Sensory Extension

Space and Aerospace Technologies

Twisterons; A New Twist on an Old Wing Theory
Dr. Warren Phillips

Prototype Aircraft with Operational Twisterons and the Wing Tip Vortex Responsible for Induced Drag
 Prototype Aircraft with Operational Twisterons
 and the Wing Tip Vortex Responsible for
 Induced Drag. 

Dr. Phillips has developed a device to allow airplanes to minimize drag, or the force pulling back on an object moving through the air, by changing the wings. He calls it a Twisteron. The device would replace the wings' flaps that move up and down with one ultra malleable panel that can twist any number of different directions.

The result is virtually creating a new set of wings mid-flight to accommodate difference in flying conditions, including speed, altitude and temperature. Better wings mean less fuel has to be used. In some cases, a lot less (by 2.5%). This reduction could slash soaring jet fuel expenses by as much as $400 million a year.

 


Atmospheric Infrared Emissions
Dr. Doran J. Baker, Brandon Thurgood and Willie Harrison

Atmospheric Infrared Emissions
     Viewing Field for in-orbit TIMED Satellite

The TIMED satellite with four instruments on board has been orbiting and telemetering data since its launch into a near-polar orbit by NASA on December 7, 2001. SABER, one of those four sensors, is a 10-channel infrared radiometer that makes three-dimensional scans of the Earth's high atmosphere. By image processing the continuing flow of data from SABER, undergraduate and graduate students of the USU team, in concert with the NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton University, Space Dynamics Laboratory, GATS Inc., and NASA Space Grant Consortium, are globally mapping selected high-altitude infrared airglow emissions from the mesosphere. The results help improve models applied to the Sun-Earth energy balance, upper-atmosphere dynamics, and to night-vision systems.

 


Computational Fluid Dynamics

Nuclear Energy Research Initiative
Dr. Robert Spall

Computational Fluid Dynamics
                Computational Simulation

Currently, two primary approaches exist for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of reactor systems.

  1. Thermal/hydraulic analysis codes, such as RELAP, model the entire plant using coarse nodes but cannot predict small-scale flow details.
  2. Traditional CFD codes, such as FLUENT, are most adept at detailed flow and temperature predictions over specific regions.
However, there are many unanswered questions regarding the ability of traditional codes to accurately model and predict complex flow patterns inherent in nuclear reactors, particularly turbulence. Turbulence is modeled either through direct numerical simulation (which is not practical for engineering design), large eddy simulation (which combines direct and empirical subgrid scale calculations), or Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations (which is viable for complex geometries). Because no single model can handle all geometries, research is needed to validate, modify, and improve CFD predictive capabilities for the Generation IV reactors.

This project will validate and improve CFD predictive methods for Generation IV nuclear reactor systems. Researchers will assess the ability of large eddy simulation and RANS closure models, which are available in the FLUENT code, to predict flows for specific, fundamental geometries inherent in Next Generation Nuclear Plant reactors. Based on the results of the assessment, researchers will modify the closure models to improve predictive capabilities and obtain experimental data for relevant geometries to support code validation.