Experimental Investigations of the NASA Common Research Model

Abstract

Experimental aerodynamic investigations of the NASA Common Research Model have been conducted in the NASA Langley National Transonic Facility and the NASA Ames 11 ft wind tunnel. Data have been obtained at chord Reynolds numbers of 5 million for five different configurations at both wind tunnels. Force and moment, surface pressure, and surface flow visualization data were obtained in both facilities, but only the force and moment data are presented herein. Nacelle/pylon, tail effects, and tunnel-to-tunnel variations have been assessed. The data from both wind tunnels show that an addition of a nacelle/pylon produced an increase in drag, a decrease in lift, and a less nose-down pitching moment around the design lift condition of 0.5 and that the tail effects also follow the expected trends. Also, nearly all of the data shown fall within the 2-sigma limits for repeatability. The tunnel-to-tunnel differences are negligible for lift and pitching moment, whereas the drag shows a difference of less than 10 counts for all of the configurations. These differences in drag may be due to the variation in the sting mounting systems at the two tunnels.