Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-108).

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Aeroelastic gust and maneuver loads have driven the sizing of primary aircraft structures since the beginning of aviation. Methodologies for determining the gust loads on aircraft have evolved over the last 100 years. There are three general approaches to gust loads analysis: quasi-static, transient, and continuous methods. Quasi-static analysis offers the greatest computational efficiency. A quasi-static formulation referred to as Pratt's Method is the current practice for FAR Part 23 certification requirements. Assumptions made in the derivation of Pratt's Method are acceptable for many conventional aircraft, but additional fidelity from transient and continuous analysis are required to certify FAR Part 25 aircraft. This work provides an assessment of the usability of Pratt's Method for unconventional high altitude long endurance (HALE) aircraft. Derivation Pratt's Method is reviewed and all assumptions are identified. Error of a key curve fit equation is quantified directly. Application dependent errors are quantified by comparing loads calculated using Pratt's Method to loads calculated from transient analysis. To facilitate this effort, a state of the art nonlinear aeroelastic code has been modified to more accurately capture the transient gust response. Application dependent errors are presented in the context of a SensorCraft inspired joined-wing HALE model, and a Helios inspired flying wing HALE model. Recommendations are made on the usability of Pratt's Method for aircraft similar to the two HALE models. It is concluded that Pratt's Method is useful for preliminary design of the joined-wing HALE model, but inadequate for the analysis of the flying wing model. Additional recommendations are made corresponding to subtleties in the implementation of Pratt's Method for unconventional configurations. / Master of Science

This dissertation investigates the effect of airfoil steady loading on the sound generated by the interaction of an isolated, zero-thickness airfoil with a high-frequency convected disturbance. The analysis is based on a linearization of the inviscid equations of motion about a nonuniform mean flow. The mean flow is assumed to be two-dimensional and subsonic. Throughout most of the dissertation, we assume that the Mach number is 0(1), though in one section we concentrate on the leading-edge region and study the behavior of the sound field as the Mach number tends to zero. The small parameter representing the amount of airfoil camber and incidence angle, and the large parameter representing the ratio of airfoil chord to disturbance wavelength, are utilized in a singular perturbation analysis. The analysis shows that essentially all of the sound is generated at the leading and trailing edges, in regions the size of the disturbance wavelength. The solution in the local-leading-edge region reveals several sound-generating mechanisms which do not exist for an airfoil with no mean loading. These mechanisms are not present at the trailing edge; the trailing edge is important only as a scatterer of the sound produced at the leading edge. The propagation of sound away from the airfoil edges is described by geometric acoustics, with the amplitude varying on the scale of the airfoil chord and the phase varying on the much smaller scale of the disturbance wavelength. In addition, a diffraction-type transition region exists downstream of the airfoil. Calculations of radiated acoustic power show that the sound field depends strongly on Mach number, gust characteristics, and airfoil steady loading. Small changes in these properties can produce large changes in radiated power levels. Most importantly, we find that the amount of power radiated correlates very well with the strength of the mean flow around the leading edge.

published_or_final_version / Civil Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis--Ph. D., University of Hong Kong.

Thesis. 1977. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND AERONAUTICS. / Vita. / Includes bibliographical references. / Ph.D.

No description available.