Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?
Undergraduate
Project Type
group
Campus
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Jordan Birjandi, Senior Leonardo Martinez, Graduate
Lead Presenter's Name
Jordan Birjandi
Lead Presenter's College
DB College of Engineering
Faculty Mentor Name
Zheng Zhang
Abstract
For wind tunnel testing, fairings are used to prevent support struts from disrupting airflow near a model and to prevent aerodynamic forces from acting on the support strut. With an infinite number of possible testing configurations, a fairing can be more or less effective for a test, impacting test accuracy. The purpose of this project is to create a fairing system with an adjustable height and investigate how this impacts aerodynamic testing. If a fairing is too short, the aerodynamic forces/moments from the model support strut can be picked up by the force balance. If a fairing is too tall it may get too close to the model and the fairing itself may disrupt airflow near the model. The designed fairing will be manufactured in-house at the MicaPlex Wind Tunnel facility using a 3-D printer with PLA filament. Once manufacturing of the model is complete, it will be force-tested to ensure structural sufficiency and will be tested at varying heights with a model in the wind tunnel. From these tests, drag and lift coefficients will be compared with known/theoretical values. The concept will be validated using CFD software. If this fairing design is found to be effective it will increase the accuracy of aerodynamic tests being conducted at the MicaPlex Wind Tunnel. Additionally, the fairing could be duplicated at similar facilities for better testing accuracy.
Did this research project receive funding support (Spark, SURF, Research Abroad, Student Internal Grants, Collaborative, Climbing, or Ignite Grants) from the Office of Undergraduate Research?
No
Variable-Height Wind Tunnel Fairing
For wind tunnel testing, fairings are used to prevent support struts from disrupting airflow near a model and to prevent aerodynamic forces from acting on the support strut. With an infinite number of possible testing configurations, a fairing can be more or less effective for a test, impacting test accuracy. The purpose of this project is to create a fairing system with an adjustable height and investigate how this impacts aerodynamic testing. If a fairing is too short, the aerodynamic forces/moments from the model support strut can be picked up by the force balance. If a fairing is too tall it may get too close to the model and the fairing itself may disrupt airflow near the model. The designed fairing will be manufactured in-house at the MicaPlex Wind Tunnel facility using a 3-D printer with PLA filament. Once manufacturing of the model is complete, it will be force-tested to ensure structural sufficiency and will be tested at varying heights with a model in the wind tunnel. From these tests, drag and lift coefficients will be compared with known/theoretical values. The concept will be validated using CFD software. If this fairing design is found to be effective it will increase the accuracy of aerodynamic tests being conducted at the MicaPlex Wind Tunnel. Additionally, the fairing could be duplicated at similar facilities for better testing accuracy.