BACK
Georgia Tech Shows Off High-Lift Wings At the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), theyre developing some novel technology to reduce the takeoff and landing requirements of modern commercial jets, and at the same time, reducing the noise impact on the areas surrounding airports. And theyre doing it by marrying some old ideas with new.The research is being conducted as part of NASAs Hybrid Wing-Body Low-Noise Extreme Short Takeoff and Landing (ESTOL) program, and GTRIs contribution is significant: A blown-wing configuration that results in a level-flight lift coefficient between 8.0 and 10.0, where most traditional wing designs struggle to reach 1.0.Compressed air is vented from a slot in front of trailing-edge flaps, which serves to increase the wings lift, but also to entrain the exhaust from jet engines mounted on nacelles above the forward portion of the wing. The combination of the high-velocity air passing over the flap, the flap deflection, and the entrained jetwash add massive amounts of active lift to the wing area, allows designers to reduce the wing area, and therefore the amount of power required for flight. HIgher lift means shorter runways, less time near ground level, and fuel savings in most flight regimes.The added bonus is the reduction of ground noise: With the engines mounted above the wings, much of its noise is reflected away from the ground, instead of back toward it like underslung nacelles.Hopefully, well see real gains in aviation efficiency from the NASA program sooner, rather than later -- aircraft design cycles, though greatly shortened by the use of advanced visualization and design software, are still notoriously long. If we could get some of these new technologies into airframes within 10 years, instead of 20 or more, the cost savings in fuel alone would be staggering. Heres hoping.
2010 RD 100 Award Winners Announced
Energy Water Air and Climate Modelin
Oregon State Studies Bridge Failures
UWO Professors Redesign Venerable Te
Flapping Wings and the Aerodynamics
Stratasys Showcasing Their FDM Proce
Lets Go Design Puts Skills Into Prac
UW Students Win Award for Water Test
ReWalk Robotic Legs
HondaJet Completes Maiden Certificat
IBM Publishes 2010s Next Five in Fiv
U Oklahoma Simulating Shale Gas Rese
UofT Scorpion Seismic Brace
No Left Turns
CETIM Completes Eiffel Tower Simulat
NASA AD-1 Weirdest
Airplanes and EMI Unsafe
Make Twitter Part of Your Job Search
Particle Accelerator on a Chip
Arizona Flight Control Researchers T
Are Libraries Becoming Exinct
Welcome To Adulthood
Personal Choice
Whos Referring You
Construction Employment Falls Furthe
Glass Tiles and Other Alternatives f
New Construction Jobs in 56 Metro Ar
Construction Spending Hits Ten-Year
Construction Unemployment Up Again
New Orleans Rebuilds Five Public Lib
Obama Administration Unveils Energy
New Home Sales Up Remodeling Down Po
Labor Stats Show Job Market Still De
CASE N Series LoadersBackhoes Announ
Google Releases SketchUp 8
DEMON UAV Demonstrates Flapless Flig
SARSYS Friction Tester Home of The C
General ElectricRolls-Royce F136 Fac
Eleven Er Ten Most Stressful Jobs in
Electrical Engineers in Increasing D
Skyscraper Construction in China Goi
USDOT Reallocates 11B for High-Speed
MIT Releases Concrete Sustainability
Fed to Jersey Wheres Our Money
John Deere Unveils Hi-Speed Dozer
Univ of Bristol Studies Composite Ma
100-Year Concrete Study Results Publ
Virginia Tech Takes on Earthquakes
Employment Up in 20 States 120 Metro
Arkansas To Get Medieval Fortress Ev
Bobcat Introduces New Rock Bucket At
Expert Witness Training
Break Up Your Work Day to Focus on S
Harnessing Solar Power With Highways
ABC Predicting End to Recession for
Rising Costs of Materials Steady Fin
Caterpillar to Acquire Bucyrus Inter
DOT Announces Additional High-Speed
New House New Transportation Spendin
Construction Employment Market Unsta
RIP Robert C Truax Rocketry Pioneer
Improved Air Filtration May Cut Buil
Textile-Reinforced Compressed Earth
Basalt-Fiber Reinforced Rebar Testin
CAT Shelving IL Mining Shovel Produc
Strict Deconstructionism Stanley Fat
LA Receives Federal Approval for Sub
Construction Unemployment Tops 20 in
Job Animal
Japans Offers to Fund US High-Speed
China Opens Worlds Longest Bridge
Get Plenty of Sleep to Increase Prod
Crime in Quebecs Construction Indust
Concrete Recycling Could Help Haiti
Use Cold-Calling in Your Job Search
More Construction Jobs Cut for Year
FMICMAA Survey of Owners Shows State
AGC Education Excellence Award Winne
Intel Construction to Employ 6000-80
Counterfeit Construction Materials M
TIGER II Grants Awarded to Infrastru
