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Technology update
New technologies selected for research program
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NASA's Office of Aero-Space Technology has selected nine aeronautical concepts to be part of its Revolutionary Concepts (REVCON) program, which is designed to accelerate the exploration of high-risk, revolutionary-breakthrough technologies. The nine projects selected include: Advanced Supersonic Propulsion and Integration Research, APEX glider, Joined-Wing Integrated Structures Flight Demonstration, Reliable Autonomous Control Technology, Revolutionary Propulsion for Aeronautical Vehicles, Shape Memory Alloy Variable Area Fan Nozzle, Smart Vehicle, Swashplateless Flight, and a Variable Diameter Tilt Rotor experiment. Each project selected for the program will receive approximately $300,000 for Phase I research.
The Advanced Supersonic Propulsion and Integration Research project will involve the validation of a two-dimensional, mixed-compression engine inlet for commercial applications. NASA Glenn Research Center will lead this project with partners Dryden Flight Research Center, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, United Technologies Research Center, General Electric Aircraft Engines, Techland Research, Gulfstream Aerospace, and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.
A highly instrumented, remote-piloted glider, APEX will be air-launched from a balloon at an altitude of 100,000 ft. It will obtain data to validate design and analysis methods for high-altitude and high-subsonic speeds. Dryden leads this team, which includes Ames Research Center, Langley Research Center, and Glenn Research Center.
The Joined-Wing Integrated Structures Flight Demonstration project is a revolutionary airborne surveillance concept
consisting of a joined-wing aircraft with radar apertures integrated into the four joined wings. Langley leads this project with partners from Dryden, Boeing Phantom Works, Naval Air Systems Command, and the USAF Research Laboratory.
An autonomous management system for unmanned aircraft will be developed under the Reliable Autonomous Control Technology project. This program team, which will consist of Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will be led by Dryden.
Through a combined effort of General Electric Aircraft Engines and its partners GE Corporate Research and Development, Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems, Advanced Projects Research, Inc., USAF Research Laboratory, Glenn, and Dryden, revolutionary propulsion technologies will be studied. The team will design and develop a pulse-detonation technology to integrate with an existing engine and provide increased thrust and fuel efficiency.
The Shape Memory Alloy Variable Area Fan Nozzle project will address the development of smart-material actuation for a variable-area fan nozzle. United Technologies Research Center will lead the project with support from Pratt & Whitney, Northrop Grumman, Dryden, Glenn, and Langley.
The Smart Vehicle is an unmanned advanced technology demonstrator that will showcase innovative, hingeless aerodynamic effectors designed to increase the maneuverability and performance of vehicles with reduced signature. This project will be carried out by a team led by Langley, with members Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems, Physical Sciences, Inc., Tel Aviv University, Naval Air Systems Command, and Dryden.
Swashplateless Flight will be demonstrated by the team of Advanced Technologies, Inc., Diversified Technologies, Inc., Ames, Dryden, and Langley. The project consists of integrating an on-the-blade, electromechanical servo-actuator into a civil helicopter and demonstrating primary flight control without the use of a mechanical swashplate.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. will lead the Variable Diameter Tilt Rotor flight experiment, with support coming from Dryden, Ames, and Langley. The goal of this experiment is to advance the technology readiness of a concept that optimizes the rotor configuration for both hover and cruise.
Frank Bokulich
Aerospace Engineering July 2000
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