Aero Senior Design
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2023-2024 |
2022-2023 |
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2021-2022 |
2020-2021 |
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2019-2020 |
2018-2019 |
California wildfires are becoming an increasingly pressing issue and the
mobilization of resources can be difficult while fighting wildfires. As such,
it is necessary to develop more options for reducing mobilization time. CSUN
Aero Senior Design students try to develop solutions to this issue by designing
more efficient aircraft and ground vehicle system that autonomously fights
wildfires.
The Aero Senior Design course is a two-semester capstone project at
Mechanical Engineering department to design, manufacture, assemble, and test a
radio controlled airplane. In this project, senior undergraduate students apply
engineering fundamentals, analysis skills, and software to design, manufacture,
and test an innovative remote controlled primary aircraft to deliver and
release humanitarian payloads into a targeted area. In addition to the primary
aircraft, the students design, manufacture, and test a Powered Autonomous
Delivery Aircraft (PADA) and an autonomous Ground Transport Vehicle (GTV). This
three vehicle system models a scaled down firefighting operation.
The project is a hands-on experience emphasizing the importance of
educational values and the technology advances. In this multidisciplinary
project, sub-teams of Aerodynamics, Structure, Avionics, and System &
Integration work together to achieve the project goals. In the first phase of
the project, the emphasis is on the application of engineering fundamentals to
a comprehensive design project utilizing computer-aided design and analysis
tools. In the second phase of the project, the students manufacture, assemble,
and test the designed primary aircraft, PADA, and GTV. The design is then
improved through an iterative process leading to high performance products. In
the final phase, the team participate in various competitions, including
International SAE Aero Design Competition, CSUNPosium,
and Senior Design Project Showcase (SDPS) held by the College of Engineering
and Computer Science.
The Aero Senior Design project provides an opportunity for students from
different departments (Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer
Engineering, and Computer Science) to apply the fundamentals and knowledge they
have acquired during their undergraduate studies. In the Aerodynamics sub-team,
the students employ computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools, semi-empirical
methods, and experimental tests to design the configuration of the primary
aircraft and PADA, while investigating the flow field characteristics,
stability, and control. In Structure sub-team, the structural analysis,
material selection, manufacturing, assembly, integration, and testing are
performed. The Avionics sub-team works on flight control, data acquisition
system, tracking, autonomous flights, computer vision, machine learning, target
detection, and software development. System & Integration sub-team is
responsible for well-organized communications between the sub-teams, risk
analysis, system integration, performance improvement, and addressing the
competition regulations. Throughout the project, the students practice
team-working, systematic design, and time/cost/resource management. During two
semesters of the project, the students present preliminary and critical design
reviews, prepare reports, and participate in the competitions. Similar to
professional engineers in industry, the students design and develop a project
from conceptual design to manufacturing. That provides an opportunity for students
to better understand the fundamentals, apply the knowledge, overcome management
and technical challenges, and develop critical communication skills. Over the
years, the Aero Senior Design project has performed a continuous improvement.
The project helps the Mechanical Engineering department to meet the ABET
accreditation criteria by design and development of a complex engineering
system.
I am glad that Aero Senior Design team could complete and showcase
high-quality works in the past academic years and could achieve several
prestigious awards in International SAE Aero Competition, CSUNPosium,
and CSUN Senior Design Project Showcase (SDPS). We are currently seeking
students from Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and
Computer Science who will meet the prerequisites for the senior design course
for the Fall 2024, and have a strong interest in
joining next year's team. Feel free to reach out to me at
shadi.mahjoob@csun.edu for any questions.
Shadi Mahjoob, PhD
Associate Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department
California State University, Northridge
Email: shadi.mahjoob@csun.edu
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Fall 2024 - Spring 2025
The 2024-25 Aero Senior design team is a diverse
team with 25 students from Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer
Engineering, and Computer Science departments. The team consists of subteams of Aerodynamics, Structure, Avionics, and System
& Integration.
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Fall 2023 - Spring 2024
The 2023-24 Aero Senior
design team was a diverse team with 29 students from Mechanical Engineering,
Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Computer Science departments. The team
designed and manufactured an innovative aircraft with flying wing design
in addition to fully autonomous PADA and GTV and participated in 2024 International SAE Aero Design Competition. The team participated in the
Advanced Class which is the most challenging category in the competition and
received:
· 3rd Place Award for
Technical Presentation
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In addition, the team had a
well participation in 2024 CSUNPosium and presented the engineering
details of the project, receiving a First Place Award in the competition.
The team also participated in Senior Design
Project Showcase held by CSUN College of Engineering in May 2024 and was
awarded as the Top Mechanical Engineering Team for Oral Presentation
(https://w2.csun.edu/engineering-computer-science/college/students/senior-design-project-showcase).
There
were several dedicated students in the team and the team Avionics Lead (Randal Engelhardt) was the selected Top Undergraduate Student of
Mechanical Engineering in May 2024.
Some
team photos:
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Fall 2022 - Spring 2023
2022-23 Aero Senior
Design team designed and manufactured an innovative aircraft with flying wing
design in addition to fully autonomous PADA and GTV. The team participated in 2023
International SAE Aero West Competition:
·
2nd Place Standing for Technical
Presentation
The team participated
in the Advanced Class which is the most challenging category in the
competition. The team also received 2 awards in 2023 CSUNPosium:
·
1st Place, "Aerodynamic analysis of a flying wing aircraft", Raphael
Perez, Sahil Keniya, and
Ivan Ayon
·
1st Place, "Quantification of carbon fiber
interference with radio waves between receiver and transmitter for RC planes in terms of concealment and
percentage of signal loss", Brenda Rios and Daniel Lu
Primary Aircraft, PADA, and GTV
PADA
GTV
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Fall 2021 - Spring 2022
2021-22 Aero Senior
Design team won 2 awards in 2022 International SAE Aero West Competition:
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2nd Place Award for Mission Performance
·
3rd Place Award for Technical Presentation
The team participated
in the Advanced Class which is the most challenging category in the
competition.
In addition, the Aero Senior Design team won two awards in Senior
Design Project Showcase, held by the college of Engineering and Computer
Science on Thursday May 5th (https://www.csun.edu/sites/default/files/SDPS2022Brochure5May22FINAL2-lk.pdf):
College Top Senior Design Project Display (Grand Prize, Award: $1000)
Top Overall Oral Presentation of Mechanical Engineering
Department (Award: $500)
The team also received 3 First Place awards in 2022 CSUNPosium.
·
1st
Place, "Aerodynamic Characteristics of Horizontal and Vertical
Tails", Hamza Abdullah and Erick Navarro-Hernandez.
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1st
Place, "Optimization of Electronic Control Systems", Christopher
Gonzalez.
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1st
Place, "Aerodynamics Analysis of a Powered Autonomous Delivery
Aircraft", Sara Khan and Noe Diaz.
CSUN Today: CSUN Team Soars at SAE
International Aero Design West Competition
CSUN Today: Engineering
and Computer Science Seniors Showcase Their Innovations
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Fall 2020 - Spring 2021
Aero Senior Design
2020-21 team won the First Place in Mechanical Eng. in Senior Design
Project Showcase (SDPS).
The team won 4th Place in
presentation in 2021 International SAE Aero competition (Advanced class).
The students also
received 3
Awards (1st and 2nd places) in 2021 CSUNPosium:
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1st
Place- Poster Presentation, Aero Senior Design: “Performance
Study of Low Reynolds Number Eppler 423
Airfoil”, Presented by Isaac Chavez
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2nd Place- Ten Minute
Oral Presentation, Aero Senior Design: “Performance Study of a
Lifting Fuselage”, Presented by Lorenzo Quijas
and Tahir Quettawala
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2nd Place- Three Minute
Oral Presentation, Aero Senior Design: "FEA Analysis on the Colonist
Delivery Aircraft Hook Mount”, Presented by Calvin Lau
The 2021 SDPS team
presentation can be found in the following links:
https://www.csun.edu/sites/default/files/SDPS_Brochure_7May21_with_video_links.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkjSwmTVtyE
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Fall 2019 - Spring 2020
SAE Aero Competition 2020
CSUN Aero senior design team participated
in SAE International Aero Design East Competition in Lakeland, Florida, March
6-8, 2020. The competition consists of 3 classes and the team participated in
Advance class which is the most challenging class. The SAE Aero Design
competition is to design, manufacture, and test a radio controlled aircraft
that can take off, land, and optimally meet the mission requirements. The
designed primary aircraft in this project is equipped to deliver 14 Habitat
Modules and 7 water bottles along with 3 CDAs each carrying 30 colonists. The
guiding philosophy of the design process centers on mission-specific
requirements. Integration of supply payload and CDAs was a cornerstone of this
philosophy. Closed-form solutions were used to optimize design variables through
iteration.
Details
of competition and regulations can be found in https://www.sae.org/attend/student-events/sae-aero-design-east.
CSUN Senior Design Project
Showcase (SDPS 2020)
The primary goal for CSUN Aeronautics is to safely
deliver the maximum amount of colonist onto the surface of Mars while maximizing
the total days of habitability, based on the Final Flight Score. This aircraft
sacrifices a conventional structure for a payload oriented design driven by the
SAE Aero Competition- Advanced Class mission objectives. Aerodynamics,
structures, avionics, systems and integration, and manufacturing teams worked
together to design an aircraft capable of meeting and exceeding mission
expectations. Design constraints laid out by SAE Aero Design East Advanced
Class include a maximum wingspan of 11 feet, 750 watt power limiter and a
maximum take-off weight of 55 pounds. Final flight score is achieved by
systematically releasing first the payload, consisting of water bottles and
nerf howlers, followed by the autonomous gliders at specific altitudes onto a 50
foot radius target zone. This hands on experience emphasizes the importance of
blending together teamwork, knowledge, and dedication.
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Fall 2018 - Spring 2019
Mission
Statement
“The Red Genesis
mission is to design and optimize an electric aircraft to transport colonists
in autonomous gliders while also dropping food, shelter, and other supplies
within a target area in order to make a terrain habitable.”
Design Philosophy
The
design philosophy seeks to minimize the operating empty weight to ensure the
aircraft can house the static payload, water supply, habitats, and the mounted
Colonist Delivery Craft. The project requires the abilities and concepts
learned from the foundational mechanical engineering program while necessitates
experience working with composites and machining. Autonomous Colonist Delivery
Craft also needs the understanding of GPS guidance systems, programming, and
Mechatronics. The team members must be committed to a strict budget and task
deadlines.
SAE Aero Competition 2019
CSUN
Aero senior design team participated in SAE International Aero Design West
Competition in Van Nuys, CA, April 5-7, 2019. The competition consists of 3
classes and the team participated in Advance class which is the most
challenging class. CSUN Aero team got 4th place in Technical Design
Report and 4th place in Technical Presentation.
Details
of competition and regulations can be found in https://www.sae.org/attend/student-events/sae-aero-design-west/.
2019
SAE Aero Design rules can be found at http://www.saeaerodesign.com/cdsweb/gen/DocumentResources.aspx.
CSUN Senior Design Project
Showcase (SDPS 2019)
Project
Description: The objective of the 2018-2019 CSUN Aero Senior Design Project is
to apply engineering fundamentals, analysis skills, and software to an
extensive design project with an emphasis in aerospace engineering. Some of the
main topics that are addressed in the project are aerodynamics and aircraft
design, aircraft structure, stability, propulsion, and flight systems. In this
multi-disciplinary project, a new remote controlled aircraft is designed and
manufactured to deliver some humanitarian payloads, including water bottles,
nerf howlers, and autonomous gliders, into a targeted area. The aircraft is
designed to fit the design constraints set by the SAE Aero West Advanced Class
Competition, including Maximum 12 ft wingspan, 750
watt power limit for propulsion, and maximum take-off weight of 55 lbs. The
payloads are used to achieve a score by systematically releasing them from
specific altitudes onto targets. It is a hands-on experience emphasizing the
importance of educational values and technology advances. For more info visit:
https://www.csun.edu/sites/default/files/sdps2019.pdf
