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Full-Text Articles in Navigation, Guidance, Control and Dynamics
Optimal Sizing And Control Of Hybrid Rocket Vehicles, Srija Ryakam
Optimal Sizing And Control Of Hybrid Rocket Vehicles, Srija Ryakam
Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses
In the present work, a genetic algorithm is used to optimize a hybrid rocket engine in order to minimize the propellant required for a specific mission. In a hybrid rocket engine, the mass flow rate of the oxidizer can be throttled to enhance the performance of the rocket. First, an analysis of the internal ballistics and the ascent trajectory has been carried out for different mass flow rates of the oxidizer as a function of time, for a fixed amount of oxidizer, in order to study the effect of throttling. Two equivalent problems are considered: in the first problem the …
Design And Flight-Path Simulation Of A Dynamic-Soaring Uav, Gladston Joseph
Design And Flight-Path Simulation Of A Dynamic-Soaring Uav, Gladston Joseph
Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses
We address the development of a dynamic-soaring capable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) optimized for long-duration flight with no on-board power consumption. The UAV’s aerodynamic properties are captured with the integration of variable fidelity aerodynamic analyses. In addition to this, a 6 degree-of-freedom flight simulation environment is designed to include the effects of atmospheric wind conditions. A simple flight control system aids in the development of the dynamic soaring maneuver. A modular design paradigm is adopted for the aircraft dynamics model, which makes it conducive to use the same environment to simulate other aircraft models. Multiple wind-shear models are synthesized to …
Adaptive Augmentation Of Non-Minimum Phase Flexible Aerospace Systems, Michael A. Dupuis
Adaptive Augmentation Of Non-Minimum Phase Flexible Aerospace Systems, Michael A. Dupuis
Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses
This work demonstrates the efficacy of direct adaptive augmentation on a robotic flexible system as an analogue of a large flexible aerospace structure such as a launch vehicle or aircraft. To that end, a robot was constructed as a control system testbed. This robot, named “Penny,” contains the command and data acquisition capabilities necessary to influence and record system state data, including the flex states of its flexible structures. This robot was tested in two configurations, one with a vertically cantilevered flexible beam, and one with a flexible inverted pendulum (a flexible cart-pole system). The physical system was then characterized …