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Introduction to the Abrupt Wing Stall (AWS) ProgramThe Abrupt Wing Stall (AWS) Program has addressed the problem of uncommanded, transonic lateral motions, such as wing drop, with experimental, computational, and simulation tools. Background to the establishment of the AWS program is given as well as program objectives. In order to understand the fundamental flow mechanisms that caused the undesirable motions for a pre-production version of the F/A-18E, steady and unsteady flow field details were gathered from dedicated transonic wind-tunnel testing and computational studies. The AWS program has also adapted a free-to- roll (FTR) wind-tunnel testing technique traditionally used for low-speed studies of lateral dynamic stability to the transonic flow regime. This FTR capability was demonstrated first in a proof-of-concept study and then applied to an assessment of four different aircraft configurations. Figures of merit for static testing and for FTR testing have been evaluated for two configurations that demonstrated wing drop susceptibility during full-scale flight conditions (the pre-production F/A-l8E and the AV-8B at the extremes of its flight envelope) and two configurations that do not exhibit wing drop (the F/A-l8C and the F-l6C). Design insights have been obtained from aerodynamic computational studies of the four aircraft configurations and from computations quantifying the impact of the various geometric wing differences between the F/A-18C and the F/A-l8E wings. Finally, the AWS program provides guidance for assessing, in the simulator, the impact of experimentally determined lateral activity on flight characteristics before going to flight.
Document ID
20030020800
Acquisition Source
Langley Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Hall, Robert M.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Woodson, Shawn H.
(Naval Air Systems Command Patuxent River, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 9, 2003
Subject Category
Aircraft Design, Testing And Performance
Report/Patent Number
AIAA Paper 2003-0589
Meeting Information
Meeting: 41st AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit
Location: Reno, NV
Country: United States
Start Date: January 6, 2003
End Date: January 9, 2003
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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