NASA "Hershey Bar" Test for Aerodynamically Strong Wings

Engineers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center tested a composite structure, known as the 'Hershey Bar' test article, by exposing it to increasing weight loads. The purpose of the structure is to test and validate ways of developing flexible wings that are structurally and aerodynamically strong. This testing will help engineers prepare for testing of the larger, passing aeroelastic tailored wing, which is scheduled for 2017.

Transcript

00:00:01 [ Music ] >> The purpose of this test is to test the 'Hershey Bar' test article. As we load the wing, it's going to bend and twist, and so we're going to look at what happens to the test article under load, bend it down, bend it up, and then do a torsion load. Today we're testing a composite structure, which we refer to as the 'Hershey Bar' test article. This test article is a representative test article of the larger Passive Aero-elastic Tailored wing, which we're going to be testing next summer. Okay, go ahead and add ten pounds.

00:00:42 What's unique about this composite structure is that it has tow-steer composite laminates on the upper and lower surface. This type of construction allows the wing to be passively aero-elastically tailored for aerodynamic loads. Add ten pounds. [ Music ] >> The purpose of this test is to investigate the bend-twist coupling of this particular composite structure. The overall goal of the project is to make more flexible wings with improved structural and aero-dynamic performance.

00:01:30 [ Music ] >> Stop photogrammetry and FOSS recording.