Engineering Commons^™

High-Fidelity Low-Thrust Trajectory Determination Research And Analysis, Tyler Hill

Aerospace Engineering

This document discusses a numerical analysis method for low thrust trajectory propagation known as the proximity quotient or Q-Law. The process uses a Lyapunov feedback control law developed by Petropoulos^[1] to propagate trajectories of spacecraft by minimizing the user defined function at the target orbit. A simplified propagator is created from the core mechanics of this method in MATLAB and tested in several user defined cases to demonstrate its capabilities. Several anomalies arose in test cases where variations in eccentricity, inclination, right ascension of the ascending node, and argument of perigee were specified. Solutions to these anomalies are discussed …

Low Cost Vacuum Chamber Design For Electromagnetic Railgun Operation, Andrew W. Bothwell, David J. Foster

Aerospace Engineering

This report describes the design and fabrication of a low cost vacuum chamber capable of supporting the operation of an electromagnetic railgun. This would be used to simulate the impact of high velocity impacts in space. The vacuum chamber was constructed out of 10in diameter 10ft PVC pipe with a Wye fitting for viewing impacts during testing. The chamber was designed to accommodate a 6.5in X 6.5in X 60in railgun. The vacuum chamber feedthroughs were designed to be able to carry 1-2Mamps at 8kV to the railgun. The vacuum chamber is capable of reaching 50 Torr and remaining under 100 …

Interstellar Mission To Gliese 581, Brock Schmalzel, Brian Tsoi

Aerospace Engineering

This report details a conceptual design for a one-way, interstellar mission, based upon assumed technological advances over the next few hundred years. It addresses the unique challenges associated with an interstellar mission, looking at both developed and theoretical technologies. This report looks specifically at propulsion systems required to reach an exoplanet. In addition, the power, communication, and orbital trajectories are analyzed to see the differences and technological advancements necessary for future missions and the proposed interstellar mission. The destination for the interstellar mission in Gliese 581, a star system located 20.3 light years away and has 5 known planets and …

Accelerating Lambert's Problem On The Gpu In Matlab, Nathan Parrish

Aerospace Engineering

The challenges and benefits of using the GPU to compute solutions to Lambert’s Problem are discussed. Three algorithms (Universal Variables, Gooding’s algorithm, and Izzo’s algorithm) were adapted for GPU computation directly within MATLAB. The robustness of each algorithm was considered, along with the speed at which it could be computed on each of three computers. All algorithms used were found to be completely robust. Computation time was measured for computation within a for-loop, a parfor-loop, and a call to the MATLAB command ‘arrayfun’ with gpuArray-type inputs. Then, a Universal Variables Lambert’s solver was written in CUDA and compiled for use …

Test And Verification Of Vortex Shedding For A 3d Bluff Body, Paul D. Innes, Charles E. Carlson

Aerospace Engineering

Testing of a 3D bluff body with and without end plate tabs was performed in the California Polytechnic State University 3x4 ft low speed wind tunnel. The C_P values were obtained for the test case with no end plate tabs for speeds of 10, 15, 20, and 30 m/s. It was observed that stronger vortex shedding ocured at the higher speed test cases. The model was shimmed to be at approximately 5° angle of attack in order to obtain symmetrical negative C_P spikes for the top and bottom of the model without tabs. Trends were observed and compared …

Instrument Panel Design, Martin Bialy, Amber Carney, Michael Roche

Aerospace Engineering

This project focused on the design and implementation of an Electronic Flight Instrument System for a home built experimental aircraft known as a CH-701. Older aircraft use manual gauges and dials based on varying internal instruments such as gyro’s and the like but many of these traditional instruments to a singular GUI displaying multiple instruments data at one time. These devices are aimed at helping the pilot stay more alert and aware when flying between automatic warnings when in dangerous flying conditions / configurations as well as simplifying the instrument panel to only display what is absolutely necessary. These programs …

Global Launch Vehicle Selector, Keisuke Suzuki

Aerospace Engineering

No abstract provided.

The Numerical Open-Source Many-Body Simulator (Noms), Jason Lloyd Daniel, Javen Kyle Foster-O'Neal

Aerospace Engineering

This paper outlines the setup and creation of an object-oriented N-body simulator as part of a continued project to explore physical phenomenon and human-computer natural interaction technologies. The tools and processes required to build an N-body simulator are also included. Several integrators were evaluated based on their ability to maintain system energy The 2nd order integrator Verlet and 3rd order integrator Hermite algorithms had the greatest accuracy to model large-scale N-body dynamics for their given computation time. Other algorithms required significantly shorter time steps to achieve similar short-term accuracy. At present, NOMS can reasonably simulate 10,000 particles at less than …

Comprehensive Matlab Gui For Determining Barycentric Orbital Trajectories, Steve Katzman

Aerospace Engineering

When a 3-body gravitational system is modeled using a rotating coordinate frame, interesting applications become apparent. This frame, otherwise known as a barycentric coordinate system, rotates about the system’s center of mass. Five unique points known as Lagrange points rotate with the system and have numerous applications for spacecraft operations. The goal of the Matlab GUI was to allow easy manipulation of trajectories in a barycentric coordinate system to achieve one of two end goals: a free-return trajectory or a Lagrange point rendezvous. Through graphical user input and an iterative solver, the GUI is capable of calculating and optimizing both …

Effect Of Multifunctional Material On The Mechanical Behavior Of Composite Structure Using Finite Element Analysis, Nicholas A. Romonoski

Aerospace Engineering

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Pyrotechnic Shock Simulation Apparatus For Spacecraft Applications, Joseph Binder, Matthew Mccarty, Chris Rasmussen

Aerospace Engineering

This report details the research, design, construction, and testing of a pyrotechnic shock simulation apparatus for spacecraft applications. The apparatus was developed to be used in the Space Environments Lab at California Polytechnic State University. It will be used for testing spacecraft components with dimensions up to 24”x12”x12” as well as CubeSats. Additionally, it may be used as an instructional or demonstrational tool in the Aerospace Department’s space environments course. The apparatus functions by way of mechanical impact of an approximately 20 lb stainless steel swinging hammer. Tests were performed to verify the simulator’s functionality. Suggestions for improvement and further …

Thermal Vacuum Integration For Cal Poly's Space Environments Laboratory, Chelsea Barackman, Steven Jackowski

Aerospace Engineering

The purpose of the senior project is to construct a thermal vacuum by utilizing a preexisting vacuum chamber in the Space Environments Lab, and a donated Advanced Thermal Sciences (ATS) chiller. While a thermal vacuum is already available on campus, building one for the Space Environments Lab would grant undergraduates access to the equipment, allowing a much better understanding of testing methods and procedures in use by the aerospace industry. This paper explains the design and analysis of the thermal vacuum (T-VAC) project as well as the operation and procedures required for the ATS chiller and fill/drain tank. The thermal …

Multi-Dimensional Modeling Of Charring Ablators, Haoyue Weng, Huaibao Zhang, Ovais U. Khan, Alexandre Martin

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Re-entry of a spacecraft occurs at the hypersonic regime where the flow field is extremely complex: high temperature gradients occurring in the shock-layer region ionize and dissociate the air. Even if a large portion of heat generated during this process is convected away in the surrounding air, a fraction of it is still transferred to the vehicle. Therefore, it is important to protect the vehicle with a suitable kind of shielding. Of the many techniques available today, use of ablative material is gaining popularity. The basic idea behind an ablating heat shield is that the energy incident on the spacecraft …

Enhanced Hydrocarbon Biodegradation Using Bioaugmentation With Biowish™-Aqua Fog, Michael Robert Lehrer

Master's Theses

This study was done to determine the effectiveness of a commercially available bioaugmentation product, BiOWiSH^TM-Aqua FOG, for remediating petroleum-contaminated sandy soil. Biodegradation enhancement by BiOWiSH^TM-Aqua FOG was evaluated in laboratory microcosms by directly measuring total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) and indirectly using respirometry. Attempts were made to enrich hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in BiOWiSH^TM-Aqua FOG, and the resulting enrichment cultures were screened using respirometry as well. Potential hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in BiOWiSH^TM-Aqua FOG were isolated. Experiments were performed at bench-scale using microcosm bottles containing sand contaminated with either motor oil or No. 2 diesel fuel. The …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Torsional Micro-Hinge Structures, Mike Madrid Marrujo

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Fabrication and Characterization of Torsional Micro-Hinge Structures

Mike Marrujo

There are many electronic devices that operate on the micrometer-scale such as Digital Micro-Mirror Devices (DMD). Micro actuators are a common type of DMD that employ a diaphragm supported by torsional hinges, which deform during actuation and are critical for the devices to have high stability and reliability. The stress developed within the hinge during actuation controls how the actuator will respond to the actuating force. Electrostatically driven micro actuators observe to have a fully recoverable non-linear viscoelastic response. The device consists of a micro-hinge which is suspended by two …

The Effect Of Polarization And Ingan Quantum Well Shape In Multiple Quantum Well Light Emitting Diode Heterostructures, Patrick M. Mcbride

Master's Theses

Previous research in InGaN/GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs) employing semi-classical drift-diffusion models has used reduced polarization constants without much physical explanantion. This paper investigates possible physical explanations for this effective polarization reduction in InGaN LEDs through the use of the simulation software SiLENSe. One major problem of current LED simulations is the assumption of perfectly discrete transitions between the quantum well (QW) and blocking layers when experiments have shown this to not be the case. The In concentration profile within InGaN multiple quantum well (MQW) devices shows much smoother and delayed transitions indicative of indium diffusion and drift during …

Review Of Corrosion Aspects Of Compression Ignition Engine Parts Using Biodiesel Blends, B. Singh, John Korstad, Y. C. Sharma

College of Science and Engineering Faculty Research and Scholarship

This paper reviews the effects of corrosion on the engine parts that come in contact with a newly developed biodiesel fuel and its petrodiesel blend. Copper, aluminum, copper alloys (bronze), and elastomers caused significant levels of corrosiveness in biodiesel and biodiesel blend as opposed to low corrosion with petrodiesel. Specimens of stainless steel showed significant resistance to corrosion in biodiesel samples as compared to copper, aluminum, and copper alloys, but the level of corrosion was still higher than that in petrodiesel. Common methods adopted for measurement of corrosion include weight loss through static emersion tests, and electrochemical techniques by electrochemical …

Software Engineering Education Needs More Engineering, A. Frank Ackerman, Ph.D., Sushil Acharua, D.Eng.

Computer Science & Software Engineering

To what extent is “software engineering” really “engineering” as this term is commonly understood? A hallmark of the products of the traditional engineering disciplines is trustworthiness based on dependability. But in his keynote presentation at ICSE 2006 Barry Boehm pointed out that individuals’, systems’, and peoples’ dependency on software is becoming increasingly critical, yet that dependability is generally not the top priority for software intensive system producers. Continuing in an uncharacteristic pessimistic vein, Professor Boehm said that this situation will likely continue until a major software-induced system catastrophe similar in impact to the 9/11 World Trade Center catastrophe stimulates action …

Survivable Virtual Infrastructure Mapping In Virtualized Data Centers, Jielong Xu, Jian Tang, Kevin A. Kwiat, Weiyi Zhang, Guoliang Xue

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - All Scholarship

In a virtualized data center, survivability can be enhanced by creating redundant VMs as backup for VMs such that after VM or server failures, affected services can be quickly switched over to backup VMs. To enable flexible and efficient resource management, we propose to use a service-aware approach in which multiple correlated Virtual Machines (VMs) and their backups are grouped together to form a Survivable Virtual Infrastructure (SVI) for a service or a tenant. A fundamental problem in such a system is to determine how to map each SVI to a physical data center network such that operational costs are …

Effect Of Oxidation On Weld Strengthof Dissimilar Resistance Weld Interface Between 304 Stainless Steeland Near Equiatomic Austenitic Nitinol Guide Wire, Matthew Rudow

Master's Theses

Abbott Vascular encountered strength and variability issues when attempting to resistively weld 304 Stainless Steel to equiatomic Nitinol. Initial observations suggested that passivation layer (Cr₂O₃, TiO₂) formation affected the weld interface. One hundred 304 Stainless Steel/Nitinol pairs were allowed to oxidize in air at room temperature for allowed periods of time (.1, 1, 3, 5, 7, 12, 16, 24, 168, and 336 hours). Each pair was welded resistively with constant current. A Miyachi/Unitek Advanced Data Analysis Monitor (ADAM) recorded the peak resistance at the instance the weld was made. Resistances were compared to Instron …

Deposition, Characterization, And Fabrication Of A Zinc Oxide Piezoelectric Thin Film Microspeaker Using Dc Reactive Sputtering, Adam Olzick

Master's Theses

A piezoelectric microspeaker device that could be used in a variety of acoustic applications was designed and fabricated using a thin film ZnO layer that was reactively DC sputtered onto a single crystalline n-type silicon substrate. When tested the microspeaker did not produce sound due to complications in the etching process, the thickness of the diaphragms, and clamping effects. Instead, a characterization approach was taken and the structural, optical, electrical, and piezoelectric properties of the ZnO were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and atomic force microscopy were utilized to discover the ZnO’s structural properties. Using the XRD and SEM, …

Intelligent Data Fusion For Applied Decision Support, Xiang Ye

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Dissertations

Data fusion technologies are widely applied to support a real-time decision-making in complicated, dynamically changing environments. Due to the complexity in the problem domain, artificial intelligent algorithms, such as Bayesian inference and particle swarm optimization, are employed to make the decision support system more adaptive and cognitive. This dissertation proposes a new data fusion model with an intelligent mechanism adding decision feedback to the system in real-time, and implements this intelligent data fusion model in two real-world applications.

The first application is designing a new sensor management system for a real-world and highly dynamic air traffic control problem. The main …

The Synergistic Integration Of Computational Fluid Dynamics And Experimental Fluid Dynamics For Ground Effect Aerodynamics Studies, Tj Barber, G Doig, C Beves, I Watson, S Diasinos

Aerospace Engineering

This article highlights the ‘synergistic’ use of experimental fluid dynamics (EFD) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), where the two sets of simulations are performed concurrently and by the same researcher. In particular, examples from the area of ground effect aerodynamics are discussed, where the major facility used was also designed through a combination of CFD and EFD. Three examples are than outlined, to demonstrate the insight that can be obtained from the integration of CFD and EFD studies. The case studies are the study of dimple flow (to enhance aerodynamic performance), the analysis of a Formula-style front wing and wheel, …

Aerodynamics Of An Aerofoil In Transonic Ground Effect: Methods For Blowdown Wind Tunnel Scale Testing, G. Doig, T. J. Barber, A. J. Neely, D. D. Myre

Aerospace Engineering

No abstract provided.

Challenges In Transdisciplinary, Integrated Projects: Reflections On The Case Of Faculty Members’ Failure To Collaborate, Linda Vanasupa, Kathryn E. Mccormick, Carolyn J. Stefanco, Roberta J. Herter, Margot Mcdonald

Materials Engineering

In this article we describe the challenges of transdisciplinary teamwork involving four faculty members from dissimilar epistemological traditions in the process of developing a manuscript on the lessons learned in our teaching collaboration. Our difficulty originated in implicit mental models and assumptions that caused incongruence between our intent to collaborate and the (habituated) relationship structure of the partnership. The dynamics are described through the lens of Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s leadership model and Aristotle’s causality. We suggest that successful collaboration necessitates careful attention to the process of establishing the collaboration, its structure, and the metacognitive capacities to see one’s own thinking, …

The Synthesis And Characterization Of Gold And Silver Nanoparticles In Formal And Informal Settings, Mathew Wynn

Materials Engineering

Silver nanoparticles were synthesized through the reduction of AgNO3 using NaBH4. The borohydride anions were adsorbed onto silver nanoparticles. The repelling forces of the borohydride anions prevented the aggregation of particles, but the addition of an electrolyte or agitation induced aggregation. A yellow hue was given off by the silver nanoparticle sol that, using a spectrophotometer, had plasmon resonance at 386 nm. The silver nanoparticles were estimated to be 10 to 20 nm in diameter. Gold nanoparticles were synthesized through the reduction of HAuCl4 using Na3C6H5O7. The gold nanoparticle sol gave off a red hue that had plasmon resonance at …

Characterization And Analysis Of Low Room Temperature Ductility Nickel-Based Superalloy 718 Plus For Aircraft Engine Forgings, Jonathon Bracci

Materials Engineering

Schlosser Forge Co. forges low pressure turbine (LPT) cases from the nickel based superalloy 718 Plus using the ring rolling forging process. Schlosser has been experiencing low room temperature ductility problems in a number of their 718 Plus LPT cases. LPT cases are required to pass a 4D tensile test at room temperature with a minimum of 15 percent elongation. The ductility problem was reduced by increasing the forging temperature from 1825˚F to 1850˚F. Analysis was performed on 718 Plus samples taken from forged LPT cases that failed the room temperature ductility requirement and ones that passed the requirement. The …

Observations Of Localised Effects Of The Busselton Compensating Basins On Surface Water, Groundwater And Soil Salinity, D L. Bennett, Richard J. George Dr

Resource management technical reports

Between 2001 and 2009 the Water Corporation constructed three flood-compensating basins on farmland in the Vasse and Sabina river catchments, upstream of in the city of Busselton. The basins are designed to reduce the risk of flooding in urban areas of Busselton by temporarily storing and then regulating runoff during flood events. This report fulfils the reporting requirements of a contract between the Water Corporation and the Department of Agriculture and Food. Data relating to the local groundwater and surface-water dynamics, salinity, nutrients and pH, plus changes to shallow and deep-soil salinity (from repeat ground-based electromagnetic induction [EM] surveying), was …

Blunt Impact Performance Evaluation Of Helmet Lining Systems For Military And Recreational Use, Jaclyn Siniora, Ryan Taylor, Darren Suey

Industrial Technology and Packaging

With the increasing problem in collegiate athletes experiencing injuries to the brain, different helmet liners where put to the test to see which liner provided athletes the greatest protection under specific conditions.

This senior project evaluates five different liners in football helmets. Each of the helmet liners were tested at three different temperatures: hot, cold, and ambient. Each helmet had seven different impact locations which were put to the test. The project was designed to be used to test ACH military combat liners as well. Due to shipping bottle necks the ACH combat liners have been left to future Cal …

Determining An Inorganic Mineralization Process To Inhibit Organic Degradation And Preserve The Dimensional Stability Of Bamboo, Eric Hahn

Materials Engineering

Bamboo is a renewable natural composite with potential as both a construction and synthesis material. The components of bamboo are cellulosic vascular bundles imbedded within a lignin matrix that create a porous hierarchical structure. This structure has low density while maintaining high strength, toughness, and elasticity, but is susceptible to organic decay. A study was performed to evaluate the effect of varying bamboo culm age (1-3 years) and density (0.72-1.05 g/cm³) on the ability to control inorganic mineral precipitation to prevent degradation and preserve dimensional stability of the organic matrix. Internodal culm samples were immersed in solutions of …