The Waterloo Space Soldering Team (WSST), a team of students from the University of Waterloo’s Faculties of Engineering and Arts, participated in Canada’s first microgravity research competition for students — the Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Design Challenge.
The team won the Overall Excellence Award for researching and successfully conducting a microgravity experiment aboard an aircraft to test whether solder joints can be improved using a centrifuge.
A centrifuge is a device that spins at high speeds and uses centrifugal force to subject a specimen to a specified constant force, theorized to simulate Earth's gravity in microgravity environments.
Under the guidance of Dr. Michael Mayer, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, the team hypothesized that soldering within a centrifuge would recreate Earth’s gravity conditions, resulting in solder joints with reduced porosity and improved quality. The research objective was to devise a method to improve the quality of in-space solder joints and allow replacements of electrical components in long-duration space missions.
The team shared that their biggest accomplishment was having successfully completed the experiment after several design iterations and many technical challenges. Across two flights and 16 parabolic maneuvers, the team obtained 790 samples that can now be analyzed for research, in an experiment that nobody has ever done before.
Their ultimate goal is to have their findings published and set precedence for conducting future microgravity experiments in this area.
The Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Design Challenge (CAN-RGX) offers post-secondary students the opportunity to design, build and test a scientific payload aboard the National Research Council of Canada’s Falcon 20 — a twin-engine jet that has been modified for use in microgravity experiments in association with the Canadian Space Agency.
Go to Waterloo students win microgravity research competition in Québec for the full story.