Close-Proximity Flight Validation Analysis with FlightStream

Abstract

The objective of this research is to validate the use of FlightStream® in accurately predicting aerodynamic loads in a scenario of close-proximity flight, such as an aerial refueling and formation flight environment. The research will include individually validating wind tunnel data of each the KC-135 Stratotanker and the ICE-101 Configuration UAV. Once that is accomplished and model accuracy achieved, a formation flight and aerial refueling analysis will be conducted to validate FlightStream’s capabilities as a computational solver. Models of both the KC-135 and the UAV were generated using NASA Open Vehicle Sketch Pad and exported as .STL files into FlightStream®. This thesis will show the utility of FlightStream’s capability of providing a high-fidelity solution with less user inputs, than that of Computational Fluid Dynamics or other computational methods.