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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

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NASA NTRS1972

Flight experiments to determine visibility requirements for approaches and landings.

Some of the effects of horizontal visual restriction on the front cockpit of a T-33 aircraft were studied. These studies are pertinent to the establishment of guidelines that will be used in canopy design for limited visibility situations. Results of the study revealed that runway extension lines are helpful for restricted visibility situations. The superiority of a 300-foot runway over a 200-foot runway was greater than expected from geometric considerations. It was also shown that practice learning has a noticeable effect on performance. Finally, visibility restrictions that force a pilot into shallow glides should be avoided, and the available visibility should be sufficient to provide adequate information so that the pilot can solve the lateral-directional and pitch tasks simultaneously.

Carpenter, R.↗

NASA NTRS1972

Flexible wings for transportation.

The possible uses of flexible wings for transportation of passengers and cargo from point to point on earth are discussed along with emergency applications of flexible wings in connection with conventional aircraft. Topics considered include gliding and soaring as a sport, towing of flexible-wing gliders for cargo delivery, powered flight with small aircraft having folding flexible wings, aerial dropping of personnel and cargo on flexible wings instead of parachutes, landing and recovery of rocket payloads by means of flexible wings, and use of flexible wings with ejection seats and as an emergency landing system for conventional aircraft.

Rogallo, F. M.↗

NASA NTRS1972

The fine structure of slip lines in disordered Cu3Au.

The fine structure of the slip bands observed on the surface of a deformed Cu3Au single crystal is examined. The separation distance determined between the resolved individual slip lines is used to examine the calculations of other authors relating the passing stress of a dislocation past a dislocation pileup on a nearby parallel glide plane.

Salama, K.↗

NASA NTRS1972

Longitudinal dynamic stability of a shuttle vehicle.

Analytical study of the longitudinal dynamic stability of a nonrolling, lifting vehicle gliding at hypersonic speeds. The analysis applies to shuttle vehicles designed for operating up to the rim of a planetary atmosphere. A general nondimensional time transformation is introduced to derive a unified second-order linear differential equation for the angle of attack, valid for all types of reentry of a general type of vehicle. The stability of motion is discussed for two fundamental regimes of flight that are based on widely different assumptions. For near ballistic entry along a straight line trajectory, the equation reduces to a confluent hypergeometric equation, the solution of which can be expressed in terms of Whittaker's function. Using a theorem in the theory of stability of differential equations, criteria for damped oscillations are derived. It is shown that the aerodynamic criteria for stability are the same as for the case of ballistic entry. In addition, for each vehicle configuration, and specified planetary atmosphere, there exists an altitude range where the angle of attack frequency is nearly equal to the orbital frequency causing instability in pitch. This resonance instability is due to the ellipticity of the orbit. Criteria for eccentricity instability are derived.

Vinh, N. X.↗

NASA NTRS1972

Flight evaluation of three-dimensional area navigation for jet transport noise abatement.

The NASA, working with American Airlines, has completed the first phase of research to evaluate the operational feasibility of two-segment approaches for noise abatement. For these tests, area navigation was used to establish the upper glide slope and an ILS was used to establish the lower. The flight director was modified to provide command information during the entire approach. Twenty-eight pilots representing the airlines, professional pilot associations, FAA, and NASA participated. With an ILS approach for comparison, the procedure gave a noise reduction of 18 EPNdB at the outer marker and 8 EPNdB 1.1 n. mi. from touchdown.

Denery, D. G.↗

NASA NTRS1972

Energy management during the space shuttle transition.

An approach to calculating optimal, gliding flight paths of the type associated with the space shuttle's transition from entry to cruising flight is presented. Kinetic energy and total energy (per unit weight) replace velocity and time in the dynamic equations, reducing the dimension and complexity of the problem. The capability for treating integral and terminal penalties (as well as Mach number effects) is retained in the numerical optimization; hence, stability and control boundaries can be observed as trajectories to the desired final energy, flight path angle, and range are determined. Numerical results show that the 'jump' to the 'front-side of the L/D curve' need not be made until the end of the transition and that the dynamic model provides a conservative range estimate. Alternatives for real-time trajectory control are discussed.

Stengel, R. F.↗

NASA NTRS1972

A dynamic response and eye scanning data base useful in the development of theories and methods for the description of control/display relationships

A set of specially prepared digital tapes is reported which contain synchronized measurements of pilot scanning behavior, control response, and vehicle response obtained during instrument landing system approaches made in a fixed-base DC-8 transport simulator. The objective of the master tape is to provide a common data base which can be used by the research community to test theories, models, and methods for describing and analyzing control/display relations and interactions. The experimental conditions and tasks used to obtain the data and the detailed format of the tapes are described. Conventional instrument panel and controls were used, with simulated vertical gust and glide slope beam bend forcing functions. Continuous pilot eye fixations and scan traffic on the panel were measured. Both flight director and standard localizer/glide slope types of approaches were made, with both fixed and variable instrument range sensitivities.

Klein, R.↗

NASA NTRS1972

Energy management during the space shuttle transition

An approach to calculating optimal, gliding flight paths of the type associated with the space shuttle's transition from entry to cruising flight is presented. Kinetic energy and total energy (per unit weight) replace velocity and time in the dynamic equations, reducing the dimension and complexity of the problem. The capability for treating integral and terminal penalties (as well as Mach number effects) is retained in the numerical optimization; hence, stability and control boundaries can be observed as trajectories to the desired final energy, flight path angle, and range are determined. Numerical results show that the jump to the front-side of the L/D curve need not be made until the end of the transition and that the dynamic model provides a conservative range estimate. Alternatives for real time trajectory control are discussed.

Stengel, R. F.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Position determination accuracy from the microwave landing system

Analysis and results are given for the position determination accuracy obtainable from the microwave landing guidance system. Siting arrangements, coverage volumes, and accuracy standards for the azimuth, elevation, and range functions of the microwave system are discussed. Results are given for the complete coverage of the systems and are related to flight operational requirements for position estimation during flare, glide slope, and general terminal area approaches. Range rate estimation from range data is also analyzed. The distance measuring equipment accuracy required to meet the range rate estimation standards is determined, and a method of optimizing the range rate estimate is also given.

Cicolani, L. S.↗

NASA NTRS1972

The effect of alloy composition on the mechanism of stress-corrosion cracking of titanium alloys in aqueous environments

A detailed study was made of the relation between the size distribution of Ti3Al particles in a Ti-8Al alloy and the tensile properties measured in air and in saltwater. The size distribution of Ti3Al was varied by isothermal aging for various times at temperatures in the range 770 to 970 K (930 to 1290 F). The aging kinetics were found to be relatively slow. Quantitative measurements of the particle coarsening rate at 920 K (1200 F) showed good agreement with the predicted behavior for coarsening controlled by matrix diffusion, and suggested that the specific free energy of the Ti3Al alpha interface in negligible small. In all cases, the Ti3Al particles were sheared by the glide dislocations. It was concluded that there is a definite correlation between the presence of deformable Ti3Al particles and an alloy's susceptibility to aqueous stress corrosion cracking. Furthermore, the appearance of the surface slip lines and the dislocation substructure in deformed specimens suggest that the specific effect of the Ti3Al particles is to cause a nonhomogeneous planar slip character and an enhanced chemical potential of the slip bands.

Wood, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS1973

A manual control theory analysis of vertical situation displays for STOL aircraft

Pilot-vehicle-display systems theory is applied to the analysis of proposed vertical situation displays for manual control in approach-to-landing of a STOL aircraft. The effects of display variables on pilot workload and on total closed-loop system performance was calculated using an optimal-control model for the human operator. The steep approach of an augmentor wing jet STOL aircraft was analyzed. Both random turbulence and mean-wind shears were considered. Linearized perturbation equations were used to describe longitudinal and lateral dynamics of the aircraft. The basic display configuration was one that abstracted the essential status information (including glide-slope and localizer errors) of an EADI display. Proposed flight director displays for both longitudinal and lateral control were also investigated.

Baron, S.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Studies for determining rapid thrust response requirements and techniques for use in a long range transport aircraft

Propulsion systems proposed for the next generation of long-range transport aircraft will utilize advanced technology to reduce the noise to levels that will be inoffensive to the community. Additional reductions can be realized by adopting steeper glide slopes during the landing approach. The aircraft dynamic characteristics and methods of obtaining rapid engine response during the go-around maneuver from an aborted landing approach are identified and discussed. The study concludes that the present levels of flight safety will not be compromised by the steeper approach.

Newirth, D. M.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Airport-area airspace used in simulated operations with an experimental powered-lift STOL airplane

Simulation tests were made using an experimental powered-lift STOL airplane to help define airport-area airspace requirements for STOL operations. The operational feasibility and airspace used in take-offs followed by climbing turns, offset (bent localizer) approaches, missed approaches, and two-segment (bent glide-slope) approaches were studied. Flight-director guidance was provided for the approach maneuvers.

Silsby, N. S.↗

NASA NTRS1972

Simulator evaluation of the flying qualities of externally blown flap and augmentor wing transport configurations

Concurrent simulations of powered-lift STOL transport aircraft having either an externally blown flap configuration or an augmentor wing configuration were conducted. The following types of simulators of varying sophistication were used: (1) a simple fixed-base simulation with a simple visual display, (2) a more complex fixed-base simulation using a realistic transport cockpit and a high-quality visual display, and (3) a six-degree-of-freedom motion simulator that had a realistic transport cockpit and a sophisticated visual display. The unaugmented flying qualities determined from these simulations were rated as unacceptable for both the externally blown flap and augmentor wing configurations. The longitudinal, lateral-directional, and single-engine-failure characteristics were rated satisfactory with extensive augmentation, including pitch and roll command systems, flight-path (or speed) augmentation, turn coordination, and effective yaw damping. However, the flare and landing characteristics from any approach glide-path angle in excess of 4 deg were rated as unsatisfactory but acceptable.

Kier, D. A.↗

NASA NTRS1972

Intensive probing of clear air convective fields by radar and instrumented drone aircraft.

Clear air convective fields were probed in three summer experiments (1969, 1970, and 1971) on an S-band monopulse tracking radar at Wallops Island, Virginia, and a drone aircraft with a takeoff weight of 5.2 kg, wingspan of 2.5 m, and cruising glide speed of 10.3 m/sec. The drone was flown 23.2 km north of the radar and carried temperature, pressure/altitude, humidity, and vertical and airspeed velocity sensors. Extensive time-space convective field data were obtained by taking a large number of RHI and PPI pictures at short intervals of time. The rapidly changing overall convective field data obtained from the radar could be related to the meteorological information telemetered from the drone at a reasonably low cost by this combined technique.

Rowland, J. R.↗

NASA NTRS1972

A control theoretic model for piloted approach to landing.

Using manned vehicle systems analysis, a model for manual approach to landing is developed. This model is developed and applied in the specific context of a problem of analytical evaluation of a pictorial display for longitudinal control of glide path errors. This makes it possible to discuss the model in concrete terms, and the availability of experimental data provides opportunities for checking the theoretical results obtained.

Kleinman, D. L.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Fixed-base simulation study of decoupled controls during approach and landing of a STOL transport airplane

A fixed-base visual simulation study has been conducted to evaluate the use of decoupled controls as a means for reducing pilot workload during approach and landing of an externally blown jet-flap short take-off and landing (STOL) transport. All six rigid-body degrees of freedom were employed with the aerodynamic characteristics based on wind-tunnel data. The primary piloting task was to use a flight director to capture and maintain a two-segment glide slope, with a closed-circuit television display of a STOL airport used during simulations of the flare and landing. The decoupled longitudinal controls used constant prefilter and feedback gains to provide steady-state decoupling of flight-path angle, pitch angle, and forward velocity. The pilots were enthusiastic about the decoupled longitudinal controls but believed the decoupled concept offered no significant advantage over conventional controls in the lateral mode.

Miller, G. K., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Wind machines

The basic elements of the air/water momentum exchange are described by the environment, the potential, the air and water subsystems, the total system, and the rule. Many of these topics have direct analogues in aerogenerator design. Aspects of optimal sail design and of waveless hulls are briefly outlined. A wind driven vehicle capable of moving directly downwind faster than the wind, is reported. The lecture is illustrated with slides and movie clips showing surfing catamarans, land and water versions of the Bauer vehicle, hang gliding, land sailing, and wind surfing.

Lissaman, P. B. S.↗