Design and Fabrication of Compressed Air Wind Tunnel

The compressed air wind tunnel (CAWT) is a specialized tool at Penn State that investigates the scaling of full-size aerodynamics of rotorcraft and wind turbines. This new facility is being constructed entirely inside a high-pressure vessel (34 bar) to enable large Reynolds numbers via the high air density. Ongoing work is focused on the design and fabrication of the internal, modular flow conditioning for the CAWT pressure vessel, to mitigate the losses within the circuit. The current focus is to fabricate a wind tunnel with a balance between the aerodynamic qualities in the test section and the performance of the circuit. Two areas of focus within the circuit are the flow-conditioning screens and wide-angle diffuser. The screens have been carefully selected to facilitate the desired velocity and flow uniformity within the test section. Another concurrent goal is achieving the desired turbulence levels within the test section with the use of flow conditioning. In addition, the layout of the pressure vessel necessitates the use of a rapid expansion preceding the flow conditioning. The final presentation will consist of the results from the design and construction of this compressed air wind tunnel.