Air Force Institute of Technology Research Report 2017

This Research Report presents the FY18 research statistics and contributions of the Graduate School of Engineering and Management (EN) at AFIT. AFIT research interests and faculty expertise cover a broad spectrum of technical areas related to USAF needs, as reflected by the range of topics addressed in the faculty and student publications listed in this report. In most cases, the research work reported herein is directly sponsored by one or more USAF or DOD agencies. AFIT welcomes the opportunity to conduct research on additional topics of interest to the USAF, DOD, and other federal organizations when adequate manpower and financial resources are available and/or provided by a sponsor. In addition, AFIT provides research collaboration and technology transfer benefits to the public through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs)

Using an MBSE approach for automation control system selection in long steel products hot rolling plants

Abstract: Automation systems in long steel products hot rolling plants are prone to performance failures with the potential of serious negative impact on the business. The selection process of these automation systems therefore requires careful consideration of various selection factors to maximize plant performance. The need was therefore identified to investigate the use of a suitable management approach to guide engineering automation teams in the long steel products hot rolling plants in the selection of automation systems. At the core is the need for an in-depth understanding of the issues surrounding distributed and hierarchical automation systems in long steel products plants. This includes identifying the challenges during the selection process, using sound engineering management principles. Current automation selection techniques were investigated through a survey, interviews and a case study. It was then decided to use a Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach, which utilises systems engineering principles together with digital technology to create models to simplify the understanding of complex problems and relationships. This was then used to develop a management framework for automation systems selection in support of the business case of long steel products hot rolling plants

Arc tracking control in insulation systems for aeronautic applications: challenges, opportunities, and research needs

Next generation aircrafts will use more electrical power to reduce weight, fuel consumption, system complexity and greenhouse gas emissions. However, new failure modes and challenges arise related to the required voltage increase and consequent rise of electrical stress on wiring insulation materials, thus increasing the risk of electrical arc appearance. This work performs a critical and comprehensive review concerning arc tracking effects in wiring insulation systems, underlying mechanisms, role of materials and possible mitigation strategies, with a special focus on aircraft applications. To this end an evaluation of the scientific and technological state of the art is carried out from the analysis of theses, research articles, technical reports, international standards and white papers. This review paper also reports the limitations of existing insulation materials, standard test methods and mitigation approaches, while identifying the research needs to comply with the future demands of the aircraft industryPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Air Force Institute of Technology Research Report 2020

This Research Report presents the FY20 research statistics and contributions of the Graduate School of Engineering and Management (EN) at AFIT. AFIT research interests and faculty expertise cover a broad spectrum of technical areas related to USAF needs, as reflected by the range of topics addressed in the faculty and student publications listed in this report. In most cases, the research work reported herein is directly sponsored by one or more USAF or DOD agencies. AFIT welcomes the opportunity to conduct research on additional topics of interest to the USAF, DOD, and other federal organizations when adequate manpower and financial resources are available and/or provided by a sponsor. In addition, AFIT provides research collaboration and technology transfer benefits to the public through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs). Interested individuals may discuss ideas for new research collaborations, potential CRADAs, or research proposals with individual faculty using the contact information in this document

Micro air vehicles energy transportation for a wireless power transfer system

The aim of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility use of an Micro air vehicles (MAV) in order to power wirelessly an electric system, for example, a sensor network, using low-cost and open-source elements. To achieve this objective, an inductive system has been modelled and validated to power wirelessly a sensor node using a Crazyflie 2.0 as MAV. The design of the inductive system must be small and light enough to fulfil the requirements of the Crazyflie. An inductive model based on two resonant coils is presented. Several coils are defined to be tested using the most suitable resonant configuration. Measurements are performed to validate the model and to select the most suitable coil. While attempting to minimize the weight at transmitter’s side, on the receiver side it is intended to efficiently acquire and manage the power obtained from the transmitter. In order to prove its feasibility, a temperature sensor node is used as demonstrator. The experiment results show successfully energy transportation by MAV, and wireless power transfer for the resonant configuration, being able to completely charge the node battery and to power the temperature sensor.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Survey on synchrophasor data quality and cybersecurity challenges, and evaluation of their interdependencies

Synchrophasor devices guarantee situation awareness for real-time monitoring and operational visibility of smart grid. With their widespread implementation, significant challenges have emerged, especially in communication, data quality and cybersecurity. The existing literature treats these challenges as separate problems, when in reality, they have a complex interplay. This paper conducts a comprehensive review of quality and cybersecurity challenges for synchrophasors, and identifies the interdependencies between them. It also summarizes different methods used to evaluate the dependency and surveys how quality checking methods can be used to detect potential cyberattacks. This paper serves as a starting point for researchers entering the fields of synchrophasor data analytics and security