DEVELOPMENT OF A PANEL METHOD FOR MODELING CONFIGURATIONS WITH UNSTEADY COMPONENT MOTIONS

A PROGRAM OF STUDY IS PROPOSED WHICH WILL LEAD TO A PRACTICAL ANALYSIS CAPABLE OF CALCULATING THE FLOW AROUND AND THE LOADS ON CONFIGURATIONS WHERE ELEMENTS OF THE VEHICLE ARE IN MOTION RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER AND WHERE THE VEHICLE ITSELF MAY BE IN UNSTEADY MOTION IN THE INERTIAL FRAME. A WIDE RANGE OF PROBLEMS FALL INTO THIS CATEGORY RANGING FROM COUPLED MOTION OF ORDNANCE OR STORES RELEASED FROM AN AIRCRAFT OR UNSTEADY CONTROL SURFACE MOVEMENTS TO BLADE PASSAGE EVENTS SUCH AS PROPELLER BLADE INLET INTERFERENCE, BLADE/STATOR INTERFERENCE IN TURBOFANS AND DYNAMIC ROTOR BLADE/FUSELAGE INTERFERENCE IN HELICOPTERS. THE ANALYSIS USED WILL BE AN EXTENSION OF AN EXISTING PANEL METHOD ALREADY SUCCESSFULLY APPLIED TO UNSTEADY ATTACHED FLOW PROBLEMS WHERE THE WHOLE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. THE MAJOR OUTPUT FROM THE STUDY WILL BE A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR THE ANALYSIS OF DYNAMIC INTERFERENCE WITH POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS IN A NUMBER OF FIELDS FROM IMPROVING PROPELLER/INLET PERFORMANCE TO REDUCING ROTOR-INDUCED FUSELAGE VIBRATORY AND IMPULSIVE LOADS AND VIBRATION WITH ASSOCIATED BENEFITS IN AREAS SUCH AS EXTENDED SYSTEM LIFE AND REDUCED PILOT FATIGUE.