The Clipperspirit Seaplane: Fuselage Drag Analysis and Design

Abstract

The 2011-2012 ClipperSpirit Seaplane Senior Design Team observed recirculation of flow around the sternpost on their 10in fuselage model when tested in a water tunnel. The sponsor, Charles Simpson of the New Nose Company, Inc., wanted the 2012-2013 team to investigate the previous year’s results, create a new fuselage model with a less intrusive wind tunnel mount, perform drag analysis, and design and test alternate fuselage designs while observing the unique restrictions of a seaplane. The team created a new model in SolidWorks with a higher surface quality, and designed a less obtrusive wind tunnel mount. Testing was performed using SolidWorks Flow Simulation for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis and in a wind tunnel with a 3D printed model. CFD analysis has not, to our knowledge, been used before for seaplane testing, but the results of both methods were comparable. The previous year’s model was retested in the wind tunnel, and verified the recirculation previously experienced. However, the new model reduced drag and eliminated the recirculation through improved surface continuity and quality. Alternate designs were created and tested in SolidWorks Flow Simulation. Ultimately, none were found to provide notable improvement to the drag experienced by the fuselage.