Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “STABILITY, LATERAL - STATIC”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 307 records · Page 17

Flight Investigation of the Stability and Control Characteristics of Vertically Rising Airplane Research Model with Swept or Unswept Wings and X- or +-tails

The take-off, landing, hovering, and transition flight characteristics of a propeller-driven, fighter-type, vertically rising airplane model were obtained from time histories of the flights and from the pilots' opinions of the flight characteristics. In general, there were no major differences in the behavior of any of the configurations, all of which performed satisfactorily.

CONTROL, LATERAL↗

Effect of trailing-edge flap deflection on the lateral and longitudinal-stability characteristics of a supersonic transport model having a highly-swept arrow wing

A low-speed investigation has been made on a highly-swept wing model having a thickened leading edge to determine the effect of inboard trailing-edge flaps on the characteristics of the model in pitch and sideslip. The tests were made at a Mach number of 0.227 which corresponds to a Reynolds number of about 5.53 million based on the reference chord. The results showed that deflection of the trailing-edge flaps decreased the roll due to sideslip by about 20 percent at a landing lift coefficient of 0.5. The directional-stability parameter, was increased by deflection of the flaps and the range of lift coefficients over which it was positive was also increased. The longitudinal stability characteristics of the model without leading-edge devices were improved by increased flap deflection, that is, the pitch-up tendency was delayed to higher lift coefficients. The lift coefficient increment resulting from the 15 deg flap deflection compared favorably with that predicted.

Lockwood, V. E.↗

Lateral and longitudinal aerodynamic stability and control parameters of the basic vortex flap research aircraft as determined from flight test data

The aerodynamics of the basic F-106B were determined at selected points in the flight envelope. The test aircraft and flight procedures were presented. Aircraft instrumentation and the data system were discussed. The parameter extraction procedure was presented along with a discussion of the test flight results. The results were used to predict the aircraft motions for maneuvers that were not used to determine the vehicle aerodynamics. The control inputs used to maneuver the aircraft to get data for the determination of the aerodynamic parameters were discussed in the flight test procedures. The results from the current flight tests were compared with the results from wind tunnel test of the basic F-106B.

Suit, W. T.↗

Stability characteristics of a conical aerospace plane concept

Data on stability characteristics of a conical aerospace plane concept were collected for a number of model geometry variations and test conditions, using several NASA-Langley wind tunnels spanning Mach range 0.1-6. The baseline configuration of this plane concept incorporated a 5-deg cone forebody, a 75.96-deg delta wing, a 16-deg leading-edge sweep deployable canard, and a centerline vertical tail. The key results pertinent to stability considerations about all three axes of the model are presented together with data on the effect of the canard on pitch stability, the effect of vertical tail on lateral-directional stability, and the effect of forebody geometry on yaw asymmetries. The experimental stability data are compared with the results from an engineering predictive code.

Hahne, David E.↗

Dynamic stability test results on an 0.024 scale B-1 air vehicle

Dynamic longitudinal and lateral-directional stability characteristics of the B-1 air vehicle were investigated in three wind tunnels at the Langley Research Center. The main rotary derivatives were obtained for an angle of attack range of -3 degrees to +16 degrees for a Mach number range of 0.2 to 2.16. Damping in roll data could not be obtained at the supersonic Mach numbers. The Langley 7 x 10 foot high speed tunnel, the 8 foot transonic pressure tunnel, and the 4 foot Unitary Plan wind tunnel were the test sites. An 0.024 scale light-weight model was used on a forced oscillation type balance. Test Reynolds number varied from 474,000/ft to 1,550,000/ft. through the Mach number range tested. The results showed that the dynamic stability characteristics of the model in pitch and roll were generally satisfactory up to an angle attack of about +6 degrees. In the wing sweep range from 15 to 25 degrees the positive damping levels in roll deteriorated rapidly above +2 degrees angle of attack. This reduction in roll damping is believed to be due to the onset of separation over the wing as stall is approached.

Beeman, R. R.↗

Correlation of Predicted and Flight Derived Stability and Control Derivatives with Particular Application to Tailless Delta Wing Configurations

Flight derived longitudinal and lateral-directional stability and control derivatives were compared to wind-tunnel derived values. As a result of these comparisons, boundaries representing the uncertainties that could be expected from wind-tunnel predictions were established. These boundaries provide a useful guide for control system sensitivity studies prior to flight. The primary application for this data was the space shuttle, and as a result the configurations included in the study were those most applicable to the space shuttle. The configurations included conventional delta wing aircraft as well as the X-15 and lifting body vehicles.

Weil, J.↗

Investigation of space shuttle orbiter subsonic stability and control characteristics in the NAAL low speed wind tunnel (0A62b), volume 1

Experimental aerodynamic investigations were conducted on a sting-mounted 0.0405 scale representation of the 140A/B space shuttle orbiter in a 7.75 ft by 11 ft low speed wind tunnel during the time period from November 14, 1973, to December 6, 1973, with the primary test objectives being to establish basic longitudinal stability characteristics in and out of ground effect, as well as lateral-directional stability characteristics in free air. Two dual podded nacelle configurations were also tested, one with three dual podded nacelles on the lower wing surface, and the other with a single dual nacelle on the lower centerline with dual nacelle pylons mounted above each wing. Stability and control characteristics were investigated at nominal elevon, rudder, aileron, and body flap deflections. Pressure bugs were used to determine pressures on the vertical tail at spanwise stations, and aerodynamic force and moment data were measured in the stability axis system by an internally mounted, six component strain gage balance.

Mennell, R.↗

Mixing and non-equilibrium chemical reaction in a compressible mixing layer

The effects of compressibility, chemical reaction exothermicity, and non-equilibrium chemical modeling in a reacting plane mixing layer were investigated by means of two dimensional direct numerical simulations. The chemical reaction was irreversible and second order of the type A + B yields Products + Heat. The general governing fluid equations of a compressible reacting flow field were solved by means of high order finite difference methods. Physical effects were then determined by examining the response of the mixing layer to variation of the relevant non-dimensionalized parameters. The simulations show that increased compressibility generally results in a suppressed mixing, and consequently a reduced chemical reaction conversion rate. Reaction heat release was found to enhance mixing at the initial stages of the layer growth, but had a stabilizing effect at later times. The increased stability manifested itself in the suppression or delay of the formation of large coherent structures within the flow. Calculations were performed for a constant rate chemical kinetics model and an Arrhenius type kinetic prototype. The choice of the model was shown to have an effect on the development of the flow. The Arrhenius model caused a greater temperature increase due to reaction than the constant kinetic model. This had the same effect as increasing the exothermicity of the reaction. Localized flame quenching was also observed when the Zeldovich number was relatively large.

Steinberger, Craig J.↗

Investigation of space shuttle orbiter subsonic stability and control characteristics in the NAAL low speed wind tunnel (OA62B), volume 2

Experimental aerodynamic investigations were conducted on a sting-mounted 0.0405 scale representation of the 140A/B space shuttle orbiter in a 7.75 ft by 11 ft low speed wind tunnel during the period from November 14, 1973 to December 6, 1973. Establishment of basic longitudinal stability characteristics in and out of ground effect, and the establishment of lateral-directional stability characteristics in free air were the primary test objectives. The following effects and configurations were tested: (1) two dual podded nacelle configurations; (2) stability and control characteristics at nominal elevon deflections, rudder deflections, airleron deflections, rudder flare angles, and body flap deflections; (3) effects of various elevon and elevon/fuselage gaps on longitudinal stability and control; (4) pressures on the vertical tail at spanwise stations using pressure bugs; (5) aerodynamic force and moment data measured in the stability axis system by an internally mounted, six-component strain gage balance. For Vol. 1, see N74-32324.

Mennell, R.↗

An investigation of the loads on the vertical tail of a jet-bomber airplane resulting from flight through rough air

Vertical-tail loads were measured in turbulent air on a four-engine jet bomber. Results showed large load oscillations which were lightly damped. Comparison of experimental results with discrete-load calculations indicated that discrete-gust calculations underestimated the loads by 30 to 40 percent and gave no indication of the low damping. Power spectral analysis, on the other hand, indicated the general frequency characteristics and gave a somewhat better estimate of the peak-load distributions. The present results strongly suggest that discrete-gust calculation for gust loads on vertical tails may seriously underestimate the gust loads for airplanes having lightly damped lateral oscillations.

GUSTS, FREQUENCY↗

Wind-tunnel investigation of an armed mini remotely piloted vehicle

A wind tunnel investigation of a full scale remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) armed with rocket launchers was conducted. The model had unacceptable longitudinal stability characteristics at negative angles of attack in the original design configuration. The addition of a pair of fins mounted in a V arrangement on the propeller shroud resulted in a configuration with acceptable longitudinal stability characteristics. The addition of wing mounted external stores to the modified configuration resulted in a slight reduction in the longitudinal stability. The lateral directional characteristics of the model were generally good, but the model had low directional stability at low angles of attack. Aerodynamic control power was very strong around all three axes.

Phelps, A. E., III↗

Robust, Practical Adaptive Control for Launch Vehicles

A modern mechanization of a classical adaptive control concept is presented with an application to launch vehicle attitude control systems. Due to a rigorous flight certification environment, many adaptive control concepts are infeasible when applied to high-risk aerospace systems; methods of stability analysis are either intractable for high complexity models or cannot be reconciled in light of classical requirements. Furthermore, many adaptive techniques appearing in the literature are not suitable for application to conditionally stable systems with complex flexible-body dynamics, as is often the case with launch vehicles. The present technique is a multiplicative forward loop gain adaptive law similar to that used for the NASA X-15 flight research vehicle. In digital implementation with several novel features, it is well-suited to application on aerodynamically unstable launch vehicles with thrust vector control via augmentation of the baseline attitude/attitude-rate feedback control scheme. The approach is compatible with standard design features of autopilots for launch vehicles, including phase stabilization of lateral bending and slosh via linear filters. In addition, the method of assessing flight control stability via classical gain and phase margins is not affected under reasonable assumptions. The algorithm s ability to recover from certain unstable operating regimes can in fact be understood in terms of frequency-domain criteria. Finally, simulation results are presented that confirm the ability of the algorithm to improve performance and robustness in realistic failure scenarios.

Orr, Jeb. S.↗