“We are combining the virtual wind tunnel capability with Genetic Algorithms to develop optimised airfoils for Martian rotorcraft,” said Professor Peter Vincent from Imperial’s Department of Aeronautics.īy comparing their results with those from the real-life Mars Wind Tunnel in Tohoku University, Japan, they found that their simulations recreated true Martian conditions with a much higher degree of accuracy than has previously been possible. To overcome this, engineers at Imperial College London have created a ‘virtual wind tunnel’ simulator that recreates Mars’ atmospheric conditions to test helicopter blade designs. This combination of atmospheric density and slower speed of sound means that simple modelling strategies do not yield accurate results. Ingenuity, and platforms that follow, must avoid rotor speeds approaching the speed of sound because that would cause drag. Drops in density lead to a drop in thrust margin, which can be compensated for with faster rotor speed. NASA says flights on Mars were prepared for atmospheric densities between 0.0145 and 0.0185kg/m 3 (equivalent to 1.2-1.5 per cent of Earth's atmospheric density) but that could drop to as low as 0.012kg/m 3. The ambition is unambiguous, but conditions on Mars are challenging. The unsteady nature of the flow is apparent (Image: Imperial College London)įollowing the success of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, engineers are looking to create more optimised helicopters that can fly longer distances at higher altitudes, with heavier payloads. Shear forces acting on the airfoil and the wind tunnel walls.
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