This content is not included in
your SAE MOBILUS subscription, or you are not logged in.
Flight and Range Characteristics for a Subsonic Advanced Propeller-Driven Blended Wing Body Composite Air Frame Capable of Transporting a 150-Ton Military Cargo
Technical Paper
2016-01-2019
ISSN: 0148-7191, e-ISSN: 2688-3627
Annotation ability available
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
An advanced composite Blended Wing Body (BWB) air frame previously used as a study aircraft to transport a 75-ton military cargo halfway around the world and back unrefueled has been modified and evaluated as a 150-ton heavy lifter. The modifications include enlarging the forward trim canard, reducing fuel load by 151,850 lbs, increasing the high-mach NASA-type counter-rotating propellers from 12 feet to 13 feet diameter, extending the propeller support pylons' height by 6 inches and modifying cruise flight and prop control strategies. Due to structural and propulsion system changes, the air frame Operational Empty Weight (OEW) was increased by 1,850 lbs. but the maximum Take Off Gross Weight (TOGW) was held to 800,000 lbs. Brief descriptions of the major propulsion system components are provided. In addition, a comparison of three different counter-rotating propeller systems is presented. The first is a Standard configuration. The second Modified (Mod.) configuration uses a proposed variable hub radius ratio device to keep the front prop wash (PW) matched to the aft prop tip while the third system employs a “Clipped” aft prop to reduce take-off noise. Eight 14,000 Shaft Horsepower (SHP) Advanced Variable Cycle Diesel (AVCD) aircraft engines individually driving 8 counter-rotating propellers are used as highly efficient prime movers. A complete flight profile is calculated and the larger trim control lift requirements are shown to have a significant effect on overall air frame drag levels. The flight profile is also selected and modified to preserve optimum Lift over Drag (L/D) values for the majority of the flight. FAA instrument flight rule fuel reserves along with an added 2-hour flight fuel reserve requirement are included in the range calculations. This results in a maximum 7946 Nautical mile (Nm) mission capability for this military heavy lifter cargo plane using the Mod. propeller installation.
Authors
Citation
Johnston, R., "Flight and Range Characteristics for a Subsonic Advanced Propeller-Driven Blended Wing Body Composite Air Frame Capable of Transporting a 150-Ton Military Cargo," SAE Technical Paper 2016-01-2019, 2016, https://doi.org/10.4271/2016-01-2019.Also In
References
- Wu , W. et al A New Efficient Control Method for Blended Wing Body Configuration Aircraft Fourth International Symposium on Physics of Fluids 19 2012 396 405
- Hepperle , M. and Heinze , W. Future Global Range Transport Aircraft RTO-Symposium on Unconventional Vehicles and Emerging Technologies Bruxelles 2003
- Hager , R. and Vrabel , D. Advanced Turboprop Project NASA Report SP-495 1988
- Johnston , R. Variable Cycle Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine U.S. Patent 5,058,536 Oct. 22 1991
- Groeneweg , J. and Bober , L. Advanced Propeller Research NASA Report N92-22537 1990
- Khalid S. Arif et al. Open Rotor Engine Aeroacoustic Technology Final Report FAA Report DOT/FAA/AEE/2014-04 May 2013
- Oliver , W. Results of Design Studies and Wind Tunnel Tests of an Advanced High Lift System for an Energy Efficient Transport NASA Report N84-33403 1988