9 m wind tunnel

The 9 m wind tunnel is a confidential, high-security facility capable of accommodating a variety of ground vehicle, wind-engineering and aerospace models. Operated by experienced engineers and technicians, it is the facility of choice for several international original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). This facility has a proven record of adapting to a variety of unique test requirements and offers great value in the large-scale testing arena.

The ability to test in a repeatable environment with direct measurement of drag enables significant performance gains through the summation of several small improvements. Custom systems dedicated to truck testing allow the test efficiency required to cost-effectively develop models at full-scale Reynolds number. Because a real vehicle can be tested, the 9 m wind tunnel offers a cost-effective method for benchmarking performance without building dedicated models.

In response to automotive OEM requests, a ground simulation system has been added. Flow conditions now represent reality more closely, increasing the accuracy of drag and lift measurements and giving confidence in underbody development activities. This system also provides a unique value proposition for commercial truck manufacturers looking for high Reynolds number, low-interference simulation with a 28 feet trailer and accurate representation of ground conditions.

Major renovations were recently carried out on its fan drive, balance weigh-beam controls and data acquisition systems, as well on important mechanical components such as the cooling system and main drive shaft components.

Areas of Expertise

• 2-D and 3-D bridge dynamics
• Aeroacoustics
• Computational fluid dynamics
• Customized data processing
• Flow visualization
• Full and half-model aircraft testing
• Full-scale automotive & commercial vehicles
• Ground simulation
• Model design and fabrication and on-site machining
• Turbulence modelling
• Wind-engineering
• Wind tunnel testing techniques

Technical specifications

Tunnel characteristics:

• Size: 9.1 m high x 9.1 m wide x 22.9 m long (30 ft x 30 ft x 79 ft)
• Maximum air velocity: 55 m/s (200 km/h)
• Speed: may be varied and set at any value from 0 to 230 rpm and can be maintained within ±0.1 rpm
• Turntable: Diameter: 6.1 m (20’), Range: ±360º, Precision: ±0.025º

Auxiliary Services:

• Air-cooled: 6.7 MW (9000 hp)
• DC motor that drives an 8-bladed fan
• Compressed air: 1,700 kPa (250 psi) at 4.5 kg/s (10 lb/s)

Data system and instrumentation:

• Force balance: 6-component external; a selection of internal balances are available along with bespoke solutions for custom needs
• Boundary Layer Treatment: Distributed floor boundary layer suction
• Ground Simulation System: 5.6 m x 1 m (18.5 ft x 3.3 ft) centre belt with independent wheel rollers and variable-height chassis supports
• Data Acquisition System: 330 analog channels, 192 digital I/O channels, 384 pressure channels, 16 thermocouple channels
• Supplementary Instrumentation: Pressure transducers, laser distance meters, strain gauges, vane anemometers, 5-hole and Cobra probes, boundary layer rakes, accelerometers
• Data Reduction: Client-defined data output formats with all calibrations and appropriate corrections applied
• Flow Visualization: Wake pressure traverser, particle image velocimetry, pressure sensitive paint, acoustic array
• LabView: yaw drive, balance weigh-beam control system, tunnel speed control, boundary layer control system, LabView-based data acquisition and MatLab-based data reduction system