Gurney flap—Lift enhancement,mechanisms and applications

Since its invention by a race car driver Dan Gurney in 1960s, the Gurney flap has been used to enhance the aerodynamics performance of subsonic and supercritical airfoils, high-lift devices and delta wings. In order to take stock of recent research and development of Gurney flap, we have carried out a review of the characteristics and mechanisms of lift enhancement by the Gurney flap and its applications. Optimum design of the Gurney flap is also summarized in this paper. For the Gurney flap to be effective, it should be mounted at the trailing edge perpendicular to the chord line of airfoil or wing. The flap height must be of the order of local boundary layer thickness. For subsonic airfoils, an additional Gurney flap increases the pressure on the upstream surface of the Gurney flap, which increases the total pressure of the lower surface. At the same time, a long wake downstream of the flap containing a pair of counter-rotating vortices can delay or eliminate the flow separation near the trailing edge on the upper surface. Correspondingly, the total suction on the airfoil is increased. For supercritical airfoils, the lift enhancement of the Gurney flap mainly comes from its ability to shift the shock on the upper surface in the downstream. Applications of the Gurney flap to modern aircraft design are also discussed in this review.     

Hardware-in-the-loop simulations of GPS-based navigation and control for satellite formation flying

A relative navigation and formation control algorithm for satellite formation flying was developed, and a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation testbed was established and configured to evaluate this algorithm. The algorithm presented is a relative navigation estimation algorithm using double-difference carrier-phase and single-difference code measurements based on the extended Kalman filter (EKF). In addition, a state-dependent Riccati equation (SDRE) technique is utilized as a nonlinear controller for the formation control problem. The state-dependent coefficient (SDC) form is formulated to include nonlinearities in the relative dynamics. To evaluate the relative navigation and control algorithms developed, a closed-loop HIL testbed is configured. To demonstrate the performance of the testbed, a test formation flying scenario comprising formation acquisition and keeping in a low earth orbit (LEO) has been established. The relative navigation results from the closed-loop simulations show that a 3D RMS of 0.07 m can be achieved for position accuracy. The targeted leader–follower formation flying in the along-track separation of 100 m was maintained with a mean position error of approximately 0.2 m and a standard deviation of 0.9 m. The simulation results show that the HIL testbed is capable of successful demonstration of the GPS-based satellite autonomous formation flying mission.     

Water wave communication in the genus Bombina (amphibia).

Amphibians were phylogenetically the first vertebrates to leave the aquatic environment and cope with terrestrial conditions including effects of gravity and substrate on movement and communication. Studies of extant primitive amphibians, which have conserved ancestral morphology and behavior, may help us to understand how gravitational adaptation from aquatic to terrestrial environments occurred. The anuran genus Bombina is a candidate for this type of investigation. In particular, a member of this genus, B. orientalis, is known for its low reaction threshold to minor changes of angular acceleration. We hypothesize that a heightened sensitivity to angular and mechanical accelerations evolved with wave communication. Comparisons of such behavior among B. variegata, B. bombina and B. orientalis may shed light on the evolution of reproductive systems based on water wave communication and relevant vestibular sensitivity. This may represent a transition to derived vocalization modes, which is seen in B. bombina to a certain degree.