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This paper presents a Military Space Plane design concept. While the current military space plane activity is focused on rocket-powered concepts, the concept presented here is powered by a rocket-based combined cycle engine that uses both rocket and air-breathing engine cycles. The design concept is the reference SSTO design concept used in the NASA HRST ANSER study. The reference concept is a derivative of the NASA air-breathing Access to Space study SSTO design concept. The Access to Space air-breathing vehicle's combined cycle engine was replaced by the Aerojet rocket-based combined cycle engine. The orbital performance capability of the reference design concept is presented for 100 n mi., polar, and 225 n mi., 51 deg. orbits. The sensitivity of GTOW to payload and margin is also presented.

The aerospace industry is facing immense challenges due to increased design complexity and higher levels of integration, particularly in the electrification of aircraft. These challenges can easily impact program cost and product time to market. System electrification and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) have become critical issues today. In the context of 3D electromagnetics, EMC electromagnetic compatibility ensures the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) that radiated emissions from various electronic devices, such as avionics or the entire aircraft for that matter, do not interfere with other electronic products onboard the aircraft.

Investigating the impact of Gasoline fuel on diesel engine performance and emission is very important for military heavy- duty combat vehicles. Gasoline has great potential as alternative fuel due to rapid depletion of petroleum reserves and stringent emission legislations, under multi fuel strategy program for military heavy- duty combat vehicle. There is a known torque, horsepower and fuel economy penalty associated with the operation of a diesel engine with Gasoline fuel. On the other hand, experimental studies have suggested that Gasoline fuel has the potential for lowering exhaust emissions, especially NOx, CO, CO2, HC and particulate matter as compared to diesel fuel. Recent emission legislations also restrict the total number of nano particles emitted in addition to particulate matter, which has adverse health impact.

Abstract In the last decades we have witnessed an increasing number of military operations in urban environments. Complex urban operations require high standards of training, equipment, and personnel. Emergency forces on the ground will need specialized vehicles to support them in all parts and levels of this extremely demanding environment including the subterranean and interior of infrastructure. The development of vehicles for this environment has lagged but offers a high payoff. This article describes the method for developing a concept for an urban operations vehicle by characterization of the urban environment, deduction of key issues, evaluation of related prototyping, science fiction story-typing of the requirements for such a vehicle, and comparison with field-proven and scalable solutions. Embedding these thoughts into a comprehensive research and development program provides lines of development, setting the stage for further research.

Abstract Presently, 270 V direct current (DC) systems replace older 28 V DC voltage systems in both the civil and military aviation industry due to the requirement for more electrical power needs on board. Therefore, the existing avionics require retrofitting. The conversion from 270 V to 28 V appears to be quite promising for both old and new systems. This study aims to design an interleaved synchronous modular buck converter topology as a candidate for these requirements. Calculations for the converter design are conducted considering aviation standards. Switching with pulse-width modulation (PWM) is used to control the power converter. A double-loop feedback control system based on voltage and current feedback is designed. Therefore, the buck converter circuit with 1145 W power output is proposed, which supplies a 28 V and 41 A DC output from a 270 V DC input. The concept is verified using simulations and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) experimental results.

This document includes a standard set of management practices that can be used, or espoused, by the OEMs for use during the design and development of electronic systems to mitigate the effects of future Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS). While this document focuses primarily on microelectronic devices, the methods described here may also apply to other commodities.

This course is verified by Probitas as meeting the AS9104/3A requirements for Continuing Professional Development. Project Management and Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) are two critical techniques used in product development in the mobility industry today. This course will bring these techniques together in an easy to understand format that goes beyond the typical concept of constructing timelines and project planning, by exploring not only the Automotive APQP process, but also key aspects of PM processes.

Abstract Autonomy has the potential to make the most radical impact by significantly reducing the number of soldiers in harm’s way and changing the military paradigm. Benefits of autonomy to improve the Army’s mission capabilities and the rapid evolution of military systems exerts pressure to develop these systems quickly. Since the associated technological development is highly fast paced and stochastic, approaches that develop systems for stochastic future scenarios are required. In this article we present a vision for the autonomous high-mobility military systems for that future. We discuss the ramifications of autonomy in five areas: (1) fleet organization, (2) physical attributes of high-mobility military systems, (3) individual behaviors of autonomous assets, (4) interactions between humans and autonomous systems, and (5) operation and teaming strategies. We present the future vision, implications, requirements, and technological challenges for each of the five areas.