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2007 NEWS/EVENTS ARCHIVE |
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I/ITSEC Symposium in Orlando 2007
The Interservice/Industry Training Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) was held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL on Nov. 26-29, 2007.
CDI sponsored a booth in the exhibit hall for the first time at this prestigious meeting, which was attended by over 16,000 industry and government professionals
and featured cutting edge technology in the rapidly growing fields of training and simulation. CDI provided technology demonstrations and technical briefings,
including a technical paper prepared by Jeff Keller of CDI and his collaborators at CAE describing the use of the coupled CGE/ VorTran-M model for the computational
modeling of ship airwakes for use in simulation databases. Technical demonstrations introduced attendees to this software as well as variety of additional tools and
technologies, including the use of CDI's CHARM real-time free-vortex wake model for prediction of rotorcraft aerodynamic effects in a shipboard environment as well
as novel physics-based modeling of rotorcraft brownout.
Look for future CDI technology displays at the American Helicopter Society 64th Annual Forum (April 29-May 1, 2008 in Montreal, Canada) as well as the the U.S.
Navy 2008 Opportunity Forum at the Hyatt Crystal City, VA (June 2-4, 2008).
CDI's composite blade design in action
A Carson Helicopters S-61 waterbomber fights the 2007 California wildfires using new high performance composite blades designed by Carson in collaboration with CDI
personnel. These new blade sets are also already in service in Afghanistan with UK armed forces on Westland Sea King helicopters, and will enter service as an upgrade
to the U.S. Navy VH-3D fleet of Presidential transport helicopters in 2008.
CDI's work in rotor analysis supports Sea King featured in "Defense Helicopter"
As part of a multi-year effort sponsored by Carson Helicopters in the 1990s, CDI undertook the analysis of improved rotors for civil S-61 helicopters operated by Carson.
This activity exploited the fast, accurate design capability afforded by the CDI EHPIC-HERO software
. Carson subsequently fabricated and flight tested their new rotor blade design, as detailed in a a 2002 paper
presented at the American Helicopter Society Annual Forum. As noted in that paper, the CDI analysis accurately predicted the measured rotor performance
improvement (including an 8 point increase in hover Figure of Merit, corresponding to a 10% increase in gross lift at constant power) several years prior to flight test.
Carson is now selling these rotor blades to commercial operators worldwide, but also has customers in the both the U.S. Navy and the U.K. Royal Navy. The new blades
are being installed on U.S. Navy SH-3D helicopters used for Presidential/Executive transport missions, while the
attached article describes how U.K. Sea King (SH-3 derivatives) using the new rotors are already entering service in Afghanistan.
CDI's Research into Flight and Road Vehicle Aerodynamics Showcased in Trade Press
CDI's research into flight vehicle and road vehicle aerodynamics has been showcased recently in the Summer 2007 edition of the American Helicopter Society's
Vertiflite magazine and in the US Air Force's 2007 brochure for the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex.
The Vertiflite article, authored by the Aerodynamics Technical Committee of the American Helicopter Society and entitled "Aerodynamics Highlights: 2004-2006",
describes recent advances in rotary-wing aerodynamics and features a page long article describing CDI's state-of-the-art CHARM, MAST, brownout and VorTran-M analysis
tools. (click here to read the article)
The National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex is located at Ames Research Center, Moffett Field CA and administered by the US Air Force. This unique facility is
one of the largest wind-tunnels in the world and features 40ft by 80ft and 80ft by 120ft test sections. During the late 1980s, CDI investigated various aerodynamic
devices to significantly reduce the drag on tractor trailers. As a part of this effort, a series of full-scale tests were carried out in the NFAC and a picture of
this work is featured in the latest brochure for the NFAC facility. (click here to
read the article). Details of this work are also available at http://windtunnels.arc.nasa.gov/pics/80x120/80by3.html
and http://windtunnels.arc.nasa.gov/pics/80x120/80by4.html.
The 63rd Annual AHS Forum
The 63rd Annual American Helicopter Society Forum was held in the Virginia Beach Convention Center in sunny Virginia Beach, VA on May 1st - 3rd, 2007. For the 8th
consecutive year, CDI sponsored a booth in the exhibit hall providing technology demonstrations and technical briefings. A technical paper was presented describing
new software (the VorTran-M module) for eliminating the diffusion of vorticity in traditional (pressure, velocity, density based) CFD tools. A technical briefing
introduced attendees to this software and presented a variety of applications ranging from unsteady fixed-wing aerodynamics to ship airwake calculations for flight
simulation. In addition, demonstrations of CDI's CHARM real-time free-vortex wake model; MAST multiple aircraft/ship wake simulation module; and a new physics-based
brownout module were performed.
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