During the first year of the BOOST project, there has been significant development in terms of system definition, with Tyvak being an integral part of coordinating the technical activities of the dedicated Work Package between the partners.
Tyvak led the definition and consolidation of the System Functional Requirements (SFR), which captured the operational needs of the full system and integrated input from each of the partners. Tyvak contributed towards the harmonization of the requirements from UNIPD (RF cathode), T4I (fluidic line), UNIBO (Rechargeable tank), and USTUTT (test facility), with special considerations to ensure compatibility with the Nebula platform.
At the same time, Tyvak is progressing in its development of the Interface Definition Report (IDR), which has already completed significant work. During the first year, Tyvak has completed a preliminary definition of functional interfaces, which encompasses all the building blocks of the system. Tyvak is working closely with partners to identify key constraints, performance envelopes, and operational interactions between subsystems. This is a necessary approach as it provides a foundation for both integration and future scalability of the BOOST architecture.
Tyvak has undertaken a series of technical assessments on the interfaces with Nebula, including confirming that the proposed subsystems are compatible with existing mechanical, electrical, and software interfaces, and defining what modifications may be required if they perform or safety caused any changes to the interface.
The first year of the project has also been characterized by good collaboration and sharing of information among the consortium. Tyvak has been a critical part in enabling collaborative efforts - not only hosting the first review meeting in the company’s premises but also enabling effective convergence of system level decision making, shared aspirations of technical problems and solutions.
For the next steps, Tyvak will continue to guide the system definition process, with an immediate focus on finalizing the mechanical interfaces, followed by an in-depth thermal interface analysis. These next steps will be critical for progress on the physical integration of the BOOST building blocks and bring the project to the demonstration phase.