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Discipline: Physics
Subcategory: Physics (not Nanoscience)
Nicole Lopez - California State University, San Bernardino
My group is working on optimizing the shape of the wing of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) during flight, using the FiberOptic Sensing System (FOSS). Applying FOSS on a wing of a plane allows us to measure strain in the wings and calculate the lifting load. We are currently using APV-3 as the test plane for our research, and the FOSS system we have applied uses over 2,000 fiber optic strain sensors on both wings. Methods that are currently in use is having a flat plate with FOSS in which we place a load on the wing. With the use of LabVIEW we are able to create a program that will show us where the bending and twist is being applied due to the load. By having these results we will be able to move the load inward toward the root due to it being the strongest point of the wing to reduce the strain. While also being able to determine the bending and the twist for real time shape. We can conclude by moving the load inward we will have a better flight so the wings can stay stronger and wouldn’t be as heavy throughout the flight. By having our flight being successful we were able to collect real time data to determine the shape of the wing. We concluded that the control system moved the flaps during flight to move the load inward. Some future work that we have is to review the flight data that we had and also keeping working on the control system to make it faster and get 100% accurate results. Thanks to NASA Armstrong and my mentor Frank Pena I was able to put my mind to working on the project and making a great effort.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): NASA Space Grant; LSAMP
Faculty Advisor: Fransico Pena,
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