Aviation in the Tunnel

 After quite a while the large wind tunnel has been used again for the purpose it has initially been intended for: The investigation of aerodynamic properties of aviation components.
 Within the framework of the project Hydrotube the airfoil for the hydrogen-powered aircraft APUS i-2 was subject of the investigation. Special focus was on the increase of maximum lift gained by a split flap, enabling the aircraft to reach the stall speed requested by regulations. Results gained with flap deflections up to 50° look promising so far.
 Aerodynamic coefficients for lift and moments are calculated from the pressure distribution. Therefore, the model is equipped with 80 pressure taps. Drag is being derived from the total pressure loss in the wake, obtained by a traversed pitot rake. The flap is deflected electrically, so that flap setting can be changed when the wind tunnel is on.

© J. Frey

 Hydrotube is a project concerning storage of pressurized hydrogen in tube-shaped tanks that work as wing spars as well. It is part of the aviation research programme LuFo-V granted by BMWi.