Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Development Of Cloud-Based Uav Monitoring And Management System, Mason Itkin, Mihui Kim, Younghee Park

Faculty Publications

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are an emerging technology with the potential to revolutionize commercial industries and the public domain outside of the military. UAVs would be able to speed up rescue and recovery operations from natural disasters and can be used for autonomous delivery systems (e.g., Amazon Prime Air). An increase in the number of active UAV systems in dense urban areas is attributed to an influx of UAV hobbyists and commercial multi-UAV systems. As airspace for UAV flight becomes more limited, it is important to monitor and manage many UAV systems using modern collision avoidance techniques. In this paper, …

Aerodynamic Modeling Of Nrel 5-Mw Wind Turbine For Nonlinear Control System Design: A Case Study Based On Real-Time Nonlinear Receding Horizon Control, Pedro A. Galvani, Fei Sun, Kamran Turkoglu

Faculty Publications

The work presented in this paper has two major aspects: (i) investigation of a simple, yet efficient model of the NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) 5-MW reference wind turbine; (ii) nonlinear control system development through a real-time nonlinear receding horizon control methodology with application to wind turbine control dynamics. In this paper, the results of our simple wind turbine model and a real-time nonlinear control system implementation are shown in comparison with conventional control methods. For this purpose, the wind turbine control problem is converted into an optimization problem and is directly solved by the nonlinear backwards sweep Riccati method …

A Comprehensive Methodology For Design Of A Circulation Control Small-Scale Unmanned Aircraft, Konstantinos Kanistras

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become increasingly prevalent and important for a wide spectrum of civilian and military operations. When focusing on small-scale fixed-wing UAVs, payload, power and energy requirements limit considerably their utilization and flexibility allowing them to complete only those specific missions they are designed for. Circulation Control (CC) is an active flow control method used to produce increased lift over the traditional systems (flaps, slats, etc...) currently in use. This dissertation focuses on the foundations of a comprehensive methodology from design to implementation and experimental testing of Coanda-based Circulation Control Wings (CCW) for unmanned aircraft. The …

Mechanical And Aerospace Engineering, 2015-2016, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering News

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• Study of Blind Cane Vibration

Use Of A Small Unmanned Aerial System For The Sr-530 Mudslide Incident Near Oso, Washington, Robin Murphy, Brittany Duncan, Tyler Collins, Justin Kendrick, Patrick Lohman, Tamara Palmer, Frank Sanborn

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

The Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue deployed three commercially available small unmanned aerial systems (SUASs)—an AirRobot AR100B quadrotor, an Insitu Scan Eagle, and a PrecisionHawk Lancaster—to the 2014 SR-530 Washington State mudslides. The purpose of the flights was to allow geologists and hydrologists to assess the eminent risk of loss of life to responders from further slides and flooding, as well as to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the event. The AirRobot AR100B in conjunction with PrecisionHawk postprocessing software created two-dimensional (2D) and 3D reconstructions of the inaccessible “moonscape” region of the slide and provided engineers with a …

Design And Investigation Of Vitiated-Air Heater For Oblique Detonation-Wave Engine, Matthew M. Hoban

Honors Undergraduate Theses

A facility was designed to provide high-enthalpy, hypersonic flow to a detonation chamber. Preliminary investigation identified 1300 K and Mach 5 as the total temperature and Mach number require to stabilize an oblique detonation wave inside the detonation chamber. Vitiated-air heating was the preheating method chosen to meet these capabilities. The vitiator facility heats compressed air while still retaining about 50% of the original oxygen content. Schlieren flow visualization and conventional photography was performed at the exit plane of a choke plate, which simulated the throat of a converging-diverging nozzle. A shock diamond formation was observed within the jet exhausting …

Flame-Turbulence Interaction For Deflagration To Detonation, Jessica Chambers

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Detonation is a high energetic mode of pressure gain combustion that exploits total pressure rise to augment high flow momentum and thermodynamic cycle efficiencies. Detonation is initiated through the Deflagration-to-Detonation Transition (DDT). This process occurs when a deflagrated flame is accelerated through turbulence induction, producing shock-flame interactions that generate violent explosions and a supersonic detonation wave. There is a broad desire to unravel the physical mechanisms of turbulence induced DDT. For the implementation of efficient detonation methods in propulsion and energy applications, it is crucial to understand optimum turbulence conditions for detonation initiation. The study examines the role of turbulence-flame …

Uncertainty Quantification Applied To The Analysis And Design Of A Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator For Spacecraft Reentry, Andrew J. Brune

Doctoral Dissertations

"The primary objective of this research is to investigate the uncertainty in the multidisciplinary analysis of a Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator configuration for Mars entry, subject to uncertainty sources in the high-fidelity computational models and the operating conditions. Efficient uncertainty quantification methods based on stochastic expansions are applied to the analysis of the hypersonic flowfield, fluid-structure interaction, and flexible thermal protection system response of a deformable inflatable decelerator. Uncertainty analysis is first applied to the hypersonic flowfield simulations to quantify the uncertainty in the surface convective and radiative heat flux, pressure, and shear stress of a fixed inflatable decelerator, subject …

Design & Analysis Of A Computer Experiment For An Aerospace Conformance Simulation Study, Ryan W. Gryder

Theses and Dissertations

Within NASA's Air Traffic Management Technology Demonstration # 1 (ATD-1), Interval Management (IM) is a flight deck tool that enables pilots to achieve or maintain a precise in-trail spacing behind a target aircraft. Previous research has shown that violations of aircraft spacing requirements can occur between an IM aircraft and its surrounding non-IM aircraft when it is following a target on a separate route. This research focused on the experimental design and analysis of a deterministic computer simulation which models our airspace configuration of interest. Using an original space-filling design and Gaussian process modeling, we found that aircraft delay assignments …

Team Training In Safety And Security Via Simulation : A Practical Dimension Of Maritime Education And Training, Michael Baldauf, Dimitrios Dalaklis, Aditi Kataria

Conference Papers

In the rather extended maritime domain, a term that should be the epicentre of any successful careerbuilding path is tailor-made training via cutting-edge simulators. To cut a long story short, the breadth of operations on the various types of ships has expanded to such a large extent that extensive practical training drills are becoming a compelling need to contribute to competent seafarers. This type of training can guarantee the positive outcome in their decision-making process and help the seafarers often being under continuous pressure, to suitably respond to the various safety and security threats on-board a vessel. The several conventions …

Analysis Of Road Vehicle Aerodynamics With Computational Fluid Dynamics, Christian Armando Mata

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A road vehicles aerodynamics can be one of the most influential aspects of its performance. With the increased importance on fuel efficiency in recent years, new road vehicles are being developed smaller in size, with smaller displacement engines, as well as with improved aerodynamics. The aerodynamics of a vehicle can have a significant effect on its fuel efficiency, as well as other important aspects of the vehicles performance such as the top speed, acceleration, and handling. A study focusing on analyzing aerodynamic effects due to vehicle geometries such as wheels covered by the vehicles body in comparison to open wheels …

Structural Design Of Liquid Oxygen/Liquid Methane Robotic Lander Janus, Mariana Chaidez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As the attempt to send humans to Mars has gained momentum in the last decade, the need to find alternative propellants that are safer, less toxic, and yields a better performance has become apparent [1]. Liquid methane and oxygen have emerged as a suitable alternative. In addition, the incorporation of liquid methane/liquid oxygen into the propulsion system has demonstrated an increase in engine performance, as well as a reduction in the volume, size and complexity of the propulsion system. In an attempt to further understand the technologies that are possible to develop using liquid oxygen (LO2) and liquid methane (LCH4), …

Effects Of Altitude On Monarch Butterfly Aerodynamics, Brittany Greene

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

A Usability And Learnability Case Study Of Glass Flight Deck Interfaces And Pilot Interactions Through Scenario-Based Training, Thomas James De Cino

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

In the aviation industry, digitally produced and presented flight, navigation, and aircraft information is commonly referred to as glass flight decks. Glass flight decks are driven by computer-based subsystems and have long been a part of military and commercial aviation sectors. Over the past 15 years, the General Aviation (GA) sector of the aviation industry has become a recent beneficiary of the rapid advancement of computer-based glass flight deck (GFD) systems.

While providing the GA pilot considerable enhancements in the quality of information about the status and operations of the aircraft, training pilots on the use of glass flight decks …

The Effects Of Rarefaction And Thermal Non-Equilibrium On A Blunt Body And A Bicone In Hypersonic Flow And Their Shape Optimization For Reducing Both Drag And Heat Transfer, Samuel Gardner

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Design of space vehicles pose many challenging problems due to their hypersonic speeds since they need to travel through different flow regimes due to changes in the density of the atmosphere with altitude. Some of the key characteristics associated with hypersonic flow are extremely high temperatures and heat transfer to the wall of the spacecraft. At these temperatures, the assumption of thermal equilibrium is no longer valid and the effect of rotational non-equilibrium must be included in the modeling of diatomic gas flow. This thesis employs the Navier-Stokes equations, which are modified to include a rotational non-equilibrium relaxation model to …

Constant Velocity Combustion Scramjet Analysis, Lakshmi Srikanth Tiruveedula

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The supersonic combustion ramjet or scramjet, is the most suitable engine cycle for sustained hypersonic flight in the atmosphere. The present work deals with the performance of a scramjet engine by parametrically analyzing the performance of the ideal scramjet using the engine parameters: specific thrust, fuel-to-air ratio, thrust specific fuel consumption, thermal efficiency, propulsive efficiency, overall efficiency and thrust flux. The objective of the work is to determine the desirable performance terms of the ideal scramjet, by varying three different candidate fuels and three different candidate materials for the combustion chamber. The engine parameters are related by the lower heating …

Strategic Deconfliction Of 4d Trajectory And Perturbation Analysis For Air Traffic Control And Automation System, Xinmin Tang, Yu Zhang, Ping Chen, Bo Li, Songchen Han

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Strategic 4D trajectory conflict-free planning is recognized as one of the core technologies of next-generation air traffic control and automation systems. To resolve potential conflicts during strategic 4D conflict-free trajectory planning, a protection-zone conflict-control model based on air traffic control separation constraints was proposed, in which relationships between expected arrival time and adjusted arrival time at conflicting waypoints for aircraft queues were built and transformed into dynamic linear equations under the definition of max-plus algebra. A method for strategic deconfliction of 4D trajectory was then proposed using two strategies: arrival time adjustment and departure time adjustment. In addition, departure time …

A Statistical Approach To Broadband Noise Suppression, Walter Eversman

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A method for estimating achievable attenuation for broadband noise in an inlet duct, consistent with Dyer's suggestion that an appropriate model includes all propagating acoustic modes at equal power and random phase, is proposed. Broadband noise is represented in a frequency domain analysis by a statistical distribution of propagating duct modes. The required number of modes is estimated by Rice's approximation method and verified in FEM modeling. For each propagating circumferential mode propagating radial modes have equal acoustic power and random phase. Source acoustic power is distributed among circumferential modes according to the number of propagating radial modes in the …

Decomposition Of A Double Salt Ionic Liquid Monopropellant On Heated Metallic Surfaces, Steven P. Berg, Joshua L. Rovey

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A monopropellant consisting of 59% hydroxylammonium nitrate and 41% 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate by mass is tested for decomposition on heated platinum, rhenium, and titanium surfaces. It was found that the propellant decomposes at 165 °C on titanium, which is the decomposition temperature of HAN. The onset temperature for decomposition on platinum was 85 °C and on rhenium it was 125 °C. This suggests that platinum and rhenium act as catalysts for the decomposition of the monopropellant. From the experimental data, Arrhenius-type reaction rate parameters were calculated. The activation energy for platinum was 3 times less than that of titanium suggesting …

Linear Burn Rates Of Monopropellants For Multi-Mode Micropropulsion, Alex J. Mundahl, Steven P. Berg, Joshua L. Rovey

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Multi-mode micro propulsion is a potential game-changing technology enabling rapidly composable small satellites with unprecedented mission flexibility. Maximum mission flexibility requires propellant that is shared between the chemical and electric propulsion systems. Previous research has identified a promising monopropellant that is both readily catalytically exothermically decomposed (chemical mode) and electro sprayable (electric mode). In this work the linear burn rate of this monopropellant is determined to aid design of the microtube catalytic chemical thruster. A pressurized fixed volume reactor is used to determine the linear burn rate. Benchmark experiments use a 13-molar mixture of hydroxylammonium nitrate and water and show …