ALBERT

Description: As part of an investigation to increase the power output of the V-1710-93 engine at altitude, the engine-stage supercharger was combined with a constant-area vaneless diffuser designed to improve the performance of the engine-stage supercharger at the rated engine operating point. The performance of the modified supercharger was investigated in a variable-component supercharger test rig and compared with that of the standard supercharger with an 8-vaned diffuser. A separate evaluation of the component efficiencies and a study of the flow characteristics of the modified supercharger was made possible by internal diffuser instrumentation. At the volume flow required by the engine for rated operating conditions, the modified supercharger increased the over-all adiabatic efficiency 0.05 and the over-all pressure coefficient 0.035. Furthermore, the capacity of the engine-stage supercharger was increased by replacing the standard 8-vaned diffuser with the vaneless diffuser. The peak over-all adiabatic efficiency for the modified supercharger, however, was 0.05 to 0.07 lower than that of the standard unit over the range of tip speeds investigated. The improved performance of the modified supercharger at rated engine operating conditions resulted from a shift of the point of peak adiabatic efficiency and pressure coefficient of the standard supercharger to a higher flow. The energy loss through the vaneless diffuser was found to be small. Because of the restricted diffuser diameter, however, diffusion was inadequate, which resulted in a relatively small static-pressure rise through the diffuser, high diffuser-exit velocities, and excessive collector-case losses.

Description: Design data are presented for the graphical construction of two-dimensional sharp-edge-throat supersonic nozzles of minimum length for test-section Mach numbers from 1.20 to 10.00. The method of characteristics used in the design is briefly reviewed.

Description: An investigation of the pressure distribution on the fuselage nose and the pilot canopy of a supersonic airplane model has been conducted at a Mach number of 1.90 over a wide range of angles of attack and yaw. Boundary layer separation apparently occurred from the upper surface at angles of attack above 24 degrees and from the lower surface at minus 15 degrees. No separation from the sides of the fuselage was evident at yaw angles up to 12 degrees.

Description: An investigation was made in the Cleveland Altitude wind tunnel to determine the performance of an Aeroproducts H20C-162-X11M2 four-blade propeller on a YP-47M airplane at high blade loadings and high engine powers. The propeller characteristics were obtained for a range of power coefficients from 0.30 to 1.00 at free-stream Mach numbers of 0.40 and 0.50. The results of the force measurements are indicative only of trends in propeller efficiency with changes in power coefficient and advance-diameter ratio because unknown interference effects existed during the investigation. At a free-stream Mach number of 0.40, the envelopes of the efficiency curves decreased about 11% between advance-diameter ratios of 2.40 and 4.40. An increase in power coefficient from 0.30 to 0.80 at an advance-diameter ratio of 2.40 had little effect on the propeller efficiency. A change in power coefficient from 0.40 to 1.00 at an advance-diameter ratio of 4.40 increased the propeller efficiency by about 40%. For conditions below the stall the thrust loading on the outboard blade sections increased more rapidly than on the inboard sections as the power coefficient was increased or as the advance-diameter ratio was decreased. For conditions beyond the stall, the thrust loading decreased on the outboard sections and increased on the inboard sections.

Description: Qualitative investigations have shown that use of the NACA injection impeller with the R-3350 engine increases the inertia of the fuel-injection system and, when the standard fuel-metering system is used, this increase in inertia results in poor engine acceleration characteristics. This investigation was therefore undertaken to determine whether satisfactory acceleration characteristics of the engine equipped with the injection impeller could be obtained by simple modifications to the fuel-monitoring system. The engine was operated with two types of carburetor; namely, a hydraulic-metering carburetor incorporating a vacuum-operated accelerating pump and a direct-metering carburetor having a throttle-actuated accelerating pump. The vacuum-operated accelerating pump of the hydraulic-metering carburetor was modified to produce satisfactory accelerations by supplementing the standard air chamber with an additional 75-cubic spring. The throttle-actuated accelerating pump of the direct-metering carburetor was modified to produce satisfactory accelerations by replacing the standard 0.028-inch-diameter bleed in the load-compensator balance line with a smaller bleed of 0.0225-inch diameter. The results of this investigation indicated that both carburetors can be easily modified to produce satisfactory acceleration characteristics of the engine and no definite choice between the types of carburetor and accelerating pump can be made. Use of the direct-metering carburetor, however, probably resulted in better fuel distribution to the cylinders during the acceleration period and reduced the backfire hazard because all the fuel is introduced through the injection impeller.

Description: Three modifications of the auxiliary-stage supercharger for the V-1710-93 engine were designed and tested as part of an investigation to improve the power output and the altitude performance of the engine. A 12-vane diffuser was substituted for the standard 11-vane diffuser, and a vaneless discharge passage and a modified scroll were designed to increase the flow capacity of the supercharger and thereby to increase the performance at the high volume flows required by the engine. With the 12-vane diffuser installed and the carburetor replaced by an adapter, the equivalent volume flow at the peak efficiency point was increased 25 percent at the lowest speed investigated and 9.5 percent at the highest speed. When the carburetor was used, any increase in equivalent volume flow was masked by choking in the carburetor. A small decrease in the peak adiabatic efficiency resulted from using the 12-vane diffuser. At the high volume flows where the supercharger is required to operate, the performance was improved by the 12-vane diffuser. With the vaneless discharge passage, the surge-free range of the supercharger was increased 35 percent at the lowest tip speed investigated by increasing the maximum air flow. The maximum air flow at high tip speeds was again limited by choking in the carburetor, which masked the effect of the vaneless discharge passage on the maximum air flow. At the high volume flows near the operating point of the supercharger, the performance with the vaneless discharge passage was better than that with the standard 11-vane diffuser. At the low volume flows when the standard 11-vane diffuser gave better performance. The modified scroll gave performance characteristics that were practically the same as those of the standard scroll except at high tip speeds, where the peak performance was improved.

Description: The sound field of a rotating propeller is teated theoretically on the basis of aerodynamic principles. For the lower harmonics, the directional characteristics and the radiated sound energy are determined and are in conformity with existing experimental results.

Description: A Douglas C-74 airplane, during a test dive at about 0.525 Mach number, experienced uncontrollable longitudinal oscillations sufficient to cause shedding of the outer wing panels and the subsequent crash of the airplane. Tests of a section of the horizontal tail plane from a C-74 airplane were conducted in the Ames 16-foot high-speed wind tunnel to investigate the possibility of the tail as a contributing factor to the accident. The results of the investigations of fabric-covered elevators in various conditions of surface deformation are presented in this report.

Description: Attempts were made to alleviate the buffeting of external fuel tanks mounted under the wings of a twin-engine Navy fighter plane. The Mach number at which the buffeting began was increased from 0.529 to 0.640 by streamlining the sway braces and increasing the lateral rigidity of the sway brace system. Further increases of the Mach number, at which buffeting began to 0.725, was obtained by moving the external fuel tank to a position under the fuselage.

Description: This report contains the flight-test results of the lateral and directional-stability and control phase (including tests with wing-tip tanks) of a general flying-qualities investigation of the Lockheed P-80A airplane (Army No. 44-85099). These tests were conducted at indicated airspeeds up to 494 miles per hour (0.691 Mach number) at low altitude and up to 378 miles per hour (0.816 Mach number) at high altitude. These tests showed that the flying qualities of the airplane were for the most part in accordance with the requirements of the Army Air Forces Stability and Control Specifications. The only major deficiency noted was the negative lateral stability with the wing-tip tanks installed.