Wind tunnel models are traditionally machined from high-quality metal material; this condition reduces the possibility to test different geometric variations or models as it corresponds to incremental cost. In the last decade, the quality of additive manufacturing techniques has been progressively increasing, while the cost has been decreasing. The utilization of 3D-printing techniques suggests the possibility to improve the cost, time, and flexibility of a wind tunnel model production. Possible disadvantages in terms of quality of the model finishing, stiffness, and geometric accuracy are investigated, to understand if the production technique is capable of providing a suitable test device. Additionally, pressure taps for steady surface pressure measurements are integrated during the printing procedure and the production of complex three-dimensional highly swept wings have been selected as targets. Computational fluid dynamics tools are exploited to confirm the experimental results in accordance with the best practice approaches characterizing flow patterns dominated by leading-edge vortices. The fidelity level of the experimental data for scientific research of the described flow fields is investigated. An insight of the most important guidelines and the possible improvements is provided as well as the main features of the approach.

A numerical tool for the computation of aircraft control surface aerodynamics with flexibility effects is presented. The solution is based on coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Computational Structural Mechanics (CSM) simulations embedded in the multidisciplinary simulation environment SimServer. In SimServer, the DLR-TAU Code is utilized to obtain the CFD solution by solving the Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations. Structural displacements are computed with a modal solver. The Chimera implementation of SimServer, suited for hybrid grids, is applied to model the control surfaces. Numerical simulations with the flexible Chimera method are performed for the Model53 wing configuration, which is a generic delta wing with a deployed slat as well as an inboard and outboard trailing edge flap. Aerodynamic and aeroelastic simulations at high dynamic pressure $$q=45$$ q = 45  kPa and transonic speed $${\text {Ma}} = 0.8$$ Ma = 0.8 are performed for several angles of attack $$10^\circ \le \alpha \le 25^\circ$$ 10 ∘ ≤ α ≤ 25 ∘ and flap deflection angles $$-30^\circ \le \delta \le 30^\circ$$ - 30 ∘ ≤ δ ≤ 30 ∘ . The effect of structural deformations on the flow field and control surface effectiveness are analyzed and compared to computations of components treated fully rigid. At the targeted freestream condition $$M=0.8$$ M = 0.8 and $${\text {Re}}=15.1 \times 10^7$$ Re = 15.1 × 10 7 , the flow field around the Model53 configuration is characterized by the interaction of vortices and shock waves. The results of the lift and pitching moment coefficient for the rigid and flexible configuration revealed the importance of taking the structural flexibility into account in order to obtain more accurate results for the considered range of flap deflections. Furthermore, the computational effort of the aerodynamic and aeroelastic simulations are evaluated. The increase in computational effort is shown to be adequate for the given increase in accuracy.

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