Engineering Commons^™

Loss Of Control In General Aviation: An Investigation Into The Mooney M20 And The Full Trimming Tail Design, Trenton Neil Wright

Theses and Dissertations

Loss of Control (LOC) in General Aviation (GA) remains one of the leading causes of aviation accidents, with 94% of all accidents in 2022 occurring in this sector, and 42% attributed directly to LOC [2][3]. This thesis focuses on the Full Trimming Tail (FTT) in Mooney aircraft, hypothesizing that the FTT design significantly increases the likelihood of LOC, particularly during go-arounds and touch-and-go landings. Prior studies have shown that certain trim systems can amplify pitch-up moments following rapid configuration changes, leading to stalls or LOC if not adequately managed by the pilot [23][24][25].

This research utilized a combination of logistic …

Computational Representation, Analysis And Verification Of Requirements In Engineering Design And Systems Engineering, Chandan Kumar Sahu

All Dissertations

Systems are developed to satisfy a set of requirements derived from stakeholders’ needs, defining the problem space for which the system is created as a feasible solution. The system design process begins with eliciting these requirements and concludes with validating whether the created system meets them. Requirements engineering (RE) encompasses elicitation, representation, analysis, documentation, verification, and validation. However, challenges in RE, such as imprecision in natural language (NL), proprietary restrictions, and a lack of standardized quality metrics, hinder the creation of well-formed and comprehensive requirements. These challenges complicate formalization and analysis of requirements.

This dissertation addresses these challenges by proposing …

Performance Of Multi-Composite Materials With Corrugated And Cell Geometries Under Low-Velocity Impact, Lukas S. Kolbl

Master's Theses

Composite structures have demonstrated great potential to improve mechanical performance in various applications, including ballistics protection. This study demonstrates that the integration of geometrically optimized composites into core-face sheet assemblies provide great impact resistance. The research investigated the performance of two composite manufacturing methods under low-velocity impact through residual strength and damage comparisons. Corrugated core composites were produced with traditional manufacturing methods, namely compression molding, using twelve stacking sequences. These stacking sequences were chosen to represent four laminate groups, where a unique fiber orientation scheme was employed across three laminate thicknesses (6, 8, and 12 layers). In contrast, honeycomb and …

Improving Robustness Of Learning-Based Approaches In Autonomous Systems And Engineering Education, Godwyll Aikins

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation advances the development of robust learning-based approaches across two complementary domains: engineering education and autonomous systems. Through four studies, this research addresses critical challenges in preparing data-proficient engineers and developing reliable autonomous systems that can operate under uncertainty and incomplete information. The engineering education study examines how mechanical and aerospace engineering undergraduates conceptualize and develop data proficiency skills essential for modern engineering practice. Through interviews with 27 students, the research employs the How People Learn framework to analyze student perspectives on information literacy, data interpretation, and computational thinking. The findings inform pedagogical strategies for developing data proficiency in …

A Relaxable Vortex Wake Model For Modern Supersonic Panel Methods, Joshua J. Hurwitz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This thesis presents an improved vortex wake model for unstructured, supersonic panel methods. Panel methods are numerical methods that utilize inviscid flow assumptions and other simplifications to allow efficient computation of pressure distributions, velocity fields, and aerodynamic forces. They are commonly used for preliminary design, automatic design codes, and automatic optimization routines. Most existing supersonic panel methods do not include automatic wake generation and relaxation. This prevents the accurate analysis of many geometries, including those with conventional horizontal stabilizers or canards. This thesis first outlines the derivation of a relaxable generalized supersonic vortex filament equation. Next, it explores other necessary …

Finite-Time Control Strategies For Rendezvous And Proximity Operations, John Tamotsu Akagi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

One common metric to use when designing a controller is the time that the system will take to reach the desired state. Unfortunately, many approaches to developing controllers only guarantee that the system will approach, but not exactly reach, the desired state. This can become a limitation in time-sensitive situations where rapid and complete convergence is necessary. One group of control methods, known as finite-time control, does guarantee both faster convergence and that the desired state will be reached, but often fails to define exactly what time that will occur, how much control will be used to get there, and …

Impact Of Weather Systems On Uav Parameters Using Computational Fluid Dynamics, Saif Aljuhaishi, Yaseen K. Al-Timimi, Basim I. Wahab

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Since drones cannot fly in any kind of weather, they are not safe for time-sensitive activities. The study examines how the passage of weather systems in Iraq leads to the ban on drone flights, and how these weather conditions impact the aerodynamic forces of the drone. Hourly climate data for the study area were obtained from ECMWF ERA5 and CAMS in NetCDF format for four climate stations (Erbil, Baghdad, Rutbah, and Basrah). A ScanEagle drone was chosen for this study. The Python programming language was used to perform mathematical operations to calculate the ban on drone flights. ArcGIS 10.8 was …

Notes For Contributors To Space & Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Damon Coletta

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Design Of A Safe And Sustainable Airplane For Future, Henil Patel, Carlie Vogt, Matthew Talty, Jemimah Davies, Kyle Smothers, Mellisa Pritchet

Sustainability Conference

As a part of Airplane Preliminary Design course, this Design Note estimates the capabilities, performance, and stability behaviors of our conceptual airplane design, Boeing 7S7 – Sanctum prior to proceeding to the preliminary stage. This aircraft seeks to create a solution to achieving Net Zero Emissions by 2050 and increasing the safety measures. The design of this aircraft uses various analytical methods such as the DAPCA IV model, other methods were derived from design books. This design involved the use of software such as CATIA, VSP, SURFACES, Microsoft Excel, and Python. Results demonstrates that this aircraft is able to fly …

The Future Of Flying: An Exploration Of New Aircraft Design And Energy Required To Support Advanced Air Mobility – Part 3, Sarah Nilsson

Publications

Lecture exploring new aircraft design and energy required to support advanced air mobility.

Unleaded Fuel For General Aviation, Carolina Anderson, Laura Garcia

Sustainability Conference

The Clean Air Act, passed in the late 1970s, mandating the removal of lead from most fuels due its detrimental effects on public health, yet piston-driven aircraft continue to rely on leaded aviation gas (AvGas 100LL). This fuel remains the last lead-containing fuel regulated by the Department of Transportation (DOT). Lead, added as tetraethyl lead (TEL), enhances octane levels and prevents engine detonation, vital for high-compression aircraft engines. In response to the health effects, regulating bodies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have tightened lead standards and are assessing the risk posed by AvGas. Research links even low-level lead exposure …

Reflections On Improving Industrial Investment And Financing Environment To Promote Healthy Development Of Commercial Aerospace, Cuilin Wu, Chao Zhang, Quan Cheng, Hongyu Wu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

As a new frontier in global technological competition, the sustainable development of the commercial aerospace industry highly depends on a sound and efficient investment and financing environment. Although China’s commercial aerospace investment and financing system has achieved initial progress, it still faces multiple challenges, including imbalanced capital structure, insufficient risk-sharing mechanisms, and weakened market incentives, which constrain industrial innovation and competitiveness. This study systematically analyzes the current status and main challenges of China’s commercial aerospace investment and financing environment and draws on international experience to propose following optimization strategies. First, improve the structure of capital supply and expand diversified financing …

Benefits And Challenges Of Constructing Low-Altitude Air Route Network Infrastructure For Developing Low-Altitude Economy, Xiaohan Liao, Chenchen Xu, Huping Ye

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Low-altitude airspace is a resource that needs to be fully explored, and the low-altitude economy is a new type of economic activity resulted from low-altitude airspace exploration and utilization. As the primary players of low-altitude flight activities, the commercialization and wide applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are promoting the prosperity of the low-altitude economy. A low-altitude air route network is an effective means to ensure the safe and efficient operations of a large number of UAVs, and it is also a new key infrastructure hosting low-altitude traffic. The history shows that the investment on public transport infrastructure as a …

Beyond Innovation Paradox: Practices And Reflections On Promoting High-Quality Development Of Commercial Aerospace With Low Costs, Chao Zhang, Qianshu Shi, Binbin Meng, Quan Cheng, Jun Zhao, Weitao Wu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Commercial spaceflight, as a national strategic emerging industry, is critical for seizing the high ground of the space economy and fostering new quality productive forces through its low-cost and high-quality development. Currently, international enterprises represented by SpaceX have gained a leading advantage through technological breakthroughs and business model innovations, posing severe challenges to China’s aerospace security and development. This study first analyzes the evolutionary trajectory of low-cost development in commercial spaceflight, then delves into the “low-cost vs. high-quality” innovation paradox faced by the traditional aerospace industry and its root causes. Building on this analysis, it examines the experiences of international …

Suggestions On Expanding Application Scenarios Of Commercial Aerospace Market, Mengru Dong, Chaofeng Huang, Ningyi Yang, Yu Yao, Yafeng Qin

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Expanding the application scenarios of the commercial aerospace market is an inevitable requirement for promoting the transformation and upgrading of the space industry and achieving the strategic goal of becoming a leading space power. Currently, the development of China’s commercial aerospace is in a critical transition period from technological breakthroughs to market expansion. However, there are still problems such as insufficient participation of private enterprises, low penetration of consumer markets, and insufficient competitiveness in the international market, and a sustainable and benign commercial closed loop has not yet been formed. The study analyzes the current situation of commercial aerospace market …

Disciplinary Policy Research On Science Development Strategies For Crewed Lunar Exploration, Wei Yang, Yuyang He, Jinting Kang, Ruiyi Chen, Huihong Cheng, Li Sun, Pan Deng, Yong Wei, Yangting Lin, Xianhua Li

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

In order to better serve China’s crewed lunar exploration, this study researched and analyzed the current status of lunar exploration and planetary science research in China and the United States. Additionally, we conducted interviews and a questionnaire survey with experts in planetary science and deep-space exploration, and formed the following four policy recommendations: 1) Strengthening the layout and management of the disciplines of lunar and planetary sciences, and setting up a long-term and stable funding mechanism; 2) Improving the system of talent cultivation, and encouraging young talents to participate in deep-space exploration missions; 3) Strengthening the protection of original ideas, …

Situation And Challenges In Development Of China’S Commercial Aerospace, Chaofeng Huang, Chao Zhang, Jinge Li, Mengru Dong

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Commercial aerospace is an important support for the national aerospace power strategy and a “new growth engine” for economic development, serving as a strategic pivot to win the future competitive landscape. Currently, China’s commercial aerospace industry is facing a mixed and urgent situation. On the one hand, the international competition situation is severe, with frequency track resources being seized and squeezed, international rules being passively constrained, and global market breakthroughs being hindered. On the other hand, domestic development opportunities are highlighted. The multidimensional support of central local cooperation is constantly strengthening, and the development prospects driven by industrial demand are …

Analysis Of Status, Challenges, And Optimization Recommendations For China’S Commercial Space Policy Support System, Liming Ge, Zixuan Liu, Mingda Yang, Wenbin Ma

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

As a strategic pillar in building a space power, commercial space has become a new frontier for global technological competition. The Chinese government and relevant regulatory authorities have introduced a series of multi-level policy documents, propelling the commercial space sector into a phase of vigorous development. This study systematically reviews the background, evolution, and implementation outcomes of China’s policy support system for commercial space. It is indicates that, in light of the goal of becoming a “space power” and the future industrial competition, China’s policy support system for commercial space still faces challenges such as ineffective policy implementation mechanisms, lack …

Quasi-Static Indentation Characteristics Of Foam-Filled Sandwich Composite Structures With Additively Manufactured Cfrp And Gfrp Corrugated Cores, S.Z.H. Shah, Juhyeong Lee, Khurram Altaf, M. Mohammad, M.Z. Hussain, R.S. Choudhry

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the quasi-static indentation performance of polyurethane (PU) foam-filled carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) corrugated sandwich composite structures (SCSs) under different indenter tip geometries (conical, trapezoidal, hemispherical, pyramidal, and cylindrical shapes). The SCSs were produced using hybrid manufacturing methods: (1) the facesheets were fabricated using the vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) process, (2) the CFRP and GFRP corrugated cores were additively manufactured using the fused filament fabrication (FFF) process, and (3) the self-expanding PU foam-filled the open spaces in the core. The results elucidated that the indenter tip geometry and core …

The Future Of Flying: An Exploration Of New Aircraft Design And Energy Required To Support Advanced Air Mobility – Part 2, Sarah Nilsson

Publications

Lecture exploring new aircraft design and energy required to support advanced air mobility.

The Future Of Flying: An Exploration Of New Aircraft Design And Energy Required To Support Advanced Air Mobility – Part 1, Sarah Nilsson

Publications

Lecture exploring new aircraft design and energy required to support advanced air mobility.

Modeling And Simulation Of The 12-Meter Antenna, Antonio Pires

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Antonio Pires on November 11, 2024.

A Probabilistic Kp And Hp Driven Auroral Boundary Model Using 28 Years Of Dmsp Data, Riley N. Troyer, Russell Landry, Michael David, Vincent Eccles, Adrian E. Acosta

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

This paper uses energy flux data from the DMSP F6 thru F19 satellites to construct a new equatorward auroral boundary model. This method of processing the data allows one to easily extend boundary detections to different instrument generations because it is based on a standard deviation value instead of hard thresholds. Using this method, the paper provides statistics from just under 1 million auroral boundaries between 1986 and 2014. These statistics are based on normal distribution fits for each Kp/Hp and MLT bin, which allows one to specify the boundary for an arbitrary distribution percentile. The paper compares …

Book Review: Speed, Safety, And Comfort: The Origins Of Delta Airlines, Dana Johnson

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Organisational Resilience : A Study Of The Resilience Of Maritime Stakeholders In Ghana, Priscilla Ami Dogbeda Dzokoto

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Thermal Straps: Aluminum 1235 Foil Qualification Summary, Holly Mortensen

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) first developed thermal strap technology in 1994 when we designed, built, and tested the SABER instrument, which is still on orbit and has performed flawlessly since 2001. Since then, we have continued to pioneer solderless flexible thermal straps and supporting technologies.

SDL’s heritage thermal straps used aluminum 1145 foil, an extremely pure alloy that contains 99.45% aluminum content. Unfortunately, it is no longer readily procurable in the market. Aluminum 1235 is a very similar alloy with similar chemical composition and physical attributes, but more readily available than 1145.

This report documents the process and results in …

The Impact Of Film Cooling On The Heat Release Within A Rotating Detonation Combustor, Shreyas Ramanagar Sridhara, Antonio Andreini, Marc D. Polanka, Myles D. Bohon

Faculty Publications

Rotating detonation combustors establish a detonation wave that continuously circulates inside a small annulus. The presence of the detonation wave and the downstream oblique shock within the small annulus coupled with high mass flow induces a high heat load to the combustor wall. Preliminary analysis shows that for higher thermal power, internal air cooling alone is not sufficient to remove the heat out of the walls to maintain them below the maximum temperature of the metal. A possible solution is to use film cooling to reduce the heat flux to the combustor walls. One issue, though, is that the introduction …

Development And Testing Of A Fast-Acting, 8-Bit, Digital Throttle For Hybrid Rocket Motors, Stephen A. Whitmore

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The potential for throttle control of hybrid rocket systems has long been known as a potential advantage for a variety of applications. Because only a single flow path is controlled, theoretically, hybrids should be significantly easier to throttle than bipropellant systems. Unfortunately, the slow response times and nonlinearity of traditional position-control valves have limited practical applications of hybrid throttling. This paper presents an alternative throttling system where the oxidizer flow path is broken into multiple streams, with each flow path controlled by a solenoid-operated on/off valve. The parallel paths allow significantly faster and more precise control than can be achieved …

Understanding Orbits: Orbit Facts, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs titled "Understanding Orbits: Orbit Facts" from October 22, 2024.