The Aerospace Department Wind Tunnels lab is used for both academic instruction and university affiliated research and it contains four main wind tunnels and a small water tunnel (under construction) for the visualization purposes.

Figure 1: 2D subsonic wind tunnel

Figure 1 shows an open circuit tunnel with a 20 cm x 48 cm closed test section. A 4 horsepower motor produces a maximum velocity of 15 m/s through the test section. Turbulence levels have been determined to be < 5% throughout the velocity range. Mainly it is used for pressure measurements around two dimensional objects.

Figure 2: Open section wind tunnel

Figure 2The open section wind tunnel has a 75 cm x 75 cm test section with 50 horsepower motor produces a maximum velocity 25 m/s through the test section. It is mainly used for the forces and pressure measurements of three dimensional objects inside and outside the test section.

Figure 3: 3D subsonic wind tunnel

Figure 3 shows the 3D subsonic wind tunnel which is an open circuit tunnel equipped with 100 horsepower motor and produces velocities up to 45 m/sec. It has a test section of dimensions 0.8 m x 1.2 m x 2.5 m equipped with three component wind tunnel balance capable of measuring lift force, drag force and pitching moment.

Figure 4: Different experiments have been executed in the Aerodynamic lab

Purpose

• Train students on basic fluid mechanics and aerodynamics experiments.
• Study of the flow field about airplane and streamlined shapes in subsonic speeds
• Pressure, velocity and aerodynamic force measurement techniques as well as flow visualization techniques.
• Validation of the numerical and theoretical results 

Wind Tunnels: