Wind Tunnels Laboratory

Directed by Dr. Colin P. Britcher and Dr. Drew Landman

The Wind Tunnel Laboratory houses three different wind tunnels. The most commonly used one being the Closed-Circuit Low-Speed Wind Tunnel. There is also an Open-Circuit Low-Speed Tunnel with 6" Test Section. Finally, the laboratory houses a Hypersonic Wind Tunnel. This page concentrates on the Closed-Circuit Low-Speed Wind Tunnel.

Closed-Circuit Wind Tunnel Facility Description:
(Supplied by AeroLab LLC, Laural, MD c. 1971)

Used for undergraduate and graduate instruction and research in;

• Aerodynamic, aeronautical, automotive , and architectural fields
• Measurement techniques

General Specifications:

• 125 H.P. motor (variable frequency AC Drive)
• Computer Control and Data Acquisition

High-Speed Test Section:

• 3 by 4 feet, 8 feet long, 55 m/s (123 mph)
• Turntable and pitch mechanism (2DOF)

Low-Speed Test Section:

• 7 by 8 feet, 7 feet long, 12  m/s (26 mph)
• Computer-controlled 3-axis traverse  

Test Programs:

• Ship airwake/rotor interaction study (S. Doane)
• Road vehicle ground wake study (J. Chen)
• Transport aircraft wake study(B. Sahin, H. Yavas)
• MagLev Vehicle aerodynamics (M. Wells, B.Renaud)
• MAE 621, MAE 406, MAE 407 classes (Instrumentation)

Instrumentation:

Pressure System:

• 80-channel high-speed pressure scanners.

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) 

• Evaluates velocity of microscopic smoke particles in a plane illuminated by a pulsed laser light sheet
• 2-3 velocity components, 1-875-3.5 fps

Hot Wire Anemometer (HWA)

• Infers velocity from cooling of very fine heated wires placed in flow
• 1-,2-, 3-components, frequency response >50khz

Hypersonic Wind Tunnel	Wing and Probe Assembly in High-Speed Section
Low-Speed Section and the Converging Nozzle	Data Acquisition Computers and NI Hardware