Ames Fluid Mechanics Lab (FML)
The Fluid Mechanics Lab (FML) at NASA’s Ames Research Center is home to several experimental facilities, including small-scale subsonic wind tunnels, a low-speed water channel, and a laser optics lab. The purpose of the FML is to enable various visualization techniques to optimize the design of aircraft and allow for more efficient, cost-effective vehicles. The FML includes technology advances such as evaluations with pressure-sensitive paint for 21st century wind tunnel environments.
Focus Areas and Capabilities
The Fluid Mechanics Lab (FML) at NASA's Ames Research Center is dedicated to the understanding of how fluids behave and interact, especially in the presence of solid boundaries. The FML has facilities, tools, and techniques to measure and visualize fluid flow phenomenon to further the science of aerophysics. Recent significant technologies developed include: 1) Air-to-Air Background Oriented Schlieren (AirBOS) which visualizes interacting shock waves of supersonic aircraft in flight; and 2) Unsteady Pressure Sensitive Paint (uPSP) which allows measurement and visualization of fluctuating pressures with high spatial resolution on wind tunnel test articles.
