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Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

Aerodynamics And Control Of A Deployable Wing Uav For Autonomous Flight, Michael Thamann Jan 2012

Aerodynamics And Control Of A Deployable Wing Uav For Autonomous Flight, Michael Thamann

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering

UAV development and usage has increased dramatically in the last 15 years. In this time frame the potential has been realized for deployable UAVs to the extent that a new class of UAV was defined for these systems. Inflatable wing UAVs provide a unique solution for deployable UAVs because they are highly packable (some collapsing to 5-10% of their deployed volume) and have the potential for the incorporation of wing shaping. In this thesis, aerodynamic coefficients and aileron effectiveness were derived from the equations of motion of aircraft as necessary parameters for autonomous flight. A wind tunnel experiment was performed …


Low Reynolds Number Flow Field Modification Via Travelling Wave Actuation Of A Vertically Aligned Wire Array Surface, John C. Calhoun Jan 2012

Low Reynolds Number Flow Field Modification Via Travelling Wave Actuation Of A Vertically Aligned Wire Array Surface, John C. Calhoun

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering

Experiments were conducted to observe the effects of an active wire surface on low-Reynolds number Poiseuille flow. The objective was to evaluate the feasibility of actuating piezoelectric nanowires into a travelling wave motion in order to reduce wall shear stress in turbulent flows. Studies have shown that travelling wave motions introduced into the bounding wall of turbulent flow can reduce wall shear stress by disrupting the formation of drag-inducing coherent vortical structures. A Reynolds number scaled flow facility was designed to represent the near-wall region of turbulent flow. A wire surface was installed in the bounding wall and dynamically actuated …