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Lai, Steven H.-Y.

Publications and source records attributed to Lai, Steven H.-Y..

The Center for Aerospace Research: A NASA Center of Excellence at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

This report documents the efforts and outcomes of our research and educational programs at NASA-CORE in NCA&TSU. The goal of the center was to establish a quality aerospace research base and to develop an educational program to increase the participation of minority faculty and students in the areas of aerospace engineering. The major accomplishments of this center in the first year are summarized in terms of three different areas, namely, the center's research programs area, the center's educational programs area, and the center's management area. In the center's research programs area, we focus on developing capabilities needed to support the development of the aerospace plane and high speed civil transportation system technologies. In the educational programs area, we developed an aerospace engineering option program ready for university approval.

Lai, Steven H.-Y.↗

Controls and guidance research

The objectives of the control group are concentrated on research and education. The control problem of the hypersonic space vehicle represents an important and challenging issue in aerospace engineering. The work described in this report is part of our effort in developing advanced control strategies for such a system. In order to achieve the objectives stated in the NASA-CORE proposal, the tasks were divided among the group based upon their educational expertise. Within the educational component we are offering a Linear Systems and Control course for students in electrical and mechanical engineering. Also, we are proposing a new course in Digital Control Systems with a corresponding laboratory.

Homaifar, Abdollah↗

Dynamic characterization, monitoring and control of rotating flexible beam-mass structures via piezo-embedded techniques

A variational principle and a finite element discretization technique were used to derive the dynamic equations for a high speed rotating flexible beam-mass system embedded with piezo-electric materials. The dynamic equation thus obtained allows the development of finite element models which accommodate both the original structural element and the piezoelectric element. The solutions of finite element models provide system dynamics needed to design a sensing system. The characterization of gyroscopic effect and damping capacity of smart rotating devices are addressed. Several simulation examples are presented to validate the analytical solution.

Lai, Steven H.-Y.↗