DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTIPLE COMPONENT FORCE AND MOMENT BALANCEFOR WATER TUNNEL APPLICATIONS

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTI-COMPONENT, FORCE-AND-MOMENT BALANCE FOR APPLICATIONS IN LOW-SPEED FLOW VISUALIZATION WATER TUNNELS IS THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT. THE BALANCE WILLALLOW DETAILED FLOW VISUALIZATION AND FORCE-AND-MOMENT MEASUREMENTS TO BE PERFORMED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN A WATER TUNNEL, THUS PROVIDING QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION PRIOR TO WIND TUNNEL TESTS. IN ADDITION TO SAVING TIME AND COST OF TESTING, UNCERTAINTIES ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENCES IN MODELS, FACILITIES, AND TEST CONDITIONS ARE ELIMINATED. THEBALANCE CAN ALSO PROVIDE A CAPABILITY FOR COMPLICATED DYNAMIC MEASUREMENTS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO PERFORM IN A WINDTUNNEL. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP AND TEST A SIX-COMPONENT FORCE-AND-MOMENT BALANCE SYSTEM AND RELATED CALIBRATION EQUIPMENT THAT CAN BE MANUFACTURED AND PRODUCED COMMERCIALLY FOR OTHER WATER TUNNEL USERS IN THIS COUNTRY AND ABROAD. THE PRIMARY GOAL OF PHASE I IS TO DEVELOP PRELIMINARY DESIGNS FOR VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF A FORCE-AND-MOMENT BALANCE. MAJOR IMPROVEMENT AND REFINEMENT EFFORTS WOULD BE CARRIED OUT IN PHASE II TO DEVELOP AND CONSTRUCT A PROTOTYPE OF A FINAL DESIGN, AND EXTENSIVE STATIC AND DYNAMIC TESTS WILL BE PERFORMED TO VERIFY THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SYSTEM AND TO DEVELOP TECHNIQUES FOR VARIOUS APPLICATIONS. THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTI-COMPONENT, FORCE-AND-MOMENT BALANCE FOR APPLICATIONS IN LOW-SPEED FLOW VISUALIZATION WATER TUNNELS IS THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT. THE BALANCE WILLALLOW DETAILED FLOW VISUALIZATION AND FORCE-AND-MOMENT MEASUREMENTS TO BE PERFORMED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN A WATER TUNNEL, THUS PROVIDING QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION PRIOR TO WIND TUNNEL TESTS. IN ADDITION TO SAVING TIME AND COST OF TESTING, UNCERTAINTIES ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENCES IN MODELS, FACILITIES, AND TEST CONDITIONS ARE ELIMINATED. THEBALANCE CAN ALSO PROVIDE A CAPABILITY FOR COMPLICATED DYNAMIC MEASUREMENTS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO PERFORM IN A WINDTUNNEL. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP AND TEST A SIX-COMPONENT FORCE-AND-MOMENT BALANCE SYSTEM AND RELATED CALIBRATION EQUIPMENT THAT CAN BE MANUFACTURED AND PRODUCED COMMERCIALLY FOR OTHER WATER TUNNEL USERS IN THIS COUNTRY AND ABROAD. THE PRIMARY GOAL OF PHASE I IS TO DEVELOP PRELIMINARY DESIGNS FOR VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF A FORCE-AND-MOMENT BALANCE. MAJOR IMPROVEMENT AND REFINEMENT EFFORTS WOULD BE CARRIED OUT IN PHASE II TO DEVELOP AND CONSTRUCT A PROTOTYPE OF A FINAL DESIGN, AND EXTENSIVE STATIC AND DYNAMIC TESTS WILL BE PERFORMED TO VERIFY THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SYSTEM AND TO DEVELOP TECHNIQUES FOR VARIOUS APPLICATIONS.