Aeronautical Engineering Consulting Services
DARcorporation has been offering aeronautical engineering software and consulting services since 1991. Our projects include single and multi-engine propeller and jet powered aircraft, Business Jets, Very Light Jets (VLJ), Kit, LSA and Experimental Category aircraft, VTOL combat force insertion vehicles, VTOL aircraft, UAV's for civil and military applications and hybrid air/ground vehicles.
Experience in the design, detailed analysis and building of prototypes gives DARcorporation a unique advantage over other companies, since we can go from initial design all the way through full size prototype manufacturing. The unique tools we developed for design and analysis make DARcorporation the best choice for any new or existing aeronautical project. DARcorporation engineers can advise on what the best materials are for your design and what the best configuration is. We will work with you to design and optimize your aircraft for performance, manufacturability and cost.
Aerodynamic Design & Analysis
We can design to LSA, U.S. Experimental Category, U.S. FAR 23, FAR 25, U.S. MIL SPEC requirements. Our projects include single and multi-engine propeller and jet powered aircraft; Business Jets, Very Light Jets (VLJ); Kit, LSA and Experimental Category aircraft; VTOL combat force insertion vehicles; VTOL aircraft; UAV's for civil and military applications and hybrid air/ground vehicles.
We begin every project with a careful review of objectives and existing data and then offer an assessment that includes project cost projection and time line. Our engineers can use your conceptual sketches and specifications to produce a complete design. Or, if you need a review of an existing design, we will analyze your design and provide you a documented projection of performance and cost of your aircraft vehicle and perform a detailed comparative analysis of your competitor's product, including weaknesses and strengths.
Our years of experience, coupled with a practice of doing "trial and error" of airplane designs on our computers, ensures that you will not be surprised by major mistakes on the production floor or in flight testing. Our disciplined approach to designing, analyzing, building and testing airplanes will ensure a successful product.
Structural Design & Analysis
Finite Element Analysis (FEA), coupled with analytical methods when necessary, is usually used to carry out structural analysis on strength, stiffness, elastic stability, dynamic modes and responses, and flutter, etc. Femap/NEi Nastran is used to model and analyze the structure, which can be made out of steel, aluminum, glass fiber and/or carbon fiber or any combination thereof. Load cases are based on LSA, U.S. Experimental Category, U.S. FAR 23, FAR 25, U.S. MIL SPEC requirements for load factors. Aerodynamic loads in the form of pressure distribution from Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) or experimental data are mapped onto the finite element model. Other types of loads (thermal, inertial, etc) are also included to account for various extreme load cases. Stresses, deformations, buckling factors, natural frequencies, etc are inspected against possible structural failure modes. Fastened and bonded joints are also analyzed. Fatigue analysis is carried out too to ensure service life. As the output, the structural analysis yields material comparison/selection, material thickness, composite layup schedule and optimized structural configuration. Detailed CAD for FEA is generated in Siemens NX and can be translated into other CAD formats. DARcorporation engineers can produce 3-D solid CAD drawings and illustrations for business plans, parts production, assembly, and quality control.
Structural Review
Upon review of many existing airplane designs, DAR engineers have discovered serious problems with longitudinal and lateral stability of the airplane. Other airplanes had serious stall and spin recovery issues. All of these problems were due to insufficient analysis in the initial design stage. We have also observed structural design, analysis and manufacturing methods that did not meet the rigorous standards demanded by fight vehicles. The outcome was airplanes with serious weight and balance issues and structural defects. All of these problems could have been avoided if adequate engineering had been performed prior to fabrication and if the prototypes were built according to the appropriate flight vehicle standards.
Prototyping & Manufacturing
DARcorporation can design, analyze and build the structure, whether it is made out of composites, metal or a combination of both. We will select materials and provide layup schedules for composites. We will analyze strength, stiffness, elastic stability, flutter and overall system dynamics. DARcorporation engineers have worked with many unconventional designs including experimental airplanes, flying cars and UAVs. Our designs are optimized for best performance based on results from CFD, structural analysis and wind tunnel testing. In addition to designing your vehicle, we will keep us in close involvement in every step of its fabrication and assembly, thereby assuring that "what we designed is what you fly". We can perform static load, dynamic normal modes, flutter and flight tests to ensure that your airplane does what we say it will do.
Wind Tunnel Testing
As part of our aeronautical design and analysis consulting services, DARcorporation performs wind tunnel and water tunnel testing, analysis and management. We have extensive experience with many types and sizes of wind & water tunnel testing programs and have access to the experimental facilities at The University of Kansas, Wichita State University and The University of Washington.
Our team of highly skilled aeronautical engineers can test and analyze models in subsonic and transonic flow regimes. We can conduct flow visualization tests on models and provide qualitative assessments. We will also analyze stability & control and drag data derived from wind tunnel tests. We can test models ranging from 6 inches to 6 feet, using in-house test stands fully integrated with cutting-edge data acquisition systems to collect data in all six degrees of freedom. DARcorporation will plan and manage all aspects of modeling, testing and data analysis. We will provide the perfect liaison with wind tunnel model manufacturing companies and perform model accuracy inspection.
Proposal & Rates
Please Contact Dr. Willem Anemaat for additional information or a detailed proposal. Your detailed proposal will include cost and calendar schedule and estimated man-hours per task. This will be provided at no cost or obligation.
