NASA/Langley Research Center, Mail Stop 144, Industry Assistance Office, Hampton, VA 23681-0001

A -- TEAMING OPPORTUNITY FOR REVCON NRA SOL SS310 DUE 071699 POC Richard R. Antcliff, Leader, FCMO, Phone (757)864-1700, Fax (757) 864-1707, Email r.r.antcliff@larc.nasa.gov WEB: Click here for the latest information about this notice, http://nais.nasa.gov/EPS/LaRC/date.html#SS310. E-MAIL: Richard R. Antcliff, r.r.antcliff@larc.nasa.gov. NASA plans to issue, through NASA's Langley Research Center, a NASA Research Announcement (NRA) 99-LaRC-3 for Flight Research for Revolutionary Aeronautical Concepts (REVCON). This project will be led by NASA Dryden Flight Research Center with participation from the other 3 NASA Aeronautics Centers: Ames, Langley, and Glenn Research Centers. Specifically, the NRA plans to solicit proposals for the flight research of advanced vehicle concepts that accelerate the exploration of high-risk, breakthrough technologies in order to enable revolutionary departures from traditional approaches to air vehicle design. Through this NRA process, it is NASA's intent to enhance U.S. aerospace competitiveness by supporting a continuous series of advanced vehicle concept developments and flight research activities that achieve the following objectives: 1) Revolutionize traditional approaches to aerospace technology evolution and maturation, 2) Develop methods to reduce time to develop and certify new flight vehicles and flight vehicle systems, 3) Develop new methods for enhancing scale accuracy and the fidelity of simulation techniques, 4) Expand the current portfolio of technology investigations into non-traditional arenas, and 5) Provide early validation of the concepts in a relevant environment, specifically flight, to demonstrate breakthrough technology. Awards will be initiated in FY2000 as the first in a continuous series of advanced vehicle development and flight demonstration activities. The focus of the Revolutionary Concepts Project (REVCON) is to develop a robust project with multiple, consecutive flight-test elements that are responsive to civil, commercial, and Department of Defense (DoD) needs. Mission areas that may be targeted by REVCON studies and research vehicles include advanced general aviation and personal air transportation vehicles, supersonic and subsonic transports, rotorcraft, and advanced military air vehicles. In close coordination with the Flight Research, Airframe Systems, and Propulsion SystemBase Programs and other NASA programs, the REVCON Project will maintain national policy direction in the development of future capabilities. REVCON studies and demonstrators are expected to leverage from and be synergistic with the Flight Research, Airframe Systems, Propulsion Systems, and Information Technology Base Program technology development activities, as well as any appropriate focused programs, to the fullest extent possible. The REVCON Project consists of flight research of advanced vehicle concepts preceded by systems analysis studies to select the best concepts. The technology-driven REVCON research may consist of government-led or industry-led efforts to assure a broad coverage of technologies and applications. Flight research will be focused on technology demonstrations with short development times and must demonstrate high-payoff technologies that significantly advance the state-of-the-art. REVCON projects may include new research vehicles, such as the X-36, or advanced technology experiments on new or existing test platforms, such as actuated nose strakes on the F-18 forebody. Specific performance goals for each project will be established prior to the initiation of each project. Demonstrators must use representative hardware in a relevant environment to significantly advance the Technology Readiness Level and to validate the technologies through flight testing. Innovative research partnerships with NASA are highly encouraged. REVCON project efforts will include system analyses, vehicle/hardware design, fabrication, instrumentation, assembly, ground test, flight test, and documentation. The activities under this NRA will consist of the following two phases: Phase 1, or the candidate screening phase, will be focused on developing the system benefits of the technology through system studies, establishing the feasibility of the flight vehicle experiment, and a detailed definition of the proposed flight research project. Limited maturation activities are also possible in this phase. Multiple selections for Phase 1 are expected. Phase 2, or the implementation phase, will be focused on the development and flight test of vehicles and/or technology demonstrations and an assessment of the viability of the technology. Phase 2 flight technology demonstrators are expected to be down selected from Phase 1 proposals. One or more awards for flight test of vehicles or technology demonstrators are anticipated. Proposals should include technical and cost information for both Phase 1 and 2 activities at initial submittal. The Phase 1 information will be considered a firm proposal, while the Phase 2 information, which will be considered preliminary, will be used to understand the overall scope of the proposed effort and will be a factor in the Phase 1 selection. Using the information generated in Phase 1, the Phase 2 proposals may be updated prior to Phase 2 final selection. The following budget information, while tentative, is provided for planning purposes only. Any award will be subject to the availability of funds and appropriate technical evaluation. The approximate near term funding plan for Phase 1 (system analysis, feasibility, and project development) is a total of $1.8 million for fiscal years 2000 and 2001. It is anticipated that awards for Phase 1 activities will result in about six studies of about $300K each to be shared among the partners. The Government reserves the right to defer funds to Phase 2. The total anticipated multiple-project funding for Phase 2 is $45M from fiscal years 2001 through 2003, to be distributed over one to three awards. NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) is seeking partners from industry, academia, non-profit organizations, NASA Centers, national labs, other Government agencies and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC's) to participate with NASA LaRC Principal Investigators in REVCON to develop proposals and execute development and performance of REVCON systems. It is anticipated that selection of the proposal(s) and the availability of funds would result in system study or subsystem contract(s) for the selected partner(s). This synopsis partnership opportunity document does not represent a guarantee of selection for award of any contracts, nor is it to be construed as a commitment by NASA to pay for the information solicited. It is expected that the partner(s) selected would provide (at no cost to NASA) conceptual designs, technical data, proposal input (e.g., management approach), project schedules, and cost estimates consistent with the requirements of the NRA for such instruments and/or subsystems during the proposal process. Potential REVCON partners must demonstrate the capabilities and experience to provide systems analysis and/or develop systems associated with the REVCON Proposals. Partner selection(s) will be made by LaRC based on the following criteria in the following order of importance: (1) Recent relevant experience, past performance, technical capability and availability of key personnel; (2) Cost and Schedule control; and (3) Facilities. These criteria are defined as follows: 1. Recent relevant experience, past performance, technical capability and availability of key personnel: This criteria evaluates the proposer's relevant recent experience, past performance in similar development activities, technical capability to perform the development and key personnel available for the development. The industry should provide substantive evidence that the proposer has successfully participated in similar developments (component, subsystem, instrument), including customer references (points of contact and current telephone numbers), technical ability to complete the development, ability to assess technology readiness for infusion into instrument development, experience in laboratory and field experiments, and availability of key personnel with appropriate experience skills levels. 2. Cost and Schedule control: This criteria evaluates the proposer's ability to control both cost and schedule, has management processes in place to control these, and understands the relationship of cost and schedule. The proposer should provide evidence of successfully controlling costs and schedule for similar developments, project management schedule and cost control processes are implemented, and how the proposer evaluates the interaction of cost and schedule during a development. 3. Facilities: This criterion evaluates the proposer's facilities or access to facilities to conduct the development and ground qualification of the concept. The proposer should describe what facilities are controlled/available to the proposer, how access to any other needed facilities will be accomplished, and any government facilities needed to complete the development. Response must be limited to five pages and address each of the criteria. A separate proposal, even though it may be duplicative, must be submitted for each team that the responder wishes to be considered. The responder must indicate on the cover page of the proposal the applicable team for each proposal. All responses and questions should be sent to the following person and address: Dr. Richard Antcliff, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, 23681, Mail Stop 367 or email to r.r.antcliff@larc.nasa.gov. The due date for submissions is COB July 16, 1999. The following are the teams seeking partnerships, the technical requirements, and a LaRC point of contact for technical questions: A Strut-Braced Wing Aircraft -- Francis Capone, (757) 864-3004, f.j.capone@larc.nasa.gov Work sponsored by NASA Langley in the last several years suggests that a strut-braced wing concept is significantly lighter than a conventional cantilever airplane for the transonic transport mission with corresponding large fuel savings. Depending on the specific concept variation, the takeoff gross weight savings was initially found to be from 14% to 15%. The fuel savings were found to be from 21% to 29%. In all cases, the same methodology was used for both the strut concept and an equivalent cantilever design to define the improvements. This strut concept is different than those routinely used on low speed airplanes. The idea of a transonic strut-braced wing can be traced to Pfenninger, who also wanted to employ active laminar flow control. In its most fundamental form, the concept requires two key technology items and the MDO method to resolve the close coupling between aerodynamics and structures. These two items are the ability to use CFD to avoid aerodynamic penalties associated with the strut-wing junction interference drag, and the use of an innovative tension-only strut mechanism to avoid the problem of strut buckling at the negative g loading condition. Using modern technology these two requirements can be met. Recall in particular, that CFD was not available to solve the interference problem when the current cantilever wing transport paradigm was becoming the standard transport configuration. Once the tools and technologies described above are employed, the concept evolves as follows. Using a strut, a higher aspect ratio and thinner wing can be used without an increase in wing weight relative to a cantilever wing. The reduction in thickness allows the wing sweep to be reduced without incurring a transonic wave drag penalty. The reduced wing sweep allows a larger percentage of the wing area to achieve natural laminar flow. The MDO approach allows the designers to find the best combination of aerodynamic and structural designs, and the results suggest that the strut-braced concept should be adopted for future transonic transports. Because of the strut, the concept is necessarily a high-wing design, and in the nominal configuration the engines are placed under the wings. MDO results locate the engine and typically place the strut attachment in a similar location. Several additional enhancements are also well suited to the concept. First, Langley work by Whitcomb and Patterson several years ago demonstrated that tip-mounted engines can be used to reduce the induced drag. MDO studies were also made for this concept. The results produced an airplane that was nearly as good as the underwing engine concept, but with significantly less span. This was, in effect, a structural concept, where the MDO tool exploited the engine's drag reduction effect to reduce span and hence wing weight. The problem associated with handling the engine-out condition led to the adoption of circulation control on the vertical tail to generate the required sideforce. Circulation control has been under development for many years, and this appears to be a natural application for it. A GA/V-S STOL Aircraft -- Mark Moore, (757) 864-2262, m.d.moore@larc.nasa.gov The objective of this research is to design, build and fly a full size General Aviation (GA), Vertical or Super Short TakeOff and Landing (V-S STOL) aircraft which can fit into a public role by being compact, safe and easy to fly, while having low noise and emissions characteristics. A design mission of at least 500 nm with a cruise speed of at least 200 knots will be further refined during a systems analysis study which brings in a market analyst specialist for a detailed investigation of the design market, requirements and constraints. The ability of a VSTOL, versus the lower complexity and higher payload fraction Super STOL aircraft will be investigated to determine which configuration can best satisfy the design and market requirements. The ability for this aircraft to function in a limited fashion on roadways will be examined to determine if the market or mission requires or merits these numerous, penalizing Department of Transportation constraints. The four technical breakthroughs, which are required for this futuristic vision to become a NASA enabled reality, are listed below. High Performance, Low Cost Aircraft Engine -- Development of a high specific output aircraft engine enabling a small V-S STOL aircraft to have sufficient payload and range to be useful. The propulsion system must also achieve a cost dramatically lower than current aircraft engines to meet the affordability requirement, as well as low noise and emissions. AGATE and SATS Integration -- Development of a semi-autonomous flight control system permitting a dramatic simplification of the flight control interaction with the pilot, as well as with airspace operations. This effort involves the integration of all of the Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments (AGATE) technologies into an aircraft system that could fly in a Small Aviation Transportation System (SATS). This breakthrough would permit individuals to fly aircraft with little more experience or education than that required to drive an automobile. Integration of these systems would be into a General Aviation (GA) aircraft, with extensions made to V-S STOL aircraft operations. General Aviation V-S STOL Aircraft -- Design of a small V-S STOL aircraft system, which is mechanically simple, transitions to forward flight simply and robustly, and has safe flight characteristics that accommodates engine out and powerless landing capability. All these qualities must be achieved while packaged in a compact footprint for easy integration into public systems and storage, while at the same time providing a reasonable range and operating cost. Automotive Manufacturing Technology -- Manufacturing design of a personal V-S STOL aircraft for mass production to satisfy the design requirement of affordability. An automotive industry partner is required for the structural design from a purely economic and manufacturing perspective. An automotive company is required to accurately perform the cost analysis so that the cost issue may be addressed quantifiably, with manufacturer methodology and experience. The first and second technical breakthroughs are independent REVCON proposals; with separate funding, demonstrators and industry partners. The third and fourth breakthroughs are the elements of this proposal, since manufacturing, cost and design are highly interdependent. This proposal will not be dependent on the success or failure of the others. The flight demonstrator could incorporate the prior technologies if they are successful, but will not be dependent on them; payload and range weight fractions could be used for weight allowance with lower performance engines. This unified research plan will permit REVCON to significantly impact an important part of the U.S. aerospace industry, which has tremendous potential for growth. NASA Pillar Goals of reducing travel time, invigorating GA, and providing next generation aircraft would be achieved. Smart Vehicle -- Advanced Technology Demonstrator -- J. Barthelemy, (757) 864-2809, J.F.BARTHELEMY@LaRC.NASA.GOV We propose a revolutionary, smart air vehicle concept that incorporates active flow control, active aeroelastic damping, and advanced self-adaptive controls on a radical vehicle with the goal of achieving optimum mission performance. We will design and build the vehicle at LaRC and conduct the flight testing at DFRC. This smart air vehicle will integrate novel LaRC materials, structural concepts, systems, and aerodynamic control concepts to carry out its mission in an adaptive fashion. The craft will be equipped with a suite of state-of-the-art sensors, effectors, and closed-loop, self-adaptive flight controls. Sensors will determine overall vehicle parameters and a central controls system will select from novel actuator sets for best performance within maneuverability requirements at the current flight regime. Sensors will survey the airflow over the vehicle and will activate flow control as needed. Finally, structural sensors will measure the vehicle dynamic response and activate vibration damping if required. The configuration selected for this effort is an unmanned, swept delta wing, tailless vehicle. This class of aircraft is well suited for meeting our objectives because of their maneuverability, stealth and single-point performance in mind and are somewhat compromised at off-design conditions. The central benefit of this effort is the demonstration of the integrated suite of smart components to optimize mission performance. The lessons from this project will provide the foundations from which to address other related smart system integration efforts, like active thrust vectoring or active noise and sonic fatigue reduction, for example. Benefits also will arise from the application pull resulting from flying technologies previously only demonstrated in wind tunnels or laboratories. This effort will provide critical lessons and requirements for continued fundamental research. In turn, success in developing such concepts will free up design constraints and enable scores of revolutionary configurations. Expertise in some of the following areas would contribute to the project: vehicle conceptual design, composite prototype design and fabrication, flow control, structural and aeroelastic control, integrated electronics, adaptive control, reconfigurable control, control allocation, smart sensors and actuators. Posted 07/02/99 (D-SN350169). (0183)

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