Aerodynamic analysis is an important area of survivability studies. There is a desire to be able to predict the aerodynamic effects of a given damage scenario on an aircraft wing with minimal wind tunnel testing or computational simulations. Due to the limited nature of previous studies, this has not generally been possible. The original contribution of this thesis is a predictive technique developed to estimate the aerodynamic effects of a simulated battle damage hole on an aircraft wing, resulting from a range of attack directions. This technique was successfully validated against experimental data. Testing under two-dimensional conditions was undertaken on a NASA LS(1)-0417MOD aerofoil at a Reynolds number of 500,000. This project simulates the effect of attack direction by varying the offset between upper and lower surface damage holes in both chordwise and spanwise directions. Damage was modelled using circular holes. Lift, drag and pitching moment coefficients were measured and supplemented with surface flow visualisation and surface pressure measurements. Coefficient increments, defined as the difference between the damage cases and a datum undamaged case were used to quantify the effects of the damage, with the performance qualified in terms of weak and strong jets. Weak jets were found to have little effect on the flow and aerodynamic properties, while strong jets caused significant disruption. The effects increased in magnitude with hole size, incidence and proximity of the upper surface hole to the pressure peak. Spanwise offset on the holes had little effect on the jet strength but introduced asymmetry into the surface flow. This effect was found to be due to the behaviour of the flow within the cavity. Three-dimensional testing was undertaken at a Reynolds number of 1,000,000 on a half wing model in order to investigate any changes in the aerodynamic characteristics of the damage when applied to a more representative aircraft wing. The higher Reynolds number exploited the larger wind tunnel working section and provided a value more representative of typical unmanned aerial vehicles. As the damage was moved towards the tip its effects were lessened and the transition from weak jet to strong jet delayed. Spanwise pressure variation from the tip also introduced asymmetry into the jet s surface flow features. Plotting coefficient increments for all attack directions against the pressure coefficient difference between upper and lower surfaces from an undamaged wing, across the equivalent damage hole region highlighted significant trends, which were used as the basis of a predictive technique for a range of hole sizes and attack directions. The validity of the technique was assessed by predicting a previously untested damage case and comparing it against subsequent wind tunnel tests. The results from this validation proved encouraging.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:603052 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Pickhaver, T. W. |
| Publisher | Loughborough University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/14688 |
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