Week 5 Project Outline (Stephens)

I will be writing an individual research paper. In my project, a new way of conducting non-destructive evaluation will be discussed. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are flying machines that have been used in military purposes effectively. The effectiveness of UAS has drawn the attention of several companies beyond the military field. Specifically, drones are now being used as a tool to detect failures in structures.

Some of the advantages of using drones in this field are as follows:

- Non-Destructive Evaluation - do not need to destroy, damage, or stop function of the structures while testing

- Safety - workers do not need to go up to high places to get a good evaluation of the structure

- Cost - the overall cost will be much lower in long term

The paper will examine some case studies where drones were used in this purpose. The data obtained from the results of the experiments will be further examined.

This topic was chosen because of my strong interest in drones and structures. I believe that the promise of this technology will not only improve the way engineers evaluate existing structures, it will also make the process a lot cheaper. This topic is related to "Intelligent Building" because it uses technology to maintain structures to make them safer and more productive for their occupants. The biggest challenge I am speculating to encounter is the acquisition of reliable data to present. A Drexel Alumnus who did quite a bit of research on this topic will be my primary source of information.

A preliminary project outline is presented below:

I.               Introduction

a.     What is the topic of my research

b.     Why I chose this topic

II.             Objectives

III.           Drones in Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE)

a.     What has been done before (Case Study)

                                               i.     How the test is conducted

                                              ii.     How the data is interpreted

                                            iii.     How effective/accurate were the results

b.     What the future of NDE will look like

c.      What are the potential advantages and disadvantages of this technology

IV.            Conclusion

a.     Based on the results, is this a good alternative to conducting NDE compared to traditional methods?

b.     Do I see this technology being widespread in the next 5 years? 10 years? 50 years?

Comments:

Ilana Ritvalsky, I think that the topic you have chosen is quite interesting. I am curious to know different ways "intelligent buildings" adapt to the weather. I know you have mentioned the system they have in the LeBow Business Building, but I'm sure there are other systems out there that serve the same purpose.

J Schwakoff, I think that your topic is very interesting. Automatic Fault Detection and Diagnosis of HVAC systems is surely something that present buildings are missing. I'm curious to know as to how effective this system is and how economical it is at the end of the day.

Taylor Castonguay, I really like the idea of 3-D printing building materials. I wonder how economical that is though. I would personally be very nervous if I have to live in a 3-D printed house. Although I am sure that my feelings towards this technology will change as it is being continuously developed and my level of confidence increases.