Systems Engineering and Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Commons^™

Link Performance Analysis For A Proposed Future Architecture Of The Air Force Satellite Control Network, Eric W. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN) is a worldwide network of ground stations that support a wide variety of users from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The network performs tracking, telemetry, and commanding (TT&C) for these varied users. Users, located at Satellite Operations Centers (SOC), must compete for time on the AFSCN. This thesis demonstrates how to predict satellite link performance, specifically by users of the AFSCN. It will also demonstrate how users might use this capability to save spacecraft power. A tool was created called the AFSCN Link Predictor (LP) …

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 …

File Sensor Optimization, Josiah Thomas

Von Braun Symposium Student Posters

No abstract provided.

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.

Solar Warning Architecture For Manned Missions To Mars, James S. Bohren, John K. Howard

Theses and Dissertations

Solar radiation storms represent a dire threat to manned interplanetary space travel. Earth's current solar forecasting architecture is Earth-focused and insufficient to provide timely warnings to a manned mission to Mars, therefore a "best value" solar warning architecture must be identified. A total of 14 solar warning architectures were developed by varying 5 solar sensor locations, 2 processing locations, and 2 communications strategies. Using Satellite Tool Kit, performance of the candidate architectures in terms of Warning Time and Solar Coverage was quantified during a Mars mission scenario based on NASA's Design Reference Architecture 5.0. Cost of each candidate architecture was …

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 …

Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Of Transonic Airfoil Sections Using Multiobjective Optimization And Computational Intelligence Tools, Amit A. Kulkarni

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The design of transonic airfoils for civil aviation applications has been a major engineering challenge in the last fifty years. This design problem arises due to the need to limit shock wave drag at a given transonic speed. In recent years, the requirement to reduce the levels of aircraft noise has started to affect the airfoil design process. The multidisciplinary aerodynamic shape optimization problem is treated in this thesis using a multi-objective approach. The objectives correspond to the design of transonic airfoil sections with low drag during cruise and low trailing edge noise levels during the approach condition. The optimization …

Architecture Based Workload Analysis Of Uas Multi-Aircraft Control: Implications Of Implementation On Mq-1b Predator, Jason D. Mcgrogan, Michael F. Schneider

Theses and Dissertations

An increased demand for use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) without commensurate increases in pilot manpower has prompted proposals for simultaneous control of multiple aircraft by a single pilot or Multi-Aircraft Control (MAC). To understand the potential effects of MAC, an IMPRINT Pro, Multi-Resource Theory, pilot workload model was developed from pedigreed system architecture. Feedback from active UAS pilots was used to validate the model and establish a workload saturation threshold value of 60, above which pilots may experience performance degradation over extended periods of time. The model predicts that pilots experience low workload when operating one or two UASs …

Flight Control Design For A Tailless Aircraft Using Eigenstructure Assignment, Clara Nieto-Wire, Kenneth Sobel

Publications and Research

We apply eigenstructure assignment to the design of a flight control system for a wind tunnel model of a tailless aircraft. The aircraft, known as the innovative control effectors (ICEs) aircraft, has unconventional control surfaces plus pitch and yaw thrust vectoring. We linearize the aircraft in straight and level flight at an altitude of 15,000 feet and Mach number 0.4. Then, we separately design flight control systems for the longitudinal and lateral dynamics. We use a control allocation scheme with weights so that the lateral pseudoinputs are yaw and roll moment, and the longitudinal pseudoinput is pitching moment. In contrast …

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.

Enhancement Technique For Aerial Images, Sertan Erkanli, Ahmet Gungor Pakfiliz, Jiang Li

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Recently, we proposed an enhancement technique for uniformly and non-uniformly illuminated dark images that provides high color accuracy and better balance between the luminance and the contrast in images to improve the visual representations of digital images. In this paper we define an improved version of the proposed algorithm to enhance aerial images in order to reduce the gap between direct observation of a scene and its recorded image.