Abstract: An aircraft control structure can be utilized for purposes of drag management, noise control, or aircraft flight maneuvering. The control structure includes a high pressure engine nozzle, such as a bypass nozzle or a core nozzle of a turbofan engine. The nozzle exhausts a high pressure fluid stream, which can be swirled using a deployable swirl vane architecture. The control structure also includes a variable geometry pylon configured to be coupled between the nozzle and the aircraft. The variable geometry pylon has a moveable pylon section that can be deployed into a deflected state to maintain or alter a swirling fluid stream (when the swirl vane architecture is deployed) for drag management purposes, or to assist in the performance of aircraft flight maneuvers.

Abstract: A continuous scanning method employs one or more moveable sensors and one or more reference sensors deployed in the environment around a test subject. Each sensor is configured to sense an attribute of the test subject (e.g., sound energy, infrared energy, etc.) while continuously moving along a path and recording the sensed attribute, the position, and the orientation of each of the moveable sensors and each of the reference sensors. The system then constructs a set of transfer functions corresponding to points in space between the moveable sensors, wherein each of the transfer functions relates the test data of the moveable sensors to the test data of the reference sensors. In this way, a graphical representation of the attribute in the vicinity of test subject can be produced.

Abstract: A multi-sine vibration testing method includes coupling a vibratory excitation source and a sensor to a test structure, then providing a reference signal to the excitation source, wherein the reference signal comprises a first sinusoidal waveform having a first frequency and a second sinusoidal waveform having a second frequency different from the first frequency. The first frequency and the second frequency each sweep between a corresponding start value and a corresponding end value, and the frequency response is measured from each of the sensors while providing the reference signal.

Abstract: A fairing includes three sections: an aft section, a middle section, and a nose section. The aft section includes a first surface having a generally constant conic angle (i.e., a “boat-tail angle”) with respect to the longitudinal axis such that the aft section tapers to a first end configured to attach to a generally cylindrical body. The middle section, which intersects and is axially aligned with the aft section, has a second surface characterized by a constant elliptical cross-section along a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis. The nose section intersects and is axially aligned with the middle section. The nose section is further defined by four generally concave trianguloid surfaces, each extending from the middle section to a common apex intersecting the longitudinal axis, wherein each adjacent pair of trianguloid surfaces intersects at an edge (e.g., an incurvate edge).

Abstract: A payload adapter consists of a body that when hollow includes a plurality of stiffeners—radial and/or circumferential—or alternatively a core for carrying shear loads. The body may include a first annular face sheet, a second annular face sheet and a plurality of stiffeners connecting between the first annular face sheet and the second annular face sheet. The combination of the annular hollow body and the plurality of stiffeners or the same face sheets combined with an in-filled core results in an axial frequency and a lateral (pitch) frequency for the payload adapter that provides superior vibration isolation. Constrained layer damping is incorporated into the design for additional vibration attenuation.