Two selections for TSi were included in the NASA 2003 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Phase I awards publicly announced on Friday, November 21, 2003. These awards are to develop computational tools for aerodynamic flow analysis and control and for bifurcation analysis of flight dynamics. Dr. Gaurav Bajpai will be the lead on the projects.

Control of fluid motion has many important engineering applications and with the emergence of small scale, inexpensive, “intelligent”, embedded actuators and sensors, the ability to achieve truly “distributed” control is now becoming possible. Accordingly, Techno-Sciences, Inc.(TSi) in collaboration with University of Maryland(UMD) are developing computational tools for aerodynamic flow modeling and control that will prove valuable – saving time and money and producing better results – in the design of systems for modern aerial vehicles.

The second project is aimed at the development of relevant analytical and simulation-based technologies for the prediction of adverse and upset conditions and control for fail-safe adaptivity under adverse and upset conditions. Impaired aircraft operate much closer to bifurcation points than a fully functional vehicle. Thus, it is necessary to be able to evaluate aircraft and flight control system performance near stability boundaries. Understanding behavior near operational limits and developing control and recovery strategies for these circumstances is fundamental to achieving that goal.