Turbulence investigation in the VTI’s experimental aerodynamics laboratory

Abstract

Wind tunnels are the aerodynamic laboratories which task is to enable high quality and stabile airflow in controlled volume, a test section, during run time, in order to study the effects of streaming around various aeronautical or nonaeronautical models (airfoils and bluff bodies with complex motorized or robotic constructions). The main requirement that leads to quality and reliable measurement results is a high flow quality in the test section: uniformity of the velocity and pressure fields along and across the test section, low turbulence level and low flow direction angularities or swirling. The knowledge of low parameters enables the exchange of the scientific and technical information, comparison of the experimental results from different wind tunnels and data scaling of the model to the real scale. The turbulence intensity TI significantly affects the wind tunnel results and reduction of turbulence is of the highest importance for the quality measurements. This paper presents the Experimental Aerodynamics Laboratory of the VTI in Belgrade, the equipment and methods of turbulence measurements in the test section stream and around different test models. Wind tunnel facilities maintain equipment and devices for sampling, acquisition and data reduction for various test types, from forces and moment measurements, over the pressure distribution measurements to the advanced measurements, followed with the appropriate flow visualization techniques. The modern instrumentation enables determine flow quality and its influence on tests and measurement results of static and dynamic model characteristics.