Matching Items (12)
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- All Subjects: MATLAB
- Creators: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program
- Creators: Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program
Description
Two of the most fundamental barriers to the exploration of the solar system are the cost of transporting material to space and the time it takes to get to destinations beyond Earth’s sphere of influence. Space elevators can solve this problem by enabling extremely fast and propellant free transit to nearly any destination in the solar system. A space elevator is a structure that consists of an anchor on the Earth’s surface, a tether connected from the surface to a point well above geostationary orbit, and an apex counterweight anchor. Since the entire structure rotates at the same rate as the Earth regardless of altitude, gravity is the dominant force on structures below GEO while centripetal force is dominant above, allowing climber vehicles to accelerate from GEO along the tether and launch off from the apex with large velocities. The outcome of this project is the development of a MATLAB script that can design and analyze a space elevator tether and climber vehicle. The elevator itself is designed to require the minimum amount of material necessary to support a given climber mass based on provided material properties, while the climber is simulated separately. The climber and tether models are then combined to determine how the force applied by the climber vehicle changes the stress distribution inside the tether.
ContributorsNelson, Alexander (Author) / Peet, Matthew (Thesis director) / Mignolet, Marc (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
Psychedelics have received attention in research due to their therapeutic potential,
prompting a need for a deeper understanding of their effects. Perception, a cognitive process
involving sensory stimuli and interpretation, is known to be altered by psychedelics. This project aims to investigate body image perception under psychedelics' influence, utilizing virtual reality (VR) and motion capture technology. To validate findings and mitigate memory biases in the experiments by Helms-Tillery et al. (1991) VR can be employed to control stimuli and measure body location perception. Motion capture data serves as a reliable reference system, aiding in the translation of VR data. MATLAB scripts are developed to process motion capture data, defining body position accurately. Troubleshooting and debugging are crucial in ensuring data accuracy. The project culminates in a generalized code applicable to diverse experimental setups, facilitating spatial perception research and laying groundwork for psychedelic studies.
ContributorsBozzo, Isabella (Author) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Thesis director) / Buneo, Christopher (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Energy efficient optimal formation control of a multiple quadrotor UAV system with uncertain payload
Description
This thesis presents the design and simulation of an energy efficient controller for a system of three drones transporting a payload in a net. The object ensnared in the net is represented as a mass connected by massless stiff springs to each drone. Both a pole-placement approach and an optimal control approach are used to design a trajectory controller for the system. Results are simulated for a single drone and the three drone system both without and with payload.
ContributorsHayden, Alexander (Author) / Grewal, Anoop (Thesis director) / Berman, Spring (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, Sch (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
The objective goal of this research is to maximize the speed of the end effector of a three link R-R-R mechanical system with constrained torque input control. The project utilizes MATLAB optimization tools to determine the optimal throwing motion of a simulated mechanical system, while mirroring the physical parameters and constraints of a human arm wherever possible. The analysis of this final result determines if the kinetic chain effect is present in the theoretically optimized solution. This is done by comparing it with an intuitively optimized system based on throwing motion derived from the forehand throw in Ultimate frisbee.
ContributorsHartmann, Julien (Author) / Grewal, Anoop (Thesis director) / Redkar, Sangram (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
This thesis explores the melting optimization of phase change materials (PCMs) in a concentric pipe setup with a focus on improving heat transfer efficiency for latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems. The primary objective is to investigate the effects of varying the number of fins, as well as introducing bifurcations along the fin length, to optimize the time it takes to fully melt the PCM matrix. The work begins by verifying the accuracy of the Ansys Fluent simulations using the Stefan analytical solution, a well-established method for 1D melting processes. MATLAB was used to plot the Stefan solution, determining the time required to melt a 1mm block of ice with a boundary temperature slightly above freezing. This was subsequently compared to results obtained from Ansys Fluent, both of which showed consistency in melting times and temperature distributions, validating the simulation approach.
Next, thermal resistance modeling is utilized to establish both upper and lower bounds for melting times, considering the slowest and fastest possible rates. The analysis introduces the use of shape factors, a geometric parameter critical to determining the thermal resistance between the inner and outer pipes in the concentric setup. The derived thermal resistance and subsequent equations provide a conservative estimate of the slowest time to melt, which is ~38,078 seconds. Similarly, the fastest melting time is calculated by equating shape factors to convective heat transfer coefficients, yielding a much shorter time of ~1,339 seconds. These bounds provide a critical "gut check" for the results observed in the simulation phase. The first stage of optimization explores the effect of increasing the total number of fins in the concentric pipe setup. Initially, a base model with four fins was tested, and then simulations were conducted for setups with up to 13 fins. The total fin area was kept constant while adjusting the fin length accordingly. Results revealed that the optimal number of fins, in terms of minimizing the total melt time, falls between 5 and 6, with the fastest time achieved at 6 fins. This finding highlights that as the number of fins increases beyond this point, the effectiveness of heat transfer diminishes due to fin crowding. The second stage introduces bifurcations along the fins, which further improve heat transfer by extending more surface area into the PCM matrix. The bifurcations were analyzed at various points along the fin length, ranging from 20% to 80% of the total length. A detailed simulation study revealed that the optimal configuration consists of 5 fins with bifurcations beginning at 20% of the fin length, significantly reducing melt times compared to non-bifurcated setups. Overall, this research demonstrates that by optimizing both the number of fins and the introduction of bifurcations, substantial improvements can be made to the efficiency of PCM melting in LHTES systems. The findings offer important insights for the design of heat exchangers and thermal storage systems, emphasizing the importance of balancing geometric factors to maximize heat transfer.
ContributorsCerullo, Aiden (Author) / Wilbur, Joshua (Thesis director) / Wang, Robert (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2024-12
Description
This thesis is part of a larger research project, conducted by Elizabeth Stallings Young, which aims to improve understanding about the factors controlling the process of MIDP and the interaction between the biochemical reactions and the hydrological properties of soils treated with MIDP. Microbially Induced Desaturation and Precipitation (MIDP) is a bio-geotechnical process by which biogenic gas production and calcite mineral bio-cementation are induced in the pore space between the soil particles, which can mitigate earthquake induced liquefaction (Kavazanjian et al. 2015). In this process substrates are injected which stimulate indigenous nitrate reducing bacteria to produce nitrogen and carbon dioxide gas, while precipitating calcium carbonate minerals. The biogenic gas production has been shown to dampen pore pressure build up under dynamic loading conditions and significantly increase liquefaction resistance (Okamura and Soga 2006), while the precipitation of calcium carbonate minerals cements adjacent granular particles together. The objective of this thesis was to analyze the recorded pore pressure development as a result of biogenic gas formation and migration, over the entire two-dimensional flow field, by generating dynamic pressure contour plots, using MATLAB and ImageJ software. The experiment was run in a mesoscale tank that was approximately 114 cm tall, 114 cm wide and 5.25 cm thick. Substrate was flushed through the soil body and the denitrifying reaction occurred, producing gas and correspondingly, pressure. The pressure across the tank was recorded with pore pressure sensors and was loaded into a datalogger. This time sensitive data file was loaded into a MATLAB script, MIDPCountourGen.m, to create pressure contours for the tank. The results from this thesis include the creation of MIDPContourGen.m and a corresponding How-To Guide and pore pressure contours for the F60 tank. This thesis concluded that the MIDP reaction takes a relatively short amount of time and that the residual pressure in the tank after the water flush on day 17 offers a proof of effect of the MIDP reaction.
ContributorsCoppinger, Kristina Marie (Author) / van Paassen, Leon (Thesis director) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Committee member) / Stallings-Young, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This paper describes the development of a software tool used to automate the preliminary design of aircraft wing structure. By taking wing planform and aircraft weight as inputs, the tool is able to predict loads that will be experienced by the wing. An iterative process is then used to select optimal material thicknesses for each section of the design to minimize total structural weight. The load analysis checks for tensile failure as well as Euler buckling when considering if a given wing structure is valid. After running a variety of test cases with the tool it was found that wing structure of small-scale aircraft is predominantly buckling driven. This is problematic because commonly used weight estimation equations are based on large scale aircraft with strength driven wing designs. Thus, if these equations are applied to smaller aircraft, resulting weight estimates are often much lower than reality. The use of a physics-based approach to preliminary sizing could greatly improve the accuracy of weight predictions and accelerate the design process.
ContributorsKolesov, Nikolay (Author) / Takahashi, Timothy (Thesis director) / Patel, Jay (Committee member) / Kosaraju, Srinivas (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
In order to aid student learning of difficult subject matter in the Mechanics Project (CEE 210, CEE 212, and CEE 213), supplementary materials were created. The aim of these supplementary materials was to bridge the gap between nuanced concepts and address muddiest points around computing projects. The following problem areas were identified and addressed over the course of the thesis: boundary and continuity conditions, MATLAB programming, load resultant methods, report writing, and stress and strain. These areas of difficulty were identified by observing student success in the classroom setting and in office hours. The submitted material related to boundary and continuity conditions offers students with a reference to definitions of each condition, examples involving each condition, and an explanation as to the importance of segmenting a beam in reference to these conditions. The MATLAB coding and debugging material gives students do’s and don’ts, general tips, and informative flow charts to follow when debugging. These were created to improve students’ ability to code and to debug their programs. The load resultant method material provides an example illustrating the difference between the integral and resultant method. Additionally, this material provides common formulas utilized by the resultant method. The report writing document lists do’s and don’ts when writing a computing project. The document also illustrates the nuance behind each section of the report via examples and gives students practical suggestions to aid in their success in completing these reports. The final submitted material regarding stress and strain addresses the conceptual definitions, the uses of, and the special cases of stress and strain. The document also provides reference to current course materials that discuss stress and strain.
ContributorsBjelland, Aidan Drew (Author) / Hjelmsad, Keith (Thesis director) / Chatziefstratiou, Efthalia (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
This honors thesis explores and models the flow of air around a cylindrical arrow that is rotating as it moves through the air. This model represents the airflow around an archery arrow after it is released from the bow and rotates while it flies through the air. This situation is important in archery because an understanding of the airflow allows archers to predict the flight of the arrow. As a result, archers can improve their accuracy and ability to hit targets. However, not many computational fluid dynamic simulations modeling the airflow around a rotating archery arrow exist. This thesis attempts to further the understanding of the airflow around a rotating archery arrow by creating a mathematical model to numerically simulate the airflow around the arrow in the presence of this rotation. This thesis uses a linearized approximation of the Navier Stokes equations to model the airflow around the arrow and explains the reasoning for using this simplification of the fully nonlinear Navier Stokes equations. This thesis continues to describe the discretization of these linearized equations using the finite difference method and the boundary conditions used for these equations. A MATLAB code solves the resulting system of equations in order to obtain a numerical simulation of this airflow around the rotating arrow. The results of the simulation for each velocity component and the pressure distribution are displayed. This thesis then discusses the results of the simulation, and the MATLAB code is analyzed to verify the convergence of the solution. Appendix A includes the full MATLAB code used for the flow simulation. Finally, this thesis explains potential future research topics, ideas, and improvements to the code that can help further the understanding and create more realistic simulations of the airflow around a flying archery arrow.
ContributorsCholinski, Christopher John (Author) / Tang, Wenbo (Thesis director) / Herrmann, Marcus (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The purpose of this project was to create an algorithm to improve firearm aiming. In order to do so, a simulation of exterior ballistics – the bullet’s behavior between the firearm muzzle and the target – was created in MATLAB. The simulation of bullet trajectory included consideration of three forces: gravity, air drag, and Coriolis ‘force’. An overall equation of motion for the bullet in flight, comprising the effects of the aforementioned forces, was constructed using formulae and theory given in R. L. McCoy’s Modern Exterior Ballistics. For the project, a reference frame was defined based on firearm muzzle and target positions, and an aim vector described by two angles was defined to describe the direction of the firearm’s barrel. The simulations of bullet trajectory take into account eleven parameters: the two aim angles, initial bullet speed (commonly referred to as muzzle velocity), 3-D Cartesian components of wind velocity, air density, bullet diameter, bullet mass, latitude of the firing area, and azimuth of fire (a quantified compass direction of fire).
The user inputs target position, muzzle position, and estimated environmental parameters to the system. Then, an aim vector would be calculated to hit the target under estimated conditions. Because the eleven trajectory parameters likely cannot all be precisely known, this solution will have some error. In real life, the system would use feedback from real shots of a firearm to correct for this error. For this project, a real-world proxy simulation was created that had built-in random error and variations in the parameters. The correction algorithm uses the error data from all previous shots to calculate adjustments to the original aim vector, so that each successive shot becomes more accurate. The system was tested with specifications of a common rifle platform, with estimated parameters and variations for a location in Tempe, AZ (since data for an urban area is readily available compared to a point in the wilderness). Results from this testing revealed that the system can “hit” a 2-meter-radius circular target in under 30 shots. When the errors and variations in parameters were halved for the real-world stand-in simulation, the system could “hit” a circular target with 0.55 meter radius in less than 25 shots. After analysis, it was found that the corrected aim angles converged on values, suggesting that the correction algorithm functions as intended (taking into account all past shots). Generally, it was found that any reduction of the means and standard deviations of parameter error improved the ability of the system to hit smaller targets, or hit the same target with less shots.
The user inputs target position, muzzle position, and estimated environmental parameters to the system. Then, an aim vector would be calculated to hit the target under estimated conditions. Because the eleven trajectory parameters likely cannot all be precisely known, this solution will have some error. In real life, the system would use feedback from real shots of a firearm to correct for this error. For this project, a real-world proxy simulation was created that had built-in random error and variations in the parameters. The correction algorithm uses the error data from all previous shots to calculate adjustments to the original aim vector, so that each successive shot becomes more accurate. The system was tested with specifications of a common rifle platform, with estimated parameters and variations for a location in Tempe, AZ (since data for an urban area is readily available compared to a point in the wilderness). Results from this testing revealed that the system can “hit” a 2-meter-radius circular target in under 30 shots. When the errors and variations in parameters were halved for the real-world stand-in simulation, the system could “hit” a circular target with 0.55 meter radius in less than 25 shots. After analysis, it was found that the corrected aim angles converged on values, suggesting that the correction algorithm functions as intended (taking into account all past shots). Generally, it was found that any reduction of the means and standard deviations of parameter error improved the ability of the system to hit smaller targets, or hit the same target with less shots.
ContributorsReyes, Joshua De Leon (Author) / Grewal, Anoop Singh (Thesis director) / Murthy, Raghavendra N. (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05