GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur

Design and Development of wind tunnel

Mr. Shyam Raut, Mr. Mohit Zanjad, Mr. Hrushikesh Siddhye, Mr. Prajwal Thote

Department of Mechanical Engineering, G.H. Raisoni College of, Nagpur

Abstract:

Wind tunnels are derived to work most specifically in the field of automotive, submarine, and
aero industries. This results in the importance of wind tunnels and their comparison with
theoretical results. The dominance of aerodynamic characteristics explains in a wind tunnel.
Previous research primarily focuses on results that are as close to accurate but this requires
thousands of dollars of equipment and a large size of the workspace. This motivated us to
work on a small-scale model of wind Tunnel which not only saves the cost but also the
workspace. We used the previous research data to compare and study it. This work implies
towards design and development of educational wind tunnels for college workshops, it aims to
study the airfoil selection for various aeromodelling competitions, the study focuses on the
design of low-subsonic type of wind tunnel as Mach number and calculation of forces acting
object in the test section. The main parameters to calculate are drag force and lift force which
are acting on an object in the test section, by using load cell arrangement. For size
constraints, we defined the test section as 60*30*30 of a cubic centimeter. And from that
keeping maximum velocity in test section 20 m/sec, we calculated other parameters.

Keywords: aerodynamic, Mach number, drag force, lift force

1. Introduction:

One of the most integrated and highly iterative processes or design testing in Formula 1 is done in
wind tunnels every surface and every calculation with referring to boundary conditions multiple
iterations of results are calculated through wind tunnels. The engineering applications with high
accuracy and impressive performance, such as ships, submarines, aircraft, missiles, vehicles,
and many other applications that deal with fluids, have been developed with this device's help. In
aerodynamics, the tunnels usually use air as a working fluid, so that it is known as (wind tunnels).
The wind tunnels' primary purpose is to simulate the wind flow around bodies to study the effect of
wind on models by measuring the exerted forces. Sometimes these wind tunnels are equipped
with a smoke generator to visualize the airflow pattern around the objects. Visualizing the flow
forms is one of the essential tools for designers and researchers. The physical phenomena that
happen to run during objects' passage are visible, thus facilitating appropriate mathematical
models and improving designs according to flow patterns. The most critical part is to balance
velocity and pressure in the test section by referring to the contraction section and diffuser
section. The wind tunnel has two types based on construction, the first one closed return wind
tunnel and the second one open return wind tunnel. The open return wind consists of the
GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur

contraction section, settling chamber, test section, and diffuser section. The flow of air is come
from the contraction section by the fan which is placed at the end of the diffuser section. Based on
the speed of airflow inside the test section of the Wind, the tunnel is classified as a low-speed
wind tunnel (LSWT), high-speed wind tunnel, subsonic wind tunnel, Hypersonic wind tunnel. All
these types are determined by using the Mach number. A crucial characteristic of wind tunnels is
the flow quality inside the test chamber and the overall performance. Three main criteria that are
commonly used to define them are maximum achievable speed, flow uniformity, and turbulence
level. Therefore, the design aim of a wind tunnel, in general, is to get a controlled flow in the test
chamber, achieving the necessary flow performance and quality parameters. In the case of
LSWT, the speed of airflow is less so the roughness and accuracy matter. By calculating the
Reynolds number for an original object concerning fixed values of physical quantities keeping the
same value of the Reynolds number as for scalable model we can calculate the value of velocity
for the scale model which will be tested in the wind tunnel test section. By using this method in
most industries the design changes are done, on an object. The biggest advantage of the wind
tunnel is claimed by the F1 racing team because there is much more requirement of downforce
while cornering regarding its front wing and the rear wing is designed. Coming back to
educational colleges/institutions, one of the most popular National Wind Tunnel Facility (NWTF)
which is a closed circuit, atmospheric and versatile wind tunnel of its kind, used for carrying out
research not only for aeronautical applications but also for non-aeronautical applications.

2. Design Aspects:

A. Test Section:

The test section size must be defined according to the wind tunnel's main specifications,
which also include the operating speed and desired flow quality. Test section size and
operating speed determine the maximum size of the models and the maximum
achievable Reynolds number. The cross-section shape depends on the applications. In
the case of civil or industrial applications, in most cases, a square cross-section is
recommended. In this case, the test specimens are usually bluff bodies and their
equivalent frontal area should not be higher than 10% of the test chamber cross-sectional
area to avoid the need of making non-linear blockage corrections.

The ratio of the length to the diameter of the test section should be more than 1.5.
The blockage ratio of the test section should essentially be less than 10% based on the
frontal area of the model. As a guideline, the test section should generally have a
rectangular cross-section with a width-to-height ratio of about 1:1. The design of the test
section should be such that it should allow ease of accessibility and installation of the test
specimen and measuring instruments.
The design of the test section should be such that it should allow ease of accessibility and
installation of the test specimen and measuring instruments.
GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur

Fig. 1 Test Section

B. Diffuser Section:
The main function of diffusers is to recover static pressure to increase the wind tunnel
efficiency and, of course, to close the circuit. For that reason, and some others discussed
later, it is important to maintain the flow attachment for pressure recovery efficiency.
Diffuser plays an important role in the test chamber flow quality. In the case of flow
detachment, the pressure pulsation is transmitted upstream into the test chamber,
resulting in pressure and velocity non-uniformities. In addition, the diffuser acts as a buffer
in the transmission of the pressure disturbances generated in the corner.
The length of the diffuser depends on two variables. The first variable is the diameter or
cross-sectional area of the test section and the second variable is the area ratio (AR) of
the diffuser section
[] in the work they added an AR ratio of 1:3 and it should be between 2and 5.

Fig. 2 Diffuser section

GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur

C. Contraction Cone:
The contraction or “nozzle” is the most critical part of the design of a wind tunnel; it has
the highest impact on the test chamber flow quality. It aims to accelerate the flow from the
settling chamber to the test chamber, further reducing flow turbulence and non-
uniformities in the test chamber. The flow acceleration and non-uniformity attenuations
mainly depend on the so-called contraction ratio, CR, between the entrance and exit
section areas. Although due to the flow quality improvement, the contraction ratio, CR,
should be as large as possible, this parameter strongly influences the overall wind tunnel
dimensions. Therefore, depending on the expected applications, a compromise for this
parameter should be reached. In the case of wind tunnels for civil or industrial
applications, a contractions ratio between 4 and 6 may be sufficient. With a good design
of the shape, the flow turbulence and non-uniformities levels can reach the order of 2%,
which is acceptable for many applications.

Fig. 3 Contraction section

D. Settling chamber:
Generally, a wind tunnel consists of a honeycomb structure, screens, and a settling duct
as a part of the flow conditioning system. These are located before the inlet of the
contraction cone. After referring to research papers and articles it is mentioned that the
flow velocity profiles can be made uniform using screens that impose a static pressure
drop which is proportional to the square of the air-flow speed. Thus, the boundary layer
thickness can be reduced, increasing the ability of the screens to withstand the pressure
gradient.
GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur

Fig. 4 Settling chamber

3. Detailed literature review:

The results of flow characteristics of an object through a fluid (air) domain have proved
themselves through the research going on throughout the decades for developing wind tunnels.
This inspiration has taken us to understand the abundant knowledge of research going on
throughout the world on wind tunnels to design and develop them and to reach accurate results
by comparing and minimizing errors. Applying the same approach for us we studied research
papers and review papers to get results that can be validated by comparing standard ones.
Odenir de Almeida1 and his team (2018) have reviewed a research paper on “Closed low
subsonic wind tunnel – design and construction” by J Aerosp Tecnol which was published in
2017, the team has acknowledged the way of manufacturing it and proposing result comparison
of it through simulation in Ansys Fluent. This inspired us to do the again simulation by using
Ansys fluent.[4]
Nelton Koo Chwee Yang has published a research paper on “Design of wind Tunnel (Flud flow
analysis” in June 2012, A sphere has been tested in a test section below 100m/sec to calculate
drag force on it on different velocities. A small-scale subsonic wind tunnel designed for
educational purposes and to make the research on small-scale background and construction.[5]
Sahith Reddy Madara a faculty of Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE) has
published a paper on “Design and Fabrication of Low-Cost Open Circuit Subsonic Wind Tunnel”
in April-May 2017, the NACA 0010 airfoul has been tested for different velocities and compared
results wih NASA results. When compared to the wind Tunnels in NASA and MIT, which were
fabricated in much more sophisticated, large, and tested in a controlled environment, the
modification made on wind tunnel gets the result as close as possible on any object.[6]
Alaa A Kareem, Mohamad K Abbas, and Farhan A Khammas are faculty Al-Nahrain University,
College of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Department, Baghdad, Iraq, has published a
paper on “Aerodynamic Study of Low- Speed Wind Tunnel Contraction” on Oct 10-14, 2014,
this work implies towards to improve the smoke tunnel that already exists in their university with
help of Ansys Fluent R19, also the results compared with practical applications.[7]
Louis Cattafesta, Jose Mathew, and Christopher J. Bahr, Department of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA, have published a paper
“Fundamentals of Wind-Tunnel Design” on ResearchGate in December 2010. Which explains
the basics of wind tunnel design through fluid mechanics and aerodynamics concepts. This also
implies the tunnel design is an that must address the various computing constraints and
GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur

requirements.[8]
4. Design calculations:
Firstly, we considered the test section cross-section area 30*30 square centimeters and length
60 cm.
Considering maximum velocity of airflow 20 m/sec. For research purposes, we have considered
airfoil E423 which was used for aeromodelling competitions from our college to validate results
Mach number is used to define whether it is a type of fluid that is incompressible.
So, from this, we can calculate the Mach number:

V 20
Mach Number = = 0.058 (low subsonic type of wind tunnel)
C 343
V is the velocity of air
C speed of sound in the medium
Now we have to calculate the Reynolds number for degerming whether the flow is laminar or
turbulent

inertia force ρVl 1.03∗20∗0.22

Reynolds number= = = =2.5*105
viscous force µ 1.81∗10-5
V is the velocity of air
L is the camber length of the airfoil

ρ is the density of air

µ is the dynamic viscosity
Now with the help of continuity equations, we can calculate discage which will be constant
throughout the wind tunnel.
Length of test section= 60cm
Breadth =30cm
Height= 30cm

Area of test section= 900cm2

Speed of airflow inside test section 20m/sec

3
Discharge= A1∗V 1=0.09*20=1.8
m
sec
Now by using this discharge we can calculate the speed of air for other sections.
GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur

Fig. 5 Test section CAD model Fig. 6 Airfoil E423 CAD model

For the contraction section,

The contraction section is used to increase the mean velocity of airflow and to reduce the
inconsistencies in the airflow.
Also to keep the pressure inside the test section as consistent as atmospheric pressure.
The length of the contraction section should be 1.5 times the diameter of the contraction
section.
For the inlet area of the contraction section, we considered contraction ratio 7:1,

Inlet area Inlet Area 7 Inlet Area

Contraction ratio= = =
Outlet area 0.09 1 0.09
(Area of test section= 0.09m 2)

Inlet area= 0.63 m 2

Side of cross section= 80cm

Now, the inlet velocity of the contraction section is calculated by using discharge so,
Inlet velocity of contraction section= 2.85 m/sec
Length of contraction section= 1.5* side of inlet of cross section
= 1.5*0.8
Length of contraction section = 1.2meter
GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur

Fig. 7 Contraction section CAD model

For the diffuser section,
The diffuser is used to the deaccelerate flow of high-speed airflow coming from the test
section.
To achieve static pressure in the test section.
The standard AR area ratio of the diffuser should be around 3 while keeping on cone angle
of 4°.
The divergence half-angle of the diffuser walls should be less than 4° for conical diffusers.
So, AR=1:3 we can find the inlet cross-section area of the diffuser,

Inlet area Inlet Area

Area ratio = =
Outlet area 0.09
3 Inlet Area
=
1 0.09
Inlet Area = 0.27 m 2

By using a divergence angle which is 4 degrees,

the length of the diffuser is 146.58cm
Outlet velocity for a diffuser is 6.6m/sec

Fig. 8 2d geometry of diffuser section Fig. 9 CAD model of the diffuser section

For the settling chamber,

GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur

The settling chamber is located between the contraction section and test section. It
is used to decrease turbulence through the air. It is made up of like honeycomb
mesh structure. The holes are created using straws.
For reducing turbulence 0.6mm+0.06mm diameter, 10cm length and 30*30 cross
section area.
The number of straws 45*45 = 2025 (approx..)

Fig. 10 CAD model of settling chamber

After Completing all calculations we have prepared a CAD model of it and we did CFD
analysis by using SolidWorks 2021 and ANSYS WORKBENCH R20 to verify the inlet
velocity of diffuser and drag and lift forces acting on the airfoil.

Fig. 11 CAD model of wind tunnel assembly Fig. 12 cross-sectional view of wind tunnel
assembly
For simulation boundary conditions for wind tunnel are as follows,
Analysis type: Internal by considering physical feature gravity
Fluid selection: Air (flow type laminar and turbulent)
Wall conditions: Adiabatic wall
Roughness:8.1 micrometer
Environmental pressure at the outlet of the diffuser is 101325Pa
GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur

Inlet velocity at contraction section is 2.85m/sec

For surfaces that will be in contact with fluid are considered for the fluid domain.
For CFD analysis we did firstly meshing for the fluid domain, here is the cross-section view
of the meshing model,

Fig. 13 Meshing of Assembly

Statistics of meshing:

Nodes 1888058

Elements 10408783

Table No. 1 meshing Statistics

After that, by using boundary conditions we run the simulation and did post-processing,
following are results,

Fig. 14 Velocity streamlines and counters

After post-processing and by using cut plots velocity in the test section has been calculated
also at end of the diffuser section one vortex is generated.

Now by using the Goal Plot we calculated Drag force and lift forces, here are the
attachments

Goal Name Unit Value Averaged Value Minimum Value Maximum Value

Drag force [N] 1.342292413 1.339438132 1.331616718 1.349124983

GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur

Goal Name Unit Value Averaged Value Minimum Value Maximum Value

Lift Force [N] 3.918149151 4.008854751 3.6610134 5.957817104

Graph no. 1 Drag Force Graph no. 2 Lift Force

a. Conclusion:
Drag force and Lift Force calculated outside the wind tunnel are nearly equal to forces
calculated on airfoil inside the wind tunnel.
The results of the simulation programs differ because they depend on Density and accuracy
mesh and Computer efficiency, CPU time, and mesh type.

References:

1) NASA's Ames Research October 1, 1958 (introduction, page1 ),

2) Bugatti Chiron official website product details, Jan 2017 (introduction, page2 )
3) Tesla official website product details, December 14, 2017 (introduction, page2 )
4) Odenir de Almeida1 and his team “Low Subsonic Wind Tunnel – Design construction”
(2018) (Literature Review)
5) Nelton Koo Chwee Yang a faculty of the Manufacturing Engineering University of Malaysia
Pahang has published a research paper on “Design of wind Tunnel (Flud flow analysis)” in
June 2012. (Literature Review)
6) Sahith Reddy Madara a faculty of Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE)
has published a paper on “Design and Fabrication of Low-Cost Open Circuit Subsonic Wind
Tunnel” on (IJITR) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH
Volume No.5, Issue No.3 on April-May 2017. (Literature Review, page13)
7) Alaa A Kareem, Mohamad K Abbas, and Farhan A Khammas are faculty Al-Nahrain
University, College of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Department, Baghdad, Iraq, has
GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur

published a paper on “Aerodynamic Study of Low- Speed Wind Tunnel Contraction” on Oct
10-14, 2014.. (Literature Review)
8) Louis Cattafesta, Jose Mathew, and Christopher J. Bahr, Department of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA, have published a paper
“Fundamentals of Wind-Tunnel Design” on ResearchGate in December 2010,