Bioinspired Control of Rudderless Morphing UAVs

Morphing to seamlessly alter aircraft geometry for either multi-mission or adaptive fly-by-feel flight has recently become an emerging field of research. With the added benefits of tailored aerodynamics, an aircraft no longer needs to be designed to suit a single cruise flight condition. This is particularly useful for small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) which, like birds and insects, tend to operate at lower altitudes and even in urban environments where the flow can frequently change drastically. The primary objective of this research is to investigate morphing applications for rudderless UAVs, which have seldom been studied prior to this point, through bioinspiration. As natural fliers undergo multi-scale low-altitude morphing to adapt to changes in either flight objective or aerodynamic conditions, they are prime subjects for investigation. This is accomplished through both analytical aerodynamic modeling, and experimental design and investigation of novel morphing actuators using Macro Fiber Composites (MFCs). Using these smart material actuators, complex shape change such as spanwise camber morphing and three-dimensional bending-twisting coupling is achieved. This dissertation presents three main contributions to the field of morphing aircraft. The first contribution is an analytical derivation that assesses the impact of scale and altitude on flight. This is aimed at justifying the need for morphing technologies particularly at the UAV scale by assessing the impact of winds on flight velocity and direction. More specifically, both a steady wind and a quasi-steady sharp-edge cross wind were assessed to characterize the response, and showed that low-altitude fliers are prone to drastic changes in flight path, acceleration, and sensitivity with respect to winds. A nonlinear Lifting Line Theory (LLT) model was also developed specifically for spanwise morphing aircraft. With this model, the spanwise geometry of a morphing wing can be tailored and optimized to achieve a desired aerodynamic outcome. As this model is capable of characterizing nonlinear aerodynamics, the spanwise wing geometry is tailored to recover from stall. A comprehensive analysis of possible adaptation scenarios is also conducted to characterize the limitations of the system and demonstrated excellent recovery capabilities of the spanwise morphing wing. Lastly, a novel bioinspired tail actuator is developed for multifunctional pitch and yaw control using MFCs. Two Finite Element Method (FEM) models are compared to determine both an appropriate method of modeling MFC actuators with custom non-rectangular geometries and fiber orientations, and the optimal fiber orientation to obtain adequate transverse and out-of-plane displacements. The optimized actuator was integrated into a bioinspired aircraft for wind tunnel testing. Experimental investigation was geared towards quantifying both pitch and yaw response of the actuator with respect to both changes in angle of attack and sideslip.PHDAerospace EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145843/1/llgamble_1.pd

Development and Characterisation of a Gas System and its Associated Slow-Control System for an ATLAS Small-Strip Thin Gap Chamber Testing Facility

A quality assurance and performance qualification laboratory was built at McGill University for the Canadian-made small-strip Thin Gap Chamber (sTGC) muon detectors produced for the 2019-2020 ATLAS experiment muon spectrometer upgrade. The facility uses cosmic rays as a muon source to ionise the quenching gas mixture of pentane and carbon dioxide flowing through the sTGC detector. A gas system was developed and characterised for this purpose, with a simple and efficient gas condenser design utilizing a Peltier thermoelectric cooler (TEC). The gas system was tested to provide the desired 45 vol% pentane concentration. For continuous operations, a state-machine system was implemented with alerting and remote monitoring features to run all cosmic-ray data-acquisition associated slow-control systems, such as high/low voltage, gas system and environmental monitoring, in a safe and continuous mode, even in the absence of an operator.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX, 14 figures, 4 tables, proof corrections for Journal of Instrumentation (JINST), including corrected Fig. 8b

Customized multichannel measurement system for microbial fuel cell characterization

This work presents the development of an automatic and customized measuring system employing sigma-delta analog-to-digital converters and transimpedance amplifiers for precise mea- surements of voltage and current signals generated by microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The system can perform multi-step discharge protocols to accurately measure the power output of MFCs, and has been calibrated to ensure high precision and low noise measurements. One of the key features of the proposed measuring system is its ability to conduct long-term measurements with variable time steps. Moreover, it is portable and cost-effective, making it ideal for use in laboratories without sophisti- cated bench instrumentation. The system is expandable, ranging from 2 to 12 channels by adding dual-channel boards, which allows for testing of multiple MFCs simultaneously. The functionality of the system was tested using a six-channel setup, and the results demonstrated its ability to detect and distinguish current signals from different MFCs with varying output characteristics. The power measurements obtained using the system also allow for the determination of the output resistance of the MFCs being tested. Overall, the developed measuring system is a useful tool for characterizing the performance of MFCs, and can be helpful in the optimization and development of sustainable energy production technologies

Imidazole-based ionogel as room temperature benzene and formaldehyde sensor

A room temperature benzene and formaldehyde gas sensor system with an ionogel as sensing material is presented. The sensing layer is fabricated employing poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) polymerized in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate ionic liquid onto gold interdigitated electrodes. When the ionogel is exposed to increasing formaldehyde concentrations employing N2as a carrier gas, a more stable response is observed in comparison to the bare ionic liquid, but no difference insensitivity occurs. On the other hand, when air is used as carrier gas the sensitivity of the system towards formaldehyde is decreased by one order of magnitude. At room temperature, the proposed sensor exhibited in air higher sensitivities to benzene, at concentrations ranging between 4 and 20 ppm resulting, in a limit of detection of 47 ppb, which is below the standard permitted concentrations. The selectivity of the IL towards HCHO and C6H6is demonstrated by the absence of response when another IL is employed. Humidity from the ambient air slightly affects the resistance of the system proving the protective role of the polymeric matrix. Furthermore, the gas sensor system showed fast response/recovery times considering the thickness of the material, suggesting that ionogel materials can be used as novel and highly efficient volatile organic compounds sensors operating at room temperature.This work was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) of Spain under the TEMIN-++AIR programs. N.G.-G. was supported by a PhD fellowship from the University of Navarra. F. B.-L. acknowledges the funding support from Gobierno de España, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, with Grant No. BIO2016-80417-P, and Gobierno Vasco Dpto. Educación for the consolidation of the research groups (IT1271-19)

New instrumentation for the detection of sulfur dioxide in the remote atmosphere

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1999Sulfur gases are an important chemical component of the atmosphere. Gaseous sulfur compounds effect the acidity of rainwater and are important precursors to aerosol particles which affect public health, climate and visibility of scenic vistas such as the Grand Canyon. Sulfate aerosols are also known to participate in ozone catalysis in the stratosphere. A vast majority of the gaseous sulfur cycling through the atmosphere will exist as sulfur dioxide (SO2) at some time during its atmospheric lifetime. Since SO 2 is a primary component of the atmospheric sulfur cycle, quality measurements of this gas are important to understanding the cycling of sulfur through the atmosphere. The mixing ratio of SO2 in the atmosphere can be as low as a few 10's of parts-per-trillion by volume (pptv) in unpolluted areas and as high as 100's of parts-per-billion by volume (ppbv) near industrial centers. Obtaining SO2 measurements with mixing ratios that can differ by 105 in magnitude is a difficult task, especially for mixing ratios less than a few hundred pptv. The Diffusion Denuder/Sulfur Chemiluminescence Detector (DD/SCD) was developed further and tested in a rigorously blind comparison under controlled laboratory conditions. The DD/SCD exhibited excellent sensitivity and little-to-no interference from other trace gases. The DD/SCD performance was comparable to that of other state-of-the-art instruments developed for measuring SO 2 in the remote atmosphere. The Continuous SO2 Detector was developed to overcome the limitation of long sampling times (4 to 90 minutes) inherent in the DD/SCD and other state-of-the-art techniques. The Continuous SO2 Detector (CSD) was developed based on the design of the DD/SCD, but has been optimized for sensitive, high-time resolved measurements of SO2 in air. Sensitive, high-time resolved measurements would be beneficial for studying atmospheric SO2 over large geographical areas from a moving sampling platform such as an aircraft. The current prototype of the CSD is capable of measuring SO2 at mixing ratios of less than 100 pptv on the order of seconds. The DD/SCD, CSD and an automated, computer controlled dynamic dilution system described in this thesis represent a suite of instruments for the measurement of SO2 in the remote atmosphere

Interestingness of traces in declarative process mining: The janus LTLPf Approach

Declarative process mining is the set of techniques aimed at extracting behavioural constraints from event logs. These constraints are inherently of a reactive nature, in that their activation restricts the occurrence of other activities. In this way, they are prone to the principle of ex falso quod libet: they can be satisfied even when not activated. As a consequence, constraints can be mined that are hardly interesting to users or even potentially misleading. In this paper, we build on the observation that users typically read and write temporal constraints as if-statements with an explicit indication of the activation condition. Our approach is called Janus, because it permits the specification and verification of reactive constraints that, upon activation, look forward into the future and backwards into the past of a trace. Reactive constraints are expressed using Linear-time Temporal Logic with Past on Finite Traces (LTLp f). To mine them out of event logs, we devise a time bi-directional valuation technique based on triplets of automata operating in an on-line fashion. Our solution proves efficient, being at most quadratic w.r.t. trace length, and effective in recognising interestingness of discovered constraints

Marine Gastrobot Final Design Report

The Marine Gastrobot sponsored by Dr. Christopher Kitts of the Cal Poly Center for Applications in Biotechnology was a research and development effort intended to explore the use of microbial fuel cell technology as a power source for underwater robots. Our team Ocean Locomotion succeeded in developing a first iteration of an underwater robotic platform suitable for microbial fuel cell integration. The primary feature of the design is its sinusoidal fin propulsion intended for benthic exploration with limited risk of entanglement. During the course of development, Ocean Locomotion explored the use of low power actuation methods and determined their limited use for underwater locomotion, tested low power boost converter compatibility with microbial fuel cells, and built hardware capable of integration with microbial fuel cells

Energy Harvesting Systems for the Internet of Things with Applications to Smart Agriculture

The Internet of Things is the interconnection of everyday objects to the web, with the purpose of exchanging information to enable smarter actions and potentially make a process more efficient. However, how power is provided and stored in remote sensing applications is still one of the main modern electronics challenges of such technology and can become one of the main constraints to prevent its mass adoption. Energy Harvesting is an emerging technology that can transform energy in the environment into usable energy, among such environmental energy are electromagnetic waves, thermal, solar, kinesthetic transducers, fuel cells, to name a few. Because this technology makes use of the available ambient energy, it has the potential to increase the power readiness for battery-operated electronics and more importantly, it can become the technology that fully powers the next generation of internet-enabled agricultural solutions. This dissertation centers around the design and development of high-efficient power management systems for AC and DC energy harvesting sources. The proposed architectures not only consider circuits, systems and algorithms that make a more efficient power extraction but also focuses on providing inherent sensing functionalities at no extra system complexity, which in turn not only achieves the goal of extending the battery life of proposed smart sensor applications but also proposes new charge extraction methods to permanently power an electronic device. The work presented in this dissertation demonstrates that energy harvesting, and internet of things devices can be implemented in multiple smart agriculture scenarios by proposing algorithms, circuits and systems capable of performing energy harvesting operations while providing reliable data to the end user. The analysis of the design of such proof-of-concept prototypes are provided in this dissertation along with its implementation and testing. The first part of this dissertation proposes novel algorithms for maximum power extraction and new power measurement techniques. The second part focuses on front-end circuits for AC energy harvesting sources and circuits that can provide sensing capabilities along with energy harvesting operations