Award Data

The proposed research program aims at developing a variable-fidelity software tool set for aeroservothermoelastic-propulsive (ASTE-P) modeling that can be routinely applied to the design of aerospace vehicles. The tool set can be applied to conventional vehicle types as well as hypersonic vehicles. The major issues involved in ASTE-P modeling and simulation will be significantly and extensively in ...

This proposal effort is concerned with the development of a novel multidisciplinary optimization scheme and computer software for the effective design of advanced aerospace vehicles. Such vehicles are characterized by unprecedented levels of aero-structural-controls-propulsion interactions, a multidisciplinary simulation is essential for their effective design, vehicle can be accomplished by emplo ...

The nature of human exploration missions to the Moon and Mars demands a frequency-agile, reconfigurable, durable digital radio delivering telemetry, ranging, voice, video, and data, with low Size, Weight, and Power (SWAP), and easy operation in the demanding space environment of Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA). AeroAstro and Virginia Tech propose to continue development of the EVA radio, building u ...

Modern electronic systems tolerate only as many point failures as there are redundant system copies, using mere macro-scale redundancy. Fault Tolerant Electronics Supporting Space Exploration (FTESSE) creates an electronic design paradigm using reprogrammable FPGAs to create swappable Circuit Object Blocks (COBs) – analogous to software objects – for the first time enabling redundancy on a micr ...

Financial constraints, government recommendations, and the need for improved operational efficiency are requiring airlines to review their "on-condition" maintenance practices. Many of the specific conditions and events of interest to airline maintenance are not being monitored by automatic systems, and some events are being identified through a subjective determination by the aircrew. This subj ...

Power electronic converters are essential in every MDA vehicle, with use in critical systems ranging from electric power management applications, to power distribution, to on-board servo motor/actuator drivers. Advancing state-of-the-art power electronics technologies through the use of SiC semiconductors will produce significant savings across the board in almost all areas of MDA power management ...

In Phase I, the research team formed by APEI, Inc. and University of Arkansas proved the feasibility of developing ultra-wide temperature (-230 oC to +130 oC) motor drives utilizing silicon-germanium (SiGe) asynchronous logic digital control electronics by the successful design, simulation and layout of an insensitive-delay asynchronous microcontroller. The microcontroller incorporates asynchronou ...

Aurora Flight Sciences proposes to develop specialized algorithms and software decision-aiding tools for four-dimensional (4D) vehicle-centric, tactical trajectory management (TTM), derived from algorithms developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to perform similar functions in military scenarios. These algorithms, based on the concept of receding horizon mixed-integer linear ...

We propose the development of automated systems to improve radiobiology research capabilities at NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). Current radiobiology experimentation at the NSRL is limited primarily by the amount of time required to manually move samples to/from the radiation target area. Additionally, the NSRL facility currently does not support p ...

Model-based machinery diagnostic and prognostic techniques depend upon high-quality mathematical models of the plant. Modeling uncertainties and errors decrease system sensitivity to faults and decrease the accuracy of failure prognoses. However, the behavior of many physical systems changes slowly over time as the system ages. These changes may be perfectly normal and not indicative of impendi ...