Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Stress-Based Topology Optimization Of Pi Preform-Bonded Composite Laminate Structure, Iwan Broodryk

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this work is to explore the stress-based topology optimization of structure that utilizes laminated composites and 3D woven Pi preform joints. Simple geometry, loading, and boundary conditions are considered. At a finite element level, an aggregate stress ratio is developed for Pi joint and acreage laminate elements. A basic descent method of moving asymptotes (BDMMA) algorithm is created to solve all optimization problems. Topology results for two different stress-based formulations and a compliance minimization problem are compared, followed by an in-depth analysis at a Pi joint and laminate level.

Comparison Of Stability And Control Characteristics Of The Pipistrel Virus Sw And Pipistrel Velis Electro, Sean Gregory Gunther

Theses and Dissertations

This document finds the stability and control affects of electric powerplant conversion on a pre-existing internal combustion powered Pipistrel Virus SW through comparison with the Pipistrel Velis Electro. Testing included analysis of both static and dynamic stability on the longitudinal and lateral-directional axes of the airplane. Due to the light sport airplane being used in testing, some of the intedended tests were unable to be performed, however, conclusions were still capable of being made. The primary conclusion is that electric conversion of an airframe has no significant negative consequences, with the airplane still exhibiting positive stability on all three axes. …

Natural 2d Layered Mineral Cannizzarite With Anisotropic Optical Responses, Arindam Dasgupta, Xiaodong Yang, Jie Gao

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Cannizzarite is a naturally occurring mineral formed by van der Waals (vdW) stacking of alternating layers of PbS-like and Bi2S3-like two-dimensional (2D) materials. Although the PbS-type and Bi2S3-type 2D material layers are structurally isotropic individually, the forced commensuration between these two types of layers while forming the heterostructure of cannizzarite induces strong structural anisotropy. Here we demonstrate the mechanical exfoliation of natural cannizzarite mineral to obtain thin vdW heterostructures of PbS-type and Bi2S3-type atomic layers. The structural anisotropy induced anisotropic optical properties of thin cannizzarite flakes are explored through angle-resolved polarized Raman scattering, linear dichroism, and polarization-dependent anisotropic third-harmonic generation. …

A Comparative Evaluation Of Oxidation And Combustion Phenomena In Ti-6al-4v Exposed To Earth Re-Entry And Arc-Jet Test Environments, Arlene Smith

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Ti-6Al-4V alloy is widely used in aerospace applications for its beneficial combination of properties. However, this alloy has high solubility for oxygen and thus a high reactivity. Recovered data contained within the Columbia artifacts suggests that this alloy underwent an accelerated degradation and combustion reaction when exposed to the high enthalpy, low-pressure surroundings experienced during reentry into Earth's atmosphere. Arc-jet testing has provided a simulated aerothermodynamic heating environment to mimic what the spacecraft endured. When the effect of thermal alteration on this alpha-beta phase alloy was investigated during previous studies, optical metallography and microhardness tests revealed inconsistencies between samples …

The Design And Development Of A Miniature Gridded Ecr Ion Thruster, Nicholas Nuzzo

Masters Theses

Plasma propulsion, a specific subset of electric propulsion (EP), is a class of space propulsion that produces plasma by excitation of a propellant at or above its ionization energy. This ionized propellant is then accelerated by an externally applied field (magnetic and/or electric) and produces thrust. There is an increasing need for miniaturization in spacecraft technology and the use of plasma EP devices in space propulsion. These systems provide an advantage over traditional chemical propulsion solutions which are less efficient and have more mass. Miniaturization of EP devices allows missions to have more space and mass available for their payloads …

Accelerated Aging Of Adhesively Bonded Composite Joints For Use In Material Screening And Selection During Development: A Review And Case Study, Marie Danielle Flanigan

Theses and Dissertations

Adhesively bonded structures are used in many high-tech industries such as aerospace, automotive, and defense. The application of these joints using composite adherends has increased in recent years because of improved strength-to-weight ratio, design flexibility, and lower concern for corrosion. Quality acceptance of these structures largely depends on reliability and durability which includes influence of environmental service conditions on long-term behavior. Characterization of long-term behavior presents a difficult challenge to those involved in material selection and design due to the long service life of the joint compared to the development time available and complexity of the degradation mechanisms. Therefore, different …

Advanced Generalized Predictive Control And Its Application To Tiltrotor Aircraft For Stability Augmentation And Vibration Reduction, Thomas Glen Ivanco

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The goals of this research were to restore generalized predictive control (GPC) capability at NASA and within the community, to better understand GPC and its performance relative to other options, and to improve upon the capability of GPC. Unique to this research is the comparison of GPC with other control options including PID controllers, optimal control theory, and other versions of the similar AutoRegressive moving average model with eXogenous inputs (ARX) models. Similar to GPC, ARX models use an experimentally acquired system identification to characterize the input/output relationship between controls and response measurements. Because this relationship is determined from acquired …

Project Management And Systems Engineering Framework For Educational Cubesat Missions, Bailey Garrett

Master's Theses

The rising complexity of CubeSat missions and the unique challenges faced by educational CubeSat programs lead to high rates of mission failure. Implementing project management and systems engineering practices can alleviate these challenges and improve mission success rates for educational CubeSat developers. However, existing project management and systems engineering resources are too cumbersome and often assume the student has a base-level understanding of project management and systems engineering fundamentals. A new universal project management and systems engineering framework was created and tailored specifically to the needs of an educational CubeSat mission. The framework was designed to accommodate first-time CubeSat developers, …

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 …

Artificial Neural Network For Predicting Heat Transfer Rates In Supercritical Carbon Dioxide, Vinusha Dasarla Giri Babu

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Supercritical carbon dioxide as a working fluid in a closed Brayton cycle is proving to be more efficient than a conventional steam-based Rankine engine. Understanding the heat transfer properties of supercritical fluids is important for the design of a working engine cycle. The thermophysical properties of supercritical fluids tend to vary non-linearly near the pseudo-critical region. Traditionally, empirical correlations are used to calculate the heat transfer coefficient. It has been shown in the literature and within our own studies that these correlations provide inaccurate predictions near the pseudo-critical line, where heat transfer may be deteriorated or enhanced, resulting from strong …

Analysis Of Proposed Active Radiation Shielding Design Concept For Spacecraft, Claire Mechmann

Theses and Dissertations

A need exists to protect the crew of interplanetary spacecraft from lethal doses of Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCR) and Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs). As plans progress to send humans beyond lower Earth orbit (LEO) and outside of Earth’s protective magnetosphere, agencies involved in this endeavor find themselves confronted with the obstacle of shielding the crew from this harmful radiation. A proposed active shielding concept design has been suggested, utilizing charged dielectric capacitors to deflect incoming charged particles. This analysis will examine the feasibility of the proposed design and offer potential materials useful for application. The results should prove informative for …

Piper Pa-28-181 Archer Iii Tail #931ec Flight Test Stability, Control And Performance, Steven Allan Sutton

Theses and Dissertations

The following flight test was conducted as part of the culmination requirement for the Master of Science, Flight Test Engineer degree program from Florida Institute of Technology. The flight was conducted to gather data and produce a flight test report on the data gathered. The flight test plan consisted of a series of both Stability and Handling test point as well as basic aircraft performance points. The testing was planned to be accomplished over a single flight, for reasons discussed later in this report. The flight departed on the morning of 26 September, 2022 out of Bob Sikes Airport, KCEW, …

Developmental Evaluation Of The B-1b Aircraft, Jonathon Malycke

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this test was to perform a Developmental Phase IIA evaluation of the B-1B Lancer for the land-based, long-range, all-weather ground attack mission. One two-hour ground evaluation, one simulator and one flight totaling 7.5 hours was conducted under daylight, visual meteorological conditions from Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) in Abilene, Texas (337th Test and Evaluation Squadron). All test objectives were completed except the low altitude flight evaluation, landing pattern operations, and AFCS operations due to weather, maintenance and time constraints. The test aircraft was representative of a production B-1B aircraft and included a Sniper Targeting Pod and a …

Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling Of Hemodialysis In Patients With An Arteriovenous Fistula, Maximilian Roth

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

With the advent of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) for use in hemodialysis, the anastomosis built for such use has become a central point of the study to understand the flow and wall shear stresses in such a system since very large wall shear stresses can lead to arterial/vein rupture. Considering the commonly used creation site of an anastomosis as connecting the radial artery to the cephalic vein, a model is created to calculate the wall shear stresses across various components of the system. The model depicts a connection of the specified vein and artery bridged together allowing the increase in blood …

Dynamic Perimeter Movement Using Uavs And Robotic Systems, Nayeli Barrett, John Lawson, Billy Kihei

Symposium of Student Scholars

For this study, we propose a Dynamic Perimeter Movement system that has a user-operated UAV to identify GPS coordinate points using land markers such as April Tags. These markers would be used to identify the perimeter of a road work zone. Once the work zone is determined, autonomous robotic traffic cones would disperse to position themselves around the perimeter determined by coordinate points. As the work zone progresses the UAV would periodically update the perimeter to reposition robotic traffic cones. These traffic cones will operate using a Pure Pursuit system as a means to navigate.

Gen. Thomas P. Stafford Looks At The Display In The Hallway At Stafford Elementary, Weatherford Daily News

Articles

Gen. Thomas P. Stafford looks at the display in the hallway at Stafford Elementary, which is named in his honor. His two sons, Stas, right, and Michael look on.

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Gen. Thomas P. Stafford Elementary School And Weatherford Stafford Airport Terminal Dedications November 21 & 22, 2022, Weatherford Daily News

Articles

A collection of photos from the dedications of Stafford Elementary and Stafford Airport Terminal, seen in the November 23rd, 2022 issue of the Weatherford Daily News.

Unless stated otherwise within this repository collection, all materials are shared under the following Creative Commons license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License].

Spacecraft Systems & Navigation, Christopher Vanacore

Student Works

This textbook is steered towards higher educational course entailed in Commercial Space Operations. This textbook will be covering in detail Orbital Satellites, and Spacecraft. These topics are discussed according to their application, design, and environment. The power system, shielding and communication systems are reviewed along with their missions, space, environment and limitations. Any vehicle, whether manned or unmanned, intended for space travel is a spacecraft. A spacecraft's required systems and equipment depend on the information it will acquire and the tasks it will perform. Although their levels of sophistication vary widely, they re all subject to the harsh conditions of …

Space Science In Manned Space Flight, Deep Space Exploration And Scientific Satellite Programs, Ji Wu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

In order to implement President Xi's instruction on promoting space science, space technology, and space application all together, national space programs have been developed fast, which are witnessed recently. Space science has become the hot research topic for more and more universities and research institutions. Nevertheless, there are still questions and puzzles about how could space science play its role in manned spaceflight, deep space exploration, and scientific satellites. This paper discusses the role of space science in all three kinds of space programs, starting from the history of space science, and the characteristics of manned space flight, deep space …

Development Status And Enlightenment Of Space-Time Reference For Space Activities, Weigang Xiao, Zhaoxiang Qi

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

In this paper, the connotation of space-time reference and its relationship with space activities are described comprehensively. Time system, celestial reference frame, planetary ephemeris and pulsar timing are outlined. The gap between China and abroad development on space-time reference and its causes are analyzed. At the end, some suggestions for future development in China are proposed.

Weatherford Stafford Airport Celebrates New Terminal, Weatherford Daily News

Articles

The City of Weatherford and Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission will host a special public celebration and ribbon cutting of the new Weatherford Stafford Airport Terminal.

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Astronaut Snoopy’S 50-Plus Year History With Nasa, Weatherford Daily News

Articles

"Unknown to many, Snoopy has been working with NASA since the late 1950s"

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New Schools Personal For Project Manager, Weatherford Daily News

Articles

Gen. Thomas P. Stafford Elementary started construction in 2020, having a hand in building Stafford Elementary and East Intermediate was personal for Project Manager Shawn Bonner.

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Stafford Highlights - Famed Astronaut Returns For 40th Anniversary Of Apollo Mission, Weatherford Daily News

Articles

Above, Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Stafford speaks during the anniversary event in Weatherford December 7, 2012, of Apollo 17.

At top right, Michael, Thomas and Stas Stafford are pictured with Cosmonaut Valery Kubasov during the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 17 December 7, 2012.

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Fracture Strength Of Multi-Component Ultra-High Temperature Carbides, Gia Garino

2022 MME Undergraduate Research Symposium

Ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) have emerged as a promising material for next generation re-entry hypersonic vehicles due to high melting point (>3000 °C), and high mechanical properties and oxidation resistance. Yet none of the unary UHTCs can satisfy the whole gamut of demanding requirements for aerospace applications. Recently, the single-phase solid-solution formation in a multi-component ultra-high temperature ceramic (MC-UHTC) materials have gained interest due to their superior thermo-mechanical properties compared to conventional UHTCs. Herein, a systematic approach was used to fabricate binary (Ta, Nb)C, ternary (Ta, Nb, Hf)C, and quaternary (Ta, Nb, Hf, Ti)C UHTCs by gradual addition of …

A Machine Learning Approach Towards Analyzing Impact Of Surface Weather On Expect Departure Clearance Times In Aviation, Dothag Truong, Shlok Misra, Godfrey V. D'Souza

Publications

Commercial air travel in the United States has grown significantly in the past decade. While the reasons for air traffic delays can vary, the weather is the largest cause of flight cancellations and delays in the United States. Air Traffic Control centers utilize Traffic Management Initiatives such as Ground Stops and Expect Departure Clearance Times (EDCT) to manage traffic into and out of affected airports. Airline dispatchers and pilots monitor EDCTs to adjust flight blocks and flight schedules to reduce the impact on the airline’s operating network. The use of time-series data mining can be used to assess and quantify …

Local Astronaut May Command U.S.-Russian Flight (Reprint From 1972), Weatherford Daily News

Articles

EDITOR’S NOTE: this story first appeared in the November 2, 1972, edition of the Weatherford Daily News, 50 years ago today, about Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Stafford’s chance to commence a U.S.-Russian space flight.

Unless stated otherwise within this repository collection, all materials are shared under the following Creative Commons license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License].

Elastomer O-Ring Seal Swell Measurements For Sustainable Aviation Fuel Material Compatibility, Conor J. Faulhaber

Honors Theses

As efforts continue to fight climate change by transitioning energy sources away from fossil fuels and towards renewable alternative, the commercial aviation sector finds itself at danger of falling behind in emissions reductions. To combat this, the best term opportunity to reduce the industry’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions has been identified as sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, derived from renewable feedstocks like agricultural waste or used cooking oil. Currently, SAF is regulated to a 50%v blending limit with conventional petroleum-based fuel to maintain certain jet fuel properties, including material compatibility with elastomer o-ring seals. When these seals come in …

Ramping Up For Cost And Performance Improvements, Arthur Zucchetti Lechmann, Guilherme Henrique Lima, João Paulo Lucchi, Paulo Henrique Azevedo Santana, Pedro Kamikihara

Student Works

The objective of this Research Project was to study the possible benefits of developing an improved Metering Control System. This study identified potential cost savings and reduced emissions through the greater use of a Metering Control System. The results of this research have indicated an annual cost reduction of $720,000 in fuel burn and a significant delay time reduction caused by accumulated ground traffic. In addition, during peak hours, it was concluded that savings could be potentially higher. Therefore, by optimizing the ground movement, it is also expected a lower level of CO2 emissions, an increased safety level due to …

Multi-Robot Symbolic Task And Motion Planning Leveraging Human Trust Models: Theory And Applications, Huanfei Zheng

All Dissertations

Multi-robot systems (MRS) can accomplish more complex tasks with two or more robots and have produced a broad set of applications. The presence of a human operator in an MRS can guarantee the safety of the task performing, but the human operators can be subject to heavier stress and cognitive workload in collaboration with the MRS than the single robot. It is significant for the MRS to have the provable correct task and motion planning solution for a complex task. That can reduce the human workload during supervising the task and improve the reliability of human-MRS collaboration. This dissertation relies …