The paper presents an investigation of flow instabilities occurring in shock-wave propagation and interaction with the walls of an enclosure. The shock-wave propagation is studied in connection with perturbed and unperturbed cylindrical blasts, initially placed in the centre of the enclosure, as well as for three different blast intensities corresponding to Mach numbers Ms = 2, 5 and 10. The instability is manifested by a symmetry-breaking of the flow even for the case of an initially perfectly-symmetric blast. It is shown that the symmetry-breaking initiates around the centre of the enclosure as a result of the interaction of the shock waves reflected from the walls, with the low-density region in the centre of the explosion. The instability leads to fast attenuation of the shock waves, especially for smaller initial blast intensities. The computations reveal that the vortical flow structures arising from the multiple shock reflections and flow instability are Mach number dependent. The existence of perturbations of large amplitude in the initial condition strengthens the instability and has significant effects on the instantaneous wall pressure distributions. The computational investigation has been performed using high-resolution Riemann solvers for the gas dynamic equations.

The design, manufacture and testing of a 480 cubic metre helium-filled airship, or dirigible balloon, intended for flight above tropical rain forest canopy is outlined. The requirements for the airship and the preliminary sizing method are set-out. Details of the final design and flight test results are included, as well as suggestions concerning future work. Particular attention is paid to the issue of accurate station-keeping and operation close to the canopy with winds present. It is concluded that the development of a truly useful aerial platform for canopy biological studies requires further research in aerodynamics, dynamic simulation and ultra-quiet propulsion systems.

In this manuscript, a new concept of 2D-semi-optimal-circular-3-arced-path manoeuvres with constant speed for multiple aircraft cooperative conflict resolution is presented. This type of manoeuvres is based on appropriate commands to heading, speed and manoeuvreing time. According to aircraft turning dynamics, each aircraft manoeuvre is composed of three tangent circular arcs. The optimality of manoeuvres is based on the minimisation of weighted sum of kinetic energy for aircraft two-legged manoeuvres. In comparison, aircraft with lower weight factors bear more responsibility to resolve the conflicts. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm for real time conflict resolution is guaranteed, where the number of encountering aircraft is less than five. Otherwise, the current method could also be jointed to one of the fast resolution methods, like probabilistic resolution algorithm or genetic algorithm – as a tool to choose the convex domain – to become more computationally effective. Considerable number of case studies has been done to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, while some are presented in the paper.

In this paper we present a Bayesian belief network (BBN) sociotechnical model for investigating the accident rate for multi-crew civil airline aircraft. The model emphasises the influence of airline policy and societal behaviour patterns on the pilots within the piloting system. The main claim of this paper is that a BBN can be used to bring most aviation safety-critical elements into a common quantitative safety assessment despite the unique problems posed by the very low probability of accidents. We support this claim by replicating certain phenomena such as the low accident rate, the difference between the ‘more’ and ‘less’ safe airlines and other statistical factors of civil aviation. In particular, the model succeeds in explaining the large gap of six to seven orders of magnitude between in-flight measurements of pilots’ error and accident rate.

This paper describes the validation of a new code for prediction both aeroacoustic and aeroelastic behaviour of hingeless rotors. The structural component is based on a non-linear beam element model considering small strains and finite rotations, which uses a mixed variational intrinsic formulation. The aerodynamic component is built on a loworder panel method incorporating a vortex particle free-wake model. The aerodynamic and structural components are combined to form a closely coupled aeroelastic code that solves in the time-domain. The loading and thickness noise terms for the aeroacoustic calculations are calculated from the aerodynamic data using a formulation based on the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings (FW-H) equation. The code is successfully validated for acoustic signature and BVI predictions using test cases from the HELINOISE program.

The Technology Sub-Group of Air Travel – Greener by Design was instituted at the first full meeting of the GBD community in March 2000. Its first period of intense activity was from the summer of 2000 to the spring of 2001, culminating in the publication of its report The Technology Challenge in July 2001 at the first Air Travel – Greener by Design Conference at the Royal Aeronautical Society.

In the period that followed, the contents of the report were further disseminated by presentations at conferences and publication of the report in The Aeronautical Journal but there was no substantial activity by the Sub-Group as such. In July 2003, a workshop on ‘The Effect of Aviation on the Atmosphere’, was held at St Catherine’s College, Cambridge. This was planned jointly by members of the Sub-Group and of the Centre for Atmospheric Science in the Department of Chemistry at Cambridge and was jointly funded by GBD and the EC project SCENIC. The organisation of events on the day and the collating and editing of the workshop report was done by Dr Helen Rogers of the Centre for Atmospheric Science. The workshop was attended by a broad cross section from the manufacturing and operating industries, government and academia and its report is a valuable summary of current understanding in 2003.

An advanced design process applicable to the specification of flight simulator cueing systems is presented in this paper. This process is based on the analysis of the pilot-vehicle control loop by using a pilot model incorporating both visual and vestibular feedback, and the aircraft dynamics. After substituting the model for the simulated aircraft, the analysis tools are used to adjust the washout filter parameters with the goal of restoring pilot control behaviour. This process allows the specification of the motion cueing algorithm. Then, based on flight files representative of the operational flight envelope, the required motion system space is determined. The motion-base geometry is established based on practical limitations, as well as criteria for the stability of the platform with respect to singular conditions. With this process the characteristics of the aircraft, the tasks to be simulated, and the missions themselves are taken into account in defining the simulator motion cueing system.

In this second Aeronautical Journal paper providing a technical appraisal of the Wright brothers' achievements, the authors use modelling and simulation and associated flight dynamics analysis to present the development of the first practical aeroplane. The aircraft in question, the Wright Flyer III, was deemed fit for service by the Wrights in October 1905, and had evolved significantly from the first powered aircraft of 17 December 1903. The appraisal tries to shed light on many of the flight handling problems that the Wright brothers faced during this, their third phase of aeronautical endeavour, in 1904 and 1905. They retained their unstable configuration born in the 1901 and 1902 gliders, gradually refining the performance and handling until they considered the aircraft was ready for market. Their process of refinement has been reconstructed in simulation within the Liverpool Wright project, highlighting the many important developments during a period when Wilbur and Orville's own documentation was limited. Apart from their engineering excellence, the Wright brothers are to be acknowledged for their perseverance and resolve in overcoming setbacks, for their ability to innovate and to recover and learn from their mistakes. In many ways the Wright brothers represent a model for the modern aeronautical engineer, and it is hoped that their legacy will be better preserved through the documentation of this project.

The design of a thrust chamber for a rocket propulsion system is a challenging task. The thrust chamber has to be designed for minimum structural weight with an adequate factor of safety. This calls for a thorough knowledge of various structural loads, both internal and external, and the behaviour of the structure in flight. This paper presents the design and structural analysis of a pressure vessel used as thrust chamber for a rocket propulsion unit. The effects of kinetic heating, thermal stress, spinning and various aerodynamic loads and their mutual interactions are accounted for in this analysis. Based on a detailed stress analysis of the components and a modal/structural dynamic analysis of the flight vehicle as a whole, in which the thrust chamber is the main load bearing member, the required mechanical properties of the thrust chamber are obtained.

This paper reviews and highlights recent developments of certain aspects of flow control concerned with reducing the drag of, and delaying flow separation on, wings and bodies over which the flow is turbulent. The study is restricted to devices that extend beyond the viscous sub-layer but are on a smaller scale than geometric features of the aircraft (e.g. wing chord).

The review is mainly concerned with developments within the UK, although significant developments in other countries are discussed.

The review discusses types of flow that need to be controlled, basic features of flow control devices and applications. It concludes with recommendations for future research.

Major results and findings of the numerical work package of the European high lift programme EUROLIFT are outlined. The main objective of these studies is to validate and test numerical methods for the prediction of high lift flows for transport aircraft configurations. The activities comprise the assessment of current CFD methods for 3D flows, evaluation of means for code improvement, and transition prediction. All aspects are especially devoted to high lift flow problems. A general capability to predict maximum lift on a simplified wing/fuselage high lift configuration is demonstrated by a variety of different numerical approaches. In general, major shortcomings are the reliability and the accurate simulation of large separation areas and the turn-around time to compute 3D lift polars. Advanced turbulence modelling and numerical solver features, such as the preconditioning technique, show a potential to overcome these deficiencies. Promising results with respect to transition prediction were obtained on a swept high lift wing using a database method. The results obtained in the numerical activities represent major ingredients on the way to a consistent numerical approach for the simulation of transport aircraft high lift configurations including all maximum lift determining effects.

A transport equation for the intermittency factor is employed to predict transitional flows under the effects of pressure gradients, freestream turbulence intensities, Reynolds number variations, flow separation and reattachment, and unsteady wake-blade interactions representing diverse operating conditions encountered in low-pressure turbines. The intermittent behaviour of the transitional flows is taken into account and incorporated into computations by modifying the eddy viscosity, μτ with the intermittency factor, γ. Turbulent quantities are predicted by using Menter’s two-equation turbulence model (SST). The onset location of transition is obtained from correlations based on boundary-layer momentum thickness, accelaration parameter, and turbulence intensity. The intermittency factor is obtained from a transport model which can produce both the experimentally observed streamwise variation of intermittency and a realistic profile in the cross stream direction.

The intermittency transport model is tested and validated against several well documented low pressure turbine experiments ranging from flat plate cases to unsteady wake-blade interaction experiments. Overall, good agreement between the experimental data and computational results is obtained illustrating the predicting capabilities of the model and the current intermittency transport modelling approach for transitional flow simulations.

A numerical study on mixing of air and hydrogen is performed by solving two-dimensional full Navier-Stokes equations. The main stream is air of Mach 5 entering through the configured inlet of the combustor and gaseous hydrogen is injected from the configured jet on the side wall. Supersonic mixing and diffusion mechanisms of a transverse hydrogen jet in two-dimensional finite air streams have been analyzed and discussed. The computed results are compared with the experimental data and show good agreement. For an otherwise fixed combustor geometry, the air inlet width and injection angle are varied to study the physics of mixing and flow field characteristics. On the effect of inlet width variation, two competing phenomena have been observed: (i) upstream of injector the strength of recirculation is higher for wider inlet and consequently the mixing increases, and (ii) downstream, the diffusion of hydrogen decreases with the increase of inlet width and eventually mixing decreases. As a result, in far downstream the mixing efficiency increases up to certain inlet width and then decreases for further increment of inlet width. For the variation of injection angle results show that upstream of injector the mixing is dominated by recirculation and downstream the mixing is dominated by mass concentration of hydrogen. Upstream recirculation is dominant for injecting angle 60° and 90°. Incorporating the various effects, perpendicular injection shows the maximum mixing efficiency and its large upstream recirculation region has a good flame holding capability.

In this paper we present a Bayesian belief network (BBN) socio-technical model for investigating the accident rate for multi-crew civil airline aircraft. The model emphasises the influence of airline policy and societal behaviour patterns on the pilots within the piloting system. The main claim of this paper is that a BBN can be used to bring most aviation safety-critical elements into a common quantitative safety assessment despite the unique problems posed by the very low probability of accidents. We support this claim by replicating certain phenomena such as the low accident rate, the difference between the ‘more’ and ‘less’ safe airlines and other statistical factors of civil aviation. In particular, the model succeeds in explaining the large gap of six to seven orders of magnitude between in-flight measurements of pilots’ error and accident rate.

This paper looks back on the designs and ambitions of ARA in resolving a long term acoustic noise problem which threatened ARA with closure. This paper today briefly looks back to the original issues but deals more fully with the later phases of a two phase project implementation and construction. ARA is now a truly ‘silent site’, where closure was once threatened, ARA has achieved the implementation of a bespoke noise reduction enclosure where 24-hour running has proved to be a reality. This paper looks at the design and construction phases, the ‘before and after’ noise footprints and at some of the financial benefits ARA has achieved.

The ARA transonic wind tunnel is sited on an industrial estate on the north west perimeter of Bedford. When it was first built it was on an original farm site with no appreciable residential houses in close proximity. Since the early 1950s there has been considerable residential development around the ARA site resulting in the local householders complaining about the wind tunnel acoustic noise. In early 1999 ARA was obliged to consider several options for noise reduction measures to reduce the noise to within UK government statutory requirements.

This paper deals briefly with the original noise nuisance characteristics and footprint, the noise reduction design and method that ARA selected and shows the construction phases, the further noise treatment ARA had to do on other major ancillary equipment to make ARA a truly quiet industrial site.

The paper shows how ARA has utilised the resulting benefits of these investments to increase productivity and reduce costs, and the influence it has had on ARA’s financial health.

The modelling and vibration of composite thin-walled pre-twisted rotating blades of non-uniform cross-sections along their span, and featuring the extension-twist elastic coupling are addressed. To this end, Hamilton’s principle is used to derive the equations of motion and the associated boundary conditions. In addition to the pretwist and warping restraint, the exotic properties of advanced composite material are used, and the efficiency of implementing the tailoring technique toward the enhancement, without weight penalties, of the vibratory behaviour of rotating blades is illustrated. Comparisons between the predictions by both Wagner’s and Washizu’s approaches are presented, and pertinent conclusions regarding the implications of the various geometrical and physical characteristics of the blade are outlined.

The long-running debate between the US and the EU over government supports for large commercial aircraft has recently boiled over into a major dispute involving the World Trade Organisation (WTO). While the two sides have currently backed off from what could be a very damaging WTO outcome, there are still wide differences over the legitimacy of government supports (direct or indirect) for Airbus and Boeing airliners. This paper:

1. • Describes the background to the current dispute.

2. • Analyses the 1992 US–EU Agreement on Large Aircraft Subsidies.

3. • Outlines the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and the decision by the US to mount an action under the WTO complaints procedures against launch investment for Airbus and the EU’s counter claim against Boeing.

4. • Considers the precedents set by the WTO rulings on the Brazilian–Canadian dispute over regional jet supports.

5. • Summarises the US–EU complaints to the WTO.

6. • Considers potential outcomes and the implications for the civil aerospace industry on both sides of the Atlantic.

7. • Analyses the wider issues surrounding government intervention in the aerospace sector.

The paper views the dispute as a reflection of fundamental differences, based primarily on divergent economic doctrines and values, between the US and the EU states. There could be especially damaging consequences for the EU should the WTO rule against the systems of repayable launch investment used by the Airbus governments. But both sides could lose heavily from the affair and there is a good case for maintaining some form of direct government intervention in civil aerospace technology acquisition, even near market research, in support of environmental sustainability objectives.

It is considered that the blended wing body may offer the possibility of improvements in performance efficiency over the conventional civil transport. Such configurations will require transonic wind tunnel testing. Hence, a feasibility study has been carried out at ARA to investigate possible model support systems that could be used for this purpose. The study addressed issues arising from the mechanical design of two support systems; namely, a blade or Z-sting and a standard rear sting. In particular, the relatively restricted space available within the model fuselage has presented challenges in the design of the layout of the balance and instrumentation required for the model. CFD analysis has been carried out to assess the relative interference effects of the two support arrangements. This initial work has shown unexpectedly significant interference effects associated with the Z-sting support and attention is drawn to the need for further design work to minimise these effects.

A numerical procedure, which utilises polynomial power series expansions for the optimisation of multipanel wing structures in idealised critical flutter conditions, is introduced and developed. It arises from the Rayleigh-Ritz method and employes trial polynomial describing functions both for the flexural displacement and for the thickness variation over the multipanel surface. An idealised structural plate model, according to the Kirchhoff’s theory, together with a linearised supersonic aerodynamic approach, are supposed. The classical Euler-Lagrange optimality criterion, based on variational principles, has been utilised for the optimisation operations, where by imposing the stationary conditions of the Lagrangian functional expression, a nonlinear algebraic equations system is obtained, whose solution is found by an appropriate algorithm. By utilising an iterative process it is possible to reach the reference structure critical conditions, with an optimised thickness distribution throughout the multipanel surface. The final part of the work consists in searching the minimum weight of the multipanel planform wing structure with optimised thickness profile vs the flutter frequency, considered as a variable imput parameter, for fixed flutter speed and equal to the critical one of the reference uniform structure.