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Aerospace, Volume 6, Issue 4 (April 2019) – 10 articles

Cover Story (view full-size image): CAD/CAM feature-based manufacturing (FBM) approaches allow us to automatically generate toolpaths, recognize machining features, and define the best or preferred machining process for each of them based on predefined rules. Companies need to extend the product lifecycle management environment in order to be able to make explicit and manage manufacturing rules based on industrial best practice. This paper presents a possible solution to optimize FBM information management and integration within the product lifecycle. A data model extension, covering new items such as “manufacturing rules” and “tool setting preferences”, and a new methodology for rules management and deployment are proposed. View this paper.
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18 pages, 5637 KiB  
Article
Investigation of the Trailing Edge Modification Effect on Compressor Blade Aerodynamics Using SST k-ω Turbulence Model
by Mongkol Kaewbumrung, Worapol Tangsopa and Jatuporn Thongsri
Aerospace 2019, 6(4), 48; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6040048 - 25 Apr 2019
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6256
Abstract
A gas turbine power plant in Thailand had the problem of compressor blade fracture in Stages 6–8, which was caused by housing damage. This gas turbine has a total of 15 stages. The housing damage reduced the lifetime of blades to an unacceptable [...] Read more.
A gas turbine power plant in Thailand had the problem of compressor blade fracture in Stages 6–8, which was caused by housing damage. This gas turbine has a total of 15 stages. The housing damage reduced the lifetime of blades to an unacceptable level. This article shall report the solution and outcomes. Three-dimensional (3D) compressor blade models in the problematic stages were prepared by a 3D scanning machine to find a solution based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and then were completed for simulation by adding Stages 5 and 9 to become a multi-stage axial model. The latter models were modified by trimming the trailing edge by 1-, 5-, and 10-mm. Using ANSYS CFX R19.2 software, the CFD results of the trailing edge modification effect on flow using the shear stress transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model revealed aerodynamics inside the problematic stages both before and after blade modifications. Modifying the blade by 5 mm was suitable, because it had lesser effects on aerodynamic parameters: pressure ratio, drag, and lift coefficients, when compared to the modification of 10 mm. The larger the modification, the greater the effect on aerodynamics. The effects on aerodynamics were intensified when they were modified by 10 mm. The validation of base line blades was conducted for the overall compressor parameters that were compared with the measurable data. These results were accepted and gave positive feedbacks from engineers who practically applied our reports in a real maintenance period of gas turbine. Full article
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21 pages, 12858 KiB  
Review
Innovative Methods to Enhance the Combustion Properties of Solid Fuels for Hybrid Rocket Propulsion
by Suhang Chen, Yue Tang, Wei Zhang, Ruiqi Shen, Hongsheng Yu, Yinghua Ye and Luigi T. DeLuca
Aerospace 2019, 6(4), 47; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6040047 - 22 Apr 2019
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 8304
Abstract
The low regression rates for hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB)-based solid fuels and poor mechanical properties for the alternative paraffin-based liquefying fuels make today hybrid rocket engines far from the outstanding accomplishments of solid motors and liquid engines. In this paper, a survey is conducted [...] Read more.
The low regression rates for hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB)-based solid fuels and poor mechanical properties for the alternative paraffin-based liquefying fuels make today hybrid rocket engines far from the outstanding accomplishments of solid motors and liquid engines. In this paper, a survey is conducted of several innovative methods under test to improve solid fuel properties, which include self-disintegration fuel structure (SDFS)/paraffin fuels, paraffin fuels with better mechanical properties, high thermal conductivity fuels and porous layer combustion fuels. In particular, concerning HTPB, new results about diverse insert and low-energy polymer particles enhancing the combustion properties of HTPB are presented. Compared to pure HTPB, regression rate can be increased up to 21% by adding particles of polymers such as 5% polyethylene or 10% oleamide. Concerning paraffin, new results about self-disintegrating composite fuels incorporating Magnesium particles (MgP) point out that 15% 1 μm- or 100 μm-MgP formulations increase regression rates by 163.2% or 82.1% respectively, at 335 kg/m2·s oxygen flux, compared to pure paraffin. Overall, composite solid fuels featuring self-disintegration structure appear the most promising innovative technique, since they allow separating the matrix regression from the combustion of the filler grains. Yet, the investigated methods are at their initial stage. Substantial work of refinement in this paper is for producing solid fuels to fulfill the needs of hybrid rocket propulsion. Full article
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17 pages, 6876 KiB  
Article
Uncertainty Quantification of the Effects of Small Manufacturing Deviations on Film Cooling: A Fan-Shaped Hole
by Wei Shi, Pingting Chen, Xueying Li, Jing Ren and Hongde Jiang
Aerospace 2019, 6(4), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6040046 - 19 Apr 2019
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4683
Abstract
The film cooling holes in the blade of modern gas turbines have commonly been manufactured by laser drilling, Electric Discharge Machining (EDM), and Additive Manufacturing (AM) in recent years. These manufacturing processes often result in small geometric deviations, such as conical angles, filleted [...] Read more.
The film cooling holes in the blade of modern gas turbines have commonly been manufactured by laser drilling, Electric Discharge Machining (EDM), and Additive Manufacturing (AM) in recent years. These manufacturing processes often result in small geometric deviations, such as conical angles, filleted edges, and diameter deviations of the hole, which can lead to deviations on the distribution of adiabatic cooling effectiveness (η) values, the value of the discharge coefficient (Cd), and the characteristic of the in-hole flow field. The current study employed flat plate fan-shaped film cooling holes with length-to-diameter values (L/D) equal to 3.5 and six to investigate the effects of these manufacturing deviations on the distribution of η values, the value of Cd, and the characteristic of in-hole flow field. An Uncertainty Quantification (UQ) analysis using the Polynomial Chaos Expansion (PCE) model was carried out to quantify the uncertainty in the values of η and Cd. The statistical characteristics (mean values, standard deviation (Std) values, and Probability Density Function (PDF) values) of η and Cd were also calculated. The results show that conical angle deviations exert no visible changes on the value of η. However, the Cd value decreases by 6.2% when the conical angle changes from 0–0.5°. The area averaged adiabatic cooling effectiveness ( η = ) decreases by 3.4%, while the Cd increases by 15.2% with the filleted edge deviation existing alone. However, the deviation value of η = is 7.6%, and that of Cd is 25.7% with the filleted edge deviation and the diameter deviation existing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Uncertainty Quantification in Aerospace Engineering)
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21 pages, 6513 KiB  
Article
Comprehensive Data Reduction for N2O/HDPE Hybrid Rocket Motor Performance Evaluation
by Landon Kamps, Kazuhito Sakurai, Yuji Saito and Harunori Nagata
Aerospace 2019, 6(4), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6040045 - 17 Apr 2019
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 8475
Abstract
Static firing tests of a hybrid rocket motor using liquid nitrous oxide (N2O) as the oxidizer and high-density polyethylene (HPDE) as the fuel are analyzed using a novel approach to data reduction that allows histories for fuel mass consumption, nozzle throat [...] Read more.
Static firing tests of a hybrid rocket motor using liquid nitrous oxide (N2O) as the oxidizer and high-density polyethylene (HPDE) as the fuel are analyzed using a novel approach to data reduction that allows histories for fuel mass consumption, nozzle throat erosion, characteristic exhaust velocity (c) efficiency, and nozzle throat wall temperature to be determined experimentally. This is done by firing a motor under the same conditions six times, varying only the burn time. Results show that fuel mass consumption was nearly perfectly repeatable, whereas the magnitude and timing of nozzle throat erosion was not. Correlations of the fuel regression rate result in oxidizer port mass flux exponents of 0.62 and 0.76. There is a transient time in the c efficiency histories of around 2.5 s, after which c efficiency remains relatively constant, even in the case of excessive nozzle throat erosion. Although nozzle erosion was not repeatable, the erosion onset factors were similar between tests, and greater than values in previous research in which oxygen was used as the oxidizer. Lastly, nozzle erosion rates exceed 0.15 mm/s for chamber pressures of 4 to 5 MPa. Full article
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26 pages, 1625 KiB  
Article
A Simple Model to Assess the Role of Dust Composition and Size on Deposition in Rotorcraft Engines
by Nicholas Bojdo and Antonio Filippone
Aerospace 2019, 6(4), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6040044 - 16 Apr 2019
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 6441
Abstract
There have been several recorded mishaps of rotorcraft experiencing flame-out due to engine surge as a result of rapid accumulation of sand and dust on nozzle guide vanes. Minerals such as sodium chloride and albite have lower melting points than quartz and are [...] Read more.
There have been several recorded mishaps of rotorcraft experiencing flame-out due to engine surge as a result of rapid accumulation of sand and dust on nozzle guide vanes. Minerals such as sodium chloride and albite have lower melting points than quartz and are found to constitute some of the loose sediment on unprepared landing sites in the Persian Gulf. Despite this, they are not found in great abundance, if at all, in many of the test dusts that are used to qualify engines operating in harsh environments. The consequence is an under-prediction of the time to failure due to vane deposit build-up. In the current work, we use a simple model to demonstrate the sensitivity of accumulation efficiency (the proportion of ingested dust that sticks) to mineral dust physico-chemical properties. We utilise the concept of thermal Stokes number to examine the relationship between time to equilibrate and residence time and how this varies as a function of constituent mineral, as well as particle size. The likelihood of impact increases with momentum Stokes number, while the likelihood of adhesion decreases with thermal Stokes number, yet the two both increase with the square of particle diameter. This leads to a peak in deposition rate at a certain particle size. However, dust mineralogy is shown to influence sticking efficiency more than impact efficiency owing to differences in melting point. Finally, we apply our simple model to estimate the mass of dust deposited during a single brownout landing of a Pave Hawk helicopter, using two different commercially-available test dusts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rotorcraft (Volume I))
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16 pages, 2022 KiB  
Article
SHINe: Simulator for Satellite on-Board High-Speed Networks Featuring SpaceFibre and SpaceWire Protocols
by Alessandro Leoni, Pietro Nannipieri, Daniele Davalle, Luca Fanucci and David Jameux
Aerospace 2019, 6(4), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6040043 - 12 Apr 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4522
Abstract
The continuous innovation of satellite payloads is leading to an increasing demand of data-rate for on-board satellite networks. In particular, modern optical detectors generate and need to transfer data at more than 1 Gbps, a speed that cannot be satisfied with standardized technologies [...] Read more.
The continuous innovation of satellite payloads is leading to an increasing demand of data-rate for on-board satellite networks. In particular, modern optical detectors generate and need to transfer data at more than 1 Gbps, a speed that cannot be satisfied with standardized technologies such as SpaceWire. To fill this gap, the European Space Agency (ESA) is supporting the development of a new high-speed link standard, SpaceFibre. SpaceFibre provides a data-rate higher than 6.25 Gbps, together with the possibility to use multiple Virtual Channels running over the same physical link, each one configurable with flexible Quality of Service parameters. These features make a SpaceFibre network very appealing but also complex to set up in order to achieve the desired end-to-end requirements. To help this process, a Simulator for HIgh-speed Network (SHINe) based on the open-source toolkit OMNeT++ has been developed and is presented in this paper. It supports the simulation of SpaceFibre and SpaceWire protocols in order to help both the final steps of the standardization process and the system engineers in the setup and test of new networks. SHINe allows to precisely simulate common network metrics, such as latency and bandwidth usage, and it can be connected to real hardware in a Hardware-in-the-Loop configuration. Full article
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32 pages, 10164 KiB  
Article
The Interactive Design Approach for Aerodynamic Shape Design Optimisation of the Aegis UAV
by Yousef Azabi, Al Savvaris and Timoleon Kipouros
Aerospace 2019, 6(4), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6040042 - 08 Apr 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6035
Abstract
In this work, an interactive optimisation framework—a combination of a low fidelity flow solver, Athena Vortex Lattice (AVL), and an interactive Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimisation (MOPSO)—is proposed for aerodynamic shape design optimisation of any aerial vehicle platform. This paper demonstrates the benefits of [...] Read more.
In this work, an interactive optimisation framework—a combination of a low fidelity flow solver, Athena Vortex Lattice (AVL), and an interactive Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimisation (MOPSO)—is proposed for aerodynamic shape design optimisation of any aerial vehicle platform. This paper demonstrates the benefits of interactive optimisation—reduction of computational time with high optimality levels. Progress towards the most preferred solutions is made by having the Decision Maker (DM) periodically provide preference information once the MOPSO iterations are underway. By involving the DM within the optimisation process, the search is directed to the region of interest, which accelerates the process. The flexibility and efficiency of undertaking optimisation interactively have been demonstrated by comparing the interactive results with the non-interactive results of an optimum design case obtained using Multi-Objective Tabu Search (MOTS) for the Aegis UAV. The obtained results show the superiority of using an interactive approach for the aerodynamic shape design, compared to posteriori approaches. By carrying out the optimisation using interactive MOPSO it was shown to be possible to obtain similar results to non-interactive MOTS with only half the evaluations. Moreover, much of the usual complexity of post-data-analysis with posteriori approaches is avoided, since the DM is involved in the search process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multidisciplinary Design Optimization in Aerospace Engineering)
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17 pages, 2384 KiB  
Article
Knowledge-Based Manufacturing: Management and Deployment of Manufacturing Rules through Product Lifecycle Management Systems
by Angelo Corallo, Manuela Marra and Claudio Pascarelli
Aerospace 2019, 6(4), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6040041 - 06 Apr 2019
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 6411
Abstract
In manufacturing companies, computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) feature-based approaches have been developed for faster numerical control (NC) programming. They allow to automatically generate toolpath, recognizing both standard and custom machining features, and defining for each of them the best or preferred machining [...] Read more.
In manufacturing companies, computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) feature-based approaches have been developed for faster numerical control (NC) programming. They allow to automatically generate toolpath, recognizing both standard and custom machining features, and defining for each of them the best or preferred machining process based on predefined rules. The definition of Feature Based Manufacturing (FBM) rules requires advanced competences and skills; furthermore, the standardization required by these instruments is too rigorous for real machining practices. It is therefore necessary to extend the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) environment in order to be able to make explicit and manage manufacturing rules based on industrial best practice. The paper addresses these problems presenting a possible solution to optimize FBM information management and integration within the product lifecycle. A data model extension, covering new items such as “manufacturing rules” and “tool setting preferences”, and a new methodology for rules management and deployment are proposed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managing Data and Information of Aerospace Product Lifecycle)
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17 pages, 965 KiB  
Article
Prediction of Aircraft Waiting Time at Airport During Immediate Response to Disaster
by Sunkyung Choi and Shinya Hanaoka
Aerospace 2019, 6(4), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6040040 - 03 Apr 2019
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5728
Abstract
Air transportation is especially critical to the immediate response that must be provided after a natural disaster strikes a region. Airport operations are hindered by fluctuating waiting times across different operation types because of bottlenecks caused by unexpected amounts of aid goods, aircraft, [...] Read more.
Air transportation is especially critical to the immediate response that must be provided after a natural disaster strikes a region. Airport operations are hindered by fluctuating waiting times across different operation types because of bottlenecks caused by unexpected amounts of aid goods, aircraft, and emergency workers. To address this problem, this study proposes a model for estimating the waiting time of an aircraft at an airport during the immediate response phase after a disaster. The proposed framework was developed by applying an open Jackson network with first-come first-served, priority, and mixed-queuing disciplines. These disciplines are compared through a numerical example based on data acquired from the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. The results indicate that the mixed-queuing discipline reduces the waiting time for higher-priority operators, with permissible waiting times for lower-priority operators. The results of this study reveal that various disaster response operations should be prioritized ahead of a natural disaster occurring, such that the waiting times for those operators involved in life-saving activities can be reduced. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aviation Logistics and Supply Chain Management)
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11 pages, 3539 KiB  
Article
Axial Ratio and Gain Enhancement of a Circular-Ring Slot Antenna Using a Pair of Asymmetrical Rectangular Slots and a Parasitic Patch for a Radio Beacon on a Nanosatellite
by Peberlin Parulian Sitompul, Josaphat Tetuko Sri Sumantyo, Farohaji Kurniawan and Mohammad Nasucha
Aerospace 2019, 6(4), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace6040039 - 28 Mar 2019
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 7027
Abstract
Radio beacons enable measurements of ionospheric radio scintillations and total electron content (TEC). These beacons transmit unmodulated, phase-coherent waves in S-band frequencies. Many satellite applications require circularly polarized (CP) wideband antennas. Their compact size, lightweight, and simple fabrication method make CP antennas suitable [...] Read more.
Radio beacons enable measurements of ionospheric radio scintillations and total electron content (TEC). These beacons transmit unmodulated, phase-coherent waves in S-band frequencies. Many satellite applications require circularly polarized (CP) wideband antennas. Their compact size, lightweight, and simple fabrication method make CP antennas suitable for small satellite systems. The slot antenna has wideband impedance, but the 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW) is narrower compared to the impedance bandwidth (IBW). In this paper, a circularly polarized circular-slotted antenna (CSA) is proposed to enhance the ARBW and the antenna gain. A pair of asymmetrical rectangular slots, a simple 50 Ω feedline and a parasitic patch were introduced to a CSA to enhance the 3 dB ARBW and the antenna gain. Rectangular slots were inserted on the diagonal axis of the CSA, the feedline was shifted to the left side of the x-axis, and a parasitic patch was attached to the circular slot. The lengths of the rectangular slots correspond to the resonant frequency, and the parasitic patch width corresponds to the higher frequency of the 3 dB ARBW. The asymmetrical rectangular slots, the shifted feedline, and the parasitic patch successfully improved the measured 3 dB ARBW of the antenna by 787.5 MHz or 35.79%. The measured gain of a CSA with left-hand circular polarization (LHCP) was also improved by shifting the feedline and the rectangular slot, achieving a peak gain of 5 dBic. Full article
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