Closed Loop Wind Tunnel

A subsonic wind tunnel was designed and built for the University of Texas at Tyler laboratories as a senior design project. The students tested different models and matched their theoretical calculations to the experimental wind tunnel values. The wind tunnels components are made from half inch Birch Plywood because of its accessibility and durability. The test section has a plexiglass door for a clear visual of the test model. The tunnel is 106 inches long with supports that allow us to connect a return section made by another senior design group (HEC24) making it a closed loop tunnel. The design consists of four major sections connected by removable bolts for ease of assembly, disassembly, and transport. The fan is exhaust and is 2418 CFM, 400W, and has a speed controller. Load cells and a DAQ (Data acquisition tool) are used to measure the drag and lift force in LabVIEW. Load cells are mounted on a 3D printed slider mechanism allowing movement in the x direction for drag. Both load cells rated to measure force between 0 and 5 kgf in tension and the vertical tension rod measuring lift force is also the airfoil mount. According to computational fluid dynamic simulations, wind velocities of at least 50 MPH occur in the test chamber. From testing, the max wind speed in the test chamber is 22 mph. More experimental data coming soon when purchase orders arrive (manometer) and the LabVIEW is fully functional. Although the final assembly is complete, further testing needs to be done to calculate for different testing models. Computational fluid dynamics simulations were performed to reenact what the test model should be experiencing in the wind tunnel. These simulations provide theoretical data that can be compared to the actual data once testing is complete.