I lead the Data Acquisition Team subteam in UMD SEDS’s Liquid Rocket Team. Our responsibility is to manage the testing instrumentation, data collection, and safety protocols of the team. The liquid rocket team is the newest addition to SEDS@UMD, launched in 2021. Liquid rocket engines are notoriously difficult to manufacture, as liquid fuel propulsion requires a considerable more amount of calculation and engineering decisions than your traditional solid-fuel rocket engines. Despite the hardships, we aim to hot-fire test our first 350lbf rocket engine during the 2022-2023 year and launch an actual rocket sometime within the next 5 years. We are divided into three subteams: Data Acquisition, Propulsion, and Ground System Equipment.
Since the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, the Data Acquisition Team has:
- Designed electrical diagrams of our data acquisition system
- Created initial control panels within LabVIEW, a visualization and system-design software environment
- Researched safety protocols and instrumentation
- Begun preliminary sensor testing and electronic wiring with a DAQ box (e.g., pressure transducers, K-type thermocouples, Input Modules)
Our team as a whole has accomplished even more, already working on injector manufacturing, ignition control, ground system P&ID diagrams, and nozzle design.
The LinkedIn Version
- Organize and prepare technical analyses of data acquisition designs and electrical architecture
- Designate tasks to different team members and maintain communication between the different subteams
- Design the avionics and data collection pipeline with LabVIEW of our 350lbf liquid rocket engine
- Manage weekly subteam meetings and relay information from administration to subteam members