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Engineering Commons

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Mechanical Engineering

Theses/Dissertations

2008

BYU

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Multi-Physics Modeling And Calibration For Self-Sensing Of Thermomechanical In-Plane Microactuators, Kendall B. Teichert Jul 2008

Multi-Physics Modeling And Calibration For Self-Sensing Of Thermomechanical In-Plane Microactuators, Kendall B. Teichert

Theses and Dissertations

As technology advances and engineering capabilities improve, more research has focused on microscopic possibilities. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is one area that has received much attention recently. Within MEMS much research has focused on sensing and actuation. This thesis presents work on a particular actuator of interest, the thermomechanical in-plane microactuator (TIM). Recent work has shown the possibility of a novel approach of sensing mechanical outputs of the TIM without ancillary sensors. This sensing approach exploits the piezoresistive property of silicon. However, to implement this approach a full model of the TIM would need to be obtained to describe the physics …


Development Of A Miniature Vtol Tail-Sitter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Jeffrey V. Hogge Apr 2008

Development Of A Miniature Vtol Tail-Sitter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Jeffrey V. Hogge

Theses and Dissertations

The design, analysis, construction and flight testing of a miniature Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) tail-sitter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) prototype is presented in detail. Classic aircraft design methods were combined with numerical analysis to estimate the aircraft performance and flight characteristics. The numerical analysis employed a propeller blade-element theory coupled with momentum equations to predict the influence of a propeller slipstream on the freestream flow field, then the aircraft was analyzed using 3-D vortex lifting-line theory to model finite wings immersed in the flow field. Four prototypes were designed, built, and tested and the evolution of these prototypes is …