Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Towards The Wearable Cardiorespiratory Sensors For Aerospace Applications, Chandan Sheikder

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

In safety-critical aviation operations, adaptive Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) rely on accurate physiological monitoring to mitigate cognitive overload. While cardiorespiratory sensors are promising for real-time cognitive workload assessment, existing studies lack rigorous validation of consumer-grade devices in high-stress aviation contexts and fail to address measurement uncertainty propagation. This study evaluates the Zephyr BioHarness, a commercial wearable sensor, against clinical-grade equipment during arithmetic tasks simulating aviation cognitive demands. By integrating a neuro-fuzzy system with uncertainty propagation methods, we quantify the reliability of heart rate (HR) and breathing rate (BR) metrics for workload estimation. Results demonstrate moderate HR accuracy (RMSE: 4.85 bpm, CC: …

Hot Staging Module For Multistage Rockets, Nanami Whitman, Daniel Montano-Lobe

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Historically, the Akronauts Rocket Design Team builds and launches two-stage rockets that rely on black powder charges as a way of stage-separation. With a hot-staging module, the second stage is ignited while still connected to the first stage, and the thrust from the second stage induces separation. To prevent rotation of the sustainer during the booster stage, the sustainer motor and fins will be axially interlocked with the module in a similar manner to the Akronauts’ previous stage separation modules. This method would reduce the number of failure modes and reduce the number of components required for stage separation. This …

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 …

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. …

Air Supremacy, The Enabler Of Close Air Support Operations – An Evaluation Of Past, Present, And Future Air Campaigns., Owen Topolnicki

Senior Honors Theses

The achievement of gaining aerial supremacy, or lack thereof, is the hinge upon which Close Air Support (CAS) swings. The attainment of it enables CAS specialist aircraft, not unlike the Ju-87 Stuka or A-10 Thunderbolt II, to be exceptionally effective in their operating environment. While the lack of it, forces aircrews to pioneer new solutions either in the form of multi-role aircraft (capable of self-defense), or other innovative solutions similar to unmanned aerial systems (UAS’s), as aptly seen in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Thus, the ability of an air force to gain air supremacy and to do so quickly, …

Physics-Informed Deep Learning For Pilot Parameter Estimation And Pilot-Induced Oscillation Characterization, Stephen A. Brutch

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This thesis investigates the issue of loss-of-control in flight which is a driving contributor to fatal aviation accidents. The two main contributors tackled in this research are human pilot error and categories of pilot-induced-oscillations. The primary objective is to develop models that can capture the mathematical parameters that relate to human pilot control under the widely used McRuer Mathematical pilot model. The goal is that if the mathematical parameters that relate to human pilot control can be monitored during flight then the pilot’s input to the control system and pilot-induced-oscillations (PIO) can be monitored during flight to avoid loss-of-control. This …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

Understanding Orbits: Just Enough To Make You Dangerous, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs titled "Understanding Orbits: Just enough to make you dangerous" from October 22, 2024.

Spacecraft Attitude Control Simulator, Bricen S. Rigby

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

The Spacecraft Attitude Control Simulator is a single-axis attitude control platform which is intended to recreate the frictionless space environment in order to test cold-gas thruster control schemes. The overall goal of this research project was to observe settling data from the platform and compare it to simulated data. In practice, the predicted settling time was only 7% larger than observed settling time.

Cryogenic Fuel Applications To Sustainable Commercial Aircraft, Jack R. Kisling, Lillian Panning

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

Finding a source of clean and renewable energy is one of the greatest challenges humanity will face in the 21st century. With populations expanding, developing countries increasing their use of resources, and the rapid and alarming effects of climate change, a shift to a sustainable future is an existential prospect.

The goal of our project is to take the first steps toward getting safety procedures and lab space established, so mechanical engineering senior projects can quickly begin to experiment with cryogenic fuels. They will explore the application of cryogenic fuels to commercial aviation.

Ridds: Removal Of Irregular Debris Using Double Nets, Kayann Coote

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The quantity of debris in Earth’s orbit is increasing at an alarming rate, and without a sustainable solution, this will detriment the space environment, impacting the future of space travel and space traffic management. While numerous debris removal concepts and designs have been proposed, very few have made it to actual flight tests, and none can remove debris at a fast enough rate to stop debris growth. For debris currently in orbit, most proposed systems are costly on a large scale and cannot adapt to the wide variety of debris shape and geometry and tumbling. The purpose of the proposed …

Comm-Modulation & Data Transmission Errors, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs on "Comm-Modulation & Data Transmission Errors" from August 2, 2024.

Error Detection & Correction, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs on "Error Detection & Correction" from August 2, 2024.

Re-Architecting Space Systems: Infrastructure Changes Everything, Rick Fleeter

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Professor Rick Fleeter on "Re-Architecting Space Systems: Infrastructure Changes Everything" from

Space Program: Center For Space Research - Austin, Texas #3, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs titled "Space Program: Center for Space Research - Austin, Texas #3" from July 29, 2024.

Space Program: Center For Space Research - Austin, Texas #2, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs titled "Space Program: Center for Space Research - Austin, Texas #2" from July 29, 2024.

Space Program: Center For Space Research - Austin, Texas #1, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs titled "Space Program: Center for Space Research - Austin, Texas" from July 12, 2024.

Slimsat, Robert J. Twiggs, Nick Pugh

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs and Nick Pugh titled "SlimSat" from July 11, 2024.

Study On Pilot Response Time To Reject Takeoff With One Engine Inoperative (Oei), Lydia Savitri Scrivens

Theses and Dissertations

The FAA regulation 14 CFR § 25.109 defines accelerate-stop testing for transport-category multiengine aircraft. It specifies that testing must include 2-second distance equivalent at engine failure speed VEF to simulate time taken for pilot to reject takeoff. However, pilot response time is widely debated. The purpose of this study is to determine pilot response time in rejecting a takeoff due to the failure of one engine during the takeoff roll.

Seven multiengine rated pilots participated in this study, which was conducted in a Baron 58 in the X-Plane 12 flight simulator. During the recruiting process, test subject candidates provided their …

The Pressure Distribution Of Rotating Cylinders Using An Onboard Wireless Data Acquisition System, Nathan Eller

Master's Theses

This thesis presents a novel, cost-effective method for mapping the pressure distribution on a rotating cylinder in cross flow, a phenomenon central to the Magnus effect. Utilizing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) pressure sensors, a high-resolution data acquisition system was developed and integrated into a rotating cylinder model. Compared to traditional approaches, such as slip rings or one-off designs, this method proved significantly cheaper and faster while achieving comparable or superior resolution. The experimental setup, including a modified continuous rotation technique and adaptable model design, facilitated rapid testing across a broad range of Reynolds numbers and reduced frequencies, exceeding the …

Redeveloping System Noise Temperature Test Capabilities For Dss-17 Using The Moon As A Noise Source, Emily R. Walter

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Engineering at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Emily R. Walter on May 16, 2024.

High-Altitude Ballooning And Payload Design, Matthew Smith

Honors College Theses

The Icarus project began in 2017 where a team performs high-altitude balloon (HAB) launches to conduct atmospheric and payload design research. The project involves sending a data-collecting payload containing recording equipment to high altitudes (~100,000 feet). This paper outlines the Icarus project as well as the efforts to design a payload that will remain stable throughout flight while also protecting the equipment housed within the payload shell. SOLIDWORKS computer-aided design (CAD) software was used to design a unique payload system. The payload parts were manufactured with PLA filament using a Prusa MK4 3D printer. The secondary goal of this thesis …

An Investigation Into In-Flight Loss Of Control Accidents Due To Horizontal Stabilizer Changes On The Piper Cherokee, Connor John Geran

Theses and Dissertations

Loss of Control (LOC) while in-flight in General Aviation (GA) has been the subject of intense research by academic institutions and regulatory agencies in recent years [4] [9] [11] [19] [20] [21]. This interest is primarily due to a disproportionate number of all aircraft accidents occurring within the GA category of flight, with 94% of accidents in 2022 occurring within GA, caused primarily by pilot LOC, with 42% of accidents having LOC as the listed cause. Research into this subject at FIT yielded the results that many common GA aircraft tend to experience a strong pitch up response after undergoing …

Cosmic Object Space Management Operations System (C.O.S.M.O.S.), Riah Ivy, Tyler Bumpus, Gabriel Soter

Senior Design Project For Engineers

In the expansive realm of outer space, humanity has ventured into new territories, yet this progress is accompanied by challenges. Among the most significant challenges confronting space exploration today is the growing amount of space debris within low earth orbit. Satellites, spent rocket stages, and assorted fragments orbiting Earth present a considerable hazard to spacecraft and astronauts, and this issue is steadily worsening. For years, the task of remedying this orbital congestion has remained formidable and unresolved. This design provides a novel and innovative solution to this growing problem.