Want to know not just what makes rockets go up but how to do it optimally? Optimal control theory has become such an important field in aerospace engineering that no graduate student or practicing engineer can afford to be without a working knowledge of it. This is the first book that begins from scratch to teach the reader the basic principles of the calculus of variations, develop the necessary conditions step-by-step, and introduce the elementary computational techniques of optimal cont...

Combining two important and growing areas of applied mathematics—control theory and modeling—this textbook introduces and builds on methods for simulating and tackling concrete problems in a variety of applied sciences.Emphasizing "learning by doing," the authors focus on examples and applications to real-world problems. An elementary presentation of advanced concepts, proofs to introduce new concepts, and carefully presented MATLAB® programs guide the reader through methods in opt...

This book explores topics that are central to the field of spacecraft attitude determination and control. The authors provide rigorous theoretical derivations of significant algorithms accompanied by a generous amount of qualitative discussions of the subject matter. The book documents the development of the important concepts and methods in a manner accessible to practicing engineers, graduate-level engineering students and applied mathematicians. It includes detailed examples from actual...

Written to teach students the nature of transonic flow and its mathematical foundation, this book offers a much-needed introduction to transonic aerodynamics. The authors present a quantitative and qualitative assessment of subsonic, supersonic and transonic flow around bodies in two and three dimensions. The book reviews the governing equations and explores their applications and limitations as employed in modeling and computational fluid dynamics.Some concepts, such as shock and ...

This book presents recent advances in mechatronic and integrated monitoring and management systems with applications to architectural, archaeology survey, construction management and civil engineering. It consists of 16 chapters authored by recognized experts in a variety of fields including dynamics, signal processing, inverse modeling, robotics and automation, in particular, here applied to design and construction of civil structures and architectural survey, monitoring and maintenance o...

Aerodynamic Noise extensively covers the theoretical basis and mathematical modeling of sound, especially the undesirable sounds produced by aircraft. This noise could come from an aircraft’s engine—propellers, fans, combustion chamber, jets—or the vehicle itself—external surfaces—or from sonic booms. The majority of the sound produced is due to the motion of air and its interaction with solid boundaries, and this is the main discussion of the book. With problem sets at the end of each cha...

This book starts by introducing the fundamental concepts of mathematical continuum mechanics for fluids and solids and their coupling. Special attention is given to the derivation of variational formulations for the subproblems describing fluid- and solid-mechanics as well as the coupled fluid-structure interaction problem. Two monolithic formulations for fluid-structure interactions are described in detail: the well-established ALE formulation and the modern Fully Eulerian formulation, wh...

This book focuses on using and implementing Circulation Control (CC) - an active flow control method used to produce increased lift over the traditionally used systems, like flaps, slats, etc. - to design a new type of fixed-wing unmanned aircraft that are endowed with improved aerodynamic efficiency, enhanced endurance, increased useful payload (fuel capacity, battery cells, on-board sensors) during cruise flight, delayed stall, and reduced runway during takeoff and landing. It presents t...

This book is an up-to-date compendium on spacecraft attitude and orbit control (AOC) that offers a systematic and complete treatment of the subject with the aim of imparting the theoretical and practical knowledge that is required by designers, engineers, and researchers. After an introduction on the kinematics of the flexible and agile space vehicles, the modern architecture and functions of an AOC system are described and the main AOC modes reviewed with possible design solutions and exa...

The next pages will discuss rocket science. But don't worry, we extracted the juice of the topic to deliver it to you in the most age-appropriate way. The use of a picture book to discuss the complex truths of physics will help create a unique learning experience. Reading can be personalized as well because there is no demand to finish the book in an x amount of time.

This book provides an essential overview of the authors’ work in the field of cable-suspended parallel robots, focusing on innovative design, mechanics, control, development and applications. It presents and analyzes several typical mechanical architectures of cable-suspended parallel robots in practical applications, including the feed cable-suspended structure for super antennae, hybrid-driven-based cable-suspended parallel robots, and cooperative cable parallel manipulators for multiple...

This text is a thorough treatment of the rapidly growing area of aerial manipulation. It details all the design steps required for the modeling and control of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) equipped with robotic manipulators. Starting with the physical basics of rigid-body kinematics, the book gives an in-depth presentation of local and global coordinates, together with the representation of orientation and motion in fixed- and moving-coordinate systems. Coverage of the kinematics and dyna...