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At least 1,351 records · Page 75

A flow visualization study of the leading edge separation bubble on a NACA 0012 airfoil with simulated glaze ice

As a part of an ongoing research in aircraft icing, the leading edge separation bubble on a NACA 0012 model with a 5 min simulated glaze ice was investigated. The flow visualization methods using oil, tuft, splitter plate, smoke, and liquid crystals were employed to get reattachment line data for the leading edge separation bubble on both surfaces of the airfoil. On the upper surface, the separation bubble was found to grow larger with increasing angles of attack and reduce in size with decreasing angle of attack. On the lower surface, the bubble was found to grow larger with increasing negative angles of attack and reduce in size with increasing angles of attack. The separated flow fails to reattach beyond 6° for the upper surface and -5° for the loser surface. Their results of this study compared well with those of other experiments and computational results.

Aircraft icing↗

Air forces on airfoils moving faster than sound

We are undertaking the task of computing the air forces on a slightly cambered airfoil in the absence of friction and with an infinite aspect ratio. We also assume in advance that the leading edge is very sharp and that its tangent lies in the direction of motion.

AIRFOILS, HIGH SPEED↗

Experiments on airfoils with aileron and slot

The present report contains the results of a few experiments on three airfoils to which the rear portions, having chords respectively 1/4, 1/3, and 2/5 of the total chords, are hinged so as to form ailerons, especial attention being given to the shape of the slot between the aileron and the main portion of the aileron.

AIRFOILS - WIND TUNNEL TESTS↗

Wind Tunnel Investigation of the Effects of Slot Shape and Flap Location on the Characteristics of a Low-Drag Airfoil Equipped with a 0.25-Chord Slotted Flap

Tests were conducted at dynamic pressure of 50 lb per square foot with lift drag and pitch moment measurements throughout useful angle of attack range for constant flap deflection and position of a low-drag airfoil. Two slots were investigated and practical flap paths were selected for each Slot shape had a negligible effect on the maximum lift coefficient flap deflected, the rounded-entry slot had lower profile drag.

WIND TUNNEL TESTS - AAL - (10'X 7')↗

Effect of Compressibility on Pressure Distribution over an Airfoil with a Slotted Frise Aileron

Pressure distribution measurements were made over an airfoil with slotted Frise aileron up to 0.76 Mach at various angles of attack and aileron defections. Section characteristics were determined from these pressure data. Results indicated loss of aileron rolling power for deflections ranging from -12 Degrees to -19 Degrees. High stick forces for non-differential deflections incurred at high speed, which were due to overbalancing tendency of up-moving aileron, may precipitate serious control difficulties. Detailed results are presented graphically.

WINGS-REPUBLIC P-47B-3 WIND TUNNEL TESTS(NACA-HIGH↗

Lift Optimization Study of a Multi-Element Three-Segment Variable Camber Airfoil

This paper reports a detailed computational high-lift study of the Variable Camber Continuous Trailing Edge Flap (VCCTEF) system carried out to explore the best VCCTEF designs, in conjunction with a leading edge flap called the Variable Camber Krueger (VCK), for take-off and landing. For this purpose, a three-segment variable camber airfoil employed as a performance adaptive aeroelastic wing shaping control effector for a NASA Generic Transport Model (GTM) in landing and take-off configurations is considered. The objective of the study is to define optimal high-lift VCCTEF settings and VCK settings/configurations. A total of 224 combinations of VCK settings/configurations and VCCTEF settings are considered for the inboard GTM wing, where the VCCTEFs are configured as a Fowler flap that forms a slot between the VCCTEF and the main wing. For the VCK settings of deflection angles of 55deg, 60deg and 65deg, 18, 19 and 19 vck configurations, respectively, were considered for each of the 4 different VCCTEF deflection settings. Different vck configurations were defined by varying the horizontal and vertical distance of the vck from the main wing. A computational investigation using a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver was carried out to complement a wind-tunnel experimental study covering three of these configurations with the goal of identifying the most optimal high-lift configurations. Four most optimal high-lift configurations, corresponding to each of the VCK deflection settings, have been identified out of all the different configurations considered in this study yielding the highest lift performance.

Study↗

Comparing Unstructured Adaptive Mesh Solutions for the High Lift Common Research Model Airfoil

Discretization error is a common source of uncertainty in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses. Traditional means of controlling discretization error through fixed-mesh refinement studies has proven to be difficult particularly when modeling complex geometries and flow fields. One reason for this is that mesh generation in today’s production CFD workflow is often a labor intensive process that is heavily dependent on user judgment. Unstructured mesh adaptation is known to be an efficient way to control discretization errors in CFD. Adaptive methods replace user based decision making with automated processes that optimize a mesh to reduce discretization error. This paper compares the application of multiple solution adaptive techniques in combination with multiple flow solvers to solve for the flow field about a 2D airfoil section of the NASA High-Lift Common Research Model (HL-CRM). By driving the adaptive mesh processes to a similar level of mesh convergence, the ability to achieve consistent results between multiple adaptive techniques and flow solvers is demonstrated. Mesh convergence for the various adaptive mesh approaches is compared identifying potential areas for improvement and providing mesh generation guidance for future workshops.

mesh adaptation high-lift 2D airfoil↗

Comparing Unstructured Adaptive Mesh Solutions for the High Lift Common Research Model Airfoil

Discretization error is a common source of uncertainty in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses. Traditional means of controlling discretization error through fixed-mesh refinement studies has proven to be difficult particularly when modeling complex geometries and flow fields. One reason for this is that mesh generation in today’s production CFD workflow is often a labor intensive process that is heavily dependent on user judgment. Unstructured mesh adaptation is known to be an efficient way to control discretization errors in CFD. Adaptive methods replace user based decision making with automated processes that optimize a mesh to reduce discretization error. This paper compares the application of multiple solution adaptive techniques in combination with multiple flow solvers to solve for the flow field about a 2D airfoil section of the NASA High-Lift Common Research Model (HL-CRM). By driving the adaptive mesh processes to a similar level of mesh convergence, the ability to achieve consistent results between multiple adaptive techniques and flow solvers is demonstrated. Mesh convergence for the various adaptive mesh approaches is compared identifying potential areas for improvement and providing mesh generation guidance for future workshops.

mesh adaptation↗

Airfoil Table Modification for Improved Calculation of Ingenuity Rotor Performance

To better characterize the behavior of the Ingenuity helicopter, multiple test campaigns were conducted. These tests included the Engineering Design Model 1 (EDM1) tests and the Transonic Rotor Test (TRT), both of which assessed Ingenuity rotor performance at various conditions. Using a comprehensive rotorcraft analysis tool, CAMRAD II, test setups of the two different Ingenuity test campaigns were simulated. The EDM1 test used coaxial test stand which focused on varying collective at various feasible Martian atmospheric densities and the TRT test used a single rotor test stand which focused on varying RPM to assess performance at different blade tip Mach numbers. Initial CAMRAD II analyses yielded performance results which differed significantly from experimental results. To reconcile the experimental results and the CAMRAD II analyses, modifications were made to the input airfoil decks for CAMRAD II. After several iterations of modifications, a specific method of modification was found that more accurately predicted experimental behavior at all tested densities for the coaxial rotor. This same modification was less successful for the single rotor test results. There are a number of differences between coaxial and single rotor aerodynamics and between the two test stands (hub and control system); also, there is a small influence of RPM (mainly tip Mach number) on dimensionless performance. These differences may be causing the coaxial rotor modifications not being successful for the single rotor.

Airfoil↗

Dragonfly Rotor Optimization using Machine Learning Applied to an OVERFLOW Generated Airfoil Database

NASA’s 4th New Frontiers Mission is the Titan Dragonfly relocatable lander. This coaxial quadrotor vehicle will be launched on a rocket to Titan in 2028. Following a gravity assisted Earth flyby and an approximate 6-year transit, Dragonfly will enter the Titan atmosphere around 2034 with the goal of exploring Titan’s pre-biotic chemistry and habitability. The multirotor design for this unique application has continually evolved since 2016 with constraints such as Titan’s cryogenic atmosphere at 95 Kelvin (-288 F), gravity 14% that of Earth’s, atmospheric density 440% of standard sea-level air, and the inability to test the entire system together under all these conditions until the first flight on Titan. This paper focuses on rotor design aspects of the Dragonfly lander and introduces a novel framework for multirotor design optimization considering multiple flight conditions. The methodology leverages machine learning methods and is demonstrated in the context of Dragonfly. A new OVERFLOW Machine Learning Airfoil Performance (PALMO) database is first presented. PALMO is then wrapped inside a Bayesian optimization framework and applied to a 4-rotor system (one side of the Dragonfly lander). Training data is generated on each iteration of the optimization using the CAMRAD-II comprehensive analysis software to evaluate successive rotor designs in multiple relevant flight conditions. An optimal design for the 4-rotor system was found with approximately 900 rotor designs analyzed in CAMRAD-II, which required 9 million queries of the PALMO surrogate models. This demonstration case evaluated 10,000,000 potential candidate rotor designs in 5.5 hours on 114 CPU cores using uniform inflow, and in 27.8 hours using the prescribed wake model. This work thus enables mid-fidelity rotor design optimization without requiring access to high-performance computing.

Dragonfly↗