Systems Engineering and Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Commons^™

Remote/Autonomous Sentry Gun Platform, Angelo Gagliardi, Dante Gagliardi

Electrical Engineering

This senior project involves the complete system design and construction of a "Nerf" sentry gun to replace an armed guard. We aimed to develop a compact and highly mobile defense system that allows operational flexibility. The sentry gun can autonomously track and shoot at moving targets, while also allowing a user to remotely access and control the gun via computer. The mobility, hardiness, and functionality of this system allows a reliable replacement for human beings in harsh and hostile environments; ultimately sparing a life.

If It Isn’T Tested, It Doesn’T Work: Automated Verification Of Sofia Data Handling Software, Garrett Holthaus, Brett Stroozas, Zaheer Ali

STAR Program Research Presentations

This project involves writing code to automate the verification testing of the Data Handling Working Group (DHWG) software tools for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). The DHWG tools extract engineering data from SOFIA missions. Engineering data includes a variety of information on the operations and status of SOFIA systems during a flight, including computer network traffic, user commands, and images acquired from cameras mounted on the telescope assembly. It is important to review engineering data because this data can lead to the discovery of any problems or inefficiencies in SOFIA hardware and software. Analysis of engineering data can …

Design, Fabrication And Test Of An Operationally Responsive Aircraft With Niirs Evaluated Imager, Colin Burt

Master's Theses

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are a growing asset. Currently UAS are on the cutting edge with resources being spent developing the capabilities mostly for military use. This project is intended to create a system for non-defense customers. Specifically, the Operationally Responsive Aircraft (ORA) will appeal to academic institutions, individual consumers, future customers new to the UAS industry, as well as anybody trying to get airtime for custom sensors.

The system developed in this project utilizes dual aluminum external payload bays attached to a ParkZone Radian aircraft. Each external payload bay can contain approximately 500 $\text{cm}^3$, with a height and width …

Creation And Analysis Of An Electric And Magnetic Model Of A Micro Ion Thruster, Maxwell Bodnar

Aerospace Engineering

This report explores the magnetic and electric fields within the Cal Poly Miniature Xenon Ion (MiXI) Thruster V3 in order to create a comprehensive electric and magnetic model of the plasma chamber to analyze and test the current thruster configurations and changes to the existing thruster. This model is used to analyze the operation and efficiency of the ion thruster and the plasma environment within the plasma chamber. This model explores the ionization and electron collision rates during operation of the thruster to measure the efficiency of the current thruster configuration, also determining the theoretical Isp and thrust of the …

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 …

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 …

Enabling Rapid Conceptual Design Using Geometry-Based Multi-Fidelity Models In Vsp, Joel Brian Belben

Master's Theses

The purpose of this work is to help bridge the gap between aircraft conceptual design and analysis. Much work is needed, but distilling essential characteristics from a design and collecting them in an easily accessible format that is amenable to use by inexpensive analysis tools is a significant contribution to this goal. Toward that end, four types of reduced-fidelity or degenerate geometric representations have been defined and implemented in VSP, a parametric geometry modeler. The four types are degenerate surface, degenerate plate, degenerate stick, and degenerate point, corresponding to three-, two-, one-, and zero- dimensional representations of underlying geometry, respectively. …

Smore Revision: Ignition And User Interface, Arash Mehrparvar

Aerospace Engineering

The Static Methanol Oxygen Rocket Engine (SMORE) has undergone several revisions since its inception. This latest revision aimed to increase startup reliability and user safety in the operation of the rocket. The implementation of maintenance procedures, safeguards in the ignition system, as well as construction of a new control box and redesign of the igniter itself have accomplished these goals while keeping costs down and without modifying the current rocket setup. Startup reliability has increased drastically, so long as all other rocket setup procedures are followed properly. 250 subsequent firings of the rocket have proven an igniter reliability of more …

Space Vehicle Testing, Charlotte Ann Belsick

Master's Theses

Requirement verification and validation is a critical component of building and delivering space vehicles with testing as the preferred method. This Master’s Project presents the space vehicle test process from planning through test design and execution. It starts with an overview of the requirements, validation, and verification. The four different verification methods are explained including examples as to what can go wrong if the verification is done incorrectly. Since the focus of this project is on test, test verification is emphasized. The philosophy behind testing, including the “why” and the methods, is presented. The different levels of testing, the test …

The New Bicycle Model: Introducing Software Considerations Early Into The Systems Engineering Design And Integration Process, Nathaniel Dinglasan Angat

Master's Theses

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, California is in the business of designing and engineering satellites for commercial and government customers. This task is by no means a trivial endeavor but Lockheed MartinSunnyvale has many decades of experience in Systems Engineering. Training in systems engineering is a long process whose training tools must be kept up-to-date and appropriate as new advances in technology evolve along-side with the processes that develop these ever-evolving solutions. For many years new systems engineers have been introduced to the Bicycle Model as a paradigm for designing and developing complex systems that are composed of diverse …

Two-Stage, High-Altitude Rocket With Internal Skeleton Design Entered In Advance Category Of 7th Esra Irec, Samuel S. Bowman, Kevin J. Byrne, Allen Capatina, Aliki S. Loper-Leddy, Joshua A. Van Schoyck

Aerospace Engineering

A high-altitude, two-stage rocket was designed, built, and entered in the advanced category of the 7^th Annual Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) Intercollegiate Rocketry Engineering Competition (IREC). The rocket, called AJAKS, featured an internal skeleton made of carbon fiber rods, and a combination of plywood, carbon, and aluminum bulkheads. Loads were driven through the internal structure, with an outer skin tube providing an aerodynamic surface. A unique separation device was developed to ensure proper stage separation. The competition required the rocket to carry a 10-lb payload, which was chosen by the team to consist of an IMU and data …

Day/Night Band Imager For A Cubesat, Eric Stanton

Electrical Engineering

Day/Night Band (DNB) earth sensing and meteorological systems like the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS) provide visible wavelength imagery 24 hours a day that is used primarily for cloud imaging in support of weather forecasting. This paper describes a compact push-broom imager that meets low light imaging requirements for DMSP OLS and the NOAA/NASA Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) as documented in the Integrated Operational Requirements Document [1] (IORD) including the imager design, system level concepts of operation for data collection, radiometric and spatial calibration, and data transmission to Earth. This small, lightweight imager complies with …

Cubesat Mission Planning Toolbox, Brian Castello

Master's Theses

We are in an era of massive spending cuts in educational institutions, aerospace companies and governmental entities. Educational institutions are pursuing more training for less money, aerospace companies are reducing the cost of gaining ight heritage and the government is cutting budgets and their response times. Organizations are accomplishing this improved efficiency by moving away from large-scale satellite projects and developing pico and nanosatellites following the CubeSat specifications. One of the major challenges of developing satellites to the standard CubeSat mission requirements is meeting the exceedingly tight power, data and communication constraints.

A MATLAB toolbox was created to assist the …

Activity Node Based Flight Software As A Benefit To Systems Engineering, Eugene Daniel Lewis

Master's Theses

This report discusses one application of a flight software design for a spacecraft in which the software executes from a database that can be managed by systems engineering. This report gives an overview of how such a software design can be developed and implemented. It also discusses why this approach is beneficial to the systems engineering program.

Analysis And Testing Of Heat Transfer Through Honeycomb Panels, Daniel D. Nguyen

Aerospace Engineering

This project attempts to simulate accurately the thermal conductivity of honeycomb panels in the normal direction. Due to the large empty space of the honeycomb core, the thermal radiation mode of heat transfer was modeled along with conduction. Using Newton’s Method to solve for a steady state model of heat moving through the honeycomb panel, the theoretical effective thermal conduction of the honeycomb panel was found, ranging from 1.03 to 1.07 Q/m/K for a heat input of 2.5 W to 11.8 W. An experimental model was designed to test the theoretical results, using a cold plate and a heat plate …

Sun-Synchronous Orbit Slot Architecture Analysis And Development, Eric Watson

Master's Theses

Space debris growth and an influx in space traffic will create a need for increased space traffic management. Due to orbital population density and likely future growth, the implementation of a slot architecture to Sun-synchronous orbit is considered in order to mitigate conjunctions among active satellites. This paper furthers work done in Sun-synchronous orbit slot architecture design and focuses on two main aspects. First, an in-depth relative motion analysis of satellites with respect to their assigned slots is presented. Then, a method for developing a slot architecture from a specific set of user defined inputs is derived.

Electromagnetic Railgun Safety, Sven Ericson

Aerospace Engineering

The Cal Poly Electromagnetic Railgun is a system that with the proper precautions can be safely operated. Changes in plugs and boxes insure that the systems cannot be improperly wired, reducing the chances of accidental discharge. By covering exposed wires the system is safe to store as long as the voltage is checked before any maintenance is performed. Updates in procedures remove the possibility of injury to personnel and allow the railgun to be fired repeatedly under similar circumstances. Defined roles for the operators’ decreases confusion and allows people to concentrate on their area during testing. As hardware changes it …

Pico-Satellite Integrated System Level Test Program, Marcus A. Ruddy

Master's Theses

Testing is an integral part of a satellite’s development, requirements verification and risk mitigation efforts. A robust test program serves to verify construction, integration and assembly workmanship, ensures component, subsystem and system level functionality and reduces risk of mission or capability loss on orbit.

The objective of this thesis was to develop a detailed test program for pico-satellites with a focus on the Cal Poly CubeSat architecture. The test program established a testing baseline from which other programs or users could tailor to meet their needs. Inclusive of the test program was a detailed decomposition of discrete and derived test …

Dynamic Model Creation And Scripting Support In The Horizon Simulation Framework, Brian Jeffrey Butler

Master's Theses

Dynamic model creation and support for the Lua scripting language was added to the Horizon Simulation Framework used for the verification and validation of system-level requirements. The addition of scripting support allows for subsystem models and their algorithms to be defined using a simpler scripting language, rather than C++. The Luabind library by Rasterbind software is used to expose the C++ algorithms and classes to Lua that are already defined in the framework. Interoperability between Lua and C++ code allows for the ease of use of a scripting language while utilizing the utility classes and functions already created. The dynamic …

Comet: Constrained Optimization Of Multiple-Dimensions For Efficient Trajectories, Michael Curt Conrad

Master's Theses

The paper describes the background and concepts behind a master’s thesis platform known as COMET (Constrained Optimization of Multiple-dimensions for Efficient Trajectories) created for mission designers to determine and evaluate suitable interplanetary trajectories. This includes an examination of the improvements to the global optimization algorithm, Differential Evolution, through a cascading search space pruning method and decomposition of optimization parameters. Results are compared to those produced by the European Space Agency’s Advanced Concept Team’s Multiple Gravity Assist Program. It was found that while discrepancies in the calculation of ΔV’s for flyby maneuvers exist between the two programs, COMET showed a noticeable …

An Automated Test Station Design Used To Verify Aircraft Communication Protocols, Joshua Berrian

Master's Theses

Requirements verification is typically the costliest part of the systems engineering design process. In the commercial aircraft industry, as the software and hardware design evolves, it must be verified to conform to requirements. In addition, when new design releases are made, regression analysis must be performed which usually requires repeat testing. To streamline verification, a suite of automated verification tools is described in this document which can reduce the test effort. This test suite can be qualified to be used to verify systems at any DO-178B design assurance level. Some of the software tools are briefly described below.

There are …

Comparison Of A High Purity Germanium Gamma Ray Spectrometer And A Multidimensional Nai(T1) Scintillation Gamma Ray Spectrometer, Greg Stratton

Aerospace Engineering

This report compares two different gamma ray spectrometers in terms of performance, operation, and apparatus and also investigates the design and integration challenges of using gamma ray spectrometers in space. The first spectrometer is a one-dimensional high purity germanium (HPGe) spectrometer and the second is a multidimensional NaI(Tl) scintillation spectrometer (MGRS). The key results show that the HPGe exhibits 15 to 27 times better energy resolution than the MGRS, but the MGRS is 52 times more sensitive and removes 177 % more of the background radiation.

Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of An Electromagnetic Rail Gun For The Repeated Testing And Simulation Of Orbital Debris Impacts, Jeff Maniglia, Jordan Smiroldo, Alex Westfall, Guy Zohar

Aerospace Engineering

An Electromagnetic Railgun (EMRG) was designed, built, and tested, capable of firing a projectile a 1 gram projectile at 650 m/s muzzle velocity. The EMRG utilizes an injector, a high voltage power supply, a capacitor bank, inductors and rails. The injector fires 2300 psig Nitrogen gas into the system to provide an initial velocity. The high voltage power supply charges the capacitor bank. The capacitor bank discharges the electric potential built up through the projectile while inside the rails in order to create the EMRG’s force. The inductors are used to pulse form the capacitor bank in order to get …

Designing The Human-Powered Helicopter: A New Perspective, Gregory Hamilton Gradwell

Master's Theses

The concept of human-powered vertical flight was studied in great depth. Through the manipulation of preexisting theory and analytical methods, a collection of design tools was created to expediently conceptualize and then analyze virtually any rotor. The tools were then arranged as part of a complete helicopter rotor design process. The lessons learned as a result of studying this process—and the tools of which it consists—are presented in the following discussion. It is the belief of the author that by utilizing these tools, as well as the suggestions that accompany them, future engineers may someday build a human-powered helicopter capable …

Aether, Thomas Cameron, Kristine Colton, Daren Childers

Electrical Engineering

Aether is a RC-style autonomous air vehicle that utilizes GPS positioning along with a wireless communication system to achieve a computer-controlled flight.

This report will incorporate the acquisition, design, integration, implementation and testing phases of the UAV development. Furthermore a discussion of troubleshooting as well as improvements for future projects will be included.

Development Of Cubesat Vibration Testing Capabilities For The Naval Postgraduate School And Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Marissa Brummitt

Master's Theses

The Naval Postgraduate School is currently developing their first CubeSat, the Solar Cell Array Tester CubeSat, or NPS-SCAT. Launching a CubeSat, such as NPS-SCAT, requires environmental testing to ensure not only the success of the mission, but also the safety of other CubeSats housed in the same deployer. This thesis will address the development of CubeSat vibration testing methodology at NPS, including subsystem testing, engineering unit qualification, and flight unit testing. In addition, the new Cal Poly CubeSat Test POD Mk III will be introduced and evaluated based upon comparison with the Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployer (P-POD). Using examples from …

Picasso Interface For Horizon Simulation Framework, Brian E. Kirkpatrick

Master's Theses

The Horizon Simulation Framework, or HSF, is a modeling and simulation framework compiled from C/C++ source code into a command line program. Picasso is an interface designed to control the input files to Horizon by providing visual tools to create and manipulate the XML files used to define an HSF system of assets, their environment, and other simulation parameters. Picasso also supports the visualization of Horizon output in several different forms, and import mechanics from online space object catalogues.

Hybrid Rocket Motor, Zach Arena, Alexander Athougies, Alden Rodulfo

Aerospace Engineering

This project involves the re-design, manufacturing, and testing of the Cal Poly Space System’s 4th iteration of an M-class 98mm hybrid rocket motor. This motor utilizes hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene as fuel with liquid nitrous oxide as the oxidizer. Modeling and analysis was conducted on a 12 port self-impinging swirl injector and fuel manufacturing to improve performance. Several hot and cold flow tests were conducted to validate the analysis and predict performance values. Test results included two test fires resulting in an average of 212 lbf of thrust for 6 seconds with an Isp of 160 seconds and an average thrust of …

Aircraft Data Collection System, Amy Kronsteiner, Danny Marx, Collin Heller, Nathaniel Garcia, Nicholas Riccobono, Scott Parks, Albert Liu

Biomedical Engineering

This report outlines the design and building process for an interchangeable testing device that collects aircraft performance data. Included is the project objectives, system requirements, management plan, design concept development, design details, manufacturing procedures, and project verification test plans. The device is a wing-mounted Pitot-static system integrated with an Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS).

Quantifying Seismic Risk For Portable Ground Support Equipment At Vandenberg Air Force Base, Joshua Brian Lowe

Master's Theses

This project develops a quantitative method to evaluate the seismic risk for portable GSE at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Using the latest probability data available from the USGS, risk thresholds are defined for portable GSE having the potential to cause a catastrophic event. Additionally, an example tool for design engineers was developed from the seismic codes showing the tipping hazard case can be simplified into strict geometrical terms. The misinterpretation and confusion regarding the Range Safety 24 Hour Rule exemption can be avoided by assessing seismic risk for portable GSE. By using the methods herein to quantify and understand seismic …