Aeronautical Engineering: A continuing bibliography, supplement 120

This bibliography contains abstracts for 297 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in February 1980

Expanded study of feasibility of measuring in-flight 747/JT9D loads, performance, clearance, and thermal data

The JT9D jet engine exhibits a TSFC loss of about 1 percent in the initial 50 flight cycles of a new engine. These early losses are caused by seal-wear induced opening of running clearances in the engine gas path. The causes of this seal wear have been identified as flight induced loads which deflect the engine cases and rotors, causing the rotating blades to rub against the seal surfaces, producing permanent clearance changes. The real level of flight loads encountered during airplane acceptance testing and revenue service and the engine's response in the dynamic flight environment were investigated. The feasibility of direct measurement of these flight loads and their effects by concurrent measurement of 747/JT9D propulsion system aerodynamic and inertia loads and the critical engine clearance and performance changes during 747 flight and ground operations was evaluated. A number of technical options were examined in relation to the total estimated program cost to facilitate selection of the most cost effective option. It is concluded that a flight test program meeting the overall objective of determining the levels of aerodynamic and inertia load levels to which the engine is exposed during the initial flight acceptance test and normal flight maneuvers is feasible and desirable. A specific recommended flight test program, based on the evaluation of cost effectiveness, is defined

Aeronautical Engineering: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 99

This bibliography lists 292 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in July 1978

Integrated flight/propulsion control design for a STOVL aircraft using H-infinity control design techniques

Results are presented from an application of H-infinity control design methodology to a centralized integrated flight propulsion control (IFPC) system design for a supersonic Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (STOVL) fighter aircraft in transition flight. The emphasis is on formulating the H-infinity control design problem such that the resulting controller provides robustness to modeling uncertainties and model parameter variations with flight condition. Experience gained from a preliminary H-infinity based IFPC design study performed earlier is used as the basis to formulate the robust H-infinity control design problem and improve upon the previous design. Detailed evaluation results are presented for a reduced order controller obtained from the improved H-infinity control design showing that the control design meets the specified nominal performance objectives as well as provides stability robustness for variations in plant system dynamics with changes in aircraft trim speed within the transition flight envelope. A controller scheduling technique which accounts for changes in plant control effectiveness with variation in trim conditions is developed and off design model performance results are presented

Controller partitioning for integrated flight/propulsion control implementation

The notion of partitioning a centralized controller into a decentralized, hierarchical structure suitable for integrated flight/propulsion control (IFPC) implementation is discussed. A systematic procedure is developed for determining partitioned airframe and engine subsystem controllers (subcontrollers), with the desired interconnection structure, that approximate the closed-loop performance and robustness characteristics of a given centralized controller. The procedure is demonstrated by application to IFPC design for a Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft in the landing approach to hover transition flight phase

Recent Sikorsky R and D progress

The recent activities and progress in four specific areas of Sikorsky's research and development program are summarized. Since the beginning of the S-76 design in 1974, Sikorsky has been aggressively developing the technology for using composite materials in helicopter design. Four specific topics are covered: advanced cockpit/controller efforts, fly-by-wire controls on RSRA/X-Wing, vibration control via higher harmonic control, and main rotor aerodynamic improvements

Systems study for an Integrated Digital-Electric Aircraft (IDEA)

The results of the Integrated Digital/Electric Aircraft (IDEA) Study are presented. Airplanes with advanced systems were, defined and evaluated, as a means of identifying potential high payoff research tasks. A baseline airplane was defined for comparison, typical of a 1990's airplane with advanced active controls, propulsion, aerodynamics, and structures technology. Trade studies led to definition of an IDEA airplane, with extensive digital systems and electric secondary power distribution. This airplane showed an improvement of 3% in fuel use and 1.8% in DOC relative to the baseline configuration. An alternate configuration, an advanced technology turboprop, was also evaluated, with greater improvement supported by digital electric systems. Recommended research programs were defined for high risk, high payoff areas appropriate for implementation under NASA leadership

"Analysis of dynamic responses and instabilities in rotating machinery\u201d

The first task of the present research is to characterize both experimentally and numerically journal bearings with low radial clearances for rotors in small-scale applications (e.g., micro Gas Turbines); their diameter is in the order of ten millimetres, leading to very small dimensional clearances when the typical relative ones (order of 1/1000) are employed; investigating this particular class of journal bearings under static and dynamic loading conditions represents something unexplored. To this goal, a suitable test rig was designed, and the performance of its bearings were investigated under steady load. For the sake of comparison, numerical simulations of the lubrication were also performed by means of a simplified model. The original test rig adopted is a commercial Rotor Kit (RK), but substantial modifications were carried out in order to allow significant measurements. Indeed, the relative radial clearance of RK4 RK bearings is about 2/100, while it is around 1/1000 in industrial bearings. Therefore, the same original RK bearings are employed in this new test rig, but a new shaft was designed to reduce their original clearance. The new custom shaft allows to study bearing behaviour for different clearances, since it is equipped with interchangeable journals. Experimental data obtained by this test rig are then compared with further results of more sophisticated simulations. They were carried out by means of an in-house developed finite element (FEM) code, suitable for ThermoElasto-HydroDynamic (TEHD) analysis of journal bearings both in static and dynamic conditions. In this work, bearing static performances are studied to assess the reliability of the experimental journal location predictions by comparing them with the ones coming from already validated numerical codes. Such comparisons are presented both for large and small clearance bearings of original and modified RK, respectively. Good agreement is found only for the modified RK equipped with small clearance bearings (relative radial clearance 8/1000), as expected. In comparison with two-dimensional lubrication analysis, three-dimensional simulation improves prediction of journal location and correlation with experimental results. The second main task of the present work is the development and the implementation of a suitable analytical model to correctly capture rolling bearing radial stiffness, particularly nearby the critical speeds of the investigated rotor-bearings system. In this work, such bearing non-linear stiffness lumped parameter model is firstly validated on the commercial RK and then it is applied to both air bladeless turbines (or Tesla turbines) and to an innovative microturbine, in order to assess their global rotodynamic behavior when they are mounted on ball bearings. In order to properly investigate all the issues related to critical speeds and stiffness, an adequate number of experimental tests was performed by exploiting an experimental air Tesla turbine prototype located at TPG experimental facility of the University of Genoa. The correlation between measured flexural critical speeds and their numerical predictions is markedly conditioned by the correct identification of ball bearings dynamic characteristics; in particular, bearings stiffness effect may play a significant role in terms of rotor-bearings system natural frequencies and therefore it must be properly assessed. Indeed, Tesla turbine rotor FE model previously employed for numerical modal analysis relies on rigid bearings assumption and therefore it does not account for bearings stiffness overall contribution, which may become crucial in case of \u201chard mounting\u201d of rotor-bearings systems. Subsequently, high-speed air Tesla rotor is investigated by means of an enhanced FE model for numerical modal analysis within Ansys\uae environment, where ball bearings are modelled as non-linear springs whose stiffness is expressed according to the analytic model implemented in Matlab\uae. Two different numerical FE models are devised for microturbine rotor modelling which respectively rely on beam elements and on three-dimensional solid elements for mechanical system spatial discretization. The obtained results in terms of rotor-bearings system modal analysis exhibit an improvement in experimental-numerical results correlation by relying on such ball bearing stiffness model; moreover, beam-based FE model critical speeds predictions are coherent with experimental evidence and with respect to solid elements model it is characterized by lower computational time and it is more easily interpretable. Thus, such experimentally validated numerical model represents a reliable and easily adaptable tool for highspeed rotating machinery critical speeds prediction in practical industrial application cases. Finally In this work, several signal processing techniques performed on vibro-acoustic signals acquired from a T100 Turbec microturbine (which is furnished with a centrifugal compressor) are illustrated. Research activity goal focuses on the investigation different kinds of system response starting from non-intrusive probes signals like accelerometers and microphones; this is made by means of techniques such as HOSA and Wavelet Transform, developed in Matlab\uae environment, for early detection of the onset of unstable phenomena in centrifugal compressors. These new and different methods have been applied to the same set of data to get sufficiently independent information useful to synergistically improve knowledge in the diagnostic system. Data were acquired by means of an experimental facility based on a T100 turbine developed by the Thermochemical Power Group (TPG) at the University of Genoa. Sampling rate and sensor placement were carefully taken into account, basing both on the physical phenomena to be observed and on the sensor dynamic characteristics. In this context, it is meant to study microphones and accelerometers signals not from an isolated centrifugal turbomachine installed in a dedicated line, but from a whole compressor placed in a mGT system for energy generation. Indeed, the investigated machine is not operating in standalone mode, but its working point and angular velocity depend on the coupling with several elements. In particular, compressor working point and then its vibro-acoustic signals are expected to convey vibration and sound contributions coming from all the plant components; thus, they are more representative of machine realistic behavior in the energy system

Simulation and modelling of the performance of radial turbochargers under unsteady flow

[ES] Está fuera de toda duda que la industria del automóvil está viviendo una profunda transformación que, durante los últimos años, ha progresado a un ritmo acelerado. Debido a la crecientemente estricta regulación sobre emisiones contaminantes y la necesidad de satisfacer la siempre creciente demanda de movilidad sostenible, es necesario que los motores de combustión modernos reduzcan su consumo y emisiones manteniendo el rendimiento del motor. Para enfrentarse a este desafío, los ingenieros de investigación y desarrollo han redoblado sus esfuerzos a la hora de diseñar y mejorar los modelos unidimensionales, hasta el punto en el que el desarrollo de modelos 1D así como la simulación juegan un papel fundamental en los primeras etapas de diseño de nuevos motores y tecnologías. Al mismo tiempo, la tecnología de turbosobrealimentación se ha consolidado como una de las más efectivas a la hora de construir motores de alta eficiencia, lo que ha hecho evidente la importancia de comprender y modelar correctamente los efectos asociados a los turbogrupos. Particularmente, los fenómenos que ocurren en la turbina en condiciones de flujo fuertemente pulsante han demostrado ser complicadas de modelar y sin embargo decisivas, ya que los códigos de simulación son especialmente útiles cuando son diseñados para trabajar en condiciones realistas. Este trabajo se centra en mejorar los modelos unidimensionales actuales así como en desarrollar nuevas soluciones con el objetivo de contribuir a una mejor predicción del comportamiento de la turbina sometida a condiciones de flujo pulsante. Tanto los esfuerzos realizados en los trabajos experimentales como en los de modelado se han producido para poder proporcionar métodos que sean fáciles de adaptar a las diferentes configuraciones de turbogrupo usadas en la industria, por ello, pueden ser aplicados por ejemplo en turbinas de entrada simple y también en las cada vez más usadas turbinas de entrada doble. En cuanto al trabajo de modelado en la parte de turbina de entrada simple, el foco se ha puesto en presentar una versión mejorada de un código quasi-2D. La validación del modelo se basa en los datos experimentales que están disponibles de trabajos enteriores de la literatura, proporcionando una comparación completa entre los modelos quasi-2D y el clásico modelo 1D. La presión a la entrada y salida de la turbina se ha descompuesto en ondas que viajan hacia delante y hacia atrás por medio de la descomposición de presiones, empleando la componente reflejada y transmitida para verificar la bondad del modelo. El trabajo experimental de esta tesis se centra en desarrollar un nuevo método para ensayar cualquier turbina de doble entrada sometida a condiciones de flujo fuertemente pulsante. La configuración del banco de gas se ha diseñado para ser suficientemente flexible como para realizar pulsos en las dos ramas de entrada por separado, así como para usar condiciones de flujo caliente o condiciones ambiente con mínimos cambios en la instalación. La campaña experimental se usa para validar un modelo integrado unidimensional de turbina tipo twin scroll con especial foco en las componentes reflejada y transmitida para analizar el desempeño del modelo su capacidad de predicción de la acústica no lineal. Finalmente, después de desarrollar el trabajo experimental y de modelado, se presenta un procedimiento para caracterizar el sonido y ruido de la turbina por medio de matrices de transferencia acústica que es comparado con el código unidimensional completo. En este sentido, el método proporciona una herramienta útil y fácil de implementar para simulaciones en tiempo real que aplica de una manera práctica el trabajo de modelado expuesto a lo largo de esta tesis.[CA] Està fora de tot dubte que la indústria de l'automòbil està vivint una profunda transformació que, durant els últims anys, ha progressat a un ritme accelerat. A causa de la creixentment estricta regulació sobre emissions contaminants i la necessitat de satisfer la sempre creixent demanda de mobilitat sostenible, és necessari que els motors de combustió moderns reduïsquen el seu consum i emissions mantenint el rendiment del motor. Per a enfrontar-se a aquest desafiament, els enginyers de recerca i desenvolupament han redoblat els seus esforços a l'hora de dissenyar i millorar els models unidimensionals, fins al punt en el qual el desenvolupament de models 1D així com la simulació juguen un paper fonamental en les primeres etapes de disseny de nous motors i tecnologies. Al mateix temps, la tecnologia de turbosobrealimentación s'ha consolidat com una de les més efectives a l'hora de construir motors d'alta eficiència, la qual cosa ha fet evident la importància de comprendre i modelar correctament els efectes associats als turbogrupos. Particularment, els fenòmens que ocorren en la turbina en condicions de flux fortament polsant han demostrat ser complicades de modelar i no obstant això decisives, ja que els codis de simulació són especialment útils quan són dissenyats per a treballar en condicions realistes. Aquest treball se centra en millorar els models unidimensionals actuals així com a desenvolupar noves solucions amb l'objectiu de contribuir a una millor predicció del comportament de la turbina sotmesa a condicions de flux polsant. Tant els esforços realitzats en els treballs experimentals com en els de modelatge s'han produït per a poder proporcionar mètodes que siguen fàcils d'adaptar a les diferents configuracions de turbogrupo usades en l'indústria, per això, poden ser aplicats per exemple en turbines d'entrada simple i també en les cada vegada més usades turbines d'entrada doble. Pel que fa al treball de modelatge en la part de turbina d'entrada simple, el focus s'ha posat a presentar una versió millorada d'un codi quasi-2D. La validació del model es basa en les dades experimentals que estan disponibles de treballs anteriors de la literatura, proporcionant una comparació completa entre els models quasi-2D i el clàssic model 1D. La pressió a l'entrada i eixida de la turbina s'ha descompost en ones que viatgen cap avant i cap enrere per mitjà de la descomposició de pressions, emprant la component reflectida i transmesa per a verificar la bondat del model. El treball experimental d'aquesta tesi se centra en desenvolupar un nou mètode per a assajar qualsevol turbina de doble entrada sotmesa a condicions de flux fortament pulsante. La configuració del banc de gas s'ha dissenyat per a ser prou flexible com per a realitzar polsos en les dues branques d'entrada per separat, així com per a usar condicions de flux calent o condicions ambient amb mínims canvis en la instal·lació. La campanya experimental s'usa per a validar un model integrat unidimensional de turbina tipus twin-scroll amb especial focus en les components reflectida i transmesa per a analitzar l'acompliment del model la seua capacitat de predicció de l'acústica no lineal. Finalment, després de desenvolupar el treball experimental i de modelatge, es presenta un procediment per a caracteritzar el so i soroll de la turbina per mitjà de matrius de transferència acústica que és comparat amb el codi unidimensional complet. En aquest sentit, el mètode proporciona una eina útil i fàcil d'implementar per a simulacions en temps real que aplica d'una manera pràctica el treball de modelatge exposat al llarg d'aquesta tesi.[EN] It is beyond all doubt that the automotive industry is living a deep transformation that, during the last years, has progressed at an ever accelerating rate. Due to the increasingly stringent pollutant emission regulations and the necessity to fulfil an ever growing demand for sustainable mobility, the modern internal combustion engines are required to strongly reduce the fuel consumption and emissions, while keeping the engine performance. In order to confront this challenge, engine research and development engineers have redoubled their efforts in designing and improving one-dimensional codes, to the point that the development of 1D models and simulation campaigns play a major role in the early steps of designing new engines or technologies. At the same time as the turbocharging technology has arisen as one of the most effective and extended solutions for building high efficient engines, the importance of understanding and modelling correctly the turbocharger effects has become evident. In particular, the phenomena that occurs in the turbine under highly pulsating conditions have proven to be challenging to model and yet decisive, as simulation codes are especially useful when they are designed to work under realistic conditions. This work focusses on the improvement of current one-dimensional models as well as in the development of new solutions with the aim of contributing to a better prediction of the turbine performance under pulsating conditions. Both experimental and modelling efforts have been made in order to provide methods that are easily adaptable to different turbocharger configurations used in the industry, so they can be applied for example in single turbines and also in the increasingly used two-scroll turbine technology. Regarding the modelling work of the single entry turbine part, the work has been focused in presenting an improved version of a quasi-2D code. The validation of the model is based on the experimental data available from previous works of the literature, providing a complete comparison between the quasi-2D and a classic 1D model. By means of a pressure decomposition, the pressure at the turbine inlet and outlet has been split into forward and backward travelling waves, employing the reflected and transmitted components to verify the goodness of the model. The experimental work of the thesis is centred in developing a new method in order to test any two-scroll turbine under highly pulsating flow conditions. The gas stand setup has been designed to be flexible enough to perform pulses in both inlet branches separately as well as to use hot or ambient conditions with minimal changes in the installation. The experimental campaign is used to fully validate an integrated 1D twin-scroll turbine model with special focus in the reflected and transmitted components for analysing the performance of the model and its non-linear acoustics prediction capabilities. Finally, after the experiment and modelling work is developed, a procedure to characterise the turbine sound and noise by means of acoustic transfer matrices is presented and tested against the fully one-dimensional code. In this sense, this method provides a useful and easily-implementable tool for fast and real time simulations that applies in a practical way the modelling work exposed along this thesis.Soler Blanco, P. (2020). Simulation and modelling of the performance of radial turbochargers under unsteady flow [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/141609TESI

Peak-Seeking Control Using Gradient and Hessian Estimates

A peak-seeking control method is presented which utilizes a linear time-varying Kalman filter. Performance function coordinate and magnitude measurements are used by the Kalman filter to estimate the gradient and Hessian of the performance function. The gradient and Hessian are used to command the system toward a local extremum. The method is naturally applied to multiple-input multiple-output systems. Applications of this technique to a single-input single-output example and a two-input one-output example are presented