Wind tunnel testing of additive manufactured aircraft components
ISSN: 1355-2546
Article publication date: 30 August 2018
Issue publication date: 20 September 2018
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report on the physical distortions associated with the use of additive manufactured components for wind tunnel testing and procedures adopted to correct for them.
Design/methodology/approach
Wings of a joined-wing test aircraft configuration were fabricated with additive manufacturing and tested in a subsonic closed-loop wind tunnel. Wing deflections were observed during testing and quantified using image-processing procedures. These quantified deflections were then incorporated into numerical simulations and results had agreed with wind tunnel measurement results.
Findings
Additive manufacturing provides cost-effective wing components for wind tunnel test components with fast turn-around time. They can be used with confidence if the wing deflections could be accounted for systematically and accurately, especially at the region of aerodynamic stall.
Research limitations/implications
Significant wing flutter and unsteady deflections were encountered at higher test velocities and pitch angles. This reduced the accuracy in which the wing deflections could be corrected. Additionally, wing twists could not be quantified as effectively because of camera perspectives.
Originality/value
This paper shows that additive manufacturing can be used to fabricate aircraft test components with satisfactory strength and quantifiable deflections for wind tunnel testing, especially when the designs are significantly complex and thin.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support for this collaboration through a Helmholtz International Research Group grant from the Helmholtz Association (Germany). Numerical simulation and experimental design assistance provided by X. Gu at DLR and technical staff at Aerodynamics Laboratory, NTU, respectively, are greatly appreciated as well.
Citation
Teo, Z.W., New, T.H., Li, S., Pfeiffer, T., Nagel, B. and Gollnick, V. (2018), "Wind tunnel testing of additive manufactured aircraft components", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 24 No. 5, pp. 886-893. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-06-2016-0103
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited