Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Development Of A Counter Rotating Vortex Pair (Cvp) Mixer For Aerospace Applications, Jeongmoon Park

Open Access Theses

Swirling motions induced by a counter-rotating vortex pair (CVP) provides a mechanism to entrain fluid from the periphery of this structure and mix surrounding fluids with those within the vortex structure. Eventually, the vortices act upon each other transporting molecularly mixed fluid into the core flow. This mechanism has potential to increase efficiency with more complete mixing. Therefore, a mixer is proposed which directly induces counter rotating vortices by a three dimensional geometry. The proposed swirl mixer is designed to induce counter rotating vortices based on the potential flow theory, Milne-Thomson's Circle Theorem and Rankine vortex. Twelve test models are …

A Mechanism Design Approach To Bandwidth Allocation In Tactical Data Networks, Ankur Mour

Open Access Theses

The defense sector is undergoing a phase of rapid technological advancement, in the pursuit of its goal of information superiority. This goal depends on a large network of complex interconnected systems - sensors, weapons, soldiers - linked through a maze of heterogeneous networks. The sheer scale and size of these networks prompt behaviors that go beyond conglomerations of systems or `system-of-systems'. The lack of a central locus and disjointed, competing interests among large clusters of systems makes this characteristic of an Ultra Large Scale (ULS) system. These traits of ULS systems challenge and undermine the fundamental assumptions of today's software …

Information Measures For Statistical Orbit Determination, Alinda Kenyana Mashiku

Open Access Dissertations

The current Situational Space Awareness (SSA) is faced with a huge task of tracking the increasing number of space objects. The tracking of space objects requires frequent and accurate monitoring for orbit maintenance and collision avoidance using methods for statistical orbit determination. Statistical orbit determination enables us to obtain estimates of the state and the statistical information of its region of uncertainty given by the probability density function (PDF). As even collision events with very low probability are important, accurate prediction of collisions require the representation of the full PDF of the random orbit state. Through representing the full PDF …

The Future Of Aerospace Propulsion: Visco-Elastic Non-Newtonian Liquids, Nicole Arockiam

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Aerospace propulsion often involves the spray and combustion of liquids. When a liquid is sprayed, large drops form first, in a process known as primary atomization. Then, each drop breaks up into smaller droplets, in a process known as secondary atomization. This determines final drop sizes, which affect the liquid’s evaporation and mixing rates and ultimately influence combustor efficiency. Little has been published concerning the secondary atomization of visco-elastic non-Newtonian liquids, such as gels. These substances have special potential as aerospace propellants, because they are safer to handle than their Newtonian liquid counterparts, such as water. Additionally, they can be …

Comparison Of Best Economy And Best Power Mixture Settings In The Purdue University Training Fleet, Charles G. Chrisman

Purdue Polytechnic Directed Projects

Purdue University operates a fleet of Cirrus SR20s as training aircraft. Standard operating procedures for the cruise portion of cross country training flights call for 65% power with a best power mixture, also called rich of peak, as opposed to a best economy setting, also called lean of peak. Previous work demonstrated that fuel consumption rates, cylinder head temperatures, and true airspeeds are lower when best economy is employed compared to best power for the same power output. This study confirmed that best economy is associated with a lower fuel consumption rate and lower cylinder head temperatures but was unable …

Comparison Of Turbine Engine Test Cell Airborne Nanoparticle Count Versus Ambient Background Particle Count, Ryne Larowe

Purdue Polytechnic Directed Projects

With the establishment of the National Test Facility for Aerospace Fuels and Propulsion at Purdue University in October of 2009, new equipment has been acquired to measure and classify exhaust emissions. This facility utilizes the Honeywell F109 turbofan and Pratt & Whitney PT-6 turboprop engine test cells to analyze the emissions and engine operation of new alternative aviation fuels. This observational study investigates what, if any difference there is in the amount of ambient residual Particulate Matter (PM) in the turbofan engine test cell when compared to ambient particle count associated with the Purdue University Airport (KLAF) property. The project …

Electric Motor & Power Source Selection For Small Aircraft Propulsion, Jeremy Fehrenbacher, David L. Stanley, Mary E. Johnson Dr., Jeffrey Honchell

Purdue Polytechnic Directed Projects

The research conducted in this project is on electrical propulsion in aviation. A Cessna 172K aircraft with a Lycoming O-320-E2D piston engine serves as a baseline measurement. Investigation of the components required for electrical flight is performed, and components are selected based on market availability and operational performance criteria.

This research focuses on electrical propulsion in the aviation industry, and is tailored to aircraft within the General Aviation sector leading to the following research question: Can current electric motor and battery technologies conceptually support flight operations for a Cessna 172K in terms of aircraft performance criteria?

The results explore the …

Crop Production For Advanced Life Support Systems, R M. Wheeler, J C. Sager

Technical Reports

The use of plants for bioregenerative life support for space missions was first studied by the US Air Force in the 1950s and 1960s. Extensive testing was also conducted from the 1960s through the 1980s by Russian researchers located at the Institute of Biophysics in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, and the Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow. NASA initiated bioregenerative research in the 1960s (e.g., Hydrogenomonas) but this research did not include testing with plants until about 1980, with the start of the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Program. The NASA CELSS research was carried out at universities, private corporations, and …

Analysis And Modeling Of Information Flow And Distributed Expertise In Space-Related Operations, Barrett S. Caldwell

School of Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Evolving space operations requirements and mission planning for long-duration expeditions require detailed examinationsand evaluations of information flow dynamics, knowledge-sharing processes, and information technology use in distributedexpert networks. This paper describes the work conducted with flight controllers in the Mission Control Center (MCC) ofNASA’s Johnson Space Center. This MCC work describes the behavior of experts in a distributed supervisory coordinationframework, which extends supervisory control/command and control models of human task performance. Findings from thiswork are helping to develop analysis techniques, information architectures, and system simulation capabilities for knowledgesharing in an expert community. These findings are being applied to improve knowledge-sharing processes …