Proceedings Article | 14 June 2001
KEYWORDS: Actuators, Shape memory alloys, Smart materials, Aerodynamics, Oceanography, Defense technologies, Defense and security, Photography, Nickel, Titanium
Aircraft Manufactures are always searching for ways of improving aircraft performance. The aircraft engine inlet, or air induction system, has a major impact on the vehicle flight performance, mission effectiveness, and life cycle cost of the vehicle. Smart Materials technology applied to the aircraft engine inlet is a way to improve aircraft performance and enable new missions. The Smart Materials technology enables an unprecedented level of integration of sensors, actuators, and structures. Sater and et assess the status of the Smart Materials technology applications and demonstrations. This technology broadens the structural design envelope by increasing the adaptability of the structure to its surrounding flowfield. These new designs were not previously possible or practical with conventional structural materials and actuators due to their stiffness, weight, and size. With tools and processes now established, this technology can be integrated effectively into large- and full-scale Department of Defense (DoD) platforms, enabling new, high payoff mission capabilities. The Smart Aircraft and Marine Project System Demonstration (SAMPSON) program, a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funded, three-year, phased effort, managed by NASA Langley Research Center (NASA LaRC) and the Navy' s Office of Naval Research (ONR), will accomplish the first step towards this platform integration in two system level demonstrations of the application of Smart Materials and Structures technology in aircraft and marine vehicles. The aircraft demonstration will validate control of tactical aircraft inlet geometry and internal flows to provide improved range and survivability. The aircraft demonstration will consist of two wind-tunnel tests at NASA LaRC exhibiting physical shape change concepts on a full-scale F-15 fighter engine inlet.2 The primary focus of the SAMPSON marine effort is to develop and demonstrate smart applications for a large-scale marine systems. The marine demonstrations are documented separately. Both the aircraft and marine demonstrations provide significant risk reduction for transition of smart technologies to other applications by virtue of their scale (both structural and loading). Concurrently with the system demonstrations, the SAMPSON Consortium (consisting of Boeing, Electric Boat, and Pennsylvania State University) will establish the second step of the transition process by developing plans with the DoD to define in-flight and at-sea test programs for selected platforms. This will ensure a smooth transition from DARPA to the DoD users at the end of the program. The benefit of this program to the DoD is substantial risk reduction for transition of the technology to other platforms. This risk reduction will be accomplished through the demonstration of key smart materials and structures technologies in both aircraft inlets and marine systems. The validation of these key technologies in large-scale demonstrations will facilitate their application in production vehicles to enable new, high payoff mission capabilities at an affordable cost. This paper documents the first wind-tunnel test of the SAMPSON Smart Inlet in the NASA LaRC l6Foot Transonic Tunnel. The test was completed in the spring of 2000.
