Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Design And Analysis Of A Compact Combustor For Integration With A Jetcat P90 Rxi, Daniel Holobeny

Theses and Dissertations

Ultra Compact Combustors are a novel approach to modern gas turbine combustor designs that look to reduce the overall combustor length and weight. A previous study integrated an Ultra Compact Combustor into a JetCat P90 RXi turbine engine and achieved self-sustained operation with a length savings of 33% relative to the stock combustor. However, that combustor could not operate across the full stock engine performance range due to flameout at increased mass ow rates as reactions were pushed out of the primary zone. To ensure reactions stayed in the primary zone, a new design with a larger combustor volume was …

Detonation Confinement In A Radial Rotating Detonation Engine, Kavi Muraleetharan

Theses and Dissertations

Radial Rotating Detonation Engines (RRDE) have provided an opportunity for use of a pressure-gain combustor in a more compact form compared to an axial RDE. A successfully tested RRDE has operated over a wide range of test conditions and produced detonation modes with one, two, and three waves. The presence of multiple waves located the detonation waves to the outer radius, while one wave modes operated closer to the inner radius. Locating the detonation wave closer to the inner diameter resulted in less time for combustion prior to the radial turbine. Subsequently, this tended to decrease efficiency. To attempt to …

Peridynamic Approaches For Damage Prediction In Carbon Fiber And Carbon Nanotube Yarn Reinforced Polymer Composites, Forrest E. Baber

Theses and Dissertations

Aerospace structures are increasingly utilizing advanced composites because of their high specific modulus and specific strength. While the introduction of these material systems can dramatically decrease weight, they pose unique certification challenges, often requiring extensive experimental testing in each stage of the design cycle. The expensive and time-consuming nature of experimental testing necessitates the advancement of simulation methodologies to both aid in the certification process and assist in the exploration of the microstructure design space.

Peridynamic (PD) theory, originating from Sandia National Lab’s in the early 2000’s, is a nonlocal continuum-based method that reformulates the equation of motion into an …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Aerospace Materials, Vehicle Shape And Astronaut Position At Lowering The Whole Body Effective Dose Equivalent In Deep Space, Daniel K. Bond

Theses and Dissertations

As future crewed, deep space missions are being planned, it is important to assess how spacecraft design can be used to minimize radiation exposure. Collectively with shielding material, vehicle shape and astronaut position must be used to protect astronauts from the two primary sources of space radiation: Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) and Solar Particle Events (SPE). GCRs, which are composed of low intensity, highly energetic, and fully ionized stable and meta-stable isotopes, are considered a chronic source of radiation risk to the astronauts. SPEs, which originate from solar coronal mass ejections, are composed mostly of high intensity protons that can …