Test Rig Adaptation for WT Measurements for OR&TP Configurations

The need to test large models at maximum speed regimes close to 100 m/s, for which the aerodynamic forces and moments occurring on the model far exceed the measuring capability of the existing TEM external balance, made it necessary to design an alternative model support system installed outside the INCAS subsonic wind tunnel. This is the case of models included in the Clean Sky European programs GRA and SFWA ITD. The wingspan of these models is equal to the width of the test section. For these models, the pressure distributions on the model surface should be determined by pressure measurement through small orifices connected to scanning devices while the aerodynamic forces and moments will be obtained by integration of the pressure and shear stress distributions. To this purpose a model support system was designed which is not attached to the external balance but to the steel structure of the tunnel located outside the experimental room