Undergraduate Research Day 2020

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/20158

With students involved in so many research opportunities, Undergraduate Research Day provides the perfect opportunity for them to share their work with the campus community. Held each April, Undergraduate Research Day showcases current research, scholarship, and artistic endeavors.

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    Development of 3D Printed Honeycombs for Crash Mitigation Applications
    (2020) Harvey, Rachel; Wereley, Norman; Mao, Min
    Honeycomb structures have been studied thoroughly to understand their in and out-of-plane mechanical properties. The ability of honeycombs to effectively absorb energy makes them ideal for usage in crash mitigation, particularly for helicopters and automobiles. Currently, when crushed by a dynamic load, there is an impulse in force prior to a steady absorption – which could be detrimental in such crash mitigation applications. In this study, 3D printed honeycombs are investigated for subsequent crush efficiency with quasi-static and dynamic crush tests. 3D printing, rather than conventional manufacturing, allows for structural modifications within the honeycomb that influence its force-displacement profile. Buckling initiators on the face and/or vertex of honeycombs should reduce the initial peak stress and increase the strain at which densification, the point at which the stress once again increases, begins. The experiment is not complete, but thus far, buckling initiators have proven to decrease the initial peak stress of tested honeycombs. Future directions for the project include testing honeycombs of other materials with buckling initiators, and the implementation of variations of current buckling initiator designs.
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    Robotic Habitat Technologies for Minimizing Crew Maintenance Requirements
    (2020) Broemmelsiek, Rachel; Calderwood, Micah; Callejon Hierro, Jaime; Cueva, Rachel; Harvey, Rachel; Holmes, Scott; Khawaja, Imran; Kleyman, William; Mnev, Peter; Orlando, Wilson; Queen, Jessica; Shenk-Evans, Micah; Skinner, Thomas; Akin, Dave; Bowden, Mary
    NASA’s Lunar Gateway aims to be deployed later in the decade and will serve as an outpost orbiting the moon. This habitat will be utilized as a base for lunar operations as well as future missions to Mars. Unlike the International Space Station (ISS), which maintains three to six astronauts at any given time, the Lunar Gateway will be uncrewed for eleven months out of the year. Over 80% of crew time onboard the ISS is dedicated to logistics, repair, and maintenance, leaving minimal time for scientific research and experimentation. In order to maintain Gateway, robotic systems must be implemented to accomplish maintenance and operational tasks. This paper discusses our team’s proposed dexterous robotic system, which will address routine and contingency operational and maintenance tasks on Gateway. The project is experimentally-based, and split into three approaches: cataloging robotic capabilities via robot/taskboard interactions, logistics management of Cargo Transfer Bags (CTBs), and software development of an AprilTag situational development system. This research project utilizes the unique capabilities of the University of Maryland (UMD) Space Systems Laboratory (SSL), which houses various dexterous robotic manipulators, mock-ups of space habitats, and the Neutral Buoyancy Research Facility (NBRF), a 50-foot diameter, 25-foot deep water tank used to simulate microgravity conditions. By incorporating robotic systems into the architecture of the Lunar Gateway, it will allow for the lunar outpost to be continually operated and maintained while uncrewed, and will allow for astronauts, when present, to focus on maximizing scientific discoveries.