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At least 73 records · Page 4

Evaluation of High-Angle-of-Attack Handling Qualities for the X-31A Using Standard Evaluation Maneuvers

The X-31A aircraft gross-acquisition and fine-tracking handling qualities have been evaluated using standard evaluation maneuvers developed by Wright Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base. The emphasis of the testing is in the angle-of-attack range between 30 deg. and 70 deg. Longitudinal gross-acquisition handling qualities results show borderline Level l/Level 2 performance. Lateral gross-acquisition testing results in Level l/Level 2 ratings below 45 deg. angle of attack, degrading into Level 3 as angle of attack increases. The fine tracking performance in both longitudinal and lateral axes also receives Level 1 ratings near 30 deg. angle of attack, with the ratings tending towards Level 3 at angles of attack greater than 50 deg. These ratings do not match the expectations from the extensive close-in combat testing where the X-31A aircraft demonstrated fair to good handling qualities maneuvering for high angles of attack. This paper presents the results of the high-angle-of-attack handling qualities flight testing of the X-31A aircraft. Discussion of the preparation for the maneuvers, the pilot ratings, and selected pilot comments are included. Evaluation of the results is made in conjunction with existing Neal Smith, bandwidth, Smith-Geddes, and military specifications.

Stoliker, Patrick C.↗

Aircraft aerodynamics at high angles of attack

AEROX program estimates aircraft aerodynamics to high angles of attack (up to sixty degrees). It estimates coefficients of lift, induced drag, and pitching moment for wings and wing body combinations with or without aft horizontal tail. Both trimmed and untrimmed characters are calculated.

Axelson, J. A.↗

Analysis of the longitudinal handling qualities and pilot-induced-oscillation tendencies of the High-Angle-of-Attack Research Vehicle (HARV)

The NASA High-Angle-of Attack Research Vehicle (HARV), a modified F-18 aircraft, experienced handling qualities problems in recent flight tests at NASA Dryden Research Center. Foremost in these problems was the tendency of the pilot-aircraft system to exhibit a potentially dangerous phenomenon known as a pilot-induced oscillation (PIO). When they occur, PIO's can severely restrict performance, sharply dimish mission capabilities, and can even result in aircraft loss. A pilot/vehicle analysis was undertaken with the goal of reducing these PIO tendencies and improving the overall vehicle handling qualities with as few changes as possible to the existing feedback/feedforward flight control laws. Utilizing a pair of analytical pilot models developed by the author, a pilot/vehicle analysis of the existing longitudinal flight control system was undertaken. The analysis included prediction of overall handling qualities levels and PIO susceptability. The analysis indicated that improvement in the flight control system was warranted and led to the formulation of a simple control stick command shaping filter. Analysis of the pilot/vehicle system with the shaping filter indicated significant improvements in handling qualities and PIO tendencies could be achieved. A non-real time simulation of the modified control system was undertaken with a realistic, nonlinear model of the current HARV. Special emphasis was placed upon those details of the command filter implementation which could effect safety of flight. The modified system is currently awaiting evaluation in the real-time, pilot-in-the-loop, Dual-Maneuvering-Simulator (DMS) facility at Langley.

Hess, Ronald A.↗

Wind-tunnel research comparing lateral control devices, particularly at high angles of attack V : spoilers and ailerons on rectangular wings

This report covers the fifth of a series of systematic investigations in which lateral control devices are compared with particular reference to their effectiveness at high angles of attack. The present report deals with tests of spoilers and ordinary ailerons on rectangular Clark y wing models. In an effort to obtain satisfactory control throughout the entire angle-of-attack range that can be maintained in flight, various spoilers were tested in combination with two sizes of previously tested ordinary ailerons - one of average proportions and the other short and wide. In addition, one large spoiler was tested alone. It was found that when ailerons and spoilers are used together the full effect of both is not obtained if the spoilers are located directly in front of the ailerons. With the proper combination of spoiler and aileron, however, it is possible to obtain satisfactory rolling control up to high angles of attack (15 degrees to 20 degrees), together with favorable yawing moments and small control forces. A moderate amount of rolling control with favorable yawing moments and small control forces was obtained with the large spoiler alone.

Weick, Fred E↗

Development of high-angle-of-attack nose-down pitch control margin design guidelines for combat aircraft

A broad research program to identify maneuvering requirements for advanced fighters and the corresponding design criteria to aid in making critical design tradeoffs is being conducted under the NASA High-Angle-of-Attack Technology Program (HATP). As part of this activity, NASA and the U.S. Navy are conducting cooperative research to develop high-angle-of-attack control margin requirements. This paper will summarize the status of this program. Following some background information, the simulation study conducted to develop a set of preliminary guidelines for nose-down pitch control is reviewed, and the results of some very limited flight tests are described.

Ogburn, Marilyn E.↗

Evaluation of Gritting Strategies for High Angle of Attack Using Wind Tunnel and Flight Test Data for the F/A-18

A subsonic study of high-angle-of-attack gritting strategies was undertaken with a 0.06-scale model of the F/A-18, which was assumed to be typical of airplanes with smooth-sided forebodies. This study was conducted in the Langley 7- by 10-Foot High-Speed Tunnel and was intended to more accurately simulate flight boundary layer characteristics on the model in the wind tunnel than would be possible by using classical, low-angle-of-attack gritting on the fuselage. Six-component force and moment data were taken with an internally mounted strain-gauge balance, while pressure data were acquired by using electronically scanned pressure transducers. Data were taken at zero sideslip over an angle-of-attack range from 0 deg to 40 deg and, at selected angles of attack, over sideslip angles from -10 deg to 10 deg. Free-stream Mach number was fixed at 0.30, which resulted in a Reynolds number, based on mean aerodynamic chord, of 1.4 x 10(exp 6). Pressure data measured over the forebody and leading-edge extensions are compared to similar pressure data taken by a related NASA flight research program by using a specially instrumented F/A-18, the High-Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV). Preliminary guidelines for high-angle-of-attack gritting strategies are given.

Hall, Robert M.↗

A High Angle of Attack Inviscid Shuttle Orbiter Computation

An accurate description of the aerothermal environment is required to minimize the weight of the Thermal Protection System required on the leeside of winged reentry vehicles. The inability of ground-test facilities to reproduce the high enthalpy, separated flow present during reentry flight conditions, coupled with the prohibitive expense of flight tests, leads to the use of an analytical method - namely Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) - to describe the flow. While the ultimate goal of this work is to accurately predict the leeside flow and its associated thermal environment, an essential and reasonable first step towards that goal is a comparison of pressure predictions by a code with wind-tunnel data. Until such CFD pressure predictions agree with wind-tunnel test cases, there is little hope of accurately predicting the thermal environment at flight conditions. Thus, the objective of this study is to compare the pressure distributions predicted by inviscid, perfect gas CFD to Shuttle Orbiter wind-tunnel data and to address any significant issues encountered during the computation. While flight data is available for the Shuttle Orbiter, a wind-tunnel case is chosen for this study to allow a tractable problem for preliminary investigation. A wind-tunnel case allows the perfect gas assumption for the flow chemistry. This provides a significant computational savings over a several species finite-rate chemistry model which would be necessary if high-temperature effects present at flight conditions were to be included. In addition, by concentrating on the surface pressures, the analysis need only consider inviscid flow for general evaluation of the code capability. This further reduces the computational expense due to the absence of viscous terms and the associated decrease in the number of points required for the computational grid. Previous computational efforts (such as STEIN and HALIS) have been directed toward the windward surface quantities, primarily due to restrictions in treating either the winged geometry or its associated subsonic regions at high angle of attack. The code used for this study, the LAURA (Langley Aerothermodynamic Upwind Relaxation Algorithm) code of Gnoffo, represents a state-of-the-art code for computing the flow over complex configurations at hypersonic speeds. In the study, the LAURA code is applied to a wind-tunnel condition to initiate the assessment of the code's ability to predict the flow over a relatively complex hypersonic vehicle at high angles of attack. This presentation is used to highlight the pertinent results of a more detailed investigation of the inviscid calculation over the Shuttle Orbiter with the LAURA code.

William L. Kleb↗

Wind-tunnel static and free-flight investigation of high-angle-of-attack stability and control characteristics of a model of the EA-6B airplane

An investigation was conducted in the Langley 30- by 60-Foot Tunnel and the Langley 12-Foot Low-Speed Tunnel to identify factors contributing to a directional divergence at high angles of attack for the EA-6B airplane. The study consisted of static wind-tunnel tests, smoke and tuft flow-visualization tests, and free-flight tests of a 1/8.5-scale model of the airplane. The results of the investigation indicate that the directional divergence of the airplane is brought about by a loss of directional stability and effective dihedral at high angles of attack. Several modifications were tested that significantly alleviate the stability problem. The results of the free-flight study show that the modified configuration exhibits good dynamic stability characteristics and could be flown at angles of attack significantly higher than those of the unmodified configuration.

Jordan, Frank L., Jr.↗

Calculation of the flow on a blunted cone at high angle of attack

A new technique for calculating the entire flow-field on spherically blunted circular cones at high angles of attack and high Reynolds numbers is described. The calculations are based on a single-layer system of three-dimensional parabolic equations which are approximations to the full steady Navier-Stokes equations. Initial conditions at the sphere-cone tangency plane are provided by using an inviscid time-dependent solution added to a viscous nonsimilar boundary layer solution. Calculated results are compared with experimental heat transfer and pressure data for a 15 deg half-angle cone with a 1-in. spherical nose at 15 deg angle of attack. The free-stream Mach number is 10.6, and the free-stream Reynolds number is 1,200,000 per foot. Excellent agreement between the calculated and experimental data for both pressure and heat transfer is obtained.

Lubard, S. C.↗

Experimental study of effects of forebody geometry on high angle of attack static and dynamic stability and control

A series of low-speed wind tunnel tests on a generic airplane model with a cylindrical fuselage were made to investigate the effects of forebody shape and fitness ratio, and fuselage/wing proximity on static and dynamic lateral/directional stability. In addition, some preliminary testing to determine the effectiveness of deflectable forebody strakes for high angle of attack yaw control was conducted. During the stability investigation, 11 forebodies were tested including three different cross-sectional shapes with fineness ratios of 2, 3, and 4. In addition, the wing was tested at two longitudinal positions to provide a substantial variation in forebody/wing proximity. Conventional force tests were conducted to determine static stability characteristics, and single-degree-of-freedom free-to-roll tests were conducted to study the wing rock characteristics of the model with the various forebodies. Flow visualization data were obtained to aid in the analysis of the complex flow phenomena involved. The results show that the forebody cross-sectional shape and fineness ratio and forebody/wing proximity can strongly affect both static and dynamic (roll) stability at high angles of attack. These characteristics result from the impact of these factors on forebody vortex development, the behavior of the vortices in sideslip, and their interaction with the wing flow field. Preliminary results from the deflectable strake investigation indicated that forebody flow control using this concept can provide very large yaw control moments at stall and post-stall angles of attack.

Brandon, J. M.↗

Mathematical modeling of the aerodynamics of high-angle-of-attack maneuvers

This paper is a review of the current state of aerodynamic mathematical modeling for aircraft motions at high angles of attack. The mathematical model serves to define a set of characteristic motions from whose known aerodynamic responses the aerodynamic response to an arbitrary high angle-of-attack flight maneuver can be predicted. Means are explored of obtaining stability parameter information in terms of the characteristic motions, whether by wind-tunnel experiments, computational methods, or by parameter-identification methods applied to flight-test data. A rationale is presented for selecting and verifying the aerodynamic mathematical model at the lowest necessary level of complexity. Experimental results describing the wing-rock phenomenon are shown to be accommodated within the most recent mathematical model by admitting the existence of aerodynamic hysteresis in the steady-state variation of the rolling moment with roll angle. Interpretation of the experimental results in terms of bifurcation theory reveals the general conditions under which aerodynamic hysteresis must exist.

Schiff, L. B.↗

Subsonic Wing Loadings on a 45 deg Sweptback Wing and Body Combination at High Angles of Attack

A study has been made of the subsonic pressure distributions and loadings for a 45 deg sweptback-wing and body combination at angles of attack up to 36 deg. The wing had an aspect ratio of 5.5, a taper ratio of 0.53, and NACA 64A010 sections normal to the quarter-chord line and was mounted on a slender body of fineness ratio 12.5. Test results are presented for Mach numbers of 0.30 and 0.50 with corresponding Reynolds numbers of 1.5 and 2.0 million, respectively. The stall patterns and spanwise loadings at high angles of attack for the present model are correlated with those for other 45 deg sweptback wing and body combinations having aspect ratios between 4.0 and 8.0. A tentative approach is presented for extrapolating the Weissinger span-loading method to higher angles of attack, and for deriving the spanwise-load distributions for 45 deg sweptback wings at angles of attack above 20 deg. The investigation also included tests of the body in combination with only one panel of the swept wing. The problem of estimating the normal-force coefficient for the single panel at high angles of attack is considered.

Axelson, John A↗

Modeling of large-amplitude high-angle-of-attack maneuvers

Results from a simulation study to characterize and model rapid, large-amplitude high-angle-of-attack maneuvers of high performance aircraft are summarized. There is concern that conventional aerodynamic math models combining static and small-amplitude demping data may be deficient in properly representing the associated aerodynamics to allow accurate prediction of these types of motion. The objectives of this investigation were: (1) to characterize these maneuvers in order to establish the aerodynamic modeling requirements, (2) to define refinements to address these requirements, and (3) to examine the impact of these refinements on the calculated motions. The results show that accurate modeling of the dynamic terms is vital due to the very high angular rates generated during these maneuvers. It was found that the addition of dynamic terms to include the lateral acceleration derivatives and the rotary aerodynamics can in some cases significantly affect the simulated flight motions.

Angle of attack↗

Development of a pneumatic high-angle-of-attack flush airdata sensing (HI-FADS) system

A nonintrusive high-angle-of-attack flush airdata sensing system was installed and flight tested in the F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle. This system consists of a matrix of 25 pressure orifices arranged in concentric circles on the nose of the vehicle to determine angles of attack and sideslip, Mach number, and pressure altitude. During the course of the flight tests, it was determined that satisfactory results could be achieved using a subset of just nine ports.

Whitmore, Stephen A.↗

Evidence of High-Angle Ejecta from Impacts Iinto Various Granular Materials

The dominant mechanism for resurfacing airless bodies is the excavation and ejection of material during the formation of impact craters. Ejecta that is deposited proximal to the rim of craters formed in the gravity-regime (where gravitational forces are greater than material strength) form a relatively smooth and continuous deposit. Aside from far-field secondary craters, craters observed on continuous ejecta deposits are mostly assumed to be representative of the primary impactor flux after the time of deposition. Sustained primary bombardment should produce a homogeneous crater population across this surface, thus providing an opportunity to determine crater size-frequency distributions and surface chronologies. Deviations from this ideal have been observed as different crater-size distributions appearing between the continuous deposits and their superimposed melt ponds. Numerous explanations for this discrepancy have been proposed, one of which is the occurrence of self-secondary craters, which would be created by ejecta launched at sufficiently high-angles to re-impact the fresh continuous ejecta deposits. Here, we present results from cratering experiments to explore the influence of density, porosity, and friction on ejecta kinematics and report on the observation of such high-angle ejecta in cohesionless granular targets.

Impact crater↗

A summary of the forebody high-angle-of-attack aerodynamics research on the F-18 and the X-29A aircraft

High-angle-of-attack aerodynamic studies have been conducted on both the F18 High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV) and the X-29A aircraft. Data obtained include on- and off-surface flow visualization and static pressure measurements on the forebody. Comparisons of similar results are made between the two aircraft where possible. The forebody shapes of the two aircraft are different and the X-29A forebody flow is affected by the addition of nose strakes and a flight test noseboom. The forebody flow field of the F-18 HARV is fairly symmetric at zero sideslip and has distinct, well-defined vortices. The X-29A forebody vortices are more diffuse and are sometimes asymmetric at zero sideslip. These asymmetries correlate with observed zero-sideslip aircraft yawing moments.

Bjarke, Lisa J.↗