ALBERT

Description: Recent developments in airfoil-testing methods and fundamental air-flow investigations, as applied to airfoils, are discussed. Preliminary test results, obtained under conditions relatively free from stream turbulence and other disturbances, are presented. Suitable airfoils and airfoil-design principles were developed to take advantage of the unusually extensive laminar boundary layers that may be maintained under the improved testing conditions. The results are of interest mainly in range of below 6,000,000.

Description: A supersonic inlet with supersonic deceleration of the flow entirely outside of the inlet is considered. A particular arrangement with fixed geometry having a central body with a circular annular intake is analyzed, and it is shown theoretically that this arrangement gives high pressure recovery for a large range of Mach number and mass flow and therefore is practical for use on supersonic airplanes and missiles. For some Mach numbers the drag coefficient for this type of inlet is larger than the drag coefficient for the type of inlet with supersonic compression entirely inside, but the pressure recovery is larger for all flight conditions. The differences in drag can be eliminated for the design Mach number. Experimental results confirm the results of the theoretical analysis and show that pressure recoveries of 95 percent for Mach numbers of 1.33 and 1.52, 92 percent for a Mach number of 1.72, and 86 percent for a Mach number of 2.10 are possible, with the configurations considered. If the mass flow decreases, the total drag coefficient increases gradually and the pressure recovery does not change appreciably. The results of this work were first presented in a classified document issued in 1946.

Description: The hypersonic similarity law as derived by Tsien has been investigated by comparing the pressure distributions along bodies of revolution at zero angle of attack. In making these comparisons, particular attention was given to determining the limits of Mach number and fineness ratio for which the similarity law applies. For the purpose of this investigation, pressure distributions determined by the method of characteristics for ogive cylinders for values of Mach numbers and fineness ratios varying from 1.5 to 12 were compared. Pressures on various cones and on cone cylinders were also compared in this study. The pressure distributions presented demonstrate that the hypersonic similarity law is applicable over a wider range of values of Mach numbers and fineness ratios than might be expected from the assumptions made in the derivation. This is significant since within the range of applicability of the law a single pressure distribution exists for all similarly shaped bodies for which the ratio of free-stream Mach number to fineness ratio is constant. Charts are presented for rapid determination of pressure distributions over ogive cylinders for any combination of Mach number and fineness ratio within defined limits.

Description: No abstract available

Description: The performance of NACA 65-series compressor blade section in cascade has been investigated systematically in a low-speed cascade tunnel. Porous test-section side walls and for high-pressure-rise conditions, porous flexible end walls were employed to establish conditions closely simulating two-dimensional flow. Blade sections of design lift coefficients from 0 to 2.7 were tested over the usable angle-of-attack range for various combinations of inlet-flow angle. A sufficient number of combinations were tested to permit interpolation and extrapolation of the data to all conditions within the usual range of application. The results of this investigation indicate a continuous variation of blade-section performance as the major cascade parameters, blade camber, inlet angle, and solidity were varied over the test range. Summary curves of the results have been prepared to enable compressor designers to select the proper blade camber and angle of attack when the compressor velocity diagram and desired solidity have been determined.

Description: An investigation has been conducted in the Langley 20-foot free spinning tunnel to study the relative behavior in descent of a number of homogeneous balsa bodies of revolution simulating anti-personnel bombs with a small cylindrical exploding device suspended approximately 10 feet below the bomb. The bodies of revolution included hemispherical, near-hemispherical, and near-paraboloid shapes. The ordinates of one near-paraboloid shape were specified by the Office of the Chief of Ordnance, U. S. Army. The behavior of the various bodies without the cylinder was also investigated. The results of the investigation indicated that several of the bodies descended vertically with their longitudinal axis, suspension line, and small cylinder in a vertical attitude,. However, the body, the ordinates of which had been specified by the Office of the Chief of Ordnance, U. S. Army, oscillated considerably from a vertical attitude while descending and therefore appeared unsuitable for its intended use. The behavior of this body became satisfactory when its center of gravity was moved well forward from its original position. In general, the results indicated that the descent characteristics of the bodies of revolution become more favorable as their shapes approached that of a hemisphere.

Description: The subject of this paper is the drag of the nose section of bodies of revolution at zero angle of attack. The magnitude of the nose drag in relation to the total drag is very distinctly a function of the body design and the Mach number. It can range from a very small fraction of the total drag of the order of 10 percent to a very large fraction as high as 80 percent. The natural objective of nose design is to minimize the drag, but this objective is not always the primary one. Sometimes other factors overshadow the desire for minimum drag. The most conspicuous example of this is the proposal of guidance engineers that large-diameter spheres and other very blunt shapes be used at the nose tip. This paper will attempt to discuss both phases of the problem, noses for minimum drag and noses with very blunt tips. The state of the theory will also be reviewed and recent theoretical developments described, since the theory still remains a very valuable tool for assaying the effects of compromises in design and departure from shapes for which experimental data are available.

Description: A wind-tunnel investigation of a 0.049-scale model of the Boeing XB-52 airplane was made at Mach numbers from 0.30 to 0.925 and at corresponding Reynolds numbers from about 2.3 x 10(exp 6) to 4.3 x 10(exp 6). The results of the investigation indicate satisfactory static longitudinal stability throughout the test Mach-number range and some loss in tail effectiveness beginning at about 0.80 Mach number. A comparison of the results of these tests with those of the same model in the Boeing Airplane Company's wind tunnel showed close agreement of lift- and drag-divergence Mach numbers. Slight differences were observed in tail effectiveness and the position of the stick-fixed neutral point.

Description: A flight test was made a t high subsonic, transonic, and supersonic speeds and at high Reynolds numbers to determine the zero-lift drag of a 1/14-scale model of the Northrop MX-775B pilotless aircraft with small small body. The triangular wing of the model had 67.5 deg leading-edge sweep and 15 deg. trailing-edge sweep, The wing airfoil sections were modified NACA 0004 sections. The drag coefficient based on total wing area was 0.0107 at Mach number 1.60. At transonic speeds the maximum drag coefficient was 0.0125. The force-break Mach number was 0,98.

Description: A supplementary investigation has been conducted in the Langley 20-foot free-spinning tunnel of a 1/30 -scale model of the Grumman XFlOF-1 airplane to determine what effect full-span slats would have on the spin-recovery characteristics of the swept-wing version of the XFlOF-1 airplane, which had previously been indicated as possessing undesirable spin-recovery characteristics without slats. The effects of extended nose-wheel doors and of fairing the air-duct inlets were also determined. The results indicated that, with slats fully extended, satisfactory recovery could be obtained by rudder reversal provided it was accompanied by movement of the trimmer ailerons to full with the spin (only up-going spoiler operative), Extension of the nose-wheel doors or fairing of the air-duct inlets did not improve the recovery characteristics.

Description: The damping-in-Toll stability derivatives of a missile configuration and its components were determined both experimentally and theoretically. The tests were conducted at a Mach number of 1.52 and at a Reynolds number, based on the mean aerodynamic chord of the wing, of 0.82 x 10(exp 6). The experimental damping derivative of the wing-body combination was 67 percent of the theoretical value. The difference is believed to have resulted mainly from the fact that the theory is not strictly applicable when the Mach number normal to the leading edge is almost unity, which was the case in the present investigation. For the tail-body combination the damping derivative was 86 percent of the theoretical value. In this case, the difference is believed to have been caused partially by mutual interference between the tail surfaces and partially by the low Reynolds number of the flow over the tail. It was found that the damping of the complete configuration was not equal to the sum of the damping derivatives of the components because of the effect of the wing downwash on the damping of the tail.

Description: A wing-body combination having a plane triangular wing of aspect ratio 2 with NACA 0005-63 thickness distribution in streamwise planes, and twisted and cambered for a trapezoidal span load distribution has been investigated at both subsonic and supersonic Mach numbers. The lift, drag, and pitching moment of the model are presented for Mach numbers from 0.60 to 0.90 and 1.30 to 1.70 at a Reynolds number of 3.0 million. The variations of the characteristics with Reynolds number are also shown for several Mach numbers.

Description: An investigation was conducted in the N.A.C.A. 20-foot wind tunnel to determine the drag, the propulsive and net efficiencies, and the cooling characteristics of severa1 scale-model arrangements of air-cooled radial-engine nacelles and present-day propellers in front of an 18- percent-thick, 5- by 15-foot airfoil. This report deals with an investigation of wing-nacelle arrangements simulating the geometric proportions of airplanes in the 40,000- to 70,000- pound weight classification and having the nacelles located in the vicinity of the optimum location determined from the earlier tests.

Description: Force tests on a proposed body shape of the Hermes A-2 missile with and without longitudinal spoilers were made at Mach number 4.04. Values of normal force coefficient, pitching-moment coefficient, and center-of-pressure position were obtained.

Description: An investigation was made in the Langley 300 MPH 7- by 10-foot tunnel to determine the aerodynamic characteristics of a flying-boat hull of a length-beam ratio of 15 in the presence of a wing. The investigation was an extension of previous tests made on hulls of length-beam ratios of 6, 9, and 12; these hulls were designed to have approximately the same hydrodynamic performance with respect to spray and resistance characteristics. Comparison with the previous investigation at lower length-beam ratios indicated a reduction in minimum drag coefficients of 0.0006 (10 peroent)with fixed transition when the length-beam ratio was extended from 12 to 15. As with the hulls of lower length-beam ratio, the drag reduction with a length-beam ratio of 15 occurred throughout the range of angle of attack tested and the angle of attack for minimum drag was in the range from 2deg to 3deg. Increasing the length-beam ratio from 12 to 15 reduced the hull longitudinal instability by an mount corresponding to an aerodynamic-center shift of about 1/2 percent of the mean aerodynamic chord of the hypothetical flying boat. At an angle of attack of 2deg, the value of the variation of yawing-moment coefficient with angle of yaw for a length-beam ratio of 15 was 0.00144, which was 0.00007 larger than the value for a length-beam ratio of 12.

Description: A flight investigation was made at high subsonic, transonic, and supersonic speeds and at high Reynolds numbers to determine the zero-lift drag of a 1/10-scale model of the Northrop MX-775A missile and a scale model of the missile fuselage. The model of the complete configuration has a 45deg swept wing of aspect ratio 5.5 and a 33deg swept vertical fin. The body model was stabilized by three 45deg swept fins. The-drag-rise Mach number for the model of the complete configuration was approximately 0.96. The drag coefficient based on total wing area was 0.0330 at Mach number 1.39. The drag coefficient of the body model less fin drag was approximately 55 percent that of the complete model at the same Mach number. Addition of the wing to the fuselage apparently resulted in a favorable drag interference near Mach number 1.0.

Description: An investigation of the spin and recovery characteristics of a 1/24-scale model of the Grumman AF-2S, -2W airplane was conducted in the Langley 20-foot free-spinning tunnel. The effects of controls on the erect and inverted spin and recovery characteristics for a range of possible loadings of the.airplane were determined. The effect of a revised-tail installation (small dual fins added to the stabilizer of the original tail and the vertical-tail height of the original tail increased) and the effect of various ventral-fin and antispin-fillet installations were determined. The investigation also included spin-recovery parachute tests.

Description: An investigation has been made in the Langley 9- by 12-inch super-sonic blowdown tunnel at Mach numbers of 1.62 and 1.96 of a partial-span body with one tail surface, designed for use on the Hughes Falcon (MX-904) missile. The present paper extends the work reported in NACA-RM-SL50E10. Force and moment data including elevator hinge moment were obtained for the conditions of the tail in the presence of a small segment of the fore-shortened body, in the presence of a semi-span body and attached to a semi-span body, and for the condition of the foreshortened semi-span body alone.

Description: An investigation has been conducted in the Langley 20-foot free-spinning tunnel on a 1/30 - scale model of the Grumman XFlOF-1 airplane to determine its spin and recovery characteristics. The investigation included erect and inverted spins for both the straight-wing and swept-wing configurations. Tests to determine the optimum size spin-recovery parachutes and the rudder forces required for recovery were also made. The results indicated that in the straight-wing configuration, satisfactory recoveries of the airplane will be obtained from erect and inverted spins by rudder reversal alone. In the swept-wing configuration recoveries will be unsatisfactory from erect spins. Unsweeping the wings during the spin and reversal of the rudder, however, will lead to eventual recovery. The test results also indicated that, if existing small ailerons are made deflectable through large angles, satisfactory recoveries will be obtained from erect spins in the swept-wing configuration by simultaneous movement of the rudder to against the spin and movement of the ailerons to with the spin. Normal-size ailerons deflected through a normal range would also be effective. Satisfactory recoveries by rudder reversal will be obtained from inverted spins in the swept-wing configuration. In the straight-wing configuration a 14.2-foot tail parachute or a 5.0-foot wing-tip parachute opened on the outer wing tip will effect satisfactory recovery of the airplane by parachute action alone; a 30.0-foot tail parachute or a 10.0-foot wing-tip parachute will be required for the swept-wing configuration. The forces required to fully reverse the rudder should be within the capabilities of the pilot.

Description: Dynamic--response measurements for various conditions of displacement and rate signal input, sensitivity setting, and simulated hinge moment were made of the three control-surface servo systems of an NAES-equipped remote-controlled airplane while on the ground. The basic components of the servo systems are those of the General Electric Company type G-1 autopilot using electrical signal. sources, solenoid-operated valves, and hydraulic pistons. The test procedures and difficulties are discussed, Both frequency and transient-response data, are presented and comparisons are made. The constants describing the servo system, the undamped natural frequency, and the damping ratio, are determined by several methods. The response of the system with the addition of airframe rate signal is calculated. The transfer function of the elevator surface, linkage, and cable system is obtained. The agreement between various methods of measurement and calculation is considered very good. The data are complete enough and in such form that they may be used directly with the frequency-response data of an airplane to predict the stability of the autopilot-airplane combination.

Description: Development of airfoil sections suitable for high-speed applications has generally been difficult because little was known of the flow phenomenon that occurs at high speeds. A definite critical speed has been found at which serious detrimental flow changes occur that lead to serious losses in lift and large increases in drag. This flow phenomenon, called the compressibility burble, was originally a propeller problem, but with the development of higher speed aircraft serious consideration must be given to other parts of the airplane. Fundamental investigations of high-speed airflow phenomenon have provided new information. An important conclusion of this work has been the determination of the critical speed, that is, the speed at which the compressibility burble occurs. The critical speed was shown to be the translational velocity at which the sum of the translational velocity and the maximum local induced velocity at the surface of the airfoil or other body equals the local speed of sound. Obviously then higher critical speeds can be attained through the development of airfoils that have minimum induced velocity for any given value of the lift coefficient. Presumably, the highest critical speed will be attained by an airfoil that has uniform chordwise distribution of induced velocity or, in other words, a flat pressure distribution curve. The ideal airfoil for any given high-speed application is, then, that form which at its operating lift coefficient has uniform chordwise distribution of induced velocity. Accordingly, an analytical search for such airfoil forms has been conducted and these forms are now being investigated experimentally in the 23-inch high-speed wind tunnel. The first airfoils investigated showed marked improvement over those forms already available, not only as to critical speed buy also the drag at low speeds is decreased considerably. Because of the immediate marked improvement, it was considered desirable to extend the thickness and lift coefficient ranges for which the original forms had been designed before further extending the investigation.

Description: In order to extend the useful range of Reynolds numbers of airfoils designed to take advantage of the extensive laminar boundary layers possible in an air stream of low turbulence, tests were made of the NACA 2412-34 and 1412-34 sections in the NACA low-turbulence tunnel. Although the possible extent of the laminar boundary layer on these airfoils is not so great as for specially designed laminar-flow airfoils, it is greater than that for conventional airfoils, and is sufficiently extensive so that at Reynolds numbers above 11,000,000 the laminar region is expected to be limited by the permissible 'Reynolds number run' and not by laminar separation as is the case with conventional airfoils. Drag measurements by the wake-survey method and pressure-distribution measurements were made at several lift coefficients through a range of Reynolds numbers up to 11,400,000. The drag scale-effect curve for the NACA 1412-34 is extrapolated to a Reynolds number of 30,000,000 on the basis of theoretical calculations of the skin friction. Comparable skin-friction calculations were made for the NACA 23012. The results indicate that, for certain applications at moderate values of the Reynolds number, the NACA 1412-34 and 2412-34 airfoils offer some advantages over such conventional airfoils as the NACA 23012. The possibility of maintaining a more extensive laminar boundary layer on these airfoils should result in a small drag reduction, and the absence of pressure peaks allows higher speeds to be reached before the compressibility burble is encountered. At lower Reynold numbers, below about 10,000,000, these airfoils have higher drags than airfoils designed to operate with very extensive laminar boundary layers.

Description: The behavior of the Westinghouse electronic power regulator operating on a J34-WE-32 turbojet engine was investigated in the NACA Lewis altitude wind tunnel at the request of the Bureau of Aeronautics, Department of the Navy. The object of the program was to determine the, steady-state stability and transient characteristics of the engine under control at various altitudes and ram pressure ratios, without afterburning. Recordings of the response of the following parameters to step changes in power lever position throughout the available operating range of the engine were obtained; ram pressure ratio, compressor-discharge pressure, exhaust-nozzle area, engine speed, turbine-outlet temperature, fuel-valve position, jet thrust, air flow, turbine-discharge pressure, fuel flow, throttle position, and boost-pump pressure. Representative preliminary data showing the actual time response of these variables are presented. These data are presented in the form of reproductions of oscillographic traces.

Description: A rocket-propelled model of the Mx-656 configuration has been flown through the Mach number range from 0.65 to 1.25. An analysis of the response of the model to rapid deflections of the horizontal tail gave information on the lift, drag, longitudinal stability and control, and longitudinal-trim change. The lift-coefficient range covered by the test was from -0.2 to 0,3 throughout most of the Mach number range, The model was statically and dynamically stable throughout the lift-coefficient and Mach number range of the test. At subsonic speeds the aerodynamic center moved f o m r d with increasing lift coefficient. The most forward position of the aerodynamic center was about 12,5 percent of the mean aerodynamic chord at a small positive lift coefficient and at a Mach number of about 0.84. A t supersonic speeds the aerodynamic center was well aft, varying from 33 to 39 percent of the mean aerodynamic chord at Mach numbers of 1.0 and 1.25, respectively. Transonic-trim change, as measured by the change in trim lift coefficient with Mach number at a constant t a i l setting, was of small magnitude (about 0.1 lift coefficient for zero tail setting). The zero-lift/drag coefficient increased about 0.042 in the region between a Mach number of 0.9 and 1.1

Description: After conclusion of the spin investigation of the model Me 210 with elongated fuselage and central vertical tail surfaces (model condition III; reference 3), tests were performed on the same model with a vee tail (model condition IV). Here the entire tail surfaces consist of only one surface with pronounced dihedral. Since the blanketing of the vertical tail surfaces by the horizontal tail surfaces, which may occur in case of standard tail surfaces, does not occur here, one could expect for this type of tail surface favorable spin characteristics, particularly with respect to rudder effectiveness for spin recovery. However, the test results did not confirm these expectations. The steady spin was shown to be very irregular; regarding rudder effectiveness the vee tail surfaces proved to be inferior even to standard tail surfaces, thus they represent the most unfavorable of the four fuselage and tail-surface combinations investigated so far.

Description: At present there is no satisfactory theory for calculating the pressure which acts at the blunt base of an object traveling at supersonic velocity. In fact, the essential mechanism determining the base pressure is only imperfectly understood. As a result, the existing knowledge of base pressure is based almost entirely on experiments. The main object of this paper is to summarize the principal results of the many wind tunnel and free flight measurements of base pressure on both bodies of revolution and blunt trailing edge airfoils. A relatively simple method of estimating base pressure is presented, and an indication is given as to how the characteristics of base pressure play an essential role in determining the shape of an aerodynamically efficient object for supersonic flight.

Description: An investigation of the interference associated with tail surfaces added to wing-fuselage combinations was included in the interference program in progress in the NACA variable-density tunnel. The results indicate that, in aerodynamically clean combinations, the increment to the high-speed drag can be estimated from section characteristics within useful limits of accuracy. The interference appears mainly as effects on the downwash angel and as losses in the tail. An interference burble, which markedly increases the glide-path angle and the stability in pitch before the actual stall, may be considered a means of obtaining satisfactory stalling characteristics for a complete combination.

Description: The three papers collected here are: 'The Effect of Nose Shape on the Drag of Bodies of Revolution at Zero Angle of Attack.', 'Base Pressure on Wings and Bodies with Turbulent Boundary Layers', and 'Flow over Inclined Bodies'. The subject of the first paper is the drag of the nose section of bodies of revolution at zero angle of attack. The main object of the second paper is to summarize the prinicpal results of the many wind tunnel and free flight measurements of base pressure on both bodies of revolution and blunt trailing edge airfoils.

Description: The drag characteristics of eight radial-engine cowlings have been determined over a wide speed range in the N.A.C.A. 8-foot high-speed wind tunnel. The pressure distribution over all cowlings was measured, to and above the speed of the compressibility burble, as an aid in interpreting the force tests. One-fifth-scale models of radial-engine cowlings on a wing-nacelle combination mere used in the tests.