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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2004

A Best Practices System to Enhance CFD Use in Stability and Control Applications

Successful use of CFD to provide aerodynamics for stability and control (S&C) applications will require that the traditional time and costs associated with CFD be reduced and that the errors and uncertainties currently associated with CFD be better understood. CFD will be required to work under a wide range of flow conditions and provide fast and reliable aerodynamics if it is to contribute to this next generation of S&C analyses. CFD solutions have errors and uncertainties due to poorly converged solutions, solution anomalies caused by grids, turbulence models, and parameter selection, and other manifold reasons. In addition to the above problems, there will be a requirement for communications between the CFD expert and the S&C expert and possibly experts from other related disciplines. The CFD expert may not understand the technical problems associated with S&C, and it is almost certain the converse is true.

Morrison, Joseph H.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The effect of steady aerodynamic loading on the flutter stability of turbomachinery blading

An aeroelastic analysis is presented which accounts for the effect of steady aerodynamic loading on the aeroelastic stability of a cascade of compressor blades. The aeroelastic model is a two degree of freedom model having bending and torsional displacements. A linearized unsteady potential flow theory is used to determine the unsteady aerodynamic response coefficients for the aeroelastic analysis. The steady aerodynamic loading was caused by the addition of airfoil thickness and camber and steady flow incidence. The importance of steady loading on the airfoil unsteady pressure distribution is demonstrated. Additionally, the effect of steady loading on the tuned flutter behavior and flutter boundaries indicates that neglecting either airfoil thickness, camber or incidence could result in nonconservative estimates of flutter behavior.

Smith, Todd E.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The effect of steady aerodynamic loading on the flutter stability of turbomachinery blading

An aeroelastic analysis is presented which accounts for the effect of steady aerodynamic loading on the aeroelastic stability of a cascade of compressor blades. The aeroelastic model is a two degree of freedom model having bending and torsional displacements. A linearized unsteady potential flow theory is used to determine the unsteady aerodynamic response coefficients for the aeroelastic analysis. The steady aerodynamic loading was caused by the addition of airfoil thickness and camber and steady flow incidence. The importance of steady loading on the airfoil unsteady pressure distribution is demonstrated. Additionally, the effect of steady loading on the tuned flutter behavior and flutter boundaries indicates that neglecting either airfoil thickness, camber or incidence could result in nonconservative estimates of flutter behavior.

Smith, Todd E.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Critical Stability and Control Issues in High-Speed Aerodynamics for the HSCT

The stability and control issues in high speed aerodynamics of most significance for the development of a viable HSCT are identified, and the status of the Ref. H configuration with respect to these issues is discussed. The interdependence between aerodynamic requirements and assumptions about airplane system functions such as Envelope Protection and Integrated Flight/Propulsion Control is highlighted. The conclusions presented draw on results from the Ref. H Assessment and Alternate Control Concepts Assessment performed under Configuration Aerodynamics Subtask 5 during 1995.

Wilson, Douglas L.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Aerodynamic damping and oscillatory stability in pitch and yaw of a model of a proposed manned lifting entry vehicle at Mach numbers from 0.20 to 1.20

Wind tunnel tests have been made at angles of attack from about -2 deg to about 22 deg at 0 deg angle of sideslip by using a small-amplitude forced-oscillation technique. Models were tested with upper and lower control flaps both deflected and undeflected. The configuration with flaps deflected has positive damping in both pitch and yaw and is stable in both pitch and yaw except at the higher angles of attack where the tail surfaces are submerged in the wake from the body.

Kilgore, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Experimental Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Joined-wing Research Aircraft Configuration

A wind-tunnel test was conducted at Ames Research Center to measure the aerodynamic characteristics of a joined-wing research aircraft (JWRA). This aircraft was designed to utilize the fuselage and engines of the existing NASA AD-1 aircraft. The JWRA was designed to have removable outer wing panels to represent three different configurations with the interwing joint at different fractions of the wing span. A one-sixth-scale wind-tunnel model of all three configurations of the JWRA was tested in the Ames 12-Foot Pressure Wind Tunnel to measure aerodynamic performance, stability, and control characteristics. The results of these tests are presented. Longitudinal and lateral-directional characteristics were measured over an angle of attack range of -7 to 14 deg and over an angle of sideslip range of -5 to +2.5 deg at a Mach number of 0.35 and a Reynolds number of 2.2x10(6)/ft. Various combinations of deflected control surfaces were tested to measure the effectiveness and impact on stability of several control surface arrangements. In addition, the effects on stall and post-stall aerodynamic characteristics from small leading-edge devices called vortilons were measured. The results of these tests indicate that the JWRA had very good aerodynamic performance and acceptable stability and control throughout its flight envelope. The vortilons produced a profound improvement in the stall and post-stall characteristics with no measurable effects on cruise performance.

Smith, Stephen C.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Structurally-Tailorable, Nonlinear, Snap-Through Spring

Abrupt change in load/deflection response controllable and predictable. Structurally-tailorable, nonlinear, snap-through spring (STNSTS) exhibits controllable and predictable abrupt change in load/deflection response and based upon known phenomenon of snap-through structural response. Composed of pin-connected two-bar linkage which depicts combined tension/compression springs. As load applied to STNSTS, stiffness is function of internal spring and bending stiffness of pin-connected bars. As load increases, bars deform laterally until they collapse and snap through. Has application in passively-tailored rotor-blade flap, pitch, and lag response, to improve aerodynamic performance and stability characteristics of rotors; in aerodynamically- and aeroelastically-tailored wing spars and ribs, to produce tailored deformation state for improved effectiveness in maneuvering, aerodynamic performance, and stability characteristics; and in energy absorbers for automobile bumpers and aircraft land

Starnes, James H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Intelligent Control for the BEES Flyer

This paper describes the effort to provide a preliminary capability analysis and a neural network based adaptive flight control system for the JPL-led BEES aircraft project. The BEES flyer was envisioned to be a small, autonomous platform with sensing and control systems mimicking those of biological systems for the purpose of scientific exploration on the surface of Mars. The platform is physically tightly constrained by the necessity of efficient packing within rockets for the trip to Mars. Given the physical constraints, the system is not an ideal configuration for aerodynamics or stability and control. The objectives of this effort are to evaluate the aerodynamics characteristics of the existing design, to make recommendaaons as to potential improvements and to provide a control system that stabilizes the existing aircraft for nominal flight and damaged conditions. Towards this several questions are raised and analyses are presented to arrive at answers to some of the questions raised. CART3D, a high-fidelity inviscid analysis package for conceptual and preliminary aerodynamic design, was used to compute a parametric set of solutions over the expected flight domain. Stability and control derivatives were extracted from the database and integrated with the neural flight control system. The Integrated Vehicle Modeling Environment (IVME) was also used for estimating aircraft geometric, inertial, and aerodynamic characteristics. A generic neural flight control system is used to provide adaptive control without the requirement for extensive gain scheduling or explicit system identification. The neural flight control system uses reference models to specify desired handling qualities in the roll, pitch, and yaw axes, and incorporates both pre-trained and on-line learning neural networks in the inverse model portion of the controller. Results are presented for the BEES aircraft in the subsonic regime for terrestrial and Martian environments.

Krishnakumar, K.↗
NASA NTRS1959

Effect of Flow Incidence and Reynolds Number on Low-Speed Aerodynamic Characteristics of Several Noncircular Cylinders with Applications to Directional Stability and Spinning

The aerodynamic characteristics of several noncircular two-dimensional cylinders with axes normal to the stream at various flow incidences (analogous to angles of attack of a two-dimensional airfoil and obtained by rotating the cylinders about their axes) for a range of Reynolds numbers have been determined from low-speed wind-tunnel tests. The results indicate that these parameters have rather large effects on the drag and side force developed on these cylinders. The side force is especially critical and very often undergoes a change in sign with a change in Reynolds number. Since the flow incidences correspond to combined angles of attack and sideslip in the crossflow plane of three-dimensional bodies, these two-dimensional results appear to have strong implications with regard to directional stability of fuselages at high angles of attack. These implications, along with those associated with the spin-recovery characteristics of aircraft, are briefly discussed.

Polhamus, Edward C.↗
NASA NTRS2011

A Quasi-Steady Flexible Launch Vehicle Stability Analysis Using Steady CFD with Unsteady Aerodynamic Enhancement

Launch vehicles frequently experience a reduced stability margin through the transonic Mach number range. This reduced stability margin is caused by an undamping of the aerodynamics in one of the lower frequency flexible or rigid body modes. Analysis of the behavior of a flexible vehicle is routinely performed with quasi-steady aerodynamic lineloads derived from steady rigid computational fluid dynamics (CFD). However, a quasi-steady aeroelastic stability analysis can be unconservative at the critical Mach numbers where experiment or unsteady computational aeroelastic (CAE) analysis show a reduced or even negative aerodynamic damping. This paper will present a method of enhancing the quasi-steady aeroelastic stability analysis of a launch vehicle with unsteady aerodynamics. The enhanced formulation uses unsteady CFD to compute the response of selected lower frequency modes. The response is contained in a time history of the vehicle lineloads. A proper orthogonal decomposition of the unsteady aerodynamic lineload response is used to reduce the scale of data volume and system identification is used to derive the aerodynamic stiffness, damping and mass matrices. The results of the enhanced quasi-static aeroelastic stability analysis are compared with the damping and frequency computed from unsteady CAE analysis and from a quasi-steady analysis. The results show that incorporating unsteady aerodynamics in this way brings the enhanced quasi-steady aeroelastic stability analysis into close agreement with the unsteady CAE analysis.

Bartels, Robert E.↗