Wind tunnel investigation of fluctuating pressures on a 1/10-scale Centaur model at transonic speeds

Wind tunnel investigation of fluctuating pressures on Centaur model surface at transonic spee

Pneumatic boot for helicopter rotor deicing

Pneumatic deicer boots for helicopter rotor blades were tested. The tests were conducted in the 6 by 9 ft icing research tunnel on a stationary section of a UH-IH helicopter main rotor blade. The boots were effective in removing ice and in reducing aerodynamic drag due to ice

The NASA Altitude Wind Tunnel (AWT): Its role in advanced icing research and development

Currently experimental aircraft icing research is severely hampered by limitations of ground icing simulation facilities. Existing icing facilities do not have the size, speed, altitude, and icing environment simulation capabilities to allow accurate studies to be made of icing problems occurring for high speed fixed wing aircraft and rotorcraft. Use of the currently dormant NASA Lewis Altitude Wind Tunnel (AWT), as a proposed high speed propulsion and adverse weather facility, would allow many such problems to be studied. The characteristics of the AWT related to adverse weather simulation and in particular to icing simulation are discussed, and potential icing research programs using the AWT are also included

Strain and Electric Field Modulation of the Electronic Structure of Bilayer Graphene

We study how the electronic structure of the bilayer graphene (BLG) is changed by electric field and strain from {\it ab initio} density-functional calculations using the LMTO and the LAPW methods. Both hexagonal and Bernal stacked structures are considered. The BLG is a zero-gap semiconductor like the isolated layer of graphene. We find that while strain alone does not produce a gap in the BLG, an electric field does so in the Bernal structure but not in the hexagonal structure. The topology of the bands leads to Dirac circles with linear dispersion in the case of the hexagonally stacked BLG due to the interpenetration of the Dirac cones, while for the Bernal stacking, the dispersion is quadratic. The size of the Dirac circle increases with the applied electric field, leading to an interesting way of controlling the Fermi surface. The external electric field is screened due to polarization charges between the layers, leading to a reduced size of the band gap and the Dirac circle. The screening is substantial in both cases and diverges for the Bernal structure for small fields as has been noted by earlier authors. As a biproduct of this work, we present the tight-binding parameters for the free-standing single layer graphene as obtained by fitting to the density-functional bands, both with and without the slope constraint for the Dirac cone.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Ferromagnetic insulating state in tensile-strained LaCoO3_3 thin films

With local density approximation + Hubbard $U$ (LDA+$U$) calculations, we show that the ferromagnetic (FM) insulating state observed in tensile-strained LaCoO$_3$ epitaxial thin films is most likely a mixture of low-spin (LS) and high-spin (HS) Co, namely, a HS/LS mixture state. Compared with other FM states, including the intermediate-spin (IS) state (\textit{metallic} within LDA+$U$), which consists of IS Co only, and the insulating IS/LS mixture state, the HS/LS state is the most favorable one. The FM order in HS/LS state is stabilized via the superexchange interactions between adjacent LS and HS Co. We also show that Co spin state can be identified by measuring the electric field gradient (EFG) at Co nucleus via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy

Boundary layer thickness effect on boattail drag

A combined experimental and analytical program was conducted to investigate the effects of boundary layer changes on the flow over high angle boattail nozzles. The tests were run on an isolated axisymmetric sting mounted model. Various boattail geometries were investigated at high subsonic speeds over a range of boundary layer thicknesses. In general, boundary layer effects were small at speeds up to Mach 0.8. However, at higher speeds significant regions of separated flow were present on the boattail. When separation was present large reductions in boattail drag resulted with increasing boundary layer thickness. The analysis predicts both of these trends

Tone noise of three supersonic helical tip speed propellers in a wind tunnel at 0.8 Mach number

Three supersonic helical tip speed propellers were tested in the NASA Lewis 8- by 6-foot wind tunnel. Noise data were obtained while these propellers were operating at a simulated cruise condition. The walls of this tunnel were not acoustically treated and therefore this was not an ideal location for taking noise data, but it was thought that the differences in noise among the three propellers would be meaningful. The straight bladed propeller which did not incorporate sweep was the noisiest with the aerodynamically swept propeller only slightly quieter. However, the acoustically swept propeller was significantly quieter than the straight propeller, thereby indicating the merit of this design technique

Integration of aft-fuselage-mounted flow through engine nacelles on an advanced transport configuration at Mach numbers from 0.6 to 1.0

An approximately 1/30th-scale model of a CTOL aircraft designed for efficient cruise between Mach 0.9 and 0.98 was tested in the Lewis Research Center's 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel. Aft-fuselage axial force and pressure were measured for a series of locally area-ruled engine installations. Two flow-through nacelles with different exit diameters which simulated inlet mass flow ratios of 0.46 and 0.6 (based on maximum nacelle cross-sectional) area were investigated. Both an NACA-1 cowl and a blunter supercritical cowl were tested with these nacelles. Variations in the amount of local area ruling were investigated and an aft fuselage without nacelles was tested for reference. Results observed with flow-through nacelles indicate that efficient cruise may be obtained on this type of aircraft with aft-fuselage-mounted engine nacelles

Wind tunnel blockage and support interference effects on winged-body models at Mach numbers from 0.6 to 1.0

Three sting-mounted winged-body models with tunnel blockages of 0.1, 1.0, and 2.0 percent were tested in the Lewis Research Center's 8- by 6- Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel. Fuselage pressures were obtained over a Mach number range of 0.6 to 1.0 at angles of attack from 0 deg to 4 deg. Two other types of model support were investigated, which included simulated wing-tip and fuselage support-strut mountings. The effects of tunnel porosity and sidewall geometry were also investigated. Model blockage effects were small up to M sub 0 = 0.95. At higher speeds the major blockage effect observed was a displacement of the local transonic terminal shocks on the model. The effects of the wing-tip type of model support were small up to M sub 0 = 0.95, but disturbances were observed on the fuselage at higher speeds. Changes in local tunnel porosity were effective in reducing the disturbances up to M sub 0 = 0.975, but a change in sidewall geometry was not

Electron-phonon coupling in semimetals in a high magnetic field

We consider the effect of electron-phonon coupling in semimetals in high magnetic fields, with regard to elastic modes that can lead to a redistribution of carriers between pockets. We show that in a clean three dimensional system, at each Landau level crossing, this leads to a discontinuity in the magnetostriction, and a divergent contribution to the elastic modulus. We estimate the magnitude of this effect in the group V semimetal Bismuth.Comment: 2 figure