Dryden Home > Collections > Photo Home > Flow Visualization Facility > FVF Contact Sheet |
Flow Visualization Facility (FVF) Photo Gallery Contact Sheet | ||
|
||
Photo Number: | N/A | |
Photo Date: | 23 May 2000 | |
|
||
Formats: | Low Resolution Image Contact Sheet (23 KBytes) Medium Resolution Image Contact Sheet (23 KBytes) High Resolution Image Contact Sheet (23 KBytes) |
|
|
||
Description: |
These are the image contact sheets for each image resolution of the NASA Dryden Flow Visualization Facility Photo Gallery.
The Water Tunnel at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, became operational in 1983 when Dryden was a Flight Research Facility under the management of the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. As a medium for visualizing fluid flow, water has played a significant role. Its use dates back to Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), the Renaissance Italian engineer, architect, painter, and sculptor. In more recent times, water tunnels have assisted the study of complex flows and flow-field interactions on aircraft shapes that generate strong vortex flows. Flow visualization in water tunnels assists in determining the strength of vortices, their location, and possible methods of controlling them. The design of the Dryden Water Tunnel imitated that of the Northrop Corporation's tunnel in Hawthorne, CA. Called the Flow Visualization Facility, the Dryden tunnel was built to assist researchers in understanding the aerodynamics of aircraft configured in such a way that they create strong vortex flows, particularly at high angles of attack. The tunnel provides results that compare well with data from aircraft in actual flight in another fluid-air. Other uses of the tunnel have included study of how such flight hardware as antennas, probes, pylons, parachutes, and experimental fixtures affect airflow. The facility has also been helpful in finding the best locations for emitting smoke from flight vehicles for flow visualization. |
|
|
||
Keywords: | F-18; model; Water Tunnel; Dryden Flight Research Center; Ames Research Center; NASA; flow visualization; aerodynamics; fluid mechanics; Leonardo da Vinci; Northrop Corporation; vortex; angle of attack |
Dryden Home > Collections > Photo Home > Flow Visualization Facility > FVF Contact Sheet |
|
|
Business | Education | History | Gallery | News Room | Organizations | Research | Search | Site Index | |
Last Modified: June 19, 2002 |