The combination of highly turbulent airflow, flammable fluids, and numerous ignition sources makes aircraft engine nacelles a difficult fire zone to protect. Better understanding of nacelle air flow and how it influences the spread of fires and fire extinguishing agents is needed to improve the efficiency of fire suppression. The first objective was to establish a CFD model for a flow field test section to analyze the transport and dispersion of fire extinguishing agents in the presence of various clutter elements. To validate the use of the CFD model, the simulation results of the CFD model were compared to the experimental data and they show an agreement with the experimental data. The second objective was to present parametric studies to show the effects of the coflow speed, turbulence intensity and agent droplet size on the transport and dispersion of the agent particles downstream from the clutter elements. / by Khaled Zbeeb. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Engineering: Mechanical Engineering, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / The development and validation of reliable numerical modelling approaches is important for higher levels of aircraft crashworthiness performance to meet the increasing demand for occupant safety. With the use of finite element analysis (FEA), development costs and certification tests may be reduced, whilst satisfying aircraft safety requirements. The primary aim of this study was the development and implementation of an explicit nonlinear dynamic finite element based methodology for investigating the crashworthiness of a small lightweight fibre reinforced composite aircraft with occupants. The aircraft was analysed as it crashed into soft soil and the FEA software MSC Dytran was selected for this purpose. The aircraft considered for the purposes of this study was based on a typical four-seater single engine fibre-reinforced plastic composite aircraft. The definition of a survivable accident is given by Coltman [1] as: “an accident in which the forces transmitted to the occupant through his seat and restraint system do not exceed the limits of human tolerance to abrupt accelerations and in which the structure in the occupant’s immediate environment remains substantially intact to the extent that a liveable volume is provided for the occupants throughout the crash sequence”. From this definition, it was determined that the FEA models must primarily provide an assessment on the crashworthiness of the aircraft in terms of the structural integrity of the airframe to ensure a minimum safe occupant volume and the tolerance of humans to abrupt (de)accelerations. An assessment of other crashworthiness factors have been ignored in this study, such as post-crash hazards (e.g. fire) and safe egress for the occupants. Stockwell [2] performed a dynamic crash analysis of an all-composite Lear Fan aircraft impacting into concrete with the explicit nonlinear dynamic finite element code MSC Dytran. The structural response of components was qualitatively verified by comparison to experimental data such as video and still camera images. The composite fuselage materials were represented with the use of simplified isotropic elastic-plastic material models, and therefore did not account for the anisotropic properties of composite materials and the associated failure mechanisms. The occupants were represented as lumped masses; therefore occupant response could not be investigated. Malis and Splichal [3] performed a dynamic crash analysis of a composite glider impacting into a rigid surface with MSC Dytran; however further model verification was required. The 50th percentile adult male (occupant of average height and mass) Hybrid III anthropomorphic test device (ATD), also referred to as a crash test dummy, was represented in the analyses with the Articulated Total Body (ATB) model integrated within MSC Dytran. Various injury criteria of the ATB model were evaluated to determine the crashworthiness of the glider. Bossak and Kaczkowski [4] performed global dynamic crash analyses of a composite light aircraft crash landing. Representative wet soil, concrete and rigid impact terrains were modelled using Lagrangian-based finite element techniques and only the vertical velocity component of the aircraft was considered to simplify analyses. It was assumed that the previous use of only a downward vertical velocity component was a result of possible numerical instabilities which commonly occur with the use of Lagrangian solvers when considering problems with large deformations, which is a characteristic of crash analyses (i.e. the addition of a horizontal velocity component may result in severe element deformation of the soft soil terrain, resulting in premature analysis termination). Analyses of the occupant were performed in separate local models, using accelerations derived from the global analyses results. The real-time interactions between the occupant and aircraft therefore could not be investigated, which is considered a major disadvantage. Impact analyses of helicopters into water were performed by Clarke and Shen [5], and Wittlin et al. [6]. Both these papers showed promising results with the use of Eulerian-based finite element techniques to model the water. Additionally, combined horizontal and forward velocity components were assigned to the fuselages with success. It must be noted that the fuselages were modelled as rigid bodies; therefore the effect of structural failure on analyses could not be investigated. Fasanella et al. [7] performed drop tests of a composite energy absorbing fuselage section into water using Eulerian, Arbitrary Lagrange Eulerian (ALE) and Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) meshless Lagrangian-based finite element techniques to represent water. Successful correlation between experimental and numerical data was achieved; however, structural failure could not be modelled with the Eulerian-based finite element technique due to analysis code limitations at the time. A “building block” approach was used in this study to develop accurate numerical modelling techniques prior to the implementation of the full-scale crash analyses. Once the blocks produced satisfactory results in themselves, they were then integrated in order to achieve the abovementioned primary aim of this study. The sub-components (or blocks) were the occupant (viz, FEA of the human bodies’ response to impact), (FEA of) soft soil impact and (FEA of) fibre-reinforced plastic composite structures. This approach is intuitive and provides key understanding of how each sub-component contributes to the full-scale crash analyses. Published literature was reviewed, where possible, as a basis for the development and validation of the techniques employed for each sub-component. The technique required to examine the dynamic response of an occupant with MSC Dytran, integrated with the ATB model, was demonstrated through the analysis of a sled test. The numerical results were found to be comparable to experimental results found in the literature. An Eulerian-based finite element technique was implemented for soft soil impact analyses, and its effectiveness was determined through correlation of experimental penetrometer drop test results found in the literature. An investigation into the performance of the Tsai-Wu failure criterion to capture the onset and progression of failure through the layers of fibre reinforced composite laminates was conducted for an impulsively loaded unidirectional laminate strip model. Based on the results obtained, the techniques implemented for each sub-component were deemed valid for crashworthiness applications (viz. to achieve the project aim). Full-scale crash analyses of impacts into rigid and soft soil terrains with varying aircraft impact and pitch angles were investigated. Typical limitations encountered in previously published works were overcome with the techniques presented in this study. The aircrafts’ laminate layup schedule was explicitly defined in MSC Dytran, thereby eliminating the inherent inaccuracies of using isotropic models to approximate laminated composite materials. The aircraft was assigned both horizontal and vertical velocity components instead of only a vertical component, which increased the model accuracy. Numerical instabilities, due to element distortion of the terrain when using a Lagrangian approach, were eliminated with the use of an Eulerian soft soil model (Eulerian techniques are typically used to model fluids where large deformations occur, which is a characteristic of crash analyses). Structural failure was successfully implemented by coupling Lagrangian and Eulerian solvers. The ATB model allowed for the real-time interactions between the occupant and aircraft to be investigated, unlike previously where analyses of the occupant were performed in separate local models using accelerations derived from the global analyses results. The results obtained from the crash analyses provide an indication of the forces transmitted to the occupant through the seat and restraint system, and the aircraft’s ability to provide a survivable volume throughout the crash event. The explicit nonlinear dynamic finite element based methodology was successfully implemented for investigating the crashworthiness of small lightweight composite aircraft, satisfying the primary aim of this study. Chapter 1 provides a review of fibre reinforced composite materials, the finite element method (FEM), ATDs and associated analysis codes, human tolerance limits to abrupt (de)accelerations, and crash dynamics and environment. The review of the FEM initially focuses on the fundamentals of FEA and then on the features specific to MSC Dytran as it is used throughout this study. Chapter 2 discusses the development of suitable numerical modelling techniques at the sub-component level and the implementation of these techniques within the full-scale crash analyses. Chapter 3 presents and discusses the full-scale crash analyses results for three impacts into rigid terrain and three impacts into soft soil terrain with varying aircraft pitch and impact angles. The results obtained from the crash analyses provide an indication of the forces transmitted to the occupant through the seat and restraint system, and the aircraft’s ability to provide a survivable volume throughout the crash event. Chapter 4 provides a conclusion of the work performed in this study and highlights various areas for future work. / D

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

This work is the first 3-D continuum study of the free vibration of skewed and simultaneously skewed and twisted, cantilever parallelepipeds. The purpose of this study is to make available in the literature an enlarged data base of natural frequencies of these practical problems for researchers and design engineers to draw upon. The Ritz method is used to determine approximate natural frequency data. The total potential energy of the parallelepipeds is formulated using the three-dimensional theory of elasticity. The three orthogonal displacement components (u,v,w) are each approximated by finite triple series of simple algebraic polynomials with arbitrary coefficients (which are determined by applying the Ritz method). All terms of the series are constructed to satisfy the geometric boundary conditions at the fixed end of the parallelepiped. No other kinematic constraints are imposed in this analysis. Hence, the finite series of algebraic polynomials are both admissible and "mathematically complete" (75). Several convergence studies of natural frequencies are conducted on cantilever parallelepipeds. Effects of geometrical parameters such as side ratio, thickness ratio, skew angle, and twisted angle are presented in the form of nondimensional tables and graphs. Accuracy of solution method is substantiated through comparison with existing rectangular, skewed, and twisted plate results. The central focus of these comparisons are to verify the correctness and accuracy of free vibration data obtained by investigators using classical plate theories and two- and three-dimensional finite element methods.

Approved for public release, distribution unlimited / An existing freejet facility was upgraded and its range of operation extended into the high subsonic regime for operation as a test rig for the development of a combined-cycle, turbo-ramjet engine. A combustor was designed, developed, and tested as the afterburner for the turbo-ramjet engine. At subsonic speeds with the afterburner running, an increase in thrust of 40% was measured over the baseline turbojet running at 80% spool speed. A Computational Fluid Dynamics model of the flow through the shrouded turbojet engine was developed and successfully used to assist in predicting the bypass ratio of the engine at different Mach numbers. Numerous recommendations were made to improve the operation of the test rig, to improve the performance of the turbo-ramjet engine, and refine the numerical models. These recommended improvements will extend the present capabilities to design and analyze small combined cycle engines which have an application in unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The effects of liquid superheat on the disruption of liquid droplets accelerated in a supersonic flow were examined experimentally in a drawdown supersonic wind tunnel. Monodisperse 60 ìm diameter droplets of two test fluids (methanol and ethanol) were generated upstream of the entrance to the tunnel and accelerated with the supersonic flow such that their maximum velocities relative to the air flow were transonic. Droplets were imaged by shadowgraphy and by multiple-exposure direct photography using planar laser sheet illumination. In addition to providing information on droplet lifetime, the latter technique allows measurement of the droplet downstream distance versus time, from which the velocity and acceleration during disruption can be inferred. All droplets were unheated upon injection. Depending on the vapor pressure of the liquid, the droplets achieved varying levels of liquid superheat as they experienced low static pressure in the supersonic flow. Histograms of the droplet population downstream of the supersonic nozzle throat indicate that the lifetime of droplets in supersonic flow decreases with an increasing amount of droplet superheat. The shorter lifetime occurs even as the droplet Weber number (based on initial droplet size) decreases initially due to the lower relative velocity of the methanol droplets to that of ethanol droplets. This is due to a higher acceleration than ethanol droplets of comparable initial size. This is consistent with the more rapid disruption and the faster decrease in mass for the methanol droplets. The droplets, depending on the level of superheating, in some cases underwent disruption modes different than those expected for the corresponding values of Weber number.

No description available.

Cockpit Task Management (CTM) is the initiation, monitoring, prioritization, execution, and termination of multiple, concurrent tasks by night crews. The primary research question posed in the current research is what factors affect task prioritization on the modern day, commercial flight deck. The conventional CTM literature was reviewed as an introduction to CTM validation, its facilitation and its theoretical foundations. A human performance approach to CTM was explored through experimental psychology literature, with the objective of developing a deeper understanding of the prioritization process. Two experimental part-task simulator studies were performed using commercial airline pilots. The objective of the first study was to simply identify possible prioritization factors. The second study then gathered empirical evidence for actual use of these factors. From the results, a model of task prioritization emerged with Status, Procedure and Value as the primary factors that affect task prioritization. / Graduation date: 2000

Graduation date: 1994