A New Look At Supersonic Airliners:

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A New Look At Supersonic Airliners COK
Supersonic Junction Narayanan Komerath Professor D
aniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace
Engineering Georgia Institute of
Technology Atlanta, GA 30332, USA komerath_at_gatech.
edu
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Thrust of the Paper

• Eastern hemisphere demographics, economics,
  energy and carbon issues have
• transformed the case for supersonic airliners.
• Next supersonic airliner will use alternative
  fuel with high energy per unit mass.
• Technical goals are achievable.
• COK is central to the case for SST. Business
  case can be built around COK.
• Requests / suggestions for joint projects with
  Indian Business and Policy students.

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INTRODUCTION

• Problem Addressed
• Aerospace systems are extremely complex. As
  systems become more complex and ever more tightly
  integrated, the engineer who must innovate
  solutions faces an ever-increasing plethora of
  disciplines to understand.
• The central problem considered in this paper is
  how to prepare learners to innovate in such an
  environment.
• Context School of Aerospace Engineering with
  700 students BSAE class 150..
• The Comprehension Challenge
• What percentage of the curriculum is
  actually absorbed/understood?
• How much can we improve this?

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Why?

• Rapid change demands swift and confident movement
  across disciplines
• Cross-functional teams require everyone to learn
  quickly
• Extreme complexity and technological diversity of
  aerospace systems
• Breakthrough innovations come from experience in
  turning dreams to reality
• Perspective needed for innovations comes from
  far-away disciplines (breadth)
• but is applied to solve intricate problems in a
  core discipline (depth)

How

• EXTROVERT builds on 12 year experience of the
  Aerospace Digital Library
• collection of resources, expanding and refining
  the resources.
• Intuitive gateway to AE based on conceptual
  design of flight vehicle systems,
• suited to learners at all levels.
• Allow any user to go up to the perspective of
  the general public, and down to
• level of detail needed for RD.
• Detailed sequential course notes, linked across
  disciplines.
• Worked Examples, Concept Development examples,
  Case Studies
• Continuous, modular learning assessment, focused
  on learning.

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Evolution Of The EXTROVERT Idea

• Iterative learning experiments 1994
• Design-centered introduction to aerospace
  engineering, 1997
• Aerospace Digital Library website in sustained
  operation since 1998
• Depth vs. breadth Vertical Streams of Technical
  Content
• Cross-linking vs. Search Engines
• Catering to multiple learning styles, 2002
• Concept development exercises, 2002
• Case studies, 2009
• Learning Fundamentals through Conceptual Design

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PRIOR WORK
1992 94 Learning by Iteration. NSF Leadership
in Laboratory Development award - bring the
essence of practical experience into coursework.
Lessons applied to core aerodynamics
courses. 1997-2000 Learning Fundamentals
through Conceptual Design. Freshmen perform very
well in conceptual design applied to
aircraft. 1998 Design-Centered Portal to
Aerospace Digital Library. Goal make information
from every discipline available from the level of
a high-school through college. 1998 2008
Vertical Streams of Technical Content
Cross-linking Learning Styles. 2002-2005
Experiences with the NASA Institute of Advanced
Concepts 2004 Boeing Welliver Experience.
Imperative for depth of comprehension.
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Concept essays and concept modules provide
succinct introductions to vertical knowledge
streams.

• CE Examples
• Antenna Design
• Fluid dynamic Drag
• Aerodynamic Lift
• Brayton Cycle Engine
• Vortex Flows

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New Realities

• Core knowledge content is distilled into vertical
  streams in specific disciplines from freshman to
  doctorate levels. Low and high speed steady
  aerodynamics, flow diagnostics and control
  techniques, unsteady aerodynamics, jet
  propulsion, rocket and space propulsion, and
  composite materials, dynamics, vehicle
  performance, flight mechanics and controls, high
  temperature gas dynamics, and aeroelasticity.
• 24/7 365 access from anywhere. Includes
• Worked examples on-line.
• Module-based assessment through thought surveys.
• Concept Development assignments in courses and
  research projects.
• Case Studies from history and current projects
• Skills Library
• Realistic, large, open-ended assignments in
  classes, well beyond single course.
• Intense undergrad participation in research
  peer-reviewed publication.

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Combining geometric engine from CAD software with
supersonic wave drag calculation using MatLab
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Concept Development Example Tethered Aerostats
to transmit 200 GHz electric power through lower
atmosphere.
Komerath, Pant and Kar, Journal of Low Power
Electronics, July 2012
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DISCUSSION POINTS

• Resistance to derivations tendency to depend
  on memorized formulae
• Difficulty with order of magnitude estimation
  (sense of the numbers)
• Resistance to going outside minimal syllabus.
• Thought survey questions on tests
• No place to hide.
• Resource glut? Providing access to prior
  materials brings resentment!
• On the other hand
• The top half of the class performs far beyond
  what their predecessors could do.
• Amazement at how much they learned.
• The top 30 get what we are trying to do for
  them
• the core of the future aerospace industry.

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CONCLUSIONS
Rationale, development and usage experience of
new resources to enable innovation in complex
problems crossing several disciplines. 1. A
portal set in conceptual design conveys a quick
and useful perspective, and entry to depth. 2.
Vertical streams of content provide continuity
and integration 3. Concept essays and concept
modules provide succinct introductions. 4.
Advanced concept explorations help learners build
estimation skills. 5. Usage of resources allows
the best to run far out ahead, while improving
all. 6. Highlights major issues in traditional
class practices. 7. Concept development teaches
innovation in the face of large uncertainty.
Advanced concept development experience and
iterative experience in course formative
evaluations, teach students to conduct
order-of-magnitude estimates to bolster their
problem-solving approaches. 9. A return to
rigorous fundamentals is consistent with
experiential learning. 10. The new capabilities
call for a re-examination of the traditional
assumptions about course structure and
performance assessment.
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SUMMARY OF OBSERVATIONS
Use of skill tools Intrinsic ability (when
pushed) Applying theory learned in
classes Capturing essence of logic methods Using
analysis to develop bounds
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work is funded by NASA under the
Cross-Disciplinary Innovation initiative. Mr.
Tony Springer is the Technical Monitor.
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cross-disciplinary learning

• Adapting to evolving technology, knowledge
  resources project needs
• Breadth vs. depth
• Different learning styles critical to
  motivation,
• Innovations from all quarters, require depth and
  breadth to understand and refine.

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SUCCESSES AND ISSUES ENCOUNTERED

• Target is depth of understanding and breadth of
  capabilities encounters stiff
• resistance from experienced students who know
  what should be taught.
• - freshmen complained about intense calculations
  and learning in 1st 6 weeks of
• conceptual design assignment (short-range
  airliner), but then repeated those calculations
  in 1 week (LH2 fuelled short-range airliner) and
  then did the essential parts of the design as one
  of six questions on a 3-hour final.
• Seniors in AE3021 had a good deal of trouble with
  the small conceptual design
• part preceding supersonic airplane drag
  calculation. Concept of developing a
• figure of merit for a given design from the
  ideal, was missed by most.
• Graduate students in AE6020 (transonic and
  hypersonic aerodynamics) were in
• deep trouble as the availability of assumed
  undergraduate knowledge and examples made
  thought questions fair game on closed book
  tests several then did extremely well on
  take-home open-ended, integrative final exam.
  Some still did not get the idea that one was
  expected to deliver well-thought-out quantitative
  answers, not just suggestions.

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Cross-disciplinary Project Examples

• Liquid hydrogen supersonic transport concept
  development, including demographics, economics,
  carbon market issues.
• Space Power Grid approach to Space Solar Power.
• Micro Renewable Energy Systems courses and
  testbeds.
• Retail Power Beaming
• Microgravity flight tests.
• Force-field Tailoring of objects in reduced
  gravity.

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Course experience

• Introduction to aerospace engineering
• Low speed aerodynamics
• Vehicle Performance
• High speed aerodynamics
• Aeroelasticity
• Graduate high speed aerodynamics
• Graduate Propulsion Design

Assessment Results
1. Formative assessment and evaluation results
from courses. 2. Survey site (http//www.surveymon
key.com) linked into courses. 3. Experience of
student learning styles and preferences through
discussion fora set up in course management
websites. 4. Initial learning styles survey of
students in different courses. 5. Formative
survey modules in 3 courses. Being technical in
nature, students (should) have somewhat strong
motivation to answer these. 6. Focus Groups in 4
classes
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Focus Group Results

• Course notes from the instructor were the most
  heavily used
• Textbook,
• Student notes from class,
• Exams from previous semesters
• Working with friends, and
• Examples obtained from the Internet.
• Back of the envelope estimates" and "solved
  problems from the ADL/EXTROVERT library rank at
  the bottom.
• Module-based surveys have become excellent
  resources as knowledge integrators

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work is funded under the NASA Innovation in
Aerospace Instruction Initiative. Mr. Tony
Springer is the Technical Monitor.
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Discussion
Resource Usage Aerospace Digital Library
resources first iteration used in the classroom
in Fall 2010 alumni and others who need quick,
accurate guidance Design Build Fly team
usage Undergraduate Research Tools eBooks Concept
Exploration LH2 SST Supersonic drag
estimation Missile Defence System Aerostat
Design Space Power Grid Retail Power Beaming
eBooks
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Learning styles
What types of resources are you most likely to
FIRST TRY, when you are trying to learn a subject
(for instance, as you prepare to do an assignment
for an engineering class?)
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Is technological change really more rapid today
than, say, in 1940 or 1960? Are todays engineers
able to deal with concept innovation better?
Aerospace engineering requires depth of
understanding. Engineering curricula are
designed on the reasoning that a firm foundation
in basic disciplines gives the graduate a
lifetime to gain breadth. The intense,
demanding and rigorous college experience also
instills confidence and persistence to approach
tough problems. Traditional curriculum with
linear course sequences coming together in
senior-year capstone design experiences, was
appropriate for Cold War era, large-company
recruiting that emphasized corporate training
after school. Small-team requires better
comprehension levels, experience and perspective
through research participation and other learning
by iteration. Depth and breadth compete for
shrinking learning time.
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• Project Objectives
• Build resources for problem-solving across
  disciplines to develop new concepts.
• Acquire experience on how engineers perform in
  such learning.
• Approach
• Enable learners to gain confidence with the
  process of solving problems,
• starting with their own preferred learning
  styles.
• Ideas being implemented include
• Design-centered portal to aerospace engineering
• Vertical streams of technical content
• Case Studies
• Library of solved problems
• Integrative concept modules
• Module-based assessment to measure learning in
  time to improve it.

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