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University Daily Kansan, August 18, 1983
Student searches for better wing
By BOB PERRICH Staff Reporter
The University of Kansas flight research laboratory is conducting research on a new wing design that will reduce fuel consumption and make flight more efficient for commuter aircraft of the future.
Natural laminar flow, as the wing design is known, is the focus of a focus that Kon Kunen 22-year-old airspace master is steering from Overland Park, is researching.
WILLIAMS BEGAN HIS aviation career with the intention of becoming a pilot while serving in the Air Force ROTC program during his freshman year at KU.
"I started the program, failed the physical and didn't want to be a paper shuffler." Williams said.
Williams said that his unceasing interest in aviation brought him to the aerospace engineering department, where two classes taught by Jan Roskam, director of the KU flight research laboratory, eventually led Williams to the job of acting project manager of the NLF program.
"He is one of the best in his field,"
Williams said that the research project would eventually result in more efficient commuter aircraft.
Williams said. "He is a great motivator and sets high standards of performance for all students."
"OUR GOAL IS to develop a family of wings for commuter aircraft that operate at 28,000 feet, 410 mph, carrying 30 passengers," he said, resulting in reduced fuel consumption and greater flight efficiency.
Natural laminar flow design is more commonly known as "natural flow," Williams said.
As air passes over standard aircraft wings, air flow is more turbulent than it should be. he said. With natural laminar flow the idea is to eliminate the turbulence, allowing air passing over the wing to hug the wing surface longer.
NATURAL LAMINAR FLOW designs might be applied to large, high-speed commercial airplanes as well as on fighter aircraft.
Williams said that it was calculated that a fuel savings of 8.1 percent could be obtained on the Boeing 757-200 because of the drag reduction, and that it was estimated that savings could be increased to 12 percent by applying natural flow to other components of the aircraft and adjusting cruise altitudes.
Many aerospace companies, such as Boeing Co. and McDonnell Douglas Corp., also are doing research on natural laminar flow design in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
"We are learning as we go." Williams said.
SOME OF THE LESSONS Williams is learning come from the environment.
The smooth, uninterrupted flow of a makes laminar flow work, but insects, rain and requirements to provide capability complicate the research.
These problems are solvable, according to Williams.
"Bugs trip the laminar flow into
turbulent flow and we're back to square
on."
Weight considerations in design and material are two of the other problem
Williams and the aerospace department work closely with NASA in Langley, Va.
Williams' work now centers on computer evaluations of wing performance.
The KU aerospace engineering department knows that natural laminar flow designs are feasible, Williams said, and that it can, though continued research and development, make flight more efficient and less costly.
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