X-29 Flight Test Program Including Wind Tunnel and Computational Support

1986 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. G. Waggoner ◽  
L. A. Jennett ◽  
B. L. Bates
Author(s):  
Christian Raab ◽  
Kai Rohde-Brandenburger

AbstractThe determination of structural loads plays an important role in the certification process of new aircraft. Strain gauges are usually used to measure and monitor the structural loads encountered during the flight test program. However, a time-consuming wiring and calibration process is required to determine the forces and moments from the measured strains. Sensors based on MEMS provide an alternative way to determine loads from the measured aerodynamic pressure distribution around the structural component. Flight tests were performed with a research glider aircraft to investigate the flight loads determined with the strain based and the pressure based measurement technology. A wing glove equipped with 64 MEMS pressure sensors was developed for measuring the pressure distribution around a selected wing section. The wing shear force determined with both load determination methods were compared to each other. Several flight maneuvers with varying loads were performed during the flight test program. This paper concentrates on the evaluation of dynamic flight maneuvers including Stalls and Pull-Up Push-Over maneuvers. The effects of changes in the aerodynamic flow characteristics during the maneuver could be detected directly with the pressure sensors based on MEMS. Time histories of the measured pressure distributions and the wing shear forces are presented and discussed.


Author(s):  
Fei Cen ◽  
Qing Li ◽  
Zhitao Liu ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Yong Jiang

Loss-of-control has become the largest fatal accident category for worldwide commercial jet accidents, and any initiative aimed at preventing such events requires an understanding of the fundamental aircraft behavior, especially the flight dynamics at post-stall region at which loss-of-control usually occurred. A series of low-speed static and dynamic wind tunnel tests of the Common Research Model over a large angle of attack/sideslip envelope was conducted and a non-linear aerodynamic model was developed. The bifurcation analysis, complemented by time-history simulation was used to understand the post-stall flight dynamics and the numerical analysis results were preliminary validated by wind tunnel virtual flight test. Several representative post-stall behaviors for the transport aircraft have been identified, including departure, periodic oscillation, post-stall gyration and steep spiral, etc. Furthermore, the predicted periodic oscillation in pitch motion has been perfectly duplicated in wind tunnel virtual flight test. The approach used in this work shows a promising way to uncover the flight dynamics of transport aircraft at extreme and loss-of-control flight conditions, as well as to apply to nonlinear unsteady aerodynamics modeling and validation, flight accident investigation, advanced flight control law design or studying initiative for loss-of-control prevention or mitigation.


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