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At least 505 records · Page 28

Effects of increased leading-edge thickness on performance of a transonic rotor blade

A single-stage transonic compressor was tested with two rotor blade leading-edge configurations to investigate the effect of increased leading-edge thickness on the performance of a transonic blade row. The original rotor blade configuration was modified by cutting back the leading edge sufficiently to double the blade leading-edge thickness and thus the blade gap blockage in the tip region. At design speed this modification resulted in a decrease in rotor overall peak efficiency of four points. The major portion of this decrement in rotor overall peak efficienty was attributed to the flow conditions in the outer 30 percent of the blade span. At 70 and 90 percent of design speed, the modification had very little effect on rotor overall performance.

Reid, L.↗

Cold-air study of the effect on turbine stator blade aerodynamic performance of coolant ejection from various trailing-edge slot geometries. 1: Experimental results

Trailing-edge slot configurations were investigated in a two-dimensional cascade of turbine stator blades. The trailing-edge slots were incorporated into blades with round trailing edges. The five blade configurations investigated included blades with two different trailing-edge thicknesses and four different slot widths. The results of the investigation showed that there was, in general, a significant increase in primary-air efficiency due to the coolant flow, the increase varying with slot configuration. For the five configurations tested, the average percent change in primary-air efficiency per percent coolant flow varied almost linearly from zero to about 1.4 percent over a range of coolant- to primary-air exit-velocity ratios between 0 and 1.2. However, for different configurations there was considerable deviation from the average values in the lower range of exit velocity ratios.

Prust, H. W., Jr.↗

Effect of trailing-edge flap deflection on the lateral and longitudinal-stability characteristics of a supersonic transport model having a highly-swept arrow wing

A low-speed investigation has been made on a highly-swept wing model having a thickened leading edge to determine the effect of inboard trailing-edge flaps on the characteristics of the model in pitch and sideslip. The tests were made at a Mach number of 0.227 which corresponds to a Reynolds number of about 5.53 million based on the reference chord. The results showed that deflection of the trailing-edge flaps decreased the roll due to sideslip by about 20 percent at a landing lift coefficient of 0.5. The directional-stability parameter, was increased by deflection of the flaps and the range of lift coefficients over which it was positive was also increased. The longitudinal stability characteristics of the model without leading-edge devices were improved by increased flap deflection, that is, the pitch-up tendency was delayed to higher lift coefficients. The lift coefficient increment resulting from the 15 deg flap deflection compared favorably with that predicted.

Lockwood, V. E.↗

Effect of spanwise blowing on leading-edge vortex bursting of a highly swept aspect ratio 1.18 delta wing

An investigation was conducted in the Langley 1/8-scale V/STOL model tunnel on a semispan delta wing with a leading-edge sweep of 74 deg, to determine the effectiveness of various locations of upper surface and reflection plane blowing on leading-edge vortex bursting. Constant area nozzles were located on the wing upper surface along a ray swept 79 deg, which was beneath the leading-edge vortex core. The bursting and reformation of the leading-edge vortex was viewed by injecting helium into the vortex core, and employing a schlieren system.

Scantling, W. L.↗

Design fabrication, testing, and delivery of shuttle heat pipe leading edge test modules. Volume 1: Executive summary

The construction of two test modules is presented for a feasibility demonstration of a concept for reusable space shuttle wing leading edge surfaces. In this leading edge concept high temperature heat pipes were incorporated into the structure to cool the stagnation region, allowing the use of super-alloys in place of refractory metal, ablator protected, or carbon-carbon structures. The program included the analysis and design of the heat pipes, their integration into the test module structure, heat pipe development testing, construction of the test modules and a facility adapter, and formulation of recommended testing conditions. The results of the heat pipe and leading edge module thermal analyses indicate the test modules will meet the design goal; reducing the leading edge temperature at the stagnation line from 1315 C (2400 F) to less than 1010 C (1850 F). The development tests demonstrated that the module assembly could be brazed with active heat pipes, as was borne out by the subsequent successful brazing of both modules with active heat pipes loaded with sodium.

Source record↗

Cold air study of the effect on turbine stator blade aerodynamic performance of coolant ejection from various trailing edge slot geometries. 2: Comparison of experimental and analytical results

Experimentally determined efficiencies of turbine stator blades having trailing-edge coolant ejection are compared with efficiencies predicted from two previously published approximate analytical methods. The experimental results were obtained from two-dimensional data with the temperature of the primary and coolant flows both being nearly ambient. Data from five stator blade configurations having different slotted trailing-edge geometries were included in the comparison. The two analytical methods gave results which agreed reasonably well with experimental results. An average of the absolute values of differences between experimental and predicted efficiencies for all five blade configurations showed that one method gave average efficiency differences which were about 1.3 percent different than experimental efficiencies, while the other method gave average efficiency differences that were about 0.7 percent different than experimental. However, in some instances, maximum differences of as much as 4 percent occurred. A comparison between experimental and analytical results indicated that the ratio of trailing-edge slot width to trailing-edge thickness influences the measured efficiencies to a greater extent than is accounted for by either analytical model.

Prust, H. W., Jr.↗

Effect of canard position and wing leading-edge flap deflection on wing buffet at transonic speeds

A generalized wind-tunnel model, with canard and wing planform typical of highly maneuverable aircraft, was tested. The addition of a canard above the wing chord plane, for the configuration with leading-edge flaps undeflected, produced substantially higher total configuration lift coefficients before buffet onset than the configuration with the canard off and leading-edge flaps undeflected. The wing buffet intensity was substantially lower for the canard-wing configuration than the wing-alone configuration. The low-canard configuration generally displayed the poorest buffet characteristics. Deflecting the wing leading-edge flaps substantially improved the wing buffet characteristics for canard-off configurations. The addition of the high canard did not appear to substantially improve the wing buffet characteristics of the wing with leading-edge flaps deflected.

Gloss, B. B.↗

Subscale, hydrogen-burning, airframe-integrated-scramjet: Experimental and theoretical evaluation of a water cooled strut airframe-integrated-scramjet: Experimental leading edge

A water-cooled leading-edge design for an engine/airframe integrated scramjet model strut leading edge was evaluated. The cooling design employs a copper cooling tube brazed just downstream of the leading edge of a wedge-shaped strut which is constructed of oxygen-free copper. The survival of the strut leading edge during a series of tests at stagnation point heating rates confirms the practicality of the cooling design. A finite difference thermal model of the strut was also proven valid by the reasonable agreement of calculated and measured values of surface temperature and cooling-water heat transfer.

Pinckney, S. Z.↗

A leading edge heating array and a flat surface heating array: Final design

A heating array is described for testing full-scale sections of the leading edge and lower fuselage surfaces of the shuttle. The heating array was designed to provide a tool for development and acceptance testing of leading edge segments and large flat sections of the main body thermal protection system. The array was designed using a variable length module concept to meet test requirements using interchangeable components from one test configuration in another configuration. Heat generating modules and heat absorbing modules were employed to achieve the thermal gradient around the leading edge. A support was developed to hold the modules to form an envelope around a variety of leading edges; to supply coolant to each module; the support structure and to hold the modules in the flat surface heater configuration. An optical pyrometer system mounted within the array was designed to monitor specimen surface temperatures without altering the test article's surface.

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Subsonic aerodynamic characteristics of interacting lifting surfaces with separated flow around sharp edges predicted by a vortex-lattice method

Because the potential flow suction along the leading and side edges of a planform can be used to determine both leading- and side-edge vortex lift, the present investigation was undertaken to apply the vortex-lattice method to computing side-edge suction force for isolated or interacting planforms. Although there is a small effect of bound vortex sweep on the computation of the side-edge suction force, the results obtained for a number of different isolated planforms produced acceptable agreement with results obtained from a method employing continuous induced-velocity distributions. By using the method outlined, better agreement between theory and experiment was noted for a wing in the presence of a canard than was previously obtained.

Lamar, J. E.↗

A Three-Dimensional Solution of Flows over Wings with Leading-Edge Vortex Separation. Part 1: Engineering Document

A method of predicting forces, moments, and detailed surface pressures on thin, sharp-edged wings with leading-edge vortex separation in incompressible flow is presented. The method employs an inviscid flow model in which the wing and the rolled-up vortex sheets are represented by piecewise, continuous quadratic doublet sheet distributions. The Kutta condition is imposed on all wing edges. Computed results are compared with experimental data and with the predictions of the leading-edge suction analogy for a selected number of wing planforms over a wide range of angle of attack. These comparisons show the method to be very promising, capable of producing not only force predictions, but also accurate predictions of detailed surface pressure distributions, loads, and moments.

Brune, G. W.↗

On the quantitative evaluation of edge detection schemes and their comparison with human performance

A technique for the quantitative evaluation of edge detection schemes is presented. It is used to assess the performance of three such schemes using a specially-generated set of images containing noise. The ability of human subjects to distinguish the edges in the presence of noise is also measured and compared with that of the edge detection schemes. The edge detection schemes are used on a high-resolution satellite photograph with varying degrees of noise added in order to relate the quantitative comparison to real-life imagery.

Fram, J. R.↗

A three-dimensional solution of flows over wings with leading-edge vortex separation

The application of a new, general, potential flow computational technique to the solution of the subsonic, three-dimensional flow over wings with leading-edge vortex separation is presented. The present method is capable of predicting forces, moments, and detailed surface pressures on thin, sharp-edged wings of rather arbitrary planform. The wing geometry is arbitrary in the sense that leading and trailing edges may be curved or kinked and the wing may have arbitrary camber and twist. The method employs an inviscid flow model in which the wing, the rolled-up vortex sheets, and the wake are represented by piecewise continuous quadratic doublet sheet distributions. The Kutta condition is imposed along all wing edges. Strengths of the doublet distributions as well as shape and position of the free fortex sheet spirals are computed in iterative fashion starting with an assumed initial sheet geometry. The method is verified by numerous computed results.

Weber, J. A.↗

Leading-edge singularities in thin-airfoil theory

If the thin airfoil theory is applied to an airfoil having a rounded leading edge, a certain error will arise in the determination of the pressure distribution around the nose. It is shown that the evaluation of the drag of such a blunt nosed airfoil by the thin airfoil theory requires the addition of a leading edge force, analogous to the leading edge thrust of the lifting airfoil. The method of calculation is illustrated by application to: (1) The Joukowski airfoil in subsonic flow; and (2) the thin elliptic cone in supersonic flow. A general formula for the edge force is provided which is applicable to a variety of wing forms.

Jones, R. T.↗

Summary of some recent studies of subsonic vortex lift and parameters affecting the leading-edge vortex stability

Various subsonic configurations which develop vortex lift are examined herein. Comparisons are made with data and the combination of direct and indirect edge forces through use of the suction analogy. For most configurations, the use of the indirect or augmented vortex lift leads to improved agreement with data. The studies conducted showed that it is possible for the leading-edge vortex to exhibit bursting on a cropped wing and the wing aerodynamic characteristics not show the effect. It was further found that the distributions of leading-edge suction correlate well with the maintenance of vortex flow aerodynamic characteristics. Lastly, a method is presented for relating the initial value of circulation and axial velocity of the leading-edge shed vortex to the wing geometry.

Lamar, J. E.↗

Effects of wing leading-edge radius and Reynolds number on longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of highly swept wing-body configurations at subsonic speeds

An investigation was conducted in the Langley low turbulence pressure tunnel to determine the effects of wing leading edge radius and Reynolds number on the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of a series of highly swept wing-body configurations. The tests were conducted at Mach numbers below 0.30, angles of attack up to 16 deg, and Reynolds numbers per meter from 6.57 million to 43.27 million. The wings under study in this investigation had leading edge sweep angles of 61.7 deg, 64.61 deg, and 67.01 deg in combination with trailing edge sweep angles of 0 deg and 40.6 deg. The leading edge radii of each wing planform could be varied from sharp to nearly round.

Henderson, W. P.↗

Leading edge protection for composite blades

A laminated filament composite structure, such as an airfoil for use in an environment in which it is subjected to both foreign object impact and bending is provided with improved leading edge protection. At least one fine wire mesh layer is partially bonded within the composite structure along its neutral bending axis. A portion of the wire mesh layer extends beyond the neutral bending axis and partially around the leading edge where it is bonded to the outer periphery of the primary composite structure. The wire mesh is clad with a metal such as nickel to provide an improved leading edge protective device which is firmly anchored within the composite structure. Also described is a novel method of constructing a composite airfoil so as to further minimize the possibility of losing the leading edge protective device due to delamination caused by impact and bending.

Brantley, J. W.↗

FORTRAN program for calculating leading and trailing-edge geometry of turbomachine blades

A FORTRAN IV program which calculates leading- and trailing-edge circle radii, tangency angles on the leading- and trailing-edge circles, and stagger angles of turbomachinery blade sections using only spline points defining the blade surfaces is described. The program shifts the origin of the blade coordinates to the leading edge of the blade. Required input includes (m, theta) coordinates of a sufficient number of spline points to adequately define the two surfaces of the blade. Other required input are the radii from the axis of rotation of the leading- and trailing-edges. The output from this program is used directly as the geometrical input for a NASA developed program for calculating transonic velocities on a blade-to-blade stream surface of a turbomachine. The program is used for axial, radial, and mixed flow turbomachine blades.

Schumann, L. F.↗