AFDAR - Advanced Flow Diagnostics for Aeronautical Research
Overview
Background & policy context:
The AFDAR project was about advanced flow diagnostics in aeronautical research. The progress beyond the State-of-the-Art (with respect to current technologies) is summarised by three breakthroughs:
- Three-dimensional volumetric measurements over wings and air-foils;
- Time-resolved measurements and aerodynamic analyses, of which several orders of magnitude faster than today;
- Turbulence characterisation in aerodynamic wind-tunnels at resolution orders of magnitude higher than those today by Long Range Micro Particle Image Velocimetry.
Objectives:
The objective of AFDAR has been to develop, assess and demonstrate new image-based experimental technologies for the analysis of aerodynamic systems and aerospace propulsion components. The main development focused on new three-dimensional methods, based on Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to measure the flow field around aircraft components and on the high-speed version of the planar technique for the analysis in time-resolved regime of transient/unsteady aerodynamic problems.
The project ultimately aimed to support the design of better aircraft and propulsion systems by enabling the designer to use experimental data during the development cycle of unprecedented completeness and quality. The work also covered the simultaneous application of PIV-based techniques and other methods to determine aero-acoustic noise emissions from the airframes and to improve combustion processes to lower NOx, CO2 and soot emissions from engines.
Methodology:
The consortium was led by a Dutch University of Technology and listed various partners, including a Russian research Institute and an Australian University. Industries were also involved in this work, either as a participant or as a contributor under subcontract and provided testing facilities. As final results of the project, a detailed analysis of the new measurement systems was delivered and a number of demonstrations were performed to validate the concepts in industrial environments. Special emphasis was given to the dissemination of results by meetings, publications, workshops and other initiatives.
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