Master of Science (M.S.), University of Dayton, 2011, Electrical Engineering

New additive manufacturing techniques such as Direct Write, combined with the continually decreasing size of electronic components have opened new application areas. One such application is the integration of electronic systems with an aircraft's mechanical structure for the purpose of monitoring structural health and sensing the aerodynamic conditions surrounding the vehicle. Data from such a system could be provided to a flight control system to enable new control algorithms to address conditions such as gust loads or simply to improve fuel efficiency through minute attitude adjustments. This paper investigates structural integration techniques and demonstrates through laboratory experiments that the concept is feasible.

Committee: John G Weber PhD (Advisor); John S Loomis PhD (Committee Member); Ralph Barrera DE (Committee Member) Subjects: Electrical Engineering; Engineering