He was introduced to the sensitivity of stalling characteristics of wings to the boundary layer state near the suction peak by a change in paint scheme! The XBT-1 a forerunner to the famous SBD Dauntless alrcraft had good stall characteristics. The XBT-2 had exactly the same wing but had an unacceptable stall. The XBT-1 wing …
Author Archives: saemiller
Development of Flaps
Original flap development was motivated by three desired benefits. 1) slower flying speeds, hence shorter takeoff and landing runs; 2) reduction of angle of attack near minimum flying speed; 3) increase of drag, or control of drag, in order to steepen glide angle in approach and reduce floating tendencies. Currently, because of large aircraft noise …
Associate Professor and Tenure
This week I received tenure and promotion to Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. It is a privilege to research, teach, and perform service here. I’m looking forward to many more years of working with wonderful colleagues and friends. The best part of the work has been helping my …
Thomas D. Norum
My good friend Thomas D. Norum recently passed away. He worked as a researcher at NASA Langley over most of his career. I knew him starting in 2009 through 2016 while I was working there. He worked as an experimentalist in the jet noise lab of NASA Langley. As an experimentalist, he worked to understand …
Ethics
We have a responsibility to be more ethical than the society in which we exist.
Hypersonic Models
Laws of Thermodynamics
A long time ago, the running joke of the three laws of thermodynamics was introduced. They are the following: You cannot win. You cannot break even. You cannot get out of the game.
Sonic Boom for Lilliputians
Numerical prediction of loudness metrics for N-waves and shaped sonic booms in kinematic turbulence
Abstract, “The effects of a kinematic field of velocity fluctuations on the loudness metrics of two waveforms are examined with a three-dimensional one-way propagation solver. The waveforms consist of an N-wave and a simulated low-boom from NASA’s X-59 QueSST aircraft. The kinematic turbulence is generated using a von Karman composite spectrum, which is dependent on …