A Study of Muon Flux in Relation to Altitude
Preliminary Design Review
http://muons.westrocketry.com/
November 7th, 2014
Begin work on Subscale Model
November 21st, 2014
Subscale model completed
November 22nd, 2014
Scale model test flight
December 12th, 2014
Begin work on full scale vehicle
January 24th, 2015
Full scale vehicle completed
February 1st, 2015
Full scale test flight #1 (half
impulse)
February 15th, 2015
Full scale test flight #2 (full impulse)
March 14th, 2015
Full scale test flight #3 (with
payload)
April 4th, 2015
Flight hardware and safety checks
April 11th, 2015
Launch day, full scale flight #4 at
MSFC
May 23rd, 2015
Full scale flight #5 (tentative) at
Bong*
* Bong State Recreation Area, Kansasville, WI
September ‘14
1
7
14
October ‘14
21
28
5
12
SOW
November ‘14
19
26
2
9
16
December ‘14
23
30
7
14
January ‘15
21
28
4
February ‘15
11
18
25
1
8
March ‘15
15
22
CDR
PDR
PDP (tentative)
1
April ‘15
8
15
22
29
May ‘15
5
12
19
26
FRR
CDP (tentative)
3
10
PLAR
FRP (tentative
Build Scale Model
Build Full Scale
Scale Model Test Flights
Full Scale Test Flight #1
Full Scale Test Flight #2
Launch Day
RFP goes out
Schools notified of selection
Team Web Presence Established
Travel to Huntsville
LRR and Safety Briefing
5. Vehicle Drogue
Ejection at Apogee
T=17.5s
Alt.=5,456ft
6. Vehicle
Descent on
Drogue
4. Coast
7. Payload Separation
And Main Deployment
T=79s
Alt.=1700 ft
3. Motor
Burnout
T=1.64s
Alt.=715ft
2. Ignition
T=00s
Alt.=00ft
1.
Ready
T=00s
Alt.=00ft
8. Vehicle Main
Deployment
T=97s
Alt.=700ft
9. Vehicle Descent
On Main
10. Vehicle Landing
T=157s
Alt.=00ft
* Muons enlarged
for emphasis
11. Payload
Descent on
Main
12. Payload
Landing
T=195s
Alt.=00
• Motor ignition
• Stable flight
• Altitude of 5,280 feet AGL reached but not
exceeded
• Both drogue and main parachute deployed
• Entire vehicle returns to the ground safely with
no damage (reflyable on the same day)
• Successful recovery of the booster and payload
compartment
Length
Diameter
Liftoff Weight
156”
4”
22.2lbs
CP
CG
Static margin
105” from nosecone
78” from nosecone
6.75 calibers
Motor
CTI K1440WT (primary choice)
Motor
Diameter
Total
[mm]
Impulse
[Ns]
Burn
Time
[s]
Stability
Margin
[calibers]
Thrust to
weight ratio
CTI K1440WT
54
2368
1.64
6.75
14.3
AT K1050W
54
2522
2.37
6.30
10.1
Letter
Part
A
Nosecone
B
Payload (separates from vehicle)
C
Deployment Electronics (Payload)
D
Payload Parachute
E
Rocket Drogue Parachute
F
Deployment Electronics (Rocket)
G
Rocket Main Parachute
H
Motor Mount (54mm/75mm capable)
I
Fins (3, 3/32” G10)
• Fins: G-10 fiberglass 0.093 (3/32) in
• Body: 4in DynaWind tubing
• Bulkheads, centering rings: ABS (3Dprinted)
• Motor mount: 54mm Kraft Phenolic
• Nosecone: fiberglass nose cone
• Rail buttons: standard Nylon rail buttons
• Motor retention system: Aeropack
screw-on motor retainer
• Anchors: 1/4" stainless steel U-Bolts
• Epoxy: West or Loctite epoxy
• We selected the CTI K1440WT 54mm motor to
propel our rocket to out target altitude (5456 ft).
• The CTI K1440WT motor provides an appropriate
thrust to weight ratio for our vehicle (14.3).
Length
[mm]
Mass
[lbs]
Diameter
[mm]
Motor
Selection
Stability
Margin
[calibers]
Thrust to
weight ratio
572
4.17
54
CTI K1440
6.83
14.3
Parameter
Value
Flight Stability Static
Margin
6.83 calibers
Thrust to Weight Ratio
14.30
Velocity at Launch Guide
Departure (10ft launch rail)
73.90 mph
•
Our rocket currently has a mass of 22.2lbs, which includes a
4.17lbs CTI K1440WT motor.
•
This estimate of the mass comes from the OpenRocket
database where our rocket is being designed.
•
If the rockets gains 5lbs of weight it will only reach altitude
of 4,361ft which we consider unacceptable performance.
•
The rocket would have to weigh 64.9lbs for the thrust to
weight ratio to drop under 5 (underpowered rocket).
Max. Thrust: 2100N
Burn Time: 1.7s
Thrust
[Ns]
Time [s]
Apogee: 5456ft,
17.5s
Altitude
[ft]
Time [s]
Maximum
acceleration:
20.4 g (200 m/s2)
Acceleration
[m/s^2]
Time [s]
Max. velocity: 496mph
Mach number: 0.65
subsonic
Velocity [ft/s]
Time [s]
Wind Speed
[mph]
0
5
10
15
20
Altitude
[ ft]
5456
5434
5371
5274
5157
Change in Apogee
[%]
0.00
-0.40
-1.56
-3.30
-5.48
Diameter
Parachute
[in]
Drogue
Main
Payload
16
84
108
Descent
Rate
[ fps]
61
11.6
14.8
Ejection
Charge
[g]
2.5
5.0
4.5
Deployment
Altitude
[ ft]
5456
700
5456
Descent
Weight
[lbs]
Impact
Energy
[ ft-lbf]
4.9
4.9 10.25
13.1 44.6
• Wp
• dP
• V
- ejection charge weight [g]
- ejection pressure (15 [psi])
- pressurized volume [in3]
• R
- universal gas constant
(22.16 [ft-lb oR-1 lb-mol-1])
• T
- combustion gas temperature
(3,307 [oR])
Parachute
Charge [g]**
Drogue
1.56
Main
3.36
Payload
2.14
* Ejection Charges will be finalized during static testing
** Primary charges shown. Secondary charges will be 25% larger (Jeffries’ backup scheme).
Drogue Parachute
Apg
Apg+1”
1700’
PerfectFlite
StratoLogger
500’
PerfectFlite
StratoLogger
700’
PerfectFlite
StratoLogger
PerfectFlite
StratoLogger
Main Parachute
Payload
1500’
Wind Speed
[mph]
Drift
[ft]
Drift
[mi]
0
5
10
15
20
0
812
1625
2438
3250
0 .00
0.15
0.31
0.46
0.62
PAYLOAD DEPLOYED AT 1700ft AGL PAYLOAD DEPLOYED AT APOGEE
Wind
Speed
[mph]
Drift
[ft]
Drift
[mi]
Wind
Speed
[mph]
Drift
[ft]
Drift
[mi]
0
0
0 .00
0
0
0.00
5
877
0.17
5
1818
0.34
10
1755
0.33
10
3633
0.69
15
2631
0.50
15
5450
1.03
20
5308
1.01
20
7266
1.37
SLI Launch, Huntsville, AL
MadWest Launch, Bong RA, WI
CLOUD AIDED TELEMETRY : CloudAided-Telemetry (CAT) system uses an
on-board Android device and app to
transmit flight, tracking and payload
data from an airborne rocket using any
available cellular network. The data travel
along orange route to our data cloud
(located in Houston, TX) from where
they can be retrieved via blue route by
any connected device (such as cell
phone) and aid the search for the rocket
and payload. CAT is an 'opportunistic
uploader' and can store gigabytes of data
on-board while searching for available
connection.
This system has been succesfully tested at
LDRS 33 launch during 8K+ flight.
Tested Components
C1: Body (including construction techniques)
C2: Altimeter
C3: Parachutes
C4: Fins
C5: Payload
C6: Ejection charges
C7: Launch system
C8: Motor mount
C9: Beacons
C10: Shock cords and anchors
C11: Rocket stability
Verification Tests
V1 Integrity Test: applying force to verify durability.
V2 Parachute Drop Test: testing parachute functionality.
V3 Tension Test: applying force to the parachute shock cords to test durability
V4 Prototype Flight: testing the feasibility of the vehicle with a scale model.
V5 Functionality Test: test of basic functionality of a device on the ground
V6 Altimeter Ground Test: pressure chamber test
V7 Deployment Test: test to determine if the electronics can ignite the
deployment charges.
V8 Ejection Test: ejection charge size verification
V9 Computer Simulation: use RockSim/OpenRocket to predict the behavior
of the launch vehicle.
V10 Integration Test: ensure that the payload fits smoothly into the
vehicle, and is robust enough to withstand flight
stresses.
V1
C1
V2
V3
P
V4
P
P
C4
P
C5
P
P
P
V8
V9
v10
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
C7
P
P
C8
P
P
C9
P
P
C11
V7
P
C6
C10
V6
P
C2
C3
V5
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P = planned, C = successfully completed
Status: Verification will begin after PDR conference.
• Study muon flux in relation
to altitude
• Data collected by the detector is
accurate
• No hardware failures
• Payload is recovered and
undamaged
P+
High velocity proton
impacts nitrogen nuclei.
Quarks and antiquarks
form a pion.
π
Pion decays into a muon.
µ
We make the following hypothesis: As altitude
decreases, muon flux will decrease at an exponentially
proportional rate.
Left, Data from experiments by Victor Hess and Werner Kolhörster
Right, Hess in the balloon used to in their experiment
When a muon passes by a molecule of scintillator material, it excites that molecule’s electrons,
providing the electrons with energy that will force them to a higher energetic state. After the muon
passes, the electrons eventually return to its original lower energy state, releasing the extra energy in
the form of light (photons). The increase in photon flux can be measured using photomultiplier tubes.
Coincidence counter: To increment the detected muons count, both scintillator
layers in our payload must detect a passage of a particle at the same time (PMT1 and
PMT2 both register a signal). If only one detector registers a passing particle, the
detected particle is most likely not a muon.
The payload is comprised of two, completely separated layers of scintillator
fibers encircling the detector electronics, all enclosed in a 4 inch black
fiberglass tube coupler.
The scintillator fibers are divided into two independent layers (outer and
inner), each layer being monitored by its own photomultiplier tube (PMT).
Simultaneous detection of a particle in both layers is an indication of muon
passage.
FLIGHT
& DEPLOYMENT
MUON
DETECTOR
Payload
Parachute
Nosecone
E-Bay
E-Bay
Payload
1
2
3
4
5
1. High velocity protons impact nitrogen nuclei in the
upper atmosphere creating muons.
2. As our payload falls through the atmosphere muons
pass through it.
3. Coincidence counter counts each muon.
4. Ground based computer receives data.
5. Data is analyzed.
6. Final Report is generated.
6
µ = f(A)
µ
A
…
…
Cumulative Muon Count
Altitude
• We will use commercially available
accelerometers, altimeters, GPSs, and
transmitters
• The sensors will be calibrated
• We will do extensive testing on the
ground prior to the rocket launch
Test
Measurement
Muon Frequency
Photomultipliers and
scintillator fibers
Acceleration
Accelerometer
Location
GPS and Cloud Aided
Telemetry
Altitude
Altimeter
Condition
Calculation
Value
Expected Event Rate
Given
1 muon / cm2 / min
Payload Area
Given
900 cm2
Data Writing Rate
Given
1 / sec
Payload Deployment Altitude
Payload Descent Rate
Given
Given
1700 ft
14 ft/sec
Altitude data per second
Given
2 Bytes / sec
Total Flight Time
Altitude * Flight time
122 sec
Bytes(count)
Г log2 (count) / 8 ˥
N/A
Expected Capture Rate
Event Rate * Payload Area
900 muons / min (15 / sec)
AND† data per second
(Bytes(Capture Rate)+1) * Writing Rate
2 Bytes / sec
XOR‡ data per second
2 * (Bytes(4 * Capture Rate) +1) *
Writing Rate
4 Bytes / sec
Data Per Second
Altitude + AND + XOR
8 Bytes / sec
Total Data Usage
Data per Second * Flight Time
970 Bytes
† AND
‡ XOR
events: both PMTs register a passage of particle, muon detected
events: only one PMT register a passage of particle, not-a-muon detected
Estimated Maximum Amount of Memory Needed: 970 Bytes
Memory Chip Used in Flight Computer:
128KB FLASH (non-volatile)
Tested Components
C1: Photomultiplier Tubes
C2: Scintillator Optic Fibers
C3: Detection Electronics
C4: Central Processing Unit
C5: Accelerometer
C6: Altimeter
C7: GPS
C8: Cloud Aided Telemetry
C9: Transmitter
C10: Parachutes
Verification Tests
V1 Functionality Test: Test of basic functionality of a device
on the ground
V2 Integrity Test: Applying force to verify durability
V3 Calibration Test: Calibration and test of accurateness and
preciseness
V4 Battery Test: Test for sufficient amount of battery power
V5 Connection Test: Test of proper connection of
components
V1
V2
V3
V4
C1
P
P
C2
P
P
C3
P
P
P
P
C4
P
P
P
P
C5
P
P
P
P
C6
P
P
P
P
C7
P
P
P
P
C8
P
P
P
P
C9
P
P
P
P
C10
P
V5
P
P
P
P
P = planned, C = successfully completed
Status: Verification will begin after PDR conference.
# of People
(estimate)
Date
School
Outreach
Oct. 10, 2014
Randall Elementary
School Homecoming
Parade
200
Oct. 18, 19, 2014
Wisconsin Science
Festival
Alka-Seltzer Rockets,
Pneumatic Rockets
2000
Nov. 1, 2014
Science Saturday at
Wisconsin Inst. For
Discovery
Pneumatic Rockets,
Rocket and Payload
Displays
500
Nov. 15, 2014
Kids Express
Alka-Seltzer Rockets
50
Feb. 21, 2015
Physics Open House
Displays, presentations
200
Mar. 7, 2015
O’Keefe Middle School
–Super Science
Saturday
Alka-Seltzer Rockets,
Pneumatic Rockets
80
Mar. 14, 2015
Franklin and Randall
Elementary
- Super Science
Saturday
Alka-Seltzer Rockets,
Pneumatic Rockets
100
Total: 3130
Will this fit in our rocket?