Aerospace Engineering Students CASMART Student Design Challenge
A group of undergraduate students from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University won the Consortium for the Advancement of Shape Memory Alloy Research and Technology (CASMART) Student Design Challenge. Cullen Eckhert, Kelli Pickett, Hannah Stroud, Kanika Gakhar and Tyler Fink were under the direction of graduate mentors Robert Wheeler and Robert Saunders, as well as faculty advisors Dr. Dimitris Lagoudas and Dr. James Boyd.
The challenge was intended for undergraduate and graduate students working with CASMART faculty advisors to consider innovative approaches to developing design tools and hardware using shape memory alloy (SMA) technology. Students had the opportunity to showcase their creativity by applying engineering theories and methods they’ve learned, using engineering design principles, and leveraging CASMART members’ experience to address SMA design challenges in the automotive, aeronautics and space industry.
The goals for this group were to design a lightweight and efficient deployment device for a solar array and to fabricate a proof of concept or prototype. Each of the undergraduates worked on solving a specific engineering problem, ranging from a thermal analysis of a satellite in a given orbit to vibrational analysis during launch conditions to the design and operation of a solid state actuator. Each reported on their progress every week during a group meeting.
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This article by Jan McHarg originally appeared in the College of Engineering website.
