Wind Tunnel Experiments Procedure in UPM

Wind tunnel Experiments procedure In UPM, Malaysia
Tabrej Khan
Faculty of Engineering (Aerospace Engineering)
University Putra Malaysia
Selongore, Malaysia.
Introduction:
Wind tunnel is used as a means of studying air flowing past the solid objects in aerodynamic
studies. Generally, the wind tunnel is made up of different parts. They consist of settling
chamber, contraction cone, test section, diffuser and drive section as shown below. The air
flows from the drive section and gets into the settling chamber. The quantity and the speed of
this airflow can be regulated by controlling the speed of the driver. After the settling chamber,
the air moves into the contraction cone where the velocity is increased due to the shape of the
cone, causing pressure difference. The high and constant velocity air then enters the test
section where the model is to be tested. After that the air will flow into the diffuser where they
are pushed into the drive section to circulate. Working with the principle above, the wind
tunnel facility at UPM Malaysia University lab shown in figure below:
Figure 1: Wind tunnel
Governing equations for wind tunnel experiment:
The two governing parameters of interest in wind tunnel study is lift and drag force. These
two forces are essentially equal to the product of dynamic pressure (product of air density and
velocity2), surface area and the co-efficients. CL is the co-efficient of the lift force whereas CD
is the co-efficient of the drag force. Both of these co-efficients are the function of angle of
attack, model geometry and mach number.
 Lift force is expressed as: �� = �� ∗ �� … … … … … … … … … … . . .

 Drag force is expressed as: �� = �� ∗ �� … … … … … … … … … … .
Experimental variables:
The value of the lift and drag forces can be varied by changing the angle of attack, velocity
and the surface area. There is also a possibility to alter the working fluid if wind tunnel is
installed in the water instead. In the present experiment the working fluid is air and only the
change in one parameter at a time is allowed, to avoid complexities. The density of the air,
required to calculate the dynamic pressure, can be read by measuring the temperature which
needs to be collected at the time of experiment. An example of standard air table properties
can be referred to http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/air-properties-d_156.html . If you have
to interpolate the values between the numbers in this table, remember, the density of air
decreases if temperature rises!
So, in a nutshell, for the present case, the major variables to be reflected in the drag and lift
forces are governed by the:
 Angle of attack
 Velocity and
 Pressure
 Angle of attack:
Angle of attack specifies the angle between the chord line of the wing of a fixed-wing
aircraft and the relative motion between the aircraft and the atmosphere as shown in the figure
to the right below. Present experiment is independent on the measured angle of attack, so the
data for angle of attack will not be collected. However, angle of attacks will be needed to
calculate the drag and lift force coefficients and is listed as:


2° for group A1 & A5

3° for group B1 & B5

4° for group C1 & C5

5° for group D1 & D5

6° for group A2

7° for group B2

8° for group C2

9° for group D2

10° for group A3

11° for group B3

12° for group C3

14° for group D3 Angle of attack α

15° for group A4

16° for group B4

17° for group C4
18° for group D4
 Velocity:
Velocity can be measured in various ways. For the wind tunnel experiment, the velocity is
determined indirectly with the help of the expressions associated with pressure differences.
Standard analytical devices such as pitot tube, manometer relate Δp with velocities. Following
is the few examples how pressure is measured.
 Pressure:
Pitot-tube: The pressure measured by the pitot-tube is essentially the difference between the
total and static pressure which are shown by the following figure in the side yellow tubes and
in the center white tubes.
Figure 2: Pitot-tube and the pressure components (NASA)
The difference between total and static pressure as according to Bernoulli’s equation is called
dynamic pressure which is directly related with the surrounding fluid velocity.
Bernoulli’s equation: �� = � �� − � � �� = �� … … … … … … … … … .
�
�=√ ……………………………………………..
�
Solving equation (4) velocity of the air is determined which further can be incorporated into
equation (5) to calculate the volumetric flow (in, m3/sec) of air through the wind tunnel.
� = �� … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … .
Manometer: Pressure measurement by manometer is rather simple and inexpensive.
Manometer is consisted with a U-tube by which pressure difference is measured by balancing
the weight of a fluid column between the two pressures of interest. Large pressure differences
are measured with heavy fluids, such as mercury (e.g. 760 mm Hg = 1 atmosphere). Small
pressure differences, such as those experienced in experimental wind tunnels or venturi
flowmeters are measured by lighter fluids such as water (27.7 inch H2O = 1 psi; 1 cm H2O =
98.1 Pa). Likewise Pitot-tube, the pressure difference registered by the manometer can also
be converted into velocity by employing the equations (3) and (4) above. The manometer
assembly is illustrated below:
Figure 3: Manometer assembly displaying fluid and pressure.

Objectives:
The basic idea behind wind tunnel study is to observe the interaction between several
parameters of interest within the field of aeronautics to a body that is exposed into the
moving/static fluid. The position and geometry of the object, the surrounded fluid velocity
and properties are very important in design considerations for the range of application such as
wind turbine, aero-plane etc. The present experiment is beyond all these considerations,
however is a starting point towards the direction of aeronautics. Hence understanding the
basic physics of lift and drag force is the major objectives, expected to be achieved from here.
The list of objectives primary is:
 To learn the use of Pitot-tube
 Understanding the co-relation between pressure differences, velocities and flow
 To learn how the lift and drag coefficients impact on the corresponding forces, and
 To know how to calculate the lift and drag force
Experimental procedure:
The experimental procedure is listed below:
 Driving the air through the wind tunnel by controlling the frequency of the fan.
 Measuring pressure difference across the various points of the test sections for different
operational frequency of the fan.
Figure 4: Relation between angle of attack, CD and CL
 Determining the air velocities from the measured pressure difference by employing
Bernoulli’s equation and the equations (3) and (4)
 Measuring the area (A) of the test section and implementing that together with the
calculated value of the velocity in equation (5) to determine the volumetric flow of air
through the test section
 Reading the drag (CD) and lift coefficients (CL) by using the given graphs and angle of
attacks. The angle of attacks are different for different groups!
 Taking into account all these parameters but airflow for calculating the lift and drag forces
from the equations (1) and (2)
 Repeating the calculation for three velocities (by changing the frequency of the fan)
 Repeating the calculation for three different positions of the Pitot-tube
 Ploting the graph Lift force vs velocity2, Drag force vs. velocity2 and Lift vs Drag force
Conclusions:
The major conclusion to be drawn from the current experiment is to observe the values of the
airflow and the lift and drag forces by using the existing wind tunnel facility at the University
of Agder. Generally, the lift force increases with the increase in fluid velocity and the angle of
attack that is chosen beyond stall. Similarly, the drag force increases with the increase in
velocity and with the square increase in velocity. These two trends are expected to be
observed in this short laboratory experiment.

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Wind tunnel Experiments procedure In UPM, Malaysia

Figure 1: Wind tunnel

Governing equations for wind tunnel experiment:

 Lift force is expressed as: �� = �� ∗ �� … … … … … … … … … … . . .

Figure 2: Pitot-tube and the pressure components (NASA)

Figure 3: Manometer assembly displaying fluid and pressure.

Figure 4: Relation between angle of attack, CD and CL

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