Low-Speed Wind Tunnel Testing


Book Description

A brand-new edition of the classic guide on low-speed wind tunnel testing While great advances in theoretical and computational methods have been made in recent years, low-speed wind tunnel testing remains essential for obtaining the full range of data needed to guide detailed design decisions for many practical engineering problems. This long-awaited Third Edition of William H. Rae, Jr.'s landmark reference brings together essential information on all aspects of low-speed wind tunnel design, analysis, testing, and instrumentation in one easy-to-use resource. Written by authors who are among the most respected wind tunnel engineers in the world, this edition has been updated to address current topics and applications, and includes coverage of digital electronics, new instrumentation, video and photographic methods, pressure-sensitive paint, and liquid crystal-based measurement methods. The book is organized for quick access to topics of interest, and examines basic test techniques and objectives of modeling and testing aircraft designs in low-speed wind tunnels, as well as applications to fluid motion analysis, automobiles, marine vessels, buildings, bridges, and other structures subject to wind loading. Supplemented with real-world examples throughout, Low-Speed Wind Tunnel Testing, Third Edition is an indispensable resource for aerospace engineering students and professionals, engineers and researchers in the automotive industries, wind tunnel designers, architects, and others who need to get the most from low-speed wind tunnel technology and experiments in their work.




Flying beyond the stall


Book Description

The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator was unique among experimental aircraft. A joint effort of the United States and Germany, the X-31 was the only X-plane to be designed, manufactured, and flight tested as an international collaboration. It was also the only X-plane to support two separate test programs conducted years apart, one administered largely by NASA and the other by the U.S. Navy, as well as the first X-plane ever to perform at the Paris Air Show. Flying Beyond the Stall begins by describing the government agencies and private-sector industries involved in the X-31 program, the genesis of the supermaneuverability concept and its initial design breakthroughs, design and fabrication of two test airframes, preparation for the X-31's first flight, and the first flights of Ship #1 and Ship #2. Subsequent chapters discuss envelope expansion, handling qualities (especially at high angles of attack), and flight with vectored thrust. The book then turns to the program's move to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center and actual flight test data. Additional tasking, such as helmet-mounted display evaluations, handling quality studies, aerodynamic parameter estimation, and a "tailless" study are also discussed.The book describes how, in the aftermath of a disastrous accident with Ship #1 in 1995, Ship #2 was prepared for its outstanding participation in the Paris Air Show. The aircraft was then shipped back to Edwards AFB and put into storage until the late 1990s, when it was refurbished for participation in the U. S. Navy's VECTOR program. The book ends with a comprehensive discussion of lessons learned and includes an Appendix containing detailed information.




Deep Space Telecommunications Systems Engineering


Book Description

The challenge of communication in planetary exploration has been unusual. The guidance and control of spacecraft depend on reliable communication. Scientific data returned to earth are irreplaceable, or replaceable only at the cost of another mission. In deep space, communications propagation is good, relative to terrestrial communications, and there is an opportunity to press toward the mathematical limit of microwave communication. Yet the limits must be approached warily, with reliability as well as channel capacity in mind. Further, the effects of small changes in the earth's atmosphere and the interplanetary plasma have small but important effects on propagation time and hence on the measurement of distance. Advances are almost incredible. Communication capability measured in 18 bits per second at a given range rose by a factor of 10 in the 19 years from Explorer I of 1958 to Voyager of 1977. This improvement was attained through ingenious design based on the sort of penetrating analysis set forth in this book by engineers who took part in a highly detailed and amazingly successful pro gram. Careful observation and analysis have told us much about limitations on the accurate measurement of distance. It is not easy to get busy people to tell others clearly and in detail how they have solved important problems. Joseph H. Yuen and the other contribu tors to this book are to be commended for the time and care they have devoted to explicating one vital aspect of a great adventure of mankind.




Unsteady Computational Fluid Dynamics in Aeronautics


Book Description

The field of Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and hybrids is a vibrant research area. This book runs through all the potential unsteady modelling fidelity ranges, from low-order to LES. The latter is probably the highest fidelity for practical aerospace systems modelling. Cutting edge new frontiers are defined. One example of a pressing environmental concern is noise. For the accurate prediction of this, unsteady modelling is needed. Hence computational aeroacoustics is explored. It is also emerging that there is a critical need for coupled simulations. Hence, this area is also considered and the tensions of utilizing such simulations with the already expensive LES. This work has relevance to the general field of CFD and LES and to a wide variety of non-aerospace aerodynamic systems (e.g. cars, submarines, ships, electronics, buildings). Topics treated include unsteady flow techniques; LES and hybrids; general numerical methods; computational aeroacoustics; computational aeroelasticity; coupled simulations and turbulence and its modelling (LES, RANS, transition, VLES, URANS). The volume concludes by pointing forward to future horizons and in particular the industrial use of LES. The writing style is accessible and useful to both academics and industrial practitioners. From the reviews: "Tucker's volume provides a very welcome, concise discussion of current capabilities for simulating and modellng unsteady aerodynamic flows. It covers the various pos sible numerical techniques in good, clear detail and presents a very wide range of practical applications; beautifully illustrated in many cases. This book thus provides a valuable text for practicing engineers, a rich source of background information for students and those new to this area of Research & Development, and an excellent state-of-the-art review for others. A great achievement." Mark Savill FHEA, FRAeS, C.Eng, Professor of Computational Aerodynamics Design & Head of Power & Propulsion Sciences, Department of Power & Propulsion, School of Engineering, Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, U.K. "This is a very useful book with a wide coverage of many aspects in unsteady aerodynamics method development and applications for internal and external flows." L. He, Rolls-Royce/RAEng Chair of Computational Aerothermal Engineering, Oxford University, U.K. "This comprehensive book ranges from classical concepts in both numerical methods and turbulence modelling approaches for the beginner to latest state-of-the-art for the advanced practitioner and constitutes an extremely valuable contribution to the specific Computational Fluid Dynamics literature in Aeronautics. Student and expert alike will benefit greatly by reading it from cover to cover." Sébastien Deck, Onera, Meudon, France




Technology and the Air Force


Book Description

Proceedings of a symposium co-sponsored by the Air Force Historical Foundation and the Air Force History and Museums Program. The symposium covered relevant Air Force technologies ranging from the turbo-jet revolution of the 1930s to the stealth revolution of the 1990s. Illustrations.




Air University Au-1 Style and Author Guide


Book Description

The Style Guide, part one of this publication, provides guidance to Air University's community of writers. It offers a coherent, consistent stylistic base for writing and editing. The Author Guide part two of this publication, offers simple, concise instructions to writers who wish to submit a manuscript to AUPress for consideration.




Innovation in Flight


Book Description




Theory of Groups of Finite Order


Book Description

Classic 1911 edition covers many group-related properties, including an extensive treatment of permutation groups and groups of linear substitutions, along with graphic representation of groups, congruence groups, and special topics.




The Power for Flight


Book Description

The NACA and aircraft propulsion, 1915-1958 -- NASA gets to work, 1958-1975 -- The shift toward commercial aviation, 1966-1975 -- The quest for propulsive efficiency, 1976-1989 -- Propulsion control enters the computer era, 1976-1998 -- Transiting to a new century, 1990-2008 -- Toward the future