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Results for “remotely piloted vehicles”

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 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1979

Evaluation of a long-endurance-surveillance remotely-piloted vehicle with and without laminar flow control

Two aircraft were evaluated, using a derated TF34-GE-100 turbofan engine one with laminar flow control (LFC) and one without. The mission of the remotely piloted vehicles (RPV) is one of high-altitude loiter at maximum endurance. With the LFC system maximum mission time increased by 6.7 percent, L/D in the loiter phase improved 14.2 percent, and the minimum parasite drag of the wing was reduced by 65 percent resulting in a 37 percent reduction for the total airplane. Except for the minimum parasite drag of the wing, the preceding benefits include the offsetting effects of weight increase, suction power requirements, and drag of the wing-mounted suction pods. In a supplementary study using a scaled-down, rather than derated, version of the engine, on the LFC configuration, a 17.6 percent increase in mission time over the airplane without LFC and an incremental time increase of 10.2 percent over the LFC airplane with derated engine were attained. This improvement was due principally to reductions in both weight and drag of the scaled engine.

Turriziani, R. V.↗
NASA NTRS1991

NASA advanced aeronautics design solar powered remotely piloted vehicle

Environmental problems such as the depletion of the ozone layer and air pollution demand a change in traditional means of propulsion that is sensitive to the ecology. Solar powered propulsion is a favorable alternative that is both ecologically harmless as well as cost effective. Integration of solar energy into designs ranging from futuristic vehicles to heating is beneficial to society. The design and construction of a Multi-Purpose Remotely Piloted Vehicle (MPRPV) seeks to verify the feasibility of utilizing solar propulsion as a primary fuel source. This task has been a year long effort by a group of ten students, divided into five teams, each dealing with different aspects of the design. The aircraft was designed to take-off, climb to the design altitude, fly in a sustained figure-eight flight path, and cruise for approximately one hour. This mission requires flight at Reynolds numbers between 150,000 and 200,000 and demands special considerations in the aerodynamic design in order to achieve flight in this regime. Optimal performance requires a light weight configuration with both structural integrity and maximum power availability. The structure design and choice of solar cells for the propulsion was governed by the weight, efficiency, and cost considerations. The final design is a MPRPV weighting 35 N which cruises 7 m/s at the design altitude of 50 m. The configuration includes a wing composed of balsa and foam NACA 6409 airfoil sections and carbon fiber spars, a tail of similar construction, and a truss structure fuselage. The propulsion system consists of 98 10 percent efficient solar cells donated by Mobil Solar, a NiCad battery for energy storage, and a folding propeller regulated by a lightweight and efficient control system. The airfoils and propeller chosen for the design were research and tested during the design process.

Elario, David S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Wind-tunnel and flight-test investigation of the exdrone remotely piloted vehicle configuration

At the request of the United States Marine Corps, an exploratory wind-tunnel and flight test investigation was conducted by the NASA Langley Research Center to improve the stability, controllability, and general flight characteristics of the Marine Corps Exdrone RPV (Remotely Piloted Vehicle) configuration. Static wind tunnel tests were conducted to identify and improve the stability and control characteristics of the vehicle. The wind-tunnel test resulted in several configuration modifications which included increased elevator area, increased vertical tail area and moment arm, increased rudder area and aileron area, the addition of vertical wing-tip fins, and the addition of leading-edge droops on the outboard wing panel to improve the stall departure resistance. Flight tests of the modified configuration were conducted at the NASA Plum Tree Test Site to provide a qualitative evaluation of the flight characteristics of the modified configuration.

Yip, Long P.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Autoreturn Function for a Remotely Piloted Vehicle

An algorithm to maneuver an air vehicle to intercept and follow a pre-planned path while remaining within an arbitrary, closed boundary is outlined. The immediate application is for an autonomous lost-link return-to-runway function for a remotely piloted vehicle being developed by NASA, but other applications are hypothesized. Results of implementation in a flight simulator are given.

McMinn, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Static Wind-Tunnel and Radio-Controlled Flight Test Investigation of a Remotely Piloted Vehicle Having a Delta Wing Planform

At the request of the United States Marine Corps, an exploratory wind-tunnel and flight test investigation was conducted by the Flight Dynamics Branch at the NASA Langley Research Center to improve the stability, controllability, and general flight characteristics of the Marine Corps Exdrone RPV (Remotely Piloted Vehicle) configuration. Static wind tunnel tests were conducted in the Langley 12 foot Low Speed Wind Tunnel to identify and improve the stability and control characteristics of the vehicle. The wind tunnel test resulted in several configuration modifications which included increased elevator size, increased vertical tail size and tail moment arm, increased rudder size and aileron size, the addition of vertical wing tip fins, and the addition of leading-edge droops on the outboard wing panel to improve stall departure resistance. Flight tests of the modified configuration were conducted at the NASA Plum Tree Test Site to provide a qualitative evaluation of the flight characteristics of the modified configuration.

Yip, Long P.↗
NASA NTRS1975

A preliminary investigation of remotely piloted vehicles for airframe noise research

Aircraft noise encountered in the community is caused predominantly by the aircraft engines. However, expected advances in engine noise technology combined with recent experimental evidence indicate that airframe (nonpropulsive) noise, may be a significant aircraft noise component in the future. Thus, methods for research into control of this type of noise are being evaluated and a technique based on the remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) concept appears to overcome some of the difficulties encountered with other test techniques. In particular, this paper presents sample experimental data, gathered during a preliminary RPV experiment, which illustrate the high signal-to-noise ratio attainable with this technique. Further, since the data are recorded as transients or nonstationary signals, a method of measurement and analysis is presented which increases statistical confidence in the results.

Fratello, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Orbital maneuvering vehicle remote piloting operations

The remote piloting of spacecraft is discussed using the orbital maneuvering vehicle (OMV) as a case in point. Some challenges to remotely piloted operations are listed. Approaches to solving operation problems are discussed for the two major participants in the loop tasks involved. These tasks are the remotely piloted docking task, and the task of ensuring that the rendezvous is successfully completed. Resulting changes to the OMV system are outlined. The outcome of these changes and the approaches taken in the OMV program are presented. Comparisons are drawn between philosophies and techniques used for Space Transportation System rendezvous and proximity operations, and those currently envisioned for OMV. Finally, a few of the lessons learned are summarized.

Veres, Michael L.↗
NASA NTRS2010

High Speed Lunar Navigation for Crewed and Remotely Piloted Vehicles

Increased navigation speed is desirable for lunar rovers, whether autonomous, crewed or remotely operated, but is hampered by the low gravity, high contrast lighting and rough terrain. We describe lidar based navigation system deployed on NASA's K10 autonomous rover and to increase the terrain hazard situational awareness of the Lunar Electric Rover crew.

Pedersen, L.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Remotely Piloted Vehicles for Experimental Flight Control Testing

A successful flight test and training campaign of the NASA Flying Controls Testbed was conducted at Naval Outlying Field, Webster Field, MD during 2008. Both the prop and jet-powered versions of the subscale, remotely piloted testbeds were used to test representative experimental flight controllers. These testbeds were developed by the Subsonic Fixed Wing Project s emphasis on new flight test techniques. The Subsonic Fixed Wing Project is under the Fundamental Aeronautics Program of NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD). The purpose of these testbeds is to quickly and inexpensively evaluate advanced concepts and experimental flight controls, with applications to adaptive control, system identification, novel control effectors, correlation of subscale flight tests with wind tunnel results, and autonomous operations. Flight tests and operator training were conducted during four separate series of tests during April, May, June and August 2008. Experimental controllers were engaged and disengaged during fully autonomous flight in the designated test area. Flaps and landing gear were deployed by commands from the ground control station as unanticipated disturbances. The flight tests were performed NASA personnel with support from the Maritime Unmanned Development and Operations (MUDO) team of the Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division

Motter, Mark A.↗
NASA NTRS1975

A g-load display for remotely piloted vehicles and other aircraft that are subject to maneuvering constraints

The absence of kinesthetic cues deprives RPV pilots of essential feedback, particularly during high speed maneuvers. A display was designed to facilitate pilot control of g loads and to permit an immediate indication of g-load constraint violations. The display embodies all the motion vector components that contribute to maneuvering accelerations. In one mode of operation, the device displays the components of angular velocity as variable length pointers emanating from the center of a circle whose radius is determined by the linear velocity of the vehicle. An alternative mode of operation permits the pilot to select a display in which g loads are presented directly as variable length pointers emanating from the center of a circle whose radius is again determined by the linear velocity of the vehicle. Each circle defines a safe region of operation, and penetration of the circumference of the appropriate circle by a pointer implies that the structural design load was exceeded.

Howard, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Rendezvous and docking with remote piloted vehicles

The man-in-the-loop control system requirements for the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV) are examined. Since many similarities exist between the Teleoperator Retrieval System (TRS) and the unfolding OMV concept, a review of the TRS control system baseline along with selected design trades which led to that baseline are discussed. TRS program issues relevant to the man-in-the-loop control system design include thruster size, communication delays and TV bandwidth compression, range/range rate radar, tumbling targets, shimmed docking interface, and control system definition. A TRS vs. OMV simulation comparative study is summarized, and the major issues currently facing the control system designer on OMV are discussed.

Micheal, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1987

An airfoil designed for a high-altitude, long endurance remotely piloted vehicle

The preliminary design of high-altitude, long-endurance RPVs is complicated by the paucity of data concerning airfoils with high lift coefficients at low Re numbers. Attention is presently given to a generic airfoil of this type for the design Re number range of 700,000 to 2 million. Low drag is predicted for lift coefficients from 0.4 (for high speed dashes) to 1.5 (for maximum mission endurance). The airfoil is such that its maximum lift coefficient, at 1.8, is unaffected by the surface contamination that would be encountered during takeoffs and landings in rain or over insect-infested runways.

Maughmer, Mark D.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The design of an airfoil for a high-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted vehicle

Airfoil design efforts are studied. The importance of integrating airfoil and aircraft designs was demonstrated. Realistic airfoil data was provided to aid future high altitude, long endurance aircraft preliminary design. Test cases were developed for further validation of the Eppler program. Boundary layer, not pressure distribution or shape, was designed. Substantial improvement was achieved in vehicle performance through mission specific airfoil designed utilizing the multipoint capability of the Eppler program.

Maughmer, Mark D.↗
NASA NTRS2011

A Piloted Evaluation of Damage Accommodating Flight Control Using a Remotely Piloted Vehicle

Toward the goal of reducing the fatal accident rate of large transport airplanes due to loss of control, the NASA Aviation Safety Program has conducted research into flight control technologies that can provide resilient control of airplanes under adverse flight conditions, including damage and failure. As part of the safety program s Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control Project, the NASA Airborne Subscale Transport Aircraft Research system was designed to address the challenges associated with the safe and efficient subscale flight testing of research control laws under adverse flight conditions. This paper presents the results of a series of pilot evaluations of several flight control algorithms used during an offset-to-landing task conducted at altitude. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the ability of various flight control technologies to prevent loss of control as stability and control characteristics were degraded. During the course of 8 research flights, data were recorded while one task was repeatedly executed by a single evaluation pilot. Two generic failures, which degraded stability and control characteristics, were simulated inflight for each of the 9 different flight control laws that were tested. The flight control laws included three different adaptive control methodologies, several linear multivariable designs, a linear robust design, a linear stability augmentation system, and a direct open-loop control mode. Based on pilot Cooper-Harper Ratings obtained for this test, the adaptive flight control laws provided the greatest overall benefit for the stability and control degradation scenarios that were considered. Also, all controllers tested provided a significant improvement in handling qualities over the direct open-loop control mode.

Cunningham, Kevin↗
NASA NTRS1975

Development of a remote digital augmentation system and application to a remotely piloted research vehicle

A cost-effective approach to flight testing advanced control concepts with remotely piloted vehicles is described. The approach utilizes a ground based digital computer coupled to the remotely piloted vehicle's motion sensors and control surface actuators through telemetry links to provide high bandwidth feedback control. The system was applied to the control of an unmanned 3/8-scale model of the F-15 airplane. The model was remotely augmented; that is, the F-15 mechanical and control augmentation flight control systems were simulated by the ground-based computer, rather than being in the vehicle itself. The results of flight tests of the model at high angles of attack are discussed.

Edwards, J. W.↗