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Finding ways to reduce the amount of fuel burned per flight takes top priority in aircraft operations and design. Three experts show how the smallest on-board components can make a huge difference.

“Spotlight on Design: Insight” features an in-depth look at the latest technology breakthroughs impacting mobility. Viewers are virtually taken to labs and research centers to learn how design engineers are enhancing product performance/reliability, reducing cost, improving quality, safety or environmental impact, and achieving regulatory compliance. As global concerns about the negative consequences of greenhouse gases on the environment increase, regulatory agencies around the world are taking serious steps to address the issue of tailpipe emissions In the episode “Fuel Efficiency: Fuel Economy Testing” (12:05), engineers at the EPA’s National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory demonstrate how different vehicles are tested for emissions, and AVL’s technical team shows how accurate tailpipe emissions can be measured and reported.

This set includes: SAE International Journal of Aerospace March 2010 - Volume 2 Issue 1 SAE International Journal of Commercial Vehicles October 2009 - Volume 2, Issue 1 March 2010 - Volume 2, Issue 2 SAE International Journal of Engines October 2009 - Volume 2, Issue 1 March 2010 - Volume 2, Issue 2 SAE International Journal of Fuels and Lubricants October 2009 - Volume 2, Issue 1 March 2010 - Volume 2, Issue 2 SAE International Journal of Materials and Manufacturing October 2009 - Volume 2, Issue 1 March 2010 - Volume 2, Issue 2 SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Electronic and Electrical Systems October 2009 - Volume 2, Issue 1 SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems October 2009 - Volume 2, Issue 1 March 2010 - Volume 2, Issue 2

Abstract More than a decade ago, we proposed combined use of direct injection (DI) and jet ignition (JI) to produce high efficiency, high power-density, positive-ignition (PI), lean burn stratified, internal combustion engines (ICEs). Adopting this concept, the latest FIA F1 engines, which are electrically assisted, turbocharged, directly injected, jet ignited, gasoline engines and work lean stratified in a highly boosted environment, have delivered peak power fuel conversion efficiencies well above 46%, with specific power densities more than 340 kW/liter. The concept, further evolved, is here presented for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications. Results of simulations for a new DI JI ICE with rotary valve, being super-turbocharged and having gasoline or methanol as working fuel, show the opportunity to achieve even larger power densities, up to 430 kW/liter, while delivering a near-constant torque and, consequently, a nearly linear power curve over a wide range of speeds.

Abstract While the design of nozzles for diatomic gases is very well established and covered by published works, the case of a diatomic gas dissociating to monatomic along a nozzle is a novel subject that needs a proper mathematical description. These novel studies are relevant to the definition of nozzles for gas-core Nuclear Thermal Rockets (NTR) that are receiving increased attention for the potential advantages they may deliver versus current generation rockets. The article thus reviews the design of the nozzles of gas-core NTR that use hydrogen as the propellant. Propellant temperatures are expected to reach 9,000-15,000 K. Above 1500 K, hydrogen begins to dissociate at low pressures, and around 3000 K dissociation also occurs at high pressures. At a given temperature, the lower the gas pressure the more molecules dissociate, and H2 → H + H. The properties of the gas are a function of the mass fractions of diatomic and monatomic hydrogen x H2 and x H = 1 − x H2.

Abstract Inline piston pumps are extensively used in aircraft hydraulic systems. They can be found in engine-driven large-sized hydraulic pumps and zonal electric motor-driven mid-small sized pumps. Inline piston pumps are positive displacement pumps with variable volumetric flow controls. Positive displacement pumps can provide a variable flow rate over a wide range of suction pressures. Aircraft fly at high altitudes, and therefore these pumps have to work in extreme conditions such as low atmospheric pressure, low temperature. At low inlet pressures, the pump is highly susceptible to cavitation, i.e., insufficient filling capacity. The pressure below which pump flow rate drops drastically is known as critical inlet pressure. Extensive research has been carried out to study cavitation in inline piston pumps.

Abstract The preliminary gas turbine combustor design process uses a huge amount of empirical correlations to achieve more optimized designs. Combustion efficiency, in relation to the basic dimensions of the combustor, is one of the most critical performance parameters. In this study, semi-empirical correlations for combustion efficiencies are examined and correlation coefficients have been revised using an experimental air-blasted tubular combustor that uses JP8 kerosene aviation fuel. Besides, droplet diameter and effective evaporation constant parameters have been investigated for different operating conditions. In the study, it is observed that increased air velocity significantly improves the atomization process and decreases droplet diameters, while increasing the mass flow rate has a positive effect on the atomization—the relative air velocity in the air-blast atomizer increases and the fuel droplets become finer.

This SAE Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) provides guidance to develop and assure validation and verification of IVHM systems used in autonomous aircraft, vehicles and driver assistance functions. IVHM covers a vehicle, monitoring and data processing functions inherent within its sub-systems, and the tools and processes used to manage and restore the vehicle’s health. The scope of this document is to address challenges and identify recommendations for the application of integrated vehicle health management (IVHM) specifically to intelligent systems performing tasks autonomously within the mobility sector. This document will focus on the core aspects of IVHM for autonomous vehicles that are common to both aerospace and automotive applications. It is anticipated that additional documents will be developed separately to cover aspects of this functionality that are unique to each application domain.

The scope of this document is to provide a guidance of the common contamination types and their concentrations in order to size FTIS components and characterize its performance on generic commercial aircraft.

This document provides an application guide for electric motors that drive aerospace hydraulic pumps. It provides details of the characteristics of electric motors powered by DC, Fixed Frequency AC, and Variable Frequency AC electrical systems. The applications include both military and commercial aircraft.

This document outlines the current state of the art in the understanding of gas in solution in shock absorber oils in unseperated shock absorbers. A literature review, overview of Henry's law, Henry's law coefficients for known gas and oil couples, in-service operational problems, lessons learned, and potential future work will be discussed in the document.

This document outlines historical systems which have used the landing gear as a sensor or installation point for full aircraft weight and balance systems. A number of systems have been developed, installed, certified, and placed in service but few systems remain in regular use. The document will capture the history of these systems, reasons (where known) for their withdrawal from service, and lessons learned.

This document will outline existing best practices in the instrumentation of landing gears for in-service operation (including flight test, operational loads monitoring, etc.).

This report will document Runway Condition Monitoring systems that provide information intended to reduce or eliminate aircraft runway excursions or overruns that may occur as a result of poor runway conditions.

This Aerospace Informational Report (AIR) provides guidance on using environmental, electrochemical, and electrical resistance measurements to monitor environment spectra and corrosivity of service environments, focusing on parameters of interest, existing measurement platforms, deployment requirements, and data processing techniques. The sensors and monitoring systems provide discrete time-based records of 1) environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, and contaminants; 2) measures of alloy corrosion in the sensor; and 3) protective coating performance in the sensor. These systems provide measurements of environmental parameters, sensor material corrosion rate, and sensor coating condition for use in assessing the risk of atmospheric corrosion of the structure.

This document describes the approaches taken to define safe-life limits for the management of fatigue in landing gear structures, and the substantiation of those limits through full-scale fatigue testing. The safe-life scatter factors considered in a range of military and civil regulatory standards are also reviewed.