AIAA Aerospace Research Symposium

The Sydney Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA) proudly presents the…

AEROSPACE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

Date: Tuesday 13 November 2012
Time: 6:00pm till 7:30pm
Location: Engineering Lecture Theatre, Building #32, Faulty of Engineering, Off North Road, Australian National University, Canberra

Join us for the annual AIAA Aerospace Research Symposium and find out about the latest aerospace research being undertaken in Canberra. Three postgraduate students will give a short presentation about their research projects followed by a time for questions. This event is proudly supported by the Australian National University’s Research School of Engineering.

FREE pizza and soft drink will be served following the presentations. All are welcome at this free event. Please RSVP by Monday 12 November to aiaa.sydneysection@gmail.com

The presentations will cover the following topics…

A Plasma Micro-Thurster
by Amelia Greig, Australian National University

Target Localisation & Circumnavigation by a UAV Using Bearing Measurement
by Mohammad Deghat, Australian National University

Thermal-Structural Modeling of a Laser Diagnostic System for SCRAMSPACE Hypersonic Flight Test
by Arnab Dasgupta, UNSW Canberra

A brief summary of each presentation is included below. A map with directions to the Engineering Lecture Theatre at the Australian National University can be found at http://campusmap.anu.edu.au/displaymap.asp?grid=ef54.

——————–
A Plasma Micro-Thurster – Amelia Greig, Australian National University
The development of increasingly smaller satellites and spacecraft has in turn developed a need for micro-thrusters that have low mass, volume and power consumption. One such thruster being researched at the Australian National University is a small plasma thruster known as ‘Pocket Rocket’. This presentation will cover the basics of Pocket Rocket’s operation and potential applications.

Target Localisation & Circumnavigation by a UAV Using Bearing Measurement – Mohammad Deghat, Australian National University
A frequently desirable way to accomplish a surveillance mission by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is to monitor a target by circling around it at a prescribed distance. We assume the position of the target is unknown and the UAV can only measure the bearing angle to the target. The aim of this presentation is to propose an algorithm to locate the target and to make the UAV circle around the target. We consider the cases where the target moves slowly and the measurements are noisy.

Thermal-Structural Modeling of a Laser Diagnostic System for SCRAMSPACE Hypersonic Flight Test – Arnab Dasgupta, UNSW Canberra
A Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) system, developed at UNSW Canberra, is to be mounted on the inlet of the SCRAMSPACE hypersonic test flight vehicle, to determine the temperature and velocity of incoming flow. The presentation outlines the numerical and experimental analysis undertaken to determine the structural response of the TDLAS system to intense hypersonic heating via the incoming flow, and establish the flight worthiness of key components of the system. The project represents a real-world validation of a wider thermal-structural analysis of components and sub-systems in hypersonic flow, undertaken as part of my PhD.

For more information about the AIAA Sydney Section visit http://www.aiaasydneysection.org