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Originally appeared in "Aerospace Technology Innovation" Volume 5, Number 5 September/October 1997
A 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.
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