AAE Graduate Student, Dean Bryson, wins Best Paper Award at 51st AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference

Event Date: April 22, 2010
Dean Bryson, a Masters Student under Dr. Terry Weisshaar, graduating this May, presented "Aeroelastic Optimization of a Two-Dimensional Flapping Mechanism" to claim the Best Paper Award.

Congratulations to Dean Bryson who presented “Aeroelastic Optimization of a Two-Dimensional Flapping Mechanism” - Dean E. Bryson and Terrence A. Weisshaar and Richard D. Snyder and Philip S. Beran Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Vehicles Directorate, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH at the 51st AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference.

The paper presents a new capability for 2D aeroelastic analysis of flapping micro air vehicles, integrating an unsteady vortex aerodynamics code developed by Dr. Rich Snyder of AFRL and a new structural model developed by Bryson. A gradient-based optimization of the structure was performed in a service-oriented framework to produce peak propulsive efficiency in forward flight. The results of the study highlight the importance of including aeroelasticity in flapping MAV analysis.

Dean was presented with the Jefferson Goblet for Outstanding Student Paper Award. The finalists were selected from approximately 60 papers with the 5 finalists presenting in a special session.