an A-36 Bonanza with the guy who did all the test flying for the Super Hornet.

If you want something aviation related, but still Mech-E, think about electric propeller governors, or get with an Aero guy and talk about boundary-layer control devices (blowing or sucking air through the wings to make lift at crazy-low dynamic pressures).

[cferb]

Fuck, I hate when people remind me of things I have to do...I forgot about the senior project. I'll probably build an electric car, or some shit like that.

[TwoJ's]

I'm doing Formula Hybrid as my senior design project, since A&M doesn't do FSAE any more.

Have you looked into the piping work required for liquid fueled rockets? Would you feel comfortable working with that sort of thing, considering the volatile nature of liquid rockets?

If you do it, I suggest you limit it to just thrust-based engine research as your topic. The actual flight would be very disappointing if it was to peter out and crash, dashing 4 months of work in a few seconds.

Just some thoughts. Not trying to judge you.

I appreciate your thoughts, I don't think you're judging. And you are right. I came to the conclusion that if I were to go with liquid fuel, I would have to limit the engine to a test stand; at least for the project. I likely would build a rocket and launch it after it was all done.

I just am drawn to liquid fuel because of the challenge it presents. It will have to be liquid cooled, and it will test my machining and instrumentation skills. Plus, I have to produce at least 100 lbs force, and liquid fuel will do that with a much smaller combustion chamber and fuel volume.

[andyman2487]

We have group senior projects. 8)

[whiltebeitel]

http://www.cientificosaficionados.com/libros/cohetes.pdf

Seems like a good place to get some theory if you want it, good reading for the rest of us if it's old hat for you.

[Money$hit]

[Farbin Kaiber]

He said nerds, neither of us fit that discription, let's roll, or treadmill as it were.

[CorvallisBMW]

I'm doing mine on ergonomics and driver interface for our FSAE car. But that doesn't really have much to do with flight...

[cramer]

We have group senior projects. 8)

As did my school. Since I am a CE, our class did a boring parking lot, but the MEs built a hover craft for my senior year.

[Aptyp]

Formula SAE, messing with a cute CBR engine.

[TwoJ's]

He said nerds, neither of us fit that discription, let's roll, or treadmill as it were.

yeah, no shit... Go find a thread about stories that people think are real like star wars or the bible or something. :p