The proposed SBIR project is to carry out research into a novel way of reducing the degree of structural mode interaction between a flight control system and the airframe vibration modes. This can be a severe problem in high performance military or civil aircraft with high gain feedbacks in the… More

Availability of engineering analysis and design tools for accurate prediction of vehicle flight performance characteristics is highly desirable. Existing programs that use panel methods are inadequate for complex geometry and for handling the full range of flight conditions. This proposal identifies… More

Future research into advanced air vehicle designs will benefit from the continued improvement of analysis methods and software tools. A research program is proposed to provide enhanced capabilities to the NASA STARS software package in two key areas. These are; the addition of a control system… More

Pilot fatigue in atmospheric flight operation is a major contribution to human error and is a serious concern. The product under development is a small pilot-mounted device which monitors physiological reactions, such as blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature and brain activity as well as the… More

A novel approach is proposed for reducing the degree of interaction of a high gain flight control system with the airframe structural vibration modes, representing a complete departure from the traditional approach of using notch filters. In principle it offers similar or better performance than… More

Active force-feedback control inceptors are gaining acceptance for potential future use in new and retrofit Army helicopter programs. Current active inceptor types use electric motors, gearboxes and linkages in a closed loop servo system to provide the necessary feel quality and functionality. … More

Development of an innovative analysis and software modeling capability is proposed for aeroservothermoelastic evaluation of air-breathing hypersonic wave rider vehicles. The interface of the airframe dynamic vibration modes with highly nonlinear hypersonic flows is modeled using a particle-based… More

Dynamic response of wind tunnel mounts can cause difficulties with quality of test data, timescales of production testing and tunnel safety. Development is proposed of a wind tunnel sting mount with internal passive damping which will reduce sting vibration response to transient disturbances,… More

The prospect of using smart material technology for active inceptor motion systems is of high interest because of the potential cost, simplicity and performance advantages over current brushless DC motor/gearbox systems. The most suitable smart material concept for accurate motion control is… More

The Phase I research has established the feasibility of achieving substantial reductions in the dynamic response of wind tunnel sting mounts using passive damping techniques. Of the three principal passive damping concepts evaluated, the Hub Damper Unit (HDU) concept was determined to be the most… More

Stirling Dynamics Inc and the University of Washington propose to develop a MATLAB toolbox for rapid aeroelastic (AE) and aeroservoelastic (ASE) modeling, analysis and optimization of flight vehicles. In practically all current aeroelastic analysis/optimization codes, model generation takes a… More

Aeroservoelastic analysis has achieved a high degree of maturity, covering all flight phases, while the important ground contact phase is not developed to the same degree of fidelity. This requires modeling the landing gear and its associated systems to an improved level of detail, to be interfaced… More

Aeroservoelastic analysis has achieved a high degree of maturity, covering all flight phases, while the important ground contact phase is not developed to the same degree of fidelity. This requires modeling the landing gear and its associated systems to an improved level of detail, to be interfaced… More

A flexible hose and drogue system typically employed in military aircraft refueling operations has proven reliable except when excessive shear forces on the receiving aircraft's refueling probe are induced, which can induce a break-away design feature. New concepts are required to eliminate this… More

ASSURE - Aeroelastic / Aeroservoelastic (AE/ASE) Uncertainty and Reliability Engineering capability - is a set of probabilistic computer programs for isolating uncertainties in simulation, manufacturing, test, measurement, and test to analysis correlation affecting the AE/ASE characteristics of… More

A flexible hose and drogue system typically employed in aircraft refueling operations has proved reliable except when excessive forces are induced on the receiving aircraft"s refueling probe, invoking a break-away design feature and potentially creating FOD. A new approach is required to… More

ASSURE - Aeroelastic / Aeroservoelastic (AE/ASE) Uncertainty and Reliability Engineering capability - is a set of probabilistic computer programs for isolating uncertainties in simulation, manufacturing, test, measurement, and test to analysis correlation affecting the AE/ASE characteristics of… More

Traveling sine waves can occur in an aerial refueling hose that result in excessive forces transferred to the receiving aircraft"s refueling probe. These waves can arise from failures in the hose reeling mechanism, high aircraft approach speeds, or other inputs that create excessive hose slack.… More