Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Convolutional-Neural-Network-Based Des-Level Aerodynamic Flow Field Generation From Urans Data, John P. Romano, Oktay Baysal, Alec C. Brodeur

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The present paper culminates several investigations into the use of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) as a post-processing step to improve the accuracy of unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) simulations for subsonic flows over airfoils at low angles of attack. Time-averaged detached eddy simulation (DES)-generated flow fields serve as the target data for creating and training CNN models. CNN post-processing generates flow-field data comparable to DES resolution, but after using only URANS-level resources and properly training CNN models. This document outlines the underlying theory and progress toward the goal of improving URANS simulations by looking at flow predictions for a class of …

Advances In Thermal Technologies Using Pyrolytic Graphite Sheet, Matt Ralphs, Matt Sinfield, Holly Mortensen, Matt Felt

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Pyrolytic Graphite Sheets (PGS) have increased the achievable mass specific conductance of many critical, passive thermal technologies over the last several years. From thermal straps and cryocooler brackets to PGS-embedded conductor bars and honeycomb radiators, PGS is the answer to dissipating the ever-increasing heat loads in today’s cutting-edge spacecraft. This work outlines the advances in PGS thermal straps, PGS-embedded cryocooler brackets, PGS-embedded conductor bars, and PGS-embedded radiators (both machined and honeycomb) at Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL). The capabilities of each PGS technology are compared to traditional thermal solutions (e.g., metallic thermal straps, conductor bars, and cryocooler brackets and heat pipe …

Characterizing Air Plasma Sprayed Aluminum Oxide Coatings For The Protection Of Structures In Lunar Environments, Perla Latorre Suarez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Wear-resistant ceramic and ceramic composite coatings are significant to provide durability and support long-duration missions to the moon's surface for rovers, landers, robotic systems, habitats, and many other components. On the Lunar surface, structural components are continuously exposed to lunar dust projectiles that can cause protective coating delamination around the affected area, of protective coatings and this may not be physically visible. Ceramic coatings, composed of alumina, present excellent resistance to different types of wear due to their high strength and hardness as well as the ability to protect structural components from regolith impacts, wear, and abrasive damage. Air Plasma …

A Framework For The Automatic Identification Of Optimized Yield Surface Parameters, Kevin Hanekom

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Advanced engineering materials are designed to display tensile-compressive asymmetry (TCA) and anisotropy to provide unique attributes to critical components necessary in the hot section of turbines. The never-ending chase for higher efficiencies, and with them, higher temperature gradients, intrinsically leads to more and more of these complex materials, like single crystal turbine blades, embedded within the turbine environment. Mathematical models, known as yield criteria, allow engineers to visualize the mechanical behavior of these materials in various orientations under complex loading. Yield criteria are dependent on three key items in determination of their governing parameters: material test data, mathematical constraints, and …

An Evaluation Of Thermocouple Reconstruction Techniques, Derek Brauneis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Temperature measurements can be difficult to obtain across many different harsh environments such as engine combustion chambers, engine exhaust temperatures, and explosion fireballs. While there are alternate methods to measure fluid temperature such as laser measurements, acoustic measurements, and camera imaging techniques, these methods can often be expensive, difficult to implement, and not able to see within the environment. Thermocouples are popular sensors because they are cheap and easy to implement across a wide range of applications and can measure temperature in areas where other methods cannot reach or see. However, while these sensors are very popular and versatile, they …

The Impacts Of Advanced Avionics On Degraded Visual Environments, Sultan Naseeb Harib Fairouz Mubarak, Anju Anna Jacob Dr

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Degraded visual environments (DVE) such as brownout, sand storms, and night conditions are responsible for accidents and hence losses in the aviation industry. There is a need to develop avionic systems to support pilots when they encounter environmental conditions that compromise their visual capacity. This report discusses the effects of DVEs on aviation, expounds on the advanced avionic systems available and further elaborates how these systems are implemented in countering DVE conditions. The report recommends on how advanced avionics systems have been and are being implemented in aircrafts to support decisions made by pilots flying under degraded visual environments.

Accuracy Assessment Of The Ebee Using Rtk And Ppk Corrections Methods As A Function Of Distance To A Gnss Base Station, Joseph Cerreta, David Thirtyacre, Peter Miller, Scott S. Burgess, William J. Austin

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The use of unmanned aircraft systems to collect data for photogrammetry models has grown significantly in recent years. The accuracy of a photogrammetric model can depend on image georeferencing. The distance from a reference base station can affect the accuracy of the results. Positioning corrections data relies on precise timing measurements of satellite signals. The signals travel through the Earth's atmosphere, which introduces errors due to ionospheric and tropospheric delays. The aim of this research was to examine the eBee X and its global GNSS accuracy by comparing the RTK and PPK methods at different base station distances in photogrammetry …

Stochastic Optimization To Reduce Aircraft Taxi-In Time At Igia, New Delhi, Rajib Das, Saileswar Ghosh, Rajendra Desai, Pijus Kanti Bhuin, Stuti Agarwal

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Since there is an uncertainty in the arrival times of flights, pre-scheduled allocation of runways and stands and the subsequent first-come-first-served treatment results in a sub-optimal allocation of runways and stands, this is the prime reason for the unusual delays in taxi-in times at IGIA, New Delhi.

We simulated the arrival pattern of aircraft and utilized stochastic optimization to arrive at the best runway-stands allocation for a day. Optimization is done using a GRG Non-Linear algorithm in the Frontline Systems Analytic Solver platform. We applied this model to eight representative scenarios of two different days. Our results show that without …

A Deep Bilstm Machine Learning Method For Flight Delay Prediction Classification, Desmond B. Bisandu, Irene Moulitsas

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

This paper proposes a classification approach for flight delays using Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models. Flight delays are a major issue in the airline industry, causing inconvenience to passengers and financial losses to airlines. The BiLSTM and LSTM models, powerful deep learning techniques, have shown promising results in a classification task. In this study, we collected a dataset from the United States (US) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of flight on-time performance information and used it to train and test the BiLSTM and LSTM models. We set three criteria for selecting highly important features …

Critical Space Infrastructure: A Complex System Governance Perspective, Adrian V. Gheorghe, James C. Pyne, Joseph Sisti, Charles B. Keating, Polinpapilinho F. Katina, William Edmonson

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper examines the applicability of Complex System Governance (CSG) to advance the Critical Space Infrastructure field (CSI). CSI encompasses space related hardware, workforce, environment, facilities, and businesses that are necessary for societal well-being. CSI is increasing in importance as more societal serving systems are becoming dependent on CSI to operate. Given this increasing dependence on CSI, societal sectors are increasingly at risk should something go wrong with CSI upon which they depend. CSI has been developing is a fragmented way and lacks coherent organization. CSG is focused on design, execution, and evolution of system functions that provide for communications, …

Creating Portfolio Management Concepts For Highly Agile And Innovative Government Research Programs Using Design Thinking And Learn Start Up Methodologies, Vanessa Aubuchon, Resit Unal, Pilar Pazos, Holly Handley, Cindy Daniels

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Managing a research and development (R&D) portfolio presents numerous challenges, such as prioritizing research areas, remaining agile, strategic workforce planning, and measuring return on investment, impact, and innovation. One government R&D program is charged with producing a high degree of innovative, transformational breakthroughs in aviation technology. A practical, structured methodology for strategically prioritizing emerging aviation R&D in such an environment is lacking. The existing multi-criteria decision aid tools are primarily utilized at an enterprise level, take months to set up and collect data, require large teams of experts, are used on an infrequent basis, and are not conducive to a …

Flight Software Development For A University-Class Microsatellite Mission, Yumeka Nagano

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this research is to present the software development process used by the Command and Data Handling (C&DH) subsystem as a part of a microsatellite mission underway at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. The mission's objective is to evaluate the performance of an innovative cold gas propulsion system for use in formation flying applications and the incorporation of a stereoscopic imaging sensor used to measure the satellite pair's relative position and velocity vectors in real time. C&DH uses a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B as the flight computer running a Linux environment, and the flight code …

Implementing Effective University - Level Small Satellite Assembly, Integration, And Testing Procedures, Tyler Patrick Hoover

Masters Theses

"As applications for satellite assets grow within government and commercial spheres, demand for aerospace engineers and related technicians has pushed universities to develop graduates with relevant knowledge in the field. As such, universities began to grow university satellite programs to give members hands-on experience and a background of working on satellite systems before entering the workforce.

The M-SAT team at Missouri University of Science and Technology, along with contributions and assistance from the Air Force Research Laboratory and NASA, are progressing their first satellite mission through assembly, integration, and testing (AIT) development. This document serves to give a background into …

Tailoring A System Engineering And Management Plan For A University Satellite Team, Jacob D. Anderson

Masters Theses

"A Systems Engineering and Management Plan (SEMP) helps enable a successful engineering project or team. All university teams working on satellite development encounter similar obstacles that are not commonly seen in industry. As a result, university teams must determine new approaches to solve these unique and difficult problems. A SEMP can mitigate risks, solve problems, and provide streamlined solutions. A modified SEMP is proposed along with guidance for implementing it into a new team and an existing team.

The adopted SEMP provides a road map for the technical execution and program management of a university team. The SEMP should be …

3d-Printed Hydrogels Dressings With Bioactive Borate Glass For Continuous Hydration And Treatment Of Second-Degree Burns, Fateme Fayyazbakhsh, Michael J. Khayat, Candy Sadler, Delbert Day, Yue-Wern Huang, Ming-Chuan Leu

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Recent advances in additive manufacturing have led to the development of innovative solutions for tissue regeneration. Hydrogel materials have gained significant attention for burn wound treatment in clinical practice among various advanced dressings due to their soothing and moisturizing activity. However, prolonged healing, pain, and traumatic removal due to the lack of long-term wound hydration are some of the challenges in the treatment of second-degree burn wounds. In this study, 3D-printed dressings were fabricated using gelatin, alginate, and bioactive borate glass (BBG) using an extrusion-based bioprinter. After ionic crosslinking, the 3D-printed dressings were characterized for mechanical properties, degradation rate, hydration …

Auto-Ignition Characteristics Of Hydrogen Enriched Natural Gas For Gas Turbine Applications, Christopher T. Loving

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

A successful transition to clean energy hinges on meeting the world's growing energy demand while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving this will require significant growth in electricity generation from clean and carbon-free energy sources. Several energy providers have already begun the transition from traditional carbon-based fuels to cleaner alternatives, such as hydrogen and hydrogen enriched natural gas. However, there are still many technical challenges that must be addressed when applying these fuels in gas turbines. The application of hydrogen or hydrogen/natural gas blends to advanced class gas turbines, which have higher operating pressures and temperatures has raised concerns about the …

Performance Evaluation Of Composite Sandwich Structures With Additively Manufactured Aluminum Honeycomb Cores With Increased Bonding Surface Area, M. Rangapuram, S. K. Dasari, Joseph William Newkirk, K. Chandrashekhara, H. Misak, P. R. Toivonen, D. Klenosky, T. Unruh, J. Sam

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Modern aerostructures, including wings and fuselages, increasingly feature sandwich structures due to their high-energy absorption, low weight, and high flexural stiffness. The face sheet of these sandwich structures are typically thin composite laminates with interior honeycombs made of Nomex or aluminum. Standard cores are structurally efficient, but their design cannot be varied throughout the structure. With additive manufacturing (AM) technology, these core geometries can be altered to meet the design requirements that are not met in standard honeycomb cores. This study used a modified aluminum honeycomb core, with increased surface area on the top and bottom, as the core material …

Post-Consolidation Process For Modifying Microscale And Mesoscale Parameters Of 3d Printed Composite Materials, Arief Yudhanto, Alwaleed Aldhirgham, Eric Feron, Gilles Lubineau

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Advancements in additive manufacturing technology (3D printing) have enabled us to fabricate reasonably good parts using continuous fiber-reinforced matrix composites. Unfortunately, most of these 3D-printed composite parts inherently possess a large number of voids originating from the trapped air within and between molten composite beads during the deposition stage. Removing the voids has thus become a key challenge in attempts to apply 3D printed composite parts for fabricating stiff/strong load-bearing structures. Here, we employed a classical process, viz. compression molding, to post-consolidate 3D-printed continuous carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide (CFPA), and to investigate the implications in terms of microscale parameters (void content) …

Mixed-Input Learning For Multi-Point Landing Guidance With Hazard Avoidance Part I: Offline Mission Planning Based On Multi-Stage Optimization, Chaoying Pei, Sixiong You, Ran Dai, Jeremy R. Rea

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper proposes a multi-stage optimization framework based on iterative second-order cone programming (SOCP) to solve the three-dimensional (3D) multi-point landing guidance (MLG) problem with hazard avoidance. The approach is used to generate the offline optimal trajectories for database construction in Part II of this paper, it aims to select a safe landing point while finding an optimal path to the selected landing point with minimum fuel consumption. First, by introducing binary variables associated with quadratic constraints, the MLG problem with hazard avoidance is equivalently reformulated as a quadratically constrained quadratic programming (QCQP) problem. Next, to solve the reformulated QCQP …

Experimental Approach For Development Of A Powder Spreading Metric In Additive Manufacturing, M. Hossein Sehhat, Austin T. Sutton, Zane Yates, Ming-Chuan Leu

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Powder Spreading is a Vital Step of Powder-Based Additive Manufacturing (AM) Processes. the Quality of Spread Powder Can Considerably Influence the Properties of Fabricated Parts. Poorly Packed Powder Beds with High Surface Roughness Result in Printed Part Layers with Large Porosity and Low Dimensional Accuracy, Leading to Poor Mechanical Properties. Therefore, the Powder Spread ability and its Dependence on Process Parameters and Powder Characteristics Should Be Quantified to Improve the Efficiency of Powder-Based AM Methods. This Study Proposes a Novel Dimensionless Powder Spread Ability Metric that Can Be Commonly Used in Different Powder-Based AM Processes. the Quality of Spread …