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At least 325 records · Page 18

Biomimetics for NASA Langley Research Center: Year 2000 Report of Findings From a Six-Month Survey

This report represents an attempt to see if some of the techniques biological systems use to maximize their efficiency can be applied to the problems NASA faces in aeronautics and space exploration. It includes an internal survey of resources available at NASA Langley Research Center for biomimetics research efforts, an external survey of state of the art in biomimetics covering the Materials, Structures, Aerodynamics, Guidance and Controls areas. The Biomimetics Planning team also included ideas for potential research areas, as well as recommendations on how to implement this new program. This six-month survey was conducted in the second half of 1999.

Siochi, Emilie J.↗

Flow Characterization of the NASA Langley Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel, Test Section 2: Computational Results

This is an abstract for an invited paper at the AIAA Aviation Conference, June 2021. The work described here is part of an effort of coordinated experiments in the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (UPWT) facility at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) and matching CFD simulations. The primary goal of the work is to assess the productivity and true predictive accuracy of CFD, absent any guidance from experiment, in the high supersonic speed range as compared to experiments performed at the NASA LaRC’s UPWT facility. This report concerns CFD simulation of the primary flow-path in the empty wind tunnel, including the settling chamber, nozzle, test section, and some of the tunnel downstream of the test section. The Mach number in the test section ranges from M~2.4 to M~4.6, and the required area ratio variation is achieved by translation of a nozzle block which constricts the area of a loosely S-shaped throat. Flow past protuberances in the settling chamber and into this S-bend throat are predicted by CFD to generate streamwise vorticity that may, or may not, persist through the throat and into the test section as coherent vortices. Some flow conditions are notably unsteady at frequencies well below those of turbulence, due to unsteady separated flow ahead of the nozzle block. The bulk flow moves at velocities ranging from 'walking speed' in the settling chamber to M~4.6 in the test section. Heat transfer to the settling chamber walls and buoyancy are significant at high Mach number. Subtle variations in surface curvature in the nozzle generate Mach waves that propagate into the test section. CFD of the empty tunnel serves two purposes. Firstly, the full-tunnel simulations are used to provide upstream boundary conditions for CFD of vehicle aerodynamics which are generally performed in a domain confined to the wind tunnel test section; these companion studies are addressed in other papers. Secondly, it is a challenging test for CFD to resolve all of the empty tunnel flow phenomena relevant to flow in the test section. It requires a more complete definition of geometry than was originally anticipated. In addition, it requires good spatial and temporal accuracy, and turbulence modeling that performs well on specific phenomena such as corner flows. The boundary conditions and solution algorithms must perform well from incompressible to almost hypersonic speeds. The final state of the pre-test CFD was a product of an iterative self-improvement process. The initial simulations of the empty tunnel were deficient in many respects, but hints to those deficiencies were recognized in the solutions, and remedies were implemented. Possible further improvements will be studied in the post-test phase when comparisons with experimental data are possible. The CFD was performed by five separate collaborative teams using four different flow solvers: FUN3D, Overflow, Star-CCM+ and USM3D. The level of effort of these teams varied significantly, but each made important contributions to the goals of the work. A concerted effort to use uncertainty quantification methods (UQ) in CFD is also a goal of this work. To this end, variations in CFD results due to grid refinement, turbulence modeling, and boundary conditions have been characterized. Code-to-code variation is another means of assessing CFD uncertainty. All CFD solvers predict similarity among the primary flow features; these include the variation of Mach number due to changes in Reynolds number, and the bulk flow angularity due to tunnel-wall curvature. All CFD solvers also predict similar trends in secondary flows, such as the downwash in the side-wall boundary layers. Three of the high-spatial resolution simulations give similar predictions of a complex secondary flow phenomena, streamwise vortices generated in the S-bend throat that persist into the side-wall boundary layers of the test section. Two of the highest-resolution simulations, run with the same turbulence model in different CFD solvers, gave encouragingly similar predictions of a complex tertiary flow phenomenon, small transient "sprites" of upwash flows, resulting from vortices that presumably originate in the separated flow near the leading edge of the nozzle block. While the CFD was done in a "blind pre-test" mode, requests from the experimental team for CFD results pertaining to unsteadiness and total temperature variations in the test section resulted in CFD runs that included a cooled wall in settling chamber. This then led to a change in the standard practice for running the Overflow results, which would not have occurred without this "release" of this experimental information. CFD was also used to guide some measurements. The paper will focus on establishing the consensus among CFD results and understanding differences among those results. Initial findings from the efforts to characterize CFD uncertainty have been done and will be included in the paper.

Robert Edward Childs↗

Computational and Experimental Characterization of the Mach 6 Facility Nozzle Flow for the Enhanced Injection and Mixing Project at NASA Langley Research Center

Computational fluid dynamics analyses and experimental data are presented for the Mach 6 facility nozzle used in the Arc-Heated Scramjet Test Facility for the Enhanced Injection and Mixing Project (EIMP). This project, conducted at the NASA Langley Research Center, aims to investigate supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) fuel injection and mixing physics relevant to flight Mach numbers greater than 8. The EIMP experiments use a two-dimensional Mach 6 facility nozzle to provide the high-speed air simulating the combustor entrance flow of a scramjet engine. Of interest are the physical extent and the thermodynamic properties of the core flow at the nozzle exit plane. The detailed characterization of this flow is obtained from three-dimensional, viscous, Reynolds-averaged simulations. Thermodynamic nonequilibrium effects are also investigated. The simulations are compared with the available experimental data, which includes wall static pressures as well as in-stream static pressure, pitot pressure and total temperature obtained via in-stream probes positioned just downstream of the nozzle exit plane.

Drozda, Tomasz G.↗

Use of the updated NASA Langley radio-controlled drop-model technique for high-alpha studies of the X-29A configuration

This paper presents an overview of the radio-controlled drop-model technique used for low-speed flight dynamics research at the NASA Langley Research Center. The overall test methodology is reviewed and the major elements of the system are discussed including model construction and equipment, the closed-loop control system, and the flight test facility. To illustrate the capabilities of the technique, selected results from an ongoing program to study the high-angle-of-attack flight dynamics of the X-29A configuration are reviewed. Three research areas are highlighted: motion prediction, control system effects, and motion analysis and modeling. Finally, several current upgrades to the overall technique are discussed along with the enhanced test capability that they will provide.

Fratello, David J.↗

Validation of CALIPSO Lidar Observations Using Data From the NASA Langley Airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar

This poster focuses on preliminary comparisons of data from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument on the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) spacecraft with data acquired by the NASA Langley Airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL). A series of 20 aircraft validation flights was conducted from 14 June through 27 September 2006, under both day and night lighting conditions and a variety of aerosol and cloud conditions. This poster presents comparisons of CALIOP measurements of attenuated backscatter at 532 and 1064 nm and depolarization at 532 nm with near coincident measurements from the Airborne HSRL as a preliminary assessment of CALIOP calibration accuracy. Note that the CALIOP data presented here are the pre-release version. These data have known artifacts in calibration which have been corrected in the December 8 CALIPSO data release which was not available at the time the comparisons were conducted for this poster. The HSRL data are also preliminary. No artifacts are known to exist; however, refinements in calibration and algorithms are likely to be implemented before validation comparisons are made final.

Hostetler, Chris↗

Freestream Mach-Number and Temperature Measurement in NASA Langley’s 20-Inch Supersonic Wind Tunnel Using Laser-Induced Thermal Acoustics

We report single-laser-shot (0.3 us) and time-averaged (500 laser shots at 30 Hz repetition rate) measurements of static temperature T and Mach number M in the freestream of NASA Langley’s 20-inch Supersonic Wind Tunnel (SWT), using a nonintrusive optical technique: laser-induced thermal acoustics (LITA). Although the single-shot LITA T measurements show typical standard deviations (SD) of the sample of +- 4% (+- 1-sigma or 68% confidence for random errors), the 1-s averages show SDs of the mean deltaT = +- 0.5 K, or +- 0.3% for flow at T ~ 160 K. The 17-s averages show ± 0.1% SDs of the mean. Both 1-s and 17-s averages agree to within about 1% of SWT’s traditional probe measurements. Additionally, the single-shot LITA M measurements show typical shot-to-shot SDs of the sample of +- 5% (+- 1-sigma), but the 1-s averages indicate 1-sigma SDs of the means deltaM = +- 0.02, or +- 1% for M = 2.0. Extending the time averages to 17 s, SDs of the mean are reduced to about deltaM = +- 0.007, or +- 0.4% (± 1-sigma). The 1-s and 17-s time-averaged LITA-measured Mach numbers also agree with the SWT probe instrumentation to within 1%. Most of the shot-to-shot measurement noise probably arises from the LITA instrument itself (the fundamental limit of Fourier transforming a short-duration data series). Thus the 1-s averages only provide upper limits for the temporal stability of the freestream tunnel flow on 1-s time scales and complement previous work that characterized the SWT spatial uniformity of the flow. They also provide a first noninvasive comparison to the traditional calibrations with physical probes, for both the mean and fluctuating components of the freestream.

Laser-Induced Thermal Acoustics (LITA)↗

Review of fatigue and fracture research at NASA Langley Research Center

Most dynamic components in helicopters are designed with a safe-life constant-amplitude testing approach that has not changed in many years. In contrast, the fatigue methodology in other industries has advanced significantly in the last two decades. Recent research at the NASA Langley Research Center and the U.S. Army Aerostructures Directorate at Langley are reviewed relative to fatigue and fracture design methodology for metallic components. Most of the Langley research was directed towards the damage tolerance design approach, but some work was done that is applicable to the safe-life approach. In the areas of testing, damage tolerance concepts are concentrating on the small-crack effect in crack growth and measurement of crack opening stresses. Tests were conducted to determine the effects of a machining scratch on the fatigue life of a high strength steel. In the area of analysis, work was concentrated on developing a crack closure model that will predict fatigue life under spectrum loading for several different metal alloys including a high strength steel that is often used in the dynamic components of helicopters. Work is also continuing in developing a three-dimensional, finite-element stress analysis for cracked and uncracked isotropic and anisotropic structures. A numerical technique for solving simultaneous equations called the multigrid method is being pursued to enhance the solution schemes in both the finite-element analysis and the boundary element analysis. Finally, a fracture mechanics project involving an elastic-plastic finite element analysis of J-resistance curve is also being pursued.

Everett, Richard A., Jr.↗

Aerothermodynamics and transition in high-speed wind tunnels at NASA Langley

The evolutionary development of subsonic, supersonic, and hypersonic wind tunnels for the study of aerodynamic, aerothermodynamic, and fluid-dynamic characteristics of the flow about models, including transition from laminar to turbulent boundary layers, is discussed. Currently, three supersonic and seven hypersonic wind tunnels are operational at Langley, and two additional tunnels are scheduled to become operational by 1990. In the present work, an effort is made to provide a 'tour'of selected supersonic and hypersonic wind tunnels at NASA-Langley used for aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic testing of models, and to present the evolution of quiet-tunnel technology at this facility over the last decade. It is noted that upgrades to the hypersonic facilities complex are underway in order to provide the high flow quality and improved data accuracy required to calibrate advanced computational fluid-dynamic computer codes. Also to be provided are increased productivity required for configuration development and improved reliability to support major hypersonic programs in an efficient and timely manner.

Beckwith, I. E.↗

Design requirements for the NASA Langley supersonic low-disturbance wind tunnel

The high intensity, high frequency acoustic disturbances that cause large adverse boundary layer transition effects on test models in conventional supersonic wind tunnels consist of finite length wavelets radiating from eddies in the turbulent boundary layers of the wind tunnel walls. NASA Langley has undertaken 'quiet' supersonic tunnel research that demonstrates the ability to maintain laminarity at high unit Reynolds numbers on limited upstream regions of the nozzle wall boundary layers in small, Mach 3.0, 3.5, and 5.0 pilot tunnels. The high level acoustic disturbances are then eliminated, and the transition Reynolds numbers measured on cones approach those for atmospheric flight. Attention is presently given to the design requirements that can be extrapolated from these results for a large wind tunnel facility; high quality air filtering, noise attenuation, nozzle coordinate accuracy, and surface finish, are quantified with pilot tunnel data.

Beckwith, I. E.↗

Advances in Aircraft System Identification at NASA Langley Research Center

Aircraft system identification involves the determination of dynamic models from measured flight data. Recently, the Journal of Aircraft published a special issue in which authors summarized advances in aircraft system identification made at their institutions over the last 20 years. This talk discusses some of those advances made at NASA Langley Research Center. Examples include X-planes, hypersonic and launch vehicles, aeroelastic aircraft and wind tunnel test articles, and subscale demonstrators.

Aircraft System Identification↗

Open Rotor Noise Prediction Methods at NASA Langley- A Technology Review

Open rotors are once again under consideration for propulsion of the future airliners because of their high efficiency. The noise generated by these propulsion systems must meet the stringent noise standards of today to reduce community impact. In this paper we review the open rotor noise prediction methods available at NASA Langley. We discuss three codes called ASSPIN (Advanced Subsonic-Supersonic Propeller Induced Noise), FW - Hpds (Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings with penetrable data surface) and the FSC (Fast Scattering Code). The first two codes are in the time domain and the third code is a frequency domain code. The capabilities of these codes and the input data requirements as well as the output data are presented. Plans for further improvements of these codes are discussed. In particular, a method based on equivalent sources is outlined to get rid of spurious signals in the FW - Hpds code.

Farassat, F.↗

On the Use of Liquid Nitrogen Droplets as Flow Tracers in Cryogenic Flow Facilities at NASA Langley Research Center

The injection of liquid nitrogen droplets to cool the gas temperature in cryogenic wind tunnels is discussed as a method of natural seeding for velocimetry-focused, particle-based, laser diagnostics. Historical observations and issues with seeding are presented for both ground-test facilities of interest in this work at NASA Langley: the 0.3-m Transonic Cryogenic Wind Tunnel (TCT) and the National Transonic Facility (NTF). Recent observations of natural seeding with a Rayleigh scattering instrument are presented in the two facilities, which motivated the purposeful use of a pulse-burst laser system to observe the particles directly with a sequentially operated laser sheet for the first time. Time-resolved image sequences of unevaporated liquid nitrogen droplets were readily acquired for tunnel total temperatures of 200 K and below. The preliminary results promote a discussion on the fitness of these natural particles as flow tracers for either a particle image velocimetry or a particle tracking velocimetry instrument in these high-Reynolds-number facilities.

cryogenic wind tunnels↗

Overview of military technology at NASA Langley

The Langley Research Center began addressing major research topics pertinent to the design of military aircraft under the egis of The National Advisory Council on Aeronautics in 1917, until 1958, when it passed under the control of the newly-instituted NASA research facilities system. A historical account is presented of NASA-Langley's involvement in the experimental investigation of twin-engined jet aircraft nozzle interfairings, thrust reversers, high-efficiency supersonic cruise configurations, high-alpha aerodynamics, air-to-air combat handling qualities, wing/stores flutter suppression, and store carriage and separation characteristics.

Sawyer, Wallace C.↗

Design and Evaluation of Modifications to the NASA Langley Flow Impedance Tube

The need to minimize fan noise radiation from commercial aircraft engine nacelles continues to provide an impetus for developing new acoustic liner concepts. If the full value of such concepts is to be attained, an understanding of grazing flow effects is crucial. Because of this need for improved understanding of grazing flow effects, the NASA Langley Research Center Liner Physics Group has invested a large effort over the past decade into the development of a 2-D finite element method that characterizes wave propagation through a lined duct. The original test section in the Langley Grazing IncidenceTube was used to acquire data needed for implementation of this finite element method. This test section employed a stepper motor-driven axial-traversing bar, embedded in the wall opposite the test liner, to position a flush-mounted microphone at pre-selected locations. Complex acoustic pressure data acquired with this traversing microphone were used to educe the acoustic impedance of test liners using this 2-D finite element method and a local optimization technique. Results acquired in this facility have been extensively reported, and were compared with corresponding results from various U.S. aeroacoustics laboratories in the late 1990 s. Impedance data comparisons acquired from this multi-laboratory study suggested that it would be valuable to incorporate more realistic 3-D aeroacoustic effects into the impedance eduction methodology. This paper provides a description of modifications that have been implemented to facilitate studies of 3-D effects. The two key features of the modified test section are (1) the replacement of the traversing bar and its flush-mounted microphone with an array of 95 fixed-location microphones that are flush-mounted in all four walls of the duct, and (2) the inclusion of a suction device to modify the boundary layer upstream of the lined portion of the duct. The initial results achieved with the modified test section are provided in this report, and a comparison of these results with those achieved using the original test section is used to demonstrate that the data acquisition and analysis with the new test section can be confidently used for impedance eduction.

Jones, Michael G.↗

NASA Langley Aerothermodynamic Ground Tests in Support of the Boundary Layer Transition (BOLT) Flight Experiment

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) has sponsored the Boundary Layer Transition (BOLT) Experiments to investigate hypersonic boundary layer transition on a low-curvature, concave surface with swept leading edges. This paper provides a review of aerothermodynamic ground test contributions by NASA Langley Research Center to the design of the BOLT flight experiment. Several test entries into the Langley Aerothermodynamics Laboratory 20-Inch Mach 6 Air Tunnel are discussed. Global surface heating distributions on subscale BOLT models were measured using either phosphor thermography or infrared thermography at a range of model attitudes and freestream Reynolds numbers. An initial test entry provided the first experimental measurements of transition on the BOLT geometry. A second test entry investigated the effects of distributed surface roughness along the swept leading edges. A third test entry provided an evaluation of the aeroheating environment on the aerodynamic fairings and a portion of the flight vehicle downstream of the BOLT experiment. These entries were intended to support the development and design of flight hardware and instrumentation for the BOLT flight experiment.

Elizabeth F Rieken↗

NASA-Langley Research Center's participation in a round-robin comparison between some current crack-propagation prediction methods

A round-robin study was conducted which evaluated and compared different methods currently in practice for predicting crack growth in surface-cracked specimens. This report describes the prediction methods used by the Fracture Mechanics Engineering Section, at NASA-Langley Research Center, and presents a comparison between predicted crack growth and crack growth observed in laboratory experiments. For tests at higher stress levels, the correlation between predicted and experimentally determined crack growth was generally quite good. For tests at lower stress levels, the predicted number of cycles to reach a given crack length was consistently higher than the experimentally determined number of cycles. This consistent overestimation of the number of cycles could have resulted from a lack of definition of crack-growth data at low values of the stress intensity range. Generally, the predicted critical flaw sizes were smaller than the experimentally determined critical flaw sizes. This underestimation probably resulted from using plane-strain fracture toughness values to predict failure rather than the more appropriate values based on maximum load.

Hudson, C. M.↗

Acoustic and Performance Measurements Obtained in the NASA Langley Small Hover Anechoic Chamber

The emergence of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) vehicles has motivated the need to acoustically characterize the rotors found on these vehicle platforms. Hover chamber tests of small rotors are beneficial in assessing the noise impact of UAS, and potentially larger AAM vehicles. Various experiments have been conducted in the NASA Langley Small Hover Anechoic Chamber (SHAC), formerly known as the Small Anechoic Jet Facility (SAJF), in order to investigate the noise and performance of small rotors. One of these tests was that of an “ideally twisted rotor”, which was designed in order to simplify the theoretical rotor inflow for a target thrust condition in hover. This rotor was fabricated using state-of-the-art rapid prototyping and tested in the SHAC. Aerodynamic load and acoustic data were acquired across a range of rotation rates and rotor collective settings. Both tonal and broadband components were identified in the acoustic data, with broadband noise being a prominent contributor to the overall rotor system noise.

Nicole Pettingill↗

NASA Langley and NLR Research of Distributed Air/Ground Traffic Management

Distributed Air/Ground Traffic Management (DAG-TM) is a concept of future air traffic operations that proposes to distribute information, decision-making authority, and responsibility among flight crews, the air traffic service provider, and aeronautical operational control organizations. This paper provides an overview and status of DAG-TM research at NASA Langley Research Center and the National Aerospace Laboratory of The Netherlands. Specific objectives of the research are to evaluate the technical and operational feasibility of the autonomous airborne component of DAG-TM, which is founded on the operational paradigm of free flight. The paper includes an overview of research approaches, the airborne technologies under development, and a summary of experimental investigations and findings to date. Although research is not yet complete, these findings indicate that free flight is feasible and will significantly enhance system capacity and safety. While free flight cannot alone resolve the complex issues faced by those modernizing the global airspace, it should be considered an essential part of a comprehensive air traffic management modernization activity.

Ballin, Mark G.↗