NASA SBIR 2008 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) 358-0792

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

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
One of the main attributes contributing to the civil competitiveness of rotorcraft, is the continuously increasing expectations for passenger comfort which is directly related with reduced vibration levels and reduced interior noise levels. Such expectations are amplified in the VIP market where people are used in the acoustic and vibration levels of civil and executive jets. One of the most critical excitations for interior noise in helicopters is the one from the gearbox. Thus, the structure-borne noise path (i.e. excitation propagating from mounting locations through the fuselage structure to the panels of the cabin and to the interior) must be captured in rotorcraft interior noise computations. This proposal addresses the need stated in the solicitation for developing physics based tools that can be used within a multi-disciplinary design-analysis-optimization for computing interior noise in rotorcraft applications. The hybrid FEA method can be used for structure-borne helicopter applications and can be integrated very easily (due to the finite element based model) with models from other disciplines within a multidisciplinary design environment. During the Phase I project the main focus will be in demonstrating the feasibility of the hybrid FEA technology for computing rotorcraft structure-borne interior noise from gearbox excitation. A multi-discipline optimization rotorcraft case study will also be performed for demonstrating how the hybrid FEA facilitates the design of a rotorcraft fuselage based on simultaneous crash landing/passenger safety and structure-borne noise considerations. The new developments will become part of MES' commercial EFEA code and of its implementation within SOL400 of NASTRAN. UTRC will participate in the proposed effort for ensuring relevance of the work to rotorcraft interests and for providing technical consultancy.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Structural-acoustic concerns are present in rotorcraft, aircraft, and launch vehicles, 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-borne paths are difficult to address, particularly in rotorcraft applications due to the nature of the excitation and the physics of the rotorcraft structure. Bringing structure-borne noise simulations within a multidisciplinary design environment will enable the evaluation of advanced concepts and offer cost and weight savings. Therefore, the proposed developments will be useful to all NASA groups interested in reducing weight and cost when designing rotorcraft, aircraft, and launch vehicles.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Structure-borne interior noise 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, occupant comfort, and health regulations. In all of these areas simulations are utilized during design. Therefore enabling structure-borne noise computations and linking them with other simulation models within a multidisciplinary environment 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

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