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At least 109 records · Page 6

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1990

Aerodynamic characteristics of two rotorcraft airfoils designed for application to the inboard region of a main rotor blade

A wind tunnel investigation was conducted to determine the 2-D aerodynamic characteristics of two new rotorcraft airfoils designed especially for application to the inboard region of a helicopter main rotor blade. The two new airfoils, the RC(4)-10 and RC(5)-10, and a baseline airfoil, the VR-7, were all studied in the Langley Transonic Tunnel at Mach nos. from about 0.34 to 0.84 and at Reynolds nos. from about 4.7 to 9.3 x 10 (exp 6). The VR-7 airfoil had a trailing edge tab which is deflected upwards 4.6 degs. In addition, the RC(4)-10 airfoil was studied in the Langley Low Turbulence Pressure Tunnel at Mach nos. from 0.10 to 0.44 and at Reynolds nos. from 1.4 to 5.4 x 10 (exp 6) respectively. Some comparisons were made of the experimental data for the new airfoils and the predictions of two different theories. The results of this study indicates that both of the new airfoils offer advantages over the baseline airfoil. These advantages are discussed.

Noonan, Kevin W.↗

NASA NTRS1989

An analytic study of nonsteady two-phase laminar boundary layer around an airfoil

Recently, NASA, FAA, and other organizations have focused their attention upon the possible effects of rain on airfoil performance. Rhode carried out early experiments and concluded that the rain impacting the aircraft increased the drag. Bergrum made numerical calculation for the rain effects on airfoils. Luers and Haines did an analytic investigation and found that heavy rain induces severe aerodynamic penalties including both a momentum penalty due to the impact of the rain and a drag and lift penalty due to rain roughening of the airfoil and fuselage. More recently, Hansman and Barsotti performed experiments and declared that performance degradation of an airfoil in heavy rain is due to the effective roughening of the surface by the water layer. Hansman and Craig did further experimental research at low Reynolds number. E. Dunham made a critical review for the potential influence of rain on airfoil performance. Dunham et al. carried out experiments for the transport type airfoil and concluded that there is a reduction of maximum lift capability with increase in drag. There is a scarcity of published literature in analytic research of two-phase boundary layer around an airfoil. Analytic research is being improved. The following assumptions are made: the fluid flow is non-steady, viscous, and incompressible; the airfoil is represented by a two-dimensional flat plate; and there is only a laminar boundary layer throughout the flow region. The boundary layer approximation is solved and discussed.

Hsu, Yu-Kao↗

NASA NTRS1933

The Aerodynamic Characteristics of Airfoils as Affected by Surface Roughness

The effect on airfoil characteristics of surface roughness of varying degrees and types at different locations on an airfoil was investigated at high values of the Reynolds number in a variable density wind tunnel. Tests were made on a number of National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) 0012 airfoil models on which the nature of the surface was varied from a rough to a very smooth finish. The effect on the airfoil characteristics of varying the location of a rough area in the region of the leading edge was also investigated. Airfoils with surfaces simulating lap joints were also tested. Measurable adverse effects were found to be caused by small irregularities in airfoil surfaces which might ordinarily be overlooked. The flow is sensitive to small irregularities of approximately 0.0002c in depth near the leading edge. The tests made on the surfaces simulating lap joints indicated that such surfaces cause small adverse effects. Additional data from earlier tests of another symmetrical airfoil are also included to indicate the variation of the maximum lift coefficient with the Reynolds number for an airfoil with a polished surface and with a very rough one.

HOCKER RAY W↗

NASA NTRS1940

Wind tunnel tests of an NACA 23021 airfoil equipped with a slotted extensible and a plain extensible flap

An investigation has been made in the NACA 7- by 10-foot wind tunnel of a large chord NACA 23021 airfoil equipped with two arrangements of a completely extended 15 percent chord extensible flap. One of the flaps had a faired juncture, without a gap; the other was provided with a slot between the trailing edge of the airfoil and the nose of the flap. The results showed that the basic airfoil gave the lowest profile-drag coefficients over the low lift range, the airfoil with the plain extensible flap gave the lowest profile-drag coefficients over the moderate lift range, and the airfoil with the slotted extensible flap gave the lowest profile-drag coefficients over the high lift range. The airfoil with the slotted extensible flap had the same maximum lift at a flap deflection of 25 degrees as the airfoil with the plain extensible flap had at a flap deflection of 60 degrees. The results of comparisons of the airfoil pitching-moment coefficients obtained with the two types of flap are dependent upon the basis chosen for comparison. Complete aerodynamic section characteristics are presented for the various flap deflections for both flap arrangements in the completely extended portion.

Swanson, Robert S↗

NASA NTRS1953

Aerodynamic Forces and Loadings on Symmetrical Circular-Arc Airfoils with Plain Leading-Edge and Plain Trailing-Edge Flaps

An investigation has been made in the Langley two-dimensional low-turbulence tunnel and in the Langley two-dimensional low-pressure tunnel of 6- and 10-percent-thick symmetrical circular-arc airfoil sections at low Mach numbers and several Reynolds numbers. The airfoils were equipped with 0.15-chord plain leading-edge flaps and 0.20-chord plan trailing-edge flaps. The section lift and pitching-moment characteristics were determined for both airfoils with the flaps deflected individually and in combination. The section drag characteristics were obtained for the 6-percent-thick airfoil with the flaps partly deflected as low-drag-control flaps and for airfoils with the flaps neutral. Surface pressures were measured on the 6-percent-thick airfoil section with the flaps deflected either individually or in appropriate combination to furnish flap load and hinge-moment data applicable to the structural design of the airfoil. A generalized method is developed that permits the determination of the chordwise pressure distribution over sharp-edge airfoils with plain leading-edge flaps and plain trailing-edge flaps of arbitrary size and deflection.

Cahill, Jones F↗

NASA NTRS1994

Application of two procedures for dual-point design of transonic airfoils

Two dual-point design procedures were developed to reduce the objective function of a baseline airfoil at two design points. The first procedure to develop a redesigned airfoil used a weighted average of the shapes of two intermediate airfoils redesigned at each of the two design points. The second procedure used a weighted average of two pressure distributions obtained from an intermediate airfoil redesigned at each of the two design points. Each procedure was used to design a new airfoil with reduced wave drag at the cruise condition without increasing the wave drag or pitching moment at the climb condition. Two cycles of the airfoil shape-averaging procedure successfully designed a new airfoil that reduced the objective function and satisfied the constraints. One cycle of the target (desired) pressure-averaging procedure was used to design two new airfoils that reduced the objective function and came close to satisfying the constraints.

Mineck, Raymond E.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Experimental and computational investigation of lift-enhancing tabs on a multi-element airfoil

An experimental and computational investigation of the effect of lift enhancing tabs on a two-element airfoil was conducted. The objective of the study was to develop an understanding of the flow physics associated with lift enhancing tabs on a multi-element airfoil. A NACA 63(sub 2)-215 ModB airfoil with a 30 percent chord Fowler flap was tested in the NASA Ames 7 by 10 foot wind tunnel. Lift enhancing tabs of various heights were tested on both the main element and the flap for a variety of flap riggings. Computations of the flow over the two-element airfoil were performed using the two-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes code INS2D-UP. The computer results predict all of the trends in the experimental data quite well. When the flow over the flap upper surface is attached, tabs mounted at the main element trailing edge (cove tabs) produce very little change in lift. At high flap deflections. however, the flow over the flap is separated and cove tabs produce large increases in lift and corresponding reductions in drag by eliminating the separated flow. Cove tabs permit high flap deflection angles to be achieved and reduce the sensitivity of the airfoil lift to the size of the flap gap. Tabs attached to the flap training edge (flap tabs) are effective at increasing lift without significantly increasing drag. A combination of a cove tab and a flap tab increased the airfoil lift coefficient by 11 percent relative to the highest lift tab coefficient achieved by any baseline configuration at an angle of attack of zero percent and the maximum lift coefficient was increased by more than 3 percent. A simple analytic model based on potential flow was developed to provide a more detailed understanding of how lift enhancing tabs work. The tabs were modeled by a point vortex at the training edge. Sensitivity relationships were derived which provide a mathematical basis for explaining the effects of lift enhancing tabs on a multi-element airfoil. Results of the modeling effort indicate that the dominant effects of the tabs on the pressure distribution of each element of the airfoil can be captured with a potential flow model for cases with no flow separation.

Ashby, Dale↗

NASA NTRS1999

Predicted Aerodynamic Characteristics of a NACA 0015 Airfoil Having a 25% Integral-Type Trailing Edge Flap

Using the two-dimensional ARC2D Navier-Stokes flow solver analyses were conducted to predict the sectional aerodynamic characteristics of the flapped NACA-0015 airfoil section. To facilitate the analyses and the generation of the computational grids, the airfoil with the deflected trailing edge flap was treated as a single element airfoil with no allowance for a gap between the flap's leading edge and the base of the forward portion of the airfoil. Generation of the O-type computational grids was accomplished using the HYGRID hyperbolic grid generation program. Results were obtained for a wide range of Mach numbers, angles of attack and flap deflections. The predicted sectional lift, drag and pitching moment values for the airfoil were then cast in tabular format (C81) to be used in lifting-line helicopter rotor aerodynamic performance calculations. Similar were also generated for the flap. Mathematical expressions providing the variation of the sectional lift and pitching moment coefficients for the airfoil and for the flap as a function of flap chord length and flap deflection angle were derived within the context of thin airfoil theory. The airfoil's sectional drag coefficient were derived using the ARC2D drag predictions for equivalent two dimensional flow conditions.

Hassan, Ahmed↗

NASA NTRS2000

Airfoil Dynamic Stall and Rotorcraft Maneuverability

The loading of an airfoil during dynamic stall is examined in terms of the augmented lift and the associated penalties in pitching moment and drag. It is shown that once stall occurs and a leading-edge vortex is shed from the airfoil there is a unique relationship between the augmented lift, the negative pitching moment, and the increase in drag. This relationship, referred to here as the dynamic stall function, shows limited sensitivity to effects such as the airfoil section profile and Mach number, and appears to be independent of such parameters as Reynolds number, reduced frequency, and blade sweep. For single-element airfoils there is little that can be done to improve rotorcraft maneuverability except to provide good static C(l(max)) characteristics and the chord or blade number that is required to provide the necessary rotor thrust. However, multi-element airfoils or airfoils with variable geometry features can provide augmented lift in some cases that exceeds that available from a single-element airfoil. The dynamic stall function is shown to be a useful tool for the evaluation of both measured and calculated dynamic stall characteristics of single element, multi-element, and variable geometry airfoils.

Bousman, William G.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Method of making an airfoil

An improved method of making an airfoil includes stacking plies in two groups. A separator ply is positioned between the two groups of plies. The groups of plies and the separator ply are interconnected to form an airfoil blank. The airfoil blank is shaped, by forging or other methods, to have a desired configuration. The material of the separator ply is then dissolved or otherwise removed from between the two sections of the airfoil blank to provide access to the interior of the airfoil blank. Material is removed from inner sides of the two separated sections to form core receiving cavities. After cores have been placed in the cavities, the two sections of the airfoil blank are interconnected and the shaping of the airfoil is completed. The cores are subsequently removed from the completed airfoil.

Moracz, Donald J.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Method of making an airfoil

Moracz, Donald J.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Robust, optimal subsonic airfoil shapes

Method system, and product from application of the method, for design of a subsonic airfoil shape, beginning with an arbitrary initial airfoil shape and incorporating one or more constraints on the airfoil geometric parameters and flow characteristics. The resulting design is robust against variations in airfoil dimensions and local airfoil shape introduced in the airfoil manufacturing process. A perturbation procedure provides a class of airfoil shapes, beginning with an initial airfoil shape.

Rai, Man Mohan↗

NASA NTRS2007

Modeling and Grid Generation of Iced Airfoils

SmaggIce Version 2.0 is a software toolkit for geometric modeling and grid generation for two-dimensional, singleand multi-element, clean and iced airfoils. A previous version of SmaggIce was described in Preparing and Analyzing Iced Airfoils, NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 8 (August 2004), page 32. To recapitulate: Ice shapes make it difficult to generate quality grids around airfoils, yet these grids are essential for predicting ice-induced complex flow. This software efficiently creates high-quality structured grids with tools that are uniquely tailored for various ice shapes. SmaggIce Version 2.0 significantly enhances the previous version primarily by adding the capability to generate grids for multi-element airfoils. This version of the software is an important step in streamlining the aeronautical analysis of ice airfoils using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools. The user may prepare the ice shape, define the flow domain, decompose it into blocks, generate grids, modify/divide/merge blocks, and control grid density and smoothness. All these steps may be performed efficiently even for the difficult glaze and rime ice shapes. Providing the means to generate highly controlled grids near rough ice, the software includes the creation of a wrap-around block (called the "viscous sublayer block"), which is a thin, C-type block around the wake line and iced airfoil. For multi-element airfoils, the software makes use of grids that wrap around and fill in the areas between the viscous sub-layer blocks for all elements that make up the airfoil. A scripting feature records the history of interactive steps, which can be edited and replayed later to produce other grids. Using this version of SmaggIce, ice shape handling and grid generation can become a practical engineering process, rather than a laborious research effort.

Vickerman, Mary B.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design Exploration of a Transonic Cruise Slotted Airfoil

A knowledge-based aerodynamic design method, CDISC, has been leveraged for the computational design exploration of the cruise slotted airfoil as a drag-saving technology for single aisle, transonic transport aircraft. Aerodynamic predictions were generated using the NASA USM3D Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes flow solver, and laminar flow assessments were conducted using the NASA BLSTA3D boundary layer profile solver paired with the LASTRAC stability analysis and transition prediction software. The CDISC design method was used to parametrically vary several slotted-airfoil design variables to understand their impact on aerodynamic performance. In addition to establishing best practices for slotted airfoil design, it was observed that the historically noted skin-friction penalty for cruise slotted airfoils was attributed to the low-Reynolds-number boundary layer of the flap. At cruise, this skin-friction penalty negated any potential decrease in pressure drag enabled by the cruise slotted airfoil architecture. This observation led to the development of an Aft-Laminar Multi-element Airfoil concept that uses airfoil shaping to promote natural laminar flow on the flap. At cruise conditions, the concept is predicted to offer a 2.7% reduction in sectional drag relative to a fully turbulent supercritical airfoil. Off-design analyses showed that laminar flow could be maintained with near-cruise variations in angle of attack and Mach number, resulting in sustained aerodynamic efficiency improvements and a delay in the drag rise Mach number. A low-speed, high-lift analysis at takeoff conditions predicted a maximum lift coefficient of 2.4 could be achieved by use of a variable-camber leading edge on the main element and simple deflection of the flap. These computationally-predicted benefits have motivated future research toward an aft-laminar cruise slotted wing design as an incremental step toward the application of natural laminar flow technology on transonic commercial transports.

Brett R Hiller↗

NASA NTRS1994

Influence of Incidence Angle on Sound Generation by Airfoils Interacting with High-Frequency Gusts

A theoretical model is developed for the sound generated when a convected vortical or entropic gust encounters an airfoil at nonzero angle of attack. The theory is based on a linearization of the Euler equations about the steady, subsonic flow past the airfoil. High-frequency gusts, whose wavelengths are short compared to the airfoil chord, but long compared to the displacement of the mean-flow stagnation point from the leading edge, are considered. The analysis utilizes singular perturbation techniques and involves four asymptotic regions. Local regions, which scale on the gust wavelength, are present at the airfoil leading and trailing edges. Behind the airfoil a "transition" region, which is similar to the transition zone between illuminated and shadow zones in optical problems, is present. In the outer region, far away from the airfoil edges and wake, the solution has a geometric-acoustics form. The primary sound generation is found to be concentrated in the local leading-edge region. The trailing edge plays a secondary role as a scatterer of the sound generated in the leading-edge region. Parametric calculations are presented which illustrate that moderate levels of airfoil steady loading can significantly affect the sound field produced by airfoil-gust interactions.

Matthew R. Myers↗

DOE OSTI2022

Invertible Neural Networks for Airfoil Design

We report the airfoil design problem, in which an engineer seeks a shape with desired performance characteristics, is fundamental to aerodynamics. Design workflows traditionally rely on iterative optimization methods using low-fidelity integral boundary-layer methods as higher-fidelity adjoint-based computational fluid dynamics methods are computationally expensive. Surrogate-based approaches can accelerate the design process but still rely on some iterative inverse design procedure. In this work, we leverage emerging invertible neural network (INN) tools to enable the rapid inverse design of airfoil shapes for wind turbines. INNs are specialized deep-learning models with well-defined inverse mappings. When trained appropriately, INN surrogate models are capable of forward prediction of aerodynamic and structural quantities for a given airfoil shape as well as inverse recovery of airfoil shapes with specified aerodynamic and structural characteristics. The INN approach offers a roughly 100 times speed-up compared to adjoint-based methods for inverse design. We demonstrate the INN tool for inverse design on three test cases of 100 airfoils each that satisfy the performance characteristics close to those of airfoils used in wind-turbine blades. All generated shapes satisfy the desired aerodynamic characteristics, demonstrating the success of the INN approach for inverse design of airfoils.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1942

Investigation of Extreme Leading-Edge Roughness on Thick Low-Drag Airfoils to Indicate Those Critical to Separation

Several airfoils, Including a conventional NACA 23021 and some low-drag airfoils for which the thickness had been increased to the point that they were considered doubtfully conservative with respect to separation, were investigated as smooth airfoils and after the application of a standard roughness. The results show some of the airfoils to be critical to separation resulting from such flow disturbances. It is concluded, pending the further investigation of separation difficulties, that airfoil sections falling definitely within the conservative range should be used.

AIRFOILS - NACA 65,3-418 - CHAR & MOMENTS - LOW-DR↗

NASA NTRS1941

Wind-tunnel investigation of an NACA 23012 airfoil with several arrangements of slotted flaps with extended lips

An investigation was made in the NACA 7- by 10-foot wind tunnel to determine the effect of slot-lip location on the aerodynamic section characteristics of an NACA 23012 airfoil with a 30-percent-chord slotted flap. Tests were made with slot lips located at 90 and 100 percent of the airfoil chord and with two different flap shapes. The results are compared with a slotted flap previously developed by the National advisory Committee for Aeronautics with a slot lip located at 83 percent of the airfoil chord. The extension of the slot lip to the rear increased the section lift and pitching-moment coefficients. Comparisons made on a basis of pitching moment for a given tail length show that the Fowler type flap, lip extended to trailing edge of the airfoil, has the greatest section lift coefficient. For moderate tail lengths, 2 to 3 chord lengths, there was only a slight difference between the previously developed slotted flap and the slotted flap with slot lip extended to 90 percent of the airfoil chord. Of the three flaps tested, the Fowler flap had the lowest drag coefficient at high lift coefficients. The extension of the lower surface at the leading edge of the slot had a negligible effect on the profile drag of the airfoil-flap arrangement with the flap deflected when the lip terminated at 90 percent of the airfoil chord.

WING FLAPS, SLOTTED - FULL-SPAN(30%-CHORD)↗