Design, Fabrication and Characterization of Low Speed Open-jet Wind Tunnel

A new low-speed open-jet wind tunnel has been designed and constructed at the University of Leeds. A series of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and experimental evaluations were conducted to determine the flow quality and to verify the wind tunnel suitability for aerodynamic studies. Two sets of results are presented in the current paper. Initially, mean velocity and turbulent intensity measurements in an empty test section using a Pitot-static tube and hot wire anemometer (HWA) were introduced. These results show that flow quality was significantly affected by boundary layer controllers (honeycomb and mesh screens) in the settling chamber and wide angle diffuser. Investigations were also conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of using an array of synthetic jet actuators (SJAs) for flow control in a wake behind a convex "hump" model (section of circular cylinder). These additional tests were conducted to validate the suitability of the wind tunnel for aerodynamics research.