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At least 955 records · Page 53

Wind tunnel turning vanes of modern design

Rehabilitation of the Altitude Wind Tunnel includes the need for new corner turning vanes to match its upgraded performance. The design and experimental performance results from a 0.1-full scale model of the highest speed corner (M = 0.35) are presented and discussed along with some two dimensional inviscid analyses of two vaned corners. With a vane designed by an inverse two dimensional technique, the overall corner loss was about 12 percent of the inlet dynamic pressure of which about 4 percent was caused by vane skin friction. Comparable values with a conventionally designed circular arc vane were about 14 percent overall with about 7 percent due to skin friction.

Gelder, T. F.↗

Development of a temperature-compensated hot-film anemometer system for boundary-layer transition detection on high-performance aircraft

A hot-film constant-temperature anemometer (CTA) system was flight-tested and evaluated as a candidate sensor for determining boundary-layer transition on high-performance aircraft. The hot-film gage withstood an extreme flow environment characterized by shock waves and high dynamic pressures, although sensitivity to the local total temperature with the CTA indicated the need for some form of temperature compensation. A temperature-compensation scheme was developed and two CTAs were modified and flight-tested on the F-104/Flight Test Fixture (FTF) facility at a variety of Mach numbers and altitudes, ranging from 0.4 to 1.8 and 5,000 to 40,000 ft respectively.

Chiles, H. R.↗

Application of the unsteady vortex-lattice method to the nonlinear two-degree-of-freedom aeroelastic equations

A means of numerically simulating flutter is established by implementing a predictor-corrector algorithm to solve the equations of motion. Aerodynamic loads are provided by the unsteady vortex lattice method (UVLM). This method is illustrated via the obtainment of stable and unstable responses to initial disturbances in the case of two-degree-of-freedom motion. It was found that for some angles of attack and dynamic pressure, the initial disturbance decays, for others it grows (flutter). When flutter occurs, the solution yields the amplitude and period of the resulting limit cycle. The preliminaray results attest to the feasibility of this method for studying flutter in cases that would be difficult to treat using a classical approach.

Strganac, T. W.↗

Three-dimensional computation of mixing of transverse injector in a ducted supersonic airstream

Numerical solutions of the three-dimensional mass-averaged elliptic Navier-Stokes equations, including species transport, are obtained for nonreacting, turbulent, mixing flow fields for the case of transverse sonic injection of a secondary gas into a supersonic airstream through a circular orifice injector. Results are presented for flow through a constant area duct and through a duct with a rearward-facing step upstream of the injector. The equations are numerically integrated using MacCormack's explicit method and turbulence is included using the Baldwin-Lomax algebraic eddy viscosity model. In the species transport and energy equations, diffusion coefficients based on Fick's law and an assumption of unit Lewis number are applied. The computations were performed on a CDC-VPS-32 (extended version of Cyber-205) using a grid consisting of approximately 200,000 points. The computed results are compared with experimentally observed penetration and spreading boundaries for an injected gas at two dynamic pressure ratios. Three-dimensional flow field structures are dipicted in terms of static pressure, mass fractions of species and velocity vectors.

Uenishi, K.↗

Magnetic configuration of the Venus magnetosheath

A data set consisting of nearly six Venus years of Pioneer Venus Orbiter magnetometer data is analyzed in order to describe the configuration of the magnetosheath. A coordinate system is developed which isolates the effects of the solar wind flow and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). The data indicate that the magnetosheath field magnitude is responsive to solar wind dynamic pressure and that the compression of the upstream field is controlled by magnetosonic Mach number. The draping of the field is similar to that predicted by gasdynamic modeling; specific draping features include distinct dependence on the radial and the transverse components of the IMF, and a tendency of the field to encircle the planet at low altitude. Certain features of the processes of mass loading by magnetosheath fluctuations and by the motional electric field are examined. Magnetic fluctuations can dominate the magnetosheath field for periods of low interplanetary cone angle and in general for the magnetosheath regions near the quasi-parallel part of the bow shock. The magnetosheath magnetic field magnitude displays a hemispherical asymmetry; the sense of this asymmetry is controlled by the cross-flow component of the IMF in a manner which indicates that ion pickup by the convective electric field occurs preferentially in one hemisphere. The results of this survey indicate that mass loading is a significant process which should be incorporated into computational models but that a fluid treatment of the planetary ion component may not be appropriate.

Phillips, J. L.↗

Aircraft control surface failure detection and isolation using the OSGLR test

The performance of the orthogonal series generalized likelihood ratio (OSGLR) test in detecting and isolating commercial aircraft control surface and actuator failures is evaluated. A modification to incorporate age-weighting which significantly reduces the sensitivity of the algorithm to modeling errors is presented. The steady-state implementation of the algorithm based on a single linear model valid for a cruise flight condition is tested using a nonlinear aircraft simulation. A number of off-nominal no-failure flight conditions including maneuvers, nonzero flap deflections, different turbulence levels and steady winds were tested. Based on the no-failure decision functions produced by off-nominal flight conditions, the failure detection and isolation performance at the nominal flight condition was determined. The extension of the algorithm to a wider flight envelope by scheduling on dynamic pressure and flap deflection is examined. Based on this testing, the OSGLR algorithm should be capable of detecting control surface failures that would affect the safe operation of a commercial aircraft. Isolation may be difficult if there are several surfaces which produce similar effects on the aircraft. Extending the algorithm over the entire operating envelope of a commercial aircraft appears feasible.

Bonnice, W. F.↗

Low-speed aerodynamic characteristics of a wing-canard configuration with underwing spanwise blowing on the trailing-edge flap system

An investigation of the effects of spanwise blowing applied to the lower surface of a trailing-edge flap system on a wing-canard configuration has been conducted in the Langley 4- by 7-Meter Tunnel. The investigation studied spanwise-blowing angles of 30 deg., 45 deg., and 60 deg. measured from a perpendicular to the body center-line. The test conditions covered a range of free-stream dynamic pressures up to 50 psf for thrust coefficients up to 2.1 over a range of angles of attack from -2 deg. to 26 deg. Model height above the wind tunnel floor was varied from a height-to-span ratio of 1.70 down to 0.20 (a representative wheel touchdown height). The results indicate that blowing angles of 30 deg. and 45 deg. increase the induced-lift increment produced by spanwise blowing on the lower surface of a trailing-edge flap system. Increasing the blowing angle to 60 deg., in general, produces little further improvement.

Banks, Daniel W.↗

The effect of heavy rain on an airfoil at high lift

No serious studies of the relationship of heavy rain to aircraft safety were made until 1981 when it was suggested that the torrential rain which often occurs at the time of severe wind shear might substantially increase the danger to aircraft operating at slow speeds and high lift in the vicinity of airports. While these data were not published until early 1983, appropriate measures were taken by NASA to study the effect of heavy rain on the lift of wings typical of commercial aircraft. One of the aspects of these tests that seemed confirmed by the data was the existence of a velocity effect on the lift data. The data seemed to indicate that when all the normal non-dimensional aerodynamic parameters were used to sort out the data, the effect of velocity was not accounted for, as it usually is, by the effect of dynamic pressure. Indeed, the measured lift coefficients at high lift indicated a dropoff in lift coefficient for the same free-stream water content as velocity was increased. indicated a drop-off in lift coefficient for the same free-stream water content as velocity was increased.

Donaldson, Coleman DUP.↗

Static aeroelastic effects on the flutter of a supercritical wing

It is well known that wings with supercritical airfoils generally have lower transonic flutter speeds than similar wings with conventional airfoils and that small increases in angle of attack from zero and the accompanying static aeroelastic deformations have further detrimental effects on transonic flutter. The results of an effort to calculate the effects of angle of attack and the associated aeroelastic deformation on the flutter of a highly swept supercritical wing (TF 8A) by use of the modified strip analysis employed in previous studies of this wing are presented. The spanwise distributions of steady-state section lift-curve slope and aerodynamic center required as input for these calculations were obtained from static aeroelastic calculations for the wing by use of the FL022 transonic code and an assumed dynamic pressure as that used to calculate the statically deformed shape and loading about which the flutter oscillation occurs. The results show that the unconventional backward turn of the transonic dip in the experimental flutter boundary for angles of attack greater than zero is caused by variations in mass ratio and not by static aeroelastic deformation, although inclusion of the latter appears to be required for quantitative accuracy in the calculations.

Yates, E. Carson, Jr.↗

UNAERO: A package of FORTRAN subroutines for approximating unsteady aerodynamics in the time domain

This report serves as an instruction and maintenance manual for a collection of CDC CYBER FORTRAN IV subroutines for approximating the unsteady aerodynamic forces in the time domain. The result is a set of constant-coefficient first-order differential equations that approximate the dynamics of the vehicle. Provisions are included for adjusting the number of modes used for calculating the approximations so that an accurate approximation is generated. The number of data points at different values of reduced frequency can also be varied to adjust the accuracy of the approximation over the reduced-frequency range. The denominator coefficients of the approximation may be calculated by means of a gradient method or a least-squares approximation technique. Both the approximation methods use weights on the residual error. A new set of system equations, at a different dynamic pressure, can be generated without the approximations being recalculated.

Dunn, H. J.↗

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.↗

Design and development of high strength parachutes for recovery of Filament Wound Case Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters

The Filament Wound Case (FWC) solid rocket boosters, developed for Space Shuttle launches from the West coast, are substantially lighter than their steel case counterparts, but present unique recovery system challenges due to their aft center of gravity location. This causes them to re-enter in a tail-first attitude, rather than broadside like the steel case boosters, resulting in much higher dynamic pressure at deployment. This paper outlines the differences in recovery conditions, and describes the design, development, and testing of new parachutes to meet this challenging new requirement.

Corwin, R. A.↗

Liquid crystals for high-altitude in-flight boundary layer flow visualization

A novel method for visualization of laminar to turbulent boundary layer transition in flight is presented, in which liquid crystal coatings are used to indicate the transition by a change of color (in response to the changes in the wall shear and the temperature). The liquid crystals applied to the wing surfaces were either cholesteric crystals formulated to be active between temperatures of 30 and 100 F or a sample of chiral nematic liquid crystals formulated to be active between -18 and -22 F. Liquid crystal coatings were shown to provide visualization data at flight altitudes and temperatures at which data could not be obtained previously. Flight evaluations were successfully conducted on a T-34C and a Learjet research aircraft at Mach numbers of up to 0.8 and altitudes of up to 50,000 ft. The time response during oscillating sideslip tests was very rapid. In wind tunnel tests, a hysteresislike behavior was observed in the liquid crystal coatings, possibly because of the lower dynamic pressures in wind tunnels as compared to flight.

Gall, P. D.↗

Ascent aeromaneuvering capabilities of transatmospheric vehicles

The low-earth orbit rendezvous capability of a conceptual transatmospheric vehicle is analyzed for two endo-/exo-atmospheric ascent missions. Both cases involve coasting aerodynamic maneuvers starting from the burn-out conditions corresponding to air-breathing propulsion systems that achieve orbital velocity within the atmosphere. The powered phase of the ascent trajectories approximate constant dynamic pressure, fuel-efficient flightpaths typically flown by supersonic aircraft. The aeromaneuvering coast phases of the ascent include both coplanar (to determine altitude capability without plane-inclination changes) and aeroturning to LEO rendezvous at 400 km altitude (to assess plane-change capability). The coast-phase ascent maneuvers are correlated with G-load requirements and aerothermodynamic heating characteristics at two critical locations on the vehicle surface (i.e., the nose stagnation point and the body centerline). The results are correlated and recommendations are made concerning thermal protection and structural requirements.

Menees, Gene P.↗

Prediction filters for the Dst index and the polar cap potential

The technique of linear prediction filtering is used to create filters relating solar wind parameters to the Dst index and to the polar cap potential. The square root of solar wind dynamic pressure and the solar wind electric field together are found to account for nearly 70 percent of the Dst variance. The prediction filter for the polar cap potential requires the square of the solar wind velocity and the solar wind electric field as inputs. The results suggest that both polar cap potential and ring current injection are primarily controlled by the solar wind, and that substorm expansions do not play a major role in ring current injection.

Fay, R. A.↗

The solar wind interaction with Venus

The relation between Venus and the solar wind is analyzed. The effects of the intrinsic field, neutral atmosphere, and ionosphere of Venus on the solar wind are examined. The solar wind interaction phenomena is studied; consideration is given to the free-stream solar wind, bow shock, magnetosheath, boundary layer, ionospheric features, neutral atmosphere features, and wake and magnetotail. Further research on the boundary layer and tail formation, global models, and high-dynamic pressure interaction is proposed.

Luhmann, J. G.↗

Solar wind mass-loading at Comet Halley - A lesson from Venus?

Recent observations at Comet Halley show that the region within which cometary ions become the dominant component lies outside of the magnetic field-free cavity. This behavior resembles that found at Venus under conditions where the incident solar wind dynamic pressure exceeds the ionospheric pressure. On these occasions the magnetosheath magnetic field is found well inside of the region where planetary ions are observed. Although scaling and the details of formation of the inner boundary of the magnetic field are different for these two objects, the processes by which the interplanetary magnetic field penetrates into the ionospheres at Venus and at Comet Halley are in many ways analogous.

Breus, T. K.↗

A computational study of the flowfield surrounding the Aeroassist Flight Experiment vehicle

A symmetric total variation diminishing (STVD) algorithm has been applied to the solution of the three-dimensional hypersonic flowfield surrounding the Aeroassist Flight Experiment (AFE) vehicle. Both perfect-gas and chemical nonequilibrium models have been used. The perfect-gas flows were computed at two different Reynolds numbers, including a flight trajectory point at maximum dynamic pressure, and on two different grids. Procedures for coupling the solution of the species continuity equations with the Navier-Stokes equations in the presence of chemical nonequilibrium are reviewed and tested on the forebody of the AFE and on the complete flowfield assuming noncatalytic wall and no species diffusion. Problems with the STVD algorithm unique to flows with variable thermodynamic properties (real gas) are identified and algorithm modifications are suggested. A potential heating problem caused by strong flow impingement on the nozzle lip in the near wake at 0-deg angle of attack has been identified.

Gnoffo, Peter A.↗