Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Optimal Path Planning For Aerial Robots Using Genetic Algorithm, Anna Puigvert I Juan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis presents a path optimization solution for a robot in two different constrained 3-dimensional (3D) environments. The robot is required to travel from its current position to a goal position following minimum cost paths (optimal paths). The first environment has 3D obstacles that interfere with the robot’s path. The path cost for this environment accounts for the minimum distance traveled by the robot from the start to the goal position while avoiding obstacles. The second environment is the atmosphere of Venus, specifically a flyable region of this atmosphere with characteristics similar to Earth’s. This environment has strong westward winds …

Missile Modeling And Simulation Of Nominal And Abnormal Scenarios Resulting From External Damage, James Manuel Floyd Iii

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis presents the development of a six-degree-of-freedom flight simulation environment for missiles and the application thereof to investigate the flight performance of missiles when exposed to external damage. The simulation environment was designed to provide a realistic representation of missile flight dynamics including aerodynamic effects, flight control systems, and self-guidance. The simulation environment was designed to be modular, expandable, and include realistic models of external damage to the missile body obtained by adversarial counteraction.

The primary objective of this research was to examine missile flight performance when subjected to unspecified external damage, including changes in trajectory, stability, and controllability, …

Robust State Estimation Methods For Robotics Applications, Shounak Das

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

State estimation is an integral component of any autonomous robotic system. Finding the correct position, velocity, and orientation of an agent in its environment enables it to do other tasks like mapping and interacting with the environment, and collaborating with other agents. State estimation is achieved by using data obtained from multiple sensors and fusing them in a probabilistic framework. These include inertial data from Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), images from camera, range data from lidars, and positioning data from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers. The main challenge faced in sensor-based state estimation is the presence of noisy, erroneous, …

Optimal Deployment Of Air Vehicle As Communication Relay For Multiple Ground Vehicles, Juan David Pabon Arias

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Heterogeneous teams of both air and ground mobile vehicles can combine the advantages of mobility, sensing capability, and operation time when performing complex tasks. However, when ground vehicles operate in cluttered environments with randomized obstacles, they may experience line of sight (LoS) obstructions and loss of communication due to those obstacles. To mitigate this issue, an airborne relay can be positioned in the vicinity of the ground vehicles to aid communication by establishing two-hop communication links between the vehicles.

This thesis develops an analytical framework to calculate the probability of spanning a two-hop communication between a pair of ground vehicles …

Motion Planning In Artificial And Natural Vector Fields, Bernardo Martinez Rocamora Junior

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation advances the field of autonomous vehicle motion planning in various challenging environments, ranging from flows and planetary atmospheres to cluttered real-world scenarios. By addressing the challenge of navigating environmental flows, this work introduces the Flow-Aware Fast Marching Tree algorithm (FlowFMT*). This algorithm optimizes motion planning for unmanned vehicles, such as UAVs and AUVs, navigating in tridimensional static flows. By considering reachability constraints caused by vehicle and flow dynamics, flow-aware neighborhood sets are found and used to reduce the number of calls to the cost function. The method computes feasible and optimal trajectories from start to goal in challenging …

Probabilistic Short Term Solar Driver Forecasting With Neural Network Ensembles, Joshua Daniell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Commonly utilized space weather indices and proxies drive predictive models for thermosphere density, directly impacting objects in low-Earth orbit (LEO) by influencing atmospheric drag forces. A set of solar proxies and indices (drivers), F_10.7, S_10.7, M_10.7, and Y_10.7, are created from a mixture of ground based radio observations and satellite instrument data. These solar drivers represent heating in various levels of the thermosphere and are used as inputs by the JB2008 empirical thermosphere density model. The United States Air Force (USAF) operational High Accuracy Satellite Drag Model (HASDM) relies on JB2008, and …

Design And Manufacture Of An Aerodynamic Body That Meets Scaling Law Requirements And Survives Severe G-Load Environment For Free-Flight Testing, Anthony R. Gonzalez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Design and Manufacture of an Aerodynamic Body that Meets Scaling Law Requirements and Survives Severe G-load Environment for Free-Flight Testing

Anthony Gonzalez

Developing scale models to test functionality and ascertain aerodynamic properties is critical before manufacturing full-size products. Through dimensional analysis and similitude, engineers create scale models to test any parameter of interest. This research aims to design a scale model of an aerodynamic body for repeated free-flight testing. The Froude number is the dominant scale model law used to determine the geometric, mass, and inertia scaling laws. A critical requirement for this research is that the model should be …

Integrated Immunity-Based Methodology For Uav Monitoring And Control, Ryan G. Mclaughlin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A general integrated and comprehensive health management framework based on the artificial immune system (AIS) paradigm is formulated and an automated system is developed and tested through simulation for the detection, identification, evaluation, and accommodation (DIEA) of abnormal conditions (ACs) on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The proposed methodology involves the establishment of a body of data to represent the function of the vehicle under nominal conditions, called the self, and differentiating this operation from that of the vehicle under an abnormal condition, referred to as the non-self. Data collected from simulations of the selected UAV autonomously flying a set …

To The Moon: Strategic Competition In The Cislunar Region, Shawn M. Willis

Faculty Publications

China’s advancing space capabilities, particularly in the cislunar region, call for increased cislunar space domain awareness on the part of the United States. US military and civilian decisionmakers must take into account the full scope of China’s cislunar plans and capabilities as the military builds space strategies and future force designs. The United States must also increase near-term investments that support more robust cislunar space domain awareness.

Mitigation Of Aeroacoustic Noise Of A Fixed Wing Using Passive Flow Control, Cameron L. Perry

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

As the world becomes more environmentally conscious, noise pollution is of increasing concern. In this study, shallow dimples are applied to a NACA 0012 airfoil at multiple angles of attack (AoA) with the intent of reducing aeroacoustic noise emissions. Both Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and Large Eddy Simulation (LES) models are used for aerodynamic and aeroacoustic investigations, respectively, at a fixed Reynolds number of 4.8 x 10⁵. Altering the dimple depth to diameter ratio (d/D) from 2.5% to 15% is first investigated, with a d/D of 5% or lower resulting in the least aerodynamic impact. The transition from …

Application Of Multi-Scale Computational Techniques To Complex Materials Systems, Mujan N. Seif

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

The applications of computational materials science are ever-increasing, connecting fields far beyond traditional subfields in materials science. This dissertation demonstrates the broad scope of multi-scale computational techniques by investigating multiple unrelated complex material systems, namely scandate thermionic cathodes and the metallic foam component of micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) shielding. Sc-containing "scandate" cathodes have been widely reported to exhibit superior properties compared to previous thermionic cathodes; however, knowledge of their precise operating mechanism remains elusive. Here, quantum mechanical calculations were utilized to map the phase space of stable, highly-faceted and chemically-complex W nanoparticles, accounting for both finite temperature and chemical …

Optimal Spacecraft Guidance, Matthew W. Harris, M. Benjamin Rose

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

This book is designed for a one-semester course at Utah State University titled MAE 6570 Optimal Spacecraft Guidance. The class meets for 75 minutes, twice per week, for 14 weeks. There are no prerequisites other than graduate standing in engineering. Proficiency in calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, and computer programming is required. Students find that previous experience in space dynamics, linear multivariable control, or optimal control is helpful.

The goal of the book and course is for students to develop fundamental skills needed to do professional work in the area of spacecraft guidance. After working through the book, students should …

Analysis Of Localization Algorithms For Wireless Sensor Networks Using Binary Data, Alexander Joseph Hart

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The detection, localization, and tracking of environmental and physical conditions can be accomplished using wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Recent advancements in sensors, processors, and wireless communications have improved the quality and acquisition speed of data in WSNs. However, the data gathered by a WSN is inherently random due to component and environmental variations. Thus, statistical signal processing algorithms are needed to analyze the random data in a robust way. Though many algorithms for the analysis of random data are established and available, they are problem-specific and must be adapted to the application. This thesis provides an analysis of established localization …

Creating Portfolio Management Concepts For Highly Agile And Innovative Government Research Programs Using Design Thinking And Learn Start Up Methodologies, Vanessa Aubuchon, Resit Unal, Pilar Pazos, Holly Handley, Cindy Daniels

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Managing a research and development (R&D) portfolio presents numerous challenges, such as prioritizing research areas, remaining agile, strategic workforce planning, and measuring return on investment, impact, and innovation. One government R&D program is charged with producing a high degree of innovative, transformational breakthroughs in aviation technology. A practical, structured methodology for strategically prioritizing emerging aviation R&D in such an environment is lacking. The existing multi-criteria decision aid tools are primarily utilized at an enterprise level, take months to set up and collect data, require large teams of experts, are used on an infrequent basis, and are not conducive to a …

Initial Procedure For Small-Scale Extraction Of Subsurface Martian Ice, Evan Steers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For decades, NASA has been surveying the surface of Mars with plans for human exploration. Due to recent advancements, there is strong evidence to believe that frozen aquifers beneath the Martian surface hold great amounts of usable H2O. Since the discovery of water on Mars, NASA has expressed key interest in harvesting this valuable resource. The presence of usable H2O on Mars could reduce the launching mass of future missions by giving astronauts the capability to harvest water once they have landed on Mars. This research focuses on the optimization of a current design to extract Martian water and the …

Critical Space Infrastructure: A Complex System Governance Perspective, Adrian V. Gheorghe, James C. Pyne, Joseph Sisti, Charles B. Keating, Polinpapilinho F. Katina, William Edmonson

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper examines the applicability of Complex System Governance (CSG) to advance the Critical Space Infrastructure field (CSI). CSI encompasses space related hardware, workforce, environment, facilities, and businesses that are necessary for societal well-being. CSI is increasing in importance as more societal serving systems are becoming dependent on CSI to operate. Given this increasing dependence on CSI, societal sectors are increasingly at risk should something go wrong with CSI upon which they depend. CSI has been developing is a fragmented way and lacks coherent organization. CSG is focused on design, execution, and evolution of system functions that provide for communications, …

Strengthening Urban Resilience: Understanding The Interdependencies Of Outer Space And Strategic Planning For Sustainable Smart Environments, Ulpia-Elena Botezatu, Olga Bucovetchi, Adrian V. Gheorghe, Radu D. Stanciu

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The conventional approach to urban planning has predominantly focused on horizontal dimensions, disregarding the potential risks originating from outer space. This paper aims to initiate a discourse on the vertical dimension of cities, which is influenced by outer space, as an essential element of strategic urban planning. Through an examination of a highly disruptive incident in outer space involving a collision between the Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 satellites, this article elucidates the intricate interdependencies between urban areas and outer space infrastructure and services. Leveraging the principles of critical infrastructure protection, which bridge the urban and outer space domains, and …

Orbital Stabilization Of Underactuated Systems Using Time Period Regulation, Nilay Kant, Ranjan Mukherjee

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new approach to orbital stabilization of under-actuated systems with one passive degree-of-freedom (DOF) is presented. Virtual holonomic constraints are enforced using partial feedback linearization; this results in a dense set of periodic orbits on a constraint manifold. Every orbit on the constraint manifold is associated with a unique time-period. A desired orbit is selected, and the impulse controlled Poincaré map (ICPM) approach is utilized to stabilize the orbit by regulating the time-period. By treating the time period as the output, it is possible to design a dead-beat controller that achieves orbital stabilization in a single time-step. The effectiveness of …

Nonprehensile Manipulation Of A Stick Using Impulsive Forces, Aakash Khandelwal, Nilay Kant, Ranjan Mukherjee

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The problem of nonprehensile manipulation of a stick in three-dimensional space using intermittent impulsive forces is considered. The objective is to juggle the stick between a sequence of configurations that are rotationally symmetric about the vertical axis. The dynamics of the stick is described by five generalized coordinates and three control inputs. Between two consecutive configurations where impulsive inputs are applied, the dynamics is conveniently represented by a Poincaré map in the reference frame of the juggler. Stabilization of the orbit associated with a desired juggling motion is accomplished by stabilizing a fixed point on the Poincaré map. The Impulse …

Performance Evaluation Of Composite Sandwich Structures With Additively Manufactured Aluminum Honeycomb Cores With Increased Bonding Surface Area, M. Rangapuram, S. K. Dasari, Joseph William Newkirk, K. Chandrashekhara, H. Misak, P. R. Toivonen, D. Klenosky, T. Unruh, J. Sam

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Modern aerostructures, including wings and fuselages, increasingly feature sandwich structures due to their high-energy absorption, low weight, and high flexural stiffness. The face sheet of these sandwich structures are typically thin composite laminates with interior honeycombs made of Nomex or aluminum. Standard cores are structurally efficient, but their design cannot be varied throughout the structure. With additive manufacturing (AM) technology, these core geometries can be altered to meet the design requirements that are not met in standard honeycomb cores. This study used a modified aluminum honeycomb core, with increased surface area on the top and bottom, as the core material …

Metal-Ceramic Composite Powders, Lianyi Chen, Minglei Qu

Patents

A process for manufacturing metal-ceramic composite material powder comprising ball milling metal powder and ceramic nanoparticles to yield a metal-ceramic composite powder comprising ceramic nanoparticles embedded in a metal matrix powder particles; wherein the ball milling is performed using a ceramic milling media and a milling vessel having a ceramic interior surface. Metal matrix nanocomposite powders comprising ceramic nanoparticles imbedded in metal matrix powder particles; wherein the metal matrix powder particles have a spherical shape; wherein there is uniform distribution the ceramic nanoparticles; wherein the nanocomposite powders have good flowability.

Charging Of Irregularly-Shaped Dust Grains Near Surfaces In Space, David Lund, Xiaoming He, Daoru Han

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents fully kinetic numerical investigation of the charging of dust grains in low temperature collision less plasmas (stationary) and collision less, cold-ion thermal-electron drifting plasmas. the Parallel Immersed-Finite-Element Particle-in-Cell (PIFE-PIC) code is utilized to self-consistently resolve the plasma environment and charging of immersed materials. This model explicitly includes the materials property (dielectric constant) of dust grains. Effects of materials property, inter-dust distance, and plasma conditions (stationery and drifting) will be investigated for both single-dust and multi-dust configurations.

Optimization Of Ported Cfd Kernels On Intel Data Center Gpu Max 1550 Using Oneapi Esimd, Mohammad Zubair, Aaron Walden, Gabriel Nastac, Eric Nielsen, Christoph Bauinger, Xiao Zhu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

We describe our experience porting FUN3D’s CUDA-optimized kernels to Intel oneAPI SYCL.We faced several challenges, including foremost the suboptimal performance of the oneAPI code on Intel’s new data center GPU. Suboptimal performance of the oneAPI code was due primarily to high register spills, memory latency, and poor vectorization. We addressed these issues by implementing the kernels using Intel oneAPI’s Explicit SIMD SYCL extension (ESIMD) API. The ESIMD API enables the writing of explicitly vectorized kernel code, gives more precise control over register usage and prefetching, and better handles thread divergence compared to SYCL. The ESIMD code outperforms the optimized SYCL …

Computational And Experimental Investigation Of Mass Reduced Aircraft Wing Ribs, Charles R. Fricks Iii

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study seeks to develop and evaluate a novel design of mass reduced aircraft wing ribs through the topology optimization method. For comparison, the same examination is performed on ribs with normal internal geometry. The wing rib design is based on that of the Gulfstream G650 transonic jet. The rib was divided into three segments for analysis based around the positions of the two spars. Only the center section of the rib (that being between the forward and aft spars) is mass optimized, while the leading and trailing edges of the ribs (outside the spars) will be kept solid for …

Investigations Of A Surrogate Fuel Based On Fischer-Tropsch Gtl And Ctl In Cvcc, Idi And Di Compression Ignition Engines, Amanda C. Weaver

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

With the increase in availability, feedstocks, and properties of alternative fuels, compatibility issues emerge between current engine platforms often requiring a limit on the blend percentage of alternative fuel in conventional fuel or alteration to the engine platform. Two key metrics were identified, autoignition quality and lubrication characteristics, as vital for the proper function of a compression ignition engine, and if the blend of alternative fuels matches these two criteria for the diesel standard, then the resulting blend percentage can be considered as a viable alternative for complete replacement of conventional petroleum ULSD. Autoignition quality was matched using blends S-8, …

Jet Noise Reduction: A Fresh Start, Christopher K. Tam, Fang Q. Hu

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Attempts to reduce jet noise began some 70 years ago. In the literature, there have been many publications written on this topic. By now, it is common knowledge that jet noise consists of a number of components. They possess different spectral and radiation characteristics and are generated by different mechanisms. It appears then that one may aim at the suppression of the noise of a single component instead of trying to reduce jet noise overall. The objective of the present project is to reduce large turbulence structures noise. It is the most dominant noise component radiating in the downstream direction. …

Study Of Nanocomposite Materials Using Molecular Dynamics, Prashik Sunil Gaikwad

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

There is an increase in demand for new lightweight structural materials in the aerospace industry for more efficient and affordable human space travel. Polymer matrix composites (PMCs) with reinforcement material as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have shown exceptional increase in the mechanical properties. Flattened carbon nanotubes (flCNTs) are a primary component of many carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn and sheet materials, which are promising reinforcements for the next generation of ultra-strong composites for aerospace applications. These flCNT/polymer materials are subjected to extreme pressure and temperature during curing process. Therefore there is a need to investigate the evolution of properties during the curing …

Molecular Dynamics Modeling Of Polymers For Aerospace Composites, Swapnil Sambhaji Bamane

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Polymer matrix composite materials are widely used as structural materials in aerospace and aeronautical vehicles. Resin/reinforcement wetting and the effect of polymerization on the thermo-mechanical properties of the resin are key parameters in the manufacturing of aerospace composite materials. Determining the contact angle between combinations of liquid resin and reinforcement surfaces is a common method for quantifying wettability. It is challenging to determine contact angle values experimentally of high-performance resins on CNT materials such as CNT, graphene, bundles or yarns, and BNNT surfaces. It is also experimentally difficult to determine the effect of polymerization reaction on material properties of a …

Dual Quaternion Relative Dynamics For Gravity Recovery Missions, Ryan Kinzie, Riccardo Bevilacqua, Seo Dongeun

Student Works

A dual quaternion modeling approach is compared to traditional modeling methods for formation flying spacecraft utilized for gravity recovery missions. A modeling method that has traditionally been used for gravity recovery missions is presented which models the motion of two formation flying spacecraft and a test mass. This is followed by the dual quaternion-based formulation for the equations of motion of the twelve degree-of-freedom coupled relative dynamics of formation flying spacecraft and a test mass. Lastly, utilizing data products from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On mission, a comparison of these two modeling methods is presented which proves the …

Design And Validation Of An Aerodynamic System For A Formula Sae® Vehicle Using Vehicle Dynamic Simulation And Experimentation, Evan S. Cole

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis presents the design, simulation, and experimental validation for the aerodynamic system for a Formula SAE® vehicle. The Society of Automotive Engineers ® (SAE) hosts a collegiate competition annually called Formula SAE® where students design, fabricate, and test a small “formula style” vehicle. The vehicle performs in relatively slow maneuvers, around different courses and tests to evaluate the vehicle’s overall performance. Over the years, collegiate teams have put significant research into the design and manufacturing of the aerodynamics of these vehicles. In order to justify this undertaking for future teams at West Virginia University’s Formula SAE® program, a comprehensive …