Production of wind tunnel testing models with use of rapid prototyping methods

In a time when "better, faster, cheaper" are the words to live by, new technologies must be employed to try and live up to these axioms. In this spirit, a study has been undertaken to determine the suitability of models constructed using rapid prototyping (RP) methods for use in subsonic, transonic, wind tunnel testing. This study was conducted to determine if the level of development in rapid prototyping materials and processes is adequate for constructing models, and if these models meet the structural requirements of subsonic, transonic, testing while still having the high fidelity required to produce accurate aerodynamic data. The findings from this initial study indicated that the aerodynamic database obtained from RP models showed good agreement with data obtained from the machined Aluminum counterpart.