Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Cate Furc
Cate Furc
HARDWARE!
BACKGROUND!
The
Collisional
Accre2on
Experiment
is
a
student
presented
project
that
generalizes
the
idea
of
launching
a
macro
object
through
a
cloud
of
dust.
This
experimental
technique
will
allow
us
to
study
the
s2cking
and
accre2on
of
small
par2cles
onto
larger
accre2ng
bodies,
so
we
can
beNer
understand
par2cle
interac2on
in
protoplanetary
disks
and
planetary
ring
systems,
such
as
Saturns
shepherding
moons.
*k.lai@knights.ucf.edu
physics.cos.ucf.edu/cate
ABSTRACT!
The
early
stages
of
planetesimal
forma2on
require
the
adhesion
of
par2cles
through
surface
contact
forces.
The
proposed
payload,
the
Collisional
Accre2on
Experiment,
is
designed
to
study
the
accre2on
of
small
par2cles
onto
a
larger
body
in
vacuum,
as
well
as
in
microgravity
condi2ons.
This
experiment
will
allow
further
insight
into
the
par2cle
interac2ons
in
proto-planetary
disks
and
in
planetary
ring
systems.
CATE
has
been
awarded
the
2013
Undergraduate
Student
Instrumenta2on
Program,
and
is
slated
to
y
on
a
parabolic
ight
in
the
summer
of
2014.
The
payload
will
be
designed
to
be
semi-automa2c.
A
macroscopic
target
object
will
be
released
via
a
spring
system
on
one
end
of
the
tube
shaped
payload
and
will
traverse
a
cloud
of
dust
par2cles
at
a
low
rela2ve
velocity.
The
same
sort
of
collisions
of
dust
par2cles
with
larger
objects
are
believed
to
be
responsible
for
the
accre2on
ridges
observed
on
some
of
the
small
moons
of
Saturn.
FLIGHT TESTING!
The
Collisional
Accre2on
Experiment
is
slated
to
y
on
a
four
day
campaign
aboard
a
NASA
funded
parabolic
ight.
The
experiment
will
experience
approximately
30
seconds
of
microgravity
forty
2mes
during
a
single
ight.
This
ight
tes2ng
will
allow
the
experiment
to
be
tested
in
ideal
space
condi2ons
that
cannot
be
experienced
on
Earth.
CATE
is
slated
to
y
on
between
July
18th
and
July
25th
in
year
2014.
STORAGE UNIT!
The
storage
unit
of
CATE
is
comprised
of
80/20
aluminum
and
PVC.
The
structure
is
24x24x24
inches
in
dimension
and
will
house
twelve
payloads
during
ight.
The
payloads
will
be
held
in
the
PVC
tubes,
which
will
be
cut
in
half,
which
gives
it
the
ability
to
swing
open
when
the
locking
mechanism
is
released.
The
storage
unit
also
doubles
as
lkasdjW
an
experimental
table.
The
top
of
the
unit
will
include
an
area
for
the
chosen
payload
to
be
strapped
down
during
tes2ng,
as
well
as
the
camera
system
for
video
data.
The
payload
will
be
held
in
a
latching
strap.
For
video
data,
there
will
be
two
GoPro
cameras
lming
at
60
fps,
90
degrees
from
each
other.
This
will
allow
the
analysts
to
study
the
accre2ng
object
at
all
angles.