HandySCAN 3D helps with aerospace research projects
HandySCAN 3D helps with aerospace research projects
The Space Systems Department is a comprehensive department that deals primarily with aircraft integrals and internal integration of civil and military aviation. In addition to civil and military aircraft design, it focuses on the derivation and analysis of aviation boundary conditions and the evaluation of aircraft based on these boundary conditions and requirements.
As an integrated department of the School of Aeronautics, Astronautics and Geodesy at THE Technical University of Munich, the Department of Aerospace Systems covers the teaching and research of complex aeronautical engineering systems. So, what role does Creaform play in the department's scientific research programs?
In the European research project FLEXOP (Flutter Free Envelope Expansion for Improved Economic Performance), researchers developed and validated new methods for designing active and passive systems for flutter damping, starting with very light and flexible wing structures. In the EU's Horizon 2020 research and Innovation programme, scientific research and industry partners from six different countries study control algorithms, actuators and design optimization problems, and develop unmanned flight models equipped with 7-metre wingspans and turbine drives to test the developed approaches.
Several sensors on the flight model, such as pitot tubes used to measure flight speed, must be pointed as precisely as possible in the direction of flight to achieve error-free measurements. Because the deviation from the installation Angle causes errors in the measurement data, it is necessary to determine this Angle very precisely through the 3D scan. The challenge is to determine the Angle relative to the nose of the aircraft and to attach the pitot tubes to the end of the nose mounting rod, which is about 0.5 meters long.
The front of the aircraft (30 cm) was scanned using Creaform's HandySCAN 3D scanner to generate measurements that determined the reference plane. The nose mounting rod is then digitized and used to determine the exact mounting Angle. Without a 3D scanner, accurate measurements would be difficult to achieve. The HandySCAN 3D scanner operates flexibly with a precision of up to 0.025mm and provides rapid measurement data.
The 3D scanner can perform a variety of different measurements and is used by the Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics at THE Technical University of Munich for a wide range of feasible applications that other measurement systems cannot perform independently. Possible applications include scanning parts to make precise parts using the 3D printing process. In addition, the contour geometry of the purchased aircraft wing or propeller can be defined, which can improve the accuracy and simplicity of certain measurement and research tasks.
"The ability of HandySCAN 3D to scan small components and the ability of the MaxSHOT 3D photogrammetry system to scan large structures, such as a wing with a wingspan of several meters under static loads, demonstrates the strength of our Creaform system equipment. By scanning parts and even the entire aircraft, we are able to quantify the uncertainties in construction and production. We can take their effects into account in flight tests to validate aircraft design simulations." Explains Professor Mirko Hornung, PhD, Head of the Department of Aerospace Systems at the School of Aeronautics, Astronautics and Geodesy at the Technical University of Munich.
