Volume 5, Number 5     September/October 1997

Aerospace Technology Development

Data Tool May Revolutionize Airplane Testing and Design

NASA COMPUTER NETWORK TOOL BEING tested at Ames Research Center could revolutionize the design, testing and construction of airplanes. The device could shorten the process by 25 percent and eliminate retesting by providing more accurate and readily accessible information.

The tool, called "Darwin," funnels wind tunnel data into a server computer and sends knowledge back in "near real time"—within about 30 seconds to five minutes—to researchers at NASA, at academic centers and in the aerospace industry—all located hundreds or thousands of miles from one another but linked to the computer system. "Darwin" is hooked to wind tunnels, the airflow test chambers where air is blown around airplane and rocket models to simulate flight. New knowledge about airplane designs gained during wind tunnel tests helps engineers know whether their ideas are working or whether design changes must be made before expensive, full-size prototype airplanes are built.

Darwin is a computer network tool that promises the return of wind tunnel testing data in "near real time," providing a great savings in time and money for the aircraft design and construction industry.

Pressure gauges, strain gauges and other instruments attached to the models take readings while air blows through the wind tunnels during experiments. Data streaming from the model instruments tell aerospace engineers how much lift, drag and maneuvering performance an airplane model can generate through different angles of flight and at various speeds, altitudes and conditions.

"Testing a model in a wind tunnel, you get actual physics because you have real wind blowing over a wing," Dr. David Korsmeyer, deputy project manager, explained. Darwin collects data, translates the information into an easily understood format and provides access to researchers, simultaneously and securely, according to Korsmeyer. "Before we began to use large computer networks to deliver data, wind tunnel systems were very good at capturing data for later analysis, but they were not good at immediately 'serving' the data," he said. "Previously, such knowledge had to be derived by scientists and engineers in the days and months following wind tunnel tests."

Aerospace models used in the tunnels can exceed $1 million each because they must be exactly to scale and extensively instrumented. Running a large wind tunnel can cost tens of thousands of dollars per hour, with the exact cost depending on the tunnel, the number of personnel needed and any special equipment required. Engineers would prefer not to have to return to a tunnel for follow-up test cycles with modified airplane or spaceship models.

For more information, contact David Korsmeyer at Ames Research Center.
Call 415/604-3114 E-mail: dkorsmeyer@mail.arc.nasa.gov

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