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Full-Text Articles in Aerospace Engineering

Construction And Testing Of A Quadcopter, David Roberts Jun 2013

Construction And Testing Of A Quadcopter, David Roberts

Aerospace Engineering

No abstract provided.


Assessment For Completion Of Cp7 Integration With Revision 6 Avionics, Daniel Jennings Jun 2013

Assessment For Completion Of Cp7 Integration With Revision 6 Avionics, Daniel Jennings

Electrical Engineering

he purpose of this project is the continuation of the CP7 CubeSat project, analysis for integration with new Avionics Systems, and to leave behind instruction for future work for completion of the satellite. CP7 is a satellite in development to support a mechanical and electrical system to experiment on particle damping in micro-gravity. The completion of this satellite needs to be prioritized more than it has been by the PolySat team to honor our work with Northrop Grumman, who have been supportive and helpful throughout the process. This work seeks to aid in the completion of this satellite, so that …


A Generic Decision Making Framework For Autonomous Systems, Connor Lange Jun 2013

A Generic Decision Making Framework For Autonomous Systems, Connor Lange

Master's Theses

With the rising popularity of small satellites, such as CubeSats, many smaller institutions previously incapable of developing and deploying a spacecraft have starting to do so. Institutions with a history of space flight, such as NASA JPL, have begun to put projects on CubeSats that would normally fly on much larger satellites. As a result, the institutions with space flight heritage have begun to port spacecraft software that was previously designed for much larger and more complex satellites to the CubeSat platform. Unfortunately for universities, who are the majority of all institutions devel- oping CubeSats, these ported systems are too …


Feasibility Of Microsatellite Active Debris Removal Systems, Karsten J. James Jun 2013

Feasibility Of Microsatellite Active Debris Removal Systems, Karsten J. James

Master's Theses

Space debris has become an increasingly hazardous obstacle to continued spaceflight operations. In an effort to mitigate this problem an investigation of the feasibility of a microsatellite active debris removal system was conducted. Through proposing a novel concept of operation, utilizing a grapple-and-tug system architecture, and by analyzing each resultant mission phase in the frame of a representative example, it was found that microsatellite scale systems are capable of fulfilling the active debris removal mission. Analysis of rendezvous, docking, control and deorbit mission requirements determined that the design of a grapple-and-tug system will be driven by sizing of the propellant …


Linear Model Estimation Of Nonlinear Systems Using Least-Squares Algorithm5, Alireza Rahrooh, Walter W. Buchanan, Remzi Seker Jun 2013

Linear Model Estimation Of Nonlinear Systems Using Least-Squares Algorithm5, Alireza Rahrooh, Walter W. Buchanan, Remzi Seker

Publications

This paper presents utilizes Least-Squares Algorithm to obtain more accurate linear models of nonlinear systems using parameter estimation. This approach generates an optimal linear model which is valid over a wide range of trajectories and converges to the desired steady-state value with no errors unlike the existing techniques. The proposed technique is very efficient and does not require storing the data. Therefore, it can easily be used and implemented with limited resources for undergraduate curriculum especially in underdeveloped countries. Most available techniques for linearization of nonlinear system are only valid about the operating point; furthermore, the knowledge of the operating …


Global Skin Friction Diagnostics: The Glof Technique And Measurements Of Complex Separated Flows, Sudesh A. Woodiga Jun 2013

Global Skin Friction Diagnostics: The Glof Technique And Measurements Of Complex Separated Flows, Sudesh A. Woodiga

Dissertations

This work describes the application of the global luminescent oil film skin friction meter to quantitative global skin friction diagnostics of complex separated flows. The development of this technique is based on the relationship between the oil film thickness and luminescent intensity of a luminescent oil film. The projected thin oil film equation is given to relate the normalized luminescent intensity with skin friction. The variational formulation with a smoothness constraint on skin friction is proposed to obtain a snap shot solution from two consecutive images for a relative skin friction field. A complete skin friction field is reconstructed through …


Design And Analysis Of Reusable Nozzles For Cal Poly’S Hybrid Rocket Lab, Cheyne Austin, Jose Vargas Jun 2013

Design And Analysis Of Reusable Nozzles For Cal Poly’S Hybrid Rocket Lab, Cheyne Austin, Jose Vargas

Aerospace Engineering

Two nozzles were designed and constructed for testing in the Cal Poly propulsion laboratory to explore which nozzle was the most capable in producing the most thrust. A 15 degree and 30 degree converging-diverging nozzles were machined and tested. Theory suggest that a bell nozzle would be the most efficient since all of the gasses generated in the combustion chamber are directed and accelerated by the throat leave the nozzle traveling along the thrust axis. All of the momentum of the gasses are directed axially thus resulting in maximum thrust. Thrust should also be produced by the converging-diverging nozzle and …


Low-Cost Imu Implementation Via Sensor Fusion Algorithms In The Arduino Environment, Brandon Mccarron Jun 2013

Low-Cost Imu Implementation Via Sensor Fusion Algorithms In The Arduino Environment, Brandon Mccarron

Aerospace Engineering

A multi-phase experiment was conducted at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA, to design a low-cost inertial measurement unit composed of a 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope. Utilizing the growing microprocessor software environment, a 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope simulated 6 degrees of freedom orientation sensing through sensor fusion. By analyzing a simple complimentary filter and a more complex Kalman filter, the outputs of each sensor were combined and took advantage of the benefits of both sensors to improved results. Gyroscopic drift was removed in the pitch and roll axes using the Kalman filter for both static and dynamic …


Micrometeoroid Fluence Variation In Critical Orbits Due To Asteroid Disruption, Eliot Dan Aretskin-Hariton Jun 2013

Micrometeoroid Fluence Variation In Critical Orbits Due To Asteroid Disruption, Eliot Dan Aretskin-Hariton

Master's Theses

Micrometeoroids and orbital debris (MMOD) is a growing issue with international importance. Micrometeoroids are naturally occurring fragments of rock and dusk that exist throughout the solar system. Orbital debris is human made material like rocket bodies, paint flakes, and the effluent of spacecraft collisions. Even small MMOD particles on the order of 1 cm in diameter have the potential to destroy critical spacecraft systems. Because of this, MMOD is a threat to all spacecraft in orbit. Even governments that most sternly oppose US international policy have a stake when it comes to minimizing MMOD flux. Space-based assets are essential to …


Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of An Emr Based Orbital Debris Impact Testing Platform, Jeffrey J. Maniglia Jr. Jun 2013

Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of An Emr Based Orbital Debris Impact Testing Platform, Jeffrey J. Maniglia Jr.

Master's Theses

This paper describes the changes made from Cal Poly’s initial railgun system, the Mk. 1 railgun, to the Mk. 1.1 system, as well as the design, fabrication, and testing of a newer and larger Mk. 2 railgun system. The Mk. 1.1 system is developed as a more efficient alteration of the original Mk. 1 system, but is found to be defective due to hardware deficiencies and failure, as well as unforeseen efficiency losses. A Mk. 2 system is developed and built around donated hardware from the Naval Postgraduate School. The Mk. 2 system strove to implement an efficient, augmented, electromagnetic …


Improvement Of Electromagnetic Railgun Barrel Performance And Lifetime By Method Of Interfaces And Augmented Projectiles, Aleksey D. Pavlov Jun 2013

Improvement Of Electromagnetic Railgun Barrel Performance And Lifetime By Method Of Interfaces And Augmented Projectiles, Aleksey D. Pavlov

Master's Theses

Several methods of increasing railgun barrel performance and lifetime are investigated. These include two different barrel-projectile interface coatings: a solid graphite coating and a liquid eutectic indium-gallium alloy coating. These coatings are characterized and their usability in a railgun application is evaluated. A new type of projectile, in which the electrical conductivity varies as a function of position in order to condition current flow, is proposed and simulated with FEA software. The graphite coating was found to measurably reduce the forces of friction inside the bore but was so thin that it did not improve contact. The added contact resistance …


Characterization Of The Effects Of A Sun-Synchronous Orbit Slot Architecture On The Earth's Orbital Debris Environment, Connor David Noyes Jun 2013

Characterization Of The Effects Of A Sun-Synchronous Orbit Slot Architecture On The Earth's Orbital Debris Environment, Connor David Noyes

Master's Theses

Low Earth orbit represents a valuable limited natural resource. Of particular interest are sun-synchronous orbits; it is estimated that approximately 44% of low Earth satellites are sun-synchronous. A previously developed sun-synchronous orbit slot architecture is considered. An in-depth analysis of the relative motion between satellites and their corresponding slots is performed. The long-term evolution of Earth's orbital environment is modeled by a set of coupled ordinary differential equations. A metric for quantifying the benefit, if any, of implementing a sun-synchronous architecture is developed. The results indicate that the proposed slot architecture would reduce the frequency of collisions between satellites in …


Uav Formation Flight Utilizing A Low Cost, Open Source Configuration, Christian W. Lopez Jun 2013

Uav Formation Flight Utilizing A Low Cost, Open Source Configuration, Christian W. Lopez

Master's Theses

The control of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a swarm or cooperative team scenario has been a topic of great interest for well over a decade, growing steadily with the advancements in UAV technologies. In the academic community, a majority of the studies conducted rely on simulation to test developed control strategies, with only a few institutions known to have nurtured the infrastructure required to propel multiple UAV control studies beyond simulation and into experimental testing. With the Cal Poly UAV FLOC Project, such an infrastructure was created, paving the way for future experimentation with multiple UAV control systems. …


Incorporating Aluminum Honeycomb To Increase Efficiency Of U-Tube Removable Heat Exchanger, Daniel Soto, Daniel Corona Jun 2013

Incorporating Aluminum Honeycomb To Increase Efficiency Of U-Tube Removable Heat Exchanger, Daniel Soto, Daniel Corona

Aerospace Engineering

This report contains the results of attempting to improve on the results of Scott R. Sawyer and Alan M. L’Esperance research paper “Investigation of Paraffin Wax as an Energy Storage Medium Within a Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger.” The overall goal of the paper mentioned was to investigate the usefulness of wax as an energy storage medium. Scott R. Sawyer and Alan M. L’Esperance determined that “the amount of energy that can be released by the paraffin wax back to the airflow reaches a plateau, despite an increase in heating times.” They suggested that by surrounding the airflow tubes of a heat …


Design And Fabrication Of A Ramjet Engine, Clinton C. Humphrey Jun 2013

Design And Fabrication Of A Ramjet Engine, Clinton C. Humphrey

Aerospace Engineering

In this report, the design and fabrication of the inlet to a ramjet engine is described. The inlet utilizes a single ramp and single sided three shock internal compression to slow the airflow from supersonic to subsonic speeds while providing maximum stagnation pressure to the combustor. The optimum angle for the inlet ramp is calculated to be 10° and it decelerates the airflow from Mach 3.3019 to Mach 0.5438. The stagnation pressure increases from 150 psi to 4.67 ksi. The material of the inlet is composed primarily of low carbon mild steel to accommodate the high pressure of the inlet.


Thermal Vacuum Chamber Operation And Testing, Leila Tebyani Jun 2013

Thermal Vacuum Chamber Operation And Testing, Leila Tebyani

Aerospace Engineering

The purpose of this senior project is to understand the capabilities of the thermal vacuum chamber in the Space Environments Laboratory at California Polytechnic State University and compare the performance to thermal vacuum chambers used in the aerospace industry. The lowest temperature attained inside the chamber during an experiment at ambient pressure was -33°C. The lowest pressure reached by the vacuum chamber at the time of this project was 5e-5 Torr. This report also yields recommendations for integrating a demonstation of the effects of thermal variation in space on spacecraft components for the class AERO 471. A lit LED can …


Integrated Collision Avoidance System Sensor Evaluation Final Design Project, Alex F. Graebe, Bridgette S. Kimball, Drew T. Lavoise Jun 2013

Integrated Collision Avoidance System Sensor Evaluation Final Design Project, Alex F. Graebe, Bridgette S. Kimball, Drew T. Lavoise

Mechanical Engineering

Following the development of Aircraft Collision Avoidance Technology (ACAT) by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a need arose to transition the life-saving technology to aid the general aviation community. Considering the realistic cost of implementation, it was decided that the technology should be adapted to function on any smartphone, using that device as an end-to-end solution to sense, process, and alert the pilot to imminent threats. In September of 2012, the SAS (Sense and Survive) Senior Project Team at California Polytechnic University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo was assigned the task of using smartphone technology to accurately sense …


Rocket Fuel Pressurization, Sean Green, Joe Marcinkowski, Andrew Nahab Jun 2013

Rocket Fuel Pressurization, Sean Green, Joe Marcinkowski, Andrew Nahab

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.


Fatigue Testing And Data Analysis Of Welded Steel Cruciform Joints, Alina Shrestha May 2013

Fatigue Testing And Data Analysis Of Welded Steel Cruciform Joints, Alina Shrestha

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In this study, ABS Publication 115, “Guidance on Fatigue Assessment of Offshore Structures” is briefly reviewed. Emphasis is on the S-N curves based fatigue assessment approach of non-tubular joints, and both size and environment effects are also considered. Further, fatigue tests are performed to study the fatigue strength of load-carrying and non-load-carrying steel cruciform joints that represent typical joint types in marine structures. The experimental results are then compared against ABS fatigue assessment methods, based on nominal stress approach, which demonstrates a need for better fatigue evaluation parameter. A good fatigue parameter by definition should be consistent and should correlate …


Smaller Spacecraft For Education And Space Research, Robert J. Twiggs May 2013

Smaller Spacecraft For Education And Space Research, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs titled "Smaller spacecraft for education and space research" from May 14, 2013.


Middle Atmosphere Temperature Results From A New, High-Powered, Large-Aperture Rayleigh Lidar, Leda Sox, Vincent B. Wickwar, Joshua P. Herron May 2013

Middle Atmosphere Temperature Results From A New, High-Powered, Large-Aperture Rayleigh Lidar, Leda Sox, Vincent B. Wickwar, Joshua P. Herron

Utah Space Grant Consortium

In June–July 2012, observations were carried out using the recently upgraded, large-aperture, Rayleigh-scatter lidar system located at the Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (ALO) on the campus of Utah State University, in Logan, UT (41.7 N, 111.8 W). This time period was significant because it enabled us to observe the annual temperature minimum in the upper mesosphere-lower thermosphere region. The data collected during the campaign were analyzed for temperatures between ~70–109 km. The results above ~95 km are the first obtained with a Rayleigh-scatter lidar, extending the technique well into the lower thermosphere. A great deal of variability from night-to-night is evident …


Monte Carlo Uncertainty Analysis For Photothermal Radiometry Measurements Using A Curve Fit Process, Kyle Horne, Austin Fleming, Heng Ban May 2013

Monte Carlo Uncertainty Analysis For Photothermal Radiometry Measurements Using A Curve Fit Process, Kyle Horne, Austin Fleming, Heng Ban

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Photothermal Radiometry (PTR) has become a popular method to measure thermal properties of layered materials. Much research has been done to determine the capabilities of PTR, but with little uncertainty analysis. This study performs a Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis to quantify uncertainty of film diffusivity and effusivity measurements, presents a sensitivity study for each input parameter, compares linear and logarithmic spacing of data points on frequency scans, and investigates the validity of a 1-D heat transfer assumption.


Establishing Mission Requirements Based On Consideration Of Aircraft Operations, Robert A. Mcdonald May 2013

Establishing Mission Requirements Based On Consideration Of Aircraft Operations, Robert A. Mcdonald

Aerospace Engineering

The design requirements for a next-generation commercial aircraft can do much to secure its fate as a success or failure. New aircraft are often designed to meet or surpass the capabilities of an existing aircraft they are intended to replace. However, in the case of unconventional aircraft, this could lead to significant overdesign resulting in nonviable concepts. Instead, a method of analyzing observed aircraft use is presented with the intent of establishing a set of requirements based on replacing aircraft utility instead of capability. Two aircraft in the commercial fleet are used as example cases, and launch customers for each …


Section Abstracts: Aeronautical And Aerospace Sciences May 2013

Section Abstracts: Aeronautical And Aerospace Sciences

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Aeronautical and Aerospace Sciences Section for the 91st Annual Virginia Journal of Science Meeting, May 2013


Analysis And Mitigation Of The Cubesat Dynamic Environment, Steve M. Furger May 2013

Analysis And Mitigation Of The Cubesat Dynamic Environment, Steve M. Furger

Master's Theses

A vibration model was developed for CubeSats inside the Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer (P-POD). CubeSats are fixed in the Z axis of deployers, and therefore resonate with deployer peaks. CubeSats generally start fixed in the X and Y axes, and then settle into an isolated position. CubeSats do not resonate with deployers after settling into an isolated position. Experimental data shows that the P-POD amplifies vibration loads when CubeSats are fixed in the deployer, and vibration loads are reduced when the CubeSats settle into an isolated position. A concept for a future deployer was proposed that isolates CubeSats from the deployer …


Supersonic Turbine Cascade Studies Using Computational Fluid Dynamics And Water Table Experiments, Shelby E. Nelson May 2013

Supersonic Turbine Cascade Studies Using Computational Fluid Dynamics And Water Table Experiments, Shelby E. Nelson

Honors College Theses

Design engineers use a variety of tools to perform calculations and to aid in the design process. For example, engineers designing gas turbines, specifically the aerodynamicists, use a combination of hand calculations, experimental data, and complex numerical codes to simulate air flow around each blade. Aerodynamicists designing gas turbines must predict the locations of the shocks to locate inefficiencies in the flow. In this thesis, three methods of calculating the shock angles are compared: analytical, experimental, and computational. Three different airfoil shapes are tested: a rectangular flat plate, a supersonic diamond, and a turbine airfoil. Cascade tests of the airfoil …


End-Of-Life Management Of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Module, Jun-Ki Choi May 2013

End-Of-Life Management Of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Module, Jun-Ki Choi

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

PV manufacturing has been growing over the past 10 years and further annual growth of 15% is expected until 2020. A study on positioning a grand plan for solar power shows how vast PV arrays and other renewable energies can provide significant amount of electricity and total energy needs by 2050. Various new PV technologies have been introduced in the market and existing technologies have undergone further development. How all these developments will affect the fate of the end-of-life PV modules is uncertain. In addition, the market price of some rare earth materials utilized in the manufacturing of the various …


Application Of Archimedes In Three Dimensions And To Solid Mechanics, Jonathan David Aziz May 2013

Application Of Archimedes In Three Dimensions And To Solid Mechanics, Jonathan David Aziz

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

ARCHIMEDES is a computerized learning system that has helped Syracuse University students overcome the challenges of Engineering Statics since 2009. Its success has motivated application of ARCHIMEDES to three dimensional problems and to problems in Solid Mechanics. Other learning software was investigated before seven Solid Mechanics problems were written for ARCHIMEDES. A 3D graphical interface was developed and evaluated by a field test of student volunteers. Student preferences for various features in 3D learning software were obtained. It is clear from student responses that having a 3D scene to manipulate improves visualization of the problem, mitigating the ambiguity of a …


Deutsche Luftshiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft: Rediscovering The World’S First Airline, Michael Sloan May 2013

Deutsche Luftshiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft: Rediscovering The World’S First Airline, Michael Sloan

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.


Application Of Non-Local Approaches For Predicting The Response Of V-Notch Under Thermomechanical Fatigue Loading, Trung Nguyen May 2013

Application Of Non-Local Approaches For Predicting The Response Of V-Notch Under Thermomechanical Fatigue Loading, Trung Nguyen

HIM 1990-2015

The topic of this thesis is the construction of a formula to approximate stress-strain responses at notches under thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) loading. The understanding of material behavior of the V-notched component which experiences TMF is important to the mechanical industries where V-notched structures are often utilized. In such applications, it is crucial that the designers be able to predict the material behavior; therefore, the purpose of this research is to examine and to model the precise effects a stress concentration will have on a specimen made of a generic Ni-base superalloy. The effects of non-isothermal loading will be studied, and …