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At least 181 records · Page 10

Supersonic aeroelastic instability results for a NASP-like wing model

An experimental study and an analytical study have been conducted to examine static divergence for hypersonic-vehicle wing models at supersonic conditions. A supersonic test in the Langley Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel facility was conducted for two wind-tunnel models. These models were nearly identical with the exception of airfoil shape. One model had a four-percent maximum thickness airfoil and the other model had an eight-percent maximum thickness airfoil. The wing models had low-aspect ratios and highly swept leading edges. The all-movable wing models were supported by a single-pivot mechanism along the wing root. For both of the wind-tunnel models, configuration changes could be made in the wing-pivot location along the wing root and in the wing-pivot pitch stiffness. Three divergence conditions were measured for the four-percent thick airfoil model in the Mach number range of 2.6 to 3.6 and one divergence condition was measured for the eight-percent thick airfoil model at a Mach number of 2.9. Analytical divergence calculations were made for comparison with experimental results and to evaluate the parametric effects of wing-pivot stiffness, wing-pivot location, and airfoil thickness variations. These analyses showed that decreasing airfoil thickness, moving the wing-pivot location upstream, or increasing the pitch-pivot stiffness have the beneficial effect of increasing the divergence dynamic pressures. The calculations predicted the trend of experimental divergence dynamic pressure with Mach number accurately; however, the calculations were approximately 25 percent conservative with respect to dynamic pressure.

Cole, Stanley R.↗

Increases in intramuscular pressure raise arterial blood pressure during dynamic exercise

This investigation was designed to determine the role of intramuscular pressure-sensitive mechanoreceptors and chemically sensitive metaboreceptors in affecting the blood pressure response to dynamic exercise in humans. Sixteen subjects performed incremental (20 W/min) cycle exercise to fatigue under four conditions: control, exercise with thigh cuff occlusion of 90 Torr (Cuff occlusion), exercise with lower body positive pressure (LBPP) of 45 Torr, and a combination of thigh cuff occlusion and LBPP (combination). Indexes of central command (heart rate, oxygen uptake, ratings of perceived exertion, and electromyographic activity), cardiac output, stroke volume, and total peripheral resistance were not significantly different between the four conditions. Mechanical stimulation during LBPP and combination conditions resulted in significant elevations in intramuscular pressure and mean arterial pressure from control at rest and throughout the incremental exercise protocol (P < 0.05). Conversely, there existed no significant changes in mean arterial pressure when the metaboreflex was stimulated by cuff occlusion. These findings suggest that under normal conditions the mechanoreflex is tonically active and is the primary mediator of exercise pressor reflex-induced alterations in arterial blood pressure during submaximal dynamic exercise in humans.

Non-NASA Center↗

Advanced launch system trajectory optimization using suboptimal control

The maximum-final mass trajectory of a proposed configuration of the Advanced Launch System is presented. A model for the two-stage rocket is given; the optimal control problem is formulated as a parameter optimization problem; and the optimal trajectory is computed using a nonlinear programming code called VF02AD. Numerical results are presented for the controls (angle of attack and velocity roll angle) and the states. After the initial rotation, the angle of attack goes to a positive value to keep the trajectory as high as possible, returns to near zero to pass through the transonic regime and satisfy the dynamic pressure constraint, returns to a positive value to keep the trajectory high and to take advantage of minimum drag at positive angle of attack due to aerodynamic shading of the booster, and then rolls off to negative values to satisfy the constraints. Because the engines cannot be throttled, the maximum dynamic pressure occurs at a single point; there is no maximum dynamic pressure subarc. To test approximations for obtaining analytical solutions for guidance, two additional optimal trajectories are computed: one using untrimmed aerodynamics and one using no atmospheric effects except for the dynamic pressure constraint. It is concluded that untrimmed aerodynamics has a negligible effect on the optimal trajectory and that approximate optimal controls should be able to be obtained by treating atmospheric effects as perturbations.

Shaver, Douglas A.↗

Solar wind and substorm-related changes in the lobes of the geomagnetic tail

The relationship of the geomagnetic tail lobe energy density to solar wind dynamic pressure, the north-south component of the interplanetary magnetic field, and substorm expansion onsets is investigated. Enhanced lobe energy densities are observed to follow both southward turnings of the interplanetary magnetic field and solar wind dynamic pressure increases. An empirical relationship is developed relating the tail lobe magnetic energy density to the solar wind dynamic pressure by using data obtained when the interplanetary field was northward. Localized, off-center, or multiple-onset substorm expansion phases are shown to have little effect on the lobe magnetic field. A positive correlation is found between magnetosphere-wide substorm expansions and decreases in the lobe energy density. The positive correlation of the energy density with both the solar wind dynamic pressure and a southward interplanetary magnetic field and the positive correlation between magnetospheric substorm activity and lobe energy density decreases are demonstrated to be consistent with a phenomenological model of substorm behavior.

Caan, M. N.↗

Application of modal control to wing-flutter suppression

A discrete modal control design approach that is applied to a single control surface, unswept aircraft wing subject to bending torsion flutter is described. The modal approach is a mathematical method to decouple the equations of motion into isolated differential equations. In this paper, a pole-placement approach is then applied to determine stability gains in the discrete plane using only the two complex-conjugate flutter-mode equations. A fixed gain Kalman filter is used to estimate the model amplitudes using three measurements. Results are presented for a full-state estimator (36 states) and two reduced state estimators using two different closed-loop pole locations. The control law is designed for a dynamic pressure that is 50 percent greater than the uncontrolled-flutter dynamic pressure. With constant control-law gains, the closed-loop system remains stable over the dynamic-pressure range from flutter onset to approximately an 80-percent increase in pressure.

Ostroff, A. J.↗

Growth and maintenance of large-scale magnetic fields in the dayside Venus ionosphere

Observations from the Pioneer Venus orbiter magnetometer reveal the presence of large-scale magnetic fields in the dayside ionosphere during or after periods of high solar wind dynamic pressure. Various hypotheses have been proposed concerning the spatial and temporal evolution of these field structures. The hypothesis that the field is produced by a diffusion/convection process rather than by currents driven by electric fields resulting from the solar wind interaction is examined. Dynamic pressure variations occur on various time scales at Venus, producing transient and quasi-steady magnetization features. A one-dimensional diffusion/convection calculation is performed, using typical ionopause field and pressure values for a variety of altitudes. The Venus ionopause is considered to be the altitude at which ionospheric thermal pressure is equal to the magnetosheath magnetic pressure, which in turn is well correlated with the normal component of solar wind dynamic pressure. A subsolar model of downward plasma velocity in the 140-290 km range is used. The calculated growth of the ionospheric magnetic field, and the resulting quasi-steady altitude profiles, compare favorably with the observed profiles. The majority of the observed magnetic structures are best explained as the quasi-steady effects of the prevailing solar wind dynamic pressure, which determines the altitude and magnetic field strength of the ionopause boundary.

Phillips, J. L.↗

Rolling maneuver load alleviation using active controls

Rolling Maneuver Load Alleviation (RMLA) was demonstrated on the Active Flexible Wing (AFW) wind tunnel model in the LaRC Transonic Dynamics Tunnel. The design objective was to develop a systematic approach for developing active control laws to alleviate wing incremental loads during roll maneuvers. Using linear load models for the AFW wind-tunnel model which were based on experimental measurements, two RMLA control laws were developed based on a single-degree-of-freedom roll model. The RMLA control laws utilized actuation of outboard control surface pairs to counteract incremental loads generated during rolling maneuvers and roll performance. To evaluate the RMLA control laws, roll maneuvers were performed in the wind tunnel at dynamic pressures of 150, 200, and 250 psf and Mach numbers of .33, .38, and .44, respectively. Loads obtained during these maneuvers were compared to baseline maneuver loads. For both RMLA controllers, the incremental torsion moments were reduced by up to 60 percent at all dynamic pressures and performance times. Results for bending moment load reductions during roll maneuvers varied. In addition, in a multiple function test, RMLA and flutter suppression system control laws were operated simultaneously during roll maneuvers at dynamic pressures 11 percent above the open-loop flutter dynamic pressure.

Woods-Vedeler, Jessica A.↗

Rolling Maneuver Load Alleviation using active controls

Rolling Maneuver Load Alleviation (RMLA) has been demonstrated on the Active Flexible Wing (AFW) wind tunnel model in the NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel. The design objective was to develop a systematic approach for developing active control laws to alleviate wing incremental loads during roll maneuvers. Using linear load models for the AFW wind-tunnel model which were based on experimental measurements, two RMLA control laws were developed based on a single-degree-of-freedom roll model. The RMLA control laws utilized actuation of outboard control surface pairs to counteract incremental loads generated during rolling maneuvers and actuation of the trailing edge inboard control surface pairs to maintain roll performance. To evaluate the RMLA control laws, roll maneuvers were performed in the wind tunnel at dynamic pressures of 150, 200, and 250 psf and Mach numbers of 0.33, .38 and .44, respectively. Loads obtained during these maneuvers were compared to baseline maneuver loads. For both RMLA controllers, the incremental torsion moments were reduced by up to 60 percent at all dynamic pressures and performance times. Results for bending moment load reductions during roll maneuvers varied. In addition, in a multiple function test, RMLA and flutter suppression system control laws were operated simultaneously during roll maneuvers at dynamic pressures 11 percent above the open-loop flutter dynamic pressure.

Woods-Vedeler, Jessica A.↗

Geared-elevator flutter study

An experimental and analytical study was made of the transonic flutter characteristics of a supersonic transport tail assembly model having an all-movable, horizontal tail with a geared elevator. Two model configurations, namely, one with a gear-elevator (2.8 to 1.0 gear ratio) and one with locked-elevator (1.0 to 1.0 gear ratio), were flutter tested in the Langley transonic dynamics tunnel with an empennage cantilever-mounted on a sting. The geared-elevator configuration fluttered experimentally at about 20% higher dynamic pressures than the locked-elevator configuration. The experimental flutter dynamic pressure boundaries for both configurations were nearly flat over a Mach number range from 0.9 to 1.1. Flutter calculations (mathematical models) were made for the geared-elevator configuration using three subsonic lifting-surface methods. In one method, the elevator was treated as a discrete surface, and in the other two methods, the stabilizer and elevator were treated as a single warped-surface with the primary difference between these two methods being in the mathematical implementation used. A comparison of the experimental and analytical results shows that the discrete-elevator method predicted best the experimental flutter dynamic pressure level. However, the single warped-surface methods predicts more closely the experimental flutter frequencies and Mach number trends.

Ruhlin, C. L.↗

A study to evaluate STS heads-up ascent trajectory performance employing a minimum-Hamiltonian optimization strategy

A study was conducted to evaluate the performance implications of a heads-up ascent flight design for the Space Transportation System, as compared to the current heads-down flight mode. The procedure involved the use of the Minimum Hamiltonian Ascent Shuttle Trajectory Evaluation Program, which is a three-degree-of-freedom moment balance simulation of shuttle ascent. A minimum-Hamiltonian optimization strategy was employed to maximize injection weight as a function of maximum dynamic pressure constraint and Solid Rocket Motor burnrate. Performance Reference Mission Four trajectory groundrules were used for consistency. The major conclusions are that for heads-up ascent and a mission nominal design maximum dynamic pressure value of 680 psf, the optimum solid motor burnrate is 0.394 ips, which produces a performance enhancement of 4293 lbm relative to the baseline heads-down ascent, with 0.368 ips burnrate solid motors and a 680 psf dynamic pressure constraint. However, no performance advantage exists for heads-up flight if the current Solid Rocket Motor target burnrate of 0.368 ips is used. The advantage of heads-up ascent flight employing the current burnrate is that Space Shuttle Main Engine throttling for dynamic pressure control is not necessary.

Sinha, Sujit↗

An Investigation of the Effect of Downwash from a VTOL Aircraft and a Helicopter in the Ground Environment

Dynamic-pressure measurement, in ground effect, have been obtained about a single-rotor helicopter and a dual-propeller VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft. The results indicate that the slipstream dynamic pressure along the ground, some distance from the center of rotation, is not a function of disk loading but merely a function of the gross weight or thrust of the aircraft. Furthermore, for a given gross weight the thickness of this outward flowing sheet of air is less for a small-diameter propeller (higher disk loading propeller). The variation of the dynamic-pressure flow field for single and dual propellers or rotors is significantly different in the plane of symmetry between the two rotors than in a direction normal to this plane. The interaction of the two flows produces a region of upflow in this plane where the fuselage is located, and the decay of the maximum dynamic pressure with distance ahead of the fuselage is slower.

O'Bryan, Thomas C.↗

Global Auroral Response to a Solar Wind Pressure Pulse

A global intensification of the aurora was observed by the Ultraviolet Imager on the NASA Polar spacecraft in conjunction with the arrival of the sheath from a solar coronal mass ejection. The aurora was first observed to brighten on the dayside and then the intensification progressed rapidly toward the nightside. During this time the IMP-8 spacecraft in the solar wind recorded a 35-minute period of increased solar wind dynamic pressure. A small substorm (or, possibly pseudobreakup) occurred within a minute of the arrival of the auroral intensification on the nightside in conjunction with a second peak in the dynamic pressure. We propose that the intensification of the aurora can be explained on the basis of the compression of the magnetopause and the generation of hydrodynamic waves by the rapid increase in the solar wind dynamic pressure. It is also evident that the substorm was triggered by waves, generated by a second rise in the dynamic pressure, that propagated to flux tubes connected to the premidnight aurora region.

Brittnacher, M.↗

Using Thermally Imperfect and Ideal Gas Equations for Determining Conditions in Slotted Throat Wind Tunnels

The derivation and application of two back pressure controlling methods for setting the dynamic pressure, Mach number, and Reynolds number of subsonic wind tunnels with a slotted-throat test section are discussed. The first method uses a pressure difference to determine the tunnel dynamic pressure via the compressible Bernoulli equations and is used in the ideal gas path in the CFD code. The second method uses an enthalpy difference in the flow to determine the velocity in the test section and can be applied to multispecies, calorically imperfect and calorically perfect gas flow simulations. For a tunnel operating point close to standard atmosphere conditions, Mach number, pressure, and temperature along the tunnel centerline were very closely matched between the various thermodynamic equation assumption controller methods.

Ground Testing↗

Design of Mach-4 and Mach-6 Nozzles for the NASA LaRC 8-Ft High Temperature Tunnel

The aerodynamic contours for two new nozzles have been designed for the NASA Langley Research Center 8-Foot High Temperature Tunnel. The new Mach-4 and Mach-6 contours have 54.5-inch exit-diameters allowing for testing at high dynamic pressures. The Mach-4 nozzle will extend the test capability of the facility and allow turbine-based combined-cycle propulsion systems to be tested at conditions appropriate for the transition from the turbine to the scramjet flowpath. The Mach-6 nozzle will serve a dual purpose; to provide a Mach-6 test capability at high dynamic pressure and to be used in conjunction with an existing mixer section for testing at lower enthalpy conditions. This second use will extend the life of the existing Mach-7 nozzle which has been used for this purpose. The two new nozzles, in conjunction with existing nozzles, will allow for testing at Mach numbers of 3, 4, 5 and 6 at high dynamic pressures, and Mach 4, 5 and 7 at lower dynamic pressures but larger scales.

Gaffney, Richard L., Jr.↗

Wind Tunnel to Atmospheric Mapping for Static Aeroelastic Scaling

Wind tunnel to Atmospheric Mapping (WAM) is a methodology for scaling and testing a static aeroelastic wind tunnel model. The WAM procedure employs scaling laws to define a wind tunnel model and wind tunnel test points such that the static aeroelastic flight test data and wind tunnel data will be correlated throughout the test envelopes. This methodology extends the notion that a single test condition - combination of Mach number and dynamic pressure - can be matched by wind tunnel data. The primary requirements for affecting this extension are matching flight Mach numbers, maintaining a constant dynamic pressure scale factor and setting the dynamic pressure scale factor in accordance with the stiffness scale factor. The scaling is enabled by capabilities of the NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT) and by relaxation of scaling requirements present in the dynamic problem that are not critical to the static aeroelastic problem. The methodology is exercised in two example scaling problems: an arbitrarily scaled wing and a practical application to the scaling of the Active Aeroelastic Wing flight vehicle for testing in the TDT.

Heeg, Jennifer↗

Some buffet response characteristics of a twin-vertical-tail configuration

A rigid, 1/6 size, full span model of an F-18 airplane was fitted with flexible vertical tails of two different levels of stiffness that were buffet tested in the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel. Vertical tail buffet response results that were obtained over the range of angles of attack from -10 to 40 degs, and over the range of Mach numbers from 0.30 to 0.95 are presented. These results indicate the following: (1) the response occurs in the first bending mode; (2) the response increases with increasing dynamic pressure, but changes in response are not linearly proportional to the changes in dynamic pressure; (3) the response is larger at M = 0.30 than it is at the higher Mach numbers; (4) the maximum intensity of the buffeting is described as heavy to severe using an assessment criteria proposed by another investigator; and (5) the data at different dynamic pressures and for the different tails correlate reasonably well using the buffet excitation parameter derived from the dynamic analysis of buffeting.

Cole, Stanley R.↗

Nonreactive mixing study of a scramjet swept-strut fuel injector

The results are presented of a cold-mixing investigation performed to supply combustor design information and to determine optimum normal fuel-injector configurations for a general scramjet swept-strut fuel injector. The experimental investigation was made with two swept struts in a closed duct at a Mach number of 4.4 and a nominal ratio of jet mass flow to air mass flow of 0.0295, with helium used to simulate hydrogen fuel. Four injector patterns were evaluated; they represented the range of hole spacing and the ratio of jet dynamic pressure to free-stream dynamic pressure. Helium concentration, pitot pressure, and static pressure in the downstream mixing region were measured to generate the contour plots needed to define the mixing-region flow field and the mixing parameters. Experimental results show that the fuel penetration from the struts was less than the predicted values based on flat-plate data; but the mixing rate was faster and produced a mixing length less than one-half that predicted.

Mcclinton, C. R.↗

Active flutter suppression - Control system design and experimental validation

The synthesis and experimental validation of an active flutter suppression controller for the Active Flexible Wing wind-tunnel model is presented. The design is accomplished with traditional root locus and Nyquist methods using interactive computer graphics tools and with extensive use of simulation-based analysis. The design approach uses a fundamental understanding of the flutter mechanism to formulate a simple controller structure to meet stringent design specifications. Experimentally, the flutter suppression controller succeeded in simultaneous suppression of two flutter modes, significantly increasing the flutter dynamic pressure despite errors in flutter dynamic pressure and flutter frequency in the mathematical model. The flutter suppression controller was also successfully operated in combination with a roll maneuver controller to perform flutter suppression during rapid rolling maneuvers.

Waszak, Martin R.↗