Big Idea 2023 – SMELT
This page will be for posts and updates about the project.
8/2/23 With great power, comes great responsibility
We have gotten too good at making things hot! Here continues the saga of trying to find materials to insolate our crucible. The temperatures reached have surpassed the capacity of our current ceramic fiber and we are now looking into different ways to keep the heat in without decreasing efficiency.
7/26/23 More to pour
Here is another great pour. This test was done in the cylinder chamber, run at 1400 W for 20 minutes.
7/24/23 The Pot!!
New chamber has arrived. Say hello to the pot. The reason for the cylindrical design is to focus electric fields to the center. This increases the efficiency and energy that hits the crucible.
7/19/23 Failures come with successes
While we have had a lot of progress made, not everything runs smoothly. Here is some clips of recent setbacks we have had. First, in an attempt to find new insolating methods we tried to dry out a fire brick in our vacuum oven. Then placing this in the microwave, unforeseen errors occurred. Second, the process of handmaking our own crucibles has proved difficult. Many do not survive the curing attempts.
7/11/23 Putting the melt, in smelt
Here is a video showing liquid ilmenite being poured from an alumina crucible. This process requires temperatures of ~1300 degrees Celsius!
7/6/23 Mid Project report
We have been notified by NASA that our Mid Project report was approved! We are now moving forward with our new cavities and continuing testing.
6/21/23 Out with the old, in with the new!
It was time to get rid of the old chamber and replace it with a new one. The goal will be to do less damage this time around 😉
6/15/23 We Have melt!
After many trials and testing many different techniques, we have successfully fully melted a sample of ilmenite in under 15 minutes. This requires reaching a temperature of around 1600 ℃. Additionally, the test was run at 1000 W of power, well below the full capabilities of our high powered system. Quicker results are expected in the near future.
News Article!
Here is the link to a recent article written about the project.
Photo shoot!
Here are some pictures from our recent photo shoot. Special thanks to our advisors: Dr. Bilén and Dr. Radlinska!! Picture Credits: Kate Myers
6/5/2023 Update
We are getting close to our Mid Project Report (MPR). We have been running simulations to test different microwave chamber shapes. This will allow us to build a chamber to focus the microwaves on the crucible. Additionally we have been running experiments to limit test our materials and find the best tools to use.
Posts By Sam Highfield