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Recently, there has been a strong emphasis on aerodynamic and aeroacoustic wind tunnel testing of automobiles. While significant level resources have been spent on investigating aerodynamics, the methodology has not changed appreciably since the beginning of aerodynamics as a science. Over the past decade, a number of global flow diagnostic techniques have been developed that drastically increase the quality and quantity of data from wind tunnel testing. One of these technologies is the use of pressure sensitive luminescent coatings, known as pressure-sensitive paint, a method which has matured considerably since its inception and is now used extensively in aerospace applications with good results. The goal of this research is to implement this technology in the full scale testing of high performance automotive vehicles. This paper discusses the details of a preliminary test, such as technique, paint formulation, camera and lighting hardware, and data reduction and analysis.

The first space flight cryogenic flexible diode heat pipes (CFDHPs) were developed and verified under micro-gravity conditions on the Space Shuttle during STS-94 (July 1997) and the previous, minimum mission STS-83 (March 1997). The heat pipe working fluids were oxygen (with an operating range of 60 to 145 Kelvin) and methane (95 - 175 Kelvin). The heat pipes were verified as part of the Cryogenic Flexible Diode Heat Pipe (CRYOFD) flight experiment. CRYOFD was the third and fourth flights of the Hitchhiker based Cryogenic Test Bed (CTB). CRYOFD was managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Phillips Research Site with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) co-sponsoring the experiment, the Air Force's Space Test Program (STP) and GSFC's Hitchhiker (HH) group provided the Shuttle integration and support. Jackson and Tull (J&T) and Swales Aerospace, Inc. (SAI) executed the program as a Phase II SBIR under the AFRL.