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Results for “AIRPLANES - DESIGN & THEORY”

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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1996

Application of QFT to the Problem of Failed In-Flight Controllers During Approach and Landing of a B720 Aircraft

Previous studies by NASA Dryden have shown the use of throttles for emergency flight control to be extremely difficult, especially for landing. Flight control using only the throttles to achieve safe landing for a large jet transport airplane, the Boeing 720, is investigated using Quantitative Feedback Theory (QFT). Results are compared to an augmented control developed in a previous study. The controller corrected unsatisfactory open-loop characteristics by increasing system bandwidth and damping, but improving the control bandwidth substantially proved very difficult. The pitch controller is robust in conditions of no or moderate turbulence. The roll controller performed well in conditions of no turbulence, but is sensitive to moderate turbulence. Handling qualities of the augmented control for approach and landing were evaluated by piloted simulation flights.

Chou, Hwei-Lan↗
NASA NTRS1980

Bird flight and airplane flight

Research was based on a series of mechanical, electrical, and cinematographic instruments developed to measure various features of air current behavior as well as bird and airplane flight. Investigation of rising obstruction and thermal currents led to a theory of bird flight, especially of the gliding and soaring types. It was shown how a knowledge of bird flight can be applied to glider and ultimately motorized aircraft construction. The instruments and methods used in studying stress in airplanes and in comparing the lift to drag ratios of airplanes and birds are described.

Magnan, A.↗
NASA NTRS1944

Wind Tunnel Investigation of the Effect of Jet-Motor Operation Stability

The effects of jet-motor operation on the stability and control characteristics of two fighter-type airplanes as determined by wind-tunnel tests of 1/5-scale models are presented. It is shown that the action of the jets is to cause a small loss in stick-fixed stability which is predictable from known theories.

WIND TUNNEL TESTS↗
NASA NTRS1996

A preliminary study of a wake vortex encounter hazard boundary for a B737-100 airplane

A preliminary batch simulation study was conducted to define the wake decay required for a Boeing 737-100 airplane to safely encounter a Boeing 727 wake and land. The baseline six-degree-of-freedom B737 simulation was modified to include a wake model and the strip-theory calculation of the vortex-induced forces and moments. The guidance and control inputs for the airplane were provided by an autoland system. The wake strength and encounter altitude were varied to establish a safe encounter boundary. The wake was positioned such that the desired flight path traversed the core of the port Vortex. Various safe landing criteria were evaluated for defining a safe encounter boundary. A sensitivity study was also conducted to assess the effects of encounter model inaccuracies.

Reimer, Heidi M.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Optimal regulation in systems with stochastic time sampling

An optimal control theory that accounts for stochastic variable time sampling in a distributed microprocessor based flight control system is presented. The theory is developed by using a linear process model for the airplane dynamics and the information distribution process is modeled as a variable time increment process where, at the time that information is supplied to the control effectors, the control effectors know the time of the next information update only in a stochastic sense. An optimal control problem is formulated and solved for the control law that minimizes the expected value of a quadratic cost function. The optimal cost obtained with a variable time increment Markov information update process where the control effectors know only the past information update intervals and the Markov transition mechanism is almost identical to that obtained with a known and uniform information update interval.

Montgomery, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1930

An Investigation of Airplane Landing Speeds

This paper describes an investigation on airplane landing speeds which was made to determine the applicability of accepted aerodynamic theory to the prediction of this particular performance characteristic. The experimental work consisted in measuring the landing speed of several monoplanes by a new photographic method. The results of these tests supplemented by available information regarding biplanes were compared with predictions made with basic aerodynamic theory. The prediction makes use of the fundamental relation between wing loading, lift coefficient, and speed of level flight, and the effects of aspect ratio and proximity to the ground on lift curve slope.

LANDING SPEED - BIPLANES↗
NASA NTRS1984

Propagation of propeller tone noise through a fuselage boundary layer

In earlier experimental and analytical studies, it was found that the boundary layer on an aircraft could provide significant shielding from propeller noise at typical transport airplane cruise Mach numbers. In this paper a new three-dimensional theory is described that treats the combined effects of refraction and scattering by the fuselage and boundary layer. The complete wave field is solved by matching analytical expressions for the incident and scattered waves in the outer flow to a numerical solution in the boundary layer flow. The model for the incident waves is a near-field frequency-domain propeller source theory developed previously for free field studies. Calculations for an advanced turboprop (Prop-Fan) model flight test at 0.8 Mach number show a much smaller than expected pressure amplification at the noise directivity peak, strong boundary layer shielding in the forward quadrant, and shadowing around the fuselage. Results are presented showing the difference between fuselage surface and free-space noise predictions as a function of frequency and Mach number. Comparison of calculated and measured effects obtained in a Prop-Fan model flight test show good agreement, particularly near and aft of the plane of rotation at high cruise Mach number.

Hanson, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS1951

A recurrence matrix solution for the dynamic response of aircraft in gusts

A systematic procedure developed for the calculation of the structural response of aircraft flying through a gust by use of difference equations in the solution of dynamic problems is first illustrated by means of a simple-damped-oscillator example. A detailed analysis is then given which leads to a recurrence matrix equation for the determination of the response of an airplane in a gust. The method takes into account wing bending and twisting deformations, fuselage deflection, vertical and pitching motion of the airplane, and some tail forces. The method is based on aerodynamic strip theory, but compressibility and three-dimensional aerodynamic effects can be taken into account approximately by means of over-all corrections. Either a sharp-edge gust or a gust of arbitrary shape in the spanwise or flight directions may be treated. In order to aid in the application of the method to any specific case, a suggested computational procedure is included. The possibilities of applying the method to a variety of transient aircraft problems, such as landing, are brought out. A brief review of matrix algebra, covering the extent to which it is used in the analysis, is also included. (author)

Houbolt, John C↗
NASA NTRS1991

A comparison of airborne wake vortex detection measurements with values predicted from potential theory

An analysis of flight measurements made near a wake vortex was conducted to explore the feasibility of providing a pilot with useful wake avoidance information. The measurements were made with relatively low cost flow and motion sensors on a light airplane flying near the wake vortex of a turboprop airplane weighing approximately 90000 lbs. Algorithms were developed which removed the response of the airplane to control inputs from the total airplane response and produced parameters which were due solely to the flow field of the vortex. These parameters were compared with values predicted by potential theory. The results indicated that the presence of the vortex could be detected by a combination of parameters derived from the simple sensors. However, the location and strength of the vortex cannot be determined without additional and more accurate sensors.

Stewart, Eric C.↗
NASA NTRS1950

Flight Calibration of four airspeed systems on a swept-wing airplane at Mach numbers up to 1.04 by the NACA radar-phototheodolite method

The calibrations of four airspeed systems installed in a North American F-86A airplane have been determined in flight at Mach numbers up to 1.04 by the NACA radar-phototheodolite method. The variation of the static-pressure error per unit indicated impact pressure is presented for three systems typical of those currently in use in flight research, a nose boom and two different wing-tip booms, and for the standard service system installed in the airplane. A limited amount of information on the effect of airplane normal-force coefficient on the static-pressure error is included. The results are compared with available theory and with results from wind-tunnel tests of the airspeed heads alone. Of the systems investigated, a nose-boom installation was found to be most suitable for research use at transonic and low supersonic speeds because it provided the greatest sensitivity of the indicated Mach number to a unit change in true Mach number at very high subsonic speeds, and because it was least sensitive to changes in airplane normal-force coefficient. The static-pressure error of the nose-boom system was small and constant above a Mach number of 1.03 after passage of the fuselage bow shock wave over the airspeed head.

Thompson, Jim Rogers↗
NASA NTRS1982

An estimation of aerodynamic forces and moments on an airplane model under steady state spin conditions

The problem of estimating the aerodynamic characteristics of a wing body configuration of a spinning airplane at extreme angles of attack and spin rates is approached by the application of strip theory. Semiempirical methods are used to estimate the aerodynamic force distributions over each component using static, nonrotational wind-tunnel test data. To these predictions, corrections are applied to account for the primary rotational flow effects which are significant at large spin rates. The results of this modified strip theory are shown to be in good agreement with spin tunnel rotary balance test data.

Pamadi, B. N.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Calculation of aerodynamic characteristics of airplane configurations at high angles of attack

Calculation of longitudinal and lateral directional aerodynamic characteristics of airplanes by the VORSTAB code is examined. The numerical predictions are based on the potential flow theory with corrections of high angle of attack phenomena; namely, vortex flow and boundary layer separation effects. To account for the vortex flow effect, vortex lift, vortex action point, augmented vortex lift and vortex breakdown effect through the method of suction analogy are included. The effect of boundary layer separation is obtained by matching the nonlinear section data with the three dimensional lift characteristics iteratively. Through correlation with results for nine fighter configurations, it is concluded that reasonably accurate prediction of longitudinal and static lateral directional aerodynamics can be obtained with the VORSTAB code up to an angle of attack at which wake interference and forebody vortex effect are not important. Possible reasons for discrepancy at higher angles of attack are discussed.

Tseng, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1972

A study analysis of cable-body systems totally immersed in a fluid stream

A general stability analysis of a cable-body system immersed in a fluid stream is presented. The analytical portion of this analysis treats the system as being essentially a cable problem, with the body dynamics giving the end conditions. The mathematical form of the analysis consists of partial differential wave equations, with the end and auxiliary conditions being determined from the body equations of motion. The equations uncouple to give a lateral problem and a longitudinal problem as in first order airplane dynamics. A series of tests on a tethered wind tunnel model provide a comparison of the theory with experiment.

Delaurier, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1941

Lateral control required for satisfactory flying qualities based on flight tests of numerous airplanes

Report presents the results of an analysis made of the aileron control characteristics of numerous airplanes tested in flight by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. By the use of previously developed theory, the observed values of pb/2v for the various wing-aileron arrangements were examined to determine the effective section characteristics of the various aileron types.

Gilruth, R R↗