Testing and Commissioning of a Low-Speed Wind Tunnel (LSWT) Test Section

Abstract

The calibration of a low-speed wind tunnel (LSWT) test section had been made in the present work. The tunnel was designed and constructed at the Aerodynamics Lab. in the Mechanical Engineering Department/University of Baghdad. The test section design speed is 70 m/s. Frictional loses and uniformity of the flow inside the test section had been tested and calibrated based on the British standards for flow inside ducts and conduits. Pitot-static tube, boundary layer Pitot tube were the main instruments which were used in the present work to measure the flow characteristics with emphasize on the velocity uniformity and boundary layer growth along the walls of the test section. It is found that the maximum calibrated velocity for empty test section is 55 m/s. Three speeds are tested for uniformity and walls boundary layer at inlet and mid-section of test section. The results show that the flows are uniform at inlet and mid-section with turbulent flow from inlet to outlet.