Water pressure distribution on a twin-float seaplane (open access)

Water pressure distribution on a twin-float seaplane

This is the second of a series of investigations to determine water pressure distribution on various types of seaplane floats and hulls, and was conducted on a twin-float seaplane. It consisted of measuring water pressures and accelerations on a TS-1 seaplane during numerous landing and taxiing maneuvers at various speeds and angles. The results show that water pressures as great as 10 lbs. per sq. in.may occur at the step in various maneuvers and that pressures of approximately the same magnitude occur at the stern and near the bow in hard pancake landings with the stern way down. At the other parts of the float the pressures are less and are usually zero or slightly negative for some distance abaft the step. A maximum negative pressure of 0.87 lb. Per square inch was measured immediately abaft the step. The maximum positive pressures have a duration of approximately one-twentieth to one-hundredth second at any given location and are distributed over a very limited area at any particular instant.
Date: December 28, 1928
Creator: Thompson, F. L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Experimental and analytical determination of the motion of hydraulically operated valve stems in oil engine injection systems (open access)

Experimental and analytical determination of the motion of hydraulically operated valve stems in oil engine injection systems

This research on the pressure variations in the injection system of the N.A.C.A. Spray Photography Equipment and on the effects of these variations on the motion of the timing valve stem was undertaken in connection with the study of fuel injection systems for high-speed oil engines. The methods of analysis of the pressure variations and the general equation for the motion of the spring-loaded stem for the timing valve are applicable to a spring-loaded automatic injection valve, and in general to all hydraulically operated valves. A sample calculation for a spring-loaded automatic injection valve is included.
Date: December 26, 1928
Creator: Gelalles, A. G. & Rothrock, A. M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Drag and Cooling With Various Forms of Cowling for A "Whirlwind" Radial Air-Cooled Engine - 2 (open access)

Drag and Cooling With Various Forms of Cowling for A "Whirlwind" Radial Air-Cooled Engine - 2

"This report gives the results of the second portion of an investigation in the twenty-foot Propeller Research Tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, on the cowling and cooling of a "Whirlwind" J-5 radial air-cooled engine. The first portion pertains to tests with a cabin fuselage. This report covers tests with several forms of cowling, including conventional types, individual fairings behind the cylinders, individual hoods over the over the cylinders, and the new N. A. C. A. complete cowling, all on an open cockpit fuselage. Drag tests were also made with a conventional engine nacelle, and with a nacelle having the new complete cowling" (p. 191).
Date: December 17, 1928
Creator: Weick, Fred E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Flow and Force Equations for a Body Revolving in a Fluid (open access)

Flow and Force Equations for a Body Revolving in a Fluid

Part I gives a general method for finding the steady-flow velocity relative to a body in plane curvilinear motion, whence the pressure is found by Bernoulli's energy principle. Integration of the pressure supplies basic formulas for the zonal forces and moments on the revolving body. Part II, applying this steady-flow method, finds the velocity and pressure at all points of the flow inside and outside an ellipsoid and some of its limiting forms, and graphs those quantities for the latter forms. Part III finds the pressure, and thence the zonal force and moment, on hulls in plane curvilinear flight. Part IV derives general equations for the resultant fluid forces and moments on trisymmetrical bodies moving through a perfect fluid, and in some cases compares the moment values with those found for bodies moving in air. Part V furnishes ready formulas for potential coefficients and inertia coefficients for an ellipsoid and its limiting forms. Thence are derived tables giving numerical values of those coefficients for a comprehensive range of shapes.
Date: December 17, 1928
Creator: Zahm, A. F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tables for pressure of air on coming to rest from various speeds (open access)

Tables for pressure of air on coming to rest from various speeds

From Summary: "In Technical Report no. 247 of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics theoretical formulas are given from which was computed a table for the pressure of air on coming to rest from various speeds, such as those of aircraft and propeller blades. In that report, the table gave incompressible and adiabatic stop pressures of air for even-speed intervals in miles per hour and for some even-speed intervals in knots per hour. Table II of the present report extends the above-mentioned table by including the stop pressures of air for even-speed intervals in miles per hour, feet per-second, knots per hour, kilometers per hour, and meters per second."
Date: December 17, 1928
Creator: Zahm, A. F. & Louden, F. A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The torsional strength of wings (open access)

The torsional strength of wings

This report describes a simple method for calculating the position of the elastic axis of a wing structure having any number of spars. It is shown that strong drag bracing near the top and bottom of a wing greatly increases the torsional strength. An analytical procedure for finding the contribution of the drag bracing to the torsional strength and stiffness is described, based upon the principle of least work, and involving only one unknown quantity. A coefficient for comparing the torsional rigidity of different wings is derived in this report.
Date: December 1928
Creator: Burgess, C. P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Drag and Cooling With Various Forms of Cowling for A "Whirlwind" Radial Air-Cooled Engine - 1 (open access)

Drag and Cooling With Various Forms of Cowling for A "Whirlwind" Radial Air-Cooled Engine - 1

"This report presents the results of an investigation undertaken in the 20-foot Propeller Research Tunnel at Langley Field on the cowling of radial air-cooled engines. A portion of the investigation has been completed, in which several forms and degrees of cowling were tested on Wright "Whirlwind" J-5 engine mounted in the nose of a cabin fuselage. The cowlings varied from the one extreme of an entirely exposed engine to the other in which the engine was entirely inclosed. Cooling tests were made and each cowling modified, if necessary, until the engine cooled approximately as satisfactorily as when it was entirely exposed" (p. 165).
Date: October 5, 1928
Creator: Weick, Fred E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Investigation of Air Flow in Open-Throat Wind Tunnels (open access)

Investigation of Air Flow in Open-Throat Wind Tunnels

"Tests were conducted on the 6-inch wind tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics to form a part of a research on open-throat wind tunnels. The primary object of this part of the research was to study a type of air pulsation which has been encountered in open-throat tunnels, and to find the most satisfactory means of eliminating such pulsations. In order to do this it was necessary to study the effects of different variable on all of the important characteristics of the tunnel" (p. 399).
Date: September 26, 1928
Creator: Jacobs, Eastman N.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aircraft Accidents: Method of Analysis (open access)

Aircraft Accidents: Method of Analysis

From Introduction Purpose and Organization: "This report on a method of analysis of aircraft accidents has been prepared by a special committee on the nomenclature, subdivision, and classification of aircraft accidents organized by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in response to a request dated February 18, 1928, from the Air Coordination Committee consisting of the Assistant Secretaries for Aeronautics in the Departments of War, Navy, and Commerce."
Date: August 15, 1928
Creator: Special Committee on the Nomenclature, Subdivision, and Classification of Aircraft Accidents
System: The UNT Digital Library
Flight tests on U.S.S. Los Angeles Part 1: full scale pressure distribution investigation (open access)

Flight tests on U.S.S. Los Angeles Part 1: full scale pressure distribution investigation

The primary purpose of this investigation was to obtain simultaneous data on the loads and stress experience in flight by the U. S. S. Los Angeles which could be used in rigid airship structure design. A secondary object of the investigation was to determine the turning and drag characteristics of the airship. The aerodynamic loading was obtained by measuring the pressure at 95 locations on the tail surfaces, 54 on the hull, and 5 on the passenger car. These measurements were made during a series of maneuvers consisting of turns and reversals in smooth air and during a cruise in rough air which was just short of squall proportions.
Date: August 14, 1928
Creator: De France, S. J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Pressure element of constant logarithmic stiffness for temperature compensated altimeter (open access)

Pressure element of constant logarithmic stiffness for temperature compensated altimeter

From Summary: "The usual type of altimeter contains a pressure element, the deflections of which are approximately proportional to pressure changes. An evenly divided altitude scale is secured by using a mechanism between the pressure element and pointer which gives the required motion of the pointer. A temperature-compensated altimeter was constructed at the Bureau of Standards for the Bureau of Aeronautics of the Navy Department which contained a manually operated device for controlling the multiplication of the mechanism to the extent necessary for temperature compensation. The introduction of this device made it difficult to adjust the multiplying mechanism to fit an evenly divided altitude scale. To meet this difficulty a pressure element was designed and constructed which gave deflections which were proportional to altitude; that is, to the logarithm of the pressure."
Date: August 7, 1928
Creator: Brombacher, W. G. & Cordero, F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Full-Scale Wind-Tunnel Tests of a Series of Metal Propellers on a VE-7 Airplane (open access)

Full-Scale Wind-Tunnel Tests of a Series of Metal Propellers on a VE-7 Airplane

"An adjustable blade metal propeller was tested at five different angle settings, forming a series varying in pitch. The propeller was mounted on a VE-7 airplane in the twenty-foot propeller research tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The efficiencies were found to be from 4 to 7 per cent higher than those of standard wood propellers operating under the same conditions. The results are given in convenient form for use in selecting propellers for aircraft" (p. 521).
Date: July 13, 1928
Creator: Weick, Fred E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effect of variation of chord and span of ailerons on rolling and yawing moments in level flight (open access)

Effect of variation of chord and span of ailerons on rolling and yawing moments in level flight

This report presents the results of an investigation of the rolling and yawing moments due to ailerons of various chords and spans on two airfoils having the Clark Y and U. S. A. 27 wing sections. Some attention is devoted to a study of the effect of scale on rolling and yawing moments and to the effect of slightly rounding the wing tips. The results apply to level flight with the wing chord set at an angle of attack of +4 degrees and to conditions of zero pitch, zero yaw, and zero roll of the airplane. It is planned later to extend the investigation to other attitudes for monoplane and biplane combinations. The work was conducted in the 10 foot wind tunnel of the Bureau of Standards on models of 60-inch span and 10-inch chord. (author).
Date: July 10, 1928
Creator: Heald, R. H. & Strother, D. H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Investigation of the Aerodynamic Characteristics of an Airplane Equipped with Several Different Sets of Wings (open access)

An Investigation of the Aerodynamic Characteristics of an Airplane Equipped with Several Different Sets of Wings

This investigation was conducted by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at Langley Field, Va., at the request of the Army Air Corps, for the purpose of comparing the full scale lift and drag characteristics of an airplane equipped with several sets of wings of commonly used airfoil sections. A Sperry Messenger Airplane with wings of R.A.F.-15, U.S.A.-5, U.S.A.-27, and Gottingen 387 airfoil sections was flown and the lift and drag characteristics of the airplane with each set of wings were determined by means of glide tests. The results are presented in tabular and curve form.
Date: July 9, 1928
Creator: Crowley, J. W., Jr. & Green, M. W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The pressure distribution over the horizontal and vertical tail surfaces of the F6C-4 pursuit airplane in violent maneuvers (open access)

The pressure distribution over the horizontal and vertical tail surfaces of the F6C-4 pursuit airplane in violent maneuvers

"This investigation of the pressure distribution on the tail surfaces of a pursuit airplane in violent maneuvers was conducted for the purpose of determining the maximum loads likely to be encountered on these surfaces in flight. The information is a part of that needed for a revision of existing loading specifications to bring these into closer agreement with the actual flight conditions. A standard F6C-4 airplane was used and the pressure distribution over the right horizontal and complete vertical tail surfaces was recorded throughout violent maneuvers. The results show that the existing loading specifications do not conform satisfactorily to the loadings existent in critical conditions, and in some cases were exceeded by the loads obtained" (p. 539).
Date: July 9, 1928
Creator: Rhode, R. V.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Investigation of the Use of Discharge Valves and an Intake Control for Improving the Performance of N.A.C.A. Roots Type Supercharger (open access)

An Investigation of the Use of Discharge Valves and an Intake Control for Improving the Performance of N.A.C.A. Roots Type Supercharger

"This report presents the results of an analytical investigation on the practicability of using mechanically operated discharge valves in conjunction with a manually operated intake control for improving the performance of N. A. C. A. Roots type superchargers. These valves, which may be either of the oscillating or rotating type, are placed in the discharge opening of the supercharger and are so shaped and synchronized with the supercharger impellers that they do not open until the air has been compressed to the delivery pressure. The intake control limits the quantity of air compressed to engine requirements by permitting the excess air to escape from the compression chamber before compression begins" (p. 479).
Date: June 29, 1928
Creator: Schey, Oscar W. & Wilson, Ernest E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Full Scale Tests on a Thin Metal Propeller at Various Tip Speeds (open access)

Full Scale Tests on a Thin Metal Propeller at Various Tip Speeds

"This report describes an investigation made in order to determine the effect of tip speed on the characteristics of a thin-bladed metal propeller. The propeller was mounted on a VE-7 airplane with a 180-HP E-2 engine, and tested in the 20-foot propeller research tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. It was found that the effect of tip speed on the propulsive efficiency was negligible within the range of the tests, which was from 600 to 1,000 feet per second (about 0.5 to 0.9 the velocity of sound in air)" (p. 465).
Date: June 20, 1928
Creator: Weick, Fred E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Full Scale Tests of Wood Propellers on a VE-7 Airplane in the Propeller Research Tunnel (open access)

Full Scale Tests of Wood Propellers on a VE-7 Airplane in the Propeller Research Tunnel

"The investigation described in this report was made primarily to afford a comparison between propeller tests in the new propeller research tunnel and flight tests and small model tests on propellers. Three wood propellers which had been previously tested in flight on a VE-7 airplane, and of which models had also been tested in a wind tunnel, were tested again on a VE-7 airplane in the propeller research tunnel. The results of these tests are in fair agreement with those of the flight and model tests" (p. 445).
Date: June 18, 1928
Creator: Weick, Fred E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Speed and deceleration trials of U.S.S. Los Angeles (open access)

Speed and deceleration trials of U.S.S. Los Angeles

From Summary: "The trials reported in this report were instigated by the Bureau of Aeronautics of the Navy Department for the purpose of determining accurately the speed and resistance of the U. S. S. "Los Angeles" with and without water recovery apparatus, and to clear up the apparent discrepancies between the speed attained in service and in the original trials in Germany. The trials proved very conclusively that the water recovery apparatus increases the resistance about 20 per cent, which is serious, and shows the importance of developing a type of recovery having less resistance. Between the American and the German speed trials without water recovery there remains an unexplained discrepancy of nearly 6 per cent in speed at a given rate of engine revolutions."
Date: June 12, 1928
Creator: De France, S. J. & Burgess, C. P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Investigation of damping liquids for aircraft instruments (open access)

Investigation of damping liquids for aircraft instruments

"This report covers the results of an investigation carried on at the Bureau of Standards under a research authorization from, and with the financial assistance of, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The choice of a damping liquid for aircraft instruments is difficult owing to the range of temperature at which aircraft operate. Temperature changes affect the viscosity tremendously. The investigation was undertaken with the object of finding liquids of various viscosities otherwise suitable which had a minimum change in viscosity with temperature" (p. 405).
Date: May 16, 1928
Creator: Keulegan, G. H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Theories of flow similitude (open access)

Theories of flow similitude

The laws of comparison of dynamically similar fluid motions are derived by three different methods based on the same principle and yielding the same or equivalent formulas. This report outlines the three current methods of comparing dynamically similar motions, more especially of fluids, initiated respectively by Newton, Stokes (or Helmholtz), and Rayleigh. These three methods, viz., the integral, the differential, and the dimensional, are enough alike to be studied profitably together. They are treated in succession then compared. (author).
Date: May 7, 1928
Creator: Zahm, A. F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Variation in Engine Power With Altitude Determined From Measurements in Flight With a Hub Dynamometer (open access)

The Variation in Engine Power With Altitude Determined From Measurements in Flight With a Hub Dynamometer

"The rate of change in power of aircraft engines with altitude has been the subject of considerable discussion. Only a small amount of data from direct measurements of the power delivered by airplane engines during flight, however, has been published. This report presents the results of direct measurements of the power delivered by a Liberty 12 airplane engine taken with a hub dynamometer at standard altitudes from zero to 13,000 feet. Six flights were made with the engine installed in a modified DH-4 airplane" (p. 323).
Date: May 7, 1928
Creator: Gove, W. D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aerodynamic theory and test of strut forms. Part I (open access)

Aerodynamic theory and test of strut forms. Part I

This report presents the first part of a two part study made under this title. In this part the symmetrical inviscid flow about an empirical strut of high service merit is found by both the Rankine and the Joukowsky methods. The results can be made to agree as closely as wished. Theoretical stream surfaces as well as surfaces of constant speed and pressure in the fluid about the strut are found. The surface pressure computed from the two theories agrees well with the measured pressure on the fore part of the model but not so well on the after part. From the theoretical flow speed the surface friction is computed by an empirical formula. The drag integrated from the friction and measured pressure closely equals the whole measured drag. As the pressure drag and the whole drag are accurately determined, the friction formula also appears trustworthy for such fair shapes. (author).
Date: May 1928
Creator: Smith, R. H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Gaseous Explosive Reaction: A Study of the Kinetics of Composite Fuels (open access)

The Gaseous Explosive Reaction: A Study of the Kinetics of Composite Fuels

"This report deals with the results of a series of studies of the kinetics of gaseous explosive reactions where the fuel under observation, instead of being a simple gas, is a known mixture of simple gases. In the practical application of the gaseous explosive reaction as a source of power in the gas engine, the fuels employed are composite, with characteristics that are apt to be due to the characteristics of their components and hence may be somewhat complex" (p. 503).
Date: April 25, 1928
Creator: Stevens, F. W.
System: The UNT Digital Library