Month: October 2020

Questions Anyone? MPE Certification Committee needs help!

The Mass Properties Engineering (MPE) Certification Committee is seeking help from SAWE members to formulate questions for the Associate-Level MPE exam.  This exam will be non-industry specific, and will be geared toward members who have either a Bachelor’s degree and 2 years of experience OR 5 years of applicable MPE experience.  The committee is building a repository of questions spanning various facets of mass properties engineering from which to pull exam content.

The multiple choice questions will cover topics such as:

  • Experience
  • Safety
  • Leadership
  • MPE Fundamentals
    • Design Development
    • Validation
    • Verification
    • MP Measurement
    • Design of Fixtures
    • Customer and Contract Requirements
  • Engineering Knowledge
    • MP Engineering Knowledge
    • Systems Engineering Knowledge
    • Sub System Engineering Knowledge
    • Fundamentals
  • Process
  • Systems
  • Software
  • Analysis
  • Reporting

References from which to pull questions may include but are not limited to:

  • The Weight Engineers’ Handbook
  • Introduction to Aircraft Weight Engineering Textbook
  • Marine Vehicles Weight Engineering Textbook
  • SAWE Papers

Please submit your questions, along with the multiple choice options  and answers, to Anjie Emmett at Anjie.l.emmett@nasa.gov or Dirk Petersen at dirk.petersen@gmx.net.  Your help will ensure that our unique knowledge and critical discipline and continue to thrive!

Reminder “Barbeque Roll of a Near Axisymmetric Spacecraft” – Virtual Presentation 10/29

SAWE members you have seen the email invitation to the SAWE-Hampton Roads (10/29 12:00PM Eastern U.S ) virtual chapter meeting. This is just a reminder that the presentation, the first half of the meeting, is open to all members. But the Zoom link is sent privately as only 100 slots are available and we are avoiding the phenomena of “zoom bombing”.

Contact Jeffrey.a.cerro@nasa.gov if you would like to attend and still need the meeting invitation/link.

Note that for anyone who is unable to download the ZOOM application. You can click on the meeting link, then select “Launch Meeting”, and then select “Join from your browser”.

Carlos M. Roithmayr is a senior aerospace engineer in the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. He earned a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology, both an M.S. and a Degree of Engineer in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He began his career with NASA at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. His research interests include dynamics of multibody mechanical systems, spacecraft attitude dynamics and control, and orbital mechanics, and he has contributed to a wide variety of Agency projects and missions. He is author or coauthor of one book and numerous refereed journal papers. Dr. Roithmayr is a senior member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Virtual Training Classes – Register Now!

We are two weeks out from our first Fall Training weekend! The classes being held October 23-24 are Developing Basic Parametric Methods & Ship Inclining Experiment. It is not too late to sign up! Classes will be held via zoom from 10:00am – 2:00 PM Eastern Time both days.

Developing Basic Parametric Methods – Instructor: Andy Walker

Have you ever been asked to predict the future? With a little information, you can explore the solution-space around the problems you encounter on the job as a Mass Properties engineer.
The course will cover:
• Parametric estimation and rapid aircraft mass properties assessments.
• Feasibility studies on detail design projects
• Conceptual trade studies based on very limited information
• Quantify predictive and descriptive uncertainty around your predictions
• Calculate the benefits of next-generation technologies
Agenda items will include basic statistical terminology, statistical correlation processes, parametric estimation pitfalls, and a parametric fighter aircraft wing weight correlation example.

Ship Inclining Experiment – Instructor: William A. Fox

This class will discuss the inclining of a vessel in order to determine its displacement (weight) and centers of gravity. The primary emphasis will be on inclining in water, but inclining in air will also be covered. The theory, procedure, and results of inclining will be discussed. Students will view a recording of an actual Ship Inclining Experiment, narrated by the Instructor (the Director’s Cut).
The objectives of the class are to provide the student with an introduction to the principles of naval architecture and to marine terminology, and to discuss and demonstrate the inclining of a vessel to determine its weight and center of gravity. ASTM F 1321-90, Standard Guide for Conducting a Stability Test, will be used as a text for this class. After a brief introduction to the principles of naval architecture, the theory and purpose of the inclining experiment will be presented. The lightweight survey will be described and then the inclining experiment itself will be discussed. Preparations required aboard the vessel and ashore will be described, and plans and equipment required will be discussed and demonstrated. Inclining procedures, data, and calculations will be reviewed and examples from an actual inclining will be examined in detail. Troubleshooting the results of the inclining, and matters of bias and accuracy, will be covered. Inclining of a small vessel in air will be discussed.

Registration link: https://www.sawe.org/registration/