Walter H. Beech Wind Tunnel
Capabilities
Tunnel
Specs
WSU Wind Tunnels
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3x4 Ft. Subsonic Wind Tunnel
The three- by four-foot wind tunnel was designed and built by faculty and students and completed in 1985 and was constructed from steel, fiberglass and wood. This facility can achieve velocities up to 100 feet per second, and is powered by a 200 hp electric motor that drives a four-bladed, 11-foot diameter propeller. It is an open-return wind tunnel with dual test sections: V/STOL (30 mph) seven- by 10-foot test section and a medium speed (200 mph) three- by four-foot test section. An online micro-computer is used for data acquisition and processing. Data can be obtained from a six-component sting balance, two-component laser velocimetry system, hot film anemometers, two 32-channel electronic pressure Scanivalve units (one 1.0 psid and one 2.5 psid), and other numerous flow measuring instruments. Surface flow visualization is performed using oil, mini-tufts, liquid crystals or sublimating chemicals.
The nine-inch square supersonic windtunnel was donated to the university in the 1960s. It is used to simulate wind speeds from near transonic (Mach 0.9 to 1.3) to supersonic (Mach 2, 3 and 4). The facility is a pressure-driven tunnel and uses a 100-hp pump to pressurize two 400 cubic-foot pressure tanks. Forty minutes must be allowed to prepare the tanks for a run while the actual run time is 30 seconds. This supersonic wind tunnel is equipped with pressure instrumentation and Schlieren visualization.
The four-inch square supersonic wind tunnel was designed and built by faculty and students in 1956. It can achieve Mach numbers of 2.2 or 1670 mph with a run time of 20 seconds. It operates by vacuum induction and uses a 15- hp pump to evacuate a 1700 cubic-foot vacuum tank that takes approximately 45 minutes to prepare for tunnel operation. Instrumentation includes Schlieren visualization, laser interferometry and pressure measurements.
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