The goal of this project is to analyze aircraft wing structure and use the results to construct an algorithm for automatically determining the optimal wing configuration for a given aircraft. The process of selecting the most effective wing structure involves comparing balsa wood build-ups and a carbon fiber centered design, as well as the exact
Faculty Mentor: Timothy Takahashi
Optimization of Propeller Characteristics for Applications in Wind Tunnel Testing
The purpose of this research is to optimize propeller characteristics for specific desired outputs. However, simulating dynamic properties of propellers is difficult to create in a controlled environment. This research focuses on developing a method for testing propellers in a wind tunnel where, due to limitations of wind tunnels at universities, the propeller’s diameter is
Data Enabled Dynamic Thrust Measurement
The objective of this project is to create an apparatus and associated testing standards in order to more effectively measure aircraft propulsion data. The data gathered is useful in choosing the most efficient thrust-generating configuration for use in small-scale aircraft such as drones. Future work will utilize these tools to test efficiency of different thrust-generating
Automatically generated aircraft wing structure
Creating a tool to generate the most efficient aircraft wing structure will speed up the design process and make flights more efficient.
Aerodynamics of Propulsion
This research project investigated the design and implementation of a motor-controlled pitot probe for measuring dynamic pressure in a wind tunnel. A basic computer coding architecture has been implemented to coordinate motor movement to place the probe into position and record the pressure data to a text file. This pressure data is used to create
Effects of Thermal Deformation in Constrained Sheet Metal
The purpose of this project is to understand the expansion of a piece of aluminum sheet metal, which is undergoing a thermal deformation, and is constrained along all four sides to compare it to the behavior of models in engineering software. A literature review has been conducted and materials have been purchased to create a
