Evaluation of Hybrid-Electric Power System Integration Challenges for Multi-Rotor UAS

The modern standard for multi-rotor unmanned aircraft system (UAS) propulsion is an electric configuration typically consisting of battery-powered electric motors. The primary issue with this type of propulsion system is the low energy density of the battery, which results in shorter flight times or lower payload capacity than typically desired. One possible solution for this is implementation of a hybrid-electric power system, which has been demonstrated to improve endurance in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. The purpose of this study is to investigate the integration challenges of implementing a hybrid-electric power system on multi-rotor UAS, specifically one that utilizes a gasoline internal combustion engine. While design of a fully-integrated hybrid-electric power system is not within the scope of this study, rather experiments are conducted with intentions to provide crucial insights to expedite the design and implementation process. Integration challenges such as vibration, cooling requirements, and additional noise of small combustion engines are investigated. It is shown that a small combustion engine can produce forceful vibration signatures, the affects of which must be considered when designing a hybrid-electric power system. Without proper dampening, this additional vibration has been shown to negatively impact the function of the on-board sensors necessary for controlling small UAS (sUAS). It has also been shown that forced convection, or other external cooling, is a requirement for the small combustion engine used for this study, which presents a unique challenge in hover-capable aircraft that don't inherently supply active airflow. However, the cooling requirements of these types of engines can be estimated when designing a hybrid-electric power system, and weight-efficient solutions can be found. Finally, it has been shown that a small, two-stroke combustion engine would have a significant contribution to the overall noise signature of a hybrid-electric sUAS. Through a computational method of isolating and combining individual noise sources, the theoretical acoustic signature of a multi-rotor sUAS with a hybrid-electric power system was produced. The conclusion of this study confirms that each of the initially identified major integration challenges (vibration, cooling, and noise) must be considered when designing a hybrid-electric power system for multi-rotor sUAS, and also provides insights into how each challenge could be addressed.Mechanical and Aerospace Engineerin

Assessment in Practice: A Companion Guide to the ASK Standards

Colleges today are asked to provide greater proof that they are providing quality educational experiences to their students. There has been a growing need for student affairs to provide documentation that their areas also impact learning and student experience. However, many student affairs professionals are overwhelmed by the idea of assessment and are looking for examples of best practices in this area. Several years ago the American College Personnel Association\u27s Commission Director for Assessment and Evaluation developed the Assessment Skills and Knowledge Standards for practitioners. This document provides exampes of these standards in practice

Hot Accretion With Conduction: Spontaneous Thermal Outflows

Motivated by the low-collisionality of gas accreted onto black holes in Sgr A* and other nearby galactic nuclei, we study a family of 2D advective accretion solutions with thermal conduction. While we only impose global inflow, the accretion flow spontaneously develops bipolar outflows. The role of conduction is key in providing the extra degree of freedom (latitudinal energy transport) necessary to launch these rotating thermal outflows. The sign of the Bernoulli constant does not discriminate between inflowing and outflowing regions. Our parameter survey covers mass outflow rates from ~ 0 to 13% of the net inflow rate, outflow velocities from ~0 to 11% of the local Keplerian velocity and outflow opening angles from ~ 0 to 60 degs. As the magnitude of conduction is increased, outflows can adopt a conical geometry, pure inflow solutions emerge, and the limit of 2D non-rotating Bondi-like solutions is eventually reached. These results confirm that radiatively-inefficient, hot accretion flows have a hydrodynamical propensity to generate bipolar thermal outflows.Comment: 38 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Examination of current U.S. female firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) sizing and fitting process challenges: an opportunity to improve safety

26 pagesBetween 2010 and 2014, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimated that female firefighters experienced 1260 injuries on the fireground each year. Previous research attributed some of these injuries to ill-fitting fire personal protective equipment (PPE). Therefore, in this mixed-method paper, the authors explored the relationship between fire PPE and injuries, and how they related to sizing and fit. To achieve this aim, data were collected from manufacturer-provided web communications regarding sizing and fit, user surveys (n = 74), and 1:1 interviews (n = 31) with U.S. female firefighters. The data considered how the size and fit standards established by the NFPA and how leading fire PPE manufacturers’ interpretation of standards impacted fit for female firefighters. Interview and survey data pinpointed experiences with the PPE sizing processes that led to poor fit. The data also identified previously undocumented knowledge gaps between NFPA size standards, commercialized products, and processes used by manufacturers and firehouses to fit female practitioners. The study discovered several opportunities to improve the size and fitting process women experienced when acquiring new turnout gear. With effective fire industry partnerships and future research, women can experience fewer injuries, improved comfort, and work performance with their PPE while establishing equality with their male counterparts

The Grizzly, November 12, 2015

Highlighting a New Trend on Campus • Making Connections: Ursinus Prepares to Break Ground on a Structure Between Pfahler and Thomas • Acclaimed Literary Critic to Give Talk on Campus • Ursinus Brings Top Lawyer Aboard in New Position • International Perspective: How One Student Uses Dance to Connect Ethiopia and Ursinus • Can You Really Netflix and Chill Without Killing Your Grades? • Opinions: Are You a White Feminist?; Bridge of Spies • Defensive Lineman Unleashes Passion for Music • Field Hockey Upsets F&M for Titlehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1677/thumbnail.jp

Returning to Activity After a Concussion

This education resource is designed to guide individuals with a concussion (or those caring for someone with a concussion) on how to safely reintroduce activity so that you can do the things you need, want, and love to do

Genomic diversity of bacteriophages infecting Microbacterium spp

The bacteriophage population is vast, dynamic, old, and genetically diverse. The genomics of phages that infect bacterial hosts in the phylum Actinobacteria show them to not only be diverse but also pervasively mosaic, and replete with genes of unknown function. To further explore this broad group of bacteriophages, we describe here the isolation and genomic characterization of 116 phages that infect Microbacterium spp. Most of the phages are lytic, and can be grouped into twelve clusters according to their overall relatedness; seven of the phages are singletons with no close relatives. Genome sizes vary from 17.3 kbp to 97.7 kbp, and their G+C% content ranges from 51.4% to 71.4%, compared to ~67% for their Microbacterium hosts. The phages were isolated on five different Microbacterium species, but typically do not efficiently infect strains beyond the one on which they were isolated. These Microbacterium phages contain many novel features, including very large viral genes (13.5 kbp) and unusual fusions of structural proteins, including a fusion of VIP2 toxin and a MuF-like protein into a single gene. These phages and their genetic components such as integration systems, recombineering tools, and phage-mediated delivery systems, will be useful resources for advancing Microbacterium genetics

The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Diagnostic Criteria for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective: To develop new diagnostic criteria for mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) that are appropriate for use across the lifespan and in sports, civilian trauma, and military settings. Design: Rapid evidence reviews on 12 clinical questions and Delphi method for expert consensus. Participants: The Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Task Force of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Brain Injury Special Interest Group convened a Working Group of 17 members and an external interdisciplinary expert panel of 32 clinician-scientists. Public stakeholder feedback was analyzed from 68 individuals and 23 organizations. Results: The first 2 Delphi votes asked the expert panel to rate their agreement with both the diagnostic criteria for mild TBI and the supporting evidence statements. In the first round, 10 of 12 evidence statements reached consensus agreement. Revised evidence statements underwent a second round of expert panel voting, where consensus was achieved for all. For the diagnostic criteria, the final agreement rate, after the third vote, was 90.7%. Public stakeholder feedback was incorporated into the diagnostic criteria revision prior to the third expert panel vote. A terminology question was added to the third round of Delphi voting, where 30 of 32 (93.8%) expert panel members agreed that ‘the diagnostic label ‘concussion’ may be used interchangeably with ‘mild TBI’ when neuroimaging is normal or not clinically indicated.’ Conclusions: New diagnostic criteria for mild TBI were developed through an evidence review and expert consensus process. Having unified diagnostic criteria for mild TBI can improve the quality and consistency of mild TBI research and clinical care.</p

The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Diagnostic Criteria for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective: To develop new diagnostic criteria for mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) that are appropriate for use across the lifespan and in sports, civilian trauma, and military settings. Design: Rapid evidence reviews on 12 clinical questions and Delphi method for expert consensus. Participants: The Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Task Force of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Brain Injury Special Interest Group convened a Working Group of 17 members and an external interdisciplinary expert panel of 32 clinician-scientists. Public stakeholder feedback was analyzed from 68 individuals and 23 organizations. Results: The first 2 Delphi votes asked the expert panel to rate their agreement with both the diagnostic criteria for mild TBI and the supporting evidence statements. In the first round, 10 of 12 evidence statements reached consensus agreement. Revised evidence statements underwent a second round of expert panel voting, where consensus was achieved for all. For the diagnostic criteria, the final agreement rate, after the third vote, was 90.7%. Public stakeholder feedback was incorporated into the diagnostic criteria revision prior to the third expert panel vote. A terminology question was added to the third round of Delphi voting, where 30 of 32 (93.8%) expert panel members agreed that ‘the diagnostic label ‘concussion’ may be used interchangeably with ‘mild TBI’ when neuroimaging is normal or not clinically indicated.’ Conclusions: New diagnostic criteria for mild TBI were developed through an evidence review and expert consensus process. Having unified diagnostic criteria for mild TBI can improve the quality and consistency of mild TBI research and clinical care.</p