Aerodynamics
How air flows over wings, and how to make it work for us: wind tunnel tests of new airfoils, CFD studies of lift and drag, boundary-layer control, and supersonic flow analysis.
About this project
Aerodynamics connects every other track: a better wing means longer flights, slower landings and more payload. This track tests airfoils in a wind tunnel and compares the measurements with computational fluid dynamics (CFD).
Boundary-layer control, such as vortex generators that keep the air attached to the wing, is tried on real models. Supersonic flow is beyond what model aircraft reach, so it is studied through CFD and theory: shock waves, nozzles and how high-speed aircraft are shaped.
What the team is working on
- Test new airfoils in a wind tunnel and measure lift and drag
- Run CFD studies of lift and drag and compare them with the tunnel results
- Try boundary-layer control, such as vortex generators, on test wings
- Analyse supersonic flow (shock waves and nozzles) through CFD and theory
Tools and technologies
- Wind tunnel
- XFOIL / XFLR5
- ANSYS Fluent / OpenFOAM
- Smoke & tuft visualisation
- Pitot tubes
- Python data analysis
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