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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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At least 883 records · Page 49
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2014

Forward Bay Cover Separation Modeling and Testing for the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle

Spacecraft multi‐body separation events during atmospheric descent require complex testing and analysis to validate the flight separation dynamics model and to verify no recontact. NASA Orion Multi‐Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) teams examined key model parameters and risk areas to develop a robust but affordable test campaign in order to validate and verify the Forward Bay Cover (FBC) separation event for Exploration Flight Test‐1 (EFT‐1). The FBC jettison simulation model is highly complex, consisting of dozens of parameters varied simultaneously, with numerous multi‐parameter interactions (coupling and feedback) among the various model elements, and encompassing distinct near‐field, mid‐field, and far‐field regimes. The test campaign was composed of component‐level testing (for example gas‐piston thrusters and parachute mortars), ground FBC jettison tests, and FBC jettison air‐drop tests that were accomplished by a highly multi‐disciplinary team. Three ground jettison tests isolated the testing of mechanisms and structures to anchor the simulation models excluding aerodynamic effects. Subsequently, two air‐drop tests added aerodynamic and parachute parameters, and served as integrated system demonstrations, which had been preliminarily explored during the Orion Pad Abort‐1 (PA‐1) flight test in May 2010. Both ground and drop tests provided extensive data to validate analytical models and to verify the FBC jettison event for EFT‐1, but more testing is required to support human certification, for which NASA and Lockheed Martin are applying knowledge from Apollo and EFT‐1 testing and modeling to develop a robust but affordable human spacecraft capability.

Ali, Yasmin↗
NASA NTRS2015

Forward Bay Cover Separation Modeling and Testing for the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle

Spacecraft multi-body separation events during atmospheric descent require complex testing and analysis to validate the flight separation dynamics models used to verify no re-contact. The NASA Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) architecture includes a highly-integrated Forward Bay Cover (FBC) jettison assembly design that combines parachutes and piston thrusters to separate the FBC from the Crew Module (CM) and avoid re-contact. A multi-disciplinary team across numerous organizations examined key model parameters and risk areas to develop a robust but affordable test campaign in order to validate and verify the FBC separation event for Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1). The FBC jettison simulation model is highly complex, consisting of dozens of parameters varied simultaneously, with numerous multi-parameter interactions (coupling and feedback) among the various model elements, and encompassing distinct near-field, mid-field, and far-field regimes. The test campaign was composed of component-level testing (for example gas-piston thrusters and parachute mortars), ground FBC jettison tests, and FBC jettison air-drop tests that were accomplished by a highly multi-disciplinary team. Three ground jettison tests isolated the testing of mechanisms and structures to anchor the simulation models excluding aerodynamic effects. Subsequently, two air-drop tests added aerodynamic and parachute elements, and served as integrated system demonstrations, which had been preliminarily explored during the Orion Pad Abort-1 (PA-1) flight test in May 2010. Both ground and drop tests provided extensive data to validate analytical models and to verify the FBC jettison event for EFT-1. Additional testing will be required to support human certification of this separation event, for which NASA and Lockheed Martin are applying knowledge from Apollo and EFT-1 testing and modeling to develop a robust human-rated FBC separation event.

Ali, Yasmin↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Statistical Wind-Tunnel Experimentation Advancements for eVTOL Aircraft Aero-Propulsive Model Development

Compared to many conventional aircraft, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle designs present greater aero-propulsive complexity and many interacting factors requiring development of novel testing and model development strategies. This paper describes several advances in statistically-rigorous experiment design methods for wind-tunnel testing of eVTOL aircraft enabling accurate aero-propulsive model development. The techniques are applied to a subscale tilt-rotor eVTOL aircraft configuration built at NASA Langley Research Center that has 24 independent control effectors. The general testing approach, leveraging design of experiments and response surface methodology, is outlined and followed by a detailed description of the experiment design and modeling approach employed for different phases of the wind-tunnel testing. A new approach for gravitational tare modeling is developed and validated, which reduces the required wind-tunnel test time by nearly 50%. A mostly automated trim envelope determination approach is formulated to rapidly determine the aircraft flight envelope to inform transition testing for aero-propulsive model development. Efficient powered-airframe characterization tests are conducted using a nested I-optimal design approach formulated in previous simulation-based testing. The collective wind-tunnel testing approach facilitates rapid characterization of eVTOL aircraft configurations and produces accurate aero-propulsive models that can be used in flight dynamics simulations.

design of experiments↗
NASA NTRS1982

Solid rocket booster sting interference wind tunnel test analysis, appendix D

Additional analyses of wind tunnel test results from SRB sting interference test TWT 660 and HRWT 042 were conducted to evaluate the sting interference that may be present in the Space Shuttle SRB reentry aerodynamic math model. Additional wind tunnel data was obtained at higher angles of attack from test program TWT 660 and test program HRWT 042. The additional data were analyzed to evaluate the procedures used to fair the data in the development of the SRB reentry aerodynamic data Tape no. 5.

Conine, B.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Computing Linear Mathematical Models Of Aircraft

Derivation and Definition of Linear Aircraft Model (LINEAR) computer program provides user with powerful, and flexible, standard, documented, and verified software tool for linearization of mathematical models of aerodynamics of aircraft. Intended for use in software tool to drive linear analysis of stability and design of control laws for aircraft. Capable of both extracting such linearized engine effects as net thrust, torque, and gyroscopic effects, and including these effects in linear model of system. Designed to provide easy selection of state, control, and observation variables used in particular model. Also provides flexibility of allowing alternate formulations of both state and observation equations. Written in FORTRAN.

Duke, Eugene L.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Analysis of High-Speed Aerodynamics of a Swept Wing with Seamless Flaps

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was conducted to evaluate the high-speed aerodynamics of a Gulfstream GIII airplane (Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Savannah, Georgia) swept wing modified with an experimental seamless, compliant flap called the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) flap for airworthiness. The high-speed aerodynamics of the modified ACTE wing were analyzed at a Mach number of 0.85 and an altitude of 40,000 ft. A polyhedral finite-volume unstructured Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes CFD code was used with a two-equation turbulence model. Wing aerodynamics sensitivities to lift coefficients, airplane engine operation, vortex generators (VGs), and ACTE flap deflections were examined. High-speed flow over the clean GIII wing without VGs was found to be complex with outboard shock and boundary-layer interactions causing flow separation over the upper wing surface upstream of the aileron, which could result in buffet and controllability problems at higher lift coefficient values. The VGs were found to improve the high-speed aerodynamics of the clean wing, as expected; however, ACTE flap deflections of as little as 1 to 2 deg were found to negate all of the aerodynamic benefits provided by the VGs at high speeds.

wings↗
DOE OSTI2020

Preliminary Introduction of a Free Vortex Wake Method Into OpenFAST

Increasing wind turbine size can have substantial economic benefits. However, increasing wind turbine turbine size requires the use of models that accurately capture the aerodynamic response to large deflections and nonstraight blade geometries. Additionally, the installation of offshore floating turbines requires turbine models that can handle large rotor motion. Free vortex wake (FVW) methods are capable of modeling this type of complex physics while remaining computationally tractable to perform the many simulations necessary for turbine design. In this work, a FVW model is added to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory engineering tool OpenFAST to allow for the aerodynamic modeling of highly flexible turbines along with the aero-hydro-servo-elastic response capabilities of OpenFAST. Code implementation is not complete and thus no results are presented. However, areas of potential modeling improvement are discussed, such as modifications to the circulation calculation and the need for different FVW input model specifications when high-thrust cases are being modeled.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1987

High angle of attack hypersonic aerodynamics

A new aerodynamics force model is presented which is based on modified Newtonian theory and empirical correlations. The algebraic model was developed for complete vehicles from take off to orbital speeds and for large angles of attack. Predictions are compared to results for a wind tunnel model at a Mach number of 20, and the full scale Shuttle Orbiter for Mach numbers from 0.25 to 20 for angles of attack from 0 to 50 deg. The maximum shuttle orbiter lift/drag at Mach 10 and 20 is 1.85 at 20-deg angle-of-attack. Aerodynamic force predictions are made for a transatmospheric vehicle, which is a derivative of the Shuttle Orbiter, for Mach numbers from 4 to 27 at angles of attack from 5 to 40 deg. Predicted aerodynamic force data indicate that lift/drag ratios of 5.2 at Mach number 10 and 3.6 at Mach number 26 are obtainable. Changes in force coefficients with changes in: nose angle, sweep angle, and (volume exp 2/3)/planform area are quantified for Mach numbers of 10 and 26. Lift/drag ratios increase with decreasing nose angle and (volume exp 2/3)/planform area and increasing wing sweep angle. Lift/drag ratios are independent of these variables for angles of attack in excess of 20 deg at Mach 10 and 30 deg at Mach 26.

Harloff, Gary J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The construction of airfoil pressure models by the plate method: Achievements, current research, technology development and potential applications

A method of constructing airfoils by inscribing pressure channels on the face of opposing plates, bonding them together to form one plate with integral channels, and contour machining this plate to form an airfoil model is described. The research and development program to develop the bonding technology is described as well as the construction and testing of an airfoil model. Sample aerodynamic data sets are presented and discussed. Also, work currently under way to produce thin airfoils with camber is presented. Samples of the aft section of a 6 percent airfoil with complete pressure instrumentation including the trailing edge are pictured and described. This technique is particularly useful in fabricating models for transonic cryogenic testing, but it should find application in a wide ange of model construction projects, as well as the fabrication of fuel injectors, space hardware, and other applications requiring advanced bonding technology and intricate fluid passages.

Lawing, P. L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

On applications of chimera grid schemes to store separation

A finite difference scheme which uses multiple overset meshes to simulate the aerodynamics of aircraft/store interaction and store separation is described. In this chimera, or multiple mesh, scheme, a complex configuration is mapped using a major grid about the main component of the configuration, and minor overset meshes are used to map each additional component such as a store. As a first step in modeling the aerodynamics of store separation, two dimensional inviscid flow calculations were carried out in which one of the minor meshes is allowed to move with respect to the major grid. Solutions of calibrated two dimensional problems indicate that allowing one mesh to move with respect to another does not adversely affect the time accuracy of an unsteady solution. Steady, inviscid three dimensional computations demonstrate the capability to simulate complex configurations, including closely packed multiple bodies.

Cougherty, F. C.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Aero-Propulsive Modeling for eVTOL Aircraft Using Wind Tunnel Testing with Multisine Inputs

A novel approach for modeling the aero-propulsive characteristics of an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft was developed and demonstrated in wind tunnel testing. The approach was applied to the NASA LA-8 tandem tilt-wing eVTOL aircraft, using an efficient, hybrid experiment design composed of a static I-optimal response surface design for slowly-varying test variables, and dynamic orthogonal phase-optimized multisine excitations for the control surfaces and electric propulsors. Both the static and dynamic experiment designs were executed simultaneously to collect informative data for model identification. Statistically-weighted multivariate orthogonal function modeling was used to combine local modeling results computed in the frequency domain using data collected with dynamic excitations operating on the control effectors to form an aggregate aero-propulsive model. The final identified model exhibited good predictive capability when compared to validation data acquired separately from the data used to develop the model. The required test time using these new techniques was reduced by at least a factor of five compared to previous static wind tunnel testing for the LA-8 aircraft, while providing more informative data, greater parameterization flexibility, and high-quality models.

system identification↗
NASA NTRS1980

Effect of conventional and square stores on the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of a fighter aircraft model at supersonic speeds

The effects of conventional and square stores on the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of a fighter aircraft configuration at Mach numbers of 1.6, 1.8, and 2.0 was investigated. Five conventional store configurations and six arrangements of a square store configuration were studied. All configurations of the stores produced small, positive increments in the pitching moment throughout the angle-of-attack range, but the configuration with area ruled wing tanks also had a slight decrease on stability at the higher angles of attack. There were some small changes in lift coefficient because of the addition of the stores, causing the drag increment to vary with the lift coefficient. As a result, there were corresponding changes in the increments of the maximum lift drag ratios. The store drag coefficient based on the cross sectional area of the stores ranged from a maximum of 1.1 for the configuration with three Maverick missiles to a minimum of about .040 for the two MK-84 bombs and the arrangements with four square stores touching or two square stores in tandem. Square stores located side by side yielded about 0.50 in the aft position compared to 0.74 in the forward position.

Monta, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Trajectory fitting in function space with application to analytic modeling of surfaces

A theory for representing a parameter-dependent function as a function trajectory is described. Additionally, a theory for determining a piecewise analytic fit to the trajectory is described. An example is given that illustrates the application of the theory to generating a smooth surface through a discrete set of input cross-section shapes. A simple procedure for smoothing in the parameter direction is discussed, and a computed example is given. Application of the theory to aerodynamic surface modeling is demonstrated by applying it to a blended wing-fuselage surface.

Barger, Raymond L.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Observations on CFD Verification and Validation from the AIAA Drag Prediction Workshops

The authors provide observations from the AIAA Drag Prediction Workshops that have spanned over a decade and from a recent validation experiment at NASA Langley. These workshops provide an assessment of the predictive capability of forces and moments, focused on drag, for transonic transports. It is very difficult to manage the consistency of results in a workshop setting to perform verification and validation at the scientific level, but it may be sufficient to assess it at the level of practice. Observations thus far: 1) due to simplifications in the workshop test cases, wind tunnel data are not necessarily the “correct” results that CFD should match, 2) an average of core CFD data are not necessarily a better estimate of the true solution as it is merely an average of other solutions and has many coupled sources of variation, 3) outlier solutions should be investigated and understood, and 4) the DPW series does not have the systematic build up and definition on both the computational and experimental side that is required for detailed verification and validation. Several observations regarding the importance of the grid, effects of physical modeling, benefits of open forums, and guidance for validation experiments are discussed. The increased variation in results when predicting regions of flow separation and increased variation due to interaction effects, e.g., fuselage and horizontal tail, point out the need for validation data sets for these important flow phenomena. Experiences with a recent validation experiment at NASA Langley are included to provide guidance on validation experiments.

Computational Fluid Dynamics↗
NASA NTRS2023

Advances in Aero-Propulsive Modeling for Fixed-Wing and eVTOL Aircraft Using Experimental Data

Small unmanned aircraft and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft have recently emerged as vehicles able to perform new missions and stimulate future air transportation methods. This dissertation presents several system identification research advancements for these modern aircraft configurations enabling accurate mathematical model development for flight dynamics simulations based on wind-tunnel and flight-test data. The first part of the dissertation focuses on advances in flight-test system identification methods using small, fixed-wing, remotely-piloted, electric, propeller-driven aircraft. A generalized approach for flight dynamics model development for small fixed-wing aircraft from flight data is described and is followed by presentation of novel flight-test system identification applications, including: aero-propulsive model development for propeller aircraft and nonlinear dynamic model identification without mass properties. The second part of the dissertation builds on established fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft system identification methods to develop modeling strategies for transitioning, distributed propulsion, eVTOL aircraft. Novel wind-tunnel experiment designs and aero-propulsive modeling approaches are developed using a subscale, tandem tilt-wing, eVTOL aircraft, leveraging design of experiments and response surface methodology techniques. Additionally, a method applying orthogonal phase-optimized multisine input excitations to aircraft control effectors in wind-tunnel testing is developed to improve test efficiency and identified model utility. Finally, the culmination of this dissertation is synthesis of the techniques described throughout the document to form a flight-test system identification approach for eVTOL aircraft that is demonstrated using a high-fidelity flight dynamics simulation. The research findings highlighted throughout the dissertation constitute substantial progress in efficient empirical aircraft modeling strategies that are applicable to many current and future aeronautical vehicles enabling accurate flight simulation development, which can subsequently be used to foster advancement in many other pertinent technology areas.

system identification↗
NASA NTRS1996

Colors Of Liquid Crystals Used To Measure Surface Shear Stresses

Developmental method of mapping shear stresses on aerodynamic surfaces involves observation, at multiple viewing angles, of colors of liquid-crystal surface coats illuminated by white light. Report describing method referenced in "Liquid Crystals Indicate Directions Of Surface Shear Stresses" (ARC-13379). Resulting maps of surface shear stresses contain valuable data on magnitudes and directions of skin friction forces associated with surface flows; data used to refine mathematical models of aerodynamics for research and design purposes.

Reda, D. C.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Estimated Benefits of Variable-Geometry Wing Camber Control for Transport Aircraft

Analytical benefits of variable-camber capability on subsonic transport aircraft are explored. Using aerodynamic performance models, including drag as a function of deflection angle for control surfaces of interest, optimal performance benefits of variable camber are calculated. Results demonstrate that if all wing trailing-edge surfaces are available for optimization, drag can be significantly reduced at most points within the flight envelope. The optimization approach developed and illustrated for flight uses variable camber for optimization of aerodynamic efficiency (maximizing the lift-to-drag ratio). Most transport aircraft have significant latent capability in this area. Wing camber control that can affect performance optimization for transport aircraft includes symmetric use of ailerons and flaps. In this paper, drag characteristics for aileron and flap deflections are computed based on analytical and wind-tunnel data. All calculations based on predictions for the subject aircraft and the optimal surface deflection are obtained by simple interpolation for given conditions. An algorithm is also presented for computation of optimal surface deflection for given conditions. Benefits of variable camber for a transport configuration using a simple trailing-edge control surface system can approach more than 10 percent, especially for nonstandard flight conditions. In the cruise regime, the benefit is 1-3 percent.

Bolonkin, Alexander↗