Active Aerothermoelastic Control of Hypersonic Double-wedge Lifting Surface

Designing re-entry space vehicles and high-speed aircraft requires special attention to the nonlinear thermoelastic and aerodynamic instability of their structural components. The thermal effects are important since temperature environment brings dramatic influences on the static and dynamic behaviors of flight structures in supersonic/hypersonic regimes and is likely to cause instability, catastrophic failure and oscillations resulting in structural failure due to fatigue. In order to understand the dynamic behaviors of these ＂hot＂ structures, a double-wedge lifting surface with combining freeplay and cubic structural nonlinearities in both plunging and pitching degrees-of-freedom operating in supersonic/hypersonic flight speed regimes has been analyzed. A third order piston theory aerodynamic is used to estimate the applied nonlinear unsteady aerodynamic loads. Also considered is the loss of torsional stiffness that may be incurred by lifting surfaces subject to axial stresses induced by aerodynamic heating. The aerodynamic heating effects are estimated based on the adiabatic wall temperature due to high speed airstreams. As a recently emerging technology, the active aerothermoelastic control is aimed at providing solutions to a large number of problems involving the aeronautical/aerospace flight vehicle structures. To prevent such damaging phenomena from occurring, an application of linear and nonlinear active control methods on both flutter boundary and post-flutter behavior has been fulfilled. In this paper, modeling issues as well as numerical simulation have been presented and pertinent conclusions outlined. It is evidenced that a serious loss of torsional stiffness may induce the dynamic instability; however active control can be used to expand the flutter boundary and convert unstable limit cycle oscillations （LCO） into the stable LCO and/or to shift the transition between these two states toward higher flight Mach numbers.     

Aeroelastic optimization of an aerobatic aircraft wing structure

This paper aims at presenting an investigation into a minimum weight optimal design and aeroelastic tailoring of an aerobatic aircraft wing structure. Firstly, analytical and FE models were created for the original metallic wing and an improved composite wing box structures. In order to validate the numerical models, predicted vibration parameters of the metallic wing box were compared with the experimental results. Comparison was also made for the predicted stress results between the metallic and the composite wing box structures of different dimensions and laminate layups. Secondly, based on a minimum weight composite wing box model of adequate strength the investigation was focused on the aeroelastic tailoring of the wing box by employing the gradient-based deterministic optimization method. The study demonstrates that in addition to a significant weight saving, up to 30% increase of flutter speed for the composite wing box can be achieved by optimizing the fibre orientations of the wing skin and spar web laminates. The optimized laminates are trimmed and reinforced to meet the manufacture and strength requirements with little compromise of flutter speed and a minor weight penalty.     

Multi-UAV reconnaissance task allocation for heterogeneous targets using an opposition-based genetic algorithm with double-chromosome encoding

This paper presents a novel multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) reconnaissance task allocation model for heterogeneous targets and an effective genetic algorithm to optimize UAVs’ task sequence. Heterogeneous targets are classified into point targets, line targets and area targets according to features of target geometry and sensor’s field of view. Each UAV is regarded as a Dubins vehicle to consider the kinematic constraints. And the objective of task allocation is to minimize the task execution time and UAVs’ total consumptions. Then, multi-UAV reconnaissance task allocation is formulated as an extended Multiple Dubins Travelling Salesmen Problem (MDTSP), where visit paths to the heterogeneous targets must meet specific constraints due to the targets’ feature. As a complex combinatorial optimization problem, the dimensions of MDTSP are further increased due to the heterogeneity of targets. To efficiently solve this computationally expensive problem, the Opposition-based Genetic Algorithm using Double-chromosomes Encoding and Multiple Mutation Operators (OGA-DEMMO) is developed to improve the population variety for enhancing the global exploration capability. The simulation results demonstrate that OGA-DEMMO outperforms the ordinary genetic algorithm, ant colony optimization and random search in terms of optimality of the allocation results, especially for large scale reconnaissance task allocation problems.     

高速水润滑机械密封的两相流热振动现象

处在高速、快速启动、低黏度介质润滑下的低温高速涡轮泵轴端机械密封性能与常规密封的性能发生了显著的变化，主要因素在于高速的振动影响、低黏度介质下的较差润滑性。以水为模拟介质，研究了低黏度介质下高速机械密封的运转性能，特别是气液两相流问题，实验过程中发现了两相流介质诱发的热振动问题，其机理可能在于受压缩有限空间内的流体可压缩性的变化导致。测试结果表明，在水润滑升速工况下，机械密封虽能够保持好的密封性能，但其性能变化规律较为复杂；在接触端面从接触到非接触状态的转变过程以及稳定运转过程中均存在两相流状态，密封端面温升和摩擦力存在明显的低频振荡，温度振荡可达30℃；出现汽化两相流的情况下，理论计算的结果与试验结果在升速时误差可达到50%以上。随着密封闭合力的增加，密封会出现明显的两相流现象，相变引起的温度和摩擦力的振荡可归结为一类流体密封的自激振动现象。     

Nonlinear effects in the correlation of tracks and covariance propagation

Even though there are methods for the nonlinear propagation of the covariance the propagation of the covariance in current operational programs is based on the state transition matrix of the 1st variational equations, thus it is a linear propagation. If the measurement errors are zero mean Gaussian, the orbit errors, statistically represented by the covariance, are Gaussian. When the orbit errors become too large they are no longer Gaussian and not represented by the covariance. One use of the covariance is the association of uncorrelated tracks (UCTs). A UCT is an object tracked by a space surveillance system that does not correlate to another object in the space object data base. For an object to be entered into the data base three or more tracks must be correlated. Associating UCTs is a major challenge for a space surveillance system since every object entered into the space object catalog begins as a UCT. It has been proved that if the orbit errors are Gaussian, the error ellipsoid represented by the covariance is the optimum association volume. When the time between tracks becomes large, hours or even days, the orbit errors can become large and are no longer Gaussian, and this has a negative effect on the association of UCTs. This paper further investigates the nonlinear effects on the accuracy of the covariance for use in correlation. The use of the best coordinate system and the unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) for providing a more accurate covariance are investigated along with assessing how these approaches would result in the ability to correlate tracks that are further separated in time.     

A human language corpus for interstellar message construction

The aim of HuLCC (the human language chorus corpus), is to provide a resource of sufficient size to facilitate inter-language analysis by incorporating languages from all the major language families: for the first time all aspects of typology will be incorporated within a single corpus, adhering to a consistent grammatical classification and granularity, which historically adopt a plethora of disparate schemes. An added feature will be the inclusion of a common text element, which will be translated across all languages, to provide a precise comparable thread for detailed linguistic analysis for translation strategies and a mechanism by which these mappings can be explicitly achieved. Methods developed to solve unambiguous mappings across these languages can then be adopted for any subsequent message authored by the SETI community. Initially, it is planned to provide at least 20,000 words for each chosen language, as this amount of text exceeds the point where randomly generated text can be disambiguated from natural language and is of sufficient size useful for message transmission [1] (Elliot, 2002). This paper details the design of this resource, which ultimately will be made available to SETI upon its completion, and discusses issues ‘core’ to any message construction.     

非对称机动能力多无人机智能协同攻防对抗

协同攻防对抗是未来军用无人机的重要作战场景。针对不同机动能力无人机群体间的攻防对抗问题，建立了多无人机协同攻防演化模型，基于多智能体强化学习理论，研究了多无人机协同攻防的自主决策方法，提出了基于执行-评判（Actor-Critic）算法的集中式评判和分布式执行的算法结构，保证算法稳定收敛的同时，提升执行效率。无人机的评判模块使用全局信息评价决策优劣引导策略学习，而执行时只需要依赖局部感知信息进行自主决策，提高了多机攻防对抗的效能。仿真结果表明，所提的多无人机强化学习方法具备较强的自进化属性，赋予了无人机一定智能，即稳定的自主学习能力，通过不断演化，能自主学习提升协同对抗的决策效能。     

Post mission life plan for FORMOSAT-2

This paper presents the enhancement in mission operations, the mission life state-of-health (SOH) trending analysis, and the post mission life plan of the FORMOSAT-2 (or FS2, Formosa satellite #2, was called ROCSAT-2, or RS2, Republic of China satellite #2, previously) during its five years mission life from 20 May 2004 to 20 May 2009. There are two payloads onboard FS2: a remote sensing instrument (RSI) with nadir ground sampling distance (GSD) of 2 m for panchromatic (PAN) and GSD of 8 m for multi-spectral (MS, 4 bands) as the primary payload, and an imager for sprite and upper atmospheric lightning (ISUAL) as the secondary payload. It was launched on 20 May 2004. The design life is 7 years while the mission life is 5 years. In other words, the end of mission life date of FS2 is 20 May 2009. Generally speaking, FS2 is still at very good condition in its SOH. Post mission life plan for FS2 consists of: the practice of orbit transfer for global coverage and better resolution, the development of gyroless attitude control, and the method for life extension. It is expected that the working life of FS2 can be extended 3–5 years.     

Typing logic contents using Lingua Cosmica

This paper informs how elements of constructive type theory can be used effectively for clarifying textual messages meant for communication with ETI. Within the setting of a suitable environment consisting of declared terms, it is shown how logical contents of texts can be modelled and codified.