Examinando por Autor "Plaza del Pino, Juan Carlos"

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Practical Design of a Low-Cost Icing Wind Tunnel for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Testing in a Limited Space
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2024-08-07) Plaza del Pino, Juan Carlos; Terroba, F.; García Magariño, A.; Atienza, R.; Mora Nogués, Julio; Plaza del Pino, Juan Carlos; Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA)
Ice accretion on aircrafts due to atmospheric conditions is still a relevant research topic, especially in the case of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), due to their smaller size and the relative underdevelopment of ice protection systems (anti-icing and de-icing) for these aircraft. For the research and development of these systems, it is necessary to assess their performance in icing wind tunnels (IWTs), which are generally high-cost facilities. This article describes the design and building process of a new IWT for testing fixed-wing UAVs, aimed at cost reduction and restricted to an existing cold climate chamber of limited size. The designed IWT is an open-circuit type with two corners, a test section size of 0.40 m × 0.27 m and speed up to 70 m/s. The design process employs widely used and proven semi-empirical formulas, supported by detailed calculations using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools, to achieve a test section core of useful quality and avoid flow separation. Theoretical limits with respect to a usable droplet size and Liquid Water Content (LWC) are calculated, and the test section core is estimated. The design process followed proves to be a very good approach to the design and aerodynamic optimisation of a low-cost IWT.