Team Aldebaran

https://www.astarte.info/

https://youtu.be/CBV1xls40ps

THE ASTARTE

The first mechanobiological battery inspired by brain neurons!

 Meet with the reflection of nature's art on human technology

What Is Our Purpose?:

Although Venus is the second closest planet to Earth, it is hotter than Mercury, the closest planet to the sun. The reason for this is that the atmosphere of this planet, which has a toxic atmosphere filled with carbon dioxide, shows an artificial greenhouse effect by not removing the rays from the Sun out of the atmosphere. Venus is the planet with the highest surface temperature, with a temperature of approximately 475°C, and the atmospheric pressure is about 90 times that of the Earth. This extreme pressure and temperature feature make it difficult for research to be done on it. Any research instrument sent to Venus cannot withstand these extreme conditions and the research is unsuccessful. Our solution as the Aldebaran team is to design a battery made of aerogel, carbon fiber, and titanium that can store energy for 60 days on the surface of Venus in these extreme conditions.

ASTARTE:

The Astarte is a battery consisting of a copper cable and connection points that we call Mechanoron. It has 60 faces and each face consists of a triangle. Each junction (Mechanoron) is located between the negative region of the first battery and the positive part of the second battery. Mechanorons have a hexagonal shape and each side of this hexagon has sections where the battery and the Mechanoron are connected. The cables are wrapped around the battery, touching the negative and positive ends of the batteries. When electricity circulates within the Astarte, each Mechanoron acts as a stop between the cables and the electrical energy passes from one battery to the other.

There is no active edge along the electric current, except for the edge where the electricity passes. This allows us to conserve energy for longer periods. In the scenario where any battery on the circuit breaks down, electric current continues to be transmitted through the other cables surrounding the battery. In cases where Astarte is not working, the main battery is bypassed employing the cables in its structure and passing just above the Astarte and it is ensured that Astarte is not used. This extends the life of the battery and prevents overheating. Astarte has three protective layers.

The outermost layer has a 6cm thick protective sheath made of titanium, a corrosion-resistant metal. The 6 cm thickness of this protective sheath allows it to withstand 100 atm pressure. The titanium case is covered with anticorrosive paint, protecting the main battery against acid rain. The middle layer consists of aerogel, solid material with a liquid component replaced by a gas component. Its gas components cause this layer to insulate the heat and contribute to the integrity of the main battery. The thickness of this layer, which is lighter than the solids in other layers, is 8 cm. 

ASTARTE:

With its 60-sided special geometric design, it can withstand the pressure of Venus under all conditions!

You can even charge your phone on Venus with the special Aerogel cytoplasm shield! 

started can withstand extreme Venus conditions thanks to the thermal insulation feature of the aerogel layer. The innermost protective layer, closest to the center of the Astarte, consists of a rigid solid, carbon fiber. The purpose of this layer, which has a thickness of 2 cm, is to protect the inner core and to transmit the electricity generated by the batteries wirelessly to another layer, the aerogel layer, using the magnetic fields on the carbon fiber layer from the main battery. From the airgel layer, electrical conduction continues in a wired manner. Thanks to the socket on the outermost layer, titanium, energy input, and output are provided between the battery and the vehicle that needs electricity. Underneath the Astarte's innermost protective layer, the carbon fiber layer is the electrical circuit.

Batteries consisting of carbon fiber protection and lithium sulfide (Li₂S) are located between the junction points (Mechanoron) in the electrical circuit; Thanks to the cables on it, provide energy continuity in the battery. The carbon fiber in the structure of the batteries provides durability to the batteries. The reason this layer is carbon fiber is that it is a lightweight solid. Li₂S constitutes 95% of each battery bearing Astarte has. The connection points (Mechanoron) where the batteries are connected and 6 batteries pass from each point (Mechanoron) consist of carbon fiber as well as the battery and the inner layer. The direction in which the electrical energy will go and which cable it will pass through is determined by the control chips inside the Mechanorons, and each Mechanoron acts as a tiny computer. The working principle of methanogens and batteries can be compared to the transmission of the impulse in the brain neurons from the receptor protein to the effector organ.

Astarte has a total weight of 450 kg, a capacity of 219 kW, and a total volume of 530,604 cm3. Although the dimensions of this battery design we made vary, it has 3 different sizes. Only one side of the triangles on each surface has a height of 22 cm, a diameter of 4.4 cm, a volume of 319 cm3, a weight of 550 g, and a capacity of 1.459 kWh (This value is valid for only one side of each of the 60 triangles on the outer layer) (Li₂S = 2735 kWh - 1 kg).

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Process Of Designing ASTARTE

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1- We have listed the processes of our project for you. This is the first drawing at the very beginning. Here, we aimed to establish a system that keeps electricity in motion and distributes it, inspired by human brain neurons. The connection points you see in the picture and the connection between them would keep the energy in constant motion with the batteries. In this way, the heating would be minimized and our storage would be maximized. This is our first beginner drawing that you have seen.

In the second stage, we thought that this idea was very good and that we could develop it and approach it more professionally, and we started to focus on the design part of the job. At first, it was shaped like a 30-sided dice, each face cut into a diamond shape, and the attachment points were much less than they are now.No matter how nice we find this situation, we thought that if we increase the connection points, both the amount of electricity it can protect and the pressure-resistant shield will be more advanced.

This is one of our beginner digital drawings when we were still in 30-sided dice form. On the side, you can see the 60-sided dice transition form.

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When we came to the third stage, we realized that the more connection points we have, the more electricity and the better quality we can store. After all, in this project, we take reference from human brain neurons and brain anatomy. More neurons mean faster data transfer. Thanks to this idea, we changed the 30-sided dice and switched to the 60-sided dice model. In this way, we have found a model that can save 37% more energy compared to the previous one. At the same time, we got closer to the final design.

Now we come to the most critical part of the project. The skeleton we're going to talk about now was the first thing we designed. However, since this is the most important and what gives the main strength of the project in the final, we placed it last in the process. This part consists of the Energy circulation system and special connecting bridges that we call "Mecha-neuron". 

n you see, protected by the carbon fiber coating, is all thin batteries. Each battery consists of cables embedded in a carbon fiber skeleton and running around it. These cables are wrapped around the battery, touching the negative and positive ends of the batteries. When electricity circulates within the Astarte, each Mechanoron acts as a stop between the cables and the electrical energy passes from one battery to the other.

There is no active edge along the electric current, except for the edge where the electricity passes. This allows us to conserve energy for longer periods. And herein lies the tiny magic behind Astarte. Thanks to the strong and conductive electrical skeleton, we can bring huge innovation to the field of energy storage. This was the part where we first started designing but were able to finish it last. Also, since we know that this piece is the most critical point, we tried to handle it as professionally as possible.

The main issue at the heart of this challenge was to create a battery that can operate under the conditions of Venus, as we have explained before. The surface temperature of Venus varies between 450-470 on average. Therefore, our first battle was with heat.

We have considered 2 main solutions to this problem. The first solution was to make a system that would prevent overheating. The second solution was to be protected from the heat outside. Now let's start the review in turn.

We started to think about what we should do to prevent overheating. It came to our mind to examine Nasa's batteries and heating problems. We noticed that all the batteries we saw were Monolithic and had a single main battery.

These batteries worked well, but because they were bulky and one-piece, they got hot very quickly. We came up with the idea of ​​dispersing the parts to dissipate the heat. We thought that if we took the pieces apart and moved them away from each other, they would heat up more slowly. The idea sounded ridiculous at first, and some of our teammates thought it was nonsense. However, we started to get the idea of ​​separating the parts, instead of dividing a single battery piece by piece, but instead of dividing a single battery, a lot of tiny batteries would come together to form a huge battery. And our battery, which we named Astarte, was born.

By connecting many batteries and creating channels that constantly flow energy from the intermediate transition points, we established a system that does not allow any battery to fully heat up with the flow of electricity between the cables. While we were designing the connecting bridges, we named those parts "Mecha-neuron" because we were inspired by the Neurons in the Human Brain.

In this way, no battery would be fully charged with energy. It would be in a constant state of transmission and loop, just like in the human brain. With its continuous and variable energy flow technology, it would prevent the batteries from being fully charged and heated as the energy progressed. In this way, it would heat up much more slowly and in a controlled manner compared to the time it worked. After all, the warming times of a pool and the ocean are very different. It takes hours to heat the pool, and the seasons to warm the ocean. But with this trick of ours, we can create an ocean the size of a pool!

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TEMPERATURE SOLUTION

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The surface temperature of Venus varies between 450 and 470 degrees. The energy problem in the devices sent there was not because those devices themselves produced too much heat. It was because they couldn't protect themselves from the heat outside. We realized that the real problem was here and we started to focus on how to solve it.

​THERMAL SHIELD / MECA-CYTOPLASM

We needed a shield strong enough to protect this warmth from within. From the very beginning, we were inspired by mother nature and human Brain neurons, we thought of adding a dense insulating cytoplasm to this huge cell! The substance we were going to fill in had to be completely lubricating. At first, we thought of obtaining an airless environment by vacuuming the inside. Thanks to this completely dark stuffy environment, we thought that we would completely take care of the heat issue.

But as good as it sounds, it didn't work. The reason was that we were thinking about it with world pressure. We were so focused on the heat that we completely forgot about the pressure issue! We thought about how hard our shields would be with their hardened titanium coating and special geometric shape, and how easily they would balance our vacuum system. But Venus' pressure is 95 times higher! We thought that this high pressure with the vacuum might cause problems. For this reason

Airgel was our second choice with its lightness and insulating properties. Even if it is not as effective as Vacuum, we calculated that this aerogel can easily prevent the heat coming from outside with our "cytoplasm" in an average of 130-140 days, thanks to our equations. We filled the entire skeleton with Airgel and left no voids inside.

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THE PRESSURE PROBLEM AND THE BIRTH OF THE OUTER SHIELD

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Our outer shield is formed with 6 centimeters thick "hardened" titanium. This "hardened titanium" idea came to our minds purely by chance. At first, we were thinking of just titanium and an acid-protective paint coating on top of it. However, we dreamed that it would be 12 inches to withstand the intense pressure of Venus. We knew this would increase the weight tremendously, and we didn't want that situation. Instead, we sought a way to harden our 6-inch titanium shield. And at that moment, like a miracle, a documentary watched by one of our teammates years ago came to mind!

This documentary was about the Ancient Japanese sword Katana, known for its hardness and strength. The strength of this legendary sword, apart from its layers, was specifically derived from the "Heated and cooled" technique. Steel hardened when heated and then suddenly cooled. We were wondering whether this technique is suitable for Titanium or not, and a good research adventure started for us.

Thanks to the data provided by NASA, we learned that this can be done for Titanium between 400 and 900 degrees on average. In this way, we have achieved the same durability with less material by hardening our Titanium shield. It caused both less material and a weight loss of almost 30%.

As for the acid problem, we decided to cover the outside of our very hard titanium shield with a completely thick layer of acid-protective paint. In this way, we have created a very sheltered battery to the natural conditions of Venus.

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INFORMATION ABOUT VENUS

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1-) Venus is the second closest planet to the earth, in opposition to this its temperature is higher than Mercury, the closest planet to the sun. The reason for this is that the atmosphere of this planet, which is filled with carbon dioxide, shows an artificial greenhouse effect by not allowing the rays from the Sun to get out of the atmosphere. Venus is the planet with the highest surface temperature, with a temperature of approximately 475°C, and the atmospheric pressure is about 90 times that of the Earth. This extreme pressure and temperature make it difficult for research to be done on it. Research instruments that were sent to Venus in previous years cannot withstand these extreme conditions and the research is unsuccessful. Our solution as the Aldebaran team is to design a battery made of aerogel, carbon fiber, and titanium that can store energy for 60 days on the surface of Venus in these extreme conditions.

2-) Conditions on the Surface of Venus: Venus has a mass and size very similar to Earth. The mass of this planet is 85% similar to the mass of the Earth. Planets in the solar system have 205 moons that we know, but Mercury and Venus are not among the planets with moons. Due to the proximity of these planets to the Sun, the particles in space enter the gravitational field of the Sun before they can enter the gravitational field of Mercury and Venus. The temperature on the surface of Venus, which is known as the "twin planet" due to its similarity to the Earth, rises to 467 degrees. Due to the amount of carbon dioxide and poisonous gas it has, this planet has an artificial greenhouse in its atmosphere. Although Venus is the second closest planet to the earth, it is, therefore, warmer than Mercury, the closest planet to the sun. This artificial greenhouse effect causes temperatures that can melt many metals with a high melting point for the Earth. The probes sent can withstand these temperatures on the planet's surface for a very short time. This feature of the planet makes it difficult to research the surface of Venus. For many scientists, Venus looks like hell, with 96.5% carbon dioxide in its atmosphere. (This rate is 0.04% in the world, and the slightest change in this rate causes global warming). The poisonous gases that Venus has in its atmosphere make it impossible to see Venus, which is close enough to be seen when we look at the sky. Therefore, until the early 1960s, most scientists thought that Venus was a planet with a tropical climate. Research in the following years showed that Venus is a planet covered with volcanoes that expand up to 240 kilometers and have currents flowing for kilometers.

3-) "The extreme conditions of Venus have not prevented scientists from researching Venus. Venus is even the first planet to be sent by a space probe and also the first planet to be explored by spacecraft. Many studies have been made since 1962, but most of them have failed. The first successful Venus probe, Mariner II, sent by NASA, made scans by flying near this planet on December 14, 1962. This study revealed that Venus has cold clouds and an extremely hot surface. Gathered detailed information on the structure of the upper atmosphere of the atmosphere Helped topographic mapping of most of the planet's surface Planned to take 8 months, this mission continued successfully for 14 years until it ran out of fuel. The Pioneer Venus II instrument, consisting of one large and three small atmospheric probes, on December 9, 1978, In, enters the planet's atmosphere in areas such as pressure, temperature, and acceleration. he made the measurement. On August 10, 1990, 15 months after launch, the Magellan space probe, which entered the polar region around Venus, obtained 3D maps by combining radar maps recorded from different angles of the planet's surface. This probe, which was lowered to obtain information about the atmosphere after the end of its mission, lost altitude and fell on the planet.

We collected all of our data from NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. We researched all about venus, what extreme conditions our project should be prepared for, past projects about this matter, and what kind of materials we can use for our project. The achievement and the failure of past energy storage systems and spacecraft inspired us to create our project Astarte. The data we collected from NASA and Space Agency Partners helped us perfect Astarte.

First of all, we would like to express how special and beautiful this experience is for us. We would like to thank Mr. Selman for providing us with this opportunity and for guiding us. As our team, we always wanted to choose a mechanical project from the very beginning. Everyone in our team knows about energy and electric fields due to today's energy problems. That's why we chose the EXPLORING VENUS TOGETHER challenge that suits us best. In this challenge, we set our minds to designing a battery that could withstand the high heat and pressure of Venus.

ring this project, we learned a lot about friendship and group work, apart from theoretical knowledge. Unfortunately, the process did not proceed perfectly. We had problems in the organization within the group, but we solved these problems by talking and agreeing among ourselves. When we blamed each other for slowness and caused problems in this direction, we realized that we were losing our time much faster. We learned very well that we can win by preserving the team spirit and that unity comes from strength. We would like to thank the Nasa Space Apps Challenge for providing the opportunity to learn about this and strengthening our spirit of the unit

participated in the event held in Antalya and we made great friends there we worked to develop our project on its beautiful campus. We would like to thank Mr. Selman for giving us this opportunity.

The seminar, which was given to the participants in Antalya, was very nice. We learned new information and met other curious people. Every moment we had the opportunity to remember how honorable it was to be involved in this project. We would like to express our gratitude and respect to NASA and especially to Mr. Selman for giving us this opportunity once again and for the last time.

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