Duke Wind Tunnel

The Duke University Wind Tunnel is currently finalizing renovations! The newly designed test section features a highly modular design to maximize ease of use across a range of testing conditions. See "Renovations" section below for images of the transformation!

For current students/faculty

Want to use the wind tunnel? Please do, in three simple steps:

  1. Look at the Google schedule for available time slots
  2. Fill out the following survey to request time slot and equipment
  3. Use the tunnel at your scheduled time
  4. Remove all equipment when your time is up

If you have questions about reserving time, equipment, or data collection, please contact Ricky Hollenbach (richard.hollenbach@duke.edu). If you have any questions about laboratory space, please see Pat McGuire (patrick.mcguire@duke.edu).

Info

This is a subsonic wind tunnel that is located in the basement of the Hudson building annex. The wind tunnel is a large experimental apparatus that is used frequently for aerospace engineering research as well as undergraduate class projects. The wind tunnel itself is approximately 20 feet tall, and has a footprint of 40 feet by 10 feet. The test section of the wind tunnel, in which experimental models can be placed, is about 50 inches long and has a cross section of 20 inches by 28 inches. The air flow through the test section is driven by a 75 hp electric motor, and can reach air speeds up to 60 m/s. 

Duke’s wind tunnel is used extensively by the Duke Aeroelasticity Research Group, including Professors Earl Dowell, Kenneth Hall, Laurens Howle, Robert Kielb and Lawrence Virgin. Research projects include aeroelastic response of morphing wing aircraft, determining flutter boundaries for flexible membranes with various boundary conditions, unsteady aerodynamic and buffet studies of airfoils at very high angles of attack, and experimental demonstration of limit cycle oscillation behavior for an airfoil supported by springs with a novel geometrically nonlinear design. Previous projects include flutter and limit cycle oscillations of airfoils, control surfaces and wings with freeplay. Also gust response of all the above configurations has been studied and a gust response excitation system is available.

The Duke wind tunnel has a variety of data acquisition equipment. The air speed is measured by both a pitot static tube and a hot wire anemometer, calibrated specifically for the range of air speed for this particular wind tunnel. The signals from the two instruments are collected by a National Instruments DAQ system, and read by LabVIEW software.

Undergraduate students also use the wind tunnel for labs and design projects. Specifically, the undergraduate fluid mechanics course uses the wind tunnel for a lab that demonstrates the concepts of lift and drag coefficient, and the senior design course uses the wind tunnel for various senior design projects. Past projects include ram jet turbine design for aircraft emergency power units, testing a scaled model of a water turbine in the wind tunnel, and carbon fiber trailing edge flap system for high efficiency “green” aircraft.

Renovations

In the Summer of 2017, a small group of graduate students and staff decided to upgrade the aging tunnel and make it more accessible and functional for the years to come.

The project was non-trivial but doable, and it was completed in the end of Fall 2018.

The newly upgraded Wind Tunnel includes the following features:

  • Modular floor and ceiling in the test section.
  • Digital air-speed readings.
  • New, light, and convenient doors.
  • Secured and fully functional air-speed sensors.
  • Freshly painted test section.

See the process in pictures:

 

Thanks to The Wind Tunnel group for all the help!

Patrick McGuire (MEMS Lab Manager)
Maxim Freydin
Kai Kruger Bastos
Michael Lee
Dani Levin
Kevin McHugh