Development of an Efficient M=0.80 Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Aircraft

Abstract

An update is presented regarding current status of work undertaken as a part of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Phase IV contract, as funded by the NASA Advanced Air Transport Technology (AATT) project. The work herein describes progress made in the current phase of study and highlights remaining challenges associated with further maturation of the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) concept. In SUGAR Phase IV, the development of a TTBW vehicle designed for efficient cruise operation at Mach 0.80 has been undertaken, as well as the development of a high-lift system design suitable for this class of aircraft. The high and low-speed aerodynamic designs were validated by wind tunnel testing at the NASA Ames 11’ Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (UPWT) and NASA Langley 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel, respectively. These tests were used to assess both the predicted design performance, and help identify any potential design challenges and requirements for future concept development. In addition, this effort has also addressed the aeroelastic behavior of the revised TTBW design, and identified areas of future focus in structural development.