National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Fall 2012
Higher Education
Poster Symposium
Abstract Book
a
Sponsored by The Office of Education
and Public Engagement
www.nasa.gov
www.nasa.gov
Public Outreach
The Office of Education and Public Outreach is proud to share these
abstracts from the undergraduate interns at NASA Ames Research Center.
During their time at Ames, these students have greatly contributed to the
NASA mission through their research and mission support activities. The
interns and fellows greatly enriched the Ames community and we look
forward to welcoming these participants into our workforce in the future. A
special thanks to the Ames community; we greatly appreciate the Ames staff
in helping us develop the next STEM workforce.
Brenda Collins
Higher Education Program Manager
NASA Ames Research Center
Fall 2012 Cohort Programs
USRP: The NASA Undergraduate Student Research Project (USRP) offers
year-round internship opportunities for undergraduate science, math, and
engineering students. USRP is funded by the NASA Headquarters Office of
Education.
Space Grant: NASA initiated the National Space Grant College And
Fellowship Program in 1989. Space Grant is a national network of colleges
and universities. These institutions are working to expand opportunities for
Americas to understand and participate in NASA’s aeronautics and space
projects by supporting and enhancing science and engineering education,
research and public outreach efforts.
Ames USRP Project Manager: Maricela Varma, AERO Institute
Ames Education Staff: Sylvia Love and Mary Schaadt, AERO Institute
Table of Contents
Fall 2012 Poster Symposium Participants
Individual Projects
Name
Page
Connor Beierle
1
Large Civil Tiltrotor (LCTR) & High Efficiency Tiltrotor (HETR) 7x10 Foot Subsonic Wind
Tunnel Test, Stony Brook University, USRP, William Warmbrodt, Ashley Pete, Colin
Theodore
Corbin Graham
2
Design and Development of an Educational Outreach Wind Tunnel with a Tilt Rotor
Aircraft Model, University of Oklahoma, EAP, William Warmbrodt
Michael Lee
3
Lyophilization as a Means of Preserving Microorganisms
for Satellite Missions, Kean University, USRP, Brad Bebout
Matthew Menze
4
Modeling of Tensegrity Structures for Research into Alternative Robotic Locomotion,
Northern Michigan University, USRP, Vytas Sunspiral
Jose Ortiz
5
Design and Analysis of Microphone Stands for the 40-by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel
University of Puerto Rico, Space Grant, William Warmbrodt, Ashley Pete, Ben W. Sim
Ames Research Center
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Fall 2012
Connor Beierle,
Stony Brook University
Undergraduate Student Research
Program (USRP)
Undergraduate Intern
Mentor: William Warmbrodt
Ashley Pete
C olin Theodore
Code: AUA
Aeromechanics Branch
Large Civil Tiltrotor (LCTR) & High Efficiency Tiltrotor
(HETR) 7x10 Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel Test
The congestion associated with runway availability hinders an airport’s ability to increase
its number of departures and landings. A viable solution to both military and civilian air
travel is with tiltrotor technology. In order to justify an investment in the manufacturing of
a tiltrotor, scale tests of conceptual designs must be performed in wind tunnels. The High
Efficiency Tilitrotor (HETR) and the Large Civil Tiltrotor (LCTR) are two scale models
which were tested in the 7x10 Subsonic Wind Tunnel to acquire airframe performance data
and validate the integration of tiltrotor aircraft into our air transportation system. The
accuracy associated with a wind tunnel’s scale system directly influences the quality of the
acquired data. For wind tunnel data analysis, great care must be taken to remove the
components of the scale readings associated with the model’s shifting center of gravity and
from the aerodynamic influence of the support configuration in the recorded wind tunnel
scale data. The research discussed in this paper discusses the methodology on how to
optimize the data acquisition process to strengthen one’s mathematical model and produce
high quality results. The derivation of the weight and aero tares are justified and then
applied to produce processed data. Coordinate transformations are additionally derived to
analyze the model from the wind or aircraft’s perspective. Lastly, processed experimental
data is non-dimensionalized to analyze intrinsic characteristics of the aircraft in design,
independent of wind tunnel model scale. The results of these experiments are necessary
milestones contributing to the tiltrotor development and integration process on a global
scale.
Ames Research Center
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Fall 2012
Corbin Graham
University of Oklahoma
Oklahoma Space Grant / Education
Associates Program (EAP)
Undergraduate Intern
Mentor: William Warmbrodt
Code: AUA
Aeromechanics Branch
Design and Development of an Educational Outreach Wind
Tunnel with a Tilt Rotor Aircraft Model
Wind tunnels provide crucial data to scientists and engineers. They can also aid in
attracting and retaining students in STEM disciplines. The goal of this project is to
develop a wind tunnel that can be transported easily to locations for STEM outreach and
spark interest in students. The first step in this project is to design a functional wind
tunnel using calculations and developing a 3-D model using the Rhinoceros software
program.. The next steps include obtaining the correct parts and equipment to construct
the wind tunnel. A small-tilt rotor aircraft will also be designed and placed inside the
wind tunnel for visual aid. The small-scale tilt rotor will be designed in Rhinoceros and
certain parts will be printed on the Dimension Elite 3-D printer. The small-scale tilt rotor
will also be modeled in a computational fluid dynamics software, ROTCFD, and
analyzed before being installed in the Outreach Wind Tunnel. Lastly a measurement
system will be implemented in the tunnel to measure air speed and pressure in the wind
tunnel test section to quantify results and processes.
Ames Research Center
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Fall 2012
Michael Lee, Kean University
Undergraduate Student Research Program
(USRP)
Undergraduate Intern Mentor: Brad Bebout
Code: SSX
Exobiology
Lyophilization as a Means of Preserving Microorganisms
for Satellite Missions
With future manned-spaceflight missions aimed beyond low-Earth orbit (i.e. the moon,
Mars, and asteroids), investigating the effects of cosmic and solar radiation is becoming
increasingly important. Microorganisms such as algae and bacteria are convenient test
subjects for biological research in orbiting spacecraft due to their low weight/cost and
range of metabolic activity. Furthermore, the self-sustaining environmental control and
life support systems required for longer duration manned-missions will likely include
microbial ecosystems as a means of carbon cycling and oxygen production and this
demands a better understanding of the capabilities of these systems’ potential
applications in space exploration. For these reasons, photosynthetic microorganisms are
being suggested for study in nanosatellites and other orbiting missions. This work
investigates lyophilization as a means of maintaining microorganisms in a period of
stasis without the need to store them in extremely cold temperatures. Various methods of
preliminary cryopreservation were attempted combined with different post-lyophilization
protocols in the hopes of identifying a procedure that will reliably maintain organism
viability.
Ames Research Center
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Fall 2012
Jose Ortiz
University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez
Puerto Rico Space Grant Consortium
Undergraduate
Intern
Mentor: Ashley Pete
Be n W. Sim
William Warmbrodt
Code: AUA
Aeromechanics Branch
Design and Analysis of Microphone Stands for the 40-by 80Foot Wind Tunnel
Collecting sound data in the 40- by 80- Foot Wind Tunnel at 260 knots is a task that
interests the U.S. Army and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Military helicopters must be designed and tested to demonstrate low noise and mission
survivability. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has regulated the sound levels
that an aircraft can generate. New aircraft are held to tighter noise standards. The
Acoustic Sound Apparatus (ASA) was originally designed to obtain three-dimensional
data in the wind tunnel, but it can only withstand winds up to 200 knots and was
modified without documentation. A vertical microphone array in a transverse rail is being
designed with some of the ASA parts. The purpose will be to gather noise data in front of
the helicopter rotor without disturbing the flow of the wind. Furthermore, this system is
to be removable for tests that do not require it. ProE/Creo is being used to analyze the
integrity of the microphone stand structure using 300-knot aerodynamic forces to ensure
adequate design.