To validate the control algorithms experimentally, a complete controller for swing-up and balancing has been designed and implemented on the Pendubot, a two-link underactuated robot. The parameters of the Pendubot were ...

A new method is presented for the synthesis of dynamic Green's functions of complex distributed parameter systems from previously known Green's functions of their elemental substructures. The method allows for the incorporation ...

Many interesting problems in spacecraft mission design are hybrid optimal control problems (HOCP) however there are only a small number of successful solutions of such problems in the literature because the problems are ...

The primary goals of this research were to quantify the effects of turbulence on the measurements of five-hole pressure probes (5HP) and to develop a model capable of predicting the response of a 5HP to turbulence. The ...

An efficient and accurate anisotropic closed-section beam theory has been developed for both thin- and thick-walled composite beams. In this theory transverse shear effects, both of the cross-section and of the beam walls, ...

Microgravity conditions pose unique challenges for fluid handling and heat transfer applications. By controlling (curtailing or augmenting) the buoyant and thermocapillary convection, the latter being the dominant convective ...

In the final part of this dissertation, the coupled thermomechanical and propellant surface regression solver is further enhanced through addition of fluid-phase equations for transport of chemical species and temperature. ...

Factors, other than the Damkohler number, that are found to significantly affect the stability of the spinning porous plug burner included the mixture strength and the exit velocity at the burner surface. The range of ...

This thesis addresses the problem of steering a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) along desired 3D spatial paths while meeting stringent relative temporal constraints. A representative example is the challenging ...