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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 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1980

Assessment of variable camber for application to transport aircraft

The potential benefits were determined for the variable camber of commercial transport airplanes designed for intercontinental and domestic missions. A variable camber concept was developed and incorporated into airplanes designed for the two missions. Benefits were evaluated by comparing the mission performance and direct operating costs for the variable camber airplanes with those for reference airplanes designed for the same missions but having fixed geometry high speed wings. Several technical uncertainties associated with implementing variable camber were also examined.

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NASA NTRS1992

Arrow 227: Air transport system design simulation

The Arrow 227 is a student-designed commercial transport for use in a overnight package delivery network. The major goal of the concept was to provide the delivery service with the greatest potential return on investment. The design objectives of the Arrow 227 were based on three parameters; production cost, payload weight, and aerodynamic efficiency. Low production cost helps to reduce initial investment. Increased payload weight allows for a decrease in flight cycles and, therefore, less fuel consumption than an aircraft carrying less payload weight and requiring more flight cycles. In addition, fewer flight cycles will allow a fleet to last longer. Finally, increased aerodynamic efficiency in the form of high L/D will decrease fuel consumption.

Bontempi, Michael↗
NASA NTRS1995

A crew-centered flight deck design philosophy for High-Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) aircraft

Past flight deck design practices used within the U.S. commercial transport aircraft industry have been highly successful in producing safe and efficient aircraft. However, recent advances in automation have changed the way pilots operate aircraft, and these changes make it necessary to reconsider overall flight deck design. The High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) mission will likely add new information requirements, such as those for sonic boom management and supersonic/subsonic speed management. Consequently, whether one is concerned with the design of the HSCT, or a next generation subsonic aircraft that will include technological leaps in automated systems, basic issues in human usability of complex systems will be magnified. These concerns must be addressed, in part, with an explicit, written design philosophy focusing on human performance and systems operability in the context of the overall flight crew/flight deck system (i.e., a crew-centered philosophy). This document provides such a philosophy, expressed as a set of guiding design principles, and accompanied by information that will help focus attention on flight crew issues earlier and iteratively within the design process. This document is part 1 of a two-part set.

Palmer, Michael T.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Technology for Transportation Safety

Boston Insulated Wire & Cable developed a new polyimide foam material, commercially known as Solimide, which resists ignition. It chars and decomposes when exposed to open flames. Used in the space shuttle, the material does not "outgas" until it begins to char making it safer than current materials with respect to toxic fumes. The polyimide can be made in two forms: a resilient foam and a rigid foam. Used in commercial transport interiors for such soft components as seat cushions to door, wall, floor, and ceiling panels. Material's flame resistance could lengthen from two minutes to five minutes, the time needed for passenger evacuation in a ground emergency. Could help reduce airline fuel consumption, since the foam is 50% lighter than current materials. Low-smoke cable assemblies used in rapid transit systems consists of an advanced wire and cable jacketing material with superior flame resistance and smoke retardation characteristics. Being supplied to mass transit systems in the U.S. and abroad.

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NASA NTRS1995

Summary of a Crew-Centered Flight Deck Design Philosophy for High-Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) Aircraft

Past flight deck design practices used within the U.S. commercial transport aircraft industry have been highly successful in producing safe and efficient aircraft. However, recent advances in automation have changed the way pilots operate aircraft, and these changes make it necessary to reconsider overall flight deck design. Automated systems have become more complex and numerous, and often their inner functioning is partially or fully opaque to the flight crew. Recent accidents and incidents involving autoflight system mode awareness Dornheim, 1995) are an example. This increase in complexity raises pilot concerns about the trustworthiness of automation, and makes it difficult for the crew to be aware of all the intricacies of operation that may impact safe flight. While pilots remain ultimately responsible for mission success, performance of flight deck tasks has been more widely distributed across human and automated resources. Advances in sensor and data integration technologies now make far more information available than may be prudent to present to the flight crew.

Palmer, Michael T.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Unsteady Aerodynamic Modeling in Roll for the NASA Generic Transport Model

Reducing the impact of loss-of-control conditions on commercial transport aircraft is a primary goal of the NASA Aviation Safety Program. One aspect in developing the supporting technologies is to improve the aerodynamic models that represent these adverse conditions. Aerodynamic models appropriate for loss of control conditions require a more general mathematical representation to predict nonlinear unsteady behaviors. In this paper, a more general mathematical model is proposed for the subscale NASA Generic Transport Model (GTM) that covers both low and high angles of attack. Particular attention is devoted to the stall region where full-scale transports have demonstrated a tendency for roll instability. The complete aerodynamic model was estimated from dynamic wind-tunnel data. Advanced computational methods are used to improve understanding and visualize the flow physics within the region where roll instability is a factor.

Murphy, Patrick C.↗
NASA NTRS1974

V/STOL lift fan commercial short haul transports: Continuing conceptual design study

A design study of commercial V/STOL transport airplanes for a 1985 operational time period has been made. The baseline mission considered was 400 nmi at a cruise speed of M = 0.75 and a 100-passenger payload with VTOL. Variations from the baseline included mission distance, payload, cruise speed, and propulsion system failure philosophy. All designs used propulsion systems consisting of multiple gas generators driving remote tip turbine lift and lift/cruise fans. By considering the fan to be designed for operational reliability, significant simplication of the airplane systems and reduction in airplane size and cost can be achieved.

Zabinsky, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Design Considerations for Laminar Flow Control Aircraft

A study was conducted to investigate major design considerations involved in the application of laminar flow control to the wings and empennage of long range subsonic transport aircraft compatible with initial operation in 1985. For commercial transports with a design mission range of 10,186 km (5500 n mil) and a payload of 200 passengers, parametric configuration analyses were conducted to evaluate the effect of aircraft performance, operational, and geometric parameters on fuel efficiency. Study results indicate that major design goals for aircraft optimization include maximization of aspect ratio and wing loading and minimization of wing sweep consistent with wing volume and airport performance requirements.

Sturgeon, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Summary of 1989 - 1990 aeronautics design projects

Four design projects were completed at Auburn University this year under the sponsorship of the NASA/Universities Space Research Association Advanced Design Program. The topics discussed are the design of a high speed civil transport; the design of a 79 passenger, high efficiency, commercial transport; the design of a low cost short takeof vertical landing export fighter; and the design of an ozone monitoring vehicle.

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NASA NTRS1989

High-speed civil transport study

A system study of the potential for a high-speed commercial transport has addressed technological, economic, and environmental constraints. Market projections indicate a need for fleets of transports with supersonic or greater cruise speeds by the year 2000 to 2005. The associated design requirements called for a vehicle to carry 250 to 300 passengers over a range of 5,000 to 6,000 nautical miles. The study was initially unconstrained in terms of vehicle characteristic, such as cruise speed, propulsion systems, fuels, or structural materials. Analyses led to a focus on the most promising vehicle concepts. These were concepts that used a kerosene-type fuel and cruised at Mach numbers between 2.0 to 3.2. Further systems study identified the impact of environmental constraints (for community noise, sonic boom, and engine emissions) on economic attractiveness and technological needs. Results showed that current technology cannot produce a viable high-speed civil transport; significant advances are required to reduce takeoff gross weight and allow for both economic attractiveness and environmental accepatability. Specific technological requirements were identified to meet these needs.

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NASA NTRS1989

High-speed civil transport study. Summary

A system of study of the potential for a high speed commercial transport aircraft addressed technology, economic, and environmental constraints. Market projections indicated a need for fleets of transport with supersonic or greater cruise speeds by the years 2000 to 2005. The associated design requirements called for a vehicle to carry 250 to 300 passengers over a range of 5000 to 6000 nautical miles. The study was initially unconstrained in terms of vehicle characteristics, such as cruise speed, propulsion systems, fuels, or structural materials. Analyses led to a focus on the most promising vehicle concepts. These were concepts that used a kerosene type fuel and cruised at Mach numbers between 2.0 to 3.2. Further systems study identified the impact of environmental constraints (for community noise, sonic boom, and engine emissions) on economic attractiveness and technological needs. Results showed that current technology cannot produce a viable high speed civil transport. Significant advances are needed to take off gross weight and allow for both economic attractiveness and environment acceptability. Specific technological requirements were identified to meet these needs.

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NASA NTRS2012

Multi-Objective Optimization of a Turbofan for an Advanced, Single-Aisle Transport

Considerable interest surrounds the design of the next generation of single-aisle commercial transports in the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 class. Aircraft designers will depend on advanced, next-generation turbofan engines to power these airplanes. The focus of this study is to apply single- and multi-objective optimization algorithms to the conceptual design of ultrahigh bypass turbofan engines for this class of aircraft, using NASA s Subsonic Fixed Wing Project metrics as multidisciplinary objectives for optimization. The independent design variables investigated include three continuous variables: sea level static thrust, wing reference area, and aerodynamic design point fan pressure ratio, and four discrete variables: overall pressure ratio, fan drive system architecture (i.e., direct- or gear-driven), bypass nozzle architecture (i.e., fixed- or variable geometry), and the high- and low-pressure compressor work split. Ramp weight, fuel burn, noise, and emissions are the parameters treated as dependent objective functions. These optimized solutions provide insight to the ultrahigh bypass engine design process and provide information to NASA program management to help guide its technology development efforts.

Berton, Jeffrey J.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Integrated Neural Flight and Propulsion Control System

This paper describes an integrated neural flight and propulsion control system. which uses a neural network based approach for applying alternate sources of control power in the presence of damage or failures. Under normal operating conditions, the system utilizes conventional flight control surfaces. Neural networks are used to provide consistent handling qualities across flight conditions and for different aircraft configurations. Under damage or failure conditions, the system may utilize unconventional flight control surface allocations, along with integrated propulsion control, when additional control power is necessary for achieving desired flight control performance. In this case, neural networks are used to adapt to changes in aircraft dynamics and control allocation schemes. Of significant importance here is the fact that this system can operate without emergency or backup flight control mode operations. An additional advantage is that this system can utilize, but does not require, fault detection and isolation information or explicit parameter identification. Piloted simulation studies were performed on a commercial transport aircraft simulator. Subjects included both NASA test pilots and commercial airline crews. Results demonstrate the potential for improving handing qualities and significantly increasing survivability rates under various simulated failure conditions.

Kaneshige, John↗
NASA NTRS1972

Nacelle design studies for advanced transport aircraft.

Results are given of several analytical studies of nacelles suitable for advanced subsonic commercial transport aircraft. The impact on the nacelle of reduced aircraft noise and increased cruise Mach number is emphasized and initially developed in terms of the individual nacelle components: inlet, fan cowl, nozzle, etc. This is achieved by relating the noise and cruise speed constraints to which the aircraft system must be designed to specific limitations on the individual nacelle components. Performance assessments are then made (separately for each nacelle component) of competitive design concepts. Overall nacelle designs, synthesized on the basis of the individual component studies, are briefly discussed.

Sussman, M. B.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Crew/Automation Interaction in Space Transportation Systems: Lessons Learned from the Glass Cockpit

The progressive integration of automation technologies in commercial transport aircraft flight decks - the 'glass cockpit' - has had a major, and generally positive, impact on flight crew operations. Flight deck automation has provided significant benefits, such as economic efficiency, increased precision and safety, and enhanced functionality within the crew interface. These enhancements, however, may have been accrued at a price, such as complexity added to crew/automation interaction that has been implicated in a number of aircraft incidents and accidents. This report briefly describes 'glass cockpit' evolution. Some relevant aircraft accidents and incidents are described, followed by a more detailed description of human/automation issues and problems (e.g., crew error, monitoring, modes, command authority, crew coordination, workload, and training). This paper concludes with example principles and guidelines for considering 'glass cockpit' human/automation integration within space transportation systems.

Rudisill, Marianne↗
NASA NTRS1982

Systems study of transport aircraft incorporating advanced aluminum alloys

A study was performed to quantify the potential benefits of utilizing advanced aluminum alloys in commercial transport aircraft and to define the effort necessary to develop fully the alloys to a viable commercial production capability. The comprehensive investigation (1) established realistic advanced aluminum alloy property goals to maximize aircraft systems effectiveness (2) identified performance and economic benefits of incorporating the advanced alloy in future advanced technology commercial aircraft designs (3) provided a recommended plan for development and integration of the alloys into commercial aircraft production (4) provided an indication of the timing and investigation required by the metal producing industry to support the projected market and (5) evaluate application of advanced aluminum alloys to other aerospace and transit systems as a secondary objective. The results of the investigation provided a roadmap and identified key issues requiring attention in an advanced aluminum alloy and applications technology development program.

Sakata, I. F.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Flight service environmental effects on composite materials and structures

NASA Langley and the U.S. Army have jointly sponsored programs to assess the effects of realistic flight environments and ground-based exposure on advanced composite materials and structures. Composite secondary structural components were initially installed on commercial transport aircraft in 1973; secondary and primary structural components were installed on commercial helicopters in 1979; and primary structural components were installed on commercial aircraft in the mid-to-late 1980's. Service performance, maintenance characteristics, and residual strength of numerous components are reported. In addition to data on flight components, 10 year ground exposure test results on material coupons are reported. Comparison between ground and flight environmental effects for several composite material systems are also presented. Test results indicate excellent in-service performance with the composite components during the 15 year period. Good correlation between ground-based material performance and operational structural performance has been achieved.

Dexter, H. Benson↗