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At least 415 records · Page 23

A Magnetic Bumper-Tether System Using ZFC Y123

We consider the use of magnetic forces in a bumper system, to soften docking procedures. We investigate a system which exhibits no magnetic field except during the docking process, which, if desired, can automatically tether two craft together, and which provides lateral stability during docking. A system composed of zero field cooled Y(1.7)Ba2Cu3O(7-delta) (Y123) tiles and electromagnets is proposed. The Y123 high temperature superconductor (HTS) is mounted on one craft, and the electromagnet on the other. Results of small prototype laboratory experiments are reported. The electromagnet has, for convenience, been replaced by a permanent SmCo ferromagnet in these measurements. When the two craft approach, a mirror image of the ferromagnet is induced in the Y123, and a repulsive bumper force, F(sub B), results. F(sub B) is velocity dependent, and increases with v. For presently available HTS materials, bumper pressure of approx. 3.7 N/cm(exp 2) is achieved using SmCo. This extrapolates to approx. 18 N/cm(exp 2) for an electromagnet, or a force of up to 20 tons for a 1 m(exp 2) system. After reaching a minimum distance of approach, the two colliding craft begin to separate. However, the consequent change of SmCo magnetic field at the Y123 results in a reversal of current in the Y123 so that the Y123 is attractive to the SmCo. The attractive (tether) force, F(sub T), is a function of R = B(sub Fe)/B(sub t, max), where B(sub Fe) is the field at the surface of the ferromagnet, and B(sub t, max) is the maximum trapped field of the Y123, i.e., the trapped field in the so-called critical state. For R greater than or equal to 2, F(sub T) saturates at a value comparable to F(sub B). For a range of initial approach velocities the two craft are tethered following the bumper sequence. Most of the kinetic energy of the collision is first converted to magnetic field energy in the Y123, and then into heat via the creep mechanism. About 15% of the work done against magnetic forces during collision remains stored as magnetic energy after 1 hour. Experiments have also been conducted on the spatial range of the bumper force for arrays of HTS tiles. For a single HTS tile approx. 2 cm in diameter, the range of F(sub B) is approx. l cm. For a l m(exp 2) array the range of F(sub B) will be circa 50 cm.

Weinstein, Roy↗

Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Canard and an Outboard-Tail Airplane Model at High Subsonic Speeds

An investigation has been made in the Langley high-speed 7- by 10-foot tunnel through a range of Mach numbers from 0.60 to 0.95 of the static longitudinal and lateral stability and control characteristics of a canard airplane configuration and an outboard-tail configuration. The canard model had a twisted wing with approximately 67 deg of sweepback and an aspect ratio of 2.91 and was tested with three trapezoidal canard surfaces having ratios of exposed area to wing area of 0.032, 0.076, and 0.121. The canard model had a single body-mounted vertical tail. The outboard-tail model had its horizontal- and vertical-tail surfaces mounted on slender bodies attached to the wing tips and located to the rear and outboard of the 67 deg sweptback wing of aspect ratio 1.00. The data, which are presented with limited analysis, provide information at high subsonic speeds on these two types of high-speed airplanes which have previously been tested at supersonic speeds and reported in NACA RM L58BO7 and NACA RM L58E20.

Fournier, Paul G.↗

An Investigation of a 0.05-Scale Model of the XSM-64A Navaho Missile and Booster: Force Study at Mach Numbers from 1.77 to 3.51 - Part 1

An investigation has been conducted in the Langley Unitary Plan wind tunnel to determine the aerodynamic loads and the static longitudinal and lateral stability of a 0.05-scale model of the XSM-64A Navaho missile and booster and its various components. Tests were conducted through a Mach number range of 1.77 to 3.51 with a corresponding Reynolds number range of 2.4 x 10(exp 6) to 2.9 x 10(exp 6). Results are presented for an angle-of-attack range of -8 deg to 4 deg for the missile-booster combination and -10 deg to 10 deg for the missile-alone configuration. Tests for both configurations were conducted through an angle-of-sideslip range of -8 deg to 8 deg. Also presented are some effects on the model characteristics of the deflection of various components including canard, tip aileron, vertical stabilizer, speed brakes, and booster pitch and yaw thrust chambers. The various components on which loads were measured include the wing, tip aileron, rudder, booster, booster separating surface, booster fin, and booster yaw and pitch thrust chambers. These data are presented without analysis.

Church, James D.↗

Wind-Tunnel Investigation of a Small-Scale Model of an Aerial Vehicle Supported by Tilting Ducted Fans

A wind-tunnel investigation has been made to study the static longitudinal and lateral stability characteristics of a simplified aerial vehicle supported by ducted fans that tilt relative to the airframe. The ducts were in a triangular arrangement with one duct in front and two at the rear in order to minimize the influence of the downwash of the front duct on the rear ducts. The results of the investigation were compared with those of a similar investigation for a tandem two-duct arrangement in which the ducts were fixed (rather than tiltable) relative to the airframe, since the three-duct configuration had been devised in an attempt to avoid some of the deficiencies of the tandem fixed-duct configuration. The results of the investigation indicated that the tilting-duct arrangement had less noseup pitching moment for a given forward speed than the tandem fixed-duct arrangement. The model had less angle-of-attack instability than the tandem fixed-duct arrangement. The model was directionally unstable but had a positive dihedral effect throughout the test speed range.

Smith, Charles C., Jr.↗

Subsonic Aerodynamic Characteristics of an Airplane Configuration with a 63 deg Sweptback Wing and Twin-Boom Tails

A wind-tunnel investigation has been conducted to determine the effects of an unconventional tail arrangement on the subsonic static longitudinal and lateral stability characteristics of a model having a 63 deg sweptback wing of aspect ratio 3.5 and a fuselage. Tail booms, extending rearward from approximately the midsemispan of each wing panel, supported independent tail assemblies well outboard of the usual position at the rear of the fuselage. The horizontal-tail surfaces had the leading edge swept back 45 deg and an aspect ratio of 2.4. The vertical tail surfaces were geometrically similar to one panel of the horizontal tail. For comparative purposes, the wing-body combination was also tested with conventional fuselage-mounted tail surfaces. The wind-tunnel tests were conducted at Mach numbers from 0.25 to 0.95 with a Reynolds number of 2,000,000, at a Mach number of 0.46 with a Reynolds number of 3,500,000, and at a Mach number of 0.20 with a Reynolds number of 7,000,000. The results of the investigation indicate that longitudinal stability existed to considerably higher lift coefficients for the outboard tail configuration than for the configuration with conventional tail. Wing fences were necessary with both configurations for the elimination of sudden changes in longitudinal stability at lift coefficients between 0.3 and 0.5. Sideslip angles up to 15 deg had only small effects upon the pitching-moment characteristics of the outboard tail configuration. There was an increase in the directional stability for the outboard tail configuration at the higher angles of attack as opposed to a decrease for the conventional tail configuration at most of the Mach numbers and Reynolds numbers of this investigation. The dihedral effect increased rapidly with increasing angle of attack for both the outboard and the conventional tail configurations but the increase was greater for the outboard tail configuration. The data indicate that the outboard tail is an effective roll control.

Savage, Howard F.↗

Transonic Aerodynamic Characteristics of a 45 deg Swept Wing Fuselage Model with a Finned and Unfinned Body Pylon Mounted Beneath the Fuselage or Wing, Including Measurements of Body Loads

An investigation of a model of a standard size body in combination with a representative 45 deg swept-wing-fuselage model has been conducted in the Langley 8-foot transonic pressure tunnel over a Mach number range from 0.80 to 1.43. The body, with a fineness ratio of 8.5, was tested with and without fins, and was pylon-mounted beneath the fuselage or wing. Force measurements were obtained on the wing-fuselage model with and without the body, for an angle-of-attack range from -2 deg to approximately 12 deg and an angle-of-sideslip range from -8 deg to 8 deg. In addition, body loads were measured over the same angle-of-attack and angle-of-sideslip range. The Reynolds number for the investigation, based on the wing mean aerodynamic chord, varied from 1.85 x 10(exp 6) to 2.85 x 10(exp 6). The addition of the body beneath the fuselage or the wing increased the drag coefficient of the complete model over the Mach number range tested. On the basis of the drag increase per body, the under-fuselage position was the more favorable. Furthermore, the bodies tended to increase the lateral stability of the complete model. The variation of body loads with angle of attack for the unfinned bodies was generally small and linear over the Mach number range tested with the addition of fins causing large increases in the rates of change of normal-force coefficient and nose-down pitching-moment coefficient. The variation of body side-force coefficient with sideslip for the unfinned body beneath the fuselage was at least twice as large as the variation of this load for the unfinned body beneath the wing. The addition of fins to the body beneath either the fuselage or the wing approximately doubled the rate of change of body side-force coefficient with sideslip. Furthermore, the variation of body side-force coefficient with sideslip for the body beneath the wing was at least twice as large as the variation of this load with angle of attack.

Wornom, Dewey E.↗

Single Bubble Sonoluminescence in Low Gravity and Optical Radiation Pressure Positioning of the Bubble

Several groups of researchers have demonstrated that high frequency sound in water may be used to cause the regular repeated compression and luminescence of a small bubble of gas in a flask. The phenomenon is known as single bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL). It is potentially important because light emitted by the bubble appears to be associated with a significant concentration of energy within the volume of the bubble. Unfortunately, the detailed physical mechanisms causing the radiation of light by oscillating bubbles are poorly understood and there is some evidence that carrying out experiments in a weightless environment may provide helpful clues. In addition, the radiation pressure of laser beams on the bubble may provide a way of simulating weightless experiments in the laboratory. The standard model of SBSL attributes the light emission to heating within the bubble by a spherically imploding shock wave to achieve temperatures of 50,000 K or greater. In an alternative model, the emission is attributed to the impact of a jet of water which is required to span the bubble and the formation of the jet is linked to the buoyancy of the bubble. The coupling between buoyancy and jet formation is a consequence of the displacement of the bubble from a velocity node (pressure antinode) of the standing acoustic wave that drives the radial bubble oscillations. One objective of this grant is to understand SBSL emission in reduced buoyancy on KC-135 parabolic flights. To optimize the design of those experiments and for other reasons which will help resolve the role of buoyancy, laboratory experiments are planned in simulated low gravity in which the radiation pressure of laser light will be used to position the bubble at the acoustic velocity node of the ultrasonic standing wave. Laser light will also be used to push the bubble away from the velocity node, increasing the effective buoyancy. The original experiments on the optical levitation and radiation pressure on bubbles in water by Unger and Marston noted above were carried out using a continuous wave (CW) beam of an Argon laser. For lateral stability the beam had a intensity minimum along its axis. Calculations of the optical radiation force on an SBSL bubble indicate that ion laser technology is a poor choice for providing the magnitude of the average optical radiation force required. Consequently it is necessary to examine various diode-pumped solid state laser technologies. The approach for this part of the research will be to achieve optical levitation of a quiescent bubble based on contemporary laser technology and then to strobe the laser synchronously with the SBSL bubble oscillations.

Thiessen, D. B.↗

Free-To-Roll Analysis of Abrupt Wing Stall on Military Aircraft at Transonic Speeds

Transonic free-to-roll and static wind tunnel tests for four military aircraft - the AV-8B, the F/A-18C, the preproduction F/A-18E, and the F-16C - have been analyzed. These tests were conducted in the NASA Langley 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel as a part of the NASA/Navy/Air Force Abrupt Wing Stall Program. The objectives were to evaluate the utility of the free-to-roll test technique as a tool for predicting areas of significant uncommanded lateral motions and for gaining insight into the wing-drop and wing-rock behavior of military aircraft at transonic conditions. The analysis indicated that the free-to-roll results had good agreement with flight data on all four models. A wide range of motions - limit cycle wing rock, occasional and frequent damped wing drop/rock and wing rock divergence - were observed. The analysis shows the effects that the static and dynamic lateral stability can have on the wing drop/rock behavior. In addition, a free-to-roll figure of merit was developed to assist in the interpretation of results and assessment of the severity of the motions.

Owens, D. Bruce↗

Aerodynamic Parameter Estimation for the X-43A (Hyper-X) from Flight Data

Aerodynamic parameters were estimated based on flight data from the third flight of the X-43A hypersonic research vehicle, also called Hyper-X. Maneuvers were flown using multiple orthogonal phase-optimized sweep inputs applied as simultaneous control surface perturbations at Mach 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, and 3 during the vehicle descent. Aerodynamic parameters, consisting of non-dimensional longitudinal and lateral stability and control derivatives, were estimated from flight data at each Mach number. Multi-step inputs at nearly the same flight conditions were also flown to assess the prediction capability of the identified models. Prediction errors were found to be comparable in magnitude to the modeling errors, which indicates accurate modeling. Aerodynamic parameter estimates were plotted as a function of Mach number, and compared with estimates from the pre-flight aerodynamic database, which was based on wind-tunnel tests and computational fluid dynamics. Agreement between flight estimates and values computed from the aerodynamic database was excellent overall.

Morelli, Eugene A.↗

Aerodynamic Characteristics of a 0.5-Scale Model of the Fairchild XSAM-N-2 Lark Missile at High Subsonic Speeds

An investigation was conducted to determine the longitudinal- and lateral-stability characteristics of a 0.5-scale moue1 of the Fairchild Lark missile, The model was tested with 0 deg and with 22.5 deg of roll. Three horizontal wings having NACA 16-009, 16-209, and 64A-209 sections were tested. Pressures were measured on both pointed and blunt noses. The wind-tunnel-test data indicate that rolling the missile 22.5 deg. had no serious effect on the static longitudinal stability. The desired maneuvering acceleration could not be attained with any of the horizontal wings tested, even with the horizontal wing flaps deflected 50 deg. The flaps on the 64A-209 wing (with small trailing-edge angles and flat sides) were effective at all flap deflections, while the flaps on the 16-series wings (with large trailing-edge angles) lost effectiveness at small flap deflections. The data showed that rolling moment existed when the vertical wing flaps were deflected with the model at other than zero angle of attack. A similar rolling moment probably would be found . with the horizontal wing flaps deflected and the model yawed.

Martin, Andrew↗

Advanced Mirror Technology Development (AMTD): Year Five Status

The Advanced Mirror Technology Development (AMTD) project is in Phase 2 of a multiyear effort initiated in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, to mature the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of critical technologies required to enable 4-m-or-larger monolithic or segmented ultraviolet, optical, and infrared (UVOIR) space telescope primary-mirror assemblies for general astrophysics, ultra-high-contrast observations of exoplanets, and National Interest missions. Key accomplishments of 2016/17 include the completion of the Harris Corp approximately 150 Hz 1.5-meter Ultra-Low Expansion (ULE Registered trademark) mirror substrate using stacked core method to demonstrate lateral stability of the stacked core technology, as well as the characterization and validation by test of the mechanical and thermal performance of the 1.2-meter Zerodur (Registered trademark) mirror using the STOP model prediction and verification of CTE homogeneity.

Space Mirror Technology↗

Lateral and Directional Stability and Control Characteristics of a C-54D Airplane

Data are presented showing compliance of C-54D with Army and Navy lateral and directional stability and control specifications. The airplane met requirements except for the rolling effectiveness pb/2V, the aileron forces in rolling, and the rudder forces in the asymmetric power conditions which were marginal. Also, the results of special tests concerning asymmetric power, asymmetric loading, and pitch due to yaw requested by the Airplane Handling Qualities Subcommittee of the Air Transport Association are presented.

AIRPLANES - SPECIFIC TYPES↗

Influence of torsional-lateral coupling on stability behavior of geared rotor systems

In high-performance turbomachinery trouble often arises because of unstable nonsynchronous lateral vibrations. The instabilities are mostly caused by oil-film bearings, clearance excitation, internal damping, annular pressure seals in pumps, or labyrinth seals in turbocompressors. In recent times the coupling between torsional and lateral vibrations has been considered as an additional influence. This coupling is of practical importance in geared rotor systems. The literature describes some field problems in geared drive trains where unstable lateral vibrations occurred together with torsional oscillations. This paper studies the influence of the torsional-lateral coupling on the stability behavior of a simple geared system supported by oil-film bearings. The coupling effect is investigated by parameter studies and a sensitivity analysis for the uncoupled and coupled systems.

Schwibinger, P.↗

Measurement of Flying Qualities of a Dehavilland Mosquito F-8 Airplane (AAF No. 43-334960) I: Lateral and Directional Stability and Control Characteristics

The data presented have no bearing on performance characteristics of airplane, which were considered exceptionally good in previous tests. Some of the undesirable features of lateral and directional stability and control characteristics of the F-8 are listed. Directional stability, with rudder fixed, did not sufficiently restrict aileron yaw; rudder control was inadequate during take-off and landing, and was insufficient to fly airplane with one engine; in clean condition, power of ailerons was slightly below minimum value specified; it was difficult to trim airplane in rough air.

Gray, W.E.↗

Measurements of the Lateral and Directional Stability and Control Characteristics of a P-51H Airplane (AAF No. 44-64164)

Flight tests of a P-51H airplane with two different vertical-tail assemblies were made to determine lateral and directional stability and control characteristics. The airplane had satisfactory directional stability in the landing, approach, and wave-off conditions with either tail. In the power-on clean and glide conditions, however, the airplane had weak directional stability with the original tail. The production tail, which had a 7-inch fin extension and a shorter span rudder, improved the directional stability in the power-on clean and glide conditions, but the stability was still weak in the power-on clean condition. Increased altitude in either case caused a slight decrease in the stability. The rudder-trim-force change with speed with either vertical-tail assembly was high. The general aileron control characteristics were satisfactory but the aileron effectiveness failed to meet the Army handling-qualities requirements.

Kraft, Christopher C., Jr.↗

Subsonic longitudinal and lateral-directional characteristics of a forward-swept-wing fighter configuration at angles of attack up to 47 deg

Subsonic lateral-direction and longitudinal characteristics of a forward-swept-wing fighter configuration were examined in wind-tunnel tests at Mach numbers of 0.2 and 0.5 for angles of attack from -7 to 47 deg. and over a sidelslip range of +/- 15 deg. The effects of a canard, strakes, vertical tail, and leading- and trailing-edge flaps are examined. The canard and strakes both reduce asymmetric moments and side forces at zero sideslip for angles of attack up to about 30 deg. The canard has a small influence on lateral-directional stability; however, strakes produce a substantial reduction in lateral stability for angles of attack greater than about 20 deg. The vertical tail improves directional stability for angles of attack up to 30 deg. Deflection of the leading-edge flap to 20 deg. at high angles of attack on the strake and canard configurations degrades lateral and directional stability. Deflection of the trailing-edge flap to 20 deg. on the canard configuration generally increases lateral and directional stability at high angles of attack. Leading- and trailing-edge flaps on the wing-body and canard configurations are effective for increased lift only for angles of attack up to about 40 deg. The leading-edge flap remains effective on the strake configuration over the entire angle-of-attack range tested.

Mann, Michael J.↗

Flight Measurements of the Flying Qualities of a Lockheed P-80A Airplane (Army No. 44-85099): Lateral- and Directional-Stability and Control Characteristics

This report contains the flight-test results of the lateral and directional-stability and control phase (including tests with wing-tip tanks) of a general flying-qualities investigation of the Lockheed P-80A airplane (Army No. 44-85099). These tests were conducted at indicated airspeeds up to 494 miles per hour (0.691 Mach number) at low altitude and up to 378 miles per hour (0.816 Mach number) at high altitude. These tests showed that the flying qualities of the airplane were for the most part in accordance with the requirements of the Army Air Forces Stability and Control Specifications. The only major deficiency noted was the negative lateral stability with the wing-tip tanks installed.

Anderson, Seth B.↗