Propulsion-Airframe Integration for Commercial and Military Aircraft

A significant level of research is ongoing at NASA's Langley Research Center on integrating the propulsion system with the aircraft. This program has included nacelle/pylon/wing integration for turbofan transports, propeller/nacelle/ wing integration for turboprop transports, and nozzle/afterbody/empennage integration for high performance aircraft. The studies included in this paper focus more specifically on pylon shaping and nacelle location studies for turbo-fan transports, nacelle and wing contouring and propeller location effects for turboprop transports, and nozzle shaping and empennage effects for high performance aircraft. The studies were primarily conducted in NASA Langley's 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel at Mach numbers up to 1.20. Some higher Mach number data obtained at NASA's Lewis Research Center is also included.