Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators (IADs) are a candidate technology NASA began investigating in the late 1960’s. Compared to supersonic parachutes, IADs represent a decelerator option capable of operating at higher Mach numbers and dynamic pressures. IADs have seen a resurgence in interest from the Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) community in recent years. The NASA Space Technology Roadmap (STR) highlights EDL systems, as well as, Materials, Structures, Mechanical Systems, and Manufacturing (MSMM) as key Technology Areas for development in the future; recognizing deployable decelerators, flexible material systems, and computational design of materials as essential disciplines for development. This investigation develops a multi-scale flexible material modeling approach that enables efficient high-fidelity IAD design and a critical understanding of the new materials required for robust and cost effective qualification methods. The approach combines understanding of the fabric architecture, analytical modeling, numerical simulations, and experimental data. This work identifies an efficient method that is as simple and as fast as possible for determining IAD material characteristics while not utilizing complicated or expensive research equipment. This investigation also recontextualizes an existing mesomechanical model through validation for structures pertaining to the analysis of IADs. In addition, corroboration and elaboration of this model is carried out by evaluating the effects of varying input parameters. Finally, the present investigation presents a novel method for numerically determining mechanical properties. A sub-scale section that captures the periodic pattern in the material (unit cell) is built. With the unit cell, various numerical tests are performed. The effective nonlinear mechanical stiffness matrix is obtained as a function of elemental strains through correlating the unit cell force-displacement results with a four node membrane element of the same size. Numerically determined properties are validated for relevant structures. Optical microscopy is used to capture the undeformed geometry of the individual yarns.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 21, 2002 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / Problems associated with telemetry blackout caused by the plasma sheath surrounding a hypersonic vehicle are addressed. In particular, the critical nature of overcoming this limitation for test and evaluation purposes is detailed. Since the telemetry blackout causes great concern for atmospheric cruise vehicles, ballistic missiles, and reentry vehicles, there have been many proposed approaches to solving the problem. This paper overviews aerodynamic design methodologies, for which the required technologies are only now being realized, which may allow for uninterrupted transmission through a plasma sheath. The severity of the signal attenuation is dependent on vehicle configuration, trajectory, flightpath, and mission.

Currently available dry powder inhalers (DPIs) for drug delivery to the lungs require turbulent energy to generate and disperse aerosol particles in the respirable range ≤5μm during inhalation. The patient's inspiratory effort together with the resistance inside the device creates this energy. Different inhalers provide varying degrees of resistance to inhalation flow and require different inhalation techniques for the generation and delivery of drug fine particles in respirable size range to the lungs. The aim of this research programme was to identify the influence of inhalation flow, inhalation volume and the number of inhalations per dose on the ex-vivo dose emission and the in-vitro aerodynamic dose emission characteristics of the salbutamol Accuhaler®, Easyhaler®, and Clickhaler® and the terbutaline Turbuhaler® DPIs. A high-performance liquid chromatography method for the assay of salbutamol sulphate and terbutaline sulphate in aqueous samples was modified and accordingly validated. In-vitro dose emission of the four different DPIs was measured using the pharmacopoeia method with modifications to simulate varying inhalation flows within patient and between patients. The ranges of the total emitted dose (% nominal dose) at the inhalation flow range of 10 - 60 Lmin-1, following one and two inhalations per metered dose for 2L and 4L inhaled volumes were as follows: the Accuhaler (52.64- 85.11; 61.88-85.11 and 59.23-85.11; 62.81-85.11); the Easyhaler (68.35-91.99; 79.94-91.99 and 73.83-92.51; 80.40-92.51); the Clickhaler (46.55-96.49; 51.12-96.49 and 51.18-101.39; 59.71-101.39) as well as the Turbuhaler (46.08-88.13; 51.95-88.13 and 48.05-89.22; 48.64-89.22). The results highlight that the four inhalers have flow-dependent dose emission property to a varying degree using 2L and 4 L inhaled volumes. There was no significant difference in the total emitted dose between a 2L inhaled volume and a 4L inhaled volume at each inhalation flow. Furthermore, the total emitted dose from the Easyhaler®, Clickhaler®, and Turbuhaler® was significantly (p≤0.001) greater with two inhalations than one inhalation per metered dose across the range of inhalation flow (10-60) Lmin-1. This effect was only observed at inhalation flow less than 30 Lmin-1 with the Accuhaler®. Overall there is a significant difference in the total emitted dose. The ex-vivo dose emission of the four different DPIs has been determined using the In- Check Dial device to train twelve non-smoking healthy adult volunteers to inhale at slow (30 Lmin-1) and fast (60 L min-1) inhalation flows through the device with its dial set corresponding to each inhaler. Subsequently each volunteer inhaled at the trained inhalation flows through each active inhaler. The local ethics committee approval was obtained prior to the study and all volunteers gave signed informed consent. The results obtained demonstrate that the studied inhalers have flow-dependent dose emission, thereby enhancing confidence in the use of the In-Check Dial® to identify a patient's inhalation flows through a variety of DPIs. Also the total emitted dose determined by ex-vivo methodology was significantly (p≤0.05) greater with two inhalations than one inhalation per metered dose. The results of the in-vitro aerodynamic dose emission characteristics highlight that the fine particle dose (FPD) from the four studied inhalers is flow dependent. Also the minimum inhalation flow to generate the (FPD) with the appropriate characteristics for lung deposition has been identified to be 20 L min⁻¹ for the Accuhaler®, Easyhaler® and Clickhaler®, while that for the Turbuhaler® is about 30 L min⁻¹. Also the inhalation volume above 2L and the number of inhalations for each dose have respectively no significant (p≤0.05) influence on the FPD emitted from the four studied inhalers. The results support the present instructions to patients using these inhalers to inhale once for each dose as fast as they can.

The aim of this work is to study the in-vitro aerodynamic performance of a new inhaled theophylline formulation prepared by supercritical fluids technique. For the analysis of the output from the in-vitro tests (and further in-vivo tests) a new, fast, sensitive high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed and validated for the determination of theophylline and other related derivatives in aqueous and urine samples using new packing materials (monolithic columns). These columns achieve efficient separation under lower backpressure and shorter time comparing to other traditionally or newly introduced C18 columns. Solution enhanced dispersion by supercritical fluid (SEDS) process has been applied for the production of anhydrous theophylline as pure crystals in the range 2-5 μm to be used as new inhaled dry powder formulation for asthma. Fifteen theophylline samples have been prepared under different experimental conditions. The drug produced by this method has been subject to a number of solid-phase analytical procedures designed to establish the crystal structure [X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD)], the structure and conformation [(FTIR), Fourier-transform Raman spectroscopy (FT-Raman)], and the morphology and particle size [scanning electron microscope (SEM)]. While, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) have been used to monitor any phase transition or polymorphic changes after processing. All these analytical techniques gave a satisfactory indication of the solid-state chemistry of the processed particles and assess the development of new inhalation product. The performance of inhaled SEDS theophylline with or without a carrier was evaluated using the developed HPLC method. Three samples having different particle sizes were selected out of the prepared powders by SEDS technique to be tested. The dose sampling unit and the Anderson Cascade Impactor were used to determine the in-vitro emitted dose and the deposition profiles of SEDS samples, respectively. The effect of different inhalation flows was studied using two different flows 28.3, and 60 L min-1 with 4 L inhalation volume. Different DPI devices were investigated in this study; Easyhaler® and Spinhaler®. The particle size has an important effect on the aerodynamic behaviour and deposition profile of inhaled drug, the smaller the particles the greater the total lung deposition. The presence of a carrier improves the respirable fraction for all the tested formulations.

published_or_final_version / Mechanical Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Biomass energy is increasingly used to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on global warming. Fluidized bed gasification converts solid biomass into gaseous fuels that can be used for combustion or liquid fuels synthesis. The efficiency of biomass gasification is directly affected by the fluidized bed hydrodynamics. For example, the solids recirculation rate through the system is an important parameter that affects the heat and mass transfer rates. In this study, a cold model of a dual fluidized bed (DFB) biomass gasification plant was designed using scaling laws, and was constructed to investigate the hydrodynamics of industrial DFBs. A DFB consists of a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB), where biomass is gasified to produce syngas, and a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) where the residues of gasification are combusted. The investigation was divided into Phase I and II. In Phase I, an operational map was developed for the CFB to define operational boundaries for steady state operation of the plant. An empirical model was developed to predict the solids mass flow rate out of the CFB riser, which is an empirical function of the exit opening width, the CFB diameter, and a newly introduced aerodynamic factor. The correlation coefficient, R2 for the empirical function was 0.8327. The aerodynamic factor accounts for the particle inertia and clustering effects at the exit of the CFB riser. Results from Phase I also showed that increasing the fluidizing velocities increased the solids circulation rate and affected the pressure drop over various points in the CFB plant due to redistribution of solids with the system. A critical assessment was performed on published correlations found in the literature to determine how accurately they predicted the hydrodynamics in the CFB riser. By comparing predicted and experimental results, the correlations were found to be inaccurate for the conditions and configuration of the CFB tested in this study. For example, the solids velocity was not accurately predicted by published correlations due to unaccounted particle clustering effects. The main issue with the published correlations was a lack of generality, so that the correlations only applied for predicting fluidizing behaviour in the equipment they were developed in. In Phase II, an operational map was developed for the DFB, which incorporated both the CFB and the BFB. Experiments with a binary mixture representing sand and char in an industrial gasifier showed a blocking effect in the connecting chute between the CFB and BFB by the material representing char, which was larger and less dense than the material representing sand. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based design tool for modelling the cold model CFB cyclone was developed and validated by comparing the predicted and experimental cyclone pressure drop. The correlation coefficient for the CFD pressure drop prediction was 0.7755. The design tool contained information about the grid resolution and the time step required for modelling the cyclone accurately.

In this dissertation the influence of vane sweep on rotor-stator interaction noise is investigated. In an analytical approach, the interaction of a convected gust, representing the rotor viscous wake, with a cascade of finite span swept airfoils, representing the stator, is analyzed. The analysis is based on the solution of the exact linearized equations of motion. High-frequency convected gusts for which noise generation is concentrated near the leading edge of the airfoils are considered. In a preliminary study, the problem of an isolated finite span swept airfoil interacting with a convected gust is analyzed. Using Fourier transform methods and the Wiener-Hopf technique, an approximate solution for this problem is developed. Closed form expressions for the acoustic farfield are obtained and used in a parametric study to assess the effect of airfoil sweep on noise generation. Results indicate that sweep can substantially reduce the farfield noise levels for a single airfoil. Utilizing the single airfoil model, an approximate solution to the problem of noise radiation from a cascade of finite span swept airfoils interacting with a convected gust is derived. Only upstream radiated noise is considered. Neglecting the weak coupling between the adjacent leading edges at high frequencies, the cascade solution is constructed as a superposition of acoustic farfields emanating from an infinite number of isolated airfoils. A parametric study of noise generated by gust-cascade interaction is then carried out to assess the effectiveness of vane sweep in reducing rotor-stator interaction noise. The results of the parametric study show that, over a fairly wide range of conditions, sweep is beneficial in reducing noise levels. One conclusion of particular importance is that rotor wake twist or circumferential lean substantially influences the effectiveness of vane sweep. The orientation of the vane sweep must be chosen to enhance the natural phase lag caused by wake lean, in which case rather small sweep angles substantially reduce the noise levels.

Darbo apimtis 42 puslapiai, jame yra 15 paveikslų ir 2 lentelės. Literatūros sąraše 31 šaltiniai(iš jų 11 rusų kalba). Darbo pradžia 2009.09.01 pabaiga 2011.05. Šio darbo tikslas – nustatyti debito koeficiento kitimą išilgai pagrindinio ortakio, priklausomai nuo šoninių ortakių aerodinaminio pasipriešinimo ir tiekiamo oro srauto. Ekspermentinio stendo pagalba nustatyti faktinis oro pasiskirstymas išilgai pagrindinio ortakio. Matematinio modulio pagalba apskaičiuotas teorinis oro pasiskirstymas, kai oras išteka į šoninius ortakius veikiamas statinio slėgio. Išanalizavus rezultatus nustatytas debito koeficiento kitimas išilgai skirstomojo ortakio ir jį įtakojantys veiksniai. / The volume of work contains 42 pages, 15 pictures and 2 tables. In the literature list 31 are sources (of them 11 are russian). The beginning of work – 2009.09.01 and the end – 2011.05. The aim of this paper is to define the variation of yield coefficient along the main channel, depending on the aerodynamic resistance of lateral duct and the flow of the supplied air. With the help of the experimental stand, to define real dissemination of air along the main channel. With the help of the mathematic module, to calculate theoretical dissemination of air, when it flows to lateral duct affected by static pressure. After the analysis of the results, the variation of yield coefficient along the main channel and the influencing factors were defined.

The flight testing and evaluation of collected data must be efficient during intensive flight-test programs such as the ones conducted during development of new aircraft. The aim of this thesis has thus been to produce a first version of an aerodynamic derivative estimation program that is to be used during real-time flight tests. The program is to give a first estimate of the aerodynamic derivatives as well as check the quality of the data collected and thus serve as a decision support during tests. The work that has been performed includes processing of data in order to use it in computations, comparing a batch and a sequential estimation method using real-time data and programming a user interface. All computations and programming has been done in Matlab. The estimation methods that have been compared are both built on transforming data to the frequency domain using a Chirp z-transform and then estimating the aerodynamic derivatives using complex least squares with instrumental variables.The sequential frequency domain method performs estimates at a given interval while the batch method performs one estimation at the end of the maneuver. Both methods compared in this thesis produce equal results. The continuous updates of the sequential method was however found to be better suited for a real-time application than the single estimation of the batch method. The telemetric data received from the aircraft must be synchronized to a common frequency of 60 Hz. Missing samples of the data stream must be linearly interpolated and different units of measured parameters must be corrected in order to be able to perform these estimations in the real-time test environment.

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