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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1982

Optimal turning climb-out and descent of commercial jet aircraft

Optimal turning climb-out and descent flight-paths from and to runway headings are derived to provide the missing elements of a complete flight-path optimization for minimum fuel consumption. The paths are derived by generating a field of extremals, using the necessary conditions of optimal control. Results show that the speed profiles for straight and turning flight are essentially identical, except for the final horizontal accelerating or decelerating turn. The optimal turns, which require no abrupt maneuvers, could easily be integrated with present climb-cruise-descent fuel-optimization algorithms.

Neuman, F.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Wing extensions for improving climb performance

Recent wind tunnel studies have shown that significant improvements in wing efficiency and climb performance can be achieved using wing extensions having sharp edges and unmodified upper airfoil contours. Based on tests of six configurations, a simple tip shape provided the best wing efficiency at high lift conditions without penalty during cruise conditions. The best configuration tested exhibited more than 20 percent improvement in the maximum rate of climb, plus a reduction in stall speed and a slight improvement in cruise performance over a baseline tip with a round edge. In addition to measurements that were used to determine performance, flow visualization studies provided insight into reasons for improved wing efficiency. Tests were conducted using a high performance general aviation aircraft model with a tapered, cantilevered wing.

Nicks, O. W.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The climbing crawling robot (a unique cable robot for space and Earth)

Some of the greatest concerns in robotic designs have been the high center of gravity of the robot, the irregular or flat surface that the robot has to work on, the weight of the robot that has to handle heavy weights or use heavy forces, and the ability of the robot to climb straight up in the air. This climbing crawling robot handles these problems well with magnets, suction cups, or actuators. The cables give body to the robot and it performs very similar to a caterpillar. The computer program is simple and inexpensive as is the robot. One of the important features of this system is that the robot can work in pairs or triplets to handle jobs that would be extremely difficult for single robots. The light weight of the robot allows it to handle quite heavy weights. The number of feet give the robot many roots where a simple set of feet would give it trouble.

Kerley, James J.↗
NASA NTRS1936

Procedure for Determining Speed and Climbing Performance of Airships

The procedure for obtaining air-speed and rate-of-climb measurements in performance tests of airships is described. Two methods of obtaining speed measurements, one by means of instruments in the airship and the other by flight over a measured ground course, are explained. Instruments, their calibrations, necessary correction factors, observations, and calculations are detailed for each method, and also for the rate-of-climb tests. A method of correction for the effect on density of moist air and a description of other methods of speed course testing are appended.

Thompson, F L↗
NASA NTRS1938

The Effect of Compressibility on Eight Full-Scale Propellers Operating in the Take-Off and Climbing Range

Tests were made of eight full-scale propellers of different shape at various tip speeds up to about 1,000 feet per second. The range of blade-angle settings investigated was from 10 degrees to 30 degrees at the 0.75 radius. The results indicate that a loss in propulsive efficiency occurred at tip speeds from 0.5 to 0.7 the velocity of sound for the take-off and climbing conditions. As the tip speed increased beyond these critical values, the loss rapidly increased and amounted, in some instances, to more than 20 percent of the thrust power for tip-speed values of 0.8 the speed of sound. In general, as the blade-angle setting was increased, the loss started to occur at lower tip speeds. The maximum loss for a given tip speed occurred at a blade-angle setting of about 20 degrees for the take-off and 25 degrees for the climbing condition. A simplified method for correcting propellers for the effect of compressibility is given in an appendix.

Biermann, David↗
NASA NTRS1939

Aircraft rate-of-climb indicators

The theory of the rate-of-climb indicator is developed in a form adapted for application to the instrument in its present-day form. Compensations for altitude, temperature, and rate of change of temperature are discussed from the designer's standpoint on the basis of this theory. Certain dynamic effects, including instrument lag, and the use of the rate-of-climb indicator as a statoscope are also considered. Modern instruments are described. A laboratory test procedure is outlined and test results are given.

Johnson, Daniel P↗
NASA NTRS1992

Aero acoustic analysis and community noise. HSCT climb to cruise noise assessment

The widely accepted industry High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) design goal for exterior noise is to achieve Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 36 Stage 3 noise limits currently required for new subsonic aircraft. The three phases of the concern are as follows: (1) airport noise abatement at communities close to the airport, (2) climb power opening-up procedures, and (3) the climb to cruise phase affecting communities far from the airport.

Mortlock, Alan K.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Experimental Studies in Helicopter Vertical Climb Performance

Data and analysis from an experimental program to measure vertical climb performance on an eight-foot model rotor are presented. The rotor testing was performed using a unique moving-model facility capable of accurately simulating the flow conditions during axial flight, and was conducted from July 9, 1992 to July 16, 1992 at the Dynamic Model Track, or 'Long Track,' just prior to its demolition in August of 1992. Data collected during this brief test program included force and moment time histories from a sting-mounted strain gauge balance, support carriage velocity, and rotor rpm pulses. In addition, limited video footage (of marginal use) was recorded from smoke flow studies for both simulated vertical climb and descent trajectories. Analytical comparisons with these data include a series of progressively more detailed calculations ranging from simple momentum theory, a prescribed wake method, and a free-wake prediction.

McKillip, Robert M., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Launch Condition Deviations of Reusable Launch Vehicle Simulations in Exo-Atmospheric Zoom Climbs

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has proposed a two-stage system to deliver a small payload to orbit. The proposal calls for an airplane to perform an exo-atmospheric zoom climb maneuver, from which a second-stage rocket is launched carrying the payload into orbit. The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center has conducted an in-house generic simulation study to determine how accurately a human-piloted airplane can deliver a second-stage rocket to a desired exo-atmospheric launch condition. A high-performance, fighter-type, fixed-base, real-time, pilot-in-the-loop airplane simulation has been modified to perform exo-atmospheric zoom climb maneuvers. Four research pilots tracked a reference trajectory in the presence of winds, initial offsets, and degraded engine thrust to a second-stage launch condition. These launch conditions have been compared to the reference launch condition to characterize the expected deviation. At each launch condition, a speed change was applied to the second-stage rocket to insert the payload onto a transfer orbit to the desired operational orbit. The most sensitive of the test cases was the degraded thrust case, yielding second-stage launch energies that were too low to achieve the radius of the desired operational orbit. The handling qualities of the airplane, as a first-stage vehicle, have also been investigated.

Urschel, Peter H.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Fibrillar Adhesive for Climbing Robots

A climbing robot needs to use its adhesive patches over and over again as it scales a slope. Replacing the adhesive at each step is generally impractical. If the adhesive or attachment mechanism cannot be used repeatedly, then the robot must carry an extra load of this adhesive to apply a fresh layer with each move. Common failure modes include tearing, contamination by dirt, plastic deformation of fibers, and damage from loading/ unloading. A gecko-like fibrillar adhesive has been developed that has been shown useful for climbing robots, and may later prove useful for grasping, anchoring, and medical applications. The material consists of a hierarchical fibrillar structure that currently contains two levels, but may be extended to three or four levels in continuing work. The contacting level has tens of thousands of microscopic fibers made from a rubberlike material that bend over and create intimate contact with a surface to achieve maximum van der Waals forces. By maximizing the real area of contact that these fibers make and minimizing the bending energy necessary to achieve that contact, the net amount of adhesion has been improved dramatically.

Pamess, Aaron↗
NASA NTRS2020

Vertical Climb Testing of a Full-Scale Proprotor on the Tiltrotor Test Rig

The Tiltrotor Test Rig (TTR) is a new NASA facility for testing full-scale proprotors. The first test campaign in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Facility (NFAC) concluded in November 2018. The wind-tunnel test included vertical climb conditions; that is, axial flow at low airspeeds (true hover is not possible in the NFAC). The rotor tested was the Bell Model 699, a 609 rotor modified specifically for wind-tunnel testing. The rotor was tested under a variety of NFAC configurations, some unprecedented and unique to vertical climb. Researchers must understand the differences in configuration if they are to make proper use of the data. This paper presents results for several different test configurations, including assessments of data quality. Comparisons with earlier tests of a similar rotor, the 0.656- scale Joint Vertical Experimental (JVX) rotor, are included to provide additional insights into rotor and wind tunnel behavior.

Acree, C. W.↗
NASA NTRS2017

The LEMUR 3 Limbed Climbing Robot

This paper introduces a new four-limbed robot, LEMUR 3, that has demonstrated climbing on cliff faces and smooth glass. Each limb on the robot consists of seven identical actuators in a serial chain. Each limb terminates in a single axis force sensor that allows various end effectors to be mounted and connected to the robot’s power and communication system. Microspine grippers were used for climbing the rocky surface and gecko adhesive grippers were used for the glass solar panels. All other hardware and much of the software was common for the two demonstrations. The robot’s mechanical, electrical, and software systems, various gripping devices, and field demonstrations are described. Limbed mobility is of interest to JPL and NASA because of its potential to access extreme terrain, including that on Mars and in microgravity environments.

Kennedy, Brett↗
NASA NTRS1976

Characteristics of the boundary-layer equations of the minimum time-to-climb problem

In many singular perturbation solutions of optimal control problems, the most difficult numerical task is to solve the boundary-layer equations. However, these equations have a special structure that may often be used to expedite their solution. This paper begins by noting the general nature of the boundary-layer equations for optimal control problems. These results are then applied to the aircraft minimum time-to-climb problem. A specific numerical example is considered to illustrate the characteristics of the solution of the boundary-layer equations for this problem.

Ardema, M. D.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Linearization of the boundary-layer equations of the minimum time-to-climb problem

Ardema (1974) has formally linearized the two-point boundary value problem arising from a general optimal control problem, and has reviewed the known stability properties of such a linear system. In the present paper, Ardema's results are applied to the minimum time-to-climb problem. The linearized zeroth-order boundary layer equations of the problem are derived and solved.

Ardema, M. D.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Climb-dash real-time calculations

On-board rear-optimal climb-dash energy management, optimal symmetric flight with an intermediate vehicle model, and energy states are presented.

Weston, A. R.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Wind tunnel results of advanced high speed propellers in the takeoff, climb and landing operating regimes

Low speed wind tunnel performance tests of two advanced propellers were completed. The 62.2 cm diameter adjustable pitch models were tested at Mach numbers typical of takeoff, initial climbout, and landing speeds in the 10 by 10 ft Supersonic Wind Tunnel. Both models had eight blades and a cruise design point operating condition of 0.80 Mach number, 10.668 km S.A. altitude, 243.8 m/s tip speed and a high power loading of 301 kW sq m. No adverse or unusual low speed operating conditions were found during the test with either the straight blade SR-2 or the 45 deg swept SR-3 propellers. The 45 deg swept propeller efficiency exceeded the straight blade efficiency by 4 to 5%. Typical net efficiencies of the straight and 45 deg swept propeller at a Mach 0.20 takeoff condition were 50.2 and 54.9% respectively. At a Mach 0.34 climb condition, the efficiencies were 53.7 and 59.1%. Reverse thrust data indicates that these propellers are capable of producing more reverse thrust at Mach 0.20 than a high bypass turbofan engine at Mach 0.20.

Stefko, G. L.↗