Design, construction and validation of an instrumented wing for unsteady aerodynamics research

An instrumented wing has been designed to study the interaction between the velocity and pressure fields, as well as the forces acting on an airfoil immersed in a turbulent flow. The motivation behind the design of this wing is interest in the interaction between the unsteadiness in the flow and the unsteady aerodynamic forces on the airfoil. This wing is modular, allowing for the instrumentation to be changed easily. Two modules have been designed; one to measure the unsteady aerodynamic forces, and one to measure the unsteady pressures on a NACA 0012 airfoil profile. The wing has been designed for use at chord Reynolds numbers in the order of 105. Following both a static and dynamic calibration and compensation, a validation of the apparatus was completed. This demonstrated an overall valid response of the instrumented wing. Recommendations for further improvements to the system are made to allow for the best response of this apparatus. After these recommendations are implemented, this apparatus will be ready for use in studying the interaction between grid-generated turbulence and the unsteady aerodynamic forces and pressures on a NACA 0012 airfoil profile.