The present paper deals with a study of very small-scale open-loop wind tunnel design and test. To verify the proposed design criteria, an open-circuit small-scale wind tunnel was built and tested. The designed wind tunnel is composed by a settling chamber, a contraction section, a test section, a diffuser as well as a fan. The test chamber has a squared cross section of 5 x 5 cm and an on-design flow velocity of about 6 m/s. Particle Image Velocimetry was used to measure flow-field and flow main characteristics. Turbulence Intensity at different test chamber cross-sections was determined. The measured turbulence level was about 0.4 % at the test section entrance. A small increase in the turbulence intensity was registered along the test section. The obtained results were acceptable for a wind tunnel of that scale. Therefore, this wind tunnel may be used, for example, to test the flow-field around aerofoils. A preliminary test on a NACA 0012 aerofoil was carried out. The result proved to be compatible with the aerodynamics theory as well as the scientific literature. Thus, the wind tunnel results may be used to calibrate and verify Computational Fluid Dynamics mathematical models.
Small-Scale Open-Circuit Wind Tunnel: Design Criteria, Construction and Calibration
Brusca S.;Famoso F.;Galvagno A.;
2017-01-01
Abstract
The present paper deals with a study of very small-scale open-loop wind tunnel design and test. To verify the proposed design criteria, an open-circuit small-scale wind tunnel was built and tested. The designed wind tunnel is composed by a settling chamber, a contraction section, a test section, a diffuser as well as a fan. The test chamber has a squared cross section of 5 x 5 cm and an on-design flow velocity of about 6 m/s. Particle Image Velocimetry was used to measure flow-field and flow main characteristics. Turbulence Intensity at different test chamber cross-sections was determined. The measured turbulence level was about 0.4 % at the test section entrance. A small increase in the turbulence intensity was registered along the test section. The obtained results were acceptable for a wind tunnel of that scale. Therefore, this wind tunnel may be used, for example, to test the flow-field around aerofoils. A preliminary test on a NACA 0012 aerofoil was carried out. The result proved to be compatible with the aerodynamics theory as well as the scientific literature. Thus, the wind tunnel results may be used to calibrate and verify Computational Fluid Dynamics mathematical models.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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