D. Hopkins, M. Henderson, R. Moses, T. Ryall, D. Zimcik, R. Spangler

Buffeting is an aeroelastic phenomenon that plagues high performance aircraft, especially those with twin vertical tails. Unsteady vortices emanate from wing/fuselage leading edge extensions when these aircraft maneuver at high angles of attack. These aircraft are designed such that the vortices shed while maneuvering at high angles of attack and improve the lift-to-drag ratio of the aircraft. With proper placement and sizing of the vertical tails, this improvement may be maintained without adverse effects to the tails. However, there are tail locations and angles of attack where these vortices hurst and immerse the vertical tails in their wake inducing severe structural vibrations. The resulting buffet loads and severe vertical tail response became an airframe life and maintenance concern as life cyc1e costs increased. Several passive methods have been investigated to reduce the buffeting of these vertical tails with limited success. As demonstrated through wind-tunnel investigations, analyses, and full-scale ground tests, active control systems offer a promising solution to alleviating buffet induced strain and increasing the fatigue life of vertical tails. A collaborative research project including the United States, Canada, and Australia is in place to demonstrate active buffet load alleviation systems on military aircraft. The present paper provides details on this collaborative project and other research effons to reduce the buffeting response of vertical tails in fighter aircraft.

Aeroelastik-Tagung der DGLR; Göttingen 1998

Conference Paper

englisch

14,8 x 21,0 cm, 11 Seiten

DGLR-Bericht, 1998, 1998-01, Aeroelastik-Tagung der DGLR - Tagungsband; S.385-395; 1998; Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt - Lilienthal-Oberth e.V., Bonn

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1998