The Space Technology Department engineers, Kamil Sobczak and Tobiasz Mayer, received the NI Engineering Impact Awards for the most innovative solution presented at the NIDays conference in Warsaw on October 10, 2017. The distinction was awarded for the software used in the tests of the main engine of the Polish rocket ILR-33 “Amber”. The laureates also received an invitation to the NIWeek 2018 conference to be held in Texas, USA.
The Institute of Aviation has developed software, written in LabVIEW, which uses real-time control devices for automated rocket engine testing.
The main challenge in testing rocket engines is to synchronize high-frequency measurements from different sensors while maintaining a high level of reliability and safety.
The software allows for the testing of rocket engines (hybrid and liquid propulsion) while maintaining a high level of safety and quality of measurement.
The tests are performed automatically by the software, which guarantees repeatability and reliability.
The system uses state-of-the-art measuring equipment from the National Instruments company, traditional cameras, thermal imaging cameras, and many types of sensors.
The real-time system made it possible to introduce emergency procedures, which can automatically, at a critical moment, stop the test and secure the system with the least possible delay.
The whole system has been repeatedly tested and is continuously used for testing various types of rocket engines (it was used, i.a. for the main engine test of the ILR-33 “Amber” rocket). The system is also being expanded with new functionalities to broaden the research capabilities of the Center of Space Technologies.
More about NIDays Poland 2017 on the official website of the event.
