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A model has been developed to modify Euler-Bernoulli beam theory for wooden beams, using visible properties of wood knot-defects. Treating knots in a beam as a system of two ellipses that change the local bending stiffness has been shown to improve the fit of a theoretical beam displacement function to

A model has been developed to modify Euler-Bernoulli beam theory for wooden beams, using visible properties of wood knot-defects. Treating knots in a beam as a system of two ellipses that change the local bending stiffness has been shown to improve the fit of a theoretical beam displacement function to edge-line deflection data extracted from digital imagery of experimentally loaded beams. In addition, an Ellipse Logistic Model (ELM) has been proposed, using L1-regularized logistic regression, to predict the impact of a knot on the displacement of a beam. By classifying a knot as severely positive or negative, vs. mildly positive or negative, ELM can classify knots that lead to large changes to beam deflection, while not over-emphasizing knots that may not be a problem. Using ELM with a regression-fit Young's Modulus on three-point bending of Douglass Fir, it is possible estimate the effects a knot will have on the shape of the resulting displacement curve.
Created2015-05
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This thesis aims to determine how finite wing aerodynamic loads change in proximity to the ground. In this study, the primary design tool is an inviscid panel method code, VORLAX. The validation tool is a commercial volume grid CFD package, ANSYS FLUENT. I use VORLAX to simulate wings with different

This thesis aims to determine how finite wing aerodynamic loads change in proximity to the ground. In this study, the primary design tool is an inviscid panel method code, VORLAX. The validation tool is a commercial volume grid CFD package, ANSYS FLUENT. I use VORLAX to simulate wings with different incidences and aspect ratios to look at how ground effect impacts spanwise loading and incipient flow separation. Then the results were compared to widely published equations such as McCormick, Torenbeek, and Hoerner & Borst. Because I found that these “famous” equations function best only for specific conditions, I propose a new empirical equation to estimate ground effect lift as a function of aspect ratio and incidence. Using Stratford’s method to predict signs of flow separation in the inviscid solutions, I found that variations in the height above the ground were not significant enough to change the stall angle of low aspect ratio wings. I did find early signs of flow separation with increasing aspect ratio. I observe significant changes in spanwise loading when in ground effect; as I narrow the gap, the transverse loading builds higher near the center of the wing. These effects were more apparent in wings with smaller aspect ratio; higher aspect ratio wings experience a higher loading gradient near the tips in proximity to the ground. I found that high aspect ratio wings have a smaller stall angle compared to that of lower aspect ratio wings; these trends are consistent between the potential flow solution and the volume grid CFD viscous solution.
ContributorsValenzuela, Jose Vanir (Author) / Takahashi, Timothy (Thesis advisor) / Dahm, Werner (Committee member) / Huang, Huei-Ping (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
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Automation has become a staple in high volume manufacturing, where the consistency and quality of a product carries as much importance as the quantity produced. The Aerospace Industry has a vested interest in expanding the application of automation beyond simply manufacturing. In this project, the process of systems engineering has

Automation has become a staple in high volume manufacturing, where the consistency and quality of a product carries as much importance as the quantity produced. The Aerospace Industry has a vested interest in expanding the application of automation beyond simply manufacturing. In this project, the process of systems engineering has been applied to the Conceptual Design Phase of product development; specifically, the Preliminary Structural Design of a Composite wing for an Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV). Automated structural analysis can be used to develop a composite wing structure that can be directly rendered in Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) and validated using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). This concept provides the user with the ability to quickly iterate designs and demonstrates how different the “optimal light weight” composite structure must look for UAV systems of varied weight, range, and flight maneuverability.
ContributorsBlair, Martin Caceres (Author) / Takahashi, Timothy (Thesis advisor) / Murthy, Raghavendra (Committee member) / Perez, Ruben (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
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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

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