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Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Increasing Reliability Of A Small 2-Stroke Internal Combustion Engine For Dynamically Changing Attitudes, Steven C. Crosbie
Increasing Reliability Of A Small 2-Stroke Internal Combustion Engine For Dynamically Changing Attitudes, Steven C. Crosbie
Theses and Dissertations
Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) typically utilize commercial internal combustion engines (ICE) as their power sources. These engines are designed to run at sea level, but these aircraft are often pressed into service at higher altitudes where the performance characteristics deteriorate. A Brison 95cc two-stroke engine's performance characteristics at altitude are investigated using a test facility that can measure these characteristics over a range of pressures and temperatures. With its stock carburetor at sea level static (SLS) conditions, the engine makes 5.5 peak horsepower (hp) and brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) ranged from 1.2-4.0 lb/(hp-hr). At 10,000 feet conditions, the peak …
Streamlining The Change-Over Protocol For The Rpa Mission Intelligence Coordinator By Way Of Situation Awareness Oriented Design And Discrete Event Simulation, John P. Machuca
Theses and Dissertations
Incredible loiter times coupled with the ability to make extremely detailed collections at significant stand-off distances with a relatively expendable platform has made demand for, and diversity of, Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) operations grow at voracious rates. Conversely, financial resources are becoming increasingly constrained. As such, innovators are looking to maximize the effectiveness of existing personnel and assets by considering concepts such as simultaneous Multiple Aircraft Control (MAC) by a single aircrew. Research has identified procedural inefficiencies in current operations as well as substantial impediments to MAC implementation, including dynamic task saturation and communication challenges. An identified inefficiency afflicting both …
Rapid Prototype Development Of A Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Powered By A Hybrid-Electric Propulsion System, Michael P. Molesworth, Jacob K. English
Rapid Prototype Development Of A Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Powered By A Hybrid-Electric Propulsion System, Michael P. Molesworth, Jacob K. English
Theses and Dissertations
Remotely-Piloted Aircraft (RPA) provide users with unique mission capabilities, particularly on-demand overhead surveillance. However, a capability gap has been identified between the range and endurance of RPAs powered by internal combustion engines (ICE) and the reduced acoustic signature and smaller logistical footprint associated with electric-powered RPAs. This research, sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, aims at advancing systems engineering education by evaluating the utility of a tailored systems engineering approach. The tailored systems engineering approach used herein focuses on conducting a concept evaluation study on the rapid prototype development of a parallel hybrid-electric RPA (HE-RPA) and its …
Integration, Testing And Validation, Of A Small Hybrid-Electric Remotely-Piloted Aircraft, Joseph K. Ausserer
Integration, Testing And Validation, Of A Small Hybrid-Electric Remotely-Piloted Aircraft, Joseph K. Ausserer
Theses and Dissertations
Parallel hybrid-electric technology offers a wide variety of new mission capabilities including low-observable loiter operations and increased fuel efficiency for small remotely-piloted aircraft. This research focused on the integration, validation, and testing of a hybrid-electric propulsion system consisting of commercially available components to fabricate a small remotely-piloted aircraft capable of extended low-observable operation. Three novel aspects contributed to the success of the design: optimization of the propulsive components to the integrated system, torque control of the components for additive power, and a one-way bearing/ pulley mechanism (patent pending) mechanically linking the hybrid system components. To the knowledge of the author …
Implementing A Quantitative Analysis Design Tool For Future Generation Interfaces, Brandon M. Webster
Implementing A Quantitative Analysis Design Tool For Future Generation Interfaces, Brandon M. Webster
Theses and Dissertations
The implementation of Multi-Aircraft Control (MAC) for use with Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) has resulted in the need of a platform to evaluate interface design. The Vigilant Spirit Control Station (VSCS), developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, addresses this need by permitting the rapid prototyping of different interface concepts for future MAC-enabled systems. A human-computer interaction (HCI) Index, originally applied to multi-function displays was applied to the prototype Vigilant Spirit interface. A modified version of the HCI Index was successfully applied to perform a quantitative analysis of the baseline VSCS interface and two modified interface designs. The modified HCI …