Boundary Condition Measurements in Wind Tunnels

Speaker: James Bell, Experimental Aero-Physics Branch, NASA Ames Research Center
February 16, 2016

Presentation

Abstract

Many wind tunnel tests today are performed as part of larger design or research efforts for which CFD is a major component. Accordingly much work has been done to develop wind tunnel instruments useful for CFD validation. However it appears that less attention has been devoted to obtaining other experimental data which would be valuable to CFD, specifically boundary conditions such as test section inflow and outflow. One historic obstacle to providing boundary conditions is that most wind tunnels are designed to provide data on or around the model, as opposed to the test section inlet and outlet, or other parts of the tunnel circuit. The Aeronautics Evaluation and Test Capabilities (AETC) project, which provides support for the large aeronautics ground test facilities at NASA, is considering whether to invest in the wind tunnel and instrument development necessary to provide boundary condition data to test customers. This presentation describes AETC’s role in wind tunnel test technology and AETC’s current ideas about improving boundary condition measurements. The intent of this presentation is to solicit the CFD community’s advice in several areas, specifically the most important boundary condition measurements to obtain, the required accuracy for such measurements, and the most useful facilities to begin work in.

Biography

James Bell is the Test Technology Subproject Manager for the, including the NTF, TDT, 14x22, IRT, PSL, 9x15, 8x6, 10x10, 11x11, and 9x7 wind tunnels. In this capacity Bell is responsible for the infusion of new instrumentation and test technologies into NASA’s large wind tunnels. Prior to this posting he was the Lead Propulsion Engineer for the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) satellite, and previous to that he was an instrumentation developer focusing on Pressure-Sensitive Paint (PSP).

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