Adjoint-Based Minimization of X-59 Sonic Boom Noise Via Control Surfaces
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An unsteady body-force rotor model utilizing integral velocity sampling is developed for Cartesian meshes with a focus on accurate performance predictions. In this approach, the rotors are modeled as body-force source terms, and integral sampling is used to define the local freestream velocity vector. The method is verified in two dimensions for airfoils, providing accurate angle of attack and freestream Mach number estimates even on relatively coarse meshes, and demonstrating excellent mesh convergence across a variety of source region thicknesses. Extensions of the model to three dimensions for both fixed and rotating wings are considered, with numerical experiments demonstrating the need for a spanwise-continuous representation of the induced velocity or angle of attack. The model provides reasonable spanwise lift distributions without any explicit tip-loss model. Comparisons to high-fidelity simulations and experimental data show excellent agreement for predictions of an isolated DJI Phantom 3 propeller in hover. Finally, simulations of the full aircraft in edgewise forward flight also compare well with wind tunnel data across a variety of pitch angles and propeller speeds.
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High-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations have so far only played exploratory and supporting roles in the study and qualification of parachutes for planetary entry. The last few years have seen the maturation of coupled computational methods that are capable of modeling the complex fluid-structure interactions between a parachute canopy and the supersonic flow in the wake of an entry vehicle in flight conditions. One of the primary goals of these methods is to predict the peak opening load experienced by the parachute during inflation. The Launch, Ascent, and Vehicle Aerodynamics (LAVA)team is developing efficient, high-fidelity numerical methods to perform such challenging fluid-structure interaction simulations. A loose coupling approach is used to advance the solutions of a Cartesian ghost cell immersed boundary method CFD solver and a finite element computational structural dynamics (CSD) solver in space and time. The coupled solver is employed to simulate the ASPIRE SR01 flight test, where a build-to-print version of the Mars Science Laboratory parachute was inflated in supersonic conditions in the upper terrestrial atmosphere. The simulations conducted in the current paper predict a peak opening load that is within 10% of that from the flight test. Grid convergence with respect to the volume and structural domains is demonstrated, and less than 1% variation in the peak opening load is predicted between all grid resolutions.
A wind tunnel model was designed, manufactured, and tested to evaluate the potential of active aerodynamic flow control for multi-element airfoils. The active flow control system involves so-called microjets –small, low momentum, normal to the surface jets located near the trailing edge of the flap –for controlling the lift and improving the aerodynamic performance characteristics of airplane high-lift systems. The configuration selected for this test is the NLR7301 two-element airfoil and it was tested in the Oran W. Nicks Low-Speed Wind Tunnel at Texas A&M University at a chord Reynolds number of 2.0 million and Machnumber of 0.10. This paper presents wind tunnel results for the NLR7301 in the Flap 20 and Flap 30 configurations. The wind tunnel results include surface pressure distributions, lift and pitching moment, and flow visualizations.The results of this experiment validate the effectiveness of the microjet with regards to control of lift in the linear regime for multi-element airfoils.
This paper reports the results of CFD simulations of the test cases for the AIAA 1stCFDTransition Modeling and Prediction Workshop held at the AIAA Scitech Forum on 21-22January, 2021 using the NASA solver OVERFLOW. The Langtry-Menter transition model was used in combination with the Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model. The testcases include the ERCOFTAC zero-pressure-gradient flat plate cases T3A and T3B with by-pass transition, the natural laminar flow NLF(1)-0416 airfoil, the DLR inclined 6:1 prolate spheroid, and the NASA Common Research Model with wing design optimized for natural laminar flow transition (CRM-NLF). OVERFLOW load and transition predictions obtained using best practices are compared with experiments and prior simulations. Additional results are provided for modified turbulence model boundary specifications to improve alignment to reference data and assess model sensitivity.
High-fidelity computational fluid dynamics simulations have been carried out to analyze NASA’s quadrotor air taxi concept for urban air mobility. High-order accurate schemes, dual-time stepping, and the delayed detached-eddy simulation model have been employed. The flow solver has been loosely coupled with the rotorcraft comprehensive analysis code. The vehicle simulated is a six-passenger quadrotor for air taxi operations. The quadrotor has been simulated in hover and cruise, with flight conditions representative of an air taxi mission. Initially, the quadcopter vehicle is analyzed using low-fidelity tools. Then, a complete analysis using high-fidelity simulations of the quadcopter is performed in conjunction with collective pitch control. Airloads, wake geometry, and performance are studied and compared. A comparison between isolated rotors and complete vehicle simulations is presented. NASA’s quadrotor is one of NASA’s concept vehicles designed in support of aircraft development for vertical take-off and landing air taxi operations.
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The high-fidelity and reduced order CFD method's validation and analysis are presented for the Multirotor Test Bed. The reduced-order method uses a rotor-disk model in the OVERFLOW CFD code and is an important aspect of this study. A rotor-trim option loosely coupling the Comprehensive code CAMRAD II with the OVERFLOW CFD code is included in the simulation that captures rotor blade aerodynamics, blade and rotor performance, rotor-rotor, and rotor-body interactions. Detailed comparison and validation were performed for both higher-fidelity full rotor unsteady flows and reduced-order rotor-disk methods. The tunnel geometry is included in the detailed computational effort. Computations of the low-Reynolds number flows were performed for a different number of in-plane rotors as well as for a single rotor modeled inside the tunnel.
To reduce the complexity and to reduce the cost of turnaround time of simulating unsteady flows of rotating blades with moving overset grids, amid-fidelity option is provided in the OVERFLOW computational fluid dynamics analysis to model rotors and propellers as infinitely thin disks. The effect of the flow through the disk is represented by the momentum source terms in the governing Navier-Stokes equations. The model is loosely coupled with the rotorcraft comprehensive analysis CAMRADII. A brief description of the coupling algorithm is provided. Simulations of a single rotor and multiple rotors are shown, including comparisons with measurements and with the full rotor where all blades are modeled, and unsteady simulation performed with moving grids for rotating geometry,
A steady-state multicopter simulation capability leveraging automated Cartesian grid generation and a blade element source term rotor model was used to investigate multi-rotor aerodynamics in and out of ground effect. Simulations demonstrated that this model is able to predict reasonably accurate thrust in ground effect for both single and multiple propeller cases. The method yielded accurate lift and drag predictions for a commercial quadcopter when compared to recent wind tunnel test data. This aircraft was then simulated in a variety of flight conditions, including both hover and edgewise forward flight, to determine if generalized guidelines for airborne sensor placement could be developed. Velocity perturbation magnitudes showed large regions of affected air upstream of the vehicle at low speeds, which contracted as the vehicle’s speed was increased. Placing the sensors more than one characteristic length ahead of or above the aircraft reduces errors from rotor-induced flow at higher speeds. For low-speed forward flight, the entrainment of flow into the propeller wakes introduces significant flow turning above the aircraft, suggesting that a forward location, with more moderate perturbations, could be advantageous for these conditions.
A computational study has been done on NASA’s quiet single-main rotor helicopter concept for urban air mobility using high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics, rotorcraft comprehensive analysis tools, and computational aeroacoustics. High-order accurate schemes, dual-time stepping, and the delayed detached-eddy simulation model have been employed. A loose-coupling approach between the flow solver and the rotorcraft comprehensive code is implemented to include vehicle trim and blade motions. Acoustic simulations based on the Ffowcs-Williams and Hawkings equations have been performed to compute the rotor noise. Different blade geometries and tip speeds are analyzed, and performance and acoustics results are compared. The vehicle has been simulated in hover and cruise, with flight conditions representative of an air taxi mission. The quiet single-main rotor helicopter is one of the conceptual designs intended to focus and guide NASA’s research activities in support of aircraft development for vertical take-off and landing air taxi operations.