Airbus Sloshing Rocket Workshop 2023
Competition Regulations
1. Introduction
1.1. Background
Modelling the behaviour of sloshing liquids is of significant interest in various fields of the Aerospace industry.
In aircraft design, the study of fuel movement in tanks is of paramount importance for the design of the fuel management control system, the evaluation of the handling characteristics of the aircraft and ultimately the assessment of the structural integrity of the containment structure [1].
For modern satellites, the design is often driven towards lightweight structures, high pointing accuracy and long-life expectations. These can result in a large proportion of the overall weight being allocated to the liquid propellant. Therefore, the movement of the liquid fuel within its containers can significantly affect the dynamics of these systems, during in-orbit controlled manoeuvers and atmospheric gust encounters in the launch phase [1].
1.2 Competition Background
The Airbus Sloshing Rocket Workshop 2023 is a hybrid competition (online and physical) in which teams are required to design a low-cost reusable rocket which is destabilised by the movement of water stored in an unpressurised tank located on the rear side of the vehicle.
The rocket design shall incorporate mechanisms to manage the dynamic forces introduced by the sloshing water to maximise its range, time of flight and liquid payload capacity.
The controlling mechanism can be designed based on passive and/or active means and its performance is a key aspect of the design.
This challenge aims to simulate the conditions experienced by real world aerospace vehicles containing liquid propellant such as satellites or next generation aircrafts.
The participants would be provided with a series of lectures focused on the sloshing and designing challenge.
The objective of the competition is to design the vector and the stabilisation system. The description and justifications for the design are to be presented in the format of a design report and supported by calculations, simulations and evidence of prototype testing.
The deadline for the reports is on the 31st of May 2023 at 23:59 UTC.
The (up to) four best teams from this round would advance to the final round. In this stage, the teams would meet, with modality to be defined, an Airbus team to discuss their design proposals and defend their reports in a 60-minute design review.
2. Technical Requirements
The vector design must conform to the requirements outlined in this document.
2.1 Physical
The vector’s total dimensions shall not exceed the following:
- Maximum length = 1.5 m.
- Maximum wingspan = 2.25 m.
The launch angle will be 85 degrees, an offset of 5 degrees from vertical, with a tolerance of +/- 3 degrees.
The primary structure of the vector shall be formed of readily available items forming two or more water tanks:
- 1 unpressurised tank containing a minimum of 500ml of water. The tank must contain 50% water and 50% air to generate sloshing loads. The fill level at 50% volume must be clearly marked to facilitate easy visualisation for the judges, containing a minimum of 500ml of water.
- 1 or more pressurised tanks containing water for propulsion.
The total mass of the propellant must be no greater than the mass of the sloshing liquid.
The total weight at take-off shall not exceed 5 kg when filled with liquid.
The judges would stress the importance of approaching the challenge with a flexible and fresh mind, meaning that arrangement of the tanks does not have to conform to a traditional rocket shape. Teams are not only warmly encouraged to consider aircraft concepts benefits and drawbacks but are also expected to include in their report an in-depth investigative appendix about ideas and research in other disciplines that aviation should take inspiration from.
2.2 Launch Mechanism
The vector must be launched vertically at a pressure less than 10 atmospheres [or 147 psi].
The rocket design shall incorporate a means of pressurising the propulsion tanks with air. The design should present how the tanks would be filled.
Only air is permitted as an inflation gas and no propellant other than water is permitted. This forbids the use of propellers, propulsive gas, engines and lighter than air gases such as helium.
The ratio of air-to-water inside the propulsion tank or tanks (not the payload tank) is customisable and should be exploited to optimise the performance of the vehicle.
2.3 Control Mechanism
The design shall incorporate a means of controlling the descent of the vector to counteract the destabilising motion of the sloshing liquid. Details of how the sloshing liquid behaviour has been predicted and justification for the embodied solution shall be provided as part of the design submission. This could be achieved by using passive or active means or a combination of both:
- Passive Control: e.g., baffles. Any singular baffle inside the tank cannot cover more than 50% of the cross-sectional area of the tank.
- Active Control: e.g., control surfaces.
2.4 Materials and Cost Items
The vector design shall not rely on COTS (Commercial off-the-shelf) items costing more than €300. A bill of materials and cost breakdown is required as part of the design submission. Cost efficient solutions will be awarded more points.
The total cost of the rocket must not exceed €500, including estimates for materials and consumables used during the design and manufacturing.
2.5 Flight Performance
Flight performance marking will be based on the following parameters:
- Distance covered horizontally
- Altitude reached
- Total flight time
- Payload mass/TOW
The scoring formula will be provided before the first webinar.
3. Competition Marking
3.1 Competition deliverables
Qualification for the finals will be based on the scoring of the report submission. The overall competition winner will be decided based on the report score, the flight performance, and the panel feedback on the design review performance.
The primary submission will be a report of maximum 10000 words for the main body of the report (i.e. Introduction – Conclusions), supported by evidence of any analysis or physical testing. Please note that any physical prototype testing (before the finals) is optional, done at your own risk and any cost implications of such testing is not compensated by the ASRW Team.
The operational safety of the rocket is to be justified based on the evidence provided – note that it is possible to earn full marks without physical testing if detailed analysis provides robust justification. Teams are highly recommended to make use of the provided risk assessment template to support this process.
3.2 Formatting
5% of the total report marking includes the general report quality – well-composed reports produced to a professional standard that cover the requirements mentioned in the report guidelines below will be awarded with higher marks.
3.2.1 Title page
Your title page should include the following:
● Project title
● Your team name
● Team member names
● The number of words, maximum: 10,000
● Provide an abstract to introduce the investigation/work, and to state, briefly, the findings made and the conclusions reached.
Note: The word count includes everything in the main body of the text (including headings, tables, citations, quotes, lists, etc.) – between the start of the first chapter (Introduction) and the final chapter (Conclusions), inclusive. Your Title page, Contents page, Reference list, Bibliography and the Appendices are NOT included in the word count.
3.2.2 The Document
● The report should be written in third person.
● Use standard margins, clear fonts such as Arial, Calibri or Cambria of 11 point font size.
● Label/legend all graphs/figures/tables appropriately.
● You must correctly reference all material taken from other documents, including all diagrams and figures – both in the text and in the diagram/figure label. Use the APA referencing style in your document.
● The report is to be word-processed, using Word, Writer, LaTex, Google Docs or similar.
● Include your team name in the header of the document. Include the page number in either the header or the footer.
● Provide a full list of all chapters and subsections with associated page numbers in a contents page. Where relevant, further pages can be added after the contents page:
○ Nomenclature / Glossary of Terms
○ List of Tables
○ List of Figures
3.3 Report Marking
These are some suggested paragraphs and their marking that could be included in your report, however additional sections could also be added depending on the work done:
Introduction [5%]
● Background information on the challenge of sloshing liquid propellants in the aerospace industry.
● Scope and objectives of the project.
● Team organisation.
Methodology [5%]
● Overview and explanation of the design approach taken.
● State assumptions made.
Requirements Capture [5%]
● Using a table format, define the requirements for the design.
● Requirements and/or optional inputs shall be clearly identified.
Concept Design [15%]
● Descriptions of several design concepts including explanations of how each concept is derived from the design requirements. Inspiration from not aerospace related or already implemented systems is encouraged.
● Justification for final concept selection, supported by explanations of how the requirements will be met by the chosen concept.
● Concept selection may include basic sizing and performance calculations.
Detailed Design [40%]
● Explanation of how the sloshing behaviour has been predicted and how the control mechanism has been designed to tackle the dynamic loads introduced.
● Finalised vehicle geometry, possibly generated from a 3D CAD model.
● An accompanying analysis which may include design trade studies and optimizations to maximise mission performance.
● Details about the launch and propulsion system.
● Simulations that support your design.
● Detailed description of manufacture including:
○ Bill of materials
○ Component manufacture
○ Assembly sequence
○ Cost breakdown
● Explanations of how safety and operability have been considered in the design of the vehicle, including a safety assessment. A risk assessment matrix template will be provided, which should be referenced in your report.
Design V&V [10%]
● An assessment of the final design against the requirements showing how all the mandatory requirements have been met.
● A test plan showing the means by which compliance with each requirement has been demonstrated by simulation and/or prototype testing.
● Post processing data acquisition capabilities and data provision of flight might grant teams bonus points.
Conclusion [5%]
● Conclusion summarising design outcomes, reflecting on initial objectives.
● Provide lessons learnt and suggestions for future work.
Appendix [10%]
● Express your considerations on the sloshing control and management challenge: which are the interesting ideas and research in other disciplines that aviation should take inspiration from, to develop a sustainable and efficient sloshing control (5 pages maximum).
4. Organisation and schedule
Participation will be held in teams between two (2) and six (6) members, and it is reserved to undergraduate students enrolled in a university at the moment of the application. The event is open to bachelor’s and master’s degree students pursuing a BSc, MSc, BEng, MEng, or equivalent degree qualifications.
The event will consist of two phases:
- First phase: online format, teams will attend a series of webinars and work on their own projects. A final report will be made and sent by each team to evaluate the work done. This first phase will take place between February and June 2023. The preliminary schedule of the this first phase is as follows:
- Webinars will take place between the end of February and May 2023. The specific dates will be communicated to the teams.
- Reports and additional required documents will be submitted before the May 31st 2023.
- The classified teams will be announced before June 18th 2023.
- Second phase: this will consist on a 7-day event (counting on arrivals and departures) where the four best teams will work, in person, on their proposals and defend their reports. The event will take place in Beograd, Serbia between the 6th until the 12th of August 2023.
5. Application Procedure
The first round of applications open on January 19th at 12:00 UTC and will remain open until February 5th at 12:00 UTC.
The second round of application open on February 7th at 12 UTC and will remain open untile February 19th at 23:59 UTC.
Only the team leader shall submit the application.
Teams will be required to submit a short statement explaining their motivation to participate in the competition, as well as their prior experiences and the university support system they intend to utilise. Up to 15 teams will be admitted, based on the statement of motivation, and taking into account the diversity of the universities represented. Once the team application is submitted, the team leader will receive a confirmation email, which does not mean that the place of the team in the competition is secured.
Important: For the application to be considered, a €25 deposit must be paid by every team, as stated in chapter 6. If no proof of payment is received, the application will not be considered as completed.
To this purpose, the Organisation of the competition shall contact the teams asking for some missing information and providing the payment methods’ information for the deposit. If no proof of payment is received within 72h after being contacted, their place will be given to the next team in the priority list.
After the applications are processed, the selected teams will receive an email confirming their acceptance and further information on the payment of the participation fee and an Intellectual Property declaration to sign by a representative of the team and a representative of their university. An email will also be sent to the teams on the waiting list informing them about their position in the same.
The accepted teams will have 72h to proceed with the payment and send the proof of payment to sloshing@euroavia.eu. If no proof* is received before these 72h hours, the place will be given to the next team in the waiting list. Same rule applies to the Intellectual Property Document. Once the payment is completed, no changes on the team members will be accepted.
* In the case where the payment is to be done by an external organisation (e.g., University sponsoring the team) with a consequent delay, an additional period for this payment may be granted under the condition of signing a declaration of honour and providing a justification of this matter.
6. Participation Fee and Payment
The participation fee is personal (per person per team) and it is as follows:
- EUROAVIA members: €25/person.
- Non-EUROAVIA members: €50/person.
When applying, all the teams will have to pay a €25 deposit for the application to be considered. The application will not be considered as finished until receiving the proof of payment, that must be sent to sloshing@euroavia.eu.
Important remarks:
(1) EUROAVIA International will verify the membership status for every member in every team and reserves the right to issue the extra fee to each non-EUROAVIA or inactive EUROAVIA member.
Shall you have any questions, please enquire us at sloshing@euroavia.eu.
(2) The accepted teams will have to pay the difference between the full fee and the deposit already made. The non-accepted teams will be reimbursed the €25 deposit within fourteen (14) days after receiving the email from the Organisation stating that they have not been accepted in the challenge.
(3) The participation fee allows each participant attending the webinars offered by Airbus and other collaborators. For the (up to) four (4) finalists teams, all the costs will be covered regarding the accommodation, food and transportation between the accommodation and the venue of the event during the days where the final of the competition will take place. Additional costs such as transportation to the city and/or extra nights/food will not be covered by the organisation of the event.
(4) Payment methods accepted:
- Bank transfer
- Revolut
- Paypal
- Bizum
- Lydia
(5) No refunds will be made once the full payment is completed.
7. Bibliography
[1] F. Gambioli and A. G. Malan, “Fuel Load in Large Civil Airplanes” in International Forum on Aeroelasticity and Structural Dynamics, Como – Italy, 2017.