Engineering Commons^™

Language As A Factor In Aviation Accidents And Serious Incidents: A Handbook For Accident Investigators Ed. 3, Elizabeth Mathews, Joan Carson, Anthony Brickhouse, Enrique Valdes

Handbooks

In an increasingly multicultural and multilingual aviation industry, it is important that accident investigators understand the complex role of language in maintaining safe operations. This Handbook supports investigators to systematically identify language factors in aviation accidents and serious incidents.

Loss Of Control In-Flight (Loc-I): A Mixed Methods Study Of Voluntary Versus Mandatory Reports From The United States Of America, Roger Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Loss of control in flight (LOC-I) is one of modern aviation’s three most prominent fatal accidents. In the United States, air accidents are mandatorily reported to and investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Established in 1976, the Air Safety Reporting System (ASRS) is a voluntary safety reporting (VSR) system administered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Over 1.7 million ASRS reports have been processed to date. While the NTSB system handles LOC-I accidents, less severe incidents may have been reported voluntarily through the ASRS.

Safety reporting has been deemed the most valuable activity and the centerpiece …

Thermal Boundary Condition Effects On Local Supercritical Co2 Heat Transfer Trends In Tubes, Nicholas C. Lopes

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) is a promising heat transfer fluid for the refrigeration and power generation industries due to its unique thermal properties and low environmental impact. To understand it as an alternative to traditional working fluids, the thermophysical and heat transfer phenomena of sCO2 are often studied using simplified geometries (tubes). Focus has been placed on investigating averaged heat transfer trends under an array of flow conditions with either a constant wall heat flux, constant wall temperature, or conjugate thermal boundary condition. Less emphasis has been placed on studying local sCO2 heat transfer developments. Tubular sCO2 numerical models that …

The Influence Of In-School Time (Ist) And Out-Of-School Time (Ost) Learning Experiences On Aviation Career Entry, Andrew Koch

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Increased demand for aviation has created a skill and workforce gap. An understanding of how to increase this potential workforce is vital to ensure the ongoing success and sustainability of the commercial aviation industry. This research explores science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs as a potential avenue for increasing the available aviation workforce. Specifically, it explores how STEM programs and their associated learning experiences influence career entry.

Utilizing a mixed methodology approach, this research retrospectively explored the self-reported effect of out-of-school time (OST) and in-school time (IST) STEM experiences on aviation career development. Through interviews, a survey instrument was …

Experimental And Numerical Analysis Of A Commercial Phase Change Material Melting At Different Inclinations, Andrew Heiles

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The study of various phase change materials (PCM), experimentally and numerically, have been completed over the past several years to address their feasibility and potential when used in latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems for a variety of potential applications. Previous studies have investigated changes into the type of PCM used in the system as well as the system configuration, ranging from boundary conditions to internal and external geometries and orientations of the system. The present study focused on conducting experiments at different inclination angles and isothermal wall temperatures with the organic PCM PureTemp37, and continued with a numerical …

Assessing High Dynamic Range Imagery Performance For Object Detection In Maritime Environments, Erasmo Landaeta

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The field of autonomous robotics has benefited from the implementation of convolutional neural networks in vision-based situational awareness. These strategies help identify surface obstacles and nearby vessels. This study proposes the introduction of high dynamic range cameras on autonomous surface vessels because these cameras capture images at different levels of exposure revealing more detail than fixed exposure cameras. To see if this introduction will be beneficial for autonomous vessels this research will create a dataset of labeled high dynamic range images and single exposure images, then train object detection networks with these datasets to compare the performance of these networks. …

Numerical Modeling Of Synthetic Vortical Disturbance Interactions Using Openfoam, Ahmed Bilal

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Nowadays, the number of Advance Air Mobility (AAM) Electic Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) concepts is rapidly increasing due to their capability of vertical take-off and landing at vertiports located on rooftops of tall urban buildings, which does not require using the ground space in a condensed urban environment. Such flight operations, however, will be greatly affected by the vertiport’s highly unsteady, turbulent flow environment. The goal of this study is to model the turbulent wind interaction with a building to understand the unsteady flow characteristics around vertiports and match the induced unsteady disturbance field to the canonical disturbance forms, …

The Role Of Slip System Activation On Ni-Based Superalloy High Temperature Fatigue, Alexandru Lopazan

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Nickel-based superalloys are used extensively in the aviation industry, particularly in aircraft engine components. These materials are desirable due to their high strength, resistance to creep, corrosive environment, and high temperature. It has been well documented that material fatigue is characterized by material microstructure, type of loading, and other parameters. Currently, research into the effects of fatigue on complex materials like nickel-based superalloys is being pursued. Previous research has found that preconditioning of Inconel 718 samples at 700 ℃ with 1.0% strain led to an improved fatigue life. It has been suggested that this could be caused by the activation …

Characterization Of Bistability Behavior In Unsymmetric Cfrp Laminates, Evan Medora

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Composite laminates of unsymmetric layup families often exhibit twin stable shapes at room temperature, a phenomenon known as bistability. Unsymmetric bistable composite laminates have often been suggested for applications in aerospace morphing structures, damping, and energy storage, because of their ability to easily change their shape while being homogenized with the rest of the composite structure.

This study analyzes the mechanisms responsible for bistability in unsymmetrical [0/0/90/90] laminates through a combination of experiments and modeling. Several unsymmetrical laminates with different aspect ratios were fabricated using autoclave processing. Digital image correlation (DIC) is used to monitor laminate strains in situ during …

Optical Orbit Tracking And Estimation, Matthew Gillette

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Angles-only initial orbit determination methods are currently limited in their use as they require some prior knowledge of where the observed object will be and when it will be there. This research aims to produce a viable method to automate this process so that objects whose trajectories are not saved in a user’s catalog can be observed. A method is devised using a novel approach to satellite recognition in an image. This method is used in addition to Astrometry to determine the right ascension and declination of the object. This information is then used to either obtain the initial conditions …

Autonomous Space Surveillance For Arbitrary Domains, David Zuehlke

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Space is becoming increasingly congested every day and the task of accurately tracking satellites is paramount for the continued safe operation of both manned and unmanned space missions. In addition to new spacecraft launches, satellite break-up events and collisions generate large amounts of orbital debris dramatically increasing the number of orbiting objects with each such event. In order to prevent collisions and protect both life and property in orbit, accurate knowledge of the position of orbiting objects is necessary. Space Domain Awareness (SDA) used interchangeably with Space Situational Awareness (SSA), are the names given to the daunting task of tracking …

An Investigation Into The Economic Useful Life Of Commercial Aircraft As Impacted By Maintenance And Economic Variables, Robert Gallagher

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This research involved examining the economic useful life of commercial aircraft and the impact of maintenance and economic variables on the viability and longevity of the asset. The data sample consisted of the entire population of Boeing commercial aircraft produced between 1956 and 2021. The objective was to determine the effect of both maintenance and economic variables on the longevity and usefulness of commercial aircraft. As manufacturers work with issues such as service life, economic life, safety, and critical design features, those in the aviation community focus on the operational side of the equation––how long can one operate the asset, …

A Simulation Of The Impacts Of Climate Change On Civil Aircraft Takeoff Performance, Thomas D. Pellegrin

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Climate change affects the near-surface environmental conditions that prevail at airports worldwide. Among these, air density and headwind speed are major determinants of takeoff performance, and their sensitivity to global warming carries potential operational and economic implications for the commercial air transport industry. Previous archival and prospective research observed a weakening in headwind strength and predicted an increase in near-surface temperatures, respectively, resulting in an increase in takeoff distances and weight restrictions. The main purpose of the present study was to update and generalize the extant prospective research using a more representative sample of worldwide airports, a wider range of …

Enhancing Cyberspace Monitoring In The United States Aviation Industry: A Multi-Layered Approach For Addressing Emerging Threats, Matthew Janson

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This research project examined the cyberspace domain in the United States (U.S.) aviation industry from many different angles. The research involved learning about the U.S. aviation cyberspace environment, the landscape of cyber threats, new technologies like 5G and smart airports, cybersecurity frameworks and best practices, and the use of aviation cyberspace monitoring capabilities. The research looked at how vulnerable the aviation industry is from cyber-attacks, analyzed the possible effects of cyber-attacks on the industry, and suggests ways to improve the industry's cybersecurity posture. The project's main goal was to protect against possible cyber-attacks and make sure that the aviation industry …

Prediction & Active Control Of Multi-Rotor Noise, Samuel O. Afari

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Significant developments have been made in designing and implementation of Advanced Air Mobility Vehicles (AAMV). However, wider applications in urban areas require addressing several challenges, such as safety and quietness. These vehicles differ from conventional helicopter in that they operate at a relatively lower Reynolds number. More chiefly, they operate with multiples of rotors, which may pose some issues aerodynamically, as well as acoustically. The aim of this research is to first investigate the various noise sources in multi-rotor systems. High-fidelity simulations of two in-line counter-rotating propellers in hover, and in forward flight conditions are performed. Near field flow and …

Nonlinear Dynamics Analysis And Control Of Space Vehicles With Flexible Structures, Marco Fagetti

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Space vehicles that implement hardware such as antennas, solar panels, and other extended appendages necessary for their respective missions must consider the nonlinear rotational and vibrational dynamics of these flexible structures. Formulation and analysis of these flexible structures must account for the rigid-flexible coupling present in the system dynamics for stability analysis and control design. The system model is represented by a flexible appendage attached to a central rigid body, where the flexible appendage is modeled as a cantilevered Euler-Bernoulli beam. Discretization techniques, such as the assumed modes method and the finite element method, are used to model the coupled …

The Linearized Euler Equations For Predicting Supersonic Jet Noise Of A Rectangular Jet Using Openfoam, Patrick Good

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This thesis presents a Linearized Euler Equation (LEE) solver that was developed for OpenFOAM. OpenFOAM is an open-source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) package that is widely used by industry and academia. The LEE’s are a set of equations used in Computational Aeroacoustics (CAA). The LEE’s can solve for the acoustic solution directly and quickly. The solver developed, named leeFoam, was tested against analytical solutions to verify accuracy and then was utilized to predict the acoustics of a heated supersonic rectangular jet. The rectangular jet (RJET) results were compared against experimental data.

The results from this work show that OpenFOAM can …

The Exigency And How To Improve And Implement International Humanitarian Legislations More Advantageously In Times Of Both Cyber-Warfare And Cyberspace, Shawn J. Lalman

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This study provides a synopsis of the following topics: the prospective limiters levied on cyber-warfare by present–day international legislation; significant complexities and contentions brought up in the rendering & utilization of International Humanitarian Legislation against cyber-warfare; feasible repercussions of cyber-warfare on humanitarian causes. It is also to be contended and outlined in this research study that non–state actors can be held accountable for breaches of international humanitarian legislation committed using cyber–ordnance if sufficient resources and skill are made available. It details the factors that prosecutors and investigators must take into account when organizing investigations into major breaches of humanitarian legislation …

Adaptive Modified Rise-Based Quadrotor Trajectory Tracking With Actuator Uncertainty Compensation, Emmanuel Ogbanje Ijoga, William Mackunis, Krishna Bhavithavya Kidambi, Madhur Tiwari

Publications

This paper presents an adaptive robust nonlinear control method, which achieves reliable trajectory tracking control for a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle in the presence of gyroscopic effects, rotor dynamics, and external disturbances. Through novel mathematical manipulation in the error system development, the quadrotor dynamics are expressed in a control-oriented form, which explicitly incorporates the uncertainty in the gyroscopic term and control actuation term. An adaptive robust nonlinear control law is then designed to stabilize both the position and attitude loops of the quadrotor system. A rigorous Lyapunov-based analysis is utilized to prove asymptotic trajectory tracking, where the region of convergence …

Introduction To Bioaerosols Assessment And Control, 2nd Edition, Cheri Marcham, John (Jack) Springston

Publications

• Risk Assessment
• Assessment for the Presence of Bioaerosols
• Sampling
• Purpose/ Necessity
• Interpretation Controls
  • Ventilation
  • Other Controls

Urban Air Mobility (Uam) Flight Path: Literature Review And Conceptual Design Of Uam Corridor Virtual Lane System Using “Tracks”, Immanuel Bankole

Student Works

As the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) industry grows and becomes more popular, most of the conversations in the public domain are focused on the (electric Vertical Take-off and Landing) eVTOL aircraft and the physical infrastructure that will support these eVTOL aircraft. However, there is a lack of research on UAM traffic management and flight paths taken by aircraft between locations.

The United States (U.S.) Federal Aviation Administration has proposed the use of corridors to minimize the interaction between UAM operations and traditional air traffic as eVTOL aircraft perform flight activities. The government also acknowledges the need for additional structures (such …

Air Carrier Pilot Training, Supply & Recruitment Challenges, Paul Ryder, Todd Lisak

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The route to airline recovery following the global COVID-19 pandemic is flush with opportunity for airlines, unions, and regulators to work together within current regulatory structures to recruit the next generation of aviation professionals, while continuing to ensure they are properly trained, qualified and mentored for safe flight operations. As an industry we have raised interest in pursuing aviation, but more still should be done.

The pace of the recovery from the pandemic induced reductions in air travel is testing United States pilot training and recruitment systems.

The reductions in air travel at the beginning of the pandemic led to …

Advanced Air Mobility Human Factors Considerations For Current Evtol Pilot Interfaces, Bhoomin B. Chauhan, Maria Chaparro Osman, Kendall Carmody, Meredith Carroll

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Advanced air mobility (AAM) is a novel transportation concept using electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to move people and cargo in urban and rural environments. The emergence of AAM has led to a range of different eVTOL vehicle designs at different stages in development, flight testing, and certification. Although these aircraft will serve similar markets, they will have different operational capabilities and pilot interfaces. These aircraft vary in whether they are (a) multi-rotor and have tilt-rotor capabilities, or (b) winged with tilt-wing capabilities, vectored thrust, fans, or propellers. The pilot interfaces in eVTOL align with the concept of …

The Value Of Strong Partnerships To Build A Successful Aviation Maintenance Career Pathway Program For Transitioning Military Service Members, Angela C. Albritton, Kenneth Witcher Ph.D., Christopher Toppin

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The aerospace industry is competing with other industries for a qualified workforce, and many of those competing industries are investing heavily in creating workforce development pipelines. Boeing (2021) forecasts that 626,000 new aviation maintenance technicians will be needed over the next 20 years. If the aerospace industry is unable to recruit the skilled workforce they require, it could have a ripple effect felt globally. Career pathway programs are emerging as essential to inspiring and recruiting the next generation of aviation professionals. How can industry, academia and government work together to find more innovative ways to address the growing need for …

Change Fatigue In Aviation Maintenance Through A Human Factors Lens, Stephanie Douglas, Bettina Mrusek

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Aviation is a demanding and fast-paced industry and it is not uncommon for aviation professionals, including maintainers, to experience rapid disruption and organizational change. Fatigue in aviation professionals is a known risk. Fatigue risk management systems (FRMS) seek to mitigate this risk by focusing on tiredness resulting from long work hours and lack of quality sleep. Recently, change fatigue has also risen to the forefront of business and employee studies. In many of today’s industries, change is constant as firms implement changes either to address disruptions, business growth or to follow trends in the industry. Frequent changes in an organization …

Workforce Of The Future Begins With Aviation Stem, Lyndsay Digneo

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The United States has always been a world leader in aviation. This leadership position relies on the strength of the American STEM workforce and the quality of the nation’s educational, industrial, and government institutions. Therefore, it is imperative to nurture today’s students to become a well-trained STEM workforce in the future.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC) recognizes that in pursuing its mission of aviation research, engineering, development, and test and evaluation, it is in a unique position to support aviation STEM activities for schools (K-12), post-secondary institutions, and community organizations. In 2016, the Technical …

Determining The Effectiveness Of Single-Pilot Resource Management In General Aviation, Alaba Gabriel Idowu, Holly Augustine, Michael Adebola Shogbonyo

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

This research aims to determine the effectiveness of single-pilot resource management (SRM) towards improved safety in general aviation (GA) as compared to its counterpart, crew resource management (CRM), in commercial aviation that has improved commercial safety drastically. GA safety has been a significant concern due to many fatalities. Despite SRM concepts to ensure safe and successful flight operations, evidence showed that GA suffers a higher fatal accident rate than scheduled airline flights and holds a lackluster safety record, accounting for 94% of civil aviation fatalities. In contrast, commercial aviation safety has improved since the implementation of CRM. The investigation examines …

Why Should Airline Workers Be Trained To Respond To Fume Events?, Judith Tl Anderson

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The potential for engine oil and hydraulic fluid fumes to contaminate the ventilation air supplied to the aircraft cabin and flight deck has been recognized since the 1950s as a function of the design and maintenance of the bleed air system. The presence of oil and hydraulic fluid in the bleed air matters because the fumes contain complex mixtures of chemicals, including toxic additives. Starting in the 1950s and continuing to this day, crewmembers around the world have documented ill health during and after breathing these fumes. Also, some crewmembers have reported impairment and even incapacitation inflight, resulting in investigations …

Utilizing Drones To Streamline Wildlife Hazard Management Efforts By Airport Operators, Flavio A. C. Mendonca Ph.D., Ryan Wallace, Jose Cabrera, Cole Mcnall

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Airports operating under the Code of Federal Regulations Part 139 should conduct a wildlife hazard assessment (WHA) when some wildlife-strike events have occurred at or near the airport. The WHA must be conducted by a Qualified Airport Wildlife Biologist (QAWB). The required elements in a WHA include the identification of the wildlife species observed and their numbers, and the location of features on and near the airport that could attract wildlife. Service learning and research projects enable undergraduate students to develop transferable skills that are highly valued by the aviation industry, including critical thinking, self-confidence, the ability to integrate theory …

Development Of Upset Recovery And Basic Aerobatic Courses For Collegiate Flight Training Programs, Warren P. Pittorie, Michaela C. Satter, Meredith Carroll Phd

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Upset recovery and aerobatics are two topics in general aviation that are often overlooked by commercial pilots in training. This can be due to several different constraints, such as not having the time or resources to receive optional flight instruction, or the workload involved with locating a reputable school and qualified flight instructor. In addition, upset recovery and aerobatics training is not required to become a commercially rated pilot and start a career in the aviation industry. However, both topics, especially upset recovery, can increase a pilot’s awareness of the limitations of their own aircraft and increase their confidence when …