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Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Aerospace Engineering

Additively-Manufactured Hybrid Rocket Consumable Structure For Cubesat Propulsion, Britany L. Chamberlain Dec 2018

Additively-Manufactured Hybrid Rocket Consumable Structure For Cubesat Propulsion, Britany L. Chamberlain

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Three-dimensional, additive printing has emerged as an exciting new technology for the design and manufacture of small spacecraft systems. Using 3-D printed thermoplastic materials, hybrid rocket fuel grains can be printed with nearly any cross-sectional shape, and embedded cavities are easily achieved. Applying this technology to print fuel materials directly into a CubeSat frame results in an efficient, cost-effective alternative to existing CubeSat propulsion systems. Different 3-D printed materials and geometries were evaluated for their performance as propellants and as structural elements. Prototype "thrust columns" with embedded fuel ports were printed from a combination of acrylonitrile utadiene styrene (ABS) and …


Thermal Management Of Satellite Electronics Via Gallium Phase Change Heat Sink Devices, Brian O. Palmer Dec 2018

Thermal Management Of Satellite Electronics Via Gallium Phase Change Heat Sink Devices, Brian O. Palmer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of additively manufactured heat sinks using gallium as a phase change material in the thermal management of satellite electronics. A design was created based on the footprint of an Astronautical Development, LLC Lithium 1 UHF radio and six heat sinks were additively manufactured; two each of stainless steel 316, Inconel 718, and ULTEM 9085. Each heat sink was filled with gallium for testing purposes. Models were created to simulate the behavior of the heat transfer and phase change processes occurring within the heat sink. Additionally, laboratory data was …


Fast Prediction Of Thermal Distortion In Metal Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing: Part 1, A Thermal Circuit Network Model, Hao Peng, Morteza Ghasri-Khouzani, Shan Gong, Ross Attardo, Pierre Ostiguy, Bernice Aboud Gatrell, Joseph Budzinski, Charles Tomonto, Joel Neidig, M. Ravi Shankar, Richard Billo, David B. Go, David Hoelzle Aug 2018

Fast Prediction Of Thermal Distortion In Metal Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing: Part 1, A Thermal Circuit Network Model, Hao Peng, Morteza Ghasri-Khouzani, Shan Gong, Ross Attardo, Pierre Ostiguy, Bernice Aboud Gatrell, Joseph Budzinski, Charles Tomonto, Joel Neidig, M. Ravi Shankar, Richard Billo, David B. Go, David Hoelzle

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The additive manufacturing (AM) process metal powder bed fusion (PBF) can quickly produce complex parts with mechanical properties comparable to wrought materials. However, thermal stress accumulated during PBF induces part distortion, potentially yielding parts out of specification and frequently process failure. This manuscript is the first of two companion manuscripts that introduce a computationally efficient distortion and stress prediction algorithm that is designed to drastically reduce compute time when integrated in to a process design optimization routine. In this first manuscript, we introduce a thermal circuit network (TCN) model to estimate the part temperature history during PBF, a major computational …


Fast Prediction Of Thermal Distortion In Metal Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing: Part 2, A Quasi-Static Thermo-Mechanical Model, Hao Peng, Morteza Ghasri-Khouzani, Shan Gong, Ross Attardo, Pierre Ostiguy, Ronald B. Rogge, Bernice Aboud Gatrell, Joseph Budzinski, Charles Tomonto, Joel Neidig, M. Ravi Shankar, Richard Billo, David B. Go, David Hoelzle Aug 2018

Fast Prediction Of Thermal Distortion In Metal Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing: Part 2, A Quasi-Static Thermo-Mechanical Model, Hao Peng, Morteza Ghasri-Khouzani, Shan Gong, Ross Attardo, Pierre Ostiguy, Ronald B. Rogge, Bernice Aboud Gatrell, Joseph Budzinski, Charles Tomonto, Joel Neidig, M. Ravi Shankar, Richard Billo, David B. Go, David Hoelzle

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The additive manufacturing (AM) process metal powder bed fusion (PBF) can quickly produce complex parts with mechanical properties comparable to that of wrought materials. However, thermal stress accumulated during Metal PBF may induce part distortion and even cause failure of the entire process. This manuscript is the second part of two companion manuscripts that collectively present a part-scale simulation method for fast prediction of thermal distortion in Metal PBF. The first part provides a fast prediction of the temperature history in the part via a thermal circuit network (TCN) model. This second part uses the temperature history from the TCN …


Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation Of Metal Additive Manufacturing., Venkata Karthik Nadimpalli May 2018

Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation Of Metal Additive Manufacturing., Venkata Karthik Nadimpalli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) is increasingly being used to make functional components. One of the barriers for AM components to become mainstream is the difficulty to certify them. AM components can have widely different properties based on process parameters. Improving an AM processes requires an understanding of process-structure-property correlations, which can be gathered in-situ and post-process through nondestructive and destructive methods. In this study, two metal AM processes were studied, the first is Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM) and the second is Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF). The typical problems with UAM components are inter-layer and inter-track defects. To improve the …


Additive Manufacturing Of High Solids Loading Hybrid Rocket Fuel Grains, Stephen P. Johnson Apr 2018

Additive Manufacturing Of High Solids Loading Hybrid Rocket Fuel Grains, Stephen P. Johnson

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Hybrid rocket motors offer many of the benefits of both liquid and solid rocket systems. Like liquid engines, hybrid rocket motors are able to be throttled, can be stopped and restarted, and are safer than solid rocket motors since the fuel and oxidizer are in different physical states. Hybrid rocket motors are similar to solid motors in that they are relatively simple and have a high density-specific impulse. One of the major drawbacks of hybrid rocket motors is a slower burning rate than solid rocket motors. Complex port geometries provide greater burning surface area to compensate for lower burning rates …


Direct Metal Laser-Sintered Stainless Steel: Comparison Of Microstructure And Hardness Between Different Planes, M. Ghasri-Khouzani, H. Peng, R. Attardo, P. Ostiguy, J. Neidig, R. Billo, D. Hoelzle, M. R. Shankar Apr 2018

Direct Metal Laser-Sintered Stainless Steel: Comparison Of Microstructure And Hardness Between Different Planes, M. Ghasri-Khouzani, H. Peng, R. Attardo, P. Ostiguy, J. Neidig, R. Billo, D. Hoelzle, M. R. Shankar

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Microstructural analysis and micro-hardness measurements were performed on different planes of 316L stainless steel fabricated by direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) technique. A fine cellular network was observed within the steel microstructure, where morphology of most cells changed from columnar on XZ-plane (vertical section) to equiaxed on XY-plane (horizontal section). Correspondingly, morphology of most grains was found to alter from columnar for the XZ-plane to equiaxed in the case of the XY-plane. Moreover, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed a fully austenitic structure for both the planes. The average micro-hardness value for the XZ-plane and XY-plane was insignificantly (≈ 3%) different, …


Case Study: Cooling Channels For Material Testing Applications Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Benjamin M. Doane, Ryan P. O'Hara, K. Liu, Carl R. Hartsfield Apr 2018

Case Study: Cooling Channels For Material Testing Applications Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Benjamin M. Doane, Ryan P. O'Hara, K. Liu, Carl R. Hartsfield

Faculty Publications

Additive Manufacturing continues to gain a reputation as a key technology that will have a major impact on all aspects of mechanical engineering. The United States Air Force’s (USAF) Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), based in Dayton, Ohio, has expanded its AM-focused education and R&D capabilities with the purchase of a Laser Powder Bed Fusion system from Germany’s Concept Laser.


Effects Of Manufacturing Process Variables On Ultrasonic Testing In Electron Beam Melted Ti-6al-4v, Andrew D. Durkee Mar 2018

Effects Of Manufacturing Process Variables On Ultrasonic Testing In Electron Beam Melted Ti-6al-4v, Andrew D. Durkee

Theses and Dissertations

Further research on validating additive manufacturing production quality is required before the realization of direct print-to-fly application of critical components. This research examines the response of ultrasonic testing as a function of various manufacturing variables in electron beam melted samples of Ti-6Al-4V. Four dimensionally identical blocks with 6 spherical voids at varying depths were manufactured using different combinations of stock powder, edge treatments, and void melting. Scans were completed on two sides of each specimen with the transducer focused on the mid-plane. Additionally, one specimen was scanned 6 times, with the focal plane adjusted for each scan to match the …


Design And Testing Of An Additively Manufactured Cubesat Structural Bus, Karson A. Roberts Mar 2018

Design And Testing Of An Additively Manufactured Cubesat Structural Bus, Karson A. Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

Recent innovations in additive manufacturing and design capabilities have opened the door for more opportunities to integrate multiple functions into a structural de- sign. Specifically, 3D printing through advanced laser powder bed fusion of metal powder allows for the development and integration of advanced structures that were previously unachievable. The demonstration of these techniques on a small satellite results in a structural bus consisting of various external and internal features, increasing its functionality and capabilities beyond simply providing structural support. 3D printing a multi-functional CubeSat bus with these integrated features such as internal lattices and wiring tabs demonstrates a new …


Analysis Of Additively Manufactured Injectors For Rotating Detonation Engines, Michael C. Waters Mar 2018

Analysis Of Additively Manufactured Injectors For Rotating Detonation Engines, Michael C. Waters

Theses and Dissertations

This research represents an experimental and computational analysis of additively manufactured injectors for Rotating Detonation Engines (RDEs) for use in rocket propulsion. This research was based on the manufacture and testing of existing injector element designs using additive techniques. The designs were modeled from geometries gathered from Sutton and Biblarz Elements of Rocket Propulsion [23]. The goal of this research was to characterize the viscous losses of each design based on the discharge coefficient. The designs were computationally simulated to gain insight to the flow characteristics using multiple sets of conditions for surface roughness and inlet pressure. The results were …