Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Research

Here at the UNT College of Engineering, our research in unmanned aircraft systems spans across a wide array of disciplines and applications. With 14 faculty members leading 12 graduate students and nearly 40 undergraduate students, our research intersects the disciplines of electrical, mechanical, engineering technology, materials science, and both computer science and computer engineering. Our team's research is focused on:

UAS Manufacturing and Materials Development
UAS Modeling and Simulation
UAS Air Platform and Morphing Structures
UAS Propulsion & Power
UAS Communications & Navigation
UAS Signal and Image Processing, AI
UAS Embedded Sensors, Failure and Design

Prototyping & Manufacturing

Design & simulations

Communications & controls

In-flight testing

Acoustic & RF testing

Ground testing

Engine wear & tribology

Noise mapping

Surface engineering

UAS Research Expertise in College of Engineering

Thanks to funding from the Army Research Laboratory, National Science Foundation, and NASA and our industry partners, Bell and Tribologix, we're able to dedicate our expertise within the college to help with:

UAS based quickly deployable networks for emergency responders communications (FEMA, …)
UAS traffic management, communication, reliability and security
Approaches for UAS flight safety navigation and controls with NASA, NSF
Lightweight aerospace materials with embedded sensors
Acoustic noise and imaging data processing
Material and design approaches for aerospace propulsion reliability, energy loss reduction, energy and thermal management
Cost effective manufacturing routes for UAS prototyping and making using Additive and Digital Manufacturing approaches.
High-fidelity modeling of UAS flight dynamics using our in-house Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver and UNT high performance computing (HPC) center

Acoustic noise and imaging data processing

Faculty Research on UAS

UAS propulsion - Samir Aouadi (samir.aouadi@unt.edu), Diana Berman, Andrey Voevodin
UAS propulsion: tribology of low viscosity fuels - Diana Berman (diana.berman@unt.edu), Samir Aouadi, Andrey Voevodin
UAS modeling and simulations - Hamid Sadat (hamid.sadat@unt.edu)
UAS design optimization and precision manufacturing - Hector R. Siller (hector.siller@unt.edu)
Open networked airborne computing platform - Shengli Fu (Shengli.Fu@unt.edu)
Aerial communications and networks - Kamesh Namuduri (Kamesh.Namuduri@unt.du)
UAS acoustic measurement, characterization, and signal processing - Xinrong Li (Xinrong.Li@unt.edu)
Self-powered sensor, antenna design on flexible substrate and on-chip - Ifana Mahbub (Ifana.Mahbub@unt.edu)
UAS light-weight power-efficient circuit design - Gayatri Mehta (gayatri.mehta@unt.edu)
Wireless SAW strain and pressure sensor for drone blade - Haifeng Zhang (haifeng.zhang@unt.edu)
UAS manufacturing and materials development - Diana Berman (diana.berman@unt.edu)
Deep Learning based Cooperative Perception System for UAVs - Qing Yang (qing.yang@unt.edu)

UAS Internal Combustion Engine Propulsion

ARL-UNT researchers

UNT is a member of Center for Unmanned Aircraft System Propulsion (CUP) of ARL.

ARL-UNT Cooperative Agreement is supporting ARL/VTD ERP “Versatile Tactical Power and Propulsion” (VICTOR) led by Dr. Mike Kweon.

Endurance
Multi-fuel
Reliability
Efficiency

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Light weight
Wear resistance
Low friction
Thermo-cycling &
T-shock resiliency
Stable ignition

Propulsion - Low Viscosity Fuel

Design of scuffing evaluation method

Property	Modification
Purpose	Material Evaluation
Substrate Material	Hard 52100 Steel, Fe2B, WC-17Co, Co-Cr-Mo, WC-10Cr-4Co
Grinding	Perpendicular
Temperature	40 ºC
Counter Body	Al2O3
Contact Load	0.14 N - 4.0 N, 1.0 N - 18.0 N
Stroke Length	5 mm
Frequency	25 Hz
Lubrication	F-24, Ethanol

Low viscosity fuel experiment hood setup

A method for a tribological experiment mimicking operation of fuel pump components in extreme low-viscosity fuels was designed.

The method uses High-Frequency Reciprocating Rig (HFRR) to improve repeatability and mirror application conditions of the CP3 fuel pump.

Wear of engin components

Bar chart - wear ratio vs different samples

Line chart - COF vs duration

Propulsion - Cylinder Liners

Goal: Develop light weight cylinder liners that provide high wear and thermal resistance, low friction, and that are stable and resilient to ignition cycling

Cylinder liner wear

Example of cylinder liner wear

Soldiers working on drone

Extending reliability and multifuel capability of UAS engines

Four images of coating

Design of composite PEO-Chameleon coatings for expanded range of temperature and environment conditions

One diagram and three graphs

Tribological testing with in situ Raman capability of UAS engine components

Development and Exploration of Technology for UAS

College of Engineering senior design projects sponsored by Army Research Lab
September 2019 - May 2020

Three Multidisciplinary Senior Design Teams

Thirty senior year students from four engineering programs, including electrical engineering, engineering technology, materials science and engineering, and mechanical and energy engineering departments
Ten faculty advisors from four engineering programs
Five research scientists as project team mentors from Vehicular Technology Directorate, Army Research Laboratory