Wind Tunnels and the ATI Technology Infrastructure Strategy Dr. Simon Prince Royal Aeronautical Society Conference on Wind Tunnel Capabilities. 19 th October 1015.
Overview 1. The Role of Wind Tunnels: We Don t Need Wind Tunnels Any More!!! Destroying the fallacy 2. Trends in UK provision of wind tunnels. 3. The ATI Strategy for aerospace wind tunnel investment. 4. The future. 2
1. The Role of Wind Tunnels The fallacy Wind Tunnels are too expensive to maintain and operate!!! Computational analysis is cheap!!! Computational analysis is accurate!!! Decommission the wind tunnel invest in computers!!! 3
1. The Role of Wind Tunnels The fallacy Example: Aerodata required for design and verification of missile dynamics / automatic control system. ~ 300,000 data points (6 components of force/moment = f(a,b,m,re,d ) Method Data points Set-up time (from scratch) Run time Study (CPU and processing) cost ( ) Cost for full 300k data points ( ) Time to completion Physical Accuarcy (forces & moments) Experiment (Wind Tunnel Test) 300,000 6 months 2 weeks ~ 1million * ~ 1million ~ 6 months within 1% Computation (RANS) 24 5 weeks 1440 hours 2,600 32,500,000 ~ 420 months # within 3% Computation (Steady Euler) 24 3 weeks 580 hours 1,800 22,500,000 ~ 170 months # within 20% * includes model design and manufacture, tunnel run time and data processing services # based on use of a 64 processor cluster 4
1. The Role of Wind Tunnels Wind Tunnel Testing is vital because Computational flow data cannot be physically correct. Turbulence!!!! Therefore need for physical data for model validation. Computational cost for very large data sets too expensive (time and money) Etc. etc. The wind tunnel remains a vital component of the aerodynamics toolkit. 5
2. Trends in UK provision of wind tunnels. History: Snapshot from 1977 compared with 2013 1977: 240 Facilities across government, industry and academia. State - State provision of wind tunnel test services: RAE, NPL etc, including: 24ft low speed WT at Farnborough 8ft supersonic / transonic WT at Bedford Altitude test cells at Pyestock. Aircraft Research Association industry subscription for high speed testing. including: Transonic Wind Tunnel. Industry Multiple Rolls-Royce sites, multiple British Aerospace (BAC / HS) sites including major altitude engine test beds, supersonic and hypersonic facilities. Academia - Many academic facilities but most small scale. National strategy: programs of RAE / NPL etc., (CARAD, BERP, National High Lift). 6
2. Trends in UK provision of wind tunnels. History: Snapshot from 1977 compared with 2013 2013: 180 Facilities across industry and academia. State - No State provision of wind tunnel test services DERA privatized etc. Aircraft Research Association still very active. Transonic Wind Tunnel (TWT) now one of most active transonic facilities in the world. Industry A few industrial scale wind tunnels survive. Academia Very many fewer large scale test facilities eg: Manchester Goldstein lab closure. Highly fragmented capability no national strategic leadership. 7
2. Trends in UK provision of wind tunnels. What we have today Subsonic plenty Transonic only 2 industrial scale Supersonic / Hypersonic all presently in academia Chronic too many of these 8
3. The ATI Strategy: wind tunnel investment. The UK must invest to protect and develop its testing capability In 2013 we: Established a national database of aerodynamics test facilities. (www.ati.org/facilities). Established an investment plan which: Develops a world leading aerospace wind tunnel testing capability. Is sustainable in the long term. Is affordable. Identified key strategic test facilities for investment. 9
3. The ATI Strategy: wind tunnel investment. Investment plan: Focus public research funding on only key strategic testing facilities which should be open access to all, to: Maximise impact of limited funds to maintain a small network of world leading capability. Promote collaborative research and technology development. Provide a sustainable capability. Maximise data quality. Defragment existing landscape around a coherent national strategy. 10
3. The ATI Strategy: wind tunnel investment. Criterion for strategic facility status: Relevance of facility to the ATI national technology strategy. Quality of facility (tunnel, rigs, instrumentation and people). Demonstrated track record in delivery of high quality research and technology development output (10 years). Recent organizational investment in testing capability (tunnel, instrumentation and skilled people). 11
3. The ATI Strategy: wind tunnel investment. Category of strategic facility status: General low speed. (eg: High Lift / Landing gear test etc.) Aeroacoustics test. Icing test. Transonic. Supersonic / Hypersonic*. General policy to invest in at least two facilities in each category to ensure sufficient redundancy, and long term capability security. 12
3. The ATI Strategy: wind tunnel investment. The ATI Strategic Wind Tunnel Test Facilities: Low Speed Industrial Facilities: Airbus Filton 12 x 10ft Low Speed Wind Tunnel BAe Systems 4m Low Speed Wind Tunnel QinetiQ 5m Low Speed Wind Tunnel University Facilities: City University Gastor Low Turbulence Wind Tunnel* Cranfield University 8ft x 6ft Low Speed Wind Tunnel* Cranfield University 8ft x 4ft Low Speed Wind Tunnel* Imperial College Honda Low Speed Wind Tunnel* University of Glasgow De Havilland Wind Tunnel* University of Manchester Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel University of Southampton R.J.Mitchell Wind Tunnel* Indicates test facilities included in the EPSRC National Wind Tunnel Facility 13
3. The ATI Strategy: wind tunnel investment. The ATI Strategic Wind Tunnel Test Facilities: Aeroacoustics Industrial Facilities: QinetiQ Noise Test Facility University Facilities: University of Cambridge Markham Wind Tunnel University of Southampton DOAK Aeroacoustics Facility 14
3. The ATI Strategy: wind tunnel investment. The ATI Strategic Wind Tunnel Test Facilities: Icing Industrial Facilities: GKN Aerospace Icing Wind Tunnel MIRA Climatic Wind Tunnel 1/2 University Facilities: Cranfield University Icing Tunnel* 15
3. The ATI Strategy: wind tunnel investment. The ATI Strategic Wind Tunnel Test Facilities: Transonic Industrial Facilities: ARA Transonic Wind Tunnel BAe Systems 1.2m Transonic Wind Tunnel European Transonic Wind Tunnel ARA Small Scale Wind Tunnel (ARA 2D Wind Tunnel) University Facilities: University of Cambridge Supersonic Wind Tunnel 1&2* City University T5 Transonic Wind Tunnel* University of Manchester Polysonic Wind Tunnel () Indicates moth balled test facilities. 16
3. The ATI Strategy: wind tunnel investment. The ATI Strategic Wind Tunnel Test Facilities: Super/Hypersonic Industrial Facilities: (ARA Supersonic Wind Tunnel). (ARA M4 Transonic / Supersonic Wind Tunnel). (BAe Systems Guided Weapons Tunnel). University Facilities: Cranfield University Hypersonic Gun Tunnel Imperial College Hypersonic Gun Tunnel* University of Manchester HSST Polysonic Wind Tunnel University of Oxford High Density Tunnel* University of Oxford Hypersonic Gun Tunnel* University of Oxford Low Density Tunnel* 17
3. The ATI Strategy: wind tunnel investment. ATI Capital Investment to Date ARA Transonic Wind Tunnel National Rotor Testing Rig 5.05 million 3.6 million EPSRC National Wind Tunnel Test Facility 2.9 million 18
4. The future. ATI national wind tunnel strategy: Informed by: ATI Infrastructure Specialist Advisory Group Reviewed periodically. ATI Aerodynamics Specialist Advisory Group Future investment: Investment to protect industrial testing capability. Possible further investment in the NWTF. Possible investment in a National Propulsion Test Facility. 19
Thanks for listening Questions? 20
2. Trends in UK provision of wind tunnels. Low Speed Wind Tunnels 21
2. Trends in UK provision of wind tunnels. Transonic Wind Tunnels 22
2. Trends in UK provision of wind tunnels. Supersonic Wind Tunnels 23
2. Trends in UK provision of wind tunnels. Hypersonic Wind Tunnels 24