The TEES Flight Research Laboratory will involve the following interdisciplinary research areas:
• It is proposed that research continue in the area of boundary-layer stability and transition to turbulence with continued emphasis on the control of laminar-turbulent transition. These programs contribute to both civilian and military applications of reduced fuel consumption and extended range over various flight Mach numbers. Lowspeed fundamental research in this area requires low freestream turbulence and hence is limited to only four wind tunnels in the world or to flight. TAMU has already secured research funding from AFOSR and AFRL to conduct flight tests in the areas of laminar-flow airfoils and fundamentals of laminar-turbulent transition.
• The recent success of separation control on the flight tests of the XV-15 (Aviation Week 21 Jul 03), using the ideas of Professors Wygnanski at the University of Arizona and Professor Nagib at Illinois Institute of Technology, has accelerated interest in flow control and in moving university laboratory experiments to flight. A number of university colleagues are planning new initiatives for flight experiments in the area of flow control that will result in future collaborative efforts.
• There is considerable interest in environmental pollution, especially in the Texas area, and we intend to take advantage of this by participating in various environmental studies involving atmospheric measurements. A joint TAMU/UT-Austin research program run by Profs Saric and Collins of TAMU and Allen of UT was funded by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Flights began in August of 2005 and will continue for at least the next two years.
• Dramatic progress has been made in atmospheric measurements using modern remote sensing technologies, most notably, developments in radar and LIDAR. Research aircraft are an ideal platform for multiplying the “reach” of both in situ and remote sensors. Moreover, airborne platforms provide the opportunity for adaptive measurement strategies. Prof. Saric and Prof. Calhoun of Arizona State University are preparing an instrumentation proposal to NSF and are developing other proposals in this area of airborne instrumentation development.
At this time, only large government laboratories and a few universities are conducting flight research in these areas. TAMU is in an advantageous position amongst peer universities in having dedicated aircraft to develop, perform, and demonstrate research in situ. Moreover a large number of faculty and other universities can be involved either experimentally or computationally.
