The design, fabrication and installation of an approximately 1/6 scale model of an aircraft vertical stabilizer for research in Active Flow Control (AFC) is discussed. Highlighted are the unique design requirements of wind tunnel models, the specialized fabrication techniques employed to create them and the required close collaboration between industry, government and three academic institutions. The design of the model involves often competing constraints imposed by structural, instrumentation, aerodynamic, manufacturability and research-agenda considerations as well as cost and schedule. Instrumentation requires hundreds of pressure ports and six-axis force/torque sensing. Aerodynamic considerations necessitate high manufacturing precision, highly-skilled fabrication techniques and careful observance of model geometry throughout the design and fabrication processes. A scale model of a vertical stabilizer for AFC research was successfully designed, fabricated and deployed. The collaboratively designed model satisfies the structural, aerodynamic and research design constraints, and furthers the state of the art in Active Flow Control research.
A Snapshot of Active Flow Control Research at NASA Langley