Aero Senior Design

2023-2024

2022-2023

2021-2022

2020-2021

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 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

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

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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

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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:

 

·      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.

·      1st Place, "Optimization of Electronic Control Systems", Christopher Gonzalez.

·      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

https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/science-and-technology/csun-team-soars-at-sae-international-aero-design-west-competition/

 

CSUN Today: Engineering and Computer Science Seniors Showcase Their Innovations

https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/science-and-technology/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:

·      1st Place- Poster Presentation, Aero Senior Design: “Performance Study of Low Reynolds Number Eppler 423 Airfoil”, Presented by Isaac Chavez

·      2nd Place- Ten Minute Oral Presentation, Aero Senior Design: “Performance Study of a Lifting Fuselage”, Presented by Lorenzo Quijas and Tahir Quettawala

·      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.pdfLinks to an external site.

 

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

 

aeroLogo.tif

 

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.”

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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