A North Atlantic Treaty Organization technical task group (AVT-239) was commissioned to investigate the feasibility of applying Active Flow Control (AFC) to low-observable combat aircraft configurations. A wide range of active flow control technologies were explored and performance and integration assessments were undertaken on two aircraft configurations (ICE and SACCON/MULDICON). The results of these investigations were used to undertake a design of experiments trade study to assess the feasibility of using a suite of AFC technologies for flight control during a typical ingress/egress mission phase relative to a conventional mechanical flap-based control suite. The study suggests that AFC technology is both feasible and reasonable for application to aircraft concepts represented by the ICE and SACCON/MULDICON platforms. Areas highlighted for future R and D investment include: AFC valve reliability/maintainability and the maturation of technology, integration, and manufacturing readiness to level 5 or greater. Further assessments are proposed to explore the application of AFC to the take-off/landing and maneuvering mission phases. A comprehensive framework for integrating flow control into the aerodynamic design of a next generation UAV and assessing its system impact on that aircraft has been established.
Innovative Control Effectors for Maneuvering of Air Vehicles
2020
252 pages
Report
No indication
English
Aerodynamic configurations , Aerodynamic control surfaces , Aircraft equipment , Aircraft industry , Aircrafts , Airframes , Boundary layer , Computational fluid dynamics , Flow visualization , Fluid dynamics , Fluid flow , Swept wings , Systems engineering , Tailless aircraft , Unmanned aerial vehicles
NTIS | 1987
|NTIS | 1971
|Stabilization and control of maneuvering reentry vehicles
Engineering Index Backfile | 1965
|