Packer Engineering: Engineers with Answers

Research & Development

Packer Engineering is a multi-disciplinary engineering consulting and Development Company serving the needs of industry and the research community. Using engineers with mechanical, electrical, materials, structural, metallurgical, and chemical backgrounds, Packer works on a wide range of research and development projects. Such as environmental remediation, materials compatibility & Longevity, composites, new construction materials, agricultural biomass reactors, space-based manufacturing and propellant-less in-space propulsion, transportation related research into crash modeling and driver behavior, and educational research aimed at increasing student interest and involvement in technical fields.

 

Oxygen from the Moon

Packer Engineering completed a NASA SBIR program on the extraction of oxygen from lunar soil. Lunar soil, also called regolith, is 40% oxygen by weight, but that oxygen is tightly bound in minerals. Oxygen is vitally important for space operations, both for propellant and for life support. To reduce mission constraints, an oxygen factory is needed which produces many times its own weight each year. A new approach to oxygen beneficiation arose during this work, in a collaborative effort between Packer Engineering and CU Aerospace (Urbana, IL) which could produce 40 times its weight in oxygen in one year. This is a potential candidate for the MoonROx Challenge, issued by the California Space Authority, for a $1,000,000 prize to the first team to produce 2.5 kg of oxygen in 4 hours from simulated lunar soil. This work is part of a broader initiative to enable space solar power, a technology with the potential to provide all mankind with pollution-free energy for all time to come.

Hydrogen Storage for Fuel Cells

Packer Engineering holds 6 patents pending on the use of nano-porous silicon for storing hydrogen. Hydrogen is the ideal fuel for a fuel cell, but efficient storage of this tiny, energetic substance is very difficult. The Department of Energy has a large budget allocated to hydrogen storage, which is a key part of the President's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, announced in 2003. Packer has demonstrated a very impressive 4.9% storage during an initial feasibility study funded by the Edison Materials Technology Center (Dayton, OH), co-funded by Delphi Corp. These results were first released publicly at an invited lecture at the National Nano Engineering Conference 2007 held in Boston. Current research efforts aim to validate key engineering issues to clear the way for commercialization. Beyond the vehicle market, hydrogen storage will be needed in portable electronics, and for stationary/backup power generation.

 

1903 Wright Flyer

To commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers first powered flight on Dec 17, 1903, four separate groups (including NASA) built an exact, flight-worthy reproduction of the first airplane. One group, The Wright Redux Association (WRA) of Glen Ellyn, built a plane called "The Spirit of Glen Ellyn." They reached a verbal agreement with Packer Engineering to build a replica of the original gasoline engine to power their airplane.

A team of Packer’s highly professional specialists and several Midwest companies converted the engine block drawings into a 3-D computer model, used the model to construct the lost foam molds and poured the castings.

"The Spirit of Glen Ellyn's" initial "lift" testing without an engine was conducted on Oct.13, 2002. To test the airframe lift capabilities, the aircraft was loosely tethered to a four-wheeled platform and towed down the runway. During testing, the plane lifted approximately 18" off the platform. After the tests, members of WRA, said, "It was really a thrilling moment to know after all this work they actually constructed wings that created lift."

In 2003, the replica airplane made a successful flight at Clow Airport in Bolingbrook, Illinois. The plane now hangs in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois.

 

NASA

Why wait until we are living on the moon to find out what special manufacturing problems we are going to encounter in a reduced gravity environment? Packer Engineering took part in a Solidification Design and Control Consortium project addressing one aspect of that question.

The consortium was administered by Auburn University in Alabama on behalf of the American Foundry Society Engineering Division and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Packer Engineering’s part of the project was to produce a robust simulation software package capable of predicting the thermo-physical phenomena that occur during casting in various gravity environments. Four Packer employees took their experiment up in NASA’s KC-135 during March, 2002. The KC-135 turbojet transport aircraft, reducing gravity, flew in a parabolic trajectory. The periods of reduced gravity last between 20 to 25 seconds each. The solidification of a metal was simulated during the reduced gravity by using a metal analog. An infrared camera recorded the data of the solidification process for further study as to whether the lack of gravity reconfigures the data. This experiment was all about the potential reconfiguration.

Wheelchair Aerobic Fitness Trainer (WAFT)

A past assignment involved the Wheelchair Aerobic Fitness Trainer (WAFT). It is a device for the evaluation, rehabilitation, and development of cardiorespiratory fitness for individuals with lower limb disabilities. The WAFT uses computer-controlled brakes and data recordings to measure wheelchair speed and physical work at each exercise stage. The WAFT was a joint development venture of Packer Engineering and the Rehabilitation Research & Development department at Edward Hines, Jr. hospital, a facility of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

With on-site laboratories and testing facilities as well as a full staff of highly-trained engineers and technicians, Packer Engineering has the resources and experience to provide quality research and development services. Contact Packer Engineering for more information on how we can assist you in your next research venture

Aerospace

Packer Aerospace uses innovative, entrepreneurial and inventive ideas to assist clients with their research and development projects. With the benefit of an in-house machine shop, metallurgical lab, experimental test lab, and photo, video, and animation lab-we possess the capabilities to provide answers to many research and development questions. Static and dynamic load testing, experimental measurements of temperature or strain, fixturing and modeling, materials selection, element analysis and assistance with intellectual property acquisitions and use represent only a few of the many areas in Packer Engineering's broad range of services. Areas of expertise include:

• Advanced Product Design & Analysis
• Agile Manufacturing
• Avionics
• Casting Design & Fabrication
• Control Systems
• Flight Testing Engineering
• Intelligent Composite Processing
• Metallurgy
• Rapid Prototyping & Tooling
• Tribology

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Fires & Explosions

Packer Engineering's team of fire scientists and partnership with the University of Edinburgh's Fire Safety Engineering Centre creates a team unparallel anywhere. This partnership allows us to provide targeted research cost effectively to solve our clients' needs as well as being actively engaged in the leading edge of fire science. We conduct a wide range of research examining fire resistance, the efficacy of novel fire retardants, determination of material combustibility, as well as a host of others. Our relationships with numerous Universities and access to a wide range of test equipment and facilities as well as qualified post-docs ensure a cost effective solution, while being managed by professionals ensures we get it done right and on time.

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