When it comes to improving aerodynamic design, one of the choice methods has always been the use of a wind tunnel. However, designers can now utilize something brand-new to build aerodynamic aircraft digitally. By employing 3D scanning, designers can create aerodynamic designs for a variety of design devices. This technique is called computational fluid dynamics for CFD. It’s currently being used by the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern. Their latest tests combine wind tunnels, field tests, and CFD for a more accurate and innovative approach.
Accuracy, as you can imagine, it is very important for success here, which is why they are using Rapidform XOR for their 3D scanning needs. The system allows the engineers to build on current designs and improve them using a CFD simulation and then building on top of that with the Rapidform XOR mesh data accumulated from the scanning process. It actually has something called a Mesh Buildup Wizard that allows you to create a water tight mesh in an instant by using several different scans that can be merged together. The results are high-quality, accurate, and highly useful.