Engineering Commons^™

Manufacturing Of Transparent Composites Using Vacuum Infusion Process, Jason Niles Gallagher

Masters Theses

"Glass is the most commonly used transparent material. However, glass is not suitable where low weight and high strength are required. For many applications there exists a need for mechanically strong composite materials of high optical quality and transparency equivalent to window glass. Glass fiber reinforced transparent composite is a viable solution. Transparency is maintained by precisely matching the refractive index of the matrix with that of the glass fiber. Aircraft canopies and transparent armor can be potential applications for this new class of materials.

In the present work, transparent composites are manufactured using vacuum infusion process. Both rectangular glass …

Analysis Of Access-To-Space Missions Utilizing On-Board Energy Management And Entropic Analysis, Tyler Winter

Masters Theses

"The overall objective of this study is the thermodynamically consistent quantification of second-law and performance losses for vehicle configurations implemented or suggested for access-to-space missions and the development of the relationships between the mission entropy generation and overall mission performance. The detailed theory which allows thermodynamically rigorous loss accounting (entropy generation and direct relationship to vehicle performance) is developed and discussed for aerospace vehicles. A full vehicle trajectory code utilizing simplified models for multi-stage rockets and air-breathing propulsion systems is developed and validated specifically for use as a testbed for second law-based theory and concepts. Results are shown in which …