Type of Awards: SBIR Phase I with IEDC and Phase II Contract Numbers: N00014-07-M-0328 and FA8650-08-C-2943 Agency: U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and U.S. Office of Naval Research Status: On Going Periods: 5/4/07 to 3/9/08 and 07/30/08 to 11/30/10 Principal Investigator: J. R. Wells Abstract: Airborne electrical power requirements are increasing significantly to support Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) sensors, electronic attack suites, and directed energy weapons for military applications. When the electric generator is directly coupled to the propulsion engine, relatively large electric torque transients are often introduced with dynamics faster than previously handled by the engine control system. These transients may have serious implications with regard to stall margins, mechanical stress, speed regulation, and available thrust. To address challenges posed by such transients, this work is developing and demonstrationg novel architectures and system control strategies to maximize transient turbine engine performance utilizing modeling, simulation, and analysis (MS&A). A high-mach missile system is chosen as the prototype for optimization process demonstration and likely candidate for initial technology insertion. This work will expand upon the Phase I efforts through refined modeling and expanded optimization...
Read MoreF-35 Three-Bearing Swivel Nozzle (3BSN) Door Actuator
Type of Awards: SBIR Phase I with IEDC Contract Numbers: N68335-08-C-0060 Agency: U.S. Naval Air Systems Command Status: On Going Periods: 12/11/07 to 5/30/09 Principal Investigator: J. R. Wells Abstract: The lowered cost of maintenance, lowered weight, and reduced installation complexity of smart electric actuators continues to justify the transition from hydraulic actuation to EMAs/EHAs. This SBIR proposal will extend the advantages of EMA technology into high-temperature, high-vibration applications with a first commercialization target being the JSF F35 Lightning II aircraft platform. During the SBIR Phase I research, PCKA will collaborate with NAVAIR and Lockheed Martin to establish the actuator requirements. Once the requirements are defined, PCKA will identify suitable actuator architectures for the application and then optimize the design in terms of weight, reliability, maintainability, manufacturability, and cost. Key design constraints will be the thermal and vibration environment which may necessitate the use of specific motor technologies, high-temperature wire insulation, lubrication, and electronics. In Phase II, PCKA will fabricate a prototype of the optimal design and perform qualification tests including EMI/EMC, vibration, shock, and altitude. If successful, developed technologies will ultimately transition to DoD programs under a Phase III...
Read MoreAffordable Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) Power System Architecture
Type of Awards: SBIR Phase I with IEDC Subcontractor: University of Illinois Contract Numbers: N00014-09-M-0330 Agency: U.S. Status: Completed Periods: 8/20/2009 to 1/25/2010 Principal Investigator: J. R. Wells Abstract: The primary objective of the proposed work is to develop an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) power system architecture that is simultaneously scalable to multiple UUV sizes, light weight, affordable, and adaptable. This will be accomplished through the development of “smart” power units (SPU’s) that can be readily interconnected to provide distributed and coordinated power management for the UUV while providing battery cell balancing and charge monitoring. The SPU’s will contain integrated power converter/controllers capable of providing for the vehicle hotel and propulsion loads, and compatible with multiple battery chemistries through the use of an automatic identification scheme. The SPU’s will facilitate universal charging through a standard interface port, be modular enough to be deployed in a wide range of UUV sizes and dimensions, and be capable of communicating both with other SPU’s and with the user using standard communication protocols. Deployment of the proposed SPU’s will be greatly enhanced by accompanying software capable of rapidly sizing and configuring the modules for a given UUV size while minimizing size and...
Read MoreAdvanced Tools for Aircraft Power and Propulsion Simulation and Analysis
T. Baudendistel, M. Corbett, E. A. Walters, K. Miller, J. Williams, J. Wells, S. Pekarek, M. Rotea, S. Field, , S. Peecher, N. Kumbar, M. Wolff, J. Dalton, P. Lamm It will be shown that through coupling a set of multi-physics tools in a sensor suite, a comprehensive prognostics and health management system (PHM) for aircraft generators and associated electrical systems can be developed. Specifically, using DHS, component and system-level simulations, using Hardware-In-The-Loop (HIL), of aircraft generator systems under nominal and failure modes can be performed efficiently. Using the simulation results obtained, the vibration sensor, unique monitoring concepts and advanced signal conditioning are coupled to establish an approach that can effectively detect component degradation and predict time-to-failure, and to develop feedback-based strategies for operation of generator electrical systems under component degradation or failure. In addition, as aircraft power demands continue to increase with the increase in electrical subsystems. These subsystems directly affect the behavior of the power and propulsion systems and can no longer be neglected in system analyses. The performance of the whole aircraft must also be considered with the combined interactions between the power and propulsion systems. The larger loading demands placed on the power and propulsion subsystems result in thrust, speed, and altitude transients that affect the whole aircraft. This results in different operating parameters for the engine. The complex models designed to integrate new capabilities have a high computational cost. This paper investigates the possibility of using a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) analysis with real time integration of the aircraft/propulsion system. Using this method, a significant reduction in computational runtime is observed, and the airframe/turbine engine model is usable in a HIL environment. This also allows for a more complete analysis of the interactions between engine loading and aircraft performance by including some real hardware components. The dynamic interactions between aircraft subsystems highlight the need for system-level modeling using a combination of high-fidelity computer models and hardware in a real-time environment. Hence, maintaining the war fighting capabilities by extending the life of the aircraft electrical systems. IAPG Mechanical Workgroup, May 2007, Alexandria, VA. Contact information:...
Read MoreVariable Communication Rates in a Distributed Simulation
E. A. Walters, M. Hasan, C. E. Lucas, PC Krause and Associates, Inc; O. Wasynczuk, Purdue University; P. T. Lamm, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory As a result of the increased capabilities (surveillance, directed energy weapons, fuel efficiency, etc.) for both military and civilian aircraft, new architectures are being proposed for integrated power and propulsion systems. To analyze these new designs, large-scale multi-disciplinary (aerodynamic, electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, thermal, etc.) system simulations are required. To this end, distributed simulation has become a vital tool by enabling subsystem models developed using different commercial-off-the-shelf simulation programs to be interconnected to form an end-to-end system simulation that can execute orders of magnitude faster than comparatable single-model (non-distributed) implementations. Although distributed simulation has been successfully applied to numerous military aircraft systems, engineering expertise is required when selecting the fixed-rate communication intervals between subsystems to guarantee that the dynamics are adequately portrayed for all modes of operation. This engineering judgment has typically led to conservative selections wherein needless communications are performed, thereby hindering the overall simulation speed. In this paper, a new variable-communication-interval algorithm is established wherein the communication intervals are selected based upon user-specified error criteria. With this algorithm, the communication intervals for each model-to-model interface are selected independently and determined based upon the dynamics of the exchanged variables. The advantages of this technique include: reduced engineering time required to establish a distributed simulation by simply allowing error criteria to be specified, an increased assurance of system simulation accuracy, and increased simulation speeds by eliminating unnecessary communications. This technique is applied to an example system wherein it is shown that a five-fold increase in simulation speed can be achieved with the same accuracy when compared to the traditional fixed-rate approach, or a six-fold increase in accuracy can be achieved for the same simulation speed. 3rd International Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, August 15-18, 2005, San Francisco,...
Read MoreMulti-Fidelity Models for Design and Analysis of Directed Energy Weapon Power Systems
E. Walters, PC Krause and Associates, Inc; S. Pekarek, O. Wasynczuk, Purdue University; A. Koenig, J. Wells, B. P. Loop, PC Krause and Associates, Inc; P. Lamm, U. S. Air Force Research Laboratory Historically, the design of aircraft electrical systems has been divided into separate mechanical (turbine engine) and electrical subsystems, wherein the coupled dynamics have been ignored until hardware integration. However, future loads such as Directed Energy Weapons (DEW), a coupled multi-physics design and analysis capability is required to evaluate system feasibility and establish optimal components in the context of a system-level architecture. In this paper, modeling and simulation techniques that provide a backbone for such design and analysis is set forth. Simulation techniques include a distributed heterogeneous simulation toolbox for interconnecting dynamic component models created using different simulation packages and/or operating systems. Modeling tools include a partitioned finite element technique and a field reconstruction technique that dramatically reduces the computational effort required to perform fields-based simulation of electric machines. Herein, the multi-physics tools are demonstrated for a multi-MW DEW system. The impact of the DEW load on the electrical, mechanical, and energy storage are evaluated under both transient and steady-state conditions and an attempt is made to search for architectures/ designs that minimize weight subject to maintaining stable system performance. 9th Annual Directed Energy Symposium, October 30-November 2, 2006, Albuquerque, NM. Contact Information:...
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