Projects and Grants per year
Grants and Contracts Details
Description
NASA Kentucky SPACE Grant Proposal for REU for 2020/2021
University of Kentucky, Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept., SPARK Laboratory
PI: Dan M. Ionel, Ph.D., FIEEE, ECE Professor
REU: Donovin Lewis, BS and USP Electrical Engineering Student
Markov Theory based Optimization of Reliable and Highly Efficient
All-electric Aircrafts
Abstract – Ver. 2020 0514
The proposed undergraduate student research from University of Kentucky (UK) will focus
on the modelling and analysis for reliability optimization of electric aircrafts and other
vehicles with emphasis on integrated energy storage and power electronic converters. The
topics align with the on-going aviation electrification projects within the NASA Aeronautics
Research Mission Directorate (ARMD), Advanced Air Vehicles Program Technology (AAVP),
as well as with other NASA roadmap elements. A novel concept will be introduced for
utilizing Markovian analysis to predict the reliability of interconnected electrical systems to
determine the systems most susceptible to failure to assist in the design of redundant safety
systems to sustain essential functions. A system considered for analysis is an electric aircraft,
the X-57 Maxwell, using publicly and NASA released information regarding system
composition, to determine the configuration of electrical systems most probable to sustain
effective usage in the case of system failure. The proposal also includes an analysis of a
physical solar electric vehicle in the form of the University of Kentucky Solar Car team’s most
recent car whose reliability will also be analyzed via the Markovian model. The effectiveness
of the Markovian model will be evaluated by comparing the failure rates relating the
predicted reliability of the solar car’s electrical systems to the reality revealed through
extensive testing. Computational design studies with simulations concerning the
effectiveness of redundant systems will include the X-57 Maxwell and, for scalability, the UK
Solar Car Team’s Gato VI solar electric vehicle. The undergraduate REU student will be
academically mentored by an experienced professor, as well as by a PhD student with
previous experience working with NASA, will use NASA accessible documentation and
software regarding the X-57 Maxwell all-electric airplane, and employ in the SPARK Lab at
UK similar power electronics and hardware-in-the-loop systems as those employed by the
NASA Glenn Research Center.
Status | Finished |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 9/1/20 → 8/31/21 |
Funding
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Fingerprint
Explore the research topics touched on by this project. These labels are generated based on the underlying awards/grants. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Projects
- 1 Active
-
NASA Kentucky Space Grant Consortium Program 2020-2024
Martin, A. (PI), Renfro, M. (CoI) & Smith, S. (CoI)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
2/4/20 → 2/3/26
Project: Research project