Science Pictures

Numerical Simulations on Kelvin 40

Numerical simulation of the flow around Kelvin40
(DAAP - Computation: Eric Garnier, Pictures: Sylvain Gaultier)

Marc Newson has designed furniture and household objects for a wide range of companies (www.marc-newson.com). But he also has a passion for aeronautics...

Given carte blanche for an exhibition in the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain (www.fondation.cartier.fr), Marc Newson created Kelvin 40, the personal jet. You can see it in the Fondation Cartier, 261, boulevard Raspail, Paris until May 2nd, 2004.

Of course, K40 is a model, a sculpture, just for us to enjoy. Yet, its jet engine is a real one. Yet... well, actually, it did have an aerodynamic life... Not in the sky, but in the computers of ONERA's Applied Aerodynamics Department.

K40 has performed various flight configurations in numerical simulations. Iso Mach lines, pressure maps, streamlines have been computed to map the load distribution on the plane. Visible tracks of invisible forces on a virtual plane !

Eventually, K40 went through flight situation, in a windtunnel. The experiment involved a real model (50 centimeters wide), on which air really flew (at about 75 meters per second).

By Sylvain Gaultier (ONERA's webmaster)

Kelvin 40 skin mesh,
based on CAD data
(large picture)

Slice image of the space lattice
in which the flow will be calculated
(Euler equations)
(large picture)

Local Mach numbers
around Kelvin 40
(large picture)

 
Local Mach numbers
around Kelvin 40
(large picture)

Last Update: February 23, 2004 - © ONERA 2009 - Terms of use