Date of Award

Summer 2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Program/Concentration

Aerospace Engineering

Committee Director

Oleksandr Kravchenko

Committee Member

Shu Xiao

Committee Member

Krishna Kaipa

Abstract

The use of carbon nanoparticles and graphene in composite materials has created a foundational shift in enhancing performance across mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. Such applications are vital in the aerospace industry. However, there has not been such a focus on the material use for reducing radar cross section (RCS). Historically, RCS is minimized by designing sharp geometric shapes to deflect or dissipate the incoming electromagnetic waves away from the receiving antenna. However, these designs are not always optimized for aerodynamics. The goal of this research is to understand the application of composite materials and specifically carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to reduce RCS.

Using modeling and simulation software to design the experiment, it was found that using CNT composite materials can reduce the RCS by up to 74.1% for a flat plate, single point waveform across 0.1 GHz to 9 GHz. For a flat plate with a 360 degree horizontal waveform, CNTs have been measured to decrease the maximum RCS by 86.7% at 2.3 GHz. Lastly, for a model of an Airbus A380 with a 360 degree spherical waveform, the RCS has been measured to reduce the maximum by 79% at 2.8 GHz.

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In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/21bw-r830

ISBN

9798384444343

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