Future Test Needs of U.S. National Wind Tunnels for NASA's Aeronautics Test Program: An Approach for Mapping Ground Test Facility Usage Projections into Capability Projections

摘要

Forecasting future needs for NASA's portfolio of national-class wind tunnels is challenging due to the uncertainties involved in predicting the multiple factors driving wind tunnel utilization, and the subsequent need to understand facility-specific estimates by test capability. To help NASA's Aeronautics Test Program with estimating the overall need for wind tunnel capacity over the next several years, the RAND Corporation has developed a "Future Needs Framework" (FNF) that maps facility-specific demand to required capabilities.