vaughn college journal of engineering and technology april ...the journal topics include technical...

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Fifth Annual Technology Day Conference

April 16, 2013

Vaughn College Journal of Engineering and Technology

April 2013

Engineering:

A Mind-Set for Innovation

Critical Thinking Problem Solving

Communication

Teamwork

Alternate F/A -18 Tail Hook Design

A Subsurface Interference Design

Study on a Steam Distribution System Robotic Manipulator with Universal Gripper

Lift Generation of an Automotive Wing to Increase Vehicle Traction and Stability

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April 16, 2013

Vaughn College Journal of Engineering and Technology is published annually in preparation for

the Technology Day Conference. This journal includes events/activities of the engineering and

technology department including student’s engagements, the robotics competition, mechatronics

poster competition, conference presentation and publication of the best student research papers

for the technology day presentation. Given the rapid pace of technological change, this journal

is intended to assist our students in developing a mind-set that recognizes changes in technology

are constant and that lifelong learning is necessary to meet future professional challenges. The

aim of this Journal is to engage and prepare students for the future of engineering research and

innovation.

The process for the journal research project development will strengthen student learning

outcomes related to critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and teamwork. The

enhancement of these learning outcomes through engineering and engineering technology

programs will not only provide students with an excellent education, it will also motivate

leadership and entrepreneurship skills in students.

A journal paper project must be developed and investigated in a manner such that it satisfies the

learning objectives of engineering education. Some of the learning objectives that are

emphasized in development of a technical paper are as follows:

1) Intention plan (Abstract): Developing a proposal that outlines the details of a project and

its impact on local and global society

2) Application: Identifying the use and application of the project in global society

3) Methodology: Providing a brief description of methods and solution

4) Teamwork: Identifying team members and their responsibility in the project’s

development

5) Modeling: Providing a complete and precise drawing of the project

6) Analysis: Providing all necessary analysis and analytical tools used to satisfy the system

safety and computing requirements

7) Conclusion: Discussing the result(s) and the contribution of the project to local and global

society

8) Reference: Identifying research references

9) Presentation: Presenting the selected design paper in a PowerPoint format to the industry

advisory members, faculty, and other audience members during the technology day

conference

The journal topics include technical papers related to: computational mechanics, solid

mechanics, mechatronics, robotics, avionics, electronics and any other topics related to

engineering and engineering technology fields.

Technical Editor: Dr. Hossein Rahemi

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April 16, 2013

Contents

Page

Teaching and Learning Effectiveness

Supplemental Instruction

Computational and Hands-on Project-Based Learning

Industry Advisory Council

Internship Programs

Faculty Professional Engagements and Workshop Participation

Graduate Success Stories

1. Raul Telles, Class of 2008 – design engineer, Consolidated Edison, Inc.

2. Marvin Blackman, Class of 2011 – controls engineer, Wunderlich-Malec

Engineering

3. Ronald Diaz, Class of 2009 – project engineer , Horizon Engineering Associates

LLP

Industry Tour - Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation

Industry Connection Seminar

1. A Study of a Shaped Charge – Mr. John Pavon, president of Pavon Manufacturing

Group, Oct 25, 2012

2. Robotic Manipulator with Universal Gripper – Mr. William Babikian, February

28, 2013

3. 2013 VEX Robotics Competition – Mr. Michael Wroblewski, February 28, 2013

Academic Professional Development and Activities

1. Faculty conference participation, presentation, and publication

2. Student conference participation, presentation, and publication

3. Poster competition

1. The Vaughn College Women in Engineering Club - Victoria Yang, president of

Vaughn College Women in Engineering Club

2. Vex Robotics World College Championship

3. 2012 VEX Robotics World College Championship – Michael Wroblewski,

president of Vaughn College Robotics Club

4. Vaughn College participation at 2012 STEM Careers Expo/Fair

5. NSF Scholarships in STEM Fields: Semester I Activities

a. Flow visualization learning community activities

b. Warren Truss bridge design learning community activities

c. Robotics learning community activities

Research and Technical Papers

1. Robotic Manipulator with Universal Gripper Author: William Sarkis Babikian

Programs: Mechatronics Engineering

Advisor: Dr. Shouling He

2. Alternate F/A -18 Tail Hook Designs

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5-6

6-9

10

10

10-13

14-17

14

15

16

17

18-22

18-19

20

21-22

23-35

23

23-24

24-25

26-27

28

29-30

31-32

33-35

36-43

44-55

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April 16, 2013

Authors: Antonio Diaz and Acharaf Ifinis

Programs: Mechanical Engineering Technology

Advisor: Dr. Yougashwar Budhoo and Dr. Hossein Rahemi

3. A Subsurface Interference Design Study on a Steam Distribution System

Authors: Yair Koenov and Melvin Okumu


Advisor: Raul Telles

4. Lift Generation of an Automotive Wing to Increase Vehicle Traction and Stability Authors: Dominic Elrington and John Andon


Advisor: Dr. Amir Elzawawy and Dr. Yougashwar Budhoo

5. Reliability of Airbus A330 and A340 Airspeed System at High Altitudes

Authors: Charan Velaga and Perry Pitter

Programs: Electronics Engineering Technology-Avionics

Advisor: Professor Mudassar S. Minhas

Work in Progress

1. Development of an Arthropod All-Terrain Vehicle

Authors: Travis Covey, Mohammed Lusan, and Ricardo Matute


Advisor: Dr. Yougashwar Budhoo and Dr. Amir Elzawawy

2. Revisiting the Calculations of the Aerodynamic Lift Generated over the Fuselage

of the Lockheed Constellation

Authors: Wajahat Khan and Jonathan Sypeck



3. Automatic Fluid Dispenser

Authors: Yoeri Martinez and William Dale

Programs: Mechatronics Engineering


4. Application of Shear Thickening Non-Newtonian Fluid to Minimize Head and

Neck Injury

Authors: Jose Herrera and Mamunur Anik



56-68

69-79

80-93

94-98

99-102

103-107

108-114

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April 16, 2013

TEACHING AND LEARNING EFFECTIVENESS

A methodology for a successful teaching and learning model has been developed based on

student learning outcomes evaluation and its improvement (H. Rahemi and N. Seth, 2008). The

process is continuously refined to improve achievement of students’ learning outcomes.

In today’s information age, we as educators need to assess and refine our teaching delivery to our

students (L.D. Camblin and J.A. Steger, 2000). This requires creating a checks and balances

model between faculty (delivering course materials) and students (observing/learning). Figure 1

is a graphical model of this teaching and learning process.

SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a student academic assistance program that increases academic

performance and retention through the use of collaborative learning strategies. The SI program at

Vaughn targets challenging mathematics, engineering, and physics courses and provides

regularly scheduled, out-of-class, peer-facilitated sessions that gives students the opportunity to

process the information learned in class. Supplemental instruction is a proactive approach to

student learning and engagement which increases student persistence and retention.

In an effort to increase learning effectiveness, during the spring of 2009 a formal supplemental

learning program was introduced. In addition, during the spring of 2012, as part of the Hispanic-

Serving Institution HSI STEM grant, the SI program has been further enhanced to assist and

improve students’ understanding through the fundamental courses in engineering and

engineering technology programs. For these courses such as statics, dynamics, strength of

materials, and AC/DC circuits, highly talented students who have already completed those

courses are selected to sit-in on the course with the instructor for the second time and serve as a

designated supplemental instructor for these courses (Rahemi and LaVergne, 2009). The student

supplemental instructor assigned the task of reviewing class lectures, conducting problem

solving sessions and communicating with the faculty member about the areas where students

need reinforcement in order to be successful in the course. This program was initiated in

conjunction with the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC). The student supplemental instructor

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April 16, 2013

is scheduled for 10 hours per week to assist students in the fundamental engineering and

engineering technology courses. This includes three hours per week that the SI attends the class

with the instructor for the second time, and another seven hours per week to assist students with

problem solving sessions.

Workshops, in various subjects, are also conducted throughout the semester in the Teaching and

Learning Center. They are geared toward assisting students outside the classroom, as all SI

tutoring sessions are based in the Center as well. To better track our students, SI tutors are given

laptop computers where all students' attendance and progress are kept on a database. This

database allows for a closer monitoring of every student and further provides other means of

assistance tailored to a specific student.

The Writing Center provides students with writing counseling, computer resources and

workshops geared toward writing and writing mentoring. The center serves as an asset to all

classes and helps students sharpen their communication skills.

All developmental/remedial English classes are mandated to use the center to provide further

instruction as a supplemental resource. Some of the resources available to students are

Sentenceworks; a personal grammar tutor/editing website, and Turnitin; where students can

upload term papers, peer edit, and discuss topics/assignments with classmates. In addition to

these services, the center has also incorporated Eportfolio, an educational social networking site

where students and instructors can interact, view and share course materials and resources such

as the syllabus, handouts and assignments, and collaborates on projects outside the classroom.

1COMPUTATIONAL AND HANDS-ON PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

The aim is to implement a methodology based on computational and hands-on project-based

learning model (Rahemi and LaVergne, 2009) to improve and enhance students’ hands-on

experiences, problem solving skills and communication capabilities through the junior and

senior-level courses in engineering and engineering technology programs at Vaughn College.

Figure 2 shows the graphical model of computational and hands-on project-based learning.

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HANDS-ON PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

To provide students with the hands-on skills needed in engineering and engineering technology

programs, the department developed the following laboratories.

Mechanical Testing Laboratory: The Mechanical Testing Lab is used to teach our core

engineering courses. This lab has dedicated seating to instruct 15 to 20 students. The lab is

equipped with Measurement Group, Inc. strain measurement hardware and measuring devices

for instructional capability in stress analysis. Students can perform basic experiments in plane

stress, torsion, and bending to verify the basic equations in strength of materials. The application

of strain gauge techniques gives our students the fundamentals of laboratory procedures that

apply to all technologies in engineering and in the aircraft industry, as well as mechanical and

civil engineering.

The mechanical testing laboratory is equipped with a 10,000 lb-in Torsion-Testing machine with

digital readout and computer output for further analysis. In 2000, The Engineering Technologies

Department purchased a digital Rockwell Hardness Testing Machine, which is used for both

Material Science (MEE235) and Strength of Materials (MEE220) courses. In fall 2006, the

Engineering Technology department purchased bending test experiments, 1 through 6, and strain

gauge application master kit from Vishay Measurements Group. In summer 2012, the

engineering technology department purchased a SI-1C3 Impact Testing Machine with all its

accessories (supplied with Charpy&Izod anvils, strikers and specimen supports) valued at more

than $27,000 from Instron Company. Also, in spring 2012, the department added a Fatigue

Testing Machine with add-on PC Data Acquisition valued at $14,000 from US Didactic.

In fall 2011, the engineering technology department purchased an ELF box furnace capable of

reaching 1100C for $1900. This equipment is used as part of the Mechanical Testing and

Evaluation Laboratory (MEE230 or EGR 230) to study heat treatment of metals. In summer

2012, the department also purchased strain gages and a P3 strain indicator/recorder ($2800)

which gives students experience in specimen preparation and strain measurement process. These

new equipment additions to our structural lab will enhance our students’ hands-on experience

and provide them with a greater appreciation for the engineering field.

Thermo-Fluid Laboratory: In 2010, the Engineering and Technology Department has

established its Thermo-Fluid lab and purchased $110,000 of laboratory equipment such as

Hydrostatics Bench, free and forced convection unit, and a vertical wind tunnel. This lab has

dedicated seating to instruct 15 to 20 students. In this lab students have the opportunity to

conduct a wide range of experiments related to thermal and fluids sciences, such as measuring

aerodynamic drag, liquids densities, hydrostatic pressure, Boyle-Marriott’s law, surface tension

of liquids, flows in liquids and gases, heat exchangers efficiencies and free and forced heat

convection coefficients. This laboratory course will compliment lecture classes such as fluid

mechanics, aerodynamics and heat transfer. The lab is mainly committed to the Thermo-Fluid

Laboratory course (EGR375). This course is designed to provide students with comprehensive

training on how to work in a lab environment starting from safety procedures, how to handle

equipment, the calibration process, data collection, data analysis (including statistical analysis),

and reporting techniques. In this laboratory course, our main focus is to expand our students

understanding and knowledge in the thermal and fluid sciences field. Examples of list of

experiments for this course are as follows

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April 16, 2013

1. Experiment 1: Hydrostatic forces

2. Experiment 2: Bernoulli’s Equation

3. Experiment 3: Boundary Layer Flow

4. Experiment 4: The Aerodynamics of the Airfoil (drag and lift)

5. Experiment 5: Aerodynamics of other Shapes (Flat plate and cylinder)

6. Experiment 6: Free and Forced Heat Convection

7. Experiment 7: The Efficiency of Different Heat Exchangers Configurations

8. Experiment 8: Properties of Fluid and Hydrostatics using the Hydrostatic Bench

In spring 2012, the Engineering and Technology Department placed a $157,000 purchase order

for additional laboratory equipment and experiments related to Flow Visualization Apparatus,

Fluid Friction Apparatus, Methods of Flow Measurement, Impeller Vortex Apparatus, Heat

Conduction Unit / Data Acquisition, Heat Exchanger Service Unit, and Tubular Heat Exchanger.

This new state-of-the-art Thermo-Fluid Laboratory not only enhances students’ hands-on

capability but also expands their understanding and knowledge in the thermal and fluid sciences

field.

Computer Aided Design Laboratory: State-of-the-art computer-aided design laboratory with

tools such as Auto Cad, Solid Edge, SolidWorks, CATIA and PATRAN-NASTRAN. These

tools help students with their coursework and technical projects. In Solid Edge, SolidWorks,

CATIA and PATRAN-NASTRA classes, students will become familiar with both the modeling

and analysis of an engineering system and its components.

Electronics Lab: The electronics lab is used to teach core analog and digital electronics courses.

This lab has dedicated seating to instruct 20 to 25 students. In summer 2010, the Engineering and

Technology Department renovated its electronics lab and replaced outdated lab equipment with

$49,000 of new state-of-the-art electronics equipment purchased from Test Equity Company.

This lab is equipped with 12 sets of new digital oscilloscope (2-channel, 100 MHZ), 12 sets of

function generator (waveform generator, 20 MHZ), 12 sets of digital multimeter (5.5 digit), 12

sets of DC power supply (triple output), microprocessor and digital trainer equipment, digital

multimeters. In spring 2012, we added four sets of new digital oscilloscope, and eight sets of

new function generator, digital multimeter, and power supply valued at more than $10,700. The

Multisim circuit design and the LabView software are used to compliment the lab portion of

electronics courses. In fall 2012, the department purchased $31,000 communication equipment

with all its accessories (basic unit, virtual instruments package, AC Fundamentals I & II, Analog

Communication, and FACET Courseware and Manuals) from Tech-Ed Systems Inc., to

complement the lab component of the principles of communication course, provide our students

with hands-on experiences and expand their knowledge in the field of electronics.

Control System and Robotics Lab: This lab is used to teach laboratory courses such as

MCE101 (Introduction to Robotics), ELE326 (Microprocessor), ELE350 (Control System),

MCE420 (Mechatronics II-Robotics). This lab has dedicated seating to instruct 10 to 15 students.

In 2011, the engineering technology department purchased control system equipment ( three sets

of DCMCT – Quanser Engineering Trainer, DC Motor Control – features analog,

microprocessor, and computer control capabilities, Q/C Processor Core - 16 Series based on

Microchip P/C 16F877) valued at more than $16,700 from Quanser Consulting Company. In fall

2012, the department purchased about $28,000 of robotics course equipment from Intelitek to

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provide our students with the fundamental knowledge of robotics and its vast application in the

field of engineering. The MATLAB/SIMULINK design and simulation software, the MPLAB

IDE design environment and C18/EasyC Compilers are used for the lab portions of control and

robotics.

Automation Mechatronics Laboratory: For the mechatronics engineering program, a state-of-

the-art automation mechatronics laboratory was developed to provide students with opportunities

to gain hands-on experiences and PLC programming skills. This laboratory is equipped with an

industrial mechatronics system (IMS) and eight sub-systems, i.e. sorting, assembly, processing,

testing, storage, routing, disassembly, and buffering sub-systems. Each sub-system (or the whole

system) can be controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC). (Siemens S300 PLC has

been used for this automation control purpose). In addition, The IMS sub-systems laboratory is

supplied with the state-of-the-art Virtual IMS 3D Simulation Environment, which enables

instructors and students to design and test mechatronics sub-systems, flexible manufacturing

configurations, and control programs before assembly of physical components.

The laboratory facilities are used to teach the course, Fundamentals of Mechatronics - PLC

programming and basic concepts of industrial automation. The electronic document, UniTrain-I,

developed by the Lucas-Nuelle company, has been exploited to explain the sub-systems and

demonstrate their programming process. Through the course and laboratory exercises, students

have the opportunity to work with sensors – devices that convert mechanical and physical

variables into electrical output signals, as well as a programmable logic controller (PLC), a

computing devise that manages and regulates the behavior of a mechatronic system. At the end

of the course, students are expected to have basic knowledge of sensors and devices as well as

how they are used in industrial automation. In particular, they will be able to program the PLC

controller which is widely used in industrial assembly lines and automation machines.

COMPUTATIONAL PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

In an effort to improve and enhance students’ critical thinking, problem solving, and teamwork

learning outcomes, the Engineering and Technology Department implemented a computational

project-based learning model (Figure 1) through both computational method in engineering and

engineering analysis courses. In these courses, students will be introduced to numerical methods

based on both finite difference and finite element approaches. Students are arranged in several

teams and each team is assigned to a technical project with a specific engineering application.

The assigned project must be studied and investigated based on available mathematical

principles and MATLAB computer programming. The students’ projects will be measured based

on learning objectives that are identified in the course syllabus and will be graded based on the

criteria such as proposal, model development, programming, analysis, report and presentation.

Some of these students’ computational-based projects were submitted and accepted for

publication and presentation at technical conferences.

Industry Advisory Council

At Vaughn College, the industry advisory members have a pivotal role in the program delivery

and students’ subsequent success. The industry advisory members work closely with faculty

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members of the engineering and technology department in developing new course offerings and

program modifications. Their valuable recommendations and comments continuously make our

program delivery stronger and more competitive with the growing demand of today’s

technology. Furthermore, the close partnership with these industrial companies, such as

Sikorsky, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Lockheed Martin, RCM-Tech, Rockwell Collins,

Pavon Manufacturing Group, FAA, CDI-Aerospace, US Didactic, Con-Edison, and MTA, allow

our students to explore a career or an internship opportunity with top engineering enterprises.

Internship programs

Vaughn’s internship program is a key part of an engineering curriculum to prepare students for

the workplace. For the past several years, our students were involved with both summer and

during-the-year internship programs with top engineering companies such as Sikorsky, Northrop

Grumman Corporation, Lockheed Martin, RCM-Tech, Rockwell Collins, Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), Cummins Engine, MTA, GE, and Pavon Manufacturing Group. These

internship programs provided them with a greater appreciation for engineering education and

expanded their hands-on and career-building experiences. As a result of those internship

programs, many of our graduates are currently working with those companies as new advisory

members for our programs, and assisting our current students in pursuing internship with those

companies.

During fall 2011 and spring 2012, two students in mechanical engineering technology program

were selected to conduct a research and development project for Sikorsky. A portion of this

project was involved with the conversion of 1960’s casting technical data from a 2D package to

the 3D solid model using CATIA V5.

During summer and fall 2012, 11 students, two in the mechatronic engineering, six in the

mechanical engineering technology, and three in electronics engineering technology programs,

participated in internship programs with Cummins Engine, Sikorsky Aircraft, GE, MTA,

Microsoft, Alken Industries, EcoServices LLC, Pavon Manufacturing, LWD Construction, and

Envirolutions.

Faculty Professional Engagements and Workshop Participation

To improve the quality and effectiveness of instructional delivery and students learning, the

Engineering and Technology Department encourages faculty members to participate in

conferences and workshops designed to enhance faculty’s understandings of new technological

learning and advances to maintain teaching quality. For the past few years our faculty members

were active participants of many educational, technical conferences and workshops such as the

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (2009 HACU 23rd and 2010 HACU 24th)

Annual Conference, 2010 College Board Preparate Conference, American Society for

Engineering Education (ASEE), Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering

Institutions (LACCEI), Aircrafts Electronics Association (AEA), Institute of Electrical and

Electronics Engineers (IEEE), American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA),

Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM), and American Society of Mechanical Engineers

(ASME).

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During the calendar year 2012-2013, faculty in the engineering and engineering technology

department participated in the following professional engagements and workshops

1. Hossein Rahemi, Co-chair of poster competition, “Education, Innovation, Technology,

Design, and Practice,” 10th

Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering

Institutions, LACCEI 2012, Panama City, Panama, July 23-27, 2012.

2. Hossein Rahemi, member of a panel to review and discuss proposals submitted for the

NSF S-STEM program, fall 2012.

3. Hossein Rahemi, adviser for students’ papers, ASEE Mid Atlantic Spring 2013

Conference, CUNY-City Tech, Brooklyn, NY, April, 26-27, 2013.

4. Hossein Rahemi, NSF Grant Initiative Workshop, the Latin American and Caribbean

Consortium of Engineering Institutions-LACCEI 2012 Conference, in Panama City,

Panama, July 23-27, 2012.

5. Hossein Rahemi, 2012 NSF S-STEM Projects Meeting Report, hosted by American

Society for Engineering Education, Arlington, Virginia, October 14-16, 2012.

6. Hossein Rahemi, judge for the Ninth Annual Science and Engineering Fair of the

Freeport Public Schools, April 26, 2013.

7. Hossein Rahemi, chair of new Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering

Curriculum Development Committee, summer 2012 to present.

8. Gerard Sedlak, Textbook Reviewer, ”Introduction to Flight” 7th

Edition, by John

Anderson, McGraw-Hill, 2012.

9. Gerard Sedlak, member of new Mechanical Engineering Curriculum development

Committee, summer 2012 to present.

10. Khalid Mouaouya, NSF Grant Initiative Workshop, the Latin American and Caribbean

Consortium of Engineering Institutions-LACCEI 2012 Conference, in Panama City,


11. Khalid Mouaouya, judge for the Ninth Annual Science and Engineering Fair of the


12. Khalid Mouaouya, member of new Mechanical Engineering Curriculum Development


13. Shouling He, faculty development course (online), “Control of Mobile Robots,” Georgia

Institute of Technology, Jan 18 - March 17, 2013.

14. Shouling He, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) Design Flow Workshop,

sponsored by National Science Foundation, March 15-16, 2013.

15. Shouling He, reviewed two papers for 2013 ASEE Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia,

June 23-26, 2013.

16. Shouling He, Siemens Workshop “Process Automation – PCS7,” Siemens Industry, Inc.

Spring House, PA, March 25-29, 2013.

17. Shouling He, Secure Injection Coding Workshop, sponsored by NSF foundation,

Elizabeth, NJ, March 1, 2013.

18. Shouling He, adviser for students’ papers, ASEE Mid Atlantic Spring 2013 Conference,

CUNY-City Tech, Brooklyn, NY, April, 26-27, 2013.

19. Shouling He, promoted to a senior member by IEEE society, December 2012.

20. Shouling He, co-chair of new Electrical Engineering Curriculum Development


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21. Amir Elzawawy, NSF Grant Initiative Workshop, the Latin American and Caribbean

Consortium of Engineering Institutions-LACCEI 2012 conference, in Panama City,


22. Amir Elzawawy, adviser for students’ papers, AIAA region I-Young Professionals,

Student and Education (YPSE) Conference at the Johns Hopkins University Applied

Physics Lab in Laurel, Maryland November 2, 2012.

23. Amir Elzawawy, the National Science Foundation Grants Conference, hosted by Howard

University, Arlington, VA, March 11-12, 2013.

24. Amir Elzawawy, judge for the Ninth Annual Science and Engineering Fair of the


25. Amir Elzawawy, 2012 NSF S-STEM Projects Meeting Report, hosted by American

Society for Engineering Education, Arlington, Virginia, October 14-16, 2012.

26. Amir Elzawawy, 2012 ABET Symposium Workshop, “Course and program Assessment-

Understanding of the Continuous Quality Improvement of Student Learning through the

Design of Assessment Processes, Development of Measurable Learning Outcomes and

Application of New Data Collection Methods that can be Implemented when they Return

to Campus” St. Louis, Missouri, April 19-21, 2012.

27. Amir Elzawawy, co-chair of new Mechanical Engineering Curriculum Development


28. Yougashwar Budhoo, Leadership Workshop, sponsored by the North Carolina

Agricultural and Technological State University, Greensboro, NC, October 5-7, 2012.

29. Yougashwar Budhoo, the National Science Foundation Grants Conference, hosted by

Howard University, Arlington, VA, March 11-12, 2013.

30. Yougashwar Budhoo, Education workshop “How to Engineer Engineering Education”

Bucknell University, July 25-27, 2012.

31. Yougashwar Budhoo, member of new Mechanical Engineering Curriculum Development


32. Rex Wong, promoted to a senior member by IEEE society, October 2012.

33. Rex Wong, IEEE regional technical seminar – SmartTech on Smart Power Grid, Wireless

Communication Security, and IEEE in Education, White Plains, NY, Oct.19~20, 2012.

34. Rex Wong, member of new Electrical Engineering Curriculum Development Committee,

summer 2012 to present.

35. Rex Wong, ANNY (Assessment Network of New York) regional conference, Rockland

Community College, November 16, 2012.

36. Mudassar Minhas, Certified Associate of Project Management, Project Management

Institute, July 2012.

37. Mudassar Minhas, Seminar in Transforming Airline MRO through integrated

maintenance planning and execution, hosted by Air Transport World and sponsored by

Oracle®, July 2012.

38. Mudassar Minhas, Seminar in Air Traffic Management Revolution, hosted by SAE

International’s Aerospace Engineering™ and sponsored by Infotech, August 2012.

39. Mudassar Minhas, Seminar in Maximizing Efficiency with Fleet Maintenance Solutions”,

hosted by Aviation Week and sponsored by Delta Airlines, August 2012.

40. Mudassar Minhas, training course in Aircraft Pitot/Static and Transponder Certification

as with RVSM maintenance and advanced transponder, August 24-25 2012. 41. Flavio Cabrera, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) Design Flow Workshop,

sponsored by National Science Foundation, March 15-16, 2013.

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42. Flavio Cabrera, member of new Electrical Engineering Curriculum Development

Committee, summer 2012 to present. 43. Jacob Glanzman, ANNY (Assessment Network of New York) regional conference,

Rockland Community College, November 16, 2012.

Dr. Shouling He and Dr. Flavio Cabrera at FPGA Design Flow Workshop, sponsored by

National Science Foundation, March 15-16, 2013.

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April 16, 2013

Graduate Success Stories

Given the rapid pace of technological change, the engineering and technology department at

Vaughn College implemented a set of in-class and out-of-class academic activities with the

intent to prepare students for the growing demands of today’s technology and prepare them for a

successful career path. These activities are intended to instill a mind-set in our students that

changes in technology are constant and that lifelong learning is necessary to meet future

professional challenges.

Even though our students in engineering and engineering technology programs may move along

different professional paths, their Vaughn education gives them an edge for success.

Raul Telles, Class of 2008

BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology, Vaughn College

MS in Aerospace Engineering, Virginia Tech

Designer in Steam Distribution Engineering at Consolidated Edison, Inc.

From being a student to an instructor to a design engineer working at a top Fortune 500

company, that’s where Raul Telles found himself when he was hired to work for Consolidated

Edison, Inc. in the civil/mechanical engineering department. Consolidated Edison Inc.,

commonly referred to as Con Edison, is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in

the United States that provides gas, electricity, and steam to more than three million customers in

New York City and Westchester County.

Raul Telles, a native New Yorker, enrolled in the

mechanical engineering technology department at Vaughn

College in the spring of 2005. After consistently making

both the President’s and Dean’s Lists, one of his professors

asked him if he had considered going to graduate school.

As a first-generation college student, the prospect of going

to graduate school excited him. After being accepted to

several graduate programs, he accepted the offer from

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

(Virginia Tech). By the fall of 2008, he was enrolled in the

master’s program in Aerospace Engineering.

In 2010, Raul completed his Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering and found himself in a

position no graduating student wants to face – a job market with stunted demand amid a global

economic recession. “It was a scary time,” Raul says, “Not many companies were hiring, and

the ones that were wanted three to five years of experience. How am I supposed to get my ‘foot

in the door’ when they are only recruiting experienced professionals?” While visiting some of his

former professors at Vaughn College, Raul was offered a position as an adjunct instructor in the

Mechanical Engineering Technology Department. The following year he networked with many

Vaughn alumni while attending Vaughn’s annual Technology Day Conference, and as a result he

was eventually offered a full-time position at Con Edison in fall 2011. He also continues to work

as an adjunct instructor at Vaughn.

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April 16, 2013

“I am grateful for the opportunity that I was offered at Vaughn College. It provided me with the

engineering foundation and support to pursue my goals,” Raul says. “When asked about my

Vaughn experience, I always tell my current students, “You get out what you put in.” I want to

encourage current and future students to utilize all the resources that Vaughn has to offer,

especially their strong alumni network.”

Marvin C Blackman, Class of 2011

B.S Mechatronics Engineering, Vaughn College

M.S Systems Engineering, Colorado Technical University

Controls Engineer at Wunderlich-Malec Engineering

I graduated Vaughn College of Aeronautics in the spring of 2011. Being an international student

coming from a small Caribbean island to the Big Apple was a very dynamic experience. When

researching schools in early 2007, Vaughn stood out to me simply because the College was

launching a new mechatronic program that seemed to have great potential.

Once I graduated from Vaughn, I was forced to move to Colorado to be with my wife who was

in the military at the time and begin all over again. Being that Colorado Springs was a military

town there was very little work for persons who didn’t have a top secret or secret clearance much

less a non-citizen of the United States. I used this as fuel to further my academic studies and

complete a master’s in Systems Engineering at Colorado Technical University. Before I could

fully complete my graduate degree I received a job offer from a company that did everything I

studied in school and more. I have since graduated CTU with my master’s degree and I’m still

working for Wunderlich-Malec as a Controls Engineer.

I am still contemplating returning to school in a few years to achieve a post-graduate degree..

My current project involves implementing a building management system in a pharmaceutical

manufacturing plant. The job entails authoring design documents, reading HVAC plans,

I never liked electricity, but I thought here’s a

wonderful opportunity for me to get a better

understanding of computer, mechanical and electrical

engineering, all in one degree. It sounded like a

challenge that would require serious dedication and

commitment for the entire four years with no time to

really enjoy school activities, but that was not the case.

In fact throughout my schooling, I gained friends in

both the mechanical and electrical disciplines that were

able to not only help me through difficult classes but

encouraged me and seemed to have taken pride in

seeing me be successful.

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April 16, 2013

programming controllers, commissioning the system and supporting it over its life as required by

the customer.

Vaughn College was ideal for me not only because it fit my budget, but it also gave me

opportunities to attend and compete at national and international conferences. What I remember

most about Vaughn was the willingness of the professors to help me succeed and the incredible

lab that the school developed to give us mechatronics students a realistic, hand’s on experience.

Ronald Diaz

BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology, Vaughn College, Class of 2009

MS in Mechanical Engineering, New York University Polytechnic, Class of 2013

Project Engineer/ Energy Analyst at Horizon Engineering Associates LLP

Aviation Maintenance Officer, United States Navy Reserve

After completing active duty as an enlisted aviation mechanic in the

United States Navy and only 21 years of age, I decided to pursue formal

education in a branch that captivated my attention throughout my service

years; mechanical engineering. I began so by completing an associate

degree in ME at Queensborough Community college. Following this, I

continued my studies towards a bachelor’s degree at Vaughn College.

While at Vaughn College, I worked as a manufacturing engineer for

Magellan Aerospace Corporation. I was involved with the

manufacturing of military and commercial aircrafts. Among some of the

projects were the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and Boeing’s 787.

In 2010, I decided to diversify my professional experience in search of

my PE license so I began working for Horizon Engineering Associates

(HEA). During my time at HEA, I have worked on the design-built of the National September 11

Memorial & Museum in downtown Manhattan, and various design-built projects for New York

Presbyterian Hospital. Additionally, I am also involved in various New York City projects like

the City Hall renovation, and other museums.

Moreover, after completing my bachelor’s at Vaughn, I was selected to continue my service in

the U.S. Navy Reserve as an Aviation Maintenance Commissioned Officer for Fleet Logistics

Support Squadron-64, working on the Lockheed’s Hercules C-130. Currently I hold the rank of

Lieutenant Junior Grade and I am on the attack for a promotion to Lieutenant in the summer of

2013.

Some of my future goals are to begin my involvement with the acquisition and engineering of the

Navy’s future aircrafts, obtain my professional engineering license and begin my own

engineering firm. In the near future I would also enjoy teaching, so that I can pass along some of

the experience I have gained in various industries as a mechanical engineer and project manager.

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April 16, 2013

My tenure at Vaughn College indeed prepared me for the challenges that professionals face in

any industry, and I know that with the mechanical engineering program continuously improving

we will have even more equipped and skillful graduates in years to come. I truly would like to

thank Dr. Rahemi and Professor Mouaouya for their dedication to students and their teachings of

the ME material.

Industry Tour - Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation

On Friday February 22, 2013 16 engineering and engineering technology students along with

three faculty members and associate director of career services attended an industry tour to

Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. This tour was arranged by Mr. Oluwaseyi E. James, Black Hawk

electrical engineer at Sikorsky and Mr. Philip Meade, director of Vaughn College Career

Services. In this tour we visited Sikorsky helicopter facility and the tour team engineers

were great in explaining the design and construction process (from development to completion)

of various components of Black Hawk and Seahawk helicopters. This tour provided our students

with a greater appreciation for engineering education and certainly helped them to understand the

real-world design process of a helicopter structure.

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April 16, 2013


Thursday, October 25, 2012

11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Rooms 101, 103

Presenter: Mr. John Pavon, President of Pavon Manufacturing Group

Topic: A Study of a Shaped Charge

Mr. John Pavon, a 2002 Vaughn College graduate and president of the Pavon Mfg. Group,

addressed the Vaughn community on Oct. 25 at 11 a.m. as part of the College's Industry

Connection Seminar series. Mr. Pavon delivered a lecture related to the “A Study of a Shaped

Charge.” In this seminar, Mr. Pavon discussed the shaped charge definition, theory, and its

usage. Mr. Pavon also talked about his work experience in the area of vehicle protection against

IEDs and landmines and his contribution in the advancement of technology.

Mr. Pavon is a registered contractor with the Department of Defense. His technical career began

with the Grumman Aerospace Corporation, at Bethpage NY, in the ‘80s. Starting out as a

machinist, he worked himself up to tool designer and design engineer. Most of the projects were

classified and important for National Defense and included the EF-111 swept wing aircraft. He

received the Project Sterling award for cost savings in 1984. For the past eleven years he has led

his own company which is involved in armor component design and manufacturing. He has

several patents for vehicle protection against IEDs and landmines.

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April 16, 2013

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April 16, 2013


Engineering Seminar

Thursday, February 28, 2013

11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Rooms 101, 103First Presenter: Mr. William Babikian

Topic: Robotic Manipulator with Universal Gripper

Mr. William Babikian, a sophomore student in mechatronics engineering, under supervision of

Dr. Shouling He, worked on a research project related to a robotic manipulator with universal

gripper. His paper has been accepted for the publication and presentation at the 2013 ASEE

Annual Conference, June 23 -26, Atlanta, Georgia.

In this seminar Mr. Babikian talked about the robotics arm development process, the three

degrees of freedom (DOF) with three encoders to measure the joint angles and four DC motors to

control joint angular positions and orientations for a flexible robotic arm.

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April 16, 2013

Engineering Seminar

Thursday, February 28, 2013

11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Rooms 101, 103

Second Presenter: Mr. Michael Wroblewski, President of Robotics Club

Topic: 2013 VEX Robotics Competition and Club Activities

Mr. Michael Wroblewski and Mr. Jefferson Maldonado, president and vice president of robotics

club, talked about 2013 Annual Vex College Robotics Competition and process they used to

develop their robots for this competition.

This year the Vex robotics competition involves a game where robots, operating in both

autonomous and driver controlled mode, will navigate a 12’ by 12’ field collecting half-pound

sacks and scoring them in one of three varying goals. This competition is conveniently named

Sack Attack.

For the 2013 Vex game, Sack Attack, V.C.A.T. has developed two robots with a third robot

underway for backup use. Our first robot, “Poncho,” uses the smaller dimension restriction,

packing a lot of functionality in a very small and agile construction. With a four-wheel standard

drivetrain and two-bar/two-motor lift mechanism, “Poncho” can easily collect sacks using its

aluminum studded roller connected to an acrylic and aluminum basket (10 sack lift capacity),

and able to score (or de-score) in either the 15in or floor goal. Along with these features,

“Poncho” has a secret backup plan to prevent tipping while the lift is at maximum height. The

second robot, “Six-Four,” uses the larger dimension restriction. Although “Six-Four” utilizes

larger dimensions it can still easily maneuver under the trough goal to steal sacks from the

opponent while maintaining ability to score in the high goal.

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April 16, 2013

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April 16, 2013

Conference Participation, Presentation, and Publication

During the calendar year 2012-2013, our faculty and students in engineering and engineering

technology programs participated in local, national and international conferences and presented

their technical research papers at these conferences. The following are the list of published

papers by Vaughn College faculty and students

Faculty Presentation and Publication

1. Hossein Rahemi, Shouling He, Amir Elzawawy, and Khalid Mouaouya, “Student

Academic Engagement - An Approach to Ensure Students’ Success in Engineering

and Engineering Technology Curriculums.” Proceedings of LACCEI 2013, August 14-

16, 2013, Cancun, Mexico.

2. Rex Wong and Shouling He, "A Mixed Model Data Association for Simultaneous

Localization and Mapping in Dynamic Environments," Int. J. Mechatronics and

Automation, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2013.

3. Alexis Pierides, Amir Elzawawy, and Yiannis Andreopoulos, “Transient Force

Generation During Impulsive Rotation of Wall-mounted Panels,” J. Fluid Mech.

(2013), vol. 721, pp. 403_437. Cambridge University Press 2013.

4. Yougashwar Budhoo, ”Ballistic Impact on Woven Glass/Epoxy Composites at High

and Low Temperatures.” Proceedings of SEM 2012 Annual Conference & Exposition

on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, June 11-14, 2012, Costa Mesa, CA.

5. Yougashwar Budhoo, ”Effect of Low Temperatures on the Ballistic Limit of Hybrid

Woven Composites.” Proceedings of SEM 2012 Annual Conference & Exposition on

Experimental and Applied Mechanics, June 11-14, 2012, Costa Mesa, CA.

Student Presentation and Publication

6. Shouling He, William Babikian, Hossein Rahemi, "Developing a Robotic Kit for

Mechatronic Engineering Education." Proceedings of 120th

ASEE Annual Conference

and Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia, June 23-26, 2013

7. Malik Hocine and Marcin Pajak, “Effect of Curvature on the Natural Frequency of

Riveted Plate.” Proceedings of 10th

Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of

Engineering Institutions, LACCEI 2012, “Education, Innovation, Technology, Design,

and Practice,” Panama City, Panama, July 23-27, 2012.

8. Brian Linhares, Marlon Medford, "Mechatronics in Aerial Surveillance and

Reconnaissance." Proceedings of 10th




9. Dominic Elrington and John Andon, "Lift Force Performance of a Car Spoiler at

Curvatures." AIAA region I-Young Professionals, Student and Education (YPSE)

Conference at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, Maryland

November 2, 2012.

10. Manny Santana and Jennifer Vasquez, "Aerodynamics Airfoil Configuration." AIAA

region I-Young Professionals, Student and Education (YPSE) Conference at the Johns

Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, Maryland November 2, 2012.

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April 16, 2013

11. Jordan Whylie, Shahidul Islam, Bridgette Valencia, ”Liquid Automated Cooling

Immersion (L.A.C.I).” Proceedings of the ASEE Mid Atlantic Section Conference,

CUNY-City Tech, Brooklyn, NY, April 26-27, 2013.

12. Khadijha Stewart, “Pressure Distribution of a Bolted Joint Assembly.” Proceedings of

the ASEE Mid Atlantic Section Conference, CUNY-City Tech, Brooklyn, NY, April 26-

27, 2013.

Poster Competition

During the calendar year 2012-2013, our students in mechatronics engineering and mechanical

engineering technology programs participated in the following conference poster Session

1. Brian Linhares, Marlon Medford, "Mechatronics in Aerial Surveillance and

Reconnaissance." Proceedings of 10th




2. Malik Hocine and Marcin Pajak, “Effect of Curvature on the Natural Frequency of

Riveted Plate.” Proceedings of 10th




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April 16, 2013

Mr. Malik Hocine and Marcin Pajak’s poster was selected for the best Student Poster Award for

the 2012 LACCEI Annual Conference. This award came with a first place medal and a $500

voucher prize in recognition of their innovative work in engineering field.

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April 16, 2013

The Vaughn College Women in Engineering Club By Victoria Yang, President of Vaughn College Women

in Engineering Club

If you are a woman in an engineering school, you’re likely to be one of two females in all of

your engineering classes (if you’re lucky). The Vaughn College Women in Engineering Club is

designed to build awareness of engineering for female students and promote our ideals to the

student body. The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) modules help create a solid foundation

for the future of our club. SWE has assigned a counselor to support us in obtaining guest

speakers and establish our collegiate bylaws. Some of our general goals include offering

scholarship opportunities and exposing students to the industry. The Vaughn faculty eagerly

supports our mission; and we are pleased to give our special thanks to: Kalli Koutsoutis in the

department of advisement and planning; Dr. Hossein Rahemi, chair of the engineering

department; Dr. Shouling He, our faculty advisor; and Annie Bellettiere in the department of

student affairs.

The mission statement of Women in Engineering strives to inspire students to reach their

potential leadership qualities by adapting to SWE guidelines and leadership development

modules and to become recognized as valuable leaders in the industry. Members can develop

professional networking skills through fellowship and celebrate women’s achievements in

engineering. Anjali Dhobale, our club secretary, is the perfect example. She has worked hard to

create study groups on campus for the student body.

In our first general meeting in October 2012, Amanda Talty from the department of alumni

relations brought us Warrior Pigs and spoke about possible alumni speakers whom we could

invite to visit. At the same time, five of us were fortunate enough to attend SWE’s Annual

Conference in Houston, TX. Included in the Conference photo on the right are Jennifer Vasquez,

graduate in mechanical engineering (on the left); Victoria Yang, founder of Women in

Engineering, freshman in mechatronics (in the middle); and Jennifer Rosati, junior in

aeronautical engineering (on the right). The two other students are Maria “Mercy” Torres, senior

in mechatronics and Jung Hee “Brielle” Lee, senior in aeronautical engineering. General Electric

offered an interviewing opportunity for an internship to Jennifer Rosati; and Mercy interviewed

with Chrysler Corporation. Victoria attended all collegiate meetings and spoke to over 60 of the

263 companies at the career fair. In addition, we brought home many freebies which became

prizes for NBC Minute-to-Win-It games on campus, hosted by Jennifer Rosati and the Game and

Culture Club.

Since last semester, we have focused on supporting the Robotics Team in building and

programming robots. We also initiated a mini-book club on Dava Sobel’s “Galileo’s Daughter.”

On Saturday, March 2, eight students attended the engineering boot camp, a workshop tailored

for us by Philip Meade and Jessica Caron from the department of career services. We learned

valuable information about campus recruiting for businesses, as well as interview techniques and

resume writing skills. All of the students were satisfied with what they learned. Many students

from the boot camp and even those who missed it expressed interest in attending the next one.

We expect to create more Engineering Boot Camps next semester. Members who have

participated in CD101 Career Development Seminar or the boot camp are offered the first seats

http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/

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April 16, 2013

to our ice cream social and fashion show in the fall of 2013 and also to our senior secrets firls’

night in and etiquette dinner in the spring of 2014.

Some of our SWE region’s best practices are highlighted on (http://regione.wordpress.com) and

Women in Engineering is in the final process of establishing its own website. SWE’s goal is to

provide a safe space for women to voice their opinions freely and to feel at home. We are

building a relationship with high school students in the UpWard Bound Program where girls are

inspired to pursue a career in engineering. While Women in Engineering is a club for women, we

happily welcome men interested in supporting women. Our male students should know that in

May, we are co-hosting an appreciation day pizza party with Women in Aviation for men who

support us. For further information, please email us at [email protected].

http://regione.wordpress.com/

mailto:[email protected]

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April 16, 2013

VEX Robotics World Championship Competition

In spring 2012, Vaughn College’s robotics team participated in the Vex Robotics World

Championship competition in Anaheim, California. Five members of Vaughn College robotic

club (Michael Wroblewski, Wolfgang Segovia, Brian Linhares, Jennifer Vasquez,and Raquel

Torres) represented Vaughn at this competition.

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April 16, 2013

The 2013 Annual Vex College Robotics Competition: Sack Attack

By Michael Wroblewski, President of Vaughn College Robotics Club

The annual Vex College Robotics Competition will be held from April 17-21, 2013 at the

Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim California. This year the Vex robotics competition

involves a game where robots, operating in both autonomous and driver controlled mode, will

navigate a 12 foot by 12 foot field collecting half pound sacks and scoring them in one of three

varying goals. This competition is conveniently named Sack Attack. Although similar field and

game objectives are used in this year’s competition, there are many differences. Similar to last

year’s competition (Gateway), there are three goal types; two floor goals worth one point for a

green sack, two trough goals (15in in height) worth five points for each green sack, and one high

goal (30in in height) worth 10 points for each green sack. There are a total of 98 green sacks and

four bonus yellow sacks (these are worth five points more than a green sack scored in any goal)

which can be used by either team so long as they are scored in the respective colored goal.

Gameplay consists of two, 60-second rounds, one being autonomous where drivers are not

allowed to interact with their robots (remotely or physically) and the other consisting of a driver

controlled period where drivers manipulate their robot using a wireless remote control. Points are

scored by picking up sacks and distributing them into one of the appropriate goals, with each

goal representing different point values. Bonus points are also awarded for any robot which is

parked at the end of a match (a parked robot is considered entirely on a starting tile of that team’s

color). Since Sack Attack is entirely offensive, robots are not allowed to pin, manipulate or

damage other robots. An action such as this is terms for disqualification. Having these

guidelines, Sack Attack provides a great opportunity for ingenuity and strategic planning.

The college competition allows for each team to bring as many robots as they wish to the event

but only two can compete in any given match. Teams are expected to build one robot within a 15

cubic inch volume and another within a 24 cubic inch volume; both constructed solely from Vex

parts. Each robot is limited to 12 motors, two 7.2v batteries, one cortex microcontroller, and non-

Vex part usage (e.g. acrylic, aesthetic materials, steel, etc). There are no limitations on sensors,

either with quantity or brand, so long as they do not interfere with Vex parts or other robots.

For the 2013 Vex game, Sack Attack, Vaughn has developed two robots with a third robot

underway for backup use. Our first robot, “Poncho”, uses the smaller dimension restriction,

packing a lot of functionality in a very small and agile construction. With a four-wheel standard

drivetrain and two-bar/two-motor lift mechanism, “Poncho” can easily collect sacks using its

aluminum studded roller connected to an acrylic and aluminum basket (10 sack lift capacity),

and able to score (or de-score) in either the 15in or floor goal. Along with these features,

“Poncho” has a secret backup plan to prevent tipping while the lift is at maximum height.

The second robot, “Six-Four,” uses the larger dimension restriction. Although “Six-Four” utilizes

larger dimensions it can still easily maneuver under the trough goal to steal sacks from the

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April 16, 2013

opponent while maintaining ability to score in the high goal. This robot’s design involves a

complex holonoid drivetrain allowing for quick movement in any direction without the need to

turn the robot. A six-bar lift system powered by four Vex motors allows “Six-Four” to maximize

scoring height while providing a practical minimum height when the lift is compressed (max

height: 36”, min height: 14¾”). To capture and score sacks there is a studded roller attached to a

conveyor basket which enables over 15 sacks to be pulled in from the front of the robot and

distributed to any of the goals (even the high goal) through the front or back of the robot. The

features of “Six-Four” allow maximum maneuverability, an efficient height to compressibility

ratio, and the ability to score from the front or back of the robot. “Six-Four” also incorporates a

special mechanism to “sweep” the competition.

Team Vaughn is comprised of over a dozen engineering students from Vaughn College of

Aeronautics and Technology, each with their own creative and strategic input. Meeting weekly,

we have come together to develop these robots for this year’s competition with intentions to beat

the competitors and have fun while doing it. Overall, team Vaughn plans to bring a new face to

this year’s competition, representing Vaughn’s robotics club with an ingeniously creative smile.

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April 16, 2013

2012 STEM Careers Expo/Fair

By Manuel Jesus, Professor of the Animation and Digital Technologies Program

On Friday April 20, 2012, Vaughn College faculty and staff attended the first New York City

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Expo at the New York Armory.

The event was very well organized with friendly staff and easy access to the Armory facilities.

Attendance was high, and the all-day event was full of enthusiastic New York City high school

students eager to learn about STEM educational opportunities. Students were treated to live

demos from local and multi-national firms such as NASA, Lego Robotics Division, and Dell.

Vaughn College was represented by admissions staff and full time faculty members Dr.

Yougashwar Budhoo and myself. Through my years of experience in toy design, manufacturing,

and computer graphics, I was excited to interact with students and provide them with insight into

STEM career opportunities. Dr. Budhoo is an accomplished Vaughn College graduate, and thus

was uniquely qualified to advise students about the Vaughn College experience.

Both students and faculty members were impressed with the scope of Vaughn College

engineering department program offerings. Students were especially interested in aAviation and

aerospace career opportunities. I had prepared a portfolio of student works, and 3d printouts

using our Fortus 250mc 3d printer for demonstrations. Many students at this age have a

voracious appetite for video games so the animation and digital technologies courses were of

particular interest. I explained how the school offers excellent hands on Computer Aided Design

education using cutting edge software technology. Programs such as Catia, Solid Works, Mat

Lab, Patran Nastran, 3ds Max, ZBrush and Maya ensure our students get a well-rounded

computer graphics foundation. Graphic communication skills are in great demand so I made sure

to stress the importance of hands on experience in developing animated presentations and 3D

models. Students were surprised to learn that they could earn both an applied associates degree in

animation-digital technologies and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from our

school. We explained how our small class sizes and one on one student/faculty relationships

address student’s needs. As an educator it was rewarding to see students interest level surge

when they realized the possibilities of combining their passion for interactive entertainment with

STEM careers.

The keynote of the event was presented by NASA Education Specialist Dr. Frank Scalzo who

gave an engaging talk about the history of NASA and it’s roadmap for the future. Dr. Scalzo

spoke about the retired Space Shuttle program’s contribution to the legacy of manned space

flight. His presentation mapped out a positive vision of the future, full of Mars missions, next

gen aviation and robotics. It was clear that NASA’s future will rely heavily on a next generation

of students, passionate about science and math. Dr. Scalzo stressed the importance of creativity

and critical thinking for those interested in NASA as a career path.

As a supporter of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, I believe in

giving back to the community through service in education. Technological fields such as

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April 16, 2013

manufacturing and computer graphics have been very good to me so in return I am passionate

teaching here at Vaughn College and working with students. I strongly encourage other faculty

members to participate in STEM education outreach programs as it inspires growth in the field of

cutting edge technology. Attending this conference was a rewarding experience and I will return

this spring with Dr. Rahemi and Dr. Budhoo.

National Science Foundation Grant

Vaughn College has been awarded a $575,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to fund

scholarship programs in STEM. Titled "Increasing Student Enrollment and Achievement in

Engineering and Engineering Technology," the grant provides $115,000 annually over the next

five years. The total award represents the largest NSF grant ever given to Vaughn.

The grant will fund 25 four-year scholarships over the five-year period and will target talented,

low-income, minority students who are enrolled in a bachelor of science degree program in

mechatronics engineering, mechanical engineering technology or electronic engineering

technology. Vaughn's goal is to increase the number of recent high school graduates who

successfully complete the College's STEM degree programs.

To be eligible, students must:

Be enrolled in a full-time bachelor degree's program.

Demonstrate financial need by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid

(FAFSA).

Have a minimum cumulative SAT (writing section not included) of 1050.

Have a minimum high school cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.0.

Scholarship recipients will have comprehensive support services that include faculty mentors,

academic advisors and supplemental instructors. Under the guidance of faculty mentors,

scholarship recipients will participate in integrated research and educational activities that will

strengthen their hands-on analytical and communication skills, ensuring successful degree

completion while preparing them for successful engineering careers with learning outcomes that

are aligned with industry standards.

Principal Investigators (PIs) Dr. Hossein Rahemi and Co-PI Dr. Paul LaVergne, chairs of the

engineering and technology and arts and sciences departments, respectively, will oversee

implementation.

"Students who are awarded these scholarships will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with

a faculty mentor to explore their research interests," Rahemi said. "The quality of these research

relationships adds significantly to the depth of each recipient's educational experience at

Vaughn."

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April 16, 2013

NSF Scholarships in STEM Fields: Semester I Activities

1) Flow Visualization Learning Community Activities

In this semester, the program focused on exposing students to diverse applications in

engineering. Professor Elzawawy demonstrated to students how such simple modern tools such

as camera can be utilized to investigate very complicated science phenomena in fluid mechanics.

In this module, which is titled “Introduction to Flow Visualization,” Professor Elzawawy

discussed with students how modern tools such as high resolution cameras and high speed

cameras are currently used in engineering research from predicting weather using satellite

imaging to design micro mechanical systems.

In the final project, students were divided into groups, where each group was required to come

up with their own photo ideas, create an experimental setup to obtain “the right image”. Students

have utilized image filtering and enhancement techniques to extract valuable scientific

information using image analysis software. At the end of the four-week class, each group has

presented their work to the other groups.

Figure 3: Fall 2012 NSF Flow Visualization Learning Community Activities

Figure 1: Temperature effect on viscosity ink drop was added to cold water (on the left) and hot water (on the right). The ink diffused faster in hot water due to the decrease of viscosity at high temperature (Justin Sohan, Christopher Hyun).

Figure 2: Cumulus Stratiformus clouds Image was taken using Kodak Easyshare Z8612 IS Digital Camera with focal length = 6mm and exposure time= 0.8 ms (Saneela Rabbani).

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April 16, 2013

2) Warren Truss Bridge Design Learning Community Activities

In Professor Budhoo Module, he introduced the structural side of engineering with simple design

and hands-on application. During the four weeks of this course, students were given an

introduction to basic concepts such as stress, strain, deformation and Hooke’s law as used in

mechanical engineering. Application of these concepts were then introduced to students where

they studied and analyzed a basic Warren truss bridge after looking at the various types of

bridges and mechanisms involved in their load distribution.

In the final two weeks of the course, students were given an opportunity to design and build a

simple Warren truss bridge which was required to support a truck driving over it. During this

design process, students made use of a simple truss analysis in excel software. As part of the

class, students were also required to write a short report explaining their design process and build

a small bridge based on their design.

Figure 4: Warren Truss Bridge Design and Analysis

Figure 5: Fall 2012 NSF Bridge Design Learning Community Activities

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April 16, 2013

3) Robotics Learning Community Activities

In the third module, Professor He took students to the world of robotics by introducing them to

the topic. Professor He explained the fundamentals of robotics and trained students to use and

program DC motors, motors drives, logic controllers and other VEX robotics components.

Students were then given the opportunity to use these components to build their robot to

overcome a simple maneuver task, to avoid a physical obstacle, using components such as

ultrasonic sensors. In this task, students have programmed based on Easy C language to achieve

the required task.

Figure 6: Students demonstrating their robotics project (left to right:

Deepak Rai, Eric He, Andrew Aquino, and Josiah D’Arrigo)

Figure 7: Fall 2012 NSF Robotics Learning Community Activities

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April 16, 2013

Robotic Manipulator with Universal Gripper

William Sarkis Babikian

Student in Mechatronics Engineering Program at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and

Technology, Flushing, NY, USA, [email protected]


Professor at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA,

[email protected]

ABSTRACT

In the robotics, there is a constant need for object manipulation. Robots usually have a gripper

that can do so. The current grippers in today’s industry are confined to one shape, which limits

the range of objects that a robot can handle. There is a difficulty in both manufacturing and

controlling when designing a gripper system that can manipulate a wide range of objects. The

human hand is a prime example of a ‘gripper’ system. However, to emulate a human hand in

robotics, the huge amount of degrees of freedom need to be introduced, which make the process

complicated. Fortunately, researchers have developed a feasible and less expensive solution to

produce gripper with a few degrees of freedom as human hand. The produced gripper consists of

a latex membrane, granular material such as coffee grounds, and a vacuum pump. The latex

membrane acts as a deformable enclosure for the granular material, while the vacuum pump

controls the air pressure difference within the latex membrane. This design is coined the

universal jamming gripper since it can grab various types of objects. Due to its simplicity and

effectiveness, the gripper system can be implemented as a part of a robotic manipulator for

education. Students can do experiments using the robotic manipulator when they learn forward

and inverse kinematics as well as control system designs.

Keywords: granular jamming gripper, kinematics, control system designs

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Robotic arms are a popular educational tool for mechatronic engineering students to learn system

design by combining the knowledge learned from Electrical Engineering, Mechanical

Engineering and Computer Engineering. However, current robotic manipulators on the market

are expensive. Small colleges cannot afford to spend thousands of dollars on a single basic

platform. Educators who are attempting to improve manipulator to student ratio, for example

two or three students per manipulator are even more constrained. Furthermore, the fixed setup of

commercial manipulators makes it difficult to explain the internals of a robotic arm, which

discourages students from modifying the current system and developing a new system by

themselves. Among several affordable robotic arm platforms, such as VEX® robotic tool box1

and LEGO® robotic tool box2, the VEX® robotic arm is a better choice due to the robust parts

for repeated usage. Therefore, the robotic platform under investigation has been built using most

VEX® robotic parts.



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April 16, 2013

For the robotic arm, besides designing a robot shoulder and elbow to send the end effector to a

desired position and orientation, how to implement a robotic hand to “grasp” an object is also

very important. Traditionally, most robotic hands are exploited by embodying human hand

structure 3,4

. As a result, the robotic hands with up to 18 DOF (degrees of freedom) and elastic,

flexible, and deformable materials have been developed. In addition, force control needs to be

applied so that the robotic arm can pick up both hard and soft objects. Such a requirement for

the knowledge in mechanics, materials, and control theory makes teaching robotic manipulators

in the courses at an undergraduate-level complicated.

Recently, the research on robotic hand for "grasping" has emerged a completely different

strategy called universal grippers or granular jamming grippers5. The method utilizes a latex

membrane (as the gripper) containing granular material to enwrap an object and then evacuate air

from the gripper so that the granular material jam and stabilize the “grasp”. A robotic gripper

built in this way needs neither complex hand structure and materials nor sensory feedback.

Therefore, it not only provides a revolutionary solution in the research area, but also brings a

viable way for the robotic education for undergraduates.

In this paper, we will introduce a robotic platform that combines a VEX® robotic arm with a

granular jamming gripper. The VEX® robotic arm has three DOF with three encoders to

measure the joint angles and four DC (direct current) motors to control joint angular positions

and orientations. A granular jamming gripper consists of a latex balloon, which contains the

granular material, and a vacuum, which is used to interact with an object. The developed robotic

arm and gripper system is designed for the senior-level course, Mechatronics II – Robotics. In

the course, students will learn robotic manipulators, forward and inverse kinematics, differential

motion and robotic dynamics, mobile robots and control of robots. During the period of studying

robotic kinematics, students will derive the angular values of each joint, test their designs using

the platform so that they can visually understand how a robotic manipulator works. In the

junior-level course, Mechatronics I – Industrial Automation, students will see the demonstration

of how a robotic manipulator is explored in the industrial manufacturing assembly line with the

platform. Furthermore, students are encouraged to integrate similar designs, i.e. a robotic arm

with the universal jamming gripper, in their future course projects to demonstrate how a robotic

manipulator works in the manufacturing industry.

In order to discuss the built educational kit in detail, we will describe our work in the following

steps: In the next section, the size, structure and scope of the robotic arm are shown.

Particularly, how we use the platform for students to verify the robotic design in forward and

inverse kinematics will be discussed. Then, the working principle of a granular jamming gripper

and implementation will be introduced. Following this section will be an example to

demonstrate how the manipulator detects a metal or nonmetal object, grasps and puts it into the

corresponding basket. Finally, the conclusion will be given in the last section.

2.1 Structure of the Robotic Manipulator and Robotic Kinematics

The structure of the robotic manipulator under development is shown in Figure 1. The

configuration of the manipulator is similar to the articulated robots which are most commonly

used in industry. The robot has three degrees of freedom, i.e. the joint 1 (θ1) is the base rotation,

joint 2 (θ2) is the shoulder rotation and joint 3 (θ3) is the elbow rotation, where the joint 1 and

joint 2 are perpendicular and joint 2 and joint 3 are parallel. Three angles are measured by three

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April 16, 2013

optical shaft encoders and controlled by four DC motors. The optical shaft encoders, provided by

VEX® Robotics, Inc. have a channel with 90 ticks per revolution on each channel. The DC

motors are also provided by VEX® Robotics, Inc. with the specification as follows: stall torque

0.97 Nm, free speed 100 RPM (revolutions per minute), stall current 2.6 Amps and free current

0.18 amps.

Figure 1: Structure of Robotic Manipulator

Figure 2: Reference Frames for the Robotic Manipulator

Figure 2 shows the reference frames used for the robotic arm. The size of each link and the

relationship between each link and each joint are listed and explained in the following table. For

the safety in the experiment, three joint angles are limited to the following ranges: -60° ≤ θ1 ≤

60° around z0 axis; -45° ≤ θ2 ≤ 45° around z2 axis and -45° ≤ θ3 ≤ 45° around z3 axis.

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April 16, 2013

Symbolic names Size (cm) Explanation

LG 7.5 From ground to the base joint.

L0 11.5 From the base joint to the shoulder joint.

L1 13 From the shoulder joint to the elbow joint.

L2 26 From the elbow joint to the fixed joint of gripper

L3 5.5 From the fixed joint of gripper to the bottom of the gripper

Table1: Size of Each Link of the Robotic Manipulator

The robotic manipulator provides an experimental platform for students to verify their solutions

for the forward and inverse kinematic problems since the relationship between the reference

frame to the target frame (or the hand frame) can be clearly derived through the

following six steps:

(1) Transformation 0T1: from the frame to is to rotate about z0 an angle of θ1 and

then translate along a distance of LG+L0.

(2) Transformation 1T2: from the frame to is to rotate about x1 an angle of 90°and

then rotate about an angle of θ2.

(3) Transformation 2T3: from the frame to is to translate along x2 a distance L1 and

then rotate about an angle of θ3.

(4) Transformation 3T4: from the frame to is to translate along x3 a distance L2.

(5) Transformation 4TT: from the frame to is to translate along x4 a distance L3.

(6) The total transformation is 0TT =

0T1×

1T2×

2T3×

3T4×

4TT.

where iTi+1,i=0,1,2,3,4,T are the transformation

6 from the frame i to the frame i+1.

To test the solution for the forward kinematic problem: Since all link lengths and joint angles of

the robot are known, the position and orientation of the jamming gripper using the above

transformations can be calculated at every instant. Experimentally, the joint angles are

programmed and sent the logic controller so that students can see the actual vs. measured (from

encoders) location and orientation of the robotic gripper.

To test the solution for inverse kinematic problem: Since the desired gripper location and

orientation of the robotic arm and the length of links are known, the above transformations are

used to solve the joint angles θ1, θ2 and θ3, respectively. Experimentally, the solutions of the

joint angles are used to place the robotic gripper to the desired position and orientation so that

the object at the pre-specific location and orientation can be picked up.

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April 16, 2013

2.2 Granular Jamming Gripper

The main idea of the granular jamming gripper is to switch an elastic bag containing granular

material between a deformable (with air) state and rigid (without air) state by applying a vacuum.

With air, the granular material can flow around an object and conform to its shape. When the air

is evacuated from the gripper, the granular material will jam and stabilize the grasp. Therefore,

it virtually generates an infinite degree of freedom actuated by a single motor.

Figure 3: Granular Jamming Gripper

Figure 4: Vacuum Pump and Mechanical Relay

Figure 3 shows the components for the granular jamming gripper in the robotic kit under

development. It includes a vacuum pump, a mechanical relay and a latex membrane containing

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April 16, 2013

granular material. The D2028 pump used here (Figure 4(b)) is made by Sparkfun® Electronics

with the vacuum range of 0-16” Hg, the pressure range of 0-32 PSI. It is driven by the DC

voltage of 12 Volts with the power of 12 Watts. The mechanical relay switch RS210 (Figures

4(a) and 4(c)), made by Team Delta©

Engineering, is used to turn on/off the pump. A PWM

(pulse width modulation) signal with the duty cycle larger than 10% is used to turn on the power

of the relay. In the experiment, a common party-balloon and coffee grains were chosen as the

latex membrane and the granular material, respectively, due to their availability and affordable

prices. Other acceptable granular materials can be beach sand and nano-sphere.

Figure 5 shows how the granular jamming gripper works. The gripper is connected to the

vacuum pump via vinyl tubing. When the granular jamming gripper is in a relaxed state (i.e.

neutral pressure), the gripper acts as a liquid capable of enwrapping an object. If the vacuum

pump activates, the negative pressure (inside pressure minus outside pressure) turns the gripper

solid providing a clamping action.

Figure 5: Dominant Forces

While in the solid state, the irregular shape of each individual coffee grain is exposed through the

latex membrane. The membrane will have a rough texture providing an additional frictional

force when gripping an object. The frictional force is dominant when attempting to grasp an

object where the clamping force is not practicable (i.e. a solid cube). The process of enwrapping

the object, solidifying the granular jamming gripper, and returning to a relaxed state provides the

necessary actions for object interaction.

When the robotic manipulator positions itself on top of the object, it thrusts down in a

perpendicular manner making the object press against the latex membrane and providing enough

contact area between the gripper and the object. The logic controller will then send a PWM

signal with the duty cycle higher than 10% to activate the mechanical relay. Once the relay is

closed, the vacuum will be turned on so that the air inside the gripper will be evacuated, and the

negative pressure will be created. The object is now properly gripped by the granular jamming

gripper and can be moved around by the robotic manipulator. When the desired location is

reached, the logic controller will then send a PWM signal with the duty cycle less than 10%.

This will open the relay and turn off the vacuum pump so that the jamming gripper can return to

its relaxed state and release the object.

3.0 Demonstration of the Manipulator to Detect and Move Objects

Now, an example is taken to demonstrate how the robotic manipulator works. The logic

controller will regulate the robotic gripper to a desired location and orientation according to

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April 16, 2013

inverse kinematics. It will detect the object at the specified location using sensors and then

determine where to send the object. Finally, the robotic manipulator will use the granular

jamming gripper to pick up the object and send it to the desired location.

Figure 6: Working Flowchart of Robotic System

Here, in addition to the robotic arm and the granular gripper discussed in previous sections, the

programmable logic controller made by VEX® Robotics, Inc. is programmed in EasyC language

and two sensors, the inductive and conductive sensors, are added into the robotic system. The

inductive proximity sensors are used to detect both ferrous metals (containing iron) and

nonferrous metals (such as copper, aluminum, and brass). Inductive proximity sensors operate

under the electrical principle of inductance, where a fluctuating current induces an electromotive

force (emf) in an object. Capacitive proximity sensors are similar to inductive proximity sensors.

The main differences between the two types of sensors are capacitive proximity sensors produce

an electrostatic field instead of an electromagnetic field and are actuated by both conductive and

nonconductive materials.

The robotic manipulator along with the granular jamming gripper can be implemented in an

assembly line scenario with a working flowchart shown in Figure 6. The manipulator will be

stationed in front of an assembly belt line. As the objects progress in increments of the assembly

line, they will pass a station containing two sensors: an inductive-type proximity sensor and a

capacitive proximity sensor. These sensors will signal the logic controller of three possibilities:

metal, nonmetal, and nonexistent. When the inductive sensor and the capacitive sensor are

actuated, the object is deemed metal. If only the capacitive sensor is actuated, the object is

deemed nonmetal. In the case of an object falling off the assembly line or a factory worker

manually removes an object, none of the sensors are actuated causing the logic controller to

increment past the nonexistent object until the next available object.

When an object passes through the sensors, it will be processed step-by-step into a ‘pick-up’

station of the assembly line, a specified location where the robotic manipulator can grab the

object and place it in its designated box. Through the calculated joint angles for each of the

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April 16, 2013

reference frames via inverse kinematics, the logic controller will position the gripper. If the

object is metal, the robotic manipulator will take it to a designated box which only contains

metal objects. Likewise, if it is nonmetal, it will proceed into a box only for nonmetal objects.

After placing the object into the appropriate box, the robotic manipulator will return to its initial

position waiting for the next available object.

4.0 Conclusion

In this paper, we have presented a method to develop a robotic kit in the education of

undergraduate students in the Mechatronic Engineering program. In the robotic kit, the VEX®

robotic parts has been used to build a testing platform for students to verify the correctness of the

forward and inverse kinematic solutions. In addition, a granular jamming gripper has been

implemented for students to practice object interaction of robotic systems. The well-worked

robotic manipulator and universal granular gripper help students to understand robotics and be

more creatively involved in robotic engineering. Furthermore, due to the high flexibility using

the VEX® construction parts, students can easily transform the current setup to their needs by

adding additional sensors and/or motors.

From the development of the project, we think educators could split the robotic course into

position manipulation and object interaction using the provided robotic tool. Before students

come to the robotic course, they should have fundamental knowledge of sensors and actuators.

Then, they can learn robotic positioning, and finally they will attempt the topic like gripping an

object. The application of universal jamming gripper can effectively bridge the two topics and

make it ideal for education.

REFERENCES

1. http://www.vexrobotics.com/.

2. http://www.lego.com/

3. Hoffmann, M., and Pfeifer, R., “The implications of embodiment for behavior and cognition: animal and

robotic case studies”, The Implications of Embodiment: Cognition and Communication, in W. Tschacher&

C. Bergomi, ed., Imprint Academic (2011).

4. Mason, M. T., Rodriguez, A., Srinivasa, S. S., Vazquez, A. S., “Autonomous manipulation with a general-

purpose simple hand”, The International Journal of Robotics Research, vol. 31, No. 5, pp. 688-703. (2012).

5. Brown, E., Rodenberg, N., Amend, J., Mozeika, A., Steltz, E., Zakin, M. R., Lipson, H. &Jaeger, H. M.,

"Universal robotic gripper based on thejamming of granular material". ProcNatlAcadSci USA, 107, 18809–

14. (2010).

6. Niku, S. B., Introduction to Robotics - Analysis, Control, Applications, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2011).

http://www.vexrobotics.com/

http://www.lego.com/

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April 16, 2013

Alternate F/A -18 Tail Hook Designs

Antonio Diaz

Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA

[email protected]

Acharaf Ifinis Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA

[email protected]

Advisor: Dr. Yougashwar Budhoo and Dr. Hossein Rahemi Department of Engineering and Technology, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing,

NY, USA, [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The United States Navy's aircraft carrier is capable of launching and recovering aircrafts out to

sea. Airplanes are not capable of taking off or landing safely on the carriers due to the short

length of the runway. However, catapults that can reach speeds of 160 miles per hour in a second

are used to launch the airplanes from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier into the air. Since the

aircraft are not capable of reducing the speed and come to a complete stop in less than 320 feet,

which is the length of the landing runway; arresting gears are required to slow down the airplane

to a complete stop. Due to the excessive weight of the tail hook on an aircraft, it leads to

inefficient fuel usage and can lead to more difficulty in maneuvering the aircraft. This paper

explored a few different designs of the tail hook which reduced its weight and increasing the

strength by optimizing the stress distribution in the hook.

Keywords: CATIA, Analysis, Stress, Tail, Hook

1. INTRODUCTION

The US Navy is one of the most powerful navies in the world. The ability to transport over sixty

aircrafts, on an aircraft carrier, anywhere in the world makes it a strong weapon and very useful

against enemies. When air support is needed the aircraft carriers are capable of catapulting

aircrafts into the air. The use of arresting gear is implemented in order for these aircraft to land

on the carrier without stalling in the air and crashing into the ship or into the sea. The arresting

gears consist of four arresting wires, arresting engines, and a tail hook [1].

The Tail hook is a strong metal bar. The free end is thickened and shaped into a hook. It is

attached to the keel of the aircraft. The pilot has control of the tail hook; he lowers it before the

landing process and it is raised after coming to a full stop. When tail hook engages one of the

arresting wires, the inertia is transferred through the wire onto the arresting engines that absorbs

the energy and slows down the plane.

The tail hook plays a very important role in the landing process and the safety of the aircraft. In

case of failure, the aircraft can end up partially or totally damaged risking the life of the pilot and

the crew on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier.




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April 16, 2013

The objective of this project is to re-design a tail hook and reduce the weight thus improving the

maneuverability of the airplane and also improving the fuel efficiency. Also by reducing the

weight there is an increased capability of carrying more weapons by the aircraft. In a life or death

situation carrying an extra missile may be useful to successfully accomplish a mission. The new

tail hook will meet the safety requirements same of the present design.

2.1 DESIGN

A new design of the tail hook was built knowing the safety requirements that must be met and

also based on the characteristics of the airplane, the weight and the minimum speed required to

prevent stalling in the air, thus preventing crash on the flight deck. For this project the aircraft

chosen was the F/A-18E [2]. The new design of the tail hook aimed to reduce the weight, which

in turn improves fuel efficiency and maneuverability of the airplane. As a result the airplane is

capable of carrying more weapons. In order to design a new tail hook a stress analysis was

performed on the tail hook during the arrest landing process. CATIA V5 was used in the design

and analysis process of the tail hook. The initial step of the design was done by modeling and

analyzing the original tail hook currently in used. This hook was then studied with emphasis

placed on the critical locations, stress distribution, weight and geometry. The proposed designs

were then modeled in such a way that there is better stress distribution, reduced weight and better

design of the critical locations.

2.2 MODELING

Material: The current material used for the tail hook is the Ferrium M54 [3]. It is an ultra-high

strength steel material used in aerospace structural applications. Beside its use in tail hooks, it is

also used in aircraft landing gear, flap track, drive shafts, armor, and blast-resistant containment

devices.

Table 1. Properties of Ferrium M54

Material

Properties

Density Elastic

Modulus

Yield

Strength

Tensile

Strength

Poisson’s

Ratio

Values 7890 kg/m3 190-210 GPa 1731 MPa 2020 MPa

Aircraft Specifications [4]:

Type: F/A-18E/F Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas/ Boeing

Northrop

Unit Cost: 35 – 45 Millions Maximum Landing Weight: 16,770 kg

Maximum Takeoff Weight: 23,500kg Empty Weight: 10,400 kg

Speed at Landing: 220 – 259 km/h Length: 16.8 meters (56 ft)

Height: 4.6 meters (15 ft 4 in) Wingspan: 13.5 meters (40 ft 5 in)

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Figure 1: F/A - 18 Specifications

Tail Hook Specifications:

The tail hook consists of the hook, the cylinder bar, and the bracket.

Length: 2.31 meters

Diameter of cylinder bar: 0.1156 meters

Fig.2. above shows a CATIA model of the original tail hook currently used on the aircraft

Figure 2: CATIA Model of Current Tail Hook

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April 16, 2013

3. MATHEMATICAL FORMULATION:

T = Tension in the cable T ‘= Internal Force in bar.

= acceleration ΔV / Δt = Change in velocity over change in time

= angle cable formed with horizontal RF = Reaction Front Landing Gear

m = mass RR = Reaction Rear Landing Gear

W = Weight of aircraft D = Diameter of tail hook

AH = Cross-Sectional Area of tail hook d = Distance from neutral axis to the force applied

Vf = Final Velocity Vi = Initial Velocity

ti = Initial Time tf = Final Time

Mz = Moment about Z axis Iz = Inertia of neutral axis

σBottom: Stress at bottom surface of tail hook σTop = Stress at top surface of the tail hook.

4. THEORETICAL ANALYSIS

Tail Hook

The tail hook is divided into three pieces, the hook, the cylinder bar, and the bracket [5]. The

mass of the tail hook is equal to combinations of these three elements. The mass was found to be

244.49 kg; however for this project the main focus was the cylinder bar which is the element that

was modified to produce an optimized design.

Calculating Tension In The Cable:

Using Newton’s 2nd

law

+∑ Fx = m* ….............................................................................................................. (1)

Figure 3. FBD of F/A-18E/F

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April 16, 2013

T * Cos θ = m * ; T = ..........................................................................……….... .(2)

For these calculations the worst case of scenario is taking into considerations. Therefore the

value of θ is zero. Cos (0) = 1. Thus, Equation (2) becomes

T = m * …….............................................................................................................…. (3)

Solving for acceleration ( : = ........................................... .(4)

The average time it takes a plane to slow down to a full stop is approximately 3.0 seconds.

However, some planes slowdown in less time. For this calculation 1.9 seconds was used, looking

forward the worst case possible.

substituting (2) into (1): T = …...................................................... .............. (5)

T = (16770 kg) * : The tension (T) in the cable is 635.5 kN

Calculating Theoretical Stress in Tail Hook

Taking a section at A-A' as in Fig. 4, the internal force in the tail hook was found. This was done

using Fig. 5.

Figure 5: Free Body Diagram of Tail Hook

Figure 4. Tail Hook Session A-A'

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April 16, 2013

Using the equilibrium equation, +

∑ Fx = 0 ..........................................................................(6)

T’-T = 0; T' =T= 635.5 kN

where T is the tension of the cable and T’ is the internal force in the bar.

Summing the moment about the section A-A'

For this calculation, the distance d, is from the surface to the centroid of the bar to the point of

load application T.

T’ produces a normal stress throughout the section of the bar at A-A’, and Mz produces bending

stress. The normal and bending stress can be calculated using Equation (7).

Due to the bending moment (Mz), above the neutral axis of the tail hook is subject to

compression while below the neutral axis is subjected to tension. Due to combined axial loading

and bending, the lower portion of the hook is expected to experience a larger combined stress

than the portion above the neutral axis.

Stress in the tail hook:

To compute the stress, the cross sectional area (AH) and the second moment of inertia (Iz) about

the z-axis of the tail hook was required, these were found to be;

AH = 0.01049 m2

Iz =8.752 x 10-6

m4

From Equation (7) and (8) the stresses at the top and bottom surfaces in the tail hook where the

maximum compressive and tensile stresses respectively, occurs is given as follow:

= = ...............................................................................(7)

= 442 MPa

= ........................................................................(8)

= 562.4 MPa

Fig.

Figure 6: Stress distribution due to axial load (T) and bending moment (M).

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April 16, 2013

6 shows the stress distribution over the cross section of the tail hook due to the axial loading and

the bending moment.

5. NUMEICAL ANAYLSIS

Figure 7: Original Design on CATIA

Since the theoretical solution is known, CATIA was then used to model the tail hook and

compute the stresses numerically. A good agreement between numerical and theoretical solution

serves as a validation that the numerical model is acceptable and capable of optimizing a tail

design with sufficient accuracy. Fig. 7 shows the current model used for the numerical solution.

The accuracy of a numerical model is a good as its mesh optimization. A mesh convergence

study was conducted to find the most appropriate mesh size to yield acceptable results. Using a

very small mesh size will give better results, however the computation time and power required

is increase as compared to a larger mesh size. It is therefore necessary to find a proper balance

between mesh size and computation time.

For the mesh convergence study, the numerical analysis started with a relatively large mesh size.

As the mesh size decreased, it was found that the solution converged. From Fig. 8, it can be seen

that an appropriate mesh size to use would be between 0.1 and 0.4 m. For the entire numerical

analysis process, a mesh size of 0.3 was used.

Figure 8: Mesh Convergence Chart

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April 16, 2013

CATIA analysis of original tail hook

Fig. 9 shows the numerical model with stress distribution for the current tail hook. Analyzing the

entire tail hook for stress, in Fig. 9 the maximum stress in the tail hook is 557 MPa on the bottom

surface as compared to 562.4 MPa found in the theoretical analysis. Fig.10. shows a magnified

view of the tail hook bottom surface with the stress distribution.

Figure 9: Stress on entire tail hook

Figure 10: Magnified view of the bottom of the tail

Proposed Design 1

For Design 1, a hole that goes trough the hook was created. The radius of the whole is equal to

0.04m. The mass of the tail hook was reduced by roughly 30 kg. However the maximum stress

increased to 820 MPa in comparison with the original desgin. By making the radius of the hole

smaller the stress can be reduce, but the reduction in mass will be negligable and do not meet the

objectives. The 3-D model is shown in Fig.11 with the stress distribution in Fig. 12.

Figure 11: Isometric view of proposed design

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April 16, 2013

Figure 12: Stress distribution over critical region

Proposed Design 2

For the second design, the stress distributed throughout the tail hook was analyzed. It was

noticed that most of the stress was concentrated in the bottom surface of the tail hook with

almost no stress closer to the neutral axis. The new design consists of removing material in the

area where the stress was of less magnitude i.e., closer to the neutral axis. This can be seen in

Fig. 13. The sides of the hook are where the stress concentrates the least. This area was removed

and a stress analysis was performed.

With design 2, the weight was reduced much more than desgin number one, but the maximum

stress is very high compared to the original design maximum stress. therefore design two would

fail sooner than the original design and this is not desirable. In the proposed design 2, the weight

was reduced much more than desgin number one. However, the stress does not meet the

expectations of the final design.

Figure 13: cross-sectional view Proposed Design

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April 16, 2013

Figure 14: Isometric view

Figure 15: Stress distribution on proposed design

Proposed Design 3

In this desgin the concept for design 2 was used. However, since its not a pure bending problem,

the neutral axis did not coincide with the centroid of the cross-section, hence the stress

distribution is not symmetric above and below the neutral axis.

Using this fact, it therefore means the area above and below the neutral axis doe's not have to be

the same. To optimize the design, a larger area was removed above the neutran axis and a

smaller portion below the neutral axis as compared to design two. This can be seen in Fig. 16. In

Fig 17, the entore model is shown and in Fig. 18, the stress over the critical region is shown.

With design three, the weight was reduced by 69 kg. The maximum stress found was equal to

543 MPa. This design meets the requirements of safety for the F/A-18.

Figure 16: cross-sectional view Proposed Design

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April 16, 2013

Figure 17: Isometric view

Figure 18: Stress over critical region of proposed model

Table 2 shows a summary of the original designs and the three proposed models. It can be seen

that the best design is design # 3. This design took into consideration the stress distribution.

Table 2. Comparison of Designs

6. CONCLUSION

Most of the stress in the tail hook is concentrated in the bottom surface. This surface is subjected

to tension due to the moment about neutral axis. By eliminating part of the mass in the upper

surface, which is subject to compression, we can reduce the weight of the tail hook. The tail hook

was reduced by 30% of its original weight. This is equivalent to 69 kg (152 lbs.). This free

weight can be used to carry an extra AIM-9 which is the lightest missile carried by the F-18 [6].

In life or death situation and extra missile can save the pilot’s life or accomplish a critical

military mission.

Design Weight (kg) σmax (MPa)

Original Design 244 557

Proposed Design 1 29 820



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REFERENCES

[1] Military factory.Nuclear Power Aircraft Carrier.

http://www.militaryfactory.com/ships/detail.asp?=USS-GeorgeWashington-CVN73, Nov. 2010.

[2] Boeing.Defense, Space and Security.F/A-18 Super Hornet. http://www.boeing.com/defense-

space/military/fa18ef/index.htm, April 2012

[3] Questek.Innovations LLC.Ferrium M54. http://www.questek.com/filebase/src/Mat

/FerriumM54PresentationatAA.pdf, April 2012.

[4] Naval Air Systems Command.F/A-18 E-F Super Hornet.

http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.fuseaction=Platform&key=36AF-4038-AD33-B559.htm, June

2005.

[5] Global Security.Military Aircrafts F/A-18E.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f-18-specs.htm, July 2011

[6] FAS.Federation of American Scientist. F/A-18

Armament.http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/man/uswpns/air/fighter/f18.html

http://www.militaryfactory.com/ships/detail.asp?=USS-GeorgeWashington-CVN73

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/fa18ef/index.htm

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/fa18ef/index.htm

http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.fuseaction=Platform&key=36AF-4038-AD33-B559.htm

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f-18-specs.htm

http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/man/uswpns/air/fighter/f18.html

56


April 16, 2013

A Subsurface Interference Design Study

on a Steam Distribution System

Yair Koenov

Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY 11369

[email protected]

Melvin Okumu

Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY 11369

[email protected]

Advisor: Raul Telles

Consolidated Edison Inc., Designer

Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing NY 11369

[email protected]

ABSTRACT

In any Utility or Energy Company the distribution of fluid or gas is transmitted along a system of

pipes. The configurations of these pipes are dependent on their system loads, geometric

constraints and their thermal growth. The purpose of this project is to investigate the nature and

behavior of such a system when it is modified to accommodate new facilities or infrastructures.

It is desirable to examine several possible engineering solutions while at the same time

maintaining a cost effective design.

KEYWORDS: Steam distribution system, thermal stress analysis, ASME B31.1 power piping,

water hammer

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Steam is a gaseous phase of water. When water is heated beyond its boiling point, it evaporates

to a vapor state known as steam. Steam can be used to transport controllable amounts of energy

in an efficient and economic manner. This makes it ideal for many industries to use steam as a

source of power or to heat their facilities. There are many benefits for using steam in terms of

processing, controlling, converting, managing, and distributing.

In order for a steam user to receive steam it must have a way of receiving it from a steam

generator plant. This method is achieved by having a steam distribution system [1]

. Steam is

typically created in a boiler chamber where water is heated beyond its boiling point. The steam

produced is then directed to a turbine and then condensed in a condenser. Condensation is the

result of steam reverting to its liquid state. In a steam distribution system, such as the one in

NYC, transmission and distribution pipes run from the steam generating plant to the steam user.

The steam distribution system in NYC dates back before the wide use of electricity. It is a very

efficient way to distribute energy throughout the city. The steam pipes in NYC are a public

utility, and steam is produced in several huge city-owned buildings in Manhattan. Today, most of

the steam produced is not used directly but drives steam generators that provide electricity to the

NYC area.

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April 16, 2013

Although the usefulness of such a system is apparent, maintaining and adding to the current

steam system can be troublesome in regard to maintaining enough clearance between the utilities

that are competing for underground space. This is evident as shown in figure 1 below.

Fig. 1: Actual subsurface interference picture in NYC

[7].

2.0 PROBLEM STATEMENT

An underground steam piping system is currently in direct interference with a NYC water main

project that will run perpendicular to it. The proposed water main is 36” in nominal diameter

running north to south along McGraw Avenue. The steam system being impacted has a nominal

diameter of 20” which runs west to east along John Street and has a concrete housing encasing

the steam pipe. Figure 2 is a detail drawing of the problem described above.

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April 16, 2013

Fig. 2: Technical drawing showing the steam main in direct interference with the water main

A new design must be implemented on the steam system in order to accommodate the proposed

water main being installed. In order to maintain a safe and acceptable design, some geometric

constraints must be enforced. The geometric constraints for the new steam system includes

having a minimum distance of 12” from the top of the concrete steam housing to the surface of

the road way and maintaining a minimum distance of 6” from either side of the concrete steam

housing to the new 36” diameter water main. It is worthy to note that the Department of Design

and Construction (DDC) [3]

has minimum distance requirements between its infrastructures and

other utilities but for the purpose of this project we use the minimum distance specified

previously.

There are various designs that can be implemented to achieve a safe design. Some possibilities

include the use of an eccentric1 reducer to achieve greater spatial surrounding, offsetting around

the water main by creating a thermal loop, or using both. A solution that achieves a safe

configuration free of interference of the water main and the steam main must also be free of

excess thermal stresses specified in the ASME B31.1 power piping code.

1 Eccentric reducers are fittings with two different diameters on either end to connect different size pipes. Eccentric

reducers have a straight edge that runs parallel to the connecting pipe thus having offset center lines.

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April 16, 2013

The ASME B31.1 code prescribes minimum requirements for the design, materials used,

fabrication, testing, and inspection of power and auxiliary service piping systems for electric

generation stations, industrial plants, central and district heating plants. The code covers boiler

external piping for power boilers and high temperature, high pressure water boilers in which

steam or vapor is generated at a pressure of more than 15 psig, and high temperature water is

generated at pressures exceeding 160 psig and/or temperature exceeding 250 °F.

The following are the design parameters of the steam distribution system for this project.

Material: A53 B – Carbon Steel

Nominal Pipe size: 20”

Insulation: Fiber Glass

Pressure: 200 psi

Temperature: 413˚F

4” Movement Externally Pressurized Expansion Joint (if applicable)

Once a preliminary design has been achieved it will be analyzed though a thermal stress analysis

program (CAEPIPE [5]

) in order to check that the new design configuration does not exceed the

stress values recommended and specified in the B31.1 code. A 3-D view of the existing

interference condition can be seen in figure 3.

Fig. 3: AUTOCAD 3D model Projection of the existing case of the steam pipe with

interference

3.0 MATHEMATICAL FORMULATION

There are different forces and stresses acting on the steam distribution system. In order to design

a high value engineering solution it is necessary to define the fundamental equations governing

the problem. The steam pipe can be modeled as a cylindrical element. If the radius to thickness

ISOMETRIC VIEW

Side

walk

Stree

t

Sewe

r

Water

Gas

Steam Electric

Condui

t

Manhole

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April 16, 2013

ratio is greater than 10, we can safely assume a thin wall pressure vessel [9]

where t is uniform

and constant. Below is a free body diagram showing the stresses and combined loadings acting

on the cylindrical element.

Stress Tensor

Note: Wall thickness of the cubic

element is exaggerated for clarity.

Also, assuming a thin wall

pressure vessel where

Fig. 4: Free body diagram showing the combined loading and stresses acting on a body

When a cylinder body is subjected to an internal pressure, p, it will experience 3 types of

principal stresses. Along σxx it will experience a longitudinal stress, along σzz it will experience a

tangential stress, and along σyy it will experience a radial stress. Since we are assuming a thin

wall pressure vessel the radial stress is assumed to be zero. Therefore,

Tangential Stress (1) Longitudinal Stress (2)

3.1 MOMENT STRESSES

The moment stress on the pipe cross-section caused

by an external load is

Where M = flexural moment

Fig. 5: Bending stress diagram [11]

Z = section modulus expressed in terms of the pipe diameter, D, and the wall thickness

It becomes evident that the steam distribution system will involve complex loadings and stresses

that are introduced into the system by the varying loads (i.e., heat, pressure, weight, etc.) being

imposed on the system. Although it is important to analytically analyze and investigate the

nature of the stresses found acting on the system a comprehensive mathematical derivation will

not be presented in this paper. Instead we hope to analyze the stresses in the system by using the

CAEPIPE program (piping stress program) which uses the following equations taken from the

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April 16, 2013

ASME B31.1 code and from the Piping Design & Analysis CAEPIPE Workshop [5a]

book

specifying sustained stress, occasional stress, and expansion stress range.

3.2 SUSTAINED STRESSES

The stress (SL) due to sustained loads (pressure, weight and other sustained mechanical loads) is

calculated as

Where:

P = maximum of CAEPIPE pressures P1, P2, and P3

Do = outside diameter

tn = nominal wall thickness

i = stress intensification factor. The product of 0.75i shall not be less than 1.0

MA = resultant bending moment due to weight and other sustained loads

Z = uncorroded section modulus; for reduced outlets, effective section modulus

Sh = hot allowable stress (basic material allowable stress at maximum temperature)

*stress intensification factor is used to account for discontinuity in the geometric shape of the

pipe. (i.e., welds, weldolets, etc.)

3.3 OCCASIONAL STRESSES

The stress (SLO) due to occasional loads is calculated as the sum of stress due to sustained loads

(SL) and stress due to occasional loads (So) such as earthquake or wind. Wind and earthquake

are not considered concurrently.

Where

MB = resultant bending moment on the cross-section due to occasional loads such as thrust

from relief/safety valve loads, from pressure and flow transients, earthquake, wind, etc.

Ppeak = peak pressure = (peak pressure factor in CAEPIPE) × P

3.4 EXPANSION STRESS RANGE (I.E., STRESS DUE TO DISPLACEMENT LOAD RANGE)

The stress (SE) due to thermal expansion is calculated as

Where

Mc = resultant moment due to thermal expansion

SA = f (1.25Sc + 0.24Sh)

f = cyclic stress range reduction factor where 6/N0.2

≤ 1.0 and f ≥ 0.15 with N being the

total number of equivalent reference displacement stress range cycles expected during the

service life of the piping

Sc = allowable stress at cold temperature

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April 16, 2013

Displacement Stress Range SE shall not exceed the allowable stress range SA which is calculated

by

Where: (in our case)

4.0 Thermal Stress Analysis

The existing configuration was modeled in CAEPIPE and analyzed through the thermal stress

simulation. The analysis showed the stresses of the presently designed pipe to have minimal

thermal stresses.

In order to accommodate the water main two configurations have been designed to reroute the

steam pipe. The first configuration employed the use of two reducers that decreased the diameter

of the steam pipe from 20” to 12” in order to fit the steam pipe in-between the street surface and

the water main. Although the reducers succeeded in creating space for the 36” diameter water

main it was still in direct interference with the steam main, therefore a thermal loop was

designed to go above the proposed water main running north to south along McGraw Avenue.

The second configuration is similar to the first configuration except it does not make use of

reducers since the thermal loop was designed to go below the proposed 36” water main.

4.1 CASE I: THERMAL LOOP ABOVE WATER MAIN

Fig. 6 Case I: Results after running analysis

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April 16, 2013

Case I was modeled with two eccentric reducers and two 45° bends. This was done in order to fit

in-between the water main and the street surface. Knowing that the water main has a depth of 4’-

4” from the top of the pipe to the street surface it was found that only 2’-10” was available to

develop a thermal loop after employing the restriction of having a clearance of 12” from the

street surface to the steam housing and a 6” clearance between the steam housing and the water

main. After running the analysis with the thermal loop, it was found to have excessive thermal

stresses along the 45° bends. It failed approximately three times the recommended allowable

stress specified in the ASME B31.1 code. The maximum stress experienced in the system was

118, 212 psi at nodes 60A and 50B. It is clear that the thermal loop developed is too rigid and is

inadequate to flex during operating mode.

Fig. 7: CAEPIPE results: Operating displacement.

Another important factor, besides reviewing the thermal stresses, is to look at the displacement in

the pipe due to the heat transfer of the steam to the pipe. The heating creates thermal growth in

the pipe. The maximum deflection experienced in the pipe was found to be at nodes 50B and

60A with a deflection of 2.069” in the vertical direction. According the technical drawing of the

concrete housing, there is a 2” air gap in between the insulation and the inside walls of the

concrete housing. This configuration would be impacting the concrete housing that surrounds the

pipe and could possibly cause structural damage to the housing.

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April 16, 2013

4.2 CASE II: THERMAL LOOP BELOW WATER MAIN

Fig. 8 Case II: Results after running the analysis.

The pipe was configured similar to case I, as shown earlier, but instead the thermal loop was

modeled below the water main with 90° bends. This would provide adequate spacing between

other utilities and the water main itself. In order to eliminate pipe sag (which occurs due to its

own weight), supports were modeled in the analysis at node 15 and 55. It was found that the

maximum stress experienced during operating mode was 37, 440 psi at node 30B with a stress

ratio SE/SA of 0.94. Case II was found to be within acceptable limits according to the ASME

B31.1 code. Modeling the thermal loop below the water main provided ample space to make the

thermal loop wider and longer, thus significantly reducing the thermal stress in the pipe.

Fig. 9: CAEPIPE results: Operating displacement.

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April 16, 2013

A maximum deflection of 0.832” is experienced at node 40A in the negative vertical direction.

The minimum thermal movement that the pipe will experience will be safely contained in the

concrete housing.

5.0 WATER HAMMER

Although we were able to have a configuration free of any direct interference with the new water

main, the configuration poses a dangerous problem if not properly designed. The large thermal

loop will be acting as a low point in which condensation will rapidly buildup over time. Without

proper drainage this could lead to a phenomenon called water hammer. Water hammer [12]

is the

violent reactions occurring in a fluid pipeline. Some basic facts about water hammer are listed

below:

Water hammer can occur in both hot and cold water lines.

Water hammer is not always accompanied with noise.

Water hammer is the result of dynamic changes by a moving fluid inside a fixed conduit

(piping network).

Water hammer is more prominent in bi-phase flows.

The severity of water hammer would peak (piping breakdowns and fatal accidents)

whenever the system dynamics is changed or disturbed.

5.1 TYPES OF WATER HAMMER

The following are some types of water hammer that a piping system can experience [12]

.

1. Hydraulic shock

These are disturbances in the water pipeline caused during a change in state,

typically from one steady or equilibrium condition to another. Occurs when

closing and opening of liquid users. Typically happens in water distribution

networks.

2. Thermal shock

These are disturbances in steam pipeline caused when steam condenses to water

when the system is closed. Due to the condensation, there is formation of a

vacuum. As a result, the steam forces the condensate to fill the vacuum when the

system is open. This occasion, when steam bubbles are trapped between sub-

cooled condensate inside the pipeline, results in thermal shock in the pipeline

system.

Water hammer can be resolved by using draining station or traps to remove condensation as

shown in Fig. 10 below.

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April 16, 2013

Fig. 10: Properly sized trap pocket

[1]

The damage caused by not having and maintaining proper drainage of condensation in a steam

distribution system can be seen in the figure below.

Fig. 11: Steam explosion on Lexington Avenue caused by water hammer

[13]

6.0 CONCLUSION

The proposed piping configurations were designed to not be in direct interference with the new

water main being installed. Once this was achieved a stress analysis was done in order to comply

with the ASME B31.1 Power Piping code standards.

Case I failed the thermal stress analysis at an operating temperature of 413˚F and a pressure of

200 psi. The stress being experienced was approximately three times the acceptable value.

Despite satisfying all the geometric constraints, the thermal loop was too rigid to allow adequate

thermal growth of the pipe. Different alterations were used in this case in order to reduce the

stress experienced in the thermal loop. An angle of 45˚ was used in the thermal loop which

experienced a high thermal stress of and a stress ratio of at nodes

50B and 60A. Another configuration was modeled and analyzed using 30˚ bends which

experienced an even higher thermal stress of and a stress ratio of

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April 16, 2013

at nodes 50B and 60A. Upon realizing that increasing the angle in the thermal loop minimizes

the thermal stress in the pipe, we decided to try a loop with 90˚ bends. This configuration

experienced less thermal stresses when compared to the 30˚ and 45˚ bends. Although the 90˚

bends helped minimize the stress, we could not make the loop any larger due to having only 2’-

10” of clearance in the vertical direction. Therefore we decided to go below the water main

which would provide us with greater clearance to make the thermal loop larger.

In case II we modeled and analyzed several thermal loops. One loop was modeled as a 6’x6’

loop which experienced a stress of and a stress ratio of at nodes

30B and 40A. We then modeled and analyzed an 8’x8’ wide loop. This loop experienced a stress

value of and a stress ratio of at node 30B. By increasing the thermal

loop we increased the pipes ability to absorb more thermal movement thus resulting in a lower

thermal stress. Our last configuration involved having a 10’x10’ loop. This loop experienced a

stress value of and a stress ratio of at node 30B which is lower than

the first two iterations. It is concluded that the best pipe configuration is one with a wide thermal

loop with 90˚ bends. In order to account and minimize possible pipe sag during sustained mode,

we installed pipe supporting elements called limit stops along our pipe at nodes 15 and 55. These

limit stops did not significantly change the stress experienced in the piping system.

For the iterations done in case II, any of the configurations could be used since they all achieved

a stress ratio lower than 1.0 and the thermal movements are constrained within the encased

concrete housing. Although a large thermal loop is beneficial in lowering the thermal stresses

experienced in the pipe, it is not always practical to have such a large thermal loop because of

the cost and the underground space being taken up plays a major role in deciding which thermal

loop to use. A design configuration that is cost efficient and that can take the least amount of

volumetric area without failing stress wise would be the ideal design.

7.0 REFERENCES

[1] UNEP. (n.d.). Steam distribution and utilization, retrieved from

http://www.energyefficiencyasia.org/docs/ee_modules/Chapter - Steam Distribution and

Utilization.pdf.

[2] Deacon, W. T. (1991). Steam in distribution and use: Steam quality redefined. Energy

Engineering, 88(1), doi: Thermo Diagnostics West Lafayette, IN.

[3] New York City. (2010), Water Main Standard Drawings, THE CITY OF NEW YORK

BUREAU OF WATER AND SEWER OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT OF

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, retrieved from

http://www.nyc.gov/html/ddc/downloads/pdf/pub_intra_std/_EP/watermain_std_dwgs-

101101.pdf

[4] The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. (2007). Power piping: ASME Code for

Pressure Piping, B31. In New York, NY: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

[5] “CAEPIPE.”SST Systems Inc”. 1997-2012. <http://www.sstusa.com/index.php>

[5a] Ranjan, G.V., Vijay, C.D., & Karthick, P.B. (2012), Piping Design & Analysis Seminar:

Consolidated Edison, San Jose, CA: SST Systems, Inc.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/ddc/downloads/pdf/pub_intra_std/_EP/watermain_std_dwgs-101101.pdf

http://www.nyc.gov/html/ddc/downloads/pdf/pub_intra_std/_EP/watermain_std_dwgs-101101.pdf

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April 16, 2013

[6] Woodruff, E., Lammers, H., & Lammers, T. (1998), Steam plant operation. (7th ed., p. 2).

New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

[7] Department of Transportation. (2012, 10), Fhwa work zone project coordination webinar,

Retrieved from http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/construction/webinar92412/nycdot/index.htm.

[8] “CATIA v5 R17”, Dassault Systems.

http://www.inceptra.com/pages/prod_dassault.html

[9] Beer, F. P., Johnston, R. E., Dewolf, J. T., & Mazurek, D. F. (2009). Mechanics of materials,

(5 ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, inc.

[10] Kelly. (n.d.). The thin-walled pressure vessel theory, Retrieved from

http://homepages.engineering.auckland.ac.nz/~pkel015/SolidMechanicsBooks/Part_I/BookSM_

Part_I/04_LinearElasticity I/PDF/Linear_Elasticity_05_Presure_Vessels.pdf [11] SAS IP, Inc. (2010), Elastic straight pipe, retrieved from

https://www.sharcnet.ca/Software/Fluent13/help/ans_arch/thy_el16.html.

[12] Venkatesan, V., Harun, S. D., & Karthikeyan, P. S. (2005). Water hammer elimination: A

case study. Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Industrial Energy Technology Conference, doi:

ESL-IE-05-05-41.

[13] Chan, S. (2007, July 18). Steam pipe explosion jolts midtown; one person is confirmed

dead, The New York Times, Retrieved from

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/buildings-evacuated-after-midtown-explosion/.

http://www.inceptra.com/pages/prod_dassault.html

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April 16, 2013

Lift Generation of an Automotive Wing to Increase Vehicle Traction

and Stability

Dominic Elrington


[email protected]

John Andon


[email protected]

Advisors:

Dr. Amir Elzawawy and Dr. Yougashwar Budhoo

ABSTRACT

Aerodynamic forces are commonly dealt with as loads that can reduce vehicle performance in

the case of the automobiles. Redirecting these loads using automotive wing can create major

advantage in automobiles performance particularly for those at high speed. The automobile wing,

commonly known as car spoiler, is an aerodynamic structure usually placed on the rear of the

automobile. The automotive wing is similar, in terms of structure, to an aircraft wing as both

produce lift to the vehicle structure. However, in automobiles, the automotive wing produces

negative lift to act as a down-force to help increase the vehicle traction and stability when

operating at high speeds particular in curved roads and sharp turns. In the present work, an airfoil

configuration is selected to this application, modeled as 3D wing and placed on the rear BMW-1

sports car to create more realistic environment for the flow around the wing. The preliminary

analysis showed that the wing effective angle of attack (AOA) has a shift of about +6o at the

center-plan. The new effective AOA was used to develop performance analysis of the angle of

attack at different AOA. Both the lift and the drag coefficients where calculated for multiple

cases in both linear and rotational motion.

INTRODUCTION

When automobiles are operating at high speeds, they are subjected to lower traction of the rear

side. The low traction reduces the vehicle overall performance. Another important condition

arises when the vehicle is steered sharply, whether for curved roads or for maneuvering. Often

times they encounter over-steering which may cause to lose of control. With that in mind,

installing the wing structure with an airfoil produces the needed negative lift without increasing

overall drag, this is crucial to attain high stability and increase the performance of the vehicle by

increasing the traction of the rear side of the car.

The aerodynamic loads are commonly summed and expressed as lift and drag forces. However,

the calculation of these forces requires knowing the local pressure and shear stress distribution

on the each point of the wing. The convention is to produce these summed forces in non-

dimensional quantities such as lift coefficient CL and drag coefficient CD, which can be

calculated using the following equations:



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April 16, 2013

(1)

(2)

Where Fl, and Fd are the lift and the drag forces per unit span, ρ∞ is the free stream density, V∞ is the free stream velocity (vehicle speed), and c is the wing chord length.

Historically the analytical models were limited to simple physical problem. The majority of the

analytical solutions treated the flow around moving structure as inviscid flow [1], where the

viscosity effect is ignored. These methods were short in calculating the actual shear stress

contribution in the forces which account for more than 15% of the aerodynamics forces. For this

reason, experiments were the most reliable tool to understand and design aerodynamic structures.

Recently with the advancements of the computers, more accurate models uses the original

equations developed from Navier-Stockes’ equations are used numerically to solve the flow

around the moving bodies and calculate both pressure and the shear stress. In this work,

SolidWorks flow simulation software is used to model the flow using steady state model.

The wing is modeled in 3D and mounted on the back of a three dimensional sports car model.

This model will be used to provide realistic airflow characteristics to the wing structure in the

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation. It will also investigate and characterize

showing the effects of the different curved roads radii and car speed on the lift generated.

Through this analysis an observation will be made of the airflow response with the spoiler and

solid body (car) in terms of performance characteristics determining different angle of attack

with different turns and speed. The observed will be manipulated to study the effects it has on a

solid body (car). Compared to other airfoils the NACA 63-210 Cd is closer to zero than the

others. Analysis in figure 1 [1] shows that at α0 the Cl is 0.15. With this information the Cd can

be found and is shown to be 0.0046 in figure 1 [1]. Effectively the best airfoil was chose to

provide quicker response of down-force in change of angle of attack with less drag. Simulation

of two tracks, Miami 300 Track with turn radius 650 feet and Chicagoland Speedway with turn

radius of 55 feet [2] will be part of the conditions to show the performance of a pedestal spoiler

undergoing turns.

MODELING PROCEDURES

The typical coordinates of the NACA AIRFOIL 63-210 [3] which is shown in figure 2 is first

imported as a data file into SolidWorks.

For the present work, the coordinates have been manipulated to fit this analysis. Coordinates of

airfoil are given in terms of the chord length. For this analysis a chord length of 0.3 meter is

chosen and airfoil coordinates have been multiplied by 0.3 to represent values in meters. The

coordinate for upper and lower limits have been flipped where upper limits became lower limits

vice versa to simulate the criteria of being an automotive wing. Coordinates are run in MS Excel

to ensure that they are represented appropriately and are shown below in figure 2.

As mentioned above, the coordinates are imported into SolidWorks 2011 [4] from an MS Excel

text format as 2D sketch. This sketch is then extruded into three dimensional solid-protrusions.

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April 16, 2013

Figure 6- NACA 63-210 Wing Section performance curves. Angle of attack vs. CL (left) and CD (Right)

Figure 7- NACA 63-210 Dimensionless Airfoil (left), flipped and dimensioned (right)

A three dimensional BMW 1 [5] series is selected as a typical racing car for this study. This car

model has been modified in SolidWorks to meet specifications for this study. As shown in figure

3, multiple modifications have been done to initial model to produce the final assembly. Also a

large block was modeled under the car model to represent a road way.

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April 16, 2013

Figure 8- airfoil 2D coordinates (left), Car model (middle), automotive wing modeled on the rear side of the car (right)

Flow Simulation module is activated to analyze the characteristics of lift forces to a car wing,

which is shown in figure 3, assembled on the elevated supports on the rear of the car model.

Through the Simulation Wizard certain parameters have been set to meet the study environment

and initial conditions. The reference flow direction is set to be the z-axis with flow medium

being air and the analyst type is external flow without considering internal closed cavities. The

velocity at which the air flow is selected for this analysis is -85 m/s which is equal to speed of

190 mph. Computational domain dimensions, which is analogous to a wind tunnel, are set as

shown in figure 4.

The initial domain suggested by the software was modified for multiple reasons. First, the

smaller the domain with model object enclosed the quicker the analysis computation. However,

the domain size must also be kept appropriate to the analysis in hand to maintain the desirable

accuracy. For this analysis on the X-Y plane on the horizontal, the spacing surrounding the

model is chosen to be 75% of total width of model on each side and 100% on the top side. On the

Y-Z plane the spacing for the rear of the model is chosen to be equal to the car length.

Once the computational domain is completed, specific goals can be inserted in reference to

automotive wing surface to find Lift and Drag forces. At the same time, further analysis of

velocity and pressure to the surface.

To obtain accurate results, a dense and more adaptive mesh is needed around the three

dimensional wing within the computational domain. For all for cases in this report mesh, shown

in figure 4, is configured to be denser in all direction X, Y and Z.

After mesh, initial boundary condition and goals have been set the study is ran for results.

Figure 9- Mesh Setup

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April 16, 2013

Preliminary Case

In this case, the automotive airfoil is set at 0⁰-angle of attack. This analysis is implemented to

understand the overall aerodynamics effects on the car. Based on this case, the flow direction

was found to approach the wing with an angle of about 6⁰ at the center plan as shown in figure 5

(left). Therefore; the orientation of wing was tilted downward as shown in figure 5 (right) to

achieve effective zero angle of attack. As the effective angle of attack was determined, all the

simulations for different angles of attack are adjusted by 6 degrees to match the effective angle

of attack.

Figure 10- Velocity vectors, the effective AOA is initially positive angle 6o at the center plane (left), modified automotive wing at zero effective AOA

Linear Cases

In the simulation for the linear cases, the objectives are to quantify the down-force and drag

produced at different angle of attacks and to identify the minimum drag to lift ratio, which would

correspond to highest performance angle. Therefore; the simulations survey different angle of

attacks that range from 0 to 8 degrees to construct the plots between CL, CD on one side and α on

the other side. Table 1shows the list of the simulation cases. The same values for α are used for

the curved roads cases as well.

Case name Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4

Angle of Attack (α) 0⁰ 3⁰ 5⁰ 8⁰ Table 1 Simulation cases

The results of these cases showed some of expected behavior of the wing. As can be seen in

figure 6 the pressure distribution has higher values on the upper side of the wing compared with

the lower side, which will result into negative lift force. This pressure distribution contour is

found to be typically on all cases, with the increase of the values as α increases.

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April 16, 2013

Figure 11- Pressure contour plot center plane (left), tip-side plane (Mid) 3°

Figure 7 shows a comparison of the surface pressure distribution of the upper side of the wing

for two different angles of attack. The 8-degrees case is seen to have higher surface pressure than

the 3-degrees case. This is also shown in the plots for CL and CD in figures 8 and 9. It’s important

to mention here that CL in figure 8 is plotted as magnitudes only while the direction still

downward. The values for the actual aerodynamic forces are listed on table 2.

Figure 12- Surface pressure distribution 3o on the left, 8o on the right

Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4

Lift (down-force) -337.018 N -626.958 N -716.169 N -595.227 N

Drag 50.776 N 75.234 N 124.492 N 220.429 N

Table 2: Aerodynamic forces produced in all linear cases

As can be seen from both the table 2 and plot 8 and 9, the 8-degree angle showed a decrease of

the down-force. This is a direct result of the stall that takes place at smaller angle of attack than 8

degrees. Figure 10 on the right side also show the flow is separated in the lower side of the wing.

At this high angle of attacks the overall performance is the poorest as the drag becomes higher

and less down-force is generated.

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April 16, 2013

Figure 13- Lift Coefficient vs. angle of attack (linear cases- Re= 1.7x106)

Figure 14- Drag Coefficient vs. angle of attack (linear cases- Re= 1.7x106)

Figure 15- Velocity vectors for 3o case (right) where the velocity distribution is desirable compared with 8o case (left) as the flow is separated

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0 2 4 6 8 10

CL

Angle of Attack

Series1

Poly. (Series1)

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

0.12

0.14

0.16

0.18

0 2 4 6 8 10

CD

Angle of Attack

Series1

Poly. (Series1)

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Curved Roads Cases

Since the actual flow conditions are different in the rotational cases, the simulation has to mimic

the curved part of Chicagoland Speedway and Miami 300 Track. In both cases the flow is

simulated to produce the condition of the vehicle moving in curved roads with the exact radius

for each track. This is implemented in the software by applying the condition of rotating vehicle

about a fixed- vertical axis that is located at a distance equal to the radius of the curved part of

the track. This technique is typically used with rotating flow applications such as turbo-

machinery.

a. Chicagoland Speedway:

For rotational case (a) the rotation reference frame (RRF), axis of rotation is 55ft which is

16.764m. Velocity for this case is 145.138mph=65m/s from which angular velocity;

ω=3.877rad/s. This analysis required more RAM memory compared with the linear cases, so a

less dense mesh is used in this run. Both rotation cases (a) and (b) share same mesh

configuration. The recorded forces are shown in table 3.

Case 1 (N) Case 2(N) Case 3 (N) Case(4)

Lift (downforce) -85.404 -167.399 -181.378 -209.53

Drag -13.899 -22.89 -37.99 -56.586

Table 3 Aerodynamic forces produced in Chicagoland Speedway simulations

b. Miami 300 Speedway

As indicated in case (a) the conditions are the same but with this case a different track is used

with different turn radius and velocity. The turn radius for Miami Speedway is 650ft=198.12m

with velocity; V=124mph=55.433m/s and having an angular velocity; ω=0.279rad/s. The

recorded forces are shown in table 4.

Case 1(N) Case 2 (N) Case 3 (N) Case 4 (N)

Lift (downforce) -62.771 -112.877 -146.264 -171.671

Drag -7.241 -15.371 -29.089 -44.411

Table 4 Aerodynamic forces produced in Miami 300 Track Forces

Figure 16- Pressure distribution over the automotive wing in the curved roads cases from left 3o, 5o, 8o

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The results of both rotational cases showed the similar pressure distribution over the wing

structure shown in figure 11. Also aerodynamics performance is qualitatively similar to the linear

case. However, there is a noticeable increase in the slope of the lift coefficient at lower angle of

attack; this can be seen when comparing CL (in red) in figures 13 and 14. This increase is quite

desirable since in figure 15, the optimum angle of attack is recognized to be about 3 degrees.

This angle is recommended to be used if a passive (non-actuated) wing is used. However, for

actuated wing, further increase of the angle of attack may increase the overall performance by

allowing higher speed for the vehicle. This can only be confirmed if more analysis is made on

the vehicle stability, which was not an objective of the current work.

At higher angle of attack cases (8 degrees) the poor performance persists and the flow is

separated as shown in velocity contour in the downstream side of the wind (figure 12).

Figure 17- Wake of the velocity (8o-curved road), velocity values shown are relative to the moving frame

Figure 18- Coefficients of Aerodynamic Forces (Chicagoland Speedway)

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0 2 4 6 8 10

Alpha

Coefficient of drag

Coefficient oflift(downforce)

Poly. (Coefficient ofdrag)

Poly. (Coefficient oflift(downforce))

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Figure 19- Coefficients of Aerodynamic Forces (Miami 300 Track)

Figure 20- Drag-to-Lift ratio at different AOA’s for all cases

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, As discussed above, the most efficient wing for all cases Linear cases, Miami 300

Track and Chicagoland Speedway is at angle of attack about 2° to 3°, which has the lowest D/L

ratios. The drag-to-lift is used here as strong indicator of the overall performance of the wing

structure. This angle of attack is recommended in the case of passive automotive wing.

For more performance optimization, an actuated wing that changes the angle of attack in

response of vehicle rotation can be considered to increase stability by produce higher down-force

when desirable. This will allow for higher speed if the overall stability is preserved. In both

linear and angular cases, a higher angle of attack of 8 degrees showed poor aerodynamic

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

0 2 4 6 8 10

Alpha

Coefficient of drag

Coefficient oflift(downforce)

Poly. (Coefficient ofdrag)

Poly. (Coefficient oflift(downforce))

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

0.4

0 2 4 6 8 10

D/L (linear cases)

D/L (Miami 300 Track)

D/L (ChicagoLand Track)

Poly. (D/L (linear cases))

Poly. (D/L (Miami 300Track))

Poly. (D/L (ChicagoLandTrack))

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April 16, 2013

performance as the flow is separated which results in decrease of the negative lift and increase of

the drag.

REFERENCES

[1] John D. Anderson, Jr. Introduction to Flight 6th Edition- NACA 63-210 Airfoil data. n.d.

[2] www.speedwayymaps.com. Chicagoland Speedway and Miami 300 Track.

[3] www.ae.illinois.edu/m-selig/ads/coord/n63210.dat NACA 63-210

[4] Dassault System SolidWorks2011-Screen Shots

[5] www.grabcad.com/library/bmw-series-1-coupe-2008/files by David Thomas on 13 Sep 2011

at 11:19pm BMW 1 series 2008

Authorization and Disclaimer

Authors authorize Vaughn College to publish the paper in the Vaughn College Journal of

Engineering and Technology. The Authors are responsible for both the content and the

implications of what is expressed in the paper.

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Reliability of Airbus A330 and A340 Airspeed System at High Altitudes

Charan Velaga

Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA,

[email protected]

Perry Pitter


[email protected]

Advisor: Mudassar Minhas

Assistant Professor at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA

[email protected]

Abstract

Accuracy and reliability of flight instrumentation is paramount to safe operation of an aircraft.

Cockpit instruments provide information for safe navigation of an aircraft especially under

Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). Certain cases of cockpit instrument malfunctions have been

reported on Airbus jetliners in the recent past, primarily on the A330 and the A340. One notable

incident is the Air France Flight 447. Other similar incidents were reported on Qantas Airways in

2009. The performance of the airspeed indicators used on the A330 and A340 came under great

scrutiny following the incident of Air France Flight 447. Cockpit instruments malfunction in

different ways under different operating conditions. This report analyzes causes and effects of

airspeed measuring device malfunctions and explores solutions to these problems.

1. Introduction

The A330 and A340 are two of the most popular models of commercial aircrafts manufactured

by the Airbus Company. Although the airframes and electronics are developed along similar

lines, one key difference between the two is the number of engines they carry. The A340 carries

four engines while the A330 has two engines. Both of these aircraft are wide-body aircrafts. The

A340 made its debut in 1993 while the A330 made its debut in 1994. Today Airbus has delivered

over 800 A330s and over 300 A340s. These aircrafts today are widely used in commercial air

transportation industry.

Prior to the crash of Air France flight 447 on June 1, 2009, the A330 was only involved in one

other fatal accident [1]. The A340 has had accidents but no reported cases of fatal incidents to

date. Both of these aircrafts are regarded as highly safe and reliable.

The overall reliability of these aircrafts as an entire system is supported from the fact these

aircrafts have been involved in only a few fatal accidents since they were first placed in service.

The A330 has an accident rate of 0.23 per million flight hours while the A340 has an accident




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rate of close to 0 per million flights. However, these aircraft operators had reported several

problems with the aircrafts’ Air Data Systems. In 2010, Airbus sent warnings to 100 operators of

its A330 and A340-200 and A340-300 regarding speed sensors [2].

The Air France flight 447 on June 1, 2009 was the only one that involved fatalities and that it

was determined to be caused by its Air Data System failure. This accident led to much

investigation into the airspeed indicator malfunction on these aircrafts. Is should be noted that

there are other reported incidents of malfunctioning airspeed indicators but none leading to fatal

accident. This report investigates incidents of airspeed indicator malfunctions and look at

possible solutions to such incidents.

2. Findings

Air France Flight 447 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009. Aircraft involved was an

Airbus A330-200. Accident was caused by autopilot disengaging due to conflicting airspeed

readings. This represents a fundamental case of dependant failure that caused a catastrophic

incident. Weather conditions reported were severe thunderstorms at altitude of 35,000 feet [3].

Tam Airlines Flight 8091 enroute from the USA to Brazil experienced loss of primary speed and

altitude information while in cruise phase of flight. The flight crew noticed an abrupt drop in

indicated outside air temperature followed by loss of the Air Data System. The autopilot and

auto-thrust were disconnected. Backup instruments were used to land the aircraft safely [4].

On June 23, 2009, another incident investigated by the NTSB involved a Northwest Airlines

A330. The A330 was flying between Hong Kong and Tokyo at 40000 feet when it encountered

intense rain. Both captain first officer side airspeed indicators showed a huge rollback in the

aircraft forward velocity. The autopilot and automatic throttle controls were disengaged. The

flight crew manually maintained airspeed and the aircraft landed safely [4].

An incident involving a Jetstar A330-202 on October 28, 2009 was investigated by Australian

Investigators. It was revealed that the flight traveling from Narita Japan to Australia encountered

clouds at 39000 feet. Subsequently there was disagreement between the air data sources of

sensors. As a result, the autopilot, auto-thrust and flight director disengaged. The flight crew

followed emergency checklist procedures and safely landed the aircraft [4][5].

3. Case Study

On June 1, 2009, Air France Flight 447 departed from Galeão International Airport in Brazil for

Charles de Gaulle International Airport France. The aircraft encountered heavy thunderstorms

while over the Atlantic Ocean approximately four hours into the flight. The aircraft’s route took

it in the area of Intertropical Convergence Zone which is famous for heavy tropical

thunderstorms in the summer months. The Aircraft disappeared from radar after 1:33 UTC

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(Universal Time Coordinated), during this time there was a change from Brazilian airspace and

the next airspace would be Senegalese. It was during this period when the aircraft got into

technical problems and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean [1] [3].

An investigation was launched after the accident by the French Accident Investigation Bureau.

The investigation lasted until May of 2011 and concluded that a chain of events led to the

accident. In its final moments the plane encountered an aerodynamic stall and plummeted over

35000 feet to the ocean. It was concluded that firstly the plane’s pitot tubes iced, depriving the

airspeed sensors of forward facing pressure and caused inconsistencies in the airspeed sensor

readings. As a result, the autopilot was then disengaged. The pilot made a left nose up input as

the aircraft started to roll to the right. The stall warning was triggered due to the angle of attack

exceedance. Ten seconds later, the aircraft's recorded airspeed dropped sharply from 275 knots to

60 knots. The aircraft's angle of attack increased, and the aircraft started to climb. The left-side

instruments then recorded a sharp rise in airspeed to 215 knots. This change was not displayed

by the Integrated Standby Instrument System (ISIS) until a minute later (the right-side

instruments are not recorded by the recorder). The pilot continued making nose-up inputs. The

trimmable horizontal stabilizer (THS) moved from 3 to 13 degrees nose-up in about 1 minute,

and remained in that latter position until the end of the flight. The aircraft had now climbed to an

altitude of approximately 38000 feet. There, its angle of attack was 16 degrees, and the thrust

levers were in the TO/GA (Take-Off/Go Around) detent (fully forward), the pitch attitude was

slightly over 16 degrees and falling, but the angle of attack rapidly increased towards 30 degrees.

The wings lost lift and the aircraft stalled. The aircraft remained stalled in its descent which

lasted 3 minutes and 30 seconds. The aircraft subsequently hit the ocean at a speed of 151 knots

and broke apart [1][3].

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Fig-1: Event cause and effect chart

3.1 Airspeed Measurement A330 and A340

The A330/A340 has three independent systems for calculating and displaying airspeed

information to (1) captain, (2) first officer, and (3) standby systems. Each system uses its own

Pitot probe, static ports, air data modules (ADMs), air data inertial reference unit (ADIRU), and

airspeed indicator [6]. Refer to appendix B for more information.

Airspeed is measured by comparing total air pressure (Pt) and static air pressure (Ps). On the

A330/A340, total air pressure is measured using a Pitot probe, and static air pressure is measured

using two static ports. A separate ADM is connected to each Pitot probe and each static port, and

it converts the air pressure from the probe or port into digital electronic signals.

The Airbus A330 has three Pitot probes and six static ports. Each Pitot probe consists of a tube

that is projected several centimeters out from the fuselage, with the opening of the tube pointed

forward into the airflow. The tube has drain holes to remove moisture, and it was electrically

heated to prevent ice accumulation during flight.

In addition to the Pitot probe and static ports, the aircraft also has two total air temperature

(TAT) probes that are used for determining the static (or outside) air temperature (SAT) and

three angle of attack sensors [7].

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April 16, 2013

Fig-2: Locations of the aircraft’s Pitot probes and TAT probes (source:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/57593209)

All of the probes, ports and sensors are electrically heated, and the heating activates

automatically whenever the aircraft is in flight. Three independent probe-heat computers control

the electrical heating of these probes – the captain’s side, first officer’s side, and standby

systems. Each probe-heat computer monitors the heating current and triggers a warning if

predetermined thresholds are reached.

3.2 Air Data System Architectures in the Airbus A330

Refer to figures 3 to 5 for discussion.

Fig – 3: Airspeed detectors and indicator diagram for fly-by-wire aircraft

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_data_module)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/57593209

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_data_module

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Fig – 4: Air Data System architecture on A330/A340 (source:

http://www.goodrich.com)

Fig – 5: Air Data System architecture on A330/A340 (source:

http://www.goodrich.com)

The pneumatic measurements are converted into electrical signals by eight ADMs (Air Data

Modules) and delivered to analog to digital converters. Speed parameters sent to the pilots and

other aircraft systems in order to control the aircraft are the Calibrated Air Speed (CAS) and

Mach number. These parameters are elaborated by three computers, called ADIRUs, each

consisting of an Air Data Reference (ADR) module which calculates the aerodynamic

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parameters, specifically the CAS and the Mach, and an Inertial Reference (IR) module that

provides the parameters calculated by the inertial units, such as ground speed and attitudes.

The aircraft has three ADIRUs, and each ADIRU obtains data from a different set of sensors.

The captain’s Pitot probe provides information to ADIRU 1, the first officer’s Pitot probe

provides information to ADIRU 2, and the standby Pitot probe provides information to ADIRU 3

[8] [9].

The standby instruments such as the Integrated Standby Instrument System (ISIS) elaborate their

speed and altitude information directly from the pneumatic inputs (“standby” probes), without

this being processed by an ADM or ADR [10].

Fig – 6: Complete air data channels

(http://www.enco.eu/Safetyworkshop/AnnexB_AF447.pdf)

Fig – 7: System block diagram of Air data system (http://www.iasa-intl.com)

http://www.enco.eu/Safetyworkshop/AnnexB_AF447.pdf

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Although the aircraft has three independent speed-sensing systems, environmental factors such

as icing have the potential to invalidate this redundancy and give simultaneous erroneous

readings. The key design inadequacy of the Pitot probes is their inability to be prevented them

from obstruction due to ice in certain specific conditions that the aircraft encounters [6] [11]

[12].

4. System Malfunctions

Various causes of blockages of the Pitot-static system can create the same effect. The most

common causes are [9]:

1. The Pitot heat not activated, or failed, and ice accumulating in the intake.

2. Ice accumulating over static vents.

3. Foreign objects entering the system creating the obstruction.

Table -1: Blockage effects

Instrument Static Blockage Pitot Blockage

Altimeter "Freezes" at constant value No effect

Vertical Speed Indicator "Freezes" at zero No effect

Airspeed Indicator Under-reads in climb and

over-reads in descent

Over-reads in climb and

under-reads in descent

Note: Pitot icing can occur at a relatively slow rate, causing a gradual reduction in Pitot pressure. This results

in a slow decrease in indicated airspeed rather than a frozen condition.

4.2 The Effects of Icing on Critical Systems - Pitot Tube

The Pitot tube is particularly vulnerable to icing because even light icing can block the entry hole

of the Pitot tube where ram air enters the system. This affects the airspeed indicator and is the

reason most airplanes are equipped with a Pitot heating system. Refer to appendices C and D for

more information.

The Pitot heater usually consists of coiled wire heating elements wrapped around the air entry

tube. If the Pitot tube becomes blocked, the airspeed indicator would still function; however, the

readings would be inaccurate.

At altitudes above where the Pitot tube becomes blocked, the airspeed indicator would display a

higher-than-actual airspeed. At lower altitudes, the airspeed indicator would display a lower-

than-actual airspeed. The Thales AA tubes installed on the A330 and A340 had seventeen cases

of icing between 2003 and 2008 [9].

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4.3 Static Port

Many aircraft also have a heating system to protect the static ports from icing to ensure the entire

pitot-static system is clear of ice. If the static port becomes blocked, the airspeed indicator would

still function; however, it would also be inaccurate.

At altitudes above where the static port became blocked, the airspeed indicator would indicate a

lower-than-actual airspeed. At lower altitudes, the airspeed indicator would display a higher-

than-actual airspeed. The trapped air in the static system would cause the altimeter to remain at

the altitude where the blockage occurred.

The vertical speed indicator would remain at zero. On some aircraft, an alternate static air source

valve is used in case of emergencies. If the alternate source is vented inside the airplane, where

static pressure is usually lower than outside static pressure, selection of the alternate source may

result in the following erroneous instrument indications: (1) the altimeter reads higher than

normal, (2) the indicated airspeed reads greater than normal, and (3) the vertical-speed indicator

momentarily shows a climb [11] [12] [13].

5. Maintenance concept of pitot tubes

Pitot tubes are inspected on a daily basis by an aircraft mechanic. The pitot is checked before

each flight. Periodic checks classified as type C checks are performed periodically. This includes

cleaning of the complete probe using compressed air in a blowing operation. The drainage is

cleaned using a special tool. The heating system is tested using the standby electrical system and

the sealing of the plumbing paths is also checked.

These steps are preventive maintenance actions that help avoid failure of air data system due to a

pre-existing condition such as obstruction.

6. Solutions

It is not normal that all three pitots would become blocked at once. It is possible that they could

become blocked over time if a large enough storm is encountered and not avoided to allow the

heaters to overcome icing. The ice accretion rate is important; the heater must be able to clear the

pitot faster than it accumulates ice. It is critical that the severest part of a storm system be

avoided due to the phenomenon of super-cooled water.

The solutions that we proposed are:

6.1 Laser based Doppler air speed system

It is possible to implement a back-up system to the pitot. This system would not be exposed to

the same weather conditions as the pitot. This system can be installed in the aft of the aircraft

where it is not subjected to oncoming rain and ice. The system would use a low cost Doppler

technique found in a computer mouse. It would have a window which is built into a recess in the

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body of the aircraft and would be heated. A low cost laser would then be transmitted through the

window and be reflected off a surface such as a laser reflector. Velocity would then be measured

using the Doppler shift of light caused by the absorption of laser into the oxygen molecules

passing through the beam [14]. This system is still under testing and evaluation phase and has

not yet been qualified for field use.

Fig – 8: Pictorial view of laser location (http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au)

6.2 Molecular Optical Air Data System - MOADS

The third solution is to use MOADS a technology developed by Michigan Aerospace

Corporation. MOADS was developed to replace pitot tubes and is different from the laser based

system in that it does protrude from the aircraft skin.

The Molecular Optical Air Data System (MOADS) is a compact optical instrument that can

directly measure wind speed and direction, temperature, and density of the atmosphere ahead of

an aircraft. From these principal measurements, all air data products can be determined. MOADS

is a direct detection system (i.e., it is based on incoherent rather than coherent detection).

MOADS can determine the air data parameters solely from molecular backscatter and does not

require the presence of aerosols to make these measurements. It does, however, utilize aerosols if

they are present.

MOADS operates by sending out three laser beams and observing the scattered energy. At the

focal point of a small internal telescope is a fiber optic cable that transmits the light to a series of

filters and an interferometer. The resulting fringe optical pattern is then imaged onto a charge

coupled device camera and analyzed to produce air data parameters. MOADS is unique in that it

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stimulates and measures the return signal in three axes simultaneously, without the use of any

moving parts, is self-calibrating, and can be flush-mounted to an aircraft [15]. This solution is

under Type-4 field testing and evaluation and still not available for commercial airliners.

Fig – 9: MOADS specifications (source: www.michiganaero.com)

6.3 Dissimilar pitot tubes for redundancy

Incorporate the triple channel redundancy by installing three pitots with different designs from

three different manufactures. This eliminates the possibility of pitot failure due to a common

mode and lets the pilots know when there is measurement mis-compare between the three tubes.

The following is a workload estimate for a retrofit [16] [17] [18] :

Replacement and test time 6 hrs

Labor rate $65 per HR

Number of Mechanics at Organization level 2

Skill level A&P or equivalent

Aero-Instruments 0851HLAI Probe Pitot – Static $ 5473.33

Thales Probe Pitot C16195-BA $ 4000.00

Goodrich Sensor Systems –Pitot $ 5803.00

Labor cost to replace (2 x $65 x 6 Hrs) $ 780.00

Cost for 1 Aircraft $ 16056.33

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Solution 3 is the simpliest, quickest to implement and most feasible solution at this time. All the

parts are available and tested.

Reliability of air data probes is depends on the integrity of heater design because wire heater

proves to be well-suited for deicing small parts such as pitot-static probes and temperature

probes. The heating element is surrounded by a special insulation and is encased in a wire sheath.

Refer to figure below.

Fig – 10: Goodrich 0851hl pitot heating system (source: www.goodrich.com)

The deicing capabilities of the heater are aided by the proper design of moisture chambers and

pitot drainage systems. The heater and drainage design is efficient in deicing of the air data

probe. All three probe designs meet the stringent icing conditions of MIL-P-83206B (GENERAL

SPECIFICATION FOR PITOT STATIC TUBE, L SHAPED, COMPENSATED). Typical conditions

are 350 knots indicated airspeed, –30°C, and a liquid water content of 1.25 grams per cubic

meter. The icing wind tunnel affords the capability to meet deicing performance requirements

and minimize electrical power consumption.

7. Recommendations and Conclusions

Malfunctioning of air data systems on Airbus A330 and A340 aircrafts is a serious safety issue

that has, in the past, resulted in catastrophic loss of entire aircrafts. Case analyses help us arrive

to the conclusion that inherent reliability failures due to design defects (not manufacturing) have

severely impacted the performance of these otherwise highly capable aircrafts.

We also conclude that fast rate accretion of ice on any of the air data sensors where the internal

heating system is unable to keep up with the demands de-icing is relatively rare. However, when

an aircraft encounters weather conditions that cause such icing of outside sensors, the results are

unpredictable advisories from warning electronic controllers, and automatic disconnection of

autopilot that in the true sense over stretches the air crew and can result in total loss of aircraft.

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To counter this problem, after considerable research, we base our recommendations on the

understanding that a radical redesign of an already proven air data system is not warranted in this

case due to several reasons. First, laser based air data sensors and MOADS referenced in

previous sections are still in experimental stage and have not resulted in an approved prototype

or qualified production design. Second, these two solutions may involve cost uncertainties in

terms of procurement, retrofit planning, as well as installation and maintenance for operators

who require a retrofit on their fleet of impacted aircrafts. Under these circumstances, we

recommend proceeding with the solution that implements triple channel redundancy with two

parallel operating pairs and one standby pair of air data sensors. In addition, these sensors must

also incorporate designs that are sufficiently different from each other and produced by different

manufacturers to minimize instances of total air data loss due to common mode of failure.

REFERENCES

[1] Kaminski-Morrow, David. Airbus reviews instrument logic in aftermath of AF447. Retrieved

December 8, 2012 from http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airbus-reviews-instrument-

logic-in-aftermath-of-af447-374484/

[2] Fatal plane crash rates for selected airliner models. Retrieved December 8, 2012 from

http://www.airsafe.com/events/models/rate_mod.htm

[3] Alden, Dave. What Happened to Air France 447(August 31, 20089) retrieved November 6,

2012 from http://www.legal.com/aviation

[4] ATSB concludes investigation into unreliable airspeed indication incident involving an

Airbus A330. Retrieved December 8, 2012 from

http://aviationsafetynetwork.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/atsb-concludes-investigation-into-

unreliable-airspeed-indication-incident-involving-an-airbus-a330/

[5] Airbus issues pitot tube warning (January 3, 2011). Air safety week. Retrieved November 6,

2012 from http://search.proquest.com/docview

[6] A330 ADIRU Dilemma of Unresolvable Anomalous Behavior. Retrieved November 18,

2012 from http://www.iasa-intl.com/folders/belfast/ADIRU_faults&Tolerances-2.htm

[7] ATSB TRANSPORT SAFETY REPORT. Unreliable airspeed indication 710 km south of

Guam28 October 2009VH-EBAAirbus A330-202. Retrieved November 12, 2012 from

http://www.scribd.com/doc/57593209/25/Other-unreliable-airspeed-events-on-A330-A340-

aircraft

http://www.flightglobal.com/landingpage/david%20kaminski-morrow.html

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airbus-reviews-instrument-logic-in-aftermath-of-af447-374484/

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airbus-reviews-instrument-logic-in-aftermath-of-af447-374484/

http://www.legal.com/aviation

http://aviationsafetynetwork.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/atsb-concludes-investigation-into-unreliable-airspeed-indication-incident-involving-an-airbus-a330/

http://aviationsafetynetwork.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/atsb-concludes-investigation-into-unreliable-airspeed-indication-incident-involving-an-airbus-a330/

http://search.proquest.com/docview

http://www.iasa-intl.com/folders/belfast/ADIRU_faults&Tolerances-2.htm

http://www.scribd.com/doc/57593209/25/Other-unreliable-airspeed-events-on-A330-A340-aircraft

http://www.scribd.com/doc/57593209/25/Other-unreliable-airspeed-events-on-A330-A340-aircraft

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[8] Air Data Handbook. Retrieved November 24, 2012 from http://www.goodrich.com/gr-ext-

templating/images/Goodrich%20Content/Business%20Content/Sensors%20and%20Integrated%

20Systems/Products/Literature%20Listing/4081%20Air%20Data%20Handbook.pdf

[9] Pitot-Static System and Instruments. Retrieved November 18, 2012 from

http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/PSSI.htm

[10] How to Improve Safety in Regulated Industries What Could We Learn From Each Other

ENCO FR-(12)-44. July 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2012 from


[11] Unreliable Airspeed, Retrieved November 12, 2012 from

http://www.thedigitalaviator.com/blog/?p=977

[12] Airbus A320 Family Non-Normal Notes-Version 1.0. Retrieved November 12, 2012 from

http://www.scribd.com/doc/61780929/5/Unreliable-airspeed-memory-item

[13] More Pitot Tube Incidents Revealed. Retrieved December 8, 2012 from

http://www.aviationtoday.com/regions/usa/More-Pitot-Tube-Incidents-

Revealed_72414.html#.UND_CW871qZ

[14] Lasers on planes to prevent fatal crashes | UNSW Newsroom. UNSW Newsroom. Retrieved

Nov 2012 from http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-technology/lasers-planes-prevent-

fatal-crashes

[15] Fact Sheet: MOADS/Airborne LIDAR System General Specifications. Retrieved Dec 2012

from http://www.michiganaero.com/business_units/oads/moads.shtml

[16] 0851HL-AI Pitot Probe. Aero Instruments. Retrieved Nov 2012 from http://www.aero-

inst.com/Products/Aero0851HL.php

[17] Thales Probe Pitot C16195-BA. Thales Aerospace. Retrieved Dec 2012 from

https://www1.online.thalesgroup.com/aerospace/commercial_avionics/fiche_bfe/bfe.php

[18] Pitot and Static Probes. Goodrich sensors and integrated systems . Retrieved Dec 2012.

http://www.goodrich.com/Goodrich/Businesses/Sensors-and-Integrated-Systems/Products/Air-

Data-Products-and-Systems/Pitot-and-Pitot-Static-Probes

http://www.goodrich.com/gr-ext-templating/images/Goodrich%20Content/Business%20Content/Sensors%20and%20Integrated%20Systems/Products/Literature%20Listing/4081%20Air%20Data%20Handbook.pdf



http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/PSSI.htm


http://www.thedigitalaviator.com/blog/?p=977

http://www.scribd.com/doc/61780929/5/Unreliable-airspeed-memory-item

http://www.aviationtoday.com/regions/usa/More-Pitot-Tube-Incidents-Revealed_72414.html#.UND_CW871qZ

http://www.aviationtoday.com/regions/usa/More-Pitot-Tube-Incidents-Revealed_72414.html#.UND_CW871qZ

http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-technology/lasers-planes-prevent-fatal-crashes

http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-technology/lasers-planes-prevent-fatal-crashes

http://www.michiganaero.com/pdfs/airborne_lidar.pdf

http://www.michiganaero.com/business_units/oads/moads.shtml

http://www.aero-inst.com/Products/Aero0851HL.php

http://www.aero-inst.com/Products/Aero0851HL.php

https://www1.online.thalesgroup.com/aerospace/commercial_avionics/fiche_bfe/bfe.php

http://www.goodrich.com/Goodrich/Businesses/Sensors-and-Integrated-Systems/Products/Air-Data-Products-and-Systems/Pitot-and-Pitot-Static-Probes

http://www.goodrich.com/Goodrich/Businesses/Sensors-and-Integrated-Systems/Products/Air-Data-Products-and-Systems/Pitot-and-Pitot-Static-Probes

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April 16, 2013

Development of an Arthropod All-Terrain Vehicle

Work in Progress

Travis Covey


[email protected]

Mohammed Lusan


[email protected]

Ricardo Matute


[email protected]

Advisor: Dr. Yougashwar Budhoo and Dr. Amir Elzawawy Department of Engineering and Technology, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology,

Flushing, NY, USA,

[email protected]

ABSTRACT

As early on as 1850, there have been strives made in engineering to design a vehicle that

incorporates legs into its design instead of wheels or treads. The primary reason that the

technology has not advanced in leaps and bounds is the lack of proper means to developing the

machinery necessary to move a seemingly complicated mechanism. However, corporations such

as Boston Dynamics have been making strides in the development of legged robots, their most

promising and successful creation being a robot referred to as BigDog, which is capable of

traversing several different kinds of terrain. One of its most significant attributes is its ability to

maintain its balance, even when a force is applied to the body in an attempt to offset it. However,

BigDog was not meant to be a vehicle; it was meant to act as a mechanical beast.

This paper aims at designing an arthropod all-terrain vehicle (ATV) would be similar to that of

the BigDog in structure and a rhinoceros beetle in terms of locomotion. The objective if this

vehicle would be its ability to carry much heavier loads, such as other vehicles over previously

inaccessible areas due to its increased size and power.

1. INTRODUCTION

The primary goal of this project would be to design a potential practical ATV that could be used

in the modern age as well as to emphasize the validity of legged vehicles. Although there have

been attempts to create a usable legged vehicles, the most successful cases still only exist on

paper. In the past, BigDog has incorporated a legged design as shown in Figure 1, but it is not a

vehicle to be driven by any means, as it is only expected to carry a maximum load of 340 lb

(154.22 kg). [1]





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April 16, 2013

Another example that is currently in development is NASA’s All-Terrain Hex-Limed Extra-

Terrestrial Explorer (ATHLETE), as shown in Figure 2. The primary distinguishing factor of this

vehicle is the addition of wheels on the end of each of its six legs. These wheels can be locked

and allow it to walk instead of rolling over treacherous terrain. Despite its ability to carry upward

of 660 lb (300 kg), its disadvantage lies in the fact that, like the aforementioned example, it is a

robot rather than a manned vehicle. [2] There may be advantages to using a robot instead of a

manned vehicle. However, this does not dissuade the usefulness of having an ATV that could be

driven instead of programmed to move.

2. DESIGN

Figure 1: BigDog carrying a sample load (taken from [2])

Figure 2: Example of ATHLETE legs fully extended (taken from [3])

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April 16, 2013

a. Direction of Conceptualization

In order to begin to design the ATV, the primary locomotion will be based on the common

rhinoceros beetle (xylotrupes ulysses), demonstrated in Figure 3. Rhino beetles are capable of

lifting between one hundred to eight hundred and fifty times their own bodyweight. For the

purposes of this project’s design, the focus will be on the segmented legs of the rhino beetle.

Although the entire physical anatomy of the rhino beetle may play a part in its strength and

efficiency, this project will not be conducting a thorough biological analysis; most of the data

will be coming from research that has been conducted before. If a successful design can be

implemented, not only will the legged vehicle be capable of accessing regions beyond the range

of other similar vehicles, but the legged vehicle will be capable of carrying much greater loads

than current wheeled vehicles. The preliminary design and measurements of the ATV’s legs

were taken from the rhino beetle. The ratios of the segments of the beetle is shown in table 1,

while the dimensions used for the ATV's design is shown in table 2.

Table 1: Leg Segment Ratio of the Common Rhinoceros Beetle

Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3

Front 1 1.0152 1.1818

Middle 1 0.8226 1.2419

Back 1 0.8226 1.2903

Table 2: Dimensions used in Model of ATV

Segment 1 (m) Segment 2 (m) Segment 3 (m)

Front 1.5 1.5228 1.7727

Middle* 1.5 1.2339 1.8629

Back 1.5 1.2339 1.9354

Figure 3: Common rhinoceros beetle

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b. Current model

A model of the front limb of the ATV was created using the CAD software CATIA and is shown

in Figure 4. This idealized model of the rhino beetle limb focused more on the length of each

segment without focusing on the intricate designs of it. The next step of this project would be to

improve on the design of the legs to have a more accurate representation of it, exploring the

modifications necessary to have an optimal design.

Cost and maintenance is a major factor for any new vehicle design. With that in mind, the design

objective at this juncture is to begin to investigate the forces and corresponding stresses acting on

each of the leg’s segments in order to optimize the design. The first part of this analysis would

involve investigating the effect of the weight of each component of the ATV on the overall body

Figure 4: Current front leg model of the Rhino beetle

Figure 5: Isometric view of current design

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(an example of the full body is shown in Figure 5), to understand better how the forces are

distributed to each of the limbs. After a full-body analysis is completed, investigation of the

forces and stresses will be conducted on the legs independent of the body to investigate

deformation and areas of stress concentration. In addition, the stresses that are created due to the

weight, as well as the moving limb sections, will be investigated. Study of the motion and

balance is a critical part of this vehicle and will also be taken into account and study in details.

Finally, different kind of loads, primarily the weight of various construction and military

vehicles, will be reviewed and used in the calculation of stress and weight analysis.

c. Future work

Simultaneously, analysis will be conducted to find out whether the design can work using four

legs instead of six. This is to keep material cost low and to incorporate fewer components to

maintain, addressing one of the possible issues brought up by NASA’s ATHLETE. However, to

achieve the desired carrying capacity and stability of motion, six legs may still be required.

Further analysis will be conducted as more mathematical evidence supports or dissuades a

change.

A computer animation of the model will also be created. Although the animation is only an

example of the final product, all of the parts will be constrained and bound by physical

limitations. Animation will be conducted once the mathematical analysis is completed. A final

aspiration of this project would be to demonstrate all the modeling and analysis in the form of a

working prototype traversing various terrain carrying a load.

3. CONCLUSION

The legged ATV is not meant to be taken as a completed project at this point but a work in

progress. However, this project can be taken as a starting point to the development of further

projects 'down the road'. Although a fully-realized working model is not currently available, this

model shows promise to be a feasible future means of transportation.

REFERENCES

[1] Boston Dynamics, “BigDog – The Most Advanced Rough-Terrain Robot on Earth” 2013

[2] Bill Alder, “All-Terrain Hex-Limed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer”

[3] J.P. Schmiedeler, K.J. Waldron, “The Mechanics of Quadrupedal Galloping and the Future of

Legged Vehicles”

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April 16, 2013

Revisiting the Calculations of the Aerodynamic Lift Generated over

the Fuselage of the Lockheed Constellation - Work in Progress

Wajahat Khan

Student – Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing NY

[email protected]

Jonathan Sypeck

Student – Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing NY

[email protected]

Advisors:


ABSTRACT

The Lockheed Constellation, first flown in 1943 and retired in the early 1960’s, is still

considered by many pilots, engineers, and airplane enthusiasts to be one of the most beautifully

designed airplanes to date. The main feature which creates this sense of beauty comes from its

sloping and contouring fuselage. At that time, airplane fuselages were mainly symmetrical on the

upper surface and slightly sloping on the bottom; this is also true of most of today’s jets. The

Constellation, however, broke the mold and set a new, yet short, standard for aircraft design and

engineering.

The most common statement which is made about this aircraft in Aerodynamic and Fluid

Mechanics classes is that the fuselage created a certain amount of lift-to-drag ratio due to its

radical shape [1]. This ratio, unlike the negligible amount created by standard, symmetrical

fuselages, was considered noteworthy enough to be included in several publications of this

aircraft [2].

Therefore, it was seen to be an interesting idea to use the combined knowledge of design and

analysis of the team members and the current advancements on flow simulation software to

investigate this phenomenon. To do this, SolidWorks will be used both to design and analyze

two types of fuselages: the Constellation and a typical symmetrical fuselage in terms of the

aerodynamic forces produced at different flight conditions.

Keywords: SolidWorks, Design, Flow Analysis, Lift-to-Drag Ratio.

Introduction

On January 9th

, 1943, the Lockheed Constellation, also known informally as the “Connie”, made

its first flight into aviation history. The initial production had the Constellation powered by four

Wright R-3350 radial engines [3]. These engines contained unusually long propeller blades,

which required a long front nose gear. To avoid this situation, the designers changed the mean

camber line of the fuselage in two areas: it was first lowered in the forward section, and then



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April 16, 2013

curved downward in the aft section. The forward lowering allowed for the nose-gear to be just

long enough for the clearance, while the downward curvature ended up decreasing the drag over

the aft section of the fuselage [2]. From this “fix”, the basic design of the fuselage was made.

Outside of the original tests performed by Lockheed engineers during the initial phases of the

design, there have been no analyses undertaken to calculate either the drag or lift over the

fuselage of the Constellation. The reason why no one has done this can be explained by the

simple fact that there was no real problem with this. Being that this was a good thing, there was

no real need to find these values and publish them either in technical or educational publications.

Project Objectives

The objectives set out by the group for this project are as follows:

1. Design both Constellation fuselage and symmetrical fuselage in SolidWorks. 2. Simulate the flow over both Fuselages at various flight speeds and angles of attack. 3. Compare the results of the two fuselages in terms of aerodynamic forces. 4. Attempt to optimize the Constellation fuselage to increase its aerodynamic

Performance.

First and foremost, both the Constellation’s fuselage and the standard symmetrical fuselage

needed to be modeled in 3D before the application of the flow analysis portion of the project.

The next step will be to run the flow analyses on each fuselage at different wind speeds and

angles of attack. The purpose of these analyses is to find the coefficients of lift and drag of the

fuselages. From these values, the lift-to-drag ratios can be determined. As of now, one flow

analysis has been completed for a wind speed of 40 m/s and 0° AOA (Angle of Attack). This was

used as a test of the SolidWorks Flow Simulation add-in.

With all these values, the two fuselages will be compared to see if the Constellation’s fuselage

truly generates a higher lift-to-drag ratio. Finally, if it does create a higher ratio, an “in-between”

fuselage design will be attempted. The purpose of this is to see if a fuselage of this type can

function under current aircraft standards.

Completed Work

The first objective of the project has so far been completed. To model the fuselage in

SolidWorks, a blueprint, shown in figure 1, was needed for the dimensions of the fuselage. A

tracing technique, which is available by SolidWorks, is used to create each cross-section of the

fuselage. These several cross-sections are then connected together to create the longitudinal

continuous solid model of the fuselage. A multi-view of the fuselage is shown in figure 2.

In addition, an initial test flow-simulation has been completed in an effort to learn identify the

major parameters that affect the analysis, also to familiarize the group with the use the Flow

Simulation package. Some of these important factors that essential to understand to produce the

right simulation are mesh configuration, boundary conditions, and the dimensions of the flow

domain. Initially, the flow domain is automatically calculated by SolidWorks, which is where the

simulation actually takes place. The flow domain encompasses an area around the fuselage

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which needed to be large enough to include all the volume where is the flow affected by the solid

object. To enhance the accuracy of the solutions, the mesh generated around the flow domain is

focused around the fuselage itself. This also allowed SolidWorks to cut back on the computer

resources needed for the simulation.

Figure 1: Blueprints of Lockheed Constellation [4].

Figure 2: Side, Top, Front, and Rear views (top to bottom, left to right) of the Constellation

fuselage modeled in SolidWorks.

Future Work

With both fuselages designed, the only work which needs to be done is the other three objectives.

Although this might seem like a large amount of work, it is in fact the easiest portion of the

project.

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April 16, 2013

In terms of the analysis-portion, each fuselage will be tested under the same conditions, such as a

flow speed of 300mph and varying Angles of Attack (AOA) of 0° to 10°. Using the “Batch Run”

feature in SolidWorks, which allows the user to run several simulations based on the same

template at once, this step should not take very long.

Once these simulations are completed, and the data of lift and drag are calculated, the results for

each fuselage will be compared to see if in fact the Constellation’s fuselage did in fact generate a

higher lift-to-drag ratio. If it turns out that it does, an attempt to design a new fuselage will be

made which would combine the features of the Constellation with the interior-volume of current

aircraft.

Conclusion

The Constellation fuselage is modeled in 3D using SolidWorks. This was proven to take longer

time than expected task due to the complexity of the geometry of the model. In addition to this

another 3D model is produced for more traditional symmetrical fuselage. Both models will be

used in flow simulation to compare the flow around this part of the airplane in an attempt to

understand the lift claimed to be generated around the Constellation fuselage. This also may lead

to develop more optimized fuselage in an effort to provide some lift from this large section of the

airplane structure.

References

[1] Dale R, Reed. Wingless Flight: The Lifting Body Story (NASA History Series SP-4220).

Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 2002. Print.

[2] Pace, S. (1998). Lockheed's constellation. Zenith Imprint.

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Constellation

[4] http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1661299

Acknowledgments

The project team wishes to acknowledge the assistance and support of Prof. Manny Jesus while

designing and modeling the Constellation and the typical symmetrical fuselages.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Constellation

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1661299

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April 16, 2013

Automatic Fluid Dispenser – Work in Progress

Yoeri Martinez


[email protected]

William Dale


[email protected]


Department of Engineering and Technology, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology,

Flushing, NY, USA, [email protected]

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates precision chemical filling machines and describes the innovative design

process of our project -- the development of an automatic fluid dispenser. A chemical filling

machine is an automated device used to precisely measure and pour a specific amount of liquid

into a separate container. This machine can be employed in chemical and drug researches in

universities or pharmaceutical laboratories since it provides an accurate and reliable mixture of

chemicals. However, most of the chemical filling machines available on the market are very

expensive because they have been designed to serve large-scale manufacturing of different

pharmaceutical products and chemical compounds. The device under the development offers the

inexpensive option by creating a filling device from individual parts and then combining these

separate elements. In this way, a user can customize the machine to particular desires for a

specific application. This paper describes current fluid dispenser models and our design. In

addition, the materials to be used in the project are listed and the system hardware layout and the

software architecture are provided.

1. BACKGROUND RESEARCH

Fluid Dispensers are systems used to supply controlled amounts of liquids in different processes

including chemical mixtures, development of materials, application of adhesives and other

corrosive substances. These devices are often utilized as bench tools in chemical laboratories

and manufacturing industries. Normally the system consists of a pump, a reservoir tank, a

syringe, actuators, sensors, and controllers that inject a specific amount of liquid into a filling

element. Several types of liquid dispensers are listed as follows,

1) Manual liquid dispensers: These types of dispensers do not contain a controller or a

processor, which are normally operated directly by users.

2) Syringe-pumps: These devices provide an affordable solution to dispensing and flow

control. Generally, they consist of a single syringe to inject one type of liquid and they can

be operated in either programmed mode or manual mode.




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April 16, 2013

3) Dispensing Robots: These devices are suitable for medium and high production

environments. These robots dispense the liquid in several containers placed within their

workspace.

Figure 1 shows an I&J2300 desktop dispensing robot [1], the industrial robot has an automatic

dispensing area of 11.81 x 12.60 inches. It can be programmed using a teach pendant or optional

Windows® software. Also, it can accept dispensing valves and syringes with tooling loads

between 6Kg and 11Kg. However, it costs more than $1200.

Figure 1: I&J2300 desktop dispensing robot

2. DESIGN OF AUTOMATIC FLUID DISPENSER

The fluid dispenser under design is a syringe based liquid dispenser which is able to pour precise

amounts of different liquids into a container. The machine is expected to have the same

precision and operating quality as other competitive models, while several unnecessary

capabilities have been diminished. Furthermore, the product allows a user to combine the

different dispensing modules in order to customize the machine to various specifications and

communicate with up to 25 other dispenser stations through the hub program using wireless

networking. Table 1 lists the engineering specifications for the automatic fluid dispenser.

Table 1 Engineering Specifications

Parameter Values Justification

Dimensions

300×300×450

mm3(1ft×1ft×1.5 ft) in

Length × Wide × Height

This machine is intended to be a bench tool easy

to install.

Weight 10 Kilograms (22 lbs) It is portable to move from one place or another.

Voltage 120 V AC The machine can be plugged to a standard power

outlet.

Industrial

Standards

802.15.4 – ZigBee The protocol [2] is used to create a secure mesh

network to connect several modules together.

RS-232 Serial Protocol This protocol is used to connect the controller to

the main processor.

Motor

Max step value of .05 mm

Minimum force of 75 N

Above this value, the desired precision of the

dispenser can be compromised. After testing, the

minimum value required to compress the syringe

plunger is 10 N. In order to be able to accurately

operate the machine, at least 75 N of force is

necessary.

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April 16, 2013

2.1. Hardware Organization

The hardware structure of the automatic fluid dispense system is shown in Figure 2. It consists

of a 12-volt DC stepper motor with 129 mm stroke length [3], an encoder for the feedback of the

measured stroke displacement [4], a 30cc plastic syringe, a friendlyarm MINI 2440 SBC board

with 400 MHz Samsung S3C2440 ARM9 processor as well as the frame to mount all

components together.

Figure 2: Hardware Structure of the Automatic Fluid Dispense

This system uses a stepper motor to inject specific amounts of liquids into a recipient. The

encoder is used to measure the motion of the stepper motor. And the controller is used to monitor

the operations and provide commands. As shown in Figure 2, a four-inch touch screen is used as

human-machine interface (HMI) between the user and the module. Through this interface the

user will set up parameters such as syringe diameter, lower and higher limit for the stroke and the

amount of liquid to be dispensed.

2.2. System Design and Operations

The system design and implementation include the graphical user interface (GUI) programming

and fluid dispensing control programming.

1) GUI User Interface

Figure 3 shows the GUI interface which allows a user to set up the requirements for the syringe

through the HMI touch screen. The GUI interface is created by programming in the LabView

environment. The syringe can be set with three different diameters. The diameter value will be

stored into a register for the calculation of the volume of liquid injected. Meanwhile, the upper

and lower limits can be set for the step motor to prevent the stroke to pull out of the syringe or to

press too far down. To set the limit values, the user presses the stroke up button until the GUI

interface shows the desired high limit. Then, the ok button is pressed to save the value into a

register. Similar steps are used to set a low limit. The values of this limits and the diameter of

the syringe will be used to calculate how much liquid has been dispensed.

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April 16, 2013

Figure 3: Syringe Configuration

2) System Operations

The system can be operated in two different modes: Standalone and Networking. In the

standalone mode, a single machine dispenses a single type of liquid. The user will place a

container under the syringe nozzle and then input the amount of liquid to be injected. The

machine will pour the liquid into the container and stand by waiting for new instructions. In the

networking mode, several machines are connected to a wireless network. Each machine

performs the same task (inject liquid into a container). However, all machines are configured by

a single processor with different amount of liquid for each module. Once these parameters are

set up the machine will be ready to operate.

This screen communicates directly with the processor using the RS-232 protocol. Other inputs

such as the capacity sensor (to sense that the container is under the nozzle) are connected directly

to the controller Input/Output board.

Figure 4 displays the complete software architecture for a single station. In the Figure, the

processor and the controller communicate with each other. The 4-inch touch screen works as

input and output concurrently so that the user can monitor and control the process. The

capacitive sensor is connected to a general digital input port of the controller board while the

stepper motor is connected to an output port. The encoder provides a feedback signal to the

controller.

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April 16, 2013

Figure 4: Flow Chart of Control

3. DESIGN SUMMAERY

In the paper, a product design that can be fully customized by a user is provided. The created

fluid dispenser system consists of the dispensing apparatus, a syringe to dispense the liquid, a

processor with an LCD interface for controlling the machine. The program installed in the

processor includes the GUI interface for a user to enter desired parameters for the automation

and the control code for the controller to effectively regulate the stepper motor to dispense the

liquid. Using all of these components together will allow the design to function with precision

and easy customization for the user.

The proposed filling machine is expected to cost below $500-$700. Using the cost-effective as

well as versatile product, many consumers who would otherwise be unable to obtain a liquid

filling machine are able to create a customized and efficient laboratory system. Therefore, the

new versatile product designed by the specifications can find a broad range of applications.

REFERENCES

[1] Fisnar®.(2013). Liquid Dispensing for Every Industry.Retrieved from:

http://www.fisnar.com/product_index?gclid=CIH2_7rY_LQCFcuZ4Aodm38AjQ

[2] Digikey. (2013). ZigBee®. Retrieved from: http://www.digi.com/technology/rf-

articles/wireless-zigbee.

[3] Haydon kerk. (2013). 2600 series Linear Actuator. Retrieved from:

http://www.haydonkerk.com/LinearActuatorProducts/StepperMotorLinearActuators/Linear

ActuatorsCanstack/26000LinearActuator/tabid/89/Default.aspx.

[4] Haydon kerk. (2013). Linear Actuator Encoders. Retrieved from:

http://www.haydonkerk.com/LinearActuatorProducts/StepperMotorLinearActuators/Linear

ActuatorEncoders/tabid/200/Default.aspx

Inputs

Processing Units

HMI Unit

Outputs

Processor

4-Inch Touch screen

Controller

Capacitive Senor

Stepper Motor

Motor Encoder

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April 16, 2013

Application of Shear Thickening Non-Newtonian Fluid to Minimize

Head and Neck Injury – Work in Progress

Jose Herrera


[email protected]

Mamunur Anik


[email protected]

Advisors:


ABSTRACT

In this project, the application of shear thickening non-Newtonian fluid is proposed to dampen

sudden acceleration and deceleration to minimizing neck trauma also known as “whiplash”. The

shear-thickening characteristics in some non-fluids are being exploited to provide substantial

non-linear damping to sudden acceleration that happens in some sports accidents such as in car

racing. The experiments are conducted using a mixture of cornstarch (55 %) and water (45%).

Initial experiments demonstrated strong shear thickening behavior at high shear rate (du/dy),

which is relevant to high acceleration that occurs in the time of the accident. The shear

thickening fluid also demonstrates low shear stress behavior at low shear rates. This also is

desirable to provide smooth neck motion. A simple device was constructed to demonstrate and

test the concept of using shear damping fluid, consisting of a clear PVC reinforced hose, fixed at

one end, then filled with the cornstarch solution and a free floating chain is placed inside the

hose. The cornstarch solution surrounds the chain; the chain links in conjunction with the inner

wall surface of the flexible hose provide the friction needed to induce a shear force. The result is

a damping characteristic caused by the high shear stress of the fluid.

Keywords: Non-Newtonian, Shear thickening fluid, Damping, and Robustness

INTRODUCTION

One of the most common injuries associated in sports and vehicle accidents involves neck

injuries. As an indication of the size of the problem in-hand in 2007, the costs of neck injury

claims to insurance companies were estimated to be about $8.8 billion dollars [1]. In the attempt

to reduce neck injuries, this project is based on using the shear-thickening characteristic of a non-

Newtonian fluid and applying its effects in reducing neck injuries. Helmets and different

versions of spinal protection are used to minimize head and spinal injuries; however, the neck

region remains vulnerable. A proposed solution is to bridge the gap between the head and

shoulders for continuous protection of the spine. Currently, the vulnerable neck is protected with

bulky neck collars, used to dampen the effects of whiplash; thus, reducing neck mobility.

Background



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A non-Newtonian Fluid has a unique characteristic; it exhibits both properties of liquid and solid.

This characteristic has been known and studied for some time and has been applied to consumer

products and military use. For example, Shear-thickening fluids are currently being utilized in a

number of commercial applications including use in machine mounts, damping devices, and

limited slip differentials. The Hughes Aircraft Company [2] developed a viscous fluid damper,

seen in figure 1, to be mounted on a missile targeting system that “eliminated wavering during

tracking and aiming”. Moreover, the viscous fluid damper allowed the operator to follow the

target and damped the recoil as the missile was fired. Non-Newtonian fluids are usually very

dense, but their one ability is to form itself into a solid momentarily when an external force

impacts the fluid as it produces high shearing rate. The harder the impact, stronger the liquid

becomes to resist the impact. When no force is acting, the non-Newtonian fluid is gloppy. To

illustrate the versatility of this concept further, currently the U.S. Army, along with the

University of Delaware at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, is testing and developing liquid body

armor as a means to slow down the impact of any high-speed projectile based on the same

concept [3].

Figure 21: Hughes Aircraft Viscous fluid damper

There are many non-Newtonian fluid categories, in this project the cornstarch solution is selected

for its economical and availability aspects. This solution is categorized as a dilatants or shear

thickening fluid. It has a direct proportional relationship between viscosity and shear rate. As

shear rate increases, viscosity also increases and is graphically shown in figure 2

Figure 22: Shear Thickening Behavior

Design

Traditionally, vibrations and impacts are damped either by mechanical or electronic means; The

present design uses the known characteristics of a shear thickening fluid in a controlled manner;

this shear damping fluid device is simple and robust. The simplicity comes from using readily

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April 16, 2013

available materials and has very few moving parts, thereby; keep manufacturing and

maintenance costs down. The device proposed here meant to have an automatic actuation as it

works instantly when it experiences a shearing force. The shearing action can be adapted to

various geometries and configurations depending on the end result being achieved. The main

objective is to develop a working model, which will act as spinal protection in a frontal

automotive collision. Refer to figure 3 for a visual understanding of the equipment used. The

prototype device will be attached to the back of the helmet and the spine protector along the

length of the spine as shown in figure 4. Since, the non-Newtonian fluid behaves like a

Newtonian fluid when no force or acceleration is experienced; the neck moves in its natural

range of motion. The hose is filled with the shear thickening fluid, which is a mixture of

cornstarch and water and the hose is fixed; the hose ends are closed both to prevent fluid

spillage. To activate the shear thickening fluid a sudden longitudinal shearing force is applied to

the chain. The fluid medium provides a consistent contact between the inner wall surface of the

hose and chain link surface areas; also the chain provides additional friction. A high shear rate

and acceleration occurs as the weight of the head and helmet starts to rotate forward; in this

experiment a 15 lbs. weight substitutes for the head and helmet. The forward motion or flexion

of the head causes the opposing surfaces between inner wall surface of the hose and chain links

surface areas to slide past each other. The sudden motion induces the necessary shear thickening

and strain hardening to slow down the acceleration. An important relationship that is of interest

is in how the fluids viscosity increases due to shear rate or velocity. This unique property will be

used in a manner to reach the objective of providing a means to minimize neck trauma.

Figure 3: a) Clear tube, b) Chain, c) corn starch mixture

Figure 4: Illustration of unprotected neck

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April 16, 2013

Application

The prototype shear damping fluid device, so far, is expected to reduce neck injury in tension as

the head moves forward. For the second phase, the design needs to be modified in a way that

allows the shear thickening fluid to be activated as the head moves backward known as

extension. The third design phase, will allow protection for the neck from a lateral collision,

which is even more complicated. Presently, there is not a specific design for this particular

situation, however; with sufficient time, it will be worth trying to modify the design to satisfy the

requirements mentioned. Thus, helping drivers and athletes extra protection from neck injury.

Even though, this particular model has a very specific goal there are other areas where the usage

of non-Newtonian fluids can be helpful to the society. Depending on the materials, ingredients

and mixture ratio, the non-Newtonian fluid can be woven into fabrics such as ropes, safety

harnesses, seatbelts and in combination with shock absorbers to assist in further damping effects.

Experiments

In the first experiment, the shear damping fluid device was subject to a drop-test. The reinforced

PVC hose had one closed with an eyebolt, which served two purposes; this allowed an

attachment point for the 15 lbs. weight and prevented the fluid from leaking out. One end of the

chain was fixed and suspended on a cross member. The cross member was supported by two

tripod stands. The chain was then placed inside the open end of the reinforced PVC hose and the

shear thickening fluid was poured inside the hose. The overall idea is to video the drop test by

allowing the weighted hose to fall freely and observe how well the shear thickening fluid resisted

the motion. The device was only subjected to a 1g, equal to 9.8 m/s2. From the video, data such

as distance, velocity, and acceleration are obtained. After the data was collected and analyzed, it

was noted that the acceleration was not constant; therefore, making initial kinematic calculations

difficult to solve. In a car frontal collision, a driver’s head experiences more than 1g or about 140

ft-lbs of force [6] and the forces involved depend on many factors that include the speed of the

car at the time of impact. To achieve more than 1 g, the velocity needed to be increased; with the

increased velocity the shear damping fluid device needs to withstand and keep the head and neck

from exceeding a rotational force of about 140 lbs or less to minimize injury. An idealized model

was fabricated to simulate the spine and weight of the head in frontal impact collision. For safety

reasons and time constraints, two-tension springs, each with a safe working load of 61.7 lbs, in a

parallel a configuration to provide the velocity necessary to provide sufficient tensional force. A

high velocity can be gained from spring’s potential energy. The prototype device will be attached

to a hinged lever arm, in such a way that when the lever is released the rotational motion will

produce a sufficient velocity to activate the fluids resistance. A crude representation of the

idealized model is illustrated in figure 6.

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April 16, 2013

Figure 5: Stand, weighted bag and measuring tools used to suspend and test prototype device

Figure 6: graphical results of 15 lbs. drop test

Ve

loci

ty y

Time

Acc

ele

rati

on

y

Time

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April 16, 2013

Figure 7: Experiment 2: Idealized spine and head mass model

Experiment Mathematical model

T1+V1=T2 +V2…............…………………………….................Equation 1

Where,

T1 = Kinetic energy at initial Position

V1= Potential energy at initial Position

T2 =Kinetic energy at Final Position

V2 = Potential energy at Final Position

1

2k 1

2 1

2J 2

2

(k 1

2 ) (J 2

2 )

2

(k 1

2 )

J

Based on Newton’s 2ndlaw of motion for rotational system:

M J ( 2 – 1)

t

M J 2

t M

J

t

(k 1

2 )

J

M J

t(k 1

2 ) .........................................................................Equation 2

For this particular case J m L2;

where, m mass of average human head and L length of the lever arm.

Conclusion

The proposed device is meant to use the material properties of the shear-thickening non-

Newtonian fluid to damp the forces generated on the neck joints in sports accidents due to the

sudden increase of the acceleration of the head relative to the maid body which is constrainted by

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April 16, 2013

the safety belt. The intial experiments showed high damping effect at high acceleration rates and

low shear stress at low acceleration. Both cases are desirable as explained above. However, the

acceleration value of the drop-test is smaller than the actual accident values. Another experiment

is planned to model the values of the acceleration that causes the injuries (shown in figure 6).

This experiment will help to determine the damping effect of the fluid device, therefore; the

overall performance of the device. The will be important to move to the optimization stage of the

device.

REFERENCES

[1] Q&a: Neck injury. (2013, January). Retrieved from

http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/neck_injury.aspx

[2] Hughes Aircraft Company (Culver City, CA) (09/23/1975 ). Retrieved from website

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3907079.html

[3] Global Security. February 18, 2010. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/body-armor3.htm

[4] Inglis-Arkell, E. (2010, December 20). io9.com. Retrieved from http://io9.com/5715076/non

newtonian-fluids-the-weirdest-liquids-youve-ever-seen

[5] "Rheology Measurements." N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.

http://people.sju.edu/~phabdas/physics/rheo.html.

[6] Sanfelipo, T. (2011). Understanding head and neck trauma. Retrieved from

http://www.bikersrights.com/statistics/trauma.html







http://people.sju.edu/~phabdas/physics/rheo.html

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