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UT Munich uses Creaform's HandySCAN 3D for measurement and research projects within the chair for aerospace systems
The chair for aerospace systems is a chair of integration in the field of aeronautics in its entirety, as well as its integration into civil and military aviation. In addition to the design of civil and military aircraft, she focuses on the derivation and analysis of aviation boundary conditions as well as the evaluation of aircraft against these boundary conditions and requirements. As the chair of the faculty for aviation, astronautics and geodesy within the Technical University of Munich , the chair for aerospace systems covers the complex system of aeronautical engineering in the subfields of teaching and research.
The research project
As part of the European research project FLEXOP ( Flutter Free Envelope Expansion for Economical Performance Improvement ), new methods are developed and validated for lightweight and therefore flexible wing structures, for the design of active and passive systems for damping oscillations. Within the framework of Horizon 2020, the European Union's research and innovation program, industrial and research partners from six different nations are working on control algorithms, actuators and design optimization, as well as on unmanned flight demonstrations with wings of 7 m wingspan and turbine engines on which the developed approaches will be tested.
Several sensors installed on the flight demonstrator, such as the pitot tube for measuring flight speed, had to be reoriented as precisely as possible in the direction of flight, in order to carry out error-free measurements. In order to take into account errors in the measurement data, caused by an installation angle of a deviation of 0 °, this angle had to be determined very precisely through 3D scanning. The challenge is that the relative angle to the nose of the aircraft must be determined and the pitot tube attached to the tip of the nose arrow is approximately 0.5m long.
The aircraft's fuselage segment was scanned on the frontal part (30 cm ) with Creaform's HandySCAN 3D scanner , in order to generate the measurements allowing a reference plane to be determined. The nose arrow was then scanned and used to determine the exact installation angle. Without the 3D scanner, it would have been very difficult to get precise measurements. The HandySCAN 3D allowed for flexible operation, to deliver results quickly and to provide an accuracy of 0.025mm. Before Creaform's 3D scanner, such measurements had to be performed with expensive photogrammetric systems.
The advantages of 3D scanning
A 3D scanner allows a multitude of different measurements to be performed and enables many possible applications for the Institute of Aviation and Astronautics at TU Munich, which cannot be fully supported by other systems. Potential applications include the digitization of parts and components with the aim of creating precisely matched accessories using 3D printing processes. In addition, it is possible to define the profile geometries of the aircraft wings or propellers purchased. This improves the accuracy and simplicity of some measurements and research. “The ability to scan relatively small parts with the HandySCAN 3D, as well as larger structures, such as wings with spans of several meters under static loads, using the MaxSHOT 3D camera , convinced our chair. of Creaform systems. The digitization of the components up to the complete aircraft allowed us to quantify uncertainties during the construction and production process. We can take into account their effects during flight tests, for the validation of aircraft design simulations ”, explains Prof. Dr-Ing Mirko Hornung, Chair of Aviation Systems at the Faculty of Aviation, Astronautics and Geodesy at UT Munich.
Experiences with the system have been consistently positive. Component acquisition and measurement can be done quickly, even by inexperienced personnel. It is therefore also possible to integrate these technologies in a future university internship, during which the students will perform the measurement tasks.
History of the Chair for Aerospace Systems of the Faculty of Aviation, Astronautics and Geodesy at the Technical University of Munich
Thanks to the initiative of the ten holders of the Institute of Aviation and Aeronautics at the Technical University, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harry O. Ruppe, the Endowed Chair for Aeronautical Technology was founded on September 18, 1989. At the start of the winter semester 1989-1990, Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Gero Madelung, who worked for many years in the management of Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm GmbH, took over the chair as first professor. After 5 years, the chair officially affiliated with the Technical University of Munich After the departure of Prof. Madelung, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dieter Schmitt was given the post of lecturer in the summer of 1996. Since the departure of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dieter Schmitt in September 2002, the chair was temporarily headed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Horst Baier. Since January 2010, the former chair for aeronautical technology has been headed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Mirko Hornung under the name of Chair for Aerospace Systems.
Creaform 3D scanner for the aviation and aerospace industry
The HandySCAN 3D scanner, along with other measurement systems from Creaform, are used by aerospace companies around the world for many applications. These include quality control / testing, aerodynamic / stress analyzes, manufacturing of original parts and restoration of worn parts, reverse engineering (assembly / maintenance / repair / overhaul, gas turbines, engine compartments , nacelles, cockpits), MRO and damage assessment, creation of prototypes, adaptation of tools and molds, as well as the design and engineering of components and assembly for aircraft.
Creaform's HandySCAN 3D scanner fulfills the requirements of the Boeing Service Letter and is also listed in the Airbus Technical Equipment Manual, as well as in the Company's Structural Repair Manual.
