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At least 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

Numerical solution of periodic vortical flows about a thin airfoil

A numerical method is developed for computing periodic, three-dimensional, vortical flows around isolated airfoils. The unsteady velocity is split into a vortical component which is a known function of the upstream flow conditions and the Lagrangian coordinates of the mean flow, and an irrotational field whose potential satisfies a nonconstant-coefficient, inhomogeneous, convective wave equation. Solutions for thin airfoils at zero degrees incidence to the mean flow are presented in this paper. Using an elliptic coordinate transformation, the computational domain is transformed into a rectangle. The Sommerfeld radiation condition is applied to the unsteady pressure on the grid line corresponding to the far field boundary. The results are compared with a Possio solver, and it is shown that for maximum accuracy the grid should depend on both the Mach number and reduced frequency. Finally, in order to assess the range of validity of the classical thin airfoil approximation, results for airfoils with zero thickness are compared with results for airfoils with small thickness.

Scott, James R.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Prop-fan airfoil icing characteristics

An icing test program was carried out during the 1986-87 and 1987-88 icing seasons at the Fluidyne Icing Tunnel. The testing consisted of evaluating the icing characteristics and aerodynamic performance characteristics of two thin, two-dimensional airfoil sections. The two airfoils were a NACA Series 16-203 and a Hamilton Standard PF1-304, 3 and 4 percent thickness-to-chord ratio airfoils, respectively. These airfoils are representative of the thin airfoils currently being evaluated for Prop-Fan propulsion systems. The tests were conducted over a wide range of icing conditions, angles-of-attack, and Mach numbers (0.3 to 0.8).

Pike, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Optimization of natural laminar flow airfoils for high section lift-to-drag ratios in the lower Reynolds number range

Relatively thin natural-laminar-flow airfoils were arranged optimally for different design lift coefficients in the wing chord Reynolds number ranges of 200,000-600,00 and 0.875 x 10 to the 6th to 2 x 10 to the 6th. The 9.5 percent thick airfoil ASM-LRN-010, the 7.9 percent thick airfoil ASM-LRN-012, the 10.4 percent thick airfoil ASM-LRN-015, and the 8.2 percent thick airfoil ASM-LRN-017 were designed for high lift-to-drag ratios using Drela's design and analysis.

Pfenninger, Werner↗
NASA NTRS1989

Numerical solution of periodic vortical flows about a thin airfoil

A numerical method is developed for computing periodic, three-dimensional, vortical flows around isolated airfoils. The unsteady velocity is split into a vortical component which is a known function of the upstream flow conditions and the Lagrangian coordinates of the mean flow, and an irrotational field whose potential satisfies a nonconstant-coefficient, inhomogeneous, convective wave equation. Solutions for thin airfoils at zero degrees incidence to the mean flow are presented in this paper. Using an elliptic coordinate transformation, the computational domain is transformed into a rectangle. The Sommerfield radiation condition is applied to the unsteady pressure on the grid line corresponding to the far field boundary. The results are compared with a Possion solver, and it is shown that for maximum accuracy the grid should depend on both the Mach number and reduced frequency. Finally, in order to assess the range of validity of the classical thin airfoil approximation, results for airfoils with zero thickness are compared with results for airfoils with small thickness.

Scott, James R.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Experience with some repeat tests on the 9 inch chord CAST-10-2/DOA 2 airfoil model in the Langley 0.3-m TCT adaptive wall test section

A co-operative testing program is in progress between the Langley Research Center (NASA) and the National Aeronautical Establishment (NAE, Canada) to validate two different techniques of airfoil testing at transonic speeds. The procedure employed is to test the same airfoil model in the NAE two-dimensional tunnel and the Langley 0.3-m Transonic Cryogenic Tunnel (0.3-m TCT). The airfoil model used in testing was CAST-10-2/DOA-2 super-critical airfoil. The Langley 0.3-m TCT has a relatively small cross section of 13 in x 13 in, giving a (h/c) ratio of 1.44 for the same 9 in chord model. The approach employed in the 0.3-m TCT aims towards eliminating the wall effects by using active walls. The top and bottom walls are flexible. By changing the wall shapes during a test in an iterative manner, the wall interference effects are reduced. The method employed to change the wall shapes is the adaptive wall technique. The current test program provided an opportunity to validate the adaptive wall technique in the 0.3-m TCT. The relatively long chord airfoil represents a severe test case to test the efficacy of the adaptive wall technique under cryogenic conditions. The program also involved removal of side wall boundary-layer thus increasing the complexity of the wall adaptation technique. This paper deals with some salient results obtained regarding repeatability of test data and possible residual interference effects.

Murthy, A. V.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Numerical computation of viscous flow about unconventional airfoil shapes

A new two-dimensional computer code was developed to analyze the viscous flow around unconventional airfoils at various Mach numbers and angles of attack. The Navier-Stokes equations are solved using an implicit, upwind, finite-volume scheme. Both laminar and turbulent flows can be computed. A new nonequilibrium turbulence closure model was developed for computing turbulent flows. This two-layer eddy viscosity model was motivated by the success of the Johnson-King model in separated flow regions. The influence of history effects are described by an ordinary differential equation developed from the turbulent kinetic energy equation. The performance of the present code was evaluated by solving the flow around three airfoils using the Reynolds time-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. Excellent results were obtained for both attached and separated flows about the NACA 0012 airfoil, the RAE 2822 airfoil, and the Integrated Technology A 153W airfoil. Based on the comparison of the numerical solutions with the available experimental data, it is concluded that the present code in conjunction with the new nonequilibrium turbulence model gives excellent results.

Ahmed, S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Wall-interference assessment and corrections for transonic NACA 0012 airfoil data from various wind tunnels

A nonlinear, four wall, post-test wall interference assessment/correction (WIAC) code was developed for transonic airfoil data from solid wall wind tunnels with flexibly adaptable top and bottom walls. The WIAC code was applied over a broad range of test conditions to four sets of NACA 0012 airfoil data, from two different adaptive wall wind tunnels. The data include many test points for fully adapted walls, as well as numerous partially adapted and unadapted test points, which together represent many different model/tunnel configurations and possible wall interference effects. Small corrections to the measured Mach numbers and angles of attack were obtained from the WIAC code even for fully adapted data; these corrections generally improve the correlation among the various sets of airfoil data and simultaneously improve the correlation of the data with calculations for a 2-D, free air, Navier-Stokes code. The WIAC corrections for airfoil data taken in fully adapted wall test sections are shown to be significantly smaller than those for comparable airfoil data from straight, slotted wall test sections. This indicates, as expected, a lesser degree of wall interference in the adapted wall tunnels relative to the slotted wall tunnels. Application of the WIAC code to this data was, however, somewhat more difficult and time consuming than initially expected from similar previous experience with WIAC applications to slotted wall data.

Green, Lawrence L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Influence of airfoil nose radius on sound generated by gust interactions

The sound radiated by interaction of a short wavelength gust (k much greater than 1) with a symmetric thin airfoil is analyzed. The theory is based on a linearization of the Euler equations about the subsonic mean flow past the airfoil. The sound generation mechanism is found to be concentrated in a local region surrounding the parabolic nose of the airfoil; the size of this local region scales on the gust wavelength. Airfoil thickness produces terms of relative order O(sq rt S) in the far field sound, where S is a Strouhal number based on the airfoil nose radius. At low Mach numbers, entropy gusts generate much less sound than vorticity gusts. However, for O(1) Mach numbers and moderate values of S, entropy and vorticity gusts produce similar sound levels.

Tsai, C. T.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A multi-point inverse airfoil design method based on conformal mapping

An exact method of multipoint inverse airfoil design for incompressible flow is presented. Multipoint design is handled by dividing the airfoil into a number of desired segments. For each segment the velocity distribution is prescribed together with an angle of attack at which the prescribed velocity distribution is to be achieved. In this manner, multipoint design objectives can be taken into account in the initial specification of the velocity distribution. In order for the multipoint inverse airfoil design problem to be well posed, three integral constraints and several conditions arise which must be satisfied. Further restrictions are imposed if the airfoil is to have a specified pitching moment, thickness ratio, or other constraints. The system of equations is solved partly as a linear system and partly through multidimensional Newton iteration. Since the velocity distribution is prescribed about the circle in the angular coordinate, specification of the velocity in terms of arc length is handled through the multidimensional Newton iteration as well. The current formulation sets the stage for a more general multipoint inverse airfoil design method in which it will be possible to specify the velocity distribution, some boundary-layer development, or the surface geometry along a segment.

Selig, Michael S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

An airfoil design method for viscous flows

An airfoil design procedure is described that has been incorporated into an existing two-dimensional Navier-Stokes airfoil analysis method. The resulting design method, an iterative procedure based on a residual-correction algorithm, permits the automated design of airfoil sections with prescribed surface pressure distributions. This paper describes the inverse design method and the technique used to specify target pressure distributions. An example airfoil design problem is described to demonstrate application of the inverse design procedure. It shows that this inverse design method develops useful airfoil configurations with a reasonable expenditure of computer resources.

Malone, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Euler study on porous transonic airfoils with a view toward multipoint design

Euler solutions for steady transonic flow (Free-stream Mach 0.63-0.8, alpha = 0-2 deg) over NACA 0012 and supercritical airfoils with solid as well as porous surfaces suggest porosity as a means to realize multipoint design for transonic airfoils. The porous surfaces extend over at least 90 percent of the chord. The porosity distribution is described by a modified sine wave with several amplitudes. Either connected or separated cavities are assumed to lie underneath the upper and lower surfaces. Applied to an NACA 0012 airfoil, porosity generally increases lift, in some instances by up to 65 percent. Porous NACA 0012 airfoils in supercritical flow yield reductions of an order of magnitude in wave drag at constant lift, compared to their solid counterpart. Making the surface of a supercritical airfoil permeable also leads to sizeable reductions in wave drag at constant lift for overspeed conditions. The discussion of the computed results addresses issues such as grid sensitivity and checks for systematic errors.

Hartwich, Peter M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Efficient simulation of incompressible viscous flow over single and multi-element airfoils

Incompressible viscous turbulent flows over single- and multiple-element airfoils are numerically simulated in an efficient manner by solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The solution algorithm uses the method of pseudocompressibility with an upwind-differencing scheme for the convective fluxes and an implicit line-relaxation scheme to study high-lift take-off and landing configurations and to compute lift and drag at various angles of attack up to stall. Two different turbulence models are tested in computing the flow over an NACA 4412 airfoil. The approach used for multiple-element airfoils involves the use of multiple zones of structured grids fitted to each element. Two different approaches are compared: a patched system of grids and an overlaid Chimera system of grids. Computational results are presented for two-element, three-element, and four-element airfoil configurations. Excellent agreement with experimental surface-pressure coefficients is seen. The code converges in less than 200 iterations, requiring on the order of one minute of CPU time on a CRAY YMP per element in the airfoil configuration.

Rogers, Stuart E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Recent progress in the analysis of iced airfoils and wings

Recent work on the analysis of iced airfoils and wings is described. Ice shapes for multielement airfoils and wings are computed using an extension of the LEWICE code that was developed for single airfoils. The aerodynamic properties of the iced wing are determined with an interactive scheme in which the solutions of the inviscid flow equations are obtained from a panel method and the solutions of the viscous flow equations are obtained from an inverse three-dimensional finite-difference boundary-layer method. A new interaction law is used to couple the inviscid and viscous flow solutions. The newly developed LEWICE multielement code is amplified to a high-lift configuration to calculate the ice shapes on the slat and on the main airfoil and on a four-element airfoil. The application of the LEWICE wing code to the calculation of ice shapes on a MS-317 swept wing shows good agreement with measurements. The interactive boundary-layer method is applied to a tapered iced wing in order to study the effect of icing on the aerodynamic properties of the wing at several angles of attack.

Cebeci, Tuncer↗
NASA NTRS1992

Efficient simulation of incompressible viscous flow over multi-element airfoils

The incompressible, viscous, turbulent flow over single and multi-element airfoils is numerically simulated in an efficient manner by solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The computer code uses the method of pseudo-compressibility with an upwind-differencing scheme for the convective fluxes and an implicit line-relaxation solution algorithm. The motivation for this work includes interest in studying the high-lift take-off and landing configurations of various aircraft. In particular, accurate computation of lift and drag at various angles of attack, up to stall, is desired. Two different turbulence models are tested in computing the flow over an NACA 4412 airfoil; an accurate prediction of stall is obtained. The approach used for multi-element airfoils involves the use of multiple zones of structured grids fitted to each element. Two different approaches are compared: a patched system of grids, and an overlaid Chimera system of grids. Computational results are presented for two-element, three-element, and four-element airfoil configurations. Excellent agreement with experimental surface pressure coefficients is seen. The code converges in less than 200 iterations, requiring on the order of one minute of CPU time (on a CRAY YMP) per element in the airfoil configuration.

Rogers, Stuart E.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Lift enhancement of an airfoil using a Gurney flap and vortex generators

The results of a low-speed wind tunnel test are presented for a single-element airfoil incorporating two lift-enhancing devices, namely a Gurney flap and vortex generators. The former consists of a small plate, on the order of one to two percent of the airfoil chord in height, located at the trailing edge perpendicular to the pressure side of the airfoil. The later consist of commercially-available, wishbone-shaped vortex generators. The test was conducted in the NASA Ames 7- by 10-foot Wind Tunnel with a full-span NACA 4412 airfoil. Measurements of surface pressure distributions and wake profiles were made to determine the lift, drag, and pitching-moment coefficients for the various airfoil configurations. The results indicate that the addition of a Gurney flap increased the maximum lift coefficient from 1.49 up to 1.96.

Storms, Bruce L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Transition effects on compressible dynamic stall of transiently pitching airfoils

Experimental results and analysis of the effects of boundary layer tripping on dynamic stall of a transiently pitching airfoil are presented. At low Mach numbers, the tripped airfoil exhibits qualitative similarity with the behavior of the untripped airfoil. However, the local supersonic flow at Mach numbers greater than 0.3 is significantly modified by the trip leading to vastly different shock/boundary layer interactions, dynamic stall onset and vortex formation angles. The formation of the laminar separation bubble is found to have a favorable influence in delaying dynamic stall on the untripped airfoil flow. In both Mach number regimes, the tripped flow actually stalls at slightly lower angles of attack. Further experimentation with three trips on an oscillating airfoil showed that the dynamic stall process is very sensitive to the state of the turbulence in the boundary layer. This sensitivity points to a need for finer turbulence modeling techniques for use in dynamic stall computations.

Wilder, M. C.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Unsteady aerodynamic behavior of an airfoil with and without a slat

Unsteady flow behavior and load characteristics of a 2D VR-7 airfoil with and without a leading-edge slat were studied in the water tunnel of the Aeroflightdynamics Directorate, NASA Ames Research Center. Both airfoils were oscillated sinusoidally between 5 and 25 deg at Re = 200,000 to obtain the unsteady lift, drag, and pitching moment data. A fluorescent dye was released from an orifice located at the leading edge of the airfoil for the purpose of visualizing the boundary layer and wake flow. The flowfield and load predictions of an incompressible Navier-Stokes code based on a velocity-vorticity formulation were compared with the test data. The test and predictions both confirm that the slatted VR-7 airfoil delays both static and dynamic stall as compared to the VR-7 airfoil alone.

Tung, Chee↗
NASA NTRS1928

Preliminary Investigation on Boundary Layer Control by Means of Suction and Pressure with the U.S.A. 27 Airfoil

The tests described in this report constitute a preliminary investigation of airfoil boundary layer control, as carried out in the atmospheric wind tunnel of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, from February to August, 1927. Tests were made on a U.S.A. 27 airfoil section with various slot shapes and combinations, and at various amounts of pressure or suction on the slots. The lift of airfoils can be increased by removing or by accelerating the boundary layer. Removing the boundary layer by suction is more economical than to accelerate it by jet action. Gauze-covered suction slots apparently give the best results. When not in operation, all suction slots tested had a detrimental effect upon the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoil which was not apparent with the backward-opening pressure slots. Thick, blunt-nose airfoils would seem to give best results with boundary layer control.

Reid, E G↗