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Aerospace Engineering Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Aerospace Engineering

Effects Of Atomic Oxygen On Outgassing Of Silicone Materials, Samuel Westrick Dec 2022

Effects Of Atomic Oxygen On Outgassing Of Silicone Materials, Samuel Westrick

Master's Theses

An important consideration for spacecraft material selection is the space environment that the spacecraft will be operating in. Two features of the space environment that drive material selection are material outgassing and the presence of atomic oxygen in low Earth orbit (LEO). Materials that are considered for use in space are tested to be able to understand how they’ll outgas on orbit and how they’ll respond to interactions with atomic oxygen. However, testing to understand how atomic oxygen interaction with a material will affect how the material will outgas is rare and not standardized. This thesis used a vacuum chamber …


Uv Space Imager Enclosure Coating, David Silva Cortez, Victor Alexander Rempel Dekhtyar, Maria L. Muñoz Jun 2022

Uv Space Imager Enclosure Coating, David Silva Cortez, Victor Alexander Rempel Dekhtyar, Maria L. Muñoz

Mechanical Engineering

The goal of this project is to reduce the amount of stray light entering an ultraviolet (UV) imager through absorption. This report outlines the use of ZnO nanoparticles mixed in an epoxy matrix for use in a CubeSat enclosure. Through testing, our team verified that the ZnO and epoxy coating experienced a peak absorption between 360-370 nm. The epoxy mixture with the .75% by weight ZnO nanoparticles absorbed up to 99.9 % of UV light at its peak. The effect on material properties, such as Young’s modulus and ultimate tensile strength, was also tested. Tensile tests demonstrated that adding ZnO …


Structural Loads And Preliminary Structural Design For A World Speed Record-Breaking Turbo-Prop Racing Airplane, Matthew G. Slymen Jun 2022

Structural Loads And Preliminary Structural Design For A World Speed Record-Breaking Turbo-Prop Racing Airplane, Matthew G. Slymen

Master's Theses

The Cal Poly SLO Turbo-Prop Racer project aims to design a world speed record-breaking aircraft, capable of flying more than 550 miles per hour on a 3-kilometer closed course. To further this endeavor, this thesis presents the calculations of load distributions across the aircraft’s wing and tail and preliminary structural estimates of primary structural components for verification of the loads calculations and for use in a future finite element model. The aircraft’s fundamental design characteristics effect on the structure of the aircraft, namely the unique Y-tail design, are first examined. Then, loads are calculated in accordance with the regulation dictated …


Aeroelastic Analysis Of Small-Scale Aircraft, Kent Roberts Mar 2022

Aeroelastic Analysis Of Small-Scale Aircraft, Kent Roberts

Master's Theses

The structural design of flight vehicles is a balancing act between maximizing loading capability while minimizing weight. An engineer must consider not only the classical static structural yielding failure of a vehicle, but a variety of ways in which structural deformations can in turn, affect the loading conditions driving those deformations. Lift redistribution, divergence, and flutter are exactly such dynamic aeroelastic phenomena that must be properly characterized during the design of a vehicle; to do otherwise is to risk catastrophe. Relevant within the university context is the design of small-scale aircraft for student projects and of particular consideration, the DBF …