Engineering Commons^™

Cryogenic Gas Cell For Infrared Space Instrumentation, Trent Newswander, Scott Bailey, Mark Hervig, Phillip Scott, Ryan Luder, Mike Watson, Mike Oksness, Cody Secrist, Zack Hatfield

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

• NASA’s Dynamical Neutral Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling (DYNAMIC) mission aims to characterize the energy transfer between the ionosphere, thermosphere, and mesosphere

– Identified as a high priority solar terrestrial probe mission in two decadal surveys

– Led by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• The Doppler Wind and Temperature Sounder (DWTS) is being developed for flight on the DYNAMIC satellite

– Will provide the first comprehensive global dataset of winds and temperature in the mesosphere and thermosphere (40–250 km altitude)

– Designed and built by Space Dynamics Lab (SDL)

• DWTS observes the Doppler shift of atmospheric NO and ^{13 …}

Design And Characterization Of The Icon Fuv Ccd Cameras, Erik Syrstad, Brian Thompson, Robert Burt, Mitch Whiteley, James Champagne, Pedro Sevilla

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Outline

• FUV Overview
• Key Requirements
• Camera Design
• Assembly and Integration
• UV Performance Characterization

Atms And Cris Geolocation, Mark Esplin, Kris Robinson, Ben Esplin, Nephi Grant, Deron Scott, Likun Wang

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Contents

• Summary of Suomi NPP sensors CrIS, ATMS, and VIIRS 
• Geolocation methods 
• Software optimization
• CrIS geolocation results
• ATMS geolocation results
• Conclusions

Comparison Of Co-Located Mid-Latitude Sporadic E And Simone Wind Observations, Ivana Molina, Kenneth Obenberger, Jorge Chau, Matthias Clahsen

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Sporadic E are localized layers of enhanced metallic ionization that form in the E region of the ionosphere (Mathews, 1998). They are usually observed between 95 and 120 km altitude with a thickness in altitude ranging from ~100 m to a few kilometers. Studying these layers is important, as their characteristics and variability impact the propagation of HF radio waves. At mid-latitudes, the generation of sporadic E is most often explained by the wind shear theory, where these layers form due to the convergence of ions generated by vertical shears in the horizontal components of the neutral wind. The primary …

Passive Thermal Control Technologies: Short Course, Holly Mortensen, Matt Ralphs

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

• Introduction to Space Dynamics Laboratory
• Overview - Thermal Control Technologies
• Conductor Bars
• Thermal Straps
• Break
• Radiators
• Thermal Switches

Phase Change Cells, T. Shane Topham, Gail Bingham, Harry Latvakoski, Mike Watson

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Outline

• Phase Change Cell Introduction
• Summary of ISS Phase Change Cell Experiments
• Ground Cell Design Improvements and Test Results

Space Dynamics Laboratory, Brent Carlsen, Doug Jewell

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

• Space Dynamics Laboratory
• SDL is a UARC
• RE-SET (Re-Engineering, System Engineering & Test)
• System Test Development

Development Of A Design Tool For Tow-Steered Composite Structures With Machine Learning-Assisted Modeling, Bangde Liu

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Fiber-reinforced composites (FRCs) are widely used in aerospace, automotive, and other engineering applications due to their lightweight characteristics and superior mechanical properties. Traditional FRCs employ a fixed fiber orientation in each layer, and while different layup sequences can tailor performance, the mechanical properties remain spatially uniform. Tow-steered composites, which enable fibers to follow curvilinear paths, offer the potential for spatially varying stiffness and strength, improving structural performance.

This dissertation addresses key challenges in modeling and designing tow-steered composite structures, including the lack of commercial design tools, the high computational cost of design optimization, and the need to efficiently evaluate manufacturing …

Deriving Nonlinearity Coefficients From Changing Background, Mark Esplin, Deron Scott, Bryce Walker, Ben Esplin

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Contents

• Quadric Nonlinearity
• Nonlinearity Model and Sensitivity Studies
• Application to CrIS Sensor
• Check Method with Stepped Blackbody Data
• Conclusions

Guidelines For Radiometric Calibration Of Electro-Optical Instruments For Remote Sensing, Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

SDL Presentation on Radiometric Calibration of Electro-Optical Instruments for Remote Sensing

Implementation Of A Neural Network Execution Framework For Generalized And Cross-Platform Deep Learning Deployment And Inference On Spacecraft Systems, Rafael Polanco Segovia

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Recent advances in hardware and software technology have made it possible to implement more resource-demanding deep learning algorithms in constrained hardware environments. This creates opportunities to use deep learning for aerospace applications on increasingly smaller aerospace vehicles. This work presents the implementation of a Neural Network Execution Framework (NNEF), which aims to provide a cross-platform and reusable framework to deploy and execute trained neural networks for deep learning aerospace applications. The NNEF executes any neural network inference process regardless of the original deep learning framework in which it was created, for supported flight software platforms, and space-like computer boards. Users …

An Operational Field Study: A Comparison Of Piloting Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles And Uncrewed Aircraft Systems, David Thirtyacre, Joseph Cerreta, Pete Miller, Kimberly Luthi, Jolee Thirtyacre

Publications

and operations, the ability to cross-train personnel in both Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles and Small Uncrewed Aircraft System operations has become a focal point for efficiency and workforce optimization. This study presents a comparative analysis of the operational and human factor considerations involved in piloting mini UUV and sUASs, highlighting the key similarities and differences in control methods, environmental influences, navigation, emergency procedures, and situational awareness. A qualitative experimental field study was conducted between July 2024 and October 2024, involving real-world deployments of both systems in maritime and aerial environments. Findings indicated that while UUV and sUAS operators relied on remote …

Factors Contributing To Fatalities In Helicopter Emergency Medical Service Accidents, Jenna Korentsides, Joseph R. Keebler, Mihhail Berezovski, Alex Chaparro

Publications

INTRODUCTION: T his study aimed to update and reinforce previous research on helicopter emergency medical service accidents in the United States. By investigating predictors of fatalities after helicopter emergency medical service crashes through the application of machine learning techniques, we updated existing data sets and sought to uncover patterns that traditional analysis might not reveal.

METHODS: Using the National Transportation Safety Board database, the authors analyzed a dataset of 267 helicopter emergency medical service accidents between 1991–2022. We first calculated fatalities odds ratios for each condition. We then plotted geospatial locations of all reported accidents. Finally, we used XGBoost regression …

Personnel & Team Management, Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Agenda

• Team Design
• What is a PM?
• Role "Definition
• Training
• Communication
• Expectation management
• Performance management & feedback
• Tools
• Meetings & tasking
• Gantt charts
• Dashboard
• Risk management

Optimizing Hypersonic Scramjets: A Numerical Study Of Fuel Type And Cavity Flameholder Design Impacts On Supersonic Combustion, Delaney Baumberger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents recommendations for optimizing hypersonic scramjets via a numerical study focusing on fuel type and cavity flameholder design and the impacts they have on supersonic combustion. The research is divided into two main investigations aimed at improving scramjet engine efficiency using two distinct geometrical configurations, a square cavity engine and an axisymmetric cavity engine. Each configuration is examined under Mach 2 inflow conditions to assess the role of geometric variation and fuel selection on combustion stability, flameholding, and overall performance. The first study focuses on a comparative assessment of hydrogen and ethylene as scramjet fuels to evaluate their …

Hybrid Rans-Les Analysis Of Turbulent Flame Under Near Blow-Off Condition In A Multi-Stage Swirl Combustor, Brandon O'Brien

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Advances in computational resources are making computational fluid dynamics (CFD) increasingly accessible for a variety of engineering applications. However, certain complex problems, such as simulating detailed flame kinetics, remain computationally prohibitive for many users. Developing cost-effective methods to simulate these challenges would greatly benefit applications involving flame dynamics, such as turbine engines or industrial burners. This study investigates the effect of main stage swirler intensity on near lean blow-off characteristics in a multi-staged swirl combustor using Ansys Fluent. The hybrid RANS-LES turbulence model, Stress Blended Eddy Simulation (SBES) coupled with Flamelet Generated Manifold (FGM) combustion model was selected to model …

Vibration Modeling Of Rectangular Plates And Application To Solar Cell Dust Mitigation, Jeremiah John Rittenhouse

Doctoral Dissertations

"Many engineering structures can be modeled as rectangular plates, including solar cells. Carefully controlled plate vibration can be useful to solve an engineering problem, such as lunar dust accumulation on solar cells, which blocks light and reduces power generation. For this application, plate vibration at resonance is studied and used experimentally to eject lunar dust from a solar cell.

Piezoelectric actuator placement on the inactive side of a solar cell to induce vibration dust mitigation from the active side of the cell is presented in this work. Three solar cell prototypes were created and tested for efficacy, resulting in an …

Additive Manufacturing Of Multifunctional Materials And Composites, John Michael Pappas

Doctoral Dissertations

"This research focused on developing fundamental knowledge of process-material interactions for additive manufacturing of multifunctional materials that are highly desirable in high-tech industries for potential weight and space savings. Multifunctional materials are very sensitive to defects, which severely hinder performance. Thus, defect formation was systematically studied to develop strategies and methodologies to efficiently fabricate high-performance materials and composites. Blown-powder-based laser additive manufacturing of transparent spinel ceramics was investigated to reduce porosity and cracking, defects that hindered transparency and mechanical properties. A systematic study of processing parameters revealed that laser power and powder flow rate had the largest effects on defect …

The Interacting Roles Of Attention Allocation And Trust In Highly Automated Aam Environments, Yusuke Yamani

Psychology Faculty Publications

[First slide]

Mechanisms of attentive visual processing

• Attention control
• Visual search
• Eye movement
• Aging and individual differences

Limits of human performance in applied environment

• Complex displays
• Machine operation
• Surface transportation
• Advanced air mobility
• Nuclear operation

Methods to ameliorate human cognitive performance

• Human-machine interface
• Human autonomy/AI teaming
• Human-systems integration
• Training

Flame Boundary Effects Of Hydrogen-Air Premixing, Alecson L. De Lima Junior

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The objective of this research was to investigate the reaction of hydrogen and heated air premixing when injected into a combusting ethylene-air crossflow, and to study the flame stabilization location with varying premixing levels. The main parameter of this investigation was the flame stabilization diagnosed through chemiluminescence, based on recorded equivalence ratio, temperature, and flame boundaries, and maintaining a constant air temperature, hydrogen and air mass flow, and momentum flux ratios. Testing was conducted at different ratios of hydrogen and air premixing achieved through alternating the distance between the point where hydrogen and air are mixed and the combusting crossflow. …

Integrated Qfd-Triz Optimization Method For Satellite Solar Array Design In Cost-Sensitive Environment, Hongyi Zhang, Liang Su

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

With the rapid evolution of commercial space markets in the new space era, satellite design philosophy is transitioning from "performance supremacy" toward "cost-effectiveness priority." This research concentrates on solar arrays, a critical component representing 15%-20% of satellite costs, addressing limitations in traditional design methodologies that inadequately coordinate user requirements and lack systematic frameworks for cost-performance collaborative optimization. We propose a solar array optimization methodology predicated on the integration of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). This methodology incorporates cost dimensions through an extended QFD matrix, employs TRIZ to resolve technical contradictions, and develops a …

Suas Agricultural Aerial Application Operational Field Test, David Thirtyacre, Joseph Cerreta, Scott S. Burgess

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

One of the most promising uses of aerial applications by a sUAS is on small farms where traditional crewed aerial applicators were not practical due to the limited size of the operations. This controlled field test aimed to assess the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of using a sUAS spreading system compared to the traditional manual application of weed killer and fertilizer on cranberry bogs in Western Washington that were less than 10 acres. The aerial application took place over two separate days as scheduled by the farmer for maximum product efficiency. A total of sixty-three flights were necessary to apply the …

Mitigating Information Overload In Aviation Safety: Ai-Driven Hierarchical Tagging And Summarization Of Notam For Pre-Flight Information Bulletin, Rutong Gu, Yefeng Qu, Dongling Chen, Yu Tang, Ailin Zhou

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

To address the challenges of aviation safety information overload in Pre-flight Information Bulletin (PIB) systems, this study proposes an intelligent classification framework (ERNIE-DPCNN) that integrates knowledge-enhanced semantic representation with a Deep Pyramid Convolutional Network. Traditional systems relying on rule-based filtering mechanisms suffer from inefficiencies in critical information identification and high risks of human misjudgment. The proposed framework achieves breakthroughs through three technical innovations: (1) An aviation domain-adapted ERNIE model is constructed, leveraging phrase-level masking strategies to enhance semantic representation of compound identifiers; (2) A Deep Pyramid Convolutional Network (DPCNN) is designed to extract multi-granularity features via hierarchical convolution-pooling architecture, optimized …

Design, Implementation, And Testing Of Spatial Disorientation Scenarios In A Modified Hexapod Motion Simulator, Jarod Hinckley, Ryan Paul, Logan Rock, Joe Conner, Jon M. Loffi

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Abstract

Investigations into aviation accidents aim to identify root causes and enhance safety. Despite advancements in safety measures, technology, and education, general aviation accident rates remain stable, with loss of control identified as the leading cause. Spatial disorientation is a significant contributing factor in these incidents, accounting for approximately 10% of general aviation accidents—90% of which are fatal. Addressing spatial disorientation is increasingly critical with the emergence of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) vehicles, a sector projected to reach a $30 billion market by 2030. While AAM is expected to transition toward full autonomy, human pilots will operate these vehicles during …

Potential Of Lidar And Hyperspectral Sensing For Overcoming Challenges In Current Maritime Ballast Tank Corrosion Inspection, Sergio Pallas Enguita, Jiajun Jiang, Chung-Hao Chen, Samuel Kovacic, Richard Lebel

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Corrosion in maritime ballast tanks is a major driver of maintenance costs and operational risks for maritime assets. Inspections are hampered by complex geometries, hazardous conditions, and the limitations of conventional methods, particularly visual assessment, which struggles with subjectivity, accessibility, and early detection, especially under coatings. This paper critically examines these challenges and explores the potential of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) to form the basis of improved inspection approaches. We discuss LiDAR’s utility for accurate 3D mapping and providing a spatial framework and HSI’s potential for objective material identification and surface characterization based on spectral …

A Proximal Policy Optimization-Based Controller For Enhanced Power Sharing In Microgrids, Seyedmohammad Hasheminasab, Armin Lotfy, Mohamad Alzayed, Hicham Chaoui

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper introduces a Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO)-based virtual impedance (VI) controller to enhance both power sharing and system response under disturbances in inverter-interfaced microgrids. Traditional droop control methods often face challenges due to variations in feeder impedance, which degrade performance. The proposed controller continuously updates its policy based on changes in the operating environment. The control problem is modeled as a Markov Decision Process (MDP), in which the state and action spaces are explicitly defined, and a carefully designed reward function, satisfying system criteria and constraints, guides the learning process toward achieving the desired transient and steady-state performance. By …

Delivery Of Medical Supplies To Remote Locations Via Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Approaches, Challenges, And Solutions, Meshari Aljohani, Ravi Mukkamala, Stephanie Olariu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are becoming more important in improving healthcare logistics, in particular due to their cost effectiveness, minimized risk, and versatile operational capabilities. This study explores the deployment of autonomous UAVs to deliver medical supplies to remote areas. Advances in ledger technology, smart contracts, and machine learning have transformed tasks previously managed by human teams or manually controlled UAVs into fully autonomous missions. We present a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and initial solutions vital for the effective use of autonomous UAVs in the delivery of medical supplies. In addition, we propose a machine-learning model to optimize UAV …

Investigation Of A Busemann Intake At Negative Angle Of Attack, Mark E. Noftz, Andrew N. Bustard, Nicholas J. Bisek, Thomas J. Juliano, Joseph S. Jewell

Publications

A high-speed, shape-transitioned, inward-turning intake was tested in Purdue’s Boeing/AFOSR Mach 6 Quiet Tunnel. The inlet model, called the Indiana Inlet (INlet), had a total contraction ratio of 4.68:1 and a design point of Mach 6 at 0° angle of attack. The model was outfitted with a suite of high-frequency pressure transducers, and the external flowfield was imaged with high-speed schlieren photography. The INlet was tested under low freestream disturbance levels for a variety of freestream unit Reynolds numbers and at-4° angle of attack. An unsteady shockwave near the leading edge of the inlet forebody, indicative of boundary layer separation, …

Physics-Informed Neural Network Based Aerodynamic Modeling Framework, Nathaniel E. Michek

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Significant advances have been made in developing aerodynamic models over the years. While these advances span many modeling techniques and data collection methods, certain aerodynamic regimes still pose significant challenges. These regimes commonly occur when an aerodynamic body is under extreme flight conditions. Many of these conditions occur simultaneously in the rare and poorly understood case of a tumbling aerodynamic body. The flight of a tumbling aerodynamic body goes through the entire range of aerodynamic angles, alpha and beta, causing significant non-linearities and time-dependent effects associated with flow separation. During tumbling, the aerodynamic body simultaneously rotates about all three axes …

Deep Target Recognition: Semi-Supervised Annotation, Sensor Fusion And Super-Resolution, Shoaib Meraj Sami

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Despite the recent expansion of machine learning algorithms to cover a wide range of disciplines, several areas of automatic target recognition (ATR) remain underexplored. This dissertation presents tools developed to improve performance in three significant aspects of ATR: semi-supervised annotation, sensor fusion, and image super-resolution. The aim of the semi-supervised methods is to automatically annotate targets in scenarios where labeled data are scarce in the target domain but available in the source domain. Secondly, to address the limitations of individual image sensors and enhance robustness under different environmental conditions and man-made constraints, a sensor fusion algorithm was developed to improve …