Aeronautical and Educational Services Company
15 March 2005 – 30 June 2005
Total award $18,884
The accumulation of ice on aircraft in flight is one of the leading causes of general aviation accidents, and to date only relatively sophisticated methods based on detailed empirical data and flight data exist for its analysis. A useful tool for a basic analysis of icing effects on airplane performance, stability, and control is an accurate yet simplified dynamical simulation model, based upon relatively simple data for airplane configuration, propulsion system, mass properties, and icing data.
This research develops such a tool, and applies it to the investigation of stability and control characteristics, and climb and descent performance of a representative light aircraft in icing conditions. Empirical data and DATCOM methods will be used to develop a linear time-invariant, six degree-of-freedom state-space model of a Cessna 208. Validation of the model will be accomplished by comparison to commercially available flight test data for a Cessna 208. To investigate the effect of ice accretion on stability and control characteristics, climb maneuvers, and descent maneuvers, existing icing data for a light aircraft of similar configuration was incorporated into the model. It is assumed here that the icing accretion is fully developed, and configurations of wing icing alone; horizontal tail icing alone; and combined wing and horizontal tail icing will be analyzed using the component build-up method. A vortex lattice computer code will also be used to validate the results.
Specific tasks and research objectives:
- Generate state-space linear airframe models of a representative light airplane in the clean configuration. Perform climb comparisons to commercially obtained flight data for the same aircraft to validate the models.
- Incorporate icing effects on the state-space linear clean airframe models. Verify icing effects with climb comparisons to published data for longitudinal dynamics.
- Refine icing models with a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code, and incorporate asymmetries stemming from icing buildup on wing and horizontal tail.
- Using the simulation codes developed, evaluate a minimum of 20 test case scenarios.
Working with me on this program is Graduate Research Assistant:
- Amanda Lampton