Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Determination Of Human Powered Helicopter Stability Characteristics Using Multi-Body System Simulation Techniques, Sean M. Brown

Master's Theses

Multi-Body System Simulation combined with System Identification was developed as a method for determining the stability characteristics of a human powered helicopter(HPH) configurations. HPH stability remains a key component for meeting competition requirements, but has not been properly treated. Traditional helicopter dynamic analysis is not suited to the HPH due to its low rotation speeds and light weight. Multi-Body System Simulation is able to generate dynamic response data for any HPH configuration. System identification and linear stability theory are used to determine the stability characteristics from the dynamic response. This thesis focuses on the method development and doesn't present any …

A (Declassified) History Of Military Drones, Stephen Rayleigh

ERAU Prescott Aviation History Program

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones, are said to be the newest technology of contemporary warfare, but the military's use of drones spans the last 100 years. Hear the riveting story of the numerous secret UAV programs around the world, starting with the Sperry Aerial Torpedo Project in 1918 (consulted by Orville Wright), the German cruise missile program, American remote controlled bombers in WWII, the Firebee recon drone used in Vietnam, Israel's highly successful UAV program, and finally the coming of age of UAV's in Operation Desert Storm.

Jet Engine Thrust Ratings, Nihad E. Daidzic

Aviation Department Publications

No abstract provided.

Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator Performance Optimization, Joshua G. Thompson, Brian Eney, Zaheer Ali, Bob Thompson

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator (TAAS) calibrates scientific instruments (SI’s) that are installed on the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). An SI’s accuracy is directly dependent on the consistent performance of the TAAS, which has never been fully characterized. After designing various thermal and optical experiments to identify the current unknowns of TAAS, we now have a far better grasp on how the equipment behaves.

Two-Stage, High-Altitude Rocket With Internal Skeleton Design Entered In Advance Category Of 7th Esra Irec, Samuel S. Bowman, Kevin J. Byrne, Allen Capatina, Aliki S. Loper-Leddy, Joshua A. Van Schoyck

Aerospace Engineering

A high-altitude, two-stage rocket was designed, built, and entered in the advanced category of the 7^th Annual Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) Intercollegiate Rocketry Engineering Competition (IREC). The rocket, called AJAKS, featured an internal skeleton made of carbon fiber rods, and a combination of plywood, carbon, and aluminum bulkheads. Loads were driven through the internal structure, with an outer skin tube providing an aerodynamic surface. A unique separation device was developed to ensure proper stage separation. The competition required the rocket to carry a 10-lb payload, which was chosen by the team to consist of an IMU and data …

Flexible Circuits For Aerospace Applications With Special Emphasis On Rf Connectors, Abhishek Nareshraj Singh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current work focused on the study of flexible electronic circuits for use in aerospace applications with emphasis on RF Connectors. The electrical and mechanical performance of the flexible circuits was studied and compared to a standard coaxial cable for feasibility study in avionics space. Also, Anisotropic Conductive Films (ACF) are studied for connecting the flexible RF connectors and their performance studied for electrical and mechanical behavior with change in bonding parameters.

Development Of A Flight Test Program For A Homebuilt Zenith Stol Ch 701, Reed Danis, Dave Nguyen

Aerospace Engineering

The objective of this senior project is to prepare a phase I flight test program for a homebuilt Zenith CH 701 kit aircraft. The CH 701 is a small, short takeoff and landing experimental aircraft. A team including several Cal Poly students helped to construct the airframe and avionics of a 701 during the 2011-2012 academic year. The flight test program is necessary for obtaining unrestricted FAA flight certification for the completed aircraft. A set of test flight cards were created to aid in meeting the 25 to 40 hours of required phase I flight testing. These cards include specific …

Instrument Panel Design, Martin Bialy, Amber Carney, Michael Roche

Aerospace Engineering

This project focused on the design and implementation of an Electronic Flight Instrument System for a home built experimental aircraft known as a CH-701. Older aircraft use manual gauges and dials based on varying internal instruments such as gyro’s and the like but many of these traditional instruments to a singular GUI displaying multiple instruments data at one time. These devices are aimed at helping the pilot stay more alert and aware when flying between automatic warnings when in dangerous flying conditions / configurations as well as simplifying the instrument panel to only display what is absolutely necessary. These programs …

Development Of A Pyrotechnic Shock Simulation Apparatus For Spacecraft Applications, Joseph Binder, Matthew Mccarty, Chris Rasmussen

Aerospace Engineering

This report details the research, design, construction, and testing of a pyrotechnic shock simulation apparatus for spacecraft applications. The apparatus was developed to be used in the Space Environments Lab at California Polytechnic State University. It will be used for testing spacecraft components with dimensions up to 24”x12”x12” as well as CubeSats. Additionally, it may be used as an instructional or demonstrational tool in the Aerospace Department’s space environments course. The apparatus functions by way of mechanical impact of an approximately 20 lb stainless steel swinging hammer. Tests were performed to verify the simulator’s functionality. Suggestions for improvement and further …

The North Dakota Space Robotics Program: Teaching Spacecraft Development Skills To Students Statewide With High Altitude Ballooning, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Fevig

Jeremy Straub

The University of North Dakota is serving as the lead institution in a statewide effort to develop student spacecraft engineering skills. This effort, which is part of the North Dakota Space Robotics Program (NDSRP), provides students the ability to participate in the design, development and fabrication of a small satellite analog that is launched by a high altitude balloon. The first iteration of the NDSRP Near-Spacecraft Project is generating a functional prototype of a remote sensing payload, which will perform onboard image processing. This project included undergraduate and graduate students from two institutions and five different academic departments. The students …

Formalizing Mission Analysis And Design Techniques For High Altitude Ballooning, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Fevig

Jeremy Straub

High altitude balloon (HAB) missions can be and are used to teach concepts related to spacecraft and satellite design. A HAB mission, however, presents unique characteristics, which must be understood and respected to produce a desirable outcome. Because of this, flying an unaltered satellite design as a HAB payload would be as undesirable as utilizing an unaltered HAB design as a satellite. A well-defined process for HAB mission design is thus needed. The process presented mirrors commonly used space mission design processes to facilitate easy transition between the two. It is also comparatively simple, due to the smaller scale of …

Human Powered Helicopter: Rotor Structure, Joseph Ram, Juan Carlos Olvera

Mechanical Engineering

The following report encompasses the Human Powered Helicopter Rotor Team’s conceptual models and ideas based on research and modeling analysis. The following gives an overview of material researched, concept generation, analyzation, manufacturing, and testing for a rotor structure to be installed in a Human Powered Helicopter.

A Survey Of Gaps, Obstacles, And Technical Challenges For Hypersonic Applications, Timothy Andrew Barber

Masters Theses

The object of this study is to canvas the literature for the purpose of identifying and compiling a list of Gaps, Obstacles, and Technological Challenges in Hypersonic Applications (GOTCHA). The significance of GOTCHA related deficiencies is discussed along with potential solutions, promising approaches, and feasible remedies that may be considered by engineers in pursuit of next generation hypersonic vehicle designs and optimizations. Based on the synthesis of several modern surveys and public reports, a cohesive list is formed, consisting of widely accepted areas needing improvement and falling under several general categories. These include: aerodynamics, propulsion, materials, analytical modeling, CFD modeling, …

Humanitarian Response Unmanned Aircraft System (Hr-Uas), Justin T. Knott, David P. Brundage, John S. Campbell, D. Austin Eldridge, Shaun B. Hooker, Jake R. Mashburn, Jacob L. Philpott

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

A Perching Landing Gear For A Quadcopter, Elsa Culler, Gray Thomas, Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee

The design, fabrication, and testing of two prototypes of a landing gear mechanism that would allow a quadcopter to grasp and perch upon a branch-like structure are presented. The prototypes are based upon a snapping-claw mechanism that is triggered on the impact of landing. A complaint claw, fabricated using shape deposition manufacturing techniques, can conform to various shapes and contours of perching structures. Results from flight tests with a commercial off-the-shelf quadcopter and zip line tests are presented which demonstrate the performance of the mechanism.

Fadec Advances Allow Better Engine Performance, Nihad E. Daidzic

Aviation Department Publications

No abstract provided.

Nonlinear Uav Flight Control Using Command Filtered Backstepping, Brian M. Borra

Master's Theses

The aim of this effort is to implement a nonlinear flight control architecture, specifically flight path control via command filtered backstepping, for use in AME UAS's Fury® 1500 unmanned flying wing aircraft. Backstepping is a recursive, control-effort minimizing, constructive design procedure that interlaces the choice of a Lyapunov function with the design of feedback control. It allows the use of certain plant states to act as intermediate, virtual controls, for others breaking complex high order systems into a sequence of simpler lower-order design tasks.

Work herein is a simplified implementation based on publications by Farrell, Sharma, and Polycarpou. Online approximation …

The Art And Beauty Of Flight, Edmond Ing Huang Tan

The Hilltop Review

This picture nicely represents the art and gracefulness of flight with the beauty of sunset in a tranquil setting. In the picture is a powered paragliding, also known as paramotoring in the plains of Nebraska. The ability to fly both low and slow safely, the 'open' feel, the minimal equipment and maintenance costs, the portability, minimally regulated and requires no license are claimed to be this type of flying's greatest merits. Paramotors can be flown during any season of the year anywhere but not in high wind conditions which typically means at low Sun azimuths as shown in the picture …

Microgas Turbine Engine Characteristics Using Biofuel, Edmond Ing Huang Tan, William W. Liou

The Hilltop Review

Aviation fuels commonly used today are extracted from the kerosene fraction of the crude oil that is distilled between the gasoline and the diesel. Crude oil is not renewable and the world oil reserve is generally believed to be on the decline. In 2006, 6.3% of the world's refinery production was used for aviation fuel (Nygren et. al., 2009). At an estimated rate of 3% increase of fuel demand per year, aviation use alone will consume the world fuel production by 2026. Therefore, there is a need for the aviation industry to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and, perhaps, …

Generation Of Four Dimensional Grid Of Probabilistic Hazards For Use By Decision Support Tools, Ian A. Wilson

Publications

A new method and system for generating probabilities of objective values of hazards as a fine granularity grid in four dimensions (three spatial dimensions plus time) to be used by decision support and visualization tools. Utilizing the pro­posed system, proxies for hazard data received at different times and in different formats may be used as input data to a grid of intelligent software agents which generate a four dimensional matrix of probabilities of objective values of hazards. The method allows for proxies and/or subjective information on hazards that may arrive asynchronously and with coarse temporal and spatial accuracy to be …

High Performance Modeling Of Atmospheric Re-Entry Vehicles, Alexandre Martin, Leonardo C. Scalabrin, Iain D. Boyd

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Re-entry vehicles designed for space exploration are usually equipped with thermal protection systems made of ablative material. In order to properly model and predict the aerothermal environment of the vehicle, it is imperative to account for the gases produced by ablation processes. In the case of charring ablators, where an inner resin is pyrolyzed at a relatively low temperature, the composition of the gas expelled into the boundary layer is complex and may lead to thermal chemical reactions that cannot be captured with simple flow chemistry models. In order to obtain better predictions, an appropriate gas flow chemistry model needs …

Modeling Of Heat Transfer Attenuation By Ablative Gases During The Stardust Re-Entry, Alexandre Martin, Iain D. Boyd

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The great majority of modern space vehicles designed for planetary exploration use ablative materials to protect the payload against the high heating environment experienced during re-entry. In order to properly model and predict the aerothermal environment of the vehicle, it is imperative to account for the gases produced by ablation processes. In the case of charring ablators, where an inner resin is pyrolyzed at a relatively low temperature, the composition of the gas expelled into the boundary layer is complex and may lead to thermal chemical reactions that cannot be captured with simple flow chemistry models. In order to obtain …

Specialized System Identification For Parafoil And Payload Systems, Michael Ward, Mark Costello, Nathan Slegers

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

There are a number of peculiar aspects to parafoil and payload systems that make it difficult to apply conventional system identification procedures used for aerospace systems. Parafoil and payload systems are unique because typically there is very little sensor information available, the sensors that are available are separated from the canopy by a complex network of flexible rigging, the systems are very sensitive to wind and turbulence, the systems exhibit a number of nonlinear behaviors, and the systems exhibit a high degree of variability from flight to flight. The current work describes a robust system identification procedure developed to address …

Evaluation Of Multibody Parafoil Dynamics Using Distributed Miniature Wireless Sensors, Chrystine M. Gorman, Nathan Slegers

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Guided parafoils arc composed of two primary bodies, a payload and parafoil. The payload encompasses the majority ofthe ovcrdll system mass; however, the parafoil generates the majority of aerodynamic loads and is the sole source of control. Despite the canopy being the source of control, the sensor systems used for guidance are located away from the parafoil. Many multi body models exist in literature and use different degrees of freedom to represent parafoil-payload relative motion. However, in many cases, simulations are used to investigate how the relative motion between bodies affects the overall dynamics without experimental validation determining the accuracy …

Aerodynamics And Control Of A Deployable Wing Uav For Autonomous Flight, Michael Thamann

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering

UAV development and usage has increased dramatically in the last 15 years. In this time frame the potential has been realized for deployable UAVs to the extent that a new class of UAV was defined for these systems. Inflatable wing UAVs provide a unique solution for deployable UAVs because they are highly packable (some collapsing to 5-10% of their deployed volume) and have the potential for the incorporation of wing shaping. In this thesis, aerodynamic coefficients and aileron effectiveness were derived from the equations of motion of aircraft as necessary parameters for autonomous flight. A wind tunnel experiment was performed …

Design And Flight Testing Of A Warping Wing For Autonomous Flight Control, Edward Brady Doepke

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering

Inflatable-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have the ability to be packed in a fraction of their deployed volume. This makes them ideal for many deployable UAV designs, but inflatable wings can be flexible and don’t have conventional control surfaces. This thesis will investigate the use of wing warping as a means of autonomous control for inflatable wings. Due to complexities associated with manufacturing inflatable structures a new method of rapid prototyping deformable wings is used in place of inflatables to decrease cost and design-cycle time. A UAV testbed was developed and integrated with the warping wings and flown in a …

Ua94/6/8 Student / Alumni Personal Papers Wku Terry Wilcutt, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about Terry Wilcutt and manned space flights.