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MODULE 2

TYPES AND FUNCTIONS OF WIND TUNNELS

Types And Functions Of Wind Tunnels: Classification and types, special problems of
testing in subsonic, transonic, supersonic and hypersonic speed regions, Layouts, sizing
and design parameters.

 The aerodynamic flow fields at very high Mach numbers experience a very high pressure,
temperature and density.

 Even, the temperature rise can be so high that the gaseous medium gets decomposed and
thereby the properties (specific heat, gas constant and specific heat ratio) can change as well.

 So, even at same free stream Mach number, different velocities can be obtained.

 Thus, the high Mach number flows where the behavior of the medium begins to change
significantly, are normally classified in terms their velocities: suborbital velocities speed (4-7
km/s), super orbital speed (8-12 km/s) and escape velocities (>13 km/s).

 Some of these aerodynamic test facilities are

 Low speed wind tunnel (continuous type; up to 40 m/s)

 High speed wind tunnel (intermittent/blow down type; Mach 3, 600m/s)

 Shock tunnel (impulse type; Mach 7, 2km/s)

 Free piston shock tunnel (impulse type, Mach 4-10, 5km/s)

 Expansion tube (impulse type, Mach 10, 10km/s)

1) Low Speed Wind Tunnel

 In general, the wind tunnels are the devices which provide an airstream flowing under controlled
conditions for external/internal flow simulations in the laboratory.
 The most fundamental experiments undertaken in the wind tunnel are the force/heat transfer
measurement and flow visualization on aerodynamic models.
 The flows generated in the test section of the tunnel may be laminar/turbulent, steady/unsteady etc.
The other features may be study of boundary layer separation, vortex flow generation etc.

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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 The low speed wind tunnels limit their speed to 50-60 m/s and based on the need, the tunnel may be
designed.
 Depending on the discharge of the air flow to atmosphere or recirculation of air, it is classified as
open or closed circuit wind tunnels

2. open/closed circuit wind tunnel

 In a closed-circuit wind tunnel, the high quality flow can be assured in the test section and power
requirement is less as compared to open circuit wind tunnel.
 However, it is not suitable for smoke flow visualization and incurs high capital/construction cost.
 An open circuit wind tunnel is more adaptive for flow visualization experiments because due to tis
direct connection with the atmosphere.
 In order to assure the flow quality in the test section, one needs to install special devices such as flow
straightener explicitly aligning the flow axially.
 Of course, it requires more power as compared to closed circuit wind tunnel.

Fig 2.1 Open and Closed Circuit Wind Tunnel

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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3.Wind tunnel components

The important components of the wind tunnel are listed below;
Motor/Fan Driven unit:
 This is the air supply unit that drives the air flow in the wind tunnel.
 Typically, the fan is axial/centrifugal type and the axial fan is a better choice in the closed circuit
tunnels since it produces a static pressure rise necessary to compensate for the total pressure loss in
the rest of the circuit.
 The fans with higher ratio of tip speed to axial velocity generally produce the required pressure rise
in a small blade area
 The wind tunnel fitted with blower are generally driven by a centrifugal impeller of squirrel—cage
type.
 While in operation, the fan draws air from the atmosphere through the honeycomb/screen section.
Settling chamber and flow straightener:
 It mainly comprises of honeycomb and screens as combination.
 The main function is to reduce the turbulence and straighten the flow only in the axial direction. In
principle, the air can enter to the tunnel from any directions.
 But, only the axial flow is desired in the test section.
 The main purpose of the screen is to reduce the turbulent intensity in the flow and not to allow any
unwanted objects to enter the tunnels
Contraction:
 The prime objective is to accelerate incoming flow from the settling chamber and supplies it to the
test section at desired velocity.
 This section essentially reduces the cross-sectional velocity variation and maintains the flow
uniformity.
 In general, small radius of curvature is used at the entry to this section and curvature of large radius is
considered at the exit of the contraction section
Test Section:
 It is the basic element of wind tunnel on which all other designs are generally made.
 All the aerodynamic models are mounted in the test section when the tunnel is operated with desired
flow velocity.
 Various shapes for the test section are considered for constructing the wind tunnel viz. hexagonal,
octagonal, rectangle etc.
 The test section is generally designed on the basis of utility and aerodynamic considerations since
cost of construction depends on the test section area.

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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Diffuser:

 It is basically a duct with increase in area attached downstream of the test section.
 After the test section, it is desired that the air must pass smoothly out of the test section
 So, this geometry is made to decrease the flow velocity and increase in pressure.
 In order to avoid flow reversal, the exit pressure should be higher than the atmospheric in case of open
circuit wind tunnel

4. High Speed Wind Tunnel

 Experimental facilities for supersonic and hypersonic flow regimes are different from those used at
subsonic speeds.
 In supersonic flows, the interest lies in simulating flow Reynolds number and the Mach numbers in
the test section of the tunnel.
 In addition to these parameters, the total energy content (i.e. enthalpy) of the flow also becomes
important at hypersonic speeds.
 The wind tunnels used in the Mach number range 1 to 5 are called as supersonic tunnels while the
tunnels used for higher Mach numbers (> 5) are called as hypersonic tunnels.
 The high speed tunnels can be of open/closed circuit type.
 The open circuit wind tunnel takes the air from atmosphere and rejects them to a vacuum chamber. In
contrast, the same air is re-circulated in a closed circuit wind tunnel.
 In the case of subsonic wind tunnels, experiments can be performed by running the tunnel
continuously.
 But, when the velocity of air in the test section increases, the power requirement becomes very high
because it is proportional to the cube of the velocity.
 Thus, in many cases, it is preferred to run high speed wind tunnels for a short duration and gather all
the experimental data in this short time period (~1-5s). So, such types of tunnels are called as blow
down tunnels.
 These tunnels operate intermittently using high pressure tanks and/or vacuum tanks.

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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a) Blow down wind Tunnel (Open circuit type)

Fig2.2 Blow down Wind Tunnel

 The high pressure chamber, vacuum section, nozzle and test section are few important components of
a blow down wind tunnel.
 The schematic diagram is shown in Since, the air from the high pressure chamber flows towards the
vacuum section, it is referred as pressure-vacuum tunnel.
 First, the air is taken from the atmosphere and after compression; it is stored in a tank.
Simultaneously, the low pressure section is evacuated by a vacuum pump
 Pressure regulator controls the air flow from reservoir to the settling chamber during the actual
experiment and maintains the desired constant pressure
 The nozzle expands the flow by increasing velocity and decreasing pressure and provides desired
Mach number in the test
 These blow down tunnels are inherent intermittent tunnels but bear many advantages over continuous
wind tunnels such as high Mach capability (up to 4), easy tunnel starting, large size test section, lower
construction/operating costs, superior design for propulsion experiments and smoke visualization.
 The limitations of the blow down tunnels are requirement of faster data acquisition system, noisy
operation and necessity of pressure regulator valves.
 The blow down tunnel can be of different types based on the driving pressure difference is achieved.
In one such tunnel, air expands from high pressure to the atmospheric pressure where low pressure
chamber is excluded (intermittent blow down tunnel).
 In other cases, the atmospheric air can expand up to a very low vacuum (intermittent in- draft wind
tunnel).
 Depending on the requirement of Mach number in the test section, the tunnel is chosen accordingly.

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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b) Continuous wind Tunnel (Closed circuit type)

 The major disadvantage of an open circuit wind tunnel is the test flow duration available for the
model.
 However, if the Mach number/velocity requirement is not too high, than continuous operation
of the blow down tunnel can be done by re-circulating the air.
 One more additional drier unit is also desired in the return passage to avoid condensation of re-
circulating air in the test section of the tunnel).
 In addition to the advantages of longer run times, this tunnel also provides good flow quality in
the test section and the noise level is also less.
 However, the high construction cost is the major disadvantage of this tunnel.

c) Shock Tunnel

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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 It consists of two major parts, the shock tube and the wind tunnel portion.
 The shock tube portion consists of a constant area tube separated by a diaphragm (generally,
metal) into regions of high and low pressures
 High and low pressure regions are called ‘driver tube’ and ‘driven tube’ respectively.
 The shock tube works on the principle of using a high-pressure gas in the driver tube to set up a
shock wave, which propagates into the low pressure gas in the driven tube at the instant of
diaphragm rupture.
 The propagating shock wave compresses and heats the low-pressure test gas in the driven tube
to a high pressure and temperature, and also imparts the test gas a high kinetic energy, with
which it starts moving at a supersonic Mach number behind the propagating shock wave.
 This shock wave ideally travels through the driven section at a constant velocity, and there
exists a region of steady supersonic flow of high temperature and pressure between the moving
driver/driven gas interface and the shock wave.
 The wind tunnel portion of the shock tunnel consists of a hypersonic nozzle that is attached to
the driven end of the shock tube, a test section at the exit of the nozzle where the measurements
are carried out, and a dump tank portion to accommodate the gas.
 The shocked high pressure/temperature gas from the shock tube is then expanded through the
hypersonic nozzle to the desired Mach number and velocity in the tunnel test section.
 The ability of the shock tube portion of the hypersonic shock tunnel to heat the test gas to the
conditions encountered in hypersonic flight makes it an attractive tool for hypersonic flow
research.
 The test flow duration in a shock tunnel is in the range of 1ms.

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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AERONAUTICAL WIND TUNNELS

1. High-Reynolds-Number Tunnels

It is often not practicable to obtain full-scale Reynolds numbers by use of a full-scale vehicle in an
experimental facility;

However, there are methods of increasing the Reynolds number with smaller tunnels and models.

a. Pressurization Technique.

 One of the oldest methods is to build a tunnel that can be pressurized.

 The NACA variable-density tunnel (VDT) and similar compressed-air tunnel at NPL in
England were pressure tunnels (VDT up to 20 atm) and were used to simulate high Reynolds
numbers
 These tunnels used an annular return duct, because this design required the minimum amount of
steel
 The reason for pressurization can be seen by examination of the equation of state for a perfect
gas.
 If one increases the pressure by a factor of 20, the density, and hence the Reynolds number, is
increased by a factor of 20.
 The shell cost for a given size will be greater but the proper comparison is the shell cost for
equal Reynolds number
 Necessary compressor equipment will add to the cost for pressurized tunnels.
 Operation of pressurized facilities involves additional time to change the pressure condition and
to access the model, which reduces productivity.

b. Working fluid

 For a given power input, the use of Freon 12 can increase the Mach number by a factor of
 2.5 and the Reynolds number by a factor of 3.6.
 Initial cost, cost of pumps, cost of the gas, and a method of making the test section habitable for
model changes are the problems.
 Recent recognition of detrimental effects on the environment from the use of Freon has led to
plans to use a different heavy gas, referred to as R-134a.7

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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c. Cryogenic tunnel.

 Although this tunnel is intended for transonic experiments, the same concept applies for a low-
speed tunnel.
 The NTF tunnel combines the ability to operate at cryogenic temperatures with the ability to
change pressure up to 9 atm
 The working fluid is nitrogen, and by injecting liquid nitrogen upstream of the fan, the gas is
cooled.
 By this technique it is possible to operate over a range of dynamic pressures and Reynolds
numbers at a constant temperature to the tunnel's stagnation pressure limit, similar to any
pressure tunnel.
 This sort of facility is very expensive both to build and to operate, but it does show what can be
achieved in a wind tunnel.

2. Free-Flight Tunnels

 In the 1930s several "free-flight" tunnels were built.

 These tunnels were of the open return type.
 They were arranged so that dimensionally and dynamically scaled models could be flown under
the influence of gravity.
 The tunnels could be tilted to set the angle of the air stream to match the glide path of the
model.
 The dynamic behavior of the model could be studied in these tunnels.
 Often control surfaces could be deflected by command through a trailing wire.
 The simulations in these tunnels are at very low Reynolds numbers, so care must be exercised
in extrapolating the results to much higher Reynolds number conditions.

3. Spin tunnels or Vertical Wind tunnels

 The tendency of some aircraft to enter a spin after a stall and the subsequent need to determine
actions to achieve recovery is an important parameter.
 The recovery from a spin is studied in a spin tunnel.
 This is, in most cases, a vertical wind tunnel with the air drawn upward by a propeller near the
top of the tunnel
Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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 Mostly these tunnels are open circuit with the air drawn in at the bottom and emitted at the top.
 Spin tunnels are also equipped with six component rotary balances to measure rotary rates at
various attitudes.

4. Stability tunnels

 In 1941 a stability tunnel was built at NASA Langley.

 This tunnel had two interchangeable test sections about 6 ft in size.17 One test section had a set
of rotating vanes that created a swirl in the airstream.
 The second test section was curved to simulate turning flight
 Similar results are obtained by using oscillating model techniques or free-flight experiments in
conventional tunnels.

5. Propeller tunnels

 Propeller tunnels are similar to conventional tunnels with the exception that they usually have
an open test section and a round cross section.
 Besides propeller experiments, this tunnel gave insight into the advantageous location of engine
nacelles relative to the wing and the design of cowls (NASA cowl) for radial engines to reduce
drag and increase cooling.

6. Propulsion tunnels

 Experimental evaluation of aircraft engines, either reciprocating or jet, requires simulation of

both flight velocity and the variation of atmospheric pressure and temperature.
 Since the engine must be operated in the tunnel, the exhaust gases must be removed from a
closed-circuit tunnel or an open circuit tunnel must be used.
 The altitude requirement necessitates pumps to provide the low density, and the lower
temperature at altitudes requires a refrigeration system.


7. Icing Tunnels

 It is a conventional low-speed closed return tunnel with the addition of a refrigeration system to
reduce the air temperature to -40°F.
 Atomizers upstream of the test section to produce water droplets that freeze.

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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 The shell of this tunnel is heavily insulated to help keep the tunnel cold.
 A novel aspect of this facility is that the fan must be run at idle speed during model changes to
prevent it from freezing.

8. Low-Turbulence Tunnels.

 These tunnels usually have a wide-angle diffuser just ahead of the settling chamber.
 In order to increase the size of the settling chamber without a corresponding increase in the
overall circuit dimensions.
 The large settling chamber has honeycombs and a larger than usual number of screens to damp
out turbulence, and its size allows for a larger contraction ratio to further reduce turbulence.
 Some low-turbulence tunnels of the closed return type have used 180" curved corners rather
than the usual two 90' turns.

9. Two-Dimensional Tunnels

 Two-dimensional tunnels are used primarily for evaluation of aerofoil sections.

 They have been built both as open circuit and closed return types.
 These tunnels have tall narrow test sections with height-to-width ratios of 2 or greater
 The tunnels are usually of the low-turbulence type and may be pressurized to increase the
Reynolds numbers.

Other Types of Tunnels

Automobile wind tunnels

 There are two distinct classes of wind tunnels involved in aerodynamic experiments on
automobiles.
 The one that with the external aerodynamic flow and with internal flow to the extent it has a
significant interaction with the external flow characteristics.
 All of the major automobile manufacturers worldwide either own or have regular access to
wind tunnels for such experiments of both model- and full-scale automobiles

Climatic Wind 'Tunnels

 The other class of wind tunnels are facilities that provide the capability to evaluate the

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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drive systems, air conditioners, door, and window seals under simulated hot- and cold-weather
environments and under arbitrarily chosen operating cycles.
 These facilities have capability to heat and cool the airstream, to simulate strong sun radiation
conditions, to provide simulated rain.
 The auto industry frequently refers to these tunnels as "climatic" or Environmental wind tunnel.

Aero acoustic wind tunnels

 Studies of flow-generated noise from submarines, ships, and other types of marine vehicles and
appendages and their wake distributions have long been a problem in the military world.
 Many general-purpose wind tunnels have been modified to include noise absorption materials
and other features to provide quieter environments -in which some aero acoustic work can be
carried out.

Water tunnels

 water tunnels are used in essentially the same way and under the same physical principles as
low-speed wind tunnels.
 Water tunnels support direct investigation of cavitation phenomena that cannot be done in a
wind tunnel. Water tunnels tend to be physically smaller than wind tunnels for achieving the
same Reynolds numbers.
 However, this apparent advantage is more than offset by the greater difficulty in having water
as the working fluid instead of air.

Layout Sizing and Design Parameters

 The overall aerodynamic objective for most wind tunnels is to obtain a flow in the test section
that is as near as possible to a parallel steady flow with uniform speed throughout the test
section
 It is almost always desired to obtain the largest size of the test section and the highest speed for
the available funds. High speed and large size are of course competing demands.
 The requirement for a facility to be a useful aero acoustic facility is that the background noise
level be sufficiently low.
 It is also the case that more sophisticated measurement techniques and instrumentation are
making it possible to obtain useful acoustic measurements in environments with higher
Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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background noise.

Basic Decisions:

Unit Reynolds Number:

 Issue in the sizing of a low-speed wind tunnel will be the achievable Reynolds number for the
models that can be accommodated.
 The equation for Reynolds number as given in both Chapters 1 and 2 is Re = p,V,D / µ.
 We will choose a Mach number of 0.3 as the upper limit of Mach number for the free stream.
 The maximum for V, will be 330 ft/sec, or 100 m/s, and the "unit Reynolds number" will be -
2.13 X l0^6 ft-1, or 6.98 X l^6 m-1.
 For vehicles including aircraft and racing automobiles that can operate at speeds of Mach 0.3 or
greater in the atmosphere, test articles would have to be at least full scale to achieve operational
Reynolds numbers in an atmospheric wind tunnel.
 This is either impossible or very costly for many vehicles.
 Example of the contribution of component testing is the development of aerofoil profiles for
various purposes that are then incorporated into three-dimensional wing designs
 Widely used method is to test half models since many vehicles have a plane of symmetry.
 Both the lift curve slope and maximum lift coefficient are affected by Mach numbers as low as
0.2.
 This tends to require a tunnel speed approximately equal to the full-scale landing speed. In an
unpressurized tunnel using air,
 This means that the Reynolds number ratio of model to full scale is approximately equal to the
size ratio between the scale model and the aircraft.
 For vehicles that operate in the atmosphere at speeds such that the Mach number is less than
0.3, the operational Reynolds number can be duplicated in an atmospheric wind tunnel with a
scaled model.
 The operating Reynolds number can be obtained using a three-eighths- scale model with an
atmospheric tunnel test speed of 160 mph.
 For marine vehicle testing, it is necessary to compare the properties of water and air and
consider the differences in typical vehicle speeds.
 The ratio of the kinematic viscosity of air to the kinematic viscosity of water at a temperature of
15°C is about 13.

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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 A test of a marine vehicle in air at equal size would require an air flow speed 13 times greater
than water flow speed to obtain equal Reynolds numbers.

Test-Section Size

 This is commonly the starting point in the design of a wind tunnel. The choice will follow from
considerations of the desired Reynolds number capability, the budget for tunnel construction,
and the costs for tunnel operation and tunnel users as reflected particularly in required model
characteristics

Airplane Models

 For a mean geometric chord of 1 ft and aspects ratio of 8-9 for an aircraft wing, the span is
between 8 and 9 ft
 The maximum span should be less than about 0.8 of the tunnel width due to effects of tunnel
walls on the flow,' which leads to a width of 10-11.25 ft.
 Wall correction factor will be minimum for a width-to-height ratio of about 1.5
 Tunnels have been built in the 7 X 10- to 8 X 124 size range with maximum speed in the range
of 20G300 knots.

Automobiles

 A key issue for automobile tunnels is the blockage based on frontal area.
 The flow around automobiles is often more characteristic of "bluff bodies" than of "streamlined
bodies."
 This means that there is almost always a sizable region of separated flow.
 The wind tunnel test section needs to be sufficiently long so that these separated flow regions
"close" before encountering the end of the test section and the entry of the diffuser.
 Large influence on drag will exist
 In addition, the length- to-width ratio of automobiles is greater than for aircraft while the width-
to-height ratio is much less.
 Slotted-wall test sections have been found to provide good results with larger blockage than
either completely open or completely closed test sections

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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Open or Closed Return

 Almost all of the small research tunnels are of the nonreturn type, usually because of the
lower construction costs.
 Power consumption for such tunnels is usually not a significant factor in overall cost.
 Although there exist some larger tunnels of nonreturn design, most of the larger tunnels are of
the return type, the majority being single return.
 Open jet tunnels will have a lower energy ratio than a closed jet wind tunnel.
 If the tunnel has an external balance, the balance usually has to be shielded from the air jet and
one of the boundaries tends to be closed.
 An open throat gives easy access to the model in small tunnels.
 The jet length is usually kept short to reduce losses, there is the possibility that high-lift models
may deflect the wake enough to miss the collector or that the wake of a bluff body will interact
with the collector.
 An open jet provides easier access for traversing devices to move instrumentation to any point
in the flow
 These tunnels usually have a sealed room or plenum around the test section. When running, the
plenum will be at the same static pressure as the test section

Wind Tunnel Construction:

 The structural loading on the various sections of a low-speed wind tunnel are usually less
critical than the strength needed to avoid vibration.
 The tunnel may be examined to withstand the maximum stagnation pressure with a safety factor
of perhaps 4.0
 Since vibration of parts of the wind tunnel contributes to noise, discomfort of the tunnel crew,
and possible fatigue failures and usually adds to the turbulence in the wind stream, it is good
practice to have the natural frequencies of all tunnel parts well above any exciting frequencies.
 Flat panels can be checked with a simple shaker motor, and by means of a vibrometer or a
similar device the natural frequencies can be determined
 Any below the maximum fan rpm should be increased by stiffening the part. A special effort
should be made to keep vibration out of the test section and balance supports.
 All types of materials are used for tunnel construction: wood, plywood, thin metal, heavy metal
(for pressure tunnels), cast concrete, granite, and plastics.
 It is highly advisable in fact that even 25-hp tunnels be cooled.
Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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 Many tunnels have an opening where cooler outside air can be blown into the tunnel during
model changes.
 Some large metal tunnels spray water over the outside to cool the tunnel.
 Fan blades for low-speed tunnels are frequently made of wood, although modified aircraft
propellers are sometimes used with trailing-edge flaps to provide a uniform pressure rise across
the fan disk. Wood blades have excellent fatigue life. The wood for fan blades must be straight
grained and knot free. Damage to wood blades can be repaired by scarfing in a piece of wood.

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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Power Losses in a Wind Tunnel

The total power loss in a wind tunnel may be split into the following components.

 Losses in cylindrical parts

 Losses in guide vanes at the corner (in closed circuit tunnels)
 Losses in diffuser
 Losses in contraction cone
 Losses in honeycomb, screens, and so on
 Losses in test-section (jet losses in case of open jet)
 Losses in exit in case of open circuit tunnel

Calculation of Percentage Energy Loss in the Various Parts of Wind Tunnel

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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Energy Ratio:
The ratio of the energy of the airstream at the test-section to the input energy to the driving
unit is a measure of the efficiency of a wind tunnel. It is nearly always greater than unity,
indicating that the amount of stored energy in the Windstream is capable of doing work at a
higher rate than what it is doing in a wind tunnel, before being brought to rest. The energy
ratio ER is in the range 3 to 7, for most closed-throat wind tunnels. The energy ratio is
defined as

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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Losses in Cylindrical Sections:

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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Losses in Convergent Cone

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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Losses in Diffuser:

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
Download & Share VTU Connect App Now From Google Play Store
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Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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Honeycomb:

Wind tunnels have honeycombs in the settling chamber, in order to improve the flow quality
in the test-section. Usually, the honeycombs are made of octagonal, hexagonal, square, or
circular cells with their length five to ten times their width (diameter). Some typical
honeycombs used in wind tunnels are shown in Figure 3.7. The values of loss coefficient K,
shown in Figure 3.7, are for honeycombs with a (length/diameter)=6.0, and equal tube areas.
The loss in the honeycombs is usually less than five percent of the total loss of a tunnel.

Guide Vanes:
In wind tunnel design, it is not practical to make the corners of the return passage so gradual
that the air can follow the corner walls with very small pressure loss. Such corners would
require more space and more construction cost. Abrupt corners are therefore used, and their
losses are kept to a minimum by means of corner or guide vanes. The losses in guide vanes
are due to
 The skin friction of the vanes (approximately 33 percent of the total corner loss)
 Rotational component due to change of flow direction (rest of the corner loss)
Abrupt corners without guide vanes may show a loss of even 100 percent of velocity head.
Well-designed corners with guide vanes can reduce the loss by 15 to 20 percent. Here,
basically the corner is divided into many vanes of high aspect ratio, defined as the ratio of
vane gap G to height h, as shown in Figure 3.8.
Commonly employed corner vanes have an aspect ratio of 6. In general, this criterion defines
the vane gap because the height is known. Some typical vane profiles are shown in Figure
3.9, with the loss experienced under test conditions at Reynolds number around 40,000.

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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Losses due to Open -Jet Test- Section:

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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That is, the jet loss for a open test-section is approximately ten times that for a closed test-
section. Furthermore, for open test-section operation, due consideration must be given to the
possibility of pulsations similar to the vibrations in an organ pipe arising at the jet boundaries.
This phenomenon, believed to be a function of jet length, can be quite serious. The simplest
solution generally applied to overcome this problem is to provide vents in the diffuser, as
shown in Figure 3.10, which connects it to the atmosphere. Such an arrangement is called a
breather.

Screens (Wire Gauze):

Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
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Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
Download & Share VTU Connect App Now From Google Play Store
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Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
Download & Share VTU Connect App Now From Google Play Store
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Prepared by.
Vishwaretha K R
Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,
Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Moodabidri
Download & Share VTU Connect App Now From Google Play Store