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1 – 10 of 368The author developed a theory of optimal trajectories for air vehicles with variable wing area and conventional wings. He applied a new theory of singular optimal solutions and…
Abstract
The author developed a theory of optimal trajectories for air vehicles with variable wing area and conventional wings. He applied a new theory of singular optimal solutions and obtained the optimal flight in many cases. At first glance, the results may seem strange however, this is correct and this paper will show how this new theory may be used. The main idea of the research is in using the vehicle's kinetic energy for increasing the range of missiles and projectiles. The author shows that the range of a ballistic warhead can be increased 3‐4 times if an optimal wing is added to the ballistic warhead, especially a wing with variable area. If increased range is not needed, the warhead mass can be increased. The range of big gun shells can also be increased 3‐9 times. The range of aircraft may be improved 3‐15 percent and more. The results can be used for the design of aircraft, missiles, flying bombs and shells of big guns.
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S. Tauqeer ul Islam Rizvi, He Linshu and Xu Dajun
The purpose of the paper is to study the variation of optimal burnout angle at the end of the ascent phase and the optimal control deflection during the glide phase, that would…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to study the variation of optimal burnout angle at the end of the ascent phase and the optimal control deflection during the glide phase, that would maximize the downrange performance of a hypersonic boost-glide waverider, with variation in heat rate and integrated heat load limit.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach used is to model the boost phase so as to optimize the burnout conditions. The nonlinear, multiphase, constraint optimal control problem is solved using an hp-adaptive pseudospectral method.
Findings
The constraint heat load results for the waverider configuration reveal that the integrated heat load can be reduced by more than half with only 10 per cent penalty in the overall downrange of the hypersonic boost-glide vehicle, within a burnout speed range of 3.7 to 4.3 km/s. The angle-of-attack trim control requirements increase with stringent heat rate and integrated heat load bounds. The normal acceleration remains within limits.
Practical implications
The trajectory results imply lower thermal protection system weight because of reduced heat load trajectory profile and therefore lower thermal protection system cost.
Originality/value
The research provides further study on the trajectory design to the hypersonic boost-glide vehicles for medium range application.
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Khurram Shahzad Sana and Weiduo Hu
The aim of this study is to design a guidance method to generate a smoother and feasible gliding reentry trajectory, a highly constrained problem by formalizing the control…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to design a guidance method to generate a smoother and feasible gliding reentry trajectory, a highly constrained problem by formalizing the control variables profile.
Design/methodology/approach
A novel accelerated fractional-order particle swarm optimization (FAPSO) method is proposed for velocity updates to design the guidance method for gliding reentry flight vehicles with fixed final energy.
Findings
By using the common aero vehicle as a test case for the simulation purpose, it is found that during the initial phase of the longitudinal guidance, there are oscillations in the state parameters which cause to violate the path constraints. For the glide phase of the longitudinal guidance, the path constraints have higher values because of the increase in the atmosphere density.
Research limitations/implications
The violation in the path constraints may compromise the flight vehicle safety, whereas the enforcement assures the flight safety by flying it within the reentry corridor.
Originality/value
An oscillation suppression scheme is proposed by using the FAPSO method during the initial phase of the reentry flight, which smooths the trajectory and enforces the path constraints partially. To enforce the path constraints strictly in the glide phase, ultimately, another scheme by using the FAPSO method is proposed. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is efficient to achieve better convergence and accuracy for nominal as well as dispersed conditions.
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Zhang Xingwei, Zhou Chaoying, Zhang Tao and Ji Wenying
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of spanwise shape of the leading edge on unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of wings during forward flapping and gliding…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of spanwise shape of the leading edge on unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of wings during forward flapping and gliding flight.
Design/methodology/approach
A computational fluid dynamics approach was conducted to analyze the flow around airfoils with sinusoidal‐like protuberances at a Reynolds number of 104. Three‐dimensional time‐dependent incompressible Navier‐Stokes equations are numerically solved by using finite volume method. A multigrid mesh method, which was applied to the situation of fluid across the heaving models is used to simulate this type of flow. The simulations are performed for the wavelength between neighbouring peaks of 0.25c and 0.5c. For each wavelength, two heights of the tubercles which are 5 per cent and 10 per cent of the chordwise length of wing, are employed on the leading edge of wings. The aerodynamic forces and flow structure around airfoils are presented and compared in detail. Special attention is paid to investigate the effect of leading‐edge shape on the fluid dynamic forces.
Findings
Present results reveal that the wings with leading‐edge tubercles have an aerodynamic advantage during gliding flight and also have the potential advantages during flapping forward flight.
Originality/value
On the basis of computational study, an improved scenario for flapping wing microaviation vehicle has been originally proposed.
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Yu Li, Naigang Cui and Siyuan Rong
The purpose of this paper is to optimize the downrange for hypersonic boost‐glide (HBG) missile under near‐real condition, and to validate the suitability of proposed wall cooling…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to optimize the downrange for hypersonic boost‐glide (HBG) missile under near‐real condition, and to validate the suitability of proposed wall cooling materials.
Design/methodology/approach
The trajectory optimization problem is characterized by a boost phase followed by a glide phase. A multi‐phase trajectory optimization tool is adopted to optimize the downrange. The associated optimal control problem has been solved by selecting a direct shooting method. The dynamics has been transcribed to a set of nonlinear constraints and the arising nonlinear programming problem has been solved through a sequential quadratic programming solver. An aerothermodynamics analysis method is introduced to calculate the aerodynamic heating at nose, leading edge, and ventral centerline regions.
Findings
HBG missile is suitable for long‐range attack, and the optimal trajectory solved is a novel boost‐glide‐skip trajectory, i.e. boost firstly, glide secondly, and skip at last. The proposed wall materials are valid.
Originality/value
This paper provides further study on the methods of trajectory design and aerothermodynamics analysis for HBG missile.
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Chandramohan D., Ankur Dumka, Dhilipkumar V. and Jayakumar Loganathan
This paper aims to predict the traffic and helps to find a solution. Unpredictable traffic leads more vehicles on the road. The result of which is one of the factors that…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to predict the traffic and helps to find a solution. Unpredictable traffic leads more vehicles on the road. The result of which is one of the factors that aggravate traffic congestion. Traffic congestion occurs when the available transport resources are less when compared to the number of vehicles that share the resource. As the number of vehicles increases the resources become scarce and congestion is more.
Design/methodology/approach
The population of the urban areas keeps increasing as the people move toward the cities in search of jobs and a better lifestyle. This leads to an increase in the number of vehicles on the road. However, the transport network, which is accessible to the citizens is less when compared to their demand.
Findings
The demand for resources is higher than the actual capacity of the roads and the streets. There are some circumstances, which will aggravate traffic congestion. The circumstances can be the road condition (pot holes and road repair), accidents and some natural calamities.
Originality/value
There is a lot of research being done to predict the traffic and model it to find a solution, which will make the condition better. However, still, it is an open issue. The accuracy of the predictions done is less.
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Jinwu Xiang, Tong Shen and Daochun Li
Obstacle and wind field are common environmental factors for mini unmanned helicopter (MUH) flight. This paper aims to develop a trajectory planning approach guiding MUH to avoid…
Abstract
Purpose
Obstacle and wind field are common environmental factors for mini unmanned helicopter (MUH) flight. This paper aims to develop a trajectory planning approach guiding MUH to avoid static and dynamic obstacles and to fly in steady uniform or boundary-layer wind field.
Design/methodology/approach
An optimal control model including a nonlinear flight dynamics model and a cubic obstacle model is established for MUH trajectory planning. Radau pseudospectral method is used to generate the optimal trajectory.
Findings
The approach can plan reasonable obstacle-avoiding trajectories in obstacle and windy environments. The simulation results show that high-speed wind fields increase the flight time and fluctuation of control inputs. If boundary-layer wind field exists, the trajectory deforms significantly and gets closer to the ground to escape from the strong wind.
Originality/value
The key innovations in this paper include a cubic obstacle model which is straightforward and practical for trajectory planning and MUH trajectory planning in steady uniform wind field and boundary-layer wind field. This study provides an efficient solution to the trajectory planning for MUH in obstacle and windy environments.
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Russia and China have several hypersonic weapons in service or near readiness. This class of weapon is raising concerns in the conventional and strategic realms, where security…
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB266083
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
These launches also have political aims, illustrated by an unprecedented weapons exhibition in Pyongyang. South Korea, too, staged an arms fair last week, its largest ever.