Presented at the 5 th Polytechnic Summit Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts, June 5-7, 2013 Teaching Aircraft Design Course Using Real and Virtual Wind Tunnel Abstract As part of the aircraft design and performance class, students perform sizing calculations from the conceptual sketches, select airfoil and geometry, calculate thrust to weight ratio and wing loading, and then perform configuration layout before doing disciplinary analyses e.g. propulsion, aerodynamics, structures, weights, stability and control, economic analysis, trade studies etc. In this work, students are encouraged to design their aircraft using Computer Aided Design (CAD), use that model to create a prototype, perform (a) wind tunnel analysis and (b) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis and compare the results of two analyses. This hands-on approach forces students to perform design iterations because of fabrication, test or other limitations, which they do not anticipate otherwise, and in turn helps them understand the and internalize the aircraft design process. In this paper, the design process is described and several examples of student designs are demonstrated. Key Words: Aircraft Design, Computer Aided Design (CAD), Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Introduction Historically, aircraft have been designed by varying key parameters and analyzing its effect on the overall vehicle performance. Wright brothers used a wind tunnel and studied the performance of several types of airfoils. More advanced wind tunnels were later used to determine the flight characteristics of full scale aircraft. However, the use of wind tunnel to determine the flight characteristics and performance of an aircraft is an expensive and time consuming proposition. In today’s age of high speed computing it is possible to determine the flight performance of aircraft designs using virtual wind tunnels. A computer generated model is plugged into a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) program to determine the flow characteristics. The results obtained are comparable to those obtained from real wind tunnel tests and the actual aircraft performance in flight. Several studies have been conducted to demonstrate the validity and efficacy of the use of virtual wind tunnel 1 . In this study, the process of using the real and virtual wind tunnel is introduced in the undergraduate ‘Aircraft Design’ class. Students build scale models of different types of aircraft including trainer, transport, fighter, and UAV. These scaled aircraft models are installed in a low speed 1ft x 1ft cross section wind tunnel to determine the lift and drag coefficients and pressure profiles. Students also design virtual models of the corresponding aircraft using SolidWorks.
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Presented at the 5th Polytechnic Summit
Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts, June 5-7, 2013
Teaching Aircraft Design Course Using Real and Virtual Wind Tunnel
Abstract
As part of the aircraft design and performance class, students perform sizing calculations from
the conceptual sketches, select airfoil and geometry, calculate thrust to weight ratio and wing
loading, and then perform configuration layout before doing disciplinary analyses e.g.
propulsion, aerodynamics, structures, weights, stability and control, economic analysis, trade
studies etc. In this work, students are encouraged to design their aircraft using Computer Aided
Design (CAD), use that model to create a prototype, perform (a) wind tunnel analysis and (b)
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis and compare the results of two analyses. This
hands-on approach forces students to perform design iterations because of fabrication, test or
other limitations, which they do not anticipate otherwise, and in turn helps them understand the
and internalize the aircraft design process. In this paper, the design process is described and
several examples of student designs are demonstrated.