Abstract: A method for forming composite parts includes loading an uncured composite material into a middle cavity of a chamber between an upper membrane and a lower membrane, wherein a lower cavity is defined below the lower membrane, and wherein an upper cavity is defined above the upper membrane, wherein a forming tool is disposed within the upper cavity. A vacuum is applied to the upper cavity, the middle cavity, and the lower cavity to remove at least a portion of gas entrapped within the uncured composite material. The vacuum is released from the upper cavity and the lower cavity, and the chamber is heated to a forming temperature of the uncured composite material. Pressure is controlled in the upper cavity and the lower cavity to form the heated composite material, wherein a greater pressure is applied to the lower cavity than to the upper cavity such that a pressure differential between the lower cavity and the upper cavity causes the heated composite material to form around the forming tool.

Abstract: There is provided a tensioned tooling assembly for a thermoplastic composite stamp forming process. The tensioned tooling assembly includes a bottom tool having a bottom tool outer flange with a bottom end, a bottom tool outer radius, and a bottom tool outer curved surface. The bottom tool includes a plurality of tensioning protruding portions spaced apart on, and outwardly extending from, the bottom tool outer curved surface. Each tensioning protruding portion defines an angle formed from the bottom tool outer radius to the bottom end. The tensioned tooling assembly further includes a top tool having a top tool outer flange with a bottom end, a top tool outer radius, and a top tool outer curved surface. The top tool includes a plurality of corresponding portions formed in, and spaced apart on, the top tool outer curved surface, the plurality of corresponding portions corresponding to the plurality of tensioning protruding portions.

Abstract: A reverse countersink cutting assembly includes a countersink cutting head, a depth stop sleeve and a fastener. The countersink cutting head includes a cutter distal portion, a cutting portion and a cutter proximal portion axially spaced along a longitudinal axis. The cutting portion defines a countersink cutting range. The depth stop sleeve includes a central cavity that coaxially receives the cutter proximal portion of the countersink cutting head. The depth stop sleeve also includes one or more projections that extend coaxially along the longitudinal axis to a predetermined point within the countersink cutting range to define a depth of cut for the reverse countersink cutting assembly. The fastener retains the depth stop sleeve on the countersink cutting head. A reverse countersinking assembly includes a pull shank assembly and the reverse countersink cutting assembly. A method for reverse countersinking a through hole in a workpiece is also disclosed.

Abstract: Method and system for reducing a temperature differential across a flight vehicle. The system includes an exterior of the flight vehicle. The exterior of the flight vehicle includes a first exterior panel being at a first initial temperature and a second exterior panel being at a second initial temperature to define an initial temperature differential. A fluid loop, containing a working fluid, is coupled to the first exterior panel and the second exterior panel such that heat is transferred from the first exterior panel to the working fluid to decrease the first initial temperature of the first exterior panel to a first altered temperature, and to heat the working fluid. The heated working fluid is circulated from the first exterior panel and used to heat the second exterior panel to a second altered temperature greater than the second initial temperature.

Abstract: A system, a method, a device, and an apparatus include a control unit configured to determine contact resistance of one or more electrical contacts of one or more circuits by, at least in part, applying a test current to the one or more circuits, cycling a connection in relation to the one or more circuits a predetermined number of times, and determining steady behavior of the one or more circuits in response to a measurement for each cycle remaining within a predetermined threshold of a first measurement.

Abstract: A method includes flowing gas within a chamber for first process parameters at a predetermined point in a laser focal plane and simulating the step of flowing gas within the chamber based on the value of the flow characteristic of the gas at the predetermined point in the laser focal plane so that a value of a simulated-flow characteristic of the gas at a predetermined point away from the laser focal plane is identified. The method comprises comparing the value of the simulated-flow characteristic of gas at the predetermined point away from the laser focal plane to a desired value of the simulated-flow characteristic and flowing gas within the chamber for second differing process parameters, when the value of the simulated-flow characteristic of the gas at the predetermined point away from the laser focal plane differs from the desired value of the simulated-flow characteristic is outside a predetermined range.

Abstract: Systems and methods additively manufacturing an object by applying heat to a first plurality of metallic particles in a powder bed using a first heat source, wherein the first heat source is one of multiple heat sources configured into an array, and the first heat source generates a first melt pool. Heat is simultaneously applied to a second plurality of metallic particles in the powder bed using a second heat source of the multiple heat sources in the array to generate a second melt pool. The first plurality of metallic particles are separated from the second plurality of metallic particles by a distance, wherein the distance and an amount of heat from each heat source is controlled to generate a combined melt pool that is larger in size and encompasses the first and second melt pools. The combined melt pool is allowed to solidify to form the object.

Abstract: A heatsink, a method of manufacturing the heatsink, and an induction welding apparatus including the heatsink. The heatsink includes a carrier sheet and a plurality of tiles. The carrier sheet comprises an electrically non-conductive material and has a contoured profile. The plurality of tiles comprises a thermally conductive and electrically non-conductive material. Each tile of the plurality of tiles has a bonding surface bonded to the carrier sheet and a contact surface opposite the bonding surface. The contact surface is configured to contact a structure to be induction welded.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed. An example locking assembly for an arresting hook system includes a track coupled to a frame of an aircraft. The track includes a forward end and an aft end opposite the forward end. The track includes a first lock positioned at the forward end and a second lock positioned at the aft end. The locking assembly includes a guide coupled to a hook shank of the arresting hook system. The guide is to move along at least a portion of the track, engage the first lock when the hook shank is in a stowed position, and bypass the second lock as the hook shank moves from the stowed position to a deployed position.

Abstract: A system and method include a hydraulic system onboard an aircraft, a first temperature sensor, a second temperature sensor, and a controller. The first temperature sensor measures a first temperature of hydraulic fluid upstream of an inlet of a pump of the hydraulic system. The second temperature sensor measures a second temperature of the hydraulic fluid within a cooling flow stream downstream of an outlet of the pump. The controller determines a value of a temperature rise of the hydraulic fluid across the pump as a difference between the first temperature and the second temperature, and obtains an expected range for the temperature rise across the pump based on a speed of the pump. In response to the value of the temperature rise being outside of the expected range, the controller generates a maintenance message for communication off-board the aircraft, indicating the pump is degraded.

Abstract: A device which is attachable to a fastener stack, the device comprising: an attachment element made of shape memory material; and a cap comprising a base having an aperture and a shell having an interior space in fluid communication with the opening, wherein the base supports the shell and is coupled to the attachment element.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed to improve fluid flow simulations. An example apparatus includes a property identifier to, prior to execution of the computer-based model, identify donors and recipients representative of one or more model regions of the computer-based model to simulate for a plurality of time steps including a first time step and a second time step, the donors having donor properties, in response to computing a flow field for the first time step of the computer-based model, a property extractor to extract the donor properties from extraction surfaces of the donors, and a property assignor to assign the donor properties to boundary surfaces of respective ones of the recipients, and a flow field generator to generate an output flow field for the second time step based on the recipients having the assigned donor properties.

Abstract: Antenna elements are disclosed herein that include a metallic square ring patch and a metallic square ring slot to transmit or receive radio frequency (RF) signals. The disclosed antenna elements use several dielectric layers that are separated by two low-dielectric foam layers. The square ring patch is located above an upper foam layer, and a square ring slot is located between the upper foam layer and a bottom foam layer. Electrical feed lines are used to either supply electrical power to the antenna elements cells or output RF signals that are received by the square ring patch. The disclosed antenna elements may be arranged together in an antenna array that is tunable to collectively generate or receive RF signals.

Abstract: A method for detecting defects includes steps of: (1) calculating an average value for intensity of CT image voxels in a neighborhood; (2) calculating a difference value for the intensity of the voxels in the neighborhood; (3) calculating a standard deviation for the intensity of the voxels in the neighborhood; (4) calculating a z-score for each one of the voxels; (5) identifying a cluster of neighboring ones of the voxels; (6) determining a cluster-boundary parameter of the cluster; and (7) classifying the cluster as a defect when the cluster-boundary parameter of the cluster is above a parameter threshold.

Abstract: A stress sensor is provided, including a substrate and a bridge circuit disposed thereon. The bridge circuit is coupled between an output node and a ground node. The bridge circuit includes a first and second branch, the first branch having a first resistor coupled to a tunable resistor at a first intermediate node. The second branch has a second resistor coupled to a variable reference resistor of value Rref at a second intermediate node, wherein the variable reference resistor is configured to sweep through a plurality of discrete values Rref. The bridge circuit also includes an amplifier having a positive input terminal coupled to the first intermediate node and a negative input terminal coupled to the second intermediate node. The amplifier is configured to generate a digital voltage output at the output node as a function of the mechanical stress applied to the substrate and of the value Rref.

Abstract: A system and a method for securing a panel insert to a panel include a main housing, a heater within the main housing, a coupling rod extending from the main housing, and a clamp assembly coupled to the coupling rod. The clamp assembly is configured to clamp the panel insert to the panel. The heater is configured to cure an adhesive applied to the panel insert to bond the panel insert to the panel.

Abstract: Arranging computational sub-tasks in a hybrid-computing environment is provided. The method comprises receiving input of a number of nodes, wherein each node represents a computational sub-task, and wherein the nodes are grouped into different sets according to differing computing resources used by the nodes. A computational objective is also received as well as initial data inputs and desired final outputs. A directed graph network is generated comprising the nodes and directed edges connecting the nodes. An optimization problem is then solved to determine a best path through the directed graph network for deriving the desired final outputs from the initial data inputs according to the computational objective. The best path comprises a subset of nodes and directed edges within the directed graph network. The best path to achieve the computational objective and estimated computational resources required for the best path are output to a user.

Abstract: Automated real-time aerial change assessment of targets is provided. An aerial image of a target area is recorded during a flyover and a target detected in the aerial image. A sequence of images of the target area are recorded during a subsequent flyover. The system determines a target detection probability according to confidence scores of the sequence of images and determines a change status of the target. Responsive to a target change, a percentage of change is determined according to image feature matching between first aerial image and each of the images from the second flyover. Target detection probability and percentage of change are combined as statistically independent events to determine a probability of change. The probability of change and percentage of change for each image in the sequence is output in real-time, and final change assessment is output when the aircraft exits the target area.

Abstract: A pilot seat assembly includes a track, a support base, a seat pan, and a seat. The track is mounted on a floor of a vehicle and defines a travel path from a forward end of the track to an aft end of the track. The support base is coupled to the track and is selectively moveable along the travel path. The seat pan is mounted to the support base and is selectively movable in an outboard direction and an inboard direction relative to the support base. The seat is mounted on the seat pan such that the seat pan is between the seat and the support base. A seat back section of the seat is selectively reclinable relative to a seat bottom section of the seat to transition the pilot seat assembly between a control position and a rest position.

Abstract: A landing gear assembly for rotorcraft includes a shock absorber, a ground support assembly and an airframe linkage assembly. The shock absorber includes a force sensor to detect a pressure of an incompressible fluid within the shock absorber and a temperature sensor to detect a temperature of the fluid. The ground support assembly is linked to the shock absorber and includes an axle and a ground contact element movable in relation to the axle. The linkage assembly is linked to the shock absorber and/or the ground support assembly and includes a position sensor to detect movement of the axle between compressed and uncompressed conditions of the shock absorber. Various rotorcraft include one, two, three or more landing gear assemblies and an attitude control system. Various rotorcraft methods process sensor signals from one, two, three or more landing gear assemblies at the attitude control system to provide various rotorcraft functions.