Robert W. Moses

Active vibration-suppression systems applied to twin-tail buffeting

Buffeting is an aeroelastic phenomenon that plagues high performance aircraft, especially those with twin vertical tails. Unsteady cortices emanate form wing/fuselage leading edge extensions when these aircraft maneuver at high angles of attack. These aircraft are designed such that the vortices shed while maneuvering at high angels of attack and improve the lift-to-drag ratio of the aircraft. With proper placement and sizing of the vertical tails, this improvement may be maintained without adverse effects to the tails. However, there are tail locations and angels of attack where these vortices burst and immerse the vertical tails in their wake inducing severe structural vibrations. The resulting buffet loads and severe vertical tail response because an airframe life and maintenance concern as life cycle costs increased. Several passive methods have been investigated to reduce the buffeting of these vertical tails with limited success. As demonstrated through analyses, wind-tunnel investigations, and full-scale ground tests, active control system offer a promising solution to alleviate buffet induced strain and increase the fatigue life of vertical tails. A collaborative research project including the US, Canada, and Australia is in place to demonstrate active buffet load alleviation systems on military aircraft. The present paper provides details on this collaborative project and other research efforts to reduce the buffeting response of vertical tails in fighter aircraft.

Spatial Characteristics of the Unsteady Differential Pressures on 16 percent F/A-18 Vertical Tails

Buffeting is an aeroelastic phenomenon which plagues high performance aircraft at high angles of attack. For the F/A-18 at high angles of attack, vortices emanating from wing/fuselage leading edge extensions burst, immersing the vertical tails in their turbulent wake. The resulting buffeting of the vertical tails is a concern from fatigue and inspection points of view. Previous flight and wind-tunnel investigations to determine the buffet loads on the tail did not provide a complete description of the spatial characteristics of the unsteady differential pressures. Consequently, the unsteady differential pressures were considered to be fully correlated in the analyses of buffet and buffeting. The use of fully correlated pressures in estimating the generalized aerodynamic forces for the analysis of buffeting yielded responses that exceeded those measured in flight and in the wind tunnel. To learn more about the spatial characteristics of the unsteady differential pressures, an available 16%, sting-mounted, F-18 wind-tunnel model was modified and tested in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT) at the NASA Langley Research Center as part of the ACROBAT (Actively Controlled Response Of Buffet-Affected Tails) program. Surface pressures were measured at high angles of attack on flexible and rigid tails. Cross-correlation and cross-spectral analyses of the pressure time histories indicate that the unsteady differential pressures are not fully correlated. In fact, the unsteady differential pressure resemble a wave that travels along the tail. At constant angle of attack, the pressure correlation varies with flight speed.

Next Generation Active Buffet Suppression System

Buffeting is an aeroelastic phenomenon that is common to high performance aircraft, especially those with twin vertical tails like the F/A-18, at high angles of attack. These loads result in significant random stresses, which may cause fatigue damage leading to restricted capabilities and availability of the aircraft. This paper describes an international collaborative research activity among Australia, Canada and the United States involving the use of active structural control to alleviate the damaging structural response to these loads. The research program is being co-ordinated by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and is being conducted under the auspices of The Technical Cooperative Program (TTCP). This truly unique collaborative program has been developed to enable each participating country to contribute resources toward a program that coalesces a broad range of technical knowledge and expertise into a single investigation. This collaborative program is directed toward a full-scale test of an F/A-18 empennage, which is an extension of an earlier initial test. The current program aims at applying advanced directional piezoactuators, the aircraft rudder, switch mode amplifiers and advanced control strategies on a full-scale structure to demonstrate the enhanced performance and capability of the advanced active BLA control system in preparation for a flight test demonstration.

ACTIVE CONTROL OF F/A-18 VERTICAL TAIL BUFFETING USING PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATORS

Vertical tail buffeting is a serious multidisciplinary problem that limits the performance of twin-tail fighter aircraft. The buffet problem occurs at high angles of attack when the vortical flow breaks down ahead of the vertical tails resulting in unsteady and unbalanced pressure loads on the vertical tails. This paper describes a multidisciplinary computational investigation for buffet load alleviation of full F/A-18 aircraft using distributed piezoelectric actuators. The inboard and outboard surfaces of the vertical tail are equipped with piezoelectric actuators to control the buffet responses in the first bending and torsion modes. The electrodynamics of the smart structure are expressed with a three-dimensional finite element model. A single-input-single-output controller is designed to drive the active piezoelectric actuators. High-fidelity multidisciplinary analysis modules for the fluid dynamics, structure dynamics, electrodynamics of the piezoelectric actuators, fluid-structure interfacing, and grid motion are integrated into a multidisciplinary computing environment that controls the temporal synchronization of the analysis modules. Peak values of the power spectral density of tail tip acceleration are reduced by as much as 22% in the first bending mode and by as much as 82% in the first torsion mode. RMS values of tip acceleration are reduced by as much as 12%.

Magnetohydrodynamic power generation for planetary entry vehicles

A new concept under development at NASA, called Regenerative Aerobraking, attempts to harvest a portion of the power lost during planetary entry. One approach under investigation is magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generation that may possibly capitalize on the ionization created during atmospheric entry. To better study the potential of that approach, a new analysis capability was developed that combines the computational capabilities of hypersonic aerodynamics and MHD physics to model the processes in the ionized shock and boundary layers in magnetic field. This paper highlights the new analysis capability by presenting some results for a ballute geometry during hypersonic entry into the Martian atmosphere. The results show that with 1% potassium seed injected into the shock layer, MHD power generation at a level of at least several hundred kilowatts per meter of ballute circumference can be extended to flight velocities as low as 3.5 km/s (or even lower). If the total time of deceleration to 3.5 km/s is 30-40 seconds, then at least several gigajoules of energy can be generated during the ballute descent. The total amount of potassium seed required is about 50-100 kg. These findings are very encouraging for the Regenerative Aerobraking concept.

Spatial Characteristics of F/A-18 Vertical Tail Buffet Pressures Measured in Flight

Buffeting is an aeroelastic phenomenon which plagues high performance aircraft, especially those with twin vertical tails, at high angles of attack. Previous wind-tunnel and flight tests were conducted to characterize the buffet loads on the vertical tails by measuring surface pressures, bending moments, and accelerations. Following these tests, buffeting estimates were computed using the measured buffet pressures and compared to the measured responses. The estimates did not match the measured data because the assumed spatial correlation of the buffet pressures was not correct. A better understanding of the partial (spatial) correlation of the differential buffet pressures on the tail was necessary to improve the buffeting estimates. Several wind-tunnel investigations were conducted for this purpose. When combined and compared, the results of these tests show that the partial correlation depends on and scales with flight conditions. One of the remaining questions is whether the windtunnel data is consistent with flight data. Presented herein, cross-spectra and coherence functions calculated from pressures that were measured on the high alpha research vehicle (HARV) indicate that the partial correlation of the buffet pressures in flight agrees with the partial correlation observed in the wind tunnel.

Sustaining Human Presence on Mars Using ISRU and a Reusable Lander

This paper presents an analysis of the impact of ISRU (In-Site Resource Utilization), reusability, and automation on sustaining a human presence on Mars, requiring a transition from Earth dependence to Earth independence. The study analyzes the surface and transportation architectures and compared campaigns that revealed the importance of ISRU and reusability. A reusable Mars lander, Hercules, eliminates the need to deliver a new descent and ascent stage with each cargo and crew delivery to Mars, reducing the mass delivered from Earth. As part of an evolvable transportation architecture, this investment is key to enabling continuous human presence on Mars. The extensive use of ISRU reduces the logistics supply chain from Earth in order to support population growth at Mars. Reliable and autonomous systems, in conjunction with robotics, are required to enable ISRU architectures as systems must operate and maintain themselves while the crew is not present. A comparison of Mars campaigns is presented to show the impact of adding these investments and their ability to contribute to sustaining a human presence on Mars.

Atmospheric entry studies for Uranus

The present paper describes parametric studies conducted to define the Uranus entry trade space. Two different arrival opportunities in 2029 and 2043, corresponding to launches in 2021 and 2034, respectively, are considered in the present study. These two launch windows factor in the 84-year orbital period, significant axial tilt, and the wide ring system of Uranus. As part of this study, an improved engineering model is developed for the Uranus atmosphere. This improved model is based on reconciliation of data available in the published literature and covers an altitude range of 0 km (1 bar pressure) to 5000 km. Two different entry scenarios are considered: 1) direct ballistic entry, and 2) aerocapture followed by entry from orbit. For ballistic entry a range of entry flight path angles are considered for probe entry masses ranging from 130 kg to 300 kg and diameters ranging from 0.8 m (Pioneer-Venus small probe scale) to 1.3 m (Galileo scale). The larger probes, which offer a larger packing volume, are considered in an attempt to accommodate more scientific instruments. For aerocapture a single case is studied to explore the feasibility and benefits of this option.

An Analysis Method to Predict Tail Buffet Loads of Fighter Aircraft

Aircraft designers commit significant resources to the design of aircraft in meeting performance goals. Despite fulfilling traditional design requirements, many fighter aircraft have encountered buffet loads when demonstrating their high angle-of-attack maneuver capabilities. As a result, during test or initial production phases of fighter development programs, many new designs are impacted, usually in a detrimental way, by resulting in reassessing designs or limiting full mission capability. These troublesome experiences usually stem from overlooking or completely ignoring the effects of buffet during the design phase of aircraft. Perhaps additional requirements are necessary that addresses effects of buffet in achieving best aircraft performance in fulfilling mission goals. This paper describes a reliable, fairly simple, but quite general buffet loads analysis method to use in the initial design phases of fighter-aircraft development. The method is very similar to the random gust load analysis that is now commonly available in a commercial code, which this analysis capability is based, with some key modifications. The paper describes the theory and the implementation of the methodology. The method is demonstrated on a JSF prototype example problem. The demonstration also serves as a validation of the method, since, in the paper, the analysis is shown to nearly match the flight data. In addition, the paper demonstrates how the analysis method can be used to assess candidate design concepts in determining a satisfactory final aircraft configuration.

In-Space Assembly Capability Assessment for Potential Human Exploration and Science Applications

Human missions to Mars present several major challenges that must be overcome, including delivering multiple large mass and volume elements, keeping the crew safe and productive, meeting cost constraints, and ensuring a sustainable campaign. Traditional methods for executing human Mars missions minimize or eliminate in-space assembly, which provides a narrow range of options for addressing these challenges and limits the types of missions that can be performed. This paper discusses recent work to evaluate how the inclusion of in-space assembly in space mission architectural concepts could provide novel solutions to address these challenges by increasing operational flexibility, robustness, risk reduction, crew health and safety, and sustainability. A hierarchical framework is presented to characterize assembly strategies, assembly tasks, and the required capabilities to assemble mission systems in space. The framework is used to identify general mission system design considerations and assembly system characteristics by assembly strategy. These general approaches are then applied to identify potential in-space assembly applications to address each challenge. Through this process, several focus areas were identified where applications of in-space assembly could affect multiple challenges. Each focus area was developed to identify functions, potential assembly solutions and operations, key architectural trades, and potential considerations and implications of implementation. This paper helps to identify key areas to investigate were potentially significant gains in