National Aeronautics and Space Administration The Beginners Guide

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The Beginner’s Guide to Wind Tunnels with Tunnel. Sim and Tunnel. Sys Tom Benson Inlets and Nozzles Branch NASA Glenn Research Center Carol Galica Educational Programs Office NASA Glenn Research Center Anthony Vila Mechanical Engineering Student Vanderbilt University 4 Jan 10 www. nasa. gov 1

National Aeronautics and Space Administration OUTLINE • Background / Rationale • Beginner’s Guide to Wind Tunnels (BGT) • Tunnel. Sim • Tunnel. Sys • Summary www. nasa. gov 2

National Aeronautics and Space Administration BACKGROUND For the past 12 years, NASA Glenn has been building a web-based textbook, the Beginner’s Guide to Aeronautics, (BGA) that includes information about airplanes, turbine engines, model rockets, kites, baseball, compressible aerodynamics and hypersonic aerodynamics. The textbook includes scientific and mathematical descriptive pages, interactive Java applets, teacher created activities, podcasts, and Power. Point presentations. www. nasa. gov 3

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Sample Web Pages Foil. Sim software Beginner’s Guide To Aeronautics Pages www. nasa. gov 4

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The Beginner’s Guide to Wind Tunnels (BGT) Create a new section of the BGA dealing with Wind Tunnels Wind Tunnel Testing (Web version of Pope’s Wind Tunnel Testing) Gather existing web-based information Develop new web pages and interactive software www. nasa. gov 5

National Aeronautics and Space Administration BGT Index - Part 1 www. nasa. gov 6

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Typical Web Pages Low Speed Tunnel Strain Gage www. nasa. gov 7

National Aeronautics and Space Administration BGT Index - Part 2 www. nasa. gov 8

National Aeronautics and Space Administration www. nasa. gov 9

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Tunnel. Sim – Software to Design a Tunnel A Java applet that solves the one-dimensional continuity equation through an open tube. Flow assumed to be incompressible and inviscid. Student can vary geometry or flow conditions at the bellmouth, test section, or diffuser, and the program computes conditions at all other places through the tunnel Output includes variation through the tunnel and conditions in the test section Violations of assumptions are flagged. On-line user’s manual and BGT support for science and math. www. nasa. gov 10

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Tunnel. Sim www. nasa. gov 11

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Tunnel. Sys – Software for Design Class Three Java applications dealing with three aspects of wind tunnel testing: Design of Wind Tunnel Model Wind Tunnel Testing Techniques Data Post-Processing Programs pass information to each other by data files Suggest a fourth team member to act as program manager Based on Foil. Sim – determine lift performance of a wing desig n On-line user’s manual and demonstration applets www. nasa. gov 12

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Tunnel. Sys – Design Program www. nasa. gov 13

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Tunnel. Sys – Test Program www. nasa. gov 14

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Tunnel. Sys – Processing Program www. nasa. gov 15

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Future Plans Later versions of Tunnel. Sim to include closed circuit tunnels, loss estimates in the corners, and power requirements for the motor Later versions of Tunnel. Sys to include drag estimation, and lift calculation based on user static pressure number and location. Additional web pages and topics to be added based on user feedback on current configuration. www. nasa. gov 16

National Aeronautics and Space Administration SUMMARY A new section of the BGA has been developed which deals with the subject of wind tunnels and wind tunnel testing techniques. Site became active in September, 2009. Access by entering “Beginner’s Guide to Wind Tunnel” in your search engine. Two major Java programs have been developed; Tunnel. Sim for the design and analysis of a low speed wind tunnel, and Tunnel. Sys for use in a design class dealing with model design, testing, and post-processing Later versions of software and web pages to be determined by user feedback and NASA support. www. nasa. gov 17

National Aeronautics and Space Administration This work was supported by Tony Springer Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) NASA Headquarters and NASA Glenn Educational Programs Office www. nasa. gov 18

National Aeronautics and Space Administration QUESTIONS ? www. nasa. gov 19