United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

Alexander Pankonien

Ryan Durscher

Joshua Deaton

Gregory W Reich

Benjamin T Dickinson

Jeffrey W Baur

Kaman Thapa Magar

Keith Slinker

Nitin Bhagat

Corey R Kondash

A method and system for measuring strain in a 3D printed part is disclosed herein. The printed part can be formed with internal features that can be analyzed with a digital image correlation system to determine strain levels in internal regions of the part. The features are visually identifiable due to a different color, shape, design or other visually distinguishable characteristics relative to that of the base structural material. The features can be the formed from the same material or a different material from that of the base structure material.

Method and system for measuring strain in a 3D printed part

Additive and subtractive manufacturing (e.g. 3D Printing) is used to form aeroelastic airfoils with control surface region(s) having conventional rib/spar structural topologies and a continuous skin (e.g smooth surface) formed over the entire outer surface of the airfoil. The control surface is moved with internal actuators resulting in a 'morphing' airfoil as the skin stretches to follow the moving structure of the control surface region. The airfoil can include a plurality of different material moduli and geometric featuring to balance the appropriate control of stiffness with topological requirements.

Multi-material printed control surface

Systems and associated methods for utilizing an artificial hair sensor to gather fluid flow data sensed on a surface. The artificial hair sensors are disposed on a surface to acquire flow sensory data in approximately real-time and for a plurality of dynamic flow parameters on the surface. The sensory data is based on a quantity of the artificial hair sensors that can be configured in an array of sensors. A mapping module, such as a neural network, is operatively coupled to the artificial hair sensor array and receives the sensory data acquired by the artificial hair sensors and generates a time-varying signal, which is based on the quantity of dynamic parameters. A real-time representation of the time-varying signal is generated.

System, apparatus and method for predicting aerodynamic parameters using artifical hair sensor array

Growing community of inventors

Fairborn, OH, United States of America

Alexander Pankonien