Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “PROPELLER THRUST & TORQUE”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Efficient Variable-Pitch Propeller Aerodynamic Model Development for Vectored-Thrust eVTOL Aircraft

This paper describes a variable-pitch propeller testing and aerodynamic modeling methodology for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft using wind tunnel testing. Propellers used for eVTOL aircraft propulsion systems experience a wide range of operating conditions resulting in significant variation of axial thrust and torque, as well as off-axis forces and moments, across a typical flight envelope. An experimental design is developed to collect informative wind tunnel data in an efficient manner using response surface methods. System identification methods are then applied to isolated propeller wind tunnel data to develop a mathematical model of the propeller valid throughout the transition envelope of a vectored-thrust eVTOL aircraft. Multiple explanatory variable definitions are postulated and compared using modeling and prediction performance metrics. Modeling results validated against data withheld from the modeling process indicate good predictive capability and agree with theoretical expectations. All identified propeller models are provided, which allows the models to be used in future eVTOL aircraft flight dynamics simulations.

aerodynamic modeling↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Fundamental Noise Characterization of a Ducted Propeller in Hover

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are currently being used for reconnaissance missions, tactical surveillance, and infrastructure inspection. When legislation allows it, these devices will provide additional services close to inhabited areas, which could lead to noise complaints. On most UAVs, the propellers are the dominant source of noise. As a result, researchers have studied the impact of propeller shape and blade count on noise. Much of this work, however, has focused on isolated propellers. While different UAV concepts are equipped with ducts for aerodynamic and protection reasons, few studies focus on the acoustic benefit of ducts, as is achieved, for example, on turbofan aircraft. The objectives of this paper are: first, to simulate the noise radiation of a UAV propeller in static conditions based on its location in a hard wall duct; second, to analyze the contribution of the different acoustic source components (i.e., thrust, torque, and thickness); and third, to validate the approach with experiments conducted in the NASA Small Hover Anechoic Chamber over a range of propeller rotation rates. For the propeller and duct geometries considered in this experiment, it is shown that the best attenuation is achieved when the propeller is centered axially in the duct because of interference between upstream and downstream radiated waves.

ducted propeller↗
NASA NTRS1941

Propeller-Design Problems of High-Speed Airplanes, Special Report

It is shown that on the basis of existing high-speed airfoil data, propeller efficiencies appreciably in excess of 40% do not appear possible at speeds above 500 miles per hour at 20,000 feet. The assumption that present propeller-blade thicknesses cannot be reduced radically, is implied. Until the reliability and applicability of the airfoil data are established, this conclusion must not be regarded as infallible. Dive tests with airplanes equipped with thrust meters and torque meters are proposed to provide an urgently needed check. The design of high-speed propellers is dictated wholly by compressibility considerations. The blade width, thickness, and pitch distribution; also the airfoil sections, the lift coefficient, the propeller diameter, and rpm must all be adjusted if reasonable efficiencies are to be maintained at airplane speeds that are now being approached. Research is urgently needed on: 1) airfoils at subsonic, sonic, and supersonic speeds; 2) propellers at high forward speeds in wind tunnels; 3)propellers in free flight at high speeds; and 4) jet propulsion and related devices. The breakdown of propeller efficiency indicated by airfoil data, should serve as an incentive for accelerated research on jet propulsion. This device may extend the attainable speed of current airplanes to the neighborhood of 550 miles per hour at 20,000 feet.

Dickinson, H. B.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Lessons for Interstellar Travel from the Guidance and Control Design of the Near Earth Asteroid Scout Solar Sail Mission

NASA is developing the Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout mission that will use a solar sail to travel to an asteroid where it will perform a slow flyby to acquire science imagery. A guidance and control system was developed to meet the science and trajectory requirements. The NEA Scout design process can be applied to an interstellar or precursor mission that uses a beam propelled sail. The scientific objectives are met by accurately targeting the destination trajectory position and velocity. The destination is targeted by understanding the force on the sail from the beam (or sunlight in the case of NEA Scout) over the duration of the thrust maneuver. The propulsive maneuver is maintained by accurate understanding of the torque on the sail, which is a function of sail shape, optical properties, and mass properties, all of which apply to NEA Scout and beam propelled sails. NEA Scout uses active control of the sail attitude while trimming the solar torque, which could be used on a beamed propulsion sail if necessary. The biggest difference is that NEA Scout can correct for uncertainties in sail thrust modeling, spacecraft orbit, and target orbit throughout the flight to the target, while beamed propulsion needs accurate operation for the short duration of the beamed propulsion maneuver, making accurate understanding of the sail thrust and orbits much more critical.

Diedrich, Benjamin↗
NASA NTRS2017

Lessons for Interstellar Travel from the G&C Design of the NEA Scout Solar Sail Mission

NASA is developing the Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout mission that will use a solar sail to travel to an asteroid where it will perform a slow flyby to acquire science imagery. A guidance and control system was developed to meet the science and trajectory requirements. The NEA Scout design process can be applied to an interstellar or precursor mission that uses a beam-propelled sail. The scientific objectives are met by accurately targeting the destination trajectory position and velocity. The destination is targeted by understanding the force on the sail from the beam (or sunlight in the case of NEA Scout) over the duration of the thrust maneuver. The propulsive maneuver is maintained by accurate understanding of the torque on the sail, which is a function of sail shape, optical properties, and mass properties, all of which apply to NEA Scout and beam propelled sails. NEA Scout uses active control of the sail attitude while trimming the solar torque, which could be used on a beamed propulsion sail if necessary. The biggest difference is that NEA Scout can correct for uncertainties in sail thrust modeling, spacecraft orbit, and target orbit throughout the flight to the target, while beamed propulsion needs accurate operation for the short duration of the beamed propulsion maneuver, making accurate understanding of the sail thrust and orbits much more critical.

Heaton, Andrew↗
NASA NTRS1940

A generalized vortex theory of the screw propeller and its application

The vortex theory as presented by the author in earlier papers has been extended to permit the solution of the following problems: (1) the investigation of the relation between thrusts and torque distribution and energy loss as given by the induction of helical vortex sheets and by the parasite drag; (2) the checking of the theorem of Betz of the rigidly behaving helical vortex sheet of minimum induced energy loss; (3) the extension of the theory of the screw propeller of minimum energy loss for the inclusion of parasite-drag distribution along the blades. A simple system of diagrams has been developed to systematize the design of airplane propellers for a wide range of parasite-drag distribution along the blades.

Reissner, Hans↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Attitude Control System for the Solar Cruiser and Future Solar Sail Missions

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is developing the Solar Cruiser solar sail mission to continue to mature solar sail propulsion. Solar Cruiser is a 95kg spacecraft capable of deploying a 1654 square meter solar sail. Solar Cruiser will demonstrate science observation capabilities and navigation in sub Lagrange Point (L1) halo-orbits. Solar Cruiser sail technology can be scaled to larger solar sail missions, including attitude control system and sail membrane and boom technology. Larger solar sails could be used to image the solar poles, enabling Solar Polar Imager (SPI) missions currently prohibitively expensive for propellant-based propulsion methods. Similarly, solar sails can be used to create artificial equilibria and indefinite station-keeping at locations sunward of Lagrange Point one, L1, along the Sun-Earth line (SEL), which can provide space-weather monitor and prediction and reveal discoveries about our Sun and solar system. To achieve the high characteristic acceleration required for larger solar sail missions such as SPI, a solar sail area of approximately 7000 square-meters would be needed. In comparison, the largest solar sail flown to date is the JAXA’s IKAROS mission with a 196 square-meters sail. Attitude control an SPI-size sail poses challenges, including station keeping under solar sail induced torques and thrust vector pointing. In this study, the scalability of the Solar Cruiser sail attitude control architecture to larger sails is studied, such as pointing control performance, mass and power requirements. Solar Cruiser attitude control actuators include propellant-based, such as ion engines, and propellantless options which create differential solar pressures to generate spacecraft torques. Propellantless attitude control includes active translation of the center of mass, Reflectivity Control Devices (RCDs), and tip vanes. The study summarizes the scalability characteristics of the different attitude control architectures for larger solar sail missions.

Solar Sail Propulsion↗
NASA NTRS1991

Unsteady fluid dynamic model for propeller induced flow fields

A potential flow based three-dimensional panel method was modified to treat time dependent flow conditions in which the body's geometry may vary with time. The main objective of this effort was the study of a flow field due to a propeller rotating relative to a nonrotating body which is otherwise moving at a constant forward speed. Calculated surface pressure, thrust and torque coefficient data for a four-bladed marine propeller/body compared favorably with previously published experimental results.

Katz, Joseph↗
NASA NTRS1940

Experimental Determination of Exhaust Gas Thrust, Special Report

This investigation presents the results of tests made on a radial engine to determine the thrust that can be obtained from the exhaust gas when discharged from separate stacks and when discharged from the collector ring with various discharge nozzles. The engine was provided with a propeller to absorb the power and was mounted on a test stand equipped with scales for measuring the thrust and engine torque. The results indicate that at full open throttle at sea level, for the engine tested, a gain in thrust horsepower of 18 percent using separate stacks, and 9.5 percent using a collector ring and discharge nozzle, can be expected at an air speed of 550 miles per hour.

Pinkel, Benjamin↗
NASA NTRS1998

Design and Performance Calculations of a Propeller for Very High Altitude Flight

Reported here is a design study of a propeller for a vehicle capable of subsonic flight in Earth's stratosphere. All propellers presented were required to absorb 63.4 kW (85 hp) at 25.9 km (85,000 ft) while aircraft cruise velocity was maintained at Mach 0.40. To produce the final design, classic momentum and blade-element theories were combined with two and three-dimensional results from the Advanced Ducted Propfan Analysis Code (ADPAC), a numerical Navier-Stokes analysis code. The Eppler 387 airfoil was used for each of the constant section propeller designs compared. Experimental data from the Langley Low-Turbulence Pressure Tunnel was used in the strip theory design and analysis programs written. The experimental data was also used to validate ADPAC at a Reynolds numbers of 60,000 and a Mach number of 0.20. Experimental and calculated surface pressure coefficients are compared for a range of angles of attack. Since low Reynolds number transonic experimental data was unavailable, ADPAC was used to generate two-dimensional section performance predictions for Reynolds numbers of 60,000 and 100,000 and Mach numbers ranging from 0.45 to 0.75. Surface pressure coefficients are presented for selected angles of attack. in addition to the variation of lift and drag coefficients at each flow condition. A three-dimensional model of the final design was made which ADPAC used to calculated propeller performance. ADPAC performance predictions were compared with strip-theory calculations at design point. Propeller efficiency predicted by ADPAC was within 1.5% of that calculated by strip theory methods, although ADPAC predictions of thrust, power, and torque coefficients were approximately 5% lower than the strip theory results. Simplifying assumptions made in the strip theory account for the differences seen.

Koch, L. Danielle↗
NASA NTRS2019

Ion Thruster Produced Roll Torque

Disturbances to the ion engine’s thrust vector will cause a spacecraft to spin about its axis if left unmanaged. Spin about the yaw and pitch axis can be easily handled by a gimbal with enough authority. Spin about the roll axis however must be handled by additional thrusters or reaction wheels. In order to capitalize on the high efficiency of their thrusters, missions utilizing electric propulsion as primary propulsion generally include long periods of thrusting (several years). It is necessary to quantify and understand the ion thruster produced roll torque because it will define the amount of chemical propellant that must be carried or the lifetime and quantity of momentum wheels required for the mission. The roll torque produced by the NEXT ion thruster is analyzed through a combination of theoretical calculations and magnetic field simulations. Experimental techniques for measuring roll torque and past flight data are also discussed.

Arthur, Neil A.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Ion Thruster Produced Roll Torque

Disturbances to the ion engine's thrust vector will cause a spacecraft to spin about its axis if left unmanaged. Spin about the yaw and pitch axis can be easily handled by a gimbal with enough authority. Spin about the roll axis however must be handled by additional thrusters or reaction wheels. In order to capitalize on the high efficiency of their thrusters, missions utilizing electric propulsion as primary propulsion generally include long periods of thrusting (several years). It is necessary to quantify and understand the ion thruster produced roll torque because it will define the amount of chemical propellant that must be carried or the lifetime and quantity of momentum wheels required for the mission. The roll torque produced by the NEXT ion thruster is analyzed through a combination of theoretical calculations and magnetic field simulations. Experimental techniques for measuring roll torque and past flight data are also discussed.

Arthur, Neil A.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Ion Thruster Produced Roll Torque

Disturbances to the ion engine’s thrust vector will cause a spacecraft to spin about its axis if left unmanaged. Spin about the yaw and pitch axes can be easily handled by a gimbal with enough authority. Spin about the roll axis, however, must be handled by additional thrusters or reaction wheels. In order to capitalize on the high efficiency of their thrusters, missions utilizing electric propulsion as primary propulsion generally include long periods of thrusting (several years). It is necessary to quantify and understand the ion thruster produced roll torque because it will define the amount of chemical propellant that must be carried or the lifetime and quantity of momentum wheels required for the mission. The roll torque produced by the NASA’s Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) ion thruster is analyzed through a combination of theoretical calculations and magnetic field simulations. Experimental techniques for measuring roll torque and past flight data are also discussed.

Neil A Arthur↗
NASA NTRS1973

On the Design and Test of a Liquid Injection Electric Thruster

A liquid injection electric thruster (LINJET) was designed and tested. The results of the tests were very encouraging with thruster performance levels well in excess of design goals. Supporting activities to the engine design and test included a five-million pulse life test on the main capacitor, a 46-million pulse test on the trigger electronics, design and fabrication of a zero resistance torque connector for use with the torsional pendulum thrust stand, design and fabrication of a logic box for control of engine firing, and a physical and chemical properties characterization of the perfluorocarbon propellant. While the results were encouraging, testing was limited, as many problems existed with the design. The most significant problem was involved with excessive propellant flow which contributed to false triggering and shorting. Low power active thermal control of the propellant storage cavity, coupled with a re-evaluation of the injection ring pore size and area exposed to the main capacitor discharge are areas that should be investigated should this design be carried forward.

Jones, T. A.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Full-scale aerodynamic characteristics of a propellar installed on a small twin-engine aircraft wing panel

Full-scale measurements of shaft thrust and torque were made. Wind-tunnel speeds and blade angles were set for full-scale flight conditions. Excellent quality measurements were obtained of the thrust coefficient, the power coefficient, and the propeller efficiency for various values of the advance ratio and the blade incidence angle at 3/4-blade radius. A conventional propeller theory found in the literature was applied to the present results. Although thrust, power, and efficiency were somewhat overpredicted, the advance ratio for maximum efficiency was predicted quite accurately. It was found that, for some conditions, spinner drag could be significant. A simple correction that was based on the spinner base pressure substantially accounted for the changes in efficiency that resulted from this cause.

Barlow, P. R.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Inversion Method for Early Detection of ARES-1 Case Breach Failure

A document describes research into the problem of detecting a case breach formation at an early stage of a rocket flight. An inversion algorithm for case breach allocation is proposed and analyzed. It is shown how the case breach can be allocated at an early stage of its development by using the rocket sensor data and the output data from the control block of the rocket navigation system. The results are simulated with MATLAB/Simulink software. The efficiency of an inversion algorithm for a case breach location is discussed. The research was devoted to the analysis of the ARES-l flight during the first 120 seconds after the launch and early prediction of case breach failure. During this time, the rocket is propelled by its first-stage Solid Rocket Booster (SRB). If a breach appears in SRB case, the gases escaping through it will produce the (side) thrust directed perpendicular to the rocket axis. The side thrust creates torque influencing the rocket attitude. The ARES-l control system will compensate for the side thrust until it reaches some critical value, after which the flight will be uncontrollable. The objective of this work was to obtain the start time of case breach development and its location using the rocket inertial navigation sensors and GNC data. The algorithm was effective for the detection and location of a breach in an SRB field joint at an early stage of its development.

Mackey, Ryan M.↗
NASA NTRS1959

Some effects of vibration and rotation on the drift of gyroscopic instruments

It is the purpose of this paper to describe and indicate possible analytical approaches to some of the most significant mechanisms by which vibration induced drifts may occur, and to indicate, where possible, some means of alleviating them. In all cases we will not consider gimbal bearing friction, mass unbalance or other sources of steady extraneous torques on the gyro rotor. The mechanisms to be discussed are: Non-Newtonian viscosity in single degree of freedom (SDF) integrating-rate gyros, nonisoelasticity in SDF gyros, noncommutative effects for SDF stabilized platform, gimbal inertia effects, 2 DF gyros, and spin axis torque coupling in 2 DF gyros. High-frequency elastic resonances are not discussed explicitly in detail, because they are a more familiar problem and one which depends strongly on the details of each particular gyro design.

Viscous Torque↗
NASA NTRS1982

Performance degradation of propeller/rotor systems due to rime ice accretion

A theoretical model has been established which is applicable to both propeller and helicopter systems that determines the effect of rime ice accretion on the thrust coefficient, power coefficient, and efficiency as a function of time in a natural icing condition. Theoretical comparisons have been made with experimentally determined decrease in propeller thrust coefficient and efficiency for five natural icing conditions with good agreement. The present analytical model is also applicable to the helicopter case, where the method predicts radial and azimuthal rotor blade ice shapes in addition to torque rise as a function of time in a natural icing condition.

Korkan, K. D.↗