We report on the development of a nano-Newton thrust-stand that can measure up to 100 μN thrust from different types of microthrusters with 10 nN resolution. The compact thrust-stand measures the impingement force of the particles emitted from a microthruster onto a suspended plate of size 45 mm × 45 mm and with a natural frequency over 50 Hz. Using a homodyne (lock-in) readout provides strong ...

The feasibility of using a stand alone Fluidic Thrust-Vectoring (FTV) system for the purpose of longitudinal trim of an unmanned aerial vehicle is the focus of the research presented in this paper. Since the fluidic thrust vectoring requires high pressure secondary air to deflect the engine exhaust gases, this research also provides an analytical toolset for preliminary sizing of a suitable sec...

Linear flux switching motors with simple passive segmented secondary, referred as Segmented Secondary Linear Flux Switching Motors (SSLFSMs), have low cost secondary and therefore are applicable to transportation systems like Maglev. However, it is shown that the SSLFSMs suffer from high thrust ripples. In this paper, minimizing SSLFSM thrust ripples besides maximizing its developed thrust are ...

The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) offers significant benefits to the aircraft, ship, personnel, and operational capabilities. EMALS has such advantages as high thrust, good controllability, reusable, etc., as a launching motor, a double-side plate Permanent Magnet Linear Synchronous Motor (PMLSM) can provide high instantaneous thrust. This paper presents the design and analysis...

Thruster modeling and control is the core of underwater vehicle control and simulation, because it is the lowest control loop of the system; hence, the system would benefit from accurate and practical modeling of the thrusters. In unmanned underwater vehicles, thrusters are generally propellers driven by electrical motors. Therefore, thrust force is simultaneously affected by motor model, prope...

A m ultiaxis thrust-vectoring nozzle designed to have equal ow-turning capability in pitch and yaw was conceived and experimentally tested for internal static performance at Langley Research Center. The cruciform-shaped, convergent-divergent nozzle turned the ow for thrust vectoring by deeecting the divergent surfaces of the nozzle, called aps. Methods for eliminating physical interference betw...

During the past decade, polymer nanocomposites have emerged relatively as a new and rapidly developing class of composite materials and attracted considerable investment in research and development worldwide.Direct machining of polymers can be an option for personalized products and for manufacturing product samples. To obtain high quality products and reduce machining costs, it is very importa...

Eels undulate a larger portion of their bodies while swimming than many other fishes, but the hydrodynamic consequences of this swimming mode are poorly understood. In this study, we examine in detail the hydrodynamics of American eels (Anguilla rostrata) swimming steadily at 1.4 L s(-1) and compare them with previous results from other fishes. We performed high-resolution particle image veloci...

Propulsive morphology and swimming performance were compared for the odontocete cetaceans Delphinapterus leucas, Orcinus orca, Pseudorca crassidens and Tursiops truncatus. Morphological differences were apparent among the whales. The general body contour and low-aspect-ratio caudal flukes of D. leucas indicated that this species was a low-performance swimmer compared with the other species. Pro...