2012 SURF: Wind Tunnel Design and Construction

Design and Construction of a Wind Tunnel for the Purpose of Testing Wind Turbine Performance

Undergraduate Research Fellow: Mark Jacobs, Mechanical Engineering

Mentor: Dr. Jim Masi, Engineering Department

The purpose of this research is to research, design and build a full-scale wind tunnel in order to continue testing the comparison of the operation, efficiency, and modeling of two types of wind turbines: Horizontal, and Shrouded.

A wind tunnel consists of several distinct sections or stages. Moving in the direction of the airflow, the first section is the air straightener. The air straightener is a honeycomb screen that redirects turbulent air from its various entry vectors to a vector roughly in line with the long axis of the wind tunnel, thus “straightening” it. The next section is the contraction cone, named for its shape and purpose; it is meant to contract the low velocity air entering the tunnel into a smaller volume of high velocity air with laminar flow. The test section is the chamber in which the wind turbine models will be placed. It is made of transparent materials to allow observation and data acquisition.

Finally, the diffuser section is after the test section. The diffuser performs in an opposite fashion to the contraction cone. It widens out from the test chamber to the fan housing allowing the high velocity air to transition to a larger volume and lower velocity. By controlling this transition any turbulence that might create drag by back flowing into the test chamber can be diffused.

Start Slideshow

Wind Tunnel 1: Prototype The wind tunnel was designed to have greater test capacity than the prototype. View Full-Size	Wind Tunnel 2: Contraction Cone 12 identically bent steel rods created a symmetrical shape for contraction cone. View Full-Size
Wind Tunnel 3: Diffuser Section The diffuser section transitions from a square shape to a larger circular shape. View Full-Size	Wind Tunnel 4: Air Straightener Light fixture coaming was cut to fit in the opening of the contraction cone. View Full-Size
Wind Tunnel 5: Test Chamber The test chamber was built from quarter-inch clear acrylic sheets set in a frame View Full-Size	Wind Tunnel 6: Completed Tunnel The final components were assembled, painted, and finished with hardware. View Full-Size