Problems of flow simulation in wind tunnels.
Flow simulation on wind tunnel test models for aerodynamic characteristics of aircraft design, discussing boundary layer and external flow coupling
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Flow simulation on wind tunnel test models for aerodynamic characteristics of aircraft design, discussing boundary layer and external flow coupling
Transonic wind tunnel tests of longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of GD/Convair B8B space shuttle booster model
Wind tunnel tests of a 0.0405 scale model of the -1404A/B configuration of the Space Shuttle Vehicle Orbiter are presented. Pressure loads data were obtained from the orbiter in the landing configuration in the presence of the ground for structural strength analysis. This was accomplished by locating as many as 30 static pressure bugs at various locations on external model surfaces as each configuration was tested. A complete pressure loads survey was generated for each configuration by combining data from all bug locations, and these loads are described for the fuselage, wing, vertical tail, and landing gear doors. Aerodynamic force data was measured by a six component internal strain gage balance. This data was recorded to correct model angles of attack and sideslip for sting and balance deflections and to determine the aerodynamic effects of landing gear extension. All testing was conducted at a Mach number of 0.165 and a Reynolds number of 1.2 million per foot. Photographs of test configurations are shown.
Aerodynamic tests in wind tunnels are jeopardized by the lateral limitations of the throat. This influence expands with increasing size of the model in proportion to the cross-section of the throat. Wall interference of this type can be avoided by giving the wall the form of a stream surface that would be identical to the one observed during free flight. To solve this problem, flexible walls that can adapt to every contour of surface flow are needed.
Domestic and foreign wind tunnel facilities are enumerated and their technical parameters are described. Data pertinent to managers and engineers are presented. Facilities judged comparable in testing capability are noted and grouped together. Several comprehensive cross-indexes and charts are included.
Many open jet wind tunnels experience pulsations of the flow which are typically characterized by periodic low frequency velocity and pressure variations. One method of reducing these fluctuations is to install vanes around the perimeter of the jet exit to protrude into the flow. Although these vanes were shown to be effective in reducing the fluctuation content, they can also increase the test section background noise level. The results of an experimental acoustic program in the Langley 4- by 7-Meter Tunnel is presented which evaluates the effect on tunnel background noise of such modifications to the jet exit nozzle. Noise levels for the baseline tunnel configuration are compared with those for three jet exit nozzle modifications, including an enhanced noise reduction configuration that minimizes the effect of the vanes on the background noise. Although the noise levels for this modified vane configuration were comparable to baseline tunnel background noise levels in this facility, installation of these modified vanes in an acoustic tunnel may be of concern because the noise levels for the vanes could be well above background noise levels in a quiet facility.
Recently obtained hypersonic wind tunnel results are presented which resolve the principal uncertainty associated with the use of thin film gages on substrates of the glass ceramic substance designated MACOR.THe uncertainty is with respect to both MACOR's thermal properties and the variation of these properties with temperature. The relatively large influence of shock strength on stagnation point heating at low Reynolds numbers is illustrated.
Four hypersonic wind tunnel nozzles ranging in Mach number from 6 to 17 are designed with the method of characteristics and boundary layer approach (MOC/BL) and analyzed with a Navier-Stokes solver. Limitations of the MOC/BL approach when applied to thick high speed boundary layers with non-zero normal pressure gradients are investigated. Working gases include ideal air, thermally perfect nitrogen and virial CF4. Agreement between the design conditions and Navier-Stokes solutions for ideal air at Mach 6 is good. Thermally perfect nitrogen showed poor agreement at Mach 13.5 and Mach 17. Navier-Stokes solutions for CF4 are not obtained, but comparison of the effects of low gamma to those of high Mach number suggests that the Navier-Stokes solution would not compare well with design.
Wind tunnel studies in which analog rock materials are being abraded under controlled conditions are being pursued. Here, we report on the setting up of the experiments and targets, calibration runs, and high speed video analyses of particle impacts onto angled faces. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.
Wind-tunnel tests of a full-scale model of the Republic XF-91 airplane were conducted to determine the distribution of pressure over the external wing fuel tank installation and over the vee tail and ventral fin. The data were obtained for a range of angles of attack and sideslip and elerudder deflection angles; the presentation is in tabular form.
Wind-tunnel tests were conducted to determine the longitudinal stability characteristics of a full-scale Northrop XSSM-A-3 missile. Various wing modifications were investigated in an effort to provide a configuration that would maintain longitudinal stability to lift coefficients necessary for landing the missile during flight tests. The results of the tests led to the choice of a wing with an increased leading-edge radius. A short discussion of the results is presented, but no analysis of the data has been made in order to make the data available as soon as possible.
A series of wind tunnel tests have been conducted to evaluate a multi-camera videogrammetric system designed to measure model attitude in hypersonic facilities. The technique utilizes processed video data and photogrammetric principles for point tracking to compute model position including pitch, roll and yaw. A discussion of the constraints encountered during the design, and a review of the measurement results obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) 31-Inch Mach 10 tunnel are presented.
Lewis 9 by 15 foot V/STOL wind tunnel in return leg of supersonic wind tunnel
Results of wind tunnel tests on a 0.030-scale model of the integrated space shuttle vehicle configuration 5 are presented. Testing was conducted in the NASA Ames Research Center 11 x 11 foot leg of the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel to investigate pressure distributions for airloads analyses at Mach numbers from 0.9 through 1.4. Angles of attack and sideslip were varied from -6 to +6 degrees.
A method of in-flight surface flow visualization similar to wind-tunnel-model oil flows is described for cases where photo-chase planes or onboard photography are not practical. This method, used on an F-18 aircraft in flight at high angles of attack, clearly showed surface flow streamlines in the fuselage forebody. Vortex separation and reattachment lines were identified with this method and documented using postflight photography. Surface flow angles measured at the 90 and 270 degrees meridians show excellent agreement with the wind tunnel data for a pointed tangent ogive with an aspect ratio of 3.5. The separation and reattachment line locations were qualitatively similar to the F-18 wind-tunnel-model oil flows but neither the laminar separation bubble nor the boundary-layer transition on the wind tunnel model were evident in the flight surface flows. The separation and reattachment line locations were in fair agreement with the wind tunnel data for the 3.5 ogive. The elliptical forebody shape of the F-18 caused the primary separation lines to move toward the leeward meridian. Little effect of angle of attack on the separation locations was noted for the range reported.
This paper examines the static aeroelastic modeling of a flexible wind tunnel model equipped with a novel control effector known as the Variable Camber Continuous Trailing Edge Flap (VCCTEF) system. The wind tunnel model is an approximately 10 percent sub-scale version of a wing designed to be equipped on a commerical transport aircraft such as the full-scale NASA Generic Transport Model (GTM). The structure of the model is made highly flexible such that a 10 percent of semi-span wing tip deflection is expected at a design lift condition, and a representation of the VCCTEF concept is incorporated on the model. Static aeroelastic modeling is conducted by using a representative single beam structural finite-element model coupled to a vortex-lattice aerodynamic model. The resulting aeroelastic model of the flexible wind tunnel model is compared against experimental wind tunnel test results from the actual model tested at the University of Washington Aeronautical Laboratory (UWAL). Comparison cases are made using reference and VICON measurements of VCCTEF flap deflections from the wind tunnel test data, and percent errors between the lift curve parameters are presented. The results show up to a maximum percent of error of <10% with regards to lift curve slope values between the aeroelastic model and the UWAL test data. The agreement of lift curve slope values from the aeroelastic model and experimental test results serves as validation for the coupled vortex-lattice finite-element static aeroelastic model.
The noise of advanced high speed propeller models measured in the NASA 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel has been compared with model propeller noise measured in another tunnel and with full-scale propeller noise measured in flight. Good agreement was obtained for the noise of a model counterrotation propeller tested in the 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel and in the acoustically treated test section of the Boeing Transonic Wind Tunnel. This good agreement indicates the relative validity of taking cruise noise data on a plate in the 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel compared with the free-field method in the Boeing tunnel. Good agreement was also obtained for both single rotation and counter-rotation model noise comparisons with full-scale propeller noise in flight. The good scale model to full-scale comparisons indicate both the validity of the 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel data and the ability to scale to full size. Boundary layer refraction on the plate provides a limitation to the measurement of forward arc noise in the 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel at the higher harmonics of the blade passing tone. The use of a validated boundary layer refraction model to adjust the data could remove this limitation.
The noise of advanced high speed propeller models measured in the NASA 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel has been compared with model propeller noise measured in another tunnel and with full-scale propeller noise measured in flight. Good agreement was obtained for the noise of a model counterrotation propeller tested in the 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel and in the acoustically treated test section of the Boeing Transonic Wind Tunnel. This good agreement indicates the relative validity of taking cruise noise data on a plate in the 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel compared with the free-field method in the Boeing tunnel. Good agreement was also obtained for both single rotation and counter-rotation model noise comparisons with full-scale propeller noise in flight. The good scale model to full-scale comparisons indicate both the validity of the 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel data and the ability to scale to full size. Boundary layer refraction on the plate provides a limitation to the measurement of forward arc noise in the 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel at the higher harmonics of the blade passing tone. The sue of a validated boundary layer refraction model to adjust the data could remove this limitation.