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Theses/Dissertations

Air Force Institute of Technology

2011

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Articles 31 - 60 of 167

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Photogrammetric Measurement Of Recession Rates Of Low Temperature Ablators Subjected To High Speed Flow, David W. Callaway Jun 2011

Photogrammetric Measurement Of Recession Rates Of Low Temperature Ablators Subjected To High Speed Flow, David W. Callaway

Theses and Dissertations

This research advances a technique to simulate high temperature/high speed effects in a high speed/low temperature environment and to capture recession of the test article in three-dimensions. A method of fabricating dry ice test articles was developed, and the AFIT Mach 3 pressure-vacuum wind tunnel was used in combination with the dry ice test articles to collect three-dimensional ablation data for models of different shapes at stagnation pressures ranging from approximately 0.4 atm to 3 atm and stagnation temperatures equivalent to room temperature. High speed Schlieren photography was used for visualization, and the three dimensional shape change was quantified with …


A Relay-Rover Differential Game, Youngdong Choi Jun 2011

A Relay-Rover Differential Game, Youngdong Choi

Theses and Dissertations

Guidance laws are developed to optimally position a relay Micro-UAV (MAV) to provide an operator at the base with real-time Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) by relaying communication and video signals when the rover MAV performing the ISR mission is out of radio contact range with the base. The ISR system is comprised of two MAVs, the Relay and the Rover, and a Base. The Relay strives to minimize the radio frequency (RF) power required for maintaining communications, while the Rover performs the ISR mission, which may maximize the required RF power. The optimal control of the Relay MAV entails …


Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Arrays, Benjamin L. Crossley Jun 2011

Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Arrays, Benjamin L. Crossley

Theses and Dissertations

This effort exploits the unique physical and electrical characteristics of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for field emission applications. Carbon nanotube field emission devices are designed, fabricated, and tested. Two reliable CNT synthesis methods, microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MPE-CVD) and thermal chemical vapor deposition (T-CVD), are developed. The physical properties of the resulting CNTs are analyzed using Raman spectroscopy and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and then tested for field emission performance. The T-CVD grown CNTs are shown to have fewer growth defects, but suffer from less process control making integration into devices difficult without further process development. Field emission testing …


Enterprise Requirements And Acquisition Model, David A. Leach, Chad T. Searle Jun 2011

Enterprise Requirements And Acquisition Model, David A. Leach, Chad T. Searle

Theses and Dissertations

In support of senior leadership emphasis on improving early systems engineering and analysis, the Enterprise Requirements and Acquisition Model (ERAM) is a quantitative discrete-event process simulation model that accounts for activities from the identification of a desired space capability early in the JCIDS process through Milestone C of the acquisition system resulting in a probabilistic schedule distribution for a given concept. This model of the DoD's space capability development process will provide valuable decision making information for Concept Characterization and Technical Descriptions referenced during Analysis of Alternatives. The research focused on identifying activities, assigning historical triangular distributions and probabilities at …


Spacecraft Demand Tasking And Skip Entry Responsive Maneuvers, Robert A. Bettinger Jun 2011

Spacecraft Demand Tasking And Skip Entry Responsive Maneuvers, Robert A. Bettinger

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to parametrically investigate the viability of skip entry maneuvers as an alternative to vacuum-only maneuvers, and to identify whether skip entry maneuvers can extend spacecraft mission lifetime by limiting propellant expenditure through the exploitation of the aerodynamic interaction between the upper atmosphere and an example entry vehicle and remote-sensing orbital platform. Employing the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) and a notional satellite design as the example entry vehicles, the entry profile dynamics of a skip entry maneuver were characterized with varying trajectory initial conditions such as entry altitude, entry flight-path angle, and vehicle aerodynamics. …


Simulations For The Test Flight Of An Experimental Hale Aircraft, Brooke E. Kaszynski Jun 2011

Simulations For The Test Flight Of An Experimental Hale Aircraft, Brooke E. Kaszynski

Theses and Dissertations

Recent events, such as the crash of NASA's Helios aircraft during a test flight, show that more must be known about the nonlinear control of HALE aircraft. Shearer, Cesnik and their co-workers have developed a code that is a practical solution to the coupled nonlinear aeroelasticity and flight dynamics of very flexible aircraft called the University of Michigan's Nonlinear Aeroelastic Simulation Toolbox (UM/NAST). They are also in the process of developing a model HALE aircraft called X-HALE which will be used to validate this code experimentally. This research performs flight simulations with UM/NAST so as to make predictions about X-HALE's …


Optical Flow-Based Odometry For Underground Tunnel Exploration, Terra Kier Jun 2011

Optical Flow-Based Odometry For Underground Tunnel Exploration, Terra Kier

Theses and Dissertations

As military operations in degraded or GPS-denied environments continue to increase in frequency and importance, there is an increased necessity to be able to determine precision location within these environments. Furthermore, authorities are finding a record number of tunnels along the U.S.-Mexico border; therefore, underground tunnel characterization is becoming a high priority for U.S. Homeland Security as well. This thesis investigates the performance of a new image registration technique based on a two camera optical- flow configuration using phase correlation techniques. These techniques differ from other image based navigation methods but present a viable alternative increasing autonomy and answering the …


Host-Based Systemic Network Obfuscation System For Windows, Kevin E. Huber Jun 2011

Host-Based Systemic Network Obfuscation System For Windows, Kevin E. Huber

Theses and Dissertations

Network traffic identifies the operating system and services of the host that created the traffic. Current obfuscation programs focus solely on the Transport and Internet layer protocols of the TCP/IP model. Few obfuscation programs were developed to run on a Windows operating system to provide host-based obfuscation. Systemic Network Obfuscation System (SNOS) was developed to provide a thorough obfuscation process for network traffic on the Windows operating system. SNOS modifies the protocols found at all layers of the TCP/IP model to effectively obfuscate the Windows operating system and services running on the host.


Performance Analysis And Optimization Of The Winnow Secret Key Reconciliation Protocol, Kevin C. Lustic Jun 2011

Performance Analysis And Optimization Of The Winnow Secret Key Reconciliation Protocol, Kevin C. Lustic

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, private communications in public and government sectors rely on methods of cryptographic key distribution that will likely be rendered obsolete the moment a full-scale quantum computer is realized, or efficient classical methods of factoring are discovered. There are alternative methods for distributing secret key material in a post-quantum era. One example of a system capable of securely distributing cryptographic key material, known as Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), is secure against quantum factorization techniques as its security rests on generally accepted laws of quantum physics. QKD protocols typically include a phase called Error Reconciliation, a clear-text classical-channel discussion between legitimate …


Characterizing Cyclostationary Features Of Digital Modulated Signals With Empirical Measurements Using Spectral Correlation Function, Mujun Song Jun 2011

Characterizing Cyclostationary Features Of Digital Modulated Signals With Empirical Measurements Using Spectral Correlation Function, Mujun Song

Theses and Dissertations

Signal detection is widely used in many applications. Some examples include Cognitive Radio (CR) and military intelligence. CRs use signal detection to sense spectral occupancy. Without guaranteed signal detection, a CR cannot reliably perform its role. Similarly, signal detection is the first step for garnering an opponent's information. Wireless signal detection can be performed using many different techniques. Some of the most popular include matched filters, energy detectors (which use measurements such as the Power Spectral Density (PSD) of the signal), and Cyclostationary Feature Detectors (CFD). Among these techniques, CFD can be viewed as a compromise technique, in that it …


Face Recognition Via Ensemble Sift Matching Of Uncorrelated Hyperspectral Bands And Spectral Pcts, Mohd Fairul Mohd-Zaid Jun 2011

Face Recognition Via Ensemble Sift Matching Of Uncorrelated Hyperspectral Bands And Spectral Pcts, Mohd Fairul Mohd-Zaid

Theses and Dissertations

Face recognition is not a new area of study, but facial recognition using through hyperspectral images is a somewhat new concept which is still in its infancy. Although the conventional method of face recognition using Red-Green-Blue (RGB) or grayscale images has been advanced over the last twenty years, these methods are still shown to have weak performance whenever there are variations or changes in lighting, pose, or temporal aspect of the subjects. A hyperspectral representation of an image captures more information that is available within a scene than a RGB image therefore it is beneficial to study the performance of …


Risks Associated With Federal Construction Projects, Krishna R. Surajbally Jun 2011

Risks Associated With Federal Construction Projects, Krishna R. Surajbally

Theses and Dissertations

The rise in terrorism, corporate espionage, cyber attacks, and federal fiscal constraints play an important role in the federal construction process. The risks associated with these occurrences are studied to aid in the risk management of the military construction process. This paper presents the status of research into these areas to identify how methods, policies, applications, and information obtained from case studies can be used by stakeholders to manage risk in the United States Air Force construction process. The author reviewed research on risk associated with four essential components of the military construction process – Critical Infrastructure, Information Technology, Contracts, …


Study Of Varying Boundary Layer Height On Turret Flow Structures, Renato Jelic Jun 2011

Study Of Varying Boundary Layer Height On Turret Flow Structures, Renato Jelic

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force Institute of Technology and the Air Force Research Labs are investigating flows over turrets which are commonly encountered in directed energy integrations with air vehicles. In this work, the computational study was performed using the NASA developed time-marching finite volume code OVERFLOW 2.2 to analyze the effect of boundary layer height on symmetrical and non-symmetrical turret geometries. The effects of aerodynamics yield to the aberration of the laser beam through two methods, aero-optical and aero-mechanical jitter. The analysis of the flow features, pressure fluctuations, density fluctuations, and forces and moments on the various geometries was conducted to …


Design And Characterization Of A Space Based Chromotomographic Hyperspectral Imaging Experiment, Jason D. Niederhauser Jun 2011

Design And Characterization Of A Space Based Chromotomographic Hyperspectral Imaging Experiment, Jason D. Niederhauser

Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses upon the design, analysis and characterization of several systems related to a spacebased chromotomographic experiment (CTEx), a hyperspectral imager, currently in development at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Three interrelated subject-areas were developed. The initial focal point was a generic, system-level mechanical layout and integration analysis of the space-based instrument. The scope of this work was intended to baseline the space-based system design in order to allow for further trade-space refinement and requirements development. Second, development of an iteration upon the ground-based version of CTEx was accomplished in an effort to support higher-fidelity field data-collection. This …


Process For Refining And Validating A Finite Element Model Of An Experimental High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (Hale) Aircraft, Nicholas A. Sinnokrak Jun 2011

Process For Refining And Validating A Finite Element Model Of An Experimental High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (Hale) Aircraft, Nicholas A. Sinnokrak

Theses and Dissertations

The work presented here focuses on finite element (FE) modeling of X-HALE, a test aircraft designed and built by the University of Michigan, in conjunction with the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). This scaled vehicle is representative of high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) aircraft and was designed to provide controlled aeroelastic and flight data. FE models of portions of the X-HALE wing structure were created and analysis results were compared against two separate laboratory static bending tests conducted on X-HALE wing sections. The process documented here should improve future efforts to refine FE models of …


Quest Hierarchy For Hyperspectral Face Recognition, David M. Ryer Mar 2011

Quest Hierarchy For Hyperspectral Face Recognition, David M. Ryer

Theses and Dissertations

Face recognition is an attractive biometric due to the ease in which photographs of the human face can be acquired and processed. The non-intrusive ability of many surveillance systems permits face recognition applications to be used in a myriad of environments. Despite decades of impressive research in this area, face recognition still struggles with variations in illumination, pose and expression not to mention the larger challenge of willful circumvention. The integration of supporting contextual information in a fusion hierarchy known as QUalia Exploitation of Sensor Technology (QUEST) is a novel approach for hyperspectral face recognition that results in performance advantages …


Time Resolved Filtered Rayleigh Scattering Measurement Of A Centrifugally Loaded Buoyant Jet, Firas Benhassen Mar 2011

Time Resolved Filtered Rayleigh Scattering Measurement Of A Centrifugally Loaded Buoyant Jet, Firas Benhassen

Theses and Dissertations

The combustion process within the Ultra-Compact Combustor (UCC) occurs in the circumferential direction. The presence of variable flow density within the circumferential cavity introduces significant buoyancy issues. On the other hand, G-loading caused by the presence of centrifugal forces, ensures the circulation of the flow in the circumferential cavity and enhances the completion of the combustion process before allowing the exit of the hot gases to the main flow. The coupling between buoyancy and high G-loading is what predominately influences the behavior of the flow within the UCC. In order to better understand the combustion process within the UCC, three …


Simultaneous Range/Velocity Detection With An Ultra-Wideband Random Noise Radar Through Fully Digital Cross-Correlation In The Time Domain, James R. Lievsay Mar 2011

Simultaneous Range/Velocity Detection With An Ultra-Wideband Random Noise Radar Through Fully Digital Cross-Correlation In The Time Domain, James R. Lievsay

Theses and Dissertations

This research effort examines the theory, application, and results of applying two-dimensional cross-correlation in the time domain to ultra-wideband (UWB) random noise waveforms for simultaneous range and velocity estimation. When applying common Doppler processing techniques to random noise waveforms for the purpose of velocity estimation, the velocity resolution degrades as the signal bandwidth or the target speed increase. To mitigate the degradation, the Doppler approximation is not utilized, and instead, wideband signal processing theory is applied in the time domain. The results show that by accurately interpolating each sample in the digitized reference signal, a target's velocity and range can …


Characterization And In Vitro Toxicity Of Copper Nanoparticles (Cu-Nps) In Murine Neuroblastoma (N2a) Cells, Sitao Veronica Brownheim Mar 2011

Characterization And In Vitro Toxicity Of Copper Nanoparticles (Cu-Nps) In Murine Neuroblastoma (N2a) Cells, Sitao Veronica Brownheim

Theses and Dissertations

Nanomaterials, classified as materials within the 1 - 100 nanometer range, have seemingly endless applications. It is very important to the Air Force to increase the understanding of Cu-NPs and the possible health impacts from nanomaterial exposure prior to wide-spread industry and military use. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to thoroughly characterize the properties of three different copper samples upon suspension into aqueous solutions over time: Cu-NPs (Cu 25 nm), CuO-NPs (CuO 40 nm), and Cu-MSP (Cu 500nm). Additionally, this research seeks to observe in vitro effects upon murine neuroblastoma cells (N2A) by these three types of particles …


Contextual Detection Of Anomalies In Hyperspectral Images, Adam J. Messer Mar 2011

Contextual Detection Of Anomalies In Hyperspectral Images, Adam J. Messer

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of anomaly detectors in Hyperspectral Imaging use only the statistical aspects of the spectral readings in the image. These detectors fail to use the spatial context that is contained in the images. The use of this information can yield detectors that out perform their spatially myopic counterparts. To demonstrate this, we will use an independent component analysis based detector, autonomous global anomaly detector (AutoGAD), developed at AFIT augmented to account for the spatial context of the detected anomalies. Through the use of segmentation algorithms, the anomalies identified are formed into regions. The size and shape of these regions …


Creep Performance Of Oxide Ceramic Fiber Materials At Elevated Temperature In Air And In Steam, Clinton J. Armani Mar 2011

Creep Performance Of Oxide Ceramic Fiber Materials At Elevated Temperature In Air And In Steam, Clinton J. Armani

Theses and Dissertations

The effects of steam on the creep performance for several ceramic materials were investigated at temperatures in the 1100-1300 deg. C range. Experimental programs were designed to explore both tensile and compressive creep behaviors as well as the response in monotonic tension. Subcritical crack growth was determined to be the dominant failure mechanism in ceramic fibers at elevated temperatures in steam. The creep life prediction analysis of ceramic fiber tows was performed using linear elastic fracture mechanics and a power-law crack velocity model. Additionally, the effects of steam at 1300 deg. C on creep performance of high-purity polycrystalline yttrium aluminum …


Revolutionizing Space Propulsion Through The Characterization Of Iodine As Fuel For Hall-Effect Thrusters, Adam C. Hillier Mar 2011

Revolutionizing Space Propulsion Through The Characterization Of Iodine As Fuel For Hall-Effect Thrusters, Adam C. Hillier

Theses and Dissertations

The demand for increased performance in space propulsion systems is higher than ever as missions are becoming more advanced. As the global supply of xenon depletes, missions demanding high thrust will require alternatives. The research presented here examines iodine as an alternate propellant. The propellant was successfully operated through a BHT-200 thruster in the T6 vacuum facility at Busek Co. Inc. A feed system for the iodine was developed for controlled thruster operation at varying conditions. An inverted pendulum was used to take thrust measurements. Thrust to power ratio, anode efficiency, and specific impulse were calculated. Iodine performance is compared …


Cubesat Packaged Electrospray Thruster Evaluation For Enhanced Operationally Responsive Space Capabilities, Scott T. Ober Mar 2011

Cubesat Packaged Electrospray Thruster Evaluation For Enhanced Operationally Responsive Space Capabilities, Scott T. Ober

Theses and Dissertations

A new specialized electrospray thruster with a potential to be used with a 3-U CubeSat was operated. The key difference in this thruster from traditional colloid thrusters is the porous stainless steel surface used for the emission sites. With this porous surface the actual location and number of the Taylor cones formations vary with changing fuel flow. The understanding of these formations is discussed with low, moderate, and high flow rates. The limitations of the experiment and observed system response are discussed. Due to these limitations, the colloid thruster was only able to operate in the low mass flow rate …


Biological Investigation Of The Stimulated Flapping Motions Of The Moth, Manduca Sexta, Travis B. Tubbs Mar 2011

Biological Investigation Of The Stimulated Flapping Motions Of The Moth, Manduca Sexta, Travis B. Tubbs

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Adaptive Quality Of Service Engine With Dynamic Queue Control, James D. Haught Mar 2011

Adaptive Quality Of Service Engine With Dynamic Queue Control, James D. Haught

Theses and Dissertations

While the current routing and congestion control algorithms in use today are often sufficient for networks with relatively static topology, these algorithms may not be sufficient for military networks where a certain level of quality of service (QoS) needs to be achieved to complete a mission. Current networking technology limits a network's ability to adapt to changes and interactions in the network, often resulting in sub-optimal performance. This research investigates the use of queue size predictions to create a network controller to optimize computer networks. These queue size predictions are made possible through the use of Kalman filters to detect …


An Investigation Of Cavity Resonance And Its Relationship To Store Force And Moment Loading, Christopher J. Coley Mar 2011

An Investigation Of Cavity Resonance And Its Relationship To Store Force And Moment Loading, Christopher J. Coley

Theses and Dissertations

A store which is released from an internal bay is subjected to a highly unsteady flowfield which influences the release characteristics for the store. Pressure transducer information is often used to estimate store loading, although no direct correlation between the observed frequencies from the pressure transducers and the store loading has been developed. The relationship between the acoustic modes present in the cavity and the force and moment loading on a store released from a bay are investigated through a CFD study using the OVERFLOW 2.1 solver. The acoustic modes of the cavity are calculated from the pressure fluctuation histories …


Repeatable Manufacture Of Wings For Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicles Using Microelectromechanical System (Mems) Fabrication Techniques, David S. Dawson Mar 2011

Repeatable Manufacture Of Wings For Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicles Using Microelectromechanical System (Mems) Fabrication Techniques, David S. Dawson

Theses and Dissertations

While there have been great advances in the area of Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicles (FWMAV), prototype parts have been constructed with the objective of scientific discovery and basic research. There has been little effort to make parts that could be consistently and repeatedly manufactured. Until recently, there has been little, if any, focus on methods that could be used and verified by subsequent researchers. It is herein proposed that Microelectromechanical System fabrication methods will provide a fast, cheap, and highly repeatable manufacturing method for the FWMAV wings. The wings manufactured to demonstrate this process, bio-inspired by the Manduca Sexta, …


Vibration Interaction In A Multiple Flywheel System, Jordan A. Firth Mar 2011

Vibration Interaction In A Multiple Flywheel System, Jordan A. Firth

Theses and Dissertations

This study uses a linear model of an Integrated Power and Attitude Control System (IPACS) to investigate the vibration interaction between multiple flywheels. An easily extendable Matlab® script is created for the analysis of flywheel vibrations. This script is used to build a vibration model consisting of two active magnetic bearing flywheels mounted on a support structure. The flywheels are rotated at varying speeds, with an imbalance-induced centripetal force in one or both wheels causing vibrations in both wheels. Flywheel and system responses are examined for low frequency vibrations which would cause undesirable excitation to a satellite using IPACS, with …


Heat Transfer Experiments On A Pulse Detonation Driven Combustor, Nicholas C. Longo Mar 2011

Heat Transfer Experiments On A Pulse Detonation Driven Combustor, Nicholas C. Longo

Theses and Dissertations

Heat transfer experiments were conducted using a heat exchanger behind a pulse detonation combustor and a Garrett automotive turbocharger at the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL). The equivalence ratio and purge fraction were held at 1.0 and 0.9, respectively, while the frequency of operation was varied from 10 to 12 Hz in 1 Hz movements, and the fill fraction was varied from 0.5 to 0.8 in 0.1 increments. Temperature measurements were calculated using an energy balance allowing for the calculation of heat exchanger inlet enthalpy. The heat exchanger inlet enthalpy was estimated to be the exit enthalpy of the turbocharger …


Holistic Network Defense: Fusing Host And Network Features For Attack Classification, Jenny W. Ji Mar 2011

Holistic Network Defense: Fusing Host And Network Features For Attack Classification, Jenny W. Ji

Theses and Dissertations

This work presents a hybrid network-host monitoring strategy, which fuses data from both the network and the host to recognize malware infections. This work focuses on three categories: Normal, Scanning, and Infected. The network-host sensor fusion is accomplished by extracting 248 features from network traffic using the Fullstats Network Feature generator and from the host using text mining, looking at the frequency of the 500 most common strings and analyzing them as word vectors. Improvements to detection performance are made by synergistically fusing network features obtained from IP packet flows and host features, obtained from text mining port, processor, logon …