Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

The aerodynamic design of commercial and business aircrafts requires a careful mix of computational analysis and experimental testing to ensure a timely market delivery at a limited level of risk. Ground test facilities like wind tunnels continue to provide the bulk of experimental data that are used to calibrate CFD codes, validate the aerodynamic design, and generate the aerodynamic database necessary to implement flight control systems. In recent years, market dynamics have provided a strong incentive for aircraft manufacturers to reduce the design cycle time while simultaneously maintain or even reduce the amount of risk associated with aerodynamic design. This is a challenging environment for wind tunnel operators, who are constantly confronted with simultaneous requests for increased efficiency and reduced uncertainty in aerodynamic testing.The present proposal attempts to tackle this issue by looking at different ways that could be devised to improve the accuracy of Bombardier Aerospace's wind tunnel tests. More specifically, the long term goal of the proposed work is the improvement of testing methodologies at two Canadian production wind tunnels regularly used by Bombardier: the 1.5m Trisonic Blowdown Wind Tunnel and the 2m x 3m Low-Speed Wind Tunnel, both located at the NRC Institute of Aerospace Research in Ottawa.