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At least 109 records · Page 6

Aircraft wake flow effect and horizontal tail buffet

As part of a program to investigate the fluctuating pressure distribution and response behavior of a fighter aircraft in transonic maneuver, an F-5A scale model has previously been tested in an 11-ft transonic wind tunnel. The model, with a number of static and dynamic pressure transducers imbedded in the lifting surfaces was tested at various angles of attack up to 16 deg. In this paper, test results of particular interest to wake flow and horizontal tail buffet are described. It is shown that the dynamic pressure data on the tail surface at the specified flight conditions serve to determine the local dynamic loads. They also influence the control performance of the aircraft under maneuver conditions where buffet is encountered. The data presented demonstrate a number of contributing factors that affect the tail dynamic pressures in the transonic regime.

Hwang, C.↗

Preliminary results of buffet tests in a cryogenic wind tunnel

Buffet tests of two wings with different leading-edge sweep show that it is feasible to use the standards wing root bending moment technique in a cryogenic wing tunnel. The results for the 65 deg sweep delta wing indicate the importance of matching the reduced frequency parameter in model tests for planforms which are sensitive to reduced frequency parameter if quantitative buffet measurements are required. The unique ability of a pressurized cryogenic wind tunnel to separate the effects of Reynolds number and of aeroelastic distortion by variations in the tunnel stagnation temperature and pressure was demonstrated.

Boyden, R. P.↗

Results of buffet tests in a cryogenic wind tunnel

Buffet tests on two semispan wing models with different leading edge sweep show that it is feasibile to use the standard dynamic wing root bending moment technique in a cryogenic wind tunnel. One model was a slender 65 deg swept delta wing with sharp leading edges. The other model was an unswept wing of aspect ratio 1.5 with a British NPL 9510 airfoil section. The results for the 65 deg swept delta wing indicate the importance of matching the reduced frequency parameter in model tests for planforms which are sensitive to reduced frequency parameter if quantitative buffet measurements are required. The unique ability of a pressurized cryogenic wind tunnel to separate the effects of Reynolds number and of static aeroelastic distortion by variations in the tunnel stagnation temperature and pressure were demonstrated.

Boyden, R. P.↗

Computation of airfoil buffet boundaries

The ILLIAC IV computer has been programmed with an implicit, finite-difference code for solving the thin layer compressible Navier-Stokes equation. Results presented for the case of the buffet boundaries of a conventional and a supercritical airfoil section at high Reynolds numbers are found to be in agreement with experimentally determined buffet boundaries, especially at the higher freestream Mach numbers and lower lift coefficients where the onset of unsteady flows is associated with shock wave-induced boundary layer separation.

Levy, L. L., Jr.↗

The buffeting pressure field of a high-aspect-ratio swept wing

An experimental study of the fluctuating pressure field of a high-aspect-ratio swept transport-type wing model in transonic buffeting flow is examined. A high degree of similarity between the buffet-related features of the wing flowfield and 2-D transonic flowfields is indicated. At several spanwise stations, unsteady lift produced by the pressure fluctuations is evaluated and found to increase in intensity as local flow separation develops. Results show that although the wing does vibrate, the measured lift fluctuations are driving, and not driven by wing vibrations. The influence of tunnel-flow unsteadiness on the data is considered.

Roos, F. W.↗

Wind tunnel investigation of aerodynamic and tail buffet characteristics of leading-edge extension modifications to the F/A-18

The impact of leading-edge extension (LEX) modifications on aerodynamic and vertical tail buffet characteristics of a 16-percent scale F/A-18 model has been investigated in the NASA Langley 30-foot by 60-foot tunnel. Modifications under consideration include variations in LEX chord and span, addition of upper surface fences, and removal of the LEX. Both buffeting and high-angle-of-attack aerodynamics are found to be strongly dependent upon the LEX geometry, which directly influences the strength, position, and breakdown characteristics of the vortex flow field. Concepts aimed at influencing the development of vortical flow field are considered to have much greater potential in design application than those geared toward altering already established flow fields. It is recommended that configuration effects on structural and aerodynamic characteristics be evaluated in parallel, so that trade-off studies can be conducted to ensure adequate structural fatigue life and desired high-angle-of-attack stability and control characteristics in the design of future high performance aircraft.

Shah, Gautam H.↗

Numerical investigation of tail buffet on F-18 aircraft

Numerical investigation of vortex induced tail buffet is conducted on the F-18 aircraft at high angles of attack. The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are integrated using a time-accurate, implicit procedure. A generalized overset zonal grid scheme is used to decompose the computational space around the complete aircraft with faired-over inlet. A weak coupling between the aerodynamics and structures is assumed to compute the structural oscillation of the flexible vertical tail. Time-accurate computations of the turbulent flow around the F-18 aircraft at 30 degrees angle of attack show the surface and off-surface flowfield details, including the unsteadiness created by the vortex burst and its interaction with the vertical twin tail which causes the tail buffet. The effect of installing a LEX fence on modifying the vortex structure upstream of the tail is also examined.

Rizk, Yehia M.↗

Full-scale Wind-tunnel Research on Tail Buffeting and Wing-fuselage Interference of a Low-wing Monoplane

Some preliminary results of full scale wind tunnel testing to determine the best means of reducing the tail buffeting and wing-fuselage interference of a low-wing monoplane are given. Data indicating the effects of an engine cowling, fillets, auxiliary airfoils of short span, reflexes trailing edge, propeller slipstream, and various combinations of these features are included. The best all-round results were obtained by the use of fillets together with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) cowling. This combination reduced the tail buffeting oscillations to one-fourth of their original amplitudes, increased the maximum lift 11 percent, decreased the minimum drag 9 percent, and increased the maximum ratio of lift to drag 19 percent.

Hood, Manley J↗

Wing-Fuselage Interference, Tail Buffeting, and Air Flow About the Tail of a Low-Wing Monoplane

This report presents the results of wind tunnel tests on a Mcdonnell Douglas airplane to determine the wing-fuselage interference of a low-wing monoplane. The tests included a study of tail buffeting and the air flow in the region of the tail. The airplane was tested with and without the propeller slipstream, both in the original condition and with several devices designed to reduce or eliminate tail buffeting. The devices used were wing-fuselage fillets, a NACA cowling, reflexed trailing edge of the wing, and stub auxiliary airfoils.

White, James A↗

Measurement and Analysis of Wing and Tail Buffeting Loads on a Fighter Airplane

The buffeting loads measured on the wing and tail of a fighter airplane during 194 maneuvers are given in tabular form, along with the associated flight conditions. Measurements were made at altitudes of 30,000 to 10,000 feet and at speeds up to a Mach number of 0.8. Least-squares methods have been used for a preliminary analysis of the data. The agreement between the results of this analysis and the loads measured in stalls is sufficiently good to suggest the examination of the buffeting of other airplanes on the same basis.

Huston, Wilber B↗

Cryogenic Tunnel Pressure Measurements on a Supercritical Airfoil for Several Shock Buffet Conditions

Steady and unsteady experimental data are presented for several fixed geometry conditions from a test in the NASA Langley 0.3-Meter Transonic Cryogenic Tunnel. The purpose of this test was to obtain unsteady data for transonic conditions on a fixed and pitching supercritical airfoil at high Reynolds numbers. Data and brief analyses for several of the fixed geometry test conditions will be presented here. These are at Reynolds numbers from 6 x 10(exp 6) to 35 x 10(exp 6) bases on chord length, and span a limited range of Mach numbers and angles of attack just below and at the onset of shock buffet. Reynolds scaling effects appear in both the steady pressure data and in the onset of shock buffet at Reynolds numbers of 15 x 10(exp 6) and 3O x 10(exp 6) per chord length.

Bartels, Robert E.↗

Active Vertical Tail Buffeting Alleviation on an F/A-18 Model in a Wind Tunnel

A 1/6-scale F-18 wind-tunnel model was tested in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel at the NASA Langley Research Center as part of the Actively Controlled Response Of Buffet-Affected Tails (ACROBAT) program to assess the use of active controls in reducing vertical tail buffeting. The starboard vertical tail was equipped with an active rudder and other aerodynamic devices, and the port vertical tail was equipped with piezoelectric actuators. The tunnel conditions were atmospheric air at a dynamic pressure of 14 psf. By using single-input-single-output control laws at gains well below the physical limits of the control effectors, the power spectral density of the root strains at the frequency of the first bending mode of the vertical tail was reduced by as much as 60 percent up to angles of attack of 37 degrees. Root mean square (RMS) values of root strain were reduced by as much as 19 percent. Stability margins indicate that a constant gain setting in the control law may be used throughout the range of angle of attack tested.

Moses, Robert W.↗

Effectiveness of Flow Control for Alleviation of Twin-Tail Buffet

Effectiveness of active flow control for twin- tail buffet alleviation is investigated. Tangen- tial leading-edge blowing (TLEB) and flow suction along the vortex cores (FSVC) of the lead- ing edges of the delta wing are used to delay the vortex breakdown flow upstream of the twin tail. The combined effect of the TLEB and FSVC is also investigated. A parametric study of the effects of the spanwise position of the suction tubes and volumetric suction flow rate on the twin-tail buffet response are also investigated. The TLEB moves the path of leading-edge vortices laterally towards the twin tail, which increases the aero- dynamic damping on the tails. The FSVC effectively delays the breakdown location at high angles of attack. The computational model consists of a sharp-edged delta wing of aspect ratio one and swept-back flexible twin tail with taper ratio of 0.23. This complex multidisciplinary problem is solved sequentially using three sets of equations for the fluid flow, aeroelastic response and grid deformation, on a dynamic multi-block grid structure. The computational model is pitched at 30 deg. angle of attack. The freestream Mach number and Reynolds number are 0.3 and 1.25 million, respectively. The model is investigated for the inboard position of the twin tails, which corresponds to a separation distance between the twin tails of 33% of the wing span.

Sheta, Essam F.↗

Adaptive Suction and Blowing for Twin-Tail Buffet Control

Adaptive active flow control for twin-tail buffet alleviation is investigated. The concept behind this technique is to place control ports on the tail outer and inner surfaces with flow suction or blowing applied through these ports in order to minimize the pressure difference across the tail. The suction or blowing volume flow rate from each port is proportional to the pressure difference across the tail at this location. A parametric study of the effects of the number and location of these ports on the buffet response is carried out. The computational model consists of a sharp-edged delta wing of aspect ratio one and swept-back flexible twin tail with taper ratio of 0.23. This complex multidisciplinary problem is solved sequentially using three sets of equations for the fluid flow, aeroelastic response and grid deformation, using a dynamic multi-block grid structure. The computational model is pitched at 30 deg angle of attack. The freestream Mach number and Reynolds number are 0.3 and 1.25 million, respectively. The model is investigated for the inboard position of the twin tails, which corresponds to a separation distance between the twin tails of 33% of the wing span. Comparison of the time history and power spectral density responses of the tails for various distributions of the control ports are presented and discussed.

Kandil, Osama A.↗

Integrated Tail Buffet Loads on the F/A-18

The unsteady pressures acting on the vertical tails of a full-scale F/A-18 fighter aircraft were studied to gain a better understanding of tail-buffet loads that frequently occur on fighter aircraft operating at high angles-of-attack. Data for the study were acquired during two test entries in the 80- by 120-Foot Wind Tunnel wherein the aircraft was tested at wind speeds up to 100 knots and at angles-of-attack from 20deg to 40deg. For the purposes of this paper, the primary difference between the two tests is that, during the first wind-tunnel entry, the pressure transducers were more sparsely spaced and covered less of the fin than during the second entry. In addition to a brief description of the spectral analysis methods used for the unsteady aerodynamic pressures and loads, an analysis of the effects of sensor density on estimating integrated loads is presented. It was found that the integrated loads determined from sparse sensor arrays are significantly higher than actual loads. However, a modest increase in the number of sensors can greatly reduce the error and a method for correcting load estimates from sparse sensor arrays is also suggested. The results for the time-averaged, power-spectral analysis are then presented for the tail-fin bending moments. Power spectra are presented for the aircraft at zero sideslip over an angle-of-attack range from 20deg to 40deg and for the aircraft at an angle-of-attack of 30deg over a sideslip range from -16deg to 16deg. Since the aircraft was equipped with a removable leading-edge extension (LEX) fence to reduce tail-buffet loads, the tail-fin bending moment loads are also presented for that configuration. The LEX fence is shown to significantly reduce bending moment loads over a broad range frequencies, for all the aircraft attitudes presented.

Meyn, Larry A.↗

Wind Tunnel Development of Means to Alleviate Buffeting of the North American XP-82 Airplane at High Speeds

This report presents the results of wind-tunnel tests of a 0.22-scale model of the North American XP-82 airplane with several modifications designed to reduce the buffeting of the airplane. The effects of various modifications on the air flow over the model are shown by means of photographs of tufts. The drag, lift, and pitching-moment coefficients of the model with several of the modifications are shown. The result indicate that, by reflexing the trailing edge of the center section of the wing and modifying the radiator air-scoop gutter and the inboard lower-surface wing fillets, the start of buffeting can be delayed from a Mach number of 0.70 to 0.775, and that the diving tendency of the airplane would be eliminated up to a Mach number of 0.80.

Anderson, Joseph L.↗

Active Vertical Tail Buffeting Alleviation on a Twin-Tail Fighter Configuration in a Wind Tunnel

A 1/6-scale F-18 wind-tunnel model was tested in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel at the NASA Langley Research Center as part of the Actively Controlled Response Of Buffet-Affected Tails (ACROBAT) program to assess the use of active controls in reducing vertical tail buffeting. The starboard vertical tail was equipped with an active rudder and other aerodynamic devices, and the port vertical tail was equipped with piezoelectric actuators. The tunnel conditions were atmospheric air at a dynamic pressure of 14 psf. By using single-input-single-output control laws at gains well below the physical limits of the control effectors, the power spectral density of the root strains at the frequency of the first bending mode of the vertical tail was reduced by as much as 60 percent up to angles of attack of 37 degrees. Root mean square (RMS) values of root strain were reduced by as much as 19 percent. Stability margins indicate that a constant gain setting in the control law may be used throughout the range of angle of attack tested.

Moses, Robert W.↗

Lift, Drag, Static Stability, and Buffet Boundaries of a Model of the McDonnell F3H-1N Airplane at Mach Numbers from 0.40 to 1.27, TED No. NACA DE 351

The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics has conducted a flight test of a model approximating the McDonnell F3H-lN airplane configuration to determine its pitch-up and buffet boundaries, as well as the usual longitudinal stability derivatives obtainable from the pulsed- tail technique. The test was conducted by the freely flying rocket- boosted model technique developed at the Langley Laboratory; results were obtained at Mach numbers from 0.40 to 1.27 at corresponding Reynolds numbers of 2.6 x 10(exp 6) and 9.0 x 10(exp 6). The phenomena of pitch-up, buffet, and maximum lift were encountered at Mach numbers between 0.42 and 0.85. The lift-curve slope and wing-root bending-moment slope increased with increasing angle of attack, whereas the static stability decreased with angle of attack at subsonic speeds and increased at transonic speeds. There was little change in trim at low lift at transonic speeds.

Crabill, Norman L.↗