Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology

About: Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology is a education organization based out in New York, New York, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Gravitational microlensing & Planetary system. The organization has 727 authors who have published 708 publications receiving 14082 citations. The organization is also known as: College of Aeronautics.

A methodology for knowledge management implementation

Abstract: This article describes research work which was directed towards providing the automotive industry with a practical methodology that translates the conceptual ideas of knowledge management (KM) into a working programme with defined objectives, using industry terminology. The research also developed a supporting analysis methodology that enables an effective analysis of the influences on employee activities when creating and sharing valuable corporate knowledge, that spans technical and cultural boundaries. This happens through identifying the factors that impact on defined KM metrics. The analysis identifies the key influencing factors within a working environment. The research benefits are felt when the ground‐level drivers of KM behaviour are improved through links to an appropriate KM strategy. KM strategy may emphasise organisational cultural changes or IT changes or both in an endeavour to improve innovation, reduce business costs and reduce time to market of new products. An industrial case study was undertaken to validate the research.

Simulation of Deployment of a Flexible Solar Array

Abstract: The deployment of a solar array is simulated three-dimensionally using the multibody program SIMPACK. The analyses are performed for 500 real-time seconds, which contain the three deployment phases, (I) jump-out, (II) steering phase and (III) deployed phase. The goal of the simulations is to check the influence of the flexibility of the solar array on the solar generator motions during these three phases against results obtained by a rigid body model simulation. The modelling of flexible bodies is based on the widely used method of floating frame of reference formulation applying global shape functions (Ritz method). The preparation of a proper set of shape functions to represent the flexibility of the yoke and the six solar panels is one of the main objectives of thispaper. For each of the components, eigenmodes and static modes forvarious boundary conditions are computed using the finite elementprogram NASTRAN. For a good convergence of the Ritz approximation with a smallnumber of shape functions, the shape functions are selected usingmodal participation factors, that are computed for various load casesprior to the time simulations. The load cases are obtained, for example,by a rigid body simulation of the deployment phases. The proposed methodof shape function selection using modal participation factors isdemonstrated by examples.

Impact damage in composite aircraft structures-experimental testing and numerical simulation

Abstract: This paper describes a strategy for predicting internal damage in a laminated composite structure, when subjected to low-velocity impact. The aim was to obtain a better understanding of and cure for the notorious reduction in strength of aircraft compression panels when they suffered barely visible impact damage (BVID). A finite element model is presented which incorporates the non-linear behaviour due to gross deformation, interlaminar delamination and in-plane fibre and matrix failure. The strategy is validated by impact tests for a wide range of carbon/epoxy composite structures ranging from small stiff plates to realistic aircraft compression panels. It is demonstrated that the finite element model is capable of predicting impact damage in laminated composite structures and thus could be used as a design tool.

Analysis of the early stage of thermal runaway.

Abstract: It is shown that a variable grouping containing a logarithmic time-dependent factor is required for the development of a coordinate-perturbation expansion which realistically describes the spatially varying thermal-runaway process. The resulting solution is in good agreement with careful numerical computations. It describes a self-focussing temperature growth, the form and behaviour of which are remarkably independent of both the conditions leading to thermal runaway and the topology of the thermal-runaway region. The detailed solution also reveals an underlying structure in the temperature development, in which a strongly supercritical thermal runaway (where the relative effects of conduction are initially small) is found to be very much like a less strongly supercritical, but more highly-developed, thermal runaway. In this development the local rate rate of self-heating accelerates dramatically while, in comparison, the conductive impediment to the temperature growth diminishes towards zero. Attempts to develop a solution using a variable grouping without the logarithmic factor are shown to produce results which are unsuitable for describing inhomogeneous thermal runaway. Some numerically computed results are presented, detailing the Ignition Kernel formed as a result of supercritical thermal runaway in a fixed-temperature symmetric container.