CFD Analysis of a Maneuvering F/A-18E Super Hornet

Abstract

The goal of the current study was to determine if computational fluid dynamics is capable of accurately predicting the forces and moments on the F/A-18E Super Hornet while performing several complicated maneuvers. Past F/A-18E computational studies have mainly focused on static wind-tunnel scale calculations with the results being compared to existing wind-tunnel data. In recent years, some pitching calculations were conducted at wind-tunnel scale to increase the throughput of the computational results. Furthermore, recent improvements in the tools and methods allow for moving vehicles with arbitrary motions of surfaces. These enabling capabilities and successful calculations increased confidence that actual maneuvers could be evaluated at full-scale. During this study, several F/A-18E maneuvers were evaluated. The calculations for this study were conducted at full-scale and the results were compared to data from flight tests and the F/A-18E validated flight simulation database.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 12, 2016
Accession Number
AD1041870

Entities

People

  • Bradford E. Green
  • David B. Findlay

Organizations

  • Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Aerodynamic Characteristics
  • Aircrafts
  • Boundary Layer
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Computational Science
  • Computer Simulations
  • Control Surfaces
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Fixed Wing Aircraft
  • Flight Simulations
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Flow
  • Horizontal Stabilizers
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Wind Tunnels

Readers

  • Aviation Science / Aeronautics.
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.