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Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Cloud-Induced Uncertainty For Visual Navigation, Alyssa N. Gutierrez
Cloud-Induced Uncertainty For Visual Navigation, Alyssa N. Gutierrez
Theses and Dissertations
This research addresses the numerical distortion of features due to the presence of clouds in an image. The research aims to quantify the probability of a mismatch between two features in a single image, which will describe the likelihood that a visual navigation system incorrectly tracks a feature throughout an image sequence, leading to position miscalculations. First, an algorithm is developed for calculating transparency of clouds in images at the pixel level. The algorithm determines transparency based on the distance between each pixel color and the average pixel color of the clouds. The algorithm is used to create a dataset …
Optimal Collision Avoidance Trajectories For Unmanned/Remotely Piloted Aircraft, Nathan E. Smith
Optimal Collision Avoidance Trajectories For Unmanned/Remotely Piloted Aircraft, Nathan E. Smith
Theses and Dissertations
The post-911 environment has punctuated the force-multiplying capabilities that Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) provides combatant commanders at all echelons on the battlefield. Not only have unmanned aircraft systems made near-revolutionary impacts on the battlefield, their utility and proliferation in law enforcement, homeland security, humanitarian operations, and commercial applications have likewise increased at a rapid rate. As such, under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, the United States Congress tasked the FAA to provide for the safe integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system (NAS) as soon as practicable, but not later …
Terrain Referenced Navigation Using Sift Features In Lidar Range-Based Data, Matthew T. Leines
Terrain Referenced Navigation Using Sift Features In Lidar Range-Based Data, Matthew T. Leines
Theses and Dissertations
The use of GNSS in aiding navigation has become widespread in aircraft. The long term accuracy of INS are enhanced by frequent updates of the highly precise position estimations GNSS provide. Unfortunately, operational environments exist where constant signal or the requisite number of satellites are unavailable, significantly degraded, or intentionally denied. This thesis describes a novel algorithm that uses scanning LiDAR range data, computer vision features, and a reference database to generate aircraft position estimations to update drifting INS estimates. The algorithm uses a single calibrated scanning LiDAR to sample the range and angle to the ground as an aircraft …
Multi-Objective Trajectory Optimization Of A Hypersonic Reconnaissance Vehicle With Temperature Constraints, Tadeusz J. Masternak
Multi-Objective Trajectory Optimization Of A Hypersonic Reconnaissance Vehicle With Temperature Constraints, Tadeusz J. Masternak
Theses and Dissertations
Temperature-constrained optimal trajectories for a scramjet-based hypersonic reconnaissance vehicle were generated by developing an optimal control formulation and solving it using a variable order Gauss-Radau quadrature collocation method. The vehicle was assumed to be an air-breathing reconnaissance aircraft that has specified takeoff/landing locations, airborne refueling constraints, specified no-fly zones, and specified targets for sensor data collections. The aircraft model included fight dynamics, aerodynamics, and thermal constraints. This model was incorporated into an optimal control formulation that includes constraints on both the vehicle as well as mission parameters, such as avoidance of no-fly zones and coverage of high-value targets. Optimal trajectories …
Hot Streak Characterization In Serpentine Exhaust Nozzles, Darrell S. Crowe
Hot Streak Characterization In Serpentine Exhaust Nozzles, Darrell S. Crowe
Theses and Dissertations
Modern aircraft of the United States Air Force face increasingly demanding cost, weight, and survivability requirements. Serpentine exhaust nozzles within an embedded engine allow a weapon system to fulfill mission survivability requirements by providing denial of direct line-of-sight into the high-temperature components of the engine. Recently, aircraft have experienced material degradation and failure along the aft deck due to extreme thermal loading. Failure has occurred in specific regions along the aft deck where concentrations of hot gas have come in contact with the surface causing hot streaks. The prevention of these failures will be aided by the accurate prediction of …
Optimal Control Of Fully Routed Air Traffic In The Presence Of Uncertainty And Kinodynamic Constraints, Christopher D. Arendt
Optimal Control Of Fully Routed Air Traffic In The Presence Of Uncertainty And Kinodynamic Constraints, Christopher D. Arendt
Theses and Dissertations
A method is presented to extend current graph-based Air Traffic Management optimization frameworks. In general, Air Traffic Management is the process of guiding a finite set of aircraft, each along its pre-determined path within some local airspace, subject to various physical, policy, procedural and operational restrictions. This research addresses several limitations of current graph-based Air Traffic Management optimization methods by incorporating techniques to account for stochastic effects, physical inertia and variable arrival sequencing. In addition, this research provides insight into the performance of multiple methods for approximating non-differentiable air traffic constraints, and incorporates these methods into a generalized weighted-sum representation …
A Comparison Of Afghanistan, Yuma, Az, And Manufactured Sands Melted On Eb-Pvd Thermal Barrier Coatings, Nathaniel P. Opie
A Comparison Of Afghanistan, Yuma, Az, And Manufactured Sands Melted On Eb-Pvd Thermal Barrier Coatings, Nathaniel P. Opie
Theses and Dissertations
Sand ingestion into military aircraft turbine engines from desert environments have tested the performance and life of the engine. In particular, turbine section blades and nozzles are coated with a molten glass when the sand is heated to melting temperatures. This molten glass attacks protective coatings on the surface of these parts. Further research is needed to understand the sands behavior on thermal barrier coatings (TBC) when heated to melting temperatures. Also, further research is needed with manufactured sand used in current engine testing to understand the sand ingestion discrepancies between test engines and operational engines. In this study natural …
The Differential Vector Phase-Locked Loop For Global Navigation Satellite System Signal Tracking, James J. Brewer
The Differential Vector Phase-Locked Loop For Global Navigation Satellite System Signal Tracking, James J. Brewer
Theses and Dissertations
A novel differential vector phase-locked loop (DVPLL) is derived that takes GNSS code-phase and carrier-phase measurements from a base station and uses them to maintain an integer ambiguity resolved quality solution directly in the vector tracking loop of a rover receiver. The only state variables estimated and used to create the replica code and carrier signals from the base station measurements are three position and two clock states for a static test. Closing the individual loops solely through the navigation filter makes this a pure vector method. For short baselines, where differential atmospheric errors are small, the DVPLL can be …
Non-Linear Optimization Applied To Angle-Of-Arrival Satellite-Based Geolocation, Stephen D. Hartzell
Non-Linear Optimization Applied To Angle-Of-Arrival Satellite-Based Geolocation, Stephen D. Hartzell
Theses and Dissertations
Geolocation is a common application for satellite systems. This involves estimating an object's location (herein called the subject) based on noisy satellite data. Many geolocation methods exist; however, none are tailored specifically for the unique problems faced by satellite systems. Some satellites are so far from the subject being localized that by the time the satellite receives a signal from the subject it might have moved appreciably. Furthermore, some satellites or terrestrial sensors may be much closer to the subject than others. Therefore, sensors may need to be weighted based upon their distance to the subject being localized. In addition, …
Minimization Of The Effects Of Secondary Reactions On Turbine Film Cooling In A Fuel Rich Environment, Andrew T. Shewhart
Minimization Of The Effects Of Secondary Reactions On Turbine Film Cooling In A Fuel Rich Environment, Andrew T. Shewhart
Theses and Dissertations
The demand for increased thrust, higher engine efficiency, and reduced fuel consumption has increased the turbine inlet temperature and pressure in modern gas turbine engines. The outcome of these higher temperatures and pressures is the potential for unconsumed radical species to enter the turbine. Because modern cooling schemes for turbine blades involve injecting cool, oxygen rich air adjacent to the surface, the potential for reaction with radicals in the mainstream flow and augmented heat transfer to the blade arises. This study evaluated various configurations of multiple cylindrical rows of cooling holes in terms of both heat release and effective downstream …
Design And Analysis Of An Attitude Determination And Control Subsystem (Adcs) For Afit's 6u Standard Bus, Erin R. Dannemeyer
Design And Analysis Of An Attitude Determination And Control Subsystem (Adcs) For Afit's 6u Standard Bus, Erin R. Dannemeyer
Theses and Dissertations
The design and testing of AFIT's 6U Attitude Determination and Control Subsystem (ADCS) are explored to establish 3-axis attitude control. The development of AFIT's 6U CubeSat standard bus is an on-going research effort designed to create in-house CubeSat bus components and software. The 6U chassis measures approximately 11 x 24 x 37 cu cm and can have a mass up to 12 kg. The larger bus size (as compared to the more common 3U CubeSat) allows for increased power capabilities and potential to host multiple or larger payloads. Individual ADCS hardware components were either commercially purchased or built in-house and …
Thermal Loss Determination For A Small Internal Combustion Engine, Joshua A. Rittenhouse
Thermal Loss Determination For A Small Internal Combustion Engine, Joshua A. Rittenhouse
Theses and Dissertations
Three analysis techniques were used to measure the heat rejection of a 55 cc air-cooled two-stroke engine. This study was performed as part of a larger effort aimed at extending range and endurance limitations of Group 1 & 2 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). The engine selected for the study was a 55 cc gasoline-fueled, carbureted, spark-ignition engine made by 3W-Modellmotoren and is representative of RPA engines in these groups. With a surface area to volume ratio of 1.48 1/cm, the engine is in a size region where thermal losses begin to dominate engine efficiency and thermal efficiencies …
Optimal Uav Path Planning For Tracking A Moving Ground Vehicle With A Gimbaled Camera, Riley A. Livermore
Optimal Uav Path Planning For Tracking A Moving Ground Vehicle With A Gimbaled Camera, Riley A. Livermore
Theses and Dissertations
This research develops a path planning algorithm that autonomously controls a UAV to provide convoy overwatch. The optimization algorithm determines the best path to y through developing a cost function that minimizes the control effort of the UAV and the deviation from a desired slant range. A heuristic-based algorithm was developed and implemented on the autopilot to approximate the optimal solution. In flight test, the UAV successfully tracked a moving ground vehicle by continually placing the UAV's loiter point directly above the ground vehicle's current location. This method was called the \follow-me mode and provided the baseline for real-world UAV …
The Use Of An Ultra-Compact Combustor As An Inter-Turbine Burner For Improved Engine Performance, Jose L. Miranda
The Use Of An Ultra-Compact Combustor As An Inter-Turbine Burner For Improved Engine Performance, Jose L. Miranda
Theses and Dissertations
An Inter-Turbine Burner (ITB) represents a novel mechanism for generating additional work from a gas turbine engine in applications where an afterburner would typically be used. An ITB can achieve higher thermal efficiencies over a typical afterburner while also generating shaft work versus only additional thrust. In an effort to investigate the potential applications for the ITB, a numerical engine cycle comparison was made between the ITB cycle and a conventional afterburning cycle using the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS). In the case of thrust augmentation, the ITB model outperformed the afterburning model when Thrust Specific Fuel Consumption (TSFC) is …
Gps Multipath Reduction With Correlator Beamforming, Jason M. Barhorst
Gps Multipath Reduction With Correlator Beamforming, Jason M. Barhorst
Theses and Dissertations
This research effort investigates the feasibility of beamforming using a single Global Positioning System (GPS) front end. Traditional methods of beamforming use multiple front ends, typically one per antenna element. By enabling a receiver to sample a switched antenna array, the hardware cost of implementing a GPS antenna array can be significantly reduced. Similar techniques of reducing the number of receivers have been used by Locata Corporation in the design of their non-GPS positioning systems. However, Locata Corporation's local transmitters provide a signal strength much higher than GPS's signal strength. For this reason, the inclusion of low-noise amplifiers into the …
Image-Aided Navigation Using Cooperative Binocular Stereopsis, Justin T. Soeder
Image-Aided Navigation Using Cooperative Binocular Stereopsis, Justin T. Soeder
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis proposes a novel method for cooperatively estimating the positions of two vehicles in a global reference frame based on synchronized image and inertial information. The proposed technique - cooperative binocular stereopsis - leverages the ability of one vehicle to reliably localize itself relative to the other vehicle using image data which enables motion estimation from tracking the three dimensional positions of common features. Unlike popular simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) techniques, the method proposed in this work does not require that the positions of features be carried forward in memory. Instead, the optimal vehicle motion over a single …
Feasibilty Of Very Large Sparse Aperture Depolyable Antennas, Jason C. Heller
Feasibilty Of Very Large Sparse Aperture Depolyable Antennas, Jason C. Heller
Theses and Dissertations
The objective of this research is to explore the technical soundness of a very large, cross-shaped, parabolic, sparse aperture antenna extending 75 m from the bus. Specifically, describing the environment of the satellite, the effect of fabrication error on the structure and the remaining error budget for the system. The methodology involves creation of an ideal truss structure, to which all others are compared. A uniform distribution of proportional errors up to 1e-5 is introduced into the truss members' lengths and the models are subjected to a static Finite Element Analysis. A solution for the surface normal error is addressed …
Influence Of Mach Number And Dynamic Pressure On Cavity Tones And Freedrop Trajectories, Justin D. Merrick
Influence Of Mach Number And Dynamic Pressure On Cavity Tones And Freedrop Trajectories, Justin D. Merrick
Theses and Dissertations
Weapons release at supersonic speeds from an internal weapons bay is a highly desirable capability. To ensure a successful release at multiple Mach numbers, the aerodynamic environment must be well-understood and repeatable, with a robust system for safe testing of store separation. For this reason, experimental methods were used to investigate the characteristics of a scaled WICS bay with a length-to-depth ratio of 4.5 at multiple Mach numbers and stagnation pressures. Three new nozzles were designed, manufactured, and characterized for the AFIT small supersonic tunnel, yielding freestream Mach numbers of 2.22, 1.84, and 1.43. In addition, a control valve was …