Autonomous Systems and Connectivity

Prof David Flynn

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Prof. David Flynn

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Prof David Flynn and Dr. Yiji Yu

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Prof Colin McInnes

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Prof David Flynn

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Prof George Barakos 

Project Summary (8/11/23)

Glasgow University is a centre of excellence in CFD and in AAA (Aerodynamics, Aeroacoustics, Aeroelasticity) of rotary wings. This project is part of a large international effort to bring the aeroelasticity in the design of helicopter blades. The CFD laboratory of Glasgow has produced the HMB3 solver that is the UK flagship code for rotary wing analysis. The tool can be use for design of rotors accounting for the effects of aeroelasticity and this has so far been demonstrated in an earlier PhD project. We are now looking for a student to continue this work and bring in the design methodology a detailed structural modelling of the blades using finite element and finite volume methods. The project partners include NASA, the US Army, DSTL, and the NRC/CNRS of Canada, provides an ideal career development opportunity for the right candidate.

Earlier work on the topic, can be found at: University of Glasgow - Schools - James Watt School of Engineering - Research - Autonomous Systems and Connectivity - Research themes - Modelling and Simulation - Design of Helicopter Rotor Blades

A successful candidate should have a solid background in CFD, aeroelasticity, dynamics and computer programming.

The project is offered to candidates classified for home fees and includes a stipend and home fees for 3.5 years.

Interested students should email Prof. G. Barakos (george.barakos@glasgow.ac.uk) 

Prof George Barakos and Dr Rene Steijl

Project Summary (8/11/23)

This project aims to explore new ideas in hybrid modelling and simulation of turbulent flows featuring interactions between shocks and boundary layers. The problem is related to what is seen as the last un-resolved problem of classical mechanics (turbulence). At the same time, it has huge practical implications related to the performance of high-speed aircraft and their operational envelop during manoeuvres. A set of challenges are put forward for three different shock wave / boundary layer interactions (SWBLI) and a new concept of modelling turbulence using partial averaging of the Navier-Stokes Equations is to be used. 

The project will be carried out in the CFD laboratory of Glasgow, it is fully funded at EPSRC level (home fees and stipend) and will be supervised by Prof. G. Barakos and Dr R. Steijl. The CFD laboratory of Glasgow is the home to one of the most advanced CFD solvers in the world (Helicopter Multi-Block 3) and has access to a local high-performance computing cluster dedicated to and run by the lab, as well as, access to national and inter-national parallel computers. The project builds on earlier work of the laboratory in turbulence model development and hybrid scale-resolving simulations, and is supported by industry. 

Candidates for this project should have strong background in mathematics, fluid mechanics and computer programming. Knowledge of CFD at the level of method development is also beneficial. 

The project can start between December 2023 and June 2024, and interested students should email Prof. G. Barakos (george.barakos@glasgow.ac.uk) or Dr R. Steijl (rene.steijl@glasgow.ac.uk). 

Prof George Barakos 

Project Summary (8/11/23)

The development of multi-rotor electric powered vehicles brought forward the need to model the acoustics of propellers with high fidelity tools. The eVTOL configurations currently under consideration, are not only producing significant noise, but their noise characteristics change according to their operating environment and conditions, with several acoustic interactions taking place between the radiated noise and their surroundings. The need to model complex multi-rotor vehicles makes the problem harder. The CFD laboratory of Glasgow is the home to one of the most advanced CFD solvers in the world (Helicopter Multi-Block 3) and has access to a local high-performance computing cluster dedicated to and run by the lab, as well as access to national and inter-national parallel computers. The project builds on earlier work of the laboratory, reported at: University of Glasgow - Schools - James Watt School of Engineering - Research - Autonomous Systems and Connectivity - Research themes - Modelling and Simulation - eVTOL Aeroacoustics

  and

 University of Glasgow - Schools - James Watt School of Engineering - Research - Autonomous Systems and Connectivity - Research themes - Modelling and Simulation - Skybus

 A successful candidate should have a solid background in CFD, aeroelasticity, dynamics and computer programming. The project will run in collaboration with the GARTEUR AG26 international effort on eVTOL acoustics, providing the right candidate with a unique opportunity for career development.

Interested students should email Prof. G. Barakos (george.barakos@glasgow.ac.uk) 

Dr Kevin Worrall and Dr Gerardo Aragon Camarasa

Project Summary 

What methods of control offer the required robustness, accuracy, and responsiveness to enable autonomous control of surgical robotic manipulators which meet medical requirements? It is essential to build a control methodology which could allow a robotic agent to execute surgical tasks precisely, with a high level of accuracy and guarantee meeting the safety requirements. Given the current advancements in control, the project with research and compare methodologies based on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and traditional control. In addition, a vision system will be developed to support the controllers developed. The development of a vision-based control system will allow approaches to be researched that could lead to the proper operation and coordination of a robotic agent working along with a group of humans in a surgical setting.   

This PhD project will investigate novel control methods, including traditional and AI-based, to create a reliable robotic platform to execute surgical tasks, dealing with the required level of safety, invasiveness, and quality. The study will take previous work on the subject to improve existing methods or propose new ones.  It aims to engage with recent research studies on the field of autonomous surgical robotics. The project could also support studies on advanced manufacturing and manufacturing in space.

Prof Colin McInnes

Description

Femtosatellites represent low cost platforms which can be deployed singly or in swarms either to enhance the performance of conventional large platforms or to enable entirely new mission applications. Our pcb-based femtosatellite utilises a microcontroller, mems-gyros for attitude sensing and miniature wound magnetorquers for attitude control. While such platforms are extremely limited in terms of power, computing and communications bandwidth, they offer a range of novel applications for space environment sensing, forming sparse antennae and enabling distributed space science missions.

This project will explore how to leverage greater capability from our platform. First, the researcher will investigate top-level applications and assess what commercial off the shelf (COTS) sensors may be suitable for use. These will include mm-scale cameras for visual inspection applications, for example using a small free-flying camera to image the deployment of the solar arrays on a carrier spacecraft for fault diagnosis. Other possibilities include heterogeneous swarms of femtosatellites, each with a sensor configured to image at different wavelengths and mems-magnetometers for distributed field sensing.

Following the assessment of potential sensors, the researcher will then investigate new mission concepts using these sensors. This will be undertaken through simulation, for example modelling the orbit and attitude dynamics of devices for visual inspection applications or distributed sensing.

The researcher will then demonstrate the associated technologies in the laboratory. For example, we envisage combining our prior work on attitude control through the use of a Helmholtz cage with the integration of a camera on our platform to demonstrate visual tracking. By undertaking such laboratory-scale demonstrations we can accelerate the development of our pcb-based femtosatellite along the technology readiness level (TRL) ladder towards in-orbit demonstration.

Dr Richard Green and Dr Hossein Zare-Behtash

Description

Propellers are an important class of propulsion system due to their extremely high efficiency at low flight speed. Impressive understanding of propeller aerodynamics was gained leading up to the 1940s, but propellers have been overlooked for decades with research concentrating upon propulsion systems for higher speed flight. Interest is being revived with a drive towards so-called greener aviation and possibilities afforded by distributed propulsion systems due to electrification. Recent research at Glasgow University into propeller aerodynamics has investigated the inflow to a propeller, and it has been revealed that the flow field has far more interesting features than have been previously supposed. This project is to extend this work by looking at the flow leading into propellers due to installation effects, for example due to the position of a wing or fuselage nearby. The project will use experimental methods in a wind tunnel.

Dr Richard Green and Dr Angela Busse

Description

Shipping, marine structures, and tidal turbines all suffer significant performance degradation due to growth of biological agents. These include algae and plant growth and encrustation by animals such as barnacles. Research work in this field has been conducted at Glasgow using theoretical, computational and experimental approaches, and this research project is to build upon this. Candidate projects include the effect of barnacle encrustation on hydrofoil surfaces for use with tidal turbines, and specifically what is the loss of potential power production due to this? There is limited understanding of the unsteady flow field in the presence of isolated barnacles or clusters of them, and this aspect is expected to be the major thrust of this research effort. Both supervisors have extensive experience in computational and experimental work in this field, and the PhD candidate will be expected to develop computational and experimental methods. Contact either Dr. Angela Busse or Dr Richard Green if you are interested in conducting a research project in this field.

Dr Richard Green and Dr Angela Busse

Description

Fluid dynamic jets and wakes are rich in phenomena of fundamental significance that are fascinating to observe but are a challenge to predict, measure and understand. As such jets and wake flows have formed the basis of many investigations in fluid dynamics that are relevant to flows in nature, for aircraft and other vehicles, civil engineering, meteorology among other fields. Of particular importance are jet and wake flows that break down into powerful vortex structures as a consequence of the development of fluid dynamic instabilities. Experience at Glasgow in this research in this area includes development of rotor wakes, jet configurations and bluff bodies for the study of both fundamental fluid dynamics and applied aerodynamics. The project supervisors have extensive research experience in this field, and use computational, theoretical and experimental approaches. Contact either Dr. Angela Busse or Dr Richard Green if you are interested in conducting a research project in this field.

Dr Mohammad Fotouhi

Description

Polymer matrix composites usage is growing rapidly due to their superior strength, stiffness, lightness and low susceptibility to fatigue and corrosion. There is rapid expansion of composite use in aerospace and other applications, such as wind turbine blades, sporting goods and civil engineering. Recent examples include large civil aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350, high performance cars, such as the McLaren 650S, and civil infrastructure, such as the Mount Pleasant bridge on the M6 motorway. Despite this progress, composite structures will often fail through poor design, where stress concentrations appear around sharp changes in topology e.g. edges, holes, corners, or due to concentrated loads such as impact. In addition, the damage in composite materials is hidden and failure is without any warning and mainly catastrophic. Therefore, designers are forced to apply conservative design approaches which do not fully exploit the properties. For example, maximum allowable design strains can be as low as 0.1% for carbon fibre composites, despite maximum failure strains of up to 2%.

This project intends to explore bio-inspired examples of stress distribution in living organisms and to utilise some of those methodologies in the design of composites structures. These designs can be mimicked due to advances in modelling, characterisation and manufacturing of composites. The project’s vision is to develop a new generation of high-performance and smart composite structures based on nature’s generative design principles to overcome the aforementioned limitations. These bio-inspired algorithm-based composites will improve both safety and design strain limits at the same time, shifting the traditional dilemma between performance and safety. A step change in the design and performance will be achieved compared to current materials, resulting in simple and cheap approaches for optimal design and health monitoring. The outcomes of this project will enable full exploitation of the weight saving benefit in composite structures by overcoming the limitations of traditional conservative designs and avoiding expensive inspections. Such materials will provide greater reliability and safety, together with reduced design and maintenance requirements, and longer service life.

The key research questions: 1. How to produce bio-inspired topologically optimized and smart composite structures to overcome the limitations of current composite structures, i.e. over-engineering and catastrophic failure. 2. How to generate design tools for implementation of these high-performance bio-inspired topologically optimized and smart composite structures?

Established in 1451, the University of Glasgow has been a home to aerospace research for over 80 years, and today our researchers are tackling the multidisciplinary challenges faced by the aerospace industry in the 21st century. We have excellent modelling, simulation and ESA-ESTEC Testing facilities. 

The ideal PhD candidate has a degree in either aerospace, mechanical, materials, or a related area with an excellent research track record. 

Funding and application

For funding opportunities and the application process, please consult: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/engineering/phdopportunities/ 

Contact

For an informal discussion or further information on this project, please contact: mohammad.fotouhi@glasgow.ac.uk

Dr. David Anderson

Description

Accurate subscale models have been used by aircraft designers since the earliest days of flight and continue to inform the design process of new aircraft today. The most common use of accurate models is in wind-tunnel testing, where the objective is to predict aircraft aerodynamic loading and interactions for a range of flight conditions. However, there are limitations to the range of experiments that can be conducted within a wind tunnel, particularly when measuring loads under dynamic vehicle conditions. Unfortunately, understanding such edge cases is critical when developing new high-bandwidth flight controllers, to ensure aircraft safety, efficient operation etc., with problems often only discovered during the final flight-testing programme, leading to very costly delays. Consequently, there is a desire (and significant financial benefit) to be able to identify any stability, control or performance issues earlier in the design process.

This PhD research project will investigate the usefulness of data obtained from conducting subscale flight tests with dynamically scaled aircraft within the context of aircraft design. Overcoming the issues associated with Reynolds number scaling – a significant problem for wind-tunnel experiments will be the primary objective. Specifically, machine learning techniques will be used to extrapolate data collected during subscale flight tests to help validate mathematical models of the full-scale aircraft. This will be accomplished by developing an accurate mathematical simulation that can be configured for both full-scale aircraft and models of differing dynamic scale factor. Model validation at the subscale end will be achieved by fabricating several dynamically scaled aircraft with a common sensor suite and conducting a flight test program for each. To ensure that flight test data for the full-scale aircraft will also be available, the vehicle chosen for this study will be Cranfield Universities new flying laboratory aircraft, the SAAB 340B.

Dr. Angela Busse and Dr. Marco Vezza

Description

Due to their exposure to harsh environments, wind and marine turbines suffer from pitting and fouling during their service resulting in the formation roughness on the turbine blades. Once the surface roughness exceeds the hydraulically smooth limit, it will affect the boundary layer over the surface and result in altered performance of the aero- or hydrofoil, e.g. a reduced lift and an increased drag coefficient.

However, roughness comes in many different forms, e.g. surface fouling will result in a different topography compared to surface pitting or gouging. In addition, the roughness topography of the turbine blade will evolve as the process causing the formation of roughness progresses in time. Finally, the change in the performance will strongly depend on which part of the blade is most strongly affected by roughness built-up, i.e. the distribution of the roughness.

The aim of this project is to systematically investigate the effect of roughness topography and distribution on the performance of an aero- or hydrofoil using a RANS and large-eddy simulations. In the first part of the project, the numerical approach will be validated against existing experimental data. In the next stage of the project, numerical simulations will be performed for a wide range of realistic roughness types and for representative aero- and hydrofoil shapes. In the final part of the project, the influence of roughness shape and distribution on to flow over moving aerofoils, e.g. undergoing a pitching motion, will be investigated. The aim is to develop a comprehensive classification of roughness effects on aerofoils, which will help in developing cost-effective maintenance strategies for off-shore wind turbines.

Dr. Angela Busse and Dr. Manousos Valyrakis

Description

Over 5 million people in the United Kingdom live in regions of elevated risk from extreme hydrologic events such as flooding and storm surges. The December 2015 flooding in North-West England has demonstrated once again the big impact these events have on society. The number of extreme hydrologic events is expected to further increase due to the combined effects of climate change and urbanisation. As weather phenomena intensify, so do the geomorphic processes that are primarily responsible for shaping the Earth’s surface. Such effects can be alleviated by improving the management of rivers and estuaries considering linkages between form and function of the water surface bodies. This however requires a better understanding of the mechanics of sediment transport, so that better numerical tools can be developed to predict these phenomena.
Recent developments have highlighted the role of highly fluctuating turbulent forces on the transport of sediment grains laying on the river bed surface. However, in many established models only a time-averaged representation of the turbulent flow field is considered, failing to take into account the highly intermittent small-scale fluctuations. In addition, the structure of the turbulent flow and the topography of the river bed have a strong influence on sediment transport.

In this project direct numerical simulations will be used to investigate the properties of the instantaneous near-wall turbulent fluctuations in riverbeds and their influence on sediment transport. The numerical results will be compared to experimental measurements and will improve our understanding: a) of flow over different types of bed roughness and b) of flows past flow obstructions of varying structural complexity (e.g. from solid cylinders to flexible-porous vegetation elements).

Dr. Craig White and Dr. Rene Steijl

Description

Vibrational energy, electronic energy, and chemical reactions are an important physical feature of hypersonic flows. The extremely high temperatures found behind shock waves can provide enough energy to activate the vibrational and electronic modes, and allows endothermic reactions, such as dissociation of nitrogen and oxygen, to take place. The level of uncertainty in reaction rates at high temperatures is high because no reliable experimental data is available, but using accepted rates for the occurrence of these reactions is important from an engineering perspective, in order to predict the flow temperature and heat flux to the hypersonic body.

This entirely numerical project will make use of two in-house numerical codes, for both continuum and rarefied gas regimes. A parrticle method will be used for the rarefied conditions at higher altitudes and to inform new models to be implemented in the continuum solver. The continuum solver uses gas-kinetic schemes and is applicable to low levels of rarefaction. Coupling these solvers would be a novel research direction, but some work is first required to bring their physical models into closer alignment.

An anharmonic oscillator model for the vibrational energy states will be implemented in the particle solver for rarefied flows. Such an approach for the vibrational modes will have an influence on the implemented chemical reaction rates. This influence has not previously been documented and will need to be carefully examined. In the foreseen main part of the project, data from the rarefied code’s chemical reactions will be collated and used to propose and implement novel engineering level chemical reaction formulations in the continuum solver that will return results in agreement with the rarefied solver, allowing coupling of the two solvers through a flux and state based scheme.

Dr. David Anderson and Dr. Richard Green

Description

All flight controllers must be designed to stabilise the aircraft against atmospheric turbulence. Effective controller design becomes more difficult for platforms whose aerodynamic surfaces are lightly loaded – a common situation for small Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) – and/or platforms with movable lifting surfaces such as the quadrotor, coaxial helicopter, ornithopter (flapping wing) etc. As the principal operational function of most UAS is airborne surveillance, accurate platform stabilisation is imperative for such systems. Therefore it is essential that accurate, validated models of the effects of atmospheric turbulence on the UAS be available to the flight control systems engineer during the design.

This research project is a continuation of a current investigation into the use of CFD-based simulation methods for predicting the response of small UAVs (quadrotors in this case) to atmospheric gusts typical of those found in an urban environment. Recent outputs from this research have shown that fusing the spatio-temporal turbulence field generated by the CFD models within the MAVERIC simulation environment generates qualitatively correct responses. However, conventional simulation methods alone cannot yield truly accurate models of the combined, interactional aerodynamic effects, for this we need to conduct wind tunnel experiments. Recently, the main wind tunnels in GU have undergone considerable modernisation which now allows experimental investigation of this type to be performed. However, to accurately quantify the response characteristics of small UAVs operating within low Reynolds number environments, an appropriate method for accurately generating statistically relevant turbulence within the wind tunnel will have to be determined and constructed. The turbulence field will be measured and tracked using PIV equipment and the UAV response measured using the balance. Assuming a safe operation mode can be determined, free-flight of the UAV will also be conducted inside the tunnel using motion capture cameras from the MAST lab.

The second phase of research will be to use the experimental data to populate models to assist in the design and analysis of nonlinear predictive controllers for optimal alleviation of atmospheric turbulence. The turbulence models will provide usable feedforward information to improve the efficacy of the predictive flight controllers. It is also hoped that the experiments will provide a database of sufficient scope to be able to ascertain if Kolmolgorov’s turbulence model of atmospheric turbulence is valid for small/micro UAV systems and if not, to propose a new turbulence model for these platforms.

Dr. Euan McGookin

Description

The utilisation of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) has increased dramatically over the last decade and given rise to an associated multi-million pound industry. Initially this was due to the increase in oil exploration and extraction, which have come with the need to dive deeper in the world’s oceans in order to exploit reserves.  As a consequence AUVs have been deployed in deep water areas that are potentially hazardous to human divers. Their crucial functions within the underwater arena have made them invaluable for all underwater applications e.g. subsea survey, pipeline monitoring, pollution detection.

The operation of these vehicles has one main limiting factor: the lifespan of the on board power supply. With conventional AUV designs, propulsion is provided through the propeller based systems. This type of system draws large amounts of power from the battery during operation and the power drain is more severe during low speed manoeuvres where the motor is over used to maintain incremental motions. Consequently the power supply becomes depleted very quickly and the operational capability of the vehicle is greatly impaired. 

One approach to improve the propulsion efficiency of AUVs is to mimic the biological propulsion techniques exhibited by aquatic creatures i.e. tail based swimming. Instead of propeller systems, the AUV would have a biologically inspired or biomimetic propulsion system similar to a fish or aquatic mammal. Such a system would provide the required undulation to generate the unsteady vortex flow field along the body of the vehicle, which in turn produces the propulsive force for manoeuvring the vehicle. This approach has potential benefits over conventional methods including greater propulsive efficiency and increased manoeuvrability thus allowing increased mission duration and operational longevity. Also a biomimetic propulsion system would allow the AUV to operate within areas containing dense marine flora without becoming entangled. Further, the undulation of the tail will not disturb the water and river/sea bed as violently as a rotating propeller. This enables Biomimetic AUVs to operate without disturbing their swimming environment unnecessarily.

Obviously the physical characteristics of the AUV determine its functional capability and the environment it can operate within.  In this project the design of the biomimetic systems shall be based on horizontal fish tail undulation and vertical mammalian propulsion.  The design of both these types of system shall be the focus of this study, where the system will be developed and performance analysed through simulation.

Dr. Euan McGookin and Dr. Matteo Ceriotti

Description

Rovers have been used extensively for the exploration of planets, moons and other celestial bodies. Furthermore, recent scientific discoveries have sparked interest in exploring other planets’ moons such as Saturn’s Titan and Jupiter’s Europa. Naturally the diverse range of environmental conditions that could be encountered during exploration may not be suitable for existing rover systems.

Conventional rover designs have been wheel based for operations on firm ground surfaces and have proved successful in the exploration in this type of environment e.g. Mars. However, these types of rovers are not suitable for more fluidic environments where operation would be within dense gaseous or liquid atmospheres. In such scenarios the rover should have the capability to manoeuvre effectively within such atmospheric media and its design must reflect these operational requirements.

One suitable approach is to base the design of the rover on biological entities that live in similar environments on Earth e.g. fish and aquatic mammals. This would involve the development of a robotic system that was able to replicate the swimming gate of the particular biological species under consideration. In addition, an American university has recently proven that shape-morphing vehicles can be used as means to move both in the air and in the water, adapting to two fluids of very different density.  This approach could be used to morph the rover so that its swimming characteristics adapt to the operational environment.  

This proposed research project will involve the design and analysis of a biologically inspired or biomimetic rover concept, for example based on fish swimming, particularly anguilliform (eels) and sub-carangiform (salmonid). Such robotic systems should be highly robust and capable of adapting to a range of environmental conditions and properties, such as fluid composition, density, and temperature, as these not accurately known beforehand. This is typical of an unknown environment such as an unexplored area of a planet or moon.

Design considerations will include types of environments, materials, propulsion mechanisms, efficiencies and power requirements. These will be evaluated through simulations in MATLAB that have been validated against previous studies involving biomimetic autonomous underwater vehicles. Additional research will optimise the caudal motion to maximise its efficiency and minimise the reactions on the body. Proposed case-studies will involve the exploration of the atmosphere of Europa and Titan.

Dr. Euan McGookin and Dr. Douglas Thomson

Description

Rover systems have been increasingly used for planetary exploration over the last decade with particular success in the missions to Mars. Conventional operation of such planetary rovers has been based on remote guidance. However, future rovers are likely to have more autonomous functionality to improve mission effectiveness and minimise operational reliance on commands from Earth.

Although increasing the autonomy of the planetary rovers would improve operational capability, it does raise concerns about reliability. Therefore, the rover systems have to be designed to be fault free throughout their entire lifespan, which is impossible to achieve.  Alternatively they could be designed to be fault tolerant through health monitoring and appropriate fault recovery strategies. 

The fundamental process of health monitoring involves the detection and isolation of faults. For the autonomous operation of rovers the most important systems are the sensors and the actuators. If any of these crucial systems develop faults the rover would no longer operate correctly. To detect these faults the actual state of the rover is compared with an estimate provided by a suitable mathematical model. If the resulting residual exceeds specified thresholds then a fault is detected. Although this mechanism detects faults, it is difficult to ascertain which particular system is faulty due to the coupled dynamics of the rover. 

The process of automating the recovery of acceptable operation is susceptible to similar ambiguity. If the source of a fault cannot be isolated then it is difficult to determine an appropriate course of action that will compensate for the fault and ensure continued operation of the rover.

Existing methods used to overcome these hurdles require considerable amounts of historical data in order to generate relationships between observed symptoms and associated faults. Unfortunately in the case of planetary rovers the availability of such data is limited. Therefore, these classification methods for symptom/fault mapping would not be effective.

This project proposes that a novel alternative is to use Inverse Simulation to make autonomous rovers fault tolerant. Inverse Simulation uses mathematical models to determine the required inputs to generate predetermined output trajectories. In the context of fault tolerance, Inverse Simulation can be used to detect and isolate faults in sensors and actuators. Also, Inverse Simulation can be used in the recovery process once a fault has been detected. The utilisation of Inverse Simulation in both ways would allow the rover to continue to operate and thus complete its mission.

Dr. Euan McGookin and Dr. Douglas Thomson

Description

Road safety has become a focus for government bodies and the automotive industry in an attempt to reduce fatalities. One way of improving road safety is through in-vehicle training or assistance where the driver is provided with assistive cues that direct their driving in a safe manner.  To implement such assistive technologies there needs to be knowledge of how desired driving trajectories can manifest themselves as inputs to the car.  A novel technique that can generate such a relationship from the dynamics of the vehicle is Inverse Simulation

Inverse Simulation is a method by which the control inputs necessary for a given system to respond in a defined manner can be calculated.  The most common area where this method is applied is in the aerospace field where the pilot control inputs necessary for an aircraft to fly a specific manoeuvre can be calculated based on an inverse structuring of an appropriate mathematical model.  Recent work at the University of Glasgow has demonstrated that the mathematical model can be treated as a module of the Inverse Simulation algorithm allowing its use for various dynamic systems.  Inverse Simulation works by taking such a standard mathematical model and solving it in a conventional form over a discrete time step.  It is an iterative process where step changes in the various controls are applied until the predicted response matches the predefined response.   Its value can be as a predictive tool for design or optimisation, or it can be inherent in the basic control system design. 

For road safety, Inverse Simulation could be used to define an optimum driving corridor that would provide safe and/or efficient utilisation of the vehicle.  This corridor would be a spatial/temporal path for the driver to follow.  The underlying Inverse Simulation would be based on a mathematical model of the vehicle and suspension system dynamics for an estimate of the current road conditions ahead.  The driver would be instructed on the best way to improve their own driving skills and maximise the performance of the car.

The aim of this project will be to develop an appropriate mathematical model of a road vehicle and apply the techniques of Inverse Simulation to it.  The Inverse Simulation will then be used in a number of case studies to demonstrate the capabilities of this method in the design and analysis of systems for road vehicles.  These will include driver assistance systems.

Dr. Rene Steijl and Prof. Kostas Kontis

Description

The design and development of aircraft capable of flying at hypersonic speeds involves many challenges, including complex aerodynamic phenomena, creating an effective propulsion system as well as managing the thermal environment created at high speeds and the associated challenges to the thermal protection system, structure and materials.

The proposed research considers designs of the wave-rider type, with a shape optimized for efficient cruise flight. The relatively high aerodynamic efficiency of such configurations, however, is achieved using a sharp wing leading edge, which in high-speed flight creates unacceptable heat transfer rates. Also, the ideal wave-rider shape has no provision for engine installation and aerodynamic control surfaces and its aerodynamic stability is typically too marginal for practical use.

In the proposed research, the latest in-house developed Computational Fluid Dynamics methods will be used to create a realistic wave-rider design, with leading-edge bluntness and suitable tail/fin surfaces for enhanced stability at a range of speeds.

Then, the aerodynamics of the wave-rider vehicle at Mach 7 will be investigated in the high-speed wind tunnel at Glasgow University.  Advanced flow diagnostics will be used to analyse the flow in detail, while the loads on the vehicle will also be measured.

The main aims are to assess the aerodynamic performance and stability of the vehicle with the employed leading edge design and aerodynamic control surfaces. The combined experimental and numerical flow field data will provide detailed insight into the controls-surface effectiveness as well as the heat transfer into the vehicle surface. The results will be used to improve stability and control of improved designs. The project will make contributions to making wave-rider derived designs a more realistic prospect for future aircraft and space launch systems.

Dr. Ian Taylor

Description

The retirement of the Space Shuttle, now over 5 years ago, has focussed attention on the technological hurdles that must be overcome to sustain future access to space. Major economies must be achieved, and the key is the ability to achieve single-stage to orbit (SSTO) with a re-usable launch vehicle. The realisation of SSTO relies heavily on the development of appropriate advanced propulsion systems. Indeed, the Shuttle failed to live up to economic expectations largely because of the incompatibility of its propulsion system with its intended mode of operation. The outstanding technological problems are huge: SSTO engines need to operate efficiently over the whole flight envelope, from take-off to hypersonic speeds, from continuum-gas conditions near the surface to the rarefied gas conditions at the edge of space.

Recent research activity by Dr Ian Taylor on propulsion systems has been focussed on scramjet engines, firstly using high resolution CFD to model the detailed shock structures at inlet and how they influence combustion, and secondly developing low fidelity, modular engine models to optimise engine performance and configuration. This proposal aims to build on this research by investigating hybrid engines that incorporate various engine architectures each optimised for different aspects of the flight envelope.

Hybrid engines are considered to be the most efficient approach for SSTO propulsion systems, with “conventional” gas turbines used for the low-speed and altitude flight, ramjet/scramjets at high speeds and altitudes, and rockets to extend the flight beyond the atmosphere. The research proposed will undertake a detailed numerical (CFD) investigation of the intake and engine-airframe configuration, assessing the effect on combustion at high speeds and on achieving stable engine operation. There will be a particular emphasis on understanding the transitions between the various engine operation modes, as any associated unsteady effects could strongly affect efficient engine operation. Also, the low fidelity model will be enhanced, with new models of the hybrid engine architecture and extended trajectory analysis to allow optimisation the flight envelope, thus identifying the ideal transition point between engine configurations. In both cases, open-source software, already available to Dr Taylor, will be used to undertake the numerical investigations. The deliverables of the research will be enhanced, state-of-the-art suite of numerical models for advance propulsion systems. Additionally, it will deliver a greater understanding of the physical phenomena associated with these systems to enable future solutions to be developed that bring SSTO closer to reality.

Prof. Konstantinos Kontis and Dr. Angela Busse

Description

This project will investigate, both experimentally and numerically, the aerodynamics of road vehicles and rails. Particular focus will be on resolving instantaneous flow field around the chassis and the under-floor flow. This is a challenging project as state-of-the-art modern experimental techniques like high-speed stereo PIV, volumetric PIV, high-speed Background Oriented Schlieren (BOS), Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP) measurements will be employed so that three-dimensional information of the flow could be obtained. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) will also be used to predict the under-floor flow field as well as for validating the experimental data.

The importance of this project is that currently our understanding on vehicles and train aerodynamics is still remained at the level of time-averaged flow field. Only limited studies have been conducted to resolve the instantaneous flow field around vehicles and rails. The information obtained from the instantaneous flow field is particular important for understanding the flow physics of under-floor flow of road vehicles. It is generally believed that the interactions between the rolling wheels and the chassis create significant amount of noise and drag. The interactions also affect the handling quality of a vehicle.

In addition, the unsteady flow generated by the rolling wheels of a vehicle also affects the stability of vehicles which are riding near a heavy vehicle. Understanding the under-floor flow of a vehicle or a train could improve the vehicle design in order to reduce drag (i.e. reduce fuel consumption) and also could improve the handling quality. This in turn will improve road safety which is beneficial to the public.

Prof. Konstantinos Kontis

Description

The design and development of high speed transports include a number of challenging phenomena and interactions: transition, SBLI, plumes, high speed intakes and sonic boom. The proposed research will address a combination of these phenomena using a range of wind tunnel facilities, advanced flow diagnostics and modelling/simulation tools. The effects of turbulence, instabilities and contamination will be assessed. Active and passive flow and flight concepts will be tested. The research feeds directly to the development of future aerospace vehicles and transport concepts.

Prof. Konstantinos Kontis

Description

The project will involve research to study the fundamental flow physics and aerodynamic effectiveness of novel configurations and platforms using low-speed wind tunnels, and advanced flow diagnostics and instrumentation. The investigation will be supported by numerical simulations and theoretical analysis including multi-disciplinary design optimisation and uncertainty quantification techniques. Advanced flow control devices will be employed. The impact of the research will be on the development novel UAVs, HALE, MALE platforms, and will contribute to the design of the next generation of aircrafts.

Prof. Konstantinos Kontis and Prof. Colin McInnes

Description

Mission and trajectory studies will be performed on a variety of SSTO concepts assessing different launching strategies and engine types. Full modelling and simulation of the launcher will be performed assessing its flying quality characteristics over the entire flight domain. Altitude, Mach number, and angle of attach profiles will be investigated. Advanced optimisation techniques will be utilised, and refinement of available aero-database will be conducted.

Prof. Konstantinos Kontis and Dr. Craig White

Description

The global objective of this activity is to investigate engine exhaust flows with surfaces at a fundamental level using computational tools and experimentation. An assessment of the scaling phenomena, ambient, vacuum effects and pulsing of flows will performed on a variety of surfaces. The impact of the research programme will be on the development of VSTOL aircrafts, ascending/descending vehicles etc.

Prof. Konstantinos Kontis and Dr. Craig White

Description

Advanced DBD (Dielectric Barrier Discharge) and Nanopulse plasma actuators will be developed to provide better control authority for intakes, ducts, mixers, exhausts and external flows for both low and/or high speed applications. This is a joined experimental and computational campaign that will improve the plasma flow coupling performance. It is part of an on-going international collaboration. The expected impact of the proposal is in the following three areas: 

a. Aerodynamic design and performance assessment of vehicles; 

b. Manipulation of noise characteristics and signature;

c. Combustion.