A method to estimate weight and dimensions of aircraft gas turbine engines. Volume 2: User's manual
For abstract, see N77-25171.
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For abstract, see N77-25171.
For abstract, see N77-25171.
Development of inside diameter slicing technology to significantly increase the number of useable slices per inch of crystal over industry practice is discussed. The required reduction of both blade and slice thickness is to be accomplished by a combination of three key elements of slicing technology: (1) ingot rotation with minimum exposed blade area; (2) dynamic cutting edge control; and (3) the use of prefabricated insert blades. Design modifications on a slicing saw with microprocessor controls and hardware fabrication to complete this conversion were initiated. Several runs were conducted on the engineering saw incorporating the method of ingot rotation. Ingots with diameters up to six inches were sliced successfully on a production saw.
The application and advantages of abradable coatings as gas-path seals in a general aviation turbine engine were evaluated for use on the high-pressure compressor, the high-pressure turbine, and the low-pressure turbine shrouds. Topics covered include: (1) the initial selection of candidate materials for interim full-scale engine testing; (2) interim engine testing of the initially selected materials and additional candidate materials; (3) the design of the component required to adapt the hardware to permit full-scale engine testing of the most promising materials; (4) finalization of the fabrication methods used in the manufacture of engine test hardware; and (5) the manufacture of the hardware necessary to support the final full-scale engine tests.
Upon a landing approach, the normal compressor stator schedule of a fan speed controlled turbofan engine is temporarily varied to substantially close the stators to thereby increase the fuel flow and compressor speed in order to maintain fan speed and thrust. This running of the compressor at an off-design speed substantially reduces the time required to subsequently advance the engine speed to the takeoff thrust level by advancing the throttle and opening the compressor stators.
The activities of the Biocatalysis Research Activity are organized into the Biocatalysis and Molecular Modeling work elements and a supporting planning and analysis function. In the Biocatalysis work element, progress is made in developing a method for stabilizing genetically engineered traits in microorganisms, refining a technique for monitoring cells that are genetically engineered, and identifying strains of fungi for highly efficient preprocessing of biomass for optimizing the efficiency of bioreactors. In the Molecular Modeling work element, a preliminary model of the behavior of enzymes is developed. A preliminary investigation of the potential for synthesizing enzymes for use in electrochemical processes is completed. Contact with industry and universities is made to define key biocatalysis technical issues and to broaden the range of potential participants in the activity. Analyses are conducted to identify and evaluate potential concepts for future research funding.
The aerothermodynamics and thermal protection of aerobraking orbital transfer vehicles are studied with a view toward design methodology and technology requirements. A particular class of geometries is investigated: the ellipsoidally blunted raked-off elliptic cone. Discussed are the influence of various geometrical parameters on the trajectory and the heat flux as well as heating prediction methods ranging from an engineering correlation formula to computational solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations. Finite-rate catalytic thermal protection materials and gas radiation are considered. Estimates of the specific mass of possible thermal protection systems indicate that support structure is a large contributor to the aerobrake mass as compared with the thermal protection insulation itself. Sizing curves are included which enable the designer to estimate the size aerobrake required from heating considerations for different mass vehicles having aerobrakes of several specific masses.
A 3-dimensional particle trajectory computer code was developed to compute the distribution of water droplet impingement efficiency on a 3-dimensional engine inlet. The computed results provide the essential droplet impingement data required for the engine inlet anti-icing system design and analysis. The droplet trajectories are obtained by solving the trajectory equation using the fourth order Runge-Kutta and Adams predictor-corrector schemes. A compressible 3-D full potential flow code is employed to obtain a cylindrical grid definition of the flowfield on and about the engine inlet. The inlet surface is defined mathematically through a system of bi-cubic parametric patches in order to compute the droplet impingement points accurately. Analysis results of the 3-D trajectory code obtained for an axisymmetric droplet impingement problem are in good agreement with NACA experimental data. Experimental data are not yet available for the engine inlet impingement problem analyzed. Applicability of the method to solid particle impingement problems, such as engine sand ingestion, is also demonstrated.
An energy recovery system is provided for an aircraft gas turbine engine of the type in which some of the pneumatic energy developed by the engine is made available to support systems such as an environmental control system. In one such energy recovery system, some of the pneumatic energy made available to but not utilized by the support system is utilized to heat the engine fuel immediately prior to the consumption of the fuel by the engine. Some of the recovered energy may also be utilized to heat the fuel in the fuel tanks. Provision is made for multiengine applications wherein energy recovered from one engine may be utilized by another one of the engines or systems associated therewith.
The major categories of current ICASE research programs addressed include: numerical methods, with particular emphasis on the development and analysis of basic numerical algorithms; control and parameter identification problems, with emphasis on effective numerical methods; computational problems in engineering and physical sciences, particularly fluid dynamics, acoustics, and structural analysis; and computer systems and software, especially vector and parallel computers.
This paper presents a novel technique for formulating a high quality finite state unsteady aerodynamic model by applying Bode plot methods, used in control engineering. Indicial response functions for both fixed wing and rotary wing applications are obtained using these finite state unsteady aerodynamic models. It is shown that the rotary wing indicial response function has a fundamentally different characteristic when compared to fixed wing indicial response. The rotary wing indicial response function is oscillatory in nature while the fixed wing indicial response function is nonoscillatory. Furthermore it should be emphasized that this is the first that a rotary-wing indicial response function has been presented in the literature.
Used oils from several aircraft at NASA's Langley Research Center were analyzed over a three year period using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and atomic emission spectrometry. The results of both analyses are presented and comparisons are made. Fe and Cu data for oil from four internal combustion engines are provided and XRF and atomic emission spectrometry measurements were found to be in perfect agreement. However, distributions were found in the case of oil from a jet aircraft engine whereby the latter method gave values for total iron concentration in the oil and did not distinguish between suspended particles and oil additives. XRF does not have these particle-size limitations; moreover, it is a faster process. It is concluded that XRF is the preferred method in the construction of a man-portable oil wear analysis instrument.
The feasibility of obtaining detailed velocity field measurements in large Reynolds number flow of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) main injector bowl was demonstrated using laser velocimetry and the developed refractive-index-matching technique. An experimental system to provide appropriate flow rates and temperature control of refractive-index-matching fluid was designed and tested. Test results are presented to establish the feasibility of obtaining accurate velocity measurements that map the entire field including the flow through the LOX post bundles: sample mean velocity, turbulence intensity, and spectral results are presented. The results indicate that a suitable fluid and control system is feasible for the representation of complex rocket-engine configurations and that measurements of velocity characteristics can be obtained without the optical access restrictions normally associated with laser velocimetry. The refractive-index-matching technique considered needs to be further developed and extended to represent other rocket-engine flows where current methods either cannot measure with adequate accuracy or they fail.
Advanced flight management systems are being developed which are capable of calculating optimal 3-D and 4-D flight trajectories for arbitrary fuel and time costs. These systems require mathematical models of airplane performance in order to compute the optimal profiles. Mismodeled idle engine characteristics can result in descent trajectories requiring excessive throttle and/or speedbrake activity in order to achieve the desired end conditions. This paper evaluates the cost and fuel penalties, trajectory variations, and flight control requirements associated with typical idle engine modeling errors for a twin-jet transport airplane. Variations in idle power setting, thrust, fuel flow, and surge bleed operation were evaluated for a cruise/descent flight segment. The results of this analysis provide insight into the penalties associated with uncertainties in idle engine performance and suggest methods of modeling which minimize these penalties.
The current understanding of the effects of ground proximity on V/STOL and STOL aircraft is reviewd. Areas covered include (1) single jet suckdown in hover, (2) fountain effects on multijet configurations, (3) STOL ground effects including the effect of the ground vortex flow field, (4) downwash at the tail, and (5) hot gas ingestion in both hover and STOL operation. The equipment needed for large scale testing to extend the state of the art is reviewed and developments in three areas are recommended as follows: (1) improve methods for simulating the engine exhaust and inlet flows; (2) develop a model support system that can simulate realistic rates of climb and descent as well as steady height operation; and (3) develop a blowing BLC ground board as an alternative to a moving belt ground board to properly simulate the flow on the ground.
How an expert system reasons about its own ability to deal with a particular problem is studied. Ideally, an expert system ought to rapidly recognize that a particular problem is beyond its abilities and defer to another, perhaps human, expert. This capability is extremely important in domains where expert systems may control life critical processes such as air traffic control, medicine, strategic defense, and manned space exploration. The methods used by knowledge engineers to infuse an expert system with knowledge of its own limitations is surveyed. A computability theory is employed to analyze the general problem of meta-knowledge and to give insight into the efficacy of specific solutions.
An overview is given of a design optimization project that is in progress at the GE Research and Development Center for the past few years. The objective of this project is to develop a methodology and a software system for design automation and optimization of structural/mechanical components and systems. The effort focuses on research and development issues and also on optimization applications that can be related to real-life industrial design problems. The overall technical approach is based on integration of numerical optimization techniques, finite element methods, CAE and software engineering, and artificial intelligence/expert systems (AI/ES) concepts. The role of each of these engineering technologies in the development of a unified design methodology is illustrated. A software system DESIGN-OPT has been developed for both size and shape optimization of structural components subjected to static as well as dynamic loadings. By integrating this software with an automatic mesh generator, a geometric modeler and an attribute specification computer code, a software module SHAPE-OPT has been developed for shape optimization. Details of these software packages together with their applications to some 2- and 3-dimensional design problems are described.
The proper role and scope for the use of discrete mathematics and formal methods in support of engineering the security and integrity of components within deployed computer systems are discussed. It is proposed that the Z schema can be used as the specification language to capture the precise definition of system and component interfaces. This can be accomplished with an object oriented development paradigm.