Application of pneumatic lift and control surface technology to advanced transport aircraft

The application of pneumatic (blown) aerodynamic technology to both the lifting and the control surfaces of advanced transport aircraft can provide revolutionary changes in the performance and operation of these vehicles, ranging in speed regime from Advanced Subsonic Transports to the High Speed Civil Transport, and beyond. This technology, much of it based on the Circulation Control Wing blown concepts, can provide aerodynamic force augmentations of 80 to 100 (i.e., return of 80-100 pounds of force per pound of input momentum from the blowing jet). This can be achieved without use of external mechanical surfaces. Clever application of this technology can provide no-moving-part lifting surfaces (wings/tails) integrated into the control system to greatly simplify aircraft designs while improving their aerodynamic performance. Lift/drag ratio may be pneumatically tailored to fit the current phase of the flight, and takeoff/landing performance can be greatly improved by reducing ground roll distances and liftoff/touchdown speeds. Alternatively, great increases in liftoff weights and payloads are possible, as are great reductions in wing and tail planform size, resulting in optimized cruise wing designs. Furthermore, lift generation independent of angle of attack provides much promise for increased safety of flight in the severe updrafts/downdrafts of microbursts and windshears, which is further augmented by the ability to sustain flight at greatly reduced airspeeds. Load-tailored blown wings can also reduce tip vorticity during highlift operations and the resulting vortex wake hazards near terminal areas. Reduced noise may also be possible as these jets can be made to operate at low pressures. The planned presentation will support the above statements through discussions of recent experimental and numerical (CFD) research and development of these advanced blown aerodynamic surfaces, portions of which have been conducted for NASA. Also to be presented will be predicted performance of advanced transports resulting from these devices. Suggestions will be presented for additional innovative high-payoff research leading to further confirmation of these concepts and their application to advanced efficient commercial transport aircraft

Development of circulation control technology for powered-lift STOL aircraft

The flow entraining capabilities of the Circulation Control Wing high lift system were employed to provide an even stronger STOL potential when synergistically combined with upper surface mounted engines. The resulting configurations generate very high supercirculation lift in addition to a vertical component of the pneumatically deflected engine thrust. A series of small scale wind tunnel tests and full scale static thrust deflection tests are discussed which provide a sufficient data base performance. These tests results show thrust deflections of greater than 90 deg produced pneumatically by nonmoving aerodynamic surfaces, and the ability to maintain constant high lift while varying the propulsive force from high thrust recovery required for short takeoff to high drag generation required for short low speed landings

Continued Development and Application of Circulation Control Pneumatic Technology to Advanced Transport Aircraft

Personnel of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) Aerospace and Transportation Lab have completed a four-year grant program to develop and evaluate the pneumatic aerodynamic technology known as Circulation Control (CC) or Circulation Control Wing (CCW) for advanced transport aircraft. This pneumatic technology, which employs low-level blowing from tangential slots over round or near-round trailing edges of airfoils, greatly augments the circulation around a lifting or control surface and thus enhances the aerodynamic forces and moments generated by that surface. Two-dimensional force augmentations as high as 80 times the input blowing momentum coefficient have been recorded experimentally for these blown devices, thus providing returns of 8000% on the jet momentum expended. A further benefit is the absence of moving parts such as mechanical flaps, slats, spoilers, ailerons, elevators and rudders from these pneumatic surfaces, or the use of only very small, simple, blown aerodynamic surfaces on synergistic designs which integrate the lift, drag and control surfaces. The application of these devices to advanced aircraft can offer significant benefits in their performance, efficiency, simplicity, reliability, economic cost of operation, noise reduction, and safety of flight. To further develop and evaluate this potential, this research effort was conducted by GTRI under grant for the NASA Langley Research Center, Applied Aerodynamics Division, Subsonic Aerodynamics Branch, between June 14, 1993 and May 31, 1997

Advanced Aerodynamic Devices to Improve the Performance, Economics, Handling and Safety of Heavy Vehicles

Research is being conducted at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) to develop advanced aerodynamic devices to improve the performance, economics, stability, handling and safety of operation of Heavy Vehicles by using previously-developed and flight-tested pneumatic (blown) aircraft technology. Recent wind-tunnel investigations of a generic Heavy Vehicle model with blowing slots on both the leading and trailing edges of the trailer have been conducted under contract to the DOE Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies. These experimental results show overall aerodynamic drag reductions on the Pneumatic Heavy Vehicle of 50% using only 1 psig blowing pressure in the plenums, and over 80% drag reductions if additional blowing air were available. Additionally, an increase in drag force for braking was confirmed by blowing different slots. Lift coefficient was increased for rolling resistance reduction by blowing only the top slot, while downforce was produced for traction increase by blowing only the bottom. Also, side force and yawing moment were generated on either side of the vehicle, and directional stability was restored by blowing the appropriate side slot. These experimental results and the predicted full-scale payoffs are presented in this paper, as is a discussion of additional applications to conventional commercial autos, buses, motor homes, and Sport Utility Vehicles

Channel-wing System for Thrust Deflection and Force/Moment Generation

An aircraft comprising a Channel Wing having blown c h - ne1 circulation control wings (CCW) for various functions. The blown channel CCW includes a channel that has a rounded or near-round trailing edge. The channel further has a trailing-edge slot that is adjacent to the rounded trailing edge of the channel. The trailing-edge slot has an inlet connected to a source of pressurized air and is capable of tangentially discharging pressurized air over the rounded trailing edge. The aircraft further has a propeller that is located in the channel and ahead of the rounded trailing edge of the channel. The propeller provides a propeller thrust exhaust stream across the channel wing to propel the aircraft through the air and to provide high lift. The pressurized air being discharged over the rounded trailing edge provides a high lift that is obtained independent of an aircraft angle of attack, thus preventing the asymmetry. separated flow, and stall experienced by the CC wing at the high angle of attack it required for high lift generation. The aircraft can further include blown outboard circulation control wings (CCW) that are synergistically connected to the blown channel CCWs. The blown outboard CCWs provide additional high lift, control thrust/drag interchange, and can provide all three aerodynamic moments when differential blowing is applied front-to-rear or left-to-right. Both the blown channel CCW and the outboard CCW also have leading-edge blowing slots to prevent flow separation or to provide aerodynamic moments for control

Development of Pneumatic Aerodynamic Devices to Improve the Performance, Economics, and Safety of Heavy Vehicles

Under contract to the DOE Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies, the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is developing and evaluating pneumatic (blown) aerodynamic devices to improve the performance, economics, stability and safety of operation of Heavy Vehicles. The objective of this program is to apply the pneumatic aerodynamic aircraft technology previously developed and flight-tested by GTRI personnel to the design of an efficient blown tractor-trailer configuration. Recent experimental results obtained by GTRI using blowing have shown drag reductions of 35% on a streamlined automobile wind-tunnel model. Also measured were lift or down-load increases of 100-150% and the ability to control aerodynamic moments about all 3 axes without any moving control surfaces. Similar drag reductions yielded by blowing on bluff afterbody trailers in current US trucking fleet operations are anticipated to reduce yearly fuel consumption by more than 1.2 billion gallons, while even further reduction is possible using pneumatic lift to reduce tire rolling resistance. Conversely, increased drag and down force generated instantaneously by blowing can greatly increase braking characteristics and control in wet/icy weather due to effective ''weight'' increases on the tires. Safety is also enhanced by controlling side loads and moments caused on these Heavy Vehicles by winds, gusts and other vehicles passing. This may also help to eliminate the jack-knifing problem if caused by extreme wind side loads on the trailer. Lastly, reduction of the turbulent wake behind the trailer can reduce splash and spray patterns and rough air being experienced by following vehicles. To be presented by GTRI in this paper will be results developed during the early portion of this effort, including a preliminary systems study, CFD prediction of the blown flowfields, and design of the baseline conventional tractor-trailer model and the pneumatic wind-tunnel model

Experimental Development and Evaluation of Pneumatic Powered-Lift Super-STOL Aircraft

The powered-lift Channel Wing concept has been combined with pneumatic Circulation Control aerodynamic and propulsive technology to generate a Pneumatic Channel Wing (PCW) configuration intended to have Super-STOL or VSTOL capability while eliminating many of the operational problem areas of the original Channel Wing vehicle. Wind-tunnel development and evaluations of a PCW powered model conducted at Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have shown substantial lift capabilities for the blown configuration (CL values of 10 to 11). Variation in blowing of the channel was shown to be more efficient than variation in propeller thrust in terms of lift generation. Also revealed was the ability to operate unstalled at very high angles of attack of 40 deg - 45 deg, or to achieve very high lift at much lower angle of attack to increase visibility and controllability. In order to provide greater flexibility in Super-STOL takeoffs and landings, the blown model also displayed the ability to interchange thrust and drag by varying blowing without any moving parts. A preliminary design study of this pneumatic vehicle based on the two technologies integrated into a simple Pneumatic Channel Wing configuration showed very strong Super-STOL potential. This paper presents these experimental results, discusses variations in the configuration geometry under development, and addresses additional considerations to extend this integrated technology to advanced design studies of PCW-type vehicles

Continued Development and Improvement of Pneumatic Heavy Vehicles

The objective of this applied research effort led by Georgia Tech Research Institute is the application of pneumatic aerodynamic technology previously developed and patented by us to the design of an appropriate Heavy Vehicle (HV) tractor-trailer configuration, and experimental confirmation of this pneumatic configuration's improved aerodynamic characteristics. In Phases I to IV of our previous DOE program (Reference 1), GTRI has developed, patented, wind-tunnel tested and road-tested blown aerodynamic devices for Pneumatic Heavy Vehicles (PHVs) and Pneumatic Sports Utility Vehicles (PSUVs). To further advance these pneumatic technologies towards HV and SUV applications, additional Phase V tasks were included in the first year of a continuing DOE program (Reference 2). Based on the results of the Phase IV full-scale test programs, these Phase V tasks extended the application of pneumatic aerodynamics to include: further economy and performance improvements; increased aerodynamic stability and control; and safety of operation of Pneumatic HVs. Continued development of a Pneumatic SUV was also conducted during the Phase V program. Phase V was completed in July, 2003; its positive results towards development and confirmation of this pneumatic technology are reported in References 3 and 4. The current Phase VI of this program was incrementally funded by DOE in order to continue this technology development towards a second fuel economy test on the Pneumatic Heavy Vehicle. The objectives of this current Phase VI research and development effort (Ref. 5) fall into two categories: (1) develop improved pneumatic aerodynamic technology and configurations on smaller-scale models of the advanced Pneumatic Heavy Vehicle (PHV); and based on these findings, (2) redesign, modify, and re-test the modified full-scale PHV test vehicle. This second objective includes conduct of an on-road preliminary road test of this configuration to prepare it for a second series of SAE Type-U fuel economy evaluations, as described in Ref. 5. Both objectives are based on the pneumatic technology already developed and confirmed for DOE OHVT/OAAT in Phases I-V. This new Phase VI effort was initiated by contract amendment to the Phase V effort using carryover FY02 funds. This were conducted under a new and distinct project number, GTRI Project A-6935, separate from the Phase I-IV program. However, the two programs are closely integrated, and thus Phase VI continues with the previous program and goals

Noise Reduction Through Circulation Control

Circulation control technology uses tangential blowing around a rounded trailing edge or a leading edge to change the force and moment characteristics of an aerodynamic body. This technology has been applied to circular cylinders, wings, helicopter rotors, and even to automobiles for improved aerodynamic performance. Only limited research has been conducted on the acoustic of this technology. Since wing flaps contribute to the environmental noise of an aircraft, an alternate blown high lift system without complex mechanical flaps could prove beneficial in reducing the noise of an approaching aircraft. Thus, in this study, a direct comparison of the acoustic characteristics of high lift systems employing a circulation control wing configuration and a conventional wing flapped configuration has been made. These results indicate that acoustically, a circulation control wing high lift system could be considerably more acceptable than a wing with conventional mechanical flaps

2-D Circulation Control Airfoil Benchmark Experiments Intended for CFD Code Validation

A current NASA Research Announcement (NRA) project being conducted by Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) personnel and NASA collaborators includes the development of Circulation Control (CC) blown airfoils to improve subsonic aircraft high-lift and cruise performance. The emphasis of this program is the development of CC active flow control concepts for both high-lift augmentation, drag control, and cruise efficiency. A collaboration in this project includes work by NASA research engineers, whereas CFD validation and flow physics experimental research are part of NASA s systematic approach to developing design and optimization tools for CC applications to fixed-wing aircraft. The design space for CESTOL type aircraft is focusing on geometries that depend on advanced flow control technologies that include Circulation Control aerodynamics. The ability to consistently predict advanced aircraft performance requires improvements in design tools to include these advanced concepts. Validation of these tools will be based on experimental methods applied to complex flows that go beyond conventional aircraft modeling techniques. This paper focuses on recent/ongoing benchmark high-lift experiments and CFD efforts intended to provide 2-D CFD validation data sets related to NASA s Cruise Efficient Short Take Off and Landing (CESTOL) study. Both the experimental data and related CFD predictions are discussed