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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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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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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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
Programs: Mechanical Engineering Technology
Advisor: Raul Telles
4. Lift Generation of an Automotive Wing to Increase Vehicle Traction and Stability Authors: Dominic Elrington and John Andon
Programs: Mechanical Engineering Technology
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
Programs: Mechanical Engineering Technology
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
Programs: Mechanical Engineering Technology
Advisor: Dr. Amir Elzawawy and Dr. Yougashwar Budhoo
3. Automatic Fluid Dispenser
Authors: Yoeri Martinez and William Dale
Programs: Mechatronics Engineering
Advisor: Dr. Shouling He
4. Application of Shear Thickening Non-Newtonian Fluid to Minimize Head and
Neck Injury
Authors: Jose Herrera and Mamunur Anik
Programs: Mechanical Engineering Technology
Advisor: Dr. Amir Elzawawy and Dr. Yougashwar Budhoo
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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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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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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,
Panama, July 23-27, 2012.
11. Khalid Mouaouya, judge for the Ninth Annual Science and Engineering Fair of the
Freeport Public Schools, April 26, 2013.
12. Khalid Mouaouya, member of new Mechanical Engineering Curriculum Development
Committee, summer 2012 to present.
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
Committee, summer 2012 to present.
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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,
Panama, July 23-27, 2012.
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
Freeport Public Schools, April 26, 2013.
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
Committee, summer 2012 to present.
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
Committee, summer 2012 to present.
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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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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“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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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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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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Industry Connection Seminar
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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Industry Connection Seminar
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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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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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
Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of
Engineering Institutions, LACCEI 2012, “Education, Innovation, Technology, Design,
and Practice,” Panama City, Panama, July 23-27, 2012.
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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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
Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of
Engineering Institutions, LACCEI 2012, “Education, Innovation, Technology, Design,
and Practice,” Panama City, Panama, July 23-27, 2012.
2. 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.
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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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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
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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].
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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]
Advisor: Dr. Shouling He
Professor at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA,
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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).
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Alternate F/A -18 Tail Hook Designs
Antonio Diaz
Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA
Acharaf Ifinis Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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
Proposed Design 2 35 726
Proposed Design 3 69 543
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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
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A Subsurface Interference Design Study
on a Steam Distribution System
Yair Koenov
Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY 11369
Melvin Okumu
Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY 11369
Advisor: Raul Telles
Consolidated Edison Inc., Designer
Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing NY 11369
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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.
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[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/.
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Lift Generation of an Automotive Wing to Increase Vehicle Traction
and Stability
Dominic Elrington
Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA
John Andon
Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA
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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(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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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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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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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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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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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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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,
Perry Pitter
Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA,
Advisor: Mudassar Minhas
Assistant Professor at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA
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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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)
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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)
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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
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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
http://www.enco.eu/Safetyworkshop/AnnexB_AF447.pdf
[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
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Development of an Arthropod All-Terrain Vehicle
Work in Progress
Travis Covey
Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA,
Mohammed Lusan
Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA,
Ricardo Matute
Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA,
Advisor: Dr. Yougashwar Budhoo and Dr. Amir Elzawawy Department of Engineering and Technology, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology,
Flushing, NY, USA,
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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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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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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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
Jonathan Sypeck
Student – Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing NY
Advisors:
Dr. Amir Elzawawy and Dr. Yougashwar Budhoo
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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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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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.
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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Automatic Fluid Dispenser – Work in Progress
Yoeri Martinez
Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA,
William Dale
Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA,
Advisor: Dr. Shouling He
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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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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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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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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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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Application of Shear Thickening Non-Newtonian Fluid to Minimize
Head and Neck Injury – Work in Progress
Jose Herrera
Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA,
Mamunur Anik
Student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY, USA,
Advisors:
Dr. Amir Elzawawy and Dr. Yougashwar Budhoo
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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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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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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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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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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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
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.