Ulf Ringertz, David Eller, Donald F. Keller, Walter A. Silva
DOI Number: N/A
Conference number: IFASD-2017-169
An aeroelastic wind tunnel model has been designed and built for testing in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel. The aircraft configuration represents a modern light weight fighter with a swept wing and canards. The model is designed using composite materials for all lifting surfaces and the fuselage shell. The lifting surfaces are attached to an internal backbone structure using aluminum spars and bulkheads to transfer the aerodynamic loads to the sting. The wing design is also made with a strong internal frame to provide strong support for external stores without giving too stiff overall wing properties. External stores interfaces in the form of pylons, sway braces and pre-tension arrangements are modeled with additional detail to provide realistic kinematics. The model is heavily instrumented with accelerometers, strain gauges, and pressure taps. A unique feature of the test set-up was the use of an optical motion tracking system that made it possible to accurately measure model deformations during wind tunnel testing. A new system for unsteady pressure measurements was also used for the test providing accurate unsteady pressure data from almost 200 pressure taps on the wing surfaces. Wind tunnel testing was performed both in air and heavy gas with the model tested in three different configurations. A large amount of unique data was obtained for both static and dynamic aeroelasticty with simultaneous measurements of model deformation and wing surface pressures.