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At least 739 records · Page 41
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2022

Yuma 2022 Rotorcraft Acoustic Flight Test

A cooperative flight test campaign between U.S. Navy, Army, Marine Corps, and NASA was performed at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma from 19 January to 15 February 2022. The primary purpose of testing military vehicles was to characterize the acoustic signature of the MV-22 rotorcraft and Stalker unmanned aerial system for typical mission gross weight, configuration, and for a range of typical mission operating conditions. Additionally, a civilian MD530 vehicle was tested to characterize the acoustic emissions for both legacy blades and S411 main rotor blades. This report provides an overview of the test, documents the data acquired, and describes the formats of the stored data.

Acoustics↗
NASA NTRS1985

Large-scale Advanced Propfan (LAP) program

The propfan is an advanced propeller concept which maintains the high efficiencies traditionally associated with conventional propellers at the higher aircraft cruise speeds associated with jet transports. The large-scale advanced propfan (LAP) program extends the research done on 2 ft diameter propfan models to a 9 ft diameter article. The program includes design, fabrication, and testing of both an eight bladed, 9 ft diameter propfan, designated SR-7L, and a 2 ft diameter aeroelastically scaled model, SR-7A. The LAP program is complemented by the propfan test assessment (PTA) program, which takes the large-scale propfan and mates it with a gas generator and gearbox to form a propfan propulsion system and then flight tests this system on the wing of a Gulfstream 2 testbed aircraft.

Sagerser, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Large-scale advanced propfan (LAP) program progress report

The propfan is an advanced propeller concept which maintains the high efficiencies traditionally associated with conventional propellers at the higher aircraft cruise speeds associated with jet transports. The large-scale advanced propfan (LAP) program extends the research done on 2 ft diameter propfan models to a 9 ft diameter article. The program includes design, fabrication, and testing of both an eight bladed, 9 ft diameter propfan, designated SR-7L, and a 2 ft diameter aeroelastically scaled model, SR-7A. The LAP program is complemented by the propfan test assessment (PTA) program, which takes the large-scale propfan and mates it with a gas generator and gearbox to form a propfan propulsion system and then flight tests this system on the wing of a Gulfstream 2 testbed aircraft.

Sagerser, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Fiberglass composite blades for the 2 MW Mod-1 wind turbine generator

In mid-1979, NASA contracted with Kaman Aerospace Corporation for the design, manufacture, and ground testing of two 100 foot composite rotor blades intended for operation on the Mod-1 wind turbine. The Mod-1 blades have been completed and are currently stored at the Kaman facility. The design, tooling, fabrication, and testing phases which have been carried out to date, as well as testing still planned are described. Discussed are differences from the 150 foot blade which were introduced for cost and manufacturing improvement purposes. Also included is a description of the lightning protection system installed in the blades, and its development program. Actual costs and manhours expended for Blade No. 2 are provided as a base, along with a projection of costs for the blade in production. Finally, cost drivers are identified relative to future designs.

Batesole, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Core compressor exit stage study. Volume 2: Data and performance report for the baseline configuration

The objective of the program is to develop rear stage blading designs that have lower losses in their endwall boundary layer regions. The overall technical approach in this efficiency improvement program utilized General Electric's Low Speed Research Compressor as the principal investigative tool. Tests were conducted in two ways: using four identical stages of blading so that test data would be obtained in a true multistage environment and using a single stage of blading so that comparison with the multistage test results could be made.

Wisler, D. C.↗
NASA NTRS2009

SMART Rotor Development and Wind-Tunnel Test

Boeing and a team from Air Force, NASA, Army, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California at Los Angeles, and University of Maryland have successfully completed a wind-tunnel test of the smart material actuated rotor technology (SMART) rotor in the 40- by 80-foot wind-tunnel of the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex at NASA Ames Research Center, figure 1. The SMART rotor is a full-scale, five-bladed bearingless MD 900 helicopter rotor modified with a piezoelectric-actuated trailing-edge flap on each blade. The development effort included design, fabrication, and component testing of the rotor blades, the trailing-edge flaps, the piezoelectric actuators, the switching power amplifiers, the actuator control system, and the data/power system. Development of the smart rotor culminated in a whirl-tower hover test which demonstrated the functionality, robustness, and required authority of the active flap system. The eleven-week wind tunnel test program evaluated the forward flight characteristics of the active-flap rotor, gathered data to validate state-of-the-art codes for rotor noise analysis, and quantified the effects of open- and closed-loop active-flap control on rotor loads, noise, and performance. The test demonstrated on-blade smart material control of flaps on a full-scale rotor for the first time in a wind tunnel. The effectiveness and the reliability of the flap actuation system were successfully demonstrated in more than 60 hours of wind-tunnel testing. The data acquired and lessons learned will be instrumental in maturing this technology and transitioning it into production. The development effort, test hardware, wind-tunnel test program, and test results will be presented in the full paper.

Lau, Benton H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Numerical simulation of a hovering rotor using embedded grids

The flow field for a rotor blade in hover was computed by numerically solving the compressible thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations on embedded grids. In this work, three embedded grids were used to discretize the flow field - one for the rotor blade and two to convect the rotor wake. The computations were performed at two hovering test conditions, for a two-bladed rectangular rotor of aspect ratio six. The results compare fairly with experiment and illustrates the use of embedded grids in solving helicopter type flow fields.

Duque, Earl-Peter N.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Compressor blade setting angle accuracy study, volume 1

The aerodynamic test of a small, single stage, highly loaded, axial flow transonic compressor is covered. The stage was modified by fabricating a 24 blade rotor with mis-set blades in a repeating pattern - two degrees closed from nominal, two degrees open from nominal and nominal. The unit was instrumented to determine overall performance and average blade element data. High-response, dynamic pressure probes were installed to record pressure patterns at selected points in the flowpath. Testing was conducted at speeds from 70 to 94% of design equivalent speed with a conventional casing and also with circumferential grooves over the rotor tip. Testing indicated severe performance penalties were incurred as a result of the mis-set blading. Lower flow, pressure ratio, and efficiency were observed for the stage with or without casing treatment. Periodic pressure variations were detected at every location where high response pressure sensors were located and were directly related to blading geometry.

Holman, F. F.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Effect of precipitation on wind turbine performance

The effects of precipitation on wind turbine power output was analyzed. The tests were conducted on the two bladed Mod-0 horizontal axis wind turbine with three different rotor configurations. Experimental data from these tests are presented which clearly indicate that the performance of the Mod-0 wind turbine is affected by rain. Light rainfall degraded performance by as much as 20 percent while heavy rainfall degraded performance by as much as 30 percent. Snow mixed with drizzle degraded performance by as much as 36 percent at low windspeeds. Also presented are the results of an analysis to predict the effect of rain on wind turbine performance. This analysis used a blade element/momentum code with modified airfoil characteristics to account for the effect of rain and predicted a loss in performance of 31 percent in high winds with moderate rainfall rates. These predicted results agreed well with experimental data.

Corrigan, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Single-stage experimental evaluation of tandem-airfoil rotor and stator blading for compressors. Part 2: Data and performance for stage A

Stage A, comprised of a conventional rotor and stator, was designed and tested to establish a performance baseline for comparison with the results of subsequent tests planned for two tandem-blade stages. The rotor had an inlet hub/tip ratio of 0.8 and a design tip velocity of 757 ft/sec. At design equivalent rotor speed, rotor A achieved a maximum adiabatic efficiency of 85.1 percent at a pressure ratio of 1.29. The stage maximum adiabatic efficiency was 78.6 percent at a pressure ratio of 1.27.

Brent, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Experimental performance and acoustic investigation of modern, counterrotating blade concepts

The aerodynamic, acoustic, and aeromechanical performance of counterrotating blade concepts were evaluated both theoretically and experimentally. Analytical methods development and design are addressed. Utilizing the analytical methods which evolved during the conduct of this work, aerodynamic and aeroacoustic predictions were developed, which were compared to NASA and GE wind tunnel test results. The detailed mechanical design and fabrication of five different composite shell/titanium spar counterrotating blade set configurations are presented. Design philosophy, analyses methods, and material geometry are addressed, as well as the influence of aerodynamics, aeromechanics, and aeroacoustics on the design procedures. Blade fabrication and quality control procedures are detailed; bench testing procedures and results of blade integrity verification are presented; and instrumentation associated with the bench testing also is identified. Additional hardware to support specialized testing is described, as are operating blade instrumentation and the associated stress limits. The five counterrotating blade concepts were scaled to a tip diameter of 2 feet, so they could be incorporated into MPS (model propulsion simulators). Aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performance testing was conducted in the NASA Lewis 8 x 6 supersonic and 9 x 15 V/STOL (vertical or short takeoff and landing) wind tunnels and in the GE freejet anechoic test chamber (Cell 41) to generate an experimental data base for these counterrotating blade designs. Test facility and MPS vehicle matrices are provided, and test procedures are presented. Effects on performance of rotor-to-rotor spacing, angle-of-attack, pylon proximity, blade number, reduced-diameter aft blades, and mismatched rotor speeds are addressed. Counterrotating blade and specialized aeromechanical hub stability test results are also furnished.

Hoff, G. E.↗
NASA NTRS1987

An integrated approach for friction damper design

A procedure is outlined for determining the optimal design of friction dampers for high speed turbomachinery blading. The procedure includes: an integration of bench test results with finite element analysis and a single mode blade model to ensure accuracy of the analytical model and improve reliability of the friction damper design; an extension of the single mode blade model to predict the engine behavior of friction dampers; and a new way of viewing analytical and experimental results to determine optimal design parameters when the levels of excitation and damping in the system are unknown. Analysis and experiments are performed on a test disk in order to demonstrate and verify the accuracy of the design procedure.

Cameron, T. M.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Tiltrotor Aeroacoustic Code (TRAC) Prediction Assessment and Initial Comparisons With TRAM Test Data

A prediction sensitivity assessment to inputs and blade modeling is presented for the TiltRotor Aeroacoustic Code (TRAC). For this study, the non-CFD prediction system option in TRAC is used. Here, the comprehensive rotorcraft code, CAMRAD.Mod 1, coupled with the high-resolution sectional loads code HIRES, predicts unsteady blade loads to be used in the noise prediction code WOPWOP. The sensitivity of the predicted blade motions, blade airloads, wake geometry, and acoustics is examined with respect to rotor rpm, blade twist and chord, and to blade dynamic modeling. To accomplish this assessment. an interim input-deck for the TRAM test model and an input-deck for a reference test model are utilized in both rigid and elastic modes. Both of these test models are regarded as near scale models of the V-22 proprotor (tiltrotor). With basic TRAC sensitivities established, initial TRAC predictions are compared to results of an extensive test of an isolated model proprotor. The test was that of the TiltRotor Aeroacoustic Model (TRAM) conducted in the Duits-Nederlandse Windtunnel (DNW). Predictions are compared to measured noise for the proprotor operating over an extensive range of conditions. The variation of predictions demonstrates the great care that must be taken in defining the blade motion. However, even with this variability, the predictions using the different blade modeling successfully capture (bracket) the levels and trends of the noise for conditions ranging from descent to ascent.

Burley, Casey L.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Tiltrotor Aeroacoustic Code (TRAC) Prediction Assessment and Initial Comparisons with Tram Test Data

A prediction sensitivity assessment to inputs and blade modeling is presented for the TiltRotor Aeroacoustic Code (TRAC). For this study, the non-CFD prediction system option in TRAC is used. Here, the comprehensive rotorcraft code, CAMRAD.Mod1, coupled with the high-resolution sectional loads code HIRES, predicts unsteady blade loads to be used in the noise prediction code WOPWOP. The sensitivity of the predicted blade motions, blade airloads, wake geometry, and acoustics is examined with respect to rotor rpm, blade twist and chord, and to blade dynamic modeling. To accomplish this assessment, an interim input-deck for the TRAM test model and an input-deck for a reference test model are utilized in both rigid and elastic modes. Both of these test models are regarded as near scale models of the V-22 proprotor (tiltrotor). With basic TRAC sensitivities established, initial TRAC predictions are compared to results of an extensive test of an isolated model proprotor. The test was that of the TiltRotor Aeroacoustic Model (TRAM) conducted in the Duits-Nederlandse Windtunnel (DNW). Predictions are compared to measured noise for the proprotor operating over an extensive range of conditions. The variation of predictions demonstrates the great care that must be taken in defining the blade motion. However, even with this variability, the predictions using the different blade modeling successfully capture (bracket) the levels and trends of the noise for conditions ranging from descent to ascent.

Burley, Casey L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Correlation of helicopter impulsive noise from blade-vortex interaction with rotor mean inflow

Data from a test made in the Langley 4 x 7 Meter Tunnel were parametrically studied with respect to the occurrence of blade-vortex interaction (BVI) as a function of tunnel speed and rotor angle of attack. Three microphones on the tunnel centerline forward of the model and one microphone forward and 45 degrees to the right provided the data. The rotor model was tested with a set of high-twist blades (-10 degrees) and a set of low-twist blades (-5 degrees) over the midspeed range (50 to 80 knots) at angles of attack ranging from -6 degrees (shallow climb) to 10 degrees (steep descent). The data from all four microphones indicated that the most probable time of occurrence of BVI is when the rotor descent is approximately equal to the rotor mean inflow velocity. However, some of the data showed no conclusive relationship to the mean inflow velocity.

Connor, Andrew B.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Investigation of Rotor Performance and Loads of a UH-60A Individual Blade Control System

A full-scale wind tunnel test was recently conducted (March 2009) in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC) 40- by 80-FootWind Tunnel to evaluate the potential of an individual blade control (IBC) system to improve rotor performance and reduce vibrations, loads, and noise for a UH-60A rotor system [1]. This test was the culmination of a long-termcollaborative effort between NASA, U.S. Army, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, and ZF Luftfahrttechnik GmbH (ZFL) to demonstrate the benefits of IBC for a UH-60Arotor. Figure 1 shows the UH-60Arotor and IBC system mounted on the NFAC Large Rotor Test Apparatus (LRTA). The IBC concept used in the current study utilizes actuators placed in the rotating frame, one per blade. In particular, the pitch link of the rotor blade was replacedwith an actuator, so that the blade root pitch can be changed independently. This concept, designed for a full-scale UH-60A rotor, was previously tested in the NFAC 80- by 120-FootWind Tunnel in September 2001 at speeds up to 85 knots [2]. For the current test, the same UH-60A rotor and IBC system were tested in the 40- by 80-FootWind Tunnel at speeds up to 170 knots. Figure 2 shows the servo-hydraulic IBC actuator installed between the swashplate and the blade pitch horn. Although previous wind tunnel experiments [3, 4] and analytical studies on IBC [5, 6] have shown the promise to improve the rotor s performance, in-depth correlation studies have not been performed. Thus, the current test provides a unique resource that can be used to assess the accuracy and reliability of prediction methods and refine theoretical models, with the ultimate goal of providing the technology for timely and cost-effective design and development of new rotors. In this paper, rotor performance and loads calculations are carried out using the analyses CAMRAD II and coupled OVERFLOW-2/CAMRAD II and the results are compared with these UH-60A/IBC wind tunnel test data.

Yeo, Hyeonsoo↗
DOE OSTI2014

Simulating Blade-Strike on Fish passing through Marine Hydrokinetic Turbines

The study reported here evaluated the occurrence, frequency, and intensity of blade strike of fish on an axial-flow marine hydrokinetic turbine by using two modeling approaches: a conventional kinematic formulation and a proposed Lagrangian particle- based scheme. The kinematic model included simplifying assumptions of fish trajectories such as distribution and velocity. The proposed method overcame the need for such simplifications by integrating the following components into a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model: (i) advanced eddy-resolving flow simulation, (ii) generation of ambient turbulence based on field data, (iii) moving turbine blades in highly transient flows, and (iv) Lagrangian particles to mimic the potential fish pathways. The test conditions to evaluate the blade-strike probability and fish survival rate were: (i) the turbulent environment, (ii) the fish size, and (iii) the approaching flow velocity. The proposed method offered the ability to produce potential fish trajectories and their interaction with the rotating turbine. Depending upon the scenario, the percentile of particles that registered a collision event ranged from 6% to 19% of the released sample size. Next, by using a set of experimental correlations of the exposure-response of living fish colliding with moving blades, the simulated collision data were used as input variables to estimate the survival rate of fish passing through the operating turbine. The resulting survival rates were greater than 96% in all scenarios, which is comparable to or better than known survival rates for conventional hydropower turbines. The figures of strike probability and mortality rate were amplified by the kinematic model. The proposed method offered the advantage of expanding the evaluation of other mechanisms of stress and injury on fish derived from hydrokinetic turbines and related devices.

CFD↗