NASA tests pressure-sensitive paint on a large freely moving wing

NASA reports that it used unsteady pressure-sensitive paint for the first time on a large-scale, freely moving model in a low-oxygen wind tunnel environment. The test at Langley Research Center combined the coating with a Benchmark Supercritical Wing, a standard model used to improve computer simulations. The paint changes brightness as airflow pressure changes, allowing high-speed cameras to capture pressure data across the wing. NASA says the demonstration enables upcoming tests on flexible aircraft models designed to bend during flight. The benchmark wing represents a research model rather than a particular aircraft.