UNDERSTANDING THE FLOW AND PERFORMANCE EFFECTS OF IN-GROUND-EFFECT HOVER OVER INCLINED TERRAIN
Abstract
The overall goal of the proposed research is to expand upon prior investigations into hover in-ground-effect (HIGE) performance over, sloping terrain to better understand the performance and flow field effects using the latest flow measurement and visualization tec,hniques. The proposed investigation is unique in its value to both the basic research and operational communities. The specific obje,ctives of this work are to:1. Develop an improved fundamental understanding of the flow field and associated performance effects cau,sed by hovering a helicopter in ground effect over inclined terrain. While there are basic research benefits to be realized in advan,cing the understanding of this complicated flow (such as further development of promising new test techniques and the creation of a, unique data set for future development and validation of aerodynamics models), this new knowledge would also have important benefit,s for operational communities.2. Investigate the key factors that affect the scalability of these flow physics and performance effec,ts between laboratory scale and flight testing and quantify of the sensitivity of the flow physics to these factors. Identification, of key scaling factors will allow the reduction in computational cost associated with numerical simulations (ranging in fidelity an,d application from high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to moderate-fidelity models for use in pilot-in-the loop simulat,ion) through only modeling the primary factors affecting the problem. Furthermore, knowledge of the primary factors affecting scalin,g will allow for more focused tests to be performed at the laboratory scale and greater confidence in applying those laboratory scal,e results to full-scale vehicles.3. Advance the state of the art of in-situ rotor flow field measurement and visualization technique,s. Further development and application of promising flow field measurement and visualization techniques to flight test and laborator,y investigations will improve the ability to characterize a wide range of fluid dynamic problems that are relevant to Naval operatio,ns (for example, highly-unsteady flow fields or problems with unique couplings between the fluid dynamic flow features and solid sur,faces). The synthesis of multiple techniques (i.e., BOS, PIV, and PSP) will provide unique insight into the challenges associated wi,th coupling these techniques, as well as relative strengths and weaknesses of each. The proposed research will combine and expand st,ate-of-the-art experimentation techniques being performed at the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS), a,nd the University of Notre Dame (ND) to provide unique and unprecedented insight into an operationally relevant problem.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 10, 2021
- Source ID
- N000142212003
Entities
People
- Hirotaka Sakaue
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Notre Dame