Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “GUSTS, TURBULENCE”

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 91 records · Page 5

Summary of Atmospheric Turbulence Data

Turbulence data obtained from recent flights of the U-2 airplanes and from the National Severe Storms Project agree in general with the results obtained in previous investigations. The data show that nonstorm turbulence decreases in intensity and amount with increasing altitude. Less than 2 percent of the flight distance was in turbulence at altitudes above 50,000 feet. It also appears that the root-mean-square gust velocities of the composite turbulence patches may be 15 to 20 percent lower than previous estimates.

Steiner, Roy↗

Subcritical flutter testing and system identification

Treatment is given of system response evaluation, especially in application to subcritical flight and wind tunnel flutter testing of aircraft. An evaluation is made of various existing techniques, in conjuction with a companion survey which reports theoretical and analog experiments made to study the identification of system response characteristics. Various input excitations are considered, and new techniques for analyzing response are explored, particularly in reference to the prevalent practical case where unwanted input noise is present, such as caused by gusts or wind tunnel turbulence. Further developments are also made of system parameter identification techniques.

Houbolt, J. C.↗

Significant events in low-level flow conditions hazardous to aircraft

Atmospheric parameters recorded during high surface winds are analyzed to determine magnitude, frequency, duration, and simultaneity of occurrence of low level flow conditions known to be hazardous to the ascent and descent of conventional aircraft and the space shuttle. Graphic and tabular presentations of mean and extreme values and simultaneous occurrences of turbulence (gustiness and a gust factor), wind shear (speed and direction), and vertical motion (updrafts and downdrafts), along with associated temperature inversions are included as function of tower height, layer and/or distance for six 5 sec intervals (one interval every 100 sec) of parameters sampled simultaneously at the rate of 10 speeds, directions and temperatures per second during an approximately 10 min period.

Alexander, M. B.↗

Some Measured Characteristics of Severe Storm Turbulence

Measurements of atmospheric turbulence obtained from airplane flights through severe storms in connection with the National Severe Storms Project will be discussed. Various characteristics of turbulence, such as differences in intensity between storms and the turbulence intensity with altitude and time will be indicated. These measurements for severe storm conditions will also be compared with other measurements for clear-air and non-storm weather conditions as a means of illustrating the relative severity of turbulence for various flight conditions. For these purposes, both derived gust velocities and power spectra of atmospheric turbulence will be used. The detailed nature of the vertical and horizontal flow patterns and the variations in atmospheric pressure as measured during several airplane traverses through storm centers will also be discussed.

TURBULENCE↗

Measurements of Atmospheric Turbulence on Seattle-Alaska Airways

For about the past year, American Airlines has been engaged in obtaining data on various uses of airborne radar under routine operating conditions. This work is under contract to the Navy Department, Bureau of Ships, and includes the investigation of radar as a navigational aid and terrain collision warning device and its use in icing and turbulence detection. In view of the work of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics on atmospheric turbulence, the NACA was requested to participate in the tests to the extent of obtaining and evaluating the turbulence data for use in the turbulence-detection phase of the work. Gust measurements and airborne radar observations were consequently obtained in February and March 1947 during routine flights of an American Airlines airplane on the Seattle-Alaska airways. Unfortunately, the weather conditions encountered during the flights gave no well-defined radar echoes and no comparison between radar indications end turbulence could be made. The gust data for the route, however, are of interest from an operational standpoint, and are presented herein for the information of the Navy Department in accordance with previous arrangements.

Funk, Jack↗

Effect of Surface Roughness on Dynamic Stall in Pitching Motion

Dynamic stall plays a critical role in determining the performance and stability of a wide range of fluid-dynamics systems in various engineering applications. This unsteady aerodynamic phenomenon is particularly significant for maneuvering aircraft wings, jet aircraft subjected to gust encounters, helicopter rotor blades, and wind turbine blades [1–3]. The prediction of the dynamic stall vortex (DSV) is challenging due to factors such as unsteady aerodynamics, three-dimensional (3-D) effects, turbulence and flow separation, incoming gust, and surface impact effects [4–6]. Hence, advanced computational techniques and modeling approaches in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) would be required to enhance the accuracy and reliability of DSV predictions in dynamic stall scenarios. In the past, Batther and Lee [7] employed delayed detached eddy simulations (DDES) to understand the flow physics associated with the onset of dynamic stall. Their approach demonstrated that DDES achieves results comparable to those obtained from large-eddy simulations at a reduced computational cost. In another study, Khalifa et al. [8] examined the 3-D aspects of dynamic stall on a NACA 0012 airfoil using DES solvers. In conclusion, the findings underlined the superiority of 3-D simulations over two-dimensional approaches, particularly in predicting the lift coefficient values and capturing dynamic stall stages more precisely.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Fractional Order Modeling of Atmospheric Turbulence - A More Accurate Modeling Methodology for Aero Vehicles

The presentation covers a recently developed methodology to model atmospheric turbulence as disturbances for aero vehicle gust loads and for controls development like flutter and inlet shock position. The approach models atmospheric turbulence in their natural fractional order form, which provides for more accuracy compared to traditional methods like the Dryden model, especially for high speed vehicle. The presentation provides a historical background on atmospheric turbulence modeling and the approaches utilized for air vehicles. This is followed by the motivation and the methodology utilized to develop the atmospheric turbulence fractional order modeling approach. Some examples covering the application of this method are also provided, followed by concluding remarks.

Atmospheric Turbulence Modeling↗

Gust Alleviation Using Direct Gust Measurement

The increasing competition in the market of civil aircraft leads to operating efficiency and passenger comfort being very important sales arguments. Continuous developments in jet propulsion technology helped to reduce energy consumption, as well as noise and vibrations due to the engines. The main problem with respect to ride comfort is, however, the transmittance of accelerations and jerkiness imposed by atmospheric turbulence from the wings to the fuselage. This 'gust' is also a design constraint: Light airplane structures help to save, energy, but are more critical to resist the loads imposed by turbulence. For both reasons, efficient gust alleviation is necessary to improve the performance of modern aircraft. Gust can be seen as a change in the angle of attack or as an additional varying vertical component of the headwind. The effect of gust can be very strong, since the same aerodynamic forces that keep the airplane flying are involved. Event though the frequency range of those changes is quite low, it is impossible for the pilot to alleviate gust manually. Besides, most of the time during the flight, the, autopilot maintains course and the attitude of flight. Certainly, most autopilots should be capable of damping the roughest parts of turbulence, but they are unable to provide satisfactory results in that field. A promising extension should be the application of subsidiary, control, where the inner (faster) control loop alleviates turbulence and the outer (slower) loop controls the attitude of flight. Besides the mentioned ride comfort, another reason for gust alleviation with respect to the fuselage is the sensibility of electrical devices to vibration and high values of acceleration. Many modern airplane designs--especially inherently instable military aircraft--are highly dependent on avionics. The lifetime and the reliability of these systems is thus essential.

Hoppe, Sven Marco↗

Aerodynamic Parameter Estimation Using Reconstructed Turbulence Measurements

A classical method for reconstructing atmospheric turbulence from onboard measurements of airdata and inertial sensors was improved and implemented for real-time computation. The reconstructed turbulence measurements were then included in a system identification analysis to estimate nondimensional stability and control derivatives in a longitudinal short period model using the maximum likelihood equation-error method in the frequency domain with Fourier-transform data. Flight test results using a subscale transport-type airplane showed that the power spectra for the reconstructed vertical gusts resembled the von Kármán turbulence model. Flight data in moderate and severe turbulence exhibited a decorrelation of the modeling data that increased the accuracy of parameter estimation results using the reconstructed turbulence. In particular, pitch rate and angle-of-attack rate derivatives could both be identified from flight data about straight and level flight without special maneuvers or prior information.

Jared A Grauer↗

A spatial model of wind shear and turbulence

The purpose of the spatial model considered in the present investigation is to generate the wind environment for use by others for flight simulation. Winds and gusts are provided over any finite area (e.g., aircraft body) from which aircraft loads and moments may be calculated. Three-dimensional autospectral information and correlation are contained in the data. It is pointed out that the three-dimensionality as contained in the spatial model affords much greater realism than widely used one-dimensional models. The resulting simulated wind is a nonlinear, non-Gaussian combination of real atmospheric winds and Gaussian, three-dimensional turbulence modulated by gust intensities which may vary freely as desired over space. The turbulence as represented by a product of a varying gust intensity and simulated turbulence is nonlinear and non-Gaussian.

Campbell, C. W.↗

Motion Cueing Algorithm Development: Piloted Performance Testing of the Cueing Algorithms

The relative effectiveness in simulating aircraft maneuvers with both current and newly developed motion cueing algorithms was assessed with an eleven-subject piloted performance evaluation conducted on the NASA Langley Visual Motion Simulator (VMS). In addition to the current NASA adaptive algorithm, two new cueing algorithms were evaluated: the optimal algorithm and the nonlinear algorithm. The test maneuvers included a straight-in approach with a rotating wind vector, an offset approach with severe turbulence and an on/off lateral gust that occurs as the aircraft approaches the runway threshold, and a takeoff both with and without engine failure after liftoff. The maneuvers were executed with each cueing algorithm with added visual display delay conditions ranging from zero to 200 msec. Two methods, the quasi-objective NASA Task Load Index (TLX), and power spectral density analysis of pilot control, were used to assess pilot workload. Piloted performance parameters for the approach maneuvers, the vertical velocity upon touchdown and the runway touchdown position, were also analyzed but did not show any noticeable difference among the cueing algorithms. TLX analysis reveals, in most cases, less workload and variation among pilots with the nonlinear algorithm. Control input analysis shows pilot-induced oscillations on a straight-in approach were less prevalent compared to the optimal algorithm. The augmented turbulence cues increased workload on an offset approach that the pilots deemed more realistic compared to the NASA adaptive algorithm. The takeoff with engine failure showed the least roll activity for the nonlinear algorithm, with the least rudder pedal activity for the optimal algorithm.

Houck, Jacob A.↗

Effect of limited amplitude and rate of flap motion on vane-controlled gust alleviation system

An airplane (light transport type) is assumed to be in level flight (no pitching) through atmospheric turbulence which has a mean-square vertical gust intensity of 9.3 (m/sec)sq. The power spectral density of the vertical acceleration due to gusts is examined with and without a gust-alleviation system in operation. The gust-alleviation system consisted of wing flaps that were used in conjunction with a vane mounted ahead of the airplane to sense the vertical gust velocity. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the change in the effectiveness of the gust-alleviation system when the flap motion is limited in amplitude and rate. The alleviation system was very effective if no restrictions were placed on flap motion (rate and amplitude). Restricting the flap amplitude to 0.5 radian did not appreciably change the effectiveness. However, restricting the flap rate did reduce the gust alleviation, and restricting the flap rate to 0.25 rad/sec actually caused the alleviation system to increase the vertical acceleration above that for the no-alleviation situation. Based upon this analysis, rate limiting appears to be rather significant in gust-alleviation systems designed for passenger comfort.

Barker, L. K.↗

Development of a rotor wake-vortex model, volume 1

Certain empirical rotor wake and turbulence relationships were developed using existing low speed rotor wave data. A tip vortex model was developed by replacing the annulus wall with a row of image vortices. An axisymmetric turbulence spectrum model, developed in the context of rotor inflow turbulence, was adapted to predicting the turbulence spectrum of the stator gust upwash.

Majjigi, R. K.↗

Effects of Unsteadiness Due to Wake Passing on Rotor Blade Heat Transfer

14. ABSTRACT In a gas turbine engine, the turbine rotor blades are buffeted by the wakes of the vanes located upstream. There is a transient effect from the passing of wakes on the blade heat transfer. This transient effect has been computed for a representative rotor by introducing a wake upstream via an unsteady inlet flow boundary condition, or "gust" condition. Two cases of turbulent flow and laminar flow with Reynolds numbers of 385,000 and 385 respectively were considered. For the turbulent flow case a quasi-steady calculation was also performed. The variation in the unsteady heat transfer coefficient was found to be as high as 120 percent of the mean. For the turbulent flow case a quasisteady calculation was also performed. The time mean of the unsteady heat transfer, the mean of the quasi-steady variations and the steady results agree reasonably well on all blade locations except for the turbulent results which differ near the leading edge. The quasi-steady heat transfer results do not agree with the instantaneous unsteady results, although the time-mean values are similar.

Ameri, Ali A.↗