NASA SBIR 2006 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Michigan Engineering Services, LLC
2890 Carpenter Road, Suite 1900
Ann Arbor, MI 48108-1100
(734) 358-0777

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Geng   Zhang
gengzhang@miengsrv.com
2890 Carpenter Road, Suite 1900
Ann Arbor, MI  48108-1100
(734) 477-5710

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT ( Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
The structural design during the early development of an aircraft focuses on strength, fatigue, corrosion, maintenance, inspection, and manufacturing. Usually the acoustic requirements are met after the design of the fuselage structure has been completed. Ideally the structural-acoustic concerns should enter the design cycle early and they should be considered along with other main design disciplines within a Multi-disciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) environment. The proposing firm is uniquely positioned for developing technology which will bring structural-acoustic simulations early in the airframe design process because of their Energy Finite Element Analysis (EFEA) product for structural-acoustic simulations of large systems, and their development of a general purpose code for Multi-disciplinary Design Optimization under Uncertainty (MDO-U). The proposed Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of including structural-acoustic simulations in early airframe design. An adjoint sensitivity formulation will be implemented in the EFEA for enabling the utilization of the EFEA within a design optimization environment. In a case study a representative airframe structure will be optimized simultaneously for two different disciplines, using common design variables. An impact type of concern (representative of impact applications for rotorcraft and aircraft, and of shock applications for launch vehicle dynamics) and a structural-acoustic performance due to structure-borne and air-borne excitations (representative to aircraft, rotorcraft, and launch vehicle applications) will be considered. The MDO-U and the EFEA codes will be utilized in the case study, which will demonstrate the feasibility and the value of bringing structural-acoustics early in the design cycle.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS ( Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Structural-acoustic concerns are present in aircraft structures, launch vehicles, and spacecraft, since they are directly related with occupant comfort, and noise induced vibration on payloads and electronic equipment. In all of these areas simulations are utilized during design. Currently, structural-acoustic concerns are typically addressed late in the design cycle when the structural configuration has been finalized. Therefore bringing structural acoustic simulations early in the design cycle will offer cost and weight savings. Therefore, the proposed developments will be useful to all NASA groups interested in reducing weight and cost when designing aircraft, launch vehicles, and spacecraft.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS ( Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Structural-acoustic concerns are present in the shipbuilding, the automotive, the military ground vehicle, and heavy construction equipment industries since structural-acoustic performance is directly related with the perceived product quality, acoustic signatures, occupant comfort, and noise regulations. In all of these areas simulations are utilized during design. Currently, structural-acoustic concerns are typically addressed late in the design cycle when the structural configuration has been finalized. Therefore bringing structural acoustic simulations early in the design cycle will offer cost and weight savings. Thus, there is a great market potential for the outcome of this SBIR.

NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING

Aircraft Engines Airframe Composites Launch and Flight Vehicle Metallics Simulation Modeling Environment Software Tools for Distributed Analysis and Simulation Structural Modeling and Tools