Dr. Luigi Cicolani of NASA AMES formulated our problem statement. The problem that he has given us is to minimize the rotation on a helicopter CONEX using a vertical aerodynamic fin and including hardware to mount the fin to the CONEX. The hardware must be quick release and of minimum size for transportation on the helicopter after use. Our design process includes fluid dynamic analysis of the forces on the CONEX that cause it to spin and dynamic analysis on the vertical fin to design the hardware to attach it to the CONEX.
The following design requirements were formulated using the original request for proposal.
Requirements
The following system requirements were derived from flight specs provide by
the customer, Dr. L. Cicolani, NASA Ames Research Center.
System Requirements:
1. Double the stable flight speed from 60 to 120 nautical miles per hour. .
2. Able to withstand the largest combination of forces and vibrations that it will experience in flight with a factor of safety of 3.0
3. Simple rapid assembly and attachment per RFP of January 30th, 2002. Our team has interpreted this instruction to mean that one person can mount and unmount the tailfin in the field. Specifically, our design targets are:a. No individual part of assembly weighs more than 50lbs.
b. Complete assembly within 10 minutes.
4. Portable - easily stowed and transported or carried on the helicopter.
5. Fit a variety of sizes of CONEX boxes (from 4'x6'x8' to 8'x8'x20')
Active Fin Requirements:
1. Use NACA0015 airfoil for 6x6x8 CONEX
2. Rudder is 20% of the chord length
3. Mounted at 8 feet behind and 6 feet above 6'x6'x8' CONEX's center of gravity
4. Must stabilize automatically utilizing self-contained power and actuator package
Electronic Requirements:
1. All electric components must be concealed within mounting hardware and/or fin
2. No wires connecting from helicopter to box
3. Power source should last a minimum of 2 hours (maximum time for one flight)