VOA常速英语2014--NASA Scientists Testing New Aircraft Designs NASA的科学家测试新飞机的设计（在线收听）

NASA Scientists Testing New Aircraft Designs NASA的科学家测试新飞机的设计

The U.S Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, is commonly associated with space exploration, but aeronautics is still a big part of the agency’s research. Engineers at its Aeronautics Research Center, in Hampton, Virginia, are testing new ideas that someday may produce lighter, quieter and less polluting aircraft.

人们通常把美国航空航天局和空间探索联系在一起，其实航空学仍然是航空航天局的一个重要研究领域。航空学研究中心位于维吉尼亚州汉普顿，那里的工程师们正在试验新的构想，希望有朝一日能够制造出更轻、更快、污染更少的飞机。

By 2030, NASA would like to see planes that burn 60 to 70 percent less fuel, pollute less and are quieter than 2005 models.

到2030年，美国航天航空局希望飞机能够比2005年的机型少消耗百分之60到70的燃料，污染更少，更安静。

Scientists say achieving those goals calls for lightweight materials, better aerodynamics, new kinds of fuels and alternative aircraft configurations.

科学家说，要达到这些目标，需要更轻的材料、更好的空气动力学、新型燃料和新型飞机配置。

In NASA's huge Transonic Dynamics Wind Tunnel, engineers are testing a new design of airplane wing made of a composite material that is considerably lighter than the industry standard, aluminum alloy.

在航天航空总局巨大的超声速动力学风洞中，工程师正在试验一种用合成材料制造的新型机翼，这种材料比行业标准的铝合金材料要轻得多。

Senior aerospace engineer Robert C. Scott says in the future, wings will likely be made out of materials like this.

高级航天工程师斯科特说，未来的机翼很可能由类似的材料制造。

“With advances in material, advances in design and analysis capability and the need for higher efficiency, you’re driving yourself toward very lightweight designs," said Scott.

“随着材料的进步、设计与分析能力的进步以及对更高效率的要求，你会努力设计非常轻型的机翼。”

One of those designs is the long, truss-supported wing, says project scientist Richard Wahls.

项目科学家威尔士说，这些设计之一是长型、有桁架支撑的机翼。

“That allows you to stiffen the wing, keep the wing thin, grow the span to reduce drag," said Wahls.

“这让你能够硬化机翼，让机翼很薄，增加跨度以减少阻力。”

If someone decides to build one of these advanced configurations, they will be able to use the results of tests done by NASA.

如果有人决定用这些先进的配置建造一架飞机，他们就可以使用航天航空局试验的结果。

In another part of the center, researchers are testing a new way of manufacturing composite materials.

在中心的另外一个地方，研究员们正在试验制造合成材料的新方法。

Instead of aligning the fibers in straight, parallel lines, these fibers are molded around the points of heavy load, explains materials research engineer Karen Taminger.

材料研究工程师塔明格说，这些纤维围绕负重点排列，而不是直线、平行排列。

“That allows the fibers to continue to carry the load all the way around the corners instead of being interrupted if we cut that out from a straight aligned composite," said Taminger.

“这样一来纤维承载重量的能力就可以顺着弯曲点一直延续下去，而不像直线排列那样因为到顶端被切断而受到影响。”

Taminger says new structural designs will allow manufacturers to reduce the weight of airplanes and make them more energy efficient.

塔明格说，新的结构设计让建造者得以减轻飞机的重量，让飞机更加有效利用能源。

NASA researchers also want to reduce the pollution that comes out of airplane engines, says Fay Collier, who manages the Environmentally Responsible Aviation project.

环境责任航空项目的主管科利尔说，航天航空局研究员们还希望减少飞机引擎带来的污染。

“We want to take advantage of alternative fuels and the emergence of alternative fuels, and we want to design advanced combustors to minimize the output," said Collier.

“我们想利用已有的替代能源和新出现的替代能源，我们想设计出先进的燃烧器降低排放。”

To learn what's in the exhaust of an airplane burning a mixture of petroleum and alternative-based fuel, NASA scientists fly a second plane right behind the first one. On-board sensors measure the percentage of pollutants contained in different fuel mixtures.

为了探究使用汽油和替代能源混合燃料的飞机不同的排放情况，航空航天局的科学家们让一架飞机跟在前面飞机的后面。后面飞机上的感应器测量不同燃料中污染物的百分比。

Project scientist Richard Wahls says NASA is constantly looking for ways to revolutionize aviation.

项目科学家威尔士说，航空航天局一直在寻找改革航空飞行的办法。

“We hope to find technologies that we can accelerate forward through the research, but other technologies - they may not be possible for 20 or 30 years," he said.

“我们希望通过研究找到可以加速发展的技术，但是研发其他技术可能需要20或者30年的时间。”

In the meantime, he says, there are incremental improvements moving the aviation industry towards better, safer and more efficient aircraft.

与此同时，他说，航空业正在逐步改善，发展更好、更安全和更有效率的飞机。