Space Vehicles Commons^™

A Contribution Toward Better Understanding Of Overbanking Tendency In Fixed-Wing Aircraft, Nihad E. Daidzic

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

The phenomenon of overbanking tendency for a rigid-body, fixed-wing aircraft is investigated. Overbanking tendency is defined as a spontaneous, unbalanced rolling moment that keeps increasing an airplane’s bank angle in steep turns and must be arrested by opposite aileron action. As stated by the Federal Aviation Administration, the overbanking tendency may lead to a loss of control, especially in instrument meteorological conditions. It was found in this study that the speed differential over wing halves in horizontal turns indeed creates a rolling moment that achieves maximum values for bank angles between 45 and 55 degrees. However, this induced rolling moment …

Suborbital Spaceflight: A Student Team’S Plan To Send A Rocket To Space, Bryce Chanes, William Carpenter, Julio Benavides, Matthew Haslam, Brenda Haven

Aviation / Aeronautics / Aerospace International Research Conference

The Eagle Space Flight Team was created with the goal of becoming the first undergraduate team to design, build, and launch a rocket capable of suborbital spaceflight. In order to achieve this goal, the team will have to design a rocket capable of atmospheric flight at speeds over Mach 5 and launch it on one of the largest amateur rocket motors ever made. Over the next three years, the team will progress towards accomplishing this feat through a series of incremental test flights. Before the space flight, the team will build three sub-scale rockets designed to reach altitudes of 30,000’, …

A Design Pathfinder With Material Correlation Points For Inflatable Systems, Jared T. Fulcher

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The incorporation of inflatable structures into aerospace systems can produce significant advantages in stowed volume to mechanical effectiveness and overall weight. Many applications of these ultra-lightweight systems are designed to precisely control internal or external surfaces, or both, to achieve desired performance. The modeling of these structures becomes complex due to the material nonlinearities inherent to the majority of construction materials used in inflatable structures. Furthermore, accurately modeling the response and behavior of the interfacing boundaries that are common to many inflatable systems will lead to better understanding of the entire class of structures. The research presented involved using nonlinear …

Multidimensional Modeling Of Pyrolysis Gas Transport Inside Orthotropic Charring Ablators, Haoyue Weng

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

During hypersonic atmospheric entry, spacecraft are exposed to enormous aerodynamic heat. To prevent the payload from overheating, charring ablative materials are favored to be applied as the heat shield at the exposing surface of the vehicle. Accurate modeling not only prevents mission failures, but also helps reduce cost. Existing models were mostly limited to one-dimensional and discrepancies were shown against measured experiments and flight-data. To help improve the models and analyze the charring ablation problems, a multidimensional material response module is developed, based on a finite volume method framework. The developed computer program is verified through a series of test-cases, …

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

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

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 …

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 …

Development Of A Cubesat Instrument For Microgravity Particle Damper Performance Analysis, John Trevor Abel

Master's Theses

Spacecraft pointing accuracy and structural longevity requirements often necessitate auxiliary vibration dissipation mechanisms.  However, temperature sensitivity and material degradation limit the effectiveness of traditional damping techniques in space.  Robust particle damping technology offers a potential solution, driving the need for microgravity characterization.   A 1U cubesat satellite presents a low cost, low risk platform for the acquisition of data needed for this evaluation, but severely restricts available mass, volume, power and bandwidth resources.  This paper details the development of an instrument subject to these constraints that is capable of capturing high resolution frequency response measurements of highly nonlinear particle damper dynamics.

Adaptive Control Applied To The Cal Poly Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator, Matthew C. Downs

Master's Theses

The goal of this thesis is to use the Cal Poly Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator to provide proof of concept of two adaptive control theories developed by former Cal Poly students: Nonlinear Direct Model Reference Adaptive Control and Adaptive Output Feedback Control. The Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator is a student-built air bearing spacecraft simulator controlled by four reaction wheels in a pyramidal arrangement. Tests were performed to determine the effectiveness of the two adaptive control theories under nominal operating conditions, a “plug-and-play” spacecraft scenario, and under simulated actuator damage. Proof of concept of the adaptive control theories applied to attitude …

A Microfabricated Segmented-Involute-Foil Regenerator For Enhancing Reliability And Performance Of Stirling Engines: Phase Iii Final Report For The Radioisotope Power Conversion Technology Nra Contract Nas3-03124, Mounir B. Ibrahim, David Gedeon, Gary Wood, Jeffrey Mclean

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Under Phase III of NASA Research Announcement contract NAS3-03124, a prototype nickel segmented-involute-foil regenerator was microfabricated and tested in a Sunpower Frequency-Test-Bed (FTB) Stirling convertor. The team for this effort consisted of Cleveland State University, Gedeon Associates, Sunpower Inc. and International Mezzo Technologies. Testing in the FTB convertor produced about the same efficiency as testing with the original random-fiber regenerator. But the high thermal conductivity of the prototype nickel regenerator was responsible for a significant performance degradation. An efficiency improvement (by a 1.04 factor, according to computer predictions) could have been achieved if the regenerator was made from a low-conductivity …

The Role Of Diffusive Transport On Low And Intermediate Temperature Hydrocarbon Oxidation: Numerical Simulations Using The Wang-Mou Mechanism, Howard Pearlman, Michael R. Foster

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

The spatio-temporal temperature and species concentration distributions associated with low and intermediate temperature hydrocarbon oxidation are computed using a global thermo kinetic scheme augmented with diffusive transport. The scheme used for the computations was proposed by Wang and Mou and is extended to include diffusion of species and heat. The conservation equations for species and energy are then derived and solved for a one-dimensional and an axisymmetric, spherical domain for temperatures ranging from 540 to 660 Kat subatmospheric pressures. The predictions are then used to develop ignition diagrams for different Lewis ( Le) numbers. Increasing Le is found to promote …

The Role Of Diffusive Transport On Low And Intermediate Temperature Hydrocarbon Oxidation: Closed Reactor Experiments Using Equimolar N-Butane + Oxygen Premixtures At Reduced-Gravity, Howard Pearlman, Michael R. Foster

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Experiments were conducted in a closed, spherical reactor aboard NASA's KC-135 reduced-gravity aircraft using an equimolar n-C4H10 + 0 2 premixture ( Le = 1.3) at subatmospheric · pressures to compliment model predictions and further explore the reactive-diffusive structure of cool flames and ignitions. The pressure and radial temperature histories were recorded and analyzed for different initial conditions. In addition, the visible light emission from excited formaldehyde was recorded using an intensified video camera and was observed to be radially symmetric in all cases. Unexpectedly, however, the measured temperature distributions during (and after the passage of) the cool flames and …

Cool Flames At Terrestrial, Partial, And Near-Zero Gravity, Michael R. Foster, Howard Pearlman

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Natural convection plays an important role in all terrestrial, Lunar, and Martian-based, unstirred, static reactor cool flame and low-temperature autoignitions, since the Rayleigh number (Ra) associated with the self-heating of the reaction exceeds the critical Ra (approximately 600) for onset of convection. At near-zero gravity, Ra < 600 can be achieved and the effects of convection suppressed. To systematically vary the Ra without varying the mixture stoichiometry, reactor pressure, or vessel size, cool flames are studied experimentally in a closed, unstirred, static reactor subject to different gravitational accelerations (terrestrial, 1g; Martian, 0.38g; Lunar, 0.16g; a n dr e - duced gravity, ∼10−2g). Representative results show the evolution of the visible light emission using an equimolar n-butane:oxygen premixture at temperatures ranging from 320 to 350 ◦C (593–623 K) at subatmospheric pressures. For representative reduced-gravity, spherically propagating cool flames, the flame radius based on the peak light intensity is plotted as a function of time and the flame radius (and speed) is calculated from a polynomial fit to data. A skeletal chemical kinetic Gray-Yang model developed previously for a one-dimensional, reactive– diffusive system by Fairlie and co-workers is extended to a two-dimensional axisymmetric, spherical geometry. The coupled species, energy, and momentum equations are solved numerically and the spatio-temporal variations in the temperature profiles are presented. A qualitative comparison is made with the experimental results.

An Existing Global Heptane Mechanism Augmented With Diffusive Transport, Michael R. Foster, Howard Pearlman

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

The couplings between diffusive transport and the temperature and species concentration distributions associated with low and intermediate temperature heptane oxidation are explored using an existing four-step heptane mechanism, tuned for elevated pressures. The energy and species concentration equations are augmented with diffusive fluxes for heat and species and solved numerically in a one-dimensional domain. The ignition delay times are also tabulated and compared with the zero-dimensional data reported in the literature.

Development Of An Aggregation Methodology For Risk Analysis In Aerospace Conceptual Vehicle Design, Trina Marsh Chytka

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The growing complexity of technical systems has emphasized a need to gather as much information as possible regarding specific systems of interest in order to make robust, sound decisions about their design and deployment. Acquiring as much data as possible requires the use of empirical statistics, historical information and expert opinion. In much of the aerospace conceptual design environment, the lack of historical information and infeasibility of gathering empirical data relegates the data collection to expert opinion.

The conceptual design of a space vehicle requires input from several disciplines (weights and sizing, operations, trajectory, etc.). In this multidisciplinary environment, the …

Passive Damping Of A Solar Array, Mark A. Scharpen

Theses and Dissertations

This study was an attempt to conceptualize, design, build, and test a constrained layer damping device that uses mechanical advantage for the purpose of increasing the damping of transient vibration of a five-bay planar truss. The aluminum truss was clamped to a fixed support and simulated a solar array. A conventional constrained layer treatment was designed, built, and tested to serve as a benchmark for comparison. For the conventional treatment, Plunkett and Lee's segmented constraining layer technique was used. The improved device, two three-layer sandwich beams spanning the two bays nearest the built-in end, were supported several inches away from …

Vibration Suppression In Large Flexible Space Structures Using Active Control Techniques, Chad T. Matheson

Theses and Dissertations

This report investigates the use of active vibration control techniques applied to the PACOSS Dynamic Test Article as an experimental structure. In the course of the research, a mathematical model of the lightly damped experimental structure was created based on experimental data. This model was used in the design of two classes of controllers. The first class is pure rate feedback of the structure's measured states such that global stability is insured. The second type of controller investigated was an optimal controller (LQG) that was created using the truncated mathematical model. The rate feedback controller showed significant improvements in the …

On The Space Shuttle Wing Thermal-Structural Analysis, Kumar Krishna Tamma

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A finite element approach for efficient thermal-structural analysis of structures with thermal protection systems (TPS) is described. The approach is applied to Space Shuttle wing structure configurations subjected to reentry heating. New two and three-dimensional finite elements are developed to model heat transfer in the TPS and supporting structure. A typical TPS/Structural element predicts transient nonlinear temperature variations through the TPS thickness and detailed structural temperatures at the TPS/Structure interface. The accuracy of the TPS/Structure approach in two and three-dimensions is evaluated by comparisons with the conventional approach for various configurations of the wing structure. The results indicate that the …