This project explores methods to build habitats on the moon. It specifically explores the design of an interior modular system for inflatable habitats. Lunar Architecture can broadly be divided into three stages, pre-integrated, semi-integrated and built on site. Pre-integrated habitats, are fully assembled on earth and shipped with a rocket to the Moon, which has initial practicality, but constrains structure size to a rockets cargo space. Inflatable habitats fall under the semi-integrated category, which means that all the added interior volume created after inflation, will need to be built out onsite. It makes most sense to design a well-functioning modular system for this purpose, as modularity can provided the required redundancy and minimize the total amount of unique parts needed. The system needs to be lightweight, compact when stored, yet versatile enough to create flexible and engaging interiors. The project asks what a self-sufficient architecture in a lunar context would look like, if it were built with a modular approach and if it is possible to create sustainable, engaging environments through modularity.

Global climate change has been a point of concern over the past century. Some of its major consequences, which are already present, include melting of glaciers, increasing sea water level, temperature rise and excessive acidity of sea water. The natural fluctuations harm the ecology and the biological species will face increased extinction risk. The raise of the water level will cause sinking and gradually vanishing of the land’s surface as a natural resource and place for habitation. It has been estimated that if Greenland ice sheet melts completely, the water would be enough to cover the land with up to 6 meters. The project investigates the consequences of the rising sea levels due to the climate change and what impact this will have on the topography and the natural landscape. It proposes a utopian vision for a large scale strategy for agriculture which does not rely on the use of land. The structure comprises of inflatable spherical modules, which float on the water surface. It is a dynamic and expandable system, with minimal environmental footprint, designed for low-lying areas vulnerable to flooding and land shortage. The more the land surface is vanishing due to the increasing sea levels, the more the structure will stretch to compensate for the loss of farmland.

Significant research is ongoing in the world to meet the needs of social and environmental crisis by harnessing wind and solar energy at high altitudes. One such approach is the use of an inflatable High Altitude Aerial Platform (HAAP). In the presented work, such periodically supported beam-like structures are analyzed using various mathematical models primarily modeling them as an equivalent beam using one-dimensional theories. The Euler-Bernoulli Theory (EBT) has been widely used for high aspect ratio beams, whereas the First Order Shear Deformation Theory (FSDT), or the Timoshenko beam theory, considers transverse shear effects and hence is superior in modeling low aspect ratio beams. First, an Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) is conducted using both FSDT and EBT to predict thermal buckling of periodically supported composite beams. Isogeometric analysis overcomes the limitations of the Gibbs phenomenon at discontinuities for a periodically supported beam using a higher order textit{k}-refinement. Next, an Integral Equation Approach (IEA) is implemented using EBT to obtain natural frequencies and buckling loads of periodically supported non-prismatic beams. Ill-conditioning errors were alleviated using admissible orthogonal Chebychev polynomials to obtain higher modes. We also present the prediction of the onset of flutter instability for metal plate and inflatable wing shaped foam test articles analyzed using finite element analysis (FEA). FEA updating based on modal testing and by conducting a geometrically nonlinear analysis resulted in a good agreement against the experiment tests. Furthermore, a nonlinear co-rotational large displacement/rotation FEA including the effects of the pressure as a follower forces was implemented to predict deformations of an inflatable structures. The developed FEA based tool namely Structural Analysis of Inflatables using FEA (SAIF) was compared with the experiments and available literature. It is concluded that the validity of the developed tool depends on the flexibility of the beam, which further depends upon the length of the beam and the bending rigidity of the beam. Inflatable structures analyzed with materials with high value of the Young's modulus and low to medium slenderness ratio tend to perform better against the experimental data. This is attributed to the presence of wrinkling and/or the Brazier effect (ovalling of the cross section) for flexible beams. The presented work has applications in programmable buckling, uncertainty quantification, and design of futuristic HAAP models to help face the upcoming environmental crises and meet the societal needs. / Doctor of Philosophy / In the future, developed countries are projected to face an increase in renewable energy demands due to environmental crises and increasing societal needs for energy due to urbanization. Wind energy, a renewable source, has received increasing attention. Wind farms require large land space and offshore wind energy harvesting is prone to unstable environments. Crosswind kite power is one of the promising and emerging fields where one can harvest energy from the wind farm inaccessible and apparently endless winds at high altitudes. In this dissertation, we present analysis and experiments on investigating complex structures, such as inflatable high altitude aerial platforms (HAAP) by using various mathematical models, primarily modeling them as an equivalent beam using one-dimensional theories. We investigate the effects of internal pressure on such structures, which unlike many other types of applied loads, follow the direction of the deflections. When supported on multiple supports, these structures are more efficient in terms of increased payload capacity due to a better distribution of loads, despite the increased weight penalty. To name a few, there are direct applications of periodic supports in design of bridges and railway sleepers. To avoid violent vibrations or failure, we also investigate the effect of multiple supports on the so-called natural frequency, vibration frequency under absence of applied loads, and buckling loads, instabilities under compression, of such beam-like structures. The presented work will aid in the design of futuristic HAAP models to help face the upcoming environmental crises and meet the energy demands of society due to urbanization.

Inflatable robots with pneumatic actuation are naturally lightweight and compliant. Both of these characteristics make a robot of this type better suited for human environments where unintentional impacts will occur. The dynamics of an inflatable robot are complex and dynamic models that explicitly allow variable stiffness control have not been well developed. In this thesis, a dynamic model was developed for an antagonistic, pneumatically actuated joint with inflatable links.The antagonistic nature of the joint allows for the control of two states, primarily joint position and stiffness. First a model was developed to describe the position states. The model was used with model predictive control (MPC) and linear quadratic control (LQR) to control a single degree of freedom platform to within 3° of a desired angle. Control was extended to multiple degrees of freedom for a pick and place task where the pick was successful ten out of ten times and the place was successful eight out of ten times.Based on a torque model for the joint which accounts for pressure states that was developed in collaboration with other members of the Robotics and Dynamics Lab at Brigham Young University, the model was extended to account for the joint stiffness. The model accounting for position, stiffness, and pressure states was fit to data collected from the actual joint and stiffness estimation was validated by stiffness measurements.Using the stiffness model, sliding mode control (SMC) and MPC methods were used to control both stiffness and position simultaneously. Using SMC, the joint stiffness was controlled to within 3 Nm/rad of a desired trajectory at steady state and the position was controlled to within 2° of a desired position trajectory at steady state. Using MPC,the joint stiffness was controlled to within 1 Nm/rad of a desired trajectory at steady state and the position was controlled to within 2° of a desired position trajectory at steady state. Stiffness control was extended to multiple degrees of freedom using MPC where each joint was treated as independent and uncoupled. Controlling stiffness reduced the end effecter deflection by 50% from an applied load when high stiffness (50 Nm/rad) was used rather than low stiffness (35 Nm/rad).This thesis gives a state space dynamic model for an inflatable, pneumatically actuated joint and shows that the model can be used for accurate and repeatable position and stiffness control with stiffness having a significant effect.

Two-dimensional analysis of four types of water-filled tube dams is carried out: an apron-tube dam, a single baffle tube dam, a sleeved tube dam, and a stacked tube dam. Since the analysis of the water-filled tube dam involves highly nonlinear geometric deformations and interactions with soil, fluid, and structure, it is solved numerically with the explicit finite difference program FLAC. The tube is numerically modeled with beam elements. The predicted contact regions are modeled with interface elements. The Mohr-Coulomb constitutive model is used for the soil. Water inside and outside of the tube is modeled as hydrostatic pressure and the pressures are continuously updated as the configuration of the tube is changed. The change of the internal water pressure head (IWPH) for maintaining a constant tube area during the deformation is simulated. The simulation is achieved by two iterative procedures, the secant method and the factored secant method. The numerical analysis results show good agreement with the experimental results overall: the deformation of the tube(s), the IWPH changes, and the critical external water heights. From the numerical simulation of the experiments and the parametric studies, the behavior of each type of water-filled tube dam is clarified. Also, the failure modes of the tube dams are examined. The failure mode of a tube dam depends on the configuration and IWPH of the tube dam and the characteristics of the soil surface. / Ph. D.

The optical power of satellites such as the Hubble telescope is directly related to the size of the primary mirror. However, due to the limited capacity of the shuttle bay, progress towards the development of more powerful satellites using traditional construction methods has come to a standstill. Therefore, to allow larger satellites to be launched into space significant interest has been shown in the development of ultra large inflatable structures that can be packaged inside the shuttle bay and then deployed once in space. To facilitate the packaging of the inflated device in its launch configuration, most structures utilize a thin film membrane as the optical or antenna surface. Once the inflated structure is deployed in space, it is subject to vibrations induced mechanically by guidance systems and space debris as well as thermally induced vibrations from variable amounts of direct sunlight. For the optimal performance of the satellite, it is crucial that the vibration of the membrane be quickly suppressed. However, due to the extremely flexible nature of the membrane structure, few actuation methods exist that avoid local deformation and surface aberrations. One potential method of applying damping to the membrane structure is to use magnetic damping. Magnetic dampers function through the eddy currents that are generated in a conductive material that experiences a time varying magnetic field. However, following the generation of these currents, the internal resistance of the conductor causes them to dissipate into heat. Because a portion of the moving conductor's kinetic energy is used to generate the eddy currents, which are then dissipated, a damping effect occurs. This damping force can be described as a viscous force due to the dependence on the velocity of the conductor. While eddy currents form an effective method of applying damping, they have normally been used for magnetic braking applications. Furthermore, the dampers that have been designed for vibration suppression have typically been ineffective at suppressing structural vibration, incompatible with practical systems, and cumbersome to the structure resulting in significant mass loading and changes to the dynamic response. To alleviate these issues, three previously unrealized damping mechanisms that function through eddy currents have been developed, modeled and tested. The dampers do not contact the structure, thus, allowing them to add damping to the system without inducing the mass loading and added stiffness that are typically common with other forms of damping. The first damping concept is completely passive and functions solely due to the conductor's motion in a static magnetic field. The second damping system is semi-active and improves the passive damper by allowing the magnet's position to be actively controlled, thus, maximizing the magnet's velocity relative to the beam and enhancing the damping force. The final system is completely active using an electromagnet, through which the current can be actively modified to induce a time changing magnetic flux on the structure and a damping effect. The three innovative damping mechanisms that have resulted from this research apply control forces to the structure without contacting it, which cannot be done by any other passive vibration control system. Furthermore, the non-contact nature of these dampers makes them compatible with the flexible membranes needed to advance the performance of optical satellites. / Ph. D.

Finite element analysis of laminated shells using a three-noded flat triangular shell element is presented. The flat shell element is obtained by combining the Discrete Kirchhoff Theory (DKT) plate bending element and a membrane element similar to the Allman element, but derived from the Linear Strain Triangular (LST) element. Though this combination has been employed in the literature for linear static analysis of laminated plates, the results presented are not adequate to ascertain that the element would perform well in the case of static and dynamic analysis of general shells. The element is first thoroughly tested for linear static analysis of laminated plates and shells and is extended for free vibration, thermal, and geometrically nonlinear analysis. The major drawback of the DKT plate bending element is that the transverse displacement is not explicitly defined within the interior of the element. Hence obtaining the consistent mass matrix or the derivatives of the transverse displacement that are required for forming the geometric stiffness matrix is not straight forward. This problem is alleviated by borrowing shape functions from other similar elements or using simple displacement fields. In the present research, free vibration analysis is performed both by using a lumped mass matrix and a so called consistent mass matrix, obtained by borrowing shape functions from an existing element, in order to compare the performance of the two methods. The geometrically nonlinear analysis is performed using an updated Lagrangian formulation employing Green strain and Second Piola-Kirchhoff (PK2) stress measures. A linear displacement field is used for the transverse displacement in order to compute the derivatives of the transverse displacement that are required to compute the geometric stiffness or the initial stress matrix. Several numerical examples are solved to demonstrate the accuracy of the formulation for both small and large rotation analysis of laminated plates and shells. The results are compared with those available in the existing literature and those obtained using the commercial finite element package ABAQUS and are found to be in good agreement. The element is employed for two main applications involving large flexible structures. The first application is the control of thermal deformations of a spherical mirror segment, which is a segment of a multi-segmented primary mirror used in a space telescope. The feasibility of controlling the surface distortions of the mirror segment due to arbitrary thermal fields, using discrete and distributed actuators, is studied. This kind of study was required for the design of a multi-segmented primary mirror of a next generation space telescope. The second application is the analysis of an inflatable structure, being considered by the US Army for housing vehicles and personnel. The tent structure is made up of membranes supported by arches stiffened by internal pressure. The updated Lagrangian formulation of the flat shell element has been developed primarily for the nonlinear analysis of the tent structure, since such a structure is expected to undergo large deformations and rotations under the action of environmental loads like the wind and snow loads. The wind load is modeled as a nonuniform pressure load and the snow load as lumped concentrated loads. Since the direction of the pressure load is assumed to be normal to the current configuration of the structure, it changes as the structure undergoes deformation. This is called the follower action. As a result, the pressure load is a function of the displacements and hence contributes to the tangent stiffness matrix in the case of geometrically nonlinear analysis. The thermal load also contributes to the system tangent stiffness matrix. In the case of the thermal load this contribution is similar to the initial stress matrix and hence no additional effort is required to compute this contribution. In the case of the pressure load, this contribution (called the pressure stiffness) is in general unsymmetric but can be systematically derived from the principle of virtual work. The follower effects of the pressure load have been included in the updated Lagrangian formulation of the flat shell element and have been validated using standard examples in the literature involving deformation-dependent pressure loads. The element can be used to obtain the nonlinear response of the tent structure under wind and snow loads. / Ph. D.

Geosynthetic tubes filled with water are considered. The tubes can be used in applications to resist rising floodwaters. They can also be used to form breakwaters and protect shores from erosion. This thesis considers single and stacked tubes resting on a rigid and deformable foundation resisting rising hydrostatic headwater. Experiments were carried out to determine the behavior of a three-tube stacked configuration resting on a sand foundation. This study was a continuation of previous work on unstacked tubes. Many tests were performed to determine the deformation and stability of the system. A geosynthetic drain was placed beneath the tubes to prevent piping. The objective was to cause failure of the system in a sliding manner and formulate a hypothesis according to the placement of the drain beneath the tubes. In order to cause a sliding failure, a strapping system was developed to try and prevent the tubes from rolling. A single tube at rest, filled with water but with no external hydrostatic pressure, was considered for analysis first. The tube rested on a rigid foundation and was assumed to be infinitely long. The friction between the tube and the foundation was neglected, and the bending stiffness of the tube was assumed to be negligible. The tube material was assumed to be inextensible. Mathematica was used to solve the system of equations and compute the unknowns. Excel was used to plot the data and observe the behavior of the tubes. An analysis was also performed on a single tube with an apron attached, resting on a rigid foundation. The apron was attached on the rising headwater side to increase stability. The assumptions for the tube at rest were also applied in this analysis. Two cases were derived and analyzed: a case where the internal hydrostatic pressure remains constant, and a case where the cross-sectional area remains constant. For the second case, the internal pressure changes as the floodwater level rises. The results from this study demonstrated that water-filled tubes, stacked or with an apron attached, can be an effective alternative method to sandbags in resisting floodwaters. / Master of Science

A dynamic simulation of the response of an inflatable dam subjected to a flood was carried out to determine the survivability envelope of the dam where it can operate without rupture, or overflow. A fully nonlinear free-surface flow was applied in two dimensions using a mixed Eulerian-Lagrangian formulation. An ABAQUS finite element model was used to determine the dynamic structural response of the dam. The problem was solved in the time domain which allows the prediction of a number of transient phenomena such as the generation of upstream advancing waves, and dynamic structural collapse. Stresses in the dam material were monitored to determine when rupture occurs. An iterative study was performed to find the service envelope of the dam in terms of the internal pressure and the flood Froude number for two flood depths. It was found that the driving parameter governing failure of the dam was the internal pressure. If this pressure is too low, the dam overflows; if this pressure is too high, the dam ruptures. The fully nonlinear free-surface flow over a semi-circular bottom obstruction was studied numerically in two dimensions using a similar solution formulation as that used in the previous study. A parametric study was performed for a range of values of the depth-based Froude number up to 2.5 and non-dimensional obstacle heights up to 0.9. When wave breaking does not occur, three distinct flow regimes were identified: subcritical, transcritical and supercritical. When breaking occurs it may be of any type: spilling, plunging or surging. In addition, for values of the Froude number close to 1, the upstream solitary waves break. A systematic study was undertaken, to define the boundaries of each type of breaking and non-breaking pattern, and to determine the drag and lift coefficients, free surface profile characteristics and transient behavior. / Master of Science

A structure comprised of two arches that lean against each other at the apex is considered. The arches are thin shells with internal pressure. This type of structure with solid arches has been used in bridges, such as the Gateway Arch Bridge in Columbus, Indiana, U.S.A., the Monongahela River Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., and a pedestrian bridge at the Pacific Tower in Paris, France. A series of leaning arches was incorporated in the frame of the Museum of the Moving Image, a temporary structure in London, England, during 1992-1994. Pressurized arch-shells made of a flexible material have been utilized as part of the framework for some transportable tent-like structures. The behavior of a pair of pressurized leaning arch-shells with various tilt angles, boundary conditions, and loads is investigated numerically. Several types of loads are considered, including uniformly-distributed vertical loads applied over all or half of the structure (representing snow), and wind loads on the structure. The arches are pinned or fixed to the ground. Deflections, vibrations, and stability of the structures are investigated using the finite element method. The effect of the tilt angle on the response is examined, and buckling may occur for some tilt angles under vertical loading. This type of structure has not been used widely, but may be effective for various applications. / Master of Science