Keywords
extended formation flight, Cart3D, Euler solver, CFD, drag savings, roll trim, transonic flow
Abstract
Flying airplanes in extended formations, with separation distances of tens of wingspans, significantly improves safety while maintaining most of the fuel savings achieved in close formations. The present study investigates the impact of roll trim and compressibility at a fixed lift coefficient on the benefits of extended formation flight. An Euler solver with adjoint-based mesh refinement combined with a wake propagation model is used to analyze a two-body echelon formation at a separation distance of 30 spans. Two geometries are examined: a simple wing and a wing-body geometry. Energy savings, quantified by both formation drag fraction and span efficiency factor, are investigated at subsonic and transonic speeds for a matrix of vortex locations. The results show that at fixed lift and trimmed for roll, the optimal location of vortex impingement is about 10% inboard of the trailing airplane’s wing-tip. Interestingly, the improvement in drag fraction is relatively robust in the vicinity of the optimal position. Over 90% of energy benefits can be obtained with a 5% variation in vertical and 10% variation in spanwise positions. Control surface deflections required to achieve roll trim reduce the benefits of formation flight by 3-5% at subsonic speeds and 9-11% at transonic speeds. Overall, simulations show peak induced drag saving for the trail aircraft are 54% in subsonic flow and 35% in transonic flow while accounting for trim.
Original Publication Citation
Kless, J., Aftosmis, M., Ning, A., and Nemec, M., “Inviscid Analysis of Extended Formation Flight,” AIAA Journal, Vol. 51, No. 7, Jul. 2013, pp. 1703–1715. doi:10.2514/1.j052224
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Kless, James; Aftosmis, Michael; Ning, Andrew; and Nemec, Marian, "Inviscid Analysis of Extended Formation Flight" (2013). Faculty Publications. 1677.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/1677
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2013-7
Permanent URL
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/3617
Publisher
AIAA
Language
English
College
Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology
Department
Mechanical Engineering
Copyright Status
Copyright © 2013 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. The U.S. Government has a royalty-free license to exercise all rights under the copyright claimed herein for Governmental purposes. All other rights are reserved by the copyright owner.
Copyright Use Information
http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/