This project studied the flow field characteristics responsible for lateral instabilities observed on the F/A-18E/F in the Power Approach (PA) configuration. Discovered during the aircraft's initial testing, these instabilities were observed when the aircraft exceeded twelve degrees angle of attack, a behavior that came to be known as PA wing drop. The problem was corrected by the closure of a vent on the aircraft body. However, neither the cause of the problem nor the mechanics of the solution was understood. This project used computational fluid dynamics to solve for the airflow properties over the aircraft with both the vent open and closed. Elements of the study included: 1) construction of a detailed computer model of the aircraft in both configurations; 2) generation of a computational grid encompassing the aircraft model and its surroundings; 3) computation of the airflow properties over the aircraft at different angles of attack; and 4) qualitative and quantitative analysis of the results. The project was performed in league with members of the Naval Air Systems Team, at Patuxent River, MD, and the NASA Langley Research Center.
USNA Trident Scholar Project Report Number 274 (2000)
2000
75 pages
Report
No indication
English
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