Wind Tunnel Model Design and Test Using Rapid Prototype Materials and Processes
Abstract
Whether an airframe is a new design, modification of an existing design, or evaluation of a competing or foreign design, an accurate, high-confidence representation of the airframe aerodynamics is paramount to any low-risk design or evaluation effort. These aerodynamic estimates are used for vehicle and component sizing, performance estimates, and autopilot design and evaluation. The advent of new rapid prototyping manufacturing techniques and materials could provide a means to reduce the cost associated with the acquisition of a wind tunnel model (WTM), provided the data obtained with the rapid prototype model (RPM) were of sufficient fidelity to justify its use. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) has developed a WTM design that consists of a steel strongback with rapid prototype plastic components attached to it to provide the overall vehicle configuration. In a test at the Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control%Dallas High-Speed Wind Tunnel (HSWT), this model (designated RPM-01) demonstrated acceptable data quality and test-to-test data repeatability with a geometrically similar steel and aluminum model. RPM-01 was built for approximately a quarter of the cost and a fraction of the time required of the all-metal high-fidelity model.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 23, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADP011186
Entities
People
- Clifford L. Ratliff
- Richard R. Heisier
Organizations
- Johns Hopkins University