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At least 307 records · Page 17

Analytic model of the remobilization of pinned glide dislocations: Including dislocation drag from phonon wind

Here, we discuss the effect of a non-constant dislocation drag coefficient on the very high strain rate regime within an analytic model describing mobile-immobile dislocation intersections applicable to fcc polycrystals. Based on previous work on dislocation drag, we estimate its temperature and pressure dependence and its effects on stress–strain rate relations. In the high temperature regime, we show that drag can remain the dominating effect even down to intermediate strain rates. We also discuss the consequences of having a limiting dislocation velocity, a feature which is typically predicted by analytic models of dislocation drag, but which is somewhat under debate because a number of MD simulations predict supersonic dislocations.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Machine Learning Approach for Aircraft Performance Model Parameter Estimation for Trajectory Prediction Applications

Inaccurate prediction of aircraft trajectory by ground-based decision support tools (DST) is a major concern in air traffic management (ATM). Aircraft trajectory prediction tools rely on a simplified point-mass aircraft performance model (APM) to make their predictions. Even though the performance coefficients and weight of an aircraft are a vital part of the APM’s predictions and accuracy, these coefficients are proprietary in nature and therefore, unavailable to DSTs. Current ATM research focuses on improving the estimate of some APM parameters by freezing all other coefficients. This simplified approach introduces unwanted sources of bias and negatively impacts the accuracy of the performance model. In this paper, we apply machine learning (ML) techniques for the simultaneous prediction of three key APM parameters (two drag coefficients and the initial aircraft weight). To accomplish this, we employ an ordinary differential equation (ODE) fitting approach to generate optimized APM parameter labels customized to each individual flight record. Subsequently, we train ML models to capture the relationship between the historical data and the optimized APM parameters. Two different ML model solutions are applied and APM coefficients are predicted for unseen flights. The results indicate that the ML models are able to capture the relationship between APM parameters and flight-related features with good accuracy.

trajectory prediction, machine learning, aircraft ↗

Comparison of Experimental and Theoretical Zero-Lift Wave-Drag Results for Various Wing-Body-Tail Combinations at Mach Numbers up to 1.9

Comparisons are made of experimental and theoretical zero-lift wave drag for several nose shapes, wing-body combinations, and models of current airplanes at Mach numbers up to 1.0. The experimental data were obtained from tests in the Ames 6- by6-foot supersonic wind tunnel and at the NACA Wallops Island facility. The theoretical drag was found by use of linear theory utilizing model area distributions. The agreement between theoretical and experimental zero-lift wave-drag coefficients was generally very good, especially for a fuselage or for fuselage-wing combinations that were vertically symmetrical. For other models that had rapid changes in body shape and/or were not vertically symmetrical, the agreement of theory with experiment ranged from fair to poor, depending on the severity of the change in shape.

DRAG COEFFICIENT↗

Revisiting the empirical particle-fluid coupling model used in DEM-CFD by high-resolution DEM-LBM-IMB simulations: A 2D perspective

The work investigates the applicability of the unresolved Computational Fluid Dynamics and Discrete Element Method (CFDDEM) technique based on empirical equations for fluid-particle coupling. We first carry out a series of representative volume element simulations using the high-resolution particle-resolved Lattice Boltzmann method and Discrete Element Method (LBMDEM) coupled by an Immersed Moving Boundary (IMB) scheme. Then, we compare the results obtained by both LBMDEM and empirical equations used in unresolved CFDDEM with analytical solutions. It is found that the existing empirical equations used in solving fluid-particle interactions in 2D CFDDEM fail to accurately calculate the hydrodynamic force applied to solid particles. The underlying reason is that the existing empirical models are obtained based on 3D experimental results and thus are not applicable to 2D problems. Based on the simulation results, a new drag coefficient model is then proposed. The estimated drag forces using the new model are compared favourably with the simulated ones, indicating the good performance of the proposed model.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Computation of three-dimensional effects on two dimensional wings

A 2-D numerical investigation was performed to determine the effect of a Gurney flap on a NACA 4412 airfoil. A Gurney flap is a flat plate on the order of 1 to 3 percent of the airfoil chord length, oriented perpendicular to the airfoil chord line and located at the trailing edge of the airfoil. An incompressible Navier Stokes code, INS2D, was used to calculate the flow field about the airfoil. The fully turbulent results were obtained using the Baldwin-Barth one-equation turbulence model. Gurney flap sizes of 0.5, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 2, and 3 percent of the airfoil chord were studied. Computational results were compared with experimental results where possible. The numerical solutions show that the Gurney flap increases airfoil lift coefficient with only a slight increase in drag coefficient. Use of a 1.5 percent chord Gurney flap increases the maximum lift coefficient by approximately 0.3 and decreases the angle of attack for a given lift coefficient by more than 3 degrees. The numerical solutions exhibit detailed flow structures at the trailing edge and provide a possible explanation for the increased aerodynamic performance.

Cummings, Russell M.↗

Computational evaluation of an airfoil with a Gurney flap

A 2D numerical investigation was performed to determine the effect of a Gurney flap on a NACA 4412 airfoil. A Gurney flap is a flat plate on the order of 1 to 3 percent of the airfoil chord length, oriented perpendicular to the airfoil chord line and located at the trailing edge of the airfoil. An incompressible Navier Stokes code, INS2D, was used to calculate the flow field about the airfoil. The fully turbulent results were obtained using the Baldwin-Barth one-equation turbulence model. Gurney flap sizes of 0.5 , 1, 1.25, 1.5, 2, and 3 percent of the airfoil chord were studied. Computational results were compared with experimental results where possible. The numerical solutions show that the Gurney flap increases airfoil lift coefficient with only a slight increase in drag coefficient. Use of a 1.5 percent chord Gurney flap increases the maximum lift coefficient by approximately 0.3 and decreases the angle of attack for a given lift coefficient by more than 3 deg. The numerical solutions exhibit detailed flow structures at the trialing edge and provide a possible explanation for the increased aerodynamic performance.

Jang, Cory S.↗

Tests in the variable-density wind tunnel of the NACA 23012 airfoil with plain and split flaps

Section characteristics for use in wing design are presented for the NACA 23012 airfoil with plain and split flaps of 20 percent wing chord at a value of the effective Reynolds number of about 8,000,000. The flap deflections covered a range from 60 degrees upward to 75 degrees downward for the plain flap and from neutral to 90 degrees downward for the split flap. The split flap was aerodynamically superior to the plain flap in producing high maximum lift coefficients and in having lower profile-drag coefficients at high lift coefficients.

Abbott, Ira H↗

The Practical Calculation of the Aerodynamic Characteristics of Slender Finned Vehicles

The basic objective of this thesis is to provide a practical method of computing the aerodynamic characteristics of slender finned vehicles such as sounding rockets, high speed bombs, and guided missiles. The aerodynamic characteristics considered are the normal force coefficient derivative, c(sub N(sub alpha)); center of pressure, bar-X; roll forcing moment coefficient derivative, c(sub l(sub delta)); roll damping moment coefficient derivative, c(sub l(sub p)); pitch damping moment coefficient derivative, c(sub mq); and the drag coefficient, c (sub D). Equations are determined for both subsonic and supersonic flow. No attempts is made to analyze the transonic region. The general configuration to which the relations are applicable is a slender axisymmetric body having three or four fins.

Barrowman, James S.↗

Water Energy Resource Innovation on the Cavitation Characteristics

The main purpose of this study is to numerically correlate the amount of generated vapor over a hydrofoil to the lift and drag coefficients acting on it. As such, cavitation characteristics were investigated of a hydrofoil in the cavitating, sub-cavitating, and non-cavitating flows for different angles of attacks (AoA) with the high upstream flow velocity. The hydrofoil was tested in a square water tunnel with water entering the tunnel at various velocities for each AoA ranges from 9.1 m/s to 12.2 m/s. It was found that lift and drag forces acting on the hydrofoil follow the trend of the experimental data quite closely. While the cavitation can be identified by a unique number (averaged vapor volume fraction), the work done created an inverse correlation between this number and the cavitation number at the same angle of attack. The lift force declines with the increase in the vapor content on the hydrofoil surface, meanwhile the drag force peaks at certain vapor volume fraction, and then, a huge reduction occurs with the considerable decrease in the corresponding cavitation number. A fourth-order correlation generated between the lift to drag (L/D) and the cavitation number (σ). It was found the lift-to-drag ratio decreases by the formation of the cavitation over the hydrofoil, thus causing a drop in the efficiency of the turbomachines.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Hydrodynamics and Survivability during Post-main-sequence Planetary Engulfment

The engulfment of substellar bodies (SBs), such as brown dwarfs and planets, by giant stars is a possible explanation for rapidly rotating giants, lithium-rich giants, and the presence of SBs in close orbits around subdwarfs and white dwarfs. We perform three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of the flow in the vicinity of an engulfed SB. We model the SB as a rigid body with a reflective surface because it cannot accrete. This reflective boundary changes the flow morphology to resemble that of engulfed compact objects with outflows. We measure the drag coefficients for the ram-pressure and gravitational drag forces acting on the SB, and use them to integrate its trajectory inside the star. We find that engulfment can increase the luminosity of a 1 M ⊙ star by up to a few orders of magnitude. The time for the star to return to its original luminosity is up to a few thousand years when the star has evolved to ≈10 R ⊙ and up to a few decades at the tip of the red giant branch (RGB). No SBs can eject the envelope of a 1 M ⊙ star before it evolves to ≈10 R ⊙ if the orbit of the SB is the only energy source contributing to the ejection. In contrast, SBs as small as ≈10 MJup can eject the envelope at the tip of the RGB. The numerical framework we introduce here can be used to study planetary engulfment in a simplified setting that captures the physics of the flow at the scale of the SB.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Experimental wing and canard jet-flap aerodynamics

The effects of upper surface blowing on the aerodynamics of a 1/2-span wing/body/canard configuration are shown. The results expand a data base that is limited at high subsonic Mach numbers (M = 0.6-0.9), data that are needed if computational techniques are to be developed for the complex flowfields generated by jet blowing. At lift coefficients greater than about 1.0, the thrust removed drag coefficient was lower with jet blowing than without jet blowing. This favorable effect increased with increasing jet blowing coefficient, and, for a fixed coefficient, simultaneous wing/canard jet blowing was slightly more effective than blowing either surface alone.

Smeltzer, D. B.↗

Numerical simulation of an F-16A at angle of attack

The transonic flowfield around an F-16A fighter configuration at a moderate incidence angle is simulated by solving the Navier-Stokes equations on a single-block grid. The numerical solution matches experimental freestream conditions with a mach number of 0.85, 16 degrees angle of attack, and a characteristic Reynolds number of 12.75 million. MacCormack's explicit algorithm is used in conjuction with a local time step and consecutive mesh refinement procedure to accelerate numerical convergence. The Baldwin-Lomax algebraic model provides turbulent closure. Computed surface pressure distributions and the aircraft lift coefficient compare favorably with wind tunnel data. The drag coefficient in the simulation overpredicts the experimental value by 8 percent.

Huband, G. W.↗

Computation of wind tunnel wall effects for complex models using a low-order panel method

A technique for determining wind tunnel wall effects for complex models using the low-order, three dimensional panel method PMARC (Panel Method Ames Research Center) has been developed. Initial validation of the technique was performed using lift-coefficient data in the linear lift range from tests of a large-scale STOVL fighter model in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC) facility. The data from these tests served as an ideal database for validating the technique because the same model was tested in two wind tunnel test sections with widely different dimensions. The lift-coefficient data obtained for the same model configuration in the two test sections were different, indicating a significant influence of the presence of the tunnel walls and mounting hardware on the lift coefficient in at least one of the two test sections. The wind tunnel wall effects were computed using PMARC and then subtracted from the measured data to yield corrected lift-coefficient versus angle-of-attack curves. The corrected lift-coefficient curves from the two wind tunnel test sections matched very well. Detailed pressure distributions computed by PMARC on the wing lower surface helped identify the source of large strut interference effects in one of the wind tunnel test sections. Extension of the technique to analysis of wind tunnel wall effects on the lift coefficient in the nonlinear lift range and on drag coefficient will require the addition of boundary-layer and separated-flow models to PMARC.

Ashby, Dale L.↗

Effect of Afterbody-Ejector Configurations on the Performance at Transonic Speeds of a Pylon-Supported Nacelle Model having a Hot-Jet Exhaust

An investigation of several afterbody-ejector configurations on a pylon-supported nacelle model has been completed in the Langley 16-foot transonic tunnel at Mach numbers from 0.80 to 1.05. The propulsive performance of two nacelle afterbodies with low boattailing and long ejector spacing was compared with a configuration corresponding to a turbojet-engine installation having a highly boattailed afterbody with a short ejector. The jet exhaust was simulated with a hydrogen peroxide turbojet simulator. The angle of attack was maintained at 0 deg, and the average Reynolds number based on body length was 20 x 10(exp 6). The results of the investigation indicated that the configuration with a conical afterbody with smooth transition to a 15 deg boattail angle had large beneficial jet effects on afterbody pressure-drag coefficient and had the best thrust-minus-drag performance of the afterbody-ejector configurations investigated.

Swihart, John M.↗

Longitudinal and Lateral Stability, Control Characteristics, and Vertical-Tail-Load Measurements for 0.03-Scale Model of the Avro CF-105 Airplane at Mach Number 1.41

An investigation has been made in the Langley 4- by 4-foot supersonic pressure tunnel at a Mach number of 1.41 to determine the aerodynamic characteristics of an 0.03-scale model of the Avro CF-105 airplane. The investigation included the determination of the static longitudinal and lateral stability, the control and the hinge-moment characteristics of the elevator, the aileron, and the rudder, as well as the vertical-tail-load characteristics. The results indicated a minimum drag coefficient of about 0.0270, and a maximum trimmed lift-drag ratio of about 4.25 which occurs at a lift coefficient of 0.16. The directional stability decreased with increasing angle of attack until a region of static instability occurred above an angle of attack of about 9 deg.

Spearman, M. Leroy↗

Results of the Flight Test of a Dummy of the MX-656 Rocket-Propelled Models

The data obtained from the flight of a simplified (dummy) rocket-propelled model of the MX-656 have been analyzed to determine the booster-model characteristics and the model-alone characteristics up to a Mach number of 1.3. The data indicate that the model-booster combination is satisfactory. The model alone is longitudinally stable i n the Mach number range covered by the test (0.9 to 1.3) with the center of gravity at -15 percent of the mean aerodynamic chord. With the stabilizer setting at 0 deg. the variation of normal-force coefficient with Mach number is not large. The total-drag-coefficient variation with Mach number is not unusual. About 12 percent of the total drag at a Mach number of 1.3 can be attributed to body base drag.

Mitchell, Jesse L.↗