Mark D. Maughmer
Encyclopedia
Dr. Mark D. Maughmer is a Professor of Aerospace Engineering
in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. He is a widely published author known throughout the world as one of the leading aerodynamicists
, especially in the areas of airfoil and winglet design and analysis, wing
planform
optimization, natural laminar flow
aerodynamics, and subsonic, low turbulence
wind-tunnel design and operation.
In 1987, Peter Masak
called on Dr. Maughmer about designing winglet
s for his sailplane to improve performance. Others had attempted to apply Richard T. Whitcomb's NASA winglets to gliders, and though they did improve climb performance, this did not offset the parasite drag penalty in high speed cruise. Masak was convinced it was possible to overcome this hurdle, and Maughmer was willing to join his quest.
By trial and error, they ultimately developed successful winglet designs for gliding competitions
, using a new PSU–90–125 airfoil
designed by Maughmer and Michael Selig specifically for the winglet application. At the 1991 World Gliding Championships
in Uvalde, Texas
, the trophy for the highest speed went to a winglet equipped 15-meter class limited wingspan glider, exceeding the highest speed in the unlimited span Open Class
, an exceptional result.
The winglets were originally retrofit to production sailplanes, but now most high-performance gliders are equipped from the factory with winglets, or some other wingtip device. Dr. Maughmer has consulted with German sailplane designers on winglets, non-planar wing tips, and other aerodynamic improvements incorporated in several production sailplanes.
(Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering) from the University of Illinois
in 1983, M.S.
from Princeton University
in 1975 and B.S.
from the University of Illinois
in 1972. Dr. Maughmer received the PSES Outstanding Teaching Award in 1993, and the PSES Premier Teaching Award in 2001. In 2009, Dr. Maughmer received the ASEE Fred Merryfield Design Award, a national award for teaching excellence in engineering design. He is active in the AIAA and has served on the Aircraft Design Technical Committee (1987-90). For the Soaring Society of America, he is chair of configuration and design for the Technical Board, serves on the Board of Directors for the Collegiate Soaring Association, and received the society's Exceptional Service Award in 1991. He is on the Board of the International Organization for the Science and Technology of Soaring (OSTIV), and is the Technical Chairman of that organization. He is also a glider
pilot and a flight instructor
with the Penn State Soaring Club.
He is currently the faculty adviser for AERSP 404H
at Penn State and has been teaching at the university for over 25 years.
"Yes, you are not sane, but not insane." in December 2008
Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. He is a widely published author known throughout the world as one of the leading aerodynamicists
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
, especially in the areas of airfoil and winglet design and analysis, wing
Wing
A wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid...
planform
Planform
In aviation, a planform is the shape and layout of a fixed-wing aircraft's fuselage and wing. Of all the myriad planforms used, they can typically be grouped into those used for low-speed flight, found on general aviation aircraft, and those used for high-speed flight, found on many military...
optimization, natural laminar flow
Laminar flow
Laminar flow, sometimes known as streamline flow, occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between the layers. At low velocities the fluid tends to flow without lateral mixing, and adjacent layers slide past one another like playing cards. There are no cross currents...
aerodynamics, and subsonic, low turbulence
Turbulence
In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a flow regime characterized by chaotic and stochastic property changes. This includes low momentum diffusion, high momentum convection, and rapid variation of pressure and velocity in space and time...
wind-tunnel design and operation.
Winglets
Peter Masak
Peter C. Masak was an engineer, inventor, and glider pilot. He graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in May 1981 from the University of Waterloo, Ontario Canada. He earned his glider pilot license at the age of 16 and his power pilot license at the age of...
called on Dr. Maughmer about designing winglet
Winglet
Wingtip devices are usually intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft. There are several types of wingtip devices, and though they function in different manners, the intended effect is always to reduce the aircraft's drag by partial recovery of the tip vortex energy...
s for his sailplane to improve performance. Others had attempted to apply Richard T. Whitcomb's NASA winglets to gliders, and though they did improve climb performance, this did not offset the parasite drag penalty in high speed cruise. Masak was convinced it was possible to overcome this hurdle, and Maughmer was willing to join his quest.
By trial and error, they ultimately developed successful winglet designs for gliding competitions
Gliding competitions
Some of the pilots in the sport of gliding take part in gliding competitions. These are usually racing competitions, but there are also aerobatic contests and on-line league tables.-History of competitions:...
, using a new PSU–90–125 airfoil
Airfoil
An airfoil or aerofoil is the shape of a wing or blade or sail as seen in cross-section....
designed by Maughmer and Michael Selig specifically for the winglet application. At the 1991 World Gliding Championships
World Gliding Championships
The World Gliding Championships is a gliding competition held every two years or so by the FAI Gliding Commission. The dates are not always exactly two years apart, often because the contests are sometimes held in the summer in the Southern Hemisphere....
in Uvalde, Texas
Uvalde, Texas
Uvalde is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,929 at the 2000 census.Uvalde was founded by Reading Wood Black in 1853 as the town of Encina. In 1856, when the county was organized, the town was renamed Uvalde for Spanish governor Juan de...
, the trophy for the highest speed went to a winglet equipped 15-meter class limited wingspan glider, exceeding the highest speed in the unlimited span Open Class
Glider Competition Classes
Competition classes in gliding, as in other sports, mainly exist to ensure fairness in competition. However the classes have not been targeted at fostering technological development as in other sports...
, an exceptional result.
The winglets were originally retrofit to production sailplanes, but now most high-performance gliders are equipped from the factory with winglets, or some other wingtip device. Dr. Maughmer has consulted with German sailplane designers on winglets, non-planar wing tips, and other aerodynamic improvements incorporated in several production sailplanes.
Education and Academics
He received his Ph.D.Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
(Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering) from the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
in 1983, M.S.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1975 and B.S.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
from the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
in 1972. Dr. Maughmer received the PSES Outstanding Teaching Award in 1993, and the PSES Premier Teaching Award in 2001. In 2009, Dr. Maughmer received the ASEE Fred Merryfield Design Award, a national award for teaching excellence in engineering design. He is active in the AIAA and has served on the Aircraft Design Technical Committee (1987-90). For the Soaring Society of America, he is chair of configuration and design for the Technical Board, serves on the Board of Directors for the Collegiate Soaring Association, and received the society's Exceptional Service Award in 1991. He is on the Board of the International Organization for the Science and Technology of Soaring (OSTIV), and is the Technical Chairman of that organization. He is also a glider
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
pilot and a flight instructor
Flight instructor
A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to fly aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate the knowledge and skill level of an aviator in pursuit...
with the Penn State Soaring Club.
He is currently the faculty adviser for AERSP 404H
AERSP 404H
AERSP 404H is offered by the Pennsylvania State University as Flight Vehicle Design and Fabrication II, as an upper-level engineering design and capstone course. This course receives funding as a member of the Space Grant Colleges and Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium...
at Penn State and has been teaching at the university for over 25 years.
Quotations
"You should be at least as smart as the dumbest bird and always take off into the wind""Yes, you are not sane, but not insane." in December 2008
Selected Publications
- Selig, M. S., M. D. Maughmer, and D. M. Somers. 1995. A Natural Laminar Flow Airfoil for General Aviation Applications. Journal of Aircraft Vol. 32(4) pp. 710–715.
- Dini, P., and M. D. Maughmer. 1994. A locally Interactive Laminar Separation Bubble Model. Journal of AircraftVol. 31(4) pp. 802–810.
- Maughmer, M., L. Ozoroski, D. Straussfogel, and L. Long 1993. Validation of Engineering Methods for Predicting Hypersonic Vehicle Controls Forces and Moments. Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics Vol. 16(4) pp. 762–769.
- Selig, M. S., and M. D. Maughmer. 1992. Generalized Multi-Point Inverse Airfoil Design. AIAA JournalVol30(11). pp. 2618–2615.
- Dini, P., M. S. Selig, and M. D. Maughmer. 1992. A Simplified Transition Prediction Method for Separated Boundary Layers. AIAA Journal Vol. 30(8) pp. 1953–1961.
- Maughmer, M. D., and D. M. Somers. 1989. Design and Experimental Results for a High-Altitude, Long-Endurance Airfoil. Journal of Aircraft Vol. 26(2) pp. 148–153.
External links
- Prof. Maughmer's page at Penn State
- About Winglets paper by Mark D. Maughmer
- Sailplane Winglet Design paper by Mark D. Maughmer and Peter J. Kunz