Recent Progress in Some Aircraft Technologies

Recent Progress in
Some Aircraft Technologies
Edited by Ramesh K. Agarwal

Recent Progress in Some Aircraft Technologies
Edited by Ramesh K. Agarwal
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Copyright 2016
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Contents
Preface
Chapter 1 Progress in Experimental Research of Turbine Aeroacoustics
by Andreas Marn, Christian Faustmann and Thorsten Selic
hapter 2 Lubricants for Turbine Engines

by David W. Johnson
Chapter 3 Active Flow Control by Using Plasma Actuators

by Gabriele Neretti
Chapter 4 Loads Simulator System for Testing and Qualification of

Flight Actuators
by Nasim Ullah
Chapter 5 Morphing Technologies: Adaptive Ailerons

by Ignazio Dimino, Gianluca Amendola, Francesco Amoroso, Rosario
Pecora and Antonio Concilio
Chapter 6 Self-Healing Control Framework Against Actuator Fault

of Single-Rotor Unmanned Helicopters
by Xin Qi, Zhong Liu, Yuqing He, Liying Yang, Yuqing He and Jianda Han
Chapter 7 A Hierarchical Tracking Controller for Quadrotor Without

Linear Velocity Measurements
by Yassine Jmili, Nuradeen Fethalla, Jawhar Ghomam and Maarouf Saad
Chapter 8 Studies on Effects of Aircraft Noise on Behavior of Rats,

Their Plasma Norepinephrine Levels and Cell Morphology of the
Temporal Lobe
by Guo-qing Di
Chapter 9 Numerical Study of Support Interferences on the SOAR

Separation Wind Tunnel Test
by Alberto Ghiraldo, Sebastien Paris and Ernesto Benini
Preface
The book describes the recent progress in some engine

technologies and active flow control and morphing technologies
and in topics related to aeroacoustics and aircraft controllers. Both
the researchers and students should find the material useful in
their work.
Chapter 1
Progress in Experimental Research of Turbine

Aeroacoustics
Andreas Marn, Christian Faustmann and

Thorsten Selic
Additional information is available at the end of the chapter
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62431
Abstract
Modifications on the intermediate turbine duct in order to reduce noise emissions by

changing interaction frequencies and/or modes capable to propagate are presented.
Also different turbine exit casings are described that are optimised to reduce
interaction noise that is propagating through the engine and is one of the major noise
sources during landing (operating point approach). The most promising modifica
tions to reduce sound power levels are described. Depending on different modifica
tions at specific operating points, the reduction of sound power level is between 5dB
and 10dB, which is a significant reduction. However, some of these measures show
an increase in aerodynamic losses. Therefore, a compromise has to be found between
higher losses during a short duration (e.g. landing) and significant noise reduction.
The chapter focuses on experimental results obtained in the test facilities of the Institute
for Thermal Turbomachinery and Machine Dynamics at Graz University of Technol
ogy.
Keywords: aeroacoustics, low pressure turbine, high pressure turbine, turbine exit
casing, intermediate turbine duct
1. Introduction
In modern commercial high bypass ratio aero engines, low specific fuel consumption together
with low life cycle costs are mandatory to allow air transportation economically. Further
more, an environmentally friendly aero engine should have reduced CO2 emission by even
lower fuel burn and generate low noise levels during takeoff (side line and cut back) and landing.
4 Recent Progress in Some Aircraft Technologies
At the beginning of the jet era noise emissions were dominated by jet mixing noise. That has
been reduced when introducing modern bypass engines by lowering the jet speed. Noise emitted
by fan, turbine, and compressor has then become important with the reduction in jet speed.
Now, that noise has to be reduced significantly. Since the publication of the ACARE goals, which
are targets defined by the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe to reduce the
environmental impact of air transportation, the commercial and political pressure to reduce
CO2, NOx and noise (up to 20dB reduction of noise level until 2020 compared to technologies
of the year 2000) has been increased considerably. A lot of research over the past decades was
done reducing fan and compressor noise in order to achieve the noise reduction targets. During
the last years, noise emission from the fan was much reduced that suddenly noise from the
interaction of the last stage low pressure turbine and the turbine exit guide vane of the exit casing
became perceivable. Nowadays also manufacturers of low pressure turbine components have
to consider acoustic aspects in their design to be able to reach the ACARE goals in 2020. Therefore
a lot of research is currently done in that field of expertise. An additional benefit of that low
noise levels is that passengers as well as residents living in the vicinity of airports feel more
comfortable. Basically an increasing acceptance to live close to airports and rise of life quality
can be achieved if the noise level of aero engines is decreased significantly.
In this chapter measures to reduce noise generated and propagating from modern aero engine
turbines are presented. The main issue is to find methods and/or new engine designs that
reduce noise without causing considerable losses or a reduction of thrust. However, a lot of
novel engine architectures are investigated in several national and international funded
projects with the goal to reduce the emission of pollutants, e.g. by lowering the engine weight.
This can be achieved by reducing the length of the entire engine by reducing the axial spacing
between blade rows or integrating additional functions in one part, e.g. a nonlifting strut in
an intermediate turbine duct which also has to turn the flow and provide the next rotor with
the correct inflow conditions. This leads to a socalled turning mid turbine frame. However,
all modifications on these parts of the engine will influence the noise generation and propa
gation. Also a considerable change of excitation of blades and vanes can be observed.
2. Experimental setups and test facilities
The Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and Machine Dynamics at Graz University of
Technology operates a 3MW compressor station in order to supply a couple of test facilities
continuously with pressurized air. Among them are the subsonic test turbine facility for
aerodynamic, acoustic, and aeroelastic investigations (STTFAAAI) as well as the twospool
Transonic Test Turbine Facility (TTTF).
2.1. Subsonic test turbine facility for aerodynamic, acoustic, and aeroelastic investigations
In the described subsonic turbine test facility for aerodynamic, acoustic and aeroelastic
investigations (STTFAAAI), the maximum pressure ratio is limited to 2 due to the inlet spiral
casing. The mass flow rate is limited to 15 kg/s due to the compressor station characteristic. A
Progress in Experimental Research of Turbine Aeroacoustics 5
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62431
temperature at stage inlet of max. 100C can be realised. This inlet temperature can be adjusted
within a wide range by means of water air coolers. The pressurized air enters the facility
through a spiral inlet casing where the flow is turned into axial direction. That spiral inlet
casing also supports the front bearing of the overhungtype turbine shaft. The shaft is coupled
to a water brake counteracting the power of the turbine. The necessary cooling water cycle of
the brake is connected to the recooling plant of the institute.
For a test rig it is mandatory to provide welldefined and uniform inflow conditions; therefore
a deswirler and a perforated plate are located far upstream of the inlet guide vanes. That
mentioned inlet guide vanes upstream of the stage (and downstream of the perforated plate)
simulate additional wakes of other upstream low pressure turbine stages. The air leaves the
test rig through a cylindrical acoustic measurement section, supporting struts centring the
acoustic measurement section, exhaust casing, and the exhaust stack to ambient. For more
information a detailed description of the subsonic test turbine facility can be found in Ref. [1].
2.1.1. Turbine stage and turbine exit casings[SEQA1]
During the aerodynamic design process it was crucial to achieve relevant model parameters
to reproduce the full scale low pressure turbine (LPT) configuration. The diameter of the test
rig rotor is about half of that of a commercial aero engine LPT. Therefore the rig is operated at
higher rotational speeds to realise an engine relevant loading parameter. A meridional section
of the rig is shown in Figure 1. The stateoftheart (reference) and the leaned turbine exit casing
(TEC) are shown in the sketch at the top (a). The inverse cutoff as well as the high lift design
(HTEC) can be seen at the bottom (b). It has to be mentioned that the bladings are not drawn
to scale. The rig is characterised by a high aspect ratio unshrouded low pressure turbine rotor
followed by the TEC. Relevant geometry parameters can be seen in the upper half of Table 1.
Figure 1. Meridional section of the STTFAAAI; (a) reference and leaned TEC and (b) inverse cutoff and HTEC.
Four different TEC setups with different vane counts (see Table 1) have been tested but the
leading edge is at the same axial position for all configurations. One significant difference is
that the reference and leaned TEC are manufactured without fillets while the TECs with
smaller chord length have fillets at hub and tip due to manufacturing and assembly require
ments. The leaned TEC was optimised (detailed information can be found in Ref. [2]) in order
to reduce rotorTEC interaction noise by keeping the profiles of the turbine exit guide vanes
(TEGV) to be able to lead through the same supply lines as through the reference TEC. As it
was shown in some European projects, e.g. DREAM, the rear bearing can move forward under
the TCF section for future engine architectures giving the designer the opportunity to aero
dynamically and/or acoustically optimise the vanes of the turbine exit casing. Therefore, the
third setup is an acoustically optimised TEC named inverse cutoff TEC. The basic idea of that
setup is to utilise a small cutoff corridor in between two cuton regions. A detailed description
can be found in Ref. [3] and a verification and comparison with experimental results is given
in Ref. [4]. The fourth setup is aerodynamically optimised and is designed to reduce losses at
aero design point.
Further, the rig has some inlet guide vanes (IGV) in order to impose some typical preswirl on
the flow. Stator vanes are located downstream of the IGVs, followed by the rotor and the
turbine exit guide vanes (TEGV). The 1 and 1/2 stage is representative of the last stage of a
commercial engine with TEGV. Table 1 shows the blade count and the main geometrical details
of the turbine. The rig in its current setup is characterized by a high aspect ratio unshrouded
rotor followed by one of the above described turbine exit casings. The tip leakage flow
dominates the flow field downstream of the rotor. The flow through the guide vanes is mainly
influenced by secondary flows. The TEGV are designed to turn the swirling flow into an axial
direction (reducing swirl and lower the kinetic energy of the flow) and to recover some static
pressure.
Additionally, for this test rig, a second stator and low pressure turbine rotor has been designed.
Stator and rotor have the same blade count as the reference design, but different profile
geometries, including a rotor with a 20% increased loading parameter. The design intent of
that second stage was to provide a similar/identical rotor exit flow as well as shaft power of
the test rig. Because of the larger turning of that highly loaded rotor, the operating points must
have been adjusted. A lower rotational speed in order to keep the power output identical was
chosen. However, the stage pressure ratio has been kept the same as for the datum stage. There
have been two reasons to keep the blade and vane counts identical. Firstly, it is the geometrical
limitation of the test rig. Axial chord of both stator and rotor had to be the same as well as the
axial distance between the vanes and blades. Secondly, the resulting acoustic and aerodynamic
field is dependent on the number of blades and vanes of the test rig [5]. In order to keep the
modal structure of the blade/vane interactions the same as for the datum stage, the number of
blades and must be the same.
2.1.2. Operating conditions
Because the STTFAAAI is used for both acoustic and aerodynamic investigations, the main
operating points are selected according to relevant noise certification points. They have been
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62431
defined using a typical aerodynamic design point of a last stage of an LPT. That design point
is derived from current LPT design practice and scaled along reduced speed, reduced mass
flow (both referred to 288.15 K and 1013.25 mbar) and pressure ratio. For this investigation the
acoustically relevant operating point approach was chosen. The Reynolds number of the
TEGVs is defined using the midspan conditions at rotor exit as well as the axial chord of the
vanes. The lower half of Table 1 shows the operating conditions.
Geometry details
Number of blades/vanes
IGV/Stator/Rotor/ 83/96/72
TEGV state-of-the-art (Reference TEC) 15
TEGV leaned TEC 15
TEGV inverse cutoff (inv.) >40
TEGV H-TEC <35
Tip gap to blade height ratio 1.0%
Hub to tip radius ratio 2/3
Operating conditions
TEGV Reynolds number ratio Reref./ReH-TEC. 3
TEGV Reynolds number ratio Reref./Reinv. 3
TEGV Reynolds number ratio Reref./Releaned 1
Diffusion factor ref./leaned/inv./H-TEC 0.5/0.5/0.6/0.6
Reduced mass flow 6.94kg/s
Reduced rotational speed 3653rpm/4060rpm
Stage pressure ratio 1.16
Stage total inlet temperature 100C
Table 1. Geometry details and operating conditions.
2.2. Transonic test turbine facility
The setups being tested consist of a singlestage unshrouded transonic HP turbine. Down
stream of that turbine stage, a Sshaped turbine centre frame, which is the main part of interest
for this investigation, is located. The centre frame is followed by a shrouded counterrotating
LPT rotor (see Figure 2). The pressurized air flows through the transonic unshrouded HPT
rotor and enters the turbine centre frame. The air is then turned by 16 struts in the turbine
centre frame (resulting in a turning mid turbine frame [TMTF]) in negative direction relative
to the rotation of the HP rotor. After that the air enters the LP rotor at a larger diameter and
with an appropriate swirl angle. Blading parameters and operating conditions can be seen in
Table 2.
Figure 2. Meridional section of the TTTF.
Blading parameters
HP vane HP blade Strut Splitter LP blade
C1/C2/C3 C3
Vane/blade no. 24 36 16 32 72
h / cax 1.15 1.37 0.46/0.53 3.5 2.94
Tip gap - Unshrouded - - Shrouded
Operating conditions ADP
C1 C2 C3
BP F HP kHz 6.69 6.69 6.69
BP F LP kHz 4.26 4.26 4.26
Stage pt ratio HPT/ LPT 3/1.3 3/1.3 2.83/1.36
Power [MW] HPT/ LPT 1.44/ 0.3 1.44/ 0.3 1.43/ 0.3
Table 2. Blading parameters and operating conditions.
Configuration 1 (C1) consists of 16 turning struts. It has a nondimensional length of about 3.5
(Lax/hin) and an area ratio of 2. C1 was designed using a quite complex threedimensional
design of the strut and keeping rotationally symmetric endwall contours. The struts have a
maximum thickness to chord ratio of 22% at about 25% of the axial chord length to provide
enough space for service lines like oil pipes and for load carrying structures. Two major goals
were set for the aero design of the second configuration (C2). Firstly, C2 has to be more
aggressive than the first configuration and secondly, the LPT performance has to be un
changed, keeping the same pressure loss. For C2 also, 16 turning struts have been assembled.
For all configurations the same high pressure stage and low pressure rotor have been used.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62431
Therefore, the radial offset and the area ratio are the same for both setups but configuration
C2 was designed to be 10% shorter than configuration C1. C2 has a nondimensional length of
3.1. Close to the hub the axial gap between the strut trailing edge and the leading edge of the
LPT is the same as for C1. However, that gap is 20% shorter at midspan and 50% at the casing,
respectively. The vane is designed to produce minimum blockage and therefore, it should
create minimum losses. Both struts give the possibility to lead through identical service lines.
To avoid additional losses and provide same inflow conditions to the LP turbine as the
configuration C1, nonaxisymmetric endwall contouring was applied at the hub. The optimi
sation of endwall contour was performed using parameterization based on orthogonal basis
perturbation functions. The third setup is based on the same geometry as C1, but 32 splitter
vanes have been added for setup C3. Within each strut passage two nonlifting splitters are
located. The splitter vanes have been numerically designed and represent a compromise
between aerodynamic effectiveness and additional blockage, because it was required to use
the same casing parts. Therefore, it was not possible to change the area to count for the
additional blockage of the splitters.
2.3. Instrumentation
Fivehole probes with a probe head of 2.5 mm diameter have been applied. The probes were
used in measurement plane C downstream of the rotor and in plane D downstream of the
TEGV (see Figure 1b). The probes are calibrated in a Mach numbers range between 0.1 and
0.8 in 0.1 steps, yaw angles between 20and +20 in steps of 4 deg, pitch angles between
16and +20, also in steps of 4. Negative values of the yaw angle indicate a counterrotating
flow and negative values of the pitch angle indicate the flow direction towards the hub. A
multiparameter approximation correlates the calibration characteristics and the flow value to
be measured.
The axial positions of measurement planes (marked with letters) can be seen in Figure 1 for
the STTFAAAI and Figure 2 for the TTTF. TEGV/Strut inlet plane is located downstream of
the rotor trailing edge. TEGV exit plane can be found 55% of the axial chord length of the H
TEC TEGV downstream of its trailing edge and also 130% axial chord length of the reference
TEC downstream. The measurement grid covers one TEGV or a strut pitch and about 95%
passage height. The fivehole probe was traversed along radial lines. In each measurement
point the probe has been aligned with the flow vector to reach the highest accuracy and further
to ensure not to exceed the calibration range of the probe (with these probes, it would not have
been necessary if one can ensure to be always within the calibration range).
In order to calculate the sound power (propagating downstream) from measured sound
pressures, 12 flush mounted condenser microphones (1/4) at the hub and 12 at the casing have
been applied. The microphones have been located in the rotatable acoustic measurement
section that can be rotated 360 with arbitrary step size. In addition to these microphones one
additional microphone was mounted at a stationary position downstream of the TEGV's as
well as struts trailing edge and is used as a reference. The complete sound field was detected
at the hub and the casing by traversing the section 360 in steps of 2. Some more detailed
information about the acoustic measurement section is given in Moser et al. [6] and in
Faustmann et al. [7].
2.3.1. Measurement uncertainty
The measurement system is made up by 11 multichannel pressure transducers PSI 9016 with
a total amount of 176 channels and an accuracy of 0.05% full scale for pressure measurements.
Four National Instruments Field Point FPTC120 eightchannel thermocouple input modules
and one FPRTD122 resistance thermometer input module is used. Table 3 shows the
measurement uncertainties (within a 95% confidence interval) of the fivehole probe meas
urements. These values contain an error due to the multiparameter approximation, random
error and the systematic error of the pressure transducers. The difference between the positive
and the negative direction is a result of the multiparameter approximation. The measurement
uncertainties of the static pressure and the total pressure at test rig inlet as well as at stage inlet
are 1 mbar. Uncertainties for total pressure measurements up and downstream of the TEGVs
are also in the range of 1 mbar. The overall uncertainty of the total pressure loss coefficient
is estimated to be about 0.0014. The random fluctuation of rotational speed is below 0.2%
of the current operating speed. Measurement uncertainty of the temperature measurement is
about 0.5 K. The daytoday variation of the operating parameters such as pressure ratio,
corrected speed, rotational speed, total pressure and temperature at rig inlet has been below
0.5%.
Ma +0.006 -0.003 [/]
+0.5 -0.08 []
pt +3.3 -3.0 [mbar]
p +5.3 -5.2 [mbar]
Table 3. Measurement uncertainties of the five-hole probe.
3. Acoustic analysis theoretical background
The acoustic analysis consists of four constitutive parts:
phase averaging and adaptive resampling;

modal decomposition;
azimuthal and radial mode analysis; and
computation of sound power.
After performing a Fast Fourier Transformation the sound pressure can be described as sum
of acoustical modes propagating along the duct at a specific frequency. These modes are able
to propagate in circumferential as well as in radial direction depending on the cuton frequency.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62431
3.1. Phase averaging and adaptive resampling
In order to determine the acoustic effects a phase locked averaging is done. For the twospool
rig the phase of one of the two rotors is chosen. A shaft encoder from the monitoring system
generates a pulse per revolution signal indicating start and end of one revolution. Triggering
the flow is performed according to the triple decomposition procedure, which characterize a
single source of periodic unsteadiness [8].
p ( t ) = p + p + p '(t ) (1)
The time dependent pressure p(t) is composed as sum of the averaged pressure, the purely
periodic component p associated with a coherent periodic structure and the random fluctua
tion p '(t) that is mainly associated with turbulence.
Each revolution is divided into a fixed number of samples in order to correct small rotational
speed variations of the rotor shaft [9]. The average of the samples at the same phase gives the
phase averaged values. That procedure is well established and allows the identification of
structures correlated to the rotor rotational speed. For a twospool rig all fluctuations of flow
quantities induced by the other rotor are removed. Also, depending on which trigger signal is
used for the analysis acoustic effects from the HProtor or the LProtor can be determined.
3.2. Modal decomposition
The acoustic field at any circumferential position can be written as superposition of several
space and time dependent sound pressure waves (acoustic modes). The propagation of that
1 2 p
pressure waves is described by the linearised wave equation c 2 t 2
p = 0. The solution of that
equation is represented by the general expression (given in many publications, e.g. [1014]):
p ( x, r ,j , t ) = m =-

n=0 (A +
+ ikmn
mn e x -
) r
e x f mn s mn eimj eiwt
- ikmn
+ Amn
R (2)
+ +
Amn , Amn are the complex modal amplitudes of order (m,n). kmn and kmn represent the axial
wave numbers, is the angular frequency. The modal shape factor f mn depends on the
eigenvalues of the Bessel function mn and the geometry given by the hubtotipradius ratio
r
R . f mn represents the solution of the Bessel differential equation, describing the radial acoustic
field considering hard wall boundary conditions [15, 16] and is defined as:
r 1 r r
f mn s mn = J mn s mn + QmnYmn s mn (3)
R Fmn R R
J mn and Y mn are the Bessel functions of mth order of first and second kind. Qmn is also an
eigenvalue and F mn is a normalisation factor transforming the system from an orthogonal to
an orthonormal eigensystem [15, 16].
The axial wave numbers depend on the local flow properties, such as axial Mach number M aax
and the swirl number . For the following investigations the swirl is approximated by a rigid
body rotation of a steady flow, which leads to a modification of the wave number definition

[17]: k = k m c . The axial wave numbers are then calculated as follows:

%k
- Ma 1 - (1 - Ma 2 ) s mn
2

kmn = (4)
1 - Maax %
2 ax ax 2
k R

Physical and geometrical conditions allow only the propagation of a certain number of specific

mode combinations (m,n) along the duct. The axial wave number kmn has to be real; otherwise

the result of Eq. (2) will yield to an exponential sound pressure decay if kmn is a complex
number. The frequency at which a mode (m,n) is first able to propagate is defined by the cuton
frequency:
mWR
(kR) mn = 1 - Ma ax
2
s mn + (5)
c
mR
The swirl factor c shifts the cuton frequency to higher or lower values, depending on the
sign of . Or in other words, for a specific frequency modes to be cut on are also shifted to
higher or lower azimuthal mode orders m, hence the propagating mode distribution becomes
asymmetric. The specific modes propagating through a duct downstream of a turbomachine
stage result from the rotorstator interaction and are specified by a simple mathematical
relation proposed by Tyler and Sofrin [5]:
m = hB kV; k = L, -2,-1,0, +1, +2,L (6)
h represents the harmonic index (e.g. 1 for the first blade passing frequency, 2 for the second,
etc.), and B and V are the number of rotor blades and the number of stator vanes, respectively.
According to Eq. (1) it is possible to determine the interactions of the rotor with a complete
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62431
vane assembly by simply superimposing the effect of the single event. For a statorrotorstator
assembly the modes can be predicted easily when extending Eq. (6).
m = hB k1V1 k2V2 ; k1,2 = L, -2,-1,0, +1, +2,L (7)
3.3. Azimuthal and radial mode analysis
The computation of the propagating sound field in a turbomachine is based on the determi

nation of the amplitudes Amn in Eq. (2). That means that the sound pressure at several axial
and circumferential positions has to be measured first, e.g. by means of a microphone array.
Then the radial mode analysis (RMA) described, e.g. in Holste and Neise [13], Tapken and
Enghardt [15], and Enghardt et al. [12, 18] is applied. The RMA is a methodology used for the
modal decomposition of an induct acoustic field. The data is used to reconstruct at specific
times the instantaneous circumferential pressure distribution. The application of a spatial
Fourier Transformation over this data set represents the first action and is called azimuthal
mode analysis (AMA):
(8)

In order to determine the complex amplitudes Amn at a specific angular frequency for each
azimuthal mode m Eq. (2) can be written as [18, 19]:
A m ( x, r ) = n = 0

(A +
+ ikmn
mn e x -
- ikmn
+ Amn )

r
e x f mn s mn
R
(9)
For each azimuthal mode order m a linear equation system Am = WmAmn can be found. Since
this equation system is (usually) highly overdetermined, a leastmeansquare fit algorithm is
used to solve that inverse problem.
3.4. Computation of sound power
Considering the energy carried by each individual mode in a hard walled duct, the effective
sound power can be determined according to Morfey [17]:
(10)
2mn
The complex factor mn = 1 (1 Ma2ax) (kR)2 contains the definition of the cuton frequency.
4. Research on TECs
Figures 3 and 4 show the sound power level (PWL) of different azimuthal mode orders m that
are cuton. The PWL is evaluated for the first blade passing frequency (BPF) at the operating
point approach. The black bars in both figures indicate the sound power level of sound waves
propagating in flow direction PW L + and the gray bars show the PWL of propagating waves
against flow direction PW L . The dotted lines in the figures indicate the noise level of the
measurements. The microphones are mounted on a vibrating machine which causes some
systematic error.
Figure 3. Sound power level of the reference TEC (left) and the leaned TEC (right).
Figure 4. Sound power level of the inverse cutoff TEC (left) and the HTEC (right).
Together with noise generated due to the evaluation technique and noise related to the
measurement error the depicted level of overall noise floor can be assumed. Figure 3 (left and
right) shows the sound power level for the reference TEC and the leaned TEC, respectively.
For the leaned TEC it can be seen that the overall PWL is about 8dB lower than that of the
reference TEC. Comparison of the inverse cutoff TEC (Figure 4 (left)) with the reference TEC
shows that PW L is about 5dB lower for the inverse cutoff TEC. Figure 3 (left) and Figure 4
(right) show again the sound power level of different azimuthal mode order m that are cuton
for the two TEC configurations (reference and HTEC). Both are again evaluated for the first
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62431
BPF at operating point approach. The sound power level of the HTEC configuration is about
1dB lower than for the reference TEC. The noise reduction levels mentioned above also contain
nonrepresentative modes that belong to interaction modes with certain test rig components.
These modes are created for example due to interaction of the sound field and the rear
supporting struts at rig exit resulting in additional scattered modes. The difference in overall
sound power level of the first BPF PWL = PWL PW L ref in and against flow direction as well
as the sum of both is also given in Table 4.
Configuration PW L +
PW L
PW L
Reference TEC 0.0 [dB] 0.0 [dB] 0.0 [dB]
Leaned TEC -8.1 [dB] -7.8 [dB] -8.1 [dB]
Inv. cutoff TEC -5.2 [dB] -8.2 [dB] -5.4 [dB]
H-TEC -0.6 [dB] -8.6 [dB] -1.0 [dB]
Table 4. Overall sound power level change for 1BPF.
Evaluating only engine relevant specific airfoil interactions shows a different trend than that
depicted in Table 4. Table 5 shows the azimuthal airfoil interaction mode orders (cuton
modes) and also scattered modes calculated according to the equation of Tyler and Sofrin [5].
Mode orders higher than 17 are cut off. The main interaction mode of the rotor with the TEGV
of the reference TEC, leaned TEC, and the HTEC is cuton and clearly visible (see Figures 3
and 4).
Configuration IGV-Rotor Vane-Rotor Rotor-TEC

Reference TEC -4, +11 -6, +9 -12, +3
Leaned TEC -4, +11 -6, +9 -12, +3
Inverse cutoff TEC +11 Cutoff Cutoff
H-TEC +11 Cutoff Cuton
Table 5. Airfoil interaction modes m.
Table 6 shows how the sound power level changes (compared to the reference TEC) when
considering only the main airfoil interaction modes given in Table 5. It can be seen that the
inverse cutoff TEC achieves the highest reduction in sound power level (14dB) of all investi
gated configurations. The leaned TEC reduces PWL by about 11dB, but that means that it is
still twice as loud as the inverse cutoff TEC. The aerodynamically optimized HTEC even
increases the sound power level by about 2dB. At aero design point both TECs, the refer
ence TEC and the leaned TEC have the same PWL. The aerodynamically optimized HTEC
is about 1dB louder than the reference TEC and the inverse cutoff TEC reduces PWL by
about 3dB which is half as loud as the reference TEC.
Configuration PW L +
PW L
PW L
Reference TEC 0.0 [dB] 0.0 [dB] 0.0 [dB]
Leaned TEC -11.3 [dB] -9.4 [dB] -11.2 [dB]
Inverse cutoff TEC -13.8 [dB] -17.7 [dB] -14.0 [dB]
H-TEC +2.4 [dB] -11.5 [dB] +2.0 [dB]
Table 6. Sound power level change for 1BPF (airfoil interaction modes).
Considering only modes due to the TEC interaction and the scattering of modes at the TEC
it can be seen that the inverse cutoff TEC even reduces PWL by 94dB(!), because that mode
is cut off. The leaned TEC has a reduced PWL of 11dB and the HTEC is again increasing
the PWL by about 2dB. In addition to the acoustic measurements fivehole probe measure
ments have been performed in order to compare the aerodynamics (loss estimation) of the
three different TEC configurations with that of the stateoftheart reference TEC.
Figure 5. Mach number distribution (left) and yaw angle distribution (right) at TEC inlet.
4.1. TEGV inlet flow: plane C
Comparing the TEGV inlet conditions of the different measurement campaigns for the
different TEC configurations reveals only minor differences in flow quantities due to the
upstream potential effect of the turbine exit guide vanes of TEC. The circumferentially mass
averaged radial Mach number distribution show insignificant differences between the
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configurations (Figure 5 (left); 1 tick mark=0.1). Also the yaw angle is almost the same for all
three configurations as can be seen in Figure 5 (right) (1 tick mark=20), the difference is also
negligible. The largest difference between the TEC configurations can be seen at the tip above
90% channel height.
4.2. TEGV outlet flow: plane D0, D
Figure 6. shows Mach number and yaw angle distribution downstream of the TEGVs. HTEC
and inverse cutoff TEC show a much more uniform distribution of the yaw angle at TEGV exit
than the leaned and the reference TEC due to the higher vane count, thus, significantly
improving the inflow conditions to a following component such as a mixer. Due to the fact
that the inverse cutoff and the HTEC does not consider additional blockage because of the
higher TEGV count the Mach number in plane D could be possibly slightly higher than for the
reference and the leaned TEC (same TEGV count).
Figure 6. Mach number distribution (left) and yaw angle distribution (right) at TEC outlet.
4.3. Loss estimation
p t ,C p t ,D
A rough estimation of the total pressure loss coefficient = p t ,C pex from plane C upstream of
the TEGVs to plane D downstream of the TEGVs is done. The total pressure has been mass
averaged by means of the fivehole probe data. Table 7 compares the change of total pressure
loss of the three configurations. The loss coefficients have been normalised with the total
pressure loss coefficient ref of the reference configuration. Inverse cutoff, the leaned TEC as
well as the HTEC configuration show higher loss coefficients than the reference TEC. That
means that all configurations produce higher losses for the acoustically important operating
point approach and it seems that they are more sensitive at off design conditions. However,
the difference between the leaned and the inverse cutoff TECs is very small and within the
measurement uncertainty.

Total pressure loss
ref
Configuration C-D C-D0
Ref. TEC 1.0 -
Leaned TEC 1.6 -
Inverse cutoff TEC 1.6 1.6
H-TEC 1.3 0.9
Table 7. Total pressure loss.
Further, it can be seen that the losses increase from plane D0 to D for the HTEC. The losses
are nearly constant for the inverse cutoff TEC from plane D0 to D. However, pressure loss
measurements at aero design point showed a significant loss reduction from plane C to D for
both, the aerodynamically optimised HTEC and the inverse cutoff TEC when compared with

the reference TEC ref = 0.9. A comparison between the leaned TEC and the reference TEC show

similar losses so that ref 1.
Figure 7. Comparison of modal PWL at LPT exit for two different stages; identical shaft power.
During the last decades a lot of institutions investigated the possibility to reduce engine weight
by reducing the blade count of a low pressure rotor leading to highly loaded or even ultra
highloaded turbine blades. Therefore, also the acoustical behaviour of such a rotor compared
to a stateoftheart design is investigated. At first, the results for the designated, acoustically
relevant offdesign point approach for the two rotors, called OP1 for the datum stage (higher
rotational speed) and OP2 for the high loaded stage (lower rotational speed), are shown. Due
to the change in loading of 20%, the resulting rotational speed for the two geometries differs
by 10% (see Table 1). Figure 7 shows a comparison of the sound power level of different
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azimuthal mode orders evaluated for the first blade passing frequency (BPF) for the two
different rotor setups. The cutoff criteria for the two operating points shows that for operating
point 1 (OP1), the number of propagating modes is 39 (19) whereas for operating point 2
(OP2), the number of propagating modes is only 35 (17). Positive modes rotate against the
rotational direction of the rotor and negative modes rotate in the same direction as the rotor.
The figure also clearly shows that modes dominating the sound field are different for the two
rotor configurations.
Figure 8. Comparison of modal PWL for propagating modes (rotorTEGVinteraction).
Figure 9. Comparison of modal PWL for propagating modes (rotorstatorinteraction).
The dominant modes for the OP1 with the datum rotor are the modes m=6 and +10, towering
the next highest modes by approximately 4dB. While the mode 6 is predicted by Tyler and
Sofrin, the mode m=+10 could not be calculated. When, due to the higher loading of the second
stage, the rotational speed is lowered, the modal distribution of the resulting flow field
changes. The dominant mode for OP2 is the mode 5, that is, 2dB higher than the second
highest mode m=+10. The overall sound power level of the two configurations is shown in
Figure 8. It can be seen that the PWL of the high loaded rotor with reduced rotational speed
is reduced by 0.7dB. Considering only the propagating modes predicted according to the
theory of Tyler and Sofrin, the high loaded rotor shows a 2.5dB lower PWL. The difference in
power level between propagating modes according to Tyler and Sofrin and considering all
modes found in the measurements is approximately 5dB. The highest modes found in the
analysis (m=+10 for OP1 and m=5 for OP2) of the measurement data are not attributable to
Tyler and Sofrin. It is assumed that nonTyler Sofrin modes are increased for the highly loaded
stage. Also, the sound power due to airfoil lift is assumed to be higher for the high loaded
rotor. In addition, Figure 8 depicts the modal PWLs of the TylerSofrin modes of the interaction
between the rotor and the TEGVs.
The modes according to Tyler and Sofrin are m=12, m=+3, and m=+18. For the datum stage
the highest amplitude for the rotorTEGV interaction mode is for m=+3. For the high loaded
stage both modes m=12 and m=+3 show the same power level amplitude. Mode m=18 is cut
off for the high load stage. Its contribution to the overall power level for the datum stage is
negligible. Figure 9 depicts the modal sound power levels of the statorrotor interaction. The
main interaction mode would be the mode m=+24 that is cut off.
However, due to the small axial distance between stator and rotor the mode has not fully
decayed and a scattering of that mode at the TEGVs is possible resulting in additional modes
m=+9 and m=6. The remaining interactions between the rotor and the inlet guide vane of the
testrig are depicted in Figure 10.
Figure 10. Comparison of modal PWL for propagating modes (rotorIGVinteraction).
The mode m=4 has the highest PWL for both configurations, but is still approximately 7dB
lower than the sum of the Tyler and Sofrin modes. The mode m=11 is significantly lower as
well as the mode m=19. This mode is only cuton and therefore able to propagate for the datum
stage but is cut off and cannot propagate for the high loaded one. Comparing the different
PWLs due to the interactions according to Taylor and Sofrin, the largest contributors to the
overall PWL for the high loaded stage are interactions between the rotor and the TEGV as well
as the mode m=6, which is a rotorstator interaction. For the datum stage the rotorTEGV
interaction (m=+3) and the rotorIGV interaction (m=4) are the main contributors to the overall
sound power level.
4.4. TEGV pressure loss estimation
Also for that investigation a rough estimation of the total pressure loss coefficient from plane
C upstream to plane D downstream of the TEGVs is done by means of the fivehole probe data.
Table 8 shows the total pressure loss coefficients between both configurations. They have been
normalised with the total pressure loss coefficient ref of the reference configuration. The losses
produced by the TEGV are slightly increased by about 16% for the high stage loading stage
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upstream the TEGV than for the datum stage. It seems that flow structures from the rotor are
mixed out in that TEC region and that the high loaded rotor produces flow structures resulting
in higher mixing losses.

Total pressure loss
ref
Configuration C-D
Datum stage 1.0
High loading stage 1.16
Table 8. Total pressure loss.
5. Research on TCFs
5.1. Frequency spectra analysis
The frequency spectra in Figure 11 (left and right) report the comparison between the two
setups C1 (black) and C3 (red). Figure 11 (left) shows that the highest amplitudes may be
identified at the blade passing frequency of the HP rotor and its first harmonic. The red graph
is shifted by 100 Hz for a better visibility.
Figure 11. Frequency spectra of the timesignal reconstructed by the HP trigger for the setup without splitters (red)
and with splitters (black). Right: Frequency spectra of the microphone array for the sum of the BPF of the two rotors
after rotor synchronic averaging; without splitters (red) and with splitters (black).
An opposite trend is observed at the BP F LP + BP F HP , where the amplitude is 10dB lower than
the one of the HP rotor alone. The amplitude at the frequency 2BP F HP BP F LP is almost the
same as the logarithmic sum of the two rotors. Nearly 20dB difference in the sound pressure
level is observed between the amplitudes of the HP and the LP rotor. At BP F LP the pattern
of the peaks of the two different setups is like the one at BP F LP + BP F HP .
5.2. Azimuthal mode analysis BPF
An overview of the propagating modes is given in Table 9 for the different blade passing
frequencies. The modes are asymmetric, because the theoretical prediction taken into account
for a swirl model [20].
Frequency Range of the modes
BP F HP -44 : 8 : 36
2BP F HP -96 : 8 : 80
BP F LP -32 : 8 : 24
2BP F LP -64 : 8 : 48
BP F LP + BP F HP -84 : 8 : 68
Table 9. Range for the propagating modes dependent on the BPF.
5.3. HP rotor noise
For explanation of the complex pattern of the sound field due to the vane/blade interactions,
the modes predicted by Tyler and Sofrin at the BP F HP are listed for the baseline setup (also
given in Lengani et al. [21]): HP statorHP rotor interaction creates modes
m = 36 + k24 = .. 36; 12; 12; 36. HP rotorLP stator interaction results in modes
m = 36 + k16 = .. 28; 12; 4; 20; 36. The interaction of HP statorHP rotorLP stator creates modes
m = 36 + k124 + k216 = .. 44; 36; 28; 20; 12; 4; 4; 12; 20; 28. These modes may be identified
in Figure 12 on the left side for the baseline configuration C1. The picture shows the sound
pressure level (SPL) for the BP F HP in dB, for the different azimuthal mode orders m. In
Figure 12 propagating modes are marked with black bars. It is clear that the propagating mode
ranges from mode 44 to +36. Mode orders m < 44 and m > + 36 are cut off; however, a low
amplitude is visible; hence they are not fully decayed within the duct. Furthermore, all modes
with high amplitudes can be predicted according to Eq. (7) as linear combination of HP vane
HP bladeLP stator, and they are scattered by 8 (see also Table 9). Hence, noise emanated from
the HP rotor has to be attributed to its interaction with the upand downstream vanes. For the
splitter setup the prediction of modes for the HProtorLP stator interaction as well as for the
HP statorHP rotorLP stator interaction can be done with different vane numbers. The LP
vane count may be considered equal to 48 because of the 32 additional splitters. However the
geometry of the splitters is not the same as the one of the struts and the splitter leading edge
is far downstream in the strut passage, but for a first estimation it can be assumed that the
interaction is similar. Therefore, the theory of Tyler and Sofrin is not fully satisfied but can be
applied. For the interaction of HP statorHP rotorLP vanes the following modes may be
predicted in the ideal case of assumed 48 identical LP vanes:
m = 36 + k124 + k248 = .. 36; 12; 12; 36; Without this assumption and further considering that
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LP vanes and splitters as separate vane rows (HP statorHP rotorLP vanesplitter interaction)
the modes can again be obtained from this simple linear combination:
36 + k1 24 + k2 32 + k3 16 = .. - 44; -36; - 28; -20; - 12; -4; 4;12;20;28;36
The modes propagating in the case of the splitter setup are shown on the right side of
Figure 12. The modes, which change significantly between the two setups, are labelled in the
picture. Particularly, the power levels of modes m = 44 and m = 28 are significantly reduced
by almost 20dB for the configuration with splitters. Also the amplitude of mode m = + 28 is
10dB lower. It should be noticed that these modes are not predicted assuming the ideal LP
vane number of 48. It seems that the presence of splitter vanes changes the acoustic transmis
sion of sound waves through the LP vanes for modes which are instead propagating for the
baseline case. Further, modes from HP statorHP rotor interaction are partially scattered at the
leading edges of the 16 LP vanes and partially scattered further downstream in the LP vane
passage at the 32 splitter leading edges. The modes mean value in the setup with the splitters
is 5dB lower than the one in the baseline setup.
Figure 12. Azimuthal mode analysis of the flow with the HP trigger; without splitters (left) and with splitters (right).
5.4. LP rotor noise
Figure 13 depicts the sound power levels of the modal decomposition for the BP F LP . This figure
shows the baseline configuration on the left side and the splitter configuration on the right
side. The interaction of the LP vane and the LP blade generates the following modes:
m = 72 + k16 = .. 72; 56; 40; 24; 8; 8; 24. These modes can be clearly identified in the left
side of Figure 13, and are additionally indicated in black. The highest sound pressure level is
observed for mode m = 24. Inbetween 24 < m < 24 other modes are blackened (e.g.
m = 16, 0, + 16) that can be predicted when the linear combination of LP vane and blade
additionally considers the interaction with the HP vane ( 72 + k116 + k224). However, the
interaction between the HP vane and LP blade is weak (e.g. there is a difference of more than
20dB between mode m = 24 and m = 16). Modes 72, 56, and 40 are still visible in the figure.
These modes are generated by the LP rotor itself and by the LP statorLP rotor interaction.
However, those modes are cut off and therefore have a lower amplitude than the cuton modes.
The cutoff modes will decay further downstream of the duct. In the case of the splitter setup
(right side of Figure 13), again a different LP vane count may be considered. Ideally, the LP
vaneLP rotor interaction would consist of the modes: m = 72 + k48 = .. 72; 24; 24. Mode
m = 24 has still the highest amplitude; however it is now in the same order of magnitude of
the amplitude of mode m = 8. In the assumed ideal case of the splitter setup, mode m = 8
should not be there. However, as observed by Spataro et al. [22, 23] the unsteady effects
induced by strut and splitter vane wakes differ considerably downstream of the LP rotor. The
modes generated due to the interaction of the 48 LP vanes with the LP blades may be predicted
when the modes are scattered at the 16 struts (e.g. mode m = 8 is obtained adding the 16 vanes
to mode 24). In the case of the splitter setup, the mode m = 8 is more than 20dB higher than
in the baseline case. Also the sound pressure level of the modes generated due to the interaction
HP vanesLP vanesLProtor is altered. It seems that the splitter design shifts the important
modes to lower orders (e.g. mode 8 which was hardly identifiable for the baseline setup). As
can be seen in the mean spectrum (Figure 11 (right)), the modes mean value is almost 3dB
lower for the baseline configuration.
Figure 13. Azimuthal mode analysis of the flow with the LP trigger; without splitters (left) and with splitters (right).
Also for the splitter setup the modes m = 72, 56 are cut off as previously discussed for the
baseline design. Mode m = 40 is significantly reduced by more than 20dB in the splitter
configuration. The high sound pressure level at the BP F LP may be due to the effect of shifting
modes towards lower orders and not necessarily to an enhanced unsteady interaction.
Unsteady measurements by means of a fast response aerodynamic pressure probe down
stream of the LP rotor reported in Spataro et al. [23] revealed that the unsteady pressure
fluctuations, evaluated for the LP rotor phase, are of comparable order of magnitude for both
setups.
In Figure 14 the sound power levels of the modal decomposition is shown for the sum of the
blade passing frequencies of the two rotors ( BP F LP + BP F HP ) for the baseline setup (left) and
the setup with splitters (right). The modes mean value is almost the same for both setups.
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However, there are some predominant modes clearly visible. Its amplitudes changing up to
23dB and results from stator/rotor/stator/rotor interaction. Although mode m = 28 has one of
the highest sound power levels for the baseline setup, its amplitude is significantly reduced
for the splitter design. But in the case of the splitters, other modes like m = 20 and m = 4 appear,
with amplitudes that are 20dB and 14dB, respectively, higher than in the baseline setup.
Therefore the sound pressure level of both setups is almost the same for that specific frequency
(sum of the blade passing frequencies of the two rotors). The largest reduction of the modes
mean amplitude for the splitter setup is associated to the HP rotor. There is a 5dB lower
amplitude at the BP F HP compared to the baseline design. At 2BP F HP the results and trends of
the azimuthal mode analysis are similar. A sound pressure level reduction of 4dB was
achieved with the splitter design. In contrast, the sound pressure level at BP F LP and 2BP F LP
is 3dB lower for the setup without splitters, and at the BP F LP + BP F HP it is nearly the same in
both cases.
Figure 14. Azimuthal mode analysis of the flow with the two triggers; without splitters (left) and with splitters (right).
Figure 15. Section of the HP an LP stage showing the different clocking positions.
The comparison of the baseline setup C1 and the shortened setup C2 showed an increase of
the sound pressure level between 5 and 9dB dependent on the operating point. Especially the
interaction modes between the struts and the LP rotor increase due to the 10% shortening of
the duct length.
As a next step the influence of airfoil clocking on the acoustics was investigated. The results
of this investigation of noise generation and propagation for different clocking positions (CP)
of the HP vanes and the struts are presented. A meridional section presenting the six vane
vane positions can be found in Figure 15.
Figure 16. Radial mode analysis with reference to the HP trigger.
The sound power levels for BP F HP both in positive (gray bars in Figure 16) and in negative
(white bars in Figure 16) flow direction were calculated and plotted for all the radial modes
over the azimuthal modes at the abscissa. Furthermore an overall sound power level was
determined by logarithmic addition for both directions of propagation. Further, Figure 16
shows the sound power level in decibel (dB) over the propagatable azimuthal modes m
summed over the radial mode order n in the up and downstream direction for all clocking
positions (CP1CP6).
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Several interaction modes are clearly visible in the figures. The amplitudes of these significant
modes are 20dB larger than those of the noninteraction modes. In particular, the modes
m = 20 and m = 12 are dominant for all clocking positions except CP4 here the mode m = 4 is
higher than m = 12. Clocking position CP4 is that relative statorstator position, where the sum
of the most significant modes has its minimum. For the following discussion only the six
dominating modes with the highest sound power levels are considered. With this analysis of
certain modes the origin of a higher or a lower overall sound power level dependent on the
clocking position can be determined. The most significant modes, which can be derived from
different stator/rotor/stator interactions that can be predicted with Eq. (6) or Eq. (7), are selected
and compared for all the different clocking positions. These interaction modes have the most
influence on the overall sound power level, because if the difference between two incoherent
sound signals is larger than 10dB, the acoustic source with the smaller level has no noticeable
influence on the sum of the power levels. The following significant azimuthal interaction
modes (HP stator, HP rotor, and TMTF) were predicted:
m = 36 + k124 + k216 = .. 20; 12; 4; 4; 12; 20; . Mode m = 20 has the highest amplitude. This
mode rises over the first three clocking positions (see Figure 17) reaching its maximum at
clocking position 3, which is close to the optimum aerodynamic clocking position.
Figure 17. Six most dominant modes at seven different clocking positions.
Defining the optimum aerodynamic clocking position was performed by means of pretest
CFD calculations. In that way, most of the wakes of the HP stator impinge on the leading edges
of the TMTF struts [24]. It is important that mode m = 20 can only be predicted by the
interactions of HP stator, HP rotor and the TMTF. It is assumed that this particular mode
originates from an effect where the TMTF plays a significant role. That means that the wakes
of the HP stator impinge on the leading edges of the struts and the flow through the strut
passage remains more or less undisturbed. However, the flow downstream the turning mid
turbine frame shows larger differences of flow quantities between the wake and the main
passage flow. By changing the relative vanevane position (=clocking also known as stator
indexing) to the fourth clocking position the amplitude of m = 20 is reduced. For the next two
clocking positions 5 and 6 the sound power level remains almost the same. The high sound
power level of mode m = 20 is due to the vane/rotor/strut interaction. However, this mode is
neither predicted by the HP statorHP rotor interaction nor by the HP rotor/TMTF interaction.
The unsteady interaction of the HPstage is scattered by the downstream turning struts in the
flow path. Mode m = 20 is generated by the scattering of the HPstage interaction at the TMTF.
Figure 17 shows that the sound power levels of mode m = 12 decrease from clocking position
1 to 4 and increase again from clocking position 4 to 6. The minimum sound power level can
be seen at clocking position 4. The mode m = 12 is either generated by the HP statorHP rotor
interaction or by the HP rotorTMTF interaction. In case of mode m = 12 the strongest influence
of the different clocking positions can be determined. This particular mode is reduced by 4dB
when changing the relative vanevane position from CP1 to CP4. For the modes m = + 12 and
m = + 20 a similar trend to mode m = 12 can be observed. These modes also show significant
changes of the sound power levels of up to 3dB due to different relative positions of the HP
vanes and the TMTF struts. Both modes reach their minimum sound power level at clocking
position 5, whereas the level of the amplitudes is decreasing from 1 to 4. The mode m = + 12 is
generated by the interaction of the HP vanes and the HP blades but also by scattering of the
HP stage interaction modes at the TMTF. The mode m = + 20 is always generated in conjunction
with the TMTFvanes, either with the HP rotor or with the HP stage. While the amplitude of
mode m = 4 seems to be almost constant for all clocking positions, mode m = + 4 changes from
CP2 to CP6 by 4dB, whereas at the last clocking position the amplitude of m=+4 has its lowest
value. Both modes are the result of the interaction of the HPstage and the TMTF. Summing
up the sound power levels (depicted in Figure 17) reveals that there is a minimum sound power
at clocking position CP4. A difference in sound power level of app. 2dB between the acousti
cally best (CP4) and worst (CP2) clocking position is observed.
6. Conclusions
Three different turbine exit casings with different turbine exit guide vane (TEGV) designs have
been compared to a stateoftheart (reference) TEGV design. The possible reduction of sound
power levels when applying the different designs and a rough estimation of the aerodynamic
losses have been presented. When comparing the overall reduction of PWL (only considering
the main airfoil interaction modes) it was revealed that the acoustically optimised inverse
cutoff TEC has the largest reduction of sound power level of 14dB. The aerodynamically
optimised HTEC even increases the overall sound power level by about 2dB. The leaned TEC
also decreases the PWL by about 11dB, but is still as twice as loud as the inverse cutoff TEC.
However, for the operating point approach the aerodynamic losses are increased for all TEC
designs. The losses measured at the aero design point are lower for the aerodynamically
optimised HTEC and the inverse cutoff TEC than for the reference TEC. Both, the HTEC and
the inverse cutoff TEC provide a much more uniform yaw angle distribution downstream of
the trailing edge. These results give confidence that it is possible to design an aerodynamically
and acoustically optimised TEC. Further, the effect of a change in stage design onto a TEGV
with a compound lean was investigated and presented in this chapter. It was shown that while
keeping the shaft power constant, the noise emissions downstream of the TEGV can be reduced
by 0.7dB for the given geometry and operating point. This decrease in sound power level is
not caused by a decrease in interactions, but rather by acoustic modes not attributable to these
interactions. The overall sound power level of the modes is increased by 0.3dB. When having
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the same rotational speed for the high loaded stage and the datum stage, the main interaction
modes are identical. In addition to that main modes, several additional modes are found, that
have been leading to an overall increase in sound power level. The TEGV inlet flow show only
minor differences between the two stage designs. The main change occurs in the tip region.
The main flow features of the TEGV exit flow remain identical. But it was observed that the
shape of the wake changes due to the changes in the rotor tip leakage flow upstream of the
TEGV. This increases the total pressure loss of the TEGV by approximately 16%.
Because of the possible significant reduction of the generated noise at the turbine exit casing
noise from more upstream engine components such as the turbine centre frame can become a
problem. Therefore, the noise generation between high pressure turbine, turbine centre frame,
and low pressure turbine was investigated. Three different setups have been compared to each
other. A baseline case C1 is designed with turning struts. A second design C2 reduces the axial
length of the turbine centre frame. The third design C3 is characterized by the presence of two
nonlifting splitters embedded into the strut passage. In the frequency spectra, the peak at the
BP F HP is 3dB lower for the splitter setup. In the azimuthal mode analysis the difference is even
higher. The sound power level decreased 5dB at the BP F HP for the setup with the splitters.
Additionally, both the frequency spectra and the azimuthal mode analysis have shown that
the noise generated by the LP rotor is slightly higher for the setup with the splitters. The splitter
design is suppressing some modes, while others are scattered or are even more pronounced
than in the baseline configuration. The splitters reduce the overall noise propagation by 5dB
acting as a cutoff filter for the HP stage rotor. The comparison of the baseline setup C1 and the
shortened setup C2 showed an increase of the sound pressure level between 5 and 9dB
dependent on the operating point. Additionally, an experimental investigation in order to
explore the potential of different vanevane clocking positions on the noise generation and
propagation was conducted. The six most significant modes have been analyzed regarding
their sound power levels for the six clocking positions. The modes varied in their absolute
values for the sound power and also their trend over the clocking positions changed. An
optimum clocking position for acoustics was found, but it does not to coincide with the
optimum aerodynamic clocking position. The difference of the overall sound power level for
the six most relevant modes between the optimum acoustic clocking position (CP4) and the
aerodynamic one (CP3) is about 2dB.
7. Nomenclature
Abbreviations
ACARE Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe
AMA Azimuthal mode analysis
BPF Blade passing frequency

C1, C2, C3 Configuration 1, 2, 3
CP1,,CP6 Clocking position 1 to 6
EGV Exit guide vanes
HP High pressure
HPT High pressure turbine
IGV Inlet guide vanes
LP Low pressure
LPT Low pressure turbine
OP1, OP2 Operating point 1, 2
PWL Sound power level
RMA Radial mode analysis
SPL Sound pressure level
STTFAAAI Subsonic test turbine facility for aerodynamic, acoustic, and aeroelastic investigations
TCF Turbine centre frame
TEC Turbine exit casing
TEGV Turbine exit guide vanes
TMTF Turning mid turbine frame
TTTF Transonic test turbine facility
T&S Tyler and Sofrin modes
Symbols
A Complex amplitude
B Number of blades
c Velocity, speed of sound
F Normalisation factor
f Modal shape factor
h Channel height
h Harmonic index, integer number
i Imaginary unit
J Bessel function of first kind
k Wave number
k Integer number
Ma Mach number
m Azimuthal mode order
P Sound power
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62431
p Pressure
Q Eigenvalue of the Bessel function
Re Reynolds number
r Radius
R Outer radius
t Time
V Number of vanes
Y Bessel function of second kind
Yaw angle
Axial wave number considering cuton frequency
Circumferential position
Angular frequency
Angular frequency of swirl
Eigenvalues of the Bessel function
Density (air)
Pressure loss coefficient
Laplace operator, delta
<> Deterministic periodic component
Index
1,2,3,.. Stage count
ax axial
C, D Measurement planes
ex Exhaust casing
HTEC High lift design TEC
inv. Inverse cutoff TEC
leaned Leaned TEC
m Azimuthal mode order
n Radial mode order
ref Reference
t Total
Superscripts
Time averaged properties
Ensemble averaged properties, modified wave number
Stochastic fluctuations
Mass averaged
+ Propagation in flow direction
Propagation against flow direction
Author details
Andreas Marn1*, Christian Faustmann2 and Thorsten Selic3
*Address all correspondence to: andreas.marn@tugraz.at
1 Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and Machine Dynamics, Graz University of

Technology, Graz, Austria
2 Audi AG, Ingolstadt, Germany
3 Elin Motoren GmbH, Preding/Weiz, Austria
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3DDesigned Turbine Exit Guide Vane. In: Proceedings of the 16th AIAA/CEAS
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nery Stage. Part 1 Numerical Results. In: Proceedings of the 18th AIAA/CEAS
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[4] Broszat D, Selic T, Marn A. Verification of the Inverse CutOff Effect in a Turbomachi
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[9] Lengani D, Santner C, Spataro R, Gttlich E. Analysis Tools for the Unsteady Interac
tions on a CounterRotating TwoSpool Turbine Rig. Experimental Thermal Fluid
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[11] Enghardt L, Tapken U, Kornow O, Kennepohl F. Acoustic Mode Decomposition of

Compressor Noise Under Consideration of Radial Flow Profiles. In: Proceedings of the
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America; May 2325; 2005. DOI: 10.2514/MAERO05
[12] Enghardt L, Tapken U, Neise W, Kennepohl F, Heinig K. Turbine Blade/Vane Interac

tion Noise: Acoustic Mode Analysis Using InDuct Sensor Arrays. In: Proceedings of
the 7th AIAA/CEAS Aeroacoustic Conference, Maastricht, Netherlands; May 2830;
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[13] Holste F, Neise W. Noise Source Identification in a Propfan Model by Means of

Acoustical Near Field Measurements. Journal of Sound and Vibration. 1997;203(4):641
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[14] Laguna J D, Barteld M, Seume J. Impact of Swirl on the Sensitivity of the Radial Mode
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MAERO06
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Technique Using WallFlush Mounted Sensors. Journal of The Acoustical Society of
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[22] Spataro R, Gttlich E, Lengani D, Faustmann C, Heitmeir F. Development of a Turning

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10.1115/1.2777199
Chapter 2
Lubricants for Turbine Engines
David W. Johnson
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62394
Abstract
The lubricant systems used in turbine engine applications are discussed with respect to
the particular problems associated with aircraft applications. After initially describing
the relevant specifications, the typical basestocks are described along with some common
degradation schemes. The additive systems, including antioxidants, anti-foaming agents,
and anti-wear additives needed to achieve the typical specifications, are described along
with their mechanism of action and degradation mechanisms. The methods used for the
monitoring of lubricant health, including in-line and offline methods, are also dis
cussed. Finally, future changes in specifications, basestocks, and additives are dis
cussed with respect to new, high-performance bearing materials.
Keywords: synthetic lubricants, anti-oxidants, phosphate esters, condition monitor

ing, tribology, lubricant additives
1. Introduction
Lubrication is critical in any application where moving parts are involved. Aircraft involve large
numbers of different types of moving parts, many of which are associated with the propul
sion system. The objectives of lubrication are primarily to improve energy efficiency by reducing
friction and to improve component lifetime by reducing wear of the moving parts. An added
benefit of an efficient lubrication system is a reduction in the engine operating temperature
because of the heat dissipation through the lubricant system [1].
Turbine engine lubrication is an extremely demanding application for lubricants for several
important reasons, as follows:
Reliability due to the consequences of failure. Aircraft applications are the only applications
where it is not possible to stop immediately and investigate a lubricant failure indication.
High operating cost associated with added weight, making backup and redundant systems
highly undesirable. This requirement leads to small volumes of lubricant and results in high
heat dissipation requirements and high operating temperatures.
Wide range of temperatures, pressures, and speeds that the lubricant is exposed to under
normal operating and storage conditions.
The combination of these requirements eliminates the possibility of an ideal natural lubricant
or synthetic lubricant meeting all of the requirements. As speeds and temperatures increased,
automotive lubricants initially used in aircraft were replaced by specialty lubricants for aircraft
engines. As the propulsion systems changed from conventional engines to turbine engines,
lubricants based on mineral oils were inadequate and a new class of lubricants was needed [2].
In the years after World War II, turbine engines were developed and began to dominate both
military and commercial aircraft propulsion. Turbine engines require the lubricant to be stable
and fluid over a wide range of temperatures. Ground starting temperature may be as low as
-54C and temperature as high as 300C may be observed at times in the operating engine.
Over time, a number of different lubricants were developed with very different chemistries
and compatibilities. Many different locations had lubricants that were developed to suit the
local conditions and needs. With a number of incompatible fluids, the global nature of aircraft
use, and the grave consequences of mistakes, a need for standardization became apparent. To
address this problem, a system of lubricant specifications has been developed for turbine
engine lubricants.
2. Early basestocks
The earliest lubricants used in turbine engines were highly refined mineral oils. Mineral oils,
however, lack the high temperature stability to withstand the high temperatures found in
different points of the engine. Severe oxidation of the light mineral oils results in significant
increases in the viscosity of the oil. The problems of severe oxidation and degradation
highlighted the need for a new class of oils, which lead to the development of a class of synthetic
aviation turbine oils [3].
The search for a new class of synthetic aviation lubricants led to the examination of organic
esters as basestocks. Over 3500 different esters were examined for lubricant use between 1937
and 1944. A number of candidates had some of the required properties, including thermal
stability, pour point, or boiling point, but none met all of the requirements. It should be possible
based on the number of di-acids and alcohols available to achieve the desired viscosity and
other properties with a pure compound; however, to achieve the wide liquid range required
for Air Force needs, the blending of multiple esters was thought to be preferable to a single
compound. The U.S. pour point of 40C and high temperature requirement for a 3 cS fluid
could be met by the reaction of simple mono-alcohols with dibasic carboxylic acids. The earliest
commercial lubricant based on organic esters involved branched alcohols such as 2-ethylhexyl
alcohol and adipic acid, azelic acid, and sebacic acid (Figure 1).
Lubricants for Turbine Engines 37
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62394
Figure 1. Structures of common components of lubricant esters.
Higher viscosity requirements of the British could be met using longer-chain acids and
alcohols, but the low temperature requirements could not be met by these combinations. The
solution was to use a slightly more viscous blend of the 3cS fluid with a viscosity improver,
typically a polyglycol.
Two fundamentally different and incompatible lubricants were both unacceptable and major
potential hazards. The use of the wrong lubricant was considered unacceptable even for
emergency use. In the 1960s, an intermediate viscosity oil was developed with a viscosity of
5.5 cS at 99C that could replace both of the fluids, especially for future engines. This fluid also
was adopted by the U.S. Navy for use in its aircraft. The advent of supersonic aircraft led to a
need for even higher oil temperatures and improved stability.
Hydrolysis is a characteristic reaction of esters in the presence of water. Hydrolysis can be

avoided through the use of longer-chain and branched alcohols. The primary route for the
degradation of the esters used in the lubricants described above is through an elimination
reaction initiated by the loss of the hydrogen atom on the carbon to the carboxylate (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Mechanism for -elimination.

The -elimination results in the decomposition of the ester to alkenes, carboxylic acids.
Although the mechanism involves a base, it is simply an acceptor for the proton and could be
a variety of species present in the lubricant. Because -elimination requires a hydrogen atom
on the carbon atom, the elimination of hydrogen atoms at that position resulted in a series
of more thermally stable lubricants.
3. Current basestocks
As turbine engine technology developed and the desire for supersonic flight became the norm
for the military, higher bearing load and bearing temperatures were needed. These develop
ments required more stable lubricant basestocks. Because -elimination reactions were one
mode of degradation, alcohols that lacked hydrogen atoms at the position were desired.
Some common alcohols that fit the bill are the neopentyl polyols. These highly hindered
alcohols react with acids of various chain lengths to form esters under acid catalyzed condi
tions, providing the lubricant esters in good yields. Current lubricants are based on the
neopentyl polyols such as neopentyl glycol, pentaerythiol, and dipentaerythritol (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Structure of some esters commonly used in aircraft lubricants.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62394
The esters used in the current aircraft lubricants use a mixture of carboxylic acids with between
5 and 9 carbon atoms, typically and may involve either linear acids or branched acids. Many
common lubricants are based on a mixture of valeric acid, iso-valeric acid, heptanoic acid,
nonanoic acid, and 3,5,5-trimethylhexanoic acid. The lubricants are prepared either from the
acid-catalyzed esterification of the polyol with a mixture of the desired acids or it may involve
the trans-esterification of a fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) with the polyol. The reaction can
occur in a random manner, or can be controlled to occur stepwise, allowing more sterically
hindered acids to react first and then complete the esterification with the less hindered acid [5].
The latter method allows esters to be prepared from biologically derived oils, such as vegetable
oil [6]. The composition of the mixture of acids can be used to adjust the physical properties,
including the viscosity and viscosity index of the resulting basestock [7]. The fact that a mixture
is used also results in a wider liquid range for the resulting lubricant.
In general, esters based on the neopentyl polyols have excellent thermal stability and can
perform well as lubricants. If, however, lower-quality reactants are used to prepare the ester,
a substantially more reactive lubricant is obtained. Certainly, impurities in the alcohols that
contain -hydrogen atoms would significantly alter the high temperature stability. Other
possible impurities include significant quantities of excess acid, which would increase the
corrosivity of the oil; water, which has a significant solubility in the oil, can result in hydrolysis;
and higher molecular weight polyols, such as dipentaerythritol or tripentaerythritol, can have
a negative effect on the low temperature properties of the mixture.
The two grades of MIL-PRF-7808 that are available differ substantially in composition as is
needed to obtain the difference in viscosity. The grade 3 lubricant because of the low temper
ature requirement has a higher content of low molecular weight acids and neopentylglycol as
the dominant polyol. The total ion chromatogram from the gas chromatography-mass
spectrometry (GC-MS) evaluation of a 3cS MIL-PRF-7808K grade 3 lubricant is shown in
Figure 4.
Figure 4. A portion of the total ion chromatogram of a MIL-PRF-7808K grade 3 lubricant.
In an effort to obtain superior high temperature properties to the MIL-PRF-7808K grade 3 and
still retain better low temperature properties than is available with MIL-PRF-23699, MIL-
PRF-7808K grade 4 was developed. The grade 4 oil used a different mixture of acids and
alcohols to achieve a good compromise in properties. The total ion chromatogram from the
GC-MS evaluation of a 4cS MIL-PRF-7808K grade 4 lubricant is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5. A portion of the total ion chromatogram of a MIL-PRF-7808K grade 4 lubricant.
This lubricant contains primarily the pentaerythritol esters of valeric acid, heptanoic acid,
octanoic acid, and 3,3-dimetylheptanoic acid. Also observed between 20 and 23 min retention
time are four peaks that correspond to isomers of the tri-cresyl phosphate additive. The large
number of different esters helps with the wide liquid range desired, whereas the higher
molecular weights lead to an increase in viscosity from 3 to 4 cS.
A further increase in molecular weight is desirable for MIL-PRF-23699 lubricants, which have
a still better thermal stability and viscosity. The change in molecular weight can be seen in the
distribution of esters in Figure 6.
Figure 6. Total ion chromatogram of an MIL-PRF-23699 HTS lubricant showing the retention times where the esters
elute.
The analysis of the acid composition of this lubricant indicates that at least six different acids
are present in the mixture. The ability of multiple manufacturers to use somewhat different
acid and alcohol blends yet achieve the same properties and have a compatible lubricant is
thought to be a huge advantage.
Lubricant degradation at high temperatures is a significant problem. Degradation can result

in an increase in acid number, an increase in viscosity, or an increase in the reactivity of the
lubricant. For hindered esters where the -elimination (discussed earlier) is blocked, there are
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62394
several possible reactions, including hydrolysis of the ester, trans-esterification of the ester
with another ester, and oxidation of the ester.
The hydrolysis of esters is a well-known reaction that involves as the initial step the attack of
either a water molecule of a hydroxide ion at the carbonyl carbon. The use of highly hindered
esters reduces the rate of acid- and base-catalyzed hydrolysis by blocking easy access to the
carbonyl carbon of the ester. The rate of hydrolysis can be reduced if water is excluded from
the oil; however, it is soluble to a concentration of approximately 0.5% in these lubricants.
Hydrolysis typically results in the presence of acids (increased acid number) and partial esters,
where the polyol has one or more hydroxyl groups present.
The process of trans-esterification can be best seen as changes in the acids attached to a given
molecule. This process has long been known because, if a lubricant is prepared containing two
initial esters with the same alcohol and different acids [i.e. PE(nC5)4 and PE(nC7)4], after a period
of time, the acids are scrambled and PE(nC5)3(nC7), etc., are found in the mixture. This process
does not normally result in a serious change in the properties of the lubricant and is actually
thought to be beneficial by increasing the number of different components. However, if trans-
esterification occurs with a phosphate ester from an additive, changes of reactivity are possible
(Figure 7).
Figure 7. Reaction of a lubricant ester with phosphate esters by trans-esterification.
Possibly the most detrimental reaction to the properties of polyolester-based lubricants is high-
temperature oxidation. The initial stages of the oxidation involve the attack of an alkyl peroxy
radical on a methylene group of the ester. The position to the carbonyl has been shown to
be significantly more reactive than other methylene groups in the molecule [8]. After the initial
attack, the reaction can progress to form anhydrides, which continue to react to form alde
hydes, acids, and eventually high molecular weight compounds that can form a sludge in the
engine (Figure 8) [9].
Figure 8. Thermal oxidation of PE ester at high temperature to give either anhydrides or an aldehyde and an acid.
The production of either an anhydride or an aldehyde is undesirable because they are reactive
and have a tendency to polymerize, creating high molecular weight species. These reactions
are eliminated in the presence of either BHT or an amine antioxidant until those concentrations
are depleted.
4. Important lubricant properties
The development of a lubricant specification requires an examination of what properties are

important and what methods will be used to demonstrate that the specification has been met.
Many of the common properties, including the method used for the determination of the
property, are shown below.
Viscosity (ASTM D 445)Determines the thickness of the lubricant film that coats the bearing.
Viscosity is measured at several temperatures and helps determine the maximum operating
temperature of the engine. Changes in viscosity are observed as a lubricant degrades and these
changes are a measure of lubricant health.
Pour Point (ASTM D 97)The temperature at which a liquid becomes semi-solid or loses its
flow characteristics. This property is related to the ability to service or start an engine in cold
climates.
Flash Point (ASTM D 92)The lowest temperature at which vapors of a fluid will ignite.
Measuring a flash point requires an ignition source. At the flash point, the vapor may cease to
burn when the ignition source is removed. This parameter is used as a way to control flam
mability, although understanding flammability requires a knowledge of many other param
eters.
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Total Acid Number (ASTM D 664)A titration-based determination of the amount of acids
contained in oil. Acids in the oil may cause corrosion of the bearings and valve guides. In ester-
based lubricants, the acid number can indicate exposure of the lubricant to water, resulting in
the hydrolysis of the oil. It can also indicate incomplete reaction when the oil was prepared.
As the lubricant is used, the acid number of the used oil is also be an indicator of lubricant
degradation.
Lubricant Compatibility (FED-STD-791, Method 3403)A determination of hot aging

miscibility of the candidate oil with other oils that might be encountered when the engine is
in service. This test is necessary due to differences in the additive packages that various
manufacturers use to achieve the required performance standard.
Elastomer Compatibility [Def Staf 05-50 (Part 61) Method 22]A test used to determine the
swell and deterioration of seal materials when soaked in oil for an extended time. Some high-
stability basestocks and additive packages can cause the deterioration of certain seal materials
over time.
Oxidation and Corrosion Stability (ASTM D 4636)This test examines the bulk oil stability
and the impact of breakdown products on certain representative metallic materials.
Thermal Stability and Corrosivity (FED-STD-791, Method 3411)A quality control test for
identifying contamination from non-aviation ester-based products.
Deposit ControlThis test involves a full-scale heated bearing test rig. The test is run for 100
h, and the oil condition is evaluated and the cleanliness of the bearing is evaluated for the
formation of deposits.
Load-Carrying Capacity or Boundary Film Lubricating Ability (FED-STD-791, Method

6509)This property is measured with a Ryder Gear Test.
Foaming TendencyCan be measured by either a static (ASTM D 892) or a dynamic method

(Fed-STD-791, Method 3214). Oil can foam when subjected to the shear forces in the engine.
Foaming is frequently due to impurities of various silicone compounds.
Sediment or Particulate Contamination (FED-STD-791, Method 310 or 3013)This test

measures the amount of suspended or dissolved solids in the oil. The low maximum ash
content of MIL-PRF-23699 precludes the use of metal containing lubricant additives.
Hydrolytic Stability [Def Stan 05-50 (Part 61) Method 6]Evaluates the storage stability and
the stability of the oil in capped lubrication systems. Hydrolysis is a degradation reaction of
the oil with water to regenerate the original alcohol and acids used to prepare the ester.
Evaporation Loss (AST D 972)This test determines the amount of volatile components in
the lubricant. A low evaporation loss means that too much oil will not be consumed during
operation.
Shear Stability (ASTM D 2603)Shear stability means that the lubricant will not lose viscosity
due to the mechanical forces encountered in the operating engine.
Corrosion Inhibition (SAE ARP 4240)Determined by ball corrosion testing, this attribute is
only required for MIL-PRF-23699 oils of C/I class. Oils of the C/I class are primarily used in
marine applications.
Storage Stability TestsThis test ensures that all of the lubricants remain miscible during
extended storage periods of up to 3 years.
Acid Assay (FED-STD-791, Method 3500)In this method, the component acids used in the
preparation of the ester are measured. This is needed to ensure that different batches of the
lubricant are similar to the original qualified lubricant.
Trace MetalsThe trace metal content of new oils is controlled to provide a good baseline for
the spectrographic oil analysis program.
Spectrographic Oil Analysis Program (SOAP)The concentration of several wear metals (Fe,
Ag, Cr, Al, Mg, Ti, Mo, and V) are measured regularly by atomic emission either using a
rotating carbon electrode or by inductively coupled plasma (ICP-OES). As an engine is used,
the concentrations of wear metals increase. If the normal wear pattern of the engine is known,
changes in the metal concentrations that are not consistent with the pattern can be an indicator
of impending problems. Excessive wear metals in the oil are an indication that some type of
maintenance is needed and the metals present may provide an indication of the area of concern.
5. Lubricant specifications
Lubricant compatibility as a global problem requires standardization; however, the decision

was made to not require a single supplier or a single highly specified composition. This would
eliminate competition and would stop the development of better compositions. Instead, a
series of detailed specifications were adopted for lubricants based on sets of properties. In the
end, commercial jet aircraft lubricants are primarily governed by standard SAE-5780. Military
jet aircraft generally fall under two standards based on different low temperature require
ments. U.S. Air Force (USAF) aircraft typically use the MIL-PRF-7808 [10] specification because
of the need for pumpability at lower temperatures. Naval aviation uses MIL-PRF-23699 [11],
which has better high temperature properties. In most areas, MIL-PRF-23699 and SAE-5780
specifications are quite similar and many currently available products meet both of these
specifications. These specifications undergo regular review and revision. In addition, MIL-
PRF-7808L is now available in two grades with different viscosities: grade 3, a 3 cS viscosity
fluid, and grade 4, a 4 cS viscosity fluid. The two grades require changes in the basestock
composition, although similar chemistries are used. MIL-PRF-23699 is available in three types:
standard, corrosion inhibiting (CI), and high thermal stability (HTS). The three MIL-PRF-23699
types differ primarily in the additive package used. A summary of the different lubricants is
given in Table 1.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62394
Specification Grade or type Viscosity Common use

(cS at 100C)
MIL-PRF-7808L Grade 3 3 Best low temperature properties
MIL-PRF-7808L Grade 4 4 Improved high temperature properties but higher pour point
MIL-PRF-23699 5 Good viscosity indexnot suitable for very cold climates
MIL-PRF-23699 CI 5 Includes CIfor use in maritime environments
MIL-PRF-23699 HTS 5 Best high temperature stability
Table 1. Common lubricant specifications used in aircraft engines.
Some of the specifications for each of the lubricants are included in Table 2.
Specification MIL-PRF-7808L MIL-PRF-7808L MIL-PRF-23699 MIL-PRF-23699 CI MIL-PRF-23699 HTS

grade 3 grade 4
Viscosity (cS) 3.0 min 1.1 min 4.905.40 4.905.40 4.905.40
205C 11.5 min 4.0 min 23.0 min 23.0 min 23.0 min
100C 1.7 104 max 17.0 min 13,000 max 13,000 max 13,000 max
40C 2.0 104 max
-40C
-51C
Flash point (C) 210 min 210 min 246 246 246
Evaporative loss (%) 30 max 15 max 10 max 10 max 10 max
Foaming (static) 100 max 100 max 25 max 25 max 25 max

Volume (ml) 60 max 60 max 60 max 60 max 60 max
Collapse time (s)
Deposition test 1.5 max 0.7 max 218C 218C 218C

Rating 20 max 20 max 15 max 15 max 15 max
TAN change 100 max 100 max 120 max 120 max 60 max
(mg KOH/g) 100 max 100 max
Viscosity at 40C %
Change Oil
consumption (ml)
Lead corrosion (g/m2) 9.3 max 9.3 max
Corrosion test 232C 232C 2.0 2.0 2.0

Silver (g/m2) 4.5 max 4.5 max
Bronze (g/m2) 4.5 max 4.5 max
Table 2. A summary of selected performance specifications for MIL-PRF-7808L [10] and MIL-PRF-23699 [11]
lubricants.
6. Lubricant additives
Additives are a part of all lubricant systems because they can impart properties to the overall
lubricant that the basestock does not possess. They can also allow longer lubricant lifetimes
by eliminating certain modes of basestock decomposition. For example, when a lubricant is
used, it is exposed to temperatures much higher than the bulk oil temperature for short periods
of time, in the presence of oxygen. Additives can reduce the decomposition of the basestock
by scavenging free radicals formed in the initial stages of the reaction. Aircraft lubricants
typically contain the following groups of additives:
Boundary lubrication additives (anti-wear, lubricity, and extreme pressure)
Antioxidants
Anti-corrosion additives
Anti-foaming additives
Metal deactivators
Viscosity index improvers
The choices of additives are frequently limited based on the thermal stability of the addi
tive, needs for long lifetimes, and tendencies of the additives to form deposits [12]. The
mechanisms of action associated with each of the types of additive are described in the
following sections.
6.1. Antioxidants
One of the primary decomposition reactions of lubricants is oxidation primarily by atmos

pheric oxygen. In lubricants derived from crude oil, there are normally enough naturally
occurring sulfur compounds to inhibit oxidation for a period of time. Synthetic lubricants and
some highly refined natural lubricants, however, must have additives to reduce or eliminate
oxidation in the presence of oxygen. Oxidation of lubricants typically leads to an increase in
viscosity and the formation of sludge and is the primary limit to the maximum bulk oil
temperature.
Most classes of natural and synthetic lubricants are oxidatively degraded via a radical chain
mechanism. In this mechanism, molecular oxygen attracts a hydrogen atom creating a free
radical. The radical formed reacts with other lubricant molecules attracting hydrogen atoms
or other groups, generally increasing the size of the molecule. The chain continues until it
encounters another radical, resulting in chain termination.
Antioxidant additives can act in two different ways. First, they can react with oxygen to form
a stable species. Second, the antioxidant can react with radicals formed, acting as a chain
termination step. Among the most common antioxidants are hindered phenols and aromatic
amines. The structure of these compounds is shown in Figure 9.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62394
Figure 9. Structures of some common antioxidants.
As higher-temperature lubricants are being developed, these antioxidants are not sufficiently
stable, which has led to the introduction of some high molecular weight polymeric antioxi
dants. Although the structures of these systems are proprietary, they solve similar problems
and may involve similar chemistry.
All of the antioxidants above react to quench radical chain reactions. Because the amine
antioxidants are common in aircraft lubricants, their mechanism will be discussed in more
detail. It is commonly thought that the hindered amines are rapidly oxidized to the aminoxy
radical. This radical reacts with alkyl radicals, trapping them to form N-alkoxy amines, which
react with peroxyl radicals to give products and regenerate the aminoxy radical [13]. The
oxidation of BHT has also been thoroughly studied. The initial oxidation by a radical removes
a hydrogen atom forming a phenoxy radical that then reacts to form a quinoid, which is
relatively stable.
6.2. Anti-corrosion additives
A corrosion inhibitor is a compound that decreases the rate of corrosion of a material, typically
a metal or metal alloy. Corrosion inhibitors are of greater importance in the MIL-PRF-23699
CI lubricants primarily because of their intended use in more corrosive environments.
Typically, with iron-based alloys (steel), corrosion occurs due to the presence of oxygen in
contact with the steel, which results in the formation of rust. Corrosion inhibitors act by
forming a passive layer on the surface of the alloy that protects the surface from further
oxidation. Metal surfaces are typically covered with a layer of oxides and hydroxides formed
when the metal is placed in contact with air. In some metals, such as aluminum, the oxide layer
protects the surface from further oxidation (passivation). In iron-based alloys, however, the
oxide layer is porous and further protection is needed.
Typical rust inhibitors include metal sulfonates and metal carboxylates. These additives act
because they have an ionic head group that can bind to the metal oxide surface and a non-
polar tail that forms a protective coating over the metal. These additives, however, are not ash
less and may not qualify for the MIL-PRF-23699 CI standard. A product that avoids this
problem consists of a mixture of an amine, carboxylic acid esters, and a phosphate ester. The
mixture itself is proprietary; however, the MDS does at least give an approximate composition.
6.3. Anti-foaming additives
Foam is formed when air is trapped in a liquid forming bubbles. It is frequently observed when
a stream of liquid re-enters the bulk liquid, such as when fuel is added to a fuel tank. Foams
can result in reduced capacity and reduced pumping efficiency and prevent lubricants from
effectively flowing. In aircraft applications, lubricants should form minimal amounts of foam
and the foam formed should rapidly collapse. Typically, lubricant foaming is caused by
contamination with high molecular weight silicone greases, which form foams that do not
easily collapse. Foams collapse when the air bubbles merge forming larger bubbles that rise
and the bubbles pop releasing the air at the surface [14].
Anti-foaming additives are all surface active agents that are insoluble in the lubricant. They
typically are of low viscosity, which allows them to spread over the surface of the oil. Many
also contain some solid particles dispersed in the additive. When a foam forms, the bubbles
have structures similar to lipid bilayers called lamella. The anti-foaming additive locates itself
at the air-liquid interface, maximizing the surface area of the foam bubbles. Smaller bubbles
merge and the larger bubbles move toward the surface, causing the foam to collapse.
Aircraft lubricant foam control additives are typically moderate molecular weight silicone oils.
It have been observed that silicone oils can act in many ways, causing foam in some cases and
eliminating the foam in others depending on molecular weights and structures. The current
anti-foaming additives have been shown to successfully eliminate foaming in the lubrication
system.
6.4. Boundary lubrication additives
In aircraft applications, a lubricant must be effective in different lubrication regimes, including

the fluid film lubrication regimes (hydrodynamic lubrication and elasto-hydrodynamic
lubrication) and boundary lubrication. Hydrodynamic lubrication, where the two bearing
surfaces are separated by a complete film of the lubricant, is generally desirable. As the shear
stress on the bearing increases, the lubricant properties are not adequate and the film is no
longer of sufficient thickness. Elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication occurs between rolling bodies
[15]. These systems operate under stresses where a fluid film would not be expected to be
maintained. The high pressure, however, causes a temporary increase in the viscosity of the
lubricant in the contact area and a fluid film is maintained. Boundary lubrication involves
direct contact between the surfaces of the bearings. Boundary lubrication is generally unde
sirable but is also unavoidable especially during start-up and shutdown. Boundary lubrication
additives are required to reduce friction between and wear of the engine components until
lubricant flow is adequate to maintain fluid film lubrication.
A number of boundary lubrication additives have been developed for various purposes and
the vast majority are based on phosphorus or sulfur compounds. For aircraft applications,
sulfur compounds are generally less desirable because of the lack of stability and the formation
of strong acids on oxidation. Phosphorus compounds can include phosphate esters, thiophos
phate esters, and metal thiophosphates. Metal thiophosphates and thiophosphate esters
contain sulfur, and the metal dithiophosphates are more likely to form metal containing ash
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62394
on decomposition. For aircraft applications, phosphate esters and, in particular, triaryl

phosphates are the additives of choice.
Triaryl phosphates are characterized by three aromatic rings attached to the phosphorus
through oxygen linkages. The most common commercial additives are tricresyl phosphate and
butylated triphenyl phosphate. The structures of these compounds are shown in Figure 10.
Figure 10. Structures of some common tri-aryl phosphate esters.
Phosphate esters are known to react at the surface of metals to form a coating that is both
durable and lubricious. Phosphate esters have been shown to react with oxides or hydroxides
on the metal surface to form a multilayer coating that is chemically bound to the surface. As
the coating wears away, iron diffuses to the surface and more of the coating forms. The
mechanism for coating formation begins with the oxide surface of the iron. A surface oxide
displaces one of the alkyl groups from the phosphate ester giving a bound phosphate di-ester.
Further reaction occurs to form iron polyphosphate, which has, at the surface, bound aryl
groups (Figure 11) [16].
If a metal bearing is operated under conditions where little oxygen is present, there still appears
to be a reaction to give a similar film. The principle difference in the film formation mechanism
is to break a C-O bond to the aromatic ring, leaving a bound metal phosphate. The product of
this reaction has been shown to add to another aromatic ring forming higher molecular weight
phosphate esters. Under these circumstances, a coating of similar structure is still formed [17].
Advanced bearings under development have a very different surface chemistry. These
bearings will be made from carburized or nitrided stainless steels. After machining of the
bearing, it is heat treated in the presence of a carbon or nitrogen source. The resulting surfaces
have little oxide or hydroxide present but a surface dominated by carbides or nitrides. It is
unknown if phosphate ester additives will form a lubricious film on these surfaces. The non-
heat-treated steels have been shown to react; however, heat-treated steals are currently under
study [18]. The interaction of antioxidants, esters, and phosphate esters in the presence of
various carbides has been shown to increase reactivity [19].
Figure 11. Structure of surface films formed by the reaction of phosphate esters with a steel bearing surface.
6.5. Metal atom deactivators
Metal ion deactivators are incorporated into lubricants to react with metal ions typically
formed from the action of naturally occurring acids on the metallic parts of the lubrication
system. The metal ions are of concern because of their catalytic effects, principally the tendency
of copper ions to form a gummy copper mercaptide gel.
In aviation lubricants, the primary metal ion deactivator is benzotriazole. It is thought that
benzotriazole reacts with metal atoms at the surface and in solution. On the surface, benzo
triazole forms a passive layer that prevents further reaction at the metal surface. Dissolved
metal ions react with the benzotriazole to form a complex, which reduces the reactivity of the
soluble metal ion. An added benefit of benzotriazole as an additive is that it also acts as an
antioxidant [20].
7. Future developments
In the quest for higher-performance turbine engines, a number of changes are under devel
opment. Possibly the most significant is the development of harder and more corrosion-
resistant metal alloys such as Pyrowear and CSS22, among others, hard coatings such as TiC,
and low-density silicone nitridebearing materials. These materials are designed for high load
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62394
carrying and higher temperature, which leads to challenges in lubricant stability. Harder and
more stable coatings will allow for higher temperatures and loads adding stress to the lubricant
system. It may be necessary to develop new basestocks that have wider liquid ranges and
greater thermal stability.
More importantly, all of these new bearing materials have radically different surface chemistry
than traditional steel-based bearings. The additive packages, particularly boundary lubrica
tion additives, are dependent on the presence of an oxide or hydroxide surface coating to react
with. The new bearing materials have a surface chemistry dominated by the presence of
carbides or nitrides. The data are uncertain as to the level of surface coverage and the reactivity
of the phosphate esters with these new surfaces.
Author details
David W. Johnson*
Address all correspondence to: djohnson1@udayton.edu
Department of Chemistry, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, USA
References
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[2] Lansdown AR. Aviation lubricants. In: Mortier RM, Orszuliz ST, editors. Chemistry
and Technology of Lubricants. Springer; 1994. pp. 223236. DOI:
10.1007/978-1-4615-3554-6_9.
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[5] Klamann D. Lubricants and Related Products: Synthesis, Properties, Applications,

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of medium chain fatty acids and process for preparation thereof. US Patent number:
US8658813 B2. Published 2014. Assignee: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.
[7] Gryglewicz S, Piechocki W, Gryglewicz G. Preparation of polyol esters based on

vegetable and animal fats. Bioresource Technology. 2003;87:3539. DOI: 10.1016/
S0960-8524(02)00203-1.
[8] Niedzielski EL. Neopentyl polyol ester lubricants-bulk property optimization. Indus
trial & Engineering Chemistry Product Research and Development. 1976;15:5358.
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[9] Bakunin VN. A mechanism of thermooxidative degradation of polyol ester lubricants.

Journal of Synthetic Lubrication. 1992;9:127143. DOI:10.1002/jsl.3000090204.
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lubricantscurrent and future trends. Journal of Synthetic Lubrication. 1986;3:263291.
DOI: 10.1002/jsl.3000030403.
[11] MIL-PRF-7808L, performance specification; lubricating oil, aircraft turbine engine,

synthetic base (02 May 1997) [Superseding MIL-L-7808K]. 1997. Available at: http://
everyspec.com/MIL-PRF/MIL-PRF-000100-09999/MIL-PRF-7808L_5699/ [Accessed
2016-01-31].
[12] MIL-PRF-23699G, performance specification: lubricating oil, aircraft turbine engine,

synthetic base, NATO code numbers: O-152, O-154, O-156, and O-167 (13 Mar 2014)
23699 specs. 2014. Available at: http://everyspec.com/MIL-PRF/MIL-
PRF-010000-29999/MIL-PRF-23699G_50301/ [Accessed 2016-01-31].
[13] Snyder CE, Gschwender LJ, Sharma SK. Long-term additive trends in aerospace
applications. In: Rudnick LR, editor. Lubricant Additives: Chemistry and Applications.
2nd ed. CRC Press; 2009. pp. 637646.
[14] Schwetlick K, Habicher WD. Antioxidant action mechanisms of hindered amine

stabilisers. Polymer Degradation and Stability. 2002;78:3540. DOI: 10.1016/
S0141-3910(02)00116-7.
[15] Denkov ND. Mechanism of foam destruction by oil-based antifoams. Langmuir.

2004;20:94639505. DOI: 10.1021/la049676o.
[16] Hamrock BJ, Schmid SR, Jacobson O. Fundamentals of Fluid Film Lubrication. 2nd. ed.
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as lubricant additives. Lubricants. 2013;1:132148. DOI: 10.3390/lubricants1040132.
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phosphate ester vapors with iron and steel. Chemistry of Materials. 2002;14:37673775.
DOI: 10.1021/cm010921o.
[19] Johnson DW, Bachus M, Hils JE. Interaction between lubricants containing phosphate
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[20] Johnson DW, Iaculla C, Hils JE. Reaction between polyol-esters and phosphate esters
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anti-oxidation properties of synthetic ester-based oils. Industrial Lubrication and
Technology. 2014;66:353359. DOI: 10.1108/ilt-12-2011-0112.
Chapter 3
Active Flow Control by Using Plasma Actuators
Gabriele Neretti
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62720
Abstract
Active flow control has recently received an increasing attention since it allows to directly
manipulate the flow-field around a surface only when it is effectively requested.
Aerodynamic plasma actuators supplied by a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) can be
used for this purpose. Usually, sinusoidal voltages in the range 550 kV peak and
frequencies between 1 and 100 kHz are utilized to ignite this plasma typology. The surface
discharge produced by these devices is able to tangentially accelerate the flow field by
means of the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) interaction. DBDs generate non-thermal
plasmas characterized by low input energies and limited temperature increments. Plasma
actuators can be easily designed by following the shape of the aerodynamic body and can
be used over heat-sensitive surfaces. These aerodynamic devices have demonstrated to
produce boundary layer modifications with induced speeds up to 10 m/s. Their use over
airfoils, flaps, and blades have shown the possibility to delay the transition between
laminar to turbulent regime, to prevent flow separation enhancing lift and reducing drag.
Moreover, the adoption of these actuators over landing gears and trailing edges may
induce a noise reduction effect. Dielectric materials, electrodes configuration, and
supplying waveforms are most relevant parameters to be considered to enhance actuator
performance. On a parallel plane, on/off actuation strategy is a key point in the use of
these devices when utilized over aerodynamic surfaces impinged within an external flow.
Keywords: Active flow control, Dielectric barrier discharge, Electrohydrodynamic in

teraction, Plasma physics, Noise mitigation
1. Introduction
The interest in flow control in the fluid dynamic domain has showed a quick growth in last 15
years [1] due to rapid development of sensors and actuators technologies. Even though passive
control techniques are still attractive since they do not require an energy input, active control
strategies have recently received more attention since they can be used in a selective way and
can be operated only when it is effectively requested. Among different active techniques, plasma
aerodynamic actuators are attractive because they present high dynamic responses due to the
absence of moving parts, are characterized by low weight, are easy to build, are backward
compatible with existing aerodynamic surfaces, and generate negligible aerodynamics
interferences when they are switched off. When actuated, they can significantly modify the
status of the boundary layer developing on the body surfaces. For this reason, they have been
extensively studied for aeronautical applications to prevent flow separation enhancing lift and
reducing drag [2, 3]. More recently, they have been used also to control friction drag by delaying
transition [4, 5] or by oscillating the flow in spanwise direction [6], and to control global
instabilities of the flow [2, 3, 7]. Due to these characteristics, the potential of plasma actuators
has been extended to many other applications like for instance tip clearance flow control of
turbines [8, 9], and wind turbine blades and holder [10, 11].
This brief review about DBD aerodynamic actuators is all but exhaustive. The main goals of
this work are to give to the reader some basic knowledge about the physics of plasma actuators
and to show most important applications of these devices into the active flow control domain.
2. DBD aerodynamic actuators: basic principles
Plasma aerodynamic actuators are based on the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) interaction

generated by the so-called ionic wind. High electric fields can locally ionize the air. The
produced heavy-charged species are accelerated by the applied electric field and, by means of
collisions, they can yield momentum to the surrounding neutral gas. The force f per unit
volume within the discharge can be yield by the following expression:
f = ( ni - ne ) E (1)
where E is the electric filed and ni and ne are ion and electron number density respectively.
First studies were conducted by using direct current (DC) corona discharges [2]. Main
disadvantages of these actuators are low flexibility in electrodes configuration and in the
supply system, and the transition into spark regime producing irreversible damage of the
actuator itself.
Nowadays, the largest part of plasma aerodynamic actuators is based on the surface dielectric
barrier discharge (SDBD). This typology of discharge allows to use several electrodes geome
try, different supply voltage waveforms, and it prevents the transition into the arc regime due
to the presence of the dielectric material. DBD actuators generate non-thermal plasmas [12],
limiting power consumption and allowing their use over heat sensitive surfaces.
A classical DBD aerodynamic plasma actuator is constituted by a dissymmetric electrode pair

separated by a dielectric slab (Figure 1). When high voltages (typically 1050 kV at 1100 kHz)
Active Flow Control by Using Plasma Actuators 59
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62720
are applied to the electrodes, a surface discharge is produced (Figure 2). Discharge appears to
be macroscopically homogeneous to the unaided eye, but it is constituted by a sequence of
micro-discharges [13] lasting typically for tens of nanoseconds with a repetition rate of several
hundreds of megahertz. Fast ignition and quenching of the discharge can be inferred by
voltage-current time behavior reported in Figure 3.
Figure 1. Schematic of a SDBD actuator for flow control.
Figure 2. Top view image of SDBD discharge [14].

Figure 3. Voltage-current time behavior of a SDBD [15].
The presence of the plasma and the particular electrode configuration induce a jet tangential
to the actuator wall, similar to a classic blowing technique [13]. These jets can modify the
aerodynamic boundary layer, increasing flow momentum, at least in the near-wall region
above the surface. A large number of experimental [1425] and numerical [2647] works have
been done in last decade to understand basic physical phenomena involved in the EHD
interaction.
A typical velocity profile induced by the tangential wall jet is shown in Figure 4. Measurements
have been carried out by a glass Pitot tube positioned 2 mm downstream with respect plasma
extension and moved parallel to the actuator surface. Maximum velocity of about 56 m/s are
usually reached.
Figure 4. Typical pitot velocity profile of a DBD plasma actuator (red line). Blue lines represent standard deviation
[48].
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Fast dynamics of these actuators is underlined in Figure 5 where Schlieren images of the
induced jet developing during ignition of the discharge are shown. Steady state (d) is typically
reached after 400 ms after discharge ignition.
Figure 5. Schlieren images of induced wall jet during ignition phase of the discharge (a, b, and c) and steady state oper
ation (d) [48].
As already introduced [2647], EHD interaction produced by DBD plasma actuators has been
numerically investigated a well. Main issues are related to the simulation of the discharge and
its interaction with surrounding gas. A realistic simulation of a DBD streamer should take
into account gas ionization, plasma chemistry, thermal fluxes, diffusion of neutral and charged
species, and charge deposition over dielectric surfaces. Time steps of about tens of picoseconds
and mesh size in the order of few micrometers are usually required to reproduce the formation
of a plasma filament lasting for tens of nanoseconds and featured with characteristic length of
about few millimeters. Several coefficients related to diffusion, secondary electrons emission,
reaction rates, and electrons attachment are often not easy to estimate or to recover from
existing literature. The numerical model leads to the temporal/spatial evolution of the body
force produced by the discharge. The second step is the coupling between the discharge and
the surrounding gas. This is another numerical challenge because characteristic times and
lengths of the discharge are several orders of magnitude smaller with respect those related to
the fluid-dynamic domain. Several authors [2636] followed this computational strategy
obtaining interesting results in good agreement with experimental fluid-dynamic effects. In
Figure 6a, integrated horizontal body force as a function of the applied voltage is shown [36].
The two half periods produce different force dynamics and magnitude. In Figure 6b, the time-
averaged horizontal force distribution above the actuator surface is depicted [33]. Highest
values have been obtained close to plasma end.
Figure 6. Time evolution of the EHD body force (a) [36], and spatial distribution of the average horizontal force (b)
[33].
A simpler approach is to estimate the electron number density [3742], on the basis of
experimental measurements or theoretical calculations, and to evaluate EHD body force using
Equation 1. This force is subsequently utilized as input parameter in the Navier-Stokes
equation solver. A spatial/temporal average value of the body force can also be obtained by
means of experimental results [4347]. This method allows to use standard fluid-dynamic
solvers avoiding difficulties arising from the couple between plasma and surrounding gas.
Both numerical and experimental works demonstrated the capability of plasma actuators to
produce a thrust able to move surrounding gas in a desired direction. In order to increase both
induced speed and region in which the actuator manifests its influence, a series of DBD
actuators can be manufactured (Figure 7). Each actuator of this multi-electrode arrangement
contributes to increase the induced speed.
Figure 7. Horizontal velocity profile (y = 0.5 mm) above four DBD actuators in series [13].
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62720
On a parallel plane, voltage waveform shape (arbitrary or nanopulsed signals) can enhance
thrust of the induced jet, increasing effectiveness of actuators [15, 4956]. The use of arbitrary
waveforms can enhance plasma ignition phases in which induced thrust is higher. In this way,
induced speed (Figure 8) and efficiency (Figure 9) can be both increased [15]. Nanopulsed
discharges are able to generate energetic plasmas lasting for few nanoseconds. During the
ignition of the discharge, a high amount of energy is deposited within the gas inducing local
shock waves able to significantly modify the boundary layer of an incoming flow [56].
Figure 8. Pitot velocity profiles obtained close to plasma extension for different supplying voltage waveforms [15].
Figure 9. Electric into kinetic conversion efficiency for a DBD actuator driven with different voltage waveforms [15].
Another possibility to increase actuator performance is the adoption of a third exposed

electrode supplied with high-voltage DC fields. In this way, a sliding DBD is generated.
Depending on the sign of the DC field, it is possible to modify the morphology of the induced
ionic wind [57, 58].
DBD actuators can be arranged to produce normal or vectorized jets, too. These devices can
be used to mimic classical synthetic jets and are usually called plasma synthetic jet actuators
(PSJA). Typical geometries are annular and linear one [48, 5962]. In both cases, tangential wall
jets collide merging in a unique-induced jet able to generate perturbations far away from the
actuator surface (Figures 10 and 11). When the linear configuration is adopted, by supplying
exposed electrodes with different voltages, it is possible to produce an induced jet with an
arbitrary inclination. Three-dimensional flows can be also produced by using a classical DBD
actuator, but with an exposed electrode characterized with serpentine or serrated geometries,
instead of the usual linear one [63, 64]. This particular electrode geometry generates small
tangential jets that collide and propagate downstream pushed by the EHD interaction body
force.
Figure 10. Induced normal jet of linear (left-hand side) and annular (right-hand side) PSJA.
Figure 11. Schlieren images of PSJAs of linear (a) and annular (b) geometries. Electrode distance (a) and diameter (b) is
30 mm.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62720
3. DBD aerodynamic actuators: flow manipulation
In the last decade, DBD aerodynamic actuators have been extensively studied in the active
flow control domain. Position and actuation strategies of these devices are key points in their
effectiveness in flow control over aerodynamic surfaces. Many studies have been accomplish
ed over airfoils [6572], diffusers [73, 74], and wind [10, 11 and 75] and turbine [8, 9] blades,
in order to enhance fluid-dynamic performance. Moreover, the adoption of these devices over
landing gears and trailing edge surfaces have demonstrated the possibility to obtain a noise
reduction effect [7678].
DBD actuators can be usually positioned over aerodynamic surfaces in spanwise and stream
wise directions. In the former, the induced body force is in the same direction as the incoming
flow. In the latter, induced thrust is perpendicular to the free stream direction. In this case, the
composition of these two flows produces vorticities propagating in the downstream direction.
In Figure 12, a NACA 0015 airfoil equipped with four spanwise DBD plasma actuators is
shown. The four plasma regions are clearly visible in the figure as bluish strips. In this
configuration, actuators produce a tangential wall jet directed downstream. The effect of this
plasma device in the recovery of stall condition is depicted in Figure 13, where smoke
visualization is reported. Experiments show how the most effective actuator is the one
positioned on the airfoil leading edge, just before the region where separation occurs [66, 67,
79, 80].
Figure 12. Airfoil equipped with four spanwise plasma actuators [65].
Figure 13. Flow structure around NACA0015 airfoil at Re = 15000 without (left-hand side) and with (right-hand side)
plasma actuation [65].
When DBD actuators are streamwise mounted, induced and incoming flows combine together
producing vorticities propagating in the downstream direction (Figure 14). Such a device can
be used as a plasma vortex generator (PVG)
Figure 14. Vortex formation mechanism induced by a streamwise plasma actuator [8].
Changes in drag coefficient (CD) and lift coefficient (CL) by using a PVG are reported in
Figure 15. At low Reynolds numbers, actuator effectiveness is very pronounced, leading to
noticeable CD reduction with a parallel increment in the stall angle.
Figure 15. Drag (a) and lift coefficient enhancement (b) with counter-rotating PVGs on a NACA 4418 airfoil [8].
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62720
Figure 16. Pressure coefficient contours with streamlines over an airfoil with 15 angle of attack: plasma actuator off (a)
and on (b) [47].
Effectiveness in flow control by means plasma actuators has been demonstrated by numerical
works, too [47, 8187]. In Figure 16, pressure coefficient contours with streamlines obtained
over an airfoil with a 15 angle of attack are displayed. In Figure 16a, plasma actuator is
switched off, and separation occurs. When the plasma device is activated, reattachment of the
flow is achieved (Figure 16b).
Plasma actuators have demonstrated to strongly improve their ability in flow manipulation
when operated with a duty cycle strategy [47, 66, 71, 72, 88]. With this approach, the DBD
device is turned on and off with intermittence by following a particular duty cycle frequency.
This frequency is usually chosen in the range 5100 Hz and it is strictly related to natural
vorticities developing over the aerodynamic surface. The percentage ratio between the period
in which discharge is fed and the whole duty cycle period is called duty cycle percentage. If it
Figure 17. Lift recovery in percentage for different actuators location with a free stream velocity of 11 m/s: steady oper
ation (a) and duty cycle operation (b) [66].
is fixed to 50%, it means that discharge is ignited half of the time. On a parallel plane, this
actuation strategy leads to lower power consumption.
Figure 17 shows lift recovery in percentage of a stalled NACA0015 airfoil equipped with
spanwise vectorized actuators located in different airfoil positions [66]. Jet 5 is generated by a
DBD actuator located in the leading edge. When actuators are continuously operated, lift
increments are limited to about 15%. When operated with a duty cycle strategy, lift increments
are close to 50%.
Plasma actuators can also be used to reduce noise induced by aerodynamic surfaces, especially
by landing gears and trailing edges [7678]. Studies on bluff bodies have demonstrated the
ability of DBD actuators to reduce downstream turbulence, leading to the suppression of
particular tones or to an overall noise mitigation up to 4 dB.
4. Conclusion
Studies carried out in the last decades have demonstrated the possibility to use DBD aerody
namic actuators for active flow control purposes. In this last section, main advantages and
disadvantages in the use of these plasma devices will be summarized.
Pros
Possibility to locate these actuators in different positions on a surface and over existing
aerodynamic bodies.
Negligible aerodynamic interferences when they are not active.
Fast actuation times.
Low power consumption.
Possibility to tune the on/off actuation strategy depending on the particular fluid dynamic
condition.
Cons
Induced velocity below 10 m/s.
Low electric into kinetic conversion efficiency.
Use of potentially hazardous high voltages and electromagnetic noise generation.
Effectiveness in flow control for Reynolds numbers typically below few hundred thousand.
Disadvantages already introduced will be overcome only when a more detailed knowledge of
basic interactions between discharge a neutral gas will be achieved. When higher induced
speeds will be available, new and more effective flow control strategies will be developed.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62720
Author details
Gabriele Neretti
Address all correspondence to: gabriele.neretti@unibo.it
Electrical, Electronic Engineering Department Guglielmo Marconi, University of Bologna,

Bologna, Italy
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Chapter 4
Loads Simulator System for Testing and Qualification of

Flight Actuators
Nasim Ullah
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62710
Abstract
The flight actuation system plays important role in the accurate guidance of the flight
vehicles. The actuators driving the control surfaces are aerodynamically loaded during
flight. The design, testing and selection process of the flight actuators play important role
to ensure the stable and safe flight. Since a reliable flight actuation system can ensure
appropriate guidance, the importance of qualification process cannot be neglected.
Qualification of the actuators through field trials is a very costly and time-consuming
process. The testing process using real flights takes more time and is costly. For ground
testing, aerodynamic loading systems are used. The aerodynamic loading system is
ground-based hardware in the loop (HWIL) simulator that can be used for exerting
aerodynamic loads on actuation system of flight vehicles in real-time experiment. The
actuation system under test is directly connected to the loading motor through a stiff shaft
and the aerodynamics loading is applied in real time according to the flight trajectory
generated by a flight computer.
This chapter is preliminarily focused on the basic working principle, mathematical

modelling and torque/force control system design of the load simulator system. As a case
study, the response and dynamics of the electrical aerodynamic loading system are
analysed using mathematical modelling concept. The dynamic model is discussed and
adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control techniques are introduced to ensure the high-
performance torque loop of the aerodynamic loading systems.
Keywords: Ground-based testing, aerodynamic load simulators, flight actuators,

mathematical modelling, modern control
1. Introduction
In a flight control system, aerodynamic loads are introduced during flight at the control
surfaces or fins of flight vehicle as a function of air density, fin angle, etc. The fin control system
must respond to these loads to maintain the accuracy of flight control system [13]. Since load
simulators are used for the qualification of flight actuation system, the control performance of
load simulators is vital [4, 5]. Before the invention of the motorized load simulators, the
mechanical springs or torsion bars were utilized for the testing process. Conventional testing
has several disadvantages, for example, the loading devices are not adaptable to varying loads.
In modern ages, the testing and qualification of flight actuators are done through a hardware
in the loop simulator system. In order to reduce cost and time, hardware in the loop simulators
are utilized in which a loading motor is used as the aerodynamic loading device [69]. There
are three types of load simulators depending on the type of applications and loading require
ments [26]. Electro-hydraulic load simulators (EHLS) are widely used as hardware-in-the-
loop-simulation (HILS) system in flight control applications that can simulate the air load
executed on flight actuation systems. The EHLS can simulate rapid and large torque/force
loads with big volume. Some advantages and disadvantages are listed. The hydraulic load
simulators move fast and have rapid steering. The natural frequency of the electro-hydraulic
servo valve is generally above 100 HZ, so the hydraulic load simulators frequency response
is very fast and smooth. The low-speed performance of electro-hydraulic actuator is good. The
load simulators can be operated in wide speed range. On other hand, due to big size and
volume, maintenance cost is high. Temperature effects can cause degradation of performance.
At low temperature the friction loss is high, and at high temperatures the leakage phenomenon
is significant. Leakage of hydraulic fluid or oil is a major drawback. It causes the environmental
pollution. This can easily cause a fire. The oil contamination causes system blockage and
system failures. Another type is the pneumatic load simulator that is a typical hardware in
loop (HIL) system used to apply medium-range torque/force loads on the actuator under test.
The pneumatic load simulator can track the fast deployed load with compressibility. Pneu
matic systems are often used instead because pneumatic pressure is usually cheaper to obtain,
especially since most industrial facilities already have compressed air available. The pneumatic
load simulators use air or any other compressed gas to transmit power. It is hard to obtain
smooth performance due to large compressibility factor, especially at low speeds. Similarly,
temperature changes can degrade the performance of pneumatic load simulators. The
pneumatic load simulators are smaller in size and volume as compared to hydraulic load
simulators, so the maintenance cost is lower. The electrical load simulator is an important
ground-based hardware tester simulator used for qualification of flight actuation system, such
as the aircraft control surfaces, ship steering system, robotics arm, undercarriage of the plane
and high-speed elevator system. The electrical load simulators are used to apply medium and
small loads on actuators under test. Some advantages of electrical load simulator are its small
size and volume, low installation and maintenance cost, less sensitive to temperature changes
as compared to hydraulic and pneumatic load simulators and high performance. There are no
environmental hazards associated with electrical load simulators.
Loads Simulator System for Testing and Qualification of Flight Actuators 79
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62710
2. Working of load simulator system
Laboratory testing and qualification of flight actuators play vital role for ensuring the design
of reliable flight control with cost-effective solutions. The hardware diagram given in Figure 1
is the minimal setup that is used in the laboratory testing of the flight actuators. The flight
actuator is directly connected to the loading motor through a stiff shaft. The direct mechanical
connection allows the application of the loading torque generated at the output shaft of loading
motor in a close loop system. The Autopilot controller is used to set the reference position
trajectory of the flight actuator. An important block of the system is the aerodynamic load
calculator system, and the inputs to this block are the reference position command of the
actuator system, air speed, Mach number and angle of attack. The output of the load calculator
block serves as reference command to the loading motor. Thus, the torque load loop is closed
using the feedback signal from torque sensor. The advantage of using the proposed setup
provides the designer a freedom for applying real-time loads simulated in the laboratory with
minimum cost.
Figure 1. Block diagram of electrical load simulator.
3. Actuator testing: a case study
The flight actuator under test is a brushless DC motor. A permanent magnet synchronous
motor (PMSM) is used as the loading motor. For simplicity, the load calculator is used in
proportional mode. In proportional mode, the output of the load calculator is directly pro
portional to the reference command of the flight actuator. Let a represents the reference
command of flight actuator, then the output of the load calculator Tr is Ca where C
represents the proportionality constant. The parameter Tr is set as reference command of the
torque loading motor. From Figure 2, the reference command signal of the flight actuator ais
constructed from a real test scenario of a flight vehicle.
Figure 2. Reference signal command of flight actuator.

Before discussing the control problem, basic understandings of system dynamics is a pre
requisite. A PMSM is used as a loading motor. The voltage and torque balance equations of
PMSM loading motor are written as
did
ud = id Rs + Lsd - PLsiq wm
dt
diq
uq = iq Rs + Lsq + PLsqid wm + Py m wm (1)
dt
3P
( )dw
Te = [y miq + Lsd - Lsq id iq = J m + Bwm + T f + TL
2 dt
In Eq. (1) [id iq] is the d-axis and q-axis current vector, [uduq] represents d-axis and q-axis voltage
vector, wm is the angular velocity of torque motor, [Lsq Lsd Rs] represents inductances and
resistances of ELS motor,[P, m] represents the number of pole pairs and magnetic flux of rotor,
3P
[J,B] represents inertia and damping coefficient, kt = 2 mis torque constant, kb = Pm is back
emf constant, and [Te, Tf, TL] is the electromagnetic torque, friction torque and output load
torque. Assuming that inertia and damping coefficient of torque sensor is very small, thus the
dynamics can be written as
TL = K s (q m - q a ) (2)
Here, [ma] represents the angular position of loading motor and actuator, Ks is the total
stiffness of torque sensor and connecting shaft. To achieve largest torque operation and to
eliminate coupling effect between speed and currents, we set d-axis reference current id equal
to zero. Considering the effect of PWM driver and the current feedback, Eq. (2) can be written
as given in [4]. For simplicity, we set Lsq = L and Rs = R
diq R K K K
=- iq - b wm + v i (3)
dt L L L
Here, ki is the current controller gain. Current feedback is assumed to be unity. Assuming that
load and friction torque are zero and taking Laplace transform of Eq. (3) and eliminating I(s),
we get the transfer function from input voltage to output position as
K v Ki
qm Kb (4)
=
2
(
uq S t t S + t S + 1
me m )
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62710
RJ L
In Eq. (4), tm = kt kb is the electromechanical time constant, te = R is the electromagnetic time
constant. Replace Eq. (2) into Eq. (2), the simplified relation can be written as
k k k u - s[( Ls + R )( Js + B ) + kb kt ]K sq a
TL = v i t
D( s) (5)
D ( s ) = s ( Ls + R )( Js + B ) + Kb Kt + T ( Ls + R )
From the numerator of Eq. (5), it is concluded that extra torque is caused by the effect ofa, a
and a. If the reference input command of loading torque motor is zero, i.e.u = 0, then Eq. (5)
is reduced to the following simplified relation
- s[( Ls + R )( Js + B ) + kb kt ]K sq a
TL = (6)
D( s)
From Eq. (6), it is concluded that extra torque is acting on the loading torque motor even if the
reference input command u is zero. Extra torque is a function of the acceleration and velocity
components of the actuators movement. After some simplifications, the state equation
representation of electrical load simulator is written as
(
T&&L = - aT&L + bu - cf Textra , T f , TL ) (7)
In Eq. (7) the parameters are defined as
k k B
a = t b +
JR J
K s kt
b=
JR
Ks
c=
J
( )
f Textra , T f =
Ks
J
(
Tsft + T f )
In Eq. (7) the nonlinear friction is represented using LuGre model, which is written as
T f = a0 Z + a1Z& + a2
a |v|
Z& = v - 0
g (v ) (8)
[ v ]2
g (v) = f c + ( f c - f s )e vs v
In Eq. (8) the parameter g(v) is the Stribeck effect, vs is the Stribeck velocity, fc is coulomb friction,
fs is static friction, z is the average bristle defection,a0 is the stiffness of the bristles, a1 is the
damping term and a2 is the viscous friction coefficient. Now to realistically apply the loading
torque on flight actuator, a feedback torque control system plays vital role. In this study,
adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control system is used to formulate the torque control system.
3.1. Adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control for electrical load simulator system
Sliding mode is a robust control method which has been widely applied to many nonlinear
systems [1015]. This section provides an overview of derivations of torque control system for
electrical load simulators system. Let TLbe the output load torque and Trbe the desired torque
signal, we define tracking error vector as
e = TL - Tr
e& = T& - T&
L r (9)
e = T&&L - T&&r
&&
Error surface vector is defined as
s = e& + l e
s& = && (10)
e + l e&
Assuming that the nominal parameters of the system are known, then by combining Eqs. (7),
(9) and (10) yields
( (
s& = -aT&L + bu - f Textra , T f )) - T&&r + le& (11)
The control law is given by
u=
b
(
1 &
( ) 1
)
aTL + f Textra , T f |q + T&&r - l e& - ( K d .s - w.sgn ( s ) )
b
(12)
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62710
From Eq. (12), it can be analyzed that the total control effort u is the sum of three terms
u = uT + u f + uextra (13)
Here, uT is the control effort for torque tracking, uf is the friction compensation control and uextra
is the extra torque compensation control. The unknown function f (T extra,T f | )is the estimated
output of fuzzy logic for friction and extra torque.
3.1.1. Stability analysis
To prove stability of the closed loop, the Lyapunov function is chosen as
V=
1
2 (s 2
n
+ i
i=1
2i )
(14)
. . n
V = ss + i i
i
i=1
Here i = ^ i i . Combine Eq. (11) and Eq. (14)
.
((
. n
+
V = s aT L + bu f (T extra , T f ) T n i
i i
) ) (15)
i=1
Define T n = T r + e and combine Eq. (12) into Eq. (15)
.
( . .
^ |
K s w.sgn (s )
V = s aT L + aT L + f (T extra , T f ) + T n d
n
(16)
) +
f (T extra , T f ) T i
n i i
i=1
The fuzzy approximation error is defined as [3]
( ) (
e f = f Textra , T f - f% Textra , T f | q *)
(17)
qixi (q& ) = f (Textra , T f ) / q f% (Textra , T f ) | q *
Combining Eq. (16) and Eq. (17) yields [16]

.
^ n
V = s ( f (T extra , T f ) / f (T extra , T f ) K d s w.sgn (s )) + i i
i (18)
i=1
.
(
^ / |
V = s f (T extra , T f ) f (T extra , T f ) * (( f (T extra , T f ) f (T extra , T f ) | *))
n
(19)
K d s w. sgn (s )) + i i
i
i=1
Using Eq. (19) the following adaptive law is derived
( ) .
i = i 1si i ,
(20)
By replacing Eq. (20) in Eq. (19) and simplifying
(
V& = s -e f - K d s - w.sgn ( s ) ) (21)
It is assumed that ideally fuzzy compensating error ef is approaching zero, and by choosing
Kd > 0 it can be shown that
V& = - sK d s 0 (22)
3.1.2. Results and discussion
For simulations and validity of the proposed control scheme, the following parameters are
used. Total inertia of the system is given as J = 0.04Kg/m2, resistance R = 7.5, inductance
L = 1mH, motor torque constant kt = 5.7325Nm/A, back emf constant kb = 5.7325Nm/V, viscous
coefficient B = 0.244Nm/rad/s, torque sensor stiffness Ks = 950Nm/rad, static friction fs = 3Nm,
coulomb friction fc = 2.7Nm, 0 = 260Nm/rad, 1 = 2.5Nm s/rad, 0 = 0.022Nm s/radand Stribeck
velocity = 0.001rad/s. The parameters of the controller are given as fuzzy learning rate
i = 0.0001, amplifier gain ku = 10, kd = 10, w = 1.5, = 15.
3.1.3. Loading motor torque tracking performance
The testing of actuator is performed under the loading torque Tr = 16a where C = 10. From
Figure 3, it is concluded that the output torque applied by the loading motor is exactly the
same as the reference loading torque.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62710
Figure 3. Loading motor closed loop performance.
3.1.4. Flight actuator angle tracking performance under load
Figure 4 presents the testing results and the qualification of the autopilots of the flight actuators
under the aerodynamic loading shown in Figure 3, which is mechanically transmitted from
loading motor. From the results provided, it is concluded that the flight actuator under can
withstand the non-linear profile of the aerodynamic load supplied. Moreover, the autopilot
position controller is also robust and the position tracking errors are small enough.
Figure 4. Flight actuator closed loop performance with aerodynamics load.

4. Conclusion
This chapter covers the basic working principle of the load simulator system for testing of the
flight actuators. As a case study, a real test data was used as reference command to the flight
actuators and the load calculator unit. The output of the load calculator system provides the
reference loading torque command for the loading motor, which is working in closed loop.
From the results presented in this chapter, it is concluded that the proposed hardware setup
is feasible to be utilized for cost-effective testing and qualification of the flight actuation system.
Author details
Nasim Ullah*
Address all correspondence to: nasimullah@cusit.edu.pk
City University of Science and IT, Peshawar, Pakistan
References
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system with dynamic friction compensation. IEEE/ASME International Conference on
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[6] Changhua L.. Design of electric loading system in flight simulator based on PIDNN
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motor for electrical load simulator. IEEE Conference on Industrial Electronics and
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[8] Huang Y., Chen K., and .Wei J. Robust controller design and experiment for electric
load simulator. International Advanced Computer Theory and Engineering, 2010: pp.
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[10] Me H., Hong S., and Ik S.. Mechatronics Precise friction control for the nonlinear friction
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[15] Ullah N. , Shaoping W., Khattak MI. and Shafi M.. Fractional order adaptive fuzzy
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Institute of Measurement and Control, 2015, June 3, 20150142331215587042
Chapter 5
Morphing Technologies: Adaptive Ailerons
Ignazio Dimino, Gianluca Amendola,

Francesco Amoroso, Rosario Pecora and
Antonio Concilio
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/63645
Abstract
European Union is involving increasing amount of resources on research projects that
will dramatically change the costs of building and operating aircraft in the near future.
Morphing structures are a key to turn current airplanes to more efficient and versatile
means of transport, operating into a wider range of flight conditions.
The concept of morphing may aim at a large number of targets, and its assessment strongly
depends on the final objectives and the components where it has to be deployed. Maneuver,
takeoff, landing, cruise conditions, just to cite few and very general examples, have all
their own peculiarities that drive the specifications the wing shape change has to suit on.
In general, an adaptive structure ensures a controlled and fully reversible transition from
a baseline shape to a set of different configurations, each capable of withstanding the
relative external loads. The level of complexity of morphing structures naturally
increases as a consequence of the augmented functionality of the reference system.
Actuation mechanisms constitute a very crucial aspect for adaptive structures design
because has to comply variable wing shapes with associated loads and ensure the
prescribed geometrical envelope.
This chapter provides a presentation of the state of the art, technical requirements, and
future perspectives of morphing ailerons. It addresses morphing aircraft component
architecture and design with a specific focus on the structural actuator system integra
tion. The approach, including underlying concepts and analytical formulations,
combines methodologies and tools required to develop innovative air vehicles. Aileron
is a very delicate region, where aeroelastic phenomena may be very important because
of the very reduced local stiffness and the complex aerodynamics, typical of the wingtip
zone. On the other side, this wing segment showed to be the one where higher cruise
benefits could be achieved by local camber variations. This target was achieved while
keeping the typical maneuver functions.
Keywords: morphing, actuation systems, distributed actuation, wind tunnel tests, ai

leron, lift control
1. Introduction
Men desired to flight since very ancient times being inspired by birds capability to dominate
sky. Nature offers a rich seam of inspiration for a new generation of morphing wing design
across a wide range of scales of interest to engineers going from the biggest birds to the smallest
insect. For example, birds achieve their wing morphing capability using flexible lifting
surfaces, stiffened by hollow bones attached to strong muscle. All the flying creatures of the
world show an inherent capacity to adapt, in a fraction of a second, their wing shape as the
flight condition changes. A very interesting example may be represented by the perching
sequence of an eagle. As reported in [1], birds accomplish changes in wingspan and area by
firstly flexing their wings, and then adopting a characteristic M-shape planform with the inner
wing section sweeps forward, and the outer section sweeps backwards.
It is noteworthy that inspiration from nature is the keywords that lie behind any morphing
idea. Many researchers and engineers around the world have been inspired by the multitasking
flight capabilities of birds, which tend to cover a broad range of mission phases ranging from
slow, near-hover flight to aggressive dives, in order to develop innovative methodologies
involved to resolve many technological problems. Just only observing birds and other flying
creature wings, it is possible to appreciate the complexity of such systems showing intrinsic
capacities to adapt instinctively and immediately to the environment. In particular, birds are
able to articulate their wings in a craning motion to vary the dihedral or sweep angles [1], wing
area, wing planform, wingspan, and other parameters. These changes allow the bird to quickly
adapt between soaring, cruising, and descending flight [1].
The morphing idea was well known by the engineering since the beginning of aviation such
as the Wright brothers who built the first heavier than air aircraft with engine with twisted
wing for roll control. Despite the past century of innovation in aircraft technology, the
versatility of modern aircraft remains far worse than airborne biological counterparts. The
shape modification accomplished by birds stands as one of the few examples of true morphing.
As such, the aircraft engineers worldwide are devoting extensive effort to integrate these
concepts in advanced mechanical systems in order to bring morphing technology to the
readiness level of a flight vehicle. The key purpose is to realize an innovative device capable
to adapt itself to the external environment conditions, by exhibiting an intrinsic multidiscipli
nary attitude involving structures, actuation, sensing, and control. In recent years, European
community funded many research program involved to improve the morphing structures
technology readiness level. SARISTU [2] (acronym of Smart Intelligent Aircraft Structures) was
probably the most advanced large-scale integrating project on morphing structures, coordi
nated by Airbus, aiming at achieving reductions in aircraft weight and operational costs, as
well as an improvement in the flight profile specifically related to aerodynamic performance.
Ended in 2015, the project consisted of a joint integration of different conformal morphing
concepts in a laminar wing with the aim to improve aircraft performance through a 6% drag
reduction inside the lift coefficient range usually devoted to cruise, with a positive effect on
fuel consumption. The final product of the project was the first full-scale completely morphing
wing tip prototype, ever assembled in Europe, at Finmeccanica Headquarters (Pomigliano,
Morphing Technologies: Adaptive Ailerons 91
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/63645
Italy), Figure 1. The innovative seamless morphing wing incorporates a gapless morphing
leading edge, a morphing trailing edge, and an adaptive winglet.
Figure 1. Assembly of the SARISTU morphing wing consisting of different morphing devices [2].
Morphing technology is now approaching the high maturity practices for the integration on
real aircraft. How to adapt is a problem regarding sensing, actuation, and control laws, which
are very critical. Hence, although an animals wings may be able to change shape in a complex
manner, the total number of independently controlled degrees of freedom may not be high.
This indicates that a smart structure is built upon relatively simple principles. It will be
actuated in one point and, by means of movable structural elements with limited DOF; the
movement is transmitted to the whole structure so that the wing will be built to adapt at loading
rather than to resist it.
1.1. Actuation systems for morphing applications
The state of the art of high-lift actuation systems of aircraft control surfaces predominantly
consists of mechanical transmission shafts moved by rotary or linear hydraulic actuators with
common control valves. These architectures assure a synchronous, safe, and reliable deploy
ment of all HLD (High Lift Device) but with limited flexibility [3]. The main functionality of
the high-lift devices is to provide lift increment at low-speed condition (take/off and landing)
so that the clean wing is optimized for the cruise speed regime. There are a lot of HLD on wing
aircraft such as plain flaps to fowler flaps with single, double, and even the most complex triple
slots (Boeing 747). The design and optimization of high-lift systems are one of the most complex
tasks in aircraft design. It involves a close coupling of aerodynamics, structures, and kinemat
ics. The evolutionary trend of the HLD has been strongly driven by the dramatic improvement
in aerodynamic tools optimization and in computational systems for complex structure
simulations (multi-body kinematics). At the early stage, the research of aerodynamics high-
lift performance (CLmax) was achieved by means of multi-slotted experimentally validated two-
dimensional flap design. These systems allowed to achieve satisfactory performance with
penalties in structural complexity and weight and, therefore, in costs that were not sustainable
in the current applications. Later on, the improvement in computation fluid dynamics has
permitted to carefully optimize flap systems in two-dimensional flow with a clear advantage
for fowler mechanism that allowed to reach higher values of maximum lift due to the effect of
an increased lifting surface. Such fowler mechanism, on the other side, required even more
complex kinematic actuation system due to a combination of two movements: one translation
and a rotation. The fowler flap deployment mechanisms were designed using linear or curved
tracks in conjunction with revolute joint for the rotation, but unfortunately, the high-lift values
achieved were compensated by the relatively high weight penalties introduced by such
systems. The reason for such high weight drawbacks was due to very intensive loads to be
withstood by track bearings with also subsequent high maintenance costs. More recently, the
research for aerodynamic efficiency and reduced weight penalties and complexity has been
fostered by large utilization of multi-body system optimization that permitted the develop
ment of lighter and more efficient kinematic mechanism such as multi-link system. Such
devices permit to match even very complex aerodynamic requirements with relatively
structurally efficient system. As a matter of fact, today it seems very difficult to further improve
in terms of an optimum balance among aerodynamic, structural weight, and complexity in the
Figure 2. Evolutionary trend in high-lift systems [4].

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/63645
current system, namely A350 or Boeing 767, this appears evident by the flattening of the curve
in Figure 2.
From the previous graph, it is evident that todays high-lift system are moving toward the
development of innovative mechanisms with continuous curvatures, leading to the removal
of gaps in order to obtain the same performance with the less deflections. In other words, this
means implementing morphing concepts, as highlighted in the graph reported in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Simplification of the high-lift actuation systems over the last few decades.
Additionally, flap mechanisms must be reliable and fail-safe. In order to not violate safety
needs, the driving idea is to elude a multitude of links and joints in series, where high load
concentrations are located; because the failure of any one of which could either locks up the
flap, make it collapse. There are many type of flap mechanism that are largely investigated in
[4, 5]. The actuation scheme of the Airbus A340 and its extraction device are depicted in Figures
4 and 5. The central hydraulic power control unit (PCU) supplies the power necessary to deflect
the flap panels on each wing. A mechanical transmission shaft transmits the mechanical power
to the rotary actuators, which move the flaps on the tracks. This shaft system consists of
gearboxes necessary for larger direction changes as well as system torque limiters, wing tip
brakes, universal joints, plunging joints, and spline joints to accommodate wing bending and
temperature effects. The high-lift system is controlled and monitored by two slat-flap control
computers (SFCC) using sensor information from several analogue and discrete sensors. This
type of mechanical transmission shaft system consists of a high number of components with
different part numbers and requires high design-engineering and installation effort.
Figure 4. Global scheme of the inboard and outboard A340 flap actuation system [3].
Figure 5. A340 flap mechanism based on the link/track architecture [5].
In contrast to the previous mechanism, the flap deployment system of the Boeing 767 (Figure
6) is based on a limited number of links in order to create an articulated quadrilateral or more
complex hexagonal chain.
Figure 6. Boeing 767 flap system: cruise position (a) and landing configuration (b) [5].
Recent development programs at Airbus and Boeing extend the functional capabilities of the
flap systems. The A350 XWB as well as the B787 high-lift systems design will incorporate
additional functionalities that provide aircraft performance optimization. Additional func
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/63645
tionality is achieved with an evolution of the traditional mechanical transmission shaft system
and additional active components [6]. The A350's flaps are a very simple drop-hinge design
with a single slot between the trailing edge of the spoiler and the leading edge of the flap. As
the flap extends, the spoilers deflect downwards to control the gap and optimize the high-lift
performance of flap. It constitutes a multipurposes high-lift system with augmented function
alities, and furthermore, it is a lightweight structures thanks to its low complexity link-based
kinematic. This can be summarized in the next Figures 7 and 8.
Figure 7. A350 XWB (Extra-Wing Body) flap in cruise condition [6].
Figure 8. A350 XWB (Extra-Wing Body) with A/B and tab deflection for roll control maneuver [6].
Moreover, for the first time, the flap system will have the both the capability for differential
inner and outer settings as well as a variable camber function. The design is composed of a
gearbox with a motor installed between the outer and inner flap that enables a differential
control of the relative angle in order to shift inboard the resultant lift for a less bending moment.
Furthermore, both inner and outer flaps can be moved together during the cruise to optimize
the wing's camber for each phase of the flight and use the polar of drag to its most efficient
configuration [6].
It remains to discuss if, as the complexity level of the actuation mechanism seems to reduce,
the promise of morphing aircraft will become feasible within the next few years. If so, how
morphing devices will be actuated?
The next technological challenge, envisaged in the context of more or all-electric aircraft, will
be to replace the heavy conventional hydraulic actuators with a distributed spanwise arrange
ment of smaller electromechanical actuators (EMAs). This will bring several benefits at the
aircraft level: firstly, fuel savings. Additionally, a full electrical system reduces classical
drawbacks of hydraulic systems and overall complexity, yielding also weight (-15%) and
maintenance benefits. Lack of supply buses, improved torque control, enhanced efficiency,
removal of fluid losses and flammable fluids are only some of the benefits that can be achieved.
On the other hand, a general limit of electro-mechanic actuators is the possibility of jamming
failures that can lead to critical aircraft failure conditions. Figure 9 shows a practical compar
ison between the aircraft torque shaft configuration and a distributed actuation arrangement
suitable for a morphing trailing edge device.
Figure 9. Distributed concept versus concentrated actuation concept.
The simultaneous need for monitoring target morphed shapes, actuation forces, and flight
controls along with the counter-effects of aerodynamic loads under aircraft operating condi
tions suggests the use of a ground-based engineering tool for the physical integration of
systems. The most suitable to optimize and validate such systems including electromechanical
component such as actuators and flight controls is the Iron Bird. The basic scheme of an Iron
Bird suitable for the integration of different morphing systems is depicted in Figure 10. It
includes different morphing devices installed on an aeroelastically reasonable aircraft wing
box as well as the basic equipment needed to carry out hardware in the loop simulations.
Such a concept may be used to demonstrate advanced control technologies in a modular multi-
level design that provides the robustness and the flexibility of a real aircraft integration.
Manufacturing, assembly, and integration issues including electrical and flight control may
be extensively addressed in relation to the actual configuration of the aircraft. It is the perfect
tool to confirm the characteristics of all system components or to discover an incompatibility
that may require modifications during early development stages, and thereby, it accelerates
the transition to test in a relevant environment. Additionally, failures and mitigation actions
introduced in the systems can be studied in full detail and recorded for analysis using such a
dedicated testbed.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/63645
Figure 10. Representative scheme of an Iron Bird tool suitable for testing morphing devices.
The Iron Bird for testing morphing wing architectures enables test engineers to evaluate the
real-time capabilities of morphing devices with the purpose of:
demonstrating maturity, reliability, and integrated performance of morphing devices that

otherwise could only be achieved with more expensive costly and less safe methods such
as wind tunnel tests or flight tests;
optimizing morphing wing architecture by testing both compliant and rigid-body mecha
nism-based morphing concepts and their related actuation, sensor, and control systems by
monitoring aircraft weight and cost savings;
investigating aircraft safety-related aspects by simulating system failures, such as jamming,
runaways one engine loss, strong cross-wind, aeroelastic effects to validate fault tree
analyses, and hazard assessments;
including operational loads that apply hinge moment forces to the aircraft morphing
surfaces, representative of the aerodynamics forces applied during the simulated flight test
and driven by the flight simulation model;
detailing cable routing and pathways;
validating the electrical consumption of each actuation system, in stationary and dynamic
conditions, and the required command to A/C surface in each test case.
2. Design of a morphing aileron
The design of a camber morphing aileron is following detailed as a reference case study for
research into the subject. The aileron main functionalities such as roll maneuver are not
modified. Conversely, with augmented capabilities integrated, the morphing aileron is
deployed in cruise, through a symmetric deflection, to obtain a near optimum wing geometry
enabling optimal aerodynamic performance. The design approach, including underlying
concepts and analytical formulations, combines design methodologies and tools required to
develop such an innovative control surface.
2.1. Multi-box structure design
Inner and medium wing regions where flap systems are generally located are growingly
receiving considerable attention in research. That successful development was worth to be
further investigated in order to understand its applicability to the whole wing span. It does
then mean to verify the applicability of those concepts to the aileron region. This region plays
a fundamental role for the aircraft roll control while is subjected to the external loads. Thus,
during the preliminary design phase, it is important to consider some specific critical aspects:
(i) The aileron constitutes a primary control surface, which is safety critical. Failure is a
catastrophic event for the aircraft; (ii) the morphing capability is added to the conventional
aileron which remains free to rotate around its main hinge axis; (iii) the aileron region
constitutes a delicate zone from aero-elastic point of view; (iv) morphing will introduce normal
modes driving flutter instability; (v) the wing tip region is characterized by very reduced space
leading to a difficult integration of actuator and kinematic. This section details the design
phases of the morphing aileron, spanning from preliminary numerical verifications to wind
tunnel tests. The general morphing architecture and design process resemble the same
philosophy developed for the SARISTU trailing edge. The device is aimed at working in cruise
to modify a limited chord segment of the aileron, so to accomplish the aircraft weight variations
following fuel consumption. However, during classical maneuver, this morphing part remains
rigid and the aileron works in the usual manner. Such complex adaptive system has to meet
specific requirements in terms of the aerodynamic target shape, stiffness distribution, and
morphing controllability. In light of these considerations, an articulated mechanism was
developed, in which each component have a predominant utility, but at the same time have
to cooperate with the others in withstanding loads, distributing stress and driving the
architecture in a controlled way from the baseline configuration to the target shapes (morphed
down and morphed up). The proposed architecture was designed according to transport
regional aircraft specifications. The morphing aileron is mainly composed of: (i) five segment
ed rib connected by means of rotational hinges positioned on the camber line creating a
kinematic chain assuring enough structural robustness and transmitting deformation; (ii)
spanwise stiffening elements such as spars and stringers in a multi-box arrangements; (iii)
three servo-rotary actuators which drive the mechanism; (iv) a segmented skin (armadillo-
like configuration) with silicon gap fillers to avoid discontinuities between adjacent parts and
to ensure low friction sliding during morphing.
The geometrical external contour of the aileron constitutes the first step for its structural design.
The rib mechanism uses therefore a three segment polygonal line to approximate the camber
of the airfoil and to morph it into the desired configuration, while keeping approximately
unchanged the airfoil thickness distribution. Each aileron articulated ribs (Figure 11) has been
assumed to be segmented into three consecutive blocks (B0, B1, and B2) connected to each
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/63645
other by means of hinges displayed on the airfoil camber line (A and B) in a finger-like
configuration. Moreover, non-consecutive rib plates are connected by mean of a link (L) that
forces the camber line segments to rotate according to specific gear ratio and makes each rib
equivalent to a single-DOF mechanism.
Figure 11. Morphing rib architecture: (a) blocks and links, (b) hinges.
The ribs kinematic was transferred to the overall aileron structure by means of a multi-box
arrangement (Figure 12). Each spanwise box of the structural arrangement is characterized by
a single-cell configuration delimited along the span by homologue blocks of consecutive ribs,
and along the chord by longitudinal stiffening elements (spars and/or stringers). Upon the
actuation of the ribs, all the boxes are put in movement thus changing the external shape of
the aileron; if the shape change of each rib is prevented by locking the actuation chain, the
multi-box structure is elastically stable under the action of external aerodynamic loads. A four-
bay (five-rib) layout was considered for an overall (true-scale) span of 1.5 meters. AL2024-T351
alloy was used for spars, stringers, and rib plates, while 17-4PH steel was used for ribs links.
Off-the-shelf airworthy components were properly selected for the bearing and bushings at
the hinges and coupled to torsional springs to recover any potential free-play.
2.2. Actuation system design
The actuation system peculiarity resided in the fact that it is an un-shafted distributed servo-
electromechanical arrangement deployed to achieve the aileron shape transition from the
baseline configuration to a set of design target shapes in operative conditions moreover it is
self-contained within the structure assuring a smooth surfaces exposed to the flow without
fairing. The only kinematic mechanism that satisfies the target specifications is the oscillating
glyph. The internal structure room defines the geometrical parameters which are directly
related to the kinematic transmission ratio also defined as mechanical advantage (MA);
furthermore, it is necessary to identify the number of actuators required to morph the aileron
in particular due to small sizes near the tip, the last two bays could not be equipped with the
kinematic. In Figure 12, it is shown that the first three ribs are drive by three individual
actuators while the passive segment is slaved to the actuated one.
Figure 12. Internal view of the aileron with actuated and passive segment highlight.
A lightweight and compact leverage was investigated to activate the morphing aileron through
EMAs. The deployment kinematics is based on a direct-drive actuation moving a beam
rigidly connected to block B2 of Figure 11. The actuation beam transmits the actuation torque
to the third segment of the rib, thus making it to rotate with respect to its original position. In
particular, during morphing, the block B2 rotates around an instantaneous rotation centre. The
instantaneous rotation center is here intended as the point in the moving plane around which
all other points are rotating at a specific instant of time. As illustrated in Figure 13(a), the
trajectories of the points in the third block are all circles centered in this point. The determi
nation of point V coordinates allows for the estimation of the actuation torque needed to
withstand the aerodynamic loads acting on the morphing rib structure.
Figure 13. Circular trajectories of sample points (E, F, and G) during morphing (left) and position of hinges A, V, and B
(right).
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With reference to the Figure 14, the rotational motion of the actuation beam is provided by the
crank rotation which moves the carriage along its guide. A force F is thus generated by the
contact between the carriage and the rail. By connecting the actuator shaft to the crank hinge
O and the beam to the third rib segment (B2), the actuation torque is transmitted firstly to the
crank and secondly to the rib rotating around the V in order to counterbalance the external
moment Mrib#3.
Figure 14. Oscillating glyph connected to the third rib segment of the morphing aileron [7].
The aileron shape can be, in this way, adaptively controlled to realize camber variations. The
target morphing angles were derived as corresponding to a rigid rotation of a plain control
surface comprised between -7 and +7. The mechanical advantage of the mechanism (MA)
can be written as follows:
LOAD M F BL BL
MA = = rib # 3 = = (1)
DRIVER M att F BR BR
where the Mrib#3 is the external moment due to aerodynamic loads estimated with respect to
the hinge V, while Matt is the actuation torque provided by the actuator in order to equilibrate
the system. F is the force that the crank produces by means of the cursor, BL is the force arm,
and BR is the crank projection along the guide. Equation (2) shows that the mechanical
advantage only depends on the geometrical characteristics of the system. By combining
geometrical terms, it follows:
L
cot j = cot b (2)
R sin b
This equation allows calculating the actuator shaft rotation () needed to achieve a given
morphing angle () of the rib block and hence of the entire mechanism. After estimating MA,
it is possible to identify the actuation torque that actuator shall supply. Accordingly, the value
of the force F shall be known in order to verify that the stress arising in the carriage moving
into the rail, does not exceed design allowable. The actuation rod is then subjected to the
simultaneous action of the force F and the external moment Mrib#3, both producing bending
stress. This indicates that actuation system design requires a trade-off between the mechanical
advantage and the geometrical constraints limiting the actuator shaft rotation and L/R ratio.
In order to mitigate the maximum counterbalancing load acting on the guide to equilibrate the
aerodynamic moment, a fork-shaped crank coupled with a double sided linear guide was
preferred, as shown in Figure 15.
Figure 15. Actuation system final architecture with high rigidity linear guide.
The VLM method was adopted to evaluate aerodynamic pressure distribution along the
aileron in correspondence of each considered flight attitude (namely wing angle of attack,
flight altitude, and speed) and aileron geometrical configuration. The obtained loads were
considered for structural sizing and validation. A linear static analysis of the isolated actuation
system mechanism by means of a FE simulation was, in a first approximation, performed. The
aim of the numerical simulation was to verify if the static force acting on the linear guide was
below the allowable value prescribed by the producer. In the real operative condition, the
linear guide, being free to move, is not subjected to stress in the direction of motion. Force is
transmitted in the vertical (with respect to the guide axis) and, partially, normal direction (with
respect to the guide plane). For the current application, the actuator system was sized, referring
to the jamming condition, considered as the most critical. In fact, as visible in Figure 16, the
larger extent of the constraints (additional clamps) is expected to lead to higher stresses, locally
(in the contact region) and distributed (overall). The actuation beam is then simultaneously
loaded with the external aerodynamic moment, the vertical static force and a horizontal
component (linked to the jamming), producing a pure bending with a higher stress level rather
than the free guide. This effect was simulated by means of a perfect bonding between the rail
and slider. The reaction force acting on the linear guide for a given aerodynamic moment was
firstly evaluated and then compared to the expected actuation torque (Figure 17) multiplying
by the crank length.
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Figure 16. Stress contour on the linear guide element (max stress ~400 MPa).
Figure 17. Beam displacement contour (a, left); guide reaction loads of 177 N and 179 N (b, right).
The finite element model of the entire aileron was then carried out. The FE model is represen
tative of the three-dimensional drawings (CAD) of the entire aileron demonstrator. It includes
main structural components such as segmented ribs and spars, actuation system leverage, and
skin panels. Solid elements (CTETRA) were used for the mesh of the primary structure and
the actuation leverage; meanwhile, beam elements (CBEAM) were used for modelling all the
joints (fasteners, hinges, pins, and so on). FE model general data are recapped in Table 1.
FE model general data

Number of elements 2.138 E+6
Number of nodes 1.393 E+6
Estimated DOFs 3.638 E+6
Total estimated volume (m3) 6.785 E+6
Total estimated mass (kg) 21.00
Moment of inertia about aileron hinge-line (kg m )

2
0.403
Table 1. FE model characteristics.

The aileron primary structure is composed of ribs, actuation kinematic chains, spars, and skin.
Aileron leading edge was not modelled for stress analysis purposes; however, it was consid
ered only to properly evaluate the interface loads transmitted by the aileron to the wing box.
In Figure 18, a global view of the aileron FE model is depicted, while in Figure 19(a) and (b),
details of rib and spars meshes are shown.
Figure 18. Aileron FE model.
Figure 19. (a) Aileron rib solid mesh (CTETRA), (b) spar solid mesh (CTETRA).
Main mechanical properties of the materials adopted for the aileron components are listed in
the next table (Table 2).
Material (isotropic) E (GPa) (kg/m3) v Items

Steel C50 220 7850 0.3 Beam of the actuation system, linear
guide features, crank, and rib links
Al 2024-T351 70 2768 0.33 All other items
Table 2. Aileron components material.

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All the components of the actuation system were connected to each other by means of several
pins which were simulated using CBEAM elements (Figure 20(a) and (b)).
Figure 20. Connection pins between linear guides items (a) and detail of the local connection among the actuation kine
matic parts (b).
Static analysis results have been here reported with reference to the limit load and ultimate
load (1.5 times the limit load). In Figure 21, the global magnitude of the displacements
exhibited by the aileron at limit load condition is shown. The maximum value (21.8 mm) is
located at the trailing edge in proximity of the first bay.
Figure 21. Global aileron displacement distribution at LL condition.
The stress distribution is characterized by concentrated peak around hinges and high solici
tation of the actuation beam which is the most loaded components. Concerning the actuation
levers, it is showed the typical stress distribution in bending; stress peaks greater than 350 MPa
were found close to un-chamfered notches (Figure 22(a)). In addition, it is depicted (Figure
22(b)) the elements with stress level higher than 320 MPa. In this case, showing the most
stressed elements is localized in a small area around the holes of the linkage between beam
and spar and in proximity of the linear guides.
Figure 22. Global VM stress distribution on actuation beam at LL (a) and element stress distribution above threshold
values of 320 MPa (b).
3. Prototyping and wind tunnel tests
On the basis of the numerical outcomes, the executive drawings of the prototype were
produced and the aileron was then manufactured. Main structural parts are machined, while
linear guides and actuators are components off-the-shelf (COTS). In the subsequent pictures,
the segmented rib architecture, the actuation kinematic chain, and the final manufactured
prototype (after painting) are shown. The morphing aileron was then integrated in a wing box
and tested in wind tunnel at NRC (National Research Council of Ottawa, Canada), in the
framework of the research program CRIAQ MDO505 involving Italian and Canadian univer
sity and research centre cooperation [8]. The aileron deflections are shown in Figure 26, and
the integrated wing prototype is reported in Figure 27. The preliminary results obtained during
wind tunnel tests were computed for baseline and morphed down configurations: lift versus
angle of attack (CL ). (Figure 28); drag versus angle of attack (CD ) (Figure 29); drag
polars (CL CL) (Figure 30). The first one shows a typical linear trend. The curve slope (CL)
remains unchanged and clearly by a morphing aileron deflection (from baseline to 6), the
camber increase (high 0L and the curve moves in parallel upwards. The CD curve trend is
reported in Figure 29 for both unmorphed and morphed down configurations. The tendency
shows that the minimum drag coefficient shift on the left as the morphing deflection increase
leading to high CD0. Finally, the drag polars are depicted in Figure 30. In this case, when a
morphing deflection occur, the polar cross in correspondence of a pivot point for high CL while
it moves on the right side of the Cartesian plane for low CL. This means that it is possible to
identify an envelope curves which is the optimum one (dotted red line) (Figures 2325).
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Figure 23. Aileron manufacturing with detail on hinges and rib.
Figure 24. Detail on aileron actuation system.
Figure 25. Photograph of the aileron prototype.

Figure 26. Morphing aileron at various deflections.
Figure 27. Complete CRIAQ wind tunnel test article including a morphing aileron [8].
Figure 28. Lift coefficient versus angle of attack curve.

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Figure 29. Drag coefficient versus angle of attack curve.
Figure 30. Drag polars with the envelope curve.
4. Conclusions
A self-contained morphing concept applied to a safety critical hinged control surface was
presented in this chapter. In particular, a morphing aileron was investigated as an extension
of an adaptive trailing edge in order to improve of L/D ratio and at the same time to preserve
the conventional aileron functionality. The resulting morphed geometry, called morphing
aileron, ensures an augmented functionality with respect to a conventional rigid aileron.

The device is able to rigidly rotate around main hinge axis and in addition will enable camber
morphing. Being a safety critical surface, the structural design of a complete morphing aileron
is rarely addressed in the literature. Such an original work provides thus evidence and
arguments that contribute to the knowledge of morphing systems. Potentially suitable for
static or dynamic purposes, the morphing aileron is an extension of the morphing trailing edge
technology to the wing tip where small deflections could bring significant aerodynamic
benefits. It has been designed for a symmetrical deflection during cruise in order to compensate
A/C weight variation due to fuel burned. In such a manner, it is aimed to increase aerodynamic
efficiency (reduce drag) in off design points. Additionally, the deflection of a morphing aileron
it is expected to redistribute the spanwise wing distribution in order to reduce wing root
bending moment. On the other hand, by increasing actuator bandwidth, it can be tailored to
reduce peak stress from gust.
In order to deflect a finger-like rib architecture, a compact electromechanical actuation based

on double-sided guides and a fork-shaped crank has been designed. Advanced finite element
model in order to validate the structure at limit and ultimate loads have been carried out setting
all the details necessary to produce a laboratory demonstrator. This one was assembled and
tested, proving the effective functionality of the concept. Finally, wind tunnel tests assessing
the aerodynamic trend of such innovative architectures have been reported. The idea herein
described leads the way to further researches aimed at enhancing the TRL of the concept. To
this aim, some remarks should be done on the most critical aspects of the current device. In
particular, future steps may be: (i) an embedded sensing network for enhanced control in order
to assure the achievement of the target aero-shapes; (ii) actual shapes evaluation and compar
ison with expected aero-shapes; (iii) aerodynamic benefits comparison between rigid and
morphing aileron; (iv) morphing aileron-related (wing and A/C) performance benefits
estimations; (v) enhanced design with topology optimization; (vi) segmented skin aerody
namics comparison with a tailored complaint skin technology; (vii) high-speed simulations
and tests.
Author details
Ignazio Dimino1*, Gianluca Amendola1, Francesco Amoroso2, Rosario Pecora2 and

Antonio Concilio1
*Address all correspondence to: i.dimino@cira.it
1 CIRA, The Italian Aerospace Research Centre, Adaptive Structures Division, Capua, Italy
2 University of Napoli, Federico II, Industrial Engineering Dept, Aerospace Division, Na

poli, Italy
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References
[1] Valasek, J., Morphing Aerospace Vehicles and Structures, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.,
United States (2012)
[2] Wlcken, P.C., Papadopoulos, M., Smart Intelligent Aircraft Structures (SARISTU),
Proceedings of the Final Project Conference, Springer, Germany (2015). ISBN:
978-3-319-22413-8.
[3] Recksiek, M., Advanced High Lift System Architecture with Distributed Electrical Flap
Actuation, AST 2009, March 2930, Hamburg, Germany.
[4] Dreler, U., Take-off and landing configurations, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, March
1999.
[5] Rudolph, P.K.C., High-Lift System on Commercial subsonic Airlines, NASA Report 4746,
September 1996.
[6] Derrien, J.C., Electromechanical Actuator (EMA) Advanced Technologies for Flight
Controls, Presented at 28th International Congress of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS
2012).
[7] Dimino, I., Flauto, D., Diodati, G., Concilio, A., Pecora, R., Actuation System Design for
a Morphing Wing Trailing Edge, Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering, Volume 7,
2014, pp. 138148.
[8] Kammegne, M.J.T., Botez, M.R., Mamou, M., Mebarki, Y., Koreanschi, A., Gabor, O.S.,
Grigorie, T.L., Experimental Wind Tunnel Testing of a New Multidisciplinary Morphing
Wing Model, Proceedings of the 18th International Conference On Mathematical
Methods, Computational Techniques and Intelligent Systems (MAMECTIS 2016).
Chapter 6
Self-Healing Control Framework Against Actuator Fault

of Single-Rotor Unmanned Helicopters
Xin Qi, Zhong Liu, Yuqing He, Liying Yang,

Yuqing He and Jianda Han
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62480
Abstract
Unmanned helicopters (UHs) develop quickly because of their ability to hover and
low speed flight. Facing different work conditions, UHs require the ability to safely
operate under both external environment constraints, such as obstacles, and their own
dynamic limits, especially after faults occurrence. To guarantee the postfault UH
system safety and maximum ability, a selfhealing control (SHC) framework is
presented in this chapter which is composed of fault detection and diagnosis (FDD),
faulttolerant control (FTC), trajectory (re)planning, and evaluation strategy. More
specifically, actuator faults and saturation constraints are considered at the same time.
Because of the existence of actuator constraints, usable actuator efficiency would be
reduced after actuator fault occurrence. Thus, the performance of the postfault UH
system should be evaluated to judge whether the original trajectory and reference is
reachable, and the SHC would plan a new trajectory to guarantee the safety of the
postfault system under environment constraints. At last, the effectiveness of proposed
SHC framework is illustrated by numerical simulations.
Keywords: fault detection and diagnosis, faulttolerant control, invariant set, self
healing control framework, trajectory (re)planning
1. Introduction
Safe operation and reliability are important performances of unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs). Unmanned helicopters (UHs) as a kind of UAVs develop quickly because of their
ability to hover and low speed flight. Nevertheless, traditional control and planning strategies
cannot guarantee their safety and reliability in the face of malfunctions such as sensor faults,
actuator faults, and component faults. Furthermore, taking physical limits such as actuator
constraints and state constraints into account, the situation would be more serious. In order
to ensure the reliability and safety of UHs, fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) and fault
tolerant control (FTC) approaches become focus of research and many related research results
have been presented [1]. However, physical limits are not well considered in conventional
FTC approaches which may affect their efficiency. On the other hand, besides UH's dynam
ic limits, external environment constraints, such as obstacles, also affect UH's safety.
However, traditional planning methods cannot consider environment constraints and
vehicles limits at the same time which makes these methods helpless in the face of faults. In
this chapter, a selfhealing control (SHC) framework is proposed against actuator faults and
constraints of singlerotor UHs under external environment constraints. The SHC frame
work is shown in Figure 1 which involves FDD module, reconfigurable controller, trajecto
ry (re)planning module, and evaluator module.
Figure 1. SHC framework.
The tasks of the above modules are as follows:
1. FDD module: Estimate the actuator healthy coefficient (AHC) [2] in real time. AHCs can
indicate healthy conditions of actuators and actuator fault information is the basis of
controller reconfiguration.
2. Reconfigurable controller: This module realizes the same functions as conventional FTC
approaches and considers actuator constraints at the same time. After fault occurrence,
the faultfree controller will be configured as a postfault controller according to AHCs
provided by FDD module to guarantee the stability of the postfault UH system.
3. Trajectory (re)planning module: Compute realizable trajectory based on desired path and
UH dynamic model under environment constraints. This module calculates a feasible
trajectory under both faultfree and postfault conditions. Furthermore, controller
references are computed directly in this module which can be used by reconfigurable
controller.
Self-Healing Control Framework Against Actuator Fault of Single-Rotor Unmanned Helicopters 115
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62480
4. Evaluator module: Evaluate system performance of UHs according to AHCs, UH dynamic

model, and controller and trajectory information. If the original controller and trajectory
are not feasible, this module will ask related modules to reconfigure controller and replan
trajectory.
The remaining part of this chapter is organized as follows: singlerotor UH and AHC models
are simply introduced in Section 2; Section 3 investigates FDD approach against actuator faults
based on extended Kalman filter (EKF) and linear neural network (LNN). In Section 4, the
postfault controller is designed to guarantee the stability of UH system under both actuator
faults and constraints; Section 5 presents invariantset based planning (ISBP) approach that
can compute controller reference according to desired path and UH dynamic model. Evalua
tion strategy is introduced in Section 6 and numerical simulations are shown in Section 7.
Finally, Section 8 summarizes the chapter with conclusions.
2. Model of UH and AHCs
2.1. UH model
The 6DOF dynamics of UH is given by the following NewtonEuler equations:
. Fb Fg
Vb = -wb Vb + +
m m
w& b = -[ M b - wb ( I bwb )] / I b
where V b = u v w is the velocity vector, b = p q r is the angular velocity vector, F b is the

aerodynamic force vector, F g is the gravity force vector, I b is the moment of inertia matrix, M b
is the aerodynamic moment vector, and m is the UH mass.
Aerodynamic forces and moments can be calculated by
Fb = f f (d lon , d lat , d col , d ped , wr )

M b = f m (d lon , d lat , d col , d ped , wr )
where lon, lat, col, and ped are the longitude, latitude, main rotor collective pitch, and tail rotor
collective pitch control inputs, respectively. r is control input of main rotor rotating speed.
Typically, f f and f m are nonlinear functions and their details can be found in [3, 4].
Note that lon, lat, col are the nominal control inputs and they do not represent the actual
actuator outputs. The relationship between the nominal and actual inputs is determined by
the structure of swashplate [5] and their values can be converted to each other.
In order to guarantee the accuracy of AHC estimation, nonlinear model is used to design FDD
approach. However, the above nonlinear model is too complex to design EKF filter so that a
simplified nonlinear discretetime model is used [6]:
x(k ) = f ( x(k - 1), u (k - 1)) + w (k - 1)

(1)
y (k ) = h( x(k )) + n (k )
where x R n is the system state vector, y R p is the system output vector, u R m is the system
control input vector, and are the process noise and measurement noise that are assumed
to be Gaussian white noise with zero mean and uncorrelated from each other. Considering
swashplate configuration [5], the system control input vector is u = l , r , b, t , r where
l , r , b are left, right, back swashplate actuator outputs, and t = ped is the tail actuator output.
On the other hand, the linear dynamic model is used to design controller and trajectory
planning which is shown as follows:
xh (k + 1) = Ah xh (k ) + Bhuh (k )
(2)
yh (k ) = Ch xh (k )
where xh R n = x xtrim, yh R p = y ytrim, uh R m = u utrim, and xtrim, ytrim, utrim are the trim
values. Ah , Bh , and Ch are all constant matrices.
2.2. AHC model
Suppose v is the control signal given by controller called control variable and u is the actual
actuator output called manipulated variable, their relationship is represented by
u (k ) = Lv(k ) + ( I - L )u
where is a diagonal matrix with = diag(1, ..., m), i 0, 1 , and u R m is a constant vector.
In addition, i and u i are the proportional effectiveness and fault bias of the ith actuator's AHC.
i = 1 and u i = 0 represent that the ith actuator is faultfree; otherwise, the ith actuator has fault.
Thus, the fault condition of actuators can be represented by AHCs.
3. EKF and LNNbased FDD approach
Because of the serious nonlinear coupling between all control channels, we assume that an
actuator has fault whereas others are still well, and the actuator for rotate speed control, r , is
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62480
always well. Here, the multiplicative fault of an actuator as a parameter that is indicated by
the AHC for this kind of fault is more likely to happen. The following will introduce the
realization of fault diagnosis in the order of fault identification module, fault isolation module,
and fault detection module. In this section, x(k) is written as xk for simplicity and x^ k |k 1
represents the preestimation value of xk based on the information of k 1 step.
3.1. Fault identification module
The task of fault identification is to determine the size of the fault and the fault time after fault
isolation. The size of a fault is indicated by the proportional effectiveness of AHC, so we should
estimate the actual manipulated variable vector u according to state estimations from EKF and
actual control signal v to calculate and obtain the proportional effectiveness.
As shown in Eq. (1), in a typical nonlinear discretetime system, the input vector is obtained
from actuators, and the current state vector xk is calculated based on the state vector of the last
step. The estimations of x^ k |k and x^ k 1|k 1 can be obtained by EKF [7]. Therefore, the state
equation can be transformed into the equation as follows:
xk |k = M ( xk -1|k -1 )u + N ( xk -1|k -1 ) (3)
For the calculation, processes of forces and torques of the simplified nonlinear model have
been linearized, Eq. (3) is a linear equation set, and the values of M and N are connected with
state estimations of the last step only.
Typically, Eq. (3) is an overdetermined linear equation set and could not be solved directly [8].
After knowing which actuator is faulty, many output estimations of this actuator can be
obtained by the faultless manipulated variables of other actuators according to Eq. (3). Multiply
the sample column vectors formed by these estimations by a weight matrix and correct this
result with an offset. Then, the manipulated variable estimation of this faulty actuator can be
obtained.
To obtain the above weight matrices and offsets, consider a linear neuron as a simple LNN,
and its inputoutput relation is expressed as follows:
a = f (Wp + b) = Wp + b
where a is the output vector, p is the input sample vector, W is the weight matrix, and b is the
offset. The weight matrices and offsets can be obtained by training. Assume that an actuator
has a fault, and let the output estimations of this actuator be a set of input of the linear neuron.
After simulation, multiple sets of input samples can be obtained, and let the actual manipulated
variable be the target value to train the weight matrix and offset of this actuator. Determine
the weight matrix and offset of every faulty actuator, and make use of them in the online
experience to calculate the estimation of every manipulated variable. The above process is
closely related to the estimation process of EKF; more certainly, EKF and LNN complete the
joint estimation of system states and AHCs together.
3.2. Fault isolation module
The task of fault isolation is to determine the location and type of the fault after fault detection.
The structure of this module is shown in Figure 2 to record the completion time and pass the
serial number of the faulty actuator to fault identification module.
Four fault identification modules are in parallel in this module, and we assume that there are
different actuator faults in different identification modules. Therefore, every fault identifica
tion module can obtain the proportional effectiveness of AHC called isolation AHC. Make use
of the isolation AHC of the ith actuator and let these values of other actuators be both 1 to
calculate the manipulated variables called isolationmanipulated variables according to
control variable vector v . Based on these variables, we can obtain the system state vector and
define it as xiso. In this way, we define the isolation residual of the ith actuator as follows:
resi = ( xiso - xest )T ( xiso - xest )
where xest is state estimation. If the isolation residual of an actuator is less than the isolation
residuals of others, there will be fault in this actuator. For example, if resi is less than other
isolation residuals, the ith actuator can be considered to be faulty.
Figure 2. The structure of fault isolation.

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3.3. Fault detection module
The basis of the above two modules is that the fault is detected quickly and accurately. Known
from the EKF process, the filter obtains the state vector preestimation x^ k |k 1 by the estimations
of the last step and updates x^ k |k 1 by the measurement information to obtain the current
estimation of the state vector x^ k |k . If there is a fault in the actuator, there will be difference
between the preestimations of states and the actual states with fault. However, the estimations
of states would track the actual states after the update. Define a filter residual as follows:
rk = xk |k - xk |k -1
Perform the weighted sum of squared residuals (WSSR) operation [9]:
WSSR k = rkT Srk
where the weight matrix = diag(12, ..., n2) and i is the standard deviation of the filter residual
of the ith state variable to make the residual that can indicate faults work.
According to the threshold value set in advance, the criteria for fault detection are as follows:
if WSSRk > , fault; if WSSRk , no fault.
4. Reconfigurable controller design
In this section, AHCbased antiwindup controller design method is introduced which can be
achieved by solving a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). At the same time, the related
invariantsetbased safety region is also calculated. The definition of invariant set and the
controller design under actuator constraints are given as follows.
4.1. Invariant set
Considering a linear system
x(k + 1) = Ax(k )
the (positively) invariant set can be given by the following definition.
Definition 1 [10]: The set S R n is said invariant for the above system if for all x(0) S the
solution x(k) S. If x(0) S implies x(k) S for k > 0, then we say that S is positively invariant.
Based on Definition 1, the definition of robustly controlled invariant set for the following
system is provided:
x(k + 1) = Ax(k ) + Bu (k ) + Dw (k )

y ( k ) = Cx ( k )
Definition 2 [10]: The set S R n is said robustly controlled invariant for the above system if
there exists a continuous feedback control law u(k ) = Kx(k), which ensures the existence and
uniqueness of the solution on R + such that S is positively invariant for the closed loop system.
An invariant set S can be constructed by the following theorem.
Theorem 1 [11]: The set S = { x(k) R n | V (x(k )) } with V (x(k )) 0 for all x(k ) S is positively
invariant where V is a function.
For convenience, is chosen equal to 1 and simplify S as S = {V (x(k)) 1}. Hence, the construc
tion of S finds a function V , which implies V (x(k )) 0 when V (x(k )) 1. Obviously, if we
assume V (x(k )) 0, V would be a candidate of the Lyapunov function. More specially, if the
Lyapunov candidate function is in quadratic form such that V (x(k )) = x T (k )Px(k), the invariant
set will be an ellipsoid and this nature will be used later.
4.2. Controller design under actuator constraints
Consider linear discrete UH model, Eq. (2), with actuator constraints:
xh (k + 1) = Ah xh (k ) + Bhs (uh (k ))

Where (uh (k)) represents constrained control inputs such that 1 u(k ) 1 and the saturation
feature can be defined by (ui (k)) = sgn(ui (k))min{1, | ui (k ) | }, where sgn( ) is a sign function and
i = 1, ..., m. Then, considering AHC model, the above system can be rewritten as
xh (k + 1) = Ah xh (k ) + Bh 0s (v(k )) + Bhf u

Where Bh 0 = Bh and Bhf = Bh (I ). In the following discussion, assume the number of i = 0 is

mf , which implies mf actuators cannot respond to the control signal and m0 = m mf is the
number of faultfree/partialfault actuators that can respond to the control signal. In other
words, m0 represents the number of nonzero columns of matrix Bh 0. In this way, the postfault
system with different actuator faults can be represented.
In order to achieve setpoint tracking offset free and compensate actuator saturation, an
integrator with a saturation compensator is introduced as follows:
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e(k + 1) = e(k ) + Ts ( ref - Ch xh (k ) ) - Ts Ecj (v(k ))
where e(k ) is the integrator state vector, Ec is the pending compensator matrix,
(v(k)) = v(k) (v(k)) is the difference of controller outputs and actuator outputs under
saturation [12], ref ref = {ref | refT Qr ref 1} is a setpoint reference, Qr is a constant matrix, and
T s is sampling period. Thus, a new openloop system with extend state vector
x (k ) = xhT (k) eT (k) T
can be expressed by
x(k + 1) = Ae x(k ) + Bv(k ) + Dw (k ) - ( B + REc )j (v(k ))

(4)
y (k ) = Cx(k )
T
where (k ) = u T refT ,
A 0 B B 0
Ae = h , B = h 0 , D = [ D1 D2 ] = hf ,
-TsCh I 0 0 Ts I
0
R = and C = [Ch 0]
Ts I
T
Note that, if mf = 0, (k) = ref, then D = 0 (T s I )T will hold.
Based on linear quadratic regulator (LQR) theory, statefeedback controller v(k) = Kx(k ) can be
calculated. Thus, the closedloop postfault system can be expressed by
x(k + 1) = Ax(k ) + Dw (k ) - ( B + REc )j (v(k ))

y ( k ) = Cx ( k )
where A = (Ae + BK ). In order to guarantee the closedloop system stability and to track offset
free under external input (k) and actuator constraints, the following theorem is proposed. As
a basis, first a lemma is given which defines a set of system states related to actuator saturation.
m0(n+ p)
Lemma 1 ([12]): Define the following polyhedral set with matrix G R :
E = { x(k ) ( K i - Gi ) x(k ) | 1, i = 1,..., m}
where K i and Gi represent the ith row of matrices K and G . If x(k) , then the relation
j ( Kx(k ))T T [j ( Kx(k )) - Gx(k )] 0
m0m0
is verified for any positivedefinite matrix T R .
Based on this lemma, saturation compensator can be designed in the following theorem.
Theorem 2: Given LQR parameter matrices Qu , Qx , if there exist a symmetric positivedefinite
m0(n+ p) m0(n+ p) pm0
matrix W R (n+ p)(n+ p), matrices X R , Y R , Z R , diagonal positive
m0m0 p p
definite matrices S R , Wr R , and a positive scale satisfying
inf h
W , X ,Y , Z , S ,Wr
1 X i - Yi
* 0, I = 1,..., m0
W
-W YT 0 0 WAT -C T XT W

* -2 S 0 0 - SBT - Z T RT 0 0 0
* * -h 0 D1T 0 0 0

* * * -Wr D2T I 0 0
* <0
* * * -W 0 0 0

* * * * * -I 0 0

* * * * * * -Qu-1 0
* * * * * * * -1
-Qx
where X i , Y i represent the ith row of matrices X , Y and K = XP , G = YP . Then, the saturation
compensator will be Ec = Z S 1 and the closedloop postfault system will be stable if x(k) inside
the stability domain S = { x(k ) | x T (k)Px(k) 1} with P = W 1. Note that S is defined as the safety
region in this chapter. ref is also achieved with Qr = W r1. The proof can be found in [13].
According to Theorem 2, the safety region S is an invariant set which means that if initial states
and steady states of a system are inside the set, the state trajectory from initial states to steady
states will also be inside the set. In this way, a postfault system with a faulttolerant controller
can be seen as a new closedloop system with the initial state x(kf ), where kf is instant when
the fault is detected Clearly, a postfault system will be safe if initial state x(kf ) is inside the
safety region S.
On the other hand, the related admissible set of reference ref is also achieved by Theorem 2
and it has a closed relationship with the controller. In the next section, the controller design
and the reference design will be composed together.
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5. ISBP approach
This section proposes an ISBP approach that can plan a feasible trajectory based on the desired
path nodes under both external environment constraints and their own dynamic limits [14].
In order to consider environment constraints and dynamic constraints at the same time,
invariant set is used as a bridge to connect the two kinds of constraints because the invariant
set is calculated based on the Lyapunov function that is linked to dynamic model, and on the
other hand, the invariant set has certain geometrical shapes, such as ellipsoid, so that it can
easily be represented in work space with obstacles.
Note that, in this section, we have assumed that the heading of UH is kept to be 0, pitch angle
and roll angle of UH are kept small so that the position of UH in the world coordinate system
can be considered as the integration of velocities in the body coordinate system.
5.1. Reachable set
Considering System (4) with controller v(k) = Kx(k), the definition of reachable set is given.
Definition 3 [15]: The reachable set Sr is defined as
Sr = { y (k ) = Cx(k ) | x(k ) Srx }
x(k ), w (k ), ref satisfy (4),

Srx = x(k ) v(k ) = Kx(k ) Wv ,
ref W ref , x(0) = 0, k 0

where v = {v(k) | 1 vi 1, i = 1, ..., m0}.
5.2. ISBP method
For the convenience of discussion, a 2D work space is used in the following whereas the
proposed ISBP approach can be expanded in 3D condition directly. Consider a preknown
environment as shown in Figure 3, where the initial location is L 0 and the goal location is
L 5. Based on the preknown environment, a lot of path planning approaches can be used to
find a feasible path against external environment constraints such as obstacles. Suppose this
path is represented by a series of nodes such as L 0 L 5, as shown in Figure 3.
The target of the proposed ISBP approach is to calculate feasible controller reference inputs to
move the UH from the initial location to the goal location based on the feasible path and satisfy
both external environment constraints and UH's limits.
Figure 3. Twodimensional environment and feasible path.
Consider a simple example in the preknown environment as shown in Figure 4(a) where the
initial location is L 0 and the goal location is L 1. Suppose a feasible path is represented by two
nodes L 0 and L 1 and their connection is shown in the same figure.
Clearly, the work space is state space; thus, the location in work space is equality to the state
such as the initial state, which is equal to L0. Thus, an invariant set S can be constructed
according to plant dynamic model (4) under controller v(k) = Kx(k ), which also guarantees
obstacle avoidance. Suppose the invariant set is S0 and the related reachable set is Sr 0 as shown
in Figure 4(b). Clearly, because of the existence of constraints such as obstacles and UH's limits,
the invariant set S0 may not contain the goal location L 1 as shown in Figure 4(b). Closely, the
goal location L 1 is also outside the reachable set Sr 0, which means L 1 is unreachable under
this condition. Thus, the system states should be continued moving.
Suppose the intersection of reachable set Sr 0 and feasible path L

0 L 1 is c1 as shown in Fig
ure 4(b). In order to move state from c1 to L 1, a new invariant set, whose center is c1, is required.
Suppose the state of the new system is x (k) = x(k ) xc1, where xc1 is a constant vector whose
position is equal to c1 and other elements are 0. Based on the new system, we can construct the
second invariant set S1 whose center is c1 as shown in Figure 4(c). The related reachable set Sr 1
is also shown. Obviously, the goal location L 1 is inside the reachable set Sr 1 now, which means
L 1 is reachable under this condition. In this way, we can choose the center of S1, c1, and the
goal location L 1 as a sequence of the controller reference input. Finally, Figure 4(d) shows the
practical trajectory that is obtained by the UH actual operation.
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Figure 4. ISBP in 2D condition.
5.3. Calculation of the invariant set and the reachable set
According to Theorem 2, the invariant set S and the reference set ref are obtained. Assume
the reachable set Sr defined by Definition 3 is included in the invariant set S such that Sr S.
Because the reference is bounded such as ref ref and the integrator can guarantee all
references to be reachable such as y() = ref, the reachable set Sr can be denoted by
Sr = {ref | refT Qr ref 1}. Thus, the invariant set and reachable set neglecting external environ
ment constraints are obtained.
However, in order to guarantee controlled plant obstacle avoidance, the state trajectory should
be kept outside all of spheres that represent obstacles. For achieving it, the invariant set S
should not intersect with all of obstacle spheres. Suppose S0 R n+ p is a sphere that is defined
by S0 = { x(k) | x T (k)Q0 x(k ) 1}, where Q0 = diag q1, ..., qn+ p , qi = 1 / dmin
2
, dmin is the distance between
the center of the nearest obstacle and the current system equilibrium point.
According to the above analysis, the following theorem is proposed to calculate the maximum
invariant set S and the reachable set Sr of system (4) under both external environment
constraints and UH's limits.
Theorem 3: Given > 0, LQR parameter matrices Qu , Qx , symmetric positivedefinite matri

ces W 0 and R , if there exist a symmetric positivedefinite matrix W R (n+ p)(n+ p), matrices
m0(n+ p) m0(n+ p) pm0 m0m0

X R , Y R , Z R , diagonal positivedefinite matrices S R ,
p p
Wr R , and a positive scale satisfying
inf l
W , X ,Y , Z , S ,Wr
1 X i - Yi
* 0, I = 1,..., m0
W
-W YT 0 0 WAT -C T XT W

* -2 S 0 0 - SBT - Z T RT 0 0 0
* * -h 0 D1T 0 0 0

* * * -Wr D2T I 0 0
* <0
* * * -W 0 0 0

* * * * * -I 0 0

* * * * * * -Qu-1 0
* * * * * * * -1
-Qx
T
I p 0 p n Wr I p 0 p n W
l R I
* W 0
r
W W0
l >0
where W 0 = Q01, then obstacle avoidance and 1 v(k ) 1 would be guaranteed, furthermore,
the ellipsoid S = { x(k) | x T (k)Px(k) 1} is an invariant set with P =W 1
and
Sr = {ref | ref Qr ref 1} is a reachable set with
T
Qr = W r1, which satisfies Sr S.
Clearly, Theorem 2 is included in Theorem 3 because the invariant set is a bridge to connect
environment and UH dynamic constraints. Thus, by the ISBP approach, the controller design
and controller reference calculation are achieved simultaneously when the preknown work
space, the desired path nodes, and the UH dynamic model are given.
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The relationship between the related sets and the obstacles are shown in Figure 5 assuming
that all sets are projected to a 2D plane.
Figure 5. The relationship of related sets.
In other words, based on the calculated invariant set S and the reachable set Sr , a new center
c1 can be computed which is the intersection point of Sr and the feasible path. The next step is
to calculate the second invariant set and the reachable set whose center is c1 until the last
reachable set covers the final path point.
6. Evaluation strategy
The openloop model (2) of UH is unstable and the actuator outputs are limited. Thus, the only
regional stability of UH can be guaranteed and the stability region is determined by the system
structure and actuator constraints [16]. In other words, if the states of UH are inside the stability
region, the UH would be of safety; otherwise, the UH may be in danger. Obviously, after
actuator fault occurrence, actuator efficiency will be reduced. Hence, the safety region of the
postfault system will be different with the faultfree case as shown in Figure 6(a). Suppose that
the safety region of the faultfree system with a faultfree controller is ff and the postfault
system with a FTC controller is pf as shown in Figure 6(b); furthermore, the initial state of
the faultfree system is x0 ff and an actuator fault is detected at k f 1. Clearly, the state x(k f 1)
is outside the safety region of the postfault system pf so that the postfault system may be
unstable (as shown by state trajectory x(k f 1)x (k f 1)) at last. That is to say, the actuator fault
cannot be compensated. In contrast, suppose that the other fault is detected at k f 2 and
x(k f 2) pf is valid, which represents that the fault can be compensated. However, the states
in steady case are also determined by references such as x f 1 which may be outside the safety
region pf. Obviously, this reference is unreachable and tracking such reference may lead UH
unsafe (as shown by the state trajectory x(k f 2)x f 1). Hence, reference reachability should be
analyzed before system motion and a new reachable reference is necessary. Compared with
x f 1, x f 2 may be more reasonable which is inside pf.
Figure 6. A sample of safety region of faultfree and postfault system in 2D state space.
According to Theorem 2, the safety region S is an invariant set. Clearly, a postfault system will
be safe if initial states are inside the safety region S f of the postfault system. In this way, the
initial states of the postfault system can be evaluated. Second, the steady states will be
analyzed. In steadystate case, actuators are not expected to be saturated so that the remaining
efficiency of actuators can be used for disturbance defence. Hence, the original reference
should be inside the reachable set of the postfault system such as ref Srf, where Srf is the
reachable set of the postfault system; otherwise, the original reference ref is not reachable and
tracking the original one may lead UH unsafe. The reason is that the actuator efficiency is
reduced in the postfault system and tracking unreachable reference will lead faultfree actuator
saturated which implies that UH cannot respond to control signal correctly. Under this
condition, a new optimal reference is required which can be calculated by the trajectory
replanning approach. In other words, if the original reference is not reachable after detecting
the actuator fault, the ISBP approach should be called to calculate new trajectory and controller
reference based on the postfault dynamic model of UH.
7. Numerical simulation
The parameters of nonlinear UH dynamic model used in numerical simulations is obtained

from reference [6]. This model is used as the simulation model in this section. The step size of
this simulation is 0.02s, which is the same as the control period of the real UH flight platform.
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7.1. FDD simulation
Based on the simplified nonlinear model, the EKF is designed and LNN is used to train weight
matrices and offsets of faulty actuators. The parameters of the EKF filter and the training results
of the left swashplate actuator by LNN are as follows: Q = diag(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0),
R = 2.5 105 diag(40, 40, 40, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1),
W = 0.0095, 0.00015, 0.000073, 0.076, 0.01023, 0.01008 , b = 0.03099
where Q and R are covariance matrices of the process noise and the measurement noise,
respectively. Then, we introduce a multiplicative fault on the left swashplate actuator as
follows:
l1 = 1 0 t < 20

l1 = 0.6 t 20
The fault detection module based on the filter residuals can get the WSSR curve shown in
Figure 7. When no fault occurs, the WSSR curve cannot exceed the threshold.
Figure 7. The curve of filter WSSR under the left servo fault.
After fault detection, isolation residuals are calculated to isolate this fault. The curves of four
isolation residuals are shown in Figure 8. According to this figure, the isolation residual of the
left swashplate actuator is less than other residuals. That is to say, the left actuator of swash
plate is faulty. The fault isolation module cannot provide the right isolation results as soon as
the completion of fault detection because of the vibration caused by the measurement noise.
There may be misdiagnosis of the fault location within a very short time.
Figure 8. Curves of isolation residuals of every actuator under the left servo fault.
The curve of the proportional effectiveness of the left actuator under the fault is shown in
Figure 9. After fault isolation, the isolation module passes the serial number of the faulty
actuator to fault identification module to identify the AHC of this faulty actuator, and the
simulation results indicate the size of this multiplicative fault. Because the weight matrices
and offsets are trained by the LNN under the faults whose AHCs parameters are all 0.5 for
the online simulations, there may be error between the identification results and the actual size
of this fault. By the calculation of average, the fault identification result is equal to the actual
fault approximately.
The simulation results show that fault detection and isolation modules could detect and isolate
a fault quickly, and the identification result is accurate enough; moreover, this method is with
good realtime performance.
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Figure 9. The curve of AHC proportional effectiveness under the left servo fault.
7.2. Controller and trajectory (re)planning simulation
A linear UH model (2) with added threeaxis positions is used in this part and related param
eters can be found in [13]. The added positions are considered integration of velocities in the
body coordinate. Thus, the system states, control inputs, and outputs are
xh = [ px p y pz u v w f q y p q r a1s b1s ]
u = [ql q r qb qt wr ], yh = [ px p y pz y ]
Assume that the left swashplate actuator has fault at 6.4s with 1 = 0.6, and the LQR parameter
matrices are
Qx = diag(0 0 0 0.01 0.01 0.01 3 1 0.02 0 0 0 0.1 0.1 0.001 0.001 0.003 0.01)
Qu = diag(1110.50.1)
The preknown work space is shown in Figure 10 where the start point is (0,0,0) and the target
point is (20,20,20). The external environment constraint considered here is a sphere obstacle
whose position is (10,10,10) and radius is 1. The feasible path is given by path nodes, such as
(0,0,0), (8,8,13), and (20,20,20), which can guide UH from the start point to the target point with
obstacle avoidance.
Figure 10. Preknown work space and feasible path.
According to Theorem 3, a series of controllers K , invariant sets S, and reachable sets Sr

satisfying obstacle avoidance and UH dynamic limits can be computed as shown in Fig
ure 11 where the green ellipsoids are the reachable sets in 3D and the centers of ellipsoids, blue
stars, are controller references. According to these references, the UH can run from the start
point to the target point and the actual trajectory is shown by the blue curve. Clearly, the
trajectory is kept inside the green ellipsoids so that it is also inside the invariant sets.
Figure 11. Reachable sets and UH actual trajectory in faultfree condition.

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Compared with faultfree case as shown in Figure 11, Figure 12 shows the results of the
postfault case without the SHC framework. The actuator fault is detected at 6.4s and the related
state is marked by red points in the figure. According to the postfault dynamic model, a new
reachable set, red ellipsoid, is calculated. It is easy to see that the original reference, black point,
is outside the reachable set of the postfault system which implies that the original reference is
unreachable. Under this condition, if it does nothing, the UH system may be in danger as
shown by the blue curve. The related manipulated variables are shown in Figure 13 where the
blue curves are the actuator outputs and the red dashed lines are the actuator constraints.
Clearly, the actuator outputs are saturated at last which leads the UH system out of order.
Figure 12. Reachable sets and UH actual trajectory in postfault condition without SHC.
Figure 13. Actuator outputs in postfault condition without SHC.

Figure 14 shows the results of the postfault system with a SHC framework. After fault
detection, Theorem 3 is recalled to calculate the new controllers, invariant sets, and reachable
sets to evaluate the performance and guarantee the postfault UH system to be stable. At last,
the UH can reach the target point with obstacle avoidance as shown by the actual trajectory.
Figure 14. Reachable sets and UH actual trajectory in postfault condition with SHC.
8. Conclusions
In this chapter, a selfhealing control framework is proposed for UH systems. The SHC
framework aims at providing a solution to guarantee UHs safety and maximum ability to
achieve the desired missions under both faultfree and postfault conditions. The EKF and
LNNbased FDD approach is used to detect and diagnosis actuator faults modeled by AHCs.
Then, the AHCbased reconfigurable controller design method is proposed to calculate the
faulttolerant controller and the related safety region against both actuator faults and con
straints by solving a set of LMIs. Third, the ISBP approach is presented for planning a feasible
trajectory and computing the related controller reference under both external environment
constraints and UH dynamic limits at the same time. After fault occurrence, based on the
calculated safety region and controller reference, the performance of the postfault UH system
can be evaluated, which can provide information whether the fault can be compensated and
the original reference can be reached. If the original reference is not reachable, the ISBP
approach will be recalled to calculate the new trajectory and reference again according to the
postfault dynamic model. Finally, numerical simulations illustrate the effectiveness of the
proposed SHC framework.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China
under Grant 61433016 and National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant
61503369.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62480
Author details
Xin Qi1,2, Zhong Liu1,2, Yuqing He1*, Liying Yang1, Yuqing He1 and Jianda Han1
*Address all correspondence to: heyuqing@sia.cn
1 Shenyang Institute of Automation Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, P.R.China
2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R.China
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106111. DOI: 10.1109/TAC.2004.841128
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S01676911(02)001767
Chapter 7
A Hierarchical Tracking Controller for Quadrotor

Without Linear Velocity Measurements
Yassine Jmili, Nuradeen Fethalla,

Jawhar Ghomam and Maarouf Saad
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62442
Abstract
This chapter deals with the position control of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV) when quadrotors linear velocity is unavailable. We propose a hierarchical
tracking controller for quadrotor UAV. The proposed controller does not require
measurements of linear velocity of quadrotor. A nonlinear filter that avoids the need
for measurements of linear velocity has proposed such that a global stability result
is obtained for the position tracking error. However, backstepping based on barrier
Lyapunov function has been used for the attitude controller. The control design is
achieved by means of the hierarchical control, that is, design the position controller
and attitude controller separately. This allows us to choose different nonlinear
techniques for each controller.
Keywords: Quadrotor UAV, Tracking Control, Nonlinear Filter, Backstepping, Un

known linear velocity measurement
1. Introduction
In recent years, multirotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have attracted many researchers
and became a growing interest in the academic and industrial research. In this chapter, our study
focuses on quadrotor UAVs due to its ability to fly in restricted areas. The quadrotor has four
rotors controlled by four rotors. Quadrotors have specific characteristics that allow the execution
of applications that would be difficult or complex compared with other flying machines. A key
issue in making multirotor UAV vehicles feasible and efficient is the control design, consist
ing of a navigation system, position and attitude control. This chapter concerns the nonlinear
ity character of the UAV vehicles and focuses on the position and attitude controllers. One of
scenarios that could be achieved by the quadrotor is autonomous navigation. Implementing
such a mission requires the measurement of the components of vehicle state (position, linear
velocity, orientation angles and angular velocity) from GPS sensors. Most of the control schemes
that have been introduced in the literature rely on the available full state of feedback using
definition of an observer or rely on the estimation of velocity of the vehicle by means of derivation
of the successive measurements from the used sensors such GPS, etc. [13]. However, an
additional disturbance may occur in the control loop as a result of the use of the observer. It is
also important to validate first convergency of the observer. In addition, the stability of closed
loop of complete system controlled by observer has to be assured through checking the
compatibility of observer frequency and controller frequency [4]. In this estimation method, the
errors produced by GPS may approach several meters, and in reality, velocity measurement
error is growing fast by the induced measurement noise along with numerical integration. Few
researchers have solved the problem of linear velocity estimation without the use of GPS, and
some of them considered combination and artificial vision and the inertial sensors [5, 6].
In [7], the authors proposed a global exponential observer with a complete order to ensure a
continued trajectory of a helicopter (VTOL). To reduce the size of the estimated state vector, a
reduced observer introduced in [8], the linear velocity of the quadrotor has been estimated
using a complete or partial measure of the acceleration such that the asymptotic stability of
the error is obtained. Some other forms of observers have been introduced such as adaptive
observer [9], and this approach provided an estimation of the velocity of quadrotor UAV from
acceleration measurements calculated by the inertial system, but this method has disadvan
tages of slow convergence of the estimated parameters. While the sliding mode observer used
in [10] has shown not only the ability to estimate the velocity of quadrotor but also showed its
robustness against the external disturbances. The other technique used in the literature to
estimate the linear velocity is the filters, and one of these filters is extended Kalman filter that
widely applied to nonlinear dynamical systems. In this case, the principle is to use the standard
equations of Kalman filter for nonlinear model linearized by Taylor formula of first order and
the states of systems can be estimated from the noise measurements. These kinds of filters have
been used to estimate the states of quadrotor [11].
In this paper, we propose an approach to solve the problem of position tracking of quadrotor
UAV when the linear velocity measurements are unavailable. The proposed controller
provides a hierarchical design of the system using assign inner loop for position control and
outer loop for attitude control. Each loop has its own control algorithm. The resulting outer
control loop, which is based on backstepping, has a simple structure. The inner control loop
is based on nonlinear filter-based control design with the aim of estimating the linear velocity
of quadrotor.
This paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, the dynamic model of quadrotor UAV is
introduced. Section 3 presents the design of position controller based on the nonlinear dynamic
model using nonlinear filter-based approach. In Section 4, the attitude controller of rotational
system is presented. In Section 5, the overall closed loop system stability is analysed, and
simulation results are shown in Section 6.
A Hierarchical Tracking Controller for Quadrotor Without Linear Velocity Measurements 139
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62442
2. Quadrotor dynamic model
The quadrotor UAV is modelled as a rigid body of mass m R and of matrix of inertia
I R 3x3(I = dia(I 1,I 2,I 3)). The equations of motion can be described by two reference frames: first
one is the reference frame (I) combined with the unit vector basis (e1,e2,e3) and second one is the
body frame (B) fixed on the quadrotor UAV and combined with vector basis (e1b,e2b,e3b) (see
Figure 1). The kinematic and dynamic equations of motion for the quadrotor expressed in the
body-fixed reference frame can be described as [12]. The dynamic model is derived using
Newton-Euler formalism in the body fixed frame B.
h& = RV
1 1
V& = - s (W)V + f + RT bv
m m (1)
Q& = k (Q)W
I W& = -W I W - G + t
f f a a
Figure 1. Quadrotor airframe and reference frames.
where = x,y,z T represents the position of the centre of mass of the quadrotor, these positions
are expressed relatively with respect to an inertial frame and = ,, represents the three
Euler angles (yaw, pitch, roll) that define the orientation of the quadrotor in space.
T
V = vx ,vy ,vz R 3 and R 3 denote the linear and angular velocities expressed in the body-
fixed frame B. bv represents the external force disturbance expressed in the inertial frame I. m
is the mass of the quadrotor, I f R 33 denotes a positive definite inertia matrix relative to the
inertial frame I. The vector f ,a R 3 denotes the external force and torque expressed in B. The
external force is aligned with the z axis and can be written as f = G + T e3, where G R 3 is the
gravity vector defined as G = mg R T e3 where g R denotes the gravitational acceleration and
T
e3 = 0,0,1 is the unit vector in the inertial frame. T denotes the total thrust produced by the
four rotors given as T = k 41i2 where i being the speed of the rotor i, k is the thrust factor and
it is a positive proportional constant parameter depending on the density of air, the radius, the
shape, the pitch angle of the blade and other factors. Ga R 3 contains gyroscopic couples, due
to the rotational motion of the quadrotor and the four rotors which is given by
Ga = 41I r (e3)( 1)i+1i where Ir denotes the moment of inertia. The generalized moments on the
variable are as follows.
ty k (w12 - w22 + w32 - w42 )

t a = tq = kl (w22 - w42 ) (2)
t kl (w 2
- w 2
)
f 3 1
where l denotes the distance from the rotor to the centre of mass of the quadrotor. Using Euler
angles parameterization and "XYZ" convention, the airframe orientation in space is given by
a rotation matrix R from B to I, where R SO3 is expressed as follows:
R = Ry Rq Rf
Cq Cy Sf Sq Cy - Cf Sy Cf Sq Cy + Sf Sy
(3)
Cq Sy Sf Sq Sy + Cf Cy Cf Sq Sy - Sf Sy
-S Sf Cq Cf Cq
q
3. Quadrotor forces and moments
The four rotors of quadrotor, rotating at angular velocities omegai, produce the four forces
f i = ki2, pointed upward, where i = 1,2,3,4, and ki are positive constants. These four forces
constitute the total thrust T along z axis. Therefore, the distributed forces and moments from
four actuator motors for the quadrotor are given by:
T 1 1 1 f1
1
t
y = -l 0 0 f 2
l
(4)
t q 0 l -l f3
0

t f c -c c -c f 4
where c is the drag coefficient. Since the quadrotor UAV is under-actuated system, the design
of control inputs for this kind of systems is a challenging topic.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62442
4. Control problem formulation
In this work, we aim to design control laws for the total thrust T and torques a allowing the
quadrotor UAV to track a desired trajectory d = xd ,yd ,zd and desired heading d. The set of
trajectory and their derivatives are smooth enough so that they are uniformly continuous and
bounded. The linear velocity is assumed to be not available for feedback and only the position
and acceleration are therefore accessible by the translational subsystem. However, we want to
design a global feedback control law in the absence of measurements of linear velocity that
guarantee the position, heading and velocity tracking errors that are bounded and converge
asymptotically to zero.
ey = y - y d , eh = h - h d , e&h = v - vd (5)
The main goal of this paper is to solve the position control problem; meanwhile, guaranteeing
all closed-loop signals are bounded and the corresponding constraints of the attitude system
are violated. In the following, we will introduce the methodology of control design to achieve
our objectives.
5. Control design procedure
The equations of motion (2) of quadrotor defined in the previous section can be rewritten as
h& = v

S1 1 (6)
v& = m Re3T - gez
& = RS (W)e
Re 3 3
& = K (Q)W
S2 Q (7)
W&
= -W ( I W) - Ga + t a
The dynamic model above is separated into two dynamic systems; translational dynamic
system 1 and rotational dynamic system 2. These two systems are chosen completely coupled
by the rotation vector Re3 and total thrust vector T as shown in Figure 2. In our methodology,
we adopt a hierarchical controller design for the entire system dividing it into translational
and rotational dynamics subsytems as it is shown in Figure 2. In this design, we assign the
outer loop for the position controller and the inner loop for the attitude controller. The control
design procedure can be summarized in the following two points:
1. In the design of the position controller, we propose a nonlinear filter to estimate the linear
velocity tracking error rather than having its feedback measurement and design the
intermediate position control from which we can calculate the desired value of the total
thrust and also extract the desired orientation that will be considered as a reference for
the rotational dynamics loop.
2. For the attitude controller, backstepping technique and control design with a barrier
Lyapunov function have been applied due to the fact that the dynamic of 2 is in the form
of strict feedback system, which is appropriate for such a controller. The virtual control
laws for angular velocities resulting from applying backstepping technique are obtained
= [r, p, q] to ensure the asymptotic convergence of followed rotation angles errors to
zero, from the torques. Then, the four rotational speed signals can be calculated by the
transformation matrix R.
Figure 2. Control architecture.
We will introduce barrier Lyapunov function (BLF) to design the attitude tracking controller.
This function is designed to avoid the constraints (singularity points) that may occur in the
rotation angles, roll, pitch and yaw and to produce a feasible initial condition for torques
control.
Definition. A barrier Lyapunov function is a scalar function V(x), defined with respect to the
system x = f (x) on an open region D containing the origin, that is continuous, positive definite,
has continuous first-order partial derivative at every point of D, has the property V (x) as
x approaches the boundary of D and satisfies V (x(t)) b t 0 along the solution of x = f (x) for
x(0) D and some positive constant b [13].
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62442
Lemma 1. For any positive constant kb1, let Z1 = z1 R : z1 < | k1 | R and N : = R Z1 R

l l +1
be open
sets [13].
Consider the system
z& = h(t , z ) (8)
T l +1
where : = ,z1 N, and h : R+ N R is piecewise continuous in t and locally Lipschitz in
l
z, uniformly in t, on R+ N. Suppose that there exist functions U : N R+ and V 1 : Z1 R+,
continuously differentiable and positive definite in their respective domains, such that
V1 ( z1 ) asz1 z1 kb (9)
1
(10)
where 1 and 2 are class k functions. Let V () : = V 1(z1) + U () and z1(0) belong to the set
z1 ( kb1,kb1). If the inequality holds:
V
V& = h0 (11)
z
then z1(t) remains in the open set z1 ( kb1,kb1) t 0, ).
Proof. The conditions on h ensure the existence and uniqueness of a maximal solution (t) on
the time interval 0,max ), according to [14]. This implies that V((t)) exist for all t 0, max ).
Since V() is positive definite and V 0, we know that V ((t)) V ((0)) for all t 0, max ). From
V () : = V 1(z1) + U () and the fact that V 1(z1) and U () are positive functions, it is obvious that
V 1(z1(t)) is also bounded for all t 0, max ). As a result, it is known from Eq. (9) that
| z1 | kb . Based on the z1(0) < | kb | , We can figure out that z1(t) remains in the set z1 < | kb |
1 1 1
for all t 0, max ).
Accordingly, there exist a compact set K N such that the maximal solution of Eq. (8) satisfies
(t) K for all t 0, max ). Based on [14], we conclude that (t) is defined for all t 0, ) and
hence z1(t) ( kb1,kb1) t 0, ).
5.1. Position control design
To design the position control for the dynamics of translational subsystem Eq. (6) that
accomplish our control goal when no linear velocity measurements are available, we have
considered a nonlinear first-order filter to estimate the tracking error of the linear velocity. The
classification of the designed filter is output feedback controller [15]. It is designed with
hyperbolic tangent function to ensure boundedness of thrust vector. The form of the filter can
be written as
v = q + Bhe
(12)
q& = - A tanh(v)
where A and B are two diagonal matrices.
Next section presents an explanation of operation of selected filter and simple simulation
example.
5.1.1. Filter principal design
The main idea of our designed filter is inspired from a simple first-order linear high-pass filter
[16].
q ( jw ) b
= (13)
x1 ( jw ) jw - b
To interpret the filter in frequency domain, we introduce the variable s = j and replace this
variable in Eq. (13), which yields
sq = b ( x1 + q ) (14)
where
b x1
q=
s-b
extracting the term (x1 + q), we get
b x1 sx1
( x1 + q ) = x1 + = (15)
s-b s-b
5.1.2. Intermediate position control design
The goal of this part is to design an intermediate control that ensures the convergence of
position tracking and velocity errors to zero.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62442
(16)
1
The choice of vector input U = ux ,uy ,uz T = m Re3T leads easily to extract the desired orientation
since it constitutes the link between the position dynamics and attitude dynamics. This can be
formulated as
1
U= Re3T = - k p tanh(he ) - kd tanh(v) + h&&d + gez (17)
m
where kp and kd are two column vectors that contain three elements which will be defined by
the proof of stability of position controller. The boundedness of Eq. (17) must be taken into
consideration.
(18)
considering
(19)
such that: kg d + g . So, the selected positive variables of kp,kd, kg guaranteeing the vector
thrust to be bounded.
To show the stability of closed loop position system with the controller Eq. (19), we will
introduce it later in the Appendix A.
5.2. Attitude control design
The control of the attitude system is implemented to ensure the asymptotic convergence of
desired orientation. we exploited the two interconnected blocks: block of virtual control
= r ,p ,q T and block of torque control a = , , . Consider the subsystem (6, 2)
& = k (Q)W
Q (20)
which describes the rotation system, the angular velocity vector and torque vector a that
can be restated as
Q & = f (W)
S2 = 1
(21)
&
W = f1 (W,t )
Thus, the virtual angular velocity control laws were introduced to produce a zero error of the
= e ,e ,e and to obtain the appropriate torque for the control
derivative of angular position
system. From Eq. (20), we define the angular velocity tracking error vector e = ep ,eq ,er T . where
eW = W - a W (22)
By substituting the Eq. (22) into Eq. (20) yields

f& 1 sin(f ) tan(q ) cos(f ) tanh(q ) e p + a p
&
q = 0 cos(f ) - sin(f ) eq + a q (23)
y&
0 sin(f ) cos(f ) er + a r
cos(q ) cos(q )
similarly,

f& = e p + a p + sin(f ) tan(q )q + cos(f ) tan(q )r

q& = cos(f )(eq + a q ) - sin(f )r (24)

y& = cos(f ) (er + a r ) + sin(f ) q
cos(q ) cos(q )
the derivative of angular position error can be derived below
e&f = f& - f&d

= e p + a p + sin(f ) tan(q )q + cos(f ) tan(q )r - f&d
e&q = q& - q&d
= cos(f )(eq + a q ) - sin(f )rq&d (25)
e&y = y& - y& d
cos(f ) sin(f )
= (er + a r ) + q - y& d
cos(q ) cos(q )
We choose an appropriate barrier Lyapunov function for roll and pith angles. And this is not
needed for the yaw angle since it has singularity-free condition and we can use a single
quadratic function to derive its control law.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62442
The augmented Lyapunov function can be stated as:
1 2 1 k2 1 k2
V1 = ey + log 2 f 2 + log 2 q 2 (26)
2 2 kf - ef 2 kq - eq
and its time derivative is
ef e&f eq e&q
V&1 = ey e&y + + (27)
kf 2 - ef 2 kq2 - eq2
So, the virtual control law for the angular velocity is derived as follows:
ap = - sin(f ) tan(q )q - cos(f ) tan(q )r + f&d - kf ef

q&d
aq = - kq cos(f )eq + tan(q )r +
cos(f ) (28)
cos(q ) sin(f )
ar = (y& d - q - ky ey )
cos(f ) cos(q )
Substituting Eq. (28) into Eq. (25) and then substituting the resulting equations into (27) yields
k e2
V&1 = - ky ey2 - 2 f f 2
kf - ef
kq cos 2(f )ef2 cos(f )
- + er ey (29)
kq - eq
2 2
cos(q )
eq cos(f )eq ef e p
+ +
kq - eq
2 2
kf2 - ef2
It is obvious that Eq. (29) has negative terms and these terms can stabilize the system only if
the conditions | e | < k , | e | < k k > 0and K > 0 are met. These conditions will be met using
Lemma (1). The other positive terms have to be cancelled and this will be done in the next.
Now, backstepping control algorithm was applied to the partial of rotation system to control
the input torque a. The stability of rotation closed loop system is proved. We define the angular
velocity error and its derivative:
We = W - a W (30)
& =W
W & - a& (31)
e W
Consider the following positive definite Lyapunov function candidate:
1
VBF = V1 + WTe I We (32)
2
and its time derivative is
V&BF = V&1 + WTe I W

&
e (33)
Substituting Eq. (30) into Eq. (32) yields
V&BF = V&1 + WTe [ I W

& - Ia& ]
W (34)
Replacing the third equation of system (6, 2) in Eq. (33) yields
V&BF = V&1 + WTe [-W I W - Ga + t a - Ia& W ] (35)
The time derivative of V bf ,using Eqs. (29) and (34), is given by
V&BF = V&1 + WTe [-(We + a W ) I W - Ga + t a - Ia& W ] (36)
In view of last equation, we propose the following torque input for the rotational dynamics
0 0
ef cos(f )eq
ta = ke W e - 1 - 0
kf2 - ef2 kq2 - eq2 1
0 (37)
cos(f )
- er ey + Ga + If&W + fW I W
cos(q )
and hence
k e2
V&1 = - ky ey2 - 2 f f 2
kf - ef
kq cos(f )eq2 (38)
-
kq2 - eq2
-WTe keWe - WTe We I W 0
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62442
6. Numerical simulation results
To show the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm, we have introduced the simula
tion results. In order to test the overall system using Matlab simulink, the quadrotor UAV
modelled as a rigid body of mass m = 1.169Kg with inertial matrix
I = dia(col(0.024,0.024,0.032))Kg.m 2, k = 1.41 105, c = 1.84 106, I r = 7.81 105 Kg.m 2 and l = 0.2125m.
The numerical simulation results have been obtained using Runge-Kuttas method with
t
variable time step 0.001s. The desired trajectory is given by xd (t) = 0, yd t = 0, zd (t) = (1 e 10
),

d (t) = 4 for20 t 30with initial conditions x(0) = 0, y() = 0, z(0) = 0, (0) = 0. The controller gains
are as follows: A = 40,40,40 T ,B = 30,30,30 T ,kp = 160,160,160 T ,kd = 20,20,20 T ,k = 4,k = 8,k 4,
ke = 7,7,7 T . The obtained results are shown in Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
Figure 3. Position tracking.
Figure 4. Position tracking error.

Figure 5. Estimated velocity tracking.
Figure 6. Estimated velocity tracking error.
Figure 7. Attitude tracking.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62442
Figure 8. Attitude tracking error.
Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 show the three components of the position and estimated velocity tracking
errors. Figures 7 and 8 illustrate the attitude tracking and its tracking errors. To show the
quadrotors position tracking, a 3D plot of the quadrotors position with desired trajectory is
given in Figure 9.
Figure 9. 3D trajectory of the quadrotor UAV (dashed blue) with the desired trajectory (red).
7. Conclusion
In this work, we addressed the trajectory tracking problem of quadrotor UAV without linear
velocity measurements. The presented algorithm was based on a separate translational and
rotational control design, and the overall closed loop system showed a global asymptotic
stability. Exploited the nature structure of the model, the controller is designed in a hierarchical
manner by considering the separation between the translational and orientation dynamics. In
the first phase of our control design, the linear velocity measurement has been avoided with
the introduced nonlinear filter without using any observer. During this phase, the position
controller computes the total thrust, considered as input for translational dynamics, and the
desired orientation. In the second phase of our control design, barrier Lyapunov function has
been employed to design the control torque that ensuring the tracking of the desired attitude
derived at first phase of the control design. The stability of the closed loop system has been
investigated and the simulation results have been provided to show the good performance of
the proposed algorithm. Our next work will be to accomplish real time experiments for the
proposed algorithm.
Appendix
Stability analysis of position control without velocity measurements
Considering the dynamic equations of translational system (6, 1), the dynamics of acceleration
error can be rewritten as
1
h&&e = Re3T - ge3 - h&&d (39)
m
The closed loop of position system is obtained by substituting the control intermediate vector
U to the dynamics of acceleration.
h&&e = - k p tanh(he ) - kd tanh(v)

S BF (40)
v = - A tanh(v) + Bh&e
1 &
Consider the following candidate Lyapunov function
1
VBF = h&eTh&e + k p log(cosh(he ))
1 2 (41)
+ k p B -1 log(cosh(V )) + gh&e (tanh(he ) - tanh(v))
where is a small positive parameter to be determined later. Taking the time derivative of Eq.
(41) yields
1
V&BF = h&eTh&&e + k p tanh(heT )h&e
1 2
+ kd B -1 tanh(vT )v& + gh&&e (tanh(he ) - tanh(v)) (42)
+gh&eT (cosh -2(he )h&e - cosh -2(v)v&)
substituting Eqs. (40)(42) yields

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62442
V&BF = - kd B -1 A tanh(vT ) tanh(v)

1
- k pg tanh(heT ) tanh(he )
+ kd g tanh(vT ) tanh(v)
+g (k p - kd ) tanh(heT ) tanh(v) (43)
+gh&e cosh (he )h&e
T -2
+ cosh -2(v) A tanh(v)gh&eT

-cosh -2(v)h&eh&eT g B
To achieve boundedness of the system, the last equation must be in the following form:
(44)
Consider the following inequalities:
(45)
The inequality Eq. (44) can be rewritten in the following form:
(46)
where kdm,k pm,am,bm are the minimum values of the vectors kd ,kp ,A,B , respectively, and
k DM ,k PM ,AM ,BM are the maximum values of these vectors. In order to simplify the stability
study of the above equation, we assume that both minimum and maximum values are equal.
So, the expression (44) can be rewritten in the following matrix form:
(47)
Now, we define the parameters kd ,kp ,A,B so as to ensure that the terms Q1,Q2,1,2 are positive
definite. To achieve that, the inequality of linear matrix method is applied. For Q1 > 0, this is
equivalent to
2k d A 3Bg 2 (kd + k p )
> 0 and 2g k p - >0 (48)
3B 2k d A
For Q2 > 0, this is equivalent to
kd A g Bcosh -2()v 3Bg 2 A2

> 0 and - >0 (49)
3B 3 4k d A
Equation (48) gives:
kp 3Bg
> (50)
(kd + k p ) 2 4k d A
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and the Eq. (49) gives:
gA 1
< (51)
4k d 9
since cosh2(v) 1. For 1 > 0, this is equivalent to
kd A
- g kd 0 (52)
3B
This gives:
A
g= (53)
3B
For 2 > 0, this is equivalent to
2B
1 (54)
3
Since cosh2(v) 1, one can write
3
B= (55)
2
substituting Eqs. (53)(55), yields,
A = 4.5g (56)
Substituting Eqs. (56) and (55) into (50) yields
kp 9
> (57)
(kd + k p ) 2 36kd
Using Eq. (19), we can define the parameter kd as follows:

(58)
and
(59)
Substituting Eqs. (58) and (59) into Eq. (57), we obtain the second inequality expression
(60)
By solving this inequality, we obtain the value of parameter kp
(61)
and hence, the value of parameter kd can calculated as
(62)
Finally, substituting Eq. (56) into Eq. (51) yields
g < 0.31 kd (63)
Now, we calculate the total thrust and the desired orientation. As it is presented previous, the
R d e3T
control vector U = m can be written in the standard form as
T2
= U TU (64)
m2
which is equivalent to
T = u x2 + u y2 + u z2 (65)
Using Eq. (17), the vector R d e3 can be calculated as

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62442
R d e3 =
cos(f d )sin(q d )cos(y d ) + sin(f d )sin(y d )
d
cos(f )sin(q )sin(y ) - sin(f )cos(y )
d d d d
cos(f d )cos(q d )

ux m (66)
T

uym
T

uz m
T

This leads to obtain the values of d , d
u1m sin(y d ) - u2 m cos(y d )

f d = sin -1( ) (67)
T
and
u x cos(y d ) + u2 sin(y d )
q d = tan -1( ) (68)
uz
ux
U = u y (69)
u z
Author details
Yassine Jmili1*, Nuradeen Fethalla1, Jawhar Ghomam1,2 and Maarouf Saad1
*Address all correspondence to: nour32004@yahoo.com
1 Department of Electrical Engineering, Ecole de Technologie Superieure, Montreal, Canada
2 Department of Electrical Engineering, CEM-Lab, National School of Engineering of Sfax,

Tunisia
References
[1] T. Hamel, R. Mahony, R. Lozano, and J. Ostrowski. Dynamic modelling and configu
ration stabilization for an x4-flyer. In Proc. of the 15th Triennial World Congress of the
International Federation of Automatic Control, Barcelona, 2126 July 2002.
[2] J.M. Pflimlin, P. Soueres, and T. Hamel. Position control of a ducted fan VTOL UAV in
crosswind. International Journal of Control, 80(5):666683, 2007.
[3] M.-D. Hua, T. Hamel, P. Morin, and C. Samson. A control approach for thrust-propelled
underactuated vehicles and its application to VTOL drones. IEEE Transactions on
Automatic Control, 54(8):18371853, 2009.
[4] S. Bertrand, T. Hamel and P-L. Helene (2009). Stabilization of Scale Model Vertical Take-
off and Landing Vehicles without Velocity Measurements, Aerial Vehicles, Thanh
Mung Lam (Ed.), InTech, DOI: 10.5772/6469. Available from: http://www.intechop
en.com/books/aerial_vehicles/stabilization_of_scale_model_vertical_take-
off_and_landing_vehicles_without_velocity_measurements.
[5] T. Cheviron, T. Hamel, R. Mahony, and G. Baldwin. Robust nonlinear fusion of inertial
and visual data for position, velocity and attitude estimation of UAV. In 2007 IEEE
International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 20102016, April 2007.
[6] E. Rondon, S. Salazar, J. Escareno, and R. Lozano. Vision-based position control of a two
rotor VTOL mini UAV, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, pages 191208, 2013.
[7] K.D. Do, Z.P. Jiang, and J. Pan. On global tracking control of a VTOL aircraft without
velocity measurements. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 48(12):22122217,
December 2003.
[8] M. Boutayeb, E. Richard, H. Rafaralahy, H. Souley Ali, and G. Zaloylo. A simple time-
varying observer for speed estimation of UAV. In 17th IFAC World Congress, page
CDROM, Seoul, South Korea, July 2008.
[9] K. Benzemrane, G.L. Santosuosso, and G. Damm. Unmanned aerial vehicle speed
estimation via nonlinear adaptive observers. In American Control Conference, 2007.
ACC07, pp. 985990, July 2007.
[10] T. Madani and A. Benallegue. Sliding mode observer and backstepping control for a
quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles. In American Control Conference, 2007. ACC 07, pp.
58875892, July 2007.
[11] B. Landry. Planning and control for quadrotor flight through cluttered environments.
Masters thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science, 2014.
[12] L. Luque-Vega, B. Castillo-Toledo, and A.G. Loukianov. Robust block second order
sliding mode control for a quadrotor. Journal of the Franklin Institute, 349(2):719739,
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62442
2012. Advances in Guidance and Control of Aerospace Vehicles using Sliding Mode
Control and Observation Techniques.
[13] K.P. Tee, S.S. Ge, and E.H. Tay. Barrier Lyapunov functions for the control of output-
constrained nonlinear systems. Automatica, 45(4):918927, 2009.
[14] Eduardo D. Sontag, Mathematical Control Theory: Deterministic Finite Dimensional

Systems. Second Edition, Springer, New York, 1998.
[15] M.S. de Queiroz, D.M. Dawson, S.P. Nagarkatti, F. Zhang, Lyapunov-based control of
mechanical systems, Boston, MA, USA: Birkhauser, 2000.
[16] S. Bertrand. Commande de drone miniature a voilure tournante. Ph.D. thesis, Universite de
Nice Sophia Antipolis, 2007.
Chapter 8
Studies on Effects of Aircraft Noise on Behavior of Rats,

Their Plasma Norepinephrine Levels and Cell
Morphology of the Temporal Lobe
Guo-qing Di
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62586
Abstract
To study the physiological effects of airport noise exposure on organisms, Sprague-

Dawley (SD) rats were exposed in soundproof chambers to previously recorded aircraft-
related noise for 65 d. As a comparison, unexposed control rats were also used.
According to aircraft flight schedules, aircraft noise was replayed and its weighted
equivalent continuous perceived noise levels (LWECPN) were adjusted to 75 and 80 dB for
the two experimental groups. Rat behaviors were observed through an open field test
and the concentrations of plasma norepinephrine (NE) were tested by high-perform
ance liquid chromatography-fluorimetric detection (HPLC-FLD). The morphologies of
neurons and synapses in the temporal lobe were also examined by transmission electron
microscopy (TEM). Our results indicated that SD rats of experiment group exposed to
airport noise of 80 dB had significantly lower line crossing number (P < 0.05) and
significantly longer center area duration (P < 0.05) compared with that of control group.
After 29 d of airport noise exposure, the concentrations of plasma NE of experiment
group were significantly higher than that of control group (P < 0.05). It was deter
mined that the neuron and synapsis of the temporal lobe of experiment group exposed
to 80 dB for 65 d showed signs of damage. In conclusion, exposing rats to long-term
aircraft noise affects their behaviors, plasma NE levels, and cell morphology of the
temporal lobe. Of course, the differences in the hearing sensitivity to different sound
frequencies and circadian rhythms between rats and humans can bring variances in
physiological effects under the same noise exposure. Therefore, if this study results are
applied into humans, it should be further confirmed.
Keywords: Aircraft noise, open field test, norepinephrine, neuron, synapse

1. Introduction
Studies have shown that aircraft noise has a great impact on the health status of populations
residing in areas near air traffic, particularly citing cardiovascular diseases and the use of sleep
and cardiovascular medications [1, 2]. In addition, researchers have concluded that there is a
dose-response relationship between aircraft noise levels and blood pressure of the residents
of an area near a military aircraft center [3].
However, most knowledge of the physiological effects of noise is generally obtained through
animal experiment. To begin with, the open field test (OFT) is commonly used as a mechanism
to assess the neurobehavioral effects of noise. Katz et al. [4] showed that white noise of 95 dB
increased motor behaviors of rats in OFT and decreased their defecation after 1 h of acute
stress. Food intake in OFT is reduced when rats are exposed to white noise of 95 dB, while
their defecation increases [5]. In addition, the levels of neurotransmitters or hormones in
plasma or brain may reflect the neurobiological effects of noise. Typically, the concentration
of norepinephrine (NE) in the brain and cochlea of rats decreases after acute noise stress [6,
7]. Corticosterone levels in mice plasma have been shown to be significantly increased when
exposed to acute noise for 10 min [8]. Male rats exposed to broadband white noise of 100 dB
have been shown to have a significantly increased level of NE in the brain and corticosterone
in plasma [9]. Furthermore, observing the morphological changes in neuronal cells can assess
the effects of noise. Outer hair cell apoptosis has been observed in the cochlea of chinchilla
after intense impulse noise exposure [10]. In addition, continuous noise stress has been shown
to affect both degeneration of epithelial cells and apoptosis of stromal cells in the brain of pig
[11]. We have not found any studies indicating that noise exposure induces morphological
damage in the temporal lobe, the lobe related to perception and memory [12].
None of the aforementioned studies studied airport noise. Broadband white noise was
diffusely applied in previous experimental studies to examine the physiological effects of
noise. However, it is important to note that white noise in normal environment is almost non-
existent. In China, the aircraft-related weighted equivalent continuous perceived noise level
(LWECPN) in many residential areas around airports overstepped the 75 dB limit stipulated by
the Standard of Aircraft Noise for Environment around Airport policy. In this study, we
thus sampled actual aircraft noise and played it back to laboratory rats. We then systematically
studied their behaviors, plasma NE levels, and cell morphology of the temporal lobe.
Of course, there are some differences in the hearing sensitivity to different sound frequencies
and circadian rhythms between rats and humans, which can bring variances in physiological
effects under the same noise exposure. Therefore, if this study results are applied into humans,
it should be further confirmed.
2. Materials and methods
When airplanes took off or landed at Xiaoshan International Airport (Hangzhou, China),
aircraft noises on the roof of a residential building standing 100 m from the edge of airport
Studies on Effects of Aircraft Noise on Behavior of Rats, Their Plasma Norepinephrine Levels and Cell Morphology of 165
the Temporal Lobe
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62586
were sampled using an LDS four-channel dynamic signal analyzer (Photon II, Royston,
England). Based on the 24-h flight schedule of airport and airplane type, aircraft noises were
played through a non-directional dodecahedron sound source (Nor270, Norsonic, Lierskogen,
Norway) and the intensity of noise was adjusted by a power amplifier (Nor280, Norsonic,
Lierskogen, Norway). The sound absorber and insulation device were optimally assembled so
that the LWECPN values of the experimental groups I (EG-I) and II (EG-II) were (75 1.0) dB (LAeq
= 65.3 dB) and (80 1.0) dB (LAeq =70.3 dB), respectively. In addition, the laboratory was
customized to better control acoustics, as the doors were sound-proofed and the vents were
installed with mufflers so that background noise was no more than 40 dBA, the highest sound
intensity heard by our control group (CG). We measured the intensity of noise exposure with
a sound level meter (AWA6291, Hangzhou, China), which was sound-calibrated by a loud
speaker before measurement.
Fifty male Sprague-Dawley rats (6 weeks old, weighing (150 20) g) were purchased from the
Experimental Animal Center of Zhejiang University, and were randomly divided into three
groups: CG (n = 10), EG-I (n = 20), and EG-II (n = 20). Rats were housed five per cage and
maintained in temperature- controlled ((21 3) C) rooms with cycles of 12 h of light and 12 h
of dark (light on at 8:00 a.m. daily), and allowed free access to water and food. Rats were
marked on their fur with picric acid to distinguish individuals. Before experiments were
carried out, SD rats were bred for 3 days to adapt to the laboratory environment. After this,
SD rats in groups EG-I and EG-II were exposed to aircraft noises, while the CG was not
exposed. OFT and blood collection for neurotransmitter determination were carried out at
17:00 on Days 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, and 36 after noise exposure (blood collection excluded on Day
36). All data including OFT and neurotransmitter determination were collected on the same
rats in CG (n = 5), EG-I (n = 10), and EG-II (n = 10). For investigating long-term effects of airport
noise, after 65 d of continuous (excepting time for OFT/blood collection) noise exposure, four
rats each were randomly selected from CG and EG-II, respectively, for additional neuronal
morphology studies. Animal breeding and experiments were performed in line with the
Quality Management Approach to Laboratory Animals, and all efforts were made to
minimize the number of animals used and their suffering.
The size of open field was 100 100 50 cm, and its bottom divided into 25 grids (20 20 cm)
by white lines. We termed the nine grids located in the center of the open field as center area.
The open field was located in a 2.0 2.0 m audiometric cabin and lit by a 15-watt red lamp for
background lighting. We handled the rats by the base of their tails, carried them to the center
of the open field, and allowed them to explore the apparatus for 5 min. The behaviors of the
rats were tracked and recorded by the camera fixed above the apparatus. The behaviors
measured included line crossing number and center area duration.
In order to test the concentration of neurotransmitters in each group, venous blood (1.0 ml)
was sampled from the orbital vein. Blood was transferred into 1.5 ml boil-proof microtubes
(Axygen, United States) and was kept quiescence for 10 min, and then centrifuged at 4000
r/min for 10 min at 4C. Next, 200 l of supernatant was extracted from each sample and 200
l of 5% perchloric acid was added to it. Their mixture was shaken, left at room temperature
for 20 min to fully precipitate the plasma proteins, and centrifuged at 10,000 r/min for 15 min.
Finally, supernatants were filtered with 0.45 m membrane filters, and high-performance
liquid chromatography-fluorimetric detection (HPLC-FLD) was used to measure the concen
tration of NE. The instrument parameters used for HPLC-FLD were as follows: column,
Agilent Zorbax SB-C18 column (Agilent, US); mobile phase, methanol-buffer (buffer: 0.07 mol
NaH2PO4, 10 mmol sodium octanesulfonate, pH 3.5). The gradient procedure of the mobile
phase was as follows: at 0 min, 10% methanol and 90% buffer; at 5 min, 10% methanol and
90% buffer; at 30 min, 60% methanol and 40% buffer (1.0 ml/min of flow rate, 20 l of injection
volume, 35.0C of column temperature, 280 nm of fluorescence excitation wavelength, and 315
nm of emission wavelength). Under these conditions, various substances in plasma were
completely separated so that no interference to determination of the targets is experienced.
After being exposed to aircraft noise for 65 d, four rats were randomly selected from the CG
and EG-II groups (two per group). We then examined the neuronal and synaptic morphologies
of the temporal lobe by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Rats were anesthetized by
administration of an overdose of sodium pentobarbital and then perfused with glutaraldehyde
transcardially. The temporal lobe was localized by digital brain stereotaxic instrument (ZH-
LanXing B/S, Huaibei, China) with a soft-type cranial drill. After perfusion for about 1 h, we
decapitated rats and stripped the whole brain rapidly fixed in glutaraldehyde. After fixed for
24 h, the temporal lobes were removed, cut into thin slices, and further fixed in glutaraldehyde
for 3 d. Based on this, slices were washed using PBS, fixed using 1% osmium tetroxide, stained
using 2% aqueous solution of uranyl acetate, dehydrated using different concentrations of
alcohol and acetone gradient, penetrated and embedded using embedding medium, aggre
gated in oven, and finally cut into ultra-thin slices stained using 4% uranyl acetate and citrate.
Cell structure in these ultra-thin slices was observed by TEM (Philips Tecnai 10, The Nether
lands).
3. Results
All data from OFT and HPLC-FLD are expressed as mean standard error of the mean (SEM).
Differences between means for unpaired samples were tested by one-way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) using SPSS Version 16 software. The criterion for significance was P < 0.05.
3.1. Open field test
Line crossing number and center area duration were obtained by three individuals working
independently, and their mean values were adopted as the final results of OFT.
The line crossing number in OFT is shown in Figure 1a, with no significant difference between
CG and EG-I over the duration of the experiment. Nevertheless, the line crossing number of
EG-II after 8 d of airport noise exposure was significantly less than that of CG (P < 0.05). From
Figure 1a, two conclusions can be drawn: long-term exposure to aircraft noise below LWECPN
of 75 dB has no significant impact on the line crossing number of rats, while LWECPN of aircraft
noise reaching 80 dB is likely to have an impact on line crossing number in rats.
the Temporal Lobe
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62586
The result of center area duration in OFT showed that the center area durations of CG and EG-
I in OFT are almost unchanged, but the center area duration of EG-II is significantly longer
than that of CG (P < 0.05) after the 8 d of noise exposure (Figure 1b). On other days, center area
duration among the three groups showed no significant difference (P > 0.05).
Figure 1. Line crossing number (a) and center area duration (b) in OFT.
There were ten rats in each of EG-I and EG-II and five rats in CG. Data are expressed as mean
SEM. *P < 0.05, compared with the CG (ANOVA).
3.2. Levels of plasma NE
Figure 2 shows the relationship between the time rats were exposed to different intensities of
aircraft noise and the average concentration of plasma NE measured. We found that there was
no significant difference in NE levels between EG-I and CG over the period of the noise
exposure.
Data are expressed as mean SEM. *P < 0.05, compared with the CG (ANOVA).
Nevertheless, on the 29th day of noise exposure, the levels of plasma NE between CG and EG-
II showed significant difference (P < 0.05). By analyzing these results, we found that aircraft
noise below LWECPN of 75 dB has no significant impact on the plasma NE of rats. Besides, LWECPN
of aircraft noise reaching 80 dB is likely to have a negative effect on NE levels under long-term
exposure. Therefore, we have known that the intensity of aircraft noise and the duration of
aircraft noise exposure are the controlling factors to the level of NE in plasma of rats.
Figure 2. Relationship between NE concentration and noise exposure duration.
3.3. Temporal lobe cell morphology
We observed the neuronal and synaptic morphologies of the temporal lobes from TEM and
the representative pictures are shown in Figure 3. In our experiments, neuronal and synaptic
damages were observed in the temporal lobe of EG-II rats, but no damage was seen in the CG.
Figure 3. Neuronal and synaptic morphologies of the temporal lobe of rats.
(a) The nuclei (N) in the neurons of the temporal lobe of the CG were oval and their membrane
structure was clear, yet mitochondria (M), rough endoplasmic reticula, and other organelles
could be seen in cytoplasm, and their distributions were uniform and morphologically normal.
(b) The nuclei (N) of neurons in the temporal lobe of EG-II were irregular-shaped, the nuclear
membrane was deep-stained and its structure vague, chromatin accumulated along the edge,
and cytoplasm was condensed. (c) The synaptic cleft of the temporal lobe area of the CG was
clear, and mitochondria and synaptic vesicles.
the Temporal Lobe
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62586
4. Discussion
4.1. Open field test
First line indent crossing is defined as that rats breach the lattices at the bottom of the open
field and the number of line crossing reflects the animals horizontal mobility, exploration, and
anxiety [13]. First and foremost, previous studies have shown that motor behaviors of rats in
OFT increased after 1 h of acute stress by white noise of 95 dB [4]. However, in our test, rats
of EG-I and EG-II showed no significant difference in line crossing compared with CG after 1
d of noise exposure, which means acute effects of noise exposure were not evident in our
experiment. It may be that noise intensity below LWECPN of 80 dB is moderate to rats. In
addition, after suffering airport noise exposure for 8 d, rats of EG-II showed that the line
crossing number decreased, which means horizontal mobility and exploration ability of the
rat decreased and some anxiety appeared [13]. However, Pan et al. found that two weeks noise
stress (2 h/d, 85 dB) increased square crossing and vertical movement, which is in contrast to
our results [14]. There are a number of possible explanations. First, the intensity of noise is an
important factor. Second, the duration of daily noise exposure cannot be ignored because, in
our test aircraft, noise was exposed throughout the day. Third, the neurobehavioral effect of
continuous white noise is different from that of intermittent aircraft noise [15]. Last but not
least, from Figure 1a, we also know that line crossing of rats was not significantly different
between CG and EG-II, except on the 8th day. The reason is that the behaviors of rats manifest
itself differently depending on the duration of stress [16]. Conrad et al. have also shown that
behaviors of rats turned from an excited state to inhibitory state under prolonged stress [17].
Another reason may be that the mechanisms of resistance and/or adaptability are generated
after longer term noise stress.
In our study, center area duration is defined as latency of the rats before leaving the center
area, which is measured by anxiety-like behavior. As is known, high center area duration
indicates high anxiety levels [12]. Thus, the emotions of rats in EG-II altered to anxiety after 8
d of noise exposure. The results of center area duration on other days suggest that the effect
of aircraft noise on anxiety is not permanent. This conclusion is also in line with the line crossing
results.
4.2. Levels of plasma NE
Epinephrine, NE, and cortisol are stress hormones that are used as indicators of body stress
upon noise exposure [6, 18, 19]. NE plays an important role as a stress hormone in conducting
and adapting to stress [20, 21]. Therefore, plasma NE level of EG-II increased after long-term
noise exposure (29 d) in our experiment, possibly due to the cumulative effect of high-intensity
noise. Unfortunately, we do not know the plasma NE level of rats after 29 d of noise exposure,
because it is difficult to collect blood from more fierce rats.
Plasma NE is primarily secreted by the sympathetic nerve endings of the heart, blood vessels,
and adrenal medulla, and is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system [22]. Plasma NE
levels reflect the excitability of the peripheral sympathetic system [23, 24]. Due to aircraft noise
exposure in our experiments, the levels of NE in rat plasma increased, indicating that aircraft
noise stimulates sympathetic excitement of the adrenal medulla system.
Several studies have shown that trait anxiety is significantly associated with increased NE
concentration in blood plasma. Individuals with higher plasma NE concentrations also have
more severe anxiety symptoms and the concentrations of plasma NE of patients with anxiety
disorders are drastically higher than those of healthy individuals [25]. We conclude that high-
intensity aircraft noise exposure may similarly induce anxiety symptoms in rats. Further,
patients with hypertension have also been found to have higher plasma NE concentrations
[26]. In addition, epidemiological investigations have pointed out that the incidences of heart
disease and hypertension are directly related to aircraft noise exposure [1, 27]. Our results
partly provide pathological evidence supporting this epidemiological research.
4.3. Temporal lobe cell morphology
Previous studies have shown that necrosis and apoptosis of neurons occur when the body is
subjected to physical, chemical, or severe pathological stimulation [28]. For this reason, we
consider that the long-term noise stress in rats resulted in the lesions in temporal lobe neurons
and synapses of EG-II.
First line indent lobe areas are closely related to perception and memory [29]. Therefore, when
neurons of the temporal lobe are damaged, a variety of mental disorders are likely to occur,
such as cognitive decline, memory reduction, or subjective emotional instability [30]. When
synaptic morphology changes, the related functions of the brain and CNS change accordingly,
further leading to changes in behavior [31]. The results of our experiments are consistent with
changes in rat behavior due to long-term exposure of aircraft noise.
5. Conclusions
In conclusion, exposing rats to long-term aircraft noise affects their behavior, specifically in
the form of inhibiting mobility and increasing anxiety. Our data indicate that scrum NE levels
of rats increase as a result of aircraft noise exposure. Furthermore, our findings indicate that
aircraft noise exposure leads to damage of neuronal and synaptic structures of the temporal
lobe in rats. Nevertheless, additional studies are necessary to further investigate the mecha
nisms involved.
Of course, there are some differences in the hearing sensitivity to different sound frequencies
and circadian rhythms between rats and humans, which can bring variances in physiological
effects under the same noise exposure. Therefore, it should be further confirmed if these study
results are applied into humans.
the Temporal Lobe
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62586
Author details
Guo-qing Di
Address all correspondence to: dgq@zju.edu.cn
College of Environment & Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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the Temporal Lobe
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levels in CSF and plasma in Alzheimers disease. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 1984; 41 (4):
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Chapter 9
Numerical Study of Support Interferences on the SOAR

Separation Wind Tunnel Test
Alberto Ghiraldo, Sebastien Paris and Ernesto Benini
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62241
Abstract
A process of support design for wind tunnel models and the evaluation of interferences
effect are described in this chapter. The work was performed at the Von Karman Institute
for Fluid Dynamics (VKI; Sint-Genesius-Rode, Belgium), and it was commissioned by the
S3-Swiss Space System company. The work concerns the separation wind tunnel test of
the Suborbital Aircraft Reusable (SOAR) vehicle from an Airbus commercial plane carrier.
The supports are designed for future separation wind tunnel test of the SOAR version
V10 in the VKI-S1 wind tunnel. They are designed in scale 1:180 for the test of the SOAR
in the presence of the Airbus and in scale 1:80 for the SOAR alone test. Two different
shapes of support (circular and elliptic) are tested in each case. First there are the supports
designed, then the results of the finite element method (FEM) static structural analysis
and vibrational analysis, and finally the result of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
campaign. The flow and the force interferences caused by the support are investigated
by comparing simulations with and without support. The behavior of the two shapes and
of the dimensional variations are investigated at an angle of attack between 0 and 15
and at Mach 0.7.
Keywords: separation wind tunnel test, SOAR, support design, support interferences,
VKI
1. Introduction
Theoretical aerodynamic study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, and wind
tunnel tests are the three pillars of every aerodynamic design process. In this paper, the
emphasis is on how CFD and theoretical study can be complementary and how to prepare the
wind tunnel test.
The present project, commissioned by the S3-Swiss Space System, deals with the development
and qualification of three stages to orbit a composite vehicle. The first and second stages, the
Airbus and the Suborbital Aircraft Reusable (SOAR) vehicles, respectively, are reusable,
whereas the third stage is an expandable booster. All details of the SOAR mission are in Ref.
[1].see Figure 1 This project requested the design of new supports for the separation wind
tunnel test in the VKI facility and the study of the respective interferences.
The S3 SOAR separation from the Airbus A300 is a critical issue during the mission. The
aerodynamic coefficients are affected by the proximity of the vehicles. To correctly design the
separation, the aerodynamic database must be known with sufficient accuracy. For this reason,
an important campaign of wind tunnel testing is necessary.
An earlier wind tunnel campaign had already been performed with the construction of an
initial aerodynamic database [2]. To carry out further wind tunnel experiments, an improve
ment in the knowledge of support design is required. In fact, to design supports for the SOAR,
in this configuration, is particularly complicated due to the presence of the Airbus below and
behind the vehicle (the A300 empennage also impedes the use of a support from the base).
Effectively, the first sting designed produced considerable interferences on the model.
Therefore, the purpose of this work is to design supports for the SOAR vehicle in the following
two configurations: scale 1:180 for the wind tunnel test of the SOAR in the presence of the
Airbus and scale 1:80 for the wind tunnel test of the SOAR alone.
Figure 1. Illustration of the main steps of the mission.

Numerical Study of Support Interferences on the SOAR Separation Wind Tunnel Test 177
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62241
2. Support design
The support in wind tunnel tests is necessary to hold up the model in the test section, but it is
also an artificial device that, especially from an aerodynamic point of view, does not exist.
From this definition, the following design constraints are immediately derived: to minimize
the aerodynamic interferences with the flow ensuring adequate mechanical properties to
sustain the model. It is also necessary to consider the wind tunnel test conditions (M=0.7,
max=15), the model shapes, and the use of steel as material for the supports. Furthermore, the
support has to allow the internal passage of cables that interface the 6 degrees of freedom
internal balance with the measurement device. Finally, the test section dimensions of the VKI-
S1 wind tunnel (0.40.36 m) and the need to adopt a new configuration with respect to the
previous one are considered. This is because the use of a dorsal strut (see Figure 2) did not
provide satisfactory results regarding the interferences with the models. Some additional
constraints are present in scale 1:180 composite testing: to test the separation with the presence
of the Airbus empennage and to consider the nominal relative position of the two vehicles.
This is necessary to permit a relative motion of the SOAR over the Airbus.
Once requirements about flow measurement and passage of cables are acquired, the two
parameters to be optimized are to minimize the aerodynamic interferences and to give
adequate mechanical properties.
Figure 2. Picture of the old support used in the first separation wind tunnel test.
In fact, to minimize interferences, the sting has to be as long as possible and with the diameter
as small as possible. These requirements are not in agreement with the structural properties
for which stings should be short and have a large diameter. An important parameter in this
dissertation is the critical sting length that is the shortest sting length, which does not
change the level of an aerodynamic measurement obtained with longer stings [3]. The critical
sting length is influenced by the Mach number, Reynolds number, boundary layer at the base
of the model, sting, and model base diameter. The Reynolds number plays an especially
important role. In fact, if the flow is laminar at the base of the model, Lc is as much as 12 to 15
times the base model diameter (D); on the contrary, with turbulent flow, Lc is reduced to 35D.
It is necessary to pay attention that the diameter does not have to modify the typology of the
boundary layer at the model base. The minimum diameter allowable, from load considera
tions, is approximately 0.25 times the model base diameter [4]. For the maximum value, it is
necessary to consider that, in the transonic flow, minimum interferences exist with a sting
diameter up to 0.4 times the base [5].
In this flow field, the common choice is to use a straight sting, which is the best solution to
reduce the interferences. This is a tube that enters the model at the base. With this choice, all
the supporting structure is downstream of the model and it is used with an internal balance
system [6].
Figure 3. The SOAR (light blue) with the new support (orange) over the Airbus (dark green) in the nominal position;
scale 1:180.
The use of a straight sting is possible only for the scale 1:80 model, see Figure 3 whereas the
presence of the Airbus, with its empennage, in the composite configuration (scale 1:180)
prevents its usage. see Figure 4 The only remaining possibility, in this case, is to use a straight
sting that enters in the SOAR base (rear surface) but at the other extremity is connected with
an inclined bar before the Airbus empennage. The presence of the cables inside the support
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Figure 4. The SOAR with the new circular sting; scale 1:80.
needs a cavity that decreases the stiffness, with the necessity to pay particular attention to the
thickness of the walls. From the definition of the critical Reynolds number, it is possible to see
that, for the scale 1:80, the flow at the base is definitely turbulent, whereas, in scale 1:180, the
transition is around the base. In any case to design a sting 12 to 15 times the length of D is not
possible due to the constraint of the Airbus empennage, and the longest one possible was
designed.
Also, for the diameter, in scale 1:180, it was not possible to respect the rules explained for the
presence of the cable inside, and again the smallest one possible was chosen.
The inclined part of the support is clearly a critical point for the interferences and it dramati
cally breaks the flow in the proximity of the rear portion of the SOAR. For this reason, it made
it as less as possible inclined ( angle small) with respect to the constraint of the empennage
angle (otherwise the support would approach the tail of the Airbus too closely). Another
solution, adopted to try to have small interferences, is to use an airfoil shape as section of the
inclined bar. In fact, in the transonic flow, a thin airfoil allows for a dramatic reduction of the
drag [7]. The aim of this is to choose the thinnest airfoil possible, which is compatible with the
structural constraints and the presence of cables inside. The choice was a NACA 0016 cut in
the rear part.
Two different shapes of sting sections are evaluated in this work: circular and elliptic. The
circular one is the most common and there are many references in the literature [3,4,6]. On the
contrary, an elliptic sting should reduce the interferences and the drag especially at a high
angle of attack [8]. These configurations will be evaluated at every step of the design process,
first from a structural point of view and then with a flow analysis using a CFD software.
Because there is a lack of literature on the use of the elliptic sting, its use and the possible
advantages of this choice are investigated in depth. All support dimensions are in Ref. [9].
3. Structural analysis
To evaluate the reaction of different supports at the external loads present in the wind tunnel,
a static structural analysis and a vibrational analysis were performed [finite element method
(FEM)].
For the static structural analysis, the contribution of drag, lift, pitching moment, and lateral
forces was taken into account. From this study, although it results that the external loads do
not involve compromising stresses, strains, and displacements, it is necessary to highlight two
critical points. The first one is that the bending angle due to the displacement at the free
extremity, where the model will be connected, is often relevant, especially in scale 1:80. In all
cases (circular and elliptic sections, scales 1:80 and 1:180), it is necessary to take into account
this bending angle, with an accurate measurement, to have the exact inclination of the model.
The second interesting consideration concerns the larger stress (Von Mises) concentrations
present with the elliptic sting. The worse behavior of the elliptic shape is because it has a worse
filling. In fact, to fit the same cables, it is necessary to reduce the thickness of the wall; otherwise
the length of the major semi-axis would have been too large. Both problems are manageable,
but they require attention.
With the frequency analysis, it was verified that the external excitation during the experiments
is far enough from the resonance frequency of the supports. The main vibrational external
disturbance for the stings is the frequency of the vortex shedding of the SOAR model. Thus,
the utilization of an elliptic section is possible, but it needs more vigilance regarding the
designing of the wall thickness with an increase of the overall dimensions.
4. CFD analysis
The CFD simulations represent the most important contributions in this project. In fact, the
flow field and the force interferences due to the support were studied by comparing simula
tions with and without support. To study the alterations of the flow during the wind tunnel
test due to the presence of the artificial strut is fundamental for two reasons: to help design it
as discretely as possible and to understand the appropriate correction to the wind tunnel
results. In particular, the impact of the different shapes of stings (circular and elliptic), the
dimensions, the presence of an inclined part (with different inclinations), and the effect of an
angle of attack were studied. Every shape of support (circular or elliptic) was tested, with the
nominal dimensions, connected to the vehicle, at angles of attack of 0, 5, 10, and 15. After
this, the variation of the dimensions was evaluated at 0, with the sting longer or shorter by
10%. In addition, simulations with the diameter bigger than 10% were performed but not with
a smaller one, which is not possible if the cables are to be bunched inside the sting. A change
in the dimensions (10% length and diameter increase) is applied also with the presence of an
angle of attack to understand how these two different aspects can interact. The effect of the
inclined part (scale 1:180) was studied by simulations with the nominal inclination of the
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62241
vertical part compared to the straight sting (40.8) and adding 5, 10, and 15 of inclination,
respectively.
4.1. Pre-processing operations
All meshing operations were done using Ansys ICEM CFD version 15.0, whereas the selected
CFD tool was Metacomp CFD++ version 14.1. The computations were performed on the
ClusterVision cluster of the VKI.
The unstructured triangular surface mesh was realized using the autoblock method. Elonga
tion surfaces were inserted near the SOAR trailing edge to delay the boundary layer to tetra
mesh transition away from the body. This ensured compromising pressure jumps, and it might
appear far from the trailing edge due to element transitions. From this surface, a tetra mesh
see Figure 5 mixed with a Delauny method volume mesh was built between the model and
the fluid domain walls. After this, an exponential prism growing extrusion method was
applied, which is a kind of a level-set technique to grow constant thickness layers around the
body (with increasing thickness layer by layer). This prism layer forms the boundary layer
thickness and it consists of 25 levels with an expansion ratio of 1.2 and first cell height of 0.5
mm. During growth, a directional smoothing and a smoothing of the first layer were applied.
Some pyramid elements were generated to connect the prism column end sides to the tetra
mesh. Because the target Mach number was lowered to 0.7, it went below the critical Mach
number; therefore, shock refinement became unnecessary for this study. However, very small
pockets of supersonic flows were observed with Mach number less than 1.1. The total number
of mesh elements is just over 1.4 million.
Figure 5. Solid and wire view of the completed volume mesh symmetry plane.
In CFD++, the RANS simulations were performed with the k- SST model. All simulations
were at M=0.7 and with the wind tunnel set-up [9]. The body-support intersection is quite
large; therefore, its effect could not be neglected. The open part would behave as a zero pressure
region if not corrected. Hence, the following correction was applied: around the holes of the
SOAR, where the support attaches to the body, the average pressures were computed. Based
on these pressures and on the area of the hole, it is possible to introduce a compensating axial
force see Figure 6.
Figure 6. View of the SOAR with the hole for the support. The support correction is based on the average pressure on
the red line.
4.2. Result of the CFD analysis
The results were evaluated by looking at the flow topology and at the aerodynamic forces and
coefficients database. A summary of the result is presented in the following paragraphs, the
complete analysis is in Ref. [9].
4.2.1. Scale 1:180
The origin of the interferences on the model is twofold. The presence of the support blocks the
flow in the wake, decreases the recirculation, and increases the pressure that pushes the body
forward, reducing the drag. Furthermore, the blockage of the flow in the narrow space between
the flap surfaces and the sting generates an extra pressure on the flaps. Because this downward
push on the flaps is far from the vehicles center of gravity (CoG), it causes a considerable
increase on the pitching moment. Second, the inclined bar of the support breaks the flow
towards the SOAR, especially on the upper surfaces. This generates over pressures on the body
and, again, on the flaps responsible for the lift decrease and a contribution in the growing of
the moment.
Moreover, the lower surface of the vehicle reveals a higher pressure, but the values are lower
than those on the upper part and arranged more homogenously. Then, the higher pressure on
the bottom rather contrasts the decrease of the lift but less the increase of the pitching moment.
Now focusing on the effect of different sting shapes, the elliptic one with its more streamlined
cross-section causes fewer interferences allowing a better ease of the flow moving around. In
particular, this phenomenon is present below the circular sting that, with its larger section,
stops the flow more. Furthermore, the circular sting induces a larger vortex on its top.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62241
Figure 7. Rear surface view of the SOAR with circular sting on the left, alone in the middle, and with elliptic one on the
right; scale 1:180, =0.
Figure 8. Plot of the y and z velocity components; the SOAR with circular sting on the left, alone in the middle, and
with elliptic one on the right; scale 1:180, =180.
The impact of these flow alterations on the SOAR coefficients is minimal concerning the drag
and the lift, with small angles of attack, for both shapes and it increases at 15. Raising the
interferences usually growth, less using the elliptic section, that is now clearly advantageous,
especially on the lift. On the contrary, for the moment coefficient, the interferences are more
important also at small angles presenting a linear increase with the angle of the flow. Even in
this case, the usage of an elliptic sting produces less interference. In Table 1, there is the average
correction on the SOAR alone coefficient, for values of between 0 and 15, in scale 1:180.
The correction is calculated as the value of the coefficient when the SOAR was alone, minus
the value of the same coefficient, only for the SOAR, in a simulation where the support was
also present.
Simulations CL av CD av CM av
SOAR with circular sting 0.00590 0.00928 0.03831
SOAR with elliptic sting 0.00451 0.00703 0.03425
Table 1. Average correction, respect of the angle of attack, on the coefficients when the support is present compared to
the SOAR alone; scale 1:180
To understand the impact of different dimensions on the sting performance, 10% alterations
were chosen on the length (longer and shorter) and on the diameter (only larger) see Figure
9. It is clear that a shorter sting presents higher interferences with respect to a longer one. In
fact, the shorter one induces a higher pressure on the model rear surface and an overpressure
on the upper surface and on the flaps. This last fact is due to the greater proximity of the vertical
part of the support that breaks the flow over the vehicle.
Figure 9. Rear surface view of the SOAR with the sting 10% longer on the left, 10% shorter on the middle, and with the
bigger diameter on the right; scale 1:180, =0.
It is interesting that a 10% length reduction produces larger changes than a 10% increase. In
fact, regarding lift and drag, the effect on the coefficients is smaller when the sting is longer
(410% interferences see Table 11 reduction) but more important when it is shorter (3040%
interferences increases) with respect to the nominal dimensions. This does not happen for the
circular sting drag coefficient where it is the opposite. About the pitching up moment, the same
tendency is present but with minimal variations, and it is not possible to notice any differences
between the two shapes.
An increase of 10% in the diameter produces 17% to 19% of interference growing on the
pitching up moment, whereas, on the drag and on the lift, the worsening is small. The larger
impact on the pitching moment is explainable with the grater proximity of the sting to the flap.
The variation of the dimension was evaluated also at =15, observing that it has a greater
impact on the coefficients than what happens at =0. The trend for the drag and the lift is
almost the same as with =0. Interesting is the drastic reduction of pitching moment inter
ference with the longer elliptic sting (144%), whereas this is not present with the circular shape.
By increasing the diameter, the coefficient most negatively affected is the pitching moment.
Increasing the inclination of the vertical bar, the differences on the pressure distributions are
really appreciable only with 15 of variation (this means that the bar is closer to the vertical
axis). It is possible to see an increase of the pressure on the rear surface and on the upper one,
especially in the rear part. Otherwise, on the bottom, it is not possible to notice strong differ
ences see Figure 10. This, as already clarified, means a decrease of the drag and the lift while
the pitching moment grows. The global result is an increase on the interferences, which should
be taken into account.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62241
Figure 10. Different views of the SOAR with elliptic support. =40.8 (left) and =55.8 (right); scale 1:180, =0.
4.2.2. Scale 1:80

As expected, straight stings disturb less the flow than any supports with an inclined part. An
increase of pressure on the model rear part due to the presence of the sting is present again
but, because there are no large parts sticking out of the wake, the effects are small. The pressure
that increases over the vehicle surface is much lower, but an increase on the rear surface of the
SOAR is still present. This last phenomenon is more evident with the circular sting than with
the elliptic one. Once again, the circular shape induces a larger blockage of the flow below the
sting.
On the coefficients too, the straight sting induces the same kind of interferences, that is, the
decrease of the drag and the lift and increase of the pitching moment. This time, the deviance
with respect to the drag and to the lift from the SOAR alone is actually small see Table 2. For
the pitching moment, greater interferences persist and, once again, the elliptic sting reacts
better. This is due to the presence of the SOAR flaps under the sting that induces a higher
pressure again.
Simulations CL av CD av CM av
SOAR with circular sting 0.00229 0.00254 0.01434
SOAR with elliptic sting 0.00186 0.00217 0.00857
Table 2. Average correction, respect of the angle of attack, on the coefficients when the support is present compared to
the SOAR alone; scale 1:80
The 10% dimensional variations on the straight sting produce minimal differences on the
pressure contours. Now a shorter sting causes a lower pressure on the vehicle rear surface with
a behavior closer to the SOAR alone. The reasons for this are twofold. First, it should be
remembered that turbulent flow at the model rear base predicts a shorter critical sting length
(three to five times the base diameter) that is not possible to predict exactly. The sting length
in scale 1:80 is 3.4D and the critical sting length should be on the range of 10% variations.
Second, with this model of sting, there are not any inclined parts out from the wake of the
SOAR. In fact, the disturbances of the support, in scale 1:180, are bigger when the vertical part
is closer to the vehicle, that is, with a shorter sting. On the contrary, with only a straight sting,
the shorter it is, the lower are the perturbations on the wake, even if the amount of the
interferences is always smaller. It is difficult to clarify this trend because in reality, at the end
of the sting, there should be another structure usually with a larger diameter. The effect of this
bigger diameter component can be similar to what induced an inclined bar, that is, to increase
the flow blockage as closer to the vehicle. Now the effect on the coefficients is smaller and they
usually remain approximately constant with some exceptions: on the lift, the elliptic longer
sting reduces the interferences (29%), whereas the circular longer one increases (16%). On the
pitching moment, the longer elliptic sting reduces the interferences by approximately 20%.
Increasing the diameter by 10% produces similar interferences to what happens in scale 1:180.
Once again, the greatest deviances are observed for the pitching moment.
The variation of the dimensions at 15 angle of attack has a small impact on the drag and on
the lift, whereas, on the pitching moment, there is a drastic reduction of interferences with both
shapes. Increasing the diameter causes only a 20% growth of the deviation for the moment
coefficient with respect to the SOAR alone.
4.3. Comparison with the previous support
It is useful to remember that this study and the support design rose from the necessity to build
new supports after the first wind tunnel testing campaign in the VKI. All results of that research
activity are found in Ref. [1].
The old support was attached to the vehicle from the top (dorsal strut) and it was discovered
to induce high interferences. That support configuration induced an extra pressure in front of
the sting and lower pressure on the side. Furthermore, lower pressures were presented on the
back of the SOAR behind the body and on the top of the flaps. These pressure decreases
induced large forces due to the big areas it was acting on with the double effect to increasing
in the drag and generating a pitching down moment.
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Figure 11. Sting effect on the old support. It is possible to see the red peak of pressure at the base of the sting; scale
1:180.
The previous separation wind tunnel tests were performed in scale 1:180, and the cases at 0
and 10 angle of attack are comparable with the results of this paper.
The use of the posterior supports dramatically reduces the interferences in terms of drag and
lift with respect to the dorsal strut. On the contrary, the rear sting causes greater interferences
to the pitching moment. Furthermore, the sting effect is opposite: whereas the drag was
increased, now it is decreased, and the pitching moment now is higher, whereas before it was
smaller. Also, the effect with the angle of attack is different: with the previous support, the
amount of the correction was reduced increasing , whereas the new models make the situation
worse with high . Only for the lift all choices cause decrease in the coefficient respect to the
SOAR alone see Table 3.
Old support New circular support New elliptic support

CD CL CM CD CL CM CD CL CM
0 0.0328 0.0662 0.0082 0.0045 0.0086 0.0242 0.0039 0.0078 0.0218
10 0.0159 0.0891 0.0059 0.0058 0.0079 0.0426 0.0046 0.0071 0.0391
Table 3 Comparison of the performance between the support with circular and elliptic sting and the old one; scale
1:180, =0
4.4. Local pressure coefficient corrections
In this paragraph, the coefficient alterations are revised, but now looking at the pressure point
by point. The following critical area of the vehicle are selected for this analysis: the rear surface,
the body, and the flaps see Figure 12.
Figure 12. With different colors, the lines where the pressure are evaluated: left, the SOAR rear surface; middle, the
body; right, the flap.
The main goal of the investigations is to find corrective coefficients to correct for the presence
of the support with information coming from the pressure values. In fact, during the wind
tunnel test, a small transducer will be positioned to measure the pressure at smart locations.
With the coefficients found in this analysis, it will be possible to have a value of the local
pressure corrected and then close to what happens without the support. Afterwards, it is
desirable to apply these coefficients also at corrective laws for the aerodynamics coefficients.
The sense of the last point is to have a quick way to obtain an indicative value of the coefficient
correction for each case, which can be tested in the wind tunnel. The study is done for the
nominal dimension geometry function of the angle of attack.
First, the local pressure values are presented, and after the correction, laws are explained.
4.4.1. Local pressure values
Regarding the rear surface and the upper body surface, what was already analyzed in the
previous paragraph was confirmed. The circular sting induces higher pressure in the lower
part of the rear surface, with a large peak and slightly lower value in the upper zone see (see
Figure 13) Increasing the sting length, as expected, the pressure is closer to the values of the
SOAR alone (see Figure 9). This is present with the same trend for both sting shapes in scale
1:180, not in scale 1:80 where the differences are small.
Figure 13. Rear surface pressure distribution plot: on the red line for the elliptic sting with different length (left) and on
the blue line for SOAR alone and with different sting shapes (right); scale 1:180, =0.
On the body upper surface, the support creates an overpressure on the rear part of the vehicle,
more evident in scale 1:180. The pressure is calculated also on the right flap in the longitudinal
direction following the black line shown in Figure 12. As expected, the longer sting always has
a lower correction than the shorter and the elliptic shape is closer to the SOAR alone (see Figure
14).
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Figure 14. Pressure distribution on the flap for different shapes and geometries; scale 1:180, =0.
The impact of higher pressure on the flap is always towards increasing the pitching up
moment. It is interesting to notice that the flap is more affected by the sting for =0 than for
=15 and that the circular sting produces less interferences on it, increasing the angle of attack
(see Figure 15). It is possible to find a similar trend also in scale 1:80, but the differences are
minimal.
Figure 15. Pressure distribution with nominal dimensions on the flap, circular and elliptic sting; scale 1:180, =0 (left)
and =15 (right).
4.4.2. Coefficients corrective laws
The coefficients coming from the simulations with support are corrected for the presence of
the struts.
Scale 1:180 1:80
Ki,j Circular Elliptic Circular Elliptic
Flap 0.989 0.990 0.996 0.997
Base 0.975 0.986 0.989 0.994
Table 4. Averaged local pressure ratio
The surface pressure alterations are considered responsible for the interferences on the
coefficients, see Equation (1) and Table 4. The ratios (Ki,j) between the pressures, on the rear
surface, of the SOAR alone divided by the same pressure when the support is present are taken
into account to correct the drag. The same values on the flap surface are supposed to be
determinant for the pitching moment and the lift. Afterwards from these pressure ratios a first
correction coefficient is applied and then other elements are added to try to have the best fit
of the simulation results.
PSoarAlone i , j
Ki, j = (1)
PSoarWS i , j
The corrected results always present a residual average error from the SOAR alone lower than
104, and few cases have an error of 103. The improvement from the results coming from the
simulations is always at least one order of magnitude. It is useful to highlight that the nature
of this correction is totally empiric.
For the drag, the pressure corrective coefficient is in the denominator because the higher
pressure induced by the sting on the SOAR rear surface reduces the drag coefficient.
On the lift, the pressure coefficient multiplies the aerodynamics coefficient because the
overpressure on the flap (and on the body) reduces the lift but making it less negative for =0.
For the pitching moment, the pressure coefficient is divided by a factor 10. This is for the huge
impact that the flap overpressure has on the coefficient due to the distance from the CoG and
the large surface. Then everything is multiplied to the moment coefficient because the sting
effect is to increase it.
As example, just the drag and lift corrective law for the circular sting and the pitching moment
corrective law for the elliptic one are reported, and all corrective laws are in Ref. [9]. All is
referred to the scale 1:180.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62241
1
CD ,C = CD + 4,117410-3 (2)
K b ,C
CL ,C = K f ,C CL + 8.3573 10-3 + 2.5311 10-5 a 2,2 (3)
K f ,E
CM , E = CM + 2.81817 10-4 8.511 10-4 a (4)
10
5. Conclusions
All supports are structurally valid and induce an amount of interferences manageable with
the suitable corrections. The conclusions about the interferences will now be analyzed more
in detail.
The elliptic sting shape presents, in both scales, the best performance, especially on the pitching
moment coefficient and at =15. For all supports with an angle of attack much higher than
10, the usage of the elliptic sting is definitely suggested. In scale 1:180, there are evident
advantages with its usage also on the drag and on the lift coefficients and also at the lower
angle of attack. In scale 1:80 for all the coefficients, the interferences, in spite of the greater
scale, are at least half of what happens with the 1:180 supports. For the lift and the drag, the
differences between the two shapes are halved, with the same trend. The pitching moment
worsening with is reduced, especially for the elliptic sting.
Varying the dimensions, the trend is what was expected, in scale 1:180: the interferences go
down increasing the length and decreasing the diameter. It is more complex in scale 1:80, as
already discussed, and the range of alterations is not enough to clearly understand the behavior
of the support. For the pitching moment having a sting 10% longer at 15 angle of attack
dramatically reduces the interferences. The reason why this is not revealed for the circular
sting in scale 1:180 is not clear yet.
Increasing the inclination of the vertical parts (only scale 1:180), the interferences increase. If
the variation is 5, the effect is minimal; at =55.8, the interferences rise more.
Comparing this to the old support (only scale 1:180), the first consideration is that the SOAR
rear part, including their flaps, is a critical zone for the interferences. In fact, for their large flat
surfaces, only small deviances on the pressure contour cause great alterations on the coeffi
cients. This in particular affects the pitching moment for the distance from the CoG. Every kind
of support will, more or less, produce alterations on the flow in this part and then a certain
amount of interferences is inevitable. On the contrary, to have a support that does not interfere
with the rear part is not possible. The dramatic reduction of drag and lift interferences, with a
posterior sting, seems to be interesting even if it is necessary to take into account a worsening
of the pitching moment. With little optimization on the design, the use of an elliptic shape and
the research of some expedient to reduce the moment interferences may be the best solution.
6. Recommendations for future activities
It is interesting to examine more in depth some aspects of this study such as the impact of
shape and dimensional variation. To do this, it is useful to perform simulations at more angle
of attacks and to apply greater length alterations. It is possible to do this remaining in the
original constraints for the scale 1:80 where they are less severe.
Furthermore, for a more in-depth analysis, it is necessary to perform CFD test of supports with
the completed sustaining mechanism. This is useful especially for the straight sting (scale 1:80)
where testing only the last part of the support is not possible to clarify the interference
variations with the length. Therefore, it will be possible also to understand better the influence
of the Reynolds number on the length.
Another critical point is to research a solution to decrease the interferences on the pitching
moment. To permit this in scale 1:80, there is the possibility to position the sting higher on the
SOAR rear surface. This should reduce the flow blockage over the flaps. It is more difficult to
realize the same in scale 1:180 (especially for the elliptic sting) for the higher ratio dsDalready
existent.
Finally, it is also interesting to estimate the accuracy and the usefulness of the new correction
methods purpose in Section 4.4.
Nomenclature
angle of attack
inclination angle of the support vertical part
CoGcenter of gravity
Caerodynamics coefficient corrected for the effect of the support
Dmodel base diameter
dsting diameter
PSoarAlone i,j
Ki,jKi,j = PSoarWS i,j
LCcritical sting length
lsting length
MMach number
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/62241
ReReynolds number
VKIThe Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics
Author details
Alberto Ghiraldo1*, Sebastien Paris2 and Ernesto Benini1
*Address all correspondence to: albertoghiraldo@hotmail.it
1 University of Padua, Padua, Italy
2 The Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Belgium
References
[1] Swiss Space System. SOAR design definition file design justification file. Internal
document. 2013.
[2] S Paris, BnyaiT.. Contribution to the aerodynamic database of the SOAR and the
Airbus A300 during the separationwind tunnel tests and CFD. VKI Internal report.
2014;S3-VKI-RPT-001.
[3] FB Cyran. Base Pressure Measurement of the Standard Dynamics Model Aircraft at
Mach Numbers 0.3 Through 1.3. Tennessee, USA: Arnold Air Force Station; 1981.
[4] A Pope. Wind Tunnel Calibration Techniques. AGARDograph; 1961.
[5] S Hoerner. Fluid Dynamic Drag; 1965.
[6] HM Schurmeier. An Investigation of the Interference Effect of a Sting Support System

on the Pressure Distribution over a Body of Revolution. Pasadena, CA, USA: Pasadena
Institute of Technology; 1949.
[7] JD Anderson Jr.. Fundamentals of Aerodynamics. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill;
2011.
[8] DL Loving, AA Luoma. Sting Support Interference on Longitudinal Aerodynamic

Characteristics of Cargo-Type Airplane Models at Mach 0.70 to 0.84. Langley Station,
Hampton, VA, USA: Langley Research Center; 1967.
[9] A Ghiraldo Effetto del supporto in misurazioni in galleria del vento (in English; only
abstract available). Padua thesis. 2015.
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Recent Progress in

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hapter 2 Lubricants for Turbine Engines

Chapter 3 Active Flow Control by Using Plasma Actuators

Chapter 4 Loads Simulator System for Testing and Qualification of

Chapter 5 Morphing Technologies: Adaptive Ailerons

Chapter 6 Self-Healing Control Framework Against Actuator Fault

Chapter 7 A Hierarchical Tracking Controller for Quadrotor Without

Chapter 8 Studies on Effects of Aircraft Noise on Behavior of Rats,

Chapter 9 Numerical Study of Support Interferences on the SOAR

The book describes the recent progress in some engine

Progress in Experimental Research of Turbine

Andreas Marn, Christian Faustmann and

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Modifications on the intermediate turbine duct in order to reduce noise emissions by

2. Experimental setups and test facilities

2.1.1. Turbine stage and turbine exit casings[SEQA1]

2.1.2. Operating conditions

TEGV state-of-the-art (Reference TEC) 15

TEGV leaned TEC 15

TEGV inverse cutoff (inv.) >40

TEGV H-TEC <35

Tip gap to blade height ratio 1.0%

Hub to tip radius ratio 2/3

TEGV Reynolds number ratio Reref./ReH-TEC. 3

TEGV Reynolds number ratio Reref./Reinv. 3

TEGV Reynolds number ratio Reref./Releaned 1

Diffusion factor ref./leaned/inv./H-TEC 0.5/0.5/0.6/0.6

Reduced mass flow 6.94kg/s

Reduced rotational speed 3653rpm/4060rpm

Stage pressure ratio 1.16

Stage total inlet temperature 100C

Table 1. Geometry details and operating conditions.

2.2. Transonic test turbine facility

Figure 2. Meridional section of the TTTF.

h / cax 1.15 1.37 0.46/0.53 3.5 2.94

Tip gap - Unshrouded - - Shrouded

Operating conditions ADP

BP F HP kHz 6.69 6.69 6.69

BP F LP kHz 4.26 4.26 4.26

Stage pt ratio HPT/ LPT 3/1.3 3/1.3 2.83/1.36

Table 2. Blading parameters and operating conditions.

2.3.1. Measurement uncertainty

Ma +0.006 -0.003 [/]

pt +3.3 -3.0 [mbar]

p +5.3 -5.2 [mbar]

Table 3. Measurement uncertainties of the five-hole probe.

3. Acoustic analysis theoretical background

The acoustic analysis consists of four constitutive parts:

phase averaging and adaptive resampling;

3.1. Phase averaging and adaptive resampling