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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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Information is given in viewgraph form on General Dynamics' perspective on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code calibration and validation. Topics covered include a hypersonic blunted cone, a hypersonic wedge/cylinder, a wing vortex defined by Mach contours, pressure distributions, and 3D turbulent flow behind a 2D flat plate as measured in a water tunnel with a laser Doppler velocimeter.
In recent years, optimization has become an engineering tool through the availability of numerous successful nonlinear programming codes. Optimal control problems are converted into parameter optimization (nonlinear programming) problems by assuming the control to be piecewise linear, making the unknowns the nodes or junction points of the linear control segments. Once the optimal piecewise linear control (suboptimal) control is known, a guidance law for operating near the suboptimal path is the neighboring optimal piecewise linear control (neighboring suboptimal control). Research conducted under this grant has been directed toward the investigation of neighboring suboptimal control as a guidance scheme for an advanced launch system.
The maximum-final mass trajectory of a proposed configuration of the Advanced Launch System is presented. A model for the two-stage rocket is given; the optimal control problem is formulated as a parameter optimization problem; and the optimal trajectory is computed using a nonlinear programming code called VF02AD. Numerical results are presented for the controls (angle of attack and velocity roll angle) and the states. After the initial rotation, the angle of attack goes to a positive value to keep the trajectory as high as possible, returns to near zero to pass through the transonic regime and satisfy the dynamic pressure constraint, returns to a positive value to keep the trajectory high and to take advantage of minimum drag at positive angle of attack due to aerodynamic shading of the booster, and then rolls off to negative values to satisfy the constraints. Because the engines cannot be throttled, the maximum dynamic pressure occurs at a single point; there is no maximum dynamic pressure subarc. To test approximations for obtaining analytical solutions for guidance, two additional optimal trajectories are computed: one using untrimmed aerodynamics and one using no atmospheric effects except for the dynamic pressure constraint. It is concluded that untrimmed aerodynamics has a negligible effect on the optimal trajectory and that approximate optimal controls should be able to be obtained by treating atmospheric effects as perturbations.
The neighboring optimal feedback control law is developed for systems with a piecewise linear control for the case where the optimal control is obtained by nonlinear programming techniques. To develop the control perturbation for a given deviation from the nominal path, the second variation is minimized subject to the constraint that the final conditions be satisfied (neighboring suboptimal control). This process leads to a feedback relationship between the control perturbation and the measured deviation from the nominal state. Neighboring suboptimal control is applied to the lunar launch problem. Two approaches, single optimization and multiple optimization for calculating the gains are used, and the gains are tested in a guidance simulation with a mismatch in the acceleration of gravity. Both approaches give acceptable results, but multiple optimization keeps the perturbed path closer to the nominal path.
A methodology for inferring hierarchies representing heuristic knowledge about the check out, control, and monitoring sub-system (CCMS) of the space shuttle launch processing system from natural language input is explained. Our method identifies failures explicitly and implicitly described in natural language by domain experts and uses those descriptions to recommend classifications for inclusion in the experts' heuristic hierarchies.
Ceramics in monolithic form and as composite constituents in the form of fibers, matrices, and coatings are currently being considered for a variety of high-temperature applications in aeronautics and space. Many of these applications involve exposure to a hydrogen-containing environment. The compatibility of selected ceramics in gaseous high-temperature hydrogen is assessed. Environmental stability regimes for the long term use of ceramic materials are defined by the parameters of temperature, pressure, and moisture content. Thermodynamically predicted reactions between hydrogen and several monolithic ceramics are compared with actual performance in a controlled environment. Morphology of hydrogen attack and the corresponding strength degradation is reported for silicon carbide, silicon nitride, alumina, magnesia, and mullite.
The neighboring extremal feedback control law is developed for systems with a piecewise linear control for the case where the optimal control is obtained by nonlinear programming techniques. To develop the control perturbation for a given deviation from the nominal path, the second variation is minimized subject to the constraint that the final conditions be satisfied. This process leads to a feedback relationship between the control perturbation and the measured deviation from the nominal state.
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A theory for the side force, rolling moment, yawing moment, and pressure distribution during yawed landings and planing of seaplanes was developed. For the special case of the straight-sided wedge without chine immersion, the results of the theoretical analysis are presented in the form of generalized curves covering all step landing conditions. Experimental impact and planing data are presented for a prismatic wedge having an angle of dead rise of 22.5 degrees and are shown to be in reasonable agreement with the theoretical predictions.
A fixture is described for making normal-pressure tests of flat plates 5 inches in diameter in which particular care was taken to obtain rigid clamping at the edges. Results are given for 19 plates, ranging in thickness from 0.015 to 0.072 inch. The center deflections and the extreme-fiber stresses at low pressures were found to agree with theoretical values; the center deflections at high pressures were 4 to 12 percent greater than the theoretical values. Empirical curves are derived of the pressure for the beginning of permanent set as a function of the dimensions of the plate and the tensile properties of the material.
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The most essential phenomena of aircraft should be classified according to their origin and then measured. Information can thus be obtained in a quicker, cheaper, and more reliable way than otherwise would be possible.
The recent trial flights and acceptance tests of the Rohrbach "Romar," the largest seaplane in the world, have yielded results fully confirming the principles followed in its development. Its take-off weight of 19,000 kg, its beating the world record for raising the greatest useful load to 2000 m by almost 2500 kg and its remarkable showing in the seaworthiness tests are the results of intelligent researches, the guiding principles of which are briefly set forth in this article.
This report deals with an experimental investigation of the aerodynamical characteristics of airfoils at high speeds. Lift, drag, and center of pressure measurements were made on six airfoils of the type used by the air service in propeller design, at speeds ranging from 550 to 1,000 feet per second. The results show a definite limit to the speed at which airfoils may efficiently be used to produce lift, the lift coefficient decreasing and the drag coefficient increasing as the speed approaches the speed of sound. The change in lift coefficient is large for thick airfoil sections (camber ratio 0.14 to 0.20) and for high angles of attack. The change is not marked for thin sections (camber ratio 0.10) at low angles of attack, for the speed range employed. At high speeds the center of pressure moves back toward the trailing edge of the airfoil as the speed increases. The results indicate that the use of tip speeds approaching the speed of sound for propellers of customary design involves a serious loss in efficiency.
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