Flare Sci-Fi Forums: Enterprise in a Wind Tunnel!

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Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :

No, seriously. Someone went and did it:

http://www.physics.uq.edu.au/lp/lasdiag/enterp.shtml

Mark

Posted by Fedaykin Supastar (Member # 704) on :

that is indeedly interesting

Posted by Jack_Crusher (Member # 696) on :

Que interestante.

Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :

More proof that the Constitution-class refit is one of the most well-thought-out designs out there. (Yeah yeah, I'm sure Probert didn't send the ship through a wind tunnel when he designed it, but you know what I mean... [Wink]

)

Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :

How much more interesting the results would be had they used the actual design.

Posted by akb1979 (Member # 557) on :

quote:
Originally posted by MinutiaeMan:
More proof that the Constitution-class refit is one of the most well-thought-out designs out there. (Yeah yeah, I'm sure Probert didn't send the ship through a wind tunnel when he designed it, but you know what I mean... )

Yes but just think: one tiny piece of space debris and POOF! - no more Enterprise! [Frown]

Pretty cool experiment though.

Posted by OnToMars (Member # 621) on :

Extremely cool.

I was going to do this when I reached the point in my education where they let me into the wind tunnel and design labs. Which sadly won't be for more than a year or so.

But I now have experimental data further supporting my theories about starship design. Huzzah!

If one were to put the E-D or E-E in there, you would get much less resistance and the stresses at Mach 9 and up would be much easier on both vessels. It'd be awesome to get actual numbers as a comparison.

When I do get into the design labs and wind tunnel, I'm going to do these tests and figure out exactly the differences between aerodynamics and hyperdynamics by comparing the results of the experiments with on screen evidence.

Eventually, I will have bona fide equations and design principles regarding starships and starship design. Just you wait. [Smile]

Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :

quote:
Yes but just think: one tiny piece of space debris and POOF! - no more Enterprise!

Tiny? look at it, that chunk is almost as big as the secondary hull...besides, thats what shields and deflector dishes are for [Wink]

Posted by David Templar (Member # 580) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Reverend:
Tiny? look at it, that chunk is almost as big as the secondary hull...besides, thats what shields and deflector dishes are for

Forget shields and deflector, you need torpedoes to deal with something that size. That thing would have probably represented a metal asteroid 100m long.

Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :

Ohhhhh that's from UQ! That's the University I go to! WOO!

Posted by Treknophyle (Member # 509) on :

With all the 3d CGI models floating around out there - couldn't someone generate a program to simulate a 'wind tunnel'? Think of all the "way-cool" warp-flow dynamic images.

Posted by Cubic Centimeter (Member # 747) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Treknophyle:
With all the 3d CGI models floating around out there - couldn't someone generate a program to simulate a 'wind tunnel'? Think of all the "way-cool" warp-flow dynamic images.

Well, the reason there still are wind tunnels is because computers just aren't up to the task of accurately simulating aero- or hydro- dynamic flow yet. Computational fluid dynamics has so many variables to consider that a computer has yet to beat that good 'ole wind tunnel.

cm^3

Posted by OnToMars (Member # 621) on :

Word. Voyager be damned.

Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :

Is Matt Jeffries still alive? I wonder what he would think of his design standing up to the rigours of a wind-tunnel test - and coming out, quite respectable!?!