Icing Wind Tunnel (IWT) testing is an important part of the development and certification process. Whilst simulation tools are widely used within the icing domain, practical testing is often required as a final validation of the design. Testing in an IWT offers a highly controlled environment to gather evidence, either as part of a product development cycle or in support of certification. It is also highly beneficial for fundamental research.
Our team has enormous experience in IWT testing, across a wide range of different facilities. Whilst we are based in Vienna and have a close relationship with the RailTec Arsenal team, we have experience in the majority of the world’s major IWT facilities. We can therefore guide our customers to make the right choice for which test facility suits their needs. There is a wide range of different facilities available, covering different sizes and speeds, some of which also have altitude simulation capability. Choosing the right facility for your needs is the first step to a successful test campaign.
We can offer full support for a test campaign, from choosing the facility to producing the Trials Plan (including test matrix), managing the test as Trials Manager and producing a comprehensive Test Report.
Designing an effective test matrix takes in to account the main aims of the test, as well as limitations of the facility. Different types of test will focus on different conditions: for example a test of an unprotected model is likely to focus on test conditions with a Total Air Temperature around 0°C, whilst a running wet electrothermal test will focus more on colder conditions if maximum power demand is a key criteria. De-ice tests generally need to cover a wide range of conditions, since different aspects are critical in different regimes.
All test facilities have limitations in the conditions they can achieve. This may be the maximum speed (which may vary with the test temperature) or a limitation in the minimum or maximum LWC which can be reached. If these values differ from the desired values then scaling is needed to ensure that the results are representative of the design conditions. Models may also need to be reduced in size to physically fit within the test facility. This also requires scaling of the conditions. There are limits to how far the scaling process can be pushed and AeroTex has the expertise to be able to define these limits and to generate test conditions which most accurately reflect the design case. This leads to high confidence that the IWT test results can be used as evidence – a very important factor considering the potentially high cost of many days of test time.
Out test experience covers the following types of test models:
- Aerofoil / Wing sections
- Propeller sections
- Rotor blade sections
- Full propeller tests
- Engine inlets
- Air data probes
- Ice detectors