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At least 595 records · Page 33

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NASA NTRS1984

A nonlinear structural concept for drag-reducing compliant walls

Two mechanisms of drag reduction for flow over flat plates were investigated. The first mechanism employs Bushnell's hypothesis that compliant walls produce drag reduction by interfering with the formation of the turbulent spots in a turbulent boundary layer. It is shown that the amplitudes and frequencies of compliant wall motions for drag reduction might be achieved by using slightly curved walls and the resulting large amplitude motions of snap buckling. A simple structural model of an arch is used in the analysis, and an asymptotic method is developed. The required wall motions can be obtained by using materials like mylar. In addition, the delay of transition from laminar to turbulent flow by driven walls was studied for Poiseuille channel flow. The walls are driven by a periodic traveling wave. A significant increase in the transitional Reynolds number is obtained by appropriately prescribing the wavelength and phase velocity of the wall motion. Previously developed asymptotic methods are used in the analysis. Previously announced in STAR as N83-11061

Reiss, E. L.↗

NASA NTRS1984

A method for measuring skin friction drag on a flat plate in contaminated gas flows

A technique for measuring friction drag in turbulent gas and gas/particle flows over flat plates is presented, and preliminary results are reported. A 0.25-in.-thick 72 x 6-in. Al plate is suspended by six horizontal support air bearings and four vertical alignment air bearings between fixed dummy plates and leading-edge and trailing-edge fairings in the 32-in.-high 48-in.-wide 11-ft-long test section of a closed-circuit atmospheric wind tunnel operating at 50-150 ft/sec. Particles of Fe and Al oxides of diameter 20-150 microns and density up to 0.3 lb particles per lb air are injected via a 6 x 0.167-in. nozzle; turbulence is induced by a roughened section of the leading-edge fairing; and friction drag is measured using a load-cell pressure transducer. Sample results are shown in a graph, demonstrating good agreement with theoretical drag calculations.

Oetting, R. B.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Zero-Lift Wave Drag of Complex Aircraft Configurations

WAVDRAG calculates supersonic zero-lift wave drag of complex aircraft configurations. Numerical model of aircraft used throughout design process from concept to manufacturing. Incorporates extended geometric input capabilities to permit use of more accurate mathematical model. Engineer defines aircraft components as fusiform or nonfusiform in terms of traditional parallel contours or nonintersecting contours in any direction. Laterally asymmetric configurations simulated. WAVDRAG calculates total drag and wave-drag coefficient of specified aircraft configuration.

Craidon, C., B.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Installed nacelle drag-improvement tests of an M = 0.8 turboprop transport configuration

An unpowered semispan model of a representative turboprop configuration was tested to determine the effect of configuration modifications on the the nonmetric body and wing juncture. It is indicated that the jet off nacelle-installation drag can be approximately 25% of the cruise drag. However, the losses can be reduced to 17% by changes to the wing leading edge and nacelle intersection. Comparison of test results from a semispan nonmetric fuselage model with those from a full span metric fuselage show differences in angles of attack produced the same lift. It is found that the constant lift drag rise of the semispan model is higher because of the increased angle of attack to achieve the same lift.

Levin, A. D.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Investigation to optimize the passive shock wave/boundary layer control for supercritical airfoil drag reduction

The passive shock wave/boundary layer control for reducing the drag of 14%-thick supercritical airfoil was investigated in the 3 in. x 15.4 in. RPI Transonic Wind Tunnel with and without the top wall insert at transonic Mach numbers. Top wall insert was installed to increase the flow Mach number to 0.90 with the model mounted on the test section bottom wall. Various porous surfaces with a cavity underneath were positioned on the area of the airfoil where the shock wave occurs. The higher pressure behind the shock wave circulates flow through the cavity to the lower pressure ahead of the shock wave. The effects from this circulation prevent boundary layer separation and enthropy increase hrough the shock wave. The static pressure distributions over the airfoil, the wake impact pressure survey for determining the profile drag and the Schlieren photographs for porous surfaces are presented and compared with the results for solid surface airfoil. With a 2.8% uniform porosity the normal shock wave for the solid surface was changed to a lambda shock wave, and the wake impact pressure data indicate a drag coefficient reduction as much as 45% lower than for the solid surface airfoil at high transonic Mach numbers.

Nagamatsu, H. T.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Ice shapes and the resulting drag increase for a NACA 0012 airfoil

Experimental measurements of the ice shapes and resulting drag increases were measured in the NASA-Lewis Icing Research Tunnel. The measurements were made over a large range of conditions (e.g., airspeed and temperature, drop size and liquid water content of the cloud, and the angle of attack of the airfoil). The measured drag increase did not agree with the existing correlation. Additional results were given which are helpful in understanding the ice structure and the way it forms, and in improving the ice accretion modeling theories. There are data on the ice surface roughness, on the effect of the ice shape on the local droplet catch, and on the relative importance of various parts of the ice shape on the drag increase. Experimental repeatability is also discussed.

Olsen, W.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Drag characteristics of unsteady, perturbed boundary layer flows

A series of time-dependent numerical computations have been performed for the flow of an unsteady boundary layer over an embedded cavity, which is aligned normal to the flow direction. The unsteady flow is the result of the imposition of a Stuart vortex, at the inflow boundary of the computational domain, onto an otherwise unperturbed two-dimensional laminar boundary layer flow. This produces a strongly vortical, but spatially monochromatic, motion at inflow which is allowed to evolve downstream through the time-dependent numerical solution of appropriate conservation equations. As the imposed vortex evolves over the solid boundary, a weaker induced vortical motion is produced and together these perturbing motions interact with the fluid motion in the embedded cavity. An analysis of the pertinent dynamic variables as well as the time-dependent drag characteristics for this type of non-planar geometry is performed; with particular emphasis on the relative contribution of both pressure drag and frictional drag at various times in the evolution process.

Gatski, T. B.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Axisymmetric bluff-body drag reduction through geometrical modification

The effect of shoulder radiusing and grooving (longitudinally and circumferentially) the afterbodies of bluff bodies to reduce the base drag at low speeds is investigated experimentally. Shoulder radii as large as 2.75 body diameters are examined. Reynolds number (ReD) based on body diameter varied from 20,000 to 200,000. Results indicate that increasing the shoulder radius to 2.00 body diameters can reduce the drag levels to those of a streamline body having 67 percent greater fineness ratio. For the relatively sharp shoulder case, body drag reductions as large as 50 and 33 percent are obtained using circumferential or longitudinal grooves, respectively.

Howard, F. G.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Effect of maximum lift to drag ratio on optimal aeroassisted plane change

The influence of the maximum lift-to-drag ratio on the turning performance of an Orbital Transfer Vehicle is analyzed. Chapman's variables are used to formulate the equations of motion which are valid for both atmospheric flight and flight in a vacuum in a Newtonian gravitational field. Of the six adjoint variables involved in the variational formulation, four exact integrals and two approximate relations are obtained. This leads to an approximate but explicit control law for the lift and bank control. The control law is tested numerically for a whole range of entry speeds, from parabolic entry to near-circular entry with several values of maximum lift-to-drag ratio. The extensive numerical results, which are very accurate as compared to the exact optimal values, show that the maximum plane change for any speed ratio V(entry)/V(final) is simply proportional to the maximum lift-to-drag ratio, and depends solely on this parameter.

Johannesen, J. R.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Preliminary report on in-flight measurement of rotor hub drag and lift using the RSRA

The Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA) is a compound helicopter that was test flown as a fixed wing aircraft, with the main rotor blades removed and the rotor hub installed. An onboard rotor load measurement system measured the resulting rotor hub drag and lift. Measured hub drag and lift are plotted for comparison to that predicted by full scale and 1/6 scale model wind tunnel tests. The success of the demonstration gives confidence that planned improvements to the RSRA will allow high accuracy hub drag and lift measurements to be made in flight on a routine research basis.

Acree, C. W., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Axisymmetric bluff-body drag reduction through geometrical modifications

The effect of shoulder radiusing and grooving (longitudinally or circumferentially) the afterbodies of bluff bodies of reduce the base drag at low speeds is discussed. Shoulder radii as large as 2.75 body diameters are examined. Reynolds number based on body diameter varied from 20,000 to 200,000. Results indicate that increasing the shoulder radius to 2.75 body diameters can reduce the drag levels to those of a streamline body having 67 percent greater fineness ratio. For the relatively sharp shoulder case, body drag reductions as large as 50% are obtained using circumferential or longitudinal grooves.

Howard, F. G.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Ice shapes and the resulting drag increase for a NACA 0012 airfoil

Olsen, W.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Effects of tail span and empennage arrangement on drag of a typical single-engine fighter aft end

An investigation was conducted in the Langley 16 foot Transonic Tunnel to determine the effects of tail span and empennage arrangement on drag of a single engine nozzle/afterbody model. Tests were conducted at Mach numbers from 0.50 to 1.20, nozzle pressures frm 1.0 (jet off) to 8.0, and angles of attack from -3 to 9 deg, depending upon Mach numbers. Three empennage arrangements (aft, staggered, and forward) were investigated with several different tail spans. The results of the investigation indicate that tail span and position have a significant effect on the drag at transonic speeds. Unfavorable tail interference was largely due to the outer portion of the tail surfaces. The inner portion near the nozzle and afterbody did little to increase drag other than surface skin friction. Tail positions forward of the nozzle generally had lower tail interference.

Burley, J. R., II↗

NASA NTRS1987

Acoustic effects on profile drag of a laminar flow airfoil

A two-dimensional laminar flow airfoil (NLF-0414) was subjected to high-intensity sound (pure tones and white noise) over a frequency range of 2 to 5 kHz, while immersed in a flow of 240 ft/sec (Rn of 3 million) in a quiet flow facility. Using a wake-rake, wake dynamic pressures were determined and the deficit in momentum was used to calculate a two dimensional drag coefficient. Significant increases in drag were observed when the airfoil was subjected to the high intensity sound at critical sound frequencies. However, the increased drag was not accompanied by movement of the transition location.

Shearin, John G.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Direct drag and hot-wire measurements on thin-element riblet arrays

An experimental study of stream wise, near-wall, thin-element riblet arrays under a turbulent boundary layer has been conducted in low-speed air. Hot-wire data show that a single, isolated thin-element riblet causes formation of counter-rotating vortex-pairs with a spanwise wavelength of 130 viscous lengths. Abrupt shifts in turbulence intensity magnitude and peak location are observed for streamwise riblet arrays as spanwise riblet spacing is varied. Direct drag measurements show net drag reduction (up to 8.5 percent) over a wide range of riblet spacings along with behavior at discrete non-dimensional spacings indicative of vortex activity. Overall, the data suggest that more than one drag reduction mechanism may be involved.

Wilkinson, S. P.↗

NASA NTRS1986

A summary of the effects of Reynolds number on drag divergence for airfoils tested in the Langley 0.3-meter transonic cryogenic tunnel

The direct first order effect of Reynolds number on the determination of drag-divergence conditions is summarized for six airfoils which were tested in the Langley 0.3-Meter Transonic Cryogenic Tunnel. A second order effect, derived through the effect of Reynolds number on the sidewall boundary layer, is included. In addition, a comparison of how the drag divergence condition is affected on going from one class of airfoil to another is presented. The drag-divergence condition is affected first order by Reynolds number for each of the six airfoils and of course all data are affected second order, since the presence of the boundary layer necessitates a sidewall correction.

Jenkins, Renaldo V.↗

NASA NTRS1985

In-flight measurement of rotor hub drag using the RSRA - A feasibility demonstration

The Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA) is a compound helicopter that was test flown as a fixed-wing aircraft, with the main rotor blades removed and the rotor hub installed. An onboard rotor load-measurement system measured the resulting rotor hub drag and lift. Measured hub drag and lift are plotted for comparison to that predicted by full-scale and 1/6-scale model wind-tunnel tests. The success of the demonstration gives confidence that planned improvements to the RSRA will allow high-accuracy hub drag and lift measurements to be made in flight on a routine research basis.

Acree, C. W., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Airfoil large eddy breakup devices for turbulent drag reduction

It was determined from the present LaRC experiments that tandem, airfoil-shaped large eddy breakup (LEBU) devices can reduce local skin friction as much as 30 percent with a recovery region extending more than 100 boundary layer thicknesses downstream. These airfoils experience near laminar skin friction device drag and produce net drag reductions of up to 7 percent. In contrast to the thin plates used in previous experiments, these airfoils are more than 1000 time stiffer and hence have the potential to withstand the real flight environment (dynamic pressure 36 times larger than in low-speed wing tunnels). In addition, the higher Reynolds numbers of the present tests indicate drag reduction performance is at least as good (or better) as at lower Reynolds numbers.

Anders, J. B.↗