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At least 109 records · Page 6

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NASA NTRS1986

Evolution of a curved vortex filament into a vortex ring

The deformation of a hairpin-shaped vortex filament under self-induction and in the presence of shear is studied numerically using the Biot-Savart law. It is shown that the tip region of an elongated hairpin vortex evolves into a vortex ring and that the presence of mean shear impedes the process. Evolution of a finite-thickness vortex sheet under self-induction is also investigated using the Navier-Stokes equations. The layer evolves into a hairpin vortex which in turn produces a vortex ring of high Reynolds stress content. These results indicate a mechanism for the generation of ring vortices in turbulent shear flows, and a link between the experimental and numerical observation of hairpin vortices and the observation of ring vortices in the outer regions of turbulent boundary layers.

Moin, P.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Experimental study of the vortex flow behavior on a generic fighter wing at subsonic and transonic speeds

A subsonic and transonic investigation of the vortex flow behavior of a generic fighter configuration with 55-deg cropped delta wing has been conducted in order to improve current understanding of vortical motions on a wing with deflected leading edge flap at moderate and high angles-of-attack. The leading edge vortex strength was reduced, and the vortex was flatter and closer to the wing surface, as the Mach number increased. Transonically, at high angles-of-attack, the test data suggested the development of a cross-flow shock wave above the vortex sheet which coexisted with a rear shock wave. Subsonically, a deflected leading edge flap was able to sustain a concentrated vortex on the forward-facing surface.

Erickson, Gary E.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Flows over wings with leading-edge vortex separation

The unsteady cross flow analogy reduces the steady three dimensional separation flow problem into an unsteady two dimensional flow problem in which the section shape changes with time. The two dimensional VORSEP code is extended to the case of arbitrary body growth rates in order to generate the initial vortex structures for the three dimensional free vortex sheet (FVS) code. Automatic procedures to reduce the wing geometry definition to a set of cross flow plane sections corresponding to the locations of the time step solutions and to generate the effective source distribution on each cross flow section to represent the section normal growth across the following steps are incorporated in the VORSEP code. Also, the wake shedding model is improved by adopting a redistribution scheme which improves the stability of the free sheet development with time. The improved wake shedding model combined with the redistribution scheme alleviated the numerical instabilities associated with the vortex rollup.

Rao, B. M.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Energetics of vortex rollup and pairing

The change in kinetic energy between the initial and final states of the rollup of an infinite vortex sheet into an array of uniform vortices is calculated. From the result, an upper limit on the pitch-to-diameter ratio of the vortex array is found. This contrasts with a lower limit found from stability considerations by Moore and Saffman. By extending the calculation to the case of elliptical vortices, it is found that a combination of energy and stability considerations is able to predict, qualitatively, a number of the observed features of the free shear layer.

Ferziger, J. H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

High angle of attack: Aerodynamics

The ability to predict high angle of attack, nonlinear, aerodynamic characteristics of flight vehicles, including aircraft, has made significant progress in the last 25 years using computational tools and analyses. The key technological element which has made these analyses possible is the ability to account for the influence of the shed vortical flow, prevalent in this angle of attack range, on geometries of interest. Using selected analysis techniques, applications have also been made to wing design in order to improve their high speed maneuver performance. Various techniques, associated with different levels of accuracy, exist to model this vortical flow influence. The ones included in this paper cover: suction analogy with extensions; free vortex filaments; free vortex sheet modeling; and Euler and Navier-Stokes solutions. Associated relevant features of vortices are also addressed, including: the wing and flow conditions which cause vortex formation; and how the vortex strength varies with angle of attack and wing sweep.

John E. Lamar↗

NASA NTRS1978

Subsonic vortex-flow design study for slender wings

A theoretical study describing the effects of spanwise camber on the lift dependent drag of slender delta wings having leading-edge-vortex-flow is presented. The earlier work by Barsby, using conical flow, indicated that drag levels similar to those in attached flow could be obtained. This is reexamined and then extended to the more practical case of nonconical flow by application of the vortex-lattice method coupled with the suction-analogy and the recently developed Boeing free-vortex-sheet method. Lastly, a design code is introduced which employs the suction analogy in an attempt to define 'optimum' camber surfaces for minimum lift dependent drag for vortex flow conditions

Lamar, J. E.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Control of Flap Vortices

A wind tunnel investigation was carried out on a semi-span wing model to assess the feasibility of controlling vortices emanating from outboard flaps and tip-flaps by actively varying the degree of boundary layer separation. Separation was varied by means of perturbations produced from segmented zero-efflux oscillatory blowing slots, while estimates of span loadings and vortex sheet strengths were obtained by integrating wing surface pressures. These estimates were used as input to inviscid rollup relations as a means of predicting changes to the vortex characteristics resulting from the perturbations. Surveys of flow in the wake of the outboard and tip-flaps were made using a seven-hole probe, from which the vortex characteristics were directly deduced. Varying the degree of separation had a marked effect on vortex location, strength, tangential velocity, axial velocity and size for both outboard and tip-flaps. Qualitative changes in vortex characteristics were well predicted by the inviscid rollup relations, while the failure to account for viscosity was presumed to be the main reason for observed discrepancies. Introducing perturbations near the outboard flap-edges or on the tip-flap exerted significant control over vortices while producing negligible lift excursions.

Greenblatt, David↗

NASA NTRS1985

A Method for Computing the Core Flow in Three-Dimensional Leading-Edge Vortices

A theory is presented for calculating the flow in the core of a separation-induced leading-edge vortex. The method is based on matching inner and outer representations of the vortex. The inner model of the vortex is based on the quasicylindrical Navier-Stokes equations; the flow is assumed to be steady, axially symmetric, and incompressible and in addition, gradients in the radial direction are assumed to be much larger then gradients in the axial direction. The outer model is based on the three-dimensional free-vortex-sheet theory, a higher-order panel method which solves the Prandtl-Glauert equation including nonlinear boundary conditions pertinent to the concentrated vorticity representation of the leading edge vortex. The resultant flow is evaluated a posteriori for evidence of incipient vortex breakdown and the critical helix angle concept, in conjunction with an adverse longitudinal pressure gradient, is found to correlate well with the occurrence of vortex breakdown at the trailing edge of delta, arrow, and diamond wings.

Luckring, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Calculation of vortex flows on complex configurations

The calculation of aerodynamic characteristics of complex configurations having strongly coupled vortex flows is a non-linear problem requiring iterative solution techniques. This paper discusses the use of a low-order panel method as a means of obtaining practical solutions to such problems. The panel method is based on piecewise constant source and doublet quadrilateral panels and uses the internal Dirichlet boundary condition of zero perturbation potential. The problems of predicting vortex/surface interaction and vortex separation are discussed. Some example calculations are included but further test cases have yet to be carried out, in particular for comparisons with experimental data. The problem of convergence on the iterative calculation for the shape of the free vortex sheet is addressed and a preprocessor routine, based on an unsteady, two-dimensional version of the panel method, is put forward as a cost-effective way of generating an initial vortex structure for use as a starting solution for general configurations.

Maskew, B.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Computational technique for compressible vortex flows using the integral equation solution

The steady full-potential equation is written in the form of Poisson's equation, and the solution for the velocity field is expressed in terms of an integral equation. The integral solution consists of two surface integrals and one volume integral. The solution is obtained through successive iteration cycles. Each cycle of iteration consists of two sub-cycles, an inner cycle for wake relaxation and an out cycle for the strength of the source distribution integrals representing the flow compressibility. The density gradients in the source distribution is computed by using a type-differencing scheme of the Murman-Cole type. The method is applied to delta wings and the numerical examples show that a curved shock is captured on the wing suction side beneath the leading edge vortex sheet. Recently, a modified version of the scheme was applied to rectangular wings. In this modified scheme, the surface integral terms were computed by using a bilinear distribution of vorticity on triangular vortex panels which represent the wing and its wake. The results were compared with the available experimental data and they are in good agreement.

Kandil, Osama A.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Upper-surface-blowing jet wing interaction

A linear, inviscid, subsonic compressible flow theory is formulated for predicting the aerodynamic characteristics of upper-surface-blowing configurations. The effect of the thick jet is represented by a two-vortex-sheet model in order to account for the Mach number nonuniformity. The wing loading with the jet interaction effects is computed by satisfying boundary conditions on the wing and the jet surfaces. The vortex model is discussed in detail.

Lan, C. E.↗

NASA NTRS1989

A free surface vortex method with weak viscous effects

The advantage of vortex methods for inviscid flows of several fluids separated by interfaces is that problems of this kind may be posed and solved numerically entirely on the interface surface. For free surface problems, where one of the fluids has negligible inertia, a small amount of viscosity produces a thin, weak rotational layer adjacent to the potential flow vortex sheet. Here, a method is described for including this weak viscous effect as a modification of the boundary conditions for the potential part of the flow, thus allowing this slightly viscous flow to be formulated as a vortex method on the free surface. This is important for unsupported free drops where the viscosity at the free surface is the only source of damping for oscillations, and for gas-filled bubbles, where it provides both drag and damping. Small applied shear stresses from aerodynamic, electrostatic, or other sources may be included provided they are of the same order as the potential flow shear stress or smaller.

Lundgren, T. S.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Slender wing theory including regions of embedded total pressure loss

An aerodynamic theory of the flow about slender delta wings is described. The theory includes a treatment of the self-consistent development of the vortex wake patterns above the wing necessary to maintain smooth flow at the wing edges. The paper focuses especially on the formation within the wake of vortex 'cores' as embedded regions of total pressure loss, fed and maintained by umbilical vortex sheets emanating from the wing edges. Criteria are developed for determining the growing size and location of these cores, as well as the distribution and strength of the vorticity within them. In this paper, however, the possibility of vortex breakup is omitted. The aerodynamic consequences of the presence and evolution of the cores and the associated wake structure are illustrated and discussed. It is noted that wake history effects can have substantial influence on the distribution of normal force on the wing as well as on its magnitude.

Mccune, James E.↗

NASA NTRS1938

Investigations on the downwash behind a tapered wing with fuselage and propeller

The new downwash measurements behind a tapered wing with parallel center section described in the present report can be brought into good agreement with theoretical calculations if made on the basis of not-rolled-up vortex sheet and allowance is made for the lowering of the sheet. The test values are about 1 degree higher than the "upper limit" established for it, as against approximately 0.5 degrees in the earlier tests behind a rectangular and elliptical wing. The measurements on lateral axes, especially if lying below the wing on a level with the vortex train, disclosed in accord with the lift distribution, a marked change in angle over the span of the tail in contrast to the rectangular and elliptical wing.

Muttray, H↗

NASA NTRS1990

Computation of rotor aerodynamic loads in forward flight using a full-span free wake analysis

The development of an advanced computational analysis of unsteady aerodynamic loads on isolated helicopter rotors in forward flight is described. The primary technical focus of the development was the implementation of a freely distorting filamentary wake model composed of curved vortex elements laid out along contours of constant vortex sheet strength in the wake. This model captures the wake generated by the full span of each rotor blade and makes possible a unified treatment of the shed and trailed vorticity in the wake. This wake model was coupled to a modal analysis of the rotor blade dynamics and a vortex lattice treatment of the aerodynamic loads to produce a comprehensive model for rotor performance and air loads in forward flight dubbed RotorCRAFT (Computation of Rotor Aerodynamics in Forward Flight). The technical background on the major components of this analysis are discussed and the correlation of predictions of performance, trim, and unsteady air loads with experimental data from several representative rotor configurations is examined. The primary conclusions of this study are that the RotorCRAFT analysis correlates well with measured loads on a variety of configurations and that application of the full span free wake model is required to capture several important features of the vibratory loading on rotor blades in forward flight.

Quackenbush, Todd R.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Aerodynamic performance of slender wings with separated flows

The aerodynamic performance of low aspect ratio sweptback wings with vortex flows was numerically investigated using the free vortex sheet method. The models studied included flat, cambered, strake, and leading edge flapped wings of different planforms. The theoretical results predicted by the method were compared with the existing experimental data wherever available; and the code capabilities and limitations were explored. Also the effects of the wing thickness, fuselage, leading edge flap and multiple vortex modeling on the aerodynamic characteristics were studied.

Reddy, C. S.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Theoretical study of lift-generated vortex wakes designed to avoid rollup

Two hypothetical vortex wakes are introduced and studied theoretically to explore whether the rollup of lift-generated vortex sheets can be suppressed. The circulation distribution across each wake is specified such that one rotates and the other translates as a unit due to their self-induced velocities. Several span loadings are constructed from these solutions and the resulting inviscid wake structure is computed for several span lengths behind the generating wing by use of the discrete vortex method wherein the vortex wake is represented by an array of vortices. The final distribution of vortices is then used to estimate the rolling moment on an encountering wing. It is found that, even though the initial specified motions are not sustained, substantial reductions in rolling moment are predicted for certain ranges of the ratio of the span of the generating wing to the following wing.

Rossow, V. J.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Recent theoretical developments and experimental studies pertinent to vortex flow aerodynamics, with a view towards design

Recent progress in a research program directed toward an improved vortex flow technology base was reviewed. Analysis methods for conical flow and analysis and design methods for nonconical flows are presented. Applications are made for a variety of planar, nonplanar, and interferring lifting surfaces. Several methods are shown to provide reasonable estimates of over-all forces and moments for simple wing planforms with the suction analogy method currently offering the most versatility for arbitrary configuration applications. For the prediction of surface loadings the free vortex sheet method being developed by Boeing is shown to have considerable promise and further development of this type of method is encouraged. A data base for ogee strake-wing configurations is summarized with an emphasis on the requirements for maximizing the interference lift. A strake planform design procedure is discussed and a first solution (gothic in planview) is integrated with a wing body. The data show the strake to exhibit expected stable vortex characteristics. It was found that, apart from increasing sweep, conically cambered delta wings developed drag levels approaching that of attached flow with increasing either the lift or the wing camber height, lastly, an approximate vortex flow design method, based on the suction analogy, is outlined and an example is given.

Lamar, J. E.↗