Straightening out the Adoption of Variable Stiffness Composite Laminates in Aerospace Industry

Significant improvements in the mechanical performance of a laminated composite structure can be achieved by spatial variation of the stiffness properties within the laminate. Such a variable stiffness (VS) laminate, typically is created by steering the fibers within the laminae, resulting in an in-plane variation of stacking sequence and thus...

Development of innovative automated solutions for the assembly of multifunctional thermoplastic composite fuselage

In this study, the development of innovative tooling and end-effector systems for the assembly of a multifunctional thermoplastic fuselage is presented. The increasing demand for cleaner and new aircraft requires utilising novel materials and technologies. Advanced thermoplastic composites provide an excellent material option thanks to their...

Durability of Superamphiphobic Polyester Fabrics in Simulated Aerodynamic Icing Conditions

Fabrics treated to repel water, superhydrophobic, and water and oil, superamphiphobic, have numerous industrial and consumer-level benefits. However, the liquid repellency decreases in the course of time. This is largely due to chemical or physical changes of the coating due to prolonged exposure to relatively harsh environments. To develop more...

Agile spacecraft attitude control: An incremental nonlinear dynamic inversion approach

This paper presents an agile and robust spacecraft attitude tracking controller using the recently reformulated incremental nonlinear dynamic inversion (INDI). INDI is a combined model- and sensor-based control approach that only requires a control effectiveness model and measurements of the state and some of its derivatives, making a reduced...

Applications of SPDM in aircraft structural analysis at Embraer

Aircraft structural analysis is a process that involves several engineers working concurrently to analyze in detail all structural elements of an airframe, as well as the behavior of the aircraft structure as a whole. The airframe has to be decomposed in its major components such as fuselage sections, wings and control surfaces to allow the...

Real-time fault-tolerant moving horizon air data estimation for the RECONFIGURE benchmark

This paper proposes a real-time fault-tolerant estimation approach for combined sensor fault diagnosis and air data reconstruction. Due to simultaneous influence of winds and latent faults on monitored sensors, it is challenging to address the tradeoff between robustness to wind disturbances and sensitivity to sensor faults. As opposed to...

Designing for Situation Awareness: the World behind the Glass

In the design of human-machine interfaces and automation, an important question is how to obtain and validate a design that is capable of supporting the operator’s understanding and situation awareness of the process under control. Whereas many research efforts address the question of ‘what is the operator aware of?’ – the awareness – only a few...

Design and optimization method for 3D printed carbon reinforced aircraft components

Recent developments in the field of plastic additive manufacturing have seen the introduction of carbon fibres in printed products. These fibres improve the strength and stiffness of the thermoplastic based components. Two approaches are currently seen, the very short fibre embedded in the printing filament and continuous fibres, where the...