Mars Scout / ARES
This image shows TetrUSS CFD simulation results
for Eagle, a high altitude concept demonstrator of the Mars Scout ARES
aircraft. Eagle was tested in
September 2002, over Oregon. It was released from an altitude of 30 kilometers
(simulating the Mars atmosphere) and completed a successful 90 minute flight
back to the ground. TetrUSS was used to analyze and refine the aerodynamic design of Eagle prior to the flight test. Someday, unmanned aircraft like Eagle could fly on Mars, taking data and gathering information about the atmosphere, surface, and interior.
In the plot, color contours represent pressure coefficient (Cp). Blue is low pressure
and pink is high pressure. Black contour lines are streamtraces drawn on the
surface, to show the surface flow - similar to oil flow visualization used in
wind tunnels. The tetrahedral unstructured grid is also visible.
Advanced Aerodynamic Design
This image shows TetrUSS results from the CFD
simulation of an advanced tailless fighter aircraft. Pressure coefficient
contours and volume streamribbons are shown. The goal of this work was to
look at various advanced control effector concepts (a control effector is any
type of device that provides maneuvering control on an aircraft). Conventional
(mechanical) control effectors include flaps, ailerons, elevators, and rudders.
In the
Configuration Aerodynamics Branch at NASA Langley, engineers use TetrUSS to analyze and design unconventional control effector concepts: things like bumps that form on the
aircraft skin, porous panels that alter surface loading, and smooth continuous
control surfaces that use advanced "smart" materials. The ultimate goal is an
aircraft with a continuous or fixed outer moldline, that can maneuver as well
or better than an aircraft with conventional mechanical controls. The benefits
are lighter weight, better performance, and positive impacts on survivability,
stealth, and observability.
More applications of TetrUSS are shown here.