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Engineering Commons

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Theses and Dissertations

Aerospace Engineering

2010

Drone aircraft

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Analysis Of Hybrid-Electric Propulsion System Designs For Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Ryan M. Hiserote Mar 2010

Analysis Of Hybrid-Electric Propulsion System Designs For Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Ryan M. Hiserote

Theses and Dissertations

Currently fielded electric-powered small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) lack the endurance desired by warfighters, while their internal combustion engine (ICE) driven counterparts generate mission compromising acoustic and thermal signatures. Parallel hybrid-electric propulsion systems would meet the military’s needs by combining the advantages of hydrocarbon and electric power systems. Three distinct parallel hybrid-electric system designs, each with three unique battery discharging profiles, were analyzed and compared using a constrained static optimization formulation based upon traditional aircraft design equations. Each system combined an ICE sized for cruise speed with an electric motor sized for endurance speed. The nine hybrid variations were compared …


Cfd Analysis Of Experimental Wing And Winglet For Falconlaunch 8 And The Exfit Program, Benjamin P. Switzer Mar 2010

Cfd Analysis Of Experimental Wing And Winglet For Falconlaunch 8 And The Exfit Program, Benjamin P. Switzer

Theses and Dissertations

Reusable launch vehicles have many benefits over their expendable counterparts. These benefits range from cost reductions to increased functionality of the vehicles. Further research is required in the development of the technology necessary for reusable launch vehicles to come to fruition. The Air Force Institute of Technology’s future involvement in the ExFIT program will entail designing and testing of a new wing tip mounted vertical stabilizer in the hypersonic regime. One proposed venue for experimentation is to utilize the United States Air Force Academy’s FalconLAUNCH Program which annually designs, builds, and launches a sounding rocket capable of reaching hypersonic speeds. …