Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Nozzle Erosion Reconstruction Model For Data Analysis In Rocket Engines And Correlation With Chamber Pressure, Ryan J. Thibaudeau, Stephen A. Whitmore

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Student Publications and Presentations

Graphite nozzles remain the dominant choice for small hybrid and solid rocket motors operating on laboratory and university budgets, owing to their low cost, ease of machining, and rapid turnaround during iterative design campaigns. These same programs, however, must contend with the fact that graphite erodes through coupled thermochemical and mechanical mechanisms when exposed to the oxidizing species generated by high-energy propellant combustion, and the resulting throat-area growth fundamentally alters the time histories of chamber pressure, thrust, and delivered specific impulse. This paper presents a nozzle-erosion reconstruction model that extracts the time-resolved throat area from coupled thrust and chamber-pressure measurements …

Mae Enewsbrief January-March 2026, Department Of Mechanical And Aerospace Engineering, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Boiling Flow Estimation For Aero-Optic Phase Screen Generation, Jeffrey W. Utley, Gregery T. Buzzard, Charles A. Bouman, Matthew R. Kemnetz

Faculty Publications

Aero-optic effects due to turbulence can reduce the effectiveness of transmitting light waves to a distant target. Methods to compensate for turbulence typically rely on realistic turbulence data, which can be generated by i) experiment, ii) high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD), iii) low-fidelity CFD, and iv) autoregressive methods. However, each of these methods has significant drawbacks, including monetary and/or computational expense, limited quantity, inaccurate statistics, and overall complexity. By contrast, the boiling flow algorithm is a simple, computationally efficient model that can generate atmospheric phase screen data with only a handful of parameters. However, boiling flow has not been widely …

Effect Of Rotating Cylinder On Boundary Layer Behavior And Aerodynamic Performance Of Naca 0015 Airfoil, K. Suresh, Inamul Hasan

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Flow separation over airfoils at moderate and high angles of attack leads to a significant degradation in aerodynamic performance. Active boundary layer control using moving surfaces provides an effective approach to delay separation and enhance lift. In this study, the aerodynamic efficiency of a NACA 0015 airfoil equipped with a rotating leading edge cylinder is numerically investigated using computational fluid dynamics. Simulations are carried out for a range of angles of attack and cylinder surface speed ratios at low Reynolds numbers like Re = 1.2 x105. The rotating cylinder injects momentum into the boundary layer, promoting flow attachment on the …

Robust Real-Time Uav Target Tracking With Onboard Vision-Based Yaw Control, Rylan Malarchick, Jose Castelblanco, Enrique Amaya, Carmen Dimario, Graysen Brinkman, Chirag Kumar, Kiwon Yoon, Sajid Berhane

Beyond: Undergraduate Research Journal

Autonomous tracking of agile unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) presents significant challenges for real-time perception and control systems. This work presents AIRHOUND (Autonomous Intelligent Rotorcraft for Hostile Object Unified Navigation and Detection), a UAV platform implementing vision-based yaw tracking through a modular ROS2 software architecture. The system employs YOLOv8 object detection optimized with NVIDIA TensorRT for embedded deployment on an NVIDIA Jetson Orin companion computer. Detected targets are processed through a geometric tracking module that converts pixel coordinates to angular yaw errors using pinhole camera intrinsics, with a proportional controller generating rate-limited yaw commands. These commands are streamed to a PX4 …

Comparative Analysis Of Leaflet Materials, Stent Materials, And Stent Cell Density For Bileaflet Transcatheter Mitral Valve Design, Joseph Chibuike Nwokeafor, Joshua D. Hofmeister, Breandan B. Yeats, Lakshmi Prasad Dasi, Charanjit S. Rihal, Juan A. Crestanello, Leigh Griffiths, Mohamad A. Alkhouli, Hoda Hatoum

Michigan Tech Publications

Background: The biomechanical performance of bileaflet transcatheter mitral valves (TMVs) depends on complex interactions between leaflet material behavior and stent design. However, the contributions of leaflet materials and constitutive models, stent materials, and stent geometry to valve function and durability remain poorly understood. Methods: A parametric finite element study was conducted using a CAD model of a bileaflet TMV subjected to physiological pressure loading. Five leaflet material models were evaluated: 3 glutaraldehyde-fixed tissues—bovine pericardium (BP; FBP1, FBP2) and porcine pericardium (PP; FPP)—and 2 unfixed tissues—bovine (UBP) and porcine pericardium (UPP). BP was modeled as a linear elastic (FBP1) and Ogden …

A Provable Semi-Infinite Programming Approach For Solving Constrained Dynamic Games, Tyler C. Gardner, Matthew W. Harris, Logan Lancaster

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Student Publications and Presentations

Many engineering problems must account for the non-cooperative decisions and actions of multiple players. These problems can be modeled within a game-theoretic framework. The approach herein is to model such problems as mathematical games, convert them to semi-infinite programs, and utilize a semi-infinite program solver whose output is provably an ϵ-optimal Nash equilibrium. The approach is successfully benchmarked on two low-dimensional problems. Two types of higher-dimensional linear quadratic dynamic games are then investigated: ones where each player’s problem is convex and ones where at least one player’s problem is nonconvex. Within each type, variations based on information structure, control …

Winddensity-Mbir: Model-Based Iterative Reconstruction For Wind Tunnel 3d Density Estimation, Karl J. Weisenburger, Gregery T. Buzzard, Charles A. Bouman, Matthew R. Kemnetz

Faculty Publications

Experimentalists often use wind tunnels to study aerodynamic turbulence, but most wind tunnel imaging techniques are limited in their ability to take non-invasive three-dimensional (3D) density measurements of turbulence. Wavefront tomography is a technique that uses multiple wavefront measurements from various viewing angles to non-invasively measure the 3D density field of a turbulent medium. Existing methods make strong assumptions, such as a spline basis representation, to address the ill-conditioned nature of this problem. We formulate this problem as a Bayesian, sparse-view tomographic reconstruction problem and develop a model-based iterative reconstruction algorithm for measuring the volumetric 3D density field inside a …

Mars Rover Wheels And Drive, Presley S. Sacavitch, Ryan W. Trevena, Dylan A. Mack, Daniel Hudak

Mechanical Engineering

Cal Poly’s Poly1Rover team, advised by Professor Rich Murray, aims to deploy four student-designed mini-Mars rovers, each equipped with a sample-tube retrieval claw, before 2030. However, the wheels of Poly1Rover’s current 6th generation rover are not ready for deployment to Mars, as they do not utilize space-grade materials, are not optimized for manufacturability, and lack sufficient spoke compliance to absorb landing and high-impact loads. This project will be developed by a team of Mechanical Engineering students at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly): Daniel Hudak, Dylan Mack, Presley Sacavitch, and Ryan Trevena. Next Intent is providing funding …

Improving The Reliability And Performance Of A Supersonic Indraft Tube Wind Tunnel, Christian J. Kaml

Master's Theses

Access to supersonic testing is increasing in demand, and wind tunnels remain one of the safest and most cost-effective methods for gathering high-speed flow data. Despite being more economical than alternative options, supersonic wind tunnel facilities often require substantial investment to construct, operate, and maintain.

The novel indraft tube tunnel architecture was conceived as a high-speed flow testbed that incorporates features of both Ludwieg tubes and indraft wind tunnels to maintain costs low enough to be accessible even to small universities. This design was first developed and tested in 2018 at California Polytechnic State University, featuring a cost per test …

Design And Analysis Of A Customizable 6-Dof Force/Torque Sensor, Pyeongkang Kim

Master's Theses

This thesis presents the design, development, calibration, and testing of a novel customizable six-degree-of-freedom force/torque sensor, called the Kustom Force/Torque Sensor (KFTS), for use in the Cal Poly Low Speed Wind Tunnel (LSWT). The KFTS was developed as an alternative to commercial multi-axis force/torque sensors that feature fixed specifications. The swappable components and configurable structure of the KFTS enables changes to the sensor sensitivity, sensing range, and frequency response. Experimental testing verified that the sensor behaved as a linear time-invariant system, enabling calibration through the method of least squares and allowing the applied forces and moments to be reconstructed as …

Tracking Continuous Non-Differentiable Trajectories In Euler–Lagrange Systems With Continuous Dynamics, Nilay Kant

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Tracking controllers for Euler–Lagrange systems are designed under the assumption that reference trajectories are continuous, and at least twice differentiable with respect to time. However, this assumption precludes several use cases, such as when a robot end-effector must track a path with corners at constant speed. This paper introduces the control design for tracking continuous but non-differentiable trajectories in fully actuated Euler–Lagrange systems that have continuous-time dynamics. The proposed controller combines a continuous feedback law with impulsive inputs, that are intermittently applied at the instants of non-differentiability. A Lyapunov stability analysis establishes global exponential convergence of the tracking error to …

Evaluation Of The Effect Of Vibration On Signal Reflection In Coaxial Cable Connectors For Vibration Sensing In Aircraft Structures And Systems, Saidanvar Esanjonovich Valiev, Anthony C. Okafor, Jeremiah J. Rittenhouse, Daniel S. Stutts, Jie Huang

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper investigates the effects of vibration on signal reflection (S11) in aerospace data transmission line (ADTL) and commercial data transmission line (DTL) connectors for their alternative use as vibration sensors. The impact of vibration on the S11 signal was investigated on five ADTL and four DTL connectors at six vibration frequencies (20 Hz, 40 Hz, 80 Hz, 160 Hz, 320 Hz, and 640 Hz) and four vibration accelerations (0.5G, 1 G, 2 G, and 4G). The experiment was conducted using a split-plot design with a cable type assigned as the main-plot factor, with vibration frequency and acceleration as subplot …

Mass - Modular Acoustic Suppression System, Julia Megargle, Michael A. Milner, Lucas Kaemmererer, Jonathan Corvera, Gabriel Choi, Emmi Cayer

Mechanical Engineering

The Modular Acoustic Suppression System (MASS) is a mass tuned damper that reverberates a membrane atop a cavity to absorb select acoustic frequencies produced by the Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) within NASA's Artemis Human Lander. The height of the reverberation chamber is adjusted to mitigate a range of varying tonal frequencies within the human lander.

Effects Of Atmospheric Drag On Angles-Only Initial Relative Orbit Determination Accuracy In Low Earth Orbit, Sydney Walsh

Master's Theses

Growing congestion in low Earth orbit is increasing the demand for effective space situational awareness, straining ground station capabilities. Space-based relative orbit determination offers an alternative, using line-of-sight angle measurements from a chaser spacecraft to estimate a target spacecraft's orbit. This research focuses on angles-only initial relative orbit determination (IROD), where no prior target state knowledge is assumed. It investigates how IROD solution accuracy is affected by differential atmospheric drag between the chaser and target spacecraft. A nonlinear batch least squares filter is designed to estimate the target's initial state, which is compared against a truth solution. It was found …

Short Arc Angles-Only Initial Orbit Determination For Reliable Reacquisition Of Low Earth Orbit Objects, Isabella Rackemann

Master's Theses

Low Earth orbit (LEO) is becoming increasingly congested, furthering the need for accurate tracking and catalog maintenance. Initial orbit determination (IOD) is the first step in this process, providing a preliminary estimate of an object’s state given observations. When it comes to LEO optical observations, a large portion of them are inherently short in duration. Angles-only IOD methods struggle with this data, often producing highly inaccurate solutions that limit reacquisition capabilities. This study expands on prior short arc IOD research, testing seven classical and assumed circular orbit (ACO)-modified angles-only IOD algorithms on real LEO observational data spanning 0-4 degrees of …

A Polygon Approach For Satellite Coverage Computation Problems, Caleb I. Arbreton

Master's Theses

During celestial body observation mission planning, predicted sensor coverage is a key analysis tool used by designers to inform concept of operations. It enables trade studies by applying a metric to assess how well different sensor, satellite, and constellation configurations can observe a mission's region of interest. The effectiveness of the studied components is then paramount in determining whether they are justified in the system architecture. Coverage computation becomes more difficult as sensor types and regions of interest (RoIs) deviate from simple shapes, and as problem formulations seek higher-fidelity results. These simplifications include: conical camera sensors, RoIs represented as simple, …

Optimization Of Repeat Ground Track Constellation Design For Complex Discontinuous Regional Coverage, Paige Jewell

Master's Theses

The continued growth of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations motivates efficient constellation design methods to reduce cost and complexity. Although brute-force methods are commonly employed in the preliminary design of satellite constellations, pairing analytic methods with optimization algorithms provides a more efficient means of searching the design space. Constellation design for continuous global and regional coverage is well-established; however, strategies for discontinuous regional coverage remain underdeveloped. This thesis focuses on an analytic geometry-based method for computing satellite coverage and revisit metrics, coupled with genetic algorithm optimization to efficiently explore the design space. The viability of this method is shown …

Development Of A Computer Vision Based Rendezvous And Docking Test Platform, David T. Forbes

Master's Theses

This thesis presents the work completed in the development and testing of a low-cost modular sensor package capable of rendezvous and docking by providing a vehicle with relative navigational commands. These navigational commands are created using relative localization data gathered and processed onboard the sensor package, with validation, in post-processing, against global localization data. This research aims to reduce the cost of smaller autonomous vehicles by removing the need for custom control units, as its modular nature will allow it to be adapted to many different systems and vehicles. Discussed within this thesis is the rapid prototyping, development, and testing …

Effects Of Atomic Oxygen Exposure On Stressed Drag Sail Materials For Low Earth Orbit Applications, Nazanin Sadeghian Dezaki

Master's Theses

As low Earth orbit (LEO) has become an increasingly valuable region for satellite operations, it has grown increasingly congested. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) deorbit regulations require satellites to be deorbited within 5 years of launch, and drag sails represent a practical means of meeting this requirement. An important consideration for drag sail design is the effect of atomic oxygen (AO) on sail materials. To address the gap in the literature regarding the behavior of stressed drag sail materials under AO exposure, a new test plate was manufactured for the California Polytechnic State University minimum atmospheric experimentation (MAX) AO chamber. …