Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

A Comparison Of Pid And Sliding Mode Controllers When Applied To The Orbit Raising Of A Satellite Using Solar Sail Propulsion, Kayla Marie Ormiston

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Solar Sail spacecraft have become increasingly popular due to their ability to perform long term missions without the need for propellant. Because solar sail propulsion is so unique, most research has been focused on developing new mechanical control techniques. However, it can be argued that more advanced control algorithms can be used to mitigate the shortcomings of commonly used control actuators, specifically reaction wheels, when applied to solar sails. This thesis will research how a sliding mode controller compares to a PID controller with respect to settling time and state response error over a range of maximum reaction wheel torque …

Monocular Visual Inertial Odometry Using Learning-Based Methods, Yuan Tian

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Precise pose information is a fundamental prerequisite for numerous applications in robotics, Artificial Intelligent and mobile computing. Many well-developed algorithms have been established using a single sensor or multiple sensors. Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO) uses images and inertial measurements to estimate the motion and is considered a key technology for GPS-denied localization in the real world and also virtual reality and augmented reality.

This study develops three novel learning-based approaches to Odometry estimation using a monocular camera and inertial measurement unit. The networks are well-trained on standard datasets, KITTI and EuROC, and a custom dataset using supervised, unsupervised and semi-supervised …

Active Drag Reduction Of Ground Vehicles Using Air-Jet Wheel Deflectors, Kaloki Nabutola

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Seven turbulence models were used to simulate the flow within the wheelhouse of a simplified vehicle body. The performance of each model was evaluated by comparing the aerodynamic coefficients obtained using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to data collected from wind tunnel experiments. The performance of large eddy simulation (LES) and detached eddy simulation (DES) was largely dependent on the time step and grid size to accurately resolve turbulent eddies. The standard k-e, realizable k-e, k-w, DES, and LES all trended towards a drag coefficient which was 20% lower than the experimental value. In all numerical cases, the lift coefficient was …

7-Dof Robotic Arm Xy-Plane Translational Stability, Christopher Dean Alkire

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Robotic arms are traditionally mounted to rigid structures as they perform tasks. As a result, the arm’s movement would not affect the position of its mount and its operational space that it is performing a task within would remain constant. If a robotic arm were to function in orbit, the motion of the arm would cause it to rotate and translate about its center of mass, which changes as the joints of the arm rotate.

The purpose of this thesis is to focus on the two-dimensional translational effects of an arm operating on a simulated zero-friction surface and provide a …

System Level Model For Pumped Two-Phase Cooling Systems, Leitao Chen, Timothy Joseph Chainer, Pritish Ranjan Parida, Mark Delorman Schultz, Fanghao Yang

Publications

Techniques are provided for system level modeling of two-phase cooling systems. In one example, a computer implemented method comprises determining, by a system operatively coupled to a processor, respective sets of steady state values for parameters at inlet-outlet junctions using a system model, wherein the determining is based on first user input specifying a cooling system design comprising a plurality of part objects, wherein adjacent part objects in a flow direction are connected at the inlet-outlet junctions. The computer-implemented method can also comprise generat­ing, by the system, a graphical display that depicts the respective sets of parameter values at the …

Theoretical And Computational Analyses On Transition And Turbulence In Purely Oscillating Pipe Flow, Ali Ahmed Abdulrasool

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The hydrodynamic instability of purely oscillating pipe flows is investigated in terms of the quasi-steady formulation assuming the temporal changes of the laminar base flow relative to disturbances are slow. A simple model equation is introduced to compare the exact solution of the current approach with those of the major theories dedicated for unsteady flows. The results of the analysis show that the quasi-steady assumption and the multiple scales method are more efficient and accurate than the formal Floquet theory in predicting the transient instabilities within a period in addition to the long-term growth or decay of disturbances. The most …

Reverse Osmosis; Addressing Freshwater Shortage With Sustainable Desalination, Jessica Savage

Sustainability Conference

Water security is an imperative part of high-functioning societies. Currently, large populations of the globe live in water-impoverished or water-stressed areas. With climate change and growing global populations, projections show more people being impacted by issues of water shortage.

One solution to water security is the implementation of desalination, specifically with reverse osmosis systems. This presentation walks through the history, capabilities, future work, and explanations on how reverse osmosis systems work. With continued research on improving desalination, communities in both developed and developing nations around the world can work towards total water security.

Solar District Cup Competition, Qi Jiang, Kristen A. Holman, Benjamin F. Aulenbab, Adi Alharbi, Chenge Liu

Sustainability Conference

The Solar District Cup is a two-semester design competition sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Energy in which teams from across the nation compete to design the most efficient and cost effective solar plus storage system for a unique district case. The Embry Riddle team was tasked with designing such a system for New Mexico State University in Las Cruses, NM.

Residential Thermal Storage And Cooling, Joao Marcelo Rocha Belmonte, Jacob Anderson, Andrew Clarke, Daphne Forester, Bianca Hardtke, Josh Hartman, Marc D. Compere

Sustainability Conference

No abstract provided.

Adaptable Clean Energy Laboratory, Joao Marcelo Rocha Belmonte, Marc D. Compere

Sustainability Conference

The Adaptable Clean Energy (ACE) Lab is a real-world, long term, test platform that will guide the courses of the Energy Systems track. The lab will provide realistic electrical and HVAC loads that mimic a solar powered office. The lab is a 20’ high cube shipping container modified with a door, windows, lights computers, air conditioner and appliances. The lab is Net-Zero and powered entirely from the sun. Two insulation test sections expose the exterior walls for research access to real external heat loads in a real building

Solar Powered Parking Lot Lights, Jordyn Taylor

Sustainability Conference

Solar energy is a renewable resource growing exponentially around the country over the past few decades. Solar energy works through the use of photo-voltaic cells, which work to convert energy from sunlight into electricity. This is done within solar panels, which are then connected to batteries for energy storage to use as needed. As production has increased over past decades, the cost for solar panel hardware and installment has thus fallen to meet consumer need. While most common implementations include solar panels attached to one’s home or solar panel ‘fields’ for charging entire towns, there has been a steady rise …

Experimental Evaluation Of Strength Degradation Temperature For Carbon Epoxy Filament Wound Composite, Jai Krishna Mishra, Surya Prakash Rao Ch Dr, Subhash Chandra Bose P Dr, Kishore Nath N Dr, Rama Rao Golla Mr

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Polymeric composites have been widely used in various structural and thermal aerospace applications. Polymeric composites having high strength and high modulus reinforcement are ideally suited for lot of critical aerospace applications as structure is designed with high specific strength and high specific modulus. In case of launch vehicles/ missile one such application is design and manufacturing of solid rocket motor casing with polymeric composites as it give high performance and reduces inert weight of propulsion system. The high specific strength and high specific modulus of composite materials makes it ideal choice for designing the composite rocket motor case (CRMC). These …

Environmental Advantages In Additive Manufacturing, Analise Walter, Cheryl Marcham

Publications

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a technology that uses a variety of methods to ultimately apply layers of material and create products (Ford & Despeisse, 2016; Ford, Mortara & Minshall, 2016). Although there has been an expansion in recent technology, AM has been used in manufacturing for a few decades (Ford, Mortara, et al., 2016). Since the late 1980s, AM has grown from simple product designs, with a focus on prototyping and customization, to modern times with billions of dollars in revenue and large-scale production of consumer and industrial products (Cotteleer, 2014). Forecasts showed a near $10 billion market by 2020, …