This is an alphabetical list of wind tunnels.
Name | Status | Size (W x H x L) | Use | Country | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A2 Wind Tunnel [1] | 4 m × 94 m × 18 m (14 ft × 310 ft × 58 ft) | Full scale general purpose | United States | ~$500/hr full scale race car, motorcycle, bicycle | |
ACE Climatic Wind Tunnel [2] | 6 m × 5.55 m × 14 m (20 ft × 18 ft × 46 ft) | Full scale: automotive, motorsport, cycling, skiing, architectural, transit, truck, product development | Canada | Available and accessible for all industries requiring wind tunnel services or climatic services | |
Aerodium Sigulda [3] | Operational | Testing, training, open to the public | Latvia | First vertical wind tunnel in Eastern Europe | |
AeroDyn Wind Tunnel [4] | Full scale NASCAR racecars | United States | |||
Aerodynamic and Propulsion Test Unit [5] | Operational | Hypersonic | United States | Located at Arnold Air Force Base and operated by the United States Air Force | |
Aircraft Research Association [6] | Operational | 2.74 m × 2.44 m × 3.66 m (9 ft 0 in × 8 ft 0 in × 12 ft 0 in) | Transonic | United Kingdom | Transonic closed circuit, continuous flow wind tunnel. Mach number 0 - 1.4. Reynolds Number 3.5 to 16.7 million/m [7] |
Auto Research Center [8] | 2.3 m × 2.1 m (7 ft 7 in × 6 ft 11 in) | Subsonic research and development including: 50% scale model automotive rolling road, wind turbine design and optimization, and cycling | United States | Wind tunnel has a moving ground plane as well as primary and secondary boundary layer suction. Subsonic testing capabilities for motorsports, production cars, commercial semi-trucking, cycling, wind turbines, architecture, aerospace, academic research, and industrial research and development. | |
RUAG Automotive Wind Tunnel Emmen [9] | Operational | 2.45 m × 1.55 m × 3.8 m (8 ft 0 in × 5 ft 1 in × 12 ft 6 in) | Low speed automotive and general purpose | Switzerland | Belt system for rolling road simulation |
Boeing Icing Wind Tunnel [10] | Operational | 1 m × 2 m (4 ft × 6 ft) | United States | ||
Boeing Low-speed Aero-Acoustic Facility [11] | Operational | United States | |||
Boeing Polysonic (supersonic) Wind Tunnel [12] | Operational | 1 m × 1 m (4 ft × 4 ft) | United States | ||
Boeing Propulsion Wind Tunnel [13] | Operational | Low-speed, atmospheric, non-return, induction-type facility. Typical models include engine inlets, exhaust nozzles, small engines or powered vehicles, aerodynamic half or full models, as well as thrust reversers. | United States | ||
Boeing Subsonic (low-speed) Wind Tunnel [14] | Operational | 6 m × 6 m (20 ft × 20 ft) | United States | ||
Boeing Transonic Wind Tunnel [15] | Operational | 2 m × 4 m (8 ft × 12 ft) | United States | ||
Boundary Layer and Subsonic Wind Tunnel [16] | Operational | Boundary Layer Test Section: Subsonic Test Section: | Boundary Layer Development / Low-Speed / Subsonic / General Purpose | United States | |
Building Research Establishment [17] | Operational | United Kingdom | Two atmospheric boundary layer tunnels | ||
Cal Poly's Low Speed Wind Tunnel [18] | 1 m × 1 m × 5 m (4 ft × 3 ft × 18 ft) | Low speed: Scale model testing, Aerospace, Automotive, IR industry | United States | Startups, major Aerospace corporations and other scientific equipment tested here. Rolling road implementation in progress. | |
Calspan Wind Tunnel [19] | Operational | 2 m × 2 m (8 ft × 8 ft) | Subsonic / Transonic | United States | The only independently owned and operated wind tunnel in the United States. |
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-1 | Diameter 3 m (10 ft) by 6 m (20 ft) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-2 | Diameter 6 m (20 ft) by 14 m (46 ft) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-5 | Diameter 2.25 m (7 ft 5 in) by 3.15 m (10 ft) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-101 [20] | 24 m × 14 m × 24 m (79 ft × 46 ft × 79 ft) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-102 | 4 m × 2.33 m × 4 m (13 ft × 8 ft × 13 ft) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-103 | 4 m × 2.33 m × 3.8 m (13 ft × 8 ft × 12 ft) (elliptical) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-104 | Diameter 7 m (23 ft) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-105 [21] | Diameter 4.5 m (15 ft) by 7.5 m (25 ft) | Vertical wind tunnel | Russia | ||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-106 | Diameter 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) by 3.5 m (11 ft) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-107 | Diameter 2.48 m (8 ft 2 in) by 4.85 m (16 ft) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-109 | 2.5 m × 2.5 m × 5.5 m (8 ft 2 in × 8 ft 2 in × 18 ft 1 in) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-112 | .6 m × .6 m × 2.55 m (2 ft 0 in × 2 ft 0 in × 8 ft 4 in) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-113 | .6 m × .6 m × 1.9 m (2 ft 0 in × 2 ft 0 in × 6 ft 3 in) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-113 | .6 m × .6 m × 1.9 m (2 ft 0 in × 2 ft 0 in × 6 ft 3 in) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-116 | 1 m × 1 m × 2.35 m (3 ft 3 in × 3 ft 3 in × 7 ft 9 in) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-117 | 2.5 m × 2.4 m × 1.9 m (8 ft 2 in × 7 ft 10 in × 6 ft 3 in) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-124 | 1 m × 1 m × 4 m (3 ft 3 in × 3 ft 3 in × 13 ft 1 in) | Russia | |||
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute: T-128 | 2.75 m × 2.75 m × 12 m (9 ft 0 in × 9 ft 0 in × 39 ft 4 in) | Russia | |||
City, University of London Transonic Wind Tunnel [22] | Operational | 0.91 m (3 ft 0 in) by 0.91 m (3 ft 0 in) by 3 m (9.8 ft); return: 5.7 m (19 ft) by 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) by 18 m (59 ft) | United Kingdom | Mach 0.4 – 2.0; return max speed 12 m/s. Part of the UK National Wind Tunnel Facility | |
Cranfield University 8x4 Atmospheric Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel [17] | Operational | 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) by 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) | United Kingdom | ||
Cranfield University 8'x6' Low Speen Wind Tunnel [17] [23] | Operational | 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) by 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) | United Kingdom | Part of the UK National Wind Tunnel Facility | |
Cranfield University Weybridge Wind Tunnel [17] | Operational | 1.067 m (3 ft 6.0 in) diameter jet | United Kingdom | ||
Cranfield University Icing Tunnel [17] [24] | Operational | 0.76 m (2 ft 6 in) by 0.76 m (2 ft 6 in); 0.81 m (2 ft 8 in) octagonal; 0.4 m (1 ft 4 in) by 0.4 m (1 ft 4 in) | United Kingdom | Three test sections. Part of the UK National Wind Tunnel Facility | |
CRIACIV Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel - University of Florence [25] | Operational | 2.44 m × 1.6 m × 10 m (8 ft 0 in × 5 ft 3 in × 32 ft 10 in) | Building, bridges, general purpose | Italy | Closed circuit wind tunnel, T-shaped diffuser, one atmospheric test section (max speed 31 m/s [100 ft/s]). |
Durham University 2m tunnel [17] [26] | Operational | 2 m2 (22 sq ft) | United Kingdom | Subsonic; turbulence generation system; moving or fixed ground | |
Durham University 1m recirculating wind tunnel [17] [26] | Operational | 0.3 m2 (3.2 sq ft): 0.55 m (1 ft 10 in) by 0.56 m (1 ft 10 in) by 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in) | United Kingdom | 10 mph (4.5 m/s) – 100 mph (45 m/s) | |
Durham University – smaller tunnels [17] | Operational | 0.2 m2 (2.2 sq ft) | United Kingdom | Three tunnels; max speed 20 m/s | |
EDITH supersonic wind tunnel [27] | Operational | Diameter 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) by 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) | Long shot time running (20 minutes). | France | Fundamental research on shock waves. Aerodynamic and aerothermal behaviour of probes and models. Fluidic thrust vectoring of supersonic nozzle |
Energy Technology Centre [17] | Operational | Working section 3.2 m (10 ft) by 3.2 m (10 ft) | Wind blade testing | United Kingdom | |
European Transonic Wind Tunnel [28] | 2.4 m × 2 m × 9 m (7 ft 10 in × 6 ft 7 in × 29 ft 6 in) | Transonic | Germany | ||
Ferrari wind tunnel [29] | Operational | 70 m (230 ft) wide by 80 m (260 ft) long | Italy | ||
Focke's wind tunnel [30] | Operational | Germany | Private laboratory of Henrich Focke, not discovered until 1977 | ||
Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel [31] | 3 m × 236 m (11.04 ft × 775 ft) | Low speed: scale model testing, automotive, aerospace | United States | ||
GVPM [32] | Operational | 14 m × 3.8 m × 36 m (46 ft × 12 ft × 118 ft) 4 m × 3.8 m × 4 m | Building, bridges, rail, aeronautical, general purpose | Italy | Vertically arranged closed circuit wind tunnel with two test sections: one atmospheric (max speed 16 m/s [52 ft/s]), one aeronautical (max speed 55 m/s [180 ft/s]) with possibility to test with open / closed jet. |
Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 [33] | Diameter 1.5 m (5 ft) | United States | Located at Arnold Air Force Base and operated by the United States Air Force | ||
Imperial College London [17] | Operational | Low speed tunnels: 0.4 m2 (4.3 sq ft) to 4.5 m2 (48 sq ft) | United Kingdom | Five low speed tunnels and other tunnels up to mach 9 | |
Jules Verne climatic wind tunnel [34] [35] | Operational | 6 m × 5 m × 12 m (20 ft × 16 ft × 39 ft) 10 m × 7 m × 20 m 4 m × 2.5 m × 20 m | Automotive, Rail, Full scale general purpose | France | Three test sections with wind speeds up to 280 km/h (170 mph) |
Klebanoff–Saric Wind Tunnel [36] | Operational | 1.4 m × 14 m × 4.9 m (4 ft 7 in × 45 ft 11 in × 16 ft 1 in) | United States | ||
Large Amplitude Multi-Purpose (LAMP) Vertical Wind Tunnel Bihrle Applied Research [37] | Operational | Diameter 3 m (10 ft) | Vertical, Subsonic, High AOA, Static or body-axis oscillatory | Germany | Privately owned wind tunnel. +- 180 degree AOA and +-90 degree sideslip. Diverse testing capability: static, wind body axis dynamic, Multi-body axis dynamic, simultaneous force moment and pressure data acquisition. |
RUAG Large Wind Tunnel Emmen [38] | Operational | 7.0 m × 5.0 m × 15.0 m (23 ft × 16 ft × 49 ft) | Low speed aerospace, full scale automotive and general purpose | Switzerland | |
Lockheed Martin Low Speed Wind Tunnel [39] | Operational | 8 m × 9 m × 19 m (26 ft × 30 ft × 63 ft) 7.0 m × 4.9 m | Aeronautics, Full Scale Automotive, V/STOL Aircraft, General Purpose | United States | Larger test section was designed for use of V/STOL aircraft but is not limited to such. Max speed of ~320 km/h (200 mph) in smaller test section and ~160 km/h (100 mph) in the larger test section. |
Loughborough University Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering Low Turbulence Windtunnel [17] | Operational | United Kingdom | AAE Large Windtunnel | ||
Loughborough University Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering Large Windtunnel [17] | Operational | United Kingdom | |||
Loughborough University Automotive Wind Tunnel [40] | Operational | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) by 1.32 m (4 ft 4 in) by 3.6 m (12 ft) | United Kingdom | 'Rolling road' moving ground plane. Part of the UK National Wind Tunnel Facility | |
MARHy wind Tunnel [41] | Operational | Diameter 5 m (16 ft) by 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) | Hypersonic/supersonic rarefied wind tunnel. No limit running time. Reynolds number /cm: 26.3 < Re < 7522;Mach number: 0.8 < Mach < 20 | France | Fundamental and applied research of fluid dynamic phenomena in rarefied compressible flows. Aerodynamic and aerothermal behaviour of probes and models; Plasma flow control in rarefied and super/hypersonic flows. |
Modine Wind Tunnels [42] | 2.7 m × 3.3 m × 12.2 m (8 ft 10 in × 10 ft 10 in × 40 ft 0 in) 4.2 m × 4.1 m × 14 m | United States | Climatic wind tunnel testing, large truck and automotive | ||
NASA Ames 7-by 10 Foot Wind Tunnel [43] | 2 m × 3 m (7 ft × 10 ft) | United States | |||
NASA Ames Hypersonic Propulsion Integration 16 Inch Shock | Diameter 406 mm (16 in) | Hypersonic propulsion | United States | ||
NASA Ames Hypersonic Propulsion Integration Direct-Connect | Hypersonic propulsion | United States | |||
NASA Ames National Full Scale Aerodynamic Complex [44] | 12 m × 24 m (40 ft × 80 ft) 24 m × 37 m | Subsonic | United States | Largest wind tunnel in the world | |
NASA Ames Subsonic 12 Foot High-Rn Pressure [45] | Diameter 4 m (12 ft) | Subsonic | United States | ||
NASA Ames 9-by 7-foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel [46] | 3 m × 2 m (9 ft × 7 ft) | Supersonic | United States | ||
NASA Ames 11-by 11-foot Transonic Wind Tunnel [47] | 3 m × 3 m (11 ft × 11 ft) | Transonic | United States | ||
NASA Ames Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel [48] | Transonic/supersonic | United States | |||
NASA Glenn 10- by 10-Foot Abe Silverstein Supersonic Wind Tunnel [49] | 3 m × 3 m (10 ft × 10 ft) | Supersonic | United States | ||
NASA Glenn 8- by 6-Foot Wind Tunnel [50] | 2 m × 2 m (8 ft × 6 ft) | Transonic | United States | ||
NASA Glenn 9- by 15-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel [51] | 3 m × 5 m (9 ft × 15 ft) | Subsonic | United States | ||
NASA Glenn Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory Nozzle Acoustic Test Rig [52] | Diameter 1,346 mm (53 in) | Acoustic testing of exhaust nozzles, subsonic | United States | Free-jet | |
NASA Glenn Engine Components Research Lab [53] | United States | ||||
NASA Glenn Hypersonic Test Facility [54] | Hypersonic | United States | |||
NASA Glenn Icing Research Tunnel [51] | 3 m × 2 m × 6 m (9 ft × 6 ft × 20 ft) | Subsonic Icing | United States | ||
NASA Glenn Propulsion Systems Laboratory [55] | Active | Diameter 7 m (24 ft) by 12 m (38 ft) long | Full-Scale Engine Testing | United States | Four test cells: 1 & 2 demolished; 3 & 4 active. Cell 3 has icing capabilities |
NASA Langley 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel [51] | 4 m × 7 m (14 ft × 22 ft) | Subsonic atmospheric | United States | ||
NASA Langley 20-Foot Vertical Spin Tunnel [51] | Diameter 6 m (20 ft) | Subsonic vertical spin | United States | ||
NASA Langley Eight-Foot High Speed Tunnel [56] - | Diameter 2 m (8 ft) | High speed | United States | ||
NASA Langley Full-Scale Wind Tunnel [57] | Demolished | 9 m × 18 m (30 ft × 60 ft) | Full-scale aircraft | United States | NASA's oldest operating wind tunnel until its closing in October 1995 |
NASA Langley High-Rn Transonic Dynamics Tunnel [58] | Operational | 5 m × 5 m (16 ft × 16 ft) | Aeroelasticity, high-risk testing, active controls, rotorcraft performance and stability, transonic aerodynamics. | United States | Unique capability to manipulate fluid-structure scaling parameters with use of Heavy-Gas (R-134a) or air as a test medium and variable pressure. [59] Good flow quality for large transonic tunnel (Mach 0–1.2) [60] |
NASA Langley Hypersonic 20 Inch Mach 6 Air [61] | Diameter 508 mm (20 in) | Hypersonic | United States | ||
NASA Langley Hypersonic 20 Inch Mach 6 Tetrafluoromethane [62] | Demolished in 2016 [63] | Diameter 508 mm (20 in) | Hypersonic | United States | |
NASA Langley Hypersonic 31 Inch Mach 10 Air [61] | Diameter 787 mm (31 in) | Hypersonic | United States | ||
NASA Langley Hypersonic Propulsion Integration 15 Inch Mach 6 High-Temperature Tunnel [64] | Diameter 381 mm (15 in) | Hypersonic | United States | ||
NASA Langley Hypersonic Propulsion Integration 8 Foot High-Temperature Tunnel [65] | Diameter 2 m (8 ft) | Hypersonic, high-temperature | United States | ||
NASA Langley Hypersonic Propulsion Integration Arc-Heated Scramjet [66] | Hypersonic | United States | |||
NASA Langley Hypersonic Propulsion Integration Combustion Scramjet [67] | Hypersonic | United States | |||
NASA Langley Hypersonic Propulsion Integration Supersonic Combustion [67] | Hypersonic | United States | |||
NASA Langley NASA / GASL HYPULSE Propulsion Integration [68] | United States | ||||
NASA Langley National Transonic Facility [69] | 2 m × 2 m (8.2 ft × 8.2 ft) | Transonic | United States | ||
NASA Langley Propeller Research Tunnel [70] | Diameter 6 m (20 ft) | Full-scale aircraft used primarily in reducing drag caused by propellers and exposed engines | United States | ||
NASA Langley Subsonic 12 Foot Atmospheric Lab [71] | Diameter 4 m (12 ft) | Subsonic atmospheric | United States | ||
NASA Langley Subsonic Low-Turbulence Pressure Tunnel [72] | Subsonic low-turbulence | United States | |||
NASA Langley Supersonic High-Rn | Supersonic | United States | |||
NASA Langley Transonic 16 Foot Atmospheric [73] | 5 m (16 ft) | Transonic atmospheric | United States | ||
NASA Langley Variable Density Tunnel [70] | Diameter 5 m (15 ft) by 11 m (34.5 ft) long | Measuring aerodynamic qualities of airfoils | United States | World's first variable density wind tunnel | |
National Wind Tunnel Facility [74] | Operational | United Kingdom | Twenty-two wind tunnels at twelve universities allowing open access | ||
ODTÜ-RÜZGEM [75] | Operational | High Speed Test Section: Boundary Layer Test Section: Open Jet: | Wind energy, aeronautics, civil engineering | Turkey | High Speed Test Section: Max speed 100 m/s [330 ft/s], TI<0.25% Boundary Layer Test Section: Max speed 30 m/s [98 ft/s] with spires and roughness elements Open Jet: Max speed 75 m/s (250 ft/s) Interchangeable modular test sections, 6x400 kW axial fan array, 750 kW heat exchanger |
ONERA Modane S1MA wind tunnel [76] | Operational | Diameter 8 m (26 ft) by 14 m (46 ft) | Subsonic atmospheric | France | Largest continuous blow-down wind tunnel in the world, Mach 0.05 to 1. |
ONERA Modane S2MA wind tunnel [77] | Operational | Supersonic | France | Continuous-flow wind tunnel, Variable pressure, Mach 0.1 to Mach 3.0. | |
PHEDRA (Arc-jet) high enthalpy wind tunnel [78] | Operational | Diameter 4.5 m (15 ft) by 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) | Supersonic high enthalpy rarefied wind tunnel. No limit running time . Averaged enthalpy, Mj/kg: few < Ho < 50; Mach number: 2 < Mach < 8;Working gas: N2, Air, CO2, CH4, Ar and extensive mixtures | France | Fundamental research of high enthalpy fluid dynamic phenomena in non-equilibrium flows. Aerodynamic and aerothermal behaviour of probes and models; Atmospheric entry research. |
Poul la Cour Tunnel [79] | Operational | 3.0 m × 2.0 m (10 ft × 7 ft) | Airfoil aerodynamics and aeroacoustics, 10 to 105 m/s, Re~7M | Denmark | Named for Poul la Cour |
Propulsion Wind Tunnel Facility [80] | Operational | Transonic: 4.9 m (16 ft) Supersonic: 4.9 m (16 ft) Aerodynamic trasonic: 1.2 m (4 ft) | United States | Part of the Arnold Engineering Development Complex located at Arnold Air Force Base and operated by the United States Air Force | |
Rail Tec Arsenal Climatic Wind Tunnel [81] | Operational | 4.9 m × 5.9 m × 100 m (16 ft × 19 ft × 328 ft) | Full scale: transit, locomotive, automotive, propeller and turbines, airfoils and aircraft Icing- , solar-, precipitatoin tests all subsonic | Austria | RTA operates the longest climatic wind channel in the world. Whole trains up 100 m (330 ft) can be tested under real world conditions from −45 to 60 °C (−49 to 140 °F) and variable climatic conditions. |
R J Mitchell Wind Tunnel [82] | Operational | 3.5 m × 2.4 m × 10.5 m (11 ft × 8 ft × 34 ft) | United Kingdom | Largest university owned wind tunnel in the United Kingdom, named for R. J. Mitchell | |
RWDI Wind Tunnels [83] | Operational | 7.32 m (24 ft) 3.66 m | Wind engineering, scale buildings | Canada | Two wind tunnels |
San Diego Wind Tunnel [84] | 4 m × 2 m × 5 m (12 ft × 8 ft × 15 ft) | United States | Major airframers, bicycle manufacturers and professional athletes | ||
T3 Hypersonic wind tunnel [85] | Brazil | ||||
Texas A&M Oran W. Nicks Low Speed Wind Tunnel [86] | 3 m × 2 m × 4 m (10 ft × 7 ft × 12 ft) | Scale aircraft, UAV, rocket, missile, academic research, automotive, motorsport, cycling, skiing, architectural, transit, truck, product development 0-200MPH | United States | ||
TitanX Jamestown Vehicle Climatic Wind Tunnel [87] | 3.0 m × 3.5 m (10 ft × 11 ft) | Climatic testing of vehicle systems and entire trucks | United States | Open for external clients | |
Trisonic Wind Tunnel [88] | 3,912 mm × 356 mm (154 in × 14 in) | United States | |||
Trudelturm [89] | Height 20 m (66 ft) | Germany | |||
University of Bristol [17] | Operational | Large Low Speed Wind Tunnel 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) by 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) Low Turbulence Wind Tunnel 0.8 m (2 ft 7 in) by 0.6 m (2 ft 0 in) Open Jet Wind Tunnel 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) diameter | United Kingdom | ||
University of British Columbia Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel [90] | 2.5 m × 1.6 m × 23.6 m (8 ft 2 in × 5 ft 3 in × 77 ft 5 in) | Boundary layer, architectural, and wind-engineering studies | Canada | Speed range: 3 to 20 m/s (9.8 to 65.6 ft/s) | |
University of British Columbia Parkinson Wind Tunnel [91] | 1.0 m × 0.7 m × 2.6 m (3 ft 3 in × 2 ft 4 in × 8 ft 6 in) | Aeronautical research, studies of flow-induced oscillations, studies of wind tunnel blockage effects | Canada | Speed range: 5 to 35 m/s (16 to 115 ft/s) | |
University of Glasgow [17] | Operational | De-Havilland Wind Tunnel 2.65 m (8 ft 8 in) by 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Handley-Page Wind Tunnel 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) by 1.61 m (5 ft 3 in) Low Speed Wind Tunnel 1.15 m (3 ft 9 in) by 0.95 m (3 ft 1 in) Flow Visualisation Wind Tunnel 0.90 m (2 ft 11 in) by 0.90 m (2 ft 11 in) | United Kingdom | ||
University of Manchester [17] | Operational | Hypersonic wind tunnel 6 in (150 mm) diameter Trisonic wind tunnel 0.15 m (5.9 in) by 0.3 m (1 ft 0 in) Open-circuit boundary layer tunnel 0.9 m (2 ft 11 in) by 0.9 m (2 ft 11 in) by 5 m (16 ft) Open-circuit wind tunnel 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) by 0.9 m (2 ft 11 in) by 2 m (6 ft 7 in) Open-circuit wind tunnel 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in) by 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in) by 1 m (3 ft 3 in) Closed-circuit water tunnel 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in) by 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in) by 2 m (6 ft 7 in) Tilting flume 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in) by 0.3 m (1 ft 0 in) by 5 m (16 ft) | United Kingdom | Hypersonic wind tunnel: Mach 4, 5, 6; trisonic wind tunnel: Mach 0 to 0.8, 1.8 | |
University of Southampton [17] | Operational | 3' x 2' tunnel 0.9 m (2 ft 11 in) by 0.6 m (2 ft 0 in) by 4.5 m (15 ft) 7' x 5' tunnel 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) by 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) R J Mitchell Wind Tunnel 3.5 m (11 ft) by 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) | United Kingdom | ||
University of Surrey [17] | Operational | EnFlo Laboratory meteorological wind tunnel 3.5 m (11 ft) by 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) by 20 m (66 ft) | United Kingdom | ||
University of Washington Aeronautical Laboratory, Kirsten Wind Tunnel [92] | 2 m × 4 m × 3 m (8 ft × 12 ft × 10 ft) | Subsonic | United States | ||
University of Washington Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics 3x3 [93] | 1 m × 1 m × 2 m (3 ft × 3 ft × 8 ft) | Velocity range approx. 32 to 217 km/h (20 to 135 mph) | United States | The original "Boeing Aerodynamical Chamber", built in 1918 with an Eiffel 1.2 by 1.2 m (4 by 4 ft) and updated in the early 1990s with new power systems and a higher velocity EDL 0.91 by 0.91 m (3 by 3 ft) | |
Virginia Tech Stability Wind Tunnel [94] | 2 m × 2 m (6 ft × 6 ft) | United States | |||
Von Karman Gas Dynamics Facility [95] | Operational | United States | Three tunnels at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex | ||
Williams F1 Wind Tunnel 2 [96] | Operational | 4.4 m × 2.5 m × 12 m (14 ft × 8 ft × 39 ft) | Motorsport / Automotive | United Kingdom | |
WindShear Full Scale, Rolling Road, Automotive Wind Tunnel [97] | Wind shear | United States | |||
Windtech Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel [98] | Operational | 3 m × 2 m × 23 m (10 ft × 7 ft × 75 ft) | Low-Speed / Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel | Australia | Windtech owns and operates one of the largest boundary layer wind tunnel labs in the world with a total of 3 wind tunnels under one roof. Each wind tunnel is 3 m × 2 m × 23 m (9.8 ft × 6.6 ft × 75.5 ft) |
The Whitcomb area rule, named after NACA engineer Richard Whitcomb and also called the transonic area rule, is a design procedure used to reduce an aircraft's drag at transonic speeds which occur between about Mach 0.75 and 1.2. For supersonic speeds a different procedure called the supersonic area rule, developed by NACA aerodynamicist Robert Jones, is used.
Wind tunnels are machines in which objects are held stationary inside a tube, and air is blown around it to study the interaction between the object and the moving air. They are used to test the aerodynamic effects of aircraft, rockets, cars, and buildings. Different wind tunnels range in size from less than a foot across, to over 100 feet (30 m), and can have air that moves at speeds from a light breeze to hypersonic velocities.
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency that was founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets and personnel were transferred to the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NACA is an initialism, i.e., pronounced as individual letters, rather than as a whole word.
Compressible flow is the branch of fluid mechanics that deals with flows having significant changes in fluid density. While all flows are compressible, flows are usually treated as being incompressible when the Mach number is smaller than 0.3. The study of compressible flow is relevant to high-speed aircraft, jet engines, rocket motors, high-speed entry into a planetary atmosphere, gas pipelines, commercial applications such as abrasive blasting, and many other fields.
Transonic flow is air flowing around an object at a speed that generates regions of both subsonic and supersonic airflow around that object. The exact range of speeds depends on the object's critical Mach number, but transonic flow is seen at flight speeds close to the speed of sound, typically between Mach 0.8 and 1.2.
Richard Travis Whitcomb was an American aeronautical engineer who was noted for his contributions to the science of aerodynamics.
The Langley Research Center, located in Hampton, Virginia near the Chesapeake Bay front of Langley Air Force Base, is the oldest of NASA's field centers. LaRC has focused primarily on aeronautical research but has also tested space hardware such as the Apollo Lunar Module. In addition, many of the earliest high-profile space missions were planned and designed on-site. Langley was also considered a potential site for NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center prior to the eventual selection of Houston, Texas.
The Office national d'études et de recherches aérospatiales (ONERA) is the French national aerospace research centre. It is a public establishment with industrial and commercial operations, and carries out research to enhance innovation and competitiveness in the aerospace and defense sectors.
Robert T. Jones,, was an American aerodynamicist and aeronautical engineer for NACA and later NASA. He was known at NASA as "one of the premier aeronautical engineers of the twentieth century".
Subsonic wind tunnels are used for operations at low Mach numbers, with speeds in the test section up to 480 km/h. They may be of open-return type or closed-return flow. These tunnels use large axial fans to move air and increase dynamic pressure, overcoming viscous losses. The design principles of subsonic wind tunnels are based on the continuity equation and Bernoulli's principle, which allow for the calculation of important parameters such as the tunnel's contraction ratio.
A hypersonic wind tunnel is designed to generate a hypersonic flow field in the working section, thus simulating the typical flow features of this flow regime - including compression shocks and pronounced boundary layer effects, entropy layer and viscous interaction zones and most importantly high total temperatures of the flow. The speed of these tunnels vary from Mach 5 to 15. The power requirement of a wind tunnel increases linearly with its cross section and flow density, but cubically with the test velocity required. Hence installation of a continuous, closed circuit wind tunnel remains a costly affair. The first continuous Mach 7-10 wind tunnel with 1x1 m test section was planned at Kochel am See, Germany during WW II and finally put into operation as 'Tunnel A' in the late 1950s at AEDC Tullahoma, TN, USA for an installed power of 57 MW. In view of these high facility demands, also intermittently operated experimental facilities like blow-down wind tunnels are designed and installed to simulate the hypersonic flow. A hypersonic wind tunnel comprises in flow direction the main components: heater/cooler arrangements, dryer, convergent/divergent nozzle, test section, second throat and diffuser. A blow-down wind tunnel has a low vacuum reservoir at the back end, while a continuously operated, closed circuit wind tunnel has a high power compressor installation instead. Since the temperature drops with the expanding flow, the air inside the test section has the chance of becoming liquefied. For that reason, preheating is particularly critical.
Scramjet programs refers to research and testing programs for the development of supersonic combustion ramjets, known as scramjets. This list provides a short overview of national and international collaborations, and civilian and military programs. The USA, Russia, India, and China (2014), have succeeded at developing scramjet technologies.
The Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel, located at the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Federal Airfield, Mountain View, California, United States, is a research facility used extensively to design and test new generations of aircraft, both commercial and military, as well as NASA space vehicles, including the Space Shuttle. The facility was completed in 1955 and is one of five facilities created after the 1949 Unitary Plan Act supporting aeronautics research.
The University of Texas at Arlington Aerodynamics Research Center (ARC) is a facility located in the southeast portion of the campus operated under the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. It was established in 1986 as part of an expansion of UTA's College of Engineering. The ARC contributes to the vision of UTA and the University of Texas System to transform the university into a full-fledged research institution. It showcases the aerodynamics research activities at UTA and, in its history, has established itself as a unique facility at a university level. The wind tunnels and equipment in the facility were mainly built by scouting for and upgrading decommissioned equipment from the government and industry. Currently, Masters and Ph.D. students perform research in the fields of high-speed gas dynamics, propulsion, and Computational fluid dynamics among other projects related to aerodynamics.
The Eight-Foot High Speed Tunnel, also known as Eight-Foot Transonic Tunnel, was a wind tunnel located in Building 641 of NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. It was a National Historic Landmark.
As the coalition of Bay Areas counties predicted when it lobbied for the creation of Moffett Federal Airfield in the late 1920s, the base's research program and facilities catalyzed the development of numerous private technology and aerospace corporations, among them Lockheed Martin and the Hiller Aircraft Corporation.
The Propulsion Wind Tunnel Facility, located at Arnold Engineering Development Complex, Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee, holds three wind tunnels: the 16-foot transonic (16T), 16-foot supersonic (16S), and the aerodynamic 4-foot transonic (4T) tunnels. The facility is devoted to aerodynamic and propulsion integration testing of large-scale aircraft models. The tunnels are powered by a large compressor plant which allows the wind tunnels to run for extended periods of time. The test unit is owned by the United States Air Force and operated by Aerospace Testing Alliance.
Standard wind tunnel models, also known as reference models, calibration models or test check-standards are objects of relatively simple and precisely defined shapes, having known aerodynamic characteristics, that are tested in wind tunnels. Standard models are used in order to verify, by comparison of wind tunnel test results with previously published results, the complete measurement chain in a wind tunnel, including wind tunnel structure, quality of the airstream, model positioning, transducers and force balances, data acquisition system and data reduction software.
The Lockheed Martin X-59 Quesst, sometimes styled QueSST, is an American experimental supersonic aircraft under development by Skunk Works for NASA's Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator project. Preliminary design started in February 2016, with the X-59 planned to begin flight testing in 2021. After delays, as of January 2024, it is planned to be delivered to NASA for flight testing in 2024. It is expected to cruise at Mach 1.42 at an altitude of 55,000 ft (16,800 m), creating a low 75 effective perceived noise level (EPNdB) thump to evaluate supersonic transport acceptability.
Mary Jackson was an American mathematician and aerospace engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which in 1958 was succeeded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). She worked at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, for most of her career. She started as a computer at the segregated West Area Computing division in 1951. In 1958, after taking engineering classes, she became NASA's first black female engineer.