![]() Laurette Lahey, senior director of Boeing Research and Technology, Flight and Vehicle Technology said, “Leveraging Boeing’s targeted investments in active flow control, our advancements on the CRANE program aim to further validate the technology’s potential benefits to improve efficiency and performance for both commercial and military aircraft.” The test team consisted of Aurora and Boeing engineers with expertise in aerodynamics, conceptual design engineering, and test and evaluation ![]() Through the DARPA CRANE program, Aurora is advancing AFC technology for application to next generation aircraft.”Īurora is a subsidiary of Boeing which conducts aerospace R&D. Per Beith, president and CEO of Aurora Flight Sciences said, “Aurora’s work on CRANE continues our history of proving ground-breaking technologies from concept to flight test. Over 14,000 data points were collected, including 8,860 AFC control power points, forming the foundation for a flight-quality aerodynamic database to use in future program phases. In addition to 11 movable conventional control surfaces, the model featured 14 AFC banks with eight fully independent controllable AFC air supply channels. ![]() Wind tunnel testingĪurora engineers conducted the tests using a 25% scale model over four weeks at a wind tunnel facility in San Diego, California. Other companies involved in the CRANE program include BAE Systems, which is producing another AFC X-Plane design and Georgia Tech Research Corporation, which is developing AFC design software. The CRANE program will culminate in the flight testing of a novel X-Plane, developed by Aurora and Lockheed Martin, to demonstrate the quantifiable benefits of using AFC. CRANE’s X-plane is using testing several AFC effects including flight control at tactical speeds and performance enhancement across the flight envelope. AFC is an aerodynamic technique that uses actuators and effectors to alter the flow of air over an aircraft to change its course and speed, instead of using control surfaces such as ailerons, rudders, and flaps.ĪFC is different from passive control features, such as vortex generators on a wing for flow separation control or chevrons on an exhaust for noise mitigation, which can be seen as being always ‘on’.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |