Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

A Study Of Constant Voltage Anemometry Frequency Response, Alex D. Powers

Master's Theses

The development of the constant voltage anemometer (CVA) for the boundary layer data system (BLDS) has been motivated by a need for the explicit autonomous measurement of velocity fluctuations in the boundary layer. The frequency response of a sensor operated by CVA has been studied analytically and experimentally. The thermal lag of the sensor is quantified by a time constant, M_CVA. When the time constant is decreased, the half-amplitude cut-off frequency, f_CVA, is increased, thereby decreasing the amount of attenuation during measurements. In this thesis, three main approaches have been outlined in theory and tested experimentally …

Autonomous Formation Flying And Proximity Operations Using Differential Drag On The Mars Atmosphere, Andres Eduardo Villa

Master's Theses

Due to mass and volume constraints on planetary missions, the development of control techniques that do not require fuel are of big interest. For those planets that have a dense enough atmosphere, aerodynamic drag can play an important role. The use of atmospheric differential drag for formation keeping was first proposed by Carolina L. Leonard in 1986, and has been proven to work in Earth atmosphere by many missions. Moreover, atmospheric drag has been used in the Mars atmosphere as aerobraking technique to decelerate landing vehicles, and to circularize the orbit of the spacecraft. Still, no literature was available related …

Design, Manufacture, Dynamic Testing, And Finite Element Analysis Of A Composite 6u Cubesat, Yanina Soledad Hallak

Master's Theses

CubeSats, specially the 6U standard, is nowadays the tendency where many developers point towards. The upscaling size of the standard and payloads entail the increase of the satellite overall mass. Composite materials have demonstrated the ability to fulfill expectations like reducing structural masses, having been applied to different types of spacecraft, including small satellites.

This Thesis is focused on designing, manufacturing, and dynamic testing of a 6U CubeSat made of carbon fiber, fiberglass, and aluminum.

The main objective of this study was obtaining a mass reduction of a 6U CubeSat structure, maintaining the stiffness and strength. Considering the thermal effects …

Sysml Based Cubesat Model Design And Integration With The Horizon Simulation Framework, Shaun Luther

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the feasibility of substituting the system input script of Cal Poly’s Horizon Simulation Framework (HSF) with a Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) model designed with the Systems Modeling Language (SysML). A concurrent student project, SysML Output Interface Creation for the Horizon Simulation Framework, focused on design of the HSF Translator Plugin which converts SysML models to an HSF specific XML format. A SysML model of the HSF test case, Aeolus, was designed. The original Aeolus HSF input script and the translated SysML input script retained the format and dependency structure required by HSF. Both input scripts …

An Iteration On The Horizon Simulation Framework To Include .Net And Python Scripting, Morgan Yost

Master's Theses

Modeling and Simulation is a crucial element of the aerospace engineering design pro- cess because it allows designers to thoroughly test their solution before investing in the resources to create it. The Horizon Simulation Framework (HSF) v3.0 is an aerospace modeling and simulation tool that allows the user to verify system level requirements in the early phases of the design process. A low fidelity model of the system that is created by the user is exhaustively tested within the built-in Day-in-the-Life simulator to provide useful information in the form of failed requirements, system bottle necks and leverage points, and potential …

A Solution To The Circular Restricted N Body Problem In Planetary Systems, Jay R. Iuliano

Master's Theses

This thesis is a brief look at a new solution to a problem that has been approached in many different ways in the past - the N body problem. By focusing on planetary systems, satellite dynamics can be modeled in a fashion similar to the Circular Restricted Three Body Problem (CR3BP) with the Circular Restricted N Body Problem (CRNBP). It was found that this new formulation of the dynamics can then utilize the tools created from all the research into the CR3BP to reassess the possibility of different complex trajectories in systems where there are more than just two large …

Investigation Of Thermal Scaling Effects For A Turbine Blade Leading Edge And Pressure Side Model, Ryan A. Lynch

Theses and Dissertations

Recent experiments have attempted to quantify the overall cooling effectiveness at elevated temperature conditions. The Film Cooling Rig (FCR) at the Air Force Institute of Technology has been modified to better match the configuration of a similar large scale, low temperature rig at the Air Force Research Laboratory. This has enabled comparison and trend identification of how various properties scale from the low to high temperature condition. Various internal cooling and hole geometry configurations were investigated over a range of temperatures while utilizing the thermal scaling capability of Inconel 718. Film cooling trends and measures of overall effectiveness were matched, …

Flow Meter Test Rig, Cory Davis, Emily Guss, Michael Swartz

Mechanical Engineering

As part of a fluid mechanics laboratory, there should be an experiment that demonstrates the proper use of flow meters, devices that are necessary and relevant in many fluids-related industries. In order to provide students with exposure to these types of devices and how they work, a test rig was developed with the ability to interchange a variety of flow meters in order to broaden the students’ knowledge of the different types of measuring devices. This report was also written to outline the steps taken to ensure the test rig would match a laboratory and industry setting. Additionally, it was …

Multi-Stage Axial Compressor With Counter-Rotation Using Accessory Drive, Vinod Gehlot, Magdy S. Attia

Publications

A multi-stage axial compressor for counter rotation. A first series of rotor blade assemblies are mounted on and rotate with the driveshaft, each rotor blade assembly of the first series comprising a rotating stage of the multi-stage axial compressor. A second series of rotor blade assemblies provide a counter-rotating stage of the multi-stage axial compressor. An accessory drive links the second series of rotor blade assemblies to the driveshaft and causes counter-rotation of the second series of rotor blade assemblies.

Semi-Empirical Modeling Of Two-Dimensional And Three-Dimensional Dynamic Stall, Ramin Modarres

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Helicopters are generally limited in their performance by the phenomenon of dynamic stall. The purpose of this work is to develop a method for modeling dynamic stall that is appropriate to preliminary design and flight simulator applications. Unlike other semi-empirical dynamic stall models, the model developed in this thesis, not only counts for the well-known, three-dimensional flow effects on the stalled loads but also captures the secondary vortex-shedding phenomenon that has been seen in experiments. The fundamental physics that modify dynamic-stall behavior and that have been extended from two-dimensional to three-dimensional flow are, namely: 1.) yawed flow, 2.) time-varying velocity, …

Multi-Static Mimo Along-Track Interferometry (Atl), Chad Knight, Ross Deming, Jake Gunther

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Along-track interferometry (ATI) has the ability to generate high-quality synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images and concurrently detect and estimate the positions of ground moving target indicators (GMTI) with moderate processing requirements. This paper focuses on several different ATI system configurations, with an emphasis on low-cost configurations employing no active electronic scanned array (AESA). The objective system has two transmit phase centers and four receive phase centers and supports agile adaptive radar behavior. The advantages of multistatic, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) ATI system configurations are explored. The two transmit phase centers can employ a ping-pong configuration to provide the multistatic …

Continuum And Molecular-Dynamics Simulation Of Nanodroplet Collisions, Raunak Bardia, Zhi Liang, Pawel Keblinski, Mario F. Trujillo

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Extent to Which the Continuum Treatment Holds in Binary Droplet Collisions is Examined in the Present Work by using a Continuum-Based Implicit Surface Capturing Strategy (Volume-Of-Fluid Coupled to Navier-Stokes) and a Molecular Dynamics Methodology. the Droplet Pairs Are Arranged in a Head-On-Collision Configuration with an Initial Separation Distance of 5.3 Nm and a Velocity of 3 Ms-1. the Size of Droplets Ranges from 10-50 Nm. Inspecting the Results, the Collision Process Can Be Described as Consisting of Two Periods: A Preimpact Phase that Ends with the Initial Contact of Both Droplets, and a Postimpact Phase Characterized by the Merging, …

The Context Of Tool Control In An Aircraft Assembly Environment Related To Productivity, Taylor Jay Sisson

KSU Journey Honors College Capstones and Theses

The aircraft industry focuses a large portion of its resources on tool control during the assembly of aircraft. Tool control is a strict process that demands time from the assembly process. This time is removed from the value-added time spent actually assembling the aircraft. A study at Lockheed Martin conducted in the Spring of 2016 is discussed that examines the time spent on tool control. Tool control is necessary in aircraft assembly to prevent tools from entering compartments of the aircraft. If such an event occurs, the tool may damage the aircraft. All aircraft assembly processes must be tool controlled, …

Uav As A Service: Providing On-Demand Access And On-The-Fly Retasking Of Multi-Tenant Uavs Using Cloud Services, Justin Yapp

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

As commercial roles for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) become more well-defined and demand for the services provided by them increases, UAVs rely more on new cloud computing services and co-operative coordination to provide mission planning, control, tracking and data processing. We present UAV as a Service (UAVaaS) framework, which brings features commonly found in traditional cloud services, such as Infrastructure, Platform, and Software as a Service, to the domain of UAVs. Our work aims to conceptualize and design UAVaaS for commercial applications. Specifically, a cloud-provided orchestration framework that allows multi-tenant UAVs to easily serve multiple heterogenous clients at once and …

Numerical Modeling Of An Alloy Droplet Deposition With Non-Equilibrium Solidification, Vimal Ramanuj

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Droplet deposition is a process of extensive relevance to the microfabrication industry. Various bonding and film deposition methods utilize single or multiple droplet impingements on a substrate with subsequent splat formation through simultaneous spreading and solidification. Splat morphology and solidification characteristics play vital roles in determining the final outcome. Experimental methods have limited reach in studying such phenomena owing to the extremely small time and length scales involved. Fundamental understanding of the governing principles of fluid flow, heat transfer and phase change provide effective means of studying such processes through computational techniques. The present study aims at numerically modeling and …

Enhanced Specific Heat Of Molten Salt Nanofluids, Hani Tiznobaik

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Concentrated solar power uses general thermodynamic cycles (such as Rankine or Gas turbine cycle) to produce electricity and thus its efficiency primarily relies on the operating temperature of thermal energy storage. Current thermal energy storage medium is organic material such as synthetic oil or fatty acid. However, these materials are not stable at high temperatures due to their thermal decomposition. Using molten salts as thermal energy storage medium is a very attractive option since they are thermally stable at high temperatures (over 600 °C). They also have very lower vapor pressure (for reducing mechanical stress on structure materials), less reactive, …

Data Engineering In Aerospace Systems Design & Forecasting, Eric Haney

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Although engineers spend the majority of their time finding, managing, and transforming data, the process of how to handle data remains under-educated & under-researched. The alignment of engineering education & proficiency along an analysis-dominated mindset is ill-conditioned for the growing reliance on data-driven processes and holistic decision-making requirements. Although a majority of driving decisions in the aerospace industry rely heavily on utilizing existing organizational data-stores and built-in knowledge bases to make informed decisions, formalized development & implementation of data within existing engineering processes is seldom addressed. The current research defines a complementary discipline, Data-Engineering, which seeks to capitalize on the …

Exergy Analysis Of A Pulse Detonation Engine Linear Power Generator, Raheem Temitope Bello

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The fuel efficiency of a power generator is a key metric for evaluating its performance. The common engineering practice is to determine the thermal efficiency of the system by applying the conservation of energy also known as the first law of thermodynamics. However, for heat engine power generators, and other thermal systems, the thermal efficiency is not sufficient for detailed system performance analysis. Exergy analysis, which applies both the first and second law of thermodynamics, enables the determination of the directionality of thermal processes, and the system’s available work. This more complete thermodynamic analysis approach is applied to a pulse …

Maximizing Use Of Air-Side Economization, Direct And Indirect Evaporative Cooling For Energy Efficient Data Centers, Betsegaw Kebede Gebrehiwot

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Data centers house information technology (IT) equipment such as servers and network switches which are vital for our networked modern society by providing digital data storage, data processing and connectivity. Data centers house few hundreds to tens of thousands of IT equipment that consume few kilowatt-hours to multi-megawatt-hours of electrical energy that gets dissipated as heat. IT equipment need to be properly cooled so that they operate reliably for their expected lifetime. For air cooled IT equipment, manufacturers provide heat sinks, cold plates, fans, et cetera to remove heat from the vicinity of heat dissipating components and data centers need …

Human Robot Interaction With 3d-Printed Whole Body Robotic Skin, Fahad Mirza

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

This thesis presents work of a newly developed pressure sensor for robot skin, from fabrication to application. Robot skin similar to human skin meant to have several sensing capabilities including pressure, temperature etc. As the conventional semiconductor manufacturing process is not adequate for multi-modal sensors, a new process, called Electro-Hydro-Dynamic Printing, has been explored in this work. A calibration technique was implemented along with printing parameter fixation by trial and error. A testing methodology was proposed to test these sensors and several commercial robots were used to conduct pHRI experiments with pressure sensing capability.