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Ware, George M.

Publications and source records attributed to Ware, George M..

Subsonic Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Circular Body Earth-to-Orbit Vehicle

A test of a generic reusable earth-to-orbit transport was conducted in the 7- by 10-Foot high-speed tunnel at the Langley Research Center at Mach number 0.3. The model had a body with a circular cross section and a thick clipped delta wing as the major lifting surface. For directional control, three different vertical fin arrangements were investigated: a conventional aft-mounted center vertical fin, wingtip fins, and a nose-mounted vertical fin. The configuration was longitudinally stable about the estimated center-of-gravity position of 0.72 body length and had sufficient pitch-control authority for stable trim over a wide range of angle of attack, regardless of fin arrangement. The maximum trimmed lift/drag ratio for the aft center-fin configuration was less than 5, whereas the other configurations had values of above 6. The aft center-fin configuration was directionally stable for all angles of attack tested. The wingtip and nose fins were not intended to produce directional stability but to be active controllers for artificial stabilization. Small rolling-moment values resulted from yaw control of the nose fin. Large adverse rolling-moment increments resulted from tip-fin controller deflection above 13 deg angle of attack. Flow visualization indicated that the adverse rolling-moment increments were probably caused by the influence of the deflected tip-fin controller on wing flow separation.

Lepsch, Roger A., Jr.↗

Control effectiveness and tip-fin dihedral effects for the HL-20 lifting-body configuration at Mach numbers from 1.6 to 4.5

Wind tunnel tests were made with a scale model of the HL-20 in the Langley Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel. Pitch control was investigated by deflecting the elevon surfaces on the outboard fins and body flaps on the fuselage. Yaw control tests were made with the all movable center fin deflected 5 deg. Almost full negative body flap deflection (-30 deg) was required to trim the HL-20 (moment reference center at 0.54-percent body length from nose) to positive values of life in the Mach number range from 1.6 to 2.5. Elevons were twice as effective as body flaps as a longitudinal trim device. The elevons were effective as a roll control, but because of tip-fin dihedral angle, produced about as much adverse yawing moment as rolling moment. The body flaps were less effective in producing rolling moment, but produced little adverse yawing moment. The yaw effectiveness of the all movable center fin was essentially constant over the angle-of-attack range at each Mach number. The value of yawing moment, however, was small. Center-fin deflection produced almost no rolling moments. The model was directionally unstable over most of the Mach number range with tip-fin dihedral angles less than the baseline value of 50 deg.

Cruz, Christopher I.↗

Supersonic aerodynamic characteristics of a circular body Earth-to-Orbit vehicle

The circular body configuration is a generic single- or multi-stage reusable Earth-to-orbit transport. A thick clipped-delta wing is the major lifting surface. For directional control, three different vertical fin arrangements were investigated: a conventional aft-mounted center fin, wingtip fins, and a nose-mounted fin. The tests were conducted in the Langley Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel. The configuration is longitudinally stable about the estimated center of gravity of 0.72 body length up to a Mach number of about 3.0. Above Mach 3.0, the model is longitudinally unstable at low angles of attack but has a stable secondary trim point at angles of attack above 30 deg. The model has sufficient pitch control authority with elevator and body flap to produce stable trim over the test range. The model with the center fin is directionally stable at low angles of attack up to a Mach number of 3.90. The rudder-like surfaces on the tip fins and the all-movable nose fin are designed as active controls to produce artificial directional stability and are effective in producing yawing moment. The wing trailing-edge aileron surfaces are effective in producing rolling moment, but they also produce large adverse yawing moment.

Ware, George M.↗

Subsonic aerodynamic characteristics of the HL-20 lifting-body configuration

The HL-20 is proposed as a possible future manned spacecraft. The configuration consists of a low-aspect-ratio body with a flat undersurface. Three fins (a small centerline fin and two outboard (tip) fins set at a dihedral angle of 50 deg) are mounted on the aft body. The control system consists of elevon surfaces on the outboard fins, a set of four body flaps on the upper and lower aft body, and an all-movable center fin. Both the elevons and body flaps were capable of trimming the model to angles of attack from -2 deg to above 20 deg. The maximum trimmed lift-drag ratio was 3.6. Replacing the flat-plate tip fins with airfoil tip fins increased the maximum trimmed lift-drag ratio to 4.2. The elevons were effective as a roll control, but they produced about as much yawing moment as rolling moment because of the tip-fin dihedral angle. The body flaps produced less rolling moment than the elevons and only small values of yawing moment. A limited investigation of the effect of varying tip-fin dihedral angle indicated that a dihedral angle of 50 deg was a reasonable compromise for longitudinal and lateral stability, longitudinal trim, and performance at subsonic speeds.

Ware, George M.↗

Subsonic aerodynamic characteristics of a proposed advanced manned launch system orbiter configuration

The Advanced Manned Launch System is a proposed near-term technology, two-stage, fully reusable launch system that consists of an unmanned glide-back booster and a manned orbiter. An orbiter model that featured a large fuselage and an aft delta wing with tip fins was tested in the Langley 7- by 10-Foot High-Speed Tunnel. A crew cabin, large payload fairing, and crew access tunnel were mounted on the upper body. The results of the investigation indicated that the configuration was longitudinally stable to an angle of attack of about 6 deg about a center-of-gravity position of 0.7 body length. The model had an untrimmed lift-drag ratio of 6.6, but could not be trimmed at positive lift. The orbiter model was also directionally unstable. The payload fairing was responsible for about half the instability. The tip-fin controllers, which are designed as active controls to produce artificial directional stability, were effective in producing yawing moment, but sizable adverse rolling moment occurred at angles of attack above 6 deg. Differential deflection of the elevon surfaces was effective in producing rolling moment with only small values of adverse yawing moment.

Ware, George M.↗

Aerodynamic predictions and experimental results for an Advanced Manned Launch System orbiter configuration

The results from a series of wind-tunnel tests are presented along with predictions of the aerodynamic characteristics for a proposed Advanced Manned Launch System orbiter configuration. The predicted characteristics were made using the Aerodynamic Preliminary Analysis System (APAS), and were shown to be of sufficient accuracy for use in preliminary configuration analysis. Various methods of analysis were used in the APAS system, and the results of each were compared with the wind-tunnel dam. The accuracy of the predicted data varied over the Mach range studied. The best agreement between the wind-tunnel data and the APAS predictions occurr4ed in the low subsonic and the high supersonic regimes, while the low supersonic predictions resulted in only fair agreement. The APAS paneled-body analysis method (low speed) and the HABP impact analysis method (high speed) gave the most accurate results when compared against the experimental data.

Engelund, Walter C.↗

Predicted aerodynamic characteristics for HL-20 lifting-body using the aerodynamic preliminary analysis system (APAS)

The aerodynamic characteristics of the HL-20 lifting body configuraiton obtained through the APAS and from wind-tunnel tests have been compared. The APAS is considered to be an easy-to-use, relatively simple tool for quick preliminary estimation of vehicle aerodynamics. The APAS estimates are found to be in good agreement with experimental results to be used for preliminary evaluation of the HL-20. The APAS accuracy in predicting aerodynamics of the HL-20 varied over the Mach range. The speed ranges of best agreement were subsonic and hypersonic, while least agreement was in the Mach range from 1.2 to about 2,5.

Cruz, Christopher I.↗

Aerodynamic characteristics of the HL-20 and HL-20A lifting-body configurations

The data show that the HL-20 is longitudinally and laterally stable over the test range from Mach 10 to 0.2. At hypersonic speeds it has a trimmed lift/drag ratio of 1.4. This values gives the vehicle a cross range capability similar to that of the Space Shuttle. At subsonic speeds, the HL-20 has a trimmed lift/drag ratio of about 3.6. Replacing the flat plate outboard fins with fins having an airfoil shape, increased the maximum trimmed L/D to 4.3. Preliminary evaluation of configuration modifications (the HL-20A series), indicates that trim at higher values of lift at hypersonic speeds could be achieved with an L/D of about 1.0. In the supersonic range, the lift and directional stability characteristics were improved. The untrimmed subsonic L/D was increased to 5.8 with airfoil fins.

Ware, George M.↗

Supersonic aerodynamic characteristics of a proposed Assured Crew Return Capability (ACRC) lifting-body configuration

An investigation was conducted in the Langley Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel at Mach numbers from 1.6 to 4.5. The model had a low-aspect-ratio body with a flat undersurface. A center fin and two outboard fins were mounted on the aft portion of the upper body. The outboard fins were rolled outboard 40 deg from the vertical. Elevon surfaces made up the trailing edges of the outboard fins, and body flaps were located on the upper and lower aft fuselage. The center fin pivoted about its midchord for yaw control. The model was longitudinally stable about the design center-of-gravity position at 54 percent of the body length. The configuration with undeflected longitudinal controls trimmed near 0 deg angle of attack at Mach numbers from 1.6 to 3.0 where lift and lift-drag ratio were negative. Longitudinal trim was near the maximum lift-drag ratio (1.4) at Mach 4.5. The model was directionally stable over Mach number range except at angles of attack around 4 deg at M = 2.5. Pitch control deflection of more than -10 deg with either elevons or body flaps is needed to trim the model to angles of attack at which lift becomes positive. With increased control deflection, the lifting-body configuration should perform the assured crew return mission through the supersonic speed range.

Ware, George M.↗

Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Proposed Personnel Launch System (PLS) Lifting-Body Configuration at Mach Numbers from 0.05 to 20.3

A wind-tunnel investigation was performed to determine the aerodynamic characteristics of a proposed lifting-body personnel launch system (PLS) configuration over a Mach range of 0.05 to 20.3. The test configuration had a low-aspect-ratio body with a flat undersurface and three fins on the upper aft body. Data are presented with a minimum of analysis. All of the experimental data were placed in a structured data base using the R:BASE system and are included on a CD-ROM available with this report.

Cruz, Christopher I.↗

Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Proposed Personnel Launch System (PLS) Lifting-Body Configuration at Mach Numbers from 0.05 to 20.3. Supplement

A wind-tunnel investigation was performed to determine the aerodynamic characteristics of a proposed lifting-body personnel launch system (PLS) configuration over a Mach range of 0.05 to 20.3. The test configuration had a low-aspect-ratio body with a flat undersurface and three fins on the upper aft body. Data are presented with a minimum of analysis. All of the experimental data were placed in a structured data base using the R:BASE system. This is the CD-ROM that is available for this report.

Cruz, Christopher I.↗

Transonic aerodynamic characteristics of a proposed Assured Crew Return Capability (ACRC) lifting-body configuration

The investigation was conducted in the Calspan 8-Ft Transonic wind tunnel at Mach numbers from 0.6 to 1.2. The 0.07-scale model had a low aspect ratio body with a flat undersurface. A center fin and two tip fins were mounted on the aft upper body. The tip fins were rolled outboard 40 deg from the vertical. Elevon surfaces made up the trailing edges of the outboard fins and body flaps were located on the upper and lower aft fuselage. Results of the investigation indicated that the model was longitudinally and laterally stable about a center-of-gravity position of 0.54 body length. The maximum trimmed lift-drag ratio was about 3.1 at M = 0.6. The small center fin contributed only a small positive increment to lateral stability but was effective as a yaw control device. Protuberances on the forebody had little effect on the aerodynamic characteristics of the configuration. The model with pitch controls undeflected had desirable longitudinal trim characteristics.

Ware, George M.↗

Aerodynamic characteristics of proposed assured crew return capability (ACRC) configurations

The aerodynamic characteristics of seven reentry configurations suggested as possible candidate vehicles to return crew members from the U.S. Space Station Freedom to earth has been reviewed. The shapes varied from those capable of purely ballistic entry to those capable of gliding entry and fromk parachute landing to conventional landing. Data were obtained from existing (published and unpublished) sources and from recent wind tunnel tests. The lifting concepts are more versatile and satisfy all the mission requirements. Two of the lifting shapes studied appear promising - a lifting body and a deployable wing concept. The choice of an ACRC concept, however, will be made after all factors involving transportation from earth to orbit and back to earth again have been weighed.

Ware, George M.↗

Shuttle crew escape tube study

An investigation was performed to examine the feasibility of an escape tube as an aid in crew bailout from the Shuttle Orbiter at subsonic speeds. The deployable escape tube extended from the main side hatch downwards. Wind-tunnel tests with scaled models demonstrated that successful bailout was possible when the tube exit was at least 1 foot below the wing leading edge. The aerodynamics of the Orbiter were only slightly degraded with the tube deployed. Several tube designs were investigated, the most promising of which was an inflatable elastic/fabric 'Airmat' configuration. Loads on the tube were within capability of current airmat technology.

Ware, George M.↗

Low-Subsonic-Speed Static Stability of Right-Triangular-Pyramid and Half-Cone Lifting Reentry Configurations

An investigation has been made to determine the low-subsonic-speed static stability characteristics of several right-triangular-pyramid and half-cone configurations. Also studied were the effects of various modifications, such as base extensions, nose shape, nose incidence, and ridge-line shape. The investigation showed that, in general, the models had satisfactory longitudinal and lateral stability. The basic pyramid model and the conical ridge-line model with or without a rounded nose had almost identical longitudinal and lateral stability characteristics and lift-drag ratios. The lift-drag ratios of the cylindrical ridge-line and half-cone models were considerably lower than those of the conical ridge-line model. The addition of a 20 degree boattail to the models increased the lift-drag ratios but decreased the directional stability, whereas a streamwise base extension was more effective in increasing the lift-drag ratios and increased the directional stability.

Ware, George M.↗

Low-Subsonic-Speed Static Longitudinal Stability and Control Characteristics of a Winged Reentry-Vehicle Configuration Having Wingtip Panels that Fold up for High-Drag Reentry

An investigation of the low-subsonic-speed static longitudinal stability and control characteristics of a model of a manned reentry-vehicle configuration capable of high-drag reentry and glide landing has been a made in the Langley free-flight tunnel. The model had a modified 63 deg delta plan-form wing with a fuselage on the upper surface. This configuration had wingtip panels designed to fold up 90 deg for the high-drag reentry phase of the flight and to extend horizontally for the glide landing. Data for the basic configurations and modifications to determine the effects of plan form, wingtip panel incidence, dihedral, and vertical position of the wingtip panels are presented without analysis.

Ware, George M.↗