AN INVESTIGATION ON APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTWEIGHT MODELS BASED ON STEREO-LITHOGRAPHY FOR TRANSONIC WIND-TUNNEL

Taking an AGARD-B model as an example, the lightweight models were fabricated with outer photopolymer resin configurations and internal metal frameworks based on Stereo-Lithography (SL). Their applications for transonic wind-tunnel are discussed. The results indicate that their processing period and weight are decreased by 69% and 38.9%, respectively. The inherent frequency of the models-support system is increased by 73.2%, which prevents resonance occurrence among the model-support-wind tunnel system. They are not demolished under transonic conditions, and they show prospect and convenience in applications of preliminary aerodynamic studies and configuration selection of aircrafts. However, deformations occur for lightweight models because of their stiffness shortage. Therefore, to study a modification method for wind-tunnel experimental data is research emphases in further work.