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At least 703 records · Page 39
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Mechanisms of Dynamic Near-Wake Modulation of a Utility-Scale Wind Turbine

The current study uses large eddy simulations to investigate the transient response of a utility-scale wind turbine wake to dynamic changes in atmospheric and operational conditions, as observed in previous field-scale measurements. Most wind turbine wake investigations assume quasi-steady conditions, but real wind turbines operate in a highly stochastic atmosphere, and their operation (e.g. blade pitch, yaw angle) changes constantly in response. Furthermore, dynamic control strategies have been recently proposed to optimize wind farm power generation and longevity. Therefore, improved understanding of dynamic wake behaviours is essential. First, changes in blade pitch are investigated and the wake expansion response is found to display hysteresis as a result of flow inertia. The time scales of the wake response to different pitch rates are quantified. Next, changes in wind direction with different time scales are explored. Under short time scales, the wake deflection is in the opposite direction of that observed under quasi-steady conditions. Finally, yaw changes are implemented at different rates, and the maximum inverse wake deflection and time scale are quantified, showing a clear dependence on yaw rate. To gain further physical understanding of the mechanism behind the inverse wake deflection, the streamwise vorticity in different parts of the wake is quantified. The results of this study provide guidance for the design of advanced wake flow control algorithms. The lag in wake response observed for both blade pitch and yaw changes shows that proposed dynamic control strategies must implement turbine operational changes with a time scale of the order of the rotor time scale or slower.

flow-structure interactions↗
NASA NTRS1986

Time scale analysis of a digital flight control system

In this paper, consideration is given to the fifth order discrete model of an aircraft (longitudinal) control system which possesses three slow (velocity, pitch angle and altitude) and two fast (angle of attack and pitch angular velocity) modes and exhibits a two-time scale property. Using the recent results of the time scale analysis of discrete control systems, the high-order discrete model is decoupled into low-order slow and fast subsystems. The results of the decoupled system are found to be in excellent agreement with those of the original system.

Naidu, D. S.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Control strategies for planetary rover motion and manipulator control

An unusual insect-like vehicle designed for planetary surface exploration is made the occasion for a discussion of control concepts in path selection, hazard detection, obstacle negotiation, and soil sampling. A control scheme which actively articulates the pitching motion between a single-loop front module and a dual loop rear module leads to near optimal behavior in soft soil; at the same time the vehicle's front module acts as a reliable tactile forward probe with a detection range much longer than the stopping distance. Some optimal control strategies are discussed, and the photos of a working scale model are displayed.

Trautwein, W.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Spaceflight Effects on Mammalian Development Summary of Research

Pregnant rats were flown as small payloads on the Space Shuttle and studied during the flight and for approximately a week after returning to Earth, when they were due to deliver their offspring. Studies of vestibular function in the rat pups were examined as part of the research program. Daily videorecordings were made of the rats' behavior in the Animal Enclosure Modules (AEMS) and in identical compartments maintained in the Orbiter Environment Simulator at the Kennedy Space Center (referred to below as Synchronous Control groups). There was continuous postflight surveillance of the rat dams, including timelapse recordings of labor and delivery. The videorecords provided by crewmembers constitute the best systematic views of spaceflown rats to date, despite the dramatic deterioration of visibility sustained after about the 4th day of flight. We were able to make both qualitative and quantitative observations. Rats were observed to engage in a varied repertoire of species-typical activities within the confines of the AEM. We devised a kinematic coding scheme by which we classified and quantified the movements made by dams in space and in the 1-g control condition. We found that movements involving pitch and yaw were about equivalent in Flight and Synchronous animals. In contrast, Flight dams displayed about seven times more rolling movements than did Control. NASA enabled early access to the AEMs after the Shuttle landed. Rats were intact and healthy. Body weight gain during the 9-11 day flights was equivalent to Controls. Post-flight observations, derived from 24hr/day videorecordings, showed that Flight rats ambulated less, reared fewer times and spent less time bipedal than did controls. Overall, their anti-gravitational responses appeared compromised.

Alberts, Jeffrey↗
NASA NTRS1972

Pilot dynamics for instrument approach tasks: Full panel multiloop and flight director operations

Measurements and interpretations of single and mutiloop pilot response properties during simulated instrument approach are presented. Pilot subjects flew Category 2-like ILS approaches in a fixed base DC-8 simulaton. A conventional instrument panel and controls were used, with simulated vertical gust and glide slope beam bend forcing functions. Reduced and interpreted pilot describing functions and remmant are given for pitch attitude, flight director, and multiloop (longitudinal) control tasks. The response data are correlated with simultaneously recorded eye scanning statistics, previously reported in NASA CR-1535. The resulting combined response and scanning data and their interpretations provide a basis for validating and extending the theory of manual control displays.

Weir, D. H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Control of leading-edge vortices on a delta wing

The unsteady flow structure of leading-edge vortices on a delta wing has been investigated using new types of experimental techniques, in order to provide insight into the consequences of various forms of active control. These investigations involve global control of the entire wing and local control applied at crucial locations on or adjacent to the wing. Transient control having long and short time-scales, relative to the convective time-scale C/U(sub infinity), allows substantial modification of the unsteady and time-mean flow structure. Global control at long time-scale involves pitching the wing at rates an order of magnitude lower than the convective time-scale C/U(sub infinity), but at large amplitudes. The functional form of the pitching maneuver exerts a predominant influence on the trajectory of the feeding sheet, the instantaneous vorticity distribution, and the instantaneous location of vortex breakdown. Global control at short time-scales of the order of the inherent frequency of the shear layer separating from the leading-edge and the natural frequency of vortex breakdown shows that 'resonant' response of the excited shear layer-vortex breakdown system is attainable. The spectral content of the induced disturbance is preserved not only across the entire core of the vortex, but also along the axis of the vortex into the region of vortex breakdown. This unsteady modification results in time-mean alteration of the axial and swirl velocity fields and the location of vortex breakdown. Localized control at long and short time-scales involves application of various transient forms of suction and blowing using small probes upstream and downstream of the location of vortex breakdown, as well as distributed suction and blowing along the leading-edge of the wing applied in a direction tangential to the feeding sheet. These local control techniques can result in substantial alteration of the location of vortex breakdown; in some cases, it is possible to accomplish this without net mass addition to the flow field.

Magness, C.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Wind-tunnel free-flight investigation of a supersonic persistence fighter

Wind-tunnel free-flight tests have been conducted in the Langley 30- by 60-Foot Wind Tunnel to examine the high-angle-of-attack stability and control characteristics and control law design of a supersonic persistence fighter (SSPF) at 1 g flight conditions. In addition to conventional control surfaces, the SSPF incorporated deflectable wingtips (tiperons) and pitch and yaw thrust vectoring. A direct eigenstructure assignment technique was used to design control laws to provide good flying characteristics well into the poststall angle-of-attack region. Free-flight tests indicated that it was possible to blend effectively conventional and unconventional control surfaces to achieve good flying characteristics well into the poststall angle-of-attack region.

Hahne, David E.↗
NASA NTRS1959

Exploratory Investigation at Mach Number of 2.01 of the Longitudinal Stability and Control Characteristics of a Winged Reentry Configuration

An investigation has been conducted to determine the longitudinal stability and control characteristics of a reentry configuration at a Mach number of 2.01. The configuration consisted of clipped delta wing with hinged wing-tip panels. The results indicate that deflecting the wing-tip panels from a position normal to the wing chord plane to a position coincident with the wing chord plane resulted in a stabilizing change in the pitching-moment characteristics but did not significantly affect the nonlinearity of the pitching-moment variation with angle of attack. The trailing-edge controls were effective in producing pitching moment throughout the angle-of-attack range for control deflections up to at least 600. The control deflection required for trim, however, varied nonlinearly with angle of attack. It would appear that this nonlinearity as well as the maximum deflection required for trim could be greatly decreased by utilizing a leading-edge control in conjunction with a trailing-edge control.

Foster, Gerald V.↗
NASA NTRS1976

F-8C digital CCV flight control laws

A set of digital flight control laws were designed for the NASA F-8C digital fly-by-wire aircraft. The control laws emphasize Control Configured Vehicle (CCV) benefits. Specific pitch axis objectives were improved handling qualities, angle-of-attack limiting, gust alleviation, drag reduction in steady and maneuvering flight, and a capability to fly with reduced static stability. The lateral-directional design objectives were improved Dutch roll damping and turn coordination over a wide range in angle-of-attack. An overall program objective was to explore the use of modern control design methodilogy to achieve these specific CCV benefits. Tests for verifying system integrity, an experimental design for handling qualities evaluation, and recommended flight test investigations were specified.

Hartmann, G. L.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Aeroelastic Stability of Modern Bearingless Rotors: A Parametric Investigation

The University of Maryland Advanced Rotorcraft Code (UMARC) is utilized to study the effects of blade design parameters on the aeroelastic stability of an isolated modern bearingless rotor blade in hover. The McDonnell Douglas Advanced Rotor Technology (MDART) Rotor is the baseline rotor investigated. Results indicate that kinematic pitch-lag coupling introduced through the control system geometry and the damping levels of the shear lag dampers strongly affect the hover inplane damping of the baseline rotor blade. Hub precone, pitchcase chordwise stiffness, and blade fundamental torsion frequency have small to moderate influence on the inplane damping, while blade pre-twist and placements of blade fundamental flapwise and chord-wise frequencies have negligible effects. A damperless configuration with a leading edge pitch-link, 15 deg of pitch-link cant angle, and reduced pitch-link stiffness is shown to be stable with an inplane damping level in excess of 2.7 percent critical at the full hover tip speed.

Nguyen, Khanh Q.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Arc-Second Pointer for Balloon-Borne Astronomical Instrument

A control system has been designed to keep a balloon-borne scientific instrument pointed toward a celestial object within an angular error of the order of an arc second. The design is intended to be adaptable to a large range of instrument payloads. The initial payload to which the design nominally applies is considered to be a telescope, modeled as a simple thin-walled cylinder 24 ft (approx.= 7.3 m) long, 3 ft (approx.= 0.91 m) in diameter, weighing 1,500 lb (having a mass of .680 kg). The instrument would be mounted on a set of motor-driven gimbals in pitch-yaw configuration. The motors on the gimbals would apply the control torques needed for fine adjustments of the instrument in pitch and yaw. The pitch-yaw mount would, in turn, be suspended from a motor mount at the lower end of a pair of cables hanging down from the balloon (see figure). The motor in this mount would be used to effect coarse azimuth control of the pitch-yaw mount. A notable innovation incorporated in the design is a provision for keeping the gimbal bearings in constant motion. This innovation would eliminate the deleterious effects of static friction . something that must be done in order to achieve the desired arc-second precision. Another notable innovation is the use of linear accelerometers to provide feedback that would facilitate the early detection and counteraction of disturbance torques before they could integrate into significant angular-velocity and angular-position errors. The control software processing the sensor data would be capable of distinguishing between translational and rotational accelerations. The output of the accelerometers is combined with that of angular position and angular-velocity sensors into a proportional + integral + derivative + acceleration control law for the pitch and yaw torque motors. Preliminary calculations have shown that with appropriate gains, the power demand of the control system would be low enough to be satisfiable by means of storage batteries charged by solar batteries during the day.

Ward, Philip R.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Review of Research On Guidance for Recovery from Pitch Axis Upsets

A literature review was conducted to identify past efforts in providing control guidance for aircraft upset recovery including stall recovery. Because guidance is integrally linked to the intended function of aircraft attitude awareness and upset recognition, it is difficult, if not impossible, to consider these issues separately. This literature review covered the aspects of instrumentation and display symbologies for attitude awareness, aircraft upset recognition, upset and stall alerting, and control guidance. Many different forms of symbology have been investigated including, but not limited to, pitch scale depictions, attitude indicator icons, horizon symbology, attitude recovery arrows, and pitch trim indicators. Past research on different visual and alerting strategies that provide advisories, cautions, and warnings to pilots before entering an unusual attitude (UA) are also discussed. Finally, potential control guidance for recovery from upset or unusual attitudes, including approach-to-stall and stall conditions, are reviewed. Recommendations for future research are made.

Harrison, Stephanie J.↗
NASA NTRS1957

Flight Investigation at Low Angles of Attack to Determine the Longitudinal Stability and Control Characteristics of a Cruciform Canard Missile Configuration with a Low-Aspect-Ratio Wing and Blunt Nose at Mach Numbers from 1.2 to 2.1

A full- scale rocket-powered model of a cruciform canard missile configuration with a low- aspect - ratio wing and blunt nose has been flight tested by the Langley Pilotless Aircraft Research Division. Static and dynamic longitudinal stability and control derivatives of this interdigitated canard-wing missile configuration were determined by using the pulsed- control technique at low angles of attack and for a Mach number range of 1.2 to 2.1. The lift - curve slope showed only small nonlinearities with changes in control deflection or angle of attack but indicated a difference in lift- .curve slope of approximately 7 percent for the two control deflections of delta = 3.0 deg and delta= -0.3 deg . The large tail length of the missile tested was effective in producing damping in pitch throughout the Mach number range tested. The aerodynamic- center location was nearly constant with Mach number for the two control deflections but was shown to be less stable with the larger control deflection. The increment of lift produced by the controls was small and positive throughout the Mach number range tested, whereas the pitching moment produced by the controls exhibited a normal trend of reduced effectiveness with increasing Mach number.The effectiveness of the controls in producing angle of attack, lift, and pitching moment was good at all Mach numbers tested.

Brown, Clarence A , Jr↗
NASA NTRS1974

Analysis of the wind tunnel test of a tilt rotor power force model

Two series of wind tunnel tests were made to determine performance, stability and control, and rotor wake interaction on the airframe, using a one-tenth scale powered force model of a tilt rotor aircraft. Testing covered hover (IGE/OCE), helicopter, conversion, and airplane flight configurations. Forces and moments were recorded for the model from predetermined trim attitudes. Control positions were adjusted to trim flight (one-g lift, pitching moment and drag zero) within the uncorrected test data balance accuracy. Pitch and yaw sweeps were made about the trim attitudes with the control held at the trimmed settings to determine the static stability characteristics. Tail on, tail off, rotors on, and rotors off configurations were testes to determine the rotor wake effects on the empennage. Results are presented and discussed.

Marr, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Instrument scanning and controlling: Using eye movement data to understand pilot behavior and strategies

Eye movement data and other parameters including instrument readings, aircraft state and position variables, and control maneuvers were recorded while pilots flew ILS simulations in a B 737. The experiment itself employed seven airline pilots, each of whom flew approximately 40 approach/landing sequences. The simulator was equipped with a night visual scene but the scene was fogged out down to approximately 60 meters (200 ft). The instrument scanning appeared to follow aircraft parameters not physical position of instruments. One important implication of the results is: pilots look for categories or packets of information. Control inputs were tabulated according to throttle, wheel position, column, and pitch trim changes. Three seconds of eye movements before and after the control input were then obtained. Analysis of the eye movement data for the controlling periods showed clear patterns. The results suggest a set of miniscan patterns which are used according to the specific details of the situation. A model is developed which integrates scanning and controlling. Differentiations are made between monitoring and controlling scans.

Dick, A. O.↗
NASA NTRS1980

A pilot's assessment of helicopter handling-quality factors common to both agility and instrument flying tasks

A series of simulation and flight investigations were undertaken to evaluate helicopter flying qualities and the effects of control system augmentation for nap-of-the-Earth (NOE) agility and instrument flying tasks. Handling quality factors common to both tasks were identified. Precise attitude control was determined to be a key requirement for successful accomplishment of both tasks. Factors that degraded attitude controllability were improper levels of control sensitivity and damping, and rotor system cross coupling due to helicopter angular rate and collective pitch input. Application of rate command, attitude command, and control input decouple augmentation schemes enhanced attitude control and significantly improved handling qualities for both tasks. The NOE agility and instrument flying handling quality considerations, pilot rating philosophy, and supplemental flight evaluations are also discussed.

Gerdes, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Interaction of the space shuttle control system with pogo

The asymmetric configuration of the space shuttle results in coupled pitch and axial vibration modes. This coupling results in interaction between the pogo and control systems. A detailed model of representative space shuttle structure, feedline, control, and engine systems revealed the coupled system may be unstable even though the pogo and control systems are stable individually. A method is developed for predicting the coupled system stability in terms of the stability of the separate systems.

Hopkins, A. S.↗