A comprehensive survey on the methods of angle of attack measurement and estimation in UAVs

Angle of Attack (AOA) is a crucial parameter which directly affects the aerodynamic forces of an aircraft. The measurement of AOA is required to ensure a safe flight within its designed flight envelop. This paper intends to summarise a comprehensive survey on the measurement techniques and estimation methods for AOA, specifically in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) applications. In the case of UAVs, weight constraint plays a major role as far as sensor suites are concerned. This results in selecting a suitable estimation method to extract AOA using the available data from the autopilot. The most feasible and widely employed AOA measurement technique is by using the Multi-Hole Probes (MHPs). The MHP measures the AOA regarding the pressure variations between the ports. Due to the importance of MHP in AOA measurement, the calibration methods for the MHP are also included in this paper. This paper discusses the AOA measurement using virtual AOA sensors, their importance and the operation.     

Unsteady wakes-secondary flow interactions in a high-lift low-pressure turbine cascade

Detailed experimental measurements were conducted to study the interactions between incoming wakes and endwall secondary flow in a high-lift Low-Pressure Turbine (LPT) cascade. All of the measurements were conducted in both the presence and absence of incoming wakes, and numerical analysis was performed to elucidate the flow mechanism. With increasing Reynolds number, the influence of the incoming wakes on suppressing the secondary flow gradually increased owing to the greater influence of incoming wakes on reducing the negative incidence angle at higher Reynolds numbers, leading to a lower blade loading near the leading edge and suppression of the Pressure Side (PS) leg of the horseshoe vortex. However, the effect of unsteady wakes on suppressing the profile losses gradually became weaker owing to the reduced size of the Suction Side (SS) separation bubble and increased mixing loss in the free-flow region at high Reynolds numbers. Incoming wakes clearly improved the aerodynamic performance of the low-pressure turbine cascade at low Reynolds numbers of 25,000 and 50,000. In contrast, at the high Reynolds number of 100,000, the profile loss at the midspan and mass-averaged total losses downstream of the cascade were higher in the presence of wakes than in the absence of wakes, and the unsteady wakes exerted a negative influence on the aerodynamic performance of the LPT cascade.     

涡轴发动机发展与技术趋势

首先,对美国20世纪70年代以来各时期涡轴发动机发展规划及其性能演变过程进行了梳理,并分析了不同循环类型及循环参数的选择,进行了性能统计分析。然后,介绍了直升机/发动机一体化设计理论的基础与方法。最后本文提出新一代超低排放涡轴发动机的概念,指出降低总耗油量的同时提高功重比,才能实现超低排放。     

RN-FD型固体氡气源的稳定性及应用分析

对测氡仪器进行精确校准是氡测量工作中的重要环节,固体氡气源的稳定性、可靠性在校准中则显得至关重要。本文通过分析RN-FD型固体氡气源对闪烁室K值的稳定性实验结果,认为:RN-FD型固体氡气源标称的浓度值与实际浓度值不一致,标称浓度值只是理论浓度值而不是实际浓度值,需重新刻度才能使用;RN-FD型固体氡气源抽气循环时间不同则浓度不同,但抽气循环时间固定,观测结果比较稳定;对于没有α检查源的台站,RN-FD型固体氡气源可用于氡观测仪器坪区检查。     

SSPS-OMEGA超大型球形聚光器结构拓扑构型与设计

为同时兼顾千米量级尺度空间太阳能电站聚光系统的在轨发射安装难度、光学收集效率、稳定性及结构工艺等多方面的因素，提出采用基于球面正多面体的经纬线划分法模块化构建球形聚光器。该方法不仅可实现基础划分单元分布均匀、规格种类少，降低在轨构建与运载发射难度。而且只要合理控制弧高等分数和基础划分单元的口径就可以同时保证聚光系统的光学收集效率。理论与仿真结果显示，当弧高等分数为24时，该划分法共有25种基础单元件，整个球面被分成5762块。并且此时模块化构建的实际球形聚光器的光学收集效率与理想球面相比基本保持不变，解决了太阳能电站聚光系统设计中存在的关键问题。     

Application of small-size antennas for estimation of angles of arrival of HF signals scattered by ionospheric irregularities

A modification of the Doppler Interferometry Technique is suggested to enable estimating angles of arrival of comparatively broadband HF signals scattered by random irregularities of the ionospheric plasma with the use of small-size weakly directional antennas. The technique is based on the measurements of cross-spectra phases of the probe radiation recorded at least in three spatially separated points. The developed algorithm has been used to investigate the angular and frequency-time characteristics of HF signals propagating at frequencies above the maximum usable one (MUF) for the direct radio path Moscow-Kharkiv. The received signal spectra show presence of three families of spatial components attributed, respectively, to scattering by plasma irregularities near the middle point of the radio path, ground backscatter signals and scattering of the sounding signals by the intense plasma turbulence associated with auroral activations. It has been shown that the regions responsible for the formation of the third family components are located well inside the auroral oval. The drift velocity and direction of the auroral ionosphere plasma have been determined. The obtained estimates are consistent with the classical conception of the ionospheric plasma convection at high latitudes and do not contradict the results of investigations of the auroral ionosphere dynamics using the SuperDARN network.     

一种低轨双星雷达信号无模糊频差估计算法

针对低轨双星组合接收低脉冲重复频率(LPRF)雷达信号的频差(DFO)估计存在模糊的问题，提出一种基于时差差分的频差无模糊高精度估计算法，该算法通过对高精度的时差测量值进行中心差分获得无模糊的频差估值。仿真结果表明，新算法能对PRF低至300 Hz的雷达信号进行无模糊的频差估计，估计精度在信噪比高于15 dB时逼近克拉美劳下界，可有效扩大低轨双星时/频差定位系统对LPRF信号的适用范围。     

基于产业思维的航天发射服务研究

首先从核心驱动出发提出航天发展三阶段第一推动力,从产业要素出发分析航天产业进阶的市场、技术和产业政策三要素。而后从价值链出发研究航天产业产值分布和产业整合策略。最后分析了新兴航天发射服务公司的模式、产品和技术,为我国航天发射服务提供参考。     

Thrusting maneuver control of a small spacecraft via only gimbaled-thruster scheme

The thrust vector control (TVC) scheme is a powerful method in spacecraft attitude control. Since the control of a small spacecraft is being studied here, a solid rocket motor (SRM) should be used instead of a liquid propellant motor. Among the TVC methods, gimbaled-TVC as an efficient method is employed in this paper. The spacecraft structure is composed of a body and a gimbaled-SRM where common attitude control systems such as reaction control system (RCS) and spin-stabilization are not presented. A nonlinear two-body model is considered for the characterization of the gimbaled-thruster spacecraft where, the only control input is provided by a gimbal actuator. The attitude of the spacecraft is affected by a large exogenous disturbance torque which is generated by a thrust vector misalignment from the center of mass (C.M). A linear control law is designed to stabilize the spacecraft attitude while rejecting the mentioned disturbance torque. A semi-analytical formulation of the region of attraction (RoA) is developed to ensure the local stability and fast convergence of the nonlinear closed-loop system. Simulation results of the 3D maneuvers are included to show the applicability of this method for use in a small spacecraft.     

L-band nighttime scintillations at the northern edge of the EIA along 95°E during the ascending half of the solar cycle 24

The characteristics of nighttime ionospheric scintillations measured at the L-band frequency of 1.575 GHz over Dibrugarh (27.5°N, 95°E, MLAT ～ 17°N, 43° dip) during the ascending half of the solar cycle 24 from 2010 to 2014 have been investigated and the results are presented in this paper. The measurement location is within or outside the zone of influence of the equatorial ionization anomaly depending on solar and geomagnetic activity. Maximum scintillation is observed in the equinoxes irrespective of solar activity with clear asymmetry between March and September. The occurrence frequency in the solstices shifts from minimum in the June solstice in low solar activity to a minimum in the December solstice in high solar activity years. A significant positive correlation of occurrence of scintillations in the June solstice with solar activity has been observed. However, earlier reports from the Indian zone (～75°E) indicate negative or no correlation of scintillation in June solstice with solar activity. Scintillations activity/occurrence in solstices indicates a clear positive correlation with Es recorded simultaneously by a collocated Ionosonde. In equinoxes, maximum scintillations occur in the pre-midnight hours while in solstices the occurrence frequency peaks just after sunset. The incidence of strong scintillations (S₄ ≥ 0.4) increases with increase in solar activity. Strong (S₄ ≥ 0.4) ionospheric scintillations accompanied by TEC depletions in the pre-midnight period is attributed to equatorial irregularities whereas the dusk period scintillations are related to the sporadic-E activity. Present results thus indicate that the current location at the northern edge of the EIA behaves as low as well as mid-latitude location.