Wind tunnel calibration, corrections and experimental validation for fixed-wing micro air vehicles measurements
Abstract
The increase in the number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs), which are used in a variety of applications has led to a surge in low Reynolds number aerodynamics research. Flow around fixedwing MAVs has an unusual behavior due to its low aspect ratio and operates at low Reynolds number, which demanded to upgrade the used wind tunnel for this study. This upgrade enables measuring the small aerodynamics forces and moment of fixed-wing MAVs. The wind tunnel used in this work is upgraded with a state of art data acquisition system to deal with the different sensors signals in the wind tunnel. For accurate measurements, the sting balance, angle sensor, and airspeed sensor are calibrated. For validation purposes, an experiment is made on a low aspect ratio flat plate wing at low Reynolds number, and the measured data are corrected and compared with published results. The procedure presented in this paper for the first time gave a detailed and complete guide for upgrading and calibrating old wind tunnel, all the required corrections to correct the measured data was presented, the turbulence level correction new technique presented in this paper could be used to estimate the flow turbulence effect on the measured data and correct the measured data against published data.
First published online 17 February 2020
Keyword : wind tunnel, sting balance, calibration, uncertainty analysis, low aspect ratio, low Reynolds number
How to Cite
Aboelezz, A., Elqudsi, Y., Hassanalian, M., & Desoki, A. (2020). Wind tunnel calibration, corrections and experimental validation for fixed-wing micro air vehicles measurements. Aviation, 23(4), 104-113. https://doi.org/10.3846/aviation.2019.11975
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Pope, A., & Rae, W. H. (1984). Low-speed wind tunnel testing. Wiley-Interscience.
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Shindo, S. (1995). Simplified tunnel correction method. Journal of Aircraft, 32(1), 210–213. https://doi.org/10.2514/3.46705
Silverstein, A., & White, J. A. (1937). Wind-tunnel Interference with particular reference to off-center positions of the wing and to the downwash at the tail. Annual Report – National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Vol. 22.
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Torres, G. E., & Mueller, T. J. (2004). Low aspect ratio aerodynamics at low Reynolds numbers. AIAA Journal, 42(5), 865–873. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.439
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Traub, L. W. (2018). Design of a low-cost rapid-prototyped wind-tunnel balance. Journal of Aircraft, 55(5), 2149–2153. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.C034982
Ulbrich, N., & Gisler, R. (2013, January). A baseline load schedule for the manual calibration of a force balance. In 51st AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition (p. 1017). Grapevine (Dallas/Ft. Worth Region), Texas. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2013-1017
Wang, S., Zhou, Y., Alam, M. M., & Yang, H. (2014). Turbulent intensity and Reynolds number effects on an airfoil at low Reynolds numbers. Physics of Fluids, 26(11), 115107. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4901969
AEROLAB LLC. (2019). Aerolab Educational Wind Tunnel (EWT) owner’s manual. https://www.aerolab.com/products/educational-wind-tunnel-ewt/
Allan, M. R., Badcock, K. J., Barakos, G. N., & Richards, B. E. (2004). Wind-tunnel interference effects on a 70 delta wing. The Aeronautical Journal, 108(1088), 505–513. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001924000000336
Bentley, J. P. (2005). Uncertainty in Measurement System: The ISO guide. National Measurement Institute, Sydney, Australia.
Boutemedjet, A., Samardžić, M., Ćurčić, D., Rajić, Z., & Ocokoljić, G. (2018). Wind tunnel measurement of small values of rolling moment using six-component strain gauge balance. Measurement, 116, 438–450. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2017.11.043
Boyle, M. T. (1988, February). Low speed wind tunnel testing. In Fourth annual IEEE semiconductor thermal and temperature measurement symposium (pp. 31–39). San Diego, CA, USA. IEEE.
Cheung, C. K., & Melbourne, W. H. (1980). Wind tunnel blockage effects on a circular cylinder in turbulent flows. In 7th Australasian Conference on Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics 1980: Preprints of Papers (p. 127). Institution of Engineers, Australia.
Cruz, E. (2012). The effect of turbulence on micro air vehicle airfoils (PhD). Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University.
Dickinson, M. H., Lehmann, F. O., & Sane, S. P. (1999). Wing rotation and the aerodynamic basis of insect flight. Science, 284(5422), 1954–1960. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.284.5422.1954
Erm, L. P., & Ferrarotto, P. (2009). Development of a five-component strain-gauge balance for the DSTO water tunnel (No. DSTO-GD-0597). Defence science and technology organisation Victoria (Australia) air vehicles division.
Hassanalian, M., & Abdelkefi, A. (2017). Classifications, applications, and design challenges of drones: A review. Progress in Aerospace Sciences, 91, 99–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paerosci.2017.04.003
Hassanalian, M., & Abdelkefi, A. (2017). Conceptual design and analysis of separation flight for an unmaned air vehicle to five micro air vehicles. In 55th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting (p. 0240). Grapevine, Texas. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2017-0240
Hassanalian, M., & Abdelkefi, A. (2017). Design, manufacturing, and flight testing of a fixed wing micro air vehicle with Zimmerman planform. Meccanica, 52(6), 1265–1282. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11012-016-0475-2
Hassanalian, M., Khaki, H., & Khosravi, M. (2015). A new method for design of fixed wing micro air vehicle. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G: Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 229(5), 837–850. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954410014540621
Hassanalian, M., Rice, D., Johnstone, S., & Abdelkefi, A. (2018). Performance analysis of fixed wing space drones in different solar system bodies. Acta Astronautica, 152, 27–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2018.07.018
Hrad, P. M. (2010). Conceptual design tool for fuel-cell powered micro air vehicles (No. AFIT/GAE/ENY/10-M12). Air force institute of Tech Wright-Patterson AFB OH graduate school of engineering and management.
Lee, T., & Gerontakos, P. (2004). Investigation of flow over an oscillating airfoil. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 512, 313–341. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112004009851
Liu, Z., Dong, L., Zhao, J., & Yan, G. (2015). Components interaction effect evaluation of a small-capacity five-component internal balance system. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, 229(1), 125–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954406214531747
Mueller, T. J. (2000). Aerodynamic measurements at low raynolds numbers for fixed wing micro-air vehicles. Notre Dame university in dept of aerospace and mechanical engineering.
Nakata, T., Liu, H., Tanaka, Y., Nishihashi, N., Wang, X., & Sato, A. (2011). Aerodynamics of a bio-inspired flexible flapping-wing micro air vehicle. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 6(4), 045002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-3182/6/4/045002
Ohanian, O., Hickling, C., Stiltner, B., Karni, E., Kochersberger, K., Probst, T., ... & Blain, A. (2012, April). Piezoelectric morphing versus servo-actuated MAV control surfaces. In 53rd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference 20th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference 14th AIAA. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (p. 1512). https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2012-1512
Pass, C. (1987, January). A wake blockage correction method for small subsonic wind tunnels. In 25th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting. Delft, The Netherlands (p. 294). https://doi.org/10.2514/6.1987-294
Pope, A., & Rae, W. H. (1984). Low-speed wind tunnel testing. Wiley-Interscience.
Rezaei, A. S., & Taha, H. E. (2019). Transition regime and its effects on the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of a pitching airfoil. In AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum (p. 0302). San Diego, California. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2019-0302
Shindo, S. (1995). Simplified tunnel correction method. Journal of Aircraft, 32(1), 210–213. https://doi.org/10.2514/3.46705
Silverstein, A., & White, J. A. (1937). Wind-tunnel Interference with particular reference to off-center positions of the wing and to the downwash at the tail. Annual Report – National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Vol. 22.
Stewart, K., Wagener, J., Abate, G., & Salichon, M. (2007). Design of the air force research laboratory micro aerial vehicle research configuration. In 45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit (p. 667). Reno, Nevada. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2007-667
Torres, G. E., & Mueller, T. J. (2004). Low aspect ratio aerodynamics at low Reynolds numbers. AIAA Journal, 42(5), 865–873. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.439
Torres, G., & Mueller, T. J. (2000, July). Micro aerial vehicle development: design, components, fabrication, and flight-testing. In AUVSI Unmanned Systems 2000 Symposium and Exhibition (pp. 11–13). Japan.
Traub, L. W. (2018). Design of a low-cost rapid-prototyped wind-tunnel balance. Journal of Aircraft, 55(5), 2149–2153. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.C034982
Ulbrich, N., & Gisler, R. (2013, January). A baseline load schedule for the manual calibration of a force balance. In 51st AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition (p. 1017). Grapevine (Dallas/Ft. Worth Region), Texas. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2013-1017
Wang, S., Zhou, Y., Alam, M. M., & Yang, H. (2014). Turbulent intensity and Reynolds number effects on an airfoil at low Reynolds numbers. Physics of Fluids, 26(11), 115107. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4901969