United States Naval Academy Bowman Scholar Program

Abstracts: Bowman Scholar Research Projects (AY2012) Martin Bennett Midshipman First Class United States Navy Environmentally Assisted Crack Development in 5xxx Series Aluminum Alloy           This project  will be an analysis of environmentally assisted crack development in 7050-T7451 alloy aluminum plate as well as other aluminum alloys relevant to the Navy, to include other 7XXX and 5XXX series aluminums. 7050-T7451 in a thick plate form is a relatively new product configuration used in critical components of the F-35, F-18, V-22, and newer commercial aircraft. FACULTY ADVISER Assistant Professor Joel Schubbe Mechanical Engineering Department Jacob Cavey Midshipman First Class United States Navy Detecting Triaxial Deformation in Rhenium-171      The elementary view of a nucleus where all the protons and neutrons are bundled in a perfect sphere is only correct for a third of all known nuclei.  Experiments have recently found asymmetric mass distributions in several nuclei, including four isotopes of lutetium.  Theory suggests that nuclei with a proton number around 72 and a neutron number near 94 will have three different axes of rotation, which means it has no symmetry; this is known as triaxial deformation.  The goal of this project is to confirm whether rhenium-171 has no axis of symmetry, and to discover the characteristic of triaxial deformation. FACULTY ADVISER Assistant Professor Daryl Hartley Physics Department Warren Fischer Midshipman First Class United States Navy Injection Spray and Diesel Engine Performance Analysis of Alternative Fuels      This project will be to build a diesel injector spray chamber that will simulate the conditions in the cylinder of a diesel engine during fuel injection in order to visualize how different fuel properties will affect the spray.  This chamber will be able to withstand the pressure and temperature characteristic of a diesel engine during fuel injection.   A high-speed camera and Schlieren imaging system will enable details of the spray to be resolved; fuel property changes with candidate fuels can then be connected to observed changes in spray formation.   FACULTY ADVISER Associate Professor Patrick Caton Mechanical Engineering Department Christopher Gear Midshipman First Class United States Navy The Design and Simulation of a Nano-Scale One Way Check Valve as a Momentum Filter       The goal of this project is to design and model a nano-scale one way flow valve. The intent of this device is to promote a unidirectional flow through a valve by limiting flow in one direction. The principles of operation are similar to those of any one way check valve, simply applied to the nano-scale. Such a device would have important repercussions in multiple fields. FACULTY ADVISER Associate Professor Paul Mikulski Physics Department Bryant Giorgi Midshipman First Class United States Navy Research on the Effects of Low Temperature Colossal Supersaturation on the Corrosion Properties of 316L Stainless Steels      This research project will involve standard corrosion testing of higher strength materials in simulated seawater environments, which are often accelerated by either increasing the salinity of the system or inducing current across the materials via electric potential control. The goal of these experiments will be to quantify the improvement (or degradation) of the corrosion performance compared to untreated materials, possibly as a function of critical Low Temperature Colossal Supersaturation (LTCSS) process parameters.  Additional corrosion evaluation will include tests that evaluate the effects of environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) in LTCSS treated metals. FACULTY ADVISERS Associate Professor Michelle Koul and Professor Patrick Moran Mechanical Engineering Department Joseph Girani Midshipman First Class United States Navy Strain Rate Dependency of Metal Matrix Composites      The primary objective of this proposed research project is to investigate the strain-rate dependency of metal matrix composites (MMC).  The information found via this project could prove to be valuable in many areas of study, specifically future research efforts involving the evaluation of high-speed impacts.  Currently, there is little research evidence pertaining to how MCCs behave under high strain-rates.  With the data collected from this project, there will be an improvement in understanding MMC response to such high strain-rates.  Ultimately, this research will lead to enhanced material capabilities and more effective material selection, for a given purpose. FACULTY ADVISERS CDR Lloyd Brown, USN (PMP), Assistant Professor Joshua Radice, and Associate Professor Peter Joyce Mechanical Engineering Department Fredolin Heer Midshipman First Class United States Navy Deep Submergence Small Scale Submarine Model Testing in the 380ft Wave Tank      The goal of my proposed project is to evaluate and establish a rig and procedure for small scale submarine model testing in the USNA 380’ testing basin.  Most of the submarine model resistance testing at USNA by Naval Architecture majors has occurred in the 120’ testing basin. This has several disadvantages: Low Reynold’s numbers and shallow immersion reduce the reliability and accuracy of the data. For example, in Spring of 2007, two midshipmen used the small model in the 120’ tank to evaluate the effect of a sting mount on underwater resistance values. In this respect the project was successful, but the shallow immersion available in the 120’ tank (only 3.6 diameters) resulted in large wave drag values at speeds above 6 fps, and at speeds below 6 fps the team observed significant scatter due to the small magnitude of the forces. The results were compared with large model data from the David Taylor Research Center and deemed to be reasonable, but not optimal. Higher speeds available on the 380’ carriage allow for higher Reynold’s numbers, providing a wider range of good data. Greater immersion available in the larger basin allow for test depth as deep as 10 diameters, which will significantly reduce or eliminate the wave making resistance at high speeds. However, submarine testing in the 380’ tank is very difficult due to the current rig, which is a sting-mount. Earlier research has shown that the sting mount can interfere with the resistance data, and the rig preparation has proven to be extremely inconvenient and man-hour intensive. Members of the NA department believe that the current 380’ submarine testing rig requires too much work for student projects. The purpose of this research project is to create a more convenient rig and procedure using either one or two struts, and to compare the 380’ basin data with the results from the 120’ tank. FACULTY ADVISER Professor Greg White Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering Department David Hoyle Midshipman First Class United States Navy Biometrics Research with Design Applications for Handheld Devices      Current facial and/or voice recognition systems will be examined and the feasibility of implementing them on handheld cellular phones such as the iPhone or Droid will be assessed.  The USNA Biometrics Lab currently has sufficient resources in terms of both hardware and software rights to accomplish this.  Depending on the results of initial research, current facial and/or voice recognition algorithms may be modified for use in handheld devices, or new algorithms may be developed.  This will all be working towards the ultimate goal of learning what types of systems work well in handheld devices and why.  An additional goal is to learn which attributes of facial and/or voice recognition work well for handheld devices.  FACULTY ADVISERS Assistant Professor Ryan Rakvic and Associate Professor Robert Ives Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Mary-Elyse Janowski Midshipman First Class United States Navy   Static and Dynamic Testing of Hybrid Metal-to-Composite Joints      Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials have improved material properties such as high stiffness- and strength-to-weight ratios, corrosion resistance, damage tolerance, and stealth characteristics. Therefore, they are being utilized widely as primary structural members in military and civil applications. Since these materials have insufficient stiffness and ductility compared to traditional metallic materials, they are not typically applied in isolation. There has been great interest in combining metal and composite structures. The U.S. Navy is investigating the feasibility of hybrid combatant hulls with composites and steel providing excellent stiffness, strength, and ductility.  Hybrid joints are most critical and are of major interest to the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Hybrid Composites Survivable Structures Program.  The design of metal-to-composite hybrid joints appears to be one of the biggest structural challenges. Hybrid joints usually have geometry and material discontinuities that can cause stiffness mismatch and local stress concentrations. There can also be shock impedance mismatch caused by the different wave propagation characteristics in the two jointed materials. This proposed research project will be in support of the above ONR program.  Specifically, the integrity of several hybrid steel-to-composite joints under static and dynamic loading will be examined to provide information on how various hybrid joint configurations fail under both static and dynamic loading compared to conventional joints.   FACULTY ADVISER Professor Sarah Mouring Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering Department Anand Jantzen Midshipman First Class United States Navy Design, Simulation and Construction of a DC-DC Converter in the Discontinuous Mode of Operation for the Analysis of Transformer Efficiency at Different Switching Frequencies      The US Navy is in the process of moving towards an Integrated Power System (IPS) for its next generation of vessels utilizing the electric drive system. The IPS approach seeks to consolidate electrical distribution and propulsion by having all prime movers generate electricity only (vice being mechanically coupled to propulsion systems) to a single main bus and then using that electricity to drive electric motors for propulsion and the rest of the ship’s systems.  In order to successfully incorporate the IGPS distribution system aboard a ship, the generated power must be efficiently transmitted and converted into various forms. This research project will probe the design and efficiency of a power converter topology useful for converting from a DC main bus to a low voltage DC zonal bus that provides power to equipment and other ships systems. This research project is highly relevant to the future interests of the Navy, as it deals directly with the problems of converting electrical power aboard U.S. Navy ships and other vessels. FACULTY ADVISER Associate Professor John Ciezki Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Michael Martin Midshipman First Class United States Navy Identifying Special Nuclear Material by Gamma and Neutron Detection      The goal of this research is to be able to develop a model for using an Airborne Radiological Identification and Mapping System (ARDIMS) pod aboard an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) or Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) to detect radiation emissions from highly enriched uranium (HEU) or plutonium being smuggled into a U.S. harbor. The expected conduct of operations would be to have the unmanned vehicle passively scan ships from a standoff distance in such a manner to preserve stealth and not disrupt the flow of ship traffic. If a positive signal is detected, the ship would be subjected to a more invasive inspection. The project will consider the effect of shielding and standoff ranges. By applying statistical analyses, the model will assess the limits of detection for ARDIMS in order to minimize the level of false positive readings.  A false positive reading will be defined as a neutron emission not being read by the ARDIMS or the ARDIMS reading the ship’s signature as a neutron emission. By minimizing the false positive readings of the ARDIMS, the efficiency and effectiveness of the system will be maximized. FACULTY ADVISERS Professor Mark Harper and Professor Martin Nelson Mechanical Engineering Department Kyle Milden Midshipman First Class United States Navy Directed Energy Defense through Fiber Optic Sensors      The use of directed energy weapons against military targets such as Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs), manned aircraft, and missiles is an area of growing interest to governments and militaries around the world. With the spread of directed energy weapons, the need has arisen to research and establish systems that defend against these weapons. In order to defend against these high energy sources, a sensor network must be developed and implemented on the target that is able to detect and process information. Sensing an increase in temperature or strain will provide information about the location of the directed energy strike allowing the target to evade the beam.  One option to achieve this is a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensor array embedded into a composite material sense composite material temperature changes. The focus of this project is to embed FBG sensors in a composite and interrogate them to determine their response in the presence of high energy radiation. FACULTY ADVISERS Associate Professor Brian Jenkins and Associate Professor Deborah Mechtel Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Associate Professor Peter Joyce Mechanical Engineering Department Shane Moran Midshipman First Class United States Navy Adaptive H-infinity Controller Design for Jitter Control and Target Tracking in a Directed Energy Weapon      This project will be a part of a Trident Scholar research project. The Trident project will create a control system for a directed energy weapon that positions an energy beam on a moving target with high precision using a laser mounted on a platform with fast steering mirrors (FSM’s). The goal for this project will be to design, and experimentally implement, an adaptive controller using H∞ methods to control the beam jitter. Controllers designed using H∞ control theories maintain acceptable performance, even when significant uncertainty (in the underlying models) is present. FACULTY ADVISERS Professor Richard O'Brien and CAPT Owen Thorp, USN (PMP) Systems Engineering Department CDR R. Joseph Watkins, USN Mechanical Engineering Department Lindsay Olsen Midshipman First Class United States Navy   The Behavior of Frictional Drag in the Transitionally Rough Regime      This research project will study the “Behavior of Frictional Drag in the Transitionally Rough Regime.”  Since it was developed in 1944, engineers have been using the Moody diagram to determine the friction factor of a surface at a specific Reynolds number.  Recent studies have shown, however, that the Moody diagram is only accurate at very high or very low Reynolds numbers.  The gradual transition from fully smooth to fully rough flow as depicted by the Moody diagram is not accurate, and the actual behavior of frictional drag in this transitionally rough regime is largely unknown.  The goals of my research project are threefold: to determine the onset of roughness effects, to map the roughness function from the transitionally rough to the fully rough regime, and to relate the extent and shape of the transitionally rough regime to appropriate scales based on surface statistics. FACULTY ADVISER Professor Michael Schultz Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering Department Darren Pastrana Midshipman First Class United States Navy Non-Parametric Statistics in Warfare Modeling      In this research, probability techniques and simulation methods will be used to support of Navy campaign analysis.  More specifically, various inputs to a warfare model will be analyzed in order to determine significant sources of variability and to estimate important uncertainty parameters.  Also, the sensitivity of campaign models to random inputs will be examined.  Examples of such inputs include the amount, kind, and expense of fighting forces applied to a given campaign.  We expect that environmental variables will play a major role in campaign analysis as well. FACULTY ADVISER CDR David Ruth, USN (PMP) Mathematics Department Mark Pfender Midshipman First Class United States Navy Improving the Control of UAVs with Haptic Feedback      The future of unmanned aerial vehicles is vast.  Keeping pilots out of harm’s way and performing tasks no human is able to complete alone contributes to their mission’s rapidly expanding tasks.  In some missions, UAVs are sent to explore the unknown depths of buildings from a controlled environment.   When navigating through restricted environments, the amount of information available to a user is limited to that of the sensors on the UAV.  Other scenarios require aerial vehicles to operate across the rugged mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, with no more than camera feed to alert the user of his surroundings. Haptic feedback is one way to send more information to an operator of a UAV. This research proposal is centered on harnessing the power of haptic information to create the best controller for UAVs. This may also include adding a visual element to physical testing, and investigating the effects of time delay errors in flying unmanned aerial vehicles.  FACULTY ADVISER Assistant Professor Sarangi Parikh Weapons and Systems Engineering Department         Joseph Puishys              Midshipman First Class United States Navy Composite Damage Analysis due to Directed Energy Weaponry      The goal of the project is to research directed energy weapons systems and their effect on composite materials used on aerospace composites.  We propose to test the effect of laser impact on aerospace composites while they are under load as would be seen in the field, and to determine how adversely the performance of composites is affected by laser impact.  Better understanding of composites and damage analysis of loaded composites will further the research in this field and greatly benefit future research into developing more resilient materials.  FACULTY ADVISER Associate Professor Peter Joyce Mechanical Engineering Department Katharin Taylor Midshipman First Class United States Navy The Impact of Surface Waves and Turbulence on the Power Production of a Tidal Turbine      The focus this research project will be to test the performance capabilities of a horizontal axis tidal turbine and provide crucial information for its research and development. During the project, scale model tests will be performed on a prototype horizontal axis tidal turbine chosen by the Department of Energy. The project will concentrate on the performance capabilities of the tidal turbine in various real world conditions, including surface waves and upstream flow disturbances. The results are part of a larger testing effort by DOE and will be used in the development of larger scale turbines for significant power production. FACULTY ADVISER Professor Karen Flack Mechanical Engineering Department Molly Timberlake Midshipman First Class United States Navy High Dose Response of the Navy’s DT-702 LiF Thermoluminescent Dosimeter      The measurement of personnel radiation exposure is important to the Navy for reasons of safety and compliance.  In order to ensure an accurate measurement of doses, the Navy provides select individuals onboard nuclear powered submarines and surface ships with a personal DT-702 thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD). The DT-702 is a lithium fluoride (LiF) based TLD that measures mixture radiation fields consisting of photons, beta particles, and neutrons.  When a TLD is exposed to radiation, the chips trap the radiation by placing the dopants in an excited state.  When heat is applied by a TLD reader, light or scintillations are released as the dopants return to their ground state.  This light is captured by a photomultiplier tube (PMT) and is converted into an electric pulse.  The electric pulse is integrated and a dose is assigned based on the collected charge for each chip using an algorithm stored within the reader. This project will measure and analyze the high dose response of the DT-702 TLD.  The importance of this study is twofold:  First, little data currently exists for the DT-702 at high doses, and second, high exposures can cause severe health effects. FACULTY ADVISER Professor Martin Nelson Mechanical Engineering Department  Daniel Watts     Midshipman First Class United States Navy Computer Modeling of the Damage Caused by Neutron Radiation in Metal Alloys      The objective of this Bowman Scholar project is to collect data on and simulate the effects of radiation damage on Inconel 690 and 600, specifically to characterize interstitial defects (Fig. 2) and their migration kinetics in materials that are used in naval nuclear reactors. These calculations are useful for simulating the rate of swelling and embrittlement of materials exposed to neutron radiation.  Experimentally, data on the probability of point-defect creation due to a given level of neutron flux will be studied. The resulting defect density data will be used to model the effects on bulk properties using a simulation package called VASP. Further, we propose to analyze these effects through various orientations of the crystalline structures of the Inconel and try simulations for other materials to test the predictive power of the method. FACULTY ADVISER Assistant Professor Daniel Finkenstadt Physics Department

Revised 21 June 2012 Back to Top