NASA Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports

An efficient methodology is presented for defining a class of airplane configurations. Inclusive in this definition are
surface grids, volume grids, and grid sensitivity. A small set of design parameters and grid control parameters govern the
process. The general airplane configuration has wing, fuselage, vertical tail, horizontal tail, and canard components. The wing,
tail, and canard components are manifested by solving a fourth-order partial differential equation subject to Dirichlet and
Neumann boundary conditions. The design variables are incorporated into the boundary conditions, and the solution is
expressed as a Fourier series. The fuselage has circular cross section, and the radius is an algebraic function of four design
parameters and an independent computational variable. Volume grids are obtained through an application of the Control Point
Form method. Grid sensitivity is obtained by applying the automatic differentiation precompiler ADIFOR to software for the
grid generation. The computed surface grids, volume grids, and sensitivity derivatives are suitable for a wide range of
Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation and configuration optimizations.
Author
Aircraft Configurations; Computational Fluid Dynamics; Grid Generation (Mathematics); Independent Variables
20040111297 NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Hypersonic Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Proposed Single-Stage-To-Orbit Vehicle
Weilmuenster, K. James; Gnoffo, P. A.; Greene, F. A.; Riley, C. J.; Hamilton, H. H., II; Alter, S. J.; [1995]; 14 pp.; In English
Report No.(s): AIAA Paper 95-1850; Copyright; Avail: CASI; A03, Hardcopy
The hypersonic aerodynamic characteristics of a winged body concept representing a candidate single- stage-to-orbit
vehicle which features wing tip fin controllers and elevon/body flap control surfa’Fs are predicted at points along a nominal
trajectory for Mach numbers from 5 to 27 and angles of attack from 19 to 32 degrees. Predictions are derived from surface
properties based on flow solvers for inviscid and viscous, laminar flows acting as a perfect gas, as a gas in chemical
equilibrium and as a gas in chemical non- equilibrium. At a Mach number of 22, the lateral aerodynamic characteristics of
the vehicle are determined based on an inviscid analysis at side slip angles of 2 and 4 degrees and 32 degrees angle of attack;
a viscous analysis was carried out to determine the effect of gas chemistry model on surface pressure and to determine the
incremental aerodynamics for control surface deflections. The results show that the longitudinal pitch characteristics of the
baseline configuration, i.e., zero control surface deflections, are significantly altered by real gas chemistry at angles of attack
greater than 30 degrees and Mach numbers greater than 9; and, that aerodynamics derived from inviscid solutions are of
sufficient accuracy for preliminary analysis. Also, it is shown that a Mach number of 22, the choice of gas chemistry model
has a large impact on surface pressure levels at highly localized regions on the vehicle and that the vehicle can be trimmed
at control surface deflections less than 11 degrees.
Author
Aerodynamic Characteristics; Single Stage to Orbit Vehicles; Hypersonic Flight; Body-Wing Configurations; Computational
Fluid Dynamics
20040111302 NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Summary of a Crew-Centered Flight Deck Design Philosophy for High-Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) Aircraft
Palmer, Michael T.; Rogers, William H.; Press, Hayes N.; Latorella, Kara A.; Abbott, Terence S.; [1995]; 6 pp.; In English;
Copyright; Avail: CASI; A02, Hardcopy
Past flight deck design practices used within the U.S. commercial transport aircraft industry have been highly successful
in producing safe and efficient aircraft. However, recent advances in automation have changed the way pilots operate aircraft,
and these changes make it necessary to reconsider overall flight deck design. Automated systems have become more complex
and numerous, and often their inner functioning is partially or fully opaque to the flight crew. Recent accidents and incidents
involving autoflight system mode awareness Dornheim, 1995) are an example. This increase in complexity raises pilot
concerns about the trustworthiness of automation, and makes it difficult for the crew to be aware of all the intricacies of
operation that may impact safe flight. While pilots remain ultimately responsible for mission success, performance of flight
deck tasks has been more widely distributed across human and automated resources. Advances in sensor and data integration
technologies now make far more information available than may be prudent to present to the flight crew.
Derived from text
Automatic Control; Civil Aviation; Data Integration; Supersonic Transports; Design Analysis
20040111313 NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
A Parametric Investigation of Nozzle Planform and Internal/External Geometry at Transonic Speeds
Cler, Daniel L.; [1995]; 23 pp.; In English
Report No.(s): AIAA Paper 95-2608; Copyright; Avail: CASI; A03, Hardcopy
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