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Article
Publication date: 10 December 2019

Ralph H. Jansen, Cheryl L. Bowman, Sean Clarke, David Avanesian, Paula J. Dempsey and Rodger W. Dyson

This paper aims to review national aeronautics and space administration (NASA’s) broad investments in electrified aircraft propulsion (EAP). NASA investments are guided by an…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to review national aeronautics and space administration (NASA’s) broad investments in electrified aircraft propulsion (EAP). NASA investments are guided by an assessment of potential market impacts, technical key performance parameters, and technology readiness attained through a combination of studies, enabling fundamental research and flight research.

Design/methodology/approach

The impact of EAP varies by market and NASA is considering three markets as follows: national/international, on-demand mobility and short-haul regional air transport. Technical advances in key areas have been made that indicate EAP is a viable technology. Flight research is underway to demonstrate integrated solutions and inform standards and certification processes.

Findings

A key finding is that sufficient technical advances in key areas have been made, which indicate EAP is a viable technology for aircraft. Significant progress has been made to reduce EAP adoption barriers and further work is needed to transition the technology to a commercial product and improve the technology, so it is applicable to large transonic aircraft.

Practical implications

Significant progress has been made to reduce EAP adoption barriers and further work is needed to transition the technology to a commercial product and improve the technology, so it is applicable to large transonic aircraft.

Originality/value

This paper will review the activities of the hybrid gas-electric subproject of the Advanced Air Transport Technology Project, the Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology Project and the X-57 Flight Demonstration Project, and discuss the potential EAP benefits for commercial and military applications. This paper focuses on the vehicle-related activities, however, there are related NASA activities in air space management and vehicle autonomy activities, as well as a breakthrough technology project called the Convergent Aeronautics Solutions Project. The target audience is people interested in EAP.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 92 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2022

Mohamed Awad and Eike Stumpf

This research aims to present an aero-propulsive interaction model applied to conceptual aircraft design with distributed electric propulsion (DeP). The developed model includes a…

Abstract

Purpose

This research aims to present an aero-propulsive interaction model applied to conceptual aircraft design with distributed electric propulsion (DeP). The developed model includes a series of electric ducted fans integrated into the wing upper trailing edge, taking into account the effect of boundary layer ingestion (BLI). The developed model aims to estimate the aerodynamic performance of the wing with DeP using an accurate low-order computational model, which can be easily used in the overall aircraft design's optimization process.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the ducted fan aerodynamic performance is investigated using a low-order computational model over a range of angle of attack required for conventional flight based on ducted fan design code program and analytical models. Subsequently, the aero-propulsive coupling with the wing is introduced. The DeP location chordwise is placed at the wing's trailing edge to have the full benefits of the BLI. After that, the propulsion integration process is introduced. The nacelle design's primary function is to minimize the losses due to distortion. Finally, the aerodynamic forces of the overall configuration are estimated based on Athena Vortex Lattice program and the developed ducted fan model.

Findings

The ducted fan model is validated with experimental measurements from the literature. Subsequently, the overall model, the wing with DeP, is validated with experimental measurements and computational fluid dynamics, both from the literature. The results reveal that the currently developed model successfully estimates the aerodynamic performance of DeP located at the wing trailing edge.

Originality/value

The developed model's value is to capture the aero-propulsive coupling accurately and fast enough to execute multiple times in the overall aircraft design's optimization loop without increasing runtime substantially.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 94 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 1981

TERRY FORD

Evident at the Show were technological developments both in the new aircraft and equipment displayed, in the very advanced systems being incorporated in types that are due to make…

Abstract

Evident at the Show were technological developments both in the new aircraft and equipment displayed, in the very advanced systems being incorporated in types that are due to make their first flight shortly, and in the activity projected by many companies to take advantage of current progress in avionics. At the same time, the state‐of‐the‐art of a large programme such as the Space Shuttle was amply demonstrated both in the US Pavilion and on the various manufacturer's stands.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 53 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-2667

Article
Publication date: 1 October 1986

Major technical advances were featured at the Show, particularly those developments that will be coming into service in the very near future. An outstanding demonstration was…

46

Abstract

Major technical advances were featured at the Show, particularly those developments that will be coming into service in the very near future. An outstanding demonstration was given by the Airbus Industrie A 300B2 Fly‐By‐Wire (FBW) whose autopilot simulates the control laws of the A 320. The pilot flies the aircraft through the FBW autopilot using the sidestick controllers as in the A 320, which is due to make its first flight in March, 1987. A convincing display by the A 300 FBW began with a slow fly‐past in landing configuration with gear and flaps down at a speed of about 100 knots. At mid‐runway position, the crew simulate a windshear encounter and the captain pulls back on the stick as might happen in such a situation. In a standard ‘conventional’ aircraft, this would lead to a stall with potentially disastrous consequences, but with FBW the pitch angle increases to the point where the wing reaches its maximum lift position and stays there. The ‘alpha‐floor’ protection incorporated in the aircraft then automatically increased engine power and the combination of maximum lift and power results in a climb‐out at 3,000ft/min. In another manoeuvre, the aircraft is positioned at an angle of attack of 15.5° in order to stabilise speed at 95–100 knots and only just below the limit of 17° — 18°. Also demonstrated was a stall turn with the nose up to maximum angle of attack and bank angle of 30° which stops there despite the fully‐deflected stick position. The engine power in this manoeuvre is controlled manually.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 58 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-2667

Article
Publication date: 1 October 1968

NOT perhaps the most vintage of Farnboroughs from the point of view of new aircraft and new technology, but undoubtedly one of the most successful in relation to the business…

Abstract

NOT perhaps the most vintage of Farnboroughs from the point of view of new aircraft and new technology, but undoubtedly one of the most successful in relation to the business done. Some fifteen major orders worth over £32½ million were announced, bringing the total order book for the industry this year to more than £782 million already. This exceeds by a handsome margin the new business won by the industry in any nine‐month period in the past, and it is expected that by the end of the year orders worth well over £800 million will have been received. Highlights of the new British hardware on show were the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod and production Harriers on the military side; the B.A.C. One‐Eleven 500, the Handley Page Jetstream, the Garrett‐engined Short Skyvan, and the Beagle Pups showed the resurgence of the industry's civil interests. The number of foreign aircraft that appeared, sponsored in the main by Rolls‐Royce, bore witness to the strength of Britain's aero engine and aircraft equipment industry, and further evidence of this was found in the exhibition proper with many examples of major items of equipment having been adopted for overseas markets. The overall impression at Farnborough was a new‐found confidence in the future of the industry exemplified by a more aggressive and effective export sales policy that has already proved our ability to deliver the goods. It is not possible to cover all the exhibits shown at Farnborough, but the report following describes many of the interesting items.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 40 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-2667

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1996

Jaroslav Mackerle

Presents a review on implementing finite element methods on supercomputers, workstations and PCs and gives main trends in hardware and software developments. An appendix included…

Abstract

Presents a review on implementing finite element methods on supercomputers, workstations and PCs and gives main trends in hardware and software developments. An appendix included at the end of the paper presents a bibliography on the subjects retrospectively to 1985 and approximately 1,100 references are listed.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1998

Jack Hollingum

Reviews a presentation by Professor Robert Michelson of Georgia Institute of Technology in the USA about the growing interest in unmanned aerial vehicles, which can be used for…

1174

Abstract

Reviews a presentation by Professor Robert Michelson of Georgia Institute of Technology in the USA about the growing interest in unmanned aerial vehicles, which can be used for military purposes, but also for tasks like traffic surveillance. Michelson has a particular interest in micro aerial vechiles, and he has a team at Georgia Tech Research Institute developing an insect‐like flapping wing vehicle called an “entomopter”, which is expected to fly in 1998. Michelson has also instituted a series of international aerial robotics competitions, of which the most ambitious it to be held in the millennial year. The competition will simulate search and rescue operations in a disaster situation. The rules are published and qualifying tests will begin in 1998.

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 December 2003

Terry Ford

495

Abstract

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 75 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-2667

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 April 2022

Leonardo Murilo Nepomuceno, Roberto Gil Annes da Silva, Alejandro Sobron, Petter Krus and David Lundström

While computational methods are prevalent in aircraft conceptual design, recent advances in mechatronics and manufacturing are lowering the cost of practical experiments…

Abstract

Purpose

While computational methods are prevalent in aircraft conceptual design, recent advances in mechatronics and manufacturing are lowering the cost of practical experiments. Focussing on a relatively simple property, the lift curve, this study aims to increase understanding of how basic aerodynamic characteristics of a complex stealth configuration can be estimated experimentally using low-cost equipment, rapid prototyping methods and remotely piloted aircraft.

Design/methodology/approach

Lift curve estimates are obtained from a wind tunnel test of a three-dimensional-printed, 3.8%-scale model of a generic fighter and from flight testing a 14%-scale demonstrator using both a simple and a more advanced identification technique based on neural networks. These results are compared to a computational fluid dynamics study, a panel method and a straightforward, theoretical approach based on radical geometry simplifications.

Findings

Besides a good agreement in the linear region, discrepancies at high angles of attack reveal the shortcomings of each method. The remotely piloted model manages to provide consistent results beyond the physical limitations of the wind tunnel although it seems limited by instrumentation capabilities and unmodelled thrust effects.

Practical implications

Physical models can, even though low-cost experiments, expand the capabilities of other aerodynamic tools and contribute to reducing uncertainty when other estimations diverge.

Originality/value

This study highlights the limitations of commonly used aerodynamic methods and shows how low-cost prototyping and testing can complement or validate other estimations in the early study of a complex configuration.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 94 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1992

Thomas E. Pinelli, Rebecca O. Barclay, Ann P. Bishop and John M. Kennedy

Federal attempts to stimulate technological innovation have been unsuccessful because of the application of an inappropriate policy framework that lacks conceptual and empirical…

Abstract

Federal attempts to stimulate technological innovation have been unsuccessful because of the application of an inappropriate policy framework that lacks conceptual and empirical knowledge of the process of technological innovation and fails to acknowledge the relationship between knowledge production, transfer, and use as equally important components of the process of knowledge diffusion. This article argues that the potential contributions of high‐speed computing and networking systems will be diminished unless empirically derived knowledge about the information‐seeking behavior of the members of the social system is incorporated into a new policy framework. Findings from the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project are presented in support of this assertion.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 2 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

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