Matching Items (5)
Filtering by

Clear all filters

156186-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
This thesis uses an aircraft aerodynamic model and propulsion data, which

represents a configuration similar to the Airbus A320, to perform trade studies to understand the weight and configuration effects of “out-of-trim” flight during takeoff, cruise, initial approach, and balked landing. It is found that flying an aircraft slightly above the

This thesis uses an aircraft aerodynamic model and propulsion data, which

represents a configuration similar to the Airbus A320, to perform trade studies to understand the weight and configuration effects of “out-of-trim” flight during takeoff, cruise, initial approach, and balked landing. It is found that flying an aircraft slightly above the angle of attack or pitch angle required for a trimmed, stabilized flight will cause the aircraft to lose speed rapidly. This effect is most noticeable for lighter aircraft and when one engine is rendered inoperative. In the event of an engine failure, if the pilot does not pitch the nose of the aircraft down quickly, speed losses are significant and potentially lead to stalling the aircraft. Even when the risk of stalling the aircraft is small, the implications on aircraft climb performance, obstacle clearance, and acceleration distances can still become problematic if the aircraft is not flown properly. When the aircraft is slightly above the trimmed angle of attack, the response is shown to closely follow the classical phugoid response where the aircraft will trade speed and altitude in an oscillatory manner. However, when the pitch angle is slightly above the trimmed condition, the aircraft does not show this phugoid pattern but instead just loses speed until it reaches a new stabilized trajectory, never having speed and altitude oscillate. In this event, the way a pilot should respond to both events is different and may cause confusion in the cockpit.
ContributorsDelisle, Mathew Robert (Author) / Takahashi, Timothy (Thesis advisor) / White, Daniel (Committee member) / Niemczyk, Mary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
155087-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
There are many computer aided engineering tools and software used by aerospace engineers to design and predict specific parameters of an airplane. These tools help a design engineer predict and calculate such parameters such as lift, drag, pitching moment, takeoff range, maximum takeoff weight, maximum flight range and much more.

There are many computer aided engineering tools and software used by aerospace engineers to design and predict specific parameters of an airplane. These tools help a design engineer predict and calculate such parameters such as lift, drag, pitching moment, takeoff range, maximum takeoff weight, maximum flight range and much more. However, there are very limited ways to predict and calculate the minimum control speeds of an airplane in engine inoperative flight. There are simple solutions, as well as complicated solutions, yet there is neither standard technique nor consistency throughout the aerospace industry. To further complicate this subject, airplane designers have the option of using an Automatic Thrust Control System (ATCS), which directly alters the minimum control speeds of an airplane.

This work addresses this issue with a tool used to predict and calculate the Minimum Control Speed on the Ground (VMCG) as well as the Minimum Control Airspeed (VMCA) of any existing or design-stage airplane. With simple line art of an airplane, a program called VORLAX is used to generate an aerodynamic database used to calculate the stability derivatives of an airplane. Using another program called Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS), a propulsion database is generated to use with the aerodynamic database to calculate both VMCG and VMCA.

This tool was tested using two airplanes, the Airbus A320 and the Lockheed Martin C130J-30 Super Hercules. The A320 does not use an Automatic Thrust Control System (ATCS), whereas the C130J-30 does use an ATCS. The tool was able to properly calculate and match known values of VMCG and VMCA for both of the airplanes. The fact that this tool was able to calculate the known values of VMCG and VMCA for both airplanes means that this tool would be able to predict the VMCG and VMCA of an airplane in the preliminary stages of design. This would allow design engineers the ability to use an Automatic Thrust Control System (ATCS) as part of the design of an airplane and still have the ability to predict the VMCG and VMCA of the airplane.
ContributorsHadder, Eric Michael (Author) / Takahashi, Timothy (Thesis advisor) / Mignolet, Marc (Committee member) / White, Daniel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
155296-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
To ensure safety is not precluded in the event of an engine failure, the FAA has

established climb gradient minimums enforced through Federal Regulations.

Furthermore, to ensure aircraft do not accidentally impact an obstacle on takeoff due to

insufficient climb performance, standard instrument departure procedures have their own

set

To ensure safety is not precluded in the event of an engine failure, the FAA has

established climb gradient minimums enforced through Federal Regulations.

Furthermore, to ensure aircraft do not accidentally impact an obstacle on takeoff due to

insufficient climb performance, standard instrument departure procedures have their own

set of climb gradient minimums which are typically more than those set by Federal

Regulation. This inconsistency between climb gradient expectations creates an obstacle

clearance problem: while the aircraft has enough climb gradient in the engine inoperative

condition so that basic flight safety is not precluded, this climb gradient is often not

strong enough to overfly real obstacles; this implies that the pilot must abort the takeoff

flight path and reverse course back to the departure airport to perform an emergency

landing. One solution to this is to reduce the dispatch weight to ensure that the aircraft

retains enough climb performance in the engine inoperative condition, but this comes at

the cost of reduced per-flight profits.

An alternative solution to this problem is the extended second segment (E2S)

climb. Proposed by Bays & Halpin, they found that a C-130H gained additional obstacle

clearance performance through this simple operational change. A thorough investigation

into this technique was performed to see if this technique can be applied to commercial

aviation by using a model A320 and simulating multiple takeoff flight paths in either a

calm or constant wind condition. A comparison of takeoff flight profiles against real

world departure procedures shows that the E2S climb technique offers a clear obstacle

clearance advantage which a scheduled four-segment flight profile cannot provide.
ContributorsBeard, John Eng Hui (Author) / Takahashi, Timothy T (Thesis advisor) / White, Daniel (Committee member) / Niemczyk, Mary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
The objective of this study is to understand how to integrate conical spike external compression inlets with high bypass turbofan engines for application on future supersonic airliners. Many performance problems arise when inlets are matched with engines as inlets come with a plethora of limitations and losses that greatly affect

The objective of this study is to understand how to integrate conical spike external compression inlets with high bypass turbofan engines for application on future supersonic airliners. Many performance problems arise when inlets are matched with engines as inlets come with a plethora of limitations and losses that greatly affect an engine’s ability to operate. These limitations and losses include drag due to inlet spillage, bleed ducts, and bypass doors, as well as the maximum and minimum values of mass flow ratio at each Mach number that define when an engine can no longer function. A collection of tools was developed that allow one to calculate the raw propulsion data of an engine, match the propulsion data with an inlet, calculate the aerodynamic data of an aircraft, and combine the propulsion and aerodynamic data to calculate the installed performance of the entire propulsion system. Several trade studies were performed that tested how changing specific design parameters of the engine affected propulsion performance. These engine trade studies proved that high bypass turbofan engines could be developed with external compression inlets and retain effective supersonic performance. Several engines of efficient fuel consumption and differing bypass ratios were developed through the engine trade studies and used with the aerodynamic data of the Concorde to test the aircraft performance of a supersonic airliner using these engines. It was found that none of the engines that were tested came close to matching the supersonic performance that the Concorde could achieve with its own turbojet engines. It is possible to speculate from the results several different reasons why these turbofan engines were unable to function effectively with the Concorde. These speculations show that more tests and trade studies need to be performed in order to determine if high bypass turbofan engines can be developed for effective usage with supersonic airliners in any possible way.
ContributorsCleary, Spencer (Author) / Takahashi, Timothy (Thesis advisor) / White, Daniel (Committee member) / Dahm, Werner (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
155933-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
The Doghouse Plot visually represents an aircraft’s performance during combined turn-climb maneuvers. The Doghouse Plot completely describes the turn-climb capability of an aircraft; a single plot demonstrates the relationship between climb performance, turn rate, turn radius, stall margin, and bank angle. Using NASA legacy codes, Empirical Drag Estimation Technique (EDET)

The Doghouse Plot visually represents an aircraft’s performance during combined turn-climb maneuvers. The Doghouse Plot completely describes the turn-climb capability of an aircraft; a single plot demonstrates the relationship between climb performance, turn rate, turn radius, stall margin, and bank angle. Using NASA legacy codes, Empirical Drag Estimation Technique (EDET) and Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS), it is possible to reverse engineer sufficient basis data for commercial and military aircraft to construct Doghouse Plots. Engineers and operators can then use these to assess their aircraft’s full performance envelope. The insight gained from these plots can broaden the understanding of an aircraft’s performance and, in turn, broaden the operational scope of some aircraft that would otherwise be limited by the simplifications found in their Airplane Flight Manuals (AFM). More importantly, these plots can build on the current standards of obstacle avoidance and expose risks in operation.
ContributorsWilson, John Robert (Author) / Takahashi, Timothy T (Thesis advisor) / Middleton, James (Committee member) / White, Daniel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017