The Lower Atmosphere Ionosphere Coupling Experiment (LAICE) is a NanoSatellite which will be performing in-situ measurements of neutral and ion densities in the mesosphere, lower thermosphere, and ionosphere and correlating ...

In this thesis, multiple problems concerning the equilibrium and stability properties of thin deformable objects are considered, with particular focus given to the analysis of thin elastic rods. The problems considered can ...

In LiDAR Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), probability distribution approximations of point clouds, such as the Normal Distribution Transform (NDT), can be leveraged for compact map storage and fast lookup. ...

High angle-of-attack flight testing was performed using the UIUC Subscale Sukhoi, which is a 35% scale, 2.6 m (102 in) wingspan Sukhoi 29S electric model aircraft that was developed at the University of Illinois at ...

Very low Reynolds number aerodynamics is a rapidly growing field of interest, especially in regard to the design and development of micro- and nano-air vehicles. In the work culminating in this thesis, force measurement ...

This research focused on the mechanical characterization of individual carbon fibers reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) which were dispersed in the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor. The carbon nanofibers were obtained ...

Lithium ion batteries, a high energy density system, store energy by insertion of Li ions into solid electrodes. Silicon is one of the most promising electrode materials for high performance lithium ion batteries, since ...

Aerodynamic performance of small-scale fixed-wing flight is not well understood, and flight data are needed to gain a better understanding of the aerodynamics of micro air vehicles (MAVs) flying at Reynolds numbers between ...

Lithium-ion batteries are vital energy storage devices due to their high specific energy density, lack of memory effect, and long cycle life. While they are predominantly used in small consumer electronics, new strategies ...