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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Transition Analysis for the Pazy Wing

The Pazy wing, designed as a benchmark for highly flexible wings that experience large deformations, presents intriguing nonlinear phenomena due to its unique geometry with spanwise varying static deformation and low Reynolds number flow conditions. These phenomena include limit cycle oscillation related to laminar separation bubbles, boundary-layer transition, and dynamic stall. The primary focus of this study is to investigate transition behavior on the sagged Pazy wing under static loading by using the shear-stress-transport (SST)-based Langtry-Menter 𝜸 − 𝑹𝒆𝜽𝒕 transition model in the NASA OVERFLOW and FUN3D solvers. Based on the steady-state results obtained via different variants of the Langtry-Menter model, we investigate the likely transition behavior over a range of incidence angles. The predicted flowfield on the sagged Pazy wing is strongly three dimensional and the application of turbulence index as a viable indicator of the transition front in such flows is also explored. The study demonstrates the limitations of the Langtry-Menter model when applied to low Reynolds number flows. We introduce a spanwise periodic configuration to simulate a narrow-span section of the Pazy wing, specifically centered on one of the 14 nearly equidistant ribs spanning the wing. The computational results demonstrate that the spanwise periodic configuration provides a straightforward environment for studying transition characteristics as well as demonstrating systematic grid convergence and successful code-to-code comparisons. The research offers useful insights into the transition characteristics of flexible wings under various loading conditions, contributing to the field of aeroelastic simulations.

CFD Modeling↗
NASA NTRS1978

Design of a transonically profiled wing

The application of well known design concepts with the combined use of thick transonic profiles to aircraft wing design was investigated. Optimization in terms of weight and operational costs was emphasized. It is shown that the usual design criteria and concepts are too restricted and do not sufficiently represent the physical processes over the wing. Suggestions are made for improving this situation, and a design example given. Compared with a wing design according to previously used criteria, the new design is found to be superior in the most important functions. It is concluded that an isobar concept adjusted to the planform in conjunction with an 'organically' designed wing will lead to the weight optimum solutions of wing profiles.

Kiekebusch, B.↗
NASA NTRS1961

A Transonic Investigation of Changing Indentation Design Mach Number on the Aeodynamic Characteristics of a 45 deg Sweptback-Wing-Body Combination Designed for High Performance

The effects of changing indentation design Mach number on the aerodynamic characteristics of a 45 deg. sweptback-wing-body combination designed for high performance have been investigated at Mach numbers from 0.80 to 1.13 in the Langley 8-foot transonic tunnel and at a Mach number of 1.43 in the Langley 8-foot transonic pressure tunnel. The Reynolds number of the investigation covered the range from approximately 2.5 x 10 (exp 6) to approximately 3.0 x 10(exp 6) based on the mean aerodynamic chord of the wing. The 45 deg. sweptback wing with camber and a thickened root was tested at 0 deg. angle of incidence on an unindented body and on bodies indented for Mach numbers M of 1.0, 1.2, and 1.4. Transonic and supersonic area rules were used in the design of the indented bodies. Theoretical zero-lift wave drag was calculated for these wing-body combinations. A -2 deg. angle of incidence of the wing, and M = 1.4 revised body indentation, and fixed transition also were investigated. Experimental values of zero-lift wave drag for the indented-body combinations followed closely the area-rule concept in that the lowest zero-lift wave-drag coefficient was obtained at or near the Mach number for which the body of the combination was designed. Theoretical values of zero-lift wave drag were considered to be in good agreement with the experimental results. At a given supersonic Mach number the highest values of maximum lift-drag ratio for the various combinations also were obtained at or near the Mach number for which the body of the combination was designed. At Mach numbers of 1.0, 1.2, and 1.43, the maximum lift-drag ratios were 15.3, 13.0, and 9.2, respectively. The use of an angle of incidence of -2 deg. for the wing in combination with the M = 1.2 body increased the zero-lift wave drag and decreased the maximum lift-drag ratio. All configurations maintained stable characteristics up to the highest lift coefficient of the investigation (C(L) approx. equal to 0.5).

Loving, Donald L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Integrated Aerodynamic and Control System Design of Oblique Wing Aircraft

An efficient high speed aircraft design must achieve a high lift to drag ratio at transonic and supersonic speeds. In 1952 Dr. R. T. Jones proved that for any flight Mach number minimum drag at a fixed lift is achieved by an elliptic wing planform with an appropriate oblique sweep angle. Since then, wind tunnel tests and numerical flow models have confirmed that the compressibility drag of oblique wing aircraft is lower than similar symmetrical sweep designs. At oblique sweep angles above thirty degrees the highly asymmetric planform gives rise to aerodynamic and inertia couplings which affect stability and degrade the aircraft's handling qualities. In the case of the NASA-Rockwell Oblique Wing Research Aircraft, attempts to improve the handling qualities by implementing a stability augmentation system have produced unsatisfactory results because of an inherent lack of controllability in the proposed design. The present work focuses on improving the handling qualities of oblique wing aircraft by including aerodynamic configuration parameters as variables in the control system synthesis to provide additional degrees of freedom with which to further decouple the aircraft's response. Handling qualities are measured using a quadratic cost function identical to that considered in optimal control problems, but the controller architecture is not restricted to full state feedback. An optimization procedure is used to simultaneously solve for the aircraft configuration and control gains which maximize a handling qualities measure, while meeting imposed constraints on trim. In some designs wing flexibility is also modeled and reduced order controllers are implemented. Oblique wing aircraft synthesized by this integrated design method show significant improvement in handling qualities when compared to the originally proposed closed loop aircraft. The integrated design synthesis method is then extended to show how handling qualities may be traded for other types of mission performance (drag, weight, etc.). Examples are presented which show how performance can be maximized while maintaining a desired level of handling quality.

Morris, Stephen James↗
NASA NTRS1979

The development of the DAST I remotely piloted research vehicle for flight testing an active flutter suppression control system

The development of the DAST I (drones for aerodynamic and structural testing) remotely piloted research vehicle is described. The DAST I is a highly modified BQM-34E/F Firebee II Supersonic Aerial Target incorporating a swept supercritical wing designed to flutter within the vehicle's flight envelope. The predicted flutter and rigid body characteristics are presented. A description of the analysis and design of an active flutter suppression control system (FSS) designed to increase the flutter boundary of the DAST wing (ARW-1) by a factor of 20% is given. The design and development of the digital remotely augmented primary flight control system and on-board analog backup control system is presented. An evaluation of the near real-time flight flutter testing methods is made by comparing results of five flutter testing techniques on simulated DAST I flutter data. The development of the DAST ARW-1 state variable model used to generate time histories of simulated accelerometer responses is presented. This model uses control surface commands and a Dryden model gust as inputs. The feasibility of the concept of extracting open loop flutter characteristics from closed loop FSS responses was examined. It was shown that open loop characteristics can be determined very well from closed loop subcritical responses.

Grose, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Optimization of flexible wing structures subject to strength and induced drag constraints

An optimization procedure for designing wing structures subject to stress, strain, and drag constraints is presented. The optimization method utilizes an extended penalty function formulation for converting the constrained problem into a series of unconstrained ones. Newton's method is used to solve the unconstrained problems. An iterative analysis procedure is used to obtain the displacements of the wing structure including the effects of load redistribution due to the flexibility of the structure. The induced drag is calculated from the lift distribution. Approximate expressions for the constraints used during major portions of the optimization process enhance the efficiency of the procedure. A typical fighter wing is used to demonstrate the procedure. Aluminum and composite material designs are obtained. The tradeoff between weight savings and drag reduction is investigated.

Haftka, R. T.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Integrated structural-aerodynamic design optimization

This paper focuses on the processes of simultaneous aerodynamic and structural wing design as a prototype for design integration, with emphasis on the major difficulty associated with multidisciplinary design optimization processes, their enormous computational costs. Methods are presented for reducing this computational burden through the development of efficient methods for cross-sensitivity calculations and the implementation of approximate optimization procedures. Utilizing a modular sensitivity analysis approach, it is shown that the sensitivities can be computed without the expensive calculation of the derivatives of the aerodynamic influence coefficient matrix, and the derivatives of the structural flexibility matrix. The same process is used to efficiently evaluate the sensitivities of the wing divergence constraint, which should be particularly useful, not only in problems of complete integrated aircraft design, but also in aeroelastic tailoring applications.

Haftka, R. T.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Maneuver and buffet characteristics of fighter aircraft

Recent research efforts in the improvement of the maneuverability of fighter aircraft in the high-subsonic and transonic speed range are reviewed with emphasis on the factors affecting aerodynamic boundaries, such as maximum obtainable lift, buffet onset, pitchup, wing rock, and nose slice. The investigations were made using a general research configuration which encompassed a systematic matrix of wing-design parameters. These results illustrated the sensitivity of section and planform geometry to a selected design point. The incorporation of variable-geometry wing devices in the form of flaps or leading-edge slats was shown to provide controlled flow over a wide range of flight conditions and substantial improvements in maneuver capabilities. Additional studies indicated that the blending of a highly swept maneuver strake with an efficient, moderately swept wing offers a promising approach for improving maneuver characteristics at high angles of attack without excessive penalties in structural weight.

Ray, E. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Fundamental aerodynamic characteristics of delta wings with leading-edge vortex flows

An investigation of the aerodynamics of sharp leading-edge delta wings at supersonic speeds has been conducted. The supporting experimental data for this investigation were taken from published force, pressure, and flow-visualization data in which the Mach number normal to the wing leading edge is always less than 1.0. The individual upper- and lower-surface nonlinear characteristics for uncambered delta wings are determined and presented in three charts. The upper-surface data show that both the normal-force coefficient and minimum pressure coefficient increase nonlinearly with a decreasing slope with increasing angle of attack. The lower-surface normal-force coefficient was shown to be independent of Mach number and to increase nonlinearly, with an increasing slope, with increasing angle of attack. These charts are then used to define a wing-design space for sharp leading-edge delta wings.

Wood, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Aircraft of the future

Some basic problems connected with attempts to increase the size and capacity of transport aircraft are discussed. According to the square-cubic law, the increase in structural weight is proportional to the third power of the increase in the linear dimensions of the aircraft when geomettric similarity is maintained, while the surface area of the aircraft increases according to the second power. A consequence is that the fraction of useful weight will decrease as aircraft increase in size. However, in flying-wing designs in which the whole load on the wing is proportional to the distribution of lifting forces, the total bending moment on the wing will be sharply reduced, enabling lighter construction. Flying wings may have an ultimate capacity of 3000 passengers.

Yeger, S.↗
NASA NTRS1960

A Method of Reducing Aeroelastic Effects of Highly Swept Wings

The greatest efficiency for a lifting surface at supersonic speeds, according to the theoretical considerations of reference 1, can be attained if the leading edge is swept well behind the Mach cone and the highest aspect ratio which is structurally possible is employed. Such a wing, designed for a Mach number of 3.0, would have 80 deg. of sweepback. Aeroelastic effects have < been shown 3 to be considerable for a wing with 60deg of sweepback and designed for a Mach number of 2.0. The wing shown was found theoretically to have considerable loss in maximum lift-drag ratio attributable to aeroelasticity. This wing has 12-per cent-thick Clark-Y airfoils normal to the wing leading edge. If it were of solid aluminum and flying at a dynamic pressure of 2,400 lbs./sq.ft. (flexibility parameter qb(exp. 4) /El(0) = 7.8), analysis indicates that the wing would deflect so as to reduce the maximum lift-drag ratio about 30 per cent.

Hopkins, Edward J.↗
NASA NTRS1951

An Empirical Method Permitting Rapid Determination of the Area, Rate and Distribution of Water-Drop Impingement on an Airfoil of Arbitrary Section at Subsonic Speeds

An empirical method for the determination of the area, rate, and distribution of water-drop impingement on airfoils of arbitrary section is presented. The procedure represents an initial step toward the development of a method which is generally applicable in the design of thermal ice-prevention equipment for airplane wing and tail surfaces. Results given by the proposed empirical method are expected to be sufficiently accurate for the purpose of heated-wing design, and can be obtained from a few numerical computations once the velocity distribution over the airfoil has been determined. The empirical method presented for incompressible flow is based on results of extensive water-drop. trajectory computations for five airfoil cases which consisted of 15-percent-thick airfoils encompassing a moderate lift-coefficient range. The differential equations pertaining to the paths of the drops were solved by a differential analyzer. The method developed for incompressible flow is extended to the calculation of area and rate of impingement on straight wings in subsonic compressible flow to indicate the probable effects of compressibility for airfoils at low subsonic Mach numbers.

Bergrun, N. R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A comparison of arrow, trapezoidal and M wing concepts using a Mach 2 supersonic cruise transport mission

The present analytic study of the potential performance of SST configurations radically differing from arrow-winged designs in lifting surface planform geometry gives attention to trapezoidal-wing and M-wing configurations; the trapezoidal wing is used as the baseline in the performance comparisons. The design mission was all-supersonic (Mach 2), carrying 248 passengers over a 5500 nautical-mile range. Design constraints encompassed approach speed, TO&L field length, and engine-out second-segment climb and missed-approach performance. Techniques for improving these configurations are discussed.

Martin, Glenn L.↗
NASA NTRS1980

QCGAT aircraft/engine design for reduced noise and emissions

The high bypass ratio QCGAT engine played an important role in shaping the aircraft design. The aircraft which evolved is a sleek, advanced design, six-place aircraft with 3538 kg (7,800 lb) maximum gross weight. It offers a 2778 kilometer (1500 nautical mile) range with cruise speed of 0.5 Mach number and will take-off and land on the vast majority of general aviation airfields. Advanced features include broad application of composite materials and a supercritical wing design with winglets. Full-span fowler flaps were introduced to improve landing capability. Engines are fuselage-mounted with inlets over the wing to provide shielding of fan noise by the wing surfaces. The design objectives, noise, and emission considerations, engine cycle and engine description are discussed as well as specific design features.

Lanson, L.↗
NASA NTRS1952

An empirically derived basis for calculating the area, rate, and distribution of water-drop impingement on airfoils

An empirically derived basis for predicting the area, rate, and distribution of water-drop impingement on airfoils of arbitrary section is presented. The concepts involved represent an initial step toward the development of a calculation technique which is generally applicable to the design of thermal ice-prevention equipment for airplane wing and tail surfaces. It is shown that sufficiently accurate estimates, for the purpose of heated-wing design, can be obtained by a few numerical computations once the velocity distribution over the airfoil has been determined. The calculation technique presented is based on results of extensive water-drop trajectory computations for five airfoil cases which consisted of 15-percent-thick airfoils encompassing a moderate lift-coefficient range. The differential equations pertaining to the paths of the drops were solved by a differential analyzer.

Bergrun, Norman R↗
NASA NTRS1982

F-16E program overview and wind tunnel/flight correlation

Correlation is defined in three different ways: comparisons of wind tunnel and/or theory with flight results; detailed studies of total vehicle drag from wind tunnel and flight tests; and attempts to understand the fundamental mechanisms of fluid flows associated with aircraft components in specific areas of the flight environment. The F-16E configuration is an outgrowth of studies conducted to produce a refined fighter wing design. Several iterations required to arrive at the combination of wing planform, camber, and twist which gives near optimum lift, drag, and high-angle-of-attack stability. Theoretical analyses were backed up by extensive experimental data to validate the design and are presented

Madsen, A. P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Tesseract: Supersonic business transport

This year, the senior level Aerospace Design class at Case Western Reserve University developed a conceptual design of a supersonic business transport. Due to the growing trade between Asia and the United States, a transpacific range has been chosen for the aircraft. A Mach number of 2.2 was chosen too because it provides reasonable block times and allows the use of a large range of materials without a need for active cooling. A payload of 2500 lbs. has been assumed corresponding to a complement of nine (passengers and crew) plus some light cargo. With these general requirements set, the class was broken down into three groups. The aerodynamics of the aircraft were the responsibility of the first group. The second developed the propulsion system. The efforts of both the aerodynamics and propulsion groups were monitored and reviewed for weight considerations and structural feasibility by the third group. Integration of the design required considerable interaction between the groups in the final stages. The fuselage length of the final conceptual design was 107.0 ft. while the diameter of the fuselage was 7.6 ft. The delta wing design consisted of an aspect ratio of 1.9 with a wing span of 47.75 ft and midcord length of 61.0 ft. A SNEMCA MCV 99 variable-cycle engine design was chosen for this aircraft.

Reshotko, Eli↗
NASA NTRS1992

Tesseract supersonic business transport

This year, the senior level Aerospace Design class at Case Western Reserve University developed a conceptual design of a supersonic business transport. Due to the growing trade between Asia and the United States, a transpacific range was chosen for the aircraft. A Mach number of 2.2 was chosen, too, because it provides reasonable block times and allows the use of a large range of materials without a need for active cooling. A payload of 2,500 lbs. was assumed corresponding to a complement of nine passengers and crew, plus some light cargo. With these general requirements set, the class was broken down into three groups. The aerodynamics of the aircraft were the responsibility of the first group. The second developed the propulsion system. The efforts of both the aerodynamics and propulsion groups were monitored and reviewed for weight considerations and structural feasibility by the third group. Integration of the design required considerable interaction between the groups in the final stages. The fuselage length of the final conceptual design was 107.0 ft, while the diameter of the fuselage was 7.6 ft. The delta wing design consisted of an aspect ratio of 1.9 with a wing span of 47.75 ft and mid-chord length of 61.0 ft. A SNECMA MCV 99 variable-cycle engine design was chosen for this aircraft.

Reshotko, Eli↗