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At least 1,099 records · Page 61
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1997

Aeroservoelastic and Structural Dynamics Research on Smart Structures Conducted at NASA Langley Research Center

An overview of smart structures research currently underway at the NASA Langley Research Center in the areas of aeroservoelasticity and structural dynamics is presented. Analytical and experimental results, plans, potential technology pay-offs, and challenges are discussed. The goal of this research is to develop the enabling technologies to actively and passively control aircraft and rotorcraft vibration and loads using smart devices. These enabling technologies and related research efforts include developing experimentally-validated finite element and aeroservoelastic modeling techniques; conducting bench experimental tests to assess feasibility and understand system trade-offs; and conducting large-scale wind tunnel tests to demonstrate system performance. The key aeroservoelastic applications of this research include: active twist control of rotor blades using interdigitated electrode piezoelectric composites and active control of flutter, and gust and buffeting responses using discrete piezoelectric patches. In addition, NASA Langley is an active participant in the DARPA/Air Force Research Laboratory/NASA/Northrop Grumman Smart Wing program which is assessing aerodynamic performance benefits using smart materials.

McGowan, Anna-Maria Rivas↗
NASA NTRS1985

The cryptoendolithic microbial environment in the Antarctic cold desert: temperature variations in nature

In the Antarctic cold desert, cryptoendolithic microorganisms live under the surface of porous sandstone rocks. During the austral summer, the environment of the near-surface rock layers colonized by organisms is characterized by two kinds of temperature oscillations, both occurring across the freezing point. Low-frequency (diurnal) and large-amplitude (up to about 20 degrees C) oscillations on the sunlit surface of rocks result in a daily freeze-thaw cycle. This is a result of the diurnal changes in the sun altitude and angle with respect to the rock surface. The biological effect of this oscillation is the regulation of the onset and cessation of metabolic activity. The high-frequency (few minutes) oscillations occur only under certain weather conditions (sunny days with light winds) and are superimposed on the low-frequency oscillations. They are caused by the cooling effect of wind gusts on rock surfaces that are much warmer than ambient air temperatures. High-frequency oscillations result in a rapid freeze-thaw cycle on the surface, which, however, does not reach the microbial zone. These high-frequency freeze-thaw oscillations are probably the cause of the abiotic nature of the rock surface. Both oscillations seem to have an effect on rock weathering.

Cold Climate↗
NASA NTRS1989

The visually guided control of simulated altitude

Simulated "flights" over three different ground textures were used to examine people's ability to extract optical information useful for active regulation of altitude. The textures were regularly spaced lines as follows: 1) orthogonal to the direction of flight (latitude texture); 2) parallel to the direction of flight (meridian texture); and 3) both parallel and orthogonal (square texture). Visual constant velocity forward flight simulations were displayed on a CRT screen, and subjects asked to maintain one of three initial altitudes using a rate control stick. This task was made difficult by the presence of lateral (irrelevant) and vertical (relevant) "wind gusts." The attitude never varied as winds, forward speed, and vertical rate control resulted in only translational movements. Adjusted root mean square errors (ARMSE) showed altitude regulation was more difficult at higher altitudes and when flying over meridian textures. Refined analysis of a single subject's data showed that this was due both to poorer regulation of the vertical wind disturbance and to a tendency to confuse the lateral wind disturbance for a vertical disturbance.

Vision↗
NASA NTRS1947

Investigations of Tumbling Characteristics of a 1/20-Scale Model of the Northrop N-9M Airplane

The tumbling characteristics of a 1/20-scale model of the Northrop N-9M airplane have been determined in the Langley 20-foot free-spinning tunnel for various configurations and loading conditions of the model. The investigation included tests to determine whether recovery from a tumble could be effected by the use of parachutes. An estimation of the forces due to acceleration acting on the pilot during a tumble was made. The tests were performed at an equivalent test altitude of 15,000 feet. The results of the model tests indicate that if the airplane is stalled with its nose up and near the vertical, or if an appreciable amount of pitching rotation is imparted to the airplane as through the action of a strong gust, the airplane will either tumble or oscillate in pitch through a range of angles of the order of +/-120 deg. The normal flying controls will probably be ineffective in preventing or in terminating the tumbling motion. The results of the model tests indicate that deflection of the landing flaps full down immediately upon the initiation of pitching rotation will tend to prevent the development of a state of tumbling equilibrium. The simultaneous opening of two-7-foot diameter parachutes having drag coefficients of 0.7, one parachute attached to the rear portion of each wing tip with a towline between 10 and 30 feet long, will provide recovery from a tumble. The accelerations acting on the pilot during a tumble will be dangerous.

MacDougall, George F., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Motion Cueing Algorithm Development: Piloted Performance Testing of the Cueing Algorithms

The relative effectiveness in simulating aircraft maneuvers with both current and newly developed motion cueing algorithms was assessed with an eleven-subject piloted performance evaluation conducted on the NASA Langley Visual Motion Simulator (VMS). In addition to the current NASA adaptive algorithm, two new cueing algorithms were evaluated: the optimal algorithm and the nonlinear algorithm. The test maneuvers included a straight-in approach with a rotating wind vector, an offset approach with severe turbulence and an on/off lateral gust that occurs as the aircraft approaches the runway threshold, and a takeoff both with and without engine failure after liftoff. The maneuvers were executed with each cueing algorithm with added visual display delay conditions ranging from zero to 200 msec. Two methods, the quasi-objective NASA Task Load Index (TLX), and power spectral density analysis of pilot control, were used to assess pilot workload. Piloted performance parameters for the approach maneuvers, the vertical velocity upon touchdown and the runway touchdown position, were also analyzed but did not show any noticeable difference among the cueing algorithms. TLX analysis reveals, in most cases, less workload and variation among pilots with the nonlinear algorithm. Control input analysis shows pilot-induced oscillations on a straight-in approach were less prevalent compared to the optimal algorithm. The augmented turbulence cues increased workload on an offset approach that the pilots deemed more realistic compared to the NASA adaptive algorithm. The takeoff with engine failure showed the least roll activity for the nonlinear algorithm, with the least rudder pedal activity for the optimal algorithm.

Houck, Jacob A.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Permeable Surface Corrections for Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings Integrals

The acoustic prediction methodology discussed herein applies an acoustic analogy to calculate the sound generated by sources in an aerodynamic simulation. Sound is propagated from the computed flow field by integrating the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings equation on a suitable control surface. Previous research suggests that, for some applications, the integration surface must be placed away from the solid surface to incorporate source contributions from within the flow volume. As such, the fluid mechanisms in the input flow field that contribute to the far-field noise are accounted for by their mathematical projection as a distribution of source terms on a permeable surface. The passage of nonacoustic disturbances through such an integration surface can result in significant error in an acoustic calculation. A correction for the error is derived in the frequency domain using a frozen gust assumption. The correction is found to work reasonably well in several test cases where the error is a small fraction of the actual radiated noise. However, satisfactory agreement has not been obtained between noise predictions using the solution from a three-dimensional, detached-eddy simulation of flow over a cylinder.

Lockard, David P.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Propulsion Aeroelastic Analysis Developed for Flutter and Forced Response

The NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field develops new technologies to increase the fuel efficiency of aircraft engines, improve the safety of engine operation, reduce emissions, and reduce engine noise. With the development of new designs for fans, compressors, and turbines to achieve these goals, the basic aeroelastic requirements are that there should be no flutter (self-excited vibrations) or high resonant blade stresses (due to forced response) in the operating regime. Therefore, an accurate prediction and analysis capability is required to verify the aeroelastic soundness of the designs. Such a three-dimensional viscous propulsion aeroelastic analysis capability has been developed at Glenn with support from the Advanced Subsonic Technology (AST) program. This newly developed aeroelastic analysis capability is based on TURBO, a threedimensional unsteady aerodynamic Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes turbomachinery code developed previously under a grant from Glenn. TURBO can model the viscous flow effects that play an important role in certain aeroelastic problems such as flutter with flow separation, flutter at high loading conditions near the stall line (stall flutter), flutter in the presence of shock and boundary-layer interaction, and forced response due to wakes and shock impingement. In aeroelastic analysis, the structural dynamics representation of the blades is based on normal modes. A finite-element analysis code is used to calculate these in-vacuum vibration modes and the associated natural frequencies. In an aeroelastic analysis using the TURBO code, flutter and forced response are modeled as being uncoupled. To calculate if a blade row will flutter, one prescribes the motion of the blade to be a harmonic vibration in a specified in-vacuum normal mode. An aeroelastic analysis preprocessor is used to generate the displacement field required for the analysis. The work done by aerodynamic forces on the vibrating blade during a cycle of vibration is calculated. If this work is positive, the blade is dynamically unstable, since it will extract energy from the flow, leading to an increase in the blade s oscillation amplitude. The forced-response excitations on a blade row are calculated by modeling the flow through two adjacent blade rows using the TURBO code. The blades are assumed to be rigid. As an option, a single blade row can be modeled with the upstream blade row influence represented by a time-varying disturbance (gust) at the inlet boundary. The unsteady forces on a blade row from such analyses are used in a structural analysis along with the blade structural dynamics characteristics and aerodynamic damping associated with blade vibration to calculate the resulting dynamic stresses on the blade.

Bakhle, Milind A.↗
NASA NTRS2005

A Method to Analyze Tail Buffet Loads of Aircraft

Aircraft designers commit significant resources to the design of aircraft in meeting performance goals. Despite fulfilling traditional design requirements, many fighter aircraft have encountered buffet loads when demonstrating their high angle-of-attack maneuver capabilities. As a result, during test or initial production phases of fighter development programs, many new designs are impacted, usually in a detrimental way, by resulting in reassessing designs or limiting full mission capability. These troublesome experiences usually stem from overlooking or completely ignoring the effects of buffet during the design phase of aircraft. Perhaps additional requirements are necessary that addresses effects of buffet in achieving best aircraft performance in fulfilling mission goals. This paper describes a reliable, fairly simple, but quite general buffet loads analysis method to use in the initial design phases of fighter-aircraft development. The method is very similar to the random gust load analysis that is now commonly available in a commercial code, which this analysis capability is based, with some key modifications. The paper describes the theory and the implementation of the methodology. The method is demonstrated on a JSF prototype example problem. The demonstration also serves as a validation of the method, since, in the paper, the analysis is shown to nearly match the flight data. In addition, the paper demonstrates how the analysis method can be used to assess candidate design concepts in determining a satisfactory final aircraft configuration.

Pototzky, Anthony S.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Benchmark Problems Used to Assess Computational Aeroacoustics Codes

The field of computational aeroacoustics (CAA) encompasses numerical techniques for calculating all aspects of sound generation and propagation in air directly from fundamental governing equations. Aeroacoustic problems typically involve flow-generated noise, with and without the presence of a solid surface, and the propagation of the sound to a receiver far away from the noise source. It is a challenge to obtain accurate numerical solutions to these problems. The NASA Glenn Research Center has been at the forefront in developing and promoting the development of CAA techniques and methodologies for computing the noise generated by aircraft propulsion systems. To assess the technological advancement of CAA, Glenn, in cooperation with the Ohio Aerospace Institute and the AeroAcoustics Research Consortium, organized and hosted the Fourth CAA Workshop on Benchmark Problems. Participants from industry and academia from both the United States and abroad joined to present and discuss solutions to benchmark problems. These demonstrated technical progress ranging from the basic challenges to accurate CAA calculations to the solution of CAA problems of increasing complexity and difficulty. The results are documented in the proceedings of the workshop. Problems were solved in five categories. In three of the five categories, exact solutions were available for comparison with CAA results. A fourth category of problems representing sound generation from either a single airfoil or a blade row interacting with a gust (i.e., problems relevant to fan noise) had approximate analytical or completely numerical solutions. The fifth category of problems involved sound generation in a viscous flow. In this case, the CAA results were compared with experimental data.

Dahl, Milo D.↗
NASA NTRS2005

A Tail Buffet Loads Prediction Method for Aircraft at High Angles of Attack

Aircraft designers commit significant resources to the design of aircraft in meeting performance goals. Despite fulfilling traditional design requirements, many fighter aircraft have encountered buffet loads when demonstrating their high angle-of-attack maneuver capabilities. As a result, during test or initial production phases of fighter development programs, many new designs are impacted, usually in a detrimental way, by resulting in reassessing designs or limiting full mission capability. These troublesome experiences usually stem from overlooking or completely ignoring the effects of buffet during the design phase of aircraft. Perhaps additional requirements are necessary that addresses effects of buffet in achieving best aircraft performance in fulfilling mission goals. This paper describes a reliable, fairly simple, but quite general buffet loads analysis method to use in the initial design phases of fighter-aircraft development. The method is very similar to the random gust load analysis that is now commonly available in a commercial code, which this analysis capability is based, with some key modifications. The paper describes the theory and the implementation of the methodology. The method is demonstrated on a JSF prototype example problem. The demonstration also serves as a validation of the method, since, in the paper, the analysis is shown to nearly match the flight data. In addition, the paper demonstrates how the analysis method can be used to assess candidate design concepts in determining a satisfactory final aircraft configuration.

Pototzky, Anthony S.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Attitude Control for an Aero-Vehicle Using Vector Thrusting and Variable Speed Control Moment Gyros

Stabilization of passively unstable thrust-levitated vehicles can require significant control inputs. Although thrust vectoring is a straightforward choice for realizing these inputs, this may lead to difficulties discussed in the paper. This paper examines supplementing thrust vectoring with Variable-Speed Control Moment Gyroscopes (VSCMGs). The paper describes how to allocate VSCMGs and the vectored thrust mechanism for attitude stabilization in frequency domain and also shows trade-off between vectored thrust and VSCMGs. Using an H2 control synthesis methodology in LMI optimization, a feedback control law is designed for a thrust-levitated research vehicle and is simulated with the full nonlinear model. It is demonstrated that VSCMGs can reduce the use of vectored thrust variation for stabilizing the hovering platform in the presence of strong wind gusts.

Shin, Jong-Yeob↗
NASA NTRS2005

Various Analyses of Structures and Systems Pertaining to Optical Communications

The Optical Communications Group intends to experiment with a 2 by 2 meter Fresnel lens to determine its likelihood as an alternative to focusing mirrors for optical communications. The lens was delivered in four sections. A support structure was required for the lens in order to hold the four sections in a single flat plane with an adjustable degree angle. In order to use the 200-in. Hale telescope for optical communications purposes, an optical filter membrane must used to pass the communications wavelength while blocking sunlight wavelengths. This filter must withstand wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour. Stress analysis predicts that the membrane will survive with a safety factor greater than two. The methods used were verified by pressure testing the material. Mechanical and thermodynamic analyses were performed on a simple Golay cell in order to optimize its dimensions for best performance. Flexures are examined as an inexpensive alternative to traditional methods for kinematically constraining a 1.5-meter spherical mirror.

Petersen, Collin W.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Turbulence and Mountain Wave Conditions Observed with an Airborne 2-Micron Lidar

Joint efforts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Defense, and industry partners are enhancing the capability of airborne wind and turbulence detection. The Airborne Coherent Lidar (light detection and ranging) for Advanced In-Flight Measurements was flown on three series of flights to assess its capability over a range of altitudes, air mass conditions, and gust phenomena. This report describes the observation of mountain waves and turbulence induced by mountain waves over the Tehachapi and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges by lidar on board the NASA Airborne Science DC-8 (McDonnell Douglas Corporation, Long Beach, California) airplane during two flights. The examples in this report compare lidar-predicted mountain waves and wave-induced turbulence to subsequent airplane-measured true airspeed. Airplane acceleration data is presented describing the effects of the wave-induced turbulence on the DC-8 airplane. Highlights of the lidar-predicted airspeed from the two flights show increases of 12 m/s at the mountain wave interface and peak-to-peak airspeed changes of 10 m/s and 15 m/s in a span of 12 s in moderate turbulence.

Teets, Edward H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Turbulence and mountain wave conditions observed with an airborne 2-micron lidar

Joint efforts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense, and industry partners are enhancing the capability of airborne wind and turbulence detection. The Airborne Coherent Lidar for Advanced In-Flight Measurements (ACLAIM) was flown on three series of flights to assess its capability over a range of altitudes, air mass conditions, and gust phenomena. This paper describes the observation of mountain waves and turbulence induced by mountain waves over the Tehachapi and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges (California, USA) by lidar onboard the NASA Airborne Science DC-8 airplane. The examples in this paper compare lidar-predicted mountain waves and wave-induced turbulence to subsequent aircraft-measured true airspeed. Airplane acceleration data is presented describing the effects of the wave-induced turbulence on the DC-8 airplane. Highlights of the lidar-predicted airspeed from the two flights show increases of 12 meters per second (m/s) at the mountain wave interface and peak-to-peak airspeed changes of 10 m/s and 15 m/s in a span of 12 seconds in moderate turbulence.

Teets, Edward H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Turbulence and Mountain Wave Conditions Observed with an Airborne 2-Micron Lidar

Joint efforts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense, and industry partners are enhancing the capability of airborne wind and turbulence detection. The Airborne Coherent Lidar for Advanced In-Flight Measurements (ACLAIM) was flown on three series of flights to assess its capability over a range of altitudes, air mass conditions, and gust phenomena. This paper describes the observation of mountain waves and turbulence induced by mountain waves over the Tehachapi and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges in southern California by lidar onboard the NASA Airborne Science DC-8 airplane. The examples in this paper compare lidar-predicted mountain waves and wave-induced turbulence to subsequent aircraft-measured true airspeed. Airplane acceleration data is presented describing the effects of the wave-induced turbulence on the DC-8 airplane. Highlights of the lidar-predicted airspeed from the two flights show increases of 12 m/s at the mountain wave interface and peak-to-peak airspeed changes of 10 m/s and 15 m/s in a span of 12 s in moderate turbulence.

Teets, Edward H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Plans and Status of Wind-Tunnel Testing Employing an Aeroservoelastic Semispan Model

This paper presents the research objectives, summarizes the pre-wind-tunnel-test experimental results to date, summarizes the analytical predictions to date, and outlines the wind-tunnel-test plans for an aeroservoelastic semispan wind-tunnel model. The model is referred to as the Supersonic Semispan Transport (S4T) Active Controls Testbed (ACT) and is based on a supersonic cruise configuration. The model has three hydraulically-actuated surfaces (all-movable horizontal tail, all-movable ride control vane, and aileron) for active controls. The model is instrumented with accelerometers, unsteady pressure transducers, and strain gages and will be mounted on a 5-component sidewall balance. The model will be tested twice in the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT). The first entry will be an "open-loop" model-characterization test; the second entry will be a "closed-loop" test during which active flutter suppression, gust load alleviation and ride quality control experiments will be conducted.

Perry, Boyd, III↗
NASA NTRS2007

Small UAV Research and Evolution in Long Endurance Electric Powered Vehicles

This paper describes recent research into the advancement of small, electric powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capabilities. Specifically, topics include the improvements made in battery technology, design methodologies, avionics architectures and algorithms, materials and structural concepts, propulsion system performance prediction, and others. The results of prototype vehicle designs and flight tests are discussed in the context of their usefulness in defining and validating progress in the various technology areas. Further areas of research need are also identified. These include the need for more robust operating regimes (wind, gust, etc.), and continued improvement in payload fraction vs. endurance.

Logan, Michael J.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Effects of Unsteadiness Due to Wake Passing on Rotor Blade Heat Transfer

14. ABSTRACT In a gas turbine engine, the turbine rotor blades are buffeted by the wakes of the vanes located upstream. There is a transient effect from the passing of wakes on the blade heat transfer. This transient effect has been computed for a representative rotor by introducing a wake upstream via an unsteady inlet flow boundary condition, or "gust" condition. Two cases of turbulent flow and laminar flow with Reynolds numbers of 385,000 and 385 respectively were considered. For the turbulent flow case a quasi-steady calculation was also performed. The variation in the unsteady heat transfer coefficient was found to be as high as 120 percent of the mean. For the turbulent flow case a quasisteady calculation was also performed. The time mean of the unsteady heat transfer, the mean of the quasi-steady variations and the steady results agree reasonably well on all blade locations except for the turbulent results which differ near the leading edge. The quasi-steady heat transfer results do not agree with the instantaneous unsteady results, although the time-mean values are similar.

Ameri, Ali A.↗