Sailplane Thermal Detector Team 1723 UConn ECE Dept; Advisor Dr. Helena Silva Nicholas Chapman Alex Dawkins William Pawelcyzk Kevin Waligora
Overview: What is a glider? It’s an airplane without an engine. It is heavier than air. It uses the surrounding air (thermals) as its source of lift.
Overview: What is a thermal? A column of rising air Caused by sun’s heating
Need for a Thermal Finder Thermals are invisible Increased flight time and safety Helps students and competitive pilots
Airport Trip -- Market Research We aren’t glider pilots. We went to meet some and see what features they’d like.
Design Requirements Sensors shall not modify the wing Has to be wireless per request Interface must be simple Must fit onto multiple wing shapes Must be somewhat aerodynamic
User Interface Concept Incremental display to show strength of thermal
Principle of Operation Detector works by comparing wingtip conditions.
Device Design Three microcontrollers: one per wingtip, one in the cockpit. Selected the Adafruit Feather line (Arduino)
Mechanical Design of Device Housing 3-D printed PLA Semi- Aerodynamic Interior hole allows airflow Rubber seal on bottom Secured with bendable sheet Further secured with tape
Progress - Bench Testing 1. Ordered and received parts 2. Tested sensors 3. Tested wireless communication 4. Tested SD card logging 5. Combined wireless, temp, and logging
Findings 1. Temperature sensors are rather quick to respond. 2. The sensors agree with each other to the nearest .1 deg C. 3. Sensors can read up to 4Hz. 4. Wireless range is more than far enough.
Progress - Car Testing Car Mirrors simulate wings and car moves at glider speed.
Progress - Car Testing Car Test Video:
Results - Car Testing
Results - Car Testing
Results - Car Testing Temp Sensors are GOOD! Temperatures drift apart at low speeds Quick deviations are visible Conclusion: good for sensing thermals
Next Steps Make sensor and logging equipment more robust Test on an airplane to log flight data Analyze data to see what thermals look like Design a display and code thermal sensing logic Test again in flight Refine
1738
Alternate Solutions Thermistor Relatively quick temperature reading Inexpensive Only as good as your ADC
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