Wind Tunnels
Introduction
The School of Engineering has over 20 years experience of running aerodynamic wind tunnel tests for the automotive sector. The School operates a number of high and low speed wind tunnels capable of investigating a wide range of different flowfields. The Flow Control and Prediction Group is able to offer clients advice and guidance on the best use of our diverse range of facilities using some of the latest experimental techniques.
Automotive Wind Tunnel Facilities
The main experimental facility for automotive testing is the 8ft.(2.4m) x 6ft.(1.8m) moving ground wind tunnel which is used for testing 30% - 50% scale Race Car models at speeds of 45 metres/second.
This facility incorporates:
- Actively cooled under belt platen with independent suction control to prevent belt lift.
- 2.4m wide, 1.8m high low turbulence test section with moving ground plane and optimised boundary layer flow control.
- Servo driven active strut system for rapid and accurate model pitch and ride hide changes.
- Instrumentation includes a cradle mounted Aerotech 6 component internal balance, multiple pressure measurement systems and integrated wheel drag measurement.
- Secure model rigging room and air-conditioned control room.
The tunnel has undertaken work on: F1 Race Cars, GT Cars, Champ cars, Passenger Cars, Motorcycles, Dragsters and Commercial Vehicles.
The facility may be configured in a number of different ways depending on a particular application, for more details and booking arrangements please contact Prof. Kevin Garry, email - k.p.garry@cranfield.ac.uk
Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel
The School of Engineering also uses the 8ft.(2.4m) x 4ft.(1.2m) Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel for automotive work. The wind tunnel has a turntable mounted moving ground plane, with boundary layer control, which has been optimised for testing isolated wheels over a range of yaw angles.
Auxiliary measurements include the ability to measure pressures on rotating wheels and to map the flow field around vehicles using fully automated probe traversing systems. This wind tunnel also incorporates a unique cross wind track facility which makes it possible to accurately simulate the flow around scale model passenger cars under a range of turbulence and wind shear conditions.
For more details and booking arrangements please contact Prof. Kevin Garry, e-mail: k.p.garry@cranfield.ac.uk
Other Wind Tunnel Facilities
Other facilities include the 3ft.(0.9m) x 3ft.(0.9m) fixed ground wind tunnel which incorporates a turntable mounted underfloor 6 component balance for the evaluation of scale models at yaw. Specialist test rigs for automotive work include: a radiator module for the evaluation of cooling component flows a wheel rig for the assessment of wheel trims, brake discs etc and 2D test section for the transonic wind tunnel for high speed lifting surface optimisation.
For more details and booking arrangements please contact Prof. Kevin Garry, email - k.p.garry@cranfield.ac.uk
