Team uses NASA tunnel to test blended wing body
By Staff -- Test & Measurement World, 6/1/2006 2:00:00 AM
Boeing Phantom Works has partnered with NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and the US Air Force Research Laboratory in Wright Patterson Air Force Base, OH, to explore and validate the structural, aerodynamic, and operational advantages of a concept called the "blended-wing body." A blended-wing body looks different from most airplanes, as it has a modified triangular-shaped wing. The team is making use of a historic NASA wind tunnel to test the new design.
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| This photo shows an earlier prototype of the blended wing body. Courtesy of NASA Langley Research Center. |
"One big difference between this airplane and the traditional tube and wing aircraft is that, instead of a conventional tail, the blended-wing body relies solely on multiple control surfaces on the wing for stability and control," said Dan Vicroy, senior research engineer at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA. "What we want to do with this wind-tunnel test is to look at how these surfaces can best be used to maneuver the aircraft."
The team has produced two 21-ft wingspan prototypes of the blended-wing body for wind-tunnel and flight testing. The Air Force has designated the vehicles as the "X-48B."
X-48B Ship No. 1 began wind-tunnel testing on April 7 at the Langley Full-Scale Tunnel. The tunnel, which is operated by Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, was built in 1930 and has been used to test World War II fighters, the Mercury space capsule, and concepts for a supersonic transport.
Testing is expected to be completed in mid-May, at which time the prototype will be shipped to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, in Edwards Air Force Base, CA. It will serve as a backup to Ship No. 2, which will be used for remotely piloted flight tests later this year. Both phases of testing are focused on learning more about the low-speed flight-control characteristics of the blended-wing body concept.
"The X-48B prototypes have been dynamically scaled to represent a much larger aircraft and are being used to demonstrate that a blended-wing body is as controllable and safe during takeoff, approach, and landing as a conventional military transport airplane," said Norm Princen, chief engineer for the X-48B program at Boeing Phantom Works.
The Air Force is interested in the concept for its potential future military applications. "We believe the blended-wing body concept has the potential to cost effectively fill many roles required by the Air Force, such as tanking, weapons carriage, and command and control," said Captain Scott Bjorge, the Air Force Research Lab's X-48B program manager. www.nasa.gov
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