In the aeronautical field, there has been from time to time an interest in inflatable structures, ranging from their consideration for use in space to the design and manufacture of an inflatable wing for a man-powered aircraft and their use in remotely piloted vehicles . This interest stems from the fact that such structures have relatively low weight; are suitable for reacting light loads and can be packed into a small volume.

One particularly useful structural component is the inflated circular cylinder acting as a cantilever and a number of such cylinders are used in Ref. 3 to form the main load carrying structure of a wing. In Ref. 1 an expression is derived for the collapse load of a single cylinder with the assumption that the root behaves like a plastic hinge, and in Ref. 5, Comer and Levy go on to consider the beam deflections and stresses between incipient wrinkling and final collapse.

High temperatures affect buckling because the properties of the materials change and because thermal stresses and creep develop. A survey is given of the known solutions of problems arising in consequence of these phenomena and new theories of the creep buckling of columns and of thin circular cylindrical shells are presented.

This paper addresses the development of multiple UAV deployment simulation models that include representative aerodynamic cross-coupling effects. Applications may include simulations of autonomous aerial refuelling and formation flying scenarios. A novel wake vortex model has been developed and successfully integrated within a Matlab/Simulink simulation environment. The wake vortex model is both sufficiently representative to support studies of aerodynamic interaction between multiple air vehicles, and straightforward enough to be used within real time or near real time air-to-air simulations. The model integration process is described, and computational results of a two-vehicle-formation flight are presented.

To obtain profiles of shear stress and eddy viscosity, the boundary-layer equations in finite-difference form have been applied to published turbulent-boundary-layer developments measured in nominally two-dimensional conditions. In applying this procedure, measured velocity profiles have been represented by members of Thompson’s profile family. Except close to separation, these representations are very satisfactory, and derived shear-stress profiles are generally in good agreement with direct measurements. Various eddy-viscosity and mixing-length models are compared with the results of the analysis and are found in general to differ widely among themselves and from the present results. The widely used assumption, l = ky in the wall region, appears to be invalid.

Static pressures have been measured in the separated flow region behind backward-facing steps in a wind tunnel, suitable corrections being applied for the model blockage. The results indicate a reasonably well defined similarity in the pressure distribution.

The development of high-performance computing and computational fluid dynamics methods have evolved to the point where it is possible to simulate complete helicopter configurations with good accuracy. Computational fluid dynamics methods have also been applied to problems such as rotor/fuselage and main/tail rotor interactions, performance studies in hover and forward flight, rotor design, and so on. The GOAHEAD project is a good example of a coordinated effort to validate computational fluid dynamics for complex helicopter configurations. Nevertheless, current efforts are limited to steady flight and focus mainly on expanding the edges of the flight envelope. The present work tackles the problem of simulating manoeuvring flight in a computational fluid dynamics environment by integrating a moving grid method and the helicopter flight mechanics solver with computational fluid dynamics. After a discussion of previous works carried out on the subject and a description of the methods used, validation of the computational fluid dynamics for ship airwake flow and rotorcraft flight at low advance ratio are presented. Finally, the results obtained for manoeuvring flight cases are presented and discussed.

The unsteady breakdown or stall of streamlined flow near the rounded leading edge of an aerofoil, as the small angle of attack is raised above its critical stall value, is studied theoretically for large Reynolds number motion. The unsteady developments take place first over a relatively slow time scale but then the corresponding solution breaks down with a singularity, forcing a switch to a faster and more nonlinear process. The latter involves a very pronounced local bulge appearing in the flow displacement, accompanied by reversed flow at the aerofoil surface, and comparisons with experimental observations of dynamic stall are noted.

The stability of a smooth circular cylinder, free to translate horizontally and vertically against linear springs in the wake from an identical neighbouring cylinder, is studied using quasi-static aerodynamic derivatives and simple flutter theory. It is found that at spacing values between ten and twenty cylinder diameters (typical of the spacings employed on “bundled” overhead transmission lines) classical flutter of the leeward cylinder can occur in a certain critical range of wind speeds at certain orientations of this cylinder in the wake. However, the occurrence of flutter appears to be conditional on a positive difference of natural frequency between vertical and horizontal motions of the leeward cylinder in still air.

Classical static instability (divergence) of the leeward cylinder is also shown to be possible over the entire “incidence” range in the wake, but this occurs in a much higher wind speed range than that associated with flutter.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the future of adaptive structures leading towards the concept of a fully morphing aircraft configuration. First, examples are shown to illustrate the potential system-level mission benefits of morphing wing geometry. The challenges of design integration are discussed along with the question of how to address the optimisation of such a system. This leads to a suggestion that non-traditional methods need to be developed. It is suggested that an integrated approach to defining the work to be done and the energy to be used is the solution. This approach is introduced and then some challenges are examined in more detail. First, concepts of mechanisation are discussed as ways to achieve optimum geometries. Then there are discussions of non-linearities that could be important. Finally, the flight control design challenge is considered in terms of the rate of change of the morphing geometry. The paper concludes with recommendations for future work.

A series of mixed-compression hypersonic inlets at different bleeding rates were simulated at different freestream conditions in this paper. The unstart/restart characteristics of hypersonic inlets were analysed and the reasons why the unstart/restart phenomenon is in existence is presented. The unstart/restart characteristics of hypersonic inlets at different bleeding rates were given. The effects of boundary-layer bleeding on the performance parameter (mass-captured coefficient, total-pressure recovery coefficient), starting and restarting Mach number of hypersonic inlets were discussed. In conclusion, boundary-layer bleeding can improve the performance parameter of hypersonic inlets, and can reduce the starting and restarting Mach number, and can broad the operation range of the hypersonic inlet.

Convective heat transfer data is frequently obtained from transient surface temperature measurements. Thin film resistance gauges, thermocouples, and thermochromic liquid crystals, are used in various situations to measure the surface temperature history. By assuming that uniform semi-infinite flat plate conditions apply, it is possible to express the instantaneous surface heat flux as an analytical function of the transient surface temperature(1). Various approaches can be used to account for the presence of multi-layered substrates and finite thickness substrate effects (Schultz and Jones(1); Doorly and Oldfield(2); Guo et al(3)), however, the effects of surface curvature are usually neglected.

An energy approach has been used to obtain approximations to the natural frequencies of uniform beams when the effects of shear flexibility and rotatory inertia are included. The characteristic functions of simple beams are used to describe the bending deflection and the necessity for an assumed shear deflection shape has been eliminated by the use of simple relationships which exist between the effects of shear flexibility and rotatory inertia. A comparison of the approximate frequencies with the exact frequencies shows good agreement even at the higher frequencies. The method has been applied to hinged-hinged, fixed-free, free-free, fixed-fixed, fixed-hinged and free-hinged beams.

In a recent paper, a theory explaining the wake-induced flutter of smooth circular cylinders was developed and vindicated. It was shown that, for moderate spacing of the cylinders (where the aerodynamic coupling between the constituent motions is small), flutter could occur only when the natural frequency, in still air, of vertical oscillations exceeded that of the horizontal motions. The theory, however, took no account of the possibility of mechanical coupling between the constituent motions and, while the results from this theory were corroborated by wind-tunnel tests in which a statically uncoupled mechanical support system was used, no indications were given of the changes in aeroelastic behaviour which might accompany the introduction of simple coupling terms.

In this paper, the class of cases wherein the mechanical support system for the leeward cylinder exhibits static coupling is studied using “undamped flutter theory”. It is demonstrated that the appearance of static coupling terms can lead to quite dramatic changes in the flutter characteristics, and that considerable care must be exercised in the design and operation of wind-tunnel dynamic models if meaningful results are to be obtained.

An Appendix deals with the general problem of mechanical coupling, using the normal coordinates approach, and aspects of the problem which bear on the subconductor oscillation phenomenon experienced on “bundled” overhead power transmission lines are highlighted.

The actuation mechanism is a crucial aspect in the design of morphing structures due to the very stringent requirements involving actuation torque, consumed power, and allowable size and weight.

In the framework of the CRIAQ MD0-505 project, novel design strategies are investigated to enable morphing of aeronautical structures. This paper deals with the design of a morphing aileron with the main focus on the actuation technology. The morphing aileron consists of segmented 'finger-like' ribs capable of changing the aerofoil camber in order to match target aerodynamic shapes. In this work, lightweight and compact actuation kinematics driven by electromechanical actuators are investigated to actuate the morphing device. An unshafted distributed servo-electromechanical actuation arrangement is employed to realise the transition from the baseline configuration to a set of target aerodynamic shapes by also withstanding the aerodynamics loads. Numerical investigations are detailed to identify the optimal actuation architecture matching as well as the system integratability and structural compactness.

A model of the boundary layer transition process at an infinite swept attachment line under incompressible flow conditions and in the presence of a gross upstream disturbance is developed. The approach adopted is based upon the spot concepts of Emmons which are well established for transition on a flat plate. An extension to compressible flow situations is made by means of a simple transformation which reduces the process to an equivalent incompressible form. A new criterion for predicting the onset of attachment-line transition is proposed.

A theoretical investigation of short-scale inviscid instability in boundary-layer flow past an obstacle on a surface is described, with the application to trip-wire transition and wall roughness effects in mind. An analytical model and computational results show that the occurrence of an inflexion point in a local velocity profile is necessary but not sufficient for the instability to arise.

The process of designing the Boeing 777 high lift system is described. Particular attention is given to design constraints and examples are given of the trade studies completed. The theoretical design tools and experimental test program are described. A survey of the high lift elements is presented and flight test results are compared with predictions.

Human factors certification criteria are being developed for large civil aircraft with the objective of reducing the incidence of design-induced error on the flight deck. Many formal error identification techniques currently exist which have been developed in non-aviation contexts but none have been validated for use to this end. This paper describes a new human error identification technique (HET – human error template) designed specifically as a diagnostic tool for the identification of design-induced error on the flight deck. HET is benchmarked against three existing techniques (SHERPA – systematic human error reduction and prediction approach; human error HAZOP – hazard and operability study; and HEIST – human error In systems tool). HET outperforms all three existing techniques in a validation study comparing predicted errors to actual errors reported during an approach and landing task in a modern, highly automated commercial aircraft. It is concluded that HET should provide a useful tool as a adjunct to the proposed human factors certification process.

Computational fluid dynamics models range from the finite difference type grid-based method to the Lagrangian style vortex cloud simulation technique for solving the Navier-Stokes equations. This paper undertakes a comparison of these two methods for the classical datum bluff body case of flow past a stationary circular cylinder at low Reynolds numbers in the range 10 to 220. Comparisons include time-history, time-mean and root-mean-square values of oscillating drag and lift coefficients, frequency of vortex shedding and related vortex street wake flow patterns. Particularly close agreement was obtained for Strouhal number versus Reynolds number, and good agreement for time-mean value of drag coefficients; comparison was also made with experimental results. Attempts are also made to calculate the skin friction and surface pressure components of the cylinder drag, revealing the significance of skin friction drag within this range and its relative insignificance above a Reynolds number of 220.

PIV measurements in the near-field region of a jet flow emanating from a round synthetic jet actuator into quiescent air were conducted over a range of operating conditions. The primary purpose of this work was to investigate the nature of synthetic jets at different operating conditions and to examine the jet flow parameters that dictate the behaviour of synthetic jet actuators. The effects of varying diaphragm displacement and oscillatory frequency for fixed actuator geometry were studied. It was observed that the characteristics of synthetic jets are largely determined by the Reynolds number and stroke length. An increase in the former is observed to increase the strength of consecutive vortex rings that compose a synthetic jet, whereas an increase in the latter results in an increase in relative vortex ring spacing and for further increases in stroke length, shedding of secondary vortices. Correlations were also made between the operating parameters and the performance parameters most effective for flow control and which therefore determine the impact of a synthetic jet on an external flow. Relations of time-averaged dimensionless mass flux, momentum flux and circulation with the jet flow conditions were established and found to widely support an analytical performance prediction model described in this paper. It is anticipated that the experimental data obtained in this study will also contribute towards providing a PIV database for macro-scale synthetic jet actuators.