Boeing

Recommissioning Wind Tunnel Flow Sensor Arm

The Kirsten Wind Tunnel (KWT) has conducted numerous measurement campaigns with Boeing over the years. In some of those campaigns, Boeing has brought a quantitative wake survey system (QWSS) that allows for three-dimensional surveys of the wake of vehicles by moving a probe around the test section. The goal of this capstone student team is to resurrect an older model of QWSS (to be donated by Boeing, lacking independent control system or software) such that this capability can become a mainstay of the KWT. The capstone team will have to refurbish the system, verify its structure integrity, integrate it into the tunnel and create new motor control and positioning electronics. At the end of the effort the new QWSS system will be tested in the KWT to verify its operation. The probe must be able to move to a design location with a specific speed and hold that position within a specific tolerance. It must remain stiff and not become structurally excited by the flow in the tunnel. It must operate under power and consumption specifications. Software will be created that will allow a user to specify a range of discretized locations throughout that measurement domain, a hold time at each location and speeds of motion as well as a live update/visualization of the probes' location within the facility. It is desired to be able to operate QWSS in KWT, demonstrated by having the system sweep through a range of locations with the wind on in stop/start manner (move to location, take data move to next location). This would be demonstrated in the wind tunnel with the wind on, with a simple sensor such as a pitot tube, in the wake of a model to be chosen by Owen Williams and Boeing.