As one of my main projects during my time at IIT, the D-90 aircraft provided me with many opportunities. One such opportunity was to alter one of the flight-worthy aircraft we had constructed so it could be installed in a tunnel for testing. However, to do this, many alterations had to be made to install the D-90 in the tunnel without compromising the airworthy aircraft. Another challenge was that all the design work had to be done from IIT in Chicago, while the tunnel's location is at the University of Southampton in the UK. The main focus of the testing was to create a baseline aerodynamic data set for the D-90 platform. In addition to the baseline aero data, we wanted to conduct tests with both conventional and active flow control effectors for comparison. The active flow control effectors are described in more detail on the Projects tab.

In order to mount this highly swept delta wing jet, I needed a way to not only hold the model right-side up but also upside down. The reason this was necessary was due to the support rods from the ceiling. The rods, being on the suction side of the aircraft, could potentially taint our data. To reduce this effect, we decided to conduct various tests and aerodynamic baselines both right-side up and upside down. This meant the structure had to be invertible and allow for the aircraft to hang in two different orientations in the tunnel. The structure I designed, seen in the photo on the right, is strong and easily configurable to accommodate these different orientations.

During the two-week testing period in the tunnel, a huge collection of data was gathered. The specifics can be found in the AIAA paper link at the top of this page. However, the key accomplishments include baseline aerodynamics, conventional control, AFC control, Reynolds number effects, and a brief ground effect test. Most of the testing was done upside down, and various combinations of sideslip and alpha were investigated. The data collected is now invaluable for our flight testing of the same aircraft and can be further incorporated into flight models for increased accuracy.