Aerospace Engineering Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2737
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Item Aeroelastic Stability Analysis of a Wing with a Variable Cant Angle Winglet(2020) Mondragon Gomez, Jose Mauricio; Hubbard, James E; Aerospace Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Currently, multiple air vehicles employ wing shape change to enhance their performance and achieve mission adaptability in different environments inside the Earth's atmosphere. This concept has been around since the dawn of aviation. In 1903, the Wright brothers implemented wing warping to control their aircraft during flight. Subsequently, a variety of techniques and devices have used to achieve wing shape change and make the vehicles more versatile. For example, they include variable wing sweep, folding wing tips, and variable camber. However, aeroelasticity has played in important role in these developments. Thus, this work focuses on the aeroelastic analysis and understanding of the fundamental physics of the flutter mechanism of a wing equipped with a variable cant angle winglet. Two methods are applied to model the wingletted wing system. The Rayleigh Ritz method is the first technique used to model the system. This method involves the implementation of a shape function to represent the entire structure. The second method used in the analysis is the Finite Element Analysis. In this formulation, the wing structure is divided into elements and elemental functions are used for local interpolation. Strip theory is used to model the spanwise aerodynamic loading. In addition, steady, quasi-steady, and unsteady aerodynamic models are used, each with different levels of complexity. Both the structural and aerodynamic models were coupled to generate four dynamic aeroelastic equations that represent the continuous system. Those equations were used to model the system and perform a dynamic aeroelastic analysis. The results indicate that having a vehicle equipped with a variable cant angle winglet can be favorable. It can increase flutter speed and expand its flight envelope. Moreover, when the winglet length is greater than 50% the length of the wing section and the cant angle greater than 50 degrees, the second torsional mode of vibration becomes unstable. Whereas, the first mode remains marginally stable. Thus, the second mode has become the critical mode that leads to structural failure. In this case, that phenomenon is referred as mode switching.Item Photogrammetric Reconstruction of Tandem-Wing Kinematics for Free-Flying Dragonflies Undergoing a Range of Flight Maneuvers(2017) Gabryszuk, Mateusz; Laurence, Stuart J; Aerospace Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Photogrammetric methods are used to reconstruct the body and wing kinematics of free-flying dragonflies. A novel experimental setup was designed and constructed to allow for repeated untethered flights in a constrained flight arena. Kinematic data are presented for twelve individual flights and a total of 23 complete wing strokes, including unaccelerating, accelerating, climbing, and turning flight. High variability is observed in the wing motions employed by individual dragonflies, particularly in terms of stroke amplitude, pitch angle, and wingbeat frequency. Forewing and hindwing flapping is found to be neither in phase nor fully out of phase across all cases, with the forewings lagging the hindwings by an average of 90 degrees. Downstroke durations are observed to be shorter than upstroke durations except in highly accelerating flights. Migratory dragonflies are found to exhibit notably different wing kinematics than non-migratory species.Item Kinematic Determination of an Unmodeled Serial Manipulator by Means of an IMU(2013) Ciarleglio, Constance; Akin, David L; Aerospace Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Kinematic determination for an unmodeled manipulator is usually done through a-priori knowledge of the manipulator physical characteristics or external sensor information. The mathematics of the kinematic estimation, often based on Denavit- Hartenberg convention, are complex and have high computation requirements, in addition to being unique to the manipulator for which the method is developed. Analytical methods that can compute kinematics on-the fly have the potential to be highly beneficial in dynamic environments where different configurations and variable manipulator types are often required. This thesis derives a new screw theory based method of kinematic determination, using a single inertial measurement unit (IMU), for use with any serial, revolute manipulator. The method allows the expansion of reconfigurable manipulator design and simplifies the kinematic process for existing manipulators. A simulation is presented where the theory of the method is verified and characterized with error. The method is then implemented on an existing manipulator as a verification of functionality.Item Design and Evaluation of End-Effectors for Autonomous Sampling(2008-09-16) Lewandowski, Craig Michael; Akin, David; Aerospace Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Autonomous underwater vehicles are becoming increasingly prevalent, and their emergence will allow for the execution of previously unfeasible underwater missions. These missions include seeking naval mines, navigation and mapping of ocean features, and sampling on the ocean floor at extreme depths. One method to achieve this latter objective involves the attachment of a robotic manipulator to an underwater vehicle and use of the manipulator to collect specimens and deposit them in containers. This thesis focuses on the design and testing of an end-effector to be used on such a manipulator. End-effectors previously utilized in underwater robotics were evaluated during the conceptualization of the selected tool design. These evaluations in conjunction with manipulator interface requirements were used to produce the end-effector design that was constructed and subsequently tested. In addition, sample containers were designed and fabricated, and kinematics software used to determine sample container position, orientation, and quantity was developed.