Mechanical Engineering Department

Wind Tunnel Laboratory

This laboratory contains a small calibration wind tunnel for calibrating hot wire probes, a closed-return wind tunnel with a 17" x 24" test section, and an open-return wind tunnel with an 18" x 36" test section. The two larger tunnels both have maximum air velocities of about 90 mph with turbulence levels on the order of 1 to 2%. The wind tunnels are used for instructional purposes in upper-level undergraduate/graduate courses such as boundary layer theory, aerodynamics, and flow-induced vibrations and in research projects such as flow-induced vibrations of closely spaced cylinders.