Experimental Determination of the Yawing Moment Due to Yawing Contributed by the Wing, Fuselage, and Vertical Tail of a Midwing Airplane Model
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Significant yawing moment asymmetries were encountered during the high-angle-of-attack envelope expansion of the two X-31 aircraft. These asymmetries led to position saturations of the thrust vector vanes and trailing-edge flaps during some of the dynamic stability axis rolling maneuvers at high angles of attack. This slowed the high-angle-of-attack envelope expansion and resulted in maneuver restrictions. Several aerodynamic modifications were made to the X-31 forebody with the goal of minimizing the asymmetry. A method for determining the yawing moment asymmetry from flight data was developed and an analysis of the various configuration changes completed. The baseline aircraft were found to have significant asymmetries above 45 deg angle of attack with the largest asymmetry typically occurring around 60 deg angle of attack. Applying symmetrical boundary layer transition strips along the forebody sides increased the magnitude of the asymmetry and widened the angle-of-attack range over which the largest asymmetry acted. Installing longitudinal forebody strakes and rounding the sharp nose of the aircraft caused the yawing moment asymmetry magnitude to be reduced. The transition strips and strakes made the asymmetry characteristic of the aircraft more repeatable than the clean forebody configuration. Although no geometric differences between the aircraft were known, ship 2 consistently had larger yawing moment asymmetries than ship 1.
Significant yawing moment asymmetries were encountered during the high-angle-of-attack envelope expansion of the two X-31 aircraft. These asymmetries caused position saturations of the thrust-vectoring vanes and trailing-edge flaps during some stability-axis rolling maneuvers at high angles of attack. The two test aircraft had different asymmetry characteristics, and ship two has asymmetries that vary as a function of Reynolds number. Several aerodynamic modifications have been made to the X-31 forebody with the goal of minimizing the asymmetry. These modifications include adding transition strips on the forebody and noseboom, using two different length strakes, and increasing nose bluntness. Ultimately, a combination of forebody strakes, nose blunting, and noseboom transition strips reduced the yawing moment asymmetry enough to fully expand the high-angle-of-attack envelope. Analysis of the X-31 flight data is reviewed and compared to wind-tunnel and water-tunnel measurements. Several lessons learned are outlined regarding high-angle-of-attack configuration design and ground testing.
Significant yawing moment asymmetries were encountered during the high-angle-of-attack envelope expansion of the two X-31 aircraft. These asymmetries caused position saturations of the thrust-vectoring vanes and trailing-edge flaps during some stability-axis rolling maneuvers at high angles of attack. The two test aircraft had different asymmetry characteristics, and ship 2 has asymmetries that vary as a function of Reynolds number. Several aerodynamic modifications have been made to the X-31 forebody with the goal of minimizing the asymmetry. These modifications include adding transition strips on the forebody and noseboom, using two different length strakes, and increasing nose bluntness. Ultimately, a combination of forebody strakes, nose blunting, and noseboom transition strips reduced the yawing moment asymmetry enough to fully expand the high-angle-of-attack envelope. Analysis of the X-31 flight data is reviewed and compared to wind-tunnel and water-tunnel measurements. Several lessons learned are outlined regarding high-angle-of-attack configuration design and ground testing.
In-flight pressure distributions at four fuselage stations on the forebody of the X-29A aircraft have been reported at angles of attack from 15 to 66° and at Mach numbers from 0.22 to 0.60. At angles of attack of 20° and higher, vortices shed from the nose strake caused suction peaks in the pressure distributions that generally increased in magnitude with angle of attack. Above 30° -angle of attack, the fore body pressure distributions became asymmetrical at the most forward station, while they remained nearly symmetrical until 50- to 55°-angle of attack for the aft stations. Between 59- to 66°-angle of attack, the asymmetry of the pressure distributions changed direction. Yawing moments for the forebody alone were obtained by integrating the forebody pressure distributions. At 45°-angle of attack, the aircraft yaws to the right and at 50° and higher, the aircraft yaws to the left. The fore body yawing moments correlated well with the aircraft left yawing moment at an angle of attack of 50° or higher. At a 45°-angle of attack, the forebody yawing moments did not correlate well with the aircraft yawing moment, but it is suggested that this was due to asymmetric pressures on the cockpit region of the fuselage which was not instrumented. The forebody was also shown to provide a positive component of directional stability of the aircraft at angles of attack of 25° or higher. A Mach number effect was noted at angles of attack of 30° or higher at the station where the nose strake was present. At this station, the suction peaks in the pressure distributions at the highest Mach number were reduced and much more symmetrical as compared to the lower Mach number pressure distributions.
In-flight pressure distributions at four fuselage stations on the forebody of the X-29A aircraft have been reported at angles of attack from 15 to 66 deg and at Mach numbers from 0.22 to 0.60. At angles of attack of 20 deg and higher, vortices shed from the nose strake caused suction peaks in the pressure distributions that generally increased in magnitude with angle of attack. Above 30 deg-angle of attack, the forebody pressure distributions became asymmetrical at the most forward station, while they remained nearly symmetrical until 50 to 55 deg-angle of attack for the aft stations. Between 59 to 66 deg-angle of attack, the asymmetry of the pressure distributions changed direction. Yawing moments for the forebody alone were obtained by integrating the forebody pressure distributions. At 45 deg-angle of attack, the aircraft yaws to the right and at 50 deg and higher, the aircraft yaws to the left. The forebody yawing moments correlated well with the aircraft left yawing moment at an angle of attack of 50 deg or higher. At a 45 deg-angle of attack, the forebody yawing moments did not correlate well with the aircraft yawing moment, but it is suggested that this was due to asymmetric pressures on the cockpit region of the fuselage which was not instrumented. The forebody was also shown to provide a positive component of directional stability of the aircraft at angles of attack of 25 deg or higher. A Mach number effect was noted at angles of attack of 30 deg or higher at the station where the nose strake was present. At this station, the suction peaks in the pressure distributions at the highest Mach number were reduced and much more symmetrical as compared to the lower Mach number pressure distributions.
Wind-tunnel data are presented on the rate of change of yawing moment with sideslip for tests of 9 complete airplane models, 20 fuselage shapes, and 3 wing models with various combinations of dihedral, sweepback, and twist. The data were collected during a survey of existing information, which was made to find a reliable method of computing the yawing moment due to sideslip. Important errors common to methods of computation used at present appear to be due to large interference effects, the investigation of which will undoubtedly require an extensive program of systematic wind-tunnel tests. At present it is necessary to place considerable reliance on past design experience in proportioning an airplane so as to obtain a reasonable degree of directional stability.
This reports presents the results of measurements made of yawing moments produced by rudder displacement for seven rudders mounted on each of three fuselages at angles of pitch of 0 degree, 8 degrees, 12 degrees, 20 degrees, 30 degrees and 40 degrees. The dimensions of the rudders were selected to cover the range of areas and aspect ratios commonly used, while the ratios of rudder area to fin area and of rudder chord to fin chord were kept approximately constant. An important result of the measurements is to show that increased aspect ratio gives increased yawing moments for a given area, provided the maximum rudder displacement does not exceed 25 degrees. If large rudder displacements are used, the effect of aspect ratio is not so great.
Tests were made with the spinning balance in a 5-foot wind tunnel to study the effect of stabilizer location upon the pitching and yawing moments given by the tail surfaces in spinning attitudes. The tests revealed that the horizontal surfaces, when in a normal location, seriously reduced the effectiveness of the fin and rudder, particularly at angles of attack of 50 degrees or more. The tests also revealed that a more forward or more rearward location gave no consistent or decided improvement; that a lower location greatly increased the shielding so that the yawing moment from the combination was in general less than that given by the bare fuselage; and that a higher location decreased the shielding and gave a favorable interference effect, particularly at the high angles of attack. Additional results regarding the stabilizer and the elevator are given.
In this report are presented the results of wind-tunnel tests of retractable spoilers on the upper surface of a Clark Y wing, which have been made as part of an investigation of lateral control devices being conducted by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Spoilers with chords up to 15.0 percent of the wing chord were tested in several locations on a plain rectangular wing and in two locations on the same wing equipped with a 20.0 percent chord split flap down 60 degrees. Charts are given for four representative angles of attack from which values of rolling- and yawing-moment coefficients may be obtained for spoilers up to 15.0 percent chord located on the upper surface of a Clark Y wing. The tests showed that at low angles of attack practically the same rolling moments can be obtained with a given spoiler at any location back of 30.0 percent of the wing chord, while at high angles of attack there is a definite advantage in locating the spoiler at least as far forward as 30.0 percent of the chord. The yawing moments accompanying a given rolling moment increase positively as the spoiler location is moved forward from the trailing edge of the wing. It is concluded that the 30.0 percent chord location is probably the optimum provided that instantaneous response of the airplane to a control movement can be obtained.
The correlation functions and power spectra of the rolling and yawing moments on an airplane wing due to the three components of continuous random turbulence are calculated. The rolling moments to the longitudinal (horizontal) and normal (vertical) components depend on the spanwise distributions of instantaneous gust intensity, which are taken into account by using the inherent properties of symmetry of isotropic turbulence. The results consist of expressions for correlation functions or spectra of the rolling moment in terms of the point correlation functions of the two components of turbulence. Specific numerical calculations are made for a pair of correlation functions given by simple analytic expressions which fit available experimental data quite well. Calculations are made for four lift distributions. Comparison is made with the results of previous analyses which assumed random turbulence along the flight path and linear variations of gust velocity across the span.
The aerodynamical constants of an airplane necessary for the discussion of stability are partly observed and partly calculated. Among the calculated coefficients is n(p), which is the variation of yawing moment due to rolling. (author)
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.