SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AEROSPACE REPORTS

A Biweekly Publication of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
VOLUME 43, ISSUE 18 - SEPTEMBER 09, 2005

01 AERONAUTICS (GENERAL)
Includes general research topics related to manned and unmanned aircraft and the problems of flight within the Earth’s atmosphere.

Also includes manufacturing, maintenance, and repair of aircraft.

For specific topics in aeronautics, see categories 02 through 09.

For information related to space vehicles see 12 Astronautics.

20050204041 Lawrence Livermore National Lab., Livermore, CA USA

Surface Layer Turbulence During a Frontal Passage

Ppiper, M.; Lundquist, J. K.; January 2004; 12 pp.; In English Report No.(s): DE2005-15014283; UCRL-CONF-204833; No Copyright; Avail: Department of Energy Information Bridge

Some recent investigations have begun to quantify turbulence and dissipation in frontal zones to address the question of what physical mechanism counteracts the intensification of temperature and velocity gradients across a developing front. NTIS

Boundary Layers; Fronts (Meteorology); Surface Layers; Turbulence

20050206405 Nebraska Univ., Omaha, NE, USA

NASA Nebraska Space Grant 5 Year Proposal

Bowen, Brent D.; Vlasek, Karisa; Russell, Valerie; Woods, Sara; Webb, Cindy; Schaaf, Michaela; Vlasek, Scott; Wurdeman, Melissa; Lucas, Sarah; Tegeder, Amy; December 2004; 83 pp.; In English Report No.(s): UNOAI-Rept-04-5; Copyright; Avail: CASI; A05, Hardcopy

The UNO Aviation Institute Monograph Series began in 1994 as a key component of the education outreach and information transfer missions of the Aviation Institute and the NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR Programs.

The series is an outlet for aviation materials to be indexed and disseminated through an efficient medium. Publications are welcome in all aspects of aviation.

Publication formats may include, but are not limited to, conference proceedings, bibliographies, research reports, manuals, technical reports, and other documents that should be archived and indexed for future reference by the aviation and world wide communities. Derived from text

Information Transfer; NASA Programs; Education

20050207528 National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO USA

AeroDyn Theory Manual

Moriarty, P. J.; Hansen, A. C.; January 2005; 52 pp.; In English Report No.(s): DE2005-15014831; NREL/TP-500-36881; No Copyright; Avail: Department of Energy Information Bridge

AeroDyn is a set of routines used in conjunction with an aeroelastic simulation code to predict the aerodynamics of horizontal axis wind turbines. These subroutines provide several different models whose theoretical bases are described in this manual. AeroDyn contains two models for calculating the effect of wind turbine wakes: the blade element momentum theory and the generalized dynamic-wake theory. Blade element momentum theory is the classical standard used by many wind turbine designers and generalized dynamic wake theory is a more recent model useful for modeling skewed and unsteady wake dynamics. When using the blade element momentum theory, various corrections are available for the user, such as incorporating the aerodynamic effects of tip losses, hub losses, and skewed wakes. With the generalized dynamic wake, all of these effects are automatically included. Both of these methods are used to calculate the axial induced velocities from the wake in the rotor plane. The user also has the option of calculating the rotational induced velocity. In addition, AeroDyn contains an important model for dynamic stall based on the semi-empirical Beddoes-Leishman model. This model is particularly important for yawed wind turbines. Another aerodynamic model in AeroDyn is a tower shadow model based on potential flow around a cylinder and an expanding wake. Finally, AeroDyn has the ability to read several different formats of wind input, including single-point hub-height wind files or multiple-point turbulent winds. NTIS

Aerodynamics; Aeroelasticity; Computerized Simulation; Wind Turbines

20050209985 National Aerospace Lab., Amsterdam, Netherlands

Historical Perspective: One Hundred Years of Flight Testing, Chapter 2

VanderVelde, Robert L.; Introduction to Flight Test Engineering, Volume 14; July 2005, pp. 2-1 - 2-15; In English; See also 20050209967; Copyright; Avail: CASI; A03, Hardcopy; Available from CASI on CD-ROM only as part of the entire parent document

In less than a century the airplane has undergone a spectacular evolution. This evolution was marked by recurring cycles of research, ground testing, production, flight testing, improved products, and it stemmed from man’s constant striving for better, more capable, more effective, more economical airplanes.

The early pioneers in aviation combined many disciplines: they were aerodynamicist, materials specialist, researcher, designer, airframe manufacturer and sometimes, like the Wright brothers, engine-manufacturer too. They were also test pilot, flight test engineer (FTE) and data analyst, all in one person.

As time progressed, technology advanced and the complexity of airplanes increased, it was no longer possible for one person to remain ahead of the developments in all fields. Specialist disciplines started to develop and the former ‘one-man’ job dissolved into many specialist functions. The function of FTE was one of those specialist functions.

In itself the profession of FTE has changed quite a bit over the years, as a consequence of further specialization. It is interesting to seek an answer to the question: ‘Who can be regarded as the first Flight Test Engineer?’. Starting from the definition of an FTE, as given in the previous Section, it still is not very easy. Some say the Wright brothers, others mention Lilienthal. The fact remains that they were not FTEs only, they embodied numerous other disciplines. The first pure FTE must have emerged during the late twenties.

This Section will briefly discuss the history of flight, the evolution of aircraft and its systems and the evolution of the profession of the FTE in the light of the aeronautical developments that have taken place since man’s first flight. It will give some insight in the tools and the facilities the FTE has used in his work. Furthermore, it will try to unveil what the future has in store for the FTE. Derived from text

Flight Tests; Test Pilots; Ground Tests; Histories

Source: NASA.